Background::Links between alterations in gut microbiota composition and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have previously been reported. This study aimed to examine the microbiota in the nasal cavity of ALS.Methods::Sixty-six ALS patients and 40 healthy caregivers who live in close proximity with patients were enrolled. High throughput metagenomic sequencing of the 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (rDNA) gene V3–V4 region of nasal microbiota was used to characterize the alpha and beta diversity and relative abundance of bacterial taxa, predict function, and conduct correlation analysis between specific taxa and clinical features.Results::The nasal microbiome of ALS patients showed lower alpha diversity than that of corresponding healthy family members. Genera Gaiella, Sphingomonas, Polaribacter_1, Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Klebsiella, and Alistipes were differentially enriched in ALS patients compared to controls. Nasal microbiota composition in ALS patients significantly differed from that in healthy subjects (unweighted UniFrac P = 0.001), while Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) analysis indicated that Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes dominated healthy nasal communities at the phylum level, whereas Actinobacteria was the predominant phylum and Thermoleophilia was the predominant class in ALS patients. Genus Faecalibacterium and Alistipes were positively correlated with ALS functional rating scale revised (ALSFRS-R; rs = 0.349, P = 0.020 and rs = 0.393, P = 0.008), while Prevotella-9 and Bacteroides operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were positively associated with lung function (FVC) in ALS patients ( rs = 0.304, P = 0.045, and rs = 0.300, P = 0.048, respectively). Prevotella-1 was positively correlated with white blood cell counts (WBC, rs = 0.347, P = 0.021), neutrophil percentage (Neu%, rs = 0.428, P = 0.004), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR, rs = 0.411, P = 0.006), but negatively correlated with lymphocyte percentage (Lym%, rs = -0.408, P = 0.006). In contrast, Streptococcus was negatively associated with Neu% ( rs = -0.445, P = 0.003) and NLR ( rs = -0.436, P = 0.003), while positively associated with Lym% ( rs = 0.437, P = 0.003). No significant differences in nasal microbiota richness and evenness were detected among the severe and mild ALS patients. Conclusions::ALS is accompanied by altered nasal microbial community composition and diversity. The findings presented here highlight the need to understand how dysbiosis of nasal microbiota may contribute to the development of ALS.

Objective:Aimed to investigate the value of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation in adrenal venous blood sampling (AVS).Methods:Patients who diagnosed as primary aldosteronism (PA) and completed successful bilateral cannulation judged by selection index (SI) for routine and(or) ACTH stimulation AVS were enrolled. The lateralization index(LI) was calculated to compare the effect of ACTH stimulation on AVS cannulation success rate and lateralization judgment.Results:A total of 73 patients with PA were enrolled in the study, of whom 28 were confirmed as aldosterone producing adenoma (APA) after unilateral adrenalectomy. Cortisol and aldosterone in peripheral and adrenal veins were significantly increased after ACTH stimulation. The left SI was increased from 6.5(3.0-13.6) to 26.8 (16.9-40.3) ( P<0.01) and the right SI from 20.8(4.8-34.8) to 57.6(35.7-80.9) ( P<0.01) after ACTH stimulation. There was no significant difference on LI before and after ACTH stimulation [7.7(2.3-19.6) vs 5.6(1.9-14.6), P=0.14]. The success rates of left and right adrenal cannulation were increased by 15% and 10% respectively after ACTH stimulation. For 57 patients who were determined in successful cannulation by both routine and ACTH stimulation AVS, 27 patients were determined to have lateralization by both AVS methods, 21 patients were determined to have bilateralization, and the consistency of lateralization by both AVS methods was 84%(48/57). Among the 28 patients who were confirmed to be APA after unilateral adrenalectomy, the correct rate of lateralization by both AVS methods was 89% (25/28). Conclusion:ACTH stimulation is able to improve the success rate of bilateral adrenal vein cannulation, and is helpful to judge AVS results. For patients with successful cannulation, there is no significant difference in lateralization judgment for routine and ACTH stimulation AVS.

