Anaplasma phagocytophilum ( A. phagocytophilum) is tick-borne obligate pathogen that parasitizes rodents, ruminants, deer, horses and human. Ticks can transmit A. phagocytophilum to human resulting in a disease called anaplasmosis. With the increase in outdoor activities, the chances of exposing to ticks increase in human and the probability of suffering from anaplasmosis increases correspondingly. Most patients can recover from anaplasmosis after doxycycline therapy, but immunocompromised patients are at risk of seizure, renal failure and even death. A comprehensive understanding of A. phagocytophilum pathogenic mechanisms can provide new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of critically ill patients. Therefore, this review first gave examples of pathogenesis-related proteins of A. phagocytophilum, and then summarized the current research status of the pathogenic mechanism of this pathogen from three aspects of interference with cytoskeletal remodeling, inhibition of host cell apoptosis and dysfunction of the innate immune response, and proposed main issues to be addressed.

Objective: In view of the difficulty of the shortage of new coronavirus nucleal acid test in the early COVID-19 outbreak, to explore the application value of chest CT in screening COVID-19 patients. Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed on the data of patients with fever who received chest CT and new coronavirus nucleal acid test during January 25, 2020 to February 2, 2020 in Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University. A total of 587 patients were enrolled, including 290 males and 297 females, aged from 11.0 to 96.0 (51.3±17.1) years old. Take the nucleic acid test results as the gold standard, the sensitivity, specificity and rate of missed diagnosis of CT screening COVID-19 were calculated. Results: Among the 587 patients, there were 433 positive cases (73.8%, 433/587) and 154 negative cases (26.2%, 154/587) of novel coronavirus nucleic acid test. Using CT screening, 494 cases (84.2%, 494/587) were positive and 93 cases (15.8%, 93/587) were negative. The sensitivity of CT screening COVID-19 was 97.7% (423/433), specificity was 53.9% (83/154) and rate of missed diagnosis was 2.3% (10/433). Conclusions In the early COVID-19 outbreak, CT screening has the advantages of high sensitivity and low rate of missed diagnosis of COVID-19, which can compensate for the shortage of new coronavirus nucleal acid test and can be used as the basis for rapid screening for early prevention and control of COVID-19 outbreak.

Objective: To investigate clinical characteristics of urodynamics in elderly male patients with indwelling urinary catheterization. Methods: Clinical urodynamics of 497 male patients with indwelling urinary catheterization aged 60 years and over from December 2010 to April 2019 in our center were retrospectively analyzed and divided into 3 groups: 60-69-year-old group(n=114), 70-79-year-old group(n=220), and 80-111-year-old group(n=163). According to the catheter indwelling time, the patients were divided into 3 groups: 1-2 weeks group(n=262), 2-4 weeks group(n=47)and over 4 weeks group(n=188). The cause of indwelling urinary catheterization, bladder outlet obstruction, acontractile detrusor and other indicators were observed. Results: The main cause of indwelling urinary catheterization in elderly men was acute urinary retention(55.1%, 274 cases), in that the most common diagnosis was benign prostatic hyperplasia(90.3%, 449 cases). No statistically significant difference in the different catheter indwelling time-related urodynamics between the different age groups was found(χ²=1.606, 0.199 and 2.477, all P>0.05). There were statistically significant differences both in the incidences of bladder outlet obstruction between the 1-2 weeks vs.2-4 weeks vs.over 4 weeks groups[56.9%(149/262)vs.55.3%(26/47) vs.42.6%(80/188), χ²=9.315, P<0.05)], and in the incidences of acontractile detrusor between the 1-2 weeks vs.2-4 weeks vs.over 4 weeks groups[15.6%(41/262)vs.12.8%(6/47)vs.29.8%(56/188), χ²=15.319, all P<0.05)]. There was no statistically significant difference in catheter indwelling time-related urodynamics between two groups with normal detrusor muscle function and weak detrusor muscle function(P>0.05). Clinical urodynamics had no statistically significant in different age groups(P>0.05). Conclusions Bladder outlet obstruction is the main cause of indwelling urinary catheterization in elderly men.Urodynamic examination can be performed 1-2 weeks after indwelling urinary catheterization.Age has no significant effect on the catheter indwelling time-related urodynamics.The duration of indwelling urinary catheterization has little effect on the urodynamic diagnosis in patients with normal or weak detrusor muscle contractile strength.The elderly patients may have acontractile detrusor if the duration of indwelling urinary catheterization is more than 4 weeks.

In 2010, the Asian Society of Cardiovascular Imaging (ASCI) provided recommendations for cardiac CT and MRI, and this document reflects an update of the 2010 ASCI appropriate use criteria (AUC). In 2016, the ASCI formed a new working group for revision of AUC for noninvasive cardiac imaging. A major change that we made in this document is the rating of various noninvasive tests (exercise electrocardiogram, echocardiography, positron emission tomography, single-photon emission computed tomography, radionuclide imaging, cardiac magnetic resonance, and cardiac computed tomography/angiography), compared side by side for their applications in various clinical scenarios. Ninety-five clinical scenarios were developed from eight selected pre-existing guidelines and classified into four sections as follows: 1) detection of coronary artery disease, symptomatic or asymptomatic; 2) cardiac evaluation in various clinical scenarios; 3) use of imaging modality according to prior testing; and 4) evaluation of cardiac structure and function. The clinical scenarios were scored by a separate rating committee on a scale of 1–9 to designate appropriate use, uncertain use, or inappropriate use according to a modified Delphi method. Overall, the AUC ratings for CT were higher than those of previous guidelines. These new AUC provide guidance for clinicians choosing among available testing modalities for various cardiac diseases and are also unique, given that most previous AUC for noninvasive imaging include only one imaging technique. As cardiac imaging is multimodal in nature, we believe that these AUC will be more useful for clinical decision making.
Area Under Curve ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Clinical Decision-Making ; Consensus* ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Methods ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Tomography, Emission-Computed

ObjectiveTo investigate the role of active protein C (APC) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced microglia activation.MethodsMicroglia from one day old Sprague-Dawley newborn rat was collected, purified and identified by primary culture and immunofluorescence staining, and then was randomly divided into four groups including LPS group (1.0μg/ml LPS plus 10μl phosphate buffered saline 12 h later), LPS+ APC group (1.0μg/ml LPS plus 0.1μg/ml APC 12 h later), APC group (10μl phosphate buffered saline plus 0.1μg/ml APC 12 h later) and control group (10μl phosphate buffered saline at each time point). The morphology of micaroglia in all groups was observed under microscope, and the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) were determined by immunofluorescence staining. One-way analysis of variance and LSD test were applied for statistical analysis.ResultsPrimary culture microglia was successful and the purity was no less than 99%. In LPS group, the microglia morphology was activated, and the expression of TNF-α was increased significantly than the control group (2.11±0.35 vs 1.38±0.28, LSD test,P=0.002). In LPS+APC group, the microglia morphological change was reversed, and the expression of TNF-α had no significant difference with the control group (1.35±0.36 vs 1.38±0.28, LSD test,P>0.05). The expression of PAR-1 in LPS+APC group was higher comparing with that in the control group (4.60±0.84 vs 2.64±0.41, LSD test,P=0.008) and the LPS group (2.44±0.86, LSD test,P=0.002). The expression of PAR-1 in APC group and LPS group had no obvious difference with control group (2.62±0.69, 2.44±0.86 vs 2.64±0.41, LSD test, bothP>0.05).ConclusionsBy increasing the level of PAR-1 in microglia, active protein C could inhibit the activation of miciroglia and the expression of TNF-α induced by lipopolysaccharide, therefore, protecting the brain tissues from inflammation-induced damage.

Objective: To evaluate the changes of left and right ventricular function in patients after percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI). Methods: A total of 8 patients with successful PPVI in our hospital from 2014-05-27 to 2015-03-25 were studied. The patients received pre-operative evaluation including clinical symptoms, plasma BNP levels, ECG, chest X-ray, echocardiography, CT and MRI examinations. Post-operative follow-up study was conducted at 6 months after PPVI to compare the ventricular functional changes. Results: The average age in 8 patients was 14-42 (25.4±8.1) years including 7 with tetralogy of Fallot correction and 1 with pulmonary stenosis plasty for 24 years. Echocardiography found that 3 patients with mid to large pulmonary regurgitation and 5 with large regurgitation. Compared with pre-operation, at 6 months after PPIV, all patients had decreased right ventricular end-diastolic diameter (RVEDD) as (44.0±4.8) mm vs (33.6±7.1) mm, right ventricular end-diastolic volume index (RVEDVI) (150.1±25.7) ml/m2 vs (111.4±39.1) ml/m2, RVESVI (107.8±21.5) ml/m2 vs (80.7±22.2) ml/m2 and right ventricular cardiac output (RV-CO) (6.8±1.3) L/min vs (4.9±0.8) L/min, but right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) was similar (40.5±6.2) % vs (39.5±9.9) %, P>0.05; while
increased LVEDD (42.9±4.4) mm vs (46.1±3.0) mm, P<0.05, but LVEDVI (61.8±15.0) ml/m2 vs (72.4±17.6) ml/m2, LVESVI (47.8±12.4) ml/m2 vs (41.0±10.4) ml/m2, LVEF (50.9±5.5) % vs (52.8±6.7) % and LV-CO (3.7±1.0) L/min vs (4.2±1.0) L/min were similar, allP>0.05. Conclusion: PPVI may decrease right ventricular preload, improve its reverse remodeling and maintain systolic function at normal level in relevant patients; while the impacts on left ventricular function and geometry should be further studied.

