[Relationship between respiratory event-related arousal and increased pulse rate in patients with obstructive sleep apnea]

Objective: To investigate the relationship between respiratory event-related arousal and increased pulse rate in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and to evaluate whether elevated pulse rate can be used as a surrogate marker of arousal. Methods: A total of 80 patients [40 males and 40 females, age range (18-63 years), mean age (37±13) years] who attended the Sleep Center of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital for polysomnography (PSG) from January 2021 to August 2022 were enrolled. Stable PSG recordings of non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep to compare the mean pulse rate (PR), the lowest PR 10 seconds before the onset of arousal, and the highest PR within 10 seconds after the end of arousal associated with each respiratory event. At the same time, the correlation between the arousal index and the pulse rate increase index (PRRI), as well as ΔPR₁ (highest PR-lowest PR) and ΔPR₂ (highest PR-mean PR), respectively, with the duration of respiratory events, the duration of arousal, the magnitude of pulse oximetry (SpO₂) decline, and the lowest SpO₂ was analyzed. Among the 53 patients, 10 events without arousal and 10 events with arousal (matched for the magnitude of SpO₂ decline) were selected for NREM in each of the 53 patients, and ΔPR before and after termination of respiratory events in the two groups was compared. In addition, 50 patients were simultaneously subjected to portable sleep monitoring (PM) and divided into non-severe OSA group (n=22) and severe OSA group (n=28), and ΔPR≥3 times,≥6 times,≥9 times, and≥12 times after respiratory events were used as surrogate markers of arousal, and ΔPR was scored manually and integrated into the respiratory event index (REI) of PM. Then, we compared the agreement between REI calculated from the four PR cut-off points and the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI_PSG) calculated by the gold standard PSG. Results: ΔPR₁ [(13±7)times/min] and ΔPR₂ [(11±6)times/min] were significantly higher in patients with severe OSA than in patients with non-OSA,mild and moderate OSA. The arousal index was positively correlated with the four PRRIs (r 0.968, 0.886, 0.773, 0.687, P<0.001, respectively), and the highest PR [(77±12) times/min] within 10 s after the end of arousal was significantly higher than the lowest PR [(65±10) times/min, t=113.24, P<0.001] and the mean PR [(67±11) times/min, t=103.02, P<0.001]. ΔPR₁ and ΔPR₂ were moderately correlated with the decrease in SpO₂ (r=0.490, 0.469, P<0.001). After matching the magnitude of SpO₂ decline, the ΔPR[(9±6)/min] before and after the termination of respiratory events with arousal was significantly higher than that of respiratory events without arousal [(6±5)/min, t=7.72, P<0.001]. The differences between REI+PRRI₃ and REI+PRRI₆ and AHI_PSG in the non-severe OSA group were not statistically significant (P values 0.055 and 0.442, respectively), and REI+PRRI₆ and AHI_PSG showed good agreement (the mean difference was 0.7 times/h, 95%CI 8.3-7.0 times/h). The four indicators of PM in the severe OSA group were statistically different from AHI_PSG (all P<0.05), and the agreement was poor. Conclusions: Respiratory event-related arousal in OSA patients is independently associated with increased PR, and frequent arousal may lead to increased frequency of PR fluctuations, and elevated PR may be used as a surrogate marker of arousal, especially in patients with non-severe OSA, where elevated PR≥6 times significantly improves the diagnostic agreement between PM and PSG.

Phylogenetic diversity contributes more to sediment magnetism than abundance during incubation of iron-reducing sediment from a non-active volcanic lake in Northeast China

AIM

This study aimed to analyse bacterial community and biomineralization products from Wudalianchi non-active volcanic field and the relationship between magnetization and bacterial community.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Eighteen sediment samples obtained from Wenbo Lake, high-throughput sequencing and quantitative PCR (qPCR) were separately employed to investigate the bacterial community composition dynamics and abundance variation of the sediment sample with the highest iron-reducing capacity during incubation. The mineralization products were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and variable-temperature magnetism analyses. The results showed that the highest iron reduction rate was 98·06%. Seven phyla were identified as dominant bacterial phyla during the incubation process. Iron-reducing bacteria (FeRB) including Geobacter, Desulfosporosinus and Clostridium were involved in the iron mineralization process. The 16S rDNA copy numbers of sediment decreased quickly and then stayed steady during the incubation. Bacteria with rod-shaped and spheroid species were involved in extracellular iron reduction to produce magnetic particles with massive aggregation and columnar structures on the mineral surface morphologies. The materials produced by the microbial community over the incubation period were sequentially identified as siderite, magnetite and maghemite. The magnetism of the mineral samples gradually increased from 0·31748 to 33·58423 emu g^-1 with increased incubation time. The final products showed relatively stable magnetism under 0-400 K. Meanwhile, the saturation magnetization (M_S ) of the mineralized substance was tightly associated with bacterial diversity (P < 0·05).

CONCLUSIONS

Bacterial community varied during incubation of iron-reducing sediment of volcanic lake. Various iron mineral crystals were in turn formed extracellularly by FeRB. The magnetism of mineralized products was tightly associated with bacterial community.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

These results not only help us to better understand the iron mineralization of FeRB in the volcanic lake sediments but also provide basic information for the future application of FeRB in environmental bioremediation.

[Study on the correlation between prognosis of patients with chronic hepatitis B under interferon treatment and polymorphism of both calcitonin gene related peptide and receptor activity modifying protein 1]

Objective: To analyze the association of two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) [Calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) rs155209 and receptor activity modifying protein 1 (RAMP1) rs3754701] and the prognosis of chronic hepatitis B patients who were under interferon therapy. Methods: A total of 317 patients and their anticoagulant blood samples were collected in this study. The SNPs in the CGRP and region RAMP1 were genotyped using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. Logistic regression method was used to assess the results from different phenotypic outcomes between cases and controls, after adjusted for sex and age in co-dominant, dominant and recessive genetic models. Results: Data from this study clearly demonstrated the relevance of CGRP rs155209 and RAMP1 rs3754701 with DNA response and ALT response. RAMP1 rs3754701T was strongly associated with both DNA response and ALT response (OR=2.277, 95%CI: 1.386-3.741, P=0.001; OR=1.694, 95%CI: 1.073-2.675, P=0.024). However, CGRP rs155209C was less prone to DNA response and ALT response (OR=0.150, 95%CI: 0.083-0.271, P<0.001; OR=0.583, 95%CI: 0.367-0.925, P=0.022). Conclusions: Results from our study suggested that both RAMP1 rs3754701 and CGRP rs155209 were associated with the prognosis of patients under interferon therapy in Han population, from the northern parts of China while RAMP1 rs3754701T was a protective factor for both ALT response and DNA response, but CGRP rs155209C carriers were less prone to DNA and ALT responses.

[Computer-aided assessment of liver fibrosis progression in patients with chronic hepatitis B: an exploratory research]

Objective: To establish automatic liver fibrosis classification models by using traditional machine learning and deep learning methods and preliminaryly evaluate the efficiency. Methods: Gray scale ultrasound images and corresponding elastic images of 354 patients, 247 males and 107 females, mean age (54±12) years undergoing partial hepatectomy in Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University from November 2014 to January 2016 were enrolled in this study. By using traditional machine learning and deep learning methods, an automatic classification model of liver fibrosis stages (S0 to S4) were established through feature extraction and classification of ultrasound image data sets and the accuracy in different classification categories of each model were calculated, by using liver biopsy as the reference standard. Results: Pathological examination showed 73 cases in pathological stage S0, 40 cases in S1, 49 cases in S2, 41 cases in S3, and 151 cases in S4. The traditional machine classification model based on support vector machine (SVM) classifier and sparse representation classifier and the deep learning classification model based on LeNet-5 neural network, their accuracy rates in the two categories (S0/S1/S2 and S3/S4) were 89.8%, 91.8% and 90.7% respectively; the accuracy rates in the three categories (S0/S1 and S2/S3 and S4) were 75.3%, 79.4% and 82.8% respectively; the accuracy in the three categories (S0 and S1/S2/S3 and S4) were 79.3%, 82.7% and 87.2% respectively. Conclusions: Computer-aided assessment of liver fibrosis progression in patients with chronic hepatitis B has a high accuracy, and can achieve a more detailed classification. This method is expected to be applied in the non-invasive evaluation of liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B in clinical work in the future.

Effect of packaging method and storage time on physicochemical characteristics of dry-cured pork neck products at 10°c

Dry-cured pork neck samples were stored at 10°C for 90 days under vacuum packaging (VP) or modified atmosphere packaging (MAP; 25% CO2+75% N2) conditions. The pH, moisture, water activity, total aerobic bacteria, and Enterobacteriaceae counts of dry-cured pork neck products with MAP were significantly lower than those with VP (p<0.05) after 90 days of storage. However, CIE b* and 2-thiobarbituric acid reacted substance (TBARS) values of the pork product with MAP were significantly higher (p<0.05) than those with VP. Total aerobic bacterial counts and Enterobacteriaceae counts of samples with MAP were lower than those with VP after 30 days of storage. Sensory results indicated that aroma, flavor and tenderness scores of the samples with both VP and MAP decreased during storage and the scores after >60 days of storage were lower than those at Day 1. In conclusion, despite presenting higher lipid oxidation, the samples stored in packages containing 25% CO2 for 90 days at 10°C have lower bacterial counts than vacuum-packed samples. Therefore, further studies should be performed on the packaging of dry-cured meat at adjusted concentrations of CO2.

Different magnitude of resistance to non-depolarizing muscle relaxants in dexamethasone-treated rat diaphragm associated with altered acetylcholine receptor expression

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of chronic dexamethasone (Dex) administration on rat diaphragm sensitivity to non-depolarizing muscle relaxants (NDMRs) and muscular nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) expression, which may help direct future administration of NDMRs. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to receive a daily intraperitoneal injection of Dex (600 μg/kg body mass) or an equivalent volume of saline (N = 20 in each group) for 14 days. We evaluated isometric twitch tensions of nerve-hemidiaphragm preparations elicited by indirect supramaximal stimulation at 0.1 Hz. Real-time quantitative PCR was performed to determine the mRNA expression of two nAChR subunits (ε-subunit and γ-subunit) in the diaphragm. Dex administration markedly (P < 0.01) increased the 50% twitch depression (IC50) of the three NDMRs. The IC50 ratio, which standardized the magnitudes of the resistance, was the largest for atracurium, with the second largest for vecuronium and the smallest for rocuronium (P < 0.01). The ε- and γ-subunit mRNAs were both upregulated with an increased γ/ε ratio in rats exposed to Dex. The results indicated that chronic Dex administration induces hyposensitivity to NDMRs, the degree of which depends on the kind of neuromuscular blocker, and is associated with increased nAChR expression.

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of ethanol extract from the stem and leaf of Impatiens balsamina L. (Balsaminaceae) at different harvest times

The aim of this study was to investigate the total phenolic content, total flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract from stems (S) and leaves (L) of Impatiens balsamina L. (Balsaminaceae), which were harvested in Korea on March 10, 2011 (S1 and L1), May 14, 2011 (S2 and L2), and July 5, 2011 (S3 and L3), respectively. Our results revealed that the total phenolic (79.55–103.94 mg CE/g extract) and flavonoid (57.43–104.28 mg QE/g extract) contents of leaf extract were higher (p < 0.01) than those of stem extract. Leaf extracts (L1, L2, and L3) exhibited stronger (p < 0.01) free radical scavenging activity (66.06, 63.71, and 72.19%, respectively) than that of the positive control. In terms of antimicrobial activity, leaf extracts showed higher inhibitory effects against microorganisms than those of stem extracts (S1, S2, and S3). Among the leaf extracts at different harvest times, L3 showed the greatest antimicrobial activity against both Gram negative and Gram positive strains. From these results, the leaf extract from I. balsamina L. might be a valuable bioactive resource, and would seem to be applicable as a natural antioxidant in food preservation.

Antioxidant activities of hot water extracts from various spices

Recently, the natural spices and herbs such as rosemary, oregano, and caraway have been used for the processing of meat products. This study investigates the antioxidant activity of 13 spices commonly used in meat processing plants. The hot water extracts were then used for evaluation of total phenolic content, total flavonoids content and antioxidant activities. Our results show that the hot water extract of oregano gave the highest extraction yield (41.33%) whereas mace (7.64%) gave the lowest. The DPPH radical scavenging ability of the spice extracts can be ranked against ascorbic acid in the order ascorbic acid > clove > thyme > rosemary > savory > oregano. The values for superoxide anion radical scavenging activities were in the order of marjoram > rosemary > oregano > cumin > savory > basil > thyme > fennel > coriander > ascorbic acid. When compared to ascorbic acid (48.72%), the hydroxyl radical scavenging activities of turmeric and mace were found to be higher (p < 0.001). Clove had the highest total phenolic content (108.28 μg catechin equivalent (CE)/g). The total flavonoid content of the spices varied from 324.08 μg quercetin equivalent (QE)/g for thyme to 3.38 μg QE/g for coriander. Our results indicate that hot water extract of several spices had a high antioxidant activity which is partly due to the phenolic and flavonoid compounds. This provides basic data, having implications for further development of processed food products.

The cell attachment and morphology of neonatal rat calvarial osteoblasts on the surface of Ti-6Al-4V and plasma-sprayed HA coating: effect of surface roughness and serum contents

The biocompatibility of material plays an important role in the bone-implant interface for the prosthetic implant fixation. The biocompatibility of implants is associated with the chemical composition, surface topography, surface energy and surface roughness of biomaterials. The effects of two factors, surface roughness and serum contents, on osteoblast behavior at the surface of Ti-6Al-4V and plasma sprayed HA coating were investigated in the experiment. The osteoblasts derived from neonatal rat calvarial were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM) with fetal bovine serum (FBS) on the surface of polished Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-p), grit-blasted Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-b), polished HA coating (HAC-p), and as-sprayed HA coating (HAC). Under culture medium containing 4% FBS, the level of cell attachment to the polished surface is significantly higher than the rough surface of the same experimental materials during all culture periods. Increasing the contents of FBS up to 10%, the difference of osteoblast attachment is not found between Ti-p and Ti-b. Under 4% serum condition, the cell morphology attached to smooth surfaces (Ti-p and HAC-p) is spread faster and are more flattened than the one to rough surface of the same experimental materials by SEM. After 24 h culture, the corroded cracks are easily observed at the surface of polished HA coatings, and the cell morphology on HAC-p coatings are elongated and less flattened compared with Ti-p. The result is consistent with statistical difference of cell attachment between Ti-p and HAC-p under 4% serum condition.

Biological responses of neonatal rat calvarial osteoblasts on plasma-sprayed HA/ZrO2 composite coating

Plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite (HA) coating, applied to metal substrates, can induce a direct chemical bond with bone and hence achieve a biological fixation of the implant. However, the poor bonding strength between the HA coating and the substrate has been a concern for the orthopedists. In a previous study, the zirconia-reinforced hydroxyapatite composite coatings (HA/ZrO(2)) could significantly improve the mechanical strength before and after soaking in simulated body fluid. This study aims to investigate the biological responses of osteoblasts on plasma-sprayed HA/ZrO(2) coating. The osteoblasts derived from neonatal rat calvarial were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM) with fetal bovine serum (FBS) on the surface of plasma-sprayed HA coating, HA/ZrO(2) coating, and ZrO(2) coating, respectively. The biological responses were investigated by the cell growth (1, 3, 5, and 10 days) and the cell morphology under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h). Examination by SEM revealed that osteoblasts on HA coatings exhibit less spreading during the medium phase (6 and 12 h), while, better morphologies were observed at the latter phases (24 and 48 h). This should be derived by the dissolution of HA coating in the culture medium. On HA/ZrO(2) coating, the cells showed the poor morphologies at the latter phases (24 and 48 h). This could be explained by the no apatite formed at the surface HA/ZrO(2) coating after soaking in simulated body fluid. The lower contents of ZrO(2) coating in HA coating and the addition of other solid solution (ZrO(2)-MgO, CaO-ZrO(2), ZrO(2)-CeO(2)) in HA coating are the two possible methods to improve the cytocompatibility of HA/ZrO(2) coating.

[Bacteriological study of single nasal sinusitis and sensitivity of antibiotics]

OBJECTIVE

To properly understand the bacterial distribution and susceptibility to antibiotics in the sinus of nasal sinusitis.

METHOD

The mucosal and secretion in sinus were taken from 135 patients who suffered with single nasal sinusitis, by functional endoscopic sinus surgery, were cultured for bacteria. Meanwhile the antimicrobial susceptibility was determined for ordinary antibiotics.

RESULT

The bacterial growth was present in 88.15% of cases, mixed bacterial growth was present in 52.10% of all bacterial, anaerobe growth was present in 39.06% of all bacteria, the susceptibility to penicillin was in 53.12% of all bacteria and cefaolin was in 87.50%. The susceptibility to metronidazole was in 94.67% of all anaerobes.

CONCLUSION

We think the method that penicillin in combination with streptomycin and metronidazole, sufameth oxazole united with metronidazole, cefaolin added metronidazole were effective in nasal sinusitis treatment before the antimicrobial susceptive examination had been done.

Ovarian steroids reduced apoptotic death in SV40 temperature-sensitive mutant virus transformed uterine epithelial cells

Ovarian steroids have been shown to inhibit uterine cell death in vivo. In this study, we investigated whether ovarian steroids regulated cell death in an uterine epithelial cell line transformed with SV40 temperature-sensitive (ts) mutant virus. To assess cell death rate, cells were grown at permissive temperature (34 degrees C) and pulsed with 3H-thymidine. The retention of incorporated radioactivity was then examined after a temperature shift to nonpermissive temperature (40 degrees C) in the absence or presence of estradiol and progesterone. When cells were continuously cultured at 34 degrees C, cell number increased rapidly and most of radioactivity was retained in the attached cells. However, the temperature shift from 34 degrees C to 40 degrees C resulted in a decrease in cell number and radioactivity in attached cells. Estradiol and progesterone attenuated this temperature shift-induced cell death. Morphological examination with Hoechst 33258 staining revealed that the temperature shift increased the percentage of apoptotic death. The treatment of ovarian steroids reduced the extent of apoptotic death. Our studies demonstrated that ovarian steroids could act directly on uterine epithelial cells to reduce apoptotic death in culture.

Bacteriological study of juvenile periodontitis in China

The predominant cultivable bacteria associated with juvenile periodontitis (JP) in China were studied for the first time. Subgingival plaque samples were taken on paper points from 23 diseased sites in 15 JP patients and from 7 healthy sites in 7 control subjects. Serially diluted plaque samples were plated on nonselective blood agar and on MGB agar, a selective medium for the isolation of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans. Fifteen or more isolated colonies from each sample (in sequence without selection) were purified for identification. The results indicated that the microflora in healthy sulci of the 7 control subjects was significantly different from that in diseased sites of JP patients. The predominant species in healthy sulci were Streptococcus spp. and Capnocytophaga gingivalis. In JP patients, Eubacterium sp. was found in significantly higher frequency and proportion. Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans was not detected in any samples. It appears that this species is not associated with juvenile periodontitis in China.