Global, regional, and national prevalence of hearing loss from 1990 to 2019: A trend and health inequality analyses based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

As a severe public health issue, hearing loss has caused an increasingly disease burden, especially in the elderly population. Hearing loss may inevitably induce asymmetric hearing, which makes it difficult for elderly individuals to locate sound sources, therefore resulting in increased postural instability and falling risk. To emphasize the public health emergence of hearing loss, we investigated the temporal trend of prevalence of hearing loss over the last 30 years and further predicted its changes in the next 20 years, decomposed the trend according to demographic factors and epidemiological changes, and quantified the cross-country healthy inequalities, using the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. In 2019, there were more than 140 million cases of hearing loss worldwide, a 93.89% increase from 70 million cases in 1990. The age-standardized rate (ASR) also increased with an estimated annual percentage change of 0.08% per year. Population growth and aging are the major drivers contributing to the changes, accounting for 60.83% and 35.35%. Of note, the contribution of aging varies showing a gradual increasing trend with sociodemographic index (SDI) elevating. Also notable, there were significant health inequalities across 204 countries and territories, with slope index of inequality rising over time. Projection of the global burden of hearing loss from 2020 to 2040 indicated progressive increases in both case number and ASR. These reflect the heavy disease burden of hearing loss that needed more targeted and efficient strategies in its prevention and management.

Global trends and hot topics in clinical applications of perovskite materials: a bibliometric analysis.

In recent years, perovskite has received increasing attention in the medical field. However, there has been a lack of related bibliometric analysis in this research field. This study aims to analyse the research status and hot topics of perovskite in the medical field from a bibliometric perspective and explore the research direction of perovskite. This study collected 1852 records of perovskite research in the medical field from 1983 to 2022 in the Web of Science (WOS) database. The country, institution, journal, cited references, and keywords were analysed using CiteSpace, VOS viewer, and Bibliometrix software. The number of articles related to perovskite research in the medical field has been increasing every year. China and USA have published the most papers and are the main forces in this research field. The University of London Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine is the most active institution and has contributed the most publications. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces is the most prolific journal in this field. "Medical electronic devices", "X-rays", and "piezoelectric materials" are the most researched directions of perovskite in the medical field. "Performance", "perovskite", and "solar cells" are the most frequently used keywords in this field. Advanced Materials is the most relevant and academically influential journal for perovskite research. Halide perovskites have been a hot topic in this field in recent years and will be a future research trend. X-ray, electronic medical equipment, and medical stents are the main research directions.

Cartilage tissue healing and regeneration based on biocompatible materials: a systematic review and bibliometric analysis from 1993 to 2022.

Cartilage, a type of connective tissue, plays a crucial role in supporting and cushioning the body, and damages or diseases affecting cartilage may result in pain and impaired joint function. In this regard, biocompatible materials are used in cartilage tissue healing and regeneration as scaffolds for new tissue growth, barriers to prevent infection and reduce inflammation, and deliver drugs or growth factors to the injury site. In this article, we perform a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of literature on cartilage tissue healing and regeneration based on biocompatible materials, including an overview of current research, identifying the most influential articles and authors, discussing prevailing topics and trends in this field, and summarizing future research directions.

Clinical characteristics of severe aortic stenosis patients combined with diabetes mellitus after transcatheter aortic valve replacement and short-term outcome / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVES@#Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a common comorbidity in patients with degenerative aortic stenosis (AS).As a key item of the American Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) score, it has a vital impact on the clinical prognosis of traditional thoracic surgery. T2DM has an adverse effect on the morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases. At the same time, studies have shown that T2DM are associated with myocardial hypertrophy and remodeling, decreased left ventricular function, and worsening heart failure symptoms in the AS patients. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) as an interventional method to replace the aortic valve has better safety for middle and high risk patients in surgery, but the impact of T2DM on the clinical outcome of TAVR in AS patients is not clear.By analyzing the clinical and image characteristics of patients with AS and T2DM who received TAVR treatment, so as to explore the effect of T2DM on the perioperative complications and prognosis of TAVR.@*METHODS@#A total of 100 consecutive patients with severe AS, who underwent TAVR treatment and were followed up for more than 1 month, were selectedin the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 2016 to December 2020.Among them, 5 patients who were treated with TAVR due to simple severe aortic regurgitation were not included, therefore a total of 95 patients with severe aortic stenosis were enrolled in this study.The age of the patients was (72.7±4.8) years old, and there were 58 males (61.1%), and the patients with moderate or above aortic regurgitation had 30 cases (31.6%). The patients were divided into a diabetic group and a non-diabetic group according to whether they were combined with T2DM.There was no statistical difference in age, gender, body mass index (BMI), STS score, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) cardiac function classification between the 2 groups (all P>0.05). The primary end point was defined as a composite event consisting of all-cause death and stroke one month after surgery, and the secondary end point was defined as TAVR-related complications immediately after surgery and one month after surgery.The preoperative clinical data, cardiac ultrasound data, CT data, postoperative medication and the incidence of each endpoint event were compared between the 2 groups.The predictive model of adverse events was constructed by single factor and multivariate logistic regression.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the non-diabetic group, the diabetic group had high blood pressure and chronic renal insufficiency.There was no significant difference in preoperative ultrasound echocardiography between the 2 groups. Preoperative CT evaluation found that the anatomical structure of the aortic root in the diabetic group was smaller than that in the non-diabetic group, and there was no significant difference in the incidence of bicuspid aortic valve between the 2 groups (all P<0.05). In terms of postoperative medication, the use of statins in the diabetes group was significantly higher than that in the non-diabetic group. In the diabetes group, 6 patients (37.5%) received insulin therapy, and 9 patients (56.3%) received oral medication alone.Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the all-cause death and stroke compound events was increased in the diabetes group in 30 days after TAVR (OR=6.86; 95% CI: 2.14 to 21.79; P<0.01). Heart disease (OR=2.80; 95% CI: 0.99 to 7.88; P<0.05) and chronic renal insufficiency (OR=3.75; 95% CI: 1.24 to 11.34; P<0.05) were also risk factors for all-cause death and stroke compound events.In a multivariate analysis, after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, comorbidities, N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), total calcification score, ejection fraction, and degree of aortic regurgitation, T2DM was still a risk factor for all-cause death and stroke compound events in 30 days after TAVR (OR=12.68; 95% CI: 1.76 to 91.41; P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#T2DM is a risk factor for short-term poor prognosis in patients with symptomatic severe AS after TAVR treatment. T2DM should play an important role in the future construction of the TAVR surgical risk assessment system, but the conclusions still need to be further verified by long-term follow-up of large-scale clinical studies.

Novel triple therapy for hemorrhagic ascites caused by endometriosis: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Massive hemorrhagic ascites caused by endometriosis is exceedingly rare, and the treatment strategy remains controversial. Here, we report a case of endometriosis with massive hemorrhagic ascites treated with a novel triple therapy including conservative surgery, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist, and then dienogest. CASE SUMMARY: A 28-year-old nulliparous patient was admitted to Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, and exploratory laparoscopy was performed. A total of 9500 mL of brown ascites was aspirated from the pelvic cavity, the bilateral ovaries strongly adhered to the posterior of the uterus and were fixed to the pelvic floor, and endometriotic cysts were not observed in either ovary. The pelvic and abdominal peritonea were covered with patchy red, white, and brown endometriotic lesions and defects. Partial surgical resection of endometriotic lesions on the peritoneum was performed while we simultaneously collected multiple peritoneal biopsies. The final pathological diagnosis was endometriosis coupled with hemorrhagic necrotic tissue. CONCLUSION: Postoperative injection of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist was provided three times, followed by dienogest administration, and we will continue to follow up with this ongoing treatment.

Association between Cardiovascular Burden and Requirement of Intensive Care among Patients with Mild COVID-19

BackgroundInformation regarding the impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) on disease progression among patients with mild coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. MethodsThis study evaluated the association of underlying CVD with disease progression in patients with mild COVID-19. The primary outcome was the need to be transferred to intensive care due to disease progression. The patients were divided with and without CVD as well as stable and intensive care groups. ResultsOf 332 patients with mild COVID-19, median age was 51 years (IQR, 40-59 years), and 200 (61.2%) were female. Of 48 (14.5%) patients with CVD, 23 (47.9%) progressed to severe disease status and required intensive care. Compared with patients without CVD, patients with CVD were older, and more likely to have fatigue, chest tightness, and myalgia. The rate of requiring intensive care was significantly higher among patients with CVD than in patients without CVD (47.92% vs. 12.4%; P<0.001). In subgroup analysis, rate of requiring intensive care was also higher among patients with either hypertension or coronary heart disease than in patients without hypertension or coronary heart disease. The multivariable regression model showed CVD served as an independent risk factor for intensive care (Odd ratio [OR], 2.652 [95% CI, 1.019-6.899]) after adjustment for various cofounders. ConclusionsPatients with mild COVID-19 complicating CVD in are susceptible to develop severe disease status and requirement for intensive care. Key PointsO_ST_ABSQuestionC_ST_ABSWhat is the impact of coexisting cardiovascular diseases (CVD) on disease progression in patients with mild COVID-19? FindingsAlthough most patients with mild COVID-19 were discharged alive from hospital, approximately 47.9% patients with coexisting CVD developed severe disease status and required intensive care. CVD is an independent risk factor of intensive care among patients with mild COVID-19. MeaningCoexisting CVD is associated with unfavorable outcomes among patients with mild COVID-19. Special monitoring is required for these patients to improve their outcome.

How to differentiate COVID-19 pneumonia from heart failure with computed tomography at initial medical contact during epidemic period

OBJECTIVESTo compare chest CT findings in heart failure with those of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. BACKGROUNDDuring epidemic period, chest computed tomography (CT) has been highly recommended for screening patients with suspected COVID-19. However, the comparison of CT imaging between heart failure and COVID-19 pneumonia has not been fully elucidated. METHODSPatients with heart failure (n=12), COVID-19 pneumonia (n=12) and one patient with both diseases were retrospectively enrolled. Clinical information and imaging of chest CT were collected and analyzed. RESULTSThere was no difference of ground glass opacity (GGO), consolidation, crazy paving pattern, lobes affected and septal thickening between heart failure and COVID-19 pneumonia. However, less rounded morphology (8.3% vs. 67%, p=0.003), more peribronchovascular thickening (75% vs. 33%, p=0.041) and fissural thickening (33% vs. 0%, p=0.028), less peripheral distribution (33% vs. 92%, p=0.003) were found in heart failure group than that in COVID-19 group. Importantly, there were also more patients with upper pulmonary vein enlargement (75% vs. 8.3%, p=0.001), subpleural effusion and cardiac enlargement in heart failure group than that in COVID-19 group (50% vs. 0%, p=0.005, separately). Besides, more fibrous lesions were found in COVID-19 group although there was no statistical difference (25% vs. 0%, P=0.064) CONCLUSIONSAlthough there are some overlaps of CT imaging between heart failure and COVID-19, CT is still a useful tool in differentiating COVID-19 pneumonia.

Comparison of heart failure and 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia in chest CT features and clinical characteristics / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective@#To identify the characteristics including clinical features and pulmonary computed tomography (CT) features of heart failure and novel coronavirus pneumonia(COVID-19).@*Methods@#This study was a retrospective study. A total of 7 patients with Heart failure and 12 patients with COVID-19 in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between December 1, 2019 and February 15, 2020 were enrolled. The baseline clinical and imaging features of the two groups were statistically analyzed.@*Results@#There was no significant difference in age and sex between the two groups, but the incidence of epidemiological contact history, fever or respiratory symptoms in the COVID-19 group was significantly higher than that in the heart failure group (12/12 vs. 2/7, P=0.001; 12/12 vs. 4/7, P<0.001). While the proportion of cardiovascular diseases and impaired cardiac function was significantly less than that of the heart failure group(2/12 vs.7/7, P<0.001; 0/12 vs.7/7, P<0.001). For imaging features, both groups had ground-glass opacity and thickening of interlobular septum, but the ratio of central and gradient distribution was higher in patients with heart failure than that in patients with COVID-19 (4/7 vs. 1/12, P=0.04). In heart failure group, the ratio of the expansion of small pulmonary veins was also higher (3/7 vs. 0, P=0.013), and the lung lesions can be significantly improved after effective anti-heart failure treatment. Besides, there are more disease with rounded morphology in COVID-19 (9/12 vs. 2/7, P=0.048) .@*Conclusions@#More patients with COVID-19 have epidemiological history and fever or respiratory symptoms. There are significant differences in chest CT features, such as enlargement of pulmonary veins, lesions distribution and morphology between heart failure and COVID-19.

Comparison of heart failure and COVID-19 in chest CT features and clinical characteristics / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective: To identify the characteristics including clinical features and pulmonary computed tomography (CT) features of heart failure and COVID-19. Methods: This study was a retrospective study. A total of 7 patients with heart failure and 12 patients with COVID-19 in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University between December 1, 2019 and February 15, 2020 were enrolled. The baseline clinical and imaging features of the two groups were statistically analyzed. Results: There was no significant difference in age and sex between the two groups(both P>0.05), but the incidence of epidemiological contact history, fever or respiratory symptoms in the COVID-19 group was significantly higher than that in the heart failure group (12/12 vs. 0, P<0.001; 12/12 vs. 4/7, P=0.013). While the proportion of cardiovascular diseases and impaired cardiac function was significantly less than that of the heart failure group(2/12 vs.7/7, P<0.001；0 vs.7/7, P<0.001). For imaging features, both groups had ground-glass opacity and thickening of interlobular septum, but the ratio of central and gradient distribution was higher in patients with heart failure than that in patients with COVID-19 (4/7 vs. 1/12, P=0.04). In heart failure group, the ratio of the expansion of pulmonary veins was also higher (3/7 vs. 0，P=0.013), and the lung lesions can be significantly improved after effective anti-heart failure treatment. Besides, there were more cases with rounded morphology in COVID-19 group（9/12 vs. 2/7, P=0.048）. Conclusions: More patients with COVID-19 have epidemiological history and fever or respiratory symptoms. There are significant differences in chest CT features, such as enlargement of pulmonary veins, lesions distribution and morphology between heart failure and COVID-19.

Comparison of One-Year Survival After Acute Coronary Syndrome in Patients ≥75 Years of Age With Versus Without Living With Spouse.

Patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) face high postevent mortality. This study aims to evaluate the impact of living without spouse on 1-year mortality of ACS patients. This retrospective study enrolled a total of 600 consecutive patients (≥75 years of age) with ACS hospitalized in our hospital between January 2013 and December 2016. Patients' clinical characteristics, laboratory values, hospital course, demographic characteristics, and angiographic data were collected. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to living with (n = 396) or without (n = 204) spouse. Patients living without spouse were older (79 [77,82] vs 77 [76,80], p <0.001), more frequently female (54.9% vs 31.8%, p <0.001), less smokers (23.5% vs 38.9%, p <0.001), lower left ventricular ejection fraction value (52.1±10.7% vs 54.4±9.8%, p = 0.021) compared with patients living with spouse. In addition, compared to patients living with spouse, patients living without spouse were less likely to get percutaneous coronary intervention (41.2% vs 54.0%, p = 0.003) during hospitalization and had higher 1-year mortality post-ACS (22.1% vs 13.4%, p = 0.006). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that living without spouse remained an independent risk factor for 1-year mortality after ACS in patients ≥75 years (odds ratio 2.350, 95% confidence interval 1.245 to 4.434, p = 0.008), after adjusted with age, gender, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, left ventricular ejection fraction value at baseline, hemoglobin, white blood cell, alanine aminotransferase, albumin, creatinine, brain natriuretic peptide, type of ACS, severe heart failure at admission, percutaneous coronary intervention treatment, ß blocker, diuretics application during hospital. In conclusion, living without spouse is an independent risk factor for 1-year all-cause mortality in ACS patients ≥75 years.

Risk factors for early death in acute myocardial infarction patients complicating with ventricular septal rupture / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective@#To assess the clinical characteristics and identify the risk factors in the acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients complicating with ventricular septal rupture (VSR).@*Methods@#A retrospective study was performed on 96 AMI patients complicating with VSR, who were hospitalized in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Hunan Provincial Peoples′ Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, the Second Affiliated hospital of University of south China, Xiangtan Central Hospital from December 2007 to May 2017. There were 46 females and the age was (66.2±10.7) years (from 43 to 90 years). Patients were divided into in-hospital survival group (n=64) and in-hospital death group (n=32). The 96 patients were also divided into the early death group (survived ≤2 weeks after admission, n=50) and non-early death group (survived>2 weeks after admission, n=46). Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the independent risk factors of the early death.@*Results@#Location of VSR was available in 71 patients, VSR was located at the apical or anterior septum near the apical region in 64.0% (32/50) patients with the anterior AMI, VSR was located at the posterior wall and basal inferior segment in 57.1% (12/21) patients with non-anterior AMI. Compared to the in-hospital survival group, patients in the in-hospital death group were older ((69.6±11.3) years vs. (64.6±10.1) years, P=0.031), incidence of non-ventricular aneurysm (71.9% (23/32) vs. 37.5% (24/64), P=0.001) and anterior AMI (84.4%(27/32) vs. 62.5%(40/64), P=0.028) was significantly higher in the in-hospital death group than in the in-hospital survival group. The comparison between the early death group and non-early death group showed that older age, female, no history of angina or myocardial infarction, Killip grade>Ⅲ, and non-ventricular aneurysm were related to increased risk of the early mortality in this patient cohort. Logistic regression analysis revealed that female (OR=5.109,95%CI 1.19-22.00, P=0.012), no history of angina or myocardial infarction (OR=23.34, 95%CI 3.44-158.37, P=0.001), Killip grade>Ⅲ(OR=5.35, 95%CI 1.26-22.66, P=0.019) and non-ventricular aneurysm (OR=6.30,95%CI 1.67-23.73, P=0.005) were independent risk factors for early death in this patient cohort.@*Conclusion@#The risk factors of in-hospital death include older age, non-ventricular aneurysm and anterior AMI. Female, no history of angina or myocardial infarction, Killip grade>Ⅲ and non-ventricular aneurysm are independent risk factors for the early death of AMI patients complicating VSR.

Recent progress in smooth muscle autophagy of vascular diseases / 中南大学学报(医学版)

Autophagy plays a crucial role in maintaining normal structure and vascular function in vivo. When stress-relevant stimuli are involved, the increases of autophagy can protect vascular smooth muscle cells, promote cell survival, and phenotype transformation, as well as reduce calcification. On the contrary, the decrease of autophagy can accelerate cell senescence, resulting in structural changes and dysfunction of vasomotor and vasodilation. However, excessive activation of autophagy can induce the damage of the healthy protein and essential organelles, and even lead to autophagic cell death, accelerating the progression of vascular disease. Thus, the precise targeting of autophagy opens a novel way for treatment of vascular diseases.

Protein tyrosine phosphatases receptor type D is a potential tumour suppressor gene inactivated by deoxyribonucleic acid methylation in paediatric acute myeloid leukaemia.

AIM: Protein tyrosine phosphatases receptor type D (PTPRD) is a tumour suppressor gene, and its epigenetic silencing is frequently found in glioblastoma. As aberrant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) methylation patterning has been shown to play a role in leukaemogenesis, we studied the promoter methylation, expression profiles and molecular functions of PTPRD in paediatric patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). METHODS: Bone marrow specimens were obtained from 32 Chinese patients with a mean age of 7.2 years (range 1.1-16.5). PTPRD and methylation status were evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and methylation-specific PCR. Western blot and flow cytometry techniques were also used. RESULTS: PTPRD expression was decreased by promoter region methylation in six AML cells and methylated in 21 (65.6%) of the 32 samples. In addition, PTPRD expression could be induced by the DNA demethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine. Furthermore, functional studies showed that overexpression of PTPRD in AML cells inhibited cell proliferation and clonogenicity as well as inducing apoptosis. However, PTPRD knockdown increased cell proliferation. These effects were associated with downregulation of cyclin D1, c-myc and upregulation of Bax. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that PTPRD was a potential tumour suppressor gene inactivated by DNA methylation in paediatric AML.

[Expression and clinical significance of E-cadherin and ß-catenin in the vulvar squamous cell carcinoma tissues].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin in the Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC) tissues. METHODS: A total of 63 documented paraffin blocks of VSCC (n=41), vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (n=22), vulvar negative cutting edge tissues (n=10) diagnosed in department of pathology of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from January 2005 to April 2012 were enrolled. EliVision immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin in the three groups. Then to do a statistical analysis among the expression of them with patients' menopause status, pathological grade, clinical stage and lymph node metastasis. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyse the expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin in the vulvar lesion tissues. RESULTS: The abnormal immunoreactivity for E-cadherin [46%(19/41), 64% (14/22)] and ß-catenin [61% (25/41), 68% (15/22)] in VSCC and VINII-III were found, which were significantly different from that in normal epithelium samples (P<0.05). The abnormal expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin have no statistically significant difference between VSCC group and VINII-III group (P>0.05). The abnormal expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin were collected with tumor pathological grade and lymph node metastasis status (all P<0.05). The abnormal expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin have no statistically significant difference between menopause and the surgical stage of patients (all P>0.05). The abnormal expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin have a significant positive correlation in the same sample in the VSCC tissue (r=0.543, P=0.000). The abnormal expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin have no correlation in the VINII-III tissue (r=0.295, P=0.182). CONCLUSIONS: The abnormal expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin may occurs frequently in the VSCC. The abnormal expression of E-cadherin and ß-catenin have correlation with vulvar cancer pathological grade and lymph node metastasis, which may be important mechanisms promoting the invasion and metastasis of VSCC.

[Comparative analysis on both high risk behaviours, infection of HIV and syphilis between married and unmarried men who have sex with men].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the distribution of marriage status among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the city of Changzhou, and to explore the impact of marriage on AIDS related high risk behaviors and HIV infection in this population. METHODS: Target sampling (snowball sampling) was adopted to carry out a cross-sectional study, and structured questionnaire-based interviews were conducted to collect information on social demography, HIV related high risk behaviors. Blood and urine samples were collected to detect HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and Chlamydia trachomatis infections. RESULTS: Of the 655 participants, 37.4% were married. Married MSM mostly sought their sexual partners at the public bathing house (61.6%), while unmarried MSM were mainly through bars (33.6%) or internet (31.1%). The proportion of having anal sex with men during the last 6 months was lower in the married group (50.8%) than in the unmarried group (73.3%), (P < 0.001) The percentage of having sex with women in the last 6 months was significantly higher in the married group (68.9%) than that in the unmarried group (33.2%) (P < 0.001), (OR = 4.454, 95%CI: 3.168 - 6.261). The rates of condom use in the last anal sex with men in married and unmarried groups were 71.0% and 77.6%, respectively (P = 0.152). The rate of condom use in the last intercourse with women was significantly lower in the married group (44.0%) than that in the unmarried group (70.4%) (P < 0.001), (OR = 0.331, 95%CI: 0.205 - 0.535). In the sex trade, most of the married MSM would "buy" sex (66.7%), while unmarried MSM would "sell" sex (63.2%) (P < 0.05), (OR = 3.429, 95%CI: 1.255 - 9.366). The percentage of having drugs in the previous year was higher in married group (3.3%) than that in the unmarried group (0.8%) (P < 0.05). In married and unmarried groups, the infection rates of HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and Chlamydia trachomatis appeared to be (8.6%, 8.6%), (17.1%, 12.3%), (1.6%, 2.4%), and (3.3%, 9.0%), respectively (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Marriage seemed to have had limited effects on reducing the high risk behaviors of MSM. Different and multiform interventions should be developed according to the different characteristics of married or unmarried MSM population.

[Construction of recombinant NF-κB reporter adenovirus and activity analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To study the feasibility of adenovirus-based nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) reporter as a model to screen the upstream signal regulators of NF-κB. METHODS: A type 5 (E1/E3 deficient) adenovirus vector pAdxsi was used to construct the NF-κB reporter adenovirus. Multiple adherent and suspending cell lines were infected by the NF-κB reporter adenovirus, and the luciferase activity of the NF-κB reporter gene was measured. RESULTS: An NF-κB reporter adenovirus (Ad-NF-κB-luc) was successfully constructed. The virus was capable of infecting HepG2, MGC803, THP-1 and U937 cell lines and showed high activities of NF-κB-luc reporter gene when stimulated by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). CONCLUSION: The Ad-NF-κB-luc reporter gene transfer system can effectively infect those cells hard-transfected by conventional transfection reagents. It also produces a high activity of NF-κB-luc reporter gene with stability and reliability. Our study expands the application of NF-κB reporter gene.

In vitro biological characterization of DCUN1D5 in DNA damage response.

BACKGROUND: Novel prognostic biomarkers or therapeutic molecular targets for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) are an urgent priority. We here sought to identify multiple novel LSCC-associated genes. METHODS: Using high-density microarray expression profiling, we identified multiple genes that were significantly altered between human LSCCs and paired normal tissues. Potential oncogenic functions of one such gene, DCUN1D5, were further characterized in vitro. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that DCUN1D5 was highly expressed in LSCCs. Overexpression of DCUN1D5 in vitro resulted in 2.7-fold increased cellular migration, 67.5% increased invasive capacity, and 2.6-fold increased proliferation. Endogenous DCUN1D5 expression was decreased in a time-dependent manner after genotoxic stress, and silencing of DCUN1D5 by siRNA decreased the number of cells in the S phase by 10.2% and increased apoptosis by 11.7%. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that DCUN1D5 in vitro might have vital roles in DNA damage response, but further studies are warranted to assess its significance in vivo.

[Study on the mechanism of C17orf62 induced cell death].

OBJECTIVE: To isolate the long coding sequence of human novel gene C17orf62 which is named as C17orf62-L by us, and analyze its effects on cell viability, subcellular localization, and expression profile in multiple cell lines. METHODS: RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction ) was used to clone C17orf62-L which encoded 187 amino acids from human multi-tissue cDNA library. We used bioinformatics analysis to identify structural characteristics of C17orf62-L, and RT-PCR to detect its expression. By Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy we identified its subcellular localization of C17orf62-L. Furthermore, flow cytometry experiment was used to validate whether overexpression of C17orf62-L could influence cell phenotypes and Western blot was used to study related mechanisms. RESULTS: C17orf62-L was cloned and constructed into the pcDNA-and pEGFP-expression plasmids. C17orf62-L had signal peptide and transmembrane domain.C17orf62-L was widely expressed in multiple cell lines and was validated partial co-localization with Golgi apparatus. Functional studies showed C17orf62-L could induce cell death accompanied with rising of cleaved PARP(poly ADP-ribose polymerase). CONCLUSION: Human C17orf62 is a novel cell death inducing gene.

Golay-encoded excitation for dual-frequency harmonic detection of ultrasonic contrast agents.

Golay-encoded excitation in combination with the third harmonic (3f0) transmit phasing is examined for both signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-tissue ratio (CTR) improvements in harmonic imaging of contrast microbubbles. To produce the cancellation pair of tissue harmonic signal in 3f0 transmit phasing, the phase of the bit waveform is properly designed for both the fundamental and the 3f0 transmit signals to provide the Golay encoding of the received harmonic responses. Results indicate that the proposed Golay excitation can effectively suppress the tissue harmonic amplitude to increase CTR. Meanwhile, the SNR of the contrast harmonic signal also improves because of the elongated waveform of Golay excitation. Nevertheless, the generation of marked range side-lobes of the bubble region would degrade the achievable SNR improvement and the image contrast, especially when the bit of Golay excitation increases. The range side-lobes could result from the nonlinear resonance of the microbubbles that interferes with the phase modulation of the Golay encoding.

[Serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 and growth factor binding protein-3 in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To study serum levels and clinical significance of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). METHODS: Serum samples were obtained from 36 children with ALL before treatment and 6 months after complete remission. Thirty children with surgical diseases severed as the control group. Serum IGF-1 levels were measured using radioimmunoassay (RIA). Serum IGFBP-3 levels were measured using immunoradioassays (IRMA). RESULTS: Serum levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in the ALL group were 19±4 ng/mL and 1216±132 ng/mL, respectively before treatment, which were lower than those in the control group (32±3 ng/mL and 2104±191 ng/mL respectively) (P<0.01). Serum levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in the ALL group increased to 30±3 ng/mL and 1941±164 ng/mL respectively 6 months after complete remission, which were significantly higher than those before treatment (P<0.01) and were similar to the levels of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Serum levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 are reduced in children with ALL, but increase significantly after complete remission, suggesting that IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 might serve as useful markers for the diagnosis and evaluation of therapeutic effects of childhood ALL.