Neu5Gc regulates decidual macrophages leading to abnormal embryo implantation.

Repeated implantation failure (RIF) is one of the most prominent problems in the field of assisted reproduction. Neu5Gc on the surface of decidual macrophages (dMΦ) leads to different activation patterns of dMΦ, which affects embryo implantation and development. Cmah-/- (Neu5Gc-deficient) mice induced to produce anti-Neu5Gc antibodies in vivo were given a special diet rich in Neu5Gc and their fertility was monitored. The long-term diet rich in Neu5Gc induced the decrease of endometrial receptivity of female mice. The pregnancy rate of female mice fed the normal diet was 63.6% (n = 11) and the average number of embryos was 9.571 ± 1.272, while the pregnancy rate of female mice fed the diet rich in Neu5Gc was 36.4% (n = 11) and the average number of embryos in pregnant mice was 5.750 ± 3.304. The intake of Neu5Gc and the production of anti-Neu5Gc antibody led to M1 polarization of endometrial dMΦ and abnormal embryo implantation.

Analysis of influential factors for purchasing quantity changes in the procurement varieties of the first batch of drug centralized procurement / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To investigate the factors influencing the changes in purchasing quantity in the procurement varieties of the first batch of volume-based drug centralized procurement （hereinafter referred to as centralized procurement）. METHODS Using 25 procurement varieties of the “4+7” policy as research objects， the changes in purchasing quantity of procurement varieties were analyzed before and after the implementation of the “4+7” pilot， renewal and expansion policies. The influential factors were determined from the three levels of drugs， medical institutions and regions； and the multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the influential factors for the changes in the purchasing quantity of procurement varieties. RESULTS Before and after the implementation of the “4+7” pilot， renewal and expansion policies， the purchasing quantity increased by 52.1， －0.2， 85.8 ten thousand DDDs on average， compared with base period. During pilot， renewal and expansion period， DDDc decrease in procurement varieties was positively correlated with the increase in purchasing quantity （P＜0.01）. During the pilot and renewal period， the number of absolutely alternative varieties was positively correlated with the increase in purchasing quantity （P＜0.1）. During the pilot and expansion period， the number of alternative varieties to a certain extent was negatively correlated with the increase in purchasing quantity （P＜0.05）. During the renewal period， the increment of purchasing quantity in tertiary hospitals was smaller than that of primary medical institutions （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS There is a relationship between the decline of DDDc and the changes in the purchasing quantity， that is， the more the drug price dropped， the more the purchasing quantity increased. The number of alternative varieties for centralized procurement will affect the changes in their purchasing quantity， but it is not always stable. With the implementation of the policy， the volume of primary medical institutions gradually exceeds that of tertiary institutions， indicating that the consumption of centralized purchased varieties is transferred to the primary medical institutions， and centralized procurement has promoted the implementation of the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system.

Giant pandas are losing their edge: Population trend and distribution dynamic drivers of the giant panda.

Comprehending the population trend and understanding the distribution range dynamics of species are necessary for global species protection. Recognizing what causes dynamic distribution change is crucial for identifying species' environmental preferences and formulating protection policies. Here, we studied the rear-edge population of the flagship species, giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), to (1) assess their population trend using their distribution patterns, (2) evaluate their distribution dynamics change from the second (1988) to the third (2001) survey (2-3 Interval) and third to the fourth (2013) survey (3-4 Interval) using a machine learning algorithm (eXtremely Gradient Boosting), and (3) decode model results to identify driver factors in the first known use of SHapley Additive exPlanations. Our results showed that the population trends in Liangshan Mountains were worst in the second survey (k = 1.050), improved by the third survey (k = 0.97), but deteriorated by the fourth survey (k = 0.996), which indicates a worrying population future. We found that precipitation had the most significant influence on distribution dynamics among several potential environmental factors, showing a negative correlation between precipitation and giant panda expansion. We recommend that further research is needed to understand the microenvironment and animal distribution dynamics. We provide a fresh perspective on the dynamics of giant panda distribution, highlighting novel focal points for ecological research on this species. Our study offers theoretical underpinnings that could inform the formulation of more effective conservation policies. Also, we emphasize the uniqueness and importance of the Liangshan Mountains giant pandas as the rear-edge population, which is at a high risk of population extinction.

The predictive model of microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma established based on multimodality imaging / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective:To explore the risk factors of microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to predict MVI preoperatively, non-invasively and accurately.Methods:A total of 150 HCC patients (183 HCC lesions) were retrospectively collected in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University from January 2016 to June 2022.The clinical data and hematological data, gray-scale ultrasonography (US), contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS), enhanced magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (EOB-MRI) and pathological data of these patients were recorded. According to the pathological diagnosis of MVI, the lesions were divided into MVI (+ ) group and MVI (-) group. The indicators between the two groups were compared. All 183 lesions were put into the training set, and the prediction model with nomogram was constructed according to the risk factors of MVI selected by multivariate Logistic regression. The internal verification was carried out by ten-fold cross-validation method.Results:There were significant statistical differences in the following parameters between MVI (+ ) group ( n=109) and MVI (-) group ( n=74) (all P<0.05). These were cirrhosis, serological parameters (alpha-fetoprotein, albumin, total bilirubin), qualitative indexes of US (size, boundary, internal echo), qualitative indexes of CEUS (hyper/iso/hypovascularity of lesions in arterial phase, portal phase, and delayed phase compared with hepatic parenchyma), and quantitative indexes of EOB-MRI [post enhancement rate (post ratio) and gadolinium disodium rate (EOB ratio)] calculated mainly in terms of lesions and surrounding liver parenchyma in hepatobiliary phase and unenhanced T1 images). Finally, cirrhosis of patients, the size, boundary, internal echo of lesions in US; arterial phase (AP), portal phase (PP), post-vascular phase (PVP) features in CEUS; the EOB rate and post rate of EOB-MRI entered the prediction model of MVI. The training set exhibited good calibration and net gain rate. The areas under the ROC curve for the training set and the validation set were 0.981 and 0.961, respectively, while the diagnostic accuracy were 92.9% and 85.8%, respectively. Conclusions:The model constructed mainly by multimodality imaging methods can achieve favorable predictive performance for MVI, which provides valuable ideas for noninvasively predicting the incidence of MVI and optimizing the MVI-related treatment of MVI in HCC patients.

Mechanism of DCLK1 transcriptional regulation in HCC / 中国临床药理学与治疗学

AIM: To investigate the molecular mechanism through which DKK1 is transcriptionally regulated in HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma) cells. METHODS: Real time PCR was used to explore whether EGFR was involved in regulating DCLK1 mRNA expression in HCC cells; Western blot assay was used to examine whether EGFR-mediated the up-regulation of DCLK1 protein in HCC cells; Immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses were used to examine the protein expression of EGFR and DCLK1 in 39 human HCC tumor specimens. RESULTS: EGF promoted the expression of DCLK1 mRNA and protein in HepG2 and Huh-7 cells (P<0.05, P<0.01), while knockdown of EGFR with two specific siRNA could reverse EGF-induced the up-regulation of DCLK1 mRNA and protein (P<0.01). IHC analyses revealed that the amount of EGFR correlated significantly with that of DCLK1 (r=0.669 6). CONCLUSION: EGFR promoted DCLK1 transcription in HCC.

Compound Danshen Dripping Pill inhibits hypercholesterolemia/atherosclerosis-induced heart failure in ApoE and LDLR dual deficient mice via multiple mechanisms

Heart failure is the leading cause of death worldwide. Compound Danshen Dripping Pill (CDDP) or CDDP combined with simvastatin has been widely used to treat patients with myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular diseases in China. However, the effect of CDDP on hypercholesterolemia/atherosclerosis-induced heart failure is unknown. We constructed a new model of heart failure induced by hypercholesterolemia/atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and LDL receptor (LDLR) dual deficient (ApoE-/-LDLR-/-) mice and investigated the effect of CDDP or CDDP plus a low dose of simvastatin on the heart failure. CDDP or CDDP plus a low dose of simvastatin inhibited heart injury by multiple actions including anti-myocardial dysfunction and anti-fibrosis. Mechanistically, both Wnt and lysine-specific demethylase 4A (KDM4A) pathways were significantly activated in mice with heart injury. Conversely, CDDP or CDDP plus a low dose of simvastatin inhibited Wnt pathway by markedly up-regulating expression of Wnt inhibitors. While the anti-inflammation and anti-oxidative stress by CDDP were achieved by inhibiting KDM4A expression and activity. In addition, CDDP attenuated simvastatin-induced myolysis in skeletal muscle. Taken together, our study suggests that CDDP or CDDP plus a low dose of simvastatin can be an effective therapy to reduce hypercholesterolemia/atherosclerosis-induced heart failure.

TRIB3 promotes pulmonary fibrosis through inhibiting SLUG degradation by physically interacting with MDM2

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is the pathological structure of incurable fibroproliferative lung diseases that are attributed to the repeated lung injury-caused failure of lung alveolar regeneration (LAR). Here, we report that repetitive lung damage results in a progressive accumulation of the transcriptional repressor SLUG in alveolar epithelial type II cells (AEC2s). The abnormal increased SLUG inhibits AEC2s from self-renewal and differentiation into alveolar epithelial type I cells (AEC1s). We found that the elevated SLUG represses the expression of the phosphate transporter SLC34A2 in AEC2s, which reduces intracellular phosphate and represses the phosphorylation of JNK and P38 MAPK, two critical kinases supporting LAR, leading to LAR failure. TRIB3, a stress sensor, interacts with the E3 ligase MDM2 to suppress SLUG degradation in AEC2s by impeding MDM2-catalyzed SLUG ubiquitination. Targeting SLUG degradation by disturbing the TRIB3/MDM2 interaction using a new synthetic staple peptide restores LAR capacity and exhibits potent therapeutic efficacy against experimental PF. Our study reveals a mechanism of the TRIB3-MDM2-SLUG-SLC34A2 axis causing the LAR failure in PF, which confers a potential strategy for treating patients with fibroproliferative lung diseases.

A preliminary study on the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation on the intestinal microecology of patients with severe pneumonia during the convalescence period / 中华危重病急救医学

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) on intestinal microbiome and organism in patients with severe pneumonia during the convalescence period.@*METHODS@#A prospective non-randomized controlled study was conducted. From December 2021 to May 2022, patients with severe pneumonia during the convalescence period who received FMT (FMT group) and patients with severe pneumonia during the convalescence period who did not receive FMT (non-FMT group) admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were enrolled. The differences of clinical indicators, gastrointestinal function and fecal traits between the two groups were compared 1 day before and 10 days after enrollment. The 16S rDNA gene sequencing technology was used to analyze the changes of intestinal flora diversity and different species in patients with FMT before and after enrollment, and metabolic pathways were analyzed and predicted by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database (KEGG). Pearson correlation method was used to analyze the correlation between intestinal flora and clinical indicators in FMT group.@*RESULTS@#The level of triacylglycerol (TG) in FMT group was significantly decreased at 10 days after enrollment compared with before enrollment [mmol/L: 0.94 (0.71, 1.40) vs. 1.47 (0.78, 1.86), P < 0.05]. The level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in non-FMT group was significantly decreased at 10 days after enrollment compared with before enrollment (mmol/L: 0.68±0.27 vs. 0.80±0.31, P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in other clinical indexes, gastrointestinal function or fecal character scores between the two groups. Diversity analysis showed that the α diversity indexes of intestinal flora in FMT group at 10 days after enrollment were significantly higher than those in non-FMT group, and β diversity was also significantly different from that in non-FMT group. Differential species analysis showed that the relative abundance of Proteobacteria at the level of intestinal flora in FMT group at 10 days after enrollment was significantly lower than that in non-FMT group [8.554% (5.977%, 12.159%) vs. 19.285% (8.054%, 33.207%), P < 0.05], while the relative abundance of Fusobacteria was significantly higher than that in non-FMT group [6.801% (1.373%, 20.586%) vs. 0.003% (0%, 9.324%), P < 0.05], and the relative abundance of Butyricimonas, Fusobacterium and Bifidobacterium at the genus level of the intestinal flora was significantly higher than that in non-FMT group [Butyricimonas: 1.634% (0.813%, 2.387%) vs. 0% (0%, 0.061%), Fusobacterium: 6.801% (1.373%, 20.586%) vs. 0.002% (0%, 9.324%), Bifidobacterium: 0.037% (0%, 0.153%) vs. 0% (0%, 0%), all P < 0.05]. KEGG metabolic pathway analysis showed that the intestinal flora of FMT group was changed in bisphenol degradation, mineral absorption, phosphonate and phosphinate metabolism, cardiac muscle contraction, Parkinson disease and other metabolic pathways and diseases. Correlation analysis showed that Actinobacteria and prealbumin (PA) in intestinal flora of FMT group were significantly positively correlated (r = 0.53, P = 0.043), Bacteroidetes was positively correlated with blood urea nitrogen (BUN; r = 0.56, P = 0.029) and complement C3 (r = 0.57, P = 0.027), Firmicutes was positively correlated with BUN (r = 0.56, P = 0.029) and complement C3 (r = 0.57, P = 0.027), Fusobacteria was significantly positively correlated with immunoglobulin M (IgM; r = 0.71, P = 0.003), Proteobacteria was significantly positively correlated with procalcitonin (PCT; r = 0.63, P = 0.012) and complement C4 (r = 0.56, P = 0.030).@*CONCLUSIONS@#FMT can reduce TG level, reconstruct intestinal microecological structure, change body metabolism and function, and alleviate inflammatory response by reducing the relative abundance of harmful bacteria in patients with severe pneumonia during the convalescence period.

Efficacy and Safety of "Jiedu Tongluo Therapy" for Diabetic Kidney Disease： A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of Jiedu Tongluo therapy in the treatment of diabetic kidney disease （DKD）. MethodDatabases including CNKI， Wanfang Data， PubMed， and Web of Science were systematically searched from January 2003 to December 2022 for clinical randomized controlled trials （RCTs） on the application of Jiedu Tongluo therapy for DKD treatment over the past 20 years. In these trials， the control group received conventional treatment （including diabetes and kidney health education， glycemic and blood pressure control， and lifestyle interventions）， along with western medicine or Chinese patent medicine treatment. The experimental group received primarily Jiedu Tongluo therapy via oral administration of Chinese medicine or in combination with western medicine. The Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool was used for the quality evaluation of the trials， and R 4.1.0 statistical software was used for analysis. ResultForty-one RCTs with 3 478 participants were included. The Meta-analysis results demonstrated that the experimental group， compared with the control group， showed significant improvement in overall clinical efficacy ［odds ratio （OR）=2.46， 95% confidence interval （CI） （2.08， 2.92）， I2=0%］， effective reduction of serum creatinine （Scr） levels ［mean difference （MD）=-15.83， 95% CI （-21.5， -10.37）， P< 0.01］， 24-hour urinary protein excretion rate （24 h-Up） ［MD=-350.88， 95% CI （-419.49， -282.28）， P< 0.01］， TCM syndrome score ［MD=-6.08， 95% CI （-7.81， -4.36）， P<0.01］， and effective regulation of fasting blood glucose （FBG） ［MD=-0.57， 95% CI （-0.75， -0.38）， P<0.01］. The treatment also demonstrated certain safety ［OR=0.99， 95% CI （0.35， 2.76）］. ConclusionJiedu Tongluo therapy in DKD treatment exhibits favorable clinical efficacy and safety. However， due to limitations in the quality and quantity of the included literature， these conclusions should be further validated through larger-scale， high-quality RCTs.

Microfluidic immuno-serology assay revealed a limited diversity of protection against COVID-19 in patients with altered immunity

The immune response to SARS-CoV-2 for patients with altered immunity such as hematologic malignancies and autoimmune disease may differ substantially from that in general population. These patients remain at high risk despite wide-spread adoption of vaccination. It is critical to examine the differences at the systems level between the general population and the patients with altered immunity in terms of immunologic and serological responses to COVID-19 infection and vaccination. Here, we developed a novel microfluidic chip for high-plex immuno-serological assay to simultaneously measure up to 50 plasma or serum samples for up to 50 soluble markers including 35 plasma proteins, 11 anti-spike/RBD IgG antibodies spanning all major variants, and controls. Our assay demonstrated the quintuplicate test in a single run with high throughput, low sample volume input, high reproducibility and high accuracy. It was applied to the measurement of 1,012 blood samples including in-depth analysis of sera from 127 patients and 21 healthy donors over multiple time points, either with acute COVID infection or vaccination. The protein association matrix analysis revealed distinct immune mediator protein modules that exhibited a reduced degree of diversity in protein-protein cooperation in patients with hematologic malignancies and patients with autoimmune disorders receiving B cell depletion therapy. Serological analysis identified that COVID infected patients with hematologic malignancies display impaired anti-RBD antibody response despite high level of anti-spike IgG, which could be associated with limited clonotype diversity and functional deficiency in B cells and was further confirmed by single-cell BCR and transcriptome sequencing. These findings underscore the importance to individualize immunization strategy for these high-risk patients and provide an informative tool to monitor their responses at the systems level.

