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BACKGROUND: Up to now, there is no literature on the relationship between blood laboratory tests and the course of nontraumatic osteonecrosis of femoral head in different stages. It is necessary to further explore and analyze so as to better clarify the influencing factors of nontraumatic osteonecrosis of femoral head. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between blood laboratory indicators and the course of nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head by the Association Research Circulation Osseous (ARCO), thus exploring the influencing factors of blood laboratory indicators on the course of nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head. METHODS: This study used a retrospective study design. A total of 2 103 patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head were retrieved from Wangjing Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences database, and 1 075 patients with nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head were ultimately included based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patient age, gender, body mass index, and blood laboratory test results were collected. Blood laboratory tests included low-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, apolipoprotein β, apolipoprotein α1, uric acid, total protein quantitative, alkaline phosphatase, activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, prothrombin time International Normalized Ratio, prothrombin time activity, fibrinogen quantitative, coagulation time of thrombin, D-dimer, total iron binding capacity, and platelet count. The indicators of patients with different age groups and different ARCO stages were compared, and multiple Logistic regression analysis was applied to explore the influencing factors of ARCO stages in osteonecrosis of the femoral head. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) There were statistical differences in total cholesterol, uric acid, prothrombin time, prothrombin time International Normalized Ratio, and D-dimer among ARCO stages in the young group (P < 0.05). Among young patients in ARCO stage II, total cholesterol levels were higher than those in ARCO stage III (P < 0.05). Uric acid levels in ARCO stage IV were higher than those in ARCO stage II and III (P < 0.05). Prothrombin time and prothrombin time International Normalized Ratio were shorter in ARCO stage IV and II than in ARCO stage III (P < 0.05). D-dimer levels were higher in ARCO stage III and IV than in ARCO stage II (P < 0.05). (2) There were statistically significant differences in high-density lipoprotein, coagulation time of thrombin, and D-dimer among ARCO stages in the middle-aged group (P < 0.05). Among middle-aged patients in ARCO stage IV, high-density lipoprotein levels were higher than those in ARCO stages II and III (P < 0.05). Coagulation time of thrombin was shorter in ARCO stage IV than in ARCO stage III (P < 0.05). D-dimer levels were higher in ARCO stages IV than in ARCO stages II and III (P < 0.05). (3) The uric acid, activated partial thromboplastin time, D-dimer, and platelet count in the elderly group showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). The uric acid level in ARCO stage IV was higher than that in ARCO stage II and III patients in the elderly group (P < 0.05), while the activated prothrombin time in ARCO stage II patients was shorter than that in ARCO stage III patients in the elderly group (P < 0.05). The D-dimer level in ARCO stage III and IV patients was higher than that in ARCO stage II patients in the elderly group (P < 0.05). The platelet count in ARCO stage IV was lower than that in ARCO stage III patients in the elderly group (P < 0.05). (4) Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that total cholesterol and platelet count may be protective factors for course of nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head, while D-dimer, uric acid, overweight, and young and middle age may be risk factors for course of nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head. (5) It is indicated that total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, uric acid, prothrombin time, prothrombin time International Normalized Ratio, and D-dimer are statistically significant among patients with different ARCO stages. Total cholesterol and platelet count may be protective factors for the course of nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head, while D-dimer, uric acid, overweight, and middle-aged and young age groups may be hazard factors for the course of nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Liver cirrhosis represents the ultimate stage of any chronic liver ailment. Systemic inflammation plays a crucial role in fostering continuous liver damage. This study aims to evaluate the correlation of NLR, ABR, ALBI, APRI, ACR, LMR, and de ritis ratio to CTP, and MELD scores. Evaluated the diagnostic ability of NLR, ABR, ALBI, APRI, ACR, LMR, de ritis ratio, CTP, and MELD scores in predicting decompensated liver cirrhosis. Method This cross-sectional study involves liver cirrhosis patients at RSUP Prof DR IGNG Ngoerah. Correlation tests employ either Pearson or Spearman, while diagnostic quality is assessed through the analysis of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Result Of the 96 patients, this study found a significant moderate to very strong relationship between MELD score to ACR, APRI, ALBI, ABR, LMR, WBC, sodium, and albumin. NLR, ACR, De ritis, APRI, LMR, ALBI, ABR, sodium levels, and albumin have a moderate to very strong significant relationship to CTP score. ACR, de ritis, APRI, LMR, ALBI, ABR, WBC, sodium, and albumin levels with respective cut-offs ≤ 3.6; ≥ 1.5; ≥ 0.3; ≤ 2.8; ≥ 0.7; ≤1.6; ≥ 6.7, ≤ 136.50, and ≤ 3.0 can be used to predict decompensated liver cirrhosis. Conclusion Using the CTP and MELD scores as predictive tools for assessing the severity of liver cirrhosis, information derived from laboratory test outcomes, specifically albumin, and ABR levels, can aid in establishing the diagnosis of decompensated cirrhosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore and analyze the reasons on the failure of subjects screening in Phase Ⅰ clinical trials. Methods The subjects screening data of 10 Phase I clinical trials conducted from February 2019 to December 2020 were summarized, and the reasons of screening failure were classified and analyzed to explore the possible influencing factors. Results The reasons of screening failure included laboratory examinations, other auxiliary examinations except the laboratory, vital signs and physical examination, compliance, etc. The main reasons were unqualified laboratory examinations(36.61%) and other auxiliary examinations(31.35%). Conclusion Scientific judgment of abnormal values in physical and chemical examinations, emphasis on recruitment, careful screening, establishment of a subject database, and strengthening of subject compliance management are effective measures to improve the pass rate of subject screening in Phase I clinical trials.

Background: Superficial dermatomycosis is one of the most prevalent skin diseases worldwide. The diagnosis of superficial dermatomycosis is established clinically, and supported by several examinations, such as microscopic examination, fungal culture, and Wood's lamp examination for certain species. Purpose: This study is to evaluate the improvement of the knowledge of general practitioners and medical analysts after education and workshop. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study involved 70 subjects, consisting of 35 general practitioners and 35 medical analysts from 35 public health centers in Bojonegoro who were willing to participate in this study. The level of knowledge was assessed before and after the health education on laboratory examination for the diagnosis of superficial dermatomycosis. Result: There was a significant difference in mean scores between the pre-test and post-test after health education (p =

Abstract Introduction The clinical symptoms of Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia are still poorly understood. This study was designed to summarize the clinical features and outcome of eight C. psittaci pneumonia patients diagnosed by targeted next generation sequencing (tNGS). Methods We included eight C. psittaci pneumonia patients admitted to our hospital from January 2021 to July 2022. The tNGS was performed to the samples collected from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of each patient. Their clinical data were analysed, including baseline features, clinical symptoms, chest radiographic findings and laboratory examinations. Results The tNGS sequence number for C. psittaci was in a range of 10 to 1722. The radiographic characteristics were mainly featured by patchy consolidation shadows, ground‐glass density shadows, air bronchogram and slight pleural effusion. Within 1–3 days after hospitalization, most patients showed increased neutrophil ratio, C‐reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and decreased lymphocyte count, total protein, albumin and prealbumin. Some patients showed increased glutamic‐pyruvic transaminase, glutamic‐oxaloacetic transaminase and lactate dehydrogenase levels. Three critically ill patients showed increased creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme and high‐sensitivity troponin T (hs‐TnT) levels. Conclusions A poultry or bird contact history, typical flu‐like symptoms, patchy consolidation, ground‐glass density shadow and air bronchogram may contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of C. psittaci pneumonia. Increase in creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme and hs‐TnT may indicate a severe condition. Moxifloxacin and minocycline were effective in the management of C. psittaci pneumonia.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze imaging and clinical data of patients with severe and critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with different prognoses and provide help for clinical decision-making. Method: Clinical data and chest imaging computed tomography (CT) of patients with severe and critical COVID-19 were collected. Clinical data included: blood routine indexes, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin (PCT), the indexes of liver and kidney function, D-Dimer, myocardial enzyme, B-type amino terminal natriuretic peptide (LNTP), and whether there was any underlying medical history. The chest CT images and various indexes of patients with different prognoses of COVID-19 were compared. The relevant indicators with significant differences between the two groups were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Results: A total of 118 patients were enrolled, including 68 in the death group and 50 in the survival group. The age of the death group was longer, and the proportion of sputum and poor tolerance was higher than that of the survival group. Compared with the survival group, in the death group, there was a higher abnormal proportion of leukocyte count (WBC), neutrophil absolute value, monocyte absolute value, red blood cell count (RBC), hemoglobin, erythrocyte ratio, abnormal glomerular filtration rate, PCT, D-Dimer, creatine kinase isoenzyme (CK), troponin (TNI), LNTP. Compared with the survival group, WBC, NEUT and percentage, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, erythrocyte volume distribution width, erythrocyte volume distribution width standard deviation, PCT, D-Dimer, CK, CK-MB, myoglobin (MYO), TNI and LNTP were significantly increased in the death group, while the lymphocyte percentage, monocyte percentage, mean RBC hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and glomerular filtration rate were significantly lower. Compared with the survival group, there was no significant difference in the imaging signs of COVID-19 infection in the death group, but the scope of initial chest CT lesions was larger, with more than 50%. In the survival group, more CT lesions were located in the periphery of the lung and subpleura, while in the death group, more lesions showed progression or aggravation. Age, RBC, glomerular filtration rate, CK-MB, MYO, and LNTP were the main factors that suggested prognostic outcomes. Conclusion: Age, blood routine, liver and kidney function, myocardial function, hemagglutination status, inflammatory reactant index, and lung lesion extent and progression of patients infected with COVID-19 are important factors indicating the severity of the disease and poor prognosis. Abnormal increases in leukocyte and neutrophilic granulocyte, CRP, PCT, D-dimer, and myocardial markers might be the main factors that better predict fatal outcomes in severe and critical patients. Abnormalities in age, RBC, glomerular filtration rate, CK-MB, MYO, and LNTP were the main factors indicating fatal outcomes in severe and critically ill patients. Combined with the comprehensive evaluation of clinical and laboratory examinations, imaging findings and follow-up are indispensable methods to evaluate the severity and prognosis of the disease.

