Objective The study aims to investigate the immunological functions of the nucleocapsid (N) protein of the novel coronavirus Omicron (BA.1, BA.2) and evaluate the differences among different N proteins of mutant strains in immunogenicity. Methods By aligning sequences, the mutation sites of the Omicron (BA.1, BA.2) N protein relative to prototype strain of the novel coronavirus (Wuhan-Hu-1) were determined. The pET-28a-N-Wuhan-Hu-1 plasmid was used as template to construct pET-28a-BA.1/BA.2-N through single point mutation or homologous recombination. The three kinds of N protein were expressed in prokaryotic system, purified through Ni-NTA affinity chromatography, and then immunized into mice. The titer and reactivity of the polyclonal antibody, as well as the expression level of IL-1β and IFN-γ in mouse spleen cells, were detected using indirect ELISA and Western blot assay. Results The constructed prokaryotic expression plasmids were successfully used to express the Wuhan-Hu-1 N, BA.1 N, and BA.2 N proteins in E.coli BL21(DE3) at 37 DegreesCelsius for 4 hours. The indirect ELISA test showed that the titers of polyclonal antibody prepared by three N proteins were all 1:51 200. All three N proteins can increase the expression of IFN-γ and IL-1β cytokines, but the effect of Omicron N protein in activing two cytokines was more obvious than that of Wuhan-Hu-1 N protein. Conclusion The study obtained three new coronavirus N proteins and polyclonal antibodies, and confirmed that mutations in the amino acid sites of the N protein can affect its immunogenicity. This provides a basis for developing rapid diagnostic methods targeting N protein of different novel coronavirus variants.
Animals ; Mice ; SARS-CoV-2/genetics* ; Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins/immunology* ; Nucleocapsid Proteins/isolation & purification* ; COVID-19/immunology* ; Antibodies, Viral/immunology* ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Interferon-gamma/metabolism* ; Interleukin-1beta/metabolism* ; Female ; Escherichia coli/metabolism* ; Mutation ; Humans

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the potential of nanopore sequencing technology for rapid diagnosis of Talaro-myces marneffei(TM)infection.METHODS Nine patients with TM infection admitted to the Fourth People's Hospital of Nanning from May 13,2022 to Aug.3,2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Rapid diagnosis was con-ducted by nanopore sequencing technology,and a comprehensive analysis of their clinical characteristics and treat-ment processes was performed.RESULTS The 9 patients included in the study had infections in various sites such as the lungs,buttocks,blood and cervical lymph nodes.Comorbidities included AIDS,secondary pulmonary tuberculosis,non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease and adult-onset immune deficiency.Patients generally exhibited elevated C-reactive protein levels and erythrocyte sedimentation rates,along with increased neutrophil counts.Some patients had abnormal lymphocyte counts and CD4+/CD8+ratios.Microbiological tests showed positive cultures in 3 cases,positive smears in 2 cases and positive targeted detection in 6 cases.Nanopore sequencing detected various pathogens in the 9 patients.The treatment results indicated that 8 patients improved after medication,with 6 patients having medication regimens adjusted based on nanopore sequencing results.CONCLUSION Nanopore sequencing technology has shown potentials in the auxiliary diagnosis of TM infection,providing timely etiological diagnostic evidence for clinical practice.

Objective:To explore the efficacy and safety of B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (BRAF) inhibitor and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor in microsatellite stable (MSS) BRAF V600E metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients.Methods:The data and outcomes of mCRC patients with MSS BRAF V600E who received BRAF inhibitor, EGFR inhibitor combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital from May 2022 to April 2024 were retrospectively collected.Results:A total of 12 mCRC patients were included in this study, the objective response rate was 50.0%, the disease control rate was 66.7%, and the median disease control time of patients who achieved objective response was 8.0 months. The median progression-free survival was 6.8 months and the median overall survival was 8.4 months. Overall adverse reactions were controllable, the most common treatment-related adverse events were fatigue (8 cases), fever (5 cases), and rash (4 cases). There were no grade 4 adverse event, serious adverse event, and treatment-related death.Conclusion:BRAF inhibitor and EGFR inhibitor combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor show good efficacy and controllable safety in BRAF V600E mCRC patients.

Objective:To explore the relationship between drug literacy and quality of life in patients with multiple chronic diseases.Methods:It was a cross-sectional study. Between March and October 2023, 260 patients with multiple chronic diseases from the General Medicine Department of Peking University Third Hospital were selected using a convenience sampling method. A medication literacy scale, a medication adherence scale, and a health survey scale (SF-36 scale) were used to conduct a questionnaire survey in the patients. The SF-36 scale reflected the quality of life of the patients (including physical health and mental health). A total of 260 questionnaires were distributed, 260 questionnaires were returned, and 240 were effective (92.3%). Single-factor analysis of medication literacy in those patients was conducted using F-test and t-test. The correlation between medication literacy and medication adherence, as well as between medication literacy and quality of life, was analyzed using Pearson′s test. The correlation between different factors and medication adherence, as well as quality of life, in those patients was analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results:Among the 240 patients with multiple chronic diseases, 134 were male and 106 were female, aged (65.84±11.56) years. The drug literacy scale score was (8.36±3.57) points, the SF-36 physical health score was (242.00±87.85) points, mental health score was (275.67±80.29) points, medication compliance scale score was (6.22±1.93) points. The drug literacy was positively correlated with medication compliance ( r=0.157) and mental health ( r=0.165) in patients with multiple chronic diseases (all P<0.05). The score of drug literacy ( SE=2.440), mental health score ( SE=2.523), perceptual impairment ( SE=2.046) and duration of disease ( SE=2.459) were positively correlated with the medication compliance of the patients, while the number of chronic diseases ( SE=-2.818) was negatively correlated with the medication compliance of the patients (all P<0.05). The score of drug literacy ( SE=0.121) and insensible perception disorder ( SE=0.399) were positively correlated with the quality of life of the patients, and the number of chronic diseases ( SE=-0.171) was negatively correlated with the quality of life of the patients (all P<0.05). Conclusion:The drug literacy of patients with multiple chronic diseases is at the medium level, and the drug literacy is positively correlated with medication compliance and quality of life.

Objective:To explore the efficacy and safety of B-Raf proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (BRAF) inhibitor and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor in microsatellite stable (MSS) BRAF V600E metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients.Methods:The data and outcomes of mCRC patients with MSS BRAF V600E who received BRAF inhibitor, EGFR inhibitor combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital from May 2022 to April 2024 were retrospectively collected.Results:A total of 12 mCRC patients were included in this study, the objective response rate was 50.0%, the disease control rate was 66.7%, and the median disease control time of patients who achieved objective response was 8.0 months. The median progression-free survival was 6.8 months and the median overall survival was 8.4 months. Overall adverse reactions were controllable, the most common treatment-related adverse events were fatigue (8 cases), fever (5 cases), and rash (4 cases). There were no grade 4 adverse event, serious adverse event, and treatment-related death.Conclusion:BRAF inhibitor and EGFR inhibitor combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor show good efficacy and controllable safety in BRAF V600E mCRC patients.

Objective:To explore the relationship between drug literacy and quality of life in patients with multiple chronic diseases.Methods:It was a cross-sectional study. Between March and October 2023, 260 patients with multiple chronic diseases from the General Medicine Department of Peking University Third Hospital were selected using a convenience sampling method. A medication literacy scale, a medication adherence scale, and a health survey scale (SF-36 scale) were used to conduct a questionnaire survey in the patients. The SF-36 scale reflected the quality of life of the patients (including physical health and mental health). A total of 260 questionnaires were distributed, 260 questionnaires were returned, and 240 were effective (92.3%). Single-factor analysis of medication literacy in those patients was conducted using F-test and t-test. The correlation between medication literacy and medication adherence, as well as between medication literacy and quality of life, was analyzed using Pearson′s test. The correlation between different factors and medication adherence, as well as quality of life, in those patients was analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results:Among the 240 patients with multiple chronic diseases, 134 were male and 106 were female, aged (65.84±11.56) years. The drug literacy scale score was (8.36±3.57) points, the SF-36 physical health score was (242.00±87.85) points, mental health score was (275.67±80.29) points, medication compliance scale score was (6.22±1.93) points. The drug literacy was positively correlated with medication compliance ( r=0.157) and mental health ( r=0.165) in patients with multiple chronic diseases (all P<0.05). The score of drug literacy ( SE=2.440), mental health score ( SE=2.523), perceptual impairment ( SE=2.046) and duration of disease ( SE=2.459) were positively correlated with the medication compliance of the patients, while the number of chronic diseases ( SE=-2.818) was negatively correlated with the medication compliance of the patients (all P<0.05). The score of drug literacy ( SE=0.121) and insensible perception disorder ( SE=0.399) were positively correlated with the quality of life of the patients, and the number of chronic diseases ( SE=-0.171) was negatively correlated with the quality of life of the patients (all P<0.05). Conclusion:The drug literacy of patients with multiple chronic diseases is at the medium level, and the drug literacy is positively correlated with medication compliance and quality of life.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the potential of nanopore sequencing technology for rapid diagnosis of Talaro-myces marneffei(TM)infection.METHODS Nine patients with TM infection admitted to the Fourth People's Hospital of Nanning from May 13,2022 to Aug.3,2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Rapid diagnosis was con-ducted by nanopore sequencing technology,and a comprehensive analysis of their clinical characteristics and treat-ment processes was performed.RESULTS The 9 patients included in the study had infections in various sites such as the lungs,buttocks,blood and cervical lymph nodes.Comorbidities included AIDS,secondary pulmonary tuberculosis,non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease and adult-onset immune deficiency.Patients generally exhibited elevated C-reactive protein levels and erythrocyte sedimentation rates,along with increased neutrophil counts.Some patients had abnormal lymphocyte counts and CD4+/CD8+ratios.Microbiological tests showed positive cultures in 3 cases,positive smears in 2 cases and positive targeted detection in 6 cases.Nanopore sequencing detected various pathogens in the 9 patients.The treatment results indicated that 8 patients improved after medication,with 6 patients having medication regimens adjusted based on nanopore sequencing results.CONCLUSION Nanopore sequencing technology has shown potentials in the auxiliary diagnosis of TM infection,providing timely etiological diagnostic evidence for clinical practice.

ObjectiveTo analyze the correlation between 11 small molecule active components and 1 protein component of characteristic processed products with porcine cardiac blood and other products of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma（SMRR） from Menghe medical school and anti-cerebral ischemic oxidative damage， and to identify its key component markers of characteristic processed products with porcine cardiac blood for anti-cerebral ischemic oxidative damage. MethodHigh performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） was established to simultaneously determine the contents of 11 active ingredients in SMRR and its processed products［processed with porcine cardiac blood， porcine blood， wine and transferrin（Tf） in porcine cardiac blood］， and the content of Tf in different processed products of SMRR was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. Furthermore， A zebrafish ischemic stroke model was constructed to evaluate the effects of different processed products of SMRR on the behavioral trajectory of cerebral ischemic zebrafish， the neuronal damage of transgenic zebrafish Tg（elavl3：eGFP） brain， as well as the levels of malondialdehyde（MDA） and superoxide dismutase（SOD） in the brain tissues. The hippocampal neurons oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation（OGD/R）-induced ischemia-hypoxia model was constructed to evaluate the effects of different processed products of SMRR on oxidative damage of neuronal cells by taking lactate dehydrogenase（LDH）， reactive oxygen species（ROS）， MDA and SOD as indexes. Finally， principal component analysis（PCA）， partial least squares-discriminant analysis（PLS-DA） and Spearman correlation analysis were used to analyze the 11 small molecule active components and 1 protein component with efficacy indicators， in order to screen the key components of the characteristic processed products with porcine cardiac blood for cerebral ischemic oxidative damage. ResultCompared with the raw products， the contents of water-soluble and fat-soluble components in processed products of SMRR increased to different degrees， while the content of salvianolic acid A decreased. Compared with the wine-processed products， the contents of salvianolic acid B， danshensu， rosmarinic acid and other components in the porcine cardiac blood-processed products， porcine blood-processed products， Tf-processed products were increased， while the content of salvianolic acid A was decreased. ELISA results showed that there was no significant difference in Tf content between the porcine cardiac blood-processed products， porcine blood-processed products， Tf-processed products. Pharmacological results showed that different processed products of SMRR could improve the behavioral deficits， brain neuronal injury and oxidative stress after ischemic stroke in zebrafish， and the effect of the porcine cardiac blood-processed products was most pronounced. PCA results showed that salvianolic acid B， salvianolic acid A， rosmarinic acid， lithospermic acid， danshensu， tanshinone Ⅱ_A， caffeic acid， cryptotanshinone and tanshinone Ⅰ were the main contributing components of SMRR and its processed products. And the results of correlation analysis showed that the contents of cryptotanshinone， rosmarinic acid， caffeic acid， dihydrotanshinone Ⅰ， salvianolic acid B， tanshinone Ⅱ_A and tanshinone Ⅰ were negatively correlated with MDA level in zebrafish brain tissue， while the contents of lithospermic acid， protocatechuic aldehyde， rosmarinic acid， dihydrotanshinone Ⅰ， salvianolic acid B and Tf were positively correlated with SOD level， and the contents of rosmarinic acid， caffeic acid， dihydrotanshinone Ⅰ， salvianolic acid B， tanshinone Ⅱ_A， tanshinone Ⅰ， danshensu， Tf were positively correlated with neuronal fluorescence intensity in the zebrafish brain. And the contents of lithospermic acid， protocatechuic aldehyde， rosmarinic acid， dihydrotanshinone Ⅰ， salvianolic acid B， tanshinone Ⅱ_A and Tf were negatively correlated with LDH， ROS and MDA levels and positively correlated with SOD level. ConclusionThere are differences in the anti-ischemic oxidative damage effects of SMRR and its different processed products， among which the porcine cardiac blood-processed products has the strongest effect on improving oxidative damage， which may be related to the content changes of salvianolic acid B， danshensu， rosmarinic acid and other components. This study can provide a basis for clarifying the quality markers of SMRR processed with porcine cardiac blood for cerebral ischemia and elucidating its processing mechanism.

Objective To investigate the effect of iron on measurement of bone mineral density(BMD)by quantitative computed tomography(QCT)and to establish a correction equation to exclude the effect of iron by using R2*.Methods A total of 15 water models containing different concentrations of iron were prepared by analyzing pure anhydrous calcium chloride and 100 mg/mL iron dextran injection.Each water model was scanned by CT and MRI under the same conditions,and the CT,QCT BMD and R2*val-ues were measured.The correlation analysis was performed between iron concentration and CT value,and QCT BMD value.Simple linear regression analysis was performed between iron concentration and QCT BMD value,between QCT BMDiron and R2*.Results There was a significant positive correlation between iron concentration and CT value,and QCT BMD value(rCT value=0.994,P＜0.001,rQCT BMD=0.993,P＜0.001).The simple linear regression equation between iron concentration and QCT BMD value was established:y=2.34x+159(x:iron concentration,y:QCT BMD).The correction equation was:QCT BMDcorrection=QCT BMDmeasurement-0.093 R2*+0.434.Conclusion Under ideal conditions,iron has an effect on measurement of BMD by QCT,and iron reduces the accuracy of measure-ment of BMD by QCT.The effect of iron on measurement of BMD by QCT needs to be corrected by correction equation.

Background/Aims: Low educational attainment is a well-established risk factor for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in developed areas. However, the association between educational attainment and the risk of NAFLD is less clear in China. Methods: A cross-sectional study including over 200,000 Chinese adults across mainland China was conducted. Information on education level and lifestyle factors were obtained through standard questionnaires, while NAFLD and advanced fibrosis were diagnosed using validated formulas. Outcomes included the risk of NAFLD in the general population and high probability of fibrosis among patients with NAFLD. Logistic regression analysis was employed to estimate the risk of NAFLD and fibrosis across education levels. A causal mediation model was used to explore the potential mediators. Results: Comparing with those receiving primary school education, the multi-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for NAFLD were 1.28 (1.16 to 1.41) for men and 0.94 (0.89 to 0.99) for women with college education after accounting for body mass index. When considering waist circumference, the odds ratios (95% CIs) were 0.94 (0.86 to 1.04) for men and 0.88 (0.80 to 0.97) for women, respectively. The proportions mediated by general and central obesity were 51.00% and 68.04% for men, while for women the proportions were 48.58% and 32.58%, respectively. Furthermore, NAFLD patients with lower educational attainment showed an incremental increased risk of advanced fibrosis in both genders. Conclusions In China, a low education level was associated with a higher risk of prevalent NAFLD in women, as well as high probability of fibrosis in both genders.