Aim To study the mechanism of DSF-Cu induced apoptosis of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE-2 Z cells by affecting the function of mitochondria and cytoskeleton. Methods The cell cycle,the rate of apotosis,the levels of intracellular ROS and MMP in CNE-2 Z cells were tested by flow cytometry after trea-ted with different concentration of DSF-Cu. The chan-ges of the cell surface morphology, ultrastructure, cell height, width and roughness were detected by AFM. The distribution and reorganization of cytoskeleton F-actin were observed by Laser scanning confocal micro-scope. Results Cells were incubated with different concentration of DSF-Cu ( 0 ~200 nmol · L-1 ) for 24 h, the apoptotic ratio increased significantly and the treatment of DSF-Cu resulted in a concentration-de-pendent accumulation of CNE-2Z cells in G2/M phase. Furthermore,the treatment of DSF-Cu was able to in-crease the production of intracellular ROS and decrease the MMP in CNE-2Z cells. In addition,AFM imaging showed that compared to the control group,with the in-crease of DSF-Cu concentration,the CNE-2Z cells be-came smaller, cytoplasm condensed, the height in-creased,and the surface roughness reduced. Moreover, the filopodia became shorter, shrinked and even com-pletely destroyed after treated with different concentra-tion of DSF-Cu. At last,the LSCM image showed that the fluorescence intensity of F-actin networks was de-creased, then the structure was rearranged and de-stroyed obviously by treated with DSF-Cu. Conclusion DSF-Cu can induce apoptosis and arrest cell cycle at G2/M phase in CNE-2Z cell through a mitochondria-dependent pathway. Above findings highlight the appli-cations of AFM at the single cell level for the investiga-tion of antineoplastic drug in nasopharyngeal carcinoma therapy.

Objective:To investigate the value of serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP-6) in prediction of rapidly progressive puberty(RPP) in girls.Methods:The data of 750 girls who visited the Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Genetic Disorders, Children′s Hospital of Soochow University from August 2017 to October 2018 because of breast development were retrospectively analyzed.After following up these girls for 6 months to 1 year, those who were lost to follow up, received early treatment and failed to meet the inclusion criteria were excluded.The remaining 138 girls were divided into the central precocious puberty group (CPP, 32 cases), the early puberty with RPP group (EP-RPP, 33 cases), the early puberty with slow progression puberty group (EP-SPP, 32 cases) and RPP group (41 cases) according to the inclusion criteria.The healthy control group consisted of 33 undeveloped girls aged 8 to 9 who underwent physical examination in the same hospital over the same period.The serum concentrations of IGF-1, DHEAS, AMH and BMP-6 were measured.The general information, clinical manifestations, laboratory examination results and radiological features were compared among different groups.Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS 22.0, and the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was drawn to investigate the value of IGF-1, DHEAS, AMH and BMP-6 in prediction of RPP.Results:(1)The serum follicle stimulating hormone(FSH) peak value was 15.10(13.86-19.80) IU/L in the EP-SPP group, 11.99(9.18-16.16) IU/L in the EP-RPP group and 11.43(9.37-15.63) IU/L in the RPP group.The ratio of serum FSH/luteinizing hormone(LH) peak values was 3.20(2.44-4.58) in the EP-SPP group, 1.86(1.05-3.16) in the EP-RPP group and 0.76(0.49-0.99) in the RPP group.The serum FSH peak value and the ratio of serum FSH/LH peak values in the EP-SPP group were significant higher than those in the EP-RPP group(all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the serum FSH peak value between the EP-RPP group and the RPP group( P>0.05). (2)The serum IGF-1 levels of the healthy control group, EP-SPP group, EP-RPP group, CPP group and RPP group were 166.00(126.50-188.00) μg/L, 199.00(170.50-262.50) μg/L, 252.00(233.00-291.50) μg/L, 288.00(252.00-376.00) μg/L and 382.00(264.0-499.50) μg/L, respectively.The serum IGF-1 levels of the EP-SPP group, EP-RPP group, CPP group and RPP group were all significantly higher than those in the healthy control group (all P<0.05). The serum IGF-1 levels in the EP-RPP group were higher than those in the EP-SPP group( P<0.01). As the puberty rapidly progressed, the serum IGF-1 levels gradually increased.The RPP group had the highest IGF-1 levels, and the difference in IGF-1 levels between the RPP group and EP-RPP group was statistically significant( P<0.01). (3)The serum DHEAS levels were 41.65(14.80-59.88) μg/L in the healthy control group, 42.50(30.15-79.83) μg/L in the EP-SPP group, 52.32(43.08-98.54) μg/L in the CPP group, 63.30(34.00-81.55) μg/L in the EP-RPP group and 70.89(51.85-100.02) μg/L in the RPP group.The DHEAS levels of the healthy control group, EP-RPP group and RPP group gradually increased.The RPP group had the highest DHEAS levels.There was significant difference in DHEAS levels among the healthy control group, EP-RPP group and RPP group ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in DHEAS levels among the EP-SPP group, CPP group and EP-RPP group( P>0.05). (4)The serum AMH and BMP-6 levels in the EP-RPP group, EP-SPP group, RPP group, CPP group and healthy control group were not significantly different( P>0.05). (5)The area under the ROC curve of serum IGF-1 levels was 0.765, the cut-off value was 232.5 μg/L, the specificity for the cut-off value was 83.30%, and the sensitivity was 75.00%.The combined area under the ROC curve of the serum FSH peak value and the ratio of serum FSH/LH peak values was 0.795. Conclusions:Serum IGF-1 levels and the combination of the serum FSH peak value and the ratio of serum FSH/LH peak values can be used as effective indicators of slowly and rapidly progressive puberty in early adolescent girls.Serum DHEAS cannot be used as an early warning index of RPP, but it plays a critical role in the regulation of puberty initiation and process.Serum DHEAS levels may be related to the Tanner stage.

Objective:To investigate the application effect of high-altitude field-based teaching in acute mountain sickness.Methods:The medical students of the classes 2018 and 2019 majoring in clinical medicine were selected as subjects, and they were divided into conventional teaching group and field-based teaching group, with 20 students in each group. The students in the conventional teaching group received classroom teaching alone, and those in the field-based teaching group received high-altitude field-based teaching after theoretical lectures. The two groups were compared in terms of the theoretical knowledge of acute mountain sickness, the quality score of internship, and rescue operation score of acute mountain sickness, and questionnaire feedback and post-class discussion were performed among trainees and teachers to evaluate the high-altitude field-based teaching model. SPSS 19.0 was used for statistical analysis.Results:Compared with the conventional teaching group, the field-based teaching group had significantly higher scores of the theoretical knowledge of acute mountain sickness (91.72±4.34 vs. 86.10±5.15, P<0.001), the quality score of internship (89.64±5.21 vs. 83.51±2.38, P<0.001), and the rescue operation of acute mountain sickness [94.05 (89.54, 94.87) vs. 87.01 (84.33, 90.82), P<0.001]. Conclusions:High-altitude field-based teaching can improve the teaching effect of acute mountain sickness and cultivate the interest and learning enthusiasm of students, and therefore, it holds promise for wide application.

Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes(MELAS) is one of the most common inherited mitochondrial diseases. This paper reports a rare mutation associated with MELAS syndrome, the m. 3252 A>G mutation in the MT-TL1 gene encoding the mitochondrial tRNALeu(UUR). The 6-year-old girl suffered from recurrent convulsion and lactic acidemia. The mtDNA sequencing detected a variant m. 3252A>G(MT-TL1 gene) in the proband and her maternal relatives. The heteroplasmic levels in peripheral blood and urine sediment were 66.53% and 97.42%, respectively, which were obviously higher than those of her maternal relatives. Together with 3 previously reported cases, the variant m. 3252A>G could be classified pathogenic. All the reported pathogenic variants in MT-TL1 gene were reviewed to explore the genotype-phenotype correlations of pathogenic variants in MT-TL1 gene.

To analyze the clinical features and genetic variants of a child with type 4 familial partial lipodystrophy (FPLD4) and the initial manifestation of diabetes.The male patient with the age of 13 years and 5 months, and the diabetes course was about 3 years, the patient was admitted to Children′s Hospital of Soochow University on November 10, 2021(4 th hospitalization at the hospital), in the course of diabetes, the children repeatedly suffered from diabetes ketoacidosis, and lipid metabolism complications gradually emerged.The gene sequencing showed that the proband and his mother carried dual gene mutations of PLIN1 c. 1325delG(p.G442Afs*99) and SPINK1 c. 194+ 2T>C(p.? ). The PLIN1 gene was the causal gene of FPLD4.The mutations of c. 1325delG in the PLIN1 gene had not been previously reported.Based on the clinical phenotype, family history and genetic testing findings, the patient was diagnosed as FPLD4.In addition, the mutation of SPINK1 c. 194+ 2T>C(p.? ) might increase the risk of chronic pancreatitis.This case report enriched the clinical characteristics and genotype data of FPLD4.Gene sequencing assisted the accurate diagnosis of the type of diabetes.The effects of dual gene mutations on disease progression should be concerned, which were of great significance to develop treatment regimen and disease management.

AIM: To analyze the causes of blindness and low vision in patients with visual disability in Yangpu District of Shanghai from 2019 to 2022.METHODS:Cross-sectional study. A total of 1 604 patients who participated in the evaluation of visual disability in Shanghai Yangpu District Kongjiang Hospital, from April 2019 to December 2022 were selected for the study. The grade of visual disability and the main causes of blindness and low vision were determined by trained doctors.RESULTS:A total of 804 patients with visual disabilities were identified, with 87.31% aged 60 and above. The causes of visual disability were high myopic retinopathy(30.47%), age-related macular degeneration(23.26%), glaucoma(17.04%), and diabetic retinopathy(11.07%). Glaucoma(36.96%)is the leading cause of blindness.CONCLUSION: The majority of patients with visual disability are aged 60 years and above. More attention should be paid to the elderly population. Comprehensive prevention, treatment and rehabilitation measures should be applied in different diseases based on classification, so as to early reduce the occurrence of visual disability.