ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnostic value of single balloon enteroscopy (SBE) for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.MethodsA total of 78 SBE procedures was conducted on 72 patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding,with 40 via oral route and 38 via anal route.The procedure time,insertion depth and rate of positive finding were recorded.ResultsFor 40 SBE procedures performed via oral route,the mean procedure time was 60 minutes ( 15-110 minutes),and the mean insertion depth was 195 cm at the distal end of Trentz ligament (30-240 cm).For 38 SBE procedures performed via anus,the mean procedure time was 75 minuets (30-120 minutes),and the mean insertion depth was 160 cm at the proximal end of ileocecal valve (50-200 cm ).The whole diagnostic yield of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding was 62.5％.ConclusionSBE is a safe and useful tool for the diagnosis of obscure gastrointestinal bleeding.

Abstract: Objective　To investigate the antimicrobial activity of omadacycline (OMC) against clinical Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) isolates, as well as its relationship with biofilm formation, resistance genes and virulence genes. Methods　A total of 136 strains of Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from Shenzhen Nanshan People's Hospital between 2015 to 2020. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of OMC against Streptococcus agalactiae was determined by broth microdilution. Crystal violet staining was used to detect the biofilm formation ability of GBS. Resistance genes (tetM, tetO, tetK, ermB, OptrA) and virulence genes (cpsⅢ, bca, fbsA, cpsA, scpB) were investigated by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results　Among the 136 clinical isolates of GBS, 20 strains (14.7%) were resistant to OMC, 64 (47.1%) were intermediate, and 52 (38.2%) were sensitive. Fifty-seven strains (41.9%) were biofilm-positive, 20 of which (35.1%) were sensitive to OMC. Seventy-nine strains (58.1%) were biofilm-negative, 32 of which (40.5%) were susceptible to OMC. There was a statistically significant difference in the sensitivity rates between the two groups of strains (χ2=63.062, P<0.001), but there was no significant difference in the sensitivity of OMC among the biofilm-positive strains (Fisher's exact test, P=0.824). The resistance rates of tetM, tetO, ermB and OptrA positive strains were higher than those of negative strains, while tetK was opposite. The presence of tetM (Z=0.815, P=0.415), tetO (Z=0.151, P=0.88), tetK (Z=0.567, P=0.571), ermB (Z=1.198, P=0.231) resistance genes in Streptococcus agalactiae had no significant impact on the sensitivity of OMC. However, the presence of the OptrA resistance gene showed a statistically significant effect on the sensitivity of OMC (Z=2.913, P=0.004). The virulence factors cpsⅢ, bca, fbsA, cpsA and scpB were all detected at a rate higher than 50%. The presence of the virulence genes cpsⅢ (Z=0.222, P=0.824), bca (Z=0.141, P=0.888), fbsA (Z=0.813, P=0.416), and cpsA (Z=1.615, P=0.106) in Streptococcus agalactiae had no significant impact on the sensitivity of OMC. However, there was a significant inter-group difference in the scpB virulence gene (Z=2.844, P=0.004), but the rank mean values and resistance rates of scpB-positive strains were lower than those of the negative strains. Conclusions　The formation of biofilm in Streptococcus agalactiae reduces its sensitivity to OMC, but there was no significant difference in the sensitivity to OMC among the biofilm-positive strains. The presence of resistance genes tetM, tetO, tetK, ermB, and virulence genes cpsⅢ, bca, fbsA, cpsA, scpB in Streptococcus agalactiae is not associated with OMC resistance, but the presence of the resistance gene OptrA is correlated with OMC resistance..

AIMTo validate the abundance of Interleukin 8 receptor beta (IL-8Rbeta) mRNA in single human neutrophil.

METHODSHuman neutrophils were isolated and purified from volunteers, total RNA was extracted and a regular RT-PCR aiming at IL-8Rbeta mRNA was performed to ascertain its expression profile in human neutrophils and optimize the reaction conditions for the following single-cell RT-PCR procedures. Subsequently, single neutrophil or the cellular content was harvested to conduct reverse transcription and two-round PCR with the same primer pairs used before. Serial dilution of single neutrophil cDNA pool was carried out at the same time with the exact two-round PCR followed. The specificity of this single-cell RT-PCR procedure was verified by the BamHI restriction endonuclease digestion on the final cDNA products.

RESULTSRegular RT-PCR indicated IL-8Rbeta mRNA expression in human neutrophils. While single-cell RT-PCR was sensitive enough to detect trace IL-8Rbeta mRNA as predicted cDNA product could be amplified from a 10 000 times diluted intracellular specimen from single neutrophil, which indicated an abundant expression of this mRNA in human neutrophil. Moreover, BamHI digestion on the final cDNA product clarified the specificity of this single-cell RT-PCR procedure.

CONCLUSIONThis simplified semi-quantitative single-cell RT-PCR procedure specifically confirmed that IL-8Rbeta mRNA was highly expressed in human neutrophil, which also provided the possibility of comparing mRNA abundance at single cell level.

Cells, Cultured ; Humans ; Neutrophils ; chemistry ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; Receptors, Interleukin-8B ; analysis ; genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; methods ; Single-Cell Analysis ; methods

Objective: This study aimed to determine the predictive performance of non-contrast CT (NCCT) signs for hemorrhagic growth after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) when stratified by onset-to-imaging time (OIT). Materials and Methods: 1488 supratentorial ICH within 6 h of onset were consecutively recruited from six centers between January 2018 and August 2022. NCCT signs were classified according to density (hypodensities, swirl sign, black hole sign, blend sign, fluid level, and heterogeneous density) and shape (island sign, satellite sign, and irregular shape) features. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between NCCT signs and three types of hemorrhagic growth: hematoma expansion (HE), intraventricular hemorrhage growth (IVHG), and revised HE (RHE). The performance of the NCCT signs was evaluated using the positive predictive value (PPV) stratified by OIT. Results: Multivariable analysis showed that hypodensities were an independent predictor of HE (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval] of 7.99 [4.87–13.40]), IVHG (3.64 [2.15–6.24]), and RHE (7.90 [4.93–12.90]). Similarly, OIT (for a 1-h increase) was an independent inverse predictor of HE (0.59 [0.52–0.66]), IVHG (0.72 [0.64–0.81]), and RHE (0.61 [0.54– 0.67]). Blend and island signs were independently associated with HE and RHE (10.60 [7.36–15.30] and 10.10 [7.10–14.60], respectively, for the blend sign and 2.75 [1.64–4.67] and 2.62 [1.60–4.30], respectively, for the island sign). Hypodensities demonstrated low PPVs of 0.41 (110/269) or lower for IVHG when stratified by OIT. When OIT was ≤ 2 h, the PPVs of hypodensities, blend sign, and island sign for RHE were 0.80 (215/269), 0.90 (142/157), and 0.83 (103/124), respectively. Conclusion Hypodensities, blend sign, and island sign were the best NCCT predictors of RHE when OIT was ≤ 2 h. NCCT signs may assist in earlier recognition of the risk of hemorrhagic growth and guide early intervention to prevent neurological deterioration resulting from hemorrhagic growth.

The present study was designed to investigate the electrophysiological characteristics of rat conduit pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and the response to acute hypoxia. PASMCs of the 1st to 2nd order branches in the conduit pulmonary arteries were obtained by enzymatic isolation. The PASMCs were divided into acute hypoxia preconditioned group and normoxia group. Hypoxia solutions were achieved by bubbling with 5% CO2 plus 95% N2 for at least 30 min before cell perfusion. Potassium currents were compared between these two groups using whole-cell patch clamp technique. The total outward current of PASMCs was measured under normoxia condition when iBTX [specific blocking agent of large conductance Ca-activated K(+) (BK(Ca)) channel] and 4-AP [specific blocking agent of delayed rectifier K(+) (K(DR)) channel] were added consequently into bath solution. PASMCs were classified into three types according to their size, shape and electrophysiological characteristics. Type I cells are the smallest with spindle shape, smooth surface and discrete perinuclear bulge. Type II cells show the biggest size with banana-like appearance. Type III cells have the similar size with type I, and present intermediary shape between type I and type II. iBTX had little effect on the total outward current in type I cells, while 4-AP almost completely blocked it. Most of the total outward current in type II cells was inhibited by iBTX, and the remaining was sensitive to 4-AP. In type III cells, the total outward current was sensitive to both iBTX and 4-AP. Acute hypoxia reduced the current in all three types of cells: (1614.8+/-62.5) pA to (892.4+/-33.6) pA for type I cells (P<0.01); (438.3+/-42.8) pA to (277.5+/-44.7) pA for type II cells (P<0.01); (1 042.0+/-37.2) pA to (613.6+/-23.8) pA for type III (P<0.01), and raised the resting membrane potentials (E(m)) in all these three types of cells: (-41.6+/-1.6) mV to (-18.6+/-1.5) mV (P<0.01), (-42.3+/-3.8) mV to (-30.6+/-3.0) mV (P<0.01), (-43.3+/-1.6) mV to (-28.4+/-1.4) mV (P<0.01), for type I, II, III cells, respectively. These results suggest that acute hypoxia suppresses the potassium current and improves the E(m) in PASMCs. These effects may be involved in the modulation of constriction/relaxation of conduit artery under acute hypoxia. Different distribution of K(DR) and BK(Ca) channels in these three types of PASMCs might account for their different constriction/relaxation response to acute hypoxia.
4-Aminopyridine ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Cell Hypoxia ; Male ; Membrane Potentials ; drug effects ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; cytology ; physiology ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; physiology ; Peptides ; pharmacology ; Potassium Channels ; physiology ; Pulmonary Artery ; cytology ; physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

We investigated the contamination,antimicrobial resistance and the virulence genes carriage of Salmonella spp. in duck slaughter chain.Suspected strains were isolated from slaughterhouse samples according to GB 4789.4-2010 and identi-fied by duplex PCR,and then the positive strains were used for serotype analysis.Subsequently,positive strains were tested against 10 different antimicrobial agents using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method,the results were determined on the basis of CLSI standard.Finally,9 virulence genes were detected among positive strains by PCR.The results showed that 9 9 Salmonella isolates were recovered from 343 samples and total isolation rate was 28.86%.The prevalence of Salmonella before slaughte-ring,at depilation stage,at evisceration stage,in duck meat and after slaughtering was 45.71%,22.68%,24.72%, 38.33% and 25.81%,respectively.Seven serotypes were de-tected and most of them were S.Indiana,S.Newlands,S. Anatum.The Salmonella isolates were most frequently re-sistant to nalidixic acid(91.92%),the resistance rates of tet-racycline (43.43%),ampicillin (42.42%),trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (34.34%),ciprofloxacin (29.29%),ceftri-axone (27.27%),gentamycin (24.24%),and kanamycin (22.22%)were at a medium level.The resistance rates of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (9.09%)and minocycline (6.06%)were relatively low.The multi-drug resistance rate of Salmonella isolates,which was 47.47%,showed a high especially in S.Indi-ana,S.Typhi and S.Typhimurium.It was notable that the harboring rates of virulence gene spvR(94.95%),avrA (93.94%),ssaQ(90.91%),mgtC(87.88%),sopB(83.84%),bcfC(80.81%),siiD(77.78%)among Salmonella isolates were at high level,in contrast to the lower carriage rates of spvB(29.29%),spvC (11.11%).In summary,the results indica-ted that the duck slaughter chain was easily contaminated by Salmonella spp.with different serotypes,different antibiotic re-sistant patterns and high virulence genes harboring rate.Relevant slaughterhouse and departments should strengthen supervi-sion in sanitation and manage the use of antimicrobial agents,to guarantee food safety and public health．

