Investigating the correlation between micronucleus formation and male infertility has the potential to improve clinical diagnosis and deepen our understanding of pathological progression. Our study enrolled 2252 male patients whose semen was analyzed from March 2023 to July 2023. Their clinical data, including semen parameters and age, were also collected. Genetic analysis was used to determine whether the sex chromosome involved in male infertility was abnormal (including the increase, deletion, and translocation of the X and Y chromosomes), and subsequent semen analysis was conducted for clinical grouping purposes. The participants were categorized into five groups: normozoospermia, asthenozoospermia, oligozoospermia, oligoasthenozoospermia, and azoospermia. Patients were randomly selected for further study; 41 patients with normozoospermia were included in the control group and 117 patients with non-normozoospermia were included in the study group according to the proportions of all enrolled patients. Cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) screening was conducted through peripheral blood. Statistical analysis was used to determine the differences in micronuclei (MNi) among the groups and the relationships between MNi and clinical data. There was a significant increase in MNi in infertile men, including those with azoospermia, compared with normozoospermic patients, but there was no significant difference between the genetic and nongenetic groups in azoospermic men. The presence of MNi was associated with sperm concentration, progressive sperm motility, immotile spermatozoa, malformed spermatozoa, total sperm count, and total sperm motility. This study underscores the potential utility of MNi as a diagnostic tool and highlights the need for further research to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of male infertility.
Humans ; Male ; Infertility, Male/genetics* ; Adult ; Micronucleus Tests ; Semen Analysis ; Oligospermia/genetics* ; Azoospermia/genetics* ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Sperm Count ; Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective ; Middle Aged

Objective To investigate the value of ultrasonographic features combined with immunohistochemistry in predicting axillary lymph node metastasis in middle-aged women with breast cancer.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 827 middle-aged female breast cancer patients who underwent surgical treatment at the Affiliated Hospital of Chengde Medical University from June 2017 to June 2023.Ultrasonographic and immunohistochemical information was collected,and the patients were randomly allocated into a training set(579 patients)and a validation set(248 patients).Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify ultrasonographic and immunohistochemical risk factors associated with axillary lymph node metastasis in these patients,and a nomogram model was developed.Receiver operating characteristic curves and calibration curves were established to evaluate the performance of the nomogram model,and clinical decision curves were built to assess the clinical value of the model.Results The maximum diameter,morphology,boundary,calcification,and expression of human epidermal growth facor receptor 2 and Ki-67 in breast cancer lesions were identified as risk factors for predicting axillary lymph node metastasis in middle-aged women.The areas under the curve of the nomogram model on the training and validation sets were 0.747(0.707-0.787)and 0.714(0.647-0.780),respectively.Calibration curves and clinical decision curves indicated good consistency and performance of the model.Conclusion The nomogram model constructed based on ultrasonographic features and immunohistochemistry of the primary breast cancer lesion demonstrates high value in predicting axillary lymph node metastasis in middle-aged women with breast cancer.
Humans ; Female ; Breast Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Middle Aged ; Lymphatic Metastasis/diagnostic imaging* ; Axilla ; Retrospective Studies ; Nomograms ; Ultrasonography ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymph Nodes/diagnostic imaging* ; Risk Factors ; Ki-67 Antigen

Humans ; Vascular Stiffness ; Coal Mining ; Occupational Diseases/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors ; Coal ; Miners

Sepsis is a multi-organ dysfunction syndrome caused by infection and immune dysfunction, with a high mortality rate. It affects multiple important organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and brain. Establishing corresponding animal models of organ dysfunction syndrome is an essential step in clarifying its pathogenesis, researching potential effective drugs, and evaluating the effectiveness and safety of treatment plans. This article first summarizes classic modeling methods for sepsis related organ injury, including the destruction of intestinal barrier tissue integrity and the implantation of pathogens or toxic drugs. The former mainly includes cecal ligation and puncture, ascending colon stent implantation, and cecal ligation incision. The latter is divided into intraperitoneal injection, intravenous injection, and intratracheal administration based on the clinical infection route being simulated. Cecal ligation and puncture and lipopolysaccharide intraperitoneal injection are the most commonly used methods. Secondly, this article summarizes the common modeling methods and evaluation methods for animal models of sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy, acute lung injury, acute kidney injury, acute liver injury, and brain dysfunction. It points out that almost all organ injuries use classic modeling methods, and different organ injury models have additional modifications according to their different pathogenesis. For example, in addition to the classic modeling methods, lipopolysaccharide instillation in the trachea is more effective in modeling acute lung injury as it better simulates lung barrier dysfunction. Cecal ligation and puncture followed by Pseudomonas instillation in the trachea in a secondary challenge model better represents sepsis-induced acute kidney injury. Intraperitoneal injection of galactosamine is a mature modeling method of sepsis-induced acute liver injury. Intracerebral injection of lipopolysaccharide is a feasible model of sepsis-associated encephalopathy. In addition to the different modeling methods, there are differences in the administration time, dosage and experimental time points according to the different experimental purposes. This article reviews the research progress of animal experimental models for sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy, acute lung injury, acute kidney injury, acute liver injury, and brain dysfunction, aiming to provide a reference for the selection of animal experimental models and optimization of experimental design.

To investigate the differences in methylation levels of cuproptosis related genes in cervical cancer and their effects on clinical prognosis.Methods:The methylation data of 310 cervical tissue specimens were acquired from public databases. The UALCAN database was used to analyze the methylation level differences of 12 cuproptosis-related genes and study their level in different stages or grades of cervical cancer. Genes with statistically significant differences were selected for prognosis analysis using the EWAS datahub. Finally, gene-enrichment analysis, pathway analysis, immune infiltration analysis, the mutation rate and tumor mutation burden (TMB) of the genes in cervical cancer were analyzed using the cBioportal database. Two independent samples rank-sum test was used for differences in methylation levels and immune cell infiltration; comparative analyses of overall survival were performed using KM survival curves and Log-rank two-sided tests. TMB analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon Test for statistical analyses; Pearson correlation analysis was used for assessment in GSEA and pathway analyses.Results:The methylationβvalue of Cyclin Dependent Kinase Inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A gene) in the cervical cancer tissues of patients was 0.075 which was significantly higher than the methylationβvalue of 0.049 in normal human tissues ( P=0.008). Dihydrolipoamide S-Acetyltransferase (DLAT gene) methylation with a β value of 0.102 was significantly higher than normal human tissue methylation with a β value of 0.08 ( P=0.002), and the methylation level β value of Lipoyltransferase 1 (LIPT1 gene) in cervical cancer tissues was 0.06,which was significantly lower than normal human tissue methylation value of 0.092 ( P=0.009). Patients with CDKN2A gene methylation levels≥0.199 had an overall survival of 14.75 years, which was lower than that of patients with methylation levels<0.199 (17.56 years) ( P=0.034).The results of gene enrichment analysis indicated that it mainly involves biological processes such as the response to type I interferon and DNA replication. The expression of CDKN2A gene is positively correlated with the number of neutrophils and dendritic cells in the tumor microenvironment( P<0.05), and negatively correlated with the number ofmacrophages( P<0.05). TMB was higher in the group of variants of the CDKN2A gene than in the group of non-variants ( P=0.019). Conclusion:CDKN2A methylation is a potential biomarker for predicting the prognosis of cervical cancer.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD)in twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks,and to provide a basis for early identification of BPD in twin preterm infants in clinical practice.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks who were admitted to 22 hospitals nationwide from January 2018 to December 2020.According to their conditions,they were divided into group A(both twins had BPD),group B(only one twin had BPD),and group C(neither twin had BPD).The risk factors for BPD in twin preterm infants were analyzed.Further analysis was conducted on group B to investigate the postnatal risk factors for BPD within twins.Results A total of 904 pairs of twins with a gestational age of<34 weeks were included in this study.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with group C,birth weight discordance of>25%between the twins was an independent risk factor for BPD in one of the twins(OR=3.370,95%CI:1.500-7.568,P<0.05),and high gestational age at birth was a protective factor against BPD(P<0.05).The conditional logistic regression analysis of group B showed that small-for-gestational-age(SGA)birth was an independent risk factor for BPD in individual twins(OR=5.017,95%CI:1.040-24.190,P<0.05).Conclusions The development of BPD in twin preterm infants is associated with gestational age,birth weight discordance between the twins,and SGA birth.

The lingnan liver-soothing and spirit-regulating acupuncture and moxibustion technique,developed by Professor FU Wen-Bin,a renowned traditional Chinese medicine expert in Guangdong Province,represents an innovative achievement in acupuncture therapy for depression-related disorders.Drawing upon the rich legacy of master scholars,meticulous study of medical literature,and over three decades of continuous research and innovation,Professor FU has formulated this technique with profound influence and widespread application.By tracing the developmental trajectory of the Lingnan liver-soothing and spirit-regulating technique,this paper sheds light on its significant guiding principles and reference value for the development of other distinctive acupuncture techniques.Furthermore,it offers insights and inspiration for advancement in various fields of traditional Chinese medicine.

Objective To investigate the knowledge and behavioral status of foot care among patients with type 2 diabetes in Xinjiekou Community in Beijing and analyze its influencing factors. Methods A convenient sampling method was used to select 278 diabetes patients from Xinjiekou Community in Beijing for questionnaire surveys, which included general information, foot care knowledge, and behaviors of the patients. Results The average score of foot care knowledge among the 278 patients was (71.65±14.59), indicating a moderate level overall. The average score of foot care behavior was (48.83±8.83), indicating a poor level overall. Multivariate stepwise regression analysis showed that gender, duration of diabetes, and whether the patients had received foot care education or not were independent influencing factors for both the foot care knowledge score and the foot care behavior score among community diabetes patients (P < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that a positive correlation between foot care knowledge and foot care behavior among community diabetes patients was observed(r=0.593, P < 0.001). Conclusion The level of foocare knowledge among diabetes patients in this community in Beijing is moderate, while the status of foot care behaviors is not optimistic. Community healthcare professionals should strengthen health education on foot care, improve patients' knowledge of foot care and compliance with foot care behaviors, and pay attention to male patients and those with a shorter duration of diabetes to reduce the occurrence of diabetic foot.

OBJECTIVE: This work explores the impact of electroacupuncture (EA) on acute postoperative pain (APP) and the role of stimulator of interferon genes/type-1 interferon (STING/IFN-1) signaling pathway modulation in the analgesic effect of EA in APP rats. METHODS: The APP rat model was initiated through abdominal surgery and the animals received two 30 min sessions of EA at bilateral ST36 (Zusanli) and SP6 (Sanyinjiao) acupoints. Mechanical, thermal and cold sensitivity tests were performed to measure the pain threshold, and electroencephalograms were recorded in the primary somatosensory cortex to identify the effects of EA treatment on APP. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were used to examine the expression and distribution of proteins in the STING/IFN-1 pathway as well as neuroinflammation. A STING inhibitor (C-176) was administered intrathecally to verify its role in EA. RESULTS: APP rats displayed mechanical and thermal hypersensitivities compared to the control group (P < 0.05). APP significantly reduced the amplitude of θ, α and γ oscillations compared to their baseline values (P < 0.05). Interestingly, expression levels of proteins in the STING/IFN-1 pathway were downregulated after inducing APP (P < 0.05). Further, APP increased pro-inflammatory factors, including interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α and inducible nitric oxide synthase, and downregulated anti-inflammatory factors, including interleukin-10 and arginase-1 (P < 0.05). EA effectively attenuated APP-induced painful hypersensitivities (P < 0.05) and restored the θ, α and γ power in APP rats (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, EA distinctly activated the STING/IFN-1 pathway and mitigated the neuroinflammatory response (P < 0.05). Furthermore, STING/IFN-1 was predominantly expressed in isolectin-B4- or calcitonin-gene-related-peptide-labeled dorsal root ganglion neurons and superficial laminae of the spinal dorsal horn. Inhibition of the STING/IFN-1 pathway by intrathecal injection of C-176 weakened the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of EA on APP (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION EA can generate robust analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects on APP, and these effects may be linked to activating the STING/IFN-1 pathway, suggesting that STING/IFN-1 may be a target for relieving APP. Please cite this article as: Ding YY, Xu F, Wang YF, Han LL, Huang SQ, Zhao S, Ma LL, Zhang TH, Zhao WJ, Chen XD. Electroacupuncture alleviates postoperative pain through inhibiting neuroinflammation via stimulator of interferon genes/type-1 interferon pathway. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(5): 496-508.
Rats ; Animals ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Neuroinflammatory Diseases ; Electroacupuncture ; Pain, Postoperative ; Interferons

Medical homogenization in multi-campus hospital plays an essential role in leveraging the advantages of public hospitals, promoting the expansion of high-quality medical resources and balancing regional layout. The Second Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine deeply used digital intelligence technology to build a new integrated mobile health service system consisting of internet hospital and 5G intelligent applications, which empowered medical efficiency in multi-campus hospital. This system broke the limitations of inconsistent medical resources, unbalanced discipline layout, and insufficient information connectivity in the construction of multi-campus hospitals, and achieved remarkable results in practice. It could provide reference for the multi-campus construction of other large public hospitals.