Development and Validation of a Prognostic NomogramBased on Clinical and CT Features for Adverse OutcomePrediction in Patients with COVID-19

Objective@#The purpose of our study was to investigate the predictive abilities of clinical and computed tomography (CT)features for outcome prediction in patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). @*Materials and Methods@#The clinical and CT data of 238 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in our two hospitalswere retrospectively analyzed. One hundred sixty-six patients (103 males; age 43.8 ± 12.3 years) were allocated in thetraining cohort and 72 patients (38 males; age 45.1 ± 15.8 years) from another independent hospital were assigned in thevalidation cohort. The primary composite endpoint was admission to an intensive care unit, use of mechanical ventilation, ordeath. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses were performed to identify independent predictors. Anomogram was constructed based on the combination of clinical and CT features, and its prognostic performance wasexternally tested in the validation group. The predictive value of the combined model was compared with models built on theclinical and radiological attributes alone. @*Results@#Overall, 35 infected patients (21.1%) in the training cohort and 10 patients (13.9%) in the validation cohortexperienced adverse outcomes. Underlying comorbidity (hazard ratio [HR], 3.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.67–6.71;p < 0.001), lymphocyte count (HR, 0.12; 95% CI, 0.04–0.38; p < 0.001) and crazy-paving sign (HR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.03–4.48;p = 0.042) were the independent factors. The nomogram displayed a concordance index (C-index) of 0.82 (95% CI, 0.76–0.88),and its prognostic value was confirmed in the validation cohort with a C-index of 0.89 (95% CI, 0.82–0.96). The combinedmodel provided the best performance over the clinical or radiological model (p < 0.050). @*Conclusion@#Underlying comorbidity, lymphocyte count and crazy-paving sign were independent predictors of adverseoutcomes. The prognostic nomogram based on the combination of clinical and CT features could be a useful tool for predictingadverse outcomes of patients with COVID-19.

Molecular identification of Tibetan medicine Qianghuoyu by CO I / 中国中药杂志

The CO I gene sequences of Qianghuoyu, Pachytriton labiatus and Gehyra mutilata were achieved by PCR amplification and bi-directional sequencing. Furthermore, a pair of specific primers SJYW1 and SJYW2 in the non-conservative district were designed through sequence alignment. The PCR reaction condition was established by changing the annealing temperature and cycle numbers. The results showed that 350 bp DNA fragment was amplified from Qianghuoyu in PCR with annealed temperature at 54 °C and the cycle number was 25 cycles, whereas not any DNA fragment was amplified from P. labiatus and G. mutilata under the same reaction condition. This method is well-performed in the identification of Qianghuoyu for its excellent specificity and repeatability.

Role of adult resident renal progenitor cells in tubular repair after acute kidney injury / 中西医结合学报

Acute kidney injury is a serious global health problem and determinant of morbidity and mortality. Recent advancements in the field of stem cell research raise hopes for stem cell-based regenerative approaches to treat acute kidney diseases. In this review, the authors summarized the latest research advances of the adult resident renal progenitor cells (ARPCs) on kidney repair, the role of ARPCs on tubular regeneration after acute kidney injury, the current understanding of the mechanisms related to ARPC activation and modulation, as well as the challenges that remain to be faced.

Sulfur-containing amides from Entada phaseoloides / 药学学报

To study the chemical constituents of the Entada phaseoloides (L.) Merr., seeds of Entada phaseoloides were extracted with 70% ethanol at room temperature. Isolation and purification were performed by silica gel, reversed-phase silica gel column chromatography and semi-preparative HPLC. Structures of the pure compounds were established on the basis of spectral analysis. Four sulfur-containing amide compounds were isolated from the n-BuOH-soluble fraction and identified as entadamide A-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->3)-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1), entadamide A (2), entadamide A-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3) and clinacoside C (4). Compound 1 is a new compound. Compound 4 is isolated from the genus Entada for the first time.

A new chromone derivative from Berchemia lineata / 药学学报

To study the chemical constituents from the root of Berchemia lineata (L.) DC., nine compounds were isolated from the EtOAc extract by using silica gel, RP-C18 silica gel column chromatography and preparative HPLC. Based on the spectroscopic analysis, their structures were identified as 5-hydroxy-7-(2'-hydroxypropyl)-2-methyl-chromone (1), (-)-(1'R, 2'S)-erythro-5-hydroxy-7-(1', 2'-dihydroxypropyl)-2-methyl-chromone (2), naringenin (3), eriodictyol (4), (+)-aromadendrin (5), (+)-taxifolin (6), (+)-catechin (7), (+)-epigallocatechin (8) and quercetin (9). Among them, compound 2 is a new chromone derivative. Compound 1 is a known chromone derivative and isolated from this genus for the first time. Compounds 3-9 are known flavonoids and isolated from this plant for the first time.

Terpenoids and flavonoids from Laggera pterodonta / 药学学报

To study the chemical constituents of aerial parts of Laggera pterodonta (DC.) Benth., the air-dried aerial parts of this plant were powered and extracted with boiling water and purified by silica gel column chromatography and recrystallized. Eleven compounds were obtained from L. pterodonta. They were identified as to be 6-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-carvotanacetone (1), pterodontic acid (2), 1beta-hydroxy pterondontic acid (3), pterodontoside A (4), pterodondiol (5), pterodontriol B (6), 5-hydroxy-3,4', 6,7-tetramethoxyflavone (7), artemitin (8), chrysosplenetin B (9), quercetin (10) and beta-sitosterol (11). Compound 1 is a new monoterpene glucoside. Compounds 10 and 11 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Compounds 2 and 5 showed moderate activity against bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Mycobacteium phlei and Bacillus circulans by paper disc diffusion method, while they both displayed no activity against Escherichia coli.

Observation of the effect of early fluid resuscitation on hepatic fatty degeneration in rats after severe scald / 中华烧伤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the efficacy of early fluid resuscitation on hepatic steatosis in rats after severe scald.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>One hundred and forty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were enrolled in the study. In thirty-six rats skin of 30% TBSA was treated with cold water to serve as sham injury group. All other rats were inflicted with 30% full-thickness scald, and they were subdivided into 3 groups, i. e. scald group(S, without resuscitation), delayed resuscitation group ( DR, with Ringer's solution at 6 post-scald hour(PSH) ) and early resuscitation group( ER, with Ringer's solution immediately after scald). The hepatic tissues of the rats were harvested at 0.5, 1.0,2.0,3.0,7.0 post-scald hour( PSH) and on 21.0 PSD for the observation of pathological changes with light-microscope and transmission electron microscope. The serum contents of TC, TG, HDL, ALP were determined at the same time-points. Body weight of each rat was measured before blood sampling, and total liver weight after blood sampling. Liver weight/body weight ratio was recorded.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with sham injury group, the fat denaturation degree of hepatic tissue in ER group was obviously less than that in S and DR group . The serum level of high density lipoprotein (TC) , triglyceride ( TG) , and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) after scald increased ranking as S > DR > ER, while the level of HDL decreased in that order. The liver weight/body weight ratio of the rats in DR group on 1.0 PSD was obviously elevated compared with that in ER group( P <0. 05) , and there exhibited significant difference of liver weight/body weight ratio between DR and ER groups on 7. 0 PSD ( P < 0. 01). The liver steatosis had obvious negative correlation with HDL content after scald( r = -0. 37, P <0.01) , but it had positive correlation with the ALP content( r = 0. 45, P <0. 01), TG content( r = 0. 25, P <0. 01) and liver weight/body weight ratio( r = 0. 440, P <0. 01). The remaining parameters showed no correlation with the liver steatosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Fluid resuscitation immediately after scald can ameliorate hepatic fatty degeneration, reduce its incidence, and beneficial to recovery of liver damage to a certain extent.</p>