Objective To explore the distribution characteristics of plasma renin concentration in patients with hypertension and the possibly methodological problems.Methods The subjects including 361 patients with hypertension[male: 184 cases, average age: (45.16±13.74)years old;female: 177 cases, average age: (51.04±12.68) years old]and 187 apparent healthy individuals[male: 92 cases, average age: (46.74±13.17)years old;female: 95 cases, average age: (47.33±13.18) years old]were recruited from Departments of Healthy Check-up and outpatients for hypertension in Tangshan Gongren Hospital. The plasma renin concentration was detected by chemiluminescence-Immunoassay.Results The plasma renin concentration shows log-transformed normal distribution both in healthy group and hypertension group. The range of plasma renin concentration in hypertension group is from 0.05 to 574.07 pg/ml, while that in apparent healthy group is from 3.24 to 120.40 pg/ml. The plasma renin concentration in both groups is higher in male than female (Hypertension t=2.19,P=0.029;Healthy people t=2.85,P=0.005). The average concentration of plasma renin in hypertension group is slightly higher, and the width of density distribution is larger in comparison with healthy group although there is no significant difference between them. However, the percentage of plasma renin abnormality was 26.59% (96/361) in hypertension group with 13.85%(50/361)of low renin subtype and 12.74%(46/361)of high renin subtype ConclusionsThe plasma renin concentration measured by Chemiluminescence-Immunoassay can be used as an effective tool for hypertension screening.

Objective: To evaluate the pathogenicity of Acinetobacter venetum（Av），which is expected to be used as an environmental remediation agent，using Caenorhabditis elegans（C.elegans）. Methods: The C.elegans were cultured on the media loaded with E.coli OP50 and Av，respectively. The pathogenicity of Av was evaluated by observing the effects of Av on the growth，movement，digestive function，lifespan and reproduction of C.elegans，compared with that of another evaluation system according to NY 1109-2017 General Biosafety Standard for Microbial Fertilizers. Results: By C. elegans system，it was found that the body length，width，head thrash frequency，body bending frequency and average lifespan [（13.5±0.4）d vs.（13.7±0.4）d] of adult nematodes in the Av group were not significantly different from those in the OP50 group（all P>0.05）；while the average time of defecation cycle in the Av group shortened，the total number of progenies in the Av group increased by 18.7%（all P<0.05）. According to NY1109-2017 General Biosafety Standard for Microbial Fertilizers，it was found that the oral LD50 values for both male and female mice were more than 10 g/kgbw，which was practically non-toxic；the pathogenicity test of acute intraperitoneal injection showed that the animals did not have signs of poisoning，deaths or any abnormalities in gross anatomy；Av had no irritation to damaged skin and eyes of rabbits；the hemolysis test was negative；Av was sensitive to seven antibiotics and was medium to one antibiotic. Conclusion Av is not pathogenic. C. elegans can be used in early screening for the pathogenicity of environmental remediation agents.

OBJECTIVE Cognitive deficit is a com-mon comorbidity in temporal lobe epilepsy(TLE)and that is not well controlled by current therapeutics.Currently,how epileptic seizure affects cognitive performance remains largely unclear.The subiculum is the major out-put of the hippocampus,which projects to entorhinal cor-tex and other more distinct brain regions.Physiologically,the subiculum codes spatial working memory and naviga-tion information including place,speed,and trajectory.Importantly,prior studies have noted the importance of the subiculum in the beginning,spreading,and generaliz-ing process of hippocampal seizure.How seizure-activated neurons in subiculum participate in cognitive impairment remains largely elusive.METHODS In this study,we sought to label the subicular seizure-activated c-fos+ neu-rons with a special promoter with enhanced synaptic activity-responsive element E-SARE in the subiculum,combined with chemogenetics and designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs(DREADDs),Ca2+ fiber photometry approaches,and behavioral tasks,to reveal the role of these neurons in cognitive impairment in epilepsy.RESULTS We found that chemogenetic inhibi-tion of subicular seizure-tagged c-fos+ neurons(mainly CaMK Ⅱ α+ glutamatergic neurons)alleviates seizure generalization and improves cognitive performance in the hippocampal CA3 kindling TLE model.While inhibition of seizure-labeled c-fos+ GABAergic interneuron shows no effect on seizure and cognition.As a comparison,che-mogenetic inhibition of the whole subicular CaMK Ⅱ α+ neuron impairs cognitive function in na?ve mice in basal condition.Notably,inhibition of subicular seizure-tagged c-fos+ neurons enhances the recruitment of cognition-responsive c-fos+ neurons via increasing neural excitability during cognition tasks.CONCLUSION Our results dem-onstrate that subicular seizure-activated c-fos+ neurons contribute to cognitive impairment in TLE,suggesting sei-zure-tagged c-fos+ neurons as the potential therapeutic target to alleviate cognitive impairment in TLE.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have paid great attention to the prevention and control of endemic diseases. Through the implementation of the prevention and control measures of endemic diseases, especially the implementation of the "Six Major Actions" to tackle key problems in "three years' project", all kinds of diseases have met the relevant requirements. The prevention and control of endemic diseases in China has achieved remarkable results and made historic achievements. However, risk challenges remain. At present, there are still some problems in the management and treatment of patients with iodine deficiency disorders, water-borne iodine excess goiter, drinking water-borne endemic fluorosis and drinking tea-borne endemic fluorosis in China, which need to be solved by strengthening the prevention and control efforts.

Objective To investigate the health status of workers exposed to noise in a brewery in Beijing and to analyze the relationship between hearing loss and blood pressure. Methods A total of 949 noise-exposed workers in a brewery who participated in occupational health examination were selected as the investigation subjects. A survey was conducted to investigate the pure tone hearing threshold and abnormal blood pressure of the workers with different characteristics, and to analyze the relationship between the two. Results Among the noise-exposed workers, the detection rates of hearing abnormality, hypertension, and increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 73.55%, 52.37%, 43.84% and 46.47%, respectively. The detection rates of hearing abnormality, indicators of hypertension, high frequency hearing threshold abnormality and increased binaural high frequency hearing threshold on average in males were higher than those in females (P < 0.05). Except that there was no statistically significant difference in weighted values of the better ear’s hearing thresholds among different working age groups (P> 0.05), the detection rates of other hearing abnormality, indicators of hypertension, speech frequency hearing threshold abnormality, high frequency hearing threshold abnormality，increased binaural high frequency hearing threshold on average and the weighted value of the better ear's hearing threshold all increased or had an increasing trend with the increase of age or working years (P< 0.05). The detection rates of hypertension in the groups with high frequency hearing threshold abnormality and increased binaural high frequency hearing threshold on average were higher than those in the normal group (P＜0.05). Conclusion The noise-exposed workers in the brewery have hearing impairment, which is related to the occurrence of hypertension. It is recommended to strengthen the publicity and education on noise protection and take protective measures to reduce the occurrence of occupational noise injury.

Over the past decade, remarkable progress has been made in prevention and control of endemic diseases in China through implementation of the 12th and the 13th Five-Year National Plans for Prevention and Control of Endemic Diseases and the Three-Year Action Plan for Special Prevention and Control of Endemic Diseases. Based on the latest monitoring data of endemic diseases and the evaluation results of the control and elimination of endemic diseases of the 13th Five-Year Plan, this paper analyzed current main problems in prevention and control of endemic diseases in China, focusing on implementation of prevention and control measures for iodine deficiency disorders, endemic fluorosis, and endemic arsenicosis, as well as the treatment and management of patients. Accordingly, corresponding countermeasures and suggestions are put forward from three aspects, including prevention and control mechanism, implementation of prevention and control measures, and scientific research, so as to provide scientific basis for the country and various regions to consolidate the achievements of prevention and control of endemic diseases and accurately implement the prevention and control measures of endemic diseases.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of anti-pulmonary fibrosis of cannabidiol by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS）. MethodSD rats were randomly divided into blank group， model group， prednisone group（3.15 mg·kg^-1） and cannabidiol low， medium and high dose groups（12， 36， 108 mg·kg^-1）， with 8 rats in each group. The rat model of pulmonary fibrosis was established by intratracheal injection of bleomycin（5 mg·kg^-1）， which was administered continuously for 28 days after successful modeling. The pathological changes of rat lung tissue were observed， and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was used to detect the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-7（MMP-7）， type Ⅱ alveolar cell surface antigen（KL-6）， pulmonary surfactant-associated protein A（SP-A） and SP-D in serum. The expression levels of type Ⅰ collagen（Col-Ⅰ） and fibronectin（FN） in lung tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry， and the expression of mucin 5 subtype AC（MUC5AC） was detected by immunofluorescence. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS was used to search for potential biomarkers and related metabolic pathways of cannabidiol in treating pulmonary fibrosis. ResultCompared with the blank group， there were a large number of inflammatory cell infiltration and continuous fibrosis lesions in the lung tissue of rats in the model group. Compared with the model group， the inflammatory infiltration and blue collagen deposition in the lung tissue of rats in the prednisone and cannabidiol groups were reduced. Compared with the blank group， the expressions of MMP-7， KL-6， SP-A and SP-D in serum of the model group were significantly increased（P<0.01）， while the expressions of MMP-7， KL-6， SP-A and SP-D in the prednisone and cannabidiol high dose groups were significantly decreased by comparing with the model group（P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the blank group， the expression levels of Col-Ⅰ and FN in the lung tissues of the model group were significantly increased， and the fluorescence intensity of MUC5AC was significantly increased（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the expression levels of Col-Ⅰ and FN in the lung tissues of the prednisone and cannabidiol high dose groups were significantly decreased（P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the expression of MUC5AC was significantly decreased（P<0.01）. Compared with the blank group， a total of 18 differential compounds were screened out in the model group， which could be used as potential biomarkers， and cannabidiol could call back 16 of them， mainly involving 4 metabolic pathways（linoleic acid metabolism， phenylalanine， tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis， arachidonic acid metabolism， and niacin and niacinamide metabolism）. Compared with the blank group， the relative contents of potential biomarkers arachidonic acid and linoleic acid were significantly increased in the model group（P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the relative contents of 5，6-EET， L-tyrosine and niacinamide were significantly decreased（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， cannabidiol could significantly reduce the relative contents of arachidonic acid and linoleic acid， and significantly increase the relative contents of 5，6-EET， L-tyrosine and niacinamide（P<0.01）. ConclusionCannabidiol has an intervention and remission effect on pulmonary fibrosis， and its mechanism may be related to linoleic acid metabolism， phenylalanine， tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis， arachidonic acid metabolism， niacin and niacinamide metabolism.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the factors influencing patient satisfaction in the outpatient pharmacy of tertiary maternity and child specialist hospitals in Chongqing， and provide a reference for improving the pharmaceutical management capability of tertiary maternity and child specialist hospitals and enhancing patients’ medical experience. METHODS Utilizing KANO model， a questionnaire was developed and data were analyzed. Key influencing factors were identified through the categorization of requirement attributes， Better values， Worse values， and two-dimensional matrix analysis. The impact of these categorized demand factors on overall satisfaction was further validated through Structural Equation Modeling （SEM）. RESULTS Cronbach’s α coefficient for the survey questionnaire was 0.855， exceeding the acceptable threshold of 0.7； Bartlett test for sphericality yielded a value of 5 538.56 with P＜0.01， indicating good reliability and validity of the survey results. Through the KANO model’s factor selection process， the top four key factors influencing patient satisfaction in outpatient pharmacies were determined to be： medication pick-up time （r＝0.45）， pharmacist service attitude （r＝0.45）， rational medication consultation （r＝0.41）， self-service calling system （r＝0.40）， all of which were subsequently validated through SEM. CONCLUSIONS The four factors of medication pick-up time， self-service calling system， pharmacist service attitude， and rational medication consultation significantly influence patient satisfaction in the outpatient pharmacies of tertiary maternity and child hospitals in Chongqing.

An increased level of reactive oxygen species is a key factor in neuronal apoptosis and epileptic seizures. Irisin reportedly attenuates the apoptosis and injury induced by oxidative stress. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of exogenous irisin in a kainic acid (KA)-induced chronic spontaneous epilepsy rat model. The results indicated that exogenous irisin significantly attenuated the KA-induced neuronal injury, learning and memory defects, and seizures. Irisin treatment also increased the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2), which were initially reduced following KA administration. Furthermore, the specific inhibitor of UCP2 (genipin) was administered to evaluate the possible protective mechanism of irisin. The reduced apoptosis, neurodegeneration, and spontaneous seizures in rats treated with irisin were significantly reversed by genipin administration. Our findings indicated that neuronal injury in KA-induced chronic epilepsy might be related to reduced levels of BDNF and UCP2. Moreover, our results confirmed the inhibition of neuronal injury and epileptic seizures by exogenous irisin. The protective effects of irisin may be mediated through the BDNF-mediated UCP2 level. Our results thus highlight irisin as a valuable therapeutic strategy against neuronal injury and epileptic seizures.
Rats ; Animals ; Kainic Acid/toxicity* ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/metabolism* ; Fibronectins/metabolism* ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Epilepsy/metabolism* ; Seizures/prevention & control*

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interactions and repetitive behaviors. Although hundreds of ASD risk genes, implicated in synaptic formation and transcriptional regulation, have been identified through human genetic studies, the East Asian ASD cohorts are still under-represented in genome-wide genetic studies. Here, we applied whole-exome sequencing to 369 ASD trios including probands and unaffected parents of Chinese origin. Using a joint-calling analytical pipeline based on GATK toolkits, we identified numerous de novo mutations including 55 high-impact variants and 165 moderate-impact variants, as well as de novo copy number variations containing known ASD-related genes. Importantly, combined with single-cell sequencing data from the developing human brain, we found that the expression of genes with de novo mutations was specifically enriched in the pre-, post-central gyrus (PRC, PC) and banks of the superior temporal (BST) regions in the human brain. By further analyzing the brain imaging data with ASD and healthy controls, we found that the gray volume of the right BST in ASD patients was significantly decreased compared to healthy controls, suggesting the potential structural deficits associated with ASD. Finally, we found a decrease in the seed-based functional connectivity between BST/PC/PRC and sensory areas, the insula, as well as the frontal lobes in ASD patients. This work indicated that combinatorial analysis with genome-wide screening, single-cell sequencing, and brain imaging data reveal the brain regions contributing to the etiology of ASD.
Humans ; Autism Spectrum Disorder/metabolism* ; Autistic Disorder ; Exome Sequencing ; DNA Copy Number Variations ; East Asian People ; Brain/metabolism* ; Mutation/genetics* ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics*