Effect of Three Semen Extenders on Sperm Quality and In Vitro Fertilization Rates of Fresh and Cryopreserved Sperm Collected from Llama (Lama glama) Vas Deferens.

The advances in Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) applied in South American camelid species are still scarce. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of three semen extenders, before and after the cryopreservation of spermatozoa obtained from the vas deferens, on sperm quality parameters and in vitro fertilization rates of llama (Lama glama) oocytes. Mature fertile llama males (Lama glama; n = 6; age: 48-60 mo.; BCS: ~2.7) were included in the study. Sperm samples were collected from each male using the surgical technique of the vas deferens deviation. Then, the sperm samples were pooled and diluted with the Tris-EY, Andromed®, or BioxCell® extender in order to subsequently carry out the sperm cryopreservation process. The sperm quality assessment related to each extender was performed before and after cryopreservation with regard to sperm morphological abnormalities, acrosome integrity, sperm viability, membrane permeability, and sperm motility traits. Moreover, in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures were carried out to evaluate the in vitro fertility of the cryopreserved sperm samples using each extender. Overall, significant differences were observed before and after cryopreservation regarding acrosome integrity, sperm viability, membrane permeability, and sperm motility traits among the extenders used, where Tris-EY and Andromed® were better than BioxCell® (p < 0.05); however, no differences were observed regarding the sperm morphological abnormalities among extenders (p > 0.05). Moreover, multiple differences were observed with regard to the velocity and linearity kinematic parameters obtained by computerized analysis before and after the cryopreservation process, irrespective of the extender used (p < 0.05). Finally, differences were observed regarding the in vitro fertilization rates among the different extender-derived samples (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the sperm quality using Tris-EY and Andromed® was better before and after cryopreservation compared to that using BioxCell®. Although the number of fertilized oocytes obtained after the IVF process between Tris-EY and Andromed® was similar, Andromed®-derived samples showed the best sperm quality results before and after cryopreservation. This indicates that the cryopreservation extender is a determining factor in significantly improving in vitro fertilization rates when using sperm samples obtained from vas deferens in llama (Lama glama) males.

The Fabrication of a Customized Surgical Template for a Miniscrew Placement Using a Fully Digitized Process.

This report presents a clinical case involving the application of a computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD-CAM) guide to insert miniscrew anchorage at the zygomatic alveolar ridge. A 24-year-old male adult came in with overcrowded teeth and a protruding facial profile, particularly severe overcrowding in the upper teeth and moderate overcrowding in the lower teeth. The orthodontic treatment plan involved extracting four first premolars and adding a mini-implant in the upper jaw to enhance anchorage. A miniscrew was placed in the patient's left zygomatic alveolar ridge using a guide and in the right zygomatic alveolar ridge based on experience. The use of a mini-implant guide improves the accuracy of mini-implant positioning and angulation in the infrazygomatic crest zone, reduces the risk of tooth root damage, and enhances mini-implant stability.

Predicting optimal patient-specific postoperative facial landmarks for patients with craniomaxillofacial deformities.

Orthognathic surgery primarily corrects skeletal anomalies and malocclusion to enhance facial aesthetics, aiming for an improved facial appearance. However, this traditional skeletal-driven approach may result in undesirable residual asymmetry. To address this issue, a soft tissue-driven planning methodology has been proposed. This technique estimates bone movements based on the envisioned optimal facial appearance, thereby enhancing surgical accuracy and effectiveness. This study investigates the initial implementation phase of the soft tissue-driven approach, simulating the patient's ideal appearance by realigning distorted facial landmarks to an ideal state. The algorithm employs symmetrization and weighted optimization strategies, aligning projected optimal landmarks with standard cephalometric values for both facial symmetry and form, which are essential in orthognathic surgery for facial aesthetics. It also incorporates regularization to preserve the patient's facial characteristics. Validation through retrospective analysis of preoperative patients and normal subjects demonstrates this method's efficacy in achieving facial symmetry, particularly in the lower face, and promoting a natural, harmonious contour. Adhering to soft tissue-driven principles, this novel approach shows promise in surpassing traditional methods, potentially leading to enhanced facial outcomes and patient satisfaction in orthognathic surgery.

IFDlong: an isoform and fusion detector for accurate annotation and quantification of long-read RNA-seq data.

Advancements in long-read transcriptome sequencing (long-RNA-seq) technology have revolutionized the study of isoform diversity. These full-length transcripts enhance the detection of various transcriptome structural variations, including novel isoforms, alternative splicing events, and fusion transcripts. By shifting the open reading frame or altering gene expressions, studies have proved that these transcript alterations can serve as crucial biomarkers for disease diagnosis and therapeutic targets. In this project, we proposed IFDlong, a bioinformatics and biostatistics tool to detect isoform and fusion transcripts using bulk or single-cell long-RNA-seq data. Specifically, the software performed gene and isoform annotation for each long-read, defined novel isoforms, quantified isoform expression by a novel expectation-maximization algorithm, and profiled the fusion transcripts. For evaluation, IFDlong pipeline achieved overall the best performance when compared with several existing tools in large-scale simulation studies. In both isoform and fusion transcript quantification, IFDlong is able to reach more than 0.8 Spearman's correlation with the truth, and more than 0.9 cosine similarity when distinguishing multiple alternative splicing events. In novel isoform simulation, IFDlong can successfully balance the sensitivity (higher than 90%) and specificity (higher than 90%). Furthermore, IFDlong has proved its accuracy and robustness in diverse in-house and public datasets on healthy tissues, cell lines and multiple types of diseases. Besides bulk long-RNA-seq, IFDlong pipeline has proved its compatibility to single-cell long-RNA-seq data. This new software may hold promise for significant impact on long-read transcriptome analysis. The IFDlong software is available at https://github.com/wenjiaking/IFDlong.

Seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) time-series model for milk production forecasting in pasture-based dairy cows in the Andean highlands.

Milk production in the Andean highlands is variable over space and time. This variability is related to fluctuating environmental factors such as rainfall season which directly influence the availability of livestock feeding resources. The main aim of this study was to develop a time-series model to forecast milk production in a mountainous geographical area by analysing the dynamics of milk records thorough the year. The study was carried out in the Andean highlands, using time-series models of monthly milk records collected routinely from dairy cows maintained in a controlled experimental farm over a 9-year period (2008-2016). Several statistical forecasting models were compared. The Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) were used as selection criteria to compare models. A relation between monthly milk records and the season of the year was modelled using seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) methods to explore temporal redundancy (trends and periodicity). According to white noise residual test (Q = 13.951 and p = 0.052), Akaike Information Criterion and MAE, MAPE, and RMSE values, the SARIMA (1, 0, 0) x (2, 0, 0)12 time-series model resulted slightly better forecasting model compared to others. In conclusion, time-series models were promising, simple and useful tools for producing reasonably reliable forecasts of milk production thorough the year in the Andean highlands. The forecasting potential of the different models were similar and they could be used indistinctly to forecast the milk production seasonal fluctuations. However, the SARIMA model performed the best good predictive capacity minimizing the prediction interval error. Thus, a useful effective strategy has been developed by using time-series models to monitor milk production and alleviate production drops due to seasonal factors in the Andean highlands.

The Effect of Histogram Analysis of DCE-MRI Parameters on Differentiating Renal Tumors.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to assess the role of histogram analysis of DCE-MRI parameters for accurately distinguishing renal clear cell carcinoma from renal hamartoma with minimal fat. METHODS: Patients with renal tumors were enrolled from January 2013 to December 2015, including renal clear cell carcinoma (n = 39) and renal hamartoma (n = 10). Preoperative DCE-MR Imaging was performed, and whole-tumor regions of interest were drawn to obtain the corresponding histogram parameters, including skewness, kurtosis, frequency size, energy, quartile, etc. Histogram parameters differences between renal clear cell car-cinoma and renal hamartoma with minimal fat were compared. The diagnostic value of each significant parameter in predicting malignant tumors was determined. RESULTS: Histogram parameters of the DCE map contributed to differentiating the benign from malignant renal tumor groups. Histogram analysis of DCE maps could effectively present the heterogeneity of renal tumors and aid in differentiating benign and malignant tumors. ROC analysis results indicated that when frequency size = 1,732 was set as the threshold value, favorable diagnostic performance in predicting malignant tumors was achieved (AUC - 0.964; sensitivity - 84.6%; specificity - 100%), followed by skewness, Energy, Entropy, Uniformity, quartile 5, quartile 50, and kurtosis. CONCLUSIONS: Histogram analysis of DCE-MRI shows promise for differentiating benign and malignant renal tumors. Frequency size was the most significant parameter for predicting renal clear cell carcinoma.

Phenotypic Characterization of Creole Cattle in the Andean Highlands Using Bio-Morphometric Measures and Zoometric Indices.

Several Creole cattle biotypes can be found in the Andean highlands, and most of them are considered as being in risk of extinction. The main aim of the present study was to perform a phenotypic characterization of the Creole cattle in the Andean highlands using bio-morphometric measures and zoometric indices. Individuals from three different biotypes (Black 'Negro' (n = 57), Colour-Sided 'Callejón' (n = 20), and Brindle 'Atigrado' (n = 18)) from an experimental research center located in the Peruvian highlands were enrolled in the study. In total, seventeen morphometric parameters were evaluated and ten zoometric indices were calculated in each biotype. To test the relationship between biometric traits, correlation analyses were carried out between morphometric parameters. Differences were observed regarding different morphometric variables such as head length (HL) and rump length (RL) among cattle biotypes (p ≤ 0.05). The coefficient of variation (CV; %) regarding different morphometric parameters ranged between 11.32 for neck length (NL) and 3.63 for height at withers (HaW), which indicated low-moderate variability among morphometric variables. Differences were observed in the longitudinal pelvic index (LPI) when different zoometric indices were compared among biotypes (p ≤ 0.05). The CV regarding different zoometric indices, which ranged between 10.78 for the cephalic index (CEI) and 5.05 for LPI, indicated low variability among indices. No differences were observed in any other morphometric parameter or zoometric index among cattle biotypes or genders (p > 0.05). Finally, multiple correlations were observed between morphometric variables (p ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, it was determined that Peruvian Andean Creole cattle can be considered as a dairy-related biotype with a slight tendency for beef production (dual-purpose). The great homogeneity regarding zoometric characteristics among biotypes and genders may indicate that the Andean Creole cattle have been maintained quite isolated, avoiding the genetic influence of other foreign breeds. Finally, the phenotypic characterization including bio-morphometric measurements and zoometric indices obtained from the different Creole bovine biotypes is crucial in order to begin different conservation programs to preserve cattle breeds in the Peruvian Andean highlands.

The value of microbiology rapid on-site evaluation of sepsis caused by pulmonary infection.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the value of microbial rapid on-site evaluation (M-ROSE) of sepsis, and septic shock caused by pulmonary infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-six patients with sepsis and septic shock due to hospital-acquired pneumonia were analyzed. Accuracy and time were compared with M-ROSE, traditional culture, and next-generation sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: A total of 48 strains of bacteria and 8 strains of fungi were detected by bronchoscopy in 36 patients. The accuracy rate of bacteria and fungi was 95.8% and 100%, respectively. M-ROSE took an average of 0.34±0.01 hours, much faster than NGS (22h±0.01 h, p<0.0001) and traditional culture time (67.50±0.91 h, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: M-ROSE may quickly identify common bacteria and fungi, so it may be a useful method for the etiological diagnosis of sepsis and septic shock caused by pulmonary infection.

A sex- and site-specific relationship between body mass index and osteoarthritis: evidence from observational and genetic analyses.

OBJECTIVE: We primarily aimed to investigate whether there are phenotypic and genetic links underlying body mass index (BMI) and overall osteoarthritis (OA). We then intended to explore whether the relationships differ across sexes and sites. METHOD: We first evaluated the phenotypic association between BMI and overall OA using data from the UK Biobank. We then investigated the genetic relationship leveraging summary statistics of the hitherto largest genome-wide association studies performed for BMI and overall OA. Finally, we repeated all analyses in a sex- (female, male) and site- (knee, hip, spine) specific manner. RESULTS: Observational analysis suggested an increased hazard of diagnosed OA per 5 kg/m2 increment in BMI (hazard ratio = 1.38, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.37-1.39). A positive overall genetic correlation was observed for BMI and OA (rg = 0.43, P = 4.72 × 10-133), corroborated by 11 significant local signals. Cross-trait meta-analysis identified 34 pleiotropic loci shared between BMI and OA, of which seven were novel. Transcriptome-wide association study revealed 29 shared gene-tissue pairs, targeting nervous, digestive, and exo/endocrine systems. Mendelian randomization demonstrated a robust BMI-OA causal relationship (odds ratio = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.42-1.52). A similar pattern of effects was observed in sex- and site-specific analyses, with BMI affecting OA comparably in both sexes and most strongly in the knee. CONCLUSION: Our work demonstrates an intrinsic relationship underlying BMI and overall OA, reflected by a pronounced phenotypic association, significant biological pleiotropy, and a putative causal link. Stratified analysis further reveals that the effects are distinct across sites and comparable across sexes.

Pulse Oximetry and Perfusion Index Screening for Congenital Heart Defects: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common neonatal malformations and are a leading cause of infant death in developed countries. Finding safe and effective diagnostic methods to screen for CHDs is important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of pulse oximetry (PO) and perfusion index (PI) in screening CHD. We conducted a systematic review of studies in PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library published on or before October 1, 2021. Studies based on PICOS were included in this systematic review. The flow chart is made by PRISMA software. The quality of included studies was assessed by RevMan5 software (QUADAS-2: Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2). The sensitivity, specificity, and other measurements of accuracy were pooled using Stata/SE 12.0 software. Five studies containing 46,965 neonates were included in this study. A randomized-effects model was used for the meta-analysis because of significant heterogeneity. The combined sensitivity and specificity were 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53-0.95) and 0.97 (95% CI, 0.57-1.00), respectively. The area under the curve was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.89-0.94). The combination PO and PI was significant in CHD screening. Once diagnosed by the combined method, it means that the neonate is most likely to have a CHD. KEY POINTS: · Pulse oximetry and PI screening.. · Congenital heart defects.. · A systematic review and meta-analysis..

Comparison of Anemia Screening Methods Using Paired Venous Samples in Women of Reproductive Age in Southern India.

BACKGROUND: Anemia is an important public health problem, and accurate estimates may inform policy and programs. Although hemoglobin (Hb) assessment of venous blood via automated hematology analyzers (AHAs) is recommended, most population-based surveys estimate anemia prevalence based on analysis of capillary blood via portable hemoglobinometers. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate screening methods for hemoglobin and anemia assessment using paired venous samples. METHODS: Participants were women 15-40 y who were not pregnant or lactating. Paired venous whole blood samples (n = 896) were analyzed for hemoglobin (Hb) via portable hemoglobinometer (HemoCue 301) and Coulter Counter AHA. Anemia and severe anemia were defined as Hb <12.0g/dL and <8.0 g/dL, respectively. Bland-Altman methods were used to assess the level of agreement for Hb results (mean difference, SD of differences, limits of agreement). Diagnostic accuracy parameters (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy) were calculated to evaluate HemoCue performance compared to the AHA reference, overall and by sociodemographic, nutritional, and metabolic characteristics. RESULTS: The estimated anemia prevalence was significantly lower via HemoCue vs. AHA (36.3% compared with 41.6%; P value < 0.0001). The HemoCue had 84.4% accuracy for anemia screening and 98.8% for severe anemia, compared to the AHA reference. The HemoCue had 74.8% sensitivity and 91.2% specificity, compared to AHA. HemoCue sensitivity was higher in women with iron deficiency [serum ferritin (SF) <15.0 µg/L: 81.6% compared with SF ≥15.0 µg/L: 41.3%], and lower in women with metabolic risk factors, including overweight [BMI ≥25.0 kg/m2: 63.9% vs. BMI <25.0 kg/m2: 78.8%], or elevated CRP (>1.0 mg/L: 67.2% vs. ≤1.0 mg/L: 82.9%), trunk fat (>35%: 62.7% vs. ≤35%: 80.1%), or whole-body fat (>35%: 63.9% vs. ≤35%: 80.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that women with anemia may be incorrectly identified as not anemic via portable hemoglobinometer, and anemia prevalence may be underestimated at the population level.This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT04048330.

Clinical feasibility of deep learning-based automatic head CBCT image segmentation and landmark detection in computer-aided surgical simulation for orthognathic surgery.

The purpose of this ambispective study was to investigate whether deep learning-based automatic segmentation and landmark detection, the SkullEngine, could be used for orthognathic surgical planning. Sixty-one sets of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were automatically inferred for midface, mandible, upper and lower teeth, and 68 landmarks. The experimental group included automatic segmentation and landmarks, while the control group included manual ones that were previously used to plan orthognathic surgery. The qualitative analysis of segmentation showed that all of the automatic results could be used for computer-aided surgical simulation. Among these, 98.4% of midface, 70.5% of mandible, 98.4% of upper teeth, and 93.4% of lower teeth could be directly used without manual revision. The Dice similarity coefficient was 96% and the average symmetric surface distance was 0.1 mm for all four structures. With SkullEngine, it took 4 minutes to complete the automatic segmentation and an additional 10 minutes for a manual touchup. The results also showed the overall mean difference between the two groups was 2.3 mm for the midface and 2.4 mm for the mandible. In summary, the authors believe that automatic segmentation using SkullEngine is ready for daily practice. However, the accuracy of automatic landmark digitization needs to be improved.

Potentilla bifurca flavonoids effectively improve insulin resistance.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this paper is to investigate the use of Potentilla bifurca in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the improvement effect of 3T3-L1 adipocytes under insulin resistance (IR) with the compounds of Potentilla bifurca. RESULTS: The Potentilla bifurca can significantly improve the glycolipid metabolism disorder in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (the effect of MC compounds is very significant). It can improve insulin resistance by enhancing the glucose uptake of 3T3-L1 adipocytes, decreasing IL-6 content, and regulating the content of p-Akt/Akt, IKKß, and p-NF-κBp65/NF-κBp65 in the IRS/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Studies have shown that Potentilla bifurca has the ability to regulate glucolipid metabolism and can be used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

[Association study between the KCNE family gene polymorphisms of potassium channel gene and the susceptibility of atrial fibrillation].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between KCNE family gene polymorphisms of potassium channel gene and the susceptibility of atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods: In the case-control study, a total of 648 subjects were studied, of which 338 patients with atrial fibrillation were selected from the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Putuo Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2019 to December 2019, and 310 healthy people were selected from the physical examination population during the same period. DNA sequencing technology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were used to detect the genotype and allele frequency of rs1805127 of KCNE1, rs9984281 of KCNE2, rs9516, rs626930 of KCNE3 and rs12621643 of KCNE4. Results: The ages of subjects in atrial fibrillation group and control group were (69±13) and (73±8) years, respectively (P=0.077). Men subjects accounted for 57.70% (195 men) and 40.00% (124 men) in the two groups, respectively (P=0.092). The distribution frequencies of the allele C at rs1805127 of gene KCNE1, the allele A at rs9984281 of gene KCNE2 and the allele G at rs12621643 of gene KCNE4 were significantly different between groups (P<0.05). After adjustment for sex, smoking, hypertension, cardiac insufficiency and other factors, it was found that the increase in the frequency of the above three loci would increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (rs1805127 OR=7.064, 95%CI:1.559-31.997; rs9984281 OR=4.210, 95%CI:1.118-15.850; rs12621643 OR=2.679, 95%CI:1.025-6.998). Conclusion: The rs1805127 of KCNE1, the rs9984281 of KCNE2,the rs12621643 of KCNE4 were significantly associated with the susceptibility to atrial fibrillation.

[Effect of exercise intervention on musculoskeletal disorders in nursing staff].

Objective: To evaluate the effects of exercise intervention on musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in nursing staff. Methods: In september 2021, we searched the articles on exercise intervention for nurses with musculoskeletal diseases in Embase, PubMed, ClinicalTrails, Wanfang, CNKI and other databases in September 2021, and the search period was from database creation to August 2021. The quality of article was evaluated by Cochrane bias risk assessment tool and MINORS. The systematic review method with narrative synthesis was used to analyze the research results. Results: A total of 7 studies were included, including 6 randomized controlled trials and 1 quasi-experiment. The sample size of the experimental group was 276, and the control group was 273. Depending on the type of exercise intervention, muscle strength training, muscle strength training+stretch/flexibility training, Back School program can reduce the local pain of nursing staff. Among them, muscle strength training can improve the nursing staff's muscle function and quality of life, muscle strength training+stretching/flexibility training can increase muscle strength, range of physical activity and self-efficacy, the Back School program is effective for improving poor posture. Conclusion: Exercise intervention is effective on controlling musculoskeletal disorder symptoms in nursing staff, managers can develop exercise strategies for different MSD symptoms.

Population Pharmacokinetics of Intranasal Dexmedetomidine in Infants and Young Children.

BACKGROUND: Intranasal dexmedetomidine provides noninvasive, effective procedural sedation for pediatric patients, and has been widely used in clinical practice. However, the dosage applied has varied fourfold in pediatric clinical studies. To validate an appropriate dosing regimen, this study investigated the pharmacokinetics of intranasal dexmedetomidine in Chinese children under 3 yr old. METHODS: Intranasal dexmedetomidine 2 µg · kg-1 was administered to children with simple vascular malformations undergoing interventional radiological procedures. A population pharmacokinetic analysis with data from an optimized sparse-sampling design was performed using nonlinear mixed-effects modeling. Clearance was modeled using allometric scaling and a sigmoid postmenstrual age maturation model. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to assess the different dosing regimens. RESULTS: A total of 586 samples from 137 children aged 3 to 36 months were included in the trial. The data were adequately described by a two-compartment model with first-order elimination. Body weight with allometric scaling and maturation function were significant covariates of dexmedetomidine clearance. The pharmacokinetic parameters for the median subjects (weight 10 kg and postmenstrual age 101 weeks) in the authors' study were apparent central volume of distribution 7.55 l, apparent clearance of central compartment 9.92 l · h-1, apparent peripheral volume of distribution 7.80 l, and apparent intercompartmental clearance 61.7 l · h-1. The simulation indicated that at the dose of 2 µg · kg-1, 95% of simulated individuals could achieve a target therapeutic concentration of 0.3 ng · ml-1 within 20 min, and the average peak concentration of 0.563 ng · ml-1 could be attained at 61 min. CONCLUSIONS: The pharmacokinetic characteristics of intranasal dexmedetomidine were evaluated in Chinese pediatric patients aged between 3 and 36 months. An evidence-based dosing regimen at 2 µg · kg-1 could achieve a preset therapeutic threshold of mild to moderate sedation that lasted for up to 2 h.

[Establishment and application of a nomogram model for prognostic risk prediction in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer].

Objective: To explore the prognostic factors of epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC), construct a nomogram model, and evaluate the prognosis of EOC patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on clinicopathological data of 208 cases of EOC patients who received initial treatment in the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from August 11, 2016 to July 11, 2018, including age, preoperative ascites, preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy, surgical method, pathological type, pathological differentiation degree, surgical pathology stage, preoperative and post-chemotherapy serum cancer antigen 125 (CA125) level, human epididymal protein 4 (HE4) level, platelet count and platelet/lymphocyte number ratio (PLR). The univariate and multivariate Cox risk ratio models were used to analyze the related factors affecting progression free survival (PFS) in EOC patients, and the prediction nomogram of PFS in EOC patients was established to evaluate its efficacy in predicting PFS. Results: Univariate analysis showed that preoperative neoadjuvant chemotherapy, pathological type, pathological differentiation degree, surgical pathology stage, serum CA125 and HE4 level before operation and after chemotherapy, platelet count and PLR before operation and after chemotherapy were significantly correlated with PFS in EOC patients (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that surgical pathology stage, preoperative PLR, serum CA125 and HE4 level after chemotherapy were independent prognostic factors affecting PFS of EOC patients (all P<0.01). The index coefficient of the prediction model for the prognosis of EOC patients established by this method was 0.749 (95% CI: 0.699-0.798), which had good prediction ability, and could help clinicians to more accurately evaluate the prognosis of EOC patients. Conclusion: The nomogram model constructed based on surgical pathology stage, preoperative PLR, serum CA125 and HE4 level after chemotherapy could effectively predict the PFS of EOC patients after initial treatment, could help clinicians to screen high-risk patients, provide individualized treatment, and improve the prognosis of EOC patients.

Litter Additions Reduce the Side Effects of Biocides on Soil Nematode Communities in Illicium Verum Forest.

The application of biocides may create unintended consequences on soil biota and ecosystem stability. The inputs of organic matter can increase biocides adsorption and reduction of non-target organisms influence. A field experiment was conducted to study the changes of soil abiotic and nematode communities resulting from biocides application in non-litter-added and litter-added soils in Illicium verum forest. Our results showed that litter addition could change the responses of soil nematodes to biocides. The influence of fungicide was evident mainly in litter-added plots in which it increased nematode abundance. Insecticide and its interaction with fungicide significantly decreased the diversity index and the abundance of omnivores-predators and herbivores in non-litter-added plots. While, insecticide had little effect on nematode diversity and abundance in litter-added plots. Litter addition may help to maintain the structure and stability of soil food web and result in bacteria dominant decomposition pathway. Our results suggest that litter addition may be a critical factor for maintaining soil ecosystem stability when biocides are applied in Illicium verum forest.

[Analysis on causes and influencing factors of sudden death on job of workers in a large oil field branch plant during 2014-2020].

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of sudden death on job among workers in the large oil field, and to provide scientific basis for dealing with such incidents. Methods: In April 2021, the medical records of employees who died in a large oilfield from 2014 to 2020, and the occupational health examination data in the first year of life were collected, and 85 employees who died suddenly on duty were included in the study. According to whether the employees are exposed to the occupational disease hazards, they are divided into the injured type of work (66 persons) and the non injured type of work (19 persons) . The characteristics of the clinical data of the sudden death employees are analyzed retrospectively. The gender, age, length of service, type of work, distribution of causes of sudden death of the cases are analyzed. The detection of abnormalities in various occupational health examination indicators is analyzed. The chi square test is used to analyze the distribution of the types of work, length of service and abnormal physical examination indicators. Results: Among the 85 employees who died suddenly on duty, the ratio of men and women was 16∶1. The proportion of sudden death among employees aged 40 to 50 years was the highest (54.12%, 46/85) , which was mainly the first-line workers in the affected departments (43.53%, 37/85) and those with 20-30 years of service (57.64%, 49/85) . The main cause of sudden death was cardiogenic sudden death (78.82%, 67/85) . There were statistically significant differences in abnormal rates of blood pressure and blood glucose among workers of different types of work (χ(2)=7.24, 24.22, P<0.05) , and there were statistically significant differences in abnormal rates of blood lipid and blood glucose among workers of different ages of service (χ(2)=12.37, 31.44, P<0.05) Conclusion: Higher risks of sudden death on job are male, older than 40 years old, front-line workers in disaster receiving departments, worked for more than 30 years, and have abnormal cardiovascular indicators. Workers with these high risks are the major target population for the prevention and treatment of sudden death on the job. It's necessary to supervise enterprises to implement protective measures against risk factors, and to strengthen health education and reduce the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, in order to reduce the occurrence rate of sudden death in oilfield workers.

Effect of CYP2C19 polymorphisms on serum valproic level acid in Chinese Han patients with schizophrenia.

Valproic acid is an anticonvulsant, which is also widely used for treating psychiatric disorders. Some clinical trials have demonstrated benefits of valproic acid augmentation therapy in schizophrenia. Interindividual variability in valproic acid dose and serum concentration may reflect functional consequences of genetic polymorphisms in genes encoding drug-metabolizing enzymes. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between serum concentrations of valproic acid and single nucleotide polymorphisms of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C19 gene in patients with schizophrenia. All patients had been receiving fixed dose of valproic acid for at least 2 weeks. The daily doses were 0.5-1.5 g. No other drugs except olanzapine were coadministered. Serum concentrations of valproic acid were measured using the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography method with mass-spectrometric detection. The CYP2C19 (CYP2C19*2 G681A rs4244285 and CYP2C19*3 G636A rs4986893) genotypes were identified by real-time PCR analyses. The mean concentration/dose ratios of valproic acid were significantly higher in patients with CYP2C19 *1/*2 genotype (P < 0.01) or CYP2C19 *2/*3 genotype (P < 0.01) than in those with CYP2C12 *1/*1 genotype. The mean concentration/dose ratios of valproic acid were significantly higher in patients with 1 (P < 0.01) or 2 (P < 0.01) mutated alleles for CYP2C19 than in those without mutated alleles. And the post hoc analysis revealed that the result has acceptable statistical (power (1 - ß) = 0.8486 at type I level of 0.05) to support the observed significant associations for CYP2C19 SNPs and serum C/D ratios of valproic acid. The findings of this study suggest that the genetic polymorphisms of CYP2C19 significantly affect the steady-state serum concentrations of valproic acid in Chinese Han population. The determination of the CYP2C19 genotypes may be useful for dosing adjustment in schizophrenia patients on valproic acid therapy.