haowang

To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of single and multiple fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) tests for upper urinary tract cancer (UTUC), we analyzed the diagnostic efficacy of FISH in patients with UTUC and the difference between it and the Tumor Node Metastasis (TNM) stage and grade of the tumor.

Patients treated for UTUC at our institution between 2011 and 2021 who had not been previously diagnosed with UTUC were included. Patients were divided into single, two, and multiple (three times or four times) FISH groups based on the number of FISH tests performed on different samples from the same patient, and the diagnostic efficiency of single, two, and multiple FISH tests for muscle-invasive tumors and highgrade tumors were assessed.

We included a total of 207 patients with UTUC, and when compared to single FISH, the sensitivity of multiple and double FISH for the diagnosis of UTUC increased from 62% to 76% and 78%, respectively. It went from 67% to 78% and 80% for muscle-invasive UTUC (> = pT2) and from 71% to 79% and 81% for the highest- grade UTUC.

Multiple FISH improves the diagnostic efficacy of UTUC and helps to differentiate aggressive tumors.

Leptin is thought to play an important role in Crohn’s disease (CD) pathogenesis and progression. Independent studies have revealed a strong upregulation of leptin expression in the mesenteric fat of CD patients.

This study assessed the relationship between leptin gene polymorphisms and CD susceptibility in a Chinese pediatric population.

A total of 86 patients withCDand 142 healthy controls were recruited for this case-control study. The genotypes of 4 singlenucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; rs2071045, rs41457646, rs11761556, and rs2167270) in the leptin gene were determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) combined with next-generation sequencing.

We found that leptin rs2167270 had a significantly different distribution of alleles and genotypes between CD patients and healthy controls (G is a risk allele: 83.7% of cases vs 72.5% of controls; odds ratio [OR] 1.947; 95% CI, 1.203-3.151; P = 0.006; GG is a risk genotype: 72.1% of cases vs 53.5% of controls; P = 0.021). Patients with the CC genotype (rs2071045) had a significantly increased risk of early onset of CD (58.3% in A1a vs 31.1% in A1b; P = 0.003). Similarly, patients carrying the G allele (100% in A1a vs 84.1% in A1b; P = 0.015) and GG genotype (100% in A1a vs 71.0% in A1b; P = 0.048) of rs41457646, A allele (93.3% in A1a vs 71.8% in A1b; P = 0.013) and AA genotype (93.3% in A1a vs 47.9% in A1b; P = 0.003) in rs11761556 had a higher risk of early onset of CD. However, there was no significant difference in any of these 4 SNPs between patients with and without perianal lesions, as well as in low and normal body mass index (BMI) patients.

The leptin rs2167270 polymorphism is associated with the susceptibility toCDin a Chinese pediatric population. Leptin rs2071045, rs41457646, and rs11761556 might lead to the early onset of pediatric CD.

The loss of enteric neurons has been shown to be a major cause of slow transit constipation (STC). Gut microbiota and muscularis macrophages (MMs) are associated with the enteric nervous system (ENS) development and gastrointestinal (GI) motility. This study aimed to investigate whether Dioscin (DIO) increased GI motility and inhibited neuron loss by modulating gut microbiota profile, improving inflammation in the ENS microenvironment.

The STC model was established by loperamide. The alteration of the gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. The longitudinal muscle and myenteric plexus (LMMP) from the colon were prepared for flow cytometry, immunofluorescence, western blot, and qRT-PCR. 

DIO increased the stool number, stool water content and shortened whole gut transit time, helped to recover the gut microbial diversity and microbiota community structure, and increased the abundance of Muribaculaceae in STC mice. Compared with the STC group, the number of MMs and the level of the iNOS, IL-6, and TNFα genes were significantly decreased following DIO treatment. Moreover, DIO may increase the number of HuC/D+ neurons per ganglion by up-regulating the BMP2 secreted by MMs and activating the BMP2/p-Smad1/5/9 signaling pathway. Furthermore, the level of excitatory neurotransmitter AchE in colon tissues exhibited a substantial increase in the DIO group. However, the level of inhibitory neurotransmitter VIP was markedly decreased. 

Our results provide that DIO increases GI motility and inhibits neuron loss by modulating gut microbiota profile, improving inflammation in the ENS microenvironment and up-regulating the BMP2 secreted by MMs.

The prevalence of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection has been increasing globally. Many cases of NTM infection are misdiagnosed as Mycobacterium tuberculous (MTB) because of similar clinicoradiological features.

To determine the burden and characteristics of NTM infection, this study was done to evaluate clinical isolates collected from tuberculous (TB) suspects in a population from Northwest China.

From January to December 2020, the clinical samples of 9,142 TB suspects were collected for the PCR-fluorescent probe and mycobacterial culture. The PCR-fluorescent probe-positive nucleic acid samples were further subjected to a DNA microarray for confirmation and species identification. Drug susceptibility testing (DST) was also carried out using the micropore plate method (MicroDSTTM) on isolates from NTM patients.

Of 9,412 TB suspects, 85 cases (0.9%) were clinically diagnosed with NTM infection according to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) guidelines. For the laboratory samples, a total of 169 NTM strains, identified by molecular biology methods, were classified into 10 species. Themost common species were M. chelonae/ M. abscessus (64/169, 37.7%) and M. intracellulare (40/169, 23.7%). All strains showed the highest resistance to imipenem/cilastatin (85/85, 100%) and the highest susceptibility to linezolid (4/85, 4.7%). In comparison with the rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) group, the slowly growing mycobacteria (SGM) group showed a lower resistance and a shorter hospital inpatient stay (t = 6.66, P < 0.001 and t = 2.40, P = 0.020, respectively).

Mycobacterium chelonae/M. abscessus and M. intracellulare were the most frequently detected NTM pathogens in Northwest China. The differences in drug sensitivity and clinical characteristics were giant for different strains. Timely identification and accurate DST play important roles in NTM management.

The external physical vibration lithecbole (EPVL) is a new device that accelerates the discharge of urinary stones by changing the patient's body position and providing multi-directional simple harmonic waves. It is clinically employed to improve the stone-free rate (SFR). However, it is not widely accepted in clinical practice due to the lack of high-level evidentiary support and a standard protocol. The present meta-analysis aims at the evaluation of the efficacy and safety of EPVL treatment in improving the SFR.

This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis. A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Medline, the Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library to find randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as recent as April 2020 that evaluated the efficacy and safety of EPVL treatment for patients with stones/residual stones in the upper urinary tract.

In total, 7 prospective studies with 1414 patients were included. Compared with patients in the control group, patients treated with an EPVL (the intervention group) had higher SFRs (95% CI: 0.59-0.86, RR = 0.71, P = .0004) and lower complication rates (95% CI: 1.37-3.12, RR = 2.07, P = .0006). In a subgroup analysis based on previous surgery (ESWL, RIRS), the intervention group had an improved SFR as compared to the control group (95% CI: 0.59-0.95, RR = 0.75, P = .02; 95% CI: 0.56-0.73, RR = 0.64, P < .00001, respectively). In a subgroup analysis based on stone location, the SFRs for stones in the upper/middle/lower calyx and renal pelvis were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group: for residual stones in the upper and middle calyx, 95% CI: 0.63-0.98, RR = 0.79, and P = .03; for residual stones in the lower calyx, 95% CI: 0.54-0.75, RR = 0.64, and P < .00001; for residual stones in the renal pelvis, 95% CI: 0.47-0.79, RR = 0.61, and P = .0002. However, the SFRs for ureter stones were not significantly different between groups (95% CI: 0.82 -1.05, RR = 0.93, P = .23).

The external physical vibration lithecbole can effectively improve the SFR after ESWL and RIRS without significant side effects, especially for residual stones in the upper/middle/lower calyx and renal pelvis.

Recently, some studies have revealed that microRNAs (miRs; miRNAs) mainly regulate gene expression in the transcription of microRNAs. However, the role of microRNAs in cell development, differentiation, proliferation, and other physiological processes remains unclear.

The present study aimed to investigate the expression level of microRNA-195 in the pathological tissues of patients with cardiac carcinoma and its clinical effects.

Patients with primary cardiac carcinoma were enrolled as the study subjects. The tumor and adjacent tissue samples for cancer pathology were obtained during the operation. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of microRNA-195 and its correlation with the clinicopathological features of cardiac carcinoma was analyzed.

A total of 64 patients were included in this study. Firstly, the expression rate of miR-195 in cardiac carcinoma tissues showed a significant decreasing trend (3.65 ± 0.42 vs. 2.05 ± 0.33) (P < 0.001) and the actual expression level of miR-195 in pathological tissues of cardiac carcinoma was negatively correlated with the malignant degree of pathological tissues (P = 0.028), invasion (P = 0.037), and lymph node metastasis of cardiac carcinoma (P = 0.023), but miR-195 was not correlated with age (P = 0.615) and gender (P = 0.465).

