Objective To investigate the predictive value of preoperative blood inflammatory markers for the recurrence risk in patients with basal cell carcinoma(BCC).Methods A total of 225 patients with BCC were divided into the high-risk recurrence group(155 cases)and the low-risk recurrence group(70 cases).General information and preoperative hematological indicators were collected in the two groups of patients.The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio(LMR),systemic inflammation marker(SIM)and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR)were calculated.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were used to determine the predictive value of hematological markers with statistically significant differences between the two groups for BCC recurrence and to establish optimal cutoff values.Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors influencing BCC recurrence.A multivariate Logistic regression model was established to predict the recurrence risk of BCC.Area under the curve(AUC)and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test were used to evaluate the prediction efficiency and goodness-of-fit of the model.Results ROC analysis identified that optimal cutoff values for LMR and SIM were 5.12 and 0.86,respectively.Univariate Logistic regression analysis showed that LMR,SIM,ulceration at the primary tumor site,UV exposure and tumor maximum diameter were factors influencing BCC recurrence.Multivariate Logistic regression revealed that SIM≥0.86,tumor maximum diameter≥2.0 cm and UV exposure were risk factors for BCC recurrence,while LMR≥5.12 had a protective effect.The Logistic prediction model for BCC recurrence risk was Logit(P)=-1.598-1.517×LMR+1.323×SIM+2.406×UV exposure+3.465×tumor maximum diameter,with good model fit(P=0.725)and an AUC of 0.869(95%CI:0.822-0.917)for predicting BCC recurrence risk.Conclusion Monitoring preoperative LMR and SIM levels can assist in assessing the risk of recurrence in BCC patients and provide important guidance for clinical decision-making.

Objective To investigate the expression of IL-18,IL-18BP,and IL-18R in the peripheral blood B lymphocytes and mono-cytes of patients with atopic dermatitis(AD).Methods Peripheral venous blood was collected from 28 patients with AD and 21 healthy controls,and stimulated with Artemisia sieversiana wild allergen extract,house dust mite allergen extract,or Platanus pollen allergen extract.The expression of IL-18+,IL-18BP+,and IL-18R+in B lymphocytes and monocytes was measured using flow cytometry.Results Compared with the healthy control group,the proportions of IL-18+,IL-18BP+,and IL-18R+cells in the B lymphocyte group of patients with AD at rest increased 2.01-,10.35-,and 20.85-fold,respectively.The proportions of IL-18+and IL-18BP+cells in monocytes increased 5.51-and 41.88-fold,respectively,whereas the proportion of IL-18R+cells did not differ significantly between the groups.Conclusion IL-18,IL-18BP,and IL-18R in B lymphocytes and monocytes may play an important role in AD.IL-18,IL-18BP,and IL-18R may be potential targets for the treatment of AD.

Objective To investigate the association between primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) by using two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR). Methods The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data associated with PSC and CRC were obtained from Finland Biobank and UK Biobank, respectively. A secondary data analysis was performed for all pooled data based on genome-wide association studies to select the genetic loci closely associated with PSC as instrumental variables, and TSMR was conducted by seven methods, i.e., Egger regression in Mendelian randomization, weighted median, inverse variance weighted (IVW) random effects model, maximum likelihood, linear weighted median, IVW radial method, and IVW fixed effects model. Odds ratio (OR) value was used to evaluate the causal relationship between PSC and the risk of CRC. Results There was a positive causal relationship between gene predicted PSC and CRC, and with the IVW fixed effects model as an example, genetically determined patients with PSC could increase the risk of CRC ( OR =1.002 243, 95% confidence interval: 1.001 319-1.003 167). TSMR results showed no heterogeneity ( P =0.87) or horizontal pleiotropy ( P =0.95). The three instrumental variables selected for PSC were strong instrumental variables ( F =11.86). Conclusion TSMR shows the genetic evidence for the association between PSC and the risk of CRC. Regardless of the presence or absence of inflammatory bowel disease, active enteroscopy screening among patients with PSC may help with the early identification and timely intervention of CRC.

Objective:To describe the COVID-19 epidemic and its characteristics in Heilongjiang province, and provide evidence for the further prevention and control of COVID-19 in the province.Methods:The information of COVID-19 cases and clusters were collected from national notifiable disease report system and management information system for reporting public health emergencies of China CDC. The Software’s of Excel 2010 and SPSS 23.0 were applied for data cleaning and statistical analysis on the population, time and area distributions of COVID-19 cases.Results:On January 22, 2020, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in Heilongjiang. By March 11, 2020, a total of 482 cases domestic case of COVID-19, The incidence rate was 1.28/100 000, the mortality rate was 2.70% (13/482) in 13 municipalities in Heilongjiang. There were 81 clusters of COVID-19, The number of confirmed cases accounted for 79.25% (382/482) of the total confirmed cases and 12 cases of deaths. The family clusters accounted for 86.42% (70/81). Compared with the sporadic cases, the mortality rate, proportion of elderly cases aged 60 or above and severe or critical cases of clinical classification were all higher in the clusters especially the family clusters, but the differences were not significant ( P>0.05). There were 34 clusters involving more than 5 confirmed cases accounted for 41.98% (34/81) of the total clusters, the involved cases accounted for 68.31% (261/382) of the total cases of clusters. There were significant differences in age distribution of the cases among the case clusters with different case numbers. In the clusters involving 6-9 cases, the proportion of cases aged 65 years or above was more (26.53%, 39/147). Conclusions:The incidence rate of COVID-19 was relatively high and the early epidemic was serious in Heilongjiang, The number of cases was large in clusters especially family clusters.

Objective: To monitor the WT1 mRNA level and its dynamic changes in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) after hypomethylating agents (HMA) , as well as to assess the significance of WT1 mRNA levels and its dynamic changes in evaluating the efficacy of HMA and distinguishing the disease status of heterogeneous patients with stable disease (SD) . Methods: Bone marrow or peripheral blood samples of 56 patients with MDS who underwent hypomethylating agents (≥4 cycles) from November 2009 to March 2018 were tested by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the expression of WT1 mRNA, and to observe the correlation between the dynamic changes of WT1 mRNA expression and clinical efficacy and prognosis of patients. Results: WT1 mRNA expression levels of MDS patients decreased significantly after 3 cycles of hypomethylating agent treatment. Besides, the WT1 mRNA expression levels of patients increased significantly after diseases progression. According to the dynamic changes of WT1 mRNA expression levels during SD, 45 cases could be further divided into increased group and non-increased group. In those SD patients with increased WT1 mRNA expression level, the ratio of suffering disease progression or transformation to AML was 95.65% (22/23) , whereas the ratio turned to be 9.09% (2/22) for the non-increased group (χ²=33.852, P<0.001) . Compared with those SD patients reporting no increase in WT1 mRNA expression level, the overall survival[17 (95%CI 11-23) months vs not reached, P<0.001] and progression-free survival [13 (95%CI 8-18) months vs not reached, P<0.001] of those SD patients reporting increase in WT1 mRNA expression level were significantly shorter. Conclusion WT1 mRNA expression level is a useful indicator to assess the efficacy of hypomethylating agents in MDS patients. Especially in patients with SD, detection of the changes in WT1 mRNA expression level is able to predict disease progression and help to make clinical decision.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of STK39 gene with response to hydrochlorothiazide among ethnic Han Chinese patients with essential hypertension. METHODS: In total 118 patients with essential hypertension were recruited. All participants had received six weeks of treatment with hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg daily. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) were measurement every 2 weeks. Genotypes of STK39 rs3754777 and rs6749447 were determined using a SNaPshot technique. RESULTS: A significant difference was found in ΔSBP between individuals with rs3754777 CC, CT and TT and those with rs3754777 CC and CT-TT (P<0.05). A significant difference was also detected in ΔDBP between those with rs3754777 CC and CT-TT (P<0.05). No significant difference was found in ΔSBP and ΔDBP between individuals with STK39 rs6749447 GG, GT and TT (all P>0.05). Relative risk analysis showed that STK39 rs3754777 was significantly associated with BP response to hydrochlorothiazide (OR=0.416, 95%CI=0.189-0.918, P<0.05). CONCLUSION Polymorphisms of STK39 rs3754777 may be associated with BP response to hydrochlorothiazide among ethnic Han Chinese with essential hypertension.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Essential Hypertension ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hydrochlorothiazide ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; genetics

OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy and safety of local lauromacrogol injection in the treatment of laryngopharyngeal hemangioma. METHODS A total of 10 patients suffering from hemangioma of pharynx and larynx from Aug 2015 to Mar 2018 were collected. Endoscope assisted local lauromacrogol injection under topical was used. The therapeutic effects were observed and analyzed.RESULTS All patients were followed up for 3 months to 1 year. Among them, 9 cases were cured and 1 was obviously effective for totally 1 to 4 (mean 1.9) injections. All patients complained of postoperative pain or foreign body sensation, 3 patients were significantly affected by local swelling of the injection site. 2 patients underwent tracheostomy and 1 patient returned to ward with endotracheal intubation postoperatively. No complications such as mucosal ulceration, fever, allergies occurred. CONCLUSION Lauromacrogol injection is a safe and effective method to treat hemangioma of pharynx and larynx.

