The evaluation of blood compatibility of biomaterials is crucial for ensuring the clinical safety of implantable medical devices. To address the limitations of traditional testing methods in real-time monitoring and electrical property analysis, this study developed a portable electrical impedance tomography (EIT) system. The system uses a 16-electrode design, operates within a frequency range of 1 to 500 kHz, achieves a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of 69.54 dB at 50 kHz, and has a data collection speed of 20 frames per second. Experimental results show that the EIT system developed in this study is highly consistent with a microplate reader ( R ²=0.97) in detecting the hemolytic behavior of industrial-grade titanium (TA3) and titanium alloy-titanium 6 aluminum 4 vanadium (TC4) in anticoagulated bovine blood. Additionally, with the support of a multimodal image fusion Gauss-Newton one-step iterative algorithm, the system can accurately locate and monitor in real-time the dynamic changes in blood permeation and coagulation caused by TC4 in vivo. In conclusion, the EIT system developed in this study provides a new and effective method for evaluating the blood compatibility of biomaterials.
Electric Impedance ; Animals ; Tomography/instrumentation* ; Biocompatible Materials ; Materials Testing/instrumentation* ; Cattle ; Titanium ; Alloys ; Prostheses and Implants

Objective:To discuss the regulatory role of complement alternative pathway in mouse colorectal cancer(CRC)liver metastasis model based on bioinformatics methods,and to clarify its mechanism through experimental verification.Methods:Using"CRC liver metastasis"as the keyword,the GSE81558 dataset was retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database,including normal colon tissue samples,CRC tissue samples and CRC liver metastasis tissue samples.Bioinformatics methods were used to analyze and screen differentially expressed genes(DEGs).Gene Ontology(GO)functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analysis were performed using R and Cytoscape software,and the results were visualized.Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins(STRING)database was used to evaluate protein-protein interactions(PPIs)of DEGs and construct PPI network.Twelve C57BL/6 mice were injected with SL4 tumor cells into spleen,and the liver tissues were collected at 0,7 and 14 d.Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR)method was used to detect the expression levels of complement pathway-related genes in liver metastatic foci.The CRC liver metastasis mouse model was used to verify the complement signaling pathway.The mice were divided into control group,factor B knockout group(FB-/-)and C4 factor knockout group(C4-/-),and there were 6 mice in each group.The liver weights of the mice were measured;HE staining was used to detect the percentage of metastatic area in liver tissue in control group and FB-/-group;immunohistochemistry was used to detect macrophage infiltration in liver tissue in control group and FB-/-group,and the percentage of macrophage infiltration was calculated.Results:The distances between normal colon tissue samples and CRC tissue samples,as well as between CRC tissue samples and CRC liver metastasis tissue samples were far,indicating significant differences between samples,allowing subsequent analysis of DEGs.A total of 1 908 DEGs were screened in the dataset comparing normal colon tissue samples and CRC tissue samples,including 771 up-regulated DEGs and 1 137 down-regulated DEGs.Twenty-three up-regulated DEGs and 100 down-regulated DEGs were identified in the dataset comparing CRC and CRC liver metastasis.The GO functional enrichment analysis results showed that compared with normal colon tissue samples,DEGs in CRC samples were mainly enriched in biological processes(BP)related to cell cycle and mitosis,including mitotic cell cycle process,cell division,response to hormone,mitotic nuclear division and response to lipid.Compared with CRC samples,the DEGs in CRC liver metastasis samples were mainly enriched in coagulation-related BP,including platelet degranulation,blood coagulation regulation,acute-phase response,hemostasis regulation and coagulation regulation.The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis results showed that compared with normal colon tissue samples,the DEGs in CRC tissue samples were mainly enriched in cell cycle and p53 signaling pathways.Compared with CRC tissue samples,the DEGs in CRC liver metastasis tissue samples were mainly enriched in complement,coagulation cascade and metabolism-related signaling pathways.The Hub genes identified in PPI network were related to blood proteins.The RT-qPCR results showed that compared with 0 d group,the mRNA expression level of complement related genes complement 1q(C1q)in liver metastatic foci tissue sampres in 7 d group was significantly decreased(P<0.05),the mRNA expression levels of complement 3(C3),complement 5(C5),FB,and factor D(FD)were significantly increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01),the mRNA expression levels of complement pathway-related genes C1q,complement 2(C2),C3,complement fragment 3a receptor(C3aR),C5,complement fragment 5a receptor(C5aR),decay-accelerating factor(DAF),FB and FD in liver metastatic foci tissue sampres in 14 d group were significantly increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Compared with control group,the liver weight of the mice in FB-/-group was significantly decreased(P<0.01),while there was no significant difference was observed in C4-/-group(P>0.05).The HE staining results showed that compared with control group,the liver metastatic foci in FB-/-mice were significantly decreased,and the percentage of metastatic area was decreased(P<0.01).The immunohistochemistry results showed that compared with control group,the macrophage infiltration in liver metastatic foci of the mice in FB-/-group was reduced,and the percentage of macrophage infiltration was decreased(P<0.01).Conclusion:Complement cascade is associated with CRC liver metastasis,and the alternative complement pathway regulates CRC liver metastasis,suggesting this pathway may serve as a potential therapeutic target for CRC liver metastasis.

