Cryptococcosis, mainly caused by Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii species complexes, is a lethal infection in both immunosuppressive and immunocompetent populations. With the upgrade of detection methods and the increase of clinical knowledge, the incidence rate of cryptococcosis is increasing, and it has become one of the most important fungi threatening human health. In recent years, great progress has been made in this field, including the taxonomy and nomenclature of Cryptococcus spp., laboratory diagnostic methods and antifungal susceptibility tests, as well as the characteristics and treatments of cryptococcosis. This article reviews the above contents, in order to improve the clinical and laboratory understanding of the Cryptococcus spp., and realize the timely diagnosis and early treatment of cryptococcosis.
To better use the phase information to compensate the influence of blood flow, the phase unwrapping problem in susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) is studied in this paper. In order to improve the accuracy of unwrapping, this paper proposes a magnitude image-guided phase unwrapping algorithm of SWI. The basic idea is as follows: (1) reduce the influence of noise by improving the rotational invariant non-local principal component analysis method (PRI-NL-PCA); (2) extract the corresponding solid region in the phase image to avoid the influence of the background noise on the phase unwrapping method; (3) use the phase compensation method to constrain the phase image reconstructed by the K-space. Finally, the reliability of the unwrapping method is evaluated by using four kinds of statistics as quantification index: the number, mean (M), variance (Var), and positive percentage (Pos) and negative percentage (Neg) of phasic error points. By comparing the simulated data with 226 sets of true head SWI data, the results show that the proposed algorithm has high accuracy compared with the classical branch cut method and the least squares method.
Inappropriate and irrational prescription of antimicrobial agents has led to increasing bacterial resistance, which has become a major concern around the world. Clinical microbiology service provides a basis and guarantee for the rational application of antimicrobial agents and an important technical support for antimicrobial stewardship, and plays an important role in promoting the rational use of antimicrobial agents. This paper summarizes and evaluates the specific role and technical requirements of clinical microbiology service in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, rational application of antimicrobial agents, hospital infection control and training of medical staff, so as to provide a technical guidance for clinical microbiology service in the antimicrobial stewardship.
Objective To probe the distribution and drug resistance of pathogens causing surgical site infection in patients after gynecologic operation, and provide reference for prevention and treatment. Methods Seventy patients with incision infection after gynecologic operation in West China Second University Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2010 to May 2015 were selected. Species of the pathogens from the submitted specimens and the results of the drug susceptibility testing were analyzed. Results Seventy-two strains of pathogens were isolated, including 36 strains (50.0%) of Gram-negative (G–) bacteria and 36 strains (50.0%) of Gram-positive (G+) bacteria. The main G– bacteria were Escherichia coli (36.1%) and Enterobacter cloacae (5.6%); the main G+ bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (18.1%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (12.5%), and Enterococcus faecalis (8.3%). Escherichia coli showed low sensitivities to ampicillin, ceftriaxone, and gentamicin, with resistance rates of 76.9%, 61.5%, and 61.5%, respectively. Staphylococcus aureus showed low sensitivities to penicillin G, clindamycin, and erythromycin, with resistance rates of 92.3%, 69.2%, and 61.5%, respectively. Staphylococcus epidermidis showed low sensitivities to erythromycin, penicillin G, and ciprofloxacin, with resistance rates of 88.9%, 77.8%, and 77.8%, respectively. No carbapenem-resistant G– bacteria or vancomycin-resistant G+ bacteria were detected. Conclusion Postoperative surgical site infection is the most common nosocomial infection. The main bacteria related to postoperative incision infection in the gynecology department of the hospital are Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Enterococcus faecalis, which become resistant to common antibiotics currently. Therefore more attention should be paid to bacterial isolation and drug susceptibility test results for rational use of antimicrobial drugs and effectiveness of the treatment to nosocomial infection.
More and more medical devices can capture different features of human body and form three dimensional (3D) images. In clinical applications, usually it is required to fuse multiple source images containing different and crucial information into one for the purpose of assisting medical treatment. However, traditional image fusion methods are normally designed for two dimensional (2D) images and will lead to loss of the third dimensional information if directly applied to 3D data. Therefore, a novel 3D magnetic image fusion method was proposed based on the combination of newly invented beyond wavelet transform, called 3D band limited shearlet transformand (BLST), and four groups of traditional fusion rules. The proposed method was then compared with the 2D and 3D wavelet and dual-tree complex wavelet transform fusion methods through 4 groups of human brain T2* and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) images. The experiments indicated that the performance of the method based on 3D transform was generally superior to the existing methods based on 2D transform. Taking advantage of direction representation, shearlet transform could effectively improve the performance of conventional fusion method based on 3D transform. It is well concluded, therefore, that the proposed method is the best among the methods based on 2D and 3D transforms.
Objective To analyze the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene polymorphism and haplotype frequency and distribution in Han patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) in Sichuan province, and explore the correlation of HLA gene polymorphism and haplotype with the susceptibility to ESRD in Sichuan Han patients. Methods Polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific oligonucleotide probe hybridization typing technique was used to detect the HLA-A, -B, -DRB1, and -DQB1 genotypes of Han patients with ESRD and healthy participants. The allele and haplotype frequencies in the ESRD group and the control group were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and Arlequin 3.5.2.2 softwares. Results A total of 756 ESRD patients and 1118 healthy participants were enrolled. In the four loci of HLA-A, -B, -DRB1, and -DQB1, the frequency of HLA-B*39 allele in the ESRD group was higher than that in the control group [3.37% vs. 2.19%; χ2=4.850, P=0.028, odds ratio (OR)=1.558, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.047, 2.319)], the frequency of HLA-DQB1*06 allele in the ESRD group was lower than that in the control group [17.39% vs. 21.20%; χ2=8.264, P=0.004, OR=0.783, 95%CI (0.662, 0.925)], and the frequency of HLA-DQB1*04 allele in the ESRD group was higher than that in the control group [7.41% vs. 5.46%; χ2=5.867, P=0.015, OR=1.386, 95%CI (1.063, 1.807)]. The frequencies of 10 haplotypes, including HLA-A*11-B*39, HLA-DRB1*15-DQB1*06, and HLA-DRB1*04-DQB1*04, were significantly different between the ESRD group and the control group (P<0.05), among which 9 haplotypes were possibly susceptible to ESRD and 1 haplotype was possibly protective. Conclusions HLA gene polymorphism is closely related to the susceptibility to ESRD. HLA-B*39 and HLA-DQB1*04 may be susceptible genes for ESRD in Sichuan Han patients, while HLA-DQB1*06 may be a protective gene. In addition, 10 HLA haplotypes are possibly associated with the susceptibility to ESRD in Sichuan Han patients.
【Abstract】ObjectiveTo investigate the expressions of hTERT mRNA and BRCA1 protein and to analyze the correlation between these two factors in breast cancer. MethodsThe expression of hTERT mRNA was examined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression of BRCA1 protein was examined by immunohistochemistry. ResultsThe positive rates of hTERT mRNA and BRCA1 protein were 72.1%（31/43） and 34.9%（15/43） in breast cancer tissue, were 5.0%(2/40) and 77.5%(31/40) in paracancerous breast tissue respectively. Significant difference existed between breast cancer tissue and paracancerous breast tissue (P＜0.05). Significant negative correlation existed between the expression of BRCA1 protein and expression of hTERT mRNA （r=-0.995, P＜0.01）. ConclusionThe expression of hTERT mRNA is upregulated in breast cancer, and expression of BRCA1 protein is downregulated in breast cancer. BRCA1 protein expression may be associated with expression of hTERT mRNA in breast cancer, which may be involved in the carcinogenesis of breast cancer.
Objective To explore the association between manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) Val-9Ala polymorphism and breast cancer risk and to investigate the interaction with menopausal status by meta-analysis. Methods Such databases as The Cochrane Libtary (Issue1, 2010), Pubmed, CBM, CNKI and WanFang Data were searched from the date of their establishment to October, 2010, and the case-control studies of MnSOD Val-9Ala polymorphism and breast cancer risk were collected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then the quality of the included trials was assessed and meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 4.2.10 software. Results A total of 14 studies involving 17 842 patients were included. The results of meta-analyses showed no significant relation between MnSOD Val-9Ala polymorphism and the breast cancer susceptibility (Val/Ala vs. Val/Val: OR=1.04, 95%CI 0.93 to 1.17; Ala/Ala vs. Val/Val: OR=1.12, 95%CI 0.95 to 1.33; Ala/Ala vs. Val/Ala+Val/Val: OR=1.06, 95%CI 0.93 to 1.20; Val/Ala+ Ala/Ala vs. Val/Val: OR=1.06, 95%CI 0.94 to 1.10). However, in the subgroup analysis, the breast cancer risk significantly increased for premenopausal women (Val/Ala+Ala/Ala vs. Val/Val: OR=1.15, 95%CI 1.01 to1.31). Conclusion This meta-analysis suggests that the MnSOD Val-9Ala polymorphism is not significantly associated with the breast cancer susceptibility, but it may increase the risk of breast cancer in the presence of menopausal state.
ObjectiveTo detect the in vitro susceptibility of common clinical multidrug-resistant bacteria to tigecycline by disk diffusion (KB), minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) test strip (MTS) and Vitek 2 Compact methods, in order to evaluate the accuracy of the three different susceptibility testing methods. MethodsA total of 140 multidrug-resistant isolates (excluding Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were collected retrospectively from West China Hospital between January 2014 and March 2015. The inhibitory zone diameters and MIC of tigecycline were determined by KB, Vitek 2 Compact system and MTS respectively. The results of Vitek 2 Compact system and KB method were compared with that of MTS. ResultsAmong the 140 multidrug-resistant isolates, 119 were Acinetobacter baumannii, and 21 were Enterobacteriaceae. According to the US Food and Drug Administration standards, the sensitivity rates of 119 Acinetobacter baumannii isolates to tigecycline were 88.2%, 85.7%, and 90.8% respectively for KB method, Vitek 2 Compact system and MTS, and those of 21 Enterobacteriaceae were 76.2%, 81.0%, and 81.0%, respectively. ConclusionsTigecycline displays effective in vitro antibacterial activity to clinical common multidrug-resistant bacteria (excluding Pseudomonas aeruginosa), but different susceptibility testing methods have shown different susceptibility rates. For Acinetobacter baumannii, KB method is superior to Vitek 2 Compact system, and for Enterobacteriaceae, Vitek 2 Compact system is superior to KB method.
Magnetic induction method aims at the noninvasive detection of liver iron overload by measuring the hepatic magnetic susceptibility. To solve the difficulty that eddy current effects interfere with the measurement of magnetic susceptibility, we proposed an improved coil system based on the static field magnetization principle in this study. We used a direct current excitation to eliminate the eddy current effect, and a rotary receiver coil to get the induced voltage. The magnetic field for a cylindrical object due to the magnetization effect was calculated and the relative change of maximum induced voltage was derived. The correlation between magnetic susceptibility of object and maximum magnetic flux, maximum induced voltage and relative change of maximum induced voltage of the receiver coil were obtained by simulation experiments, and the results were compared with those of the theory calculation. The contrast shows that the simulation results fit the theory results well, which proves our method can eliminate the eddy current effect effectively.