Preferential deposition of buoyant small microplastics in surface sediments of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China: Insights from biomineralization.

Sediments act as sinks of microplastics (MPs) derived from terrestrial ecosystems. However, the fate and transport of MPs at the zone of sediment-overlying water in reservoir environment are poorly understood. Here, the MPs distribution patterns in surface sediments of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) and dominant mechanisms responsible for the sinking of MPs at the zone of sediment-overlying water were comprehensively investigated. The predominant occurrence of small microplastics (<300 µm, SMPs) in surface sediments of the TGR was found, with buoyant polyethene (PE) was dominant polymer types. Interestingly, the high abundance of SMPs in sediments correlated well with the Ca2+/Mg2+ in overlying water, suggesting that divalent cations in overlying water may enhance the preferential deposition of SMPs. Simulation sinking experiments under the presence of Microcystis aeruginosa and two divalent cations using different-sized PE MPs demonstrated that the greater deposition of SMPs was mainly the result of the formation of biogenic calcite on the surface of MPs rather than magnesium minerals, which provides stronger ballasting effects for SMPs than for large MPs. This study first highlights that the impact of biomineralization on preferential sinking of SMPs and enhances the understanding of the transport behaviour of MPs in aquatic environment.

Study of Triptolide on Liver Injury and Detoxification Strategy / 中国实验方剂学杂志

As a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine in clinical practice， Tripterygium wilfordii has the functions of dispelling wind and removing dampness， detoxicating and destroying parasites， detumescence， pain relief， promoting blood circulation， and dredging collateral. Modern pharmacological studies show that it also has other functions such as anticancer， anti-inflammation， and immunosuppression. It has been widely used to treat autoimmune diseases， renal diseases， and tumors. T. wilfordii contains a variety of chemical components， among which triptolide （TP） can cause varying degrees of damage to human digestive， circulatory， reproductive， and other systems， with liver injury being the most common one， which greatly limits the development of TP in new drug research and industrial application. Therefore， the authors focused on the research hotspot of TP-induced liver injury and summarized relevant Chinese and international literature regarding the clinical manifestations， injury mechanisms， and detoxification strategies of TP-induced liver injury. This helps to provide a scientific basis for the clinical drug safety and scientific drug supervision of TP. The clinical manifestations of TP-induced liver injury are mostly abnormal transaminases， loss of appetite， nausea and vomiting， anorexia， yellow staining of skin and sclera， and yellow urine. The mechanisms of the above clinical manifestations involve apoptosis， oxidative stress， influence on cytochrome P450 superfamily， macrophage polarization， regulation of biological clock gene Clock， etc. Among them， cell apoptosis is related to neurogenic locus notch homolog protein 1 （Notch1）， dynamin-related protein 1 （Drp1）-cytochrome C （Cyt C）， phosphatidylinositide 3-kinases （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， tumor suppressor protein 53 （p53）， Fas cell surface death receptor （Fas）/Caspase-8， and other signaling pathways. Oxidative stress is related to inhibition of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 （NRF2） signaling pathway， promotion of cytochrome P450 2E1 （CYP2E1） expression， and excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen （ROS）. The influence of the cytochrome P450 superfamily is manifested as reducing the substrate affinity， activity， and expression of cytochrome P450 3A （CYP3A）， cytochrome P450 2C9 （CYP2C9）， cytochrome P450 2C19 （CYP2C19）， and cytochrome P450 1A2 （CYP1A2）. Promoting the transformation of macrophages into the M1 type is related to the secretion of inflammatory factors and the accumulation of endotoxin， and the internal rhythmic regulation of the biological clock gene Clock， is related to the expression of cytochrome P450 3A11 （CYP3A11） metabolic enzyme. The detoxification strategies in the clinical application include herbs-processing detoxification strategy and drug-pairing detoxification. The traditional Chinese medicines and monomers that are helpful for detoxification include Glycyrrhiza uralensis， Paeonia lactiflora， Lysimachia christinae， Rehmannia glutinosa， saffron， and paeoniflorin. The reviews and discussion about these topics can help to provide more references for related research and clinical application of TP.

Fabrication of three-dimensional orthodontic force detecting brackets and preliminary clinical test for tooth movement simulation.

This study aimed to develop an ultraminiature pressure sensor array to measure the force exerted on teeth. Orthodontic force plays an important role in effective, rapid, and safe tooth movement. However, owing to the lack of an adequate tool to measure the orthodontic force in vivo, it remains challenging to determine the best orthodontic loading in clinical and basic research. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) orthodontic force detection system based on piezoresistive absolute pressure sensors was designed. The 3D force sensing array was constructed using five pressure sensors on a single chip. The size of the sensor array was only 4.1 × 2.6 mm, which can be placed within the bracket base area. Based on the barometric calibration, conversion formulas for the output voltage and pressure of the five channels were constructed. Subsequently, a 3D linear mechanical simulation model of the voltage and stress distribution was established using 312 tests of the applied force in 13 operating modes. Finally, the output voltage was first converted to pressure and then to the resultant force. The 3D force-detection chip was then tested to verify the accuracy of force measurement on the teeth. Based on the test results, the average output force error was only 0.0025 N (0.7169%) (p = 0.958), and the average spatial positioning error was only 0.058 mm (p = 0.872) on the X-axis and 0.050 mm (p = 0.837) on the Y-axis. The simulation results were highly consistent with the actual force applied (intraclass correlation efficient (ICC): 0.997-1.000; p < 0.001). Furthermore, through in vivo measurements and a finite element analysis, the movement trends generated when the measured orthodontic forces that acted on the teeth were simulated. The results revealed that the device can accurately measure the orthodontic force, representing the first clinical test of an orthodontic-force monitoring system. Our study provides a hardware basis for clinical research on efficient, safe, and optimal orthodontic forces, and has considerable potential for application in monitoring the biomechanics of tooth movement.

Surface modification of multifunctional ferrite magnetic nanoparticles and progress in biomedicine / 生物医学工程学杂志

Magnetic ferrite nanoparticles (MFNPs) have great application potential in biomedical fields such as magnetic resonance imaging, targeted drugs, magnetothermal therapy and gene delivery. MFNPs can migrate under the action of a magnetic field and target specific cells or tissues. However, to apply MFNPs to organisms, further modifications on the surface of MFNPs are required. In this paper, the common modification methods of MFNPs are reviewed, their applications in medical fields such as bioimaging, medical detection, and biotherapy are summarized, and the future application directions of MFNPs are further prospected.

Etiological analysis of single small subcortical infarction with different imaging features / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To investigate the etiological mechanism in single small subcortical infarction (SSSI) with different imaging features.Methods:The patients registered in a database of ischemic stroke in the Department of Neurology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2016 to December 2019 were analyzed. According to the lowest slice (LS) and the total number of involved slices (TNS) on diffusion-weighted imaging, the SSSI was divided into 3 types: proximal SSSI (pSSSI; LS≤2), distal and large SSSI (dl-SSSI; LS>2, TNS>2) and distal and small SSSI (ds-SSSI; LS>2, TNS≤2). The clinical and imaging features among 3 different lesion patterns were compared by using χ 2 test, Kruskal-Wallis H test and multiple Logistic regression analysis, etc. Results:In the 3 groups of ds-SSSI ( n=205), dl-SSSI ( n=157) and pSSSI ( n=166), the prevalences of parent artery disease (PAD)[10.7% (22/205) , 19.1% (30/157) , 42.8% (71/166), respectively, χ 2=54.89, P<0.001], coronary artery disease [8.3% (17/205), 14.0% (22/157), 16.9%(28/166), respectively, χ 2=6.44, P=0.040] and severe white matter hyperintensities (sWMHs)[58.0% (119/205), 43.3% (68/157), 41.0% (68/166), respectively, χ 2=12.94, P<0.001], the level of serum homocysteine (Hcy)[18.01 (13.54, 25.56), 16.03 (12.50, 21.09), 14.72 (11.12, 19.14) μmol/L, respectively, H=19.36, P<0.001], and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score[2(1, 3), 3(1, 4), 3(2, 6), respectively, H=39.53, P<0.001] showed statistically significant differences. Multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that compared with dl-SSSI patients, the lesion pattern of patients with higher proportion of PAD ( OR=3.12, 95% CI 1.86-5.24, P<0.001) was closer to pSSSI; the lesion pattern of patients with higher serum Hcy level ( OR=1.02, 95% CI 1.00-1.04, P=0.046) or higher proportion of sWMHs ( OR=1.79, 95% CI 1.12-2.86, P=0.015) was closer to ds-SSSI, and the lesion pattern of patients with higher proportion of PAD ( OR=0.50, 95% CI 0.27-0.93, P=0.029) or higher NIHSS score ( OR=0.84, 95% CI 0.77-0.92, P<0.001) was closer to dl-SSSI. Conclusions:The pathogenesis of ds-SSSI tends to be cerebral small vessel disease. The pathogenesis of pSSSI is related to atherosclerosis. The patients with dl-SSSI have the intermediate characteristics of pSSSI and ds-SSSI and may be unstable.

