Objective To investigate the characteristics and clinical significance of increased procal-citonin( PCT) in infant muggy syndrome( IMS) .Methods A total of 23 IMS cases admitted in PICU from Nov 2011 to Apr 2012 were enrolled.All cases were devided into three groups according to pediatric critical illness score,high risk group(n=5),medium risk group(n=12),and mild risk group(n=6).And 23 cases were also divided into infection group and no infection group according to baseline disease before onset.The relationship of PCT and pediatric critical illness score,primary infectino and infection index weer observed, and the possible causes of icn reased PCT in IMS were explored.Twenty age mathc ed infants reec iving exami-nation in clinic served as control gor up.Re sults PCT inrc eased significantly in IMS cases.The PCT level was(91.5 ±90.9) ngm/l ni high risk group,(81.1 ±74.1) ng/ml in medium risk group,and(112.1 ± 74.9) ng/ml in mild risk group,there were no significant differences among trh ee groups( F=0.371,P =0.732).Other infection index like leukocyte conmt,neutrophil and C reactvi e prto ein in IMSg roup were higher thant hose int he cno trol group,and the results had significant differences( P<0.05,reps ectively) .The PCT level was(72.5 ±74.4) ng/ml in infce toi n group,(101.5 ±76.6) ng/ml in no infection rg oup,and there was on sing ificant difference between two groups(t=0.873,P=0.392).There was no relevance be-tween increase of PCT and the incidence of infection before IMS.But PCT had higher correlation to the body tem-perature after IMS(r=-0.362,P=0.049).Conclusion There is correlation between the increased PCT and fever in IMS,and fever in IMS would lead to inflammation and then resulted in the increase of PCT.

Adrenal insufficiency is a common complication in sepsis patients, with a higher morbidity in septic shock patients.Adrenal insufficiency is closely related to coagulation disorders, inflammatory mediators and glucocorticoid resistance.The mechanisms of adrenal insufficiency in sepsis have not been discussed clearly.In the present review we detail the mechanisms of adrenal insufficiency that are active during sepsis.

Bacillus subtilis is a generally recognized as safe (GRAS) strain that has been widely used in industries including fodder, food, and biological control. In addition, B. subtilis expression system also plays a significant role in the production of industrial enzymes. However, its application is limited by its low sporulation frequency and transformation efficiency. Immense studies have been done on interpreting the molecular mechanisms of sporulation and competence development, whereas only few of them were focused on improving sporulation frequency and transformation efficiency of B. subtilis by genetic modification. The main challenge is that sporulation and competence development, as the two major developmental events in the stationary phase of B. subtilis, are regulated by the complicated intracellular genetic regulatory systems. In addition, mutual regulatory mechanisms also exist in these two developmental events. With the development of genetic and metabolic engineering, constructing genetic regulatory networks is currently one of the most attractive research fields, together with the genetic information of cell growth, metabolism, and development, to guide the industrial application. In this review, the mechanisms of sporulation and competence development of B. subtilis, their interactions, and the genetic regulation of cell growth were interpreted. In addition, the roles of these regulatory networks in guiding basic and applied research of B. subtilis and its related species were discussed.
Bacillus subtilis ; genetics ; physiology ; Gene Regulatory Networks ; Metabolic Engineering ; Spores, Bacterial ; physiology

Objective To investigate the prognostic value of amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with sepsis.Methods A total of 162 patients was enrolled with consecutive pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions during the study period of Jan 1st,2013 to June 30th,2013 at Hunan Children's Hospital.The 162 septic patients were divided into sepsis group and severe sepsis group,sepsis group and septic shock group,and survival group and death group.NT-proBNP was tested in the first and third day after 162 septic patients in hospital.Pediatric critical illness score (PCIS) score was assessed in all patients.NT-proBNP was compared between groups.The change of NT-proBNP was summarized between groups.The relationship between NT-proBNP and PCIS was analyzed.Results (1) The plasma NT-proBNP level of the first day after admission in the severe sepsis group and septic shock group was higher than sepsis group,the PCIS in the sepsis group was higher than severe sepsis group and septic shock group,with significant difference (P ＜ 0.05).(2) The plasma NT-proBNP level of the first day after admission in the death group was higher than the survival group,the PCIS in the death was lower than the survivor group,with significant difference (P ＜ 0.05).In the death group,the plasma NT-proBNP level of the third day after admission was higher than the NT-proBNP of the first day after admission (P =0.037) ; contrarily,the plasma NT-proBNP level of the third day after admission was lower than the NT-proBNP of the first day after admission in the survival group (P =0.023).Conclusions NT-proBNP could be used to assess the condition of septic patients,and dynamic test NT-proBNP can help to predict septic patient’s prognosis.

Objective To explore the changes of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in pediatric severe sepsis treated with continuous blood purification(CBP).Methods Prospective study,35 cases of critically ill children diagnosed with severe sepsis and admitted to PICU of Shanghai Children's Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University from June 2012 to May 2014 served as reseach objective.Based on the monitoring of vital signs,including central venous pressure,arterial blood pressure,mean arterial pressure,patients were treated with conventional therapy,as antibiotics,fluid therapy,and CBP by mode of continuous veno-venous hemodiafiltration or high volume hemofiltration.Plasma levels of rennin activity,angiontensin Ⅱ and aldosterone were measured by radioimmunoassay before and 24 h after CBP.Twenty-five cases of blood samples taken from the children collected from health care for liver function examination were matched as control group.Results Plasmalevelsofrenninactivitywere(2.11 ±1.93) pg/(L·h),(1.27±1.56) μg/(L·h),(0.37 ± 0.22) μg/(L· h) before and 24 h after CBP and control group,respectively.The levels of angiontensin Ⅱ were (426.78 ±332.37) ng/L,(364.40 ± 325.51) ng/L,(41.70 ± 10.81) ng/L,respectively.And the levels of aldosterone were (255.12 ± 218.18) ng/L,(134.92 ± 104.13) ng/L,(106.88 ±43.18) ng/L,respectively.The plasma levels of rennin activity,angiontensin Ⅱ,and aldosterone were higher in sepsis cases than in control group,while decreased obviously after CBP treatment(P ＜0.01,P ＜0.05).Eleven cases died and mortality was 31.4％ (11/35).After 24 h of CBP,the mean arterial pressure improved in 26 cases with septic shock and dopamine dose reduced(P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion The reaction of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system is increased significantly in pediatric severe sepsis.CBP can down-regulate the levels of rennin activity,angiotensin Ⅱand aldosterone,but not worsen the circulation function.

Objective To investigate the distribution of endemic arsenism and to provide a scientific basis for control and prevention of the disease.Methods According to previous investigation,in the high-arsenic water areas,the arsenic diseased areas and the surrounding lands,35 counties were investigated.Water arsenic was screened in all the survey sites,villages with water arsenic exceeding the standard were quantitative surveyed of water arsenic and the disease conditions.Screening of arsenic content in drinking water was done by the method of half-quantitative fast reagent kit.Quantitative determination of arsenic in water was done by hydride generationatomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS).Patients of endemic arsenism were diagnosed by the Standard of Diagnosis for Endemic Arsenism (WS/T 211-2001).Identification of area was done by Definition and Division Standard for Endemic Arsenism (WS 277-2007).The data were analyzed using SPSS 13.0 for windows.Results Water arsenic of 151 villages in 15 counties among 1 771 villages were higher than the national drinking water quality level(0.05 mg/L).Exposure population of high arsenic was 177 018 people.The census results of high arsenic water sources indicated that the ratio of drinking water arsenic levels higher than the national standard was 35.10％ (2 355/6 709) and the highest contents of arsenic was 1.733 0 mg/L.The disease census indicated that there were 33 latency arsenism districts and 118 arsenism districts.There was totally 39 757 patients with latency arsenism.Totally 137 261 people lived in arsenism districts.Light,moderate and severe arsenism districts was 82,29 and 7,respectively.Totally 1 244 suspicious patients with endemic arsenism were discovered,and 3 473 light and more severe patients were discovered and the detected rate of light and more severe patients was 2.54％ (3 473/136 924).Most patient were not serious.Conclusions High arsenic areas and endemic arsenism areas are distributed in 15 counties of Shanxi Province.In the future primary task in prevention and control of endemic arsenism is comprehensive prevention and control measures.

