Association between labor epidural analgesia and gut microbiota: A prospective cohort study.

Background: Labor epidural analgesia (LEA) may influence gut microbiota. We explored the association between LEA and gut microbiota for both mothers and their newborns. Methods: In this prospective cohort study, parturients aged 25-35 years with a gestational age of 37-42 weeks and planned vaginal delivery were recruited. Twenty-one parturients received LEA (the LEA group), and 24 did not (the control group). Maternal and neonatal fecal samples were collected, and the gut microbiota profiles were analyzed using the 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The impact of LEA on gut microbiota was assessed using the general liner models. Results: We showcased the gut microbiota profile from the phyla to species levels based on data on 45 mother-newborn dyads. The results of α- and ß-diversity suggested significant changes in gut microbiota between the LEA and control groups. After adjusting for baseline confounders, the administration of LEA had positive correlations with R. ilealis (ß = 91.87, adjusted P = 0.007) in mothers; LEA also had negative correlations with A. pittii (ß = -449.36, adjusted P = 0.015), P. aeruginosa (ß = -192.55, adjusted P = 0.008), or S. maltophilia (ß = -142.62, adjusted P = 0.001) in mothers, and with Muribaculaceae (ß = -2702.77, adjusted P = 0.003) in neonates. Conclusion: LEA was associated with changes in maternal and neonatal gut microbiota, and future studies are still required to assess their impact on clinical outcomes and explore the mechanisms.

Visualization and Analysis of Infectious Disease Research on Nursing Care Based on CiteSpace in China.

Objective: To analyze the relevant research publications on infectious disease nursing in China to understand the current research status of infectious disease in nursing. Methods: Retrieve relevant literature on infectious disease in nursing from the establishment of the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database, and Wanfang Database until May 10, 2021. Conduct bibliometric analysis using CiteSpace software. Key words were analyzed using cluster analysis. Results: A total of 4693 relevant literature on infectious disease research in nursing care were included in this study. The overall number of publications on infectious disease research in nursing showed an increasing trend, with a peak in 2010. There were 324 papers funded by scientific research funds, mainly from provincial-level fund projects. The core journal with the most published articles was Nursing Research. The research on infectious disease in nursing mainly focused on various aspects of infectious disease in nursing and infection control. CiteSpace cluster analysis of keywords showed that a total of six clusters were formed: infectious diseases, infectious disease care, health education, mental health, infectious disease nurses, and etiology. After 2015, high-mutation keywords included "quality nursing" and "infection control". Conclusion: Chinese research on infectious disease research in nursing closely follows clinical reality and has developed rapidly. Currently, research focuses on infectious disease research in nursing and infection control. Future research trends will further broaden the depth and breadth of the research, enhance research on infection control and quality nursing, and improve the breadth and depth of the research.

A comprehensive analysis of partial peristalsis recovery after peroral endoscopic myotomy in patients with achalasia.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) improves esophageal peristalsis and to investigate the association between recovery of esophageal peristalsis after POEM and clinical features of the patients. METHODS: In this single-center retrospective study, data were collected from medical records of the patients with achalasia who underwent POEM between January 2014 and May 2016. Demographics data, high-resolution esophageal manometry parameters, Eckardt score, and gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaire (GERD-Q) score were collected. Weak and fragmented contraction was defined as partial recovery of esophageal peristalsis based on the Chicago classification version 3.0. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify variables associated with the partial recovery of peristalsis after POEM. RESULTS: A total of 103 patients were enrolled. Esophageal contractile activity was observed in the distal two-thirds of the esophagus in 24 patients. The Eckardt score, integrated relaxation pressure, and lower esophageal sphincter (LES) resting pressure were significantly decreased after POEM. Multivariate analysis revealed that preprocedural LES resting pressure (P = 0.013) and preprocedural Eckardt score (P = 0.002) were related to the partial recovery of peristalsis after POEM. Symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux and reflux esophagitis after POEM were less frequent in those with partial recovery of peristalsis (both P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Normalization of esophagogastric junction relaxation pressure achieved by POEM is associated with the partial recovery of esophageal peristalsis in patients with achalasia. Preprocedural LES resting pressure and the Eckardt score are predictive of the recovery of esophageal peristalsis.

Fecal Signatures of Streptococcus anginosus and Streptococcus constellatus for Noninvasive Screening and Early Warning of Gastric Cancer.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Most patients with gastric cancer (GCa) are diagnosed at an advanced stage. We aimed to investigate novel fecal signatures for clinical application in early diagnosis of GCa. METHODS: This was an observational study that included 1043 patients from 10 hospitals in China. In the discovery cohort, 16S ribosomal RNA gene analysis was performed in paired samples (tissues and feces) from patients with GCa and chronic gastritis (ChG) to determine differential abundant microbes. Their relative abundances were detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to test them as bacterial candidates in the training cohort. Their diagnostic efficacy was validated in the validation cohort. RESULTS: Significant enrichments of Streptococcus anginosus (Sa) and Streptococcus constellatus (Sc) in GCa tumor tissues (P < .05) and feces (P < .0001) were observed in patients with intraepithelial neoplasia, early and advanced GCa. Either the signature parallel test Sa∪Sc or single signature Sa/Sc demonstrated superior sensitivity (Sa: 75.6% vs 72.1%, P < .05; Sc: 84.4% vs 64.0%, P < .001; and Sa∪Sc: 91.1% vs 81.4%, P < .01) in detecting early GCa compared with advanced GCa (specificity: Sa: 84.0% vs 83.9%, Sc: 70.4% vs 82.3%, and Sa∪Sc: 64.0% vs 73.4%). Fecal signature Sa∪Sc outperformed Sa∪CEA/Sc∪CEA in the discrimination of advanced GCa (sensitivity: 81.4% vs 74.2% and 81.4% vs 72.3%, P < .01; specificity: 73.4% vs 81.0 % and 73.4% vs 81.0%). The performance of Sa∪Sc in the diagnosis of both early and advanced GCa was verified in the validation cohort. CONCLUSION: Fecal Sa and Sc are noninvasive, accurate, and sensitive signatures for early warning in GCa. (ClinicalTrials.gov, Number: NCT04638959).

Exogenous glutathione exerts a therapeutic effect in ischemic stroke rats by interacting with intrastriatal dopamine.

We previously showed that oral administration of exogenous glutathione (GSH) exerted a direct and/or indirect therapeutic effect on ischemic stroke rats, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In the current study, we conducted a quantitative proteomic analysis to explore the pathways mediating the therapeutic effect of GSH in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model rats. Rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 2 h followed by reperfusion. The rats were treated with GSH (250 mg/kg, ig) or levodopa (L-dopa, 100 mg/kg, ig) plus carbidopa (10 mg/kg, ig). Neurologic deficits were assessed, and the rats were sacrificed at 24 h after cerebral I/R surgery to measure brain infarct sizes. We conducted a proteomic analysis of the lesion side striatum samples and found that tyrosine metabolism and dopaminergic synapse were involved in the occurrence of cerebral stroke and the therapeutic effect of GSH. Western blot assay revealed that tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) mediated the occurrence of I/R-induced ischemic stroke and the therapeutic effect of GSH. We analyzed the regulation of GSH on endogenous small molecule metabolites and showed that exogenous GSH had the most significant effect on intrastriatal dopamine (DA) in I/R model rats by promoting its synthesis and inhibiting its degradation. To further explore whether DA-related alterations were potential targets of GSH, we investigated the therapeutic effect of DA accumulation on ischemic brain injury. The combined administration of the precursor drugs of DA (L-dopa and carbidopa) significantly ameliorated neurological deficits, reduced infarct size, and oxidative stress, and decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines levels in the striatum of I/R injury rats. More interestingly, exogenous L-dopa/carbidopa could also greatly enhance the exposure of intracerebral GSH by upregulating GSH synthetases and enhancing homocysteine (HCY) levels in the striatum. Thus, administration of exogenous GSH exerts a therapeutic effect on ischemic stroke by increasing intrastriatal DA, and the accumulated DA can, in turn, enhance the exposure of GSH and its related substances, thus promoting the therapeutic effect of GSH.

