Spatio-temporal variation in soil thermal conductivity during the freeze-thaw period in the permafrost of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in 1980-2020.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has the largest amount of permafrost in the low and middle latitudes, making it highly susceptible to the effects of global warming. In particular, the degradation of permafrost can be intensified by anomalous amplified warming. To accurately model the hydrothermal dynamics of permafrost and its future trends, the accumulation of high-precision, long-term data for the soil thermal conductivity (STC) in the active layer is crucial. However, no previous research has systematically investigated the spatio-temporal variation in the STC on the QTP over an extended period. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap using the XGBoost model to analyze the STC in the permafrost on the QTP from 1980 to 2020. The findings of this study provide some preliminary insights. First, areas with high variation in the STC between the freeze-thaw periods over the 40 years gradually migrated from the western region to the central region. Second, since 2015, STC in more than 90 % of the permafrost region in the thawing period has shown positive growth. While, during the freezing period, the STC also exhibited an increase over most regions of the QTP, though the western region and parts of the northeastern region exhibited a decrease. Third, the spatial center of gravity for the STC during the freezing and thawing periods from 1980 to 2020 shifted. The mean STC was larger in the eastern and northeastern regions during the freezing period and larger in the western region during the thawing period. Fourth, both alpine swamp meadow and alpine meadow exhibited a gradual increase in the STC during the freeze-thaw period from 1980 to 2020. The conclusions and data products from this study are expected to support spatiotemporal modeling of the permafrost on the QTP and assist in the prognosis for its future.

Comparison of curative effect and cost between domestic and imported covered stents in the treatment of non-complex Stanford type B aortic dissection / 国际外科学杂志

Objective:To compare the curative effect and cost of domestic and imported covered stents in the treatment of non-complex Stanford type B aortic dissection.Methods:A retrospective case-control study was used to analyze the clinical data of 93 patients with non-complex Stanford B aortic dissection who underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) in Taizhou Second People's Hospital from September 2016 to September 2021.Ninty-three patients were divided into two groups according to the use of different covered stents during the operation, of which 47 patients were treated with domestic covered stents (observation group) and 46 patients were treated with imported covered stents (control group). Overall response rate, rate of complication, treatment cost and cost-effectiveness ratio of the two groups were compared and sensitivity analysis was performed in the two groups.The measurement datas conforming to the normal distribution were expressed as mean ± standard deviation( ± s), and the inter-group comparison was conducted by t test.The comparison of counting datas between groups was conducted by Chi-square test or Fisher exact probability method. Results:The overall response rate of the observation group and the control group were 93.62% and 97.83%, with no significant difference ( P>0.05); The incidence of complications was 6.38% and 2.17%, with no significant difference ( P>0.05). The cost of covered stent [(62 155.49±10 231.08) yuan] and the total cost of treatment [(95 063.66±20 042.34) yuan] in the observation group were lower than those in the control group [(93 825.37±16 577.04) yuan and (126 035.89±26 186.18) yuan]( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in other direct costs between the observation group [(32 908.17±9 811.26) yuan] and the control group [(32 210.52±9 609.14) yuan] ( P >0.05). The cost-effectiveness ratio of the observation group and the control group were 1 015.42 and 1 288.31, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of the control group was 7 356.82. After the cost-effectiveness sensitivity analysis and adjusting the cost of the covered stent to decrease by 10% of the two groups, the cost-effectiveness ratio of the observation group and the control group were 949.03 and 1 192.41, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of control group was 6 604.61. Conclusions:Both domestic and imported covered stents are effective in the treatment of non-complex Stanford type B aortic dissection with fewer complications. Compared with the imported covered stent, the domestic covered stent has lower treatment cost and more advantages of cost-effectiveness, which is more in line with diagnosis related groups reform.

Genetic variation and evolution of attenuated African swine fever virus strain isolated in the field: A review.

It has been reported that there were several "mutant isolated in the field " of African swine fever virus (ASFV) since ASFV was reported, which may be the result of the continuous adaptation and evolution of ASFV. The emergence of ASFV field mutants may lead to chronic or asymptomatic "atypical clinical symptoms" in pigs and hinder the development of porcine industry. Here we analyzed the published ASFV "field attenuated strain" gene sequences and reviewed the genetic differences between field attenuated and virulent ASFV strains, hoping for providing a reference for the scientific prevention and control of ASF and the development of new vaccines. In this study we found the deletion of EP153R and EP402R occurred in 4 field attenuated strains, and all the differential genes of field attenuated strains mainly range in regions with low GC content. The evolution of MGF110 family genes was identified by analysis of two field attenuated ASFV strains from Portugal. We also found that some tandem repeat sequence plays an important role in the evolution of strains of NH/P68 and OURT 88/3 but not in strains Estonia 2014, HuB20 and Pig/Heilongjiang/HRB1/2020.

