Objective To analyze the infection status and epidemic trends of soil-borne nematode infections in Yubei, Chongqing City, in 2010,2021, and 2022. Methods The local populations from four survey sites of four towns in 2010 and five sites of five towns in 2021 and 2022 were surveyed regarding their basic information using a unified form. Fecal samples of the participants were collected and tested for soil-borne nematode infections using the modified Kato-Katz thick smear method. Results In 2010, 2 049 participants were surveyed, followed by 1 000 participants in 2021 and 2022. The overall prevalence of parasitic infections declined significantly from 3.86% to 0.20%. In 2010, soil-transmitted nematode included hookworms(3.81%) and roundworms(0.29%). In 2021, the infection rates of roundworms and hookworms were 1.70% and 0.10% respectively. Notably, only Ascaris was identified in 2022(0.20%). The≥60 age group consistently exhibited the highest infection rates across all surveys, followed by the 40-59 age group. The infection rates of males in the three surveys were 3.31%,1.92%, and 0.20% respectively, and those of females were 4.37%, 1.46%, and 0.20% respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the infection rates between males and females. Educational attainment was inversely associated with infection; in 2010, the highest prevalence was observed among those with primary education or below, whereas in 2021, illiterate or semi-literate individuals showed the highest susceptibility. The occupational distribution of infections in 2010 indicated that retirees (8.33%), farmers(4.86%), and homemakers or unemployed individuals(3.45%)were the most affected. However, in 2021 and 2022, farmers emerged as the predominant occupational group with soil-transmitted nematode infections. Conclusions The infection rate of soil-borne nematodes showed a decreasing trend in Yubei, and the infection species changed from hookworms in 2010 to Ascaris in 2022. Farmers, the elderly, and people with low education levels should continue to be the focus of preventive and control efforts.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the application of the colloidal gold method and chemiluminescence method in detecting gonadotropin (Gn) in morning urine for assessing pubertal development status in children. METHODS: A total of 132 children diagnosed with central precocious puberty (CPP), early and fast puberty (EFP), and premature thelarche (PT) at Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from November 2021 to December 2022 were included, along with 685 healthy children who underwent routine health examinations at the hospital's pediatric health care department during the same period. All 132 patients underwent a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation test. Both patients and healthy children had their urinary Gn levels measured using the colloidal gold method and chemiluminescence method, including levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). The correlation between serum Gn and urinary Gn detected by the two methods, as well as the correlation between Tanner stages of healthy children and urinary Gn, was analyzed. RESULTS: Urine Gn levels detected by both the colloidal gold method and chemiluminescence method showed a positive correlation with serum LH baseline values, LH peak values, baseline LH/FSH ratios, and peak LH/FSH ratios (P<0.05). In healthy children, urinary LH levels detected by the chemiluminescence method gradually increased from Tanner stage Ⅰ to Ⅳ (P<0.05), while urinary FSH levels were lower in Tanner stage I than in stages Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and IV (P<0.05). Urinary LH levels detected by the colloidal gold method were lower in Tanner stage I compared to stages Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and IV, with the highest levels observed in Tanner stage Ⅳ (P<0.05). Additionally, urinary FSH levels in Tanner stage Ⅲ were higher than in stages Ⅰ and Ⅱ (P<0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for evaluating Tanner stages I and II in healthy children using urinary LH and FSH levels by the chemiluminescence method and urinary LH levels by the colloidal gold method were 0.730, 0.699, and 0.783, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The colloidal gold method and chemiluminescence method for detecting Gn in morning urine show good correlation with serum Gn levels. As a non-invasive and convenient detection method, the colloidal gold method can serve as a useful tool for screening the onset of pubertal development in children.
Humans ; Child ; Male ; Female ; Gold Colloid ; Luminescent Measurements/methods* ; Gonadotropins/urine* ; Puberty ; Luteinizing Hormone/urine* ; Child, Preschool ; Adolescent ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone/urine*

To analyze the prevalence, drug resistance and whole genome characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) in respiratory throat swab samples of hospitalized children with pneumonia in Suzhou City from 2023 to 2024. Throat swab samples of hospitalized children aged 0-14 years old with pneumonia in Suzhou were collected from September 2023 to September 2024. Real-time fluorenscence quantitative PCR technology was used to detect MP nucleic acid. The results showed that the positive rate of MP in 3 235 samples was 22.44% (726/3 235), with a rate of 55.00% in week 47 of 2023. The positive rate of MP increased with age ( χ2=45.842, P<0.001). The study selected MP nucleic acid test positive samples from week 20 (5.13-5.19) to week 23 (6.3-6.9) of 2024 for isolation, culture and resistance phenotype detection. About 31 MP strains were successfully isolated and cultured, all of which were resistant to macrolides. The next-generation sequencing technology and nanopore sequencing technology were used for genome sequencing. All 31 strains carried the A2063G mutation, with the main prevalent genotype being the P1-1, and the main mlST type being the ST3. Despite the overall genomic similarity between strains being over 99%, there were significant differences between the P1-1 and P1-2 strains in the P1 gene region. In summary, from 2023 to 2024, the main MP type prevalent in Suzhou City is the P1-1 genotype. All isolated MP strains carry an A2063G resistance site mutation and are resistant to macrolides, requiring continuous monitoring and further research.

Objective:To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of human metapneumovirus（hMPV）in respiratory samples from patients in Suzhou，China，and investigate the results of whole-genome sequencing，so as to provide scientific evidence for a deeper understanding of its genetic diversity and the development of preventive measures.Methods:In this study，1 340 influenza-like illness（ILI）samples and 970 severe acute respiratory infection（SARI）samples were collected from two sentinel hospitals in Suzhou in 2024. Nucleic acid detection was performed using a multiplex real-time fluorescence PCR method. For hMPV-positive samples，whole-genome sequencing was conducted on the Illumina Miseq platform. Mutations，insertions，deletions，and other variations were identified using the pathogenic virus whole-genome analysis system. A phylogenetic tree was constructed by the Maximum Likelihood method for lineage analysis.Results:Among 2 310 respiratory samples，the overall hMPV positivity rate was 1.69%（39/2 310），with positivity rates of 1.27%（17/1 340）in ILI samples and 2.27%（22/970）in SARI samples. No statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups（ P>0.05）. The proportion of mixed infections in hMPV-positive samples was 46.15%（18/39），with mixed infection rates of 23.53%（4/17）in the ILI group and 63.64%（14/22）in the SARI group. In terms of temporal distribution，the peak period of hMPV infection primarily concentrated in January and December. The whole genomes of 13 hMPV strains were successfully obtained，and 554 missense mutations were identified in the coding region，with particularly significant variations observed in the G gene region. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 4 strains belonged to the A2b2 subtype，while 9 strains belonged to the B2 subtype. Conclusions:In Suzhou，hMPV exhibits a relatively balanced distribution between ILI and SARI clinical groups，with infection peaks mainly occurring in winter and a high proportion of mixed infections. The predominant circulating strain is the B2 subtype，and its genome shows significant genetic variation，particularly in the G gene region.

A mounting body of research suggests that circRNAs significantly contribute to the develop-ment of myocardial fibrosis.The microarray results of human circular RNA expression profile indicated that circHERC4_041 expression increased in the myocardium of patients with heart failure,RT-qPCR a-nalysis confirmed that the myocardial expression level of circHERC4_041 in individuals with heart failure were considerably elevated compared to that in healthy organ donors.Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)confirmed that circHERC4_041 was abundant in the cytoplasm of human cardiomyocyte AC16.Overexpression of circHERC4_041 in mouse myocardial fibroblasts(mCFs)mediated by adenovirus in-hibited the expression of fibrosis-related proteins in mCFs.Experiments involving cell proliferation,wound healing,and Transwell assays demonstrated that overexpression of circHERC4_041 suppressed the growth and mobility of mCFs(P＜0.001).Sequence analysis results suggested that circHERC4_041 con-tains potential ribosome entry sequence(IRES)and open reading frame(ORF).Western blot confirmed that circHERC4_041 could translate the 516 amino acid HERC4-516aa protein,which was mainly located in the cytoplasm of the cell.Cell functional experiments confirmed that circHERC4_041 inhibited the fi-brotic phenotype of mCFs by specifically translating HERC4-516aa(P＜0.05).The specific interaction between HERC4-516aa and transglutaminase 2(TGM2)was confirmed by IP-MS screening and Co-IP i-dentification.Further results found that the degradation of TGM2 was promoted through proteasome path-way.The overexpression of TGM2 in mCFs facilitated by adenoviral vectors could counteract the suppres-sive effects of HERC4-516aa on the fibrotic phenotype of mCFs.Therefore,this study confirmed that the HERC4-516aa protein translated by circHERC4_041 can specifically bind to TGM2 to inhibit the fibrotic phenotype of myocardial fibroblasts.

To analyze the prevalence, drug resistance and whole genome characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) in respiratory throat swab samples of hospitalized children with pneumonia in Suzhou City from 2023 to 2024. Throat swab samples of hospitalized children aged 0-14 years old with pneumonia in Suzhou were collected from September 2023 to September 2024. Real-time fluorenscence quantitative PCR technology was used to detect MP nucleic acid. The results showed that the positive rate of MP in 3 235 samples was 22.44% (726/3 235), with a rate of 55.00% in week 47 of 2023. The positive rate of MP increased with age ( χ2=45.842, P<0.001). The study selected MP nucleic acid test positive samples from week 20 (5.13-5.19) to week 23 (6.3-6.9) of 2024 for isolation, culture and resistance phenotype detection. About 31 MP strains were successfully isolated and cultured, all of which were resistant to macrolides. The next-generation sequencing technology and nanopore sequencing technology were used for genome sequencing. All 31 strains carried the A2063G mutation, with the main prevalent genotype being the P1-1, and the main mlST type being the ST3. Despite the overall genomic similarity between strains being over 99%, there were significant differences between the P1-1 and P1-2 strains in the P1 gene region. In summary, from 2023 to 2024, the main MP type prevalent in Suzhou City is the P1-1 genotype. All isolated MP strains carry an A2063G resistance site mutation and are resistant to macrolides, requiring continuous monitoring and further research.