Associations between the sense of school belonging and mental health status among medical students during the post-epidemic period / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Objective:To explore the status of medical students' sense of school belonging and its relationship with depression and anxiety symptoms in the context of COVID-19 prevention and control.Methods:An online questionnaire survey was conducted among 1 629 full-time students from 8 medical universities. The 18-item psychological sense of school membership scale (PSSM-18), 9-item patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9), and 7-item generalized anxiety disorder scale (GAD-7) were used as measurements. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to analyze the correlations between PSSM-18, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 scores. Logistic regressions were used to analyze the impact of lack of school belonging on depression and anxiety symptoms.Results:The mean score of school belonging was (77.31±14.12), and the detection rates of depression and anxiety symptoms were 25.97% (423/1 629) and 21.92% (357/1 629), respectively. PSSM-18 score was negatively correlated with PHQ-9 scores ( r=-0.52, P<0.001) and GAD-7 scores ( r= -0.49, P < 0.001). After adjusting for covariates, students with low school belongingness had 4.33 times the risk of depression symptoms ( OR=4.33, 95%CI=2.48-7.43) and 5.85 times the risk of anxiety symptoms ( OR= 5.85, 95%CI=3.76-8.15) compared to students with high school belongingness. Conclusion:Lack of school belonging increases the risk of depression and anxiety symptoms. Under the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control, the school should strengthen health education and support services to improve the students' sense of belonging and alleviate their mental health problems.

Extracellular disintegration of viral proteins as an innovative strategy for developing broad-spectrum antivirals against coronavirus

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has claimed millions of lives worldwide, not to mention innumerable losses in the global economy and disruptions in social relationships. Unfortunately, state-of-the-art treatments still lag behind the fast emergence of new variants of concern. The key to resolve this issue is to develop broad-spectrum antivirals with innovative antiviral mechanisms in which coronaviruses are deactivated regardless of their variant development. Herein, we report a new antiviral strategy involving extracellular disintegration of viral proteins that are indispensable for viral infection with hyperanion-grafted enediyne molecules. The sulfate groups ensure low cellular permeability and rather low cytotoxicity of the molecules, while the core enediyne generates reactive radical species and causes significant damage to the spike (S) protein of coronavirus. The enediyne compounds exhibit antiviral activity at micromolar to nanomolar concentrations, and the selectivity index of up to 20,000 against four kinds of human coronaviruses, including the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant, suggesting the high potential of this new strategy in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comprehensive analysis of liquid-liquid phase separation-related genes in prediction of breast cancer prognosis.

Objective: Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a functional unit formed by specific molecules. It lacks a membrane and has been reported to play a crucial role in tumor drug resistance and growth by regulating gene expression and drug distribution. However, whether LLPS could be used to predict cancer prognosis was not clear. This study aimed to construct a prognostic model for breast cancer based on LLPS-correlated genes (LCGs). Methods: LCGs were identified using the PhaSepDB, gene expression profile and clinical characteristics of breast cancer were obtained from TCGA and cBioportal. The PanCancer Atlas (TCGA) cohort was used as the training cohort to construct the prognostic model, while the Nature 2012 and Nat Commun 2016 (TCGA) cohort and GEO data were used as test cohort to perform external verification. Data analysis was performed with R4.2.0 and SPSS20.0. Results: We identified 140 prognosis-related LCGs (pLCGs) (p< 0.01) in all cohorts, 240 pLCGs (p< 0.01) in the luminal cohort, and 28 pLCGs (p< 0.05) in the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cohort. Twelve genes in all cohorts (training cohort: 5/10-year ROC values were 0.76 and 0.77; verification cohort: 5/10-year ROC values were 0.61 and 0.58), eight genes in the luminal cohort (training cohort: 5/10-year ROC values were 0.79 and 0.75; verification cohort: 5/10-year ROC values were 0.62 and 0.62), and four genes in the TNBC cohort (training cohort: 5/10-year ROC values were 0.73 and 0.79; verification cohort: 5/10-year ROC values were 0.55 and 0.54) were screened out to construct the prognostic prediction model. The 17-gene risk-score was constructed in all cohorts (1/3/5-year ROC values were 0.88, 0.83, and 0.81), and the 11-gene risk-score was constructed in the luminal cohort (1/3/5-year ROC values were 0.67, 0.85 and 0.84), and the six-gene risk-score was constructed in the TNBC cohort (1/3/5-year ROC value were 0.87, 0.88 and 0.81). Finally, the risk-score and clinical factors were applied to construct nomograms in all cohorts (1/3/5-year ROC values were 0.89, 0.79 and 0.75, C-index = 0.784), in the luminal cohort (1/3/5-year ROC values were 0.84, 0.83 and 0.85, C-index = 0.803), and in the TNBC cohort (1/3/5-year ROC values were 0.95, 0.84 and 0.77, C-index = 0.847). Discussion: This study explored the roles of LCGs in the prediction of breast cancer prognosis.

The development of a nomogram model for predicting left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node metastasis in esophageal cancer based on radiomics and clinical factors.

Background: The lymph node dissection for esophageal cancer is controversial. Some prediction models of lymph node metastasis (LNM) use the short diameter of lymph nodes measured by computed tomography (CT) examination as a predictor, but the size of that for judging metastasis is still controversial. However, radiomics can extract some features in tumors that cannot be obtained by naked eyes, which may have a higher value in predicting LNM. In this study, a nomogram was developed based on radiomics and clinical factors to predict left recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node (RLNN) metastasis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods: There were 350 patients included in this retrospective study. And the postoperative pathological results determined whether there was left RLNN metastasis. A univariate analysis was conducted of the clinical data. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis was conducted to filter the radiomics features extracted from CT images. The multivariate logistic regression equation was used to construct a nomogram. The area under the curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the predictive ability. Due to the small sample size, we chose to perform internal validation after the model was established by 10-fold cross-validation, Harrell's concordance index (C-index), bootstrap validation and calibration. Results: Ultimately, 3 indicators were screened out; that is, tumor location, surface volume ratio, and run-length non-uniformity. We then constructed the nomogram using these 3 indicators. The model had good accuracy and calibration performance. It has an AUC of 0.903 (95% confidence interval: 0.861-0.945), a sensitivity of 0.873, and a specificity of 0.756. Ten-fold cross-validation showed that the sensitivity and specificity of the training set were 88.08% and 75.81%, and the validation set had a sensitivity of 85.08% and a specificity of 75.49%. The Brier score was 0.074, and C-index was 0.904, which indicated good consistency between the actual and predicted results. Conclusions: A nomogram constructed based on radiomics features and clinical factors can be used to predict the metastasis of left RLNN in patients with ESCC in a non-invasive way, which provided a reference for clinicians to formulate individualized lymph node dissection plans.

A case-control study of risk factors for gastritis, gastric intraepithelial neoplasia and gastric cancer in patients with gastroscopic biopsies in Shihezi, Xinjiang / 中华消化内镜杂志

Objective:To explore the risk factors involved in gastritis, gastric intraepithelial neoplasia (GIN) and gastric cancer in Shihezi area.Methods:A total of 7 110 Han nationality patients who underwent gastroscopy at the First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University School of Medicine from January 2012 to December 2016 were selected as the research subjects. The data of patients were obtained through medical records and questionnaires. After excluding diseases related to esophagus and duodenum, a total of 4 429 cases were included in the retrospective analysis. Of which, 4 249 were gastritis, 93 were GIN, and 87 were gastric cancer. χ2 test, rank-sum test or Fisher exact probability method were used to analyze the differences of various factors in gastritis, GIN and gastric cancer. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to screen the risk factors for gastritis progression to GIN and gastric cancer. Results:χ2 test and rank sum test showed that there were statistically significant differences in gender, age, history of digestive diseases and distribution of Helicobacter pylori ( HP) infection among the groups of gastritis, GIN and gastric cancer ( P<0.05). The proportion of HP infection decreased gradually with the disease severity. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that male ( P<0.001, OR=2.251, 95% CI: 1.461-3.470), elderly ( P<0.001, OR=4.829, 95% CI: 2.241-10.409), a family history of gastric cancer ( P=0.002, OR=3.227, 95% CI: 1.537-6.774) and a history of digestive diseases ( P=0.034, OR=1.644, 95% CI: 1.037-2.607) were independent risk factors for gastritis progression to GIN. Male ( P<0.001, OR=3.254, 95% CI: 2.026-5.225), middle-aged ( P=0.022, OR=2.688, 95% CI: 1.153-6.265) and elderly ( P=0.002, OR=4.734, 95% CI: 1.750-12.807) were independent risk factors for gastritis progression to gastric cancer. In stratified analysis to exclude age and gender, smoking ( P=0.028, OR=4.060, 95% CI: 1.160-14.202) was found to be a risk factor for gastritis progression to GIN in young adults, and obesity ( P=0.032, OR=3.869, 95% CI: 1.121-13.356) was found to be a risk factor for gastritis progression to gastric cancer in women. Conclusion:The degree of HP infection in gastric tissues is negatively correlated with the severity of gastric diseases, suggesting that HP infection may be an early event inducing gastric cancer. Male, the elderly, people with a family history of gastric cancer and a history of digestive diseases, and young smokers in Shihezi are more likely to develop GIN, and male, middle-aged, elderly, and obese women are at increased risk of gastric cancer.

