Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is known to be a risk factor for atherosclerosis (AS), derived from a series of chronic inflammatory reactions caused by hypoxia. However, the association between chronic inflammation and high blood pressure caused by hypoxia remains to be fully elucidated. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on inflammatory cytokines and AS. A total of 100 patients with OSAS and 50 healthy control subjects were enrolled. Fresh venous blood samples were collected prior to and following a 3‑months period of CPAP treatment. The inflammatory factors, interleukin (IL)‑18 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α, C‑reactive protein (CRP), intercellular cell adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM‑1), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM‑1), E‑selectin and P‑selectin, were detected using standard enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay kits. Intima‑media thickness (IMT), brachial‑ankle pulse wave velocity (Ba‑PWV), apnea‑hypopnea index (AHI) and transcutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO2) were also detected to compare differences prior to and following treatment. The results showed that, compared with the pre‑treatment data, the expression levels of IL‑8, TNF‑α, CRP, ICAM‑1, VCAM‑1, E‑selectin and P‑selectin were significantly decreased following treatment (P<0.05). The AHI, IMT, blood pressure and Ba‑PWV values were significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the SpO2 was increased (P<0.05). Taken together, by comparing the pre‑ and post‑intervention data, it was confirmed that inflammatory factors were involved in the process of AS in patients with OSAS. Following CPAP treatment, blood pressure and primary indicators in the patients improved.

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The aim of the current study was to retrospectively analyze clinical data concerning bronchostenosis or bronchial obstruction caused by endobronchial tuberculosis. Fifty-six cases were subjected to bronchoscopy and chest computed tomography to assess the prognosis of bronchostenosis and bronchial obstruction. Based on reliable and effective anti-pulmonary tuberculosis therapy, these conditions were treated sequentially by electric coagulation, cryotherapy and balloon dilation with an electronic video bronchoscope during outpatient consultation or inpatient hospitalization. Fifty-three subjects with bronchostenosis recovered to varying degrees, a recovery rate of 94.6%. Thirteen of the 15 cases with bronchial obstruction reopened (86.7%). The clinical symptoms of these cases appeared to be in remission. Bronchostenosis or bronchial obstruction resulting from endobronchial tuberculosis may be treated by electric coagulation, cryotherapy and balloon dilation with an electronic video bronchoscope.

Despite recent preclinical progress with oncolytic bacteria in cancer therapy, dose-limiting toxicity has been a longstanding challenge for clinical application. Genetic and chemical modifications for enhancing the bacterial tumor-targeting ability have been unable to establish a balance between increasing its specificity and effectiveness while decreasing side effects. Herein, we report a simple, highly efficient method for rapidly self-assembling a clinically used lipid on bacterium and for reducing its minimum effective dose and toxicity to normal organs. The resultant bacteria present the ability to reverse-charge between neutral and acidic solutions, thus enabling weak interactions with the negatively charged normal cells, hence increasing their biocompatibility with blood cells and with the immune system. Additionally, the lipid-coated bacteria exhibit a longer blood circulation lifetime and low tissue trapping compared with the wild-type strains. Thereby, the engineered bacteria show enhanced tumor specificity and effectiveness even at low doses. Multiple visualization techniques are used for vividly demonstrating the time course of bacterial circulation in the blood and normal organs after intravenous administration. We believe that these methods for biointerfacial lipid self-assembly and evaluation of bacterial systemic circulation possess vast potential in exquisitely fabricating engineered bacteria for cancer therapy in the future.