Objective: This cross-sectional investigation aimed to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics, prognosis, and related risk factors of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain in mainland China. Methods: Data of patients with SARS-CoV-2 from December 28, 2022, to February 21, 2023, were collected through online and offline questionnaires from 45 tertiary hospitals and one center for disease control and prevention in mainland China. The questionnaire included demographic information, previous health history, smoking and alcohol drinking, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, olfactory and gustatory function before and after infection, other symptoms after infection, as well as the duration and improvement of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. The self-reported olfactory and gustatory functions of patients were evaluated using the Olfactory VAS scale and Gustatory VAS scale. Results: A total of 35 566 valid questionnaires were obtained, revealing a high incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain (67.75%). Females(χ2=367.013, P<0.001) and young people(χ2=120.210, P<0.001) were more likely to develop these dysfunctions. Gender(OR=1.564, 95%CI: 1.487-1.645), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (OR=1.334, 95%CI: 1.164-1.530), oral health status (OR=0.881, 95%CI: 0.839-0.926), smoking history (OR=1.152, 95%CI=1.080-1.229), and drinking history (OR=0.854, 95%CI: 0.785-0.928) were correlated with the occurrence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2(above P<0.001). 44.62% (4 391/9 840) of the patients who had not recovered their sense of smell and taste also suffered from nasal congestion, runny nose, and 32.62% (3 210/9 840) suffered from dry mouth and sore throat. The improvement of olfactory and taste functions was correlated with the persistence of accompanying symptoms(χ2=10.873, P=0.001). The average score of olfactory and taste VAS scale was 8.41 and 8.51 respectively before SARS-CoV-2 infection, but decreased to3.69 and 4.29 respectively after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and recovered to 5.83and 6.55 respectively at the time of the survey. The median duration of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions was 15 days and 12 days, respectively, with 0.5% (121/24 096) of patients experiencing these dysfunctions for more than 28 days. The overall self-reported improvement rate of smell and taste dysfunctions was 59.16% (14 256/24 096). Gender(OR=0.893, 95%CI: 0.839-0.951), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (OR=1.334, 95%CI: 1.164-1.530), history of head and facial trauma(OR=1.180, 95%CI: 1.036-1.344, P=0.013), nose (OR=1.104, 95%CI: 1.042-1.171, P=0.001) and oral (OR=1.162, 95%CI: 1.096-1.233) health status, smoking history(OR=0.765, 95%CI: 0.709-0.825), and the persistence of accompanying symptoms (OR=0.359, 95%CI: 0.332-0.388) were correlated with the recovery of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2 (above P<0.001 except for the indicated values). Conclusion: The incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain is high in mainland China, with females and young people more likely to develop these dysfunctions. Active and effective intervention measures may be required for cases that persist for a long time. The recovery of olfactory and taste functions is influenced by several factors, including gender, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status, history of head and facial trauma, nasal and oral health status, smoking history, and persistence of accompanying symptoms.
Female ; Humans ; Adolescent ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Smell ; COVID-19/complications* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Incidence ; Olfaction Disorders/etiology* ; Taste Disorders/etiology* ; Prognosis

Adult ; Humans ; Cochlear Implants ; Music ; Cochlear Implantation ; Perception

The structure and diversity of the intestinal flora in rats exposed to high altitude hypoxia was investigated. Animal experiments strictly follow the regulations of Medical Laboratory Animal Ethics Committee of Qinghai University, School of Medicine. SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, a moderate altitude hypoxia group, and a high altitude hypoxia group. The pH value of the feces was measured and histopathological changes in the small intestine were determined by HE staining, and the intestinal flora were characterized by 16S rDNA high throughput sequencing technology on the 3rd, 7th, 15th, and 30th day of hypoxia exposure. Compared with the control group, the fecal pH value of rats in the moderate altitude hypoxia group and the high altitude hypoxia group was decreased significantly. The lamina propria and submucosa capillaries were slightly dilated and congested on the 3rd day in the moderate altitude hypoxia group. In the high altitude hypoxia group the submembrane capillaries were dilated and congested, the lamina propria of the mucosa showed mild edema, and the lymphatic vessels were dilated on the 7th day. The composition and diversity of intestinal flora in these rats changed significantly with prolonged exposure to the high altitude hypoxic environment. A total of 35 phyla, 87 classes, 205 orders, 337 families, 638 genera, and 256 species were annotated in the three groups of rats, including Firmicutes, Clostridia, Clostridiales, Ruminococcaceae, Akkermansia, and Lactobacillus_murinus. Compared with the control group, the intestinal flora of the hypoxic groups showed the most significant changes by the 15th day. There were 9 microbiota of gut microorganisms with relative abundance in the moderate altitude hypoxia group, of which Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group bacteria was the most common, there were 19 different microbiota of gut microorganisms with higher relative abundance in the high altitude hypoxia group, of which Ruminococcaceae bacteria was the most common. The results of this study indicate significant changes in the intestinal flora with high altitude hypoxia, and establish a foundation for further research on the initiation and development of diseases and drug metabolism in high altitude hypoxia.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of liver transplantation (LT) and liver resection (LR) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) and to investigate risk factors affecting prognosis. Materials and Methods: A total of 94 HCC patients with PVTT type I (segmental PVTT) and PVTT type II (lobar PVTT) were involved and divided into LR (n=47) and LT groups (n=47). Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared before and after inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW). Prognostic factors for RFS and OS were explored. Results: Two treatment groups were well-balanced using IPTW. In the entire cohort, LT provided a better prognosis than LR. Among patients with PVTT type I, RFS was better with LT (p=0.039); OS was not different significantly between LT and LR (p=0.093). In subgroup analysis of PVTT type I patients with α-fetoprotein (AFP) levels >200 ng/mL, LT elicited significantly longer median RFS (18.0 months vs. 2.1 months, p=0.022) and relatively longer median OS time (23.6 months vs. 9.8 months, p=0.065). Among patients with PVTT type II, no significant differences in RFS and OS were found between LT and LR (p=0.115 and 0.335, respectively). Multivariate analyses showed treatment allocation (LR), tumor size (>5 cm), AFP and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels to be risk factors of RFS and treatment allocation (LR), AFP and AST as risk factors for OS. Conclusion LT appeared to afford a better prognosis for HCC with PVTT type I than LR, especially in patients with AFP levels >200 ng/mL.

