[Acidophil stem cell pituitary neuroendocrine tumors/adenoma: a clinicopathological analysis of five cases].

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of acidophil stem cell pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNET)/adenoma. Methods: Five cases of acidophil stem cell PitNET/adenoma were diagnosed between May 2022 and July 2023 at the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China. The clinicopathological features of the tumor were analyzed by using histology, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy. The relevant literature was reviewed. Results: There were 1 male and 4 females, aged from 23 to 69 years. Patient 3 was 55 years old at the time of diagnosis and first surgery, and relapsed 5 years later. The patients' median age was 32 years. Patients 1 and 5 showed elevated blood prolactin, with various degrees of hormonal symptoms except Patient 3, who showed only tumor compression symptoms. Imaging studies showed that all cases involved the sellar floor. The tumors of Patients 1, 2 and 5 were closely related to the cavernous sinus segment of the internal carotid artery. The tumors exhibited a diffuse growth pattern with chromophobic to slightly acidophilic cytoplasm. A few of tumor cells showed chromophobic cytoplasm. The nucleoli were conspicuous. Intranuclear inclusion bodies and variably-sized clear vacuoles were observed occasionally. Under electron microscope, marked mitochondrial abnormalities were observed, including increased mitochondria number, expanded hypertrophy, and absence of mitochondrial ridge fracture. Some mitochondrial matrices were dense, while some were vacuolated. Conclusions: Acidophil stem cell PitNET/adenoma is a rare type of pituitary adenomas/PitNETs. It often has a more clinically aggressive manner with immature cells, diffuse expression of PIT1, prolactin, and varying degrees of growth hormone expression. Because of the obvious diversity of their clinical hormone status and hormone immune expression, the diagnosis of this type tumor is still a challenge.

[A nested case-control study on the association of neonatal cord blood selenium, iron and copper with congenital heart disease].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the levels of selenium, iron and copper in cord blood of neonates and the risk of congenital heart disease (CHD), and analyze their interaction effects. Methods: The subjects were obtained from the birth cohort in Lanzhou area established from 2010 to 2012. A baseline survey was conducted in the first trimester, and the follow-up was conducted in the second trimester, third trimester and 42 days after delivery. The umbilical vein blood was collected from newborns at delivery, and information on their birth outcomes was extracted from medical records. A nested case-control study was used to select 97 neonates with CHD newly diagnosed by echocardiography as the case group, and 194 neonates were selected as the control group by 1∶2 matching according to their mother's age, block and CHD onset time. Inductively coupled ion mass spectrometry was used to detect the concentrations of selenium, iron and copper in neonatal cord blood. The element exposure was categorized into three groups, the low, medium and high concentrations, according to the quartiles Q1 and Q3 of selenium, iron and copper concentrations in the control group. The association between cord blood selenium, iron and copper concentrations and CHD was analyzed by conditional logistic regression model using medium concentration as the reference standard. The association of their interactions with CHD was analyzed by a phase multiplication model. Results: The M (Q1, Q3) concentration of neonatal cord blood copper was 746.12 (467.48, 759.74) µg/L in the case group and 535.69 (425.21, 587.79) µg/L in the control group, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P<0.05). After adjustment for confounders, logistic regression models showed that the risk of CHD development was increased in neonates with either high copper in cord blood (OR=4.062, 95%CI: 2.013-8.199) or high copper combined with high iron (OR=3.226, 95%CI: 1.343-7.750). No correlation was observed between selenium and iron concentrations and the development of CHD in neonates. There was a multiplicative interaction between copper and iron in cord blood on the risk of developing CHD (OR=1.303, 95%CI: 1.056-1.608). Conclusion: There is a multiplicative interaction between iron and copper elements. The high copper and the high copper combined with high iron in umbilical cord blood are risk factors for neonatal CHD.

[Research progress on main disease-related factors of healthy life expectancy].

International research on healthy life expectancy (HALE) focuses on inequality of socioeconomic status and individual natural attributes. With the acceleration of population ageing and the increase in average life expectancy, the extension of unhealthy life expectancy and the increase of social and economic burden caused by diseases have gradually attracted the attention of countries around the world. Therefore, the evaluation of disease factors affecting HALE is a meaningful direction in the future. This study introduces the development process and commonly used measurement methods of HALE. According to the definition of health from the Global Burden of Disease Study and World Health Organization, physical and mental diseases such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, malignant tumors and depression were selected to summarize the impact of these diseases and pre-disease states on HALE. It is expected to provide a theoretical basis for the formulation of relevant public health policies and the improvement of quality of life in China.

