Efficacy of acellular fish skin graft in the management of chronic ulcer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The wounds failing to heal through a timely and orderly standard of care (SOC) treatment are considered as chronic wounds, which add significant burden to healthcare systems around the world. SOC treatment has been commonly applied for management of chronic wounds, but SOC alone may not be adequate to heal all ulcers effectively. Fish skin graft (FSG) is a xenogenic skin substitute which could be used for accelerating skin healing. The current study was performed with the view of evaluating the effectiveness of FSG as an adjuvant treatment of SOC for chronic ulcer treatment. METHODS: Two authors independently searched the following electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, and CENTRAL, using keywords including "diabetic foot ulcer," "fish skin graft," and "wound healing." Clinical studies that evaluated the clinical outcomes of FSG in treatment of chronic ulcers were included in this meta-analysis. Random- or fixed-effect modeled meta-analyses were performed according to the heterogeneity test result (i.e., I2), to analyze the clinical outcome of FSG. RESULTS: A total of 8 studies were included in qualitative synthesis and meta-analysis, with 145 patients treated by SOC and 245 patients treated by SOC plus FSG. There was no significant difference between two groups for time to healing (MD = 1.99, 95% CI: -3.70~7.67, p = 0.493). The complete healing rate was significantly higher in FSG group compared with SOC alone (OR = 3.44, 95% CI: 2.03~5.82, p < 0.001***). Mean percentage area reduction (PAR) was reported in six studies, with a range of 71.6~97.3%. However, many of these studies did not report the value of standard deviation (SD), so we could not pool the data. No significantly different ulcer recurrence rate (RR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.07~5.27, p = 0.645) and severe adverse events (SAEs) risk (RR = 1.67, 95% CI: 0.42~6.61, p = 0.467) were found between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The application of FSG treatment for patients with chronic ulcers that do not respond well to SOC management could significantly increase the complete healing rate compared with SOC alone, without increased recurrence rate and SAEs risk.

Association between serum PCSK9 and coronary heart disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is considered a new biomarker for atherosclerosis, but its ability to predict cardiovascular outcomes has been controversial. This study aimed to address the lack of data on PCSK9, coronary heart disease (CHD) severity, and major cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: A total of 2984 T2DM patients underwent selective coronary angiography, and their serum PCSK9 levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Correlation and logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the association between PCSK9 expression and CHD severity. This study used Cox regression analysis to assess the association between circulating PCSK9 levels and the risk of MACEs. RESULTS: Circulating PCSK9 levels were significantly higher in the CHD group than in the non-CHD group [554.62 (265.11) ng/mL vs. 496.86 (129.05) ng/mL, p < 0.001]. Circulating PCSK9 levels positively correlated with CHD severity (diseased vessels: r = 0.35, p < 0.001; Gensini score: r = 0.46, p < 0.001). Elevated PCSK9 levels are an independent risk factor for CHD risk and severity (CHD group vs. non-CHD group: OR = 2.829, 95% CI: 1.771-4.520, p < 0.001; three vessel disease group vs. one vessel disease group: OR = 4.800, 95% CI: 2.387-9.652, p < 0.001; high GS group vs. low GS group: OR = 5.534, 95% CI: 2.733-11.208, p < 0.001). Through a six-year follow-up and multivariate Cox regression analysis, elevated circulating PCSK9 levels were found to be independently associated with MACEs in all participants (HR: 3.416, 5% CI: 2.485-4.697, p < 0.001; adjusted HR: 2.780, 95% CI: 1.930-4.004, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Serum PCSK9 levels were positively correlated with multi-vessel CHD and Gensini score. Elevated circulating PCSK9 levels are an independent risk factor for CHD and increased incidence of MACEs in T2DM.

A novel prescribed performance controller for strict-feedback nonlinear systems with input constraints.

This paper is devoted to the prescribed performance control (PPC) for a class of strict-feedback nonlinear systems with input saturation constraints. With the help of an improved tuning function, the system can achieve the desired steady-state and transient performance in the pre-designed time. A new error transformation function is introduced, which has inherent robustness, so it does not need to use any approximation technique or calculate the analytical derivative. Compared with the relevant results, the proposed scheme has the same lower complexity, but better transient and steady-state performance, although there exists uncertain nonlinearity and uncertain disturbances in the system. Finally, the correctness of the above algorithm is verified by simulation experiments.

Meta-Analysis of Preventive and Therapeutic Effects of Ligustrazine on Airway Remodeling in Asthmatic Rats.

Objective: To assess the effect of ligustrazine on airway remodeling in asthmatic rats. Methods: To collect studies on the effects of ligustrazine on airway remodeling in asthmatic rat models, PubMed, Embase, CBM, Cochrane, Chinese Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP, and Wanfang data (WANFANG) were searched using a computer. Two investigators independently screened the literature, extracted the data, and assessed the methodological quality by complying with the inclusion criteria. Moreover, a meta-analysis was conducted by adopting Stata 11.0. Results: On the whole, 10 articles were included. As indicated from the meta-analysis, we have the following: ① ligustrazine was capable of reducing the thickness of the airway smooth muscle and inhibiting the proliferation of smooth muscle (WMD = -5.98, 95% CI (-7.75, -4.42), P ≤ 0.001); ② ligustrazine could reduce the thickness of the airway wall and mitigate tracheal stenosis (WMD = 0.12, 95% CI (0.05, 0.20), P ≤ 0.001); ③ ligustrazine could decrease the number of eosinophils in the lung tissue and reduce airway inflammation (WMD = -14.47, 95% CI (-18.09, -10.86), P ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: Ligustrazine was demonstrated to be an effective therapeutic drug in asthmatic rats by preventing and treating airway remodeling. Further high-quality experimental studies should be conducted to investigate the mechanism of ligustrazine action in depth.

[Metabolomic changes of neonatal sepsis: an exploratory clinical study]. / æ–°ç”Ÿå„¿è´¥è¡€ç—‡çš„ä»£è°¢ç»„å­¦æ”¹å˜ï¼šä¸€é¡¹æŽ¢ç´¢æ€§ä¸´åºŠç ”ç©¶.

OBJECTIVES: To study the metabolic mechanism of neonatal sepsis at different stages by analyzing the metabolic pathways involving the serum metabolites with significant differences in neonates with sepsis at different time points after admission. METHODS: A total of 20 neonates with sepsis who were hospitalized in the Department of Neonatology, Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, from January 1, 2019 to January 1, 2020 were enrolled as the sepsis group. Venous blood samples were collected on days 1, 4, and 7 after admission. Ten healthy neonates who underwent physical examination during the same period were enrolled as the control group. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry was used for the metabonomic analysis of serum samples to investigate the change in metabolomics in neonates with sepsis at different time points. RESULTS: On day 1 after admission, the differentially expressed serum metabolites between the sepsis and control groups were mainly involved in the biosynthesis of terpenoid skeleton. For the sepsis group, the differentially expressed serum metabolites between days 1 and 4 after admission were mainly involved in pyruvate metabolism, and those between days 4 and 7 after admission were mainly involved in the metabolism of cysteine and methionine. The differentially expressed serum metabolites between days 1 and 7 after admission were mainly involved in ascorbic acid metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: The metabolic mechanism of serum metabolites varies at different stages in neonates with sepsis and is mainly associated with terpenoid skeleton biosynthesis, pyruvate metabolism, cysteine/methionine metabolism, and ascorbic acid metabolism.

Elevated lipoprotein(a) and genetic polymorphisms in the LPA gene may predict cardiovascular events.

Elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] is a risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD), but there are few studies on the prediction of future cardiovascular events by Lp(a) and its LPA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The aim of this study was to investigate whether elevated Lp(a) and its SNPs can predict cardiovascular events. We evaluated whether Lp(a) and LPA SNPs rs6415084 and rs12194138 were associated with the incidence rate and severity of CHD. All participants were followed up for 5 years. Elevated Lp(a) is an independent risk factor for the risk and severity of CHD (CHD group vs. control group: OR = 1.793, 95% CI: 1.053-2.882, p = 0.043; multiple-vessel disease group vs. single-vessel disease group: OR = 1.941, 95% CI: 1.113-3.242, p = 0.027; high GS group vs. low GS group: OR = 2.641, 95% CI: 1.102-7.436, p = 0.040). Both LPA SNPs were risk factors for CHD, and were positively associated with the severity of CHD (LPA SNPs rs6415084: CHD group vs. control group: OR = 1.577, 95% CI: 1.105-1.989, p = 0.004; multiple-vessel disease group vs. single-vessel disease group: OR = 1.613, 95% CI: 1.076-2.641, p = 0.030; high GS group vs. low GS group: OR = 1.580, 95% CI: 1.088-2.429, p = 0.024; LPA SNPs rs12194138: CHD group vs. control group: OR = 1.475, 95% CI: 1.040-3.002, p = 0.035; multiple-vessel disease group vs. single-vessel disease group: OR = 2.274, 95% CI: 1.060-5.148, p = 0.038; high GS group vs. low GS group: OR = 2.067, 95% CI: 1.101-4.647, p = 0.021). After 5 years of follow-up, elevated Lp(a) and LPA SNPs rs6415084 and rs12194138 can independently predict cardiovascular events. The increase of serum Lp(a) and LPA SNPs rs6415084 and rs12194138 are associated with increased prevalence and severity of CHD, and can independently predict cardiovascular events.

Hepatic Resection Versus Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Plus Transhepatic Arterial Chemoembolization for Large Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Propensity Score Analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There are no comparative studies on the efficacy of hepatic resection (HR) and CyberKnife stereotactic body radiation therapy (CK-SBRT) plus transhepatic arterial chemotherapy embolization (TACE) in the treatment of large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, this study aimed to compare the efficacy of HR and CK-SBRT+TACE in large HCC. METHODS: A total of one hundred and sixteen patients were selected from November 2011 to December 2016. Among them, 50 were allocated to the CK-SBRT+TACE group and 66 were allocated to the HR group. The Kaplan-Meier method was applied to calculate overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates. Propensity score matching was performed to control for baseline differences between the groups. RESULTS: Thirty-six paired patients were selected from the CK-SBRT+TACE and HR groups. After propensity score matching, the 1-, 2- and 3-year OS rates were 83.3%, 77.8% and 66.7% in the HR group and 80.6%, 72.2% and 52.8% in the CK-SBRT+TACE group, respectively. The 1-, 2- and 3-year PFS rates were 71.6%, 57.3% and 42.3% in the HR group and 66.1%, 45.8% and 39.3% in the CK-SBRT+TACE group, respectively (OS: p=0.143; PFS: p=0.445). Both a high platelet count and low alpha-fetoprotein value were revealed as influencing factors in improving OS and PFS. CONCLUSIONS: CK-SBRT+TACE brought local effects that were similar to those of HR in HCC patients with a large and single lesion. Moreover, the liver injury occurrence rate was acceptable in both groups.

Disease-induced changes in plant microbiome assembly and functional adaptation.

BACKGROUND: The plant microbiome is an integral part of the host and increasingly recognized as playing fundamental roles in plant growth and health. Increasing evidence indicates that plant rhizosphere recruits beneficial microbes to the plant to suppress soil-borne pathogens. However, the ecological processes that govern plant microbiome assembly and functions in the below- and aboveground compartments under pathogen invasion are not fully understood. Here, we studied the bacterial and fungal communities associated with 12 compartments (e.g., soils, roots, stems, and fruits) of chili pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) using amplicons (16S and ITS) and metagenomics approaches at the main pepper production sites in China and investigated how Fusarium wilt disease (FWD) affects the assembly, co-occurrence patterns, and ecological functions of plant-associated microbiomes. RESULTS: The amplicon data analyses revealed that FWD affected less on the microbiome of pepper reproductive organs (fruit) than vegetative organs (root and stem), with the strongest impact on the upper stem epidermis. Fungal intra-kingdom networks were less stable and their communities were more sensitive to FWD than the bacterial communities. The analysis of microbial interkingdom network further indicated that FWD destabilized the network and induced the ecological importance of fungal taxa. Although the diseased plants were more susceptible to colonization by other pathogenic fungi, their below- and aboveground compartments can also recruit potential beneficial bacteria. Some of the beneficial bacterial taxa enriched in the diseased plants were also identified as core taxa for plant microbiomes and hub taxa in networks. On the other hand, metagenomic analysis revealed significant enrichment of several functional genes involved in detoxification, biofilm formation, and plant-microbiome signaling pathways (i.e., chemotaxis) in the diseased plants. CONCLUSIONS: Together, we demonstrate that a diseased plant could recruit beneficial bacteria and mitigate the changes in reproductive organ microbiome to facilitate host or its offspring survival. The host plants may attract the beneficial microbes through the modulation of plant-microbiome signaling pathways. These findings significantly advance our understanding on plant-microbiome interactions and could provide fundamental and important data for harnessing the plant microbiome in sustainable agriculture. Video abstract.

Elevated Serum Small Dense Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol May Increase the Risk and Severity of Coronary Heart Disease and Predict Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a common and severe complication in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. Increased amount of circulatory small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sdLDL-C) particles is known to be a sign of dyslipidemia and can result in atherosclerosis. However, the association between serum sdLDL-C levels and CHD in T2DM patients remains unclear. METHODS: A total of 3684 T2DM patients who received selective coronary angiography (CAG) were selected. For analyzing the association between sdLDL-C and CHD severity in T2DM, the patients with CHD were further divided into four subgroups according to the quartiles of sdLDL-C. A multivariate logistic regression was used for analyzing the risks and severity of CHD. A total of 3427 patients with continuous stable CHD were recruited and followed up for 5 years. RESULTS: Serum sdLDL-C levels in the CHD group were significantly increased compared with those in the non-CHD group [0.80 (0.49) mmol/L vs. 0.70 (0.30) mmol/L, p < 0.001]. The results from CHD subgroup analysis indicated that the sdLDL-C levels in patients with multiple-vessel disease and high Gensini score (GS) were significantly increased. By adjusting the confounding factors and analyzing with multiple logistic regression, we found that sdLDL-C independently correlated with the presence and severity of CHD (CHD: OR = 2.257; multiple-vessel disease: OR = 3.288; high GS: OR = 2.554). A total of 484 major cardiovascular events (MACEs) were documented. After Kaplan-Meier analysis and chi-squared analysis, the incidence of MACEs in the high sdLDL-C group was higher than that in the low sdLDL-C group (16.04% vs. 12.25%, p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: In T2DM patients, elevated serum sdLDL-C may increase the severity of CHD and predict cardiovascular events in the future. Therefore, serum sdLDL-C may be a potential biomarker for the surveillance of CHD in T2DM patients.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy versus hepatic resection for hepatocellular carcinoma (≤ 5 cm): a propensity score analysis.

BACKGROUND: CyberKnife stereotactic body radiation therapy (CK-SBRT) has been applied to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients for several years. The study aim was to compare the efficacy of hepatic resection (HR) and CK-SBRT in naive small hepatocellular carcinoma (sHCC) patients with hepatitis virus-related cirrhosis using a 5-year follow-up study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included 317 naive sHCC patients (246 men and 71 women) with hepatitis B or C virus cirrhosis who were treated with HR (n = 195) or CK-SBRT (n = 122) from November 2011 to December 2015. Cumulative overall survival (OS) rates and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: After the propensity score-matched analysis, 104 patients were selected from each group for further analysis. The 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 96.2%, 89.4%, 85.5% and 70.7% in the HR group and 93.3%, 89.4%, 83.7% and 71.0% in the CK-SBRT group, respectively. The 1-, 2-, 3-, and 5-year PFS rates were 78.8%, 64.3%, 56.4% and 47.3% in the HR group and 84.5%, 67.8%, 58.9% and 49.0% in the CK-SBRT group, respectively. No significant difference was found between the two groups in the OS and PFS rates (OS, p = 0.673; PFS, p = 0.350). No death occurred due to the toxicity or complications of HR or CK-SBRT. CONCLUSION: CK-SBRT could be an effective alternative to HR for sHCC naive patients with hepatitis-related cirrhosis, especially if patients have higher CP scores and lower PLT counts. PLT counts should be factored into survival evaluation of HCC treatment.

[Dyspnea and ventilator dependence after birth in a full-term female infant].

A female infant, aged 43 days, had shortness of breath, cyanosis, groan, and dyspnea since birth. Physical examination showed cyanosis of lips and three-concave sign, and multiple lung imaging examinations showed diffuse ground-glass opacities in both lungs. The girl was given anti-infective therapy and continuous mechanical ventilation but there were no significant improvements in symptoms. Gene testing confirmed a compound heterozygous mutation, c.1890C>A(p.Tyr630Ter)+c.3208G>A(p.Ala1070Thr), in the ABCA3 gene, with the former from her father and the latter from her mother. Pathological examination of the lungs indicated pulmonary interstitial disease. The girl was diagnosed with infantile diffuse pulmonary interstitial disease caused by mutations in the ABCA3 gene. When full-term neonates experience shortness of breath and dyspnea after birth, pulmonary imaging suggests diffuse ground-glass changes, and conventional treatment is not effective (ventilator-dependent), congenital pulmonary surfactant metabolism defects needs to be considered. Gene testing, which can provide a basis for early intervention, prognostic evaluation, and genetic counseling, should be performed as early as possible.

[Application of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging in bilirubin-induced neurological dysfunction in neonates].

OBJECTIVE: To study the value of fractional anisotropy (FA) of regions of interest (ROI) on magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in bilirubin-induced neurological dysfunction in neonates. METHODS: A total of 91 neonates with hyperbilirubinemia who were hospitalized from January 2017 to January 2018 were enrolled. According to the peak level of total serum bilirubin, they were divided into three groups: mild/moderate increase (n=45), severe increase (n=35), and extremely severe increase (n=11). According to the presence or absence of abnormal neurological manifestations, they were divided into two groups: neurological dysfunction (n=20) and non-neurological dysfunction (n=71). Ten healthy full-term infants were enrolled as the control group. Head DTI was performed for all neonates to measure the FA values of the bilateral globus pallidus, the anterior limb of the internal capsule, the posterior limb of the internal capsule, and the cerebellar dentate nucleus. RESULTS: The extremely severe increase group had significantly lower FA values of the globus pallidus than the control, mild/moderate increase, and severe increase groups (P<0.05). The severe increase group had significantly lower FA values of the globus pallidus than the control group (P<0.05). The extremely severe increase group had significantly lower FA values of the posterior limb of the internal capsule than the control, mild/moderate increase, and severe increase groups (P<0.05). The neurological dysfunction group had significantly lower FA values of the globus pallidus and the posterior limb of the internal capsule than the non-neurological dysfunction group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Serum bilirubin level combined with the changes in the DTI FA values of the globus pallidus and the posterior limb of the internal capsule can be used to predict the injury of cerebral nuclei and white matter fibers.

[A multicenter survey of antibiotic use in very and extremely low birth weight infants in Hunan Province].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of antibiotic use for very and extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of Hunan Province. METHODS: The use of antibiotics was investigated in multiple level 3 NICUs of Hunan Province for VLBW and ELBW infants born between January, 2017 and December, 2017. RESULTS: The clinical data of 1 442 VLBW/ELBW infants were collected from 24 NICUs in 2017. The median antibiotic use duration was 17 days (range: 0-86 days), accounting for 53.0% of the total length of hospital stay. The highest duration of antibiotic use was up to 91.4% of the total length of hospital stay, with the lowest at 14.6%. In 16 out of 24 NICUs, the antibiotic use duration was accounted for more than 50.0% of the hospitalization days. There were 113 cases with positive bacterial culture grown in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, making the positive rate of overall bacterial culture as 7.84%. The positive rate of bacterial culture in different NICUs was significantly different from 0% to 14.9%. The common isolated bacterial pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae was 29 cases (25.7%); Escherichia coli 12 cases (10.6%); Staphylococcus aureus 3 cases (2.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation of cephalosporins, accounting for 41.00% of the total antibiotics, followed by penicillins, accounting for 32.10%, and followed by carbapenems, accounting for 13.15%. The proportion of antibiotic use time was negatively correlated with birth weight Z-score and the change in weight Z-score between birth and hospital discharge (rs=-0.095, -0.151 respectively, P<0.01), positively correlated with death/withdrawal of care (rs=0.196, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotics used for VLBW/ELBW infants in NICUs of Hunan Province are obviously prolonged in many NICUs. The proportion of routine use of third-generation of cephalosporins and carbapenems antibiotics is high among the NICUs.

