Objective To evaluate the effects of assisted reproduction technology ( ART) on gestational weight gain ( GWG) and glucose metabolism .Methods The study was performed in ART women with single-ton and full-term delivery .Age-and pre-pregnancy body mass index matched healthy women with spontaneous pregnancy, singleton, and full-term delivery were recruited as controls .Maternal characteristics (height, age, education level , pre-pregnancy body mass , pre-delivery body mass , medical history , history of abortion , fasting plasma glucose , triglyceride , total cholesterol , and glucose tolerance ) and fetal data ( delivery mode , gender , birth body mass , birth body length ) were collected by a trained nutritionist .Results A total of 200 women were recruited into this study (53 ART women and 147 controls).There was no significant difference in number of previous abortion ( the ratio between the women who had ≥3 abortions to those who had <3 abortions was 6∶47 in the ART group , and 10∶137 in the control group , χ2 =1.080 , P=0.299 ) .Compared with the control group, the ART group had higher education level (33 in the ART and 85 in the control group with un-dergraduate or higher education , 20 in the ART group and 62 in the control group with a college degree or lower education ,χ2 =6.303 , P=0.012 ) .There were no statistically significantly differences between the ART and the control groups in pre-pregnancy body mass index [ (22.00 ±3.05 ) kg/m2 vs.(21.81 ±2.62 ) kg/m2 , P=0.661] and average GWG [ (13.89 ±5.33) kg vs.(14.78 ±4.60) kg, P=0.247].GWG was appro-priate in 22 ART women, excess in 18, and inadequate in 13;in the control group, GWG was appropriate in 66 women, excess in 54, and inadequate in 27.The distribution of GWG showed no significant difference be-tween the two groups (χ2 =1.162 , P=0.247 ) .Oral glucose tolerance test in 24-28 gestational weeks showed no significant difference in fasting blood glucose between the ART and the control groups [ (4.66 ±0.39) mmol/L vs.(4.66 ±0.52) mmol/L, P=0.996], but 1-hour and 2-hour blood glucose levels were significantly in-creased in the ART women [ ( 7.87 ±1.83 ) mmol/L vs.( 7.31 ±1.51 ) mmol/L, P=0.034; ( 7.49 ± 1.29) mmol/L vs.(6.69 ±1.30) mmol/L, P=0.029].The overall prevalence of gestational diabetes melli-tus was 13.5%(27/200), with no significant difference between the ART and the control groups (18.9%vs. 11.6%, P=0.182 ) .Conclusion ART may not affect GWG , but it may cause changes of glucose metabo-lism during pregnancy .

Objective To investigate the regional cerebral stimulation after central analgesics nasal spray and its mechanism with pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging (phfMRI). Methods Eighteen healthy right-handed volunteers participated. Butorphanol tartrate nasal spray was used as the experiment agent. Ethological experiment was carried out to record the participants' subjective feeling and the onset time of the analgesics, followed by the functional MRI (fMRI) scan two weeks later. Block design was adopted. Two phases of fMRI scan were performed at 7 min and 25 min after the nasal spray, respectively. Participants were also given pain stimulation in the dorsum of hand during the fMRI scanning. The data were post-processed with Matlab 6.5 and SPM 2. Results ①Onset time of butorphanol tartrate was 15-35 min after nasal spray administration, which was consistent with its concentration-time curve. ②After nasal spray, activations were observed in the cerebral cortex, including frontal lobe (orbitofrontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus), temporal lobe (insula, middle temporal gyrus, inferior temporal gyrus), parietal lobe (precuneal gyrus), limbic system (anterior cingulate gyrus, middle cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus);subcortical region (globus pallidus) and cerebellum (6-9 of cerebellar cortex, cerebellar peduncle, vermis). ③The number and activation intensity of the second phase were more obvious than those of the first phase (P<0.01). Conclusion The feasibility of phfMRI study on cerebral stimulation and the mechanism of nasal spray is demonstrated. The study of butorphanol tartrate further validates the main distribution of opioid receptors in the central nervous system and the possible mechanism of central analgesia.

Aim To study the apoptotic inducing effects of deguelin on SH-SY5Y cells.Methods SH-SY5Y cells were treated with 0,0.625,1.25,2.5,5,10 and 20 μmol·L-1 deguelin for different time(24,48,72 h);cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay.SH-SY5Y cells were treated with 0,8,20,50 μmol·L-1 deguelin for 24 h;light microscope and AO/EB double stained method were employed for observing the morphology and apoptotic morphology of treated cells.Apoptotic rate of treated cells was determined by flow cytometry.Cells were stained by DCFH-DA,and the whole reactive oxygen species(ROS)was determined by flow cytometry.Spectrophotometry was employed to determine the activation degree of caspase-3.Results Deguelin inhibited cell growth in a time-and dose-dependent manner,and the IC50 value of deguelin was(26.07±2.18),(18.33±0.94),(12.5±1.49)μmol·L-1 when treated with 24,48,72 h respectively.After treated with 8,20,50 μmol·L-1 deguelin for 24 h,cell apoptotic rate,ROS and activation rate of caspase-3 increased markedly(P<0.05),all of which performed a dose related effect.Conclusion Deguelin can inhibit SH-SY5Y cell proliferation and induce cell apoptosis,and the mechanism may be concerned with the elevated ROS and activated caspase-3.

A 48-year-old woman presented with progressive left hip pain over six months, along with left lower limb weakness for two weeks. Magnetic resonance imaging of the left hip showed narrowing of the left ischiofemoral space, oedema of the left quadratus femoris muscle and left sciatic nerve, and mild bone marrow oedema of the left ischial tuberosity. The diagnosis of left ischiofemoral impingement syndrome was made. The imaging features of ischiofemoral impingement syndrome and the associated aetiologies and complications are discussed.

Objective:To investigate the correlation of mRNA expression levels and DNA methylation levels of Alu-mediated p21 transcriptional regulator (APTR) with hepatitis B virus infection.Methods:One hundred patients with HBV infection admitted in Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University during January to December 2019 were enrolled in the study, including 50 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB group) and 50 asymptomatic HBV carriers (ASC group); and 50 healthy subjects were also enrolled as the healthy control group. The DNA methylation levels of APTR gene were detected by methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting (MS-HRM); the expression levels of APTR mRNA were detected by fluorescence real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). Pearson correlation or Spearman rank correlation was used for correlation analysis.Results:There were significant differences in the APTR DNA methylation levels among the CHB, ASC and healthy control groups {[12.02 (9.30, 23.32)]%, [10.02 (8.46, 17.44)]% and [8.86 (7.82, 11.57)]%, χ2=13.360, P<0.01}. The APTR DNA methylation levels were significantly higher in CHB group than those in healthy control group( Z=31.480, P<0.01). There were significant differences in the APTR mRNA expression levels among CHB, ASC and healthy control groups (2.38±1.41, 5.78±2.78 and 5.70±2.66, F=33.720, P<0.01). The APTR mRNA expression levels were significantly lower in CHB group than those in healthy control and ASC groups ( t=7.808 and 7.724, both P<0.01). Correlation analysis showed that the DNA methylation level of APTR gene was negatively correlated with mRNA expression levels ( r=-0.305, P<0.01) in all subjects. The DNA methylation level of APTR gene was positively correlated with HBsAg level ( r=0.231, P=0.022), and the mRNA expression level was negatively correlated with HBsAg level ( r=-0.245, P=0.014) in patients with HBV infection. Conclusion:There are differences in DNA methylation and mRNA expression of APTR gene in different stages of HBV infection, suggesting that APTR gene may be involved in the immune regulation of HBV infection.

INTRODUCTION: Ultrasonography (US) is the current standard of care for imaging surveillance in patients at risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been explored as an alternative, given the higher sensitivity of MRI, although this comes at a higher cost. We performed a cost-effective analysis comparing US and dual-sequence non-contrast-enhanced MRI (NCEMRI) for HCC surveillance in the local setting. METHODS: Cost-effectiveness analysis of no surveillance, US surveillance and NCEMRI surveillance was performed using Markov modelling and microsimulation. At-risk patient cohort was simulated and followed up for 40 years to estimate the patients' disease status, direct medical costs and effectiveness. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio were calculated. RESULTS: Exactly 482,000 patients with an average age of 40 years were simulated and followed up for 40 years. The average total costs and QALYs for the three scenarios - no surveillance, US surveillance and NCEMRI surveillance - were SGD 1,193/7.460 QALYs, SGD 8,099/11.195 QALYs and SGD 9,720/11.366 QALYs, respectively. CONCLUSION Despite NCEMRI having a superior diagnostic accuracy, it is a less cost-effective strategy than US for HCC surveillance in the general at-risk population. Future local cost-effectiveness analyses should include stratifying surveillance methods with a variety of imaging techniques (US, NCEMRI, contrast-enhanced MRI) based on patients' risk profiles.
Humans ; Adult ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/diagnostic imaging* ; Liver Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Cost-Effectiveness Analysis ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Quality-Adjusted Life Years ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods*

Objective:To explore the optimal keV for the visualization of rectal cancer and to investigate its diagnostic performance in the preoperative T staging of rectal cancer using virtual monoenergetic image (VMI) on a novel dual-layer spectral detector CT.Methods:Totally 43 patients with pathologically confirmed rectal cancer were involved in this retrospective study in Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from May to October 2019. All the patients underwent novel dual-layer spectral detector CT scanning within 1 week before surgery. The 40, 50, 60, 70 keV VMI and 120 kVp conventional polyenergetic image (PI) were reconstructed based on the venous phase imagings. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the rectal cancer were measured and the image quality was scored using a 5-point scale to obtain the best keV VMI. Taking pathological results as golden standard, the accuracy rate of T staging was calculated and compared between the best keV VMI and 120 kVp PI. The CT attenuation, SNR and CNR were compared with one-way ANOVA analysis among the 5 groups of images.Image quality scores were assessed with Friedman test,and the accuracy rate was compared by McNemar test or Fisher exact test.Results:The SNR and CNR of rectal cancer at 40-70 keV VMI was better than 120 kVp PI ( P<0.05), the SNR at 40 keV VMI was the highest among all the VMI ( P<0.05), the CNR at 40 keV VMI was better, but there was no significant difference between 40 and 50 keV VMI ( P>0.05). The image scores at 40-60 keV VMI were all significantly superior to those of the 120 kVp PI ( P<0.001). 40 keV VMI was the best image. The accuracy rate of 40 keV VMI (67.4%, 29/43) was higher than that of 120 kVp PI (48.8%, 21/43) in the T stage ( P=0.008). The 40 keV VMI had a higher diagnostic accuracy rate (83.7%, 36/43) and specificity （58.8%, 10/17） in diagnosis of locally advanced rectal cancer (T3-4, P=0.016, 0.031). Conclusion:The image quality of novel dual-layer spectral detector CT at 40 keV VMI is good, which can improve the accuracy rate of preoperative T staging of rectal cancer.

Objective: To analyze variations of TYR and P genes among 14 patients with clinically diagnosed oculocutaneous albinism. Methods: Potential variations of the TYR and P genes were detected by Sanger sequencing. Novel variations were predicted with bioinformatics software including SIFT and PolyPhen-2. Results: No variation was found in the TYR gene, while 9 types of variations were found in the P gene among the 14 patients, which included c. 803-3C>G (7/26), c. 1327G>A (p.Val443Ile) (5/26), c. 632C>T (p.Pro211Leu) (4/26), c. 1832T>C (p.Leu611Pro) (3/26), c. 1349C>A (p.Thr450Lys) (2/26), c. 2363C>T (p.Ser788Leu) (2/26), c. 2228C>T (p.Pro743Leu) (1/26), c. 1525A>G(p.Thr509Ala) (1/26), and c. 1349C>T(p.Thr450Met) (1/26). Only 1 heterozygous variation was detected in 2 families. c. 2363C>T (p.Ser788Leu), c. 1832T>C (p.Leu611Pro) and c. 1525A>G (p.Thr509Ala) were not reported previously and predicted as "harmful" to the protein function. Conclusion The main type of ocular albinism is oculocutaneous albinism type Ⅱ in Liuzhou region, where the most common variations of the P gene were c. 803-3C>G and c. 1327G>A (p.Val443Ile). Above finding has enriched the variation spectrum of the P gene.

Scleroglucan is a high-molecular water-soluble microbial exopolysaccharide and mainly applied in the fields of petroleum, food, medicine and cosmetics. The high molecular weight of scleroglucan produced by microbial fermentation leads to low solubility, high viscosity and poor dispersibility, thus bringing a series of difficulties to extraction, preservation and application. It is important to explore suitable degradation method to adjust the molecular weight of scleroglucan for expanding its industrial application. Taking Sclerotium rolfsii WSH-G01 as a model strain, in which functional annotations of the glucanase genes were conducted by whole genome sequencing. Based on design of culture system for culture system for differential expression of β-glucanase, endogenous β-glucanase genes in S. rolfsii WSH-G01 were excavated by transcriptomics analysis. Functions of these potential hydrolases were further verified. Finally, 14 potential endogenous hydrolase genes were obtained from S. rolfsii. After heterologous overexpression in Pichia pastoris, 10 soluble enzymes were obtained and 5 of them had the activity of laminarin hydrolysis by SDS-PAGE and enzyme activity analysis. Further investigation of the 5 endogenous hydrolases on scleroglucan degradation showed that enzyme GME9860 has positive hydrolysis effect. The obtained results provide references not only for obtaining low and medium molecular weight of scleroglucan with enzymatic hydrolysis, but also for producing different molecular weight of scleroglucan during S. rolfsii fermentation process with metabolic engineering.
Basidiomycota/genetics* ; Glucans ; Hydrolysis ; Saccharomycetales

Objective To investigate the current situation of the construction of geriatrics in second and third level gen-eral hospitals in Guangxi,analyze the existing problems,and propose suggestions.Methods A self-developed"Survey on the Current Situation of Geriatrics Construction"was used to conduct a questionnaire survey on 250 second and third level general hospitals in Guangxi from April to September 2021.Results A total of 98 geriatrics were established in 196 general hospitals,and the overall number met national requirements.Among them,36 are independent institutions,including 24 tertiary hospitals and 12 secondary hospitals,with 2 172 beds and 1 764 medical staff.Conclusion In the future,Guangxi should ensure the high-quality construction of geriatrics,reasonably allocate geriatric human resources,enhance disciplinary medical service capa-bilities,strengthen overall two-way health connections,and vigorously promote the construction and development of geriatrics in Guangxi.