Experience of diagnosis and treatment of hard-to-heal wounds infected with Acinetobacter baumannii: a case study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the efficacy of 0.01% hypochlorous acid (HOCl) in the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds infected by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. METHOD: We report a case of hard-to-heal wounds on a patient's forearms that were infected by Acinetobacter baumannii. The wounds were treated with 0.01% HOCl. We reviewed the relevant literature and discussed the definition, epidemiology and pathogenesis of hard-to-heal wounds infected by Acinetobacter baumannii. We also explored the safety and efficacy of 0.01% HOCl for the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds infected with Acinetobacter baumannii. RESULTS: After 3-4 weeks of treatment with 0.01% HOCl, the pain and pruritus of the wounds was gradually alleviated, the infection was controlled and the granulation tissue was fresh. The ulcers also shrank and the nutritional condition of the patient improved. In the fifth week, the skin of the patient's right thigh was grafted to repair the wounds, which then healed within 18 days. During the three years of follow-up, the patient had no relapse. CONCLUSION: In our case, the 0.01% HOCl seemed to effectively inactivate the bacterial biological biofilm. This helped to promote wound healing, and was non-toxic to the tissues. We consider low-concentration HOCl to be safe and effective for the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds infected with Acinetobacter baumannii.

Diagnosis of cutaneous primary nocardiosis in patients with normal immune function by metagenomic next-generation sequencing.

Nocardia primarily affects immunocompromised individuals, and Infection with Nocardia is uncommon and primary cutaneous nocardiosis caused by percutaneous inoculation is even rarer. Primary cutaneous nocardiosis remains a diagnostic challenge and should be considered in the differential diagnosis for any superficial cutaneous infection that arises in patients with normal immune function. We report a case that was diagnosed with primary cutaneous Nocardia by metagenomic next-generation sequencing technology.

Mechanism of microRNA-146a-mediated IL-6/STAT3 signaling in lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration.

The aim of the study was to investigate the mechanism of microRNA (miR)-146a-mediated activation of interleukin-6/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (IL-6/STAT3) in lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration. To obtain intervertebral tissue, we recruited 5 patients with lumbar intervertebral disc herniation (experimental group) and 5 patients with lumbar burst fracture (control group). Nucleus pulposus tissue was extracted by surgery and cultured. miR-146a empty vector, mimic, and inhibitor were transfected into the two groups of cells for 24 h and the levels of IL-6, type II collagen (Col II), aggrecan, STAT3, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type I motifs (ADAMTS) were detected. We found no differences in the levels of IL-6, Col II, aggrecan, STAT3, MMP-3, and ADAMTS before and after treatment in the control group. However, the levels of miR-146a, IL-6, STAT3, MMP-3, and ADAMTS were significantly elevated, whereas Col II and aggrecan levels were lower in the experimental group before treatment. The levels of IL-6, STAT3, MMP-3, and ADAMTS were elevated after treatment with miR-146a mimic when compared with the miR-146a empty vector in the experimental group, and Col II and aggrecan levels were decreased. However, the cells treated with miR-146a inhibitor had the opposite result. Thus, the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway can be mediated by a high expression of miR-146a to regulate the occurrence of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration.

Mechanism of microRNA-21 regulating IL-6 inflammatory response and cell autophagy in intervertebral disc degeneration.

This study investigated the mechanism of microRNA-21 in regulating IL-6 inflammatory response and cell autophagy in intervertebral disc degeneration. A total of 10 patients with lumbar disc herniation accompanied by nerve root pain (observation group) and 10 patients with lumbar burst fractures (control group) were selected. The nucleus pulposus tissues of the lesion were obtained during operation for cell culture. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the expression of microRNA-21. The ELISA method was used to detect the levels of IL-6, and type II collagen (Col II). Aggrecan and western blotting was used to detect autophagy-related gene 7 (ATG7) and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II/-I. As a result, the levels of microRNA-21 and IL-6 in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group, but the levels of Col II and aggrecan were significantly lower than those in the control group. The differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The levels of ATG7 and LC3-II/-I in the observation group were significantly decreased (P<0.05). In conclusion, the expression of microRNA-21 is abnormally high in the nerve root pain of the lumbar intervertebral disc, which can increase the IL-6 inflammatory response and reduce the capacity of cell autophagy.

Dual-view integral imaging 3D display by using orthogonal polarizer array and polarization switcher.

In this paper, a dual-view integral imaging three-dimensional (3D) display consisting of a display panel, two orthogonal polarizer arrays, a polarization switcher, and a micro-lens array is proposed. Two elemental image arrays for two different 3D images are presented by the display panel alternately, and the polarization switcher controls the polarization direction of the light rays synchronously. The two elemental image arrays are modulated by their corresponding and neighboring micro-lenses of the micro-lens array, and reconstruct two different 3D images in viewing zones 1 and 2, respectively. A prototype of the dual-view II 3D display is developed, and it has good performances.

Partially-overlapped viewing zone based integral imaging system with super wide viewing angle.

In this paper, we analyze the relationship between viewer and viewing zones of integral imaging (II) system and present a partially-overlapped viewing zone (POVZ) based integral imaging system with a super wide viewing angle. In the proposed system, the viewing angle can be wider than the viewing angle of the conventional tracking based II system. In addition, the POVZ can eliminate the flipping and time delay of the 3D scene as well. The proposed II system has a super wide viewing angle of 120° without flipping effect about twice as wide as the conventional one.

Tilted elemental image array generation method for moiré-reduced computer generated integral imaging display.

In this paper, we propose a tilted elemental image array generation method for computer generated integral imaging display with reduced moiré patterns. The pixels of the tilted elemental image array are divided into border pixels and effective pixels. According to the optimal tilted angle, the effective pixels are arranged with uniform arrangement. Also, a pixel mapping method is proposed. Appropriate experiments are carried out and the experimental results show that not only the color moiré patterns are reduced remarkably, but also the resolution of the reconstructed 3D images are improved through the proposed method.