OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of Cordyceps sinensis on dimethylnitrosamine-induced liver fibrosis in rats. METHODS: SD rats were divided into normal control group, untreated group and Cordyceps sinensis-treated group. The rats in each group were fed with corresponding drug for 4 weeks. The rat's liver collagen deposition was observed with collagen staining. Hydroxyproline (Hyp) contents in liver tissue of the rats in 3 groups were determined with HCl hydrolysis. The tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) and type IV collagen contents were observed by Envision, and matrix metalloproteinases-2 (MMP-2) activity was detected by the method of enzyme-picture. Type I collagen was detected by Western blotting. RESULTS: The contents of Hyp, TIMP-2, type IV collagen, and the expression of type I collagen in untreated group were significantly higher than those in the normal control group, while those in Cordyceps sinensis-treated group were significantly lower than those in the untreated group. The content of MMP-2 in untreated group was significantly lower than that in the normal control group, while that in Cordyceps sinensis-treated group was significantly higher than that in the untreated group. CONCLUSION: Cordyceps sinensis can considerably relieve the liver fibrosis, and the mechanism may be related to promoting the degradation of the collagens.

Objective To discuss clinical value of 64-slice spiral CT scanning in fast evaluation of severe multiple trauma.Methods A retrospective study was carried out on data of 72 multiple trauma patients diagnosed with systemic 64-slice spiral CT scanning in our hospital from January 2006 to June 2008.Of all,28 patients with traffic injuries,24 with falling injuries,10 with blunt injuries,6 with stab injuries and 4 with explosive injuries.Results There were 72 multiple trauma patients with mean scanning time of 10.2 seconds.The CT scanning showed both craniocerebral and thoracic injuries in 30 patients,brain injuries in 16,thoracoabdominal injuries plus pelvic injuries in 10,extremity and brain injuries in 14 and systemic soft tissue injuries in 2.Isotropic characteristics and postprocessing function of 64-slice spiral CT scanning could accurately diagnose and evaluate injury severity of multiple trauma.Conclusions 64-slice spiral CT scanning is a fast and effective method for fast evaluating injury severity of multiple trauma,for it can not only shorten checking time,reduce movements of the patients and relieve the pain of the patients,but also can avoid defects induced by respiratory movement and provide fairly integrated imaging materials by its isotropic characteristics and pestprecessing function.

Objective To evaluate the value of neutrophil gelatinase - associated lipocalin (NGAL) for diagnosis of acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiopulmonary bypass established. Method 120 children undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass were enrolled in this prospectively study. Serial urine samples were analyzed by ELISA for NGAL expression. The primary outcome measure was AKI, which was defined as a 50% or greater increase in serum creatinine from baseline. Result 21 children ( 17.5% ) developed AKI. Urine concentrations of NGAL increased after cardiopulmonary bypass had been established for 2 hours. The concentration of NGAL in urine after cardiopulmonary bypass had been established for 2 hours was used to diagnose AKI. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve was 0. 96, the sensitivity was 92%, and the specificity was 91% for the cutoff value of 100ng/mg Cr. Conclusion Concentrations of NGAL in urine might be used as a sensitive and specific biomarker for early prediction of AKI after cardiopulmonary bypass had been established.

Objective To study the relationship between facial skin conditions and TCM constitutional types; To provide new means and methods for guidance of skin conservation and skin health improvement from the aspect of constitutional types. Methods Totally 2241 female volunteers in nine provincial capital cities and municipalities participated in this research, and were investigated by web questionnaire. Constitutional types were determined according to the“Classification and Judgment of TCM Constitutional Types”standard issued by China Association of Chinese Medicine. Skin color, glossiness, delicate degree, moistness, firmness, resilience, uniformity and other indicators were scored. Skin conditions were classified into three groups:1-3 score group, 4-6 score group, and 7-9 score group, and the constitutional differences among each group were compared. Results Yang-deficiency and mild constitutional types accounted for the largest proportion. Yellowish skin color accounted for the largest proportion, and the next were white, dark and reddish. Yang-deficiency constitutional type accounted for the largest proportion in 1-3 score group, and the second was Qi-stagnation; Yang-deficiency and mild constitutional types accounted for the largest proportion in 4-6 score group; mild constitutional type accounted for the largest proportion in 7-9 score group. Conclusion People with mild constitutional type got highest score in every skin index, while biased constitutional types influenced the score in varied degrees. The constitutional types which influenced Chinese urban females’ facial skin index more were Yang-deficiency and Qi-stagnation constitutional types.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the aquaporin-4(AQP4) expression in the ischemic penumbra tissues.Methods Thirty-six Wistar rats were divided into 7 groups randomly, including control group(n=6) and occluded groups(n=30). The occluded groups were studied after the right middle cerebral artery of the rats unilaterally occluded(MCAO) at an interval of 15 min, 30 min, 1 h, 3 h, 6 h and 24 h, respectively(n=5 for each group). The operation process of the control group was the same as the occluded group except occluded MCAO. Then all rats were imaged with T_1WI, T_2WI and diffusion weighted-imaging(DWI). The brain tissue, according to the method by LIU Meili reported, was regarded as the area of the graphic penumbra. The relative apparent diffusion coefficient of the graphic-penumbra (rADC_1) and the center infarction(rADC_2)(ratios between the values of the occluded side and the opposite side) were calculated. The animals were sacrificed and perfused with the mixture solution consisting of TTC at different time intervals. The graphic-penumbra of the biggest layer of the ischemic cerebral tissue which corresponded to the DWI was examined with immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. Meanwhile, histologic examination was performed at same site of the lesion. Results There were no significant changes on MRI, the relative apparent diffusion coefficient and the expression of the AQP4. The abnormal high intensity was found on DWI at 15 min after MCAO. T_2WI detected the lesion at 1 h after MCAO. The value of the rADC_1 decreased within 24 h after MCAO in ischemic penumbra, especially, it descended quickly within 1 h after MCAO, from(70.4?6.9)% at 15 min to(53.5?10.9)% at 1 h. Whereas, in the infarct tissue, the changes of the rADC_2 had a rule of decrease from(71.5?6.6)% at 15 min to(45.7?10.5)% at 3 h at first time, and then follow an increasing up to(78.7?11.5)% at 24 h after MCAO. The expression of AQP4 increased gradually within 24 h after MCAO, from 0.42?0.05 at 15 min to 1.18?0.12 at 24 h, it showed negative relationship with the rADC_1 in the ischemic penumbra (r= -0.966,P

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of asymptomatic carriers with 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), and to provide clinical guidance for the management of asymptomatic infection with 2019-nCoV.Methods:The clinical data of 663 patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from January 11 to February 6, 2020 were collected. Patients were divided into asymptomatic group (21 cases) and symptomatic group (642 cases) according to the diagnostic criteria. General conditions, clinical classification, death, chest computed tomograph (CT) and laboratory results of patients were retrospectively collected. Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test and Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis. Results:All 663 patients were positive for 2019-nCoV nucleic acid tests. The age of patients in the asymptomatic group were significantly younger than those in symptomatic group (35.0 (31.5, 58.0) years old vs 58.5 (45.0, 69.0) years old, U=4 234.500, P=0.002). The proportion of patients <30 years old in the two groups was significantly different (19.0%(4/21) vs 6.1%(39/642), Fisher exact test, P=0.047). There were 15 women (71.4%) in the asymptomatic group and 327 women (50.9%) in the symptomatic group, while the difference of gender distributions was not statistically significant ( χ2=3.420, P=0.064). In addition, among patients with asymptomatic infection, the proportions of mild/ordinary, severe and critical patients were 10 cases (47.6%), 10 cases (47.6%), and one case (4.8%), respectively, which were not significantly different from those in symptomatic group (244 cases (38.0%), 305 cases (47.5%) and 93 cases (14.5%), respectively, χ2=1.847, P=0.397). As of February 9, one(4.8%) mild/ordinary patient in the asymptomatic group died who had malignant tumor. Twenty-four (3.7%) patients in the symptomatic group died including two mild/ordinary and 22 critical patients. There was no significant difference in mortality between the two groups(Fisher exact test, P=0.560). CT examination was performed on 594 patients, and 591 cases (99.5%) showed unilateral or bilateral pneumonia, and three cases (0.5%) showed normal. Conclusions:Patients with asymptomatic infection with 2019-nCoV are younger than symptomatic patients, and there are more patients under 30 years old in the asymptomatic group. The absence of clinical symptoms is not significantly associated with clinical classifications and mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Objective:To retrospectively analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) accompanied with diarrhea.Methods:From January 11 to February 6 in 2020, the clinical data of 663 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University were collected and divided into diarrhea group and non-diarrhea group according to whether they had diarrhea or not. The differences in baseline characteristics, basic disease history, clinical manifestations, chest computed tomography (CT), laboratory findings, disease severity and mortality between the two groups were compared. Chi-square test and Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis.Results:Among 663 COVID-19 patients, 70 (10.6%) patients accompanied with diarrhea. The proportion of fatigue and increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels of diarrhea group were higher than those of non-diarrhea group (58.6%, 41/70 vs. 28.2%, 167/593; and 64.2%, 43/67 vs. 50.4%, 277/550), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=26.891 and 4.566, both P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of pneumonia in chest CT between diarrhea group and non-diarrhea group (100.0%, 62/62 vs. 99.4%, 529/532) ( P>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the proportions of mild and normal type, severe type and critical type between diarrhea group and non-diarrhea group (35.7%, 25/70 vs. 38.6%, 229/593; 50.0%, 35/70 vs. 47.2%, 280/593; and 14.3%, 10/70 vs. 14.2%, 84/593, respectively) (all P>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the mortality of mild and normal type, severe type and critical type between diarrhea group and non-diarrhea group (0 vs. 0.5%, 3/593; 0 vs. 0 and 1.4%, 1/70 vs. 3.5%, 21/593) (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Patients with COVID-19 accompanied with diarrhea are more likely to have fatigue and increased LDH level. Diarrhea is not significantly correlated with the disease severity of patients with COVID-19.