Objective To analyse the relationship between insulin resistance and the pancreatic beta cell dysfunction in critically ill children with hyperglycemia,to investigate the relationship between the pancreas injury and pancreatic beta cells dysfunction.Methods Seven hundred and thirty-six critically ill children admitted in PICU of Hunan Children's Hospital from Nov 2012 to Mar 2013 were reviewed and analyzed.According to the maximum intravenous blood glucose within 24 h after admission,they were divided into severely elevated group (blood glucose ≥11.1 mmol/L,n =67),slightly elevated group(blood glucose 6.1 ～ 11.1 mmol/L,n =361) and control group (blood glucose ≤ 6.1 mmo/L,n =308).Serum insulin,C peptide,serum amylase,lipase,urinary amylase,HOMA-β,HOMA-IR were compared among 3 groups.According to the severity of sepsis,they were divided into non-sepsis group (n =414),sepsis group (n =237),severe sepsis group (n =64),septic shock group (n =21).Blood glucose,serum insulin,C peptide,HOMA-βand HOMA-IR were compared among 4 groups.Results (l)The levels of insulin,C peptide,blood amylase,lipase and urine amylase were gradually increased with elevated blood sugar(rs =0.235,P ＜ 0.05;C =0.142,P ＜ 0.05 ; rs =0.142,P ＜ 0.05 ; rs =0.119,P ＜ 0.05 ; r.s =0.093,P ＜ 0.05).The differences among 3 groups were significant (P ＜ 0.05).The levels of serum amylase (IU/L) [102.81 (10.48-191.69)],lipase(U/L) [69.75(10.67-121.85)] were higher than upper limit of normal in severely elevated group.HOMA-β fell to 18.75％ in severely elevated group.The level of HOMA-β was decreased with the increase of blood sugar level (rs =-0.108,P ＜ 0.05).The level of HOMA-IR was increased with the elevated blood sugar level(rs =0.455,P ＜ 0.05).(2) The levels of blood glucose,insulin,C peptide and HOMA-β were significantly different among 4 groups of non-sepsis,sepsis,severe sepsis and septic shock group (P ＜ 0.05),HOMA-IR showed no significant difference among 4 groups (P ＞ 0.05).The levels of blood sugar increased to 9.21 (6.21-19.60) mmol/L,HOMA-β declined to 10.52％ in septic shock group,and blood glucose,insulin,C peptide,HOMA-β were significantly different compared with the other 3 groups (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Hyperglycemia is associated with insulin resistance and pancreatic β cells dysfunction in critically ill children,the cause of beta cell dysfunction is secondary to pancremic injury.Pancreatic beta cells dysfunction inducing hyperglycemia is more significant than insulin resistance in sepsis children.

Objective To id scuss the role and safety of fiberoptic bronchoscopy for diagnosing and treating respiratory dsi ease in PICU.Methods A total of 95 eil gible children with respri atory diseases admi-tted ni PICU of Hu′nan Prvo inec Children′s Hospital were enroll ed in this retrospectvi e study from January 2013t o December 2013, and the efficacy and complications of fiberoptic bronchoscopy were assessed.Results A total of 95 children underwented bronchoscopy 112 timest, he most common of microscopic examination resutl s was tracheal bronchitis ( 62.1%) , followed by congenital airway abnormality ( 21.1%); 58 times (56.9%) showed becteria positive in 102 times lavage and sputum culture results, including 16 times (27.6%) of Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria,12 times(20.7%) of Acinetobacter baumannii.After under-wenting bronchoscopy and lavage wash,blood gas analysis of pH value,PaO2 ,PaCO2 ,SaO2 had significant improvement than before( P<0.05 ) , respiratory rate had improved than before ( P<0.05 ) , little effect in heart rate(P>0.05).The inrt aopear tive and postoperative transient comlp ications were obserev d in 38 times (33.9%).Conclusion The appil cation of fiberoptic bronchoscopy for diagnosing and ter ating disease in PICU has a cetr ia n value, its vo erall safety is reliable.

Objective To evaluate the reliability and accuracy of three-dimensional digital fusion anatomy in the preoperative evaluation and therapeutic strategy choice of intracranial tumors.Methods MRI scan,including regular MRI,MRA,MRV and DTI,were performed in 87 case.Then tumor themselves as well as tumor-associated structures were reconstructed and fused through iPlan 2.6 software.Based on the reconstructed images,therapeutic strategy were established,preoperative and intraoperative imags were compared.Results The digital reconstruction were successfully finished in all cases.Meanwhile,digital images,originally radiological images and actual images matched well.No approach-associated complication were met in our series.Among tumors in the convexity,the relationship of the reflux veins and the tumors were divided into three types:anterior(12 cases),posterior(19 cases) and overriding(3 cases).All of the relationships were seen in the preoperative fusion image,and the veins were all effectively protected during operation.The tumor-associated arteries could be pushed or wraped by the tumors,and the three-dimensional fusion image could provided their virtually aberrant pathway as well as their relationship with tumor.During microsurgical managment of tumors in the deep brain parenchyma,safe approach were found with the help of comprehensive understanding of the tumors and their adjacent structures.Conclusion Three-dimensional digital fusion anatomy can vividly and accurately display full rang of information about the tumor,and facilitate tumor treatment safely.

Objective To improve the diagnosis and treatment of neurenteric cyst. Methods The clinical manifestations, MRI characteristics and surgical results of 11 cases of intraspinal neurenteric cysts were analyzed. Results Positive pathological signs and paresis appeared in all cases, and radicular pain in 9 cases. The symptoms were episodic in 2 cases whose courses were more than 3 years. MRI could clearly demonstrate the exact extension of the cyst and the surrounding structures. These cysts showed as slightly long T 1, long T 2 homogeneous signal on MRI. Their neurological functions improved steadily after complete resection in 8 cases, subtotal resection in 3 cases. Conclusion Neurenteric cysts are rare congenital lesions, often associated with vertebral anomalies and occurred at subdural cervical location, anterior to the cord. MRI is a more effective and convenient method for neurenteric cyst image investigation. Total or subtotal resection of neurenteric cysts with subsequent recovery in neurological function is usually possible.