Hepatic encephalopathy （HE） is a common severe liver disease syndrome in clinical practice and is one of the critical and severe diseases in internal medicine， and more than half of liver failure patients diagnosed with overt HE have a survival time of less than 1 year. A comprehensive analysis of the complex pathogenesis of HE and the development of diagnosis and treatment regimens based on evidence-based medicine are of great importance for alleviating high medical resource consumption， high medical expenses， and high incidence and mortality rates in clinical practice. The latest studies have shown that the intestinal tract and the central nervous system can perform bidirectional continuous interaction and signal transmission and regulate the function of inflammation signals， molecules， cells， and organs， which is known as neuroimmune communication and is highly consistent with the main pathological features of HE. With a focus on the mechanism of neuroimmune communication in HE， this article reviews the association between inflammation signal transduction via the gut-brain axis and neurotransmitter regulation and its role in neuroimmune communication in HE， which provides new ideas for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of HE and the research and development of related drugs.

Further evidence is needed to explore the impact of high-altitude environments on the neurologic function of neonates.Non-invasive techniques such as cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy and amplitude-integrated electroencephalography can provide data on cerebral oxygenation and brain electrical activity.This study will conduct multiple cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy and amplitude-integrated electroencephalography monitoring sessions at various time points within the first 3 days postpartum for healthy full-term neonates at different altitudes.The obtained data on cerebral oxygenation and brain electrical activity will be compared between different altitudes,and corresponding reference ranges will be established.The study involves 6 participating centers in the Chinese High Altitude Neonatal Medicine Alliance,with altitude gradients divided into 4 categories:800 m,1 900 m,2 400 m,and 3 500 m,with an anticipated sample size of 170 neonates per altitude gradient.This multicenter prospective cohort study aims to provide evidence supporting the impact of high-altitude environments on early brain function and metabolism in neonates.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(4):403-409]

Background: Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) infection is ubiquitous around the world.Diagnosis of the porcine circovirus-associated disease requires clinic-pathological elements together with the quantification of viral loads. Furthermore, given pig farms in regions lacking access to sufficient laboratory equipment, developing diagnostic devices with high accuracy, accessibility, and affordability is a necessity. Objectives: This study aims to investigate two newly developed diagnostic tools that may satisfy these criteria. Methods: We collected 250 specimens, including 170 PCV2-positive and 80 PCV2-negative samples. The standard diagnosis and cycle threshold (Ct) values were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Then, two point-of-care (POC) diagnostic platforms, convective polymerase chain reaction (cPCR, qualitative assay: positive or negative results are shown) and EZtargex (quantitative assay: Ct values are shown), were examined and analyzed. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of cPCR were 88.23% and 100%, respectively; the sensitivity and specificity of EZtargex were 87.65% and 100%, respectively. These assays also showed excellent concordance compared with the qPCR assay (κ = 0.828 for cPCR and κ = 0.820 for EZtargex). The statistical analysis showed a great diagnostic power of the EZtargex assay to discriminate between samples with different levels of positivity. Conclusions The two point-of-care diagnostic platforms are accurate, rapid, convenient and require little training for PCV2 diagnosis. These POC platforms can discriminate viral loads to predict the clinical status of the animals. The current study provided evidence that these diagnostics were applicable with high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of PCV2 infection in the field.

OBJECTIVE To establish a quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker （QAMS） method based on a variety of internal reference substances for the content determination of 6 components in Jinlian qingre granules， such as mangiferin， 2″-O-β-L-galactopyranosylorientin， orientin， veratric acid， vitexin， harpagoside. METHODS The determination was performed on Agilent Eclipse Plus C18 column with mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid solution （gradient elution） at the flow rate of 1 mL/min. The column temperature was 30 ℃， and the detection wavelength was set at 270 nm. Taking orientin， vitexin and 2″-O-β-L-galactopyranosylorientin as internal references， the relative correction factors （RCF） of the other 5 components to be determined and internal substances were determined by QAMS. The contents of 6 components in 21 batches of Jinlian qingre granules were calculated and then compared with the results of the external standard method. RESULTS The contents of mangiferin， 2″-O-β-L-galactopyranosylorientin， orientin， veratric acid， vitexin and harpagoside in 21 batches of samples were determined by QAMS in the range of 0.234-0.516， 1.804-2.270， 2.143-2.606， 0.190-0.223， 0.594-0.782， 0.080-0.152 mg/g； the contents of them determined by external standard method were 0.235-0.523， 1.798-2.265， 2.137-2.599， 0.190-0.224， 0.597-0.786， 0.077-0.151 mg/g， respectively. The percentage difference between the results measured by the two methods should not exceed 4.00%. CONCLUSIONS QAMS has been constructed for the simultaneous determination of 6 components in Jinlian qingre granules based on a variety of internal reference substances. The results obtained by this method are not significantly different from those obtained by the external standard method， and can be used for the quality control of Jinlian qingre granules.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms.Methods:The clinical data of 35 patients with duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms admitted to Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology from Jan 2012 to Dec 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The differences of clinical characteristics between periampullary and non-periampullary duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier curve was used for survival analysis, and the clinical factors affecting the prognosis were analyzed.Results:Of the 35 patients, 30 underwent tumor resection, 7 (23%) developed different degree of complications after operation and were improved and discharged after intervention. A total of 5 patients died during the follow-up period. Only 1 of 30 patients who underwent tumor resection died 30 months after operation due to disease progression, and the others had no recurrence or metastasis. Univariate analysis showed that tumor size, tumor grade, and tumor location were associated with the prognosis of patients (all P<0.05), and multivariate analysis showed that patients with tumors located.Away from the ampulla had a significantly better prognosis than those located around the duodenal ampulla ( P<0.01). Conclusions:Patients with duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms have a good prognosis after complete resection; patients with duodenal neuroendocrine neoplasms located around the ampulla of Vater have a relatively poor prognosis compared with those away from the area of ampulla.

