The Dimorphos ejecta plume properties revealed by LICIACube.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) had an impact with Dimorphos (a satellite of the asteroid Didymos) on 26 September 20221. Ground-based observations showed that the Didymos system brightened by a factor of 8.3 after the impact because of ejecta, returning to the pre-impact brightness 23.7 days afterwards2. Hubble Space Telescope observations made from 15 minutes after impact to 18.5 days after, with a spatial resolution of 2.1 kilometres per pixel, showed a complex evolution of the ejecta3, consistent with other asteroid impact events. The momentum enhancement factor, determined using the measured binary period change4, ranges between 2.2 and 4.9, depending on the assumptions about the mass and density of Dimorphos5. Here we report observations from the LUKE and LEIA instruments on the LICIACube cube satellite, which was deployed 15 days in advance of the impact of DART. Data were taken from 71 seconds before the impact until 320 seconds afterwards. The ejecta plume was a cone with an aperture angle of 140 ± 4 degrees. The inner region of the plume was blue, becoming redder with increasing distance from Dimorphos. The ejecta plume exhibited a complex and inhomogeneous structure, characterized by filaments, dust grains and single or clustered boulders. The ejecta velocities ranged from a few tens of metres per second to about 500 metres per second.

A magnetar-powered X-ray transient as the aftermath of a binary neutron-star merger.

Mergers of neutron stars are known to be associated with short γ-ray bursts1-4. If the neutron-star equation of state is sufficiently stiff (that is, the pressure increases sharply as the density increases), at least some such mergers will leave behind a supramassive or even a stable neutron star that spins rapidly with a strong magnetic field5-8 (that is, a magnetar). Such a magnetar signature may have been observed in the form of the X-ray plateau that follows up to half of observed short γ-ray bursts9,10. However, it has been expected that some X-ray transients powered by binary neutron-star mergers may not be associated with a short γ-ray burst11,12. A fast X-ray transient (CDF-S XT1) was recently found to be associated with a faint host galaxy, the redshift of which is unknown13. Its X-ray and host-galaxy properties allow several possible explanations including a short γ-ray burst seen off-axis, a low-luminosity γ-ray burst at high redshift, or a tidal disruption event involving an intermediate-mass black hole and a white dwarf13. Here we report a second X-ray transient, CDF-S XT2, that is associated with a galaxy at redshift z = 0.738 (ref. 14). The measured light curve is fully consistent with the X-ray transient being powered by a millisecond magnetar. More intriguingly, CDF-S XT2 lies in the outskirts of its star-forming host galaxy with a moderate offset from the galaxy centre, as short γ-ray bursts often do15,16. The estimated event-rate density of similar X-ray transients, when corrected to the local value, is consistent with the event-rate density of binary neutron-star mergers that is robustly inferred from the detection of the gravitational-wave event GW170817.

[Clinical analysis of cytomegalovirus infection-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in five patients without underlying diseases].

The clinical data of five patients [one male and four female; median age: 31 (21-65) years] with cytomegalovirus (CMV)-induced hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) diagnosed and treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed from January 2011 to December 2020. None of the patients had any underlying disease, and all were immunocompetent. The main clinical presentations were fever in all five patients, splenomegaly in four, enlarged lymph nodes in two, liver enlargement in one, and rash in three. Pulmonary infection was found in three patients, two of whom developed respiratory failure. Two patients had jaundice. Central nervous system symptoms and gastrointestinal bleeding were observed in one case. All patients received glucocorticoids and antiviral therapy. One patient was treated with the COP (cyclophosphamide+vincristine+prednisone) chemotherapy regimen after antiviral therapy failed and he developed central nervous system symptoms. After treatment, four patients achieved remission, but the fifth pregnant patient eventually died of disease progression after delivery. CMV-associated HLH in an immunocompetent individual without underlying diseases is extremely rare, and most patients have favorable prognosis. Antiviral therapy is the cornerstone of CMV-HLH treatment.

