Protozoans,the natural host of the facultative intracellular pathogen Legionella species,play an important role in survival,proliferation,virulence and stress resistance of Legionella species. By repeating transformation and selection,a spontaneous mutant of plasmid over expressing green fluorescent protein was obtained. This mutant replicates and is maintained stably in Legionella cells. The colonies of L. pneumophila harbouring the mutated plasmid were intense green in colour even under the daylight. After feeding BF1 strain of Tetrahymena thermophila with transformed L. pneumophila,the intracellular dynamic of changing of bacterial shape,bacterial proliferation and lysis of the host cell due to the bacterial proliferation were observed clearly under fluorescent microscopy. Thus,the present paper provides a simple and intuitionistic strategy for investigating the ecological and cellular relationship between L. pneumophila and its host.

Objective: To analyze the mortality trend of bladder cancer among residents in Qidong, Jiangsu Province from 1972 to 2016, so as to provide the basis for the prevention and treatment strategy of bladder cancer in Qidong. Methods: The data of bladder cancer was collected from Qidong Cancer Registry.The crude mortality rate ( CR ), age-standardized rate by Chinese population in 2000 (CASR) and world population in 1960 ( WASR ), truncated rate (35-64 years) and cumulative rate ( 0-74 years ) were calculated. The annual percent change ( APC ) was used to analyze the trend of mortality in bladder cancer. Results: During from 1972 to 2016, There were 1 497 deaths due to bladder cancer in Qidong from 1972 to 2016. The CR, CASR and WASR were 2.96/105, 1.83/105 and 1.80/105, respectively. The APCs in CR, CASR, WASR of bladder cancer were 5.29%, 1.86% and 1.81%, respectively ( P<0.05 ), showing upward trends. The truncated rate, cumulative rate and cumulative risk were 1.47/105, 0.17% and 0.17%, respectively. The CR, CASR and WASR in males were 4.71/105, 2.97/105 and 3.31/105, respectively, which was higher than that of 1.26/105, 0.75/105, and 0.66/105 in females ( P<0.05 ). The APC of CR, CASR and WASR in males were 5.71%, 1.96% and 2.17%, respectively ( P<0.05 ), all showed upward trends. For females, the APC of CR was 4.47% ( P<0.05 ), showing an upward trend, but there was no significant change in CASR and WASR ( P>0.05 ). The CR of bladder cancer was high among people aged more than 55 years. The CR in 55-64-year-old group, 65-74-year-old group and more than 75-year-old group showed upward trends, with APC of 4.50%, 2.22% and 4.51%, respectively ( P<0.05 ). Conclusions From 1972 to 2016, the mortality of bladder cancer in Qidong showed an upward trend, which was relatively high in men and people aged over 55 years.

Along with the development of economy and society, type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM) has become one of the most common diseases at the global level. As one of the complications of T2DM, diabetic neuropathic pain (DNP) stubbornly and chronically affects the health and life of human beings. In the pain field, dorsal root ganglion (DRG) is generally considered as the first stage of the sensory pathway where the hyperexcitability of injured neurons is associated with different kinds of peripheral neuropathic pains. The abnormal electrophysiology is mainly due to the changed properties of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and the increased sodium currents (I(Na)). Curcumin is an active ingredient extracted from turmeric and has been demonstrated to ameliorate T2DM and its various complications including DNP effectively. The present study demonstrates that the I(Na) of small-sized DRG neurons are significantly increased with the abnormal electrophysiological characteristics of VGSCs in type 2 diabetic neuropathic pain rats. And these abnormalities can be ameliorated efficaciously by a period of treatment with curcumin.
Animals ; Curcumin ; pharmacology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; complications ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; complications ; Diabetic Neuropathies ; drug therapy ; Ganglia, Spinal ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Neuralgia ; drug therapy ; Neurons ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Rats ; Sodium ; Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels ; physiology

