Metabolic Profile for Prediction of Ischemic Stroke in Chinese Hypertensive Population

Background

Stroke burden is extremely high in Chinese hypertensive population. Novel biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases can be detected by metabolomic profiling of human fluids. We aim to find a panel of distinctive plasma metabolites for predicting incident ischemic stroke in hypertensive patients.

A Positive Feedback Loop Between Th17 Cells and Dendritic Cells in Patients with Endplate Inflammation

Background: Endplate inflammation remains a difficult disease to treat, in part due to its unclear pathology. Previous experiments showed that patients with idiopathic inflammation presented a systemic upregulation of Th17 cells. Here, we investigated how this change might affect the inflammatory environment in endplate inflammation.

Methods: Peripheral blood was obtained from patients and healthy controls, and Th17 cells were examined.Results: Th17 cells significantly increased the differentiation of CD11c+ and DC-SIGN+ dendritic cells (DCs) from circulating monocytes in the absence of exogenous stimulation as well as in the presence of LPS stimulation. Th17 cells also increased CD80 and CD86 expression by DCs. Importantly, although Th17 cells from both healthy controls and patients with endplate inflammation could induce CD11c, DC-SIGN, CD80, and CD86 expression, Th17 cells from patients with endplate inflammation showed significantly more potent capacity. Both contact-dependent and IL-17-dependent mechanisms were employed by Th17 cells, since blocking cell-to-cell contact significantly inhibited Th17-mediated differentiation of CD11c+ DCs, and neutralization of IL-17 reduced the expression of CD80 and CD86. Strikingly, DCs following incubation with Th17 cells, but not the DCs derived directly from monocytes without Th17 cells, could significantly promote the expression of IL-17 from naive CD4+ T cells.

Conclusions: These results demonstrated that Th17 cells from patients with endplate inflammation could potently induce the differentiation and activation of DCs that preferentially promoted IL-17 response in a positive feedback loop.     

智慧课堂融合任务驱动教学法在《医学影像学》教学中的应用

目的 探讨智慧课堂融合任务驱动教学法在《医学影像学》教学中的应用效果。方法 选取2018 年9 －12 月大连医科大学2015 级本科临床专业4 个班的学生，分为研究组64 名学生（接受智慧课堂融合任务驱动教学法教学），对照组64 名学生（接受传统授予式教学法教学）。教学结束后，通过随堂测试评价教学效果，内容包括学生客观考核与主观考评。应用SPSS 19.0 软件对数据进行统计分析。结果 研究组学生客观考核成绩（82.39±9.59）高于对照组（70±11.55），差异具有统计学意义（P ＜ 0.05）；研究组学生在激发学习兴趣（82.9% 比10.6%）、培养影像诊断思维能力及阅片技能（91.3% 比5.6%）、培养独立思考与解决问题能力（88.5% 比7.8%）、培养自主学习与科研创新思维（86.7% 比9.2%）均高于对照组学生，具有统计学意义（P ＜ 0.01）；两组学生对智慧课堂融合任务驱动教学法改革的认同感或对教学改革的期待（93.3% 比85.4%）无统计学意义。结论 智慧课堂融合任务驱动教学法，提高《医学影像学》教学质量显著，有助于激发学生的学习兴趣，培养学生的影像学诊断思维模式、良好的阅片习惯及技能。     

Prenatal diagnosis of caudal regression with heterotaxy syndrome: “A mermaid with a broken heart”

Caudal regression syndrome (CRS) is a rare congenital malformation with varying degrees of early gestational developmental failure. It is characterized by agenesis of the sacrum and lumbar spine, with lower limb neurological deficit and accompanying deformities of the pelvis, lower extremities, genitourinary, and gastrointestinal systems. We report a case of CRS associated with rare complex congenital heart defect, that is, heterotaxy syndrome, diagnosed prenatally.