Background During pregnancy, negative emotions such as anxiety and depression may induce cortisol disruption. Cortisol can be transmitted to the fetus through the placental barrier, thereby affecting the neurodevelopment of the offspring. Objective To investigate the relationship between placental cortisol, maternal depression during pregnancy, and neurodevelopment of 3-month-old infants. Methods From September 2022 to September 2023, 171 pregnant women ordered routine prenatal checks at the obstetrics outpatient department of a tertiary hospital in Ningxia were selected using a prospective cohort design. After providing informed consent, these women participated in a questionnaire survey that covered general individual characteristics, prenatal depression, and sleep quality. At birth, placental samples were collected to measure cortisol levels using ELISA kits. Follow-up assessments on the neurodevelopmental of 3-month-old infants were conducted using the Warning Sign for Children Mental and Behavioral Development. LASSO regression analysis was conducted to screen the influencing factors of depression during pregnancy. Huber regression analysis was then applied to assess potential linear relationship between depression during pregnancy and placental cortisol levels. Log-binomial regression was used to analyze the linear relationships between cortisol levels and neurodevelopmental delay in 3-month-old infants. Additionally, a mediation effect model was fitted using R 4.3.3 to assess possible mediating role of cortisol in the association between prenatal depression and neurodevelopmental delay in 3-month-old infants. Results The positive rate of prenatal depression was 33.33%. Nine factors affecting prenatal depression were identified by LASSO regression, including rural residence, high school education or above, extroverted personality characteristics, moderate early pregnancy reactions, baby sex expectation, prenatal anxiety, family dysfunction, exposure to stressful life events during pregnancy, and moderate prenatal sleep quality. The Huber regression model showed a positive linear correlation between prenatal depression and placental cortisol (P<0.05). With or without controlling confounding factors, the results of log-binomial regression modeling showed that cortisol levels were associated with a reduced risk of neurodevelopmental delay in 3-month-old infants (crude model: RR=0.988, 95%CI: 0.9768, 0.9996, P＜0.05; adjusted model: RR=0.988, 95%CI: 0.9764, 0.9993, P＜0.05). A mediating effect of placental cortisol between prenatal depression and the risk of neurodevelopmental delay in 3-month-old offspring was found statistically significant (P=0.045), accounting for 67.0% of the total effect. Conclusion Prenatal depression is associated with elevated placental cortisol levels, and higher cortisol levels are found to be related to a lower risk of neurodevelopmental delay in infants. Placental cortisol mediates the relationship between prenatal depression and infant neurodevelopment.

BACKGROUND: China has made significant progress in medical accessibility and quality over the past decades, and quality improvements in gastroenterology and digestive endoscopy have been consistent. The study aimed to describe the status quo of gastroenterology and digestive endoscopy in the Chinese mainland based on the data from the National Clinical Improvement System (NCIS) and the Hospital Quality Monitoring System (HQMS). METHODS: Data were extracted from the NCIS and the HQMS. Data analysis included general information from the Department of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy centers, management of inpatients and outpatients, and annual volume and quality indicators of digestive endoscopy. Acute pancreatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, inflammatory bowel disease, and cirrhosis were identified as priority diseases and were subjected to detailed analysis. RESULTS: Data from 4620 and 7074 hospitals were extracted from the NCIS and HQMS, respectively. In 2023, 9.6 gastroenterologists, 6.7 endoscopists, and 37.3 gastroenterology beds per hospital nationwide were observed, achieving 19,252.4 outpatient visits, 1615.2 hospitalizations (97.0 for acute pancreatitis, 146.1 for gastrointestinal bleeding, 40.2 for inflammatory bowel disease, and 111.4 for cirrhosis), and 9432.7 digestive endoscopic procedures per hospital. Overall, the quality of practice improved significantly. The proportion of early cancer among gastrointestinal cancers increased from 11.1% in 2015 to 23.4% in 2023, and the adenoma detection rate during colonoscopy increased from 19.3% in 2019 to 26.9% in 2023. Regarding priority diseases, hospitalizations increased, and 31-day unplanned readmission rates decreased between 2019 and 2023. The median hospitalization costs and median proportion of medication costs decreased for acute pancreatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, and cirrhosis. However, it increased for inflammatory bowel disease. CONCLUSION This report evaluates the status quo and development of gastroenterology and digestive endoscopy in the Chinese mainland, providing guidance for future quality improvements.
Humans ; China ; Gastroenterology/statistics & numerical data* ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal/statistics & numerical data* ; Endoscopy, Digestive System/statistics & numerical data*

