Objective To analyze the correlation of cholecystectomy and changes in intestinal microbiota composition and function by observing functional characteristics of differential microbial communities.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on the patients(PC group,n=73)undergoing cholecystectomy in our hospital from 2020 to 2021.Another 56 healthy age-and gender-matched individuals(HC group)without a history of cholecystectomy were subjected and served as the control group.Fecal specimens were collected from the 2 groups.16S rRNA sequencing analysis was performed to examine the changes in composition and function of intestinal microbiota.Results There were no statistical differences between the 2 groups in baseline indicators,such as gender,age,BMI,smoking and drinking history,blood pressure,heart rate,and comorbidities,but significant difference was observed in total bilirubin(TBIL)between them(P<0.01).Alpha diversity analysis showed no significant difference in Chao1,Shannon,and Simpson indices between the 2 groups.Beta diversity analysis using the Bray-Curtis distance algorithm revealed a significant difference between the 2 groups at the class and genus levels(P<0.05).The analysis of microbiota relative abundance using LEFSE showed that Enterobacteriaceae,Lactobacillales,Citrobacter,Megasphaera,Lactobacillus,Enterococcus,Akkermansia,Streptococcus,Klebsiella,and Ruminococcus_gnavus were up-regulated in the PC group,and Lachnospiraceae,Sutterellaceae,Lachnospirales,Lachnospira,and Sutterella were down-regulated.Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)functional prediction analysis indicated that significant differences were seen between the 2 groups in metabolic pathways,including ascorbic acid(vitamin C)metabolism and aldonic acid metabolism(P<0.05),tricarboxylic acid cycle(TCA cycle)(P<0.05),glutathione metabolism(P<0.05),glutamic acid metabolism(P<0.05),secondary bile acid metabolism(P<0.05),and pentose phosphate pathway(P<0.01).Conclusion Cholecystectomy is closely associated with the structural alterations in the composition of intestinal microbiota.Variations in microbiota composition and function may induce perturbations in TCA cycle and glutathione metabolism,glutamate metabolism,secondary bile acid metabolism,and pentose phosphate pathways.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of self-prescribed Huoxue Shengjing Prescription as adjuvant therapy for varicocele-induced infertility and its impact on the outcomes of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF-ET/ICSI).Methods:A randomized controlled trial was conducted. A total of 99 patients with varicocele-induced infertility in our hospital from January 2022 to July 2023 were selected as observation subjects and divided into three groups using a random number table method, with 33 patients in each group. The low ligation group received low ligation of varicocele under a microscope, the low ligation + conventional Western medicine treatment group received low ligation + conventional Western medicine therapy, and the combined group received low ligation + conventional Western medicine therapy + a self-prescribed Huoxue Shengjing Prescription. Among them, the low ligation of varicocele under a microscope was followed by IVF-ET/ICSI assisted reproductive technology 3 months after surgery; the conventional Western medicine therapy involved continuous administration of L-carnitine oral solution for 3 months; the self-prescribed Huoxue Shengjing Prescription was started on the first day after surgery and continued for 3 months. TCM syndrome scores were assessed before and after treatment, and semen routine analysis was performed using an automated semen quality analyzer. Mitochondrial activity of granulosa cells was measured using the Hrudka extraction method, and sperm nuclear DNA integrity was assessed using a modified alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis method. Follow-up was conducted for 1 year to observe and record the outcomes of IVF-ET/ICSI and evaluate the clinical efficacy.Results:The total effective rate was 93.9% (31/33) in the combined group, 69.7% (23/33) in the low ligation group, and 75.8% (25/33) in the low ligation + conventional Western medicine treatment group, with statistical significance ( χ 2=6.52, P=0.039). After treatment, the scores for mild abdominal pain, testicular heavy pain, impotence, mental fatigue, and the total score in the combined group were lower than those in the low ligation + conventional Western medicine treatment group and the low ligation group ( F values were 89.29, 97.51, 136.36, 155.06, and 311.13, respectively, P<0.001). The sperm survival rate, sperm concentration, normal morphology rate, and progressive motility rate in the combined group were higher than those in the low ligation + conventional Western medicine treatment group and the low ligation group ( F values were 19.23, 11.85, 35.97, and 52.21, respectively, P<0.001). Mitochondrial grade I cell activity of granulosa cells was higher than that of the low ligation + conventional treatment group and low ligation group ( F=23.23, P<0.001), and grade Ⅲ cell activity was lower than that of the low ligation + conventional treatment group and low ligation group ( F=20.28, P<0.001). After treatment, the detection of grade Ⅰ and Ⅱ sperm nuclear DNA integrity in the combined group were higher than those in the low ligation + conventional Western medicine treatment group and the low ligation group ( F values were 17.73 and 18.39, respectively, P<0.001), while grades Ⅲ and Ⅳ were lower than those in the low ligation + conventional Western medicine treatment group and the low ligation group ( F values were 29.07 and 10.36, respectively, P<0.001). During follow-up, the excellent embryo rate and the spouse's clinical pregnancy rate in the combined group were higher than those in the low ligation + conventional Western medicine treatment group and the low ligation group ( χ2 values were 14.92 and 8.38, respectively; P values were 0.001 and 0.015, respectively). Conclusion:The adjuvant treatment with a self-prescribed Huoxue Shengjing Prescription can enhance sperm quality in patients with varicocele-related infertility, maintain DNA integrity, regulate seminal plasma mitochondrial function, increase the rate of high-quality embryos, and improve the spouse's pregnancy outcomes.

Intracerebral hemorrhage is the bleeding caused by spontaneous non-traumatic rupture of blood vessels in brain parenchyma. It has high disability rate and mortality. A series of injuries after intracerebral hemorrhage will lead to neuronal apoptosis. If apoptotic neurons are not cleared in time, intracellular toxic substances will be released, thereby further aggravating the inflammatory reaction. Therefore, the timely clearance of apoptotic cells is of great significance to the brain homeostasis after intracerebral hemorrhage. At the same time, a large number of phagocytic "eat me" signal phosphatidylserine (PS) will appear on the surface of apoptotic neurons. Microglia, as resident macrophages in the brain, have a variety of PS receptors on their surface, which promote the phagocytosis of apoptotic neurons by microglia and reduce the occurrence of local inflammatory responses.

BackgroundThe comorbidity rate of bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder （BPD） is high， and the cognitive impairment of comorbidity patients is more serious. ObjectiveTo explore the difference of cognitive function between bipolar disorder patients with BPD or not， so as to provide references for clinical diagnosis and treatment. MethodsUsing simple random sampling， 60 patients with bipolar disorder comorbidity BPD treated in the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University from April 2021 to April 2022 were selected as the research group， including 33 patients with bipolar depression and 27 patients with bipolar mania. At the same time， 60 patients with bipolar disorder were randomly selected as the control group， including 35 patients with bipolar depression and 25 patients with bipolar mania. The cognitive function of patients was evaluated by the Chinese version of Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status （RBANS） and the Stroop Color Word Test. ResultsThe immediate memory， visual span， speech function and total score of RBANS in the comorbid group were lower than those in the non-comorbid group， and the differences were statistically significant （t=-2.356， -2.138， -3.306， -2.729， P<0.05 or 0.01）. The single word time， single color time， double word time and double color time in Stroop Color Word Test in comorbid group were longer than those in non-comorbid group， and the differences were statistically significant （t=4.808， 3.341， 5.249， 5.167， P<0.01）. The immediate memory， visual span， speech function and total score in RBANS of bipolar depression patients with comorbid BPD were lower than those of bipolar depression patients without comorbid BPD （t=-2.446， -2.407， -2.231， -2.078， P<0.05）， and the time of single word， single color， double word and double color in Stroop Color Word Test were longer than those of non-comorbid BPD patients （t=-3.652， 3.035， 4.406， 5.016， P<0.01）. The speech function and total score of RBANS in bipolar manic patients in comorbid group were higher than those in non-comorbid group （t=-2.777， -2.347， P<0.05 or 0.01）， and the time of single word， single color， double word and double color in Stroop Color Word Test were longer than those in non-comorbid group （t=3.600， 2.658， 2.943， 4.337， P<0.05 or 0.01）. ConclusionThe cognitive impairment of bipolar disorder patients comorbid with BPD is more severe than that of patients without comorbid with BPD. ［Funded by Medical Science Research Project of Hebei Province in 2022 （number， 20221407）］

The disability and mortality rate of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage are very high. At present, there is no effective treatment to improve the outcome of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Mechanical compression of hematoma and release of toxic products are the main causes of primary and secondary brain injury in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, while safe and effective acceleration of hematoma regression is the key strategy to improve the neurological deficit in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Microglia/macrophages are the main phagocytic system that mediates hematoma clearance and are mainly polarized into M1 and M2 phenotypes. Cell surface receptors and possible signal transduction pathways play an important role in regulating the endogenous hematoma regression mediated by microglia/macrophages, and may become a new target for clinical treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage and improvement of the outcomes of patients in the future.

Objective: Several COVID-19 patients have overlapping comorbidities. The independent role of each component contributing to the risk of COVID-19 is unknown, and how some non-cardiometabolic comorbidities affect the risk of COVID-19 remains unclear. Methods: A retrospective follow-up design was adopted. A total of 1,160 laboratory-confirmed patients were enrolled from nine provinces in China. Data on comorbidities were obtained from the patients' medical records. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio ( Results: Overall, 158 (13.6%) patients were diagnosed with severe illness and 32 (2.7%) had unfavorable outcomes. Hypertension (2.87, 1.30-6.32), type 2 diabetes (T2DM) (3.57, 2.32-5.49), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (3.78, 1.81-7.89), fatty liver disease (7.53, 1.96-28.96), hyperlipidemia (2.15, 1.26-3.67), other lung diseases (6.00, 3.01-11.96), and electrolyte imbalance (10.40, 3.00-26.10) were independently linked to increased odds of being severely ill. T2DM (6.07, 2.89-12.75), CVD (8.47, 6.03-11.89), and electrolyte imbalance (19.44, 11.47-32.96) were also strong predictors of unfavorable outcomes. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease on admission (5.46, 3.25-9.19), while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes (6.58, 1.46-29.64) within two weeks. Conclusion Besides hypertension, diabetes, and CVD, fatty liver disease, hyperlipidemia, other lung diseases, and electrolyte imbalance were independent risk factors for COVID-19 severity and poor treatment outcome. Women with comorbidities were more likely to have severe disease, while men with comorbidities were more likely to have unfavorable treatment outcomes.
Adult ; Aged ; COVID-19/virology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome

In order to explore tick proteins as potential targets for further developing vaccine against ticks, the total proteins of unfed female Dermacentor silvarum were screened with anti-D. silvarum serum produced from rabbits. The results of western blot showed that 3 antigenic proteins of about 100, 68, and 52 kDa were detected by polyclonal antibodies, which means that they probably have immunogenicity. Then, unfed female tick proteins were separated by 12% SDS-PAGE, and target proteins (100, 68, and 52 kDa) were cut and analyzed by LC-MS/MS, respectively. The comparative results of peptide sequences showed that they might be vitellogenin (Vg), heat shock protein 60 (Hsp60), and fructose-1, 6-bisphosphate aldolase (FBA), respectively. These data will lay the foundation for the further validation of antigenic proteins to prevent infestation and diseases transmitted by D. silvarum.
Animals ; Antigens/*chemistry/immunology ; Arthropod Proteins/*chemistry/immunology ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Female ; Ixodidae/*chemistry/immunology ; Molecular Weight ; Rabbits ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry

ObjectiveTo explore the cause of early death (death within 3-12 months after hemodialysis) and the related influencing factors patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) as to provide a scientific basis for the prevention of early death.Methods A retrospective matched controlled study was conducted. Fifty-one patients who underwent MHD from January 2004 to April 2014 and died within 3-12 months after hemodialysis in hemodialysis center of the 174th Chinese People's Liberation Army Hospital were included in the case group by retrospective analysis method. According to 1∶2 matched controls, 102 patients underwent hemodialysis in the same period (±2 months) and survived over 12 months were selected as control group. All patients received regular hemodialysis (dialysis 2-3 times per week), with conventional limitation of water and sodium intake, routine treatments such as control of blood pressure, treatment of anemia and disorders of calcium and phosphorus contents. Causes of short-term death were analyzed. Clinical and biochemical parameters of two groups were collected when dialysis was started, and the single factor and multiple factors logistic regression was used to analyze the related risk factors when dialysis was started. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was plotted to evaluate the value of above parameters in predicting the early death in patents with MHD.Results The main causes of early death of 51 patients with MHD were mainly cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (27 cases, 52.9%), and infections (15 cases, 29.4%). It was shown by single factor analysis that the age [odds ratio (OR) = 6.625, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 3.232-13.580,P = 0.000], diabetes (OR = 3.875, 95%CI = 0.654 - 10.622,P = 0.031), specialist intervention time before dialysis (OR = 0.349, 95%CI =0.287 - 0.572,P = 0.004), the emergence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events before dialysis (OR = 9.667, 95%CI = 4.632 - 20.174,P = 0.000), the first dialysis for emergency dialysis (OR = 3.875, 95%CI = 1.713 - 8.765, P = 0.005), blood albumin level (OR = 0.294, 95%CI = 0.068 - 0.550,P = 0.008), leukocyte count (OR = 6.286, 95%CI = 1.648 - 23.982,P = 0.026), neutrophil count (OR = 2.833, 95%CI = 1.630 - 4.923,P = 0.001) might be the factors correlating with early death. Eight independent factors were statistically significant, and their effect on the MHD patients was analyzed by logistic regression analysis inα = 0.05 level. The results showed that patients with old age (OR = 1.054, 95%CI = 1.019-1.090,P = 0.002), and the emergence of cardio-cerebrovascular events (OR = 7.469, 95%CI = 2.474 - 22.545,P = 0.000)were early death risk factors of MHD patients, and early specialist intervention before dialysis was a protective factor (OR = 0.286, 95%CI = 0.113-0.722,P = 0.008). ROC curve showed that age had moderate diagnostic value for early death of MHD [area under ROC curve (AUC) = 0.756], the cut-off value was 59.0 years old, the sensitivity was 66.7%, and the specificity was 77.5%. The diagnostic value of early specialist intervention before dialysis was relatively low (AUC = 0.367), the cut-off value was 0.875 years, the sensitivity was 39.2%, and the specificity was 33.3%.Conclusion Old age, the emergency of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events before dialysis is associated with early death, and specialist intervention ahead of dialysis can reduce the risk of early death.

Subolesin (4D8), the ortholog of insect akirins, is a highly conserved protective antigen and thus has the potential for development of a broad-spectrum vaccine against ticks and mosquitoes. To date, no protective antigens have been characterized nor tested as candidate vaccines against Dermacentor silvarum bites and transmission of associated pathogens. In this study, we cloned the open reading frame (ORF) of D. silvarum 4D8 cDNA (Ds4D8), which consisted of 498 bp encoding 165 amino acid residues. The results of sequence alignments and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that D. silvarum 4D8 (Ds4D8) is highly conserved showing more than 81% identity of amino acid sequences with those of other hard ticks. Additionally, Ds4D8 containing restriction sites was ligated into the pET-32(a+) expression vector and the recombinant plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli rosetta. The recombinant Ds4D8 (rDs4D8) was induced by isopropyl beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) and purified using Ni affinity chromatography. The SDS-PAGE results showed that the molecular weight of rDs4D8 was 40 kDa, which was consistent with the expected molecular mass considering 22 kDa histidine-tagged thioredoxin (TRX) protein from the expression vector. Western blot results showed that rabbit anti-D. silvarum serum recognized the expressed rDs4D8, suggesting an immune response against rDs4D8. These results provided the basis for developing a candidate vaccine against D. silvarum ticks and transmission of associated pathogens.
Animals ; Antigens/chemistry/genetics/*immunology/isolation & purification ; Arthropod Proteins/chemistry/genetics/*immunology/isolation & purification ; Chromatography, Affinity ; Cloning, Molecular ; Cluster Analysis ; Conserved Sequence ; Dermacentor/*genetics ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Escherichia coli/genetics ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Molecular Weight ; Phylogeny ; Recombinant Proteins/chemistry/genetics/immunology/isolation & purification ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid

Vaccination is considered a promising alternative for controlling tick infestations. Haemaphysalis longicornis midgut proteins separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane were screened for protective value against bites. The western blot demonstrated the immunogenicity of 92 kDa protein (P92). The analysis of the P92 amino acid sequence by LC-MS/MS indicated that it was a H. longicornis paramyosin (Hl-Pmy). The full lenghth cDNA of Hl-Pmy was obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) which consisted of 2,783 bp with a 161 bp 3' untranslated region. Sequence alignment of tick paramyosin (Pmy) showed that Hl-Pmy shared a high level of conservation among ticks. Comparison with the protective epitope sequence of other invertebrate Pmy, it was calculated that the protective epitope of Hl-Pmy was a peptide (LEEAEGSSETVVEMNKKRDTE) named LEE, which was close to the N-terminal of Hl-Pmy protein. The secondary structure analysis suggested that LEE had non-helical segments within an alpha-helical structure. These results provide the basis for developing a vaccine against biting H. longicornis ticks.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Antigens/genetics/*metabolism ; Base Sequence ; Blotting, Western ; Chromatography, Liquid ; *Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary/genetics ; Epitopes ; Gene Expression Regulation/*physiology ; Ixodidae/genetics/*metabolism ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry