Background Personal protection is crucial for reducing the risk of zoonotic pathogen infection among livestock workers. Investigating the current status of its implementation and associated influencing factors can provide empirical evidence for developing more effective intervention measures. Objective To investigate the current status of personal protection implementation among livestock workers in Xinjiang, China and its influencing factors, providing a reference for formulating targeted intervention measures. Methods This study was conducted in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Kashgar region, and the First and Eighth Divisions of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. We selected large-scale cattle and sheep farms, cooperatives, individual livestock households, livestock trading markets, slaughterhouses, and retail markets. Using cluster sampling, we recruited all livestock workers (1074 participants) at sampled sites. During the period from April to July 2024, we conducted face-to-face surveys with a self-designed questionnaire among livestock workers, collecting general demographic information, occupational exposure history, and information related to the use of personal protective equipment, resulting in 939 valid questionnaires. EpiData 3.1 was used for data entry and SPSS 26.0 for statistical analysis. We employed logistic regression to compare the implementation of personal protection among workers by selected categories. Results Among the study subjects, there were 300 workers from large-scale farms (31.95%) and 583 self-employed livestock farmers (62.09%). The sample included 600 males (63.90%) and 339 females (36.10%). The majority of the study subjects was farmers, breeders, or aged 18-60 years (87.75%), auxiliary workers (87.97%) and had an education level of junior high school or below (81.36%). The proportion of workers who consistently and correctly implemented all five personal protective measures (washing hands after work, wearing gloves, wearing masks, wearing dedicated work clothes, and using rubber boots) was 35.14% (330/939). The implementation rates for these five protective measures were 93.61% (879/939), 58.68% (551/939), 57.93% (544/939), 46.01% (432/939), and 42.81% (402/939), respectively. There were statistically significant differences in the implementation rates of differen personal protective measures among the workers by occupation and education level (P<0.05). Among them, workers with lower education levels had lower implementation rates for various protective measures. The results of logistic regression indicated that, compared to male workers, female workers (OR=2.26, 95%CI: 1.68, 3.04) showed a higher rate of non-standard implementation of personal protection. Using the age group of 18 to less than 36 years as a reference, those aged 36 to less than 60 years (OR=1.82, 95%CI: 1.33, 2.50) and 60 years or older (OR=4.45, 95%CI: 2.56, 7.73) reported higher rates of non-standard implementation of personal protection. Compared to those with an education level of primary school or below, those with a junior high school education (OR=0.64, 95%CI: 0.47, 0.88) and a high school education or above (OR=0.13, 95%CI: 0.19, 0.29) showed lower rates of non-standard implementation of personal protection. Compared to farmers, veterinarians (OR=0.03, 95%CI: 0.02, 0.07) reported the lowest rate of non-standard implementation of personal protection, followed by auxiliary workers (OR=0.08, 95%CI: 0.05, 0.12), breeders (OR=0.10, 95%CI: 0.07, 0.15), and other occupational groups (OR=0.28, 95%CI: 0.15, 0.52). Using large-scale farms as a reference, self-employed farmers (OR=13.5, 95%CI: 9.65, 18.88) reported a higher rate of non-standard implementation of personal protection, followed by workers from other workplaces (OR=3.63, 95%CI: 2.01, 6.54). Conclusion The implementation of personal protective measures among livestock workers in Xinjiang is generally satisfactory. However, significant disparities in the execution of these measures exist among different types of workers, indicating the need to enhance occupational health promotion to reduce the risk of zoonotic pathogen infection among the workers.

Guided by the theories of yin-yang and collateral disease， this paper identifies the dysregulation of yang qi ascent and descent as the core pathomechanism of hypertension. Based on clinical experience， a treatment approach centered on the method of raising yang and promoting descent was proposed. Clinically， three major syndrome types were identified. Firstly， deficiency of zong qi （ancestral qi） with blood stasis， obstruction of phlegm-turbidity and blood stasis， and hyperactivity of liver yang. Corresponding empirical formulation， Yizong Huoxue Decoction （益宗活血汤） was applied to tonify zong qi， invigorate blood， and raise yang. Secondly， Lizong Huoxue Decoction （理宗活血汤） was used to resolve phlegm， promote yang qi circulation， and regulate qi and blood. Thirdly， Qinggan Tongluo Decoction （清肝通络饮） was used to clear the liver， dredge collaterals， and subdue hyperactive yang. For special types such as non-dipper hypertension， time-specific syndrome differentiation and treatment can be applied based on a thorough understanding of the underlying pathomechanism， aiming to provide new insights into clinical diagnosis and treatment of hypertension.

Background Animal farming may affect the structure and diversity of gut microbiota of farm workers, but it needs more studies to provide solid evidence. Objective To analyze the diversity characteristics of gut microbiota in dairy farm workers, dairy cows, and the control population (non-animal contact occupational group), and to assess the impact of dairy farming on the gut microbiota of workers. Methods The 16S rRNA full-length amplicon sequencing technology was used to sequence 60 fecal samples from dairy farm workers, 89 from dairy cows, and 50 from the general population. The gut microbiota structure characteristics, including operational taxonomic units (OTUs), alpha diversity, beta diversity, and the composition of species at the phylum, family, and genus levels were analyzed. The differences in gut microbiota among the three groups of samples were compared to explore the impact of occupational exposure on the gut microbiota structure of dairy farm workers. Results A total of 50478 OTUs were identified in the gut microbiota of farm workers, dairy cows, and the general population, with 23613, 42723, and 16592 OTUs, respectively. The number of shared OTUs between the dairy cows and the general population was 12674 (27.17%), between the general population and the farm workers was 10099 (33.54%), and between the dairy cows and the farm workers was 17690 (36.36%). Compared with the general population, the farm workers and dairy cows showed more shared gut microbiota (P<0.01). The abundance of Firmicutes in the gut of the farm workers was higher than that of the general population (P<0.01), while Actinobacteriota and Proteobacteria were the opposite (P<0.01). The alpha diversity of gut microbiota in the farm workers was different from that of the general population. The ACE index of the farm workers was slightly lower than that of the general population and much lower than that of dairy cows (P<0.05), while their Shannon index was higher than that of the general population but lower than that of dairy cows (P<0.01). The linear discriminant analysis effect size (LefSe) showed that the abundances of Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae in the gut microbiota of the farm workers were significantly higher than those of the general population, while Streptococcaceae, Lactobacillaceae, Bifidobacteriaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Erysipelatoclostridiaceae were lower than those of the general population. Conclusion The dairy farm workers shares a certain proportion of common bacterial communities with dairy cows. Dairy farming operations can affect the structure and diversity of the gut microbiota of workers by increasing the abundances of Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae, while decreasing the abundances of Streptococcaceae, Lactobacillaceae, Bifidobacteriaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Erysipelatoclostridiaceae. The study results provide reference data for further exploring the cross-host transmission of pathogens related to occupational exposure in dairy farming.

Neuropsychiatric disorders arise from complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. DNA methylation, a reversible and environmentally responsive epigenetic regulatory mechanism, serves as a crucial bridge linking environmental exposure, gene expression regulation, and neurobehavioral outcomes. During long-duration deep-space missions, astronauts face multiple stressors-including microgravity, cosmic radiation, circadian rhythm disruption, and social isolation, which can induce alterations in DNA methylation and increase the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. Genome-wide DNA methylation research can be divided into 3 major methodological stages: Study design, sample preparation and detection, and data analysis, each of which can be applied to astronaut neuropsychiatric health monitoring. Systematic comparison of the Illumina MethylationEPIC array and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing reveals their complementary strengths in terms of genomic coverage, resolution, cost, and application scenarios: the array method is cost-effective and suitable for large-scale population studies and longitudinal monitoring, whereas sequencing provides higher resolution and coverage and is more suitable for constructing detailed methylation maps and characterizing individual variation. Furthermore, emerging technologies such as single-cell methylation sequencing, nanopore long-read sequencing, and machine-learning-based multi-omics integration are expected to greatly enhance the precision and interpretability of epigenetic studies. These methodological advances provide key support for establishing DNA-methylation-based monitoring systems for neuropsychiatric risk in astronauts and lay an epigenetic foundation for safeguarding neuropsychiatric health during future long-term deep-space missions.
DNA Methylation ; Humans ; Space Flight ; Mental Disorders/genetics* ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Astronauts/psychology* ; Weightlessness/adverse effects* ; Epigenomics

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the changes in blood levels of calcium and bone metabolism biochemical markers in patients with primary osteoporosis receiving treatment with denosumab. METHODS: Seventy-three patients with primary osteoporosis treated in our Department between December, 2021 and December 2023 were enrolled. All the patients were treated with calcium supplements, vitamin D and calcitriol in addition to regular denosumab treatment every 6 months. Blood calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH), osteocalcin (OC), type I procollagen amino-terminal propeptide (PINP), and type I collagen carboxy-terminal telopeptide β special sequence (β‑CTX) data before and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the first treatment were collected from each patient. RESULTS: Three months after the first denosumab treatment, the bone turnover markers (BTMs) OC, PINP, and β-CTX were significantly decreased compared to their baseline levels by 39.5% (P<0.001), 56.2% (P<0.001), and 81.8% (P<0.001), respectively. At 6, 9, and 12 months of treatment, OC, PINP, and β-CTX remained significantly lower than their baseline levels (P<0.001). Blood calcium level was decreased (P<0.05) and PTH level increased (P<0.05) significantly in these patients at months of denosumab treatment, but their levels were comparable to the baseline levels at 6, 9, and 12 months of the treatment (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Denosumab can suppress BTMs and has a good therapeutic effect in patients with primary osteoporosis, but reduction of blood calcium and elevation of PTH levels can occur during the first 3 months in spite of calcium supplementation. Blood calcium and PTH levels can recover the baseline levels as the treatment extended, suggesting the importance of monitoring blood calcium and PTH levels during denosumab treatment.
Humans ; Denosumab/therapeutic use* ; Calcium/blood* ; Parathyroid Hormone/blood* ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Osteoporosis/blood* ; Osteocalcin/blood* ; Procollagen/blood* ; Female ; Collagen Type I/blood* ; Peptide Fragments/blood* ; Bone Density Conservation Agents/therapeutic use* ; Bone and Bones/metabolism* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Vitamin D ; Peptides/blood* ; Aged

AIM:To investigate the effect of polycomb group ring finger 3(PCGF3)on the viability and apop-tosis of OSCC cells and its potential mechanism.METHODS:The data were downloaded from the online public database to predict the expression of PCGF3 in OSCC and its relationship with pathological stage survival rate.Fifty pairs of OSCC tissues and adjacent tissues were selected to analyze the relationship between the expression of PCGF3 and the survival rate of patients.The expression level of PCGF3 in the specimens was detected by IHC,and the extracted cancer and adja-cent tissues were homogenized to analyze its mRNA expression.The mRNA and protein expression levels of PCGF3 in the cells were analyzed by RT-qPCR and Western blot experiments,and the protein expressions of PCGF3,p-PI3K,p-AKT,cyclin D1 and cleaved caspase-3(cl-caspase-3)were further analyzed.In addition,the effects of PCGF3 on cell viability and apoptosis were also detected.Finally,subcutaneous tumor models in nude mice were constructed to verify the above experiments.RESULTS:PCGF3 was highly expressed in OSCC and was closely related to pathological stage,pathologi-cal grade,and survival rate of patients.PCGF3 was highly expressed in OSCC tissues and cell lines in the network online databases.Western blot results showed that the expressions of PCGF3,p-PI3K,p-AKT,cyclin D1 and cl-caspase-3 were decreased and increased respectively after knocking down or overexpressing PCGF3 in OSCC cells.And cell viability and apoptosis were affected.The volume and weight of tumors in sh-PCGF3 group were lower than those in sh-NC group,and HE results showed that the nuclear atypotype of tumor cells in sh-PCGF3 group was less than that in sh-NC group.CON-CLUSION:PCGF3 can significantly affect the viability and apoptosis of OSCC cells,and its potential mechanism is to ac-tivate the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway to participate in the proliferation and apoptosis of OSCC cells.

Fetal STR typing of aborted tissue has long been a major problem in forensic DNA.Especially for the first trimester abortion tissue,it is difficult to isolate the embryonic components by histomorphological means,resulting in the inability to accurately obtain the STR typing of the fetus.The mixed STR typing results of mother and fetus can provide a key basis for the identification of suspects in cases of rape-induced pregnancy.In this study,next generation sequencing was used to successfully detect mixed STR typing of mother and suspected fetus or single STR typing of suspected fetus in 4 rape-induced early pregnancy abortion tissues.Combined with Y-STR and flank sequence information,it provides a more comprehensive and reliable genetic basis for the identification of suspects.

Objective We aimed to establish the benchmark characteristic map of Fuzi decoction and the determination method of multi-index components,and to clarify the key quality attributes of Fuzi decoction.Methods Fifteen batches of Fuzi decoction substance benchmarks samples were prepared;the high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)characteristic spectrum of Fuzi decoction was established;and characteristic peak attribution and similarity analysis were performed.Ginsenosides Rg1,Re,Rf,and Rb1 were used as the index components to establish a method to determine ginseng content in Fuzi decoction.The value range of each quality control index was set at a limit of 70%-130%of the average value,and the quantity transfer analysis was performed on the material basis of 15 Fuzi decoction batches.Results The characteristic spectra of the 15 Fuzi decoction batches had 12 common peaks,and seven characteristic peaks of gallic acid,catechin,paeoniflorin,ginsenosides Rg1,Re,and Rb1,and atractylenolide Ⅲ were identified,with a similarity of more than 0.98.Ginsenosides Rg1,Re,Rf,and Rb1 content ranges were 0.51-0.94,0.34-0.62,0.14-0.27,and 0.41-0.76 mg/g,respectively.The transfer rates of ginsenosides Rg1 and Re,Rf,and Rb1 were 12.05%-26.91%,11.15%-43.71%,and 10.53%-33.23%,respectively.Conclusion The characteristic HPLC of Fuzi decoction and the determination method of Fuzi decoction ginseng content established in this study are accurate,reproducible,and stable,laying the foundation for the quality evaluation of the key chemical properties of Fuzi decoction and its preparation.

Objective:To explore the genes related to primary myelofibrosis (PMF) and signaling pathways as well as the possible clinical significance.Methods:A total of 3 mRNA expression datasets of PMF (GSE26049, GSE61629 and GSE53482) were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, including the data of peripheral blood samples from 55 PMF patients and 58 controls. The differentially expressed genes (DEG) between PMF patients and the controls were identified by using online tool GEO2R. Gene ontology (GO) annotation, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed on the common DEG of the 3 datasets, and then protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. The key nodes of the common DEG in PPI network were calculated by using MCC method and Degree method in cytoHubba program; finally the top 10 hub genes were selected and the hub genes shared by the 2 methods were obtained. Peripheral blood samples of 25 PMF patients and 10 controls (normal hematopoietic stem cell transplant donors or iron deficiency anemia patients) admitted to the Second Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from September 2017 to June 2021 were retrospectively collected. Reverse transcription-fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression levels of 10 screened common hub genes in each sample, and the expressions of all genes at transcriptional level of the two groups were compared.Results:A total of 239 common DEG between PMF patients and the controls were screened out in the 3 datasets, including 153 downregulated DEG and 86 upregulated DEG. The GO enrichment analysis showed that the common downregulated DEG were significantly enriched in negative regulation of transcription, translation and fibroblast proliferation, while the upregulated DEG were mainly enriched in protein ubiquitination and ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolic process. The KEGG pathway analysis indicated that the upregulated common DEG and downregulated common DEG were both enriched in PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, cancer pathways and transcriptional misregulation in cancer. There were 8 common hub genes shared by the 2 methods among the top 10 genes ranked by MCC and Degree methods, including 6 downregulated common DEG (TP53, MYC, ATM, FYN, PTPRC and ATRX) and 2 upregulated common DEG (VEGFA and FOXO3). These above 8 common hub genes were mainly involved in PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, cell cycle and cancer transcriptional regulation signaling pathways. RT-qPCR detection of clinical peripheral blood samples showed that the relative expression levels of mRNA in 6 downregulated common DEG of PMF patients were lower compared with those in controls, while the differences were not statistically significant (all P > 0.05); the relative expression levels of mRNA in 2 upregulated common DEG of PMF patients were higher compared with those in controls, and the differences were statistically significant ( U value was 33.00, 36.00, respectively; P value was 0.021, 0.033, respectively). Conclusions:Bioinformatics and clinical sample verification show that VEGFA and FOXO3 are up-regulated in PMF patients, which are mainly involved in the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, cell cycle and cancer transcriptional regulation signaling pathway. Both genes may be related to the development of PMF and may become potential therapeutic targets.

Objective:To translate Propensity to Achieve Healthy Lifestyle Scale (PAHLS) into Chinese and test its reliability and validity in patients with hypertension to provide the reliable assessment tool for medical staff to evaluate the propensity to achieve healthy lifestyle in hypertensive patients.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. The original scale was translated according to Brislin model. After expert correction, cultural adjustment and pre-investigation, the items for Chinese version of PAHLS were determined. From February to May 2023, 400 patients with hypertension were selected as the participants from Tianjin Hebei District Tiedong Road Street Community Healthcare Center, Tianjin Dongli District Junliang Cheng Hospital by convenience sampling method. Critical ration and correlation analysis were used for item analysis. Content validity, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate the validity of the Chinese version of PAHLS. Cronbach′s α coefficient and split-half reliability were used to evaluate the reliability of the scale. Results:A total of 400 patients were included in this study ultimately, aged (71.69 ± 7.25) years old, 177 males and 223 females. The Chinese version of the PAHLS included 6 items, and the results of item analysis showed that the content of each item was highly consistent with that of overall scale. The content validity indexes of the Chinese version of PAHLS at both the scale level and item level were 1. Only one factor was extracted based on exploratory factor analysis, with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 72.24%. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit, with the fitting indexes of χ2/ df=0.53, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)<0.01, root of mean square residual (RMR)=0.02, goodness-of-fit index (GFI)=1.00, comparative fit index (CFI)=1.00, normed fit index (NFI)=1.00, adjust goodness-of-fit index (AGFI)=0.98, incremental fit index (IFI)=1.00, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI)=1.01, Convergent validity: composite reliability (CR)=0.86 and average vriance extracted (AVE)=0.53. The overall Cronbach′s α coefficient of the scale was 0.91 and Cronbach′s α coefficients of item level were from 0.87 to 0.91, with split-half reliability value of 0.89. Conclusions:The Chinese version of the PAHLS has good reliability and validity, which can be used by medical staff to evaluate the propensity to achieve healthy lifestyle in hypertensive patients under Chinese cultural background, to increase understanding of decision-making on behavioral change in hypertensive patients and promote medical staff to jointly develop behavioral change plans with hypertensive patients.