[Risk prediction of metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease in overweight and obese populations based on serum metabolomics].

Objective: By identifying different metabolites in the serum and clarifying the potential metabolic disorder pathways in metabolic syndrome (MS) and stable coronary artery disease patients, to evaluate the predictive value of specific metabolites based on serum metabolomics for the occurrence of MS and coronary heart disease in overweight or obese populations. Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study. Patients with Metabolic Syndrome (MS group), patients with stable coronary heart disease (coronary heart disease group), and overweight or obese individuals (control group) recruited from the Central District of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from 2017 to 2019 were assigned to the training set, meanwhile, the corresponding three groups of people recruited from the East District of the hospital during the same period were assigned to the validation test. The serum metabolomics profiles were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS). Clinical characteristics (age, gender, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), creatinine (CR)) were also collected. Based on the orthogonal partial least-squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA) model, the significantly changed metabolites for MS and coronary artery disease patients were screened according to variable important in projection (VIP), and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was evaluated for the risk prediction values of changed metabolites. Results: A total of 488 subjects were recruited in this study, the training set included 40 MS, 249 coronary artery disease patients and 148 controls, the validation set included 16 MS, 18 coronary artery disease patients and 17 controls. We made comparisons of the serum metabolites of coronary artery disease vs. controls, MS vs. controls, and coronary artery disease vs. MS, and a total of 22 different metabolites were identified. The disturbed metabolic pathways involved were phospholipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, purine metabolism and other pathways. Through cross-comparisons, we identified 2 specific metabolites for MS (phosphatidylcholine (18∶1(9Z)e/20) and pipecolic acid), 4 specific metabolites for coronary artery disease (lysophosphatidylcholine (17∶0), PC(16∶0/16∶0), hypoxanthine and histidine), and 4 common metabolites both for MS and coronary artery disease (isoleucine, phenylalanine, glutathione and LysoPC(14∶0)). Based on the cut-off values from ROC curve, the predictive value of the above metabolites for the occurrence of MS in overweight or obese populations is 100%, the predictive value for the occurrence of coronary heart disease is 87.5%, and the risk predictive value for coronary heart disease in MS patients is 82.1%. Conclusions: The altered serum metabolites suggest that MS and coronary heart disease may involve multiple metabolic pathway disorders. Specific metabolites based on serum metabolomics have good predictive value for the occurrence of MS and coronary heart disease in overweight or obese populations.

[Correlation analysis between lactic, procalcitonin and disease severity in patients with imported malaria from Africa].

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics, the correlation between lactate, procalcitonin and disease severity of imported malaria from Africa. Methods: The clinical data of 186 patients with imported malaria were collected from January 1, 2018 to April 30, 2021 in the Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University. The general conditions, clinical symptoms, laboratory tests, treatment, and prognosis of the patients were analyzed retrospectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to evaluate the value of relevant indicators in predicting severe malaria. Results: A total of 186 patients were divided into severe cases (n=48) and non-severe cases (n=138) in this study, of which the mean age was (38.3±10.3) years, 169(90.9%) cases were male, 17(9.1%) cases were female. The main infection species was Plasmodium falciparum, in a total of 166 cases (89.2%). The severe cases were all falciparum malarias. Compared with the non-severe group, the lactic, procalcitonin, white blood cell count and neutrophil count of the severe group were all increased, the differences were all statistically significant (all P<0.01); the percentage of monocytes, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit and platelet count were all decreased, the difference were all statistically significant (all P<0.01). The areas under the ROC curves (AUC)(95%CI) of lactate, procalcitonin, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit and platelet count for predicting severe malaria was 0.753(0.663-0.844), 0.755(0.670-0.841), 0.782(0.700-0.864), 0.738(0.652-0.823), 0.760(0.676-0.844), 0.778(0.699-0.857), respectively (all P<0.01). When the Youden indexes were at their maximum, the best cut-off value of lactic was 2.29 mmol/L, with sensitivity in predicting of severe malaria was 56.3%, and the specificity was 93.5%; the best cut-off value of procalcitonin was 2.12 µg/L, with sensitivity in predicting of severe malaria was 77.1%, and the specificity was 68.1%. The fatality rate of severe malaria was 4.2% (2/48). Conclusions: Anemia and thrombocytopenia are common indicators for predicting the severity of malaria. Lactic and procalcitonin also have higher predictive value for severe malaria, which could help to identify severe malaria as early as possible, improve the cure rate and reduce the risk of death.

[Effect analysis of treating intracranial wide-neck bifurcation aneurysms through Woven EndoBridge].

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of Woven EndoBridge (WEB) in the treatment of wide-neck bifurcation aneurysms. Methods: The clinical and imaging data of 11 patients with intracranial wide-neck bifurcation aneurysms treated by WEB alone at Department of Neurosurgery of the Northern Theater General Hospital from September 2017 to May 2018, were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were 7 males and 4 females, aged (54±11) years (ranged from 31 to 66 years). The aneurysms of 5 patients were located in the anterior communicating artery, 3 in the top of the basilar artery, and 3 in the bifurcation of the middle cerebral artery. The intraoperative and postoperative conditions of the patients were recorded, and the degree of aneurysm embolization was evaluated by WEB embolization aneurysm occlusion scale (WOS). Results: The intraoperative WEB release of all the 11 patients was good, with 3 cases of WOS grade A, 1 of grade B and 7 of grade C, with no intraoperative acute complications occurring. The imaging follow-up was not carried out in 1 patient due to economic reason, and the clinical follow-up was good until 3 years after the operation; 10 patients were followed up by imaging for 6 months to 3 years, and no postoperative complications occurred in the target treatment area. Among the 2 patients with WOS grade A and 1 patient with grade B during operation, according to the postoperative follow-up, all were WOS grade A; among the 7 patients with WOS grade C during operation, 4 were still of grade C and 3 were of grade D according to the follow-up. Among the 3 patients with WOS grade D, 1 patient received secondary embolization due to poor recurrence morphology, unstable hemodynamics and high possibility of rupture of aneurysm, stent assisted coil embolization was adopted, with good immediate effect; the other 2 cases had recurrent aneurysms, but the aneurysms had good morphology and stable hemodynamics, therefore, clinical follow-up was continued and no secondary surgery was performed. No complications occurred in all these 11 patients. Conclusions: The operation of treating unruptured intracranial wide-neck bifurcation aneurysms with WEB device alone is simple, and there is no need for anticoagulation and antiplatelet treatment before and after the operation, the clinical effect is being good. WEB device provides a new treatment option for intracranial wide-neck bifurcation aneurysms.

Outcomes in unilateral primary aldosteronism after surgical or medical therapy.

CONTEXT: Studies find surgery superior to medications in the treatment of primary aldosteronism (PA). It would be ideal to compare surgical and medical therapy in patients with unilateral PA only, who have the option between these treatment modalities. However, this is challenging as most patients with unilateral PA on adrenal vein sampling (AVS) undergo surgery. OBJECTIVE: To compare outcomes of surgery and medications in patients with confirmed or likely unilateral PA. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of 274 patients with PA managed at two referral centres from 2000 to 2019. PATIENTS: 154 patients identified with unilateral PA using AVS and a validated clinical prediction model were treated with surgical (n = 86) or medical (n = 68) therapy. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcome was a composite incident cardiovascular event comprising acute myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, stroke, atrial fibrillation or congestive cardiac failure. Secondary outcomes were clinical and biochemical control. RESULTS: Cardiovascular outcomes were comparable, with the surgery group having an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.93 (95% CI: 0.32-2.67), p = .89. Both treatments improved clinical and biochemical control, but surgery resulted in better systolic blood pressure, 133.0 ± 11.7 mmHg versus 137.9 ± 14.6 mmHg, p = .02, and lower defined daily dosages of antihypertensive medications, 1.0 (IQR 0.0-2.0) versus 2.6 (IQR 0.8-4.3), p < .001. In addition, 12 of 86 patients in the surgery group failed medical therapy before opting for surgery. CONCLUSION: In patients with unilateral PA who can tolerate medications, medical therapy improves clinical and biochemical control, and may offer similar cardiovascular protection. However, surgery reduces pill burden, may cure hypertension and is recommended for unilateral PA.

