[Comparing the prognostic value of 3 diagnostic criteria of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants].

Objective: To compare the prognostic value of 3 diagnostic criteria of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm infants with gestational age<32 weeks. Methods: The retrospective cohort study was conducted to collect the clinical data of 285 preterm infants with BPD admitted to the Department of Neonatology, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from January 2019 to September 2021, who were followed up regularly after discharge. The primary composite adverse outcome was defined as death or severe respiratory morbidity from 36 weeks of corrected gestational age to 18 months of corrected age, and the secondary composite adverse outcome was defined as death or neurodevelopmental impairment. According to the primary or secondary composite adverse outcomes, the preterm infants were divided into the adverse prognosis group and the non-adverse prognosis group. The 2001 National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) criteria, 2018 NICHD criteria, and 2019 Neonatal Research Network (NRN) criteria were used to diagnose and grade BPD in preterm infants. Chi-square test, Logistic regression analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Delong test were used to analyze the prognostic value of the 3 diagnostic criteria. Results: The 285 preterm infants had a gestational age of 29.4 (28.1, 30.6) weeks and birth weight of 1 230 (1 000, 1 465) g, including 167 males (58.6%). Among 285 premature infants who completed follow-up, the primary composite adverse outcome occurred in 124 preterm infants (43.5%), and the secondary composite adverse outcome occurred in 40 preterm infants (14.0%). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that severe BPD according to the 2001 NICHD criteria, gradeⅡand Ⅲ BPD according to the 2018 NICHD criteria and grade 2 and 3 BPD according to the 2019 NRN criteria were all risk factors for primary composite adverse outcomes (all P<0.05). ROC curve showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of the 2018 NICHD criteria and 2019 NRN criteria were both higher than that of the 2001 NICHD criteria (0.70 and 0.70 vs. 0.61, Z=4.49 and 3.35, both P<0.001), but there was no significant difference between the 2018 NICHD and 2019 NRN criteria (Z=0.38, P=0.702). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the secondary composite adverse outcomes were all associated with grade Ⅲ BPD according to the 2018 NICHD criteria and grade 3 BPD according to the 2019 NRN criteria (both P<0.05). ROC curve showed that the AUC of the 2018 NICHD criteria and 2019 NRN criteria were both higher than that of the 2001 NICHD criteria (0.71 and 0.71 vs. 0.58, Z=2.93 and 3.67, both P<0.001), but there was no statistically significant difference between the 2018 NICHD and 2019 NRN criteria (Z=0.02, P=0.984). Conclusion: The 2018 NICHD and 2019 NRN criteria demonstrate good and comparable predictive value for the primary and secondary composite adverse outcomes in preterm infants with BPD, surpassing the predictive efficacy of the 2001 NICHD criteria.

[Preliminary evaluation of immunogenicity and protective effect of multicomponent recombinant protein vaccine EPRHP014 against tuberculosis].

Objective: To evaluate the immunogenicity and protective effect of a multicomponent recombinant protein vaccine EPRHP014 constructed independently and provide a scientific basis for developing new tuberculosis (TB) vaccine and effective prevention and control of TB. Methods: Three full-length Mycobacterium (M.) tuberculosis protein antigens (EsxH, Rv2628, and HspX) and two epitope-predicted and optimized epitope-dominant protein antigens (nPPE18 and nPstS1) were selected, from which five protein antigens were used to construct a protein antigen composition EPRHP014, including a fusion expression multi-component protein antigen (EPRHP014f) and a multi-component mixed protein antigen (EPRHP014m) formed with the five single protein using clone, purification, and purification respectively. Multicomponent protein vaccines EPRHP014f and EPRHP014m were prepared with aluminum adjuvant, and the BCG vaccine was used as a control. ELISA detected the titer of serum-specific antibodies, the secretion of various cytokines was detected by ELISpot and Luminex, and immune protection was observed by the M. tuberculosis growth inhibition test in vitro. The results were statistically analyzed by t-test or rank sum test, and P<0.05 was considered a statistically significant difference. Results: Mice Immunized with EPRHP014m and EPRHP014f could produce highly effective IgG antibodies and their subtypes IgG1 and IgG2a, and the antibody titers were similar to those of mice immunized with BCG, with no statistical significance (P>0.05). The number of spot-forming cells (SFC) secreting IFN-γ and IL-4 induced by EPRHP014f group was significantly higher than those by EPRHP014m group and BCG group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the number of SFC for IFN-γ and IL-4 induced between EPRHP014m group and BCG group (P>0.05). The secretion levels of GM-CSF and IL-12p70 induced by the EPRHP014m group were higher than those of the BCG group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the levels of IL-6 and IL-10 induced between EPRHP014m group and BCG group (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the secretions of IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, and GM-CSF between the EPRHP014f and BCG groups (P>0.05). EPRHP014m group, EPRHP014f group, and BCG group had obvious antibacterial effects in vitro, and the difference was insignificant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Both EPRHP014f and EPRHP014m can induce strong humoral and cellular immune responses in mice after immunization, and have a strong ability to inhibit the growth of M. tuberculosis in vitro, indicating that the antigen composition EPRHP014 has good potential in the development and application of TB vaccine.

[Clinical characteristics of patients with rheumatic diseases and abnormal liver function].

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with rheumatic diseases and abnormal liver function, as well as determine the proportion and severity of liver function abnormalities. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Data were collected from patients registered in the Chinese Rheumatism Date Center from 2011 to 2021. The rheumatic diseases analyzed in this study were rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjogren syndrome (SS), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and gout. Patient data, including demographic characteristics [ such as age, sex, body mass index,(BMI), and smoking history], liver function test results [including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase(ALP), and total bilirubin], and use of anti-rheumatic immune drugs and liver-protective drugs, were collected and compared between groups with normal and abnormal liver functions. In addition, the proportions of abnormal liver function were compared between sex and age groups. Results: A total of 116 308 patients were included in this study, including 49 659 with RA, 17 597 with SLE, 9 039 with SS, 11 321 with AS, and 28 692 with gout. The lowest proportion of liver function abnormalities was observed in patients with RA[11.02% (5 470/49 659)], followed by those with SS[17.97% (1 624/9 039)] and AS [18.22% (2 063/11 321) ], whereas patients with SLE [21.14% (3 720/17 597) ] and gout [28.73% (8 242/28 692)] exhibited the highest proportion of these abnormalities. Elevated ALT, mostly classified as grade 1, was the most commonly noted liver function abnormality, whereas elevated ALP was the least common. Some patients who took liver-protective drugs had normal liver function, with the lowest percentage observed in patients with gout [7.45% (36/483) ] and ranging from 21.7% to 30.34% in patients with RA, SLE, SS, and AS. The proportion of liver function abnormalities was higher in males than in females for all disease types [RA: 13.8%(1 368/9 906) vs. 10.3%(4 102/39 753); SLE: 33.6% (479/1 424) vs. 20.0% (3 241/16 173); SS: 25.4%(111/437) vs. 17.6%(1 513/8 602); AS: 20.1%(1 629/8 119) vs. 13.6% (434/3 202); and gout: 29.3% (8 033/27 394) vs. 16.1% (209/1 298)]. In RA, SLE, and AS, the proportions of liver function abnormalities were similar across all age groups. In SS, the proportion of liver function abnormalities increased with age [<40 years: 14.9%(294/1 979); 40-59 years: 18.1%(858/4 741); ≥60 years: 20.4%(472/2 319)], whereas a reversal of this trend was observed in gout [<40 years: 34.9%(4 294/12 320); 40-59 years: 25.5%(2 905/11 398);≥60 years: 21.0%(1 042/4 971)]. Conclusions: The proportions of combined liver function abnormalities in patients with rheumatologic diseases were high, and the utilization rates of liver-protective drugs were low. It is necessary to pay more attention to monitoring patients' liver function, timely administer liver-protective drugs, and optimize liver-protective regimens during the treatment of rheumatic diseases.

[Effect of out-hospital blood pressure management on prognosis of patients with acute aortic syndrome complicated with hypertension after TEVAR].

