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Background. COVID-19 first broke out in China and spread rapidly over the world. Objectives. To describe the CT features of COVID-19 pneumonia and to share our experience at initial diagnoses. Patients and Methods. Data from 53 patients (31 men, 22 women; mean age, 53 years; age range, 16-83 years) with confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia were collected. Their complete clinical data was reviewed, and their CT features were recorded and analyzed. Results. The average time between onset of illness and the initial CT scan was six days (range, 1-42 days). A total of 399 segments were involved and distributed bilaterally (left lung: 186 segments [46.6%], right lung: 213 segments [53.4%]) and peripherally (38 [71.7%] patients). Multiple lobes (45 [84.9%]) and bilateral lower lobes (left lower lobe: 104 [26.1%], right lower lobe: 107 [26.8%], and total: 211 [52.9%]) were the most commonly involved. Ground-glass opacity with consolidation (24 [45.3%]) and pure ground-glass opacity (28 [52.8%]) were the main findings. The other findings were crazy-paving (14 [26.4%]), bronchiectasis (12 [22.6%]), atelectasis (7 [13.2%]), parenchymal bands (6 [11.3%]), air bronchogram (6 [11.3%]), interlobular thickening (5 [9.4%]), reticular pattern (1 [1.9%]), and pleural effusion (1 [1.9%]). Conclusions. Most COVID-19 pneumonia patients had abnormalities on chest CT images at initial presentation. Imaging features combined with patient’s exposure history and onset symptoms could facilitate the identification of the suspected patient for further examinations.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning causes the major injury and death due to poisoning worldwide. The most severe damage via CO poisoning is brain injury and mortality. Delayed encephalopathy after acute CO poisoning (DEACMP) occurs in forty percent of the survivors of acute CO exposure. But the pathological cause for DEACMP is not well understood. And the corresponding therapy is not well developed. In order to investigate the effects of salvianolic acid (SA) on brain injury caused by CO exposure from the view point of hemorheology, we employed a rat model and studied the dynamic of blood changes in the hemorheological and coagulative properties over acute CO exposure. Compared with the groups of CO and 20% mannitol + CO treatments, the severe hippocampal injury caused by acute CO exposure was prevented by SA treatment. These protective effects were associated with the retaining level of hematocrit (Hct), plasma viscosity, fibrinogen, whole blood viscosities and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in red blood cells (RBCs). These results indicated that SA treatment could significantly improve the deformation of erythrocytes and prevent the damage caused by CO poisoning. Meanwhile, hemorheological indexes are good indicators for monitoring the pathological dynamic after acute CO poisoning.

Genetic factors, as well as environmental factors, play a role in development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been reported to be associated with NPC. To confirm these genetic associations with NPC, two independent case-control studies from Southern China comprising 1166 NPC cases and 2340 controls were conducted. Seven SNPs inITGA9at 3p21.3 and 9 SNPs within the 6p21.3HLAregion were genotyped. To explore the potential clinical application of these genetic markers in NPC, we further evaluate the predictive/diagnostic role of significant SNPs by calculating the area under the curve (AUC).Results.The reported associations betweenITGA9variants and NPC were not replicated. Multiple loci ofGABBR1,HLA-F,HLA-A, andHCG9were statistically significant in both cohorts (Pcombinedrange from 5.96 × 10−17to 0.02). We show for the first time that these factors influence NPC development independent of environmental risk factors. This study also indicated that the SNP alone cannot serve as a predictive/diagnostic marker for NPC. Integrating the most significant SNP with IgA antibodies status to EBV, which is presently used as screening/diagnostic marker for NPC in Chinese populations, did not improve the AUC estimate for diagnosis of NPC.

Diarrhea caused by viral and bacterial infections is a major health problem in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to develop a two-tube multiplex PCR assay using automatic electrophoresis for simultaneous detection of 13 diarrhea-causative viruses or bacteria, with an intended application in provincial Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, China. The assay was designed to detect rotavirus A, norovirus genogroups GI and GII, human astrovirus, enteric adenoviruses, and human bocavirus (tube 1), andSalmonella,Vibrio parahaemolyticus, diarrheagenicEscherichia coli,Campylobacter jejuni,Shigella,Yersinia,andVibrio cholera(tube 2). The analytical specificity was examined with positive controls for each pathogen. The analytical sensitivity was evaluated by performing the assay on serial tenfold dilutions of in vitro transcribed RNA, recombinant plasmids, or bacterial culture. A total of 122 stool samples were tested by this two-tube assay and the results were compared with those obtained from reference methods. The two-tube assay achieved a sensitivity of 20–200 copies for a single virus and 102-103 CFU/mL for bacteria. The clinical performance demonstrated that the two-tube assay had comparable sensitivity and specificity to those of reference methods. In conclusion, the two-tube assay is a rapid, cost-effective, sensitive, specific, and high throughput method for the simultaneous detection of enteric bacteria and virus.