Objective To assess the expression and significance of proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin 9 (PCSK9) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods Sixty-five RA patients and forty-seven healthy controls were recruited in this study.The body mass index (BMI) and serum total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG),high density lipoprotein (HDL),lipoprotein a,low density lipoprotein (LDL),very low density lipoprotein(VLDL),apolipoprotein A (ApoA),apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and the ratio of LDL-C/HDL-C were tested.Other parameters included disease activity score 28 (DAS28),rheumatoid factor (RF),anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) antibody,erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR),c-reactive protein (CRP).Serum PCSK9 level was measured by ELISA and compared between RA patients and healthy controls.Results (1) The serum PCSK9 levels in RA patients were higher than those in healthy controls [(409.36 ±223.52) μg/L vs (292.19 ± 109.79) μg/L,P ＜ 0.05].(2) Compared with subgroup of moderate and low active disease and patients in remission,PCSK9 was significantly higher in patients with highly active disease (P ＜ 0.05).(3) The serum PCSK9 levels were positively correlated with RF,TC,TG,LDL,very low density lipoprotein (VLDL),ApoB,with r values as 0.303,0.490,0.320,0.451,0.319,0.463,respectively (P ＜ 0.05).(4) Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that DAS28,RF,TC and LDL-C/HDL-C were relevant factors for PCSK9 in RA patients.Conclusions The serum PCSK9 level is elevated in RA patients,which is related to RF,disease activity,TC,TG,LDL,VLDL,ApoB.This suggests that PCSK9 is potentially linked to inflammatory reaction and lipid metabolism in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVEStudy on the antibacterial activity of Viola yedoensis and the antibacterial active compounds.

METHODThe chemical compositions were isolated by means of solvent extraction, column chromatography on silica gel, sephadex LH-20 and crystallization. The antibacterial activities were tested by Neo-Sensitab disk-diffusion method, nephelometric analysis and plating method.

RESULTOne new compound (4) along with three known compounds were isolated from this plant for the first time and were identified as aesculetin (1), 6,7-dimethoxycoumarin (2), scopoletin (3) and 5-methoxy-7-hydroxymethylcoumarin (4), respectively. All the compounds showed antibacterial and antibactericidal activities at varying degree on Streptococcus Aureas, S. agalactiae, S. uberis, S. dysgalactiae, E. coli and Salmonella, of which 1 was most active with 0.031- 0.313 g x L(-1) of minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and 0.313 - 0.625 g x L(-1) of minimal bactericidal concentrations (MBC).

CONCLUSIONViola yedoensis has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity on animal pathogenic bacteria, and coumarins may be the main antibacterial activity ingredients.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Bacteria ; drug effects ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Plant Extracts ; analysis ; pharmacology ; Viola ; chemistry

Objective To investigate the occupational risk perception of surgeons in a tertiary hospital in Suzhou and ex-plore the relationship between occupational risk perception and self-efficacy,and to provide suggestions for improving surgeons'mental health.Methods The occupational risk perception scale of surgeons was designed to investigate,and 194 valid question-naires were collected.Factor analysis,correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to study the data.Results Occupa-tional risk perception of surgeons has multidimensional structures,including physical function risk,economic risk,occupational exposure risk,organizational risk,time risk and psycho-social risk.Age,educational background,professional title and working time are the influencing factors of occupational risk perception,and occupational risk perception of surgeons is significantly nega-tively correlated with self-efficacy.Conclusion The scale designed has good reliability and validity,and surgeons have a high lev-el of occupational risk perception,which can reduce the negative impact of occupational risk perception by improving self-efficacy.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic basis, clinical phenotype and pathogenesis for a child with mosaicism ring chromosome 4. METHODS: Clinical data of the child was collected. Peripheral blood chromosomal karyotype G banding analysis, chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were carried out for the child, in addition with a review of the literature. RESULTS: The child was born full-term with low birth weight, facial dysmorphism, patent ductus arteriosus and ventricular septal defect. His karyotype was determined as mos46,XY,r(4)(p16.3q35.2)[259]/45,XY,-4[25]/47,XY,r(4)(p16.3q35.2), +r(4)(p16.3q35.2)[8]/46,XY,der(4)del(4)(p16.3)inv(4)(p16.3q31.1)[6]/46,XY,dic?r(4;4)(p16.3q35.2;p16.3q35.2)[4]/48,XY,r(4)(p16.3q35.2),+r(4)(p16.3q35.2)×2[3]/46,XY,r(4)(p1?q2?)[2]; CMA result was arr[GRCH37]4p16.3(68 345-2 981 614)×1; FISH result was 45,XY,-4[12]/45,XY,-4×2,+mar1.ish r1(4)(WHS-,D4Z1+)[1]/ 46,XY,-4,+mar1.ishr1(4)(WHS-,D4Z1+)[73]/46,XY,-4,+mar2.ishr2(4)(WHS-,D4Z1++)[1]/47,XY,-4,+mar1×2.ishr1(4) (WHS-, D4Z1+)×2[4]/46,XY,del(4)(p16.3).ish del(4)(p16.3)(WHS-,D4Z1+)[9]. CONCLUSION In this case, the ring chromosome 4 as a de novo variant has produced a number of cell lines during embryonic development and given rise to mosaicism. The clinical phenotype of ring chromosome 4 is variable. The instability of the ring chromosome itself, presence of mosaicism, chromosome breakpoint and range of deletion and/or duplication may all affect the ultimate phenotype.
Humans ; Pregnancy ; Female ; Ring Chromosomes ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Karyotyping ; Karyotype ; Mosaicism

Objective The aim of this study is to investigate the proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSC) derived from different aged donors, and to evaluate the effects of aging on the biological characteristics of PDLSC.Methods Periodontal ligament tissues were obtained from 24 surgically extracted human premolars during orthodontics therapy. The specimens were divided into three groups according to the donor's age. Group A: 18-20 years, group B: 30-35 years, group C: 45-50 years. PDLSC were isolated and cultured using a tissue-block-based enzymolytic method by limiting dilution assay. The colony forming efficiency of PDLSC for three experimental groups was determined. Senescence-Associated β-Galactosidase (SA-β-G) expression in the three groups was examined using β-galactosidase staining working solution. Cell cycle and apoptosis of the PDLSC were examined by the flow cytometry. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was evaluated by ALP staining. The expression of osteoplastic differentiation related genes Runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx-2), Collagen Type 1 (col-1), and ALP of PDLSC were examined by quantitative real-time RT-PCR.Results The colony forming efficiency of PDLSC in Group A, B and C was 36.67%, 22.67% and 9.33%, respectively, which decreased with donors' age (P<0.05). SA-β-G expression of the senescent PDLSC in group A, B and C were 4.14%, 16.39%, 50.38%, respectively (P<0.05). Cells in G2/S phase was 38.73%, 29.88%, 18.25% (P<0.05), and the apoptosis rate was 1.57%, 4.56%, 5.84% (P<0.05), in group A, B and C respectively. The ALP staining in the three groups decreased with the increase of donors' ages, and the expression of Runx-2, col-1 and ALP decreased gradually from group A to group C (all P<0.05), which indicated the osteogenic differentiation capacity of PDLSC decreased while donor aging.Conclusion Human PDLSC could be successfully isolated from periodontal ligament tissues of different aged donors. However, the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation capacity of PDLSC decreased while donor aging.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aging ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; genetics ; Apoptosis ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Osteogenesis ; Periodontal Ligament ; cytology ; Stem Cells ; cytology

BACKGROUND: Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy is a tool that can accurately navigation peripheral lung lesions. Because of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) is too expensive, it has not been widely used in China. It is urgent for us to summarize experience in clinical application, especially in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with pulmonary peripheral lesions (PPLs) in our department undergoing ENB biopsy between July 2017 and December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: There were 18 patients with 21 PPLs (10 males and 8 females). Among them, 11 patients got the final pathological diagnosis, 8 cases were diagnosed with adenocarcinoma lung cancer, 1 case was diagnosed with tuberculosis and 2 cases were diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. The positive rate of diagnosis was 61.1%. The sensitivity was 73.3%. The positive diagnosis rate is related to the size of the lesion, the positive diagnosis rate for lesions >2 cm is 100.0% (P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS Electromagnetic navigation bronchoscope is safe and effective in clinic. It has a high positive rate for the diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions larger than 2 cm, ENB has broad clinical application prospects.

A new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been identified as the etiologic agent for the COVID-19 outbreak. Currently, effective treatment options remain very limited for this disease; therefore, there is an urgent need to identify new anti-COVID-19 agents. In this study, we screened over 6,000 compounds that included approved drugs, drug candidates in clinical trials, and pharmacologically active compounds to identify leads that target the SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease (PLpro). Together with main protease (M
Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use* ; Binding Sites ; COVID-19/virology* ; Coronavirus Papain-Like Proteases/metabolism* ; Crystallography, X-Ray ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Drug Repositioning ; High-Throughput Screening Assays/methods* ; Humans ; Imidazoles/therapeutic use* ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Molecular Dynamics Simulation ; Mutagenesis, Site-Directed ; Naphthoquinones/therapeutic use* ; Protease Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Recombinant Proteins/isolation & purification* ; SARS-CoV-2/isolation & purification*