Objective To analyze the effect of residual cholesterol (RC) on hearing loss in noise-exposed workers. Methods A total of 3 412 workers engaged in noise operation work in an underground railway enterprise were selected as the research subjects using the judgment sampling method. Their occupational health examination data were collected to analyze the relationship between RC and hearing loss. Results The noise intensity of workplace in the underground rail enterprise was 80.0-85.0 (81.4±3.2) dB(A). The detection rate of hearing loss was 20.2% (691/3 412). The rates of abnormal total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol were 35.6%, 25.7%, 9.5% and 42.4%, respectively. The median and the 25th and 75th percentiles [M(P₂₅,P₇₅)] of RC level were 0.24 (0.15, 0.37) mmol/L. The levels of total cholesterol, triacylglycerol and RC of workers in hearing loss group were higher than those in normal hearing group [M(P₂₅,P₇₅): 4.91(4.37, 5.58) vs 4.84(4.30, 5.46) mmol/L, 1.29(0.91, 1.93) vs 1.16(0.82, 1.67) mmol/L, 0.26(0.16, 0.41) vs 0.24(0.14, 0.37) mmol/L, all P<0.05]. The detection rate of hearing loss in abnormal triglyceride group was higher than that in normal triglyceride group (24.8% vs 18.7%, P<0.01), and the detection rate of hearing loss in abnormal HDL-C group was higher than that in normal HDL-C group (25.0% vs 19.8%, P<0.05). The higher the serum RC level, the higher the detection rate of hearing loss (P<0.01). Multivariate logistic regression result showed that individual with older age, longer work time and higher serum RC level had higher risk of hearing abnormality (all P<0.05), and the risk of hearing abnormality was higher in patients with abnormal fasting blood glucose than patients with normal faseing blood glucose (P<0.05) after controlling for confounding factors such as gender, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and elevated blood pressure. However, abnormal triacylglycerol and HDL-C levels were not significantly related to the risk of hearing abnormality (both P>0.05). Conclusion Serum RC levels are an independent risk factor for hearing loss among noise-exposed workers exposed to noise level of 80.0-85.0 dB(A) in the workplace.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a well-tolerated, safe and noninvasive physical brain stimulation method, which has been widely used in the treatment of some common mental disorders and neurological diseases and has achieved certain clinical effects. It is necessary to develop expert consensus on clinical treatment to improve the use norms in related fields. According to the clinical research published before August 2021 and the method of evidence-based medicine, we published an expert consensus on tDCS in the treatment of depressive disorders, schizophrenia, substance use-related disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders, pain, Parkinson′s disease, stroke, and epilepsy. The consensus also introduced the safety and efficacy of the clinical use of tDCS, and standardized the treatment process and operation technology, aiming to provide guidance for the clinical application of tDCS and promote the standardized development of this treatment technology in the future.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a well-tolerated, safe and noninvasive physical brain stimulation method, which has been widely used in the treatment of some common mental disorders and neurological diseases and has achieved certain clinical effects. It is necessary to develop expert consensus on clinical treatment to improve the use norms in related fields. According to the clinical research published before August 2021 and the method of evidence-based medicine, we published an expert consensus on tDCS in the treatment of depressive disorders, schizophrenia, substance use-related disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders, pain, Parkinson′s disease, stroke, and epilepsy. The consensus also introduced the safety and efficacy of the clinical use of tDCS, and standardized the treatment process and operation technology, aiming to provide guidance for the clinical application of tDCS and promote the standardized development of this treatment technology in the future.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the status and its influencing factors of anxiety symptoms in patients with occupational noise-induced deafness(ONID). METHODS: A total of 220 ONID patients were selected as the ONID group,and 200 healthy participants without noise exposure were selected as the control group by judge sampling method.The two groups were investigated by the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory was used to evaluate the disability levels of tinnitus, and pure-tone audiometry was used to assess the degree of tinnitus and hearing impairment in the ONID group. RESULTS: The incidence of anxiety, depression, and sleep disorder were higher in the ONID group than that in the control group(52.7% vs 9.0%, 55.0% vs 15.0%, 52.3% vs 7.0%, P<0.05). In ONID with anxiety subgroup, the duration of disease was longer(1.0 vs 2.0 years, P<0.01), incidences of tinnitus, depression and sleep disorder were higher than those in ONID without anxiety subgroup(92.3% vs 100.0%, 18.3% vs 87.9%, 19.2% vs 81.9%, P<0.01). The result of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the longer the duration of disease and the more severe of the tinnitus, the higher the risk of anxiety symptoms in patients with ONID [the odds ratio(OR) and its 95% confidence interval(CI) were 1.35(1.10-1.65) and 2.94(1.56-5.54) respectively, P<0.01]. The risk of anxiety in patients with sleep disorders was higher than those without sleep disorders [OR(95%CI) was 12.78(5.90-27.64), P<0.01]. CONCLUSION: The ONID patients are more likely to have anxiety. The duration of disease, severity of tinnitus and sleep disorders are the risk factors causing anxiety in ONID patients.

Objective:To understand the infection and distribution of syphilis in hospitalized patients, thus to provide reference for syphilis prevention and control.Methods:TP-ELISA test was used to examine early syphilis antibody, and adopted the TPPA test to validation syphilis antibody, and TRUST was used to determine the titer of syphilis antibody in 80 478 hospitalized patients from January 2015 to November 2017, then the results were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Among 80 478 inpatients, 1 326 cases were positive by TP-ELISA test(1 223 cases positive, 101 cases weak positive and 2 cases negative by TPPA confirmed). The positive rates of TP-ELISA in different years were 1.62%(445/27 394), 1.72%(490/28 412) and 1.58%(389/24 672), respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant( P>0.05). The positive rates of male and female patients were 2.02%(689/33 985) and 1.37%(635/46 479), and the difference was statistically significant(χ 2=52.91, P=0.00). The positive rates of ≤18 years old, >18-59 years old, >59-79 years old and>79 years old were 0.32%(7/2 161), 1.44%(765/53 001), 2.31%(488/21 163) and 1.50%(62/4 153), respectively.The highest proportion of syphilis patients was in the group of >59-79 years old, and the differences were statistically significant compared with the other groups(χ 2=37.08, 67.05, 10.80, all P<0.01). Among the TP-ELISA positive patients, 54.90%(728/1 326) had TRUST titer negative, 36.50%(484/1 326) had titer less than 1∶8, and the others had 8.44%(112/1 326). Conclusion:The incidence of syphilis was higher in males than in females in 80 478 hospitalized patients.The highest positive rate was found in >59-79 years old group, and the number of elderly cases increased rapidly.Therefore, the effective interventions should be developed to control the transmission of syphilis according to the epidemiological features.

Objective To evaluate the changes of adenosine metabolism pathway related molecules and their contribution to inflammatory injury in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).Methods The consecutive samples of 49 subjects with PBC from The First People's Hospital of Taicang and The Second People's Hospital of Changshu were recruited from October 2016 to October 2017,and 36 healthy controls were involved in this study.The expression of CD39 and CD73 on CD4+T cells and Foxp3 + regulatory T cells were assayed by flow cytometry and the concentration of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in serum was analyzed by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS).The correlations between Tregs,ATP and liver function were analyzed,i.e.,alanine aminotransferase (ALT),aspartate aminotransferase (AST),gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT),alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and Mayo scores.Results In the patients with PBC,low proportions of CD4+CD39+T cells were noted compared with healthy controls [(5.28 ± 1.92) ％ vs (11.0l ± 3.19) ％,t =10.25,P ＜ 0.01].The patients with PBC also had significantly low proportion of CD4+CD25 + Foxp3+ CD39+ T cells compared with healthy controls [(23.75 ± 9.48) ％ vs (54.68 ± 5.18) ％,t =13.79,P ＜0.01].No significant difference of the proportion of CD4+CD73+T or CD4+CD25+ Foxp3+CD39+T cells was found between PBC and control groups (t values were 2.235 and 1.083,P ＞ 0.05).The level of serum ATP was higher in the patients with PBC than that of healthy controls [(200.28 ± 79.41) μg/L vs (89.20 ± 33.76) μg/L,t =8.367,P ＜ 0.01].A significant correlation was demonstrated between the proportion of CD39 + Treg in total Treg cells and the levels of ATP (r =-0.413,P =0.003),GGT (r=-0.378,P=0.007) and Mayo score (r=-0.382,P=0.007).Conclusion The low proportion of CD39+ Treg cells may contribute to the down-regulation of ATP hydrolysis in the patients with PBC.No significant change of CD73 + Treg cells was found in PBC patients.

BACKGROUNDAutophagy has been found to be involved in animal and cell models of atherosclerosis, but to date, it lacks general observation in human atherosclerotic plaques. Here, we investigated autophagy in smooth muscle cells (SMCs), endothelial cells (ECs), and macrophages in human atherosclerotic plaques via transmission electron microscopy (TEM), western blotting, and immunohistochemistry analysis.

METHODSThe histopathologic morphology of these plaques was observed via hematoxylin and eosin staining. The ultrastructural morphology of the SMCs, ECs, and macrophages in these plaques was observed via TEM. The localization of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (MAP1-LC3), a relatively special maker of autophagy, in plaques was observed by double fluorescent immunochemistry and western blotting.

RESULTSAll of these human atherosclerotic plaques were considered advanced and unstable in histologically observation. By double fluorescent immunochemistry, the expression of LC3-II increased in the SMCs of the fibrous cap, the macrophages, and the microvascular ECs of the plaque shoulders. The protein level of LC3-II by western blotting significantly increased in plaques compared with normal controls. In addition, TEM observation of plaques revealed certain features of autophagy in SMCs, ECs, and macrophages including the formation of myelin figures, vacuolization, and the accumulation of inclusions in the cytosol. These results indicate that autophagy is activated in SMCs, ECs, and macrophages in human advanced atherosclerotic plaques.

CONCLUSIONSOur study is to demonstrate the existence of autophagy in human atherosclerotic plaques by different methods, which may contribute to the development of pharmacological approaches to stabilize vulnerable and rupture-prone lesions.

Atherosclerosis ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Autophagy ; physiology ; Endothelial Cells ; pathology ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Microtubule-Associated Proteins ; metabolism ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; pathology ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; ultrastructure

ObjectiveToanalyzetheclinicalandimagingcharacteristicsinpatientswithcarotidsteal syndrome ( CSS ) and to investigate its compensatory pathw ays, diagnosis, and treatment. Methods The medical history and imaging data of the patients with CSS were colected. Their vascular lesions, colateral circulation, treatment, and prognosis w ere analyzed. Results A total of 11 patients w ith CSS (8 males and 3 females, mean age 66.7 ±5.1 years) were enroled in the study. Their clinical manifestations were posterior circulation transient ischemic attack (TIA) ( n=9, 81.8%), posterior circulation infarction ( n=1, 9.1%), and anterior circulation TIA ( n=1, 9.1%). A total of 19 pathological arteries w ere found:12 (63.1%) w ith occlusion, 2 (10.5%) w ith subtotal occlusion, 4 (21.0%) w ith severe stenosis and 1 (5.2%) w ith artery dissection. Seven patients (63.6%) w ere bilateral internal carotid artery lesions, 3 (27.2%) w ere unilateral bilateral internal carotid artery lesions, and 1 (9.1%) w as bilateral common carotid artery occlusion. Eleven patients had primary col ateral circulation, including posterior communicating artery patency in 10 patients (90.9%) and anterior communicating artery patency in 1 patient (9.1%). Four patients (36.3%) had secondary col ateral circulation and 1 (9.1%) had tertiary col ateral circulation. Al patients w ere treated w ith medication on the basis of the management of risk factors. Three patients w ere treated w ith stenting and tw o were treated with carotid endarterectomy. No stroke occurred in al patients during folow -up til September 2014. Conclusions The vascular lesions of patients w ith CSS often occur in the extracranial segment of internal carotid artery. Usual y the compensatory blood is through the circle of Wil is. The presentation is ischemia in the stolen arteries. Its diagnosis needs to be examined by digital subtraction angiography. On the basis of medication therapy, some patients may be treated w ith surgery or endovascular intervention.