[Research progress on building of disease control and prevention system of the international experience].

Through literature search in regular database and official websites of relevant countries, this paper combs and summarizes the main characteristics of disease prevention and control systems in five countries, the United States, Germany, South Korea, Australia and Japan, and the European Union at key levels including legal construction, organizational structure, financing, personnel construction and international cooperation, in order to provide decision support for the construction of disease prevention and control system in China in the future.

[Differential expression of PRDX4 in alveolar macrophages of patients with silicosis].

Objective: To identify the differential expression of Peroxiredoxin 4 (PRDX4) in alveolar macrophages (AMs) from patients with silicosis in different phases using Western blot. Methods: From June 2017 to June 2018, Twelve pneumoconiosis patients in the pneumoconiosis Department of Beidaihe Sanitarium were selected by random sampling. A msong them, there were 4 groups, that was lung with dust, silicosis with grade one, silicosis with grade two, silicosis with grade three. There were 3 persons in each group, a total of 12. AMs was obtained by filtration and centrifugation. The intracellular protein was extracted and PRDX4 was detected by using Western blot method. Results: It results showed that PRDX4 was expressed in AMs in 4 groups; with the increase of fibrosis, the average relative expression of PRDX4 in AMs was 0.258±0.026, 0.214±0.012, 0.180±0.004, 0.165±0.008. The highest expression level was in the lung with dust group, and the lowest was in the silicosis with grade three group. The difference of the expression level of PRDX4 protein in AMs between groups was statistically significant (P<0.05) . Conclusion: This experiment verified that PRDX4 expressed differentially in AMs in patients with silicosis. With the development of silicosis, PRDX4 expression in AMs reduced significantly.

The SNHG16/miR-30a axis promotes breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion by regulating RRM2.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been suggested to play vital roles in tumor initiation and progression. Recent studies have reported that the lncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 16 (SNHG16) is highly expressed in breast cancer tissue. In the present study, we demonstrated that SNHG16 is an oncogene involved in cell proliferation and invasion in breast cancer. First, we examined the functional role of SNHG16 in breast cancer cells by knocking down SNHG16 expression via siRNA. We found that SNHG16 inhibition reduced the proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells in vitro. Then, based on bioinformatic prediction and functional assay validation, we demonstrated SNHG16 interaction with miR-30a and its role in breast cancer cells. Finally, we examined the functional role of RRM2 in breast cancer cells by knocking down RRM2 expression via siRNA. Our results indicated that the SNHG16/miR-30a axis regulated the expression of ribonucleotide reductase M2 (RRM2) in breast cancer cells. These results provide novel insight into breast cancer tumorigenesis and suggest that SNHG16 could serve as a therapeutic target in breast cancer.

[The role of CT coronary angiography in improving the positive rate of coronary angiography in patients with low-or moderate-risk non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction].

Objective: To investigate whether CT coronary angiography (CTA) can safely and effectively reduce the number of invasive coronary angiography (ICA) in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) whose Grace score is low-or moderate-risk, and increase ICA positive rate. Methods: One hundred and two NSTEMI patients, including 61 males and 41 females, aged 38-80 (58±12) years, were prospectively included and treated in Henan Provincial People's Hospital from February 2017 to February 2018. By using random number method, the patients were divided into control group (51 cases) and experimental group (51 cases). Patients in the control group were arranged for elective ICA examination according to the risk stratification. If further intervention or surgical treatment was required, the ICA examination was positive; in the experimental group, the CTA examination was completed through the green channel first. If the CTA showed that the main coronary artery and its main branches were severe or extreme stenosis, further ICA examination was arranged; otherwise, a secondary prophylactic drug treatment was developed and the patients were then discharged and followed up for 1 year. ICA number, ICA positive rate, length of hospital stay, hospital cost, hospital anxiety and depression score (HADS), major cardiovascular events (MACE) within 1 year, and other serious adverse events related to examination or surgery were compared between the two groups. Results: A total of 37 patients in the experimental group underwent ICA, and the positive rate of ICA was 94.59% (35/37), which was significantly higher than that of the control group [62.75% (32/51)] (P<0.05). The average length of hospital stay and the HADS score before ICA in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group [(3.8±2.2) d vs (4.8±2.4) d; 8.8±4.5 vs 11.4±6.8] (all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the cumulative incidence of MACE (3 cases vs 5 cases, P=0.423) and other serious adverse events (8 cases vs 10 cases, P=0.548) within 1 year between the two groups. Conclusion: CTA significantly reduces the number of ICA and the average length of hospital stay, and increases the positive rate of ICA in NSTEMI patients whose Grace score is low-or moderate-risk. There is no increase in cardiovascular risks within 1 year.

