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Objective @#Mendelian randomization analysis was used to explore the causal relationship of T.gondii in- fection and the cyst distribution and inflammation in brain tissue by immunohistochemistry.@*Methods @#Genome- wide association analysis data of T.gondii infection and encephalitis were obtained ,single nucleotide polymor- phisms (SNPs) were selected,Mendelian randomization analysis was conducted by inverse variance weighting,and the causal relationship between T.gondii infection and encephalitis was evaluated by OR value and 95% CI.Quality control was carried out by using heterogeneity test,horizontal multi-efficiency test and leave-one-out sensitivity test. Immunohistochemical staining was performed using brain sections of mice infected with tissue cysts of Wh6 strain for image analysis using Image J software. @*Results @#A total of 29 SNPs were associated with toxoplasmic encephalitis. The results of IVW method suggested that T.gondii infection made encephalitis risk 0. 98 times higher ( OR = 0. 98, 95% CI = 0. 76 to 1. 27) ,indicating no causal relationship between the two.The quality control results suggested that the selected SNPs were stable and reliable.Toxoplasma cysts were distributed in various parts of the brain tis- sue.@*Conclusion @# T.gondii infection and encephalitis are related,but there is no sufficient evidence to prove the causal relationship between the two.
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OBJECTIVES@#To classify bladder cancer based on immune cell infiltration score and to construct a risk assessment model for prognosis of patients.@*METHODS@#The transcriptome data and data of breast cancer patients were obtained from the TCGA database. The single sample gene set enrichment analysis was used to calculate the infiltration scores of 16 immune cells. The classification of breast cancer patients was realized by unsupervised clustering, and the sensitivity of patients with different types to immunotherapy and chemotherapy was analyzed. The key modules significantly related to the infiltration of key immune cells were identified by weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA), and the key genes in the modules were extracted. A risk scoring model and a nomogram for risk assessment of prognosis for bladder cancer patients were constructed and verified.@*RESULTS@#The immune cell infiltration scores of normal tissues and tumor tissues were calculated, and B cells, mast cells, neutrophils, T helper cells and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes were determined to be the key immune cells of bladder cancer. Breast cancer patients were clustered into two groups (Cluster 1 and Custer 2) based on immune cell infiltration scores. Compared with patients with Cluster 1, patients with Cluster 2 were more likely to benefit from immunotherapy (P<0.05), and patients with Cluster 2 were more sensitive to Enbeaten, Docetaxel, Cyclopamine, and Akadixin (P<0.05). WGCNA screened out 35 genes related to key immune cells, and 4 genes (GPR171, HOXB3, HOXB5 and HOXB6) related to the prognosis of bladder cancer were further screened by LASSO Cox regression. The areas under the ROC curve (AUC) of the bladder cancer prognosis risk scoring model based on these 4 genes to predict the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival of patients were 0.735, 0.765 and 0.799, respectively. The nomogram constructed by combining risk score and clinical parameters has high accuracy in predicting the 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival of bladder cancer patients.@*CONCLUSIONS@#According to the immune cell infiltration score, bladder cancer patients can be classified. And the bladder cancer prognosis risk scoring model and nomogram based on key immune cell-related genes have high accuracy in predicting the prognosis of bladder cancer patients.
