The genome tagging project (GTP) plays a pivotal role in addressing a critical gap in the understanding of protein functions. Within this framework, we successfully generated a human influenza hemagglutinin-tagged sperm-specific protein 411 (HA-tagged Ssp411) mouse model. This model is instrumental in probing the expression and function of Ssp411. Our research revealed that Ssp411 is expressed in the round spermatids, elongating spermatids, elongated spermatids, and epididymal spermatozoa. The comprehensive examination of the distribution of Ssp411 in these germ cells offers new perspectives on its involvement in spermiogenesis. Nevertheless, rigorous further inquiry is imperative to elucidate the precise mechanistic underpinnings of these functions. Ssp411 is not detectable in metaphase II (MII) oocytes, zygotes, or 2-cell stage embryos, highlighting its intricate role in early embryonic development. These findings not only advance our understanding of the role of Ssp411 in reproductive physiology but also significantly contribute to the overarching goals of the GTP, fostering groundbreaking advancements in the fields of spermiogenesis and reproductive biology.
Animals ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Spermatids/metabolism* ; Spermatogenesis/physiology* ; Spermatozoa/metabolism* ; Thioredoxins/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To design an assisted patient conveying and vibration damping system to solve the problems of operator fatigue and patient bump during casualty evacuation.Methods The assisted patient conveying and vibration damping system was composed of several conveying straps and a vibration damping mechanism.The conveying straps were made up of a waist strap,two shoulder straps,a chest strap,adhesive straps and joint components,and the joint components included adjusting buckles,big buckles,small buckles,connecting buckles and hook mechanisms;the vibration damping mechanism adopted the technical form of extension handle combined with vibration absorber,in which the extension handle was made of rigid material and the vibration absorber was equipped with a scissor guiding mechanism.Tests were carried out on the system to record the operating time of the operators and to analyze the system's vibration damping characteristics.Results The system developed extended the operating time of the stretcher conveyers while reduced the vibration during casualty transport,with a maximum vibration reduction of 71.73％.Conclusion The system developed gains advantages in low vibration and low workload,and can be used for casualty conveying in poor road conditions.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(1):15-24]

The incidence of decreased ovarian reserve(DOR)is gradually increasing,with fluctuations in hormone levels causing a series of clinical syndromes.Among these,sleep disorders stand out as prominent symptoms,clinically manifested by difficulties in falling asleep,shortened sleep duration,and poor sleep quality,severely impacting the physical and mental health as well as the quality of life of women.Clinical observations have found a close relationship between decreased ovarian reserve and sleep disorders,where the two interact causally and reciprocally.Western medicine primarily focuses on improving behavioral cognition,administering sedatives and hypnotics,and hormone replacement therapy,albeit with certain limitations in efficacy.Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes holistic views and syndrome differentiation in treatment,offering low side effects and unique advantages.This review summarizes recent literature on the research progress of sleep disorders and DOR from both Western and traditional Chinese medicine perspectives,providing reference for clinical treatment.

Objective To explore the acupoint selection rules of opposing needling in the treatment of post-stroke hemiplegia by using data mining technology.Methods CNKI,VIP,Wanfang,SinoMed,PubMed and Web of Science were searched for relevant literature on the treatment of post-stroke hemiplegia by opposing needling from the establishment of the database to September 2023.Microsoft Excel 2019 was used to establish a database and perform descriptive analysis of acupoints.SPSS Modeler 18.0 was used to analyze the association rules and draw the co-occurrence network diagram of high-frequency acupoints.SPSS Statistics 26.0 was used to perform hierarchical cluster analysis on acupoints and draw a tree diagram.Results ①A total of 104 articles were included,and 136 acupuncture prescriptions were extracted,involving 107 acupoints,with a total frequency of 1 267 times.②The top 10 acupoints were Hegu(LI4),Quchi(LI11),Zusanli(ST36),Jianyu(LI15),Waiguan(SJ5),Yanglingquan(GB34),Sanyinjiao(SP6),Shousanli(LI10),Taichong(LR3),Xuanzhong(GB39).③ The selected meridians were mainly hand,foot yangming meridian and foot shaoyang meridian.④ The acupoints were mostly selected in the upper and lower limbs and head and neck.⑤ In terms of acupoint compatibility,Hegu(LI4)-Quchi(LI11)has the highest support.⑥ The top 25 high-frequency acupoints can be divided into four effective clustering groups.⑦ Opposing needling often combined with scalp acupuncture,rehabilitation training,ordinary acupuncture and other methods to treat hemiplegia after stroke.Conclusion Modern opposing needling attaches importance to the use of yang meridians in the treatment of post-stroke hemiplegia.At the same time,it also selects yin meridians and acupoints to harmonize yin and yang,unblock meridians and collateral,attach importance to the near-treatment effect of acupoints,and follow the holistic view of Chinese medicine treatment.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between age and tongue pressure in healthy individuals using a newly-developed tongue pressure measuring device.Methods:A total of 154 healthy volunteers aged 20 to 97 years, without noticeable swallowing difficulties, were selected and divided into seven age groups: 20-29 years ( n=24), 30-39 years ( n=22), 40-49 years ( n=20), 50-59 years ( n=24), 60-69 years ( n=22), 70-79 years ( n=22), and 80 years or more ( n=20). Their maximum, minimum, average and initial pressures, work done, and coefficients of variation were measured using the newly designed tongue pressure measuring device in its intermittent and continuous measurement modes. The tongue pressures were correlated with age and gender. Results:The pressure data obtained using the new device were completely consistent with those from a manometer ( R=1). In the intermittent measurement mode, the readings showed that the maximum, minimum and average tongue pressures decreased significantly with age. In the continuous measurement mode, the initial tongue pressure, average pressure and work done also decreased significantly with age, while the coefficient of variation generally increased with age. There was a negative correlation between age and average tongue pressure ( R2=0.4). The relationship could be expressed as y=-0.8595x+ 103.3 (where x is age, and y is tongue pressure). However, no significant correlation was found between gender and tongue pressure. Conclusions:Tongue pressure and its stability are negatively correlated with age in healthy individuals without swallowing dysfunction, showing no significant correlation with gender.

Femoral neck fracture (FNF) in the elderly patients is currently a major health challenge worldwide, with excessive consumption of medical resources, high incidence of complications as well as suboptimal outcome and prognosis. Hip joint arthroplasty (HJA) has been the mainstream treatment for FNF in the elderly, but the conventional surgical approaches and techniques are still confronted with a series of bottlenecks such as dislocation, limp and limb length discrepancy. In recent years, direct anterior approach (DAA) for HJA (DAA-HJA) has been a major new choice in the field of joint replacement, which achieves improved clinical effectiveness of HJA in the treatment of elderly FNF, due to the fact that DAA approach involves the neuromuscular interface and accords with the idea of soft tissue retention and enhanced recovery after surgery. However, there is still a lack of unified understanding of standard technique and procedure of DAA-HJA in the treatment of elderly FNF. Therefore, relevant experts from the Hip Joint Group of Chinese Orthopedics Association of Chinese Medical Association, Youth Arthrology Group of Orthopedic Committee of PLA, Orthopedic Committee of Chongqing Medical Association, Branch of Orthopedic Surgeons of Chongqing Medical Doctor Association and Sport Medicine Committee of Chongqing Medical Association were organized to formulate the " Chinese expert consensus on the technical standard of direct anterior hip arthroplasty for elderly femoral neck fracture ( version 2023)" based on evidence-based medicine. This consensus mainly proposed 13 recommendations covering indications, surgical plans, prosthesis selections, surgical techniques and processes, and postoperative management of DAA-HJA in elderly patients with FNF, aiming to promote standardized, systematic and patient-specific diagnosis and treatment to improve the functional prognosis of the patients.

