Gene Expression of Ethanol and Acetate Metabolic Pathways in the Acinetobacter baumannii EmaSR Regulon.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have confirmed the involvement of EmaSR (ethanol metabolism a sensor/regulator) in the regulation of Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606 ethanol and acetate metabolism. RNA-seq analysis further revealed that DJ41_568-571, DJ41_2796, DJ41_3218, and DJ41_3568 regulatory gene clusters potentially participate in ethanol and acetate metabolism under the control of EmaSR. METHODS: This study fused the EmaSR regulon promoter segments with reporter genes and used fluorescence expression levels to determine whether EmaSR influences regulon expression in ethanol or acetate salt environments. The enzymatic function and kinetics of significantly regulated regulons were also studied. RESULTS: The EmaSR regulons P2796 and P3218 exhibited > 2-fold increase in fluorescence expression in wild type compared to mutant strains in both ethanol and acetate environments, and PemaR demonstrated a comparable trend. Moreover, increases in DJ41_2796 concentration enhanced the conversion of acetate and succinyl-CoA into acetyl-CoA and succinate, suggesting that DJ41_2796 possesses acetate: succinyl-CoA transferase (ASCT) activity. The kcat/KM values for DJ41_2796 with potassium acetate, sodium acetate, and succinyl-CoA were 0.2131, 0.4547, and 20.4623 mM-1s-1, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In A. baumannii, EmaSR controls genes involved in ethanol and acetate metabolism, and the EmaSR regulon DJ41_2796 was found to possess ASCT activity.

Effect of Qinggan Xiefei Fang on increasing susceptibility of influenza virus caused by "liver fire invading lung" / 药学学报

In this study, chronic emotional stress-induced H1N1 influenza susceptibility model was employed to simulate the states of "emotional stagnation" and "liver fire invading lung", and the protective effect of Qinggan Xiefei Fang on viral pneumonia was investigated. Survival rate and morbidity rate of mice were observed within 21 days after H1N1 infection, the symptoms of viral pneumonia and the level of phospholipid peroxidation were detected in lungs of mice after 6-day infection. The experimental results showed that Qinggan Xiefei Fang could alleviate the decline of survival rate and morbidity rate of mice caused by chronic constraint stress loaded with H1N1, inhibit the replication of H1N1 and the production of inflammatory factors, reduce the level of phospholipid peroxidation, and improve the symptoms of pneumonia in mice. The results also showed that compound-target network of Qinggan Xiefei Fang contained 171 compounds and 260 corresponding targets involved in the signaling pathway of oxidative stress, inflammation and immunity. All the above results indicate that Qinggan Xiefei Fang protecting influenza virus pneumonia was related to the regulation of oxidative stress. The animal experimental protocol has been reviewed and approved by Laboratory Animal Ethics Committee of Jinan University, in compliance with the Institutional Animal Care Guidelines.

Reactivity of human antisera to codon optimized SARS-CoV2 viral proteins expressed in Escherichia coli.

OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV2 virus continues to pose a serious threat to public health worldwide. The development of rapid diagnostic kits can assist the Tzu Chi Foundation in supporting global volunteers working to provide relief during the current pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, nucleotide sequences derived from publicly available viral genome data for several domains of the SARS-CoV2 spike and nucleocapsid (N) proteins were chemically synthesized, with codon optimization for Escherichia coli protein expression. No actual viral particles were involved in these experiments. The synthesized sequences were cloned into an E. coli expression system based on pQE80L, and expressed viral proteins were subsequently purified using Ni-affinity chromatography. Western blotting was conducted using human antiviral sera to assess the response of codon-modified viral proteins to COVID-19 patient sera. RESULTS: N protein was expressed in amounts large enough to support large-scale production. The N-terminal domain, receptor-binding domain (RBD), Region 3, and the S2 domain were expressed in small but sufficient amounts for experiments. Immunoblotting results showed that anti-N IgG and anti-N IgM antibodies were detected in most patient sera, but only 60% of samples reacted with the recombinant RBD and S2 domain expressed by E. coli. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that codon-optimized SARS-CoV2 viral proteins can be expressed in E. coli and purified for rapid antibody detection kit preparation, with the codon-optimized N protein, RBD, and S2 protein demonstrating the most potential.

