Follow-up study of the pulmonary function and related physiological characteristics of COVID-19 survivors three months after recovery.

BACKGROUND: The long-term pulmonary function and related physiological characteristics of COVID-19 survivors have not been studied in depth, thus many aspects are not understood. METHODS: COVID-19 survivors were recruited for high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the thorax, lung function and serum levels of SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody tests 3 months after discharge. The relationship between the clinical characteristics and the pulmonary function or CT scores were investigated. FINDINGS: Fifty-five recovered patients participated in this study. SARS-CoV-2 infection related symptoms were detected in 35 of them and different degrees of radiological abnormalities were detected in 39 patients. Urea nitrogen concentration at admission was associated with the presence of CT abnormalities (P = 0.046, OR 7.149, 95% CI 1.038 to 49.216). Lung function abnormalities were detected in 14 patients and the measurement of D-dimer levels at admission may be useful for prediction of impaired diffusion defect (P = 0.031, OR 1.066, 95% CI 1.006 to 1.129). Of all the subjects, 47 of 55 patients tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG in serum, among which the generation of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody in female patients was stronger than male patients in infection rehabilitation phase. INTERPRETATION: Radiological and physiological abnormalities were still found in a considerable proportion of COVID-19 survivors without critical cases 3 months after discharge. Higher level of D-dimer on admission could effectively predict impaired DLCO after 3 months discharge. It is necessary to follow up the COVID-19 patients to appropriately manage any persistent or emerging long-term sequelae. FUNDING: Key Scientific Research Projects of Henan Higher Education Institutions.

[Dens in dente: report of 3 cases and review of the literature].

PURPOSE: To explore the diagnosis and clinical treatment of dens in dente. METHODS: Preventive resin restoration, root canal treatment, apical barrier technique and apexification were used to treat three cases of dens in dente, respectively. The curative effects were assessed by general examinations and imageological examinations during postoperative follow-up visits. RESULTS: Three patients with different type and degree of dens in dente achieved good therapeutic effect and favorable prognosis through different treatment methods. CONCLUSIONS: Dens in dente is complex clinically and the treatment is difficult. Clinicians should improve the understanding of dens in dente. The keys to successful treatment are early diagnosis and early treatment. In addition, it is important to take proper measures according to the type and degree of dens in dente, to preserve the diseased tooth as much as possible.

[Clinical evaluations of transitional treatment of pulpitis during pregnancy in 60 female patients].

PURPOSE: The present study was aimed to clinically evaluate transitional treatment of pulpitis during pregnancy. METHODS: Sixty pregnant women with pulpitis were divided into the first, second and third trimester. They were anesthetized locally using STA system combined with psychological intervention during treatment. The teeth were given one-appointment root canal preparation and filled with vitapex pasta. Normal obturation of the root canal was conducted after delivery. The effects of dental treatment, pregnancy outcomes and neonatal health status were observed. Data of the survey were analyzed by SPSS 20.0 software package, including Student's t test and chi-square test. RESULTS: The symptoms of pulpitis were significantly improved 24h after treatment,and the effective rate was 96.7%. The difference of VAS before and after treatment was statistically significant (P<0.05). Patients had no discomfort till the end of pregnancy,and the success rate was 98.3%. No adverse pregnancy outcomes were observed after treatment during different periods of pregnancy. Neonatal health was good. Significant differences were not found in birth gestational age, body weight, malformations, and neonatal complications between three treatment periods (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Transitional treatment of pulpitis during pregnancy is a safe and effective procedure and worthy of wide use clinically.

[Inventory and Characteristics of Anthropogenic Ammonia Emission in Xi'an].

Based on the activity data of diverse ammonia sources, the rational estimation method and emission factors were employed, and an anthropogenic ammonia emission inventory was further established to describe the situation of Xi'an in 2013.The results showed that the total anthropogenic ammonia emission reached 47.17×103 t in 2013 with an emission intensity of 4.57 t·km-2; The livestock breeding and nitrogen fertilizers were the major sources of anthropogenic ammonia emission, which were 20.55×103 t and 17.51×103 t, respectively, accounting for 80.68% in total; Cow and hog were the major sources, and occupied 75.03% in livestock breeding emission; Lintong District was the heaviest emission area, the total emission was 10.73×103 t, which accounted for 23.22%; The emission intensity of Yanliang District reached 14.75 t·km-2 which was considered as the most severe area.

Pemetrexed is mildly active with good tolerability for treatment of patients with colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: This systematic analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pemetrexed based salvage chemotherapy for treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. METHODS: Clinical studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of pemetrexed based regimens on response and safety for patients with colorectal cancer were identified using a predefined search strategy. Pooled response rates (RRs) were calculated. RESULTS: For pemetrexed based regimens, 4 clinical studies including 201 patients with advanced colorectal cancer were considered eligible for inclusion. The analysis suggested that, in all patients, pooled RR was 20.4% (41/201). Major adverse effects were neutropenia, anorexia, fatigue, and anemia. No treatment related death occurred with pemetrexed based treatment. CONCLUSION: This systematic analysis suggests that pemetrexed based regimens are associated with mild activity with good tolerability in treating patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Replication and fine mapping for association of the C2orf43, FOXP4, GPRC6A and RFX6 genes with prostate cancer in the Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer represents the leading cause of male death across the world. A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified five novel susceptibility loci for prostate cancer in the Japanese population. This study is to replicate and fine map the potential association of these five loci with prostate cancer in the Chinese Han population. METHODS: In Phase I of the study, we tested the five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which showed the strongest association evidence in the original GWAS in Japanese. The study sample consists of 1,169 Chinese Hans, comprising 483 patients and 686 healthy controls. Then in phase II, flanking SNPs of the successfully replicated SNPs in Phase I were genotyped and tested for association with prostate cancer to fine map those significant association signals. RESULTS: We successfully replicated the association of rs13385191 (located in the C2orf43 gene, P = 8.60×10(-5)), rs12653946 (P = 1.33×10(-6)), rs1983891 (FOXP4, P = 6.22×10(-5)), and rs339331 (GPRC6A/RFX6, P = 1.42×10(-5)) with prostate cancer. The most significant odds ratio (OR) was recorded as 1.41 (95% confidence interval 1.18-1.68) for rs12653946. Rs9600079 did not show significant association (P = 8.07×10(-2)) with prostate cancer in this study. The Phase II study refined these association signals, and identified several SNPs showing more significant association with prostate cancer than the very SNPs tested in Phase I. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide further support for association of the C2orf43, FOXP4, GPRC6A and RFX6 genes with prostate cancer in Eastern Asian populations. This study also characterized the novel loci reported in the original GWAS with more details. Further work is still required to determine the functional variations and finally clarify the underlying biological mechanisms.

[The antimicrobial effects of chitosans on oral pathogenic microbes in vitro].

PURPOSE: To study the antimicrobial activities of chitosans of different molecular weights and concentrations on oral pathogenic microbes under pH 6.5 in vitro. METHODS: The inhibition effects of chitosans of different molecular weights and different concentrations (2.0%, 1.5%, 1.0%, 0.5%) on Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Helicobacter pylori, Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis in culture were investigated, and the differences of their antimicrobial activities under high temperature and after filtering were compared. One way analysis of variance, randomized block design analysis of variance and t test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Chitosans of different molecular weights all showed bacteriostatic effects on Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans, Helicobacter pylori, Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Low molecular weight chitosans showed the strongest effects, but the high molecular weight ones had strong effects on Streptococcus mutans (P<0.05,0.01). The bacteriostatic effects of chitosans were not affected by high temperatures (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Chitosans have inhibitory effects on oral pathogenic microbes under pH 6.5.

[Capillary electrophoretic analysis of amnesic shellfish toxin--domoic acid].

Domoic acid, a main component of amnesic shellfish toxin (one of the four sorts of marine red tide bio-toxins) was determined by capillary electrophoresis with UV detection. The shellfish samples were prepared by solvent extraction, cleaned-up with a strong anion-exchange cartridge (SAX: Part No. 1210-2044, Lot No. 182639, Varian) and a cation-exchange cartridge (SCX: Part No. 1211-3039, Lot No. 171069, Varian). The quantitative analysis was performed with external standard under the optimum conditions of capillary electrophoretic analysis. The calibration curve of domoic acid showed good linearity in the range of 0.2 mg/L-50 mg/L with r = 0.9990, and the detection limit was 0.063 mg/L(S/N > 3). Spiked with standard at three levels (5.00 micrograms/g, 10.00 micrograms/g and 20 micrograms/g), the samples had the recoveries of 97.24%, 96.92% and 97.55%, and the RSDs of 2.74%, 2.59% and 1.95%, respectively. Five kinds of shellfish samples normally consumed in Dalian sea area were collected and quantified. The method has the advantages of being simple, convenient, sensitive and low cost. Therefore it can be used as one of the routine monitoring methods for amnesic shellfish toxin.