A rapid and high sensitivity RNA detection based on NASBA and G4-ThT fluorescent biosensor.

In recent years, various newly emerged and re-emerged RNA viruses have seriously threatened the global public health. There is a pressing need for rapid and reliable nucleic acid-based assays for detecting viral RNA. Here, we successfully developed a highly sensitive, easy-to-operate G4-ThT-NASBA system to detect viral RNA that no need for labeled primers and probes. Next, we tested the system for detecting the Classical Swine Fever Virus (CSFV), an RNA virus that causes a highly contagious disease in domestic pigs and wild boar and easily causes huge economic losses. Results showed that the system, integrated the G4-ThT fluorescent biosensor and NASBA (Nuclear acid sequence-based amplification),is capable to detect as little as 2 copies/µL of viral RNA without interfering by other swine viral RNA. Moreover, we were able to detect CSFV RNA within 2 h in serum samples taken from the field in a real-time mode. These findings indicate that the G4-ThT-NASBA system is a rapid, high sensitivity and easy-to-operate technique for RNA detection. The method also has the real-time detection capability which may be easily integrated in a highly automated system such as microfluidic chips.

Cadmium level and soil type played a selective role in the endophytic bacterial community of hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii Hance.

Phytoremediation technology has been applied for heavy metal elimination for many years, however little research about the difference of remediation efficiency of hyperaccumulator in different soils was reported. Here, a pot experiment was conducted with a cadmium (Cd)/zinc hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii Hance grown on different types of soils and the differences of its endophytic bacterial community were elucidated. The results showed that the biomass of S. alfredii grown on black soil under both low and high Cd treatment was much heavier than that grown on other soils, and Cd uptake and Cd accumulation of S. alfredii in paddy soil was the highest, suggesting that black soil was more suitable for S. alfredii growth while paddy soil was more efficient for Cd phytoextraction. Moreover, Cd treated level and soil type both affected the structure of plant endophytic bacterial community. The two shared genera in the four representative soils were Caulobacter and Acinetobacter under low Cd level, and Caulobacter and Lactobacillus under high Cd level. Cd treatment shifted the structure and abundance of plant endophytes in different types of soils, while black soil and paddy soil were more similar in the distribution and abundance of S. alfredii endophytic community. This study highlighted the understanding of response to Cd within S. alfredii endophytic community in different types of soils, which could be beneficial for enhanced phytoremediation efficiency and better S. alfredii cultivation.

Efficacy of apatinib plus pemetrexed for advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer in elderly patients / 中国肿瘤临床

Objective: To examine the efficacy and safety of pemetrexed plus apatinib for the treatment of advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in elderly patients. Methods: Between January 2016 and June 2017, 38 elderly patients with ad-vanced non-squamous NSCLC from Qingdao Municipal Hospital were examined. All patients received first-or second-line therapy. The inclusion criteria were an age of≥65 years, physical status score of 0-2, and expected survival time of>3 months. Eighteen patients were assigned to the test group, and the remaining 20 patients were assigned to the control group. The patients in the test group were treated with pemetrexed plus apatinib, pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 on day 1 and apatinib 250 mg/d on days 1-21. The control group re-ceived pemetrexed in a 21-day cycle until the disease progressed or intolerable adverse reactions developed. The study was reviewed and approved by the medical ethics committee of Qingdao Municipal Hospital. Results: The disease control rates in the test and con-trol groups were 72.2% and 35%, respectively, with a statistically significant difference (χ2=5.265, P=0.022). The median progression-free survival time (PFS) in the test and control groups were 5.7 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.8-8.6] and 3.1 months (95% CI:2.7-3.5), with a statistically significant difference (χ2=4.01, P=0.045). The difference in the incidence of hand-foot syndrome and hyper-tension between the two groups was statistically significant (P=0.007 and P=0.016, respectively), with side effects of 1 or 2 degree in most cases, which was acceptable. Conclusions: Pemetrexed plus apatinib has a definite curative effect on advanced NSCLC, with con-trollable adverse reactions.

