A multi-center study on the normal range of exhaled nitric oxide in 6-18-year-old children in China / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Objective:To investigate the normal range of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in 6-18-year-old children in China, so as to provide a data base for the establishment of FeNO standards for Chinese children.Methods:A multi-center study was conducted on 5 949 children aged 6-18 (3 101 males and 2 848 females) in 16 pro-vinces of 7 administrative districts in China.According to the technical standard recommended by American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Association, FeNO was measured, and the relationship of FeNO with the sex, age, height, weight, body mass index and region was discussed.Results:The geometric mean FeNO value of Chinese children aged 6-18 was 14.1 ppb, and its 95% confidence interval (skewness distribution) was 1.0-38.2 ppb.The geometric mean FeNO values of children aged 6-11 and 12-18 were 13.1 ppb and 15.7 ppb, respectively, and their 95% confidence intervals (skewness distribution) were 1.0-38.1 ppb and 2.0-38.2 ppb.For children at and under 11 years old, FeNO decreased with age, with a mean decline of 1 ppb per year.The multiple linear regression results suggested that there was a significant correlation between FeNO and age for children aged 6-11, and FeNO of children aged 12-18 was significantly correlated with the gender, height, and region(all P<0.01). Conclusions:FeNO values of Chinese children and adolescents in this study are higher than those obtained by the previous study conducted from 2010 to 2012.For children aged 12-18, 16 ppb is recommended as the clinical cut-off point.For children at or under 11 years old, the influence of age on FeNO should be considered, and the cut-off point of FeNO decreases by 1 ppb as the age is reduced by one year.

Antibiotic resistance analysis of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from the hospitalized children in Shanxi Children′s Hospital from 2012 to 2014 / 中华儿科杂志

Objective@#To investigate the antibiotic resistance status of Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from hospitalized children in Shanxi Children′s Hospital.@*Method@#E-test and Kirby-Bauer methods were applied to determine drug sensitivity of the isolates collected from the body fluid specimens of hospitalized children in Shanxi Children's Hospital from January 2012 to December 2014. The antimicrobial sensitivity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Streptococcus pneumoniae to the conventional antibiotics were analyzed, in order to compare the annual trends of non-invasive isolates, while the differentiation of sensitivity from specimens. The comparison of rates was performed by Chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test.@*Result@#A total of 671 isolates of streptococcus pneumoniae were obtained, which could be divided as non-invasive isolates(607), invasive isolates from non-cerebrospinal fluid(non-CSF)(40) and invasive isolates from cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)(24). The antimicrobial sensitivity(isolates(%)) of the 671 isolates were respectively vancomycin 671(100.0%), linezolid 671(100.0%), levofloxacin 665(99.1%), penicillin 595(88.7%), ceftriaxone 516(76.9%), cefotaxime 512(76.3%), sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprin(SMZ-TMP) 103(15.4%), clindamycin 28(4.2%), tetracycline 26(3.9%), erythromycin 12(1.8%). From 2012 to 2014, the susceptibility rates of non-invasive isolates to penicillin every year were 95.0%(96/101), 97.3%(110/113), 87.3%(343/393), respectively, and there was significant difference among the three years(χ2=13.266, P<0.05), and the values of MIC50, MIC90 and the maximum values of MIC(mg/L) of penicillin were 0.064, 2.000, 6.000 in 2012, which grew up to 1.000, 3.000, 16.000 in 2014. There was no significant difference in the susceptibility rate of non-invasive isolates to ceftriaxone and cefotaxime during these three years, (χ2=1.172, 1.198, both P>0.05). On the other hand, the values of MIC50, MIC90 and the maximum value of MIC(mg/L) of ceftriaxone and cefotaxime both increased from 0.500, 2.000, 8.000 in 2012 to 0.750, 4.000, 32.000 in 2014. There was no significant difference in the susceptibility rate of non-invasive isolates to the rest antibiotic. Based on the same examining standard of CSF, the antimicrobial sensitivity(isolates(%)) of the non-invasive isolates to ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, SMZ-TMP were respectively 281(46.3%), 278(45.8%), 78(12.9%), were significantly lower than the susceptibility rate of the invasive isolates from non-CSF (28(70%), 28(70%), 14(35%), χ2=8.453, 8.817, 15.094, all P<0.012 5), and lower than the invasive isolates from CSF (18(75%), 18(75%), χ2=7.631, 7.905, P<0.012 5; 11(45.8%), P=0.001). The sensitivity of the isolates to the rest antibiotics were similar(P>0.05).@*Conclusion@#More than 95.0% strains of the streptococcus pneumoniae isolates from the hospitalized children in Shanxi Children's Hospital were sensitive to vancomycin, linezolid, levofloxacin, and the susceptibility rate of penicillin, ceftriaxone, cefotaxime were 88.7%, 76.9%, 76.3%. However, less than 20.0% of streptococcus pneumoniae were sensitive to erythromycin, clindamycin, SMZ-TMP and tetracycline. The susceptibility rate of penicillin of non-invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae declined by these years, and the differences to ceftriaxone and cefotaxime can be neglected, but the values of MIC50, MIC90 and the maximum value of MIC of all were linearly rising. The susceptibility rate of antibiotics to ceftriaxone and cefotaxime of the non-invasive isolates was lower than the invasive isolates.

