Rituximab in immunologic glomerular diseases

Experimental data suggest that the B-cell antigen CD20 may play a significant role in the pathogenesis of many diseases including glomerular diseases. These and other findings underpin the central concept of B-cell-depleting therapies that target CD20 antigen as treatments for lupus nephritis, idiopathic membranous nephropathy, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, cryglobulinemic glomerulonephritis, antibody mediated renal allograft rejection and recurrent glomerulonephritis in renal allograft. Use of rituximab as a B-cell depleting therapy has been associated with clinical improvement and has emerged as a possible adjunct or alternative treatment option in this field of nephrology.     

Tropicality and abjection: What do we really mean by “Neglected Tropical Diseases”?

Neglected tropical diseases are defined operationally as diseases that prevail in “tropical” regions and are under‐researched, under‐funded, and under‐treated compared with their disease burden. By analysing the adjectives “tropical” and “neglected,” I expose and interrogate the discourses within which the term “neglected tropical disease” derives its meaning. First, I argue that the term “tropical” conjures the notion of “tropicality,” a form of Othering which erroneously explains the disease‐prevalence of “tropical” regions by reference to environmental determinism, rather than colonialism and neocolonialism. Second, I examine the way in which this Othering enables the abjection of tropical regions and their peoples, leading to neglect. I recommend that the term “neglected tropical diseases” be more carefully contextualised within health scholarship, education, and policy.     

Neutrophil extracellular traps activate lung fibroblast to induce polymyositis‐related interstitial lung diseases via TLR9‐miR‐7‐Smad2 pathway

Excessive neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation may contribute to polymyositis (PM)‐associated interstitial lung diseases (ILD), but the underlying mechanism is not fully revealed. In this study, we found that NET accelerated the progression of ILD and promoted pulmonary fibrosis (PF) in vivo. miR‐7 expression was down‐regulated in lung tissue of PM group than control group, and NETs further decreased miR‐7 expression. TLR9 and Smad2 were up‐regulated in lung tissue of PM group than control group, and NETs further increased TLR9 and Smad2 expressions. In vitro experiments showed that PMA‐treated NETs accelerated the proliferation of LF and their differentiation into myofibroblast (MF), whereas DNase I decreased the promotion effect of NETs. Neutrophil extracellular trap components myeloperoxidase (MPO) and histone 3 also promoted the proliferation and differentiation of LF. In addition, we demonstrated that TLR9 involved in the regulation of NETs on LF proliferation and differentiation, and confirmed the interaction between miR‐7 and Smad2 in LF. Finally, miR‐7‐Smad2 pathway was confirmed to be involved in the regulation of TLR9 on LF proliferation and differentiation. Therefore, NETs promote PM‐related ILD, and TLR9‐miR‐7‐Smad2 signalling pathway is involved in the proliferation of LFs and their differentiation into MFs.     

新型冠状病毒的动物源性和传染源控制

根据现有的数据,新型冠状病毒(2019 novel coronavirus,2019-nCoV)比严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒(severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus,SARS-CoV)的传染性强、传播速度快、疫情规模大、病死率低。其传染性、传播速度和疫情规模似乎具有甲型流感病毒(influenza A virus)的特点。尽管2019-nCoV来源于何种动物尚无定论,但它与SARS-CoV同属冠状病毒,具有共同之处。如果流行过后 2019-nCoV没能在人群中持续传播和存在(如同SARS-CoV一样),则控制野生动物传染源乃重中之重;如果2019-nCoV获得了能在人群中持续传播的能力,预防控制策略将与SARS-CoV明显不同,疫苗便成为至关重要的手段。     