Objective: To investigate the influence of blood pressure control after discharge on prognosis of patients with acute aortic syndrome (AAS) complicated with hypertension who underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). Methods: This is a retrospective case analysis. Patients diagnosed with AAS complicated with hypertension and undergoing TEVAR in Northern Theater Command General Hospital from June 2002 to December 2021 were consecutively enrolled. Average systolic blood pressure (SBP) and the occurrence of endpoint events were recorded at one month, one year and every 2 years after TEVAR. According to the patients' average SBP, patients with average SBP<140 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) or<150 mmHg were divided into the target blood pressure achievement group, and the others were divided into target blood pressure non-achievement group. Endpoint events included all-cause death, aortic death, stroke, renal insufficiency, aortic related adverse events and a composite of these events (overall clinical adverse events), and re-accepting TEVAR. The incidence of endpoint events was compared between the two groups at each follow-up period. Results: A total of 987 patients were included, aged (55.7±11.7) years, including 779 male (78.9%). When the cutoff value was 140 mmHg, the rate of average target SBP achievement was 71.2% (703/987) at one month, 66.7% (618/927) during 1st to 12th month and 65.1% (542/832) from the first year to the third year after TEVAR. The proportion of patients taking≥2 antihypertensive agents was higher in the group of target blood pressure non-achievement group than the target blood pressure achievement group after TEVAR at 1 month (74.3% (211/284) vs.65.9% (463/703), P=0.010) and during 1st to 12th month (71.5% (221/309) vs. 63.6% (393/618), P=0.016). There were no statistical differences in the all-cause deaths, stroke, aortic related adverse events, and repeat TEVAR between the two groups (All P>0.05) during above follow-up periods. When the cutoff value was 150 mmHg, the rate of target SBP achievement was 89.3% (881/987) at one month, 85.2% (790/927) during 1st to 12th month and 85.6%(712/832) from the first year to the third year after TEVAR. The incidence of clinical total adverse events (8.8% (12/137) vs. 4.2% (33/790), P=0.021) and repeat TEVAR (4.4% (6/137) vs. 1.0% (8/790), P=0.003) in target blood pressure non-achievement group were significantly higher than the target blood pressure achievement group during 1st to 12th month after TEVAR. The incidence of all-cause deaths (5.8% (7/120) vs. 2.4% (17/712), P=0.037) in the target blood pressure non-achievement group was significantly higher than the target blood pressure achievement group from the first year to the third year follow-up period, but there were no statistical differences in the incidence of clinical total adverse events between the two group (P>0.05). Conclusion: Among TEVAR treated AAS patients complicated with hypertension, the average SBP more than 150 mmHg post discharge is associated with increased risk of adverse events. Ideal blood pressure control should be encouraged to improve the outcome of these patients.

[Clinical characteristics and prognostic analysis of female patients with Stanford type B aortic dissection].

