Carcinogenesis of Male Oral Submucous Fibrosis Alters Salivary Microbiomes

Most oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tumors arise from oral premalignant lesions. Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF), usually occurring in male chewers of betel quid, is a premalignant stromal disease characterized by a high malignant transformation rate and high prevalence. Although a relationship between the inhabited microbiome and carcinogenesis has been proposed, no detailed information regarding the oral microbiome of patients with OSF exists; the changes of the salivary microbiome during cancer formation remain unclear. This study compared the salivary microbiomes of male patients with OSCC and a predisposing OSF background (OSCC-OSF group) and those with OSF only (OSF group). The results of high-throughput sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene indicated that OSF-related carcinogenesis and smoking status significantly contributed to phylogenetic composition variations in the salivary microbiome, leading to considerable reductions in species richness and phylogenetic diversity. The microbiome profile of OSF-related malignancy was associated with increased microbial stochastic fluctuation, which dominated the salivary microbiome assembly and caused species co-occurrence network collapse. Artificial intelligence selection algorithms consistently identified 5 key species in the OSCC-OSF group: Porphyromonas catoniae, Prevotella multisaccharivorax, Prevotella sp. HMT-300, Mitsuokella sp. HMT-131, and Treponema sp. HMT-927. Robust accuracy in predicting oral carcinogenesis was obtained with our exploratory and validation data sets. In functional analysis, the microbiome of the OSCC-OSF group had greater potential for S-adenosyl-l-methionine and norspermidine synthesis but lower potential for l-ornithine and pyrimidine deoxyribonucleotide synthesis and formaldehyde metabolism. These findings indicated that the salivary microbiome plays important roles in modulating microbial metabolites during oral carcinogenesis. In conclusion, our results provided new insights into salivary microbiome alterations during the malignant transformation of OSF.

[A comparison of the clinical diagnosis and outcome in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia under two different diagnostic criteria]

Objective: To compare the clinical diagnosis and outcomes of preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) under two different diagnostic criteria. Methods: A retrospective study was performed in 157 preterm infants who were admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine from January 2015 to December 2018. Enrolled infants, with gestational age <32 weeks and survived >14 days, met the 2001 National Institute of Child Health and Human Development(NICHD) definition of moderate and severe BPD or died between 14 days of postnatal age and 36 weeks owing to persistent parenchymal lung disease and respiratory failure. The severities of BPD were revaluated according to the 2018 revised definition of BPD proposed by NICHD. Characteristics and outcomes of these infants were compared with the two different diagnostic criteria with t-test, nonparametric test or Chi-square test. Results: In the 157 enrolled infants (100 males), severities of BPD were classified as moderate in 62, severe in 84 and unclassifiable in 11 according to the 2001 NICHD criteria, while grade Ⅰ in 51, Ⅱ in 29, Ⅲ in 66 and ⅢA in 11 infants respectively according to the 2018 NICHD criteria. Duration of oxygen therapy, positive pressure ventilation and endotracheal intubation in grade Ⅱinfants of 2018 criteria were much longer than that in moderate infants of 2001 criteria (80 (65, 95) vs. 65 (59, 77) d, 52 (38, 58) vs.30 (19, 48) d, 10 (2, 17) vs.4 (0, 12) d, Z=-2.995, -3.750, -2.073, all P<0.05). Mortality of moderate and severe infants in 2001 criteria was 10.3% (15/146), while mortality of BPD in 2018 criteria was 16.6% (26/157). Mortality of grade Ⅲ and ⅢA BPD in 2018 criteria was much higher than mortality of severe BPD in 2001 criteria (33.8% (26/77) vs. 17.9%(15/84), χ(2)=5.357, P<0.05). Conclusion: Definition and classification of BPD based on 2001 NICHD criteria may cause missed or unclassified cases, resulting in the underestimation of the morbidity and mortality of infants with severe BPD.

[Coexisting mutations in NPM1-mutated elderly adults with acute myeloid leukemia]

Objective: To explore the coexisting mutations in NPM1 mutated elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia(AML). Methods: The clinical data of 152 elderly adults(aged≥60 years) and 49 young adults(aged 18-45 years) with AML between June 2013 and December 2018 in outpatient and hospitalized patients of Changzhou Second People's Hospital and Wuxi Second People's Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. A total of 51 gene mutations were detected using targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) and sanger sequencing. The general clinical characteristics, the occurrence of coexistence gene mutations, the correlation between coexistence gene mutations and some clinical parameters, and the initial induction remission rate between elderly and young adult AML patients with NPM1 mutations were analyzed and compared. Results: NPM1 mutations were detected in 46 of 152 elderly AML patients. Thirty eight patients (82.6%) with NPM1 mutations carried other gene mutations at the same time, among whom 8 patients (17.4%) carried NPM1 mutations alone, while 14(30.4%) carried 2, 16 (34.8%) carried 3, and 8 (17.4%) carried ≥ 4 mutations. NPM1 mutations frequently co-occurred with FLT3-ITD15 cases (32.6%) , DNMT3A10 (21.7%) , TET26 (13.4%) and FLT3-TKD5 (10.9%) . Compared with young adults with NPM1 mutations, elderly patients had higher TP53, FLT3-TKD rates, lower incidence of DNMT3A, RAS mutation (all P<0.05) and lower coexistence rate of 4 gene mutations (P=0.002).The presence of ≥ 4 mutations was found to be significantly associated with higher white blood level than those in patients with single, double and 3 mutations coexisted in elderly adults AML patients(all P<0.05). With the increase of the amount of mutations, the complete remission(CR) rate decreased gradually after the initial induction. Patients who carried 3 or more mutations showed a lower CR rate than those with single gene mutations (all P<0.05) . Patients who carried>4 genes also showed a significantly lower CR rate than those with double gene mutations (P=0.031). Patients with FLT3-ITD mutations exhibited higher white blood level and lower CR rate than that in nonmutant type group (all P<0.05). The CR rate of patients with DNMT3A mutation was also significantly lower than that with nonmutant type (P=0.033). However, patients with FLT3-TKD mutations showed a higher platelet level than that with nonmutant type (P=0.019). There was no significant difference in CR rate and peripheral blood cell level between TET2 mutated and nonmutant type. Conclusion: NPM1 mutated elderly patients with AML commonly show additional mutations, and the amount and type of coexisting mutations have an influence on the clinical features and CR rate of elderly patients with AML.

Arecoline-regulated ataxia telangiectasia mutated expression level in oral cancer progression

BACKGROUND

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) regulates DNA repair and cell cycle. The present study analyzed arecoline-induced ATM expression during oral cancer progression.

METHODS

In vitro studies were performed using oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines treated with arecoline to analyze cell response and ATM regulation. in vivo studies were performed using immunohistochemistry to detect ATM expression in normal, oral potentially malignant disorder (OPMD), and OSCC tissues.

RESULTS

Low-dose arecoline induced cell proliferation, ATM promoter activity, and DNA repair. High-dose arecoline induced cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and DNA damage. ATM was overexpressed in OPMD tissues but was downregulated in OSCC tissues. ATM expression level was associated with the risk of developing dysplasia, buccal-OSCC, and with OSCC survival rate.

CONCLUSION

High ATM expression helps DNA repair mechanisms to maintain the cells in the OPMD stage, but low ATM expression causes DNA damage accumulation to increase cell malignancy.

Local Schottky contacts of embedded Ag nanoparticles in Al2O3/SiN x :H stacks on Si: a design to enhance field effect passivation of Si junctions

This paper describes an original design leading to the field effect passivation of Si n⁺-p junctions. Ordered Ag nanoparticle (Ag-NP) arrays with optimal size and coverage fabricated by means of nanosphere lithography and thermal evaporation, were embedded in ultrathin-Al₂O₃/SiN _x :H stacks on the top of implanted Si n⁺-p junctions, to achieve effective surface passivation. One way to characterize surface passivation is to use photocurrent, sensitive to recombination centers. We evidenced an improvement of photocurrent by a factor of 5 with the presence of Ag NPs. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations combining with semi-quantitative calculations demonstrated that such gain was mainly due to the enhanced field effect passivation through the depleted region associated with the Ag-NPs/Si Schottky contacts.

[Value of sepsis single-disease manage system in predicting mortality in patients with sepsis]

Objective: To observe the effect of sepsis single-disease manage system on the improvement of sepsis treatment and the value in predicting mortality in patients with sepsis. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted. Patients with sepsis admitted to the Department of Surgical Intensive Care Unit of Sun Yat-Sen University First Affiliated Hospital from September 22, 2013 to May 5, 2015 were enrolled in this study. Sepsis single-disease manage system (Rui Xin clinical data manage system, China data, China) was used to monitor 25 clinical quality parameters, consisting of timeliness, normalization and outcome parameters. Based on whether these quality parameters could be completed or not, the clinical practice was evaluated by the system. The unachieved quality parameter was defined as suspicious parameters, and these suspicious parameters were used to predict mortality of patients with receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Results: A total of 1 220 patients with sepsis were enrolled, included 805 males and 415 females. The mean age was (59±17) years, and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE Ⅱ) scores was 19±8. The area under ROC curve of total suspicious numbers for predicting 28-day mortality was 0.70; when the suspicious parameters number was more than 6, the sensitivity was 68.0% and the specificity was 61.0% for predicting 28-day mortality. In addition, the area under ROC curve of outcome suspicious number for predicting 28-day mortality was 0.89; when the suspicious outcome parameters numbers was more than 1, the sensitivity was 88.0% and the specificity was 78.0% for predicting 28-day mortality. Moreover, the area under ROC curve of total suspicious number for predicting 90-day mortality was 0.73; when the total suspicious parameters number was more than 7, the sensitivity was 60.0% and the specificity was 74.0% for predicting 90-day mortality. Finally, the area under ROC curve of outcome suspicious numbers for predicting 90-day mortality was 0.92; when suspicious outcome parameters numbers was more than 1, the sensitivity was 88.0% and the specificity was 81.0% for predicting 90-day mortality. Conclusion: The single center study suggests that this sepsis single-disease manage system could be used to monitor the completion of clinical practice for intensivist in managing sepsis, and the number of quality parameters failed to complete could be used to predict the mortality of the patients.

[Clinical effectiveness of pleural abrasion in video-assisted thoracic surgery for bullae resection]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of pleural abrasion in treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax with video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for bullae resection. Methods: The clinical data of 158 patients with initial spontaneous pneumothorax who underwent video-assisted thoracic wedge resections with or without pleural abrasion in Henan Provincial People's Hospital from June 2010 to June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were assigned to two equal groups according to whether pleural abrasion was applied or not: experimental group (with pleural abrasion) and control group (without pleural abrasion); and there were 79 patients in each group.There were 62 males and 17 females aged 15-60 years (mean age 34 years) in pleural abrasion group. And there were 70 males and 9 females aged 18-60 years (mean age 38 years) in non-pleural abrasion group.After surgery, all patients were evaluated for postoperative pain, chest tube removal time, hospital stay and other complications.Independent samples t test was used to compare the data between groups. Results: Surgeries for 158 patients were performed successfully.No mortality occurred.There was no conversion to thoracotomy.Postoperative pain, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, chest tube removal time, pleural canals flowand average hospital stay in non-pleural abrasion group was significantly lower for 4.4, 19 minutes, 10 ml, 21 hours, 87 ml and 1.4 days respectively when compared with those in pleural abrasion group (t=32.478, 7.140, 11.093, 7.288, 10.246, 8.070, all P<0.05). There was no missing case with a follow-up of 30 months.No complications, such as pneumothorax, was observed. Conclusions: Postoperative pain, chest tube removal time and hospital stay in non-pleural abrasion group are all lower than those in pleural abrasion group.And there is no significant difference in the recurrence of pneumothorax between the two groups after VATS bullae resection.

[The surgical management of giant intracranial vestibular schwannoma via retrosigmoid approach: a retrospective review of 657 cases]

OBJECTIVE

To discuss the surgical technique and common complications from the microsurgical treatment of giant intracranial vestibular schwannoma via suboccipital retrosigmoid approach and to propose strategies for minimizing such complications.