Complications analysis of subcutaneous venous access port for chemotherapy in patients with gastrointestinal malignancy / 中华胃肠外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To describe and analyze the complications of subcutaneous venous access port for patients with gastrointestinal malignancy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Data of 1 912 patients with gastrointestinal malignancy who accepted chemotherapy in our department via subcutaneous venous access ports, including 127 cases in upper arm, 865 cases in subclavicular vein and 920 cases in internal jugular vein, from June 2007 to April 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. Associated complications and risk factors were emphatically investigated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Postoperative complications were confirmed in 233 patients(12.2%), and complication morbidity was 37.0%(47/127), 15.5%(134/865), 6.7%(62/920) in upper arm group, subclavicular vein group, internal jugular vein group respectively, whose difference was statistically significant (χ=71.060, P=0.000). Sixty-one(3.2%) patients developed early complications (in the day of insertion, including catheter dislocation, pneumothorax, arterial damage). Early complication morbidity of upper arm group (14.2%, 18/127) was higher as compared to subclavicular vein group (3.4%, 29/865) and internal jugular vein group(1.5%, 14/920) with significant difference (χ=57.867, P=0.000). Postoperative long-term complications (catheter dislocation, thrombosis, pinch-off syndrome, infusion base exposure, catheter detachment) were found in 182(9.5%) patients. Morbidity of long-term complication was 5.2%(48/920) in internal jugular vein group, which was significantly lower than 22.8% (29/127) in upper arm group and 12.1% (105/865) in subclavicular vein group with statistically significant difference (χ=50.828, P=0.000). Multivariate analysis indicated that subclavicular vein intubation (OR=0.536, 95%CI: 0.341 to 0.843; P=0.007 OR=0.156, 95%CI: 0.096 to 0.253, P=0.000), internal jugular vein intubation (OR=0.156, 95%CI: 0.096 to 0.253, P=0.000), operation time <40 minutes (OR=0.458, 95%CI: 0.342 to 0.613, P=0.000) and standardized training (OR=0.233,95%CI: 0.171 to 0.318, P=0.000) were protective factors of postoperative complication; besides, subclavicular vein intubation (OR=0.458, 95%CI: 0.342 to 0.613, P=0.000), internal jugular vein intubation (OR=0.233, 95%CI: 0.171 to 0.318, P=0.000) and standardized training (OR=0.313, 95%CI: 0.173 to 0.568, P=0.000) were protective factors of thrombosis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Subcutaneous venous access port implantation is a preferable access to central vein. Appropriate intubation approach and standardized training may reduce postoperative complications effectively. Internal jugular vein approach is safer and more reliable than upper arm vein and subclavian vein approach.</p>

Validation of Reference Genes for Quantitative Real-Time PCR in Bovine PBMCs Transformed and Non-transformed by Theileria annulata

Theileria annulata is a tick-borne intracellular protozoan parasite that causes tropical theileriosis, a fatal bovine lymphoproliferative disease. The parasite predominantly invades bovine B lymphocytes and macrophages and induces host cell transformation by a mechanism that is not fully comprehended. Analysis of signaling pathways by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) could be a highly efficient means to understand this transformation mechanism. However, accurate analysis of qPCR data relies on selection of appropriate reference genes for normalization, yet few papers on T. annulata contain evidence of reference gene validation. We therefore used the geNorm and NormFinder programs to evaluate the stability of 5 candidate reference genes; 18S rRNA, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), ACTB (β-actin), PRKG1 (protein kinase cGMP-dependent, type I) and TATA box binding protein (TBP). The results showed that 18S rRNA was the reference gene most stably expressed in bovine PBMCs transformed and non-transformed with T. annulata, followed by GAPDH and TBP. While 18S rRNA and GAPDH were the best combination, these 2 genes were chosen as references to study signaling pathways involved in the transformation mechanism of T. annulata.