Objective: To identify the antibiotic resistance, virulence genes, and sequence types of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) strains isolated from blood. Methods: From November 2014 to December 2021, a total of 94 nonrepetitive P. aeruginosa isolates were obtained from blood samples of patients at the First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University in Shandong Province, China. The bacteria were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. Antibiotic resistance of the P. aeruginosa isolates was detected using Vitek 2 Compact system. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted for the 18 virulence genes, and multi locus sequence typing (MLST) was performed to identify the sequence types of the P. aeruginosa strains. The resistance rates and distributions of virulence genes between carbapenem resistant pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) and carbapenem susceptible pseudomonas aeruginosa (CSPA) isolates were compared using the Chi-square test. Results: Among 94 P. aeruginosa isolates, 19 (20.2%) isolates were found to be multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria, of which 17 were CRPA isolates and 2 were CSPA isolates. All strains contained more than 10 virulence genes. Except for exoU gene, the detection rate of other genes was above 83%. MLST analysis revealed a total of 66 different STs, including 59 existing STs and 7 novel STs. Among them, ST244 (n=11, 11.7%) and ST270 (n=7, 7.4%) were the dominant STs. Although these two types of isolates harbored the same virulence genes, the resistance rates to carbapenem were different. 54.5% (6/11) ST244 isolates were CRPA but all 7 ST270 isolates were CSPA. Conclusion: Although the resistance rates of P. aeruginosa strains isolated from blood were at a low level, some MDR and CRPA isolates were detected. As the high virulence gene detection rates and genetic diversity were found for P. aeruginosa strains isolated from blood, close attention should be paid to avoid transmission and outbreaks.
Humans ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa/genetics* ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Pseudomonas Infections/microbiology* ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Hospitals ; Carbapenems/pharmacology* ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/genetics* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology* ; beta-Lactamases

Objective: To identify the antibiotic resistance, virulence genes, and sequence types of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) strains isolated from blood. Methods: From November 2014 to December 2021, a total of 94 nonrepetitive P. aeruginosa isolates were obtained from blood samples of patients at the First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University in Shandong Province, China. The bacteria were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. Antibiotic resistance of the P. aeruginosa isolates was detected using Vitek 2 Compact system. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted for the 18 virulence genes, and multi locus sequence typing (MLST) was performed to identify the sequence types of the P. aeruginosa strains. The resistance rates and distributions of virulence genes between carbapenem resistant pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) and carbapenem susceptible pseudomonas aeruginosa (CSPA) isolates were compared using the Chi-square test. Results: Among 94 P. aeruginosa isolates, 19 (20.2%) isolates were found to be multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria, of which 17 were CRPA isolates and 2 were CSPA isolates. All strains contained more than 10 virulence genes. Except for exoU gene, the detection rate of other genes was above 83%. MLST analysis revealed a total of 66 different STs, including 59 existing STs and 7 novel STs. Among them, ST244 (n=11, 11.7%) and ST270 (n=7, 7.4%) were the dominant STs. Although these two types of isolates harbored the same virulence genes, the resistance rates to carbapenem were different. 54.5% (6/11) ST244 isolates were CRPA but all 7 ST270 isolates were CSPA. Conclusion: Although the resistance rates of P. aeruginosa strains isolated from blood were at a low level, some MDR and CRPA isolates were detected. As the high virulence gene detection rates and genetic diversity were found for P. aeruginosa strains isolated from blood, close attention should be paid to avoid transmission and outbreaks.
Humans ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa/genetics* ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Pseudomonas Infections/microbiology* ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Hospitals ; Carbapenems/pharmacology* ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial/genetics* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology* ; beta-Lactamases

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of the SIRT1/NF-κB pathway in mediating the effect of puerarin against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). METHODS: Fifteen BALB/C mice were randomized into control group, LPS group and puerarin treatment group, and in the latter two groups, the mice were given an intraperitoneal injection of LPS (5 mg/kg), followed by daily injection of normal saline for 3 days or injection of puerarin (25 mg/kg) given 1 h later and then on a daily basis for 3 days. On day 5 after modeling, the kidney tissues were taken for histological observation and detection of cell apoptosis. The renal function indexes including urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (Scr) and kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1) and the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) were measured, and the expressions of SIRT1 and NF-κB-p65(acetyl K310) in the renal tissues were detected. RESULTS: Intraperitoneal injection of LPS caused obvious glomerular capillary dilatation, hyperemia, renal interstitial edema, and renal tubular epithelial cell swelling and deformation in the mice. The mouse models of LPS-induced AKI also showed significantly increased renal tubular injury score and renal cell apoptosis (P < 0.01) with increased serum levels of BUN, Scr, KIM-1, TNF-α and IL-1β (P < 0.01), enhanced renal expressions of TNF-α, IL-1β and NF-κB p65(acetyl K310) (P < 0.01) and lowered renal expression of SIRT1 (P < 0.05). Treatment with puerarin effectively alleviated LPS-induced renal interstitial edema and renal tubular epithelial cell shedding, lowered renal tubular injury score (P < 0.01) and renal cell apoptosis rate (P < 0.01), and decreased serum levels of BUN, Scr, KIM, TNF-α and IL-1β (P < 0.01). Puerarin treatment significantly reduced TNF-α, IL-1β and NF-κB p65 (acetyl K310) expression in the renal tissue (P < 0.05) and increased SIRT1 expression by 17% (P < 0.05) in the mouse models. CONCLUSION Puerarin can effectively alleviate LPS-induced AKI in mice possibly by modulating the SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathway.
Animals ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; NF-kappa B ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Sirtuin 1 ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Acute Kidney Injury ; Disease Models, Animal ; Edema

OBJECTIVE: To prepare and develop a GDH-2 air sampling tube for detecting 12 kinds of chlorobenzenes(CBs) in workplace air and to establish a matching detecting method. METHODS: The self-developed GDH-2 air sampling tube was filled with ion exchange resin and activated carbon, and the mass ratio was 10 ∶1. The GDH-2 air sampling tube was used to collect 12 kinds of CBs with coexistence of gaseous and aerosol in the air. After elution with toluene, they were separated on a chromatographic column and determined by microcell electron capture detector. RESULTS: The quantitative detecting range of the method was 0.51×10~(-3)-6 000.00 mg/L, with the correlation coefficients greater than 0.999 4. The minimum detection concentration was 0.02-61.99 μg/m~3, and the minimum quantitative concentration was 0.05-206.62 μg/m~3. The average desorption efficiency was 90.8%-104.0%. The within-run relative standard deviation(RSD) was 1.0%-5.7%, and the between-run RSD was 3.0%-7.3%. The samples can be stored at room temperature for at least 26 days. CONCLUSION: The self-developed GDH-2 air sampling tube and its matching measuring method can be used for the collection and determination of the 12 kinds of CBs in the air of workplace.

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristic and prognosis of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) by retrospectively study of the clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, treatment and follow-up results. The aim of this study was to improve the diagnosis and treatment of JDM and reduce the complications and mortality.Methods:Medical charts of 612 JDM cases hospitalized to Beijing children's hospital from July 2002 to July 2018. We retrospectively analyze the onset, clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, treatment and the follow-up, and then summarize the clinical characteristics and assess the therapeutic effect and prognosis.Results:There were 278 male and 334 female. The maleto female ratio was 1∶1.2. Themedian age at symptoms onset was 5.4(2.9-8.4) years old (range 6 months to 14 years). Rash was the most common initial presentation. The main clinical manifestations were rash (100%, 612 cases) and muscles weakness (96.1%, 588 cases). The most commonly involved organs by JDM were lung (57.5%, 352 cases), digestive tract (38.5%, 236 cases) and heart (32.5%, 199 cases). Muscle enzymes elevated in 95.5% (584 cases) of the patients and 89.5%(534 cases) of the patients had typical changes on electromyography. Muscle biopsy was performed in 134 patients and pathologicresults were compatible with JDM. For the treatment, all of the patients were treated by steroids plus therapy combined with immunosuppressive agents. Mostof the patients got good effect and outcome. Twenty-four patients died, and acute respiratory failurewas the most common cause of death. 17.9%(105 cases) of patients had complications. The complications included calcinosis in 70 patients and amyotrophy in 35 patients.Conclusion:JDM is a rare disease of children, andis characterized by muscle weaknessand rash. Severe organ involvement may cause death. Treatments include corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents, andthe outcome is generally good.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics and follow-up of thrombosis of pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods:In this retrospective study, inpatients who were diagnosed in Beijing Children's Hospital with SLE complicated with arterial or venous thrombosis from January 2006 to December 2019 were collected, the clinical characteristics and outcomes were analyzed. Statistical product and Service solutions (SPSS) 25.0 was used for statistical analysis. T test or χ2 test (counting data) was used to compare the differences between groups, and Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to analyze the time of thrombus endpoint events in lupus children. Results:A total of 1 395 newly diagnosed SLE patients were admitted. Twenty-seven cases were diagnosed with thrombosis, accounting for 1.9% of all the lupus patients. The median course from diagnosis to thrombosis was 20 days (49 days before diagnosis to 1 year after dia-gnosis). Among the 27 patients, 22(81%) cases had renal involvement. The mean SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) score was (14±6) and (11±4) at the diagnosis of lupus and at onset of thrombosis, respectively ( t=2.547, P=0.017). 30% (8/27) of the patients had no apparent clinical manifestations of thrombosis. The patients received standard anticoagulant therapy after the diagnosis of thrombosis. During follow-up, 6 patients stopped taking medications due to the severity of the primary disease. Twenty-one patients were followed up regularly for 1-3 years. Thrombosis disappeared in 12 cases (44%), thrombolysis time ranged from 16 days to 1 year. Thrombosis were getting smaller in 9 cases (33%). And the disease was stable during follow up. Conclusion:Thrombosis is not rare in pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Some patients do not have apparent clinical manifestations related to thrombus. Pediatricians should be alert to patients with renal involvement need to be more vigilant for thrombosis. Early detection and active treatment are the keys to improve the prognosis of thrombosis in pediatric SLE patients.

Objective: To analyze the clinical data of children with rheumatic diseases complicated with osteonecrosis and summarize the clinical characteristics, so as to guide clinical work. Methods: The clinical data of 59 children with rheumatic diseases complicated with osteonecrosis from January 2010 to July 2018 were collected and analyzed retrospectively. Results: Among 59 children with rheumatic diseases complicated with bone infarction, 25 cases were systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 4 cases were mixed connective tissue disease, 6 cases were juvenile dermatomyositis, 1 case was Takayasu arteritis, 1 case was leukocy to clystic vasculitis, 13 cases were systemic onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA), 1 case was polyarthritis, and 8 cases were juvenile ankylosing spondylitis. The median time from the onset of rheumatic diseases to osteonecrosis onset was 18 (7.00, 38.75) months. A total of 115 joints were involved in 59 children, the most common of which were bilateral hips and knees. Twenty-five were single joint involvement and 34 were multiple joints involvement. There were 37 cases (63%) with vasculitis, 9 cases (15%) with oralulcer, 5 cases (8%) with Raynaud's phenomenon, 31 cases (53%) with Cushing's face, 18 cases (31%) with kidney involvement, 25 cases (42%) with hypertension, and 12 cases (24%) with spinal compression frac- tures. According to statistics, 10 children with osteonecrosis occurred without glucocorticoid intake. The longest duration of glucocorticoid therapy was 13 years, and the average duration was about (27±35) months whensymptomatic osteonecrosis occurred. The median cumulative dose of prednisone was 381.9(209.77, 561.19) mg/kg. Conclusion SLE, SJIA and juvenile ankylosing spondylitis are the three most common rheumatic diseases in children with osteonecrosis. The locations of osteonecrosis are mostly the bilateral hips and knees. It is necessary to strengthen joint examination, physical examination and imaging screening for children with rheumatic diseases after 18 months of onset, so early detection, early treatment are the strategy to improve the prognosis of the diseases.

Objective To explore the gene mutation,clinical phenotype,treatment and prognosis of chronic infantile neurologic,cutaneous,articular (CINCA) syndrome,so as to improve the diagnosis rate,reduce the disability rate and teratogenicity rate of CINCA syndrome.Methods Ten children with CINCA syndrome admitted to our hospital were retrospectively analyzed in terms of the clinical phenotypes,auxiliary examinations,treatment and follow-up.Three ml ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagul-ation was taken from children and their parents with the consents.Genomic DNA was extracted by QIAamp whole blood Deoxynbonucleic acid (DNA) extraction kit (German Qiagen Company).The whole exons were detected by Agilent liquid phase capture technology (Agilent Company).Finally,Sanger sequencing was used to verify the results.Results In this study,eight mutations of NLRP3 gene were found in children with CINCA syndrome,namely 913G/A (D305N),1057G/T(V353L),1702T/A (F568I),1703T/A (F568Y),1710G/C (K570N),1789A/G (S597G),1991T/C (M664T),2269G/A (G757R).The onset age of most of the cases was less than half a month,and the initial manifestation was mainly urticaria-like rash.Short stature and special face could be seen in all 10 cases.All the patients had fever and urticarial rash in varying degrees during the course of the disease.Nine of them had obvious arthritis.Nine children had central nervous system involvement.There were 8 cases of binaural nervous deafness,7 cases of binocular optic neuritis,and 6 cases of hepato-splenomegaly and/or lymphadenopathy.Amyloid A was significantly increased.Glucocorticoids and immunosup-pressive agents are the basic drugs for the treatment of this disease.If the curative effect was not good,biological agents should be added early to alleviate the disease.Conclusion CINCA syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant hereditary disease,the main clinical manifestations of which are skin,joint and central nervous system involvement,and even amyloidosis of organs.Early diagnosis and active treatment can reduce the involvement of important organs.