Correlation of iron metabolism with some stress hormones and insulin resistance in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Objective@#To investigate the association of iron with stress hormones and insulin resistance in patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).@*Methods@#Seventy-five pregnant women diagnosed as GDM during 24-28 weeks were collected from January to November 2015 in Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, and 75 normal pregnant women were used as control group. Blood glucose, insulin, stress hormones and iron metabolism related indexes were detected. Homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was used to evaluate insulin resistance, and the correlation of iron metabolism with stress hormones and insulin resistance was analyzed.@*Results@#Compared with control group, norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) levels were higher in GDM group (both P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in cortisol level between two groups (P>0.05). Serum ferritin (SF), serum iron, and transferrin saturation levels were higher in GDM group than those in control group(all P<0.01). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that cortisol, E, and NE levels were positively correlated with SF level in GDM group (all P<0.05). Cortisol and E levels were positively correlated with transferrin saturation (both P<0.05). SF and transferrin saturation were positively correlated with HOMA-IR in two groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01).@*Conclusion@#Iron overload may involve in dysfunction of stress adaptation and insulin resistance in patients with GDM. (Chin J Endocrinol Metab, 2018, 34: 563-566)

Quantification and size distribution of 24-hour urinary extracellular vesicles from healthy adults / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the quantity and size distribution of 24-hour urinary extracellular vesicles (uEVs) from healthy adults.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The 24-hour uEVs from 9 healthy adults were isolated by hydrostatic filtration dialysis (HFD). The effectiveness of uEVs enrichment was evaluated using Western blotting and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The quantity and size distribution of the uEVs was analyzed with BCA protein quantification, TEM, and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>uEVs with different sizes and morphologies were observed under TEM. Western blotting confirmed the expression of TSG101 in all the uEV fractions from the 9 donors, ranging from 132.50 to 760.70 ng/mL. NTA results showed that the number of 24-hour uEVs amount ranged from 3.56 × 10¹² particles to 5.12 × 10¹² particles, with a CV of 14.23%. The proportion of the vesicles with a diameter <40 nm was 0.04%-0.69% with a number range of (1.80-26.49)× 10⁹ particles; the proportion of vesicles with a diameter of 40-100 nm (which is consistent with the size of exosomes)was 22.07%-42.08% with a number range of (1.00-1.77)× 10¹² particles. The proportion of vesicles with a diameter of 100-1000 nm (consistent with the size of microvesicles) was 57.88%-77.85% with a number range of (2.09-3.86)× 10¹² particles.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The established HFD method allows efficient and convenient isolation of uEVs from a large amount of urine samples. The 24-hour uEVs from healthy adults show narrow differences between individuals and thus can be an ideal source of samples for relevant studies.</p>

Value of serum IgA/C3 ratio in the diagnosis of IgA nephropathy and its correlation with the clinicopathological features / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the value of serum IgA/C3 ratio in the diagnosis of IgA nephropathy and explore its relationship with the clinicopathological features of the patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty-six patients with IgA nephropathy, 111 with other glomerular diseases, and 40 healthy control subjects without kidney disease were tested for serum IgA and C3 levels using CRM470 adjusted standardized immune turbidimetric method, and the IgA/C3 ratio was calculated. According to Oxford and Lee's classification criteria, we analyzed the pathological grades of the renal biopsy samples from patients with IgA nephropathy. The ROC curve was used to assess the value of serum IgA and IgA/C3 ratio in predicting IgA nephropathy.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Patients with IgA nephropathy had an elevated serum IgA/C3 ratio than those with other glomerular diseases and the control subjects, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.776. An elevated serum IgA/C3 ratio was not found to significantly correlate with the pathological grade of renal biopsy samples in patients with IgA nephropathy.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>In the absence of renal biopsy findings, serum IgA/C3 ratio can help in the diagnosis of IgA nephropathy.</p>

Predictive value of leukocyte differential count in patients with acute cerebral infarction / 医学研究生学报