[Analysis of bronchoscope-guided tracheal intubation in 12 cases with coronavirus disease 2019 under the personal protective equipment with positive pressure protective hood].

Endotracheal intubation is an independent risk factor for respiratory infectious diseases. We conducted a retrospective study in 12 cases with COVID-19 who underwent endotracheal intubation at ICU of the Guangzhou eighth hospital from January 20 to February 10, 2020. The intubation procedure, anesthetic regimen, and complication were collected and analyzed. The 9 healthcare workers who involved in intubation received virus nucleic acid test and 14 days temperature monitoring. All 12 patients were successfully intubated under the guidance of bronchoscope, without any complications. Midazolam, Propofol and Morphine or fentanyl were used for sedation and analgesia, avoiding patients cough and agitated during the procedure. The 9 healthcare workers were protected under the Personal Protective Equipment(PPE) with positive pressure protective hood. The detection of oropharyngeal swab virus nucleic acid were negative in all 9 healthcare workers, none of them had fever or any respiratory symptoms. The PPE with positive pressure protective hood should be needed to perform bronchoscope-guided endotracheal intubation in patients with COVID-19, it could strengthen to protect healthcare workers from virus exposure.

Review and Prospect of Pathological Features of Corona Virus Disease.

ABSTRACT: Since 2003, coronavirus has caused multiple major public health events that resulted in global epidemics, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS）, Middle East respiratory syndrome （MERS） and corona virus disease 2019 （COVID-19）. Especially since COVID-19 outbroke in Wuhan, Hubei, in December 2019, coronavirus has had a significant impact on people's health and lives. But so far, the pathological diagnosis of COVID-19 has been relatively deficient： it is still confined to the pathological findings of punctured organs, and the majority of medical workers have poor awareness of its pathological characteristics. The COVID-19, as same as SARS and MERS, is caused by coronaviruses and can cause viral pneumonia. They have certain similarities. This article comprehensively reviews the pathological features observed in the autopsies of the aforementioned three diseases, in order to provide reference to the analysis of pathological changes of COVID-19.

Retrospective Analysis of 61 Cases of Children Died of Viral Pneumonia.

ABSTRACT: Objective To retrospectively analyze the forensic pathological postmortem examination and clinical data of children who died of viral pneumonia in identification of cause of death cases and to discuss the clinical characteristics and pathological features of viral pneumonia in children, in order to provide reference to pathological diagnosis of viral pneumonia in children caused by 2019 novel coronavirus （2019-nCoV） infection. Methods Postmortem examination data from 61 cases of children whose causes of death were identified as viral pneumonia in recent years were collected from the Center of Forensic Identification, Southern Medical University. The gender, age, clinical symptoms and pathological features were comparatively analyzed. Results Among the 61 cases of children who died of viral pneumonia, most were within 2 years old （83.61%）, and a large proportion died within 2 weeks after the onset of the disease （91.80%）. Gross changes in postmortem examination included respiratory mucosal hyperemia, pleural effusion, pulmonary swelling, variegated pulmonary pleura and serosa, as well as focal pulmonary hemorrhage and pulmonary edema. A large proportion of sick children had enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes （83.61%） and thymic dysplasia （21.31%）. Histopathological changes included edema of alveoli and interstitial substance, pneumorrhagia，shedding of alveolar epithelial cells, serous and （or） fibrous exudation in the alveoli, formation of viral inclusions, formation of transparent membranes, infiltration of inflammatory cells that mainly consisted of macrophages and lymphocytes in interstitial substance and alveoli. Viral infections often affected the heart and gastrointestinal tract. Conclusion The clinical symptoms of children with viral pneumonia are difficult to notice, and because the immune systems of children are not fully developed and they have poor immunity, they can easily become severely ill and even die. Analyzing the forensic autopsies and the histopathological characteristics could provide reference for pathological diagnosis of viral pneumonia.