Objective: To investigate the expression of programmed death protein-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in liver cancer stem-like cells (LCSLC) and its effect on the characteristics of tumor stem cells and tumor biological function, to explore the upstream signaling pathway regulating PD-L1 expression in LCSLC and the downstream molecular mechanism of PD-L1 regulating stem cell characteristics, also tumor biological functions. Methods: HepG2 was cultured by sphere-formating method to obtain LCSLC. The expressions of CD133 and other stemness markers were detected by flow cytometry, western blot and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) were used to detect the expressions of stemness markers and PD-L1. The biological functions of the LCSLC were tested by cell function assays, to confirm that the LCSLC has the characteristics of tumor stem cells. LCSLC was treated with cell signaling pathway inhibitors to identify relevant upstream signaling pathways mediating PD-L1 expression changes. The expression of PD-L1 in LCSLC was down regulated by small interfering RNA (siRNA), the expression of stem cell markers, tumor biological functions of LCSLC, and the changes of cell signaling pathways were detected. Results: Compared with HepG2 cells, the expression rate of CD133 in LCSLC was upregulated [(92.78±6.91)% and (1.40±1.77)%, P<0.001], the expressions of CD133, Nanog, Oct4A and Snail in LCSLC were also higher than those in HepG2 cells (P<0.05), the number of sphere-formating cells increased on day 7 [(395.30±54.05) and (124.70±19.30), P=0.001], cell migration rate increased [(35.41±6.78)% and (10.89±4.34)%, P=0.006], the number of transmembrane cells increased [(75.77±10.85) and (20.00±7.94), P=0.002], the number of cloned cells increased [(120.00±29.51) and (62.67±16.77), P=0.043]. Cell cycle experiments showed that LCSLC had significantly more cells in the G(0)/G(1) phase than those in HepG2 [(54.89±3.27) and (32.36±1.50), P<0.001]. The tumor formation experiment of mice showed that the weight of transplanted tumor in LCSLC group was (1.32±0.17)g, the volume is (1 779.0±200.2) mm(3), were higher than those of HepG2 cell [(0.31±0.06)g and (645.6±154.9)mm(3), P<0.001]. The expression level of PD-L1 protein in LCSLC was 1.88±0.52 and mRNA expression level was 2.53±0.62, both of which were higher than those of HepG2 cells (P<0.05). The expression levels of phosphorylation signal transduction and transcription activation factor 3 (p-STAT3) and p-Akt in LCSLC were higher than those in HepG2 cells (P<0.05). After the expression of p-STAT3 and p-Akt was down-regulated by inhibitor treatment, the expression of PD-L1 was also down-regulated (P<0.05). In contrast, the expression level of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (p-ERK1/2) in LCSLC was lower than that in HepG2 cells (P<0.01), there was no significant change in PD-L1 expression after down-regulated by inhibitor treatment (P>0.05). After the expression of PD-L1 was knockdown by siRNA, the expressions of CD133, Nanog, Oct4A and Snail in LCSLC were decreased compared with those of siRNA-negative control (NC) group (P<0.05). The number of sphere-formating cells decreased [(45.33±12.01) and (282.00±29.21), P<0.001], the cell migration rate was lower than that in siRNA-NC group [(20.86±2.74)% and (46.73±15.43)%, P=0.046], the number of transmembrane cells decreased [(39.67±1.53) and (102.70±11.59), P=0.001], the number of cloned cells decreased [(57.67±14.57) and (120.70±15.04), P=0.007], the number of cells in G(0)/G(1) phase decreased [(37.68±2.51) and (57.27±0.92), P<0.001], the number of cells in S phase was more than that in siRNA-NC group [(30.78±0.52) and (15.52±0.83), P<0.001]. Tumor formation in mice showed that the tumor weight of shRNA-PD-L1 group was (0.47±0.12)g, the volume is (761.3±221.4)mm(3), were lower than those of shRNA-NC group [(1.57±0.45)g and (1 829.0±218.3)mm(3), P<0.001]. Meanwhile, the expression levels of p-STAT3 and p-Akt in siRNA-PD-L1 group were decreased (P<0.05), while the expression levels of p-ERK1/2 and β-catenin did not change significantly (P>0.05). Conclusion: Elevated PD-L1 expression in CD133(+) LCSLC is crucial to maintain stemness and promotes the tumor biological function of LCSLC.
Humans ; Animals ; Mice ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism* ; Ligands ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology* ; RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism* ; Neoplastic Stem Cells/physiology* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation

Objective To assess the psychological status of staff at the centers for disease control and prevention(CDC) in Sichuan during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) and explore the influencing factors. Methods The staff at Sichuan provincial,municipal,and county(district)-level CDC were selected by convenience sampling.Their basic information,work status,training status,work difficulties,and support from the work group were collected from the self-filled questionnaires online.The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and the 9-question Patient Health Questionnaire were respectively employed to measure the anxiety and depression of the staff.The stepwise Logistic regression was carried out to analyze the influencing factors of anxiety and depression in CDC staff. Results Among the 653 staff,58.35% and 50.06% presented anxiety and depression,respectively.The regression results showed that age(OR=0.95,95%CI=0.92-0.97) and mental support from the work group(OR=0.61,95%CI=0.45-0.82) were the protective factors while physical fatigue(OR=1.82,95%CI=1.20-2.74),work pressure(OR=1.61,95%CI=1.21-2.12),and insufficient protective equipment(OR=1.92,95%CI=1.06-3.49) were the risk factors for depression of CDC staff.Age(OR=0.97,95%CI=0.94-0.99),length of sleep per day(OR=0.74,95%CI=0.56-0.96),and participation in technical training(OR=0.33,95%CI=0.12-0.95) were the protective factors while mental fatigue(OR=1.68,95%CI=1.18-2.41),work pressure(OR=2.94,95%CI=2.08-4.17),and unclear incentive system for overtime(OR=1.99,95%CI=1.23-3.23) were the risk factors for the anxiety of CDC staff. Conclusion The anxiety and depression status of CDC staff during the COVID-19 outbreak were worrying,which were mainly affected by age,sleep,supply of protective equipment,incentive system,fatigue,and work pressure.
Anxiety/epidemiology* ; COVID-19 ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Disease Outbreaks ; Humans ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; United States

