Objective To construct a novel M.tb DNA vaccine (p846) co-expressing mycobacterial triple antigens including Rv3615c, Mtb10.4 and Rv2660c, and evaluate its cellular immune response and protective efficacy against tuberculosis infection in BALB/c mice. Methods We constructed the p846 by using the cloning technology. The 6- to -8-week old female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: p846, pcDNA3.1, PBS and the BCG group. All mice were administrated intramuscularly with 50 μg recombinant plasmids at 0, 2, 4, 6 week. A single dose of BCG was injected subcutaneously in the BCG group. Two weeks after the final immunization, 10 mice in each group were used for cell proliferation, ELISPOT and FCM assay, BCG challenge experiment and HE staining of lung were performed at 4, 6 weeks later, respectively. Results The p846 vaccine could effectively induce the specific T cell proliferation(P < 0.001) and increase the numbers of IFN-γ+T cells(P <0.001), compared with those in the PBS group and the vector conreol group. The mouse lung tissue presented very mild lung inflammation in the p846 group, compared with other groups. Conclusion Vaccine p846 could not only induce strong cellular immune response, but also efficiently protect BALB/c mice against M.tb infection.

[ ABSTRACT] AIM:To investigate the protective effect of naringin ( Nar) on the injury of human umbilical vein endothelial cells ( HUVECs) induced by 33 mmol/L high glucose ( HG) and to explore its possible mechanisms.METH-ODS:The injury model was established by treating HUVECs with HG medium for the indicated time (6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h) , and then the levels of NO, eNOS and p-eNOS were detected, respectively.The effects of Nar on high glucose-in-duced endothelial cell injury were observed.HUVECs were treated with Nar at concentrations of 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 mg/L for 6 h, 12 h, 24 h, 36 h and 48 h.The levels of NO in the supernatants were measured.The effects of Nar on HG-injured HUVECs were explored by treating the cells with 10 μmol/L of LY294002, a PI3K inhibitor, or 0.5 μmol/L of AKT inhibitorⅣ, an AKT inhibitor, and then the levels of NO, PI3K, AKT, eNOS and their phosphorylated proteins were determined by Western blot.RESULTS:Nar at concentration of 50 mg/L significantly attenuated the injury of endothelial cells induced by high glucose ( P<0.01) , and the protective effects of Nar were abolished by pretreating with the inhibitor of PI3K or AKT (P<0.01).CONCLUSION: Nar protects endothelial cells against the injury induced by high glucose through PI3K/AKT/eNOS pathway.

Fungal infections are a growing public health threat, especially as the at-risk population for invasive fungal disease expanding and antifungal resistance emerging.In 2022, the World Health Organization released the first fungal priority pathogens list, aiming to encourage countries to strengthen the response to fungal infections.As one of the first countries to issue and implement the National Action Plan to Contain Antimicrobial Resistance in the world, China has attached great importance to the management of fungal infections.A series of actions and efforts have been made, including improving the legal and regulatory system related to the prevention and treatment of fungal infections, strengthening the management of clinical application of antifungal drugs, improving the diagnosis and treatment ability of fungal infections and the standardization of diagnosis and treatment, establishing a monitoring and evaluation system for fungal infections and drug resistance.Initial results have been achieved.In the future, under the guidance of the new national action plan to contain antimicrobial resistance, the level of diagnosis and treatment of fungal infections will be further improved to reduce the occurrence of fungal infections and the spread of antifungal resistance.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the auditory performance of infants with cochlear implants at the early stage after surgery, summarize the development of auditory ability, investigate the effect of age at cochlear implantation on auditory performance within the first year after surgery and provide a reference for their habilitation program. METHOD: A total of 272 infants with prelingually profound hearing loss participated in this study, ranging in age at cochlear implantation from 18 to 36 months. The mean age was 21 months with a standard deviation of 7 months. Infants with cochlear implants were divided into three groups according to their age at implantation. Infants in group A were implanted under 18 months of age. Infants in group B were implanted between 18 and 24 months of age. Infants in group C were implanted between 25 and 36 months of age. Categories of auditory performance (CAP) was used to evaluate the auditory performance, which rates auditory abilities in eight categories for a scale of 0 to 7. RESULT: The mean scores of CAP for all infants at each interval were significantly different after implantation. Significant differences were observed in mean scores of CAP among these three groups in 1 and 3 months after switch-on. However there were no significant differences in pre-operation, 6, 9 and 12 months after switch-on. CONCLUSION There is a significant improvement in auditory performance of infants with prelingually profound hearing loss within the first year after cochlear implantation. The age at cochlear implantation has no critical influence on the development of auditory capabilities at the early stage after surgery. CAP is a practical tool which can be used in clinic in China.
Age Factors ; Child, Preschool ; Cochlear Implantation ; Cochlear Implants ; Deafness ; surgery ; Female ; Hearing ; Humans ; Infant

Objective:To evaluate the effect of lower limb neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on mechanical ventilation patients in intensive care unit (ICU).Methods:Databases including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, SinoMed, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang database were searched from inception to May 2021. Randomized controlled trails (RCT) about the influence of NMES of lower limbs in patients with mechanical ventilation in ICU were collected. Routine rehabilitation measures were implemented in the control group, while the combination of routine rehabilitation and NMES on the lower limbs was implemented in the observation group. The literature screening, data extracting, and bias risk assessment of included studies were conducted independently by two reviewers. RevMan 5.3 software was used to perform Meta-analysis. Funnel plot was used to test publication bias.Results:A total of 8 RCT were eventually enrolled. The literature quality evaluation results showed that 1 study was grade A and 7 studies were grade B, suggesting that the quality of the included literature was relatively high. The Meta-analysis results showed that NMES in the lower extremities could effectively shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation in ICU patients [standardized mean difference ( SMD) = -0.51, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was -0.72 to -0.31, P < 0.000 01], increase the maximum inspiratory pressure [MIP; mean difference ( MD) = 14.19, 95% CI was 9.30 to 19.09, P < 0.000 01], and improve the functional status of critically ill patients [functional status score for ICU (FSS-ICU); MD = 10.44, 95% CI was 3.12 to 17.77, P = 0.005] with statistically significances. However, there were no significant advantages in increasing the Medical Research Council (MRC) score ( MD = 2.13, 95% CI was -1.38 to 5.63, P = 0.23), reducing ICU mortality [relative risk ( RR) = 0.80, 95% CI was 0.51 to 1.24, P = 0.31], shortening length of ICU stay ( MD = -0.54, 95% CI was -3.67 to 2.59, P = 0.74), and the combined effect was not statistically significant. Funnel plot based on the duration of mechanical ventilation showed that the distribution of included articles was basically symmetrical, and no publication bias was detected. Conclusions:NMES of the lower limbs can not only shorten the ventilation duration effectively, but also improve the MIP and functional status of mechanically ventilated patients in ICU. However, it has no significant effect on the MRC score, ICU mortality and length of ICU stay of patients with mechanical ventilation. In the future, high-quality, large sample size and multi-center RCT are needed to verify the effects of NMES.