Procalcitonin in general internal medicine: a bibliometric analysis.

BACKGROUND: Procalcitonin (PCT) plays an important role in the identification of bacterial infection and therapy guidance. The relevant literature is mainly classified under critical care medicine or infectious disease. The research status of PCT in general internal medicine (GIM) is currently unclear. This research aimed to analyze PCT-related literature in the GIM field and provide references for future research. METHODS: A subject search strategy was used for the term PCT, with the search scope limited to Medicine, General & Internal. We conducted a search of relevant literature in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) database in the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC), with no publication date limit (1900 to May 16, 2021, the date of the final search for this study). The search results were analyzed using CiteSpace software to assess the status of PCT research in the GIM field based on annual paper publication numbers, the number of citations, country distribution, institution distribution, author distribution, journal distribution, and keyword usage. RESULTS: A total of 905 document records were retrieved. Articles were mainly from Europe, the United States, and China, and the number of citations totaled 15,917. There were 5 research institutions that published more than 10 related papers and 3 authors who published more than 10 papers. There was little cooperation between authors from different countries and institutions. This field should focus on leading journals in critical care medicine and quality comprehensive journals. Keyword analysis showed that the current research focus is the standardized application of PCT. CONCLUSIONS: There are few targeted studies on the application of PCT in GIM, and the relevant important literature mainly comes from other journals. GIM-specific research should be increased in the future.

Relationship between cognitive impairment and serum amyloid ß-protein, adiponectin, and C-reactive protein levels in type II diabetes patients.

BACKGROUND: This study sought to explore the plausible mechanism of the cognitive impairment of patients with type 2 diabetes by analyzing the levels of serum amyloid ß-protein (Aßl-42), adiponectin, and C-reactive protein (CRP). METHODS: Eighty-four patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and 60 healthy people were selected as the participants for this study. Clinical data were collected using self-made questionnaires. The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) scale was used to access cognitive functions. The serum Aßl-42 and adiponectin levels were individually determined by an enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). CRP was detected using a Siemens BNP II specific-protein analyzer. RESULTS: Patients in the case group had significantly lower immediate memory, visual span, speech function, attention, and delayed memory scores on the RBANS scale than patients in the control group. The Aßl-42 levels of patients in case group were significantly higher than those of patients in the control group. The age of patients was significantly negatively correlated to RBANS scale subtest scores and standard scores in the case group. The number of years of schooling was significantly positively correlated to immediate memory, visual span, attention, delayed memory scores, and standard scores, but negatively correlated with speech function. After adjusting for age and the number of years of schooling, the Aßl-42 levels of patients in the case group were significantly negatively correlated with immediate memory, attention, delayed memory scores, and standard scores (P<0.05). The adiponectin levels of patients in the case group were positively correlated with RBANS scale subtest scores and standard scores (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Type 2 diabetes patients suffered from cognitive impairment. It appears that the mechanism may be associated with increased serum Aßl-42 levels, decreased adiponectin levels and inflammation reaction. The detection of serum Aßl-42 and adiponectin could be used as indicators of the degree of cognitive impairment in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Effect of Rhizoma alismatis on the expression of hub genes in the treatment of gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to predict the target genes and pathways of Rhizoma alismatis (RA) in the treatment of gastric cancer (GC) by an bioinformatics analysis. METHODS: The Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology database was used to obtain the chemical components and target genes of RA. GC-related genes were downloaded from GeneCard website. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were used to detect the potential mechanisms of RA targets. Hub genes were identified by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and then verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. RESULTS: Our analyses identified 34 target genes that contribute to the development of GC. GO analysis showed that the biological functions of the target genes mainly included activation of receptors, including the nuclear receptor, steroid hormone receptor, acetylcholine receptor, G-protein coupled serotonin receptor, serotonin receptor and others. According to KEGG analysis, we found that insulin resistance, galactose metabolism, adipocytokine signaling pathway, breast cancer pathway, and cholinergic synapse were the top 5 pathways involving RA target genes. qRT-PCR and immunohistochemical analysis indicated that RA had significant effects on the expression of hub genes, including MYC, CASP3, SP1, MAPK8, PPARG, FOS, and SLC2A1. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed the multi-component, multi-target, and multi-mechanisms of RA on GC, which suggest novel therapeutics for GC.

Capillary blood reference intervals for platelet parameters in healthy full-term neonates in China.

