Background Chronic excessive exposure to fluoride can cause damage to the central nervous system and a certain degree of learning and memory impairment. However, the associated mechanism is not yet clear and further exploration is needed. Objective Using 4D unlabelled quantitative proteomics techniques to explore differentially expressed proteins and their potential mechanisms of action in chronic excessive fluoride exposure induced brain injury. Methods Twenty-four SPF-grade adult SD rats, half male and half male, were selected and divided into a control group and a fluoride group by random number table method, with 12 rats in each group. Among them, the control group drank tap water (fluorine content<1 mg·L⁻¹), the fluoride group drank sodium fluoride solution (fluorine content 10 mg·L⁻¹), and both groups were fed with ordinary mouse feed (fluoride content<0.6 mg·kg⁻¹). After 180 d of feeding, the SD rats were weighed, and then part of the brain tissue was sampled for pathological examination by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Nissl staining. The rest of the brain tissue was frozen and stored at −80 ℃. Three brain tissue samples from each group were randomly selected for proteomics detection. Differentially expressed proteins were screened and subcellular localization analysis was performed, followed by Gene Ontology (GO) function analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, cluster analysis, and protein-protein interaction analysis. Finally, Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of key proteins extracted from the brain tissue samples. Results After 180 d of feeding, the average weight of the rats in the fluoride group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). The brain tissue stained with HE showed no significant morphological changes in the cerebral cortex of the fluoride treated rats, and neuron loss, irregular arrangement of neurons, eosinophilic changes, and cell body pyknosis were observed in the hippocampus. The Nissl staining results showed that the staining of neurons in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of rats exposed to fluoride decreased (Nissl bodies decreased). The proteomics results showed that a total of 6927 proteins were identified. After screening, 206 differentially expressed proteins were obtained between the control group and the fluoride group, including 96 up-regulated proteins and 110 down-regulated proteins. The differential proteins were mainly located in cytoplasm (30.6%), nucleus (27.2%), mitochondria (13.6%), plasma membrane (13.6%), and extracellular domain (11.7%). The GO analysis results showed that differentially expressed proteins mainly participated in biological processes such as iron ion transport, regulation of dopamine neuron differentiation, and negative regulation of respiratory burst in inflammatory response, exercised molecular functions such as ferrous binding, iron oxidase activity, and cytokine activity, and were located in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum membrane, fixed components of the membrane, chloride channel complexes, and other cellular components. The KEGG significantly enriched pathways included biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, carbon metabolism, and microbial metabolism in diverse environments. The results of differential protein-protein interaction analysis showed that the highest connectivity was found in glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (Gpi). The expression level of Gpi in the brain tissue of the rats in the fluoride group was lower than that in the control group by Western blotting (P<0.05). Conclusion Multiple differentially expressed proteins are present in the brain tissue of rats with chronic fluorosis, and their functions are related to biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, carbon metabolism, and microbial metabolism in diverse environments; Gpi may be involved in cerebral neurological damage caused by chronic overdose fluoride exposure.

Purpose: Whether COVID-19 reduces male fertility remains requires further investigation. This meta-analysis and systematic review evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on male fertility. Materials and Methods: The literature in PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library up to January 01, 2022 was systematically searched, and a meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effect of COVID-19 on male fertility. Totally 17 studies with a total of 1,627 patients and 1,535 control subjects were included in our meta-analysis. Results: Regarding sperm quality, COVID-19 decreased the total sperm count (p=0.012), sperm concentration (p=0.001), total motility (p=0.001), progressive sperm motility (p=0.048), and viability (p=0.031). Subgroup analyses showed that different control group populations did not change the results. It was found that during the illness stage of COVID-19, semen volume decreased, and during the recovery stage of COVID-19, sperm concentration and total motility decreased <90 days. We found that sperm concentration and total motility decreased during recovery for ≥90 days. Fever because of COVID-19 significantly reduced sperm concentration and progressive sperm motility, and COVID-19 without fever ≥90 days, the sperm total motility and progressive sperm motility decreased. Regarding disease severity, the moderate type of COVID-19 significantly reduced sperm total motility, but not the mild type. Regarding sex hormones, COVID-19 increased prolactin and estradiol. Subgroup analyses showed that during the illness stage, COVID-19 decreased testosterone (T) levels and increased luteinizing hormone levels. A potential publication bias may have existed in our meta-analysis. Conclusions COVID-19 in men significantly reduced sperm quality and caused sex hormone disruption. COVID-19 had long-term effects on sperm quality, especially on sperm concentration and total motility. It is critical to conduct larger multicenter studies to determine the consequences of COVID-19 on male fertility.

