Positive correlation between latent Epstein-Barr virus infection and severity of illness in inflammatory bowel disease patients

BACKGROUND Emerging studies indicate the critical involvement of microorganisms,such as Epstein-Barr virus(EBV),in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD).Immunosuppressive therapies for IBD can reactivate latent EBV,complicating the clinical course of IBD.Moreover,the clinical significance of EBV expression in B lymphocytes derived from IBD patients’intestinal tissues has not been explored in detail.AIM To explore the clinical significance of latent EBV infection in IBD patients.METHODS Latent EBV infection was determined by double staining for EBV encoded RNA and CD20 in colon specimens of 43 IBD patients who underwent bowel resection.Based on the staining results,the patients were divided into two groups,according to their latent EBV infection states-negative(n=33)and positive(n=10).Illness severity of IBD were assigned according to Crohn’s disease activity index(ulcerative colitis)and Mayo staging system(Crohn’s disease).The clinicpathological data were analyzed between the two different latent EBV groups and also between the mild-to-moderate and severe disease groups.RESULTS Systolic pressure(P=0.005),variety of disease(P=0.005),the severity of illness(P=0.002),and pre-op corticosteroids(P=0.025)were significantly different between the EBV-negative and EBV-positive groups.Systolic pressure(P=0.001),variety of disease(P=0.000),pre-op corticosteroids(P=0.011)and EBV infection(P=0.003)were significantly different between the mild-to-moderate and severe disease groups.CONCLUSION IBD patients with latent EBV infection may manifest more severe illnesses.It is suggested that the role of EBV in IBD development should be further investigated,latent EBV infection in patients with serious IBD should be closely monitored,and therapeutic course should be optimized.

Mediastinum metastasis in a post-surgical pancreatic cancer patient successfully confi rmed with endoscopic ultrasonography

Dear editor,Pancreatic carcinoma is highly malignant and is mainly characterized by a low rate of eligibility for curative-intent resection,rapid metastases and/or local relapses even after surgery.[1-3]Imaging examinations like enhanced computed tomography(CT)/magnetic resonance imaging(MRI),and positron emission tomography-computed tomography(PET-CT),play an important role in detecting tumor recurrence or residual after radical resection of pancreatic cancer.However,these detection platforms are increasingly reported to have insufficient sensitivity and specificity.[4,5]Here we report a pancreatic cancer patient who had progressively increased carbohydrate antigen 19-9(CA199)level one year and three months after surgery;however,none of the above imaging methods were able to identify the cause.After our investigations,we discovered mediastinal metastasis using endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS)and confi rmed by EUS-guided fi ne needle aspiration(EUS-FNA).

Kinetic modeling of multiphase fow based on simplified Enskog equation

A new kinetic model for multiphase flow was presented under the framework of the discrete Boltzmann method(DBM).Significantly different from the previous DBM,a bottom-p approach was adopted in this model.The effects of molecular size and repulsion potential were described by the Enskog collision model;the attraction potential was obtained through the mean field approximation method.The molecular interactions,which result in the non-ideal equation of state and surface tension,were directly introduced as an external force term.Several typical benchmark problems,including Couette flow,two-phase coexistence curve,the Laplace law,phase separation,and the collision of two droplets,were simulated to verify the model.Especially,for two types of droplet collisions,the strengths of two non-equilibrium ffcts,D*2 and D*3,defined through the second and third order non-conserved kinetic moments of(f-feq),are comparatively investigated,where f(feq)is the(equilibrium)distribution function.It is interesting to find that during the collision process,D*2is always significantly larger than D*3,D*2 can be used to identify the different stages of the collision process and to distinguish different types of collisions.The modeling method can be directly extended to a higher.order model for the case where the non-equilibrium pffect is strong,and the linear constitutive law of viscous stress is no longer valid.