ObjectiveIn the realm of forensic science, dust is a valuable type of trace evidence with immense potential for intricate investigations. With the development of DNA sequencing technologies, there is a heightened interest among researchers in unraveling the complex tapestry of microbial communities found within dust samples. Furthermore, striking disparities in the microbial community composition have been noted among dust samples from diverse geographical regions, heralding new possibilities for geographical inference based on microbial DNA analysis. The pivotal role of microbial community data from dust in geographical inference is significant, underscoring its critical importance within the field of forensic science. This study aims to delve deeply into the nuances of fungal community composition across the urban landscapes of Beijing, Fuzhou, Kunming, and Urumqi in China. It evaluates the accuracy of biogeographic inference facilitated by the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) fungal sequencing while concurrently laying a robust foundation for the operational integration of environmental DNA into geographical inference mechanisms. MethodsITS2 region of the fungal genomes was amplified using universal primers known as 5.8S-Fun/ITS4-Fun, and the resulting DNA fragments were sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq FGx platform. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis (NMDS) was employed to visually represent the differences between samples, while analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) were utilized to statistically evaluate the dissimilarities in community composition across samples. Furthermore, using Linear Discriminant Analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) analysis to identify and filter out species that exhibit significant differences between various cities. In addition, we leveraged SourceTracker to predict the geographic origins of the dust samples. ResultsAmong the four cities of Beijing, Fuzhou, Kunming and Urumqi, Beijing has the highest species richness. The results of species annotation showed that there were significant differences in the species composition and relative abundance of fungal communities in the four cities. NMDS analysis revealed distinct clustering patterns of samples based on their biogeographic origins in multidimensional space. Samples from the same city exhibited clear clustering, while samples from different cities showed separation along the first axis. The results from ANOSIM and PERMANOVA confirmed the significant differences in fungal community composition between the four cities, with the most pronounced distinctions observed between Fuzhou and Urumqi. Notably, the biogeographic origins of all known dust samples were successfully predicted. ConclusionSignificant differences are observed in the fungal species composition and relative abundance among the cities of Beijing, Fuzhou, Kunming, and Urumqi. Employing fungal ITS2 sequencing on dust samples from these urban areas enables accurate inference of biogeographical locations. The high feasibility of utilizing fungal community data in dust for biogeographical inferences holds particular promise in the field of forensic science.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of Fu's subcutaneous needling based on "multi-joint muscle spiral balance chain" theory for cervical vertigo (CV) and its effect on blood flow velocity of vertebral artery. METHODS: A total of 60 patients with CV were randomized into a Fu's subcutaneous needling group and a medication group, 30 cases in each one. In the Fu's subcutaneous needling group, Fu's subcutaneous needling was delivered at Dazhui (GV14), the flexible tube was retained for 5 min after sweeping manipulation, and the treatment was given once every other day, 3 times a week for 3 weeks. In the medication group, betahistine mesylate tablet and diclofenac sodium dual-release enteric capsule were taken orally for continuous 3 weeks. Before treatment, after treatment, and in follow-up of one month after treatment completion, the scores of dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) and visual analogue scale (VAS) were observed; before and after treatment, the blood flow velocity of vertebral artery was measured by transcranial Doppler, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated after treatment in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment and in follow-up, each item scores and total scores of DHI were decreased compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05); the VAS scores after treatment in the two groups, as well as the VAS score in follow-up of the Fu's subcutaneous needling group, were decreased compared with those before treatment (P<0.05). In the Fu's subcutaneous needling group, after treatment and in follow-up, the physical scores and the total scores of DHI, and the VAS scores were lower than those in the medication group (P<0.05); in follow-up, the emotional and functional scores of DHI were lower than those in the medication group (P<0.05). After treatment, the mean blood flow velocity (Vm) of the left vertebral artery (LVA) and the right vertebral artery (RVA) was increased compared with that before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05), and the Vm of LVA and RVA in the Fu's subcutaneous needling group was higher than that in the medication group (P<0.05). The total effective rate was 100.0% (30/30) in the Fu's subcutaneous needling group, which was superior to 73.3% (22/30) in the medication group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Fu's subcutaneous needling based on the "multi-joint muscle spiral balance chain" theory can effectively alleviate the vertigo and neck pain, and improve the blood flow velocity of vertebral artery in CV patients, and has a long-term therapeutic effect.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Acupuncture Therapy/instrumentation* ; Vertebral Artery/physiopathology* ; Adult ; Vertigo/physiopathology* ; Aged ; Blood Flow Velocity ; Treatment Outcome ; Acupuncture Points ; Young Adult

