OBJECTIVE:To observe the effects of RAD51 gene polymorphism on cancer prognosis and its relationship with therapeutic efficacy of cisplatin chemotherapy in patients with cervical cancer. METHODS:193 cervical cancer patients were selected and genotyped by TaqmanTM genotyping method. Therapeutic efficacy and survival period were observed in cisplatin chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy. RESULTS:The mean survival rate and therapeutic efficacy was significantly correlated with RAD51 genotype. The patients carrying the T gene had better response to drugs,compared to patients with type GG (P<0.05),and the average survival rate significantly increased(P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Genetic variation in RAD51 have obvious influence on the prognosis of cervical cancer chemotherapy. Therefore,RAD51 G172T genotypes give effective prognosis information about cervical cancer patients who received cisplatin chemotherapy.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the applicability of a natural swelling matrix derived from boat-fruited sterculia seed (SMS) as the propellant of osmotic pump tablets. The sugar components, static swelling, water uptake and viscosity of SMS were determined and compared with that of polythylene oxide (WSR-N10 and WSR-303). Both ribavirin and glipizide were used as water-soluble and water-insoluble model drugs. Then, the monolayer osmotic pump tablets of ribavirin and the bilayer osmotic pump tablets of glipizide were prepared using SMS as the osmotically active substance and propellant. SMS was mainly composed of rhamnose, arabinose, xylose and galactose and exhibited relatively high swelling ability. The area of the disintegrated matrix tablet was 20.1 times as that at initial after swelling for 600 s. SMS swelled rapidly and was fully swelled (0.5%) in aqueous solution with relative low viscosity (3.66 +/- 0.03) mPa x s at 25 degrees C. The monolayer osmotic pump tablets of ribavirin and the bilayer osmotic pump tablets of glipizide using SMS as propellant exhibited typical drug release features of osmotic pumps. In conclusion, the swelling matrix derived from boat-fruited sterculia seed, with low viscosity and high swelling, is a potential propellant in the application of osmotic pump tablets.

Aim To explore the change of mGluR1α and mGluR5 expression in brain CA1 region after infrasonic action, and the role of antagonist MCPG in rats. Methods 160 SD rats were divided randomly into infrasonic damage group and MCPG therapy group. The two groups were subdivided into control group and 1-time, 7-time and 14-time groups respectively. Rats were exposed to 8Hz, 130dB infrasound two hours each time. Expression of mGluR1α and mGluR5 were detected by immunohistochemical staining and in situ hybridization methods. The morphological changes of neurons after MCPG therapy were observed under microscopes. Results Comparing with the control group, the number and the A value of mGluR1α and mGluR5 positive cells changed after one infrasonic action(P∨ 0.05); and the expression of mGluR1α and mGluR5 in the 7-time group were most obvious(P∨ 0.01); in the 14-time group, they recovered already to normal level. Morphological study confirmed that MCPG protected neurons from infrasonic damage. Conclusion Change of mGluR1α and mGluR5 activity can mediate exciting neurotoxicity after infrasonic action, and it is one of the major factors relative to neurons injury, MCPG had an protective effect on brain damage caused by infrasound.

Objective: To explore the effect of reproductive health education on health literacy of hospitalized female adolescents,and to provide reference for the protection of their physical and mental health. Methods: A total of 102 female adolescents who were hospitalized in department of gynaecology from January 2019 to December 2019 were selected for reproductive health education and questionnaire survey. Results: There were 65 cases of unplanned pregnancy (4 cases of tubal pregnancy), 18 cases of gynecological tumor (1 case of ovarian malignancy), 11 cases of gynecological inflammation (1 case of tubal abscess), and 8 cases of abnormal uterine bleeding (2 cases of blood transfusion).Eighty-six patients (84.3%) were treated surgically, 7 cases had their ovaries and/or fallopian tubes removed. After reproductive health education,health literacy of menstruation and ovulation, reproductive organ tumor, gynecological inflammation(inducing factors,clinical manifestations,harmfulness), harm of premature sexual life, scientific contraception, sexually transmitted diseases(types,transmission routes,preventioe measures), abortion hazard(short-term and longterm complications) and necessity of health examination improved significantly(χ2=14.8, 25.1, 15.7, 30.6, 18.6, 25.9, 31.1, 17.8, 19.1, 15.2, 40.1, 58.6, 69.8, P<0.05). Conclusion The lack of reproductive health knowledge of female hospitalized adolescents may lead to unplanned pregnancy, tumor, inflammation and abnormal uterine bleeding.Reproductive health education can significantly improve the health literacy of female adolescents and ensure their physical and mental health.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the abnormal changes in the testes and semen parameters in patients with varicose veins and analyze the possible relationship between clinical varicocele and infertility.

METHODSWe retrospectively reviewed the records of 172 male patients consulting for varicocele in our hospital since 2003. All these patients were examined for the size of the testes with scrotal ultrasound. The semen samples of the patients with varicocele except for 5 under the age of 17 years were collected and analyzed, using the data of semen analyses of 163 healthy young male volunteers (aged 18-29 years) as control.

RESULTSAll the 172 patients had left-sided varicose veins. Sixty-three patients were found to have bilateral varicocele, and in most of them, the clinical grades of the left-sided varicose veins were higher than those of the right-sided ones. The mean volume of the left testis of the patients was 10.99∓3.71 ml, significantly smaller than that of the right one (11.86∓4.05 ml, P<0.01). The physiochemical indices of the patients, including the voiding volume, semen pH, liquefaction time and sperm concentration, were normal or similar with those of the healthy volunteers (P>0.05). Almost all the patients sperm motility and viability were significantly lower than those of the healthy volunteers (P<0.05). In addition, no significant difference was found in the sperm density, motility or viability between the patients with unilateral and bilateral varicocele (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONVaricocele may decrease the testicular volume. Both unilateral and bilateral varicocele may have an effect on the bilateral testes to cause possible functional impairment of the testes manifested by decreased sperm motility and viability.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; etiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Semen ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility ; Testis ; physiopathology ; Varicocele ; complications ; physiopathology ; Young Adult

Objective:To investigate serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25-(OH)D3], the vitamin D receptor(VDR), LL-37, cytokines such as interleukin 6(IL-6)and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in elderly and non-elderly patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, and to study the correlation between serum vitamin D levels and clinical characteristics.Methods:A total of 56 elderly patients and 56 non-elderly patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis admitted to Chengdu Public Health Clinical Center from January 2019 to March 2019 were enrolled.The levels of 25-(OH)D3, VDR, LL-37, IL-6 and TNF-α were detected by ELISA and compared between the two groups.Clinical data such as the number of T lymphocytes, lesions and cavities in bilateral lung fields and extra-pulmonary tuberculosis were collected.Results:There were significant differences in serum vitamin D levels [(28.94±12.88)nmol/L vs.(34.47±12.78)nmol/L, t=3.650, P=0.025], while levels of VDR, LL-37, IL-6 and TNF-α(all P>0.05)were similar between the elderly and non-elderly groups.Besides, patients in the elderly group were associated with significantly lower levels of CD4 + T lymphocytes [(295.71±153.83)×10 6/L vs.(421.25±206.00)×10 6/L]and CD8 + T lymphocyte count [159.5(101.0, 239.0)×10 6/L vs.261.5(187.0, 409.0)×10 6/L]than those in the nonelderly group(all P=0.000). Also, there were more severe pulmonary tuberculosis cases in the elderly group than the non-elderly group [(51/56, 91.1%) vs.(28/56, 50.0%), χ2=22.730, P=0.000]. The serum level of 25-(OH)D3 was positively correlated with CD4 + T cell count in elderly patients( r=0.190, P< 0.05). Conclusions:Elderly patients with pulmonary tuberculosis have a high proportion of severe tuberculosis and reduced serum levels of vitamin D, CD4 + T cell count and CD8 + T cell count, compared with non-elderly patients.Attention should be paid to vitamin D levels and their potential impact on disease progression in elderly patients with active tuberculosis.

Objective:To explore the genetic etiology of a fetus with short limbs identified by prenatal ultrasonography.Methods:A fetus detected with short limb malformations at Shengjing Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University on October 25, 2021 was selected as the study subject. Prenatal ultrasound and post-abortion imaging were carried out to determine the phenotypic characteristics of the fetus. Amniotic fluid sample of the fetus and peripheral blood samples of its parents were collected. Following extraction of genomic DNA, whole-exome sequencing was carried out. Candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing. Online software was used to predict the structural changes of the mutant proteins.Results:Prenatal ultrasound showed that the fetus had a small bell-shaped thorax, markedly shortened limbs, flat midface, a small nose with anteriorly tilted nostrils, and a small mandible. Post-abortion CT showed typical short and wide fetal ribs, cupped metaphyses at both ends, short long bones with wide metaphyses, resulting in a dumbbell-shaped appearance and curved thoracic vertebrae. Whole-exome sequencing revealed that the fetus had harbored compound heterozygous variants of the COL11A1 gene, namely c. 2251G>T and c. 3790G>T, both of which were predicted to alter the important Gly-X-Y structure of collagen protein. Sanger sequencing confirmed that the variants were respectively inherited from its parents. Conclusion:A rare fetus with Fibrochondrogenesis type 1 due to compound heterozygous variants of the COL11A1 gene has been diagnosed. Above finding has enabled genetic counseling and reproductive guidance for this family.

Objective:To construct a prognostic model for lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCLC) based on autophagy-related genes analyzed by bioinformatics and validate it.Methods:Expression profile data and clinical information of 268 SqCLC patients were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and a dataset of normal lung tissues of 336 healthy people was downloaded from the Genotype Tissue Expression (GTEx) database; the autophagy-related genome was obtained from the GO_AUTOPHAGY genome of the Human Autophagy Database (HADb) and the Molecular Signature Database (MSigDB) 6.2. R 4.0.3 software was applied to analyze the differentially expressed genes between SqCLC tissues in TCGA database and normal lung tissues in GTEx database. Screening of autophagy-related genes differentially expressed between SqCLC tissues and normal lung tissues in the TCGA database (referred to as differentially expressed autophagy genes) was performed using R 4.0.3 software. The Cox proportional risk model was applied to analyze the relationship between the differentially expressed autophagy genes and prognosis of SqCLC patients in TCGA database, and a prognostic model was constructed. The SqCLC patients in TCGA database were divided into high-risk group and low-risk group based on the median risk score of the prognostic model, and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to compare the overall survival of the two groups; the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the 3-, 5- and 10-year overall survival rates of 268 patients in TCGA database predicted by the prognostic model was plotted. Cox regression was used to analyze the independent influencing factors of overall survival of SqCLC patients in TCGA database, and the prognostic index formula was established. Based on the consistency index and restricted mean survival (RMS) curve, the predictive efficacy for the survival of patients in TCGA database between prognostic index of prognostic model risk score alone and prognostic index of risk score combined with independent influencing factors was compared. R 4.0.3 software was used to construct the nomogram for predicting patients' 3-, 5- and 10-year overall survival rates.Results:Six prognosis related differentially expressed autophagy genes were screened, and a prognostic model was constructed as: risk score=PEX14×0.337+CASPASE-8×(-0.280)+TM9SF1×0.292+UBB×0.472+P4HB×0.163+CTSA×0.173. In TCGA database, the overall survival of high-risk group was worse than that of low-risk group ( P < 0.001). Time-dependent ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of the prognostic model risk score for predicting the 3-, 5- and 10-year overall survival rates of 268 patients in TCGA database was 0.715, 0.715 and 0.831, respectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age, staging and prognostic model risk score were independent factors affecting the overall survival of SqCLC patients in TCGA database, and the prognostic index=0.998×risk score+0.725×staging+0.559×age. The RMS curve showed that compared with the prognostic model risk score, the prognostic index combined with 3 independent prognostic factors had a better effect on predicting the overall survival (consistency index: 0.68 vs. 0.65, P =0.045). Using age, staging and prognostic model risk score, a nomogram was constructed to predict the survival of patients with SqCLC, and its calibration curve was close to the ideal curve. Conclusions:A prognostic model of SqCLC based on 6 characteristic differentially expressed autophagy-related genes has been successfully established. Internal validation shows that this model combined with other clinicopathological factors could be helpful in predicting the survival of SqCLC patients.

Objective:To analyze the distribution and drug resistance of the pathogen of bloodstream infections in patients with malignancies in Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted. A total of 8 654 patients with malignancies whose blood culture was detected in Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital between January 2019 and December 2021 were collected, and venous blood was drawn for blood culture. WHONET 5.6 software and SPSS 23.0 software were used to analyze the distribution and drug resistance of the pathogen of bloodstream infections.Results:A total of 600 (6.9%) pathogens were isolated, including 413 (68.8%) strains of Gram-negative bacteria, 168 (28.0%) strains of Gram-positive bacteria, 19 (3.2%) strains of fungi. The top 5 gram-negative bacteria were Escherichia coli (37.7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (14.2%), Enterobacter cloacae (4.5%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3.0%), and Acinetobacter baumannii (2.5%). The top 5 gram-positive bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (4.2%), Enterococcus faecium (4.0%), Staphylococcus hominis (3.8%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (3.5%) and Streptococcus (3.0%); except Klebsiella pneumoniae, there were no statistically significant differences in the composition ratio of other major pathogens from 2019 to 2021 (all P > 0.05). The resistance rates of Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae to ampicillin were 94.7% (214/226), 100.0% (85/85) and 96.3% (26/27); the resistance rates of those to ciprofloxacin were 61.9% (140/226), 17.6% (15/85) and 7.4% (2/27); and the resistance rates of those to cefoperazone were 62.4% (141/226), 30.6% (26/85) and 25.9% (7/27), respectively. The resistance rates of P. aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii to carbapenems were 5.5% (1/18) and 93.3% (14/15). Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus hominis, Staphylococcus epidermidis were predominantly Staphylococcus. Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis were the main types of enterococcus. Positive blood culture samples were mainly distributed in hematology department and intensive care unit. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (39 strains) and acute myeloid leukemia (12 strains) were the main diseases. Conclusions:The main pathogen of bloodstream infection in patients with malignancies in this area is Gram-negative bacteria, and drug resistance is common. Hospitals should rationally use antibiotics by combining with drug sensitivity test.

Effective methods for visualizing neurovascular morphology are essential for understanding the normal spinal cord and the morphological alterations associated with diseases. However, ideal techniques for simultaneously imaging neurovascular structure in a broad region of a specimen are still lacking. In this study, we combined Golgi staining with angiography and synchrotron radiation micro-computed tomography (SRμCT) to visualize the 3D neurovascular network in the mouse spinal cord. Using our method, the 3D neurons, nerve fibers, and vasculature in a broad region could be visualized in the same image at cellular resolution without destructive sectioning. Besides, we found that the 3D morphology of neurons, nerve fiber tracts, and vasculature visualized by SRμCT were highly consistent with that visualized using the histological method. Moreover, the 3D neurovascular structure could be quantitatively evaluated by the combined methodology. The method shown here will be useful in fundamental neuroscience studies.
Animals ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Mice ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Spinal Cord/diagnostic imaging* ; Synchrotrons ; X-Ray Microtomography