[Twin girls infected with SARS-CoV-2].

This article reports the diagnosis and treatment of twin girls who were diagnosed with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in Hunan Province, China. The twin girls, aged 1 year and 2 months, were admitted on January 29, 2020 due to fever for one day and cough and sneezing for two days respectively. Both recovered after symptomatic treatment. The two girls had mild symptoms and rapid recovery, suggesting that children with SARS-CoV-2 infection may be mild and have a good prognosis. There were differences in the clinical symptoms and imaging findings between the twin girls, suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infection has diverse clinical features in children.

Differences of TNF-α, IL-6 and Gal-3 in lobar pneumonia and bronchial pneumonia caused by mycoplasma pneumoniae.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differences of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and galectin-3 concentrations in lobar pneumonia and bronchopneumonia induced by mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) in children and to explore these related factors predicting the severity of MP. METHODS: A total of 148 children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) and 32 healthy controls were analyzed from March 2017 to August 2018 in our province. Clinical information was collected from the hospitalized MP patients. The 148 patients with MPP were divided into two groups: lobar pneumonia group and bronchial pneumonia group. The 32 healthy children were considered the control group. The concentrations of TNF-α, IL-6 and Gal-3 were examined in the serum of 148 children patients with MPP and 32 healthy children by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The TNF-α, IL-6 and Gal-3 levels were obviously higher in both the lobar pneumonia and bronchial pneumonia groups, compared to those in the control group. Furthermore, these levels were significantly higher in the lobar pneumonia group, compared to the bronchial pneumonia group. After treatment, the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and Gal-3 totally descended during the recovery period. CONCLUSION: There are differences in serum TNF-α, IL-6 and Gal-3 concentrations in lobar pneumonia and bronchial pneumonia caused by MP in children. In general, the TNF-α, IL-6 and Gal-3 levels were significantly higher in the lobar pneumonia group, when compared to the bronchial pneumonia group. This was because most lobar pneumonia cases are much more serious than bronchial pneumonia. Moreover, it has been proven that TNF-α, IL-6 and Gal-3 may play an important role in the pathogenesis development of MPP. At the same time, these are important issues in diagnosing MPP.

The detection of bacterial infections in leukemia patients using procalcitionin levels.

Bacteremic infections are the most common complications in patients with leukemia. This study aimed to assess the value of procalctionin levels in the detection of bacterial infections in leukemia patients. Blood samples of in-patients with leukemia were collected. Statistical analysis was performed to assess the correlation between the procalcitionin level on the day of the first positive blood culture and bacteremic infection. Infected patients had significantly higher procalctionin levels than uninfected patients (p < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed a high level of accuracy regarding the discrimination of bacterarmic infection (area under the curve, 0.883) and Gram-negative bateremia (area under the curve, 0.779). Procalctionin levels may help in the identification of bacterial infections in leukemia patients. Further multicentre studies are needed to verify our data regarding the use of procalctionin to distinguish between Gram-positive and Gram-negative infections.

MUC1 gene silencing inhibits proliferation, invasion, and migration while promoting apoptosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of RNA interference in the inhibition of MUC1 gene expression in occurrence and metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and its in-depth mechanisms. The OSCC and normal oral mucosa tissues, as well as normal oral epithelial cell line HOK and OSCC cell line SCC-4, Cal-27, TSCCA, Tca8113 were obtained to detect the expression of MUC1. Slug expression in OSCC and normal oral mucosa tissues was also determined. The OSCC cells were grouped to investigate the role of MUC1 gene silencing on proliferation, DNA replication, cell cycle distribution, apoptosis, colony formation ability, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion, and migration of OSCC cells. We first found higher positive rate of MUC1 and Slug expression in OSCC tissues. Next, it was determined that higher expression of MUC1 was found in OSCC tissues and cells. Furthermore, silencing of MUC1 declined Slug expression, inhibited the proliferation, DNA replication, cell cycle progression, and EMT while inducing apoptosis of OSCC cells. Our study suggests that overexpression of MUC1 is found in OSCC, and MUC1 gene silencing could inhibit the proliferation, invasion, and migration while inducing apoptosis of OSCC cells.

