Negative predictive value of fecal immunochemical testing in significant bowel disease screening: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: General practitioners (GPs) must assess significant bowel disease (SBD) in patients with lower bowel symptoms during primary care. Studies have evaluated the efficacy of fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) for SBD screening. However, the effectiveness of FIT remains controversial. This study aimed to investigate the value of FIT in SBD screening. METHODS: PubMed, the Cochrane Database, and EMBASE were systematically searched. Studies that estimated FIT values in screening for SBD among patients with lower bowel symptoms were included. Sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio (NLR), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated. Additionally, the pooled area under the summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve was analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 8,615 patients with lower bowel symptoms who underwent FIT and colonoscopy to screen for SBD were enrolled and assessed in this meta-analysis; of these, 1,226 patients were ultimately diagnosed with SBD. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, PLR, NLR, DOR, and NPV of FIT in SBD screening were 0.65 (95% CI [confidence interval] 0.50-0.78), 0.85 (95% CI 0.72-0.92), 4.2 (95% CI 2.60-6.90), 0.41 (95% CI 0.29-0.58), 10 (95% CI 6-17), and 0.90 (95% CI 0.87-0.94), respectively. Besides, the pooled SROC was 0.82 (95% CI 0.78-0.85). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that the FIT provides a favorable NPV for SBD screening and could be a valuable technique for GPs to rule out SBD in primary care. At the same time, GPs need to remain vigilant and refer patients to gastroenterologists when necessary.

Unveiling human origins of replication using deep learning: accurate prediction and comprehensive analysis.

Accurate identification of replication origins (ORIs) is crucial for a comprehensive investigation into the progression of human cell growth and cancer therapy. Here, we proposed a computational approach Ori-FinderH, which can efficiently and precisely predict the human ORIs of various lengths by combining the Z-curve method with deep learning approach. Compared with existing methods, Ori-FinderH exhibits superior performance, achieving an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.9616 for K562 cell line in 10-fold cross-validation. In addition, we also established a cross-cell-line predictive model, which yielded a further improved AUC of 0.9706. The model was subsequently employed as a fitness function to support genetic algorithm for generating artificial ORIs. Sequence analysis through iORI-Euk revealed that a vast majority of the created sequences, specifically 98% or more, incorporate at least one ORI for three cell lines (Hela, MCF7 and K562). This innovative approach could provide more efficient, accurate and comprehensive information for experimental investigation, thereby further advancing the development of this field.

LSA-ac4C: A hybrid neural network incorporating double-layer LSTM and self-attention mechanism for the prediction of N4-acetylcytidine sites in human mRNA.

N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) is a vital constituent of the epitranscriptome and plays a crucial role in the regulation of mRNA expression. Numerous studies have established correlations between ac4C and the incidence, progression and prognosis of various cancers. Therefore, accurately predicting ac4C sites is an important step towards comprehending the biological functions of this modification and devising effective therapeutic interventions. Wet experiments are primary methods for studying ac4C, but computational methods have emerged as a promising supplement due to their cost-effectiveness and shorter research cycles. However, current models still have inherent limitations in terms of predictive performance and generalization ability. Here, we utilized automated machine learning technology to establish a reliable baseline and constructed a deep hybrid neural network, LSA-ac4C, which combines double-layer Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and self-attention mechanism for accurate ac4C sites prediction. Benchmarking comparisons demonstrate that LSA-ac4C exhibits superior performance compared to the current state-of-the-art method, with ACC, MCC and AUROC improving by 2.89 %, 5.96 % and 1.53 %, respectively, on an independent test set. Overall, LSA-ac4C serves as a powerful tool for predicting ac4C sites in human mRNA, thus benefiting research on RNA modification. For the convenience of the research community, a web server has been established at http://tubic.org/ac4C.

Auto-Kla: a novel web server to discriminate lysine lactylation sites using automated machine learning.

Recently, lysine lactylation (Kla), a novel post-translational modification (PTM), which can be stimulated by lactate, has been found to regulate gene expression and life activities. Therefore, it is imperative to accurately identify Kla sites. Currently, mass spectrometry is the fundamental method for identifying PTM sites. However, it is expensive and time-consuming to achieve this through experiments alone. Herein, we proposed a novel computational model, Auto-Kla, to quickly and accurately predict Kla sites in gastric cancer cells based on automated machine learning (AutoML). With stable and reliable performance, our model outperforms the recently published model in the 10-fold cross-validation. To investigate the generalizability and transferability of our approach, we evaluated the performance of our models trained on two other widely studied types of PTM, including phosphorylation sites in host cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 and lysine crotonylation sites in HeLa cells. The results show that our models achieve comparable or better performance than current outstanding models. We believe that this method will become a useful analytical tool for PTM prediction and provide a reference for the future development of related models. The web server and source code are available at http://tubic.org/Kla and https://github.com/tubic/Auto-Kla, respectively.

GC-Profile 2.0: an extended web server for the prediction and visualization of CpG islands.

SUMMARY: Due to the spontaneous deamination of 5'-methylcytosine into thymine, the number of CpG dinucleotides is less than expected in vertebrate genomes. Exceptionally, there are a large number of CpG dinucleotides clustered at certain genomic loci, known as CpG islands (CGIs), where CpG dinucleotides are free from methylation. Identification of CGIs is of great significance in the field of genomics and epigenetics because they can serve as important gene markers or regulatory elements. Here, GC-Profile 2.0 has been presented as a newly extended application for CGIs detection and visualization. Based on a benchmark test of assembled sequences, GC-Profile 2.0 has shown better overall performance compared with other four popular methods. In addition, cumulative CpG profile, a visualization tool of CpG content variation, is also proposed to intuitively display the change trend of CpG content. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: GC-Profile 2.0 is freely available at http://tubic.org/GC-Profile2. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Comparison of the stability of different concentrations of fluorescein sodium on the detection of tear film rupture time / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To analyze the stability of different concentrations of fluorescein sodium solution on the detection of tear break-up time(TBUT).METHODS:A retrospective study. A total of 150 cases(150 eyes)who came to our dry eye clinic with good cooperation from August 2019 to September 2021 were selected for the study, and the subjects were randomly divided into five groups, which were fluorescein sodium(FLS, 0.5%), FLS(1.0%), FLS(1.5%), FLS(2.0%)and fluorescein sodium parallel(FLSP), with 30 patients in each group(all the right eyes were the subject eyes). Each group was dripped with the corresponding fluorescein sodium. The FLSP group was the fluorescent test strip detection group. The slit lamp image scores of different concentration groups were compared, the survival time of sodium fluorescein at the instant, 2, 5, 10, 15 and 30min points was observed in each group, and the mean value of TBUT in each group was recorded.RESULTS: The image score of FLS(0.5%)group was significantly higher than that of the other four groups(t=7.746, 21.483, 116.190, 38.730, all P<0.01). The image score of FLS(1.0%)group was significantly higher than that of FLS(1.5%)and FLS(2.0%)group(t=10.742, 15.492, all P<0.01). The survival time of fluorescein in FLS(0.5%)group was significantly shorter than that of the other four groups(t=8.226, 7.458, 9.159, 12.347, all P<0.01). The survival time of fluorescein in FLS(1.5%)group was significantly longer than that of FLS(1.0%)and FLS(2.0%)group(t=15.428, 13.274, all P<0.05). TBUT in FLS(0.5%)group was significantly higher than that of the other four groups at 2min(t=22.767, 22.345, 15.494, 17.213, all P<0.01), and was significantly lower than that of the other four groups at 10min(t=23.266, 25.353, 10.183, 22.025, all P<0.01). The mean first TBUT of FLS(1.5%)group was significantly shorter than that of the other four groups(t=25.236, 21.374, 19.658, 72.341, all P<0.01), and the mean first TBUT of FLSP group was significantly longer than that of the other four groups(t=22.487, 30.267, 60.247, 40.857, all P<0.01). There was no significant correlation between TBUT and ocular surface disease index(OSDI)and tear river height(rs=-0.072, 0.219, P=0.689, 0.112). TBUT was positively correlated with tear secretion(rs=0.674, P<0.01).CONCLUSION: FLS(0.5%)had higher image quality but it was only suitable for observing staining within 5min, and the FLSP group was more suitable for clinical observation of corneal fluorescence staining for a longer period; FLS(1.5%)was the most stable and reliable concentration and dose for the detection of TBUT.