Integrin alphavbeta3 plays a major role in various signaling pathways, cell apoptosis, and tumor angiogenesis. To examine the functions and roles of alphavbeta3 integrin, a stable CHO-677 cell line expressing the murine alphavbeta3 heterodimer (designated as "CHO-677-malphavbeta3" cells) was established using a highly efficient lentiviral-mediated gene transfer technique. Integrin subunits alphav and beta3 were detected at the gene and protein levels by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA), respectively, in the CHO-677-malphavbeta3 cell line at the 20th passage, implying that these genes were successfully introduced into the CHO-677 cells and expressed stably. A plaque-forming assay, 50% tissue culture infective dose (TCID50), real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and IFA were used to detect the replication levels of Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) in the CHO-677-malphavbeta3 cell line. After infection with FMDV/O/ZK/93, the cell line showed a significant increase in viral RNA and protein compared with CHO-677 cells. These findings suggest that we successfully established a stable alphavbeta3-receptor-expressing cell line with increased susceptibility to FMDV. This cell line will be very useful for further investigation of alphavbeta3 integrin, and as a cell model for FMDV research.
Animals ; Animals, Suckling ; CHO Cells ; Cloning, Molecular ; Cricetulus ; DNA, Complementary/genetics/metabolism ; Disease Susceptibility/virology ; Foot-and-Mouth Disease/*genetics/virology ; Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus/*physiology ; Integrin alphaVbeta3/*genetics/metabolism ; Mice

Objective To analyze the basal conditions of 5 patients with cerebrovascular fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD),and explore the clinical presentation,imaging features,therapies and outcomes of cerebrovascular FMD.Methods Five patients with cerebrovascular FMD,admitted to our hospital from January 2012 to April 2013,were chosen in our study; their medical history and imaging features were collected,and their clinical presentation,imaging features,therapies and outcomes were retrospectively analyzed when combining with literature review.Results Five patients all presented with stroke,including four having hemiplegia as the initial symptom,and one having headache with nausea and vomiting as the main performance.One was diagnosed as having subarachnoid hemorrhage by CT scan,and four had different infarction lesions in lobes and basal ganglia on MRI.Artery dissection was discovered in all patients by cerebral digital substraction angiography,including two with right internal carotid artery dissection,one with right vertebral artery dissection combined with aneurysm in anterior communicating artery associated with "string-of-beads" appearance on C1 segment of right internal carotid artery and left vertebral artery,one with bilateral vertebral artery dissection,and the last one with bilateral internal carotid artery dissection and moyamoya disease-like vessels.No abnormality was discovered in two patients by renal artery angiography.The patient with anterior communicating artery aneurysm was treated with endovascular aneurysm embolization,having poor prognosis.In the remaining 4 patients with cerebral infarction,two were treated with carotid artery stenting,and the other 2 were only given antiplatelet therapy.No patient suffered cerebrovascular accidents during the 12-month follow-up.Conclusions Cerebrovascular FMD is a rare cause of young stroke,and patients with cerebrovascular FMD often manifest headache,neck bruit,carotid artery dissection and stroke.It is particularly important to make definitive diagnosis by performing cerebrovascular imaging examinations and give treatment accordingly.The long term outcome of FMD is not clear now.