[Epidemiological characteristics of imported COVID-19 cases in Tianjin].

Objective: To understand the epidemiological characteristics of imported COVID-19 cases in Tianjin, and provide references for risk assessment and control of imported COVID-19 cases. Methods: The information of imported COVID-19 cases were obtained from National Notifiable Disease Report System of China CDC. The data of imported COVID-19 cases reported from Tianjin airport and epidemiological surveys by CDCs at all levels from March 15, 2020 to August 31, 2021 were collected and analyzed by using software Excel 2010, SPSS 25.0 and R. Results: From March 15, 2020 to August 31, 2021, a total of 606 imported cases of COVID-19 were reported in Tianjin, in which 552 cases were finally included in the analysis. The male to female ratio of the cases was 1.8∶1, the age of the cases ranged from 3 to 77 years, and the cases were mainly reported in age group 20-39 years (59.8%). The areas where the imported case sojourned within 14 days included Europe (242 cases, 43.8%), Africa (139 cases, 25.2%), Americas (85 cases, 15.4%) and Asia (86 cases, 15.6%). The proportion of confirmed cases in autumn and winter was relatively high. During the study period, the proportion of infected persons found in custom entry quarantine decreased, and the proportion of persons with personal health declaration and under medical isolation observation increased. The interval between entry and diagnosis of infected persons tended to increase. Conclusion: The proportion of imported COVID-19 cases detected on the first day of entry at Tianjin airport decreased, and the interval to detect the infected persons trended to increase, to which close attention must be paid.

[Construction of disease assessment index of silicosis patients].

Objective: To explore the establishment of disease assessment index model in silicosis patients. Methods: In October 2018, 171 silicosis patients who were hospitalized from November 2014 to November 2015 were selected as the study subjects. According to the standard of death risk, the subjects were divided into two groups, including the group without death risk (153 cases) and the group with death risk (18 cases) . Through literature analysis and clinical experience, the variables related to silicosis were preliminarily screened. Multifactorial logistic regression analysis variables were used to analyze the relationship between the variables and the risk of death. The variables associated with the risk of death were selected as the final variables to establish the disease assessment index model. And the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the clinical application of the disease assessment index. Results: Five variables of Modified British Medical Research Council Respiratory Questionnaire (mMRC) , pulmonary function injury, pneumoconiosis stage, aggravation of the disease and complications were selected as the variables of the disease assessment index, and the assessment index score ranged from 1 to 11 points. The area under the ROC curve of disease assessment index was 0.747 (95%CI: 0.590-0.904) , which could better identify the death risk of silicosis patients. With the increase of disease assessment index score, the death risk of silicosis patients increased. When the cutoff value was 7, the sensitivity and specificity were 0.667 and 0.876, respectively, for the risk of death of silicosis patients. The results of cross-validation showed that the correct discrimination rate of the disease assessment index to the risk of death was 66.7%. Conclusion: The disease assessment index can predict the death risk of patients with silicosis, and can evaluate the disease comprehensively.

[Review on the relationship between major air pollutants and related indicators of type 2 diabetes mellitus].

The situation of air pollution has become increasingly serious and its relationship with diabetes becomes a new research concern, in China. After going through a large number of epidemiological studies published in recent years, this paper reviews the relationship between major air pollutants and both blood glucose and blood lipid, related to type 2 diabetes. It also summarizes the relationships among the main pollutants of the atmosphere so as to propose the research directions in this field. Hopefully, this paper can provide reference for forming policies on air pollution, prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes in the country.

[Preliminary study on the evaluation of pneumoconiosis].

Objective: Select the appropriate disease assessment indicators, formulate the comprehensive evaluation group of pneumoconiosis patients, and explore the role of the comprehensive evaluation grouping in the clinical evaluation of pneumoconiosis, and provide the basis for the prognosis of pneumoconiosis. Methods: Combined with clinical symptoms, pulmonary function, pneumoconiosis stage, acute exacerbation and complications, a comprehensive assessment of pneumoconiosis patients was established.138 newly diagnosed pneumoconiosis patients were divided into low risk group, middle risk group and (very) high risk group. The patients were followed up by telephone to record their health status and quality of life within one year after discharge from hospital. Analysis of the relationship between the comprehensive assessment group of patients with pneumoconiosis and symptom score, pulmonary function, pneumoconiosis stage, acute exacerbation and complications. The relationship between the comprehensive assessment group of pneumoconiosis patients and the risk events (the number of visits, hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, death cases in one year) and CAT score were analyzed. Results: There were significant differences in clinical symptoms, pulmonary function injury, pneumoconiosis stage, acute exacerbation and complications among patients in low risk group, middle risk group and (very) high risk group (P<0.01) . With the increase of comprehensive assessment score, CAT score increased, the risk events increased, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01) . Spearman correlation analysis showed that the comprehensive assessment group was significantly correlated with the number of visits, hospitalization, mechanical ventilation, deaths and CAT score in one year. Conclusion: Combined with clinical symptom assessment, pulmonary function assessment, chest imaging assessment, acute exacerbation assessment, and complication assessment, the pneumoconiosis patients' comprehensive assessment group formulated can evaluate the severity of pneumoconiosis patients, and make a more accurate and comprehensive judgement of the disease.

Safety evaluation of zinc methionine in laying hens: Effects on laying performance, clinical blood parameters, organ development, and histopathology.

The study was conducted to investigate whether high-dose zinc methionine (Zn-Met) affected the safety of laying hens, including laying performance, hematological parameters, serum chemical parameters, organ index, and histopathology. A total of 540 20-week-old Hy-Line White laying hens was randomly allocated to 6 groups with 6 replicates of 15 birds each. Birds were fed diets supplemented with 0 (control), 70, 140, 350, 700, or 1,400 mg Zn/kg diet as Zn-Met. The experiment lasted for 8 wk after a 2-week acclimation period. Results showed that dietary supplementation with 70 or 140 mg Zn/kg diet as Zn-Met significantly increased average daily egg mass (ADEM), laying rate (LR), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (P < 0.05) and lowered broken and soft-shelled egg ratio (BSER) (P < 0.05) in comparison with the control group; no significant differences were detected among hens fed with 0, 350, or 700 mg Zn/kg as Zn-Met (P > 0.05); hens administered 1,400 mg Zn/kg showed a significant increase in BSER and remarkable decreases in ADEM, LR, and FCR (P < 0.001). There were no significant differences among hens receiving 0, 70, 140, 350, or 700 mg Zn/kg as Zn-Met in serum chemical parameters (P > 0.05); supplementation with 1,400 mg Zn/kg as Zn-Met remarkably elevated the concentrations of serum total bilirubin (TBILI), glucose (GLU), uric acid (UA), and creatinine (CRE) (P < 0.001), and enhanced activities of serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOP) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) (P < 0.001) compared with the control group. No significant histopathological changes were found in hens administered 0, 70, 140, 350, or 700 mg Zn/kg as Zn-Met, while significant histological lesions were observed in the heart, liver, lung, and kidney tissues of hens receiving 1,400 mg Zn/kg as Zn-Met. No significant differences were detected in hematological parameters or organ index (P > 0.05). In conclusion, a nominal Zn concentration of 700 mg/kg as Zn-Met is considered to be no-observed-adverse-effect level following daily administration to hens for 56 days.

[Effects of fluoride exposure on thyroid hormone level and intelligence in rats].

Objective: To investigate the effects of fluoride exposure on the thyroid hormone level and intelligence in rats and to investigate the biomarkers of intellectual impairment induced by high fluoride exposure. Methods: A total of 24 clean healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group (tap water containing 0.344 mg/L fluoride) and low-, medium-, and high-fluoride exposure groups (tap waters containing 10, 50, and 100 mg/L sodium fluoride, respectively). One male rat was cohabited with two female rats in the same group. After the offspring rats were weaned, 12 offspring rats (male/female ratio=1∶1) with a similar body weight in each group were subjected to the same treatment for the parental offspring. The offspring rats were sacrificed on the 60th day after birth. The weight of offspring rats was measured. Serum thyrotropin (TSH) , free triiodothyronine (FT(3)) , and free thyroxine (FT(4)) levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The learning and memory abilities of the rats were evaluated by Morris water maze test. The expression of mitochondrial fission 1 (Fis1) and mitofusin 1 (Mfn1) in blood was measured by Western blot. Results: The offspring rats in the medium-and high-fluoride exposure groups had significantly lower serum TSH and FT(4) levels than those in the control group (P<0.05). The place navigation test showed that the offspring rats in the medium-and high-fluoride exposure groups had significantly longer escape latency than those in the control group (P<0.05) , and the high-fluoride exposure group had a significantly longer escape distance than those in the control group (P<0.05). The spatial probe test showed that the offspring rats in the low-, medium-, and high-fluoride exposure groups had significantly shorter swimming time and distance in the target quadrant and total swimming time and distance than those in the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the offspring rats in the control group, those in the low-, medium-, and high-fluoride exposure groups had significantly higher expression of Fis1 (P<0.05) , and those in the low- and medium-fluoride exposure groups had significantly higher expression of Mfn1 (P<0.05) . Conclusion: High fluoride exposure can reduce the secretion of thyroid hormone and the abnormality of mitochondrial dynamics in peripheral lymphocytes may provide a clue to identifying the biomarkers of intellectual impairment induced by fluoride exposure.

[Expression and significance of autophagy in rabbit model of tracheal stenosis].

Objective: To investigate the expression and significance of autophagy in rabbit model of tracheal stenosis. Methods: A total of 18 rabbits were equally divided into 3 groups (blank control group, saline group, erythromycin group) in accordance with the random number table. After rabbit model of tracheal stenosis was established, no treatment was done with blank control group. Saline group was atomized with saline (0.54 mg/kg, 2 times/day), and erythromycin group was fed on erythromycin (7.5 mg/kg, 2 times/day) for 7 days before and 10 days after the operation. On the eleventh day, rabbits were executed, and their trachea were collected. The proportion of collagen fiber area of tracheal lamina propria (LP) and epithelium (EP) was assessed by Masson staining. The mRNA of autophagy associated gene-3 (ATG3) and autophagy associated gene-5 (ATG5) of tracheal mucosa were assessed by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). The protein of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain ß(3) (LC3B), ATG3 and ATG5 were assessed by Western blot. Results: The proportion of collagen fiber area of tracheal LP and EP of blank control group was (6.79±0.67)%, saline group was (40.55±5.40)%, erythromycin group was (27.48±0.43)%. The differences between any two groups was all statistically significant (all P<0.01). The relative value of ATG3 mRNA and ATG5 mRNA in saline group were significantly lower than blank control group (all P<0.01). Those value in erythromycin group were significantly higher than the saline group (all P<0.01). The protein levels of LC3B-Ⅱ/Ⅰ, ATG3 and ATG5 in saline group were significantly lower than blank control group (all P<0.01). After low dose of erythromycin intervention, all the protein levels were significantly higher than the saline group (all P<0.01). Conclusions: The expression of autophagy is decreased in rabbit model of trachea stenosis. Low dose of erythromycin could increase the expression of autophagy and at the same time alleviate the degree of fibrosis of the tracheal mucosa. Autophagy may alleviate tracheal fibrosis through up-regulating its expression level and play a protective role.

Clinical manifestation and prognostic factors of non-cholerae Vibrio infections.

Infections caused by non-cholerae Vibrio are uncommon. From July 2004 to June 2010, a total of 218 isolates of Vibrio species were identified from 171 patients treated at Chi Mei Medical Center, Taiwan. A total of 173 isolates of non-cholerae Vibrio species were isolated from 127 patients. The most common type of infection was acute gastroenteritis (59.8%), followed by skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI) (26.0%) and primary bacteremia (11.0%). Other types of infection included biliary tract infection, peritonitis, and acute otitis media, each at a rate of less than 2%. For patients with acute gastroenteritis, V. parahaemolyticus comprised 92.1% of cases, but V. vulnificus was the most common pathogen causing SSTI. All episodes of bacteremia were caused by V. vulnificus. The all-cause mortality rate was 18.8% of 32 patients with SSTI and the fatality rate was significantly higher among patients with decreased albumin, elevated lactate, use of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and the presence of shock. In conclusion, non-cholerae Vibrio species caused protean manifestations that vary with the infecting Vibrio species. This epidemiological study helps physicians to better understand the clinical characteristics of infections caused by different non-cholerae Vibrio species.

Prostacyclin protects renal tubular cells from gentamicin-induced apoptosis via a PPARalpha-dependent pathway.

To study the protective effect of prostacyclin (PGI2) we increased PGI2 production by infected NRK-52E cells with an adenovirus carrying cyclooxygenase-1 and prostacyclin synthase. PGI2 overexpression protected these cells from gentamicin-induced apoptosis by reducing cleaved caspase-3 and caspase-9, cytochrome c, and decreasing generation of reactive oxygen species. Expression of the nuclear receptor of PGI2, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARalpha), was reduced during gentamicin treatment of the cells, while its overexpression significantly inhibited gentamicin-induced apoptosis and the amount of cleaved caspase-3. Transformation with PPARalpha short interfering RNA abolished the protective effect of PGI2 overproduction in gentamicin-treated cells. The PPARalpha activator docosahexaenoic acid given to gentamicin-treated mice significantly reduced the number of apoptotic cells in renal cortex, but this protective effect was not seen in PPARalpha knockout mice. Our study suggests that increased endogenous PGI2 production protects renal tubular cells from gentamicin-induced apoptosis through a PPARalpha-signaling pathway.

Rhinosino-orbital mucormycosis causing cavernous sinus thrombosis and internal carotid artery occlusion: radiological findings in a patient with treatment failure.

The authors describe a case of rhinosino-orbital mucormycosis with cavernous sinus thrombosis in association with internal carotid artery occlusion diagnosed by use of computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cranial CT is a useful imaging tool in the diagnosis of rhinosinal invasive fungal disease and MRI offers excellent aid in the detection of intracranial extension. Early diagnosis and rapid institution of surgical debridement and antifungal therapy is the rule of thumb in treating this disorder. In our patient, surgically inaccessible bone lesion and involvement of the central nervous system are taken as major causes for his grave outcome. In addition, failure to advance appropriate amphotericin B dosage may also make the infectious process uncontrollable in this patient.

Development of a new prognostic system and validation of APACHE II for surgical ICU mortality: a multicenter study in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: To develop and to validate a new prognostic prediction system for patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (ICU), and to compare its performance with the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II system. METHODS: The database was derived from three surgical ICUs in three hospitals. For each patient, demographic data, diagnosis, APACHE II score and hospital survival data were collected. The accuracy in outcome prediction of the APACHE II was assessed by means of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The new prognostic system was developed by using a multiple logistic regression in the developmental data set and validated with the validation data set. RESULTS: A total of 1,248 patients were included from three ICUs. The area under the ROC curve was 0.74 for the APACHE II score. The new prognostic system includes 18 variables. Goodness-of-fit tests indicated that the model performed well in the developmental and validation samples (p = 0.235 in the developmental data set and p = 0.297 in the validation set). The area under the ROC curve was 0.84 in the developmental sample and 0.77 in the validation sample for the new prognostic score. The area under the ROC curve was 0.71 in the validation sample for the APACHE II score. CONCLUSIONS: Although APACHE II correlates with mortality for surgical ICU patients in Taiwan, its accuracy is not as good as in the original study. Mortality prediction performance improved with the use of the new, local scoring system.

