Hepatitis C viral RNA in sera from 10 patients with post-transfusion hepatitis in Shanghai (China) were amplified By the nested PCR with primer sets deduced from the American prototype HCV RNA 5' -untranslated region. Eight of 10 cases (80%) were positive. And manipulations of PCR were simplified by combination of reverse transcription step and the first round PCR reaction. Our results indirectly proved that 5-untranslated region of HCV RNA of Shanghai showed a high degree of comservation and homology compared with isolates from some regions in the world.

Esophageal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors of upper digestive tract.Squamous cell carcinoma dominates in China and other parts of Asia,while adenocarcinoma dominates in Europe and the United States.Therefore,there are great differences in the pathogenesis of its biological characteristics and the selection of relevant treatment methods.Currently,surgery is still the preferred method for patients with esophageal cancer.But for patients locally advanced or distant metastases who are inoperable and for patients who are operable but do not want surgery,concurrent chemotherapy with radiotherapy is considered the standard noninvasive treatment.

OBJECTIVETo screen and identify dengue virus type 2 specific antigens and establish an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting dengue virus type 2 antibody.

METHODSUsing the bioinformatic software DNAstar and ANTHEPROT, we analyzed the hydrophilicity, flexibility, surface probability and antigenicity of dengue virus type 1-4, Japanese encephalitis virus, and Yellow fever virus M and E protein amino acid sequences, and also evaluated the influence of secondary structure. The specific epitopes of dengue virus type 2 were predicted according to the epitope location and amino acid sequence similarity, and the epitope conservation was assessed using the sequence information of different dengue virus type 2 strains in GenBank. Based on the results of bioinformatic analysis, 5 specific epitopes were amplified and inserted into the prokaryotic expression vector pET32a, which were transferred into E. coli Rosetta (DE3) for expression of the proteins. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting were used to identify the expressed proteins and test their antigenicities. The antigen selected by Western blotting was used to establish the ELISA system for dengue virus type 2 antibody detection.

RESULTSBioinformatic analysis predicted 8 possible dengue virus type 2 specific epitopes, and 6 of them were efficiently expressed in E. coli. Western blotting confirmed 1 dengue virus type 2 specific antigen, the ELISA system for dengue virus antibody detection was successfully established using this specific antigen.

CONCLUSIONWe have obtained a dengue virus type 2 specific antigen and established an ELISA system for detection of dengue virus type 2 antibody.

Antibodies, Viral ; immunology ; Antigens, Viral ; immunology ; Computational Biology ; Dengue Virus ; classification ; immunology ; isolation & purification ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; methods ; Humans ; Immunodominant Epitopes ; Software

Objective:To explore the potential genetic causes of unexplained neonatal encephalopathy.Methods:This retrospective study enrolled 113 infants diagnosed with unexplained neonatal encephalopathy and underwent genetic testing in the Children's Hospital of Hunan Province from January 2019 to May 2021. Perinatal data, clinical manifestations, electroencephalograph, brain MRI findings, genetic information, and prognosis of those patients were analyzed. T-test or Chi-square test were used for data analysis. Results:Of the 113 infants enrolled, 74 (65.5%) were males. The gestational age at birth was (38.6±1.5) weeks, and the birth weight was (2 957±561) g. The most common clinical manifestation was the disturbance of consciousness (83/113, 73.5%), followed by seizures (39/113, 34.5%). There were 38.2% (34/89) of the patients with abnormal brain MRI, and 80.4% (74/92) presented abnormal electroencephalography. Among the 113 infants, 60 (53.1%) had genetic abnormalities, including 48 with single nucleotide variations, eight with copy number variations, and four with chromosome abnormalities. Single nucleotide variations in the 48 patients were classified into syndromic ( n=18, 37.5%), metabolic ( n=16, 33.3%), epileptic ( n=11, 22.9%) and mitochondrial-related genes ( n=3, 6.3%), of which 14 were not included in any database. Among the 103 cases which were successfully followed up until December 31, 2021, 75 (72.8%) had a poor prognosis, including 52 (50.5%) death cases and 23 (22.3%) cases of development retardation. Birth weight and the incidence of seizures in the poor prognosis group were both lower than those in the non-poor prognosis group [(2 876±536) vs (3 254±554) g, t=3.15; 29.3% (22/75) vs 53.6% (15/28), χ2=5.20; both P<0.05], while the incidence of disturbance of consciousness was higher [80.0% (60/75) vs 53.6% (15/28), χ2=7.19, P<0.05]. The proportion of infants with genetic abnormalities in the poor prognosis group was higher than that in the non-poor prognosis group, but the difference was not statistically significant [53.3% (40/75) vs 46.4% (13/28), χ2=0.39, P=0.533]. Conclusions:Genetic abnormality is one of the leading causes of unexplained neonatal encephalopathy. Nucleotide variation is the most common genetic type. Syndromic, metabolic, and epileptic variants are frequently detected in these patients.

