Functional and morphological evaluation of the meibomian glands and ocular surface assessment at high altitude

Purpose: To compare the function and morphology of the meibomian glands and the ocular surface of individuals from highland and lowland. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial. The study was performed with 104 individuals (51 individuals from the highland and 53 individuals from the lowland). Detailed eye examinations comprising tear meniscus height, lipid layer grading, non?invasive Keratograph tear breakup time (NIKBUT), and scoring of the meibomian glands from the upper and lower eyelids of the individuals were performed by Keratograph 5M (OCULUS, Wetzlar, Germany). Symptoms related to dry eye disease were assessed using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI). Results: In the highland group, tear meniscus height was lower (P = 0.024), lipid layer grade, as well as all the meiboscores were higher (P < 0.05) than that in the lowland group. The OSDI (P = 0.018) and the percentage of dry eye disease were also higher as compared to that of the lowland group (P = 0.032). The first NIKBUT and average NIKBUT did not differ significantly between groups. The frequency of plugged meibomian gland orifices was greater in the lowland group compared to the highland group (P = 0.036). Conclusion: It was observed that dry eye disease was more common in the highland group. The morphological changes of meibomian gland dropout were significant in highlanders as demonstrated objectively with Keratograph 5M. Our study may raise a concern for environmental influences on ocular surface changes

Clinical study on the application of nanopore targeted sequencing technology for rapid and accurate detection of pathogens in patients with complicated urinary tract infections / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Objective:To evaluate the clinical value of nanopore targeted sequencing (NTS) in pathogens detection in urinary tract by comparing the results of different tests performed on the same urine sample.Methods:The results of NTS and urine culture test collected from 326 patients in the Department of Urology of People's Hospital of Wuhan University from July 2020 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 224 males and 102 females. The average age was (56.88 ± 14.58)years old. χ 2 test and Student’s test and Wilcoxon's sign rank test were used to analyze the differences of the pathogen detection rate, pathogen types results and detection time consuming between NTS and urine culture. The clinical value of the NTS in rapid detection of urinary pathogens was evaluated. Results:Among 326 hospitalized patients, the urinary tract microbes’ detecting rate of NTS was significantly higher than that of urine culture[67.80%(221/326)vs. 23.93%(78/326), χ2=130.25, P<0.01]. The uropathogens detecting rate of NTS was significantly higher than that of urine culture[54.29%(177/326)vs. 23.31%(76/326), χ2=38.95, P<0.01]. The number of urinary tract microbes detected by NTS was significantly higher than that of urine culture ( Z=11.49, P<0.01), the number of uropathogens was significantly higher than that of urine culture ( Z=9.67, P<0.01). The detection time of NTS and urine culture positive samples was (24.29±2.65) h and (49.28±11.30) h, the difference was statistically significant ( t =39.48, P<0.01). The results obtained by using NTS and urine culture were consistent in 135 (41.41%) samples. In 150 (46.01%) samples, NTS could detect the urinary tract microbes while urine culture cannot find, of which 112 cases (34.36%) were uropathogenic. In 27 cases (8.28%), more pathogens were detected by NTS except those from urine culture. In 6 cases (1.84%) re-detecting NTS after antibiotic therapy, the number of reads of primary uropathogen decreased gradually with the growth of colonizing bacteria or opportunistic pathogens appeared in the end. Re-examinations of urine culture could verify the results of NTS detection on admission in 5 cases (1.53%). NTS in 2 cases (0.61%) could cover the uropathogens of subsequent several urine cultures. Conclusions:NTS has the advantages of rapid, sensitive and comprehensive detection of urinary tract infection pathogens. When urine culture is not yet reported or even negative, NTS already has a certain clinical reference value and can be used as an effective supplement to urine culture, which is conducive to the comprehensive judgment of the patient's condition.

Long non-coding RNA DLGAP1 antisense RNA 1 accelerates glioma progression via the microRNA-628-5p/DEAD-box helicase 59 pathway

Abstract Objectives Abnormal expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) plays a prominent role in glioma progression. However, the biological function and mechanism of lncRNA DLGAP1 antisense RNA 1 (DLGAP1-AS1) in gliomas are still unknown. Methods The authors assessed DLGAP1-AS1 and miR-628-5p expression in glioma tissues and cell lines using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and evaluated their effects on glioma cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, 5-Ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) assay, Transwell assay, and western blot, respectively. The expression of DEAD-box helicase 59 (DDX59) was quantified using western blotting, and a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was performed to detect the interaction between DLGAP1-AS1 and miR-628-5p. Results The authors observed increased DLGAP1-AS1 expression in glioma tissues and cell lines with higher WHO grades and shorter survival time. DLGAP1-AS1 promoted the proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT of glioma cells, while miR-628-5p counteracted these effects. The authors identified DLGAP1-AS1 as a molecular sponge of miR-628-5p in glioma cells as the biological functions of DLGAP1-AS1 are partially mediated via miR-628-5p. In addition, DLGAP1-AS1 upregulated DDX59 expression by inhibiting miR-628-5p expression. Conclusion The DLGAP1-AS1/miR-628-5p/DDX59 axis regulates glioma progression.

Changes and health equity of low vision among children and adolescents in Chongqing during 2018 to 2021 / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To understand changes and health equity of low vision in children and adolescents in Chongqing, and to provide reference for student myopia prevention and control.@*Methods@#Using longitudinal studies, all school students in grades 1 to grade 12 in Chongqing were examined for visual acuity during 2018 to 2021, and the prevalence as well as changes of low vision were analyzed. In 2021, stratified random sampling was used to evaluate the health equity of uncorrected visual acuity and diopter(spherical equivalent, SE).@*Results@#The prevalence of low vision for children and adolescents in Chongqing from 2018 to 2021 was 54.12%, 58.17%, 60.03% and 58.20% respectively. Low vision showed an increasing trend in the first three years and decreased by 1.83% in 2021 as compared with 2020( χ 2 trend =13 870.45, P <0.01). The difference in the detection rate of poor vision among students in different grades was statistically significant( χ 2=17 396.36, 2 093.95, 771.87, P <0.01). From 2018 to 2021, the detection rate of low vision in girls was higher than that of boys( P <0.01). The Gini coefficient was 0.054 57 for uncorrected visual acuity in urban area, higher than in rural areas (0.035 94). Meanwhile, the Gini coefficient of urban and rural SE was 0.065 82, higher than the country (0.049 30). The results showed that myopia in children and adolescents was more uneven in urban areas.@*Conclusion@#The adjustment of myopia prevention and control strategies in the late stage of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic is related to the reduction of the detection rate of poor vision in children and adolescents in Chongqing. Low vision varied by grade and gender, suggesting tailored myopia prevention and control strategy. The detection rate of poor vision in cities is more uneven than in rural areas, and different myopia prevention and control measures need to be implemented according to regional characteristics.

Correlation between children and adolescents behavioral habits and the occurrence of myopia in Qamdo / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the current status of myopia in children and adolescents in Qamdo, Tibet, and analyze related influencing factors, so as to provide a basis for the prevention and control of adolescents in plateau areas.@*Methods@#A cross sectional study was conducted among 959 children and adolescents randomly selected from one district and two counties in Qamdo (from the fourth grade of elementary school to the second grade of high school) for visual acuity and refraction tests and filled out a vision related behavior questionnaire to analyze the incidence of myopia among adolescents in the region and its associated factors.@*Results@#The myopia rate of adolescents in grades 4-11 was 54.43%, the rate of undercorrection of refractive errors was 85.25%, and the percentage of students wearing eyeglasses was 34.67%,fully vision correction rate was 42.54%. The myopia rate of students in grades 4-6 was 35.14%, 64.71% in grades 7-9, and 73.48% in grades 10-11. The myopia rate increased with grades( χ 2= 101.18 , P <0.01). The myopia rate (70.40%) of urban students (grades 4-9) was higher than that of county level(41.45%), and the myopia rate of students with myopia from either parent (68.24%) was higher than that of students without myopia (51.91%) , the myopia rate of girls (59.96%) was higher than that of boys (48.36%)( χ 2=53.19，13.46，12.98， P <0.01). Use electronic products for more than 2.5 hours per day, electronic devices usage after bedtime, the light low indoor brightness when studying on a sunny day, and only use one of the table lamps or roof lights when studying at night, preference for fried food, poor sleep quality, in the morning the students who still feel tired are at higher risk of myopia( χ 2=10.35, 10.91, 6.87, 4.25, 4.97, 5.71, 12.11, P < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that the occurrence of myopia was related to region, grade, gender, parental myopia, time spent on electronic products every day in the past 5 months, and sleep quality( P <0.05).@*Conclusion@#The high rate of myopia in children and adolescents in Qamdo may be related to the quality of sleep, the length of time electronic products are used, the eye environment, and the frequency of eating fried foods. Outdoor activities do not show significant differences.

The construction of sports public service system for the elderly from the perspective of healthy aging / Estructura del sistema de servicios públicos para los deportes de edad en el contexto del envejecimiento saludable / Construção de um sistema de serviço público de desportos para idosos sob a perspectiva do envelhecimento saudável

ABSTRACT With the gradual improvement of people's quality of life, the average life expectancy of our country has been extended. It is estimated that the total number of the elderly population in China will exceed 250 million by the end of 2020. Therefore, promoting healthy aging is a necessary measure to cope with the coming aging society in China, and physical exercise is an important method to keep the physical and mental health of the elderly. In order to promote the development of healthy aging in China, this study focused on the current level of public sports services for the elderly. This study uses the expert consultation method to test the rationality of the evaluation index, and uses the method of questionnaire survey to score each evaluation index, and uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to calculate the weight of the index. Finally, the paper takes the public sports service of the elderly in a city as an example to verify. The results show that the level of sports public service for the elderly in this city is only 77,928. Especially the two aspects of allocation of sports venues and the use of funds are the most unsatisfactory ones. It can be targeted to improve these two aspects, so as to improve the level of public sports services for the elderly. It is hoped that, through this study, we can provide some reference for improving the level of sports public service for the elderly from the perspective of healthy aging.

RESUMO Com a melhoria gradual da qualidade de vida das pessoas, a expectativa média de vida do nosso país foi ampliada. Estima-se que o número total de pessoas idosas na China excederá 250 milhões até o final de 2020. Por isso, promover um envelhecimento saudável é uma medida necessária para lidar com a futura população idosa na China, e o exercício físico é um método importante para manter a saúde física e mental dos idosos. A fim de promover o desenvolvimento de um envelhecimento saudável na China, este estudo centrou-se no nível atual de serviços desportivos públicos para os idosos. Este trabalho utiliza o método de consulta de especialistas para testar a racionalidade do índice de avaliação, e utiliza o método de levantamento por questionário para marcar cada índice de avaliação, e utiliza o processo hierárquico analítico (AHP) para calcular o peso do índice. Finalmente, a pesquisa toma como exemplo o serviço público de desportos dos idosos numa cidade. Os resultados mostram que o nível de serviço público desportivo para os idosos nesta cidade é apenas 77.928. Em especial, os aspectos da atribuição de espaços desportivos e a utilização de recursos financeiros são os mais insatisfatórios. Pode visar-se melhorar esses dois aspectos, de modo a melhorar o nível dos serviços desportivos públicos para os idosos. Espera-se que, através deste estudo, possamos oferecer uma referência para melhorar o nível de serviço público desportivo para os idosos sob a perspectiva do envelhecimento saudável.

RESUMEN Con la mejora paulatina de la calidad de vida de las personas se ha ampliado la esperanza de vida media de nuestro país. Se estima que el número total de personas añosas en China superará los 250 millones a finales de 2020. Por lo tanto, promover un envejecimiento saludable es una medida necesaria para hacer frente al aumento de la edad de la sociedad en China. El ejercicio físico es un método importante para mantener la salud física y mental de las personas mayores. Con el fin de promover el desarrollo del envejecimiento saludable en China, este estudio se centró en el nivel actual de los servicios deportivos públicos para las personas añosas. Este estudio utiliza la consulta de expertos para probar la racionalidad del índice de evaluación, la encuesta de cuestionario para calificar cada índice de evaluación, y el proceso de jerarquía analítica (PJA) para calcular el peso del índice. Finalmente, el trabajo toma como ejemplo a ser verificado, el servicio público deportivo de la tercera edad en una ciudad determinada. Los resultados muestran que el nivel de servicio público deportivo para personas añosas en esa ciudad es de solo 77.928. Especialmente los aspectos de la asignación de instalaciones deportivas y del uso de fondos son los más insatisfactorios. Se debe apuntar a mejorar estos dos aspectos, a fin de conseguir un mejor nivel de servicios deportivos públicos para las personas añosas. Esperamos que, a través de este estudio, podamos proporcionar una referencia para mejorar el nivel de servicio público deportivo para las personas añosas desde la perspectiva del envejecimiento saludable.

Comparison between ultrasound-guided percutaneous radiofrequency and microwave ablation in benign thyroid nodules

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA) for the treatment of benign thyroid nodules (BTNs). Methods: Patients with BTNs were treated in our hospital, including 72 patients treated with RFA and 100 patients treated with MWA from June 2016 to March 2019. The volume reduction rates (VRRs), thyroid function, clinical status, and complications were compared at each postoperative duration to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the two modalities. Results: The mean VRRs of the RFA group vs. the MWA group at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months were 22.7±13.4% vs. 24.0±16.1% (P = 0.681), 56.1±19.5% vs. 54.8±22.8% (P = 0.788), 77.9±21.0% vs. 68.7±19.1% (P = 0.038), and 85.4±18.9% vs. 75.8±19.4% (P = 0.029), respectively. There was no significant difference in the VRRs between the two treatments at 1 and 3 months and the RFA group achieved higher VRRs than MWA group at 6 and 12 months. Moreover, the symptom and cosmetic scores decreased significantly in both groups and all patients succeeded in preserving thyroid function. Of the total patients, 2.8% in the RFA group and 4% in the MWA group experienced voice changes after undergoing thyroid ablation, and one patient in the RFA group had intraoperative hemorrhage of about 10 mL. Conclusions: RFA and MWA are both effective and safe techniques for treating BTNs. Higher VRRs were observed at the 6- and 12-month follow-ups in the RFA group

Content Determination of Total Flavonoids and Shikimic Acid in Pine Needles of Pinus massoniana Lamb. in Wudang Area / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To establish a method to determine the contents of total flavonoids and shikimic acid in pine needles of Pinus massoniana Lamb.in Wudang Area.Methods Rutin was used as reference standard,and the content of total flavonoids in pine needles of Pinus massoniana Lamb. was determined by UV spectrometry at wavelength of 500 nm. The content of shikimic acid was determined by HPLC-DAD. The Fortis Xi C8 column (5 μm, 250 mm × 4.6 mm) was adopted with acetonitrile - 0.4% phosphoric acid solution (8:92, V/V) as mobile phase at the flow rate of 0.9 mL/min. The detection wavelength was 213 nm; the column temperature was 30 ℃; the injection volume was 20 μL. Results The linear range was 8.26-49.54 μg for rutin (r=0.999 4) with an average recovery of 99.2%, RSD=1.94%. The linear range was 10.26-61.56 μg for shikimic acid (r=0.999 4) with an average recovery of 99.5%,RSD=1.93%.The contents of total flavonoids in pine needles of Pinus massoniana Lamb.was 28.33 mg/g, and shikimic acid was 15.25 mg/g, respectively. Conclusion The method is simple, rapid, accurate and reproducible. It can be used for the content determination of total flavonoids and shikimic acid in pine needles of Pinus massoniana Lamb. in Wudang Area.

Association between Prenatal Care Utilization and Risk of Preterm Birth among Chinese Women / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

It is recognized that prenatal care plays an important role in reducing adverse birth.Chinese pregnant women with medical condition were required to seek additional health care based on the recommended at least 5 times health care visits.This study was to estimate the association between prenatal care utilization (PCU) and preterm birth (PTB),and to investigate if medical conditions during pregnancy modified the association.This population-based case control study sampled women with PTB as cases;one control for each case was randomly selected from women with term births.The Electronic Perinatal Health Care Information System (EPHCIS) and a questionnaire were used for data collection.The PCU was measured by a renewed Prenatal Care Utilization (APNCU) index.Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and the 95％ confidence interval (95％ CI).Totally,2393 women with PTBs and 4263 women with term births were collected.In this study,695 (10.5％) women experienced inadequate prenatal care,and 5131 (77.1％) received adequate plus prenatal care.Inadequate PCU was associated with PTB (adjusted OR:1.41,95％ CI:1.32-1.84);the similar positive association was found between adequate plus PCU and PTB.Among women with medical conditions,these associations still existed;but among women without medical conditions,the association between inadequate PCU and PTB disappeared.Our data suggests that women receiving inappropriate PCU are at an increased risk of having PTB,but it does depend on whether the woman has a medical condition during pregnancy.

Effect of butyl benzyl phthalate on life table-demography of two successive generations of cladoceran Moina macrocopa Straus.

