Higher rates of laboratory-confirmed cases of syphilis in Western Canadian blood donors compared with Eastern Canadian blood donors following a period of societal re-opening.

Background And Objectives: There is a growing infectious syphilis outbreak in Western Canada. Although blood donors are screened for syphilis risks, some blood donors will still be confirmed test-positive for syphilis. This study compares the characteristics of confirmed test-positive syphilis donations in both Western Canada and Eastern Canada, November 2022-August 2023.

Monitoring syphilis serology in blood donors: Is there utility as a surrogate marker of early transfusion transmissible infection behavioral risk?

Background: In Canada the time deferral for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) was progressively shortened (lifetime, 5 years, 1 year, 3 months). Here we describe trends in syphilis rates (a potential sexual risk marker) and risk behaviors from blood donors in the past 12 years.

Study Design And Methods: Syphilis positivity in 10,288,322 whole blood donations (January 1, 2010-September 10, 2022) and gbMSM deferral time periods, donation status, age, and sex were analyzed with logistic regression.

Retrospective testing for the presence of monkeypox virus in a high-risk population from February-June 2022 in Alberta, Canada.

Background: A multi-country outbreak of monkeypox virus (MPXV) infections was identified by the World Health Organization in May 2022. The western Canadian province of Alberta identified its first case of MPXV in a returning traveller on June 2, 2022. We undertook a retrospective testing exercise to evaluate whether MPXV may have been circulating in the province earlier.

[Protective mechanism of tetramethylpyrazine on cardiovascular system].

Tetramethylpyrazine is the main component of Ligusticum chuanxiong. Studies have found that tetramethylpyrazine has a good protective effect against cardiovascular diseases. In the heart, tetramethylpyrazine can reduce myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury by inhibiting oxidative stress, regulating autophagy, and inhibiting cardiomyocyte apoptosis.

Taraxacum mongolicum protects against Staphylococcus aureus-infected mastitis by exerting anti-inflammatory role via TLR2-NF-κB/MAPKs pathways in mice.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: As a traditional Chinese medicine, Taraxacum mongolicum has been widely used for the prevention and treatment of a variety of inflammatory and infectious diseases, and also clinically used as a remedy for mastitis. However, the scientific rationale and mechanism behind its use on mastitis in vivo are still unclear.

Aim Of The Study: This study aimed to investigate the protective effect and potential mechanism of Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.

Asymmetric eye size in an infant.

Toxoplasmosis is an uncommon congenital infection in Canada, but one with potentially severe clinical manifestations, including fetal death. Neurologic and ocular manifestations are frequent in untreated disease; however, small eye size (microphthalmia) is a rare finding. This finding may be a marker of severe ocular disease.

Drug-Related Hypertension Associated with the Efficacy of Apatinib on Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Purpose: We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and safety of apatinib as a first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and explored whether drug-related hypertension (HTN) could predict its efficacy.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective analysis included patients with advanced HCC who received oral treatment with apatinib. We evaluated the effectiveness by overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), time to progression (TTP), and disease control rate (DCR), and assessed the safety of the drug based on the occurrence of adverse events.

Correlations of tumor-associated macrophage subtypes with liver metastases of colorectal cancer.

Objective: This work aimed to investigate the correlations of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and their subtypes M1 and M2 with liver metastasis of colorectal cancer, and provide useful references for seeking predictors of liver metastasis and studying mechanisms.

Methods: 120 patients with colorectal cancer from 2000 to 2009 were divided into low, middle and high liver metastasis groups (group A, B and C, respectively). S-P immunohistochemical staining and microscopic observation were conducted to compare expression in CD68- positive cells (TAMs), CD80-positive cells (M1) and CD163-positive cells (M2) in three groups.

Interferon alpha inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma growth through inducing apoptosis and interfering with adhesion of tumor endothelial cells.

The aim of this study was to observe the effect of interferon alpha (IFNalpha) on tumor endothelial cells (TECs) in highly metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) model, and to investigate the underlying mechanism. Nude mice with HCC xenograft were treated with IFNalpha. Gene expression profiles of TECs were analyzed by utilizing cDNA microarray.

[Effects of selected phages with specific peptide ligands on the biological behaviors of ovarian cancer cells].

Objective: To evaluate the effects of the selected phages with the specific peptide ligands upon the biological behaviors of the ovarian cancer cells.

Methods: Two ovarian cancer cell lines, A2780 and SKOV3, were used in the study. They were divided into three groups respectively: study group, blank control group and negative control group.

[A Chinese autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease family probably related to PKD2 gene].

Objective: To study the genetic heterogeneity of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) in Chinese.

Methods: Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and non-denatured polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the authors analyzed eight microsatellite markers closely linked to PKD1 or PKD2 genes respectively in a Chinese ADPKD family.

Results: Seven informative markers were found in this family, including KG8, SM6, CW4 and CW2 which are tightly linked to PKD1, and D4S1563, D4S414 and D4S423 which are linked to PKD2.

[Expression of sHsps of normal palate and cleft palate during mouse embryogenesis].

Objective: To study the expression of sHsps in normal palate and cleft palate during mouse embryogenesis.

Methods: At GD10, gestational mice of the treatment and the control were administered with 80 mg/kg retinoic acid and the same volume vegetable oil separately, and the normal palate and cleft palate of embryos were harvested in GD15-GD17. The relative abundance of sHsps of all samples was measured by reverse transcript polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

[Selection of targets locating on the surface of epithelial ovarian cancer cells by using phage peptide library].

Objective: The aim of this study was to select specific targets locating on the surface of epithelial ovarian cancer cells.

Methods: Peptide phage display library was used to isolate specific ligand to ovarian cancer cell receptors. The diluted library was incubated with the normal ovarian cells that primarily cultured before hand, and then the supernatant of nonbonding phage was added to the first epithelial ovarian cancer cell line A2780.