Objective To observe the effect of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) on type 2 diabetic rats, and to explore the possible mechanism. Methods Type 2 diabetic rats were induced by high-fat diet combined with a low dosage of streptozotocin ( STZ, 25 mg/ kg). After 3 × 106 hMSCs suspended in 1 ml PBS or 1ml 10-fold concentrated hMSC supernatant were intravenously infused into the rats via the tail vein, the blood glucose levels were measured every day. One week later, intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test and insulin tolerance test were performed to evaluate the effects of hMSCs on diabetic rats. Pancreatic tissues were collected for insulin/ glucagon immunofluorescence staining. Results After hMSCs infusion, blood glucose level and homeostasis model of assessment for insulin resistance index were significantly decreased in type 2 diabetic rats(both P<0. 01). The glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance were greatly alleviated by hMSCs(all P<0. 01). Intravenously infused 1ml 10-fold concentrated hMSC supernatant showed a similar result to hMSCs. Conclusion In type 2 diabetic rats, hMSCs are able to effectively lower the blood glucose level, improve insulin sensitivity, and increase the number of β cells, which seems to be mediated by their secreted molecules.

Objective: To explore the related factors of subependymal hemorrhage (SEH) and cerebral hemodynamic changes. Methods: From October 2012 to October 2017, 200 cases of children with subependymal hemorrhage diagnosed by ultrasound in our department of pediatrics were selected as the observation group , and a total of 150 children who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics in the same period due to craniocerebral diseases and other serious diseases were selected as control group. The independent risk factors of the children in the observation group were analyzed, and the difference of the maximum systolic blood flow velocity (SV), the diastolic maximum flow velocity (DV), the systolic and diastolic velocity ratio (S/D), the resistance index (RI), and the pulsatile index (PI) were compared between the two groups. Results: Neonatal asphyxia, preterm birth, acidosis, neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS), patent ductus arteriosus and coagulation dysfunction were independent risk factors for subependymal hemorrhage. The bleeding side SV and DV of the observation group were higher than those of the control group, with statistically significant difference (P<0.001). In the observation group, the bleeding side SV and DV were higher than those of the healthy side, with statistically significant difference (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in bleeding side SV, DV, S/D, RI and PI in 110 cases of single side ependymal hemorrhage (P>0.05). Conclusions Children with ependymal hemorrhage can observe the hemodynamic indexes of anterior cerebral artery (ACA) dynamically by craniocerebral ultrasound, and judge the therapeutic effect by evaluating the systolic and diastolic blood flow velocity, so as to prevent the further aggravation of subependymal hemorrhage

Demoralization syndrome is a common psychological problem in patients with chronic diseases, which seriously affects their prognosis and quality of life. This article reviews the concept and assessment tools of demoralization syndrome, current status, influencing factors, and intervention measures of demoralization syndrome in chronic disease patients, so as to provide reference for clinical medical and nursing staff to develop targeted intervention measures to reduce the level of demoralization syndrome in chronic disease patients.

The automatic detection of tuberculosis lesions based on medical imaging has become a research hotspot in medical image processing.A comprehensive review of relevant researches and applications pertaining to deep learning in tuberculosis lesion detection is provided,which elucidates the experimental benchmarks in tuberculosis analysis,covering public datasets of pulmonary medical images and recent research advancements in tuberculosis detection and classification competitions,introduces emerging trends in deep learning methods and applications in tuberculosis detection,and analyzes the challenges existing in tuberculosis diagnosis using deep learning.The review summarizes and provides insights into the research advances and challenges of these technologies from the aspects of technical characteristics,performance advantages,and application prospects.

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of serum and urinary levels of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL ) for evaluating changes of residual renal function after living donor kidney resection under different operation model in young versus elderly patients. Methods The clinical data of renal transplants were retrospectively analyzed by successfully using 66 living-related donors at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from September 2016 to October 2017. According to the operation model and age ,renal donors were divided into 4 groups :group A (young/open) ,group B (young/laparoscopic) ,group C (aged/open) ,and group D (aged/laparoscopic).Blood and urinary NGAL and serum levels of creatinine ,cystatin C ,and other indices of renal function were assayed and collected before and at 1 ,3 ,7 days after operation. Results Both blood NGAL levels and urinary NGAL levels showed no statistically significant difference (all P>0.05) among four groups both before and after operation ,except that urinary NGAL was higher in group C (aged/open) than other groups ,at 1 day after operation ,(P = 0.03).The post-vs.pre-operation level dynamic changes of renal function were four or three times higher in urine or serum NGAL level than in serum creatinine or cystatin C level at 1 day after operation ,which showed an important role for predicting an early residual renal damage and relative treatment. Conclusions NGAL can be used as indices in evaluating changes of residual renal function after living donor kidney resection ,especially in the elderly receiving open kidney resection.

Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide parasite that can infect almost all kinds of mammals and cause fatal toxoplasmosis in immunocompromised patients. Apoptosis is one of the principal strategies of host cells to clear pathogens and maintain organismal homeostasis, but the mechanism of cell apoptosis induced by T. gondii remains obscure. To explore the apoptosis influenced by T. gondii, Vero cells infected or uninfected with the parasite were subjected to apoptosis detection and subsequent dual RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Using high-throughput Illumina sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we found that pro-apoptosis genes such as DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 (DDIT3), growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible α (GADD45A), caspase-3 (CASP3), and high-temperature requirement protease A2 (HtrA2) were upregulated, and anti-apoptosis genes such as poly(adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribose) polymerase family member 3 (PARP3), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), and baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) repeat containing 5 (BIRC5) were downregulated. Besides, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1), TRAF2, TNF receptor superfamily member 10b (TNFRSF10b), disabled homolog 2 (DAB2)-interacting protein (DAB2IP), and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 3 (ITPR3) were enriched in the upstream of TNF, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways, and TRAIL-receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2) was regarded as an important membrane receptor influenced by T. gondii that had not been previously considered. In conclusion, the T. gondii RH strain could promote and mediate apoptosis through multiple pathways mentioned above in Vero cells. Our findings improve the understanding of the T. gondii infection process through providing new insights into the related cellular apoptosis mechanisms.

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of the cases firstly reported as "asymptomatic infection of COVID-19" in Guangdong province.Methods:The follow-up observation method was used to continuously track and observe the cases firstly reported as "asymptomatic patients with COVID-19" in Guangdong province from January 14 to March 31, 2020. The epidemiological data of the cases were collected to analyze their epidemiological characteristics, outcome and influencing factors.Results:From January 14 to March 31, 2020, a total of 325 cases were firstly reported as "asymptomatic infections of COVID-19" in Guangdong province. The epidemic curve of asymptomatic infection cases was similar to that of confirmed cases, and it had two peaks. The first peak was from January 27 to February 5, and the second peak was from March 17 to March 26. Of the 325 cases, 184 (56.6%) were subsequently converted to confirmed cases. These cases were defined as incubation period asymptomatic infection cases. The age median of the cases was 40 years, and 93.5% (172/184) of the cases showed symptoms within 3 days after the first positive nucleic acid tests were conducted, and 141 (43.4%) of the 325 cases remained asymptomatic status until they were cured and discharged. They were inapparent infection cases, accounting for 8.6% (141/1 642) of those diagnosed with COVID-19 in Guangdong province during the same period. The age median of inapparent infection cases was 27 years. The median of the interval between the first positive nucleic acid test and discharge was 14 days. Up to 90.8% (138/141) of the inapparent infection cases were discharged for centralized medical observation within 28 days. The longest interval between the first positive nucleic acid test and the last positive nucleic acid test was 73 days. The positive rate of nucleic acid test was 0.3% in close contacts of inapparent infection cases and 2.2% in close contacts of incubation period asymptomatic infection cases. There were significant differences in age distribution and source of infection between incubation period asymptomatic infection cases and inapparent infection cases ( P<0.05). Old age was the risk factor for the conversion of firstly reported asymptomatic infection cases to confirmed cases. Compared with the 0-19-year-old group, The patients aged 40-59 years and 60 years and above were more likely to become confirmed cases. The OR (95 %CI) values were 2.730 (1.380-5.402) and 5.302 (2.199-12.783), and P values were 0.004 and 0.000, respectively. People being infected in China were more likely to become confirmed cases ( OR=7.121, P=0.000). Conclusions:There were asymptomatic infection cases among patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The infectiousness of incubation period asymptomatic infection cases might be stronger than that of inapparent infection cases. The proportion of younger cases among asymptomatic infection cases was higher than that of the confirmed cases. Old age and domestic infection were the risk factors for the conversion of asymptomatic infection cases to confirmed cases, to which more attention should be paid. Further serological investigations are needed to provide a basis for the development of COVID-19 prevention and control strategies.

Objective To provide scientific evidence to identify and confirm severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) by laboratory detection.Methods Multiple clinical specimens were collected serially and systematically from the 4 suspected SARS patients, which occurred between Dec.2003 to Jan.2004 in Guangdong Province. The samples were tested by serologic and molecular methods.Results IgM or IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV were detectable after 6—8 days of the onset in four patients. The four-fold or greater rising in antibodies was clearly detected in three of the four patients, while the fourth patient’s seroconversion was from negative to positive. The results analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay( ELISA), immunoflourescence assay (IFA), and neutralization test were highly correlated. SARS-CoV RNA was just detected in 3 throat swab specimens from case 1 by real-time PCR. M, N and S genes were amplified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) from the positive samples. Sequencing results showed that they were SARS-CoV gene segments, and most closely matched SARS-CoV gene sequences were isolated from civet cats in Guangdong Province. Nevertheless, SARS-CoV was not isolated from any samples of the 4 patients.Conclusion Based on these results, the 4 reported cases were laboratorily confirmed as SARS cases.

Objective     To evaluate the safety and efficacy of skeletonized and pedicled harvesting of bilateral internal mammary artery (BIMA) in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Methods     From December 2015 to May 2017, 152 patients (128 males, 24 females, age of 56.5±6.8 years) underwent CABG using either skeletonized BIMA (s-BIMA group, n=73) or pedicled BIMA(p-BIMA group, n=79). The operative data and post-operative outcomes were analyzed in the s-BIMA group (61 males, 12 females, age of 56.6±7.0 years) and the p-BIMA group (67 males, 12 females, age of 56.3±6.7 years). Results     There was no peri-operative mortality. There was no statistical difference in operative time, cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time or internal mammary artery graft flow between the two groups. One patient(1.4%) in the s-BIMA group suffered from severe sternal wound complication, which was major sternal wound complication. Five patients (6.3%) in the p-BIMA group suffered from sternal wound complications, including 1(1.3%) with severe complication and 4(5.1%) with minor complication. One(1.4%) patient in the s-BIMA group and 7 (8.9%) patients in the p-BIMA group suffered from chylothorax. The chest tube drainage significantly reduced in the s-BIMA group, both in postoperative day 1(P=0.000) and postoperative day 1-3 (P=0.001). CT angiography showed no stenosis of BIMA in both groups. Conclusion     The use of skeletonized BIMA for CABG is safe and efficacious, with less sternal wound complications, chylothorax and chest tube drainage. Skeletonization should be   suggested if BIMA is harvested in CABG.

Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide parasite that can infect almost all kinds of mammals and cause fatal toxoplasmosis in immunocompromised patients. Apoptosis is one of the principal strategies of host cells to clear pathogens and maintain organismal homeostasis, but the mechanism of cell apoptosis induced by T. gondii remains obscure. To explore the apoptosis influenced by T. gondii, Vero cells infected or uninfected with the parasite were subjected to apoptosis detection and subsequent dual RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Using high-throughput Illumina sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, we found that pro-apoptosis genes such as DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 (DDIT3), growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible α (GADD45A), caspase-3 (CASP3), and high-temperature requirement protease A2 (HtrA2) were upregulated, and anti-apoptosis genes such as poly(adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribose) polymerase family member 3 (PARP3), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), and baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) repeat containing 5 (BIRC5) were downregulated. Besides, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 1 (TRAF1), TRAF2, TNF receptor superfamily member 10b (TNFRSF10b), disabled homolog 2 (DAB2)‍-interacting protein (DAB2IP), and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 3 (ITPR3) were enriched in the upstream of TNF, TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress pathways, and TRAIL-receptor 2 (TRAIL-R2) was regarded as an important membrane receptor influenced by T. gondii that had not been previously considered. In conclusion, the T. gondii RH strain could promote and mediate apoptosis through multiple pathways mentioned above in Vero cells. Our findings improve the understanding of the T. gondii infection process through providing new insights into the related cellular apoptosis mechanisms.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Chlorocebus aethiops ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Mammals/genetics* ; Toxoplasma/genetics* ; Toxoplasmosis/pathology* ; Vero Cells ; ras GTPase-Activating Proteins/genetics*