Objective:To explore the prevalence and independent associated factors of vascular calcification (VC) in non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients of stage 3-5.Methods:It was a single-center cross-sectional observational study. Non-dialysis stage 3-5 CKD patients ≥18 years old who were admitted to the Department of Nephrology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from May 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 with VC evaluation were enrolled. The patients' general information, laboratory examination and imaging data were collected. Coronary artery calcification (CAC), thoracic aorta calcification (TAC), abdominal aorta calcification (AAC), carotid artery calcification and aortic valve calcification (AVC) were evaluated by cardiac-gated electron-beam CT (EBCT) scans, lateral lumbar x-ray, cervical macrovascular ultrasound and echocardiography, respectively. The differences in clinical data and the prevalence of VC at different sites of patients with different CKD stages were compared, and the prevalence of VC at different sites of patients in different age groups [youth group (18-44 years old), middle-aged group (45-64 years old) and elderly group (≥65 years old)] and patients with or without diabetes were compared. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the independent associated factors of VC for different areas.Results:A total of 206 patients aged (51±14) years were included, including 129 (62.6%) males. There were 44 patients with CKD stage 3 (21.4%), 51 patients with CKD stage 4 (24.8%), and 111 patients with CKD stage 5 (53.9%). CKD was caused by chronic glomerulonephritis [104 cases (50.5%)], diabetic kidney damage [35 cases (17.0%)], hypertensive kidney damage [29 cases (14.1%)] and others [38 cases (18.4%)]. Among 206 patients, 131 (63.6%) exhibited cardiovascular calcification, and the prevalence of CAC, TAC, AAC, carotid artery calcification, and AVC was 37.9%, 43.7%, 37.9%, 35.9% and 9.7%, respectively. The overall prevalence of VC in young, middle-aged and elderly patients was 24.6%, 73.6% and 97.4%, respectively. With the increase of age, the prevalence of VC in each site gradually increased, and the increasing trend was statistically significant (all P<0.001). The overall prevalence of VC in CKD patients with diabetes was 92.5% (62/67), and the prevalence of VC at each site in the patients with diabetes was significantly higher than that in the patients without diabetes (all P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that age (every 10 years increase, OR=2.51, 95% CI 1.77-3.56, P<0.001), hypertension ( OR=5.88, 95% CI 1.57-22.10, P=0.009), and diabetes ( OR=4.66, 95% CI 2.10-10.35, P<0.001) were independently correlated with CAC; Age (every 10 years increase, OR=6.43, 95% CI 3.64-11.36, P<0.001) and hypertension ( OR=6.09, 95% CI 1.33-27.84, P=0.020) were independently correlated with TAC; Female ( OR=0.23, 95% CI 0.07-0.72, P=0.011), age (every 10 years increase, OR=3.90, 95% CI 2.42-6.29, P<0.001), diabetes ( OR=5.37, 95% CI 2.19-13.19, P<0.001) and serum magnesium ( OR=0.01,95% CI 0-0.35, P=0.014) were independently correlated with AAC. Moreover, age and diabetes were independently correlated with carotid artery calcification, AVC and overall VC Conclusions:The prevalence of VC in non-dialysis CKD patients of stage 3-5 is 63.59%, of which CAC reaches 37.9%, TAC is the most common one (43.7%), while AVC is the least one (9.7%). Age and diabetes are the independent associated factors for VC of all sites except TAC, while hypertension is an independent associated factor for both CAC and TAC.

Objective:To investigate the application of virtual reality (VR) technology on intraoperative pain in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD)-related procedures with local infiltration anesthesia and the satisfaction.Methods:It was a single-center, prospective, concurrent controlled study. Patients were divided into two groups: VR group and control group. In the VR group, patients wore a VR headset to watch soothing audio and video content during surgery, while the control group underwent routine procedures. Intraoperative pain and satisfaction were assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) and a 5-point satisfaction scale within 30 minutes of surgery. In addition, tolerance of the VR experience in the VR group was assessed using the VR sickness questionnaire.Results:A total of 43 patients were included in the study, including 25 males (58.1%). Chronic glomerulonephritis [17 cases (39.5%)] and diabetic nephropathy [6 cases (14.0%)] were the main primary diseases. There were 23 cases in the control group and 20 cases in the VR group. There were no significant differences between the two groups in age, sex ratio, proportion of primary disease, diabetes, hypertension, distribution of operation methods, preoperative vital signs and operation time (all P>0.05). VAS pain score was significantly lower in the VR group than that in the control group (5.90±2.38 vs. 7.43±1.67, t=2.469, P=0.018). The percentage of patients who were satisfied was 89.5% (17/19) in the VR group and 78.3% (18/23) in the control group, but there was no significant difference (chi-square test for continuity correction, χ2=0.308, P=0.579). Three patients in the VR group withdrew from the study due to severe discomfort, while the remaining participants found the VR experience to be tolerable. Common adverse effects included fatigue and blurred vision. Conclusions:The application of VR technology in PD-related procedures has been effective in reducing intraoperative pain when combined with local infiltration anesthesia. Furthermore, the utilization of VR technology in PD-related procedures is associated with a safe and tolerable outcome, despite the observation of some adverse effects.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) on the childhood Epstein-Barr virus(EBV)-positive lymphoproliferative diseases(EBV + LPD). Methods:The clinical features, treatment course, and prognosis of 9 children with EBV + LPD who underwent allo-HSCT in Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from July 2019 to July 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. Results:All the 9 children underwent histopathological examination, including 6 patients with EBV-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative disease (EBV + T-LPD), 1 with pulmonary lymphomatoid granuloma, and 2 with systemic EBV-positive T-cell lymphoma.There were 6 males and 3 females, with the median age of 5.8 (1.5-13.0) years.At the initial diagnosis, plasma and peripheral EBV-DNA copy at the initial diagnosis was (5.67-865.00)×10 2/mL, and (5.13-1 250.00)×10 2/mL, respectively.The EBV-DNA load of cerebrospinal fluid increased to (5.18-291.00)×10 2/mL in 3 cases.The whole exon sequencing data showed no abnormality in 3 cases, pulmonary lymphomatoid granuloma with the IL2RG mutation in 1 case and EBV + T-LPD with a hemizygous mutation in the SH2D1A gene as the pathogenic mutation in 1 case.Pathogenic mutations were not detected in the remaining 4 cases.The course of disease before transplantation was 5.4(3.0-10.0) months.Disease status before transplantation was as follows: all 3 cases of lymphomas had partial regression; 2 cases of EBV + T-LPD had active disease; and 4 cases had no active disease.Among the donors, there were 5 cases of half-matched relatives, 2 cases of full-matched siblings and 2 cases of unrelated full-matched donors.The median number of mononuclear cells in peripheral blood and/or bone marrow hematopoietic stem cell was 6.60(3.64-12.18)×10 8/kg, while the median implantation time of neutrophils was 18(9-23) days.One month after the transfusion of hematopoietic stem cells, plasma EBV-DNA copy was negative in all cases, and peripheral EBV-DNA copy was negative in 7 cases.The copy number in the other 2 cases was 10 2/mL.At the 3-month evaluation, plasma and peripheral EBV-DNA copy were negative in all cases.In addition, 3 cases of lymphomas achieved radiographic complete remission, and 6 cases of EBV + T-LPD were inactive.All transplant-related complications were effectively controlled after medication.Following the median follow-up of 24 (11-42) months, all patients had disease-free survival.Serious impact on the quality of life due to graft versus host disease was not reported. Conclusions:allo-HSCT is an effective treatment of childhood EBV + LPD, which is able to control transplant-related complications.Children with EBV + LPD can achieve long-term disease-free survival through transplantation.

Objective:To explore the expression of fructose bisphosphate aldolase A (ALDOA) in the bone marrow of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and the correlation with clinical features and prognosis.Methods:The bone marrow samples of 90 newly diagnosed AML (non-acute promyelocytic leukemia) patients and 18 allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation donors who were treated from January 2013 to December 2015 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and the Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University were collected. The relative expression level of ALDOA mRNA in bone marrow samples was detected by using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Clinical data of these patients were retrospectively analyzed, and the patients were divided into continuous complete remission (CR) group and refractory recurrent (RR) group according to the clinical response and follow-up results. The differences of the relative expression level of ALDOA mRNA between AML group and the normal control group, CR group and RR group were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression risk model were used for analysis of factors influencing prognosis of AML patients.Results:The relative expression level of ALDOA mRNA in AML group was higher than that in normal control group [(5.71±0.44) vs. (1.10±0.08), t = 4.74, P<0.001]. The relative expression level of ALDOA mRNA in the RR group was higher than that in the CR group [(6.69±0.67) vs. (4.30±0.36) , t = 2.79, P < 0.001]. In addition, there were statistically significant differences in the proportion of patients with ALDOA mRNA high expression and those with ALDOA mRNA low expression stratified by the number of white blood cell, the proportion of bone marrow blasts and whether complete remission could be achieved or not after 1 course of induction therapy (all P < 0.05). Overall survival in patients with ALDOA high expression was worse than that in patients with ALDOA low expression ( χ2 = 5.59, P = 0.018). Multivariate analysis showed that white blood cell count, prognosis stratification, whether complete remission could be achieved or not after 1 course of induction therapy and ALDOA expression were the independent prognostic factors for the death of AML patients (all P < 0.05). Conclusions:ALDOA may play an important role in the development and progression of AML, and the expression level of ALDOA in the bone marrow can be used as an index for the prognosis assessment of AML patients and may be a potential therapeutic target for AML.

A 54-year-old asymptomatic man underwent a video-assisted thoracoscopic left pneumonectomy for squamous-cell carcinoma. During the surgery, a complete left pericardial defect was unexpectedly discovered, but no special intervention was made. The preoperative chest CT was reciewed, which showed the heart extended unusually to the left, but the left pericardial defect was not evident. The operation time was 204 min and the patient was discharged from hospital upon recovery 9 days after the surgery. The pathological result indicated moderately differentiated squamous-cell carcinoma (T2N1M0, stage ⅡB), and metastasis was found in the parabronchial lymph nodes (3/5). The patient did not receive chemotherapy after the surgery, and there was no signs of recurrence 6 months after the surgery. Complete pericardial defects usually do not endanger the lives of patients, and if the patient is asymptomatic, pneumonectomy is feasible.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of children with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) receiving lasting remission after severe infection.Methods:The data of 3 children with high-risk ALL who were treated in Children's Hospital Affiliated of Zhengzhou University in 2014, 2015 and 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. The clinical and laboratory characteristics of all patients were also analyzed, and the relevant literatures were reviewed.Results:All 3 children were clinically classified as high-risk ALL with severe infection. A variety of anti-infective drugs and blood products were used in the treatment, and all achieved lasting remission.Conclusions:Children with high-risk ALL after severe infection can acquire lasting remission, which may be related with the production of infection stimulating inflammatory factors and cytokines to activate certain immune pathways, or various kinds of antibiotics, blood products participating in the immune regulation to make the body regain the immune surveillance function of the tumor cells.

Objective: To explore and analyze the possible mechanism of liver injury in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (novel coronavirus pneumonia, NCP). Methods: The correlation between ALT, AST and other liver enzyme changes condition and NCP patients’ disease status reported in the literature was comprehensively analyzed. ACE2 expression in liver tissue for novel coronavirus was analyzed based on single cell sequencing (GSE115469) data. RNA-Seq method was used to analyze Ace2 expression and transcription factors related to its expression in liver tissues at various time-points after hepatectomy in mouse model of acute liver injury with partial hepatectomy. t-test or Spearman rank correlation analysis was used for statistical analysis. Results: ALT and AST were abnormally elevated in some patients with novel coronavirus infection, and the rate and extent of ALT and AST elevation in severe NCP patients were higher than those in non-severe patients. Liver tissue results of single cell sequencing and immunohistochemistry showed that ACE2 was only expressed in bile duct epithelial cells of normal liver tissues, and very low in hepatocytes. In a mouse model of acute liver injury with partial hepatectomy, Ace2 expression was down-regulated on the first day, but it was elevated up to twice of the normal level on the third day, and returned to normal level on seventh day when the liver recovered and hepatocyte proliferation stopped. Whether this phenomenon suggests that the bile duct epithelial cells with positive expression of Ace2 participate in the process of liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy deserves further study. In RNA-Seq data, 77 transcription factors were positively correlated with the expression of ACE2 (r > 0.2, FDR < 0.05), which were mainly enriched in the development, differentiation, morphogenesis and cell proliferation of glandular epithelial cells. Conclusion We assumed that in addition to the over activated inflammatory response in patients with NCP, the up-regulation of ACE2 expression in liver tissue caused by compensatory proliferation of hepatocytes derived from bile duct epithelial cells may also be the possible mechanism of liver tissue injury caused by 2019 novel coronavirus infection.

AIM:To investigate the type of chloride channel activated by cisplatin in poorly differentiated na -sopharyngeal carcinoma cells (CNE-2Z cells).METHODS:The technique of whole-cell patch-clamp was used to investi-gate the role of Ca 2+in the activation of cisplatin-activated chloride currents and to analyze the effect of hypertonic stress on these currents in CNE-2Z cells.RESULTS:Chloride currents were induced when the cells were exposed to the calcium -free cisplatin solution , showing the similar density to the currents induced by cisplatin with the presence of extracellular cal -cium.However , the latency and the peak time of cisplatin-activated currents in the absence of extracellular calcium were prolonged.The activation of cisplatin-activated chloride currents was insensitive to the depletion of intra-and extracellular calcium.Calcium channel antagonist nifedipine had no effect on the cisplatin -activated chloride currents , while hypertonic solution completely inhibited those currents .CONCLUSION:The cisplatin-activated chloride currents are independent on intra/extracellular calcium .The chloride channels activated by cisplatin are not calcium-activated chloride channels , but are probably volume-sensitive chloride channels .

Objective To establish a CLCN3/MMTV-PyMT double transgenic mouse model of spontaneous breast tumor with simultaneously overexpressing ClC-3.Method CLCN3 transgenic mice were crossed with MMTV-PyMT spon-taneous mammary tumor model mice.The genotype was determined by PCR.The expression of ClC-3 in tissues was detec-ted by immunofluorescence and Western blot.Results CLCN3 and MMTV-PyMT transgenic mice were bred and CLCN3/MMTV-PyMT hybrid mouse model was successfully established.The ClC-3 expression in CLCN3/MMTV-PyMT hybrid mice was higher than that in the MMTV-PyMT mice, assessed by immunofluorescence and Western blot analysis.Conclu-sions Transgenic mouse models of spontaneous breast cancer with simultaneously overexpressing ClC-3 are successfully es-tablished.The double transgenic mice provide a good animal model for further research of ClC-3 in tumor growth and metas-tasis.

This paper summarized the assessment model reform practiced in the postgraduate cell biology course for several years and successfully obtain a new testing method based on research papers re-porting and questioning. Before the assessment, each student searched and selected one required research paper to read and make a PowerPoint reporting document. During assessment , some students were ex-tracted to speak and comprehensive score, which was regarded as student's final examination results was made by teaching group. The rest of the students listened to speeches , questioned and filled the questions on the record sheet.Teaching group reported a score , which was regarded as part of student's final exami-nation result based on questioning record sheets and printed PowerPoint documents.This method can well evaluate students' scientific thinking and strengthen the training of scientific thinking of postgraduates.