Objective:To observe the clinical and multimodal imaging features of eyes with acute macular neuroretinopathy (AMN) associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Methods:A retrospective study. From December 20, 2022 to January 17, 2023, a total of 29 patients (58 eyes) with COVID-19-associated AMN admitted to Department of Ophthalmology of Eye and ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College were included in the study. All the affected eyes underwent the best corrected visual acuity, color fundus photography, infrared fundus photography (IR), short-wavelength autofluorescence (SW-AF), near-infrared autofluorescence (NIL-AF), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and OCT angiography (OCTA). All patients were administered microcirculation-improving oral medication with 12 cases receiving adjunctive low-dose corticosteroid therapy. Follow-ups were conducted 1 to 3 months after the initial diagnosis, with a total of 19 cases (38 eyes) completing the one-month follow-up.Results:Out of the 29 cases, there were 9 males (18 eyes) and 20 females (40 eyes), all of whom experienced bilateral eye involvement. The age of the patients ranged from 12 to 47 years, with an average age of (29.9±9.5) years. The time from the onset of fever to the appearance of ocular symptoms was (2.52±2.01) days. Among the 58 affected eyes, there were 5 cases with retinal cotton wool spots, 2 cases with optic disc edema, and 1 case with parafoveal branch retinal vein occlusion. All affected eyes exhibited deep reddish-brown macular dark spots. IR revealed wedge-shaped, wedge-like, or "petaloid-like" dark areas involving the fovea and parafovea. SW-AF examination showed no obvious abnormality in 39 eyes. Weak autofluorescence dark area were consistent with IR in 19 eyes. NIR-AF examination showed spot-like or flaky self-fluorescent dark areas. OCT examination showed strong reflex lesions spreading vertically upward from the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer in the macular area in the acute stage, showing typical "bean seedling" sign. OCTA revealed reduced blood flow density in the deep capillary plexus (DCP) of 50 eyes. Enface OCT displayed lesion areas that corresponded to the dark areas seen in IR. One month after the initial diagnosis, the condition improved in 18 eyes (47.4%, 18/38). Among the 5 eyes with cotton wool spots, regression of these spots was accompanied by loss of nerve fiber layer in 4 eyes. In cases with optic disc edema, the edema subsided. The "bean sprout" sign disappeared in all affected eyes, and the lesions became localized. The ellipsoid zone and/or interdigitation zone in the lesion areas were discontinuous.Conclusions:COVID-19-related AMN is characterized by distinctive features. IR fundus reveals wedge-shaped, wedge-like, or petaloid dark areas involving the fovea and parafovea. OCT displays strongly reflective lesions with vertical spread above the RPE. OCTA shows reduced blood flow density in the DCP of the retina.

COVID-19 has been prevalent for three years. The virulence of SARS-CoV-2 is weaken as it mutates continuously. However, elderly patients, especially those with underlying diseases, are still at high risk of developing severe infections. With the continuous study of the molecular structure and pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2, antiviral drugs for COVID-19 have been successively marketed, and these anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs can effectively reduce the severe rate and mortality of elderly patients. This article reviews the mechanism, clinical medication regimens, drug interactions and adverse reactions of five small molecule antiviral drugs currently approved for marketing in China, so as to provide advice for the clinical rational use of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in the elderly.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture combined with infantile tuina on intestinal flora and its efficacy in children with tic disorders (TD), and to explore its mechanism. METHODS: A total of 15 children with TD were recruited as an observation group and 10 healthy children as a healthy control group. Regulating spleen and stomach acupuncture combined with infantile tuina were received in the observation group. First, acupuncture was applied to Zhongwan (CV 12), Tianshu (ST 25), Guanyuan (CV 4), Hegu (LI 4), Zusanli (ST 36), etc., and then abdominal massage and other tuina techniques were applied, once a day, 6 times a week, 2 weeks as a course of treatment, a total of 2 courses of treatment were required. No intervention was given in the healthy control group. In the observation group, Yale global tic severity scale (YGTSS) score and TCM syndrome score were compared before treatment and after 1 and 2 courses of treatment. 16S rRNA sequencing technology was used to detect the intestinal flora in the healthy control group and before and after treatment in the observation group. RESULTS: After 1 and 2 courses of treatment, the scores of YGTSS and TCM syndrome in the observation group were lower than those before treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05). Compared with the healthy control group, the number of operational taxonomic units (OTU) and indexes of Chao1, Sobs, Ace and Shannon were decreased in the observation group before treatment (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with before treatment, the number of OTU and indexes of Chao1, Sobs, Ace and Shannon were increased in the observation group after treatment (P<0.01, P<0.05). Compared with the healthy control group, the relative abundance of Firmicutes in the observation group before treatment was decreased (P<0.001), while the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Bacteroides and Erysipelatoclostridium was increased (P<0.001, P<0.05). Compared with before treatment, the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes in the observation group was decreased (P<0.001) after treatment, while the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Bifidobacterium and Atopobium was increased (P<0.05, P<0.01). CONCLUSION Acupuncture combined with infantile tuina based on the principle of regulating spleen and stomach could effectively improve TD symptoms in children, which may be related to regulating the diversity of intestinal flora, increasing beneficial bacteria, maintaining intestinal microecological balance, and playing a role in improving neurological disorders.
Child ; Humans ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Spleen ; Tic Disorders