Objective: To develop a prediction model for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) risk among the elderly, so as to provide a tool for MCI early screening. Methods : From July 2022 to September 2024, a multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling method was used to recruit permanent residents aged ≥65 years from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as study participants. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, nutritional status, body composition indices, bone mineral density, and handgrip strength were collected through questionnaires and physical examinations. Sarcopenia was defined based on appendicular skeletal muscle index and handgrip strength. MCI was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination, with adjustments for educational level. Participants were randomly divided into a training set and a validation set in a 7∶3 ratio. LASSO regression and multivariable logistic regression models were employed to screen for predictors and construct an MCI risk prediction model. The predictive performance of the model was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: A total of 1 641 participants were surveyed, including 755 males (46.01%) and 886 females (53.99%). The majority of participants were aged 65-<75 years, comprising 1 154 individuals (70.32%). MCI was detected in 517 participants, corresponding to a detection rate of 31.51%. Resultsfrom LASSO regression and multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that residence (rural, OR = 2.323, 95% CI: 1.682-3.210), age (75-<85 years, OR = 1.405, 95% CI: 1.019-1.937; ≥85 years, OR = 3.655, 95% CI: 1.696-7.875), educational level (primary school, OR = 0.341, 95% CI: 0.247-0.472; junior high school, OR = 0.255, 95% CI: 0.160-0.408; high school, OR = 0.286, 95% CI: 0.154-0.531; bachelor's degree or above, OR = 0.120, 95% CI: 0.041-0.351), history of alcohol consumption (yes, OR = 3.216, 95% CI: 2.164-4.779), risk of malnutrition (yes, OR = 1.464, 95% CI: 1.064-2.014), sarcopenia (yes, OR = 3.197, 95% CI: 2.332-4.385), and waist-to-hip ratio (abnormal, OR = 1.540, 95% CI: 1.159-2.048) were identified as predictive factors for MCI among the elderly. In the training set, the area under the ROC curve, sensitivity, and specificity were 0.788, 0.719, and 0.712, respectively. In the validation set, the corresponding values were 0.784, 0.913, and 0.542, respectively. DCA demonstrated that the model provided a higher clinical net benefit for predicting MCI risk when the risk threshold probability ranged from 0.124 to 0.764. Conclusion The prediction model developed in this study demonstrates good discriminative ability and clinical utility, indicating its substantial value for predicting the MCI risk among the elderly.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical value of digital PCR (dPCR) for the prenatal diagnosis of common fetal aneuploidies. METHODS: A dPCR-based assay was developed for detecting trisomies 21, 18, and 13. A retrospective analysis was carried out on 173 amniotic fluid samples collected by the Prenatal Diagnosis Center of Taizhou Hospital between January 2017 and December 2023. By using chromosomal karyotyping as the gold standard, the diagnostic performance of the multiplex dPCR system was evaluated in a double-blind manner. This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Taizhou Hospital (Ethics No. K20250339). RESULTS: Chromosomal karyotyping has identified 59 cases of trisomy 21, 5 cases of trisomy 18, 2 cases of trisomy 13, 6 cases with chromosomal structural abnormalities or mosaicisms, and 101 cases with a normal karyotype. The dPCR results (Z-score cutoff = 4.0, CI = 99.997%) showed full concordance with karyotyping (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 100%, Kappa = 1). Among the 6 structurally abnormal or mosaicism samples, dPCR has accurately detected 4 cases, but mis-classified 2 cases of trisomy 21 with very low-level mosaicisms (3.3%, 6.9%, respectively) as normal. CONCLUSION The established multiplex dPCR system demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for common chromosomal aneuploidies, with results available within 24 hours. It can serve as an efficient supplementary tool to conventional chromosomal karyotyping, providing reliable support for time-sensitive clinical decision-making in prenatal diagnosis.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Aneuploidy ; Prenatal Diagnosis/methods* ; Karyotyping ; Retrospective Studies ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods* ; Chromosome Disorders/genetics* ; Adult ; Trisomy 13 Syndrome/diagnosis* ; Trisomy 18 Syndrome/genetics* ; Down Syndrome/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical value of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for identifying maternal malignant tumors. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was carried out on pregnant women undergoing Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) at Taizhou Hospital in Zhejiang Province from January 2018 to December 2022. The criteria included maternal copy number variations for at least two chromosomes. Clinical follow-up data were obtained for the high-risk population of maternal malignant tumors through telephone follow-up and review of electronic medical records. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Hospital (Ethics No.: K20250339). RESULTS: Among 45 141 NIPT samples, 6 (0.013%) were suggested to have maternal malignant tumors. Follow-up information was available for 5 patients (83.3%). Two cases were diagnosed with maternal malignant tumors, including 1 myelodysplastic syndrome and 1 pelvic malignant tumor. Two cases were found to have multiple uterine fibroids and 1 was lost during follow-up. CONCLUSION The abnormal copy number indicated by NIPT may serve as an early signal for maternal malignant tumors. To establish a systematic follow-up protocol and multidisciplinary collaboration are conducive to achieving early diagnosis of tumors and improving the prognosis of patients. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that for pregnant women with unexplained copy number variations and suspected maternal tumors by NIPT, targeted tumor screening program should be implemented to optimize their clinical management.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Adult ; Retrospective Studies ; DNA Copy Number Variations/genetics* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Noninvasive Prenatal Testing/methods* ; Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic/diagnosis* ; Prenatal Diagnosis/methods*

