Objective: To explore the characteristics of plasma Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in primary infection in pediatric cases. Methods: The laboratory and clinical data of 571 children diagnosed with EBV primary infection in Children's Hospital of Fudan University during September 1^st, 2017 to September 30^th, 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the results of plasma EBV DNA, they were divided into positive group and negative group. According to the EBV DNA, they were devided into high plasma virol load group and low plasma virol load group. The Chi-square test, Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to compare the differences between groups. Results: Among the 571 children with EBV primary infection, 334 were males and 237 were females. The age of first diagnosis was 3.8 (2.2, 5.7) years. There were 255 cases in positive group and 316 cases in negative group. The percentage of cases with fever,hepatomegaly and (or) splenomegaly, elevated transaminase in the positive group were higher than those in the negative group (235 cases (92.2%) vs. 255 cases (80.7%), χ²=15.22, P<0.001; 169 cases (66.3%) vs. 85 cases (26.9%), χ²=96.80, P<0.001; and 144 cases (56.5%) vs. 120 cases (38.0%), χ²=18.27, P<0.001; respectively).In the positive group, 70 cases were followed up for 46 (27, 106) days, 68 cases (97.1%) turned negative within 28 days, with the exception of 2 cases (2.9%) developed chronic active EBV infection by follow-up revision.There were 218 cases in high plasma viral DNA copies group and 37 cases in low copies group. More cases presented with elevated transaminases in the high plasma viral DNA copies group than those in the low group (75.7% (28/37) vs. 56.0%(116/207), χ²=5.00, P=0.025).Both the positive rate of EBV DNA in peripheral blood leukocytes (84.2% (266/316) vs. 44.7% (255/571), χ²=76.26, P<0.001) and the copies of EBV DNA (7.0×10⁷ (1.3×10⁷, 3.0×10⁸) vs. 3.1×10⁶ (1.6×10⁶, 6.1×10⁶) copies /L, Z=15.23, P<0.001) were higher than that of plasma. Conclusions: In immunocompetent pediatric cases diagnosed as EBV primary infection, cases with positive plasma EBV DNA were prone to have fever, hepatomegaly and (or) splenomegaly, and elevated transaminase than those with negative plasma viral DNA. The plasma EBV DNA usually turns negative within 28 days after initial diagnosis.Most cases with high viral load in plasma showed elevated aminotransferase.
Female ; Male ; Humans ; Child ; DNA, Viral ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Epstein-Barr Virus Infections ; Hepatomegaly ; Retrospective Studies ; Splenomegaly ; Fever ; Transaminases

Objective: To study the protective effects of metformin on noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and its differential protein omics expression profile. Methods: In January 2021, 39 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into control group, noise exposure group and metformin+noise exposure group, with 13 rats in each group. Rats in the noise exposure group and metformin+noise exposure group were continuously exposed to octave noise with sound pressure level of 120 dB (A) and center frequency of 8 kHz for 4 h. Rats in the metformin+noise exposure group were treated with 200 mg/kg/d metformin 3 d before noise exposure for a total of 7 d. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) was used to test the changes of hearing thresholds before noise exposure and 1, 4, 7 d after noise exposure in the right ear of rats in each group. Tandem mass tag (TMT) quantitative proteomics was used to identify and analyze the differentially expressed protein in the inner ear of rats in each group, and it was verified by immunofluorescence staining with frozen sections. Results: The click-ABR thresholds of right ear in the noise exposure group and metformin+noise exposure group were significantly higher than those in the control group 1, 4, 7 d after noise exposure (P<0.05) . The click-ABR threshold of right ear in the metformin+noise exposure group were significantly lower than that in the noise exposure group (P<0.05) . Compared with the noise exposure group, 1035 up-regulated proteins and 1145 down-regulated proteins were differentially expressed in the metformin+noise exposure group. GO enrichment analysis showed that the significantly differentially expressed proteins were mainly involved in binding, molecular function regulation, signal transduction, and other functions. Enrichment analysis of KEGG pathway revealed that the pathways for significant enrichment of differentially expressed proteins included phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-protein kinase B (PI3K-Akt) signaling pathway, focal adhesion, diabetic cardiomyopathy, mitogen, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Immunofluorescence experiments showed that compared with the noise exposure group, the fluorescence intensity of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) in the metformin+noise exposure group was increased, and the fluorescence intensity of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E binding protein 1 (eIF4EBP1) was decreased. Conclusion: Noise exposure can lead to an increase in rat hearing threshold, and metformin can improve noise-induced hearing threshold abnormalities through multiple pathways and biological processes.
Animals ; Auditory Threshold/physiology* ; Cochlea ; Ear, Inner ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem/physiology* ; Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced/prevention & control* ; Male ; Metformin/pharmacology* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） and western medicine have their respective advantages and limitations in the diagnosis and treatment of common otorhinolaryngology head and neck diseases. Although the integrated TCM and western medicine exhibits definite curative effects， there is no consensus on the otorhinolaryngology head and neck diseases responding specifically to TCM or integrated TCM and western medicine， as well as the diagnosis and treatment schemes. The China Association of Chinese Medicine （CACM） thus organized the otorhinolaryngology head and neck specialists of both TCM and western medicine to discuss the etiology， pathogenesis， and clinical diagnosis and treatment methods of common otorhinolaryngology head and neck diseases with the results of multiple clinical trials taken into account. The acute pharyngitis， chronic pharyngolaryngitis， paraesthesia pharyngis， hysterical aphasia， allergic rhinitis， subjective tinnitus， and otogenic vertigo were confirmed to respond specifically to TCM or integrated TCM and western medicine. Then a mutually agreed diagnosis and treatment scheme and recommendation with integrated TCM and western medicine was formulated as a reference for clinical practice， thus benefiting more patients.

