[Analysis of gadolinium magnetic resonance in inner ear by tympanic membrane puncture in 1 126 cases].

Objective: To investigate the success rate, safety and repeatability of gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced inner ear magnetic resonance (MR) by tympanic membrane puncture. Methods: The imaging and clinical data of 1 126 cases with Gd-enhanced inner ear MR by tympanic membrane puncture from February 2010 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. All cases were reexamined in the outpatient clinic after MR gadolinium contrast to check the tympanic membrane and external auditory canal. The success rate was identified by whether there was gadolinium contrast in the labyrinth. Meanwhile, the pure tone hearing threshold data of asymptomatic ears before and after gadolinium contrast was collected and compared. The consistency in the scores of the asymptomatic ears in patients who underwent twice Gd-enhanced MR was analyzed, in which the scores of vestibular, cochlea, and semicircular canals were acquired respectively. Results: Among 1 126 patients [including 506 males and 620 females, aged (54±17) years old], 45 were reviewed once, while 4 patients were reviewed twice. There were 958 cases who were examined on both sides, and 168 cases were checked only on one side. There were 166 cases of Meniere's disease (14.7%), 219 cases of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (19.5%) and 741 cases of being remained to be investigated (65.8%), respectively. A total of 2 084 ears underwent first gadolinium angiography, of which 63 ears had no contrast agent in the labyrinth, with a success rate of 97.0% (2 021/2 084). Only 1 case had tympanic membrane perforation while the rest had no complications. The hearing threshold before and after otography in 57 asymptomatic ears had no differences at any frequency (all P>0.05). Moreover, the consistency in the scores of two radiography within the 21 asymptomatic ears in vestibular and cochlea was good [both intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) values>0.75]. Conclusion: The success rate and safety of Gd-enhanced inner ear MR is high by tympanic membrane puncture, and the results can be repeated well.

Identification of Peripheral Blood and Menstrual Blood Based on the Expression Level of MicroRNAs and Discriminant Analysis.

ABSTRACT: Objective To construct a discriminant analysis model based on the differential expression of multiple microRNAs （miRNAs） in two kinds of blood samples （peripheral blood and menstrual blood） and three non-blood samples （saliva, semen and vaginal secretion）, to form an identification solution for peripheral blood and menstrual blood. Methods Six kinds of miRNA （miR-451a, miR-144-3p, miR-144-5p, miR-214-3p, miR-203-3p and miR-205-5p） were selected from literature, the samples of five kinds of body fluids commonly seen in forensic practice （peripheral blood, menstrual blood, saliva, semen, vaginal secretion） were collected, then the samples were divided into training set and testing set and detected by SYBR Green real-time qPCR. A discriminant analysis model was set up based on the expression data of training set and the expression data of testing set was used to examine the accuracy of the model. Results A discriminant analysis statistical model that could distinguish blood samples from non-blood samples and distinguish peripheral blood samples from menstrual blood samples at the same time was successfully constructed. The identification accuracy of the model was over 99%. Conclusion This study provides a scientific and accurate identification strategy for forensic fluid identification of peripheral blood and menstrual blood samples and could be used in forensic practice.

Isolation, identification and characterization of Morganella morganii from Naja naja atra in Beijing, China.

Morganella morganii is an important opportunistic human pathogen and belongs to the family of Enterobacteriaceae. Although it is widely distribution, it only be considered a rare cause of human infections. We report the isolate of M. morganii from Naja naja atra following infections of heart, lung and liver. Seven strains were confirmed using 16S rDNA amplified and sequences. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of M. morganii isolates demonstrated ubiquitous resistance to ampicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, cefazolin, cephalothin, sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole et al. However, M. morganii ubiquitous susceptible to piperacillin, ampicillin/sulbactam, piperacillin/tazobactam, cefixime et al. Further investigate display gyr B and Sul2 genes presence in all M. morganii isolates. AAC(3)-II was found in E2, E3 and E6 M. morganii. gyrA and qnrB expression in M3 and M6 M. morganii. This is the first description in M. morganii carrying AAC(3)-II, gyrB, gyrA, qnrB, and Sul2 genes from Naja naja atra, which suggests the increasing risk of pathogen transmission between humans and wildlife.

KLF5 is involved in regulation of IFITM1, 2, and 3 genes during H5N1 virus infection in A549 cells.

The interferon-induced transmembrane (IFITM) proteins usually protect cells from many virus infections by viral entry and replication. Thus, the present study aimed to identification novel regulation factors of IFITM genes. Our data showed up-regulation of IFITM1, IFITM2, and IFITM3 genes in A549 by H5N1 virus infection. However, IFITM1 was not affected, IFITM2 and IFITM3 increases expression following different concentration H5N1 virus infection in HEK293T cells. This is the first time to find differences of IFITM1 transcription in different cells with the H5N1 virus infection. Moreover, experiments showed that H5N1 virus promotes expression of KLF4 and KLF5 in both A549 and HEK293T cells, but H5N1 virus NS1, M1, NP or PB2 alone has no obvious effect on transcription of KLF5. Overexpression of KLF5 increases transcription of IFITM1, IFITM2, and IFITM3 in A549 cells, however, it does not affect transcription of IFITM1, IFITM2, and IFITM3 in HEK293T cells. In addition, results for the first time displayed that KLF4 can up-regulate expression of IFITM5 in both A549 and HEK293T cells. In conclusion, we revealed KLF5 is involved in transcription of IFITM1, 2, and 3 thus making it a potential therapeutic activator in the future to treat viral infections through promoting the innate immune response.

Subtype IV of the BK polyomavirus is prevalent in East Asia.

BK polyomavirus (BKV) is ubiquitous in human populations, infecting children asymptomatically and then persisting in the kidney. Using either serological or genotyping methods, BKV isolates have been classified into four subtypes (I-IV), with subtype I mainly detected in all countries studied so far. To elucidate the subtype of BKV prevalent in East Asia, we examined BKV-positive urine samples collected from immunocompetent elderly patients in Mongolia, Northeast China, Northwest China, Southeast China, Southwest China, Vietnam and Japan. The 287-bp typing region of the viral genome in each of these samples was PCR-amplified and sequenced, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. According to the tree, BKV isolates in East Asia were unambiguously classified into subtype I or IV (subtypes II and III were not detected). In Japan, subtype I was mainly detected and subtype IV was rare, whereas in the other regions subtype IV was detected frequently, at rates ranging from 24 to 100%. Thus, East Asia (excluding Japan) is a region in which subtype-IV BKV is prevalent, a finding that requires the view of the geographic distribution of BKV subtypes to be revised. Furthermore, we present evidence that the immunological states of urine donors do not affect the pattern of BKV subtypes.

KAI1/CD82 gene expression in benign prostatic hyperplasia and late-stage prostate cancer in Chinese.

AIM: To evaluate KAI1/CD82 expression in Chinese patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and late-stage carcinoma of prostate (CaP). METHODS: Thirty Chinese patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and 34 with CaP (adenocarcinoma clinical stage C and D) were analyzed by means of immunohistochemical methods. RESULTS: The KAI1/CD82 expression in BPH tissue was all positive, which was uniformly located on the glandular cell membrane at the cell-to-cell borders, but KAI1/CD82 expression in metastasis CaP tissues was either significantly lower than that of BPH or negative, and the immunostaining pattern was not continuous. In late-stage CaP KAI1/CD82 expression was correlated inversely to the pathological grade ( P < 0.05), but not to clinical stage ( P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The authors believe that decreased and negative KAI1/CD82 expression in late-stage CaP may be related to tumor progression and metastasis, and appears to be a prognostic marker.

[Stimulatory effect of sodium deoxycholate on alpha-ergocryptine productivity of Claviceps purpurea 94002 (EKPN94002)].

The stimulation of sodium deoxycholate (SDC) on alpha-ergocryptine production of Claviceps purpurea strain 94002 (EKPN94002) was investigated. Preliminary results indicated that SDC, as a stimulator and at appropriate concentrations, could obviously increase the extracellular and the total production levels of the ergot alkaloid. Satisfied results were obtained when 6.0 mg.L-1 of SDC was present in the seed and fermentation media. The possible mechanism was discussed.