OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in China type 2 diabetic patients and to demonstrate the relationships between putative risk factors and PAD.

METHODSIn total 1,397 type 2 diabetic patients aged 50 years and older were enrolled and determined ankle-brachial index (ABI) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in 15 Class III Grade A hospitals in 7 major cities of China.

RESULTSMean patient age was 63.7 +/- 8.2 years and mean duration of diabetes mellitus was 9.39 +/- 7.4 years. Two hundreds and seventy-two (19.47%) patients were diagnosed as PAD by ABI < 0.9, 122 (18.37%) in male and 150 (20.46%) in female. PAD patients had a significantly longer duration of diabetes mellitus, higher hemoglobin A1c, and a significantly lower mean body mass index than non-PAD ones. Aging, smoking, and systolic blood pressure were found to be positively related with the prevalence of PAD. In terms of lipid profiles, no variable was found to relate with PAD. Notably, baPWV showed as the same significant guiding index for PAD, almost matched with ABI.

CONCLUSIONSPAD is a common complication in China type 2 diabetic patients. Therefore, PAD screening and treatment should be emphasized for diabetic patients with high risk factors.

Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Diabetic Angiopathies ; epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peripheral Vascular Diseases ; epidemiology ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Urban Population ; statistics & numerical data

Objective Throush identify biochemical characteristics and virulence factors of 2 strains suspected Yersinia pestis(Y.pestis)isolated from the dead Marmota himalayana(M.himalayana)to confirm the nature epidemic focus in Dege County,Sichuan Province.Methods Y.pestis was analyzed by specific staining and shape,culturing characteristics,splitting-test by bacteriophage,test of biochemical characteristics and glycolysis ability,virulence factors,virulence,nutritional requirement,plasmid,genetic test and genetic type. Results The tested strains were Gram staining bacilus.The main biochemical characteristics were Arabinose(+)、 Rhamnose(-),Maltose(+),Melibiose(-),Glycerol(+),Denitrification(+).The virulence factors with FI+.VW+, Pgm+,Pst I+;and with the common 6.0×106,45.0×106,65.0×106 plasmids,also with the virulence-relative plasmid gene.Both their absolutely lethal dose(LD100)in mice were 50 bacteria.The nutritional requirement appeared which were depended on Phenylalanine and Methionine.With the Genomovar 5 genotype characteristics of M.himalayana plague foci of Qinghai-Tibet plateau.The difference between tested strains and Yersinia pseudotubercuosis on the 3 different culture medium was obvious.The tested strains had a Y.pestis' specific 3a fragment,Pst I and FI-Ag,at 22 ℃,the strains could be split by bacteriophage completely.Conclusions According to the diagnostic criteria of plague in China,the 2 suspected strains isolated from Dege County,Sichuan Province ale confirmed as Y.pestis.both with powerful virulenceand with the characteristics of the Y.pestis of M.himahtyana in Qinghai-Tibet plateau plague natural focus.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of high-frequency irreversible electroporation （H-FIRE） in the ablation of pig pancreatic tissue. MethodsLaparotomy was conducted in this study， and needle electrodes were used to release electric pulses in 12 pigs. Three sets of parameters were established for ablation at the low， medium， and high values of field strength （1 000 V/cm， 1 500 V/cm， and 2 500 V/cm）. The groups were compared in terms of the data including postoperative recovery， ablation area， and histopathological features to validate the safety and efficacy of H-FIRE in the ablation of porcine pancreatic tissue. The paired t-test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups. ResultsAll pigs in the experiment survived and showed a good effect of ablation. The histopathological analysis of all groups showed thorough and effective ablation， with a clear boundary between the ablated area and the normal tissue area. The mean ablation area in the low， medium， and high field strength groups was 30.96±3.73 mm²， 51.93±25.26 mm²， and 108.90±55.23 mm²， respectively， and the high and medium field strength groups had a significantly larger ablation area than the low field strength group （both P<0.05）， while there was no significant difference in ablation area between the medium and high field strength groups （P>0.05）. ConclusionH-FIRE ablation is safe and effective for porcine pancreatic tissue under specific ablation parameters.

Asymptomatic Infections ; Betacoronavirus ; Carrier State ; Coronavirus Infections ; transmission ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; transmission

【Objective】 To explore the maximum tolerated dose(MTD) of pegylated liposome doxorubicin(PLD) when combined with cisplatin as a modified regimen for osteosarcoma. 【Methods】 A total of 14 patients with pathologically confirmed metastatic or unresectable osteosarcoma received one cycle of PLD combined with cisplatin therapy. The study used a traditional 3+3 design, with three PLD dose levels(40, 50, and 60 mg/ m², day 1). It was designed to recruit three patients initially at each dose level. Cisplatin was given at a dose of 100 mg/m²(administered within four days) for each patients. Patients received prophylactic granulocyte stimulating factor therapy 48 h after chemotherapy. Toxicities were documented according to the the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.0(NCI CTCAE v4.0) . 【Results】 Of the 14 patients, 9 were male and 5 female, with a median age of 20 years(range 14~43). Both of the patients at dose level of 60 mg/m² experienced dose-limiting toxicity(DLT) (grade 3 oral mucositis and grade 4 neutropenic fever). Only 1 of the 9 patients at dose level of 50 mg/m² experienced DLT(grade 4 thrombocytopenia lasting for more than 3 days) and thus the MTD was 50 mg/m². Most common grade 3~4 adverse events across all cohorts included neutropenia(12 cases, 12/14), thrombocytopenia(7 cases, 7/14), anemia(4 cases, 4/14) and oral mucositis(2 cases, 2/14). All the adverse events were relieved after symptomatic and supportive treatment. No treatment-related death was observed. 【Conclusions】 For advanced osteosarcoma, when combined with cisplatin, the MTD of PLD was 50 mg/m². The main DLT was oral mucositis and neutropenic fever. The adverse events can be relieved after symptomatic treatment.

