The male patient,one day old,was admitted to the hospital due to hypoglycemia accompanied by apnea appearing six hours after birth.The patient had transient hypoglycemia early after birth,and acute heart failure suddenly occurred on the eighth day after birth.Laboratory tests showed significantly reduced levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol,and pituitary magnetic resonance imaging was normal.Genetic testing results showed that the patient had probably pathogenic compound heterozygous mutations of the TBX19 gene(c.917-2A＞G+c.608C＞T),inherited respectively from the parents.The patient was conclusively diagnosed with congenital isolated adrenocorticotropic hormone deficiency caused by mutation of the TBX19 gene.Upon initiating hydrocortisone replacement therapy,cardiac function rapidly returned to normal.After being discharged,the patient continued with the hydrocortisone replacement therapy.By the 18-month follow-up,the patient was growing and developing well.In neonates,unexplained acute heart failure requires caution for possible endocrine hereditary metabolic diseases,and timely cortisol testing and genetic testing should be conducted.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(3):321-324,V]

Background: Congenital absence of the pericardium (CAP) is a rare cardiac abnormality. As pericardial defects are usually asymptomatic, most cases are diagnosed during surgery or on autopsy. The patient in this case was found to have CAP during thoracoscope.Case: We present the unusual case of a 69-year-old patient with CAP who experienced sudden ventricular arrhythmia and developed ventricular fibrillation during left upper lobectomy. Surgical operations, the lateral decubitus position, and other external stimuli may be important risk factors for ventricular fibrillation. The patient regained sinus rhythm soon after intrathoracic cardiac compression and pharmacological treatment, including lidocaine spray (2%, 10 ml) administered to the heart surface. The surgery was then completed without any additional instances of ventricular arrhythmia. Conclusions Patients with CAP are more susceptible to cardiac-related adverse events during thoracotomy or thoracoscopy. Treatment of ventricular arrhythmias that occur during lung resection in patients with CAP should be emphasized.

【Objective】 To explore the risk of Alzheimer′s disease (AD) transmitted by blood transfusion. 【Methods】 There were 10 APP/PS1 mice of 3, 6 and 9 months old, half female and half male, and the cognitive and behavioral abilities of C57 mice of the same age were measured, and the blood of the oldest APP/PS1 mice with no behavioral changes were collected to detect the contents of Aβ40 and Aβ42. The polymers Aβ40 and Aβ42 were prepared and Western blotting analysis was conducted. Kunming mice aged from 6 to 7 months were randomly divided into 6 groups (10 mice/ group, half male and half female). The blood of APP/PS1 mice was injected intravenously in experimental group 1-2(100 μL/mouse) with high frequency injection (3 times/week) and low frequency injection (1 time/week), respectively. In experimental group 3-4, Aβ40 and Aβ42 polymerized mixture (100 μL/mouse) were injected in high frequency and low frequency, respectively. The control group 1-2 was injected with the same amount of normal saline, with high frequency and low frequency, respectively. The above groups were injected for 4 weeks, and the cognitive and behavioral abilities were tested and analyzed one week after injection. Finally, the contents of Aβ40 and Aβ42 in blood of Kunming mice were detected. 【Results】 Change in cognitive and behavioral ability showed in 9 months old APP/PS1 mice, but not in 3 and 6 months old APP/PS1 mice. The contents of Aβ40 and Aβ42 (pg/mL) in blood of 6-7 months old APP/PS1 mice were 418.40±2.18 and 15.68±0.20, respectively. Except for monomers, most of the polymerized mixtures of Aβ40 and Aβ42 were dimers and trimers. In both high frequency and low frequency, Kunming mice transfused with blood of APP/PS1 mice (experimental group 1-2) showed a certain degree of anxiety-like behavior and short-term memory shortening in open-field test and conditioned fear test, but without significant difference. There was no significant difference in open field test, new object recognition, Barnes maze and cognitive behavior analysis of conditioned fear between experimental group 3-4 and the control group. The levels of blood Aβ40 and Aβ42(pg/mL) of Kunming mice detected by ELISA were 10.30±0.08 and 3.360±0.005, respectively, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. 【Conclusion】 Blood transfusion of APP/PS1 mice and the mixture of Aβ40 and Aβ42 have no significant effect on the cognitive function of healthy Kunming mice in a short time, and the risk of AD transmission is relatively low.

