The association of serum testosterone with dyslipidemia is mediated by obesity: the Henan Rural Cohort Study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

This study aimed to evaluate the relationships of serum testosterone with dyslipidemia and blood lipid levels and test whether obesity mediated these associations by gender in Chinese rural population.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 6150 subjects were finally analyzed in this study. Serum testosterone for each subject was detected by liquid chromatography equipped with tandem mass spectrometry. Logistic regression and linear regression were employed to evaluate the associations of serum testosterone with the prevalence of dyslipidemia and blood lipid levels. Mediation analysis was conducted to identify the mediation effects of obesity on the relationship between serum testosterone and dyslipidemia. After adjusting for multiple confounders, per unit change in serum ln-testosterone levels was associated with a decreased prevalent dyslipidemia in men (odds ratio (OR): 0.785, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.708, 0.871)). Males with the levels of serum testosterone in the third or fourth quartiles had a 49.4% (OR: 0.506, 95% CI 0.398, 0.644) or 67.1% (OR: 0.329, 95% CI 0.253, 0.428) significantly lower odds of prevalence of dyslipidemia. In addition, a onefold increase in ln-testosterone was related to a 0.043 mmol/L (95% CI 0.028, 0.059) increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in men. Results of the mediation analysis suggested that obesity played a partial role in the association of testosterone with dyslipidemia in men.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggested that serum testosterone levels were negatively associated with lipid levels and prevalent dyslipidemia, and obesity mediated the effects of serum testosterone on dyslipidemia in men, implying that obesity prevention should be highlighted to decrease the prevalence of dyslipidemia related to changes in testosterone levels.

[Analysis of surgical treatment of severe angular kyphosis with keeping the spinal cord length constant in osteotomy area]

Objective: To explore the surgical methods and clinical outcomes of severe angular kyphosis with the length of the spinal cord constant in the osteotomy area. Methods: Clinical data from 20 patients with severe angular kyphosis who underwent surgical treatment from January 2017 to December 2020 in the Department of Spinal Surgery,Hangzhou Xiaoshan District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine were retrospectively analyzed. There were 11 males and 9 females, aged (28.5±8.9) years (range:17 to 46 years).There were 15 cases with congenital angular kyphosis,5 cases with tuberculous angular kyphosis.The angle of kyphosis was (107.1±12.9)° (range:93.2° to 131.4°).Frankel classification:2 cases with grade B,4 cases with grade C,3 cases with grade D.The kyphotic vertex is located at the T₉ to T₁₂ segments.Pedicle screws were placed in 3 or 4 adjacent segments at the proximal and distal kyphosis apex of the patients using a surgical navigation system.Piezosurgery combined with a grinding drill was used to complete the osteotomy in the apical vertebral region.Titanium mesh or artificial vertebral body was implanted,and the osteotomy surface was closed using this as the fulcrum to complete osteotomy.Spinal X-ray examination was performed before surgery,immediately after surgery and at the last follow-up,and sagittal and coronal Cobb angle,sagittal and coronary balance parameters,anterior vertebral height,posterior vertebral height,and spinal cord length were measured.Pulmonary function,visual analogue scale (VAS),and Oswestry's disability index (ODI) were collected and estimated before and after treatment.The analysis of variance of repeated measurement data was used for each evaluation index before and after treatment,and the t test was used for pairwise comparison. Results: All patients successfully completed surgery,with artificial vertebral body in 11 cases and double titanium mesh in 9 cases.The follow-up time was (28.2±2.3) months (range:26 to 31 months).Sagittal vertical axis improved from (46.9±13.7)mm(range:21.7 to 75.7 mm) before surgery to (10.7±5.5)mm (range:3.6 to 28.1 mm) after surgery,and (11.0±5.7)mm(range:3.6 to 29.3 mm) at the last follow-up,the differences were statistically significant compared to before surgery (all P<0.01).The mean kyphotic Cobb angle was corrected from (107.1±12.9) ° (range:93.2 ° to 131.4°) before surgery to (30.6±8.5) ° (range:20.0 ° to 47.8 °) after surgery (all P<0.01),and (32.1±8.7) ° (range:18.2 ° to 50.8°) at the last follow-up,the differences were statistically significant compared to before surgery(all P<0.01).The anterior vertebral height improved from (14.2±2.9)mm(range:11.04 to 23.6 mm) before surgery to (45.3±7.5)mm(range:29.4 to 56.5 mm) after surgery,and (44.3±6.8)mm(range:29.6 to 56.0 mm) at the last follow-up,the differences were statistically significant compared to before surgery (all P<0.01).The posterior vertebral height was improved from (51.8±5.3)mm (range:43.1 to 61.4 mm)before surgery to (57.6±4.7)mm (range:45.7 to 64.1 mm)after surgery,and (56.3±5.0) mm (range:49.7 to 68.5 mm) at the last follow-up,the differences were statistically significant compared to before surgery (all P<0.01).The spinal cord length of the osteotomy segment was (73.1±12.0)mm (range:56.8 to 98.4 mm) before surgery and (74.8±12.8)mm (range:53.5 to 100.2 mm) after surgery and (75.2±13.7)mm (range:53.9 to 102.4 mm) at the last follow-up,the difference was not statistically significant among them(F=0.144,P=0.866).The ODI and VAS scores improved significantly after surgery and at the last follow-up,and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.01). Conclusion: The posterior vertebral column resection technique combined with titanium mesh or an artificial vertebral body implant for the treatment of severe angular kyphosis can significantly improve the kyphosis,neurological function,and life quality of patients without affecting the length of the spinal cord.

[Investigate of the etiology and prevention status of liver cirrhosis]

Objective: To investigate the etiology, prevention and treatment status, and their corresponding regional differences of the patients with liver cirrhosis in China, in order to provide scientific basis for the development of diagnosis and control strategies in China. Methods: Clinical data of patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis for the first time through January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2020 from 50 hospitals in seven different regions of China were collected and analyzed retrospectively, and the difference of etiology, treatment, and their differences in various regions were analyzed. Results: A total of 11 861 cases with liver cirrhosis were included in the study. Thereinto, 5 093 cases (42.94%) were diagnosed as compensated cirrhosis, and 6 768 cases (57.06%) had decompensated cirrhosis. Notably, 8 439 cases (71.15%) were determined as chronic hepatitis B-caused cirrhosis, 1 337 cases (11.27%) were alcoholic liver disease, 963 cases (8.12%) were chronic hepatitis C, 698 cases (5.88%) were autoimmune liver disease, 367 cases (3.09%) were schistosomiasis, 177 cases (1.49%) were nonalcoholic fatty liver, and 743 cases (6.26%) of other types of liver disease. There were significant differences in the incidence of chronic hepatitis B, chronic hepatitis C, alcoholic liver disease, fatty liver, schistosomiasis liver disease, and autoimmune liver disease among the seven regions (P<0.001). Only 1 139 cases (9.60%) underwent endoscopic therapy, thereinto, 718 cases (6.05%) underwent surgical therapy, and 456 cases (3.84%) underwent interventional therapy treatment. In patients with compensated liver cirrhosis, 60 cases (0.51%) underwent non-selective β receptor blockers(NSBB), including 59 cases (0.50%) underwent propranolol and 1 case (0.01%) underwent carvedilol treatment. In patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis, 310 cases (2.61%) underwent NSBB treatment, including 303 cases (2.55%) underwent propranolol treatment and 7 cases (0.06%) underwent carvedilol treatment. Interestingly, there were significant differences in receiving endoscopic therapy, interventional therapy, NSBB therapy, splenectomy and other surgical treatments among the seven regions (P<0.001). Conclusion: Currently, chronic hepatitis B is the main cause (71.15%) of liver cirrhosis in several regions of China, and alcoholic liver disease has become the second cause (11.27%) of liver cirrhosis in China. The three-level prevention and control of cirrhosis in China should be further strengthened.

MHD instability dynamics and turbulence enhancement towards the plasma disruption at the HL-2A tokamak

The evolutions of MHD instability behaviors and enhancement of both electrostatic and electromagnetic turbulence towards the plasma disruption have been clearly observed in the HL-2A plasmas. Two types of plasma disruptive discharges have been investigated for similar equilibrium parameters: one with a distinct stage of a small central temperature collapse ([Formula: see text] 5-10%) around 1 millisecond before the thermal quench (TQ), while the other without. For both types, the TQ phase is preceded by a rotating 2/1 tearing mode, and it is the development of the cold bubble from the inner region of the 2/1 island O-point along with its inward convection that causes the massive energy loss. In addition, the micro-scale turbulence, including magnetic fluctuations and density fluctuations, increases before the small collapse, and more significantly towards the TQ. Also, temperature fluctuations measured by electron cyclotron emission imaging enhances dramatically at the reconnection site and expand into the island when approaching the small collapse and TQ, and the expansion is more significant close to the TQ. The observed turbulence enhancement near the X-point cannot be fully interpreted by the linear stability analysis by GENE. Evidences suggest that nonlinear effects, such as the reduction of local [Formula: see text] shear and turbulence spreading, may play an important role in governing turbulence enhancement and expansion. These results imply that the turbulence and its interaction with the island facilitate the stochasticity of the magnetic flux and formation of the cold bubble, and hence, the plasma disruption.

E-cigarette, cigarette, dual e-cigarette with cigarette use, and disability status among reproductive-aged women

OBJECTIVE

E-cigarettes have increased steadily among reproductive-aged women, despite our limited understanding of their effect on reproductive health. This study examined the associations of e-cigarette, cigarette, and dual use with disability in reproductive-aged women.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional study.

METHODS

Data for this study were obtained from reproductive-aged women (18-44 years; n = 24,904) from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the associations of tobacco use patterns (dependent variable, i.e. non-use, current e-cigarette use, current cigarette use, and current dual use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes) with overall disability and the type of disability (independent variables).

RESULTS

Among women who reported any disability, 70.6%, 8.7%, 11.4% and 9.3% reported non-use, e-cigarette, cigarette, and dual use, respectively. In adjusted analysis, relative to non-use, women who reported any disability had higher odds of e-cigarette (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.88; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15-3.07), cigarette (aOR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.12-2.25), and dual use (aOR: 2.37; 95% CI: 1.55-3.62) compared with women without disabilities.

CONCLUSIONS

This cross-sectional study found higher odds of current e-cigarette use, cigarette use, and dual use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes among women of reproductive age with ≥1 disability. Improved screening for the use of nicotine products among women of reproductive age with disabilities may be necessary to lessen the use of nicotine products in this vulnerable population.

[Anti-inflammatory mechanism of Balanophora involucrata: a network pharmacology and molecular docking-based analysis and verification in lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the main chemical constituents of Balanophora involucrata and the mechanism of its antiinflammatory effect based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology.

METHODS

Literature reports, Materia Medica, GeneCards and other databases were searched for anti-inflammatory compounds and their targets. String database and Cytoscape 3.7.2 software were used to obtain the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and the drug-active ingredienttargets network and for GO and KEGG enrichment analyses. Molecular docking was performed using Auto Dock Tools 1.5.6. In an inflammatory RAW264.7 cell model induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the effect of 25, 50, 100, 200 μg/mL Balanophora involucrata extract was tested on the production of inflammatory cytokines and phosphorylation level of PI3K and Akt using ELISA and Western blotting.

RESULTS

A total of 318 common targets of drugs and diseases were identified, and the core targets were Src, HSP90AA1 and PIK3CA, involving cancer, PI3K/Akt, MAPK and other signaling pathways as shown by KEGG analysis. Molecular docking showed that both the main active constituents of Balanophora involucrata could spontaneously bind to the core targets. In the inflammatory cell model, treatment with Balanophora involucrata extract significantly inhibited the production of IL-1β at the concentrations of 100 and 200 μg/mL, reduced IL-6 and TNF-α expressions at the concentrations of 50, 100, and 200 μg/mL, and lowered phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt proteins at the concentrations of 25, 50, 100, and 200 μg/mL (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The anti-inflammatory mechanism of Balanophora involucrata involves multiple targets and multiple pathways, and its effect is mediated possibly by reducing IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α production and inhibiting phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt proteins to suppress the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

[Human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell exosome-derived miR-335-5p promotes osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells to alleviate periodontitis by downregulating DKK1]

OBJECTIVE

To observe the effect of miR-335-5p derived from human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (hBMMSCs) exosomes on osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cell (PDLSCs) model of periodontitis and explore its mechanism.

METHODS

The exosomes extracted from hBMMSCs were identified by transmission electron microscopy, Western blotting and PKH67 labeling. The human PDLSC model of TNF-α-induced periodontitis were co-cultured with the extracted exosomes, and qRT-PCR was performed to detect the changes in the expressions of miR-335-5p and the mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8) and the osteogenic marker genes (RunX2, OCN and BMP-2). Alizarin red staining and ALP staining were used to detect the formation of calcium nodules in the treated cells, and the expression level of DKK1 protein was detected with Western blotting. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay was used to verify the targeting relationship between miR-335-5p and DKK1.

