AIM: To investigate the effects of TGF-?_1 and signal protein Smad3 on rat cardiac myocyte hypertrophy.METHODS: The total protein was analyzed by flow cytometry and the ANF mRNA expression was measured by RT-PCR to judge the hypertrophy of cultured neonatal cardiac myocytes.Smad3 mRNA expression in cardiac myocytes was measured by RT-PCR,and the protein expression of Smad3 was analyzed by Western blotting.RESULTS: TGF-?_1 significantly increased the total protein in cardiac myocytes and promoted ANF mRNA expression,compared with control group.In cultured neonatal myocytes,AS-ODN of Smad3 inhibited myocyte hypertrophy induced by TGF-?_1.Smad3 mRNA and protein expression increased at 15 min after incubated with TGF-?_1,reached the peak at 1 h,and declined at 4 h.CONCLUSION: TGF-?_1 and signal protein Smad3 may participate in the progress of rat cardiac myocyte hypertrophy.

Objective To explore the role of protective function of Sestrin2(Sesn2)to mitochondria in alleviating cognitive dysfunction in mice with sepsis-associated encephalopathy(SAE).Methods 6-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three groups:sham group,CLP group and CLP plus eupatilin group,40 mice in each group.A sepsis model was induced by cecal ligation and perforation(CLP).The CLP plus eupatilin group was treated with eupatilin.Neurobehavioral test and Morris water maze(MWM)were used to deter-mine neurobehavior and spatial learning and memory function in mice.The number of neurons in hippocampal CA1 area was counted by Nissl staining.HT22 cells were randomly divided into a control group(Con),lipopolysaccha-ride group(LPS),LPS plus eupatilin treatment group(LPS plus eupatilin)and LPS plus eupatilin and Nrf2 siRNA treatment group(LPS plus eupatilin and si-Nrf2).Apoptosis was analyzed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end labeling(TUNEL)staining,Mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP)was used to analyze mitochondrial damage.Results Seven days after CLP,as compared with sham mice,Sesn2 in hippocampus and cortex decreased significantly in CLP mice(P<0.01).As compared with CLP group,the survival rate in CLP plus eupatilin group increased significantly(P<0.05).As compared with sham group,the mice in CLP group showed a relatively high nerve injury score(P<0.05),and had fewer platform crossings and shorter target stay time,while the mice in CLP plus eupatilin group exhibited a lower injury score(P<0.05),and stayed in the target area for a longer time(P<0.05).As compared with sham group,the co-localization rate of neurons,Sesn2 and Nrf2 in CLP group decreased significantly(P<0.05),and the number of CD68/Iba-1 positive microglia increased significantly(P<0.05),while CLP plus eupatilin group reversed these changes.As compared with Con group,apoptosis and MMP level in LPS group increased significantly(P<0.01),while apoptosis and MMP level in LPS plus eupatilin group were lower than those in LPS group(P<0.05).However,Nrf2 knockdown(LPS plus eupatilin and si-Nrf2 group)reversed the anti-apoptosis and mitochondrial protection of eupatilin.Conclusions Eupatilin can alleviate cognitive dysfunction and neurological deficit in SAE mice by activating Sesn2-Nrf2 pathway,and improve inflammatory microenvironment by alleviating mitochondrial dysfunction.

Objective To determine the acceptance and willingness to pay for breast cancer screening among populations at high risk of breast cancer in urban China. Methods From 2012 to 2014, a cancer screening program in urban China (CanSPUC) was carried out in 13 provinces. The current survey was conducted among participants who were evaluated as having"high?risk for breast cancer"using a Harvard model (community?based) and then underwent breast mammography or ultrasonography screening procedure (hospital-based). The study mainly focused on their acceptance and willingness to pay under certain self?payment assumption for breast cancer screening. Results A total of 3 049 participants, with a mean age of 52.4±7.0 years, were included. The group aged 45 to 55 years accounted for 50% of the patients, and the median annual income per capita in the recent 5 years was 22 000 (15 000-34 000) Chinese yuan (CNY). Educational level, occupation, and marital status may affect their full acceptance and voluntary payment (P<0.05). Of all the participants, 99% (3 016 participants) could totally or substantially accept the breast cancer screening. When the breast cancer screening was assumed to be conducted every 3 years in the low?cost self?paid context, 85% (2 581 participants) of the participants had the willingness to pay, while only 17% were willing to pay >100 CNY. The remaining 15% of the residents showed no willingness to pay, and the unaffordable expenditure (70%, 438 participants) and unnecessary screening (24%, 112 participants) were the primary considerations. Significant differences in acceptance, willingness to pay, and payment were found among the provinces. Conclusion Almost all high?risk populations for breast cancer could accept breast cancer screening. The willingness to pay was relatively high, but the amount of payment was limited and low.

Objective:To explore the economic applicability and safetyof the novel uterovaginal pubic comb suspension(UPCS)surgery with Mersilene tape in the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse(POP).Methods:A ret-rospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients who underwent UPCS surgery due to POP from January 1st,2021 to February 28,2023.They were divided to the UPCS surgery with Mersilene tape group(group A)and suspension surgery with Y-shaped mesh group(group B)respectively.The POP-Q indication points,sus-pension surgery duration,intraoperative bleeding volume,material expense,postoperative catheter retention time,anal exhaust time and hospitalization duration were recorded for both groupbefore and after surgery.Evaluate the severity of POP related symptoms in patients before and after surgery using the pelvic Floor Distress Invento-ry-short Form 20(PFDI-20)and Pelvic Organ Prolapsed/Urinary Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire-12(PISQ-12),and follow up and observe the patients and analyze the complications.Results:A total of 17 POP patients were included in the study.There were 12 patients in group A while 5 patients in group B.The suspension material expense of group A was considerably lower than that of group B(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference between the two groups in preoperative PFDI-20 score,preoperative PISQ-12 score,UPCS surgery duration,intr-aoperative bleeding volume,postoperative urinary catheter retention time,postoperative anal exhaust time and hospitalization duration.All patients showed stable vital signs during the surgery and no severe complications were reported.Compared with the preoperative status,the positions of the Aa,Ba,and C indicatorpoint in group A and group B were all increased significantly(P＜0.05).The PFDl-20 and PISQ-12 scores of the two groups at the last follow-up after surgery showed significant improvement compared to those before surgery(P＜0.05).No signifi-cant difference was found in the PFDI-20 and PISQ-12 scores between the two groups after surgery(P＞0.05).There were no significant differences in the postoperative complications between the two groups(P＞0.05).Con-clusions:Compared with suspension surgery with Y-shaped mesh,UPCS surgery with Mersilene tape is safe and effective in the treatment of POP.The UPCS surgery with Mersilene tape showed better cost-effectiveness in the treatment of POP,and the surgical steps are relatively simple.Therefore,UPCS surgery with Mersilene tape was worthy of promotion in clinical practice.

ObjectiveTo investigate the contamination status of Staphylococcus aureus in food and the presence of enterotoxin genes in Jiading District， Shanghai， and to provide a basis for the prevention and treatment of foodborne Staphylococcus aureus disease. MethodsFrom 2021 to 2023， 15 types of food were sampled for S. aureus testing， and the presence of five enterotoxin genes， including sea⁃see， was tested in the strains. ResultsOut of 705 food samples， 88 （12.48%） were positive for S. aureus. S. aureus was detected in 12 of the 15 food types， with the three food types with the highest positive rates being cold noodles （45.00%）， raw poultry （26.25%）， and vegetable salads （20.00%）. The enterotoxin gene carriage rate was 32.95% in food strains. The carriage rates for sea， seb， and sec were 7.95%， 12.50%， and 14.77%， respectively. Neither sed nor see was detected. The detection rate of strains carrying two types of enterotoxin genes was 2.27%. The enterotoxin carriage rates in strains from vegetables， beverages， and raw meat were 57.14%， 40.00%， and 30.00%， respectively. ConclusionThe S. aureus detection rate in food in Jiading District is much higher than the national average. The enterotoxin gene carriage rates are high， with food strains carrying sea， seb， and sec， with sec being the most prevalent. There is a need to enhance monitoring of S. aureus and enterotoxins， especially in high-risk foods such as noodles， vegetables， and non-packaged beverages.

Objective:To analyze the disease burden of liver cancer in China.Methods:Based on eight data sources, including the series of Chinese Cancer Registry Annual Report, three national death cause surveys in China, China Health Statistical Yearbook, China Death Cause Surveillance Datasets, GLOBOCAN, Cancer Incidence in Five Continents (CI5), WHO Mortality Database and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), the information on incidence, mortality and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) of liver cancer, were extracted for the analysis on the past, current and future disease burden caused by liver cancer in China.Results:1) Past situation: The long-term data from 1973 to 2012 reported by the CI5 showed that in urban populations in China (taking Shanghai as an example), the incidence rate of liver cancer in males and females decreased by 41.3 % and 36.3 %, respectively, and that in rural areas (taking Qidong as an example) decreased by 32.3 % and 12.2 %, respectively. The Chinese Cancer Registry Annual Reports showed that the national incidence and mortality rates of liver cancer decreased by 8.1 % and 12.8 % respectively from 2005 to 2015. The Joinpoint analysis based on the data from the China Health Statistics Yearbook also showed a declining trend: the average annual percentage change of liver cancer mortality in China from 2002 to 2017 was -3.0 % ( P<0.05), and that in rural areas was -3.1 % ( P<0.05). 2) Current status: GLOBOCAN estimates that the rates of incidence, mortality and prevalence of liver cancer in China in 2018 were 18.3 per 100 000, 17.1 per 100 000 and 10.8 per 100 000, respectively. According to the latest annual report, the incidence and mortality rates of liver cancer in cancer registration areas in 2015 were 17.6 per 100 000 and 15.3 per 100 000, respectively, and both increased with age. The mortality rate was similar to that reported in 2017 (16.7 per 100 000) by the China Death Cause Surveillance Datasets, and the male to female ratio of live cancer deaths was estimated as 3.1. The GBD 2017 reports that the DALYs caused by liver cancer in China reached 11 153.0 thousand in 2017 (accounting for 53.7 % of the global DALYs) and hepatitis B virus infection was always the leading cause. 3) Prediction: The GLOBOCAN 2018 predicts that, by 2040, the number of liver cancer cases and deaths in China would reach 591 000 and 572 000 (with an increase of 50.5 % and 54.9 %, respectively, compared with those in 2018), with a more significant increase in people over 70 years old. 4) Economic burden: According to the literature review of economic burden data on liver cancer, the direct medical expenditure per patient with liver cancer generally showed a rising trend. Conclusions:Multiple data sources indicate that the incidence and mortality rates of liver cancer in populations in China decreased in the past decades, indicating the effect of population interventions. However, the population-level disease burden are still substantial, and comprehensive intervention strategies need to be continually strengthened and optimized, especially the primary and secondary prevention.

ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus in patients with diarrhea, and to analyze the genes carriage of enterotoxin in the strains of these patients in Jiading District, Shanghai. MethodsFrom 2021 to 2023, anal swabs of diarrhea outpatients from one sentinel hospital and nine community health service centers in different townships in Jiading District, Shanghai, were tested for Staphylococcus aureus, from which five enterotoxin virulence genes such as SEA, SEB, SEC, SED, and SEE were tested simultaneously. ResultsA total of 1 080 anal swabs were collected, 81 of which were tested positive for S. aureus, with a detection rate of 7.50%, and the detection rate of S. aureus was similar in patients with diarrhea from 2021‒2023. There was no statistically significant difference in detection rates between males and females (χ²=0.821, P=0.365). S. aureus detection rate was highest in infants and young children with diarrhea (29.51%), followed by 14.06% in the people aged between 4‒<31 years, and 2.99% in those aged ≥31 years. Significant differences were observed in the detection rate of S. aureus in the diarrhoeal patients from different townships of Jiading District(χ²=66.134,P<0.05). The carriage rates of the 5 enterotoxin genes, namely SEA, SEB, SEC, SED, SEE, were 13.58%, 14.81%, 11.11%, 7.41%, and 0, respectively. ConclusionThe prevalence of S. aureus among the patients with diarrhea in Jiading District is relatively stable but with distinct geographical patterns. Children and adolescents are high-risk groups. SEB were the dominant gene, followed by SEA.

Objective To estimate the mean annual expenditure of patients with prevalent liver cancer in China on the perspective of the natural progression of the disease and to provide baseline information for liver cancer?related disease burden estimation and evaluation of prevention strategies. Methods A multicenter survey on liver cancer was conducted between 2012 and 2014 in 13 sites where the cancer screening program was conducted in Urban China, by face?to?face interviews with hospitalized patients. Data on basic information, clinical diagnosis and treatment, direct medical expenditure, and direct non?medical expenditure were collected. By?year expenditure and number of visits from the first visit to the end of the survey were analyzed. The trend for the two indicators in each year was analyzed. The subgroup analysis of factors such as sex and age was conducted. All the expenditure data were discounted to the year 2014 and presented in Chinese yuan. The statistical analysis was performed using the SAS 9.4 software. Results A total of 2 222 patients with liver cancer, with a mean age of 55.7±11.2 years, were included. Men accounted for 79.2% (1 759 cases) of the patients, women accounted for 20.8% (463 cases) of the patients, and 75.6% (1 679 cases) of the cases were from cancer hospitals. Stage Ⅰ cases only accounted for 14.1% (299 cases) of all the cases, and most cases were stageⅢorⅣ(62.6%, 1 325 cases). Of the cases, 64.4% (1 430 cases) had pathological information, and 83.6%(1 195 cases) were pathologically hepatocellular carcinoma. The sample sizes for the first 3 years from the first visit were 2 222, 149, and 57, respectively (by?year sample sizes thereafter were<50). The annual total medical expenditures for the first 3 years were 49 091 yuan (95% confidence interval [CI]: 47 376-50 806), 30 506 yuan (95% CI: 26 462-34 549), and 32 100 yuan (95% CI: 25 917-38 283) (P<0.001). The corresponding number of visits were 1.9, 1.6, and 1.5 (P<0.001). The trend for each province was consistent with the overall trend, while the down trend from years 1 to 2 varied among provinces, ranging from 1.4 (Zhejiang province) to 5.6 times (Henan province). For the trend in the first 3 years, differences were found in subgroups such as region (P<0.001) and treatment (P<0.05), instead of sex, age, stage, and other subgroups. Conclusions For liver cancer patients in China, the annual expenditure for the first year in the whole disease course was 1.6 times higher than that for the second year, which varied among provinces. However, information on annual expenditure for the later course of liver cancer is still limited.

Objective:This study was to systematically update the economic evaluation evidence of colorectal cancer screening in mainland China.Methods:Based on a systematic review published in 2015, we expanded the scope of retrieval database (PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, CBM) and extended it to December 2018. Focusing on the evidence for nearly 10 years (2009-2018), basic characteristics and main results were extracted. Costs were discounted to 2017 using the consumer price index of medical and health care being provided to the residents, and the ratio of incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) to per capita GDP in corresponding years were calculated.Results:A total of 12 articles (8 new ones) were included, of which 9 were population-based (all cross-sectional studies) and 3 were model-based. Most of the initial screening age was 40 years (7 articles), and most of the frequency was once in a lifetime (11 articles). Technologies used for primary screening included: questionnaire assessment, immunological fecal occult blood test (iFOBT) and endoscopy. The most commonly used indicator was the cost per colorectal cancer detected, and the median (range) of the 20 screening schemes was 52 307 Chinese Yuan (12 967-3 769 801, n=20). The cost per adenoma detected was 9 220 Yuan (1 859-40 535, n=10). In 3 articles, the cost per life year saved (compared with noscreening) was mentioned and the ratio of ICER to GDP was 0.673 (-0.013-2.459, n=11), which was considered by WHO as "very cost-effective" ; The range of ratios overlapped greatly among different technologies and screening frequencies, but the initial age for screening seemed more cost-effective at the age of 50 years (0.002, -0.013-0.015, n=3), than at the 40 year-olds (0.781, 0.321-2.459, n=8). Conclusions:Results from the population-based studies showed that the cost per adenoma detected was only 1/6 of the cost per colorectal cancer detected, and limited ICER evidence suggested that screening for colorectal cancer was generally cost-effective in Chinese population. Despite the inconclusiveness of the optimal screening technology, the findings suggested that the initial screening might be more cost-effective at older age. No high-level evidence such as randomized controlled trial evaluation was found.

Objective:The existed economic evaluations of cancer screening in Chinese population are almost all single-cancer focused, evidence on parallel comparison among multiple cancers is lacking. Thus, the aim of this study was, from a priority setting perspective, to compare the cost-effectiveness of six common cancers(colorectal cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, esophageal cancer and stomach cancer) to facilitate policy making in future scaled-up screening in populations in China.Methods:Partially based on our previous single-cancer systematic reviews (colorectal cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, and lung cancer), evidence of economic evaluations of cancer screening in populations in mainland China were systematically updated and integrated. The main updates include: 1) Stomach cancer and esophageal cancer were newly added to the current analysis. 2) The literature searching was extended to 8 literature databases, including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and VIP. 3) The period of publication year was updated to the recent 10 years: January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2018. 4) The study focused on populations in mainland China. Following the standard processes of literature searching, inclusion and exclusion from previous systematic reviews, the basic characteristics, evaluation indicators and main results of the included studies were extracted. All the costs were discounted to 2017 value using the by-year consumer price index of medical and health care residents in China and presented in the Chinese Yuan (CNY). The ratios of incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) to China′s per capita GDP in 2017 were calculated (<1 means very cost-effective, 1-3 means cost-effective, >3 means not cost-effective). Given a specific indicator, the median value among all reported screening strategies for each cancer was calculated, based on which priority ranking was then conducted among all cancers when data available.Results:A total of 45 studies were included, 22 for breast cancer, 12 for colorectal cancer, 6 for stomach cancer, 4 for esophageal cancer (all conducted in high-risk areas), 1 for liver cancer and none for lung cancer (was not then considered for next ranking due to limited numbers of studies). When based on the indicator, the median ratio of cost per life-year saved to China′s per capita GDP (reported in 12 studies), the lowest ratio (-0.015) was observed in esophageal cancer among 16 strategies of 2 studies ( N=2, n=16), followed by 0.297 for colorectal cancer ( N=3, n=12), 0.356 for stomach cancer ( N=1, n=4) and 0.896 for breast cancer ( N=6, n=52, P75=3.602). When based on another commonly used ICER indicator, the median ratio of cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained to China′s per capita GDP (reported in 13 studies), the least cost was found in stomach cancer (0.495, N=3, n=8, P75=3.126), followed by esophageal cancer (0.960, N=1, n=4, P75=1.762) and breast cancer (2.056, N=9, n=64, P75=4.217). Data was not found for colorectal cancer. In addition, cost per cancer case detected was the most adopted indicator (32 studies). The median cost among all screening strategies for each cancer was 14 759 CNY for stomach cancer ( N=5, n=7), 49 680 CNY for colorectal cancer ( N=12, n=25) and 171 930 CNY for breast cancer ( N=13, n=24), respectively. Data was not available for esophageal cancer and rare for precancer cases detected. Evidence related to cost per disability-adjusted life-year gained was not available. Conclusions:At China′s national level and limited to the six cancers covered by the current study, the preliminary analysis suggests that stomach cancer and colorectal cancer were the most cost-effective target cancers and could be given priority in the future scaled-up screening in general populations. Esophageal cancer screening should be prioritized in high-risk areas. Breast cancer was also cost-effective in general but some of the intensive screening strategies were marginal. Data on liver cancer and lung cancer were too limited to conclude, and more well-designed studies and high-quality research evidence should be required. This priority ranking might be changed if other common cancers were involved analyses.