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common condition of chronic rheumatic disease in children. JIA is an autoimmune or autoinflammatory disease, with unclear mechanism and limited treatment efficacy. Recent studies have found a number of alterations in gut microbiota and its metabolites in children with JIA, which are related to the development and progression of JIA. This review focuses on the influence of the gut microbiota and its metabolites on immune function and the intestinal mucosal barrier and discuss the key role of the gut-joint axis in the pathogenesis of JIA and emerging treatment methods based on gut microbiota and its metabolites. This review could help elucidate the pathogenesis of JIA and identify the potential therapeutic targets for the prevention and treatment of JIA.
Humans ; Arthritis, Juvenile/physiopathology* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology* ; Child ; Intestinal Mucosa

OBJECTIVES: To assess the preliminary efficacy and safety of a dose-intensified C5VD regimen (cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, vincristine, and doxorubicin) in children with locally advanced hepatoblastoma. METHODS: This prospective study enrolled 24 children with newly diagnosed, locally advanced hepatoblastoma who received the dose-intensified C5VD regimen at Shanghai Children's Medical Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and Shanghai Children's Hospital between January 2020 and December 2023. Clinical characteristics, treatment outcomes, and chemotherapy-related toxicities were analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 24 patients, 13 were male and 11 were female, with a median age at diagnosis of 18.7 months (range: 3.5-79.4 months). All patients achieved complete macroscopic resection of hepatic lesions without liver transplantation. Serum alpha-fetoprotein levels decreased significantly after two chemotherapy cycles. During a median follow-up of 38.4 months (range: 15.8-50.7 months), all patients maintained continuous complete remission, with 3-year event-free survival and overall survival rates of 100%. Across 144 chemotherapy cycles, the incidence rates of grade 3-4 neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and infections were 97%, 77%, and 71%, respectively; no treatment-related deaths occurred. Notably, 5 patients (21%) developed Brock grade ≥3 hearing loss, of whom 1 required a hearing aid. CONCLUSIONS The dose-intensified C5VD regimen demonstrates significant efficacy with an overall favorable safety profile in the treatment of newly diagnosed, locally advanced pediatric hepatoblastoma. Grade 3-4 myelosuppression and infection are the predominant toxicities. However, high‑dose cisplatin-induced ototoxicity remains a concern, highlighting the need for improved otoprotective strategies.
Humans ; Hepatoblastoma/pathology* ; Male ; Female ; Infant ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology* ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Child, Preschool ; Prospective Studies ; Doxorubicin/adverse effects* ; Child ; Cisplatin/adverse effects* ; Vincristine/adverse effects* ; Fluorouracil/adverse effects*

OBJECTIVE: Lipid oxidation is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and may be contribute to the development of Ischemic stroke (IS). However, the lipid profiles associated with IS have been poorly studied. We conducted a pilot study to identify potential IS-related lipid molecules and pathways using lipidomic profiling. METHODS: Serum lipidomic profiling was performed using LC-MS in 20 patients with IS and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Univariate and multivariate analyses were simultaneously performed to identify the differential lipids. Multiple testing was controlled for using a false discovery rate (FDR) approach. Enrichment analysis was performed using MetaboAnalyst software. RESULTS: Based on the 294 lipids assayed, principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) models were used to distinguish patients with IS from healthy controls. Fifty-six differential lipids were identified with an FDR-adjusted P less than 0.05 and variable influences in projection (VIP) greater than 1.0. These lipids were significantly enriched in glycerophospholipid metabolism (FDR-adjusted P = 0.009, impact score = 0.216). CONCLUSIONS Serum lipid profiles differed significantly between patients with IS and healthy controls. Thus, glycerophospholipid metabolism may be involved in the development of IS. These results provide initial evidence that lipid molecules and their related metabolites may serve as new biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for IS.
Humans ; Pilot Projects ; Lipidomics ; Male ; Female ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Middle Aged ; Ischemic Stroke/blood* ; Aged ; China ; Lipids/blood* ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; East Asian People

Objective To determine the effective dose of dexmedetomidine administered intranasally combined with oral midazolam sedation before pediatric magnetic resonance image(MRI).Methods This is a prospective modified sequential study.Children scheduled for MRI at the Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine from February to March 2023,aged 1 month to 6 years old,with a weight of 6.0-23.5 kg,were enrolled in this study.All children received 0.5 mg/kg oral midazolam,followed by intranasal dexmedetomidine.The initial dose of dexmedetomidine was 0.5 μg/kg,and the intranasal dose of dexmedetomidine was determined using the modified Dixon's up-and-down method with increments or decrements of 0.1 μg/kg.Probit analysis was used for calculating the half effective dose(ED50),95%effective dose(ED95)and the corresponding 95%confidence interval(CI)of intranasal dexmedetomidine combined with oral midazolam for pediatric sedation during MRI.The sedation onset time,wake-up time,vital signs and adverse reactions were recorded.Results Among all the children,the sedation onset time of successful sedation children was(31.21±7.47)min,and the wake-up time was(81.21±26.04)min.The ED50 for effective sedation with intranasal dexmedetomidine combined with oral medication at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg was calculated to be 0.392 μg/kg,with a 95%CI of 0.302-0.461 μg/kg;the ED95 was 0.549 μg/kg,with a 95%CI of 0.473-0.996 μg/kg.There was a statistically significant difference(P<0.05)in heart rate and diastolic blood pressure after sedation compared to the baseline before medication.Two cases of restlessness during the awakening period were observed,but no other adverse reactions occurred.Conclusions The sedation regimen of intranasal dexmedetomidine combined with oral midazolam is non-invasive,easy to implement,safe,and effective.It can be widely used in pediatric MRI.

Objective:To investigate the association between exposure to major air pollutants (including PM 2.5, PM 10, NO 2, SO 2, O 3 and CO) and 28-day all-cause mortality in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods:The electronic medical records of critically ill patients admitted to the ICU in Hubei Province General Hospital and Jingzhou Central Hospital were collected from August 2018 to August 2019 and from May 2021 to May 2022. Patients' exposure to air pollutants was assessed based on the average concentrations at their place of residence during the previous two months. A generalized linear regression model was used to estimate the association between air pollutant exposure and 28-day all-cause mortality in critically ill patients. Subgroup analysis was then conducted to examine the impact of individual air pollutant exposure on 28-day mortality, which served as the primary outcome in this study. The effect size and confidence interval were adjusted for patient characteristics including age, gender, smoking or drinking habits, length of hospital stay, and SOFA score. Additionally, mediation analysis was conducted using the mediation package (Bruce R) in R software. The direct effect represented the association between exposure to air pollutants and risk of mortality, while the indirect effect aimed to assess whether neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and monocyte- lymphocyte ratio (MLR) served as mediating variables in the correlation between exposure to air pollutants and mortality risk.Results:The study included a total of 3 772 critically ill patients admitted to the ICU, with a 28-day all-cause mortality rate of 40.0% (1 509/3 772). A significant positive correlation was observed between an incremental increase of 1 μg/m 3 in air pollutants (specifically PM 2.5, NO 2 and CO) and an elevated risk of mortality within 28 days among critically ill patients. Conversely, there is an inverse relationship between O 3 levels and mortality risk. Additionally, male gender and SOFA rating >3 scores were identified as independent risk factors for all-cause mortality in ICU patients exposed to NO 2 or CO. The Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) played a mediating role in the correlation between PM 2.5 or CO exposure and mortality risk, accounting for 9.09% or 4.71% of the correlations, respectively. Conclusions:The exposure to air pollutants (PM 2.5, NO 2, CO) significantly associate with a high risk of 28-day all-cause mortality in ICU patients. Even at low levels of air pollution, NO 2, CO remains positively correlate with the mortality risk in critically ill patients, who belong to a vulnerable population.

Objective To explore whether the cognitive function of central obese mice is decreased by affecting the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)in hippocampus.Methods Healthy mice at the neonatal stage were divided into normal group and model group at random.To obtain the obese models,model group mice were injected at cervical subcutaneous with 10％L-monosodium glutamate(MSG;3 mg·g-1·d-1)for 5 days.The normal group was injected with the same dose of 0.9％NaCl.In addition,mice were removed according to the requirements.Finally,we got 8 mice in each group.The following parameters were compared:body weight,Lee's index and levels of the serum lipid.The BDNF expression levels in hippocampal tissue were measured using western blotting.Results At the 8th weekend,the body weight of the model and normal groups was(49.01±2.47)and(41.27±3.28)g;the Lee's indexes were(357.14±9.24)and(330.15±7.37)g1/3·cm-1;triglyceride levels were(1.37±0.52)and(0.73±0.31)mmol·L-1;total cholesterol levels were(2.98±0.18)and(1.98±0.30)mmol·L-1;low-density lipoprotein levels were(0.31±0.03)and(0.24±0.02)mmol·L-1;high-density lipoprotein levels were(2.70±0.15)and(1.98±0.40)mmol·L-1;the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),which were consistent with the characteristics of the central obesity model.The BDNF protein expression levels in the hippocampus of the model and normal groups were 6.02 x 104±626.53 and 7.04 x 104±1 440.81,which has statistically significant(P＜0.01).Conclusion The cognitive function of central obese mice may be decreased by down-regulating the expression of BDNF in hippocampus.

italic>Artemisia argyi is a traditional Chinese medicine in China, which is used as medicine with its leaves. The leaves of A. argyi mainly contain flavonoids, phenolic acids, volatile oils and other compounds, and have a variety of pharmacological activities. AP2/ERF transcription factors are abundant in plants and are mainly involved in plant growth and development, abiotic stress response and secondary metabolite biosynthesis regulation. However, there are few reports on the AP2/ERF gene family and its functions in A. argyi. In this study, we systematically identified the AP2/ERF gene family in A. argyi genome, and analyzed its phylogenetic tree, protein physicochemical properties, subcellular localization, conserved motifs, promoter elements, and expression patterns. The results showed that a total of 204 AP2/ERF transcription factors were identified in A. argyi genome, encoding proteins consisting of 88-483 amino acids with a relative molecular mass of 10-52.94 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point of 4.62-9.88. Subcellular prediction showed that the majority of AP2/ERFs were located in the nucleus, cytoplasm, and the minority of them is located in the membrane and chloroplasts. According to the Arabidopsis AP2/ERF family classification, A. argyi AP2/ERF proteins were divided into four subfamilies: Soloist, AP2, ERF (B3, B4, B5, B6), and DREB (A1, A2, A4, A5, A6), among which DREB family accounted for the largest proportion, and the same subfamily had similar conserved motifs. cis-Acting element analysis showed that AP2/ERF promoters have a large number of elements responding to light and abiotic stress. Expression pattern analysis showed that most of the genes of the AP2/ERF family were dominantly expressed mainly in roots and stems, of which 19 were dominantly expressed in leaves, 77 would be induced to be expressed by methyl jasmonate, of which 16 genes were both dominantly expressed in leaves and induced to be expressed by methyl jasmonate, and these AP2/ERF genes may be the key regulatory genes for the synthesis of active ingredients in A. argyi leaves.This study lays the foundation for the functional study of AP2/ERF family genes and their regulating roles in the active components biosynthesis in A. argyi leaves.

Objective:In chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with previous 96-week treatment with tenofovir amibufenamide (TMF) or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), we investigated the efficacy of sequential TMF treatment from 96 to 144 weeks.Methods:Enrolled subjects who were previously assigned (2:1) to receive either 25 mg TMF or 300 mg TDF with matching placebo for 96 weeks received extended or switched TMF treatment for 48 weeks. Efficacy was evaluated based on virological, serological, biological parameters, and fibrosis staging. Statistical analysis was performed using the McNemar test, t-test, or Log-Rank test according to the data. Results:593 subjects from the initial TMF group and 287 subjects from the TDF group were included at week 144, with the proportions of HBV DNA<20 IU/ml at week 144 being 86.2% and 83.3%, respectively, and 78.1% and 73.8% in patients with baseline HBV DNA levels ≥8 log10 IU/ml. Resistance to tenofovir was not detected in both groups. For HBeAg loss and seroconversion rates, both groups showed a further increase from week 96 to 144 and the 3-year cumulative rates of HBeAg loss were about 35% in each group. However, HBsAg levels were less affected during 96 to 144 weeks. For patients switched from TDF to TMF, a substantial further increase in the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) normalization rate was observed (11.4%), along with improved FIB-4 scores.Conclusion:After 144 weeks of TMF treatment, CHB patients achieved high rates of virological, serological, and biochemical responses, as well as improved liver fibrosis outcomes. Also, switching to TMF resulted in significant benefits in ALT normalization rates (NCT03903796).