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

In general, bioassay-guided fractionation and isolation of bioactive constituents from botanical materials frequently ended up with the reward of a single compound. However, botanical materials typically exert their therapeutic actions through multi-pathway effects due to the intrinsic complex nature of chemical constituents. In addition, the content of bioactive compounds in botanical materials is largely dependent on humidity, temperature, soil, especially geographical origins, from which rapid and accurate identification of plant materials is pressingly needed. These long-standing obstacles collectively impede the deep exploitation and application of these versatile natural sources. To address the challenges, a new paradigm integrating biogravimetric analyses and machine learning-driven origin classification (BAMLOC) was developed. The biogravimetric analyses are based on absolute qHNMR quantification and in vivo zebrafish model-assisted activity index calculation, by which bioactive substance groups jointly responsible for the bioactivities in all fractions are pinpointed before any isolation effort. To differentiate origin-different botanical materials varying in the content of bioactive substance groups, principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis in conjunction with supervised support vector machine are employed to classify and predict production areas based on the detection of volatile organic compounds by E-nose and GC-MS. Expanding BAMLOC to Codonopsis Radix enables the identification of polyacetylenes and pyrrolidine alkaloids as the bioactive substance group for immune restoration effect and accurately determines the origins of plants. This study advances the toolbox for the discovery of bioactive compounds from complex mixtures and lays a more definitive foundation for the in-depth utilization of botanical materials.

ObjectiveTo determine the prevalence and determinants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis latent infection among primary and secondary school students in Cixi City, Zhejiang Province, so as to provide references for the prevention and control of tuberculosis in school settings. MethodsInterferon-γ release assay (IGRA) testing was performed to fourth-grade primary school students , as well as to those grade 7 and grade 10 students of the academic year 2024‒2025 in Cixi City. Individuals tested positive for IGRA were subsequently subjected to chest X-ray examination and sputum tests (including three smear microscopy examinations and one mycobaterial culture), and epidemiological investigations were carried out for confirmed cases. Infection rates were compared across student categories by χ² tests, while factors influencing infection were analysed through multivariate logistic regression. ResultsA total of 36 214 students completed tuberculosis screening, with an infection rate of 0.72% (260/36 214). The tuberculosis infection rates among fourth-grade primary school students, non boarding grade 7 students, boarding grade 7 students, grade 10 students of senior high school and of vocational high school were 0.68% (89/13 139), 0.75% (86/11 501), 0.51% (13/2 553), 0.76% (52/6 819), and 0.91% (20/2 202), respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that students with a history of close contact with tuberculosis patients (OR=21.435, P<0.001) had a higher risk of tuberculosis infection, students with a geographic origin outside Zhejiang Province (OR=1.485, P=0.002) had a higher risk of infection than those within Zhejiang Province. Furthermore, students from ethnic minority classes (OR=4.232, P<0.001) might be high-risk groups for tuberculosis infection in high school settings. One IGRA-positive student was confirmed as bacteriologically positive pulmonary tuberculosis by liquid culture of sputum collected one month later. ConclusionSchools should prioritize tuberculosis screening. Students with a history of close contact, those with a geographic origin outside Zhejiang Province, and those enrolled in minority classes should be taken as priority targets for future tuberculosis screening programmes. A tracking and follow-up system must be established for IGRA-positive students to prevent persistent transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis within the school settings.

OBJECTIVE To investigate effects of children with allergic rhinitis on physical and mental condition of their family caregivers.METHODS The family caregivers of 149 children with allergic rhinitis were enrolled,and fatigue,anxiety and depression scales were investigated and risk factors were analyzed through questionnaires.RESULTS The symptoms of fatigue,anxiety and depression in family caregivers were more frequent in family caregivers whose children had more severe symptoms of allergic rhinitis(r=0.426,P=0.000;r=0.479,P=0.000;r=0.358,P=0.000).Family caregivers with children aged＜3 years or with other allergic diseases combined had higher levels of fatigue(P=0.000,P=0.000),anxiety(P=0.000,P=0.000)and depression(P=0.003,P=0.001),while the family caregivers of children with perennial/persistent symptoms had higher levels of depression(P=0.021).The degree of fatigue,anxiety and depression in females was significantly higher than that in males(P=0.032,P=0.018,P=0.021).CONCLUSION Children with allergic rhinitis in children had significant impact on the fatigue,anxiety and depression of their family caregivers.The symptoms of fatigue,anxiety and depression were related to age of children,characteristics of disease,whether they were combined with other allergic diseases,and gender and education level of the family caregivers.

Diabetic kidney disease(DKD)is a severe complication of diabetes.Its incidence increases annually,posing a significant burden on public health.The strategy of symptomatic treatment based on pathogenesis differentiation,focusing on identifying pathogenesis,is particularly meaningful for managing complex and variable chronic diseases like DKD.Within this framework,the state of latent heat persists throughout DKD,with"latent heat causing accumulation"identified as the core pathogenesis affecting and promoting the development and progression of DKD.This paper is centered on the concept of"latent heat causing accumulation"and adopts symptomatic treatment based on pathogenesis differentiation as its guiding principle to explore the role of latent heat in DKD.It highlights that the onset of DKD involves environmental and constitutional pathogenesis associated with"the concealment of latent heat"and"stagnant-heat invading collaterals"as the initial pathogenesis,"latent heat causing accumulation"as the core mechanism,and"secondary turbid heat"as the derivative pathogenesis.These pathogenesis factors collectively influence the symptoms,sequelae,and prognosis of DKD.Moreover,this paper provides commonly used prescriptions for different stages,syndrome types,and complications of the disease,aiming to offer a reference for clinical practice in flexibly addressing changes in disease conditions based on varied pathogenesis.

Liver failure(LF) is a rapidly progressing critical illness with a high mortality rate in clinical practices.Artificial liver therapy has been a major cure for LF.However, for LF infants and toddlers, therapeutic options for artificial liver have remained limited due to a great lack of weight-matched blood purification supplies.In recent years, our center has applied double plasma molecular adsorption plus plasmapheresis for managing LF children during perioperative period of liver transplantation.Treatment is smooth with an excellent efficacy of removing toxins.Here our institutional experiences were summarzied.

Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; Placenta ; Nuclear Transfer Techniques ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Cell Nucleus

Objective:To investigate the application value of standardized outcomes in nephrology hemodialysis (SONG-HD) scale in evaluating the fatigue level of patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients and the factors that affect fatigue.Methods:A total of 201 patients undergoing regular MHD who received treatment in the Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University in April 2021 were included in April, 2021. The SONG-HD scale was used to evaluate patient's fatigue level. Fatigue was assessed using face-to-face interview questionnaire. Clinical and laboratory indicators were analyzed. Univariate logistic regression analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to analyze the factors that affect fatigue of patients undergoing MHD.Results:Among the 201 MHD patients, 73.1% (147/201) had fatigue. The high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and parathyroid hormone levels in patients with fatigue were 0.91 (0.30, 3.63) mg/L and 216.00 (141.00, 347.00) ng/L, respectively, which were significantly higher than 0.40 (0.30, 2.01) mg/L and 153.00 (96.73, 308.50) ng/L in patients who had no fatigue ( Z = 2.12, 2.17, both P < 0.05). The pre-dialysis carbon dioxide binding capacity and blood albumin levels in patients who had fatigue were (21.03 ± 2.65) mmol/L and (36.76 ± 3.20) g/L, respectively, which were significantly lower than (22.68 ± 3.01) mmol/L and (38.61 ± 2.85) g/L in patients who had no fatigue ( t = 3.77, 3.73, both P < 0.05). Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, pre-dialysis carbon dioxide binding capacity, serum albumin level, and parathyroid hormone level were related to the occurrence of fatigue in patients undergoing MHD ( Wald = 4.32, 12.39, 12.23, 4.66, all P < 0.05). Additionally, in a multivariate model adjusted for confounding factors, the independent risk factors for fatigue in patients undergoing MHD were relatively low pre-dialysis carbon dioxide binding capacity and serum albumin level ( Wald = 12.41, 11.67, both P < 0.05). Conclusion:The incidence of fatigue is high in patients undergoing MHD. The SONG-HD scale is convenient to use in assessing the fatigue level of patients undergoing MHD. After adjusting for confounding factors, fatigue in patients undergoing MHD is associated with reduced levels of pre-dialysis carbon dioxide binding capacity and serum albumin.

Objective:To correlate peripheral blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio with the occurrence of restless legs syndrome (RLS) in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD).Methods:This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 203 patients who underwent long-term MHD at the Blood Purification Center, Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University from May to June 2021 were included in this study. The counts of peripheral blood neutrophils and lymphocytes were determined and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio was calculated. These patients were divided into a RLS group and a non-RLS group according to whether they developed RLS. RLS-related factors were evaluated using face-to-face interview questionnaires. Various clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed. The influential factors of RLS in patients undergoing MHD were analyzed through univariate regression analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis.Results:A total of 203 patients undergoing MHD were enrolled, 30 individuals were determined as current RLS cases (14.78%). The levels of NLR and PTH in the RLS group were 4.86 (3.39, 5.82) L/L and 244.50 (143.25, 406.50) ng/L, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the normal group [3.51 (2.60, 5.24) L/L, 147.00 (94.80, 263.50) ng/L, Z = -3.38, -2.64, both P < 0.05]. Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that NLR, PTH, uric acid, and neutrophil count were correlated with RLS (Wald χ2 = 7.96, 4.99, 4.76, 8.33, all P < 0.05). NLR was the independent risk factor of RLS (Wald χ2 = 6.14, P < 0.05) in multivariate models adjusting for confounding factor. Conclusion:The prevalence of RLS is high in patients undergoing MHD. RLS is assicuated with NLR among patients undergoing MHD after adjusting for confounding factor. RLS is likely associated with systemic inflammatory diseases.

Humans ; Critical Illness ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Surveys and Questionnaires