Determining the Clinical Characteristics, Treatment Strategies, and Prognostic Factors for Mycoplasma pneumoniae Encephalitis in Children: A Multicenter Study in China

Background@#and Purpose Most of the knowledge of Mycoplasma pneumonia (M. pneumoniae) encephalitis (MPE) in children is based on case reports or small case series. This study aimed to describe the clinical features and prognostic factors of MPE, and the efficacy of azithromycin with or without immunomodulatory therapy. @*Methods@#The medical data of 87 patients with MPE from 3 medical centers in southwestern China over a 7-year period were reviewed. @*Results@#MPE was found in children of all ages except for neonates. The most common neurological manifestations included consciousness disturbance (90%) and headache (87.4%), the most common extraneurological manifestations included fever (96.5%) and respiratory system involvement (94.3%); multisystem involvement (98.2%) and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) (90.8%) were also prominent. M. pneumoniae was detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) less often than in blood and respiratory tract secretions. Azithromycin with intravenous immunoglobulin or/and corticosteroid treatment can shorten the hospitalization duration and the clinical improvement process. Most patients (82.8%) received a favorable prognosis; serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and CSF protein levels were higher in the poor-outcome group than in the good-outcome group (p<0.05). Neurological sequelae are likely to continue when the onset of this condition occurs during teenage years. @*Conclusions@#MPE generally presented with nonspecific clinical manifestations. In children with acute encephalitis accompanied by multi-system involvement and prominently elevated CRP, M. pneumoniae should be considered as a possible pathogen. Immunomodulating therapies should be recommended regardless of the duration of the prodromal period. High CSF protein

Effects of different surface conditioning agents on the bond strength of resin-opaque porcelain composite / 生物医学工程学杂志

The objective of this research is to evaluate the effects of different silane coupling agents on the bond strength between Ceramco3 opaque porcelain and indirect composite resin. Five groups of Co-Cr metal alloy substrates were fabricated according to manufacturer's instruction. The surface of metal alloy with a layer of dental opaque porcelain was heated by fire. After the surface of opaque porcelain was etched, five different surface treatments, i.e. RelyX Ceramic Primer (RCP), Porcelain Bond Activator and SE Bond Primer (mixed with a proportion of 1:1) (PBA), Shofu Porcelain Primer (SPP), SE bond primer (SEP), and no primer treatment (as a control group), were used to combine P60 and opaque porcelain along with resin cement. Shear bond strength of specimens was tested in a universal testing machine. The failure modes of specimens in all groups were observed and classified into four types. Selected specimens were subjected to scanning electron microscope and energy disperse spectroscopy to reveal the relief of the fracture surface and to confirm the failure mode of different types. The experimental results showed that the values of the tested items in all the tested groups were higher than that in the control group. Group PBA exhibited the highest value [(37.52 +/- 2.14) MPa] and this suggested a fact that all of the specimens in group PBA revealed combined failures (failure occurred in metal-porcelain combined surface and within opaque porcelain). Group SPP and RCP showed higher values than SEP (P < 0.05) and most specimens of SPP and RCP performed combined failures (failure occurred in bond surface and within opaque porcelain or composite resin) while all the specimens in group SEP and control group revealed adhesive failures. Conclusions could be drawn that silane coupling agents could reinforce the bond strength of dental composite resin to metal-opaque porcelain substrate. The bond strength between dental composite resin and dental opaque porcelain could meet the clinical requirements.

Nitric oxide and prostaglandin E2 secretion in osteocytes induced by intermittent cyclic compressive force / 生物医学工程学杂志

This paper is aimed to investigate the effect of rest-inserted loading on the mechanosensitivity of osteocytes. In the investigation, cultured MLO-Y4 osteocyte-like cells were strained on cyclic compressive force (CCF) by the self-made compressive loading device. Then we observed the effect of different rest periods-inserted loading (5 s, 15 s, 30 s, respectively) on the mechanosensitivity of osteocytes. We then determined the levels of secreted nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) by Griess method and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. We then stained the cytoskeleton F-actin using immunofluorescence. We found that the expressions of NO and PGE2 in rest-inserted strained groups (> 15 s) were significantly increased compared to those in the continuous strained group. And rest-inserted loading promoted the parallel alignment of stress fibers. It indicates that rest-inserted loading could promote the mechanosensitivity of osteocytes, and this might be related to the parallel alignment of stress fibers.

Effects of inhaled formaldehyde on learning and memory and expression of CaMKⅡ in hippocampus of Wistar rats of different ages / 重庆医科大学学报

Objective:To investigate the effects of inhaled low level formaldehyde on learning and memory,the body weight,and the expression of CaMKⅡ in hippocampus of Wistar rats of different ages.Methods:48 Wistar rats including 16 neonatal rats(P3),16 childhood rats(P14) and 16 adult rats(P60) were divided into control groups and formaldehyde exposure groups randomly according to their age.During 28 consecutive days,the experimental groups were exposed to the gaseous formaldehyde(0.5mg/m3) for 2 h/d.The Morris water maze test was conducted to investigate the spatial learning and memory of the rats.The expressions of CaMKⅡ were assayed by immunohistochemical techniques.Results:The body weight of all the experimental groups were less than that of control groups(P0.05),except with the body weight.Conclusion:Inhaled formaldehyde has a negative effect on learning and memory of Wistar rats;the developing brain appears far more vulnerable than the mature brain.Changes of CaMKⅡ in hippocampus may be one of the mechanisms of the effects on learning and memory.