Concerns about disease management and psychological stress in SAPHO patients during the COVID-19 epidemic

ObjectivesThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic brings potentially impact on the care of patients with rheumatic diseases, including SAPHO syndrome. We aimed to investigate the disease status, concerns about management, and psychological stress in SAPHO patients during the COVID-19 epidemic. MethodA structured questionnaire was distributed online to patients with SAPHO syndrome enrolled in a Chinese cohort study on March 3rd, 2020. Patients were ask about the current treatments, disease status, and concerns about disease management during the epidemic. Psychologic stress (scored from 0 to 10 points) and psychological problems were reported by the patients. ResultsA total of 157 patients (mean age 38.4 {+/-} 12.3 years, 66.9% females) were included in the study. None of the patients were diagnosed with COVID-19. Sixty-five (41.4%) patients worried about their disease conditions during the epidemic with concerns including medication shortage (73.8%), delay of consultation (46.2%), and disease aggravation (61.5%). Sixty-seven (42.7%) patients had medication withdrawal or dose reduction due to lack of drugs, irregular daily schedule or subjective reasons. The most common psychological problems reported was little interest or pleasure in doing things (66.2%). Patients with progressive disease condition were more distressed and disturbed by the epidemic. Patients with nail involvement felt more worried about their disease conditions than patients without (59.6% vs 31.0%, p =0. 001). ConclusionsThe COVID-19 epidemic imposes a negative impact on the disease management and psychological stress in SAPHO patients. Patients access to specialty care and medication well as mental stress is of great concern.

Predicting microvascular invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma according to hepatobiliary stage peritumoral hypointensity during gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid enhanced MRI / 中国医学影像技术

Objective: To investigate the value of hepatobiliary stage peritumoral hypointensity during gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) enhanced MR scanning for predicting microvascular invasion (MVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Data of 102 patients with HCC confirmed by pathology who received Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MRI were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into MVI positive group and MVI negative group according to pathological findings. Then the presence or absence of hepatobiliary stage peritumoral hypointensity on enhanced MRI were evaluated, the shapes of MVI were depicted, and the sizes of HCC lesions were measured on MRI. The rates of peritumoral hypointensity were compared between groups and between different sized tumors, and the difference of peritumoral hypointensity shapes were analyzed and compared between groups. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for peritumoral hypointensity in predicting MVI of HCC were calculated. Results: Among 102 patients, 31 were found with MVI (MVI positive group) while 71 were not (MVI negative group) with pathological examinations. MRI showed peritumoral hypointensity in 26 patients, with 0.72-8.96 cm HCC (the median size 2.83 cm). Among 102 patients, HCC ≤3 cm was detected in 57 cases, >3 cm in 45 cases. Peritumoral hypointensity was observed in 20 patients in MVI positive group and 6 patients in MVI negative group (χ2=35.71, P3 cm (χ2=23. 21, P3 cm was 73.91% (17/23), 77.27% (17/22), 75.56% (34/45), 77.27% (17/22) and 73.91% (17/23), respectively. Conclusion: Hepatobiliary stage peritumoral hypointensity during Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MRI had high specificity for predicting MVI of HCC, especially for patients with ≤3 cm HCC.

Timing calibration comparison research of integrated TOF-PET/MR / 生物医学工程学杂志

Integrated TOF-PET/MR is a multimodal imaging system which can acquire high-quality magnetic resonance (MR) and positron emission tomography (PET) images at the same time, and it has time of flight (TOF) function. The TOF-PET system usually features better image quality compared to traditional PET because it is capable of localizing the lesion on the line of response where annihilation takes place. TOF technology measures the time difference between the detectors on which the two 180-degrees-seperated photons generated from positron annihilation are received. Since every individual crystal might be prone to its timing bias, timing calibration is needed for a TOF-PET system to work properly. Three approaches of timing calibration are introduced in this article. The first one named as fan-beam method is an iterative method that measures the bias of the Gaussian distribution of timing offset created from a fan-beam area constructed using geometric techniques. The second one is to find solutions of the overdetermination equations set using L1 norm minimization and is called L1-norm method. The last one called L2-norm method is to build histogram of the TOF and find the peak, and uses L2 norm minimization to get the result. This article focuses on the comparison of the amount of the data and the calculation time needed by each of the three methods. To avoid location error of the cylinder radioactive source during data collection, we developed a location calibration algorithm which could calculate accurate position of the source and reduce image artifacts. The experiment results indicate that the three approaches introduced in this article could enhance the qualities of PET images and standardized uptake values of cancer regions, so the timing calibration of integrated TOF-PET/MR system was realized. The fan-beam method has the best image quality, especially in small lesions. In integrated TOF-PET/MR timing calibration, we recommend using fan-beam method.

Application of synthetic biology in environmental remediation / 生物工程学报

Environmental problems are the most serious challenges in the 21st century. With the rapid development of modern industry and agriculture, ecological and environmental deterioration have become the most important factors to restrict the sustainable development of social economy. Microbial cells have strong ability for environmental remediation, but their evolution speed is slower than the speed of emerging pollutants. Therefore, the treatment using the synthetic biology is in urgent need. Full understanding of the microbial degradation characteristics (pathways) of refractory organic pollutants with the help of abundant microbial and gene resources in China is important. Using synthetic biology to redesign and transform the existing degrading strain will be used to degrade particular organic pollutants or multiple organic pollutants. For the complex pollutants, such as wastewater, based on the establishment of metabolic or regulation or resistance related gene modules of typical organic pollutants, artificial flora could be designed to solve the complex pollutants. The rational design and construction of engineering bacteria for typical environmental organic pollutants can effectively promote microbial catabolism of emerging contaminants, providing technical support for environmental remediation in China.

Nrf2 deficiency promotes microgila/macrophage activation after subarachno id hemorrhage in mice / 医学研究生学报

Objective Subarachnoid hemorrhage ( SAH) is a devastating disease with high fatality and morbidity and micro-glia/macrophage ( M/M) plays a vital role in SAH brain injury with complicated pathophysiological mechanism .This study was to ob-serve the effect of Nrf2 deficiency on M/M activation and M1 polarization after subarachnoid hemorrhage in mice . Meth ods We col-lected 70 wild-type ( WT) ICR mice and 35 Nrf2-knockout ( KO) mice to establish the SAH model by injecting fresh autologous blood into pre-chiasmatic cistern.WT mice were arranged into four groups: sham operation group, post operative day 1 (POD1) group, POD3 group and POD5 group.Then WT mice and Nrf2 Nrf2-knockout mice were divided into sham operation WT group , sham opera-tion KO group, SAH WT group and SAH KO group.Western blotting (WB) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were applied to observe the activation and proliferation of M/M after SAH on WT mice .Difference in activation and M 1 polarization were observed by detecting Iba1 expression in WB and CD 16/32 +Iba1 +cells in immunofluorescence between WT and KO mice . Results Gray scale values of Iba1 expression by WB in WT mice are 0.491 ±0.039, 0.657 ± 0.069, 0.930 ±0.046 and 0.926 ±0.046;average optical intensity values of Iba1 expression by IHC in WT mice are 0.412 ±0.122, 0.625 ±0.135, 0.963 ±0.213 and 0.978 ±0.224.The data indica-ted that Iba1 expression increased in SAH KO group in comparison to SAH WT group on 1, 3, 5 day after SAH (P<0.05).Moreover, Nrf2 deficiency promoted the activation and polarization of M /M by increased Iba1 protein expression and CD16/32 +Iba1 +cells after SAH ( P<0.05). Conclusion SAH induces M/M activation and proliferation in mice, and Nrf2 deficiency promotes the activa-tion, proliferation and M1 polarization after SAH .

