BACKGROUND: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortening, a biomarker of telomere attrition, has been linked to multiple diseases. However, the relationship between LTL and digestive diseases remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the association between LTL and the risk of digestive diseases. METHODS: A cohort analysis of over 500,000 participants from the UK Biobank (UKB) between 2006 and 2021 was conducted to estimate the associations of LTL with more than 90 common digestive diseases. LTL was quantified using multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and cases of each disease were determined according to inpatient and primary care data. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to evaluate the associations of LTL with the risk of digestive diseases. Furthermore, such associations were also evaluated after stratification by sex and ethnicity. RESULTS: After a mean follow-up time of 11.8 years, over 20 International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision ( ICD-10 ) codes were showed to be associated with telomere attrition. LTL shortening is associated with an increased risk of several digestive diseases, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (K21: hazard ratio [HR] = 1.30, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.19-1.42), esophageal ulcer (K221: HR = 1.81, 95% CI: 1.22-2.71), Barrett's esophagus (K227: HR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.14-2.17), gastritis (K29: HR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.26-1.52), duodenal ulcer (K26: HR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.14-2.12), functional dyspepsia (K30X: HR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.06-1.69), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (K760: HR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.09-1.78), liver cirrhosis (K74: HR = 4.73, 95% CI: 3.27-6.85), cholangitis (K830: HR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.30-5.00), and hernia (K43: HR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.17-1.94; K44: HR = 1.29, 95% CI: 1.17-1.42). The risk of rectal polyps (K621: HR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.63-0.92) decreased per unit shortening of LTL. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that LTL shortening is associated with an increased risk of most digestive diseases except for rectal polyps. These findings may provide some clues for understanding the pathogenesis of digestive diseases.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Cohort Studies ; Leukocytes/metabolism* ; Telomere/genetics* ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Adult ; Digestive System Diseases/genetics* ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Telomere Shortening

Objective: To explore the relationship between different serum albumin and lymphocyte levels in patients with 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pneumonia (COVID-19). Methods: A retrospective study was performed to identify the characteristics of the clinical data of 205 COVID-19 patients who were hospitalized in the Happy Street of Hanchuan People's Hospital, Xiaogan, Hubei Province from January 24 to February 12, 2020, including their general information, serum albumin (ALB) levels, lymphocyte counts (LYM), percentage of lymphocytes (LYM%) and other laboratory parameter levels. Low ALB group and normal ALB group were demarcated by the concentration of 35g/L, further to identify the differences of LYM and LYM% levels and the incidence of LYM and LYM% decline at different ALB levels between groups,as well as the correlation between ALB and LYM, LYM% levels in hypoalbuminemia conditions . Results: 17.5% of COVID-19 patients were associated with hypoalbuminemia. The levels of LYM and LYM% in the low ALB group were significantly lower than those in the normal ALB group (P <0.001). The incidence of LYM and LYM% decline in the low ALB group was significantly higher than those in the normal ALB group (P <0.001). The levels of LYM and LYM% in the low ALB group were significantly positively correlated with serum ALB concentrations (P <0.05). Conclusions The decrease of lymphocyte levels in COVID-19 patients may be correlated to hypoalbuminemia. COVID-19 patients complicated by hypoalbuminemia should be actively intervened to maintain serum albumin in the normal range.

Objective:To investigate the features, changing trend, and rules of pneumoconiosis in Jiangsu Province, China, as well as the health status of patients with pneumoconiosis.Methods:From July to October 2019, the patients with pneumoconiosis, reported up to the end of 2018 in Jiangsu Province, were enrolled as respondents, and follow-up and retrospective investigation were performed. A total of 24405 patients with pneumoconiosis were investigated, and related data were collected from the monitoring system of cause of death for residents, pneumoconiosis network reporting system, occupational disease diagnosis institution, management institutions for the reporting of occupational diseases, and related residents' committee or village committee. The patients with pneumoconiosis, who had been reported, were followed up by telephone or on-site visit to obtain the information on their conditions. A descriptive analysis was performed for age of onset, working years, sex, category of industry, type of pneumoconiosis, annual disease onset, geographic distribution, and medical security.Results:Among the 24405 patients, a male/female ratio was 16.81∶1. Of all 24405 patients, 15948 (65.35%) had stage 1 pneumoconiosis, 5289 (21.67%) had stage 2 pneumoconiosis, and 1637 (6.71%) had stage 3 pneumoconiosis. The mean working years for dust exposure was 16.25±9.95 years for all patients, and the mean working years for dust exposure was 15.80±9.95 years for patients with stage 1 pneumoconiosis, 17.82±9.80 years for patients with stage 2 pneumoconiosis, and 16.31±9.90 years for patients with stage 3 pneumoconiosis. The highest number of cases of pneumoconiosis was reported in Wuxi (5744 cases, accounting for 23.54%) , followed by Zhenjiang (4160 cases, accounting for 17.05%) , Xuzhou (3851 cases, accounting for 15.78%) , Yancheng (3340 cases, accounting for 13.69%) , and Suzhou (2948 cases, accounting for 12.08%) . Major types of pneumoconiosis included silicosis (15392 cases, accounting for 63.07%) and coal workers' pneumoconiosis (5253 cases, accounting for 21.52%) . In this survey, 21115 completed follow-up, among whom 15924 survived and 5191 died, 15924 patients with pneumoconiosis survived, among whom 7461 (46.85%) had an age of ≥70 years and 2515 (15.79%) were exposed to dust for 5-9 years. The industries involved were mainly coal mining and washing industry (5687 cases, accounting for 35.71%) and public management, social security, and social organization (3349 cases, accounting for 21.03%) ; in terms of security, 7999 patients (50.23%) were covered by occupational injury insurance, 946 (5.94%) were compensated by employers, 4537 (28.49%) were covered by basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents, 1590 (9.98%) were covered by critical illness insurance, and 5458 (34.28%) were covered by other types of social security, such as medical assistance and poverty relief.Conclusion:Silicosis and coal worker's pneumoconiosis are the key points for the prevention and treatment of pneumoconiosis in Jiangsu Province, and supervision should be strengthened for industries and regions with serious dust hazards.

The theory of membrane anatomy is now widely accepted due to the observation of fine anatomical structure with the help of laparoscopic magnifying effect. From the perspective of systematic anatomy, the mesentery is considered as an integral organ in the theory of mesenteric anatomy. Interfascial anatomy belongs to regional anatomy, which focuses on the guiding significance of fascial space for operation. The theory of membrane anatomy belongs to surgical anatomy or applied anatomy, which emphasizes the anatomy of membrane and mesangial bed, and reveals the existence of 'metastasis V’ in the mesentery. It is considered that the essence of membrane anatomy operation is to prevent cancer leakage. Various theories of membrane anatomy seek common ground while reserving differences, complement each other, and upgrade iteratively. They help to explain the structure and function of membrane from different perspectives and they are of great benefit to improve the quality of operations. Thus, they should be treated in an eclectic manner.

Objective:To investigate the features, changing trend, and rules of pneumoconiosis in Jiangsu Province, China, as well as the health status of patients with pneumoconiosis.Methods:From July to October 2019, the patients with pneumoconiosis, reported up to the end of 2018 in Jiangsu Province, were enrolled as respondents, and follow-up and retrospective investigation were performed. A total of 24405 patients with pneumoconiosis were investigated, and related data were collected from the monitoring system of cause of death for residents, pneumoconiosis network reporting system, occupational disease diagnosis institution, management institutions for the reporting of occupational diseases, and related residents' committee or village committee. The patients with pneumoconiosis, who had been reported, were followed up by telephone or on-site visit to obtain the information on their conditions. A descriptive analysis was performed for age of onset, working years, sex, category of industry, type of pneumoconiosis, annual disease onset, geographic distribution, and medical security.Results:Among the 24405 patients, a male/female ratio was 16.81∶1. Of all 24405 patients, 15948 (65.35%) had stage 1 pneumoconiosis, 5289 (21.67%) had stage 2 pneumoconiosis, and 1637 (6.71%) had stage 3 pneumoconiosis. The mean working years for dust exposure was 16.25±9.95 years for all patients, and the mean working years for dust exposure was 15.80±9.95 years for patients with stage 1 pneumoconiosis, 17.82±9.80 years for patients with stage 2 pneumoconiosis, and 16.31±9.90 years for patients with stage 3 pneumoconiosis. The highest number of cases of pneumoconiosis was reported in Wuxi (5744 cases, accounting for 23.54%) , followed by Zhenjiang (4160 cases, accounting for 17.05%) , Xuzhou (3851 cases, accounting for 15.78%) , Yancheng (3340 cases, accounting for 13.69%) , and Suzhou (2948 cases, accounting for 12.08%) . Major types of pneumoconiosis included silicosis (15392 cases, accounting for 63.07%) and coal workers' pneumoconiosis (5253 cases, accounting for 21.52%) . In this survey, 21115 completed follow-up, among whom 15924 survived and 5191 died, 15924 patients with pneumoconiosis survived, among whom 7461 (46.85%) had an age of ≥70 years and 2515 (15.79%) were exposed to dust for 5-9 years. The industries involved were mainly coal mining and washing industry (5687 cases, accounting for 35.71%) and public management, social security, and social organization (3349 cases, accounting for 21.03%) ; in terms of security, 7999 patients (50.23%) were covered by occupational injury insurance, 946 (5.94%) were compensated by employers, 4537 (28.49%) were covered by basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents, 1590 (9.98%) were covered by critical illness insurance, and 5458 (34.28%) were covered by other types of social security, such as medical assistance and poverty relief.Conclusion:Silicosis and coal worker's pneumoconiosis are the key points for the prevention and treatment of pneumoconiosis in Jiangsu Province, and supervision should be strengthened for industries and regions with serious dust hazards.

The theory of membrane anatomy is now widely accepted due to the observation of fine anatomical structure with the help of laparoscopic magnifying effect. From the perspective of systematic anatomy, the mesentery is considered as an integral organ in the theory of mesenteric anatomy. Interfascial anatomy belongs to regional anatomy, which focuses on the guiding significance of fascial space for operation. The theory of membrane anatomy belongs to surgical anatomy or applied anatomy, which emphasizes the anatomy of membrane and mesangial bed, and reveals the existence of 'metastasis V’ in the mesentery. It is considered that the essence of membrane anatomy operation is to prevent cancer leakage. Various theories of membrane anatomy seek common ground while reserving differences, complement each other, and upgrade iteratively. They help to explain the structure and function of membrane from different perspectives and they are of great benefit to improve the quality of operations. Thus, they should be treated in an eclectic manner.

Objective:To investigate the expression levels of PPARα/γin RAW264. 7 cells in the early stages of co-cultivation with Echinococcus granulosus in vitro. Methods:RAW264. 7 cells were co-cultured with E. granulosus and collected at 12,24,36,48, 72 h. The mRNA levels of PPAR-γ,PPAR-α,M1 macrophages-associated cytokines including TNF-α,MCP-1 and IL-1β,and M2 mac-rophages-associated cytokines including Arg-1,TGF-β and Fizz-1 were detected by qRT-PCR. The protein levels of Arg-1 and MR were analyzed by ELISA. Results:The expression levels of PPAR-γ, PPAR-αand the M2 macrophages-associated cytokines including Arg-1,TGF-β,Fizz-1 and MR were significantly increased,especially at 72 h (P<0. 05). M1 macrophages-associated cytokines including TNF-α,MCP-1 and IL-1β were decreased at 72h although increased at first. Conclusion:During the early stages of co-cultivation with Echinococcus granulosus in vitro, the levels of PPAR-γ/α are up-regulated in RAW264. 7 cells, which may drive macrophage polarization and play a role in the immune escape.

The British and French language analogy method in bilingual teaching was applied to the clinical students who were learning medical French in Kunming Medical University. Based on the students' good English foundation , a series of problems were solved properly such as contradictions between the professional course and foreign language classes , unmatched textbooks and teaching con-tents, the teachers' quality by lexical analogy and textual analogy and the rational allocation of the British and French language analogy teaching content. The teaching contents and methods were also properly worked out and good results were got.

BACKGROUND: At present, there are investigations on the expression of cytokines and adhesion molecular in ischemia-reperfusion injury at abroad,but they do not involve in the relative studies on endogenous cytokines and adhesion molecular on microvascular endothelial surface following injury.The expression of endogenous interleukin-1(IL-1) is limited only at mRNA level.OBJECTIVE: To prove into the mechanism of the expression of intercellular adhesion molecular 1 and its regulation factor IL-1 in spinal ischemia-reperfusion injury.DESIGN: A randomized grouping design, animal experiment.SETTING: Department of Sports Medicine, College of Physical Education Affiliated to Jilin UniversityMATERIALS: This experiment was carried out at the Central Laboratory,China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University between March 2003 and January 2004. Totally 77 healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control group (n=7), simple ischemia group (n=14) and ischemia-reperfusion group (n=56). Among the rats in the simple-ischemia group, 7 rats suffered from blood flow block for 30 minutes and 7 rats for 60 minutes; Rats in the ischemia-reperfusion group were assigned into 8 subgroups according to 8 time phases, respectively at reperfusion for 30,60 minutes, 2, 4, 6,9, 12 and 24 hours following spinal ischemia, with 7 rats at each time phase.METHODS: Spinal ischemia-reperfusion injury animal models were created with Zivin method. The expressions of vascular endothelial intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) mRNA and IL-1β mRNA following spinal ischemia-reperfusion injury were detected with reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescent confocal laser scanning microscope technique.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The expression of IL-1β mRNA, activity of IL-1 polypeptide, expression of ICAM-1 mRNA and protein and activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO).RFSULTS: Totally 77 animals were enrolled and all of them entered the stage of result analysis. ① The expression of IL-1β mRNA (A value)was significantly higher in the ischemia-reperfusion group than in the simple ischemia group and normal control group, with significant difference (respectively 1.07±0.33,0.60±0.22,0.57±0.12,t=3.751 7,11.852 6,P ＜ 0.01).② Activity of IL-1 polypeptide (A value )was significantly higher in the ischemia-reperfusion group than in the simple ischemia group and normal control group, with significant difference [respectively (33.7±3.2),(23.8±4.5), (23.1±2.1),t=2.798 8,9.962 7,P ＜ 0.01]. ③ ICAM-1 mRNA(A value)was significantly higher in ischemia-reperfusion group than in simple ischemia group and normal control group, with significant difference[respectively 0.94±0.12,0.52±0.11,0.51±0. 10,t=0.327 0,6.127 4, P＜0.01].④The expression of ICAM-1 protein was significantly higher at ischemiareperfusion for 4,6 and 12 hours than in simple ischemia group and normal control group, with significant difference [Respectively (316.90±26.00),(361.40±18.00),(406.00±23.00),(164.21±2.00),(180.00±32.00) μg/L,t=1.410 3,9.119 3 ,P ＜ 0.01]. ⑤ The activity of MPO was significantly higher at ischemia-reperfusion for 12 hours than in simple ischemia group and normal control group, with significant difference [respectively (15.00±2.00),(7.50±1.67),(6.67±1.00) nkat/g, t=3.012 2,P ＜ 0.01].CONCLUSION: Following reperfusion injury, inflammatory reaction in spinal cord is important molecular basis for causing blood spinal barrier impairment, and plays an important role in the process of secondary spinal cord injury.

Objective To study the relation of the porin at the out membrane with resistance to cefoxitin in Enterobacter cloaceae. Methods The extended spectrum beta lactamase(ESBLs) was detected by phenotypic confirmatory test according to NCCLS M100 S9;the beta lactamase and out membrane protein(OMP) was extracted by ultrasonication,the beta lactamase was detected by ultraviolet spectrophotometer,the composition of OMP was analyze by SDS PAGE. Results The 6 strains in 9 strains of Enterobacter cloaceae with resistance to cefoxitin lost 18 kda protein band and did not product hydrolase to cefoxitin and 5 strains was ESBLs positive. 2 strains producing hydrolase to cefoxitin did not lose the 18 kda protein. One strain with resistance to cefoxitin was producing ESBLs but did not defect the 18kda protein band and product hydrolase to cefoxitin. Conclusion The defect of the 18 kda protein band is nearly relation with resistance to cefoxitine in Enterobacter cloaceae.