【Objective】 To obtain the quality information of von Willebrand factor (vWF) in coagulation factor Ⅷ (FⅧ) concentrates in China. 【Methods】 FⅧ concentrates produced by 7 domestic blood product manufactures and 1 foreign manufacture were collected, then FⅧ and vWF contained in FⅧ concentrates were evaluated. 【Results】 The activity loss of vWF was more than 25% in 2 of the 7 domestic FⅧ concentrates. The ratio of vWF activity to FⅧ activity in FⅧ concentrates from different domestic manufactures was significantly different (P<0.05). The ratio in FⅧ concentrates prepared by C, D, F manufacturer was greater than 1, which was similar to that in willate^@ approved abroad for the treatment of vWD. The ratio in FⅧ concentrates prepared by E manufacturer was greater than 0.7 and less than 1, and by A, B, G manufacturers was less than 0.5. In addition, the specific activities of FⅧ and vWF were significantly different among different FⅧ concentrates in China (P<0.05), and the specific activities of FⅧ and vWF were much lower than that of willate^@. 【Conclusion】 The variation of vWF quality between domestic FⅧ concentrates and willate^@ is mainly due to the different in vWF content. After the comprehensive consideration of various indicators, the FⅧ concentrates made by C and D manufacturers may be used in the treatment of vWD.

【Objective】 To investigate the level of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) related indexes in plasma donors from longevity area, and explore its influencing factors. 【Methods】 1 027 plasma donors from longevity hotspot (Bama, Guangxi province) and 1 816 donors from non-longevity region (Shimen, Hunan province) who donated plasma during June to November 2018 were randomly selected. Triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLC), apolipoprotein A1 (Apo-A1), apolipoprotein B (Apo-B), and fructosamine (FUN) of the two groups were measured and statistically analyzed. 【Results】 Compared with the non-longevity region group, the TG, TC and FUN levels of longevity hotspot group were lower (1.41±0.96 vs 2.31±1.28, 3.89±0.92 vs 4.04±0.82, 176.65±26.60 vs 200.33±34.19; all P<0.05), but HDLC, LDLC, Apo-A1 and Apo-B levels were higher (1.11±0.32 vs 0.96±0.25, 2.53±0.70 vs 2.29±0.56, 1.56±0.28 vs 1.23±0.18, 0.80±0.27 vs 0.72±0.19; all P<0.05). The yield (%) of high TG(12.0 vs 40.01) and FUN(0.58 vs 2.48), low HDLC(24.63 vs 43.90) and Apo-A1(1.66 vs 22.56) were lower in longevity area than those in non-longevity region (all P<0.05), but high LDLC(2.73 vs 0.28) and Apo-B(4.09 vs 0.22) yield(%) were higher in longevity area group ( P<0.05). The levels of TC, HDLC, LDLC, Apo-A1 and Apo-B were significantly different by ages (all P < 0.01), presenting positively correlated with age, significantly by gender and nationality, and slightly by blood type. 【Conclusion】 The ASCVD indexes of plasma donors from Bama were different from those from Shimen. Age, nationality, gender and blood type of donors from Bama all had a certain influence on these indexes levels.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi （AMF） can establish mycorrhizal symbiosis system with most terrestrial plants，and play important roles in their growth and development. However，there is no systematic analysis and summarization of their roles in the growth, biosynthesis and accumulation of active substances of herbs，as well as stress-resistance mechanism. First，the main research methods of AMF were summarized in the paper，including the separation of AMF spores，morphological identification，chemical staining and molecular identification. The main morphological structures of some AMF were detailed in the table. In terms of growth promotion，AMF promoted the growth by prolonging mycelium，enhancing phosphatase secretion，organic acid，activation of soil and increasing absorption efficiency. In the aspect of biosynthesis and accumulation of flavonoids，terpenoids and other active substances in herbs，AMF improved the contents by regulating activities of signal substances and key enzymes involved in the metabolism of secondary products. In addition，AMF could alleviate a series of stresses caused by drought，heavy metal，high salt，high or low temperature by improving the activity of antioxidant enzymes，enhancing the ability of plants to scavenge free radicals，complexing toxic heavy metals，diluting high salt concentration，or inducing the expressions of key genes. Finally，the application prospects and in-depth study of AMF in the ecological planting of herbs were discussed, in order to provide reference for promoting relevant research.

