Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the febrile convulsion knowledge scale for parents/caregivers: translation and validation study.

BACKGROUND: Fever is one of the most common clinical symptoms of respiratory diseases in children. Once the child has a fever, parents and caregivers are mainly concerned that the child may have a febrile convulsion. A lack of cognitive ability not only leads to anxiety but also aggravates or delays the time of children's medical treatment and even seriously affects the prognosis because of improper management of fever patients.Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the degree of mastery of knowledge related to febrile convulsions, implement targeted guidance and health education, and ensure that parents and caregivers receive correct and reasonable first aid treatment. The purpose of this study was to translate the Febrile Convulsion Knowledge Scale for Parents/Caregivers into Chinese and to verify its reliability and validity for Chinese parents and caregivers of children. METHODS: The Brislin traditional translation model was used to translate the Febrile Convulsion Knowledge Scale for Parents/Caregivers from English to Chinese, following authorization from the original author of the scale. This involved literal translation, back translation, and cultural adaptation. A convenience sampling method was used to select 402 parents and caregivers of children in the pediatric ward and pediatric infusion clinic of a Grade III hospital in Liaoning Province. The item analysis method was employed to assess item differentiation, while the Delphi method was used to analyze content validity. Scale reliability was evaluated through the calculation of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to explore and verify the underlying factor structure and scale validity. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the Febrile Convulsion Knowledge Scale for Parents/Caregivers consists of 3 dimensions and 8 items. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.828, with each dimension having coefficients of 0.806, 0.720, and 0.702. The split-half reliability and test-retest reliability were 0.716 and 0.790, respectively. The Chinese version has good reliability. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the Bartlett sphericity test was 394.52 (p < 0.001) and that the KMO value was 0.802 > 0.600, indicating suitability for factor analysis. Principal component analysis and orthogonal rotation of maximum variance were performed on the data, and items with a load greater than 0.40 within a single factor were selected for inclusion. The resulting three-factor structure explained 70.78% of the total variance. All model fitting indices were within the acceptable range, indicating the good structural validity of the Chinese version. The results of both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support this conclusion. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version of the Febrile Convulsion Knowledge Scale for Parents/Caregivers has good reliability and validity. It can be used as a tool for clinical pediatric nurses to evaluate the knowledge of parents and caregivers of children with febrile convulsion and provide the basis for the design and implementation of targeted training plans according to the results obtained from the Chinese scale.

Cesarean Scar Pregnancies Treated by Uterine Artery Chemotherapy Embolization Combined With Ultrasound-Guided Dilation and Curettage: A Retrospective Study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effect of cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) treatment by comparing uterine artery chemotherapy embolization (UACE) combined with dilation and curettage (D&C) with or without ultrasound guidance. METHODS: CSP patients treated with UACE combined with D&C from January 2013 to December 2020 at Shuguang Hospital, affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into groups A and B according to whether D&C was guided by ultrasound. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients with CSP diagnosed by transvaginal ultrasound were included in this study, whose gestational age was <8 weeks. There were no significant differences in the basic clinical characteristics of the two groups. The success rates of the 2 groups were no significant difference, 100% (27/27) in group A and 85.7% (18/21) in group B. The maximal intraoperative blood loss of group A was 100 mL and that of group B was 150 mL. There was no uterine perforation during the operation. Ultrasound guidance can shorten the D&C operation time, reduce intraoperative bleeding during D&C, and decrease the residual rate of trophoblastic tissue after D&C. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound guidance can improve the safety and efficiency of UACE combined with D&C in the treatment of CSP and reduce its complications. We believe it is an optimal treatment for CSP patients who do not plan to have children in the future.

Reappraisal of the diagnostic value of alpha-fetoprotein for surveillance of HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma in the era of antiviral therapy.