Changes in portal vein hemodynamics after liver transplantation and their clinical significance / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective:To evaluate the ultrasound diagnostic value of portal vein complications after liver transplantation by monitoring changes in portal vein hemodynamic parameters using the color Doppler ultrasound technology and to determine its clinical significance.Methods:The clinical data of 99 patients who underwent liver transplantation at the Organ Transplantation Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from July 2015 to December 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 81 males and 18 females, aged (51±9) years old. These patients were divided into the portal vein complication ( n=23) and the non-portal vein complication ( n=76) groups, based on whether portal vein complications had developed within 2 years after surgery. In addition, 30 healthy volunteers at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, including 16 males and 14 females, aged (40±14) years old were selected to form the control group. The patients’ morphology of liver was studied using color Doppler ultrasound at days 1, 7, 14, 30, 180, 365 and 730 after liver transplantation, and the maximum portal vein blood flow velocity and portal blood flow were recorded. Results:Compared with the control group, the maximum portal venous flow velocity and portal venous blood flow significantly increased on days 1, 7, 14, 30, and 180 after liver transplantation in the non-portal complication group (all P<0.05). With time, these changes showed a decreasing trend. By day 365 after surgery, the differences between the maximum portal venous flow velocity and the portal venous blood flow between the two groups became not significant ( P>0.05). Of the 23 patients in the portal vein complication group, 9 developed portal vein stenosis (PVS) and 14 portal vein embolism. The 9 patients with PVS had a maximum portal flow velocity of 63.8 (46.0, 78.6) cm/s at 1 month after surgery, and this flow velocity was significantly higher than that in the non-portal complication group [35.0(29.6, 41.8) cm/s, Z=-3.35, P<0.001]. The portal blood flow was 993 (887, 1168) ml/min in the 9 patients with portal vein stenosis at 1 month after surgery, and it was significantly higher than those in the non-portal complication group [811(682, 1 018) ml/min, Z=-2.37, P=0.020]. Conclusions:After liver transplantation, both the portal venous blood flow velocity and the blood flow were at high levels in the early postoperative period and they returned to normal levels with time. Ultrasound dynamic monitoring of portal venous blood flow changes was of clinical significance in diagnosing portal vein stenosis and portal vein embolism after liver transplantation.

How phosphorylation of RBCs band 3 protein affects storage quality of suspended red blood cells prepared from Tibetan high Hb population / 中国输血杂志

【Objective】 To investigate the quality changes of suspended red blood cells (SRBCs) prepared from the blood of Tibetan high Hb population, and explore the availability and safety of blood collected from Tibetan high Hb population. 【Methods】 The voluntary blood donors were grouped according to the Hb concentration at the initial screening: female blood donors from Tibet Autonomous Region (>3 500 m) with Hb≥190 g/L and male blood donors with Hb≥210 g/L were classified as plateau high hemoglobin group. A total of 13 male blood donors from Tibet Autonomous Region were recruited. And the female blood donors (n=13) with Hb(115~165) g/L and male blood donors (n=12) with Hb(120~185) g/L from Chengdu were classified as control group. Whole blood of 200 mL specification was centrifuged to remove the plasma, and MAP additive solution was added to prepare SRBCs, then SRBCs were divided into four aliquots (50 mL/bag and stored at 4℃. Parameters as blood routine, free Hb and hemolysis rate were measured aseptically at day 1, 14, 21, 35 of storage. And 10 mL SRBCs was used to extract membrane proteins for tyrosine phosphorylation detection of band 3 protein. 【Results】 The RBCs counts(×1012/L), hematocrit(%) and hemoglobin(g/L) of Tibetan high Hb group and control group were 6.76±0.95 vs 4.65±0.52, 63.3±6.8 vs 43.1±4.4 and 214.4±19.8 vs 143.2±16.9 (P<0.01). The erythrocyte deformability test on the day 1, 14, 21, 35 of storage showed that the deformability of SRBCs prepared from Tibetan high Hb group was significantly lower than that of the control group under shear stress of 3, 5.33, 9.49, 16.87, and 30 Pa, while the hemolysis rate of SRBCs prepared from the Tibetan high Hb group and the control group on the day 1, 14, 21, 35 were 0.050 2±0.040 2 vs 0.022 2±0.011 1, 0.055 4±0.043 vs 0.032 1±0.028 7, 0.061 2±0.025 9 vs 0.034 3±0.031 7 and 0.069 6±0.032 0 vs 0.044 0±0.033 3 (P<0.05). Western blotting showed that the cytoplasmic N-terminal Y21 of band 3 protein of SRBCs prepared from Tibetan high Hb group was highly phosphorylated. 【Conclusion】 The deformability of SRBCs prepared from the Tibetan high Hb group was significantly lower while the hemolysis rate of SRBCs was higher than that of the control group. The hemolysis rate of the SRBCs at the end of storage prepared from the Tibetan high Hb group meets the requirements of the national standard GB18469-2012(<0.8%). The increase of hemolysis rate of SRBCs prepared from the Tibetan high Hb group was closely related to the phosphorylation of band 3 protein.