Is serum transferrin receptor a sensitive marker of iron repletion in patients with iron-deficiency anemia and hemodialysis patients?

BACKGROUND: Serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) concentration has been recognized as a reliable laboratory indicator of iron deficiency in recent years. But its response to iron supplementation has not been investigated. METHODS: We evaluated the sTfR concentrations in 15 patients diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia, in 30 patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis (HD) with iron repletion and in 31 healthy controls. The serial changes of sTfR concentration and their correlation with serum ferritin in patients with iron deficiency under iron repletion were also examined in three patients. RESULTS: In patients with iron-deficiency anemia, the sTfR concentration was 5.6 +/- 2.4 mg/ml, significantly higher than that in the control group (1.8 +/- 0.4 mg/ml) and patients receiving maintenance HD with iron repletion (1.7 +/- 0.5 mg/ml). The three patients with iron-deficiency anemia who received eight to 16 weeks of iron supplementation showed steady and significant decreases in sTfR concentration and significant increases in serum ferritin and transferrin saturation. However, the decreases in sTfR concentration did not occur immediately, as did the increases in serum ferritin and transferrin saturation, following iron repletion. There was a four-week delayed response in the decrease of sTfR concentrations as measured against serum ferritin and transferrin saturation. CONCLUSIONS: sTfR concentration may not be as effective as an early index of iron repletion compared with serum ferritin and transferrin saturation.

Serum transferrin receptor concentration is not indicative of erythropoietic activity in chronic hemodialysis patients with poor response to recombinant human erythropoietin.

BACKGROUND: Serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) is a transmembrane glycoprotein derived from erythroid precursors in the bone marrow. Its concentration provides a quantitative measure of total erythropoietic activity and an indication of functional iron deficiency. This study was conducted to investigate whether sTfR is a useful index of erythropoietic activity in chronic hemodialysis patients with poor response to maintenance recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) therapy. METHODS: Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, sTfR concentration was measured in 67 uremic patients who had been on hemodialysis for a mean of 42 months (3-242 months). rHuEPO was administered three times a week to keep the hematocrit above 30%. Hemoglobin, red blood cell indices, serum ferritin, serum total iron binding capacity and unsaturated iron binding capacity were determined. Of the 67 patients, 35 who responded favorably to rHuEPO with hematocrits above 30% were categorized as Group I and 32 who did not attain the target hematocrit were categorized as Group II. As a control group, 31 healthy subjects were also investigated. RESULTS: The serum iron, ferritin, transferrin iron saturation, dialysis efficiency and nutritional state were not different between groups of hemodialysis patients. The mean sTfR concentration was 2.1 +/- 0.6 micrograms/ml (range, 1.15-3.53 micrograms/ml) in Group I patients, compared with 1.9 +/- 0.9 micrograms/ml (range, 1.03-2.65 micrograms/ml) in Group II. The difference was not significant. In addition, the mean sTfR concentration of 1.8 +/- 0.4 micrograms/ml (range, 0.86-2.76 micrograms/ml) in the healthy controls was not significantly different from Groups I and II. CONCLUSIONS: sTfR concentration cannot be used to distinguish good from poor rHuEPO responders among chronic hemodialysis patients who have elevated serum ferritin (> 300 micrograms/l) and transferrin iron saturation (> 25%) during the course of maintenance rHuEPO therapy.

CT of large small-bowel diverticulum.

The previous reports concerning the computed tomographic (CT) appearances of small bowel diverticulum are usually limited to those of diverticulitis. We present the CT findings of uncomplicated, large small bowel diverticulum in five patients. An interesting coexistence of large small bowel diverticulum and small bowel volvulus will be mentioned. Four patients had recurrent abdominal pain in the past 2 years.

CT of the mesenteric vascular anatomy.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the appearance of the arrangement of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and superior mesenteric vein (SMV) on computed tomography (CT) in normal patients and in patients with abdominal masses. METHODS: One hundred seventy-seven consecutive abdominal CT examinations of 143 adults and two children were reviewed. The relationship of the SMV to the SMA was recorded at four locations: the beginning of the mesenteric vessels and levels 3 cm, 6 cm, and 9 cm caudad to the beginning. The relationship of the SMV to the SMA was divided into four quadrants in relation to the SMA: I, ventral right or directly ventral; II, dorsal right or directly right; III, dorsal left or directly dorsal; and IV, ventral left or directly left. RESULTS: In the beginning of the SMV-SMA complex and levels 3 cm, 6 cm, and 9 cm caudal to the beginning, the SMV was located in quadrant I in 146, 84, 69, and 43 examinations, in quadrant II in 31, 93, 71, and 27 examinations, in quadrant III in zero, zero, five, and three examinations, and in quadrant IV in zero, zero, nine, and 15 examinations, respectively. The cases with SMV inversion had neither malrotation nor adjacent tumor compression. All the cases with an adjacent tumor-induced compression of the SMV-SMA complex had a normal SMV-SMA relationship. CONCLUSION: In the first 3 cm, the SMV is always to the right of the SMA. Caudal to the level of 6 cm, the SMV may be located to the left of the SMA without evidence of malrotation. A midgut nonrotation is more likely to be present when a proximal SMV inversion is coexistent with a rightward direction of the proximal jejunal vessels. A hypothetical depiction of the step-by-step change of the SMV-SMA relationship during embryologic development may explain the arrangement patterns of the mesenteric vessels in normal rotation and midgut nonrotation.

CT of the duodenojejunal junction.

To determine the location of the duodenojejunal junction (DJJ) at computed tomography (CT), we retrospectively reviewed 309 consecutive CT examinations. These included 162 men and 127 women (mean age = 57 years old, range = 11-85 years old). Some people received more than one examination. The clinical indications included various kinds of neoplasms, inflammations, congenital lesions, trauma, and other conditions. The DJJ was defined as the first sectioned ascending duodenum whose major part lies to the right side of the crossing part of the inferior mesenteric vein over the immediate beginning of the jejunum. Forty-nine examinations were excluded due to distortion of the DJJ by contiguous pathologic processes or nonadministration of intravenous contrast medium. In 36 examinations, the junctions were not identified. In the successfully identified 224 examinations, the DJJ was located to the left in 75 (33.5%), in the left half in 87 (38.8%), and in the right half or to the right of the vertebral body in 4 (1.8%) examinations. The midline of the DJJ was along the left margin and in the midline of the vertebral body in 53 (23.7%) and 5 (2.2%) examinations. In the anteroposterior direction, it was totally in front of the aorta in 189 (84.4%) and within the projected contour of the aorta in 11 (4.9%) examinations. The midline of the DJJ was along the anterior margin of the aorta in 24 (10.7%) examinations. Its cephalocaudal position was at the upper L1 in 36 (16.1%), lower L1 in 70 (31.3%), upper L2 in 75 (33.5%), and lower L2 in 21 (9.4%) examinations even though it ranged from upper T12 to upper L3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Hemobilia presenting as intermittent gastrointestinal hemorrhage with sincalide confirmation. A case report.

An 82-year-old man had his third episode of melanotic stool. Two previous workups had failed to localize the source of bleeding. A Tc-99m labeled RBC scan visualized the gallbladder early in the study. Administration of sincalide visually decreased the activity, confirming gallbladder activity. Three months later, at his second surgery, hepatic metastases were finally identified as the source of bleeding. In retrospect, the hepatic activity is inhomogeneous with at least two cold defects that could have represented hepatic metastases.