Surveillance study of the prevalence, species distribution, antifungal susceptibility, risk factors and mortality of invasive candidiasis in a tertiary teaching hospital in Southwest China.

BACKGROUND: Invasive candidiasis (IC) is the most common invasive fungal infection. The epidemiology of IC in hospitalized patients has been widely investigated in many metropolitan cities; however, little information from medium and small cities is known. METHODS: A 5-year retrospective study was carried out to analyze the prevalence, species distribution, antifungal susceptibility, risk factors and mortality of inpatients with invasive Candida infection in a regional tertiary teaching hospital in Southwest China. RESULTS: A total of 243 inpatients with invasive Candida infection during the five-year study period were identified, with a mean annual incidence of 0.41 cases per 1000 admissions and a 30-day mortality rate of 12.3%. The species distributions of Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei, Candida parapsilosis and other Candida species was 45.3, 30.0, 15.2, 4.9, 2.1 and 2.5%, respectively. The total resistance rates of fluconazole (FCA), itraconazole (ITR) and voriconazole (VRC) were 18.6, 23.1 and 18.5%, respectively. Respiratory dysfunction, pulmonary infection, cardiovascular disease, chronic/acute renal failure, mechanical ventilation, abdominal surgery, intensive care in adults, septic shock and IC due to C. albicans were associated with 30-day mortality (P < 0.05) according to the univariate analyses. Respiratory dysfunction [odds ratio (OR), 9.80; 95% confidence interval (CI), 3.24-29.63; P < 0.001] and IC due to C. albicans (OR, 3.35; 95% CI, 1.13-9.92; P = 0.029) were the independent predictors of 30-day mortality. CONCLUSIONS: This report shows that the incidence and mortality rates are lower and that the resistance rates to azoles are higher in medium and small cities than in large cities and that the species distributions and risk factors in medium and small cities are different from those in large cities in China. It is necessary to conduct epidemiological surveillance in medium and small cities to provide reference data for the surveillance of inpatients with IC infections.

Contribution to the eyed Sinella from China: two new species and additional reports on nine known species (Collembola: Entomobryidae).

Two new 1+1 eyed species of Sinella Brook, 1882, S. uniseta sp. nov. and S. abietis sp. nov., are described from China. New collection records are reported for nine known species: S. qufuensis Chen & Christiansen, 1993, S. quinocula Chen & Christiansen, 1993, S. affluens Chen & Christiansen, 1993, S. wui Wang & Christiansen, 2000, S. umesaoi Yosii, 1940, S. gei Pan, Zhang & Shi, 2012, S. sunae Pan, Zhang & Shi, 2012, S. gracilis Zhang, 2013 and S. transoculata Pan & Yuan, 2013. Additions to original description, such as clypeal chaetae, chaetae along cephalic groove, and S-chaetotaxy, are provided for above known species. A key to the eyed species of Sinella from China is given.

Description of three new species of Callyntrura (Japonphysa) (Collembola, Entomobryidae) from China with the aid of DNA barcoding.

Callyntrura(s.l.) Börner, 1906 is the largest genus of the subfamily Salininae and contains 11 subgenera and 98 species from all over the world (mainly Asia), with eight species recorded from China. In the present paper, three new species of Callyntrura(s.l.) are described from China: C. (Japonphysa) xinjianensissp. nov.; C. (J.) tongguensissp. nov. and C. (J.) raoisp. nov. Their differences in colour pattern, chaetotaxy and other characters are slight, however distances of COI mtDNA support their validation as three new distinct species. A key to the Chinese Callyntrura(s.l.) is provided.

Molecular phylogeny of Entomobrya (Collembola: Entomobryidae) from China: Color pattern groups and multiple origins.

Highly diversified colorations among springtails (Collembola) have been widely used for species diagnosis, but their phylogenetic significance is poorly known. We addressed this issue in the largest Entomobryinae genus Entomobrya, which possesses variable color patterns among species. The relationships within the genus and to other genera have also rarely been studied. Based on material mainly from China, we have conducted a multilocus phylogeny and topology tests with likelihood and Bayesian algorithms, and accordingly demonstrated the non-monophyly of Chinese Entomobrya. The division of five clades, including Entomobrya and several related genera, coincided well with five types of colorations, respectively. Further analyses of divergence time and historical biogeography revealed that Chinese Entomobrya originated mainly from Palearctic (northern and western) China in the Paleocene and Eocene. This study highlights the great phylogenetic values as well as taxonomic uses of coloration in Chinese Entomobrya. Multiple phylogenetic and biogeographic origins of Entomobrya imply its complicated relationships with both scaled and unscaled genera of Entomobryinae.

Nocardial spinal epidural abscess with lumbar disc herniation: A case report and review of literature.

RATIONALE: Nocardial spinal epidural abscess is rare. The diagnosis is often difficult to make and, if delayed, poses a high risk of long-term disability. Nocardial spinal epidural abscess with severe lumbar disc herniation has not previously been reported. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 50-year-old man presented with progressive lumbago and leg pain for 6 weeks after receiving acupuncture therapy, and then the patient suddenly occurred urine retention after walking. DIAGNOSES: Clinical examination revealed sign of cauda equina syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a Lumbar(L)4 to L5 disc herniation, L3 to Sacrum(S)1 epidural abscess, and L2 to S1 paravertebral abscess. The causative organism was Nocardia farcinica. INTERVENTIONS: An urgent paravertebral abscess debridement and right L4 to L5 laminectomy were performed. Simultaneously, the disc tissue protruding into the spinal canal was removed, as well as irrigation and drainage. And antimicrobial treatment was continued for 12 months. OUTCOMES: Fortunately, the patient was able to walk with a cane and urinate autonomously without a catheter, although this remained difficult 7 days after surgery. After 1 year of treatment, the patient has recovered completely and returned to work. LESSONS: Nocardial spinal epidural abscess with severe lumbar disc herniation is extremely rare. Pain from spinal degenerative diseases often masks the early symptoms of spinal infection. It's worth noting that invasive treatment of spine is a way of causing spinal nocardial infection.

Protein Biomarkers in Serum of Patients with Schizophrenia.

This study was devised to identify potential biomarkers of schizophrenia (SP) using proteomics techniques. We obtained 44 serum specimens from patients with SP, 26 specimens from patients with depression, and 40 specimens from healthy controls. Immobilized metal affinity capture protein chips (IMAC30) and surface-enhanced laser desorption-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry were used to isolate and obtain mass spectrometric data of differentially expressed serum proteins. The sequences of the peaks discrepant among the study groups were obtained using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry and proteins identified using Mascot database. In the SP group, there were 91 protein peaks that were different from other study groups at the p value of <0.05 and 54 peaks different at the p value of <0.01. Two protein peaks at the mass-to-charge ratio of 1,207.41 and 1,466.78 were markedly different among the study groups, with the lowest expression in specimens from patients with SP. The amino acid sequences were, respectively, Glu-Gly-Asp-Phe-Leu-Ala-Glu-Gly-Gly-Gly-Val-Arg (EGDFLAEGGGVR) and Asp-Ser-Gly-Glu-Gly-Asp-Phe-Leu-Ala-Glu-Gly-Gly-Gly-Val-Arg (DSGEGDFLAEGGGVR). These proteins were identified as the N-terminal fragments of fibrinogen. In conclusion, these biomarker proteins may be useful for molecular diagnosis of SP.

[Diagnosis model of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura based on platelet differential proteome].

This study was purposed to establish a new quick and simple diagnostic method with high sensitivity and good specificity for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and to evaluate its significance. 240 platelet lysates (from patients with ITP, leukemia, MDS, and healthy adults, each of 60 cases) were randomly assigned to training set (120 cases) or validation set (120 cases), all of them were detected by surface enhanced laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS), in order to identify the differentially expressed protein, the diagnostic model was established by means of artificial neural network (ANN), and was validated by blind test with SPSS 17.0. The results showed that 5 marked proteins significantly differentially expressed (P < 0.01), m/z of highly expressed proteins were 2234.30, 3476.36, and 7526.29, m/z of low expressed proteins were 4990.02 and 5152.39, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic model were 80.6% and 77.3% respectively. The area under the ROC curve consisting of the output value of artificial neura1 network was 0.837. Efficacy of the model was validated by means of blinded test. It is concluded that the ANN model is useful for clinical diagnosis of ITP on the basis of platelet protein fingerprint spectrum.