OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical treatment outcomes and the changes of the outcomes over time in extremely preterm twins in Guangdong Province, China. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for 269 pairs of extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks who were admitted to the department of neonatology in 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province from January 2008 to December 2017. According to the admission time, they were divided into two groups: 2008-2012 and 2013-2017. Besides, each pair of twins was divided into the heavier infant and the lighter infant subgroups according to birth weight. The perinatal data of mothers and hospitalization data of neonates were collected. The survival rate of twins and the incidence rate of complications were compared between the 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 groups. RESULTS: Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of severe asphyxia and smaller head circumference at birth (P<0.05). The mortality rates of both of the twins, the heavier infant of the twins, and the lighter infant of the twins were lower in the 2013-2017 group compared with the 2008-2012 group (P<0.05). Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of pulmonary hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (P-IVH), and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) and a higher incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS There is a significant increase in the survival rate over time in extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks in the 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province. The incidences of severe asphyxia, pulmonary hemorrhage, PDA, P-IVH, and NRDS decrease in both the heavier and lighter infants of the twins, but the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia increases. With the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the multidisciplinary collaboration between different fields of fetal medicine including prenatal diagnosis, obstetrics, and neonatology is needed in the future to jointly develop management strategies for twin pregnancy.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology* ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Myeloma bone disease (MBD) is one of the most common complications of multiple myeloma (MM). MBD is considered to be caused by the activation of osteoclasts and suppression of osteoblasts resulting from the involvement of neoplastic plasma cells and the change of bone marrow microenvironment. It may be a feasible way to improve the treatment of MBD by promoting osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC), from which the osteoblasts mainly originate. Resveratrol (RES), a naturally occurring polyphenolic flavonoid compound, was reported to function in the modulation of bone metabolism. But the effects of RES on osteogenic differentiation of MM derived BMSC (MM-BMSC) and its underlying mechanism remains unknown. Totally 10 cases of MM-BMSCs were isolated, cultured and identified successfully in the present study. RES was found to promote osteogenic differentiation of MM-BMSC by alkaline phosphatase activity assay, qRT-PCR and alizarin red staining. SIRT1 was predicted to be the target gene of RES in promoting osteogenic differentiation with bioinformatic analysis. RES upregulated the expression of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) in MM-BMSC (P<0. 001) and its osteogenic differentiation was inhibited in the SIRT1 small interfering RNA (si-SIRT1) transfected group. Furthermore, the mRNA (P<0. 001) and protein (P<0. 01) expression of runt related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) was increased in the RES treated group and decreased (mRNA P < 0. 01, protein P < 0. 05) in si-SIRT1 transfected group, respectively. In conclusion, resveratrol promotes osteogenic differentiation of MM-BMSCs via upregulating SIRT1/RUNX2 and seems to be a potential therapeutic agent to counteract bone disease in MM patients.

Antibodies, Viral/immunology* ; COVID-19/immunology* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/immunology* ; Immunoglobulin M/immunology* ; SARS-CoV-2/immunology*

BACKGROUND: Human infections with zoonotic coronaviruses (CoVs), including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV, have raised great public health concern globally. Here, we report a novel bat-origin CoV causing severe and fatal pneumonia in humans. METHODS: We collected clinical data and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens from five patients with severe pneumonia from Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, Hubei province, China. Nucleic acids of the BAL were extracted and subjected to next-generation sequencing. Virus isolation was carried out, and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic trees were constructed. RESULTS: Five patients hospitalized from December 18 to December 29, 2019 presented with fever, cough, and dyspnea accompanied by complications of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Chest radiography revealed diffuse opacities and consolidation. One of these patients died. Sequence results revealed the presence of a previously unknown β-CoV strain in all five patients, with 99.8% to 99.9% nucleotide identities among the isolates. These isolates showed 79.0% nucleotide identity with the sequence of SARS-CoV (GenBank NC_004718) and 51.8% identity with the sequence of MERS-CoV (GenBank NC_019843). The virus is phylogenetically closest to a bat SARS-like CoV (SL-ZC45, GenBank MG772933) with 87.6% to 87.7% nucleotide identity, but is in a separate clade. Moreover, these viruses have a single intact open reading frame gene 8, as a further indicator of bat-origin CoVs. However, the amino acid sequence of the tentative receptor-binding domain resembles that of SARS-CoV, indicating that these viruses might use the same receptor. CONCLUSION A novel bat-borne CoV was identified that is associated with severe and fatal respiratory disease in humans.
Adult ; Aged ; Betacoronavirus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Coronavirus Infections ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy ; virology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; diagnostic imaging ; therapy ; virology ; Tomography, X-Ray ; Treatment Outcome

