Clinical study of Conbercept in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy undergoing vitrectomy / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#AIM: To analyze the clinical efficacy of intravitreal injection of conbercept(IVC)assisted pars plana vitrectomy(PPV)in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy(PDR)at different timings before surgery. <p>METHODS: A prospective, randomized, controlled study. From October 2018 to June 2019, a total of 47 eyes of 47 patients with PDR were selected in the Department of Ophthalmology, People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The patients were randomly divided into two groups: the patients who received IVC 2-3d before PPV as group A(26 eyes of 26 patients); and the patients who received IVC 7-8d before PPV as group B(21 eyes of 21 patients). The analysis included the operation time, the number of intraoperative bleeding, electrocoagulation, iatrogenic retinal tears, omental incision eyes, silicone oil-filled eyes. All patients were followed up 6mo, the best corrected visual acuity(BCVA)and the postoperative complications of the two groups were ducumented by the observers.<p>RESULTS: The BCVA measured 6mo after PPV were significantly better than that measured before PPV in both groups(<i>P</i><0.05), there was no significant difference in BCVA between the two groups(1.37±0.83 <i>vs</i> 1.18±0.98, <i>P</i>>0.05). The average operation time of group A was lower than that of group B(73.19±22.78min <i>vs</i> 91.00±31.36min, <i>P</i><0.05), there were no significant difference in the number of intraoperative bleeding, electrocoagulation, iatrogenic retinal tears, omental incision eyes, silicone oil-filled eyes between the two groups(<i>P</i>>0.05). One week after PPV, the incidence of high intraocular pressure in group B was higher than that in group A(group B: 43%<i> vs</i> group A: 15%, <i>P</i><0.05). 6mo postoperative follow up, no recurrent vitreous hemorrhage occurred in either group, there were no significant difference in the incidence of secondary glaucoma and recurrent retinal detachment between the two groups(<i>P</i>>0.05).<p>CONCLUSION: PDR patients who received IVC 2-3d prior to PPV had shorter operation time than patients who received IVC 7-8d prior to PPV. Both groups can improve postoperative visual acuity, and the long-term clinical efficacy and safety are basically the same.

Immunogenicity of recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum NC8 expressing goose parvovirus VP2 gene in BALB/c mice

Goose parvovirus (GPV) continues to be a threat to goose farms and has significant economic effects on the production of geese. Current commercially available vaccines only rarely prevent GPV infection. In our study, Lactobacillus (L.) plantarum NC8 was selected as a vector to express the VP2 gene of GPV, and recombinant L. plantarum pSIP409-VP2/NC8 was successfully constructed. The molecular weight of the expressed recombinant protein was approximately 70 kDa. Mice were immunized with a 2 × 109 colony-forming unit/200 µL dose of the recombinant L. plantarum strain, and the ratios and numbers of CD11c⁺, CD3⁺CD4⁺, CD3⁺CD8⁺, and interferon gamma- and tumor necrosis factor alpha-expressing spleen lymphocytes in the pSIP409-VP2/NC8 group were higher than those in the control groups. In addition, we assessed the capacity of L. plantarum SIP409-VP2/NC8 to induce secretory IgA production. We conclude that administered pSIP409-VP2/NC8 leads to relatively extensive cellular responses. This study provides information on GPV infection and offers a clear framework of options available for GPV control strategies.

Sequence comparison of the hemagglutinin gene of the duck-origin H9N2 subtype avian influenza viruses / 病毒学报

To demonstrate the phylogenetic evolution, the molecular characteristics of the motif of HA protein cleavage site and the varieties at the receptor binding sites of the hemagglutinin gene of the duck-origin H9N2 subtype avian influenza viruses, sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis were performed by MEGA 4.1 Neighbor-Joining method.. The results revealed that the duck-origin H9N2 AIV viruses originated from CK/BJ/1/94-like and North-Ame-like, all the duck-origin H9N2 AIV viruses from mainland China belonged to CK/BJ/1/94-like and formed multiple genotypes through complicated re-assortment, while other duck-origin H9N2 AIV, isolated from other countries in Aisa, American and European such as Korea, Japan, Alberta, Austria, Switzerland, Iran, belonged to the North-Ame-like phylogenetic lineage. The amino acids at positions 183, 190, and 226 of the receptor binding sites of North-Ame-like group isolates had highly conserved H, E and Q respectively. In contrast with duck-origin H9N2 AIV viruses isolates from mainland China, the amino acids had N at positions 183, A, T, or V at 190, L or Q at 226, which was the same as the chicken-origin H9N2 AIV from mainland China. Most newly isolated chicken-origin H9N2 AIV in Fujian Province in Southern China had L at position 226 emphasized the higher risk of cross-infection between the chicken-origin and duck-origin H9N2 AIV in China.

