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Aims: During the COVID-19 epidemic, chest computed tomography (CT) has been highly recommended for screening of patients with suspected COVID-19 because of an unclear contact history, overlapping clinical features, and an overwhelmed health system. However, there has not been a full comparison of CT for diagnosis of heart failure or COVID-19 pneumonia.Methods: Patients with heart failure (n = 23) or COVID-19 pneumonia (n = 23) and one patient with both diseaseswere retrospectively enrolled. Clinical information and chest CT images were obtained and analyzed.Results: There was no difference in ground-glass opacity, consolidation, crazy paving pattern, the lobes affected,and septal thickening between heart failure and COVID-19 pneumonia. However, a less rounded morphology (4% vs.70%, P = 0.00092), more peribronchovascular thickening (70% vs. 35%, P = 0.018) and fissural thickening (43% vs. 4%, P = 0.002), and less peripheral distribution (30% vs. 87%, P = 0.00085) were found in the heart failure group than in the COVID-19 group. Importantly, there were also more patients with upper pulmonary vein enlargement (61% vs. 4%, P = 0.00087), subpleural effusion (50% vs. 0%, P = 0.00058), and cardiac enlargement (61% vs. 4%, P = 0.00075) in the heart failure group than in the COVID-19 group. Besides, more fibrous lesions were found in the COVID-19group, although there was no statistical difference (22% vs. 4%, P = 0.080).Conclusions: Although there is some overlap of CT features between heart failure and COVID-19, CT is still a useful tool for differentiating COVID-19 pneumonia.

Different open-mesh techniques have been developed for inguinal hernia repair since the introduction of the tension-free technique. The present study reports a new self-designed tension-free technique for hernioplasty using a bilayer polypropylene mesh. Fifty-one patients with severe transverse fascia weakness were repaired by means of a self-designed, tension-free technique using bilayer polypropylene mesh. The postoperative complications, inpatient hospitalization time, and recurrence rate were studied. Patients were mobilized within 6 h after surgery and no complications were found. The length of hospital stay was 2-3 days. The follow-up period ranged from 3 months to 40 months, with a mean of 20.4 months, and no recurrence was found. Our own experience showed the self-designed, tension-free technique using bilayer polypropylene mesh to be a reliable approach for inguinal hernia repair with many advantages--such as a much lower expense, simplicity, rapid return to unrestricted activities, minor complications, and impressively no recurrence, a particularly superior option for those patients with severe transverse fascia weakness or large defect.

In our previous study, we have found that minocycline, a clinical available antibiotics that can easily cross the blood brain barrier, mitigates radiation-induced long-term memory loss in rats, accompanied by decreased hippocampal neuron apoptosis shortly after radiation. Thus, in the present study, we aimed to investigate the detailed mechanisms underlying the protective effect of minocycline on neurons from radiation-induced apoptosis. Materials/Methods: The immortalized mouse hippocampal neuron HT22 cell line was used. The protective effect of minocycline on X-irradiated HT22 cells was demonstrated using clonogenic assay and apoptosis analysis. The underlying mechanisms were explored by using methods such as flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, shRNA knockdown, Western blot et al. Results: We found that minocycline protected HT22 hippocampal neurons from radiation-induced cell death, manifest as increased clonogenic cell survival and decreased apoptosis in irradiated cells. This protective effect of minocycline might involve cell cycle perturbation after radiation, but not DNA damage and repair. Further investigation showed that X-irradiation activated AMPKa1-mediated autophagy, and minocycline significantly enhanced AMPKa1 activation and autophagy, resulting in decreased apoptosis. Additionally, the antioxidant potential of minocycline might not be involved in the enhancing effect of minocycline on radiation-induced autophagy, but it might at least partially contribute to the inhibitory effect of minocycline on radiation-induced apoptosis. Conclusion: These results indicate that minocycline protects neurons from radiation-induced apoptosis mainly through targeting radiation-induced AMPKa1-mediated autophagy.