ObjectiveThe U6 promoter is an essential element for driving sgRNA expression in the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat sequences/CRISPR-associated protein 9（CRISPR/Cas9）gene editing system in dicotyledonous plants. Endogenous U6 promoters typically exhibit higher transcriptional activity， which can significantly improve gene editing efficiency. This study aims to identify endogenous U6 promoters in Artemisia annua to optimize its CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system， which holds significant importance for its molecular breeding. MethodsOn the basis of the highly conserved U6 snRNA sequences in Arabidopsis thaliana， endogenous U6 promoters were screened in the A. annua genome. Expression vectors were constructed with candidate AaU6 promoter driving the firefly luciferase （LUC） reporter gene， and then transiently transformed into Nicotiana benthamiana. Transcriptional activities of the promoters were measured and compared by in vivo imaging and the Dual Luciferase Reporter assay. ResultsEight endogenous U6 promoters were successfully cloned from A. annua. Sequences alignment revealed that all these promoters contained the two conserved cis-acting elements， upstream sequence element （USE） and TATA-box， which affected their transcriptional activity. Dual-luciferase activity assays indicated that the transcriptional activities of AaU6-3， AaU6-1， and AaU6-5 were significantly higher than that of the Arabidopsis AtU6-26 promoter， with AaU6-3 exhibiting the highest activity. ConclusionThis study identified three endogenous AaU6 promoters with high transcriptional activity in A. annua， providing key functional elements for establishing an efficient gene editing system in A. annua. These findings will contribute to advancing precision molecular breeding and high-quality germplasm innovation in A. annua.

Objective To explore the prescription rules of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the treatment of diabetes periodontitis(DP) and the acting mechanisms of core drug combination. Methods Based on the relevant literature retrieved from the CNKI,Wanfang,VIP and Sinomed,a DP prescription database was established. Excel 2021,SPSS Modeler 18.0 and SPSS Statistics 26.0 were used to conduct the statistics of the frequency,efficacy classifications,properties,flavors,and meridian tropism of the included drugs. Association rule analysis and cluster analysis were performed to screen out the core drug combinations. The active components and action targets of core drug combinations were obtained through TCMSP and HERB. The DP related disease targets were predicted using GeneCards. The Venny platform was used to obtain the intersection of disease targets and drug targets. Key components were screened by Cytoscape to establish an "active component-target" network. Based on STRING platform data,PPI network was constructed by Cytoscape to screen core targets. GO functional annotation and KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analysis were carried out for the intersection targets by DAVID. AutoDockVina was applied for molecular docking between core targets and key components. Results A total of 36 articles were included,and 50 prescriptions involving 100 Chinese herbal medicines were extracted. Alismatis Rhizoma,Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata and Astragali Radix were the most common drugs. The most used drug category was deficiency-nourishing drugs. The properties of the herbs were mainly cold and warm,the major flavors were sweet and bitter,and the main meridian tropisms were kidney and liver. Six categories were classified by clustering analysis. Moutan Cortes-Corni Fructus-Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata was screened out as the core drug combination involving 18 active components,164 drug action targets and 104 intersection of DP targets and drug combination targets. Quercetin,stigmasterol,kaempferol,β-sitosterol,tetrahydroalstonine,and sitosterol were the key components,and AKT1,IL-6,TNF,IL-1B,PTGS2,JUN,TP53,ESR1,and MMP9 were the core targets. GO analysis revealed 3724 biological processes,228 cellular components and 404 molecular functions. KEGG analysis showed that DP was treated by the core drug combination through regulating 235 signaling pathways. Molecular docking results showed that there was a good affinity between the core target and the key component. Conclusion Tonifying deficiency is the main treatment methods of TCM for DP,accompanied by clearing heat and removing dampness,activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis,replenishing qi and nourishing yin. Core drug combination (Moutan Cortes-Corni Fructus-Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata) treats DP through multi-component,multi-target and multi-pathway,which provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective: The association between school bullying and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms among students in primary schools and the moderating role of gender was explored to provide scientific evidence for the prevention and control of school bullying. Methods: A total of 4 764 students from 2 primary schools in Wuhan were selected using the convenience sampling method in March 2023. The Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were used. A Pearson χ 2 test was used to compare differences in school bullying rates among children with and without ADHD symptoms. Pearson correlation analysis and Process 3.3 were used to analyse the association between ADHD symptoms, and school bullying behaviour and the moderating role of gender. Results: The reported rate of bullying victims in primary schools was 24.2% and the rate of bullying perpetration was 3.8%. The rate of ADHD symptom detection among primary school students was 5.9%. ADHD symptoms were positively associated with bullying and bullying victim behaviour ( r =0.16, 0.27, P <0.01). Specifically, the association between ADHD symptoms and bullying behavior tended to be stronger among boys than girls ( β boy =0.17, t =11.13; β girl =0.07, t =4.11, P <0.01). Conclusions ADHD symptoms are an important factor influencing school bullying behaviors in students, and gender moderates the association. In the process of preventing and controlling school bullying, ADHD symptoms and gender differences should be emphasized and comprehensive interventions should be implemented.