COVID-19 associated with pulmonary aspergillosis: A literature review.

Bacterial or virus co-infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been reported in many studies, however, the knowledge on Aspergillus co-infection among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was limited. This literature review aims to explore and describe the updated information about COVID-19 associated with pulmonary aspergillosis. We found that Aspergillus spp. can cause co-infections in patients with COVID-19, especially in severe/critical illness. The incidence of IPA in COVID-19 ranged from 19.6% to 33.3%. Acute respiratory distress syndrome requiring mechanical ventilation was the common complications, and the overall mortality was high, which could be up to 64.7% (n = 22) in the pooled analysis of 34 reported cases. The conventional risk factors of invasive aspergillosis were not common among these specific populations. Fungus culture and galactomannan test, especially from respiratory specimens could help early diagnosis. Aspergillus fumigatus was the most common species causing co-infection in COVID-19 patients, followed by Aspergillus flavus. Although voriconazole is the recommended anti-Aspergillus agent and also the most commonly used antifungal agent, aspergillosis caused by azole-resistant Aspergillus is also possible. Additionally, voriconazole should be used carefully in the concern of complicated drug-drug interaction and enhancing cardiovascular toxicity on anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents. Finally, this review suggests that clinicians should keep alerting the possible occurrence of pulmonary aspergillosis in severe/critical COVID-19 patients, and aggressively microbiologic study in addition to SARS-CoV-2 via respiratory specimens should be indicated.

Clinical Effect of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in the Treatment of P230 Chronic Myeloid Leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the curative efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the treatment of e19a2 transcript (P230) CML chronic phase (CML-CP) patients.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 11 P230 CML-CP patients were collected from July 2008 to December 2019. Blood routine examination, bone marrow cytology, chromosome, and BCR-ABL qualitative and quantitative tests were performed at initial diagnosis. After TKIs treatment, BCR-ABL (P230)/ABL in peripheral blood was regularly detected to evaluate molecular response by real-time quantitative PCR.@*RESULTS@#There were 11 patients (7 males and 4 females) in chronic phase from 6 domestic hospitals enrolled, their median age was 46 years old (range from 19 to 56 years old). Among 4 patients treated with imatinib (400 mg, qd) firstly, 3 cases switched to nilotinib (400 mg, bid) and 1 case switched to dasatinib (100 mg, qd) due to failure to achieve best molecular response at the landmark time or mutation of ABL kinase. Then major molecular response (MMR) was obtained within 1 year. In addition, 5 patients were treated with nilotinib (300 mg, bid) and 2 patients with dasatinib (100 mg, qd) as first-line treatment, all of them got MMR within 6 months.@*CONCLUSION@#For intolerance or resistance to imatinib, second-generation TKIs can enable P230 CML patients to achieve deeper molecular response, and MMR in a short time.

The Establishment and Identification of Acute Myeloid Leukemia NOD-SCID-IL2rg / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To establish the in vivo traceable acute myeloid leukemia mice model with Luciferase-Expressing KG1a Cells.@*METHODS@#KG1a cells with stable luciferase gene expression (called as KG1a-Luc cells) were constructed by lentivirus transfection, then sifted out by puromycin. Eighteen male NOD-SCID-IL2rg@*RESULTS@#KG1a cells expressing luciferase stably were successfully obtained. The tumor luminescence wildly spread at day 17 captured by in vivo imaging. The KG1a-Luc tumor cells could be detected in the peripheral blood of the mice, with the average percentage of (16.27±6.66)%. The morphology and pathology result showed that KG1a-Luc cells infiltrate was detected in bone marrow, spleens and livers. The survival time of the KG1a-Luc mice was notably shorter as compared with those in the control group, the median survival time was 30.5 days (95%CI: 0.008-0.260).@*CONCLUSION@#The acute myeloid leukemia NOD-SCID-IL2rg

Expression and Significance of BTLA and Its Ligand HVEM in Patients with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the expression and significance of B and T lymphocyte weakening factor (BTLA) in patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML).@*METHODS@#Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of BTLA and its ligand HVEM mRNA in 11 patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and 11 normal donors. Flow cytometry was used to detect expression of BTLA and its HVEM on the cell surface of peripheral blood T lymphocytes and γδ T cells.@*RESULTS@#The median values of BTLA and its ligand HVEM mRNA expression in peripheral blood of patients with CMML were 0.009% and 559.4%, respectively, which were significantly lower than those of normal controls (0.053% and 1031%)(P<0.001). The expression level of BTLA and HVEM on cell surface of peripheral lymphocytes was not significantly different from that in normal controls (P=0.3031 and 0.2576), however, the proportion of peripheral blood T lymphocytes in patients with CMML (median: 37.73%) was significantly lower than that in controls (median 69.23%)(P=0.0005). The expression of BTLA on the surface of γδ T cells in peripheral blood of patients with CMML (median: 23.26%) was significantly lower than that of the controls (median: 52.64%) (P<0.05), and there was no significant abnormality in HVEM expression (P=0.2791).@*CONCLUSION@#The expression of BTLA and its ligand HVEM, the proportion of T lymphocytes and the expression of BTLA on the surface of γδ T cells in patients with CMML are reduced. The effects of these abnormalities on T cell function and prognosis and efficacy of patients need to be further observed.

Association between plasma homocysteine level and renal function / 中国实用内科杂志

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between homocysteine and renal function as well as possible influencing factors in inpatient population. METHODS: From January 2014 to December 2015, a total of 27,025 hospitalized people who were admitted to the First Hospital of Peking University and were tested for plasma homocysteine were enrolled. Multiple linear regression model was performed to determine the relationship between homocysteine and eGFR. RESULTS: After excluding patients with cardiovascular disease and patients taking antihypertensive drugs, 6681 inpatient participants were included for analysis. After adjusting for age, blood pressure and other related factors, we found that eGFR decreased significantly(β=-0.53, SE=0.02, P<0.001) with the increase of homocysteine. Furthermore, the gender, age and renal functional state, had significant influence the relationship between homocysteine and eGFR. In women, those younger than 60 years old and renal impairment(eGFR<90 mL/[min·1.73 m~2]) population, the correlation was more significant. CONCLUSION: The association between homocysteine and eGFR is significant in inpatient population.

Regulatory Effect of Exosomes Derived from Human Umbiilcal Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Treg and TH17 Cells / 中国实验血液学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects of exosomes from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells on the development of Treg and TH17 cells.@*METHODS@#Exosomes from the serum-free-culture supernatants of hUC-MSC were harvested by ultracentrifugation. The electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis and western blot were used to identify the hUC-MSC-exosomes, such as the morphology, the paticle chameter, and the protein content. The PBMC stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 were incubated with the exosomes for five days, and then the percentage changes of Treg and TH17 cells were analyzed by using flow cytometry.@*RESULTS@#The hUC MSC-derived exosomes were saucer-like in morphology the averge diameter was approximately 142 nm. They were identified as positive for CD9 and CD63. Flow cytometry showed that the proportion of CD4CD25Foxp3 Treg cells in the PBMC were significantly higher, but the proportion of CD4IL17A T cells in the hUC-MSC-exosome group was obviously lower than that in the group without the hUC-MSC-exosom (control group) (P<0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The hUC-MSC-exosomes have an immunomodulatory effect on T cells in vitro by increasing the ratio of Treg and reducing the ratio of TH17 cells, expecting the hUC-MSC-exosom as a novel cell-free target for immunotherapy.

Study of RET proto-oncogene mutations in two pedigrees affected with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the pattern of RET proto-oncogene mutations in two pedigrees affected with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN2A).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Peripheral blood samples were collected from members of the two pedigrees, with total genomic DNA extracted for polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR products of 7 exons of the RET proto-oncogene (including exons 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16) which have higher mutation rates were purified and subjected to direct sequencing. Suspected mutations in the 2 probands were verified in other members of the pedigrees. To exclude other mutations, PCR products of remaining 14 exons were sequenced in the proband from pedigree 1.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A novel heterozygous mutation, 1893-1895delCGA, was detected in exon 11 of the RET proto-oncogene among 3 patients and 2 unaffected members from pedigree 1, while a heterozygous mutation, Cys634Arg, was detected in exon 11 among 2 patients and 1 unaffected family member from pedigree 2.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The heterozygous 1893-1895delCGA and Cys634Arg mutations of the RET proto-oncogene probably underlie the disease in the two pedigrees. Above discovery has enriched the human gene mutation database.</p>

