ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between lower limb muscle strength and walking speed in older adults, and to analyze the mediating role of flexibility and dynamic balance. MethodsFrom November to December, 2021, a total of 155 older adults at the Shanghai Senior Sports and Health Home were included. Their basic health information was collected, and the lower limb muscle strength, flexibility, dynamic balance and walking speed were tested. A mediated effects analysis was conducted. ResultsThere was a pairwise correlation among lower limb muscle strength, flexibility, dynamic balance and walking speed in older adults (r > 0.210, P < 0.01). In the mediated effects model, after controlling for age and gender, lower limb muscle strength did not directly predict walking speed in older adults (β = 0.029, P = 0.699), however, lower limb muscle strength could influence walking speed through the partial mediation of dynamic balance (effect = 0.0130, 95% CI 0.0073~0.0197) and the chain mediation of lower flexibility and dynamic balance (effect = 0.0019, 95% CI 0.0003~0.0043). ConclusionLower limb muscle strength can indirectly affect walking speed in older adults through the mediators of flexibility and dynamic balance, or the dynamic balance alone.

OBJECTIVES: This population-based, prospective cohort study investigated the association between glaucoma and mortality in older adults. METHODS: Participants aged 45 years or older at baseline (47.9% male) were enrolled in 2011 for the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). All-cause mortality was observed during 7 years of follow-up. The baseline data were collected in the 2011 CHARLS, and participants were followed up for 7 years (until 2018). The risk of all-cause mortality was investigated using Cox proportional-hazards regression with age as the time scale, adjusting for significant risk factors and comorbid conditions. RESULTS: Among the 14,803 participants included, the risk of all-cause death was significantly higher among people with glaucoma than among those without glaucoma, after adjustment for other confounders (hazard ratio [HR], 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04 to 2.03). In a subgroup analysis based on the mean age of death, among those who were 75 years and older (n=1,231), the risk of all-cause death was significantly higher in patients with glaucoma than in those without glaucoma (HR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.24 to 1.89). CONCLUSIONS Participants with glaucoma had a higher risk of all-cause mortality, especially those aged 75 years and above. Our findings revealed potential mechanisms underlying an association between glaucoma and all-cause mortality. They also highlighted the importance of glaucoma management to prevent premature death in middle-aged and older adults.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the association between obesity and glaucoma in middle-aged and older people. A population-based retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. METHODS: Glaucoma was assessed via self-reports. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and a Cox proportional hazards model were used to assess the relationship between obesity and glaucoma risk. RESULTS: Older males living in urban areas who were single, smokers, and non-drinkers were found to have a significantly higher incidence of glaucoma (all p<0.05). Diabetes, hypertension, and kidney disease were also associated with higher glaucoma risk, while dyslipidemia was associated with lower risk (all p<0.05). After the model was adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related variables, obesity was significantly associated with a 10.2% decrease in glaucoma risk according to the Cox proportional hazards model (hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 0.97) and an 11.8% risk reduction in the multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.80 to 0.97). A further subgroup analysis showed that obesity was associated with a reduced risk of glaucoma in people living in rural areas, in smokers, and in those with kidney disease (all p<0.05). Obesity also reduced glaucoma risk in people with diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia more than in healthy controls (all p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS This cohort study suggests that obesity was associated with a reduced risk of glaucoma, especially in rural residents, smokers, and people with kidney disease. Obesity exerted a stronger protective effect in people with diabetes, hypertension, or dyslipidemia than in healthy people.

Clinical undergraduates generally have the following problems during their radiology internship: short internship period, low motivation, teachers using traditional teaching mode, and insufficient hardware and software facilities for image reading. In this study, RadiAnt DICOM Viewer and case-based learning (CBL) model were applied in online practice teaching for clinical undergraduates in the radiology department, which achieved good results. The results showed that the clinical undergraduates had a pass rate of 91.18% (124/136) in the image reading quiz and a mean score of (85.71±10.99) in the in-class quiz, with a pass rate of 91.91% (125/136). The satisfaction survey showed that 84.56% (115/136) of the students were more satisfied with the application of RadiAnt DICOM Viewer in image reading teaching; 80.88% (110/136) of the students expressed more interest in radiology after this training course; 90.44% (123/136) of the students thought that online practice teaching of radiology is feasible.

Objective:To construct a recombinant herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) using clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeat/CRISPR-associated nuclease 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) technology.Methods:Four strategies for inserting exogenous EGFP gene into HSV-2 genome using CRISPR/Cas9 technology were designed: (1) conventional homology-directed repair: circular two homology arm donor-mediated gene knock-in; (2) linearized single homology arm donor-mediated gene knock-in; (3) homology-independent targeted integration; (4) conventional homology-directed repair-mediated by cell lines stably expressing Cas9 and sgRNA.Results:The recombinant virus HSV-2-EGFP was successfully constructed based on the second, the third and the fourth strategies. The second strategy was the most efficient, followed by the third and the fourth strategies. The purified recombinant virus could stably express green fluorescent protein in seven passages and shared similar growth characteristics in Vero cells to the parental virus.Conclusions:Linearized single homology arm donor could increase the efficiency of gene knock-in, and cell lines stably expressing Cas9 and sgRNA could increase the efficiency of gene knock-in mediated by homology-directed repair.

Objective:To investigate the effects of genomic location of a foreign gene in Shanghai-191 strain measles virus (MV) vector on gene expression and virus replication.Methods:The nucleotide sequence encoding S1 protein of SARS-CoV-2 was inserted at different positions in MV antigenome (the upstream of the N gene, between P and M genes, between H and L genes), and co-transfected into 293T cells with helper plasmids coding T7 RNA polymerase and N, P, and L proteins, respectively. The transfected cells were lysed and the supernatants were used to infected Vero cells to harvest recombinant viruses. S1 proteins expressed by the recombinant viruses were identified by RT-PCR, indirect immunofluorescence assay, Western blot and ELISA. Growth kinetics of the recombinant viruses were analyzed.Results:Recombinant viruses were failed to be rescued when the S1 protein-coding sequence was cloned into the upstream of N gene. Two recombinant viruses, MV-M-S1 and MV-L-S1, were successfully rescued when cloning the S1 protein-coding sequence into the intergenic region between P and M genes, or H and L genes, and could express S1 protein. MV-M-S1 expressed more S1 protein than MV-L-S1, but the titer of MV-M-S1 was lower.Conclusions:Inserting a foreign gene at different positions in the MV genome might have different effects on gene expression and virus replication. This study provided reference for the subsequent construction of MV vector.

Internet-based practice of stomatology hospitals plays an important role in promoting hierarchical medical system and overcoming the social problems of " high costs and difficulties of medical services" . The authors introduced the practice of free online consultations at a tertiary stomatology hospital during this period. They also analyzed such characteristics of the practice as the doctors′ response rate, doctors′ response timeliness, as well as the specialties and timeframe distribution of patient consultations. The hospital provides online consultations on Guangdong cloud-based hospital platform in two modes. For example, the normal consultation mode operates in a many-many manner, with services provided by attendings and associate chief physicians appointed less than three years. In off hours, patients can also raise questions online. The expert consultation mode offers consultations during business hours in a one-to-one manner, with services provided by associate chief physicians appointed over three years and chief physicians. From February 10 to March 22 2020, 2 156 persons/times of consultations were served in the normal mode, and 1 043 persons/times received in the expert mode. The response timelines of the latter (16.19 min) was much better than the former (27.10 min). In terms of consultation workload of sub-specialties, oral medicine ranked the top (69.30%), while the consultations of the normal mode in work hours accounted for only 73.47% of total consultation workload. It is recommended to optimize resources deployment, introduce artificial intelligent inquiry service, explore an online-offline combined stomatological service, and improve performance management. These measures, when in place, can promote sustainable development of Internet-based stomatology hospitals.

Objective:Microvascular clip plays important role in microsurgery. Therefore, the development of microvascular clips and research in clamp-related vascular injuries becomes a major topic. Based on clamp-related microvascular injuries, the study investigated in 4 aspects: injury assessment, vascular characteristics and blood vessel injury, vessel repair, and development of microvascular clamp. A prospects of the current researches is also given.

Objective:To explore the method and clinical efficacy of Flow-through latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap to repair children’s limb wounds.Methods:From January, 2017 to September, 2019, the Flow-through latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap was used to repair the limb wounds in 9 children, which were 3 cases of upper extremity wounds and 6 cases of lower extremity wounds. The patients were 5-12 years old, with an average age of 9.4 years. The wound debridement was performed in the first stage, and the wound was covered with VSD. The second operation was performed 5-8 days later. Flow-through free latissimus dorsi muscle flap was used to repair the wound, and 6 patients combined with skin grafting. During the operation, both ends of the recipient area artery were trimmed into a downward slant. The proximal end of the recipient area blood vessel was coincided with the subscapular artery, the distal end was coincided with the circumflex scapular artery, and the thoracodorsal vein and the recipient area vein were coincided. One patient had 2 thoracodorsal veins, and 8 patients had 1 thoracodorsal vein. After the operation, the patients were given anti-infection, anticoagulation and antispasmodic treatment. And regular follow-up.Results:In this group, 8 flaps survived completely, and 1 had partial epidermal necrosis, which healed under the scab. Skin grafting survives well. Nine patients were followed-up for 3 to 28 months, 7 of which were followed-up in the outpatient clinic, and 2 by WeChat. CDU showed smooth blood flow in all patients 1 month after operation, in addition of 3 after 1 year. The flap had good blood flow and soft texture. Flap plastic surgery was performed in 3 cases.Conclusion:Using Flow-through latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap to repair the wounds of the children’s limbs, the flap survived well after the operation, and the blood circulation of the main vessel in the affected area was smooth, which had no obvious effect on the blood supply to the distal limb of the affected area.

OBJECTIVE: To screen for MYOC gene variants among sporadic patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). METHODS: For 398 patients with POAG, Sanger sequencing was applied to detect potential variants of the MYOC gene. RESULTS: Eight patients (2.0%) were found to harbor variations of the MYOC gene. These included five types of variants, among which c.667C>T (p.Pro223Ser) and c.1138G>T (p.Asp380Tyr) were novel. c.382C>T (p.Arg128Trp), c.1109C>T(p.Pro370Leu) and c.1130C>A (p.Thr377Lys) were previously associated with POAG. Alignment of amino acid sequences of MYOC proteins of various species revealed that the two novel variants have occurred at highly conserved positions. c.1138G>T was predicted to be possible pathogenic by Bioinformatic analysis. CONCLUSION Two novel variants of the MYOC gene were detected among sporadic POAG patients, which enriched its variant spectrum.
Cytoskeletal Proteins ; genetics ; Eye Proteins ; genetics ; Glaucoma, Open-Angle ; genetics ; Glycoproteins ; genetics ; Humans ; Mutation