Objective To investigate the neuroprotective effects of Fasudil in cerebral I/R injury in mice.Methods 51 C57BL/6J mice was divided into two groups,CMC treated group (n=26) and Fasudil treated group (n=25),randomly.The mice were treated with Fasudil (10 mg/kg) or CMC (0.5％ CMC 10 ml/kg) separately.Then the treated mice were subjected to 60 min of focal ischemia and 18 h reperfusion.The infarct volume of brain was analyzed by TTC staining with MCID image system.BBB permeability was assessed by Evans blue extravasation and albumin leakage which was detected by immuno-blotting assay.The activity of MMP9 was analyzed by zymography.Results The infarct volume in CMC group ((99.07±6.53) mm3) was larger than that in Fasudil group ((57.02±8.93) mm3),the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.01).The activity of MMP9 in the mice treated with Fasudil was lower than that in CMC group.Compared with the CMC group(albumin (2.95±0.77),Evans blue (5.15±0.24)),the albumin and Evans blue content in the Fasudil treated group (albumin (1.04±0.18),Evans blue (1.96±0.31))reduced significanctly(all P＜0.01).Conclusion Fasudil protects I/R damage by inhibiting the activity of MMP9 to maintain blood-brain barrier permeability.

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum cathepsin S (Cat S) and cystatin C(Cys C) expression levels with carotid arterial plaque property in the patients with ischemic stroke(IS).Methods A total of 336 cases of atherosclerotic cerebral infarction were divided into the stable plaque and unstable plaque group according to the carotid arterial ultrasound.Contemporaneous 114 individuals undergoing healthy physical examination served as the control group.Fasting blood was collected from all subjects entering the groups for detecting serum Cat S and Cys C.Results The serum Cat S and Cys C levels and Cat S/Cys C ratio (Cat S/Cys C) had statistically significant difference between the two groups (P＜0.05),moreover the Cat S level in the unstable plaque group of the patients with cerebral infarction was increased compared with that in the stable plaque group,while serum Cys C level was decreased compared with that in the stable plaque group (P＜0.05).The Cat S levels were (75.34-±-15.45)pg/mL and (60.12±18.53)pg/mL and the Cys C levels were (0.73±0.62)mg/L and (0.93±0.53)mg/L,the Cat S/Cys C ratios were (103.68±2.52) and (64.64± 9.24) respectively,the difference between the two groups had statistical significance (P＜0.05).The Spearman correlation analysis showed that the serum Cat S level and Cat S/Cys C ratio had obviously positive correlation with carotid arterial unstable plaque (r=0.498,P＜0.05;r=0.753,P＜0.01);while the level of serum Cys C was negatively correlated with the unstable plaque (r=-0.213,P＜0.05).Conclusion Serum Cat S/Cys C level has a certain correlation with carotid arterial plaque property in ischemic stroke patients,which may become the serological indicators for predicting carotid arterial plaque.

Objective To analyze results of atopy patch test (APT) with dust mite allergens at different concentrations in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD),and to evaluate the diagnostic value of APT.Methods Totally,85 patients with AD were enrolled into this study.All the patients underwent APT with 5 concentrations (3 000,5 000,7 000,10 000 and 12 000 pnu/g) of dust mite allergens,as well as skin prick test (SPT) with dust mite allergens.Dust mite allergens were obtained from two different manufacturers (group 1 and 2).Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to detect allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (SIgE) in sera from these patients.The sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value of APT,SPT and SIgE assay were compared,and the results of APT were compared among different concentrations of allergens and between allergens from different manufacturers.Results When SIgE assay served as the gold standard,the sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value in the diagnosis of dust mite allergy were 79.41％,76.12％,and 64.29％ respectively for APT,73.53％,80.95％ and 67.57％ respectively for SPT with group 1 dust mite allergens,and 81.53％,77.78％ and 65.09％ respectively for APT,76.02％,79.85％ and 66.07％ respectively for SPT with group 2 allergens.When SPT was regarded as the gold standard,the sensitivity,specificity and positive predictive value in the diagnosis of dust mite allergy were 78.38％,77.42％,67.44％ respectively for APT,67.57％,84.21％,73.53％ respectively for SIgE assay with group 1 dust mite allergens,79.25％,80.63％ and 69.55％ respectively for APT,61.07％,82.54％ and 77.21％ respectively for SIgE assay with group 2 allergens.There were no significant differences in the sensitivity,specificity or positive predictive value of APT or SPT between the two groups of allergens.The positive rate of APT was 8.24％,22.35％,29.41％,44.71％ and 41.18％ respectively with group 1 allergens at 3 000,5 000,7 000,10 000 and 12 000 pnu/g,and 3.53％,23.53％,31.76％,34.12％ and 35.29％ respectively with group 2 allergens.No significant differences were observed in the positive rate of APT between group 1 and 2 allergens at same concentrations (all P ＞ 0.05),but a significant difference was observed in that between different concentrations of group 1 or 2 allergens (both P＜ 0.05).The positive rate of APT increased with the increase of allergen concentrations,but stopped rising when the concentrations of group 1 and 2 allergens reached 7 000 pnu/g and 5 000 pnu/g respectively.Conclusions The sensitivity of APT is relatively high for the diagnosis of dust mite allergy.The positive rate of APT increased with the increase in allergen concentrations,but stopped rising when the concentrations reached a certain level.