Aim: Depression is thought to be a predictor of poor survival among cancer patients. In our study, we aimed to investigate the association between depression and survival in patients with gastric cancer. Methods: The subjects were a total of 300 patients aged 20-75 years who had histological confirmed diagnosis of

Objectivesβ-Thalassaemia is widely found in Southwestern China. Characterisation of β-thalassaemia can improve screening and prenatal diagnosis for at-risk populations.DesignA retrospective study.MethodsIn this study, the levels of haemoglobin alpha 2 (HbA2) and haemoglobin alpha (HbA) were analysed by gender for a total of 15 067 subjects screened by capillary electrophoresis. The cut-off value with the highest accuracy was established to identify β-thalassaemia in 723 patients suspected to have this disease. Haematological and electrophoretic characterisation of eight common types of β-thalassaemia were analysed in 486 β-thalassaemia subjects.ResultsHbA levels were significantly higher in men than in women, but there was no significant difference on HbA2 levels. A new cut-off value for the diagnosis of β-thalassaemia (HbA2≥4.0%) with the highest accuracy was proposed for the studied populations. Haemoglobin (Hb) was significantly higher in men compared with women (p<0.05), whereas no statistically significant differences were found for mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH), HbA and HbA2. The haemoglobin E (HbE) group showed comparatively higher values for haematological indices (Hb, MCV and MCH) than the other genotypes in heterozygous β-thalassaemia groups (p<0.05), and −28 (A>G) (HBB (β-globin):c.−78A>C) had significantly higher HbA2 values compared with other β-thalassaemia.ConclusionsEthnic groups have diversified β-globin gene mutations and considerable haematological variations. Our study will lay the foundation for screening programmes and clinical management of thalassaemia in Southwestern China.

Introduction: Typhoid fever is a common disease in Yunnan province; however, the resistant phenotype and epidemic characteristics of Salmonella in this area are still unclear. In this study, a 15-year surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella is reported. Methodology: From January 1999 to December 2013, Salmonella isolates were recovered from patients in the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province. Antimicrobial susceptibility was detected and data were analyzed using WHONET5.6. Results: A total of 845 Salmonella isolates were recovered between 1999 and 2013. The most frequently isolated Salmonella serovar was S. Paratyphi A (93%), and 75.1% (635/845) of the isolates were from the young and middle-aged population. The resistance rates of Salmonella spp. to ciprofloxacin, ampicillin, and ceftriaxone increased dramatically during the 15 years. Carbapenems retained the highest and most stable activity against isolates. The resistance rates of all Salmonella isolates to chloramphenicol and sulfamethoxazole were 0.4% (3/845) and 1.8% (15/845), respectively. Conclusions: As Salmonella isolates have been observed to be resistant to first-line antibiotics, antimicrobial agents should be used rationally and prescriptions should be based on case-by-case susceptibility testing.

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Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the three most pathogenic bacteria that frequently cause life-threatening opportunistic human infections, pneumonia, and lower respiratory tract infections in immunocompromised hosts, particularly in the burns ward. The present study aimed to establish a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method for the rapid and sensitive detection of P. aeruginosa-specific gene hypothetical protein (GenBank ID: 882161). The gene was obtained through local and online BLAST, and specific primers were designed for this gene. Reaction conditions were optimized at 65°C for 30 min and 80°C for 2 min, whereas the reaction system contained 5.2 mM Mg2+, 8 U Bst 2.0 DNA polymerase, 1.4 mM deoxyribonucleotide and 0.2 and 1.6 µM of the outer and inner primers, respectively. The LAMP method was evaluated using 150 P. aeruginosa and 170 non-P. aeruginosa strains. Positive reactions were observed on 150 P. aeruginosa strains, whereas all non-P. aeruginosa strains exhibited negative results. Plasmids with the specific gene and mouse blood with P. aeruginosa were used for sensitivity assay. The detection limit of LAMP was 1 bacterium/reaction. Results indicated that the LAMP method targeted to hypothetical protein is a fast, specific, sensitive, inexpensive and suitable method for detection of P. aeruginosa.