Objective To summarize the experience of diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of solid pseudopapillary tumors of the pancreas (SPT) in China. Methods The Chinese literature from January 1992 to April 2009 in Chinese Journal Full-text Database was systematically searched and a total of 439 cases of SPT from 42 reports were found. Clinical data of these cases were retrospectively analyzed. Results Among 439 was 28 years old (range 8 ～76 yrs). The clinical symptoms were recorded in 377 cases, including abdominal pain (35. 3%), mass (31. 3%), discomfort (7. 7%). 101 patients (26. 8%) were completely asymptomatic, and the lesions were detected during routine check-up. All of the patients underwent surgical resection. The preoperative misdiagnosis rate was 65.4% ( 161/246 ). The rate of curative resection was 97.3% (427/439). Mean diameter of the tumor was 7.8 cm ( range 1.5 ～ 25.0 cm). Among 394 patients with information on metastases or invasions, 80 patients(20.3% ) were positive. In all patients, 418(95.2% )were followed up and the mean follow-up period was 34 months ( range 1 month to 25 years ). During the follow-up period, 403 ( 96. 4% ) patients were alive with no evidence of recurrence or metastases, local recurrence developed in 4 patients, the liver metastases developed in 6 patients, 4 patients died from the disease. Conclusions SPT is a rare and potentially low-grade malignant tumor, and predominantly affect young women. The correct diagnosis depends on the histopathological examination. Radical surgical resection is the only effective treatment for SPT, which usually has an excellent prognosis.

OBJECTIVEHighland natives adapt well to the hypoxic environment at high altitude (HA). Several genes have been reported to be linked to HA adaptation. Previous studies showed that the endothelial ni- tric oxide synthase (ENOS) G894T polymorphism contributed to the physiology and pathophysiology of hu- mans at HA by regulating the production of NO. In this meta-analysis, we evaluate the association between the ENOS G894T polymorphism and HA adaptation through analyzing the published data.

METHODSWe searched all relevant literature about the ENOS G894T polymorphism and HA adaptation in PubMed, Med- line, and Embase before Step 2015. A random-effects model was applied (Revman 5.0), and study quality was assessed in duplicate. Six studies with 634 HA native cases and 621 low-altitude controls were included in this meta-analysis.

RESULTSFrom the results, we observed that the wild-type allele G was significantly overrepresented in the HA groups (OR = 1.85; 95% Cl, 1.47-2.33; P < 0.0001). In addition, the GG genotype was significantly associated with HA adaptation (OR = 1.99; 95% Cl, 1.54-2.57; P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONOur results showed that in 894 G allele carriers, the GG genotype might be a beneficial factor for HA adaptation through enhancing the level of NO. However, more studies were needed to confirm our findings due to the limited sample size.

Objective To investigate the removal effect of immunoadsorption (IA) on associated antibodies and the efficacy in late-onset myasthenia gravis (MG). Methods A total of 25 late-onset MG patients were randomly selected to enroll in this study. IA therapy was given to 10 patients (IA group), while immunoglobin (0.4 g·kg-1·d-1) was administrated to the other 15 patients for 5 days(Ig group). The titers of Titin antibody (Titin-ab), acetylcholine receptor antibody (AchR-ab) and presynaptic membrane antibody (PrsmR-ab) were detected before and after the treatment. Quantitive MG (QMG) score was assessed before and immediately after the entire course of treatment. The clinical efficacy, the duration of respiratory support and in-hospital were compared between two groups. The correlation between three antibodies and QMG score was also analyzed. Results Compared with that before treatment, the Titin-ab PIN values, the AchR-ab PIN values, and the PrsmR-ab P/N values of IA group were all decreased significantly after treatment (P<0.05, respectively). The P/N value of Titin-ab in IA group was decreased by 54.7%～3.5%, which was significantly higher than that in Ig group(19.9%±3.1%) (P<0.01). QMG score reduced by 42.4%± 4.2% and 23.8%±3.7% in IA group and Ig group respectively (P<0.01, respectively). Symptoms were effectively ameliorated by both treatments, but the effective power of IA group was higher than that of Ig group (70% vs 40%, P<0.05). Remission time of IA group was significantly shorter than that of Ig group [(5.38±0.42) d vs (8.4±1.54) d, P=0.008), so was the duration of in-hospital [(13.50±0.50) d vs (16.50±0.50) d, P<0.05). The number of respiratory support in IA group was less than that in Ig group (1/10 vs 6/15, P<0.05). By the Pearson correlation analysis, the decrease of Titin-ab showed a better longitudinal correlation with the decrease of QMG score than the other two antibodies (r=0.6315, P<0.01). Conclusion IA can rapidly and effectively clear the pathogenic antibodies of late-onset MG patients and its short-term clinical efficacy is better than immunoglobin.