Analysis of coal mine occupational disease hazard evaluation index based on AHP-DEMATEL.

The main purpose to analysis the occupational-disease-inductive index in coal mine is to protect the life and health of the workers and reduce the losses caused by it. According to the occupational-disease-inductive factors "produce source-cause factors-function object" to analyze the whole process of occupational disease hazard control in coal mine, determined the occupational-disease-inductive factors cause of coal mine. Then, the occupational disease hazard of coal mine based on the energy release cause model was established, built the evaluation index system of coal mine occupational disease hazard. The AHP-DEMATEL evaluation model was used to analyze the indicators. Combined with the application of case study, the evaluation results were in good agreement with the actual situation of occupational hazard management in coal mines. It indicated that the indicator system has a strong generalization and adaptability.

Locking Plates versus Locking Intramedullary Nails Fixation of Proximal Humeral Fractures Involving the Humeral Shaft: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND For proximal humeral fractures (PHFs), locking intramedullary nails and locking plates have been widely used. However, few reports have been published on the therapy of complex PHFs accompanying humeral shaft fractures. Therefore, we performed this research to analyze the effectiveness of locking intramedullary nails and locking plates in the management of proximal humeral fractures involving the humeral shaft. MATERIAL AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 40 cases diagnosed with proximal humeral fractures involving the humeral shaft fixed with either locking intramedullary nails or locking plates with at least of 2 years' follow-up. Clinical data were obtained from the medical records. Follow-up data included the Constant-Murley score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score (ASES), visual analog scale score (VAS), and the relative strength of the supraspinatus and deltoid muscles. RESULTS In total, 19 locking plate patients and 21 locking intramedullary nail patients were analyzed. The average follow-up period was 35 months in the locking plate group and 34 months in the locking intramedullary nail group. There were obvious differences in the intraoperative blood loss, time of operation, and the length of operative incision between the 2 groups (p<0.05). There were no significant differences between the groups in Constant-Murley score, ASES, VAS, or the relative strength of supraspinatus and deltoid muscles. CONCLUSIONS For PHFs involving the humeral shaft, both locking plates and locking intramedullary nails can achieve satisfactory functional results in the long-term follow-up assessment. The locking intramedullary nail group was superior with regards to intraoperative blood loss, time of operation, and length of incision.

Effects of Pyriproxyfen Exposure on Reproduction and Gene Expressions in Silkworm, Bombyx mori.

The silkworm, Bombyx mori Linnaeus, is an important economic insect and a representative model organism of Lepidoptera, which has been widely used in the study of reproduction and development. The development of the silkworm's reproductive gland is easily affected by many external factors, such as chemical insecticides. After the silkworm larvae were treated with different concentrations of pyriproxyfen, the results showed that the number of eggs and hatching rate of eggs in the silkworm can be reduced by pyriproxyfen, and the concentration effects were displayed. Pyriproxyfen exposure could affect the normal development of the ovary tissue by reducing the number of oocytes and oogonia in the ovaries of silkworm fed with pyriproxyfen. We employed qRT-PCR, to detect the expressions of genes related to ovary development (Vg, Ovo, Otu, Sxl-S and Sxl-L) and hormone regulation (EcR and JHBP2) in silkworm. Our study showed that the transcription levels of Vg, Ovo, Otu, Sxl-S and Sxl-L in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group (6.08%, 61.99%, 83.51%, 99.31% and 71.95%, respectively). The transcription level of ECR was 70.22% for the control group, while that of JHBP2 was upregulated by 3.92-fold. Changes of transcription levels of these genes caused by pyriproxyfen exposure ultimately affect the absorption of nutrients, energy metabolism, ovary development and egg formation of the silkworm, thus leading to reproductive disorders of the silkworm. In general, our study revealed the response of silkworm reproduction to pyriproxyfen exposure and provided a certain reference value for the metabolism of the silkworm to pyriproxyfen.

Deficiency of mitochondrial outer membrane protein 64 confers rice resistance to both piercing-sucking and chewing insects in rice.

The brown planthopper (BPH) and striped stem borer (SSB) are the most devastating insect pests in rice (Oryza sativa) producing areas. Screening for endogenous resistant genes is the most practical strategy for rice insect-resistance breeding. Forty-five mutants showing high resistance against BPH were identified in a rice T-DNA insertion population (11,000 putative homozygous lines) after 4 years of large-scale field BPH-resistance phenotype screening. Detailed analysis showed that deficiency of rice mitochondrial outer membrane protein 64 (OM64) gene resulted in increased resistance to BPH. Mitochondrial outer membrane protein 64 protein is located in the outer mitochondrial membrane by subcellular localization and its deficiency constitutively activated hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) signaling, which stimulated antibiosis and tolerance to BPH. The om64 mutant also showed enhanced resistance to SSB, a chewing insect, which was due to promotion of Jasmonic acid biosynthesis and related responses. Importantly, om64 plants presented no significant changes in rice yield-related characters. This study confirmed OM64 as a negative regulator of rice herbivore resistance through regulating H2 O2 production. Mitochondrial outer membrane protein 64 is a potentially efficient candidate to improve BPH and SSB resistance through gene deletion. Why the om64 mutant was resistant to both piercing-sucking and chewing insects via a gene deficiency in mitochondria is discussed.

Lower respiratory tract isolates of non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae in Western Sichuan, China: Antimicrobial susceptibility, mechanisms of ß-lactam resistance and decade changes.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to analyse the serotypes of epidemic Haemophilus influenzae and changes in mechanisms of ß-lactam resistance over the past decade. RESULTS: Haemophilus influenzae isolates in Western Sichuan from 2013-2014 were non-typeable H. influenzae (NTHi). ß-Lactam MICs for NTHi isolated during 2013-2014 were significantly higher than those from 2003-2004 (P < 0.05). Of 274 NTHi, 141 (51.5%) were ß-lactamase-positive (TEM-1 type). There were 35 amino acid (AA) substitutions in ftsI among NTHi isolated from 2013-2014. However, NTHi isolates from 2003-2004 had only nine AA substitutions. Ordered multiple classification logistic regression analysis showed that different AA substitution patterns in ftsI had different effects on ß-lactam MICs. The main factors affecting the ampicillin MIC were the mutations R517H (OR = 6.999), L389F (OR = 7.128), N526K (OR = 4.660) and D350N (OR = 0.450). The main factor influencing the amoxicillin/clavulanic acid MIC was an N526K mutation (OR = 9.349). The main factors affecting the cefuroxime MIC were the mutations S357N (OR = 37.453) and N526K (OR = 14.816). Compared with 2003-2004, gBLNAR and gBLPAR isolated from 2013-2014 increased significantly from 13.0% (7/54) and 9.3% (5/54) to 38.2% (84/220) and 45.5% (100/220), respectively (P < 0.001). In the 'others' group of ftsI gene mutations, 13 NTHi had the same ftsI gene mutation pattern and 24 AA substitutions. CONCLUSION: These results confirm that ß-lactam-resistant NTHi isolates increased rapidly. AA substitutions in ftsI were more complex and diversified in 2013-2014.

Clinical outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection for laterally spreading tumors involving the dentate line.

OBJECTIVE: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for laterally spreading tumors (LST) involving the dentate line (LST-DL) is challenging because of the specific anatomical features of the anorectum. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of ESD for LST-DL. METHODS: Consecutive patients with LST-DL who had undergone ESD at our hospital between January 2010 and December 2015 were retrospectively enrolled in this study. Rates of en bloc resection, R0 resection, and complications, pathological characteristics, and tumor recurrence were analyzed and compared with those of LST in the rectum not involving the dentate line (LST-NDL). RESULTS: Altogether 49 patients with LST-DL (median age 63 years; 39 women; median lesion size 57 mm; median follow-up period of 24 months) and 96 patients with LST-NDL (median age 67 years; 31 women; median lesion size 47 mm; median follow-up period of 31 months) were enrolled. En bloc resection (93.9% [46/49] vs 94.8% [91/96]) and en bloc R0 resection rates (83.7% [41/49] vs 88.5% [85/96]), respectively, for LST-DL and LST-NDL, with no significant differences. However, ESD for LST-DL had a longer procedure time (77 min vs 54 min, P = 0.02), a greater postprocedural perianal pain rate (28.6% vs 0%, P < 0.001), and more anal strictures (4.1% vs 0%, P = 0.04). The complication rates of perforation, bleeding and fever, recurrence rate, and pathological characteristics did not differ between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: ESD is a safe and effective therapeutic modality for LST-DL. However, this procedure should be performed by experienced endoscopists and the difficulty needs to be fully considered.

Is the combinational administration of doxorubicin and glutathione a reasonable proposal?

The combinational administration of antioxidants and chemotherapeutic agents during conventional cancer treatment is among one of the most controversial areas in oncology. Although the data on the combinational usage of doxorubicin (DOX) and glutathione (GSH) agents have been explored for over 20 years, the duration, administration route, and authentic rationality have not yet been fully understood yet. In the current study, we systematically investigated the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) with both in vivo and in vitro models to elucidate the influence of GSH on the toxicity and efficacy of DOX. We first studied the cardioprotective and hepatoprotective effects of GSH in Balb/c mice, H9c2, and HL7702 cells. We showed that coadministration of exogenous GSH (5, 50, and 500 mg/kg per day, intragastric) significantly attenuated DOX-induced cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity by increasing intracellular GSH levels, whereas the elevated GSH concentrations did not affect the exposure of DOX in mouse heart and liver. From PK and PD perspectives, then the influences of GSH on the chemotherapeutic efficacy of DOX were investigated in xenografted nude mice and cancer cell models, including MCF-7, HepG2, and Caco-2 cells, which revealed that administration of exogenous GSH dose-dependently attenuated the anticancer efficacy of DOX in vivo and in vitro, although the elevated GSH levels neither influenced the concentration of DOX in tumors in vivo, nor the uptake of DOX in MCF-7 tumor cells in vitro. Based on the results we suggest that the combined administration of GSH and DOX should be contraindicated during chemotherapy unless DOX has caused serious hepatotoxicity and cardiotoxicity.

[Exogenous H2O2 regulated secondary metabolism of Scutellaria baicalensis and enhanced drug quality].

The increasing demand of Chinese materia medica could not be supplied by wild resource, and the cultivated medicinal materials become popular, which led to decreased quality of many medicinal materials due to the difference of the circumstance between the wild and the cultivated. How to improve quality becomes key points of Chinese medicine resource. The leaves of Scutellaria baicalensis were sprayed with H2O2, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) changed little, but there had been a marked decrease of peroxidase (POD) and ascorbic oxidase (APX), which showed that the antioxidase system declined. Meanwhile, H2O2, as enhanced the expression of phenylalnine ammonialyase (PAL) and ß-glucuronidase (GUS) as well as activity of PAL, promoted the biosynthesis and biotransformation of flavonoids. At the day 2 after treated, H2O2 of 0.004 µmol·L⁻¹ the contents of the baicalin and the wogonoside decreased slightly, but the contents of the baicalein and the wogonin increased significantly, the baicalein from 0.094% to 0.324%, the wogonin from 0.060% to 0.110%, i. e. increased 246% and 83.3%, respectively.

The Variant rs145204276 of GAS5 is Associated with the Development and Prognosis of Gastric Cancer.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Down-regulation of the growth arrest specific transcript 5 (GAS5) (long non-coding RNA) is associated with cell proliferation of gastric cancer (GC) and a poor prognosis. We aimed to investigate whether the variant rs145204276 of GAS5 is associated with the prognosis of GC in the Chinese population, and to unveil the regulatory mechanism underlying the GAS5 expression in GC tissues. METHOD: 1,253 GC patients and 1,354 healthy controls were included. The frequency of the genotype del/del and the allele del of rs145204276 were compared between the patients and the controls and between different subgroups of patients classified by clinicopathological variables. The overall survival rate was analyzed according to the Kaplan-Meier method using the log-rank test. RESULTS: The frequency of genotype del/del was significantly lower in patients than in the controls (7.0% vs. 9.1%, p = 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that genotype del/del was significantly associated with a higher survival rate (p = 0.01). Patients with late tumor stage were found to have a significantly lower rate of genotype del/del than those with an early tumor stage (4.9% vs. 8.8%, p = 0.01). Patients with UICC III and IV were found to have a significantly lower rate of genotype del/del than those with UICC I and II (5.3% vs. 8.1%, p = 0.02). CONCLUSION: The variant rs145204276 of GAS5 is associated with the development and prognosis of GC. The allele del of rs145204276 is associated with a remarkably lower incidence of cancer progression and metastasis.

