To reduce the dependency on high-carbon-load chromatographic columns,a new method has been established for the determination of the content of docusate sodium using ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography (IP-HPLC). Tetrapropylammonium chloride was used as the ion-pair reagent with a mobile phase, composition of acetonitrile:10 mmol/L tetrapropylammonium chloride solution = 66∶34, adjusting pH to 6.5 with 0.1% phosphoric acid solution,flow rate of 1.5 mL/min, detection wavelength of 214 nm,column temperature of 35 °C, and an injection volume of 25 μL,and quantified by an external standard method. The main peak of docusate sodium exhibited a tailing factor of 1.34. The method showed good linearity within the range of 0.02 mg/mL to 0.40 mg/mL, with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.999 9. It also demonstrated good repeatability, with recovery ranging from 97.0% to 98.2% (n=6). The quantification limit was 3.31 μg/mL, and the detection limit was 2.76 μg/mL.In summary,the new method shows good durability, a wide linear range, and high sensitivity, it is suitable for the determination of docusate sodium.

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of electrical stimulation, biofeedback, and radiofrequency therapy in combination for the treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction.Methods:A total of 144 patients with pelvic floor dysfunction who received treatment in Lianyungang Maternal and Child Health Hospital from June 2020 to June 2022 were included in this prospective randomized controlled study. They were randomly assigned to undergo electrical stimulation combined with biofeedback (electrical stimulation group, n = 48), treatment with a novel radiofrequency technique (radiofrequency therapy group, n = 48), or electrical stimulation, biofeedback, and treatment with a novel radiofrequency technique (combined group, n = 48). Pelvic floor dysfunction, stress urinary incontinence, and pelvic floor myofascial pain were compared among the three groups. Pelvic organ prolapse quantification was compared among the three groups before and after treatment. Quality of life was evaluated. Results:The effective rates of treatment against pelvic floor dysfunction, stress urinary incontinence, and pelvic floor myofascial pain in the combined group were 95.83% (46/48), 97.92% (47/48), and 93.75% (45/48), respectively, which were significantly higher than 79.17% (38/48), 79.17% (38/48), 77.08% (37/48) in the radiofrequency group, and 75.00% (36/48), 77.08% (37/48), 72.92% (35/48) in the electrical stimulation group ( χ2 = 8.40, 9.77, 7.66, all P < 0.05). After treatment, the severity of pelvic organ prolapse in the combined group was significantly milder than that in the novel radiofrequency technique group and electrical stimulation group (both P < 0.05). The scores of the pelvic floor dysfunction questionnaire and urinary incontinence questionnaire in the combined group were significantly lower than those in the radiofrequency therapy group and the electrical stimulation group (both P < 0.05). Conclusion:Electrical stimulation, biofeedback, and radiofrequency therapy in combination can greatly strengthen the muscle strength of the pelvic floor, relieve urinary incontinence, reduce pelvic floor myofascial pain, and improve the quality of life of patients with pelvic floor dysfunction.

Background Exposure to air pollutants O₃ and PM_2.5 is closely related to population mortality. Most of the domestic research findings are for residents in coastal areas, and less for those in the central and western regions. Objective To investigate the acute effects of O₃ and PM_2.5 on the mortality of residents in a city of central China. Methods Data were collected on atmospheric pollutants, meteorological data, and population mortality in a city of central China from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2021. Meteorological data included daily average temperature, air pressure, and relative humidity. Atmospheric pollution data included daily mean concentrations of PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂, and CO and maximum 8 h O₃. Generalized additive model with Poisson distribution was used for estimating the relationships between air pollutants (O₃ and PM_2.5) and population mortality, and further stratified by age, gender, and education. Results The daily maximum 8 h average concentration of O₃ in the city during the study period was 94.38 μɡ·m⁻³ and the daily average concentration of PM_2.5 was 55.56 μɡ·m⁻³. In the single-pollutant model, the correlations between O₃ concentration and total deaths as well as deaths due to respiratory, circulatory, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke were strongest at lag02, lag2, lag02, lag0, lag02, and lag0, and for every 10 μɡ·m⁻³ increase in concentration of O₃, the associated ER (95%CI) values of daily mortality were increased by 0.09% (−0.08%–0.25%), 0.35% (0–0.71%), 0.43% (0.18%–0.68%), 0.45% (0.02%–0.91%), 0.59% (0.16%–1.02%), and 0.33% (0.01%–0.65%), respectively. The effect of O₃ on total mortality was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The correlations between PM_2.5 concentration and total deaths, as well as deaths due to respiratory, circulatory, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and stroke were strongest at lag1, lag5, lag01, lag05, lag04, and lag01, and for every 10 μɡ·m⁻³ increase in concentration of PM_2.5, the associated ER (95%CI) values of daily mortality increased by 0.02% (−0.09–0.13%), 0.25% (0.01%–0.50%), 0.35% (0.16%–0.54%), 1.18% (0.59%–1.77%), 0.17% (−0.13%–0.40%), and 0.65% (0.38%–0.92%), respectively, with no statistically significant effects of PM_2.5 on total mortality and mortality due to coronary heart disease (P>0.05). During warm season (from May to October), the ER (95%CI) values of total deaths per 10 μɡ·m⁻³ increase in O₃ in male, people aged 6~65 years, people aged >65 years, and people below high school education were 0.46% (0.16%–0.75%), 0.38% (0.08%–0.68%), 0.41% (0.14%–0.66%), and 0.38% (0.14%–0.61%), respectively, while the O₃ effect was not statistically significant (P>0.05) during cool season (from November to April). Conclusions Atmospheric pollutants (O₃ and PM_2.5) have acute effects on mortality in the city, with the elderly, people with less than a high school education, and those with circulatory disease being more sensitive to O₃ and PM_2.5 exposures.

OBJECTIVE: To detect variants of IVD gene among 4 neonates with suspected isovalerate acidemia in order to provide a guidance for clinical treatment. METHODS: 111 986 newborns and 7461 hospitalized children with suspected metabolic disorders were screened for acyl carnitine by tandem mass spectrometry. Those showing a significant increase in serum isovaleryl carnitine (C5) were analyzed for urinary organic acid and variants of the IVD gene. RESULTS: Four cases of isovalerate acidemia were detected, which included 2 asymptomatic newborns (0.018‰, 2/111 986) and 2 children suspected for metabolic genetic diseases (0.268‰, 2/7461). The formers had no obvious clinical symptoms. Analysis of acyl carnitine has suggested a significant increase in C5, and urinary organic acid analysis has shown an increase in isovaleryl glycine and 3-hydroxyisovalerate. Laboratory tests of the two hospitalized children revealed high blood ammonia, hyperglycemia, decreased red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and metabolic acidosis. The main clinical manifestations have included sweaty foot-like odor, feeding difficulty, confusion, drowsiness, and coma. Eight variants (5 types) were detected, which included c.158G>A (p.Arg53His), c.214G>A (p.Asp72Asn), c.548C>T (p.Ala183Val), c.757A>G (p.Thr253Ala) and 1208A>G (p.Tyr403Cys). Among these, c.548C>T and c.757A>G were unreported previously. None of the variants was detected by next generation sequencing of 2095 healthy newborns, and all variants were predicted to be likely pathogenic based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. CONCLUSION The incidence of isovalerate acidemia in Liuzhou area is quite high. Screening of metabolic genetic diseases is therefore recommended for newborns with abnormal metabolism. The discovery of novel variants has enriched the mutational spectrum of the IVD gene.
Infant, Newborn ; Child ; Humans ; Acidosis ; Carnitine ; Erythrocytes ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing

Background In recent years, our country's atmospheric particulate matter pollution has improved significantly, while ozone (O₃) pollution has become increasingly serious. As a secondary pollutant, O₃ is closely related to human health. Objective To study the effect of short-term exposure to ozone in ambient air on population mortality in China. Methods A computer search with key words of "ozone or O₃", "death", and "time series" in Chinese or "ozone", "mortality", and "China" in English was performed in Web of Science, PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, and VIP databases to find literature on effects of short-term ozone exposure on population mortality covering a time period from January 1, 1990 to December 31, 2021. According to a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria developed for this study, literaturescreening, quality evaluation, andrelevant data extraction were carried out. Finally, R 4.1.2 software was used to perform meta-analysis to estimate target effect sizes. Results A total of 978 articles were retrieved. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 18 articles were finally included, including 39 effect size estimates. The results showed that every 10 μɡ·m⁻³ increase in ambient ozone concentration was associated with an increase of 0.45% (95%CI: 0.39%-0.51%), 0.50% (95%CI: 0.33%-0.68%), and 0.60% (95%CI: 0.48%-0.72%) in total, respiratory, and cardiovascular disease mortalities , respectively. The results of subgroup analysis by age, sex, and season showed that when ozone concentration increased 10 μɡ·m⁻³, an increase of 0.34% (95%CI: 0.17%-0.51%) in mortality was observed in the ≥ 65-year-old population, higher than 0.09% (95%CI: −0.21%-0.39%) increase in the <65-year-old population; the mortality increase in females [0.44% (95%CI: 0.30%-0.58%)] was greater than that in males [0.35% (95%CI: 0.22%-0.48%)]; compared with the warm season [0.29% (95%CI: 0.16%-0.42%)], mortality increase was higher in the cold season [1.03% (95%CI: 0.71%-1.35%)]. Conclusion Ambient ozone is an important factor affecting population mortality. The elderly and women ≥ 65 years old in China are more sensitive to ozone, and the impact of ozone exposure on population mortality is greater in cold season.

【Objective】 To explore the clinical value of thromboelastogram (TEG) in monitoring coagulation function in patients with COVID-19. 【Methods】 Patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in our hospital from January 20 to March 1, 2020 were enrolled and divided into mild group (mild type, common type) and severe group (severe type, critical group). The TEG, platelet count and routine blood coagulation function were compared between the two groups to analyze the coagulation characteristics of the patients. 【Results】 A total of 66 cases were studied, including severe (n=33) and mild (n=33), male(n=39)and female(n=27), hypertension (n=9) and diabetes mellitus (n=11) cases. 28 (84.8%) severe and 24 (72.7%) mild patients had at least one hypercoagulable TEG parameter. K value of TEG in the severe group was lower than that in the mild group (P<0.05), Angel and CI increased (P<0.05). The fibrinogen (Fib) and D-dimer increased in routine coagulation function test (P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 Patients with COVID-19 showed hypercoagulability in TEG parameter, which was related to the severity of this disease. TEG may be more valuable for COVID-19 patients with hypercoagulable status and thrombosis risk, and help to develop anticoagulation strategies.

To explore the association of nucleotide binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family caspase recruitment domain containing 3 (NLRC3) with prognosis and tumor immunity in patients with stage III colorectal cancer.
 Methods: Data of 122 patients with stage III colorectal cancer, who underwent radical resection from 2012 to 2013 in Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, were retrospectively collected. The expressions of NLRC3 and CD8+ were examined by immumohistochemical (IHC) staining. The preoperative clinical data were used to obtain neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and the stability of microsatellite was determined. The relationship between NLRC3 and clinicopathological factors was analyzed by χ2 test, and the independent prognostic factors for patients with stage III colorectal cancer were determined by COX regression model.
 Results: The expression of NLRC3 was significantly associated with CD8+ T cells infiltration (χ2=27.79, P<0.01), NLR (χ2=6.35, P<0.05), lymph node metastasis (LN) (χ2=10.12, P<0.01) and microsatellite stability (χ2=6.05, P<0.05). NLRC3 (OR=0.066, 95% CI 0.020 to 0.218), vascular emboli (OR=3.119, 95% CI 1.547 to 6.286) and NLR (OR=5.103, 95% CI 2.465 to 10.563) had an effect on overall survival (OS) for patients with stage III colorectal cancer (all P<0.05). In addition, NLRC3 (OR=0.144, 95% CI 0.055 to 0.377), vascular emboli (OR=3.589, 95% CI 1.859 to 6.932) and NLR (OR=2.939, 95% CI 1.509 to 5.723) also had an effect on disease-free survival (DFS) for patients with stage III colorectal cancer (all P<0.05).
 Conclusion: NLRC3, intravascular emboli and NLR are independent prognostic factors for patients with stage III colorectal cancer. NLRC3 might be a good prognostic factor for patients with stage III colorectal cancer due to its capacity of inhibiting systemic inflammation and promoting local anti-tumor immunity.
Colorectal Neoplasms ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; metabolism ; Lymphocytes ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neutrophils ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To compare the effects of no-rinse skin cleanser and warm water with paraffin oil in first brush bath of the new-born. Methods About 42 newborns who were born from January to March 2016 were set as control group and used warm water with paraffin oil in first brush bath. About 43 newborns who were born from April to June 2016 were set as observation group and used no-rinse skin cleanser in first brush bath. The cleaning time and effect ,the rectal temperature before and after sponge and dermatitis were compared. Results Both groups did not develop dermatitis. But the observation group had better cleaning satisfaction , less cleaning time, faster rewarming than those of the control group with statistical significance (all p<0.05). Conclusion No-rinse skin cleanser used in the first brush for the new-born can reduce cleaning time and difference of temperature, which is safe for clinical application.

Objective:To explore the expression of R-spondin family in colorectal cancer tissues and adjacent tissues,and to evaluate its relationship with clinic-pathological stage.Methods:A total of 64 samples of colorectal cancer tissues and adjacent tissues were collected from the patients,who received radical surgery in Xiangya Hospital,Central South University between January 2014 and August 2014.The mRNA and protein expression levels of R-spondin 1-4 and β-catenin in the colorectal cancer tissues and adjacent tissues were detected by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry.The relationship between the expression level of R-spondin 1-4 and the clinic-pathological factors were analyzed to explore the correlation between the expression level of R-spondin 1-4 and β-catenin in colorectal cancer.Results:Compared with the adjacent tissues,the mRNA and protein expression levels of R-spondin 1 were elevated in the colorectal cancer tissues (P＜0.05).The mRNA and protein expression levels of R-spondin 2-4 were increased in the colorectal cancer tissues than those in the normal tissues (P＜0.05),but there was no significant difference between the colorectal cancer tissues and adjacent tissues (P＞0.05).The expression level of R-spondin i was positively correlated with the nuclear expression of β-catenin in the colorectal cancer tissues (r=0.6307,P＜0.05).Conclusion:Compared with the adjacent tissues,the mRNA and protein expression levels of R-spondin 1 are significantly elevated in the colorectal cancer tissues.R-spondin 1 may play a role in promoting carcinogenesis by regulating the activity of β-catenin in the downstream of Wnt signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the role of neutrophils and their IgA Fc receptor CD89 in the occurrence of Henoch-Sch（o）nlein purpura (HSP),to evaluate their effects on vascular endothelial cell apoptosis,and to explore their mechanisms.Methods Peripheral blood neutrophils were isolated from 30 children with acute HSP and 9 age-matched healthy controls separately.After isolation of serum IgA by Jacalin affinity chromatography,IgA was purified by polypropylene dextran gel chromatography.Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Western blot analysis were performed to determine the mRNA and protein expression of CD89 on neutrophils respectively,and flow cytometry was conducted to measure the expression of neutrophil activation marker CD11b.Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were co-cultured with neutrophils isolated from patients with HSP (HSP group) and healthy controls (healthy control group) separately.Moreover,the HSP group were divided into 3 subgroups to be treated with serum IgA isolated from the HSP patients (HSP IgA group),monomeric IgA (mIgA group) and phosphate-buffered saline (blank control group) respectively.Then,flow cytometry was conducted to detect apoptosis of co-cultured HUVEC,and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)to measure levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the supernatant of co-cultured cells.Results There was no significant difference in the mRNA expression of CD89 on neutrophils between the patients with HSP and healthy controls (P =0.98),but the protein expression of CD89 was significantly lower in the patients with HSP than in the healthy controls (0.60 ± 0.16 vs.0.83 ± 0.24,P =0.03).The expression of CD1 1b on neutrophils was significantly higher in the patients with HSP than in the healthy controls (1 880.25 ± 388.29 vs.1 109.25 ± 364.25,P ＜ 0.01).The apoptosis rate of co-cultured HUVEC was also significantly higher in the HSP group than in the healthy control group (37.44％ ± 5.49％ vs.17.14％ ± 4.45％,P ＜ 0.01).In addition,the H SP IgA group showed significantly higher apoptosis rate of cocultured HUVEC and levels of IL-8 and TNF-cα in the supematant compared with the mIgA group (all P ＜0.01) and blank control group (P ＜ 0.01,=0.01,=0.02,respectively).Conclusions Peripheral blood neutrophils in patients with HSP are activated,which can induce the apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells.HSP IgA can promote the neutrophil-mediated apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells and secretion of IL-8 and TNF-α,while mIgA may show a certain inhibitory effects.