Genotyping of Entamoeba nuttalli strains from the wild rhesus macaques of Myanmar and comparison with those from the wild rhesus macaques of Nepal and China

Entamoeba nuttalli found in macaques is phylogenetically the closest species to Entamoeba histolytica and is potentially pathogenic. In this study, the prevalence of Entamoeba infections was examined in wild rhesus macaques by examining 73 and 90 fecal samples collected from two sites, Popa Taung Kalat (PTK) and Pho Win Taung (PWT), in Myanmar. The positive rates of E. nuttalli detected using PCR were 49% and 31% in PTK and PWT, respectively, but no infections of E. histolytica and E. moshkovskii were found. Entamoeba dispar was detected in 6% of samples only from PWT. Positive rates of E. chattoni and E. coli were both 70% in PWT and 67% and 79% in PTK, respectively. Six E. nuttalli strains from PTK and eight from PWT were obtained in the culture with xenic medium and then, one and two strains, respectively, were axenized and finally cloned. The genotypic analysis of serine-rich protein genes revealed two genotypes each in both sites. The genotypes found in five of six strains from PTK were similar to those from the strains found in Nepal, whereas the remaining one from PTK and two from PWT were similar to those obtained from macaques in China. The sequence of the 18S rDNA of strains with these four genotypes was identical to that of the strains from China. Six loci of tRNA-linked short tandem repeats were analyzed for further genotyping of the strains. Although there were two types in locus A-L in PTK isolates, one of each type for PTK and PWT was found in the other loci, including locus A-L in PWT strains. These results demonstrated that the E. nuttalli strains from Myanmar are closer to the strains from macaques in China rather than those from macaques in Nepal.     

Exposure to total particulate matter obtained from combustion of diesel vehicles (EURO 3 and EURO 5): Effects on the respiratory systems of emphysematous mice

Air pollution has association with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and reduced life expectancy. This study investigated the deleterious effects caused by tobacco smoke and diesel exhaust particles (DEP) from vehicles operating under EURO 3 and EURO 5 standards. Experiments were carried out on C57BL/6 mice divided into six groups: control group, group exposed to cigarette smoke (CS), two groups exposed to DEP (AAE3 and AAE5), and two groups exposed to tobacco smoke and vehicle DEP (CSE3 and CSE5). Results showed that, when compared to AA, groups AAE3 and AAE5 showed changes in respiratory mechanics, and that DEP originating from EURO 5 diesel vehicles was less harmful when compared to DEP originating from EURO 3 diesel vehicles. Analyses of groups CSE3 and CSE5 revealed increased inspiratory capacity and decreased tissue elastance, when compared to their respective controls, suggesting an exacerbation of changes in respiratory system mechanics compatible with COPD development.     

Thromboprophylaxis in the oldest old with atrial fibrillation: Between Scylla and Charybdis

Within a few decades half of the patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF) will be older than 80 years. These patients are at particularly high risk of thromboembolism (Scylla) but also of the hemorrhagic complications of thromboprophylaxis (Charybdis). A frequent compromise is to use as antithrombotic agents instead of vitamin-K antagonists aspirin or other antiplatelet drugs, which are ineffective for thromboprophylaxis in the oldest old and definitely not free from a high risk of severe bleeding. All the new direct anticoagulants currently licensed (dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban) are at least as effective as warfarin for thromboprophylaxis in AF, but the risk of the intracranial bleeding, the most feared complication of anticoagulant therapy, is at least halved. In the oldest patients of 80 years of age or more preliminary data, available so far only for dabigatran, indicate that the favorable outcomes of direct anticoagulants are also present in this subgroup, often left untreated for fear of intracranial bleeding. The choice between the different direct anticoagulants is driven by the presence or not of renal insufficiency, the presence and degree of multimorbidity and polypharmacy and by the likelihood or not of poor treatment adherence in patients who are often frail and with some degree of cognitive impairment.     

从卫生服务供方意向调查的变迁看中医发展危机

为了进一步了解中医的发展状况，通过对2008年与2000年样本地区卫生服务供方的意向调查数据的比较，分析卫生服务供方对中医信仰的变迁。研究发现，卫生服务供方对中医信仰进一步降低，中医成为西医的简单补充。在这种情况下，如何把握中医特色，创新诊疗手段，总结推广中医特效治疗种类和范围，推广适宜技术等尤为重要，逐步提高卫生服务供方对于中医的支持和认可。     

Characteristics of pediatric invasive pneumococcal diseases and the pneumococcal isolates in Suzhou,China before introduction of PCV13

