Thoracic spine infection caused by Pseudomonas fluorescens: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: The clinical incidence of spinal infection is gradually increasing, and its onset is insidious, easily leading to missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis, which may lead to serious complications such as nervous system dysfunction, spinal instability and/or deformity, and cause a huge burden on society and families. Early identification of the causative agent and precision medicine will greatly reduce the suffering of patients. At present, the main pathogenic bacteria that cause spinal infection are Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus, Pneumococcus, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella. There are no reports of spinal infection caused by Pseudomonas fluorescens. CASE SUMMARY: We report a 32-year-old female patient with spinal infection. She presented with flank pain, initially thought to be bone metastases or bone tuberculosis, and had a family background of tumors. Her clinical features and changes in imaging and laboratory tests led to the suspicion of thoracic spine infection. Histopathology of the lesion showed inflammation, tissue culture of the lesion was negative several times, and the possible pathogen - Pseudomonas fluorescens was found after gene sequencing of the lesion. The patient recovered completely after a full course of antibiotic treatment. CONCLUSION: This report increases the range of pathogens involved in spinal infections, highlights the unique advantages of gene sequencing technology in difficult-to-diagnose diseases, and validates conservative treatment with a full course of antibiotics for spinal infections without complications.

[Adsorption Characteristics and Mechanism of Ammonia Nitrogen in Water by Nano Zero-valent Iron-modified Biochar].

The adsorption performances of ammonia nitrogen (NH+4-N) in water by unmodified biochar are ineffective. In this study, nano zero-valent iron-modified biochar (nZVI@BC) was prepared to remove NH+4-N from water. The NH+4-N adsorption characteristics of nZVI@BC were investigated through adsorption batch experiments. The composition and structure characteristics of nZVI@BC were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, energy spectrum analysis, BET-N2 surface area (SSA), X-ray diffraction, and FTIR spectra to explore the main adsorption mechanism of NH+4-N by nZVI@BC. The results showed that the composite synthesized at the iron to biochar mass ratio of 1:30 (nZVI@BC1/30) performed well in NH+4-N adsorption at 298 K. The maximum adsorption amount of nZVI@BC1/30 at 298 K was remarkably increased by 45.96% and reached 16.60 mg·g-1. The pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir model fitted well with the adsorption process of NH+4-N by nZVI@BC1/30. There was competitive adsorption between coexisting cations and NH+4-N, and the sequence of coexisting cations to the adsorption of NH+4-N by nZVI@BC1/30 was Ca2+> Mg2+> K+> Na+. The adsorption mechanism of NH+4-N by nZVI@BC1/30 could be mainly attributed to ion exchange and hydrogen bonding. In conclusion, nano zero-valent iron-modified biochar can improve the adsorption performance of NH+4-N and enhance the application potential of biochar in the field of nitrogen removal from water.

[Research progress in mechanism of berberine's antitumor action].

Malignant tumor, an important factor threatening human life and health, brings huge economic burden to patients. At present, chemoradiotherapy is still the main treatment method for tumor diseases, but there are also great side effects when it plays a therapeutic role. Traditional Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of tumor diseases has many advantages such as few side effects, improving the physiological state of patients, and slowing down the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Berberine is an effective component of rhizoma coptidis, with a very good antitumor effect. It can inhibit tumor cell proliferation, promote tumor cell apoptosis, inhibit tumor metastasis and angiogenesis, regulate tumor autophagy, reverse multi-drug resistance of tumor, regulate the body immunity, and affect tumor metabolic reprogramming to play its role. Compared with chemical preparations, berberine has a wide range of sources, with high safety and easy access, and has great potential in the prevention and treatment of malignant tumors. In this article, we would mainly review the research progress on the antitumor mechanism of berberine in recent years.

Knowledge and attitudes regarding cancer pain management among oncology nurses in China.

OBJECTIVE: There are limited studies examining knowledge and attitudes among Chinese oncology nurses regarding cancer pain management. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among oncology nurses from 26 hospitals in China. The nurses completed the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain (KASRP) questionnaire. Multivariate models were used to identify factors associated with nurses' KASRP score. RESULTS: A total of 982 nurses completed the KASRP (mean score = 21.56 ± 4.00), and 8 (0.81%) nurses had a passing score. The results of multivariate regression indicated that clinical rank and experience in cancer pain management were associated with good knowledge and attitudes regarding cancer pain management. CONCLUSION: The Chinese nurses in our study did not have adequate knowledge of or positive attitudes related to cancer pain management. Clinical rank and experience caring for patients with cancer could be used to help identify nurses with inadequate knowledge and attitudes regarding treating cancer pain.

Neural Correlate Differences in Number Sense Between Children With Low and Middle/High Socioeconomic Status.

