Real-world tobacco cessation practice in China: findings from the prospective, nationwide multicenter China National Tobacco Cessation Cohort Study (CNTCCS).

Background: Tobacco cessation is proven to be the most effective and cost-effective strategy for smokers to reduce their risk of smoking-related disease and premature death. Providing effective, efficient, safe, and patient-centred tobacco cessation treatment to reach those who need them is a significant challenge. To date, only a few nationwide studies in China have assessed the overall clinical care practice and treatment outcome of tobacco cessation. Methods: This a prospective, nationwide, multicenter, cohort study covering all Eastern China, Northwest China, Central China, North China, Southwest China, Northeast China, and South China. Participants who were current smokers aged 18-85 years attending clinic for smoking cessation were included. All the participants were treated with 3-month cessation treatment and followed up for 3 months. Data were collected prospectively using online system. The primary outcome was 7-day point abstinence rate at 24 weeks, validated biochemically by an expired carbon monoxide level of less than 10 ppm. The participants lost to follow-up or not providing validation were included as non-abstainers. Findings: A representative sample of 3557 participants were recruited and 2943 participants were included into this analysis. These participants had mean age of 53.05 years, and 94.8% were males, with 75.8% showing symptoms of tobacco dependence. A total of 965 (32.8%) participants were treated with Bupropion + behavioural counselling, followed by 935 (31.8%) with behavioural counselling, 778 (26.4%) with Varenicline + behavioural counselling, 135 (4.6%) with alternative treatments + behavioural counselling, and 130 (4.4%) with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) + behavioural counselling. After 3-month treatment and 3-month follow-up, 21.74% of the participants quit smoking at 24 weeks. In the multivariable-adjusted analyses, quitting smoking was significantly associated with female, higher socioeconomic status, poor health condition, different treatment received, and less smoking intensity. The tobacco cessation treatment varied widely across different areas of China. In particular, the areas with higher usage of cessation medication were associated with better cessation treatment outcome. Interpretation: The CNTCCS is the first large-scale nationwide cohort study of smoking cessation in China. Rich data collected from this prospective cohort study provided the opportunity to evaluate the clinical practice of tobacco cessation treatment in China. Funding: Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) Initiative for Innovative Medicine (CAMS 2021-I2M-1-010), Heilongjiang Provincial Science and Technology Key Program (2022ZXJ03C02), and National Key R&D Program of China (grant no. 2017YFC1309400).

Effect of comprehensive nursing intervention on the outcomes of in vitro fertilization in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized controlled study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of comprehensive nursing intervention on in vitro fertilization (IVF) and pregnancy outcomes in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHOD: A total of 130 patients with PCOS admitted to our hospital from April 2021 to March 2023 were selected as the research subjects. They were evenly divided according to a random number table method. The control group received routine care for the patients, while the study group received comprehensive care for the patients. The IVF, pregnancy outcomes, negative emotional changes, serum and follicular fluid (FF) amyloid-related protein and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels of the 2 groups of patients were compared. RESULT: The data on IVF rate and pregnancy rate in the study group were significantly better than those in the control group (P < .05). The SAS and SDS scores of the study group patients after intervention were significantly lower than those of the control group (P < .05). After intervention, the levels of serum and FF amyloid associated protein and CRP in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Patients with PCOS who receive comprehensive care can increase their probability of IVF, improve their pregnancy outcomes, and have a positive significance in reducing negative emotions.

Sperm flagellar 2 (SPEF2) is essential for sperm flagellar assembly in humans.

Spermiogenesis is a complex and tightly regulated process, consisting of acrosomal biogenesis, condensation of chromatin, flagellar assembly, and disposal of extra cytoplasm. Previous studies have reported that sperm flagellar 2 (SPEF2) deficiency causes severe asthenoteratozoospermia owing to spermiogenesis failure, but the underlying molecular mechanism in humans remains unclear. Here, we performed proteomic analysis on spermatozoa from three SPEF2 mutant patients to study the functional role of SPEF2 during sperm tail development. A total of 1262 differentially expressed proteins were detected, including 486 upregulated and 776 downregulated. The constructed heat map of the differentially expressed proteins showed similar trends. Among these, the expression of proteins related to flagellar assembly, including SPEF2, sperm associated antigen 6 (SPAG6), dynein light chain tctex-type 1 (DYNLT1), radial spoke head component 1 (RSPH1), translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20 (TOM20), EF-hand domain containing 1 (EFHC1), meiosis-specific nuclear structural 1 (MNS1) and intraflagellar transport 20 (IFT20), was verified by western blot. Functional clustering analysis indicated that these differentially expressed proteins were specifically enriched for terms such as spermatid development and flagellar assembly. Furthermore, we showed that SPEF2 interacts with radial spoke head component 9 (RSPH9) and IFT20 in vitro, which are well-studied components of radial spokes or intra-flagellar transport and are essential for flagellar assembly. These results provide a rich resource for further investigation into the molecular mechanism underlying the role that SPEF2 plays in sperm tail development and could provide a theoretical basis for gene therapy in SPEF2 mutant patients in the future.

One new spirocyclic lactone and one new benzopyran derivative from Aspergillus terreus.

One new spirocyclic lactone, terreinlactone C (1), and one new benzopyran derivative, 2,2-dimethyl-3-hydroxychroman-6-aldehyde (2), were discovered from the fungus Aspergillus terreus. The chemical structures of compounds 1 and 2 were elucidated by detailedly analyzing NMR and HRESIMS data. Compound 1 is the first natural product with a 1-oxaspiro[4.5]decan-2-one ring system and a possible biogenetic pathway is proposed. Two compounds were tested for their cytotoxic activities against five human cancer cell lines.[Formula: see text].

Anti-diarrheal and anti-inflammatory activities of aqueous extract of the aerial part of Rubia cordifolia.

BACKGROUND: In Shaanxi province, China, the aqueous extract of Rubia cordifolia's aerial part (AERCAP) is traditionally used to manage diarrhea. However, there is no scientific evidence to verify the safety and efficacy of its use. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-diarrheal and anti-inflammatory effects of AERCAP by using a rodent model. METHODS: The anti-diarrheal effects were studied by senna leaf-induced diarrheal and intestinal transit experiments in mice. The anti-inflammatory activity was investigated by trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colonic inflammation in rats. RESULTS: The results indicated that AERCAP delayed the onset of semi-solid feces, reduced the evacuation index (EI) in senna leaf-induced diarrheal in mice, and inhibited the propulsive movement in castor oil-induced intestinal transit but not in the normal intestinal transit test. The results were compared with the standard anti-diarrheal drug loperamide. Additionally, oral treatment with AERCAP significantly decreased the macroscopic damage area, improved the microscopic structure, and reduced the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, IL-1ß and TNF-α levels in colonic tissue compared with the TNBS control group in rats. CONCLUSIONS: AERCAP exhibited anti-diarrheal and anti-inflammatory activities in a rodent model. The study validated the traditional use of the plant in Chinese herbal medicine as a valuable natural remedy for the treatment of diarrhea.

[Synthesis of manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve and their application in catalytic oxidation of benzene].

Manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieves (OMS-2) for VOCs catalytic combustion were synthesized by refluxing method. The crystal structure, particle morphology, pore structure and H2-reduction ability were characterized by XRD, SEM, N2 adsorption-desorption and H2-TPR techniques. The catalytic activities of the OMS-2 calcined at different temperatures in benzene combustion and the stability of the sample calcined at 300 degrees C were evaluated. The results indicated that the effect of calcinations temperature on the surface characters of catalysts was remarkable. With higher calcination temperature, the samples showed lower surface area and pore volume, but larger average pore size. At the same time, high calcination temperature leaded to low activity. The benzene conversion of the sample calcined at 300 degrees C was 50% degrees C at 200 degrees C and 90% at 250 degrees C, respectively. The catalytic activity exhibited only 5% reduction after reaction at 260 degrees C for 70 h, which indicated that the as-made catalysts were very stable after calcination at 300 degrees C.

Comparison of chromosomal aberrations between primary tumors and their synchronous lymph-node metastases in intestinal-type gastric carcinoma.

Lymph-node metastasis is a main factor causing poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer (GC). In order to determine the genes involved in lymph-node metastasis, we compared primary tumors with their synchronous lymph-node metastases for DNA sequence copy number aberrations (DSCNAs) in 20 patients diagnosed as having intestinal-type GC using comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). The results showed that some DSCNAs (gains at 8q, 13q, 5p, 7 and X, and losses at 1p, 17p, 19, 21q and 22q) were frequently found in both primary tumors and their metastases. However, metastases often contained DSCNAs that were not found in corresponding primary tumors, and gain at 20q12-13 and losses at 21qcen-21, 4q and 14q22-ter were significantly more frequently observed in metastatic lesions than in their primary tumors (10:2, 9:0, 6:0, and 7:0 between metastases and corresponding primary tumors, respectively). Our data indicate that gain at 20q12-13 and losses at 21qcen-21, 4q, and 14q22-ter are involved in lymph-node metastases, and that these chromosomal regions may contain the genes related to lymph-node metastases in intestinal-type GC.

Bile tract adenomyoma: a case report.

This paper described a rare case of adenomyoma of common bile duct. The case is a 51-year-old man who was hospitalized for yellow color skin and sclera and itching for 2 mo without abdominal pain. Nothing special was found in physical examination except yellowish skin and sclera. The clinical presentation and Computerized Tomography (CT), Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), and ultrasonography suspected a tumor of the distal bile duct. The patient was treated successfully by pancreaticoduodenectomy. Histologically, the lesion consisted of adenoid and myofibrous tissue and moderate atypia. The immunophenotype of the epithelial component was cytokeratin 7+/cytokeratin 20-. The patient has been well without any evidence of recurrence for 12 mo since his operation.

[Effects of different drugs on the sphincter of Oddi motility: study with choledochoscope manometry].

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the effects of narcotic analgesics, nitrates drugs, somatostatin analogues on human sphincter of Oddi motility and the antagonistic effects of nitrates drugs and anticholinergic agents against morphine measured by choledochoscope manometry. METHODS: 157 patients who had a T tube after cholecystectomy and choledochotomy were assessed by choledochoscope manometry. They were randomly divided into 5 groups. Sphincter of Oddi basal pressure (SOBP), amplitude (SOCA), frequency of contractions (SOF), duration of contractions (SOD), duodenal pressure (DP), common bile duct pressure (CBDP) were scored and analyzed. RESULTS: SOBP, SOCA and SOF increased after injection of morphine and Ap-237, CBDP increased after intramuscular administered morphine. No apparent change occurred after intramuscularly administered pethidine. SOBP and SOCA decreased after tramadol. After intravenous administration of stilamin in a dose of 250 microg/h, SOCA increased. After administration stilamin of 500 microg/h dose, SOCA and SOBP declined. After intravenous administration of sandostatin, CBDP increased obviously. BPOS and SOCA decreased significantly after administration of isosorbide dinitrate (ISDN) and glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), SOBP reduced evidently after application of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PTN). SOBP, SOCA, SOF and CBDP increased evidently after injection of morphine. After associated application of ISDN and GTN, the four indications above decreased. As to associated application with PTN, SOCA and SOF decreased. After associated application of anisodamine or atropine, SOCA, SOBP declined, after injected buscopan, SOCA, SOBP, SOF all declined. CONCLUSION: The regular dose of morphine and Ap-237 shows excitatory effect on the sphincter of Oddi motility. Tramadol shows inhibitory effect on the sphincter of Oddi. The regular dose of pethidine and sandostatin shows no apparent effect on the sphincter of Oddi. Stilamin in low dose shows excitated effect on the sphincter of Oddi. Nitrates drugs show inhibited effects on SO motility. Nitrates drugs and anticholinergic agents can antagonize the excitated effect of morphine.