Background: Human infections with zoonotic coronaviruses (CoVs), including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV, have raised great public health concern globally. Here, we report a novel bat-origin CoV causing severe and fatal pneumonia in humans. Methods: We collected clinical data and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens from five patients with severe pneumonia from Jin Yin-tan Hospital, Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Nucleic acids of the BAL were extracted and subjected to next-generation sequencing. Virus isolation was carried out, and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic trees were constructed. Results: Five patients hospitalized from December 18 to December 29, 2019 presented with fever, cough, and dyspnea accompanied by complications of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Chest radiography revealed diffuse opacities and consolidation. One of these patients died. Sequence results revealed the presence of a previously unknown β-CoV strain in all five patients, with 99.8–99.9% nucleotide identities among the isolates. These isolates showed 79.0% nucleotide identity with the sequence of SARS-CoV (GenBank NC_004718) and 51.8% identity with the sequence of MERS-CoV (GenBank NC_019843). The virus is phylogenetically closest to a bat SARS-like CoV (SL-ZC45, GenBank MG772933) with 87.6–87.7% nucleotide identity, but is in a separate clade. Moreover, these viruses have a single intact open reading frame gene 8, as a further indicator of bat-origin CoVs. However, the amino acid sequence of the tentative receptor-binding domain resembles that of SARS-CoV, indicating that these viruses might use the same receptor. Conclusion: A novel bat-borne CoV was identified that is associated with severe and fatal respiratory disease in humans.

A sensitive method was proposed for determination of 13 kinds of sulfonylurea herbicides residues in aquatic products by solid phase extraction-ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (SPE-UPLC-MS/MS). The edible part of carp, penaeus vannamei,crab,clam and sea cucumber were collected and homogenized. Analytes was extracted with ethyl acetate,and then cleaned up by MAX solid phase extraction column. Qualitation of the analytes was achieved with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and the external standard method was used for quantification. The 13 kinds of sulfonylurea herbicides showed good linearity in the concentration range of 5.0-100.0 μg/L respectively. The detection limits of the 13 analytes were 1.0 μg/kg, and the limit of quantification was 2.0 μg/kg. The average recoveries ranged from 75.4% to 118.3% with relative standard deviations from 2.1% to 14.5%. The 13 target analytes were not detected in grass carp,carp,sea cucumber,prawn,turbot of breeding and crabs from the market. The halosulfuron-methyl was detected in the edible tissues of crabs exposed to a 1.0 mg/L halosulfuron-methyl solution for 24,48 and 72 h,and the concentrations were 6.20, 12.1 and 16. 6 μg/kg respectively. The method can be stable and sensitive, and is applied to the determination of 13 kinds of sulfonylurea herbicides residues in aquatic products.

This meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively assess the efficacy and safety of hepatic resection combined with radiofrequency ablation versus hepatic resection (HR) alone for the treatment of multifocal hepatoeellular carcinomas (HCC).A literature search was conducted from the database including MEDLINE,Embase,Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and China Biology Medicine (CBM) disc.The primary outcomes included the 1-,3-,5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rate.The secondary outcomes contained the intraoperative parameters and postoperative adverse events (AEs).These parameters were all analyzed by RevMan 5.3 software.After carefully screening relevant studies,four retrospective studies of high quality involving 466 patients (197 in the combined group and 269 in the HR group) were included in this study.The pooled results showed that the 1-,3-,5-year OS rate in the combined group were comparable with those in the HR group (OR=0.77,0.96,0.88;P=0.33,0.88,0.70,respectively).Similarly,there was no significant difference in 1-,3-,5-year DFS rate between the combined group and the HR alone group (OR=0.57,0.83,0.72;P=0.17,0.37,0.32,respectively).And the intraoperative parameters and postoperative AEs were also comparable between the above two cohorts.However,two included studies reported that tumor often recurred in the ablation site in the combined group.The present meta-analysis indicated that the HR combined with RFA could reach a long-term survival outcome similar to curative HR for multifocal HCC patients.And this therapy may be a promising alternative for these patients with marginal liver function or complicated tumor distribution.Furthermore,high quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are imperative to verify this conclusion.