Nrf2 knockout and brain injury following subarachnoid hemorrhage in mice / 医学研究生学报

Objective Subarachnoid hemorrhage ( SAH) is a devastating disease with a high mortality.This study was to in-vestigate the effect of Nrf2 on secondary brain injury following SAH and its action mechanism in mice. Methods SAH models were established in wild-type ( WT) and Nrf2 knockout ( KO) ICR male mice by injecting fresh blood drawn from the femoral artery into the pre-chiasmatic cistern.The animals were divided into four groups, WT sham, WT SAH, KO sham, and KO SAH.At 24 hours after modeling, the expression levels of malondialdehyde ( MDA) , GSH/GSSG, TNF-αand IL-1β, the volume of brain water, and content of Evans blue were measured, the activity scores obtained, and cerebral vasospasm of the anterior and middle cerebral arteries ( ACA and MCA) detected. Results At 24 hours, the expressions of MDA, TNF-α, and IL-1βwere (3.299 ±0.335), (1.187 ± 0.436), and (59.330 ±21.787) mg/g in the WT sham group, (4.339 ±0.328), (2.432 ±0.434), and (121.584 ±21.675) mg/g in the WT SAH group, (3.488 ±0.634), (1.170 ±0.312), and (58.497 ±15.608) mg/g in the KO sham group, and (5.335 ±0.499), (3.132 ±0.548), and (171.117 ±50.479) mg/g in the KO SAH group, markedly increased in the SAH groups as compared with the sham controls (P<0.05), while the GSH/GSSG levels were significantly higher in the former two groups than in the latter (0.553 ±0.100 and 0.375 ±0.068 vs 0.714 ±0.091, 0.761 ±0.114, P<0.01).The contents of brain water and Evans blue were (0.784 ±0.005) and (7.055 ±1.046) μg/g in the WT sham group, (0.808 ±0.004) and (7.230 ±1.192) μg/g in the WT SAH group, (0.784 ±0.004) and (9.620 ±1.290) μg/g in the KO sham group, and (0.819 ±0.004) and (11.628 ±1.040)μg/g in the KO SAH group, remarkably increased in the SAH groups in comparison with the sham groups (P<0.05).The apoptosis rate 8.916 and 82.100 ±6.870 vs 70.833 ±8.750 and 51.767 ±13.006), ACA radius/wall thickness value (13.885 ±3.360 and 14.212 ±3.2545 vs 8.024 ±2.780 and 6.861 ±2.702), MCA radius/wall thickness value (18.648 ±2.893 and 19.435 ±2.775 vs 6.337 ±3.993 and 5.107 ±3.805), and activity score (2.733 ±0.450 and 2.767 ±0.430 vs 1.967 ±0.928 and 1.433 ±0.679) (all P<0.01). Conclusion Nrf2 knockout increases oxidative stress and inflammatory reaction following SAH and consequently aggravates secondary brain injury.Nrf2 has a protective effect against SAH-induced brain injury.

Development in mass spectrometry-based proteomics / 医学研究生学报

Study on proteomics can explain the protein biological function of executing life activities expressed by genome.The results of the research point to a new direction for pharmaceutical and clinical development.This review focuses on the latest developments of the qualitative and guantitative researches on biological mass spectrometry in proteomics,as well as their advantages and prospects.

Microsurgical anatomy and clinical study of the far lateral suboccipital approach / 医学研究生学报

Objective:To investigate the microsurgical anatomy of the far lateral suboccipital approach and to evaluate its application to surgical approach. Methods:Fourteen cadaveric heads(28 sides) were dissected through far lateral suboccipital approach to obtain the anatomical data of this approach.A retrospective analysis of microsurgical treatment in 12 cases of tumors situated at lower clivus and foramen magnum was performed. Results:Transverse process of C_1 and inferior occipital trangle were important anatomical marks in the far lateral occipital approach.Drilling the condyle and jugular tubercle was benefit to expand the surgical space.Total removal of the turmors was achieved in 9 patients,subtotal removal in 3 patients,and without any surgical morbidity. Conclusion:Study on the microsurgical anatomy of the far lateral suboccipital approach was helpful in resecting tumors situated at lower clivus and foramen magnum.