Axisymmetric Slow Rotation of Coaxial Soft/Porous Spheres.

The steady low-Reynolds-number rotation of a chain of coaxial soft spheres (each with an impermeable hard core covered by a permeable porous layer) about the axis in a viscous fluid is analyzed. The particles may be unequally spaced, and may differ in the permeability and inner and outer radii of the porous surface layer as well as angular velocity. By using a method of boundary collocation, the Stokes and Brinkman equations for the external fluid flow and flow within the surface layers, respectively, are solved semi-analytically. The particle interaction effect increases as the relative gap thickness between adjacent particles or their permeability decreases, which can be significant as the gap thickness approaches zero. A particle's hydrodynamic torque is reduced (its rotation is enhanced) when other particles rotate in the same direction at equivalent or greater angular velocities, but increases (its rotation is hindered) when other particles rotate in the opposite direction at arbitrary angular velocities. For particles with different radii or permeabilities, the particle interaction has a greater effect on smaller or more permeable particles than on larger or less permeable particles. For the rotation of three particles, the presence of the third particle can significantly affect the hydrodynamic torques acting on the other two particles. For the rotation of numerous particles, shielding effects between particles can be substantial. When the permeability of porous layers is low, relative fluid motion is barely felt by the hard cores of the soft particles. The insights gained from this analysis on the effects of interactions among rotating soft particles may be of great importance in many physicochemical applications of colloidal suspensions.

Influence of divalent metal cations on α-lactalbumin fibril formation.

The effect of binding of divalent metal cations (Ca2+, Cu2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Zn2+) on the kinetics of fibril formation of bovine α-lactalbumin at acidic conditions is considered. The kinetic parameters of the process were determined using a thioflavin T fluorescence assay. The DSC thermograms of bovine α-lactalbumin in the presence and absence of cations were recorded. The duration of the lag period correlates with the changes in the thermal stability of the molten globule of the protein in the presence of cations. The final thioflavin T fluorescence intensity after formation of the mature fibrils decreases under the influence of calcium ions which strongly bind to the monomeric protein, and increases in solutions containing copper and especially zinc. These ions seem to accelerate secondary nucleation processes and change the fibril morphology, which was confirmed by atomic force microscopy imaging.

Assessing the Prognostic Utility of the New Mayo Adhesive Probability Score in East Asian Populations and its Correlation with Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease.

We assessed the prognostic utility of the new perinephric fat adherence risk score - Mayo Adhesive Probability (MAP), in patients of East Asian ethnicity undergoing either laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) or laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN). A retrospective analysis of clinical data was carried out on 169 patients who either underwent LPN or LRN surgery. These patients were categorized into two groups, group A (0-2 points) and group B (3-4 points) using the new MAP score. The overall clinical data between these two groups was compared and potential risk factors were investigated using logistic regression analyses. The new MAP score yielded an area under the curve of 0.761 (95 % CI: 0.691-0.831), indicating its effectiveness. Group B had a significantly higher incidence of adherent perirenal fat (APF) during surgery (p<0.001) and had a greater average age (p<0.001). There was an increased prevalence of hypertension (p=0.009), type 2 diabetes mellitus (p<0.001), and MAFLD (p<0.001) in group B. Additionally, there were significant differences in posterior perinephric fat thickness (p<0.05), lateral perinephric fat thickness (p<0.001), and perinephric stranding (p<0.001) between the two groups. The new MAP score holds significance in predicting APF in people of East Asian ethnicity undergoing LPN or LRN, and there is a strong correlation between elevated MAP scores and risk factors such as MAFLD and advanced age.

[Clinical phenotype and genotype analysis of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 3 caused by novel ABCB4 gene mutation].