The present study was designed to investigate the antimalarial activity of synthetic hepcidin and its effect on cytokine secretion in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. The mice were infected with P. berghei intravenously and treated with hepcidin according to 4-day suppression test and Rane's test. The serum levels of interleukins (IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p70, and IL-17A), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in the experimental mice were determined using a cytometric bead array (CBA) kit. The survival rate of the infected mice was also registered. Additionally, the serum iron, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and total bilirubin (BIL) were detected to evaluate liver functions. Hepcidin exerted direct anti-malarial function in vivo and increased survival rate in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the secretion of T helper cell type 1 (Th1), Th2, and Th17 cytokines, TNF-α, and IFN-γ were inhibited by hepcidin. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that synthetic hepcidin exerts in vivo antimalarial activity and possesses anti-inflammatory function, which provides a basis for future design of new derivatives with ideal anti-malarial activity.
Animals ; Antimalarials ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Hepcidins ; chemical synthesis ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Interleukin-10 ; immunology ; Interleukin-17 ; immunology ; Malaria ; drug therapy ; immunology ; mortality ; parasitology ; Male ; Mice ; Plasmodium berghei ; drug effects ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo explore clinical effects of manipulative reduction with minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis in treating distal tibiofibular fractures.

METHODSFrom 2009 to 2011, 60 patients with distal tibiofibular fractures were treated by manipulative reduction with minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis. Among them, there were 32 males and 28 females aged from 14 to 70 years old with an average of 41.22 +/- 2.06. According to AO classification of fractures,5 cases were type A1, 22 cases were type A2,21 cases were type A3 and 12 cases were type C1. Operation time, blood loss,time of callus and fracture healing were observed, Mazur scoring of ankle joint were used to evaluate therapeutic.

RESULTSFifty-eight incisions were healed at stage I ,and 2 cases were infected at distal tibial. Operation time was with an average of (62.34 +/- 5.66) min ranged 45 to 90 min;blood loss was 30 to 150 ml with an average of (80.57 +/- 5.59) ml;formation of callus appeared from 4 to 12 weeks,with an average of (8.24 +/- 2.06) weeks, and fracture healing time was from 3 to 6 months, with an average of (4.50 +/- 1.13) months. According to Mazur scoring of ankle joint 40 cases got excellent results, 18 good, and 2 fair.

CONCLUSIONManipulative reduction with minimally invasive percutaneous plate osteosynthesis can obtain reliable fixation. It is a good choice of treating distal tibiofibular fractures by protecting blood supply of fractures.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Bone Plates ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal ; instrumentation ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Tibial Fractures ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND:Titanium and titanium aloy are used mostly in artificial joints, fracture fixation, and oral transplantation, while there are complex cases of insufficient bone mass in these areas. The deepened research of stem cels offers a solution for bone injury to promote new bone formation. The biocompatibility of titanium and stem cels and optimization of titanium surface modification have aroused people's attention. OBJECTIVE:To investigate whether the biocompatibility of titanium and human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cels can be improved by type I colagen modification of titanium sheets. METHODS:The experiment was divided into two groups. Modification group: titanium sheet was modified with type I colagen; control group: titanium sheet was not modified with type I colagen. Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cels at passage 6 were implanted into titanium sheet in two groups. Then we calculated the number of adherent cels in two groups at 1, 2 and 4 hours after implantation, and compared the celladhesion rate. MTT assay was used to observe the proliferation of cels on titanium sheet at 2, 4, 6 and 8 days after implantation. DNA and protein content of cels were detected at 3, 6, 9 days after implantation. The growth of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cels seeded upon the titanium sheets was observed under scanning electron microscope at 6 days. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:When the cels were cultured for 1 hour and 2 hours, the number of adherent cels in the modification group was higher than in the control group (P < 0.05). The absorbance of cels in two groups was increased as the culture time, as detected by MTT assay. The modification group had a significantly higher absorbance value than the control group at 4, 6, 8 days (P < 0.05). DNA and protein contents of the cels in the modification group were higher than that in control group at 6 and 9 days (P < 0.05). At 6 days, the number of adherent cels and secretion of adherent stromal cellmatrix in the modification group were significantly better than that in control group, observed by scanning electron microscopy. Type I colagen modified titanium sheets have good surface activity and biocompatibility, and can promote the proliferation of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cels.