[Current status and perspective on research against Fusarium head blight in wheat].

Wheat is one of the most important food crops in China and worldwide. Wheat production is facing the stresses of different diseases including Fusarium head blight (FHB) which is more and more serious recently and leading to highly concerns. Unremitting efforts have been made on Fusarium head blight resistance breeding and comprehensive control technology development. Rapid progress has been achieved on discovering of resistant genetic resources, mapping of resistant QTL/genes, resistant QTL/genes cloning, gene functional research and molecular breeding. In this review, we summarize the current status of the research against FHB in wheat and discuss the issues of FHB resistance investigation to date. We also suggest emphasizing on gene cloning, developing more powerful functional markers, using haplotype-assisted selection (HAS) and marker-set-assisted selection (MSAS) for further deep FHB resistance study and breeding.

Efficacy of combined orthodontic-periodontic treatment for patients with periodontitis and its effect on inflammatory cytokines: A comparative study.

INTRODUCTION: In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of combined orthodontic-periodontic treatment in the treatment of patients with periodontitis and its effects on the levels of inflammatory cytokines. METHODS: A total of 117 patients with periodontitis were randomly assigned to the basic group (receiving basic periodontic treatment, n = 58) and the combined group (receiving combined orthodontic-periodontic treatment, n = 59). In addition, 52 healthy people without periodontal disease were selected as the normal group. Probing depth, tooth mobility, plaque index, clinical attachment level, and sulcus bleeding index were recorded. ELISA was applied to detect gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and serum levels of inflammatory cytokines. A 2-year clinical follow-up was conducted. RESULTS: Before treatment, the periodontal parameters (probing depth, tooth mobility, plaque index, clinical attachement level, and sulcus bleeding index) and GCF and serum levels of inflammatory cytokines (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-1ß, interleukin-5, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, tumor necrosis factor-α, and prostaglandin E2) in the combined and basic groups were higher than those in the normal group. After 6 and 18 months of treatment, the periodontal parameters and GCF and serum levels of inflammatory cytokines decreased in the combined and basic groups. The periodontal parameters and the GCF and serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in the combined group were significantly lower than those in the basic group after 18 months of treatment. The combined group had a lower recurrence rate compared with the basic group. CONCLUSIONS: Combined orthodontic-periodontic treatment had good clinical efficacy in the treatment of periodontitis and could effectively decrease the levels of inflammatory cytokines.

Serum anti-PLA2R antibody and glomerular PLA2R deposition in Chinese patients with membranous nephropathy: A cross-sectional study.

M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) is the major target antigen in primary membranous nephropathy (PMN). Previous studies have evaluated the diagnostic value of serum anti-PLA2R antibody. However, the correlation of serum anti-PLA2R antibody and glomerular PLA2R deposition, and their association with clinical characteristics need to be further evaluated.A total of 136 patients were involved as inception group because serum anti-PLA2R antibody and glomerular PLA2R antigen were simultaneously measured. We examined serum anti-PLA2R antibody by ELISA and glomerular PLA2R deposition by immunofluorescence assay.Positive serum anti-PLA2R antibody and glomerular PLA2R deposition were seen in 58.8% (80/136) and 95.6% (130/136) patients, respectively (P < .001). Proteinuria, serum total protein, serum albumin, serum creatinine, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) had significant differences between patients with serum anti-PLA2R antibody and those without. Serum anti-PLA2R antibody levels were correlated with serum albumin, serum creatinine, eGFR, and proteinuria. Glomerular PLA2R deposition intensities were weakly correlated with proteinuria. Unexpectedly, there was a positive correlation rather than a negative correlation between glomerular PLA2R deposition intensity and eGFR.In conclusion, serum anti-PLA2R antibody is more closely correlated with disease activity and renal function than glomerular PLA2R deposition.