Objective To gain insights into the biological characteristics of different populations of Culex tritaeniorhynchus within and around the Yellow Sea wetland from the perspective of the occurrence of resistance, we investigated the levels of resistance to deltamethrin and kdr gene mutation in the wetland and its peripheral areas. Methods Specimens were collected from Cx. tritaeniorhynchus populations at two monitoring sites in the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area, and also from two populations in Yancheng City and the Liuhe District of Nanjing, and the resistance of these mosquitoes to deltamethrin was determined using the CDC biotest bottle method. For each concentration of deltamethrin assessed, a random subset of exposed specimens was selected for amplification of the kdr gene fragment, followed by Sanger sequencing to identify and analyze resistance-associated mutations. Results The LC50 levels of deltamethrin among mosquitoes from the four populations in Luhe, Yancheng, the Rare Bird National Nature Reserve and the Tiaozi Ni Wetland Scenic Area were 2.048 5, 7.798 2, 3.473 3, and 17.695 5 mg/mL, respectively, with corresponding concentrations of deltamethrin ranging from 0.005 to 5.000,0.050 to 50.000,0.050 to 25.000 and 0.050 to 50.000 mg/mL, respectively. Furthermore, the ranges of the KT50 values were 11.76-107.43, 67.05-216.30,29.77-107.43 and 28.40-329.51 min; the 1-h knockdown rates were 34.58%-99.15%, 9.52%-43.80%, 55.09%-73.01%, and 10.09%-68.07%; and the 24-h mortality rates were 12.15%-67.52%,9.52%-79.56%,13.17%-82.21%, and 11.01%-78.99%, respectively. With respect to kdr gene mutation, we assayed a total of 63,70,59, and 57 mosquitoes for the four populations, for which we detected L1014F mutation frequencies of 14.29%, 35.00%, 20.34%, and 31.58%, respectively, with a majority of these mutations being heterozygous for resistance. In addition, five adult mosquitoes were identified has having synonymous mutations at site 1011[i. e. , AAT(asparagine)mutation to AAC(asparagine)]. Conclusions Our findings revealed the clear resistance of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus to deltamethrin in the Yancheng region of the Yellow Sea wetland, and the resistance phenotype and kdr frequency of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment were comparable to those of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in the wetland environment, thereby indicating that the resistance of different populations of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was homogeneous under the pressure of different insecticide selection within and around the wetland. However, the underlying mechanisms need to be further studied.

Objective The aim of the study is to reveal the polymorphisms of Eustrongylides spp.in Monopterus albus.Methods A total of five Eustrongylides spp.collected from five M.albus in the Yongzhou area were sampled to amplify ribosomal ITS sequence by PCR in vitro,then sequenced after extracting the DNA templates of Eustrongylides.The phylogenetic tree based on the ITS sequence was also constructed to explore the evolutionary history of Eustrongylides.Results The length of the ITS sequence of the five Eustrongylides spp.is approximately 933 bp,and the genetic differences between the isolates are 0.00％-0.90％and the genetic inheritance differences with other nematodes are 15.5％-18.20％,maintaining a certain genetic distance from other families.Conclusions The ITS sequence of Eustrongylides spp.in M.albus will be used as a genetic marker for the molecular identification of Eustrongylides spp.and will provide a basis for the prevention and control of Eustrongylides spp.in the future.

