Cells and exosomes derived from them are extensively used as biological carrier systems. Cells demonstrate superior targeting specificity and prolonged circulation facilitated by their rich array of surface proteins, while exosomes, due to their small size, cross barriers and penetrate tumors efficiently. However, challenges remain, cells' large size restricts tissue penetration, and exosomes have limited targeting accuracy and short circulation times. To address these challenges, we developed a novel concept termed exosomal spheres. This approach involved incorporating platelet-derived exosomes shielded with phosphatidylserine (PS) and linked via pH-sensitive bonds for drug delivery applications. The study demonstrated that, compared with exosomes, the exosomal spheres improved blood circulation through the upregulation of CD47 expression and shielding of phosphatidylserine, thereby minimizing immune clearance. Moreover, the increased expression of P-selectin promoted adhesion to circulating tumor cells, thereby enhancing targeting efficiency. Upon reaching the tumor site, the hydrazone bonds of exosome spheres were protonated in the acidic tumor microenvironment, leading to disintegration into uniform-sized exosomes capable of deeper tumor penetration compared to platelets. These findings suggested that exosome spheres addressed the challenges and offered significant potential for efficient and precise drug delivery.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association of GGN repeat polymorphism of androgen receptor (AR) with ovarian reserve and ovarian response in controlled ovarian stimulation (COS). METHODS: This genetic association study was conducted among a total of 361 women aged ≤40 years with basal FSH≤12 U/L undergoing the GnRH-agonist long protocol for COS in a university-affiliated IVF center. GGN repeat in the AR gene was analyzed with Sanger sequencing. The primary endpoint was the number of antral follicle counts (AFCs), and the secondary endpoints were stimulation days, total dose of gonadotropin (Gn) used, total number of retrieved oocytes, ovarian sensitivity index, and follicular output rate. RESULTS: The GGN repeat in exon 1 of the AR gene ranged from 13 to 24, and the median repeat length was 22. Based on the genotypes (S for GGN repeats <22, L for GGN repeats ≥22), the patients were divided into 3 groups: SS, SL, and LL. Generalized regression analysis indicated that the number of AFCs in group SS was significantly lower than those in group SL (adjusted β=1.8, 95% CI: 0.2-3.4, P=0.024) and group LL (adjusted β=1.5, 95% CI: 0.2-2.7, P=0.021). No significant difference was observed in the number of AFCs between group SL and group LL (P>0.05). Generalized regression analysis indicated no significant differences in ovarian stimulation parameters among the 3 groups, either before or after adjusting for confounding factors (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS GGN repeat length on the AR gene is associated with AFC but not with ovarian response in Chinese women, indicating that AR gene polymorphisms may affect ovarian reserve.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Genotype ; Ovarian Follicle/cytology* ; Ovarian Reserve/genetics* ; Ovulation Induction/methods* ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Receptors, Androgen/genetics* ; East Asian People/genetics*

Objective:To evaluate the clinical effect of the position pillows for neuraxial anesthesia.Methods:This was a prospective randomized controlled trial. Four hundred and twelve patients regardless of gender, aged ≥18 yr, of American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification Ⅰ-Ⅲ, who underwent elective surgery under neuraxial anesthesia at Peking University Third Hospital from February to October 2023, were selected and divided into 2 groups ( n=206 each) using a random number table method: pillow group (P group) and control group (C group). Group C underwent the conventional procedure for neuraxial anesthesia. The patients were placed in a position using the position pillow on the basis of oral education before routine anesthesia in group P. The success rate of puncture at first attempt, puncture time and position placement time were recorded. The adjustment of position, body movement and occurrence of discomfort during the puncture were also recorded. The visual analogue scale score was used to evaluate the level of anxiety before positioning, after positioning and after anesthesia. The visual analogue scale score was used to evaluate the patient′s comfort and the operator′s satisfaction with position after the anesthesia was completed. Results:Compared with group C, the time for positioning was significantly shortened, the anxiety level was decreased after positioning and after anesthesia, the rate of improvement in anxiety was increased, the scores for the patient′s comfort and the operator′s satisfaction with position were increased ( P<0.05), and no significant changes were found in the success rate of puncture at first attempt, puncture time and incidence of body movement during the puncture and incidence of the adjustment of position ( P>0.05). No discomfort was observed in either group during the puncture. Conclusions:This new type of position pillows for the neuraxial anesthesia can not only optimize the effect of position placement, but also improve the patients′ comfort.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between the expression of cyclic RNA PIP5K1A (circPIP5K1A) and microRNA-124-3p (miR-124-3p) in the serum and the severity of the disease and infertility in patients with endometriosis (EM) .Methods:A total of 110 cases of EM patients admitted to Shanxi Provincial Children's Hospital (Shanxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital) from Jan. 2020 to Jan. 2022 were regarded as the research objects, and were diveded into infertility group (44 cases) and successful pregnancy group (66 cases) according to the pregnancy outcome. General data were collected and the levels of serum miR-124-3p and circPIP5K1A were compared between the two groups; Pearson correlation was applied to analyze the correlation between serum miR-124-3p and circPIP5K1A. The diagnostic value of miR-124-3p and circPIP5K1A levels in patients with stage III-V EM was evaluated by ROC curve; Logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the factors influencing the occurrence of infertility.Results:The expression level of serum miR-124-3p in stage Ⅰ EM patients (1.06±0.21) was higher than that in stage Ⅱ (0.83±0.19), stage Ⅲ (0.65±0.12) and stage Ⅴ (0.44±0.08), and the serum miR-124-3p level decreased with the increase of r-AFS stage. The differences were statistically significant ( t=54.29, P<0.05). The expression level of circPIP5K1A (0.77±0.12) was lower than that of stage Ⅱ (0.90±0.15), stage Ⅲ (1.20±0.20) and stage Ⅴ (1.53±0.26), and increased with the increase of r-AFS stage, and the differences were statistically significant ( t=90.45, P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the expression of circPIP5K1A and miR-124-3p in serum of EM patients was negatively correlated ( r=-0.424, P<0.05) ; the serum miR-124-3p level in infertility group was lower than that in successful pregnancy group, and the serum circPIP5K1A level in infertility group was higher than that in successful pregnancy group ( P<0.05). ROC curve results showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of serum miR-124-3p and circPIP5K1A levels in the diagnosis of stage III-V EM patients was 0.900 and 0.887 respectively. The corresponding sensitivity was 88.24%, 85.29%, and the specificity was 78.95%, 88.16%, respectively. The AUC of combined diagnosis was 0.937, the sensitivity was 82.35%, and the specificity was 90.79%. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that miR-124-3p and circPIP5K1A were related factors affecting infertility ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:The expression of miR-124-3p in the serum of EM patients decreases, and the expression of circPIP5K1A increases. The combined detection of miR-124-3p and circPIP5K1A has certain diagnostic value for the patients with stage III-V EM, and they are closely related to the occurrence of infertility.

Objective:To investigate the value of ultrasonography in diagnosis of transposition of great arteries of the fetus at 11-13 + 6 weeks gestation. Methods:A prospective study was conducted on fetuses screened by ultrasound in the first trimester in Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region between January 2015 and March 2022. Fetal heart structure was screened by three-section screening method. Fetuses with suspected transposition of the great arteries at 11-13 + 6 weeks gestation underwent followed-up ultrasound examination, chromosome and gene test results. The ultrasound characteristics and prognosis pregnancy outcomes were summarized. Results:Twenty-one cases of transposition of the great arteries were detected by ultrasonography, including complete transposition of great arteries (20 cases) and congenitaly corrected transposition of the great arteries (1 case). Two cases were miss diagnosed. Twenty-one cases showed parallel signs of two major arteries on grayscale outflow section at 11-13 + 6 weeks gestation. There were 6 cases with aneuploid ultrasonographic soft markers abnormality, 2 cases with extracardiac malformation. Chromosome and microarray analysis were performed in 13 cases. 4 cases with chromosomal abnormality. Four cases of chromosomal abnormalities were associated with ultrasonographic soft markers abnormality, and 1 case with extracardiac malformation.In the 23 cases, 20 cases were induced, 1 miscarried, and 2 delivered to term. Among the fetuses delivered at term, 1 case died before neonatal operation and 1 case survived. Conclusions:Standardized ultrasound scan at 11-13 + 6 weeks has high accuracy in diagnosis of transposition of the great arteries. And the incidence of chromosomal abnormality is high with ultrasonographic soft markers abnormality or extracardiac malformation.

Objective:To evaluate the residual risk (RR) of transfusion transmitted HIV (TT-HIV) after the implementation of nucleic acid amplification test (NAT) in blood screening test among blood centers in China.Methods:The data of blood donors and HIV infection markers from 2017 to 2020 were collected from 28 blood centers via the Platform of Comparison of blood establishments Practice in Chinese Mainland. The new infection rate/window period mathematical model was used for two types of blood screening strategies, namely, two rounds ELISA plus individual NAT take turn with pooling NAT (2ELISA+ ID-NAT/MP-NAT) and two ELISA plus one round pooling NAT (2ELISA+ MP-NAT), and the RR of HIV infection was estimated also based on first donors (FDs) and repeated donors (RDs) in different blood donation years. T-test analyses were conducted for comparing TT HIV RR among FDs and RDs in different blood donation years with two blood screening strategies, and the variation trend of RR in HIV test was observed.Results:From 2017 to 2020, the RR of FDs in 2ELISA+ ID-NAT/MP-NAT blood screening strategy was 2.869/10 6 person-year, 3.795/10 6 persons-year, 3.879/10 6 person-year, and 2.890/10 6 person-year respectively. The RR of RDs was 1.797/10 6 person-year, 1.502/10 6 person-year, 1.857/10 6 person-year, and 1.483/10 6 person-year respectively. Significant difference exists between RR of FDs and RDs, with F=9.898 and p<0.05. In 2ELISA+ MP-NAT strategy, the RR of FDs was 3.508/10 6 person-year, 1.868/10 6 person-year, 2.204/10 6 person-year, and 1.765/10 6 person-year respectively. The RR of RDs was 0.948/10 6 person-year, 0.926/10 6 person-year, 0.748/10 6 person-year, and 0.682/10 6 person-year respectively. Statistical difference existed between RR of FDs and RDs, with F=17.126 and P<0.05. There was no significant difference between the RR of FDs in these two strategies with F=3.493 and P>0.05, while there was a difference between the RR of RDs in these two strategies with F=24.516 and P<0.05, and a difference between the RR of total donors (TDs) in these two strategies F=20.216 and P<0.05. Conclusions:The RR of TT HIV significantly decreased after the introduction of NAT into blood test among blood centers in China. There were some differences in the RR of HIV testing among different blood screening strategies. There could be significant differences in the RR of HIV testing among different groups of blood donors. Compared with FDs, RDs is the low risk group for HIV.

Objective:To comparatively study the similarities and differences between the clinical, pathological, and risk factors of advanced fibrosis in men and women with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Methods:267 patients with NAFLD diagnosed by liver biopsy were retrospectively included, and were divided into male and female groups. The difference of clinical and pathological indexes were compared between the two groups. The measurement data were in accordance with normal distribution. The comparison between the two groups was performed by independent sample t-test. The non-parametric test was used for non-normal distribution. The classification data were expressed as a percentage, and the chi-square test was used for comparison between groups. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors.Results:The age of onset of NAFLD was significantly lower in male than female patients ( P < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference between the male and female groups in terms of body mass index and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes ( P > 0.05). Biochemical index: The levels of alanine aminotransferase, albumin, total bilirubin and uric acid were significantly higher in male than female patients ( P < 0.01). Liver pathology: The proportion of ballooning degeneration was significantly lower in male than female patients ( P < 0.01). There was not statistically significant difference between the two groups in the proportion of steatohepatitis score, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (52.0% vs. 61.5%, P = 0.283) and advanced liver fibrosis (14.3% vs. 17.8%, P = 0.162). Thrombocytopenia was a common independent risk factor for advanced stage liver fibrosis ( OR = 0.984, 0.978~0.989, P < 0.01). Type 2 diabetes was only an independent risk factor for advanced stage liver fibrosis in men ( OR = 6.557, 1.667~25.782), P < 0.01). Elevated AST was only an independent risk factor for advanced stage liver fibrosis in women ( OR = 1.016, 1.003~1.028, P = 0.012). Conclusion:In NAFLD patients, there are some clinical and pathological differences between genders. Platelets are a common predictor of advanced liver fibrosis in men and women. Type 2 diabetes in men and elevated aspartate aminotransferase in women can be regarded as independent risk factors for advanced liver fibrosis.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of Crohn′s disease (CD)-related gastrointestinal stenosis, and to summarize and analyze the corresponding treatments.Methods:From January 2010 to December 2018, 122 patients diagnosed with CD and hospitalized in the Seventh Medical Center, PLA General Hospital were selected including 72 patients in gastrointestinal stenosis group and 50 patients in non-gastrointestinal stenosis group. The gender, age of onset, course of disease, location of lesions involved (Montreal classification), disease activity, extraintestinal manifestations, application of therapeutic drugs, and complications were compared between the two groups. The treatment of CD patients with gastrointestinal stenosis was analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of CD patients with gastrointestinal stenosis. The independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results:The age of onset of patients in gastrointestinal stenosis group was older than that in