This study was designed to explore if antiviral treatment influences the performance of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among the high-risk chronic HBV-infected patients. A total of 5936 patients who had evidence of chronic HBV infection were enrolled from four independent centres in this retrospective study, including 1721 chronic hepatitis B (CHB), 2286 liver cirrhosis (LC), 798 HCC within Milan criteria and 1131 HCC beyond Milan criteria patients. Stratified by whether they received treatment or not, the patients were further divided into antiviral and non-antiviral groups. Then, the performance of AFP for discriminating HCC was evaluated. Patients receiving antivirals had significantly lower median levels of AFP compared with the non-antiviral patients (P < .001), and there were significantly less patients with abnormal AFP levels in antiviral groups (P < .001). Antiviral therapy improved the AUROCs of AFP for discriminating HCC within Milan criteria. When setting the cut-off values at 20 ng/mL and 100 ng/mL as surveillance and confirmatory tests respectively for HCC among patients receiving antiviral treatment, AFP exhibited a significantly higher sensitivity than those of 200 ng/mL and 400 ng/mL, which are currently recommended by some guidelines, without compromising specificity. Further analysis in antiviral patients revealed that serum AFP had better performance for discriminating HCC within Milan criteria in ALT ≤ 1ULN patients than that in ALT > 1ULN patients. In conclusion, in the era of antiviral therapy, serum AFP's surveillance performance was substantially improved for HCC within Milan criteria among the high-risk population of CHB and LC patients.

Benefits of Ga, Ge and As substitution in Li2FeSiO4: a first-principles exploration of the structural, electrochemical and capacity properties.

Herein, the feasibility of Fe substitution by Ga, Ge and As in Li2FeSiO4 in modulating its structural, mechanical, electrochemical, capacity and electronic properties was systematically studied via first-principles calculations based on density functional theory within the generalized gradient approximation with Hubbard corrections (GGA+U). The calculated results show that Ga, Ge and As doping can effectively reduce the range of the cell volume change during Li+ removal, improving the Li+ detachment ability and cycle stability of the system. Meanwhile, the calculated mechanical properties including modulus ratio, B/G, and Poisson ratio, ν, indicate that the doped systems of Ga, Ge and As exhibit excellent mechanical properties. In addition, besides the increase in theoretical average deintercalation voltage induced by the Ga dopant when more than one Li+ ion is removed in the formula unit, the doping of Ga, Ge and As all reduce the theoretical average deintercalation voltage in the process of Li+ extraction. Especially in the case of doping of Ge, when 0.5 Li+ is removed from LiFe0.5Ge0.5SiO4, the theoretical average deintercalation voltage only increases by 0.19 V compared with the case of the removal of one Li+ in Li2Fe0.5Ge0.5SiO4, which causes the cathode material to have a longer and more stable discharge platform. Moreover, in the process of Li+ removal, the doping of Ga, Ge and As can effectively participate in the charge compensation of the system, and Ge and As can provide further charge, increasing the capacity of the Li2FeSiO4 cathode material considerably.

Comparing the yield of oropharyngeal swabs and sputum for detection of 11 common pathogens in hospitalized children with lower respiratory tract infection.

BACKGROUND: Advances in molecular laboratory techniques are changing the prospects for the diagnosis of viral infectious diseases. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay (multiplex-PCR) can detect dozens of pathogens simultaneously, greatly reducing turnaround time (TAT) and improving detection sensitivity. But as a double-edged sword, due to the high sensitivity of PCR, the type of respiratory specimens is critical to diagnosis. In this work, we performed a head-to-head comparison to evaluate the multiplex-PCR yields between two samples, sputum and flocked oropharyngeal swabs (OPS). METHODS: Eleven common respiratory pathogens were tested in hospitalized children< 13 years of age who met the criteria for lower respiratory tract infection by GeXP-based multiplex-PCR of paired OPS and sputum. RESULTS: From January to June 2018, 440 children with paired OPS and sputum were tested. The positive rate was 84% (369/440) for OPS and 88% (386/440) for sputum (p = .007). The frequency of detection of HRV, RSV, Influenza A virus, HMPV, parainfluenza virus, adenovirus, M. pneumoniae, coronavirus, bocavirus and C. pneumoniae in sputa was higher than that of OPSs (all p < .001). Both types of specimens had similarly very good kappa values for most of pathogens, except for Mycoplasma pneumonia (κ = 0.61) and Chlamydia pneumoniae (κ = 0.24). Additionally, 79.3% (349/440) of cases showed consistent results between the two types of samples, and they were significantly younger than patients with inconsistent results (p = .002). CONCLUSIONS: Flocked oropharyngeal swabs and sputum performed similarly for the detection of common respiratory pathogens in hospitalized children by multiplex-PCR, except for Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae. Young patients are likely to have consistent results between the two specimens.

Diacylglycerol kinase γ predicts prognosis and functions as a tumor suppressor by negatively regulating glucose transporter 1 in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Diacylglycerol kinases (DGK) are a family of enzymes catalyzing the transformation of diacylglycerol into phosphatidic acid, which have been recognized as key regulators in cell signaling pathways. The role of DGKγ in human malignancies has seldom been studied. In this study, we investigated the role of DGKγ in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We found that DGKγ was down-regulated in HCC tumor tissues and cell lines as compared to that in non-tumor tissues. The prognostic value of DGKγ expression was evaluated by Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analyses. Lower DGKγ expression in tumor tissues was an independent prognostic factor for poor post-surgical overall survival. By using HDACs inhibitors treatment and ChIP-PCR, we discovered that histone H3 and H4 deacetylation mainly contributed to the downregulation of DGKγ expression. Functional studies revealed that ectopic expression of DGKγ inhibited cell proliferation and cell migration in HCC cells. Mechanism studies showed that DGKγ overexpression led to down regulation of GLUT1 protein level and AMPK activity, which result in glucose uptake suppression as well as lactate and ATP production declination. The decrease of GLUT1 level could be partially rescued by treatments with either DGK inhibitor and lysosome inhibitor, indicating DGKγ may down-regulate GLUT1 through its kinase activity and lysosome degradation process. Together, this study demonstrated that DGKγ plays a tumor suppressor role in HCC by negatively regulating GLUT1. DGKγ could be a novel prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for HCC.

Dietary α-Mangostin Provides Protective Effects against Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Mice via Akt/mTOR-Mediated Inhibition of Autophagy and Apoptosis.

Acetaminophen overdose-induced hepatotoxicity is the most common cause of acute liver failure in many countries. Previously, alpha-mangostin (α-MG) has been confirmed to exert protective effects on a variety of liver injuries, but the protective effect on acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury (ALI) remains largely unknown. This work investigated the regulatory effect and underlying cellular mechanisms of α-MG action to attenuate acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. The increased serum aminotransferase levels and glutathione (GSH) content and reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) demonstrated the protective effect of α-MG against acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity. In addition, α-MG pretreatment inhibited increases in tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) caused by exposure of mice to acetaminophen. In liver tissues, α-MG inhibited the protein expression of autophagy-related microtubule-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) and BCL2/adenovirus E1B protein-interacting protein 3 (BNIP3). Western blotting analysis of liver tissues also proved evidence that α-MG partially inhibited the activation of apoptotic signaling pathways via increasing the expression of Bcl-2 and decreasing Bax and cleaved caspase 3 proteins. In addition, α-MG could in part downregulate the increase in p62 level and upregulate the decrease in p-mTOR, p-AKT and LC3 II /LC3 I ratio in autophagy signaling pathways in the mouse liver. Taken together, our findings proved novel perspectives that detoxification effect of α-MG on acetaminophen-induced ALI might be due to the alterations in Akt/mTOR pathway in the liver.