Mesangial cell proliferation is an early pathological indicator of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Growing evidence highlights the pivotal role of paired-related homeobox 1 (Prrx1), a key regulator of cellular proliferation and tissue differentiation, in various disease pathogenesis. Notably, Prrx1 is highly expressed in mesangial cells under DN conditions. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that Prrx1 overexpression promotes mesangial cell proliferation and contributes to renal fibrosis in db/m mice. Conversely, Prrx1 knockdown markedly suppresses hyperglycemia-induced mesangial cell proliferation and mitigates renal fibrosis in db/db mice. Mechanistically, Prrx1 directly interacts with the Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP) promoter, leading to the upregulation of YAP expression. This upregulation promotes mesangial cell proliferation and exacerbates renal fibrosis. These findings emphasize the crucial role of Prrx1 upregulation in high glucose-induced mesangial cell proliferation, ultimately leading to renal fibrosis in DN. Therefore, targeting Prrx1 to downregulate its expression presents a promising therapeutic strategy for treating renal fibrosis associated with DN.

Objective To investigate the effect of secondary preventive scheme on recurrence rate of ce-rebrovascular event based on China ischemic stroke subclassification(CISS)of intracranial arterial stenosis is-chemic stroke(IS).Methods A total of 192 patients with intracranial arterial stenosis IS were prospectively included and the secondary preventive scheme was formulated according to whether or not based on the patho-genesis.Then the patients were divided into the personalized treatment group and conventional treatment group.The personalized group conducted the classification and was given different the secondary preventive schemes the artery-artery embolism group was given the active lipid-lowering scheme to make the low density lipoprotein(LDL)reaching the standard;the low hypoperfusion group was given the smooth pressure reduc-tion program;the carrier artery occlusion perforating artery group was given the routine secondary prevention program;the mixture mechanism group was given the corresponding schemes superposition according to dif-ferent mechanisms].The conventional treatment group was given the conventional secondary preventive scheme.The difference in the recurrence rate of cerebrovascular events on 90 d was compared between the two groups.Meanwhile the univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the influencing fac-tors of recurrence of cerebrovascular events on 90 d in intracranial arterial stenosis IS.Results Among 192 study subjects,there were 90 cases in the personalized treatment group(20 cases of vector artery occlusion and perforator artery,44 cases of arterial-arterial embolization,6 cases of hypoperfusion and 20 cases of mixed mechanism).There were 102 cases in the conventional treatment group(16 cases of perforator artery occlu-sion of the vector artery,52 cases of arterial-arterial embolism,8 cases of hypoperfusion and 26 cases of mixed mechanism).The occurrence rate of cerebrovascular events on 90 d in the personalized treatment group was significantly decreased compared to the conventional treatment group(7.8%vs.17.6%,χ2=4.112,P=0.043).The Logistic regression analysis revealed that the active lipid-lowering scheme for LDL reaching the standard was the independent protective factor of the cerebrovascular event recurrence on 90 d(OR=0.128,95%CI:1.150-71.170).Conclusion The personalized secondary prevention scheme based on pathogenesis reduces the recurrence rate of cerebrovascular event in intracranial arterial stenosis IS,in which making the LDL reaching the standard by the active lipid-lowering scheme is the independent protective factor for cerebro-vascular event recurrence in intracranial arterial stenosis IS.

