Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are major outer membrane components of Gram-negative bacteria. Unlike most Gram-negative bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii can still survive and acquire polymyxin resistance after complete loss of LPS. Previous studies of LPS-deficient Acinetobacter baumannii mostly focused on LPS-deficient strains induced by polymyxin, whose background was complex and unstable. To investigate LPS loss-mediated polymyxin resistant-Acinetobacter baumannii, this study constructed a stable and clear background LPS-deficient strain by knocking out lpxC gene in Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606 with CIRSPR/Cas9, and then studied the phenotypic changes of the lpxC-deficient strain including morphology, growth rate, antibiotic susceptibility, virulence, membrane permeability, and membrane potential. Animal experiments were approved by the Animal Care and Welfare Committee Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, CAMS and PUMC (approval number: IMB-20240119D₉). The results indicated that the lpxC gene of Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606 was successfully knocked out. After losing the lpxC, the strain underwent the morphological change from rod-shaped to spherical. Furthermore, it leads to reduced growth rate, enhanced membrane permeability, decreased membrane potential, lower virulence, and increased antibiotic susceptibility to β-lactams, quinolones, aminoglycosides, macrolides, glycopeptides. The lpxC deletion results in significant changes in membrane homeostasis and adaptability of Acinetobacter baumannii. Understanding the phenotypic changes of colistin-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii mediated by LPS loss is useful for exploring the resistance mechanism of Acinetobacter baumannii and developing new therapeutic strategies.

Objective To analyze the incidence of prehypertension (PHTN) and hypertension of male workers in a coal mine and investigate the influencing factors. Methods A total of 10 155 male workers in a coal mine in Shanxi Province were selected as the study subjects using the judgment sampling method. Occupational medical examination was carried out to examine the prevalence of abnormal blood pressure (including PHTN and hypertension) and its influencing factors. Results The prevalence of abnormal blood pressure was 69.9%, with a PHTN prevalence of 44.2% and a hypertension prevalence of 25.7%. The results of multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of PHTN and hypertension increased with age, drinking frequency and body mass index (all P<0.05). Workers with a pulse rate≥100 times/min had a higher risk of PHTN and hypertension than those with a pulse rate of 60-100 times/min (all P<0.05). The risk of PHTN and hypertension in workers exposed to noise, silica dust or other dust was higher than those without such occupational hazard exposure (all P<0.05). The risk of hypertension in workers with abnormal blood glucose was higher than that in workers with normal blood glucose (P<0.05). Exposure to organic solvents was associated with a higher risk of hypertension (P<0.05). Conclusion The prevalence of PHTN and hypertension among male coal miners in this mine is relatively high. The individual factors such as age, alcohol consumption, pulse rate, and body mass index, along with occupational exposure factors such as noise, silica dust, and other dusts, are influencing factors for PHTN and hypertension.

Objective To evaluate the clinical effect of minimally invasive aortic valve replacement with Perceval sutureless aortic bioprosthesis in upper ministernotomy or right anterior thoracotomy. Methods From March to November 2022, the patients with simple aortic valve disease were enrolled in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of West China Hospital, Sichuan University. After preoperative evaluation, Perceval sutureless bioprosthesis was successfully used to perform aortic valve replacement through the upper ministernotomy or right anterior thoracotomy. The perioperative clinical data and ultrasonic measurement data of all patients were recorded. Results A total of 5 patients with simple aortic valve disease were included, including 3 females and 2 males, with a mean age of 71.2 years. Perceval sutureless bioprosthesis was successfully implanted in 5 patients, with a success rate of 100%. There were 3 patients receiving upper ministernotomy and 2 patients receiving right anterior thoracotomy. Two patients underwent ascending aortic plasty at the same time. The mean cardiopulmonary bypass time was 61.0 min, and aortic cross-clamping time was 32.2 min. All patients were discharged successfully without perivalvular leakage, atrioventricular block or stroke. Conclusion The implantation method of Perceval sutureless bioprosthesis is simple, which can effectively reduce the perioperative risk by shortening the overall operation time, cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross-clamping time. At the same time, its clinical application has promoted the development and popularization of minimally invasive aortic valve replacement, which together with Perceval sutureless bioprosthesis effectively combinates surgical effect and minimally invasive treatment, and has a good clinical application prospect because of its reliable safety and effectiveness.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of two-stage retrograde hybrid repair for acute aortic dissection involving the aortic arch complicated with distal malperfusion syndrome. Methods From May 2019 to December 2022, the patients presented with acute aortic dissection involving the aortic arch complicated with distal malperfusion syndrome treated in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of West China Hospital, Sichuan University were enrolled. After preoperative evaluation, all patients underwent priority emergency interventional surgery to improve distal malperfusion, and then underwent two-stage hybrid surgery to repair proximal aortic lesions. The perioperative clinical and imaging data were retrospectively analyzed. Results Five patients were collected, including 4 males and 1 female, with a median age of 58 years. The main manifestations were lower limb ischemia and renal insufficiency in 3 patients, and poor intestinal perfusion in 2 patients. All patients were given priority to interventional surgery to implant graft stents or bare stents and necessary branch artery intervention, and then successfully performed two-stage hybrid surgery, including type Ⅰhybrid surgery for 2 patients, type Ⅱ hybrid surgery for 1 patient and type Ⅲ hybrid surgery for the other 2 patients, with a success rate of 100.0%. All patients were discharged successfully, and the function of the organs with poor perfusion returned to normal. Only 1 patient recovered to grade 4 muscle strength of the diseased lower limbs upon discharge. No adverse events such as amputation, exploratory laparotomy and intestinal resection or long-term hemodialysis occurred. Conclusion The application of two-stage retrograde hybrid repair in the surgical treatment of acute aortic dissection involving the aortic arch complicated with distal malperfusion syndrome is safe and effective, and is helpful to improve the perioperative survival rate, and clinical outcomes of such patients.

Objective To generate and identify the Itgbl1(integrin beta-like)promoter-driven Cre knock-in mouse line.Methods Itgbll-Cre knock-in mice were generated using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9(Cas9)gene editing.The Itgbl1-Cre mice were crossed with the Cre reporter ROSALSL-tdTomato)mice to detect the expression profile of Cre activity.The tdTomato expression pattern across tissues and cell-specific markers were used to identify the cell types of Itgbl1-expressing cells and their progeny.Results and Conclusion tdTomato was specifically expressed in mucous acinar cells of the sublingual gland,pancreatic islet cells,and gastric endocrine cells.In addition,tdTomato expression was also found in some of the neurons of the retina and brain,as well as in a few cells in the serosal layer of the intestine,articular cartilage,periosteum,and bone marrow.The first Itgbl1-Cre recombinase transgenic mouse line was established,which can specifically label the mucous acinar cells of the sublingual gland.

To date,measuring the neural activity of speech processing in adults and children after cochlear implantation has been a great challenge because conventional neuroimaging techniques are limited by the magnetic properties of cochlear implants.Functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS)is a non-invasive imaging technique for neuroimaging the brain compatible with implanted devices and unaffected by electrical artifacts.fNIRS is suitable for measuring the neural activity of speech processing in adult and pediatric cochlear implant recipients and can better identify and interpret cortical responses.The purpose of this paper is to summarize the use of fNIRS as a tool to measure the neural activation level of speech processing in cochlear implant recipients for different types of speech stimuli,and thus to provide a clinical and objective basis for the assessment of auditory speech rehabilitation and the development of rehabilitation programs for implant recipients.

Tetralogy of Fallot is the most common cause of cyanotic congenital heart disease,and it is related with the high incidence of pulmonary regurgitation in repaired tetralogy of Fallot that usually requires pulmonary valve replacement.Transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement can replace traditional surgery in treating pulmonary regurgitation,which can make up for the shortcoming of large injury.Echocardiography is important in assessing ventricular function,however,conventional echocardiographic parameters have several limitations.This study reviewed the application of two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging in evaluating the right and left ventricular function after transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement in pulmonary valve regurgitation after repaired tetralogy of Fallot.

ObjectiveTo explore the effect and mechanism of Zuojinwan （ZJW） in the treatment of ulcerative colitis （UC） through network pharmacology and experimental validation. MethodUsing network pharmacology and molecular docking， the active components and potential mechanism of ZJW in treating UC were preliminarily identified. Forty-eight male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a normal group， a model group， a sulfasalazine group （300 mg·kg^-1）， and low-， medium-， and high-dose ZJW groups （1.82， 3.64， 7.28 g·kg^-1）. The UC model was induced by dextran sulfate sodium （DSS）， and oral administration of drugs began on the third day of modeling， lasting for 7 days. The general condition of mice was observed daily， and the disease activity index （DAI） was evaluated. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to observe histopathological changes in colon tissue. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to measure the levels of tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， interleukin （IL）-6， and IL-10 in mouse serum. The molecular mechanism was validated using Western blot. ResultNetwork pharmacology predicted that the phosphoinositide 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathway might be a key pathway in the regulation of UC by ZJW. Molecular docking results showed good binding ability between the key components of ZJW and core targets. Animal experiment results showed that compared with the normal group， the model group had shortened colon length （P<0.01）， increased DAI scores， spleen index， colon tissue pathology scores， and levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in serum （P<0.05， P<0.01）， increased PI3K， phosphorylated Akt （p-Akt）， and B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）-associated X protein （Bax） expression in colon tissue （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and decreased serum IL-10 levels and colon tissue Bcl-2 protein expression （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the ZJW groups showed significant improvement in UC symptoms， relieved colon tissue pathological damage， downregulated levels of inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 in serum （P<0.01）， inhibited expression of PI3K， p-Akt， and Bax proteins in colon tissue （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and increased serum IL-10 levels and colon tissue Bcl-2 protein expression （P<0.01）， with the high-dose group showing the best effect. ConclusionZJW effectively alleviates DSS-induced UC， and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and regulation of apoptosis-related protein expression.

Somatostatin (SST) is an inhibitory polypeptide hormone that plays an important role in a variety of biological processes. Somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2) is the most widely expressed somatostatin receptor. However, the specific cell types expressing Sstr2 in the tissues have not been investigated. In this study, we detected the expression pattern of SSTR2 protein in mouse at different development stages, including the embryonic 15.5 days and the postnatal 1, 7, 15 days as well as 3 and 6 months, by multicolour immunofluorescence analyses. We found that Sstr2 was expressed in some specific cells types of several tissues, including the neuronal cells and astrocytes in the brain, the mesenchymal cells, the hematopoietic cells, the early hematopoietic stem cells, and the B cells in the bone marrow, the macrophages, the type Ⅱ alveolar epithelial cells, and the airway ciliated cells in the lung, the epithelial cells and the neuronal cells in the intestine, the hair follicle cells, the gastric epithelial cells, the hematopoietic stem cells and the nerve fibre in the spleen, and the tubular epithelial cells in the kidney. This study identified the specific cell types expressing Sstr2 in mouse at different developmental stages, providing new insights into the physiological function of SST and SSTR2 in several cell types.
Mice ; Animals ; Receptors, Somatostatin/metabolism* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Epithelial Cells

Objective: To understand the social security situation of current cases of pneumoconiosis in non-coal mine industries in Jiangsu Province, and to provide reference for the treatment and security work of pneumoconiosis patients. Methods: From January to October 2020, a follow-up survey was conducted on 4038 cases of pneumoconiosis in non-coal mine industries of the province from October 1949 to December 2019. The age, type of pneumoconiosis, industry type, and social security status of the patients were collected. Namely, work-related injury insurance, employer compensation, basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents, major illness insurance, etc. SPSS 19.0 was used for statistical description and analysis. Results: The cases of pneumoconiosis in non-coal mine industries in Jiangsu Province ranged in age from 36 to 105 (70.78±8.43) years old, and had been exposed to dust for 1 to 55 (19.27±9.29) years. Silicosis was the main form (3875 cases, 95.96%), and non-metallic mining and dressing industry was the main form (2618 cases, 64.83%). A total of 3991 cases (98.84%) of pneumoconiosis patients enjoyed social security, most of them were urban and rural residents with basic medical insurance (3624 cases, 89.75%), but there were still 47 patients without any social security. 15 cases (0.37%) enjoyed the subsistence allowance, with the monthly allowance amount ranging from 104 to 3960 yuan, with the average amount of 954.87 yuan/month. Conclusion: In Jiangsu Province, the proportion of pneumoconiosis patients in non-coal mine industries enjoying social security is relatively high, but there are still patients who do not enjoy any social security, and the difference in the amount of subsistence allowance is slightly larger. It is necessary to further improve the medical security of pneumoconiosis patients and improve their quality of life.
Humans ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Social Security ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Pneumoconiosis/epidemiology* ; Silicosis/epidemiology* ; Etoposide ; Ifosfamide ; Mesna ; Coal Mining ; China/epidemiology*