Nanomaterial matrices have unique advantages in small molecule analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry(MALDI-MS).On the basis of comparing different surfactants,a method for pre-coating nanocarbon sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS)composite matrix was established,which could alleviate the issue of aggregation of nanocarbon particles as a matrix.The experimental results showed that the nanocarbon-SDS composite pre-coated matrix effectively suppressed the background ion peak of the nano matrix,significantly improved the MS peak intensity and signal-to-noise ratio of the tested substance.Under the optimal conditions,cholesterol,1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glyceryl-3-phosphorylcholine(DPPC),and triglyceride standards were analyzed,with intra-point repeatability(RSD)of MS peak intensity≤5%and inter-point repeatability≤7%.As to measurement of cyclic adenosine monophosphate and DPPC samples in the range of 0.05?1.0 mg/mL,linear correlation coefficient(R2)between peak intensity and concentration was greater than 0.993,indicating good quantitative analysis potential.The nanocarbon-SDS composite pre-coating matrix was used for MALDI-MS imaging of pig brain tissue,and the differences in component distribution between pig brain white matter and gray matter were observed,demonstrating the potential of nanocarbon-SDS composite pre-coating matrix for MALDI-MS imaging.

OBJECTIVES: To study the characteristics of amino acid metabolism in preterm infants in Guangxi, China. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on the medical data of 30 757 neonates who underwent the screening for inherited metabolic diseases and had negative results in Guangxi Neonatal Disease Screening Center from 2018 to 2020. Among these neonates, there were 28 611 normal full-term infants (control group) and 2 146 preterm infants (preterm birth group). According to gestational age, the preterm infants were further divided into four groups: very preterm (n=209), moderately preterm (n=307), and late preterm group (n=1 630). According to birth weight, they were divided into three groups: very low birth weight group (n=161), low birth weight group (n=1 085), and normal birth weight group (n=900). According to blood collection time, they were divided into three groups: 3-7 days group (n=1 664), 8-14 days group (n=314) and 15-28 days group (n=168). Tandem mass spectrometry was performed to measure the levels of 11 amino acids in dried blood spots, which were then compared between groups. RESULTS: After adjustment for confounding factors, there were significant differences in the levels of 11 amino acids among different gestational age groups (P<0.05), and significant differences were observed in the levels of the 11 amino acids between the control group and the various preterm groups (except for citrulline and methionine in the late preterm group). There were significant differences in the levels of 11 amino acids among different birth weight groups (P<0.05). Except for ornithine, there were significant differences in the levels of other amino acids among the different blood collection time groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Gestational age, birth weight and blood collection time all affect amino acid metabolism in preterm infants in Guangxi, China. This provides a basis for the laboratory to establish the reference standard and clinical interpretation of blood amino acid levels in preterm infants, and to improve the nutritional metabolism of preterm infants.
Amino Acids ; China ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Premature Birth ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUNDGlobally, the proportion of child deaths that occur in the neonatal period remains a high level of 37-41%. Differences of cause in neonate death exist in different regions as well as in different economic development countries. The specific aim of this study was to investigate the causes, characteristics, and differences of death in neonates during hospitalization in the tertiary Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of China.

METHODSAll the dead neonates admitted to 26 NICUs were included between January l, 2011, and December 31, 2011. All the data were collected retrospectively from clinical records by a designed questionnaire. Data collected from each NICU were delivered to the leading institution where the results were analyzed.

RESULTSA total of 744 newborns died during the 1-year survey, accounting for 1.2% of all the neonates admitted to 26 NICUs and 37.6% of all the deaths in children under 5 years of age in these hospitals. Preterm neonate death accounted for 59.3% of all the death. The leading causes of death in preterm and term infants were pulmonary disease and infection, respectively. In early neonate period, pulmonary diseases (56.5%) occupied the largest proportion of preterm deaths while infection (27%) and neurologic diseases (22%) were the two main causes of term deaths. In late neonate period, infection was the leading cause of both preterm and term neonate deaths. About two-thirds of neonate death occurred after medical care withdrawal. Of the cases who might survive if receiving continuing treatment, parents' concern about the long-term outcomes was the main reason of medical care withdrawal.

CONCLUSIONSNeonate death still accounts for a high proportion of all the deaths in children under 5 years of age. Our study showed the majority of neonate death occurred in preterm infants. Cause of death varied with the age of death and gestational age. Accurate and prompt evaluation of the long-term outcomes should be carried out to guide the critical decision.

Cause of Death ; China ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Mortality ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Newborn, Diseases ; mortality ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Perinatal Death ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUNDWith the progress of perinatal medicine and neonatal technology, more and more extremely low birth weight (ELBW) survived all over the world. This study was designed to investigate the short-term outcomes of ELBW infants during their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) stay in the mainland of China.

METHODSAll infants admitted to 26 NICUs with a birth weight (BW) < l000 g were included between January l, 2011 and December 31, 2011. All the data were collected retrospectively from clinical records by a prospectively designed questionnaire. The data collected from each NICU transmitted to the main institution where the results were aggregated and analyzed. Categorical variables were performed with Pearson Chi-square test. Binary Logistic regression analysis was used to detect risk factors.

RESULTSA total of 258 ELBW infants were admitted to 26 NICUs, of whom the mean gestational age (GA) was 28.1 ± 2.2 weeks, and the mean BW was 868 ± 97 g. The overall survival rate at discharge was 50.0%. Despite aggressive treatment 60 infants (23.3%) died and another 69 infants (26.7%) died after medical care withdrawal. Furthermore, the survival rate was significantly higher in coastal areas than inland areas (53.6% vs. 35.3%, P = 0.019). BW < 750 g and GA < 28 weeks were the largest risk factors, and being small for gestational age was a protective factor related to mortality. Respiratory distress syndrome was the most common complication. The incidence of patent ductus arteriosus, intraventricular hemorrhage, periventricular leukomalacia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, retinopathy of prematurity was 26.2%, 33.7%, 6.7%, 48.1%, and 41.4%, respectively. Ventilator associated pneumonia was the most common hospital acquired infection during hospitalization.

CONCLUSIONSOur study was the first survey that revealed the present status of ELBW infants in the mainland of China. The mortality and morbidity of ELBW infants remained high as compared to other developed countries.

China ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Mortality ; Infant, Extremely Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Morbidity ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn ; mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo provide reliable evidence of "J in three-needle therapy" for treatment of stroke.

METHODSMulti-central randomized controlled trials were adopted, 180 hemiplegia patients of ischemic stroke were randomly divided into a fin three-needle group (90 cases) and a routine acupuncture group (90 cases). Two groups were both treated with basic neurology therapies, and J in three-needle group was treated with J in three-needle therapy, three acupoints of tempora, hand and foot etc. were selected; the routine acupuncture group was treated with traditional acupuncture, Quchi (LI 11), Huantiao (GB 30), Futu (ST 32) etc. were selected. Both groups were treated with acupuncture for 5 weeks. The cognitive function score of functional comprehensive assessment scale (FCA), the scores of mini-mental state examination scale (MMSE) and modified Barthel index (BI) were compared before and after treatment between two groups. Results After treatment, the scores of FCA, MMSE and BI in both groups were significantly improved compared to those before treatment (P < 0.01, P < 0.05); the improvement of FCA score, MMSE score and BI score in the J in three-needle group were superior to those of the routine acupuncture group after treatment (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). The total effective rate of 85.4% in the J in three-needle group was superior to tohat of 70.0% in the routine acupuncture group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONJ in three-needle acupuncture treatment can obviously improve the cognitive function and activity ability of daily life of hemiplegia patients after stroke, and the therapeutic effect of J in three-needle therapy is superior to that of traditional acupuncture treatment.

Activities of Daily Living ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Aged ; Cognition ; Female ; Hemiplegia ; etiology ; psychology ; rehabilitation ; therapy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stroke ; complications

OBJECTIVETo explore the reconstitution of immune function and viral suppression condition and to analyze the occurrence of drug resistance HIV-1 variants and its prevalence after using HAART in Guangxi Autonomy Region.

METHODSFrom July 2004 to October 2005, 133 HIV infected individuals who had received HAART for more than three months were recruited, and 58 infected persons with no antiviral therapy were selected as controls. Questionnaire was used to collect information about the adherence of HAART therapy. Immune reconstruction and viral suppress conditions were obtained by CD4+ counts and viral load and RT-PCR were used to amplify the PR and RT regions of HIV-1 genome while HIV-1 drug resistance rates were analyzed to show the occurrence and prevalence in both treated and naive patients.

RESULTSIn terms of CD4+ T cell counts: 70.69% of the treated patients showed obvious increase and 23.28% had no apparent change but 6.03% of them went down. 70.48% of the patients who had received antiviral therapy more than 3 months had their viral load lower than the low detectable limitation. When comparing the log of viral load between treated and untreated cohort, the mean value of the treated was obviously less than the untreated (P < 0.05). However,the result of drug resistance showed no obvious difference between the treated and untreated groups.

CONCLUSIONThe antiviral therapy being used in Guangxi region, had achieved obvious effect on the reconstruction of immune system and the suppression of viral replication in vivo under good adherence while the occurrence of drug-resistant HIV strain did not show obvious difference between treated and naive patient groups.

Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active ; CD4 Lymphocyte Count ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; HIV Infections ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; virology ; HIV-1 ; Humans ; Patient Compliance ; Prevalence ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Viral Load

OBJECTIVETo study HIV, HBV and HCV infections in intravenous drug users.

METHODS2025 blood samples from intravenous drug users were collected from Sichuan, Hunan, Guangxi and Xinjiang regions, and tested for anti-HIV, anti-HCV, HBsAg using enzyme-linked immuno-sobent assays (ELISAs).

RESULTSThe positive rates of anti-HIV,anti-HCV and HBsAg were14.7%-30.4%, 60.7%-85.5% and 6.6%-22.4% in the intravenous drug users, respectively. The co-infection rates of HIV/HBV, HIV/HCV, HCV/HBV and HIV/HCV/HBV were 0%-0.4%, 11.6%-27.2%, 2.3%-14.3% and 1.6%-4.8% respectively in this population.

CONCLUSIONThe infection rates of HIV, HBV and HCV were higher in the intravenous drug users than that in general populations in the same regions, and HIV/HCV co-infection appeared most frequent in this population.

China ; epidemiology ; HIV Infections ; epidemiology ; Hepatitis B ; epidemiology ; Hepatitis C ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Substance Abuse, Intravenous