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 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: To understand the health literacy and relevant factors of cancer prevention consciousness in Chinese urban residents from 2015 to 2017. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 16 provinces covered by the Cancer Screening Program in Urban China from 2015 to 2017. A total of 32 257 local residents aged ≥18 years old who could understand the investigation procedure were included in the study by using the cluster sampling method and convenient sampling method. All local residents were categorized into four groups, which contained 15 524 community residents, 8 016 cancer risk assessment/screening population, 2 289 cancer patients and 6 428 occupational population, respectively. The self-designed questionnaire was used to collect the information of demographic characteristics and cancer prevention consciousness focusing on nine common risk factors, including smoking, alcohol, fiber food, food in hot temperature or pickled food, chewing betel nut, helicobacter pylori, moldy food, hepatitis B infection, estrogen, and exercise. The logistic regression model was adopted to identify the influencing factors. Results: The overall health literacy of the cancer prevention consciousness was 77.4% (24 980 participants), with 77.4% (12 018 participants), 79.9% (6 406 participants), 77.2% (1 766 participants) and 74.5% (4 709 participants) in each group (P<0.001). The correct response rates for nine risk factors ranged from 55.2% to 93.0%. The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with community residents, people with primary school level education or below, and the number of people living together in the family <3, the cancer risk assessment/screening intervention population, cancer patients, those with junior high school level educationor above and the number of people living in the family ≥3 had better health literacy of the cancer prevention consciousness (all P values <0.05). Compared with females, 39 years old and below, government-affiliated institutions or civil servants, from the eastern region, males, older than 40 years, company or enterprise employees, and from the middle or western region had worse health literacy of the cancer prevention consciousness (all P values <0.05). Conclusion The health literacy of the cancer prevention consciousness in Chinese urban residents should be improved. The cancer screening intervention, gender, age, education, occupation, the number of people co-living in the family, and residential region were associated with the health literacy of the cancer prevention consciousness.