Objective To investigate the correlation between serum vitamin D level and central precocious puberty(CPP)in girls.Methods A total of 103 girls(case group)with central precocious puberty from Ningbo Woman and Children's Hospital and 53 healthy girls(control group)from health check-ups in Ningbo Women and Children's Hospital were collected as subjects.The serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3[25(OH)D3]in the two groups were detected by chemiluminescence method.The weight and height of girls in the case group were measured.The serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH)and its peak value,luteinizing hormone(LH)and its peak value,estradiol(E2),prolactin(PRL),human chorionic gonadotropin(HCG)and thyroid function were measured by radioimmunoassay.The peak value of LH/FSH was calculated.B ultrasound examination of uterine adnexa was completed to calculate uterine volume and bilateral ovarian volume.According to the results of serum 25-(OH)D3,girls in the case group were divided into normal vitamin D group and vitamin D deficiency group,and the differences of hormone levels,uterine and ovarian development between the two groups were compared.Results The serum level of 25-(OH)D3 in case group was lower than that in control group,and the vitamin D deficiency rate in case group was higher than that in control group,with statistical significance(P<0.05).The age of breast nodules in vitamin D deficiency group was lower than that in vitamin D normal group(P<0.05).There were no significant differences in body weight,height,body mass index(BMI),uterine volume and left ovarian volume between vitamin D normal group and vitamin D deficiency group(P>0.05),and the right ovarian volume in vitamin D deficiency group was significantly higher than that in vitamin D normal group(P<0.05).There were no significant differences in serum levels of FSH,LH,PRL,HCG,peak value of FSH and thyroid function between normal and deficient groups(P>0.05).The levels of E2,LH and LH/FSH in vitamin D deficiency group were significantly higher than those in vitamin D normal group(P<0.05);25-(OH)D3 was negatively correlated with LH/FSH peak(r=-0.197,P<0.05),but was not significantly correlated with thyroid function,FSH,LH,PRL,E2,HCG,FSH and LH peak(P>0.05).Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency is associated with central precocious puberty in girls.Vitamin D deficiency may lead to early onset of precocious puberty.Vitamin D deficiency may affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis function,resulting in changes in reproductive hormone indexes and consequent increase in ovarian volume in girls.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a group of dementia diseases mainly characterized by progressive mental-behavioral abnormalities, executive dysfunction, and language impairment. A small number of FTD patients also present with movement disorders at certain disease course. Here the clinical and multimodal positron-emission tomography (PET) imaging manifestations in a patient with frontotemporal lobe dementia and parkinsonian syndrome are reported. 18F-fluorodopa PET showed reduced uptake in the head of the caudate nucleus. 18F-AV-45 PET showed negative amyloid deposition. 18F-AV-1451 PET showed tau deposition in the neocortex. The clinical and neuroimaging features support the underlying frontotemporal lobar degeneration-tau pathology.

Alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH) is a liver disease characterized by steatosis, inflammation, and necrosis of the liver tissue as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. Pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a xenobiotic nuclear receptor best known for its function in the transcriptional regulation of drug metabolism and disposition. Clinical reports suggested that the antibiotic rifampicin, a potent human PXR activator, is a contraindication in alcoholics, but the mechanism was unclear. In this study, we showed that the hepatic expression of fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) was uniquely elevated in ASH patients and a mouse model of ASH. Pharmacological inhibiting FABP4 attenuated ASH in mice. Furthermore, treatment of mice with the mouse PXR agonist pregnenolon-16α-carbonitrile (PCN) induced the hepatic and circulating levels of FABP4 and exacerbated ASH in a PXR-dependent manner. Our mechanism study established FABP4 as a transcriptional target of PXR. Treatment with andrographolide, a natural compound and dual inhibitor of PXR and FABP4, alleviated mice from ASH. In summary, our results showed that the PXR-FABP4 gene regulatory axis plays an important role in the progression of ASH, which may have accounted for the contraindication of rifampicin in patients of alcoholic liver disease. Pharmacological inhibition of PXR and/or FABP4 may have its promise in the clinical management of ASH.

γ-aminobutyric acid can be produced by a one-step enzymatic reaction catalyzed by glutamic acid decarboxylase. The reaction system is simple and environmentally friendly. However, the majority of GAD enzymes catalyze the reaction under acidic pH at a relatively narrow range. Thus, inorganic salts are usually needed to maintain the optimal catalytic environment, which adds additional components to the reaction system. In addition, the pH of solution will gradually rise along with the production of γ-aminobutyric acid, which is not conducive for GAD to function continuously. In this study, we cloned the glutamate decarboxylase LpGAD from a Lactobacillus plantarum capable of efficiently producing γ-aminobutyric acid, and rationally engineered the catalytic pH range of LpGAD based on surface charge. A triple point mutant LpGAD^{S24R/D88R/Y309K} was obtained from different combinations of 9 point mutations. The enzyme activity at pH 6.0 was 1.68 times of that of the wild type, suggesting the catalytic pH range of the mutant was widened, and the possible mechanism underpinning this increase was discussed through kinetic simulation. Furthermore, we overexpressed the Lpgad and Lpgad^{S24R/D88R/Y309K} genes in Corynebacterium glutamicum E01 and optimized the transformation conditions. An optimized whole cell transformation process was conducted under 40 ℃, cell mass (OD₆₀₀) 20, 100 g/L l-glutamic acid substrate and 100 μmol/L pyridoxal 5-phosphate. The γ-aminobutyric acid titer of the recombinant strain reached 402.8 g/L in a fed-batch reaction carried out in a 5 L fermenter without adjusting pH, which was 1.63 times higher than that of the control. This study expanded the catalytic pH range of and increased the enzyme activity of LpGAD. The improved production efficiency of γ-aminobutyric acid may facilitate its large-scale production.
Glutamate Decarboxylase/genetics* ; Lactobacillus plantarum/genetics* ; Catalysis ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Glutamic Acid

The biological samples of oral genetic diseases and rare diseases are extremely precious. Collecting and preserving these biological samples are helpful to elucidate the mechanisms and improve the level of diagnose and treatment of oral genetic diseases and rare diseases. The standardized construction of biobanks for oral genetic diseases and rare diseases is important for achieving these goals. At present, there is very little information on the construction of these biobanks, and the standards or suggestions for the classification and coding of biological samples from oral and maxillofacial sources, and this is not conducive to the standardization and information construction of biobanks for special oral diseases. This consensus summarizes the background, necessity, principles, and key points of constructing the biobank for oral genetic diseases and rare diseases. On the base of the group standard "Classification and Coding for Human Biomaterial" (GB/T 39768-2021) issued by the National Technical Committee for Standardization of Biological Samples, we suggest 76 new coding numbers for different of biological samples from oral and maxillofacial sources. We hope the consensus may promote the standardization, and smartization on the biobank construction as well as the overall research level of oral genetic diseases and rare diseases in China.

Previous studies suggest that the reduction of SMAD3 (mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 3) has a great impact on tumor development, but its exact pathological function remains unclear. In this study, we found that the protein level of SMAD3 was greatly reduced in human-grade IV glioblastoma tissues, in which LAMP2A (lysosome-associated membrane protein type 2A) was significantly up-regulated. LAMP2A is a key rate-limiting protein of chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), a lysosome pathway of protein degradation that is activated in glioma. We carefully analyzed the amino-acid sequence of SMAD3 and found that it contained a pentapeptide motif biochemically related to KFERQ, which has been proposed to be a targeting sequence for CMA. In vitro, we confirmed that SMAD3 was degraded in either serum-free or KFERQ motif deleted condition, which was regulated by LAMP2A and interacted with HSC70 (heat shock cognate 71 kDa protein). Using isolated lysosomes, amino-acid residues 75 and 128 of SMAD3 were found to be of importance for this process, which affected the CMA pathway in which SMAD3 was involved. Similarly, down-regulating SMAD3 or up-regulating LAMP2A in cultured glioma cells enhanced their proliferation and invasion. Taken together, these results suggest that excessive activation of CMA regulates glioma cell growth by promoting the degradation of SMAD3. Therefore, targeting the SMAD3-LAMP2A-mediated CMA-lysosome pathway may be a promising approach in anti-cancer therapy.

Background::Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s dementia. Mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in the pathology of PD. Coiled-coil-helix-coiled-coil-helix domain-containing 2 (CHCHD2) was identified as associated with autosomal dominant PD. However, the mechanism of CHCHD2 in PD remains unclear.Methods::Short hairpin RNA (ShRNA)-mediated CHCHD2 knockdown or lentivirus-mediated CHCHD2 overexpression was performed to investigate the impact of CHCHD2 on mitochondrial morphology and function in neuronal tumor cell lines represented with human neuroblastoma (SHSY5Y) and HeLa cells. Blue-native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE analysis were used to illustrate the role of CHCHD2 in mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system (MICOS). Co-immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting were used to address the interaction between CHCHD2 and Mic10. Serotype injection of adeno-associated vector-mediated CHCHD2 and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) administration were used to examine the influence of CHCHD2 in vivo.Results::We found that the overexpression of CHCHD2 can protect against methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+)-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and inhibit the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the MPTP-induced mouse model. Furthermore, we identified that CHCHD2 interacted with Mic10, and overexpression of CHCHD2 can protect against MPP +-induced MICOS impairment, while knockdown of CHCHD2 impaired the stability of MICOS. Conclusion::This study indicated that CHCHD2 could interact with Mic10 and maintain the stability of the MICOS complex, which contributes to protecting mitochondrial function in PD.

