Community Structure of Protease-Producing Bacteria Cultivated From Aquaculture Systems: Potential Impact of a Tropical Environment

Protease-producing bacteria play vital roles in degrading organic matter of aquaculture system, while the knowledge of diversity and bacterial community structure of protease-producing bacteria is limited in this system, especially in the tropical region. Herein, 1,179 cultivable protease-producing bacterial strains that belonged to Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria were isolated from tropical aquaculture systems, of which the most abundant genus was Bacillus, followed by Vibrio. The diversity and relative abundance of protease-producing bacteria in sediment were generally higher than those in water. Twenty-one genera from sediment and 16 genera from water were identified, of which Bacillus dominated by Bacillus hwajinpoensis in both and Vibrio dominated by Vibrio owensii in water were the dominant genera. The unique genera in sediment or water accounted for tiny percentage may play important roles in the stability of community structure. Eighty V. owensii isolates were clustered into four clusters (ET-1-ET-4) at 58% of similarity by ERIC-PCR (enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction), which was identified as a novel branch of V. owensii. Additionally, V. owensii strains belonged to ET-3 and ET-4 were detected in most aquaculture ponds without outbreak of epidemics, indicating that these protease-producing bacteria may be used as potential beneficial bacteria for wastewater purification. Environmental variables played important roles in shaping protease-producing bacterial diversity and community structure in aquaculture systems. In sediment, dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and salinity as the main factors positively affected the distributions of dominant genus (Vibrio) and unique genera (Planococcus and Psychrobacter), whereas temperature negatively affected that of Bacillus (except B. hwajinpoensis). In water, Alteromonas as unique genus and Photobacterium were negatively affected by NO₃ ^--N and NO₂ ^--N, respectively, whereas pH as the main factor positively affected the distribution of Photobacterium. These findings will lay a foundation for the development of protease-producing bacterial agents for wastewater purification and the construction of an environment-friendly tropical aquaculture model.

[Operative efficacy of 13 malignant uterine tumors after Cf-252 intracavitary irradiation]

Objective: To investigate the surgical therapeutic efficacy of uterine tumors patients underwent Cf-252 neutron intra-cavity and external radiotherapy, and evaluate the application value of Cf-252 neutron radiotherapy. Methods: Thirteen cases of uterine tumor with local suspicious lesions or poor prognostic factors after CF-252 neutron intracavity and external radiotherapy were treated with surgery. Among them, 12 cases underwent extrafascial hysterectomy, 1 case underwent extensive hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy. The postoperative pathology and follow-up results were used to evaluate the efficacy. Results: Nine cases showed severe response to radiotherapy in postoperative cervical pathological tissues without residual tumor, and survived for more than 3-14 years, the median survival time was 8 years. All of 4 cases with residual tumor died within 1 year. Delayed healing of vaginal wounds occurred in 3 of the 12 cases. Conclusions: Cf-252 is a good brachytherapy source. The cervical tissue shows severe response to radiotherapy and prolonged healing time of vaginal wound is observed in some cases after CF-252 radiotherapy. To those uterine tumor patients with local suspicious lesions or poor prognostic factors after CF-252 neutron intracavity and external radiotherapy, extrafascial hysterectomy is a safe and feasible treatment method.

Effect of laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer with N. O. S. E. on recovery and prognosis of patients

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of laparoscopic surgery in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients with natural orifice specimen extraction (NOSE) on the recovery and quality of life (QOL) of patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Ninety-two eligible patients were randomly assigned into two groups: the traditional laparoscopy group (L group, n = 46) and the laparoscopic transanal specimen extraction group (NL group, n = 46). General data, surgery-related indicators, postoperative recovery, and prognosis were compared and analyzed between the two groups.

RESULTS

A total of 46 patients in each group were enrolled in this study. The general data and surgery-related indicators were comparable between the two groups (all p > .05). There were no significant differences in the time of first flatus, bleeding, obstruction, constipation, and infectious complications between the two groups (all p > .05). The differences in the incidence of postoperative diarrhea, pain degree, and satisfaction on the aesthetics of the abdominal wall showed significant differences (χ² = 6.133, p = .013; χ² = 12.116, p = .017; χ² = 13.463, p = .004). The postoperative follow-up time was 3-53 months. There were no significant differences in the postoperative hospital stay, medical costs, hospital readmission rate, incidence of incisional hernia, overall survival, disease-free survival, and QOL between the two groups (all p > .05). Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery with NOSE for eligible patients with CRC was a feasible choice.

Single-Crystalline Mo-Nanowire-Mediated Directional Growth of High-Index-Faceted MoNi Electrocatalyst for Ultralong-Term Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution

As appealing alternatives to noble-metal-based electrocatalysts for catalyzing hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkali electrolyzers, earth-abundant MoNi-based catalysts have attracted intensive attention. Unfortunately, the exploration of MoNi-based electrocatalysts with superior intrinsic activity and ultralong-term stability still remains a grand challenge. Here, ultralong high-index faceted Mo@MoNi core-shell nanowires were topochemically synthesized through the thermal reduction of Mo@NiMoO₄ core-shell nanowires, where single-crystalline Mo support facilitates the topological transformation of NiMoO₄ into high-index faceted MoNi. When the as-achieved Mo@MoNi core-shell nanowire film serve as a free-standing cathode in alkaline solutions, it exhibit a remarkably decreased HER overpotential of 18 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 and a Tafel slope of ∼33 mV dec^-1, which are much lower than those for the state-of-the-art earth-abundant electrocatalysts and even commercial Pt/C. Experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that the exposed high-index (331) facets of MoNi can considerably reduce the energy barriers of initial water dissociation and subsequent hydrogen combination steps, which synergistically accelerates the sluggish alkaline HER kinetics. Significantly, after a 70-day HER operation, the overpotential of Mo@MoNi electrocatalysts at 10 mA cm^-2 decreases by only 4 mV. Therefore, this work sheds a bright light on the rational design of high-performance HER electrocatalysts and their practical utilization for alkaline electrolyzers.

[Consensus of Chinese experts on diagnosis and treatment processes of acute myocardial infarction in the context of prevention and control of COVID-19 (first edition)]

The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic starting in Wuhan in December, 2019 has spread rapidly throughout the nation. The control measures to contain the epidemic also produced influences on the transport and treatment process of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and adjustments in the management of the patients need to be made at this particular time. AMI is characterized by an acute onset with potentially fatal consequence, a short optimal treatment window, and frequent complications including respiratory infections and respiratory and circulatory failure, for which active on-site treatment is essential. To standardize the management and facilitate the diagnosis and treatment, we formulated the guidelines for the procedures and strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of AMI, which highlight 5 Key Principles, namely Nearby treatment, Safety protection, Priority of thrombolysis, Transport to designated hospitals, and Remote consultation. For AMI patients, different treatment strategies are selected based on the screening results of SARS-CoV-2, the time window of STEMI onset, and the vital signs of the patients. During this special period, the cardiologists, including the interventional physicians, should be fully aware of the indications and contraindications of thrombolysis. In the transport and treatment of AMI patients, the physicians should strictly observe the indications for patient transport with appropriate protective measurements of the medical staff.

Ni2+-BSA Directional Coordination-Assisted Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Microspheres with Enhanced Specific Rebinding to Target Proteins

Protein imprinting technology is of interest in drug delivery, biosensing, solid-phase extraction, and so forth. However, the efficient recognition and separation of proteins have remained challenging to date. Toward this, under the assistance of Ni²⁺-bovine serum albumin (BSA) directional coordination strategy, magnetic BSA-imprinted materials had been synthesized via dopamine self-polymerization on hollow Fe₃O₄@mSiO₂ microspheres (mSiO₂ referred as mesoporous silica). The well-defined imprinted microspheres possessed more satisfactory adsorption capacity (266.99 mg/g), enhanced imprinting factor (5.45), and fast adsorption saturation kinetics (40 min) for BSA, superior to many previous reports. Benefiting from the coordinate interaction between Ni²⁺ and BSA, these fabricated microspheres exhibited excellent specificity not only in individual and competitive protein rebinding samples but also in bovine serum. Combined with the directional coordination method, the magnetic-imprinted composite materials to selectively capture target proteins could provide promising potential in applications.

[Identification of Methamphetamine Abuse and Selegiline Use： Chiral Analysis of Methamphetamine and Amphetamine in Urine]

OBJECTIVES

To study the content variation of selegiline and its metabolites in urine, and based on actual cases, to explore the feasibility for the identification of methamphetamine abuse and selegiline use by chiral analysis.

METHODS

The urine samples were tested by chiral separation and LC-MS/MS method using CHIROBIOTIC™ V2 chiral liquid chromatography column. The chiral analysis of methamphetamine and amphetamine were performed on the urine samples from volunteers of selegiline use and drug addicts whom suspected taking selegiline.

RESULTS

After 5 mg oral administration, the positive test time of selegiline in urine was less than 7 h. The mass concentrations of R（-）-methamphetamine and R（-）-amphetamine in urine peaked at 7 h which were 0.86 μg/mL and 0.18 μg/mL and couldn't be detected after 80 h and 168 h, respectively. The sources of methamphetamine and amphetamine in the urine from the drug addicts whom suspected taking selegiline were analysed successfully by present method.

CONCLUSIONS

The chiral analysis of methamphetamine and amphetamine, and the determination of selegiline's metabolites can be used to distinguish methamphetamine abuse from selegiline use.

Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 deficiency diagnosed by whole exome sequencing

BACKGROUND

Carbamoyl Phosphate Synthetase 1 deficiency (CPS1D) is a rare autosomal recessive inborn metabolic disease characterized mainly by hyperammonemia. The fatal nature of CPS1D and its similar symptoms with other urea cycle disorders (UCDs) make its diagnosis difficult, and the molecular diagnosis is hindered due to the large size of the causative gene CPS1. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the clinical applicability of exome sequencing in molecular diagnosis of CPS1D in Chinese population.

METHODS

We described two Chinese neonates presented with unconsciousness and drowsiness due to deepening encephalopathy with hyperammonemia. Whole exome sequencing was performed. Candidate mutations were validated by Sanger sequencing. In-silicon analysis was processed for the pathogenicity predictions of the identified mutations.

RESULTS

Two compound heterozygous mutations in the gene carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1(CPS1) were identified. One is in Case 1 with two novel missense mutations (c.2537C>T, p. Pro846Leu and c.3443T>A, p.Met1148Lys), and the other one is in Case 2 with a novel missense mutation (c.1799G>A, p.Cys600Tyr) and a previously reported 12-bp deletion (c.4088_4099del, p.Leu 1363_Ile1366del). Bioinformatics deleterious predictions indicated pathogenicity of the missense mutations. Conversation analysis and homology modeling showed that the substituted amino acids were highly evolutionary conserved and necessary for enzyme stability or function.

CONCLUSION

The present study initially and successfully applied whole exome sequencing to the molecular diagnosis of CPS1D in Chinese neonates, indicating its applicability in cost-effective molecular diagnosis of CPS1D. Three novel pathogenic missense mutations were identified, expanded the mutational spectrum of the CPS1 gene.

[Comparison of morphine and codeine concentration in urines of heroin abusers and codeine users]

OBJECTIVE

To compare morphine and codeine concentration in urines of heroin abusers and codeine users and to discuss the judgment index to distinguish between heroin abuser and codeine user.

METHODS

The urines of heroin abusers and codeine users were collected at different time periods. After protein precipitation, the urine samples were conducted for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of morphine and codeine by UPLC-MS/MS. And the results were all statistically analyzed.

RESULTS

Statistical analysis showed that morphine and codeine concentration in urines of heroin abusers and codeine users were both abnormal distributions. The probability of the heroin abuser would be more than 95% and less than 5% for the codeine user when the concentration of morphine in urine sample was more than 67 ng/mL. The probability of the codeine user would be more than 95% and less than 5% for the heroin abuser when the concentration of morphine in urine sample was less than 67 ng/mL.

CONCLUSION

The morphine concentration in urine could be used as a criterion to distinguish the heroin abuser from the codeine user, while the codeine concentration could not.

Chemotherapy uptake and wait times in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

Treatment uptake and elapsed times along the care path have emerged as potential quality indicators for cancer care delivery. This retrospective study examined changes in adjuvant chemotherapy uptake and elapsed times along the care path for patients in 2005 and in 2007 who had early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (nsclc) and who underwent curative-intent surgery in Nova Scotia, Canada.

METHODS

All patients who underwent curative-intent surgery for stages i-iii nsclc in the two years of interest were included. Logistic regression and general linear models were used to examine factors associated with chemotherapy uptake patterns and, at various resolutions (low, intermediate, high), elapsed times between all care events in the care path.

RESULTS

In the 223 patients who underwent curative-intent surgery (108 in 2005, 115 in 2007), several factors were associated with uptake patterns and elapsed times. Cohort year (2007 vs. 2005) was not associated with referral to medical oncology [odds ratio (or): 1.05; 95% confidence interval (ci): 0.51 to 2.15; p = 0.905], but it was associated with less treatment after referral (or: 0.34; 95% ci: 0.11 to 1.00; p = 0.057) and less overall uptake (or: 0.35; 95% ci: 0.13 to 0.95; p = 0.040). Patients were referred sooner to medical oncology in 2007 than in 2005 (21 days vs. 35 days, p = 0.008), but experienced longer waits between consultation and chemotherapy delivery (18 days vs. 7 days, p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Significant differences were observed in care patterns over time. Frequent monitoring of care patterns at high resolution may optimize insights into emerging trends within cancer care systems.

Visceral fat mass is always, but adipokines (adiponectin and resistin) are diversely associated with insulin resistance in Chinese type 2 diabetic and normoglycemic subjects

AIMS

The present study investigated alteration of abdominal visceral fat mass (VFM) and its relationship to adipokines and insulin resistance (IR) in obese and non-obese type 2 diabetes and normoglycemic subjects.

METHODS

Twenty-two diabetic patients and 37 normoglycemic controls were subgrouped into obese and non-obese according to their BMI. VFM was quantified by computed tomography. Plasma adiponectin and resistin, two adipokines exert contrary effects on insulin sensitivity were measured. Insulin sensitivity was evaluated by an established HOMA model.

RESULTS

Obese subjects showed remarkably expanded VFM, while non-obese diabetes obtained more abundant VFM than non-obese controls (104 ± 50 cm(2)vs. 77 ± 26 cm(2), P<0.05). Plasma adiponectin was only significantly decreased in obese diabetes. Plasma resistin was increased in diabetes, but compared between obese and non-obese subjects. Diabetic patients and obese controls were significantly insulin resistant. HOMA-IR index positively correlated to VFM in both groups (r=0.563, P=0.011 for diabetes and r=0.671, P=0.000 for controls). In diabetes but not controls, plasma adiponectin negatively related to VFM (r=-0.687, P=0.000) and HOMA-IR index (r=-0.659, P=0.002), while resistin had no relation to IR and VFM in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased VFM may lead to IR by mechanisms beyond adipokines in Chinese type 2 diabetic and normoglycemic subjects.

Effects of testosterone on norepinephrine release in isolated rat heart

The effects of testosterone on norepinephrine release were investigated in the isolated rat hearts. Sprague-Dawley male rats (n=120) were randomized to testosterone and control groups. The rats in testosterone group were perfused with modified Krebs-Henseleit buffer containing different concentrations of testosterone (0.1, 1.0, 10.0, and 100.0 nmol/L, respectively). Myocardial ischemia was induced by globally stopping the perfusion flow. Exocytotic norepinephrine release was induced by electrical field stimulation at 5 V (effective voltage) and 6 Hz (pulse width of 2 ms) for 1 min. The overflow of norepinephrine was determined by high pressure liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection (HPLC-EC). Following acute ischemia, testosterone (1.0, 10.0 and 100.0 nmol/L) significantly reduced norepinephrine release (P<0.01), and the norepinepherine overflow was similar between the control and 0.1 nmol/L testosterone group (P>0.05). Electrical stimulation of the ventricle evoked norepinepherine release, and this was diminished by the perfusion with testosterone at the concentrations of 1.0, 10.0 and 100.0 nmol/L (P<0.01). It is suggested that testosterone suppresses ischemia- and electrical stimulation-induced norepinepherine release in the isolated rat hearts.

[Determination of propofol in human blood by GC-MS]

OBJECTIVE

To establish a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method for determination of propofol in human blood.

METHODS

Propofol and 2-(tert-Butyl)-4,6-dimethylphenol (internal standard) were isolated from human blood samples with liquid-liquid ether extraction. The organic layer was collected after centrifugation and dried using the water bath. The extracted residue was analyzed by GC-MS.

RESULTS

Propofol and the internal standard showed a good separation with a good linear concentration ranged from 0.02 to 10 microg/mL in blood. The linear function was y = 0.313 6 x-0.006 8 with the correlation coefficient of 0.9997. The precision of intra-day and inter-day were less than 4.8% and the lower limit of detection of propofol was 0.005 microg/mL. Propofol concentration of blood was 0.14 microg/mL using this method in the practice work.

CONCLUSION

The GC-MS method is rapid, sensitive, reliable and suitable for qualitative and quantitative analysis propofol of blood in forensic toxicological analysis and clinical drug monitoring.

A modified fractal zone plate with extended depth of focus in spectral domain optical coherence tomography

In optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems, there is a trade-off between the depth of focus (DOF) and lateral resolution when conventional lenses are used. We propose a new method that employs a modified fractal generalized zone plate (MFraGZP) combined with a conventional lens to improve the trade-off effect, with an extended DOF of about 2.5 mm (14 times larger) while the lateral resolution is maintained at ~9.5 μm. As an example, images of the calibration microspheres are obtained and demonstrated with the extended DOF in a spectral domain OCT system.

Manipulation of surface plasmon polaritons by phase modulation of incident light

Manipulation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) by phase modulation of incident light beams is proposed with analytical and numerical verifications when an optical vortex (OV) beam is employed as an example. Fundamental functionalities of a plasmonic chip such as in-plane focusing, coupling and multiplexing of SPP by sequentially varying the topological charge of OV beam are demonstrated. Complementary to the manually-controlled optical-path-different technique reported in literature, the proposed method reveals a direct phase transform from OV beam to SPP with dynamic and reconfigurable advantages.

Deterministic relief dielectric structures to realize phase modulation of surface-plasmon polaritons

We propose a modified effective-refractive-index model for the design of relief dielectric structures on a metal surface to realize phase modulation of surface-plasmon polaritons (SPPs). In this model, the length of the dielectric structure is optimized to reach phase shifting between the SPP waves transmitted through dielectric structure and those directly propagated with the consideration of SPP losses. Specifically, a one-dimensional dielectric Fresnel zone plate is designed by employing the proposed model to demonstrate phase modulation of SPPs for the highest focusing efficiency.

The prevalence of drugs in motor vehicle accidents and traffic violations in Shanghai and neighboring cities

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of psychoactive drug use among motor vehicle drivers in Shanghai and its neighboring cities. We selected 10,002 drivers involved in a traffic accident or violation between 2007 and 2008 in Shanghai, Suzhou and Wuxi. We checked for the presence of psychoactive drugs from blood samples using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). Of the 10,002 drivers, 10.5% tested positive for drugs (excluding alcohol). Cold medicines were the most frequently detected drugs including chlorpheniramine (4.78%), pseudoephedrine (2.15%) and paracetamol (1.32%). The use of multiple cold medicines was common. Illegal drugs such as methamphetamine (0.15%), ketamine (0.03%) and MDMA (0.01%) were also detected. The prevalence of psychoactive drugs among drivers involved in traffic accidents or violations in Shanghai and its neighboring cities was lower compared to previous reports in Europe. Furthermore, cannabis--which has been reported to be the most widely used psychoactive drug after alcohol--was not commonly encountered among Shanghai drivers.