Correlation between chronic periodontitis and pulmonary ventilation function / 中国基层医药

Objective:To investigate the correlation between chronic periodontitis and pulmonary ventilation function.Methods:A total of 135 patients with chronic periodontitis who received treatment in Yuyao People's Hospital of Zhejiang Province between June 2014 and December 2019 were included in this study. They were divided into group A (stage I, initial lesion, n = 45), group B (stage II, early lesion, n = 45), group C (stage III, confirmed lesion, n = 45) according to the severity of periodontal lesion. Lung ventilation function indexes and serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were compared among the three groups. The correlation between periodontal condition and lung ventilation function indexes was analyzed. Results:Probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), number of missing teeth, alveolar bone resorption level were (1.67 ± 0.65) mm, (2.48 ± 0.44) mm, 0 pieces, and (1.38 ± 0.23) mm in group A, (2.05 ± 0.30) mm, (4.04 ± 0.97) mm, 1 piece, (3.37± 0.73) mm in group B, and (2.23 ± 0.47) mm, (5.17 ± 0.75) mm, 3 pieces, (6.48 ± 0.62) mm in group C. With the worsening of the disease, PD, CAL, number of missing teeth, and alveolar bone resorption level were gradually increased. PD, CAL and alveolar bone resorption level in group C were significantly higher than those in group A ( t = 4.68, 20.75, 51.74, all P < 0.001) and group B ( t = 2.17, 6.18, 21.78, P = 0.033, < 0.001, < 0.001). PD, CAL and alveolar bone resorption level in group B were significantly higher than those in group A ( t = 3.56, 9.82, 17.44, all P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the number of missing teeth ( P > 0.05). Serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels were (11.28 ± 4.26) ng/L, (7.48 ± 1.97) ng/L, (14.59 ± 2.11) ng/L in group A, (17.09 ± 4.91) ng/L, (10.82 ± 2.10) ng/L, (19.95 ± 4.48) ng/L in group B, and (26.47 ± 5.86) ng/L, (15.06 ± 2.75) ng/L, (33.76 ± 6.30) ng/L] in group C. With the worsening of the disease, serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels were gradually increased. Serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels in group C were significantly higher than those in group A ( t = 14.06, 15.03, 19.36, P < 0.001) and group B ( t = 8.23, 8.22, 11.98, all P < 0.001). Serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels in group B were significantly higher than those in group A ( t = 6.00, 7.78, 7.26, P < 0.001). The percentage of the maximum expiratory volume in the first second to the predicted value (FEV 1%pre) and the ratio of the maximum expiratory volume in the first second to the forced vital capacity (FEV 1/FVC) were (81.53 ± 6.30)% and (68.73 ± 4.65)% in group A, (70.47 ± 5.25)% and (60.86 ± 3.42)% in group B, and (59.02 ± 3.41)% and (56.93 ± 4.21)% in group C. With the worsening of the disease, FEV 1%pre and FEV 1/FVC were gradually decreased. FEV 1%pre and FEV 1/FVC in group C were significantly lower than those in group A ( t = 21.08, 12.62, both P < 0.001) and group B ( t = 12.27, 4.86, both P < 0.001). FEV 1%pre and FEV 1/FVC in group B were significantly lower than those in group A ( t = 9.05, 9.25, both P < 0.001). Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α levels were negatively correlated with FEV1%pre and FEV 1/FVC ( r = -0.50, -0.28, -0.42, -0.61, -0.34, -0.51, all P < 0.05). Conclusion:There is a correlation between chronic periodontitis and pulmonary ventilation function. Inflammatory mediators may be involved in chronic periodontitis as internal systemic factors.

Evaluation and simplification of risk factors in FIGO 2000 scoring system for gestational trophoblastic neoplasia: a 19-year retrospective analysis / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

OBJECTIVES@#The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2000 scoring system classifies gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) patients into low- and high-risk groups, so that single- or multi-agent chemotherapy can be administered accordingly. However, a number of FIGO-defined low-risk patients still exhibit resistance to single-agent regimens, and the risk factors currently adopted in the FIGO scoring system possess inequable values for predicting single-agent chemoresistance. The purpose of this study is therefore to evaluate the efficacy of risk factors in predicting single-agent chemoresistance and explore the feasibility of simplifying the FIGO 2000 scoring system for GTN.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 578 GTN patients who received chemotherapy between January 2000 and December 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify risk factors associated with single-agent chemoresistance in low-risk GTN patients. Then, simplified models were built and compared with the original FIGO 2000 scoring system.@*RESULTS@#Among the eight FIGO risk factors, the univariate and multivariate analyses identified that pretreatment serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) level and interval from antecedent pregnancy were consistently independent predictors for both first-line and subsequent single-agent chemoresistance. The simplified model with two independent factors showed a better performance in predicting single-agent chemoresistance than the model with the other four non-independent factors. However, the addition of other co-factors did improve the efficiency. Overall, simplified models can achieve favorable performance, but the original FIGO 2000 prognostic system still features the highest discrimination.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Pretreatment serum hCG level and interval from antecedent pregnancy were independent predictors for both first-line and subsequent single-agent chemoresistance, and they had greater weight than other non-independent factors in predicting single-agent chemoresistance. The simplified model composed of certain selected factors is a promising alternative to the original FIGO 2000 prognostic system, and it shows comparable performance.