Genetic polymorphisms in IL1B predict susceptibility to steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head in Chinese Han population.

The purpose of this research was to examine if the IL1B gene polymorphism has impact on the risk of steroid-induced ONFH in Chinese population. We found that IL1B rs1143630 decreased the SANFH's risk and IL1B rs2853550 increased the risk of steroid-induced ONFH. So, we guess that IL1B gene influences the genetic susceptibility of steroid-induced ONFH. INTRODUCTION: Genetic polymorphisms in IL1B gene could be related in the pathogenesis of osteonecrosis. Discusses on the relationship between the IL1B gene and steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (steroid-induced ONFH) is still less in Chinese Han population. So, in this research, we want to examine whether the IL1B gene polymorphism has impact on the risk of steroid-induced ONFH in Chinese population. METHODS: A total of 286 steroid-induced ONFH patients and 441 controls were recruited, and seven SNPs (rs2853550, rs1143643, rs3136558, rs1143630, rs1143627, rs16944, and rs1143623) in IL1B gene were selected; unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to research the influence on the risk of steroid-induced ONFH. Functional annotations of IL1B variants were performed by RegulomeDB and HaploReg. RESULTS: rs1143630 (A>C) in the IL1B gene decreased the risk of steroid-induced ONFH in the allele model (OR = 0.69, 95%CI 0.51-0.93, p = 0.014). Further genetic model analyses found that IL1B rs2853550 AG genotype increased the risk of steroid-induced ONFH compared with the people who are carriers of the IL1B rs2853550 GG genotype (OR = 1.69, 95%CI 1.16-2.46, p = 0.012). In the dominant model, IL1B rs1143630 GG-GT genotype decreased the risk of steroid-induced ONFH (OR = 0.62, 95%CI 0.44-0.87, p = 0.0051). And further haplotype analysis was performed, while the result was not significant. Using RegulomeDB and HaploReg, rs2853550 is likely to affect TF binding, any motif and DNase peak. CONCLUSIONS: We guess that IL1B gene influences the genetic susceptibility of steroid-induced ONFH.

Biosynthetic potential of culturable bacteria associated with Apostichopus japonicus.

AIMS: Isolating culturable bacteria associated with sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) and investigating their potential bioactivities are important approaches to discover natural marine products. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 161 isolates were obtained from sea cucumber collected along the Weihai coast of the North Yellow Sea, China. Identification and phylogenetic analysis of 61 isolates were conducted by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The isolates belonged to 13 genera from 10 families in three phyla, including Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. The antimicrobial activities of all strains were determined using six indicator strains. Of the 161 isolates, 93 showed antibacterial activities against at least one of the indicator strains. The 26 strains with the strongest inhibitory effects were selected for screening the biosynthetic gene clusters of polyketide synthase (PKS-I, -II) and nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS). Phylogenetic trees based on the amino acid sequences of the PKS or NRPS genes were constructed. Eleven strains with PKS genes and four strains with NRPS genes were detected. CONCLUSIONS: The data reveal the diversity of culturable bacteria associated with A. japonicus. Most strains showed broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities, and some strains with antimicrobial activities possessed PKS and NRPS genes. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The results suggest that culturable bacteria associated with A. japonicus may act as a promising source of bioactive substances.

Relationship between 18F-FDG PET metabolic parameters and MRI intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) histogram parameters and their correlations with clinicopathological features of cervical cancer: evidence from integrated PET/MRI.

AIM: To explore the relationship between positron-emission tomography (PET) and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) histogram parameters and their correlations with the clinicopathological features of cervical squamous cell cancer (CSCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-four patients with CSCC underwent pelvic combined PET/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including IVIM sequences. The maximum/mean standardized uptake value (SUVmax/SUVmean), metabolic tumour volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) of PET, histogram parameters of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), IVIM biomarkers of tissue diffusivity (D), and perfusion fraction (F) were calculated. Correlations between SUV and IVIM (including ADC) histogram parameters, imaging parameters and clinicopathological features were evaluated. RESULTS: SUV showed weak or no correlations with most histogram parameters of ADC, D, and F, except for a moderate correlation between SUVmax or SUVmean and ADCmin (r=-0.69, p<0.001; r=-0.66, p=0.005). MTV, TLG were significantly higher (p<0.05) in tumours with larger diameters, advanced stages, and higher squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-ag). SkewnessADC, kurtosisADC, entropyADC, and kurtosisD for tumour diameters, skewnessF and kurtosisF for tumour stages, kurtosisADC and entropyADC for SCC-ag were statistically significant (p<0.05). MTV (p=0.003), TLG (p=0.004), P10ADC (p=0.001), P25ADC (p=0.021), P10D (p<0.001) and P75F (p=0.014) were significantly different between G1/2 and G3 tumours. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve indicated that P10D had the largest area under curve (AUC=0.868). CONCLUSION: No universal correlations between SUV and IVIM parameters were found in this study, and further investigation of PET and IVIM parameters as independent potential biomarkers should be investigated for evaluating the clinicopathological characteristics of cervical cancer.

Identification of E2F8 as a Transcriptional Regulator of Gluconeogenesis in Primary Mouse Hepatocytes.

The dysregulation of hepatic gluconeogenesis is a major factor in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Hepatic gluconeogenesis is known to be tightly regulated at the transcription/expression level. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the E2F8 transcription factor in glucose metabolism. Here, we found that hepatic expression levels of E2F8 were increased in db/db and high-fat-diet-induced obese mice. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of E2F8 in primary mouse hepatocytes upregulated expression of gluconeogenic genes, including those for PGC-1α, PEPCK, and G6Pase, subsequently increasing cellular glucose output. We demonstrated that E2F8 overexpression impairs insulin sensitivity in vitro. Furthermore, knockdown of E2F8 expression increased insulin sensitivity in primary hepatocytes. In summary, these findings indicated that E2F8 is involved in gluconeogenesis and insulin resistance and may represent a new therapeutic target in T2DM prevention.

Phylogenetic Analysis and Fungicide Baseline Sensitivities of Monilia mumecola in China.

Monilia mumecola is one of the causal agents of peach brown rot in China. In this study, M. mumecola isolates from different locations and hosts were used to analyze the genetic diversity and to assay the sensitivity to four generally used fungicides: carbendazim, tebuconazole, azoxystrobin, and boscalid. Results showed that isolates from different locations tended to be separated. Interestingly, isolates from different hosts (e.g., peach and apricot) at the same locations generally clustered together, indicating that the M. mumecola isolates may infect different hosts in the same areas. The fungicide sensitivity assay of 93 M. mumecola isolates showed that the average effective concentration for 50% mycelial growth inhibition values for carbendazim, tebuconazole, azoxystrobin, and boscalid were 0.103, 0.034, 0.325, and 0.419 µg/ml, respectively. The sensitivity distributions of the tested isolates to the four fungicides showed continuous unimodal curves, indicating no qualitative shift of resistance. No significant difference of sensitivity to tested fungicides was observed among isolates from either different locations or different hosts.

[Biomarkers screening for viral myocarditis through proteomics analysis of plasma exosomes].

Objective: To compare and analyze the differentially expressed plasma exosomic proteome between healthy control group (Control group) and viral myocarditis group (VMC group) to search for biomarkers that maybe used for early diagnosis of VMC. Methods: Fifty plasma samples of Control group and VMC group were collected respectively from Henan Provincial People's Hospital (from January 2016 to December 2017), and then 5 samples (1 ml) of each group were selected randomly, after exosomes extraction with ultra-centrifugation, difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE) was used to isolate the total proteins, and then the protein spots with more than 2-fold changes between VMC and Control group were picked up after the software analysis, afterward, the varied proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. Finally, the specifically related protein was selected to be verified by ELISA with the plasma exosomic samples of Control (n=40) and VMC (n=40). Results: A total of 10 varied protein spots were found including 8 up-regulated proteins and 2 down-regulated proteins between VMC and Control group. After MS analysis, the up-regulated proteins in VMC group contained KRT2, KRT5, KRT9, KRT77, KRT78, AZGP1, HP and RBP4, whereas the down-regulated ones were CD5L and C1QB. RBP4 was selected to validate by ELISA analysis, and the corresponding results showed that RBP4 was increased specifically in plasma exosomes of VMC group (P<0.05) after comparing with Control group, which was consistent with DIGE. Conclusion: Ten proteins related to VMC are detected in total, and RBP4 might serve as a potential specific biomarker for early screening and diagnosis of VMC.