Objective To investigate the effect of chemokine CXC ligand 9(CXCL9)on cognitive function impairment in patients with breast cancer brain metastases undergoing whole-brain radiotherapy(WBRT)using bioinformatics methods.Methods The mRNA of breast cancer brain metastases datasets GSE43837 and GSE12276 and Alzheimer's disease(AD)dataset GSE161199 were screened and downloaded from GEO database.Limma method and Venn diagrams were used to identify common differentially expressed genes(DEGs),and protein-protein interaction and functional prediction through GeneMANIA website assays were performed.A total of 42 patients with breast cancer brain metastases who first visited the Department of Radiotherapy at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University from January 2021 to January 2023 were selected.Patients were divided into normal cognitive function group and cognitive function impairment group based on cognitive status.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was employed to detect serum CXCL9 levels one week before and three months after radiotherapy.The mini-mental state examination(MMSE)was used to assess patients'cognitive function.Results The DEGs from datasets GSE43837 and GSE12276 included PKP1,POLDIP2,SPAG5,ALDOC,PTPRZ1,PKIA,TLCD1,CPE,PMP22 and CXCL9.The DEGs from GSE161199 included RPS16,CD79A,LYPD3,RPL28,HBG2,RPL23AP7,TRNR,CXCL9.Venn diagram showed that CXCL9 was a common DEG between breast cancer brain metastasis and AD.Functional enrichment analysis indicated that CXCL9 was involved in cellular responses to chemokines,negative regulation of immune system processes,negative regulation of vascular morphogenesis,Toll-like receptor signaling pathway,nucleotide oligomerization domain(NOD)-like receptor signaling pathway,and JAK-STAT signaling pathway.Before radiotherapy,patients with cognitive function impairment and normal cognitive function accounted for 61.9%and 38.1%,respectively,with a statistically significant difference in MMSE scores[(24.53±2.19)vs.(28.89±1.36),P＜0.01].Compared with normal cognitive function group,patients with cognitive function impairment had a significantly increased number of brain metastases and significantly lower Karnofsky performance status(KPS)scores and serum CXCL9 levels(P＜0.05).Three months after radiotherapy,patients with cognitive function impairment and normal cognitive function accounted for 47.6%and 52.4%,respectively,with a statistically significant difference in MMSE scores[(25.16±1.98)vs.(28.18±1.08),P＜0.01].Compared with normal cognitive function group,patients with cognitive function impairment had significantly lower CXCL9 levels(P=0.003).In patients with normal cognitive function,CXCL9 levels were remarkably lower after radiotherapy compared to those before radiotherapy(P=0.009).Conclusions Patients with cognitive function impairment had significantly lower CXCL9 levels than those with normal cognitive function,and whole-brain radiotherapy may be related to a certain degree of reduction in CXCL9 levels.

Objective:To study the effects of metformin on marginal bone resorption of implants in patients with type 2 diabetes melli-tus(T2DM)and exercise habit.Methods:63 cases with 73 implants were included.Among them,there were 41 cases(47 implants)without T2DM in group N,10 cases(13 implants)with T2DM and without exercise habit in group M,12 cases(12 implants)with T2DM and exercise habit in the MR group.The patients were followed up at 6 months,1 and 2 years after implantation.The marginal bone loss(MBL).Implantation success rate and peri-implantitis incidence rate were compared among the groups.Results:The bone resorption of the proximal and median margins of the long-term bone level of the implants in the N and MR groups were significantly lower than that in the M group(P=0.001 and P=0.000 5,respectively).The implant success rates of group N,MR and M were 95.74％,100％and 76.92％,respectively.The incidence of peri-implantitis of the three groups was 2.13％,0 and 15.38％,respec-tively.Conclusion:Metformin is more effective in the improvement of the long-term marginal bone resorption of implants,increase the success rate of implants,and reduce the incidence of peri-implantitis in patients with T2DM and exercise habit in the mandibular first molar area.

