Objective To investigate the prevalence of virulence genes(ply, pspA, nanA, lytA, psaA) among Streptococcus pneumoniae recently isolated from clinical patients. Methods The 133 strains were isolated from patients in three teaching hospitals in Chongqing from 2006 to 2008. Polymerase chain reaction was used to screen for virulence genes (ply, pspA, nanA, lytA, psaA). Results The positive rate of lytA, psaA, ply, nanA and pspA in 133 clinical isolates were 94.7%, 85.0%, 82.7%, 84. 2% and 60.2%, respectively. The positive rates of the lytA, psaA, ply, nanA and pspA genes in 87 common serotypes isolates was 100%, 87.4%, 86.2%, 89.7%, 67.8%, respectively. Conclusion The total positive rates of five virulence genes in the 133 clinical strains were high. The positive rates of five genes in the com-mon serotypes isolates were higher than those in the no-common serotypes. These genes are important virulence genes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. They could be candidates for protein vaccine of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Objective To explore the relationship between high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA and biological behavior of cervical carcinoma. Methods Sixty-six patients of cervical carcinoma with cytological examinations and 103 patients of cervical carcinoma followed-up after surgical operation were selected for high-risk HPV DNA test with second-generation hybrid capture technique (HC2 Ⅱ). Results ①HPV DNA was positive in 62 and negative in four of 66 patients of cervical carcinoma with an overall prevalence of 94%. ②There was no significant difference in positive HPV DNA of patients with cervical carcinoma between their varied clinical stages and pathologic grades. But, HPV positivity and HPV DNA load in patients with myometrial invasion were higher than those in patients without invasion (P < 0. 05).③ HPV DNA conversed to negative in 99 of 103 patients (96%) with cervical carcinoma after surgical operation from positivity before operation. Conclusions High-risk HPV infection may correlate with angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis of cervical carcinoma and HC2 Ⅱ can be used as an effective method to detect HPV DNA.

OBJECTIVETo study the correlation between clinically detected serum galectin-3 levels and prognosis of liver failure.

METHODSFifty-five patients diagnosed with liver failure were administered a combined modality therapy and followed up until death or for 6 months. Fifty-five patients with liver failure were administered a combined modality therapy and followed up until death or for 6 months. In addition, 30 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 30 healthy volunteers were matched for use as controls. Serum galectin-3 levels were detected at baseline and last follow-up visit and compared between groups by statistical analysis.

RESULTSAt baseline, the CHB group had a significantly higher level of serum galectin-3 than the healthy control group (F=2.701, P less than 0.01). However, the galectin-3 level 5 of the liver failure group was significantly higher than that of both the CHB group (F=8.121, P less than 0.01) and the healthy control group (F=11.231, P less than 0.01). When patients within the liver failure group were divided by survival and death occurring during the 6-month follow-up period, the patients who died (n=28) were found to have a significantly higher level of serum galectin-3 than the surviving patients (n=27) (P less than 0.01). The area under the curve of ROC curve is 0.766, and cut off value is 0.246 5 ng/ml.

CONCLUSIONThe level of serum galectin-3 is positively correlated with risk of death in patients with liver failure. Up-regulation of galectin-3 may act as a protective factor in patients with severe liver injury.

Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Galectin 3 ; blood ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; blood ; Humans ; Liver Failure ; blood ; diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis

Objective Radiation safety of emergency repair personnel in the reactor cabin under the natural circulation condition of the reactor is studied, the radiation protection method of emergency repair personnel in the reactor cabin is described, which provides a theoretical reference for personnel radiation protection and emergency repair time control. Methods The radiation was simulated by the Monte Carlo method for emergency repair personnel in the reactor cabin under the natural circulation condition of the reactor, and the radiation was also analyzed with the radiation data measured by experiments in the reactor cabin under the natural circulation condition of the reactor. Results The neutron dose of external irradiation about reactor simulated computation was 140 μSv/h, and gamma radiation dose rate was 48 μSv/h. By experiment and calculation, the effective dose received by emergency repair personnel in the 30-minutein the reactor cabin was 2.2 mSv. Conclusions Under the natural circulation condition of the reactor, the gamma radiation is harmful to emergency repair personnel, but the focus of protection is different locations for maintenance. It's safe for emergency personnel to repair the reactor in 30 minutes in turn, wearing the respirators.

Aristolochic acids (AAs) have long been considered as a potent carcinogen due to its nephrotoxicity. Aristolochic acid I (AAI) reacts with DNA to form covalent aristolactam (AL)-DNA adducts, leading to subsequent A to T transversion mutation, commonly referred as AA mutational signature. Previous research inferred that AAs were widely implicated in liver cancer throughout Asia. In this study, we explored whether AAs exposure was the main cause of liver cancer in the context of HBV infection in mainland China. Totally 1256 liver cancer samples were randomly retrieved from 3 medical centers and a refined bioanalytical method was used to detect AAI-DNA adducts. 5.10% of these samples could be identified as AAI positive exposure. Whole genome sequencing suggested 8.41% of 107 liver cancer patients exhibited the dominant AA mutational signature, indicating a relatively low overall AAI exposure rate. In animal models, long-term administration of AAI barely increased liver tumorigenesis in adult mice, opposite from its tumor-inducing role when subjected to infant mice. Furthermore, AAI induced dose-dependent accumulation of AA-DNA adduct in target organs in adult mice, with the most detected in kidney instead of liver. Taken together, our data indicate that AA exposure was not the major threat of liver cancer in adulthood.