Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of female patients with Stanford type B aortic dissection. Methods: This is a single-centre retrospective study. Consecutive patients diagnosed with Stanford type B aortic dissection in General Hospital of Northern Theater Command from June 2002 to August 2021 were enrolled, and grouped based on sex. According to the general clinical conditions and complications of aortic dissection tear, patients were treated with thoracic endovascular aortic repair, surgery, or optimal medication. The clinical characteristics and aortic imaging data of the patients at different stages were collected, adverse events including all-cause deaths, stroke, and occurrence of aortic-related adverse events were obtained during hospitalization and within 30 days and at 1 and 5 years after discharge. According to the time of death, death was classified as in-hospital death, out-of-hospital death, and in-hospital death was divided into preoperative death, intraoperative death and postoperative death. According to the cause of death, death was classified as aortic death, cardiac death and other causes of death. Aortic-related adverse events within 30 days after discharge included new paraplegia, post-luminal repair syndrome, and aortic death; long-term (≥1 year after discharge) aortic-related adverse events included aortic death, recurrent aortic dissection, endoleak and distal ulcer events. The clinical characteristics, short-term and long-term prognosis was compared between the groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association between different clinical factors and all-cause mortality within 30 days in female and male groups separately. Results: A total of 1 094 patients with Stanford type B aortic dissection were enrolled, mean age was (53.9±12.1) years, and 861 (78.7%) were male and 233 (21.3%) were female. (1) Clinical characteristics: compared with male patients, female patients were featured with older average age, higher proportion of aged≥60 years old, back pain, anemia, optimal medication treatment, and higher cholesterol level; while lower proportion of smoking and drinking history, body mass index, calcium antagonists use, creatine kinase level, and white blood cell count (all P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in dissection tear and clinical stage, history of coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease between female and male patients (all P>0.05). (2) Follow-up result: compared with male patients, female patients had a higher rate of 30-day death [6.9% (16/233) vs. 3.8% (33/861), P=0.047], in-hospital death (5.6% (13/233) vs. 2.7% (23/861), P=0.027), preoperative death (3.9% (9/233) vs. 1.5% (12/861), P=0.023) and aorta death (6.0% (14/233) vs. 3.1% (27/861), P=0.041). The 1-year and 5-year follow-up results demonstrated that there were no significant differences in death, cerebrovascular disease, and aorta-related adverse events between the two groups (all P>0.05). (3) Prognostic factors: the results of the univariate logistic regression analysis showed that body mass index>24 kg/m² (HR=1.087, 95%CI 1.029-1.149, P=0.013), history of anemia (HR=2.987, 95%CI 1.054-8.468, P=0.032), hypertension (HR=1.094, 95%CI 1.047-1.143, P=0.040) and troponin-T>0.05 μg/L (HR=5.818, 95%CI 1.611-21.018, P=0.003)were associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality within 30 days in female patients. Conclusions: Female patients with Stanford type B aortic dissection have specific clinical characteristics, such as older age at presentation, higher rates of anemia and combined back pain, and higher total cholesterol levels. The risk of death within 1 month is higher in female patients than in male patients, which may be associated with body mass index, hypertension, anemia and troponin-T, but the long-term prognosis for both female and male patients is comparable.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Prognosis ; Hospital Mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Troponin T ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic/surgery* ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation/adverse effects* ; Treatment Outcome ; Endovascular Procedures/adverse effects* ; Aortic Dissection ; Hypertension/complications* ; Cholesterol ; Risk Factors

Humans ; Uric Acid ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Risk Factors

Aim To investigate the mechanism and search for potential biomarkers of ovalbumin ( OVA ) -induced asthma in mice base on lipidomics. Methods A BALB/c mouse model of asthma was prepared by OVA. TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10, IFN-γ levels in BALF and IgE level in serum were measured by ELISA. The inflammatory changes in mouse lung tissue were observed using HE staining. Lipid mediators ( LMs) in lung tissue and serum were quantified with UPLC-MS/ MS strategy. Results IgE level in serum and TNF-α, IFN-γ levels in BALF were higher (P <0.05) of asthmatic mice.Typical inflammatory manifestations were seen in lung tissue of asthmatic mice. A total of 57 lipid mediators were quantified with UPLC-MRM. LMs metabolic profiles differed significantly in serum and lung tissue between asthmatic and normal mice, 17 significantly different LMs were found in lung tissue and 6 LMs were found in serum, and the differential metabolites were produced through the cyclooxygenase (COX), lipoxygenase (LOX) and cytochrome P450 oxidase (P450) metabolic pathways. Conclusions OVA-induced allergic asthma can cause disorder of lip-id mediators, LMs and cytokines are involved in the occurrence and development of asthma. The differential LMs have potential research value as biomarkers for the development of allergic asthma.

Objective: To explore the combination of metabolism-related chronic diseases associated with the prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in community residents in Shanghai. Methods: The baseline data of Shanghai Suburban Adult Cohort and Biobank were used to understand the prevalence of five metabolism-related chronic diseases, including obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, gout and diabetes, based on questionnaire survey, physical examination and blood biochemical detection. NAFLD was diagnosed by B-ultrasound detection and questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to analyze the association of 31 metabolism-related chronic diseases combinations with the prevalence of NAFLD. Results: The median age (Q₁, Q₃) of 65 477 subjects was 60 (51, 66) years, and men accounted for 40.6%. The overall prevalence of NAFLD was 38.2%, and the prevalence of HAFLD in patients without any of the five metabolism-related chronic diseases was 12.0%. The chronic disease combination with the strongest association with NAFLD was obesity + hypertension + hyperlipidemia + gout + diabetes in the total population (OR=37.94, 95%CI: 31.02-46.41), in women (OR=36.99, 95%CI: 28.78-47.54) and in age group ≥60 years (OR=36.19, 95%CI: 28.25-46.36). The chronic disease combination with the strongest association with NAFLD was obesity + hyperlipidemia + gout + diabetes in men (OR=50.70, 95%CI: 24.62-104.40) and in age group <60 years (OR=49.58, 95%CI: 24.22-101.47). Conclusions: The prevalence of NAFLD in community residents in Shanghai was high. Attention needs to be paid to health of obese people and weight loss should be promoted for them. Community health education should be strengthened for patients complicated with gout, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and hypertension and it is necessary to correct abnormal serum uric acid, blood sugar, blood lipids and blood pressure in a timely manner to reduce the risk of NAFLD.

Objective: To investigate the clinical manifestations and genetic features of 2 children with Smith-Kingsmore syndrome caused by MTOR gene variation and review the literature. Methods: The clinical data of 2 children carrying MTOR gene variant, diagnosed at Xi'an Children's Hospital from April 2018 to April 2021, were retrospectively summarized."MTOR"and"Smith-Kingsmore syndrome"were used as key words to search at China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, PubMed and OMIM up to August 2021. The characteristics of MTOR gene variation and the clinical phenotype of children with Smith-Kingsmore syndrome were summarized. Results: Two children were both females, aged 1.5 years and 2 years respectively, the onset age were both in infancy. They both had developmental delay, megalencephaly and abnormal face. Both whole exome sequencing revealed a de novo heterozygous missense variant in MTOR gene. One case carried c.5395G>A (p.Glu1799Lys) and the other case carried c.7234G>C (p.Asp2412His). There was no literature of MTOR gene variation in Chinese. So far, a total of 45 cases were reported worldwide with detailed clinical information. Eleven variations in MTOR gene were involved, which were all heterozygous missense mutations. Among them, p.Glu1799Lys was the most common sites (28 cases,62%). Another case carried c.7234G>C (p.Asp2412His) was not reported before. Summarizing the 47 cases (including these 2 cases), 46 cases had developmental delay or intellectual disability, 9 cases had developmental regression,42 cases had megalencephaly, 30 cases had facial malformation,16 cases had hypotonia, 17 cases had autism spectrum disorders, 3 cases had hyperactivity, 3 cases had obsessive compulsive disorder, 13 cases had eye diseases, 11 cases had cutaneous vascular malformation, and 9 cases had hypoglycemia. Conclusions: The main clinical features of Smith-Kingsmore syndrome include megalencephaly, developmental delay or intellectual disability, and facial malformation, which can be combined with epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, hypotonia, hypoglycemia and so on. The variation of MTOR gene is the cause of Smith-Kingsmore syndrome.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoglycemia ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Megalencephaly/genetics* ; Muscle Hypotonia ; Mutation ; Retrospective Studies ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics*

The present study clarified the molecular mechanism of curcumol against liver fibrosis based on its effects on the autopha-gy and apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells. The hepatic stellate cells were divided into a blank control group, a transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)(10 ng·mL~(-1)) group, and low-(12.5 mg·L~(-1)), medium-(25 mg·L~(-1)), and high-dose(50 mg·L~(-1)) curcumol groups. The effect of curcumol on the viability of hepatic stellate cells induced by TGF-β1 was detected by the MTT assay kit. The apo-ptosis in each group was determined by flow cytometry. Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR(RT-PCR) was employed for the detection of mRNA expression of α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA), type Ⅰ collagen(collagen Ⅰ), and type Ⅲ collagen(collagen Ⅲ). Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of p62, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3(LC3), beclin1, B cell lymphoma 2(Bcl-2), and Bcl-2-associated X protein(Bax). Transmission electron microscopy(TEM) was used to observe cell morphology and autophagosome formation in each group. The autophagic flux was observed after cell infection with adenovirus under double fluorescence labeling. The cell viability assay revealed that compared with the TGF-β1 group, the curcumol groups showed significantly decreased cell viability. The apoptosis assay showed that the apoptosis rates of the curcumol groups were significantly higher than that of the TGF-β1 group. RT-PCR indicated that the mRNA expression of α-SMA, collagenⅠ, and collagen Ⅲ in the curcumol groups was significantly lower than that of the TGF-β1 group. Western blot showed that the expression of p62, LC3, beclin1, Bcl-2, and Bax in the curcumol groups was significantly different from that in the TGF-β1 group. As demonstrated by TEM, compared with the TGF-β1 group, the curcumol groups showed significantly increased autophagosomes. The detection of autophagic flow by the adenovirus under double fluorescence labeling showed that autolysosomes in the curcumol groups were significantly increased compared with those in the TGF-β1 group. Curcumol can induce the autophagy and apoptosis of hepatic stellate cells, which may be one of its anti-liver fibrosis mechanisms.
Actins/metabolism* ; Apoptosis ; Autophagy ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; Humans ; Liver/metabolism* ; Liver Cirrhosis/metabolism* ; Sesquiterpenes ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1/metabolism*

OBJECTIVE: To analyze and compare the effects of leukapheresis on hemostatic function in patients with hyperleukocytic leukemia. METHODS: A total of 139 patients with AML, ALL and CML who underwent leukapheresis from June 2009 to February 2020 and did coagulation test before and after operation were included in this study. The clearance efficiency of each group and the difference among three groups were evaluated, as well as hemostatic function including platelet counts, coagulation indicators, CDSS score and incidence of adverse events. The difference of hemostatic function caused by leukapheresis in different leukemia patients were compared. RESULTS: After leukapheresis, the WBC counts were decreased significantly in the three groups of patients (P<0.001), and the clearance efficiency was highest in ALL patients. However, the platelet counts also were decreased significantly (AML:P＜0.001, ALL: P＜0.001, CML: P＜0.01) in the three groups of patients, particularly for acute leukemia patients with a positive correlation with WBC clearance efficiency(r=0.284). After leukapheresis, fibrinogen decreased, PT and APTT prolonged. For acute leukemia patients, higher CDSS score was related to an elevated incidence of bleeding events (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Leukapheresis is an effective method to decrease the leukemic burden, but it is necessary to monitor the impact on hemostatic function. It is recommended to assess the CDSS socre for acute leukemia patients, in order to identify the predictive value for bleedings.
Acute Disease ; Blood Coagulation ; Blood Coagulation Tests ; Hemorrhage ; Hemostatics ; Humans ; Leukapheresis/methods* ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/therapy*

