Infection of sheep by Echinococcus multilocularis in Gansu, China: evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analysis.

BACKGROUND: In the normal life cycle of the parasite (Echinococcus multilocularis) that causes alveolar echinococcosis, domestic and wild carnivores act as definitive hosts, and rodents act as intermediate hosts. The presented study contributes to the research on the distribution and transmission pattern of E. multilocularis in China having identified sheep as an unusual intermediate host taking part in the domestic transmission of alveolar echinococcosis in Gansu Province, China. METHODS: From 2020 to 2021, nine whitish different cyst-like were collected from the liver of sheep in Gansu Province for examination. A near complete mitochondrial (mt) genome and selected nuclear genes were amplified from the cyst-like lesion for identification. To confirm the status of the specimen, comparative analysis with reference sequences, phylogenetic analysis, and network analysis were performed. RESULTS: The isolates displayed ≥ 98.87% similarity to E. multilocularis NADH dehydrogenase sub-unit 1 (nad1) (894 bp) reference sequences deposited in GenBank. Furthermore, amplification of the nad4 and nad2 genes also confirmed all nine samples as E. multilocularis with > 99.30% similarity. Additionally, three nuclear genes, pepck (1545 bp), elp-exons VII and VIII (566 bp), and elp-exon IX (256 bp), were successfully amplified and sequenced for one of the isolates with 98.42% similarity, confirming the isolates were correctly identified as E. multilocularis. Network analysis also correctly placed the isolates with other E. multilocularis. CONCLUSIONS: As a result of the discovery of E. multilocularis in an unusual intermediate host, which is considered to have the highest zoonotic potential, the result clearly demonstrated the necessity for expanded surveillance in the area.

Feasibility of same-day discharge following endoscopic submucosal dissection for esophageal or gastric early cancer.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is an established technique for the treatment of early gastrointestinal neoplasia. Generally, multi-day (M-D) admission is required for patients undergoing ESD due to potential complications. AIM: To evaluate the feasibility of a same-day (S-D) discharge strategy for ESD of the esophagus or stomach. METHODS: The data of patients who underwent esophageal or gastric ESD were retrospectively collected from January 2018 to December 2021 at Peking University Cancer Hospital. The propensity score matching (PSM) method was applied to balance the unevenly distributed patient baseline characteristics between the S-D and M-D groups. Intraoperative and postoperative parameters were compared between the matched groups. RESULTS: Among the 479 patients reviewed, 470 patients, including 91 in the S-D group and 379 in the M-D group, fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following PSM, 78 patients in each group were paired using the 1:1 nearest available score match algorithm. No significant difference was found between groups with respect to intraoperative and postprocedural major adverse events (AEs). Tumor size, complete resection rate, and procedural duration were comparable between the groups. The S-D group demonstrated a significantly shorter length of hospital stay (P < 0.001) and lower overall medical expenses (P < 0.001) compared with the M-D group. CONCLUSION: The S-D discharge strategy may be feasible and effective for esophagogastric ESD, and the procedural-related AEs can be managed successfully.

Optimized dual therapy for treatment-naive patients of Helicobacter pylori infection: A large-scale prospective, multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy and safety of high-dose amoxicillin (AMX) and proton pump inhibitors (PPI) dual therapy raises much more attention in recent years. Comparative studies among the dual therapies are required to explore more suitable regimens. This study compared the efficacy, adverse events, and patient compliance of three different high-dose dual regimens in treatment-naive patients of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a prospective, multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial, including H. pylori-infected treatment-naive patients at 12 tertiary hospitals in China. The eligible subjects received high-dose AMX and esomeprazole (ESO) dual therapy of different regimens. They were randomly assigned to group A (ESO 20 mg plus AMX 750 mg, Qid for 14 days), group B (ESO 40 mg Bid plus AMX 1 g Tid for 14 days), or group C (ESO 20 mg plus AMX 1 g, Tid for 14 days). The eradication rates, adverse events, and patient compliance of the three groups were compared. RESULTS: Between April 2021 and January 2022, a total of 1080 subjects were screened and 945 were randomized. The eradication rates in groups A, B, and C were 88.6% (95% CI 84.5%-91.9%), 84.4% (95% CI 80.0%-88.3%), and 86.7% (95% CI 82.4%-90.2%; p = .315), respectively, based on intention-to-treat analysis; 90.3% (95% CI 86.4%-93.3%), 85.5% (95% CI 81.1%-89.2%), and 87.8% (95% CI 83.6%-91.2%; p = .197), respectively, according to modified intention-to-treat analysis; and 90.4% (95% CI 86.5%-93.5%), 85.8% (95% CI 81.4%-89.5%), and 88.3% (95% CI 84.1%-91.7%; p = .202) in per-protocol analysis. History of antibiotics use in 2 years reduced eradication effect in group B (ESO 40 mg Bid, AMX 1 g Tid). The modified intention-to-treat eradication rates were 81.4% vs 90.0% among those with or without a history of antibiotics use in group B (p = .031). The adverse event rates were 13.7%, 12.7%, and 12.1% in groups A, B, and C, respectively (p = .834). Patient compliance of the three groups was similar. CONCLUSIONS: Two optimized AMX and PPI dual regimens (ESO 40 mg Bid or 20 mg Tid plus AMX 1 g Tid for 14 days) had similar efficacy, safety and compliance as compared with classical dual regimen (ESO 20 mg plus AMX 750 mg Qid for 14 days) in H. pylori-infected treatment-naive patients.

Erratum: Effects of HPV16E6 transfection on the biological behavior of Eca109 and Eca9706 cells.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3892/ol.2017.7469.].

Consensus on the digestive endoscopic tunnel technique.

With the digestive endoscopic tunnel technique (DETT), many diseases that previously would have been treated by surgery are now endoscopically curable by establishing a submucosal tunnel between the mucosa and muscularis propria (MP). Through the tunnel, endoscopic diagnosis or treatment is performed for lesions in the mucosa, in the MP, and even outside the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. At present, the tunnel technique application range covers the following: (1) Treatment of lesions originating from the mucosal layer, e.g., endoscopic submucosal tunnel dissection for oesophageal large or circular early-stage cancer or precancerosis; (2) treatment of lesions from the MP layer, per-oral endoscopic myotomy, submucosal tunnelling endoscopic resection, etc.; and (3) diagnosis and treatment of lesions outside the GI tract, such as resection of lymph nodes and benign tumour excision in the mediastinum or abdominal cavity. With the increasing number of DETTs performed worldwide, endoscopic tunnel therapeutics, which is based on DETT, has been gradually developed and optimized. However, there is not yet an expert consensus on DETT to regulate its indications, contraindications, surgical procedure, and postoperative treatment. The International DETT Alliance signed up this consensus to standardize the procedures of DETT. In this consensus, we describe the definition, mechanism, and significance of DETT, prevention of infection and concepts of DETT-associated complications, methods to establish a submucosal tunnel, and application of DETT for lesions in the mucosa, in the MP and outside the GI tract (indications and contraindications, procedures, pre- and postoperative treatments, effectiveness, complications and treatments, and a comparison between DETT and other operations).

The sequence and de novo assembly of hog deer genome.

Hog deer (Axis porcinus) is a small deer species in family Cervidae and has been undergoing a serious and global decline during the past decades. Chengdu Zoo currently holds a captive population of hog deer with sufficient genetic diversity in China. We sequenced and de novo assembled its genome sequence in the present study. A total of six different insert-size libraries were sequenced and generated 395 Gb of clean data in total. With aid of the linked reads of 10X Genomics, genome sequence was assembled to 2.72 Gb in length (contig N50, 66.04 Kb; scaffold N50, 20.55 Mb), in which 94.5% of expected genes were detected. We comprehensively annotated 22,473 protein-coding genes, 37,019 tRNAs, and 1,058 Mb repeated sequences. The newly generated reference genome is expected to significantly contribute to comparative analysis of genome biology and evolution within family Cervidae.

Effects of HPV16E6 transfection on the biological behavior of Eca109 and Eca9706 cells.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of HPV16E6 gene integration on the biological behavior of Eca109 and Eca9706 cells. This was evaluated through positive liposome transfection of HPV16E6 into Eca109 cells and Eca9706 cells. The transfection efficiency was evaluated by calculating the ratio of fluorescent cells to total cells. After stable screening, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to detect the target gene and HPV16E6mRNA inside the cells. The distribution of HPV16E6 in esophageal carcinoma cells was observed by immunofluorescence and western blot analysis. A CCK-8 assay was performed to detect cell proliferation. The migration rate was measured by a wound healing assay, and a Transwell Matrigel invasion assay was used to detect invasive ability. The results of RT-PCR, immunofluorescence and western blot analyses indicated that HPV16E6 gene was expressed in the target group. The proliferation rates and clone group numbers were significantly higher in HPV16E6-transfected cell groups compared with nonsense-transfected (negative control) cell groups. The wound healing and Transwell invasion assays indicated that the migration rate and invasive ability were also significantly higher in the HPV16E6-transfected cell groups compared with negative control groups. In conclusion, Eca109 and Eca9706 cell lines with integration of HPV16E6 were successfully established in the present study. It was demonstrated that HPV16E6 expression enhanced the proliferation and migration of esophageal cancer cells. HPV16E6 may serve a key function in the occurrence and development of esophageal cancer.

Changes in hydrogen sulfide in rats with hepatic cirrhosis in different stages.

This study aimed to observe changes in the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) system in the blood and liver tissue of rats with hepatic cirrhosis at different stages by studying the effect of H2S on the course of hyperdynamic circulation in rats with hepatic cirrhosis. H2S concentration in the blood from the portal vein and inferior vena cava of hepatic cirrhosis rat model induced with carbon tetrachloride was detected on the 15th, 30th, and 52nd day. The expression of cystathionine ß-synthase (CBS) and cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) protein, and CBS and CSE mRNA in the liver was detected by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. The results indicated that H2S concentration in the blood from the portal vein and inferior vena cava of rats with hepatic cirrhosis was significantly lower than that in the control group. H2S was gradually decreased with the development of the disease and significantly lower in the blood from portal vein than in the blood of inferior vena cava at the mid-stage and the late stage groups. The expression levels of CBS and CSE protein, and CBS and CSE mRNA in the livers with hepatic cirrhosis at different stages were all higher than those in the control group, and the expression gradually increased with the development of the disease. The expression of CBS was lower than CSE in the same stages. The results indicated that the CSE mRNA was expressed predominantly in the cirrhosis groups as compared with CBS mRNA. Among experimental rats, the H2S system has an important effect on the occurrence and development of hyperdynamic circulation in rats with hepatic cirrhosis. This finding adds to the literature by demonstrating that H2S protects vascular remodelling in the liver, and that CSE is indispensable in this process.

Fast entropy-based CABAC rate estimation for mode decision in HEVC.

High efficiency video coding (HEVC) seeks the best code tree configuration, the best prediction unit division and the prediction mode, by evaluating the rate-distortion functional in a recursive way and using a "try all and select the best" strategy. Further, HEVC only supports context adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC), which has the disadvantage of being highly sequential and having strong data dependencies, as the entropy coder. So, the development of a fast rate estimation algorithm for CABAC-based coding has a great practical significance for mode decision in HEVC. There are three elementary steps in CABAC encoding process: binarization, context modeling, and binary arithmetic coding. Typical approaches to fast CABAC rate estimation simplify or eliminate the last two steps, but leave the binarization step unchanged. To maximize the reduction of computational complexity, we propose a fast entropy-based CABAC rate estimator in this paper. It eliminates not only the modeling and the coding steps, but also the binarization step. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed estimator is able to reduce the computational complexity of the mode decision in HEVC by 9-23 % with negligible PSNR loss and BD-rate increment, and therefore exhibits applicability to practical HEVC encoder implementation.

Gene chip technology used in the detection of HPV infection in esophageal cancer of Kazakh Chinese in Xinjiang Province.

This study was aimed to screen human papillomavirus (HPV) types associated with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma of Kazakh in Xinjiang using the gene chip technique and study the clinical significance of this application. The DNAs were collected from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma tissues and healthy esophageal mucosa of Kazakh adults in Xinjiang, and amplified firstly using HPV MY09/11 and then using HPV G5+/6+ to screen positive HPV specimens. These positive specimens were further detected by the gene chip technique to screen highly pathogenic HPV types. After determination with nested PCR amplification with HPV MY09/11 and G5+/6+, the infection rate of HPV was 66.67% in the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma group and 12.12% in the healthy control group. By testing the positive HPV specimens from the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma group, the infection rate of HPV16 was 97.72% and the co-infection rate of HPV16 and HPV18 was 2.27%. HPV16 infection may be involved in the development of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Xinjiang Hazakh adults.

[Combined effects of antisense TBRI eukaryotic expressing plasmid and antisense TIMP-1 eukaryotic expressing plasmid on rat liver fibrosis].

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that the introduction of antisense transforming growth factor beta receptor I (TBRI) plasmid and antisense tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP-1) eukaryotic expressing plasmid into a rat liver fibrosis model may influence the progression of liver fibrosis. METHODS: Fragments of TBRI cDNA and TIMP-1 cDNA were obtained by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and then amplified by nest PCR. pcDNA3.1(+)-antisense TBRI eukaryotic expressing plasmid was constructed by directional and inverted joins with the purified linear pcDNA3.1(+) and the purified fragment of TBRI, as well as, pcDNA3.1(+)-antisense TIMP-1 eukaryotic expressing plasmid. The recombinant was identified by restriction endonuclease digestion and DNA sequence analysis. The recombinant plasmids were encapsulated with Lipofectmine 2000, and then they were injected intraperitoneally into the liver fibrosis model rats. The protein expression of type I collagen was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. VG staining of liver slides of the rats was used for histopathological examination. RESULTS: Compared with the empty plasmid control group and the disease control group, the deposition of type I collagen decreased in the three antisense treatment groups: antisense TBRI group (4.37+/-1.30) x 10(5), P less than 0.05; antisense TIMP-1 group (3.40+/-0.91) x 10(5), probability value less than 0.05; antisense TBRI + antisense TIMP-1 group (0.90+/-0.32) x 10(5), P less than 0.01; treatment control group (6.90+/-1.61) x 10(5); disease control group (7.34+/-1.68) x 10(5); and the normal control group (0.41+/-0.21) x 10(5)]. Significant differences in the pathological grades of fibrosis were found between the normal control group and the other five groups (P less than 0.05) and also between the disease control group and the three antisense treatment groups (antisense TBRI group P less than 0.05; antisense TIMP-1 group P less than 0.05; antisense TBRI + antisense TIMP-1 group P less than 0.01), but no difference was found between the empty plasmid control group and disease control group (P more than 0.05). CONCLUSION: Both antisense TBRI eukaryotic expressing plasmid and antisense TIMP-1 eukaryotic expressing plasmid can inhibit the progress of liver fibrosis. A combined action can inhibit the progress of liver fibrosis more.

[Effectiveness and safety of recombinant human interleukin-11 in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of domestically produced recombinant human interleukin 11 (rhIL-11) for the treatment of chemotherapy- induced thrombocytopenia. METHODS: A total of 32 solid cancer patients who developed chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia ( _70 x 10(9)/L) after the first cycle of chemotherapy was studied by self-cross control. The patients were given subcutaneous injection of rhIL-11 (25 microg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) for 7 to 14 consecutive days or until platelet count > or = 100 x 10(9)/L during the second cycle of chemotherapy using the identical regimen as in the first cycle. RESULTS: The mean platelet count of the patients after rhIL-11 treatment was higher at different time points during the second cycle of chemotherapy than that during the first cycle of chemotherapy with the mean platelet count of (110.2 +/- 53.5) x 10(9)/L in the first cycle of chemotherapy versus (55.6 +/- 46.8) x 10(9)/L in the second cycle of chemotherapy (P < 0. 01). Patients with platelet count < or = 50 x 10(9)/L was 4/32 (12.5%) in the first cycle of chemotherapy and 12/32 (37.5%) in the second cycle of chemotherapy (P < 0.01). The time recovery to the normal platelet count was 2 - 18 days (median 5 days) in the first cycle of chemotherapy versus 5 - 27 days (median 12 days) in the second cycle of chemotherapy (P < 0.01). The case/frequency of the platelet transfusion was 2/2 in the first cycle of chemotherapy, while it was 7/9 in the second cycle of chemotherapy (P < 0.01). The major adverse reactions relative to rhIL-11 treatment were fatigue, myalgia/arthralgia, ache, headache, palpitation, edema and fever, most of which could be relieved automatically without any specific treament. However, some 3 grade side effects such as fatigue, myalgia/arthralgia and headache needed proper medication. CONCLUSION: rhIL-11 is safe and effective for chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia with mild and manageable side effects.