[The characteristics and impact on prognosis of cytopenia after anti-BCMA-CAR-T therapy in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma].

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of cytopenia and its impact on prognosis in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) after B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy therapy. Methods: Clinical data of 36 RRMM patients received BCMA CAR-T therapy at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from April 2017 to March 2023 were retrospectively collected. Among them, there were 17 males and 19 females, with an age [M (Q1, Q3)] of 62 (53, 67) years. The follow-up deadline was August 31, 2023, and the follow-up time [M (Q1, Q3)] was 33 (10, 30) months. The characteristics of cytopenia at different time points before lymphodepleting chemotherapy and after CAR-T cell infusion in all patients were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare the differences in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with different clinical characteristics. Single-cell sequencing analysis was used to analyze the changes in hematopoietic stem cells in three patients after CAR-T cell therapy. Results: The incidence of cytopenia after BCMA CAR-T cell therapy in 36 RRMM patients reached 100%. The incidence of neutropenia peaked on the 7th and 28th day after cell infusion with a biphasic pattern of change.Patients with all grade neutropenia reached 61.1% (22/36) and grade 3 or higher reached 33.3% (12/36) on the 7th day, while patients with all grade neutropenia reached 67.9% (19/28) and grade 3 or higher reached 28.6% (8/28) on the 28th day (P<0.001),respectively. The occurrence rate of lymphopenia reached a peak on the day of CAR-T cell infusion [97.2% (35/36) patients showed lymphopenia, while 80.6% (29/36) patients showed grade 3 or higher lymphopenia] (P<0.001).The incidence of all grade of thrombocytopenia and severe thrombocytopenia (grade 3 or higher) peaked on the 14th day after cell infusion, with the rates of 69.4% (25/36) and 30.6% (11/36) respectively, which had a prolonged duration(P<0.001). Even after 12 months, 40% (8/20) of patients still experienced thrombocytopenia.The incidence of anemia peaked on the 7th and 14th day after cell infusion, with a rate of 100% (36/36) (P<0.001). 50% (10/20) of patients still had anemia even 12 months after cell infusion. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients with thrombocytopenia < grade 3 had undefined OS, while patients with thrombocytopenia ≥grade 3 had shorter OS [17 (95%CI: 2-32) months, χ2=4.154, P=0.042], indicating a poorer prognosis. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the relationship between other cytopenia and survival (all P>0.05). Single-cell sequencing analysis of bone marrow cells revealed decreased proliferation, increased apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest of hematopoietic stem cells after CAR-T cell infusion. Conclusions: All patients experienced varying degrees of cytopenia after receiving BCMA CAR-T cell infusion, and patients with thrombocytopenia ≥grade 3 had shorter OS and poorer prognosis.

[The therapeutic effect and prognostic value of oligoclonal bands after autologous stem cell transplant in patients with multiple myeloma].

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effect and prognostic value of oligoclonal bands (OB) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). Methods: The data of 156 patients with MM who underwent ASCT after inductive treatment in the Department of Hematology, Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital from December 2013 to February 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including 91 males and 65 females. The median age was 56 (26, 71) years. Patients were divided into two groups according to OB formation after ASCT treatment, including OB group (n=60) and non-OB group (n=96). The last follow-up date was August 31, 2023, and the follow-up period was 42 (18, 117) months. The clinical baseline characteristics and efficacy of the two groups were compared. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared between the two groups by Kaplan-Meier method. Cox risk regression modal was used to analyze the risk factors associated with prognosis. Results: There were no significant differences in age, type, stage, risk stratification, extramedullary disease (EMD), proportion of circulating plasma cells and induction therapy regimen between OB and non-OB groups (all P>0.05). The proportion of patients in OB group who achieved complete response (CR) or above after ASCT treatment was 93.3% (56/60), which was higher than that in non-OB group (80.2%, 77/96) (P=0.024). The negative rate of minimal residual disease (MRD) in OB group was 66.7% (40/60), which was higher than that in non-OB group (34.4%, 33/96) (P=0.001). The median PFS and OS in the OB group were not reached, and the median PFS and OS in the non-OB group were 28 (2, 80) months and 86 (2, 100) months, respectively. The PFS (P<0.001) and OS (P=0.017) of patients with OB were considerably longer. In the Cox multivariate analysis, OB was an independent prognostic factor for PFS in MM patients (HR=0.314, 95%CI: 0.153-0.644, P=0.002). Subgroup analysis showed that among high-risk patients with mSMART, the OS of patients in OB group was not reached, which was significantly better than that of non-OB group [71 (2, 90) months, P=0.046]. However, no significant difference was observed in the OS of patients with OB and those with non-OB in standard risk group (not reached vs not reached, P=0.103). In those with EMD at diagnosis, patients with OB had significantly better OS than those with non-OB [not reached vs 47 (6, 74) months, P=0.037]. However, no significant difference was observed in the OS of patients with OB and those with non-OB in those without EMD at diagnosis [not reached vs 86 (2, 100) months, P=0.130]. Conclusions: OB formation after ASCT treatment in MM patients is related to the efficacy and prognosis. OB formation can increase the negative MRD rate, prolong the OS and improve the prognosis, especially for newly diagnosed patients with extramedullary disease or patients with high-risk genetic characteristics.

[Application of optical coherence tomography in the evaluation of cervical lesions: a multicenter study].

Objective: To explore the value of optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging system in evaluating cervical lesions in vivo. Methods: A total of 1 214 patients with cervical lesions were collected from January 2020 to December 2021 in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Maternal and Chlid Heaith Hospital of Gushi County, Xinyang City, Henan Province, and Maternal and Chlid Heaith Hospital of Sui County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province. The age of the patients was (38.9±10.5) years (range: 16-77 years). All patients underwent in vivo cervical OCT examination and cervical biopsy pathology examination, and summarized the OCT image features of in vivo cervical lesions. Using the pathological diagnosis as the "gold standard", the accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of OCT image interpretation results were evaluated, as well as the consistency of OCT image diagnosis and pathological diagnosis. At the same time, the in vivo cervical OCT imaging system, as a newly developed screening tool, was compared with the traditional combined screening of human papillomavirus (HPV) and Thinprep cytologic test (TCT), to assess the screening effect. Results: By comparing the OCT images of the cervix in vivo with the corresponding HE images, the OCT image characteristics of the normal cervix and various types of cervical lesions in vivo were summarized. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of OCT image in the diagnosis of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) and above (HSIL+) were 93.4%, 88.5%, 95.0%, 85.0% and 96.2%, respectively. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of OCT for low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) were 84.7%, 61.7%, 96.3%, 89.3% and 83.2%, respectively. The consistency between OCT image diagnosis and pathological diagnosis was strong (Kappa value was 0.701).The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of OCT screening, HPV and TCT combined screening were 83.7% vs 64.9% (χ²=128.82, P<0.001), 77.8% vs 64.5% (χ²=39.01, P<0.001), 91.8% vs 65.4% (χ²=98.12, P<0.001), respectively. The differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: OCT imaging system has high sensitivity and specificity in the evaluation of cervical lesions in vivo, and has the characteristics of non-invasive, real-time and high efficiency. OCT examination is expected to become an effective method for the diagnosis of cervical lesions and cervical cancer screening.

[Comparison of the efficacy of different surgical strategies in the treatment of patients with initially resectable gastric cancer liver metastases].

