ABSTRACT
BACKGROUNDThe COVID-19 epidemic, first emerged in Wuhan during December 2019, has spread globally. While the mass population movement for Chinese New Year has significantly influenced spreading the disease, little direct evidence exists about the relevance to epidemic and its control of population movement from Wuhan, local emergency response, and medical resources in China. METHODSSpearmans correlation analysis was performed between official data of confirmed COVID-19 cases from Jan 20th to Feb 19th, 2020 and real-time travel data and health resources data. RESULTSThere were 74,675 confirmed COVID-19 cases in China by Feb 19th, 2020. The overall fatality rate was 2.84%, much higher in Hubei than in other regions (3.27% vs 0.73%). The index of population inflow from Hubei was positively correlated with total (Provincial r=0.9159, p<0.001; City r=0.6311, p<0.001) and primary cases (Provincial r=0.8702, p<0.001; City r=0.6358, p<0.001). The local health emergency measures (eg, city lockdown and traffic control) were associated with reduced infections nationwide. Moreover, the number of public health employees per capita was inversely correlated with total cases (r=-0.6295, p <0.001) and infection rates (r =-0.4912, p <0.01). Similarly, cities with less medical resources had higher fatality (r =-0.4791, p<0.01) and lower cure rates (r = 0.5286, p<0.01) among the confirmed cases. CONCLUSIONSThe spread of the COVID-19 in China in its early phase was attributed primarily to population movement from Hubei, and effective governmental health emergency measures and adequate medical resources played important roles in subsequent control of epidemic and improved prognosis of affected individuals.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:Although several prosthetic methods, such as artificial denture and dental implants, are clinical therapies to tooth loss, they are thought to have safety and usage time issues. With the development of biological and biomaterial sciences, recently, tooth tissue engineering has attracted more and more attention. OBJECTIVE:To reflect advances and problems of tissue engineering technologies for promotion of tooth regeneration. METHODS:Using the keywords of“tissue engineering, tooth regeneration”in English and Chinese, PubMed and CNKI databases from 2007 to 2013 were retrieved. A total of 65 literatures addressing tooth regeneration and tissue engineering were col ected, including 25 Chinese articles and 40 English articles. Published early, repetitive, and similar researches were excluded. Final y, 48 articles were included. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The combination of stem cells and suitable scaffolds is widely used in tooth regeneration today, and growth factors or bone marrow which can produce promote tooth regeneration are added as wel , which has achieved partial or whole tooth regeneration. But there are apparent deficiencies in studies which focus on mechanisms behind tooth regeneration.
ABSTRACT
Objective: This study aimed to detect the expression levels of the key proteins involved in the insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway of patients with ovarian cancer. These proteins include insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1), insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R), and protein kinase B (AKT). Methods: Ovarian cancer tissues were subjected to drug resistance tests using the ATP-TCA method. IGF1, IGF1R, AKT, and multidrug resistance protein2 (MRP2) expressions were detected in the sera of patients with ovarian cancer by conducting enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. IGF1, IGF1R, and AKT protein expressions were detected in the surgical specimens by immunohistochemistry. Patients were instructed to monitor their cancer antigen 125 (CA125) levels monthly from the date a patient was discharged to the last day of chemotherapy (or until chemotherapy was completed). A color Doppler ultrasound, CT, or MRI scan was required if CA125 value is abnormal. The total follow-up time was one year. Results: IGF1, IGF1R, and AKT expressions were significantly higher in the cisplatin-resistant group than in the cisplatin-sensitive group (P =0.000 1). Immunohistochemical results showed that IGF1, IGF1R, and AKT expressions were significantly higher in the cisplatin-resistant group than in the cisplatin-sensitive group (P<0.05). The monthly CA125 values of 40 patients were obtained after chemotherapy. In the cisplatin-sensitive group, 18 of the 24 cases exhibited normal CA125 values for more than one year, and the remaining 6 cases maintained normal values for more than half a year. In the cisplatin-resistant group, 16 cases revealed higher than normal CA125 values for half a year after chemotherapy. Recurrent lesions were observed in their color Doppler ultrasound results or MRI scans. Conclusion: Cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer is strongly correlated with the expressions of IGF1, IGF1R and AKT. IGF1 is a potential candidate for the targeted therapy of ovarian cancer.
