Highlights • We performed a multicentre nationwide surveillance to investigate the activity of flomoxef. • Flomoxef showed good activity against extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing ...Enterobacteriaceae. • blaCTX-M was the major ESBL gene in ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in China. • Cefotaxime and cefepime showed very low activities against ESBL-producing isolates. • This study is the first report of the prevalence of CTX-M-65 in clinical Proteus mirabilis isolates in China.
This study compared the assay results of HBV markers obtained with two automated immunoassay systems in serum samples with concomitant HBV antigens and antibodies. Eighty-nine samples of concomitant ...HBsAg and anti-HBs and 74 samples of concomitant HBeAg and anti-HBe were analyzed by the Abbott Architect i2000 and the Roche Elecsys 2010 immunoassay systems. The overall concordance rates of the Architect and Elecsys results were 78.6% for samples with concomitant HBsAg and anti-HBs and 77% for samples with concomitant HBeAg and anti-HBe. The data show that substantial differences exist between the results obtained by these two systems, especially in determining anti-HBs and HBeAg at low concentrations.
Endothelial dysfunction is an early predictor of cardiovascular events. Hyperuricemia has been shown to be associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. It remains unclear if serum uric acid ...(UA) is associated with endothelial dysfunction in peritoneal dialysis patients.
In this cross-sectional study, the relationship of UA and endothelial dysfunction was investigated in 189 stable peritoneal dialysis patients. The clinical and laboratory data were collected. Endothelial function was estimated by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the brachial artery and expressed as percentage change relative to baseline diameter.
UA levels did not differ between 93 male and 96 female patients (416.31 +/- 86.93 vs. 395.52 +/- 87.47 mumol/l, p > 0.05). Patients were grouped into three tertiles on the basis of their serum UA levels. Systolic blood pressure (p = 0.007), serum phosphate (p = 0.005), high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (p < 0.001), and FMD (p = 0.016) were all different among UA tertiles. FMD was found to be related with UA (p = 0.002) and hs-CRP (p = 0.006) in a Pearson's correlation analysis. Multivariate regression analysis showed that only UA was an independent determinant of FMD (beta = -0.237, p = 0.036).
There was an independent correlation between UA and FMD, and a higher UA level was related to worse endothelial function which may contribute to hypertension and cardiovascular morbidity.
Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by aberrant vascular development. Mutations in two genes, endoglin (ENG) and activin receptor-like kinase 1 ...(ACVRL1) are associated with HHT. The present case study revealed the molecular diagnosis in a family exhibiting the clinical features of HHT disease. The coding exon and flanking intronic regions of the ENG and ACVRL1 genes were sequenced and a novel mutation in exon 10 of ENG was observed in the family. The mutation (c.1426C>T) in exon 10 of the ENG gene caused a G476X mutation, which results in a premature stop codon and a truncated ENG protein. This finding demonstrated a novel mutation in the ENG gene in a Chinese family, which suggested that a truncated ENG protein may cause HHT. The present study established a genetic test to confirm the clinical diagnosis in individuals and provide an opportunity for early detection and management of the disease.
To determine reference intervals for serum levels of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in Chinese women.
In this multicenter (n = 9) study, 618 healthy women, 767 patients with non-malignant diseases, ...and 951 patients with malignant tumors were enrolled. Serum levels of HE4 were measured in all patients using electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. The influence of age, menopause, malignancy status and other characteristics on the levels of HE4 was evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. Confidence intervals (2.5-97.5 %) were determined in different populations.
There were significant differences in HE4 levels among groups with different ages, menopause or malignancy status. Higher levels of HE4 were detected in elder compared to younger, post- compare to pre- menopause and malignant compared to benign subjects. Multivariate analysis showed that menopause and malignancy status, as well as smoking and pelvic masses were independent factors involved in serum HE4 levels. In pre-menopause stage, the reference ranges of HE4 level were 29.30-68.79, 28.12-1284.83 and 34.75-981.91 pmol/L in healthy, benign and malignant populations, respectively. In post-menopause stage, the reference ranges are 35.96-114.43, 39.11-2208.70 and 39.40-1678.13 pmol/L for those populations.
The present study has established the reference intervals of HE4 levels in pre- and post-menopause populations with different malignancy status.
ELISA and CMIA are commonly used for detection of HBsAg. However, few investigations have been performed to evaluate their value in clinical practice, especially when jointly used. A reasonable and ...economic HBsAg testing algorithm is in great need.
A total of 161,426 specimens in China were tested for 5 serum HBV markers with commonly used ELISA kits. 498 of these specimens were further tested for HBsAg by another ELISA kit, a CMIA kit and an HBsAg confirmatory assay.
The sensitivities of the 2 ELISA kits were 76.21% and 88.42%, respectively. However, when using “gray-zones”, the sensitivities were significantly improved to 97.43% and 96.43%. Furthermore, the combined use of the 2 ELISA kits and their “gray-zones” improved the sensitivity to 99.04%. Nevertheless, 2.91% of the samples with S/CO values below the lower “gray-zone” limits were reactive by the CMIA kit and then confirmed as HBsAg positive. However, 71.43% of the samples with HBsAg values within 0.05 and 0.10IU/ml detected by the CMIA kit could not be confirmed.
As a rational and economic strategy, combined use of “gray-zones” in ELISA and several different detection assays can significantly increase the efficiency of HBsAg detection.
Background To determine reference intervals for serum levels of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in Chinese women. Methods In this multicenter ( = 9) study, 618 healthy women, 767 patients with ...non-malignant diseases, and 951 patients with malignant tumors were enrolled. Serum levels of HE4 were measured in all patients using electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. The influence of age, menopause, malignancy status and other characteristics on the levels of HE4 was evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. Confidence intervals (2.5-97.5 %) were determined in different populations. Results There were significant differences in HE4 levels among groups with different ages, menopause or malignancy status. Higher levels of HE4 were detected in elder compared to younger, post- compare to pre- menopause and malignant compared to benign subjects. Multivariate analysis showed that menopause and malignancy status, as well as smoking and pelvic masses were independent factors involved in serum HE4 levels. In pre-menopause stage, the reference ranges of HE4 level were 29.30-68.79, 28.12-1284.83 and 34.75-981.91 pmol/L in healthy, benign and malignant populations, respectively. In post-menopause stage, the reference ranges are 35.96-114.43, 39.11-2208.70 and 39.40-1678.13 pmol/L for those populations. Conclusions The present study has established the reference intervals of HE4 levels in pre- and post-menopause populations with different malignancy status. Keywords: Human epididymis protein 4, Epithelial ovarian cancer, Pelvic masses
Objective
To observe the clinical effect of electroacupuncture in treating perimenopause syndrome (PMS) and explore its possible action mechanism.
Methods
All of 110 cases with PMS were randomized ...into group A Guanyuan (CV 4) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6) and group B Neiguan (PC 6) and Zusanli (ST 36), 55 cases in each. After 4-week treatments, the Kupperman Menopausal Index (KMI) was adopted to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Estradiol (E
2
), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were assayed respectively before and after treatments.
Results
The KMI decreased by 52.6% in group A, versus 47.4% in group B. The total effective rate was 93.6% in group A, versus 85.7% in group B, and the difference was not significant (
P
>0.05). The content of E
2
both increased in the two groups after 4-week treatments (
P
<0.05); the contents of FSH and LH dropped but without statistical difference (
P
>0.05).
Conclusion
Both of the two acupoints groups can significantly lower KMI, and effectively increase the contents of E
2
in patients with PMS.
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