Objective:To explore the relevant risk factors for readmission of patients with chronic heart failure by Meta-analysis.Methods:We searched the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, SinoMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) , Wanfang Data and VIP Database by computer, and the search time limit was from the establishment of the database to December 31, 2019. RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta-analysis.Results:A total of 19 articles were included, including 185 545 patients and 34 related risk factors.Statistically significant risk factors included depression [ OR=3.87, 95% CI (2.87-5.23) , P<0.01], living alone [ OR=1.12, 95% CI (1.01-1.24) , P=0.03], combined with hyperlipidemia and diabetes [ OR=1.16, 95% CI (1.14-1.19) , P<0.01], high-salt diet [ OR=3.36, 95% CI (2.60-4.35) , P<0.01], decreased renal function [ OR=2.00, 95% CI (1.95-2.04) , P<0.01], heart failure with reduced ejection fraction [ OR=2.71, 95% CI (1.93-3.73) , P<0.01], anemia [ OR=1.43, 95% CI (1.27-1.60) , P<0.01]and infection [ OR=1.12, 95% CI (1.00-1.25) , P=0.04]. Conclusions:Depression, living alone, combined with hyperlipidemia and diabetes, high-salt diet, decreased renal function, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, anemia and infection are related risk factors for readmission in patients with chronic heart failure.

This paper aims to study the accuracy of cardiopulmonary physiological parameters measurement under different exercise intensity in the accompanying (wearable) physiological parameter monitoring system. SensEcho, an accompanying physiological parameter monitoring system, and CORTEX METALYZER 3B, a cardiopulmonary function testing system, were used to simultaneously collect the cardiopulmonary physiological parameters of 28 healthy volunteers (17 males and 11 females) in various exercise states, such as standing, lying down and Bruce treadmill exercise. Bland-Altman analysis, correlation analysis and other methods, from the perspective of group and individual, were used to contrast and analyze the two types of equipment to measure parameters of heart rate and breathing rate. The results of group analysis showed that the heart rate and respiratory rate data box charts collected by the two devices were highly consistent. The heart rate difference was (-0.407 ± 3.380) times/min, and the respiratory rate difference was (-0.560 ± 7.047) times/min. The difference was very small. The Bland-Altman plot of the heart rate and respiratory rate in each experimental stage showed that the proportion of mean ± 2SD was 96.86% and 95.29%, respectively. The results of individual analysis showed that the correlation coefficients of the whole-process heart rate and respiratory rate data were all greater than 0.9. In conclusion, SensEcho, as an accompanying physiological parameter monitoring system, can accurately measure the human heart rate, respiration rate and other key cardiopulmonary physiological parameters under various sports conditions. It can maintain good stability under various sports conditions and meet the requirements of continuous physiological signal collection and analysis application under sports conditions.

Objective:To investigate the characteristics of senile neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) inpatients in south China, especially in Guangdong province, and explore the influencing factors for their medical expenses.Methods:The medical records of 7231 patients with NDDs≥65 years were collected in the electronic health database of our hospital from January 2010 to December 2019, including gender, age, admission ways, chief complaints, length of hospital stays and medical expenses. On the basis of median of the medical expenses (21 345 yuan) of these patients, they were divided into low cost (<21 345 yuan) group and high cost (≥21 345 yuan) group. Univariate Logistic analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were conducted to screen the influencing factors for medical expenses and the independent influencing factors.Results:(1) The main age group of geriatric inpatients with NDDs were 70-79 years (40.96%); the admission source was mainly outpatient (56.70%), and length of hospital stays of a large percent of patients (44.50%) were 8-14 d. (2) From 2010 to 2019, the number of hospitalized geriatric patients with NDDs showed an increasing trend year by year, the overall trend of length of hospital stays was shortened, and the medical expenses showed gradual increase; the causes of hospitalization, percentages of patients caused by infection, abnormal blood pressure and water-electrolyte metabolism disturbances showed decreased trend, percentages of patients caused by heart diseases, cerebrovascular accidents and mental-psychological diseases showed increased trend, and the proportions of patients caused by fracture/trauma/wound injuries were generally stable. The proportion of patients returning home and mortality rate after hospital discharge were declined, and the proportion of patients returning to other medical or community institutions was increased. (3) Living in ICU, length of hospital stays, diabetes, nosocomial infection, chronic kidney disease, urinary tract infection, tumble, body mass index, and anticholinergic drugs were independent risk factors influencing the medical expenses ( P<0.05). Conclusions:An aging trend is noted in patients with NDDs; the number of hospitalized patients and medical expenses increase year by year, and the length of hospital stays gradually decreases. In view of the many factors that influence the medical expenses of this disease, it is suggested to develop the corresponding standardized treatment plan for the main influencing factors in clinical practice.