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum stem cell factor receptor(c-kit)and myocardial fibrosis,cardiac function and prognosis in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM)complicat-ed with heart failure.Methods A total of 77 patients with DCM complicated with heart failure who were trea-ted in 3201 Hospital from May 2020 to June 2022 were enrolled in the study as study group,and 70 DCM pa-tients without heart failure were enrolled as the control group.The levels of serum c-kit mRNA and three my-ocardial fibrosis markers[α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA),collagen type Ⅰ and collagen type Ⅲ]were detec-ted in the two groups.Cardiac function parameters were obtained by echocardiography.The relationship be-tween serum c-kit mRNA level and myocardial fibrosis and cardiac function was analyzed.According to the oc-currence of major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE),the patients were divided into poor prognosis group and good prognosis group.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the factors affecting the prognosis of DCM patients complicated with heart failure.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to analyze the efficacy of serum c-kit mRNA level in predicting the prognosis of DCM patients.Results The serum c-kit mRNA level in the study group was lower than that in the control group(P＜0.05).The levels of three myocardial fibrosis indicators in the study group were higher than those in the con-trol group(P＜0.05).The left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)in the study group was lower than that in the control group(P＜0.05),and the left ventricular end-diastolic volume(LVEDV)and left ventricular end-systolic volume(LVESV)in the study group were higher than those in the control group(P＜0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed that serum c-kit mRNA level was positively correlated with LVEF(r=0.677,P＜0.05),while negatively correlated with α-SMA,collagen type Ⅰ,collagen type Ⅲ,LVEDV and LVESV(r=-0.725,-0.748,-0.744,-0.745,-0.662,P＜0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that serum c-kit mRNA level is an independent factor for the prognosis of DCM patients with heart failure.ROC curve analysis showed that serum c-kit mRNA level had a sensitivity of 82.80％,a specificity of 81.80％,and an area under the curve of 0.829(95％CI:0.745-0.912,P＜0.001)for evaluating the progno-sis of DCM patients complicated with heart failure.Conclusion The serum c-kit mRNA level is significantly decreased in patients with DCM complicated with heart failure,and the serum c-kit mRNA level is correlated with myocardial fibrosis and cardiac function.The detection of serum c-kit mRNA level has a high efficacy in evaluating the prognosis of patients with DCM complicated with heart failure.

Objective: To understand the pubertal development of primary and secondary school students in urban and rural areas of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 2021, so as to provide clues for further clarification of the health hazards of early pubertal initiation. Methods: From October to November 2021, primary and secondary school students in 12 provinces and cities of Inner Mongolia were selected by stratified cluster random sampling, including 21 662 girls who had reached menarche and 10 600 boys who had their first seminal emission, as well as 46 183 girls who had not reached menarche and 78 995 boys who had not experienced their first seminal emission. The height and weight of the primary and secondary school students were measured, and the time of first seminal emission or menarche was recorded. The study used the Mann-Whitney U test to analyze the differences between urban and rural students, Spearmans rank correlation to analyze the correlation between overweight and obesity and the age of pubertal initiation, and the Logistic regression model to analyze the correlation between pubertal initiation and age of pubertal initiation. Results: The age of menarche for urban girls [(12.31±1.29) years old] was earlier than that of suburban girls [(12.43±1.24) years old], and the age of first spermatozoa for urban boys [(13.85±1.20) years old] was statistically significant compared with that of suburban boys [(13.79±1.36) years old] (t=12.76, 10.58, P<0.05). There was a negative correlation between the age of menarche and overweight/obesity among girls aged 10-14 years (r=-0.169, P<0.05), and there was no statistically significant correlation between the age of spermarche and overweight/obesity in boys aged 5-9, 10-14, and 15-20 years (r=0.122, -0.022, -0.004, P>0.05). The occurrence of menarche in overweight girls was 1.06(95%CI=1.01-1.11) times higher than that in the normal group, and 1.13(95%CI=1.06-1.20) times higher among obese girls than normalweight girls. Compared to urban areas, primary and secondary school students in suburban counties observed the onset of puberty later [OR=0.88(95%CI=0.85-0.91) for menarche, OR=0.94(95%CI=0.89-0.99) for first spermatozoa] (P<0.05). Conclusions Obesity during childhood and adolescence is associated with earlier onset of puberty among female students in Inner Mongolia, and later onset of puberty among primary and secondary school students in suburban counties compared with those in urban areas.

