Objective: To analyze the distribution characteristics of fluoride and trichloromethane in drinking water in rural schools in Guizhou Province and assess their health risks, so as to provide a scientific basis for ensuring the safety of drinking water in rural schools. Methods: During the dry season (March to May) and wet season (July to September) of 2020 to 2022, 788 rural primary and secondary schools in agricultural counties (districts) in Guizhou Province were selected for investigation by using a direct sampling method. A total of 1 566 drinking water samples were collected from these schools, and the mass concentrations of fluoride and trichloromethane in the water samples were detected. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for intergroup comparison, and a health risk assessment model was employed to evaluate the health risks of students oral intake of fluoride and trichloromethane. Results: From 2020 to 2022, the mass concentrations of fluoride and trichloromethane in the drinking water of rural schools in Guizhou Province all met the standards, and the ranges were no detection to 0.99 mg/L and (no detection to 0.06)×10 -3 mg/L, respectively. The mass concentrations of fluoride in dry and wet seasons were 0.05(0.05,0.10), 0.05(0.05,0.10) mg/L, the mass concentrations of trichloromethane were [0.02(0.02,1.00)]×10 -3 , [0.02(0.02,1.00)]×10 -3 mg/L, the mass concentrations of fluoride in factory water and terminal water were 0.05(0.05,0.05), 0.05(0.05,0.10) mg/L, and the differences were not statistically significant ( Z=-0.04, -0.88, - 0.98 , P >0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the mass concentration of trichloromethane between factory water and peripheral water [0.02(0.02,0.02)×10 -3 , 0.02(0.02,1.05)×10 -3 mg/L]( Z=-2.16, P < 0.05 ). The non-carcinogenic risk assessment values for students oral exposure to fluoride and trichloromethane were in the range of 0.01(0.01,0.03)-0.03(0.03,0.06) and [0.26( 0.26 ,14.54)]×10 -4 -[0.52(0.52,48.62)]×10 -4 , respectively, all of which were at acceptable levels; the carcinogenic risk assessment values for oral exposure to trichloromethane were in the range of [0.08(0.08, 4.51 )]×10 -7 -[0.16(0.16,15.07)]×10 -7 , indicating a low risk. Conclusions The health risks of students expore to fluoride and trichloromethane in drinking water in rural schools of Guizhou Province are low. It is necessary to strengthen the standardized management of disinfection in some rural drinking water projects and the monitoring of fluoride in water sources to reduce the exposure risk to children.

China is a high-incidence region for gastric cancer globally. The disease is characterized by a high morbidity rate, low early diagnostic rate, and poor long-term outcomes, imposing a significant burden on both patients and society. Therefore, exploring the pathogenesis of gastric cancer, developing novel therapeutic strategies, and identifying new drug targets is of great importance. Telomerase expression is broadly associated with cancer cell targeting, and its up-regulation is one of the key factors driving the initiation and progression of gastric cancer. Additionally, telomerase is intricately involved in the regulation of autophagy and autophagy-associated cell death. While autophagy can induce chemoresistance, excessive autophagy may lead to cell death, which also constitutes one of the mechanisms of chemotherapy. Telomerase not only directly contributes to gastric cancer pathogenesis but also indirectly influences its development and treatment by modulating autophagy and autophagic cell death. Therefore, telomerase holds promise as a novel therapeutic target in gastric cancer.
Humans ; Stomach Neoplasms/genetics* ; Telomerase/genetics* ; Autophagy/physiology*

Booster vaccinations are highly recommended in combating the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and its subvariants. However, the optimal booster vaccination strategies and related immune mechanisms with different prior vaccinations are under-revealed. In this study, we systematically evaluated the immune responses in mice and hamsters with different prime-boost regimens before their protective efficacies against Omicron were detected. We found that boosting with Ad5-nCoV, S_WT-2P or S_Omicron-6P induced significantly higher levels of neutralization activities against Omicron variants than CoronaVac and ZF2001 by eliciting stronger germinal center (GC) responses. Specifically, S_Omicron-6P induced even stronger antibody responses against Omicron variants in CoronaVac and Ad5-nCoV-primed animals than non-Omicron-specific vaccines but with limited differences as compared to Ad5-nCoV and S_WT-2P. In addition, boosting with a specific vaccine has the potential to remodel the existing immune profiles. These findings indicated that adenovirus-vectored vaccines and mRNA vaccines would be more effective than other types of vaccines as booster shots in combating Omicron infections. Moreover, the protective efficacies of the vaccines in booster vaccinations are highly related to GC reactions in secondary lymphatic organs. In summary, these findings provide timely important information on prime-boost regimens and future vaccine design.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the promoting effect of ginsenoside Rb3 (Rb3) on osteogenesis in periodontitis environment, and to explain its mechanism. METHODS: Human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs) were cultured by tissue block method and identified by flow cytometry. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) method and calcein acetoxymethyl ester/propidium iodide staining were used to detect the effect of Rb3 on the viability of hPDLSCs cells. In vitro cell experiments were divided into control group, 10 μg/mL lipopolysaccharides (LPS) group, 10 μg/mL LPS+100 μmol/L Rb3 group and 10 μg/mL LPS+200 μmol/L Rb3 group. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining was used to detect the ALP activity of hPDLSCs in each group after osteogenesis induction. The expression of hPDLSCs interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)genes in each group after osteogenesis was detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) method. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression of hPDLSCs phosphorrylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) in each group. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the control group, ligation group and ligation+Rb3 group. The left molar-maxillary tissue was subjected to micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning. After the scanning, the left molar-maxilla was made into periodontal tissue sections. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to detect the infiltration and loss of adhesion of inflammatory cells. Masson staining was used to detect the destruction of gingival collagen fibers. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the protein expression of RUNX2 and p-ERK. The expression of TGF-β in rat gingival tissue was detected by qRT-PCR. The protein expression of IL-6 in peripheral serum of rats was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of Treg cells in rat heart blood. The experimental data were statistically analyzed by Graph Pad Prism10.1.2 software. RESULTS: Rb3 had no effect on the cell activity of hPDLSCs. The results of qRT-PCR and ALP staining showed that Rb3 could inhibit the gene expression of IL-6 and IL-8 in inflammatory hPDLSCs, promote TGF-β gene and promote the osteogenic differentiation of inflammatory hPDLSCs. Western blot showed that Rb3 inhibited the protein expression of inflammatory hPDLSCs p-ERK. The results from micro-CT, Masson staining, and HE staining demonstrated that Rb3 promotes alveolar bone formation in rats with periodontitis, while simultaneously inhibiting the destruction of periodontal fibrous tissue, reducing attachment loss, and suppressing inflammatory cell infiltration. The results of flow cytometry showed that Rb3 could promote the differentiation of Treg cells in peripheral blood of periodontitis rats. The results of ELISA and qRT-PCR showed that Rb3 could inhibit the protein expression of IL-6 and promote the gene expression of TGF-β in periodontitis rats. Immunofluorescence results showed that Rb3 could promote the protein expression of RUNX2 and inhibit the protein expression of p-ERK in periodontitis rats. CONCLUSIONS Rb3 can reduce the inflammatory reaction of periodontal tissues in periodontitis rats, and promote the osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs by regulating p-ERK pathways.
Animals ; Ginsenosides/pharmacology* ; Osteogenesis/drug effects* ; Periodontitis/metabolism* ; Rats ; Periodontal Ligament/cytology* ; Humans ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit/metabolism* ; Stem Cells/drug effects* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Interleukin-8/metabolism* ; Cells, Cultured ; MAP Kinase Signaling System/drug effects* ; Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; Male ; Phosphorylation ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases/metabolism* ; Alkaline Phosphatase/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of ginsenoside Rb3 on experimental periodontitis and bone resorption in rats. METHODS: Male SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, a ligation group, an Rb3 group, and a doxycycline (Dox) group for in vivo experiments. A periodontitis model was established by ligating the maxillary second molar, and samples were collected after 3 weeks of drug treatment. Micro-CT assessment of alveolar bone resorption was performed, and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to observe pathological changes in periodontal and visceral tissues. Tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining was applied to detect the formation of osteoclasts in periodontal tissues, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was adopted to detect the serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, immunoglobulin (Ig)M, and IgG. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was employed to detect the expression of factors related to gingival inflammation and osteoclast formation. Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK) expression. In vitro experiments were conducted by pretreating RAW264.7 cells with drugs and adding lipopolysaccharides (LPS) stimulation from Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis). IL-1β and IL-6 mRNA expression was detected by qPCR, and Western blot was used to detect the effect of Rb3 on the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) signaling pathway. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the ligation group showed significant periodontitis and bone resorption. Compared with the ligation group, the Rb3 group showed a decrease in alveolar bone resorption and osteoclast formation; p-ERK/ERK ratio, IL-1β, IL-6, and nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFATc1) mRNA levels and downstream gene expression in periodontal tissues; serum IL-6, IL-8, IgG, and IgM levels. Rb3 reduced IL-8 and IL-1β mRNA expression levels and p-ERK/ERK and p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK ratios in RAW264.7 cells induced by P. gingivalis LPS stimulation. CONCLUSIONS Rb3 inhibits inflammation and bone resorption in experimental periodontitis in rats. Compared with Dox, Rb3 has better effects in inhibiting pro-inflammatory factors and osteoclast gene expression and may exert anti-inflammatory effects by activating the MAPK signaling pathway.
Animals ; Ginsenosides/therapeutic use* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Male ; Periodontitis/pathology* ; Rats ; Osteoclasts/drug effects* ; Interleukin-1beta/metabolism* ; Interleukin-6/blood* ; Mice ; Alveolar Bone Loss ; Interleukin-8/blood* ; Immunoglobulin G/blood* ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Transcription Factors

