Human exhaled breath has great application prospects,e.g.,monitoring pharmacokinetics,disease diagnosis,due to its advantages such as non-invasive and high-frequency sampling.Breath samples can be collected from the oral and nasal cavity.However,the oral and nasal environment affect the chemical composition of breath sample.Therefore,the investigation on the chemical composition of mouth-exhaled breath and nose-exhaled breath is crucial for selection of appropriate sampling strategy for individual studies.In this work,secondary electrospray ionization-high resolution mass spectrometry(SESI-HRMS)was applied to analysis of respiratory metabolomics in real time.A quantitative analysis approach was established for 9 kinds of volatile organic compounds(VOCs)e.g.2-butanone,2-pentanone,ethyl acetate,methyl methacrylate,toluene,styrene,mesitylene,isoprene and limonene.The limit of detection was 2.3?240.8 ng/m3.The intra-day(n=6)and inter-day(n=18)relative standard deviations were 0.6%?4.6%and 4.3%?12.2%,respectively.Nine healthy subjects were recruited to investigate the chemical composition of mouth-exhaled and nose-exhaled breath.The results showed the good performance in quantitative analysis of 9 VOCs in breath air.It was found that the number of unique component(m/z)detected in mouth-exhaled breath(167)was 2.2 times greater than that detected in nose-exhaled breath(76),which might result from the complex environment in oral cavity.The signal intensity of commun component(163)was significantly different between mouth-exhaled breath and nose-exhaled breath.Additionally,the elemental composition analysis showed that the proportion of polar compounds detected in nose-exhaled breath was higher than that in mouth-exhaled breath.This study demonstrated that there was significant differences in the chemical composition between mouth-exhaled and nose-exhaled breath,which provided a theoretical basis for selection of exhalation mode.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pneumococcal meningitis(PM),and drug sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae(SP)isolates in Chinese children.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical information,laboratory data,and microbiological data of 160 hospitalized children under 15 years old with PM from January 2019 to December 2020 in 33 tertiary hospitals across the country.Results Among the 160 children with PM,there were 103 males and 57 females.The age ranged from 15 days to 15 years,with 109 cases(68.1% )aged 3 months to under 3 years.SP strains were isolated from 95 cases(59.4% )in cerebrospinal fluid cultures and from 57 cases(35.6% )in blood cultures.The positive rates of SP detection by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing and cerebrospinal fluid SP antigen testing were 40% (35/87)and 27% (21/78),respectively.Fifty-five cases(34.4% )had one or more risk factors for purulent meningitis,113 cases(70.6% )had one or more extra-cranial infectious foci,and 18 cases(11.3% )had underlying diseases.The most common clinical symptoms were fever(147 cases,91.9% ),followed by lethargy(98 cases,61.3% )and vomiting(61 cases,38.1% ).Sixty-nine cases(43.1% )experienced intracranial complications during hospitalization,with subdural effusion and/or empyema being the most common complication[43 cases(26.9% )],followed by hydrocephalus in 24 cases(15.0% ),brain abscess in 23 cases(14.4% ),and cerebral hemorrhage in 8 cases(5.0% ).Subdural effusion and/or empyema and hydrocephalus mainly occurred in children under 1 year old,with rates of 91% (39/43)and 83% (20/24),respectively.SP strains exhibited complete sensitivity to vancomycin(100% ,75/75),linezolid(100% ,56/56),and meropenem(100% ,6/6).High sensitivity rates were also observed for levofloxacin(81% ,22/27),moxifloxacin(82% ,14/17),rifampicin(96% ,25/26),and chloramphenicol(91% ,21/23).However,low sensitivity rates were found for penicillin(16% ,11/68)and clindamycin(6% ,1/17),and SP strains were completely resistant to erythromycin(100% ,31/31).The rates of discharge with cure and improvement were 22.5% (36/160)and 66.2% (106/160),respectively,while 18 cases(11.3% )had adverse outcomes.Conclusions Pediatric PM is more common in children aged 3 months to under 3 years.Intracranial complications are more frequently observed in children under 1 year old.Fever is the most common clinical manifestation of PM,and subdural effusion/emphysema and hydrocephalus are the most frequent complications.Non-culture detection methods for cerebrospinal fluid can improve pathogen detection rates.Adverse outcomes can be noted in more than 10% of PM cases.SP strains are high sensitivity to vancomycin,linezolid,meropenem,levofloxacin,moxifloxacin,rifampicin,and chloramphenicol.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):131-138]

Objective:To explore the clinical application and effect of FilmArray ? meningitis/encephalitis (ME) panel in identifying pathogens of central nervous system (CNS) infections in children. Methods:Molecular biology study.Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were prospectively obtained through lumbar puncture from children with suspected CNS infections admitted to the Department of Infectious Diseases at Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University from May to November 2019.These samples were subjected to both routine clinical pathogen testing and FilmArray ME panel testing.Polymerase chain reaction was used to validate all samples.Independent sample t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test was used for comparative analysis of the results and influence factors obtained by the two detection methods. Results:A total of 113 cases of suspected CNS infections were enrolled.Routine clinical testing yielded 17 cases, with a positive rate of 15.0%, including 4 positive CSF cultures, with a positivity rate of 3.5%.FilmArray ME panel detected 23 positive cases, with a positive rate of 20.4%.FilmArray ME panel detected bacteria in 7 cases, viruses in 13 cases, fungi in 1 case, and both viruses and bacteria in 2 cases.Among the common pathogens detected, FilmArray ME panel obtained the results on average 2.7 days in advance.Conclusions:Compared with CSF culture, FilmArray ME panel has the advantages of shorter detection period, higher positive detection rate, and higher virus detection rate.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics of primary catheter malposition (PCM) following totally implantable venous access port (TIVAP) implantation via the internal jugular vein (IJV) and management strategies.Methods:Clinical data of 587 consecutive breast cancer patients undergoing TIVAP implantation via the IJV performed by single team at the Department of Breast Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from Aug 2017 to Aug 2022 was retrospectively analyzed.Results:A total of 593 TIVAP were implanted and PCM was found in 18 cases (3.0%). Four hundred and twenty five TIVAP were implanted via the right IJV with one PCM case (0.2%). One hundred and sixty eight TIVAP implantations were performed via the left IJV and PCM occurred in 17 cases (10.1%). The interventional management with a pigtail catheter was performed as a first-line strategy in 11 of the 18 PCM cases, with a success in 10 cases and failure in one. Three cases were successfully managed with the digital subtraction angiography (DSA)-guided open approach. Four cases underwent blind open procedure firstly and 2 suffered a failure.Conclusions:A higher incidence of PCM is found in TIVAP implantations via the left IJV than the right one. The interventional management with a pigtail catheter or the DSA-guided open procedure proves to be feasible for the correction of PCM.

This study investigated the effect of Lianmei Qiwu Decoction(LMQWD) on the improvement of cardiac autonomic nerve remodeling in the diabetic rat model induced by the high-fat diet and explored the underlying mechanism of LMQWD through the AMP-activated protein kinase(AMPK)/tropomyosin receptor kinase A(TrkA)/transient receptor potential melastatin 7(TRPM7) signaling pathway. The diabetic rats were randomly divided into a model group, an LMQWD group, an AMPK agonist group, an unloaded TRPM7 adenovirus group(TRPM7-N), an overexpressed TRPM7 adenovirus group(TRPM7), an LMQWD + unloaded TRPM7 adenovirus group(LMQWD+TRPM7-N), an LMQWD + overexpressed TRPM7 adenovirus group(LMQWD+TRPM7), and a TRPM7 channel inhibitor group(TRPM7 inhibitor). After four weeks of treatment, programmed electrical stimulation(PES) was employed to detect the arrhythmia susceptibility of rats. The myocardial cell structure and myocardial tissue fibrosis of myocardial and ganglion samples in diabetic rats were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining and Masson staining. The immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR), and Western blot were adopted to detect the distribution and expression of TRPM7, tyrosine hydroxylase(TH), choline acetyltransferase(ChAT), growth associated protein-43(GAP-43), nerve growth factor(NGF), p-AMPK/AMPK, and other genes and related neural markers. The results showed that LMQWD could significantly reduce the arrhythmia susceptibility and the degree of fibrosis in myocardial tissues, decrease the levels of TH, ChAT, and GAP-43 in the myocardium and ganglion, increase NGF, inhibit the expression of TRPM7, and up-regulate p-AMPK/AMPK and p-TrkA/TrkA levels. This study indicated that LMQWD could attenuate cardiac autonomic nerve remodeling in the diabetic state, and its mechanism was associated with the activation of AMPK, further phosphorylation of TrkA, and inhibition of TRPM7 expression.
Rats ; Animals ; AMP-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism* ; Nerve Growth Factor/metabolism* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/drug therapy* ; TRPM Cation Channels/metabolism* ; GAP-43 Protein/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; Diabetic Neuropathies/genetics* ; Fibrosis

The flavonoids in Panax notoginseng were qualitatively analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS), and the content of three main flavonoids in P. notoginseng of different specifications and grades collected from different habitats was determined by HPLC-DAD. Flavonoids and anthocyanins were analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS in the positive and negative ion modes, respectively. Twelve flavonoid glycosides and one anthocyanin glycoside in P. notoginseng were identified, but no flavonoid aglycones were detected. Among them, 12 compounds were identified in the underground part of P. notoginseng for the first time and eight compounds were first reported in this plant. Moreover, six and four compounds were identified in the Panax genus and the Araliaceae family for the first time, respectively. A method for simultaneous determination of three flavonoids in P. notoginseng was established by HPLC-DAD. The content of flavonoids in 721 P. notoginseng samples of 124 specifications and grades collected from 20 different habitats was simultaneously determined. Among three flavonoids determined, the content of quercetin-3-O-(2″-β-D-xylosyl)-β-D-galactoside was the highest with the average content in the tested samples of 161.0 μg·g~(-1). The content of compounds quercetin-3-O-hexosyl-hexoside and kaempferol-3-O-pentosyl-hexoside was relatively low, with the average content of 18.5 μg·g~(-1)(calculated as quercetin-3-O-sophoroside) and 49.4 μg·g~(-1)(calculated as kaempferol-3-O-sangbu diglycoside). There were significant differences in flavonoids content of samples from different production area. The content of flavonoids in spring P. notoginseng was significantly lower than that in winter P. notoginseng when the other influencing factors such as production areas, germplasm resources, and cultivation conditions were fixed. As for P. notoginseng of different specifications, the flavonoid content in the part connecting the taproot and the aboveground stem was significantly higher than that in other parts. The results of large-scale data showed that the flavonoid content gradually increased with the increase in the number of heads. There were significant differences between the flavonoid content in most specifications and grades, especially the 20-head P. notoginseng and countless head P. notoginseng, whose content was significantly lower and significantly higher than that of other specifications and grades, respectively. This study provides a scientific basis for the study of the effective components and quality control of P. notoginseng from the perspective of flavonoids.
Flavonoids/analysis* ; Anthocyanins/analysis* ; Quercetin ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Kaempferols ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Glycosides

Objective To explore the acute effects of NO₂ on children's respiratory hospitalization risk in Foshan City. Methods The daily average concentrations of six air pollutants such as NO2 and fine particulate matter, and meteorological data including average temperature and relative humidity in Foshan were collected from 2016 to 2019. Data on the daily number of children newly hospitalized for respiratory diseases (ECRH) in Foshan Women and Children Hospital were retrieved. Time series analysis was used to quantitatively evaluate the effect of daily NO2 concentration on the hospitalization risk of children with respiratory diseases. Results From 2016 to 2019, the average ECRH in the hospital was 10. The daily average concentrations of air pollutants NO₂, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and SO₂ were 42.0 μg/m³, 35.3 μg/m³, 58.1 μg/m³, and 11.4 μg/m³, respectively. The air pressure, daily average temperature and relative humidity of atmosphere were 1008.4 Pa, 23.7℃ and 73.3%, respectively. ECRH was significantly correlated with the daily average concentration of NO2 (r=0.079, P<0.05). After excluding temperature, humidity and other influencing factors, for every 10 μg/m³ increase of NO2 concentration in the single pollutant model, the excess risk of ECHR in the hospital increased by 1.22% (95% CI: 0.06%, 2.40%) and 1.37% (95% CI: 0.23%, 2.53%) in lag0 and Lag1 day, respectively. The strongest effect appeared in lag0:7 with the excess risk increasing by 1.70% (95% CI:0.12%, 3.31%). In the NO₂ + SO₂ + CO + O₃_8h + PM_2.5 and NO₂ + SO₂ + CO + O₃_8h + PM₁₀ multi-pollutant models, significance correlation still existed between the daily average NO₂ concentration and ECHR in lag0, lag1 and lag0:1 to lag0:7. The strongest effect appeared in lag0:1, and the excess risks were 4.06% (95% CI: 1.83%, 6.34%) and 3.95% (95% CI: 1.85%, 6.09%), respectively. Dose-response relationship analysis showed a linear relationship between the daily average NO₂ concentration and ECHR, and the excess risk of new hospitalization gradually increased with the increase of daily average NO₂ concentration. Conclusion There was a significant correlation between NO₂ concentration and hospitalization risk of children with respiratory diseases in Foshan City, which suggests that the government should further strengthen the prevention and control of air pollution.

RBM46 is a germ cell-specific RNA-binding protein required for gametogenesis, but the targets and molecular functions of RBM46 remain unknown. Here, we demonstrate that RBM46 binds at specific motifs in the 3'UTRs of mRNAs encoding multiple meiotic cohesin subunits and show that RBM46 is required for normal synaptonemal complex formation during meiosis initiation. Using a recently reported, high-resolution technique known as LACE-seq and working with low-input cells, we profiled the targets of RBM46 at single-nucleotide resolution in leptotene and zygotene stage gametes. We found that RBM46 preferentially binds target mRNAs containing GCCUAU/GUUCGA motifs in their 3'UTRs regions. In Rbm46 knockout mice, the RBM46-target cohesin subunits displayed unaltered mRNA levels but had reduced translation, resulting in the failed assembly of axial elements, synapsis disruption, and meiotic arrest. Our study thus provides mechanistic insights into the molecular functions of RBM46 in gametogenesis and illustrates the power of LACE-seq for investigations of RNA-binding protein functions when working with low-abundance input materials.
Animals ; Mice ; 3' Untranslated Regions/genetics* ; Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism* ; Gametogenesis/genetics* ; Meiosis/genetics* ; Nuclear Proteins/genetics* ; RNA-Binding Proteins/genetics*

Aim To investigate the effect of methionine restriction on the proliferation, migration and invasion of human oral squamous carcinoma CAL-27 cells. Methods Cell proliferation and colony formation ability were detected by cell counting and colony forming assay. The changes in cell cycle and apoptosis were detected by propidium iodide (PI) staining flow cytometry and Annexin V/7-amino-actinomycin staining flow cytometry. The migration and invasion ability of CAL-27 was detected by scratch and Transwell assay. The expression levels of apoptosis proteins Bax and Bcl-2, cyclins CDK2 and CDK4 and migration and invasion proteins N-cadherin and E-cadherin were examined by Western blot. Results Methionine restriction significantly inhibited the proliferation and clone formation of oral squamous cancer cell CAL-27 (P < 0. 01), induced cell cycle arrest at G

Objectives: To investigated the safety and efficacy of treating patients with acute non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and elevated levels of N-terminal pro-hormone B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) with levosimendan within 24 hours of first medical contact (FMC). Methods: This multicenter, open-label, block-randomized controlled trial (NCT03189901) investigated the safety and efficacy of levosimendan as an early management strategy of acute heart failure (EMS-AHF) for patients with NSTEMI and high NT-proBNP levels. This study included 255 patients with NSTEMI and elevated NT-proBNP levels, including 142 males and 113 females with a median age of 65 (58-70) years, and were admitted in the emergency or outpatient departments at 14 medical centers in China between October 2017 and October 2021. The patients were randomly divided into a levosimendan group (n=129) and a control group (n=126). The primary outcome measure was NT-proBNP levels on day 3 of treatment and changes in the NT-proBNP levels from baseline on day 5 after randomization. The secondary outcome measures included the proportion of patients with more than 30% reduction in NT-proBNP levels from baseline, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) during hospitalization and at 6 months after hospitalization, safety during the treatment, and health economics indices. The measurement data parameters between groups were compared using the t-test or the non-parametric test. The count data parameters were compared between groups using the χ² test. Results: On day 3, the NT-proBNP levels in the levosimendan group were lower than the control group but were statistically insignificant [866 (455, 1 960) vs. 1 118 (459, 2 417) ng/L, Z=-1.25,P=0.21]. However, on day 5, changes in the NT-proBNP levels from baseline in the levosimendan group were significantly higher than the control group [67.6% (33.8%,82.5%)vs.54.8% (7.3%,77.9%), Z=-2.14, P=0.03]. There were no significant differences in the proportion of patients with more than 30% reduction in the NT-proBNP levels on day 5 between the levosimendan and the control groups [77.5% (100/129) vs. 69.0% (87/126), χ²=2.34, P=0.13]. Furthermore, incidences of MACE did not show any significant differences between the two groups during hospitalization [4.7% (6/129) vs. 7.1% (9/126), χ²=0.72, P=0.40] and at 6 months [14.7% (19/129) vs. 12.7% (16/126), χ²=0.22, P=0.64]. Four cardiac deaths were reported in the control group during hospitalization [0 (0/129) vs. 3.2% (4/126), P=0.06]. However, 6-month survival rates were comparable between the two groups (log-rank test, P=0.18). Moreover, adverse events or serious adverse events such as shock, ventricular fibrillation, and ventricular tachycardia were not reported in both the groups during levosimendan treatment (days 0-1). The total cost of hospitalization [34 591.00(15 527.46,59 324.80) vs. 37 144.65(16 066.90,63 919.00)yuan, Z=-0.26, P=0.80] and the total length of hospitalization [9 (8, 12) vs. 10 (7, 13) days, Z=0.72, P=0.72] were lower for patients in the levosimendan group compared to those in the control group, but did not show statistically significant differences. Conclusions: Early administration of levosimendan reduced NT-proBNP levels in NSTEMI patients with elevated NT-proBNP and did not increase the total cost and length of hospitalization, but did not significantly improve MACE during hospitalization or at 6 months.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Aged ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; Simendan/therapeutic use* ; Non-ST Elevated Myocardial Infarction ; Heart Failure/drug therapy* ; Peptide Fragments ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Biomarkers ; Prognosis