BACKGROUNDThymosin beta-4 (TB-4) is considered key roles in tissue development, maintenance and pathological processes. The study aimed to prove TB-4 positive biological function on nucleus pulposus (NP) cell apoptosis and slowing the process of cell aging while increasing the cell proliferation.

METHODSTB-4 recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) was constructed and induced to human NP cells. Cell of same group were cultured without gene modification as controlled group. Proliferation capacity and cell apoptosis were observed during 6 passages of the cells. Morphology and expression of the TB-4 gene were documented as parameter of cell activity during cell passage.

RESULTSNP cells with TB-4 transfection has normal TB-4 expression and exocytosis. NP cells with TB-4 transfection performed significantly higher cell activity than that at the control group in each generation. TB-4 recombinant AAV-transfected human NP cells also show slower cell aging, lower cell apoptosis and higher cell proliferation than control group.

CONCLUSIONSTB-4 can prevent NP cell apoptosis, slow NP cell aging and promote NP cell proliferation. AAV transfection technique was able to highly and stably express TB-4 in human NP cells, which may provide a new pathway for innovation in the treatment of intervertebral disc degenerative diseases.

Apoptosis ; genetics ; physiology ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; genetics ; physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Cellular Senescence ; genetics ; physiology ; Dependovirus ; genetics ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Intervertebral Disc ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Thymosin ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo design an artificial trachea which can totally heal with the native trachea.

METHODSUsing memory-alloy mesh as the skeleton to construct an artificial trachea by two-stage operation. After 2-year animal experiment we successfully performed the operation in a patient with recurrent carcinoid of the trachea, radically resected the tumor and primarily reconstructed the trachea.

RESULTSThe inner side of this "sandwich" artificial tracheal prosthesis was coated with skin and outside the memory-alloy mesh was muscle and vessel pedicle with good blood supply. The upper and lower anastomosis completely healed with recipient's trachea with a full recovery of trachea. Six-month follow-up showed that the patients resumed their normal life.

CONCLUSIONThe artificial trachea completely healed with the native trachea and became a part of the human trachea. The inner side of artificial trachea is coated with intact native skin tissue with ample blood supply, totally alive without rejection. Therefore, the pedicled artificial tracheal prosthesis is an real artificial trachea.

Alloys ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Prostheses and Implants ; Trachea ; surgery ; Tracheal Neoplasms ; surgery

Objective To investigate the titer stability of the harvest solution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus2(SARS-CoV-2)at 2 ～ 8 ℃ and the inactivation effect of β-propiolactone inactivator on the virus.Methods Three batches of SARS-CoV-2 harvest solution(batch numbers:202111001,202111002 and 202111003)were stored at 2 ～ 8 ℃ for 12 d and sampled every 3 d(0,3,6,9 and 12 d)for detection of the titers by Karber method;Three batches of virus harvest solution equilibrated overnight at 2 ～ 8 ℃ were inactivated by adding β-propiolactone at a volume fraction of 1∶4 000 and detected for the titers at different inactivation time points(0,0.5,1,1.5,2,3,4,8,16 and 24 h),of which samples inactivated for 8,16 and 24 h were taken for inactivation verification,and samples inactivated for 24 h were observed by transmission electron microscope.Results The titers of SARS-CoV-2 decreased with the prolongation of storage time at 2 ～8 ℃,which showed no obvious decrease during 0 ～ 3 d,while decreased from the initial 7.75,6 and 7.5 lgCCID_(50)/mL to5.75,4.625 and 6.25 lgCCID_(50)/mL on day 12,indicating that the virus activity showed a gradual decrease trend at 2 ～8 ℃；With the inactivation time,the virus titer decreased continuously and could not be detected after inactivation for 3 h.Transmission electron microscope observation showed that the inactivated virus particles were intact and the spike protein was evenly distributed.Conclusion The virulence of SARS-CoV-2 stored at 2 ～ 8 ℃ was unstable,so the subsequent inactivation and purification process should be carried out as soon as possible;The titer of virus could not be detected after3 h of inactivation,which provided a reference for the determination of the inactivation process.

OBJECTIVETo study the role of cerebrovascular hemodynamic indexes (CVHI) changing in stroke and to provide reference for stroke prevention and risk factor study.

METHODSFrom 2003 to 2004, participants aged 40 years and above in two communities in Fengxian district were recruited by cluster sampling. Risk factors of stroke and CVHI were investigated and checked during baseline investigation. A total of 10 565 individuals completed the survey and met the inclusion criterion. After baseline investigation, the cohort was followed up for stroke occurrence. Relative risk (RR) of CVHI and common risk factors were estimated by cohort study design.

RESULTSAge of the cohort was (56.2 ± 11.4) years. 4444 (42.1%) were males and 6121 (57.9%) were females. Total follow-up duration was 67 885.7 person-years. A total of 195 stroke cases occurred and incidence density of stroke was 287.2 per 100 000 person-years. Stroke incidence in exposure groups of hypertension, heart disease and alcohol drinking was 3.47% (108/3118), 2.96% (21/710) and 2.50% (47/1882), respectively. The incidence in corresponding non-exposure group was 1.17% (87/7448), 1.77% (174/9855) and 1.70% (148/8683) respectively. There was significant difference between 2 groups (χ(2) value was 62.72, 4.56 and 4.94, respectively, P < 0.05). Stroke incidence in CVHI score < 25, 25 - 49, 50 - 74 and ≥ 75 groups was 9.12% (59/647), 5.68% (44/775), 2.52% (39/1545) and 0.72% (53/7403)(χ(2)trend = 273.57, P < 0.05), respectively. Incidence of stroke in 40 - 49, 50 - 59, 60 - 69, ≥ 70 years age group was 0.22% (8/3565), 1.28% (43/3357), 2.71% (50/1848) and 5.88% (94/1600) (χ(2)trend = 181.48, P < 0.05), respectively. Multiple Cox regression analysis indicated that RR (95%CI) value of hypertension and cigarette smoking was 1.40(1.02 - 1.92) and 1.59(1.19 - 2.12), respectively when comparing with non-exposure group. RR (95%CI) value in CVHI score < 25, 25 - 49 and 50 - 74 points group were 6.15 (4.08 - 9.26), 4.55 (2.98 - 6.96) and 2.68 (1.75 - 4.09), respectively when comparing with the score ≥ 75 points group. RR (95%CI) value in age 50 - 59, 60 - 69 and ≥ 70 years group was 4.61 (2.16 - 9.82), 7.81 (3.67 - 16.60) and 13.49(6.44 - 28.24), respectively when comparing with below 40 years group.

CONCLUSIONCVHI score is the strong independent predictive factor and hypertension, cigarette smoking and age are the independent risk factors of stroke.

Aged ; Brain ; physiopathology ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Stroke ; epidemiology ; etiology ; physiopathology

In the 21st century, natural disasters and emergencies occur frequently worldwide, which leads to the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives as well as the direct and indirect economic losses. China has a vast territory frequently struck by natural disasters. However, the reality is not optimistic. Poor organization and management during the rescue actions, the lack of large-scale, systematic medical rescue equipment were all great barriers to the outcomes. Mobile hospitals are expected to provide better health care. We were inspired by the concept of mobile hospital. Chongqing Emergency Medical Center, has set up trauma care system since 1988, in which prehospital care, intensive care, and in-hospital treatment is fully integrated. As a major advantage, such a system provided assurance of "golden hour" rescue treatment. Providing mobile intensive care and prehospital surgical service for severe trauma patients could reduce mortality significantly. Based on the civilian experiences in Chongqing Emergency Medical Center, the mobile emergency (surgical) hospital was developed.
China ; Earthquakes ; Emergency Medical Services ; Humans ; Mobile Health Units ; Relief Work ; Rescue Work

Objective To investigate the expressions of 12 cytokines(IL-1β,IL-2,IL-4,IL-5,IL-6,IL-8,IL-10,IL-12p70,IL-17,IFN-α,IFN-γ,TNF-α)and procalcitonin in patients with infective endocarditis(IE).Methods Ten IE patients admitted to our hospital from December 2021 to December 2022 were included into the IE group,10 patients with non-infectious and non-rheumatic valvular diseases who were admitted to our hospital at the same period were randomly selected as the control group,and blood sampling of all patients were conducted at admission.The expressions of 12 cytokines and blood routine indexes were detected by flow cytometry,and the level of procalcitonin was detected by ELISA.The correlations among the expression levels of cytokines in IE patients were analyzed by Pearson method and the correlations of IL-8 level and white blood cell count with procalcitonin in IE patients were analyzed by Spearman method.Results Compared with the control group,the levels of cytokines of IL-1β,IL-2,IL-6,IL-10,TNF-α,IFN-α,IFN-γ and IL-12p70 in the IE group were significantly increased(P<0.05),the white blood cell count,neutrophil percentage and procalcitonin were significantly increased(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the percentage of monocytes between the two groups(P>0.05).IFN-α of IE patients was positively correlated with IL-2,TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-12p70,IL-2 was positively correlated with TNF-α and IL-1β,IL-12p70 was positively correlated with IFN-γ,and procalcitonin was significantly positively correlated with IL-8 and white blood cell count,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).Conclusion The levels of IL-1β,IL-2,IL-6,IL-10,TNF-α,IFN-α,IFN-γ,IL-12p70 and procalcitonin in IE patients are significantly higher than those in the normal population,and the detections of these indicators are of guiding significance for the early diagnosis of IE and the evaluation of the severity of the disease.

Objective To study the changes of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in blood oxygenation level dependent functional MRI (BOLD-fMPI) in non-lesional epilepsy (NLE),and discuss its underlying neurophysiological mechanism. Methods The BOLD-fMRI data of 16 patients with NLE and 15 normal volunteers were analyzed by ALFF. The amplitude of the blood oxygenation level dependent activation of the resting state brain was investigated. The brain structures showing increased and decreased ALFF in NLE patients were demonstrated by comparing to normal subjects with 2-sample t-test with threshold of P＜0.05. Results As compared with those in normal subjects,the regions showing increased ALFF in NLE patients were distributed in the right temporal lobe (Montreal Neurological Institute [MNI] coordinates:x=15,y=90,z=21),medial frontal lobe (MNI coordinates:0,24,-24),ventral anterior cingulated (MNI coordinates:-12,30,27) and right cerebellar hemisphere (MNI coordinates:-51,-57,-4); while the regions showing decreased ALFF covered the areas of the left cerebellar hemisphere (MNI coordinates:-48,-15,39),posterior cingulum gyrus (MNI coordinates:60,-21,33) and precuneus (MNI coordinates:-6,-54,66). Conclusion NLE patients show abnormal brain functional organization in resting state; the increased ALFF is considered to be the facilitation such as epileptic activity generation and propagation,while the decreased ALFF might be considered as the functional inhibition in these regions.

We conducted in-depth analysis on the use of a popular Chinese social networking and microblogging site, Sina Weibo, to monitor an avian influenza A(H7N9) outbreak in China and to assess the value of social networking sites in the surveillance of disease outbreaks that occur overseas. Two data sets were employed for our analysis: a line listing of confirmed cases obtained from conventional public health information channels and case information from Weibo posts. Our findings showed that the level of activity on Weibo corresponded with the number of new cases reported. In addition, the reporting of new cases on Weibo was significantly faster than those of conventional reporting sites and non-local news media. A qualitative review of the functions of Weibo also revealed that Weibo enabled timely monitoring of other outbreak-relevant information, provided access to additional crowd-sourced epidemiological information and was leveraged by the local government as an interactive platform for risk communication and monitoring public sentiment on the policy response. Our analysis demonstrated the potential for social networking sites to be used by public health agencies to enhance traditional communicable disease surveillance systems for the global surveillance of overseas public health threats. Social networking sites also can be used by governments for calibration of response policies and measures and for risk communication.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the different subtypes caused by c.721C>T substitution in the exon 7 of the ABO gene, and to investigate the related molecular mechanism of different antigens expression. METHODS: ABO subtypes in 7 samples were identified by standard serological methods. The exons 6, 7, and adjacent intron of ABO gene were amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and the PCR products were analyzed by direct DNA sequencing and cloning sequencing. RESULTS: ABO subtypes phenotypes were A CONCLUSION c.721C>T substitution in the ABO gene causes p.Arg241Trp exchange resulting in the decreasing of GTA or GTB activities and weaker antigen expression. O.01.07 is a null allele which cannot form a functional catalytic enzyme has no effect on A
ABO Blood-Group System/genetics* ; Alleles ; Exons ; Genotype ; Mutation, Missense

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the molecular mechanism of one patient with abnormal serological phenotype in RhD and discuss the transfusion strategy. METHODS: The RhD variant sample was screened from a patient with IgM type anti-D antibody and further determined by three different sources of anti-D antibodies. Ten exons and the adjacent introns of the RHD gene were amplified, purified and sequenced. RhCE phenotypes and RHCE genotypes were detected. RESULTS: The patient with Rh variant showed abnormal results of serological tests. The RHD gene sequence analysis showed that the RHD*01W.01 with a variation (c.809T>G, p.Val270Gly) in exon 6 of the RHD gene was found in the patient. The RhCE phenotype was CcEe. The genotyping results of RHCE were consistent with the serological typing results. CONCLUSION The Rh variant of the patient is RHD*01W.01, these findings indicate that RhD variants should be analyzed by molecular assays for the sake of safe transfusion.
Alleles ; Blood Transfusion ; Exons ; Genotype ; Humans ; Phenotype ; Rh-Hr Blood-Group System/genetics*