METHODS

Surgical outcomes and complications were evaluated in a consecutive series of 657 unilateral giant vestibular schwannomas treated in Shanghai Huashan Hospital via suboccipital retrosigmoid approach from 1999 to 2014. According to the international classification of vestibular schwannoma, giant tumor means tumor's size over 4 cm in diameter. Clinical status and complications were assessed postoperatively within 14 days and at follow-ups (range, 6-191 months; mean, 59.6 months).

RESULTS

Follow-up data were available for 566 of the 657 patients (86.1%). The most frequent clinical symptoms were hearing loss in different levels (100%), deafness (36.4%), facial numbness (68.8%). Total tumor resection was achieved in 556 patients (84.6%), subtotal resection in 99 patients (15.1%), and partial resection in 2 patients (0.3%). The common postoperative complications included new deafness (49.6%), intracranial infection (7.6%), low cranial nerve defect (7.5%) and pneumonia (6.2%). The facial nerve was preserved anatomically in 589 cases (89.6%) after operation, and the functional valuation of facial nerve according to postoperative House-Brackmann showed 216 patients (32.9%) in grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ, 308 cases (46.9%) in grade Ⅲ, 133 patients (20.2%) in grade Ⅳ-Ⅵ. Long-term followed-up results showed 428 patients (75.6%) in grade Ⅰ-Ⅲ one year after surgical treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Many of these complications are avoidable. Surgical experiences and the clinical anatomy of the approach, accompany with using intraoperative nerve monitoring, preoperatively study the individual imaging and clinical data and multidisciplinary cooperation are the key points to avoid the complications of giant intracranial vestibular schwannoma via suboccipital retrosigmoid approach.

Multiple variants in 5q31.1 are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus susceptibility and subphenotypes in the Han Chinese population

BACKGROUND

A previous study provided evidence for a genetic association between PPP2CA on 5q31.1 and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) across multi-ancestral cohorts, but failed to find significant evidence for an association in the Han Chinese population.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the association between this locus and SLE using data from our previously published genome-wide association study (GWAS).

METHODS

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs7726414 and rs244689 (near TCF7 and PPP2CA in 5q31.1) were selected as candidate independent associations from a large-scale study in a Han Chinese population consisting of 1047 cases and 1205 controls. Subsequently, 3509 cases and 8246 controls were genotyped in two further replication studies. We then investigated the SNPs' associations with SLE subphenotypes and gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

RESULTS

Highly significant associations with SLE in the Han Chinese population were detected for SNPs rs7726414 and rs244689 by combining the genotype data from our previous GWAS and two independent replication cohorts. Further conditional analyses indicated that these two SNPs contribute to disease susceptibility independently. A significant association with SLE, age at diagnosis < 20 years, was found for rs7726414 (P = 0·001). The expression levels of TCF7 and PPP2CA messenger RNA in patients with SLE were significantly decreased compared with those in healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONS

This study found evidence for multiple associations with SLE in 5q31.1 at genome-wide levels of significance for the first time in a Han Chinese population, in a combined genotype dataset. These findings suggest that variants in the 5q31.1 locus not only provide novel insights into the genetic architecture of SLE, but also contribute to the complex subphenotypes of SLE.

[Study on the role of NALP3 inflammasome in Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide induced RAW264.7]