A comparison of clinical characteristics between 2 pedigrees of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A with different RET mutations / 中华内科杂志

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN2A) is a hereditary syndrome. Here, two different RET proto-oncogen mutation were identified from family members of two MEN2A pedigrees by genetic screening. One RET mutations were found at codons 1893 and 1895 in exon 11 (1893-1895delCGA) from pedigree 1, which is a novel mutation, the other occurs at codon 634 (Cys634Arg) in exon 11 from pedigree 2. However, the clinical characteristics were similar in the patients of the two pedigrees. All the patients were in middle-age at onset. Most of them were firstly diagnosed with bilateral adrenal pheochromocytoma with different degrees of thyroid abnormalities (elevated serum calcitonin with or without thyroid mass, or had been diagnosed with medullary thyroid carcinoma). Some family members were with elevated serum parathyroid hormone but with no other evidences for hyperparathyroidism.

Viral gastroenteritis outbreaks associated with new recombinant strain GⅡ.P16/GⅡ.2 of norovirus in Fujian, 2016 / 中国人兽共患病学报

We delineated the molecular characteristic of recombinant strain GⅡ.P16/GⅡ.2 of norovirus associated with acute viral gastroenteritis outbreaks in Fujian Province in winter of 2016.Norovirus were detected in specimens of patients collected from the gastroenteritis outbreaks by real time reverse transcription-PCR and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR).The PCR products of the positive samples were purified,and partial RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene and partial capsid gene were sequenced.The sequences were analyzed using bioinformatics software and online database,and phylogenetic tree were also constructed.Norovirus were detected in all 18 stools.Analysis of 9 positive sequences indicated an emergence of norovirus GⅡ.P16/ GⅡ.2 and confirmed being the cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks.All the strains shared homology of 98％ with strains of Kawasaki 194 of Japan detected in 2016 and 97.7％-98.8％ with IPH2161-08VG06 of Belgium detected in 2008,RdRp and capsid separately.These outbreak strains showed some degree of differences from the predominant strain,2012 Sydney GⅡ.4 variant.This is the first time to have found norovirus GⅡ.P16/ GⅡ.2 causing viral gastroenteritis outbreaks in Fujian.More in-depth analysis of the Norovirus GⅡ.P16/ GⅡ.2 could be useful to optimize preventative strategies and develop new and more effective therapeutic measure.

Molecular epidemiology of HFMD-associated pathogen coxsackievirus A4 in Fujian Province, 2011-2014 / 中国人兽共患病学报

To analyze the epidemiology,genetic variation and genetic evolution of coxsackievirus A4 (CVA4) in patients with hand,foot and mouth disease in Fujian,the virus isolates were molecular typed and amplified the whole VP1 region by RT-PCR,then the genetic variation and evolution were studied.The results showed that 33 CVA4 cases (8.1％) were confirmed from the 407 non-EV71 non-CVA16 HFMD cases in Fujian Province during 2011 and 2014,accounting for 31 cases in 2012 and 2 cases in 2014.Compared with common characteristics of the HFMD epidemic,no specificity in the distribution of CVA4 cases was found between gender and age groups.Sequence analysis of VP1 nucleotide sequences of Fujian CVA4 isolates showed that the nucleotide and amino acid sequences similarity were 92.6 ％-100 ％ and 95.7 ％-100 ％ respectively,low similarity with the prototype (83.7％-85.4％,96.1％-99.0％) and abroad isolates (82.1％-89.1％,90.4％-99.6％) both in nucleotide and amino acid sequences,high similarity with domestic isolates both in nucleotide and amino acid sequences,with the similarity of 87.9％ 99.2 ％ and 96.1％-100 ％.The results from phylogenetic tree showed that the genetic distance between Fujian CVA4 isolates and the prototype and abroad strains was far,and the genetic distance was close to domestic isolates in China.The distribution of the phylogenetic trees of Fujian CVA4 strains showed multiple branches.Therefore,CVA4 is the major HFMD associated-pathogen other than EV71,CVA 16,CVA6,and CVA10 in Fujian Province from 2011 to 2014.CVA4 strains from Fujian Province is co-circulating and co-evolving with other domestic isolates.There is existence of multiple closely related CVA4 transmission chains in various regions of Fujian.