Objective To investigate the mechanism of micellar curcumol (MC) regulating the immune microenvi-ronment of ovarian cancer by promoting the polarization of M2-type macrophages to M1-type in ovarian cancer asci-tes.Methods ① After the mice were divided into groups, a mouse ovarian cancer ascites model was constructed by using the mouse ovarian cancer cell line ID8.Then weight changes were observed, tumor tissue and ascites were collected.The expression of CD86 and CD206 on macrophages of the tumor tissue and ascites was detected by flow cytometry.The expression of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) was detected by Western blot.②A human monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1) was induced to transform into M2 macrophage (THP-1 M2 macrophage) in vitro, and then treated with 10μg/ml MC.The apoptosis was detected by flow cytom-etry.The mRNA levels of macrophage mannose receptor (CD206), transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β), inter-leukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected by qRT-PCR.The expression of CD86 and CD206 was detected by flow cytometry, and Akt/mTOR expression and phosphorylation was detected by Western blot.Results ① In vitro study showed that the average body weight of the MC group was lower than that of the control group.Compared with the control group, CD206 expression of macrophages decreased in tumor tissue and ascites in the MC group, while the expression of CD86 increased.The Akt and mTOR phosphorylation level of mac-rophages in the MC group's ascites was lower than that in control group.②In vivo study showed that there was no difference in apoptosis rate among the groups detected by flow cytometry.The mRNA expression level of CD206, TGF-β and the protein expression level of CD206 in MC group were significantly lower than those in the control group, while the mRNA expression of IL-1β, TNF-α and the protein expression level of CD86 were significantly higher than those in the control group.Compared with the control group, the phosphorylation level of Akt and mTOR in the MC group decreased.Conclusion MC promotes M1 polarization of macrophages in ascites to regulate the immune microenvironment of ovarian cancer, which may be related to the Akt/mTOR pathway.

In recent years,artificial intelligence(AI),such as image recognition and fixed-point and digital scan-ning,has been increasingly applied in dental orthodontics.ChatGPT is an emerging artificial intelligence technology that has attracted a considerable amount of attention from people of all walks of life since its introduction.This paper discusses the application potential of ChatGPT in the field of orthodontics from two perspectives—education and clini-cal practice—and analyzes its limitations.Current reports show that ChatGPT can improve the efficiency of teaching in orthodontic education as well as assist users in completing medical mock exams training,writing papers and conducting academic research,etc.In the clinic,ChatGPT can be used to engage patients in medical dialog,simplify clinical proce-dures and improve diagnostic and treatment efficiency.However,because ChatGPT is still in the early stages of research and application,there are problems such as insufficient data,inaccurate answers,and poor academic ethics and privacy.In the future,additional studies,training and optimization are needed to ensure the safety,ethics and benefit of AI,lay-ing the foundation for improving the use of AI in the field of orthodontics.