Objective: To investigate the pathogenic mechanism and clinical characteristics of the novel splicing variant of ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 4 (ABCB4) and provide a basis for subsequent genetic diagnosis. Methods: The clinical data of a 5-year-old child with cholestatic liver disease admitted to the Beijing Children's Hospital of Capital Medical University was retrospectively analyzed. The pathogenic variations were detected by whole exome sequencing and verified by Sanger sequencing, and bioinformatics was used to predict the pathogenicity of the mutation sites. Possible pathogenic variations were verified in vitro by Minigene assay. The clinical outcome was followed after discharge from hospital. Results: The 5-year-old boy had developed cholestasis at the age of 11 months. His physical examination showed obvious enlargement of the liver and spleen. Cholestatic cirrhosis was diagnosed by liver function tests, abdominal ultrasonography, liver biopsy and pathology. The results of genetic analysis showed that the patient was a complex heterozygote of the ABCB4 gene, with a pathogenic mutation c.2860G>A and a novel mutation c.2065-8T>G, derived from the mother and father respectively. The conservative prediction of the c.2065-8T>G site showed that this region was highly conserved and may affect splicing. Minigene assay results confirmed that the c.2065-8T>G mutation resulted in a 7 bp retention of intron 16 in the mature mRNA. In the absence of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, the amino acid frameshift forms a truncated protein, which is represented by p.Glu689ValfsTer19. The patient was diagnosed as progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 3 (PFIC3) and treated with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). His clinical symptoms improved during 18 months of follow-up. Conclusions: The c.2065-8T>G variant is confirmed to affect the splicing process and exhibits complex heterozygosity with c.2860G>A, which is identified as the cause of the disease. PFIC3 children with this variant showed cholestatic liver disease as the main manifestation with a slow progression and was sensitive to treatment with UDCA.

How lignin biosynthesis responds to nitrogen in plants: a scoping review.

Nitrogen (N) plays a critical role in the functioning of key amino acids and synthetic enzymes responsible for the various stages of lignin biosynthesis. However, the precise mechanisms through which N influences lignin biosynthesis have not been fully elucidated. This scoping review explores how lignin biosynthesis responds to N in plants. A systematic search of the literature in several databases was conducted using relevant keywords. Only 44 of the 1842 selected studies contained a range of plant species, experimental conditions, and research approaches. Lignin content, structure, and biosynthetic pathways in response to N are discussed, and possible response mechanisms of lignin under low N are proposed. Among the selected studies, 64.52% of the studies reter to lignin content found a negative correlation between N availability and lignin content. Usually, high N decreases the lignin content, delays cell lignification, increases p-hydroxyphenyl propane (H) monomer content, and regulates lignin synthesis through the expression of key genes (PAL, 4CL, CCR, CAD, COMT, LAC, and POD) encoding miRNAs and transcription factors (e.g., MYB, bHLH). N deficiency enhances lignin synthesis through the accumulation of phenylpropanoids, phenolics, and soluble carbohydrates, and indirect changes in phytohormones, secondary metabolites, etc. This review provides new insights and important references for future studies on the regulation of lignin biosynthesis.

Pitavastatin ameliorates myocardial injury by inhibiting myocardial inflammation and oxidative stress by modulating the microRNA-106B-5p/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 2 axis.

Myocarditis (MC) is a myocardial inflammatory disease that threats human life. Pitavastatin (Pit) is a unique lipophilic statin with potent effects on lowering plasma total cholesterol and triacylglycerols. It has been reported to have pleiotropic effects, such as reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. However, the regulatory mechanism of Pit in MC remains a mystery. Two MC models were established in vitro (lipopolysaccharides-(LPS)-stimulated H9c2 cells) and in vivo (intraperitoneal injection of LPS in mice). The levels of microRNA-106b-5p (miR-106b-5p) and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 2 (MAP3K2) were detected. ELISA was used to analyze in vivo cell inflammatory factors and myocardial injury markers, kits were used to detect the expression of antioxidant enzymes, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to detect cell proliferation, and flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was used to detect the pathological changes of myocardial tissue in mice, and TUNEL staining was used to detect in vivo tissue cell apoptosis. The regulatory mechanism of Pit on miR-106b-5p/MAP3K2 was verified by a series of functional rescue experiments. The results demonstrated that in LPS-induced H9c2 cells, antioxidant enzymes decreased and pro-inflammatory factors and cardiac injury markers increased (p<0.05). However, these phenomenons were attenuated by Pit pretreatment. LPS decreased miR-106b-5p and elevated MAP3K2 in H9c2 cells, while Pit could recover their expression patterns (p<0.05). MAP3K2 was confirmed as a target gene of miR-106b-5p. Upregulating miR-106b-5p or downregulating MAP3K2 could further promote the protective effect of Pit, and vice versa (p<0.05). In addition, in the LPS-induced MC mouse model, histological examination showed that Pit significantly improved the myocardial tissue damage in MC mice, while downregulating miR-106b-5p or upregulating MAP3K2 could suppress the ameliorative effect of Pit (p<0.05). In conclusion, our study demonstrated that Pit ameliorates myocardial injury by suppressing myocardial inflammation and oxidative stress by modulating the miR-106b-5p/MAP3K2 axis.

Learning end-to-end respiratory rate prediction of dairy cows from RGB videos.

Respiratory rate (RR) is an important indicator of the health and welfare status of dairy cows. In recent years, progress has been made in monitoring the RR of dairy cows using video data and learning methods. However, existing approaches often involve multiple processing modules, such as region of interest (ROI) detection and tracking, which can introduce errors that propagate through successive steps. The objective of this study was to develop an end-to-end computer vision method to predict RR of dairy cows continuously and automatically. The method leverages the capabilities of a state-of-the-art Transformer model, VideoMAE, which divides video frames into patches as input tokens, enabling the automated selection and featurization of relevant regions, such as a cow's abdomen, for predicting RR. The original encoder of VideoMAE was retained, and a classification head was added on top of it. Further, the weights of the first 11 layers of the pre-trained model were kept, while the weights of the final layer and classifier were fine-tuned using video data collected in a tie-stall barn from 6 dairy cows. Respiratory rates measured using a respiratory belt for individual cows were serving as the ground truth (GT). The evaluation of the developed model was conducted using multiple metrics, including mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.58 breaths per minute (bpm), root mean squared error (RMSE) of 3.52 bpm, root mean squared prediction error (RMSPE; as a proportion of observed mean) of 15.03%, and Pearson correlation (r) of 0.86. Compared with a conventional method involving multiple processing modules, the end-to-end approach performed better in terms of MAE, RMSE and RMSPE. These results suggest the potential to implement the developed computer vision method for an end-to-end solution, for monitoring RR of dairy cows automatically in a tie-stall setting. Future research on integrating this method with other behavioral detection and animal identification algorithms for animal monitoring in a free-stall dairy barn can be beneficial for a broader application.

[The impact of increased cardiac output induced by dobutamine on cerebral blood flow based on MRI 3D-pcASL technology].

Objective: To investigate the effect of increased cardiac output induced by dobutamine on cerebral blood flow (CBF) in healthy volunteers using magnetic resonance 3D-pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling technology. Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 48 healthy volunteers recruited by handy sampling from June 2021 to January 2022. Physiological parameters before (at rest state) and after (under stress state) dobutamine-induced increase in cardiac output were analyzed. Quantitative CBF maps were generated by using arterial spin labeling difference imaging and proton density weighted reference image processing, and CBF changes under the rest and stress states were compared. Multivariable logistic regression model was used to analyze factors associated with reduced CBF. Results: A total of 48 subjects were included, with an age [M (Q1, Q3)] of 25.0 (24.0, 28.0) years, including 43 men and 5 women. Compared with the rest state, the CBF in the anterior cerebral artery [(36.2±6.9) vs (34.5±6.5) ml·(100 g)-1·min-1, P=0.006] and the middle cerebral artery perfusion area [(35.8±6.5) vs (34.1±6.4) ml·(100 g)-1·min-1, P=0.006] decreased under the stress state, however there was no statistically significant change in CBF in the posterior cerebral artery and the vertebral-basilar artery perfusion area (all P>0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the decrease in CBF in the anterior cerebral artery and middle cerebral artery supply regions during the stress state were correlated with an increase in diastolic blood pressure [OR (95%CI): 0.887 (0.796-0.989) and 0.895 (0.805-0.994), both P<0.05]. Conclusions: Dobutamine-induced increase in cardiac output leads to a decrease in CBF in anterior cerebral circulation but has no effect on posterior circulation. The increase in diastolic blood pressure is associated with decreased CBF under the stress state. Changes in CBF should be considered in the context of increased cardiac output.

Study on the construction of nomogram prediction model for prognostic assessment of heart failure patients based on serological markers and echocardiography.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to construct a nomogram prediction model for prognostic assessment of patients with heart failure (HF) based on serological markers and echocardiography. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 200 HF patients admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from January 2018 to January 2020 were selected as the research objects. According to the New York Heart Association (NYHA) cardiac function classification, they were divided into 3 groups, including 65 cases of grade II, 97 cases of grade III, and 38 cases of grade IV. Three groups of echocardiographic parameters were compared [including left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV)], differences in serum markers brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), soluble growth-stimulating expression gene 2 (sST2) and the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS). The patients were divided into two groups according to their clinical outcomes during the follow-up period, including 52 cases in the death group and 148 cases in the survival group. The clinical data of the two groups were compared, and multi-factor logistic regression analysis was performed to screen out the independent risk factors affecting the patient's death. A nomogram model of the patient's mortality risk was constructed based on the independent risk factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calibration curves were used to evaluate the discrimination and accuracy of the nomogram model. RESULTS: As the cardiac function class of elderly chronic heart failure (CHF) patients increases, LVEDD, LVESD, sST2, and MEWS increase and LVEF decreases (p<0.05). Multifactor analysis results showed that LVEF, LVEDD, sST2, and MEWS were independent factors affecting the clinical outcome of patients. The AUCs predicted using LVEF, LVEDD, sST2, and MEWS alone were 0.738, 0.775, 0.717, 0.831, and 0.768, respectively. There is a certain degree of discrimination, and the model has extremely high accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: MEWS, LVEDD, and sST2 increase as the NYHA cardiac function grade of HF patients increases and LVEF decreases, which can reflect the severity of the disease to a certain extent. Additionally, the nomogram model established based on this has a high predictive value for the long-term prognosis of patients and can formulate effective intervention measures for quantitative values.

[Analysis of factors influencing the efficacy and prognosis of surgical treatment for primary malignant pelvic bone tumors].

Objective: To analyze the prognostic factors and the influence of surgical margin to prognosis. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed for 208 pelvic tumors who received surgical treatment from January 2000 to December 2017 in our instituition. Survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Log rank test, and impact factor analysis was performed using Cox regression models. Results: There were 183 initial patients and 25 recurrent cases. According to Enneking staging, 110 cases were stage ⅠB and 98 cases were stage ⅡB. 19 lesions were in zone Ⅰ, 1 in zone Ⅱ, 15 in zone Ⅲ, 29 in zone Ⅰ+Ⅱ, 71 in zone Ⅱ+Ⅲ, 29 in zone Ⅰ+Ⅳ, 35 in zone Ⅰ+Ⅱ+Ⅲ, 3 in zone Ⅰ+Ⅱ+Ⅳ, and 6 in zone Ⅰ+Ⅱ+Ⅲ+Ⅳ. Surgical margins including Intralesional excision in 7 cases, contaminated margin in 21 cases, marginal resection in 67 cases, and wide resection in 113 cases. Local recurrence occurred in 37 cases (17.8%), 25 cases were performed by reoperation and 12 cases received amputation finally. The 5-year recurrence rate of marginal resection was higher than wide resection (P＜0.05), and the recurrence-free survival rate of marginal resection was lower than wide resection (P＜0.05). There was significant differences in recurrence rate and recurrence-free survival rate between R0 and R1 resection (P＜0.05). 92 cases were not reconstructed and 116 cases were reconstructed after pelvic surgery. At the last follow-up, 63 patients (30.3%) died, and the 5-year, 10-year and 15-year survival rates were 70.4%, 66.8% and 61.3%, respectively. The 5-year survival rate of stage ⅠB and ⅡB tumor was 90.4% and 46.8%, respectively. There were 29 cases had postoperative wound complications (13.8%), 1 case with pelvic organ injury. The final function was evaluated in 132 patients, with an average MSTS score of 25.1±3.6. Cox multivariate analysis showed that surgical staging, R0/R1 margin and metastasis were independent prognostic factors for pelvic tumors. Conclusions: The safe surgical margin is the key factor for recurrence-free of pelvic tumor. The survival rate of stage ⅡB pelvic tumors was significantly lower than that of stage ⅠB tumors. Wound infection is the main postoperative complication. Surgical staging, R0/R1 margin and metastasis were independent prognostic factors of pelvic tumors.

Labile assembly of a tardigrade protein induces biostasis.

Tardigrades are microscopic animals that survive desiccation by inducing biostasis. To survive drying tardigrades rely on intrinsically disordered CAHS proteins, which also function to prevent perturbations induced by drying in vitro and in heterologous systems. CAHS proteins have been shown to form gels both in vitro and in vivo, which has been speculated to be linked to their protective capacity. However, the sequence features and mechanisms underlying gel formation and the necessity of gelation for protection have not been demonstrated. Here we report a mechanism of fibrillization and gelation for CAHS D similar to that of intermediate filament assembly. We show that in vitro, gelation restricts molecular motion, immobilizing and protecting labile material from the harmful effects of drying. In vivo, we observe that CAHS D forms fibrillar networks during osmotic stress. Fibrillar networking of CAHS D improves survival of osmotically shocked cells. We observe two emergent properties associated with fibrillization; (i) prevention of cell volume change and (ii) reduction of metabolic activity during osmotic shock. We find that there is no significant correlation between maintenance of cell volume and survival, while there is a significant correlation between reduced metabolism and survival. Importantly, CAHS D's fibrillar network formation is reversible and metabolic rates return to control levels after CAHS fibers are resolved. This work provides insights into how tardigrades induce reversible biostasis through the self-assembly of labile CAHS gels.

HMGN1 down-regulation in the diabetic kidney attenuates tubular cells injury and protects against renal inflammation via suppressing MCP-1 and KIM-1 expression through TLR4.

BACKGROUND: Renal tubular injury, accompanied by damaging inflammation, has been identified to drive diabetic kidney disease (DKD) toward end-stage renal disease. However, it is unclear how damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) activate innate immunity to mediate tubular epithelial cell (TEC) injury, which in turn causes with subsequent sterile inflammation in diabetic kidneys. High mobility group nucleosome-binding protein 1 (HMGN1) is a novel DAMP that contributes to generating the innate immune response. In this study, we focused on determining whether HMGN1 is involved in DKD progression. METHODS: Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice model was established. Then we downrergulated HMGN1 expression in kidney with or without HMGN1 administration. The renal dysfunction and morphological lesions in the kidneys were evaluated. The expressions of KIM-1, MCP-1, F4/80, CD68, and HMGN1/TLR4 signaling were examined in the renal tissue. In vitro, HK2 cells were exposed in the high glucose with or without HMGN1, and further pre-incubated with TAK242 was applied to elucidate the underlying mechanism. RESULTS: We demonstrated that HMGN1 was upregulated in the tubular epithelial cells of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 and type 2 diabetic mouse kidneys compared to controls, while being positively correlated with increased TLR4, KIM-1, and MCP-1. Down-regulation of renal HMGN1 attenuated diabetic kidney injury, decreased the TLR4, KIM-1, and MCP-1 expression levels, and reduced interstitial infiltrating macrophages. However, these phenotypes were reversed after administration of HMGN1. In HK-2 cells, HMGN1 promoted the expression of KIM-1 and MCP-1 via regulating MyD88/NF-κB pathway; inhibition of TLR4 effectively diminished the in vitro response to HMGN1. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides novel insight into HMGN1 signaling mechanisms that contribute to tubular sterile injury and low-grade inflammation in DKD. The study findings may help to develop new HMGN1-targeted approaches as therapy for immune-mediated kidney damage rather than as an anti-infection treatments.

Imaging features of temporomandibular joint synovial chondromatosis with associated osseous degenerative changes.

Synovial chondromatosis (SC) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a rare benign disease associated with the formation of multiple cartilaginous nodules in the synovial tissue of the TMJ. This can result in pain, swelling, clicking, limited mouth opening, and osseous degenerative joint changes. A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed to summarize the clinical features, radiographic findings, and surgical and histopathological findings of TMJ SC patients who underwent open surgery over a 24-year period. A radiographic scoring system was used to evaluate osseous changes and correlate condyle and joint fossa degeneration. The study included 38 patients and focused on 38 joints. All 38 of these joints showed degenerative changes in the condyle, while 37 showed osseous degenerative changes in the articular fossa. The degree of condylar degenerative changes was related to the duration of the chief complaints (r = 0.342, P = 0.036) and the histopathological stage of the TMJ SC (r = 0.440, P = 0.006), while the degree of joint fossa degenerative changes was associated with the radiographic extent of the SC (r = 0.504, P = 0.001), type of calcification (r = 0.365, P = 0.024), and the histopathological stage (r = 0.458, P = 0.004).

Diffusion-weighted imaging of the orbit.

Orbital lesions compose a heterogeneous group of pathologies that often present with non-specific imaging findings on conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences (T1-and T2-weighted). Accordingly, the application of diffusion MRI offers an opportunity to further distinguish between lesions along this spectrum. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) represents the simplest and most frequent clinically utilised diffusion imaging technique. Recent advances in DWI techniques have extended its application to the evaluation of a wider spectrum of neurological pathology, including orbital lesions. This review details the manifestations of select orbital pathology on DWI and underscores specific situations where diffusion imaging allows for increased diagnostic sensitivity compared to more conventional MRI techniques. These examples also describe preferred management for orbital lesions identified by DWI.

Determination of DNA architecture of bacteria under various types of stress, methodological approaches, problems, and solutions.

Actively growing cells maintain a dynamic, far from equilibrium order through metabolism. Under starvation stress or under stress of exposure to the analog of the anabiosis autoinducer (4-hexylresorcinol), cells go into a dormant state (almost complete lack of metabolism) or even into a mummified state. In a dormant state, cells are forced to use the physical mechanisms of DNA protection. The architecture of DNA in the dormant and mummified state of cells was studied by x-ray diffraction of synchrotron radiation and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Diffraction experiments indicate the appearance of an ordered organization of DNA. TEM made it possible to visualize the type of DNA ordering. Intracellular nanocrystalline, liquid-crystalline, and folded nucleosome-like structures of DNA have been found. The structure of DNA within a cell in an anabiotic dormant state and dormant state (starvation stress) coincides (forms nanocrystalline structures). Data suggest the universality of DNA condensation by a protein Dps for a dormant state, regardless of the type of stress. The mummified state is very different in structure from the dormant state (has no ordering within a cell). It turned out that it is possible to visualize DNA conformation in toroidal and liquid crystal structures in which there is either no or a very small amount of the Dps protein. Observation of the DNA conformation in nanocrystals and folded nucleosome-like structures so far has been inconclusive. The methodological advances described will facilitate high-resolution visualization of the DNA conformation in the near future.

[Vaginal microbiota abnormalities in women with unexplained infertility and its treatment].

The vaginal microbiota is a complex and dynamic environment that plays an important role in the healthy reproduction of women. The mechanism of unexplained infertility is not yet clear, and the imbalance and low stability of vaginal microbiota may be related to unexplained infertility. Taking probiotic composite preparations to restore normal vaginal microbiota may be a safe and natural method for treating unexplained infertility. This article reviews the probiotic composite preparations used in the treatment of unexplained infertility both domestically and internationally, including the isolation site of the bacterial species, the use method of the composite preparation, the course of treatment, and the final therapeutic effect, aiming to provide a basis for the clinical application of probiotic composite preparations in the treatment of unexplained infertility.

Norovirus outbreaks in hospitals in China: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Norovirus outbreaks in hospitals can potentially impair patient care and result in significant financial expenses. There is currently limited information on hospital norovirus outbreaks in the Chinese mainland. AIM: To systematically review the published literature to describe the characteristics of norovirus outbreaks in Chinese mainland hospitals to facilitate prompt identification and control of outbreaks. METHODS: A systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis standards. Databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Chinese Journals Online databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Wan Fang digital database (WANFANG) were searched from inception to July 18th, 2022. FINDINGS: A total of 41 norovirus Chinese hospital outbreaks occurring before July 18th, 2022 were reported in 32 articles. Most reported outbreaks were from Shanghai and Beijing, and occurred in December and January. Cases were mainly adults. The male:female ratio was 1.22:1. The majority of cases in norovirus outbreaks were hospitalized patients (56.82%); medical staff were affected in 15 outbreaks. Norovirus outbreaks occurred in both private and public hospitals, and in secondary and tertiary care centres, and occurred mainly in internal medicine and geriatric departments. Person-to-person transmission was the primary transmission mode and GII was more prevalent. CONCLUSION: Norovirus outbreaks in hospitals can affect both patients and healthcare workers, sometimes causing serious financial losses. In order to have a more complete understanding of the disease burden caused by norovirus outbreaks, surveillance needs to be established in hospitals.

[Identification and preliminary validation of potential biomarkers in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of atopic dermatitis].

Objective: To explore the difference of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) transcripts between atopic dermatitis (AD) and healthy controls, and to screen and preliminarily validate potential biomarkers of AD. Methods: From January 2021 to May 2022, blood samples from 9 AD patients and 10 healthy controls were collected from the Dermatology and Cosmetic Center of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, ribonucleic acid-sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to determine the transcriptome and relative expression of PBMC, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed by gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and protein-protein interaction networks (PPI) analysis, and the potential biomarkers were identified by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Results: The age of patients in the AD group [M (Q1, Q3)] was 26.50 (22.75, 30.50) years old, and the course of disease [M (Q1, Q3)] was 15 (10, 20) years,and the age of the healthy control group [M (Q1, Q3)] was 37.00 (27.75, 40.25) years old. Compared with healthy controls, 1 044 DEGs were detected in PBMC samples in AD group, including 668 up-regulated genes and 376 down-regulated genes. Differential variable splicing (AS) showed that mutually exclusive exons (46.74%) and skipped exon (31.01%) accounted for a large proportion. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that AD is closely linked to DEGs implicated in the inflammatory response and cytokine interaction and signal pathway. Comprehensive enrichment analysis and PPI analysis selected the expression of 8 candidate genes (CCL4, CCR3, CXCR5, NFKBIA, CXCL1, IL-1B, CCL20, LY96), which was confirmed by qRT-PCR and were consistent with that of RNA-seq. Conclusions: CCL4, CCR3, CXCR5, NFKBIA, CXCL1, IL-1B, CCL20 and LY96 might be potential biomarkers of AD, participating in the occurrence and development of AD.