Evaluation of the Gastric Microbiome in Patients with Chronic Superficial Gastritis and Intestinal Metaplasia.

Objective To evaluate the gastric microbiome in patients with chronic superficial gastritis (CSG) and intestinal metaplasia (IM) and investigate the influence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) on the gastric microbiome. Methods Gastric mucosa tissue samples were collected from 54 patients with CSG and IM, and the patients were classified into the following four groups based on the state of H. pylori infection and histology: H. pylori-negative CSG (n=24), H. pylori-positive CSG (n=14), H. pylori-negative IM (n=11), and H. pylori-positive IM (n=5). The gastric microbiome was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results H. pylori strongly influenced the bacterial abundance and diversity regardless of CSG and IM. In H. pylori-positive subjects, the bacterial abundance and diversity were significantly lower than in H. pylori-negative subjects. The H. pylori-negative groups had similar bacterial composition and bacterial abundance. The H. pylori-positive groups also had similar bacterial composition but different bacterial relative abundance. The relative abundance of Neisseria, Streptococcus, Rothia, and Veillonella were richer in the I-HP group than in G-HP group, especially Neisseria (t=175.1, P<0.001). Conclusions The gastric microbial abundance and diversity are lower in H. pylori- infected patients regardless of CSG and IM. Compared to H. pylori-positive CSG group and H. pylori-positive IM, the relative abundance of Neisseria, Streptococcus, Rothia, and Veillonella is higher in H. pylori-positive patients with IM than in H. pylori-positive patients with CSG, especially Neisseria.

Association of Rs11615 (C>T) in the excision repair cross-complementing group 1 gene with ovarian but not gynecological cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that the rs11615 (C>T) polymorphism in the ERCC1 gene may be a risk factor for gynecological tumors. However, results have not been consistent. Therefore we performed this meta- analysis. METHODS: Eligible studies were identified by search of PubMed, MEDLINE and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to assess associations between rs11615 (C>T) and gynecological tumor risk. Heterogeneity among studies was tested and sensitivity analysis was applied. RESULTS: A total of 6 studies were identified, with 1,766 cases and 2,073 controls. No significant association was found overall between the rs11615 (C>T) polymorphism and gynecological tumor susceptibility in any genetic model. In further analysis stratified by cancer type, significantly elevated ovarian cancer risk was observed in the homozygote and recessive model comparison (TT vs CC: OR=1.69, 95% CI=1.03-2.77, heterogeneity=0.876; TT vs CT/CC: OR=1.72, 95% CI=1.07-2.77, heterogeneity=0.995). CONCLUSION: The results of the present meta-analysis suggest that there is no significant association between the rs11615 (C>T) polymorphism and gynecological tumor risk, but it had a increased risk in ovarian cancer.

Platelet volume indices have low diagnostic efficiency for predicting bone marrow failure in thrombocytopenic patients.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the predictive efficiency of mean platelet volume (MPV) and platelet size deviation width (PDW) for bone marrow failure (BMF) in thrombocytopenic patients. Platelet count, MPV and PDW data were retrieved from the records of 574 unselected thrombocytopenic patients from between March 2010 and March 2011, of which 182 patients with a platelet count <20×10(9)/l were excluded from further study. A total of 392 valid thrombocytopenic patients were included in the present study and divided into two groups: 124 patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP) and 268 with BMF. The predictive efficiency of MPV and PDW were tested for the diagnosis of BMF. Significant differences were observed in the age distribution, platelet count, MPV and PDW between the ITP and BMF groups. The platelet count was positively correlated with MPV and PDW in the patients with ITP but not BMF. The negative-predictive values of MPV and PDW for BMF were 59.3 and 58.9%, respectively, with an MPV threshold of ≥11.0 fl and a PDW threshold of <16.0%. The positive-predictive values of MPV and PDW for BMF were 88.4 and 83.9%, respectively, with an MPV threshold <8.0 fl and a PDW threshold ≥17.5%. The areas under the curves (AUCs) of MPV and PDW were 0.281 and 0.700, respectively, for the diagnosis of BMF. The negative and positive-predictive values of MPV for BMF at different thresholds were not as conclusive as described in previous studies. MPV and PDW do not have sufficient specificity and sensitivity for the diagnosis of BMF in thrombocytopenic patients.

Determination of ketotifen fumarate by capillary electrophoresis with tris(2,2'-bipyridyl) ruthenium(II) electrochemiluminescence detection.

On the basis of an europium (III)-doped Prussian blue analog film modifying platinum electrode as the working electrode, a Ru(bpy)3²âº-based electrochemiluminescence (ECL) assay coupled with capillary electrophoresis has been first established for the determination of ketotifen fumarate (KTF). Analytes were injected onto a separation capillary of 50 cm length (50 µm i.d., 360 µm o.d.) by electrokinetic injection for 10 s at 10 kV. Parameters related to the separation and detection were discussed and optimized. It was proved that 15 mM phosphate buffer at pH 8.0 could achieve the most favorable resolution, and the highest sensitivity of detection was obtained using the detection potential at 1.25 V and 5 mM Ru(bpy)3²âº in 100 mM phosphate buffer at pH 8.0 in the detection reservoir. Under the optimized conditions, the ECL intensity was in proportion to KTF concentration over the range from 3.0 × 10⁻8 to 5.0 × 10⁻6 g mL⁻¹ with a detection limit of 2.1 × 10⁻8 g mL⁻¹ (3σ). The relative standard deviations of the ECL intensity and the migration time were 0.95 and 0.26%, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to determine KTF contents in pharmaceuticals and human urine with recoveries between 99.5 and 107.0%.

Determination of sinomenine in Sinomenium acutum by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemiluminescence detection.

A Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)-based electrochemiluminescence (ECL) detection coupled with capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been established for the determination of sinomenine for the first time. Optimum separation was achieved with a fused-silica capillary column (50 cm x 25 microm i.d.) and a background electrolyte of 50 mM sodium phosphate (pH 5.0) at a separation voltage of 15 kV. The content of sinomenine was detected by ECL at the detection voltage of 1.15 V (versus Ag/AgCl) with 5 mM Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) in 75 mM phosphate solution (pH 8.0) when a chemically modified platinum electrode by europium(III)-doped prussian blue analogue (Eu-PB) was used as a working electrode. Under the optimized conditions, the ECL intensity was in proportion to sinomenine concentration in the range from 0.01 to 1.0 microg mL(-1) with a detection limit of 2.0 ng mL(-1) (3sigma). The relative standard derivations of migration time and ECL intensity were 0.93 and 1.11%, respectively. The level of sinomenine in Sinomenium acutum Rehd. et Wils was easily determined with recoveries between 98.6 and 102.7%.

[Selective determination for calf thymus DNA by a resonance light scattering technique with morin-Ce(IV) system].

The interaction of DNA and the binary complex formed between Ce(IV) and morin was studied. With the maximum scattering peak located at 320 nm, the enhanced RLS was proportional to the concentration of ctDNA in the range 0-25 microg x mL(-1) and the detection limit (3sigma) of 0.3 microg x mL(-1) was obtained. Under the optimized conditions, four synthetic samples were determined with recoveries in the range 93.7%-108.4%. The proposed method is particularly attractive for its high selectivity for ctDNA in the presence of hsDNA by using certain sensitive spectrofluorometer since the intensity of RLS for hsDNA is far weaker than that for ctDNA.