Objective:The prevalence of seasonal allergic rhinitis （AR） and its combined diseases have been increasing recently. The purpose was to investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment of seasonal AR in northern China. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in AR patients. The Visual analogue scale （VAS）, combined diseases, clinical features, allergic pollen and treatments were analyzed. Results:Of the 789 AR subjects included, 54.1% had a family history of atopic disease. The mian course wa s（7.4±5.9） years. 95.4% of the subjects had moderate to severe AR. The prevalence rates of allergic conjunctivitis （AC）, allergic asthma （AA）, and pollen food allergy syndrome （PFAS） were 71.1%, 19.0%, and 39.5% respectively. Among the patients, 13.8% presented with only AR, while 39.3% had an AR combined with other disease, and 1.9% exhibited comorbidity involving five different diseases. VAS was positively correlated with the number of comorbidities（r=0.186, P<0.001）. The mugwort exhibited the highest rate of pollen sensitization （48.9%）, closely followed by cypress （48.3%）. The prevalence of mono-sensitization to pollen was 20.2%, while the positive rates for double-sensitized pollens and more than three sensitized pollens were 17.4% and 62.4%, respectively. Among the study participants, 19.9% did not receive any form of treatment, while 66.2% were administered oral medication and 27.5% underwent nasal steroid spray therapy. The proportion of individuals receiving anti-IgE monoclonal antibodies was 4.3%, and allergen immunotherapy （AIT） treatment was undergone by 11.8%. Meanwhile, 41.2% of patients undergoing anti-IgE monoclonal antibody treatment also received AIT. The distribution of therapy types among patients was as follows: 44.7% received a single type, 22.2% received two types, and 9.8% received three types of therapy. Additionally, there was a subset of patients（1%） who were undergoing five distinct forms of treatment. The VAS score exhibited a significant negative correlation with no treatment（r=-0.199, P<0.001）, while it showed a positive association with the number of treatment modalities（r=0.245, P<0.001）. Conclusion:Mugwort and cypress are the predominant allergenic pollens responsible for seasonal AR in northern China. The majority of cases present with moderate to severe AR, often accompanied by various comorbidities, necessitating consideration of diverse treatment modalities. However, the current rate of adoption for AIT remains relatively insufficient.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal/therapy* ; Pollen/immunology* ; Adult ; Male ; Female ; Young Adult ; Adolescent ; Middle Aged ; Child ; Prevalence ; Allergens/immunology* ; Asthma/epidemiology* ; Conjunctivitis, Allergic

This study aims to investigate whether the dietary supplement coenzyme Q10(CoQ10)alleviates bisphenol A(BPA)-induced mouse Leydig cell line(TM3)damage through autophagy pathway.Cell activity was measured by CCK-8 assay when treated with different concentrations of BPA for 24 h.TM3 cells were then divided into 5 groups:CON group,BPA group,Torin2 group,CQ group and BPA+CoQ10 group,with three repeats in each group.The morphology of TM3 cells were observed under inverted light microscope.Western blot was used to determine the protein ex-pression of p62 and LC3-Ⅰ/Ⅱ.The autophagy level of TM3 cells was detected by MDC cell auto-phagy staining,the mRNA expression levels of Atg7,Beclin 1,p62 and Atg5 genes were deter-mined by RT-qPCR,and the apoptosis rate of TM3 cells was detected by flow cytometry.The results showed that compared with 0 μmol/L BPA treatment group,the viability of TM3 cells de-creased significantly after 24 h treatment with 60 μmol/L BPA(P＜0.01).Compared with CON group,the number of TM3 cells markedly reduced in the BPA-treated group,the expression of au-tophagy-related proteins(p62,LC3-Ⅱ)significantly increased(P＜0.01),comparable to the CQ group.The MDC fluorescence intensity dramatically enhanced(P＜0.01),the mRNA expression levels of autophagy-related genes(Atg7,Beclin1,p62,Atg5)significantly elevated(P＜0.01),and the apoptosis rate significantly increased(P＜0.01).Compared with BPA group,the expression levels of autophagy-related genes Atg7 and Beclin1 mRNA(P＜0.05),p 62 and Atg5 mRNA(P＜0.01)in TM3 cells treated with BPA+CoQ10 significantly decreased.Moreover,the expres-sion levels of autophagy-related protein p62(P＜0.01)and LC3-Ⅱ(P＜0.05),MDC fluorescence intensity(P＜0.05)and apoptosis rate(P＜0.01)also markedly reduced.In conclusion,CoQ10 could subsequently reduce the apoptosis of TM3 cells by improving the abnormal autophagy flux induced by BPA.