油田野外作业工人慢性疾病调查及职业紧张与神经递质的相关性研究

目的:调查油田野外作业工人慢性疾病患病情况,分析职业紧张与神经递质的相关性。方法:通过整群抽样的方式选取油田野外作业工人2000例作为研究对象,采用自制的慢性非传染性疾病调查量表对所有工人的慢性疾病情况予以调查,采用职业紧张量表对所有工人的职业紧张情况予以调查。采用酶联免疫吸附法检测所有工人血清五羟色胺、去甲肾上腺素以及神经肽Y水平,并采用偏相关分析油田野外作业工人职业紧张与神经递质的相关性。结果:2000例油田野外作业工人慢性疾病发病率最高的前三种疾病分别为颈腰部疾病、高血压、高血脂,占比分别为20.60%、15.35%、11.20%。油田野外作业工人中男性职业任务、个体应对资源评分高于女性,而锻炼工人的个体紧张反应评分低于不锻炼工人(P0.05)。油田野外作业工人中饮酒工人神经肽Y水平低于不饮酒工人,锻炼工人的去甲肾上腺素水平高于不锻炼工人(P0.05)。经偏相关分析可得:油田野外作业工人的职业任务评分与五羟色胺、去甲肾上腺素水平呈正相关(P0.05),个体紧张反应评分与神经肽Y水平呈负相关(P0.05)。结论:油田野外作业工人慢性疾病患病情况不容乐观,且其职业紧张与神经递质存在密切相关,在临床工作中可通过改善油田野外作业工人的职业紧张,从而达到改善其神经递质水平的目的。     

八种常见儿童感染性疾病相关指标差异性研究

摘要 目的：探讨异型淋巴细胞、白细胞、中性粒细胞、淋巴细胞、单核细胞、C-反应蛋白及血沉等在儿童感染性相关疾病不同疾病种类、不同年龄段及性别的差异情况,并进行分析,从而为疾病的诊断、鉴别诊断及治疗提供依据。方法：选取2017年1月-2018年12月266例患感染性疾病的儿童,根据疾病类型分为八组,分别为传染性单核细胞增多症（41例）、EB病毒感染（18例）、支气管肺炎（43例）、支气管炎（42例）、急性上呼吸道感染（48例）、急性化脓性扁桃体炎（18例）、肺炎（19例）、粒细胞减少（37例）等,应用检验相关手段,对患儿异型淋巴细胞、白细胞、中性粒细胞、淋巴细胞、单核细胞、C-反应蛋白及血沉等进行检测,采用SPSS17.0统计学分析软件,计算各检验结果的平均值与标准差,进行相关t检验,进而对不同疾病的检验项目进行统计学分析。结果：在八种疾病相关检验的比较中,传染性单核细胞增多症与其余七种感染性疾病在异型淋巴细胞、中性粒细胞、淋巴细胞及血沉的数据进行比较,其之间比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）,其余各组疾病相关指标没有统计学差异。在年龄段的分组比较中,异型淋巴细胞在各年龄段之间比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。在性别分组比较中,白细胞在性别与各年龄段之间比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论：不同种类感染性疾病及不同年龄、性别相关细胞检查存在差异,各类检测结果的综合对比分析,更有利于疾病的诊断及鉴别诊断。     

Unchartered waters: Climate change likely to intensify infectious disease outbreaks causing mass mortality events in marine mammals

Infectious disease emergence has increased significantly over the last 30 years, with mass mortality events (MMEs) associated with epizootics becoming increasingly common. Factors influencing these events have been widely studied in terrestrial systems, but remain relatively unexplored in marine mammals. Infectious disease‐induced MMEs (ID MMEs) have not been reported ubiquitously among marine mammal species, indicating that intrinsic (host) and/or extrinsic (environmental) ecological factors may influence this heterogeneity. We assess the occurrence of ID MMEs (1955–2018) across extant marine mammals (n = 129) in relation to key life‐history characteristics (sociality, trophic level, habitat breadth) and environmental variables (season, sea surface temperature [SST] anomalies, El Niño occurrence). Our results show that ID MMEs have been reported in 14% of marine mammal species (95% CI 9%–21%), with 72% (n = 36; 95% CI 56%–84%) of these events caused predominantly by viruses, primarily morbillivirus and influenza A. Bacterial pathogens caused 25% (95% CI 14%–41%) of MMEs, with only one being the result of a protozoan pathogen. Overall, virus‐induced MMEs involved a greater number of fatalities per event compared to other pathogens. No association was detected between the occurrence of ID MMEs and host characteristics, such as sociality or trophic level, but ID MMEs did occur more frequently in semiaquatic species (pinnipeds) compared to obligate ocean dwellers (cetaceans; χ² = 9.6, p = .002). In contrast, extrinsic factors significantly influenced ID MMEs, with seasonality linked to frequency (χ² = 19.85, p = .0002) and severity of these events, and global yearly SST anomalies positively correlated with their temporal occurrence (Z = 3.43, p = 2.7e‐04). No significant association was identified between El Niño and ID MME occurrence (Z = 0.28, p = .81). With climate change forecasted to increase SSTs and the frequency of extreme seasonal weather events, epizootics causing MMEs are likely to intensify with significant consequences for marine mammal survival.