ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy ofYigongpowder withYupingfengpowder for syndrome of spleen deficiency in children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.MethodsA total of 60 patients who had spleen deficiency after azithromycin injection 5 days were randomly divided into treatment group and control group according to the random number table, with 30 in each group. The patients in both received azithromycin suspension for 2 weeks, while the patients in the treatment group received azithromycin suspension and traditional Chinese medicineYigongpowder withYupingfengpowder for 2 weeks. The symptoms score was used to evaluate the clinical efficacy.ResultsThe scores of appetite loss (0.65 ± 1.00vs. 2.32 ± 1.28,t=5.631), abdominal distention (0.73 ± 0.23vs.1.33 ± 0.97,t=3.297) and fatigue (0.72 ± 0.32vs. 1.42 ± 1.18,t=3.136) in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The total effective rate for syndrome of spleen deficiency in the treatment group was significantly higher than thatin the control group(90.0%vs.66.7%;χ2=4.812,P<0.05).ConclusionYigongpowder withYupingfeng powder can significantly improve the symptoms of syndrome of spleen deficiency in children with mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia.

Objective To evaluate immunogenicity of the recombinant protein GST-p55/570 of Pneumocystis carinii.Methods The fusion protein GST-p55/570 was expressed from the prokaryotic expression plasmid pGEX-570,and purified by using glutathione-agarose.The expressed product was analyzed by SDS-PAGE.Thirty-three mice were randomly divided into three groups,immunized with GST-p55/570,GST and PBS,respectively.Each group was immunized for four times at 2 week intervals.At the 7th day after final immunization,spleen was removed to obtain single cell suspension.Proliferation ability of lymphocytes was determined by MTT.Serum samples were collected at pre-immunizaton and two weeks after each immunization.Antibody level in sera of mice was determined by ELISA.The immune response to the recombinant GST-p55/570 recognized by sera of immunized mice was examined by Western blotting.Results The expressed fusion protein GST-p55/570 showed a Mr 47 000.Compared with GST group(1.134 5?0.073 5) or PBS group(1.124 8?0.041 6),a higher stimulation index(2.063 0?0.160 2) was revealed in GST-p55/570-immunized mice(P

To construct the eukaryotic expression plasmid containing the p55 gene fragment of Pneumocystis and to investigate the efficient expression in COS-7 cells, the gene fragment conaining the whole length of p55 gene was used as template to amplify this fragment with PCR and the amplified fragment was then cloned to vector pGEM-T. After enzyme digestion, p55 gene was cloned to the eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1(+) to construct the plasmid pcDNA3.1(+)-582. This plasmid was then transfected to the eukaryotic expression cells COS-7 and PCR and SDS-PAGE assays were used to confirm the presence of target protein in these cells. In these ways, the eukaryotic expression vector for the p55 gene of Pneumocystis of rats was successfully constructed and expressed in COS-7 cells, thus providing the basis for further studies on the nucleic acid vaccine.

The historical surveillance results showed, there were 10 schistosomiasis cases in Huangshan City from 1994 to 2006. The survey in 2007 showed, the positive rates of blood examination for schistosomiasis in migrant workers and immigrant workers were 0.49% and 0.47% , respectively, but no schistosome-infected patients were detected by using the stool examination. An area with snails of 3 000 m~2 was found in the residence of the immigrant workers, but no infected snails were found. It is indicated that the mobile population has some impact on the transmission of schistosomiasis in the transmission-interrupted area. The surveillance and health education for the mobile population should be strengthened, and the imported infectious source should be prevented.

Endoscopy ; Health Services Needs and Demand

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of serum D-dimer combined with myocardial injury markers on admission for early identification of high-risk patients with acute myocarditis.Methods:Patients hospitalized for acute myocarditis in China-Japan Friendship Hospital were retrospectively enrolled from 2010 to 2021. Patients were divided into the high D-dimer level group and low D-dimer level group according to the median value of D-dimer measured by immunoturbidimetry within 24 h of admission. In-hospital adverse events were defined as death, cardiogenic shock, malignant ventricular arrhythmia and new-onset heart failure. Multivariate logistic analysis was used to explore the independent predictors of in-hospital adverse events, and receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the predictive value.Results:A total of 106 patients were analyzed, including 52 high level D-dimer patients and 54 low level D-dimer patients, with an average age of (36±16) years, and 62.3% were male. Compared with the low D-dimer level group, patients in the high D-dimer level group had lower mean systolic blood pressure [(114±21) mmHg vs. (121±14) mmHg] and diastolic blood pressure [(71±13) mmHg vs. (76±10) mmHg], higher heart rate [(97±26) beats/min vs. (79±15) beats/min], higher C-reactive protein levels [6.82 (1.61, 20.05) mg/dL vs. 1.30 (0.13, 8.93) mg/dL] and creatinine levels [86.95 (67.63, 117.83) μmol/L vs. 68.80 (60.18, 81.93) μmol/L] on admission. The proportion of patients having QRS interval >120 ms on electrocardiogram was higher in high D-dimer level group (25.0% vs. 7.4%). There was no significant difference in patients with positive myocardial injury biomarkers between the two groups. The incidence of in-hospital adverse events was higher in the high D-dimer level group (67.3% vs. 22.2%, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that serum D-dimer levels and elevated myocardial injury markers on admission were independently associated with in-hospital adverse events. The area under the curve (AUC) of elevated serum D-dimer level on admission for predicting in-hospital adverse events was 0.781 (95% CI: 0.690-0.873), the sensitivity was 74.5%, and the specificity was 71.2%. When combined with positive cardiac biomarkers, the AUC was 0.831 (95% CI: 0.752-0.910) with a sensitivity of 80.9% and a specificity of 78.0%. Conclusions:Elevated D-dimer level on admission can predict the risk of in-hospital adverse events in patients with acute myocarditis. The combination of cardiac injury biomarkers can improve the predictive value.

In the context of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), characterized by dysregulated lipid metabolism in hepatocytes, the quest for safe and effective therapeutics targeting lipid metabolism has gained paramount importance. Sanhuang Xiexin Tang (SXT) and Baihu Tang (BHT) have emerged as prominent candidates for treating metabolic disorders. SXT combined with BHT plus Cangzhu (SBC) has been used clinically for Weihuochisheng obese patients. This retrospective analysis focused on assessing the anti-obesity effects of SBC in Weihuochisheng obese patients. We observed significant reductions in body weight and hepatic lipid content among obese patients following SBC treatment. To gain further insights, we investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of SBC in HFD-fed mice. The results demonstrated that SBC treatment mitigated body weight gain and hepatic lipid accumulation in HFD-fed mice. Pharmacological network analysis suggested that SBC may affect lipid metabolism, mitochondria, inflammation, and apoptosis-a hypothesis supported by the hepatic transcriptomic analysis in HFD-fed mice treated with SBC. Notably, SBC treatment was associated with enhanced hepatic mitochondrial biogenesis and the inhibition of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/NF-κB pathways. In conclusion, SBC treatment alleviates NAFLD in both obese patients and mouse models by improving lipid metabolism, potentially through enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis. These effects, in turn, ameliorate inflammation in hepatocytes.
Humans ; Mice ; Animals ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/metabolism* ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Organelle Biogenesis ; Retrospective Studies ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Obesity/metabolism* ; Liver ; Inflammation/metabolism* ; Body Weight ; Lipid Metabolism ; Lipids ; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects*