Unveiling an Asymptomatic Cardiac Air-Gunshot Injury.

Interventricular septum pellet retention after air-gunshot injury in a persistently asymptomatic patient is a rare, clinically significant occurrence. Management involved monitoring, echocardiography, and computed tomography scans. After risk-benefit analysis, we favored a nonsurgical management without prophylactic antibiotics or colchicine.

Practical Solutions for Healthcare Worker Protection During the COVID-19 Pandemic Response in the Ambulatory, Emergency, and Inpatient Settings.

Objective: Protecting healthcare workers is an essential component of a successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resource intensive nature of infectious disease protection, budgetary constraints, and global shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) make this a daunting task. Practical, easily implemented strategies for healthcare workers (HCW) protection are needed.

A Nestin-Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5-Dynamin-Related Protein 1 Axis Regulates Neural Stem/Progenitor Cell Stemness via a Metabolic Shift.

Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) transplantation provides an alternative approach for various central nervous system (CNS) diseases treatment, while the difficulties in NSPC acquisition and expansion limit their further application. Unveiling the mechanism of NSPC stemness regulation may contribute to its further application. Nestin, generally recognized as a marker of NSPCs, plays a crucial role in the CNS development and NSPC stemness maintenance.

Brugada syndrome: a fatal disease with complex genetic etiologies - still a long way to go.

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is an arrhythmogenic disorder which was first described in 1992. This disease is a channelopathy characterized by ST-segment elevations in the right precordial leads and is susceptible to sudden death. BrS is a fatal disease with gender and age preferences.

The forensic pathological analysis of sport-related sudden cardiac death in Southern China.

Studies regarding sport-related sudden cardiac death (SCD) mainly focus on competitive athletes; similar data are rare in the general population, especially in China. We conducted a retrospective study (from September 1998 to August 2013) to investigate the aetiological distribution and epidemiological features of sport-related SCD in Southern China. Selections of cases are based on details, and two subgroups were established: one was the sport-related SCD group, and the other was the disease-free accident victims group which was matched with the sport-related SCD group in gender, age and year of death.

A novel role of cellular interactions in vascular calcification.

A series of clinical trials have confirmed the correlation between vascular calcification (VC) and cardiovascular events and mortality. However, current treatments have little effects on the regression of VC. Potent and illustrative mechanisms have been proven to exist in both bone metabolism and VC, indicating that these two processes share similarities in onset and progression.

Secreted phospholipase A2 of Clonorchis sinensis activates hepatic stellate cells through a pathway involving JNK signalling.

Background: Secreted phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) is a protein secreted by Clonorchis sinensis and is a component of excretory and secretory products (CsESPs). Phospholipase A2 is well known for its role in liver fibrosis and inhibition of tumour cells. The JNK signalling pathway is involved in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation.

The Diagnostic Value of Quantitative Assessment of Diatom Test for Drowning: An Analysis of 128 Water-related Death Cases using Microwave Digestion-Vacuum Filtration-Automated Scanning Electron Microscopy.

The value of diatom test for the diagnosis of drowning remains controversial. The conventional forensic diatom test with low sensitivity is not a useful tool to provide accurate information about diatom in the tissues and organs. To improve the sensitivity of the diatom test, we developed a novel method called the Microwave Digestion-Vacuum Filtration-Automated Scanning Electron Microscopy (MD-VF-Auto SEM) method which resulted in a high recovery of diatoms.

Vessel heterogeneity of TIMI frame count and its relation to P-wave dispersion in patients with coronary slow flow.

Background: The vessel heterogeneity of thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count (TFC) in patients with coronary slow flow (CSF) remains to be further evaluated, and the correlation between TFC heterogeneity and P-wave dispersion (PWD) has not been elucidated. We aim to investigate the vessel heterogeneity of TFC in coronary arteries, and its relation to PWD in patients with CSF and otherwise normal coronary arteries.

Methods: We studied 72 patients with angiographically documented CSF and 66 age- and gender-matched control subjects.

Low Response of Renin-Angiotensin System to Sodium Intake Intervention in Chinese Hypertensive Patients.

The interactions of sodium balance and response of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system are important for maintaining the hemodynamic stability in physiological conditions. However, the influence of short-term sodium intake intervention in the response of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) on hypertensive patients is still unclear. Thus, we conducted a clinical trial to investigate the effects of short-term sodium intake intervention on the response of RAS in hypertensive patients.

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell-secreted IL-8 promotes the angiogenesis and growth of colorectal cancer.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have recently been shown to home to tumors and contribute to the formation of the tumor-associated stroma. In addition, MSCs can secrete paracrine factors to facilitate tumor progression. However, the involvement of MSC-derived cytokines in colorectal cancer (CRC) angiogenesis and growth has not been clearly addressed.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) inhibits breast cancer metastasis by down-regulating fibronectin.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) plays an important role in the tumor growth and metastasis inhibition. It has been reported that PEDF expression is significantly reduced in breast cancer, and associated with disease progression and poor patient outcome. However, the exact mechanism of PEDF on breast cancer metastasis including liver and lung metastasis remains unclear.