Background::Hepatitis B poses a heavy burden for children in China, however, the national studies on the distributional characteristics and health care costs of children with severe hepatitis B is still lacking. This study aimed to analyze the disease characteristics, health economic effects, and medical cost for children with severe hepatitis B in China.Methods::Based on patient information in the Hospital Quality Monitoring System, cases with severe hepatitis B were divided into four groups according to age, and the etiology and symptoms of each group were quantified. The cost of hospitalization was calculated for cases with different disease processes, and severity of disease. The spatial aggregation of cases and the relationship with health economic factors were analyzed by Moran’s I analysis. Results::The total number of children discharged with hepatitis B from January 2016 to April 2022 was 1603, with an average age of 10.5 years. Liver failure cases accounted for 43.48% (697/1603) of total cases and cirrhosis cases accounted for 11.23% (180/1603). According to the grouping of disease progression, there were 1292 cases without associated complications, and the median hospitalization cost was $818.12. According to the spatial analysis, the aggregation of cases was statistically significant at the prefectural and provincial levels in 2019, 2020, and 2021 (all P <0.05). The number of severe cases was negatively correlated with gross domestic product (Moran’s I <0) and percentage of urban population (Moran’s I <0), and positively correlated with the number of pediatric beds per million population (Moran’s I >0). Conclusion::The number of severe hepatitis B cases is low in areas with high gross domestic product levels and high urban population ratios, and health care costs have been declining over the years.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a global public health concern characterized by repeated upper airway collapse during sleep. Research indicates that OSA is a risk factor for the development of various diseases, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, respiratory diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Exosomes, extracellular vesicles released by most cell types, play a key role in intercellular communication by transporting their contents-such as microRNA, messenger RNA, DNA, proteins, and lipids-to target cells. Intermittent hypoxia associated with OSA alters circulating exosomes and promotes a range of cellular structural and functional disturbances involved in the pathogenesis of OSA-related diseases. This review discusses the potential roles of exosomes and exosome-derived molecules in the onset and progression of OSA-associated diseases, explores the possible underlying mechanisms, and highlights novel strategies for developing exosome-based therapies for these conditions.
Humans ; Exosomes/physiology* ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive/metabolism* ; Animals ; MicroRNAs/metabolism*

Background::Hepatitis B poses a heavy burden for children in China, however, the national studies on the distributional characteristics and health care costs of children with severe hepatitis B is still lacking. This study aimed to analyze the disease characteristics, health economic effects, and medical cost for children with severe hepatitis B in China.Methods::Based on patient information in the Hospital Quality Monitoring System, cases with severe hepatitis B were divided into four groups according to age, and the etiology and symptoms of each group were quantified. The cost of hospitalization was calculated for cases with different disease processes, and severity of disease. The spatial aggregation of cases and the relationship with health economic factors were analyzed by Moran’s I analysis. Results::The total number of children discharged with hepatitis B from January 2016 to April 2022 was 1603, with an average age of 10.5 years. Liver failure cases accounted for 43.48% (697/1603) of total cases and cirrhosis cases accounted for 11.23% (180/1603). According to the grouping of disease progression, there were 1292 cases without associated complications, and the median hospitalization cost was $818.12. According to the spatial analysis, the aggregation of cases was statistically significant at the prefectural and provincial levels in 2019, 2020, and 2021 (all P <0.05). The number of severe cases was negatively correlated with gross domestic product (Moran’s I <0) and percentage of urban population (Moran’s I <0), and positively correlated with the number of pediatric beds per million population (Moran’s I >0). Conclusion::The number of severe hepatitis B cases is low in areas with high gross domestic product levels and high urban population ratios, and health care costs have been declining over the years.

In order to achieve the purpose of rapid detection of duck astrovirus type 1(DAstV-1),specific primers were designed based on the conservative region of ORF1a which belonged to DAstV-1(WF1202 strain).A real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR(qPCR)detective method for DAstV-1 was established.Clinical samples were detected by the qPCR method and the positive samples were used for virus isolation and identification.Results showed that the detection limit of the established method was 4.64×103 copies/μL,which was 10 times higher than the normal RT-PCR method.In addition,no cross-reactions were found with other common infectious disease pathogens in poultry,indicating that the qPCR method had good specificity.What's more,the coef-ficient of variations(Cv)in intra-and inter-assays were 0.85％-2.85％and 0.21％-2.94％,re-spectively,both less than 3％,indicating that the qPCR method had a good repeatability.Using this method,35 tissue samples from different duck farms in 10 provinces from 2020 to 2022 were detected for DAstV-1.Results showed that the positive rate was 25.71％(9/35),and the coinci-dence rate was 94.29％when compared with the normal RT-PCR method.A positive sample ran-domly taken for the virus isolation through duck embryo passage,and the allantoic fluid was col-lected and then was verified by the qPCR method and inoculated with 1-day-old healthy ducklings for the animal regression experiment.The infected ducklings suffered from transient disease but did not die.The liver tissues were all positive with DAstV-1 when detected by qPCR.Meanwhile,autopsy showed that there were slight changes in the livers,and the histopathological observation showed that the liver cells were steatosis.These findings indicated that the isolated DAstV-1 strain had weak pathogenicity and might be a low virulent strain.To sum up,the qPCR detection method of DAstV-1 was successfully established in this work,and could provide technical support for clini-cal diagnosis,isolation and identification,and molecular epidemiology monitoring of DAstV-1.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is a disease with a high incidence rate in Yunnan province, yet there is a paucity of large-scale studies on its clinical epidemiology. This research aims to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of patients who underwent lung cancer surgery at Yunnan Cancer Hospital over the past decade, thereby providing a theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of lung cancer. METHODS: Clinical data were collected from 15,967 patients who underwent lung cancer surgery at Yunnan Cancer Hospital between 2013 and 2022. A statistical analysis was conducted on the patients' general data, surgical information, pathological types of lung cancer, and other clinical epidemiological characteristics. RESULTS: Among the 15,967 cases of lung cancer, 46.3% were male and 53.7% were female, with the male-to-female ratio ranging from 0.68 to 1.61:1. The median age was 56 years (interquartile range: 49-63), and 37.0% of the patients were in the age group of 50-59 years. Since 2017, there has been an annual increase in the proportion of patients under the age of 60 years. The smoking status of the patients showed that 28.1% were smokers and 71.9% were non-smokers. Qujing city accounted for 41.4% and Kunming city for 23.2% of the cases in Yunnan province, with 29.6% of patients originating from Xuanwei and Fuyuan areas of Qujing city. The distribution of affected lung lobes was as follows: right upper lobe 28.2%, right middle lobe 6.3%, right lower lobe 20.1%, left upper lobe 22.7%, and left lower lobe 16.4%. The use of thoracoscopic surgery increased from 30.8% to 96.3%, with single-port thoracoscopic surgery comprising 61.3%. Lobectomy was performed in 64.2% of cases, wedge resection in 17.2%, and segmentectomy in 12.2%. The proportion of lobectomy decreased from 83.1% to 46.1%. The proportion of patients in stages 0-I increased from 43.5% to 82.8%, while stages II-IV decreased from 56.5% to 17.2%. Adenocarcinoma increased from 75.6% to 88.3%, and squamous cell carcinoma decreased from 21.5% to 8.6%. Among adenocarcinoma patients, 60.9% were female. Among sguamous cell carcinoma patients, 90.6% were male. The peak age for adenocarcinoma was 50-59 years, and for squamous cell carcinoma, it was 60-69 years. The smoking rate was higher among squamous cell carcinoma patients (65.9%) compared to adenocarcinoma patients (22.3%). Adenocarcinoma patients had a higher proportion in stages 0-I (76.3%), while squamous cell carcinoma patients were more prevalent in stages II-III (64.1%). CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate an increasing proportion of female patients with adenocarcinoma, a younger age of onset, a higher proportion of non-smoking lung cancer patients, and an increased proportion of stages 0-I lung cancer. These trends may reflect the epidemiological characteristics of patients undergoing lung cancer surgery in Yunnan and surrounding areas over the past decade.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Middle Aged ; China/epidemiology* ; Aged ; Adult ; Aged, 80 and over

Objective To investigate the effect of Porphyromonas gingivalis(Pg)infection on immune escape of oesophageal cancer cells and the role of YTHDF2 and Fas in this regulatory mechanism.Methods We examined YTHDF2 and Fas protein expressions in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)tissues with and without Pg infection using immunohistochemistry and in Pg-infected KYSE150 cells using Western blotting.The interaction between YTHDF2 and Fas was investigated by co-immunoprecipitation(Co-IP).Pg-infected KYSE150 cells with lentivirus-mediated YTHDF2 knockdown were examined for changes in expression levels of YTHDF2,cathepsin B(CTSB),Fas and FasL proteins,and the effect of E64(a cathepsin inhibitor)on these proteins were observed.After Pg infection and E64 treatment,KYSE150 cells were co-cultured with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs),and the expressions of T cell-related effector molecules were detected by flow cytometry.Results ESCC tissues and cells with Pg infection showed significantly increased YTHDF2 expression and lowered Fas expression.The results of Co-IP demonstrated a direct interaction between YTHDF2 and Fas.In Pg-infected KYSE150 cells with YTHDF2 knockdown,the expression of CTSB was significantly reduced while Fas and FasL expressions were significantly increased.E64 treatment of KYSE150 cells significantly decreased the expression of CTSB without affecting YTHDF2 expression and obviously increased Fas and FasL expressions.Flow cytometry showed that in Pg-infected KYSE150 cells co-cultured with PBMCs,the expressions of Granzyme B and Ki67 were significantly decreased while PD-1 expression was significantly enhanced.Conclusion Pg infection YTHDF2-dependently regulates the expression of Fas to facilitate immune escape of esophageal cancer and thus promoting cancer progression,suggesting the key role of YTHDF2 in regulating immune escape of esophageal cancer.

Objective To investigate the association between four single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNP)(rs9340 in MAPK1,rs14804 in NRAS,rs712 and rs7973450 in KRAS)in the 3'UTR of ERK1/2 signaling pathway-related genes and non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods A total of 478 NSCLC patients and 480 healthy controls were enrolled in this study.Four SNPs were genotyped by using TaqMan assays.The association between the four SNPs and NSCLC was analyzed.Results The distribution frequency difference of the allele of rs9340 was statistically significant between the control group and the non-small cell squamous cell carcinoma(SCC)group(P = 0.009),suggesting that the G allele of rs9340 may be a protective factor for non-small cell lung squamous cell carcinoma(OR = 0.67,95%CI:0.50～0.91).In addition,in the<50 years age group,the distribution frequency difference of the allele of rs9340 was statistically significant between the control group and the NSCLC group(P = 5.07×10-4),indicating that the G allele of rs9340 may be a protective factor for NSCLC(OR = 0.46,95%CI:0.29～0.72).Conclusion The SNP rs9340 in MAPK1 may be associated with the risk of NSCLC.

Objective To investigate the effect of Porphyromonas gingivalis(Pg)infection on immune escape of oesophageal cancer cells and the role of YTHDF2 and Fas in this regulatory mechanism.Methods We examined YTHDF2 and Fas protein expressions in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)tissues with and without Pg infection using immunohistochemistry and in Pg-infected KYSE150 cells using Western blotting.The interaction between YTHDF2 and Fas was investigated by co-immunoprecipitation(Co-IP).Pg-infected KYSE150 cells with lentivirus-mediated YTHDF2 knockdown were examined for changes in expression levels of YTHDF2,cathepsin B(CTSB),Fas and FasL proteins,and the effect of E64(a cathepsin inhibitor)on these proteins were observed.After Pg infection and E64 treatment,KYSE150 cells were co-cultured with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs),and the expressions of T cell-related effector molecules were detected by flow cytometry.Results ESCC tissues and cells with Pg infection showed significantly increased YTHDF2 expression and lowered Fas expression.The results of Co-IP demonstrated a direct interaction between YTHDF2 and Fas.In Pg-infected KYSE150 cells with YTHDF2 knockdown,the expression of CTSB was significantly reduced while Fas and FasL expressions were significantly increased.E64 treatment of KYSE150 cells significantly decreased the expression of CTSB without affecting YTHDF2 expression and obviously increased Fas and FasL expressions.Flow cytometry showed that in Pg-infected KYSE150 cells co-cultured with PBMCs,the expressions of Granzyme B and Ki67 were significantly decreased while PD-1 expression was significantly enhanced.Conclusion Pg infection YTHDF2-dependently regulates the expression of Fas to facilitate immune escape of esophageal cancer and thus promoting cancer progression,suggesting the key role of YTHDF2 in regulating immune escape of esophageal cancer.

Objective:This study aimed to analyze the test results and changing trend of specific IgE (sIgE) for common allergens in children in the hospital from 2019 to 2023, so as to provide a basis for the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases in children.Methods:The test results of children who were admitted to Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University and underwent serum allergen sIgE quantitative detection (Immuno CAP system) from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2023 were retrospectively included. According to the allergen type, the allergens were divided into food allergens and inhaled allergens (dust mite group, mold group, animal dander group and pollen group). The trends in sIgE positive rates across different years, age-related differences, and monthly distribution characteristics were analyzed.Results:A total of 44 633 allergen sIgE quantitative test results were included in the study. Among them, 23 024 samples were tested for food allergen sIgE and 21 609 samples were tested for inhaled allergen sIgE. The positive rates of food allergens (egg white, milk, wheat, peanut, soybean, shrimp) sIgE increased year by year, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=97.3, 78.9, 95.6, 122.4, 84.7, 24.5, P<0.001). The positive rate of inhaled allergen sIgE also increased year by year, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=36.2, 326.2, 432.2, 973.2, P<0.001). There were significant differences in the sensitization patterns of food and inhaled allergens among different age groups. The most common food allergen was egg white in infant group (<1 year old) (23.0%), milk in young children group (1-2 years old) (40.7%), and egg white in preschool group (3-6 years old) (28.8%). Peanut was the most common allergen in school-age group (7-12 years old) and adolescent group (13-18 years old) (16.9% and 14.1%, respectively). Among the inhaled allergens, animal dander (3.6%) was the most common allergen in the infant group (<1 year old), and mold (15.3%) was the most common allergen in the young child group (1-2 years old). The most common allergens in preschool group (3-6 years old), school-age group (7-12 years old) and adolescent group (13-18 years old) were pollen (39.7%, 53.0%, 53.5%). There were significant differences in the positive rates of inhaled allergens (dust mite, mold, animal dander, pollen) sIgE in the 12 months of 2023 ( χ2=26.9, 26.7, 56.7, 55.5, P=0.005, 0.005,<0.001,<0.001). The positive rate of pollen sIgE was the highest, with peaks in April (54.8%) and September (60.5%). The positive rate of sIgE for molds peaks in June (46.4%). Conclusion:The trends in sIgE levels among children visiting Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University, from 2019 to 2023, suggests to a certain extent that the prevalence of allergic diseases among children in Beijing City is increasing annually. There were significant age differences in sIgE sensitization patterns among children of different ages, and the distribution of sIgE positive rates for inhaled allergens was also different in different months. In clinical practice, the allergen test report is interpreted comprehensively according to the patient′s medical history, age, visit month and other factors.