Nontyphoidal Salmonella

Background. Nontyphoidal Salmonella infection is a common cause for acute bacterial gastroenteritis in children in China. There have been no reports of the prevalence of lactose intolerance or food allergies in children with nontyphoidal Salmonella infection. The aim of this study was to characterize nontyphoidal Salmonella gastroenteritis in a tertiary children’s hospital and evaluate clinical presentation, lactose intolerance, and food allergies in children with prolonged nontyphoidal Salmonella gastroenteritis. Methods. A retrospective case-series analysis was carried out in a tertiary children’s hospital in Guangzhou, China. We included all infants and children who were diagnosed with nontyphoidal Salmonella gastroenteritis between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2016. Patients’ clinical features, feeding patterns, laboratory tests, and treatment outcomes were reviewed. Results. A total of 142 infants and children were diagnosed with nontyphoidal Salmonella gastroenteritis. 52.1% of cases occurred in infants ≤ 12 months of age and the majority (89.4%) in children younger than 3 years old. The most common symptoms were diarrhea (100%), fever (62%), and vomiting (18.3%). Salmonella Typhimurium was the predominant serotype, accounting for 82.4%. 91.5% of patients were treated with antibiotics. Forty-one (28.9%) and 9 (6.3%) children improved with a lactose-free diet and hypoallergenic formula, respectively, when diarrhea persisted for more than a week. Conclusions. Salmonella Typhimurium was the predominant serotype. Most patients with nontyphoidal Salmonella gastroenteritis were younger than 3 years old. Lactose intolerance occurred frequently in children with nontyphoidal Salmonella gastroenteritis and dietary modification should be considered when diarrhea is persistent and prolonged

Body mass index modified the effectiveness of low dose aspirin treatment on frozen-thawed embryo transfer outcome: a propensity score-matched study

BackgroundLow-dose aspirin is one of the widely used adjuvants in assisted reproductive technologies with the hope of improving the live birth rate. However, the studies regarding its effects are conflicting. The study aimed to investigate the association between aspirin administration and live birth following frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) in patients with different body mass index (BMI).MethodsA retrospective cohort study was performed on 11,993 patients receiving FET treatments. 644 of which received a low-dose aspirin (100 mg/day) during endometrial preparation until 10 weeks after transfer. Propensity score matching was performed to avoid selection biases and potential confounders.ResultsThe clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate were similar before matching (54.4% versus 55.4%, RR: 1.02, 95%CI: 0.95-1.09, and 46.3 versus 47.8, RR: 1.03, 95%CI: 0.95-1.12 respectively). A weak association in favor of aspirin administration was found in the matched cohort (49.5% versus 55.4%, RR: 1.12, 95%CI: 1.01-1.24, and 41.9% versus 47.8%, RR: 1.14, 95%CI: 1.01-1.29 respectively). However, when stratified the patients with WHO BMI criteria, a significant increase in live birth rate associated with aspirin treatment was found only in patients with low BMI (<18.5 kg/m2) in either unmatched (46.4% versus 59.8%, RR:1.29, 95%CI:1.07-1.55) or matched cohort (44% versus 59.8%, RR: 1.36, 95%CI: 1.01-1.83) but not in patients with higher BMI categories. With the interaction analysis, less association between aspirin and live birth appeared in patients with normal BMI (Ratio of OR:0.49, 95%CI: 0.29-0.81) and high BMI (Ratio of OR:0.57, 95%CI: 0.27-1.2) compared with patients with low BMI.ConclusionBMI may be considered when evaluating aspirin’s effect in FET cycles

Evaluation of a new fluorescence quantitative PCR test for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori infection in children