Objective To explore the prognosis and management of atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with atrial septal defect(ASD) accompanied by AF after transcatheter closure of ASD. Methods During the period from July 2010 to May 2013, a total of 24 patients with ASD accompanied by AF were admitted to authors’ hospital to receive transcatheter closure of ASD. Electrocardiogram (ECG), chest X-ray film and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) were performed before and one day after the operation. Follow-up information was obtained through telephone or at out-patient clinic interview. Results Successful occlusion of ASD was obtained in all patients, and in no patient the AF rhythm turned to sinus rhythm after the procedure. In one patient preoperative AF turned to postoperative atrial flutter, and AF recurred in one case who had received transcatheter ablation of AF before the procedure. One female patient developed gastric bleeding during the course of orally taking warfarin, and she died of cerebral infarction at three days after ceasing the use of warfarin. Of the 24 patients, no anticoagulant drug was used in 5 (20.8%), oral administration of aspirin was given in 7 (29.2%), and oral medication of warfarin was employed only in 11 (45.8%). Conclusion The spontaneous conversion rate of AF is very low in patients with ASD complicated by AF after transcatheter closure of ASD. Postoperative medication of anticoagulation should be strictly standardized and carefully managed.

Objective To assess the safety and efficacy of balloon dilation of pulmonary valve stenosis with 10 F domestic balloon catheter in children ≥ 10 kg. Methods From May 2009 to June 2014, eighty-three consecutive children with weight ≥ 10 kg and age of (4.5±2.8)(ranged from 1-12) years underwent percutaneous balloon pulmonary valvoloplasty(PBPV) with 10 F domestic balloon catheter. Indication for treatment, procedural details, catheterization data, complication rate, peak-to-peak systolic gradient across the valve and pulmonary insufficiency on echocardiography were respectively analyzed. Forty-four patients were followed up 6-44 months after procedure. Results All procedures were completed successfully. The peak-to-peak systolic gradient across the pulmonary valve decreased from (67.7±26.2) mmHg to (15.4±11.6) mmHg (P < 0.01) immediately after PBPV. Two patients developed reactive infundibular spasm after dilation. They were relieved at 6 months post PBPV. No patient had severe pulmonary insufficiency, tricuspid regurgitation or reintervetion. Conclusions PBPV with 10 F domestic balloon catheter in children with weight≥10 kg is a safe and effective method.

Objective To investigate the association of interleukin-6 (IL-6) with depression using meta analysis. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted to examine depression and interleukin-6 in Chinese patients us-ing“depression”and“interleukin-6”in Databases including PubMed, CBM, VIP, CNKI and WanFang Data. A me-ta-analysis was performed to analyze correlation between depression and interleukin-6 using RevMan 5.2.8 software. Results A total of 9 studies were recruited, involving 432 depression patients and 277 healthy controls. The results of meta-analysis showed that concentration of IL-6 was higher in depression patients than in healthy controls(SMD=1.48, 95%CI:0.78~2.18,P<0.05). Subgroup analysis in the first-episode subgroup and the non first-episode subgroup showed that concentration of interleukin-6 was higher in depression patients than that in controls [the first-episode subgroup (SMD=1.94,95%CI:0.07~3.81,P<0.05), the non first-episode subgroup (SMD=1.26,95%CI:0.60~1.93,P<0.05)]. Conclusion There is a good correlation between depression and the serum IL-6 concentration. Due to the small number of studies and heterogeneity in different studies, the present meta-analysis has not yet confirmed the quantitative correla-tion between IL-6 and depression.

Objective To evaluate the effect of pregnancy and delivery after renal transplantation (RT)on recipients,graft and offspring.Methods Clinical data of 6 pregnancies in 5 recipients were retrospectively studied and literature was reviewed.Results Among them,6 pregnancies and 4 deliveries occurred in 5 female RT recipients.The mean age at pregnancy was 31.1 years,with a mean interval between RT and pregnancy being 3.6 years.Preeclampsia developed in two pregnancies and hyperlipemia in one pregnancy.One RT recipient who discontinued immunosuppressant following pregnancy on her own exhibited subsequent renal failure.She underwent a second RT and delivered a healthy baby two years following the second RT.One RT recipient decreased the immunosuppressant dose to half after the pregnancy on her own and developed renal failure thereafter.Four patients underwent a Cesarean section at 38 th,35 th,35 th,and 38 th week,respectively.The mean birth weight was 3262.5 g with all Apgar scores of 10.Conclusion Our data coupled with prior reports suggest that for the recipients with normal renal function,successful pregnancy is achievable if immunosuppressant was taken correctly,but the pregnancy is at high risk,and careful monitoring is needed.