Forensic analysis of diatom in the spleen and heart in Sprague-Dawley rats

Post-mortem diagnosis of drowning is a real challenge, especially in a decomposed body. The diatom test is considered a reliable scientific assessment in several countries including China. The lungs, liver, and kidneys are usually used in the diatom test, whereas the spleen and heart are rarely reported. In our study, we set up five water samples with different concentrations of diatoms. One-hundred and twenty adult SD rats were employed, assigned to the Drowning Group (DG), Post-mortem Submersion Group (PSG), Drowning Control Group (DG-Control), and Post-mortem Submersion Control Group (PSG-Control). Rats in DG and PSG were submerged in water samples, respectively. After the microwave digestion and vacuum filtration method for diatom enrichment, the diatom numbers were counted. The results showed no diatom was found in either the DG-Control or PSG-Control group. Although significant differences in the diatoms number were found between the DG and PSG groups, the heart and spleen revealed no significant differences. These two organs equally had high specificity and low sensitivity. Based on our data, we concluded that the heart and spleen can be used for the diagnosis of drowning, and detection of diatoms in systemic circulation organs may be more suitable for the diatom test, especially when exogenous contamination is avoided.     

Multiple Bifurcated Covered Self-Expanding Metallic Stents for Complex Tracheobronchial Fistulas or Stenosis

CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology - We aimed to determine the safety and feasibility of bifurcated covered self-expanding stents for the treatment of complex tracheobronchial fistulas or...     

Hypermetabolism associated with worse prognosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Journal of Neurology - Exploration of hypermetabolism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with different ethnicities is needed to understand its metabolic implications for clinical management....     

应用弹性髓内钉与钢板治疗儿童胫骨干骨折的临床研究

目的：对比弹性髓内钉和钢板在儿童胫骨干骨折治疗中的临床效果。方法：选取2017年1月至2021年1月达州市中心医院骨科收治的儿童胫骨干骨折110例,其中弹性髓内钉组58例,钢板组52例,比较2组术中出血量、手术切口总长度、手术时间、住院时间、住院费用、骨折愈合时间、功能恢复评分、并发症等指标。结果：弹性髓内钉组手术切口总长度[（4.1±0.8） cm]、手术时间[（42.0±6.2） min]、住院费用[（1.5±0.7）万元]、骨折愈合时间[（10.6±1.1）周]均低于钢板组[（10.2±1.4） cm、（65.0±7.6） min、（2.1±0.5）万元、（12.4±1.3）周],功能恢复评分优良率（98.3%）高于钢板组（86.5%）,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。弹性髓内钉组术中出血量（应用止血带）、住院时间与钢板组比较差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。在并发症方面,弹性髓内钉组感染率（1.7%）低于钢板组（13.5%）、早期关节僵硬率（15.5%）高于钢板组（3.8%）;在骨折断端对位对线不良、骨折愈合延迟或骨不连、双下肢长度比较方面2组差异无统计学意义（P...     

急性缺血性脑卒中合并心房颤动患者运动恐惧现状及其影响因素分析

目的：调查急性缺血性脑卒中合并心房颤动患者运动恐惧现状及影响因素。方法：采用便利抽样法,选取2020年1月至2021年12月上海市某三级甲等综合医院神经内科住院的急性缺血性脑卒中合并心房颤动患者248例,采用心脏病运动恐惧量表、活动特异性平衡信心量表、运动自我效能量表及家庭关怀指数量表对其进行调查,采用单因素分析及多元线性回归分析影响因素。结果：纳入分析的248例患者中,男性126人（占50.8%）,女性122人（占49.2%）;平均年龄（74.19±11.65）岁。单因素分析显示,影响急性缺血性脑卒中合并心房颤动患者运动恐惧的因素包括文化程度（Z=26.326,P<0.001）、职业状况（Z=9.323,P=0.009）、居住情况（Z=26.990,P<0.001）、跌倒史（Z=2.976,P=0.003）、脑卒中复发次数（Z=24.996,P<0.001）、心功能分级（Z=32.097,P<0.001）;多重线性回归结果显示,文化程度、跌倒史、脑卒中复发次数、心功能分级、运动自我效能、家庭关怀指数进入回归方程,共解释患者运动恐惧水平总变异的37.6%。结论：...     

Increased Expression of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 2 Reduces Renal Cell Apoptosis During Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury After Hypothermic Machine Perfusion

Hypothermic machine perfusion (MP) can reduce graft's injury after kidney transplantation; however, the mechanism has not been elucidated. In the past decade, many studies showed that aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) is a protease which can inhibit cell apoptosis. Therefore, this study aims to explore whether ALDH2 takes part in reducing organ damage after MP. Eighteen healthy male New Zealand rabbits (12 weeks old, weight 3.0 ± 0.3 kg) were randomly divided into three groups: normal group, MP group, and cold storage (CS) group (n = 6). The left kidney of rabbits underwent warm ischemia for 35 min through clamping the left renal pedicle and then reperfusion for 1 h. Left kidneys were preserved by MP or CS (4°C for 4 h) in vivo followed by the right nephrectomy and 24‐h reperfusion, and then the specimens and blood were collected. Finally, concentration of urine creatinine (Cr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and 4‐HNE were tested. Renal apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining, and the expression of ALDH2, cleaved‐caspase 3, bcl‐2/ bax, MAPK in renal tissue was detected by immunohistochemistry or Western blot; 24 h after surgery, the concentration of Cr in MP group was 355 ± 71μmol/L, in CS group was 511 ± 44 μmol/L (P < 0.05), while the BUN was 15.02 ± 2.34 mmol/L in MP group, 22.64 ± 3.58 mmol/L in CS group (P < 0.05). The rate of apoptosis and expression of cleaved caspase‐3, p‐P38, p‐ERK, and p‐JNK in MP group was significantly lower than that in CS group (P < 0.05), while expression of ALDH2 and bcl‐2/bax in MP group was significantly higher than that in CS group (P < 0.05); expression of cleaved caspase‐3 in both MP and CS group significantly increased as compared with that in normal group (P < 0.05). In conclusion, increased expression of ALDH2 can reduce the renal cell apoptosis through inhibiting MAPK pathway during ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) after hypothermic MP.