The expression of microRNA-195 is closely correlated to the severity of cardiac carcinoma and the occurrence of lymph node metastasis.

To assess the effects of chlorhexidine dressing on health care-associated infection in hospitalized patients. We searched for English-language published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in Cochrane Library, EMBASE and PubMed between January 1998 and January 2018. We used meta-analysis to calculate the risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the data, and using the I2 assessment to summarize the heterogeneity of RCTs and the funnel plot and Egger regression test to evaluate publication bias. A total of 13 RCTs were included in our meta-analysis, including 7555 patients and 11,931 catheters. The effects of chlorhexidine dressing on the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) were reported in 13 RCTs, and the incidence of CRBSIs were 1.3% (80/6160) in the chlorhexidine group and 2.5% (145/5771) in the control group. We used a forest plot to determine the risk ratio (RR) of chlorhexidine dressing on the incidence of CRBSIs, and our results showed that chlorhexidine dressing significantly reduced the incidence of CRBSIs (RR 0.55, 95% CI 0.39-0.77, P<0.001). Moreover, we also analyzed the effects of chlorhexidine dressing on the incidence of catheter colonization and catheter-related infections (CRIs), and our forest plot results showed that chlorhexidine dressing significantly reduced the incidence of catheter colonization (RR 0.52, 95% CI 0.40-0.67, P<0.001) and the incidence of CRIs (RR 0.43, 95% CI 0.28-0.66, P<0.001) in hospitalized patients. The use of chlorhexidine dressings for hospitalized patients significantly reduce the incidence of CRBSIs, catheter colonization and CRIs.

Although conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could provide excellent detection of morphological changes in the diagnosis of lumbar disc degeneration (LDD), it has some difficulties in discriminating minimal changes associated with early LDD before morphological or clinical alterations. Therefore, newer MRI techniques have emerged for investigation of early LDD.

The aim of this study was to use diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and T2* mapping to detect lumbar discs in healthy young adults, to evaluate if they could depict the microstructural changes of early LDD.

Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), fractional anisotropy (FA), and T2* images of the lumbar discs were obtained for 40 asymptomatic young subjects (19 males and 21 females; mean age of 24.3 years), using DWI, DTI and T2* mapping with a 1.5-T MRI scanner. ADC, FA, and T2* values were measured to compare five regions of interest (ROI) selected in each nucleus pulposus (NP) of the images.

The ADC, FA, and T2* values were different (P < 0.05) among different ROIs within the same disc or among corresponding ROIs in different level discs. While the average values of ADC increased regularly with the lowering of the anatomical location (P < 0.05), the average FA and T2* values also associated with the anatomic locations, showed an increase in L4-L5 and L5-S1 discs (P < 0.05).

ADC, FA, and T2* values may quantitatively reflect the microstructural characteristics of NP, therefore they could be used to detect the minimal changes of early LDD.

Oxymatrine, a potent monosomic alkaloid extracted from Chinese herb Sophora japonica (Sophora flavescens Ait.). possesses anti-inflammatory activittyes. This study was designed to investigate the effects of oxymatrine on nuclear factor–kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent inflammatory responses in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated microglia. In this paper, BV2 microglia were pretreated with different concentrations of oxymatrine (1, 10 and 20 μg/mL) for 30 min as followed by stimulation with LPS (1 µg/mL) for different times (30 min, 1 h, 3 h, and 6 h). Concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in supernatant, mRNA levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), cytosolic inhibitor of kappa B-alpha (I-κBα) and phospho-I-κBα and nuclear p65 protein levels, and the phosphorylations of MAPK molecules such as extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, p38 MAPK and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) were determined. It was shown that oxymatrine inhibited the productions of NO, PGE2, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6, attenuated the mRNA levels of iNOS and COX-2, suppressed the phosphorylation of I-κBα in cytosol, decreased the nuclear levels of p65, and also blocked ERK, p38 and JNK pathway in LPS-stimulated BV2 microglial cells in a dose-dependent manner. According to the results; It is suggested that oxymatrine may attenuate inflammatory responses of microglia and could be potentially useful in modulation of inflammatory status in the brain disorders.