ObjectiveTo establish a high-performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） for the quantitative analysis of multiple components in Gegen Qinlian tablets， and to comprehensively evaluate the quality of samples from different manufacturers by integrating chemical pattern recognition and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution（TOPSIS）， in order to provide a reference basis for quality evaluation and control of Gegen Qinlian tablets. MethodsHPLC was employed to determine the contents of 10 components in 28 batches of Gegen Qinlian tablets collected from 6 manufacturers， and taking the detection results as variables， SIMCA 14.1 and SPSS 26.0 were employed for cluster analysis（CA）， principal component analysis（PCA）， and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） to identify key components affecting the quality. Then， TOPSIS analysis was employed to rank the quality of Gegen Qinlian tablets from the 6 manufacturers and establish a comprehensive quality evaluation method. ResultsA quantitative method for Gegen Qinlian tablets was established. After methodological validation， the method was found to be stable and reliable， and could be used for the quantitative analysis of this preparation. The contents of 3′-hydroxy puerarin， puerarin， 3′-methoxy puerarin， daidzein， coptisine hydrochloride， epiberberine， jatrorrhizine hydrochloride， berberine hydrochloride， palmatine hydrochloride and baicalin in 28 batches of samples were 3.58-7.35， 24.88-42.32， 4.20-9.36， 4.33-7.60， 2.52-6.44， 0.93-4.10， 0.58-3.05， 10.68-22.92， 0.82-4.82， 11.73-60.16 mg·g^-1， respectively. Among them， puerarin， berberine hydrochloride and baicalin all met the limit requirements for this preparation specified in the 2025 edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. CA and PCA clustered the 28 batches of samples into 5 categories， PCA extracted 2 principal components with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 90.588%， and OPLS-DA screened out 4 differential markers with variable importance in the projection（VIP） values>1.0， namely baicalin， 3′-hydroxy puerarin， coptisine hydrochloride and palmatine hydrochloride， which might be the main components affecting the quality of Gegen Qinlian tablets. TOPSIS analysis showed that the comprehensive score of each evaluation index（C_i） values of different manufacturers were different. Among them， the C_i of manufacturer B was ranked higher， indicating potentially superior quality， while the C_i of manufacturer A was ranked lower， suggesting potentially inferior quality. ConclusionThis study establishes a quantitative method for Gegen Qinlian tablets， and the content uniformity of the same manufacturer is good， while there are differences in the contents of active components among different manufacturers. Through the chemical pattern recognition analysis， it is found that the content differences of Gegen Qinlian tablets may be related to baicalin， 3′-hydroxy puerarin， coptisine hydrochloride and palmatine hydrochloride.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) presents with a diverse range of symptoms that can affect the skin, bones, eyes, central nervous system, and other organs. This article reports the diagnosis and treatment process of a patient with NF1 complicated by bilateral severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss. Genetic testing revealed a heterozygous variant of NF1 NM_ 000267.3: c.4054_ 4058del(p.Ser1352LeufsTer20, supporting the diagnosis of NF1. After thorough evaluation, a right cochlear implantation was performed, yielding satisfactory postoperative results. This case suggests that NF1 patients may exhibit phenotypic heterogeneity and atypicality, providing a reference for clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of such patients.

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP), whose etiology is influenced by genetic and clinical risk factors, considerably impacts women's quality of life. However, the genetic underpinnings in non-European populations and comprehensive risk models integrating genetic and clinical factors remain underexplored. This study constructed the first polygenic risk score (PRS) for POP in the Chinese population by utilizing 20 disease-associated variants from the largest existing genome-wide association study. We analyzed a discovery cohort of 576 cases and 623 controls and a validation cohort of 264 cases and 200 controls. Results showed that the case group exhibited a significantly higher PRS than the control group. Moreover, the odds ratio of the top 10% risk group was 2.6 times higher than that of the bottom 10%. A high PRS was significantly correlated with POP occurrence in women older than 50 years old and in those with one or no childbirths. As far as we know, the integrated prediction model, which combined PRS and clinical risk factors, demonstrated better predictive accuracy than other existing PRS models. This combined risk assessment model serves as a robust tool for POP risk prediction and stratification, thereby offering insights into individualized preventive measures and treatment strategies in future clinical practice.
Humans ; Female ; Pelvic Organ Prolapse/epidemiology* ; Middle Aged ; Risk Assessment/methods* ; China/epidemiology* ; Multifactorial Inheritance ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Case-Control Studies ; Adult ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Genetic Risk Score ; East Asian People

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and genetic basis of a male patient with primary infertility caused by Acephalic spermatozoa syndrome.Methods:A patient who had presented at the Henan Provincial People′s Hospital on October 1, 2022 was selected as the study subject. Clinical data and results of laboratory exams and sperm electron microscopy were collected. The patient was subjected to whole exome sequencing (WES), and candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing and pathogenicity analysis.Results:WES revealed that the patient has harbored compound heterozygous variants of the PMFBP1 gene, namely c. 853del (p.Ala285Leufs*24) and c. 1276A>T (p.Lys426X), which were both unreported previously. Sanger sequencing suggested that the c. 853del (p.Ala285Leufs*24) variant has derived from his deceased mother, whilst the c. 1276A>T (p.Lys426X) variant has derived from his father. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), both variants were classified as pathogenic (PVS1+ PM2_Supporting+ PP4). Conclusion:The compound heterozygous variants of the PMFBP1 gene probably underlay the Acephalic spermatozoa syndrome in this patient. The discovery of the novel variants has also enriched the mutational spectrum of Acephalic spermatozoa syndrome.

Objective To investigate the effects of electrical stimulation combined with muscle strength training on knee joint biomechanical characteristics in patients with patellofemoral pain(PFP).Methods Forty-six patients with PFP were recruited and randomly assigned to the muscle strength training(MST)and electrical muscle stimulation with strength training(EMS)groups.The intervention was performed three times a week for six weeks.The anterior knee pain scale(AKPS)was used to measure the knee pain degree.Knee kinematics,dynamics,and surface electromyography(sEMG)data were collected using an infrared motion capture system,force platform,and sEMG system during drop jumps before and after the intervention.Two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was applied to determine the differences between the dependent variables of the two groups before and after the intervention.Results Compared with pre-intervention,the AKPS score,vastus medialis oblique(VMO)activation,VMO/vastus lateralis(VMO/VL)activation,maximum knee flexion angle,and peak knee extension moment increased significantly in the EMS group;the maximum knee abduction,external rotation angle,and peak knee external rotation moment decreased significantly in the EMS group after intervention.Compared with pre-intervention,the AKPS score,maximum knee flexion angle,and peak knee extension moment increased significantly in the MST group after intervention,the peak knee abduction and external rotation moment significantly decreased in the MST group after intervention.Post-hoc comparisons indicated that compared with the MST group,the AKPS score,VMO activation,VMO/VL activation were significantly higher and the maximum knee abduction angle was significantly lower in the EMS group.Conclusions EMS contributes to the better balance muscle activation of the VMO and VL and corrects the excessive knee abduction angle during jump landing,which may be helpful in relieving pain and improving lower limb function in patients with PFP.

In order to understand the prevalence of Akabane disease(AKAD)in Guizhou Province and the molecular characteristics of the isolates,the whole-genome sequence of a strain of Akabane virus(AKAV)from a bovine AKAD-positive sample was determined and analyzed.The genotype and genetic variation of the strain were also explored.Based on the conserved S sequence,a fluores-cence quantitative PCR(qPCR)detection method was established and applied for the investigation of AKAV infection status in four large-scale beef cattle farms of Guizhou.Results showed that the S,M and L fragments of the bovine strain were highly homologous to the Tianjin strain(TJ2016/China/2016)and the Australian strain(JaLAB39/Australia/1959),where they were in the same evolutionary branch and belonged to genotype Ⅱ.Sensitivity assay found that the lowest detection limit was 2.5 X 101 copies/μL.Specificity assay showed the established method detected only AKAV with no amplification on bovine bluetongue virus(BLUV),Pasteurella multocida(PM),bovine infectious rhinotracheitis virus(IBRV)and bovine Mycoplasma bovis.The variation coefficients of inter-and intra batches in the repeatability test were both lower than 2.26％.These findings illus-trated that the established qPCR method had high sensitivity,good specificity and repeatability.A total of 298 serum samples from 4 large-scale beef cattle farms in Qianxi City and Huangping County of Guizhou Province were collected and tested for AKAV by the method.Out of 298 sam-ples,25 positive samples(25/298)were detected as positive with a positive rate of 8.39％.In sum-mary,this work provided the reference data for a deep understanding of the molecular prevalence of AKAV in Guizhou Province and laid foundation for the prevention and control of AKAD.

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in tertiary hospitals in major regions of China in 2022.Methods Clinical isolates from 58 hospitals in China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2022 Clinical &Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)breakpoints.Results A total of 318 013 clinical isolates were collected from January 1,2022 to December 31,2022,of which 29.5％were gram-positive and 70.5％were gram-negative.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains in Staphylococcus aureus,Staphylococcus epidermidis and other coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species(excluding Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi)was 28.3％,76.7％and 77.9％,respectively.Overall,94.0％of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 90.8％of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis showed significantly lower resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents tested than Enterococcus faecium.A few vancomycin-resistant strains were identified in both E.faecalis and E.faecium.The prevalence of penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae was 94.2％in the isolates from children and 95.7％in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 13.1％in most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,21.7％-23.1％of which were resistant to carbapenems.Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.1％to 13.3％.The prevalence of meropenem-resistant strains decreased from 23.5％in 2019 to 18.0％in 2022 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and decreased from 79.0％in 2019 to 72.5％in 2022 in Acinetobacter baumannii.Conclusions The resistance of clinical isolates to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still increasing in tertiary hospitals.However,the prevalence of important carbapenem-resistant organisms such as carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a downward trend in recent years.This finding suggests that the strategy of combining antimicrobial resistance surveillance with multidisciplinary concerted action works well in curbing the spread of resistant bacteria.

Objective To investigate the status quo of health literacy,motivation and self-management behaviours of patients with knee osteoarthritis(KOA),to explore the influence of health literacy and motivation on self-management behaviours to the patients with KOA,and to clarify the relationships among the three factors.Methods Convenience sampling method was used to select 169 KOA patients who were treated in 3 tertiary hospitals in Xianyang between September and December 2021.General status table,chronic disease health literacy scale,patient motivation scale and chronic disease self-management behaviour scale were employed in the on-the-spot survey.Pearson correlation was used to analyze the correlation of health literacy,motivation and self-management behaviour of patients with KOA.Results Total scores of health literacy,motivation and self-management behaviour of the patients with KOA were 79.66±11.91,54.97±9.95 and 23.75±8.89,respectively.It was found that health literacy and motivation of the patients were positively correlated with their self-management behaviour(r=0.872,r=0.822,both P<0.01).Health literacy of the patients was positively correlated with motivation of patients(r=0.877,P<0.01).Health literacy of the patients could be used to directly predict self-management behaviour of patients(β=0.708,95%CI:0.539-0.876),as well as to predict self-management behaviour of the patients through the mediating effect of patient motivation(β=0.228,95%CI:0.676-0.787).The mediating effect accounted for 24.36%of the total effect.Conclusions The health literacy,motivation and self-management behaviours of patients with KOA are all poor and they should be further improved.Patient motivation is the mediating variable in health literacy and self-management behaviour of the patients.It is suggested that nursing staff could encourage the motivation of patients hence to improve the self-management behaviour in the patients with KOA based on an improvement of health literacy.

Objective To investigate the clinical effects of two methods of compressive coverage with aseptic gauze dressing and alginate dressing on haemostasis in placement of peripherally inserted central catheter(PICC)so as to provide a new dressing method for clinical application.Methods A total of 416 breast cancer patients undergoing PICC were randomly divided into two groups,with 208 per group.In the control group,the puncture sites for PICC were dressed with aseptic gauze immediately after the placement of PICC,with a daily aseptic gauze dressing change once per 24 hours.In the trial group,the puncture sites were dressed with alginate dressing immediately after the placement of PICC,with a weekly dressing change at the 7th day after PICC placement,while no local bleeding on the puncture site.The incidence,within 24 hours,of bleeding,degree of comfort,frequency and cost of dressing change as well as the infection rate within 7 days after the PICC placement were monitored and compared between the groups.Results A total of 205 patients in the control group and 208 in the observation group had completed the study.In the trial group,the incidence of bleeding at puncture sites within 24 hours after placement of PICC was significantly lower than that of the control group(27.88%vs.38.05%,χ2=4.829,P=0.028).The frequency of dressing change within 24 hours in the observation group was significantly less than that of the control group(Z=205.235,P<0.001).The cost of dressing change in the observed groups was also significantly less than that of the control group(56.94 vs.10.20 yuan in average,Z=-8.990,P<0.001).The incidence rates of local pain and itche reported by the patients in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group(Z=-12.079,P<0.001;Z=-12.194,P<0.001).No infection at the puncture site was observed in both groups.Conclusions Application of alginate dressing immediately after PICC placement in breast cancer patients can extend the time for initial dressing change up to 7 days in the patient without bleeding at the puncture site within 24 hours after the placement of PICC.An alginate dressing can reduce the incidence of bleeding at the puncture site,increase the comfort of patients,lower the frequency and cost of dressing change hence the nursing workload.

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is the pathological structure of incurable fibroproliferative lung diseases that are attributed to the repeated lung injury-caused failure of lung alveolar regeneration (LAR). Here, we report that repetitive lung damage results in a progressive accumulation of the transcriptional repressor SLUG in alveolar epithelial type II cells (AEC2s). The abnormal increased SLUG inhibits AEC2s from self-renewal and differentiation into alveolar epithelial type I cells (AEC1s). We found that the elevated SLUG represses the expression of the phosphate transporter SLC34A2 in AEC2s, which reduces intracellular phosphate and represses the phosphorylation of JNK and P38 MAPK, two critical kinases supporting LAR, leading to LAR failure. TRIB3, a stress sensor, interacts with the E3 ligase MDM2 to suppress SLUG degradation in AEC2s by impeding MDM2-catalyzed SLUG ubiquitination. Targeting SLUG degradation by disturbing the TRIB3/MDM2 interaction using a new synthetic staple peptide restores LAR capacity and exhibits potent therapeutic efficacy against experimental PF. Our study reveals a mechanism of the TRIB3-MDM2-SLUG-SLC34A2 axis causing the LAR failure in PF, which confers a potential strategy for treating patients with fibroproliferative lung diseases.