Investigation on knowledge level about rational use of antimicrobial drugs among pharmacists in medical institutions in Shanxi province, China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pharmacist's knowledge about rational use of antimicrobials in Shanxi of China, so as to find out the problems and provide support for the management of antimicrobials. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted, which included the basic information of the respondents, the basic knowledge about antimicrobial management and the related knowledge about antimicrobial drugs. SPSS 25.0 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 462 pharmacists were investigated. The average score of the knowledge related to rational use of antimicrobials was 10.49 ± 4.05. It showed that the hospital type, grade, pharmacist's education, professional title and years of experience had effect on the pharmacist's knowledge level about antimicrobial drugs (P < 0.05). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that hospital grade and pharmacist's education were the main influencing factors (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Pharmacists have insufficient knowledge about the rational use of antibacterial drugs. It is essential to strengthen the training in management regulations and application of antibacterial drugs.

Peri-prostatic adipose tissue measurements using MRI predict prostate cancer aggressiveness in men undergoing radical prostatectomy.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of peri-prostatic adipose tissue (PPAT) measurements using preoperative MRI on the prediction of prostate cancer (PCa) aggressiveness in men undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP). METHODS: We performed a retrospective study on 179 consecutive patients receiving RP from June 2016 to October 2018. Clinical characteristics were collected. PPAT measurements including peri-prostatic fat area (PPFA) and peri-prostatic fat area to prostate area (PA) ratio (PPFA/PA) were calculated by MRI. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of PCa lymph node metastasis (LNM). The predictive performance was estimated through ROC curves. Nomograms were created based on the predictors. RESULTS: Pathologic Gleason score positively correlated with digital rectal examination (DRE), PSA, PPFA/PA, P504S, and Ki-67 (all P < 0.05). ROC curves revealed that high PPFA and high PPFA/PA were associated with LNM (both P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that high PPFA/PA, pathologic Gleason score, pT stage, and Ki-67 were independently predictive of LNM. The nomograms were created and the C-index was 0.945. CONCLUSIONS: PPFA/PA is an independent predictor for LNM along with Gleason score, pT stage, and Ki-67. PPFA/PA may help predict LNM in men undergoing RP, thus providing adjunctive information for therapeutic strategy and prognosis.

A case of hypopituitarism accompanying Kearns-Sayre syndrome treated with human chorionic gonadotropin: A case report and literature review.

Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS) is a disorder caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA. Here, we report an unusual case of Kearns-Sayre syndrome accompanied by hypopituitarism (deficiencies in reproductive and growth hormones). A 20-year-old male presented with growth retardation for the last 8 years, as well as the following findings: short stature, delayed puberty, myasthenia, an extraocular movement deficit, drooping eyelids, pectus carinatum and scoliosis. Cerebral enhanced magnetic resonance imaging revealed dysplasias of the pituitary, white matter and cerebellum. Laboratory work-up showed subnormal testosterone and growth hormone levels, a subnormal testicular volume, sensorineural deafness, pigmentary retinopathy, complete right bundle branch block and left anterior bundle branch block. Pathological examination revealed ragged red muscle fibres. Thus, this rare case involved the coexistence of Kearns-Sayre syndrome and hypopituitarism in a patient. Administration of coenzyme Q10 for the KSS and hormone replacement therapy for the endocrinopathies were performed for treatment of this patient.

Phenotypic variation and diversity of Magnolia sprengeri Pamp. in native habitat.

The population of Magnolia sprengeri individuals deceased drastically in the late 20th century because of the widespread harvest for traditional Chinese medicinal recipes. In this study, the levels of phenotypic variation and the genetic structure of 2 populations of M. sprengeri were estimated. The phenotypic variation of M. sprengeri characteristics was nonsynchronous, with a coefficient of variation for 37 characters from 9.55-35.87%. The variance stabilizing transformation value ranged from 0.034-52.344%. The variation contribution within the population was greater than the contribution among the population; the among-population rate was 2.864%, while the within-population rate was 15.849%; values of repeatability for among-population and within-population were 0.430 and 0.098, respectively. This indicates that more variation arose from within-population and that population repeatability was much greater than individual repeatability. Variation in the flower organ was greater than that in the leaf organ; this means that vegetative variation was more stable than reproductive variation. Variation in the southern population was greater than that in the northern population.