Combination of LC/MS and GC/MS based metabolomics to study the hepatotoxic effect of realgar nanoparticles in rats.

Realgar nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly used as therapeutic agents for their enhanced anti-proliferation effect and cytotoxicity on cancer cells. However, the alteration of particle size may enhance biological reactivity as well as toxicity. A LC/MS and GC/MS based metabolomics approach was employed to explore the mechanism of realgar NPs-induced hepatotoxicity and identify potential biomarkers. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administrated intragastrically with realgar or realgar NPs at a dose of 1.0 g·kg-1·d-1 for 28 days and toxic effects of realgar NPs on liver tissues were examined by biochemical indicator analysis and histopathologic examination. Increased levels of serum enzymes and high hepatic steatosis were discovered in the realgar NPs treated group. Multivariate data analysis revealed that rats with realgar NPs-induced hepatotoxicity could be distinctively differentiated from the animals in the control and realgar treated groups. In addition, 21 and 32 endogenous metabolites were apparently changed in the serum and live extracts, respectively. Realgar NPs might induce free fatty acid and triglyceride accumulation, resulting in hepatotoxicity. In conclusion, the present study represents the first comprehensive LC/MS- and GC/MS-based metabolomics analysis of realgar NPs-induced hepatotoxicity, which may help further research of nanotoxicity.

The dynamics of nucleation and growth of a particle in the ternary alloy melt with anisotropic surface tension.

The dynamics of nucleation and growth of a particle affected by anisotropic surface tension in the ternary alloy melt is studied. The uniformly valid asymptotic solution for temperature field, concentration field, and interface evolution of nucleation and particle growth is obtained by means of the multiple variable expansion method. The asymptotic solution reveals the critical radius of nucleation in the ternary alloy melt and an inward melting mechanism of the particle induced by the anisotropic effect of surface tension. The critical radius of nucleation is dependent on isotropic surface tension, temperature undercooling, and constitutional undercooling in the ternary alloy melt, and the solute diffusion melt decreases the critical radius of nucleation. Immediately after a nucleus forms in the initial stage of solidification, the anisotropic effect of surface tension makes some parts of its interface grow inward while some parts grow outward. Until the inward melting attains a certain distance (which is defined as "the melting depth"), these parts of interface start to grow outward with other parts. The interface of the particle evolves into an ear-like deformation, whose inner diameter may be less than two times the critical radius of nucleation within a short time in the initial stage of solidification. The solute diffusion in the ternary alloy melt decreases the effect of anisotropic surface tension on the interface deformation.

Insomnia in Adults With Chronic Hepatitis B, Liver Failure, and Cirrhosis: A Case-Control Study.

PURPOSE: To determine the frequency and socio-demographic/clinical correlates of insomnia in patients with chronic hepatitis B, hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver failure, and cirrhosis. DESIGN AND METHODS: Up to 120 patients with HBV-related diseases and 40 matched healthy controls were recruited. Depressive and anxiety symptoms, early, middle, and late insomnia were measured. FINDINGS: The frequency of ≥1 type of insomnia was 64.2% in patients and 35.0% in controls; frequencies of early, middle, and late insomnia in patients were 39.2%, 42.5%, and 48.3%, respectively, compared to 22.5%, 10.0%, and 25.0% in controls. Urban residency was independently associated with less insomnia of any type, accounting for 22.6% of the variance. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: A considerable proportion of patients with HBV-related diseases suffer from insomnia that warrants more attention in clinical practice.