Viral gastroenteritis outbreaks associated with new recombinant strain GⅡ.P16/GⅡ.2 of norovirus in Fujian, 2016 / 中国人兽共患病学报

We delineated the molecular characteristic of recombinant strain GⅡ.P16/GⅡ.2 of norovirus associated with acute viral gastroenteritis outbreaks in Fujian Province in winter of 2016.Norovirus were detected in specimens of patients collected from the gastroenteritis outbreaks by real time reverse transcription-PCR and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR).The PCR products of the positive samples were purified,and partial RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene and partial capsid gene were sequenced.The sequences were analyzed using bioinformatics software and online database,and phylogenetic tree were also constructed.Norovirus were detected in all 18 stools.Analysis of 9 positive sequences indicated an emergence of norovirus GⅡ.P16/ GⅡ.2 and confirmed being the cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks.All the strains shared homology of 98％ with strains of Kawasaki 194 of Japan detected in 2016 and 97.7％-98.8％ with IPH2161-08VG06 of Belgium detected in 2008,RdRp and capsid separately.These outbreak strains showed some degree of differences from the predominant strain,2012 Sydney GⅡ.4 variant.This is the first time to have found norovirus GⅡ.P16/ GⅡ.2 causing viral gastroenteritis outbreaks in Fujian.More in-depth analysis of the Norovirus GⅡ.P16/ GⅡ.2 could be useful to optimize preventative strategies and develop new and more effective therapeutic measure.

Molecular epidemiology of HFMD-associated pathogen coxsackievirus A4 in Fujian Province, 2011-2014 / 中国人兽共患病学报

To analyze the epidemiology,genetic variation and genetic evolution of coxsackievirus A4 (CVA4) in patients with hand,foot and mouth disease in Fujian,the virus isolates were molecular typed and amplified the whole VP1 region by RT-PCR,then the genetic variation and evolution were studied.The results showed that 33 CVA4 cases (8.1％) were confirmed from the 407 non-EV71 non-CVA16 HFMD cases in Fujian Province during 2011 and 2014,accounting for 31 cases in 2012 and 2 cases in 2014.Compared with common characteristics of the HFMD epidemic,no specificity in the distribution of CVA4 cases was found between gender and age groups.Sequence analysis of VP1 nucleotide sequences of Fujian CVA4 isolates showed that the nucleotide and amino acid sequences similarity were 92.6 ％-100 ％ and 95.7 ％-100 ％ respectively,low similarity with the prototype (83.7％-85.4％,96.1％-99.0％) and abroad isolates (82.1％-89.1％,90.4％-99.6％) both in nucleotide and amino acid sequences,high similarity with domestic isolates both in nucleotide and amino acid sequences,with the similarity of 87.9％ 99.2 ％ and 96.1％-100 ％.The results from phylogenetic tree showed that the genetic distance between Fujian CVA4 isolates and the prototype and abroad strains was far,and the genetic distance was close to domestic isolates in China.The distribution of the phylogenetic trees of Fujian CVA4 strains showed multiple branches.Therefore,CVA4 is the major HFMD associated-pathogen other than EV71,CVA 16,CVA6,and CVA10 in Fujian Province from 2011 to 2014.CVA4 strains from Fujian Province is co-circulating and co-evolving with other domestic isolates.There is existence of multiple closely related CVA4 transmission chains in various regions of Fujian.

Genetic diversity of cytochrome C oxidase subunit Ⅰ genes in Aedes albopictus from dengue surveillance sites in Fujian Province, China / 中国人兽共患病学报

The mosquito Aedes albopictus is the primary vector for dengue virus transmission in Fujian Province.Despite that active dengue surveillance has been launched in several sites since 2005,the genetic diversity of A.albopictus from these sites remains exclusive.In this study,mosquito pools collected from dengue surveillance sites during 2015-2016 were randomly selected,the full-length mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit Ⅰ (mtDNA-COⅠ) were amplified and sequenced.Preliminary sequence alignment of 12 amplicons with the reference sequence indicated 99 ％ homology at nucleotide level,due to varia tions at 9 nucleotide sites.Three haplotypes,namely H02,H03 and H08,were determined based on phylogenetic analysis with 72 reference sequences of known haplotypes.These observations facilitate surveillance and control of arboviral diseases in Fujian.

Effectiveness of CLAT Protocol for Treating Patients with Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the clinical efficacy and toxicity of CLAT protocol (cladribine, cytarabine and topotecan) for treating patients with refractory acute myeloid leukemia (R-AML).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 18 patients with R-AML (median age 37 years, range 18 to 58 years; male n = 16, female n = 2) were treated with CLAT protocol, which consisted of cladribine 5 mg/m(2)/d, i.v. on days 1-5, cytarabine 1.5 g/m(2)/d, i.v. on days 1-5, topotecan 1.25 mg/m(2)/d, i.v. on days 1-5 and G-CSF 300 µg/d subcutaneous injection on day 6 until neutrophile granulocyte recovery.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Out of 18 patients 2 died of severe infection before the assessment. Among 16 evaluated patients, 10 (55.6%) achieved complete remission (CR), and 2 (11.1%) achieved partial remission (PR), the overall response rate was 66.7%, the rest 4 patients did not respond (NR). The median overall survival time and DFS for the CR patients was 9.5 months (95%CI: 6.7-16.64) and 9.5 months (95%CI: 6.1-16.7) respectively. The 1 year OS and DFS rates were 45% and 46.9%, respectively. All patients developed grade 4 of granulocytopenia and thrombocytopenia, the median duration was 13 (range 2 to 21) days and 12 days (range 2 to 21), respectively, all patients developed infection, 2 patients died of severe infection. The most common non-hematological side effects included nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, aminotransferase or bilirubin elevation and were grade 1 to 2.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The CLAT protocol seems to have promising for the treatment of refractory AML patients, and patients well tolerated. This CLAT protocol offers an alternative treatment for R-AML patients who received severe intensive treatment, especially with anthracycline-containing chemotherapy.</p>

Validation of the Framingham general cardiovascular risk score in a multiethnic Asian population: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the validity of the Framingham general cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk chart in a primary care setting. DESIGN: This is a 10-year retrospective cohort study. SETTING: A primary care clinic in a teaching hospital in Malaysia. PARTICIPANTS: 967 patients' records were randomly selected from patients who were attending follow-up in the clinic. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Baseline demographic data, history of diabetes and smoking, blood pressure (BP), and serum lipids were captured from patient records in 1998. Each patient's Framingham CVD score was computed from these parameters. All atherosclerotic CVD events occurring between 1998 and 2007 were counted. RESULTS: In 1998, mean age was 57 years with 33.8% men, 6.1% smokers, 43.3% diabetics and 59.7% hypertensive. Median BP was 140/80 mm Hg and total cholesterol 6.0 mmol/L (1.3). The predicted median Framingham general CVD risk score for the study population was 21.5% (IQR 1.2-30.0) while the actual CVD events that occurred in the 10 years was 13.1% (127/967). The median CVD points for men was 30.0, giving them a CVD risk of more than 30%; for women it is 18.5, a CVD risk of 21.5%. Our study found that the Framingham general CVD risk score to have moderate discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.63. It also discriminates well for Malay (AUC 0.65, p=0.01), Chinese (AUC 0.60, p=0.03), and Indians (AUC 0.65, p=0.001). There was good calibration with Hosmer-Lemeshow test χ(2)=3.25, p=0.78. CONCLUSIONS: Taking into account that this cohort of patients were already on treatment, the Framingham General CVD Risk Prediction Score predicts fairly accurately for men and overestimates somewhat for women. In the absence of local risk prediction charts, the Framingham general CVD risk prediction chart is a reasonable alternative for use in a multiethnic group in a primary care setting.

A differential for right iliac fossa pain and the importance of consenting properly.

A 39-year-old man presented with a 2-day history of central abdominal pain which had subsequently localised to the right iliac fossa, with clinical signs of tenderness with guarding in the right iliac fossa. With these classical signs, he was diagnosed with probable appendicitis and a laparoscopy with a view to appendicectomy was arranged. At laparoscopy, a torted, dusky-looking ischaemic greater omentum was found and resected. When performing laparoscopy for suspected appendicitis, it is important to look for other unexpected pathology and treat it as the situation requires, if the appendix is normal at the time of laparoscopy. The possibility of other pathologies to account for the patient's symptoms must not be overlooked.