Objective:To evaluate biological dose and retrospective biodosimetry of a case of large area back skin injury caused by suspected interventional procedure.Methods:Peripheral blood from the patient was collected at about 7 months after interventional procedure, and the chromosomal aberrations in peripheral blood cells were analyzed to evaluate the retrospective biodosimetry using the correction factor of dose estimation, Dolphin′s model and Qdr method, respectively. Results:Based on the amounts of semi-automated dic and manually detected dic plus ring, the whole-body average absorbed dose of the victim was estimated to be 0.68-0.95 Gy by four different dose response curves. Over dispersion of dic or dic plus ring was also detected, and the efficiency of dose assessment was obviously increased using dic semi-automatic detection. Based on three different retrospective biodosimetry models, the estimated average absorbed dose was further corrected to be between 1.80-2.86 Gy, which was consistent with clinical diagnosis of degree Ⅳ radiation skin injury.Conclusions:A case of suspected radiation skin injury was confirmed by chromosomal aberration analysis and it’s biodosimetry was reconstructed, suggesting that the unstable chromosomal aberration analysis may be applicable to assess the retrospective biodosimetry of non-uniform local radiation exposure.

Animals ; Cdc20 Proteins/metabolism* ; Cell Line ; Embryo, Mammalian/embryology* ; Embryonic Development ; Female ; Infertility, Female/metabolism* ; Mice ; Mutation ; Oocytes/metabolism*

Objective:To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical bacteria isolated from blood culture in China.Methods:The clinical bacterial strains isolated from blood culture from member hospitals of Blood Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System (BRICS) were collected during January 2016 to December 2017. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by US Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) 2019. WHONET 5.6 was used to analyze data.Results:During the study period, 8 154 bacterial strains were collected from 33 hospitals, of which 2 325 (28.5%) were Gram-positive bacteria and 5 829 (71.5%) were Gram-negative bacteria. The top 10 bacterial species were Escherichia coli (34.7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (15.8%), Staphylococcus aureus (11.3%), coagulase-negative Staphylococci (7.4%), Acinetobacter baumannii (4.6%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3.9%), Enterococcus faecium (3.8%), Streptococci (2.9%), Enterobacter cloacae (2.7%) and Enterococcus faecalis (2.5%). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (MRCNS) accounted for 34.2%(315/922) and 77.7%(470/605), respectively. No vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus was detected. The resistance rate of Enterococcus faecium to vancomycin was 0.6%(2/312), and no vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium was detected. The ESBLs-producing rates in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus were 55.7%(1 576/2 831), 29.9%(386/1 289) and 38.5%(15/39), respectively. The incidences of carbapenem-resistance in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae were 1.2%(33/2 831), 17.5%(226/1 289), respectively. The resistance rates of Acinetobacter baumannii to polymyxin and tigecycline were 14.8%(55/372) and 5.9%(22/372) respectively, and those of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to polymyxin and carbapenem were 1.3%(4/315) and 18.7%(59/315), respectively. Conclusion:The surveillance results from 2016 to 2017 showed that the main pathogens of blood stream infection in China were gram-negative bacteria, while Escherichia coli was the most common pathogen; the MRSA incidence was lower than other surveillance data in the same period in China; carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli was at a low level during this surveillance, while carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is on the rise.