Biological Parameters of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) Fed on Rabbits, Sheep, and Cattle

In order to determine the effect of various hosts on feeding performance of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, we used 3 mammalian species as hosts, cattle (Qinchuan), sheep (T an), and rabbits (Japanese white rabbit) for infest-ing ticks. Five hundreds of R. microplus larvae were exposed to each animal (3 animals/host species). Tick recoveries were 11.0%, 0.47%, and 5.5% from cattle, sheep, and rabbits, respectively. The averages of tick feeding periods were not significantly different on cattle, sheep, and rabbits, 28.8, 25.3, and 26.7 days, respectively. The average weights of individual engorged female from cattle, sheep, and rabbits were 312.5, 219.1, and 130.2 mg, respectively and those of egg mass weights each to 85.0, 96.6, and 17.8 mg. The highest egg hatching rate was in the ticks from cattle (96.0%), fol-lowed by those from rabbits (83.0%) and sheep (19.2%). These data suggest that rabbits could be as an alternative host to cultivate R. microplus for evaluating vaccines and chemical and biological medicines against the tick in the laboratory, although the biological parameters of ticks were less than those from cattle.

Phylogenetic Analysis of Ruminant Theileria spp. from China Based on 28S Ribosomal RNA Gene

Species identification using DNA sequences is the basis for DNA taxonomy. In this study, we sequenced the ribosomal large-subunit RNA gene sequences (3,037-3,061 bp) in length of 13 Chinese Theileria stocks that were infective to cattle and sheep. The complete 28S rRNA gene is relatively difficult to amplify and its conserved region is not important for phylogenetic study. Therefore, we selected the D2-D3 region from the complete 28S rRNA sequences for phylogenetic analysis. Our analyses of 28S rRNA gene sequences showed that the 28S rRNA was useful as a phylogenetic marker for analyzing the relationships among Theileria spp. in ruminants. In addition, the D2-D3 region was a short segment that could be used instead of the whole 28S rRNA sequence during the phylogenetic analysis of Theileria, and it may be an ideal DNA barcode.

Correlated Study of CRP、IL-12 and Insulin resistance in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus / 中国医师进修杂志

Objective to investigate the relationship between CRP,IL-12 and gestational diabetes mellitus.Methods Fifty normal pregnant women (NGT group) and forty with GDM (GDM group) were enrolled in the study.The serum IL-12、fasting blood sugar、CRP were mesured respectively.Results GDM fasting blood glucose,fasting insulin,insulin resistance index (IRI),CRP,IL-12 were higher than those in the control group [(4.95 ± 0.76 vs 4.57 ± 0.58) mmol/L,(13.65 ± 1.74 vs 8.78 ± 1.65) uIU/ml,(2.91 ± 1.05vs 1.72 ± 0.87),(5.56 ± 1.24 vs 3.25 ± 1.13) mg/L,(71.47 ± 4.35 vs 56.03 ± 4.06) PG,/ml,P ＜ 0.05),the results of single factor analysis of CRP showed a positive correlation with IRI (r =0.865,P ＜ 0.05),IL-12 was positively correlated with IRI (r =0.913,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Our study show inflammatory cytokins take part in the genesis of gestational diabetes.Serum levels of IL-12 and is one factor in pathogensis of GDM.

Prokaryotic Expression of Bm86 Gene of Boophilus microplus and Optimization of the Expression Condition / 中国寄生虫学与寄生虫病杂志

A pair of specific primers was designed based on the reported Bm86 gene of Boophilus microplus,the Bm86 gene was cloned by PCR using the plasmid pMD18-T-Bm86 as templates,and subcloned into the prokaryotic plasmid pGEX-4T-1.The recombined plasmid was transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3) and followed by expression of the protein induced by different concentration of IPTG for different time.SDS-PAGE showed that the recombinant plasmid pGEX-4T-1/Bm86 expressed a fusion protein Bm86-GST(Mr 94 000) after being induced with IPTG.High level expre-ssion of Bm86-GST was found at 1 mmol/L IPTG condition after incubation for 8 h at 37 ℃,and the expression level of the recom-binant Bm86-GST reached up to 29% of total E.coli proteins.Western-blotting analysis showed that the recombinant Bm86-GST was recognized by the rabbit anti-B.microplus positive serum.