BackgroundData on characteristics of invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD) is limited in China. We aimed to understand the clinical features and explore the molecular characteristics of the pneumococcal isolates in China.MethodsSince 2010, we prospectively collected the pneumococcal isolates and the IPD patients’ demographic and clinical information in Suzhou University Affiliated Children’s Hospital (SCH). The antibiotic susceptibility, serotypes, genotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae strains were identified by E-test, quellung reaction and/or multiplex PCR, and multi-locus sequence typing, respectively.ResultsDuring the period from January 2010 to December 2015, a total of 80 IPD patients were identified. They were diagnosed as meningitis (31.3%), septicemia (27.5%), pneumonia (21.3%) and others (20.0%). About half of them required vancomycin treatment, 42.5% were admitted to ICUs, 36.2% had complications and 6.2% were hospitalized for over 1 year. The most common serotypes of the pneumococcal isolates were serotypes 6B and 14, the coverage of PCV13 was 92.5%, and CC236s and CC199s were the most common clone complexes.ConclusionsPediatric IPD patients had severe clinical symptoms, demanded intensive treatment, suffered poor prognosis and substantial burden. The pneumococcal isolates’ serotype coverage of PCV13 vaccine was high, which leads to implication of PCV vaccine usage among children in China.     

Validation of 5 prediction models for acute kidney injury and its outcome after cardiac surgery procedures in Chinese patients

ObjectiveTo assess the clinical usefulness and value of the 5 models for the prediction of acute kidney injury (AKI), severe AKI which renal replacement treatment was needed (RRT-AKI) and death after cardiac surgery procedures in Chinese patients. Methods One thousand and sixty - seven patients who underwent cardiac surgery procedures in the department of cardiac surgery in the Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University between May 2010 and January 2011 were involved in this research. The predicting value for AKI (AKICS), RRT-AKI (Cleveland, SRI and Mehta score) and death (EURO score) after cardiac surgery procedures was evaluated by Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test for the calibration and area under receiver operation characteristic curve (AUROC) for the discrimination. ResultsThe incidence of AKI was 20.34%(217/1067), and 63.13% of their renal function recovered completely. The incidence of RRT-AKI was 3.56%(38/1067) and the mortality of AKI and RRT - AKI was 9.68%(21/217) and 44.73%(17/38) respectively. The total mortality was 3.28%（35/1067）. The discrimination and calibration for the prediction of AKI of AKICS were low. For the prediction of RRT-AKI, the discrimination and calibration of Cleveland score were high enough, but the predicated value was lower than the real value (1.70% vs 3.86%). The discrimination of Mehta score and the calibration of SRI were low. The discrimination and calibration for the prediction of death of EURO score was low. ConclusionAccording to the 2012 KDIGO AKI definition, none of the 5 models above is good at predicting AKI after cardiac surgery procedures. Cleveland score has been validated to have a proper impact on predicting RRT-AKI after cardiac surgery procedures, but the predicting value is still in doubt. EURO score has been validated to have an inaccurate predicting value for death after cardiac surgery procedures.     

晚期癌症患者中医辨证分型分布及其同生存期的相关性分析研究

背景与目的：晚期癌症患者的中医辨证分型具有同西医症状评估不同的特点。通过对晚期癌症患者进行中医辨证分型的分类，研究其同西医症状及患者生存期之间的相关性。方法：通过MD Anderson症状评估量表（MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Chinese，MDASI-C）收集临床患者症状分布及强度，并通过望闻问切判断患者的中医辨证分型。描述性分析用于人口统计学及临床特征资料的分析。对辨证分型为肝肾阴虚型（Ⅳ型）和其他型的患者进行t检验及χ²检验。应用Kaplan-Meier方法计算生存期，Log-rank进行显著性检验。结果：根据中医辨证分型，227例晚期癌症患者中，Ⅳ型共82例（36%）。Ⅳ型与其他5型相比，乏力和气急的发生频率和强度均较高。Ⅳ型患者同其他5型患者之间生存差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。美国东部肿瘤协作组（Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group，ECOG）评分和Ⅳ型为晚期癌症患者生存期的预后因素。结论：本研究证实中医辨证分型对晚期癌症患者生存期有辨识作用，可提高晚期癌症生存期预测的准确性。在临床工作中，以此辅助检测病情变化，有助于临床医师更好地判断晚期癌症患者的生存预后。     

多项膨胀效应模型对美国城市4~9岁儿童哮喘危险因素的分析

 目的 探讨儿童哮喘的主要危险因素，为哮喘的防治提供参考依据。方法 建立多项膨胀泊松回归模型，获得数据授权，对美国城市合作哮喘研究（NCICAS）1993-1997年中8个主要城市的数据进行分析。结果 共纳入1 376名儿童进行分析。发现控制其他协变量后，年龄每增长1岁，家长汇报患儿气喘的期望天数增加4%;服药次数每增加1次，汇报气喘的期望天数增加7%;与不关心治疗不良反应的家长相比，关心治疗不良反应的家长汇报气喘的期望天数增加12%;以上结果均有统计学意义（P<0.05）。对汇报气喘天数为0天的膨胀数据研究显示：服药次数越少、就医次数越多、儿童行为表现越差，对家长汇报其气喘天数为0具有正效应;儿童行为表现越好，对家长汇报患儿气喘天数为14天具有正效应。结论 在调查哮喘症状的危险因素并设计预防和治疗策略时，有必要更加注意基础人群的异质性。对症状严重的儿童进行干预时，心理健康是重要的考虑因素。