[Human parechovirus associated sepsis and central nervous system infections in hospitalized children].

Objective: Human parechovirus (HPeV) is a single-stranded, positive sense RNA virus in the Parechovirus genus within the large family of Picornaviridae. As a possible new pathogen of neonatal sepsis, meningoencephalitis and other infections in young children, HPeV gets more and more attention. This study aimed to better understand the association of HPeV with central nervous system (CNS) infectious diseases and sepsis among hospitalized children in Beijing.

Prevalence analysis of different human bocavirus genotypes in pediatric patients revealed intra-genotype recombination.

Background: Human bocavirus (HBoV) genotypes 1-4 have been detected worldwide in respiratory samples and stool samples, and are increasingly associated with respiratory and intestinal infections of previously unknown etiology in young children. Several studies revealed evidence of extensive recombination among HBoV genotypes at the NP1 and VP1 gene boundary region. This study explored the prevalence of HBoV genotypes in pediatric patients in Beijing, and studied their phylogeny.

The microbiota regulates susceptibility to Fas-mediated acute hepatic injury.

Whereas a significant role for intestinal microbiota in affecting the pathogenesis and progression of chronic hepatic diseases is well documented, the contribution of the intestinal flora to acute liver injury has not been extensively addressed. Elucidating the influence of the intestinal microbiota on acute liver inflammation would be important for better understanding the transition from acute injury to chronic liver disease. Using the Concanavalin A (ConA)-induced liver injury model in laboratory mice, we show that the severity of acute hepatic damage varies greatly among genetically identical mice raised in different environments and harboring distinct microbiota.

Factors Associated with Reported Infection and Lymphedema Symptoms among Individuals with Extremity Lymphedema.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine factors associated with reported infection and symptoms among individuals with extremity lymphedema.

Design: A cross-sectional study was used.

Methods: Data were collected from a survey supported by the National Lymphedema Network from March 2006 through January 2010.

The decreased expression of mitofusin-1 and increased fission-1 together with alterations in mitochondrial morphology in the kidney of rats with chronic fluorosis may involve elevated oxidative stress.

This study was designed to characterize changes in the expression of mitofusin-1 (Mfn1) and fission-1 (Fis1), as well as in mitochondrial morphology in the kidney of rats subjected to chronic fluorosis and to elucidate whether any mitochondrial injury observed is associated with increased oxidative stress. Sixty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided randomly into 3 groups of 20 each, i.e.

Body image and depressive symptoms in patients with head and neck cancer: an important relationship.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between body image and depressive symptoms in patients who have been treated for head and neck cancer.

Methods: This is a prospective, longitudinal analysis. Body image and depressive symptoms were measured in patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer at baseline, end of treatment, 6 weeks post-treatment, and 12 weeks post-treatment.

Quantitative MRI for hepatic fat fraction and T2* measurement in pediatric patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in children. The gold standard for diagnosis is liver biopsy. MRI is a non-invasive imaging method to provide quantitative measurement of hepatic fat content.

[Study on in vitro biomineralization of enamel-binding peptide].

We present the binding ability of a new peptide (CMPQVMPMC-) with dental enamel after being evaluated in the present study. Under a standard procedure, the recovery of M13 filamentous phage was greatly enhanced by displaying the peptide in phage coat protein p III. Then the cyclic peptide was synthesized using a solid method.

Effect of human rhinovirus infection in pediatric patients with influenza-like illness on the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus.

Background: Some research groups have hypothesized that human rhinoviruses (HRVs) delayed the circulation of the 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) virus (A(H1N1)pdm09) at the beginning of Autumn 2009 in France. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between HRV and A(H1N1)pdm09 in pediatric patients with influenza-like illness in Beijing, China.

Methods: A systematic analysis to detect A(H1N1)pdm09 and seasonal influenza A virus (FLU A) was performed on 4 349 clinical samples from pediatric patients with influenza-like illness during the period June 1, 2009 to February 28, 2010, while a one-step real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) assay was used to detect HRV in 1 146 clinical specimens selected from those 4 349 specimens.

Four DNA extraction methods used in loop-mediated isothermal amplification for rapid adenovirus detection.

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays have become powerful tools for rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases. A more efficient, convenient and cheaper method for template preparation from the pellets or supernatants of nasopharyngeal aspirates was sought. Three DNA extraction methods (boiling, boiling in 1% Triton X-100, and treating with 0.

[Clinical effect of clarithromycin therapy in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis].

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of clarithromycin (CAM) treatment in adult Chinese patients suffering from chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) or without nasal polyps (CRSsNP).

Methods: A prospective, open and self-controlled clinical trial on patients with CRS was conducted. Fifty patients met inclusion criteria.

MeCP2 phosphorylation limits psychostimulant-induced behavioral and neuronal plasticity.

The methyl-DNA binding protein MeCP2 is emerging as an important regulator of drug reinforcement processes. Psychostimulants induce phosphorylation of MeCP2 at Ser421; however, the functional significance of this posttranslational modification for addictive-like behaviors was unknown. Here we show that MeCP2 Ser421Ala knock-in mice display both a reduced threshold for the induction of locomotor sensitization by investigator-administered amphetamine and enhanced behavioral sensitivity to the reinforcing properties of self-administered cocaine.

Effects of intracoronary sodium nitroprusside compared with adenosine on fractional flow reserve measurement.

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of intracoronary (IC) sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and IC adenosine (AD) for fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurement. We compared the FFR response and side effect profiles of IC AD and IC SNP in 40 patients with a combined total of 53 moderate coronary stenoses. Boluses of AD at doses of 40 μg (A1) and 60 μg (A2), and SNP at doses of 0.

Adenoviruses associated with acute diarrhea in children in Beijing, China.

Adenoviruses have been recognized as important causal pathogens of community-acquired diarrhea (CAD) among children, but their role in hospital-acquired diarrhea (HAD) is not well-understood. Hospitalized children with acute diarrhea and children who visited the outpatient department due to diarrhea were investigated from 2011 to 2012. Adenovirus was detected in stool specimens by PCR and further characterized by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis.

mTOR inhibition of cardamonin on antiproliferation of A549 cells is involved in a FKBP12 independent fashion.

Aims: Cardamonin has previously demonstrated that it had an antiproliferative effect on vascular smooth muscle cells by inhibiting the activity of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). The antiproliferative effect and the possible mechanism of combining with mTOR of cardamonin were investigated on A549 cells.

Main Methods: Cell proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis were measured by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) and flow cytometry, respectively.

[Different species of human rhinovirus infection in children with acute respiratory tract infections in Beijing].

Objective: To understand the clinical characteristics of different groups human rhinovirus (HRV)-A, B and C infection in children with acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) in Beijing.

Method: Respiratory tract specimens (n = 1412) collected from children with ARI during Jan. 2011 to Dec.

Serum miR-122 levels are related to coagulation disorders in sepsis patients.

Background: Coagulation abnormalities may have a major impact on the outcome of sepsis in patients. This study aimed to explore the relationship between miRNA levels and coagulation disorders during sepsis.

Methods: Blood samples from 123 sepsis patients were collected on the day of admission and another 45 sepsis patients on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 following admission to the intensive care unit.

[A prospective multicenter clinical trial of medical and surgical treatment for chronic rhinosinusitis].

Objective: To demonstrate the clinical outcomes of maximal medical therapy(MMT) and functional endoscopic sinus surgery+ maximal medical therapy (FESS+MMT) for moderate to severe chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) in China, to provide clinical evidence for treatment recommendation.

Methods: A prospective multicenter case control study consisting of 90 strictly selected CRSsNP patients were carried out by ENT Hospital of SUN Yet-sen university and 7 other university affiliated hospitals across China from March 2011 to October 2012. All patients were selected to MMT group or FESS+MMT group followed by 3 months treatment and 6 months follow up.

High sensitivity molecule detection by plasmonic nanoantennas with selective binding at electromagnetic hotspots.

We report a highly sensitive biomolecule detection by plasmonic nanoantenna arrays with selective binding at the optical hotspots. The plasmonic nanoantennas consist of two separated Au nanorods with a thin Ti disk placed in between. By using selective surface modification chemistry, controlled binding occurs only in the gaps between the plasmonic nanoantennas, which ensures a high detection sensitivity.

Analysis of an automated background correction method for cardiovascular MR phase contrast imaging in children and young adults.

Background: Phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful tool for evaluating vessel blood flow. Inherent errors in acquisition, such as phase offset, eddy currents and gradient field effects, can cause significant inaccuracies in flow parameters. These errors can be rectified with the use of background correction software.

Identification of four novel serum protein biomarkers in sepsis patients encoded by target genes of sepsis-related miRNAs.

The goal of the present study was to identify novel protein biomarkers from the target genes of six serum miRNAs that we identified previously in patients with sepsis. The target genes were predicted by bioinformatics analysis; the levels of the respective proteins in the sera of patients with sepsis were detected by ELISA. ACVR2A (activin A receptor, type IIA), FOXO1 (forkhead box O1), IHH (Indian hedgehog), STK4 (serine/threonine kinase 4) and DUSP3 (dual specificity phosphatase 3) were predicted to be the targets of the six miRNAs, and their encoded proteins were used for biomarker identification.

Stability, genotypic and phenotypic diversity of Shewanella baltica in the redox transition zone of the Baltic Sea.

Studying how bacterial strains diverge over space and time and how divergence leads to ecotype formation is important for understanding structure and dynamics of environmental communities. Here we assess the ecological speciation and temporal dynamics of a collection of Shewanella baltica strains from the redox transition zone of the central Baltic Sea, sampled at three time points over a course of 12 years, with a subcollection containing 46 strains subjected to detailed genetic and physiological characterization. Nine clades were consistently recovered by three different genotyping approaches: gyrB gene sequencing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and whole genome clustering of data from comparative genomic hybridization, and indicated specialization according to nutrient availability, particle association and temporal distribution.

Identification of human metapneumovirus genotypes A and B from clinical specimens by reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) has been recognized as an important pathogen for acute respiratory infections in children worldwide and classified into genotypes A and B. Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay is a rapid diagnostic method for detecting nucleic acids with a single step under isothermal conditions in less than 1h. RT-LAMP targeting the M gene of hMPV was developed for detecting and identifying hMPV genotypes A and B.