Objective To evaluate the incidence of and risk factors for syphilis seroconversion amomg drug addicts during methadone maintenance treatment (MMT).Methods A retrospective study was performed on drug addicts receiving MMT at MMT clinics in Maanshan,who were seronegative for syphilis before the treatment and followed up by serological tests for syphilis for more than two years.The incidence of and risk factors for syphilis seroconversion during the two years of follow up were analyzed in all the subjects.Results A total of 161 drug addicts were included in this study,of whom,15 experienced seroconversion for syphilis with the average seroconversion rate being 4.66 per 100 person-years.The seroconversion tended to occurr in the early stage of MMT.Both Chi-square analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that syphilis seroconversion was independently associated with nonuse of condoms during the last sexual behavior before receiving MMT.Conclusions Interventions should be undertaken as early as possible to promote safe sexual behaviors among drug addicts at methadone clinics,and to promote condom use is especially important for blocking sexual transmission of diseases.

Objective:To elucidate the cytopathological characteristics,molecular subtypes,and clinical prognoses of metastatic breast car-cinoma with serosal effusions.Methods:Seventeen cases that included effusion cytology and clinical data were retrospectively analyzed.Two patients were diagnosed between April 2016 and September 2023 at the Suzhou Ninth Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University,and 15 patients were diagnosed at The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University.Cytopathological characteristics,molecular subtypes,and prognoses were analyzed.Results:The cytopathological features of metastatic breast carcinoma in serosal effusions were as follows:1)In-vasive ductal carcinoma:one cell type was relatively densely arranged in nests or colored spheres,which displayed an elevated nuclear/cyto-plasmic ratio,irregular nuclear membrane,and cytoplasmic mucin vacuoles.The other cell type was tiled,single scattered,and varied in size and shape,with enlarged nuclei and elevated nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio.2)Invasive lobular carcinoma:cells were scattered and uniform in size and shape.The nuclei had a relatively regular shape,but displayed an elevated nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio.Among the 17 breast can-cer cases,6 had transitioned in molecular subtyping,including 1 case from Luminal A to triple-negative type,1 case from Luminal B to hu-man epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER-2)-overexpressing type,and 4 cases from Luminal B to triple-negative type.Conclusions:The cytopathological characteristics of serous effusion cells combined with immunocytochemical staining and fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)suggest that it is important to determine the origin and molecular typing of tumor cells.This provides an important basis for precise clinical treatment and prognosis.

Objective To explore the association between oral microbiota and esophageal carcinogenesis. Methods A case-control study design was employed. A total of 309 subjects were recruited, consisting of 159 healthy controls, 32 cases of esophageal basal cell hyperplasia, 32 cases of low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, 14 cases of high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, and 72 cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Tongue swab samples were collected for 16S rRNA sequencing. The α-diversity and β-diversity of the microbiota were analyzed, and the characteristics of the microbial communities at different stages of esophageal carcinogenesis were compared. The strength of the association was expressed by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results α-diversity analysis indicated significant differences in the observed species number (Sobs) index across various stages of esophageal cancer progression (P<0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors such as age, gender, smoking, and alcohol consumption, the Simpson index was positively correlated with carcinogenesis (P=0.006). β-diversity analysis revealed differences in microbiota structure among the groups. After ordered multinomial logistic regression analysis and adjustment for multiple confounding factors, the relative abundance of Peptostreptococcus (OR: 2.06, 95%CI: 1.22–3.60), Patescibacteria (OR: 1.31, 95%CI: 1.04–1.67), Capnocytophaga (OR: 1.24, 95%CI: 1.05–1.54), and Bacteroidota (OR: 1.02, 95%CI: 1.00–1.05) was positively correlated with carcinogenesis. The relative abundance of Stomatobaculum (OR: 0.57, 95%CI: 0.30–1.00) and Actinobacteriota (OR: 0.95, 95%CI: 0.92–0.98) was negatively correlated with carcinogenesis. Conclusion Specific oral microbiotas are significantly associated with esophageal carcinogenesis, and synergistic or antagonistic interactions may be observed among the microbiota.

Objective To investigate the characteristics and influencing factors of mental health status of permanent residents in Yichang, Hubei Province. Methods A total of 9 576 permanent residents aged 18 years and older from Yichang City were selected by a multistage random sampling method between June and October 2022. The PHQ-9 was used to assess the residents’ depressive symptoms, the GAD-7 was used to assess their anxiety symptoms, the ISI was used to assess their insomnia status, and the PCL-5 was used to assess their stress status. The influence factors of depression and anxiety were analyzed using χ2 test and logistic regression. Results A total of 9 122 valid questionnaires were completed. The detection rate of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and stress symptoms were 29.98%, 19.03%, 11.97% and 1.58%, respectively. Gender, education level, monthly family income, self-rated health status, mental health literacy level, total GAD-7 score, total ISI score, and total PCL-5 score were the main factors that caused residents' anxiety symptoms, while gender, education level, self-rated health status, total PHQ-9 score, total ISI score, and total PCL-5 score were the main factors that caused residents' anxiety symptoms. Conclusion The prevalence of depression and anxiety is high among the permanent residents in Yichang, while the situation of insomnia and stress is relatively good. Measures such as improving the level of mental health literacy can be taken to improve mental health level of residents in Yichang.