Objective:To determine whether ox-LDL (oxdized low-density lipoprotein) is highly deposited on the uremic vessel wall and its influence on the vascular remodeling. Methods: Segments of radial arteries were obtained from 21 uremic subjects during the operation of A-V fistula prior to hemodialysis. Segments of internal thoracic arteries of similar diameter were obtained from patients with benign chest tumors as control.The vascular lesions and ox-LDL, CD68,MCP-1, eNOS,ET-1, PCNA,FN on the vessel wall were determined by means of H-E stain and immunohistochemistry. Results： With H-E stain,atherosclerotic plaques were found in the radial arteries of 4 uremic patients. The middle layer of the arteries in uremic patients were obviously thickened, and the T/D　(thickness of the wall/external diameter) ratio was significantly higher than those in control group(P<0.01). ox-LDL,CD68,MCP-1, ET-1, PCNA,FN on the vessel wall in uremic patients were much higher than those in control group (P<0.01). Moreover, ox-LDL on the vessel wall was positively related to the expression of other above mentioned substances on the vessel wall (P<0.01). Whereas the expression of eNOS on the vessel wall was lower than control group (P<0.01),and was negatively related to ox-LDL on the vessel wall(P<0.01). Conclusion: ox-LDL is an important factor contributing to uremic vascular remodeling by increasing the migration,adhesion and infiltration of monocyte,the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cell and dysfunction of endothelia.

Objective To study the association of biallelic polymorphism at position 196 in exon 6 of tumor necrosis factor receptor 2(TNFR2) gene and coronary artery disease(CAD).Methods A retrospective case control study was designed in this investigation.Patients with angiographically proven CAD (n=142)and coronary atherosclerosis(n=215)were compared to healthy volunteers(n=631). Genotyping was performed by ShineRoar probes analysis.Results People with GG genotype at position 196 in exon 6 of TNFR2 gene have more risks of development of CAD(OR=2.556,95% CI:1.051～6.218, χ2=4.57,P=0.033)and CA(OR=2.547,95% CI:1.162～5.579,χ2=5.81,P=0.016) than those with TT genotype.Further analysis after adjustment for sex and age demonstrated that GG genotype was not associated with CAD(OR=0.614,95% CI:0.166～2.279,χ2=0.53,P=0.466)and coronary atherosclerosis(OR=O.644,95%CI:0.200-2.069,χ2=0.55,P=0.459).Conclusion Tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 gene polymorphism at position 196 in exon 6 was not an independent risk factor of development of CAD and coronary atherosclerosis among Han Chinese.

The kinetics of nicotine degradation by O.intermedium DN2 and its application in tobacco waste were investigated. The results showed that the optimum temperature of nicotine degradation by O.intermedium was 30 ℃, the pH value was 6.5 and a mount of inoculum was 5 %. Under above conditions, the kinetics of nicotine degradation of initial concentration 500 mg/L was studied. The results indicated that the degradation process of nicotine with no-induced strain DN2 followed inverse S-shaped curve, and degradation process of nicotine with induced cells of DN2 followed Eckenfelder mode. The half life of nicotine degradation was 17.43 h and 4.10 h, respectively. And the results also showed that tolerance of O.intermedium DN2 to nicotine was up to 5000 mg/L when 0.1 % of glucose was added. Nicotine (2 220 mg/L) in extract of tobacco wastes degraded about 95.22 % by strain DN2 in 60 h incubation, indicating that strain DN2 was of application value in treatment nicotine pollution.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of multiple stents placement in the management of hilar cholangiocarcinoma,especially in the complex cases of which the hepatic ducts are invaded.Methods Forty-five consecutive patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma were treated with percutaneous transhepatic placement of two or three self-expandable metallic endoprostheses.The cause of hilar obstructions in these patients were all cholangiocarcinoma,including Bismuth classification type Ⅱ(n 12 ),Ⅲa(n 17),Ⅲb(n 10),and Ⅳ(n 6).Two or 3 stents were placed in the configuration of T,Y or X over the strictures.Results Stent placement with 2 or 3 endoprostheses was successful in all patients.All patients showed significant decrease in serum bilirubin level.The mortality rate within 30 days of stent placement was 2.2%(1/45).The mean survival and stent patency times were 215.3 d(26— 516 d)and 181.5 d(26—473 d),respectively.Conclusion Deploying of multiple metallic stents is an effective method to treat complex hilar cholangiocarcinoma,especially for the cases of which hepatic ducts are invaded:the henatic ducts should be drained as much as nossible.