Objective:To explore the correlation between structural chromosomal abnormality and clinical characteristics of a child featuring gonadal dysplasia.Methods:A 13-year-old child who was admitted to Lianyungang Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital on February 7, 2023 for primary amenorrhoea and occasional abdominal pain was selected as the study subject. Clinical data of the child was collected, and peripheral blood samples of the child and her parents were collected. G-banding chromosomal karyotyping and copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq) were carried out. "Pseudodual centromere isochromosome X" and "psu idic(X)" were used as keywords to search the CNKI, Wanfang and PubMed databases, and the search period was set as from January 1, 2002 to June 1, 2023. Relevant literature on the structural abnormality of X chromosome was searched and analyzed retrospectively.Results:The child has a height of 153 cm and weighed 45 kg. She has no obvious facial dysmorphism. Laboratory tests showed that she had higher FSH and luteinizing hormone, and lower E2. Ultrasonography showed that she had small ovaries and rudimentary uterus. She was found to have a karyotype of 46, X, psu idic(X)(q21.3)[40]/mos 45, X[3], whilst both of her parents had a normal karyotype. CNV-seq showed that she had a 63.27 Mb deletion in Xq21.32q28 and a 91.59 Mb duplication in Xp22.33q21.32 (mosaicism rate = 74%). A total of 11 relevant literature were retrieved. Clinical phenotypes of patients with similar structural chromosomal abnormalities were diverse, which was closely related to the mosaicism rate of the 45, X karyotype and the location of the breaking point.Conclusion:46, X, psu idic(X)(q21.3)/45, X probably underlay the dysplasia of uterus and ovary and sex hormone abnormalities in this child, while her height was spared. Deletion of Xq21.32q28 is a key factor leading to Turner syndrome-like phenotype such as rudimentary uterus and ovarian dysplasia.

Objective To explore the mechanism of ginseng in the treatment of periodontitis based on network phar-macology and molecular docking technology.Methods Potential targets of ginseng and periodontitis were obtained through various databases.The intersection targets of ginseng and periodontitis were obtained by using VENNY,the pro-tein-protein interaction network relationship diagram was formed on the STRING platform,the core target diagram was formed by Cytoscape software,and the ginseng-active ingredient-target network diagram was constructed.The selected targets were screened for gene ontology(GO)and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG)pathway en-richment analysis.The core targets of ginseng's active in-gredients in treating periodontitis were analyzed by mo-lecular docking technique.Results The 22 ginseng's active ingredients,591 potential targets of ginseng's ac-tive ingredients,2 249 periodontitis gene targets,and 145 ginseng-periodontitis intersection targets were analyzed.Ginseng had strong binding activity on core targets such as vas-cular endothelial growth factor A and epidermal growth factor receptor,as well as hypoxia induced-factor 1(HIF-1)sig-naling pathway and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-protein kinase B(PI3K-Akt)signaling pathway.Conclusion Gin-seng and its active components can regulate several signaling pathways such as HIF-1 and PI3K-Akt,thereby indicating that ginseng may play a role in treating periodontitis through multiple pathways.

Chronic diseases occur repeatedly and progress slowly, and patients with chronic diseases are often accompanied by pressure such as changes in life rhythm, decreased activity ability and complications during treatment.Positive psychosocial factors play an important role in the development of chronic diseases, and the personal mastery, as an important protective psychological resource for individual self-management and stress coping, is of great significance for the improvement of patients ′ prognosis and quality of life.This article mainly reviews the influencing factors and intervention measures of personal control in patients with chronic diseases, aiming at providing reference for clinical nursing staff to develop and implement positive psychological intervention strategies for patients with chronic diseases.