To analyze and evaluate predictive value of preoperative changes of serum levels of brain natri‐uretic peptide (BNP) and homocysteine (Hcy) levels for therapeutic effect and prognosis of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG ) in patients undergoing CABG .Methods : Clinical data of 115 patients undergoing CABG in our hospital were collected .Preoperative serum levels of BNP and Hcy were compared among patients with different disease severity , therapeutic effect and prognosis .Influence of serum BNP and Hcy levels on therapeutic effect and prognosis of CABG were analyzed .Results : Compared with medium and mild disease group , there were significant rise in preoperative serum levels of BNP [ (151.86 ± 22.57) pg／L vs.(82.57 ± 10.26) pg／L vs.(283.51 ± 32.47) pg／L] and Hcy [ (18.37 ± 4.51) μmol／L vs.(12.74 ± 2. 04) μmol／L vs.(31.56 ± 5.17) μmol／L] in severe disease group , and those of medium disease group were significantly higher than those of mild disease group , P＝0.001 all ;compared with effective group and ineffective group , there were significant reductions in preoperative serum levels of BNP [ (227. 49 ± 24. 52) pg／L vs.(308.26 ± 34.12) pg／L vs.(90.13 ± 10. 75) pg／L] and Hcy [ (29. 12 ± 5. 83) μmol／L vs.(46.15 ± 7.49) μmol／L vs.(19.03 ± 3.77) μmol／L] in markedly effective group , and those of effec‐tive group were significantly lower than those of ineffective group , P＝ 0.001 all.Compared with stenotic graft group and smooth graft group , there were significant rise in preoperative serum levels of BNP [ (271. 47 ± 25.18) pg／L vs .(92.41 ± 11.06) pg／L vs.(312. 54 ± 35.06) pg／L] and Hcy [ (33.08 ± 6. 14) μmol／L vs.(20. 05 ± 3. 68) μmol／L vs.(50.21 ± 7.75 ) μmol／L ] in death group , and those of stenotic graft group were significantly higher than those of smooth graft group , P＝0.001 all .Spearman correlation analysis indicated that serum BNP and Hcy levels were significant positively correlated with severity of CHD and prognosis of CABG ( r＝0. 624～0.814 , P＜0.05 or ＜0. 01).Multifactor Logistic regression analysis indicated that serum BNP and Hcy levels were independent risk factors for prognosis after CABG in CHD patients (OR＝ 5.133 , 1. 803 , P＝ 0.001 both ).Conclusion : The higher preoperative levels of BNP and Hcy before CABG are , the worse therapeutic effects are , and the higher risk of adverse prognosis of vascular stenosis and death are .

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common complication during pregnancy. Obesity and overweight are closely related to metabolic diseases and diabetes. However, the role of adipose tissue in the pathogenesis of GDM remains to be studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation of vitamin D (VD) levels, VD receptor (VDR), and peroxisome proliferatoractivated receptor γ (PPARγ) expression with GDM in overweight or obese women. Methods: One hundred and forty pregnant women with full-term single-birth cesarean-section were selected as the study subjects and grouped (70 GDM women, including 35 non-overweight/non-obese women [group G1] and 35 women with overweight or obesity [group G2]; 70 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance, including 35 non-overweight/non-obese women [group N1] and 35 overweight/obese women [group N2]). The levels of serum VD, blood biochemistry, and adiponectin were compared in these women. Subcutaneous adipose tissue was isolated from the abdominal wall incision. VDR and PPARγ messenger RNA (mRNA) transcript levels in these adipose tissues were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The differences between the levels of PPARγ protein and phosphorylated PPARγ Ser273 were detected by Western blotting. Results: The serum VD level of GDM women was lower in comparison to that of women with normal glucose tolerance (G1 vs. N1: 20.62 ± 7.87 ng/mL vs. 25.85 ± 7.29 ng/mL, G2 vs. N2: 17.06 ± 6.74 ng/mL vs. 21.62 ± 7.18 ng/mL, P < 0.05), and the lowest in overweight/obese GDM women. VDR and PPARγ mRNA expression was higher in the adipose tissues of GDM women in comparison to that of women with normal glucose tolerance (VDR mRNA: G1 vs. N1: 210.00 [90.58-311.46] vs. 89.34 [63.74-159.92], G2 vs. N2: 298.67 [170.84-451.25] vs. 198.28 [119.46-261.23], PPARγ mRNA: G1 vs. N1: 100.72 [88.61-123.87] vs. 87.52 [66.37-100.04], G2 vs. N2: 117.33 [100.08-149.00] vs. 89.90 [76.95-109.09], P < 0.05), and their expression was the highest in GDM+ overweight/obese women. VDR mRNA levels positively correlated with the pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), pre-delivery BMI, fasting blood glucose (FBG), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and PPARγ mRNA while it negatively correlated with the VD and the adiponectin levels (r = 0.395, 0.336, 0.240, 0.190, 0.235, -0.350, -0.294, respectively, P < 0.05). The degree of PPARγ Ser273 phosphorylation increased in obese and GDM pregnant women. PPARγ mRNA levels positively correlated with pre-pregnancy BMI, pre-delivery BMI, FBG, HOMA-IR, serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, free fatty acid, and VDR mRNA, while it negatively correlated with the VD and adiponectin levels (r = 0.276, 0.199, 0.210, 0.230, 0.182, 0.214, 0.270, 0.235, -0.232, -0.199, respectively, P < 0.05). Conclusions Both GDM and overweight/obese women had decreased serum VD levels and up-regulated VDR and PPARγ mRNA expression in adipose tissue, which was further higher in the overweight or obese women with GDM. VD may regulate the formation and differentiation of adipocytes through the VDR and PPARγ pathways and participate in the occurrence of GDM.

The theory of "combination of five meridians" focuses on meridians and acupoints as well as compatibility and interrelationship of generation and restriction of five elements. By regulating corresponding meridians to diseased, the relationship of unbalancedis balanced, which can regulate body function and effectively treat diseases. Under the guide of theory "the combination of five meridians", according to etiology and pathogenesis of post-stroke urinary incontinence, wind, fire and phlegm, from three aspects of deficiency, excess and deficient root and excessive surface, under the treatment principle of "nourishing the mother if it is deficient, reducing the son if it is excessive", the original meridian, son meridian, mother meridian, conquering meridian and conquered meridian are selected while the methods of nourishing the mother, reducing the son, reinforcing the suppression and developing the weak are applied, so as to discuss the acupuncture treatment for post-stroke urinary incontinence, which can provide new clinical thoughts of acupuncture treatment for post-stroke urinary incontinence.

Objective To compare the safety and effectiveness of Propofol-Fentanyl and Propofol-Remifentanil total intravenous anesthesia for airway foreign body (FB) removal in children. Method 280 children aged 1 ~ 3 years underwent rigid bronchoscopy for FB removal were randomized into two groups. The Fentanyl group (Group F, n = 140) were given Propofol 2.00~3.00 mg/kg and Fentanyl 2.00 μg/kg for induction and Propofol 200.00 ~ 500.00 μg/(kg·min) for maintenance of anesthesia. The Remifentanil group (Group R, n = 140) were given Propofol 2.00 ~ 3.00 mg/kg and Remifentanil 1.00 ~ 1.50 μg/kg for induction of anesthesia, while anesthesia was maintained with Propofol 200.00 ~ 500.00 μg/(kg·min) and Remifentanil 0.10 ~ 0.20 μg/(kg·min). All the children during the procedure were with spontaneous respiration. SpO2 before inserting rigid bronchoscope (T1), 1 min (T2) and 3 min (T3) after insertion, 3 min (T4) and 10 min (T5) after extraction were recorded. PETCO2 after endoscopy (T6) was measured. Adverse events, including body movement, cough, breath-holding, and hypoxemia,were observed. The time of induction, surgery, recovery and the total dosage of the intravenous agents were recorded. Results SpO2 of the two groups were in normal range at T1 ~ 5, which was higher in group R than group F at T2 ~ 5 (P < 0.05). PETCO2 of group R was lower than group F at T6 (P < 0.05). The rate of body movement and cough were comparable between the two groups (P > 0.05), while breath-holding and hypoxemia were more frequent in group F (P < 0.05). The time of induction and recovery were shorter in group R (P < 0.05), while surgery time and the Propofol dosage were similar (P > 0.05). The total dose of Fentanyl was significantly higher than Remifentanil (P < 0.05). Conclusion Combination of Propofol with Fentanyl or Remifentanil both produce effective anesthesia in children undergoing FB removal. But Propofol-Remifentanil provides more stable oxygen saturation, faster induction and recurrence of anesthesia, as well as less intraoperative complications.

Objective Toinvestigatethestatusoftick-borneRickettsiaeinfectionsamongmurine-likeanimalsin differentareasofZhejiangprovince.Methods Liverandspleensamplesofmurine-likeanimalscapturedthroughnight trapping method were collected from Anji,Jinhua and Tiantai County according to their geographic locations and historical detection of Rickettsiae .Nest-PCR tests were used to determine the presence of the 16S rRNA genes of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia ,and the heat shock protein genes (groEL)of Rickettsiae (including typhus and spotted fever group)and Orientiainthesesamples.Results Atotalof851murine-likeanimalsbelongingto14specieswerecaptured.The predominant species were Rattus confucianus (30.32%),Apodemus agrarius (18.80%) and Thallomys paedulcus (1 1.75%)and they were significantly different among three areas (P<0.05 ).48 Rickettsia positive were found in 562 tested samples with the positive rate of 8.54%,among which the percentage of Anaplasma,typhus group Rickettsia, Orientia,Ehrlichia and spotted fever group Rickettsia were 3.38%,1.78%,1.78%,1.07% and 0.53% respectively. The positive rates of Anaplasma in Jindong (4.76%)and Anji (4.27%)were significantly higher than that in Tiantai (P<0.05 )while the spotted fever group Rickettsia were found only in Tiantai County.Moreover,Rattus confucianus-the predominant species of Zhejiang Province-had the highest infection rate of tick-borne Rickettsiae up to 14.97%.Co-infections with several Rickettsiae were existed among the same species.Conclusion Rickettsiae infections exist widely among different areas of Zhejiang province and the positive rates are significantly different among species.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate prognosis of stroke and identify the risk factors for stroke recurrence.

METHODSBased on the West China Hospital stroke register database, we conducted a prospective follow-up study of stroke patients to record the potential risk factors of stroke recurrence and investigate stroke recurrence at 1 year. Analysis of the risk factors was performed using a logistic regression model.

RESULTSA total of 1913 stroke consecutive patients admitted to our department were prospectively registered. Of these patients, 599 (31.3%) were identified to have intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and 1314 (68.7%) had ischemic stroke. The total recurrence rate at 1 year was 11.2%, and was 10.5% in ischemic patients and 12.7% in ICH patients. Multivariate analysis adjusted for age and gender identified atrial fibrillation, hypertension, hyperlipemia, family history of stroke, and smoking as the risk factors of stroke recurrence at 1 year.

CONCLUSIONThe 1 year recurrent rate is about 11%, and monitoring the factors of atrial fibrillation, hyperlipemia, hypertension, and smoking may help reduce the recurrence of stroke.

