[Current status and future perspectives on the methods of prognosis evaluation for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma]

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is the second most common primary malignant tumor in the liver after hepatocellular carcinoma. Its incidence and mortality rates have increased worldwide in recent years. Surgical resection is the best treatment modality for ICC;however,the overall prognosis remains poor. Accurate evaluatiion of post operative prognosis allows personalized treatment and improved long-term outcomes of ICC. The American Joint Commission on Cancer TNM staging manual is the basis for the standardized diagnosis and treatment of ICC;however,the contents of stage T and stage N need to be improved. The nomogram model or scoring system established in the analysis of commonly used clinicopathological parameters can provide individualized prognostic operative and improve prediction accuracy;however,more studies are needed to validate the results before clinical use. Meanwhile,imaging features exhibit great potential to establish the post operative prognosis evaluation system for ICC. Molecular-based classification provides an accurate guarantee for prognostic assessment as well as selection of populations that are sensitive to targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Therefore,the establishment of a prognosis evaluation system,based on clinical and pathological characteristics and centered on the combination of multidisciplinary and multi-omics,will be conducive to improving the long-term outcomes of ICC after surgical resection in the context of big medical data.

[Clinical characteristics and outcomes of acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by severe Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia]

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia. Methods: From June 2016 to January 2021, 10 cases were diagnosed as severe Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia induced ARDS in Intensive Care Unit of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine Department (RICU) of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University. We collected the clinical data including clinical features, laboratory tests, imaging and outcomes of the patients. Results: The pathogenic diagnosis was confirmed by metagenomic Next-generation Sequencing (mNGS) in these 10 patients, with a median age of 59 (46, 67) years. In addition to high fever, cough and dyspnea, the patients also had multiple organ involvement. Six patients had elevated peripheral leukocyte count, 10 cases had increased type B natriuretic peptide, 7 cases had increased aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase, 9 cases had hyponatremia and 3 cases had elevated creatinine. The imaging findings were bilateral consolidation with air bronchogram and infiltrates, and pleural effusion were found in 5 cases. All cases were combined with respiratory failure. Six patients received invasive mechanical ventilation. Nine patients received moxifloxacin and one patient was administrated with Azithromycin. All the patients were improved and discharged after the treatment, and the mean duration of RICU stay was 13.5 (11, 16.7) days. One month follow-up of nine patients showed significant improvement in lung lesions. Conclusions: Severe Chlamydia psittiaci pneumonia may be complicated with respiratory failure and/or multiple organ involvement. For severe pneumonia with an exposure history of sick birds, the possibility of Chlamydia psittaci infection should be considered. mNGS may help etiological diagnosis. All patients in this study had a good prognosis after targeted treatment.

[Practice guideline for patients with osteoporosis]

In recent years, osteoporosis (OP) has become one of the main diseases affecting the health of middle-aged and elderly people in China, and the prevalence of OP has increased significantly. The clinical diagnosis and treatment guidelines for this disease are also constantly updated. The overall principles speciallyemphasise that doctors and patients need to work together to negotiate the details of the diagnosis and treatment guidelines, in order to improve the OP clinical diagnosis and treatment rate. Therefore, patients' knowledge of the disease, understanding of clinical guidelines, and cooperation with doctors to implement diagnosis and treatment plans are very important. In this study, from the most concerned issues of the patients, we established the OP patient practice guideline working group. 14 recommendations, as the OP patient practice guidelines, are proposed in accordance with the relevant principles of the "World Health Organization guidelines development manual" and the international normative process.