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of female patients with Stanford type B aortic dissection. Methods: This is a single-centre retrospective study. Consecutive patients diagnosed with Stanford type B aortic dissection in General Hospital of Northern Theater Command from June 2002 to August 2021 were enrolled, and grouped based on sex. According to the general clinical conditions and complications of aortic dissection tear, patients were treated with thoracic endovascular aortic repair, surgery, or optimal medication. The clinical characteristics and aortic imaging data of the patients at different stages were collected, adverse events including all-cause deaths, stroke, and occurrence of aortic-related adverse events were obtained during hospitalization and within 30 days and at 1 and 5 years after discharge. According to the time of death, death was classified as in-hospital death, out-of-hospital death, and in-hospital death was divided into preoperative death, intraoperative death and postoperative death. According to the cause of death, death was classified as aortic death, cardiac death and other causes of death. Aortic-related adverse events within 30 days after discharge included new paraplegia, post-luminal repair syndrome, and aortic death; long-term (≥1 year after discharge) aortic-related adverse events included aortic death, recurrent aortic dissection, endoleak and distal ulcer events. The clinical characteristics, short-term and long-term prognosis was compared between the groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association between different clinical factors and all-cause mortality within 30 days in female and male groups separately. Results: A total of 1 094 patients with Stanford type B aortic dissection were enrolled, mean age was (53.9±12.1) years, and 861 (78.7%) were male and 233 (21.3%) were female. (1) Clinical characteristics: compared with male patients, female patients were featured with older average age, higher proportion of aged≥60 years old, back pain, anemia, optimal medication treatment, and higher cholesterol level; while lower proportion of smoking and drinking history, body mass index, calcium antagonists use, creatine kinase level, and white blood cell count (all P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in dissection tear and clinical stage, history of coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cerebrovascular disease between female and male patients (all P>0.05). (2) Follow-up result: compared with male patients, female patients had a higher rate of 30-day death [6.9% (16/233) vs. 3.8% (33/861), P=0.047], in-hospital death (5.6% (13/233) vs. 2.7% (23/861), P=0.027), preoperative death (3.9% (9/233) vs. 1.5% (12/861), P=0.023) and aorta death (6.0% (14/233) vs. 3.1% (27/861), P=0.041). The 1-year and 5-year follow-up results demonstrated that there were no significant differences in death, cerebrovascular disease, and aorta-related adverse events between the two groups (all P>0.05). (3) Prognostic factors: the results of the univariate logistic regression analysis showed that body mass index>24 kg/m2 (HR=1.087, 95%CI 1.029-1.149, P=0.013), history of anemia (HR=2.987, 95%CI 1.054-8.468, P=0.032), hypertension (HR=1.094, 95%CI 1.047-1.143, P=0.040) and troponin-T>0.05 µg/L (HR=5.818, 95%CI 1.611-21.018, P=0.003)were associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality within 30 days in female patients. Conclusions: Female patients with Stanford type B aortic dissection have specific clinical characteristics, such as older age at presentation, higher rates of anemia and combined back pain, and higher total cholesterol levels. The risk of death within 1 month is higher in female patients than in male patients, which may be associated with body mass index, hypertension, anemia and troponin-T, but the long-term prognosis for both female and male patients is comparable.

[Clinical characteristics and risk factors of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage in extremely low birth weight infants].

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics and risk factors of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (PIVH) in extremely low birth weight infants (ELBWI). Methods: From January 2019 to January 2022, the clinical data of 238 ELBWI admitted to the intensive care unit of Henan Provincial Children's Hospital within 1 week after birth and regular head color ultrasound examination were retrospective reviewed. The infants were divided into PIVH group and non-PIVH group according to whether PIVH occurred. The incidence and time of PIVH were described, and the differences in basic clinical features, perinatal conditions, postnatal treatment and complications between the two groups were compared. The risk factors of PIVH in ELBWI were further explored by multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. Results: Among 238 ELBWI (146 males and 92 females), 82 cases (34.5%) developed PIVH, including 28 cases (11.8%) of severe PIVH and 54 cases (22.7%) of mild PIVH. Among the 82 cases of PIVH, 68 cases occurred within 3 days after birth. Gestational age [(27.4±1.5) weeks vs (27.8±1.5) weeks, P=0.012], gestational diabetes mellitus [0 vs 9.0%(14/156), P=0.005], fibrinogen (FIB) [(1.8±0.5) g/L vs (2.7±0.9) g/L, P=0.012] were lower in PIVH group than in non-PIVH group. However, intrauterine distress [46.3%(38/82) vs 11.5%(18/156), P<0.001], birth asphyxia [85.4%(70/82) vs 62.8%(98/156), P<0.001], patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) [65.9%(54/82) vs 51.3%(80/156）, P=0.017], failure to withdraw invasive ventilator within 1 week [82.9%(14/82) vs 67.3%(105/156), P=0.010], use of vasoactive drugs within 1 week [28.0%(23/82) vs 15.4%(24/156), P=0.020], acidosis [28.0%(23/82) vs 12.2%(19/156), P=0.002], and hemorrhagic disease [18.3%(15/82) vs 7.1%(11/156), P=0.008] were higher in PIVH group than in non-PIVH group. Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis found that the risk factors for PIVH in ELBWI were acidosis (OR=2.257, 95%CI: 1.104-4.614, P=0.026), use of vasoactive drugs within 1 week (OR=2.274, 95%CI: 1.148-4.504, P=0.018), bleeding disorders (OR=2.583, 95%CI: 1.075-6.206, P=0.034) use of vasoactive drugs within 1 week (OR=2.301, 95%CI: 1.153-4.591, P<0.001). Conclusions: The incidence of PIVH in ELBWI is high, which mostly occurs within 3 days after birth. Acidosis, hemorrhagic disease, use of vasoactive agents within 1 week and failure to evacuate invasive ventilators within 1 week may increase the risk of PIVH in ELBWI.

[Expression and regulatory role of ultraconserved long non-coding RNA uc.77 in lung cancer].

Objective: To investigate the effect and molecular mechanism of ultra-conservative long non-coding RNA uc.77 in lung cancer. Methods: Lung cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues were obtained from 61 patients with lung cancer who were diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent surgery from 2014 to 2016 in the General Hospital of the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the uc.77 relative expressions in normal human bronchial epithelial cells 16HBE, lung cancer cell lines, and 61 pair lung cancer tissues. Uc.77 siRNA was transfected into lung cancer cells to interfere with the expression of uc.77, qRT-PCR was used to verify the interference effect, CCK8 method and clone formation experiment were used to detect cell proliferation ability, flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis and cell cycle changes. H1299 cells transfected with uc.77 siRNA were injected into the subcutaneous right side of BALB/c nude mice to construct a tumor-bearing model for exploring the role of uc.77 on tumor growth. Western blot and qRT-PCR methods were used to detect the protein and mRNA expressions of p21. Results: The relative expression levels of uc.77 in lung cancer cell lines 95D, H1299, A549, H460, H446 and 16HBE-T were significantly higher than that of 16HBE cells (P<0.05). The uc.77 RNA expression levels of lung cancer tissues was significantly higher than that of the adjacent normal tissues (P<0.001). In addition, increased lncRNA uc.77 expression was significantly associated with big tumor size, lymph node metastasis and advanced TNM stage (P<0.05). After transfection with uc.77 siRNA, the expressions of uc.77 in H1299, 95-D and 16HBE-T cells were reduced (P<0.05), and the cell proliferation capacities were reduced at 48 hours and 72 hours (P<0.05). After transfection with uc.77 siRNA-1, the G(0)/G(1) phase cell ratio of H1299 siRNA-1 group [(71.86±3.46)%] was higher than those of H1299-control group [(47.62±5.48)%] and H1299 siRNA-NC group [(61.38±5.62)%, P<0.05], S phase cell ratio of H1299 siRNA-1 group [(14.99±3.61)%] was lower than those of H1299-control group [(34.95±7.05)%] and H1299 siRNA-NC group [(23.75±5.87)%, P<0.05], the apoptosis rate of H1299 siRNA-1 group [(4.90±1.80)%] was higher than those of H1299-control group [(3.30±0.80)%] and H1299 siRNA-NC group [(2.80±1.20)%, P<0.05], the colony formation rate of H1299 siRNA-1 group [(19.20±2.00)%] was lower than those of H1299 control group [(32.60±2.00)%] and H1299 siRNA-NC group [(34.40±1.00)%, P<0.05]. The results of the nude mice tumor formation experiment showed that the tumor volume of the H1299 siRNA-1 group was significantly lower than those of the H1299-control group and the H1299-negative control group (P<0.05), the average tumor weight of H1299 siRNA-1 group was significantly lower than those of H1299-control group and H1299-negative control group (P<0.05), tumor cell growth marker Ki-67 in the H1299 siRNA-1 group showed weak positive, and Ki-67 in the H1299-control group and H1299-negative control group showed positive. The result of qRT-PCR analysis showed that the mRNA expression level of p21 in H1299 siRNA-1 group (2.57±0.45) was higher than those in H1299 control group (1.00±0.00, P=0.001) and H1299 siRNA-NC group (1.52±0.37, P=0.009). The result of western blotting analysis also showed that the expression of p21 protein level in H1299 siRNA-1 group increased. Conclusions: The expression of ultraconserved long non-coding RNA uc.77 is elevated in lung cancer cell lines and lung cancer tissues. Silencing the expression of ultraconservative long noncoding RNA uc.77 can inhibit tumor growth, and blocking uc.77 expression may be a potential therapeutic target for lung cancer.

[Epidemiological characteristics and Spatial-temporal clustering of hand, foot and mouth disease in Shanxi province, 2009-2020].

Objective: To analyze the epidemiology and spatial-temporal distribution characteristics of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Shanxi province. Methods: The data of HFMD in Shanxi province from 2009 to 2020 were collected from notifiable disease management information system of Chinese information system for disease control and prevention and analyzed by descriptive epidemiology, Joinpoint regression, spatial autocorrelation analysis and spatio- temporal scanning analysis. Results: A total of 293 477 HFMD cases were reported in Shanxi province from 2009 to 2020, with an average annual incidence of 67.64/100 000 (293 477/433 867 454), severe disease rate of 5.36/100 000 (2 326/433 867 454), severe disease ratio of 0.79%(2 326/293 477), mortality of 0.015/100 000 (66/433 867 454), and fatality rate of 22.49/100 000 (66/293 477). The reported incidence rate, severe disease rate, mortality rate and fatality rate of HFMD showed decreasing trends. The main high-risk groups were scattered children and kindergarten children aged 0-5. The incidence of HFMD had obvious seasonal variation, with two peaks every year: the main peak was during June-July, the secondary peak was during September-October and the peak period is from April to November. A total of 13 942 laboratory cases were confirmed, with a diagnosis rate of 4.75% (13 942/293 477), including 4 438 (35.11%, 4 438/293 477) Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) positive cases, 4 609 (33.06%, 4 609/293 477) Coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16) positive cases, and 4 895 (31.83%, 4 895/293 477) other enterovirus positive cases. There was a spatial positive correlation (Moran's I ranged from 0.12 to 0.58, all P<0.05) and the spatial clustering was obvious. High-risk regions were mainly distributed in Taiyuan in central Shanxi province, Linfen and Yuncheng in southern Shanxi province, and Changzhi in southeastern Shanxi province. Spatial-temporal scanning analysis revealed 1 the most likely cluster and 8 secondary likely clusters, of which the most likely cluster (RR=2.65, LLR=22 387.42, P<0.001) located in Taiyuan and Jinzhong city, Shanxi province, including 12 counties (districts), and accumulated from April 1, 2009 to November 30, 2018. Conclusions: There was obvious spatial-temporal clustering of HFMD in Shanxi province, and the epidemic situation was in decline. The key areas were the districts in urban areas and the counties adjacent to it. Meanwhile, the monitoring and classification of other enterovirus types of HFMD should be strengthened.

Effect of Hepatocyte Targeting Nanopreparation Syringopicroside on Duck Hepatitis B Virus and Evaluation of Its Safety.

Syringopicroside is a kind of iridoid monomer compound isolated from Syringa oblata exhibiting a potent effect against hepatitis B virus (HBV). The therapeutic effect and safety of syringopicroside-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (SYR-NP) were studied on the model of HBV-infected ducklings and on cultured HepG2.2.15 cells. HBV DNA in ducklings was assessed by fluorescence quantitative PCR. In HepG2.2.15 cells, the content of HBsAg and HBeAg were assayed. Acute toxicity of SYR-NP was studied in ICR mice in 12 h and 7 days after SYR-NP administration. The serum levels of HBV DNA in ducklings treated with SYR-NP in a high dose was significantly lower than in the control. In HepG2.2.15 cells treated with different doses of SYR-NP, the concentrations of HBsAg and HBeAg were significantly below the control. Acute toxicity test showed high safety of SYR-NP. Thus, SYR-NP can inhibit replication of HBV DNA and protect the liver tissue.

Aligning tumor mutational burden (TMB) quantification across diagnostic platforms: phase II of the Friends of Cancer Research TMB Harmonization Project.

BACKGROUND: Tumor mutational burden (TMB) measurements aid in identifying patients who are likely to benefit from immunotherapy; however, there is empirical variability across panel assays and factors contributing to this variability have not been comprehensively investigated. Identifying sources of variability can help facilitate comparability across different panel assays, which may aid in broader adoption of panel assays and development of clinical applications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine tumor samples and 10 human-derived cell lines were processed and distributed to 16 laboratories; each used their own bioinformatics pipelines to calculate TMB and compare to whole exome results. Additionally, theoretical positive percent agreement (PPA) and negative percent agreement (NPA) of TMB were estimated. The impact of filtering pathogenic and germline variants on TMB estimates was assessed. Calibration curves specific to each panel assay were developed to facilitate translation of panel TMB values to whole exome sequencing (WES) TMB values. RESULTS: Panel sizes >667 Kb are necessary to maintain adequate PPA and NPA for calling TMB high versus TMB low across the range of cut-offs used in practice. Failure to filter out pathogenic variants when estimating panel TMB resulted in overestimating TMB relative to WES for all assays. Filtering out potential germline variants at >0% population minor allele frequency resulted in the strongest correlation to WES TMB. Application of a calibration approach derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas data, tailored to each panel assay, reduced the spread of panel TMB values around the WES TMB as reflected in lower root mean squared error (RMSE) for 26/29 (90%) of the clinical samples. CONCLUSIONS: Estimation of TMB varies across different panels, with panel size, gene content, and bioinformatics pipelines contributing to empirical variability. Statistical calibration can achieve more consistent results across panels and allows for comparison of TMB values across various panel assays. To promote reproducibility and comparability across assays, a software tool was developed and made publicly available.

Direct Measurement of the Astrophysical

Fluorine is one of the most interesting elements in nuclear astrophysics, where the ^{19}F(p,α)^{16}O reaction is of crucial importance for Galactic ^{19}F abundances and CNO cycle loss in first generation Population III stars. As a day-one campaign at the Jinping Underground Nuclear Astrophysics experimental facility, we report direct measurements of the essential ^{19}F(p,αγ)^{16}O reaction channel. The γ-ray yields were measured over E_{c.m.}=72.4-344 keV, covering the Gamow window; our energy of 72.4 keV is unprecedentedly low, reported here for the first time. The experiment was performed under the extremely low cosmic-ray-induced background environment of the China JinPing Underground Laboratory, one of the deepest underground laboratories in the world. The present low-energy S factors deviate significantly from previous theoretical predictions, and the uncertainties are significantly reduced. The thermonuclear ^{19}F(p,αγ)^{16}O reaction rate has been determined directly at the relevant astrophysical energies.

Protective effect of the new prepared Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz polysaccharide on fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome in laying hens.

Fatty liver hemorrhage syndrome (FLHS) is the most common noninfectious cause of death in backyard chickens worldwide, which can cause a sudden drop in egg production in the affected flocks and cause huge losses to the laying hens breeding industry. In this study, we prepared polysaccharide from Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz (PAMK) by one-step alcohol precipitation. The structural analysis found that PAMK with a molecular weight of 2.816 × 103 Da was composed of glucose and mannose, in a molar ratio of 0.582 to 0.418. Furthermore, we investigated the hepatoprotective effects of PAMK on high-energy and low-protein (HELP) diet-induced FLHS in laying hens. The results showed that the hens' livers of the HELP diet showed yellowish-brown, greasy, and soft, whereas the supplement of PAMK (200 mg/kg or 400 mg/kg) could alleviate such pathological changes. The liver index, the abdominal fat percentage, and liver injury induced by the HELP diet were reduced in PAMK (200 mg/kg or 400 mg/kg). Supplementing 200 mg/kg or 400 mg/kg PAMK showed improvements of the antioxidant capacity in laying hens. Furthermore, we found that the HELP diet increased the expression of hepatic lipogenesis genes and decreased the expression of fatty acid ß-oxidation genes, which could be reversed by 200 mg/kg or 400 mg/kg PAMK supplementation. Nevertheless, there is no difference between the addition of 40 mg/kg PAMK and the HELP group. Collectively, these results showed that PAMK supplements could ameliorate HELP diet-induced liver injury through regulating activities of antioxidant enzymes and hepatic lipid metabolism. Therefore, PAMK could be a potential feedstuff additive to alleviate FLHS in laying hens.

Author Correction: A functional Cis-eQTL locus in lncRNA ZNRD1-AS1 contributes to the susceptibility of endometrial cancer.

Correction to: European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences 2019; 23 (18): 7802-7807-DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_201909_18989-PMID: 31599404, published online 15 September, 2020. The authors state that "to compare the results with those of bladder cancer in the literature we reported the study by Li D, Song L, Wen Z, Li X, Jie J, Wang Y, Peng L. Strong evidence for LncRNA ZNRD1-AS1, and its functional Cis- eQTL locus contributing more to the susceptibility of lung cancer. Oncotarget 2016; 7: 35813-35817. In particular, we referred to their table format, but we misused the reference table as the official table in the manuscript". In addition to Table I, the authors make the following corrections: • in the abstract results change "(OR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.09-1.61; p = 0.004)" to "(OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.08-1.6; p=0.007)." • in the "Association of tagSNPs of the Cis-eQTL for ZNRD1 in ZNRD1-AS1 Gene Region With EC Susceptibility" paragraph change "(OR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.09-1.61; p = 0.004)" to "(OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.08-1.6; p=0.007), "1.71 (95% CI: 1.11-2.64)" to "1.67 (95% CI: 1.07-2.59)", and "(0.004 × 3 = 0.012 < 0.05)" to "(0.007*3=0.021<0.05)". There are amendements to this paper.  The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/18989.

[The effect of operative approach selection on the protection of parathyroid function in thyroid cancer].

Objective: To investigate the effect of endoscopic thyroidectomy and open thyroidectomy on parathyroid function in patients with thyroid cancer. Methods: The clinical data of 73 patients with thyroid cancer who met the inclusion criteria in Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from July 2018 to September 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 17 males and 56 females, aged 19-55 years. The patients underwent routine thyroidectomy (group A, n=31), oral endoscopic thyroidectomy by vestibular approach (group B, n=19) or transthoracic thyroidectomy (group C, n=23), and all patients received central neck dissection. The levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and serum calcium after operation were compared among three groups. SPSS 21.0 software and GraphPad Prism v6.01 were used for statistical analysis. Results: After operation, the mean levels of PTH and serum calcium in three groups were significantly decreased (all P<0.05). On the first day after operation, the mean level of PTH in group C was lower than that in group A [(12.3±9.0) vs. (22.2±13.2) pg/ml, t=3.04, P=0.004] or group B [(12.3±9.0) vs. (20.0±14.1) pg/ml, t=2.09, P=0.043], and also the level of serum calcium in group C was lower than that in group A [(1.89±0.11) vs. (2.02±0.16) mmol/L, t=3.24, P=0.002] or group B [(1.89±0.11) vs. (2.01±0.15) mmol/L, t=2.72, P=0.010], with no significant difference in the mean levels of PTH or serum calcium between group A and group B (t=0.54, 0.29, respectively, both P>0.05). The incidences of permanent hypoparathyroidism/persistent hypocalcemia were 3.2% (1/31) in group A, 5.3% (1/19) in group B and 21.7% (5/23) in group C, and the incidence of group C was significantly higher than that (4%, 2/50) of both group A and group B (χ(2)=5.251, P=0.022). Conclusion: The postoperative parathyroid function and serum calcium level have different degrees of change and they are significantly associated with thyroidectomy approaches, the protection of parathyroid by oral endoscopic thyroidectomy and routine thyroidectomy can achieve the same effect, and is better than that of transthoracic thyroidectomy.

[Effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine on adult pneumococcal disease].

Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) will cause various pneumococcal diseases when host has a weak immune system. The World Health Organization ranks it as one of the 12 key pathogens causing heavy burden of disease. At present, the drug resistance of Spn is rising, and vaccination is an important and effective strategy to decrease the burden of disease. The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) is a preventive vaccine for adults that covers 65% to 91% of Spn isolates worldwide. Accumulating evidence have confirmed the effectiveness of PPV23 in decreasing the incidence, hospitalization, mortality, and economic burden of pneumococcal diseases in adults. The burden of pneumococcal diseases in China is heavy, but the adult vaccination rate is low. Here, we review the prevalence of adult pneumococcal diseases, the preventive and protective effects and benefits of PPV23 vaccine on high-risk population, especially the elderly individuals. We hope this review can provide references and new ideas for adult PPV23 vaccination programs in China.