Increased endogenous PKG I activity attenuates EGF-induced proliferation and migration of epithelial ovarian cancer via the MAPK/ERK pathway.

The type I cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG I) is recognized as a tumor suppressor, but its role in EGFR regulated epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) progression remains unclear. We evaluated the in vivo and in vitro effects of activated PKG I in EGF-induced EOC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. The expressions of EGFR and PKG I were elevated, but the activated PKG I was decreased in EOC tissues of patients and cells lines. The addition of 8-Br-cGMP, a specific PKG I activator, attenuated the EGF-induced EOC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro. Similarly, activated PKG I also attenuated EOC progression in vivo using an EOC xenograft nude mouse model. The activated PKG I interacted with EGFR, causing increased threonine (693) phosphorylation and decreased tyrosine (1068) phosphorylation of EGFR, which resulted in disrupted EGFR-SOS1-Grb2 combination. Subsequently, the cytoplasmic phosphorylation of downstream proteins (c-Raf, MEK1/2, and ERK1/2) were declined, impeding the phosphorylated ERK1/2's nucleus translocation, and this reduction of phosphorylated tyrosine (1068) EGFR and ERK1/2 were also abolished by Rp-8-Br-cGMPS. Our results suggest that the activation of PKG I attenuates EGF-induced EOC progression, and the 8-Br-cGMP-PKG I-EGFR/MEK/ERK axis might be a potential target for EOC therapy.

The value of preoperative MRI in predicting the pathological response of breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy / 实用放射学杂志

Objective To evaluate the performance of MRI in predicting pathological response of different breast cancer subtypes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy(NAC).Methods The MRI images and postoperative pathological results of 91 patients with breast cancer after NAC were analyzed retrospectively.The correlation between the imaging features of different molecular subtypes of breast cancer and postoperative pathological results was studied,and the diagnostic performance of MRI in predicting pathological response after NAC was evaluated,with postoperative pathological results referred as the diagnostic standard.Results Of 91 patients,27(29.7％)and 35(38.5％)cases were diagnosed as imaging complete response(iCR)and pathological complete response(pCR),respectively.The accuracy of MRI in predicting pathological response after NAC was 84.62％,with 94.64％sensitivity,68.57％specificity,and positive predictive value(PPV)and negative predictive value(NPV)of 82.81％and 88.89％,respectively.Conclusion MRI can accurately predict the pathological response of the human epidermal growth factor receptor-2(HER-2)+and triple-negative breast cancer after NAC.

First Report of Leaf Black Spot Caused by Alternaria alternata on Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) in China.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is an aromatic, evergreen, medicinally important shrub and widely used for cooking, tea, cosmetics as well as medicinal materials. It is grown in many countries including China that had more than 9300 hm2 of commercial cultivation area in 2021. In March 2020, a leaf spot disease sporadic occurred in field rosemarry plants in Nanyang City (32º51´ N, 111º36´ E), Henan Province, China. The disease outbreaked in September with a disease incidence of 57-83%. Symptoms initially appeared as small brown leaf spots that gradually expanded into dark blackbrown irregular lesions. Most of the spots started from the leaf tip or leaf margin, and gradually spread to the leaf base, resulting in heavy defoliation especially on rainy days. Diseased leaf segments (1×3 mm) were surface-sterilized by dipping in 1% sodium hypochlorite for 1 min, rinsed three times with sterile distilled water, and plated on potato dextrose agar, then incubated at 28°C in the dark for 5 days. Twelve fungal isolates with the same morphological characteristics were obtained from nine affected leaves. The fungal colonies were initially white and turned gray brown with flocculent aerial mycelia and a whorled back. Conidia were frequently born in a long chain, with a short beak, brown or light-brown, 13.2 to 48. 7 (average 26.1) × 4.0 to 13.1 (average 8.0) µm in size (n=148) with 0 to 8 transverse and 0 to 3 longitudinal/oblique septa. Phenotypic features of the isolates agreed with those of Alternaria alternata (Simmons et al. 2007). Two isolates Aa1 and Aa2 were randomly selected for molecular and pathogenicity tests. DNA was extracted from mycelia. Partial sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-α) were amplified using the primer pairs ITS1/ITS4 and EFI-728F/EFI-986R (Wei et al. 2022), respectively. The GenBank accession nos. were OK036714 and OK036715 for ITS, and ON951980 and ON951981 for TEF1-α of Aa1 and Aa2, respectively, with a maximal identity of greater than 99% to multiple A. alternata strains. In the neighbour joining phylogenetic tree of the amplified ITS and TEF1-α sequences both Aa1 and Aa2 clustered with A. alternata strains, clearly separating them from other Alternaria spp. For pathogenicity test, conidial suspensions (1×106 spores /mL) of Aa1 and Aa2 were separately sprayed on healthy one-year-old rosemary plants (n=3) with their leaves slightly wounded with a sterilized needle. Control plants (n=3) were sprayed with sterile water. Both inoculated and control plants were incubated at 90% RH, 28 °C. After 14 days, all the inoculated leaves showed black brown lesions similar to those on naturally affected field plants, whereas controls remained symptomless. Fungal cultures with the same phenotypic features as the inocula were constantly re-isolated from the infected leaves. A. alternata was reported as pathogen causing foliar necrosis on rosemary in Italy (Perello et al.1995) and leaf spot (or leaf blight) on multiple plant species such as Actaea dahurica (Hai et al. 2022), and Ligustrum japonicum (Wei et al. 2022) in China. This is the first report of A. alternata causing leaf black spot on rosemary in China.