A mounting body of research suggests that circRNAs significantly contribute to the develop-ment of myocardial fibrosis.The microarray results of human circular RNA expression profile indicated that circHERC4_041 expression increased in the myocardium of patients with heart failure,RT-qPCR a-nalysis confirmed that the myocardial expression level of circHERC4_041 in individuals with heart failure were considerably elevated compared to that in healthy organ donors.Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)confirmed that circHERC4_041 was abundant in the cytoplasm of human cardiomyocyte AC16.Overexpression of circHERC4_041 in mouse myocardial fibroblasts(mCFs)mediated by adenovirus in-hibited the expression of fibrosis-related proteins in mCFs.Experiments involving cell proliferation,wound healing,and Transwell assays demonstrated that overexpression of circHERC4_041 suppressed the growth and mobility of mCFs(P＜0.001).Sequence analysis results suggested that circHERC4_041 con-tains potential ribosome entry sequence(IRES)and open reading frame(ORF).Western blot confirmed that circHERC4_041 could translate the 516 amino acid HERC4-516aa protein,which was mainly located in the cytoplasm of the cell.Cell functional experiments confirmed that circHERC4_041 inhibited the fi-brotic phenotype of mCFs by specifically translating HERC4-516aa(P＜0.05).The specific interaction between HERC4-516aa and transglutaminase 2(TGM2)was confirmed by IP-MS screening and Co-IP i-dentification.Further results found that the degradation of TGM2 was promoted through proteasome path-way.The overexpression of TGM2 in mCFs facilitated by adenoviral vectors could counteract the suppres-sive effects of HERC4-516aa on the fibrotic phenotype of mCFs.Therefore,this study confirmed that the HERC4-516aa protein translated by circHERC4_041 can specifically bind to TGM2 to inhibit the fibrotic phenotype of myocardial fibroblasts.

Learning and memory are basic and important advanced functions of the brain,and have always been a hot and difficult research area in neuroscience.Despite the significant progress in research on learning and memory,the mechanism is still not fully clear.Cholecystokinin(CCK),an early identified brain gut peptide,is widely distributed and involved in regulating a variety of functions in the central nervous system.In recent years,numerous studies have shown that CCK plays an important role in the regulation of learning and memory by affecting the function of neurons and glial cells.This article reviews the role and mechanism of CCK in learning and memory,to provide a theoretical basis for the development of CCK-related drugs and their applications.

Objective:To analyze the predictive role of WT1 expression levels pre-and early post-transplantation on relapse and overall survival(OS)in patients with acute myeloid leukemia(AML)undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(allo-HSCT)during their first complete remission(CR1).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 107 adult AML patients who underwent allo-HSCT during their CR1 at our center between May 2012 and December 2021.The predictive role of bone marrow WT1 expression levels before transplantation and at 3 and 6 months post-transplantation on relapse and OS was explored in combination with relevant clinical factors.Results:The median follow-up time for the 107 patients was 70(range:11-117)months.Among the patients,15 cases died.Kaplan-Meier survial analysis showed that the 3-year overall survival(OS)rate was 85.0％.20 patients experienced relapse,with a median time to relapse of 8(range:0.5-44)months and a l-year cumulative relapse rate of 13.1％.The overall median value of WT1 before transplantation,3 months after transplantation,and 6 months after transplantation was 0.26％(range:0％-23.64％),with an upper quartile value of 0.74％.No statistically significant differences in WT1 expression levels were observed among the pre-transplantation,3-month post-transplantation,and 6-month post-transplantation time points(P=0.227).Univariate analysis showed that patients with WT1 levels＞0.74％at 3 months post-transplantation had a higher 1-year relapse rate(P=0.029)and lower 3-year OS rate(P＜0.001)compared to patients with WT1 levels ≤0.74％.Other significant factors affecting 1-year relapse included stem cell source(P=0.041)and chronic graft-versus-host disease(cGVHD)(P=0.013).For 3-year OS,additional influencing factors were genetic high risk(P=0.048)and stem cell source(P=0.016).Multivariate analysis revealed that WT1 level＞0.74％at 3 months post-transplantation had a trend to affect 1-year relapse rate(HR=3.309,95％CI:0.958-11.431,P=0.058),while the absence of cGVHD was an independent risk factor for 1-year relapse(HR=3.473,95％CI:0.749-16.100,P=0.037).Only WT1 level＞0.74％at 3 months post-transplantation was an independent risk factor for 3-year OS(HR=6.886,95％CI:2.402-19.738,P＜0.001).Conclusion:High WT1 expression level at 3 months post-transplantation in AML patients undergoing allo-HSCT during CR1 affects the 1-year relapse rate and 3-year OS,and is an independent risk factor affecting 3-year OS.These findings suggest that dynamic monitoring of WT1 expression levels has certain value in prognostic assessment of AML patients who received allo-HSCT during CR1.