Objective: To illuminate the effect of NALP3 inflammasome on regulating the expression of cytokines of macrophages in periodontitis. Methods: RAW264.7 cells were cultured and divided into three groups. The first group stayed normal as control, the second group was stimulated by 1 mg/L Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the third group was pretreated with AC-YVAD-CMK (caspase-1 inhibitor) before stimulated with 1 mg/L Pg LPS. RAW264.7 cells pretreated with various concentrations (0, 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, 200 μmol/L) of AC-YVAD-CMK for 2 h, and stimulated by 1 mg/L Pg LPS for 24 h in the third group. After that, cell survival rate were detected by cell counting kit-8. Every group cells gene transcription of NALP3 and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) after 6 h, protein expression of NALP3 and IL-1β were separately detected by Western blotting and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) after 24 h, respectively. Results: It is observed that treatment with 5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 100, 200 μmol/L AC-YVAD-CMK did not significantly affect the viability of RAW264.7 cells. qPCR showed that mRNA expression of IL-1β level (1.03±0.08, 5.48±0.22, 4.31±0.20) and NALP3 level (0.96±0.05, 2.62±0.44, 1.73±0.09). Western blotting showed that protein expression of NALP3 level (1.00±0.10, 2.34±0.04, 1.64±0.04), ELISA showed protein secretion of IL-1β level ([40.20±0.25], [61.50±1.81], [52.40±1.91] ng/L). After stimulated by Pg LPS, mRNA and protein expression of IL-1β (P<0.01, P<0.01) and NALP3 (P<0.01, P<0.01) significantly increased; but the expression of IL-1β (P=0.002, P=0.027) and NALP3 (P<0.01, P<0.01) were decreased when pretreated with AC-YVAD-CMK. Conclusions: NALP3 inflammasome signal pathway can be activated by Pg LPS in RAW264.7. Block of the pathway can inhibit Pg LPS-induced secretion of cytokines.

[The relationship between type Ⅱ diabetes mellitus and hearing loss：a Meta-analysi]

Objective:Analysis of the relationship between type 2 diabetes and hearing loss through the available literature.Method:According to the main keyword retrieval databases at home and abroad,and in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the literature,the listening incidence rate,OR value,the frequency of pure tone hearing threshold,tests the average standard deviation were chose as the evaluation index. Meta analysis was carried out using Rev Man5.3 software. Result:According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,the articles were screened and included in the final to meet the requirements of the 17 studies. The prevalence of hearing loss in patients with type II diabetes mellitus was 21.0%-74.6%,which was 2.54 times higher than the control group. The difference was statistically significant between the two groups(OR=2.54,95% CI 1.85-3.49,P<0.000 01). In addition,the hearing threshold of all frequencies in type Ⅱ diabetes group was higher than that of control group(Z=5.03,P<0.000 01). Conclusion:Type 2 diabetes can affect hearing loss,especially at the high frequencies.

Asymptomatic and symptomatic urethral gonorrhoea in men who have sex with men attending a sexual health service

OBJECTIVES

Guidelines regarding whether men who have sex with men (MSM) without symptoms of urethritis should be screened for urethral gonorrhoea differ between countries. We examined the rate of asymptomatic urethral gonorrhoea in MSM using sensitive nucleic acid amplification testing.

METHODS

This study was conducted on consecutive MSM attending the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre between July 2015 and May 2016 for sexually transmitted infections screening. Gonorrhoea testing with the Aptima Combo 2 (AC2) assay was performed on all urine specimens obtained from MSM, whether symptoms of urethritis were present or not. Men were classified as having: typical discharge if they reported symptoms suggesting purulent discharge; other symptoms if they reported other symptoms of urethritis; and no symptoms if they reported no urethral symptoms.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were 7941 clinic visits by 5947 individual MSM with 7090 urine specimens obtained from 5497 individual MSM tested with the AC2 assay. Urethral gonorrhoea was detected in 242 urine specimens from 228 individual MSM. The majority (189/242, 78%, 95% CI 73-83) reported typical discharge, 27/242 (11%, 95% CI 8-16) reported other urethral symptoms, and 26/242 (11%, 95% CI 7-15) reported no symptoms on the day of presentation and testing. Among men with urethral gonorrhoea, the proportions with concurrent pharyngeal or rectal gonorrhoea were 32% (134/210) and 64% (74/235), respectively. The mean interval between last reported sexual contact and onset of typical urethral discharge, where present, was 3.9 days.

CONCLUSION

The findings from our study lend support to guidelines that recommend screening asymptomatic MSM for urethral gonorrhoea.

[Effect of intravenous injection of intravenous injection of chlorine on blood oxygen saturation in patients with nasal endoscopic surgery]

Objective:To observe the effect of intravenous injection of chlorine on postoperative analgesia and blood oxygen saturation in patients with nasal endoscopic surgery.Method:According to the standard of American Society of anesthesiologists(ASA) grading assessment for Ⅰ-Ⅱ, undergoing nasal endoscopic surgery of 120 patients were randomly divided into two groups, 60 cases in each group. Control group dezocine 0.8 g/kg+ physiological saline to 100 ml; on the basis of the experimental group with flurbiprofen 2 mg/kg+ physiological saline to 100 ml. Respectively in the postoperative recovery and postoperative 2, 4, 12, 24 and 48 h recording vital signs, pain scores(visual analogue score, VAS) and sedation score(Ramsay score) and observe the adverse reaction rate and patient surveys on the satisfaction of postoperative analgesia.Result:The two groups compared test of TKA group after 4, 8, 12, 24, 36 h, 48 h, 72 h resting VAS score and postoperative 24 h, 48 h, 72 h activities of VAS score were lower than the control group, the difference is statistically significant (F=1 873.26, P< 0.05). After 2 h, 6 h, 2 groups of pH, PaO₂, PaCO₂, SpO₂ compared statistically significant (P> 0.05). After 24h, 48h after test group, PaO₂, PaCO₂, SpO₂ is better than that of the control group(P< 0.05); after 6 h, 24 h, 48 h after the test group patients Ramsay Sedation score than the control group, the difference is statistically significant(F=1 031.35, P< 0.05). The experimental group after TKA patients of pain control education satisfaction and to control or reduce pain method of satisfaction were superior to the control group, the difference significant (χ²=11.02, P< 0.05;χ²=9.33, P< 0.05).Conclusion:The application of intravenous injection of intravenous injection of chlorine in the postoperative pain of nasal endoscopic surgery can significantly improve the analgesic effect, improve the blood gas analysis, improve the analgesic effect, it is worthy of popularization and application.

[Analysis of the influence of gender on the clinicopathological features and prognosis of pancreatic cystic neoplasms]

Objective: To compare the clinicopathological features and prognosis of pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCN) between male and female patients. Methods: A total of 325 patients with histological confirmed PCN from January 2010 to October 2015 were enrolled. The clinicopathological features, laboratory examination, imaging features, treatment and prognosis were analyzed. Results: Of the 325 patients diagnosed as PCN, 104 were male and 221 were female. The average age of male patients was significantly higher than that of female patients (55.0±12.7 vs 47.9±13.4 years, P<0.001), however, the average tumor size of male patients was smaller than that of female patients (3.9±2.7 vs 4.9±3.0 cm, P=0.004). The location of PCN in male patients was predominantly located at pancreatic head and neck, and majority of male patients were mucinous cystic neoplasms. 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rates of patients with PCN were 98.5%, 92.6%, and 87.5%, respectively. 1-year, 3-year and 5-year survival rates of male patients were 97.8%, 84.9%, and 77.8%, however, those of female patients were 98.8%, 96.5%, and 92.2%, respectively. Female patients had better prognosis than male patients (χ²=5.543, P=0.019). Elevated CA19-9 (χ²=3.843, P=0.050), perineuronal invasion (χ²=6.250, P=0.012) and lymph node metastasis (χ²=4.529, P=0.033) were important prognostic factors for malignant mucinous cystic neoplasm. Conclusions: Male patients had low incidence of PCN, and were more common for mucinous cystic neoplasm. The long-term outcome of malignant PCN was poor. Even with complete resection, male patients still had worse prognosis. Close follow-up is recommended especially for male patients.

Fatal lactic acidosis associated with highly active antiretroviral therapy in patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus infection in Taiwan

Lactic acidosis (LA), a rare but life-threatening adverse effect associated with antiretroviral therapy, has been reported with an increasing frequency since the mid1990s. From June 1994 to June 2002, a total of six patients, four males and two females with a median age of 43 years (range, 30 to 74 years), had been diagnosed with LA. The estimated incidence of LA was 5.1 per 1000 patient-years (PYs) on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 4.5-5.5 per 1000 PYs) and 4.4 per 1000 PY on nucleoside analogues (NAs) (95% CI, 3.9-4.7 per 1000 PYs). Their median body mass index at diagnosis of LA was 17.6 kg/m2 (range 16.3 to 22.6 kg/m2). The median CD4+ lymphocyte count at the initial diagnosis of HIV infection and at the onset of LA was 38 cells/µL (range, 4 to 103 cells/µL) and 108 cells/µL (range, 79 to 224 cells/µL), respectively. The most common symptoms were nausea, vomiting, and dyspnoea. All of the patients had findings suggestive of NA-related mitochondrial toxicity, such as myositis, pancreatitis, fatty hepatitis, peripheral neuropathy or lipodystrophy. The prescribed NA related to LA were stavudine in six patients, lamivudine, five, and didanosine, one. Despite treatment, all patients died of persistent circulatory collapse following LA. The median duration from diagnosis to death was eight days (range, 4-17 days). Our report highlights that clinicians caring for patients with AIDS should be alerted to the potentially fatal LA associated with antiretroviral therapy when patients present with low body mass index, lipodystrophy, unexplained abdominal symptoms, dyspnoea, or elevated aminotransferases.

Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection and incidence of toxoplasma encephalitis in non-haemophiliac HIV-1-infected adults in Taiwan

We assessed the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection and incidence of toxoplasma encephalitis (TE) in 844 non-haemophiliac HIV-infected patients in Taiwan between June 1994 and April 2003. Approximately 70% (69.3%) of them had a baseline CD4+ lymphocyte count of 200 × 106/L or less, and more than 70% (73.9%) having initiated highly active antiretroviral therapy. The seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was 10.2%, which did not differ with sex, age, route of transmission, birth inside or outside of Taiwan, or CD4+ lymphocyte stratifications. After a median observation duration of 603 days (range, 1–3264 days), 10 (1.2%) patients developed 11 episodes of TE after a median interval of 30 days (range, 1–941 days) between enrolment and diagnosis of TE, with an incidence of 0.59 per 100 person-years (PY) (95% confidence interval, 0.56–0.63 per 100 PY). We concluded that the incidence of TE of HIV-infected patients in Taiwan was lower than that reported in western countries because of a lower seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and use of antimicrobial prophylaxis and antiretroviral therapy, although most of the patients were at the late stage of HIV infection.

Is routine vaginal examination necessary for asymptomatic women attending sexual health services?

The aim of this study was to determine whether our sexual health service could be streamlined by dispensing with routine vaginal examination of asymptomatic women, without missing important diagnoses.

This was an audit of asymptomatic women presenting to the centre who had had a Papanicolaou (PAP) smear in the previous two years.

Of the 421 women who were eligible, no abnormalities were found on genital inspection in 392 (93%) individuals. Abnormalities detected on clinical examination included one case (0.2%) with mucopurulent cervicitis that tested positive for Chlamydia trachomatis, four (1%) with warts or molluscum contagiosum, and one with an asymptomatic genital ulcer of unknown cause.

Dispensing with the vaginal examination in asymptomatic women who have had a speculum examination as part of biennial cervical screening may be appropriate in settings where sensitive non-invasive testing for sexually transmitted infections (STI) is in use and STI prevalence is low.

Pharmacological exploitation of the phenothiazine antipsychotics to develop novel antitumor agents-A drug repurposing strategy

Phenothiazines (PTZs) have been used for the antipsychotic drugs for centuries. However, some of these PTZs have been reported to exhibit antitumor effects by targeting various signaling pathways in vitro and in vivo. Thus, this study was aimed at exploiting trifluoperazine, one of PTZs, to develop potent antitumor agents. This effort culminated in A4 [10-(3-(piperazin-1-yl)propyl)-2-(trifluoromethyl)-10H-phenothiazine] which exhibited multi-fold higher apoptosis-inducing activity than the parent compound in oral cancer cells. Compared to trifluoperazine, A4 demonstrated similar regulation on the phosphorylation or expression of multiple molecular targets including Akt, p38, and ERK. In addition, A4 induced autophagy, as evidenced by increased expression of the autophagy biomarkers LC3B-II and Atg5, and autophagosomes formation. The antitumor activity of A4 also related to production of reactive oxygen species and adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase. Importantly, the antitumor utility of A4 was extended in vivo as it, administrated at 10 and 20 mg/kg intraperitoneally, suppressed the growth of Ca922 xenograft tumors. In conclusion, the ability of A4 to target diverse aspects of cancer cell growth suggests its value in oral cancer therapy.

[Analysis of 113 cases with mucinous cystic neoplasms in a single institutional study]

OBJECTIVE

To describe the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of mucinous cystic neoplasm(MCN).

METHODS

One hundred and thirteen patients with MCN comfirmed by histological examination admitted in People's Liberation Army General Hospital from January 1994 to June 2015 were analyzed, including 21 male and 92 female patients with mean age of (50.2±14.5) years. Forty-eight patients had incidental discovery of their cystic neoplasm for another reason, 65 patients were symptomatic, and abdominal pain or distension was main clinical symptom. Among 113 patients with MCN, 75 cases were MCN with dysplasia, and 38 cases were MCN with invasive carcinoma. Wilcoxon test and χ(2) test, et al were used to analyzed the data, respectively.

RESULTS

MCN was mostly located in body and tail of pancreas.Sex, mean age, clinical symptom, tumor size, and CA19-9 showed significant difference between MCN with dysplasia and MCN with invasive carcinoma (all P<0.05). The presence of a solid component (χ(2)=32.460, P=0.000)and main pancreatic duct dilation(χ(2)= 5.729, P=0.022) were significantly associated with malignancy. Fifty-eight patients with dysplasia were followed up, only one patient occurred tumor recurrence. Thirty-one patients with malignancy were followed up, among which there were 22 patients dead, 1-, 3-, 5-year survival of MCN with malignancy was 76.9%, 56.5%, 36.6%, respectively. Lymphatic metastasis and tumor recurrence were important prognostic factors of MCN with malignancy(both P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

MCN is most affected by old female with no specific symptom, most tumors are located at the body and tail of the pancreas.MCN with dysplasia have excellent prognosis underwent surgery. Even with complete resection, the long-term survival of MCN with malignancy is not satisfied.

18: IMPROVEMENT IN PSORIASIS SKIN DISEASE SEVERITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCTION OF CORONARY PLAQUE BURDEN

Purpose of Study

Psoriasis (PSO), a chronic inflammatory disease associated with increased cardiovascular (CV) risk, provides a clinical human model to study inflammatory atherogenesis. While PSO severity is associated with both in vivo vascular disease and future CV risk, the longitudinal impact of PSO severity on coronary disease progression is unknown. We hypothesized that an improvement in PSO severity may lead to a reduction in coronary plaque burden by coronary CT angiography (CCTA).

Methods Used

Consecutively recruited PSO patients (N=50) underwent CCTA (320 detector row, Toshiba) and cardiometabolic profiling at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Total (TB) and non-calcified (NCB) coronary plaque burden were quantified using QAngio (Medis, Netherlands). PSO severity was measured as the psoriasis area severity index (PASI). The longitudinal change in coronary plaque burden was analyzed with unadjusted and adjusted regression.

Summary of Results

The cohort had a low Framingham Risk Score and mild to moderate PSO. Patients whose PSO severity improved (ΔPASI −27%; p<0.001) (N=33) had significant improvement in TB (β=0.40, p=0.003) and NCB (β=0.49, p<0.001) (table 1), beyond adjustment for traditional CV risk factors, BMI, statin use, & systemic/biologic PSO therapy.

Conclusions

Improvement in PSO severity was associated with improvement in coronary plaque burden by CCTA. Our study suggests that a reduction in skin inflammation may reduce the progression of early, non-calcified coronary plaque. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Abstract 18 Figure 1

*P-value is calculated by comparing baseline and 1-year follow-up values for variables using paired t-test for continuous variables, and Pearson's chi-squared test for categorical variables. All values are expressed as Mean±SD, unless specified otherwise. PASI: Psoriasis Area Severity Index.