Stability of iodine content in potassium iodate iodized salt in Jilin Province / 中华地方病学杂志

Objective:To study the stability and influencing factors of potassium iodate iodized salt that can be sold in Jilin Province.Methods:In November 2020, 10 large supermarkets were randomly selected in Jilin Province, and two kinds of potassium iodate iodized salts were randomly selected in each supermarket, with five copies of each kind, a total of 100 samples of iodized salt, and the iodine content was determined by spectrophotometry (iodide-starch blue light method). Iodized salt samples were classified according to different salt species (mine salt, sea salt and lake salt) and different production processes (refined salt and non-refined salt). The salt was stored at room temperature, and the iodine content in the salt was measured at 0, 10 and 20 days after opening the packaging. The iodine content attenuation rates of different salt species and different production processes were compared.Results:The mine salt, sea salt and lake salt in iodized salt samples were 45, 45 and 10 portions, respectively. The iodine contents of the 0th day of storage [(19.89 ± 1.38), (20.62 ± 1.91), (19.78 ± 1.01) mg/kg] were compared, and the difference was not statistically significant ( F = 2.57, P = 0.093). On the 10th day, the iodine content of mine salt was lower than that of sea salt and lake salt, and the differences were statistically significant ( P < 0.05); on the 20th day, the iodine content of mine salt was lower than that of sea salt, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). There was a significant difference in the iodine content of mine salt stored at 0, 10 and 20 days ( F = 90.62, P < 0.001). The iodine content of sea salt and lake salt on the 20th day was significantly lower than that on the 0th and 10th day, and the differences were statistically significant ( P < 0.05). The iodine content attenuation rates of mine salt, sea salt and lake salt on the 0 - 10 days was compared with that on the 10 - 20 days, and the differences were statistically significant ( Z = 2.24, 2.94, 2.80, P < 0.05). There was a significant difference in the iodine content attenuation rates of mine salt, sea salt and lake salt during the 0 - 10 days of storage ( Z = 24.05, P < 0.001), there was no statistically significant difference in the iodine content attenuation rates on 10 - 20 days ( Z = 5.86, P = 0.053). There was no significant difference in iodine content attenuation rates between refined salt and non-refined salt on 0 - 10, 10 - 20 days ( Z = 1.16, 0.28, P > 0.05). There was no statistical significant difference in the iodine content attenuation rates of refined salt and non-refined salt on the 0 - 10 days compared with those of 10 - 20 days ( Z = 0.76, 1.90, P > 0.05). Conclusions:Iodine loss occurs at 20 days after opening the packaging of iodized salt in Jilin Province. The attenuation of iodine content is less affected by salt species and production processes. It is recommended to eat iodized salt within 20 days after opening the packaging.

Stress Corrosion Cracking Behavior of TP 439 and 690 TT under Film-Forming Amine Environment.

Film-forming amines have been widely used in thermal power plants for maintenance after shutdown, and there are more and more applications and researches in nuclear power secondary circuits for this purpose. However, in the direction of stress corrosion cracking, there is not much research on the influence of film-forming amines on metal materials. This article uses the high temperature slow strain rate test (SSRT) method to evaluate the influence of a commercial film-forming amine on the stress corrosion cracking behavior of two conventional island materials for PWR nuclear power plants. These two metal materials are the heat exchange tube materials of the high-pressure heater and steam generator in the high-temperature operation area of the secondary circuit of a nuclear power plant: TP 439 stainless steel and 690 TT alloy. The test analyzed the mechanical properties and fracture morphology. The test results show that in the test concentration range (<5 mg/kg), the film-forming amine will not affect the SCC of TP 439 stainless steel and 690 TT alloy under the condition of slow strain rate. The behavior has a significant impact. In practical applications, the general dosage of film-forming amine is 1-2 mg/kg. This data is lower than the film-forming amine concentration used in the experiment. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the obvious impact on the SCC behavior of TP 439 stainless steel and 690 TT alloy.

Molecular mechanism of hyperoxalic acid-induced arterial endothelial cell injury / 中华肾脏病杂志

Objective:To investigate the injury effect of hyperoxali acid on human arterial endothelial cells (HAECs) and its mechanism.Methods:HAECs were divided into intervention group and control group according to whether oxalic acid was used for intervention. The cells in the intervention group were stimulated with 30, 100, 200 and 300 μmol/L oxalic for different time. The effect of oxalic acid on the proliferation of HAECs was detected by MTT colorimetry. The change of cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. The content of intracellular calcium was detected by fluorescence detection technology. The protein and mRNA expressions of cell cycle and anion transporter-related proteins were detected by Western blotting and fluorescence quantitative PCR. Besides, JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway-related proteins were measured by Western blotting.Results:MTT colorimetry results showed that the intervention groups with high concentration of oxalic acid (100, 200, 300 μmol/L) could significantly inhibit the proliferation of HAECs, which was significantly different from the control group (all P<0.05). Fluorescence detection showed that the contents of intracellular calcium of HAECs in the intervention groups with high concentration of oxalic acid (100, 200, 300 μmol/L) were significantly higher than those in the control group after 48 hours ( P<0.05, P<0.001, P<0.001, respectively). Flow cytometry showed that the proportion of S phase of cells in the 200 μmol/L oxalic acid intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group ( P<0.05). The results of Western blotting and PCR showed that the relative protein and mRNA expressions of anion transporter-related proteins slc26a1, slc26a5, slc26a11 in the intervention groups were higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Western blotting showed that the expression of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 in the intervention groups after 24 hours were significantly higher than those in control group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Hyperoxalic acid may enter HAECs through transporters slc26a1, slc26a5 and slc26a11 to inhibit cell proliferation and increase the intracellular calcium concentration. The mechanism may be through the activation of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. Therefore, oxalic acid may be one of the uremic toxins leading to atherosclerosis.

The comparative study of lingual mucosal graft combined with buccal mucosal graft and ADM urethroplasty for failed hypospadias repair / 中华泌尿外科杂志

Objective:To compare the outcomes of combined lingual mucosal graft with buccal mucosal graft urethroplasty and combined lingual mucosal graft with ADM (acellular dermal matrix) urethroplasty for the treatment of repair failed hypospadias.Methods:From February 2017 to February 2019, 26 patients with failed hypospadias repairs were treated with combined lingual mucosal graft with buccal mucosal graft urethroplasty (14 cases in Group A), and combined lingual mucosal graft with ADM urethroplasty (12 cases in Group B). The mean age of Group A was (29.5±1.2) years (range 18.0-41.0 years), and (26.5±0.8) years (range 20.0-38.0 years) in Group B. The previous operation times was mean (3.6±0.7)(range 2-5 times) and (4.6±0.8)(range 3-5 times) in Group A and Group B respectively. Operation method: All patients were nasally intubated, the remaining curvature was corrected, the fibrous tissue or scar was removed, and the defected urethra was measured. In Group A, the lingual mucosa was spread and fixed to the corpora cavernosa over the midline as the urethral plate, the buccal mucosa was covered the lingual mucosa as ventral urethra, both the mucosa lateral edges was sutured. In Group B, the lingual mucosa was harvested and fixed to the corpora cavernosa the same as in Group A, the ADM was made appropriate length and width, covered and sutured with the lingual mucosa. The lingual mucosa was harvested mean (5.0±0.2)cm(range 4-6cm)long, mean (1.2±0.2)cm (range 1.0-1.5cm)wide and mean (5.0±0.2)cm(range 5-6cm)long, mean (1.2±0.2)cm (range 1.0-1.5cm)wide in Group A and Group B respectively( P<0.05). In Group A, the buccal mucosa was harvested mean (4.1±0.2)cm(range 3.5-5.5cm)long, mean (1.2±0.2)cm wide. Criteria for successful repair of hypospadias were set as: ①The appearance of the penis is nearly normal; ②The penis curvature was corrected; ③Urethra orifice in normal position; ④Urine flow line is normal. The outcomes of the two groups were analyzed and compared, statistical analysis was done using SPSS 18.0 software. Results:The mean follow-up time was (16.3±1.6)(8-24) months. The age, number of preoperative surgeries, number of previous oral mucous membranes, and length of urethral defects were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in A and B( P>0.05). The length of oral mucosa was harvested during the operation between group A and Group B were statistically significant differences( P<0.05). The incidence of oral complications in group A and B: Oral pain 7/14, 1/12; The feeling of tension in mouth 8/14, 1/12; The numbness in the oral 8/14, 1/12, A and Group B were statistically significant differences( P<0.05). The incidence of urethral complications in group A and Group B: the urethra fistula 1/14, 4/12; the urethral stricture 2/14, 6/12, there were statistically significant differences between the two groups ( P<0.05). Penile curvature 2/14, 1/12, ( P>0.05). The success rate was 12/14 and 5/12 in Group A and B respectively, with statistical difference( P<0.05). Conclusions:Combined lingual mucosal graft with buccal mucosal graft urethroplasty could be a good choice for repeated failed hypospadias repairs. Combined lingual mucosal graft with ADM urethroplasty has many complications and less success, should be performed in caution.

Comparison of efficacy of systematic nursing in operating room and routine nursing in reducing intraoperative pressure injury in patients with spine fracture combined with spinal cord injury / 中华创伤杂志

Objective:To compare the effect of systematic nursing in operating room and routine nursing in reducing intraoperative stress injury in patients with spinal fracture and spinal cord injury.Methods:A retrospective case-control study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 285 patients with cervical or thoracolumbar fracture associated with spinal cord injury admitted to Honghui Hospital Affiliated to Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2018 to December 2019, including 168 males and 127 females, with the age of 38-59 years [(47.8±8.5)years]. All patients underwent posterior decompression and fusion with internal fixation. Of all, 138 patients received systematic nursing in operating room including systematic evaluation and management before, during and after operation (observation group), and 147 patients received routine nursing including only intraoperative preventive care of pressure ulcer (control group). The incidence of pressure injury on the day after operation, degree of injury and location of injury at postoperative 3 days, and area of injury on the day after operation and at postoperative 3 days were compared between the two groups. The degree of injury was evaluated using the new stress injury staging assessment published by the American National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP).Results:The incidence of pressure injury in observation group [5.1% (7/138)] was lower than that in control group [12.2% (18/147)] on the day after operation ( P<0.05). The incidence of stage I, stage II, and stage III pressure injury in observation group [2.9% (4/138), 2.2% (3/138), 0.0%] was also lower than that in control group [8.2% (12/147), 3.4% (5/147), 0.6% (1/147)] at postoperative 3 days ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of pressure injury in the knee, chest, face and anterior superior iliac spine between the two groups ( P>0.05). The total proportion of pressure injury in the face and anterior superior iliac spine was 71% (5/7) in observation group, showing no significant difference from that in control group [83% (15/18)] ( P>0.05). The area of injury was (3.2±1.2)cm 2 and (3.2±1.1)cm 2 in observation group on the day after operation and at postoperative 3 days, lower than that in in control group [(5.1±1.5)cm 2 and (5.1±1.4)cm 2] ( P<0.01). Conclusion:Compared with the routine nursing, systematic nursing in operating room can significantly reduce the incidence, degree and area of intraoperative pressure injury in patients with spinal fracture accompanied by spinal cord injury, and deserves clinical promotion.

Relationship between classroom lighting and poor vision of students in primary and secondary schools in Tianjin / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the relationship between classroom lighting and poor vision of students in primary and secondary schools in Tianjin, and to provide reference for targeted prevention measures for comprehensive school eye health programmes.@*Methods@#A total of 623 classrooms and 24 713 students in 89 primary and secondary schools in Tianjin were selected using stratified cluster sampling method in Sep.to Oct. of 2020. The illuminometer was used to monitor the lighting environment of the classroom, and the standard logarithmic vision light box was used to detect the naked eye vision of students. Chisquare test, variance analysis and binary Logistic regression were used in SPSS software.@*Results@#Rate of low vision among primary and secondary school students in Tianjin was 67.86%. The qualification rate of blackboard reflectance, blackboard average illumination, blackboard illumination uniformity, desk average illumination and desk illumination uniformity were 58.11%, 53.13%, 73.19%, 66.61% and 75.12%, respectively. Univariate analyses showed that the blackboard reflectance, blackboard average illumination, desk average illumination, and desk illumination uniformity were associated with low vision among students(χ 2=311.29, 62.54, 61.71, 6.59, P<0.05). Multivariable Logistic regression analysis showed that blackboard reflectance, average illumination of blackboard and desk were associated with higher risk of poor vision[OR(95%CI)=1.19(1.11-1.27),1.27(1.17-1.37),1.11(1.02-1.20), P<0.05].@*Conclusion@#Prevalence of low vision among primary and secondary school students in Tianjin is relatively high. Blackboard reflectance, average illumination of blackboard and desk are the important determinants for poor vision of primary and secondary school students. Creating effective classroom lighting scheme is crucial for vision health among students.

Effect of electroacupuncture at "Neiguan" (PC 6) on cardiac function and inflammatory factors of acupoint area in rats with acute myocardial ischemia / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Neiguan" (PC 6) on cardiac function and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in rats with acute myocardial ischemia (AMI), and to explore the correlation between myocardial protective effect of EA and inflammatory factors i.e. interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-17 (IL-17) of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area.@*METHODS@#A total of 40 male SD rats with normal ultrasonic cardiogram were randomized into a sham-operation group, a sham-operation plus EA group, a model group and an EA group, 10 rats in each group. The AMI model was established by ligating the left anterior descending (LAD) branch of the coronary artery in the model group and the EA group, while the threading without ligating was adopted in the sham-operation group and the sham-operation plus EA group. In the sham-operation plus EA group and the EA group, EA at bilateral "Neiguan" (PC 6) was applied, with disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/100 Hz in frequency and 2 mA in density, once a day, 20 min a time for 3 days. The cardiac ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) were measured by ultrasonic cardiogram to evaluate the cardiac function, the cardiomyocyte apoptosis was detected by TUNEL staining, the infiltration of inflammatory factors of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area was observed by H.E. staining, the expression of inflammatory factors IL-1β and IL-17 of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area was detected by immunofluorescence staining.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the sham-operation group, EF and FS were decreased (@*CONCLUSION@#Electroacupuncture at "Neiguan" (PC 6) can improve the cardiac function and reduce the apoptosis of cardiomyocyte in rats with acute myocardial ischemia, its mechanism may be related to the regulation of the inflammatory factors of "Neiguan" (PC 6) area.

Effect of electroacupuncture on expression of IL-23/IL-17 axis and TLR4 in infarcted tissue in rats with myocardial infarction / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on expression of interleukin (IL) -23/IL-17 axis and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in the infarcted tissue in rats with myocardial infarction (MI), and to explore the mechanism of EA on alleviating MI injury.@*METHODS@#Forty male SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-operation group, a sham-operation plus EA group, a model group and an EA group, 10 rats in each group. The MI models were established by ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery in the model group and EA group, while only threading was performed in the sham-operation group and sham-operation plus EA group. The rats in the sham-operation plus EA group and EA group were treated with EA at "Neiguan" (PC 6), disperse-dense wave, 2 Hz/100 Hz, 2 mA, once a day, 20 min each time, for 3 days. After the intervention, the ejection fraction (EF) was measured by echocardiography to evaluate the cardiac function; the infarct area was measured by TTC staining; the HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes of myocardial tissue; the levels of IL-23 and IL-17 in infarcted tissue were detected by ELISA; the protein expression of TLR4 in infarcted tissue was detected by Western blot.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the sham-operation group, the EF was decreased (@*CONCLUSION@#EA may alleviate the excessive inflammatory response after MI by inhibiting the expression of IL-23/IL-17 axis in MI rats, and TLR4 may be involved during the process.

Treatment with Arbidol and Moxifloxacin in Ordinary and Severe Adult Patients Infected with COVID-19

BackgroundAn outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been widely spread. We aim to investigate the therapeutic effect of arbidol and moxifloxacin in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2. MethodsWe collected and analyzed data on 94 patients with COVID-19 including 27 severe patients at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 74 ordinary patients at general isolation ward in Wuhan Xiehe Hospital, from February 15, 2020 to March 15, 2020. All patients were treated with arbidol (100mg each time, three times a day for 14 days) and moxifloxacin (0.4g each time, once a day for 7-14 days). Other data was also collected including demographic data, symptoms, laboratory findings, treatments and clinical outcomes. ResultsIn basic characteristics, compared with the ordinary patients, the severe patients were older (median age was 63.0 years V.S 57.0 years, p=0.03), had higher proportion of hypertension (30% V.S 9%, p=0.03), higher possibility of getting fatigue and/or myalgia (26% V.S 6%, p=0.03), and had more obvious dyspnea symptom (26% V.S 3%, p=0.006). In regarding to laboratory results, we found the severe patients have higher white blood cell counts (p=0.003), neutrophil counts (p=0.007), higher levels of D-dimer (p<0.001), ALT (p<0.001) and AST (p=0.013) than the ordinary patients. After treatment of arbidol and moxifloxacin for one week, the rates of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid turning negative were 69.2% in the severe group and 77.8% in the ordinary group. A peculiar phenomenon was that IL-6 stands out among the cytokines in both groups, and higher in severe group than the ordinary one (p=0.011). After treating with arbidol and moxifloxacin for one week, IL-6 decreased significantly in severe group (p=0.023). ConclusionIn summary, we proved the treatment of arbidol and moxifloxacin could be helpful in reducing viral load and inflammation during SARS-CoV2 infection, especially for negatively regulating fatal inflammation in severe COVID-19 patients. However, more evidence awaits further clinical verification.

Social support, parental role competence and satisfaction among Chinese mothers and fathers in the early postpartum period: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: A sense of parental competence and satisfaction during the transition to parenthood can have a tremendous impact on the quality of parenting behaviors, with social support being an important facilitator. AIM: To examine parental role competence and satisfaction of Chinese mothers and fathers in the early postpartum period with regard to social support. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a regional teaching hospital in Guangzhou, China. The study was conducted between June 5 and November 16, 2015. One hundred and eighty parental pairs at 6-8 weeks after birth completed the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale, and socio-demographic questionnaires. RESULTS: Parental role competence and satisfaction of Chinese mothers and fathers were at a moderate level, affected each other and there were no significant differences between the mothers and the fathers. The Competence Scale scores had a significant positive correlation with social support. Multiple regression analysis revealed two variables that predicted maternal Competence Scale scores: maternal social support and the paternal Competence Scale scores. Paternal social support and maternal Competence Scale scores contributed significantly to paternal Competence Scale scores. CONCLUSION: Parental role competence and satisfaction of mothers and fathers were at a moderate level and affected by the parenting partner. To improve parental role competence and satisfaction, health care professionals should develop strategies that impact the whole family and not just a single individual. Supportive parenting programs should be implemented for both mothers and fathers.