Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and treatment of patients with acute Q fever in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province.Methods:A total of 26 patients with acute Q fever admitted to People′s Hospital of Yunnan Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture from October 2022 to December 2023 were enrolled. A retrospective cross-sectional study analysis was performed to analyze the demographic characteristics, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests and pathogen detection of these patients.Results:Of the 26 patients, 25 were male and one was female. The age ranged from 18 to 82 years with an average age of (45.6±17.2) years. All of them were sporadic cases. The neighbors of eight patients had sheep and cattle, 11 cases had a history of field work, and four cases had a history of field trip. Coxiella burnetii was detected in 26 patients by different molecular diagnostic techniques, including 21 cases by blood quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), three cases by sputum multi-pathogen targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS), one case by alveolar lavage fluid tNGS, and one case by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). Routine blood cultures of 19 cases were negative. All 26 patients presented with chills and fever, 21 cases (80.8%) with headache, 19 cases (73.1%) with fatigue, 14 cases (53.8%) with generalized aches and pains, 12 cases (46.2%) with poor appetite, and 14 cases (53.8%) with cough. Twenty-four cases had concurrent hepatitis, 12 cases had pneumonia, one had encephalitis, and 19 cases had myocardial damage. The laboratory tests showed that 23 cases (88.5%) had normal white blood cell count, eight cases (30.8%) had decreased platelet count, 25 cases (96.2%) had C-reactive protein elevated, 24 cases (92.3%) had procalcitonin elevated, 14 out of 17 cases had elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and 19 cases had elevated D-dimer levels. Liver function tests showed that alanine aminotransferase increased in 24 cases (92.3%) (all less than 10 times of upper limit of normal (ULN)), aspartate aminotransferase increased in 23 cases (88.5%) (all less than 10 times of ULN), alkaline phosphatase increased in 10 cases (38.5%)(all less than two times of ULN), and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase increased in 19 cases (73.1%), which were all less than 10 times of ULN. Myocardial enzymes were detected in 21 cases, of which seven cases (33.3%) had elevated lactate dehydrogenase and 12 cases (57.1%) had elevated hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (all less than three times of ULN). In terms of treatment, 16 cases were treated with doxycycline alone, and nine cases were treated with doxycycline combined with azithromycin or quinolones or rifampicin, and one with tigecycline. After treatment, the conditions of patients improved. The overall length of hospital stay was (7.7±5.0) d, and that of eight patients treated with doxycycline combined with quinolones or azithromycin was 4.8 to 6.0 days. Conclusions:Acute Q fever often has no clear epidemiological history, and the clinical manifestations and laboratory tests are lack of specificity. qPCR, tNGS, mNGS can provide pathogenic diagnostic evidence for suspected cases. In terms of treatment, doxycycline is the first choice for treatment of acute Q fever, and combined treatment with azithromycin or quinolones could result in a shorter hospital stay.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and treatment of patients with acute Q fever in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province.Methods:A total of 26 patients with acute Q fever admitted to People′s Hospital of Yunnan Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture from October 2022 to December 2023 were enrolled. A retrospective cross-sectional study analysis was performed to analyze the demographic characteristics, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, laboratory tests and pathogen detection of these patients.Results:Of the 26 patients, 25 were male and one was female. The age ranged from 18 to 82 years with an average age of (45.6±17.2) years. All of them were sporadic cases. The neighbors of eight patients had sheep and cattle, 11 cases had a history of field work, and four cases had a history of field trip. Coxiella burnetii was detected in 26 patients by different molecular diagnostic techniques, including 21 cases by blood quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), three cases by sputum multi-pathogen targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS), one case by alveolar lavage fluid tNGS, and one case by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS). Routine blood cultures of 19 cases were negative. All 26 patients presented with chills and fever, 21 cases (80.8%) with headache, 19 cases (73.1%) with fatigue, 14 cases (53.8%) with generalized aches and pains, 12 cases (46.2%) with poor appetite, and 14 cases (53.8%) with cough. Twenty-four cases had concurrent hepatitis, 12 cases had pneumonia, one had encephalitis, and 19 cases had myocardial damage. The laboratory tests showed that 23 cases (88.5%) had normal white blood cell count, eight cases (30.8%) had decreased platelet count, 25 cases (96.2%) had C-reactive protein elevated, 24 cases (92.3%) had procalcitonin elevated, 14 out of 17 cases had elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and 19 cases had elevated D-dimer levels. Liver function tests showed that alanine aminotransferase increased in 24 cases (92.3%) (all less than 10 times of upper limit of normal (ULN)), aspartate aminotransferase increased in 23 cases (88.5%) (all less than 10 times of ULN), alkaline phosphatase increased in 10 cases (38.5%)(all less than two times of ULN), and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase increased in 19 cases (73.1%), which were all less than 10 times of ULN. Myocardial enzymes were detected in 21 cases, of which seven cases (33.3%) had elevated lactate dehydrogenase and 12 cases (57.1%) had elevated hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (all less than three times of ULN). In terms of treatment, 16 cases were treated with doxycycline alone, and nine cases were treated with doxycycline combined with azithromycin or quinolones or rifampicin, and one with tigecycline. After treatment, the conditions of patients improved. The overall length of hospital stay was (7.7±5.0) d, and that of eight patients treated with doxycycline combined with quinolones or azithromycin was 4.8 to 6.0 days. Conclusions:Acute Q fever often has no clear epidemiological history, and the clinical manifestations and laboratory tests are lack of specificity. qPCR, tNGS, mNGS can provide pathogenic diagnostic evidence for suspected cases. In terms of treatment, doxycycline is the first choice for treatment of acute Q fever, and combined treatment with azithromycin or quinolones could result in a shorter hospital stay.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of eosinophilic lung diseases(ELD) in children to enhance pediatricians′ understanding of ELD.Methods:In this retrospective cross-sectional study, a total of 149 children with ELD were recruited from Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2022.Chi-square test, Fisher′s exact test, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test were used to analyze data and conclude clinical characteristics.Spearman correlation was used to analyze the correlation between eosinophils in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.Chi-square test and Kappa consistency test were used to compare the differences and consistency in diagnostic results between bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or lung biopsy and eosinophil elevation with chest imaging abnormalities. Results:(1)The isolated lung involvement was mostly caused by allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis(9 patients), and other system involvement by idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome(89 patients).(2)The main respiratory manifestations included coughing(90 cases, 60.4%) and expectoration(41 cases, 27.5%), while 23.5%(35 cases) of patients had no respiratory symptoms; 50.3% had digestive system involvement, and 40.9% had skin involvement.These were the two most commonly affected organs.(3)Spearman correlation was performed between eosinophils in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid( r=0.3, P<0.05).Chi-square test was performed to compare ELD diagnosed by bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or lung biopsy with peripheral blood eosinophilia accompanied by abnormal chest imaging( P<0.05).Kappa consistency test(Kappa<0.2) showed poor consistency between the two diagnostic methods. Conclusions:ELD are present in children, and multiple etiologies may be pathogenic.Among children with ELD, the isolated lung involvement is mainly caused by allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.The digestive system and skin are the most commonly affected organs, except for lungs.The correlation between eosinophil levels in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid is poor.

Silk fibroin (SF) as a natural biopolymer has become a popular material for biomedical applications due to its minimal immunogenicity, tunable biodegradability, and high biocompatibility. Nowadays, various techniques have been developed for the applications of SF in bioengineering. Most of the literature reviews focus on the SF-based biomaterials and their different forms of applications such as films, hydrogels, and scaffolds. SF is also valuable as a coating on other substrate materials for biomedicine; however, there are few reviews related to SF-coated biomaterials. Thus, in this review, we focused on the surface modification of biomaterials using SF coatings, demonstrated their various preparation methods on substrate materials, and introduced the latest procedures. The diverse applications of SF coatings for biomedicine are discussed, including bone, ligament, skin, mucosa, and nerve regeneration, and dental implant surface modification. SF coating is conducive to inducing cell adhesion and migration, promoting hydroxyapatite (HA) deposition and matrix mineralization, and inhibiting the Notch signaling pathway, making it a promising strategy for bone regeneration. In addition, SF-coated composite scaffolds can be considered prospective candidates for ligament regeneration after injury. SF coating has been proven to enhance the mechanical properties of the substrate material, and render integral stability to the dressing material during the regeneration of skin and mucosa. Moreover, SF coating is a potential strategy to accelerate nerve regeneration due to its dielectric properties, mechanical flexibility, and angiogenesis promotion effect. In addition, SF coating is an effective and popular means for dental implant surface modification to promote osteogenesis around implants made of different materials. Thus, this review can be of great benefit for further improvements in SF-coated biomaterials, and will undoubtedly contribute to clinical transformation in the future.
Biocompatible Materials/chemistry* ; Silk/chemistry* ; Fibroins/pharmacology* ; Dental Implants ; Osteogenesis ; Tissue Scaffolds/chemistry* ; Tissue Engineering/methods*

To screen the specific anti-human intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) single chain fragment variable (scFv) using phage display library technology and to identify its biological activity. P1 peptide was used as antigen, and the phage antibodies against human ICAM-1 antigen were panned by four binding-eluting-amplifying cycles using Tomlinson I+J phage display library. After four rounds of selective enrichment screening, the positive clones were determined by PCR, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based antigenic cross reaction and Dot blotting. Then the binding specificity and biological activity of purified scFv were identified by Western blotting, competitive ELISA and cell adhesion inhibition assay respectively. Furthermore, four positive clones were first panned through P1 peptide coated-ELISA assay, and then J-A1 was obtained and identified by PCR, ELISA-based antigenic cross reaction and Dot blotting, which could show a specific binding between P1 peptide and human ICAM-1 protein antigen. Subsequently, the purified scFv showed a satisfactory specificity and anti-adhesive activity in competitive ELISA and the cell adhesion inhibition assay. The specific anti-human ICAM-1 scFv was prepared successfully from Tomlinson I+J phage display library, which pave the way for further application of anti-human ICAM-1 scFv for inflammation diseases therapeutics.
Antibodies ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin Variable Region ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; immunology ; Peptide Library ; Single-Chain Antibodies

Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic value of high-frequency ultrasonography (HFUS) in the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Achilles tendinopathy.Materials and Methods The Achilles tendon HFUS findings in 67 cases including a total of 93 feet were analyzed retrospectively,among which,11 cases including 22 feet were set as healthy control group (group A),36 cases including 40 feet as RA Achilles tendon group (group B) and 20 cases including 31 feet as non RA Achilles tendon group (group C).HFUS was used to observe the gray-scale imaging (GSI) and power Doppler imaging (PDI) features of the Achilles tendon:① the positive rate of Achilles tendon GSI abnormality.② The thickness and width of the starting point,mid point and ending point of Achilles tendon.③ The detection rate of retrocalcaneal bursal effusion.④ The detection rate of blood flow signal in the internal Achilles tendon.⑤ The level of blood flow signal.The data of each group were compared and analyzed.Restlts ① The positive rate of Achilles tendon GSI abnormality:there was no significant difference between group A and group B (x2=0.064,P＞0.05).Compared with group A and group B,group C had higher rate of abnormalities (x2=31.601 and 39.256,P＜0.05).② The thickness and width of Achilles tendon:the thickness of each point increased in group C than that in group A and group B (P＜0.05),and there was no significant difference in width between groups (P＞0.05).③ The detection rate of retrocalcaneal bursal effusion:negative in group A.The detection rate of group B (55％) was higher than that of group C (19.4％),the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).④ The detection rate of blood flow signal in the Achilles tendon:negative in group A.The detection rate of group B (97.5％) was higher than that of group C (45.2％),the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).⑤ The level of blood flow signal:level Ⅰ signal detection rate in group B (7.5％) was lower than that in group C (35.5％),while level Ⅱ signal detection rate in group B (35.0％) was higher than that of group C (9.7％),the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).Level Ⅲ signal was detected in only group B (45.0％) while not detected in group C.In addition,aspiration biopsy was performed on 3 patients of whom the fat pad of Achilles tendon was involved by level Ⅲ blood flow signal in PDI,and the pathological findings were consistent with ultrasonic manifestations.Conclusion HFUS is of great value in the diagnosis of RA Achilles tendinopathy and it can also be used to distinguish from non-RA Achilles tendinopathy.Moreover,it helps to achieve early diagnosis and early treatment in clinic to avoid Achilles tendon rupture and other bad progresses.

Objective To establish a method to simultaneously determine syringing and isofraxidin by HPLC;To investigate the features of percutaneous absorption in vitro of Jiegugao blended and pasted by white vinegar, honey and vaseline; To discuss the mechanism of commonly used ointment matrices in Tujia Minority. Methods Rat abdomen skin in vitro was as transdermal barrier;the modified Franz diffusion pool was used to simulate human skin medication; the content of syringin and isoprofen was determined by HPLC; the percutaneous absorption equation was established and the related parameters, such as cumulative permeation rate and permeation rate, were calculated. Results When using Syncronis C18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) as chromatographic column, acetonitrile-0.1%phosphoric acid as mobile phase, 1.0 mL/min as perfusion speed and 265 nm as determine wavelength, regression equation of syringingwas A=10 686.454 6C+1565.778 8 (r=1.000 0), regression equation of isofraxidin was A=12 297.305 4C-5913.729 9 (r=0.999 9). Cumulative permeation quantity of syringing in Jiegugao blended and pasted by white vinegar, honey, vaseline and blank were 7.549 2, 4.580 3, 3.890 8 and 5.378 4 μg?cm-2?h-1 respectively and permeation rate were 25.66%, 16.11%, 13.73% and 18.78%. Meanwhile, cumulative permeation quantity of isofraxidin were 2.536 9, 1.941 8, 1.178 2 and 2.293 6 μg?cm-2?h-1 respectively and permeation rate were 47.04%, 35.06%, 22.11%and 41.11%. Conclusion Using white vinegar as the ointment matrix can promote the percutaneous absorption of effective composition in Jiegugao blended. However, it will retard the percutaneous absorption of effective composition in Jiegugao when using honey and vaseline as the ointment matrices, but honey and vaseline can be used as a slow-release matrix.

Objective To explore the of miR-10b cordribution in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and adjacent tissues,and to investigate the effect of miR-10b on the malignant change of lung cancer cell A549 by regulating the expression of Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4).Methods Fourty patients with NSCLC were selected with lung cancer and in miR-10b expression adjacent tissues of lung cancer cell A549 transfected miR-10b mimics,changes of CCK-8 assay were used to detect the proliferation of lung cancer cells;real time PCR and Western blot were used to examine the cell KLF4 mRNA and protein levels;soft agar colony formation assay was used to detect the expression of miR-10b on the proliferation of lung cancer cell A549 tumor malignant.Results miR-10b expression in lung cancer A549 cells and lung cancer tissue were higher than that of normal lung epithelial 16HBE cells and cancer adjacent tissues;overexpression of miR-10banalogue in A549 cells,KLF4 protein levels significantly decreased,KLF4 mRNA was not changed significantly;miR-10b expression significantly increased the growth of A549 cells.Conclusions The distribution of miR-10b in different cell types and tissues may be different,which may promote the proliferation and malignancy of lung cancer cells by inhibitingthe expression of KLF4.

SUMMARY Pheochromocytomaisrareinpregn’ancy.Clinicalfeaturesofacaseofpheochromocytoma during pregnancy in the Peking University People’s Hospital was investigated and the literature reviewed to discuss the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.The patient manifested with hypertension and pro-teinuria,who was easily misdiagnosed with gestational hypertension disease.When she was transferred to our hospital,the symptoms such as,paroxysmal palpitation,dizziness,vomiting were noticed,and the possibility of pheochromocytoma was considered due to the accompanying abdominal mass.An emergent cesarean section was performed successfully due to preterm labor during the treatment of the disease.Af-ter the delivery the drug preparation continued.And the laparoscopic resection of pheochromocytoma pro-ceeded when the blood pressure was steady.The patient recovered fully after the surgery.The final diag-nosis of pheochromocytoma was confirmed with the pathology.Its diagnosis and treatment experiences could improve our understanding and treatment of secondary hypertension due to pheochromocytoma in pregnancy.

Based on the competition reaction of target protein, aptamer probe, padlock probe and complementary sequence, a highly sensitive fluorescent aptasensor was developed in this study in combination with rolling circle amplification. In the absence of target protein, the ligation-rolling circle amplification reaction was repressed because the complementary sequence hybridized with aptamer probe to form double-stranded duplex. While in the presence of target protein, the target molecules bound specifically with aptamer probe, inducing displacement of the complementary sequence and hybridization with padlock probe. The padlock probe was circularized with the assistance of E. coli DNA ligase, and the rolling circle amplification process could be accomplished by Phi 29 DNA polymerase. The amplification product contained thousands of repeated sequences which could hybridize with the loop of molecular beacon ( the detection probes) , resulting in a significant fluorescence signal. The effects of length of complementary DNA ( CDNA ) sequence and concentration of padlock probe were investigated. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the model target protein thrombin could be highly sensitively detected by the proposed aptasensing system in a linear range of 0 . 067-32 . 4 nmol/L with a detection limit of 0 . 03 nmol/L ( approximately 90 amol target molecules). Moreover, the presented sensing method was universal for other target analysis by skillfully design of the sequence of aptamer probe and related oligonucleotides.