The complete chloroplast genome of Verbascum thapsus L. (Scrophulariaceae) and its phylogenetic affinities.

Verbascum thapsus L. has extensive pharmacological effects, including antioxidative and antineoplastic action, memory improvement and neuroprotection. However, its phylogenetic position is not established in Scrophulariaceae. In this study, we reported the complete chloroplast genome sequence of V. thapsus L. for the first time and investigate its phylogenetic relationship in Scrophulariaceae. The assembled chloroplast genome is a circular 153,338 bp sequence, including a large single copy (LSC) region of 84,627 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 17,829 bp and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,441 bp. The genome contains 135 genes, including 86 protein coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. The phylogenetic tree showed that V. thapsus is closely associated with V. chinense and V. phoeniceum.

Advances of mechanism of mesenchymal stem cells in animal experiments with bronchial asthma / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Bronchial asthma is a common chronic airway inflammatory disease in children characterized by hyper-responsiveness, airway inflammation, and airway remodeling caused by immune responses.Currently, some limitations of glucocorticoid and allergen-specific immunotherapy restrict their application to asthma treatment.Based on the results of many animal experiments, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are validated to reduce airway inflammation, improve airway hyper-responsiveness, and reverse airway remodeling through immunomodulation.Therefore, it has great application prospects as an effective therapeutic strategy for children with asthma.To explore the value of MSCs in the treatment of asthma, its underlying mechanisms are reviewed in the present study.

Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Mitigating Radiotherapy Side Effects.

Radiation therapy for cancers also damages healthy cells and causes side effects. Depending on the dosage and exposure region, radiotherapy may induce severe and irreversible injuries to various tissues or organs, especially the skin, intestine, brain, lung, liver, and heart. Therefore, promising treatment strategies to mitigate radiation injury is in pressing need. Recently, stem cell-based therapy generates great attention in clinical care. Among these, mesenchymal stem cells are extensively applied because it is easy to access and capable of mesodermal differentiation, immunomodulation, and paracrine secretion. Here, we summarize the current attempts and discuss the future perspectives about mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for mitigating radiotherapy side effects.