Navigation-Guided Nasal Endoscopy to Remove the Cavernous Venous Malformation of the Orbital Apex Through the Sphenoid Approach.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the feasibility of navigation-guided sinus endoscopy to remove the cavernous vascular malformation of the orbital apex through the sphenoid approach. METHODS: A retrospective series of non-control cases were collected. From May 2012 to December 2019, patients with imaging findings of cavernous venous malformation in the orbital apex were collected at the Eye Hospital Affiliated to Nanchang University. All patients underwent navigation guided sinusoscopy through the sphenoid approach to remove the cavernous venous malformation of the orbital apex. Analyze the changes of visual function and postoperative complications before and after operation. RESULTS: Twelve patients were collected, including 3 males and 9 females aged between 32 and 59. In 3 patients without visual impairment, the postoperative visual function was still normal. The remaining 9 patients all had visual impairment. Among them, 3 patients had fully recovered normal visual function after operation, 2 patients had improved visual function compared with preoperative, and 4 patients had no change in postoperative visual acuity. There were no complications in 3 of the 12 patients, and 9 patients had transient limited intraocular rotation with mild limitation of diplopia after operation, and all returned to normal within 1 month after surgery. CONCLUSION: Navigation-guided sinus endoscopy through the sphenoid approach to remove the cavernous venous malformation of the orbital apex is an effective and feasible surgical method.

Ori-Finder 3: a web server for genome-wide prediction of replication origins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

DNA replication is a fundamental process in all organisms; this event initiates at sites termed origins of replication. The characteristics of eukaryotic replication origins are best understood in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. For this species, origin prediction algorithms or web servers have been developed based on the sequence features of autonomously replicating sequences (ARSs). However, their performances are far from satisfactory. By utilizing the Z-curve methodology, we present a novel pipeline, Ori-Finder 3, for the computational prediction of replication origins in S. cerevisiae at the genome-wide level based solely on DNA sequences. The ARS exhibiting both an AT-rich stretch and ARS consensus sequence element can be predicted at the single-nucleotide level. For the identified ARSs in the S. cerevisiae reference genome, 83 and 60% of the top 100 and top 300 predictions matched the known ARS records, respectively. Based on Ori-Finder 3, we subsequently built a database of the predicted ARSs identified in more than a hundred S. cerevisiae genomes. Consequently, we developed a user-friendly web server including the ARS prediction pipeline and the predicted ARSs database, which can be freely accessed at http://tubic.tju.edu.cn/Ori-Finder3.

DEG 15, an update of the Database of Essential Genes that includes built-in analysis tools.

Essential genes refer to genes that are required by an organism to survive under specific conditions. Studies of the minimal-gene-set for bacteria have elucidated fundamental cellular processes that sustain life. The past five years have seen a significant progress in identifying human essential genes, primarily due to the successful use of CRISPR/Cas9 in various types of human cells. DEG 15, a new release of the Database of Essential Genes (www.essentialgene.org), has provided major advancements, compared to DEG 10. Specifically, the number of eukaryotic essential genes has increased by more than fourfold, and that of prokaryotic ones has more than doubled. Of note, the human essential-gene number has increased by more than tenfold. Moreover, we have developed built-in analysis modules by which users can perform various analyses, such as essential-gene distributions between bacterial leading and lagging strands, sub-cellular localization distribution, enrichment analysis of gene ontology and KEGG pathways, and generation of Venn diagrams to compare and contrast gene sets between experiments. Additionally, the database offers customizable BLAST tools for performing species- and experiment-specific BLAST searches. Therefore, DEG comprehensively harbors updated human-curated essential-gene records among prokaryotes and eukaryotes with built-in tools to enhance essential-gene analysis.

Resonance light scattering spectroscopy can directly characterize protein solubility / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To develop a fast, sensitive and cost-effective method based on resonance light scattering (RLS) for characterization of protein solubility to facilitate detection of changes in solubility of mutant proteins.@*METHODS@#We examined the response curve of RLS intensities to the protein concentrations in synchronous scanning mode. The curve intersection points were searched to predict the maximal concentrations of the protein in dispersion state, which defined the solubility of the protein in this given state. Bovine serum albumin (BSA, 0-50 g/L) was used as the model to investigate the influences of pH values (6.5, 7.0, and 7.4) and salt concentrations (0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 mol/L) on the determined solubility. The solubility of glutathione S-transferase isoenzymes alpha (GSTA, 0-27.0 g/L) and Mμ (GSTM, 0-20.0 g/L) were estimated for comparison. The RLS-based method was used to determine the solubility of uricase (MGU, 0-0.4 g/L) to provide assistance in improving the solubility of its mutants.@*RESULTS@#We identified two intersection points in the RLS response curves of the tested proteins, among which the lower one represented an approximation of the maximal concentration (or the solubility of the protein) in single molecular dispersion, and the higher one the saturated concentration of the protein in multiple molecular aggregation. In HEPES buffer, the two intersection points of BSA (isoelectric point 4.6) both increased with the increase of pH (6.5-7.4), and their values were ~1.2 g/L and ~33 g/L at pH 7.4, respectively; the latter concentration approached the solubility of commercial BSA in the same buffer at the same pH. The addition of NaCl reduced the values of the two intersection points, and increasing salt ion concentration decreased the values of the lower intersection points. Further characterizations of GSTA and GSTM showed that the low concentration intersection points of the two proteins were ~0.7 g/L and ~0.8 g/L, and their high concentration intersection points were ~10 g/L and ~11 g/L, respectively, both lower than those of BSA, indicating the feasibility of the direct characterization of protein solubility by RLS. The two concentration intersection points of MGU were 0.24 g/L and 0.30 g/L, respectively, and the low concentration intersection point of its selected mutant was increased by 2 times.@*CONCLUSIONS@#RLS allows direct characterization of the solubility of macromolecular proteins. This method, which is simple and sensitive and needs only a small amount of proteins, has a unique advantage for rapid comparison of solubility of low-abundance protein mutants.

Clinical characteristics of 70 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 accompanied with diarrhea / 中华消化杂志

Objective:To retrospectively analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) accompanied with diarrhea.Methods:From January 11 to February 6 in 2020, the clinical data of 663 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University were collected and divided into diarrhea group and non-diarrhea group according to whether they had diarrhea or not. The differences in baseline characteristics, basic disease history, clinical manifestations, chest computed tomography (CT), laboratory findings, disease severity and mortality between the two groups were compared. Chi-square test and Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis.Results:Among 663 COVID-19 patients, 70 (10.6%) patients accompanied with diarrhea. The proportion of fatigue and increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels of diarrhea group were higher than those of non-diarrhea group (58.6%, 41/70 vs. 28.2%, 167/593; and 64.2%, 43/67 vs. 50.4%, 277/550), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=26.891 and 4.566, both P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of pneumonia in chest CT between diarrhea group and non-diarrhea group (100.0%, 62/62 vs. 99.4%, 529/532) ( P>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the proportions of mild and normal type, severe type and critical type between diarrhea group and non-diarrhea group (35.7%, 25/70 vs. 38.6%, 229/593; 50.0%, 35/70 vs. 47.2%, 280/593; and 14.3%, 10/70 vs. 14.2%, 84/593, respectively) (all P>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the mortality of mild and normal type, severe type and critical type between diarrhea group and non-diarrhea group (0 vs. 0.5%, 3/593; 0 vs. 0 and 1.4%, 1/70 vs. 3.5%, 21/593) (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Patients with COVID-19 accompanied with diarrhea are more likely to have fatigue and increased LDH level. Diarrhea is not significantly correlated with the disease severity of patients with COVID-19.

Characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis dihydrofolate reductase immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles / 生物工程学报

To explore the immobilization of target proteins for screening libraries of ligand mixtures, magnetic submicron particles (MSP) functionalized with Ni²⁺-NTA and carboxyl were compared for the immobilization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis dihydrofolate reductase (MtDHFR). MtDHFR fused with 6×His was expressed, purified and characterized for kinetics. MtDHFR was immobilized on Ni²⁺-NTA-functionalized MSP directly and carboxyl-functionalized MSP upon activation. The immobilization capacity, residual activity, thermostability and affinities for putative inhibitors were characterized. MtDHFR immobilized on Ni²⁺-NTA-functionalized MSP retained about 32% activity of the free one with the immobilization capacity of (93±12) mg/g of MSP (n=3). Ni²⁺ and EDTA synergistically inhibited MtDHFR activity, while Fe³⁺ had no obvious interference. MtDHFR immobilized on carboxyl-functionalized MSP retained (87±4)% activity of the free one with the immobilization capacity of (8.6±0.6) mg/g MSP (n=3). In 100 mmol/L HEPES (pH 7.0) containing 50 mmol/L KCl, there was no significant loss of the activities of the free and immobilized MtDHFR after storage at 0 °C for 16 h, but nearly 60% and 35% loss of their activities after storage at 25 °C for 16 h, respectively. The inhibition effects of methotrexate on the immobilized and free MtDHFR were consistent (P>0.05). The immobilization of MtDHFR on carboxyl-functionalized MSP was thus favorable for higher retained activity and better thermostability, with promise for rapid screening of its ligand mixtures.

Simulation-based medical education and its implementation in neonatal asphyxia resuscitation training / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Simulation-based medical education is a new teaching method using modern intelligent science and technology to carry out clinical practice training,This article analyzes the current situation of simulation teaching training in neonatal asphyxia resuscitation and discusses its advantages,namely highly simulated and repetitive teaching scene,safe and reliable teaching process,potentially incentive teaching environment,flexible teaching content and cooperation of the teaching team.

Comparison of Different Dosages of Rocuronium on Abdominal Wound Closure / 昆明医科大学学报

Objective To evaluate the effects of different dosages of rocuronium on abdominal wound closure under general anesthesia.Methods Ninety ASA class I or II patients scheduled for elective abdominal surgery under general anesthesia were randomized into three groups with 30 cases each.Each group received rocuronium 1 time of ED95 (0.3 mg/kg),0.5 time of ED95 (0.15 mg/kg),0.2 time of ED95 (0.06 mg/kg) respectively when closing the abdominal wall.TOF recovered to 25%, 75%, 90%, time of eye-opening on command, time of head-lift for more than 5 seconds,extubation time, the rate of upper airways obstruction after extubation and the satisfaction score for the muscle relaxation to general surgeons were recorded.Results TOF values had no significantly different among the three groups before abdominal wound closure (P＞0.05).Compared with group A and group B,time of TOF in group C was significangtly increased after administration of rocuronium (P＜0.05) . Time of TOF recovery to 25%, 75%, 90%in group C were significangtly decreased (P＜0.01).Compared with group A and group B, time of eye-opening on command ,head-lift for more than 5 seconds and extubation time were significantly shorter in group C.There were 8,4,0 patients undwent upper airways obstruction among each group respectively after extubation (P＜0.05).The satisfaction score for muscle relaxation among three groups had no significant difference.Conclusion An additional administration of 0.2 time of ED95 (0.06 mg/kg) rocuronium before abdominal wound closure in abdominal surgery can achieve satisfactory muscle relaxation for surgeons.

