Serotypes and drug resistance of non-typhoidal Salmonella in Zhengzhou City / 预防医学

Objective@#To investigate the serotypes and drug resistance of non-typhoidal Salmonella in Zhengzhou City, so as to provide insights into prevention and control of non-typhoidal Salmonella infections. @*Methods@#Salmonella isolates were collected from diarrheal patients in Zhengzhou municipal sentinel hospitals from 2017 to 2021. Salmonella serotypes were identified using slide agglutination test and soft agar colony formation assay, and antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed using the broth micro-dilution method. @*Results@# Five serogroups and 37 serotypes were identified among 446 non-typhoidal Salmonella isolates, with S. enteritidis (210 isolates, 47.09%) and S. typhimurium (133 isolates, 29.82%) as dominant serotypes. Non-typhoidal Salmonella showed high resistance to ampicillin (79.60%), ampicillin/sulbactam (58.74%), naphthyric acid (56.05%), tetracycline (54.26%) and doxycycline (54.04%), respectively. There were 290 multidrug-resistant Salmonella isolates (65.02%), and the multidrug resistance rates were 70.48% for S. enteritidis and 67.67% for S. typhimurium, respectively. @*Conclusions @#Multiple serotypes of non-typhoidal Salmonella were identified in Zhengzhou City from 2017 to 2021, with S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium as dominant serotypes. Widespread drug resistance and multidrug resistance was seen in non-typhoidal Salmonella.

Neutrophil extracellular traps participate in the development of cancer-associated thrombosis in patients with gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: The development of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is associated with high mortality among gastric cancer (GC) patients. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have been reported to correlate with the prothrombotic state in some diseases, but are rarely reported in GC patients. AIM: To investigate the effect of NETs on the development of cancer-associated thrombosis in GC patients. METHODS: The levels of NETs in blood and tissue samples of patients were analyzed by ELISA, flow cytometry, and immunofluorescence staining. NET generation and hypercoagulation of platelets and endothelial cells (ECs) in vitro were observed by immunofluorescence staining. NET procoagulant activity (PCA) was determined by fibrin formation and thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT) assays. Thrombosis in vivo was measured in a murine model induced by flow stenosis in the inferior vena cava (IVC). RESULTS: NETs were likely to form in blood and tissue samples of GC patients compared with healthy individuals. In vitro studies showed that GC cells and their conditioned medium, but not gastric mucosal epithelial cells, stimulated NET release from neutrophils. In addition, NETs induced a hypercoagulable state of platelets by upregulating the expression of phosphatidylserine and P-selectin on the cells. Furthermore, NETs stimulated the adhesion of normal platelets on glass surfaces. Similarly, NETs triggered the conversion of ECs to hypercoagulable phenotypes by downregulating the expression of their intercellular tight junctions but upregulating that of tissue factor. Treatment of normal platelets or ECs with NETs augmented the level of plasma fibrin formation and the TAT complex. In the models of IVC stenosis, tumor-bearing mice showed a stronger ability to form thrombi, and NETs abundantly accumulated in the thrombi of tumor-bearing mice compared with control mice. Notably, the combination of deoxyribonuclease I, activated protein C, and sivelestat markedly abolished the PCA of NETs. CONCLUSION: GC-induced NETs strongly increased the risk of VTE development both in vitro and in vivo. NETs are potential therapeutic targets in the prevention and treatment of VTE in GC patients.

The association between acromial anatomy and articular-sided partial thickness of rotator cuff tears.

BACKGROUND: Acromial anatomy has been found to be correlated with degenerative full-thickness rotator cuff tears in current studies. However, research on the relationship between acromial anatomy and articular-sided partial thickness of rotator cuff tears (PTRCTs) is still lacking. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether these imaging graphic parameters exhibit any association between acromial anatomy and degenerative articular-sided PTRCTs. METHODS: Between January 2016 and December 2018, a total of 91 patients without a history of trauma underwent arthroscopy as an articular-sided PTRCT group. In the control group, with age- and sex-matched patients, we selected 91 consecutive outpatient patients who underwent shoulder magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) because of shoulder pain and an MRI diagnosis of only synovial hyperplasia and effusion. MRI was used to measure the acromial type, acromiohumeral distance (AHD), lateral acromial angle (LAA), acromion index (AI), and critical shoulder angle (CSA) by 2 independent observers. RESULTS: The acromion type, AHD and LAA showed no difference between degenerative articular-sided PTRCTs and controls (P = 0.532, 0.277, and 0.108, respectively). AI and CSA were significantly higher in degenerative articular-sided PTRCTs (P = 0.002 and 0.003, respectively). A good correlation was found between AI and CSA to measurement(Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.631). CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed that higher AI and CSA were found in degenerative articular-sided PTRCTs. Acromial anatomy with a large acromial extension was associated with the occurrence of degenerative articular-sided PTRCTs.

The Application of Exosomes in the Development and Diagnosis and Treatment of Cervical Cancer / 中国生物化学与分子生物学报

Cervical cancer, as the second malignant female cancer, remains a major public health problem worldwide. Exosomes, nanometer-sized extracellular vesicles enveloped in a lipid bilayer membrane, are released by living cells and carry a variety of proteins, lipids, DNA, RNA(including mRNA, miRNA, lncRNA and circRNA) and other biologically active substances. As a novel intercellular communication molecule, exosomes are not only involved in biological processes such as signaling and substance exchange, but also play an important role in the process of the occurrence and development of cervical cancer such as regulating the tumor microenvironment to participate in HPV infection and the immune escape, promoting tumor cell proliferation and blood vessel formation, and regulating the invasion and metastasis of tumor. Exosomes with stability structure, are secreted by cervical cells of different lesion degrees, are ubiquitous in various biological fluids and can be enriched in cervicovaginal lavage sample fluid and plasma, thus it is expected to be a new type of liquid biopsy marker for the early diagnosis of cervical cancer. In addition, exosomes have the characteristics of low immunogenicity, good stability and strong penetration, which can overcome many shortcomings such as low bioavailability and enhance the targeting and drug effect of drugs while reducing non-targeted cytotoxicity and immunogenicity, thus it has the potential to be a new generation of drugs or drug carriers for tumor targeted therapy. This article reviews the latest research on the role of exosomes in the development of cervical cancer and the relevant clinical applications, aiming to provide the basis for novel biomarker for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer.

Removal of styrene in air stream by absorption combined with electrochemical oxidation.

Aqueous solution absorptions are widely used as an effective way for the treatment of noxious gases discharged from various industrial processes. However, this technology may encounter problems in removing gaseous pollutants with low Henry constants, such as styrene from contaminated air. In this study, a novel electrochemical absorption reactor was devised to remove these air pollutants. The reactor consists of five pairs of stacked mesh electrodes. Each pair of mesh electrodes consists of a Ti/RuO2 anode and a Ti cathode. The dimension of mesh electrode is 100 mm × 100 mm with 3 mm × 5 mm rhombic holes evenly distributed. The distance between two neighbouring electrodes is 25 mm. The simulated gas was introduced into the reactor from the bottom of the reactor by a gas distributor. The experimental result shows that styrene in the air was effectively removed by the electrochemical absorption reactor, and the removal increased with the increase of current density applied to the reactor. It was found that almost 100% styrene removal was achieved in 1% NaCl solution with 1 pH value and a current density of 0.04 A/cm2 applied to the reactor. The major liquid phase products from styrene oxidation were confirmed to be 1-Phenyl-1, 2-ethanediol and benzaldehyde.

Synergistic anti-tumour effects of Clostridium butyricum in combination with apatinib in CT26 colorectal tumour-bearing mice.

To investigate the synergistic antitumour effect of Clostridium butyricum combined with apatinib on colorectal cancer in mice. Murine colorectal carcinoma cell line CT26.WT cells were xenografted into the skin of BALB/c mice. Tumour-bearing mice were randomly divided into four groups, and given different treatment options (PBS control; C. butyricum; apatinib; C. butyricum + apatinib). Real-time PCR was used to detect C. butyricum content in the intestine of mice given C. butyricum. The effects of various regimens on tumour growth were monitored, and CD31, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase-3 expressions in tumour were analysed by immunohistochemistry. C. butyricum combined with apatinib significantly inhibits tumour growth with decreased CD31, PCNA and Bcl-2 expressions, and increased cleaved caspase-3 expressions. Our study confirms that C. butyricum combined with apatinib in the treatment of xenografted colon tumour in mice can significantly inhibit tumour growth and promote cell apoptosis than apatinib alone treatments, providing the reference for clinical treatments.

Age and composite end-point events in medium follow-up of patients with carotid artery total occlusion using drug therapy.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The outcome of carotid artery total occlusion (CATO) is unclear. The aim of this study is to report the medium incidence of composite end-point events and risk factors (especially age), in patients with CATO, treated medically. METHODS: This was a single center retrospective study. Composite end-point events included death, ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack, hemorrhagic stroke, myocardial infarction, or angina. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze risk factors of composite end-point events. RESULTS: A total of 94 patients with CATO were included in the study. The mean follow-up duration was 30 ± 16 months. There were 16 cases who experienced composite end-point events (17.0%); among them, there were 15 cases of death (16.0%), 8 cases of ischemic stroke (7 cases of fatal stroke and 1 case of non-fatal stroke) (8.5%), and 1 case of angina pectoris (1%) (the patient later developed ischemic stroke). With increased age, the incidence of composite end-point events was significantly increased (p = 0.002). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only age was a risk factor (OR = 3.051 (1.351-6.890), p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of composite end-point events in patients with CATO was as high as 17.0% at approximately 3 years after drug therapy alone. For every 10 years of age increase, the risk increase of composite end-point events doubles.

[Toxoplasma gondii Infection in HIV-infected Individuals in Henan Province].

Genomic DNA was extracted from 1 038 peripheral blood samples from HIV-infected individuals in Henan Province. One-step single-tube nested PCR was performed to amplify the 529 bp repeating sequences of Toxoplasma gondii. Of the 1 038 samples （762 from males and 276 from females）, 66 showed positive PCR results, with a positive rate of 6.4%. The PCR positive rate in males and females was 6.3% （48/762） and 6.5% （18/276） respectively. The PCR positive rate in the married HIV individuals was 4.9%（25/508）, and that in unmarried, divorced and widowed HIV individuals was 7.7% （41/530）（χ2 = 3.451, P> 0.05）. The PCR positive rate in HIV individuals with a high-school educational level or above was 6.9%（34/489）, and that in those below the high-school level was 5.8% （32/549）（χ2 = 0.545, P> 0.05）. The highest infection rate was in the age group of 20-40 years（7.6%, 31/410）. In addition, the Toxoplasma infection rate in those with and without a history of venereal diseases, and those with an unknown history was 8.0%（9/113）, 6.5%（50/773） and 4.6%（7/152） respectively （χ2 = 0.355, P> 0.05）.