Alterations in the nasopharyngeal microbiota associated with active and latent tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristic of nasopharyngeal microbiota at different states of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection. METHODS: Participants were recruited from a chest hospital and were divided into three groups: the active tuberculosis (ATB) group, the latent TB infection (LTBI) group and the healthy control (HC) group. Nasopharyngeal microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing and clinical laboratory test results of ATB patients were collected and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Eleven ATB patients, 19 LTBI individuals and 18 healthy controls were included. Compared with LTBI group, Proteobacteria (P=0.04) and Gammaproteobacteria (P=0.01) increased in the ATB group. Compared with HC group, Pseudomonadales (P=0.03) and Moraxellaceae (P=0.04) increased, while Bacillales (P=0.04) and Lachnospiraceae (P=0.03) decreased in ATB group. Furthermore, Staphylococcus and Corynebacterium accounted for 70-80% in HC and LTBI groups. While in ATB group, they were less than 40%. Moreover, relative abundance of Corynebacterium, Corynebacteriaceae and Mycobacteriales was positively correlated with serum adenosine deaminase while negatively correlated with albumin, hemoglobin, and platelet counts in ATB patients. CONCLUSIONS: The composition of nasopharyngeal microbiota changed significantly after MTB infection. The correlations between Corynebacterium and nutritional status (hemoglobin and albumin), immune-related molecules (adenosine deaminase) and inflammation-related indicators (platelet) in ATB patients deserve further exploration.

Quantifying Levator Ani Muscle Elasticity Under Normal and Prolapse Conditions by Shear Wave Elastography: A Preliminary Study.

OBJECTIVES: The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether elasticity quantification of the levator ani muscle (LAM) using shear wave elastography (SWE) is different between women with and without pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and to determine whether LAM elasticity is associated with the prolapse stage or the dimensions of the levator hiatus. The secondary aim was to evaluate the intraobserver and interobserver reliability of LAM elasticity measurements using SWE. METHODS: The study participants included 20 women with normal pelvic support and 38 women with prolapse (stages I-III). The levator hiatus was imaged by transperineal 3-dimensional ultrasound, and LAM elasticity and the elastic modulus were measured by SWE at rest and while performing the Valsalva maneuver. RESULTS: The elastic modulus increased significantly from rest to during to maximal Valsalva maneuver (29.2 versus 54.1 kPa; P < .05) in all women. Levator ani muscle elasticity was significantly higher under prolapse conditions than under normal conditions at rest (27.9 versus 31 kPa; P < .001) but was lower during the maximal Valsalva maneuver than under normal conditions (57.3 versus 53.1 kPa; P < .05). Levator ani muscle elasticity at rest was associated with the hiatus area during the Valsalva maneuver (Spearman r = 0.608; P < .001) and distensibility of the levator hiatus (r = 0.594; P < .001), and the hiatus area decreased as the LAM elastic modulus increased during the maximal Valsalva maneuver (r = -0.414; P < .05). Moreover, LAM elasticity was associated with the severity of prolapse (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: As a noninvasive quantitative method, SWE, may be used to assess the biomechanical properties of the pelvic floor muscle, providing some research basis for a thorough understanding of POP and its treatment and prevention.

The risk factors and prognosis of delayed perihematomal edema in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.

PURPOSE: We hypothesize delayed perihematomal edema (DHE) leads to secondary injury after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) with a poor prognosis. Hence, we need to investigate the risk factors of DHE and identify whether DHE will predict the poor outcome of sICH. METHODS: We retrospectively recruited 121 patients with sICH admitted to the Department of Neurology from January 2014 to August 2018. After dividing all these patients into DHE group and non-DHE group, we analyzed the potential risk factors and outcome of DHE using a multivariate logistic regression model. RESULTS: We conclude DHE after sICH associates with age, hospitalization time, hematoma shape, blood pressure upon admission, alcohol consumption, blood sodium level, and baseline hematoma volume within 24 hours after symptom onset, among which differences were statistically significant (P < .05). Logistic regression analysis finally identified that age (OR = 0.958, 95% CI = 0.923-0.995) and the baseline hematoma volume (OR = 1.161, 95% CI = 1.089-1.238) were the most significant risk factors for DHE, and moreover, the DHE (OR = 3.062, 95% CI = 1.196-7.839) was also a risk factor for poor prognosis in sICH patients. CONCLUSION: We suggest DHE is a clinical predictor of secondary injury following sICH and poor prognosis. In addition, age and baseline hematoma volume are considered significant high-risk factors for DHE in patients with sICH.

[Radiobiological effects of fast neutron/photon mixed irradiation on nasopharyngeal cancer cell line CNE-1].

OBJECTIVE: To study the radiobiological effects of fast neutron/photon mixed irradiation on human cancer cell in vitro and to discuss the mechanism in relation with cell cycle and apoptosis, thus to provide experimental support for the further application of fast neutron radiotherapy of cancer. METHODS: Exponentially growing human nasopharyngeal cancer cell line CNE-1 was irradiated in vitro with 35 MeV p-->Be fast neutron and 6 MV-X ray in grading doses (0 cGy, 40 cGy, 80 cGy, 120 cGy, 160 cGy, 240 cGy, 320 cGy and 400 cGy for neutron, and 0 cGy, 100 cGy, 200 cGy, 300 cGy, 400 cGy, 600 cGy, 800 cGy and 1000 cGy for X ray). Clonogenic assay was performed, and relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of fast neutron was determined with D(10) by means of cell survival curves. Isoeffective doses of 35 MeV p-->Be fast neutron and 6 MV-X ray were obtained according to the RBE. The cells were assigned into two irradiation regimens, (1) the one-week-fractionation regimen, which adopted the radiation pattern of X x 5, N x 2 and X-N-X-X-N. After irradiation the clonogenic assay was performed to compare their survival fractions; (2) the two-dose regimen, with the radiation pattern of X + N, N + X and X + X. Flow cytometry was done at different time points after irradiation to analyze cell cycle distribution and apoptosis. Fast neutron dose was delivered on Tuesday and Friday, and all the other irradiation intervals were 24 h. RESULTS: The RBE of fast neutron to X ray in CNE-1 cells according to the D(10) ratio was 2.40. The neutron isoeffective dose for a single dose of 200 cGy of 6 MV-X ray was approximately 80 cGy. In clonogenic assay, the cell survival fractions were significantly lower in X-N-X-X-N group (0.0079) than those in X x 5 (0.018) and N x 2 (0.017) groups. The flow cytometry suggested a higher percentage of apoptotic cells after mixed irradiation, and different sequence of X ray and neutron irradiations caused varying changes in cell cycle arrest. CONCLUSION: Mixed irradiation of fast neutron and X ray showed a synergic effect in vitro on CNE-1 cell killing. Cell cycle arrest and apoptosis may play some role in the radiation damage repair mechanisms of mixed beam irradiation.