OBJECTIVE: To identify the gene mutation types of 4 suspected β-thalassemia patients in Yunnan Province, and to analyze the genotypes and hematological phenotypes. METHODS: Whole genome sequencing was performed on the samples of 4 suspected β-thalassemia patients from the Dai ethnic group in a thalassemia endemic area of Yunnan Province, whose hematological phenotypes were not consistent with the results of common thalassemia gene mutations. The mutations of β-globin gene clusters were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger DNA sequencing technology. RESULTS: The 3.5 kb deletion in β-globin gene cluster (NC_000011.10: g. 5224302-5227791del3490bp) was detected in 4 patients' samples, of which 1 case was also detected with HbE mutation and 1 case with CD17 mutation. These 2 patients displayed moderate anemia phenotype, while the two patients with only the 3.5 kb deletion presented with other mild anemia phenotype. CONCLUSION Heterozygous carriers with rare 3.5 kb deletion of the β-globin gene cluster may develop mild anemia, compound mutations of the 3.5 kb deletion with other mutations may led to intermediate thalasemia with moderate to sever anemia. In areas with a high incidence of thalassemia, suspected patients should undergo genetic testing to avoid missing or misdiagnosing rare mutations.
Humans ; beta-Globins/genetics* ; Multigene Family ; beta-Thalassemia/genetics* ; Mutation ; Genotype ; Sequence Deletion ; Phenotype ; Male ; Female

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of HIV pretreatment drug resistance (PDR) and the transmission clusters associated with PDR-related mutations in newly diagnosed, treatment-naive patients between 2020 and 2023 in Dehong prefecture, Yunnan province, China. METHODS: Demographic information and plasma samples were collected from study participants. PDR was assessed using the Stanford HIV Drug Resistance Database. The Tamura-Nei 93 model within HIV-TRACE was employed to compute pairwise matches with a genetic distance of 0.015 substitutions per site. RESULTS: Among 948 treatment-naive individuals with eligible sequences, 36 HIV subtypes were identified, with unique recombinant forms (URFs) being the most prevalent (18.8%, 178/948). The overall prevalence of PDR was 12.4% (118/948), and resistance to non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs), and protease inhibitors (PIs) was 10.7%, 1.3%, and 1.6%, respectively. A total of 91 clusters were identified, among which eight showed evidence of PDR strain transmission. The largest PDR-associated cluster consisted of six CRF01_AE drug-resistant strains carrying K103N and V179T mutations; five of these individuals had initial CD4+ cell counts < 200 cells/μL. CONCLUSION The distribution of HIV subtypes in Dehong is diverse and complex. PDR was moderately prevalent (12.4%) between 2020 and 2023. Evidence of transmission of CRF01_AE strains carrying K103N and V179T mutations was found. Routine surveillance of PDR and the strengthening of control measures are essential to limit the spread of drug-resistance HIV strains.
Humans ; HIV Infections/virology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Drug Resistance, Viral ; Male ; Adult ; Female ; Middle Aged ; HIV-1/genetics* ; Anti-HIV Agents/therapeutic use* ; Myanmar/epidemiology* ; Young Adult ; Prevalence ; Adolescent ; Mutation

Bladder cancer is a common malignancy in the genitourinary system and the current therapeutic approaches are unsatisfactory. Urinary cell-free DNA (ucf DNA) has the ability to give comprehensive and crucial information on cancer as it carries genetic messages from cells shedding directly into urine as well as transporting from circulation. The ucf DNA of patients with bladder cancer carries disease information, suggesting that ucf DNA may have the ability to detect, monitor, and prognosticate patients with bladder cancer. The ucf DNA analysis bridges the gap between current techniques and enhances diagnostic and detection capabilities, and has a very promising future in term of translation into clinical practice. This article reviewed the progress of clinical applications of ucf DNA in bladder cancer.

ObjectiveTo investigate a cluster epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 （COVID-19） infections in a school in Longchuan County， Yunnan Province， and further guide the prevention and control of COVID-19 in the border area. MethodsAccording to the Protocol on Prevention and Control of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia （8th Edition）， an epidemiological investigation was performed on all COVID-19 cases to collect the information on demographics， onset， diagnosis and treatment， prognosis， and epidemiological history. Close contacts were also tracked to determine the transmission chains. ResultsIn this cluster epidemic， a total of 37 COVID-19 cases were identified， including 32 females and 5 males aged from 13 to 25 years， who were 35 students and 2 teachers. The student cases were found in four classes of two grades. Furthermore， gene sequencing showed that all cases had been infected with delta variants， belonging to the same transmission chain that was not related to the previous epidemics in Dehong Prefecture. In additionally， a total of 2 127 close contacts were found. After 21 days of centralized quarantine for medical observation， all close contacts tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. In the COVID-19 cases， only one case remained positive for SARS-CoV-2， while the other 36 cases were successfully treated and became negative. ConclusionThis school cluster is caused by the border villagers who contacted the water polluted with SARS-CoV-2. It warrants more strict management of students from border villages and their belongings to prevent similar epidemics in school settings.

Gastric cancer (GC) is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Thus, early diagnosis is important to improve disease prognosis. Endoscopic assessment represents the most reliable imaging method for GC diagnosis; however, it is semi-invasive and costly and heavily depends on the skills of the endoscopist, which limit its clinical applicability.Therefore, the search for new sensitive biomarkers for the early detection of GC using noninvasive sampling collection methods has attracted much attention among scientists.Urine is considered an ideal biofluid, as it is readily accessible, less complex, and relatively stable than plasma and serum. Over the years, substantial progress has been made in screening for potential urinary biomarkers for GC. This review explores the possible applications and limitations of urinary biomarkers in GC detection and diagnosis.

ObjectiveTo understand the infection of AIDS， syphilis， and gonorrhea in men who have sex with men （MSM）， and the factors influencing the acceptance of gonorrhea testing in Dehong Dai Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture （Dehong Prefecture）， Yunnan Province. MethodsAcross-sectional survey was conducted to describe and analyze the acceptance of AIDS， syphilis， and gonorrhea testing among MSM tracked in Dehong Prefecture in 2018. ResultsA total of 385 MSM were included in the analysis， with a 100.0% HIV and syphilis testing rate. The HIV antibody positivity rate was 10.6% （41/385） and the positivity rate of syphilis antibody was 14.8%（57/385）. Only 30.4% of the subjects were willing to test for gonorrhea， and 13.7%（16/117）of them were test positive. Further multifactorial analysis revealed that local MSM and syphilis co-infected individuals were more likely to be tested for gonorrhea （aOR=2.48， 95%CI=1.33-4.65， P=0.004； aOR=2.59， 95%CI=1.43-4.71， P=0.002）. ConclusionThe positive rates of AIDS， syphilis and gonorrhea in MSM population in Dehong Prefecture are relatively high. Integrated interventions of STD/AIDS and gonorrhoea detection should be strengthened.

With the increasing incidence of hepatobiliary diseases, it is particularly important to understand the role of molecular, cellular and physiological factors in the clinical diagnosis and treatment with traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) in the development of liver disease. Appropriate animal models can help us identify the possible mechanisms of relevant diseases. Danio rerio(zebrafish) model was traditionally used to study embryonic development, and has been gradually used in screening and evaluation of liver diseases and relevant drug in recent years. Zebrafish embryos develop rapidly and the digestive organs of 5-day-old juvenile fish are all mature. At this stage, they may develop hepatobiliary diseases induced by developmental defects or compounds. Zebrafish liver is similar to human liver in cell composition, function, signal transduction, response to injury and cell process mediating liver disease. Furthermore, due to the high conservation of genes and proteins between humans and zebrafish, zebrafish becomes an alternative system for studying basic mechanisms of liver disease. Therefore, genetic screening could be performed to identify new genes involving specific disease processes, and chemical screening could be made for drugs in specific processes. This paper briefly introduced the experimental properties of zebrafish as model system, emphasized the study progress of zebrafish models for pathological mechanism of liver diseases, especially fatty liver, and drug screening and evaluation, so as to provide ideas and techniques for the future liver toxicity assessment of TCM.
Animals ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Diseases/genetics* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Zebrafish/genetics*

Objective: To explore the value of chest CT features and clinical indexes in the differential diagnosis between suspected COVID-19 with two or more negative nucleic acid tests and confirmed COVID-19. Methods: The clinical data and chest CT images of 105 cases withconfirmedCOVID-19 (55 males and 50 females, aged from 2 month to 88 years) and 97 cases with suspected COVID-19(59 males and 38 females, aged from 1 month to 93 years) were analyzed retrospectively in Shiyan Taihe Hospital from January 21 to February 10, 2020. χ²test and two independent sample t test were used to analyze the clinical data and CT signs of the two cases, with P<0.05 for the difference statistically significant. Results: Compared with the suspected patients, the average age of diagnosis of covid-19 was higher (t = 2.460, P = 0.01). The main pathological changes were pure ground glass (68 cases) and mixed ground glass density (53 cases) (χ² = 50.016, P< 0.01). Interstitial thickening (83 cases) (χ² = 55.395, P< 0.01), vascular thickening (73 cases) (χ² = 57.527, P< 0.01), air bronchoscopic sign or bronchiectasis Zhang (67 cases) (χ² = 17.899, P< 0.01), cord focus (54 cases) (χ² = 5.500, P = 0.02), easily distributed under the pleura and the long axis of the lesion was parallel to the pleura (89 cases) (χ² = 23.597, P< 0.01), most of them had no pleural effusion (χ² = 7.017, P< 0.01); both lesions were mainly distributed in patches (89 cases were confirmed, 87 suspected) (χ² = 19.573, P< 0.01). In addition, the lesions of patients with confirmed covid-19 showed progress in short term (72 / 87, 82.76%), and those with suspected covid-19 showed remission in short term (63 / 89, 70.78%). The difference was statistically significant (χ² = 51.114, P< 0.01). There was no significant difference in gender and distribution of pulmonary lobes (χ² = 1.462, P= 0.23; χ² = 7.381, P= 0.19). The number of white blood cells (χ² = 17.891, P< 0.01) and the percentage of lymphocytes (χ² = 11.151,P< 0.01) of covid-19 were mostly normal or decreased, creatine kinase (χ² = 9.589, P< 0.01) were mostly normal, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate was mostly normal or increased (χ² = 4.240, P= 0.04). Conclusions The imaging features and biochemical indexes of diagnosed COVID-19 are different from those of suspected COVID-19. The comparative analysis of imaging features, clinical indexes and reexamination are helpful for the differential diagnosis of COVID-19 and suspected COVID-19.

Objective To study the expression level of cathepsin S in elderly patients with different degree of coronary heart disease(CHD),and to evaluate the correlation between cathepsin S level and the severity of CHD.Methods A total of 126 elderly patients with CHD were enrolled,including 36 cases with acute myocardial infarction(group AMI),48 cases with unstable angina(group UAP),and 42 cases with stable angina(group SAP).During the same period,40 healthy subjects were selected as controls.Venous blood was collected immediately after admission.Arterial blood was taken through radial/femoral artery sheath in AMI patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention,and coronary arterial blood was taken in AMI patients undergoing intracoronary thrombus aspiration.SYNTAX score was assessed in patients undergoing coronary angiography.Serum levels of high sensitivity C reactive protein(hs-CRP),matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and cathepsin S were determined in all specimens and compared between groups.Results Serum levels of cathepsin S,MMP-9 and hs-CRP were higher in CHD patients than in the control group(P＜0.05).Among CHD patients,group AMI had the highest serum levels of cathepsin S,MMP-9 and hs-CRP,followed by group UAP and group SAP(F =106.830,197.035 and 310.442,all P =0.000).Spearman's rank correlation test suggested that cathepsin S level was positively correlated with serum levels of MMP-9 (r=0.816,P =0.000)and hs-CRP(r =0.827,P =0.000).SYNTAX score was positively correlated with serum levels of cathepsin S(r=0.581,P=0.000),MMP-9(r=0.511,P=0.000),and hs-CRP (r=0.557,P =0.000).Among the 24 patients with AMI who underwent intracoronary thrombus aspiration,the levels of cathepsin S,MMP-9 and hs-CRP were higher in coronary artery blood than in peripheral artery blood (t =217.288,3.177 and 681.479,all P =0.000).Cathepsin S and hs-CRP levels in peripheral arterial blood had positive correlations with those in coronary arterial blood respectively(r =0.962 and 0.494,P =0.000 and 0.014),but such correlation between in peripheral arterial blood versus in coronary artery blood was not found in MMP-9 levels (r =-0.188,P =0.380).Conclusions Serum cathepsin S level is higher in elderly CHD patients than in healthy people,increases along with the increased severity of CHD,and positively correlates with the degree of coronary stenosis.

Objective: To investigate the changes of the upper airway shape and respiratory function in patients with mild and moderate obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) before and after wearing mandibular advancement snore stopping devices (MASSD), providing a reference and basis for the treatment mechanisms and clinical efficacy of MASSD for patients with mild and moderate OSAHS. Methods: Sixty patients who were diagnosed with mild and moderate OSAHS by polysomnography were selected. Snoring frequency, the apnea hypopnea index and lowest oxygen saturation in 60 patients before and after treatment were compared. The patients’ upper airways were scanned by CBCT before and after wearing MASSD. In Vivo Dental software was used to reconstruct the three-dimensional shape of upper airway. The upper airway sagittal diameter, the coronal diameter, the minimum cross-sectional area and the volume of each segment were measured. The snoring frequency, the apnea hypopnea index and the lowest oxygen saturation were compared before and after treatment. Results: Before wearing MASSD, the snoring frequency, the apnea hypopnea index, and the minimum oxygen saturation of 60 patients were [946 (542,1 010)], (20.61 ± 5.19), and (78 ± 8)%, respectively. After wearing MASSD, the snore frequency [19(11,30)] and the respiratory disorder index (10.86 ± 4.31) decreased significantly and the minimum oxygen saturation increased (92 ± 3)%. Compared with before wearing MASSD, no statistically significance differences were detected (P > 0.05) except for the sagittal diameter and coronal diameter of the surface of the palatum durum. The sagittal diameter and the coronal diameter of each plane of the airway increased, and the minimum cross-sectional area of each section of the airway and the volume of each section of the airway displayed varying degrees of significant increases (P < 0.001) after wearing MASSD. Conclusion Wearing MASSD can open the airways of patients with mild and moderate OSAHS and increase the airway volume of the upper airway to improve the respiratory function.