Objective: To examine the impact of heat waves and cold spells on the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke, so as to provide insights into prevention of hemorrhagic stroke. Methods: Data pertaining to the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke in Zibo City from 2015 to 2019 were collected from Shandong Provincial Management Information System for Chronic Diseases and Cause of Death Surveillance, and the meteorological data during the period from 2015 to 2019 were captured from National Meteorological Information Center of China. The air quality index (AQI) was collected from the National Daily Report of Urban Air Quality in China. Heat wave was defined as the highest daily temperature that was no less than the 90th percentile (P90), P92.5, P95 and P97.5 of the highest daily temperature in the warm season for at least 2, 3 or 4 days, and cold spell was defined as the lowest daily temperature that was no more than the P10, P7.5, P5 and P2.5 of the lowest daily temperature in the cold season for at least 2, 3 or 4 days. The effect of heat waves and cold spells on the incidence of hemorrhagic stroke was evaluated using a generalized additive model and described with relative risk (RR) and its 95%CI. Results: A total of 8 844 case with first-onset hemorrhagic stroke were recorded in Zibo City from 2015 to 2019. The lowest daily temperature that was no more than P10, P7.5 or P5 of the lowest daily temperature in the cold season for at least two days, or that was no more than P10 or P7.5 of the lowest daily temperature for at least 3 days resulted a remarkably increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke (lowest RR=1.187, 95%CI: 1.031-1.366; highest RR=1.242, 95%CI: 1.042-1.480), and after adjusting the effect of daily mean temperature, the lowest daily temperature that was no more than P10 or P7.5 of the lowest daily temperature in the cold season for at least two days, or that was no more than P10 of the lowest daily temperature for at least 3 days resulted a remarkably increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke (lowest RR=1.236, 95%CI: 1.009-1.513; highest RR=1.274, 95%CI: 1.023-1.585). However, there was no significant association between heat waves and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. Conclusion Cold spells may increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke, while no significant association is examined between heat waves and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

OBJECTIVETo understand the characteristics of pncA gene in multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates and its correlation with drug resistance to pyrazinamide.

METHODSA total of 127 clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis were collected from Shenzhen from year 2007 to 2009. PZA susceptibility was determined by the BACTEC MGIT 960 PZA method. Pyrazinamidase (PZase) activity testing and pncA gene sequencing were performed in all the isolates. The type and frequency of mutations in pncA were determined. Correlation analysis among PZA susceptibility and PZase activity, pncA mutation was performed.

RESULTSAmong the 127 isolates, 62 isolates (48.8%) were found resistance to PZA. Among the 62 PZA resistant isolates, 45 isolates which had various pncA mutations were negative for PZase. Mutation rate was 77.4% (48/62) in total PZA resistance isolates. Different types of 48 resistant isolates were identified in the pncA gene, including base substitution (33 isolates), frame shift mutation (12 isolates) and codon mutation (3 isolates). No mutations except one isolate (N11D) existed in all PZA-susceptibility isolates which were positive for PZase. A total of 5 mutations which have not been described previously were found as follows: H57P, P62Q, G108R, D110Y and G162V. The correlation among the PZA susceptibility and the PZase activity (r = 0.895, P < 0.05), the pncA mutation (r = 0.779, P < 0.05) were significant in 127 multidrug-resistant isolates.

CONCLUSIONA high diversity of pncA gene mutation was found among PZA resistant strains of MTB. This study revealed five new mutations of the pncA gene that were not previously described, which scattered in the hot-spot regions located in the metal coordination site and active site of the enzyme. Mutations had a high correlation with the PZA resistance.

