Assessment of mild hypothermia combined with edaravone for the treatment of severe craniocerebral injury

Purpose: To study the clinical effect of combining mild hypothermia with edaravone in the treatment of severe craniocerebral injury. Methods: One hundred and twenty (120) patients with severe craniocerebral injury who were admitted to Tianjin Medical University General Hospital were assigned to control and study groups, respectively. Patients in the control group were given conventional treatment while those in the study group received combined treatment of mild hypothermia and edaravone, in addition to the conventional treatment received by control group. Clinical efficacy and prognosis were compared between the two groups. Results: The intracranial pressure (ICP) of both groups decreased after admission, but the decrease in ICP was more pronounced in the study group at various time points (p < 0.05). Blood lactic acid levels decreased in both groups after admission, while brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels increased. Improvement in blood lactic acid and BDNF was greater in the study group than in control group (p < 0.05). The treatment resulted in significant decrease in residual hematoma volume and edema range in the study group, relative to control (p < 0.05). There was a decrease in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores, and increase in Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) scores in both groups. However, improvement in NIHSS and GOS scores in the study group was superior to those in control group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Mild hypothermia in combination with edaravone exerts a beneficial clinical effect in severe craniocerebral injury. The combined treatment rapidly reduces ICP and range of encephaledema, improves cerebral blood supply, promotes absorption of intracranial hematoma, and relieves nervous dysfunction

Crystal Structures of Aedes aegypti Alanine Glyoxylate Aminotransferase

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Factors predictive of papillary thyroid micro-carcinoma with bilateral involvement and central lymph node metastasis: a retrospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The optimal resection extent for papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) remains controversial. The objective of the study was to investigate risk factors of bilateral PTMC and central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) to guide surgical strategies for PTMC patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We retrospectively reviewed 211 PTMC patients who underwent total thyroidectomy (TT) and 122 clinical lymph node-negative (cN0) cases that underwent prophylactic central lymph node dissection (CLND) between 2010 and 2011. The frequency, pattern, and predictive factors for bilateral PTMC and CLNM in these patients were studied using univariate and multivariate analysis with respect to the following variables: age, gender, extrathyroidal extension (ETE), T stage, with Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), tumor size and multifocality based on final pathology, and preoperative evaluation using ultrasonography (US).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifty-four of 211 (25.6%) patients had bilateral PTMC. In multivariate analysis, multifocality (<it>P</it> < 0.001, OR = 23.900) and tumor size ≥7 mm (<it>P</it> = 0.014, OR = 2.398) based on US were independent predictive factors for bilateral PTMC which was also independently associated with multifocality (<it>P</it> < 0.001, OR = 29.657) and tumor size ≥7 mm (<it>P</it> = 0.005, OR = 2.863) based on final pathology. Among 122 cN0 patients who underwent prophylactic CLND, we found 49.2% of patients had CLNM. CLNM was independently associated with men, age <50 years and tumor size ≥7 mm based on final pathology or preoperative US.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>TT should be considered for PTMC patients who are found multifocality and tumor size ≥7 mm based on preoperative US. CLND need be considered in cN0 patients who are men, aged <50 years or tumor size ≥7 mm based on preoperative US.</p

Cyclic diguanylic acid behaves as a host molecule for planar intercalators

AbstractCyclic ribodiguanylic acid, c-(GpGp), is the endogenous effector regulator of cellulose synthase. Its three-dimensional structure from two different crystal forms (tetragonal and trigonal) has been determined by X-ray diffraction analysis at 1 Å resolution. In both crystal forms, two independent c-(GpGp) molecules associate with each other to form a self-intercalated dimer. A hydrated cobalt ion is found to coordinate to two N7 atoms of adjacent guanines, forcing these two guanines to destack with a large dihedral angle (32°), in the dimer of the tetragonal form. This metal coordination mechanism may be relevant to that of the anticancer drug cisplatin. Moreover, c-(GpGp) exhibits unusual spectral properties not seen in any other cyclic dinucleotide. It interacts with planar organic intercalator molecules in ways similar to double helical DNA. We propose a cage-like model consisting of a tetrameric c-(GpGp) aggregate in which a large cavity (‘host’) is generated to afford a binding site for certain planar intercalators (‘guests’)

Short-term effects of high-resolution (1-km) ambient PM2.5 and PM10 on hospital admission for pulmonary tuberculosis: a case-crossover study in Hainan, China

IntroductionThere is limited evidence regarding particulate matter (PM)’s short-term effects on pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) hospital admission. Our study aimed to determine the short-term associations of the exposure to ambient PM with aerodynamic diameters &lt;2.5 μm (PM2.5) and &lt; 10 μm (PM10) with hospital admission for PTB in Hainan, a tropical province in China.MethodsWe collected individual data on patients hospitalized with PTB, PM2.5, PM10, and meteorological data from 2016 to 2019 in Hainan Province, China. Conditional logistic regression models with a time-stratified case-crossover design were used to assess the short-term effects of PM2.5 and PM10 on hospital admission for PTB at a spatial resolution of 1 km  ×  1 km. Stratified analyses were performed according to age at admission, sex, marital status, administrative division, and season of admission.ResultsEach interquartile range (IQR) increases in the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were associated with 1.155 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.041–1.282) and 1.142 (95% CI: 1.033–1.263) hospital admission risks for PTB at lag 0–8 days, respectively. The stratified analyses showed that the effects of PM2.5 and PM10 were statistically significant for patients aged ≥65 years, males, married, and those residing in prefecture-level cities. Regarding seasonal differences, the associations between PM and hospital admission for PTB were statistically significant in the warm season but not in the cold season. The effect of PM2.5 was consistently stronger than that of PM10 in most subgroups.ConclusionShort-term exposure to PM increases the risk of hospital admission for PTB. The potential impact of PM with smaller aerodynamic diameter is more detrimental. Our findings highlight the importance of reducing ambient PM level to alleviate the burden of PTB

Transcriptome analysis of Medicago lupulina seedlings leaves treated by high calcium provides insights into calcium oxalate formation

Abstract(#br) Background and aim(#br)Calcium oxalate (CaOx) is a common biomineral found in the plant kingdom. Crystals of CaOx occur in different plant tissues, such as leaves and stems. However, little is known about the biosynthesis of CaOx in oxalate-accumulating plants. Moreover, the literature on genes related to CaOx formation under high-calcium environment is scarce. In the present study, the physiological parameters and the transcript profiles of Medicago lupulina leaves treated with 0.1 and 25 mM Ca 2+ were analyzed to study the genes involved in the biosynthesis of CaOx.(#br) Results(#br)We demonstrated that exposure to high external calcium concentration induced H 2 O 2 production, ascorbic acid degradation, and CaOx accumulation in M. lupulina leaves. Moreover, we identified..