Trend of serum C-reactive protein is associated with treatment outcome of hip Periprosthetic joint infection undergoing two-stage exchange arthroplasty: a case control study.

BACKGROUND: Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) trends are critical for monitoring patients' treatment response following a two-stage exchange arthroplasty for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) of the hip. However, CRP trends are poorly described in the literature. The primary aim of this study was to identify the relationships between PJI treatment outcomes and our proposed CRP trend definitions, parameters, and microbiological data. The secondary aim was to investigate CRP trends after the occurrence of spacer-related complications. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of 74 patients treated with a two-stage exchange protocol for PJI in a tertiary referral joint center between 2014 and 2016. Patients with factors that may affect CRP levels (inflammatory arthritis, concomitant infections, liver and kidney diseases, and intensive care admissions) were excluded. CRP trends were categorized into five types and PJI treatment outcome was defined as "success" or "failure" according to the Delphi criteria. RESULTS: Treatment was successful in 67 patients and failed in 7 patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that type 5 CRP, defined as serum CRP fluctuation without normalization after first stage surgery (odds ratio [OR]: 17.4; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.3-129.7; p = 0.005), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA; OR: 14.5; 95% CI: 1.6-131.7; p = 0.018) were associated with treatment failure. Spacer-related complications occurred in 18 patients. Of these, 12 had elevated CRP levels at later follow-up, while six had no elevation in CRP levels. CONCLUSIONS: We found that MRSA infection and type 5 CRP were associated with PJI treatment failure.

Diagnostic possibility of the combination of exhaled nitric oxide and blood eosinophil count for eosinophilic asthma.

BACKGROUND: Tests to identify reversible airflow limitation are important in asthma diagnosis, but they are time-consuming and it may be difficult for patients to cooperate. We aimed to evaluate whether the combination of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and blood eosinophil (B-Eos) can be used to distinguish some asthma patients who could avoid objective tests. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on 7463 suspected asthma cases between January 2014 and December 2019 in Chongqing, China, and identified 2349 patients with complete FeNO, B-Eos count, and spirometry data. Asthma was diagnosed by clinicians by the criteria of recurrent respiratory symptoms and a positive bronchial-provocation or bronchodilation test (BPT, BPD). We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of FeNO or B-Eos alone or both in combination for asthma using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: In this study, 824 patients were diagnosed with asthma. When FeNO and B-Eos counts were used in combination, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) for diagnosing asthma increased slightly (0.768 vs. 0.745 [FeNO] or 0.728 [B-Eos]; both P < 0.001). The odds ratio for having asthma increased progressively with a gradual increase in FeNO or B-Eos count (both P < 0.001; assessed using the Cochran-Armitage trend test). Further analysis of in-series combinations of different threshold values for these biomarkers indicated that moderately elevated biomarker levels (FeNO > 40 ppb and B-Eos > 300 cells/µl) support a diagnosis of asthma because diagnostic specificity was > 95% and the positive likelihood ratio (PLR) was > 10. This conclusion was verified when selecting the 2017-2019 data as the internal validation dataset. CONCLUSION: FeNO or B-Eos count alone is insufficient to accurately diagnose asthma. Patients with moderately elevated biomarkers (FeNO > 40 ppb and B-Eos > 300 cells/µl) could be diagnosed with asthma and avoid objective tests when such tests are not feasible.

MAGI1 Inhibits the Proliferation, Migration and Invasion of Glioma Cells.

BACKGROUND: Membrane-associated guanylate kinase inverted repeat member 1 (MAGI1) acts as a tumor suppressor in a variety of tumors; however, its expression and biological function in glioma are still unknown. METHODS: MAGI1 expression in glioma was examined by immunohistochemistry. In addition, overexpression of MAGI1 in U87 and U373 cells, colony formation and MTT assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation, Transwell assays to determine cell migration and invasion, and a xenograft model established using U87 cells to evaluate the effect of MAGI1 overexpression in vivo. Western blot assays were used to analyze the Akt, MMP2, MMP9 and E-cadherin/N-cadherin/vimentin pathway changes after overexpression of MAGI1. RESULTS: We demonstrated that MAGI1 was expressed at low levels in glioma. Low MAGI1 expression was positively correlated with the malignant progression of glioma and indicated a poor prognosis. Moreover, we found that overexpressed MAGI1 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of glioma cells by regulating cell growth and EMT through Akt, MMP2, MMP9 and the E-cadherin/N-cadherin/vimentin pathway. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate a novel function of MAGI1 in glioma progression and suggest that MAGI1 might be a target for the diagnosis and treatment of glioma.