Antitubercular Agents ; pharmacology ; DNA, Bacterial ; genetics ; Humans ; Mutation ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; drug effects ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Pyrazinamide ; pharmacology ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant ; genetics ; microbiology

Clinical transplantation has indicated that cord blood (CB) can be used in the hematopoietic reconstitution in the children, but not well used in the adult patients because of the low cell amount. The present study aimed to explore the capability of proliferation and differentiation of the hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells derived from human mature placenta tissue (PT) in vitro, and to find a new source of hematopoietic/progenitor cells for clinical transplantation. CD34(+) cells in human mature placenta tissue were isolated and characterized by using enzyme-digestion method and flow cytometry. A long culture system without cytokines was established with human mature placenta tissue-derived mononucleated cells and cord blood mononuclear cells. The number of nucleated cells was weekly counted in culture for 14 weeks. The number of CFC was counted in culture for 2 weeks. The results showed that the CFC yields (CFU-GM, 186.90 +/- 24.52; BFU-E, 101.40 +/- 13.35) and the percentage of CD34(+) cells (2.74 +/- 0.61%) and CD34(+)/CD38(-) cells (2.46 +/- 0.42%) in placenta tissue (PT) were higher than CFC (CFU-GM, 136.90 +/- 25.15; BFU-E, 49.20 +/- 8.13), CD34(+) cells (1.73 +/- 0.32%) and CD34(+)/CD38(-) cells (0.80 +/- 0.25%) in cord blood (CB). The MNCs from PT have shown more survival ability than the cells from CB in the long-term cell culture condition; and the cells from PT increased by 2 times. It is concluded that the placenta may be another hematopoietic organ in ontogeny. The cells from placenta were more juvenile, and may be favorable source for clinical stem cell transplantation.
Antigens, CD34 ; analysis ; CD36 Antigens ; analysis ; Cell Differentiation ; physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear ; cytology ; Placenta ; cytology

OBJECTIVETo research on the main pattern of hepatic cells death during hepatic ischemia/ reperfusion (I/R) injury in cirrhotic rat.

METHODSCirrhotic rat model was established by carbon tetrachloride replication. These rats were randomly divided into sham operation group and I/R group. In the I/R group, 70% i/R injury model was established and then the liver samples were taken 0, 1, 6, 24, and 48 hours after reperfusion. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, Na+ - K+ ATPase, and Ca2+ ATPase were compared. the percentage of apoptotic/oncotic hepatic cells was measured with flow cytometry, and the changes in hepatic cellular structures were observed under transmission electron microscope.

RESULTSCompared with the sham operation group, the levels of serum AST and ALT significantly increased in the I/R group (P < 0.05), reaching their peak levels at the 6th hour. The activities of Na+ - K+ ATPase and Ca2+ ATPase dramatically decreased one hour after reperfusion and then gradually recovered (P < 0.05). Hepatic cells mainly suffered oncosis at the early stage after reperfusion (within 6 hours); at the late stage (around 24 hours after reperfusion), apoptosis became the main death pattern.

CONCLUSIONOncosis is the main pattern of hepatic cells death during I/R injury in cirrhotic rat, and the severity of hepatic injury correlates with the oncosis.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; blood ; physiopathology ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats, Wistar ; Reperfusion Injury ; blood ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinicopathological features and the immunohistochemical phenotype of perianal Paget's disease (PPD) associated with internal anorectal adenocarcinoma, with emphasis on the histogenesis of Paget's cells.

METHODSThe clinical and pathologic features of three cases of PPD with rectal adenocarcinoma were investigated. Periodic-acid-Schiff (PAS), alcian-blue and mucicarmine staining with and without diastase digestion were performed. The immunohistochemical study was performed on selected sections by a panel of antibodies including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CK7, CK8, CK10/13, CK20 and gross cystic disease fluid protein 15 (GCDFP15).

RESULTSAll three cases occurred in middle to old age male patients complaining of anal bleeding. Digital physical examination revealed ulcerated or cauliflower-like masses in the anus just distal to the dentate line. Perianal skin erythematous patches were found in two cases, and small discrete granules in one case. Histologically, the anorectal neoplasm was either a moderately or poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Two types of Paget's cells were noted, namely the classical type characterized by a polygonal shape with vesicular nuclei and abundant pale cytoplasm, and the signet ring type characterized by eccentrically displaced nucleus. Both the rectal adenocarcinoma cells and Paget's cells showed strong positivity for PAS, AB and mucicarmine, which were resistant to the diastase digestion. Immunohistochemically, they were both positive for CEA, CK7, CK8 and CK20, but negative for CK10/13 and GCDFP15.

CONCLUSIONSThe CK20(+)-GCDFP15(-) type Paget's cells in PPD were derived from the direct intraepithelial Pagetoid spread of anorectal adenocarcinomas. PPD was more frequently associated with internal carcinomas than any other type of extramammary Paget's disease. It is recommended that clinicians should carefully examine the anus or rectum in the presence of PPD to ascertain if it is associated with an internal carcinoma.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Apolipoproteins ; Apolipoproteins D ; Carrier Proteins ; analysis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Glycoproteins ; analysis ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Intermediate Filament Proteins ; analysis ; Keratin-20 ; Male ; Membrane Transport Proteins ; Middle Aged ; Paget Disease, Extramammary ; chemistry ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Rectal Neoplasms ; chemistry ; diagnosis ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo detect the expression of Per2 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and analyze its clinical significance.

METHODSThe expression of Per2 was determined in 60 NSCLC and 20 normal lung tissues by immunohistochemical assay, and the relationship between Per2 expression and clinicopathological features was analyzed.

RESULTSThe positive expression rates of Per2 in NSCLC and normal lung tissues were 71.7% and 95.0%, respectively (P < 0.05). The expression of Per2 in NSCLC was correlated with pathological differentiation and TNM stage (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe expression of Per2 in NSCLC is decreased. The negative expression of Per2 may contribute to the development and invasion in NSCLC.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; surgery ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Staging ; Period Circadian Proteins ; metabolism ; Smoking

Objective:To externally validated the intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) shockⅡ score and CardShock score for predicting in-hospital mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock (AMI-CS) and compared them with the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health EvaluationⅡ (APACHEⅡ) score.Methods:According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, patients admitted to the cardiac care center (CCU) of our center from December 2010 to May 2019 were enrolled in this study. Patients’ baseline characteristics, in-hospital interventions, and outcomes were collected. The APACHEⅡ score was calculated during hospitalization by clinicians and collected by researchers. Two researchers independently calculated the IABP-ShockⅡ score and CardShock score; any disagreement was discussed with the third researcher. The performance of risk scores was evaluated by discrimination and calibration. The discriminative ability of risk scores was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and compared by the Delong method. The calibration of these risk scores was examined by the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. The calibration plot was also built.Results:A total of 150 patients enrolled in our study, and the in-hospital mortality was 60%. According to the IABP-ShockⅡ score, patients scored as low risk (0-2), moderate risk (3-4), and high risk (5-9) had in-hospital mortality of 29%, 68%, and 80%, respectively. According to the CardShock score, patients scored as low risk (0-3), moderate risk (4-5), and high risk (6-9)had in-hospital mortality of 21%, 57%, and 82%, respectively. According to the APACHEⅡ score, patients scored<20, 20-30, and >30 had in-hospital mortality of 19%, 69%, and 93%, respectively. For predicting the in-hospital mortality, the APACHEⅡ score demonstrated excellent discrimination (AUC=0.90, 95% CI: 0.84-0.95). The IABP-ShockⅡ score and CardShock score showed good discrimination (AUC=0.76, 95% CI: 0.68-0.83 and AUC=0.79, 95% CI: 0.72-0.85). The discriminative ability did not significantly differ between the IABP-ShockⅡ score and the CardShock score (0.76 vs 0.79, P>0.05), but both of which were significantly lower than the APACHEⅡ score (0.76 vs 0.90, P<0.05, and 0.79 vs 0.90, P<0.05). At the same time, it was not significantly different between the IABP-ShockⅡ score and the CardShock score (0.76 vs 0.79, P>0.05). All of these three scores were adequately calibrated according to the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test ( P>0.05).The calibration plot showed accurate calibration of these three scores. Conclusions:Although less accurate than the APACHEⅡ score, the IABP-ShockⅡ score and CardShock score can show accurate prediction for in-hospital mortality of AMI-CS patients.

This study was purposed to investigate the mechanism of thrombocytopenia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) through detecting anti-megakaryocyte antibodies in SLE patients. The serum anti-megakaryocyte antibodies in 36 SLE cases with thrombocytopenia were detected by using indirect immunofluorescence, the detected results were compared with detected results of 30 SLE cases without thrombocytopenia and 30 healthy persons. The results showed that the positive incidences of anti-megakaryocyte antibody in serum of 36 SLE cases with thrombocytopenia, 30 SLE cases without thrombocytopenia and 30 healthy persons were 19.4% (7/36), 6.7% (2/30) and 3.3% (1/30) respectively. As compared with SLE patients without thrombocytopenia and healthy persons, SLE patients with thrombocytopenia had higher incidence of anti-megakaryocyte antibodies, moreover there was significant difference between SLE patients with thrombocytopenia and healthy persons (p < 0.05), while there was no significant difference between SLE patients with or without thrombocytopenia (p > 0.05). It is concluded that autoantibodies against megakaryocytes exist in SLE patients and may partially contribute to the incidence of thrombocytopenia in SLE patients. The detection of anti-megakaryocyte antibodies with a enough case number is needed to make a final conclusion on thrombocytopenia pathogenesis in SLE.
Adult ; Autoantibodies ; blood ; Female ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; blood ; immunology ; Male ; Megakaryocytes ; immunology ; Middle Aged

Objective To study the differences in physical characteristics of lacrosse balls and baseballs, so as to investigate the potential sports injuries caused by lacrosse balls. Methods Twelve lacrosse balls and 12 baseballs were used as testing samples. All testing balls were under conditioning control for 24 h to make sure temperature and humidity were consistent before measurement. The physical characteristics such as ball weight, circumference, compression-displacement and restitution coefficient were measured, respectively. Independent-sample t-test was used to compare the differences in lacrosse balls and baseballs. Results The lacrosse ball weighted (144.65±0.29) g, and its circumference, compression-displacement, and restitution coefficient were (19.97±0.02) cm, (91.76±1.23) kg and (0.633±0.011), respectively. The baseball weighted (146.12±0.45) g, and its circumference, compression-displacement and restitution coefficient were (23.20 ± 0.06) cm, (124.76±1.68) kg, and (0.528 ± 0.005), respectively. The lacrosse balls are significantly smaller in weight, circumference and compression-displacement than the baseballs (P<0.05). The restitution coefficient was significantly greater than baseballs (P<0.05). Conclusions The physical characteristics of lacrosse balls are in compliance with international standard. However, lacrosse balls have the same risk of causing serious injuries as baseballs. To reduce the risk of sports injuries, it is recommended that the specification of lacrosse balls need to be classified for different age and skill levels.

Background/Aims: Growth hormone (GH) is the main regulator of somatic growth, metabolism, and gender dimorphism in the liver. GH receptor (GHR) signaling in cancer is derived from a large body of evidence, although the GHR signaling pathway involved in the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related HCC, remains unclear. We aimed to explore the expression of GHR and analyze its association with clinicopathologic features and prognosis of patients with chronic hepatitis C and HCC. Methods: The expression of GHR mRNA was investigated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in paired tumors and adjacent non-tumorous (ANT) liver tissues of 200 patients with chronic hepatitis C and HCC. Western blotting and immunofluorescence assays using the HCV-infected Huh7.5.1 cell model was performed. Results: GHR mRNA was significantly lower in HCV-HCC tissues than in corresponding ANT liver tissues. GHR mRNA and protein levels also decreased in the HCV-infected Huh7.5.1 cell model. Notably, lower GHR expression was associated with age of >60 years (P=0.0111) and worse clinicopathologic characteristics, including alpha-fetoprotein >100 ng/mL (P=0.0403), cirrhosis (P=0.0075), vascular invasion (P=0.0052), pathological stage II–IV (P=0.0002), and albumin ≤4.0 g/dL (P=0.0055), which were linked with poor prognosis of HCC. Most importantly, the high incidence of recurrence and poor survival rates in patients with a low ratio of tumor/ANT GHR (≤0.1) were observed, indicating that low expression levels of GHR had great risk for development of HCC in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Conclusions Our study demonstrates a significant down-regulation of GHR expression as a new unfavorable independent prognostic factor in patients with chronic hepatitis C and HCC.