Objective To explore serum tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin 1β(IL-1β),interleu-kin 6(IL-6)expression levels and clinical significance of children with severe pneumococcal infection.Methods 37 cases of children with severe Streptococcus pneumococcal infection(severe infection group)and 36 cases with normal Streptococcus pneumoniae infection(normal infection group)treated in our hospital from January 2016 to January 2017 were enrolled as the study objects,and 37 cases of healthy children were enrolled as the control group in the same period.The levels of immunoglobulin IgA,IgM,IgG and the levels of TNF-,IL-1 and IL-6 in the serum of all children were detected.Results CD3+,CD4+,CD4+/CD8+,IgA and IgG levels in the severe infection group,the normal infection group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P<0.05).Serum TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 levels in the severe infection group were significantly higher than those in the normal infection group,and the normal infection group were higher than the control group(P<0.05).Serum TNF-α,IL-1β and IL-6 levels in acute period of the severe infection group were significantly higher than those in recovery period of the same group and same period of the normal infection group,and the acute period were higher than in recovery period of the same group(P<0.05).IL-1β level in recovery period of the severe infection group were significantly higher than that in recovery period of the normal infection group and the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion Children with severe pneumococcal infection have im-mune dysfunction,and serum TNF-α,IL-1β,IL-6 levels significantly increased.These data suggest that the three can be used as a reference marker for assessing the severity of severe pneumococcal infections.

Objective: To understand weekend screen time of preschool children in Nanjing, Jiangsu and to explore its association with parental factors,aiming to provide effective strategies for screen time intervention. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted in 6 424 parents of preschool children in 20 kindergartens selected using convenience samping method in Nanjing to understand the association of screen time during weekends and parental factors. Results: The proportion of preschool children in Nanjing with screen time ≥2 h/d was 13.01%, among which the proportion of boys was 14.61%, and girls was 11.34%. The difference was statistically significant(χ2=15.27, P<0.01). Logistic regression analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between 3.5-6 years old, boys, paternal education lower than junior high school or equal to senior high school, and no exercise habits with children’s screen time ≥2 h/d(OR=1.43, 1.42, 2.21, 1.82, 2.47, 2.05, 1.36, 1.38, 1.39, 1.52, P<0.05). Conclusion The video screen time of 3-6 year old preschool children in Nanjing is at moderate level. Parents’ exercise habits and education shows impact on screen time of preschool children, and should be given attention and support.

Objective: To understand health literacy among parents of children and adolescents in Nanjing and to provide support and suggestions for health literacy improvement. Methods: A total of 3 412 elementary school students from 6 primary schools were selected to conduct a survey on health literacy during April to May 2017 through convenient sampling method. Results: About 21.69% of parents in Nanjing had proficient health literacy, especially in the understanding of smoking cessation (98.24%). About 98.62% of parents gave correct answer on daily driving method, and 99.79% in skills needed for escaping in a fire, which was 99.79%. Parental health literacy significantly improved as educational attainment increases, from 11.80% to 35.69% for paternal and from 11.98% to 38.38% for maternal educational attainment (χ2=111.46, 114.58, P<0.01); Proportion of proficient health literacy was highest (95.43%) among fathers being professional technicians, and was highest (97.53%) among mothers being professional and technical personnel was 97.53%. Significant differences were found across different parental occupation (χ2=228.95, 218.79, P<0.01). Conclusion Health literacy should be strengthened among parents in Nanjing to support their children, especially among those with low educational attainment.

An aromatase encoded by the CYP19 gene catalyzes the final step in the biosynthesis of estrogens, which is related to endometriosis development. To assess the association of CYP19 gene polymorphisms with the risks of endometriosis, chocolate cysts and endometriosis-related infertility, a case-control study was conducted in Chinese Han women by recruiting 225 healthy control females, 146 patients with endometriosis, 94 endometriosis women with chocolate cyst and 65 women with infertility resulting from endometriosis, as diagnosed by both pathological and laparoscopic findings. Individual genotypes at rs2236722:T>C, rs700518:A>G, rs10046:T>C and [TTTA]n polymorphisms were identified. Allelic and genotypic frequencies were compared between the control group and case groups by chi-square analysis. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were determined by logistic regression analysis to predict the association of CYP19 gene polymorphisms with the risk of endometriosis, the related chocolate cysts and infertility. The genotype distributions of the tested CYP19 gene polymorphisms were not significantly different between the healthy control group and the endometriosis/endometriosis with the chocolate cyst group. However, the CYP19 rs700518AA genotype was significantly associated with an increased risk of endometriosis-related infertility (55.4% in the infertility group vs 25.3% in the control group, P<0.001; OR (95% CI): 3.66 (2.06-6.50)) under the recessive form of the A allele. Therefore, we concluded that in Chinese Han females CYP19 gene polymorphisms are not associated with susceptibility to endometriosis or chocolate cysts, whereas CYP19 rs700518AA genotype confers genetic susceptibility to endometriosis-related infertility.
Adult ; Aromatase/*genetics ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; Endometriosis/complications/*genetics ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Infertility, Female/complications/*genetics ; Middle Aged ; *Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Objective:To identify and characterize two Balneatrix alpica strains isolated from a patient′s blood sample (strain X117) and the natural hot spring water in the patient′s residential district (strain GN-1), and to provide experimental evidence for the pathogenic diagnosis of clinical infection caused by this rare pathogen. Methods:Biochemical phenotypic identification, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), 16S rRNA gene sequencing, phylogenetic analysis, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, and genome-wide analysis were performed to accurately determine the taxonomic status of the isolates X117 and GN-1 by using Balneatrix alpica DSM 16621 T as a reference. Microdilution broth method was used to test their antimicrobial susceptibility. The virulence genes carried by them were annotated and analyzed using the virulence factor database (VFDB). Results:Strains X117 and GN-1 formed light yellow or tan colonies with mottled surfaces on Columbia blood agar and chocolate agar plates after 4 d of culture. They were Gram-negative rods and positive for oxidase and indole tests, which were consistent with the characteristics of Balneatrix alpica DSM 16621 T. The phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene showed that the isolates X117 and GN-1 were both Balneatrix alpaca. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) values between the two isolates and Balneatrix alpica DSM 16621 T were 98.44% and 98.41%, respectively, and the digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values were both 87.1%. The SNP distance between the two strains was 13, indicating that X117 and GN-1 might belong to the same clone. The antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that all of the three Balneatrix alpica strains were sensitive to the commonly used antibiotics against Gram-negative rods. The virulence genes carried by the three Balneatrix alpica strains were mainly involved in adhesion, invasion, flagella and biofilm formation. Conclusions:This study identified a case of bloodstream infection caused by Balneatrix alpica which was closely related to natural hot spring water. Natural hot spring water migh be an important source of clinical infections caused by this species.

Objective To establish a differential model of phlegm and blood stasis pattern and qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern in stable angina pectoris using radiomics.Methods A total of 91 patients with stable angina pectoris who underwent coronary artery CT angiography in Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2021 to January 2022 were collected,including 47 cases of phlegm and blood stasis pattern and 44 cases of qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern.The patients were divided into train set(64 cases)and test set(27 cases)according to the ratio of 7∶3 by stratified random sampling method.3D-slicer software was used to extract the radiomics features of pericoronary adipose tissue(PCAT)images.Principal component analysis was used to visualize the distribution of radiomics features of pattern of phlegm and blood stasis and pattern of qi deficiency and blood stasis.The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis and support vector machine decreasing feature elimination were used for feature selection.The multinomial logistics regression was used for model construction.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to verify the model in the train set and the test set to evaluate the effectiveness of the radiomics features in differentiating phlegm and blood stasis pattern and qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern.Finally,Spearman coefficient was used to analyze the correlation between the differential features and clinical physicochemical data.Results A total of 837 radiomics features were extracted from PCAT images by 3D-slicer software.In the principal component analysis,PC1 and PC2 explained 77.9%and 8.1%of the total variance,respectively,and there was a relatively obvious separation trend between the two pattern groups.After feature screening,7 radiomics features were used to construct the differential model of phlegm and blood stasis pattern and qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern.The area under the ROC curve(AUC)of the differential model was 0.844 in the train set and 0.834 in the test set.Spearman correlation analysis showed that the differential features were significantly correlated with cTnI,neutrophil,triglyceride,total cholesterol,and leukocyte.Conclusion The CT radiomics model based on PCAT has a high discrimination efficiency for stable angina pectoris with phlegm and blood stasis pattern and qi deficiency and blood stasis pattern.

Objective To investigate the mechanism by which Ginkgo biloba extract reduces myocardial injury in rats with myocardial infarction(MI).Methods Bioinformatics was used to identify key targets of Ginkgo biloba extract in the treatment of MI in rats.An MI rat model was established via coronary artery ligation.Rats were randomly assigned to the model group,Betaloc ZOK group(2.5 mg/kg),and low-,medium-,and high-dose Ginkgo biloba extract groups(50,100,and 200 mg/kg,respectively).A sham-operation group was included for comparison.Following six weeks of gavage administration,myocardial tissues were examined using hematoxylin-eosin and Sirius red staining to assess pathological changes.Wheat germ agglutinin staining was used to observe cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.Western blotting was performed to evaluate changes in the expression of MCODE core targets,including HIF1α,MAPK14,MMP9,and CXCR4.Results Compared to the sham-operation group,the model group exhibited irregular arrangement of cardiomyocytes,significant inflam-matory infiltration,and a marked increase in type Ⅰ and Ⅲ collagen fibers in the myocardial tissue(P＜0.05).Additionally,significant upregulation in the expression of MCODE core target proteins(P＜0.05)was observed.In contrast,compared to the model group,low-,medium-,and high-dose Ginkgo biloba extract groups displayed more orderly arrangement of cardiomyocytes,reduced inflammatory infil-tration,significantly decreased levels of type Ⅰ and Ⅲ collagen fibers(P＜0.05),notable downregulation in the expression of p-MAPK14,MMP9,and CXCR4 proteins(P＜0.05),and significantly increased expression of HIF1α protein(P＜0.05).Conclusion Ginkgo biloba extract may exert protective effects on myocardial cells following MI by inhibiting the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps.