Progress in Research of Asymptomatic Primary Mitral Regurgitation Examination Methods: A Review of Literature.

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is a common valvular heart disease, which can be classified into primary and secondary, according to the cause. Primary mitral regurgitation (PMR) is caused by rheumatic fever, degenerative changes, valve prolapse, etc. The appearance of clinical symptoms has always been the best indicator of surgical intervention in patients with severe PMR, but for asymptomatic patients, the best treatment has been controversial. The choice of follow-up observation or early surgery has different results in different randomized studies. Two-dimensional echocardiography is the most commonly used detection method for evaluating MR, but its evaluation of the degree of reflux may be inaccurate, and there are differences in the outcomes of patients with asymptomatic PMR. Recent studies have shown that three-dimensional echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance, speckle-tracking echocardiography, brain natriuretic peptide, and exercise stress test can optimize the timing of surgery for asymptomatic patients and judge the asymptomatic of PMR.

Use of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center nomogram to guide intraoperative sentinel lymph node frozen sections in patients with early breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: We implemented selective use of frozen section (FS) to optimize accuracy and cost control in the intraoperative diagnosis of sentinel lymph node (SLN) in patients with breast cancer, guided by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) nodal metastasis risk prediction nomogram. METHODS: Surgical pathology records were reviewed, examining 2582 consecutive biopsies from 2552 patients with breast cancer to compare intraoperative FS diagnoses with postoperative final reports. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, and false-negative rates (FNRs) for various MSKCC risk levels, also analyzing axillary reoperation rates, with and without FS, and the number needed to treat (NNT) to avoid separate axillary lymph node dissection. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and FNR of FS were 84.7%, 99.9%, and 15.3%, respectively. FNR and MSKCC risk level negatively correlated (r = -0.86; P = .002). Axillary reoperation rate significantly declined if FS was done (FS: 4.0%; no FS: 36.4%; P = .002). In grouping patients by quartile of MSKCC risk, axillary reoperation rates were 16.7%, 25.1%, 38.7%, and 58.7% without FS, compared with 4.3%, 3.2%, 5.6%, 3.3% with FS and NNT correspondingly fell from 8.1 to 4.6, 3.0, and 1.8. CONCLUSIONS: A stratified decision-making algorithm based on the MSKCC risk prediction model improved the effectiveness of FS during SLN biopsy to avoid axillary reoperation.

ent-Eudesmane-Type Sesquiterpenoids from the Chinese Liverwort Chiloscyphus polyanthus var. rivularis.

Seven new ent-eudesmane-type sesquiterpenoids (1-7) and six known analogues (8-13) were isolated from the Chinese liverwort Chiloscyphus polyanthus var. rivularis. Their structures were determined from analysis of MS and NMR spectroscopic data and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. A cytotoxic evaluation showed that compound 1 exhibited weak inhibitory activity against the A549 cancer cell line with an IC50 value of 27.7 µM.

Distribution characteristics of FcµR positive cells in small intestinal lymph nodes of Bactrian camel.

Exploring the expression characteristics of FcµR in small intestinal lymph nodes of bactrian camels can lay the foundation for further revealing the function of FcµR. The FcµR expression characteristics were systematically analysed by using prokaryotic expression, antibody preparation, immunohistochemical staining and statistical analysis. FcµR positive cells were mainly located in the lymphoid follicles and their numbers decreased in the order of duodenal lymph nodes, jejunal lymph nodes and ileal lymph nodes, and the number of positive cells was statistically significant between different intestinal segments (P<0.05). The FcµR is expressed in lymphoid follicular B cells, which not only facilitates the body's ability to regulate secretory IgM levels, but also acts as a local immune defence barrier. The small intestine has dual functions of immune tolerance and immune response, the proximal part mainly focuses on immune tolerance, and the distal part mainly focuses on immune response. This distribution ensures the unity of the duodenal absorption and immune defence, and also significantly increases the efficiency of the entire small intestine, which is why the number of FcµR positive cells decreases in the order of duodenal lymph nodes, jejunal lymph nodes and ileal lymph nodes.

Taeniid cestodes in Tibetan foxes (Vulpes Ferrilata) detected by copro-PCR: Applications and challenges.

Tibetan foxes (Vulpes ferrilata) have been confirmed as the main wild definitive hosts in echinococcosis transmission in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. However, little information is available about the epidemiology in wildlife from the perspective of the Taeniidae family, which is essential knowledge in understanding the epidemiology and phylogeography of cestode species in the Tibetan plateau. Therefore, in this study, we used copro-PCR techniques, by amplifying nad1 and cox1 gene fragments, to detect the taeniid species from Tibetan fox feces collected in Shiqu County, (Sichuan Province, China), eastern Tibetan Plateau. Phylogenetic relationships between amplified sequences and existed Taenia species genotypes were evaluated. Then, the maximum prevalence (positive PCR results from at least one primer pair) and the conservative prevalence (positive PCR results from at least two primer pairs) were calculated. Thirty-six Tibetan fox feces were analyzed. Echinococcus multilocularis (conservative prevalence ± 95% CI: 22.2% ± 13.6%; maximum prevalence ± 95% CI: 33.3% ± 15.4%) and E. shiquicus (2.8 ± 5.4%; 8.3 ± 9.0%) was detected. Meanwhile, DNA fragments of T. polyacantha were detected with high similarity to NCBI sequences (cox1, 94.0%) and to the larva sample DNA sequenced in this study (93.4%), and were supported by phylogenetic analysis. Thus, T. polyacantha might infect Tibetan foxes (5.6% ± 7.5%, 11.1% ± 10.3%). Our limited findings in the epidemiology of parasitic Taenia species suggest that sylvatic transmission cycles for a more species-rich Taeniid community must be established between wild canids and small mammals than just for the two Echinococcus species. Besides, discrepancies in different primer pairs in detecting the taeniid species were evaluated. The sensitivity of some widely used universal primer pairs was poor in detecting Taenia species from canid copro-DNA samples. It is still challenging to the development of effective taeniid species-specific molecular markers especially for non-zoonotic species.

SETDB2 promoted breast cancer stem cell maintenance by interaction with and stabilization of ΔNp63α protein.

The histone H3K9 methyltransferase SETDB2 is involved in cell cycle dysregulation in acute leukemia and has oncogenic roles in gastric cancer. In our study, we found that SETDB2 plays essential roles in breast cancer stem cell maintenance. Depleted SETDB2 significantly decreased the breast cancer stem cell population and mammosphere formation in vitro and also inhibited breast tumor initiation and growth in vivo. Restoring SETDB2 expression rescued the defect in breast cancer stem cell maintenance. A mechanistic analysis showed that SETDB2 upregulated the transcription of the ΔNp63α downstream Hedgehog pathway gene. SETDB2 also interacted with and methylated ΔNp63α, and stabilized ΔNp63α protein. Restoring ΔNp63α expression rescued the breast cancer stem cell maintenance defect which mediated by SETDB2 knockdown. In conclusion, our study reveals a novel function of SETDB2 in cancer stem cell maintenance in breast cancer.

Multigene methylation in serum of sporadic Chinese female breast cancer patients as a prognostic biomarker.

OBJECTIVE: DNA methylation is a common molecular alteration in human neoplasia and can be detected easily in the bloodstream of patients. Here, we investigated whether DNA methylation in sera is of prognostic significance in breast cancer patients. METHODS: Methylation status of BRCA1, p16 and 14-3-3sigma was examined by methylation-specific PCR assay in the sera of sporadic breast cancer patients and healthy serum controls. RESULTS: The panel gene methylation frequencies were 29% of sporadic breast cancers for p16, 32% for BRCA1 and 82% for 14-3-3sigma; all were significantly associated with grades and estrogen receptor status. Only p16 methylation was associated with histological type. p16 and BRCA1 methylation were associated with progesterone receptor status, while 14-3-3sigma was significantly associated with lymph node metastases. Seventy percent of patients with p16 methylation showed elevated serum CEA levels; of the breast cancer patients with BRCA1 methylation, 75.8% showed elevated serum CEA levels and 69.7% showed elevated serum CA15.3 levels. When analyzing all investigated patients, multivariate analysis showed methylated BRCA1 and/or p16 serum DNA to be independently associated with poor outcome, with a relative risk of death of 6.0. CONCLUSIONS: Epigenetic markers in sera, especially BRCA1/p16, may be more promising targets for the diagnosis of sporadic breast cancer than previous prognostic markers.

A novel fully enzymatic method for determining glucose and 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol in serum of one cuvette.

The aim of the study was to set up a novel fully enzymatic method for screening glucose and 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol (1,5-AG) in one cuvette. We have determined glucose and 1,5-AG, based on glucokinase (GK) converting glucose to G6P, a compound that can be catalyzed ultimately into 6-PGA by G-6PD and its coenzyme NADP(+), and then calculated glucose concentration according to absorbance variety. Furthermore, pyranose oxidase was used to oxidize 1,5-AG with the formation of 1, 5-anhydro-fructose and H(2)O(2). Measurement was done according to Trinder's reaction principle. The mean within-run and day-to-day precision (CV) of this method for glucose was 0.88% and 1.4%, and also that for 1,5-AG was 1.05% and 1.94%, respectively. The mean recovery rate of two targets was 100.2% and 101.6%, respectively. The correlation (R(2)) between the results of 1,5-AG obtained with our proposed method (y) and those obtained with LanaAG method (x) was 0.999 (y=1.002x-0.675 micromol/l; n=86), and the correlation (R(2)) of glucose between the results obtained with our GK method (y) and those obtained with recommendatory hexokinase method (x) was 0.9999 (y=1.0043x+0.1229 mmol/l; n=86). The reference range (95%) of serological glucose and 1,5-AG was 3.7 to 5.7 mmol/l (4.70+/-0.51 mmol/l) and 83.1 to 240.7 micromol/l (161.9+/-40.2 micromol/l), respectively; and there was no difference with age and sex (P>0.05). This newly developed method was dependable and steady-going, with analysis automatization, and allows quicker and easier measurement of serum glucose and 1,5-AG in one identical reaction cuvette in-phase than previously described methods.

[Surveillance and risk assessment system of schistosomiasis epidemic focus in Hankou marshland of Wuhan City].

OBJECTIVE: To construct a monitoring and risk assessment system of schistosomiasis epidemic focus in marshland, so as to grasp the risk of schistosomiasis transmission, and to provide the technical support for targeted prevention and control measures. METHODS: The crowd and the risk source of schistosomiasis in Hankou marshland in Wuhan City were monitored to grasp the risk factors of schistosomiasis. The risk level was evaluated by the three-dimensional risk matrix and three-dimensional visualization method. RESULTS: The total numbers of people on holidays and working days were 59 582 and 36 382 persontimes a day respectively in Hankou marshland. Fishing and swimming were the most common ways to contact the river water. The most majority of the people exposed to river water were male (73.9%), retirees (36.1%), local residents (69.7%) and people whose income was 1000 - 3000 yuan per month (52.1%), and the awareness of protection of them was low. In spring, the average density of living Oncomelania hupensis snails was 0.993/0.1 m2, the rat density was 7.72%, and the density of wild feces was 0.78/hm2. In autumn, the average density of living snails was 0.596 /0.1 m2, the rat density was 5.22%, and the density of wild feces was 0.32/hm2. The average density of living snails, the rat density and the density of wild feces were reduced by 39.9%, 32.4% and 59.0% respectively in autumn compared with those in spring. The risk assessment results of three-dimensional matrix showed that part 1 and part 2 were medium risk, part 3 was high risk and part 4 was maximum risk. The risk assessment results of the visualization method showed that the risk level increased from part 1 to part 4, which were basically consistent with the results of the risk matrix. CONCLUSIONS: There is a relatively large risk of schistosome infection in Hankou marshland in 2013. The surveillance and risk assessment system of epidemic focus is feasible and scientific.