Correlation study between quantitative characteristics of CT lung opacification based on machine learning and clinical subtypes and severity of lung injury of COVID-19 / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To investigate the value of chest CT quantitative index in clinical classification and lung injury severity evaluation of COVID-19.Methods:The current study retrospectively analyzed the clinical and CT data of 438 patients with COVID-19 between January 2020 and March 2020 in Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology. The clinical types included common type ( n=146), severe type ( n=247) and critical type ( n=45). The chest CT indexes of all patients were quantitatively analyzed by artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning, including whole lung volume, CT lung opacification, ground glass opacification volume (GGO volume; CT value<-300 HU), solid opacification volume (SO volume; CT value ≥-300 HU) and the ratio of volume to the whole lung volume, the ratio of SO volume to GGO volume (SO volume/GGO volume). Kruskal-Wallis test was used to conduct statistical analysis of the differences in quantitative parameters among clinical types, and multiple ordered logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation between quantitative parameters and clinical types. Results:Among the 438 patients diagnosed with COVID-19, severe and critical patients were older ( P<0.05), and most of the critical patients were male ( P<0.05). The main clinical manifestations of all clinical types were fever, followed by cough, fatigue, chest tightness, dyspnea, gastrointestinal symptoms and so on. GGO volume was the main CT manifestation of all the three clinical subtypes. The whole-lung opacification volume, GGO volume, SO volume and their proportions in whole-lung volume significantly increased from common, severe to critical types (all P<0.05). SO volume/GGO volume increased with the severity of clinical type [common type 0.12 (0.03, 0.34), severe type 0.29 (0.11, 0.59), critical type 0.61 (0.39, 0.97)]. Multiple ordered logistic regression analysis showed that whole-lung opacification volume (OR=1.009), SO volume/GGO volume (OR=1.866), GGO volume (OR=1.008) and SO volume (OR=1.016) had a significant positive effect on the severity of clinical typing ( P<0.01). Conclusion:Quantitative indicators of chest CT based on deep learning algorithm (SO volume, GGO volume, SO volume/GGO volume) are closely related to the clinical severity of COVID-19.

First Report of Soft Rot Caused by Aspergillus niger sensu lato on Mother-in-law's Tongue in China.

"Mother-in-law's tongue" (MLT) [Dracaena trifasciata (Prain) Mabb. (syn. Sansevieria trifasciata Prain.)], also known as "Saint George's sword", "snake plant", "tiger's tail orchid", etc., is an evergreen perennial ornamental plant grown worldwide. In September 2016, severe soft rot occurred on the leaves of MLT in a flower market in Nanyang city (32º56´N, 112º32´E), Henan province, China with 25% disease incidence (n=100). Water-soaked spots initially appeared on the leaf margin, enlarged rapidly, and became soft rot under excessively watered conditions. A blight zone was visualized at the margin of a developing lesion in backlit conditions. Severely affected leaves folded down from the lesions. Lesion expansion stopped under dry conditions. Grey or dark brown mycelia were frequently seen on the lesions. Tissue pieces (4×4 mm2) at the margin of lesions were cut out, treated with 75% ethanol for 10 s, followed by 70 s in 0.1% HgCl2, rinsed eight times with sterile water, and plated on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium. Pure Aspergillus cultures were obtained from the surface-disinfected lesions after 4 days of incubation at 26°C. Two single-spore-derived isolates (An-1 and An-2) were randomly selected and used for morphological and molecular identifications as well as pathogenicity tests. The isolates formed round dark brown colonies with a large number of conidia after 5 days of incubation on PDA at 28°C. Conidia were subsphaeroidal or oblate, unicellular, dark brown, 2.9-4.2(3.5) × 1.9-3.4(2.7) µm in size (n=100), developed from a two-series of strigmata born on a conidial head, with ridge or stab-shaped prominences. For pathogenicity tests, the two isolates were separately grown on oatmeal agar and incubated at 30°C for 6 days. Mycelial plugs (5 mm diam.) were inoculated on the scalpel incision X-shaped wounds of surface-disinfected leaves of MLT. The inoculated leaves were kept on a two-layer of wet napkin in a steel basin covered with a plastic film. Soft rot symptoms developed from the wounds 6 days after incubation, similar to those observed on naturally affected leaves. The An-1- and An-2-inoculated unwounded leaves remained symptomless during the pathogenicity tests. Fungal cultures with the same phenotypes as the inocula were consistently reisolated from the lesions of the leaves inoculated by each of the two isolates, verifying the isolates as the causal agent of the disease based on Koch's postulates. Both ß-tubulin gene and rDNA-ITS (internal transcribed spacer) sequences of the two isolates were separately amplified and sequenced. Sequences were submitted to GenBank with accession numbers MN259522 and MN259523 for the ß-tubulin gene sequences, and accession numbers MN227322 and MN227324 for the rDNA-ITS sequences of An-1 and An-2, respectively. Both An-1 and An-2 were clustered with members of Aspergillus niger van Tieghem in the phylogenetic tree of rDNA-ITS, clearly separated from other Aspergillus spp. In the phylogenetic tree of ß-tublin gene, both An-1 and An-2 formed a subclade inside a large clade consisting of members of A. niger in strict sense. Based on the molecular and morphological results, both An-1 and An-2 clearly separated from other Aspergillus spp. and can be considered as A. niger sensu lato. Foliar diseases of MLT are known to be caused by a few fungal species such as Chaetomella spp. (Li et al. 2014) and Colletotrichum sansevieriae (Nakamura et al. 2006). This is the first report of A. niger sensu lato causing soft rot on MLT in China.

Effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate on the status of DNA methylation of E-cadherin promoter region on endometriosis mouse.

AIM: To evaluate whether epigallocatechin-3-gallate acts on endometriosis mouse, and changes the status of DNA methylation of E-cadherin promoter region. METHODS: According to our previous research, the tracing nude mouse model of endometriosis was built up and randomly divided into three groups: control group (group A), epigallocatechin-3-gallate group (group B) and decitabine group (group C). Normal saline, epigallocatechin-3-gallate and decitabine were isometrically intraperitoneally injected into each group once in 2 days. In this period, the growth situations of lesions were monitored by living image system. After 16 days, the lesions were taken out and the distribution of E-cadherin and its methylated situation of promoter region were analyzed. RESULTS: The region of interest of ectopic lesion increased from 4th to 16th day in group A (P < 0.01); in group B and C, the region of interest of ectopic lesion increased in the 0-8th day (P < 0.01), and decreased in the 8-16th day (P < 0.01). The positive expression rate of E-cadherin in group C was higher than group B, and group B was higher than group A (P < 0.01). The DNA methylation status of E-cadherin promoter region in group A was higher than group B, and group B was higher than group C (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Epigallocatechin-3-gallate may inhibit the growth of endometrial lesion, affect the expression of E-cadherin on the cell membrane and reduce the status of DNA methylation of E-cadherin promoter region.

Characterisation of the complete chloroplast genome of Gentiana delavayi Franch. (gentianaceae), a medicinal plant in southwest of China.

Gentiana delavayi is a medicinal plant commonly used in southwest of China. In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of G. delavayi to investigate its phylogenetic relationship in the family Gentianaceae. The chloroplast genome of G. delavayi was 151,569 bp in length with 37.8% overall GC content, including a large single copy (LSC) region of 81,177 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 16,921 bp and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,471 bp. The cp genome contained 114 genes, including 78 protein coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis indicated G. delavayi was closely related to G. stipitata.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Ajuga forrestii (Lamiaceae), a medicinal plant in southwest of China.

Ajuga forrestii is a medicinal plant commonly used in southwest of China. In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of A. forrestii to investigate its phylogenetic relationship in the family Lamiaceae. The chloroplast genome of A. forrestii was 150,492 bp in length with 38.3% overall GC content, including a large single copy (LSC) region of 82,148 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 17,160 bp and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 25,592 bp. The cp genome contained 112 genes, including 79 protein coding genes, 29 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis indicated Ajuga was closely related to Scutellaria.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of the medicinal plant Paris polyphylla (Melanthiaceae).

Paris polyphylla is a medicinal plant commonly used in southwest of China. In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of P. polyphylla to investigate its phylogenetic relationship in the genus Paris. The chloroplast genome of P. polyphylla was 163,533 bp in length with 37.1% overall GC content, including a large single copy (LSC) region of 84,272 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 12,899 bp and a pair of inverted repeats (IRs) of 33,181 bp. The cp genome contained 114 genes, including 79 protein coding genes, 30 tRNA genes, and 4 rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis indicated P. polyphylla was closely related to P. marmorata.

Diagnostic value of diffusion kurtosis imaging in differentiating indeterminate solitary pulmonary nodules:comparison with diffusion weighted imaging / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the role of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in indeterminate solitary pulmonary nodules (SPN) diagnosis and to compare with conventional diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). Methods From March 2016 to Dec 2017, forty-three consecutive patients (30 male, 13 female, age: 56 ± 11 years) with indeterminate SPNs were included. All patients underwent axial multi-b factor DWI (with b values=0, 50, 200, 400, 800, 1400, 2000 s/mm2) examination and were divided into benign group (19 cases) and malignant group (24 cases) according to pathological results of SPN. ADC Kurtosis (K) and Diffusivity (Dk) values were compared between malignant and benign group and among different subtypes of lung cancer using independent t test (normal distribution and homogeneity of variance) and Mann-Whitney U test (skewed distribution or variance). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed to evaluate the diagnostic performance. Results K values were significantly higher for malignant SPNs than for benign SPNs (0.839 ± 0.197 vs. 0.718 ± 0.120;t=2.359, P=0.023). ADC values were found to be significantly higher in benignity than malignant SPNs [(1.605 ± 0.422) × 10-3mm2/s vs. (1.278 ± 0.210) × 10-3mm2/s; t=-3.089, P=0.005). No difference was observed in Dk between the two groups (P=0.922). All parameters cannot differentiate subtypes of lung cancer. The ADC value had higher AUC (area under ROC curve) than that of K value. The sensitivity (70.8％) and accuracy (72.1％) of ADC value was higher than K value, the specificity of both methods was equal. Conclusion DKI is a feasible non-invasive tool which has comparable capability of conventional DWI in SPNs differentiation, although with lower sensitivity and accuracy. DKI can provide additional information for SPNs characterization and has a potential to be a robust way in SPNs interpretation.

Application of three-dimensional SPACE magnetic resonance imaging in accurate measurement of implant volume in breast surgery / 中华整形外科杂志

Objective@#The study is to assess the accuracy and reliability of three-dimensional simulated magnetic resonance imaging with silicone-excitation SPACE (sampling perfection with application optimized contrast using different flip angle evolutions) sequence for estimating implant volume.@*Methods@#(1) MRI examinations of 10 silicone implants (Wuhan Tongji Hospital from October 2018 to December 2018) were performed with T2, H2O-excitation SPACE sequence (T2-spc-H2O) and silicone-excitation SPACE sequence (T2-spc-Silicone) to find the most accurate method to estimate implant volume by ITK-SNAP. The effect of implant deformation and slice thickness of T2-spc-Silicone on volume measurement were investigated. (2) 13 normal patients and 6 patients with implant complications (Wuhan Tongji Hospital from March 2017 to May 2019) were enrolled for testing the accuracy and reliability of T2-spc-Silicone for volume measurement in vivo. The data were analyzed using Prism 8.0 software. The paired student t-test was used to compare the difference of two groups. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the difference of multiple groups. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.@*Results@#The absolute volume differences of T2, T2-spc-H2O, T2-spc-Silicone were (42.19±2.31) ml, (23.27±1.55) ml and (6.28±1.22) ml. The absolute volume differences of T2-spc-Silicone group was significantly less than T2-spc-H2O and T2 group in vitro(F=195.3, P<0.001). No significant difference(F=1.36, P=0.22)was shown between the normality group and the deformation group for estimating the volume of implants with the slice thickness of SPACE increased from 0.5 mm×0.5 mm×0.5 mm to 5.0 mm×5.0 mm×5.0 mm. Besides, the slices thickness of SPACE from 0.5 mm×0.5 mm×0.5 mm to 5.0 mm×5.0 mm×5.0 mm did not significantly affect the accuracy of volume measurement of the implants in deformation state(F=1.22, P=0.29). The measurement error of SPACE was (8.82±0.99) ml in normal patients. Moreover, there was no significant difference between measured volume[(226.4±12.76)ml] and actual volume of implants[(225.9±11.94) ml](t=0.31, P=0.76)in patients with implant complications. The result showed excellent intraobserver reliability (ICC=0.997) and internal consistency ranged from 0.986 to 0.997 (P<0.001).@*Conclusions@#The method to measure implant volume by silicone-excitation SPACE sequence had desirable accuracy and reliability. The deformation of the implant and the slice thickness of the SPACE sequence did not exhibit a significant effect on the accuracy of volume measurement.

Surgical management of 86 patients with duodenal injuries / 中华肝胆外科杂志

Objective To study the early diagnosis,surgical treatment options,prevention and management of complications in patients with duodenal trauma.Methods All patients with duodenal trauma treated operatively from January 2009 to December 2018 were studied retrospectively.Factors including sex,age,cause of injury,AAST grading,diagnostic method,operative procedure,therapeutic effectiveness,complications,and factors related to death were analyzed.The "double-tube gastrostomy" technique consisting of duodenal decompression and jejunal feeding as recommend by the authors were used in severe cases.Results Blunt trauma occurred in 66 of 86 patients (76.7％).The diagnosis of duodenal trauma was made preoperatively based on abdominal signs,peritoneocentesis,and imaging in 32 patients (37.2％).The remaining 54 patients (62.8％),with duodenal injury was detected during emergency laparotomy.All the 86 patients underwent surgical intervention which included simple suturing,pedicled jejunal flap,segmental resection and anastomosis,Roux-en-Y duodenojejunostomy,diverticularization,and Whipple's procedure using the principle of Damage Control Surgery (DCS).Postoperative morbidity occurred in 15 patients (17.4％).There was a high incidence of duodenal (or pancreatic,biliary) fistulae.The overall mortality rate was 12.8％ (in 11 patients).The causes of deaths were mainly massive bleeding and poly-trauma.Conclusions To decrease morbidity and mortality rates,early diagnosis and surgical intervention were critical.The choice of surgical treatment procedures should be based on the duodenal trauma grading and whether there were associated injuries.For patients with a combined pancreaticoduodenal trauma,DCS is a wise procedure to adopt.The double-tube gastrostomy technique as recommended by the authors is beneficial to severe cases in decreasing the incidences of postoperative duodenal and jejunal obstruction.

[Development strategy of Paris based on combination of domestic patent and current resource application and development].

Paris is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and has antitumor, antibacterial, sedative, analgesic and hemostatic effects. It has been used as an ingredient of 81 Chinese patent medicines, with a wide application and large market demand. Based on the data retrieved from state Intellectual Property Office patent database, a comprehensive analysis was made on Paris patents, so as to explore the current features of Paris patents in the aspects of domestic patent output, development trend, technology field distribution, time dimension, technology growth rate and patent applicant, and reveal the development trend of China's Paris industry. In addition, based on the current Paris resource application and development, a sustainable, multi-channel and multi-level industrial development approach was built. According to the results, studies of Paris in China are at the rapid development period, with a good development trend. However, because wild Paris resources tend to be exhausted, the studies for artificial cultivation technology should be strengthened to promote the industrial development.

Clinic significance of fractional exhaled nitric oxide in childhood bronchial asthma / 中国医师进修杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of fraction exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in the diagnosis and monitoring of childhood bronchial asthma (asthma). Methods The FeNO levels of 204 children with acute asthma attack, 148 children with asthma clinical remission, 107 children with cough variant asthma (CVA) and 250 children with pneumonia from March 2016 to March 2017 were retrospectively analyzed and compared. Results The FeNO levels of acute asthma attack, asthma clinical remission, CVA and pneumonia were 18 (10, 37), 16 (10, 38), 18 (9, 31) and 13 (8, 20) nmol/L, and there was statistical difference (P<0.05). The FeNO levels of acute asthma attack, asthma clinical remission and CVA were significantly higher those of pneumonia, and there were statistical differences (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in the FeNO levels among acute asthma attack, asthma clinical remission and CVA (P>0.05). Conclusions FeNO has clinical significance in the diagnosis of asthma in children, and its clinical significance in monitoring asthma and the prediction of acute attack needs further observations.

Analysis of ultrasonographic features of pulmonary ultrasound in children′s community acquired pneu-monia / 中国小儿急救医学

Objective To investigate the lung ultrasonography characteristics of community acquired pneumonia ( CAP) in children and to compare the value of lung ultrasonography in the diagnosis of CAP in children. Methods A total of 173 patients with CAP ( CAP group) were diagnosed by chest radiograph in our hospital,and 64 healthy children were treated with lung ultrasonography as the control group. The sono-graphic features of two groups were compared,and the positive rates of diagnosis of lung ultrasonography and chest radiograph in CAP group were also compared. Results It showed A-line disappearance ( 100%) , B-line presence ( 88. 4%) , pleural line abnormalities ( 98. 3%) , pulmonary consolidation ( 46. 2%) , bronchial sign(42. 8%),pleural effusion(9. 2%),lung sliding signs(97. 7%) in CAP group (P<0. 001). In the con-trol group,except the A-line disappearance,scattered in the B-line (34. 4%),the others were not present. The difference of the two groups was statistically significant (P<0. 001). A-line disappearance,B-line (or even fusion) ,pleural line abnormalities were the main signs of ultrasound in children with CAP, sensitivity and specificity were both 100%. The sensitivity of chest X radiograph was 100% and the specificity was 78. 0%. Conclusion The lung ultrasonic imaging features of CAP in children include A-line disappearance, with varying numbers and lengths of B-line, pleural line abnormalities, consolidation, bronchial signs, pleural effusion and so on. LUS can diagnose CAP accurately and reliably,with high sensitivity and specificity. It is simple and noninvasive, and has the advantage of being detected at any time and avoiding the damage of X-ray. So it is worth clinical application for children with respiratory tract diseases.

Analysis of ultrasonographic features of pulmonary ultrasound in children′s community acquired pneu-monia / 中国小儿急救医学

Objective To investigate the lung ultrasonography characteristics of community acquired pneumonia ( CAP) in children and to compare the value of lung ultrasonography in the diagnosis of CAP in children. Methods A total of 173 patients with CAP ( CAP group) were diagnosed by chest radiograph in our hospital,and 64 healthy children were treated with lung ultrasonography as the control group. The sono-graphic features of two groups were compared,and the positive rates of diagnosis of lung ultrasonography and chest radiograph in CAP group were also compared. Results It showed A-line disappearance ( 100%) , B-line presence ( 88. 4%) , pleural line abnormalities ( 98. 3%) , pulmonary consolidation ( 46. 2%) , bronchial sign(42. 8%),pleural effusion(9. 2%),lung sliding signs(97. 7%) in CAP group (P<0. 001). In the con-trol group,except the A-line disappearance,scattered in the B-line (34. 4%),the others were not present. The difference of the two groups was statistically significant (P<0. 001). A-line disappearance,B-line (or even fusion) ,pleural line abnormalities were the main signs of ultrasound in children with CAP, sensitivity and specificity were both 100%. The sensitivity of chest X radiograph was 100% and the specificity was 78. 0%. Conclusion The lung ultrasonic imaging features of CAP in children include A-line disappearance, with varying numbers and lengths of B-line, pleural line abnormalities, consolidation, bronchial signs, pleural effusion and so on. LUS can diagnose CAP accurately and reliably,with high sensitivity and specificity. It is simple and noninvasive, and has the advantage of being detected at any time and avoiding the damage of X-ray. So it is worth clinical application for children with respiratory tract diseases.

Assessment of potential adjuvanticity of Cry proteins.

Genetically modified (GM) crops have achieved success in the marketplace and their benefits extend beyond the overall increase in harvest yields to include lowered use of insecticides and decreased carbon dioxide emissions. The most widely grown GM crops contain gene/s for targeted insect protection, herbicide tolerance, or both. Plant expression of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crystal (Cry) insecticidal proteins have been the primary way to impart insect resistance in GM crops. Although deemed safe by regulatory agencies globally, previous studies have been the basis for discussions around the potential immuno-adjuvant effects of Cry proteins. These studies had limitations in study design. The studies used animal models with extremely high doses of Cry proteins, which when given using the ig route were co-administered with an adjuvant. Although the presumption exists that Cry proteins may have immunostimulatory activity and therefore an adjuvanticity risk, the evidence shows that Cry proteins are expressed at very low levels in GM crops and are unlikely to function as adjuvants. This conclusion is based on critical review of the published literature on the effects of immunomodulation by Cry proteins, the history of safe use of Cry proteins in foods, safety of the Bt donor organisms, and pre-market weight-of-evidence-based safety assessments for GM crops.