Although some cognitive studies provided reasons that children with low socioeconomic status (SES) showed poor mathematical achievements, there was no explicit evidence to directly explain the root of lagged performance in children with low SES. Therefore, the present study explored the differences in neural correlates in the process of symbolic magnitude comparison between children with different SESs by the event-related potentials (ERPs). A total of 16 second-graders from low-SES families and 16 from middle/high-SES families participated in this study. According to the results of anterior N1 (early attention) and P2 (extraction of numerical meaning) over the frontal region, the differences among children with different SESs were manifested as differences in general neural activities in terms of attention and top-down cognitive control. In the late stage of cognitive processing, there was no significant difference in the average amplitude of the late positive component (LPC) between children with different SES, indicating that low SES did not influence the information encoding and memory updating of numerical representation, which was responsible by the parietal lobe. The educational implications of this study are mentioned in the discussion.

Perineural invasion as an independent predictor of biochemical recurrence in prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although numerous studies have shown that perineural invasion (PNI) is linked to prostate cancer (PCa) risk, the results have been inconsistent. This study aimed to explore the association between PNI and biochemical recurrence (BCR) in patients with PCa following radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy (RT). METHODS: According to the PRISMA statement, we searched the PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wan Fang databases from inception to May 2017. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were extracted from eligible studies. Fixed or random effects model were used to calculate pooled HRs and 95% CIs according to heterogeneity. Publication bias was calculated by Begg's test. RESULTS: Ultimately, 19 cohort studies that met the eligibility criteria and that involved 13,412 patients (82-2,316 per study) were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that PNI was associated with higher BCR rates in patients with PCa after RP (HR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.11, 1.36, p<0.001) or RT (HR=1.22, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.34, p<0.001). No potential publication bias was found among the included studies in the RP group (p-Begg = 0.124) or the RT group (p-Begg = 0.081). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the presence of PNI by histopathology is associated with higher risk of BCR in PCa following RP or RT, and could serve as an independent prognostic factor in patients with PCa.

[Effect of Acupotomy Lysis at Cervical Acupoints on Expression of Matrix Metalloproteinases and Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase 1 and Changes of Pulpiform Nucleus Ultrastructure in Rats with Degenerated Cervical Intervertebral Discs].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupotomy lysis at acupoints around the neck on expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP-1), MMP-2 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) genes and ultrastructure of pulpiform nucleus in cervical intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) rats, so as to explore its mechanism underlying easing IVDD. METHODS: SD rats were randomly allocated to control (n = 15), model (n = 14), Jiaji (EX-B 2, n = 13), cervico-acupoint (n = 14) and medication groups (n = 14). The cervical IVDD model was established by using static-dynamic imbalance method. For rats of the Jiaji (EX-B 2) and cervico-acupoint groups, EX-B 2-points of the cervical 2-7 segments, and peri-cervical acupoints: bilateral "Naokong" (GB 19) , "Naohu" (GV 17), "Dazhui" (GV 14), bilateral "Quyuan" (SI 13) and bilateral "Tianzong" (SI 11) were separately punctured with a needle-knife, once every 5 days for 3 times, and for rats of the medication group, Brufen Capsules (15 mg · kg(-1) · d(-1)) and Jingfukang Granule (0.5 mg · kg(-1) · d(-1)) were given by intragastric administration, once daily for 10 days. The expression levels of MMP-1, MMP-3 and TIMP-1 genes in the pulpiform nucleus of cervical intervertebral discs were detected by RT-PCR and changes of the ultrastructure of the pulpiform nucleus observed under transmission electron microscope. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the expression levels of MMP-1 mRNA and MMP-3 mRNA of the cervical intervertebral disc tissues were significantly up-regulated in the model group (P < 0.05), and that of TIMP-1 mRNA was obviously down-regulated in the model group (P < 0.05). After the treatment, the increased expression of MMP-1 mRNA and MMP-3 mRNA and the decreased expression of TIMP-1 mRNA were reversed by acupotomy lysis and medication (P < 0.05) except TIMP-1 mRNA in the medication group (P > 0.05). No significant differences were found between the Jiaji (EX-B 2) and cervico-acupoint groups in down-regulating MMP-1 mRNA and MMP-3 mRNA expression and up-regulating TIMP-1 mRNA expression (P > 0.05). Results of electron microscope examinations showed that the ultrastructural injury changes of cells of the pulpiform nucleus were relatively milder in the Jiaji (EX-B 2) and cervico-acupoint groups, followed by the medication group in comparison with those of the model group. CONCLUSION: Acupotomy lysis at acupoints around the neck can improve the ultrastructural changes of cells of the pulpiform nucleus of cervical intervertebral discs in IVDD rats, which is possibly by regulating the expression of MMP-1, MMP-3 and TIMP-1 genes.

