Objective To evaluate clinical risk factors for Meropenem resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MRPA) infection in surgical intensive care unit. Methods Retrospective case-control study was designed. Resultant MRPA and Meropenem sensitive Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( MSPA) cases were paired with respective control group. Candidate clinical factors including gender, malignancy, duration of ICU stay, length of operation, volume of blood loss, transfusion, kind of incision ( clean/contaminated/ infected) , and previous antibiotics history were examined by bivariates and multivariate regression. Results Risk factors for MRPA infection included duration of ICU stay before infection (odds ratio [ OR] = 2. 234, 95% confidence interval [ CI] = 1. 710 - 2. 918), administration of third generation cephalosporins (OR = 2. 885, 95% CI = 1. 133 - 7. 345) and Imipenem ( OR = 1. 238, 95% CI = 1. 469 - 35. 659). A long ICU stay (OR = 2. 284, 95% CI = 1. 772 - 2. 945), malignancy (OR =4.796, 95%CI = 2.001 -11.491), previous medication of quinolones ( OR = 3.563, 95% CI = 1.499 - 8.468) and third generation cephalosporins (OR = 3. 796, 95% CI = 1. 543 - 9. 343) were associated with MSPA infection. Conclusion MRPA infection was affected by multiple clinical factors. Short ICU stay, restrict use of third generation cephalosporins and Imipenem may help to prevent MRPA infection.

Objective To compare the diagnostic yield of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) for solid pancreatic masses performed with three different needle types through the cytological results.Methods All patients with solid pancreatic masses larger than 2cm from December 2010 to May 2011 were enrolled,and divided into two groups according to different access of EUS-FNA,trans-gastric approach with 19-,22-and 25-gauge needles (n =42) and trans-duodenal approach with 22-and 25-gauge needles (n =10).In both groups,EUS-FNA was performed with randomization of needle types.During the puncture,the suction,the number of movements,and the depth of insertion were fixed.At the end of the puncture,a liquid-based cytological (LBC) preparation was used to fix the specimen.One cytopathologists was assigned to make the diagnosis and comparison.Results Technical success was 100％ and no procedure related complications occurred.No statistically significant differences were observed in different needles in terms of all cytological parameters between two groups (P ＞ 0.05).However,the 25-gauge needle showed a trend towards a higher sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,negative predictive value and accuracy.Conclusion There is no significant difference in yield of cytological results between different needle types,although 25-gauge needle shows a relative superiority.

Objective To evaluate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) of candidate genes and radiation-induced esophagitis (RIE) in patients with lung cancer. Methods Between Jan. 2004 and Aug. 2006,170 patients with pathologically diagnosed lung cancer were enrolled in this study. The total target dose was 45-70 Gy( median 60 Gy). One hundred and thirty-two patients were treated with three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy(3DCRT) and 38 with two-dimensional radiotherapy(2DRT).Forty-one patients received radiotherapy alone, 78 received sequential chemoradiotherapy and 51 received concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Thirty-seven SNPs in 20 DNA repair genes were analyzed by using PCR-based restrieted fragment length polymorphism(RFLP). These genes were apoptosis and inflammatory cytoking genes including ATM, ERCC1, XRCC3, XRCC1, XPD, XPC, XPG, NBS1, STK15, ZNF350, ADPRT,TP53, FAS, FASL, CYP2D6 * 4, CASPASE8, COX2,TGF-β, CD14 and ACE. The endpoint was grade ≥2 R I E. Results Forty of the 170 patients developed grade ≥2 R I E, including 36 in grade 2 and 4 in grade 3. Univariate analysis revealed that radiation technique and concurrent chemoradiotherapy were statistically significant relatives to the incidence of R I E (P = 0. 032,0.049) , and both of them had the trend associating with the esophagitis( P = 0.072,0. 094 ). An increased incidence of esophagitis was observed associating with the TGF-β1-509T and XPD 751 Lys/Lys genotypes ( χ2 = 5.65, P = 0.017 ;χ2 = 3.84, P = 0. 048 )in multivariate analysis. Conclusions Genetic polymorphisms in TGF-β1 gene and XPD gene have a significant association with radiation-induced esophagitis.

Objective: To establish the domestic matrix assisted laser desorption/ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry database for identification of clinical mycobacteria and evaluate its accuracy with foreign counterpart. Methods: The establishment of "Chinese Pathogenic Mycobacteria Mass Spectrometry Database" : nineteen American type culture collection strains from 19 species and 183 "standardized" isolates from 42 species were selected and extracted by modified ultrasonic extraction method for spectral acquisition and database establishment based on microTyper MS. Each extract was dropped onto 12 spots and tested twice to generate 24 spectrum, then at least 20 qualified spectrum according to the standard were selected. Subsequently they were composed into one main spectra (MSP) by setting peak number maximum, peak frequency minimum and mass tolerance. Verification of database: Totally 305 mycobacteria from different regions were used for comparison of accuracy and spectral features between microTyper MS based on domestic database and imported MALDI TOF MS base on Mycobacteria Library 3.0 database. Results: The database composed of 202 stains from 42 species was constructed, with an average of 4.8 in each species. The top ten were M. Kansasii(16), M. intracellulare(16), M. gordonae(16), M. fortuitum(16), M. avium(16), M. abscessus(16), M. tuberculosis(15), M. marseillense(11), M. arupense(10), M. yongongens(8). A total of 305 isolates were confirmed belonging to 22 species by sequencing. The accuracy based on this database was 99.67% (304/305), which was better than the Mycobacteria Library 3.0 database (χ²=4.06, P<0.05). Conclusion The construction of the "Chinese Pathogenic Mycobacteria Mass Spectrometry Database" meets the requirement of routine clinical application and was more accurate than its counterpart in terms of domestic comment strains.(Chin J Lab Med, 2018, 41: 519-526)

Objective: Traditional uterine manipulator is considered as the main reason for short survival of patients with early-stage cervical cancer during minimally invasive surgery. This study aims to assess the sealing effect of magnetic-sealing uterine manipulators (MUMs) in isolated uteruses. Methods: The study was performed on isolated uterus from patients with early-stage cervical cancer who underwent open abdominal radical hysterectomy between November 2019 to April 2021. Right-angle forceps closure tests (groups 1 and 3) were defined as control tests. One experimental MUM closure test (group 2) and 2 control tests were respectively carried out in each of the isolated uterus. DNA ploidy analysis system was used to observe exfoliated cells. Statistical analysis was performed using Wilcoxon signed-rank test to assess the sealing effect of MUM. Results: We identified 36 patients. No regional node metastasis was discovered and only one tumor was larger than 4.0 cm in diameter. The mean of exfoliated tumor cells in groups 1, 2, and 3 were 1, 1, and 2, respectively. There was no significant difference in the quantity of exfoliated cells between groups 1 and 3 (p=0.476), so the results of the 2 groups were merged. Subsequently, a significant difference was observed between combined right-angle forceps closure tests and MUM closure tests (p=0.022). Conclusion The sealing effect of MUM was better than that of right-angle forceps. MUM can effectively seal cervical cancer cells in the cup cover, avoiding the dissemination of tumor cells.

Objective: To detect the expression of non-coding RNA snord105b in gastric cancer (GC) tissues, sera and cell lines, and its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics of patients with GC as well as its effect on the proliferation of GC cells. Methods: One hundred and twenty pairs of GC tissues and corresponding para-cancerous tissues from patients, who underwent surgery at Department of Surgery, the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University between 2016 and 2017, were collected for this study. The presurgical sera samples from GC patients (n=50) and peripheral venous blood samples from healthy donors (n=30), as well as five gastric cancer cell lines (SGC-7901, AGS, MGC-803, BGC-823, HGC-27) and gastric mucosa normal epithelial GES-1 cells were also obtained. qPCR assay was adopted to detect the expression of snord105b in GC tissues, sera and cell lines. The correlation between snord105b and patients’clinicopathological features was investigated. MTS assay was adopted to detect the effect of snord105b silence or over-expressionon in vitro proliferation of four GC cells. Results: qPCR assay demonstrated that the expression of snord105b in GC tissues, sera and cell lines were significantly higher than that of para-cancerous tissues, sera from healthy donors and GES-1 cells (all P< 0.05). Expression level of snord105b was obviously associated with age,tumor size, differentiation and TNM stages of patients (all P<0.05). MTS assay demonstrated that knockdown of snord105b could suppress the proliferation of GC cells (P< 0.05), while forced-expression of snord105b could promote the proliferation of GC cells (P< 0.05). Conclusion: non-coding RNA snord105b aberrantly expressed in GC tissues, sera, and cells, and its expression was obviously correlated with patients’age, tumor size, differentiation and TNM stages. Snord105b could significantly promote the proliferation of GC cells, which may be used as a potential clinical biomaker for early diagnosis and prognosis of GC.

