The rapid guide includes three diagnosis recommendations and four management recommendations covering patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 with different levels of disease severity, throughout the care pathway from outpatient facility or hospital entry, to home discharge. The rapid guide offers considerations about implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and identifies research needs. The guide will be relevant for clinicians, hospital managers and planners, policy-makers, hospital architects, biomedical engineers, medical physicists, logistics staff, and control officers involved in water/sanitation and infection prevention.
Background. The microglia cell transfer has been shown to play a protective role in ischemic stroke. Microglia cells may play this nerve-protective role via the promotion of angiogenesis. However, the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown and need further investigation. Objectives. The aim of this study was to investigate the pro-angiogenesis effects of unpolarized, interleukin 4 (IL-4)-polarized or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-polarized BV2 microglia cells both in vivo and in vitro. We also investigated the potential mechanisms of these pro-angiogenesis effects. Material and methods. BV2 cells were polarized using phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), LPS or IL-4, respectively. The gene expression pattern was analyzed with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The transfer of polarized BV2 cells was performed with an intravenous injection into mice 45 min after the middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion. Angiogenin expression was assessed with immunofluorescence. We also examined the angiogenesis effect of polarized BV2 cells and their exosomes through 3-dimensional co-cultures in vitro. Finally, the microRNA (miRNA) profiles of exosomes released by BV2 cells under different polarization conditions were examined using miRNA microarray. Results. The IL-4-polarized BV2 transplantation promoted angiogenin expression in the ischemic brain. Interleukin 4-polarized microglia increased the tube formation of endothelial cells by secreting exosomes. The miRNA profiles of exosomes released by BV2 cells under different polarization conditions were different. Exosomes from IL-4-polarized BV2 cells contained higher amounts of miRNA-26a compared to those from the LPS-polarized and unpolarized BV2 cells. Conclusions. Interleukin 4-polarized microglia cells might ameliorate the damage caused by ischemic stroke by promoting angiogenesis through the secretion of exosomes containing miRNA-26a.
BackgroundThe prognostic role of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in sarcoma remains controversial. We performed a meta-analysis so as to investigate the impact of PD-L1 on clinicopathlogical findings and survival outcomes in sarcoma.Materials and MethodsA comprehensive search in PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library was conducted for relevant studies. The odds ratios or hazard ratios, at 95% confidence intervals were used as measures for investigation of the correlation between PD-L1 expression and clinicopathlogical features or survival outcomes.ResultsFourteen eligible studies comprising 868 patients were selected for analysis. Pooled hazard ratios indicated that the association of PD-L1 expression with overall survival in bone sarcoma (osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma) patients was statistically significant (1.987, 95% CI: 1.224–3.224, p = 0.005), as was its association with event-free survival in bone and soft-tissue sarcoma patients (3.868, 95% CI: 2.298–6.511, p = 0.000). Additionally, the expression of PD-L1 was positively correlated with the infiltration of programmed death 1 (PD-1) positive T-lymphocytes (OR: 4.012, 95% CI: 2.391–6.733, p = 0.000).ConclusionsOur meta-analysis indicated that high PD-L1 expression is likely to be a negative factor for patients with sarcomas and that it predicts worse survival outcomes.
This article examines aspects related to the dystopic consumption and production of the musical and performance art form known as black metal. Steeped in anti-Christian motifs, surrounded by a history of violence and brutal imagery, black metal is an extreme metal art form that has been growing steadily in popularity throughout Europe, South America, and the United States. We first examine black metal culture through the eyes of both artists and consumers, using mixed qualitative methodologies. Thereafter, we derive specific theoretical interpretations from the black metal subculture that are predicated on the emerging themes of signification, identity transformation, xenophobia, and a reconstructed mythology that all point to what we present as a dystopian consumption model. The model demonstrates how dystopia, in context, is at the heart of the symbiotic relationship between consumers and producers and is encapsulated by a specific set of processes and overarching conditions. Implications and relationships to utopian models are discussed.
Aim: To study the effects of long-term, low-dose sex hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the volume and biochemical changes of the hippocampus in postmenopausal women carrying apolipoprotein E (apoE) gene ε3 or ε4. Methods: Eightythree postmenopausal women who had used a low dose of HRT for over 4 years were selected as the HRT group, and 99 postmenopausal women with matched age and education were enrolled as the control group. ApoE alleles were analyzed by PCR. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed to determine the volume of the brain hippocampus. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to detect the biochemical changes in the anterior cingulate cortex and hippocampus in apoE ε4 and ε3 carriers. Six common cognitive tests were used to make an overall evaluation of cognitive function. Results: Analysis with the apoE ε4 carriers showed that the volume of the hippocampus of the control group were significantly lower than those of the HRT group. The biochemical analysis showed that there was an increase of N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/total creatine (tCr) and a decrease of myoinositol (mI)/tCr in the hippocampus of apoE ε4 carriers in the HRT group, compared with the control group. For the apoE ε3 carriers, the least squares means (LSMEAN) of the HRT group was higher than that of the control group. Conclusion: This study showed that long-term, low dose HRT might be beneficial for reducing the risk of AD development in vulnerable postmenopausal women. Meanwhile, HRT could increase the LSMEAN of apoE ε3 carriers.
Key wordshor m one r e pl a ceme nt t her a py; a poE ; Alzheimer's disease; magnetic resonance imaging 4
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