Rapid detection of human adenovirus subgroup B using recombinase polymerase amplification assay.

Human adenovirus subgroup B (HAdV B) is one of the major pathogens of human respiratory virus infections, which has considerable transmission and morbidity in a variety of populations. Therefore, rapid and specific detection of HAdV B in clinical samples is essential for diagnosis. This study aimed to develop a product for rapid nucleic acid detection of HAdV B using recombinase polymerase amplification assay (RPA) and validate the performance of this method by using clinical samples. Results showed that this method achieved a lower limit of detection (LOD) of 10 copies/µL and had no cross-reactivity with other adenovirus subgroups or respiratory pathogens. In addition to high sensitivity, it can be completed within 30 min at 40 °C. There is no need to perform nucleic acid extraction on clinical samples. Taking qPCR as the gold standard, the RPA assay possessed a high concordance (Cohen's kappa, 0.896; 95% CI 0.808-0.984; P < 0.001), with a sensitivity of 87.80% and a specificity of 100.00%. The RPA assay developed in this study provided a simple and highly specific method, making it an important tool for rapid adenovirus nucleic acid detection and facilitating large-scale population screening in resource-limited settings.

Evaluation of the Diagnostic Performance of mNGS in Detecting Intra-Abdominal Infections of the Emergency Department Patients.

Purpose: Intra-abdominal infections (IAI) are gradually becoming common in the emergency department, though the incidence is low and the prognosis is fair, as the symptoms are similar to other intra-abdominal diseases, rapid and accurate diagnosis of the causative agents is essential for clinical management. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in detecting IAI in the emergency department. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective, single-centered study including patients admitted to the emergency department from January 1st, 2021 to August 31st, 2022 with diagnosis of IAI. The comparison between mNGS and microbial culture using paracentesis fluid samples was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of mNGS for IAI. Meanwhile, paracentesis fluid and peripheral blood mNGS were compared to explore the sample specificity. Further, the microbial community structure of the patients with pyogenic liver abscesses (PLA) was analyzed. Results: Thirty-four IAI patients including 23 with pyogenic liver abscesses (PLA), 3 with parapancreatic abscesses, and 8 with other IAI were included in this study. Compared with the conventional microbial culture of paracentesis fluid, mNGS using paracentesis fluid detected more positive cases of IAI (93.75% vs 81.25%), and identified more species of pathogens, especially in obligate anaerobes and viral pathogens. Peripheral blood mNGS presented a relatively high consistency with the paracentesis fluid mNGS (91% mutual positive). The microbial community structure of PLA patients with diabetes is less diverse than that of those without diabetes. Patients with diabetes are at high risk of PLA caused by Klebsiella pneumonia. Conclusion: mNGS has advantages in detecting IAI in the emergency department, and peripheral blood mNGS can be a non-invasive choice for early diagnosis.

Clinicopathological Characteristics of the primary and metastatic Hepatic Neuroendocrine Tumors and the relevant Prognosis-Related Factors: A Retrospective Study of 81 Cases in a Single Chinese Center.

Aims: We aim to describe the clinicopathological characteristics of hepatic neuroendocrine tumors (HNETs) and evaluate the relevant prognosis-related factors. Methods: The clinical data of 81 consecutive patients with primary or metastatic HNETs from March 2000 to July 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The mean (SD) age was 59.68 (11.64) years, 69.15% were men. The percentages of Grade G1, G2 and G3 tumors were 4.94%, 25.93% and 69.13%, respectively. Thirty-five cases were primary HNETs. Primary HNETs were more common in patients with larger tumors, lymph nodes invasions, tumor necrosis and portal vein tumor thrombus. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival rate were 88.89%, 32.10%, and 8.64%, separately. The relapse rate was 81.48% (66/81) and the mean (SD) relapse time was 18.79 (10.99) months. Reduced survival rate was associated with lymph node metastases (P=0.034), tumor necrosis (P=0.048), hard texture of tumor character (P=0.001), multifocality of tumor numbers (P=0.043), and the immunohistochemical expression of NSE (P=0.000) and Syn (P=0.037). Patients with metastatic HNETs were demonstrated with a more decreased period of Progression-free Survival (PFS) and Overall survival (OS) than their primary HNETs counterparts (P<0.05). Conclusion: Primary HNETs cohort patients were more common with aggressive clinical presentation. The hard texture of tumor character, multifocality of tumor numbers, and the immunohistochemical expression of NSE and Syn were independent predictive factors. Patients who were pathologically diagnosed as the primary HNETs seemed to achieve a long-term survival.

Protective effect of hydrogen-saturated saline on acute lung injury induced by oleic acid in rats.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study is to investigate the role and mechanisms of hydrogen-saturated saline (HSS) in the acute lung injury (ALI) induced by oleic acid (OA) in rats. METHODS: Rats were treated with OA (0.1 mL/kg) to induce ALI and then administered with HSS (5 mL/kg) by intravenous (iv) and intraperitoneal (ip) injection, respectively. Three hours after the injection with OA, the arterial oxygen partial pressure (PaO2), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), carbon dioxide partial pressure (PaCO2), and bicarbonate (HCO3-) levels were analyzed using blood gas analyzer. In addition, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity were measured by commercial kits, and pathological changes of lung tissue were examined by HE staining. Finally, the correlations of MPO activity or MDA level with the levels of TNF-α or IL-1ß were analyzed by Pearson's correlation analysis. RESULTS: We found decreased PaO2 levels and the pathological changes of lung tissue of ALI after OA injection. In addition, OA increased the levels of MDA, TNF-α, and IL-1ß, as well as MPO activity in lung tissues (P < 0.05). However, after treatment with HSS, all of these changes were alleviated (P < 0.05), and these changes were mitigated when treated with HSS by ip then iv injection (P < 0.05). Furthermore, MDA level and MPO activity were positively correlated with TNF-α and IL-1ß levels in the lung tissue, respectively (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: HSS attenuated ALI induced by OA in rats and might protect against ALI through selective resistance to oxidation and inhibiting inflammatory infiltration.

Inhibitor κBα protein therapy alleviates severe pneumonia through inhibition of nuclear factor κB.

To investigate the effect of inhibitor κBα (IκBα) on severe pneumonia and explain the mechanisms of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), the activation of NF-κB was induced in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae). The rats were then treated with differing concentrations of IκBα protein. A histological analysis was performed to compare the lung structure prior to and following treatment, and an immunohistochemistry assay was used to detect NF-κB activity. In addition, the expression of certain inflammatory factors was detected using a protein chip assay. The severe pneumonia rat model was successfully produced and in model rats, NF-κB was activated by K. pneumoniae. Following treatment with IκBα, the activity of NF-κB was inhibited and pneumonia symptoms in model rats were alleviated. Furthermore, the expression of a number of inflammatory factors including tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interferon γ (IFN-γ) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were also inhibited. The current study demonstrates that NF-κB inhibition with IκBα protein therapy prevents the development of pneumonia in a K. pneumoniae rat model. The therapeutic effect is indicated by the responses of proinflammatory factors, including TNF-α, IL-6, IFN-γ and MCP-1.

Enhancement of Cd phytoextraction by hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii using electrical field and organic amendments.

The combined use of organic amendment-assisted phytoextraction and electrokinetic remediation to decontaminate Cd-polluted soil was demonstrated in a laboratory-scale experiment. The plant species selected was the hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii. Prior to the pot experiment, the loamy soil was treated with 15 g kg-1 of pig manure compost, 10 g kg-1 of humic acid, or 5 mmol kg-1 of EDTA, and untreated soil without application of any amendment was the control. Two conditions were applied to each treatment: no voltage (without an electrical field) and a direct current (DC) electrical field (1 V cm-1 with switching polarity every day). Results indicated that Cd concentrations in S. alfredii were significantly (p < 0.05) increased by application of the electrical field and soil amendments (pig manure compost, humic acid, and EDTA). By switching the polarity of the DC electrical field, significant pH variation from anode to cathode can be avoided, and no significant impact was observed on shoot biomass production. Electrical field application increased DTPA-extractable Cd in soils and the Cd accumulation in shoots by 6.06-15.64 and 24.53-52.31%, respectively. The addition of pig manure compost and humic acid enhanced shoot Cd accumulation by 1.54- to 1.92- and 1.38- to 1.64-fold because of their simultaneous enhancement of Cd concentration in shoots and biomass production. However, no enhancement of Cd accumulation was found in the EDTA treatment, which can be ascribed to the inhibition of plant growth caused by EDTA. In conclusion, pig manure compost or humic acid addition in combination with the application of a switched-polarity DC electrical field could significantly enhance Cd phytoextraction by hyperaccumulator S. alfredii.

[Effects of Different Kinds of Organic Materials on Soil Heavy Metal Phytoremediation Efficiency by Sedum alfredii Hance].

In this study, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of clean organic materials i. e., biogas residue (BR), mushroom residue (MR), and bamboo shell (BS) on phytoextraction remediation of two heavy metal contaminated soils (collected from Wenzhou and Fuyang, which referred to "Wenzhou soil" and "Fuyang soil", respectively.) using a cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii Hance. The results indicated that the effects of organic materials on availabilities of soil heavy metals were different due to different kinds of heavy metals, organic materials, and the application rates of the organic materials. Addition with 5% BR showed the greatest activation to copper (Cu), Zn in Wenzhou soil, and in Fuyang soil 1% BS had the highest activation for Cu, Zn, lead ( Ph) and Cd. Growth of shoot biomass of Sedum alfredii Hance increased with the addition rate of organic materials, and the plant dry weights were increased by 23.7%-93.0%. In Wenzhou soil, only 1% BS treatment had the best effect on Cd uptake and accumulation in shoots of Sedum alfredii Hance, increased by 22.6%, while other treatments were inferior to the control. For Zn, MR treatments were inferior to the control, while other treafments were superior to the control, of which 5% BR, 1% BS and 5% BS exceeded the control by 39. 6%, 32.6% and 23.8%, respectively. In Fuyang soil, for Cd, the treatment effects of 5% BS, 1% BR and 5% BR were the greatest, of which Cd accumulation in shoots exceeded the control by 12.9%, 12.8% and 6.2%, respectively, while Cd accumulations in shoots in all other treatments were less than that of control. For Zn, the treatments of adding organic materials promoted Zn accumulation in shoots of Sedum alfredii Hance, and the best treatments were as follows: 5% BS. 5% BR and 5% MR, exceeded the control by 38.4%, 25.7% and 22.4%, respectively.

Global gene expression changes in human peripheral blood after H7N9 infection.

A novel avian influenza A virus (H7N9) of human infection emerged in eastern China in 2013, causing mild to lethal human respiratory infections. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. In this work, we attempt to gain insights into the underlying genetic basis of this disease at the transcription level. We collected peripheral blood samples from patients with H7N9 infection and healthy people, and then we performed transcriptome profiling to comprehensively investigate their expression signatures, which would help us to better understand the molecular basis of the etiology upon viral infection. By employing the high throughput RNA-seq analysis of samples with and without H7N9 viral infection, we totally identified 1091 significantly differentially expressed genes. We found that several biological pathways related to the immunity and inflammation response in the differentially expressed genes. A genome-wide screening of gene regulation between H7N9 virus carrier and healthy people provided some insights into understanding and responsiveness to this potential threat.

Dissection of No. 13 lymph node in radical gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma.

AIM: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of No. 13 lymphadenectomy in radical gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma. METHODS: Medical records of the patients undergone No. 13 lymph node dissection during D2 gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma, were reviewed from March 2003 to May 2007. RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-eight patients underwent No. 13 lymph node dissection for D2 gastric carcinoma, of them, 4 (2.53%) were found to have metastasis in No. 13 lymph node. Metastasis to No. 12 lymph node was detected in 6 patients and 4 of them had positive No. 13 lymph node. The operative morbidity except for wound infection was 15.19% (24/158), and hospital death rate was 1.27% (2/158). No obstructive jaundice caused by No 13 lymph node metastasis after No. 13 lymph node dissection in radical gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma was detected during the follow-up study to end of January 2007. CONCLUSION: Dissection of No. 13 lymph node in D2 gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma is safe with a low morbidity and mortality rate. Further study is needed to explore its long-term effect.