Objective: To examine the impact of varied surgical treatment strategies on the prognosis of patients with initial resectable gastric cancer liver metastases (IR-GCLM). Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study. Employing a retrospective cohort design, the study selected clinicopathological data from the national multi-center retrospective cohort study database, focusing on 282 patients with IR-GCLM who underwent surgical intervention between January 2010 and December 2019. There were 231 males and 51 males, aging (M(IQR)) 61 (14) years (range: 27 to 80 years). These patients were stratified into radical and palliative treatment groups based on treatment decisions. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method and distinctions in survival rates were assessed using the Log-rank test. The Cox risk regression model evaluated HR for various factors, controlling for confounders through multivariate analysis to comprehensively evaluate the influence of surgery on the prognosis of IR-GCLM patients. A restricted cubic spline Cox proportional hazard model assessed and delineated intricate associations between measured variables and prognosis. At the same time, the X-tile served as an auxiliary tool to identify critical thresholds in the survival analysis for IR-GCLM patients. Subgroup analysis was then conducted to identify potential beneficiary populations in different surgical treatments. Results: (1) The radical group comprised 118 patients, all undergoing R0 resection or local physical therapy of primary and metastatic lesions. The palliative group comprised 164 patients, with 52 cases undergoing palliative resections for gastric primary tumors and liver metastases, 56 cases undergoing radical resections for gastric primary tumors only, 45 cases undergoing palliative resections for gastric primary tumors, and 11 cases receiving palliative treatments for liver metastases. A statistically significant distinction was observed between the groups regarding the site and the number of liver metastases (both P<0.05). (2) The median overall survival (OS) of the 282 patients was 22.7 months (95%CI: 17.8 to 27.6 months), with 1-year and 3-year OS rates were 65.4% and 35.6%, respectively. The 1-year OS rates for patients in the radical surgical group and palliative surgical group were 68.3% and 63.1%, while the corresponding 3-year OS rates were 42.2% and 29.9%, respectively. A comparison of OS between the two groups showed no statistically significant difference (P=0.254). Further analysis indicated that patients undergoing palliative gastric cancer resection alone had a significantly worse prognosis compared to other surgical options (HR=1.98, 95%CI: 1.21 to 3.24, P=0.006). (3) The size of the primary gastric tumor significantly influenced the patients' prognosis (HR=2.01, 95%CI: 1.45 to 2.79, P<0.01), with HR showing a progressively increasing trend as tumor size increased. (4) Subgroup analysis indicates that radical treatment may be more effective compared to palliative treatment in the following specific cases: well/moderately differentiated tumors (HR=2.84, 95%CI 1.49 to 5.41, P=0.001), and patients with liver metastases located in the left lobe of the liver (HR=2.06, 95%CI 1.19 to 3.57, P=0.010). Conclusions: In patients with IR-GCLM, radical surgery did not produce a significant improvement in the overall prognosis compared to palliative surgery. However, within specific patient subgroups (well/moderately differentiated tumors, and patients with liver metastases located in the left lobe of the liver), radical treatment can significantly improve prognosis compared to palliative approaches.

[Discussion on the status quo and problems of health risk management of hand-transmitted vibration in the workplace].

The risk management in workplace is an important measure to effectively prevent and control the harm of hand-transmitted vibration. Based on the relevant developments at home and abroad, this paper expounds the risk of manual vibration operation in workplace by taking contact assessment and hazard assessment as an example. On this basis, the limit management and hierarchical management related to risk management are discussed, and the existing problems are analyzed.

[The current situation of occupational health in the Internet industry and countermeasures].

As an important force in promoting the transformation and upgrading of the national economy, the occupational health of the Internet industry's employees has received widespread attention. This paper examines the current situation of occupational health risks and management in the Internet industry at home and abroad, and on this basis reveals the physical and mental health problems of Internet industry employees. Combining the existing regulations, policies and standard documents at home and abroad, countermeasures are proposed to improve the relevant laws and regulations and their guidelines, implement relevant job design requirements, build a healthy working environment, optimise the work management system and carry out workplace health promotion, in order to provide ideas to accelerate the improvement of occupational health issues in the Internet industry.

[Advance in occupational health risks and management of shift work].