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of pegylated recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (PEG-rhG-CSF) in prophylaxis neutropenia after chemotherapy in patients with lymphoma. Methods: This was a multicenter, single arm, open, phase Ⅳ clinical trial. Included 410 patients with lymphoma received multiple cycles of chemotherapy and PEG-rhG-CSF was administrated as prophylactic. The primary endpoint was the incidence of Ⅲ/Ⅳ grade neutropenia and febrile neutropenia (FN) after each chemotherapy cycle. Meanwhile the rate of antibiotics application during the whole period of chemotherapy was observed. Results: ①Among the 410 patients, 8 cases (1.95%) were contrary to the selected criteria, 35 cases (8.54%) lost, 19 cases (4.63%) experienced adverse events, 12 cases (2.93%) were eligible for the termination criteria, 15 cases (3.66%) develpoed disease progression or recurrence, thus the rest 321 cases (78.29%) were into the Per Protocol Set. ②During the first to fourth treatment cycles, the incidences of grade Ⅳ neutropenia after prophylactic use of PEG-rhG-CSF were 19.14% (49/256) , 12.5% (32/256) , 12.18% (24/197) , 13.61% (20/147) , respectively. The incidences of FN were 3.52% (9/256) , 0.39% (1/256) , 2.54% (5/197) , 2.04% (3/147) , respectively. After secondary prophylactic use of PEG-rhG-CSF, the incidences of Ⅳ grade neutropenia decreased from 61.54% (40/65) in the screening cycle to 16.92% (11/65) , 18.46% (12/65) and 20.75% (11/53) in 1-3 cycles, respectively. The incidences of FN decreased from 16.92% (11/65) in the screening cycle to 1.54% (1/65) , 4.62% (3/65) , 3.77% (2/53) in 1-3 cycles, respectively. ③The proportion of patients who received antibiotic therapy during the whole period of chemotherapy was 34.39% (141/410) . ④The incidence of adverse events associated with PEG-rhG-CSF was 4.63% (19/410) . The most common adverse events were bone pain[3.90% (16/410) ], fatigue (0.49%) and fever (0.24%) . Conclusion During the chemotherapy in patients with lymphoma, the prophylactic use of PEG-rhG-CSF could effectively reduce the incidences of grade Ⅲ/Ⅳ neutropenia and FN, which ensures that patients with lymphoma receive standard-dose chemotherapy to improve its cure rate.

Irisin is a circulating myokine induced by exercise, which is a cleaved version of fibronectin type III domain containing protein 5 (FNDC5). It can promote the browning of white fat tissue, increase energy consumption, and decrease weight. Irisin plays an important role in the regulation of various diseases, such as diabetes and coronary heart disease. Different types of exercise have different effects on irisin level in blood circulation, and moderate exercise can reduce cardiovascular symptoms. In this paper, the cardiovascular protective effect of irisin and its research progress in the field of exercise are reviewed, hoping to provide a new target for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; prevention & control ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Exercise ; Fibronectins ; physiology ; Humans ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Sports Medicine

Humans ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma/diagnosis*

BACKGROUNDAcute lung injury (ALI) is a common complication of sepsis that is associated with high mortality. Intracellular Ca2+ overload plays an important role in the pathophysiology of sepsis-induced ALI, and cyclic adenosine diphosphate ribose (cADPR) is an important regulator of intracellular Ca2+ mobilization. The cluster of differentiation 38 (CD38)/cADPR pathway has been found to play roles in multiple inflammatory processes but its role in sepsis-induced ALI is still unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether the CD38/cADPR signaling pathway is activated in sepsis-induced ALI and whether blocking cADPR-mediated calcium overload attenuates ALI.

METHODSSeptic rat models were established by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Rats were divided into the sham group, the CLP group, and the CLP+ 8-bromo-cyclic adenosine diphosphate ribose (8-Br-cADPR) group. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), cADPR, CD38, and intracellular Ca2+ levels in the lung tissues were measured at 6, 12, 24, and 48 h after CLP surgery. Lung histologic injury, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-μ, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were measured.

RESULTSNAD+, cADPR, CD38, and intracellular Ca2+ levels in the lungs of septic rats increased significantly at 24 h after CLP surgery. Treatment with 8-Br-cADPR, a specific inhibitor of cADPR, significantly reduced intracellular Ca2+ levels (P = 0.007), attenuated lung histological injury (P = 0.023), reduced TNF-μ and MDA levels (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively) and recovered SOD activity (P = 0.031) in the lungs of septic rats.

CONCLUSIONSThe CD38/cADPR pathway is activated in the lungs of septic rats, and blocking cADPR-mediated calcium overload with 8-Br-cADPR protects against sepsis-induced ALI.

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1 ; metabolism ; Acute Lung Injury ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; Animals ; Calcium ; metabolism ; Cyclic ADP-Ribose ; analogs & derivatives ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sepsis ; complications ; Superoxide Dismutase ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism