Enhancing the cytological features and diagnostic significance of cerebrospinal fluid in bacterial meningitis.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the cytological features and diagnostic significance of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in bacterial meningitis (BM). Material and Methods: Patients diagnosed with BM at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University Hospital between August 2021 and April 2022 were enrolled. Clinical, cranial imaging, CSF-next-generation sequencing, CSF examination, and CSF cytology data were retrospectively analyzed. CSF cytology samples were prepared using a CSF cell pelletizer (precipitation method) and stained using the May-Grunwald-Glemsa (MGG) method. The χ2 test was employed to compare the positive rate of routine CSF count and CSF cytology. Results: Eight patients (four males and four females), aged 41-67 years, were included. Among them, two patients had undergone brain surgery within the past 4 months, one patient had an 8-year history of otitis media, and two patients had a history of sudden toothache. Clinical manifestations included fever, headache, sudden disturbance of consciousness, and neck stiffness. CSF cytology revealed abnormal inflammatory changes dominated by neutrophils in seven patients. Routine CSF cell counts exceeded 100/uL in only four cases, indicating a higher positive rate of CSF cytology for detecting CSF inflammatory reactions compared to routine cell count. Conclusion: Comparative detection of bacteria through the observation of CSF cytology inflammatory status in BM patients are more useful for diagnosing BM than routine CSF counts.

Urine cytological study in patients with clinicopathologically confirmed neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease.

Objective: The diagnosis of neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) is currently based on CGG repeat expansion in the 5'UTR of the NOTCH2NLC gene, or p62-positive intranuclear inclusions in skin biopsy. The purpose of this study is to explore the value of non-invasive pathological findings in urine sediment cells from NIID patients. Materials and methods: Ten patients with clinically suspected NIID were enrolled for skin biopsy and gene screening. Morning urine (500 ml) was collected from each patient, and cell sediment was obtained by centrifugation. Urine cytology, including Giemsa staining, p62 immunostaining, and electron microscopic examination, were conducted on cell sediment. Results: The main clinical symptoms of 10 patients included episodic disturbance of consciousness, cognitive impairment, tremor, limb weakness, and so on. Cerebral MRI showed that 9 patients had linear DWI high signal in the corticomedullary junction. Genetic testing found that the number of CGG repeat ranged from 96 to 158 in the NOTCH2NLC gene. Skin biopsy revealed that all patients showed p62-positive intranuclear inclusions in 18.5 ± 6.3% of the duct epithelial cells of sweat gland. In contrast, urine sediment smears revealed that only 3 patients had p62 positive intranuclear inclusions in 3.5 ± 1.2% of the sedimentary cells. Ultrastructural examinations showed that intranuclear inclusions were also identified in the cell sediment of the 3 patients. Conclusion: Urine cytology may be a new and non-invasive pathological diagnosis technique for some NIID patients, although the positive rate is not as high as that of skin biopsy, which is a sensitive and reliable pathological method for NIID.

Demographic, signs and symptoms, imaging characteristics of 2126 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia in the whole quarantine of Wuhan, China.

OBJECTIVE: The accurate knowledge of demographic, signs and symptoms, imaging characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is essential for the accurate management of these patients. However, the claims between the previous papers are not always consistent and may even contradict each other, for example, some claims the virus infects more men than women in Wuhan. In this large-scale cohort study, we aimed to update the demographic, signs and symptoms, imaging characteristics of patients with COVID-19 in the whole quarantine of Wuhan, China. METHODS: A cohort of 2126 patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia (confirmed by real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, RT-PCR) who were admitted to one hospital in Wuhan were retrospectively enrolled. Data were collected between January 13, 2020, and April 8, 2020, the end of Wuhan quarantine. Demographic, signs and symptoms, imaging characteristics were analyzed. CT imaging characteristics associated with respiratory failure or death were identified. RESULTS: Of the 2126 patients with COVID-19, 1051 (49.44%) were men and 1075 (50.56%) were women, 1933 (90.92%) have fever and 1328 (62.46%) have dry cough. The mean age was 57.43 years of age (range 1-95). The CT imaging findings were bilateral pneumonia (1883[88.57%]), unilateral pneumonia (243[11.43%]), ground-glass opacity (GGO) or consolidation (1175[55.27%]), pleural effusion (69[3.25%]). Patients with respiratory failure or death were more likely to have pleural effusion on CT than patients without respiratory failure or death (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Men and women have been infected by SARS-CoV-2 in roughly equal numbers. Fever and cough are the most prevalent symptoms at disease onset in patients. Other prevalent symptoms include fatigue, and sputum production. COVID-19 patients with bilateral pneumonia and pleural effusion are more likely to develop respiratory failure or death.

Effect of Comprehensive Cerebral Protection Program on Cerebral Oxygen Metabolism and Vascular Endothelial Function in Elderly Patients with Acute Cerebral Infarction.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to explore the effect of comprehensive cerebral protection on cerebral oxygen metabolism and vascular endothelial function in elderly patients with acute cerebral infarction. METHODS: A total of 168 elderly patients with acute cerebral infarction treated in The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, China from January 2016 to January 2018 were selected. The patients were divided into a control group and an observation group using random number method, n=84. Patients in the observation group were given comprehensive cerebral protection treatment, and patients in the control group were treated with conventional standardized treatments. The changes of cerebral oxygen metabolism, hemorheology and vascular endothelial function before and after treatment were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, oxygen content in arteries and internal jugular veins (Da-vO2), ofoxygen uptake fraction (OEF), Oxygen saturation (SpO2), nitric oxide (NO) were increased in both groups in comparison to before treatment, jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjvO2), brain oxygen uptake rate (ERO2), endothelin (ET), intracranial pressure (ICP), whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, reduced viscosity of whole blood, and hematocrit were decreased. However, the changes in the observation group were larger than those in the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The treatment of cerebral infarction in elderly patients with acute cerebral infarction can effectively improve the cerebral oxygen metabolism and vascular endothelial function and improve the blood rheology, which has important clinical value.

Particle size distribution of river-suspended sediments determined by in situ measured remote-sensing reflectance.

Suspended sediments in water bodies are classified into organic and inorganic matter and have been investigated by remote-sensing technology for years. Focusing on inorganic matter, however, detailed information such as the grain size of this matter has not been provided yet. In this study, we present a new solution for estimating inorganic suspended sediments' size distribution in highly complex Case 2 waters by using a simple spectrometer sensor rather than a backscattering sensor. An experiment was carried out in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) in the dry season to collect the remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs) and particle size distribution (PSD) of inorganic suspended sediments. Based on Mie theory, PSDs in the PRE waters were retrieved by Rrs, colored dissolved organic matter, and phytoplankton. The retrieved median diameters in 12 stations show good agreement with those of laboratory analysis at root mean square error of 2.604 µm (27.63%), bias of 1.924 µm (20.42%), and mean absolute error of 2.298 µm (24.37%). The retrieved PSDs and previous PSDs were compared, and the features of PSDs in the PRE waters were concluded.