Objective To observe the value of transesophageal echocardiography(TEE)for guiding left atrial appendage closure(LAAC)with LAmbre occluder.Methods Data of 40 non-valvular atrial fibrillation(NVAF)patients who underwent LA AC with LAmbre occluder were retrospectively analyzed.CT angiography(CTA)before treatment,TEE and digital subtraction angiography(DSA)findings during LAAC were comparatively observed,and the correlations of the anchor area diameter and left atrial appendage opening diameter measured with the above three as well as occluder size were analyzed,and TEE and DSA for evaluating peri-device leak(PDL)were compared.Results LAAC were successfully performed with LAmbre occlude in all 40 cases.The diameter of the fixed umbrella was positively correlated with anchor area diameter measured with CTA,TEE and DSA(r=0.79,0.82,0.91,all P＜0.01),of occlusion umbrella was positively correlated with left atrial appendage opening diameter measured with CTA,TEE and DSA(r=0.56,0.89,0.86,all P＜0.01).Immediately after the release of occluder in LAAC,PDL occurred in 16 cases and were detected with both TEE and DSA,while in the rest 24 cases no PDL was found with neither TEE nor DSA.Conclusion TEE had comparable value to DSA for guiding LAAC using LAmbre occluder.

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of Liuling Jiedu Pills on acute pharyngitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus in rats.Methods The rat model of acute pharyngitis was replicated using the method of injecting 1×109 CFU·mL-1 of Staphylococcus aureus solution into the pharynx of rats.SD rats were randomly divided into a blank group,a model group,a Lanqin Oral Solution group(5 mL·kg-1),and a low-,medium-,and high-dose group of Liuling Jiedu Pills(4.375,8.750,and 17.500 mg·kg-1),with 10 rats in each group.Rats in each group were administered the drug by gavage once a day for 7 days.The general conditions of the rats were observed and recorded every day during the modeling and drug administration periods,and the local inflammation in the pharynx was scored;histopathological changes in the pharynx of the rats were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining;serum interleukin 1β(IL-1β),interleukin 6(IL-6),tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α),and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)were detected by ELISA.Immunohistochemistry and Western Blot were used to detect the protein expression levels of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in rat pharyngeal tissue.Results Compared with the blank group,rats in the model group had significantly increased pharyngeal erythema,significantly higher inflammation scores(P＜0.01),significantly lower body mass on days 5-7 after modeling(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),significantly higher pathological scores(P＜0.01),significantly higher levels of the serum inflammatory factors IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α(P＜0.01),and significantly higher pharyngeal tissues showed significantly higher levels of IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α proteins(P＜0.01).Compared with the model group,the pharyngeal erythema was significantly reduced in the Lanqin Oral Solution group and the low-,medium-and high-dose groups of Liuling Jiedu Pills,and the inflammation scores were significantly reduced(P＜0.01),and the serum levels of IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α were significantly reduced(P＜0.01);the body mass of the rats in the Lanqin Oral Solution group,and in the medium-and high-dose groups of Liuling Jiedu Pills,were significantly increased on the seventh day of the modeling(P＜0.01);the histopathological scores and the levels of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α proteins in pharyngeal tissue were significantly decreased(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Conclusion Liuling Jiedu Pills can significantly improve the symptoms and inflammatory pathological changes of pharyngeal tissues in rats with acute pharyngitis,and its mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of the expression levels of inflammatory factors such as IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α.

Objective To evaluate the effect of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)on the detection of carbapenemase producing enterobacteriaceae. Methods A total of 21 carbapenem non-susceptible enterobacteriaceaeclinical strains were collectedfrom the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University during January to May, 2018, including 11 strains of Klebsiella pneumonia, 3 strains of Klebsiella oxytoca, 3 strains of Enterobacter cloacae, and 4 strains of Escherichia coli. All the isolates were incubated with 0.5g/L meropenem solution for 2 hours. The supernatant was centrifuged and collected for MALDI-TOF MS detection. The characteristic peaks were captured to determin whether the strain was producing carbapenemase or not. And then, the results were compared with PCR results by Kappastatistical analysis. Results The PCR results showed that all the strains were positive for carbapenmase genes, among them 15 isolates were encoding KPC genes, 6 isolates encoding GES genes, 2 isolates encoding NDM genes, 1 isolate encoding VIM genes, 4 isolates encoding GIM and 1 isolate encoding SIM. And the strains could carry one or more carbapem-resistant determinants. MALDI-TOF MS showed that meropenem were hydrolyzed by 21 isolates and a characteristic drug hydrolysis peak appeared at 199 m/z, as a result of carbapenemase produced by enterobacteriaceae. The assay of MALDI-TOF MS was highly consistentwith PCR results. Conclusions The investigation showed that MALDI-TOF MS can directly detect the carbapenemase by capture the characteristic drug hydrolysis peak.

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of fundus changes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients.Methods Color fundus and FFA were performed in 27 SLE patients (54 eyes) with fundus abnormalities.Clinical characteristics were analyzed.SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) was evaluated in the patients.SLEDAI was analyzed by SPSS 19.0 Student-t test.Results Four clinical types were found in 27 patients.Capillary obstruction was found in 28 eyes of 14 patients,retinal artery occlusion in 11 eyes of 6 patients,retinal vein occlusion in 7 eyes of 6 patients,choroidal vessel obstruction in 2 eyes of 1 patient.SLEDAI was evaluated in 24 patients.SLEDAI in 5 patients with retinal artery occlusion was (25.6 ± 2.2) scores,which was significantly higher than other patients(18.2 ± 2.9)scores (P ＜0.05).Conclusion This clinical typing scheme may help to know fundus abnormalities in SLE patient,and it may be related to SLE activity.SLEDAI in patients with retinal artery occlusion is higher than other patients.

Objective To analyze hemolysin and virulence -related genes in incomplete hemolytic Staphylococcus aureus.Methods Fifty strains of incomplete hemolytic Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from patients admitted in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University during 2013 and 2014, and the isolates with complete hemolytic phenotype were also collected at the same period as the control strains . All the strains were inoculated and subcultured on four kinds of sheep blood agar plates supplied by different manufacturers to compare their hemolytic phenotype .The relative mRNA expressions of hemolysin genes (hla, hlb, hlc, hld) in standard strain, complete and incomplete hemolytic phenotype strains were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and valued by 2 -△△Ct method.t test was used to compare mRNA expressions of hemolysin genes .Western blot was performed to analyze the expression of α-hemolysin.Antibiotic susceptibility test of incomplete hemolytic strains was performed using broth microdilution method.Resistant gene mecA and virulence genes pvl, tst were detected by PCR.Results The steady and hereditary incomplete hemolysis was observed in 50 strains of incomplete hemolytic Staphylococcus aureus on the sheep blood agar plates from different suppliers .Taking mRNA expression of hla, hlb, hlc, hld in standard strain as 1, the relative mRNA expressions of hemolysin genes in incomplete hemolytic strains were 0.02, 7.51, 0.06 and 0.12 respectively, there were statistical differences between standard strain and incomplete hemolytic strains (t =8.46, -56.40, 8.12 and 7.61, all P <0.05).And the expression of α-hemolysin was decreased in incomplete hemolytic strains .All the strains were identified as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).Three strains exhibited different minimum inhibitory concentrations of teicoplanin and linezolid after subcultured , but the differences had no impact on the final results of antibiotic susceptibility test .mecA, pvl and tst genes were positive in incomplete hemolytic strains . Conclusion Staphylococcus aureus with incomplete hemolytic phenotype is methicillin resistant with higher expression of β-hemolysin and lower expressions of α-hemolysin, γ-hemolysin and δ-hemolysin.It carries plv and tst virulence genes and is of high virulence .

Objective To develop a rapid and accurate technique for pathogens identification from positive blood cultures by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry ( MALDI-TOF MS) .Methods A total of 266 culture-positive blood samples from clinical laboratory in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University during January to July 2015 were collected.The blood was transferred into separation-gel tubes, and the bacteria were enriched and purified by differential centrifugation.MALDI-TOF MS was applied to identify the bacteria and the results were compared with conventional bacterial culture. Results Among 266 culture-positive blood samples, 260 were monomicrobial cultures and 6 were polymicrobial cultures.Of 260 monomicrobial cultures, 98.8% (257/260) and 96.2% ( 250/260 ) of organisms were identified at the genus level and the species level, respectively.Of 140 Gram-negative bacterial isolates, 99.3% (139/140) and 97.9% (137/140) were identified at the genus level and the species level, respectively.Of 120 Gram-positive bacteria isolates, 98.3%(118/120) and 94.2% (113/120) were identified at the genus level and the species level, respectively.None of the 6 polymicrobial cultures were identified.Conclusion MALDI-TOF MS can directly identify the bacteria from positive blood cultures, which provides a rapid and accurate method for the diagnosis of bloodstream infection.

Objective To investigate the impact of clinical factors on survival in patients receiving concurrent chemotherapy and three?dimensional radiotherapy ( 3DRT) for stage IV non?small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) . Methods A total of 203 patients were enrolled in a prospective clincial study from 2008 to 2012, and among these patients, 178 patients were eligible for analysis of clinical factors. All patients were treated with platinum?based doublets chemotherapy, with a median number of chemotherapy cycles of 4( 2?6 cycles) and a median dose of 3DRT of 60?3 Gy (36?0?76?5 Gy).The Kaplan?Meier method was used to calculate overall survival ( OS) rates, the log?rank test was used to compare survival rates between groups, and the Cox regression model were used for multivariate analysis. Results The 1?, 2?, and 3?year overall survival rates were 56%, 16%, and 10%, respectively, and the median survival time was 13 months (95% CI=11?500?14?500). The univariate analysis showed that platelet count ≤221×109/L, neutrophil count ≤5.2×109/L, white blood cell count<7×109/L, and improvement in Karnofsky Performance Scale ( KPS) after treatment significantly prolonged OS ( P=0?000,0?022,0?003, and 0?029) , and metastasis to a single organ and hemoglobin≥120 g/L tended to prolong OS (P=0?058 and 0?075). The multivariate analysis showed that white blood cell count<7×109/L, platelet count ≤221×109/L, and improvement in KPS after treatment were beneficial to OS ( all P<0?05) . Conclusions White blood cell count and platelet count before treatment and KPS after treatment are prognostic factors for patients with stage IV NSCLC receiving concurrent chemotherapy and 3DRT. Clinical Trial Registry ClinicalTrials. gov, registration number:ChiCTRTNC10001026.

Objective To study on the changes of the DNT cells and T lymphocyte subtype in children with infectious mononucleosis (IM) and its clinical significance.Methods The flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detected the DNT cells and other T lymphocyte subtype in 48 cases of IM.Results The study showed that DNT cells( 9.39 ± 4.89 )% were greatly increased in comparison with normal controls (NC) (4.26 ± 1.68)% ( P ＜0.01 ).CD4 cells(21.45 ±9.87)% were decreased ( P ＜0.01 ) and CD8 cells increased in comparison with NC (32.43 ± 5.07) % ( P ＜ 0.01 ).Conclusion DNT cells and T lymphocyte subtype can be used to evaluate the immune function of children with infectious mononucleosis (IM) and provide guidance for adoptive immunotherapy.

Objective To investigate the biological characteristics of rpoS gene deleted mutation in Salmonella typhi under different stress conditions,so as to explore the target gene for the prevention and treament of Salmonella typhi infection.Methods rpoS gene deleted mutant of Salmonella typhi was prepared by homologious recombination.rpoS mutant and parental strains were incubated under iso-osmia and various stress conditions:acid stress(pH 4.2),high osmolarity stress(NaCl 300 mmol/L),bile stress (1.5 mmol/L sodiumdeoxycbolate)and oxidative stress(1 mmol/L H2O2).The growth curves were compared between mutant and parental strains under different incubation conditions(t test).Results rpoS gene deleted mutant of Salmonella typhi Was successfully generated.Compared with the parental strain,the survival ability of rpoS mutant was significantly compromised under the acid stress,high osmolarity stress and oxidative stress(t values at4 h were 12.864,3.594 and 12.979;t values at 14 h were6.497,3.039 and 10.440,P<0.05 or<0.01).Conclusion rpoS is important for Salmonella typhi to overcome the acid,high osmolarity and oxidative stresses,and it may be a target gene for the prevention and treatment of Salmonella typhi infection.

Objective:To study the effect of grape procyanidin (GPC) on the levels of plasma?-granule membrance protein 140 (GMP140) and thromboxane B2 (TXB2 ) in rats. Method:Wistar rats fed by high fat diet (HFD) were given GPC i.g. at different doses for 6 w, and the levels of plasma GMP140 and TXB2 were examined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Result:Plasma GMP140 and TXB2 levels of high dose GPC were respectively 7.89?1.02ng/ml, 131.71?42.13 pg/ml, significantly lower than those of HFD group. Conclusion:GPC could inhibit the increase of plasma GMP140 and TXB2 induced by high fat diet in rats.