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Objective:To investigate the clinical and electrophysiological characteristics of ANCA-associated vasculitic neuropathy (VN) and analyze the predictors of treatment outcomes.Methods:Retrospective case series. In all, 652 consecutive patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis were admitted to the First Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital between January 2006 and December 2022. Peripheral neuropathy occurred in 91 patients. Patients were excluded if other known causes of neuropathy were present. Sixty-one patients were eventually enrolled, including 17 with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), 11 with granulomatosis polyangiitis (GPA), and 33 with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA). Their clinical data were collected and clinical characteristics, VN manifestations, electrophysiological findings (including interside amplitude ratio [IAR]), and treatment outcomes were compared among the three subsets of AAV. Then, factors influencing the treatment outcomes were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis.Results:Peripheral neuropathy occurred in 62.1%(18/29) of EGPA, 8.3%(15/180) of GPA, and 13.1%(58/443) of MPA patients. The age at onset and examination was higher in patients with MPA than those with EGPA or GPA ( P<0.01). The occurrence of VN was later in patients with GPA than those with EGPA ( P<0.01), and the GPA group had fewer affected nerves than the other two groups ( P<0.016). The abnormal IARs of motor nerves in lower limbs were more detected in the EGPA than the MPA group ( P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis suggested that higher Birmingham vasculitis activity score-version 3 (BVAS-V3) ( OR=6.85, 95% CI 1.33-35.30) was associated with better treatment outcomes of VN. However, central nervous system involvement was a risk factor for poor treatment outcomes ( OR=0.13, 95% CI 0.02-0.89). Conclusions:The clinical and electrophysiological characteristics of VN were slightly different among subsets of AAV. Patients with GPA often presented with polyneuropathy and had fewer nerves affected; mononeuritis multiplex was more common in EGPA than GPA and MPA. Higher BVAS-V3 and central nervous system involvement might predict the treatment outcome of VN.
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Outer membrane vesicle (OMV), originating from the outermost membrane of cells, is the extracellular vesicles released by gram-negative bacteria, containing bacterial outer membrane components such as phospholipids, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), outer membrane protein, and bacterial-specific antigens. OMV plays an important role in bacterial physiology and pathogenesis, involving in biofilm formation, horizontal gene transfer, stress and inflammatory responses, and delivery of toxins and other biomolecules. It also plays a vital role in immune regulation and the establishment and maintenance of balanced intestinal microflora. This article provides an overview of the roles of OMV in bacterial infections and immune regulation and the potential application value of OMV in tumor-targeted therapy and new vaccine preparation in the hope to provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of bacterial infections.
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Objective To assess the alterations of negative functional connectivity(FC),its relationship with clinical symptoms,and its potential value in schizophrenia(SZ).Methods Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rs-fMRI)data were acquired from patients with SZ and healthy controls(HC).For each participant,the whole brain image was first divided into 272 regions and then the FC between each pair of these regions was calculated using Pearson's correlation coefficient.Group-level negative FCs were identified using permutation test for each group.Each of the identified negative FCs was then compared between patients and controls to identify the altered negative FCs.Then,Spearman rank correlation was adopted to examine the relationship between the altered negative FCs and clinical variables.Finally,to evaluate the diagnostic value of negative FC in SZ,a multivariate pattern analysis(MVPA)was performed to distinguish between SZ and HC based on negative FCs.Results Ninety-one patients with SZ and 91 HC were included in this study,and 207 negative FCs in total were identified.Among the identified 207 negative FCs,12(constituting 5.80%of the total 207 negative FCs)were significantly altered in SZ compared with HC(Bonferroni correction,P<0.05),of which 11 were significantly decreased(i.e.,closer to 0)in SZ.The correlation analyses identified 2 significant associations-one was between a negative FC and the total score of the psychotic symptoms rating scales-auditory hallucinations(r=-0.24,P=0.02)and the other was between a negative FC and the weighted total score of the scale for the assessment of thought,language,and communication(r=0.26,P=0.01).Furthermore,the model for distinguishing between SZ and HC based on negative FCs achieved a classification accuracy of 72.6%that was significantly higher than chance-level accuracy(permutation test,P<0.001).Conclusion Negative FCs are altered in patients with SZ.Given that negative FCs are associated with clinical symptoms,thus they may serve as an imaging biomarker for assisting the diagnosis of SZ.
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Sepsis is currently the leading cause of death in the intensive care unit, and its survivors also experience long-term immunosuppression and high rates of recurrent infections. At present, the clinical treatment of sepsis is still based on antibiotics, intravenous rehydration, and vasopressors, and there is no targeted drug treatment. However, as the rate of antibiotic resistance continues to increase, immunotherapy is highly anticipated as a new treatment. Patients with sepsis are often accompanied by acute leukocyte immune dysfunction and immunosuppression, which may be an important risk factor for the increasing morbidity and mortality of patients. Targeted inhibition of specific cell surface inhibitory immune checkpoint receptors and ligands, such as programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1), programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and other targets, can improve the host’s resistance to infection. In this paper, the research progress of PD-1 and PD-L1 in the immune response to sepsis was summarized to provide a theoretical basis for their further application in the treatment of sepsis in the future.
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Objective:To explore the potential mechanisms of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in modulating pain behavior and anxiety-like behavior of rats with chronic non-specific low back pain induced by nerve growth factor (NGF).Methods:Ninety-six male SPF grade SD rats aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into four groups according the random number table method: control group, model group, control+ D-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoate (D-AP5) group (control+ D-AP5 group) and model+ D-AP5 group, with 24 rats in each group.Low back pain model of rat was established by injection of NGF into multifidus muscle (left side) of the low backs of rats(two times with a five-day interval). Five days after modeling, rats in model+ D-AP5 group and control+ D-AP5 group were injected with the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist D-AP5(2 μg, 0.3 μL) at the right side of the ACC once a day for consecutive 3 days, and rats in control group and model group were injected with the same amount of 0.9% sodium chloride solution. Seven days after modeling, the pain threshold of rats was evaluated by mechanical stimulation test and hot and cold plate test.The anxiety-like behavior was tested by open field test.The density of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) positive cells and c-Fos(a kind of immediate early gene) positive cells of the spinal cord were observed by immunofluorescence. The expression of GFAP, c-Fos, phosphorylated-c-Jun N-terminal kinases (p-JNK), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 1 (CXCL-1) proteins in the L2 segment of the spinal cord were detected by Western blot. SPSS 23.0 software was used for statistical analysis. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze normal distribution measurement data for comparison among multiple groups, and Tukey test was used for further pairwise comparisons. The Kruakal-Wallis H test was used for non-normal distribution measurement data, and Mann-Whitney U test was used for further pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni-corrected P-values. Results:In the experiments measuring pressure pain threshold (PPT) and paw withdrawal threshold (PWT), there were statistically significant differences in the PPT and PWT of rats among the four groups ( F=53.498, 41.939, both P<0.001). Seven days after modeling, PPT ((418.5±46.9) g) and PWT ( (55.6±7.1) g) in the ipsilateral side of the rats in model+ D-AP5 group were higher than those in model group ((290.0±32.0) g, (30.5±7.5) g) (both P<0.001). In the open field test, there were statistically significant differences in percentage of the inner zone distance ( H=11.922, P<0.01) and the percentage of inner zone time ( H=21.614, P<0.001) of rats among the four groups. The percentage of inner zone time in model+ D-AP5 group was higher than that in model group (5.6(4.3, 7.9) %, 3.1(2.1, 3.8) %) ( P<0.01). The results of immunofluorescence showed that there were statistically significant differences in the density of GFAP positive cells and c-Fos positive cells at the ipsilateral side of the superficial laminae of rats among the four groups ( H=49.085, F=18.120, both P<0.001). The density of GFAP positive cells (34.3(21.1, 47.5) cells/mm 2) and c-Fos positive cells ((52.7±39.4) cells/mm 2) at the ipsilateral side of the superficial laminae in model+ D-AP5 group were less than those in model group (76.5(68.6, 94.9) cells/mm 2, (112.4±63.7) cells/mm 2) (both P<0.001). The Western blot results showed that there were statistically significant differences in the protein expression of GFAP, c-Fos, p-JNK, MCP-1 and CXCL-1 in the L2 segment of rats among the four groups ( F=49.413, 38.437, 41.867, 36.735, 130.951, all P<0.001). The protein expression of GFAP (1.7±0.5), c-Fos (1.1±0.1), p-JNK (1.7±0.3), MCP-1 (1.0±0.4) and CXCL-1 (0.8±0.1) in the L2 segment in model+ D-AP5 group were lower than those in model group ((4.3±0.7), (2.6±0.5), (2.8±0.4), (2.9±0.4), (3.5±0.4)) (all P<0.01). Conclusion:ACC modulates mechanical hyperalgesia and anxiety-like behavior in chronic non-specific low back pain rats, which might be associated with the involvement of spinal astrocytes, p-JNK signal pathway and chemokines such as MCP-1 and CXCL-1.
