The World Health Organization (WHO) standard assay for determining antibody level is the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) and is used to determine the degree of immunity after vaccination against rabies.To compare the difference in RFFIT results between the laboratories of The National Institute of Infectious Disease in Japan (NIID) and the Chinese Centre for Disease Control (CCDC) as well the influence of the choice of standard serum (STD) for the detection,the two laboratories detection methods were simultaneously manipulated by RFFIT.The reference serums used in NIID and the WHO standard serum used in CCDC were compared in the same RFFIT detection to determine the titer of four sera samples C1,S1,S2 and S4 in parallel,and the titers of the detected sera samples were calculated using the standard formula for neutralizing antibody titer.No significant difference was found in RFFIT methods from the two laboratories and the RFFIT testing procedures of the two laboratories have good consistency.However,different titers were obtained with the tentative internal standard serum (TI-STD) produced by adjusting to 2.0 IU of WHO standard serum in NIID and the WHO STD.The titer determined with the TI-STD was higher than that determined with WHO STD,This difference appears to be significant and requires further investigation.

Purpose: Metformin is a common medication for patients with hyperglycemia. In adults, one well-documented side effect of metformin is vitamin B12 deficiency. However, this side effect has rarely been studied in pediatric patients. This study examined the changes of vitamin B12 level in pediatric patients being treated with metformin. Methods: Data were collected from pediatric patients (n=151) with at least 3 months of consecutive metformin intake. The effects of dose of metformin on the mean vitamin B12 level were investigated at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months. The effect of compliance of metformin intake on vitamin B12 level also was studied. Results: There was no significant decrease in mean vitamin B12 level at 6, 12, 24, or 36 months in patients treated with metformin. Mean vitamin B12 decrease was only noticeable (p<0.05) in patients taking a high dose of metformin with good compliance. Despite this change, the mean vitamin B12 remained well within the normal reference range. Furthermore, of the 151 patients studied, only 1 demonstrated vitamin B12 deficiency after 12 months of treatment. However, his B12 level was normal at 24 and 36 months without any vitamin B12 supplements. Conclusion Our findings suggest that metformin treatment in children does not cause vitamin B12 deficiency; however, the effect of long-term consistent high-dose treatment on vitamin B12 level remains unknown.

BACKGROUND: Despite improved operator technique and advanced equipment designs, acute closure and restenosis remain as serious limitations to both the short and long-term success of balloon angioplasty. Atherectomy is a new transluminal interventional technique for the treatment of coronary artery obstructive disease. We evaluate preliminary experience of directonal coronary atherectomy (DCA) for complex coronary artery lesions. METHODS: We tried DCA in the 16 lesions of 15 nonrandomized sequential patients(mean age 66 years, M/F : 12/3) with coronary artery lesions that were ostial lesion in 4, ulcerated and/or eccentric in 13, restenosis after PTCA in 2 and after stent implantation in 2. The target vessel was right coronary artery in 7 and left anterior descending artery in 9. RESULTS: Primary success was achieved in 14 of 16 lesions (88%) by atherectomy and in 5(36%) by additional use of balloon angioplasty. Atherectomy retrieved tissue in 15 out of 15 attempts(100%). One patients suffered acute closure due to large dissection during the DCA which was solved successfully after stent implantation. CONCLUSIONS: Atherectomy can predictably treat selected patients with eccentric, ostial bulky coronary lesions with overall safety comparable to that of conventional balloon angioplasty, although the procedure as currently performed does not appear to prevent restenosis.
Angioplasty, Balloon ; Arteries ; Atherectomy ; Atherectomy, Coronary* ; Coronary Vessels ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Stents ; Ulcer

Adult ; COVID-19/diagnosis* ; Humans ; Intracranial Thrombosis/virology* ; Male ; Severity of Illness Index ; Venous Thrombosis/virology*

OBJECTIVETo investigate whether I-tetrahydropalmatine (I-THP), an alkaloid mainly present in Corydalis family, could ameliorate early vascular inflammatory responses in atherosclerotic processes.

METHODSFluorescently labeled monocytes were co-incubated with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), which were pretreated with I-THP and then simulated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in absence of I-THP to determine if I-THP could reduce thecytokine-induced adhesion of monocytes to HUVECs. Then I-THP were further studied the underlying mechanisms through observing the transcriptional and translational level of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (NF)-κ B in HUVECs.

RESULTSL-THP could block TNF-α-induced adhesion of monocytes to HUVECs and could significantly inhibited the expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 on cell surface by 31% and 36% at 30 μ mol/L. L-THP pretreatment could also markedly reduce transcriptional and translational level of VCAM-1 as well as mildly reduce the total protein and mRNA expression levels of ICAM-1. Furthermore, I-THP attenuated TNF-α-stimulated NF-κ B nuclear translocation.

CONCLUSIONThese results provide evidences supporting that I-THP could be a promising compound in the prevention and treatment of the early vascular inflammatory reaction in atherosclerosis by inhibiting monocyte adhesion to vascular endothelial cell through downregulating ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in vascular endothelial cell based on suppressing NF-κ B.

Berberine Alkaloids ; pharmacology ; Cell Adhesion ; drug effects ; Cell Nucleus ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Down-Regulation ; drug effects ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Monocytes ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Protein Transport ; drug effects ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Transcription Factor RelA ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; pharmacology ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore the relationship between anemia and cognitive function among senior female aged 90 years old and above in longevity regions in China.

METHODS383 senior female in 5 longevity areas from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) 2008 - 2009 were included in the study. The cognitive function was assessed by mini mental state examination (MMSE) scale. All subjects were administered the physical examinations and biochemical testing of blood, including the hemoglobin. The difference of cognitive function between those with and without anemia was analyzed. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between anemia and cognitive function.

RESULTSThe 383 subjects were divided into two groups, 141 in anemia group and 242 in group without anemia. The total score of cognitive function was 9.65 ± 9.32 in anemia group, and 13.06 ± 10.25 in group without anemia (χ(2) = 5.59, P < 0.05). The percentage of cognition impairment was 84.4% (119/141) in anemia group, and 72.3% (175/242) in group without anemia (χ(2) = 8.08, P < 0.05). In the multivariable logistic regressions, after adjustment for age, education, marital status, smoking and alcohol drinking, the risk for cognition impairment in anemia group was about twice of that in group without anemia (OR = 2.016, 95%CI: 1.185 - 3.431, P = 0.010).

CONCLUSIONAnemia increases the risk of cognition impairment among senior female in Chinese longevity areas.

Age Factors ; Aged, 80 and over ; Anemia ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Causality ; China ; epidemiology ; Cognition ; Female ; Humans ; Longevity

OBJECTIVETo sequence and analyze the whole genome of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) strain named 47 which was isolated from patient's cerebrospinal fluid sample in Heilongjiang province in 1950.

METHODSRNA was extracted from the recovery strain 47 and amplified with self-designed JEV genome sequencing primers. The differentiation analysis for nucleotides and coding amino acids and phylogenetic analysis were performed by the software of DNAStar, Modeltest, and Phylip.

RESULTSThe whole genome of strain 47 has 10,977 nucleotides. An open reading frame from 95 to 10,391 including 10,296 nucleotides is capable of coding a 3432 amino acid polyprotein. The nucleotide difference between strain 47 and 5 vaccine strains is 2.4%-4.4%, the amino acid difference between strain 47 and 5 vaccine strains is 0.3%-1.1%. The best evolution model for the whole genome is GTR + I + G. Based on the phylogenetic analysis, strain 47 belongs to the genotype III JEV.

CONCLUSIONStrain 47 is highly conserved on whole genome nucleotide and amino acid sequence. And it is belongs to the genotype III JEV.

China ; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Encephalitis, Japanese ; virology ; Genome, Viral ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Open Reading Frames ; Phylogeny ; RNA, Viral ; cerebrospinal fluid ; genetics ; isolation & purification

Precipitating hydrophobic injectable liquid (PHIL; MicroVention, Aliso Viejo, CA, USA) and Squid (Balt, Irvine, CA, USA) are 2 newer liquid embolic agents used in endovascular embolization of cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM). This study aims to investigate and compare the effectiveness and safety profile of the 2 newer liquid embolic agents in the embolization of cerebral AVM. This is a retrospective study on all patients diagnosed with cerebral AVM undergoing endovascular embolization with liquid embolic agents PHIL and Squid admitted to the Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery in Prince of Wales Hospital from January 2014 to June 2021. Twenty-three patients with cerebral AVM were treated with 34 sessions of endovascular embolization with either PHIL or Squid (17 sessions each) liquid embolic agents with a male to female ratio of 2.3:1 (male 16; female 7) and mean age of 44.6 (range, 12 to 67). The mean total nidus obliteration rate per session was 57% (range, 5% to 100%). Twenty-one patients (91.3%) received further embolization, stereotactic radiosurgery, or surgical excision after initial endovascular embolization. There were 2 morbidities (1 neurological and 1 non-neurological, 6%) and no mortalities (0%). All patients had static or improvement in modified Rankin Scale at 3 to 6 months at discharge. PHIL and Squid are effective and safe liquid embolic agents for endovascular embolization of cerebral AVM, achieving satisfactory nidal obliteration rates and patient functional outcomes.

Purpose: Patients with cancer are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus disease (COVID). Transportation barriers made travel to obtain medical care more difficult during the pandemic. Whether these factors led to changes in the distance traveled for radiotherapy and the coordinated location of radiation treatment is unknown. Materials and Methods: We analyzed patients across 60 cancer sites in the National Cancer Database from 2018 to 2020. Demographic and clinical variables were analyzed for changes in distance traveled for radiotherapy. We designated the facilities in the 99th percentile or above in terms of the proportion of patients who traveled more than 200 miles as “destination facilities.” We defined “coordinated care” as undergoing radiotherapy at the same facility where the cancer was diagnosed. Results: We evaluated 1,151,954 patients. There was a greater than 1% decrease in the proportion of patients treated in the Mid-Atlantic States. Mean distance traveled from place of residence to radiation treatment decreased from 28.6 to 25.9 miles, and the proportion traveling greater than 50 miles decreased from 7.7% to 7.1%. At “destination facilities,” the proportion traveling more than 200 miles decreased from 29.3% in 2018 to 24% in 2020. In comparison, at the other hospitals, the proportion traveling more than 200 miles decreased from 1.07% to 0.97%. In 2020, residing in a rural area resulted in a lower odds of having coordinated care (multivariable odds ratio = 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.83–0.95). Conclusion The first year of the COVID pandemic measurably impacted the location of U.S. radiation therapy treatment.

The outcome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients significantly differs between western and eastern population centers. Our group previously developed and validated the Chinese University Prognostic Index (CUPI) for the prognostication of HCC among the Asian HCC patient population. In the current study, we aimed to validate the CUPI using an international cohort of patients with HCC and to compare the CUPI to two widely used staging systems, the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) classification and the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP). To accomplish this goal, two cohorts of patients were enrolled in the United Kingdom (UK; n = 567; 2006-2011) and Hong Kong (HK; n = 517; 2007-2012). The baseline clinical data were recorded. The performances of the CUPI, BCLC, and CLIP were compared in terms of a concordance index (C-index) and were evaluated in subgroups of patients according to treatment intent. The results revealed that the median follow-up durations of the UK and HK cohorts were 27.9 and 29.8 months, respectively. The median overall survival of the UK and HK cohorts were 22.9 and 8.6 months, respectively. The CUPI stratified the patients in both cohorts into three risk subgroups corresponding to distinct outcomes. The median overall survival of the CUPI low-, intermediate-, and high-risk subgroups were 3.15, 1.24, and 0.29 years, respectively, in the UK cohort and were 2.07, 0.32, and 0.10 years, respectively, in the HK cohort. For the patients who underwent curative treatment, the prognostic performance did not differ between the three staging systems, and all were suboptimal. For those who underwent palliative treatment, the CUPI displayed the highest C-index, indicating that this staging system was the most informative for both cohorts. In conclusion, the CUPI is applicable to both western and eastern HCC patient populations. The performances of the three staging systems differed according to treatment intent, and the CUPI was demonstrated to be optimal for those undergoing palliative treatment. A more precise staging system for early-stage disease patients is required.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Hong Kong ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; United Kingdom