Objective:To summarize the situation of dead newborns and their parents after parents gave up treatment, and analyze the reasons and emotional needs of parents who gave up treatment, so as to provide reference for reducing neonatal mortality and negative emotions of parents.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to collect the data of neonates and mothers who died after giving up treatment reported in Hunan Children′s Hospital from January 2019 to December 2021. The general information, perinatal risk factors, and the incidence of in-hospital diseases were analyzed. Then, semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents of newborns who died after giving up treatment from February to December 2021. Understand why parents give up treatment and their emotional needs.Results:A total of 172 newborns died after giving up were included in the analysis, including 103 males (59.88%) and 74 premature infants (43.02%); Umbilical cord, placenta and amniotic fluid abnormalities were 21 cases (12.21%), 39 cases (22.67%) and 25 cases (14.53%), respectively. Birth asphyxia was 31 cases (18.02%), including severe asphyxia in 18 cases (10.46%); There were 21 (12.21%), 35 (20.35%) and 30 (17.44%) cases of maternal infection in the third trimester, hypertension in pregnancy and diabetes in pregnancy, respectively. The top three causes of death were septicemia (18.02%), congenital malformation (16.86%) and severe pneumonia (10.47%). The main reason why parents give up treatment was that the child′s disease was critical and irreversible, and parents had strong emotional needs for hospice care in their hearts.Conclusions:There are many high risk factors of perinatal death of newborns after giving up treatment. Sepsis is the primary cause of death, and strengthening perinatal health care is fundamental. Parents have a strong demand for hospice care, so it is of practical significance to implement family-centered hospice care model for such special newborns.