Objective Inflammation response is involved in the whole pathological process of acute cerebral infarction ( ACI) , but few reports are seen on its clinical implication in ACI patients .The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive value of the differential count of leukocytes for stroke severity and early clinical outcomes in the acute phase of cerebral infarction . Methods We collected the clinical and laboratory data of 635 patients diagnosed with ACI within 72 hours of symptom onset and eval-uated the association between the differential count of peripheral blood leukocytes and stroke severity at admission and within 3 days af-ter admission as well as the clinical outcomes at discharge .The neural function impairment scores of the patients were obtained with The NIH Stroke Score ( NIHSS) at admission and on the third day after admission , and the therapeutic results evaluated with the modi-fied Rankin Scale ( mRS) , mRS >2 as poor prognosis .Analyses were performed on the correlation of the differential count of leuko-cytes with NIHSS and mRS scores and its influence on the ACI patients . Results At discharge , the mRS related influencing factors included the total count of leukocytes (OR=1.147, 95% CI:1.038-1.268), count of neutrophil cells (OR=1.227, 95% CI:1.00-1.369 ), count of lymphocytes ( OR =0.508, 95% CI:0.342-0.753), and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (OR=1.150, 95%CI:1.008-1.314).the NIHSSs were correlated with the counts of leucocytes (r=0.078, P=0.024), neutrophil cells (r=0.083, P=0.019), and lymphocytes (r=0.010, P=0.004) at admission, and with the counts of leucocytes ( r =0.238, P <0.001), neutrophil cells (r=0.335, P<0.001), lymphocytes (r=-0.269, P<0.001), and NLR (r=0.423, P<0.001) on the third day after admission. Conclusion In the acute phase of cer-ebral infarction , the differential count of leukocytes and NLR are valuable for predicting the severity of neurologic impairment and early poor functional outcome .

Effect of percutaneous vertebroplasty and percutaneous kyphoplasty on adjacent intervertebral disc degeneration and mechanism / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:Compared with conservative treatment, percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) and percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) can rapidly relieve the pain caused by the compression of osteoporotic vertebral body. However, the perfusion of bone cement can not only restore the rigidity of fractured vertebrae, but also theoretical y alter the stress distribution of fractured vertebrae and increase the stress load of adjacent vertebrae, thus causing adjacent intervertebral disc degeneration. ＜br> OBJECTIVE:To observe the effects of PVP and PKP on the adjacent intervertebral disc degeneration and explore the possible mechanism. ＜br> METHODS:A total of 85 patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture were divided into three groups:conservative treatment group (n=23), PVP group (n=42) and PKP group (n=23). ODI scores, DHI, MRII, and peripheral interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-αlevels were col ected and analyzed at different time points. ＜br> RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The results showed that, PVP group and PKP group relieved pain effectively, reduced the time in bed, and had a better treatment satisfaction, but there were no significant differences in the scores of ODI scores between PVP group and PKP group at 24 months after discharge (P>0.05). At 24 months after discharge, MRII in the PVP group and PKP group were lower than that in conservative treatment group and before treatment (P＜0.05), while peripheral interleukin-1, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-αlevels were higher (P＜0.05), there were significant differences between PVP group and PKP group (P＜0.05). The disc degeneration adjacent to the fractured vertebral body can be accelerated by PVP and PKP procedures, and the latter is more serious. Interleukin-1, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-αlevels are closely related to the degree of intervertebral disc degeneration.

Updates in the research of Crohn's disease complicated by colorectal cancer / 中华消化外科杂志

Crohn's disease is a relapsing systemic inflammatory disease mainly affecting the gastrointestinal tract.Recently,the incidence and prevalence of Crohn's disease is increasing dramatically in Asia,and colorectal cancer is one of the most fatal complications of Crohn's disease.A thorough understanding of the carcinogenesis of Crohn' s disease and enhance the surveillance of colorectal cancer among Crohn's disease is therefore of significant importance to reduce the mortality.In this review,the tendency and molecular mechanism of carcinogenesis of Crohn's disease were discussed,and the present research on the prevention against colorectal cancer in patients with Crohn's disease was introduced.