AIM: To investigate the expression levels of serum miR-23a and miR-34a in patients with age-related macular degeneration(ARMD)and its relationship with the development of ARMD.

METHODS: Totally 102 patients with ARMD who were treated in our hospital from May 2015 to February 2018 were enrolled in the case group, and 70 healthy subjects in the same period were used as control group. The relative expression levels of miR-23a and miR-34a in serum were detected by RT-PCR, and the levels of serum tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α)and nuclear factor kB(NF-kB)were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Analysis on the relationship of miR-23a, miR-34a expression levels with TNF-a, NF-kB in patients with ARMD and its diagnostic value for ARMD were taken.

RESULTS: The relative expression levels of serum miR-23a and miR-34a in the case group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P<0.01). The relative expression levels of serum miR-23a and miR-34a in the advanced group were significantly higher than those in the middle and early stage(P<0.01). The relative expression levels of serum miR-23a and miR-34a in the middle term patients were significantly higher than those in the early stage(P<0.01). The serum levels of TNF- α and NF-κB in the case group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P<0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between serum miR-23a and TNF-α and NF-kB in the case group(r=0.798, 0.720, both P<0.01), and serum miR-34a was significantly positively correlated with TNF-α and NF-kB(r=0.814, 0.740, both P<0.01). The area under the ROC curve(AUC)of serum miR-23a and miR-34a for diagnosis of ARMD was 0.831 and 0.867, respectively.

CONCLUSION: The expression of miR-23a and miR-34a in serum of ARMD patients is up-regulated, which may be involved in the development and progression of ARMD by promoting inflammation and oxidative stress. Detection of serum miR-23a and miR-34a may be helpful for early diagnosis and prevention of ARMD.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic scoliosis surgery is difficult and requires a long operation time. Using 3D printing navigation templates to assist in nail placement can reduce the difficulty of surgery, optimize the operation of nail placement, and improve the effect of nail placement, which has significant advantages. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the application of 3D printing navigation template assisted screw placement in the pedicle screw internal fixation of idiopathic scoliosis. METHODS: Clinical data of 17 cases of idiopathic scoliosis treated by pedicle screw fixation from January 2018 to August 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, eight patients were treated with 3D printing navigation template assisted screw placement (3D group), while nine patients were treated with conventional screw placement (conventional group). CT scan was used to evaluate the level and acceptability of screw placement after surgery. The time of nail placement, the times of intraoperative X-ray fluoroscopy, the amount of nailing bleeding, the level of nail placement, the acceptable rate of nail placement, the rate of secondary nail placement, the rate of main bending correction and the complications related to nail placement were compared between the two groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) All the 17 patients successfully completed the operation of nail placement, and there were no complications related to nail placement in blood vessel and nerve injury. One case of back pain and one case of lower extremity pain were found in the conventional group, and the symptoms disappeared after symptomatic treatment. (2) The time of nail placement, the times of intraoperative X-ray fluoroscopy and the amount of nailing bleeding in the 3D group were less than those in the conventional group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). (3) The level and acceptability of nail placement in the 3D group were higher than those in the conventional group, and the rate of secondary nail placement in the 3D group was lower than that in the conventional group, with statistical significance (P < 0.05). (4) There was no significant difference in the rate of main bending correction between the two groups (P > 0.05). (5) 3D printing navigation template can reduce the difficulty of screw placement and improve the effect of screw placement during pedicle screw internal fixation of idiopathic scoliosis.

AIM: To investigate the clinical efficacy of pars plana vitrectomy(PPV)combined with inverted internal limiting membrane flap technique in the treatment of macular hole retinal detachment(MHRD)in high myopia.METHODS: A retrospective clinical study was conducted. A total of 63 patients(64 eyes)with high myopia and MHRD who treated at our hospital from October 2017 to October 2021 were selected as research subjects. They were divided into two groups according to different surgery, with 34 cases(35 eyes)who received PPV combined with inverted internal limiting membrane flap technique in group A, and 29 cases(29 eyes)received PPV combined with internal limiting membrane peeling in group B. The patients were followed up for 6mo. The two groups were compared in terms of the hole closure rate, the reduction rate of retinal detachment and best corrected visual acuity(BCVA)before operation and at 1wk, 1, 3 and 6mo after operation, and the postoperative complications were recorded.RESULTS: The hole closure rate within 6mo after operation was significantly higher in group A than in group B(P<0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference in the reduction rate of retinal detachment(P>0.05). The BCVA of the two groups was significantly improved over time after operation(P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in BCVA between the two groups before operation and at 1wk, 1, 3 and 6mo after operation(P>0.05). Complications were observed in the two groups, but there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups(P<0.05).CONCLUSION: PPV combined with inverted internal limiting membrane flap technique is safe and effective in the treatment of MHRD in high myopia, which can effectively improve the patients' BCVA and the hole closure rate without influence on intraocular pressure.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of lower respiratory tract disease. Methods: The health physical examination data of 4000 coal dust exposed workers who had physical examination in the Institute of Occupational Disease Prevention and Treatment in 2016 were collected and analyzed with SPSS 20.0 software. Results: Out of the 4000 coal workers, the Prevalence rate of pulmonary tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, CWP were 1.00% (40/4000) , 0.63% (25/4000) , 0.43% (17/4000) . 17 coal workers suffered from coal workers. The prevalence of workers both exposed to silicon and coal dust was 1.15% (2/174) , which was higher than that of other the job type. The prevalence of CWP among age groups, length of service and occupational category were found significant difference (P<0.05) , raising with the increase of duration of dust exposure and age increasing (χ²_trend=17.171, 5.344, P<0.05) . The prevalence of emphysema and chronic bronchitis between different working years and different ages are all statistically significant (P<0.05) , increasing with duration of dust exposure (χ²_trend=9.906, 10.118, P<0.05) . Conclusion The prevalence rate of CWP is not high, and closely related with duration of dust exposure and dust species. The prevalence of lower respiratory tract disease is higher in the tunneling and mining workers and raising with the duration of dust exposure.

Objective: To explore the association between dust exposure and the incidence of hypertension in male coal miners. Methods: Using the method of retrospective cohort study,a hypertension cohort of colliery in Henan Province was established in January 2006. From 2006 to 2017,all the male coal miners in a colliery who were exposed to dust were selected into the exposure group including tunneling, mining,auxiliary and combining workers, and workers from administrative logistics departments who were not exposed to dust were selected into the control group. The eligible participants should satisfy following conditions: working more than one year, with clear and complete record of occupation change, and with complete archives and reliable diagnosis of occupational health surveillance. The exclusion criteria of participants were with hypertension at the baseline of study or with heart,liver,kidney diseases and malignant tumors. A total of 12 647 participants were enrolled in this study (11 663 in the exposure group and 984 in the control group). The follow-up period was from January 2006 to December 2017,with a total follow-up of 89 259.75 person-years. Questionnaires and physical measurements were used to collect general demographic characteristics, occupational exposure history and occupational health surveillance data of all participants. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate the association between the dust exposure and the incidence of hypertension. Results: During the follow-up period, 2 549 new-onset hypertension patients were identified with an incidence density of hypertension about 2 855.71 per 100 000 person-years. The incidence density of hypertension was 2 967.58 per 100 000 person-years in the exposure group, and 1 643.85 per 100 000 person-years in the control group. The results of multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model showed that after the adjustment of marriage, age, smoking, alcohol drinking and body mass index,the risk of hypertension was higher in the exposure group compared with the control group (HR=1.692, 95%CI: 1.410-2.032). Further analysis showed that compared with workers from administrative logistics departments,the risk of hypertension in tunneling,mining and auxiliary working was 1.629(1.345-1.973),1.677(1.374-2.046) and 1.782(1.475-2.151),respectively. Conclusion Dust exposure may increase the risk of hypertension in male coal miners.

Objective To explore the characteristics and influencing factors of family resilience among Chinese PLA Army personnel.Methods A total of 8 094 military personnel subjected with cluster sampling were surveyed with family resilience scale(FRS)and self-designed questionnaire for basic information on military families.Independent sample t test,one-way analysis of variance and step-up regression analysis were employed to analyze the family resilience.Results ① The results of demographic variable analysis showed that there were significant differences in family resilience among the personnel with different marital status,from one-child family or not,birth in rural/urban areas,personnel category,age and education level(P＜0.05).② Family factors analysis indicated that different family structure,different family relationships,family rearing styles,recent separation from family members,and frequency of contacting family members had certain effects on family resilience(P＜0.05).③ When family relationship,family rearing styles,frequency of contacting family members,birth place,recent separation from family,personnel category,from one-child family,and education level entered the regression equation,the resilience level of army personnel'families was increased by 8.197 for every 1 unit increase in family relationship,and the level of family resilience was increased by 4.688 for every 1 unit increase in family contact frequency(F=202.168,P＜0.05).Conclusion The overall level of family resilience of army personnel is good.The risk factors for family resilience are recent separation from their families for ≥1 year,officers,not from only-children family,and the protective factors are harmonious relationship with their families,democratic family rearing style,contacting with their families weekly,urban birth,and bachelor degree or above.

[Abstract] Objective: To investigate the effects and mechanisms of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) non-coding RNA-activated by DNA damage (NORAD) on the proliferation and migration of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) EC9706 cells. Methods: RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression level of NORAD in different ESCC cells (EC9706, TE1, YES-2, KYSE150). Small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting NORAD gene was transfected into EC9706 cells (as si-NORAD group) with RNA interference technique to knockdown NORAD expression; in addition, blank control group (as Ctrl group, without any transfection) as well as negative control group (as NC group, transfected with siRNAnegative control sequence)werealsoestablished. qPCR was used to verify the transfection efficiency. MTT, Colony formation assay and Wound-healing test were used to detect the abilities of proliferation and migration of EC9706 cells before and after NORAD knockdown. Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of E-cadherin, N-cadherin and Snail in EC9706 cells before and after NORAD knockdown. Results: NORAD mRNAwas highly expressed in 4 ESCC cell lines. Comparing with TE1, YES-2 and KYSE150 cells, the expression of NORAD mRNA was significantly higher in EC9706 cells (P<0.01). After transfection of NORAD-siRNA into EC9706 cells, the expression of NORAD was down-regulated significantly as comparing with Ctrl group and NC group (all P<0.01), in the meanwhile, the proliferation and migration abilities of EC9706 cells were also significantly suppressed (P<0.05).After NORAD knockdown, the expression of E-cadherin was up-regulated while the expressions of N-cadherin and Snail were down-regulated in EC9706 cells (all P<0.05). Conclusion: NORAD is highly expressed in EC9706 cells;knockdown of NORAD expression can inhibit the proliferation and migration ability of EC9706 probably through up-regulating E-cadherin and down-regulating N-cadherin and Snail.

Objective: To study the miR-28-3p expression in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) tissues and cell lines, and explore its effect on the malignant biological behaviors of MDA-MB-468 cells. Methods： ：Tumor tissues and matched para-cancerous tissues were collected from 83 TNBC patients, who underwent tumor resection and pathological confirmation in the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University between Jan. 2013 and Jan. 2014. TNBC cell lines (MDA-MB-468, HCC-1937, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB436, MDA-MB-453) and human normal breast epithelial cell line MCF10A were also used in this study. qPCR was used to detect the expression of miR-28-3p in above mentioned tissues and cell lines. The correlation between miR-28-3p expression and clinical parameters was analyzed.After transfection with miR-28-3p inhibitor, the proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration ability of MDA-MB468 cells were detected with CCK-8, Flow cytometry, Transwell and Wound-healing experiment, respectively. And Western blotting was used to examine the protein expression of bridging integrator-1 (BIN1) in MDA-MB-468 cells. Bioinformatics BIN1 tool waere used to predict the target gene of miR-28-3p. Luciferase reporter gene assay was performed to validate the regulatory effect of miR-28-3p on BIN1. Results: The expression of miR-28-3p in TNBC tissues and cell lines was higher than that in matched paracancerous tissues and MCF10Acells (all P<0.01), respectively.Among the total 83 TNBC tissues, 56 (67.47%) showed high miR-28-3p expression. High expressionofmiR-28-3pwascloselycorrelated with the Ki-67 expression, tumor size and TNM stage (all P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared with miR-NC group, transfection of miR-28-3p inhibitor significantly decreased the proliferation, invasion and migration of MDA-MB-468 cells while increased the apoptosis rate (all P<0.05 or P<0.01). Luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that BIN1 was a target gene of miR-28-3p, and miR-28-3p inhibitor could up-regulate BIN1 expression in MDA-MB-468 cells (P<0.05). Conclusion: miR-28-3p is highly expressed in TNBC tissues and cell lines. miR-28-3p inhibitor up-regulates the expression of BIN1 to inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration ability while promote the apoptosis of MDA-MB-468 cells.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm(BPDCN). METHODS: The clinical features, bone marrow morphology and immunophenotyping, treatment and prognosis of 4 patients with BPDCN were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: 4 patients had bone marrow， spleen and lymph nodes involvement， 2 patients had skin lesions， and 3 patients had central nervous system infiltration． Tailing phenomenon of abnormally cells could be seen in bone marrow. The immunophenotyping showed that CD56, CD4 and CD123 expression was observed in 4 patients， and CD304 in 3 patients． One patient refused chemotherapy and died early. Both patients achieved complete remission after the initial treatment with DA+VP regimen, 1 of them achieved complete remission after recurrence by using the same regimen again． One patient failed to respond to reduced dose of DA+VP chemotherapy, and then achieved complete remission with venetoclax+azacitidine. CONCLUSION The malignant cells in BPDCN patients often infiltrate bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes, and have specical phenotypes, with poor prognosis. The treatment should take into account both myeloid and lymphatic systems. The treatment containing new drugs such as BCL-2 inhibitors combined with demethylation drugs is worth trying.
Humans ; Dendritic Cells ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin Neoplasms/pathology* ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Bone Marrow/pathology* ; Myeloproliferative Disorders ; Hematologic Neoplasms/drug therapy*