Supportive or Confining? The Impact of War Metaphors From the COVID-19 Pandemic on Persons With Disabilities in Mainland China

Ensuring the well-being of persons with disabilities (PWDs) is a priority in the public sector during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To contain this unprecedented public crisis in China, a set of nationwide anti-epidemic discourse systems centered on war metaphors has guided the epidemic's prevention and control. While the public is immersed in the joy brought by the stage victory, most ignore the situation of the disadvantaged PWDs. Accordingly, this study adopts and presents a qualitative research method to explore the impact of war metaphors on PWDs. The results showed that while there was some formal and informal support for PWDs during this period, they were increasingly marginalized. Owing to the lack of a disability lens and institutional exclusion, PWDs were placed on the margins of the epidemic prevention and control system like outsiders. Affected by pragmatism under war metaphors, PWDs are regarded as non-contributory or inefficient persons; therefore, they are not prioritized and are thus placed into a state of being voiceless and invisible. This research can provide inspiration for improving public services for PWDs in the context of COVID-19.

Diagnosis and treatment of Helicobacter pylori infections in children and elderly populations

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is associated with various gastric and extra-gastric diseases. Importantly, this infection is the strongest known risk factor for gastric cancer (GC). H. pylori eradication can effectively prevent H. pylori infection-associated diseases in H. pylori-positive patients, including children and elderly subjects. However, a limited selection of antibiotics, a higher reinfection rate, and certain spontaneous clearance rates, to some extent, restrict the choice of H. pylori treatments in pediatrics. In addition, it is imperative to perform an accurate diagnosis of H. pylori infection in children by determining the presence of the H. pylori infection and the underlying cause of symptoms. In elderly patients, poor tolerance to drugs and higher sensitivity to adverse effects are major concerns during H. pylori therapy. Recent studies have demonstrated that H. pylori eradication could significantly lower the GC risk in the elderly population. The benefit and risk of H. pylori eradication in elderly patients should be comprehensively considered and balanced. If available, susceptibility-based tailored therapies may be preferable in eradicating H. pylori. In addition, to increase the eradication rate and reduce adverse effects, new therapeutic strategies (e.g., probiotic supplementation, berberine supplementation, dual therapy) for H. pylori infection are being extensively investigated. The impact of H. pylori eradication with antibiotics on the microbiota in children has been explored, but further high-quality studies are crucial to delineate the extent of H. pylori eradication affecting the microbial community in children. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of H. pylori diagnosis and treatment in children and the elderly population and aim to provide insights into the efficient management and treatment implementation in these populations.

Downregulation of tumor suppressor RACK1 by Helicobacter pylori infection promotes gastric carcinogenesis through the integrin β-1/NF-κB signaling pathway

Receptor of activated protein kinase C 1 (RACK1) is downregulated in gastric cancer and is involved in modulating NF-κB signaling pathway activity. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms regulating RACK1 expression are unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that downregulated expression of RACK1 was observed in gastric cancer tissue compared to adjacent normal tissue and was correlated with poor prognosis in patients. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection downregulated RACK1 expression in concert with canonical NF-κB signaling pathway activation in vivo and in vitro. RACK1 overexpression suppressed NF-κB signaling pathway activation as well as the release of downstream proinflammatory cytokines. In addition, RACK1 downregulation increased integrin β-1 expression, while integrin β-1 silencing decreased NF-κB signaling activation. Moreover, H. pylori infection downregulated RACK1 but upregulated integrin β-1 expression at the precancerous lesion stages in human subjects. Our data indicate that H. pylori infection promotes the upregulation of integrin β-1 expression via downregulation of RACK1 expression, which subsequently leads to the elevated activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway, an essential step in H. pylori-induced carcinogenesis.

Synthesis and biological activities of diquaternary dipiperazinium salts containing dithiocarboxyl groups

A series of diquaternary dipiperazinium salts containing dithiocarboxyl groups 6a-f and 9 were synthesized and evaluated for their analgesic and sedative activities. The result showed that the presence of two quaternary ammonium cations and the distance between them are very important for the activities of the salts. Compound 6b exhibited the best activities (at dose 2 mg/kg, analgesic, 57%; sedative, 59%) among compounds 6a-f. Compound 9 not only showed the most potent analgesic (85.4%, dose 1 mg/kg) and sedative (93.1%, dose 1 mg/kg) activities, but also exhibited anticancer activity against KB (68.7%, dose 10 microM).

[Synthesis and anti-tumor activities of 1,4-bis[3-(amino-dithiocarboxy)propionyl] piperazine derivatives]

AIM

To synthesize piperazine derivatives and screen anti-tumor compounds with higher activity and lower toxicity.

METHODS

Selecting 1,4-bis(3-bromopropionyl)piperazine as leading compound, a series of 1,4-bis[3-(amino-dithiocarboxy)propionyl] piperazine derivatives (4a-j) were synthesized through the use of aminodithiocarboxylate. All the synthetic compounds (4a-j) were tested for their anti-tumor activity against eight kinds of tumor cells.

RESULTS

Compounds (4a-j) are new compounds, among them, compounds 4c, 4d and 4e showed anti-tumor activity against HL-60. The inhibition of compounds 4c, 4d and 4e against HL-60 are 44%, 90% and 70% respectively, at the concentration of 10 mumol.L-1. However, the inhibition of the other kinds of anti-tumor cells are not distinctive.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that this may be one of the effective routes to improve the anti-tumor activity and reduce the toxicity of 1,4-bis(3-bromopropionyl)piperazine.

Quantification of left-side intracardiac pressures and gradients using mitral and aortic regurgitant velocities by simultaneous left and right catheterization and continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography

Noninvasive determination of left-side intracardiac pressures is of clinical importance in many cardiac diseases. To test the reliability and accuracy of left-side intracardiac pressure measurements by continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography, using left-side valvular regurgitations, 47 patients with mitral regurgitation, with or without associated aortic regurgitation, underwent simultaneous Doppler and left and right catheterization. Doppler-derived left atrial and ventricular end-diastolic pressures were respectively estimated by subtracting mitral regurgitant gradient from systolic blood pressure and by diastolic blood pressure minus aortic regurgitant gradient. There were high correlations of mitral (r = 0.961) and aortic regurgitant gradients (r = 0.896) and of left atrial (r = 0.945) and ventricular end-diastolic pressures (r = 0.854) between noninvasive and invasive measurements. Also, agreement analyses showed that there was close agreement between the two technical measurements for each parameter. The present study concluded that continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography provides a reliable and accurate method for the noninvasive evaluation of left-side intracardiac pressures and gradients in patients with mitral and aortic regurgitations.

Reliability and accuracy of measurement of transductal gradient by Doppler ultrasound

Simultaneous continuous wave Doppler echocardiography, aortic and pulmonary artery pressure measurements were performed during cardiac catheterization in 46 patients with patent ductus arteriosus. Doppler-derived systolic, mean and diastolic transductal gradients correlated well with those measured by catheterization, respectively (r = 0.972, SEE = 6.8 mmHg; r = 0.965, SEE = 5.4 mmHg; r = 0.939, SEE = 6.2 mmHg), and there were clinically acceptable agreements between the two technical measurements. It is concluded that Doppler echocardiography is a reliable and accurate technique for noninvasive estimation of transductal gradients.

[Noninvasive estimation of the pulmonary artery pressures in patent ductus arteriosus with continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography]

To develop a new method for noninvasive measuring of the pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) in patient ductus arteriosus (PDA), left and right heart catheterization (Cath) and continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography (CWD) were performed simultaneously in 30 cases with PDA. The results showed that there was high correlation of the systolic peak pressure gradient (delta pp), the end-diastolic pressure gradient (delta Pd) and the mean pressure gradient (delta Pm), across PDA measured with the two techniques (r = 0.99, 0.96 and 0.98, respectively). The CWD-derived pulmonary artery systolic (PASP), diastolic (PADP) and mean (PAMP) pressure, which were estimated by subtracting delta Pp, delta Pd and delta Pm from the brachial artery systolic, diastolic and mean pressure, correlated well with the corresponding PAP measured with Cath (r = 0.92, 0.89 and 0.94, respectively). It is concluded that CWD offers a reliable technique for estimating shunt pressure gradients and PAP in patients with PDA.

[Diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension by pulsed Doppler echocardiography--comparison with cardiac catheterization]

31 patients undergoing diagnostic cardiac catheterization for suspected congenital heart disease and 30 normal subjects were examined by pulsed Doppler echocardiography. Spectrum analysis of the shape of flow velocity curve and instantaneous flow velocities of the pulmonary artery during systolic period was made and their ratio calculated. The results showed that there was a remarkable difference between the flow velocity curve of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and that of normal pulmonary pressure. Combining with the characteristics of pulmonary arterial hemodynamics, a preliminary exploration was made on the mechanism of flow velocity curve changes. A ratio of flow velocities--PV% was proposed. The sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing PH with PV% were 94% and 100% respectively. There was a high correlation between PV% and pulmonary artery systolic pressure (r = -0.84) or pulmonary artery mean pressure (r = -0.82). It is concluded that PV% may eliminate many factors that influence the pulmonary artery hemodynamics and is a reliable, practical qualitative and quantitative index for diagnosing PH noninvasively.