Search

Objective: To analyze the genetic test results of 378 patients suspected of thalassemia. Methods: 378 suspected thalassemia patients in Shaoxing People's Hospital from 2014 to 2020 were selected and venous blood was tested using Gap-PCR and PCR-reversed dot blottin. The distribution of genotypes and other information of gene-positive patients was observed. Results: Thalassemia genes were detected in 222 cases, with an overall detection rate of 58.7%, of which 41.4% were α deletion type, 1.35% were α dot, 52.7% were α thalassemia, and 4.5% were αβ complex type. Among the 86 people with provincial household registration, the α-thalassemia gene accounted for 65.1% and the β-thalassemia gene accounted for 25.6%. Follow-up found that Shaoxing nationality accounted for 53.1% of positive patients, of which β-thalassemia gene accounted for 72.9% and α-thalassemia gene accounted for 25.4%; other cities in the province accounted for 8.1% of the total. Other provinces and cities accounted for 38.7%, most of which were from Guangxi and Guizhou. Among all positive patients, the most common α-thalassemia genotypes were --sea / αα, --α / αα,--α 3.7 4.2 / αα , --α3.7 / --sea. The most common mutations in β-thalassemia were IVS-II-654, CD41-42, CD17 and CD14-15. Conclusion: The thalassemia gene carrier status was sporadically distributed outside the traditional thalassemia high prevalence areas. The local population in Shaoxing has a high detection rate of thalassemia genes, and the genetic composition is different from the traditional high prevalence area of thalassemia in the south. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite concerns about an increased risk of adverse outcomes following coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) in multiple myeloma patients treated with anti‐CD38 Abs, the impact of COVID‐19 on this group of patients is unclear. We tried to evaluate the clinical outcomes of these patients. We collected data from 1036 patients with multiple myeloma and enrolled 509 cases with COVID‐19. We divided enrolled patients into daratumumab or nondaratumumab cohorts based on whether they had received daratumumab‐based treatment within 6 months of COVID‐19 infection. We applied a propensity score matching method to reduce the bias of baseline characteristics, and then compared the incidence of adverse outcomes between these two cohorts. A total of 117 patients were enrolled in the daratumumab cohort, and 392 patients in the nondaratumumab cohort. After propensity score matching, 204 patients were matched. The proportions of patients who developed COVID‐19 pneumonia (59.8% vs. 34.3%, p < 0.001), were hospitalized (33.3% vs. 11.8%, p < 0.001) and developed severe disease (23.5% vs. 6.9%, p = 0.001) were higher in the matched daratumumab cohort. By multivariate analysis, daratumumab exposure was an independent risk factor for severe disease. An ECOG performance status >2 and history of chronic kidney disease were independent risk factors for COVID‐19‐related mortality among patients who received daratumumab‐based therapy. This study suggested that multiple myeloma patients exposed to daratumumab were at a higher risk of adverse outcomes from COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) is ideal for bridge reinforcement due to its high strength, light weight, and corrosion resistance. Studies on the friction loss of CFRP tendons in a bending state form an important part of advancing the application of CFRP materials to external prestressing strengthening technology. To understand the magnitude and variation of interfacial friction loss of prestressed CFRP tendons under bending conditions, 12 single-bending prestressing tension tests and 4 three-consecutive-bending prestressing tension tests were conducted in this study. Two bending radii of 1.5 m and 2 m, two bending angles of 20° and 30°, and three contact surfaces with different friction coefficients were selected for the steering block condition to measure the friction loss under each stage of tensioning prestress. On this basis, a model for calculating the friction loss rate on the surface of prestressed CFRP tendons was derived for the change of contact stress between CFRP tendons and deflectors during the installation and tensioning stages. The results show that the friction loss of external prestressed CFRP tendons is mainly related to four external factors: bending radius, steering angle, friction coefficient, and the magnitude of tensioning prestress; with the increase of prestress, the friction loss rate goes through three stages, the rising stage, the falling stage, and the stable stage; in the process of friction loss rate change, the main influencing factor controlling the magnitude of friction loss rate changes from bending radius to steering angle. In the theoretical calculation model of friction loss rate, the calculation model of the prestressed CFRP tendons under multiple successive bends can be simplified to a combination of several calculation models for a single bend. This study provides a reference for the engineering field of strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) beams using external prestressed CFRP tendons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]