The high altitude/hypoxic environment induced skeletal muscle atrophy is considered to be the interaction of multi-system and multi-organ, but the direct mechanism of hypoxia on muscle cells in this process is not clear. This study intended to investigate the effects of hypoxia exposure on proteins in ubiquitin and autophagy pathways, and explored the possible mechanism of hypoxia induced change of myotube diameter. The expression of myosin, hypoxia inducible factor-1 α (HIF-1α), forkhead box protein O1 (FoxO1), and ubiquitin protease pathway (MuRF1 and Atrogin1) and autophagy lysosomal pathway (p62, Beclin1, LC3) related proteins were detected by Western blot; The integrated optical density (IOD) of Myosin and LC3 was detected by IF. The results showed that the diameters of myotube at 6 h and 12 h were significantly reduced, and the expression of myosin was significantly reduced at 6 h after hypoxia exposure (P<0. 05); the protein levels of HIF-1α and FoxO1 were significantly increased at 6 h (P<0. 05); The expression of MuRF1 in each time points of hypoxia was significantly higher than 0 h (P<0. 05), but no difference of Atrogin1 expression was detected; Compared with 0 h, the expression of p62 was reduced significantly in response to hypoxia. The protein expression of Beclin1 and the IOD of LC3 was increased significantly at 6 h, and the LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ ratio was significantly higher at 6 h, but significantly lower at 12 h and 24 h (P<0. 05).The results above indicated that the reduction of the myotube diameter of L6 skeletal muscle cells was induced by hypoxia exposure (1% O

In recent years, the clinical experts consensuses or guidelines of ankylosing spondylitis (AS)/spondyloarthritis (SpA) have been constantly updated, but to better understand and practice, patient self-participation management is one of the key points to improve the level of diagnosis and treatment. Through questionnaire survey of these patients, we screened out the most concerned issues, and established the AS/SpA patient practice guideline working group with multidisciplinary physicians and patients. Fifteen opinions, as the AS/SpA patient practice guidelines, are proposed in accordance with the relevant principles of the "WHO guidelines development manual" , and with the international normative process.

The purpose of this study was to select the active compounds targeting Hsp90 protein in pancreatic cancer cells through a new dual "target + activity" rapid discovery technique. We combined an in vitro anti-cancer activity screening method with a dual-luciferase reporter gene and multi-chromatography separation technology, for rapid discovery of potential Hsp90 inhibitors from the Chinese herbal medicine Physalis angulata L. The anti-proliferation activity of those compounds was assessed in pancreatic cancer cell line BxPC-3 by MTT assays. The molecular mechanisms of Hsp90 inhibition were explored by Western blot and shRNA knockdown assays. As a result, two withanolides, withanolide E (WE) and 4β-hydroxywithanolide E (HWE), were identified from Physalis angulata L. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of WE and HWE were 0.71±0.03 and 1.23±0.10 μmol·L^-1 for the growth of BxPC-3 cells in 48 h. Luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that WE and HWE significantly induced heat shock element (HSE) activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The molecular mechanism study showed that after exposing to 5 μmol·L^-1 WE or HWE for 48 h, the aggregation of Hsp90 dimer was upregulated to 6.5±1.3 and 11.8±2.0 fold, while the expression of Hsp90 client protein Akt was downregulated to 21.7%±2.8% and 9.8%±1.4% of the control group. Moreover, the Hsp90 inhibitory activity of WE or HWE was canceled by shRNA mediated Hsp90 knockdown. Overall, based on the dual "target + active" rapid discovery technique, two new Hsp90 inhibitors WE and HWE were found from Physalis angulata L. The Hsp90 inhibitory mechanism of WE and HWE may be mediated by induction of Hsp90 aggregate dimer and inhibition of Hsp90 client protein Akt expression.

Objective To explore the relationship between the volatile components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from different regions of Gansu Province and its growing environment with metabolomics based on GC-MS. Methods The GC-MS method was used for detecting the volatile components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from 31 different regions in Gansu province, and principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) methods were used for analyzing and evaluating its relationship with the growing environment. Results The results of PCA showed that the volatile components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from different regions in Gansu province were related to the altitude and the soil types. The PLS method could divide 31 samples of Angelicae Sinensis Radix from different regions in Gansu Province into three groups according to the difference of altitude. There were significant differences in the volatile components in the samples taken at different altitude regions. After analyzing linear loading plots from PCA and PLS, 11 charateristic components were screened out, including 7 compounds were identified by the retrieval of NIST11 database. Conclusion The volatile components in Angelicae Sinensis Radix from different regions in Gansu Province are closely related to the altitude and the soil type.

Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with different intensity conditioning regimen in the treatment of childhood aplastic anemia (AA) . Methods: Thirty-seven AA patients who underwent haploidentical transplantation in BaYi Children's Hospital Affiliated to PLA Army General Hospital from January 2013 to January 2017 were enrolled. According to the dosage of conditioning regimen, 34 patients excluding 3 other conditioning regimens were divided into high-dosage group (regimen 2, 22 cases) and low-dosage group (regimen 3, 12 cases). The data of Engraftment, graft-vs-host disease (GVHD), hematopoietic reconstitution, relapse, infection, overall survival (OS) were analyzed. The comparison between the two groups was tested by χ² test. Results: A total of 35 of 37 patients achieved primary engraftment; 2 cases died of regimen-related toxicity and severe infection before the infusing of the grafts. The activation rate of CMV and EBV was 60% (21/35) . Post-transplant lymphocyte disease (PTLD) of lung occurred in one case. The cumulative incidences of acute GVHD grade Ⅰ-Ⅳ and chronic GVHD were 29% (10/35) and 34% (12/35) respectively and the incidence of extensive chronic GVHD was 6% (2/35) . The median follow-up time was 18.8 (2.9-44.1) months, the OS was 92% (34/37) .All survived patients were no longer dependent on blood transfusion and none of them had recurrence. Comparing the rates of overall survival(86%(19/22) vs.100%(12/12)) and rates of chronic GVHD(40%(8/20) vs. 17%(2/12)) in regimen 2 and regimen 3 group, there were no significant difference (χ²=1.742, 1.841, all P>0.05) . Significant difference was found at the incidence of Ⅰ-Ⅳ acute GVHD (10% (2/20) vs. 50% (6/12) ,χ²=6.200, P=0.013). Conclusions Haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is effective and safe. It is suitable for patients who are not eligible for matched donor transplantation. Application of reduced dose preconditioning in haploid transplantation is worth exploring.

Insulin resistance is the pathophysiological basis of many diseases. Overcoming early insulin resistance highly significant in prevention diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver, and atherosclerosis. The present study aimed at evaluating the therapeutic effects of baicalin on insulin resistance and skeletal muscle ectopic fat storage in high fat diet-induced mice, and exploring the potential molecular mechanisms. Insulin resistance in mice was induced with a high fat diet for 16 weeks. Animals were then treated with three different doses of baicalin (100, 200, and 400 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1)) for 14 weeks. Fasting blood glucose, fasting serum insulin, glucose tolerance test (GTT), insulin tolerance test (ITT), and skeletal muscle lipid deposition were measured. Additionally, the AMP-activated protein kinase/acetyl-CoA carboxylase and protein kinase B/Glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta pathways in skeletal muscle were further evaluated. Baicalin significantly reduced the levels of fasting blood glucose and fasting serum insulin and attenuated high fat diet induced glucose tolerance and insulin tolerance. Moreover, insulin resistance was significantly reversed. Pathological analysis revealed baicalin dose-dependently decreased the degree of the ectopic fat storage in skeletal muscle. The properties of baicalin were mediated, at least in part, by inhibition of the AMPK/ACC pathway, a key regulator of de novo lipogenesis and activation of the Akt/GSK-3β pathway, a key regulator of Glycogen synthesis. These data suggest that baicalin, at dose up to 400 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1), is safe and able to attenuate insulin resistance and skeletal muscle ectopic fat storage, through modulating the skeletal muscle AMPK/ACC pathway and Akt/GSK-3β pathway.
AMP-Activated Protein Kinases ; metabolism ; Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase ; metabolism ; Adipose Tissue ; metabolism ; Animals ; Diet, High-Fat ; Flavonoids ; pharmacology ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta ; physiology ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Muscle, Skeletal ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; physiology ; Signal Transduction ; physiology