[Effect of Acupotome Relaxing on Expression of Type I and II Collagens of Degenerative Cervical Inter- vertebral Discs in Rats].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupotome relaxing at cervical acupoints on type I and II collagens of degenerated cervical intervertebral discs in rats, so as to explore its potential mechanism underlying anti-degeneration of intervertebral discs. METHODS: Rats were randomly divided into control, model, Jiaji acupoints, cervical acupoints and medication groups (n = 15 in each group). The rat model of cervical intervertebral disc degeneration due to static-dynamic imbalance was made as previously specified. The Jiaji acupoints were those located along the cervical vertebra 2-7. The cervical acupoints included bilateral "Naokong"(GB 19) , "Naohu" (GV 17) , "Dazhui"(GV 14) , bilateral "Quyuan" (SI 13) and bilateral "Tianzong" (SI 11). Acupoints were treated according to the procedures of acupotome for 3 times in ten days with five days' break between every two treatment sessions. Rats of the medication group were intragastrically administered with Jing Fu Kang Granules and ibuprofen daily for ten days. Twenty days after the end of treatment, all rats were sacrificed for further examination of morphological changes of the intervertebral disc tissue. Immunoactivity of protein and mRNA expression levels of collagen type I and II of the intervertebral discs were measured by means of immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR, respectively. RESULTS: In comparison with the control group, the immunoactivity and mRNA expression levels of collagen type I and II of the intervertebral discs were significantly elevated or reduced in rats of the model group, respectively (P < 0.05). After acupotome intervention and medication, the increased and decreased expression levels of type I and II collagen proteins and genes were markedly reversed (P < 0.05). The effects of acupotome relaxing of both cervical and Jiaji acupoints were significantly superior to those of medication in down-regulating expression of type I collagen protein and mRNA, and in up-regulating that of type II collagen protein and mRNA (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found between the cervical acupoints and Jiaji acupoints groups in the above- mentioned outcomes (P > 0.05) . The degree of severity of the degenerated intervertebral discs was the worst in the model group, followed by the medication group, then the Jiaji acupoints group and cervical acupoints group, and the control group the least. CONCLUSION: Acupotome at neck acupoints can regulate the extracellular matrix of the intervertebral disc via inhibiting the transformation between type I and type II collagens, which may contribute to its effect in delaying the degenerative process of the cervical intervertebral discs.

[Construction and application of both adolescent multi-domain risk behavior questionnaire and risk perception questionnaire].

OBJECTIVE: According to the Domain Specific Theory (DST) in risk-taking, this study intended to construct adolescent risk-taking behavior questionnaire and risk perception questionnaire inferred many domains for studying the adolescent risk-taking behavior and risk perception. METHODS: With 422 middle school students in Yinchuan as subjects to develop the questionnaire. 2402 middle school students in Ningxia and Anhui were surveyed using the questionnaire. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) indicated that both of the questionnaires contain four domains named society, recreation, safe and moral, and 33 items, which could explain 41.25% and 45.5% of the total variance respectively. The split-half reliability were 0.848, 0.890 and the coefficient of internal consistency were 0.900 and 0.938. The fit indices of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were as follows: χ(2)/df = 8.36 and 6.73, RMSEA = 0.066 and 0.054, NFI = 0.97 and 0.97, CFI = 0.97 and 0.97 separately. Gender difference in adolescent risk-taking behavior and risk perception were noticed, with F (1, 2288) = 56.256, P < 0.001, F (1, 2288) = 10.766, P = 0.05. The adolescent risk-taking behaviors increased with age, F (2, 2288) = 140.067, P < 0.001, while the risk perception decreased with age, F (2, 2288) = 54.900, P < 0.001. Adolescent on the highest score was in the social risk, followed by recreation, morality and safety. CONCLUSION: Our results showed the newly developed scales were reliable and valid enough to be applicable to measure the adolescent risk-taking behavior and risk perception.

[The mechanism of carbofuran interacts with calf thymus DNA].

Carbofuran is an insecticide used on a variety of corps. Acute and chronic occupational exposure of humans to carbofuran has been observed to cause cholinesterase inhibition, but little is known about the interaction of carbofuran with DNA. Using the technique of UV spectrum and fluorescence quenching respectively, the interaction between carbofuran and ct DNA was studied. The UV spectrum showed that ct DNA can lead to the hypochromic effect and red shift of the UV spectrum of carbofuran. The quenching process was proved to be the single static quenching and quenching constant decreases with temperature increasing. The basis of this specificity is intercalation of insecticide between base pairs to produce ct DNA-carbofuran adducts. Furthermore, ethanol can produce Franck-condon effect on the ct DNA-carbofuran adducts. At different sodium chloride concentrations, quenching constant had no significant change, which appeared that there was little electrostatic interaction between ct DNA and carbofuran and it was intercalation.

[Effects of ultrasound induction on genomic DNA of housefly larvae].

The genomic DNA of housefly larvae was extracted after ultrasound induction, and the structure was analyzed by UV, fluorescence, IR and 1H NMR. The 3'-end of attacin gene was sequenced and compared by means of PCR. All the results indicated that ultrasound induction can destroy the second structure and the base stacking of genomic DNA of housefly larvae, which will result in mismatch repair during DNA duplication and finally change the sequence of DNA, but it has no significant effect on chemical groups and chemical band of genomic DNA.