Coagulase-negative staphylococcus and enterococcus as predominant pathogens in liver transplant recipients with Gram-positive coccal bacteremia / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus have been a common cause of infection among liver transplant (LT) recipients in recent decades. The understanding of local epidemiology and its evolving trends with regard to pathogenic spectra and antibiotic susceptibility is beneficial to prophylactic and empiric treatment for LT recipients. This study aimed to investigate etiology, timing, antibiotic susceptibility and risk factors for multidrug resistant (MDR) Gram-positive coccal bacteremia after LT.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A cohort analysis of prospectively recorded data was performed to investigate etiologies, timing, antibiotic susceptibility and risk factors for MDR Gram-positive coccal bacteremia in 475 LT recipients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In 475 LT recipients in the first six months after LT, there were a total of 98 episodes of bacteremia caused by Gram-positive cocci in 82 (17%) patients. Seventy-five (77%) bacteremic episodes occurred in the first post-LT month. The most frequent Gram-positive cocci were methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CoNS, 46 isolates), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, 13) and enterococcus (34, E. faecium 30, E. faecalis 4). In all Gram-positive bacteremic isolates, 59 of 98 (60%) were MDR. Gram-positive coccal bacteremia and MDR Gram-positive coccal bacteremia predominantly occurred in patients with acute severe exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B and with fulminant/subfulminant hepatitis. Four independent risk factors for development of bacteremia caused by MDR Gram-positive coccus were: LT candidates with encephalopathy grades II - IV (P = 0.013, OR: 16.253, 95%CI: 1.822 - 144.995), pre-LT use of empirical antibiotics (P = 0.018, OR: 1.029, 95%CI: 1.002 - 1.057), post-LT urinary tract infections (P < 0.001, OR: 20.340, 95%CI: 4.135 - 100.048) and abdominal infection (P = 0.004, OR: 2.820, 95%CI: 1.122 - 10.114). The main infectious manifestations were coinfections due to gram-positive cocci and gram-negative bacilli.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Methicillin-resistant CoNS and enterococci are predominant pathogens among LT recipients with Gram-positive coccal bacteremia. Occurrences of Gram-positive coccal bacteremia may be associated with the severity of illness in the perioperative stage.</p>

Genome cloning and sequence analysis of duck circovirus / 病毒学报

To reveal the molecular biological characteristics of genome of circovirus in infected ducks, two nucleotide fragments were amplified by overlapping PCRs using DNA extracted from various tissues of ducks. After they had been assembled together, the nucleotide components, the genome organization and the phylogenetic scale of the sequence were analyzed. The results showed that the obtained sequence is a circular DNA with a total length of 1995nt. It contains 6 open reading frames (ORFs), and shares a high identity of 97.4% with the MuDCV circovirus sequence presented in GenBank (AY228555). These results indicate that the amplified product stems from duck circovirus sequence.

Spectrum and risk factors for invasive candidiasis and non-Candida fungal infections after liver transplantation / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Invasive fungal infections are an important cause of posttransplant mortality in solid-organ recipients. The current trend is that the incidence of invasive candidiasis decreases significantly and invasive aspergillosis occurs later in the liver posttransplant recipients. The understanding of epidemiology and its evolving trends in the particular locality is beneficial to prophylactic and empiric treatment for transplant recipients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis was made of recorded data on the epidemiology, risk factors, and mortality of invasive fungal infections in 352 liver transplant recipients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Forty-two (11.9%) patients suffered from invasive fungal infection. Candida species infections (53.3%) were the most common, followed by Aspergillus species (40.0%). There were 21 patients with a superficial fungal infection. The median time to onset of first invasive fungal infection was 13 days, first invasive Candida infection 9 days, and first invasive Aspergillus infection 21 days. Fifteen deaths were related to invasive fungal infection, 10 to Aspergillus infection, and 5 to Candida infection. Invasive Candida species infections were associated with encephalopathy (P = 0.009) and postoperative bacterial infection (P = 0.0003) as demonstrated by multivariate analysis. Three independent risk factors of invasive Aspergillus infection were posttransplant laparotomy (P = 0.004), renal dysfunction (P = 0.005) and hemodialysis (P = 0.001).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The leading etiologic species of invasive fungal infections are Candida and Aspergillus, which frequently occur in the first posttransplant month. Encephalopathy and postoperative bacterial infection predispose to invasive Candida infection. Posttransplant laparotomy and poor perioperative clinical status contribute to invasive Aspergillus infection. More studies are needed to determine the effect of prophylactic antifungal therapy in high risk patients.</p>

Ciclosporin down-regulates interferon-gamma gene transcription via its inhibition of nuclear factor kappaB activity after liver transplantation / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the relation between the activity of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) and the expression of interferon (IFN)-gamma gene transcription with or without ciclosporin treatment after liver transplantation.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Orthotopic liver transplantation was performed in this study. Group I: syngeneic control (Wistar-to-Wistar); Group II: acute rejection (SD-to-Wistar); Group III: acute rejection treated with ciclosporin by intramuscular route (SD-to-Wistar + ciclosporin). Electrophoretic mobility shift assay and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction were used to analyze NF-kappaB activity of splenocytes and IFN-gamma gene transcription expression of grafted liver with or without ciclosporin treatment after liver transplantation. Histopathological examination was also used in this study.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Low NF-kappaB activity was only detected at day 5 and day 7 in Wistar-to-Wistar group after transplantation, meanwhile low IFN-gamma mRNA expression was detected at any time in this group. In contrast, high NF-kappaB activity was detected in SD-to-Wistar group and high level IFN-gammamRNA expression was detected at all time points in this group. The activity of NF-kappaB and IFN-gammamRNA expression were significantly inhibited in SD-to-Wistar + ciclosporin group which was significantly lower than that of SD-to-Wistar group (P < 0.001). A good correlation was found between activity of NF-kappaB and IFN-gamma mRNA expression in this study (r=0.815, P <0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The change of expression IFN-gamma mRNA is at least partially due to the activity change of NF-kappaB after orthotopic liver transplantation. CsA down-regulates NF-kappaB activity and further inhibit IFN-gamma gene transcription.</p>