RESULTS

High expressions of CD9 and CD81 were detected in the extracted hBMMSC exosomes (P < 0.05). In TNF-α-induced hPDLSCs, treatment with the extracted exosomes significantly reduced the mRNA expressions of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8, enhanced the mRNA expressions of RunX2, OCN, and BMP-2, and promoted the formation of calcium nodules. MiR-335-5p was highly expressed in hBMMSC-derived exosomes, and overexpression of miR-335-5p significantly downregulated DKK1 protein expression, inhibited the mRNA expressions of IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8, and promoted the mRNA expressions of osteogenic markers and the formation of calcium nodules in hPDLSCs.

CONCLUSION

HBMMSC exosome-derived miR-335-5p promotes osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs and inhibits the development of periodontitis by downregulating DKK1.

Measurement of Sequential ϒ Suppression in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200 GeV with the STAR Experiment

We report on measurements of sequential ϒ suppression in Au+Au collisions at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV with the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) through both the dielectron and dimuon decay channels. In the 0%-60% centrality class, the nuclear modification factors (R_{AA}), which quantify the level of yield suppression in heavy-ion collisions compared to p+p collisions, for ϒ(1S) and ϒ(2S) are 0.40±0.03(stat)±0.03(sys)±0.09(norm) and 0.26±0.08(stat)±0.02(sys)±0.06(norm), respectively, while the upper limit of the ϒ(3S) R_{AA} is 0.17 at a 95% confidence level. This provides experimental evidence that the ϒ(3S) is significantly more suppressed than the ϒ(1S) at RHIC. The level of suppression for ϒ(1S) is comparable to that observed at the much higher collision energy at the Large Hadron Collider. These results point to the creation of a medium at RHIC whose temperature is sufficiently high to strongly suppress excited ϒ states.

Global survival trends for brain tumors, by histology: analysis of individual records for 556,237 adults diagnosed in 59 countries during 2000-2014 (CONCORD-3)

BACKGROUND

Survival is a key metric of the effectiveness of a health system in managing cancer. We set out to provide a comprehensive examination of worldwide variation and trends in survival from brain tumors in adults, by histology.

METHODS

We analyzed individual data for adults (15-99 years) diagnosed with a brain tumor (ICD-O-3 topography code C71) during 2000-2014, regardless of tumor behavior. Data underwent a 3-phase quality control as part of CONCORD-3. We estimated net survival for 11 histology groups, using the unbiased nonparametric Pohar Perme estimator.

RESULTS

The study included 556,237 adults. In 2010-2014, the global range in age-standardized 5-year net survival for the most common sub-types was broad: in the range 20%-38% for diffuse and anaplastic astrocytoma, from 4% to 17% for glioblastoma, and between 32% and 69% for oligodendroglioma. For patients with glioblastoma, the largest gains in survival occurred between 2000-2004 and 2005-2009. These improvements were more noticeable among adults diagnosed aged 40-70 years than among younger adults.

CONCLUSIONS

To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the largest account to date of global trends in population-based survival for brain tumors by histology in adults. We have highlighted remarkable gains in 5-year survival from glioblastoma since 2005, providing large-scale empirical evidence on the uptake of chemoradiation at population level. Worldwide, survival improvements have been extensive, but some countries still lag behind. Our findings may help clinicians involved in national and international tumor pathway boards to promote initiatives aimed at more extensive implementation of clinical guidelines.

A systematic evaluation of normalization methods and probe replicability using infinium EPIC methylation data

BACKGROUND

The Infinium EPIC array measures the methylation status of > 850,000 CpG sites. The EPIC BeadChip uses a two-array design: Infinium Type I and Type II probes. These probe types exhibit different technical characteristics which may confound analyses. Numerous normalization and pre-processing methods have been developed to reduce probe type bias as well as other issues such as background and dye bias.

METHODS

This study evaluates the performance of various normalization methods using 16 replicated samples and three metrics: absolute beta-value difference, overlap of non-replicated CpGs between replicate pairs, and effect on beta-value distributions. Additionally, we carried out Pearson's correlation and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analyses using both raw and SeSAMe 2 normalized data.

RESULTS

The method we define as SeSAMe 2, which consists of the application of the regular SeSAMe pipeline with an additional round of QC, pOOBAH masking, was found to be the best performing normalization method, while quantile-based methods were found to be the worst performing methods. Whole-array Pearson's correlations were found to be high. However, in agreement with previous studies, a substantial proportion of the probes on the EPIC array showed poor reproducibility (ICC < 0.50). The majority of poor performing probes have beta values close to either 0 or 1, and relatively low standard deviations. These results suggest that probe reliability is largely the result of limited biological variation rather than technical measurement variation. Importantly, normalizing the data with SeSAMe 2 dramatically improved ICC estimates, with the proportion of probes with ICC values > 0.50 increasing from 45.18% (raw data) to 61.35% (SeSAMe 2).

[Study of incubation period of infection with 2019-nCoV Omicron variant BA.5.1.3]

Objective: To study the incubation period of the infection with 2019-nCoV Omicron variant BA.5.1.3. Methods: Based on the epidemiological survey data of 315 COVID-19 cases and the characteristics of interval censored data structure, log-normal distribution and Gamma distribution were used to estimate the incubation. Bayes estimation was performed for the parameters of each distribution function using discrete time Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. Results: The mean age of the 315 COVID-19 cases was (42.01±16.54) years, and men accounted for 30.16%. A total of 156 cases with mean age of (41.65±16.32) years reported the times when symptoms occurred. The log-normal distribution and Gamma distribution indicated that the M (Q₁, Q₃) of the incubation period from exposure to symptom onset was 2.53 (1.86, 3.44) days and 2.64 (1.91, 3.52) days, respectively, and the M (Q₁, Q₃) of the incubation period from exposure to the first positive nucleic acid detection was 2.45 (1.76, 3.40) days and 2.57 (1.81, 3.52) days, respectively. Conclusions: The incubation period by Bayes estimation based on log-normal distribution and Gamma distribution, respectively, was similar to each other, and the best distribution of incubation period was Gamma distribution, the difference between the incubation period from exposure to the first positive nucleic acid detection and the incubation period from exposure to symptom onset was small. The median of incubation period of infection caused by Omicron variant BA.5.1.3 was shorter than those of previous Omicron variants.

Novel TiO2/GO/M-MMT nano-heterostructured composites exhibiting high photocatalytic activity

This study proposed a technique to enhance the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 using graphene oxide (GO) and modified Montmorillonite (M-MMT). TiO2/GO/M-MMT nano-heterostructured composites were prepared via hydrothermal and co-precipitation. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by investigating the photodegradation rate and absorption behavior of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. The results showed that TiO2/GO/M-MMT heterojunction exhibited excellent photocatalytic degradation performance, as the degradation rate of MO was observed to be 99.3% within 150 min. The density of adsorbed MO decreased by 62.1% after 210 min of dark adsorption using the TiO2/GO/M-MMT composite, which was significantly higher than that achieved using M-MMT, GO/M-MMT, and TiO2/M-MMT. The nano-heterostructure increased the effective interface between TiO2, GO, and MMT, which increased the charge transfer ability and prolonged the electron-hole separation time. Therefore, the results of this study can be used to design novel photocatalysts to eradicate environmental pollutants.

[Establishment and evaluation of a method for extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of Schistosoma japonicum from urine samples]

OBJECTIVE

To establish the method for extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of Schistosoma japonicum from urine samples, and to evaluate the efficiency of this method for extraction from urine samples treated with various methods.

METHODS

The S. japonicum SjG28 gene fragment was selected as a target sequence, and the 81 bp short DNA fragment was amplified on the target sequence using PCR assay. Following characterization using sequencing, the short DNA fragment was added into the urine samples as an exogenous short DNA fragment. Primers and probes were designed with SjG28 as a target gene, to establish the real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay. The sensitivity of this qPCR assay was evaluated with exogenous short DNA fragments that were diluted at a 1:10 dilution ratio as the DNA template, and the specificity of the qPCR assay was evaluated with the genomic DNA of S. mansoni, S. haematobium, Babesia, Ancyiostoma duodenaie, Cionorchis sinensis, and Paragonimus westermani as DNA templates. Exogenous short DNA fragments were added into artificial and healthy volunteers' urine samples, followed by pH adjustment, centrifugation and concentration, and the efficiency of extracting exogenous short DNA fragments from urine samples was compared with the QIAmp Viral RNA Mini Kit (Qiagen kit) and BIOG cfDNA easy kit (BIOG kit).

RESULTS

An 81 bp small DNA fragment of S. japonicum was successfully prepared, and the lowest detection limit of the established qPCR assay was 100 copies/μL of the 81 bp small DNA fragment of S. japonicum. If the genomic DNA of S. japonicum, S. mansoni, S. haematobium, Babesia, A. duodenaie, C. sinensis, and P. westermani served as DNA templates, the qPCR assay only detected fluorescent signals with S. japonicum genomic DNA as the DNA template. If the pH values of artificial urine samples were adjusted to 5, 6, 7 and 8, the recovery rates were (49.12 ± 2.09)%, (84.52 ± 4.96)%, (89.38 ± 3.32)% and (87.82 ± 3.90)% for extracting the exogenous short DNA fragment of S. japonicum with the Qiagen kit, and were (2.30 ± 0.07)%, (8.11% ± 0.26)%, (13.35 ± 0.61)% and (20.82 ± 0.68)% with the BIOG kit, respectively (t = 38.702, 26.955, 39.042 and 29.571; all P values < 0.01). If the Qiagen kit was used for extracting the exogenous short DNA fragment from artificial urine samples, the lowest recovery rate was seen from urine samples with a pH value of 5 (all P values < 0.05), and there were no significant differences in the recovery rate from urine samples with pH values of 6, 7 and 8 (all P values > 0.05). Following centrifugation of artificial [(64.30 ± 1.00)% vs. (58.87 ± 0.26)%; t = 12.033, P < 0.05] and healthy volunteers' urine samples [(31 165 ± 1 017) copies/μL vs. (28 471 ± 818) copies/μL; t = 23.164, P < 0.05]. In addition, concentration of artificial urine samples with the 10 kDa Centrifugal Filter and concentration of healthy volunteers' urine samples with the 100 kDa Centrifugal Filter were both effective to increase the recovery of the Qiagen kit for extracting the exogenous short DNA fragment of S. japonicum (both P values < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

A method for extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of S. japonicum from urine samples has been successfully established, and the Qiagen kit has a high extraction efficiency. Adjustment of urine pH to 6 to 8 and concentration of healthy volunteers' urine samples with the 100 kDa Centrifugal Filter are both effective to increase the efficiency of extracting exogenous short DNA fragments of S. japonicum.

["Graded early warning system" of RET germline mutation carriers in MEN2A/MEN2B families and total thyroidectomy (report of 7 cases)]

Objective: To explore the reasonable time of prophylactic thyroidectomy for RET gene carriers in multiple endocrine neoplasia(MEN) 2A/2B families. Methods: From May 2015 to August 2021, RET gene carriers in MEN2A/MEN2B families were dynamically followed up at the Department of Thyroid Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Tongren Hospital of Capital Medical University. The high-risk patients were encouraged to undergo prophylacitc total thyroidectomy according to the principle of "graded early warning system", namely the evaluation of gene detection, calcitonin value and ultrasound examination successively. Seven cases underwent the surgery, including 3 males and 4 females, aged from 7 to 29 years. According to the risk stratification listed in the guidelines of the American Thyroid Association in 2015, there were 2 cases of the highest risk, 2 cases of the high risk and 3 cases of the modest risk. Calcitonin index remained within the normal range in 3 cases and elevated in 4 cases before operation. All 7 patients underwent thyroidectomy with lymph node dissection of the level Ⅵ performed in 4 patients. Results: The time from suggestion to operation was 2 to 37 months, with an average of 15.1 months. The 6 patients were medullary thyroid carcinoma and 1 case with C-cell hyperplasia. The follow-up time was 2 to 82 months, with an average of 38.4 months. Postoperative serum calcitonin levels of all cases decreased to normal level, with biochemical cure. There was no sign of recurrence on ultrasound examination. All 7 patients had no serious complications, no obvious thyroid dysfunction. Their height, weight and other indicators of pediatric patients were similar to those of their peers, with normal growth and development. Conclusion: For healthy people with MEN2A/MEN2B family history, prophylactic thyroidectomy can be carried out selectively based on the comprehensive evaluation of "graded early warning system" with strict screening and close monitoring.

[Analysis of enterovirus infection type among acute respiratory tract infection cases in Luohe City, Henan Province from 2017 to 2021]

Objective: To understand the infection status of Enterovirus (EV) in cases of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in Luohe City, Henan Province from 2017 to 2021, and analyze the prevalence and type composition of EV in ARIs. Methods: From October 2017 to May 2021, pharyngeal swab samples were collected from 1 828 patients with ARIs in Luohe Central Hospital and the clinical epidemiological data of these cases were also collected. EV-positive samples were identified by Quantitative Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). The 5'-untranslated region (5'UTR) was amplified by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). The results of 5'UTR region were initially typed by Enterovirus Genotyping Tool Version 1.0. Based on the typing results, the full-length of VP1 region was amplified by RT-PCR. The EV typing was identified again by VP1 region. Results: Among 1 828 cases of ARIs, 56.7% (1 036) were males. The median (Q₁, Q₃) age was about 3 (1, 5) years. Patients under 5 years old accounted for 71.6% (1 309 cases). Among all cases, a total of 71 EV-positive samples were identified by qPCR, with a detection rate of 3.88% (71/1 828). The EV detection rates for men and women were 3.28% (34/1 036) and 4.67% (37/792), without statistically significant differences (χ²=2.32, P=0.14). The EV detection rates for 2 to <6 years, 6 months to <2 years, 6 to <10 years, and <6 months were 6.29% (48/763), 3.00% (18/600), 2.52% (4/159), and 1.67% (1/60) (χ²=27.91, P<0.001). The EV detection rate was 0.92% (3/326) in autumn and winter of 2017. The EV detection rates were 1.18% (6/508), 2.47% (12/485) and 8.31% (34/409) in each year from 2018 to 2020, with an increasing trend year by year(χ²_trend=29.76, P<0.001). The main prevalent seasons were summer and autumn. The detection rate in spring of 2021 was 4.00% (4/100). A total of 12 types were identified and classified as CVA2, CVA4, CVA5, CVA6, CVA10, CVB3, CVB5, E5, E11, E30, PV-1, and EV-D68. The types of CVA2, CVA10, CVA6, and CVB3 were the dominant phenotypes. In 59 sample of EV typing, the main clinical manifestation was upper respiratory tract infection (36/59, 61.01%). The dominant types detected in upper respiratory tract infections were CVA10 (10/36, 27.78%), CVA6 (9/36, 25.00%) and CVB3 (8/36, 22.22%). The dominant type detected in lower respiratory tract infections was CVA2 (7/19, 36.84%). Conclusion: In Luohe City, Henan Province from 2017 to 2021, EV infection in ARIs cases has clear seasonal and age-specific patterns, and the dominant types of upper and lower respiratory tract infections are different.

HISMD: A Novel Immune Subtyping System for HNSCC

Immune subtyping is an important way to reveal immune heterogeneity, which may contribute to the diversity of the progression and treatment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, reported immune subtypes mainly focus on levels of immune infiltration and are mostly based on a mono-omics profile. This study aimed to identify a comprehensive immune subtype for HNSCC via multi-omics clustering and build a novel subtype prediction system for clinical application. Data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and our independent multicenter cohort. Multi-omics clustering was performed to identify 3 clusters of 499 patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas based on immune-related gene expression and somatic mutations. The immune characteristics and biological features of the obtained clusters were revealed by bioinformatics, and 3 immune subtypes were identified: 1) adaptive immune activation subtype predominantly enriched in T cells, 2) innate immune activation subtype predominantly enriched in macrophages, and 3) immune desert subtype. Subsequently, the clinical implications of each subtype were analyzed per clinical epidemiology. We found that adaptive immune activation showed better survival outcomes and had a similar response to chemotherapy with innate immune activation, whereas immune desert might be relatively resistant to chemotherapy. Moreover, a subtype prediction system was developed by deep learning with whole slide images and named HISMD: HNSCC Immune Subtypes via Multi-omics and Deep Learning. We endowed HISMD with interpretability through image-based key feature extraction. The clinical implications, biological significances, and predictive stability of HISMD were successfully verified by using our independent multicenter cohort data set. In summary, this study revealed the immune heterogeneity of HNSCC and obtained a novel, highly accurate, and interpretable immune subtyping prediction system. For clinical implementation in the future, additional validation and utility studies are warranted.

Beam Energy Dependence of Fifth- and Sixth-Order Net-Proton Number Fluctuations in Au+Au Collisions at RHIC

We report the beam energy and collision centrality dependence of fifth and sixth order cumulants (C_{5}, C_{6}) and factorial cumulants (κ_{5}, κ_{6}) of net-proton and proton number distributions, from center-of-mass energy (sqrt[s_{NN}]) 3 GeV to 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC. Cumulant ratios of net-proton (taken as proxy for net-baryon) distributions generally follow the hierarchy expected from QCD thermodynamics, except for the case of collisions at 3 GeV. The measured values of C_{6}/C_{2} for 0%-40% centrality collisions show progressively negative trend with decreasing energy, while it is positive for the lowest energy studied. These observed negative signs are consistent with QCD calculations (for baryon chemical potential, μ_{B}≤110  MeV) which contains the crossover transition range. In addition, for energies above 7.7 GeV, the measured proton κ_{n}, within uncertainties, does not support the two-component (Poisson+binomial) shape of proton number distributions that would be expected from a first-order phase transition. Taken in combination, the hyperorder proton number fluctuations suggest that the structure of QCD matter at high baryon density, μ_{B}∼750  MeV at sqrt[s_{NN}]=3  GeV is starkly different from those at vanishing μ_{B}∼24  MeV at sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV and higher collision energies.

Molecular characterisation and expression profile of the PRLR gene during goose ovarian follicle development

1. Although PRL-PRLR signalling plays important roles in regulating avian reproduction, there is a paucity of information regarding the functional significance of PRLR in goose ovarian follicle development.2. The full-length 2,496 bp coding sequence of PRLR was obtained from Sichuan White goose (Anser cygnoides) for the first time and was seen to encode a polypeptide containing 831 amino acids. Goose PRLR shares similar sequence characteristics and conserved functional domains to other avian species and was phylogenetically clustered into the avian clade.3. The qPCR results suggested that the mRNA levels of PRLR significantly increased in primary follicles during weeks 3 to 4 of age and were higher in secondary- than in primordial follicles at week 5 post-hatching, which suggested that the PRLR-mediated signalling could be involved in regulation of early folliculogenesis.4. The PRLR mRNA was expressed at the highest levels in the prehierarchical 8-10 mm granulosa layers throughout goose ovarian follicle development, indicating a role for PRLR in the process of follicle selection.5. PRLR mRNA was differentially expressed in the three cohorts of in vitro cultured granulosa cells harvested from different sized goose ovarian follicles, which suggested that PRLR was involved in regulating granulosa cell functions depending on the stage of follicle development. These data provide novel insights into the role of PRLR during goose ovarian follicle development, although the underlying mechanisms await further investigations.

Mandibular condylar process remodeling in rats with different bite-altering devices

The objective was to compare different dental splint models and materials for inducing abnormal loading on the gross morphology and histological appearance of the mandibular condylar processes of Sprague Dawley rats. Three different types of dental splints (resin molar, aluminum incisor, stainless-steel incisor) were placed unilaterally to induce occlusal perturbation for 4 weeks. At that time, mandibular condylar processes were assessed by gross appearance and histology. Quantitative measurements were also conducted on the hematoxylin and eosin images for condyle shape. The results showed that although the condylar cartilage was affected by all splint types, the resin molar splint was associated with the most extensive mandibular condylar process remodeling, which was primarily a slant (skewness) of the lateral aspect of the condylar process. Additionally, quantitative measurements on the histological specimens demonstrated that the split and tilt angle of the left (ipsilateral) condylar processes in the resin molar group (124.8 ± 12.7° and 104.1 ± 12.7°, respectively) increased significantly (p < 0.05) when compared to right (contralateral) condylar processes (104.7 ± 5.8°and 91.6 ± 4.4°, respectively). However, no changes were noted on the thickness of the fibrocartilage layer at medial, central, and lateral regions of the condylar process. Another major finding is the high variability of morphology of the naïve animals. Future studies will assess the impact of longer durations of splinting, age, and sex on the remodeling of the mandibular condylar process, allowing for the development of diagnostics and therapies.

Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals candidate genes for seasonal breeding in the male Lion-Head goose

1. Due to seasonal breeding, geese breeds from Southern China have low egg yield. The genetic makeup underlying performance of local breeds is largely unknown, and few studies have investigated this problem. This study integrated 21 newly generated and 50 publicly existing RNA-seq libraries, representing the hypothalamus, pituitary and testis, to identify candidate genes and importantly related pathways associated with seasonal breeding in male Lion-Head geese.2. In total, 19, 119 and 302 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in the hypothalamus, pituitary and testis, respectively, of male Lion-Head geese between non-breeding and breeding periods. These genes were significantly involved in the neuropeptide signalling pathway, gland development, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, JAK-STAT signalling pathway, cAMP signalling pathway, PI3K-Akt signalling pathway and Foxo signalling pathway.3. By integrating another 50 RNA-seq samples 4, 18 and 40 promising DEGs were confirmed in hypothalamus, pituitary and testis, respectively.4. HOX genes were identified as having important roles in the development of testis between non-breeding and breeding periods of male Lion-Head geese.