BACKGROUND: No consensus has been reached on capillary blood reference intervals for platelet parameters in full-term neonates. We aimed to establish neonatal capillary blood reference intervals for platelet parameters and evaluate influences of sex, gestational age and postnatal age on platelet parameters. METHODS: This study was a prospective investigation and implemented in 594 healthy full-term neonates from 12 to 84 h of age, using SYSMEX XN-9000 haematology automatic analyser by means of capillary blood. Reference intervals for platelet parameters were defined by an interval of 2.5th - 97.5th percentiles. RESULTS: Capillary reference interval for platelet count was (152-464) × 109/L. No significance was found between sex-divided reference intervals for platelet parameters. The values of platelet count changed minimally across gestational age (37-41 weeks) and postnatal age (12-84 h). Reference intervals for other platelet parameters were affected by these factors to a different extent. CONCLUSIONS: We established capillary blood reference intervals for platelet parameters in the first days after birth of full-term neonates in China.

Effects of resveratrol on bone metabolism and bone turnover related indexes in ovariectomized osteoporosis rats.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of resveratrol (RES) on bone metabolism and bone turnover related indexes in ovariectomized osteoporosis rats. 48 clean grade adult healthy unmated female SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, including normal control group (NCG), osteoporosis model group (OP MG), estrogen treatment group (17ß-E2 group), RES low dose group (RES-L), RES medium-dose group (RES-M) and RES high dose group (RES-H). The rats in NCG and OP MG were given distilled water once a day and the rats in the other two groups were given 17ß-E2 and resveratrol respectively. The levels of serum calcium (S-Ca), serum phosphorus (S-P), urinary calcium (U-Ca/Cr) and urinary phosphorus (U-P/Cr) were measured with an automatic biochemistry analyzer. The levels of serum osteocalcin (BGP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), type I amino front-end peptide (PINP), type I collagen strong carboxyl peptide (CTX-I), urine deoxypyridinoline (DPD) and serum estrogen were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the OP group, the serum estrogen levels, S-Ca and S-P decreased significantly and the expression of U-Ca/Cr and U-P/Cr increased significantly (P< 0.05). Compared with the OP group, the expression of S-Ca and S-P increased significantly and the expression of U-Ca/Cr and U-P/Cr decreased significantly (p< 0.05) after treatment. The levels of TRAP, BGP, DPD and CTX-I in the OP group increased significantly (P< 0.05). Compared with the OP group, the levels of TRAP decreased significantly (P< 0.05). The levels of PINP and ALP in OP MG increased significantly (P< 0.05). IP and ALP increased in the middle and lower levels (P< 0.05). The bone mineral density of the OP group decreased significantly (P< 0.05). Resveratrol can affect the changes in bone turnover in ovariectomized rats, promote bone formation in low estrogen state and inhibit bone resorption. Resveratrol may have a protective effect on the bone of ovariectomized rats.

Clinical Value of Combined Detection of CK-MB, MYO, cTnI and Plasma NT-proBNP in Diagnosis of Acute Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a serious life-threatening and common heart disease that is based on coronary atherosclerosis. The aim is to study the changes in the level of kinase isoenzyme (CK-MB), myoglobin (MYO), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), and plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and the four indicators of joint detection clinical value for diagnosis of AMI. METHODS: Plasma NT-proBNP, CK-MB, MYO, and cTnI were detected by CLIA in 208 AMI patients (AMI group) and 115 non-AMI patients (control group). SPSS 19.0 software was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The concentrations of CK-MB, MYO, cTnI, and NT-proBNP show significant differences between these two groups. In the AMI group, a significantly positive correlation was found between CK-MB and each of MYO and cTnI (r = 0.537, r = 0.226). Meanwhile, the sensitivity of combined detection has been improved up to 92.79%. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, these results suggested that detecting CK-MB, MYO, cTnI, and plasma NT-proBNP levels together can significantly contribute to the early diagnosis of AMI. It can also provide diagnostic evidence to clinic and thus lower the mortality of AMI in acute phase.

Characterization of a new gene WX2 in Toxoplasma gondii.

Using hybridization techniques, we prepared the monoclonal antibody (Mab) 7C3-C3 against Toxoplasma gondii. The protection tests showed that the protein (Mab7C3-C3) inhibited the invasion and proliferation of T. gondii RH strain in HeLa cells. The passive transfer test indicated that the antibody significantly prolonged the survival time of the challenged mice. It was also shown that the antibody could be used for the detection of the circulating antigen of T. gondii. After immunoscreening the T. gondii tachyzoite cDNA library with Mab7C3-C3, a new gene wx2 of T. gondii was obtained. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that the WX2 protein was located on the membrane of the parasite. Nucleotide sequence comparison showed 28% identity to the calcium channel alpha-1E unit and shared with the surface antigen related sequence in some conservative residues. However, no match was found in protein databases. Therefore, it was an unknown gene in T. gondii encoding a functional protein on the membrane of T. gondii. Because it has been shown to have a partial protective effect against T. gondii infection and is released as a circulating antigen, it could be a candidate molecule for vaccine or a novel target for new drugs.