OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of electro-acupuncture (EA) on the expression of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cell (TREM)l in ankle joint synovial tissue of acute gouty arthritis (AGA) rats.

METHODSForty male SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups: normal, AGA, medication and EA group, 10 rats in each group. AGA model was established by induced monosodium urate (MSU) method, except the normal group. Tow days before AGA model was established, normal and AGA groups were lavaged with normal saline (20 ml/kg), medication group was lavaged with colchicine solution (20 ml/kg), EA(1.5-2 Hz, D.-D.wave, 9v; 1-3 rnA) was applied to "Sanyinjiao" (SP6), "jiexi" (ST41) and "Kunlun" (BL60) for 20 min, once daily;continuously for 9 days. Then observed the changes in dysfunction, and the content of TNF-α and IL-lβ detected by ELISA, the expression of TREM-l detected by immunohistochemistry and western blot.

RESULTSCompared to the normal group, the AGA group of the dysfunction index increased significantly (P<0.01), the content of TNF-α and IL-lβ increased significantly (P<0.05), the expression of TREM-l in synovial tissue increased significantly (P<0.05); the medication and EA groups compared to the AGA group, the dysfunction index decreased significantly (P<0.01), the content of TNF-α and IL-lβ decreased significantly (P<0.05), the expression of TREM-l in synovial tissue decreased significantly (P<0.05); there were not statistically significant between the medication and EA group (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONEA treating AGA may be through down-regulating the expression of TREM -1 in synovial tissue.

Animals ; Ankle Joint ; metabolism ; pathology ; Arthritis, Gouty ; metabolism ; therapy ; Electroacupuncture ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Immunologic ; metabolism ; Synovial Membrane ; metabolism ; Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells-1 ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

The bioinformatics software was used to predict the B cell and T cell epitopes of Toxoplasma gondii microneme 16 (TgMIC16) followed by epitopes display on the yeast of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.B and T cell epitopes of TgMIC16 were predicted by DNAStar and IEDB,and software of SYFPEITHI and BIMAS,respectively.According to the predicted results,the antigenic epitope region was expressed with pCTCON2/EBY100 display system.The expression protein was detected by indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) and flow cytometry.Results showed that there were potential B/T cell epitopes in TgMIC16 and concentrated in the aa343-625 region.The epitope region was successfully displayed on the surface of yeast cells,and the optimal induction time was 24 hours.The study would lay the foundation for the development and efficacy evaluation of the yeast carrier vaccine in the further research.

Objective To explore the management of spontaneous intraspinal hematoma.Methods From January 2011 to July 2018,29 cases with spontaneous intraspinal hematoma were admitted to our department.Date on etiology,clinical presentation,radiological features,treatment strategy and prognosis were analyzed retrospectively.The prognosis was assessed by American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale (ASIA) before and after the treatment.Results Total of 29 cases,only 10 cases (34.5％) revealed specific etiology,including 7 cases of spinal vascular malformation,2 of tumor apoplexy,1 of cavernous hemangioma.After 2 weeks of conservative treatment,3 patients with grade D and 3 patients with grade E were assessed for spinal function.The average interval from onset to surgery was(9.4±7.5) days,the ASIA after two weeks of the operation was as follows:5 patients were assessed at grade A,5 patients at grade C,8 patients at grade D and 4 patients at grade E.28 patients were followed up for (48.7±23.1) months on average,6 patients without surgery were E,22 cases with surgery were as follows:4 cases A,18 cases D/E.Conclusions The etiology of spontaneous intraspinal hematoma is hard to define even after complete preoperative examination and exploratory operation.The preoperative neurologic functions are important predicting factors for the prognosis of spontaneous intraspinal hematoma.For patients who had neurologic function deficit,surgical treatment should be performed urgently to remove the hematoma and release the decompression of spinal cord.The majority of these patients can achieve a positive prognosis after surgery.

Objective To assess the value of Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA)in screening mild cognitive impairment(MCI)in elderly patients.Methods Thirty-two elderly patients with MCI and 50 healthy elderly subjects were examined with neuropsychological tests using Mini-mental State Examination(MMSE)and the MoCA. Results With a cut-off score of 26,the MoCA had a sensitivity of 96.87%and specificity of 76%for detecting MCI,and the sensitivity and specificity of MMSE were 56.25%and 96%,respectively.For the MoCA sub-items,the elderly patients with MCI had significantly lower scores than the healthy elderly in all the cognitive function measures (P＜0.05)except for abstraction and fixed orientation.In MMSE sub-items,significant differgnces were found between the two groups in only calculation/attention and delayed recall(P＜0.05).Conclusions The MoCA is a highiy sensitive scale for screening MCI in elderly patients,which allows comprehensive assessment of the cognitive function of MCI patients and is applicable in detecting MCI in patients with normal MMSE results.

Objective: The characteristics of patients with metachronous breast and ovarian malignancies and the pathogenic role of BRCA1/2 mutations remain poorly understood. We investigated these issues through a review of hospital records and nationwide Taiwanese registry data, followed by BRCA1/2 mutation analysis in hospital-based cases. Methods: We retrospectively retrieved consecutive clinical records of Taiwanese patients who presented with these malignancies to our hospital between 2001 and 2017. We also collected information from the Data Science Center of the Taiwan Cancer Registry (TCR) between 2007 and 2015. Next-generation sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification were used to identify BRCA1/2 mutations and large genomic rearrangements, respectively. When BRCA1/2 mutations were identified in index cases, pedigrees were reconstructed and genetic testing was offered to family members. Results: A total of 12,769 patients with breast cancer and 1,537 with ovarian cancer were retrieved from our hospital records. Of them, 28 had metachronous breast and ovarian malignancies. We also identified 113 cases from the TCR dataset. Eighteen hospital-based cases underwent BRCA1/2 sequencing and germline pathogenic mutations were detected in 7 patients (38.9%, 5 in BRCA1 and 2 in BRCA2). All BRCA1/2 mutation carriers had ovarian high-grade serous carcinomas. Of the 12 patients who were alive at the time of analysis, 5 were BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. All of them had family members with BRCA1/2-associated malignancies. Conclusions Our results provide pilot evidence that BRCA1/2 mutations are common in Taiwanese patients with metachronous breast and ovarian malignancies, supporting the clinical utility of genetic counseling.

Objectives: An Asian Gynecologic Oncology Group phase III randomized trial was conducted to determine whether maintenance chemotherapy could improve progression-free survival (PFS) in stages III/IV ovarian cancer. Methods: Between 2007 and 2014, 45 newly-diagnosed ovarian cancer patients were enrolled after complete remission and randomized (1:1) to arm A (4-weekly carboplatin area under the curve 4 and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin [PLD] 30 mg/m2, n=24) for 6 cycles or arm B (observation, n=21). The primary end-point was PFS. A post hoc translational study was conducted to deep sequence BRCA/homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) genes, because BRCA/HRD mutations (BRCA/HRDm) are known to be associated with better prognosis. Results: Enrollment was slow, accrual was closed when 7+ years had passed. With a medianfollow-up of 88.9 months, the median PFS was significantly better in arm A (55.5 months) than arm B (9.2 months) (hazard ratio [HR]=0.40; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.19–0.87; p=0.020), yet the median overall survival was not significantly different in arm A (not reached) than arm B (95.1 months) (p=0.148). Overall grade 3/4 adverse events were more frequent in arm A than arm B (60.9% vs 0.0%) (p<0.001). Quality of life was generally not significantly different. Distribution of BRCA1/2m or BRCA/HRDm was not significantly biased between the two arms. Wild-type BRCAon-HRD subgroup seemed to fare better with maintenance therapy (HR=0.35; 95% CI=0.11–1.18; p=0.091). Conclusions Despite limitations in small sample size, it suggests that maintenance carboplatin-PLD chemotherapy could improve PFS in advanced ovarian cancer.

Malaria remains a serious public health problem in Shandong Province, China; therefore, it is important to explore the characteristics of the current malaria prevalence situation in the province. In this study, data of malaria cases reported in Shandong during 2012-2014 were analyzed, and Plasmodium species were confirmed by smear microscopy and nested-PCR. A total of 374 malaria cases were reported, 80.8% of which were reported from 6 prefectures. Of all cases, P. falciparum was dominant (81.3%), followed by P. vivax (11.8%); P. ovale and P. malariae together accounted for 6.4% of cases. Notably, for the first time since 2012, no indigenous case had been reported in Shandong Province, a situation that continued through 2014. Total 95.2% of cases were imported from Africa. The ratio of male/female was 92.5:1, and 96.8% of cases occurred in people 20-54 years of age. Farmers or laborers represented 77.5% of cases. No significant trends of monthly pattern were found in the reported cases. All patients were in good condition after treatment, except for 3 who died. These results indicate that imported malaria has increased significantly since 2012 in Shandong Province, especially for P. falciparum, and there is an emergence of species diversity.
Africa ; China* ; Farmers ; Humans ; Malaria* ; Microscopy ; Plasmodium falciparum ; Plasmodium malariae ; Plasmodium ovale ; Plasmodium vivax ; Plasmodium* ; Prevalence ; Public Health

Objective To construct pEGFP-N1-HBsAg-ROP2 recombinant expression plasmid and transfect HEK293T cells for expression,and pay a way for Toxoplasma gondii nucleic acid vaccine development. Methods According to the HBsAg gene sequence and pcDNA3-p30-ROP2 recombinant plasmid restriction sites,the HBsAg gene was amplified by PCR.The HB-sAg gene was cloned into the pcDNA3-p30-ROP2 and instead of p30 gene.The HBsAg-ROP2 fragment was amplified by PCR and digested with HindⅢand KpnⅠto clone into the pEGFP-N1 eukaryotic expression vector and construct the recombinant pEGFP-N1-HBsAg-ROP2.The expression vector was transfected into HEK293T cells based on the identification of PCR amplifi-cation,restriction endonucleases and sequencing.Results The PCR product of HBsAg was about 700 bp,which was consis-tent with the theoretical value.Two bands of about 5.4 kb and 1.9 kb were obtained after double enzyme digestion with pcDNA3-HBsAg-ROP2 recombinant plasmid.The recombinant plasmid pEGFP-N1-HBsAg-ROP2 was double-digested to generate an empty vector fragment of about 4.7 kb and a band of about 1.9 kb of HBsAg-ROP2 fragment.The results of sequencing showed that the sequence was 99.84% identical with the published sequence in GenBank.The target plasmid was successfully transfect-ed into HEK293T cells,and the expression was correct,the protein concentration was 3.08 mg/ml.Conclusion The recombi-nant plasmid pEGFP-N1-HBsAg-ROP2 is successfully constructed and expressed efficiently.

Background/Aims: Steatotic liver disease (SLD) is a common manifestation in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Metabolic alterations in CHC are associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). We aimed to elucidate whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) eradication mitigates MASLD occurrence or resolution. Methods: We enrolled 5,840 CHC patients whose HCV was eradicated by direct-acting antivirals in a nationwide HCV registry. MASLD and the associated cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) were evaluated at baseline and 6 months after HCV cure. Results: There were 2,147 (36.8%) patients with SLD, and 1,986 (34.0%) of them met the MASLD criteria before treatment. After treatment, HbA1c (6.0% vs. 5.9%, p<0.001) and BMI (24.8 kg/m2 vs. 24.7 kg/m2, p<0.001) decreased, whereas HDL-C (49.1 mg/dL vs. 51.9 mg/dL, p<0.001) and triglycerides (102.8 mg/dL vs. 111.9 mg/dL, p<0.001) increased significantly. The proportion of patients with SLD was 37.5% after HCV eradication, which did not change significantly compared with the pretreatment status. The percentage of the patients who had post-treatment MASLD was 34.8%, which did not differ significantly from the pretreatment status (p=0.17). Body mass index (BMI) (odds ratio [OR] 0.89; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.85–0.92; p<0.001) was the only factor associated with MASLD resolution. In contrast, unfavorable CMRFs, including BMI (OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.06–1.14; p<0.001) and HbA1c (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.04–1.35; p=0.01), were independently associated with MASLD development after HCV cure. Conclusions HCV eradication mitigates MASLD in CHC patients. CMRF surveillance is mandatory for CHC patients with metabolic alterations, which are altered after HCV eradication and predict the evolution of MASLD.

Background/Aims: Steatotic liver disease (SLD) is a common manifestation in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Metabolic alterations in CHC are associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). We aimed to elucidate whether hepatitis C virus (HCV) eradication mitigates MASLD occurrence or resolution. Methods: We enrolled 5,840 CHC patients whose HCV was eradicated by direct-acting antivirals in a nationwide HCV registry. MASLD and the associated cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs) were evaluated at baseline and 6 months after HCV cure. Results: There were 2,147 (36.8%) patients with SLD, and 1,986 (34.0%) of them met the MASLD criteria before treatment. After treatment, HbA1c (6.0% vs. 5.9%, p<0.001) and BMI (24.8 kg/m2 vs. 24.7 kg/m2, p<0.001) decreased, whereas HDL-C (49.1 mg/dL vs. 51.9 mg/dL, p<0.001) and triglycerides (102.8 mg/dL vs. 111.9 mg/dL, p<0.001) increased significantly. The proportion of patients with SLD was 37.5% after HCV eradication, which did not change significantly compared with the pretreatment status. The percentage of the patients who had post-treatment MASLD was 34.8%, which did not differ significantly from the pretreatment status (p=0.17). Body mass index (BMI) (odds ratio [OR] 0.89; 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.85–0.92; p<0.001) was the only factor associated with MASLD resolution. In contrast, unfavorable CMRFs, including BMI (OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.06–1.14; p<0.001) and HbA1c (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.04–1.35; p=0.01), were independently associated with MASLD development after HCV cure. Conclusions HCV eradication mitigates MASLD in CHC patients. CMRF surveillance is mandatory for CHC patients with metabolic alterations, which are altered after HCV eradication and predict the evolution of MASLD.