Objective: To investigate the effects of Ala-Gln induced heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) expression on myocardial ifbrosis and connexin43 (Cx43) remodeling in experimental rats’ model.
Methods: A total of 32 SPF male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups:①Control group,②Model group, the rats received isoprenaline (ISO) 5m/(kg·d),③Intervention group, the rats received ISO+Ala-Gln 0.75mg/(kg·d),④Quercetin group, the rats received ISO+quercetin 100mg/(kg·d)+Ala-Gln+DMSO. n=8 in each group. All animals were treated for 7 days and killed in 4 weeks for relevant examinations. HE and Masson staining was conducted to observe myocardial ifbrosis, then calculate collagen volume fraction; immunohistochemistry was applied to measure myocardial HSP70 expression,
extracellular signal regulated kinase (p-ERK1/2) and Cx43 distribution, then conduct semi-quantitative analysis by speciifc soft ware.
Results: HE and Masson staining indicated that Control group had no obvious myocardial ifbrosis, Model group and Quercetin group had obvious ifbrosis, and Intervention group showed less ifbrosis than the other 2 groups, all P<0.01. The fibrosis level was similar between Intervention group and Control group, P>0.05. The myocardial HSP70 expression was similar among Control, Model and Quercetin groups, P>0.05, while HSP70 expression was signiifcantly higher in Intervention group than the other 3 groups, all P<0.01. The myocardial p-ERK1/2 level was lower in Intervention group than Model and Quercetin groups, all P<0.01. The myocardial Cx43 level was similar between Control group and Intervention group with linear distribution, while it was higher in Intervention group than Model and Quercetin groups with disordered distribution, all P<0.01.
Conclusion: Ala-Gln inducing the higher expression of HSP70, which may reduce myocardial ifbrosis in experimental rats, it could be because of HSP70 down regulating p-ERK1/2 expression and inhibiting ERK signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the safty and feasibility of simultaneous minimally invasive technique for congenital heart disease (CHD) and pectus excavatum (PE).Methods From July 2006 to June 2011,6 children with PE associated with CHD were treated by simultaneous minimally invasive technique.They were 4 boys and 2 girls,aged from 4 years to 6 years 5 months ( average 5 years and 4 month),.The body weight were from 16 kg to 20 kg [ average ( 18.00 ± 1.79kg ].CT Hailer index were 3.9 - 5.0 ( average 4.35 ± 0.43 ).4 patients with ventricular septal defect (VSD) were treated by minimally invasive closure device,including 3 membranous VSD and 1 subaortic VSD.The defect diameter was 4 - 5 mm.2 cases with atrial septal defect (ASD) were treated using the same technique.the diameter of ASD was 12 - 16 mm.After minimally invasive heart surgery,Nuss operation was carried out in all 6 patients for their PE.Results All operations were successful and patients were extubated 5 - 11 h after operation [ mean ( 8.17 ± 2.04) h ].The pericardial mediastinal drainage was removed at 48 h postoperatively.There were no operative mortality and severe postoperative complications.1 patient had delayed wound healing and was successfully discharged.The plate was removed in 3 cases,and they all had satisfactory outcomes.Conclusion Simultaneous minimally invasive technique is a safe and effeictive mothod for treating pectus excavatum and congenital heart disease.

Animals ; Borrelia burgdorferi ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; China ; Genotype ; Ixodidae ; microbiology

Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), which mainly regulates glucose homeostasis in pancreatic β cells, is a novel target in the treatment of diabetes.In this study, 4-hydroxybenzopyrimidine was used as the raw material, four nitrogen-containing rings (imidazole, methylpiperazine, pyrazole, morpholine) were introduced, benzopyrimidine skeleton with nitrogen-containing rings derivatives targeting TXNIP was designed and synthesized, and the protective effect of compounds on palmitic acid-stimulated islet β cells was investigated.A total of 20 benzopyrimidine derivatives were designed and synthesized, and the structures were confirmed by 1H NMR and ESI-MS.Pharmacological studies showed that most of the compounds exhibited protective effects on islet β cells, with better axtivity for compounds C-1, C-2, C-4 and D-2 (cell survival rate > 70%) compared with PA model group (38.3%), Among the four compounds, D-2 had the highest activity of 87.2%, so it could become a potential new anti-diabetic chemical entity.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the application of cameral-type three-dimensional (3D) scan in the assessment of funnel chest.

METHODSEighty children with funnel chest were collected from the Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine during June 2016 and December 2017. All patients underwent routine CT scan. In the same selected mediastinal window, the lowest point of the depression to the front of the spine was the anteroposterior diameter (A), and the maximum left to right diameter was B (which was perpendicular to A). The ratio B/A was calculated to get CT Haller index (CT-HI). In the same period, the chest wall scan was performed by EinScan-Pro 3D scanner, and the image was analyzed by GeoMedic image software. On the plane of the most concave point of the sternum, the distance from the lowest point of the skin to the back skin was the anteroposterior diameter (A), the maximum plane diameter was measured on the same plane (B), and the ratio B/A was the 3D-Haller index (3D-HI). Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the consistency of the two measurements. Kappa test was used to analyze the consistency of surgical indication based on cutoff value of CT-HI and 3D-HI.

RESULTSAll children were able to cooperate with CT and 3D chest wall surface scan. The mean value of CT-HI was 3.82±0.96, and that of 3D-HI was 1.82±0.23. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the correlation coefficient between CT-HI and 3D-HI was 0.823 (<0.01). When CT-HI > 3.2 and 3D-HI > 1.7 were set as cutoff values for indication of operation, the sensitivity and specificity of 3D-HI were 90.48% and 100.0%, respectively. 3D-HI was well consistent with CT-HI in surgical indication (Kappa=0.801).

CONCLUSIONSs 3D scan can be used to assess the funnel chest in children, and 3D-HI>1.7 can be used as the cutoff value for surgical indication.

OBJECTIVETo compare the efficacy of percutaneous atrial septal defect (ASD) closure guided by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) or guided by fluoroscopy in pediatric patients.

METHODSMedical records of patients who underwent percutaneous ASD closure in the Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine from January 2017 to March 2018 were reviewed. There were 120 patients whose procedures were guided by TEE (TEE group), and 125 patients who had their procedures guided by fluoroscopy (fluoroscopy group). The performance of surgery, efficacy and postoperative complications were compared between two groups.

RESULTSPercutaneous ASD closure was successful in all patients. The operation time was shorter in the TEE group than that in fluoroscopy group[(20±14) min vs. (29±11) min, =-7.939, <0.05]. The size of the defect was larger in the TEE group than that of fluoroscopy group[(11±4) mm vs. (9±4) mm, =2.512, <0.05], but there was no significant difference in the sizes of occluder and occluder sheath between two groups (all >0.05). No residual shunt, occluder shedding or displacement, severe arrhythmia or pericardial effusion were observed in either group. The incidence rates of fever, cough and diarrhea were not statistically different between two groups (all >0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThere was no significant difference in the outcome of percutaneous ASD closure guided by TEE or by fluoroscopy, but the procedure guided by TEE may reduce the operation time and can evaluate the size of ASD more accurately without involving radiation exposure, contrast agents use and large digital subtraction equipment.

The electronic stethoscope combined with artificial intelligence (AI) technology has realized the digital acquisition of heart sounds and intelligent identification of congenital heart disease, which provides objective basis for heart sound auscultation and improves the accuracy of congenital heart disease diagnosis. At the present stage, the AI based cardiac auscultation technique mainly focuses on the research of AI algorithms, and the researchers have designed and summarized a variety of effective algorithms based on the characteristics of cardiac audio data, among which the mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) is the most effective one, and widely used in the cardiac auscultation. However, the current cardiac sound analysis techniques are based on specific data sets, and have not been validated in clinic, so the performance of algorithms need to be further verified. The lack of heart sound data, especially the high-quality, standardized, publicly available heart sound database with disease labeling, further restricts the development of heart sound diagnostic analysis and its application in screening. Therefore, expert consensus is necessary in establishing an authoritative heart sound database and standardizing the heart sound auscultation screening process for congenital heart disease. This paper provides an overview of the research and application status of auscultation algorithm and hardware equipment based on AI in auscultation screening of congenital heart disease, and puts forward the problems to be solved in clinical application of AI auscultation screening technology.
Algorithms ; Artificial Intelligence ; Heart Auscultation/trends* ; Heart Defects, Congenital/diagnosis* ; Humans ; Mass Screening/methods*

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a global pandemic. All people including children are generally susceptible to COVID-19, but the condition is relatively mild for children. The diagnosis of COVID-19 is largely based on the epidemiological evidence and clinical manifestations, and confirmed by positive detection of virus nucleic acid in respiratory samples. The main symptoms of COVID-19 in children are fever and cough; the total number of white blood cell count is usually normal or decreased; the chest imaging is characterized by interstitial pneumonia, which is similar to other respiratory virus infections and infections. Early identification, early isolation, early diagnosis and early treatment are important for clinical management. The treatment of mild or moderate type of child COVID-19 is mainly symptomatic. For severe and critical ill cases, the oxygen therapy, antiviral drugs, antibacterial drugs, glucocorticoids, mechanical ventilation or even extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) may be adopted, and the treatment plan should be adjusted timely through multi-disciplinary cooperation.
Betacoronavirus ; isolation & purification ; Child ; Coronavirus Infections ; diagnosis ; pathology ; therapy ; Humans ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; etiology ; pathology ; therapy

Betacoronavirus ; isolation & purification ; Child ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; Coronavirus Infections ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Humans ; Pneumonia, Viral ; diagnosis ; therapy