Objective To investigate the value of first platelet count(PLT)to respiratory rate(RR)ratio(PLT/RR)on admission in the diagnosis and prognosis of secondary sepsis in pneumonia patients.Methods A total of 100 patients with pneumonia admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from May 2023 to August 2024 were selected as subjects.According to the presence or absence of pneumonia sepsis,they were divided into sepsis group(63 cases)and non-sepsis group(37 cases).The secondary sepsis in pneumonia pa-tients were followed up continuously for 30 d.According to the survival situation,they were divided into sur-vival group(54 cases)and death group(9 cases).PLT in peripheral blood was measured,vital signs were col-lected on the first day of admission,and PLT/RR was calculated.The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of PLT,RR and PLT/RR for secondary sepsis in pneumonia pa-tients.The systemic inflammatory response syndrome(SIRS)score,modified early warning score(MEWS)and quick sequential organ failure assessment(qSOFA)score on admission were calculated,and the clinical predictive value of SIRS score,MEWS and qSOFA score was compared.Results PLT and PLT/RR in sepsis group were lower than those in non-sepsis group(P<0.000 1),RR was higher than that in non-sepsis group(P<0.01).The area under the curve(AUC,95%CI)of PLT,RR and PLT/RR were 0.858(0.785-0.931),0.693(0.589-0.796)and 0.902(0.843-0.962),respectively.The optimal cut-off values were 146.5×109/L,20.5 per minute and 8.075,respectively.The specificity were 8.1%,83.8%and 2.7%,respec-tively.The sensitivity was 33.3%,50.8%and 30.2%,respectively.Compared with the non-sepsis group,the sepsis group had a significantly higher SIRS score(P<0.001),a significantly lower MEWS(P<0.000 1),and no significant difference in qSOFA score between the two groups(P>0.05).The AUC(95%CI)of SIRS score,MEWS and qSOFA score in predicting secondary sepsis in pneumonia patients were 0.717(0.616-0.818),0.748(0.650-0.846)and 0.505(0.389-0.622),respectively.The optimal cut-off values were 4.5,2.5 and 1.5 points,respectively.The specificity were 91.9%,2.7%and 100.0%,respectively.The sensitivity was 42.9%,33.3%and 6.3%,respectively.PLT and PLT/RR in death group were lower than those in sur-vival group(P<0.05),RR was higher than that in survival group(P<0.05).Secondary sepsis in pneumonia patients were followed up for 30 d,Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that patients with PLT≤138.5×109/L had a lower 30 d survival rate(P=0.007 8).Patients with RR>24.5 per minute had a lower 30 d sur-vival rate(P=0.016 1).Patients with PLT/RR≤6.375 had a lower 30 d survival rate(P=0.002 3).Conclu-sion PLT/RR can be used as a biological index to predict secondary sepsis in pneumonia patients,which is better than SIRS score,MEWS and qSOFA score,and the prognosis of secondary sepsis in pneumonia patients with low PLT/RR is worse.

In October 2024, a 36-year-old female patient with botulinum toxin type A intoxication for 15d was admitted to the Department of Neurology of Northern Jiangsu People’s Hospital. Although type A botulinum antitoxin (BAT) therapy remained effective, the patient developed a serum sickness-like reaction (SSLR) on day 4 of treatment after receiving eight consecutive desensitizing intramuscular injections of BAT. After stopping the injection of the drug and giving intravenous dexamethasone, the patient’s symptoms improved. On the 6th day after stopping the injection of botulinum antitoxin type A, the patient was followed up in the outpatient clinic and the skin symptoms had almost disappeared. This article analyzed the patient’s medical records and explored the association between BAT and SSLR, suggesting that medical personnel should be alert to the risk of adverse reactions when applying antitoxin therapy, and that they should identify and intervene in a timely manner in order to ensure the safety of the medication and therapeutic efficacy of the patients.

This study aims to investigate whether the dietary supplement coenzyme Q10(CoQ10)alleviates bisphenol A(BPA)-induced mouse Leydig cell line(TM3)damage through autophagy pathway.Cell activity was measured by CCK-8 assay when treated with different concentrations of BPA for 24 h.TM3 cells were then divided into 5 groups:CON group,BPA group,Torin2 group,CQ group and BPA+CoQ10 group,with three repeats in each group.The morphology of TM3 cells were observed under inverted light microscope.Western blot was used to determine the protein ex-pression of p62 and LC3-Ⅰ/Ⅱ.The autophagy level of TM3 cells was detected by MDC cell auto-phagy staining,the mRNA expression levels of Atg7,Beclin 1,p62 and Atg5 genes were deter-mined by RT-qPCR,and the apoptosis rate of TM3 cells was detected by flow cytometry.The results showed that compared with 0 μmol/L BPA treatment group,the viability of TM3 cells de-creased significantly after 24 h treatment with 60 μmol/L BPA(P＜0.01).Compared with CON group,the number of TM3 cells markedly reduced in the BPA-treated group,the expression of au-tophagy-related proteins(p62,LC3-Ⅱ)significantly increased(P＜0.01),comparable to the CQ group.The MDC fluorescence intensity dramatically enhanced(P＜0.01),the mRNA expression levels of autophagy-related genes(Atg7,Beclin1,p62,Atg5)significantly elevated(P＜0.01),and the apoptosis rate significantly increased(P＜0.01).Compared with BPA group,the expression levels of autophagy-related genes Atg7 and Beclin1 mRNA(P＜0.05),p 62 and Atg5 mRNA(P＜0.01)in TM3 cells treated with BPA+CoQ10 significantly decreased.Moreover,the expres-sion levels of autophagy-related protein p62(P＜0.01)and LC3-Ⅱ(P＜0.05),MDC fluorescence intensity(P＜0.05)and apoptosis rate(P＜0.01)also markedly reduced.In conclusion,CoQ10 could subsequently reduce the apoptosis of TM3 cells by improving the abnormal autophagy flux induced by BPA.

In October 2024, a 36-year-old female patient with botulinum toxin type A intoxication for 15d was admitted to the Department of Neurology of Northern Jiangsu People’s Hospital. Although type A botulinum antitoxin (BAT) therapy remained effective, the patient developed a serum sickness-like reaction (SSLR) on day 4 of treatment after receiving eight consecutive desensitizing intramuscular injections of BAT. After stopping the injection of the drug and giving intravenous dexamethasone, the patient’s symptoms improved. On the 6th day after stopping the injection of botulinum antitoxin type A, the patient was followed up in the outpatient clinic and the skin symptoms had almost disappeared. This article analyzed the patient’s medical records and explored the association between BAT and SSLR, suggesting that medical personnel should be alert to the risk of adverse reactions when applying antitoxin therapy, and that they should identify and intervene in a timely manner in order to ensure the safety of the medication and therapeutic efficacy of the patients.

Abstract: Objective To investigate the function and molecular mechanism of LRH-1 in regulating the sensitivity of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells to oxaliplatin, providing new ideas for the treatment of liver cancer. Methods Knockdown and overexpression of LRH-1 in HCC cell lines were constructed, and the effect of LRH-1 on oxaliplatin resistance of HCC cells was explored by detecting IC50, cell proliferation, and plate colony formation assay. The transcriptional regulation of the MDR-1 gene by LRH-1 was detected through quantitative PCR. The transcriptional activation ability of LRH-1 on the MDR1 gene was evaluated by luciferase reporter assay. Results In HuH7 cells overexpressing LRH-1, the IC50 significantly increased to 18.012 μmol/L under oxaliplatin treatment, significantly higher than the 2.042 μmol/L in the HuH-7 control group, showing statistically significant differences (P<0.05). After overexpression of LRH-1 in HuH-7 cells, the cell proliferation ability was significantly increased, with a noticeable increase in MDR1 mRNA level. In HepG2 cells with knockdown LRH-1 expression, the IC50 significantly dropped to 1.012 μmol/L, significantly lower than the 6.294 μmol/L in the HepG2 control group, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). After knockdown of LRH-1 in HepG2 cells, the cell proliferation and plate colony formation ability were significantly inhibited, with a notable decrease in MDR1 mRNA expression level. Luciferase reporter assay confirmed that LRH-1 can activate the transcriptional activity of the MDR1 promoter in a dosedependent manner, and its specific inhibitor ML-180 can significantly reduce LRH-1′s transcription activation ability on the MDR1 promoter. Conclusions LRH-1 may promote oxaliplatin resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma cells by regulating the transcriptional activity of MDR1 gene. Since its specific small molecule inhibitor has been successfully synthesized, LRH-1 can potentially become a target for the treatment of drug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath are closely associated with respiratory diseases and are linked to various metabolic reactions in the human body. A quantitative analytical method can provide technical support for studying VOCs related to various diseases. Objective To establish a thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) method for the determination of 27 VOCs in exhaled breath. Methods VOCs in exhaled breath were collected using a Bio-VOC sampler and enriched with Tenax TA thermal desorption tubes before TD-GC-MS analysis. Standards were collected using thermal desorption tubes and optimized for thermal desorption conditions as well as chromatographic and mass spectrometric conditions: The separation of the 27 VOCs was achieved by an optimized temperature program, the improvement of sensitivity by optimizing quantitative ions, and the increase of VOCs desorption efficiency by optimizing thermal desorption time and temperature. Limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, precision, and stability of the proposed method were investigated by spiking with a blank gas bag, and exhaled breath samples from 20 healthy individuals were collected for an application study of the proposed method. Results The thermal desorption temperature was 280 ℃, and desorption time was 6 min. A VF-624ms chromatographic column was selected for the separation of target substances. The initial temperature of heating program was 35 ℃, maintained for 1 min, and then increased to 100 ℃ at a heating rate of 3 ℃·min⁻¹ for 1 min, followed by increasing to 210 ℃ at a heating rate of 28 ℃·min⁻¹ for 5 min. A quantitative analysis was conducted with a single ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Under these conditions, the 27 VOCs showed good linear relationships in their respective concentration ranges and the correlation coefficients were higher than 0.9990. The limits of detection of the method were in the range of 0.01-0.13 nmol·mol⁻¹, the limits of quantification were in the range of 0.02-0.44 nmol·mol⁻¹, and the spiked recoveries were in the range of 80.1%-120.5%, with intra-batch and inter-batch precision ≤ 18.8% and 17.9% respectively. All substances can be stored at room temperature (23-28 °C) for 7 d and at 4 °C for 14 d. The proposed method was applied to exhaled breath samples from 20 subjects with detection rates≥ 80% (except for trans-2-pentene and decane) and a concentration range of 0.00-465.50 nmol·mol⁻¹. Conclusion The established TD-GC-MS method for quantification of VOCs in exhaled breath is characterized by high sensitivity and good accuracy, and is suitable for quantitative determination of VOCs in exhaled breath, which can provide technical support for the study of exhaled breath VOCs.

Objective:To analyze the clinical situation of critically ill children with Montgomery T-tube，aiming to summarize the characteristics of T-tube application in pediatric and the experience of postoperative airway management in PICU.Methods:The etiology，clinical characteristics，complications and ICU admissions of patients with Montgomery T-tube admitted to the Pediatric Hospital of Fudan University from April 2019 to December 2021 were analyzed，and the application of T-tube in patients with critical conditions requiring long-term mechanical ventilation was described in the light of clinical experience.Results:During the study period,seven children were admitted to the PICU after T-tube insertion,including three males and four females,aged 9~75 months.Five children received mechanical ventilation.Among them,there were five cases with congenital laryngeal malformations,one case with tracheoesophageal fistula,and one case with laryngeal papilloma.The main complications were sputum blockage,infection,and granulation proliferation.One child died of secretion blockage,while the other children were successfully evacuated from the T-tube.The longest retention time of the T-tube was 367 days.Five patients experienced hoarseness after removing the T-tube,and upon re-examination with fiberoptic bronchoscopy,no recurrence of subglottic stenosis was observed.There was no respiratory distress or wheezing,and there were no abnormalities observed during regular outpatient follow-up after discharge.After discharge,the quality of life of the six surviving children improved compared to preoperative,and they all resumed oral feeding.There were no complaints of swallowing difficulties or aspiration during outpatient follow-up.But they were all combined with malnutrition.Conclusion:The Montgomery T-tube is a secure and dependable airway stent utilized for airway remodeling and the maintenance of airway patency following interventional surgery.For critically ill children,early management of airway clearance and infection prevention are imperative.

Objective:To explore the predictive value of methyltetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphism in collaboration with serum ANG2 expression on the efficacy of estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer chemotherapy.Methods:Sixty-six patients with ER-positive breast cancer who underwent chemotherapy were selected from Changshu First People’s Hospital from Mar. 2017 to Mar. 2022. According to the efficacy of chemotherapy, patients were divided into effective group and ineffective group. Clinical data of two groups of patients were collected, and PCR was used to detect MTHFR gene polymorphisms in leukocyte DNA and ANG2 expression in serum of patients before chemotherapy. The general data, MTHFR gene polymorphism and ANG2 level of the two groups were compared, and the factors influencing the efficacy of chemotherapy for ER-positive breast cancer were analyzed by Logistic regression. The predictive value of MTHFR gene polymorphism and ANG2 level in ER-positive breast cancer chemotherapy was analyzed according to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:There were 11 complete responses (CR), 38 partial responses (PR), 10 stable disease (SD), and 7 progressive disease (PD) after chemotherapy in 66 ER-positive breast cancer patients. The proportion of lymphatic metastases, the proportion of CC in C677T MTHFR gene and the level of ANG2 in serum in the ineffective group were higher than those in the effective group ( P<0.05). Logistic analysis showed that lymph metastases, C677T MTHFR gene and ANG2 level were independent risk factors for chemotherapy efficacy of ER-positive breast cancer by Logistic regression analysis ( P<0.05). ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) values of C677T MTHFR gene and ANG2 in predicting the efficacy of chemotherapy for ER-positive breast cancer were 0.779 and 0.726, respectively, and 95% CI were 0.660-0.872 and 0.596-0.824. The combined predicted AUC value was 0.920, and 95% CI was 0.826-0.972. Conclusions:MTHFR gene polymorphism and ANG2 level are of reference value for chemotherapy efficacy of ER positive breast cancer. C677T type MTHFR gene has higher value in predicting the efficacy of ER-positive breast cancer chemotherapy in collaboration with serum ANG2 level.