A comparison study between GeXP-based multiplex-PCR and serology assay for Mycoplasma pneumoniae detection in children with community acquired pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) in children has been hampered by difficulty in obtaining convalescent serum and time constraints. In this study, the two diagnostic assays that targeted respectively on Mp-antibody and Mp-DNA were retrospectively investigated. METHODS: A total of 3146 children were clinically diagnosed to have CAP and were confirmed by chest X-ray during March 2015 to February 2016 in Children's hospital of Hebei Province (China). Both of the sera and sputum samples were collected in 24 h after their admission. The Mp-antibody was examined by the passive particle agglutination assay and a fourfold or greater increase of antibody titers of paired sera or≧1:160 titer of single serum was set as the serology positive. Mp-DNA in the sputum samples was tested by a multiplex-PCR method named GeXP assay (multiplex PCR combined with automated capillary electrophoresis). In order to eliminate the false positive results caused by the asymptomatic carriage after infected by M. pneumoniae, the inconsistent samples were tested by the real-time isothermal transcription-mediated RNA amplification assay (SAT). RESULTS: The inter-rated agreement test was performed in 3146 CAP patients, with a highest kappa value in the school-age children as 0.783. There were 6.29% (198/3146) cases showed inconsistent results determined by GeXP and serology assay. All of the 19 GeXP(+)/Serology (-) samples and a randomly chosen 27 from 179 GeXP(-)/Serology (+) samples were tested by SAT assay, and a 97.8% diagnosis agreement was observed between SAT and GeXP assay, but not with the serology assay. In addition, patients who were detected only by serology or only by multiplex-PCR were significantly younger than those with both methods positive (3.0 and 1.5 years vs. 5.0 years, p < 0.01). The Viral-Mp coinfection accounted for 37.0% (97/262), which was more common in winter and spring (p < 0.05) and in the infantile group (p < 0.01), compared to the pure Mp positive ones. CONCLUSION: In some children CAP cases, the Mp laboratory diagnosis was inconsistent between serology and multiplex-PCR assay. Verified by the SAT assay, the GeXP showed a more sensitive and reliable performance compared with the serology assay. Furthermore, employing the multiplex-PCR could provide more information on the associated pathogens for clinical assessment of CAP.

Nephroprotective Effects of Saponins from Leaves of Panax quinquefolius against Cisplatin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury.

Although cisplatin is an anticancer drug that has activity against malignant tumor, it often causes nephrotoxicity. Previous reports have confirmed that the saponins from the leaves of P. quinquefolium (PQS) exerted many pharmacological activities. However, the renoprotective effects of PQS were still unknown. The purpose of the present research was to discuss renoprotective effect of PQS in a mouse model of cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). The levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (CRE) were evidently increased in cisplatin-intoxicated mice, which were reversed by PQS. Renal oxidative stress, evidenced by increased malondialdehyde (MDA) level and decline of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, was significantly alleviated by PQS pretreatment. The suppression of inflammatory response by PQS was realized through the decrease the mRNA expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) in kidney tissues, which were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Simultaneously, the overexpression of cytochrome P450 E1 (CYP2E1) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) were attenuated by PQS. Furthermore, the effects of Western blotting demonstrated that PQS administration significantly suppressed the protein expression levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase type 4 (Nox4), cleaved Caspase-3, cleaved Caspase-9, Bax, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), suggesting the inhibition of apoptosis and inflammation response. Overall, PQS may possess protective effects in cisplatin-induced AKI through suppression of oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis.

Fast and efficient synthesis of microporous polymer nanomembranes via light-induced click reaction.

Conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) are materials of low density and high intrinsic porosity. This is due to the use of rigid building blocks consisting only of lightweight elements. These materials are usually stable up to temperatures of 400 °C and are chemically inert, since the networks are highly crosslinked via strong covalent bonds, making them ideal candidates for demanding applications in hostile environments. However, the high stability and chemical inertness pose problems in the processing of the CMP materials and their integration in functional devices. Especially the application of these materials for membrane separation has been limited due to their insoluble nature when synthesized as bulk material. To make full use of the beneficial properties of CMPs for membrane applications, their synthesis and functionalization on surfaces become increasingly important. In this respect, we recently introduced the solid liquid interfacial layer-by-layer (LbL) synthesis of CMP-nanomembranes via Cu catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). However, this process featured very long reaction times and limited scalability. Herein we present the synthesis of surface grown CMP thin films and nanomembranes via light induced thiol-yne click reaction. Using this reaction, we could greatly enhance the CMP nanomembrane synthesis and further broaden the variability of the LbL approach.