Abstract Background Numerous diagnostic tests are available to detect Helicobactor pylori (H. pylori). There has been no single test available to detect H. pylori infection reliably. We evaluated the accuracy of a new fluorescence quantitative PCR (fqPCR) for H. pylori detection in children. Methods Gastric biopsy specimens from 138 children with gastritis were sent for routine histology exam, rapid urease test (RUT) and fqPCR. 13C-urea breath test (13C-UBT) was carried out prior to endoscopic procedure. Gastric fluids and dental plaques were also collected for fqPCR analysis. Results 38 children (27.5%) were considered positive for H. pylori infection by gold standard (concordant positive results on 2 or more tests). The remaining 100 children (72.5%) were considered negative for H. pylori. Gastric mucosa fqPCR not only detected all 38 H. pylori positive patients but also detected 8 (8%) of the 100 gold standard-negative children or 11 (10.7%) of the 103 routine histology-negative samples. Therefore, gastric mucosa fqPCR identified 46 children (33.3%) with H. pylori infection, significantly higher than gold standard or routine histology (P<0.01). Both gastric fluid and dental plaque fqPCR only detected 32 (23.2%) and 30 (21.7%) children with H. pylori infection respectively and was significantly less sensitive than mucosa fqPCR (P<0.05) but was as sensitive as non-invasive UBT. Conclusions Gastric mucosa fqPCR was more sensitive than routine histology, RUT, 13C-UBT alone or in combination to detect H. pylori infection in children with chronic gastritis. Either gastric fluid or dental plaque PCR is as reliable as 13C-UBT for H. pylori detection.Peer Reviewe

Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection-Induced Expression of CXCR3 Ligands Promotes CD4(+) T Cell Migration and Is Regulated by the Viral Immediate-Early Protein ICP4

HSV-2 infection-induced CXCR3 ligands are important for the recruitment of virus-specific CD8+ T cells, but their impact on CD4+ T cell trafficking remains to be further determined. Given that recruitment of CD4+ T cells to infection areas may be one of the mechanisms that account for HSV-2 infection-mediated enhancement of HIV-1 sexual transmission, here we investigated the functionality of HSV-2 infection-induced CXCR3 ligands CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 in vivo and in vitro, and determined the viral components responsive for such induction and the underlying mechanisms. We first found that the expression of CXCR3 ligands CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 was increased in mice following vaginal challenge with HSV-2, while CXCL9 played a predominant role in the recruitment of CD4+ T cells to the vaginal foci of infected mice. HSV-2 infection also induced the production of CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 in human cervical epithelial cells. Of note, although HSV-2 induced the expression of all the three CXCR3 ligands, the induced CXCL9 appeared to play a predominant role in promoting CD4+ T cell migration, reflecting that the concentrations of CXCL10 and CXCL11 required for CD4+ T cell migration are higher than that of CXCL9. We further revealed that, ICP4, an immediate-early protein of HSV-2, is crucial in promoting CXCR3 ligand expression through the activation of p38 MAPK pathway. Mechanistically, ICP4 binds to corresponding promoters of CXCR3 ligands via interacting with the TATA binding protein (TBP), resulting in the transcriptional activation of the corresponding promoters. Taken together, our study highlights HSV-2 ICP4 as a vital viral protein in promoting CXCR3 ligand expression and CXCL9 as the key induced chemokine in mediating CD4+ T cell migration. Findings in this study have shed light on HSV-2 induced leukocyte recruitment which may be important for understanding HSV-2 infection-enhanced HIV-1 sexual transmission and the development of intervention strategies

Prevalence and Prognostic Significance of HPV in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Northeast China

Background/Aims: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an etiological risk factor for a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. HPV has been proven to be a powerful prognostic biomarker for oropharyngeal cancer, but its role in the larynx has not been explored in depth. Here, we sought to evaluate the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) in northeast China. Methods: HPV DNA in specimens from 211 patients diagnosed with LSCC was analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization, and p16 overexpression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. p16 expression was scored positive if strong and diffuse nuclear and cytoplasmic staining was present in > 75% of tumor cells. Results: In this study, infection with HPV and p16 expression were not absolutely consistent. Among all patients, 132 (62.6%) were positive for HPV DNA (HPV+), while 23 (10.9%) were inconsistent for HPV and p16. Multivariate analysis indicated that HPV, but not p16, is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in LSCC. Overall survival was significantly improved in HPV+ LSCC patients compared with the HPV-negative group (hazard ratio, 0.395; 95% confidence interval, 0.185–0.843; p = 0.016). Among the 132 HPV+ patients, 28 (21.2%) were HPV-16 single infection. Conclusion: This study indicates that HPV DNA is a more reliable surrogate marker than p16 for the prediction of survival in patients with LSCC

Semantic segmentation of pyramidal neuron skeletons using geometric deep learning

Neurons can be abstractly represented as skeletons due to the filament nature of neurites. With the rapid development of imaging and image analysis techniques, an increasing amount of neuron skeleton data is being produced. In some scientific studies, it is necessary to dissect the axons and dendrites, which is typically done manually and is both tedious and time-consuming. To automate this process, we have developed a method that relies solely on neuronal skeletons using Geometric Deep Learning (GDL). We demonstrate the effectiveness of this method using pyramidal neurons in mammalian brains, and the results are promising for its application in neuroscience studies

Image_4_Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal effects of food intakes on inflammatory bowel disease risk.pdf

Traditional observational studies have indicated a link between specific food intakes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the nature of such links remains unknown. We sought to assess the potential causal relationship between food intakes and IBD risk using Mendelian randomization methods. This study used summary statistics data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on food intakes, Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC). In the primary analysis, we used the inverse variance-weighted method to determine whether specific food was causal for CD and UC. In addition, we also ran four other Mendelian randomization methods, including MR Egger, weighted median, maximum likelihood, and weighted mode as a complement. The primary analysis showed that high consumption of poultry (OR, 3.696; 95% CI, 1.056–12.937; p = 0.041) and cereal (OR, 2.449; 95% CI, 1.094–5.482; p = 0.029) had a significant causal association with CD, while high oily fish intake level was found to be statistically significantly associated with the risk of UC (OR, 1.482; 95% CI, 1.002–2.194; p = 0.049). This MR study provides evidence of a potential causal link between certain food intake and CD and UC.</p

Image_1_Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal effects of food intakes on inflammatory bowel disease risk.pdf

Traditional observational studies have indicated a link between specific food intakes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the nature of such links remains unknown. We sought to assess the potential causal relationship between food intakes and IBD risk using Mendelian randomization methods. This study used summary statistics data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on food intakes, Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC). In the primary analysis, we used the inverse variance-weighted method to determine whether specific food was causal for CD and UC. In addition, we also ran four other Mendelian randomization methods, including MR Egger, weighted median, maximum likelihood, and weighted mode as a complement. The primary analysis showed that high consumption of poultry (OR, 3.696; 95% CI, 1.056–12.937; p = 0.041) and cereal (OR, 2.449; 95% CI, 1.094–5.482; p = 0.029) had a significant causal association with CD, while high oily fish intake level was found to be statistically significantly associated with the risk of UC (OR, 1.482; 95% CI, 1.002–2.194; p = 0.049). This MR study provides evidence of a potential causal link between certain food intake and CD and UC.</p

Image_5_Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal effects of food intakes on inflammatory bowel disease risk.pdf

Traditional observational studies have indicated a link between specific food intakes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the nature of such links remains unknown. We sought to assess the potential causal relationship between food intakes and IBD risk using Mendelian randomization methods. This study used summary statistics data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on food intakes, Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC). In the primary analysis, we used the inverse variance-weighted method to determine whether specific food was causal for CD and UC. In addition, we also ran four other Mendelian randomization methods, including MR Egger, weighted median, maximum likelihood, and weighted mode as a complement. The primary analysis showed that high consumption of poultry (OR, 3.696; 95% CI, 1.056–12.937; p = 0.041) and cereal (OR, 2.449; 95% CI, 1.094–5.482; p = 0.029) had a significant causal association with CD, while high oily fish intake level was found to be statistically significantly associated with the risk of UC (OR, 1.482; 95% CI, 1.002–2.194; p = 0.049). This MR study provides evidence of a potential causal link between certain food intake and CD and UC.</p

Image_2_Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal effects of food intakes on inflammatory bowel disease risk.pdf

Traditional observational studies have indicated a link between specific food intakes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the nature of such links remains unknown. We sought to assess the potential causal relationship between food intakes and IBD risk using Mendelian randomization methods. This study used summary statistics data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on food intakes, Crohn’s disease (CD), and ulcerative colitis (UC). In the primary analysis, we used the inverse variance-weighted method to determine whether specific food was causal for CD and UC. In addition, we also ran four other Mendelian randomization methods, including MR Egger, weighted median, maximum likelihood, and weighted mode as a complement. The primary analysis showed that high consumption of poultry (OR, 3.696; 95% CI, 1.056–12.937; p = 0.041) and cereal (OR, 2.449; 95% CI, 1.094–5.482; p = 0.029) had a significant causal association with CD, while high oily fish intake level was found to be statistically significantly associated with the risk of UC (OR, 1.482; 95% CI, 1.002–2.194; p = 0.049). This MR study provides evidence of a potential causal link between certain food intake and CD and UC.</p