Objective: To understand the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection and its associated factors among asymptomatic outpatients attending sexually transmitted disease (STD)-related clinics in Shenzhen and provide evidence for development of future interventions. Methods: From April 15 to May 16, 2018, a cross-sectional study was conducted and patients attending STD-related Clinics were recruited from 22 medical institutions in Nanshan, Luohu, Bao'an, Longgang, Yantian, and Longhua districts of Shenzhen. After the informed consent from each participant was obtained, social-demographic information was collected through a structured questionnaire and urine samples were collected for CT nucleic acid detection. In addition, logistic regression was used to explore associated factors of CT infection. Results: In asymptomatic outpatients, the prevalence of CT infection was 7.16% (250/3 492). Being single (aOR=2.29, 95%CI:1.65-3.16), without registered Shenzhen residency (aOR=1.49, 95%CI:1.04-2.13), and without previous CT testing in the past year (aOR=2.04, 95%CI:1.03-4.05) were the risk factors of CT infection in asymptomatic outpatients. Among participants without registered Shenzhen residency, 89.25% (2 176/2 438) were college-degree or below, and 51.29% (1 255/2 447) were aged ≤30 years, and the risk of CT infection among those ≤30 years old was 1.73 times higher than those >30 years old (95%CI:1.28-2.34). Conclusions: The prevalence of CT infection was high among asymptomatic outpatients attending STD-related clinics in Shenzhen. Routine CT screening should be carried out for this population, especially for those with sexually active age, being single, with low educational level, and without previous CT testing in the past year. Also, raising their awareness of knowledge and adverse outcomes of CT infection should be considered to promote routine CT screening and timely treatment.
Adult ; Chlamydia Infections/epidemiology* ; Chlamydia trachomatis ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Humans ; Nucleic Acids ; Outpatients

Senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) is often a concomitant result of cell senescence, embodied by the enhanced function of secretion. The SASP factors secreted by senescent cells include cytokines, proteases and chemokines, etc, which can exert great influence on local as well as systemic environment and participate in the process of cell senescence, immunoregulation, angiogenesis, cell proliferation and tumor invasion, etc. Relative to the abundance of SASP models in human cells, the in vitro SASP model derived from mouse cells is scarce at present. Therefore, the study aimed to establish a mouse SASP model to facilitate the research in the field. With this objective, we treated the INK4a-deficient mouse NIH-3T3 cells and the wildtype mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) respectively with mitomycin C (MMC), an anticarcinoma drug which could induce DNA damage. The occurring of cell senescence was evaluated by cell morphology, β-gal staining, integration ratio of EdU and Western blot. Quantitative RT-PCR and ELISA were used to detect the expression and secretion of SASP factors, respectively. The results showed that, 8 days after the treatment of NIH-3T3 cells with MMC (1 μg/mL) for 12 h or 24 h, the cells became enlarged and the ratios of β-gal-positive (blue-stained) cells significantly increased, up to 77.4% and 90.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, the expression of P21 protein increased and the integration ratios of EdU significantly decreased (P < 0.01). Quantitative RT-PCR detection showed that the mRNA levels of several SASP genes, including IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1α and IL-1β increased evidently. ELISA detection further observed an enhanced secretion of IL-6 (P < 0.01). On the contrary, although wildtype MEF could also be induced into senescence by MMC treatment for 12 h or 24 h, embodied by the enlarged cell volume, increased ratios of β-gal-positive cells (up to 71.7% and 80.2%, respectively) and enhanced expression of P21 protein, the secretion of IL-6 displayed no significant change. Our study indicated that, although MMC could induce senescence in both mouse NIH-3T3 cells and wildtype MEF, only senescent NIH-3T3 cells displayed the canonical SASP phenomena. Current study suggested that senescent NIH-3T3 cells might be an appropriate in vitro SASP model of mouse cells.
Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; Cellular Senescence ; drug effects ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cytokines ; genetics ; metabolism ; DNA Damage ; Fibroblasts ; drug effects ; Interleukin-6 ; secretion ; Mice ; Mitomycin ; pharmacology ; NIH 3T3 Cells ; Phenotype

In this study, chronic emotional stress-induced H1N1 influenza susceptibility model was employed to simulate the states of "emotional stagnation" and "liver fire invading lung", and the protective effect of Qinggan Xiefei Fang on viral pneumonia was investigated. Survival rate and morbidity rate of mice were observed within 21 days after H1N1 infection, the symptoms of viral pneumonia and the level of phospholipid peroxidation were detected in lungs of mice after 6-day infection. The experimental results showed that Qinggan Xiefei Fang could alleviate the decline of survival rate and morbidity rate of mice caused by chronic constraint stress loaded with H1N1, inhibit the replication of H1N1 and the production of inflammatory factors, reduce the level of phospholipid peroxidation, and improve the symptoms of pneumonia in mice. The results also showed that compound-target network of Qinggan Xiefei Fang contained 171 compounds and 260 corresponding targets involved in the signaling pathway of oxidative stress, inflammation and immunity. All the above results indicate that Qinggan Xiefei Fang protecting influenza virus pneumonia was related to the regulation of oxidative stress. The animal experimental protocol has been reviewed and approved by Laboratory Animal Ethics Committee of Jinan University, in compliance with the Institutional Animal Care Guidelines.