Crystal Structure and Antioxidant Activity of 5,6-O-(4-chlorophenyl)-L-Ascorbic Acid Synthesized with Nanosolid Superacid.

The title compound 5,6-O-(4-chlorophenyl)-L-ascorbic acid (C13H11ClO6) was synthesized using nanosolid superacid SO2-4/SnO2 as a catalyst and its structure was characterized by IR, 1H NMR and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. 1H NMR data indicated the product is a mixture of two diastereomer compounds (a(7S) and b(7R)). And the crystal of one diastereomer compound a(7S) belongs to orthorhombic system, space group P212121 with a = 6.501(4), b = 7.803(5), c = 25.013(15) Å, V 1268.7(13) Å3, Z = 4, Dc 1.564g/cm3, µ(Mo-Kα) = 0.325 mm-1, F(000) = 616, R = 0.0255 and wR(I > 2σ (I)) = 0.0624. X-ray crystal structure data display that the hydrogen bonding interactions observed link the molecules to form a three-dimensional system. In addition, 5,6-O-(4-chlorophenyl)-L-ascorbic acid (CPAA) exhibited strong free-radical scavenging activities in vitro against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and superoxide anion. Therefore, CPAA should be investigated further as a worthy antioxidant.

Properties and Applications of Sodium (5-methyl-2-alkyl-1,3-dioxane-5-yl)-Carboxylate Synthesized with Nanosolid Superacid.

A series of novel sodium (5-methyl-2-alkyl-1,3-dioxane-5-yl) carboxylate surfactants were synthesized using nanosolid superacid SO4²â»/Fe2O3as a catalyst and characterized by ¹H NMR, IR and elemental analysis. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of surfactants was determined and the results showed that the CMC values were less than 2.0 x 10⁻³ mol/L. Other relevant surface properties (Krafft point, emulsion stability, foam ability, degradability) were also evaluated. It was suggested that with respect to emulsion formation, foam stability and the range of application temperature, compared with traditional surfactants, the new surfactants could give better results and showed better properties when used as an emulsifier in emulsion polymerization. In addition, the surfactants were stable under neutral and alkaline conditions, and could form solid under acid condition. The solid will generate the original surfactants for reuse with alkali. Sodium (5-methyl-2-alkyl-1,3-dioxane-5-yl) carboxylate is likely to be a new type of 'environmentally friendly' surfactant.

[Quantitive Analysis of Contents in Yogurt and Application Research with FTIR Spectroscopy].

Yogurt is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. All kinds of nutrition components are changing dramatically in the process of fermentation. Therefore, it is important to establish a fast and efficient measurement technology of yogurt nutrition, which is also an important goal for food safety supervision in terms of monitoring the yogurt production process in real time. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) has been widely used in the field of food safety, for it has high efficiency, high throughput, no chemical pollution, thus it can be used in the inspection of food adulteration. Our study has established a quantitative model to predict the nutrition components in yogurt, such as energy value, protein, fat, carbohydrates and sodium content. Based on the least squares (PLS) method, the model used CaF(2) film FTIR technology. The results show that the new model can be used in quality control of yogurt production process: The R(2) values of the model were 0.938 9, 0.926 6, 0.918 6, 0.941 8 and 0.977 1, comparing energetic value, protein, fat, carbohydrate and sodium contents with the original spectrum of calibration samples by cross validation. And the predictive R(2) are 0.920 5, 0.905 3, 0.908 5, 0.939 3 and 0.936 4 respectively. Thus, the model has good prediction accuracy and reliability, which provides a feasible method for the rapid measurement of yogurt quality. As a preliminary exploration of the quality control technology of dairy products, this method has a good prospect of application.

Crystal Structure and Antibacterial Activity of (E)-(5-ethyl-2-styryl-1,3-dioxan-5-yl) Methanol Synthesized with Nanosolid Superacid.

A new chiral 1,3-dioxane compound was synthesized by aldol condensation reaction in this paper. The reaction of cinnamic aldehyde with 2.1 equiv. of 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl) butanol in N,N-dimethylformamide and cyclohexane, nanosolid superacid SO4(2-)/Fe2O3 was applied as catalyst, afforded the new chiral 1,3-dioxane compound (E)-(5-ethyl-2-styryl-1,3-dioxan-5-yl) methanol. The compound was fully characterized with infrared spectra, elemental analysis, melting points, 1H NMR and X-ray diffraction. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the compound crystallized in the monoclinic system, space group P2(1) with a = 5.717(2) Å, b = 11.684(4) Å, c = 10.569(4) Å, α = 90.00 degrees, ß = 99.646(4) degrees, γ = 90.00 degrees, V = 696.0(4) Å3, Z = 2, Dc = 1.185 g/cm(-3), R = 0.0182, µ = 0.081 mm(-1), F(000) = 268. In addition, the antibacterial activities of the compound against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus have been investigated.

Curcumin attenuates chronic ethanol-induced liver injury by inhibition of oxidative stress via mitogen-activated protein kinase/nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 pathway in mice.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the protective effect of curcumin on chronic ethanol-induced liver injury in mice and to explore its underlying mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethanol-exposed Balb/c mice were simultaneously treated with curcumin for 6 weeks. Liver injury was evaluated by biochemical and histopathological examination. Lipid peroxidation and anti-oxidant activities were measured by spectrophotometric method. Anti-oxidative genes expression such as NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and the phosphorylation states of specific proteins central to intracellular signaling cascades were measured by western blotting. RESULTS: Curcumin treatment protected liver from chronic ethanol-induced injury through reducing serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities, improving liver histological architecture, and reversing lipid disorders indicated by decrease of triglyceride, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels and increase of High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels. Meanwhile, curcumin administration attenuated oxidative stress via up-regulating SOD and glutathione peroxidase activities, leading to a reduction of lipid hydroperoxide production. In addition, curcumin increased Nrf2 activation and anti-oxidative genes expressions such as NQO1, HO-1, and SOD through inducing extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 phosphorylation. CONCLUSION: Our data suggested that curcumin protected the liver from chronic-ethanol induced injury through attenuating oxidative stress, at least partially, through ERK/p38/Nrf2-mediated anti-oxidant signaling pathways.

[Analysis of vWF gene A1381T polymorphism in patients with coronary heart disease].

This study was purposed to investigate the vWF gene A1381T polymorphism in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). A case-control study was designed, including 104 continuously hospitalized patients with CHD, aging from 40 to 75 years (average 59) and 96 persons underwent physical examination in outpatient department as controls, aging from 39 to 70 years (average 56). The plasma vWF: Ag level of CHD patients and control persons was detected by ILISA. vWF gene A1381T polymorphism was analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequencing when it is necessary. The data were grouped by gender, blood group and/or genotype in CHD group and control groups. The difference of plasma vWF level between male and female was analyzed by independent sample t test; one way ANOVA was used to analyze the difference of vWF level between different blood group genotypes, while the factorial design ANOVA was used to test the difference of vWF level in plasma between A1381T genotype and/or ABO blood groups. χ(2) Crosstabs were used to test the CHD susceptibility. The results showed that the frequencies of GG genotype (wild type) of vWF gene A1381T polymorphism were 62.5% in CHD group and 67.7% in control group, and the frequencies of AG genotype (heterozygous variant) were 37.5% in CHD group and 32.3% in control group. χ(2) Crosstabs showed no significant correlation between vWF gene A1381T polymorphism (AG) and CHD (OR = 1.258, 95% CI = 0.702 - 2.255, χ(2) = 0.595, p = 0.440). The plasma vWF level in CHD group was statistically very higher than that in control group (p < 0.001), even though the relationship of vWF A1381T polymorphism (rs216311) and susceptibility of CHD in CHD group was not found. The plasma vWF level of AG or GG genotype was higher in CHD group than in control group (p < 0.001). The plasma vWF level of AG genotype was higher than that of GG in CHD group (p < 0.05), but not in control group. The plasma vWF of O blood group was lower than that of A, B and AB blood groups (p < 0.05), while among A, B, AB blood groups, the vWF level was not different (p > 0.05). Among O, A, B, AB blood groups in CHD group, vWF level was not different (p > 0.05). Although the two-way analysis of variance ANOVA showed no interaction of A1381T genotype and ABO blood groups on plasma vWF level, the plasma vWF level in AG mutant of vWF A1381T gene polymorphism with O blood group was higher than that of GG mutant (p = 0.023) in CHD group, not different in other blood groups. It is concluded that there is no association between vWF gene A1381T polymorphism and CHD susceptibility. The plasma vWF level in CHD group interrelated with ABO blood group and A1381T polymorphism, in which the plasma vWF level in AG genotype increase mostly. Plasma vWF level in vWF gene A1381T polymorphism with AG mutant was significantly much higher than GG mutant in CHD. This change may be beneficial to further study the effect of A1381T polymorphism on vWF gene expression and activity.