Aged ; Atrial Fibrillation ; complications ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Cerebral Infarction ; etiology ; physiopathology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; complications ; Hypertension ; complications ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prospective Studies ; Recurrence ; Regression Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Smoking ; adverse effects ; Stroke ; etiology ; physiopathology

OBJECTIVETo elucidate the effects of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) on the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta)/Smad pathway in keloid-derived fibroblasts (KFb), and to investigate the underlying mechanism in the treatment of pathologic scar with IFN-gamma.

METHODSKeloid tissue of 3 patients were obtained, and then KFb were separated and cultured in vitro. KFb from passages 3 to 5 were used for the study. (1) KFb were divided into control group (incubated with serum-free DMEM), TGF-beta(1) group (treated with 10 ng/mL TGF-beta(1)), IFN-gamma group (treated with 100 ng/mL IFN-gamma), and TGF-beta(1)+IFN-gamma group (incubated with 10 ng/mL TGF-beta(1) combined with 100 ng/mL IFN-gamma). The expression level of mRNA and protein of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), alpha smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) protein and expression of alpha-SMA positive KFb were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitation RT-PCR (FQ-RT-PCR), Western blot and immunofluorescence cytochemical staining. (2) Another sample of KFb was obtained and treated with 10 ng/mL IFN-gamma. The expression level of Smad 3 and Smad 7 protein was detected by Western blot before and 1, 2, 4, 6, 8 h post stimulation (PSH). The expression level of Smad 3 and Smad 7 mRNA was assessed by FQ-RT-PCR before stimulation and 30 mins post stimulation and at PSH, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8. (3) Another sample of KFb was obtained and divided into 1, 10 and 100 ng/mL IFN-gamma groups based on the concentration of IFN-gamma, treated for 4 hours; KFb without IFN-gamma treatment was set up as control group. The expression levels of the protein and mRNA of Smad 3 and Smad 7 were measured by FQ-RT-PCR and Western blot.

RESULTS(1) The level of mRNA and protein of CTGF in IFN-gamma group (0.017 +/- 0.009 and 1.198 +/- 0.004) was respectively lower than that in control group (0.024 +/- 0.013 and 1.229 +/- 0.011, P < 0.05). The level of mRNA and protein of CTGF in TGF-beta(1)+IFN-gamma group (0.634 +/- 0.138 and 1.204 +/- 0.010) was respectively lower than that in TGF-beta(1) group (1.331 +/- 0.298 and 1.727 +/- 0.004, P < 0.01). The fluorescence intensity of alpha-SMA positive KFb (0.922 +/- 0.059) and the expression level of alpha-SMA protein (0.3051 +/- 0.0031) in IFN-gamma group decreased significantly than those in control group (1.055 +/- 0.005 and 0.4513 +/- 0.0094, P < 0.01). The fluorescence intensity of alpha-SMA positive KFb (1.129 +/- 0.004) and the expression level of alpha-SMA protein (0.6734 +/- 0.0098) in TGF-beta(1)+IFN-gamma group decreased significantly than those in TGF-beta(1) group (1.270 +/- 0.005 and 1.3842 +/- 0.0024, P < 0.01). (2) The expression level of Smad 3 mRNA and protein at the first time point after IFN-gamma treatment increased temporarily then decreased gradually, and mRNA expression level reached the nadir at PSH 4, it rose gradually later, though it was still lower at PSH 8 than that before treatment (P < 0.01); protein expression level at PSH 8 was significantly lower than that before treatment (P < 0.01). The expression level of Smad 7 mRNA and protein increased gradually to the maximum at PSH 2 and 4 respectively, then decreased but was still higher at PSH 8 than that before treatment (P < 0.05). (3) Compared with those in control group, the expression levels of Smad 3 mRNA and protein in 1, 10 and 100 ng/mL IFN-gamma group were significantly lower, the expression levels of Smad 7 mRNA and protein were significantly higher (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The higher concentration of IFN-gamma, the more significant differences were observed.

CONCLUSIONSIFN-gamma can down-regulate the expression of Smad 3 while up-regulate the expression of Smad 7 in a time- and dose-dependent manner, and reduce the expression level of CTGF and alpha-SMA in the basic state or induced by TGF-beta(1), which shows a significant inhibitory effect on the TGF-beta/Smad signal pathway. This may be an important mechanism in the treatment of pathologic scar by IFN-gamma.

Cells, Cultured ; Fibroblasts ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma ; pharmacology ; Keloid ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Smad Proteins ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism