[ ABSTRACT] AIM:To observe the effect of ursodeoxycholic acid ( UDCA) on the treatment of infantile hepatitis syndrome ( HIS) and to investigate its mechanism.METHODS:The children with infantile hepatitis syndrome were divid-ed into conventional treatment group and the UDCA treatment group.Twenty healthy children were selected as normal con-trol.The children in conventional therapy group were given antiviral and hepatoprotective treatments.The children in UD-CA treatment group were given ursodeoxycholic acid (10 mg? kg-1? d-1 ) in addition to the conventional treatment group for 2 to 3 weeks.The levels of total bilirubin (TBIL), direct bilirubin (DBIL), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glu-tamyltransferase ( GGT) , total bile acids ( TBA) and TNF-α, IL-6 were detected before admission and 2 weeks later.RE-SULTS:The levels of TNF-αand IL-6 were significantly higher in the children with IHS than those in the normal control (P<0.01).The levels of TBIL, DBIL, ALT, GGT, TBA, TNF-αand IL-6 in conventional treatment group were reduced after therapy (P<0.01).All the above index in UDCA treatment group were decreased compared with conventional treat-ment group (P<0.01).CONCLUSION:On the basis of conventional therapy, ursodeoxycholic acid effectively alleviates the systemic inflammatory response in the children with IHS, reduces the liver damages.

Objective To investigate ht e clinical characteristics and treatment of children with acute laryn gitis comlp icated with negative pressure pulmno ary edema(NPPE),and the changes of inflammatory factosr w ere monitored.Methods Data of 9 cases with acute laryngitis complicated with NPPE in pediatric intensive care unit from August 2010 to March 2015 we re analyzde .The levelso f TNF -αand IL-6 of 8 cases were detected at admission and checked agani forty-eihg t horu s after therapy.Ten children of acute laryngitis wi thotu NPPE were selected as disease cotn rol group, and ten healthy children as normal control group. Results (1)The onset of NPPE varied from 8 minutes to 2 hours following relief of obstruction,and presen-ted with acute respiratory disrt ess, decreased xo ygen saturation, tachycardai , rales on chest auscultation.All thees patients received therapeutic measures icn luding mechna ical ventilation,limiting the fluid input volume. The disappearance of rales on chest auscultation varied from 6 hours to 30 hours.Duration of mechanical ven-tilation was lse s than 48 hours,and all the children were cured.(2) Compared with the children of disease control group and normal control group,in acute phase the plasma levels fo TNF-αand IL-6 in children with NPPE were significantly higher ( P<0.01 ) .The indicators of NPPE group significantly decreased after 48 hours therapy( P<0.01 ) .Conclusion NPPE is manifested by rapid onset of respiratory distress after relief of the airway obstruction.The symptoms resolve rapidly if early support of breath and limiting the fluid input volume are applied properly.The inflammatory response is one of the possible mechanisms of NPPE.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Esophagitis ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Female ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; complications ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Phytotherapy

