The diagnostic effect of α-defensin, D-dimer, and IL-6 in periprosthetic joint infection: A systematic review and diagnostic meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is the most common complication after artificial joint replacement as previously reported. However, the main problem at present is its difficulty in diagnosis. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of α-defensin, D-dimer, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in clinical practice. METHOD: Online databases were systematically searched until June 18th, 2020 with keywords and medical sub-headings terms. Studies mentioned the sensitivity and specificity of biological markers in detecting PJI were included in our study. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratios (DORs) were obtained after integration. RESULTS: A total of 34 studies with 1036 patients diagnosing as PJI were included for comparing α-defensin, D-dimer, and IL-6. The sensitivity and specificity of α-defensin for PJI were 0.88 and 0.96, and the DOR was 189 (95% CI 72-496), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of D-dimer (0.82 and 0.72) and IL-6 (0.80 and 0.89) were lower than α-defensin. CONCLUSION: The detection of α-defensin is a promising biomarker for diagnosing PJI. The optional cut-off needs to be curtained when using other biomarkers.

Highly sensitive surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrate made from superaligned carbon nanotubes.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has attracted wide attention because it can enhance normally weak Raman signal by several orders of magnitude and facilitate the sensitive detection of molecules. Conventional SERS substrates are constructed by placing metal nanoparticles on a planar surface. Here we show that, if the planar surface was substituted by a unique nanoporous surface, the enhancement effect can be dramatically improved. The nanoporous surface can be easily fabricated in batches and at low costs by cross stacking superaligned carbon nanotube films. The as-prepared transparent and freestanding SERS substrate is capable of detecting ambient trinitrotoluene vapor, showing much higher Raman enhancement than ordinary planar substrates because of the extremely large surface area and the unique zero-dimensional at one-dimensional nanostructure. These results not only provide a new approach to ultrasensitive SERS substrates, but also are helpful for improving the fundamental understanding of SERS phenomena.

Quantitative analysis of cytoplasmic actin gene promoter and nuclear polyhedrosis virus immediate-early promoter activities in various tissues of silkworm Bombyx mori using recombinant Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus as vector.

Cassettes harboring luciferase reporter driven by Bombyx mori cytoplasmic actin gene promoter (A3) (671 bp) and B. mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus immediate-early promoter (IE-1) (580 bp) were transferred to the bacmid AcDeltaEGT to generate the recombinant Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis viruses, AcNPVA3Luc and AcNPVIELuc, respectively. Recombinant baculoviruses were injected into the hemocoele of newly ecdysed 5th instar larvae. The activities of the A3 and IE-1 promoters in various tissues were measured by luciferase activity assay and normalized by the copy number of recombinant virus. Results showed that the activity of the A3 promoter was approximately 10-fold higher than the IE-1 promoter. The promoter activities of A3 and IE-1 were highest in the silk gland, followed by fat body, middle gut, malpighian tubule, and hemocyte. In silk gland, activity of the two promoters was highest in posterior silk gland, followed by middle and anterior silk glands. The difference in promoter activities reflects the growth speed of tissue in silkworm larvae. The activity of the A3 promoter remained unchanged and was not inhibited significantly by viral factors at least 3-4 d post injection of rAcNPV.

Spread of recombinant Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus in various tissues of silkworm Bombyx mori determined by real-time PCR.

A cassette harboring luciferase reporter driven by Bombyx mori A3 promoter was transferred to the bacmid AcDeltaEGT to generate the recombinant virus AcNPVA3Luc (where Ac represents Autographa californica, NPV represents nucleopolyhedrovirus, and A3Luc represents the firefly luciferase reporter cassette driven by the A3 promoter). Recombinant baculovirus was injected into the hemocoele of newly ecdysed fifth instar larvae of the silkworm. The infection of virus in various silkworm tissues was determined by real-time PCR. The profile of viral infection showed that the copy number of recombinant AcNPV (rAcNPV) increased the fastest in the hemocyte, followed by the fat body, Malpighian tubule, middle gut, and silk gland. Detecting in nonpermissive strain silkworm showed that there was no significant difference in the entry of rAcNPV into all tested tissues. The difference in viral infection reflected mainly the big difference in replication of rAcNPV in various tissues of silkworm larvae. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR showed that it was due to the different expression of genes involved in viral DNA replication.