ObjectiveTo observe the effect of gene mutation on the effectiveness of arsenic-containing Chinese herbal compound formulas in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes （MDS） of different traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） patterns， so as to provide the basis for the clinical application. MethodsClinical data of 442 MDS patients who were treated with arsenic-containing herbal compound formulas were retrospectively collected， including the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. Based on the TCM four examinations， the patients were divided into the spleen-kidney deficiency group as well as the qi-yin deficiency group， and according to the results of the next-generation sequencing （NGS） test， they were divided into the group with and without gene mutation respectively. The influence of gene mutation on the clinical effectiveness of patients with different TCM patterns was analyzed， the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients with different outcomes of the two TCM patterns were compared， and multivariate Logistic regression analysis was conducted on the influencing factors of the effective rate of MDS patients with gene mutation. ResultsA total of 190 cases were included in the spleen-kidney deficiency group （119 cases with gene mutation） and 43 cases in the qi-yin deficiency group （23 cases with gene mutation）. No statistically significant differences were noted in effectiveness assessment， total effective rate， and total response rate between the spleen-kidney deficiency group and the qi-yin deficiency group （P＞0.05）. In the spleen-kidney deficiency group， the total effective rate of MDS with gene mutation was 65.55% （78/119）， which was lower than 80.28% （57/71） of MDS without gene mutation， with statistical significance （P = 0.033）， while no statistical differences in effectiveness assessment and total response rate were noted （P＞0.05）. In the qi-yin deficiency group， no statistical differences were observed in effectiveness assessment， total effective rate， and total response rate of the patients in with or without gene mutation （P＞0.05）. In the spleen-kidney deficiency group with gene mutation， the rate of complex karyotype （P = 0.031） and the mutation rate of CBL gene （P = 0.032） in the ineffective population were higher than those in the effective population， while the mutation rate of DDX41 gene in the effective population was higher than that in the ineffective population （P = 0.033）. No statistically significant differences were found in other gene mutations， age， gender distribution， number of gene mutations， bone marrow hyperplasia degree， blast cell range， reticular fiber tissue proliferation or not， and prognosis of chromosomal abnormalities between the effective and ineffective populations （P＞0.05）. In the qi-yin deficiency group with gene mutation， no statistically significant differences were found in various items between populations with different outcomes （P＞0.05）. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that complex karyotype， CBL mutation， and DDX41 mutation were independently associated with the effective rate of MDS with spleen-kidney deficiency and gene mutation （P＜0.05）. DDX41 mutation was an independent protective factor in the spleen-kidney deficiency group （OR＞1）， while complex karyotype and CBL mutation were independent risk factors （OR＜1）. ConclusionThe arsenic-containing TCM compound formulas exhibited better effectiveness in MDS with spleen-kidney deficiency pattern without mutation； and in MDS with spleen-kidney deficiency pattern without complex karyotypes， CBL mutation， and with DDX41 mutations. Furthermore， DDX41 mutation was an independent protective factor in the spleen-kidney deficiency group， while complex karyotype and CBL mutation were independent risk factors. In MDS with qi-yin deficiency pattern， gene mutation-related factors showed no significant impact on the effectiveness of arsenic-containing TCM compound formulas.

Objective To observe the value of automated net water uptake(CTP-aNWU)based on CT perfusion(CTP)for predicting neurological prognosis of acute ischemic stroke(AIS).Methods A total of 145 AIS patients due to anterior circulation large vessel occlusion were retrospectively enrolled,and the clinical data at admission and follow-up were collected.Alberta stroke program early CT score net water uptake(ASPECTS-NWU)was analyzed,and CTP-aNWU of the infarct core was obtained based on CTP and non-contrast CT(NCCT).According to modified Rankin scale(mRS)score 90 days after the onset of infarction,the patients were divided into favorable prognosis group(mRS score≤2,n=54)and poor prognosis group(mRS score＞2,n=91).The clinical data and imaging data were compared between groups,and the independent predictors of neurological prognosis of AIS were evaluated,and the predictive efficacies were assessed.Results There were significant differences in age,admission NIHSS score and admission ASPECTS of patients,as well as in ASPECTS-NWU,CTP-aNWU,infarct core volume,hypoperfusion factor of the lesions between groups(all P＜0.05).The infarct core volume(OR=0.977[0.963 to 0.992],P=0.002)and CTP-aNWU(OR=0.876[0.793 to 0.969],P=0.010)were independent predictors of neurological prognosis of AIS.The area under the curve(AUC)of receiver operating characteristic curve of CTP-aNWU alone for predicting neurological prognosis of AIS patients 90 days after the onset was 0.634(95％CI[0.550,0.713]),which was 0.790(95％CI[0.714,0.853])of CTP-aNWU combined with infarct core volume,and the latter was better than the former(Z=3.500,P＜0.001).Conclusion CTP-aNWU was an independent predictor of neurological prognosis 90 days after the onset of AIS.Combining CTP-aNWU with infarct core volume could improve the predicting efficacy.

Escherichia coli biofilm is a complex membrane aggregation produced by the adhesion and secretion of extracellular polymeric substances by E. coli cells aggregated on specific media. Pathogenic E. coli will evade the immune system and the impact of various harmful factors in the environment after the formation of biofilm, causing sustained and even fatal damage to the host. Cyclic diguanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) is a second messenger ubiquitous in bacteria and plays a crucial role in regulating biofilm formation. This paper reviewed the recent studies about the role of c-di-GMP in the movement, adhesion, and EPS production mechanism of E. coli during biofilm formation, aiming to provide a basis for inhibiting E. coli biofilm from the perspective of c-di-GMP.
Bacterial Proteins/genetics* ; Biofilms ; Cyclic GMP/analogs & derivatives* ; Escherichia coli/metabolism* ; Escherichia coli Proteins/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial

【Objective】 To help quality control laboratory of blood station select suitable internal quality control rules using Westgard sigma rules. 【Methods】 The accumulated coefficient of variation of internal quality control was used as the measurement imprecision in quality control laboratory of blood station, and the bias of the results of EQA in 2020 was regarded as Bias. The allowable total error (TEa) of WS/T406-2012 was used as the evaluation index to calculate the σvalue of laboratory blood testing items to select reasonable and feasible quality control rules using the Westgard sigma rule. 【Results】 The average σvalues of total protein in the three national EQAS were 14.2, 8.7 and 9.6, respectively. The average σvalues of fibrinogen in two national EQAS were 3.6 and 4.1. The average σvalues of Plt counts and MCHC were <4 and >3, and those of other items were more than 6 in two national EQAS. 【Conclusion】 The rule of 13s, 13s/22s/R4s/41s/ and 13s/22s/R4s/41s/ should be used in total protein, fibrinogen and whole blood cell count testing, respectively, by Westgard sigma rule, which can effectively help the blood quality control laboratory select appropriate quality control rules.

Objective To study the levels of antibodies against bordetella pertussis among pregnant women and neonates in Beijing. Method From December 2016 to March 2017, pregnant women and their newborns from three women and children′s hospitals in Beijing were enrolled in this study. 3 ml of venous blood from the mothers and 3 ml of umbilical cord blood from neonates were drawn.Pertussis bacillus IgG antibody (PER-IgG) and pertussis toxin IgG antibody (PT-IgG) were tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. &chi;2 test was used to compare the positive rate of pertussis IgG antibodies in maternal and cord blood in the three hospitals. Correlational analyses of the antibodies levels in each hospital were conducted. The demographic characteristics, history of cough during pregnancy and history of DTaP vaccination of the mothers were collected via questionnaires. Result A total of 612 pairs of venous blood and cord blood samples were collected, including 4 mothers delivered twins and 616 cases of cord blood sample were collected. No history of pertussis were found in the 612 mothers. Among the 616 cases of umbilical cord blood, positive rate of PER-IgG was 13.3％ (82/616), positive rate of PT-IgG was 0.5％ (3/616). Among 612 cases of venous blood from the mothers, positive rate of PER-IgG was 7.7％ (47/612), positive rate of PT-IgG was 0.3％ (2/612). Positive rates of PER-IgG and PT-IgG in the mothers′ venous blood were not correlated with their residences (P=0.676 and 0.544). Positive rates of PER-IgG (r=0.842, P<0.001) and PT-IgG (r=0.619, P<0.001) in the mothers′ blood were positively correlated with the positive rate in umbilical cord blood. Conclusion This study shows that the positive rate of PER-IgG is very low in the maternal and umbilical cord blood in Beijing. Positive correlations of PER-IgG and PT-IgG between mother and umbilical cord blood were existed. Most mothers and their newborns do not have enough protection against pertussis.

Biorefinery technologies provide promising solutions to achieve sustainable development facing energy and environment crisis, while abundant sugar feedstock is an essential basis for biorefinery industries. Photosynthetic production of sucrose with cyanobacteria is an alternative sugar feedstock supply route with great potentials. Driven by solar energy, cyanobacteria photosynthetic cell factory could directly convert carbon dioxide and water into sucrose, and such a process could simultaneously reduce carbon emissions and supply sugar feedstocks. Here we introduced the history and updated the state-of-the-art on development of cyanobacteria cell factories for photosynthetic production of sucrose, summarized the progress and problems on mechanisms of sucrose synthesis, metabolic engineering strategies and technology expansions, and finally forecasted the future development direction in this area.
Carbon Dioxide ; Cyanobacteria ; Metabolic Engineering ; Photosynthesis ; Sucrose

Background Blindness and low vision represent significant public health issues in China.Late diagnosis is the major reason for the irreversible vision impairment.A feasible,cost-effective screening and referral program is very important for the eye health care,prevention and treatment of blindness in China.Objective This study was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a health examination center-based opportunistic eye disease screening program.Methods This was a cross-sectional study.Subjects undergoing a routine physical examination at the health examination center of the Fourth People's Hospital of Shenyang were invited to attend this program.Presenting visual acuity,intraocular pressure,and nonmydriatic fundus photography were obtained.Optic diso photographs were evaluated independently by two ophthalmologists.Blindness and moderate to severe vision impairment were defined based on the criteria of World Health Organization Visual Impairment Classification in 2009.Glaucoma,diabetic retinopathy (DR) and other suspected eye diseases were diagnosed according to the fundus photography and intraocular pressure.This study was approved by Ethic Committe of the Fourth People's Hospital of Shenyang,the informed consent of each subject was obtained.Results Totally,15 303 subjects were enrolled and 15 197 of them finished the exanimations,giving a response rate of 99.3％.The overall percentage of blindness and moderate to severe visual impairment was 0.08％ (12/15 197) and 2.34％ (355/15 197).Two hundred and twenty-eight (1.50％) subjects were defined as glaucoma suspects and 80 individuals (0.53％) were diagnosed as epimacular membrane.Other suspected eye diseases included DR (0.41％),branchial retinal vessel occlusion (0.24％),macular degeneration (0.09 ％),and macular hole (0.06％).More than 95 ％ of the eye disease suspects have never been previously diagnosed or treated.A total of 358 subjects (2.36％) were defined as ocular hypertension suspects.Conclusions This health examination center-based opportunistic eye disease screening shows a good efficiency and feasibility.It may become an optional program in the national eye health care project,as well as the work of prevention and treatment of blindness.

OBJECTIVE To prepare the Graves disease (GD) mouse model through porcine thyroid globulin (PTG) injection and investigate the morbidity and stability of the model. METHODS C57BL6/N mice in model group received multi-point subcutaneous injection of PTG 25μg each week,six times in all. After the end of immunization,their heart rate and oxygen consumption were measured and serum triiodothyronine(T3)level was determined every two weeks. A model was considered successful if serum T3 level was higher than x+3s of the control group. Observation of the model lasted 12 weeks. At the 12th week,spleen and thymus gland indices,serum thyroid globulin antibodies and thyroid peroxidase antibodies were measured,and the thyroid glands were taken for pathological observation. RESULTS After six times of immunization,mice in model group showed increased heart rate(P<0.01),oxygen consumption(P<0.01)and T3 level(P<0.01)compared with control group. The morbidity was 77.7%for male mice and 88.8%for females. In addition,T3 level in model group remained higher than that in control group within 12 weeks after immunization. The T3 level tended to decrease in male mice,but remained at a relatively stable higher level in females. CONCLUSION This method is suitable for GD modeling due to its short model-making time,high morbidity and long durability.

BACKGROUNDIt has found that ischemic postconditioning (IPO) might decrease pulmonary ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, which is one of the main reasons of lung injury caused by cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). It was found that aquaporins (AQPs) play a role in the maintenance of fluid homeostasis. But it is still unclear whether IPO influences the expression of aquaporin-1 (AQP1). This study was designed to investigate whether IPO can reduce CPB-related lung injury and affect the expression of AQP1 of lungs.

METHODSTwelve healthy dogs were divided into control group (C group) and ischemia postconditioning group (IPO group). CPB procedures were implemented. Ten minutes later, the left pulmonary artery was separated and blocked. Postconditioning consisted of two cycles of 5-minute pulmonary artery reperfusion/5-minute reocclusion starting at the beginning of reperfusion. The 2×4 cm tissues of both sides of pulmonary apex, superior, middle and inferior lobe were taken before CPB (T1), before occlusion and reopening of left pulmonary artery (T2, T3), and 2 hours after CPB (T4). Samples were used to evaluate lung injury degrees and to detect the expression of AQP1. At T1 and T4, blood was collected from femoral artery to calculate pulmonary function.

RESULTSAt T4, each pulmonary function showed significant deterioration compared with T1. Lung injury could be found at the onset of CPB. However, the expression of AQP1 decreased and wet to dry weight ratio (W/D) increased after T2. In the left lung of C group, the worst pulmonary function and structures were detected. The slightest changes were discovered in the right lung of C group. A close relationship between W/D and lung injury score was found. The lung injury score was negatively related with the expression of AQP1. It was found that the expression of AQP1 was negatively connected with W/D.

CONCLUSIONSIn dog CPB models, lung injury induced by CPB was related with down regulated expression of AQP1. AQP1 is believed to be involved in the mechanisms of lung ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury caused by CPB. IPO increases the expression of AQP1, provides a protective effect on lung suffering from CPB, and alleviates CPB-related lung injury.

Animals ; Aquaporin 1 ; metabolism ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Dogs ; Humans ; Ischemic Postconditioning ; methods ; Lung Injury ; metabolism ; prevention & control ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; prevention & control

Background It has found that ischemic postconditioning (IPO) might decrease pulmonary ischemia/reperfusion (I/ R) injury,which is one of the main reasons of lung injury caused by cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).It was found that aquaporins (AQPs) play a role in the maintenance of fluid homeostasis.But it is still unclear whether IPO influences the expression of aquaporin-1 (AQP1).This study was designed to investigate whether IPO can reduce CPB-related lung injury and affect the expression of AQP1 of lungs.Methods Twelve healthy dogs were divided into control group (C group) and ischemia postconditioning group (IPO group).CPB procedures were implemented.Ten minutes later,the left pulmonary artery was separated and blocked.Postconditioning consisted of two cycles of 5-minute pulmonary artery reperfusion/5-minute reocclusion starting at the beginning of reperfusion.The 2×4 cm tissues of both sides of pulmonary apex,superior,middle and inferior lobe were taken before CPB (T1),before occlusion and reopening of left pulmonary artery (T2,T3),and 2 hours after CPB (T4).Samples were used to evaluate lung injury degrees and to detect the expression of AQP1.At T1 and T4,blood was collected from femoral artery to calculate pulmonary function.Results At T4,each pulmonary function showed significant deterioration compared with T1.Lung injury could be found at the onset of CPB.However,the expression of AQP1 decreased and wet to dry weight ratio (W/D) increased after T2.In the left lung of C group,the worst pulmonary function and structures were detected.The slightest changes were discovered in the right lung of C group.A close relationship between W/D and lung injury score was found.The lung injury score was negatively related with the expression of AQP1.It was found that the expression of AQP1 was negatively connected with W/D.Conclusions In dog CPB models,lung injury induced by CPB was related with down regulated expression of AQP1.AQP1 is believed to be involved in the mechanisms of lung ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury caused by CPB.IPO increases the expression of AQP1,provides a protective effect on lung suffering from CPB,and alleviates CPB-related lung injury.