Effects of long non-coding RNA FAM224A on the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells by regulating the expression of miRNA-590-3p / 肿瘤研究与临床

Objective:To explore the effects of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) FAM224A on the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells by regulating the expression of miRNA-590-3p (miR-590-3p).Methods:Human ovarian cancer cell lines OC3, SKOV-3, HO-8910, A2780 and human normal ovarian epithelial cell line IOSE80 were selected, and the relative expression of FAM224A in each cell line was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The cell line with the lowest relative expression level of FAM224A was screened for follow-up experiment. The cells were divided into FAM224A group (transfected with FAM224A mimic gene) and control group (transfected with control mimic gene). CCK-8 method and cell scratch test were used to detect the cell proliferation and migration ability of the two groups. The bioinformatics website LncBase v.2 predicted that the target gene that FAM224A might complementarily bind to was miR-590-3p. qRT-PCR was used to detect the relative expression levels of miR-590-3p and forkhead box protein A2 (FOXA2) mRNA, and the expressions of related proteins were detected by Western blot.Results:The relative expression levels of FAM224A in ovarian cancer cell lines OC3, SKOV-3, HO-8910, A2780 and normal ovarian epithelial cell line IOSE80 were 0.23±0.04, 0.65±0.05, 0.45±0.03, 0.63±0.08 and 1.02±0.11, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( F = 14.78, P < 0.01), and the cell line with the lowest relative expression level of FAM224A was OC3. The results of CCK-8 method showed that the proliferation ability of OC3 cells in the FAM224A group was lower than that in the control group on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th day of culture (all P < 0.05). The scratch healing rates of OC3 cells in the FAM224A group and the control group were (18.6±2.3)% and (71.7±7.2)%, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( t = 6.99, P < 0.01). The relative expression levels of FAM224A in OC3 cells in the FAM224A group and the control group was 12.36±1.45 and 1.14±0.24, respectively ( t = 13.08, P < 0.01); the relative expression levels of miR-590-3p were 0.19±0.06 and 1.04±0.20, respectively ( t = 4.01, P < 0.01); the relative expression levels of FOXA2 mRNA were 6.37±1.37 and 1.05±0.08, respectively ( t = 3.86, P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the expression of FOXA2 protein in OC3 cells in the FAM224A group was increased, the expressions of cell proliferation protein cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) and cyclin D3 were decreased, and the expression of cell migration protein Snail was decreased. Conclusions:FAM224A is low expressed in ovarian cancer cell lines. FAM224A reduces the proliferation and migration ability of ovarian cancer OC3 cells by inhibiting the expression of miR-590-3p.

Progress on monitoring technology and assessment indices of pediatric ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction / 中国小儿急救医学

Mechanical ventilation is becoming more and more common in clinical practice.It certainly helps patients to overcome the respiratory failure in children, but in the meantime, also lead to ventilator-induced diaphragm dysfunction(VIDD). VIDD is common in mechanical ventilation patients and are associated with prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation, difficult weaning, pulmonary infection and the mortality.With the development of clinical medical technology, more and more convenient devices are applied to monitor diaphragm function.This review expounded the latest monitoring technology and assessment indices of VIDD, including pressure-generating capacity, imaging examination and diaphragm electrical activity.

A randomized controlled trial of early intervention of external diaphragmatic electrical stimulation on diaphragmatic function in mechanically ventilated children / 中国小儿急救医学

Objective:To explore the effects of external diaphragm electrical stimulation on the diaphragm thickness and function in mechanically ventilated children.Methods:A randomized controlled trial was conducted in children who were admitted to PICU at Children′s Hospital of Fudan University and received mechanical ventilation between June 2021 and April 2022.The control group was given the routine treatment of mechanical ventilation, and the intervention group was given external diaphragm electrical stimulation in the early stage of mechanical ventilation in addition to routine treatment.Diaphragm thickness was continuously measured by bedside ultrasound every day for one week after mechanical ventilation, and the changing trend of diaphragm thickness was observed, and the diaphragmatic thickening fraction (DTf) and the incidence of ventilator-induced diaphragmtic dysfunction(VIDD) were calculated at the same time.Results:A total of 32 valid samples were included, including 15 cases in intervention group (10 males) and 17 cases in control group (11 males). The median age of the patients was 33 (10, 77) months, and the median duration of mechanical ventilation was 12 (8, 21) days.The reasons for mechanical ventilation in children included respiratory insufficiency in ten cases, brain dysfunction in ten cases, heart failure in eight cases, and postoperative surgery in four cases.The diaphragm end-expiratory thickness (DTe) in intervention group and the control group showed a gradually decreasing trend from the 1st day to the 7th day.The left thickness was reduced by 11% on the 7th day compared to 1st day in intervention group, which was reduced by 18% in control group; the average daily DTe was reduced by 2% per day in intervention group and by 3% per day in control group.The trends on the right and left were similar.The DTe thickness in the intervention group was greater than that in control group, among which, the mean DTe thickness in the left side of the intervention group on the 7th day was (0.110 7±0.023 7)cm, which was greater than that in control group (0.093 5±0.016 9)cm, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=-2.372, P<0.05); On the second day, the mean DTe thickness on the right side in the intervention group was (0.1267±0.0277) cm, which was greater than that in control group (0.104 7±0.018 1)cm, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=-2.688, P<0.05). DTf in the intervention group was lower than that in control group at 7th day, but the difference was not statistically significant(left DTf: adjusted mean difference was -0.117, P=0.088; right DTf: adjusted mean difference was -0.065, P=0.277). The incidence of VIDD in the intervention group was lower than that in control group(33.3% vs.41.2%), but the difference was not statistically significant ( χ2=0.005, P=0.946). Conclusion:External diaphragmatic electrical stimulation may be helpful for alleviating diaphragmatic atrophy in mechanically ventilated children.However, whether the improvement of diaphragm atrophy is beneficial to clinical outcome still needs further study.

Clinical epidemiological investigation of children with prolonged mechanical ventilation in pediatric intensive care unit / 中国小儿急救医学

Objective:To investigate the clinical epidemiological data of children with prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) in pediatric intensive care unit(PICU), and analyze the primary disease of children with PMV as well as the disease characteristics and prognosis of children with PMV under different kinds of primary disease.Methods:The clinical data of hospitalized children with PMV in PICU at Children′s Hospital of Fudan University from January 2019 to December 2020 were retrospectively collected.Results:A total of 46 children with PMV were collected.There were 18 males (39.1%) and 28 females (60.9%). The median age was 37 (8, 86) months and the median body weight was 15 (7, 20) kg.The average pediatric critical illness score at admission was 84.2±7.7, PaO 2/FiO 2 was (245.5±99.8)mmHg.The primary diseases leading to PMV were as follows: there were 14 cases of severe pneumonia, eight cases of severe encephalitis, five cases of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, three cases of upper airway obstruction/craniofacial deformity, three cases of myasthenia, three cases of brain stem tumor, three cases of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, two cases of spinal muscular atrophy, two cases of Prader-Willi syndrome, one case of dermatomyositis, one case of severe brain injury, and one case of central hypoventilation.The causes of unable to withdraw ventilator were respiratory dysfunction in 24 cases, brain dysfunction in 16 cases, and diaphragm dysfunction in six cases.Compared with neuromuscular diseases, children with PMV caused by respiratory diseases had lower month age, higher preterm birth rate, lower PaO 2/FiO 2 ratio, higher parameters for ventilator treatment, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). Children with PMV caused by neuromuscular diseases had lower Glasgow coma score and higher coma rate, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). A total of nine (19.6%) cases underwent tracheotomy.A total of 23 (50.0%) cases were successfully extubated from ventilator, six (13.0%) cases were dependent on invasive ventilator, and six (13.0%) cases were breathing with tracheotomy tube.The median mechanical ventilation time was 33 (28, 40) days, the median PICU hospital stay was 42 (34, 56) days, and the median hospital stay was 51 (41, 65) days.A total of 27 (58.7%) cases were improved and discharged, four (8.7%) cases were transferred to rehabilitation hospital, four (8.7%) cases were transferred to local hospital, and 11 (23.9%) cases died in hospital or at home after giving up. Conclusion:The main causes of PMV in PICU children are respiratory dysfunction, brain dysfunction and diaphragm dysfunction.50.0% of the children with PMV could be discharged from the ventilator, and 23.9% died or died after giving up.

Preparation and catalytic properties of catalase-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers / 生物工程学报

Catalase is widely used in the food, medical, and textile industries. It possesses exceptional properties including high catalytic efficiency, high specificity, and environmental friendliness. Free catalase cannot be recycled and reused in industry, resulting in a costly industrial biotransformation process if catalase is used as a core ingredient. Developing a simple, mild, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly approach to immobilize catalase is anticipated to improve its utilization efficiency and enzymatic performance. In this study, the catalase KatA derived from Bacillus subtilis 168 was expressed in Escherichia coli. Following separation and purification, the purified enzyme was prepared as an immobilized enzyme in the form of enzyme-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers, and the enzymatic properties were investigated. The results indicated that the purified KatA was obtained through a three-step procedure that included ethanol precipitation, DEAE anion exchange chromatography, and hydrophobic chromatography. Then, by optimizing the process parameters, a novel KatA/Ca3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflower was developed. The optimum reaction temperature of the free KatA was determined to be 35 ℃, the optimum reaction temperature of KatA/Ca3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflowers was 30-35 ℃, and the optimum reaction pH of both was 11.0. The free KatA and KatA/Ca3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflowers exhibited excellent stability at pH 4.0-11.0 and 25-50 ℃. The KatA/Ca3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflowers demonstrated increased storage stability than that of the free KatA, maintaining 82% of the original enzymatic activity after 14 d of storage at 4 ℃, whereas the free KatA has only 50% of the original enzymatic activity. In addition, after 5 catalytic reactions, the nanoflower still maintained 55% of its initial enzymatic activity, indicating that it has good operational stability. The Km of the free KatA to the substrate hydrogen peroxide was (8.80±0.42) mmol/L, and the kcat/Km was (13 151.53± 299.19) L/(mmol·s). The Km of the KatA/Ca3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflowers was (32.75±2.96) mmol/L, and the kcat/Km was (4 550.67±107.51) L/(mmol·s). Compared to the free KatA, the affinity of KatA/Ca3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflowers to the substrate hydrogen peroxide was decreased, and the catalytic efficiency was also decreased. In summary, this study developed KatA/Ca3(PO4)2 hybrid nanoflowers using Ca2+ as a self-assembly inducer, which enhanced the enzymatic properties and will facilitate the environmentally friendly preparation and widespread application of immobilized catalase.

A case of early-onset spinocerebellar ataxia type 5 / 中华神经科杂志

Spinocerebellar ataxias are a high clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders, usually belongs to autosomal dominant hereditary cerebellar ataxia. Spinocerebellar ataxia type 5 (SCA5) is one of the extremely rare subtypes and caused by heterozygous mutation of SPTBN2 gene. A case of infant-onset SCA5 patient is reported, mainly manifested as global developmental delay, ataxia and dysarthria, carrying the heterozygous missense variant c.1438C>T (p. Arg480Trp) in the SPTBN2 gene. This mutation may have an important impact on functional regions of the β-Ⅲ spectrin, leading to the occurrence of disease.

Energy Saving Benefit Analysis of the Compressor Short-Stop Adjustment Method Based on TGNET.

Aiming at the problem of gas emissions caused by the high-pressure operation of a large industrial gas (O2, N2, and Ar) pipeline network, this study establishes a mathematical model of the oxygen transmission and distribution system (OTDS) based on TGNET software. In addition, the study conducts transient simulation, comprehensively considering theoretical constraints and actual operation requirements, and adopts a large air separation company for the OTDS as a case study. After comparing two traditional adjustment methods, a compressor short stop adjustment strategy is proposed to reduce the peak pressure of the pipe network system. This study determines the energy-saving benefits and the difference in the scope of application of compressor short-stop adjustment. Compared with the medium-pressure release and inlet guide vane opening adjustment (IGVOA) strategies, the compressor short-stop adjustment strategy reduced oxygen emission by 3850.9 Nm3 and increased by 927.1 Nm3. Furthermore, the compressor operating energy consumption was reduced by 3349 and 2919 kW h. Compared with the IGVOA strategy, the compressor short-stop adjustment strategy has increased the application range of compressor inlet pressure and medium-pressure pipeline pressure by more than 70%. This strategy is effective for reducing the emission of pipeline gases caused by fluctuations in user demand.

Research Progress on the Relationship between Obesity-Inflammation-Aromatase Axis and Male Infertility.

Aromatase is a key enzyme in the transformation of androgen into estrogen. Its high expression will destroy the hormonal balance in the male body, and the excessive transformation of androgen into estrogen in the body will further damage the spermatogenic function of the testis, affect the normal development of the sperm, and cause spermatogenic disturbance. Adipose tissue has a high expression of aromatase and shows high enzymatic activity and ability to convert estrogen. Adipose tissue is the most estrogen-producing nongonadal tissue in the body because of its large size, accounting for about 20% of the body mass in healthy adults. PPARγ is recognized as the key adipose differentiation in the transcriptional regulation of the transcription factor. In the process of adipocyte differentiation, PPARγ regulate the expression of aromatase. The increase of aromatase is associated with the inflammatory response in adipose tissue caused by obesity. After obesity, the increase of proinflammatory factors in adipocytes will lead to enhanced transcription of the CYP19 gene encoding aromatase in adipocytes, which in turn will lead to increased expression of aromatase in adipocytes. This article reviews the regulation of male sterility from the angle of the "obesity-inflammation-aromatase" axis.

Combining application of wavelet analysis and genetic algorithm in wind tunnel simulation of unidirectional natural wind field near a sand ground surface.

This study proposes a method for the approximate simulation of field gust in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel driven by an axial fan. Wavelet analysis and genetic algorithm have been adopted to convert actual field gust data into a series of simplified and smooth control signals. One frequency converter is used to receive the signals via a programmable logic controller and change the fan speed correspondingly. Results show that the low-frequency energetic part of field gust on top of a saltation layer has been almost reproduced in the wind tunnel with energy fluctuations ±3.26% from the mean compared with the field data in terms of energy. The appropriate filter frequency for field gust velocity history is 1/32 Hz. A unidirectional natural wind field near a sand bed surface can be approximately simulated in the tunnel by adjusting carefully the roughness element arrangement. The time-averaged velocity profile of the simulated wind, which satisfies the logarithmic law, is nearly equivalent to the steady flow with the same average velocity.

Intermediate-dose anticoagulation, aspirin, and in-hospital mortality in COVID-19: a propensity score-matched analysis

BackgroundThrombotic complications occur at high rates in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, yet the impact of intensive antithrombotic therapy on mortality is uncertain. Research QuestionHow does in-hospital mortality compare with intermediate-versus prophylactic-dose anticoagulation, and separately with in-hospital aspirin versus no antiplatelet therapy, in treatment of COVID-19? Study Design and MethodsUsing data from 2785 hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients, we established two separate, nested cohorts of patients (1) who received intermediate- or prophylactic-dose anticoagulation ("anticoagulation cohort", N = 1624), or (2) who were not on home antiplatelet therapy and received either in-hospital aspirin or no antiplatelet therapy ("aspirin cohort", N = 1956). Propensity score matching utilizing various markers of illness severity and other patient-specific covariates yielded treatment groups with well-balanced covariates in each cohort. The primary outcome was cumulative incidence of in-hospital death. ResultsAmong propensity score-matched patients in the anticoagulation cohort (N = 382), in a multivariable regression model, intermediate-compared to prophylactic-dose anticoagulation was associated with a significantly lower cumulative incidence of in-hospital death (hazard ratio 0.518 [0.308-0.872]). Among propensity-score matched patients in the aspirin cohort (N = 638), in a multivariable regression model, in-hospital aspirin compared to no antiplatelet therapy was associated with a significantly lower cumulative incidence of in-hospital death (hazard ratio 0.522 [0.336-0.812]). InterpretationIn this propensity score-matched, observational study of COVID-19, intermediate-dose anticoagulation and aspirin were each associated with a lower cumulative incidence of in-hospital death. Summary conflict of interest statementsNo conflict of interest exists for any author on this manuscript.