[A single-center study on the distribution and antibiotic resistance of pathogens causing bloodstream infection in patients with hematological malignancies].

Objective: To study the incidence of bloodstream infections, pathogen distribution, and antibiotic resistance profile in patients with hematological malignancies. Methods: From January 2018 to December 2021, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical characteristics, pathogen distribution, and antibiotic resistance profiles of patients with malignant hematological diseases and bloodstream infections in the Department of Hematology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University. Results: A total of 582 incidences of bloodstream infections occurred in 22,717 inpatients. From 2018 to 2021, the incidence rates of bloodstream infections were 2.79%, 2.99%, 2.79%, and 2.02%, respectively. Five hundred ninety-nine types of bacteria were recovered from blood cultures, with 487 (81.3%) gram-negative bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Eighty-one (13.5%) were gram-positive bacteria, primarily Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Enterococcus faecium, whereas the remaining 31 (5.2%) were fungi. Enterobacteriaceae resistance to carbapenems, piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoperazone sodium/sulbactam, and tigecycline were 11.0%, 15.3%, 15.4%, and 3.3%, with a descending trend year on year. Non-fermenters tolerated piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoperazone sodium/sulbactam, and quinolones at 29.6%, 13.3%, and 21.7%, respectively. However, only two gram-positive bacteria isolates were shown to be resistant to glycopeptide antibiotics. Conclusions: Bloodstream pathogens in hematological malignancies were broadly dispersed, most of which were gram-negative bacteria. Antibiotic resistance rates vary greatly between species. Our research serves as a valuable resource for the selection of empirical antibiotics.

[Clinical study of mesenchymal stem cells from third-party donors in the treatment of refractory late onset hemorrhagic cystitis after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplanation].

Objective: To examine the efficacy and safety of third-party bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the treatment of refractory delayed hemorrhagic cystitis (LOHC) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) . Methods: Twenty patients with refractory LOHC received conventional therapy combined with MSCs obtained from third-party donors' bone marrow (BM) . MSCs were given intravenously at a dose of 1 × 10(6) cells/kg once weekly until either the symptoms improved or no changes in LOHC were seen after continuous infusion four times. BK viruria (BKV) -DNA, JC viruria (JCV) -DNA, and CMV-DNA were detected by real-time quantitative PCR before and 8 weeks after the MSCs infusion. Results: ① Of the 20 patients with refractory LOHC, 15 were males, and 5 were females, and the median age was 35 (15-56) years. There were 5 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) , 9 cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) , 5 cases of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) , and 1 case of maternal plasma cell like dendritic cell tumor (BPDCN) . There were 4 cases of HLA identical transplantation and 16 cases of HLA incomplete transplantation. ②The median number of MSC infusions for each patient was 3 (range: 2-8) . Seventeen patients achieved complete response, and one had a partial response after treatment. The overall response rate was 90%. Over a median follow-up period of 397.5 days (range 39-937 days) post-transplantations, 13 patients survived, and 7 died. The causes of death included aGVHD (1 case) , infections (5 cases) , and TMA (1 case) . ③The copy numbers of BKV-DNA and CMV-DNA in urine in the 8th week after MSCs infusion were significantly lower than those observed before treatment (11342.1×10(8) copies/L vs 5.2×10(8) copies/L, P=0.016; 3170.0×10(4) copies/L vs 0.2×10(4) copies/L, P=0.006, respectively) , while JCV-DNA did not significantly differ when compared to before treatment (P=0.106) . ④ No adverse reactions related to MSC infusion occurred in any of the 20 patients. Conclusion: Third-party bone marrow-derived MSC has significant efficacy and good safety in the treatment of refractory LOHC after allogeneic HSCT.

SCARA5 is a Novel Biomarker in Colorectal Cancer by Comprehensive Analysis.

BACKGROUND: SCARA5 has been demonstrated to be a tumor suppressor gene, with its expression downregulated in many cancer types. However, only few studies have investigated its role in colorectal cancer (CRC). The current study evaluated SCARA5 expression levels in CRC and its potential value as a diagnostic biomarker for CRC. METHODS: Data were downloaded from the TCGA, GEO, and Oncomine databases to evaluate SCARA5 mRNA expression levels in CRC. The prognosis value of SCARA5 was assessed using the online tool Cutoff Finder via the Kaplan-Meier plotter (n = 484). Immunohistochemistry was performed to analyze and compare the SCARA5 protein expression levels in CRC and normal tissues from 67 CRC clinical specimens. Relevant CRC CNV data were downloaded from TCGA and cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics databases to assess the associated genetic alterations. GSEA was used to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms of SCARA5. The correlation between SCARA5 mRNA levels and cell cycle-associated genes was explored using GEPIA database. RESULTS: SCARA5 mRNA levels were found to be downregulated in CRC tissues compared with normal tissues. Survival analysis showed that low SCARA5 expression was associated with poor prognosis. These results were validated in clinical specimens, wherein the SCARA5 protein levels were significantly downregulated in CRC tissues compared with paracarcinoma tissues. Deep deletion was the most common genetic alteration and was consistent with the downregulated SCARA5 expression in CRC tissues. GSEA indicated that the gene sets of CELL CYCLE, G2M CHECKPOINT, and E2F TARGETS were negatively related to SCARA5 mRNA expression. GEPIA indicated that the mRNA expression of some cell cycle-associated genes was negatively correlated with that of SCARA5 in CRC. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, SCARA5 may act as a human cancer suppressor gene in CRC, and its expression level may be a reliable adjuvant parameter to diagnose CRC and predict tumor metastasis and prognosis.

Concentration dependence of upconversion emission from Er:YAG fibers.

Fibers of Er:YAG have been grown using the laser-heated pedestal growth method. Fibers with Er concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 10 mol. % have been produced and excitation at 965 nm has been used to produce intense upconversion emission at green and red wavelengths. The dependence of ground state absorption and upconversion emission on dopant concentration has been studied and shown to exhibit lower levels of self-absorption than previously reported. At Er concentrations of 5 mol. % and above; however, the variation of upconversion emission intensity with pump power deviates from theoretical predictions, exhibiting saturation behavior consistent with concentration quenching.

High-concentration Er:YAG single-crystal fibers grown by laser-heated pedestal growth technique.

High-concentration Er:YAG single-crystal fibers have been grown using the laser-heated pedestal growth technique. Instability in the melt and concomitant opacity of fibers were observed at source concentrations higher than 15 mol.%. Spectroscopic examination shows that broadening of the linewidth of the 4I(13/2) → 4I(15/2) transition is strongly dependent on Er³âº concentration.

[Clinical application of transrectal ultrasonic therapy to nonbacterial prostatitis and prostatodynia cases which were resistant to conventional drug therapy].

A total of 25 patients with nonbacterial prostatitis and prostatodynia which were resistant to conventional drug therapy underwent 5 minutes course of transrectal ultrasonic therapy in association with application of 1% hydrocortisone acetate cream to the anterior rectal wall for consecutive 8 days. The efficacy of the treatment was evaluated only by comparison of symptom scores for subjective symptoms obtained before and after treatment. Excellent results, which were defined as more than 70% reduction of symptom scores after treatment, were obtained in 5 (27.8%) among 18 evaluable cases in which symptom scores before treatment were more than 4, good (40-69% reduction of scores) in 4 (22.2%), fair (10-39% reduction of scores) in 4 (22.2%) and poor (less than 10% reduction of scores) in 5 (27.8%). Because of good clinical efficacy and the absence of complication, transrectal ultrasonic therapy combined with hydrocortisone acetate cream application was thought to be useful for the treatment of nonbacterial prostatitis and prostatodynia cases which responded poorly to the conventional therapy.