non-gastrointestinal stenosis group ((37.6±15.1) years old vs. (30.8±14.7) years old), and course of disease was longer than that of non-gastrointestinal stenosis group (72 months, 11 to 492 months vs. 45 months, 3 to 240 months); and the differences were statistically significant ( t=-2.044, Z=-2.770; P=0.018, 0.006). The proportion of patients with ileum involvement of the gastrointestinal stenosis group was lower than that of the non-gastrointestinal stenosis group (69.4%, 50/72 vs. 86.0%, 43/50), and the proportion of severe patients was higher than that of the non-gastrointestinal stenosis group (15.3%, 11/72 vs. 4.0%, 2/50); and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=4.463 and 3.942, P=0.035 and 0.047). There were no significant differences in gender, use of therapeutic drugs, extraintestinal manifestations, application of therapeutic drugs or the incidence of complications between the patients of two groups (all P>0.05). The results of multivariate logistic regression showed that the age of onset and course of disease were risk factors of CD-related gastrointestinal stenosis ( β=0.028, odds ratio ( OR)=1.028, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.000 to 1.056, P=0.046; β=0.008, OR=1.008, 95% CI 1.002 to 1.015, P=0.013). Further stratified analysis revealed that the incidence rates of CD-related gastrointestinal stenosis in patients with age of onset over 40 years old and course of disease more than five years were higher than those of patients with age of onset less than 40 years old and course of disease less than five years (76.3%, 29/38 vs. 51.2%, 43/84; 68.4%, 39/57 vs. 50.8%, 33/65), and the differences were statistically significant ( OR=3.072, 95% CI 1.298 to 7.272, P=0.009; OR=2.101, 95% CI 1.002 to 4.406, P=0.048). Among the 72 CD patients with gastrointestinal stenosis, 15 cases (20.8%) were treated with medicine and nutrition, without endoscopic or surgical treatment. Fifty-two patients (72.2%) underwent surgical treatment, among them six patients (11.5%) received twice surgery, the interval between the two operations was 46 months (1 to 204 months), and eight patients (15.4%) had postoperative complications. Twenty-one patients (29.2%) were treated with endoscopic dilatation, and no complications occurred after surgery. Five patients (23.8%) underwent surgical treatment during the follow-up period. Conclusions:The age of onset over 40 years old and the course of disease more than five years are the risk factors of CD-related gastrointestinal stenosis. Individualized medical treatment is the basis for the treatment of CD-related gastrointestinal stenosis. Surgery is still the main treatment. The endoscopic treatment is safety and can delay or avoid surgery to a certain extent.

Objective To label granulocytes in a state of differentiation in mouse bone marrow (BM) with EdU (5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine) for further understanding the changes in granulocyte produc-tion at different stages of differentiation during inflammation. Methods C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneal-ly (i.p.) injected with EdU and heat-inactivated Escherichia coli(HI E.coli). BM cells were harvested at different time points after HI E.coli injection and then stained with fluorescent-conjugated antibodies(Abs). Myeloblasts,promyelocytes,myelocytes, metamyelocytes and band and segmented neutrophils were identi-fied by fluorescence-activated cell sorting(FACS). The percentage of EdU-positive cells in each population was recorded. Results The percentage of EdU-positive myeloblasts in mice increased by 10.0% at 24 h af-ter intraperitoneal injection with HI E.coli,but decreased by 75.0% and 23.0% at 48 h and 72 h,respec-tively. The percentage of EdU-positive promyelocytes declined by 23.0%,54.5%,64.3% and 77.8% at 24 h,48 h,72 h and 96 h,respectively. The percentage of EdU-positive myelocytes increased by 60.0% and 10.0% at 24 h and 48 h,but decreased by 80.0% and 90.0% at 72 h and 96 h. The percentage of EdU-positive metamyelocytes increased by 50.0% at 24 h,but decreased by 33.3%,61.5% and 66.7% at 48 h,72 h and 96 h. The percentage of EdU-positive band and segmented cells increased by 14.0% at 24 h,but decreased by 50.0%, 77.8% and 88.0% at 48 h, 72 h and 96 h. Conclusion Emergency granulopoiesis occurred 24 h after the establishment of HI E.coli-induced model of acute peritonitis, which meant that the proliferation of myeloid precursor cells,especially that of myelocytes and metamyelocytes,was accelerated and resulted in increasing number of mature neutrophils immigrating to sites of inflammation.

Background and purpose:Radiomics is an emerging field that generates large amounts of valuable clinical information through extracting quantitative imaging features. The purpose of this study was to use the radiomics approach to assess the value of features captured from PET and CT in predicting the therapeutic effect in stageⅠ non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR).Methods:Patients with stageⅠ NSCLC conifrmed by pathology and treated with SABR were included retrospectively. The gross tumor volume (GTV) was deifned by two radiologists. PET and CT scan images were collected, and radiomic features were further extracted and analyzed. Non-negative matrix factorization was used to distinguish patients with or without local control.Results:Sixteen patients were eligible for analysis. This study identiifed two PET features (LL_GLCM_Maximal_Correlation_Coeffcient and HL_GLRMS_LRE) captured from PET/CT as having signiifcance in classifying patients with or without disease development. This study not ifnd similar results in CT scans.Conclusion:It seems feasible to use radiomics information effects from PET/CT to predict therapeutic effects of SABR in stageⅠ NSCLC. Further investigation is needed.