The microbiota in patients with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively review and critically assess the literature on microbiota differences between patients with interstitial cystitis (IC)/bladder pain syndrome (BPS) and normal controls and to provide clinical practice guidelines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this systematic review, we evaluated previous research on microbiota disparities between IC/BPS and normal controls, as well as distinctions among IC/BPS subgroups. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Relevant studies were shortlisted based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, followed by quality assessment. The primary focus was identifying specific taxonomic variations among these cohorts. RESULTS: A total of 12 studies met the selection criteria. Discrepancies were adjudicated by a third reviewer. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess study quality. Predominantly, the studies focused on disparities in urine microbiota between IC/BPS patients and normal controls, with one study examining gut microbiota differences between the groups, and two studies exploring vaginal microbiota distinctions. Unfortunately, analyses of discrepancies in other microbiota were limited. Our findings revealed evidence of distinct bacterial abundance variations, particularly involving Lactobacillus, alongside variations in specific metabolites among IC/BPS patients compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Currently, there is evidence suggesting significant variations in the diversity and species composition of the urinary microbiota between individuals diagnosed with IC/BPS and control groups. In the foreseeable future, urologists should consider urine microbiota dysbiosis as a potential aetiology for IC, with potential clinical implications for diagnosis and treatment.

A Comparative Study on the Degradation Behaviors of Ferroelectric Gate GaN HEMT with PZT and PZT/Al2O3 Gate Stacks.

In this paper, the degradation behaviors of the ferroelectric gate Gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) under positive gate bias stress are discussed. Devices with a gate dielectric that consists of pure Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) and a composite PZT/Al2O3 bilayer are studied. Two different mechanisms, charge trapping and generation of traps, both contribute to the degradation. We have observed positive threshold voltage shift in both kinds of devices under positive gate bias stress. In the devices with a PZT gate oxide, we have found the degradation is owing to electron trapping in pre-existing oxide traps. However, the degradation is caused by electron trapping in pre-existing oxide traps and the generation of traps for the devices with a composite PZT/Al2O3 gate oxide. Owing to the large difference in dielectric constants between PZT and Al2O3, the strong electric field in the Al2O3 interlayer makes PZT/Al2O3 GaN HEMT easier to degrade. In addition, the ferroelectricity in PZT enhances the electric field in Al2O3 interlayer and leads to more severe degradation. According to this study, it is worth noting that the reliability problem of the ferroelectric gate GaN HEMT may be more severe than the conventional metal-insulator-semiconductor HEMT (MIS-HEMT).

Impact of coexisting type 2 diabetes mellitus on the urinary microbiota of kidney stone patients.

Objectives: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) commonly complicates kidney stone disease (KSD). Our objective is to investigate the variations in the urinary microbiota between individuals with KSD alone and those with KSD plus T2DM. This exploration could have implications for disease diagnosis and treatment strategies. Methods: During lithotripsy, a ureterscope was employed, and 1 mL of urine was collected from the renal pelvis after bladder disinfection. Sequencing targeting the V3-V4 hypervariable region was performed using the 16S rRNA and Illumina Novaseq platform. Results: The Shannon index showed a significant decrease in the KSD plus T2DM group compared to the KSD-only group (false discovery rate = 0.041). Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) demonstrated a distinct bacterial community in the KSD plus T2DM group compared to the KSD-only group (false discovery rate = 0.027). The abundance of Sphingomonas, Corynebacterium, and Lactobacillus was significantly higher in the KSD plus T2DM group than in the KSD-only group (false discovery rate < 0.05). Furthermore, Enhydrobacter, Chryseobacterium, and Allobaculum were positively correlated with fasting blood glucose and HbA1c values (P < 0.05). Conclusions: The urinary microbiota in the renal pelvis exhibits differences between patients with KSD plus T2DM and those with KSD alone. Further studies employing animal models are necessary to validate these distinctions, potentially paving the way for therapeutic developments based on the urinary microbiota.

Associations between educational burden and depression and anxiety symptoms among middle school students in Taizhou City / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among middle school students in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, and its associations with their educational burden, so as to provide a theoretical reference for making more targeted psychological interventional measures.@*Methods@#A cross sectional study was conducted by multi stage cluster sampling from September to November 2022 from 30 schools in five districts and counties of Taizhou, with a final sample of 8 128 junior and senior high school students completing the online surveys on the Questionnaire Star platform. The Educational Stress Scale for Adolescents (ESSA) was used to measure academic stress; the Child Depression Inventory (CDI) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) were used to screen students depression and anxiety, respectively. The relationships between educational burden and depression and anxiety symptoms were analyzed by Logistic regression models.@*Results@#The prevalence of depression and anxiety were 19.3% and 11.1%, respectively. The average score of middle school students study pressure was (52.8±11.5). The number of extracurricular classes was <1, the time length of extracurricular courses was <1 hour per day, and students averagely spend 3.6 hours per day on homework assigned by school teachers. Nearly 30.0% students had ≤0.5 of discretionary time school days and 28.5% students had ≤2 on weekends. About 30.8% students though they do worse in their academic performance. According to the results of binary Logistic regression analysis, after controlling the demographic variables, the score in Study Pressure Scale, the number of extracurricular classes, the volume of homework and the time length of extracurricular courses were positively associated with depression and anxiety ( OR =1.09, 1.07, 1.08, 1.05, 1.04, 1.08, 1.08, 1.08, 1.06, 1.09, 1.07, 1.47, 1.34, 2.84 ; 1.08, 1.06, 1.08, 1.04, 1.03, 1.05, 1.05, 1.05, 1.05, 1.07, 1.06, 1.48, 1.23, 1.75, P <0.05). Students with overage grades had a higher risk of depression symptoms ( OR=1.34, P <0.05).@*Conclusions@#Academic burden has negative effects on depression and anxiety of students in Taizhou. It is advisable to alleviate academic stress, so as to improve the mental health of students.

Effects of different developmental patterns on thyroid morphological changes among children in pre-puberty and puberty / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate the effects of different developmental patterns on the increases of thyroid volume in children from different genders and periods, and to explore whether there is a synergistic effect on the initiation of puberty in girls, so as to provide a theoretical basis for reducing the risk of thyroid abnormalities in adulthood.@*Methods@#A multi-stage cluster sampling was used to select a primary school in Minhang District of Shanghai, Haimen City of Jiangsu Province and Yuhuan city of Zhejiang Province. A total of 784 children aged 8-10 years old were included in "8-10 years school-aged children cohort". At the same time, a total of 491 girls aged 11-13 years were included in the "11-13 years adolescent girls cohort". The content of survey on follow-up was consistent with the one on baseline. B-ultrasonography was used to measure thyroid volume. The physical development indexes such as height (H), weight (W) and waist circumference (WC) were measured. The morning urine samples were collected and the urinary iodine content was detected. The changes of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and thyroid volume (V) were calculated (d BMI, d WC, and d V, respectively). According to the changes of BMI and WC, the subjects were classified into four types of developmental changes, namely "B-LW-L (low d BMI, low d WC)" "B-LW-H (low d BMI, high d WC)" "B-HW-L (high d BMI, low d WC)" and "B-HW-H (high d BMI , high d WC)". Results In partial correlation analysis, thyroid volume was significantly correlated with BMI and WC at baseline or follow-up(P<0.05). The changes of thyroid volume in 8-10 years old boys were related to the changes of BMI and WC (P<0.05), the changes of thyroid volume in 8-10 year old girls were only associated with the changes of WC (P=0.03), and no association was found in 11-13 year old girls(P>0.05). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for baseline age, region, and differences of urinary iodine, the risk of thyroid volume increasing in B-HW-H was 2.70 times (95%CI=1.29-5.66) higher than that of B-LW-L in boys aged 8-10 years; among girls aged 11-13 years, the risk of thyroid volume increasing in B-LW-H, B-HW-L and B-HW-H were 2.46 times (95%CI=1.31-4.61), 2.16 times (95%CI=1.15-4.03) and 1.79 times (95%CI=1.07-2.99), respectively; there was no interaction between menarche age and developmental pattern on thyroid volume change trend (P=0.49).@*Conclusion@#The thyroid volume in children and adolescents increases with the development of physical development. Different developmental patterns and estrogens have certain effects on thyroid morphological changes. To avoid obesity in childhood (especially with central obesity), timely identify and effectively intervene thyroid morphological abnormalities in childhood，and to reduce the risk of thyroid diseases in adulthood.