Objective: To study serum zinc level in pregnancy and umbilical cord blood and their association with newborn birth weight. Methods: Pregnant women accepting obstetric examination in Ma'anshan Maternal and Child Care Center were recruited from May 2013 to September 2014. The follow up was conducted during their first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy and the self-designed questionnaire was used to collect information of social and demographic characteristics. Blood samples in the first, second pregnancy period and umbilical cord blood samples were collected and serum concentrations of zinc were assayed. 3 239 mother-infant entered the final analysis. We divided serum zinc level into low (<P₂₅), medium (P₂₅-P₇₅) and high (>P₇₅) groups according to their exposure concentrations at each trimesters. Non-conditional multivariate logistic regression model was conducted to evaluate the association between serum zinc level in first, second trimesters of pregnancy and umbilical cord blood with small for gestational age (SGA) and large for gestational age (LGA). Results: Serum zinc level in P₅₀ (P₂₅-P₇₅) during the first, second trimesters and cord blood were 1 016.18 (907.09-1 145.60), 813.36 (732.47-897.89) and 903.44 (808.71-1 015.64) μg/L, respectively. The prevalence of zinc deficiency during the first, second trimesters and cord blood were 1.5% (44/2 957), 15.9% (492/3 087) and 6.5% (176/2 707), respectively. The prevalence of total SGA and LGA were 9.7% (313/3 239) and 16.5% (536/3 239), respectively. Compared to high-level serum zinc group, the risk of SGA (OR (95%CI) in low-level serum zinc group during first trimesters was 1.51 (1.05-2.19)). Serum zinc level among second pregnancy period and umbilical cord blood had no statistically significant effect on SGA and LGA (both P values >0.05). Conclusion Zinc nutritional status of pregnant women in Ma'anshan city was at a good level. The low serum zinc level in first trimester increased the risk of SGA.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL) diagnosed and treated in our hospital during the past 10 years.Methods:A retrospective clinical study. From 2011 to 2021, 126 eyes of 67 patients with PVRL who were diagnosed and treated in Department of Ophthalmology, Eye-ENT Hospital, Fudan University were included in the study. Among them, there were 23 males (34.3%, 23/67) and 44 females (65.7%, 44/67); the average age was 57.1 years. There were 59 cases with both eyes (88.1%, 59/67) and 8 cases with one eye (11.9%, 8/67). At the initial eye diagnosis, 22 cases had a clear history of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL); 5 cases were found to have intracranial lesions by head imaging examination; 40 cases had no central nervous system involvement. Twenty cases were treated with glucocorticoids due to misdiagnosed uveitis. All patients received intravitreal injection of methotrexate (IVM) treatment. The treatment regimen was twice a week in the induction period for 2 weeks, once a week in the consolidation period for 1 month, and once a month in the maintenance period. Patients with PCNSL or both eyes received concurrent systemic chemotherapy (chemotherapy), and some in combination with radiation therapy to the brain (radiotherapy). The mean follow-up time was 39.3 months. The clinical manifestations, treatment and prognosis of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. The visual acuity before and after treatment was compared by t test. Results:Among the 22 cases with a clear history of PCNSL at the initial eye diagnosis, the average time from intracranial diagnosis to eye diagnosis was 22.9 months. Among the 40 cases without central nervous system involvement at first, 14 cases (20.9%, 14/67) developed central nervous system lesions during follow-up period. The mean time from ocular diagnosis to intracranial diagnosis was 9.9 months. Among the 126 eyes, 42 eyes (33.3%, 42/126) had anterior segment inflammation. vitreous inflammation type, retinal type, and vitreous retinal type were 58 (46.0%, 58/126), 7 (5.6%, 7/126), and 61 (48.4%, 61/126) eyes, and 9 of them (7.1%, 9/126) had optic nerve involvement at the same time. Patients received an average of 12 IVM treatments. IVM combined with systemic chemotherapy in 59 cases (88.1%, 59/67), of which 16 cases were combined with brain radiotherapy. All patients achieved complete remission after completing the treatment cycle (100.0%, 67/67). After treatment, 21 eyes (16.7%, 21/126) had ocular recurrence; 22 (32.8%, 22/67) had intracranial recurrence; 8 cases (11.9%, 8/67) died. The mean progression-free survival of patients was 23.7 months; the mean survival time was 43.6 months; the 5-year overall survival rate was 72.5%.Conclusions:The manifestations of PVRL are complex and diverse, and most of them are accompanied by involvement of the central nervous system. It can be divided into vitreitis type, retinal type and vitreoretinal type, and the optic nerve can be involved at the same time; IVM combined with systemic treatment can completely relieve the disease.