To investigate the renal venous and spermatic venous sampling in assisting the diagnosis of reninoma. The case of reninoma was retrospectively reviewed together with the literature review of reninoma diagnosed with renal venous and spermatic venous sampling. A young patient with hypertension and headache was admitted to our hospital. Laboratory test showed high plasma renin concentration (>500 mIU/L), and enhanced computed tomography(CT) in the upper abdomen showed a mass in left inferior renal pole. The concentration of renin in the left spermatic vein was significantly higher than that in renal veins and branches, and peripheral vein, which was considered the left reninoma possibility. The left renal mass was resected surgically and pathologic exam revealed reninoma. The renin level and the blood pressure recoveried normal after operation.The literature reported that the positive rate of renal vein segmental blood collection for locating renin tumor was only 8.3%-64%. The possible reason was that reninoma usually located in the renal cortex, and the tumor blood might be collected by renal capsule vein instead of renal vein. In fact, the renal capsule vein intersects with the lateral division of the spermatic vein, but there have been no reports about the localization of reninoma by spermatic vein sampling. Since renin secreted by reninoma may go into the spermatic vein through renal capsule vein, it should be noted that spermatic venous blood should be collected simultaneously in renal vein sampling when locating reninoma.

Objective To assess the efficacy and side effects of intravesical instillation of BCG after transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients.Methods The clinical data of patients treated with BCG 120 mg per course induced perfusion or more after TURBT from December 2013 to October 2016 in 18 hospitals of northeast China region,were analyzed retrospectively.The first part,data of 106 patients with moderate,high-risk NMIBC were collected.A total of 83 patients were male,while the other 23 patients were female.The average age was 66.7 years old.The clinical staging were T1 in 86(81.1％) cases,Ta in 20(18.9％) cases and carcinoma in situ in 6 (5.7％) patients.Intravesical instillation of BCG was executed after transurethral resection of the bladder tumor.The incidence rate of recurrence and progression during more than 6 months' follow-up time were observed.Multivariate analyses were done by using logistic analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression model with Kaplan-Meier method.The second part,treatment compliance of 276 patients with bladder cancer,including moderate/high-risk NMIBC in 263 cases,moderate/high-risk NMIBC followed with renal pelvis/ureteral carcinoma in 8 cases were and moderate/high-risk NMIBC with renal pelvis/ureteral carcinoma in 5 cases who treated with BCG after the surgeries,were observed.Patients consisted of 211 males and 65 females with average age of 68.3 years.Results With a median follow-up of 12 months,9 (8.5％) patients experienced tumor recurrence and 2 (1.9％) patients were found progression in the first part.The one-year cancer free recurrence rate of the patients was 91.5％.Statistically significant prognostic factors for recurrence identified by multivariable analyses were prior recurrence of the tumors (OR =3.214,95％CI0.804-12.845,P =0.099).In the second port,an incidence rate of adverse effects was 64.1％ (177/276).The Ⅲ/Ⅳ degree complications were occurred in 11 patients and satisfactory outcomes achieved with active treatment.A total of 36 patients withdrawal with the major causes were recurrence and progression of bladder tumor in 12 cases (4.4 ％),9 cases (3.3 ％) with economic reasons and 11 cases (4.0％) with serious complications.Conclusions NMIBC patients treated with intravesical BCG therapy have approving cancer free recurrence rates and acceptable adverse effects.Prior recurrence may be prognostic factor of recurrence after intravesical BCG therapy.