Introduction: The clinical symptoms of Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia are still poorly understood. This study was designed to summarize the clinical features and outcome of eight C. psittaci pneumonia patients diagnosed by targeted next generation sequencing (tNGS). Methods: We included eight C. psittaci pneumonia patients admitted to our hospital from January 2021 to July 2022. The tNGS was performed to the samples collected from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of each patient. Their clinical data were analysed, including baseline features, clinical symptoms, chest radiographic findings and laboratory examinations. Results: The tNGS sequence number for C. psittaci was in a range of 10 to 1722. The radiographic characteristics were mainly featured by patchy consolidation shadows, ground‐glass density shadows, air bronchogram and slight pleural effusion. Within 1–3 days after hospitalization, most patients showed increased neutrophil ratio, C‐reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and decreased lymphocyte count, total protein, albumin and prealbumin. Some patients showed increased glutamic‐pyruvic transaminase, glutamic‐oxaloacetic transaminase and lactate dehydrogenase levels. Three critically ill patients showed increased creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme and high‐sensitivity troponin T (hs‐TnT) levels. Conclusions: A poultry or bird contact history, typical flu‐like symptoms, patchy consolidation, ground‐glass density shadow and air bronchogram may contribute to the diagnosis and treatment of C. psittaci pneumonia. Increase in creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme and hs‐TnT may indicate a severe condition. Moxifloxacin and minocycline were effective in the management of C. psittaci pneumonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic with a high rate of transmission. Currently, there is a lack of vaccines and specific drugs for this newly-emerged virus. Timely diagnosis and treatment, as well as isolation of patients and virus carriers, contribute to the effective prevention and control of this epidemic. This review focuses on early stage COVID-19 diagnosis methods and strategies, highlighting the guiding role of laboratory indicators on treatment strategy formulation, and prognosis assessments.

Copyright of CT Theory & Applications is the property of Editorial Department of CT Theory & Applications and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The etiology and pathogenesis are not completely clear, and are currently considered to be the result of the interaction of multiple pathogenic factors. It mainly includes environmental, genetic, intestinal microenvironment and immune factors, among which chronic intestinal mucosa inflammation caused by intestinal immune system disorder plays an important role in UC. By reviewing the literature and combining with the cases in clinical practice, we systematically discusse the clinical epidemiological features, endoscopy, medical image, laboratory examination, treatment and prognosis of UC, focusing on the pathological morphology and differential diagnosis of UC.

IntroductionThe initial presentations of childhood-onset primary Sjögren’s syndrome (C-pSS) vary, making diagnosis challenging. We aimed to improve the diagnosis and evaluation of C-pSS by summarizing its clinical and laboratory features.MethodsA total of 49 patients with C-pSS between July 2015 and August 2022 in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of Shanghai Children's Medical Centre were enrolled in this study. Their clinical manifestations and laboratory examinations of these patients were compared based on the presence or absence of thrombocytopenia and parotitis and whether the immunological markers, including anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), anti-Ro52/SSA antibodies (anti-SSA/Ro52), anti-Ro60/SSA antibodies (anti-SSA/Ro60), and anti-Ro/SSB antibodies (anti-SSB), were positive.ResultsThe mean age at C-pSS diagnosis was 10.34 ± 3.45 years, and the ratio of boys to girls was 1:6. In the thrombocytopenia group, parotitis (P = 0.044), organ involvement except for hematology (P = 0.002), positive anti-SSB (P = 0.004), and positive RF (P = 0.001) were less frequently observed. Complement C4 (P = 0.038) and white blood cells (P = 0.002) levels decreased and increased significantly, respectively. Anti-SSB (P = 0.010) and RF (P = 0.004) positivity were independent potential protective factors against thrombocytopenia in patients with C-pSS. In the parotitis group, higher ANA titers (P = 0.027), higher focus scores on labial gland biopsy (P = 0.024), and positive RF (P = 0.001), anti-SSA/Ro60 (P = 0.003), and anti-SSB (P = 0.001) were observed more frequently. Furthermore, positive anti-SSB (P = 0.012) and positive RF (P = 0.028) were independent risk factors for parotitis in patients with C-pSS. The hemoglobin level was significantly lower in patients with positive anti-SSA/Ro52 and positive anti-SSA/Ro60 results (P = 0.022 and P = 0.029, respectively), while immunoglobulin G level was significantly higher in patients in the same group (P = 0.048 and P = 0.007, respectively).ConclusionsPositive anti-SSB and positive RF values may be independent potential protective factors of thrombocytopenia in patients with C-pSS. In contrast, positive anti-SSB and positive RF were independent risk factors of parotitis in patients with C-pSS. More studies are needed to reveal the diagnostic role and pathogenic mechanism of immunological markers in C-pSS.

The frequency of salmonellosis in Europe remains high, being considered the second most common foodborne disease. Salmonella spp., was most commonly detected in poultry meat mainly in fresh turkey meat (3.5%) and fresh chickens (2.2%). The study aims to identify the level of contamination of poultry meat with Salmonella spp. and performing a risk assessment. The samples were collected from a large capacity slaughterhouse on two slaughter lines, from two groups of poultry. An antemortem and postmortem examination was conducted and the samples collected from the neck of poultry carcasses were analyzed using the VIDAS® bioMérieux automatic test using analytical technique. The results of the antemortem inspection indicated negative results. The postmortem examination on group I and group II indicated different types of lesions. The surveillance of contamination of poultry meat with germs of the genus Salmonella spp. highlighted 397 compliant samples in group I, out of a total of 403 samples and 6 non-compliant samples. Salmonella infantis was identified in these non-compliant samples following laboratory examination. The lesions associated with Salmonella infection are not specific and therefore there is no direct correlation between the results of laboratory examination and lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundThe current indications based on the clinicopathological parameters for predicting the need for surgery in neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) are still limited. This study retrospectively analyzes the characteristics of neonatal NEC and aims to identify the risk factors for surgical intervention in NEC.MethodsData of the NEC cases from 2015 to 2019 were collected from our institution and divided into two groups: surgical group (n = 41) and conservative treatment group (n = 143). Clinical, physical, and laboratory measures were analyzed by univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression. The diagnostic values and receiver operative characteristic (ROC) curve were used for the assessment.ResultsUnivariate analysis identified significant differences between the surgical group and the conservative group in a series of clinical, physical, and laboratory measures (all p

Objective: There is a lack of assessment methods of acute appendicitis in little children. The purpose of this study was to develop and internally validate a nomogram for predicting the severity of acute appendicitis of young children ( 2.5 days (P = 0.044), admission temperature (X3) > 38.5°C (P = 0.009), leukocyte count (X4) > 12.185*109/L (P = 0.045), neutrophil ratio (X5) > 68.7% (P = 0.029), and total bilirubin (X6) > 9.05 μmol/L (P = 0.035) were found to be significant for predicting the severity of appendicitis. The logistic regression equation was logit (P) = −0.149X1 + 0.51X2 + 1.734X3 + 0.238X4 + 0.061X5 + 0.098X6 – 75.229. C-index of nomogram was calculated at 0.8948 (95% Cl: 0.8332–0.9567) and it still was 0.8867 through bootstrapping validation. Decision curve analysis showed that when the threshold probability ranged from 14 to 88%, there is a net benefit of using this prediction model for severity of appendicitis in little children.Conclusion: This novel nomogram incorporating the weight for age, onset time, admission temperature, leukocyte count, neutrophil ratio, and total bilirubin could be conveniently used to estimate the severity of appendicitis of young children

Objective This research aims to develop a laboratory model that can accurately distinguish pneumonia from nonpneumonia in patients with COVID-19 and to identify potential protective factors against lung infection. Methods We recruited 50 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection with or without pneumonia. We selected candidate predictors through group comparison and punitive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis. A stepwise logistic regression model was used to distinguish patients with and without pneumonia. Finally, we used a decision-tree method and randomly selected 50% of the patients 1000 times from the same specimen to verify the effectiveness of the model. Results We found that the percentage of eosinophils, a high–fluorescence-reticulocyte ratio, and creatinine had better discriminatory power than other factors. Age and underlying diseases were not significant for discrimination. The model correctly discriminated 77.1% of patients. In the final validation step, we observed that the model had an overall predictive rate of 81.3%. Conclusion We developed a laboratory model for COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with mild to moderate symptoms. In the clinical setting, the model will be able to predict and differentiate pneumonia vs nonpneumonia before any lung computed tomography findings. In addition, the percentage of eosinophils, a high–fluorescence-reticulocyte ratio, and creatinine were considered protective factors against lung infection in patients without pneumonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This retrospective, multicenter study investigated the risk factors associated with intensive care unit (ICU) admission and transfer in 461 adult patients with confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) hospitalized from 22 January to 14 March 2020 in Hunan, China. Outcomes of ICU and non‐ICU patients were compared, and a simple nomogram for predicting the probability of ICU transfer after hospital admission was developed based on initial laboratory data using a Cox proportional hazards regression model. Differences in laboratory indices were observed between patients admitted to the ICU and those who were not admitted. Several independent predictors of ICU transfer in COVID‐19 patients were identified including older age (≥65 years) (hazard ratio [HR] = 4.02), hypertension (HR = 2.65), neutrophil count (HR = 1.11), procalcitonin level (HR = 3.67), prothrombin time (HR = 1.28), and D‐dimer level (HR = 1.25). The lymphocyte count and albumin level were negatively associated with mortality (HR = 0.08 and 0.86, respectively). The developed model provides a means for identifying, at hospital admission, the subset of patients with COVID‐19 who are at high risk of progression and would require transfer to the ICU within 3 and 7 days after hospitalization. This method of early patient triage allows a more effective allocation of limited medical resources. Highlights: In this cohort study involved 461 patients with confirmed COVID‐19, laboratory characteristics of critically ill patients was described.Risk factors associated with ICU admission and transfer was identified by Cox proportional hazard model.We transformed the complex regression equation into a visual graph (nomogram), making the results of the prediction model more readable.These findings may help predict disease progression and rationalize medical resources. If implemented, our model will be able to activate alerts in high‐risk patients early on admission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Introduction: Laboratory tests are intended to provide information necessary to clarify diagnoses or specific situations that cannot be elucidated by other means. Laboratory analyses are subject to several interferences. Even healthy individuals could suffer variations in laboratory tests due to biological factors, which may lead to misinterpretation of the results. Objective: Assess the pre-analytical variables in patients’ laboratory tests at the Vitória da Conquista Central Laboratory, Bahia, Brazil. Material and method: This is a cross-sectional study with a descriptive approach and the use of a questionnaire as a research instrument. Data were collected through individual interviews, carried out at the laboratory. Results: The sample consisted of 425 patients, with female predominance (76.5%). Regarding patient instructions for laboratory tests, 94.6% had not been given any previous guidance, and 68.5% used some kind of medication, which could produce alterations in the exams. The use of the antihypertensive agents captopril, enalapril, hydrochlorothiazide or propranolol was associated with increased serum urea [odds ratio (OR) = 7.2, confidence interval (CI) = 95%, 1.87-27.58; p = 0.002], and smoking was associated with increased red blood cells count (OR = 3.7, CI = 95%, 0.86-15.75; p = 0.02). Conclusion: The findings indicate that pre-analytical variables remain an important focus for attention to the clinical laboratory. The correct data collection of patients’ conditions is critical to support the post-analytical phase with useful information for the production of reliable exams and serve as a useful interpretation to diagnosis.

An upper-year undergraduate practical examination is presented that utilizes the EcoScale (a semi-quantitative tool) and several established mass metrics to assess student understanding of green chemistry principles. This activity focuses on the straightforward preparation of a benzodiazepine via three different catalytic methods, and the analysis of individual experimental data during laboratory time. Students learn about the structure of the EcoScale, apply it as a simplistic life cycle assessment, and critique it as a scientific model. The examination complements more traditional expository and self-design experiments within a synthetic course where green chemistry and sustainability are central themes.

Background: An epidemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) began in December 2019 and triggered a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). We aimed to find risk factors for the progression of COVID-19 to help reducing the risk of critical illness and death for clinical help.Methods: The data of COVID-19 patients until March 20, 2020 were retrieved from four databases. We statistically analyzed the risk factors of critical/mortal and non-critical COVID-19 patients with meta-analysis.Results: Thirteen studies were included in Meta-analysis, including a total number of 3027 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Male, older than 65, and smoking were risk factors for disease progression in patients with COVID-19 (male: OR = 1.76, 95% CI (1.41, 2.18), P < 0.00001; age over 65 years old: OR =6.06, 95% CI(3.98, 9.22), P < 0.00001; current smoking: OR =2.51, 95% CI(1.39, 3.32), P = 0.0006). The proportion of underlying diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease were statistically significant higher in critical/mortal patients compared to the non-critical patients (diabetes: OR=3.68, 95% CI (2.68, 5.03), P < 0.00001; hypertension: OR = 2.72, 95% CI (1.60,4.64), P = 0.0002; cardiovascular disease: OR = 5.19, 95% CI(3.25, 8.29), P < 0.00001; respiratory disease: OR = 5.15, 95% CI(2.51, 10.57), P < 0.00001). Clinical manifestations such as fever, shortness of breath or dyspnea were associated with the progression of disease [fever: 0R = 0.56, 95% CI (0.38, 0.82), P = 0.003;shortness of breath or dyspnea: 0R=4.16, 95% CI (3.13, 5.53), P < 0.00001]. Laboratory examination such as aspartate amino transferase(AST) > 40U/L, creatinine(Cr) ≥ 133mol/L, hypersensitive cardiac troponin I(hs-cTnI) > 28pg/mL, procalcitonin(PCT) > 0.5ng/mL, lactatede hydrogenase(LDH) > 245U/L, and D-dimer > 0.5mg/L predicted the deterioration of disease while white blood cells(WBC)<4 × 109/L meant a better clinical status[AST > 40U/L:OR=4.00, 95% CI (2.46, 6.52), P < 0.00001; Cr ≥ 133μmol/L: OR = 5.30, 95% CI (2.19, 12.83), P = 0.0002; hs-cTnI > 28 pg/mL: OR = 43.24, 95% CI (9.92, 188.49), P < 0.00001; PCT > 0.5 ng/mL: OR = 43.24, 95% CI (9.92, 188.49), P < 0.00001;LDH > 245U/L: OR = 43.24, 95% CI (9.92, 188.49), P < 0.00001; D-dimer > 0.5mg/L: OR = 43.24, 95% CI (9.92, 188.49), P < 0.00001; WBC < 4 × 109/L: OR = 0.30, 95% CI (0.17, 0.51), P < 0.00001].Conclusion: Male, aged over 65, smoking patients might face a greater risk of developing into the critical or mortal condition and the comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory diseases could also greatly affect the prognosis of the COVID-19. Clinical manifestation such as fever, shortness of breath or dyspnea and laboratory examination such as WBC, AST, Cr, PCT, LDH, hs-cTnI and D-dimer could imply the progression of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics and laboratory examinations of patients with new coronavirus (COVID-19) and compare the effect and prognosis of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) on COVID-19. Methods: 56 cases of COVID-19 with DM and 85 age-matched admitted patients without DM who were admitted to the People's Hospital of Wuhan University from January 31, 2020 to March 15, 2020 were analyzed through a retrospective cohort study. Patients data were collected through electronic cases, and used SPSS 26.0 and Graphpad Prism 8.0 statistical software to compare changes in various indicators of patients in DM and non- DM groups and to draw the survival curves. Results: Compared with the non-DM group, the DM group has a higher percentage of mechanical ventilation, higher mortality and severe patients, with a higher proportion of initial symptoms of nausea and hypertension (P <0.05). There were no significant differences in the gender, initial symptoms (except nausea), the combined underlying diseases (except hypertension) between the two groups (P <0.05); The white blood cell, centroblast count, CRP, PCT, PT, D-dimer, total bilirubin, Urea, LDH, CK, MB, hs-TnI, CK-MB, NT-proBNP were higher in the DM group (P <0.05), and lymphocytes, single Nuclear cell, CD3, CD4, and CD8 counts were low (P <0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in platelet, IL-6, APTT, ALT, AST, Cr and CD19 counts between the two groups. Conclusion: Compared with COVID-19 patients with non-DM, COVID-19 patients with DM have a higher proportion of mortality and severe cases. Heart function, liver and kidney function, immune function damage and coagulation dysfunction are more obvious. Therefore, the monitoring of such patients should be strengthened, and active treatment should be performed to improve the prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background and Purpose: The incidence and prevalence of autoimmune encephalitis is gradually increasing. This retrospective observational study primarily aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of autoimmune encephalitis patients in the Second Xiangya Hospital and report patient prognoses after immunotherapy.Methods: The clinical data of 86 patients who were diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis from October 2014 to September 2018 were collected, and their corresponding clinical characteristics, laboratory examination, treatment, and outcome data analyzed.Results: In our study, 72 patients (83.7%) were positive for anti-NMDAR (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor) antibody; 5 patients (6%) for anti-GABABR (γ-aminobutyric acid receptor-A); 4 patients (4.7%) for anti-LGI1 (leucine-rich, glioma inactivated 1); 3 patients (3.5%) for anti-Caspr2 (contactin-associated protein-like 2) (1 patient was positive for both anti-LGI1 and anti-Caspr2 antibodies); and 3 patients (3.5%) for onconeural antibodies. Among the 86 patients diagnosed as having autoimmune encephalitis, 50% showed acute disease onset (≤2 weeks). The most common inducing factor was fever or cold (17/86, 19.8%). The main clinical symptoms included, among others, psychiatric disturbances (82.5%), epilepsy (60.5%), autonomic dysfunction (58.1%), sleep disorders (45.3%), consciousness disorders (45.3%), and speech disorders (46.5%). No significant correlation between ICU admission rates and CSF or serum antibody scores was observed. However, CSF antibody scores of (+ + +) and (++) were associated with longer lengths of hospitalization (p < 0.05) and a higher CSF WBC count when compared with CSF antibody scores of (+) in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis (p < 0.05). Additionally, there was no significant correlation between mRS score difference on admission and discharge (after immunotherapy) and age, sex, and choice of immune treatment, while immune therapy taken within 15 days from onset was more inclined to be associated with an mRS score difference ≥2 after immunotherapy in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis (p = 0.006).Conclusions: Autoimmune encephalitis has an acute or sub-acute onset and presents with psychotic symptoms, epilepsy, and autonomic dysfunction. The sex ratio in anti-NMDAR encephalitis was nearly balanced. Infection was a major factor inducing anti-NMDAR encephalitis, and the CSF antibody scores could be helpful in determining its prognosis since these scores showed associations with hospitalization duration and CSF WBC counts.

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the imaging information, laboratory data, and clinical characteristics of duodenal papillary malignancies, aiming to contribute to the early diagnosis of these diseases., Methods: The clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and computed tomography (CT) findings of 17 patients with adenoma of the major duodenal papilla (the adenoma group) and 58 patients with cancer of the major duodenal papilla (the cancer group) were retrospectively analyzed. The measurement data were analyzed using t test and expressed as mean ± standard deviation. The counting data were analyzed using the χ 2 test and expressed in n (%). Pearson correlation analysis was also conducted, and a scatter plot was drawn., Results: There were significant differences in the diameter, shape, margin, and target sign of the major duodenal papilla, pancreatic duct diameter, common bile duct diameter, enhancement uniformity, fever, direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, carcinoembryonic antigen, carbohydrate antigen 19-9, and jaundice between the adenoma group and the cancer group ( P < .01). The enhancement magnitude of the duodenal papilla was correlated with the lesion size, and the venous phase CT value of the enhanced scan was correlated with the duodenal papilla diameter ( P < .05). Additionally, 12 patients in the cancer group suffered from malignant transformation of adenomas., Conclusion: Firstly, CT is of high value in the diagnosis of duodenal papilla diseases. Secondly, the enhancement magnitude of the duodenal papilla is correlated with the lesion size. Thirdly, patients with duodenal papilla adenomas have a risk of progression into adenocarcinoma, thereby requiring close follow-up., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Anthrax is an acute zoonoses infectious disease caused by Bacillus anthracis bacteria. Bacillus anthracis had ability to form endospores for self-defense. Anthrax infection could be divided into four types namely skin anthrax, gastrointestinal anthrax, anthrax of the respiratory tract (lung) and meningitis anthrax. The examination was performed to confirm the diagnosis of patients suspected of being infected with Bacillus anthracis. The examination methods consisted of culture for whole blood spesimens, konvensional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on growing colonies and whole blood specimens without growing colony, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for blood serum spesimens. The 6 cultured specimens, there were 2 colony-growing specimens with 1 identical colony with Bacillus anthracis colonies. The colonies confirmed with PCR and only 1 positive as Bacillus anthracis pathogens. The 6 specimens examined there was a positive specimen of Bacillus anthracis pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: The incidence and prevalence of autoimmune encephalitis is gradually increasing. This retrospective observational study primarily aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of autoimmune encephalitis patients in the Second Xiangya Hospital and report patient prognoses after immunotherapy. Methods: The clinical data of 86 patients who were diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis from October 2014 to September 2018 were collected, and their corresponding clinical characteristics, laboratory examination, treatment, and outcome data analyzed. Results: In our study, 72 patients (83.7%) were positive for anti-NMDAR (N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor) antibody; 5 patients (6%) for anti-GABABR (γ-aminobutyric acid receptor-A); 4 patients (4.7%) for anti-LGI1 (leucine-rich, glioma inactivated 1); 3 patients (3.5%) for anti-Caspr2 (contactin-associated protein-like 2) (1 patient was positive for both anti-LGI1 and anti-Caspr2 antibodies); and 3 patients (3.5%) for onconeural antibodies. Among the 86 patients diagnosed as having autoimmune encephalitis, 50% showed acute disease onset (≤2 weeks). The most common inducing factor was fever or cold (17/86, 19.8%). The main clinical symptoms included, among others, psychiatric disturbances (82.5%), epilepsy (60.5%), autonomic dysfunction (58.1%), sleep disorders (45.3%), consciousness disorders (45.3%), and speech disorders (46.5%). No significant correlation between ICU admission rates and CSF or serum antibody scores was observed. However, CSF antibody scores of (+ + +) and (++) were associated with longer lengths of hospitalization (p < 0.05) and a higher CSF WBC count when compared with CSF antibody scores of (+) in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis (p < 0.05). Additionally, there was no significant correlation between mRS score difference on admission and discharge (after immunotherapy) and age, sex, and choice of immune treatment, while immune therapy taken within 15 days from onset was more inclined to be associated with an mRS score difference ≥2 after immunotherapy in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis (p = 0.006). Conclusions: Autoimmune encephalitis has an acute or sub-acute onset and presents with psychotic symptoms, epilepsy, and autonomic dysfunction. The sex ratio in anti-NMDAR encephalitis was nearly balanced. Infection was a major factor inducing anti-NMDAR encephalitis, and the CSF antibody scores could be helpful in determining its prognosis since these scores showed associations with hospitalization duration and CSF WBC counts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An upper-year undergraduate practical examination is presented that utilizes the EcoScale (a semiquantitative tool) and several established mass metrics to assess student understanding of green chemistry principles. This activity focuses on the straightforward preparation of a benzodiazepine via three different catalytic methods, and the analysis of individual experimental data during laboratory time. Students learn about the structure of the EcoScale, apply it as a simplistic life cycle assessment, and critique it as a scientific model. The examination complements more traditional expository and self-design experiments within a synthetic course where green chemistry and sustainability are central themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past decades of clinical practice in poultry farming are character-ized by inadequate control of one of the most important poultry ectopara-site, the red poultry mite (Dermanyssus gallinae). Therefore, the program for control of D. gallinae based exclusively ona physical mechanisms of action of acaricides has been developed in Serbia since 2012. By the beginning of 2017, a synergistic relationship between paraffi n and silicone oils was observed by our team, and its effi ciency in preventing the red poultry mite from respiring was examined. For laboratory examination the Petri dish and tin-box methods were used. Direct, full 1-minute exposure of adult mites to the recommended (15 and 20%) or even much lower concentration of the formulation resulted in 100% mortality aft er 24 hours. Subsequent 1-hour exposure (24 hours aft er application onto treated non-absorbent surface of adult mite) resulted in 100% mortality with the same concentrations. The long term eff ect depends on the surface quality. The concentrations of 15 and 20% provide 100% long-term eff ect aft er a 1-hour exposure period, and remains fully eff ective over the following 4-month period. In the following months (8 months), the formulation continues to work with a slightly lesser, however, still signifi cant eff ect. The formulation is most eff ective on a plastic surface, where the full eff ect is achieved with signifi cantly lower concentrations. The formulation has no eff ect on eggs; however, aft er the short development cycle is completed in the egg (2-6 days) and exit from the shell, the larva is immediately exposed to the eff ects of the formulation and eliminated. High effi ciency of the paraffi n and silicone oils formulation, which has been established in laboratory conditions, justifi es its use to the purpose of D. gallinae control in cages and equipment before fl ock settle-ment as well as in transport cages aft er cleaning and disinfection.