Objective To evaluate the risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis in patients with cerebral infarction.Methods A total of 180 patients with cerebral infarction were divided into no-plaque group (38cases) and plaque group (142 cases) on the results of Color ultrasonography.Plaque group was further divided into stable plaque subgroup (46 patients) and no-stable plaque subgroup (96 patients).Total cholesterol (TC),high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C),low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C),triglyceride (TG),fibrinogen (FIB) and oxidized low density lipoprotein cholesterol (OXLDL) were recorded.The risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis in patients with cerebral infarction were analyzed.Results The percentage of hypertension,diabetes,stroke history,smoking were 88.7％(126/142),43.7％(62/142),53.5％(76/142),50.7％ (72/142) in plaque group and 52.6％(20/38),21.1％(8/38),31.6％(12/38),13.2％(5/38) in no-plaque group.The percentage of hypertension,diabetes,stroke history,smoking in plaque group were higher than those in no-plaque group,and there were significant differences (P ＜ 0.05).The age,TC,LDL-C,OXLDL,FIB were (65 ± 10) years old,(5.3 ±0.8) mmol/L,(3.4 ±0.8) mmol/L,(0.75 ±0.34) mmol/L,(4.8 ± 1.1) g/L in plaque group,and (56 ± 7) years old,(4.6 ± 0.7) mmol/L,(2.8 ± 0.7) mmol/L,(0.45 ± 0.21) mmol/L,(3.8 ± 0.9) g/L in no-plaque group.The age,TC,LDL-C,OXLDL,FIB in plaque group were higher than those in no-plaque group,and there were significant differences (P ＜ 0.05).The percentage of diabetes,stroke history,smoking and LDL-C,OXLDL were 50.0％(48/96),62.5％(60/96),56.2％(54/96),(3.7 ± 0.9) mmol/L,(0.84 ± 0.36)mmol/L in no-stable plaque subgroup,and 30.4％(14/46),34.8％(16/46),39.1％(18/46),(3.1 ± 0.7) mmol/L,(0.60 ± 0.32) mmol/L in stable plaque subgroup.The percentage of diabetes,stroke history,smoking and LDL-C,OXLDL in no-stable plaque subgroup were higher than those in stable plaque subgroup,and there were significant differences (P ＜ 0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that LDL-C (OR =1.724,95％ CI 1.326-2.285),OXLDL (OR =2.464,95％ CI 1.502-5.676) and diabetes (OR =1.484,95％ CI 1.005-1.739) were the independent risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis in patients with cerebral infarction.Conclusion LDL-C,OXLDL and diabetes are the independent risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis in patients with cerebral infarction.

Background and purpose:P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (P38MAPK) signal transduction pathway is involved in occurrence, development and transfer process in a wide variety of tumors. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) plays an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. This study aimed to explore the clinical signiifcance of the P38MAPK signaling pathway and the expression of uPA in ovarian cancer.Methods:The expressions of uPA, P38MAPK, ERK and AKT were detected in 49 cases of cervical adenocarcinoma by immunohistochemistry. The expressions of uPA and P38MAPK were detected by Western blot in ovarian cancer cell lines HO8910, HO-8910PM, SKOV3 and CAOV3. The changes of uPA and P38MAPK were detected by SB203580, a speciifc inhibitor of P38MAPK signal transduction pathway.Results:The result of immunohistochemical method showed that positive expression rates for uPA, P38MAPK, ERK and AKT were 61.22%, 57.14%, 53.06% and 55.10%, respectively. The expression of the uPA was positively correlated with the P38MAPK (r=0.865,P=0.001), and related with clinicopathologic stage, differentiated degree, lymph node metastasis, but not related with age and histologic type (P>0.05). The expressions of AKT and ERK were related with the lymph node metastasis and greater omentum metastasis(P<0.05), but not related with age and histologic type (P>0.05). The expression of uPA in HO-8910PM was higher than that in ovarian cancer cell lines HO8910, SKOV3 and CAOV3, and the expression of uPA reduced when the P38MAPK signal transduction pathway was cut off by the SB203580. The expressions of P38MAPK and uPA were negatively correlated with the prognosis of ovarian cancer (Log-rank=3.897 and 11.044,P=0.048 and 0.001). Conclusion:The P38MAPK signal transduction pathway was activated in ovarian cancer. The activated P38MAPK signal transduction pathway can raise the expression of uPA, which may contribute to the development of ovarian cancer. The result indicates that the P38MAPK signal transduction pathway and uPA might play an important role in the invasion and metastasis of ovarian cancer. P38MAPK and uPA might be useful markers for evaluating prognosis of ovarian cancer.

