COVID-19 infection with keratitis as the first clinical manifestation.

AIM: To report a case which keratitis is the first clinical manifestation of COVID-19 that occurred 3d earlier than the common COVID-19 symptoms. METHODS: Regular slit lamp examination, corneal scraping test, and chest computed tomography (CT) were performed for patients with COVID-19 infection. The ophthalmologic treatment included ganciclovir eye drop (50 mg/mL, 6 times/d). The treatment for diarrhea included Guifu Lizhong pills (TID). The antiviral therapy consisted of oseltamivir (75 mg capsule Q12H); therapy preventing bacterial infection consisted of azithromycin (250 mg tablet QD) and moxifloxacin (0.4 g tablet Q12H); and therapy for cough relief and fever prevention consisted of Chinese herbal decoction. RESULTS: A 35-year-old male suddenly suffered pain, photophobia, and tears in his right eye for one day without systemic COVID-19 symptoms. Patient was diagnosed with keratitis, which was seemingly different from common keratitis. Ganciclovir eye drop was initiated. The corneal scraping test for COVID-19 was positive. The chest CT images were abnormal confirming the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. The antiviral and antibacterial therapies were initiated. Chinese herbal therapy was used for cough relief and fever prevention. After roughly two weeks, patient recovered from COVID-19. CONCLUSION: A new type of keratitis, atypical keratitis, is a clinical manifestation of COVID-19, and this clinical manifestation could appear 3d earlier than fever and cough. The earlier a COVID-19 clinical manifestation is identified, the earlier can a patient be directed to stay at home, and significantly fewer people would be infected.

Case Report: A Re-Positive Case of SARS-CoV-2 Associated With Glaucoma.

The current pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has already become a global threat to the human population. Infection with SARS-CoV-2 leads to a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. Ocular abnormalities have been reported in association with COVID-19, but the nature of the impairments was not specified. Here, we report a case of a female patient diagnosed with glaucoma on re-hospitalization for ocular complications two months after being discharged from the hospital upon recovery from COVID-19. Meanwhile, the patient was found re-positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tract. The infection was also diagnosed in the aqueous humor through immunostaining with antibodies against the N protein and S protein of SARS-CoV-2. Considering the eye is an immune-privileged site, we speculate that SARS-CoV-2 survived in the eye and resulted in the patient testing re-positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Effect of acupuncture combined with early rehabilitation training on postoperative dysfunction and quality of life of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty.

OBJECTIVE: This research was designed to determine the effect of acupuncture combined with early rehabilitation training on dysfunction and quality of life of patients after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: Eighty-nine TKA patients admitted to our hospital from January 2018 to January 2020 were recruited as the research objects. Among them, 44 patients in the control group (CG) were given early rehabilitation training, and 45 in the research group (RG) were given acupuncture treatment additionally. Clinical efficacy, knee-joint visual analogue scale (VAS) score, American Knee Joint Society (AKSS) score, hemorheological indexes, modified Barthel index (BI) scale and SF-36 health survey of both groups were compared. RESULTS: The effective rate of treatment in the RG was dramatically higher than that in the CG. After treatment, the whole blood high, middle and low-shear viscosities, plasma viscosity and erythrocyte aggregation exponent of patients decreased, while these indexes in the RG were remarkably lower than those in the CG. In addition, after treatment, VAS score and knee circumference in the RG were markedly lower than those in the CG, and AKSS score and knee range of motion (ROM) were markedly better. Follow-up showed that BI and SF-36 health survey scale scores of patients increased after treatment, especially in the RG. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture combined with early rehabilitation training can relieve the pain of patients after TKA, promote the rehabilitation of knee joint function and improve their quality of life.

The complete chloroplast genome of Callicarpa bodinieri (Lamiales, Lamiaceae), an ornamental and medicinal plant from Chongqing, China.

Plants classified to the genus Callicarpa L. have important medicinal and ornamental value. Here, we report and characterize the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of C. bodinieri to provide molecular basis for the further studies on the phylogeny analysis of this genus. The cp genome is 154,183 bp in length and is organized with a typical quadripartite structure, containing two inverted repeats of 25,701 bp separated by a large single-copy region of 84,956 bp and a small single-copy region of 17,825 bp. The cp genome of C. bodinieri contains 112 distinct genes, including 78 protein-coding, 30 tRNAs and 4 rRNAs genes. The phylogenetic analysis showed that C. bodinieri is fully resolved in a clade with C. nudiflora, sister to the clade of C. formosana and C. longifolia var. floccosa.