The occupational health issues of shift workers has received increasing attention in the field of occupational health, and discussed in this article through literature review on the health risks and management of shift work both domestically and internationally. Based on this, a series of impacts of shift work on the physiological and psychological health of workers, as well as their family and social life, are revealed. Combined with relatively mature regulations and policies in foreign countries, it is proposed that China should fully learn from the relevant experience of health management in shift work abroad, Strengthen research and explore effective management intervention measures to provide ideas for accelerating the development of scientifically feasible regulations and policies related to occupational health in shift work in China.

[Pathologic features of paraspinal muscle biopsies in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis].

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the paraspinal muscles of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients, and to further explore its etiology. METHODS: Clinical records and paraspinal muscle biopsies at the apex vertebra region during posterior scoliosis correction surgery of 18 AIS were collected from November 2018 to August 2019. Following standardized processing of fresh muscle tissue biopsy, serial sections with conventional hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and histochemical and immunohistochemical (IHC) with antibody Dystrophin-1 (R-domain), Dystrophin-2 (C-terminal), Dystrophin-3 (N-terminal), Dystrophin-total, Myosin (fast), major histocompatibility complex 1 (MHC-1), CD4, CD8, CD20, and CD68 staining were obtained. Biopsy samples were grouped according to the subjects' median Cobb angle (Cobb angle ≥ 55° as severe AIS group and Cobb angle < 55° as mild AIS group) and Nash-Moe's classification respectively, and the corresponding pathological changes were compared between the groups statistically. RESULTS: Among the 18 AIS patients, 8 were in the severe AIS group (Cobb angle ≥55°) and 10 in the mild AIS group (Cobb angle < 55°). Both severe and mild AIS groups presented various of atrophy and degeneration of paraspinal muscles, varying degrees and staining patterns of immune-expression of Dystrophin-3 loss, especially Dystrophin-2 loss in severe AIS group with significant differences, as well as among the Nash-Moe classification subgroups. Besides, infiltration of CD4+ and CD8+ cells in the paraspinal muscles and tendons was observed in all the patients while CD20+ cells were null. The expression of MHC-1 on myolemma was present in some muscle fibers. CONCLUSION: The histologic of paraspinal muscle biopsy in AIS had similar characteristic changes, the expression of Dystrophin protein was significantly reduced and correlated with the severity of scoliosis, suggesting that Dystrophin protein dysfunctions might contribute to the development of scoliosis. Meanwhile, the inflammatory changes of AIS were mainly manifested by T cell infiltration, and there seemed to be a certain correlation between inflammatory cell infiltration, MHC-1 expression and abnormal expression of Dystrophin. Further research along the lines of this result may open up new ideas for the diagnosis of scoliosis and the treatment of paraspinal myopathy.

[Analysis of characteristics of drug resistance gene mutation in HBV RT region of hepatitis B infected patients].

Objective: This article investigated the clinical characteristics and distribution of drug resistance mutation sites in HBV RT region of hepatitis B infected patients. Methods: Retrospective analysis was made on 1 948 patients with HBV infection, who had been tested for NAs resistance mutation and had a medical history of NAs in the Laboratory Department of the Fifth Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital from January 2020 to December 2021. Basic clinical information and drug resistance related mutation information were recorded. Meanwhile, the serological index data of hepatitis B were collected. Drug resistance gene mutant group and non-mutated group were grouped according to whether the drug resistance genes had a mutation in HBV RT region, and the clinical characteristics and genotype distribution of the two groups were statistically analyzed. The pattern of drug resistance gene mutation, number of mutation sites, drug resistance type and mutation of NAs resistance-related sites were analyzed in 917 patients with drug resistance gene mutation in HBV RT region. χ2 Inspection was used for counting data. Meanwhile, two independent samples t-test and Wilcoxon rank sum test were used for measurement data. Results: Among the 1 948 patients with chronic HBV infection, 917 patients had drug resistance gene mutation in RT region (47.07%). The proportion of patients with acute hepatitis B and CHB in HBV RT resistance gene mutant group was lower than that in the non-mutated group, while the proportion of patients with HBV-related cirrhosis was higher than that in the non-mutated group, these differences were statistically significant. Compared with the non-mutated group in HBV RT region, the age, the positive rates of HBeAg and HBV DNA, and HBV DNA load of these patients were increased in drug resistance gene mutant group, these differences were statistically significant. Genotypes of patients in both groups were dominated by C, followed by B and D. The proportion of patients with genotype C in HBV RT drug resistance gene mutant group was higher than that of non-mutated group, the difference was statistically significant. There were 53 gene mutation patterns in 917 patients with drug resistance gene mutation in HBV RT region, and the main pattern was rtL180M+rtM204V+rtS202G (9.70%). The mutation sites were dominated by 3 (20.74%). There were 5 types of drug resistance, LAM+Ldt (21.25%) was the most. Among the 18 sites that were clearly associated with LAM, ADV, ETV and Ldt resistance in the HBV RT region, 14 sites were mutated, and the most common mutation sites were rtL180M, rtM204V, rtM204 and rtS202G. what's more, the proportion of patients with NAs drug resistance was LAM>Ldt>ETV>ADV. Conclusion: In order to prevent adverse consequences of this study such as disease recurrence or disease progression caused by HBV drug resistance, HBV infected patients, who have long-term use of NAs antiviral therapy, should monitor the level of HBV DNA and drug resistance genes in HBV RT region in order to optimize the treatment plan in time or guide individualized treatment.

[Countermeasures for the construction of occupational health information standard system].

As an important part of health information standard system, occupational health information standard system is the foundation and guarantee of promoting the construction of occupational health information. This article is based on the literature research about current situation of domestic and foreign health information standards and occupational health information standard system, thus take "the National Health Information Standardization System" and "the National Public Health Information Construction Standards and Norms" into account, focus on the requirements of occupational health information construction and related work. Thus, put forward suggestions on the construction of occupational health information standard system, to accelerate the occupational health information construction, data collection, transmission and application.

[Construction and prospect of healthy enterprises in the new era].

The construction of health enterprises practice the concept of big health. It is an important solution to protect the overall health of occupational groups in the new era, which is of great significance to promoting a healthy city and helping to build a healthy China. This paper clarifies the connotation of healthy enterprises in the new era, discusses the key points of healthy enterprise construction around the "four in one" construction content, "PDCA" construction procedures, and evaluation methods of healthy enterprises. It focuses on the progress of healthy enterprise construction, analyzes the problems faced by the construction of health enterprises in China, and puts forward suggestions to improve the construction efficiency, with a view to providing ideas for further promoting the construction of health enterprises in China.

Early-life stress elicits peripheral and brain immune activation differently in wild type and 5xFAD mice in a sex-specific manner.

BACKGROUND: The risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) is modulated by genetic and environmental factors. Early-life stress (ELS) exposure during critical periods of brain development can impact later brain function and health, including increasing the risk of developing AD. Microglial dysfunction and neuroinflammation have been implicated as playing a role in AD pathology and may be modulated by ELS. To complicate matters further, sex-specific effects have been noted in response to ELS and in the incidence and progression of AD. METHODS: Here, we subjected male and female mice with either a wild type or 5xFAD familial AD-model background to maternal separation (MS) from postnatal day 2 to 14 to induce ELS. RESULTS: We detected hippocampal neuroinflammatory alterations already at postnatal day 15. By 4 months of age, MS mice presented increased immobility time in the forced swim test and a lower discrimination index in the novel object recognition memory test compared to controls. We found altered Bdnf and Arc expression in the hippocampus and increased microglial activation in the prefrontal cortex due to MS in a sex-dependent manner. In 5xFAD mice specifically, MS exacerbated amyloid-beta deposition, particularly in females. In the periphery, the immune cell population was altered by MS exposure. CONCLUSION: Overall, our results demonstrate that MS has both short- and long-term effects on brain regions related to memory and on the inflammatory system, both in the brain and periphery. These ELS-related effects that are detectable even in adulthood may exacerbate pathology and increase the risk of developing AD via sex-specific mechanisms.

Mating-Type Genes Control Sexual Reproduction, Conidial Germination, and Virulence in Cochliobolus lunatus.

Cochliobolus lunatus (anamorph: Curvularia lunata) is a major pathogenic fungus that causes the Curvularia leaf spot of maize. ClMAT1-1-1 and ClMAT1-2-1, the C. lunatus orthologs of C. heterostrophus ChMAT1-1-1 and ChMAT1-2-1, were investigated in the present study to uncover their functions in C. lunatus. Southern blot analysis showed that these mating-type MAT genes exist in the C. lunatus genome as a single copy. ClMAT1-1-1 and ClMAT1-2-1 were knocked out and complemented to generate ΔClmat1-1-1 and ΔClmat1-2-1 and ΔClmat1-1-1-C and ΔClmat1-2-1-C, respectively. The mutant strains had defective sexual development and failed to produce pseudothecia. There were no significant differences in growth rate or conidia production between the mutant and wild-type strains. However, the aerial mycelia and mycelial dry weight of ΔClmat1-1-1 and ΔClmat1-2-1 were lower than those of wild type, suggesting that MAT genes affect asexual development. ClMAT genes were involved in the responses to cell wall integrity and osmotic adaptation. ΔClmat1-2-1 had a lower conidial germination rate than the wild-type strain CX-3. The virulence of ΔClmat1-2-1 and ΔClmat1-1-1 was also reduced compared with the wild-type. Complementary strains could restore all the phenotypes.

[Deletion of Aldh4a1 Leads to Impaired Sperm Maturation in Mice].

ALDH4A1, a member of the aldehyde dehydrogenase superfamily, is a key enzyme in the mitochondrial proline metabolism pathway. Recent studies have shown that mutations in aldh4a1 lead to reduced fertility and reproductive premature aging of male nematodes. However, the effect of ALDH4A1 on fertility of male mice has not been studied. In this study, we used CRISPR-Cas9 technology to construct a knockout mouse model of Aldh4a1 for the first time to explore the effect of this gene on the reproduction of male mice. The results showed that compared with WT male mice, Aldh4a1^(-/-) male mice were fertile, had normal spermatogenesis but defect in sperm maturation in the epididymis documented by impaired motility, increased morphological abnormalities and increased spontaneous acrosome reaction. In addition, transmission electron microscopy showed vacuoles in the sperm mitochondria, and fracture in the neck of sperms and vacuoles in these mice. These results revealed that ALDH4A1 plays a vital role in the structure of sperm flagellum and the process of sperm maturation in mice.

[The efficacy of eltrombopag plus cyclosporine A in patients with transfusion-dependent non-severe aplastic anemia: a retrospective study from single center].

The main purpose of our study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of eltrombopag plus cyclosporine A (CsA) in transfusion-dependent non-severe aplastic anemia(TD-NSAA). The clinical characteristics of 13 TD-NSAA patients who received initial treatment of eltrombopag plus CsA from 2019 to 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The 3-month overall hematological response (OR) rate was 12/13. Until the end of follow-up, 12 patients responded, among whom 2 patients reached complete response (CR) and 9 patients reached partial response (PR) and 1 with HR. Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) developed in one patient at 6 months after treatment. Five of thirteen patients reported mild adverse reactions, which were all manageable. Compared with historical data, the combination of eltrombopag with CsA is an effective regimen in patients with TD-NSAA.

[Clinical characteristics of 114 patients with iridocorneal endothelial syndrome].

