Objective To compare different equations for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).Methods Hospitalized patients with CKD from the nephrology department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University (Jiangsu Province Hospital) were recruited between December 2014 and May 2015.The calculations of eGFR and 24 h creatinine clearance rate (Ccr) were accomplished in three days after admission.The eGFRs were calculated separately using the 24 h creatinine clearance rate adjusted by the standard body surface area (Ccr_BSA),Cockcroft-Gault equation adjusted by the standard body surface area (eCcr_BSA),CKD-EPI creatinine equation (EPI_Cr),CKD-EPI cystatin C equation (EPI_CysC),CKDEPI creatinine-cystatin C equation (EPI_Cr_CysC),simplified MDRD (MDRD) and China MDRD equations.The EPI_Cr_CysC equation was used as the standard and the precision and accuracy of the other six equations were compared and analyzed.Results A total of 403 CKD participants were enrolled in the study,with 228 male patients and a mean age of (54.9± 18.4) years.The main primary diseases were chronic glomerulonephritis (43.7％) and diabetic nephropathy (13.2％).The median concentration of serum creatinine and cystatin C were 117.5 (69.7,242.4) μmol/L and 1.80 (1.13,3.31) mg/L,respectively.The median values of Ccr_BSA,eCcr_BSA,MDRD,China MDRD,EPI_Cr,EPI_CysC and EPI_Cr_CysC equations were 50.8 (21.1,96.2),51.9 (23.3,93.2),53.6 (23.0,97.4),52.2(22.4,94.1),53.2 (22.1,97.3),35.1 (15.4,67.0) and 49.1 (22.8,82.3) ml · min-1 · (1.73 m2)-1,respectively.There was well agreement among MDRD,China MDRD and EPI_Cr equations,while there were large differences between equations derived from CysC (EPI_Cr_CysC and EPI_CysC) and equations derived only from creatinine (EPI_Cr,MDRD,China MDRD,eCcr_BSA,Ccr_BSA equations).Compared with EPI_Cr_CysC equation (the reference equation),EPI_Cr equation showed the highest accuracy [percentage of other eGFR equation calculations that were ＞ 30％ of the reference equation calculations (1-P30),30.8％] while Ccr_BSA equation showed the lowest (1-P30,42.4％).EPI_CysC equation showed the highest precision [inter-quartile range (IQR) of the difference,11.7 ml·min-1 · (1.73 m2)-1] while Ccr_BSA equation showed the lowest [IQR of the difference,22.8 ml· min-1 ·(1.73 m2)-1].Conclusions The agreement among equations derived only from creatinine is better;while it exhibits some differences between equations with cystatin C and equations derived only from creatinine.The accuracy of EPI_Cr equation is second only to EPI_Cr_CysC equation and it is currently the most suitable eGFR equation for clinical popularization of renal glomerular function assessment.

Objective To evaluate the safety and therapeutic effect of covered expandable metallic stent placement combined with interventional chemotherapy in treating malignant esophago-tracheal fistulae. Methods A total of 60 patients with esophago-tracheal fistula were enrolled in this study. The patients were randomly divided into control group (n=28) and study group (n=32). Patients of the control group were treated with covered stent implantation only, while patients of the study group were treated with combination use of covered stent implantation and interventional chemotherapy. All the patients were followed up regularly, the short-term and long-term results were determined, and the effect rate, median survival time and complications were statistically analyzed. Results Among the 60 patients, successful obstruction of the fistula was obtained in 58 with a success rate of 96.7%. The median survival time of the 58 patients was 5.8 months. The median survival time of the control group and the study group was 3.6 months and 8.7 months respectively, the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). The one-month, 3-month and 6-month effect rates were 78.1%, 68.8% and 62.5% respectively. The incidence of esophageal stent re-stenosis in the study group was much lower than that in the control group. Conclusion The combination use of covered stent implantation and interventional chemotherapy can effectively improve the median survival time of patients with malignant esophago-tracheal fistula, and reduce the occurrence of stent-related complications. Therefore, covered expandable metallic stent placement combined with interventional chemotherapy is an effective and safe treatment for malignant esophago-tracheal fistulae.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of different concentrations of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), interleukin-6 (IL-6), dexamethasone (Dex), and insulin on the mRNA and protein expressions of GPR54 in the MCF7 cell line in vitro.

METHODSMCF7 breasr cancer cells were cultured and treated with different concentrations of LPS (10 and 20 µg/ml), TNFα (20 and 100 ng/ml), IL-6 (10 and 20 ng/ml), Dex (10(-6) and 10(-7) mol/L), and insulin (0.01 and 0.1 IU/L). Those treated with culture fluid only served as controls. The mRNA and protein expressions of GPR54 were measured by real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively, after 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours of treatment.

RESULTSCompared with the blank con- trol, LPS (10 and 20 µg/ml), TNFα (20 and 100 ng/ml), IL-6 (10 and 20 ng/ml), Dex (10(-6) and 10(-7) mol/L), and insulin (0.01 and 0.1 IU/L) significantly increased the expressions of GPR54 mRNA (P < 0.05) and protein (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONLPS, TNFα, IL-6, Dex, and insulin evidently increase the expression of GPR54 in the MCF7 cell line, indicating their influence on the function of gonads by regulating the GPR54 level.

Blotting, Western ; Dexamethasone ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Glucocorticoids ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Gonads ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Insulin ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Interleukin-6 ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; MCF-7 Cells ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled ; drug effects ; genetics ; metabolism ; Receptors, Kisspeptin-1 ; Time Factors ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology

Objective · To detect the vitamin D2 and D3 levels in the patients with moderate and severe depression. Methods · Eighty-five patientswho met the criteria for major depressive disorder were recruited (53 patients with moderate depression, 32 patients with severe depression). Fifty agematchedhealthy volunteers were recruited as controls. Serum 25 (OH) D2, 25 (OH) D3 and total 25 (OH) D2/D3 levels were detected by using liquidchromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The risk factors which might influence the severity of depression were screened by Logisticregression analysis. Results · The serum 25 (OH) D2, 25 (OH) D3 and total 25 (OH) D2/D3 levels in the case group was lower than those in the controlgroup (P=0.012, P=0.000, P=0.000). The patients with moderate depression presented significantly lower serum 25 (OH) D3 and total 25 (OH) D2/D3 levelsthan the controls did (P=0.000), although no significant difference in serum 25 (OH) D2 levels was found between these two groups. As well, the serum 25 (OH) D2, 25 (OH) D3 and total 25 (OH) D2/D3 levels in patients with severe depression were significantly lower than those in patients with moderate depression and controls (P<0.05). The body mass index of severe depression group was much higher than that of moderate depression group and control group (P=0.002). Both overweight/obesity and the concentration of vitamin D may be the major influencing factors of depression severity (P=0.034, P=0.011). Conclusion · Vitamin D2 and D3 deficiency in depressive patients, particularly in those patients with severe depression, was shown in the present study. In addition, overweight/obesity as well as the concentration of vitamin D may exert the significant influence on the severity of depression. Vitamin D supplementation and weight control may be needed to be considered in making therapeutic strategies of major depressive disorder.

AIM: To analyze the nucleotide and putative amino acid sequences of PIA genes isolated from N. gonorrhoeae and to construct the prokaryotic expression system of PIA gene.METHODS: The entire PIA genes from 9 strains of N. gonorrhoeae were amplified by using high fidelity PCR. The target amplification fragments were sequenced after T-A cloning. Homology comparison of the nucleotide and putative amino acid sequences of PIA genes from the isolates with the reported sequences in GenBank was then performed. A prokaryotic expression system of PIA gene was constructed. Different dosages of IPTG were applied to induce the expression of the target recombinant protein (rPIA) and 10% SDS-PAGE plus Bio-Rad Agarose Image Analysor was used to determine the expression level of rPIA. rPIA was extracted using Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and the purified effect was detected by SDS-PAGE.RESULTS: In comparison with the reported PIA gene sequences (GenBank No: L19962), the homologies of nucleotide and putative amino acid sequences of PIA genes from the isolates were 99.6%-100% and 99.1%-100%, respectively, which indicated that all the isolates were belonging to serovars IA6. Output of rPIA was as high as 50.1% of the total bacterial proteins. The purified rPIA only showed a single target protein fragment in gel.CONCLUSION: Serovar IA6 is dominant in the local N. gonorrhoeae isolates and sequences of the encoding gene are relatively conserved. The constructed prokaryotic expression system is able to express rPIA with high efficiency, which may lay a foundation for further development of serological detection kit and vaccine of N. gonorrhoeae.

ObjectivesTo explore the neuropathological characteristics of children with temporal intractable epilepsy. MethodsA retrospective analysis of the pathological characteristics was conducted in 38 children who underwent epilepsy surgery from December 2011 to December 2013.ResultsAmong 38 patients, aged 2.5-14 years, 21 boys and 17 girls, 21 cases had focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), 1 case had FCDⅠa, 2 cases had FCDⅠb, 1 case had FCDⅡa, 3 cases had FCDⅡb, 5 cases had CDⅢa, 1 case had FCDⅢb, 1 case had FCDⅢc, 6 cases had FCDⅢd. Three cases had microdysgenesis, 3 cases had simple hippocampal sclerosis, 7 cases had neoplasms, 5 cases had dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor, 2 cases had astroglioma, 2 cases had encephalitis, 2 cases had arachnoid cyst. ConclusionsFCD is the most common form that causes temporal lobe intractable ep-ilepsy in children. FCDIIId is the most common subtype in FCD.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the risk stratification of cardiovascular diseases and the outcome of 64-slice helical computed tomography (MSCT) coronary angiography. Methods A total of 470 cases suspected to have coronary heart disease were enrolled.They all received 64-slice MSCT coronary angiography, and they were divided into groups according to the range of disease, degree of calcium scoring, degree of stenosis and characteristic of plaque. Among them, 80 patients underwent both MSCT and selective coronary angiography (CAG) at one time, and they were grouped according to the range of disease and degree of stenosis. All the 470 cases were classified as five levels according to the risk stratification of cardiovascular diseases. The lesions of coronary artery in different risk stratifications were observed, and the correlations were analyzed.Results In the 80 patients who underwent both MSCT and selective CAG, there were no significant differences in the range of coronary artery diseases(χ2=3.631, P=0.067) and coronary arterystenosis (χ2=1.639, P=0.200) between MSCT and CAG. Along with the increased level of the risk stratification, there were the more ranges of the coronary artery diseases (λvery high risk. multi-vessel disease=1.09,λhigh risk. double-vessel disease=0.91, λlow-risk. single-vessel disease=1.07)and the more degrees of coronary artery stenosis(λvery high risk. severe stenosis=0.96,λhigh risk. moderate stenosis=1.03,λlow-risk. mild stenosis=0.78). The degrees of calcium scoring in different risk stratifications of cardiovascular diseases showed significantly differences (F=256.20,123.76,62.50, 98. 24,52.36,P＜0.01). There was the highest percentage of soft plaque in very high risk patients.Higher percentages of fiber plaque, calcified plaque and mixed plaque were found in moderate risk and low risk patients(λvery high risk. soft plaque=1.01,λlow-risk. calcium plaques=1.17). Conclusions The 64-slice MSCT coronary angiography could provide a basis for assessing risk stratification of cardiovascular diseases. The complicated coronary artery disease, moderate-severe calcification, more severe stenosis, higher percentage of soft plaque are found in the very high risk patients. The lower level of the risk stratification is found in patients with the less range of the coronary artery disease and less severe degree of the coronary artery calcification and stenosis. The calcified plaque and mixed plaque are found in moderate risk and low risk patients.

Objective Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common but usually under-diagnosed in hospitalized patients,of the impact of which on patients is still unclear.The paper was aimed to investigate the impact of delayed recognition of AKI on short-time prognosis of patients through a propensity score matched study.Methods From Oct 2013 to Sep 2014,1401 adult hospitalized patients with AKI in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were divided into delayed recognition group and timely-diagnosed group according to propensity score matching (1∶ 1) without replacement method.Primary endpoint was 30-day all-cause mortality,and secondary endpoints included recovery of kidney at discharge,length of hospitalization,length of intensive care unit stay and hospital costs.Results There were significant differences in age,department distribution,complications,stage of AKI,Charlson index,APACHE Ⅱ score,SOFA score between the two groups before matching.After matching,there were no significant difference in demographic data,department distribution,complications,stage of AKI,Charlson index,APACHE Ⅱ score,SOFA score between the two groups except in blood urea nitrogen (P=0.039) and use of diuretics (P=0.018).Delayed recognition of acute kidney injury was not associated with 30-day all-cause mortality in univariate (P=0.711) and multivariate Logistic regression analyses.The secondary endpoints did not differ in two groups.Conclusion Delayed acute kidney injury recognition did not associate with poor short-term outcomes in adult hospitalized patients.

Objective:To evaluate the value of combined measurement of urinary insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) and urinary metalloproteinase inhibitor-2 (TIMP-2) in the early diagnosis and prognosis of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI).Methods:From March 2018 to June 2018, cardiac surgery patients admitted to the cardiac macrovascular surgery department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were prospectively included, and the blood creatinine was monitored to observe the presence of acute kidney injury (AKI). The prognostic information of the patients was collected, including in-hospital dialysis, in-hospital death, complete recovery of kidney function at discharge, death in one year after surgery, and progression to chronic kidney disease. The levels of urine IGFBP7 and TIMP-2 at 6 h, 24 h and 48 h after cardiac surgery were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the urine creatinine (Cr) was also measured. Moreover, receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were plotted and the areas under the curves ( AUC) were calculated to evaluate the predictive value and prognostic value of urinary [TIMP-2]·[IGFBP7] (T*I for short) and urine T*I/urine Cr 2 in CSA-AKI. Results:A total of 74 patients with age of (58.43±10.91) years old and 47 males, were enrolled in this study, of which 24 cases (32.4%) had AKI and 10 cases (13.5%) had stage 2-3 AKI. Compared with the non-AKI group, the AKI group had significantly higher levels of urine T*I levels at 6 h and 24 h (both P<0.05). The AUC of T*I at 24 h predicting for AKI was 0.71(95% CI 0.59-0.81, P=0.001, cutoff value 0.020, sensitivity 79.2%, specificity 56.0%), while the AUC for stage 2-3 AKI was 0.85 (95% CI 0.75-0.92, P<0.001, cutoff value 0.083, sensitivity 70.0%, specificity 90.6%). Urinary T*I normalized for urinary creatinine excretion did not show better predictive value. In addition, of T*I at 24 h predicting for poor hospitalization outcome, renal recovery, and one year postoperative death, the AUC was 0.82(95% CI 0.71-0.90, P=0.001), 0.80(95% CI 0.66-0.86, P<0.001), and 0.81(95% CI 0.70-0.89, P=0.047), respectively. Conclusion:The combined detection of TIMP-2 and IGFBP7 in urine is expected to be a biomarker for early diagnosis of CSA-AKI and has certain clinical value in predicting the prognosis of CSA-AKI.