Objective To investigate the morphological characteristics of Dermatophagoides farinae at different developmental stages. Methods The cultured D. farinae was isolated, and the external morphological features of mites at various developmental stages were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), including egg, larva, nymph and adult stages. Results The D. farinae egg appeared a long oval shape, and the larval mites had three pairs of legs. The nymph had four pairs of legs and underdeveloped genital pores containing genital setae and anal setae, and adult mites appeared long and oval in shape, with decorative patterns on epidermis, and had four pairs of legs. In male adult mites, remarkable thickening of the leg I and thicker and longer leg III than the leg IV were seen, and ventral genital regions were found between the basal segments of legs III and IV; the anus was surrounded by a circular peri-anal ring, with a pair of anal suckers and anal setae within the ring. In the female adult mites, slender legs III and IV with an equal length were seen, and a “λ-shape” genital hole was observed on the ventral surface, with a crescent-like genital plate in the anterior part, and the anus appeared a longitudinal slit. Conclusions An SEM observation of the external morphology of D. farinae provides understandings of the morphological characteristics of D. farinae, which is of great significance for the classification and identification.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is harmful to the patient's life. The treatment of patients is determined by accurate preoperative staging. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) played an important role in the preoperative examination of patients with rectal cancer, and artificial intelligence (AI) in the learning of images made significant achievements in recent years. Introducing AI into MRI recognition, a stable platform for image recognition and judgment can be established in a short period. This study aimed to establish an automatic diagnostic platform for predicting preoperative T staging of rectal cancer through a deep neural network. METHODS: A total of 183 rectal cancer patients' data were collected retrospectively as research objects. Faster region-based convolutional neural networks (Faster R-CNN) were used to build the platform. And the platform was evaluated according to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: An automatic diagnosis platform for T staging of rectal cancer was established through the study of MRI. The areas under the ROC curve (AUC) were 0.99 in the horizontal plane, 0.97 in the sagittal plane, and 0.98 in the coronal plane. In the horizontal plane, the AUC of T1 stage was 1, AUC of T2 stage was 1, AUC of T3 stage was 1, AUC of T4 stage was 1. In the coronal plane, AUC of T1 stage was 0.96, AUC of T2 stage was 0.97, AUC of T3 stage was 0.97, AUC of T4 stage was 0.97. In the sagittal plane, AUC of T1 stage was 0.95, AUC of T2 stage was 0.99, AUC of T3 stage was 0.96, and AUC of T4 stage was 1.00. CONCLUSION: Faster R-CNN AI might be an effective and objective method to build the platform for predicting rectal cancer T-staging. TRIAL REGISTRATION chictr.org.cn: ChiCTR1900023575; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=39665.
Artificial Intelligence ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Rectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: According to the amyloid, tau, neurodegeneration research framework classification, amyloid and tau positive (A+T+) mild cognitive impairment (MCI) individuals are defined as prodromal Alzheimer disease. This study was designed to compare the clinical and biomarker features between A+T+MCI individuals who progressed to progressive MCI (pMCI) and those who remained stable MCI (sMCI), and to identify relevant baseline clinical biomarker and features that could be used to predict progression to dementia within 2 years. METHODS: We stratified 197 A+T+MCI individuals into pMCI (n = 64) and sMCI (n = 133) over 2 years. Demographics and cognitive assessment scores, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and neuroimaging biomarkers (18F-florbetapir positron emission tomography mean standardized uptake value ratios [SUVR] and structural magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) were compared between pMCI and sMCI at baseline, 12- and 24-month follow-up. Logistic regression models then were used to evaluate clinical baseline and biomarker features that predicted dementia progression in A+T+MCI. RESULTS: pMCI individuals had higher mean 18F-florbetapir SUVR, CSF total-tau (t-tau), and p-tau181P than those in sMCI individuals. pMCI individuals performed poorer in cognitive assessments, both global and domain specific (memory, executive, language, attention, and visuospatial skills) than sMCI. At baseline, there were significant differences in regions of interest of structural MRI between the two groups, including bilateral amygdala, hippocampus and entorhinal, bilateral inferior lateral ventricle, left superior and middle temporal, left posterior and caudal anterior cingulate (P < 0.05). Baseline CSF t-tau levels and cognitive scores of Montreal cognitive assessment, functional assessment questionnaire, and everyday cognition by the patient's study partner language domain could predict progression to dementia in A+T+MCI within 2 years. CONCLUSIONS In future clinical trials, specific CSF and cognitive measures that predict dementia progression in A+T+MCI might be useful risk factors for assessing the risk of dementia progression.
Alzheimer Disease ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; Biomarkers ; Cognitive Dysfunction ; Disease Progression ; Humans ; Peptide Fragments ; Positron-Emission Tomography