[Therapeutic effect of acupoint injection as adjuvant treatment on dry eyes of convalescent herpes simplex keratitis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effect of acupoint injection of houttuynia cordata as the accessory treatment on dry eyes of convalescent herpes simplex keratitis (HSK). METHODS: A total of 60 patients with dry eyes of convalescent HSK were randomized into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each one. In the control group, the artificial tears and anti-inflammatory drugs were combined in treatment. In the observation group, on the base of the treatment as the control group, the acupoint injection of houttuynia cordata at Neiqiuhou (Extra) was combined, 3 mL each time, once a day. After consecutive 3 injections, the injection was adjusted to be once every two days, consecutively for 3 times. The treatment for 6 times was as one course and one course of treatment was required. Separately, before treatment and in 7, 15 and 30 days after treatment, the changes of the scores of visual analogue scale (VAS), theresults of SchirmerⅠtest (SⅠT), the tear break-up time (BUT) and the score of corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) were observed and analyzed in the patients of the two groups. RESULTS: In 7, 15 and 30 days after treatment, VAS scores and CFS scores were all reduced as compared with those before treatment in the patients of the two groups (P<0.05), and the scores of VAS and CFS in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). In 7, 15 and 30 days after treatment, the values of SⅠT and BUT were all increased as compared with those before treatment in the patients of the two groups (P<0.05), and the values in the observation group were higher than the control group in 15 and 30 days after treatment (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Acupoint injection of houttuynia cordata promotes corneal epithelial recovery, reduces the discomfort symptoms as well as increases tear secretion and the stability of tear film in dry eyes of convalescent herpes simplex keratitis.

lncRNA FEZF1­AS1 promotes migration, invasion and epithelial­mesenchymal transition of retinoblastoma cells by targeting miR­1236­3p.

Long non­coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRs) have been reported to regulate disease progression in numerous types of disease, including retinoblastoma (Rb). Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of the lncRNA FEZ family zinc finger 1 antisense RNA 1 (FEZF1­AS1) on Rb and to determine its possible mechanism of action. Reverse transcription­quantitative PCR and western blot analysis were conducted to detect the gene or protein expression. Cell Counting Kit­8, wound healing and transwell invasion assays were performed to estimate the capabilities of cell viability, invasion and migration. The potential association between FEZF1­AS1 and miR­1236­3p in Y79 cells was measured via dual­luciferase reporter assay. The results of the present study revealed that the levels of FEZF1­AS1 were significantly upregulated in different Rb cell lines, with the most prominent upregulation observed in Y79 cells. In addition, the cell viability, invasive and migratory abilities, and the ability to undergo epithelial­mesenchymal transition (EMT), were significantly inhibited following the transfection of short hairpin RNA (shRNA)­FEZF1­AS1 into Y79 cells. Further experimental validation confirmed that miR­1236­3p may be a direct target of FEZF1­AS1. Notably, the miR­1236­3p inhibitor was discovered to reverse the inhibitory effects of shRNA­FEZF1­AS1 on cell viability, invasion, migration and EMT. In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggested that lncRNA­FEZF1­AS1 may promote the viability, migration, invasion and EMT of Rb cells by modulating miR­1236­3p.

Applied anatomy of the lower cervical pedicle screw insertion / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To ascertain an accurate approach to inserting the pedicle screw into C3-C7 segments of the cervical vertebra.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Anatomic morphology of lateral mass and pedicle, and their anatomic relationship with the adjacent tissue were observed on C3-C7 segments of 25 adult embalmed cadavers (50 sides).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>1) The inferior edge of the base of the posterior tubercle of the transverse process and the inferior edge of the pedicle were connected with each other on 25 adult embalmed cadavers (50 sides). The transverse section which passed through the median point between the superior edge and the inferior edge of the base of the posterior tubercle of the transverse process, and the transverse section which passed through the central axis between the superior edge and the inferior edge of the pedicle, were in the same horizontal plane. The superior and inferior position of placing the pedicle screw was determined by this transverse section, which passed through the median point between the superior and the inferior edge of the base of the posterior tubercle of the transverse process. 2) There was a directed internal-downwards "triangular sulcule" between the base of the posterior tubercle of the transverse process and the anterolateral edge of the inferior articular process. The anterior wall of the triangular sulcule was the base of the posterior tubercle of the transverse process, the posterior wall was the anterolateral edge of the inferior articular process, and the bottom of the sulcule was connected with the interior edge of the pedicle. The vertical length between the top of triangle and the planes of inferior edge of the pedicle was (2.78+/-1.71) mm. The inferior edge of the cervical pedicle could be detected using a blunt probe along the "triangular sulcule" between the base of the posterior tubercle of the transverse process and the anterolateral edge of the inferior articular process in surgical operation. 3) The lateral fovea of the articular process was observed on all lateral masses (50 sides). The internal and external position of the entrance point could depend on anatomic landmarks: the lateral edge of the lateral fovea of the articular process. The horizontal length between the lateral fovea of the articular process and the entrance point was (3.14+/-1.45) mm. 4) The diameter of pedicle screw, about (2.78+/-1.71) mm, was the transverse diameter of the cancellous bone of the greatest narrow part of the cervical pedicle.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The median point between the superior edge and the inferior edge of the base of the posterior tubercle of the transverse process, the lateral fovea of the articular process, and the triangular sulcule between the base of the posterior tubercle of the transverse process and the anterolateral edge of inferior articular process, are easy to be exposed and identified in surgical operation. The pedicle screw can be precisely inserted through this method.</p>