In this study, the acute toxicity of butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) to freshwater cladoceran Moina macrocopa was tested, and its chronic effects on survival and reproduction of two successive generations of the cladoceran were studied using life-table demographic method. The results showed that the 48-hr LC50 of BBP for M. macrocopa was 3.69 mg l-1. Compared to the blank controls, BBP at 125, 500, 1000 and 2000 4g l-1 significantly shortened the life expectancy at birth, BBP at 125-2000 4g l-1 decreased the net reproductive rate, and BBP at 500 and 1000 4g l-1 shortened the generation time but increased the intrinsic rate of population increase of the parental M. macrocopa. BBP at 62.5, 125, 500, 1000 and 2000 4g l-1 increased the intrinsic rate of population increase of the F1 generation. A significant dose-effect relationship existed between BBP concentration and life expectancy at birth, net reproductive rate as well as intrinsic rate of population increase of the parental M. macrocopa. The parental M. macrocopa were more sensitive in survival, development and reproduction to BBP than the F1 generation, but the reverse was also true in the population growth. Extending chronic toxicity tests to the second generation of M. macrocopa increased the cost-effectiveness of the assays.

LASS2 interacts with V-ATPase and inhibits cell growth of hepatocellular carcinoma / 生理学报

Homo sapiens longevity assurance homologue 2 (LASS2) is a novel gene isolated from a human liver cDNA library by our laboratory, and it is a human homologue of the yeast longevity assurance gene LAG1 (Saccharomyces cerevisiae longevity assurance gene). According to our previous results, LASS2 could interact with subunit c of vacuolar type H(+)-ATPase (V-ATPase), and the overexpression of LASS2 could inhibit the cell growth of a human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line, SMMC-7721. In order to understand the role of the interaction between LASS2 and V-ATPase in HCC cell growth, we transiently transfected plasmid pCMV-HA2-LASS2 into HCCLM3, a HCC cell line without the significant expression of endogenous LASS2. The pH-sensitive fluorescence probes, BCECF and BCECF-AM, were used to measure the intracellular and extracellular H(+) concentrations of HCCLM3 cells respectively. The effect of LASS2 gene on apoptosis was evaluated with Annexin-V/FITC and propidium iodide (PI) by flow cytometry. Western blot was used to detect cytochrome c (Cyt c) in the cytosol and mitochondria, as well as pro-caspase-3 in cytosol. The results showed that the cell growth of LASS2-transfected HCCLM3 cells was significantly inhibited compared with that of the mock control. LASS2 transfection increased intracellular H(+) concentration of HCCLM3 cells, while decreased extracellular H(+) concentration. Moreover, LASS2 transfection significantly enhanced the apoptosis of HCCLM3 cells. In LASS2-transfected cells, the amounts of Cyt c increased in the cytosol, while decreased in the mitochondria. Meanwhile, the expression of pro-caspase-3 in the cytosolic extracts was decreased. These results implicate that LASS2 gene might increase intracellular H(+) of HCC cells via the interaction with V-ATPase, thereby inducing cell apoptosis through mitochondrial pathway.

Chromosome 1p/19q status combined with expression of p53 protein improves the diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of oligodendrogliomas / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Our previous study confirmed that oligodendrogliomas had higher frequency of chromosome 1p/19q deletion. In order to improve the diagnostic criteria and to predict the prognosis of oligodendroglioma patients, the status of chromosome 1p/19q deletion, the methylation of O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), and the expression of p53 protein were evaluated and investigated in relation to patients' outcomes.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Methylation of MGMT in 73 cases was analyzed by nested methylation-specific PCR (MSP). The levels of MGMT and p53 protein were tested with immunohistochemistry. Pearson's chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were used. Multivariate and Kaplan-Meier analysis were performed to determine patients' outcomes.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Both oligodendrogliomas and astrocytic gliomas exhibited frequent methylation of MGMT. However, the results of MSP did not completely correspond to that of the immunohistochemical staining for MGMT. The expression of p53 protein was more frequently observed in patients without a 1p or 19q deletion in anaplastic oligodendrogliomas (P = 0.032, 0.025). In low-grade oligodendrogliomas, methylation of MGMT was more frequent in patients with 1p/19q deletion than in patients with 1p/19q intact (P = 0.038). Patients with oligodendrogliomas with 1p/19q loss of heterozygosity and p53-negative showed a longer progression-free survival.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Detection of chromosome 1p/19q status combined with p53 protein immunohistochemistry might be beneficial to improve the pathological diagnosis and to determine the prognosis of patients with oligodendrogliomas.</p>