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of SWI and DTI of MRI in the diagnosis and prognosis of diffuse axonal injury (DAI).Methods A retrospective case series study was conducted on the clinical data of 16 patients with DAI admitted from January 2015 to December 2017.There were nine males and seven females,aged (56.3 ± 4.1) years.According to Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS),there were seven patients with 3-8 points,eight with 9-12 points,and one with 13 points.All patients received head CT examination on admission and then received head MRI examination within one week to record the number of lesions on T1WI,T2WI,DWI,and SWI in CT and MRI examination.On the DTI sequence,five regions including the subcortical white matter,the corpus callosum,the thalamus,the cerebellum,and the brain stem were selected for measurement of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and partial fraction of anisotropy (FA) values.The Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) was evaluated 6 months after injury.The linear correlation between ADC,FA values,GCS,and GOS on admission and after 6 months were analyzed.Results The statistical analysis of CT,T1WI,T2WI,DWI and SWI in 16 patients showed that the detection rates of DAI lesions were 25.6％ (43/168),30.4％ (51/168),44.0％ (74/168),51.8％ (87/168),and 100％,respectively (P ＜0.01).The ADC values of the subcortical white matter,the corpus callosum,the thalamus,the cerebellum,and the brain stem were 0.830 ± 0.148,0.536 ± 0.169,0.838 ± 0.596,0.708 ± 0.157,and 0.713 ± 0.135,respectively,and FA values were 0.487 ± 0.103,0.142 ± 0.040,0.293 ± 0.089,0.212 ± 0.045,and 0.366 ± 0.797,respectively.The GCS on admission was (8.9 ± 3.3)points,and GOS was (4.2 ± 1.0)points six months after injury.The correlation analysis showed that the ADC value and FA value of subcortical white matter and cerebellum were not related to GCS and GOS (P ＞ 0.05).The correlation strength of ADC values in each region with the GCS score in descending order was the thalamus,the corpus callosum,and the brain stem (P ＜ 0.05 or 0.01);for ADC with the GOS score,it was the corpus callosum,the thalamus and the brain stem (P ＜0.05 or 0.01);for FA with GCS and GOS scores,it was thalamus,corpus callosum,and brainstem (P ＜ 0.05 or 0.01).Conclusion The SWI has better sensitivity to detect DAI lesions than CT and conventional MRI sequences.DTI can accurately,objectively and visually detect the integrity of cerebral white matter fibers.Both SWI and DTI can help make early diagnosis and evaluate the prognosis of DAI patients accurately.

Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of insulin degludec (IDeg) with those of insulin glargine (IGlar) in insulin-naive subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).Methods This was a 26-week,randomized,open-label,parallel-group,treat-to-target trial in 560 Chinese subjects with T2DM (men/women:274/263,mean age 56 years,mean diabetes duration 7 years) inadequately controlled on oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs).Subjects were randomized 2:1 to once-daily IDeg (373 subjects) or IGlar(187 subjects),both in combination with metformin.The primary endpoint was changes from baseline in glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1c) after 26 weeks.Results Mean HbA1c decreased from 8.2％ in both groups to 6.9％ in IDeg and 7.0％ in IGlar,respectively.Estimated treatment difference (ETD) of IDegIGlar in change from baseline was-0.10％ points (95％ CI-0.25-0.05).The proportion of subjects achieving HbA1c ＜ 7.0％ was 56.3％ and 49.7％ with IDeg and IGlar,respectively [estimated odds ratio of IDeg/IGlar:1.26 (95 ％ CI 0.88-1.82)].Numerically lower rateof overall confirmed hypoglycaemia and statistically significantly lower nocturnal confirmed hypoglycemia were associated with IDeg compared with IGlar,respectively [estimated rateratio of IDeg/IGlar 0.69 (95％ CI 0.46-1.03),and 0.43 (95％ CI 0.19-0.97)].No differences in other safety parameters were found between the two groups.Conclusions IDeg was non-inferior to IGlar in terms of glycaemic control,and was associated with a statistically significantly lower rate of nocturnal confirmed hypoglycaemia.IDeg is considered to be suitable for initiating insulin therapy in Chinese T2DM patients on OADs requiring intensified treatment.Clinical trail registration Clinicaltrials.gov,NCT01849289.

Objective: To investigate the abnormalities of the blood system in landfill workers. Methods: A cohort study was conducted for 224 landfill workers who were followed up for 6 consecutive years with abnormal routine blood test results and a low platelet count as the outcome events. The life-table method was used to analyze the incidence rates of these two outcome events, and the incidence rates were compared between first-and second-line workers. Results: A total of 71 workers had abnormal routine blood test results, among whom 29 had abnormal leukocyte count, 14 had abnormal erythrocyte count, 40 had abnormal platelet count, 17 had abnormal hemoglobin, and 29 had a reduction in platelet count. For these landfill workers, the 6-year abnormal rate of routine blood test results was 43.2%, and the incidence rate of low platelet count within 6 years was 13.5%. The first-line workers had a significantly lower abnormal rate of routine blood test results than the second-line workers (P=0.020) , and the relative risk of abnormal routine blood test results in the first-and second-line workers was 0.592. There was no significant difference in the incidence rate of low platelet count between the two groups of workers (P≥0.05) . Conclusion The landfill has an adverse effect on the blood system of landfill workers, and the second-line workers have greater impairment than the first-line workers.

A method was developed for the determination of tetrodotoxin in marine organisms by high perfor-mance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with immunoaffinity column. The samples were extracted with 1% acetic acid methanol solution and diluted with phosphate buffer at pH 7-8. After cleaned up by immuno-affinity column, the samples were analyzed by LC-MS/MS and quantitatively determined by external standard method. The chromatographic separation was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH Amide column with gradient elution by using acetonitrile and 5 mol/L ammonium acetate solution containing 0. 1% formic acid as mobile phase. Detection was carried out by electrospray positive ionization mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. Linear ranges of TTX was in the range of 0. 3 -20. 0 μg/L with correlation coeffi-cient more than 0. 997. The quantification limit of the method was 0. 3 μg/kg. The recoveries of standard addition for tetrodotoxin were 88. 7%-102. 3%, and the relative standard deviation was 2. 0%-6. 4%. The method could be used to identify and quantify tetrodotoxin in marine organisms with satisfactory reproducibility and sensitivity.

Objective To discuss the clinical results and surgical method in treatment of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage in basal ganglia. Methods From January 2007 to June 2013, the use of surgery treatment of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage in basal ganglia under direct vision assisted by the deep cold light suction in 104 cases,all the cases were done through lateral fissure-brain island approach,removing the hematoma with bipolar coagulation and hemostasis at sametime. This paper analyzed the group of patients with surgical methods and clinical efficacy. Results CT scan of intreatment group showed that there were 6 cases of secondary operation because of recurrent hemorrhage, and the hematoma-cleared rate>80% in 73 cases,50%-80% in 21 cases,<50% in 10 cases before operation within 6 hours. According to ADL classification,the 92 cases were alive after operation, good recovery in 65 cases, moderate disability in 22 cases, 5 cases of severe disability, death and give up treatment 12 cases. There was 12 cases of sec-ondary operation because of recurrent hemorrhage in control group, and the hematoma-cleared rate>80% in 16 cases,50%-80%in 23 cases,<50%in 24 cases before operation within 6 hours. According to ADL classification,the 45 cases were alive after operation in control group, good recovery in 14 cases,moderate disability in 16 cases,15 cases of se-vere disability,death and give up treatment 18 cases. There were significant differences between the two groups in op-eration time, intra-operative blood loss, the volume of blood transfusion, hematoma clearance rate, postoperative sur-vival rate and the survival quality ADL grading at half a year, and the indexes mentioned above in treatment group were better than those in control group. Conclusion Surgery treatment of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage in basal ganglia under direct vision by lateral fissure-brain island approach assisted by the deep cold light suction will shooter the operation time and lower the surgical injury,increase hematoma-cleared rate,it aslo has reliable hemostasis and more effective,so this method is worthy of clinical use.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of the photon therapeutic apparatus on type 2 diabetic patients with periph-eral neuropathy .Methods While giving conventional nerve nourishing ,improving microcirculation treatment and nursing ,adjuvant therapy with Carnation-11 photon therapeutic apparatus was applied to one lower limb only of the 20 diabetes mellitus patients with peripheral neuropathy and compare the curative effects by paired observation of the two lower limbs .Results The evaluation score of peripheral neuropathy dropped obviously with ankle reflex and thumb vibration sensation improved greatly after 10 days of treat-ment and remained an unchanged follow -up test 30 days later ,which means the clinical therapeutic effect of the treated limb was significantly superior to the comparison limb .The difference of the curative effects is statistically significant ( P < 0 .05 ) . Conclusion Conventional therapy accompanied by adjuvant treatment of photon therapy can relieve the clinical symptoms and phys-ical signs of diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy ,which could improve curative effect on diabetic peripheral neuropathy .