Objective:To investigate the association between blood selenium levels and sex hormones in Chinese men aged 18-79 years.Methods:Data were derived from the China National Human Biomonitoring survey conducted in 2017-2018, with a final sample size of 5 414 men. General demographic characteristics, behavioral habits, and dietary frequency were collected through questionnaires and physical examinations. Fasting blood samples were collected to measure blood lead, serum testosterone, and estradiol levels. Complex sampling linear regression models were used to analyze the associations between blood selenium levels and testosterone, estradiol, and the testosterone/estradiol ratio, adjusting for confounding factors including age, education level, marital status, smoking status, alcohol consumption, seafood intake, soy product intake, protein supplement intake, BMI, and diabetes status.Results:The mean age of the 5 414 participants was (46.85±27.91) years; 4 774 (91.65%) were of Han ethnicity and 4 505 (86.68%) were married. The median ( Q1, Q3) blood selenium concentration in men was 97.80 (80.64, 116.99) μg/L. After adjusting for confounding factors, the complex sampling linear regression model revealed negative associations between blood selenium levels and both testosterone levels and the testosterone/estradiol ratio, with a significant linear trend ( Ptrend<0.05). Compared with the Q1 group, the β (95% CI) values for testosterone in the Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups were -0.02 (-0.06 to 0.02), -0.03 (-0.08 to 0.01), and -0.06 (-0.09 to -0.02), respectively. Similarly, the β (95% CI) values for the testosterone/estradiol ratio in the Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups were -0.01 (-0.03 to 0.02), -0.01 (-0.04 to 0.04), and -0.03 (-0.06 to -0.01), respectively. Subgroup analysis indicated stronger associations between blood selenium levels and testosterone/estradiol levels in non-smoking and obese men (BMI≥28 kg/m2). Conclusion:Blood selenium levels are negatively associated with testosterone levels and the testosterone/estradiol ratio in Chinese adult males.

Objective:To explore the association of blood and urinary cadmium levels with lipid profile levels and dyslipidemia in Chinese adults aged 18 to 79 years.Methods:Based on the China National Human Biomonitoring (CNHBM) program, a cross-sectional survey was conducted from 2017 to 2018 using a multi-stage stratified random sampling method, including a total of 10 713 adults aged 18 to 79 years. Data was obtained through questionnaires, physical examinations, biological sample collection, and laboratory testing. Multiple linear mixed effect model (MLMM) and generalized linear mixed effect model (GLMM) were used to analyze the association of blood and creatinine-corrected urinary cadmium levels with lipid profile levels as well as dyslipidemia among adults.Results:The age of 10 713 participants was (47.23±0.24) years, with 5 372 males accounting for 61.3% of the national population. The weighted mean±standard error (SE) of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was (5.21±0.03), (1.86±0.03), (2.96±0.03), and (1.43±0.01) mmol/L, respectively. The prevalence rate of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, mixed hyperlipidemia, low HDL-C, and high LDL-C was 16.0%, 21.6%, 6.6%, 13.5%, and 10.0%, respectively. MLMM showed that, after adjusting for relevant confounders, log-transformed blood cadmium levels were positively associated with increased levels of TC, TG and LDL-C ( P<0.05). When blood cadmium levels were categorized into quartiles, compared to the lowest exposure group ( Q1), participants in the highest blood cadmium exposure group ( Q4) had increases of 0.19 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.32) mmol/L in TC and 0.25 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.43) mmol/L in TG. GLMM indicated that, after adjusting for confounders, higher blood cadmium exposure levels were associated with increased risks of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, mixed hyperlipidemia, and high LDL-C ( P<0.05). Further analysis by quartiles showed that, compared to the blood cadmium Q1 exposure group, the OR value (95% CI) for the Q4 group was 1.53 (1.12, 2.08) for hypercholesterolemia, 1.54 (1.09, 2.17) for hypertriglyceridemia, 2.24 (1.47, 3.40) for mixed hyperlipidemia, and 1.49 (1.07, 2.09) for high LDL-C. Conclusion:The cadmium internal exposure levels are associated with blood lipid profile levels as well as the incidence of dyslipidemia in Chinese adults aged 18 to 79.

ObjectiveTo investigate the expression level of HBV cccDNA in patients in the convalescence stage of hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure （HBV-ACLF） and its correlation with HBV markers and liver histopathological changes. MethodsA total of 30 patients in the convalescence stage of HBV-ACL who were hospitalized in The Ninth Hospital of Nanchang from January 2015 to October 2023 were enrolled as liver failure group， and 9 patients with chronic hepatitis B （CHB）， matched for sex and age， were enrolled as control group. The content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue was measured， and its correlation with clinical data and laboratory markers was analyzed. The independent-samples t test or the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups， and a one-way analysis of variance or the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups； the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. A Spearman correlation analysis was performed. ResultsThe liver failure group had a significantly lower content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue than the control group （-0.92±0.70 log₁₀ copies/cell vs -0.13±0.91 log₁₀ copies/cell， t=2.761， P=0.009）. In the liver failure group， there was no significant difference in the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue between the HBeAg-positive patients and the HBeAg-negative patients （P>0.05）； there was no significant difference in the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue between the patients with different grades （G0-G2， G3， and G4） of liver inflammatory activity （P>0.05）； there was no significant difference in the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue between the patients with different stages （S0-S2， S3， and S4） of liver fibrosis （P>0.05）； there was no significant difference in the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue between the patients with negative HBV DNA and those with positive HBV DNA （P>0.05）. For the liver failure group， the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue was positively correlated with the content of HBV DNA in liver tissue （r=0.426， P=0.043） and was not significantly correlated with the content of HBV DNA in serum （P>0.05）. ConclusionThere is a significant reduction in the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue in the convalescence stage of HBV-ACLF. HBV cccDNA exists continuously and stably in liver tissue and can better reflect the persistent infection and replication of HBV than HBV DNA in serum and liver tissue.

Objective:To investigate the association between blood selenium levels and sex hormones in Chinese men aged 18-79 years.Methods:Data were derived from the China National Human Biomonitoring survey conducted in 2017-2018, with a final sample size of 5 414 men. General demographic characteristics, behavioral habits, and dietary frequency were collected through questionnaires and physical examinations. Fasting blood samples were collected to measure blood lead, serum testosterone, and estradiol levels. Complex sampling linear regression models were used to analyze the associations between blood selenium levels and testosterone, estradiol, and the testosterone/estradiol ratio, adjusting for confounding factors including age, education level, marital status, smoking status, alcohol consumption, seafood intake, soy product intake, protein supplement intake, BMI, and diabetes status.Results:The mean age of the 5 414 participants was (46.85±27.91) years; 4 774 (91.65%) were of Han ethnicity and 4 505 (86.68%) were married. The median ( Q1, Q3) blood selenium concentration in men was 97.80 (80.64, 116.99) μg/L. After adjusting for confounding factors, the complex sampling linear regression model revealed negative associations between blood selenium levels and both testosterone levels and the testosterone/estradiol ratio, with a significant linear trend ( Ptrend<0.05). Compared with the Q1 group, the β (95% CI) values for testosterone in the Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups were -0.02 (-0.06 to 0.02), -0.03 (-0.08 to 0.01), and -0.06 (-0.09 to -0.02), respectively. Similarly, the β (95% CI) values for the testosterone/estradiol ratio in the Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups were -0.01 (-0.03 to 0.02), -0.01 (-0.04 to 0.04), and -0.03 (-0.06 to -0.01), respectively. Subgroup analysis indicated stronger associations between blood selenium levels and testosterone/estradiol levels in non-smoking and obese men (BMI≥28 kg/m2). Conclusion:Blood selenium levels are negatively associated with testosterone levels and the testosterone/estradiol ratio in Chinese adult males.

Objective:To explore the association of blood and urinary cadmium levels with lipid profile levels and dyslipidemia in Chinese adults aged 18 to 79 years.Methods:Based on the China National Human Biomonitoring (CNHBM) program, a cross-sectional survey was conducted from 2017 to 2018 using a multi-stage stratified random sampling method, including a total of 10 713 adults aged 18 to 79 years. Data was obtained through questionnaires, physical examinations, biological sample collection, and laboratory testing. Multiple linear mixed effect model (MLMM) and generalized linear mixed effect model (GLMM) were used to analyze the association of blood and creatinine-corrected urinary cadmium levels with lipid profile levels as well as dyslipidemia among adults.Results:The age of 10 713 participants was (47.23±0.24) years, with 5 372 males accounting for 61.3% of the national population. The weighted mean±standard error (SE) of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was (5.21±0.03), (1.86±0.03), (2.96±0.03), and (1.43±0.01) mmol/L, respectively. The prevalence rate of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, mixed hyperlipidemia, low HDL-C, and high LDL-C was 16.0%, 21.6%, 6.6%, 13.5%, and 10.0%, respectively. MLMM showed that, after adjusting for relevant confounders, log-transformed blood cadmium levels were positively associated with increased levels of TC, TG and LDL-C ( P<0.05). When blood cadmium levels were categorized into quartiles, compared to the lowest exposure group ( Q1), participants in the highest blood cadmium exposure group ( Q4) had increases of 0.19 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.32) mmol/L in TC and 0.25 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.43) mmol/L in TG. GLMM indicated that, after adjusting for confounders, higher blood cadmium exposure levels were associated with increased risks of hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, mixed hyperlipidemia, and high LDL-C ( P<0.05). Further analysis by quartiles showed that, compared to the blood cadmium Q1 exposure group, the OR value (95% CI) for the Q4 group was 1.53 (1.12, 2.08) for hypercholesterolemia, 1.54 (1.09, 2.17) for hypertriglyceridemia, 2.24 (1.47, 3.40) for mixed hyperlipidemia, and 1.49 (1.07, 2.09) for high LDL-C. Conclusion:The cadmium internal exposure levels are associated with blood lipid profile levels as well as the incidence of dyslipidemia in Chinese adults aged 18 to 79.

Aiming at the problems of missing important features, inconspicuous details and unclear textures in the fusion of multimodal medical images, this paper proposes a method of computed tomography (CT) image and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image fusion using generative adversarial network (GAN) and convolutional neural network (CNN) under image enhancement. The generator aimed at high-frequency feature images and used double discriminators to target the fusion images after inverse transform; Then high-frequency feature images were fused by trained GAN model, and low-frequency feature images were fused by CNN pre-training model based on transfer learning. Experimental results showed that, compared with the current advanced fusion algorithm, the proposed method had more abundant texture details and clearer contour edge information in subjective representation. In the evaluation of objective indicators, Q ^AB/F, information entropy (IE), spatial frequency (SF), structural similarity (SSIM), mutual information (MI) and visual information fidelity for fusion (VIFF) were 2.0%, 6.3%, 7.0%, 5.5%, 9.0% and 3.3% higher than the best test results, respectively. The fused image can be effectively applied to medical diagnosis to further improve the diagnostic efficiency.
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Algorithms

The chemical constituents of solid rice culture of the endophytic fungus Aspergillus sp.Dq-25 from barnacle were isolated and purified by silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, C18 reversed silica gel column chromatography and recrystallization.Their structures were identified by the physical and chemical properties, and by various spectroscopic methods.Six compounds were isolated and identified as: demethyldihydropenicillic acid (1), dihydropenicillic acid (2), penicillic acid (3), fortisterol (4), 22E, 24R-3P, 5a-dihydroxyerogosta-7, 22-diene-6-one (5), and (22E, 24R)-ergosterol-7, 22-diene-3β, 5α, 9α-triol-6-one (6).Compound 1 was a new butyrolactone.MTT method was used to analyze cytotoxicity, and the result showed that compound 3 exhibited inhibitory activity on five cell lines, including K562, HeLa, SGC-7901, A542 and BEL-7402, with IC50 values of 38.0 ~ 105.0 μmol/L.

Objective:To investigate the effects of urinary nickel exposure on insulin resistance, islet function and diabetes risk in adults aged 18 years and above in China.Methods:Based on the China National Human Biomonitoring from 2017 to 2018, a total of 500 diabetes patients were randomly selected as the case group, and the matched euglycemic control were selected by 1∶1 matching ratio. The urinary and venous blood samples of the subjects were collected, and the urinary nickel levels and serum glucose metabolism indexes such as fasting blood glucose and fasting insulin were detected, and the insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), β cell function index (HOMA-β), and adjusted HOMA-β were calculated by using homeostasis model assessment. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between urinary nickel level and diabetes risk. Multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate the association of urinary nickel level with HOMA-IR, HOMA-β and adjusted HOMA-β.Results:The sex ratio of controls and cases was 1∶1. The multivariate logistic regression model showed that after adjusting for factors such as education level, smoking status, alcohol consumption, rice and meat intakes, family history of diabetes, BMI, total cholesterol level, hypertension, and urinary creatinine, compared with T1 group, the ORs of diabetes risk in the T2 and T3 groups were 1.36 (95% CI: 0.98-1.89) and 1.60 (95% CI: 1.14-2.24), respectively. The multiple linear regression model showed a positive association between urinary nickel levels and the elevated HOMA-IR, the β value of HOMA-IR in the T3 group was 0.12 (95% CI: 0.01-0.25) compared with the T1 group and each one-unit increase in the log-transformed urinary nickel level (2.71 μg/L) was associated with a 0.06 elevation in HOMA-IR (95% CI: 0.02-0.10). Meanwhile, the urinary nickel levels were negative associated with the adjusted HOMA-β, the β value of adjusted HOMA-β in the T3 group were -0.26 compared with the T1 group (95% CI: -0.41- -0.11), and each one-unit increase in the log-transformed urinary nickel level (2.71 μg/L) was associated with a -0.09 decrease in adjusted HOMA-β(95% CI: -0.14- -0.04). Conclusion:Higher urinary nickel level is positively correlated with elevated insulin resistance and diabetes risk while negatively correlated with the function of pancreatic islet β cells in adults in China.

Objective:To observe any effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the speed and accuracy of picture naming and on the phonological fluency of aphasic stroke survivors.Methods:Twenty-four stroke survivors with aphasia were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, each of 12. In addition to language training and picture naming training, the observation group received 20 minutes of tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) daily, 5 days a week for 2 weeks. The control group was given sham stimulation. Before and after the 2 weeks of treatment, both groups were tested for picture naming and phonological fluency.Results:Significant improvement in the number of accurately pronounced high-frequency words and in reaction time was observed in both groups, but the observation group′s average reaction time for high-frequency words was significantly shorter than the control group′s average. The observation group′s average reaction time for low-frequency words had also improved significantly. After the 2 weeks of treatment, the phonological fluency of the observation group was significantly better than before the treatment and better than that of the control group.Conclusions:tDCS applied over the left DLPFC of stroke survivors with aphasia can promote lexical retrieval and strengthen their executive and control functioning.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of transfusion-free techniques on the prognosis of liver transplant patients.Methods:The recipients of adult liver transplantation at Tianjin First Central Hospital from August to December 2019 were included in the clinical observation. Liver transplantation without allogeneic blood transfusion was performed through anesthesia management techniques such as acute hemodilution or phlebotomy without volume replacement,maintaining decreased baseline central venous pressure and cell saver. According to the actual results,the patients were divided into two groups: transfusion-free group( n=21) and allogeneic transfusion group( n=28). There were 13 males and 8 females aged of (56.3±11.6) years in the transfusion-free group;and there were 16 males and 12 females aged (54.3±14.2)years in the allogeneic transfusion group. The transplant recipients who had not adopted transfusion management strategy from January to July 2019 were included as control group(27 males and 13 females,aged of (58.9±14.1)years). The clinical data of patients in perioperative period were collected to compare whether there were differences in the recovery of liver function and early complications among the three groups, one-way ANOVA test, rank-sum test, and χ 2 test were used for data analysis. Results:The amount of intraoperative blood loss in both the transfusion-free group and the transfusion group was less than that in the control group((454.2±271.3)ml vs.(673.6±333.4)ml vs.(890.3±346.7)ml; q=-6.342,-5.286,both P<0.05).The duration of stay in ICU of the transfusion-free group was less than that of the transfusion group and control group((36.4±9.1)hours vs.(44.3±14.9)hours vs.(58.2±21.1)hours; q=-4.432,-3.824,both P<0.05).The mean ALT level at 7 days after operation was significantly lower in the transfusion-free group than in the control group((56.8±32.1)U/L vs.(89.6±45.6)U/L; q=-3.358, P<0.05). Conclusions:The improvement of multi-disciplinary transfusion management technology aimed at transfusion-free liver transplantation can effectively reduce intraoperative hemorrhage and help to avoid surgical transfusion. Transfusion-free liver transplantation is beneficial to the early postoperative recovery,and its long-term clinical significance is worthy of further clinical research.