MicroRNA-373 Inhibits Cell Proliferation and Invasion via Targeting BRF2 in Human Non-small Cell Lung Cancer A549 Cell Line / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological role and mechanism of miR-373 targeting of TFIIB-related factor 2 (BRF2) in the regulation of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: miRNA microarray chip analysis of four paired NSCLC and adjacent non-tumor tissues was performed. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) andwestern blotting were used to detect the expression levels of miR-373 and BRF2 in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. The dual-luciferase reporter method was performed to determine if BRF2 is a target of miR-373. MTT, wound-healing, Transwell, and flow cytometric assays were conducted to examine the proliferation, migration, invasion, and cell cycle progression of NSCLC A549 cells, respectively; western blotting was used to detect the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)–related proteins. RESULTS: The miRNA microarray chip analysis demonstrated that miR-373 was down-regulated in NSCLC tissues, and this result was confirmed by qRT-PCR. Additionally, miR-373 was confirmed to target BRF2. Moreover, miR-373 expression was inversely correlated with BRF2 expression in NSCLC tissues and cell lines; both miR-373 down-regulation and BRF2 up-regulation were strongly associated with the clinicopathological features and prognosis of NSCLC patients. In vitro, overexpression of miR-373 markedly inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion; up-regulated the expression of E-cadherin; and down-regulated the expression of N-cadherin and Snail in A549 cell. Knockdown BRF2 by siRNA resulted in effects similar to those caused by overexpression of miR-373. CONCLUSION: MiR-373 is decreased in NSCLC, and overexpression of miR-373 can suppress cell EMT, and inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of NSCLC A549 cells by targeting BRF2.

Prediction of maximum absorption activities with polyclonalantibodies immobilized on magnetic submicron particles torecognize positive mutants / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

Objective To observe polyclonal antibodies immobilized on magnetic submicron particles (MSP) as affinity adsorbents and test the reliability of predicted maximum adsorption activity of an enzyme/mutant from a cell lysate (Vs) in recognizing positive mutants.Methods Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase (ECAP) and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa arylsulfatase (PAAS) were purified by affinity chromatography to serve as immunogens for the preparation of their antisera, which after fractionation by 33％ ammonium sulfate and DEAE-cellulose chromatography yielded the respective polyclonal antibodies.After activation of COOH on MSP, polyclonal antibodies of each enzyme were immobilized to give MSP-polyAb.Activities of an adsorbed enzyme were measured with a chromogenic substrate of 4-nitrphenol by determining absorbance at 405nm after the termination of reaction by alkali.Based on the response curve of activities of the adsorbed enzyme to protein quantities of a lysate, Vs was predicted for comparison.Results The maximum adsorption quantity of ECAP or PAAS on the respective MSP-polyAb was about 2.0mg/g.Specific activity of ECAP after affinity purification was about 70-fold of that of PAAS.ECAP mutant R168K showing about 50％ activity improvement versus ECAP was recognized by comparison of Vs predicted with only 2.5μg of MSP-polyAb;with PAAS mutant G138S as the starting one, the use of 10.0μg of MSP-polyAb to predict Vs recognized the mutants bearing more than 20％ activity improvement.Conclusion With an optimized quantity of MSP-polyAb to predict Vs, weak positive mutants of an enzyme of low activity can be recognized when activities of the adsorbed enzyme/mutant are reliably measured.

A follow up observation of the effects of preventive measures on iodine deficiency disorders in Aksu, Xinjiang / 中华地方病学杂志

Objective To evaluate the iodine nutritional condition among populations in Aksu after implementing free iodized salt in population of Xinjiang.Methods According to the National Iodine Deficiency Monitoring Programme (Revised),totally 45 villages (towns) of subordinated 8 counties and Aksu City,Xinjiang were selected for collecting salt samples.Meanwhile,in 27 villages (towns) primary schools,school-aged children (8-10 years old) were selected for collecting disposable urine samples,B ultrasound was used to check thyroid volume and intelligence (IQ) was evaluated by China Combined Raven Test (CRT).Pregnant women were sampled for collecting their disposable urine near the primary schools.Both the children and pregnant women were evaluated the iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) knowledge awareness by questionnaire.The urine iodine concentration was measured by the ammonium persulfate digestion-As-Ce catalytic spectrophotometer method.The salt iodine concentration was measured by the direct titrimetric method,and other kinds of iodine in salt were measured by referee method (GB/T 13025.7-2012).Results A total of 2 700 household salt samples were collected,the average of iodine concentration in household salt was (26.95 ± 5.10) mg/kg.The coverage of household iodized salt was 98.56％ (2 661/2 700).The coverage of edible iodized salt was 98.00％ (2 646/2 700).A total of 2 159 urine samples were collected,the median of urine iodine concentration (UIC) among school-aged children (8-10 years old) was 235.50 μg/L.The total goiter rate was 1.51％ (33/2 179) among children aged 8-10 years old.A total of 2 098 people were conducted IQ test,the average IQ was 88.03 ± 17.14.A total of 1 047 urine samples were collected,the median of UIC among pregnant women was 213.50 μg/L.The IDD knowledge awareness rate of children and women were 98.82％ (751/760) and 99.23％ (258/260),respectively.Conclusions The iodine nutrition is in an adequate range,awareness of IDD prevention is obviously improved among children which is representative of common people and pregnant women after implementing the free iodized salt in population of Xinjiang in Aksu.The policy of preventing IDD based on this policy has showed enormous effect.

The cultivation of long-term-system medical undergraduates' innovative ability with the aid of extracurricular scientific and technological activities / 中华医学教育探索杂志

An auxiliary training system was explored for the development of creativity of long-termsystem medical undergraduates through scientific researches in spare time.In practice,professionals from research groups of different disciplines were recruited for developing wide-scope theoretical and technical bases of the undergraduates through training among these research groups followed by focused researches on topics of the running projects of these professionals.The undergraduates were engaged in a serial of research activities,including the discovery of problems for reasoning out scientific research projects,the writing of their project proposals,the summary of their data and the writing of reports,to develop their creativity and their qualification for scientific researches.

Research advance on intervertebral disc degeneration and cell death / 中国骨伤

Intervertebral disc degeneration is considered as a primary cause of clinical low back pain, however the molecular mechanism is not clear yet. Recently, researches on the molecular basis of intervertebral disc degeneration have become a hotspot. The special structure and biomechanics properties of the disc contribute to its propensity toward degeneration. Intervertebral disc degeneration is associated with the changes of the cytological behavior,including the increase in cell death and the degradation of extracellular matrix. However, the mechanism of cell death including cell apoptosis and autophagy in intervertebral disc degeneration remains unclear. Further study on the molecular mechanism of intervertebral disc degeneration is the foundation of improving and treating the intervertebral disc degeneration in the future. Although some progresses are made in the aspect of biological study, the biological environment of intervertebral disc itself is still a challenge for the development of biological treatment. This article is to review the latest advance on the biological characteristics of normal intervertebral disc and the cell death in the process of the intervertebral disc degeneration.

Unsedated versus sedated gastrointestinal endoscopy: A questionnaire investigation in Wuhan, central China / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

National data show that in China mainland unsedated gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy has been applied in most hospitals for clinical examination, while sedated GI endoscopy is only performed in some hospitals. The purpose of this study was to compare sedated versus unsedated GI endoscopy regarding cost, safety, degree of comfort, tolerance level and overall satisfaction of patients over a 6-month period investigation. From March to September 2011, a questionnaire survey was performed on 1800 patients and 30 physicians at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University and Wuhan General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command. The patients fell into two groups according to their own decisions: the unsedated group (n=1000) and the sedated group (n=800). After examination, the patients and the physicians were required to fill in a questionnaire form. All the data were analyzed statistically. The results showed that the main factors the patients took for consideration between sedated and unsedated procedures included economy, comfort and safety. The income levels between the sedated and unsedated groups showed significant difference (P<0.01). Most patients in the unsedated group had lower income and were covered by less medical insurance. The tolerance rate was 92.4% vs. 65.5% between the sedated and unsedated group, respectively. 95.5% patients in the sedated group and 72.1% patients in the unsedated group chose the same endoscopy procedure for repeat examination. The survey data from endoscopists suggested the sedated procedure was more comfortable but less safe than the unsedated procedure (P<0.01). In China, unsedated GI endoscopy is now widely accepted by the majority of patients due to low cost and safety. Compared to unsedated GI endoscopy, sedated GI endoscopy is less painful, but more expensive and less safe. With the rapid improvement of people's living standard and the reliability of sedation technology, we expect sedated GI endoscopy will be gradually accepted by more patients.