Hair loss affects millions of people at some time in their life, and safe and efficient treatments for hair loss are a significant unmet medical need. We report that topical delivery of quercetin (Que) stimulates resting hair follicles to grow with rapid follicular keratinocyte proliferation and replenishes perifollicular microvasculature in mice. We construct dynamic single-cell transcriptome landscape over the course of hair regrowth and find that Que treatment stimulates the differentiation trajectory in the hair follicles and induces an angiogenic signature in dermal endothelial cells by activating HIF-1α in endothelial cells. Skin administration of a HIF-1α agonist partially recapitulates the pro-angiogenesis and hair-growing effects of Que. Together, these findings provide a molecular understanding for the efficacy of Que in hair regrowth, which underscores the translational potential of targeting the hair follicle niche as a strategy for regenerative medicine, and suggest a route of pharmacological intervention that may promote hair regrowth.
Mice ; Animals ; Quercetin/pharmacology* ; Endothelial Cells ; Hair ; Hair Follicle ; Alopecia

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has poor prognosis due to limited therapeutic options. This study examines the roles of genome-wide association study identified PDAC-associated genes as therapeutic targets. We have identified HNF4G gene whose silencing most effectively repressed PDAC cell invasiveness. HNF4G overexpression is induced by the deficiency of transcriptional factor and tumor suppressor SMAD4. Increased HNF4G are correlated with SMAD4 deficiency in PDAC tumor samples and associated with metastasis and poor survival time in xenograft animal model and in patients with PDAC (log-rank P = 0.036; HR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.03-2.47). We have found that Metformin suppresses HNF4G activity via AMPK-mediated phosphorylation-coupled ubiquitination degradation and inhibits in vitro invasion and in vivo metastasis of PDAC cells with SMAD4 deficiency. Furthermore, Metformin treatment significantly improve clinical outcomes and survival in patients with SMAD4-deficient PDAC (log-rank P = 0.022; HR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.14-0.68) but not in patients with SMAD4-normal PDAC. Pathway analysis shows that HNF4G may act in PDAC through the cell-cell junction pathway. These results indicate that SMAD4 deficiency-induced overexpression of HNF4G plays a critical oncogenic role in PDAC progression and metastasis but may form a druggable target for Metformin treatment.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a formidable disease due to its complex pathogenesis. Macrophages, as a major immune cell population in IBD, are crucial for gut homeostasis. However, it is still unveiled how macrophages modulate IBD. Here, we found that LIM domain only 7 (LMO7) was downregulated in pro-inflammatory macrophages, and that LMO7 directly degraded 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) through K48-mediated ubiquitination in macrophages. As an enzyme that regulates glycolysis, PFKFB3 degradation led to the glycolytic process inhibition in macrophages, which in turn inhibited macrophage activation and ultimately attenuated murine colitis. Moreover, we demonstrated that PFKFB3 was required for histone demethylase Jumonji domain-containing protein 3 (JMJD3) expression, thereby inhibiting the protein level of trimethylation of histone H3 on lysine 27 (H3K27me3). Overall, our results indicated the LMO7/PFKFB3/JMJD3 axis is essential for modulating macrophage function and IBD pathogenesis. Targeting LMO7 or macrophage metabolism could potentially be an effective strategy for treating inflammatory diseases.