Objective:To explore the mediating role of positive coping style between social support and post-discharge coping difficulty among mothers of premature infants, so as to provide guidance for medical staff to deeply understand and improve the post-discharge coping difficulty of mothers.Methods:A convenience sampling method was employed to select 310 mothers of premature infants from the neonatal intensive care units of five tertiary level A hospitals in Shandong Province from March to June 2023 as the study population. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the general information questionnaire, the Social Support Rating Scale, the Simple Coping Style Questionnaire, and the Post-Discharge Coping Difficulty Scale-Parent Form.Results:A total of 280 valid questionnaires were returned, among which the age of mothers was (32.70 ± 5.08) years. The score of social support, positive coping style and post-discharge coping difficulty in mothers of preterm infants was (42.59 ± 7.40), (23.06 ± 6.75) and (3.64 ± 1.74) points respectively. Social support was positively associated with positive coping style ( r=0.404, P<0.01), social support and positive coping style were negatively associated with post-discharge coping difficulty ( r=-0.368, -0.369, both P<0.01). Positive coping style partially mediated the relationship between social support and post-discharge coping difficulty, which accounted for 31.11% of the total effect. Conclusions:Social support can affect post-discharge coping difficulty of mothers of premature infants through positive coping style. Medical staff should pay attention to the enhancement of social support and the cultivation of positive coping style of mothers of premature infants, and take targeted measures to reduce the post-discharge coping difficulty.

Objective:To explore the correlations of brain network functional connectivity (FC) alterations with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathological biomarkers in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).Methods:A total of 39 patients with cognitive impairment, admitted to Department of Neurology, Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University from January 2020 to December 2022 were recruited; 23 patients were with AD and 16 with non-AD. Clinical data were compared between the 2 groups. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data were collected, and FC differences between brain networks and FC differences within brain networks were compared by independent component analysis. Correlations of FC differences between brain networks and FC differences within brain networks with concentrations of β-amyloid protein 1-42 (Aβ 1-42) and Tau protein in CSF were analyzed. Results:Compared with the non-AD group, AD group had significantly lower Aβ 1-42 in CSF ( P<0.05). Compared with those in the non-AD group, FC alterations between the left frontoparietal network (lFPN) and anterior default mode network (aDMN) and between the visual network (VN) and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), as well as FC alterations in lFPN, were significantly increased in AD group ( P<0.05). Compared with those in the non-AD group, FC alterations between lFPN and cerebellar network (CEN), and FC alterations in aDMN, sensorimotor network (SMN) and VN were significantly decreased in AD group ( P<0.05). In AD group, FC in SMN was positively correlated with total Tau and phosphorylated-Tau181 in CSF ( P<0.05); FC between VN and PCC was positively correlated with total Tau in CSF ( P<0.05). CSF Aβ 1-42 was positively correlated with FC alterations in aDMN and VN, but negatively correlated with FC in FPN ( P<0.05). Conclusion:In AD patients, characteristic changes in FC within and between multiple brain networks are noted, which are related to changes of Tau protein and Aβ 1-42 in CSF.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism by which fibroblasts with high WNT2b expression causes intestinal mucosa barrier disruption and promote the progression of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). METHODS: Caco-2 cells were treated with 20% fibroblast conditioned medium or co-cultured with fibroblasts highly expressing WNT2b, with the cells without treatment with the conditioned medium and cells co-cultured with wild-type fibroblasts as the control groups. The changes in barrier permeability of Caco-2 cells were assessed by measuring transmembrane resistance and Lucifer Yellow permeability. In Caco-2 cells co-cultured with WNT2b-overexpressing or control intestinal fibroblasts, nuclear entry of β-catenin was detected with immunofluorescence assay, and the expressions of tight junction proteins ZO-1 and E-cadherin were detected with Western blotting. In a C57 mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced IBD-like enteritis, the therapeutic effect of intraperitoneal injection of salinomycin (5 mg/kg, an inhibitor of WNT/β-catenin signaling pathway) was evaluated by observing the changes in intestinal inflammation and detecting the expressions of tight junction proteins. RESULTS: In the coculture system, WNT2b overexpression in the fibroblasts significantly promoted nuclear entry of β-catenin (P < 0.01) and decreased the expressions of tight junction proteins in Caco-2 cells; knockdown of FZD4 expression in Caco-2 cells obviously reversed this effect. In DSS-treated mice, salinomycin treatment significantly reduced intestinal inflammation and increased the expressions of tight junction proteins in the intestinal mucosa. CONCLUSION Intestinal fibroblasts overexpressing WNT2b causes impairment of intestinal mucosal barrier function and can be a potential target for treatment of IBD.
Humans ; Mice ; Animals ; Caco-2 Cells ; beta Catenin/metabolism* ; Culture Media, Conditioned/pharmacology* ; Tight Junctions/metabolism* ; Intestinal Mucosa ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Tight Junction Proteins/metabolism* ; Inflammation/metabolism* ; Fibroblasts/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Glycoproteins/metabolism* ; Wnt Proteins/pharmacology* ; Frizzled Receptors/metabolism*

Objective:To study the correlations of hippocampal subfield volumes with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.Methods:Forty-nine patients with cognitive impairment, including 30 AD patients and 19 non-AD patients, were recruited in Department of Neurology, Drum Tower Clinical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from May 2017 to December 2021. Concentrations of Aβ 1-42, total tau protein and phosphorylated tau protein in CSF were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Volumes of 12 hippocampal subfields were calculated using FreeSurfer image analysis. Differences of clinical data, neuropsychological scores and CSF biomarker concentrations between the 2 groups were compared. Partial correlation was performed to analyze the correlations of volumes of hippocampal subfields with CSF biomarker concentrations. Results:AD patients had significantly lower Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and Aβ 1-42 concentration in CSF than non-AD patients ( P<0.05); AD patients had significantly lower volumes of the right hippocampal parasitulum, dentate gyrus and CA4 than non-AD group ( P<0.05); the right parasubiculum volume was negatively correlated with CSF Aβ 1-42 ( r=-0.445, P=0.023) and positively correlated with CSF P-tau ( r=0.393, P=0.047) in AD patients. Volumes of left hippocampus tail, parasubiculum, CA1, molecular layer, dentate gyrus, CA3 and CA4 were negatively correlated with CSF total tau ( P<0.05). No significant correlation was noted between hippocampal subfield volumes and CSF biomarker concentrations in non-AD patients. Conclusion:Some right hippocampal subfields in AD patients atrophy compared with those in non-AD patients with cognitive impairment; the right parasubiculum may play a compensatory role in disease process, while volumes of the left hippocampus decreased with increased CSF total tau.

Objective: To explore the mechanism of intestinal tissue damage induced by macrophages activated by WNT2B high-expressed fibroblasts. Methods: This study involved biological information analysis, pathological tissue research and cell experimental research. The biological information of the colon tissue from the children with inflammatory bowel disease in previous study was analyzed again with single-cell sequencing. The pathological tissues were collected by colonoscopy from 10 children with Crohn's disease treated in the Department of Gastroenterology of Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center from July 2022 to September 2022. According to the findings of colonoscopy, tissues with obvious inflammation or ulceration were classified as the inflammatory group, while tissues with slight inflammation and no ulceration were classified as the non-inflammatory group. HE staining was performed to observe the pathological changes of the colon tissues. Macrophage infiltration and CXCL12 expression were detected by immunofluorescence. In terms of cell experiments, fibroblasts transfected with WNT2B plasmid or empty plasmid were co-cultured with salinomycin treated or non-treated macrophages, respectively; the expression of proteins through Wnt classical pathway were detected by western blotting. Macrophages treated with SKL2001 were used as the experimental group, and those with phosphate buffer as the control group. The expression and secretion of CXCL12 in macrophages were detected by quantitative Real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). T-test or rank sum test were used for the comparison between groups. Results: Single-cell sequencing analysis suggested that macrophages were the main cells in inflammatory bowel disease colon tissue, and there was interaction between WNT2B high-expressed fibroblasts and macrophages. HE staining of the 10 patients ((9.3±3.8) years old, 7 males and 3 females) showed that the pathological score of colon tissue in the inflammatory group was higher than that in the non-inflammatory group (4 (3, 4) vs. 2 (1, 2) points, Z=3.05, P=0.002). Tissue immunofluorescence indicated that the number of infiltrating macrophages in the inflammatory group was significantly higher than that in the non-inflammatory group under high power field of view (72.8±10.4 vs.8.4±3.5, t=25.10, P<0.001), as well as the number of cells expressing CXCL12 (14.0±3.5 vs. 4.7±1.9, t=14.68, P<0.001). In cell experiments, western blotting suggested an elevated level of glycogen synthase kinase-3β phosphorylation in macrophages co-cultured with fibroblast transfected with WNT2B plasmid, and salinmycin could reverse this change. Real-time PCR suggested that the transcription level of CXCL12 in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group (6.42±0.04 vs. 1.00±0.03, t=183.00, P<0.001), as well as the expression and secretion of CXCL12 by ELISA ((465±34) vs. (77±9) ng/L, t=13.21, P=0.006). Conclusion: WNT2B high-expressed fibroblasts can secrete WNT2B protein and activate the Wnt classical signaling pathway thus enhancing the expression and secretion of CXCL12 in macrophages, inducing the development of intestinal inflammation of Crohn's disease.
Child ; Male ; Humans ; Female ; Child, Preschool ; Adolescent ; Crohn Disease ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Colon ; Inflammation ; Colonoscopy ; Glycoproteins ; Wnt Proteins

Objective: To evaluate the safety and antitumor activity of envafolimab monotherapy in Chinese patients with advanced solid tumors. Methods: This open-label, multicenter phase I trial included dose escalation and dose expansion phases. In the dose escalation phase, patients received subcutaneous 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 or 10.0 mg/kg envafolimab once weekly (QW) following a modified "3+ 3" design. The dose expansion phase was performed in the 2.5 mg/kg and 5.0 mg/kg (QW) dose cohorts. Results: At November 25, 2019, a total of 287 patients received envafolimab treatment. During the dose escalation phase, no dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) was observed. In all dose cohorts, drug-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) for all grades occurred in 75.3% of patients, and grade 3 or 4 occurred in 20.6% of patients. The incidence of immune-related adverse reactions (irAE) was 24.0% for all grades, the most common irAEs (≥2%) included hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, immune-associated hepatitis and rash. The incidence of injection site reactions was low (3.8%), all of which were grades 1-2. Among the 216 efficacy evaluable patients, the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 11.6% and 43.1%, respectively. Median duration of response was 49.1 weeks (95% CI: 24.0, 49.3). Pharmacokinetic (PK) exposure to envafolimab is proportional to dose and median time to maximum plasma concentration is 72-120 hours based on the PK results from the dose escalation phase of the study. Conclusion: Subcutaneous envafolimab has a favorable safety and promising preliminary anti-tumor activity in Chinese patients with advanced solid tumors.
Humans ; East Asian People ; Neoplasms/pathology* ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use*

Objective: To evaluate the safety and antitumor activity of envafolimab monotherapy in Chinese patients with advanced solid tumors. Methods: This open-label, multicenter phase I trial included dose escalation and dose expansion phases. In the dose escalation phase, patients received subcutaneous 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 or 10.0 mg/kg envafolimab once weekly (QW) following a modified "3+ 3" design. The dose expansion phase was performed in the 2.5 mg/kg and 5.0 mg/kg (QW) dose cohorts. Results: At November 25, 2019, a total of 287 patients received envafolimab treatment. During the dose escalation phase, no dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) was observed. In all dose cohorts, drug-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) for all grades occurred in 75.3% of patients, and grade 3 or 4 occurred in 20.6% of patients. The incidence of immune-related adverse reactions (irAE) was 24.0% for all grades, the most common irAEs (≥2%) included hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, immune-associated hepatitis and rash. The incidence of injection site reactions was low (3.8%), all of which were grades 1-2. Among the 216 efficacy evaluable patients, the objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 11.6% and 43.1%, respectively. Median duration of response was 49.1 weeks (95% CI: 24.0, 49.3). Pharmacokinetic (PK) exposure to envafolimab is proportional to dose and median time to maximum plasma concentration is 72-120 hours based on the PK results from the dose escalation phase of the study. Conclusion: Subcutaneous envafolimab has a favorable safety and promising preliminary anti-tumor activity in Chinese patients with advanced solid tumors.
Humans ; East Asian People ; Neoplasms/pathology* ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized/therapeutic use*

ObjectiveTo investigate the characteristics of pelvic floor structure and electrophysiology in female patients with stroke. MethodsFrom June to December, 2020, 21 female inpatients with stroke in Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University (stroke group) were divided into urinary incontinence (UI) group (n = 6) and non-urinary incontinence (NUI) group (n = 15), and other 20 healthy subjects were as control group. They were observed with pelvic floor ultrasonography and pelvic floor surface electromyogram. ResultsAverage electromyography, integral electromyography, root mean square, mean power frequency and median frequency decreased in UI and NUI groups compared with those of the control group (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between UI group and NUI group (P > 0.05). Bladder neck position, bladder neck angle, bladder neck mobility, urethral rotation angle; and anteroposterior diameter, left-right diameter and area of levator ani muscle hiatus after Valsalva's action were all not different among three groups (F < 2.484, P > 0.05). ConclusionThe activities of pelvic floor muscles decrease in female patients with stroke, without obvious changes of pelvic floor supporting structures, whatever UI.

Objective: To summarize the management and short-term outcomes of neonates delivered by mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 158 neonates born to mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant admitted to the isolation ward of Children's Hospital of Fudan University from March 15^th, 2022 to May 30^th, 2022. The postnatal infection control measures for these neonates, and their clinical characteristics and short-term outcomes were analyzed. They were divided into maternal symptomatic group and maternal asymptomatic group according to whether their mothers had SARS-CoV-2 symptoms. The clinical outcomes were compared between the 2 groups using Rank sum test and Chi-square test. Results: All neonates were under strict infection control measures at birth and after birth. Of the 158 neonates, 75 (47.5%) were male. The gestational age was (38⁺³±1⁺³) weeks and the birth weight was (3 201±463)g. Of the neonates included, ten were preterm (6.3%) and the minimum gestational age was 30⁺¹ weeks. Six neonates (3.8%) had respiratory difficulty and 4 of them were premature and required mechanical ventilation. All 158 neonates were tested negative for SARS-COV-2 nucleic acid by daily nasal swabs for the first 7 days. A total of 156 mothers (2 cases of twin pregnancy) infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, the time from confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection to delivery was 7 (3, 12) days. Among them, 88 cases (56.4%) showed clinical symptoms, but none needed intensive care treatment. The peripheral white blood cell count of the neonates in maternal symptomatic group was significantly higher than that in maternal symptomatic group (23.0 (18.7, 28.0) × 10⁹ vs. 19.6 (15.4, 36.6) × 10⁹/L, Z=2.44, P<0.05). Conclusions: Neonates of mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant during third trimester have benign short-term outcomes, without intrauterine infection through vertical transmission. Strict infection control measures at birth and after birth can effectively protect these neonates from SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Pregnancy ; COVID-19 ; Mothers ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/prevention & control* ; Retrospective Studies ; SARS-CoV-2

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of geritinib in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with FLT3 mutation.Methods:The clinical data of 5 AML patients with FLT3 mutation who were diagnosed in the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen People's Hospital, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital, Shenzhen University General Hospital from March 2020 to April 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Relapsed patients concurrently received two- or three-drug chemotherapy combined with geritinib. Blood routine was checked once a week; liver function and renal function were checked once every 2 weeks during treatment. Bone marrow puncture was performed once every 1 to 3 months to monitor the bone marrow morphology, minimal residual disease (MRD) and FLT3 mutation expression levels. The efficacy, side effects, overall survival of these patients were analyzed after treatment with geritinib.Results:The white blood cell was increased in all the 5 patients at the initial diagnosis. FLT3 mutations analysis showed FLT3-internal tandem duplication (ITD) (3 cases) and FLT-3 tyrosine-kinase domain (TKD) (2 cases). Among 5 patients, 1 patient was relapse-free with maintenance therapy of oral geritinib after hematological stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for 60 days; among other 4 relapsed and refractory patients, 1 female patient after pregnancy relapsed after transplantation and then achieved complete remission followed by the maintenance therapy with geritinib after oral geritinib, 1 16-year-old patient achieved treatment outcome close to the complete remission after treatment with geritinib, 1 patient achieved complete remission after treatment with geritinib, and then underwent haplo-HSCT followed by the maintenance therapy with geritinib and the other 1 relapsed patient achieved complete remission after treatment with geritinib. After transplantation, 3 patients receiving maintenance treatment of geritinib did not relapse. The main side effects included anemia, decreased neutrophil count, rash, and increased aminotransferase. The median follow-up time of 5 patients was 15 months (6-20 months). All 5 cases survived until the last follow-up in November 2021 and 4 patients were disease-free.Conclusions:Relapsed and refractory AML patients with FLT3 mutation can achieve complete remission after treatment with geritinib and get a chance for transplantation. Geritinib may reduce the risk of recurrence after transplantation and improve survival rate. No serious side effects occur in geritinib treatment.