Objective: To analyze the course of disease and epidemiological parameters of COVID-19 and provide evidence for making prevention and control strategies. Methods: To display the distribution of course of disease of the infectors who had close contacts with COVID-19 cases from January 1 to March 15, 2020 in Guangdong Provincial, the models of Lognormal, Weibull and gamma distribution were applied. A descriptive analysis was conducted on the basic characteristics and epidemiological parameters of course of disease. Results: In total, 515 of 11 580 close contacts were infected, with an attack rate about 4.4%, including 449 confirmed cases and 66 asymptomatic cases. Lognormal distribution was fitting best for latent period, incubation period, pre-symptomatic infection period of confirmed cases and infection period of asymptomatic cases; Gamma distribution was fitting best for infectious period and clinical symptom period of confirmed cases; Weibull distribution was fitting best for latent period of asymptomatic cases. The latent period, incubation period, pre-symptomatic infection period, infectious period and clinical symptoms period of confirmed cases were 4.50 (95%CI:3.86-5.13) days, 5.12 (95%CI:4.63-5.62) days, 0.87 (95%CI:0.67-1.07) days, 11.89 (95%CI:9.81-13.98) days and 22.00 (95%CI:21.24-22.77) days, respectively. The latent period and infectious period of asymptomatic cases were 8.88 (95%CI:6.89-10.86) days and 6.18 (95%CI:1.89-10.47) days, respectively. Conclusion: The estimated course of COVID-19 and related epidemiological parameters are similar to the existing data.
COVID-19 ; Cohort Studies ; Contact Tracing ; Humans ; Incidence ; Prospective Studies

Weeds is one of the important parts of agricultural ecosystem of Chinese materia medica. Weeds is a double-edged sword with advantages and disadvantages for the cultivated medicinal plants. In this study, we firstly analyzed the positive and negative effects of weeds on the yield and quality of Chinese materia medica. We then explored the possible mechanisms for the weeds' positive effects from the aspects of interspecific relationship, soil microecological environment, light environment, natural control of pests and so on. We also summarized three basic principles of weed control, that is, "making medicinal plants and weeds coexist harmoniously, achieving the overall optimum growth of medicinal plants", "prevention first, integrated control" and "preserving beneficial weeds and increasing their beneficial effects, removing harmful weeds and control their adverse effects". Finally, we introduced several common weed ecological control technology in field of the cultivated medicinal plants in China, including technology of controlling weeds by no-tillage, stral mulch, rotation, alternative herbs, competitive crops, and allelopathy. This study is aimed to apply the ecology theory to guide weed management and control, so as to achieve the goal of advantages promotion and disadvantages elimination of weeds to cultivated medicinal plants, making weeds into treasure and to promote the sustainable and healthy development of Chinese medicinal materials production and the protection of weed diversity.
Agriculture ; China ; Ecosystem ; Materia Medica ; Plants, Medicinal

Due to the relative shortage of health resources, rational allocation and utilization of health resources is critical to achieving the maximum economic benefits in developing countries, which requires a health economic assessment to meet the needs to balance the competitive requirements of cost reduction and effectiveness enhancement. This review describes the advances in applications of health economic assessment techniques in four major infectious diseases, including AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and schistosomiasis. Currently, there is no standard economic assessment in the prevention and control of infectious diseases, and notably, the transparency of cost research is limited, which may affect the popularization of the study conclusions. Further health economic assessments of infectious diseases are required to improve the quality, standard and transparency of the economic evaluation through formulating strategies, to improve the standardization of studies, to improve the popularization of the study conclusions and to improve the applicability of the economic evaluation for policies.