ObjectiveTo investigate the whole genomic characteristics and phylogenetic relationships of clinical isolates of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) in diarrhea outpatients in Pudong New Area, Shanghai. MethodsBased on the diarrheal disease surveillance network in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, whole-genome sequencing was performed on a total of 55 EAEC strains isolated from fecal samples of the diarrhea outpatients from January 2015 to December 2019. The genome analyses based on raw sequencing data encompassed genome size, coding genes, dispersed repeat sequences, genomic islands, and protein coding regions, and pan-genome analyses were conducted simultaneously. Contigs sequences assays were performed to analyze molecular characteristics including serotypes, antibiotic resistance genes, and virulence factors. The phylogenetic clusters and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were identified, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. ResultsEAEC exhibited an open pan-genome. The predominant serotype of EAEC in diarrhea outpatients in Pudong New Area was O130:H27, and the carriage rate of β-lactam resistance genes was the highest (67.27%, 37/55). A total of 29 virulence factors and 106 virulence genes were identified, phylogenic group B1 was the predominant group, and clonal group CC31 was the dominant clonal group. The strain distribution was highly heterogeneous. ConclusionThe genomic characteristics of EAEC displayed significant strain polymorphism. It is necessary to develop effective strategies for differential diagnosis and improve detection capabilities for infection with EAEC of different serotypes and genotypes.

AIM:To investigate the effects of exercise preconditioning(EP)combined with electroacupunc-ture(EA)on learning and memory ability of rats with vascular dementia(VD),and to explore role of hippocampal ferrop-tosis in this process.METHODS:Seventy-two male SD rats were randomly divided into non-EP group and EP group,with 36 rats in each group.The rats were subjected to EP,and subsequently to establish the VD model.The rats from non-EP group were randomly divided into sham group,model group(VD group)and VD-EA group,each with 12 rats,while those in EP group were randomly divided into EP-sham group,EP-VD group and EP-VD-EA group,each with 12 rats.All rats in EP group underwent 4 weeks of swimming exercise training,5 d per week,30 min per day.At the end of the 4th week,the rats in VD,EP-VD,EP-VD-EA and VD-EA groups were used to induce the VD model,and the rats in sham and EP-sham groups received a sham surgery to simulate the VD model.On the 7th day after successful modeling,the rats in EP-VD-EA and VD-EA groups were treated with EA for 4 weeks,6 d per week,30 min per day.At the end of the inter-vention,the learning and memory ability of the rats was evaluated using Morris water maze.Neuron morphology in the CA1 area of rat hippocampus was observed through Nissl staining.Ferrous ion(Fe2+),malondialdehyde(MDA)and re-duced glutathione(GSH)contents in the rat hippocampal tissues were quantified using the colorimetric assay.The expres-sion levels of ferroptosis-related proteins,nuclear factor E2-related factor 2(Nrf2)and glutathione peroxidase 4(GPX4),in the hippocampal tissues were quantified by Western blot method.RESULTS:Compared with sham group,the rats in VD group exhibited longer mean evasion latency and decreased number of traversals across the plateau(P<0.01).The neurons in the CA1 region of the hippocampus were loose and disorganized,exhibiting an irregular cellular morphology.The hippocampal Fe2+and MDA content was elevated,and the GSH content was reduced(P<0.01).The protein levels of hippocampal Nrf2 and GPX4 were decreased(P<0.01).Compared with VD group,the rats in EP-VD,EP-VD-EA and VD-EA groups showed a shorter average escape latency and an increased number of traversals across the plateau(P<0.05).Neurons in the hippocampal CA1 area were more neatly arranged,showing regular cellular morphology.The hip-pocampal Fe2+and MDA contents of the rats in EP-VD group were significantly reduced(P<0.01),while the GSH content was elevated(P<0.05).Hippocampal Fe2+and MDA contents were significantly reduced and GSH contents were signifi-cantly increased in EP-EA and EA groups(P<0.01).The protein levels of hippocampal Nrf2 and GPX4 in EP-VD,EP-VD-EA and VD-EA groups were significantly increased(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:Exercise preconditioning combined with EA improves learning and memory ability in VD rats by reducing hippocampal intra-neuronal iron overload,maintain-ing organismal redox homeostasis,and inhibiting ferroptosis.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of myocardial work related parameters in coronary ischemia patients with coronary artery disease(CAD)coronary ischemia using non-invasive left ventricular pressure strain loop(PSL),taking fraction flow reservation(FFR)as the gold standard.Methods From December 2020 to December 2021,53 clinically suspected CAD patients were prospectively enrolled.All patients underwent echocardiography,invasive coronary angiography and FFR measurement.According to the results of coronary angiography,patients were divided into myocardial ischemia group(n=24,FFR≤0.80)and non-myocardial ischemia group(n=29,FFR＞0.80).PSL was used for off-line analysis to obtain the global work index(GWI),global constructive work(GCW),global wasted work(GWW),global work efficiency(GWE),global positive work(GPW),and global systolic constructive work(GSCW)and other myocardial work parameters.The differences of parameter values between the two groups were compared.The diagnostic efficacy of work parameters in myocardial ischemia was analyzed by ROC curve.Results Compared with the non-myocardial ischemia group,GWI,GCW,GPW and GSCW were significantly decreased in the myocardial ischemia group at the 18-,16-,and 12-segment levels(P＜0.001).The ROC curve showed that the AUC results of GWI,GCW,GPW,GSCW at the 18-segment level were 0.803(95％CI 0.679-0.927),0.807(95％CI 0.687-0.928),0.822(95％CI 0.708-0.936),0.819(95％CI 0.703-0.935).The optimal cut-off value of GWI was 1 676.3 mmHg％,and the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of predicting myocardial ischemia were 70.8％,86.2％and 79.2％,respectively.The optimal cut-off value of GCW was 1 999.4 mmHg％,and the sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of predicting myocardial ischemia were 75.0％,82.8％and 79.2％,respectively.Conclusions Analyzing myocardial work using PSL has good significance for screening suspected myocardial ischemia in CAD patients.

Alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) is a liver disease characterized by steatosis, inflammation, and necrosis of the liver tissue as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. Pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a xenobiotic nuclear receptor best known for its function in the transcriptional regulation of drug metabolism and disposition. Clinical reports suggested that the antibiotic rifampicin, a potent human PXR activator, is a contraindication in alcoholics, but the mechanism was unclear. In this study, we showed that the hepatic expression of fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) was uniquely elevated in ASH patients and a mouse model of ASH. Pharmacological inhibiting FABP4 attenuated ASH in mice. Furthermore, treatment of mice with the mouse PXR agonist pregnenolon-16α-carbonitrile (PCN) induced the hepatic and circulating levels of FABP4 and exacerbated ASH in a PXR-dependent manner. Our mechanism study established FABP4 as a transcriptional target of PXR. Treatment with andrographolide, a natural compound and dual inhibitor of PXR and FABP4, alleviated mice from ASH. In summary, our results showed that the PXR-FABP4 gene regulatory axis plays an important role in the progression of ASH, which may have accounted for the contraindication of rifampicin in patients of alcoholic liver disease. Pharmacological inhibition of PXR and/or FABP4 may have its promise in the clinical management of ASH.

Feature extraction methods and classifier selection are two critical steps in heart sound classification. To capture the pathological features of heart sound signals, this paper introduces a feature extraction method that combines mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) and power spectral density (PSD). Unlike conventional classifiers, the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was chosen as the classifier for this study. In terms of experimental design, we compared different PSDs across various time intervals and frequency ranges, selecting the characteristics with the most effective classification outcomes. We compared four statistical properties, including mean PSD, standard deviation PSD, variance PSD, and median PSD. Through experimental comparisons, we found that combining the features of median PSD and MFCC with heart sound systolic period of 100-300 Hz yielded the best results. The accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and F1 score were determined to be 96.50%, 99.27%, 93.35%, 99.60%, and 96.35%, respectively. These results demonstrate the algorithm's significant potential for aiding in the diagnosis of congenital heart disease.
Humans ; Heart Sounds ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Algorithms ; Heart Defects, Congenital

Objective Apply modified bilateral carotid artery ligation to establish a VD rat model to observe changes in cerebral blood flow and expression of angiogenic proteins.Methods Thirty-six SD male rats were randomly divided into a sham group(n = 18)and model group(n = 18).In the sham group,only the bilateral carotid artery was isolated without ligation,whereas in the model group,the bilateral carotid artery was ligated to establish the VD model.The Morris water maze behavior test was applied before and 14 days after modeling.Variation in cerebral blood flow was detected by laser speckle contrast imaging.Protein expression of HIF-1α,VEGF,and HO-1 was detected by Western Blot.IL-4 and IL-10 contents were measured by ELISA.Results At 14 days after modeling,escape latency was significantly prolonged and the frequency of crossing the platform had significantly decreased in the model group compared with the sham group(P<0.05).At 2 hours,3 days,and 7 days after modeling,cerebral blood flow in the model group was significantly lower than that in the sham group(P<0.05).At 14 and 21 days after modeling,no significant difference was found in cerebral blood flow between sham and model groups(P>0.05).In the model group,cerebral blood flow was decreased to a minimum at 2 hours after modeling(P<0.05)and then began to recover.The peak of recovery occurred at 3～7 days after modeling and returned to the level before modeling on day 14 after modeling.At postoperative day 21,expression of HIF-1α,VEGF,and HO-1 proteins in the hippocampus of the model group was increased remarkably(P<0.05)and the serum contents of IL-4 and IL-10 in the model group were significantly increased compared with those in the sham group(P<0.05).Conclusions The variation in cerebral blood flow in the VD rat model established by the modified bilateral carotid artery ligation was dependent on time.At postoperative day 21,HIF-1α,VEGF,and HO-1 in the hippocampus were increased significantly,which was accompanied by increased levels of IL-4 and IL-10.

Objective:To screen high-risk population of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to analyze the risk factors in Haicang District of Xiamen City.Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted from February 2023 to May 2023 among residents who visited or underwent physical examinations at five community health service centers in Haicang District of Xiamen City selected by cluster sampling method. The self-designed general information questionnaire, COPD population screening questionnaire (COPD-PS) and COPD screening questionnaires (COPD-SQ) were applied in the survey. Individuals with COPD-PS scale>5 or COPD-SQ scale>16 were defined as COPD high-risk group. The association of COPD risk with gender, age, smoking, family history of COPD, history of tuberculosis, history of COVID-19 infection, and using coal/woodstove for cooking or heating was analyzed with chi-square test and binary logistic regression analysis.Results:A total of 4 260 questionnaires were distributed and 4 221 valid questionnaires were collected with a recovery rate of 99.6%. Among all respondents there were 1 904 males (45.11%) and 2 317 females (54.89%); and 217 individuals aged 40-<50 (5.14%), 434 aged 50-<60 (10.28%), 2 194 aged 60-<70 (51.98%), 1 302 aged 70-<80 (30.85%) and 74 aged≥80 (1.76%). The results showed that there were 269 respondents (6.4%) scored≥5 on the COPD-PS scale, 534 residents (12.7%) scored≥16 on the COPD-SQ scale, 646 (15.3%) scored≥5 on the COPD-PS scale or≥16 on the COPD-SQ scale. Male gender ( OR=2.592, 95% CI:2.135-3.146), second-hand smoke exposure ( OR=3.763, 95% CI:2.944-4.810), frequently catching cold before the age of 14 ( OR=3.804, 95% CI:2.927-4.944), history of tuberculosis ( OR=2.575, 95% CI:1.224-5.418), hypertension ( OR=1.547, 95% CI:1.277-1.875), and diabetes ( OR=1.791, 95% CI:1.027-3.121) were independently associated with the high-risk of COPD, while the history of COVID-19 ( OR=0.583, 95% CI:0.476-0.714) was a protective factor for COPD risk. Conclusion:Males, exposure to second-hand smoke, frequently catching cold before the age of 14, history of tuberculosis, hypertension, and diabetes will increase the risk of COPD, while the history of COVID-19 is a protective factor.