Objective: Several COVID-19 patients have overlapping comorbidities. The independent role of each component contributing to the risk of COVID-19 is unknown, and how some non-cardiometabolic comorbidities affect the risk of COVID-19 remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 1,160 laboratory-confirmed patients were enrolled from nine provinces in China. Data on comorbidities were obtained from the patients' medical records. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio ( Results: Overall, 158 (13.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe illness and 32 (2.7%) had unfavorable outcomes. Hypertension (2.87, 1.30-6.32), type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (3.57, 2.32-5.49), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3.78, 1.81-7.89), fatty liver disease (7.53, 1.96-28.96), hyperlipidemia (2.15, 1.26-3.67), other lung diseases (6.00, 3.01-11.96), and electrolyte imbalance (10.40, 3.00-26.10) were independently linked to increased odds of being severely ill. T2DM (6.07, 2.89-12.75), CVD (8.47, 6.03-11.89), and electrolyte imbalance (19.44, 11.47-32.96) were also strong predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease on admission (5.46, 3.25-9.19), while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes (6.58, 1.46-29.64) within two weeks. Conclusion Besides hypertension, diabetes, and CVD, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, other lung diseases, and electrolyte imbalance were independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and poor treatment outcome. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease, while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/virology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome

The present study is to establish the fingerprints for the quality evaluation of Ilicis Pubescentis Radix by HPLC-UV. The chromatographic conditions were defined as Phenomenex Luna C₁₈(4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm). Mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.05% phosphoric acid in gradient elution, and the flow rate was 0.8 mL·min⁻¹.Column temperature was 30 °C and the injection volume was 10 μL．The detection wavelength was 210 nm. According to the similarity evaluation, the chemometric method was used to assess the quality of Ilicis Pubescentis Radix. The fingerprints of 16 batches of Ilicis Pubescentis Radix were established. There were 29 common peaks in the fingerprints and 12 common peaks were identified by reference substances. Fingerprints similarity of samples were greater than 0.92. The samples were classified into three groups by hierarchical cluster analysis combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and seven components were the main markers that cause differences in the different batches of samples. By comparing the on-line UV spectra of chromatographic peaks, the chromatographic fingerprint was divided into three regions: region A showed seventeen main peaks (mainly lignans and phenolic acids); region B showed eight main peaks, which were proved as saponins; region C showed four main peaks, which were proved as other components. The established HPLC-UV fingerprint is highly specific, and can be used to evaluate the quality consistency of different batches of Ilicis Pubescentis Radix.

OBJECTIVETo screen and identify zebrafish mutants with erythropoiesis defects by N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis and large-scale forward genetic screening using beta e 1 as the marker.

METHODSThe chemical mutagen ENU was used to treat healthy wild-type male fish (AB strain, F0). The surviving ENU-treated fish were mated with wild-type female fish to generate F1, and further F2 family was generated by F1 family intercross. The adult F2 fish were intercrossed within each F2 family and the resulting F3 embryos from each crossing were subjected to whole mount in situ hybridization (WISH) with the beta e 1 probe. Mutagenesis was performed by treating the male zebrafish with ENU to induce mutations in pre-meiotic germ cells to generate the founders, which were outcrossed to obtained the F1 fish. The F1 fish from different founders were mated to generate the F2 families. F3 embryos from the sibling cross in the F2 family were examined by whole mount in situ hybridization using beta e 1-globin probe. The putative mutants were then characterized with different hematopoiesis markers.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONWe identified 4 beta e 1-deficient mutants with erythropoiesis defects, including two with specific erythiod lineage defects and two with concurrent lymphopoiesis defects.

Animals ; Erythropoiesis ; genetics ; Ethylnitrosourea ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ; Male ; Mutagenesis, Insertional ; Mutation ; Zebrafish ; genetics

Objective To explore the best target position and range of lesion for magnetic resonance image (MRI)-guided stereotactic cingulotomy. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the data of 71 patients underwent MRI-guided stereotactic cingulotomy, including 7 with chronic pain and 64 with psychiatric disorders. The cingulate gyrus target chose were 5 mm as X, 10-20 mm posterior tip of the lateral ventricle as Y, 2 mm above the roof of the lateral ventricle as Z. The target position and range of lesion were determined and revised by routine sagittal, axial and coronal stereotactic MRI scans. Radiofrequency thermocoagulation lesions were produced by inserting an electrode (1.6 mm diameter and 4 mm uninsulated tip) and heating them at a temperature of 75℃ for 100 seconds with a volume of lesion reaching 15 mm×10 mm×10 mm. Early postoperative MR or CT scans and long-term followed up examination were available for all cases. Results Postoperative images showed that the lesions were all in the anterior cingulate gyrus. Two patients reported transient urinary incontinence without permanent complications; significant pain relief appeared in all patients with chronic pain; In 64 with intractable psychiatric disorders, cure was showed in 3 obvious improvements in 35, improvement in 22, and no change in 4. Conclusion MRI-guided stereotactic cingulotomy offers substantial advantages by allowing direct visualization of the cingulate gyrus and surrounding structures and the best range of lesion is 10-25 mm from the anterior point of the corpus callosum, 10 mm above the bottle of cingulate gyrus and 10 mm in width.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the safety and tolerance of adjuvant dose-dense chemotherapy with paclitaxel and epirubicin for high-risk breast cancer.

METHODSFrom January 2004 to December 2006, 101 patients with high-risk breast cancer after surgical resection were enrolled into this study. The patients were divided into two groups: dose-dense and regular groups. Each patient received 6 cycles of chemotherapy with intravenous administration of paclitaxel (175 mg/m2, on D3) and epirubicin (60 mg/m2, on Dl and D2). The dose-dense group had repeated treatment every two weeks, while the regular group repeated it every three weeks. G-CSF was used in a dose of 3 microg/kg on D5-D9 during each cycle in the dose-dense group. While in the regular group, it was used only under the condition that grade II neutropenia occurred.

RESULTSThe toxicity could be evaluated in 101 patients. Major grade II-IV toxicities included: neutropenia, nausea, vomiting and alopecia. The incidence of grade III-IV neutropenia was 16.0% in the dose-dense group versus 54.9% in the regular group (P = 0.000); postponing of chemotherapy was 2.4% versus 6.0% (P = 0.027). Ninety-eight patients completed the chemotherapy as planed. After a median follow-up of 24 months, the median DFS and OS were not reached. The relapse-free rate and survival rate were 89.8% and 100% in the dose-dense group, which were 87.8% and 93.9% in the regular group. The relapse-free rate of the high-risk patients in the dose-dense group was 86.8% versus 81.3% in the regular group, and the corresponding survival rate was 100% versus 90.6%.

CONCLUSIONAdjuvant dose-dense chemotherapy with paclitaxel and epirubicin is safe, tolerable and promising for high-risk breast cancer.

Adult ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Breast Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; surgery ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Epirubicin ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Mastectomy ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Nausea ; chemically induced ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Neoplastic Cells, Circulating ; Neutropenia ; chemically induced ; Paclitaxel ; administration & dosage ; adverse effects ; Survival Rate ; Vomiting ; chemically induced ; Young Adult

Animals ; Cromolyn Sodium ; administration & dosage ; Disease Models, Animal ; Intestines ; blood supply ; Mast Cells ; drug effects ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reperfusion Injury ; mortality ; pathology ; p-Methoxy-N-methylphenethylamine ; administration & dosage

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) plus prednisone on refractory nephrotic syndrome (RNS) in children.

METHODSOne hundred and forty-two children with RNS from ten clinical trial centers were divided into two groups: MMF (n=87) and control (n=55). The MMF group patients were administered with oral MMF (30-40 mg/kg daily) for at least 6 months. Afterwards the patients who responded to MMF received another 6 months MMF treatment at a dosage of 10-20 mg/kg daily. The controls were treated with pulse intravenous infusion of cyclophosphamide (CTX) (10 mg/kg daily) for 2 days every 2 weeks for 3 months. Then CTX was administered at a dosage of 500 mg/m2 once a month 4, 7 and 10 months after treatment. While the patients received MMF or CTX treatment, they were treated with oral prednisone (0.5-1 mg/kg daily) for 2 to 3 months, and then the dosage of prednisone was gradually reduced. Urinary protein, liver and renal functions, and side effects of drugs were examined at regular intervals for one year.

RESULTSOf the 87 patients, 58 achieved complete remission, 16 achieved partial remission, 9 achieved early remission and 4 had no response to treatment. In the control group, 35 achieved complete remission, 9 achieved partial remission, 1 achieved early remission and 10 had no response to treatment. The total remission rate in the MMF group (95.4%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (81.8%) (P<0.01). After treatment 67 patients (65.4%) in the MMF group had negative proteinuria compared with 36 patients (65.4%) in the control group (P>0.05). MMF was found to be more effective in reducing proteinuria, and improving hypoproteinemia, oliguria, hyperlipemia, and edema than CTX. MMF was better tolerated with lower incidences of adverse reactions than CTX.

CONCLUSIONSThe combined therapy of MMF and prednisone is more effective and tolerable than pulse intravenous infusion of CTX for treatment of RNS in children.

Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Infant ; Male ; Mycophenolic Acid ; adverse effects ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; drug therapy ; Prednisone ; therapeutic use ; Prospective Studies