Objective To develop a nomogram for predicting the risks of early anastomotic recurrence(EAR)after primary bowel resection in patients with Crohn's disease(CD).Methods The patients with CD under-going preoperative magnetic resonance enterography(MRE)and primary bowel resection were enrolled in this retrospective study and divided into an EAR group(18 patients)and EAR-free group(12 patients).The EAR group included the patients having an endoscopic Rutgeerts score of≥I2 month or the need for anastomotic resection within 12 months after surgery.All the 38 indexes including preoperative demographic characteristics,laboratory examina-tions,multi-parameter MRE features of the resected intestine and its adjacent mesentery,histological findings,and postoperative pharmacotherapy were analyzed.Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)regression and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis were performed to identify independent risk factors to be incorpo-rated into the nomogram for predicting the risks of early anastomotic recurrence and the prediction performance was evaluated.Results Mesenteric creeping fat index on MRE and comb sign were independent risks of EAR,with a concordance index of 0.882(95%CI:0.764～1).The calibration plot revealed a strong relationship between actual observation and predicted probability of EAR.Conclusions The preoperative MRE-based nomogram may be a potential tool for predicting EAR following surgery in patients with CD,which is beneficial to individual management in those patients.It provides reference for the formulation of early postoperative individualized drug adjuvant therapy in patients at high risk of EAR.

Ethical sensitivity is a behavioral concept emerging in recent years, which has attracted high attention from all sectors of society. Ethical sensitivity not only affects the clinical decision-making, doctor-patient relationship and medical quality of medical staff, but also provides the possibility to identify, predict and solve ethical problems in clinical. Combined with previous studies, this paper analyzed the current situation of ethical sensitivity of medical personnel in China, and took pediatric medical staff as an example to analyze the factors affecting the ethical sensitivity of medical staff from clinical practice and related theories, including age, working years, occupational categories, education level, work environment, empathy ability, etc. At the same time, this paper analyzed the causes of the ethical sensitivity of medical staff from the perspective of clinical practice and related systems, and put forward corresponding countermeasures, so as to improve the ethical sensitivity of medical staff and help to build a harmonious doctor-patient relationship.

Objective:To determine whether human papillomavirus(HPV L1)C-terminal conserved sequence antibodies with cross-reactive major capsid proteins of different types of HPV L1 have the ability to degrade HPV6 infection.Methods:Condyloma specimens were collected,HPV6 infection cases were identified from the collected samples,and virus was extracted.Polypeptide anti-sera were diluted in different proportions,and then co-cultured and neutralized with the resulting virus,then removed to contact mono-layer-cultured human immortalized keratinocytes and tested by HPV6 disease using PCR.Content of HPV6 DNA in human immortalized keratinocytes was exposed,and the presence of HPV6 L1 protein in this cells was tested by ELISA.Results:Human immortalized ke-ratinocytes infected with HPV6 virus neutralization at different dilution concentrations,the PCR products of their DNA extracts were electrophoresis and showed positive bands of HPV6 specificity zone at 280 bp of the gel,and the intensity of positive bands gradually decreased with increasing antiserum concentration.Protein extracted from human immortalized keratinocytes exposed to anti-serum neutralizing virus was tested by ELISA,and the amount of HPV L1 protein showed the same gradient trend as the above PCR test results,and the difference were statistically significant.Conclusion:It is preliminarily proved that HPV6 L1 conserved sequence polypeptide antisera can partially degrade the infection ability of the virus,and it has the value of studying more HPV neutralization types.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH)is one of the major chronic complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM),and sex steroid hormones are common risk factors for the occurrence of T2DM and BPH.The profiles of sex steroid hormones are simultaneously quantified by LC-MS/MS in the clinical serum of patients,including simple BPH patients,newly diagnosed T2DM patients,T2DM complicated with BPH patients and matched healthy individuals.The G protein-coupled estrogen receptor(GPER)inhibitor G15,GPER knockdown lentivirus,the YAP1 inhibitor verteporfin,YAP1 knockdown/overexpression lentivirus,targeted metabolomics analysis,and Co-IP assays are used to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the disrupted sex steroid hormones homeostasis in the pathological process of T2DM complicated with BPH.The homeostasis of sex steroid hormone is disrupted in the serum of patients,accompanying with the proliferated prostatic epithelial cells(PECs).The sex steroid hormone metabolic profiles of T2DM patients complicated with BPH have the greatest degrees of separation from those of healthy individuals.Elevated 17β-estradiol(E2)is the key contributor to the disrupted sex steroid hormone homeostasis,and is significantly positively related to the clinical characteristics of T2DM patients complicated with BPH.Activating GPER by E2 via Hippo-YAP1 signaling exacerbates high glucose(HG)-induced PECs prolifer-ation through the formation of the YAP1-TEAD4 heterodimer.Knockdown or inhibition of GPER-mediated Hippo-YAP1 signaling suppresses PECs proliferation in HG and E2 co-treated BPH-1 cells.The anti-proliferative effects of verteporfin,an inhibitor of YAP1,are blocked by YAP1 overexpression in HG and E2 co-treated BPH-1 cells.Inactivating E2/GPER/Hippo/YAP1 signaling may be effective at delaying the progression of T2DM complicated with BPH by inhibiting PECs proliferation.

