[Objective] To analyze the influencing factors of repeat blood donor lapsing using a zero-inflated poisson regression model (ZIP). [Methods] The blood donation behavior of 12 498 whole blood donors from 2020 was tracked until December 31, 2023. The factors influencing the frequency of blood donations in a given year was analyzed using ZIP, and donors with 0 blood donation in that year were considered to have lapsed. The changes in relevant influencing factors associated with each blood donation were measured and modeled for analysis. [Results] The zero-inflated part of ZIP showed that the risk of lapsing of male blood donors was 2.24 times that of female blood donors (OR 95% CI:1.864-2.696, P<0.001); the risk of lapsing of the 35-44 age group and over 45 age group was respectively 40% (OR 95% CI:0.455-0.790, P<0.001) and 61%(OR 95% CI:0.268-0.578, P<0.001) lower than that of the under 25 age group; the risk of lapsing for those who have donated blood twice and ≥3 times was respectively 50% (OR 95% CI:0.405-0.609, P<0.001) and 81% (OR 95% CI:0.154-0.225, P<0.001) lower than that of first-time donors; the risk of lapsing of those with junior high or high school education was 1.2 times that of those with a college degree or higher (OR 95% CI:1.033-1.384, P<0.05); the risk of lapsing for the divorced group was 2.02 times that of the married group (OR 95% CI:1.445-2.820, P<0.001); the risk of lapsing for those with an income (Yuan) of 10 000 to 50 000, 50 000 to 100 000 and more than 100 000 was respectively 0.67 (OR 95% CI:0.552-0.818, P<0.001), 0.72 (OR 95% CI:0.591-0.884, P=0.002) and 0.67 (OR 95% CI:0.535-0.834, P<0.001) times that of those with an income (Yuan) of less than 10 000. The results of the Poisson part are consistent with the results of the zero-inflated part in terms of age and education level. [Conclusion] Blood donor lapsing is overall related to factors such as gender, age, donation frequency, education, marital status and family income. It's essential to care for those blood donors prone to lapse to retain more regular blood donors.

This study investigated the role of the nuclear factor of activated T cells c3 (NFATc3) in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) during aortic aneurysm and dissection (AAD) progression and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Cytoplasmic and nuclear NFATc3 levels were elevated in human and mouse AAD. VSMC-NFATc3 deletion reduced thoracic AAD (TAAD) and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) progression in mice, contrary to VSMC-NFATc3 overexpression. VSMC-NFATc3 deletion reduced extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and maintained the VSMC contractile phenotype. Nuclear NFATc3 targeted and transcriptionally upregulated matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and MMP2, promoting ECM degradation and AAD development. NFATc3 promoted VSMC phenotypic switching by binding to eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) and inhibiting its phosphorylation in the VSMC cytoplasm. Restoring eEF2 reversed the beneficial effects in VSMC-specific NFATc3-knockout mice. Cabamiquine-targets eEF2 and inhibits protein synthesis-inhibited AAD development and progression in VSMC-NFATc3-overexpressing mice. VSMC-NFATc3 promoted VSMC switch and ECM degradation while exacerbating AAD development, making it a novel potential therapeutic target for preventing and treating AAD.

Objective:To explore the genetic basis for a child with developmental delay and intellectual deficit (DD/ID).Methods:A child who was admitted to the Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Longhua District of Shenzhen City on June 3, 2023 due to DD/ID, craniofacial malformations, and recurrent infections of upper respiratory tract was selected as the study subject. G-banded chromosomal karyotyping was carried out for the child and her parents. Low-depth genome-wide copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) were used to screen for genome-wide copy number variation (CNV), and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to verify the origin of candidate CNV. This study was approved by the Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Longhua District of Shenzhen City(Ethics No. 2023052504). Results:The child, an 8-year-old girl, had featured unexplained growth and intellectual development delay, multiple craniofacial malformations, and recurrent infections of the upper respiratory tract. She was found to have a karyotype of 46, XX, der(6)add(6)(q23), while both of her parents were normal. Both CNV-seq and CMA showed that the child has harbored a 21.38 Mb interstitial duplication at 6p25.3p22.3 and a 0.78 Mb terminal deletion at 6p25. FISH verified that both the duplication and deletion had occurred de novo. Conclusion:The abnormal phenotype of the child may be attributed to the 6p duplication and terminal deletion.

AIM:This study aims to investigate the effects and mechanisms of silent information regulator 6(SIRT6)on carbon tetrachloride(CCl4)-induced liver fibrosis in mice,as well as the expression changes in the down-stream pathways of hepatic stellate cells after SIRT6 silencing.METHODS:Thirty male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a normal control group(n=6)and a model group(modeling at 2,4,8,12 weeks,n=24).A liver fibrosis model in mice was prepared by intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 twice a week for 12 weeks.Serum alanine aminotransfer-ase(ALT)and aspartate aminotransferase(AST)levels were measured to assess liver injury.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)and Masson staining were used to observe the pathological changes in mouse liver tissues.Immunohistochemical staining was conducted to detect the expression of α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA)in the liver,Western blot analysis was used to measure the expression of liver α-SMA,SIRT6,acetyl histone H3 at Lys9(H3K9ac),acetyl histone H3 at Lys56(H3K56ac),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and IL-18 proteins.Hepatic stellate cells-T6(HSC-T6)underwent SIRT6 gene si-lencing,divided into NC siRNA group and SIRT6 siRNA group,with Western blot performed to detect the expression of SIRT6,H3K9ac,and H3K56ac proteins.RESULTS:Compared with the normal control group,the serum ALT and AST levels in the model group were significantly increased(P<0.05);HE and Masson staining results showed that the patho-logical changes in the liver of the model group worsened over time,with an increase in collagen fiber deposition.Both im-munohistochemistry and Western blot showed that the expression of liver α-SMA significantly increased at 8 and 12 weeks in the model group(P<0.05).Western blot results showed that the expression of SIRT6 protein in the liver of all model group mice was lower than that in the normal control group(P<0.05),and decreased gradually with the progression of liv-er fibrosis;also,the expression levels of H3K9ac,H3K56ac,IL-1β,and IL-18 in the liver of the model group mice were significantly elevated at 8 and 12 weeks(P<0.05);after SIRT6 silencing,compared with the NC siRNA group,the levels of H3K9ac and H3K56ac in the SIRT6 siRNA group significantly increased(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:The deficiency of SIRT6,by abnormally increasing H3K9ac and H3K56ac,raises the expression of IL-1β and IL-18,intensifying the in-flammatory response and promoting the progression of liver fibrosis,indicating that the aberrant expression of SIRT6 is in-volved in the development of liver fibrosis.

To explore the value of portable oto-endoscopy system in clinical teaching of otolaryngology residents.

To explore the value of portable oto-endoscopy system in clinical teaching of otolaryngology residents.

Objective:To investigate the self-healing of congenital auricular deformity (CAD) and the efficacy of the auricle corrector in infants.Methods:The infants with CAD who were born in the Affiliated Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital of Nantong University from January to December 2020 were collected. The patients who disagreed with the use of auricle corrector were included in the observation group. The patients were followed up on the day of one month and one year after birth by phone or WeChat, and the self-healing rate (the proportion of the number of ears found to be healed in the total number of affected ears after follow-up) of auricle was calculated. The patients treated with auricle corrector were included in the non-invasive correction group, which was treated with domestic auricle corrector. And according to the initial correction age, the patients were divided into ≤7 d, 8-28 d and >28 d three subgroups. The patients were followed up on the day of one month and one year after treatment by phone or WeChat, and the effective rate(the proportion of healed ears to the total number of affected ears after treatment) was calculated. And statistical analysis was used in the three subgroups of initial correction age ≤7 d, 8-28 d, >28 d. Variance analysis was used for general comparison between three groups, and LSD- t test for the comparison between two groups. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:A total of 43 children (71 ears, 34 left ears and 37 right ears) were included in the observation group, including 21 males and 22 females, (2.1±0.3) days after birth. In the non-invasive correction group, 24 children (41 ears, 20 left ears and 21 right ears) were included, including 8 males and 16 females, (29.1±23.8) days after birth. There were 6 cases (10 ears) in the initial correction age group ≤7 days, 6 cases (9 ears) in the 8-28 days group, and 12 cases (22 ears) in the >28 days group. In the observation group (71 ears), the rates of self-healing on the day of one month and one year after birth were 29/71 and 30/71, respectively, including 23/31 and 24/31 for lop ear, 3/6 for Stahl’s ear, 3/3 for complex deformity, and 0 for other ear deformities. The effective rates were 41/41 and 35/41 one month and one year after treatment in the 24 children (41 ears) in the non-invasive correction group, respectively. Among them, the helical rim deformity was 12/12, lop ear 3/3, cup ear 7/7 and 5/7, Stahl’s ear 4/4, contracted ear 6/6, 5/6, prominent ear 2/2 and 0, the complex deformity 6/6 and 5/6, and microtia(Ⅰ) 1/1. The auricular deformities reoccurred in a total of 4 children (6 ears) 1 year after the end of treatment. According to the initial correction age into three groups, the treatment duration of the auricle corrector was (31.8±11.2) days, (31.3±10.1) days and (41.8±13.8) days, and the difference among the three groups was statistically significant ( F=3.42, P=0.043). There was no statistical significance between the groups ≤7 days and 8-28 days ( P=0.936), but there was statistical significance in the treatment duration between the groups ≤7 days and >28 days ( P=0.043), and between the groups 8-28 days and > 28 days ( P=0.041). Conclusion:CAD can self-heal to some extent. Self-healing rate is higher in lop ear and Stahl’s ears. The domestic auricle corrector has a good effect on CAD. The older the age of initial correction is, the longer the time of correction is. The type of CAD has a certain influence on the correction effect.

Objective:To investigate the self-healing of congenital auricular deformity (CAD) and the efficacy of the auricle corrector in infants.Methods:The infants with CAD who were born in the Affiliated Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital of Nantong University from January to December 2020 were collected. The patients who disagreed with the use of auricle corrector were included in the observation group. The patients were followed up on the day of one month and one year after birth by phone or WeChat, and the self-healing rate (the proportion of the number of ears found to be healed in the total number of affected ears after follow-up) of auricle was calculated. The patients treated with auricle corrector were included in the non-invasive correction group, which was treated with domestic auricle corrector. And according to the initial correction age, the patients were divided into ≤7 d, 8-28 d and >28 d three subgroups. The patients were followed up on the day of one month and one year after treatment by phone or WeChat, and the effective rate(the proportion of healed ears to the total number of affected ears after treatment) was calculated. And statistical analysis was used in the three subgroups of initial correction age ≤7 d, 8-28 d, >28 d. Variance analysis was used for general comparison between three groups, and LSD- t test for the comparison between two groups. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results:A total of 43 children (71 ears, 34 left ears and 37 right ears) were included in the observation group, including 21 males and 22 females, (2.1±0.3) days after birth. In the non-invasive correction group, 24 children (41 ears, 20 left ears and 21 right ears) were included, including 8 males and 16 females, (29.1±23.8) days after birth. There were 6 cases (10 ears) in the initial correction age group ≤7 days, 6 cases (9 ears) in the 8-28 days group, and 12 cases (22 ears) in the >28 days group. In the observation group (71 ears), the rates of self-healing on the day of one month and one year after birth were 29/71 and 30/71, respectively, including 23/31 and 24/31 for lop ear, 3/6 for Stahl’s ear, 3/3 for complex deformity, and 0 for other ear deformities. The effective rates were 41/41 and 35/41 one month and one year after treatment in the 24 children (41 ears) in the non-invasive correction group, respectively. Among them, the helical rim deformity was 12/12, lop ear 3/3, cup ear 7/7 and 5/7, Stahl’s ear 4/4, contracted ear 6/6, 5/6, prominent ear 2/2 and 0, the complex deformity 6/6 and 5/6, and microtia(Ⅰ) 1/1. The auricular deformities reoccurred in a total of 4 children (6 ears) 1 year after the end of treatment. According to the initial correction age into three groups, the treatment duration of the auricle corrector was (31.8±11.2) days, (31.3±10.1) days and (41.8±13.8) days, and the difference among the three groups was statistically significant ( F=3.42, P=0.043). There was no statistical significance between the groups ≤7 days and 8-28 days ( P=0.936), but there was statistical significance in the treatment duration between the groups ≤7 days and >28 days ( P=0.043), and between the groups 8-28 days and > 28 days ( P=0.041). Conclusion:CAD can self-heal to some extent. Self-healing rate is higher in lop ear and Stahl’s ears. The domestic auricle corrector has a good effect on CAD. The older the age of initial correction is, the longer the time of correction is. The type of CAD has a certain influence on the correction effect.

Objective:To investigate the effects of educational level on smoking cessation in patients with moderate to severe tobacco dependence, explore effective individualized smoking cessation methods, and increase smoking cessation rate.Methods:A total of 480 patients with moderate to severe tobacco dependence who were willing to quit smoking and received treatment in the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital from January to December 2020 were included in this study. They were divided into four groups ( n = 120/group) according to their educational level: group A (elementary school and below), group B (junior high school and senior high school), group C (technical secondary school or college), and group D (university and above). All patients were randomly assigned to undergo "5A" intervention alone or "5A" intervention combined with varenicline intervention (combined intervention). Patients' awareness of the health risks of tobacco smoking was compared among the four groups. The smoking cessation rate measured at different time points was compared between different intervention strategies. Results:The scores of health risk of tobacco smoking in groups D, C, B, and A were (806.5 ± 35.7) points, (710.8 ± 26.2) points, (643.6 ± 43.4) points, and (512.4 ± 30.1) points, respectively. Patients with high education levels had high awareness of the health risk of tobacco smoking ( F = 1 543.26, P < 0.001). At 1, 3, and 6 months, the smoking cessation rate of combined intervention was higher than that of "5A" intervention alone in each group (group A: χ2 = 3.85, 4.23, 4.10, group B: χ2 = 4.30, 4.09, 4.60, group C: χ2 = 6.81, 4.30, 4.03, group D: χ2 = 6.71, 6.51, 4.73, all P < 0.05). The smoking cessation rate after 6 months of "5A" intervention alone or combined intervention in group D was 60.0% and 78.3% respectively, which were significantly higher than 41.7% and 60.0% in group C, 23.3% and 41.7% in group B, and 20.0% and 36.7% in group A ( χ2 = 26.59, 26.12, both P < 0.001). At different time points, the smoking cessation rates of the "5A" intervention alone in group D were significantly higher than those of combined intervention in groups A and B ( χ2 = 9.25, 25.04, 7.29, all P < 0.05). Conclusion:Awareness of the health risks of tobacco smoking is related to a patient's educational level, and affects smoking cessation. Individualized smoking cessation interventions based on a patient's educational level can increase the rate of smoking cessation.

Owing to the increasing incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) worldwide, effective and safe treatments for IBD are urgently needed. Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is an endogenous gasotransmitter and plays an important role in inflammation. To date, H₂S-releasing agents are viewed as potential anti-inflammatory drugs. The slow-releasing H₂S donor 5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3H-1,2-dithiole-3-thione (ADT-OH), known as a potent therapeutic with chemopreventive and cytoprotective properties, has received attention recently. Here, we reported its anti-inflammatory effects on dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced acute (7 days) and chronic (30 days) colitis. We found that ADT-OH effectively reduced the DSS-colitis clinical score and reversed the inflammation-induced shortening of colon length. Moreover, ADT-OH reduced intestinal inflammation by suppressing the nuclear factor kappa-B pathway. In vivo and in vitro results showed that ADT-OH decreased intestinal permeability by increasing the expression of zonula occludens-1 and occludin and blocking increases in myosin II regulatory light chain phosphorylation and epithelial myosin light chain kinase protein expression levels. In addition, ADT-OH restored intestinal microbiota dysbiosis characterized by the significantly increased abundance of Muribaculaceae and Alistipes and markedly decreased abundance of Helicobacter, Mucispirillum, Parasutterella, and Desulfovibrio. Transplanting ADT-OH-modulated microbiota can alleviate DSS-induced colitis and negatively regulate the expression of local and systemic proinflammatory cytokines. Collectively, ADT-OH is safe without any short-term (5 days) or long-term (30 days) toxicological adverse effects and can be used as an alternative therapeutic agent for IBD treatment.
Humans ; Mice ; Animals ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Intestinal Barrier Function ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Colitis/metabolism* ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/drug therapy* ; Inflammation ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacology* ; Disease Models, Animal