Effects of straw amendment on selenium aging in soils: Mechanism and influential factors

Soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) alters heavy metal availability, but whether straw amendment can manipulate soil selenium (Se) speciation and availability through DOM mineralization remains unclear. In this study, allochthonous maize straw and selenate were incubated together in four different soils for 1 y. The transformation and availability of DOM associated Se (DOM-Se) was investigated during aging. Results indicated that soil solution and soil particle surfaces were dominated by hexavalent hydrophilic acid-bound Se (Hy-Se). The amount of fulvic acid bound Se in soil solution (SOL-FA-Se) was higher than humic acid bound Se in soil solution (SOL-HA-Se), except in krasnozems, and mainly existed as hexavalent Se (Se(VI)). Tetravalent Se (Se(IV)) was the main valence state of FA-Se adsorbed on soil particle surfaces (EX-FA-Se) after 5 w of aging. The proportion of soil-available Se (SOL + EX-Se) decreased with increasing straw rate. However, under an application rate of 7500 kg·hm^-2, soluble Se fraction (SOL-Se) reduction was minimal in acidic soils (18.7%-34.7%), and the organic bound Se fraction (OM-Se) was maximally promoted in alkaline soils (18.2%-39.1%). FA and HON could enhance the availability of Se in the soil solution and on particle surfaces of acidic soil with high organic matter content. While Se incorporation with HA could accelerate the fixation of Se into the solid phase of soil. Three mechanisms were involved in DOM-Se aging: (1) Reduction, ligand adsorption, and inner/outer-sphere complexation associated with the functional groups of straw-derived DOM, including hydroxyls, carboxyl, methyl, and aromatic phenolic compounds; (2) interconnection of EX-FA-Se between non-residual and residual Se pools; and (3) promotion by soil electrical conductivity (EC), clay, OM, and straw application. The dual effect of DOM on Se aging was highly reliant on the characteristics of the materials and soil properties. In conclusion, straw amendment could return selenium in soil and reduce soluble Se loss.

Effects of grafting on key photosynthetic enzymes and gene expression in the citrus cultivar Huangguogan

Grafting influences scion photosynthetic capacity and fruit quality. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), which strongly affects photosynthetic rate, and Rubisco activase (RCA), which regulates Rubisco activity, are two key photosynthetic enzymes. However, little information is available regarding the effect of grafting on the concentration and expression of Rubisco and RCA in the citrus cultivar Huangguogan. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of grafting Huangguogan plants onto trifoliate orange, tangerine, and orange on: 1) the concentration of Rubisco and RCA; 2) the mRNA levels of rbcL, rbcS, and rca; and 3) fruit quality. Overall, the results showed that when Huangguogan plants budded on tangerine and orange, they had better fruit quality, while on trifoliate orange they had higher Rubisco concentration. Tangerine and orange are probably the most suitable rootstocks for Huangguogan plants given the environmental conditions of Sichuan Province, China.

Association of sedentary behaviour with colon and rectal cancer: a meta-analysis of observational studies

BACKGROUND

Sedentary behaviour is ubiquitous in modern society. Emerging studies have focused on the health consequences of sedentary behaviour, including colorectal cancer, but whether sedentary behaviour is associated with the risks of colon and rectal cancer remains unclear. No systematic reviews have applied quantitative techniques to independently compute summary risk estimates. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to investigate this issue.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar databases up to May 2013 to identify cohort and case-control studies that evaluated the association between sedentary behaviour and colon or rectal cancer. A random-effect model was used to pool the results of included studies. Publication bias was assessed by using Begg's funnel plot.

RESULTS

Twenty-three studies with 63 reports were included in our meta-analysis. These groups included 4,324,462 participants (27,231 colon cancer cases and 13,813 rectal cancer cases). Sedentary behaviour was significantly associated with colon cancer (relative risk (RR): 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22-1.39) but did not have a statistically significant association with rectal cancer (RR 1.05, 95% CI, 0.98-1.13). Subgroup analyses suggested that the odds ratio (OR) of colon cancer was 1.46 (95% CI: 1.22-1.68) in the case-control studies, and the RR was 1.27 (95% CI: 1.18-1.36) in the cohort studies, the OR of rectal cancer was 1.06 (95% CI: 0.85-1.33) in the case-control studies, and the RR was 1.06 (95% CI, 1.01-1.12) in the cohort studies.

CONCLUSION

Sedentary behaviour is associated with an increased risk of colon cancer. Subgroup analyses suggest a positive association between sedentary behaviour and risk of rectal cancer in cohort studies. Reducing sedentary behaviour is potentially important for the prevention of colorectal cancer.

A novel strategy for identification of 47 pomegranate (Punica granatum) cultivars using RAPD markers

DNA marker can be used for precise plant cultivar identification. However, DNA markers have often not been used effectively for the identification of plant cultivars due to a lack of an effective analysis strategy. We used a novel strategy for effective identification of plant individuals based on a new way of recording DNA fingerprints of the genotyped plants; a cultivar identification diagram can be manually generated and used as key reference information for quick identification of plant and/or seed samples. Forty-seven pomegranate varieties popularly cultivated in various provinces of China were subjected to RAPD marker analysis. Using the cultivar identification diagram strategy, they were clearly separated by the fingerprints of 11 RAPD primers. The utility and accuracy of the cultivar identification diagram analysis results were confirmed by the identification of three randomly chosen groups of cultivars among the 47 varieties.

The pathogenesis of Salmonella enteritidis in experimentally infected ducks: a quantitative time-course study using taqman polymerase chain reaction

Ducks were subcutaneously infected with a high-virulence strain of Salmonella enterica ssp. enterica serovar Enteritidis (Salmonella Enteritidis). The kinetics of the Salmonella Enteritidis genomic DNA loads, the immunohistochemical localization of the bacterial antigens, and the histopathological examination in various tissues were investigated. The results showed that the time course of the appearance of the Salmonella Enteritidis bacterial antigens and the lesions in various tissues was coincident with the bacterial load of the organism in various infected tissues. This suggests that Salmonella Enteritidis loads in systemic organs are closely correlated with the progression of the infection.

Comparative analysis of intestinal microbial community diversity between healthy and orally infected ducklings with Salmonella enteritidis by ERIC-PCR

AIM: To analyze the difference of intestinal microbial community diversity between healthy and (S. enteritidis) orally infected ducklings.

METHODS: Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC)-PCR was applied to analyze the intestinal microbial community diversity and dynamic change including duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum and rectum from healthy ducklings and 7-day-old ducklings after oral infection with S. enteritidis at different time points.

RESULTS: The intestinal microbial community of the control healthy ducklings was steady and the ERIC-PCR band numbers of the control healthy ducklings were the least with rectum and were the most with caecum. ERIC-PCR bands of orally inoculated ducklings did not obviously change until 24 h after inoculation (p.i.). The numbers of the ERIC-PCR bands gradually decreased from 24 h to 72 h p.i., and then, with the development of disease, the band numbers gradually increased until 6 d p.i. The prominent bacteria changed because of S. enteritidis infection and the DNAstar of staple of ERIC-PCR showed that aerobe and facultative aerobe (Escherichia coli, Shigella, Salmonella) became preponderant bacilli in the intestine of orally infected ducklings with SE.

CONCLUSION: This study has provided significant data to clarify the intestinal microbial community diversity and dynamic change of healthy and S. enteritidis orally infected ducklings, and valuable insight into the pathogenesis of S. enteritidis infection in both human and animals.

Quantitative studies of the regular distribution pattern for Salmonella enteritidis in the internal organs of mice after oral challenge by a specific real-time polymerase chain reaction

AIM: To identify and understand the regular distribution pattern for Salmonella enteritidis (S. enteritidis) in the internal organs of mice after an oral challenge over a 3 wk period.

METHODS: Assays based on the serovar-specific DNA sequence of S. enteritidis from GenBank, and a serovar-specific real-time, fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR) were developed for the detection of S. enteritidis. We used this assay to detect genomic DNA of S. enteritidis in the blood and the internal organs, including heart, liver, spleen, kidney, pancreas, and gallbladder, from mice after oral challenge at different time points respectively.

RESULTS: The results showed that the spleen was positive at 12 h post inoculation (PI), and the blood was at 14 h PI. The organism was detected in the liver and heart at 16 h PI, the pancreas was positive at 20 h PI, and the final organs to show positive results were the kidney and gallbladder at 22 h PI. The copy number of S. enteritidis DNA in each tissue reached a peak at 24-36 h PI, with the liver and spleen containing high concentrations of S. enteritidis, whereas the blood, heart, kidney, pancreas, and gallbladder had low concentrations. S. enteritidis populations began to decrease and were not detectable at 3 d PI, but were still present up to 12 d PI in the gallbladder, 2 wk for the liver, and 3 wk for the spleen without causing apparent symptoms.

CONCLUSION: The results provided significant data for understanding the life cycle of S. enteritidis in the internal organs, and showed that the liver and spleen may be the primary sites for setting itself up as a commensal over a long time after oral challenge. Interestingly, it may be the first time reported that the gallbladder is a site of carriage for S. enteritidis over a 12 d period. This study will help to understand the mechanisms of action of S. enteritidis infection in vivo.

Application of an indirect immunofluorescent staining method for detection of Salmonella enteritidis in paraffin slices and antigen location in infected duck tissues

AIM: To detect Salmonella enteritidis (S. enteritidis) in paraffin slices and antigen location in infected duck tissues.

METHODS: Rabbits were immunized with purified bacillus to obtain S. enteritidis-specific antibody, which were then extracted by the caprylic-ammonium sulphate method, purified through High-Q columns. An indirect immuno-fluorescent staining method (IFA) was established to detect the S. enteritidis antigen in paraffin slices. S. enteritidis was detected in each organ tissue of ducklings experimentally infected with S. enteritidis.

RESULTS: The gland of Garder, heart, kidney, spleen, liver, brain, ileum, jejunum, bursa of Fabricius from S. enteritidis experimentally infected ducklings were positive or strongly positive, and the S. enteritidis antigen was mainly distributed in the infected cell cytoplasm.

CONCLUSION: IFA is an intuitionist, sensitive and specific method in detecting S. enteritidis antigen in paraffin wax slices, and it is a good method in diagnosis and antigen location of S. enteritidis. We also conclude that the gland of Garder, heart, kidney, spleen, liver, ileum, jejunum are target organs in S. enteritidis infections of duck, and S. enteritidis is an intracellular parasitic bacterium.

[The factors of improving rice transformation efficiency]

The factors influencing the rice transformation frequency have been investigated by using 8 indica and japonica rice cultivars during the transformation procedures, such as induction of calli, selection, and regeneration. The following is the results: The immature embryos were pretreated in 4 degrees C for 4 or 7 days before inoculation, and the regeneration frequency of calli would be increased. High osmotic treatment may increase the possibility of transformation, especially for calli of 6 months or older. The transformation frequency was improved when selection pressure was removed during differentiation period. The V-type selection may be better than the normal selection. There is a difference of differentiation ability among the calli of three periods and it is found that the calli of two or three months are the best for transformation. Proline and DMSO can decrease browning rate of calli.

[Improvement of transformation frequency of rice mediated by Agrobacterium]

The factors influencing the frequency of rice transformation mediated by Agrobacterium have been investigated by using 16 commercially important indica and japonica rice cultivars or lines. The main results were as following: For most rice CC medium was the best for both callus initiation and subculture. With supplement of 2.5-5 mg/L ABA the quality of calli can be improved. The concentration of selective agent for Indica rice callus was lower than that for japonica rice callus. Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105 was more efficient than LBA4404 and AGL1 for rice transformation. The inhibitive effect of cefotaxime to Agrobacterium was better than that of carbenicillin. The partial desiccation treatment after co-cultivation was beneficial to inhibit the growth of Agrobacterium and increase transformation efficiency. A stable and efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system has been established in ten different rice cultivars and fertile transgenic plants have been obtained.