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In recent years, researchers have found that patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) often have urolithiasis, and the incidence of urolithiasis increases gradually with the severity of NAFLD. Meanwhile, the detection rate of NAFLD was higher in patients with urolithiasis than in normal controls. In this paper, we reviewed the domestic and international studies on the correlation between urolithiasis and NAFLD and described the related pathogenesis, such as insulin resistance, oxidative stress, abnormal lipid metabolism and impaired glyoxalate detoxification. Meanwhile, this paper proposed preventive measures to reduce the risk of development and recurrence of NAFLD-associated urolithiasis by addressing the common risk factors of both diseases, including metabolism-related diseases, lifestyle and diet.
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Objective:To construct a prognostic risk model of bladder cancer using cuproptosis-associated long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and test its predictive efficacy.Methods:RNA expression sequencing data and clinical data of corresponding samples were downloaded from The Cancer Gene Atlas (TCGA) database. The 17 key genes associated with cuproptosis was obtained from the published literature, and then lncRNA of the key genes associated with cuproptosis was screened by correlation analysis based on the lncRNA data from TCGA database. The cuproptosis lncRNA associated with the prognosis of bladder cancer patients were screened by using Cox regression and Lasso regression. A total of 403 bladder cancer patients with complete clinical information screened from TCGA database were divided into a training set (203 cases) and a test set (200 cases), and the prognostic risk prediction model was constructed based on the samples in the training set and the above key independent prognosis-related cuproptosis lncRNA. According to the median value of the risk score, patients in all the datasets, the test set and the training set of bladder cancer screened from TCGA database were divided into high-risk group and low-risk group, and R language survival package was applied to compare the differences in overall survival between the two groups in each dataset. The predictive effect of the model was verified using principal component analysis (PCA) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to analyze the factors affecting overall survival of 403 bladder cancer patients, and ROC curve was used to analyze the efficacy of each factor for predicting the prognosis of bladder cancer.Results:After screening, a total of 4 cuproptosis lncRNA with independent prognostic significance were included (AC104564.3, LINC00649, AL136084.3 and AL136295.2), and the prognostic model constructed based on these 4 lncRNA was as follows: risk score = -0.713 42×AC104564.3-0.744 94×LINC00649+0.410 93×AL136084.3-0.736 89×AL136295.2. Survival analysis showed that the overall survival of the high-risk group in all datasets, the test set and the training set was poorer than that of the low-risk group (all P < 0.05), suggesting that a high risk score predicted poor prognosis. ROC curve analysis showed that the areas under the curve of applying the risk prediction model to predict 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival of all 403 patients in TCGA database were 0.665, 0.629 and 0.692. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age (≥ 65 years old vs. < 65 years old: OR = 1.027, 95% CI 1.011-1.044, P < 0.001), stage (stage Ⅳ vs. stage Ⅲ vs. stage Ⅱ vs. stage Ⅰ vs. unknown stage: OR = 1.593, 95% CI 1.308-1.939, P < 0.001) and risk score (high vs. low: OR = 1.258, 95% CI 1.126-1.406, P < 0.001) were the independent influencing factors of patients' overall survival. ROC curve analysis showed that the areas under the curve of age, stage and risk score for predicting the patients' 5-year overall survival were 0.614, 0.685 and 0.692, suggesting that the risk prediction model had better predictive efficacy. Conclusions:A prognosis risk prediction model for bladder cancer patients is constructed based on 4 lncRNA associated with cuproptosis, and the model is internally validated to have a high predictive efficacy.
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Objective@#To investigate the distribution of toxoplasma cysts in the brain of infected mice and the effect of pathological changes on the behavior and neuropsychiatry of the mice during chronic infection with Toxoplasma gondii( T.gondii) .@*Methods @#Mice were infected with Prugniaud strain of T.gondii by oral gavage.The brain tissues of infected mice were collected on the days of 10,30,40,90,120 and 160 after infection respectively,and the hippocampal hypothalamus,prefrontal lobe ,striatum and cerebellum regions were separated.The number of cysts and neuropathological changes in each infected area were observed and recorded by HE staining.The number of cysts and neuropathological changes in each infected area were observed and recorded. @*Results @#T.gondii infected mice showed symptoms of vertical hair and arched back,which were the most significant on the 40th day,and then gradually recovered with hemiplegia and circling in circles. At each time point ,the number of toxoplasma cysts was the largest in hippocampal hypothalamus,followed by prefrontal lobe and striatum,and the least in cerebellum.The diameter of toxoplasma cysts increased with time.During chronic infection,specific pathological manifestations of toxoplasma encephalitis,such as neuronophagy,were observed in all regions of the brain tissue.The above pathological changes of toxoplasma encephalitis reached the peak on the 40th day,and gradually recovered, and increased to the stimulation peak on the 120th day,and then gradually recovered.@*Conclusion@# The behavioral and neuropsychiatric symptoms of T.gondii during chronic infection were correlated with the localization and distribution of toxoplasma cysts in the brain of infected mice,and showed dynamic changes.
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OBJECTIVES@#To construct a prediction model for the prognosis of bladder cancer patients based on the expression of ion channel-related genes (ICRGs).@*METHODS@#ICRGs were obtained from the existing researches. The clinical information and the expression of ICRGs mRNA in breast cancer patients were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas database. Cox regression analysis, minimum absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis were used to screen breast cancer prognosis related genes, which were verified by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR. The risk scoring equation for predicting the prognosis of patients with bladder cancer was constructed, and the patients were divided into high-risk group and low-risk group according to the median risk score. Immune cell infiltration was compared between the two groups. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to evaluate the accuracy and clinical application value of the risk scoring equation. The factors related to the prognosis of bladder cancer patients were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression, and a nomogram for predicting the prognosis of bladder cancer patients was constructed.@*RESULTS@#By comparing the expression levels of ICRGs in bladder cancer tissues and normal bladder tissues, 73 differentially expressed ICRGs were dentified, of which 11 were related to the prognosis of bladder cancer patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curve suggested that the risk score based on these 11 genes was negatively correlated with the prognosis of patients. The area under the ROC curve of the risk score for predicting the prognosis of patients at 1, 3 and 5 year was 0.634, 0.665 and 0.712, respectively. Stratified analysis showed that the ICRGs-based risk score performed well in predicting the prognosis of patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ bladder cancer (P<0.05), while it had a poor value in predicting the prognosis of patients with AJCC stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ (P>0.05). There were significant differences in the infiltration of plasma cells, activated natural killer cells, resting mast cells and M2 macrophages between the high-risk group and the low-risk group. Cox regression analysis showed that risk score, smoking, age and AJCC stage were independently associated with the prognosis of patients with bladder cancer (P<0.05). The nomogram constructed by combining risk score and clinical parameters has high accuracy in predicting the 1, 3 and 5 year overall survival rate of bladder cancer patients.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The study shows the potential value of ICRGs in the prognostic risk assessment of bladder cancer patients. The constructed prognostic nomogram based on ICRGs risk score has high accuracy in predicting the prognosis of bladder cancer patients.
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Humans , Female , Prognosis , Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/genetics , Urinary Bladder , Ion Channels , Breast NeoplasmsABSTRACT
Objective@#This study aimed to evaluate the zygomaticotemporal suture (ZTS) maturation, analyze the age distribution patterns of ZTS maturation stages, and investigate the relationship between ZTS and cervical vertebral maturation (CVM). @*Methods@#A total of 261 patients who underwent cone-beam computed tomography (112 males, mean age, 13.1 ± 3.3 years; 149 females, mean age, 13.7 ± 3.1 years) were examined to evaluate the ZTS stages. The ZTS stages were defined based on a modified method from previous studies on zygomaticomaxillary sutures. Differences between groups and correlations between indicators were analyzed using the Spearman correlation test, intraclass coefficient of correlation (ICC), one-way analysis of variance and rank sum test.Statistical significance was set at p 10 were found for several cervical stages (CSs), including CS1 and CS2 for the diagnosis of stage B, CS1 to CS3 for the diagnosis of stages B and C, and CS6 for the diagnosis of stages D and E. @*Conclusions@#The ZTS maturation stage may be more relevant to the CVM stage than to the chronological age. The CVM stages can be good indicators for clinical decisions regarding maxillary protraction, except for CS4 and CS5.
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As central players in cellular structure and function, proteins have long been central themes in life science research. Analyzing the impact of protein sequence variation on its structure and function is one of the important means to study proteins. In recent years, a technology called deep mutational scanning (DMS) has been widely used in the field of protein research. It introduces thousands of mutations in parallel in specific regions of proteins through high-abundance DNA libraries. After screening, high-throughput sequencing is employed to score each mutation, revealing sequence-function correlations. Due to its high-throughput, fast and easy, and labor-saving features, DMS has become an important method for protein function research and protein engineering. This review briefly summarizes the principle of DMS technology, highlighting its applications in mammalian cells. Moreover, this review analyzes the current technical bottlenecks, aiming to facilitate relevant research.
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Animals , Mutation , Proteins/chemistry , Protein Engineering , High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods , Mammals/geneticsABSTRACT
Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (HIRI) is a serious complication that occurs following shock and/or liver surgery. Gut microbiota and their metabolites are key upstream modulators of development of liver injury. Herein, we investigated the potential contribution of gut microbes to HIRI. Ischemia/reperfusion surgery was performed to establish a murine model of HIRI. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolomics were used for microbial analysis. Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis were employed to study the host cell responses. Our results establish HIRI was significantly increased when surgery occurred in the evening (ZT12, 20:00) when compared with the morning (ZT0, 08:00); however, antibiotic pretreatment reduced this diurnal variation. The abundance of a microbial metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid was significantly higher in ZT0 when compared with ZT12 in the gut and this compound significantly protected mice against HIRI. Furthermore, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid suppressed the macrophage pro-inflammatory response in vivo and in vitro. This metabolite inhibits histone deacetylase activity by reducing its phosphorylation. Histone deacetylase inhibition suppressed macrophage pro-inflammatory activation and diminished the diurnal variation of HIRI. Our findings revealed a novel protective microbial metabolite against HIRI in mice. The potential underlying mechanism was at least in part, via 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid-dependent immune regulation and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition in macrophages.
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This clinical data of 3 cases of severe atopic dermatitis (AD) who had no remission after taking to-pical glucocorticoids and antihistamines were collected retrospectively.The patients were treated with Dupilumab in the Department of Pediatrics, the Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University from April to October 2021.All 3 cases developed eczema-like rashes with strong itching and sleep disturbance within the first year after their birth.The children′ quality of life was seriously impaired.All the cases were combined with allergic rhinitis, 2 cases of whom were simultaneously complicated with bronchial asthma.After 14-18 weeks of treatment, the rash, pruritic symptoms and quality of life were significantly improved.Meanwhile, rhinitis symptoms were reduced, asthma control scores and lung function were improved to varying degrees.No serious adverse reactions occurred during the injection period.
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This clinical data of 3 cases of severe atopic dermatitis (AD) who had no remission after taking to-pical glucocorticoids and antihistamines were collected retrospectively.The patients were treated with Dupilumab in the Department of Pediatrics, the Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University from April to October 2021.All 3 cases developed eczema-like rashes with strong itching and sleep disturbance within the first year after their birth.The children′ quality of life was seriously impaired.All the cases were combined with allergic rhinitis, 2 cases of whom were simultaneously complicated with bronchial asthma.After 14-18 weeks of treatment, the rash, pruritic symptoms and quality of life were significantly improved.Meanwhile, rhinitis symptoms were reduced, asthma control scores and lung function were improved to varying degrees.No serious adverse reactions occurred during the injection period.
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Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), as an effecitive life support technique, is widely used in patients with respiratory and/or cardiac failure. Infection, with a prevalence of approximately 21% in adult patients with ECMO, is one of the most common complications and has a significant impact on mortality. Early identification of infections, and accurate prevention and anti-infective therapies for ECMO patients can improve their survival, but there is a lack of standardized protocols for recognition, diagnosis, management, prevention and treatment of the infections. By analyzing a series of literatures on healthcare-associated infections in patients with ECMO, the epidemiology, pathogens, risk factors, diagnosis, prevention and treatment were summarized to provide a theoretical background for the early identification, diagnosis and patient management of nosocomial infections.
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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been spreading rapidly around the world. As of August 25, 2020, 23.719 million people have been infected in many countries. The cumulative death toll exceeds 812,000. Early detection of COVID-19 is essential to provide patients with appropriate medical care and protect uninfected people. Leveraging a large computed tomography (CT) database from 1,112 patients provided by China Consortium of Chest CT Image Investigation (CC-CCII), we investigated multiple solutions in detecting COVID-19 and distinguished it from other common pneumonia (CP) and normal controls. We also compared the performance of different models for complete and segmented CT slices. In particular, we studied the effects of CT-superimposition depths into volumes on the performance of our models. The results show that the optimal model can identify the COVID-19 slices with 99.76% accuracy (99.96% recall, 99.35% precision and 99.65% F1-score). The overall performance for three-way classification obtained 99.24% accuracy and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.9986. To the best of our knowledge, our method achieves the highest accuracy and recall with the largest public available COVID-19 CT dataset. Our model can help radiologists and physicians perform rapid diagnosis, especially when the healthcare system is overloaded.
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@#Objective To analyze the effects of cardiovascular surgery on Williams syndrome (WS). Methods The clinical data of 68 WS patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery in the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital from January 2010 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 48 males and 20 females with a median age of 2.8 years ranging from 3 months to 33 years. Except one patient undergoing the coarctation repair, the rest 67 patients underwent surgical interventions to correct supravalvular aortic stenosis (SAVS) and pulmonary artery stenosis with hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass, concommitant with 3 patients of relief of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, 2 patients of relief of right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, 2 patients of mitral valvuloplasty, 3 patients of ventricular septal defect repair and 1 patient of arterial catheter ligation. Results Two (2.9%) patients died of sudden cardiac arrest on the next day after surgery. One (1.5%) patient died of cardiac insufficiency due to severe aortic arch stenosis 3 years after surgery. The effect of SAVS was satisfactory. Two (2.9%) patients progressed to moderate aortic valvular regurgitation during postoperative follow-up. A total of 5 (7.4%) patients were re-intervened after operation for arch stenosis or pulmonary stenosis. Conclusion WS patients should be diagnosed early, followed up and assessed for cardiovascular system diseases, and timely surgical treatment has a good clinical effect.
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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease and is mainly characterized by abnormal proliferation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS). The up-regulated cellular membrane expression of G protein coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) of FLS plays a critical role in RA progression, the increase of GRK2 translocation activity promotes dysfunctional prostaglandin E4 receptor (EP4) signaling and FLS abnormal proliferation. Recently, although our group found that paeoniflorin-6'-