Objective: To investigate the clinical features in patients with iridocorneal endothelial (ICE) syndrome. Methods: A retrospective case series study. Data of clinical manifestations of patients with ICE syndrome including clinical subtypes, presenting visual acuity, clinical features and secondary glaucoma were collected from January 2014 to May 2020 in the Eye Hospital, School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Wenzhou Medical University. The Wald's Chi-square test of generalized estimating equations was performed to analyze the differences in three clinical subtypes. Results: A total of 127 eyes of 114 subjects (64 females and 50 males) were included. Mean±SD age at presentation was (49±13) years. There were 53 patients (46.5%) with Chandler's syndrome (CS), 36 patients (31.6%) with progressive iris atrophy (PIA), 24 patients (21.0%) with Cogan-Reese syndrome (CRS) and one patient (0.9%) with an undetermined subtype. And 101 patients (88.6%) had uniocular ICE syndrome. Approximately 81.7% (49/60), 56.1% (23/41) and 41.7% (10/24) of eyes presented visual acuity <0.3 in patients with CS, PIA and CRS, respectively. Corneal edema was most common in CS (52.5%, 32/61), followed by PIA (29.3%, 12/41) and CRS (20.8%, 5/24). Corectopia was found in 95.8% (23/24) of eyes with CRS, 95.1% (39/41) of eyes with PIA and 78.7% (48/61) of eyes with CS. Polycoria was observed in 29.3% (12/41) of eyes with PIA, 3.3% (2/61) of eyes with CS and 8.3% (2/24) of eyes with CRS. Ectropion uvea was most common in CRS (54.2%, 13/24), followed by 16.4% (10/61) in CS and 12.2% (5/41) in PIA. Glaucoma was found in 94 eyes (74.0%, 94/127). Among them, 60.7% (37/61) of CS, 80.5% (33/41) of PIA and 95.8% (23/24) of CRS had secondary glaucoma. The difference of presenting visual acuity, corneal edema, corectopia, polycoria, ectropion uveae and secondary glaucoma in three clinical subtypes all had statistical significance (Wald χ2=13.87, 10.77, 965.78, 11.45, 15.00, 222.04; all P<0.05). And 86.2% of eyes (81/94) had glaucoma surgeries and 41 eyes (43.6%, 41/94) had the intraocular pressure well controlled with various interventions. Conclusions: ICE syndrome is mostly uniocular and more common in middle-aged patients. CS is the most common clinical subtype with poor presenting visual acuity. About 3/4 of eyes have secondary glaucoma, and the majority of them require surgical interventions, but prognoses are discouraging.

[Status of home blood pressure monitoring and influencing factors of regular home blood pressure monitoring among elderly uncontrolled hypertensive patients in Central and Western China].

Objective: To describe the prevalence of home blood pressure monitoring and analyze the factors influencing regular blood pressure monitoring among elderly uncontrolled hypertensive patients in Central and Western China. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study, which enrolled hypertensive patients aged over 60 years with office blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) from September 2019 to July 2020 in 72 hospitals in Central and Western China. Patients completed the electronic questionnaires, and were divided into regular and irregular home blood pressure monitoring groups. The proportion of patients using different types of sphygmomanometers and the percentage of patients with regular home blood pressure monitoring (at least weekly) were explored. The generalized linear mixed model was used to define the influencing factors of regular home blood pressure monitoring. Results: A total of 3 857 patients were included in this study. Age was 67(64,71) years old and there were 2 163 males (56.1%). Overall, sphygmomanometer was available at home for 3 044(78.9%) patients, 2 168(56.2%) patients conducted regular home blood pressure monitoring. Among the patients with a sphygmomanometer at home, 2 370(77.9%) of the sphygmomanometers were upper arm electronic device. Older age, higher income, longer history of hypertension, multiple antihypertensive medications and awareness of diagnostic criteria of hypertension and hypertension complications were associated with a higher prevalence of regular home blood pressure monitoring (all P<0.05). Conclusions: Among the elderly hypertensive patients with uncontrolled blood pressure in Central and Western China, there is a relatively high prevalence of home sphygmomanometer ownership and regular monitoring. Age, family income, history of hypertension, number of antihypertensive drugs and knowledge of hypertension are the influencing factors of regular home blood pressure monitoring in this population.