Objective To establish a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(HPLC-MS/MS)method for the detection of etomidate and etomidate acid in urine samples.Methods Protein in the urine samples was precipitated by adding acetonitrile,and the supernatant was obtained after centrifugation and filtered.The supernatant was separated on a C18 column with a mobile phase consisting of 0.1%formic acid solution and acetonitrile at a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min.The detection was performed in positive electrospray ionization(ESI)and multiple reaction monitoring(MRM)modes.The method was validated for selectivity,linearity and limit of detection(LOD),and applied to a case of etomidate poisoning death.Results The LOD of etomidate and etomidate acid were 0.2 and 0.5 ng/mL,respectively,and the limit of quantitation(LOQ)were 0.5 and 1.0 ng/mL,respectively.Good linear relationship was observed within the linear range(r>0.995 0).At three concentration levels(0.5,5,50 ng/mL for etomidate and 1,10,100 ng/mL for etomidate acid),the matrix effect was within the range of 5.42%to 18.47%,the extraction recovery rate was greater than 84.25%and the stability was greater than 88.23%.The accuracy,precision and dilution reliability all met the experimen-tal requirements.Etomidate and etomidate acid were successfully detected with the concentrations of 8.82 and 27.88 μg/mL in the urine of a deceased individual who had consumed excessive etomidate.Conclusion The method has simple pretreatment,high sensitivity and wide linear range,which can be applied to the detection of etomidate and etomidate acid in urine samples in forensic science.

Objective: To explore the clinical manifestations and genetic characteristics of patients with epilepsy and episodic ataxia caused by SCN2A gene variation. Methods: The clinical data of seizure manifestation, imaging examination and genetic results of 5 patients with epilepsy and (or) episodic ataxia because of SCN2A gene variation admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from July 2017 to January 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Among 5 patients, 4 were female and 1 was male. The onset age of epilepsy ranged from 4 days to 8 months. There were 2 cases of benign neonatal or infantile epilepsy and 3 cases of epileptic encephalopathy, in whom 1 case had development retardation,1 case transformed from West syndrome to infantile spasm and another one transformed from infantile spasm to Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. One case of benign neonatal-infantile epilepsy was characterized by neonatal onset seizures and episodic ataxia developed at the age of 78 months. Electroencephalograms at first visit of 5 cases showed that 2 cases were normal, 1 case had focal epileptic discharge, and 2 cases had multi-focal abnormal discharge with peak arrhythmia. The brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 3 cases were nomal, 1 case was abnormal (brain atrophy with decreased white matter) and the results of 1 case was unknown. The follow-up time ranged from 17 months to 89 months. Four cases of epilepsy were controlled and 1 case died at 2 years of age. Two cases had normal intelligence and motor development, 2 had moderate to severe intelligence retardation and motor critical state, and 1 had moderate to severe intelligence and motor development retardation. SCN2A gene variations were identified in all cases. There were 4 missense variations and 1 frameshift variation. Three variations had not been reported so far, including c.4906A>G,c.3643G>T,c.638delT. Conclusions: Variations in SCN2A gene can cause benign neonatal or infantile epilepsy and epileptic encephalopathy. Some children develop episodic ataxia with growing age. The variation of SCN2A gene is mainly missense variation.
Ataxia/genetics* ; Child ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy/genetics* ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Mutation ; NAV1.2 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel/genetics* ; Retrospective Studies ; Spasms, Infantile/genetics*

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with Omicron variant combined with atrial fibrillation (AF).Methods:From March 23, 2022 to May 15, 2022, 2 675 aged ≥ 50 years old COVID-19 patients with AF were admitted to Zhoupu Hospital, the designated hospital for COVID-19 in Shanghai. Patients were divided into mild symptoms group, normal group, and serious/critical group according to the symptoms. The clinical data, imaging examination and laboratory results and prognosis of the three group patients were compared.Results:The median age of 2 675 COVID-19 patients was 69.0 (60.0, 81.0) years old, the incidence of AF was 5.05% (135/2 675), the age range of AF patients were from 55 to 101 years old, with a median age of 84.0 (74.0, 89.0), and the number of mild symptoms, normal, serious/critical patients were 68, 30, 37, respectively, including 9 of serious and 28 of critical patients. In the serious/critical patients, aged 55-75 years old accounted for 43.2%, the rate of 2019 novel coronavirus vaccination was 32.4%. The identified new-onset AF was the highest among the three groups, but the rate of persistent AF was the highest in the mild symptoms group (58.8%). The severe/critical group complicated with fever (29.7%), hepatic insufficiency (13.5%), renal insufficiency (46.0%), type 2 diabetes (46.0%), and heart failure were higher in NYHA classification [compared with the mild symptoms and normal group (score): 1.8±1.1 vs. 1.1±0.8, 1.2±0.7, respectively, all P < 0.05]. In term of laboratory examinations, C-reactive protein (CRP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were significantly higher in serious/critical patients compared to the mild symptoms and normal groups [CRP (mg/L): 27.2 (6.0, 60.8) vs. 7.6 (3.1, 19.3), 12.8 (4.9, 26.3), ALT (U/L): 31.3±15.4 vs. 15.4±9.3, 19.3±11.7, AST (U/L): 78.0±21.7 vs. 34.7±15.6, 38.1±24.4, all P < 0.05]. The hemoglobin (Hb) and albumin (ALB) levels were significantly lower than those in the mild symptoms and normal groups [Hb (g/L): 105.3±22.5 vs. 125.8±25.4, 123.0±20.4, ALB (g/L): 33.7±6.0 vs. 39.0±5.5 and 39.6±13.1, all P < 0.05]. In addition, MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase (CK-MB) was significantly higher in the serious/critical group than that in the mild symptoms group [μg/L: 2.5 (1.5, 3.4) vs. 2.2 (1.2, 2.8), P < 0.05]. In terms of the treatment, the percentage of antiplatelet agents and low-molecular heparin ratio compared among the three groups were statistically significant, with the serious/critical group using the lowest percentage of antiplatelet agents (27.0%) and a higher percentage of low-molecular heparin usage than that in mild symptoms group [81.1% (30/37) vs. 51.5% (35/68), P < 0.05]. In terms of prognosis, the mortality of patients with AF was 18.5% (25/135), all of whom were critical ill, including 32.0% (8/25) with cerebral embolism, pulmonary embolism and cerebral hemorrhage. Among them, 40.0% (10/25) died of multiple organ failure (40.0% combined with gastrointestinal hemorrhage), 20.0% (5/25) died of heart failure, and 12.0% (3/25) died of respiratory failure; while there were no death cases recorded in the mild symptoms, normal group and 9 serious patients. Conclusions:The serious/critical patients infected with COVID-19 Omicron variant with AF, have a worse prognosis and high mortality. Multiple organ failure, heart failure, sudden cardiac death, respiratory failure and embolic disease are the major causes of death.

Objective:To explore the effect and possible mechanism of normal temperature mechanical perfusion(NMP)plus bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells(BMMSCs)on early endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERs)and cellular apoptosis after donation after cardiac death(DCD)donor liver transplantation.Methods:BMMSCs were isolated and cultured by adherence method.Sixty Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly divided into five groups of sham operation(sham), static cold storage(SCS), NMP, BMMSC and NMP plus BMMSCs(BP)( n=12 each). Liver tissue and serum sample of each group were harvested at Day 1/7 post-operation.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining was employed for observing pathological changes of liver tissue; TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNNEL)staining for detecting cellular apoptosis; immunohistochemistry for detecting the expression of hepatocyte transcription factor C/EBP homologous protein(CHOP); Western blot for detecting the expressions of GRP-78, p-PERK, ATF4, CHOP and cleaved caspase-3. Results:Compared with SCS group, hepatic injury and inflammation significantly declined in NMP, BMMSC and BP groups and improvement of hepatic injury was the most pronounced in BP group.Cellular apoptosis lessened markedly in BP group at Day 1/7 as compared with SCS group and the difference was statistically significant.The expressions of ERs-related proteins GRP-78, p-PERK and ATF4 spiked in SCS group and the expressions of pro-apoptotic proteins CHOP and cleaved caspase-3 were significantly elevated and declined markedly in BP group.And the difference was statistically significant.Conclusions:BMMSCs plus NMP can significantly improve hepatocyte apoptosis and inflammatory response after DCD donor liver transplantation.And its mechanism may be correlated with suppressing early endoplasmic reticulum stress of hepatocytes.