Volume 08 · Issue 03 · 2022

自从冠状病毒疾病2019（新冠肺炎）爆发成为疫情以来，医务人员和研究人员一直在病原体、预防和治疗方面致力于管理这种疾病。即便如此，病毒仍在继续肆虐人们的生活。最近的证据表明，严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2型患者表现出不同的症状，从无症状或轻度感染到致命疾病。此外，这种病毒不仅引起急性炎症反应，还可能在急性感染阶段后引起一系列持续症状。国家健康和护理卓越研究所将这种现象定义为新冠后遗症。¹目前，新冠后遗症没有明确的定义。然而，基本论点保持不变，即从急性感染中恢复的患者在感染后3-4周后出现无法通过另一种诊断来解释的持续症状。学术出版物估计，10%-20%的新冠肺炎患者在新冠肺炎后有一些主诉。²

Grayscale image attributes of computed tomography (CT) of pulmonary scans contain valuable information relating to patients with respiratory ailments. These attributes are used to evaluate the severity of lung conditions of patients confirmed to be with and without COVID-19.

Five hundred thirteen CT images relating to 57 patients (49 with COVID-19; 8 free of COVID-19) were collected at Namazi Medical Centre (Shiraz, Iran) in 2020 and 2021. Five visual scores (VS: 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4) are clinically assigned to these images with the score increasing with the severity of COVID-19-related lung conditions. Eleven deep learning and machine learning techniques (DL/ML) are used to distinguish the VS class based on 12 grayscale image attributes.

The convolutional neural network achieves 96.49% VS accuracy (18 errors from 513 images) successfully distinguishing VS Classes 0 and 1, outperforming clinicians’ visual inspections. An algorithmic score (AS), involving just five grayscale image attributes, is developed independently of clinicians’ assessments (99.81% AS accuracy; 1 error from 513 images).

Grayscale CT image attributes can be successfully used to distinguish the severity of COVID-19 lung damage. The AS technique developed provides a suitable basis for an automated system using ML/DL methods and 12 image attributes.

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a complex psychiatric disorder associated with widespread alterations in the subcortical brain structure. Hemispheric asymmetries are a fundamental organizational principle of the human brain and relate to human psychological and behavioral characteristics. We aimed to explore the state of thalamic lateralization of SCZ.

We used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis, whole-brain analysis of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF), fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF), and resting-state seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis to investigate brain structural and functional deficits in SCZ. Also, we applied Pearson's correlation analysis to validate the correlation between Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) scores and them.

Compared with healthy controls, SCZ showed increased gray matter volume (GMV) of the left thalamus (t = 2.214, p = 0.029), which positively correlated with general psychosis (r = 0.423, p = 0.010). SCZ also showed increased ALFF in the putamen, the caudate nucleus, the thalamus, fALFF in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and the caudate nucleus, and decreased fALFF in the precuneus. The left thalamus showed significantly weaker resting-state FC with the amygdala and insula in SCZ. PANSS negative symptom scores were negatively correlated with the resting-state FC between the thalamus and the insula (r = -0.414, p = 0.025).

Collectively, these results suggest the possibility of aberrant laterality in the left thalamus and its FC with other related brain regions involved in the limbic system.

The genetic central dogma (GCD) has been demonstrated its essential function in many biological processes and diseases. However, its roles in the process of osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) remain unclear.

In this project, we analyzed an online database of osteogenic differentiation of MSCs after 14 days and 28 days by osteoinductive medium (GSE83770). The differentially expressed genes were screened by GEO2R, with further conducting of KEGG pathways using DAVID. In addition, protein-protein interactions of the enriched pathways were performed using STRING with marked hub genes measured by the CytoHubba. Hub genes were verified by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction.

Results showed that six pathways related to GCD, including DNA replication, Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, Mismatch repair, Ribosome, Spliceosome, and RNA degradation pathways enriched in the early stage (14 days vs. undifferentiated MSCs) of osteogenesis. The Lysosome pathway was highly enriched in the late stage (28 vs. 14 days) of osteogenesis, and Ribosome pathway plays a key role throughout the entire process (28 days vs. undifferentiated MSCs) of osteogenesis.

Both DNA replication and protein translation were functionally worked in the early stage of osteogenesis, whereas the Lysosome pathway was the only GCD-related one in the late stage of osteogenesis. The GCD-related Ribosome pathway occupied the entire process of osteogenesis.

The diagnosis of epilepsy in a child often and understandably causes psychological adjustment difficulties in the parents. To help parents of children with epilepsy cope with stress, it is important to understand how parents cope with the sickness of their child. The objective of this study was to assess factors related to the state of anxiety and depression among parents of children with epilepsy.

The present study was a cross-sectional study, and the data were collected through an anonymous, Internet-based survey platform between October 2018 and October 2019 from 250 participants aged 22-65 years. Participants were invited to fill questionnaires include socioeconomic questionnaire, anxiety, depression, and coping strategies scale.

Among the parents of children with epilepsy, 48.8% (122/250) had depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 [PHQ-9] score >4) and 46.4% (116/250) had anxiety symptoms (7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD-7] score >5). Depression among parents of children with epilepsy was significantly associated with comorbidity (odds ratio [OR] = 0.392, 95% CI = 0.182-0.846), a poor parental relationship (OR = 0.283, 95% CI = 0.130-0.614), positive coping (OR = 0.947, 95% CI = 0.903-0.992), and negative coping (OR = 1.287, 95% CI = 1.179-1.405). Anxiety among parents of children with epilepsy was significantly associated with a poor parental relationship (OR = 0.416, 95% CI = 0.207-0.835) and negative coping (OR = 1.155, 95% CI = 1.087-1.228).

The present study indicates the importance of couple support and providing effective coping to make parents of children with epilepsy more resilient in the presence of negative life events, especially for parents of children with comorbidity with cognitive deficiency.

在2012年的一项研究中，偶尔和少量累积使用大麻与对肺功能的不良影响无关。¹对于烟草，使用得越多，空气流速和肺容量的损失就越大。大麻的使用情况并非如此。随着大麻暴露量的增加，空气流速增加而不是减少，达到一定水平。

致编辑：