Objective: To understand the current status of tuberculosis prevention and control knowledge and perceived stress among college and middle school students with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in Yantai City, and to analyze the related factors, so as to provide a basis for the school to carry out health education and psychological counseling. Methods: A matched case control study was conducted, with 100 PTB student patients in junior high school and above who were diagnosed at designated medical institutions from October 2020 to October 2024. Four healthy control students of the same gender, same dormitory, or same class were selected for each case. Therefore, 100 cases and 400 controls were investigated by questionnaire. The following information was collected: personal basic information; tuberculosis prevention and control awareness; and scores of the Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (CPSS). Conditional Logistic regression model and mixed linear models were used to compare the PTB prevention and control awareness rate, as well as the perceived stress between the case and control groups. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the factors that may affect the perceived stress of students with PTB. Results: The awareness rates of four tuberculosis knowledge items (symptoms of PTB, main causes of onset after infection, consequences of PTB patients not receiving standardized and complete treatment, the most important method to prevent PTB) were higher in the case group (40.00%, 72.00% , 38.00%, 49.00%) than the control group (21.50%, 57.50%, 22.25%, 31.25%) and the differences were statistically significant ( Wald χ 2=18.44, 8.78, 13.20, 16.89, all P <0.01). The tension score (10.49±4.20), loss of control score ( 11.21± 4.58), and total score (21.70±6.88) in the case group were higher than the control group (9.35±4.73, 9.75±5.60, 19.09±8.36) and the differences were statistically significant ( t =2.21, 2.42, 2.88, all P <0.05). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that age ≥ 18 years and family history of tuberculosis were the related factors affecting the overall perceived stress and tension of college and middle school students with PTB ( B total scores =4.50, 5.91; B tension score =2.39, 3.23, all P <0.05). Conclusions The tuberculosis prevention and control awareness rate, and the perceived stress of college and middle school students with PTB in Yantai are both higher than students without tuberculosis. Moreover, the perceived stress of students with PTB who are aged ≥18 years or have a family history of tuberculosis is even higher.

Objective : To investigate the effects of branched-chain amino acid(BCAA) on the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and its potential mechanism. Methods : 3T3-L1 preadipocytes were divided into the Control, differentiation medium(DM), low-concentration BCAA, and high-concentration BCAA groups. A CCK-8 assay was utilized to evaluate pre-adipocyte survival under various BCAA concentrations. Oil-red O staining was used to observe the formation of lipid droplets in adipocytes. Intracellular triglyceride(TG) and total cholesterol(TC) were detected by enzymatic method. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of Stat3 and adipocyte differentiation-related genes. Results : CCK-8 results showed that the viability of 3T3-L1 cells was not affected when the BCAA concentration was ≤ 10 mmol/L. Compared with the DM group, the low-concentration BCAA groups(0.5 and 1.0 mmol/L) had significantly larger intracellular lipid droplets, increased number of lipid droplets, and elevated levels of the intracellular TC(0.88vs0.68 mmol/g; 0.83vs0.68 mmol/g,P<0.01) and TG(0.77vs0.40 mmol/g; 0.62vs0.40 mmol/g,P<0.01). Nevertheless, the cell differentiation in the high-concentration group(5.0 and 10.0 mmol/L) significantly decreased compared with that in the DM group. Further, levels of PPARγ, C/EBPα, Adiponectin, and FABP4 mRNA and protein expression significantly increased in the low-concentration group, but significantly decreased in the high-concentration group than that in the DM group(P<0.01). In addition, low concentrations of BCAA promoted stat3 phosphorylation, while high concentrations inhibited its phosphorylation(P<0.01). Conclusion BCAA have a dual role in regulating the differentiation of preadipocytes through Stat3, i.e. low concentrations of BCAA induce cell differentiation by promoting Stat3 phosphorylation; whereas high concentrations of BCAA inhibit Stat3 phosphorylation and cell differentiation.

Objective:To analyze the values of platelet transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and SMAD family member 2 (Smad2) in patients′ peripheral platelets for CRC diagnosis and staging.Methods:Retrospective case-control study. Tumor tissues, paratumor tissues and peripheral blood samples were collected from 248 CRC patients (147 males, 101 females; age 21-93 years) diagnosed in the First Hospital of Jilin University from October 10th, 2020, to March 10th, 2025. Peripheral blood samples were also collected from 40 colorectal adenomatous polyp patients (21 males, 19 females; age 22-74 years) and 75 healthy individuals (43 males, 32 females; age 18-81 years) during the same period. Tissue homogenates and platelets were isolated using tissue disruption and gradient centrifugation, respectively. Total RNA was respectively extracted from tissues and platelets, and the expression levels of TGF-β and Smad2 were quantified by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) expressed as relative quantity 2 -ΔΔCt. Differences of TGF-β and Smad2 expression were compared between CRC tissues and adjacent tissues, as well as among CRC patients, polyp patients, and healthy controls. The relationship of platelet TGF-β and Smad2 expression with pathological features includingtumor stage, pathological type, and metastasis were analyzed. The efficiency of platelet TGF-β, Smad2, and their combination in diagnosing CRC was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results:The expression levels of TGF-β and Smad2 in CRC tumor tissues[1.09 (0.45, 2.00), 2.93 (0.78, 6.73)] were significantly higher than those in adjacent tissues[0.81 (0.27, 1.50), 1.29 (0.40, 2.63)] ( Z TGF-β=4.54, Z Smad2=6.67, both P<0.001). The expression levels of TGF-β and Smad2 in platelets of CRC patients[2.73(1.53, 4.38), 3.16 (1.58, 4.38)] were significantly higher than those in the colorectal polyp group[1.23(0.70, 2.54), 1.16(0.78, 2.27)] and the healthy control group[0.96(0.51, 1.88), 0.92 (0.55, 1.88)] ( H TGF-β=59.71, H Smad2=78.74, both P<0.001). Platelet TGF-β expression increased progressively with tumor stage (stage 1-4) ( P<0.05), while platelet Smad2 levels were higher in metastatic CRC compared with non-metastatic cases ( P<0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for diagnosing CRC when combining platelet TGF-β and Smad2 was 0.81[95%Confidence interval( CI) 0.77—0.86], which was 0.90 (95% CI 0.86—0.93) if adding serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Conclusion:Platelet TGF-β and Smad2 expression correlates with the diagnosis and staging of CRC, demonstrating potential as liquid biopsy biomarkers for colorectal malignancies.

Objective:To obtain a polyvalent single-chain variable fragment（scFv）against West Nile virus through PEGylation in order to improve its antigen-binding ability and neutralizing activity.Methods:A scFv carrying a C-terminal cysteine residue（scFvC）was constructed by introducing Cys into the C-terminal of scFv against West Nile virus. Then the multimerization of scFvC was achieved by targeting the thiol group of Cys with maleimide-activated polyethylene glycol. ELISA was used to detect the antigen-binding activity of the multivalent scFvC. Pseudovirus-based neutralization assay was used to evaluate the neutralizing activity of the multivalent scFvC in vitro. One-way analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis. Results:The PEGylated scFvC multimers showed higher antigen-binding ability than the monomeric scFvC. In the pseudovirus-based neutralization assay，both monomeric scFvC and PEGylated scFvC multimers showed good neutralizing activity compared with the control group（ P<0.000 1）. Moreover，the PEGylated scFvC multimers showed a more effective ability to block the pseudovirus infection in target cells（ P<0.05），suggesting that the PEGylated scFvC multimers could enhance their function in vitro through avidity effect. Conclusion:In this study，a scFvC targeting West Nile virus is successfully constructed and its polyvalent form is generated through PEGylation，which improves the antigen-binding and neutralizing activity of the parental scFv.

Objective:To assess the clinical value of digital PCR (dPCR) for the prenatal diagnosis of common fetal aneuploidies.Methods:A dPCR-based assay was developed for detecting trisomies 21, 18, and 13. A retrospective analysis was carried out on 173 amniotic fluid samples collected by the Prenatal Diagnosis Center of Taizhou Hospital between January 2017 and December 2023. By using chromosomal karyotyping as the gold standard, the diagnostic performance of the multiplex dPCR system was evaluated in a double-blind manner. This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Taizhou Hospital (Ethics No. K20250339).Results:Chromosomal karyotyping has identified 59 cases of trisomy 21, 5 cases of trisomy 18, 2 cases of trisomy 13, 6 cases with chromosomal structural abnormalities or mosaicisms, and 101 cases with a normal karyotype. The dPCR results ( Z-score cutoff = 4.0, CI = 99.997%) showed full concordance with karyotyping (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 100%, Kappa = 1). Among the 6 structurally abnormal or mosaicism samples, dPCR has accurately detected 4 cases, but mis-classified 2 cases of trisomy 21 with very low-level mosaicisms (3.3%, 6.9%, respectively) as normal. Conclusion:The established multiplex dPCR system demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for common chromosomal aneuploidies, with results available within 24 hours. It can serve as an efficient supplementary tool to conventional chromosomal karyotyping, providing reliable support for time-sensitive clinical decision-making in prenatal diagnosis.

Objective:To explore the lifestyle pattern of the physical examination population and analyze its association with metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. Based on the data of 196 515 physical examination individuals from the Health Management Center of the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 2016 to December 2020, the subjects were grouped and characterized by principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Among them, 137 277 cases with MAFLD diagnosis information were included in the association analysis between lifestyle pattern and MAFLD. The differences in lifestyle pattern choice among different age, sex, education level, marital status, occupational category and medical insurance type and their differences with the risk of MAFLD were analyzed. The generalized linear mixed model was used to control confounding factors and then association analysis was conducted.Results:There were 6 types of lifestyle patterns in the physical examination population, which were respectively: indulgent type-both physical and mental damage, remedial type-excessive diet, giving type-unique intensity, comfortable type-natural health, heavy smoking type-sedentary injury, heavy drinking type-attempting to make up, accounting for 7.29%, 9.62%, 7.43%, 52.16%, 9.77%, 13.73% in the population. Among them, the male lifestyle pattern was mainly the indulgent type, the remedial type, the heavy smoking type and the heavy drinking type, showing the characteristics of unhealthy lifestyle pattern; Women tended to have healthier lifestyle patterns. After association analysis with MAFLD, it was found that the prevalence of MAFLD was more than 50% in the people who belonged to the indulgent type, remedial type, the heavy smoking type and the heavy drinking type (53.62%, 57.06%, 51.25% and 50.50%, respectively), and the prevalence of MAFLD in the giving type group was 40.17%. The risk of MAFLD in comfortable group was relatively low (28.25%), and the difference in risk of MAFLD among all modes was statistically significant after controlling for confounding factors ( P<0.001). Conclusion:According to cluster mining, there are 6 types of lifestyle patterns in the physical examination population, and the healthier lifestyle pattern has a lower risk of MAFLD.

Objective To investigate the predictive value of bone metabolism parameters on cardiac autonomic nervous system function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods A total of 328 patients with T2DM hospitalized in the Department of Endocrinology of Gansu Provincial People's Hospital were enrolled in this study from October 2022 to October 2023.According to the serum 25(OH)D level,all the participants were divided into<10 ng/ml group(n=80),10～20 ng/ml group(n=173),and 20～30 ng/ml group(n=75).Biochemical indicators,bone metabolic parameters,left ventricular mass(LVM)and left ventricular mass index(LVMI)were compared.Time domain indicators ofheart rate variability(HRV)in 24 h holter electrocardiogram,including the global standard deviation of normal sinus RR interval(SDNN),sinus RR interval mean standard deviation(SDANN),and normal continuous sinus RR interval difference root mean square(RMSSD).Meanwhile,adjacent RR interval difference>50 ms as a percentage of the total inter-period(PNN50),HRV triangle index,standard deviation of the difference between the length of the entire adjacent NN interperiod(SDSD),and 24 h holter electrocardiogram HRV time-domain relevant indicators were compared among the three groups.The influence of bone metabolism parameters on cardiac autonomic nervous function and their correlation were analyzed,and the optimal cutting point of cardiac autonomic nervous function was predicted by receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results SBP,heart rate(HR),FPG,PWV,PTH and β-CTX in groups of 10 ng/ml,10～20 ng/ml and 20～30 ng/ml decreased in turn(P<0.05),while HDL-C,ABI,25(OH)D,Ca2+and PNN50 decreased.Correlation analysis between Spearman and Pearson showed that 25(OH)D was positively correlated with SDNN,HRV triangle index,PNN50 and rMSSD(P<0.01).Logistic regression analysis showed that 25(OH)D,Ca2+and HR were the influencing factors of cardiac autonomic nervous dysfunction in patients with T2DM.The ROC curve analysis showed that the areas under the ROC curve of 25(OH)D,Ca2+and HR were 0.791,0.607 and 0.629,respectively,with sensitivity of 73.4%,53.2%and 38.7%,and specificity of 74.0%,93.6%and 81.4%,respectively.Conclusions 25(OH)D is the influencing factor of cardiac autonomic nervous dysfunction in patients with T2DM,and patients with high degree of deficiency are more prone to cardiac autonomic nervous dysfunction.