Clinical Efficacy of Fuzheng Huaji Longbi Decoction in Treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia with Syndrome of Healthy Qi Deficiency and Blood Stasis / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo explore the clinical efficacy and safety of Fuzheng Huaji Longbi decoction in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia （BPH） in the patients with the syndrome of healthy Qi deficiency and blood stasis. MethodA total of 94 BPH patients were randomized into control and observation groups， with 47 patients in each group. The control group was treated with doxazosin mesylate sustained-release tablets， and the observation group with Fuzheng Huaji Longbi decoction on the basis of the therapy in the control group. After eight weeks， the international prostate symptom score （IPSS）， quality of life （QOL） score， residual urine volume （RUV）， maximum urinary flow rate （Qmax）， TCM syndrome score， TCM symptom score， electrocardiogram， and liver and kidney function were determined to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of the two groups. ResultAfter 8 weeks of treatment， the total response rate in the control group was 63.64% （28/44）， which was lower than that （84.44%， 38/45） in the observation group （χ2=5.026， P<0.05）. The clinical efficacy in the observation group was higher than that in the control group （Z=-2.17， P=0.030）. The treatment in both groups decreased the IPSS， QOL score， RUV， and TCM syndrome scores and increased the Qmax （P<0.05）. Moreover， the observation group had lower IPSS， QOL score， RUV， and TCM syndrome score （P<0.05） and higher Qmax than the control group after treatment （P<0.05）. The treatment in the observation group decreased all the TCM symptom scores （P<0.05）， while that in the control group only decreased the frequency of urination at night and the scores of dysuria， weak urine stream， and post-urinary drainage （P<0.05）. After treatment， the observation group had lower frequency of urination at night and lower scores of mental fatigue， cold limbs， lower abdominal discomfort， and loose stool than the control group （P<0.05）. No adverse events associated with the administration of Fuzheng Huaji Longbi decoction were observed during the treatment period. ConclusionFuzheng Huaji Longbi decoction is effective in treating BPH in the patients with the syndrome of healthy qi deficiency and blood stasis. It can relieve the clinical symptoms and improve the quality of life， being a safe and reliable choice for clinical application.

Relationship between metabolites of peripheral tryptophan-kynurenine metabolic pathway and clinical symptoms in patients with schizophrenia / 四川精神卫生

BackgroundSchizophrenia is a common severe mental disorder with complex pathogenesis. There are few studies on the correlation between kynurenine metabolites in peripheral serum and urine in schizophrenia. ObjectiveTo investigate the concentration of tryptophan-kynurenine metabolites and interleukin-6 （IL-6） in serum and urine in patients with schizophrenia， and their correlation with clinical symptoms， so as to explore potential biological characteristics related to schizophrenia. MethodsA total of 38 patients with schizophrenia who met the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders， fifth edition （DSM-5）， and were hospitalized or attended outpatient clinic at Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital from December 2021 to December 2022 were included in the study. Additionally， 26 healthy individuals were concurrently recruited from the community of Hangzhou to serve as a control group. All participants were requested to complete the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale （PANSS）. The levels of tryptophan （TRP）， kynurenine （KYN）， kynurenic acid （KYNA）， quinolinic acid （QUIN）， picolinic acid （PIC）， xanthurenate and 5-hydroxytryptamine （5-HT） in both serum and urine were measured using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry. Serum and urine IL-6 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the correlation between serum and urinary KYN metabolites， as well as the correlation between metabolite levels and clinical symptoms in the patient group. ResultsPatients with schizophrenia had significantly higher level of IL-6 in serum （U=798.500， P<0.01） and lower level of PIC in urine （U=253.000， P=0.013） compared with the control group. Additionally， level of serum KYN was positively correlated with QUIN/KYNA ratio and QUIN/PIC ratio （r=0.562， 0.438， P<0.05） in patients with schizophrenia. 5-HT/KYN ratio in serum was positively correlated with PANSS total score and negative symptom subscale score （r=0.458， 0.455， P<0.01） in patients with schizophrenia. ConclusionSerum TRP-KYN pathway metabolite levels in patients with schizophrenia were associated with neurotoxic metabolite ratios in urine and the severity of negative symptoms. ［Funded by Zhejiang Medical and Health Science and Technology Program Exploratory （number， 2022KY990）］

Toxicity Attenuation Mechanism on Processing Method for Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata in Guilingji Based on Urine Metabolomics / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveMetabolomics was used to reveal the mechanism of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata（ALRP） in attenuating toxicity by processing from the aspects of amino acid metabolism， oxidative stress and energy metabolism by analyzing multiple metabolic pathways. MethodTwenty-four rats were randomly divided into control group， raw group and processed group， 8 rats in each group. The raw and processed group were given with 0.64 g·kg-1 of raw ALRP and processed ALRP respectively every day， the control group was given with an equal amount of normal saline once a day. After continuous administration for 7 days， the urine， serum and heart tissue of rats were collected. Pathological examination of the heart was carried out using hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining， and the activities of lactate dehydrogenase（LDH） and creatine kinase-MB（CK-MB） in serum and cardiac tissues were detected by microplate assay and immunoinhibition assay. The effects of ALRP on rat heart before and after processing were compared and analyzed. Ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS） was used to perform urine metabolomics analysis， and multivariate statistical analysis was used to screen for differential metabolites related to ALRP in attenuating toxicity by processing， and pathway enrichment analysis was carried out to explore the processing mechanism. ResultHE staining showed that no obvious pathological changes were observed in the heart tissue of the control group， while obvious infiltration of inflammatory cells such as plasma cells and granulocytes was observed in the heart tissue of the raw group， indicating that the raw ALRP had strong cardiotoxicity. There was no significant difference in HE staining of heart tissue between the processed group and the control group， indicating that the toxicity of ALRP was significantly reduced after processing. Compared with the control group， the activities of LDH and CK-MB were significantly increased in serum and heart tissue of the raw group， and those were significantly decreased in serum and heart tissue of the processed group， suggesting that the myocardial toxicity of processed ALRP was reduced. A total of 108 endogenous differential metabolites associated with the raw ALRP were screened using multivariate statistical analysis in positive and negative modes， of which 51 differential metabolites were back-regulated by the processed ALRP. Biological analysis of the key regulatory pathways and associated network changes showed that the pathways related to toxicity of ALRP mainly included tryptophan metabolism， arginine and proline metabolism， phenylalanine metabolism， aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis， alanine， aspartate and glutamate metabolism， etc. The metabolic pathways related to the attenuation of processed ALRP mainly included aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis， tryptophan metabolism， phenylalanine， tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis， phenylalanine metabolism and caffeine metabolism. ConclusionThe processing technology of ALRP in Guilingji can significantly attenuate the cardiotoxicity of raw products， the mechanism mainly involves amino acid metabolism， oxidative stress and energy metabolism， which can provide experimental bases for the research related to the mechanism of toxicity reduction of ALRP by processing and its clinical safety applications.

Human papillomavirus DNA testing with the urine sample is not yet available: the accuracy of two distinct kits

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the results and efficiency of two real-time polymerase chain reaction procedures for detecting human papillomavirus utilizing urine samples. METHODS: This study comprised 151 patients who had previously tested positive for human papillomavirus in their cervical samples. Two different commercial real-time polymerase chain reaction techniques were used for identification and genotyping human papillomavirus in urine specimens. The urine samples of 151 patients were evaluated via the Roche Cobas test, and the urine samples of 91 patients were also evaluated via the Qiagen test. RESULTS: The overall consistency of urine and cervical swab specimens for the identification of human papillomavirus in Roche Cobas and Qiagen tests were 44.8 and 44%, respectively. The rates of positive human papillomavirus results from urine samples were 57 and 70.3%, respectively. The overall concordance among Roche Cobas and Qiagen tests utilizing urine samples for human papillomavirus type 16/18 was 84.3% with a kappa value of 0.675, and for other high-risk-human papillomavirus, it was 75.60% with a kappa value of 0.535. Roche Cobas showed high concordance with Qiagen test. CONCLUSION: human papillomavirus positivity was not detected in all urine samples. It is still inappropriate to recommend the use of urine liquid biopsy for the accurate and reliable detection of human papillomavirus. Due to the lack of a standardized tool, the utilization of urine samples as a screening human papillomavirus test remains a challenge.

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profile of pathogens isolated from patients with urine tract infections admitted to a university hospital in a medium-sized Brazilian city

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine the antibiotic profile of microorganisms isolated from urine samples of patients with community urine tract infections (UTI) admitted to the University Hospital of the Federal University of Sao Carlos to support an appropriate local empirical treatment. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2018 to October 2020. Data from 1,528 positive urine cultures for bacterial pathogens and antibiograms were tabulated. Bacterial species prevalence and their resistance profile were analyzed and compared by sex and age. For Gram-negative fermenting bacteria, resistance rates were compared between patients with previous hospitalization and the total of infections caused by this group. For comparisons, the Chi-square test was performed, using Fisher's exact test when necessary (BioEstat program, adopting p ≤ 0.05). A multivariate analysis was applied to assess the effect of the studied variables in predicting multidrug resistance. Infections were more prevalent in women and older adults. Gram-negative bacteria represented 90.44% of total cultures. In both sexes, E. coli prevalence was significantly higher in adults compared with older adults (p < 0.0001). For several antibiotics, resistance rates were higher in the older adults compared with other ages and in patients with Gram-negative fermenting infections and previous hospitalization compared with the total of infections by this group of bacteria. The closer to the hospitalization, the higher the number of antibiotics with superior resistance rates. Resistance rates for aminoglycosides, carbapenems, ceftazidime, nitrofurantoin, piperacillin+tazobactam, and fosfomycin were less than 20%, considered adequate for empirical treatment. Only hospitalization in the previous 90 days was statistically significant in predicting infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Desempeño del analizador de orinas Laura XL-Erba Mannheim en comparación con el iRICELL-Beckman Coulter en una población general / Performance of the Laura XL urine analyzer-Erba Mannheim in comparison with IRISCell-Beckman Coulter in a general population / Desempenho do analisador de urina Laura XL-Erba Mannheim em comparação com iRICELL-Beckman Coulter em uma população geral

Resumen Los objetivos del trabajo fueron evaluar el desempeño del analizador de orinas Laura XL® Erba Mannhein, por comparación con el analizador iRICELL® Beckman Coulter y valorar la determinación de proteínas urinarias semicuantitativas como tamizaje en su estudio, con el establecimiento de un punto de corte para su cuantificación. Se emplearon 225 muestras de orina procesadas en simultáneo. Se evaluó pH, densidad, turbidez, color, hemoglobina, glucosa, cetonas, nitritos, proteínas, número de tiras reactivas positivas; células epiteliales, leucocitos, hematíes y criterio de normalidad del sedimento por microscopía. Se cuantificaron las proteínas urinarias positivas por tiras en un Modular COBAS® 8000 (Hitachi-Roche). Se empleó el coeficiente de concordancia Kappa de Cohen (k) y el índice de correlación de Spearman. Se obtuvo escasa concordancia en turbidez (k=0,334), buena concordancia en color (k=0,681), hemoglobina (k=0,620), glucosa (k=0,677), cetonas (k=0,768), nitritos (k=0,827), tiras reactivas positivas (k=0,620), células epiteliales (k=0,783), leucocitos (k=0,745) y hematíes (k=0,609); muy buena concordancia en proteínas (k=0,842) y criterio de normalidad del sedimento (k=1,000). Correlación estadísticamente significativa en pH (r=0,8064; p<0,0001), densidad (r=1,000; p<0,0001) y proteína urinaria (rs=0,9157; p<0,0001) comparada con COBAS® 8000. Se concluyó un desempeño satisfactorio de Laura XL®; se muestra un rendimiento acorde a las necesidades y normativas de este laboratorio y se avala su utilidad como test de tamizaje para la valoración de proteínas urinarias. Se estableció, además, la cuantificación de orinas que presentaron 1+ o más por tira en Laura XL®. Se consideró realizar mejoras en el software.

Abstract The objectives of this work were to evaluate the performance of the Laura XL® Erba Mannheim urine analyzer, in comparison with the iRICELL® Beckman Coulter analyzer, and to assess the determination of semiquantitative urinary protein as screening in its study, establishing a cut-off point for its quantification. A total of 225 urine samples were simultaneously processed. pH, density, turbidity, colour, hemoglobin, glucose, ketones, nitrites, proteins, and number of positive reactive strips were evaluated; and epithelial cells, leukocytes, red blood cells and criteria for normality of the sediment were evaluated by microscopy. Positive urinary proteins per strip were quantified on a Modular COBAS® 8000 (Hitachi-Roche). Cohen's Kappa concordance coefficient (k) and Spearman's correlation index were used. Little agreement was obtained in turbidity (k=0.334), good agreement in colour (k=0.681), hemoglobin (k=0.620), glucose (k=0.677), ketones (k=0.768), nitrites (k=0.827), positive test strips (k=0.620), epithelial cells (k=0.783), leukocytes (k=0.745) and red blood cells (k=0.609); very good agreement for proteins (k=0.842) and sediment normality criteria (k=1,000). Statistically significant correlation in pH (r=0.8064; p<0.0001), density (r=1.000; p<0.0001), urinary protein (rs=0.9157; p<0.0001) compared with COBAS® 8000. A satisfactory performance of Laura XL® was concluded, showing a performance consistent with the needs and regulations of this institution, and its usefulness is endorsed as a screening test for the assessment of urinary proteins, establishing the quantification of urines that present 1+ or more per strip in Laura XL®. Software improvements are considered.

Resumo Os objetivos do trabalho foram avaliar o desempenho do analisador de urina Laura XL® Erba Mannheim, em comparação com o analisador iRICELL® Beckman Coulter, e avaliar a determinação de proteínas urinárias semiquantitativa como triagem em seu estudo, estabelecendo um ponto de corte para sua quantificação. Foram utilizadas 225 amostras de urina processadas simultaneamente. Foram avaliados pH, densidade, turbidez, cor, hemoglobina, glicose, cetonas, nitritos, proteínas, número de testes reativos positivos; células epiteliais, leucócitos, hemácias e critérios de normalidade do sedimento à microscopia. As proteínas urinárias positivas por teste foram quantificadas em um Modular COBAS® 8000 (Hitachi-Roche). Foram utilizados o coeficiente de concordância Kappa de Cohen (k) e o índice de correlação de Spearman. Escassa concordância foi obtida em turbidez (k=0,334), boa concordância em cor (k=0,681), hemoglobina (k=0,620), glicose (k=0,677), cetonas (k=0,768), nitritos (k=0,827), testes reativos positivos (k=0,620), células epiteliais (k=0,783), leucócitos (k=0,745) e hemácias (k=0,609); concordância muito boa para proteínas (k=0,842) e critérios de normalidade do sedimento (k=1,000). Correlação estatisticamente significativa em pH (r=0,8064 p<0,0001), densidade (r=1,000 p<0,0001), proteína urinária (rs=0,9157 p<0,0001) em comparação com COBAS® 8000. A conclusão é um desempenho satisfatório de Laura XL®, mostrando um rendimento consistente com as necessidades e normas deste laboratorio e sua utilidade é endossada como teste de triagem para avaliação de proteínas urinárias, estabelecendo também a quantificação de urinas que apresentaram 1+ ou mais por teste em Laura XL®. Melhorias no software são consideradas.

Utilidad del citoquímico urinario en cuidados intensivos, una herramienta olvidada

El sedimento urinario es una herramienta utilizada hace tantos años para caracterizar manifestaciones renales de enfermedades primarias y secundarias, que es necesario realizar una estandarización y aprender a interpretar el mismo. En los pacientes ingresados a la unidad de cuidados intensivos, muchas veces no se realiza, o hay que tener en cuenta varios factores para su interpretación debido al estado hemodinámico del paciente a la filtración glomerular, la excreción tubular, la reabsorción de agua y los solutos además del equilibrio acido-base, los cuales pueden variar significativamente en pacientes en estado crítico con diferentes condiciones fisiopatológicas. Se presenta una revisión de las condiciones para la interpretación del urianálisis.

A urinary sediment is a tool used for years to characterize renal manifestations of primary and secondary diseases, which requires standardization and learning to interpret it. In patients admitted to the intensive care unit, it is often not performed, or several factors must be taken into account for its interpretation due to the patient's hemodynamic status, glomerular filtration, tubular excretion, water reabsorption, and solutes. In addition to the acid-base balance, which can vary significantly in critically ill patients with different pathophysiological conditions? A review of the conditions for the interpretation of urinalysis is presented.

Utilidad del citoquímico urinario en cuidados intensivos, una herramienta olvidada / The usefulness of urinary sediment in intensive care, a forgotten tool

El sedimento urinario es una herramienta utilizada hace tantos años para caracterizar manifestaciones renales de enfermedades primarias y secundarias, que es necesario realizar una estandarización y aprender a interpretar el mismo. En los pacientes ingresados a la unidad de cuidados intensivos, muchas veces no se realiza, o hay que tener en cuenta varios factores para su interpretación debido al estado hemodinámico del paciente a la filtración glomerular, la excreción tubular, la reabsorción de agua y los solutos además del equilibrio acido-base, los cuales pueden variar significativamente en pacientes en estado crítico con diferentes condiciones fisiopatológicas. Se presenta una revisión de las condiciones para la interpretación del urianálisis.

A urinary sediment is a tool used for years to characterize renal manifestations of primary and secondary diseases, which requires standardization and learning to interpret it. In patients admitted to the intensive care unit, it is often not performed, or several factors must be taken into account for its interpretation due to the patient's hemodynamic status, glomerular filtration, tubular excretion, water reabsorption, and solutes. In addition to the acid-base balance, which can vary significantly in critically ill patients with different pathophysiological conditions? A review of the conditions for the interpretation of urinalysis is presented.

Albumin-to-protein ratio in spot urine samples for analysis of proteinuria selectivity in chronic kidney disease / Razão albumina/proteína em amostras isoladas de urina para análise da seletividade de proteinúria na doença renal crônica

ABSTRACT Introduction: The albumin-to-creatinine ratio and total protein-to-creatinine ratio in spot urine samples have already been validated as surrogates for 24-hour albuminuria and proteinuria measurements. Thus, we hypothesized that the type of proteinuria, detected by the electrophoretic pattern of 24-hour urine, could be predicted by the simple proportion of albumin in the total urine protein content, using the albumin-to-protein ratio (APR). Our study sought to validate the use of APR as a cheaper substitute for urinary protein electrophoresis (UPE). Methods: Using different mathematical models, we compared, the albumin fraction in 24-hour urine samples by electrophoresis and the APR ratio in spot samples from 42 outpatients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Results: A strong log-order correlation r = 0.84 (0.75-0.92; 95% CI, p = 0.001) was observed between APR and the albumin fraction in the UPE. Conclusion: The APR can substitute electrophoresis in CKD outpatients.

Resumo Introdução: A utilização da razão albumina/creatinina e da razão proteína total/creatinina em amostras isoladas de urina já foram validadas como substitutos para a albuminúria e proteinúria em 24 horas. Assim, nossa hipótese é que o tipo de proteinúria, dado pelo padrão eletroforético da urina de 24 horas, poderia ser previsto pela simples proporção de albumina no conteúdo total de proteínas na urina, utilizando a razão albumina/proteína (RAP). O presente estudo procurou validar o uso da RAP como um substituto mais prático e de menor custo da eletroforese de proteínas urinárias (EPU). Métodos: Foram utilizados diferentes modelos matemáticos a fim de comparar a fração de albumina pela eletroforese em amostras de urina de 24 horas e a RAP em amostras isoladas em 42 pacientes ambulatoriais com doença renal crônica. Resultados: Foi observada uma forte correlação logarítmica r = 0,84 (0,75-0,92; 95% CI, p = 0,001) entre a RAP e a fração de albumina pela EPU. Conclusão: A RAP pode substituir a eletroforese urinária em pacientes renais crônicos ambulatoriais.

Assessment of serum magnesium and correlation with glycemic control and complication in type 2 diabetes mellitus – A cross-sectional study in a tertiary care hospital in eastern zone of India

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an expanding global health problem. Type 2 DM (T2DM) patients account about 90% of total DM patients. Magnesium is important for different physiological mechanism. Hypomagnesemia is common in T2DM patient. Magnitude of hypomagnesemia is related with glycemic control and is associated with complications of T2DM. Aims and Objectives: Our aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of hypomagnesemia in patients of T2DM patients and to find their correlation with glycemic control and complications of T2DM patients in rural population of eastern zone of India. Materials and Methods: The hospital-based cross-sectional study includes 99 male and female DM patients between 15 and 60 years age. Fasting blood sugar, postprandial blood sugar, HbA1c, serum total magnesium, and urine albumin creatinine ratio were measured. Data were entered into Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and then analyzed by SPSS (version 25.0; SPSS Inc.) and GraphPad Prism (version 5.0). P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: From our study, we observed that hypomagnesemia is common in T2DM patients. The magnitude of hypomagnesemia is correlated with glycemic control (P < 0.0001). Moreover, hypomagnesemia is associated with diabetic kidney diseases (P < 0.05). Conclusion: It can be concluded that serum magnesium should be monitored in all T2DM patients and should be managed appropriately because hypomagnesemia may induce complications in T2DM patients.

Prevalência e perfil de suscetibilidade aos antimicrobianos de Escherichia coli em uroculturas de pacientes atendidos em um hospital de ensino / Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Escherichia coli in urine cultures from patients treated at a teaching hospital

Introdução: As infecções do trato urinário (ITU) são geralmente causadas por bactérias da ordem Enterobacterales, principalmente por Escherichia coli uropatogênica (UPEC). Esta linhagem apresenta fatores de virulência que a torna capaz de colonizar e infectar o trato urinário. Apesar da maioria dos quadros de ITU ser solucionado com terapia antimicrobiana, linhagens de UPEC resistentes aos antimicrobianos representam uma séria ameaça à saúde pública. Objetivo: Avaliar a prevalência de Escherichia coli em uroculturas de pacientes atendidos em um hospital de ensino, bem como seu perfil de suscetibilidade aos antimicrobianos e os fenótipos de resistência. Material e Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo descritivo que analisou uroculturas de pacientes ambulatoriais e hospitalares atendidos em um hospital de ensino localizado no município de Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brasil, no período de janeiro de 2020 a dezembro de 2021. Resultados: Entre as uroculturas analisadas, 858 foram positivas para bactérias, sendo Escherichia coli a espécie predominante, com 27,2% (n= 233) dos isolados. Das 858 uroculturas: 608 foram de pacientes hospitalizados, com 124 (20,4%) isolados de UPEC; 250 foram de pacientes ambulatoriais, com 109 (43,6%) isolados de UPEC. O perfil de resistência aos antimicrobianos das linhagens isoladas nas amostras hospitalares e ambulatoriais, foi, respectivamente: 65% e 32% para ampicilina; 56% e 26% para amoxicilina + ácido clavulânico; 50% e 26% para ciprofloxacino; 42% e 33% para sulfazotrim; 38% e 20% para cefepime; 17% e 8% para gentamicina; 2,5% e 0,4% para ertapenem, meropenem e imipenem. Das linhagens de Escherichia coli resistentes aos beta-lactâmicos, 43 (18%) apresentaram fenótipos de resistência do tipo beta lactamase de espectro ampliado (ESBL) e 7 (3%) foram produtoras de carbapenemases. Conclusão: Escherichia coli foi a espécie mais isolada das uroculturas. UPEC apresentou taxas de resistência a todos os antimicrobianos testados, produzindo fenótipos do tipo ESBL e carbapenemase, principalmente em amostras de pacientes hospitalizados.

Introduction: Urinary tract infections (UTI) are usually caused by bacteria of the Enterobacterales order, mainly by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC). This strain has virulence factors that make it able to colonize and infect the urinary tract. Although most cases of UTI are resolved with antimicrobial therapy, antimicrobial-resistant UPEC strains pose a serious threat to public health. Objective: To assess the prevalence of Escherichia coli in urine cultures of patients treated at a teaching hospital, as well as their antimicrobial susceptibility profile and resistance phenotypes. Material and Methods: This is a descriptive study that analyzed urine cultures of outpatient and hospital patients treated at a teaching hospital located in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil from January 2020 to December 2021. Results: Among the analyzed urine cultures, 858 were positive for bacteria, with Escherichia coli being the predominant species, with 27.2% (n= 233) of the isolates. Of the 858 urine cultures: 608 were from hospitalized patients, with 124 (20.4%) UPEC isolates; 250 were from outpatients, with 109 (43.6%) UPEC isolates. The antimicrobial resistance profile of the strains isolated from hospital and outpatient samples was, respectively: 65% and 32% for Ampicillin; 56% and 26% for Amoxicillin+Clavulanic acid; 50% and 26% for Ciprofloxacin; 42% and 33% for Sulfazotrim; 38% and 20% for Cefepime; 17% and 8% for Gentamicin; 2.5% and 0.4% for Ertapenem, Meropenem and Imipenem. Of the Escherichia coli strains resistant to beta-lactams, 43 (18%) showed extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) resistance phenotypes and 7 (3%) were carbapenemases producers.Conclusion: Escherichia coli was the most isolated species from urine cultures. UPEC showed rates of resistance to all tested antimicrobials, producing ESBL and carbapenemase-like phenotypes, mainly in samples from hospitalized patients.

Self-Measured Blood Pressure and Target Organ Damage in Newly Detected Hypertension in South Gujarat, India

Introduction: Blood pressure transient spikes have been considered to be noise and only a hindrance to a proper assessment of typical blood pressure, which is defined as the actual underlying average blood pres-sure over a long period of time. The current study aimed to see if the highest Self measured Systolic blood Pressure could be utilized to forecast the occurrence of Target organ damage and evaluate the independent association between the maximum Self measured Systolic blood Pressure and Target organ damage in indi-viduals with untreated hypertension. Method: We evaluated the urine albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) using ultrasonography in 462 hypertensive individuals who had never taken treatment for their hypertension. Residential blood pressure was recorded. Result: The maximal Self measured Systolic blood Pressure had considerably higher association coefficients with left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and carotid intima-media thickness than the mean Self measured Sys-tolic blood Pressure. Irrespective of the mean Self measured Blood pressure level, multivariate regression studies showed that the maximal Self measured Systolic blood Pressure was independently related with left ventricular mass index and carotid intima-media thickness. Conclusion: Transiently high blood pressure measurements recorded at Self measured shouldn't be dis-missed as noise but rather taken seriously as significant warning signs of hypertensive Target organ damage in the heart and arteries.

Study on biological basis of primary dysmenorrhea based in different progressive stages based on untargeted metabolomics / 中国药理学通报

Aim To explore its potential biological basis and the endogenous metabolic characteristics of urine during the formation of primary dysmenorrhea via untargeted urine metabolomics. Methods Twenty SD rats were randomly divided into control group and model group. The primary dysmenorrhea model was reproduced by estradiol benzoate combined with oxytocin, and the contrrol group took food and water freely. The differential metabolites and core metabolic pathways were found by multivariable pattern recognition method combined with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The receiver operating characteristic ( ROC ) curve was drawn by metaboanalyst 5.0 platform to evaluate the clinical diagnostic efficacy of core metabolites. Results A total of 46 metabolites with significant differences, such as hippuric acid, phenylacetaldehyde, prostaglandin G2, 6-hydroxy-5-methoxyindole glucuronide, were screened, mainly involving phenylalanine metabolism, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, and arachidonic acid metabolism. ROC curve showed that the area under the curve of four core biomarkers was greater than 0.7. Conclusions Different metabolic maps are presented in different progressive stages of primary dysmenorrhea, mainly involving the disorders of fatty acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism. Meanwhile, the extracted characteristic bi¬omarkers have high diagnostic value for the evaluation of primary dysmenorrhea.

Metabolomics study of corn silk on renal tissue and urine of diabetic nephropathy rats / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the mechanism of corn silk decoction on diabetic nephropathy (DN) rats using metabolomics technology. Methods DN rat model was established by feeding with high-sugar and high-fat diet, combined with intraperitoneal injection of low dose streptozotocin. Renal organ index, fasting blood glucose, albumin creatinine ratio, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol indexes were measured, and the pathological changes of renal tissues were also observed to evaluate the intervention effect of corn silk on DN model rats. Further, UPLC/Q-TOF-MS technology was used to screen potential biomarkers in renal tissues and urine, combined with principal component analysis (PC A) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). After identification by HM-DB and KEGG database, the biomarkers were imported into MetaboAnalyst for metabolic pathway analysis. Results All indexes and pathological damage of kidneys were improved in groups with different doses of corn silk, indicating that corn silk had a good intervention effect on DN. Metabolomic analysis showed that 18 biomarkers could be significantly called back by corn silk, and it involved 18 metabolic pathways mainly including phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, riboflavin metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and tyrosine metabolism. Conclusions The mechanism of corn silk decoction intervention on DN may be related to amino acid metabolism, riboflavin metabolism, and arachidonic acid metabolism.

Metabolomic Analysis of Urine in Rat Model with Spleen-stomach Damp-heat Syndrome / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTaking the rat model of spleen-stomach damp-heat syndrome（SSDHS） as the research object， this study aimed to investigate the potential biomarkers of SSDHS and the related metabolic pathways based on urine metabolomics， and tried to reveal the essence of SSDHS at the level of endogenous small molecular metabolites. MethodSixteen SD rats were randomly divided into normal and model groups. The normal group was fed normal chow and the model group was fed with 200 g·L-1 honey water daily， and lard and Chinese Baijiu alternately on alternate days for 17 days. The SSDHS model rats were exposed to external dampness-heat environment with temperature at 30-34 ℃， relative humidity of 95% for 2 h at the same time every day from the 10th day for 7 d. Then， the model was evaluated by observing the general conditions of the rats， measuring the contents of motilin（MTL） and gastrin（GT） in plasma by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）， and examining the histopathology of gastronitestinal tissues. In additon， the urine metabolomics analysis was performed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS）， and the detection conditions was as follows：ACQUITY™ UPLC BEH C18 column（2.1 mm×100 mm， 1.7 μm）， mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution（A）-0.1% formic acid acetonitrile solution（B） for gradient elution （0-3 min， 1%-18%B； 3-8 min， 18%-40%B； 8-10 min， 40%-100%B）， the flow rate of 0.4 mL·min-1， electrospray ionization（ESI） in positive and negative ion modes， scanning range of m/z 50-1 000. The univariate and multivariate statistical analysis were constructed for screening inter-group differential ions， the element composition was calculated according to the precise relative molecular weight， and ion information was matched with databases such as Human Metabolome Database（HMDB） to identify biomarkers. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） database was used to obtain the biological information of metabolites， and their associated metabolic pathways were analyzed by MetaboAnalyst 5.0. ResultCompared with the normal group， the rectal temperature of the model group increased significantly（P<0.01）， the levels of plasma MTL and GT decreased significantly（P<0.05， P<0.01）， and pathological changes such as bleeding， congestion and inflammatory infiltration in the gastric and colonic tissues. A total of 25 differential metabolites such as L-histidine， citric acid and isocitric acid were found to be the potential biomarker of SSDHS by urine metabolomics， 13 of which were phase Ⅱ metabolites of endogenous substances（glucuronic acid conjugates， sulfuric acid conjugates and acetyl conjugates）， involving the metabolic pathways of histidine metabolism， tricarboxylic acid cycle， glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism. ConclusionSSDHS primarily causes disorders of histidine metabolism， tricarboxylic acid cycle， glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism， as well as the imbalance of the activation/inactivation of endogenous metabolites， which may involve the immune response， material and energy metabolism， inflammatory response and intestinal flora， and may provide a basis for the establishment and application of SSDHS model.

Establishment and evaluation of a method for extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of Schistosoma japonicum from urine samples / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

Objective To establish the method for extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of Schistosoma japonicum from urine samples, and to evaluate the efficiency of this method for extraction from urine samples treated with various methods. Methods The S. japonicum SjG28 gene fragment was selected as a target sequence, and the 81 bp short DNA fragment was amplified on the target sequence using PCR assay. Following characterization using sequencing, the short DNA fragment was added into the urine samples as an exogenous short DNA fragment. Primers and probes were designed with SjG28 as a target gene, to establish the real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay. The sensitivity of this qPCR assay was evaluated with exogenous short DNA fragments that were diluted at a 1:10 dilution ratio as the DNA template, and the specificity of the qPCR assay was evaluated with the genomic DNA of S. mansoni, S. haematobium, Babesia, Ancyiostoma duodenaie, Cionorchis sinensis, and Paragonimus westermani as DNA templates. Exogenous short DNA fragments were added into artificial and healthy volunteers’ urine samples, followed by pH adjustment, centrifugation and concentration, and the efficiency of extracting exogenous short DNA fragments from urine samples was compared with the QIAmp Viral RNA Mini Kit (Qiagen kit) and BIOG cfDNA easy kit (BIOG kit). Results An 81 bp small DNA fragment of S. japonicum was successfully prepared, and the lowest detection limit of the established qPCR assay was 100 copies/μL of the 81 bp small DNA fragment of S. japonicum. If the genomic DNA of S. japonicum, S. mansoni, S. haematobium, Babesia, A. duodenaie, C. sinensis, and P. westermani served as DNA templates, the qPCR assay only detected fluorescent signals with S. japonicum genomic DNA as the DNA template. If the pH values of artificial urine samples were adjusted to 5, 6, 7 and 8, the recovery rates were (49.12 ± 2.09)%, (84.52 ± 4.96)%, (89.38 ± 3.32)% and (87.82 ± 3.90)% for extracting the exogenous short DNA fragment of S. japonicum with the Qiagen kit, and were (2.30 ± 0.07)%, (8.11% ± 0.26)%, (13.35 ± 0.61)% and (20.82 ± 0.68)% with the BIOG kit, respectively (t = 38.702, 26.955, 39.042 and 29.571; all P values < 0.01). If the Qiagen kit was used for extracting the exogenous short DNA fragment from artificial urine samples, the lowest recovery rate was seen from urine samples with a pH value of 5 (all P values < 0.05), and there were no significant differences in the recovery rate from urine samples with pH values of 6, 7 and 8 (all P values > 0.05). Following centrifugation of artificial [(64.30 ± 1.00)% vs. (58.87 ± 0.26)%; t = 12.033, P < 0.05] and healthy volunteers’ urine samples [(31 165 ± 1 017) copies/μL vs. (28 471 ± 818) copies/μL; t = 23.164, P < 0.05]. In addition, concentration of artificial urine samples with the 10 kDa Centrifugal Filter and concentration of healthy volunteers’ urine samples with the 100 kDa Centrifugal Filter were both effective to increase the recovery of the Qiagen kit for extracting the exogenous short DNA fragment of S. japonicum (both P values < 0.01). Conclusions A method for extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of S. japonicum from urine samples has been successfully established, and the Qiagen kit has a high extraction efficiency. Adjustment of urine pH to 6 to 8 and concentration of healthy volunteers’ urine samples with the 100 kDa Centrifugal Filter are both effective to increase the efficiency of extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of S. japonicum.

Analysis on health status and influencing factors of 1353 mercury workers in Xinjiang / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: To investigate the health status of workers exposed to occupational mercury, and to provide the theoretical basis for formulating reasonable health monitoring and targeted protection measures. Methods: In November 2021, 1353 mercury-exposed workers who underwent occupational health examination in a hospital in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from 2018 to 2021 were collected as research subjects. By analyzing their blood pressure, electrocardiogram, blood routine, liver function and urine β2-microglobulin and urinary mercury in different gender, age, length of service, industry and enterprise scale, and the health status. And the influencing factors of urinary mercury were evaluated. Results: Among 1353 workers exposed to mercury, there were 1002 males (74.1%), the average age was (37.2±9.8) years old, and the length of service was 3.1 (2.0, 8.0) years. The abnormal rates of physical examination, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, blood routine, liver function, urinary β2-microglobulin and urinary mercury were 73.9% (1000/1353), 12.3% (166/1353), 30.2% (408/1353), 59.9% (810/1353), 32.5% (440/1353), 15.2% (205/1353) and 2.2% (30/1353), respectively. The abnormal rates of blood pressure, blood routine, liver function, urinary β2-microglobulin and urinary mercury in male workers were higher than those in female workers (P<0.05). The abnormal rates of workers' blood pressure and physical examination results increased with the increase of age and length of service, while the abnormal rate of electrocardiogram results were opposite (P<0.05). There were statistically significant differences in the abnormal rates of blood pressure, blood routine, urinary β2-microglobulin and physical examination results among workers of different enterprises and different industries (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the workers with age ≥30 years old, microminiature enterprises, abnormal physical examination results and urinary β2-microglobulin were the susceptible population with abnormal urinary mercury (P<0.05) . Conclusion: The occupational health status of mercury workers in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is not optimistic, and the health monitoring of microminiature enterprises and older workers should be improved to effectively protect the physical and mental health of workers.

The risk prediction value of paraquat poisoning dose, urine protein and myocardial enzymes / 中华劳动卫生职业病杂志

Objective: To explore the value of paraquat (PQ) intake, urine protein and myocardial enzyme indexes in judging the prognosis of patients with acute PQ poisoning. Methods: From September to December 2021, all 201 patients with acute PQ poisoning admitted to Guangzhou Twelfth People's Hospital from January 2010 to December 2019 were selected as the research objects. Based on follow-up results 60 days after poisoning, the research objects were divided into survival group (n=78) and death group (n=123) . The differences in information about poisoning, treatment plan, PQ intake, urine protein, creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme, lactate dehydrogenase, and α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase between the two groups of patients were compared and analyzed. Logistic regression and Cox regression were used to analyze the correlation between poisoning outcome and PQ intake, urine protein and myocardial enzymes. ROC curve and principal component analysis were used to explore high-efficiency indicators for predicting the outcome of acute PQ poisoning. Results: The PQ intake[50 (20, 100) ml], urine protein (total rank 15570.50) , creatine kinase[ (336.36±261.96) U/L], creatine kinase isoenzyme[ (43.91±43.74) U/L], lactate dehydrogenase [ (346.01±196.50) U/L], α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase content[ (271.23±11.92) U/L] of patients in the death group were all higher than the survival group[15 (10, 20) ml, 4730.50, (187.78±178.06) U/L, (18.88±15.50) U/L, (190.92±60.50) U/L, (152.60±48.34) U/L, respectively] (P<0.05) . The outcome of acute PQ poisoning was positively correlated with PQ intake, urine protein, creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme, lactate dehydrogenase, and α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (P<0.05) . Multivariate logistic regression and multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme, lactate dehydrogenase and α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase was positively correlated with the prognosis of patients with acute PQ poisoning (P<0.05) . ROC curve analysis and principal component analysis showed that the combined indexes of PQ intake, urine protein and myocardial enzymes had the highest efficacy and weight in judging the prognosis of patients (AUC=0.91, weight coefficient=0.19, sensitivity=0.76, specificity=0.89) . When the combined score was ≥4, the probability of accurately predicting the death of patients was as high as 91% (positive predictive value=0.91) . Conclusion: PQ intake, urine protein combined with creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme, lactate dehydrogenase, and α-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase has high value in predicting the prognosis of patients with acute PQ poisoning.

Comparison of in vivo plasma pharmacokinetics and urine excretion of main components in Xihuang Formula in rats with precancerous lesions of breast cancer / 中国中药杂志

The UPLC-MS/MS was established for the determination of acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid(AKBA) and β-boswellic acid(β-BA), the main active components of Olibanum and Myrrha extracts in Xihuang Formula, in rat plasma and urine. The effects of compatibility on the pharmacokinetic behaviors of AKBA and β-BA in rats were investigated, and the differences in pharmacokinetic behaviors between healthy rats and rats with precancerous lesions of breast cancer were compared. The results showed that compared with RM-NH and RM-SH groups, the AUC_(0-t) and AUC_(0-∞) of β-BA increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01), T_(max) decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01), and C_(max) increased(P<0.01) after compatibility. The trends of AKBA and β-BA were the same. Compared with RM-SH group, the T_(max) decreased(P<0.05), C_(max) increased(P<0.01), and the absorption rate increased in the normal group of Xihuang Formula. The results of urinary excretion showed that there was a decreasing trend in the urinary excretion rate and total urinary excretion of β-BA and AKBA after compatibility, but there was no statistical difference. Compared with normal group of Xihuang Formula, the AUC_(0-t) and AUC_(0-∞) of β-BA increased(P<0.05), T_(max) increased(P<0.05), and the clearance rate decreased in the breast precancerous lesion group. AUC_(0-t) and AUC_(0-∞) of AKBA showed an increasing trend, the in vivo retention time was prolonged, and the clearance rate was reduced, but there was no significant difference compared with the normal group. The cumulative urinary excretion and urinary excretion rate of β-BA and AKBA decreased under pathological conditions, indicating that pathological conditions could affect the in vivo process of β-BA and AKBA, and reduce their excretion in the form of prototype drugs, showing different pharmacokine-tic characteristics from normal physiological conditions. In this study, UPLC-MS/MS analysis method was established, which was sui-table for in vivo pharmacokinetic analysis of β-BA and AKBA. This study laid a foundation for the development of new dosage forms of Xihuang Formula.

Detection of IgG protein in human urine based on vertical flow paper microfluidic chip / 生物工程学报

The kidney is the body's most important organ and the protein components in urine could be detected for diagnosing certain diseases. The amount of IgG protein in urine could be used to determine the degree of kidney function damage. IgG protein in human urine was detected by vertical flow paper-based microfluidic chip, double-antibody sandwich immunoreaction, and cell phone image processing. The results showed that using an IgG antibody concentration of 500 μg/mL and a gold standard antibody concentration of 100 μg/mL, the image signal showed a good linear relationship in the range of IgG concentration of 0.2-3.2 μg/mL, with R2=0.973 3 achieved. A complete set of detection devices were designed and the detection method showed good non-specificity.