OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the intestinal flora in rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and explore its possible mechanism based on the gut-lung axis theory. METHODS: A total of 30 male SD rats of SPF grade were randomly divided into a normal control (NC) group, a model group and an EA group, 10 rats in each one. In the model group and the EA group, COPD model was established by intratracheal instillation of lipopolysaccharide combined with cigarette fumigation. In the EA group, EA was applied at bilateral "Feishu" (BL13) and "Zusanli" (ST36), with disperse-dense waves, in frequency of 4 Hz/20 Hz, current of 1-3 mA, 20 min a time, once a day for 14 days continuously. Before and after modeling, as well as after intervention, body weight was observed; after intervention, the lung function indexes (forced expiratory volume in 0.1 second [FEV_0.1], FEV_0.1/forced vital capacity [FVC]%, forced expiratory volume in 0.3 second [FEV_0.3] and FEV_0.3/FVC%) were measured, serum levels of inflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-α[TNF-α], interleukin-6[IL-6], interleukin-1β[IL-1β] and interleukin-10[IL-10]) were detected by ELISA, histopathology of lung and colon tissues was observed by HE staining, the intestinal flora were analyzed by 16S rRNA, and the correlations between lung function and intestinal flora were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the NC group, in the COPD group, the body weight and lung function indexes were reduced (P<0.01); the lung and colon tissues were damaged, the mean linear intercept (MLI) of alveolus and inflammatory cell numbers of 100 μm² in lung tissue were increased (P<0.01); the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were increased (P<0.01, P<0.05), and the serum level of IL-10 was decreased (P<0.01); α-diversity indexes of intestinal flora were increased (P<0.01); the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Oscillospira, Bacteroides, Coprococcus was increased (P<0.01), the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, TM7 and Lactobacillus, Allobaculum, Bifidobacterium, YRC22 was decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05); 31 different expressed metabolic pathways were identified between the two groups. Compared with the COPD group, in the EA group, the body weight and lung function indexes were increased (P<0.01); the damage of lung and colon tissues was improved, the MLI of alveolus was decreased (P<0.05); the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were decreased (P<0.05), and the serum level of IL-10 was increased (P<0.05); α-diversity indexes of intestinal flora were decreased (P<0.01); the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Oscillospira, Bacteroides, Coprococcus was decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05), the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, TM7 and Lactobacillus, Allobaculum, Bifidobacterium, YRC22 was increased (P<0.01); 35 different expressed metabolic pathways were identified between the two groups. The lung function was positive related with Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, TM7 and YRC22, and was negative related with Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Oscillospira, Bacteroides, Coprococcus. CONCLUSION EA may ameliorate lung function and tissue injury of COPD by regulating intestinal flora dysbiosis and inflammatory response, suggesting an anti-inflammatory effect mediated via "gut-lung" axis.
Animals ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/genetics* ; Male ; Electroacupuncture ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Lung/metabolism* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Humans ; Interleukin-6/immunology* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology* ; Intestines/microbiology* ; Interleukin-10/immunology*

OBJECTIVE: To explore and quantify the association of hot night exposure during the sperm development period (0-90 lag days) with semen quality. METHODS: A total of 6,640 male sperm donors from 6 human sperm banks in China during 2014-2020 were recruited in this multicenter study. Two indices (i.e., hot night excess [HNE] and hot night duration [HND]) were used to estimate the heat intensity and duration during nighttime. Linear mixed models were used to examine the association between hot nights and semen quality parameters. RESULTS: The exposure-response relationship revealed that HNE and HND during 0-90 days before semen collection had a significantly inverse association with sperm motility. Specifically, a 1 °C increase in HNE was associated with decreased sperm progressive motility of 0.0090 (95% confidence interval [ CI]: -0.0147, -0.0033) and decreased total motility of 0.0094 (95% CI: -0.0160, -0.0029). HND was significantly associated with reduced sperm progressive motility and total motility of 0.0021 (95% CI: -0.0040, -0.0003) and 0.0023 (95% CI: -0.0043, -0.0002), respectively. Consistent results were observed at different temperature thresholds on hot nights. CONCLUSION Our findings highlight the need to mitigate nocturnal heat exposure during spermatogenesis to maintain optimal semen quality.
Humans ; Male ; Semen Analysis ; Adult ; Sperm Motility ; Hot Temperature/adverse effects* ; China ; Middle Aged ; Spermatozoa/physiology* ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the expression of HOXB4 gene in patients with myelodysplastic syn-dromes(MDS)and its clinical significance in disease progression.Methods mRNA expression of HOXB4 gene in bone marrow mononuclear cells was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR),and the difference in HOXB4 expression was compared between 49 patients with MDS(MDS group)and 35 patients without MDS(group C).The relationship of mRNA expression of HOXB4 with disease characteristics and clinical prognosis was explored in MDS patients.Results mRNA expression level of HOXB4 gene was higher in MDS group than that in group C(P＜0.05).The patients were divided into a high-and a low-expression group according to the median expression level of HOXB4.Leukocyte count was lower in the high-expression group in the low-expression group at the time of initial diagnosis.The proportion of patients with subtypes of primitive cellular hyperplasia,poor prognostic staging and leukemic transformation was higher in the high-expression group than in the low-expression group.Conclusions mRNA expression level of HOXB4 gene has certain relation with AML transformation in MDS patients.

The breakage pattern of unit particles during the production of oral solid dosage forms (OSD) is closely related to the quality of intermediate or final products. To accurately characterize the particles and study the evolution law of particle breakage, the Bonding model of the discrete element method (DEM) was used to investigate the breakage patterns of model parameters, particle shape and process conditions (loading mode and loading rate) on the dynamic breakage, force-time curve, breakage rate, maximum breakage size ratio and fracture strength of particles. The results showed that the particle breakage force was positively correlated with normal strength and bonded disk scale, negatively correlated with normal stiffness per unit area and tangential stiffness per unit area, and weakly correlated with tangential strength. The particle breakage rate was negatively correlated with the aspect ratio of the particles, and the maximum breakage size ratio was positively correlated with the aspect ratio of the particles; among the three loading modes, the breakage rate of compression breakage model was the largest, the breakage rate of shear breakage model was the second largest, and the breakage rate of wear breakage model was the smallest; the maximum breakage size ratio was positively correlated with the loading rate, the loading mode and the loading rate had no mutual influence on particle breakage rate, but had mutual influence on the maximum breakage size ratio. The research results will provide a theoretical basis for the shift of OSD from batch manufacturing to advanced manufacturing.

RNA editing, an essential post-transcriptional reaction occurring in double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), generates informational diversity in the transcriptome and proteome. In mammals, the main type of RNA editing is the conversion of adenosine to inosine (A-to-I), processed by adenosine deaminases acting on the RNAs (ADARs) family, and interpreted as guanosine during nucleotide base-pairing. It has been reported that millions of nucleotide sites in human transcriptome undergo A-to-I editing events, catalyzed by the primarily responsible enzyme, ADAR1. In hematological malignancies including myeloid/lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma, dysregulation of ADAR1 directly impacts the A-to-I editing states occurring in coding regions, non-coding regions, and immature miRNA precursors. Subsequently, aberrant A-to-I editing states result in altered molecular events, such as protein-coding sequence changes, intron retention, alternative splicing, and miRNA biogenesis inhibition. As a vital factor of the generation and stemness maintenance in leukemia stem cells (LSCs), disordered RNA editing drives the chaos of molecular regulatory network and ultimately promotes the cell proliferation, apoptosis inhibition and drug resistance. At present, novel drugs designed to target RNA editing(e.g., rebecsinib) are under development and have achieved outstanding results in animal experiments. Compared with traditional antitumor drugs, epigenetic antitumor drugs are expected to overcome the shackle of drug resistance and recurrence in hematological malignancies, and provide new treatment options for patients. This review summarized the recent advances in the regulation mechanism of ADAR1-mediated RNA editing events in hematologic malignancies, and further discussed the medical potential and clinical application of ADAR1.

Objective:To explore the clinical features and prognosis of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma(PCNSL).Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on the relationship between clinical features,treatment regimen and prognosis in 46 newly diagnosed patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma who were diagnosed and treated in The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University from January 2015 to September 2022.Fisher's exact probability method was used to analyze the differences in clinical data of different subgroups.Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to analyze the overall survival rate and progression-free survival rate of patients with different treatments,and the factors influencing survival were analyzed.Results:Among 46 patients with PCNSL,which pathological type were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL).There were 26(56.5％)cases of male and 20(43.5％)of female,with a median age of 54(17-71)years.In Hans subtypes,14 cases(30.4％)of GCB subtype,32 cases(69.6％)of non-GCB subtype.32 cases(69.6％)of Ki-67 ≥80％.Among 36 patients who completed at least 2 cycles of treatment with follow-up data,the efficacy evaluation was as follows:overall response rate(ORR)was 63.9％,complete response(CR)rate was 47.2％,17 cases of CR,6 cases of PR.The 1-year progression-free survival rate and 1-year overall survival rate was 73.6％and 84.9％,respectively.The 2-year progression-free survival rate and 2-year overall survival rate was 52.2％and 68.9％,respectively.The ORR and CR rate of 17 patients treated with RMT regimen was 76.5％and 52.9％(9 cases CR and 4 cases PR),respectively.Univariate analysis of 3 groups of patients treated with RMT regimen,RM-BTKi regimen,and RM-TT regimen as first-line treament showed that deep brain infiltration was associated with adverse PFS(P=0.032),and treatment regimen was associated with adverse OS in PCNSL patients(P=0.025).Conclusion:Different treatment modalities were independent prognosis predictors for OS,the deep brain infiltration of PCNSL is a poor predictive factor for PFS.Patients with relapse/refractory(R/R)PCNSL have a longer overall survival time because to the novel medication BTKi.They have strong toleration and therapeutic potential as a first-line therapy for high-risk patients.

Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of prognostic nutritional index (PNI) combined with D-dimer on the prognosis of patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). METHODS: The clinical data of 73 DLBCL patients at initial diagnosis were retrospectively evaluated, and the optimal cut-off point of PNI and D-dimer were determined by ROC curve. The overall survival (OS) rate and progression-free survival (PFS) rate in different subgroups were compared using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to identify the factors associated with OS. RESULTS: Compared with the low PNI group (PNI<44.775), the high PNI group (PNI≥44.775) had better OS (P =0.022) and PFS (P =0.029), the 2-year OS rates of the two groups were 55.6% and 78.3% respectively (P =0.041). Compared with the high D-dimer group (D-dimer≥0.835), the low D-dimer group (D-dimer<0.835) had better OS (P <0.001) and PFS (P <0.001), the 2-year OS rates of the two groups were 51.4% and 86.8% respectively (P =0.001). Meanwhile, patients in the high PNI+ low D-dimer group had better OS (P =0.003) and PFS (P <0.001) than the other three groups, the 2-year OS rate was statistically different from the other three groups (P <0.05). The multivariate analysis revealed that NCCN-IPI (HR =2.083, 95%CI : 1.034-4.196, P =0.040), PNI (HR =0.267, 95%CI : 0.076-0.940, P =0.040) and PNI+D-dimer (HR =9.082, 95%CI : 1.329-62.079, P =0.024) were the independent risk factors affecting OS in patients with DLBCL. Subgroup analysis showed that PNI, D-dimer, and PNI combined with D-dimer could improve the prognostic stratification in low and low-intermediate risk DLBCL patients. CONCLUSION High PNI, low D-dimer and combination of high PNI and low D-dimer at initial diagnosis suggest a better prognosis in DLBCL patients.
Humans ; Prognosis ; Nutrition Assessment ; Retrospective Studies ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/pathology*

Objective:To explore the current status of surgery for portal hypertension to grasp current status and future development of surgery in China.Methods:This study is jointly sponsored by China Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Specialist Alliance & Portal Hypertension Alliance in China (CHESS).Comprehensive surveying is conducted for basic domestic situations of surgery for portal hypertension, including case load, surgical approaches, management of postoperative complications, primary effects, existing confusion and obstacles, liver transplantation(LT), laparoscopic procedures and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(TIPS), etc.Results:A total of 8 512 cases of portal hypertension surgery are performed at 378 hospitals nationwide in 2021.Splenectomy plus devascularization predominated(53.0%)and laparoscopy accounted for 76.1%.Primary goal is preventing rebleeding(67.0%) and 72.8% of hospitals used preventive anticoagulants after conventional surgery.And 80.7% of teams believe that the formation of postoperative portal vein thrombosis is a surgical dilemma and 65.3% of hospitals practiced both laparoscopy and TIPS.The major reasons for patients with portal hypertension not receiving LT are due to a lack of qualifications for LT(69.3%)and economic factors(69.0%).Conclusions:Surgery is an integral part of management of portal hypertension in China.However, it is imperative to further standardize the grasp of surgical indications, the handling of surgical operation and the management of postoperative complications.Moreover, prospective, multi-center randomized controlled clinical studies should be performed.

This study aimed to compare the predictive value of six selected anthropometric indicators for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Males over 50 years of age who underwent health examinations at the Health Management Center of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (Changsha, China) from June to December 2020 were enrolled in this study. The characteristic data were collected, including basic anthropometric indices, lipid parameters, six anthropometric indicators, prostate-specific antigen, and total prostate volume. The odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for all anthropometric parameters and BPH were calculated using binary logistic regression. To assess the diagnostic capability of each indicator for BPH and identify the appropriate cutoff values, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the related areas under the curves (AUCs) were utilized. All six indicators had diagnostic value for BPH (all P ≤ 0.001). The visceral adiposity index (VAI; AUC: 0.797, 95% CI: 0.759-0.834) had the highest AUC and therefore the highest diagnostic value. This was followed by the cardiometabolic index (CMI; AUC: 0.792, 95% CI: 0.753-0.831), lipid accumulation product (LAP; AUC: 0.766, 95% CI: 0.723-0.809), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR; AUC: 0.660, 95% CI: 0.609-0.712), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR; AUC: 0.639, 95% CI: 0.587-0.691), and body mass index (BMI; AUC: 0.592, 95% CI: 0.540-0.643). The sensitivity of CMI was the highest (92.1%), and WHtR had the highest specificity of 94.1%. CMI consistently showed the highest OR in the binary logistic regression analysis. BMI, WHtR, WHR, VAI, CMI, and LAP all influence the occurrence of BPH in middle-aged and older men (all P ≤ 0.001), and CMI is the best predictor of BPH.
Middle Aged ; Male ; Humans ; Aged ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; Obesity/epidemiology* ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Waist-Height Ratio ; ROC Curve ; Waist Circumference ; Risk Factors