Objective To explore the levels of water channel protein 4 (aquaporin-4,AQP-4) in the serum and the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with severe hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) and its clinical significance.Methods Children with the critical HFMD (clinical stage 3) admitted to Xuzhou Children's Hospital from February 2017 to November 2017 were recruited(critical group).In the same period,another 25 cases of common HFMD (central nervous system infection excluded in cerebrospinal fluid examination,common group),the other 25 cases of severe HFMD (clinical stage 2,severe group) were taken as the controls.The levels of AQP-4 in the serum and and cerebrospinal fluid were measured in all children and the levels of AQP-4 in cerebrospinal fluid were checked again in the critical and severe cases after treatment.The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6),norepinephrine (NE) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in the serum were examined simultaneously and the correlation between them was analyzed.Results Before treatment,the levels of AQP-4 in the serum of critical group were (54.42 ± 19.86) μg/L,which were significantly higher than common group[(8.02 ± 1.59) μg/L] and severe group[(22.04 ± 8.14) μg/L] (F =36.684,P ＜0.01).Compared with before treatment,the levels of AQP-4 in the serum of critical and severe group were significantly lower after treatment (P ＜ 0.05).Before treatment,the levels of AQP-4 in the cerebrospinal fluid of critical and severe cases were respectively (9.81 ±2.27) μg/L and (8.58 ± 1.92) μg/L,which were significantly higher than common group (6.56 ± 1.79) μg/L (F =6.713,P ＜ 0.05).After treatment,the levels of AQP-4 in the cerebrospinal fluid of critical and severe cases were (8.41 ± 1.63) μg/L and (7.14 ± 1.69) μg/ L separately,which were significantly lower than before treatment (t =6.340,5.073,all P ＜ 0.01).The levels of IL-6,NE and NSE in serum were significantly different among the three groups (P ＜ 0.01).The above indicators were positively correlated with the levels of AQP-4 in the serum(r =0.734,0.810,0.729,all P ＜ 0.01)and were also positively correlated with AQP-4 in the cerebrospinal fluid (r =0.299,0.431,0.363,all P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion AQP-4 may participate in pathophysiological processes of HFMD.The levels of AQP-4 in serum can be used as an indicator for judging the severity and monitor prognosis of HFMD.

Objective To investigate the expression and clinical significance of Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B19kDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with severe hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). Methods Ninety children with HFMD were classified into three groups with 30 in each group:critical group (clinical stage 3), severe group (clinical stage 2) and common group (clinical stage 1, excluding encephalitis with CSF and other examinations). Another thirty healthy children were randomly selected as the control group. The levels of BNIP3 in serum and CSF were detected before and after treatment. Moreover, serum neuro-specific enolase ( NSE) and S100B protein were also measured to analyze their correlation with BNIP3. Receiver operating characteristic ( ROC) curve was used to evaluate the prediction efficiency of BNIP3 for the severity of HFMD. Results The levels of serum BNIP3, S100B protein and NSE in the critical group were higher than those in the other three groups ( P<0. 01). CSF BNIP3 level in the critical group were significantly higher than that in the common and severe groups (P<0. 01). Serum BNIP3, S100B protein and NSE were significantly higher in the severe group than in common and control groups (P<0. 01). CSF BNIP3 was significantly increased in the severe group as compared with that in the common group (P<0. 01). After treatment, the levels of BNIP3, S100B protein and NSE in serum and BNIP3 in CSF were decreased in both critical and severe groups (P<0. 01). The lev-els of BNIP3 in serum and CSF were positively correlated with the level of S100B protein and NSE ( P<0. 01). Serum BNIP3 had the highest Youden value at the cut-off value of 3. 015μg/L, with a sensitivity of 83. 33％ and a specificity of 90. 00％, in the prediction of severe HFMD. CSF BNIP3 had the highest Youden value at the cut-off value of 1. 735 μg/L, with a sensitivity of 73. 33％ and a specificity of 93.33％, in the prediction of severe HFMD. Conclusions BNIP3 is involved in the pathological process of brain injury in children with severe HFMD. Detection of BNIP3 helps evaluate the severity and prognosis of HFMD.

Objective:To investigate the expression and clinical significance of Beclin-1 and cytochromes C (CytC) in patients with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).Methods:Sixty children with HFMD were classified into two groups of severe group and common group with 30 cases in each group. Another thirty children who underwent circumcision and had no underlying disease were selected as control group. Serum Beclin-1, CytC and S100B levels were detected before and after treatment. The levels of Beclin-1 and CytC in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of children with severe HFMD were detected before and after treatment. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the prediction efficiency of Beclin-1 and CytC for the severity of HFMD.Results:Serum Beclin-1 and CytC levels in the severe group were higher than those in the other two groups ( P<0.01), and the common group showed significantly increased serum Beclin-1 and CytC levels as compared with the control group ( P<0.01). After treatment, the serum Beclin-1 and CytC levels decreased in both severe and common groups ( P<0.05). Compared with the common group, the severe group had remarkable increases in the levels of Beclin-1 and CytC in CSF ( P<0.01), which decreased significantly after treatment ( P<0.01). Serum Beclin-1 and CytC levels were positively correlated with the level of S100B protein. In the prediction of severe HFMD, serum CytC had the highest Youden value of 0.533 at the cut-off value of 38.785 ng/ml with a sensitivity of 56.67% and a specificity of 96.67%; serum Beclin-1 had the highest Youden value of 0.467 at the cut-off value of 6.560 ng/ml with a sensitivity of 46.67% and a specificity of 100.00%. Combined measurements of these two parameters had the highest predictive value for severe HFMD with a sensitivity of 76.67% and a specificity of 96.67%. Conclusions:Serum Beclin-1 and CytC levels were conducive to predict the severity and treatment outcomes of HFMD. Combined measurements of these two parameters had a higher predictive value for severe HFMD.

In recent years, the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition has experienced rapid global development. In 2017 alone, the number of iGEM teams registered around the globe reached an unprecedented 313, with 98 iGEM teams from China having enrolled in the competition and obtained outstanding results. In contrast to the many college students' innovation projects and scientific research training programs in China, iGEM's organization mode is focused on student-centered research learning. Moreover, it achieved a rich educational effect, embodying a new educational idea, which gives it great significance for the extracurricular scientific research training of undergraduates in Chinese universities. In this article, we took Peking University's participation in the iGEM competition as a starting point. The first part introduces the background and general situation of the iGEM competition. The second part reproduces the general procedure of one iGEM season and organization of Peking University's team. The third part compares iGEM's organization mode with those of other undergraduate research training courses and discusses them in detail. The fourth part sums up the experience with iGEM activities as well as explains its effect on developing the research capacity of undergraduate students as well as inspiring them to organize an undergraduate scientific research competition. This article aims to provide a reference for the organization of iGEM activities in domestic universities and for the reform of undergraduate education.
China ; Genetic Engineering ; Students ; Synthetic Biology

Objective: To investigate the expression and clinical significance of Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B19kDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with severe hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). Methods: Ninety children with HFMD were classified into three groups with 30 in each group: critical group (clinical stage 3), severe group (clinical stage 2) and common group (clinical stage 1, excluding encephalitis with CSF and other examinations). Another thirty healthy children were randomly selected as the control group. The levels of BNIP3 in serum and CSF were detected before and after treatment. Moreover, serum neuro-specific enolase (NSE) and S100B protein were also measured to analyze their correlation with BNIP3. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the prediction efficiency of BNIP3 for the severity of HFMD. Results: The levels of serum BNIP3, S100B protein and NSE in the critical group were higher than those in the other three groups (P<0.01). CSF BNIP3 level in the critical group were significantly higher than that in the common and severe groups (P<0.01). Serum BNIP3, S100B protein and NSE were significantly higher in the severe group than in common and control groups (P<0.01). CSF BNIP3 was significantly increased in the severe group as compared with that in the common group (P<0.01). After treatment, the levels of BNIP3, S100B protein and NSE in serum and BNIP3 in CSF were decreased in both critical and severe groups (P<0.01). The levels of BNIP3 in serum and CSF were positively correlated with the level of S100B protein and NSE (P<0.01). Serum BNIP3 had the highest Youden value at the cut-off value of 3.015 μg/L, with a sensitivity of 83.33% and a specificity of 90.00%, in the prediction of severe HFMD. CSF BNIP3 had the highest Youden value at the cut-off value of 1.735 μg/L, with a sensitivity of 73.33% and a specificity of 93.33%, in the prediction of severe HFMD. Conclusions BNIP3 is involved in the pathological process of brain injury in children with severe HFMD. Detection of BNIP3 helps evaluate the severity and prognosis of HFMD.