Objective:To explore the application and clinical efficacy of an innervated arterialised venous flap of the first dorsal metacarpal in reconstruction of thumb and finger pulp defects.Methods:From December 2021 to August 2022, 17 patients received surgery for reconstruction of thumb and finger pulp defects in the Department of Hand Surgery of Sichuan Modern Hospital. All were carried out in emergency surgery. The affected digits included: 3 thumbs, 4 index fingers, 6 middle fingers, 1 ring finger and 3 little fingers. After emergency debridement, a flap of the first dorsal metacarpal carrying superficial radial nerve and arterialised vein was taken for reconstruction of the defect. Donor site of the flap was directly closed with sutures. The survival and functional recovery of the digits and flaps were evaluated through postoperative follow-ups via outpatient visit and telephone and WeChat interviews.Results:Seven flaps developed blisters after surgery, which gradually subsided and healed after dressing change. The rest of 10 flaps survived smoothly, without any vascular compromise. All of the 17 patients(17 digits) had postoperative follow-up for 3-15 months, with 8 months in average. Appearance of thumb and finger pulps were good, with sensation restored to S 1-S 3+, according to the sensory function evaluation criteria of the British Medical Research Council(BMRC). According to Evaluation Trial Standards of Upper Limb Partial Functional of Hand Surgery of Chinese Medical Association, all 17 patientswere in excellent of total active movement(TAM). Conclusion:Innervated arterialised venous flap of the first dorsal metacarpal is reliable in reconstruction of the defects of digit pulps with good function and appearance. The flap is easy to take and with a satisfactory recovery of sensation.

Resveratrol (RES), a natural polyphenolic phytochemical, has been suggested as a putative anti-aging molecule for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by the activation of sirtuin 1 (Sirt1/Sir2). In this study, we tested the effects of RES and Sirt1/Sir2 on sleep and courtship memory in a Drosophila model by overexpression of amyloid precursor protein (APP), whose duplications and mutations cause familial AD. We found a mild but significant transcriptional increase of Drosophila Sir2 (dSir2) by RES supplementation for up to 17 days in APP flies, but not for 7 days. RES and dSir2 almost completely reversed the sleep and memory deficits in APP flies. We further demonstrated that dSir2 acts as a sleep promotor in Drosophila neurons. Interestingly, RES increased sleep in the absence of dSir2 in dSir2-null mutants, and RES further enhanced sleep when dSir2 was either overexpressed or knocked down in APP flies. Finally, we showed that Aβ aggregates in APP flies were reduced by RES and dSir2, probably via inhibiting Drosophila β-secretase (dBACE). Our data suggest that RES rescues the APP-induced behavioral deficits and Aβ burden largely, but not exclusively, via dSir2.
Animals ; Alzheimer Disease/metabolism* ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor/metabolism* ; Drosophila/physiology* ; Drosophila Proteins/metabolism* ; Resveratrol/pharmacology* ; Sirtuin 1 ; Sleep

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness and outcomes of percutaneous ablation guided by ultrasonography (US) and computed tomography (CT) in colorectal liver oligometastases (CLOM). Methods: This study included patients with CLOM treated with percutaneous ablation from January 2008 to January 2021 in this observational study. Only lesions visualized on both CT and US images were further analyzed according to whether patients’ initial ablation treatments utilized US guidance or CT guidance. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate local tumor progression (LTP)–free survival after propensity score matching (PSM). The LTP-free survival and treatment-related outcomes were compared between these two groups. Results: PSM identified 116 patients from each group, with 269 and 238 lesions in the USguided and CT-guided groups, respectively. US-guided ablation had a shorter average procedure time and lower cost than CT-guided ablation (27.54±12.06 minutes vs. 32.70±13.88 minutes, P=0.003; $2,175.13±618.17 vs. $2,455.49±710.25, P=0.002). For patients >60 years of age, the cumulative LTP rate at 1 year was lower in the US-guided group than in the CT-guided group (17.8% vs. 25.1%, P=0.038). For patients with perivascular liver lesions, the cumulative LTP rate at 1 year was lower in the US-guided group (14.4% vs. 28.2%, P=0.040). Conclusion For patients whose age is >60 years or who have perivascular liver lesions, USguided ablation is better than CT-guided ablation, with a shorter treatment time and lower costs when both ablation methods are feasible for patients.

【Objective】 To investigate the mechanism of pristane inducing autophagy in macrophages. 【Methods】 Pristane was used to stimulate NR8383， a rat macrophage cell line. The changes in signaling pathways of AMPK， mTOR， and endoplasmic reticulum （ER） stress pathways including eIF2α and IRE1α in the cell model， as well as the expression of transcriptional factor TFEB and its translocation to the nucleus， were detected by using Western blotting. ER stress pathways were intervened by using an inducer DTT or an inhibitor 4-PBA to determin its effect on mTOR expression and autophay. 【Results】 In pristane-stimulated NR8383 cell model， ER stress pathway eIF2α was activated at 0.5 h after stimulation， and then mTOR expression was decreased at 1 and 3 h after stimulation. There was no change for AMPK and IRE1α pathways. With 4-PBA treatment， pristane-reduced mTOR expression and increased LC3-II were reversed， while with DTT treatment， mTOR expression decreased and LC3-II expression increased even more. Pristane induced the expression and activation of TFEB in NR8383 cells. 【Conclusion】 Pristane induces ER stress and leads to autophagy enhancement in rat macrophages.

BACKGROUND: SMARCA2 (SWI/SNF Related, Matrix Associated, Actin Dependent Regulator of Chromatin, Subfamily A, Member 2) is an important ATPase catalytic subunit in the switch-sucrose nonfermenting (SWI/SNF) complex. However, its relationship with the pathological features of NSCLC and its prognosis remain unclear. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 2390 patients with surgically resected NSCLC, constructed tissue microarrays (TMAs) and performed immunohistochemical assays. We analyzed the correlation of SAMRCA2 with clinicopathological features and evaluated its prognostic value. RESULTS: Among 2390 NSCLC cases, the negative expression ratios of SAMRCA2, SMARCA4, ARID1A, ARID1B and INI1 were 9.3%, 1.8%, 1.2%, 0.4% and 0%, respectively. In NSCLC, male sex, T3 and T4 stage, moderate and poor differentiation, tumor ≥ 2 cm, Ki67 ≥ 15%, SOX-2 negative expression, middle lobe lesion and adenocarcinoma were relative risk factors affecting SMARCA2-negative expression. In lung adenocarcinomas, high-grade nuclei, histological morphology of acinar and papillary, solid and micropapillary and TTF-1-negative expression were relative risk factors affecting SMARCA2-negative expression. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the OS was shorter in the SMARCA2-negative group. Multivariate survival analysis revealed that SMARCA2-negative expression was an independent factor correlated with a poor prognosis in NSCLC. CONCLUSION In conclusion, SMARCA2-negative expression is an independent predictor of a poor outcome of NSCLC and is a potential target for NSCLC treatment.
Adenosine Triphosphatases/metabolism* ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/genetics* ; Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Transcription Factors/genetics*

Objective:To explore the sex-based heterogeneity in demographic and pathological trends of lung cancer during the past 30 years.Methods:Patients with primary lung cancer who received surgical treatment in the Department of thoracic surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital Tongji University from 1989 to 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The differences between male and female patients in age, smoking history, pathological stage and type were compared. Mann- Kendall trend test was performed for trend analysis. Results:A total of 58 433 patients were included in this study, encompassing 30 729(52.6%) men and 27 , 704(47.4%) women. Compared with male patients, female patients were younger(56.0 years old vs. 59.7 years old), and had a higher proportion of non-smokers(98.3% vs. 52.3%), stage Ⅰ lung cancers(60.6% vs. 49.3%), and adenocarcinoma(93.7% vs. 56.1%, all P-values <0.001). Trend analyses revealed that the proportion of female patients increased year by year, and surpassed males in 2015, with the current ratio of male to female being 1∶1.5. After 2013, the age of onset in females was getting younger, and the average age decreased from 58.7 years old to 54.7 years old( P=0.02). The decrease in the proportion of smoking patients was mainly reflected by male patients(from 68.5% to 31.1%, P<0.01). Stage Ⅰ lung cancers in male and females outnumbered advanced stage in 2012 and 2010, respectively, with a much higher proportion in female patients. Among male patients, adenocarcinoma has replaced squamous cell carcinoma as the most common pathological type since 2012, while in female patients adenocarcinoma remained the most common pathological type of lung cancer, and its proportion continued to increase reaching over 98%. Conclusion:A dramatic change in gender distribution was noticed during the past 30 years. Female patients became the primary population in surgically-treated lung cancers, with a trend of getting younger. The proportion of smokers and squamous cell carcinoma decreased significantly in male patients, and adenocarcinoma has become the most common pathological type of lung cancer. The proportion of stage Ⅰ lung cancers was on a dramatic rise, with the popularization of CT screening for lung cancer.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of adult Chinese patients with syncope.Methods:This is a cross-sectional survey study. Patients with preliminary diagnosis of syncope in the Emergency Department, Geriatrics and Cardiology Outpatient Department, or Syncope Unit of 37 hospitals in 19 provinces, autonomous regions and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from June 2018 to March 2021 were included in this study. The clinical features of these patients with syncope were analyzed.Results:A total of 4 950 consecutive patients with syncope were included in this study. The age was (56.3±16.8)years, and 2 604 cases (52.6%) were male. The most common type of syncope was neurally mediated syncope (2 345 (47.4%)), followed by cardiac syncope (1 085 (21.9%)), orthostatic hypotensive syncope (311 (6.3%)), and unexplained syncope accounted for nearly one third (1 155 (23.3%)). Predisposing syncope was more common in patients under 65 years of age(2 066(72.4%) vs. 786(27.6%),χ 2=136.5, P<0.001). Presyncope was more common in patients with neurally mediated syncope (1 972(79.0%) vs.1 908(73.9%), χ 2=17.756, P<0.001). Premonitory symptoms were more common in women(1 837(80.0%) vs. 1 863(73.0%),χ 2=33.432, P<0.001). Presyncope syndrome was more common in patients under 65 years of age (2 482(77.8%) vs. 1 218(73.4%),χ 2=17.523, P=0.001). Cyanosis was more common in ≥65 years old patients (271(18.2%) vs. 369(12.7%), χ 2=23.235, P<0.001). Urinary incontinence was more common in old patients aged ≥65 years(252(15.2%) vs. 345(10.8%), χ 2=19.313, P<0.001). Family history was more common in patients with cardiogenic syncope compared with other types of syncope (264(24.3%) vs. 754(19.5%), χ 2=11.899, P=0.001). Hypertention(1 480(30.5%)), coronary heart disease(1 057(21.4%)), atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation(359(7.2%)), second degree atrioventricular block(236(4.8%)) were common complications of syncope. The proportion of patients with coronary heart disease was significantly higher in cardiac syncope than that of other types of syncope(417(38.4%) vs. 640(16.6%), χ 2=241.376, P<0.001). Other common complications included cerebrovascular diseases (551 (11.1%)) and diabetes mellitus (632(12.8%)). Conclusions:Neurally mediated syncope is the most common syncope in adult Chinese population. Patients with predisposing conditions and premonitory conditions are younger. Presyncope is more common in women. The proportion of family history and coronary heart disease is higher in patients with cardiogenic syncope.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of long-term intake of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) on the activation of hippocampal microglia in a mouse model of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD).Methods:Ninety-six clean-grade healthy male C57BL/6 mice, aged 8 weeks, weighing 18-24 g, were stratified according to body weight and divided into 4 groups ( n=24 each) by a random number table method: control diet group (group C), ω-3 PUFAs group (group ω), control diet plus POCD group (group C+ P) and ω-3 PUFAs plus POCD group (group ω+ P). Mice were fed a special ω-3 PUFAs diet (DHA 0.14 g/100 g, EPA 0.03 g/100 g) for 12 weeks in group ω and group ω+ P, while mice were fed with a control diet for 12 weeks in group C and group C+ P.Tibial fracture procedures were performed under isoflurane anesthesia to develop the POCD model after 12 weeks of feeding.The fear conditioning test and Y maze test were performed on 1st and 3rd days after developing the model.The mice were sacrificed after behavioral tests, and the hippocampal tissues were removed for determination of the contents of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy), density of Iba-1 positive microglia (by immunofluorescence staining), and expression of mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor (mBDNF) and precursor brain-derived neurotrophic factor (pro-BDNF) (by Western blot), and contents of interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). Results:Compared with group C, the contents of DHA and EPA were significantly increased, the percentage of freezing time in the contextual test was increased, mBDNF/pro-BDNF ratio was increased ( P<0.05), no significant change was found in the rotation accuracy in Y maze test, density of Iba-1 positive microglia and contents of IL-1β and IL-6 in hippocampus ( P>0.05) in group ω ( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in the contents of DHA and EPA ( P>0.05), the percentage of freezing time in the contextual test and accuracy of rotation in Y maze test were decreased on 1st and 3rd days after operation, the density of Iba-1 positive microglia and contents of IL-1β and IL-6 were increased, and mBDNF/pro-BDNF ratio was decreased in group C+ P ( P<0.05). Compared with group C+ P, the contents of DHA and EPA were significantly increased, the percentage of freezing time in the contextual test and accuracy of rotation in Y maze test were increased on 1st and 3rd days after operation, the density of Iba-1 positive microglia and contents of IL-1β and IL-6 were decreased, and mBDNF/pro-BDNF ratio was increased in group ω+ P ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Long-term intake of ω-3 PUFAs can improve cognitive function in a mouse model of POCD, and the mechanism may be related to inhibition of activation of hippocampal microglia, reduction of inflammatory responses, and thus increasing the mBDNF/Pro-BDNF ratio.