Objective To explore the optimal method for preparing fresh and fixed skeletal muscle tissues,and to lay an experimental foundation for the rapid diagnosis of and research into the pathogenesis of skeletal muscle diseases.Methods The tibialis anterior muscle was extracted from C57BL/6J mice.Fresh tissue was treated by direct rapid freezing in liquid nitrogen,embedding combined with liquid nitrogen freezing,and foreign body alkane treatment combined with liquid nitrogen freezing.Fixed tissues were pre-treated by direct embedding with embedding agent combined with rapid liquid nitrogen freezing.The frozen sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin.The cross-sectional areas of ice crystals and muscle fibers were calculated to evaluate the effects of the different pre-treatment method.Results The morphology of the muscle fiber bundles was disrupted and numerous ice crystal vacuoles were observed in fresh tissues after direct liquid nitrogen freezing and foreign body alkane treatment combined with liquid nitrogen freezing.In contrast,the muscle fiber bundles were intact and dense and there were no ice crystals in tissues treated with embedding agent combined with rapid liquid nitrogen freezing,indicating that this pre-treatment method was suitable for preparing fresh skeletal muscle tissue.Fixed tissue treated with embedding agent and liquid nitrogen freezing also showed complete muscle fiber bundles and no ice crystals.Conclusions Treatment of fresh and fixed skeletal muscle tissues with embedding agent combined with rapid liquid nitrogen freezing preserves muscle fiber bundles,with no ice crystals.Tissues prepared by this method are thus suitable for further examinations,such as immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence.This method will therefore aid the accurate and rapid diagnosis of and research into the pathogenesis of skeletal muscle diseases.

Objective To explore the role of ATM/hnRNPK signaling in the adriamycin resistance of acute myeloid leukemia.Methods Expression of ATM was examined in the adriamycin resistant and sensitive leukemia cell strains with Western blot.ATM expression was down-regulated by RNAi and ATM inhibitor in the adriamycin resist-ant cell strains.Expression level of hnRNPK and LC3Ⅰ/Ⅱ was detected by Western blot and adriamycin sensitivity was measured by CCK8 assay before and after modulation of ATM expression.Results ATM was overex-pressed in adriamycin resistant leukemia cell strains.The decreased expression of ATM restored the sensitivity to adriamycin.Expression level of LC3Ⅱ and hnRNPK was consistent with the modulation of ATM expression.Conclusions The ATM/hnRNPK signaling pathway may play a role in the occurrence of adriamycin resistance in acute myeloid leukemia by regulating autophagy.