Study on predictive role of dopamine transporter imaging in Parkinson′s disease with wearing-off phenomenon / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To investigate whether the presynaptic dopamine neuronal depletion in different striatal subregions predicts future development of wearing-off (WO) in Parkinson′s disease (PD) patients.Methods:A retrospective longitudinal study included 57 PD patients who were referred to the Department of Neurology of Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from January 2019 to September 2020, and completed 11C-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-fluorophenyl) tropane dopamine transporter (DAT) positron emission tomography scans at the initial evaluation and received dopaminergic drugs for at least 12 months during follow-up. The time of starting dopaminergic drug treatment and the occurrence of WO were recorded. After adjusting for clinical related factors, the predictive value of DAT uptake and related parameters in striatal subregions for WO was evaluated by Cox proportional hazards model. Results:During a median follow-up period of 23 months, 10 patients (18.18%) developed WO. Patients with WO exhibited less DAT uptake in the caudate nucleus and anterior putamen nucleus (0.66±0.52 vs 1.08±0.42, t=2.76, P=0.008 and 0.66±0.20 vs 0.87±0.28, t=2.27, P=0.027 respectively), especially in these subregions contralateral to the less-affected side of the body, compared to those without WO. Cox proportional hazard models revealed that after adjusting for gender, age, course of disease, baseline Unified Parkinson′s Disease Rating Scale Ⅲ score and increment of levodopa equivalent dosage, the lower the DAT uptake of the caudate ipsilateral to the less-affected side of the body ( HR=0.20, 95% CI 0.07-0.63, P=0.006), as well as the lower the DAT uptake of the caudate nucleus and posterior putamen nucleus ( HR=0.28, 95% CI 0.11-0.69, P=0.006 and HR=0.08, 95% CI 0.01-0.64, P=0.018 respectively) and the higher the ratio of putamen/caudate contralateral to the less-affected side of the body ( HR=2.33, 95% CI 1.02-5.33, P=0.045), the higher the risk of WO. Conclusion:The presynaptic dopamine neuronal loss, particularly bilateral caudate nucleus dopaminergic depletion at the early stage, has predictive value of development of WO in PD.

The value of unenhanced computed tomography in differentiating brain tumors from non-neoplastic lesions / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To investigate the additional value of unenhanced computed tomography (CT) in the differential diagnosis of brain tumors and non-neoplastic lesions.Methods:A total of 237 cases [140 males and 97 females; (49±16) years old; including 48 cases of low-grade glioma, 134 cases of high-grade glioma, 38 cases of primary central nervous system lymphoma, 9 cases of medulloblastoma, 5 cases of germinoma, and 3 cases of central neurocytoma] of brain tumors (diffuse gliomas and non-glial tumors) diagnosed by biopsy or surgery and pathology in the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from September 2016 to October 2020 were collected retrospectively. Sixty-six cases [46 males and 20 females; (42±13) years old; including 12 cases of abscesses, 5 cases of infarcts, 33 cases of demyelinating lesions, 11 cases of autoimmune encephalitis, and 5 cases of central nervous system vasculitis] of brain non-neoplastic lesions were confirmed by biopsy or clinic. All patients underwent routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and unenhanced CT before the treatment. The images were reviewed by two neuroradiologists together blind to the final diagnosis with and without CT images respectively. The diagnostic results and reliability scores were recorded, and the accuracy of the two evaluations was compared.Results:CT hyperattenuation exhibited a higher specificity (95%) than conventional MRI scan (86%), and a lower diagnostic sensitivity (34% vs 86%). Compared to MRI alone, the combined modality of MRI and unenhanced CT significantly improved diagnostic accuracy (94% vs 86%). Additionally, the CT attenuation ratio of non-neoplastic lesions was significantly lower than that of neoplastic lesions [0.69 (0.61,0.78) and 1.14 (1.00,1.25), W=2 123, P<0.05]. The CT attenuation ratio in the non-glial origin tumor group was significantly higher than that in the diffuse glioma group [1.28 (1.18,1.41) and 1.13 (0.97,1.21), W=1 858, P<0.05]. There was no significant difference in grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ groups of diffuse glioma [1.11 (0.99,1.20) vs 1.16 (1.09,1.24), P>0.05 (Nemenyi test)]. However, both were significantly higher than that of grade Ⅱgroup of diffuse glioma [0.89 (0.76,1.07), P<0.05 (Nemenyi test)]. No significant difference was observed between astrocytic tumors and oligodendroglial tumors at the same grade. Conclusions:Hyperattenuation on unenhanced CT is highly specific for the diagnosis of brain tumors. Unenhanced CT plus MRI is more accurate for distinguishing the two entities in hypoattenuation lesion on unenhanced CT.