Steroidal saponins are efficacious substances wildly existed in the herbs，and consist of glycosyl and steroid sapogenin. The biosynthesis pathways of steroidal saponins mainly include the cytosolic mevalonate （MVA） pathway and the plastidial methylerythritol 4-phosphate （MEP） pathway，with the MVA pathway as the main pathway. The key enzymes are involved in the biosynthetic pathway, including 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase（HMGR），1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase（DXS），1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphatereduetoisomerase（DXR），farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase（FPS），squalene synthase（SS），squalene epoxidase（SE），cycloartenol synthase（CAS），cytochrome P450（CYP450），and steroidalglycosyltransferase（SGTase）. In the paper，the biosynthesis roadmap of steroidal saponins was optimized based on previous studies. According to a comprehensive analysis on studies of key enzymes for the past five years, genes, like HMGR，SS，CYP450 and UGT，were studied more，while other genes，like FPS，SE，CAS，were known less. In conclusion， current studies still focus on the primary stage，but lack direct evidence for the roles of key enzymes. This paper would provide a reference and theoretical support for subsequent studies.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of antibiotic use for very and extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of Hunan Province. METHODS: The use of antibiotics was investigated in multiple level 3 NICUs of Hunan Province for VLBW and ELBW infants born between January, 2017 and December, 2017. RESULTS: The clinical data of 1 442 VLBW/ELBW infants were collected from 24 NICUs in 2017. The median antibiotic use duration was 17 days (range: 0-86 days), accounting for 53.0% of the total length of hospital stay. The highest duration of antibiotic use was up to 91.4% of the total length of hospital stay, with the lowest at 14.6%. In 16 out of 24 NICUs, the antibiotic use duration was accounted for more than 50.0% of the hospitalization days. There were 113 cases with positive bacterial culture grown in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, making the positive rate of overall bacterial culture as 7.84%. The positive rate of bacterial culture in different NICUs was significantly different from 0% to 14.9%. The common isolated bacterial pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae was 29 cases (25.7%); Escherichia coli 12 cases (10.6%); Staphylococcus aureus 3 cases (2.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation of cephalosporins, accounting for 41.00% of the total antibiotics, followed by penicillins, accounting for 32.10%, and followed by carbapenems, accounting for 13.15%. The proportion of antibiotic use time was negatively correlated with birth weight Z-score and the change in weight Z-score between birth and hospital discharge (r=-0.095, -0.151 respectively, P<0.01), positively correlated with death/withdrawal of care (r=0.196, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS Antibiotics used for VLBW/ELBW infants in NICUs of Hunan Province are obviously prolonged in many NICUs. The proportion of routine use of third-generation of cephalosporins and carbapenems antibiotics is high among the NICUs.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Birth Weight ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged as a global pathogen causing significant public health concerns. China has reported several imported cases where ZIKV were carried by travelers who frequently travel between China and ZIKV-endemic regions. To fully characterize the ZIKV strains isolated from the cases reported in China and assess the risk of ZIKV transmission in China, comprehensive phylogenetic and genetic analyses were performed both on all ZIKV sequences of China and on a group of scientifically selected ZIKV sequences reported in some of the top interested destinations for Chinese travelers. Methods: ZIKV genomic sequences were retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information database through stratified sampling. Recombination event detection, maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetic analysis, molecular clock analysis, selection pressure analysis, and amino acid substitution analysis were used to reconstruct the epidemiology and molecular transmission of ZIKV. Results: The present study investigated 18 ZIKV sequences from China and 70 sequences from 16 selected countries. Recombination events rarely happens in all ZIKV Asian lineage. ZIKV genomes were generally undergone episodic positive selection (17 sites), and only one site was under pervasive positive selection. All ZIKV imported into China were Asian lineage and were assigned into two clusters: Venezuela-origin (cluster A) and Samoa-origin cluster (cluster B) with common ancestor from French Polynesia. The time of most recent common ancestors of Cluster A dated to approximately 2013/11 (95% highest posterior density [HPD] 2013/06, 2014/03) and cluster B dated to 2014/08 (95% HPD 2014/02, 2015/01). Cluster B is more variable than Cluster A in comparison with other clusters, but no varied site of biological significance was revealed. ZIKV strains in Southeast Asia countries are independent from strains in America epidemics. Conclusions The genetic evolution of ZIKV is conservative. There are two independent introductions of ZIKV into China and China is in danger of autochthonous transmission of ZIKV because of high-risk surrounding areas. Southeast Asia areas have high risk of originating the next large-scale epidemic ZIKV strains.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation of all exone mutation in MLAA-34 gene with chemotherapeutic efficacy for leukemia.

METHODSThe expression level of MLAA-34 gene in 40 patients with AML-M5 and 5 healthy volunteers as control was detected by RT-PCR and its effect on chemotherapeutic efficacy were analyzed by RT-PCR; the effect of MLAA-34 gene mutation on overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of AML-M5 patients was analyzed by sequencing of all 12 exoues in MLAA-34 gene, the correlation between the mutation of prognostic genes important to leukemia and the mutation of MLAA-34 gene was explored.

RESULTSThe expression level of MLAA-34 gene was significantly up-regulated as compared with that of healthy volunteers, moreover this up-regulation was related with a C59T SNP site located in second exon of MLAA-34 gene, meanswhile this SNP site is affinitive to the well-known mdecular markers of AML, inclinding Fms-like tyrosine kinase (FLT-3) and DNA methyltransferase-3A(DNAMT3A). The AML-M5 patients with high expression of MLAA-34 gene poorly responded to chemotherapy, the AML-M5 patients with MLAA-34 C59T mulation had even more high expression of MLAA-34 gene and significantly short OS and PFS in comparison with those of patients without C59T mutation.

CONCLUSIONThe C59T mutation in MLAA-34 gene is a high risk factor for recurrence of AML, and may be a cadidate target for treatment of AML.