Objective: To investigate the value of whole tumor texture features derived from ADC mapping in distinguishing high grade glioma (HGG) from low grade glioma (LGG) of brain. Methods: Totally 66 patients with pathologic proven brain glioma were enrolled, including 41 HGGs and 25 LGGs. Then 107 texture features were derived from whole tumor ADC mapping. The texture features and clinical characteristics were compared, and the variates with statistical significance at univariate analysis were entered into Logistic analysis to find out the independent risk factors for HGG. ROC curves were constructed to determine the diagnostic performance of HGG. Results: The univariate analysis revealed that the gender and age of patients as well as 3 texture features were different between HGGs and LGGs. Logistic analysis showed that age (P=0.002, OR=1.090) and ZoneEntropy (P=0.003, OR=2.984) were independent risk factors for HGG. Combining age and ZoneEntropy, the AUC of identifying HGG was 0.844, with a sensitivity of 75.6% and a specificity of 88.0%. Conclusion: The whole tumor ADC-derived texture features are useful for grading of brain glioma grade. Combining texture features with clinical characteristics can obtain high diagnostic performance.

OBJECTIVETo explore the molecular biology mechanism of acupuncture on improving immune function damage induced by chemotherapy in cancer-bearing mice.

METHODSSeventy-two mice (36 mice in 3-day treatment and 5-day treatment, respectively) which were successfully made into cancer-bearing model were divided into a blank group, a model group, an acupuncture group and a moxibustion group by stratified randomization method, 9 mice in each one. Except for the mice in the blank group, the remaining mice were treated with intra-peritoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (CTX, 150 mg/kg), to establish the cancer-bearing mice of CTX. The mice in the blank group were treated with intraperitoneal injection of 0.9% NaCl (identical dose as other groups). After 4 h, the mice in the acupuncture group and moxibustion group were treated with acupuncture and moxibustion at "Dazhui" (GV 14), "Geshu" (BL 17), "Shenshu" (BL 23), "Zusanli" (ST 36), once a day. The mice in the blank group and model group were treated with immobilization and fixation during the same time. On the next day of the end of 3-day and 5-day treatment, the sample was collected. The ELISA method was applied to measure the contents of IL-12 and TNF-α in spleen of all the mice.

RESULTSAfter 3-day and 5-day treatment, compared with the blank group, the contents of IL-12 and TNF-α in spleen in the model group were reduced (all P < 0.05); compared with the model group, the contents of IL-12 and TNF-α in spleen in the acupuncture group and moxibustion group were increased (all P < 0.05), but the content of IL-12 and TNF-α in the acupuncture group was not different from that in the moxibustion group (both P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture and moxibustion could effectively increase the contents of IL-12 and TNF-α in spleen of CTX cancer-bearing mice, which could relieve chemotherapy-induced immune function damage to improve immune function.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Cyclophosphamide ; adverse effects ; Humans ; Interleukin-12 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Moxibustion ; Neoplasms ; chemically induced ; genetics ; metabolism ; therapy ; Spleen ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; genetics ; metabolism

An innovative,ternary nanocomposite composed of overoxidized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)(OPEDOT),gold nanoparticles (AuNPs),and electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) was prepared on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) (OPEDOT-AuNPs-ERGO/GCE) through homogeneous chemical reactions and heterogeneous electrochemical methods.The morphology,composition,and structure of this nanocomposite were characterized by transmission electron microscopy,scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffraction,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.The electrochemical properties of the OPEDOT-AuNPs-ERGO/GCE were investigated by cyclic voltammetry using potassium ferricyanide and hexaammineruthenium(Ⅲ) chloride redox probe systems.This modified electrode shows excellent electro-catalytic activity for dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) under physiological pH conditions,but inhibits the oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA).Linear voltammetric responses were obtained when DA concentrations of approximately 4.0-100 μM and UA concentrations of approximately 20-100 μM were used.The detection limits (S/N=3) for DA and UA were 1.0 and 5.0 μ.M,respectively,under physiological conditions and in the presence of 1.0 mM of AA.This developed method was applied to the simultaneous detection of DA and UA in human urine,where satisfactory recoveries from 96.7％ to 105.0％were observed.This work demonstrates that the developed OPEDOT-AuNPs-ERGO ternary nano-composite,with its excellent ion-selectivity and electro-catalytic activity,is a promising candidate for the simultaneous detection of DA and UA in the presence of AA in physiological and pathological studies.

OBJECTIVETo analyze the distribution of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from West China Hospital, investigate the antibiotic resistance profile of Enterobacteriaceae with decreased susceptibility to carbapenems and explore the molecular mechanism.

METHODSForty-five Enterobacteriaceae strains resistant or with reduced susceptibility to carbapenems were isolated from patients in West China Hospital. The antimicrobial susceptibility and carbapenemase-producing phenotypes of the bacteria were examined and specific PCR were performed to determine the molecular mechanism.

RESULTSOf the 45 isolates, 17, 21 and 36 were resistant or intermediate strains to imipenem, meropenem and ertapenem, respectively. The majority of these isolates showed resistance to cephalosporins. The modified Hodge test resulted in the highest positivity rate (77.8%), followed by EDTA disc test (57.8%) and PBA disc test (22.2%). BlaTEM, blaSHV and blaCTX-M were detected in 60.0%, 53.3% and 15.6% of these strains with reduced susceptibility. The rate of strains carrying 2 or more genes was 44.4%, and the detection rate of blaIMP was 48.9%. BlaKPC was identified in 4 (8.9%) high-level resistant strains and confirmed to locate on the plasmid.

CONCLUSIONProduction of carbapenemase contributes to reduced susceptibility of carbapenems in Enterobacteriaceae. The presence of blaKPC, MBL and ESBL, and their possible combinations can be the main factor contributing to carbapenem resistance or reduced susceptibility in Enterobacteriaceae. The KPC-2 carbapenemase gene located on the plasmids we found in this study can cause potential horizontal transmission across strains.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Carbapenems ; pharmacology ; Cephalosporins ; pharmacology ; Enterobacteriaceae ; drug effects ; enzymology ; genetics ; Gene Amplification ; Imipenem ; pharmacology ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Thienamycins ; pharmacology ; beta-Lactam Resistance ; beta-Lactamases ; genetics ; metabolism ; beta-Lactams ; pharmacology

Objective: The purpose of our study was to investigate the predictive abilities of clinical and computed tomography (CT)features for outcome prediction in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Materials and Methods: The clinical and CT data of 238 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in our two hospitalswere retrospectively analyzed. One hundred sixty-six patients (103 males; age 43.8 ± 12.3 years) were allocated in thetraining cohort and 72 patients (38 males; age 45.1 ± 15.8 years) from another independent hospital were assigned in thevalidation cohort. The primary composite endpoint was admission to an intensive care unit, use of mechanical ventilation, ordeath. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses were performed to identify independent predictors. Anomogram was constructed based on the combination of clinical and CT features, and its prognostic performance wasexternally tested in the validation group. The predictive value of the combined model was compared with models built on theclinical and radiological attributes alone. Results: Overall, 35 infected patients (21.1%) in the training cohort and 10 patients (13.9%) in the validation cohortexperienced adverse outcomes. Underlying comorbidity (hazard ratio [HR], 3.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.67–6.71;p < 0.001), lymphocyte count (HR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.04–0.38; p < 0.001) and crazy-paving sign (HR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.03–4.48;p = 0.042) were the independent factors. The nomogram displayed a concordance index (C-index) of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.76–0.88),and its prognostic value was confirmed in the validation cohort with a C-index of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.82–0.96). The combinedmodel provided the best performance over the clinical or radiological model (p < 0.050). Conclusion Underlying comorbidity, lymphocyte count and crazy-paving sign were independent predictors of adverseoutcomes. The prognostic nomogram based on the combination of clinical and CT features could be a useful tool for predictingadverse outcomes of patients with COVID-19.

The mutation of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) gene is associated with gliomagenesis.It has also significant positive effects on survival and chemosensitivity in comparison with IDH wild-type glioma.Being an important energetic metabolism enzyme,mutation of IDH results in changes of microstructures and metabolism.Quantitative multimodality MR imaging has ability to obtain imaging biomarkers about microstructural,physiologic and functional information,which demonstrates the promises to assess IDH gene status in vivo.The progresses of association between quantitative multimodality MRI features and IDH genesmutations in glioma were reviewed in this paper.

Objective To investigate the effect of NAIF1 in gastric cancer cell lines MKN45. Methods We constructed pLVX-Tight-Flag-NAIF1-puro plasmid with Tet-on system. DOX was added to induce NAIF1 expression in MKN45 cells. The cells were collected at 0, 6, 12 and 24 hours after DOX addition for gene expression microarray detection and biological analysis of differentially expressed genes. qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to verify the changes in mRNA and protein levels of the selected target differential genes. Results The biological analysis of gene microarray hybridization results showed that IFIT1, IFIT2 and IFIT3 expression significantly increased at 24h, qRT-PCR also showed this change, and Western blot further verified the change in protein level. However, IFIT5 showed no significant change in mRNA and gene expression. Conclusion Over-expression of NAIF1 in gastric cancer cells can promote the expression of some immune system-related IFIT family proteins.

During the outbreak of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), the clinical laboratories of hospitals designated for the disease treatment is undertaking a lot of clinical testing work of infectious specimens. How to manage the biosafety risk is a major problem that the clinical laboratory and the nosocomial infection control department are facing. This article introduces the hierarchical prevention and control biosafety measures in the clinical laboratory from the perspective of the laboratory, with a view to provide reasonable and feasible methods for the clinical laboratories of hospitals at various levels during the outbreak.