Magnetic resonance imaging characteristics of brain lesions in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody associated demyelinating diseases and aquaporin-4 antibody positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To investigate the distribution and morphological characteristics of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions in patients with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody related demyelinating diseases and aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) and their clinical value in early diagnosis.Methods:A total of 35 patients with MOG antibody related demyelinating diseases [20 males and 15 females; aged 31 (25, 43) years] and 36 patients with AQP4 antibody positive NMOSD [3 males and 33 females; aged 42 (29, 54) years] were collected retrospectively from September 2018 to June 2021 in Chenzhou First People′s Hospital and the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University which were classified as MOG group and AQP4 positive group respectively. All patients underwent routine cranial MRI scanning before treatment and the location, shape and quantity of intracranial lesions were recorded. Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the number of different types of lesions between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the significance of different lesions for the two diseases.Results:There were 7 types of lesions with significant differences in different parts and shapes. Stepwise Logistic regression showed that cortical and juxtacortical lesions ( OR=21.91, 95% CI 3.09-61.69, P<0.05) and infratentorial peripheral white matter lesions ( OR=10.48, 95% CI 2.00-18.89, P<0.05) were the most important risk factors in the MOG group. The incidence of cortical and juxtacortical lesions in the MOG group was 51.4% (18/35), which was higher than that in the AQP4 positive group (2.8%, 1/36; χ2=19.02, P<0.01). The incidence of infratentorial peripheral white matter lesions in the MOG group was 31.4% (11/35), which was higher than that in the AQP4 positive group (5.6%, 2/36; χ2=6.31, P<0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that peripheral lesions [including 6 types of lesions such as supratentorial soft meningitis, cortical encephalitis, cortical and juxtacortical lesions, infratentorial soft meningitis, infratentorial soft meningeal demyelination and infratentorial peripheral lesions, area under curve (AUC)=0.93] were more important than cortical and juxtacortical lesions (AUC=0.75) and central lesions (supratentorial paraventricular white matter lesions, diencephalon, infratentorial paraventricular lesions,AUC=0.64), which had higher diagnostic efficiency. Conclusions:The incidence of intracranial lesions in MOG antibody related demyelinating disease was higher than that in AQP4 positive NMOSD, and the distribution and morphology of intracranial MRI lesions in the two diseases had their characteristic manifestations. Identifying the distribution patterns of peripheral lesions (distributed along pia mater) and central lesions (distributed along ependyma) had a certain reference significance for distinguishing the two groups of diseases.

Use of compressed sensing to expedite high-throughput diagnostic testing for COVID-19 and beyond

The rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 has placed a significant burden on public health systems to provide rapid and accurate diagnostic testing highlighting the critical need for innovative testing approaches for future pandemics. In this study, we present a novel sample pooling procedure based on compressed sensing theory to accurately identify virally infected patients at high prevalence rates utilizing an innovative viral RNA extraction process to minimize sample dilution. At prevalence rates ranging from 0-14.3%, the number of tests required to identify the infection status of all patients was reduced by 75.6% as compared to conventional testing in primary human SARS-CoV-2 nasopharyngeal swabs and a coronavirus model system. Additionally, our modified pooling and RNA extraction process minimized sample dilution which remained constant as pool sizes increased. Our use of compressed sensing can be adapted to a wide variety of diagnostic testing applications to increase throughput for routine laboratory testing as well as a means to increase testing throughput to combat future pandemics. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=113 SRC="FIGDIR/small/21261669v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (37K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@473e40org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1480d21org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1562579org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b65ace_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

Axes of Prognosis: Identifying Subtypes of COVID-19 Outcomes

COVID-19 is a disease with vast impact, yet much remains unclear about patient outcomes. Most approaches to risk prediction of COVID-19 focus on binary or tertiary severity outcomes, despite the heterogeneity of the disease. In this work, we identify heterogeneous subtypes of COVID-19 outcomes by considering axes of prognosis. We propose two innovative clustering approaches - Layered Axes and Prognosis Space - to apply on patients outcome data. We then show how these clusters can help predict a patients deterioration pathway on their hospital admission, using random forest classification. We illustrate this methodology on a cohort from Wuhan in early 2020. We discover interesting subgroups of poor prognosis, particularly within respiratory patients, and predict respiratory subgroup membership with high accuracy. This work could assist clinicians in identifying appropriate treatments at patients hospital admission. Moreover, our method could be used to explore subtypes of long COVID and other diseases with heterogeneous outcomes.

Hemorheological characteristics and tissue oxygen supply in people with different hemoglobin levels at high altitude / 中国输血杂志

【Objective】 To explore the difference of Hemorheological characteristics and the oxygen content of tissue on different levels of hemoglobin(Hb) which were from Tibetan plateau. 【Methods】 Volunteers with different Hb levels living in Tibetan plateau and normal Hb levels living in plain were selected and divided into 4 groups according to their source areas and different Hb levels. Group A was set as the control group, while B、C and D were set as the experimental group. In group A, 25 cases, who were required to live in plateau with Hb [male: (120~185)g·L-1, female: (115~165)g·L-1]. Group B: 17 cases, required habitat plateau with Hb [male: (185~210)g·L-1, female: (165~190)g·L-1]. In group C, 13 cases, who were required to live in plateau with Hb (male: >210 g·L-1, female: >190 g·L-1). Group D: 25 cases, who were required to live in plain with Hb [male: (120~185)g·L-1, female: (115~165)g·L-1]. 10mL of Venous blood was collected from each case, these blood samples were be tested for blood routine, hemorheology, tissue oxygen supply index, coagulation function and ATP content in erythrocyte, P50, 2, 3-DPG. 【Results】 Compared with group A, erythrocyte deformability index(TK) of group C decreased (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference between group B and D (P>0.05). Compared with group A, the blood shear rate 1 s-1, 5 s-1, and 200 s-1 of tissue oxygen supply index of group C decreased (P<0.05), the blood shear rate 50 s-1, 100 s-1 and 200 s-1of tissue oxygen supply index of group D increased (P<0.05), while there was no statistically significant difference in the blood shear rate 1 s-1, 5 s-1, 50 s-1, 100 s-1 and 200 s-1of tissue oxygen supply index of group B (P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in ATP, P50 and 2, 3-DPG of red blood cells among all groups(P>0.05). 【Conclusion】 In the plateau population, The tissue oxygen supply in patient with polycythemia was significantly lower than the people with normal Hb level. The tissue oxygen supply in the plain normal population was significantly higher than that in the plateau normal population.

Analysis of plasma coagulation function in male Tibetan population with different hemoglobin content in Tibet / 中国输血杂志

【Objective】 To explore the correlation between blood coagulation function and hemoglobin(Hb) content in male Tibetan population in Tibet by analyzing and comparing the indexes of blood coagulation function in male Tibetan population with different Hb contents, so as to provide the basis for formulating blood donation criteria and blood component quality standard suitable for high altitude area. 【Methods】 Male Tibetans in Tibet during November 2018 to January 2019 were randomly selected and divided into three groups according to the Hb content. The healthy male volunteers in plain area were taken as the control. The plasma PT, APTT, TT, Fg, coagulation factor Ⅱ(FⅡ), FⅤ, FⅦ, FⅧ, FⅨ, FⅩ, FⅪ, FⅫ and protein C(PC) content of each group were measured and compared. 【Results】 The Fg was not different by groups(P>0.05); PT, APTT and TT in group C (Hb>210 g/L) in Tibet were significantly higher than those in controls [PT( s) : 11.48±1.18 vs 13.79±3.73; APTT( s) : 36.71±2.93 vs 43.30±4.56; TT( s) : 15.77±0.95 vs 17.94±2.43, P0.05), except PC conctent of group A was slightly higher than that of group B. 【Conclusion】 The plasma characteristics of Tibetan male with Hb content more than 210 g/L is different from that in plain and other high altitude area, such as prolonged coagulation time and significantly decreased coagulation factor content. Therefore, it is important to put forward the health examination requirements for blood donors and quality standards for whole blood and blood components suitable for high altitude areas in Tibet.

Risk prediction for poor outcome and death in hospital in-patients with COVID-19: derivation in Wuhan, China and external validation in London, UK

BackgroundAccurate risk prediction of clinical outcome would usefully inform clinical decisions and intervention targeting in COVID-19. The aim of this study was to derive and validate risk prediction models for poor outcome and death in adult inpatients with COVID-19. MethodsModel derivation using data from Wuhan, China used logistic regression with death and poor outcome (death or severe disease) as outcomes. Predictors were demographic, comorbidity, symptom and laboratory test variables. The best performing models were externally validated in data from London, UK. Findings4.3% of the derivation cohort (n=775) died and 9.7% had a poor outcome, compared to 34.1% and 42.9% of the validation cohort (n=226). In derivation, prediction models based on age, sex, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count, C-reactive protein and creatinine had excellent discrimination (death c-index=0.91, poor outcome c-index=0.88), with good-to-excellent calibration. Using two cut-offs to define low, high and very-high risk groups, derivation patients were stratified in groups with observed death rates of 0.34%, 15.0% and 28.3% and poor outcome rates 0.63%, 8.9% and 58.5%. External validation discrimination was good (c-index death=0.74, poor outcome=0.72) as was calibration. However, observed rates of death were 16.5%, 42.9% and 58.4% and poor outcome 26.3%, 28.4% and 64.8% in predicted low, high and very-high risk groups. InterpretationOur prediction model using demography and routinely-available laboratory tests performed very well in internal validation in the lower-risk derivation population, but less well in the much higher-risk external validation population. Further external validation is needed. Collaboration to create larger derivation datasets, and to rapidly externally validate all proposed prediction models in a range of populations is needed, before routine implementation of any risk prediction tool in clinical care. FundingMRC, Wellcome Trust, HDR-UK, LifeArc, participating hospitals, NNSFC, National Key R&D Program, Pudong Health and Family Planning Commission Research in contextO_ST_ABSEvidence before this studyC_ST_ABSSeveral prognostic models for predicting mortality risk, progression to severe disease, or length of hospital stay in COVID-19 have been published.1 Commonly reported predictors of severe prognosis in patients with COVID-19 include age, sex, computed tomography scan features, C-reactive protein (CRP), lactic dehydrogenase, and lymphocyte count. Symptoms (notably dyspnoea) and comorbidities (e.g. chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease and hypertension) are also reported to have associations with poor prognosis.2 However, most studies have not described the study population or intended use of prediction models, and external validation is rare and to date done using datasets originating from different Wuhan hospitals.3 Given different patterns of testing and organisation of healthcare pathways, external validation in datasets from other countries is required. Added value of this studyThis study used data from Wuhan, China to derive and internally validate multivariable models to predict poor outcome and death in COVID-19 patients after hospital admission, with external validation using data from Kings College Hospital, London, UK. Mortality and poor outcome occurred in 4.3% and 9.7% of patients in Wuhan, compared to 34.1% and 42.9% of patients in London. Models based on age, sex and simple routinely available laboratory tests (lymphocyte count, neutrophil count, platelet count, CRP and creatinine) had good discrimination and calibration in internal validation, but performed only moderately well in external validation. Models based on age, sex, symptoms and comorbidity were adequate in internal validation for poor outcome (ICU admission or death) but had poor performance for death alone. Implications of all the available evidenceThis study and others find that relatively simple risk prediction models using demographic, clinical and laboratory data perform well in internal validation but at best moderately in external validation, either because derivation and external validation populations are small (Xie et al3) and/or because they vary greatly in casemix and severity (our study). There are three decision points where risk prediction may be most useful: (1) deciding who to test; (2) deciding which patients in the community are at high-risk of poor outcomes; and (3) identifying patients at high-risk at the point of hospital admission. Larger studies focusing on particular decision points, with rapid external validation in multiple datasets are needed. A key gap is risk prediction tools for use in community triage (decisions to admit, or to keep at home with varying intensities of follow-up including telemonitoring) or in low income settings where laboratory tests may not be routinely available at the point of decision-making. This requires systematic data collection in community and low-income settings to derive and evaluate appropriate models.

Supplementing the National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) for anticipating early deterioration among patients with COVID-19 infection

BackgroundThe National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) is currently recommended in the United Kingdom for risk stratification of COVID outcomes, but little is known about its ability to detect severe cases. We aimed to evaluate NEWS2 for severe COVID outcome and identify and validate a set of routinely-collected blood and physiological parameters taken at hospital admission to improve the score. MethodsTraining cohorts comprised 1276 patients admitted to Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust with COVID-19 disease from 1st March to 30th April 2020. External validation cohorts included 5037 patients from four UK NHS Trusts (Guys and St Thomas Hospitals, University Hospitals Southampton, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, University College London Hospitals), and two hospitals in Wuhan, China (Wuhan Sixth Hospital and Taikang Tongji Hospital). The outcome was severe COVID disease (transfer to intensive care unit or death) at 14 days after hospital admission. Age, physiological measures, blood biomarkers, sex, ethnicity and comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney diseases) measured at hospital admission were considered in the models. ResultsA baseline model of NEWS2 + age had poor-to-moderate discrimination for severe COVID infection at 14 days (AUC in training sample = 0.700; 95% CI: 0.680, 0.722; Brier score = 0.192; 95% CI: 0.186, 0.197). A supplemented model adding eight routinely-collected blood and physiological parameters (supplemental oxygen flow rate, urea, age, oxygen saturation, CRP, estimated GFR, neutrophil count, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio) improved discrimination (AUC = 0.735; 95% CI: 0.715, 0.757) and these improvements were replicated across five UK and non-UK sites. However, there was evidence of miscalibration with the model tending to underestimate risks in most sites. ConclusionsNEWS2 score had poor-to-moderate discrimination for medium-term COVID outcome which raises questions about its use as a screening tool at hospital admission. Risk stratification was improved by including readily available blood and physiological parameters measured at hospital admission, but there was evidence of miscalibration in external sites. This highlights the need for a better understanding of the use of early warning scores for COVID. KO_SCPLOWEYC_SCPLOWO_SCPCAP C_SCPCAPO_SCPLOWMESSAGESC_SCPLOWO_LIThe National Early Warning Score (NEWS2), currently recommended for stratification of severe COVID-19 disease in the UK, showed poor-to-moderate discrimination for medium-term outcomes (14-day transfer to ICU or death) among COVID-19 patients. C_LIO_LIRisk stratification was improved by the addition of routinely-measured blood and physiological parameters routinely at hospital admission (supplemental oxygen, urea, oxygen saturation, CRP, estimated GFR, neutrophil count, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio) which provided moderate improvements in a risk stratification model for 14-day ICU/death. C_LIO_LIThis improvement over NEWS2 alone was maintained across multiple hospital trusts but the model tended to be miscalibrated with risks of severe outcomes underestimated in most sites. C_LIO_LIWe benefited from existing pipelines for informatics at KCH such as CogStack that allowed rapid extraction and processing of electronic health records. This methodological approach provided rapid insights and allowed us to overcome the complications associated with slow data centralisation approaches. C_LI

The 16-year experience in treating low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia patients with failed primary methotrexate chemotherapy / 부인종양

Objective@#To assess the outcomes and toxic effects of 5-day actinomycin D (Act-D) salvage therapy and to explore the predictors of Act-D resistance in patients with low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN)who failed 5-day methotrexate (MTX) chemotherapy. @*Methods@#This retrospective study analyzed patients with low-risk GTN administered Act-D salvage therapy after failing MTX chemotherapy at Women's Hospital, School of Medicine Zhejiang University between January 2000 and December 2015. The clinical parameters of these patients were collected and analyzed. @*Results@#The final analysis included 89 cases. Of these, 73 cases (82.02%) responded to salvage Act-D. The remaining 16 resistant cases were switched to etoposide, MTX, Act-D/ cyclophosphamide, and vincristine chemotherapy and achieved complete remission. Serum human chorionic gonadotrophin levels before Act-D salvage therapy (hCG Act-D )in the Act-Dresistant cases were significantly higher than those in the Act-D responders (median 605 vs.103 IU/L, p=0.009). However, the range of hCGAct-D values in Act-D responders was wider than that in Act-D-resistant cases (5.76–16,664 IU/L vs. 11.43–6,732 IU/L). Thus, assigning a general cut-off value was difficult considering the individual setting. Except for 2 cases requiring other salvage regimens due to Act-D toxicity, 97.80% of cases (89/91) tolerated the toxicity. During at least 1-year follow-up, the survival rate was 100.00% and no case developed recurrence. @*Conclusion@#Based on the good therapeutic effect and tolerable toxicity, we recommend Act-D salvage therapy for all patients with low-risk GTN who fail primary MTX chemotherapy.The higher serum hCG levels before Act-D salvage therapy may be associated with resistance to this treatment.

The 16-year experience in treating low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia patients with failed primary methotrexate chemotherapy / 부인종양

Objective@#To assess the outcomes and toxic effects of 5-day actinomycin D (Act-D) salvage therapy and to explore the predictors of Act-D resistance in patients with low-risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN)who failed 5-day methotrexate (MTX) chemotherapy. @*Methods@#This retrospective study analyzed patients with low-risk GTN administered Act-D salvage therapy after failing MTX chemotherapy at Women's Hospital, School of Medicine Zhejiang University between January 2000 and December 2015. The clinical parameters of these patients were collected and analyzed. @*Results@#The final analysis included 89 cases. Of these, 73 cases (82.02%) responded to salvage Act-D. The remaining 16 resistant cases were switched to etoposide, MTX, Act-D/ cyclophosphamide, and vincristine chemotherapy and achieved complete remission. Serum human chorionic gonadotrophin levels before Act-D salvage therapy (hCG Act-D )in the Act-Dresistant cases were significantly higher than those in the Act-D responders (median 605 vs.103 IU/L, p=0.009). However, the range of hCGAct-D values in Act-D responders was wider than that in Act-D-resistant cases (5.76–16,664 IU/L vs. 11.43–6,732 IU/L). Thus, assigning a general cut-off value was difficult considering the individual setting. Except for 2 cases requiring other salvage regimens due to Act-D toxicity, 97.80% of cases (89/91) tolerated the toxicity. During at least 1-year follow-up, the survival rate was 100.00% and no case developed recurrence. @*Conclusion@#Based on the good therapeutic effect and tolerable toxicity, we recommend Act-D salvage therapy for all patients with low-risk GTN who fail primary MTX chemotherapy.The higher serum hCG levels before Act-D salvage therapy may be associated with resistance to this treatment.

Value of FibroScan in liver grafts of brain-death donor prior to liver transplantation / 中华器官移植杂志

Objective:To explore the value of FibroScan in liver grafts from brain-dead donors (DBD) prior to liver transplantation (LT).Methods:Liver grafts from 52 DBD were examined using ultrasound and FibroScan before LT. The causes of death were cerebral hemorrhage ( n=25), brain trauma ( n=21) and ischemic-hypoxic cerebropathy ( n=6). Blood samples were tested before LT and a biopsy was performed pre- or intra-operation for determining pathology. The diagnostic accuracy of FibroScan results was compared with that of pathological examinations. The latter is a gold standard for evaluating liver grafts. The eligible donors were grouped by stage of liver fibrosis (F0-F4) and steatosis (S0-S3) based upon Kleiner's scoring system of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Results:The value of liver stiffness (LS) significantly rose in group F1 as compared with group F0 (8.74±1.32) kPa and (5.93±1.64) kPa respectively ( P<0.01). The value of LS had a significantly positive correlation with liver graft fibrosis stage ( r=0.73, P<0.01). The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was 0.93 for F1 stage fibrosis ( P<0.01). Significant differences existed in controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) among groups S0, S1 and S2 (173.30±38.36), (230.29±23.27) and (250.00±57.01) dB/m respectively ( F=12.41, P<0.01). CAP was correlated with liver graft steatosis stage ( r=0.64, P<0.01). And AUROC for S1/S2 stage steatosis in liver grafts was 0.89 ( P=0.002) and 0.83 ( P=0.007) respectively. Conclusions:With a high diagnostic accuracy, FibroScan quantifies fibrosis and steatosis in liver grafts from DBD and provides further imaging evidence for assessing liver grafts.

Clinical characteristics of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in immunocompromised patients / 中华传染病杂志

Objective:To understand the clinical characteristics of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) in immunocompromised patients. Methods:Clinical data of 15 patients with PCP hospitalized in Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University from March 2018 to March 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical manifestations, laboratory index examinations, imaging characteristics, comorbidities, treatment and outcome were observed.Results:Among the 15 cases, 11 were cases with hematological malignancies and four cases received allogenetic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT). The onset time was (5.82±2.33) months after transplantation. Chest computed tomography (CT) of all 15 patients showed diffuse ground glass-like exudation of the lungs surrounding hilar. Peripheral blood CD4 + T cell count decreased to (135.17±74.83)/μL and oxygenation index to (188.47±41.03) mmHg(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), while lactic acid dehydrogenase (LDH) elevated to (576.18±228.01) U/L.Levels of 1, 3-β-D-glucan in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) increased to (1 862.81±157.73) ng/L and (1 216.97±957.16) ng/L, respectively. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of BALF showed that the numbers of sequence of Pneumocystis carinii were 120 to 14 383. There were nine patients co-infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV), four patients with Epstein-Barr virus, and two patients with gram-negative bacilli. All the patients received compound sulfamethoxazole and caspofungin treatment, and 13 cases improved and two died. Conclusions:Patients with hematological malignancies and AHSCT are at high-risk of PCP. Serum counts of CD4 + T cells decrease, while serum levels of LDH and 1, 3-β- D-glucan increase.mNGS is valuable for early diagnosis.