Objective To investigate the effect of double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) upon the removal of donor specific antibody (DSA) in highly sensitized recipients with renal transplantation. Methods Four highly sensitized recipients undergoing renal transplantation received 7 cycles of DFPP. Luminex technology was adopted to monitor the changes of DSA. Clinical efficacy, incidence of acute rejection and adverse reactions were observed. Results After DFPP, the DSA MFI [1036 (0-4113)] was significantly declined than that before treatment [6446 (2999-12905), Z= -2.503, P=0.012]. No hyperacute rejections occurred in four highly sensitized recipients undergoing renal transplantation.Acute rejection was noted in one case, which was mitigated by postoperative DFPP and adjustment of immunosuppressive agents. During postoperative follow-up, the function of transplant kidney was normal and no rejection reactions occurred. The level of albumin was decreased after DFPP. Conclusions DFPP can effectively remove the DSA in the recipients.It is an efficacious and safe approach to prevent the incidence of acute rejections in highly sensitized recipients after renal transplantation.

Objective To grasp the current situation of drinking water-borne endemic fluorosis in Shandong Province,and provide a scientific basis for formulating preventive strategies.Methods In 2016,according to the "National Surveillance Scheme of Drinking Water-Borne Endemic Fluorosis" and "Shandong Provincial Surveillance Scheme of Drinking Water-Borne Endemic Fluorosis",10 counties (cities,districts) were selected in Shandong Province,3-5 villages were selected in each county (city,district),to investigate the operation of water improvement and fluorine reduction project and the water fluorine,and 1 tap water sample in each village was collected to detect water fluorine.At the same time,dental fluorosis examination was performed on all children aged 8-12 years old and fluorosis X-ray examination was performed on adults aged ≥25 years old.Water fluorine was detected by ion selective electrode method;the water fluorine was determined according to "Standards for Drinking Water Quality" (GB 5749-2006);criteria for diagnosis,grading and epidemic intensity of dental fluorosis were based on "Diagnosis of Dental Fluorosis" (WS/T 208-2011);the diagnostic and grading criteria for skeletal fluorosis were based on the "Diagnostic Criteria for Endemic Skeletal Fluorosis" (WS 192-2008).Results All the 32 villages in 10 counties (cities,districts) changed water,water improvement and fluorine reduction project ran normally,24 villages had qualified water fluorine (≤ 1.20 mg/L),and 8 villages had water fluorine exceeding the standard.The detection rate of dental fluorosis in children was 25.75％ (419/1 627),and the difference between 10 counties (cities,districts) was statistically significant (x2 =288.55,P ＜ 0.01);the dental fluorosis index was 0.48,and the defect rate was 2.77％ (45/1 627).The detection rate of skeletal fluorosis in adults was 4.72％ (72/1 525),and the difference between 10 counties (cities,districts) was statistically significant (x2 =18.83,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions The problem of water fluorine exceeding the standard in water improvement and fluorine reduction project in Shandong Province is still serious.The condition of fluorosis has not been fully controlled,and the prevention and treatment measures need to be further strengthened.

Objective:To evaluate the impact of sarcopenia on survival and treatment-related toxicity in postoperative recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients treated with chemoradiotherapy.Methods:Clinical data of 147 patients with postoperative locoregional recurrent ESCC receiving chemoradiotherapy in Huai'an First People's Hospital from 2016 to 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Pectoralis muscle area (PMA) was determined using routine pre-radiotherapy CT simulation scan above the aortic arch level. Sarcopenia was defined as a cut-off value of pectoralis muscle index (PMI) (PMA/height 2) <11.55 cm 2/m 2 for males and <8.69 cm 2/m 2 for females. The incidence of toxicity, 1- and 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were statistically compared between patients with and without sarcopenia. Results:Sarcopenia was detected in 49 of 147 (33.3%) patients. The incidence of grade 3-4 toxicities in sarcopenic patients was significantly higher compared to that in their counterparts without sarcopenia (40.8% vs. 18.4%, P=0.005). In addition, patients with sarcopenia had significantly worse 1-year (61.2% vs. 82.7%) and 3-year OS rates (10.2% vs. 28.6%) than those without sarcopenia (both , P<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that sarcopenia was an independent prognostic factor for poor OS ( P<0.001). Conclusion:PMI based on CT simulation scan has prognostic value in postoperative locoregional recurrent ESCC patients treated with chemoradiotherapy, which probably serves as a novel diagnostic tool for sarcopenia.