The stability of CsPb(BrxCl1-x)3 all-inorganic mixed halide perovskites.

The use of mixed halide perovskites in the preparation of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is considered to be the most effective and direct approach. However, the introduction of chlorine (Cl) element might raise stability issues in the system and lead to low efficiency, thereby impeding the development of deep blue light-emitting diodes with high efficiency and stability. Determining the alloy concentration and the atomic distribution of bromine-chlorine (Br-Cl) mixed systems is essential for further application of deep blue light-emitting diodes. In this work, we have systematically investigated the stability of bromine-chlorine (Br-Cl) mixed alloy systems in various substitution configurations using high-throughput theoretical calculations. Based on this, we have examined the relationship between configuration stability and three aspects: the type of octahedra, the orientation of the octahedra and the Pb-X-Pb distortion angle in the configuration.

Inhibition of platelet adhesion to exposed subendothelial collagen by steric hindrance with blocking peptide nanoparticles.

The inhibition of platelet adhesion to collagen in exposed vessels represents an innovative approach to the treatment of atherosclerosis and thrombosis. This study aimed to engineer peptide-based nanoparticles that prevent platelet binding to subendothelial collagen by engaging with collagen with high affinity. We examined the interactions between integrin α2/ glycoprotein VI/ von Willebrand factor A3 domain and collagen, as well as between the synthesized peptide nanoparticles and collagen, utilizing molecular dynamics simulations and empirical assays. Our findings indicated that the bond between von Willebrand factor and collagen was more robust. Specifically, the sequences SITTIDV, VDVMQRE, and YLTSEMH in von Willebrand factor were identified as essential for its attachment to collagen. Based on these sequences, three peptide nanoparticles were synthesized (BPa: Capric-GNNQQNYK-SITTIDV, BPb: Capric-GNNQQNYK-VDVMQRE, BPc: Capric-GNNQQNYK-YLTSEMH), each displaying significant affinity towards collagen. Of these, the BPa nanoparticles exhibited the most potent interaction with collagen, leading to a 75% reduction in platelet adhesion.

Facile fabrication of a novel, photodetachable salecan-based hydrogel dressing with self-healing, injectable, and antibacterial properties based on metal coordination.

Achieving the controllable detachment of polysaccharide-based wound dressings is challenging. In this study, a novel, photodetachable salecan-based hydrogel dressing with injectable, self-healing, antibacterial, and wound healing properties was developed using a green and facile approach. A salecan hydrogel with a uniform porous structure and water content of 90.4 % was prepared by simply mixing salecan and an Fe3+-citric acid complexing solution in an acidic D-(+)-glucono-1,5-lactone environment. Metal coordinate interactions were formed between the released Fe3+ ions and carboxyl groups on the salecan polysaccharide, inducing homogeneous gelation. Benefiting from this dynamic and reversible crosslinking, the salecan hydrogel exhibited self-healing and injectable behavior, facilitating the formation of the desired shapes in situ. The exposure of Fe3+-citric acid to UV light (365 nm) resulted in the reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+ through photochemical reactions, enabling phototriggered detachment. Moreover, the hydrogel exhibited excellent biocompatibility and satisfactory antibacterial efficacy against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus of 72.5 % and 85.3 %, respectively. The adhesive strength of the salecan hydrogel to porcine skin was 1.06 ± 0.12 kPa. In vivo wound healing experiments further highlighted the advantages of the prepared hydrogel in alleviating the degree of wound inflammation and promoting tissue regeneration within 12 days.

Turing Instability of Liquid-Solid Metal Systems.

The classical Turing morphogenesis often occurs in nonmetallic solution systems due to the sole competition of reaction and diffusion processes. Here, this work conceives that gallium (Ga) based liquid metals (LMs) possess the ability to alloy, diffuse, and react with a range of solid metals (SMs) and thus should display Turing instability leading to a variety of nonequilibrium spatial concentration patterns. This work discloses a general mechanism for obtaining labyrinths, stripes, and spots-like stationary Turing patterns in the LM-SM reaction-diffusion systems (GaX-Y), taking the gallium indium alloy and silver substrate (GaIn-Ag) system as a proof of concept. It is only when Ga atoms diffuse over Y much faster than X while X reacts with Y preferentially, that Turing instability occurs. In such a metallic system, Ga serves as an inhibitor and X as an activator. The dominant factors in tuning the patterning process include temperature and concentration. Intermetallic compounds contained in the Turing patterns and their competitive reactions have also been further clarified. This LM Turing instability mechanism opens many opportunities for constructing microstructure systems utilizing condensed matter to experimentally explore the general morphogenesis process.

Sequential Inhibition of PARP and BET as a Rational Therapeutic Strategy for Glioblastoma.

PARP inhibitors (PARPi) hold substantial promise in treating glioblastoma (GBM). However, the adverse effects have restricted their broad application. Through unbiased transcriptomic and proteomic sequencing, it is discovered that the BET inhibitor (BETi) Birabresib profoundly alters the processes of DNA replication and cell cycle progression in GBM cells, beyond the previously reported impact of BET inhibition on homologous recombination repair. Through in vitro experiments using established GBM cell lines and patient-derived primary GBM cells, as well as in vivo orthotopic transplantation tumor experiments in zebrafish and nude mice, it is demonstrated that the concurrent administration of PARPi and BETi can synergistically inhibit GBM. Intriguingly, it is observed that DNA damage lingers after discontinuation of PARPi monotherapy, implying that sequential administration of PARPi followed by BETi can maintain antitumor efficacy while reducing toxicity. In GBM cells with elevated baseline replication stress, the sequential regimen exhibits comparable efficacy to concurrent treatment, protecting normal glial cells with lower baseline replication stress from DNA toxicity and subsequent death. This study provides compelling preclinical evidence supporting the development of innovative drug administration strategies focusing on PARPi for GBM therapy.

Geniposide improves depression by promoting the expression of synapse-related proteins through the Creb1/Six3os1 axis.

The present study aims to investigate the mechanism of Geniposide in the treatment of depression. By screening the effective components and targets of Zhi-zi-chi decoction, 140 candidate targets related to depression were identified. Further transcriptome sequencing was conducted to screen differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs; 7 candidate Geniposide treatment targets for depression were obtained. KEGG/GO enrichment analysis and molecular docking were performed to select the optimal drug target, revealing that Creb1 is an important target. Additionally, Six3os1 is the lncRNA with the smallest P-value among the differentially expressed lncRNAs, and the JASPAR database revealed a binding site between Creb1 and the Six3os1 promoter. The intersection of Synapse-related genes obtained from the GeneCards database and differentially expressed mRNAs produced 6 synaptic-related genes. RNA-protein interaction prediction revealed that Six3os1 interacts with the protein encoded by these genes. Geniposide upregulates the expression of Creb1 and Six3os1. Creb1 can transcriptionally activate Six3os1, thereby upregulating the expression of the synaptic-related proteins Htr3a and Htr2a, improving depression.

Association between dietary trace minerals and pelvic inflammatory disease: data from the 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.

Objective: Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a prevalent gynecological disorder. Dietary trace minerals play an important role in combating many chronic diseases including PID. However, it is unknown whether dietary trace minerals and PID are related. This study aimed to examine the relationship between dietary trace minerals (copper, iron, selenium, and zinc) and PID. Methods: Data of women participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015-2018 were enrolled in this cross-sectional investigation. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses of the relationship between dietary trace minerals and PID were performed, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analyses were applied to visualize those relationships. Results: In total, 2,694 women between the ages of 20 and 59 years participated in the two NHANES cycles. In the univariate analyses, a significant negative relationship was identified between PID and dietary copper intake [odds ratio (OR) = 0.40, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.24-0.67, p < 0.01] but not with iron (OR = 0.96, 95% CI: 0.90-1.03, p = 0.25), selenium (OR = 1.0, 95% CI: 0.99-1.0, p = 0.23), and zinc (OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.86-1.03, p = 0.17) intake. Following the adjustment for age and race (model 1), a robust correlation was found between dietary copper intake and PID (OR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.09-0.61, p < 0.01), as indicated by the fully adjusted model 2 (OR = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.09-0.90, p = 0.03). Simultaneously, a significant trend was found between copper intake and PID across the quintile subgroups (p for trends <0.05), suggesting a robust relationship. Furthermore, the RCS analysis demonstrated a linear correlation between PID and dietary copper intake (overall p < 0.01, non-linear p = 0.09). Conclusion: Decreased dietary copper intakes are linked to PID. However, additional research is needed to fully investigate this relationship due to the constraints of the study design.

Association between depression and endometriosis using data from NHANES 2005-2006.

Studies on the association between depression and self-reported endometriosis are limited, and further studies are required to investigate this association. Data were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database (2005-2006). Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 100 participants with self-reported endometriosis and 1295 participants without self-reported endometriosis were included, representing a total population of 64,989,430. Depression severity was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ9). A survey-weighted logistic regression analysis was performed to explore the association between depression and endometriosis. Subgroup analyses were conducted to explore heterogeneity. The prevalence of endometriosis was 7.17%. A significant positive association was found between the PHQ9 score and endometriosis. After adjusting for all covariates, the PHQ9 score positively correlated with endometriosis. Furthermore, compared with the participants without depression, those with moderate depression were more prone to have endometriosis both in unadjusted and fully adjusted model. However, the relationship between severe depression and endometriosis was not significant in all models (P > 0.05). Our findings highlight the influence of depression on the prevalence of self-reported endometriosis. Further studies are required to elucidate the causal relationship between depression and self-reported endometriosis.

Case report: A Chinese patient with glutathione synthetase deficiency and a novel glutathione synthase mutation.

Glutathione synthetase deficiency (GSSD) is an autosomal-recessive metabolic disorder caused by glutathione synthetase (GSS) gene mutations. No more than 90 cases of GSSD have been reported worldwide; thus, the spectrum of GSS mutations and the genotype-phenotype association remain unclear. Here, we present a severely affected infant carrying a compound heterozygous GSS variation, c.491G > A, and a novel variant of c.1343_1348delTACTTC. We also summarize the clinical manifestations, treatment protocol, prognosis, and genetic characteristics of previously reported GSSD cases in China. In this case study, our patient presented with tachypnea, jaundice, intractable metabolic acidosis, and hemolytic anemia. Urinary-organic acid analysis revealed elevated 5-oxoproline levels. Further, this patient showed improved outcomes owing to early diagnosis and the timely administration of vitamins C and E. Therefore, our study indicates that in clinical cases of unexplained hemolytic anemia and metabolic acidosis, GSSD should be considered. Additionally, genetic testing and antioxidant application might help identify GSSD and improve the prognosis.

The association between dietary inflammatory index with endometriosis: NHANES 2001-2006.

Endometriosis is a common chronic inflammatory and estrogen-dependent disease that mostly affects people of childbearing age. The dietary inflammatory index (DII) is a novel instrument for assessing the overall inflammatory potential of diet. However, no studies have shown the relationship between DII and endometriosis to date. This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between DII and endometriosis. Data were acquired from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2006. DII was calculated using an inbuilt function in the R package. Relevant patient information was obtained through a questionnaire containing their gynecological history. Based on an endometriosis questionnaire survey, those participants who answered yes were considered cases (with endometriosis), and participants who answered no were considered as controls (without endometriosis) group. Multivariate weighted logistic regression was applied to examine the correlation between DII and endometriosis. Subgroup analysis and smoothing curve between DII and endometriosis were conducted in a further investigation. Compared to the control group, patients were prone to having a higher DII (P = 0.014). Adjusted multivariate regression models showed that DII was positively correlated with the incidence of endometriosis (P < 0.05). Analysis of subgroups revealed no significant heterogeneity. In middle-aged and older women (age ≥ 35 years), the smoothing curve fitting analysis results demonstrated a non-linear relationship between DII and the prevalence of endometriosis. Therefore, using DII as an indicator of dietary-related inflammation may help to provide new insight into the role of diet in the prevention and management of endometriosis.