0.05).Conclusion MSCT perfusion imaging is of significant value in diagnosing and differentiating malignant SPN from benign SPN.

Objective To evaluate the role of β-arrestin-1 in inhibition of endotoxin-induced activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) in human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HPM-VECs) by penehyclidine hydrochloride (PHC).Methods HPMVECs were seeded in 6-well plates (2 ml/hole) or in culture flasks (4 ml/flask) at the density of 1 × 105/ml,and were randomly divided into 5 groups (n =20 each) using a random number table:empty plasmid transfection group (group C),lipopolysaccharide (LPS) + empty plasmid transfection group (group LPS),PHC + LPS + empty plasmid transfection group (group P+LPS),LPS + β-arrestin-1 gene-shRNA transfection group (group LPS+shRNA) and PHC + LPS + β-arrestin-1 gene-shRNA transfection group (group P+LPS+shRNA).HPMVECs were transfected with empty plasmid 1.5 μg or with plasmid containing 15 nmol/L β-arrestin-1gene-shRNA.At 24 h of incubation,PHC with the final concentration of 2 μg/ml was added,the cells were incubated for 1 h,LPS with the final concentration of 0.1 μg/ml was then added,and the cells were continuously incubated for another 1 h.The supernatant was collected to measure the activity of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH).The cell suspension was collected for determination of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression and NF-κB activities and NF-κB inhibitor I-κB and β-arrestin-1expression.Results Compared with group C,the activities of LDH in supernatant were increased,VCAM-1 expression was up-regulated,NF-κB activity was significantly increased,and I-κB and β-arrestin-1 expression was down-regulated in LPS and LPS+shRNA groups.Compared with group LPS,the activities of LDH in supernatant were decreased,VCAM-1 expression was down-regulated,NF-κB activity was significantly decreased,and I-κB and β-arrestin-l expression was up-regulated in group P+LPS,and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in group P+LPS+shRNA.Compared with group P+LPS,the activities of LDH in supernatant were increased,VCAM-1 expression was up-regulated,NF-κB activity was significantly increased,and I-κB and β-arrestin-1 expression was down-regulated in group P+LPS+shRNA.Conclusion PHC inhibits endotoxin-induced activation of NF-κB in HPMVECs completely through up-regulating β-arrestin-1 expression.

Objective: In this study, we analyze the regulation mechanisms of the expression of ampD in AmpC β-lactamase and the regulation mechanism of β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (NagZ) in Yersinia enterocolitica. Methods: We construct the mutation strains of Yersinia enterocolitica AmpD (AmpD1-3) gene (ampD1-3), Low-Molecular-Mass Penicillin-Binding Proteins (LMM PBPs) gene (pbp4, pbp5a, pbp5b, pbp7), NagZ gene (nagZ), and ampR gene by deleting and complementing genes, and induce them by cefoxitin. We determined the activity of AmpC β-lactamase activity (U) of mutant strains (basal level and induce level) by using cephalothiophene hydrolysis method, the promoter activity of AmpC β-lactamase ((relative light unit (RLU)) was detected by the luxCDABEreporter system, and the activity of β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (nmol/L) was determined by by using 4-nitrophenyl N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminide as the chromogenic substrate. Results: AmpD1 (Basal level: (3.29±1.58) U; Induced level: (4.08±1.75) U) was the most potent one. The YEΔ5b, YEΔ4Δ5b, YEΔ5aΔ5b and YEΔ5bΔ7 of ampC promoter activity increase significantly, whichYEΔ4Δ5b is the highest one (Basal level: (106 903.16±61 910.61) RLU; Induced level: (205 427.45±45 352.17) RLU). The YEΔ4Δ5bΔ7 of ampC promoter activity is the highest among triple mutant strain (Basal level: (304 108.04±99 274.53) RLU; Induced level: (531 440.21±68 891.02) RLU). Quadruple deletion strain YEΔ4Δ5aΔ5bΔ7 have the highest ampC promoter activity (Basal level: (1 013 810.99±260 955.96) RLU; Induced level: (1 230 214.59±205 526.79) RLU). After the deletion of nagZ gene, there is no significant change in β-lactamase activity of YEΔD1D2D3ΔZ, while β-lactamase activity of YEΔ4Δ5aΔ5bΔ7ΔZ shows a significant decrease (Basal level: (0.30±0.20) U; Induced level: (0.29±0.21) U), which basically drops to the wild strain level. Conclusion This is the first report of ampC multi-step upregulation mechanism driven by three AmpD homologues in Yersinia enterocolitica. The AmpC regulation mode with the function of single PBP4, PBP5a or PBP7 is relatively low, which work in coordination with PBP5b. Yersinia enterocolitica have both NagZ-depend and NagZ-independent mechanisms for β-lactamase expression.

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies have shown that meteorological factors such as temperature are related to the incidence of bacillary dysentery (BD), researches about the non-linear and interaction effect among meteorological variables remain limited. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of temperature and other meteorological variables on BD in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, which is a high-risk area for BD distribution. METHODS: Our study was based on the daily-scale data of BD cases and meteorological variables from 2014 to 2019, using generalized additive model (GAM) to explore the relationship between meteorological variables and BD cases and distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) to analyze the lag and cumulative effects. The interaction effects and stratified analysis were developed by the GAM. RESULTS: A total of 147,001 cases were reported from 2014 to 2019. The relationship between temperature and BD was approximately liner above 0 °C, but the turning point of total temperature effect was 10 °C. Results of DLNM indicated that the effect of high temperature was significant on lag 5d and lag 6d, and the lag effect showed that each 5 °C rise caused a 3% [Relative risk (RR) = 1.03, 95% Confidence interval (CI): 1.02-1.05] increase in BD cases. The cumulative BD cases delayed by 7 days increased by 31% for each 5 °C rise in temperature above 10 °C (RR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.30-1.33). The interaction effects and stratified analysis manifested that the incidence of BD was highest in hot and humid climates. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that temperature can significantly affect the incidence of BD, and its effect can be enhanced by humidity and precipitation, which means that the hot and humid environment positively increases the incidence of BD.
Beijing/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Dysentery, Bacillary/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Humidity ; Temperature

OBJECTIVETo investigate the epidemiology characteristics of norovirus among diarrheal outpatients in China.

METHODSDiarrhea cases were monitored at emergency/outpatient departments at 173 hospitals in 27 provinces of China, with clinical and epidemiological data, and fecal specimens collected and sent to 58 network-laboratories to detect norovirus by RT-PCR method, and to analyze the positive rate of norovirus in various regions, population and time during 2009-2013.

RESULTS11.6% of the 34 031 diarrheal cases under surveillance were found with norovirus. Age group of 6-23 month-old children and that of people over 45 years old were found with the highest positive percentage, 13.7% and 12.4% respectively. Positive percentage of norovirus peaks in autumn and winter in a year; it peaks in mid-temperate zones (10.7%) and warm-temperate zones (11.6%) in winter. It peaks in sub-tropical zones in autumn (14.3%). The most prevalent genogroups detected were norovirus G II, accounting for 89.9% of identified strains.

CONCLUSIONNorovirus affects all ages and was most prevalent in children and the elderly among diarrhea outpatients. Norovirus' positive percentage showed strong seasonal pattern, and peaks at different times of a year in different climate zones of China. Since no effective preventive measures existed, further study on norovirus epidemiology and intervention strategies should be conducted in future.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Caliciviridae Infections ; epidemiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; epidemiology ; Diarrhea ; epidemiology ; virology ; Genotype ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Laboratories ; Middle Aged ; Norovirus ; Outpatients ; Prevalence ; Seasons