Role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in detecting pelvic lymph-node metastases in patients with early-stage uterine cervical cancer: comparison with MRI findings.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the applied value of F-fluoro-2-dexoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET/computed tomography (CT) and MRI in detecting lymph-node metastasis in early-stage cervical cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed on 87 early-stage cervical cancer patients evaluated with PET/CT and pelvic MRI before surgery. Histopathological evaluation of lymph nodes served as the diagnostic standard. F-FDG PET/CT and MRI images were analyzed and correlated with histopathological findings. RESULTS: The overall node-based sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy of PET/CT were 91% (61/67), 78.2% (61/78), 99.4% (1079/1085), and 98% (1140/1163), respectively, which were higher than the corresponding values of MRI, at 37.3% (25/67), 61% (25/41), 96.3% (1080/1122), and 95% (1105/1163) (P<0.034). The difference in diagnostic efficacy for identifying node-based metastases between PET/CT and MRI was significant (PET/CT vs. MRI, 0.719 vs. 0.587, P=0.017). Meanwhile, the overall patient-based sensitivity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of PET/CT were 100% (34/34), 87.2% (34/39), 100% (48/48), and 94.3% (82/87), respectively, whereas the corresponding MRI values were 44% (15/34), 65% (15/23),74% (45/61), and 69% (60/87) (P<0.04). The difference in diagnostic efficacy for identifying patient-based metastases between PET/CT and MRI was significant (PET/CT vs. MRI, 0.974 vs. 0.705, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: PET/CT has been proven to be valuable in detecting lymph-node metastases. Compared with MRI, PET/CT has higher sensitivity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy in patients with early-stage cervical cancer for detecting lymphatic metastases.

Cis-12-oxo-phytodienoic acid stimulates rice defense response to a piercing-sucking insect.

The brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) is a destructive, monophagous, piercing-sucking insect pest of rice. Previous studies indicated that jasmonic acid (JA) positively regulates rice defense against chewing insect pests but negatively regulates it against the piercing-sucking insect of BPH. We here demonstrated that overexpression of allene oxide cyclase (AOC) but not OPR3 (cis-12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) reductase 3, an enzyme adjacent to AOC in the JA synthetic pathway) significantly increased rice resistance to BPH, mainly by reducing the feeding activity and survival rate. Further analysis revealed that plant response to BPH under AOC overexpression was independent of the JA pathway and that significantly higher OPDA levels stimulated rice resistance to BPH. Microarray analysis identified multiple candidate resistance-related genes under AOC overexpression. OPDA treatment stimulated the resistance of radish seedlings to green peach aphid Myzus persicae, another piercing-sucking insect. These results imply that rice resistance to chewing insects and to sucking insects can be enhanced simultaneously through AOC-mediated increases of JA and OPDA and provide direct evidence of the potential application of OPDA in stimulating plant defense responses to piercing-sucking insect pests in agriculture.

Identification and comparative analysis of the major chemical constituents in the extracts of single fuzi herb and fuzi-gancao herb-pair by UFLC-IT-TOF/MS.

AIM: The aim of this work was to establish a specific and sensitive method to comprehensively investigate and compare chemical constituents of Fuzi-Gancao herb pair (FG), consisting of Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux (Fuzi, Chinese) and Roast Radix Glycyrrhizae (Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Gancao, in Chinese) and Fuzi alone to explore the underlying interaction mechanism of FG. METHOD: An ultra-fast liquid chromatography-ion trap/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UFLC/MS-IT-TOF) method using diazepam as internal standard was developed for the identification and semi-quantitative analysis of the phytochemical constituents of Fuzi and FG. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a UFLC column using a gradient program with 40 mmol·L(-1) ammonium acetate and acetonitrile as the mobile phase. RESULTS: Fifty-one of the sixty compounds, including forty-five C19-diterpenoid alkaloids and six C20-diterpenoid alkaloids were tentatively identified in the extracts of Fuzi and FG through accurate mass measurements and fragmentation patterns. Comparing the contents of these alkaloids in these two extracts, it was found that the diester-diterpenoid alkaloids (DDAs) and the alkylolamine-diterpenoid alkaloids (ADAs) were increased, while the monoester-diterpenoid alkaloids (MDAs) were decreased in the extracts of FG. CONCLUSION: This work provided comprehensive information for the quality control of Fuzi preparations, and the further investigation on the compatibility mechanisms of FG.