Cadherins ; genetics ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; genetics ; pathology ; Humans

Objective To understand the awareness of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and characteristics of sexual behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Changsha City. Methods By a snowball sampling method, volunteers were recruited in two social public welfare organizations in Changsha (Qingcai and Zhongda Sunshine) and interviewed by anonymous electronic questionnaires. Data were analyzed using software SPSS 19.0. Results Among 150 MSM, the overall awareness rate of HIV/ AIDS-related knowledge was 86.0% (129/150). For different demographic characteristics, higher age group, higher education level and higher income groups had significantly higher rates of awareness about HIV/AIDS related knowledge, compared with the reference groups, respectively. For the sexual behaviors, 32.7% of the investigated MSM population had their first MSM sexual intercourse at age of <18 years old, the rate of ≥18 years old group was significantly higher than the <18 years old group (2=4.315, P=0.038), 46.7% of the MSM population had more than 1 sexual partner during the past six months, the ratio of MSM used condoms in the sexual intercourse occasionally or never was 29.3% and 6.7%, respectively. Conclusions Young age, relatively low educational level and low income MSM in Changsha had a relative low awareness of HIV/AIDS-related knowledge. MSM in Changsha City had first MSM sexual intercourse at a very younger age. There is an urgent need to take well-targeted measures to improve the HIV/AIDS-related knowledge with special MSM population, and develop effective intervention measures for the high-risk sexual behaviors among MSM.

Objective To explore the distribution of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome elements in patients with multi-drug resistant bacteria-infected pneumonia.Methods Clinical data of 126 patients with multi-drug resistant bacteria-infected pneumonia admitted to the intensive care unit of Lung Disease Centre of Qingdao Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from May 2020 to July 2022 were retrospectively collected.The clinical data included the patients'gender,age,underlying diseases,history of bad additions of smoking and alcohol,multi-drug resistant bacteria,and the information of four diagnostic methods of TCM,etc.The disease-nature syndrome elements in patients with drug-resistance to various strains of drug-resistant bacteria were extracted,and then deficiency-excess syndrome differentiation was carried out.Results(1)A total of 201 strains of multi-drug resistant bacteria were detected in 126 patients with multi-drug resistant bacterial pneumonia.The main pathogenic species were Gram-negative bacteria,and the proportion accounted for 95.52%(192/201),which was significantly higher than that of Gram-positive bacteria[4.48%(9/201)],with a statistically significant difference(χ2 = 166.612,P＜0.001).Klebsiella pneumoniae accounted for the highest percentage of 23.38%in the gram-negative bacterium.(2)A total of 12 syndrome elements were extracted from the 126 patients.The excess syndrome elements were predominated by phlegm and heat,and the deficiency syndrome elements were predominated by yin deficiency.There was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of yin deficiency,blood deficiency,heat,phlegm,fluid-retention and damp syndrome elements among patients with different strains of drug-resistant bacterial infection(P＞0.05).(3)Of the 126 patients,62 cases(49.21%)had simple excess syndrome,one case(0.79%)had simple deficiency syndrome,and 63 cases(50.00%)had concurrent deficiency-excess syndrome.Among the 126 patients,there were 19 cases of single syndrome element,41 cases of concurrent two-syndrome element,49 cases of concurrent three-syndrome element,16 cases of concurrent four-syndrome element,and one case of concurrent five-syndrome element.And the combined syndrome element of phlegm-heat-yin deficiency occurred most frequently for 26 times.Conclusion Gram-negative bacteria are the primary infectious pathogens for the patients with multi-drug resistant bacterial infections,and the TCM syndrome elements of the patients are characterized by the concurrence of deficiency and excess and simple excess syndrome,mainly manifesting as phlegm,heat,and yin deficiency.

To identify up-regulated genes in adult rat cardiac fibroblasts (CF) induced by angiotensin II (Ang II), suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was performed between the CF stimulated by Ang II (tester) and unstimulated CF (driver) to generate subtractive cDNA library. The library was screened with dot blots hybridization to further verify the differentially expressed cDNA clones. Partial positive clones (19 up-regulated genes) were sequenced and BLAST analyzed. Twelve up-regulated genes related to extracellular matrix, cell cycle, intracellular signal transduction, cell cytoskeleton, cell metabolism and 7 new expressed sequence tags (EST) were acquired (GenBank accession number: CN382808, CN382809, CN382810, CN382811, CN382812, CN382813, CN382814). Our data reveal that SSH is a powerful technique of high sensitivity for the detection and cloning of up-regulated genes expressed in CF induced by Ang II, which may be helpful to clarify the mechanism of cardiac remodeling.
Angiotensin II ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Cells, Cultured ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Expressed Sequence Tags ; Fibroblasts ; cytology ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Male ; Myocardium ; cytology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Up-Regulation ; Ventricular Remodeling ; genetics

AIM: To summarize the clinical features of the 24h intraocular pressure data and the water drinking test(WDT)results in patients with primary open angle glaucoma(POAG)and ocular hypertension(OHT), and analyze the correlation.METHODS: To collect the data of 87 cases(174 eyes)with POAG and OHT, who had completed 24h intraocular pressure(IOP)(measured every 2h)and WDT(drink 1 000mL water off within 5min and then measure every 15min within 1h)in the ophthalmology department of Shenzhen University General Hospital from December 2019 to March 2022. They were divided into three groups, with 33 cases(66 eyes)in high tension glaucoma(HTG)group, 28 cases(56 eyes)in normal tension glaucoma(NTG)group and 26 cases(52 eyes)in OHT group. The clinical features of 24h IOP and WDT among the patients in three groups were summarized, and Spearman correlation was used to analyze the peak and fluctuation values of IOP.RESULTS: Clinical features among the patients in three groups:(1)the proportion of peak IOP of HTG, NTG and OHT group:(2:00-6:00 a.m.): 40.9%, 23.2% and 26.9%;(8:00-12:00 a.m.): 34.8%, 46.4% and 55.8%;(14:00-18:00 p.m.): 18.2%, 21.4% and 11.5%;(20:00-24:00 p.m.): 6.1%, 8.9% and 5.8%. Valley proportion among groups: early morning: 21.2%, 25.0% and 30.8%; morning: 22.7%, 10.7% and 13.5%; afternoon: 19.7%, 17.9% and 17.3%; evening: 36.4%, 46.4% and 38.5%. The proportion of 24h IOP fluctuation <6mmHg: 9.1%, 62.5% and 17.3%; 6-<8mmHg: 24.2%, 32.1% and 40.4%; ≥8mmHg: 66.7%, 5.4% and 42.3%.(2)WDT: The proportion of the three groups that could reach peak IOP within 30min was 81.8%, 76.8% and 80.8%, respectively. The proportion of IOP fluctuations in the three groups <6mmHg: 10.6%, 78.6% and 38.5%; 6-<8mmHg: 22.7%, 16.1% and 28.8%; ≥8mmHg: 66.7%, 5.4% and 32.7%.(3)the proportions of WDT peak higher than 24h peak IOP in the three groups were 80.3%, 80.4% and 80.8%. Correlation: the peak values of 24h IOP were positively correlated with the peak values of WDT(all P<0.01), the fluctuation of 24h IOP was positively correlated with the fluctuation of WDT in HTG and OHT group(P<0.01, P<0.05), while it showed no significant correlation in NTG group(P>0.05).CONCLUSION: Diurnal measurements of IOP during office hours(08:00 a.m.-18:00 p.m.)may fail to capture the peak values and underestimate IOP fluctuations. The 24h IOP fluctuation ≥HTG group of 8mmHg>OHT group>NTG group. The peak WDT in over 75% patients could be achieved within 30min, and it was higher than 24h peak IOP of over 80% patients. There was a positive correlation between the 24h IOP fluctuations and the WDT fluctuations in HTG and OHT patients. Therefore, WDT has clinical significance in assessing fluctuations in patients' IOP.

Men with diabetic erectile dysfunction (ED) respond poorly to the currently available oral phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. Therefore, functional therapies for diabetic ED are needed. Stromal vascular fraction (SVF) and the adenovirus-mediated cartilage oligomeric matrix angiopoietin-1 (Ad-COMP-Ang1) gene are known to play critical roles in penile erection. We previously reported that SVF and Ad-COMP-Ang1 have only a short-term effect in restoring erectile function. Further improvements to ED therapy are needed for long-lasting effects. In the present study, we aimed to test if the combination of SVF and Ad-COMP-Ang1 could extend the erection effect in diabetic ED. We found that the combination therapy showed a long-term effect in restoring erectile function through enhanced penile endothelial and neural cell regeneration. Combination therapy with SVF and Ad-COMP-Ang1 notably restored cavernous endothelial cell numbers, pericyte numbers, endothelial cell-cell junctions, decreased cavernous endothelial cell permeability, and promoted neural regeneration for at least 4 weeks in diabetic mice. In summary, this is an initial description of the long-term effect of combination therapy with SVF and Ad-COMP-Ang1 in restoring erectile function through a dual effect on endothelial and neural cell regeneration. Such combination therapy may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of diabetic ED.
Angiopoietin-1/genetics* ; Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/metabolism* ; Endothelium, Vascular/metabolism* ; Erectile Dysfunction/therapy* ; Genetic Therapy/methods* ; Intercellular Junctions/metabolism* ; Male ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mice ; Penile Erection/physiology* ; Permeability

The field of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterial-based cancer immunotherapy combines research from multiple subdisciplines of material science, nano-chemistry, in particular nano-biological interactions, immunology, and medicinal chemistry. Most importantly, the "biological identity" of nanomaterials governed by bio-molecular corona in terms of bimolecular types, relative abundance, and conformation at the nanomaterial surface is now believed to influence blood circulation time, bio-distribution, immune response, cellular uptake, and intracellular trafficking. A better understanding of nano-bio interactions can improve utilization of 2D nano-architectures for cancer immunotherapy and immunotheranostics, allowing them to be adapted or modified to treat other immune dysregulation syndromes including autoimmune diseases or inflammation, infection, tissue regeneration, and transplantation. The manuscript reviews the biological interactions and immunotherapeutic applications of 2D nanomaterials, including understanding their interactions with biological molecules of the immune system, summarizes and prospects the applications of 2D nanomaterials in cancer immunotherapy.