Multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) with SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant BA.2.38 in a four-year-old Chinese girl: A case report.

We report a severe COVID-19 complicated with MIS-C in a girl treated by the author in China, and discuss the current research status and progress in the diagnosis and therapy of MIS-C in children. The patient was a 4-year-old child previously healthy who was referred to the hospital with a complaint of fever, finally, Multisystem inflammatory syndrome was diagnosed with COVID-19.

Knockdown of Microtubule Associated Serine/threonine Kinase Like Expression Inhibits Gastric Cancer Cell Growth and Induces Apoptosis by Activation of ERK1/2 and Inactivation of NF-κB Signaling.

Microtubule-associated serine/threonine kinase (MASTL) functions to regulate chromosome condensation and mitotic progression. Therefore, aberrant MASTL expression is commonly implicated in various human cancers. This study analyzed MASTL expression in gastric cancer vs. adjacent normal tissue for elucidating the association with clinicopathological data from patients. This work was then extended to investigate the effects of MASTL knockdown on tumor cells in vitro. The level of MASTL expression in gastric cancer tissue was assessed from the UALCAN, GEPIA, and Oncomine online databases. Lentivirus carrying MASTL or negative control shRNA was infected into gastric cancer cells. RT-qPCR, Western blotting, cell viability, cell counting, flow cytometric apoptosis and cell cycle, and colony formation assays were performed. MASTL was upregulated in gastric cancer tissue compared to the adjacent normal tissue, and the MASTL expression was associated with advanced tumor stage, Helicobacter pylori infection and histological subtypes. On the other hand, knockdown of MASTL expression significantly reduced tumor cell viability and proliferation, and arrested cell cycle at G2/M stage but promoted tumor cells to undergo apoptosis. At protein level, knockdown of MASTL expression enhanced levels of cleaved PARP1, cleaved caspase-3, Bax and p-ERK1/2 expression, but downregulated expression levels of BCL-2 and p-NF-κB-p65 protein in AGS and MGC-803 cells. MASTL overexpression in gastric cancer tissue may be associated with gastric cancer development and progression, whereas knockdown of MASTL expression reduces tumor cell proliferation and induces apoptosis. Further study will evaluate MASTL as a potential target of gastric cancer therapeutic strategy.

Comparative research on 99mTc-Rituximab and 99mTc-sulfur colloid in sentinel lymph node imaging of breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: 99mTc-Rituximab is a new specific radiopharmaceutical that binds to the CD20 receptor which is highly expressed on the surface of B cells. We conducted a study in which 99mTc-Rituximab was compared with filtered 99mTc-sulfur colloid (fTcSC) for sentinel lymph node (SLN) detection in patients with breast cancer. METHOD: The study is divided into three parts. 1. Initially, 25 patients were selected for an internal controlled trial to received both 99mTc-Rituximab and fTcSC, the interval time is separated by ≥2 days. 2. Then, 91 patients were selected for a randomized controlled trial (41 and 50 patients in the 99mTc-Rituximab and fTcSC groups, respectively). All patients were administered either agent at the 6- and 12-o' clock positions by subareolar injection technique. SLN mapping was then performed 2 h after injection. 3. Serial dynamic images were further acquired for 2 h in 31 patients (22 and 9 patients from 99mTc-Rituximab and fTcSC cohorts, respectively). RESULTS: The identification rate of lymphoscintigraphy and SLNB in all and axilla regions for 99mTc-Rituximab and 99mTc-SC were 98.5% vs 98.7, 100% vs 98.4%, respectively. The mean number of SLNs identified by 99mTc-Rituximab and fTcSC was respectively 2.72 and 3.28, with a significant difference of P = 0.013 (paired sample t-test). The difference exists in the internal mammary and clavicular area, not in the axillary. The mean number of axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for 99mTc-Rituximab and fTcSC was 2.95 vs 3.14, respectively, and no significant difference existed. 99mTc-Rituximab also exhibited a significantly faster injection site clearance rate when compared with fTcSC (0.193 ± 0.057 h- 1 vs 0.021 ± 0.007 h- 1, respectively). CONCLUSION: No significant difference was observed in identification rate and number of axillary SLN imaging and SLNB, between the two tracers. Compared to fTcSC, 99mTc-Rituximab based imaging demonstrated a fewer number of secondary lymph nodes and had faster injection site clearance rate. TRIAL REGISTRATION: www.chictr.org.cn, ChiCTR1900024990 (retrospectively registered August 6, 2019).

[Plasma levels of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide and glycogen phosphorylase isoenzyme BB in neonates with asphyxia complicated by myocardial injury].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes and the clinical significance of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and glycogen phosphorylase isoenzyme BB (GPBB) levels in neonates with asphyxia complicated by myocardial injury. METHODS: Sixty-four neonates with asphyxia (39 mild, 25 severe) were enrolled. Of the 64 neonates, 30 had myocardial injury and 34 did not develop myocardial injury. Twenty-five healthy neonates served as a control group. Plasma levels of NT-proBNP and GPBB were measured using ELISA. Myocardial enzymes and cardiac troponin I were stimultaneously measured, and electrocardiography and chest radiographs were obtained. RESULTS: The plasma levels of NT-proBNP and GPBB in neonates with myocardial injury were significantly higher than those in neonates without myocardial injury and in the control group (P<0.01). The neonates with severe asphyxia had significantly increased plasma NT-proBNP and GPBB concentrations compared to those with mild asphyxia and the control group (P<0.01). Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that plasma NT-proBNP level was positively correlated with plasma GPBB level in neonates with asphyxia. Plasma levels of NT-proBNP and GPBB were also positively correlated with plasma levels of CK-MB, CK and LDH (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Both NT-proBNP and GPBB can be used as biomarkers of myocardial injury in neonates with asphyxia. The measurement of plasma NT-proBNP and GPBB levels was useful in early identification of myocardial injury and severity evaluation in neonates with asphyxia.

[Changes of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in neonates with myocardial ischemic injury].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) complicated by myocardial ischemic injury. METHODS: Thirty-five neonates with HIE (17 cases with concurrent myocardial injury and 18 cases without) were enrolled. Twenty healthy neonates were used as the control group. Plasma NT-proBNP levels were measured using enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS: The mean plasma NT-proBNP levels in patients with myocardial injury (338.8 + or - 76.2 fmol/mL) were significantly higher than those in patients with non-myocardial injury (137.5 + or - 45.1 fmol/mL) and in the control group (113.7 + or - 53.6 fmol/mL) (p<0.01). The NT-proBNP levels in mild, moderate and severe HIE neonates were 141.3 + or - 41.6, 271.8 + or - 118.1 and 347.2 + or - 85.1 fmol/mL, respectively. Compared with the control group, the NT-proBNP levels in the moderate and the severe HIE groups significantly increased (p<0.01). There were significant differences in the NT-proBNP level among the mild, moderate and severe HIE groups (p<0.05). In patients with myocardial injury, the NT-proBNP levels significantly decreased in the convalescent phase compared with those in the acute phase (225.0 + or - 80.0 fmol/mL vs 338.8 + or - 76.2 fmol/mL (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Plasma NT-proBNP levels increase in neonates with HIE complicated by myocardial ischemic injury in the acute phase. Detection of NT-proBNP levels may be useful in the diagnosis of myocardial ischemic injury and the severity evaluation of HIE.

2,6-Bis(1-isopropyl-5-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine.

In the title compound, C(29)H(29)N(5), the central pyridine ring and the two pyrazole rings are approximately coplanar, the dihedral angles between the pyridine and pyrazole rings being 3.94 (12) and 14.84 (12)°. The pyrazole and phenyl rings on each side of the mol-ecule are twisted with dihedral angles of 46.72 (8) and 73.39 (8)°. One phenyl ring inter-acts with a pyrazole ring of a neighbouring mol-ecule via a weak inter-molecular C-H⋯π inter-action, which stabilizes the mol-ecular packing.