Objective:To explore the expression of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) RP13-349O20.2 in cervical cancer tissues and its impact on the migration, invasion abilities and chemotherapy sensitivity of cervical cancer cells in vitro and the possible mechanisms.Methods:The GEPIA.CANCER website (the data was updated in June 2023) was used to analyze the relationship between the expression level of RP13-349O20.2 and the overall survival of 253 cervical cancer patients. From January 2020 to August 2022, cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues (>2 cm from the tumor edge) from 40 cervical cancer patients in the Affiliated Tengzhou Central People's Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University were retrospectively collected. Human normal cervical epithelial cells H8 and human cervical cancer cell lines HCC94, C33A, Hela, HCC1106 and SiHa were used for cell experiments in vitro. Real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the relative expression of RP13-349O20.2 in cervical cancer tissues, paracancerous tissues and each cell line. The C33A cells with the highest relative expression level of RP13-349O20.2 were transfected with small interfering RNA (siRNA) of RP13-349O20.2 and siRNA of its negative control sequence, and they were si-RP13-349O20.2 group and si-Con group, respectively. The scratch healing assay was used to detect the migration ability of C33A cells in the two groups, the Transwell assay was used to detect the invasion ability of C33A cells, and the CCK-8 method was used to detect the sensitivity of C33A cells to 5-fluorouracil. The absorbance value indicated the cell proliferation ability, the lower the absorbance value, the weaker the proliferation ability, the more sensitive to the drug. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assay was used to verify the targeting relationship between RP13-349O20.2 and miRNA-493-5p (miR-493-5p), miR-493-5p and Nectin-4. qRT-PCR was used to detect the relative expression of miR-493-5p and Nectin-4 mRNA in two groups of C33A cells, and Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of Nectin-4 protein and PI3K-AKT signaling pathway proteins in two groups of cells.Results:Analysis based on data from GEPIA.CANCER website shows that patients with low expression of RP13-349O20.2 had better overall survival than patients with high expression ( P < 0.01). The relative expression levels of RP13-349O20.2 in cervical cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues of 40 patients were 4.04±0.32 and 1.18±0.14, and the difference was statistically significant ( t = 8.29, P < 0.01). Compared with H8 cells, the expressions of RP13-349O20.2 in human cervical cancer cell lines HCC94, C33A, Hela, HCC1106 and SiHa were higher (all P < 0.01). The relative expression levels of RP13-349O20.2 in C33A cells in the si-Con group and si-RP13-349O20.2 group were 7.30±0.30 and 1.01±0.27, and the difference was statistically significant ( t = 15.62, P < 0.01). The scratch healing rates of C33A cells in the si-Con group and si-RP13-349O20.2 group were (32±9)% and (75±6)% ( t = 3.97, P < 0.01), and the numbers of invasive cells were (106±12) cells and (36±8) cells ( t = 4.79, P < 0.01). After the action of 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 μmol/L 5-fluorouracil for 24 h, the absorbance value of C33A cells in the si-RP13-349O20.2 group was lower than that in the si-Con group. Dual-luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that there was a targeting relationship between P13-349O20.2 and miR-493-5p ( P < 0.01), and there was a targeting relationship between miR-493-5p and Nectin-4 ( P < 0.01) . The relative expression levels of miR-493-5p in C33A cells in the si-Con group and si-RP13-349O20.2 group was 1.02±0.13 and 5.48±0.85 ( t = 5.21, P < 0.01). The relative expression levels of Nectin-4 mRNA were 5.65±0.33 and 0.99±0.34 ( t = 9.87, P < 0.01). The expression of Nectin-4 protein in C33A cells in the si-RP13-349O20.2 group was lower than that in the si-Con group ( t = 9.21, P = 0.001), and the expressions of PI3K-AKT signaling pathway proteins p-STAT3, p-PI3K, p-AKT and p-mTOR were lower than those in the si-Con group (all P < 0.01). Conclusions:The level of RP13-349O20.2 in cervical cancer tissues is high, and its high expression may indicate the poor prognosis of patients. Interfering with the expression of RP13-349O20.2 in vitro can inhibit the migration and invasion abilities of cervical cancer cells and promote the sensitivity of cervical cancer cells to 5-fluorouracil. The mechanism may be related to the miR-493-5p/Nectin-4 signaling pathway and the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.

Objectives:To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of typical pharmaceutical smoking cessation intervention strategies in China in the context of primary cancer prevention.Methods:Markov cohort simulation models were established to simulate the burden of 12 smoking caused cancer, including lung cancer, oral cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, cervical cancer, and acute myeloid leukemia. Taking incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) as the main indicator, the model sets one year as the cycling period for 50 periods and simulates the cohort of 10 000 thirty-five-year-old current smokers with various smoking cessation strategies. To ensure the robustness of conclusion, univariate sensitivity analysis, probability sensitivity analysis, and age-group sensitivity analysis were conducted.Results:The results showed that varenicline intervention was the most cost-effective intervention. Compared to the next most effective option, incremental cost of each additional quality-adjusted life year is 11 140.28 yuan, which is below the threshold of willingness to pay (1 year GDP per capita). The value of ICER increased as the increasing age group of adopting intervention, but neither exceeded the threshold of willingness to pay. One-way sensitivity analysis showed that the value of discount rate, the hazard ratio and cost of intervention strategy had a greater impact on the result of ICER.Conclusion:In China, the use of varenicline to quit smoking is highly cost effective in the context of cancer primary prevention, especially for younger smokers.

Objective: To examine the changes of depressive and anxiety symptoms in school aged children during home confinement and to identify possible influence of learning and lifestyle behaviors on mental health changes. Methods: The population of this study were obtained from the "Tongji Mental Health Cohort". Two primary schools in Wuhan were selected through cluster sampling and students in grade 2-5 were surveyed. This study was divided into two stages. In the first stage (T1=during home learning), a total of 2 588 valid questionnaires were collected. In the second phase (T2=during school learning), 2 424 children were followed up successfully. Combining the results of the depression and anxiety symptoms of the two surveys of children respectively to classify the children s psychological outcomes. Association between home learning and lifestyle behaviors with the change of psychological symptoms in school aged children were estimated by disordered multi classification Logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms were 28.9% and 21.0% in school aged children at T1, 35.6% and 30.6% at T2, respectively. The aggravation and persistence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in children were partly related to their home learning and lifestyle behaviors. Concentration in class（ OR=0.63，95%CI =0.45-0.89）, frequent interaction with teachers ( OR =0.74, 95% CI = 0.57- 0.95 ), participation in physical exercise at home ( OR =0.60, 95% CI =0.41-0.87) was negatively associated with depressive symptoms in children. Time spent on playing video games ( OR =1.15, 95% CI =1.06-1.24) and fear of infection with coronavirus disease 2019 ( OR =1.83, 95% CI =1.39-2.42) were positively associated with anxiety in children. Boys（ OR=0.70， 0.63 ） were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety symptoms than girls. Conclusion The prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms among school aged children increased when they went back to school after home confinement, suggesting more attention are needed for mental health intervention among school aged children.

Objective: To investigate the progression of depressive and anxiety symptoms of children, especially whose parents were frontline workers in the combat of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and to provide evidence for children s mental health promotion. Methods: In June and December 2020, two surveys were conducted among the children in a primary school in Qiaokou District, Wuhan. The questionnaire included demographic information, student learning conditions, and depressive/anxiety symptoms. Results: A total of 963 children completed both surveys. The detection rate of depressive and anxiety symptoms at follow up was significantly higher than that at the baseline survey (depressive symptoms: OR=1.45, 95%CI =1.16-1.83; anxiety symptoms: OR=1.79, 95%CI =1.41-2.28, P <0.01). There was no statistically significant change in depressive/anxiety symptoms among children whose parents were frontline workers compared with those whose parents were not( P >0.05). Girls, lower learning efficiency, and less interaction with teachers in class were risk factors for depressive or anxiety symptoms of children( P < 0.05 ). Conclusion Mental health status of children requires continuous attention. Moreover, timely psychological protection should be given to prevent the occurrence of psychological problems and the further deterioration of psychological problems.

Objective: To determine the association between physical health fitness with Chinese reading ability of schoolaged children, so as to provide evidence for improving children s reading ability. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 1 923 school aged children in grades 2-6 in a primary school in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The questionnaire included basic demographic information and Dyslexia Checklist for Chinese Children and the Pupil Rating Scale Revised Screening. At the same time, participants underwent physical fitness tests which included an assessment of height, weight, and lung capacity, as well as a 50 meter run, sit forward bend, one minute skipping rope task, sit ups, and a 50 × 8 round trip. Results: A total of 59 children were identified with dyslexia. Normal children achieved higher scores than children with dyslexia in the total physical health score, as well as the one minute skipping rope score, one minute sit up score, and sitting forward score ( P <0.05). Multiple linear regression analyses showed that the reading ability of girls was higher than that of boys ( β =-3.04, P <0.01), and the children who regularly participated in more intense physical activity and who had higher fitness scores had a higher reading ability ( β =-1.68, -0.08, P <0.01). Children s reading ability increased significantly with parental educational level( P <0.05). Conclusion Gender, parents education level, physical exercise intensity, and children s physical fitness were identified as influencing factors of school age children s reading ability. A positive correlation was found between children s physical health level and reading ability.

Abstract Children were vulnerable groups in major public health emergencies. In 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was widespread in the world. The mental health of school age children has become a worldwide concern. Herein, we conducted this review to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of general children and special children with a high risk of psychological problems, focusing on the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder among school age children in different countries and regions during the COVID-19 epidemic. Considering the susceptibility between individuals and the accessibility of social resources, we further explored the child, family, and social related factors affecting the mental health of school age children. Finally, some suggestions on the construction of children s mental health service system in major public health emergencies were put forward at the national, school family community, and individual levels. Building a safe and reliable child mental health protection network required the joint efforts of all sectors of society.

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy between our first generation and second generation dynamic anterior plate-screw system for quadrilateral area (DAPSQ) in the treatment of T-shaped acetabular fractures.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted of the 28 patients with T-shaped acetabular fractures who had been treated at Department of Orthopaedics, General Hospital of Central Theater Command from January 2008 to December 2019. They were divided into 2 groups according to fixation methods. Group A [15 patients, 11 males and 4 females, an age of (43.5±9.1) years] were treated with the first generation DAPSQ while Group B [13 patients, 8 males and 5 females, an age of (42.5±7.0) years] with the second generation DAPSQ. Operation time, intraoperative bleeding, fracture reduction, function of the affected hip and postoperative complications were recorded and compared between the 2 groups.Results:The 2 groups were comparable because there was no significant difference between them in the preoperative general data ( P>0.05). The 28 patients were followed up for 12 to 60 months (average, 35.0 months). The operation time [(193.9±33.3) min] and intraoperative bleeding [(830.8±177.4) mL] for Group B were significantly less than those for Group A [(231.3±40.0) min and (1,043.3±190.7) mL] ( P<0.05). In Group A, according to the Matta scoring, the fracture reduction was rated as excellent in 8 cases, good in 5 and poor in 2; in Group B, the fracture reduction was rated as excellent in 8 cases, good in 4 and poor in one. According to the modified Merle d'Aubigné & Postel scoring at the final follow-up, the function of the affected hip was rated as excellent in 9 cases, as good in 3, as fair in 2 and as poor in one in Group A while as excellent in 9 cases, as good in 2 and as fair in 2 in Group B. There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in reduction quality or in the function of the affected hip ( P>0.05). Follow-up observed hip traumatic arthritis in 2 cases in Group A and in one in Group B. Conclusion:In the treatment of T-shaped acetabular fractures, compared with the first generation DAPSQ, the second generation DAPSQ can shorten operation time and decrease intraoperative bleeding significantly, though both achieve comparable functional outcomes.