Objective To analyze and compare the clinical efficacy of CalliSpheres drug-eluting micro-spheres and blank microspheres in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer by bronchial arterial chemoembolization.Methods Fifty patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who had failed or relapsed after radiotherapy,chemotherapy,targeting and immunotherapy were collected and treated with super-selective bronchial artery chemoembolization.A retrospective analysis was conducted to compare the tumor response rate and survival between CalliSpheres drug-eluting and blank microspheres.Results The PR,ORR and DCR in the drug-eluted microsphere group were higher than those in the blank microsphere group,and there was a statistical difference in DCR between the two groups 1 month after surgery(χ2 = 4.08,P = 0.04).PD in the drug-eluted microsphere group was lower than that in the blank microsphere group.The CEA,CYF and SCC in the drug-eluted microsphere group after surgery were lower than those in the blank microsphere group,and the CEA,CYF and SCC in the two groups after surgery were lower than those before surgery,and there were statistical differences in CEA and CYF 1 month after surgery between the two groups.The PFS and OS in drug-eluted microsphere group were higher than those in blank microsphere group.Conclusion CalliSpheres drug-eluting microspheres could improve the effective rate of tumor treatment and prolong the survival time more effectively than the blank micro-spheres via arterial chemoembolization,providing reliable clinical practice basis for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Objective:Clinical characteristics and diagnosis and treatment process was reported and analyzed of a patient with brucellosis complicated with thyroid abscess, providing reference for the clinical diagnosis of brucellosis complicated with thyroid abscess.Methods:Clinical medical records of a patient with brucellosis complicated with thyroid abscess who was treated at the General Surgery Department of Yanchi County People's Hospital in Wuzhong City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in November 2021 were collected. The clinical manifestations, blood routine, brucella antibodies, thyroid function, bacterial culture, thyroid ultrasound and other examination results, as well as the diagnosis and treatment process, were comprehensively analyzed. Results:The patient was a male, 61 years old, who presented with a neck mass without typical clinical manifestations of brucellosis. Thyroid ultrasound revealed a space occupying lesion, and the preliminary diagnosis was thyroid cystadenoma. Thyroid right lobe and isthmus resection surgery was performed. During the operation, it was found that some of the thyroid glands were tightly adhered to the cervical blood vessels, so the resection surgery was changed to abscess drainage, and the drainage fluid was purulent and bloody. The bacterial culture result of thyroid purulent fluid (intraoperative puncture fluid and postoperative drainage fluid) was brucella lamblia, and the serum brucella test tube agglutination test titer was 1 ∶ 400 (+++). The patient improved and was discharged after local drainage and anti brucella treatment. Follow up for 4 months showed no abnormalities. Conclusions:Brucellosis which begins with a local infection of the thyroid gland is extremely rare, with no characteristic clinical manifestations, and is prone to misdiagnosis. Timely correction of the surgical plan during the treatment process avoids the removal of the patient's thyroid, which has a certain clinical reference value.

Inflammation is recently recognized as one of the hallmarks of human cancer. Chronic inflammatory response plays a critical role in cancer development, progression, metastasis, and resistance to chemotherapy. Conversely, the oncogenic aberrations also generate an inflammatory microenvironment, enabling the development and progression of cancer. The molecular mechanisms of action that are responsible for inflammatory cancer and cancer-associated inflammation are not fully understood due to the complex crosstalk between oncogenic and pro-inflammatory genes. However, molecular mediators that regulate both inflammation and cancer, such as NF-κB and STAT have been considered as promising targets for preventing and treating these diseases. Recent works have further demonstrated an important role of oncogenes (e.g., NFAT1, MDM2) and tumor suppressor genes (e.g., p53) in cancer-related inflammation. Natural products that target these molecular mediators have shown anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities in preclinical and clinical studies. Sesquiterpenoids (STs), a class of novel plant-derived secondary metabolites have attracted great interest in recent years because of their diversity in chemical structures and pharmacological activities. At present, we and other investigators have found that dimeric sesquiterpenoids (DSTs) may exert enhanced activity and binding affinity to molecular targets due to the increased number of alkylating centers and improved conformational flexibility and lipophilicity. Here, we focus our discussion on the activities and mechanisms of action of STs and DSTs in treating inflammation and cancer as well as their structure-activity relationships.
Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Inflammation ; drug therapy ; etiology ; NF-kappa B ; antagonists & inhibitors ; NFATC Transcription Factors ; antagonists & inhibitors ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-mdm2 ; antagonists & inhibitors ; physiology ; Sesquiterpenes ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Structure-Activity Relationship