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This article describes the case of a young woman with hypertension and fertility issues who was eventually diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome (CS) after undergoing various examinations. The patient underwent adrenalectomy and experienced a gradual return to normal blood pressure, weight loss, and relief from menstrual disorders. Six months after the operation, she successfully became pregnant. The article emphasizes the importance of screening patients with hypertension to determine the underlying cause and suggests that young hypertensive women should undergo comprehensive assessments before preparing for pregnancy. [Extracted from the article]

Objective: Assessment of the prevalence of anti‐phosphatidylserine‐prothrombin antibodies (aPS/PT) with OAPS and SN‐OAPS in Chinese patients. Methods: This retrospective study proceeded at Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai, China, from January 2019 to January 2020. Two hundred eleven OAPS, 68 SN‐OAPS, 81 disease controls, and 30 healthy donors were enrolled. IgM and IgG aPS/PT, IgM/IgG ‐ aCL, and IgM/ IgG/ anti‐β2GPI antibodies were tested by ELISA while LAC was tested by clotting assays. All the patients were followed up and tested at least twice over 12 weeks apart. Results: Thirty‐three OAPS (15.64%) and 31 SN‐OAPS (45.59%) were positive for aPS/PT. aPS/PT IgM showed a high Youden index (.813), which classified OAPS and SN‐OAPS patients from healthy controls and other autoimmune diseases. aPS/PT showed a stronger relationship with LAC. Of the 25 OAPS women positive for IgM aPS/PT, 19 (79%) LAC were positive, while of the eight women positive for IgG aPS/PT, 100% were found LAC positive. Conclusion: aPS/PT antibody showed an efficient diagnostic value for Chinese patients with OAPS and SN‐OAPS, which could be a potential risk predictor for obstetric complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postharvest senescence and disease development can reduce the nutritional value of fresh jujube fruit. Herein, four different disease-controlling agents (chlorothalonil, CuCl2, harpin and melatonin) were separately applied to fresh jujube fruit, and all improved postharvest quality (evaluated by disease severity, antioxidant accumulation and senescence) relative to controls. Disease severity was drastically inhibited by these agents, in the order chlorothalonil > CuCl2 > harpin > melatonin. However, chlorothalonil residues were detected even after storage for 4 weeks. These agents increased the activities of defense enzymes including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, polyphenol oxidase, glutathione reductase and glutathione S-transferase, as well as accumulation of antioxidant compounds such as ascorbic acid, glutathione, flavonoids and phenolics, in postharvest jujube fruit. The enhanced antioxidant content and antioxidant capacity (evaluated by Fe3+ reducing power) was ordered melatonin > harpin > CuCl2 > chlorothalonil. All four agents significantly delayed senescence (evaluated by weight loss, respiration rate and firmness), with the effect ordered CuCl2 > melatonin > harpin > chlorothalonil. Moreover, treatment with CuCl2 also increased copper accumulation ~ threefold in postharvest jujube fruit. Among the four agents, postharvest treatment with CuCl2 could be considered most appropriate for improving postharvest jujube fruit quality under low temperature conditions without sterilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The society is aging in China, and the cognitive level of elderly post-stroke patients gradually declines. Face-to-face cognitive functional training is no longer sufficient. Immersive virtual reality (IVR) is a promising rehabilitation training device. In this study, we developed an IVR-based puzzle game to explore its effectiveness, feasibility, and safety in elderly stroke patients with cognitive dysfunction. Methods: A total of 30 patients with mild post-stroke cognitive impairment after stroke were randomly assigned to a control or IVR group. Patients in both groups received routine rehabilitation therapy. Patients in the control group received traditional cognitive training, and those in the IVR group received IVR-based puzzle game therapy. Before and after treatment, Montreal cognitive assessment (MOCA), trail-making test-A (TMT-A), digit symbol substitution test (DSST), digital span test (DST), verbal fluency test (VFT), and modified Barthel index (MBI) were evaluated in both groups. In addition, the IVR group was administered a self-report questionnaire to obtain feedback on user experience. Results: There was no significant difference in the baseline data between the two groups. After six weeks of treatment, the cognitive assessment scores were improved in both groups. Moreover, the IVR group showed more improvements than the control group in the DSST (Z = 2.203, p = 0.028 < 0.05, η2 = 0.16); MOCA (T = 1.186, p = 0.246 > 0.05, d = 0.44), TMT-A (T = 1.791, p = 0.084 > 0.05, d = 0.65), MBI (T = 0.783, p = 0.44 > 0.05, d = 0.28), FDST (Z = 0.78, p = 0.435 > 0.05, η2 = 0.02), BDST (Z = 0.347, p = 0.728 > 0.05, η2 = 0.004), and VFT(Z = 1.087, p = 0.277 > 0.05, η2 = 0.039) did not significantly improve. The significant difference in DSST represents an improvement in executive function and visual–spatial cognitive characteristics. The other assessment scores did not show such features. Therefore, we did not observe significant differences through this measure. According to the results of the self-report questionnaire, most of the patients were satisfied with the equipment stability and training content. Several individuals reported mild adverse reactions. Conclusions: This pilot study suggests that IVR-based puzzle games are a promising approach to improve post-stroke cognitive function, especially executive cognitive function, and visual–spatial attention in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the efficacy of antibody typing and treatment on live birth rate in Chinese patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)‐related recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). Methods: A retrospective study analyzed 4542 Chinese patients who experienced spontaneous abortion, of whom 314 had APS (272 primary and 42 secondary). Type of antibodies was tested. Anticoagulant and anti‐inflammatory treatments were adopted according to the titer and type of antibodies. The incidence of repeated abortion and placental dysfunction, gestational age, and mean weight of the fetuses were recorded. Results: Among the patients with APS‐related RSA, primary APS accounted for the largest proportion. The proportion of antibody classification was as follows: β2‐glycoprotein 1 (β2GP1)‐IgM (151, 48.08%), lupus anticoagulant (LAC) (36, 11.46%), anticardiolipin (aCL)‐IgM (32, 10.19%), β2GP1‐IgM and aCL‐IgM (29, 9.23%), and aCL‐IgG (16, 5.09%). After treatment, the negative conversion of antibody, including β2GP1‐IgM and LAC, significantly improved pregnancy outcomes. There was no significant difference in pregnancy outcomes between the other antibody titers. Conclusion: The combination of anticoagulant and anti‐inflammatory treatment led to a higher live birth rate in the treatment of APS‐related RSA, highlighting the potential of antibody typing in providing clinical guidance for the treatment of APS‐related RSA. Synopsis: The combination of anticoagulant and anti‐inflammatory treatment led to a higher live birth rate in the treatment of antiphospholipid syndrome‐related recurrent spontaneous abortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]