Objective To explore the alterations in macrophage polarization and the expression of decorin (DCN) protein in the decidua of patients with missed abortion (MA), as well as to elucidate the regulatory effect of DCN on macrophage polarization. Methods Flow cytometry was employed to assess the polarization ratio of decidual macrophages in MA, recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) and normal pregnancy (NP); The expression and localization of DCN and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) in decidua and villi were assessed by immunohistochemistry staining, while their protein levels were measured by Western blot. Primary trophoblasts and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-derived macrophages were isolated and cultured. ELISA was conducted to quantify DCN levels in the culture supernatant of primary trophoblast and PBMC-derived macrophages. Additionally, flow cytometry was applied to evaluate the polarization ratio of PBMC-derived macrophages. Immunofluorescence cytochemical staining was conducted to examine HIF-1α expression in macrophages. Western blot was performed to detect the expression of proteins related to the gene associated with retinoid-IFN-induced mortality 19 (GRIM-19)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3)/HIF-1α signaling pathway in macrophages. Results The polarization ratio of M1 macrophages in the decidua of abortion patients was significantly higher than that of NP, whereas the ratio of M2 macrophages was significantly lower. The expression of DCN and HIF-1α protein were significantly evaluated in abortion patients compared to NP. The supernatant DCN content and HIF-1α protein expression of primary trophoblast and PBMC-derived macrophages cultured under 10 mL/L O₂ for 24 hours were markedly increased compared to cells treated with 210 mL/L O₂. Compared with the PBS group, the proportion of M1 macrophage and GRIM-19 protein expression were significantly reduced in the DCN group, while phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) and HIF-1α protein expression were significantly increased. Conclusion The expression of DCN in decidua and villi of MA is higher than that of NP. DCN exhibits an inhibitory effect on the M1 polarization of PBMCs-derived macrophages, which is likely mediated through the GRIM-19/STAT3/HIF-1α signaling pathway.
Humans ; Female ; Decidua/metabolism* ; Macrophages/cytology* ; Decorin/genetics* ; Pregnancy ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/metabolism* ; Adult ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear/cytology* ; Abortion, Missed/genetics* ; STAT3 Transcription Factor/metabolism* ; Cells, Cultured ; Young Adult

Objective:To investigate the factors that influence the occurrence of complications following deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstruction, and to determine whether these complications have an impact on the patient's quality of life.Methods:The clinical and follow up data from patients who underwent DIEP flap breast reconstruction at the Department of Breast, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University from Dec 2019 to Mar 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Results:A total of 85 patients underwent DIEP flap breast reconstruction, including 71 stage Ⅰ reconstructions and 14 stage Ⅱ reconstructions. Postoperative complications occurred in 22 cases 25.9%, including flap complications in 11 cases (12.9%) and abdominal donor site complications in 11 cases (12.9%). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the overall incidence of complications was associated with high BMI and early surgery ( P<0.05). Flap complications were associated with high BMI, surgery performed at initial phase, and the use of internal mammary vascular branches as recipient vessels ( P<0.05). Abdominal complications were associated with previous abdominal surgery scars ( P<0.05). BREAST-Q scores showed no significant differences between the surgical complication group and the no complication group in terms of breast satisfaction, mental health, physical health-chest, physical health-abdomen, satisfaction with abdomen, sexual health, etc. ( P>0.05). Conclusions:DIEP flap breast reconstruction has a significant learning curve. The patient's own clinical characteristics (such as BMI and abdominal incision scars) and intraoperative choices (such as the selection of recipient vessels) may influence the occurrence of postoperative complications. However, the presence of postoperative complications does not appear to have an impact on patient-reported outcomes.

Objective: To investigate the awareness of nutrition and health knowledge among adult residents in Hangzhou City, so as to provide insights into improving human nutrition and health. Methods: The permanent residents at ages of 18 to 64 years were sampled using a multi-stage stratified random sampling method from 13 counties (districts) of Hangzhou City from June to July, 2021. Participants' demographics and awareness of nutrition and health knowledge were collected using the Questionnaire on Nutrition and Health Knowledge among Chinese Adult Residents, and the awareness of nutrition and health knowledge was analyzed among participants with different demographic features. Results: A total of 5 106 questionnaires were allocated, and 4 920 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 96.36%. The respondents included 2 575 men (52.34%) and 2 345 women (47.66%), and had a mean age of (39.89±12.85) years. The median score of nutrition and health knowledge was 67.50 (interquartile range, 16.50) points, and the awareness of nutrition and health knowledge was 24.49%, while the awareness of dietary recommendation, food characteristics, nutrition and disease, food choice and food safety was 15.89%, 16.77%, 54.17%, 26.36% and 60.69%, respectively. The awareness of nutrition and health knowledge was significantly lower among men than among women (21.01% vs. 28.32%, P<0.05), and among urban residents than among rural residents (22.94% vs. 27.34%, P<0.05). There were significant differences in the awareness of nutrition and health knowledge among residents in terms of age, occupation and educational level (P<0.05). Conclusions Age, gender, region, occupation and educational level may affect the awareness of nutrition and health knowledge among adult residents in Hangzhou City. Health education about nutrition and health knowledge requires to be reinforced with adaptations to characteristics of residents.

【Objective】 To analyze the efficacy of scrotum cold compress combined with antibiotics on necrospermia patients with seminal tract infection. 【Methods】 We made a retrospective analysis of the patients who were confirmed as necrospermia by more than 2 times of semen examination and positive by sperm bacteria culture at the Andrology Department of our center from January 2019 to September 2022. The experiment group patients who were cured by scrotum cold compress combined with sensitive antibiotics and L-carnitine were divided into experiment group A (1 time/day) and experiment group B (2 times/day) according to the daily times of scrotum cold compress. Meanwhile, only sensitive antibiotics and L-carnitine were administered in the control group patients. We recorded the improvement of sperm parameters and the number of negative sperm bacterial cultures in different groups at 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks of treatment. 【Results】 A total of 145 patients were enrolled in the study. According to the principle of randomization, 49 patients in group A, 49 patients in group B, and 47 patients in the control group were enrolled. After 4 weeks of treatment, there was no significant difference between the experiment group and the control group in terms of abstinence time, the number of negative sperm bacterial cultures, semen pH, sperm ratio of forward motility, or the sperm survival rate (all P>0.05). In terms of the sperm survival rate, group B (53.1±14.1) was superior to group A (46.2±16.4) (P<0.05). In the results of the treatment at 8 weeks, the number of negative sperm bacterial cultures was significantly higher in the experiment group (74/98) than in the control group (26/47) (χ²=5.14, P<0.05). Sperm ratio of forward motility was higher in the experiment group (26.5±11.9) than in the control group (22.8±12.6). The experimental group (53.1±14.6) also had a significantly higher sperm survival rate than the control group (47.6±13.4) (P<0.05). However, the number of negative sperm bacterial cultures, sperm ratio of forward motility, and the sperm survival rate were lower in experiment group A (35/49, 25.5±10.3, 51.1±15.0) than in experiment group B (39/49, 27.5±13.2, 55.1±14.2), but there was no statistical difference between the two groups (all P>0.05). After 12 weeks of treatment, the number of negative sperm bacterial cultures in the experimental group (67/98) was significantly higher than that in the control group (21/47) (χ²=6.11, P<0.05). Sperm ratio of forward motility in the experiment group (30.9±11.2) was higher than that in the control group (24.7±13.4) (P<0.05). The experiment group (56.3±13.0) had a significantly higher sperm survival rate than the control group (46.7±12.0, P<0.01). However, in terms of the number of negative sperm bacterial cultures, sperm ratio of forward motility, and the sperm survival rate, there were no statistical differences between group A (31/49, 28.8±10.0, 55.9±12.7) and group B (36/49, 32.8±12.1, 56.7±13.4) (all P>0.05). 【Conclusion】 Scrotum cold compress combined with antibiotics is superior to only antibiotic treatment on necrospermia patients with seminal tract infection, especially in the sperm ratio of forward motility and sperm survival rate, but it has little relationship with the times of cold compressions per day. Therefore, the method deserves application in this type of patients’ diagnosis and treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Omicron, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant, is responsible for numerous infections in China. This study investigates the association between the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea (SFHT) and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection to develop precise and differentiated strategies for control of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: This case-control study was conducted at shelter hospitals and quarantine hotels in China. A total of 5348 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled between April 1 and May 31, 2022, while 2190 uninfected individuals served as healthy controls. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on demographics, underlying diseases, vaccination status, and use of SFHT. Patients were propensity-score-matched using 1:1 nearest-neighbor matching of the logit of the propensity score. Subsequently, a conditional logistic regression model was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 7538 eligible subjects were recruited, with an average age of [45.54 ± 16.94] years. The age of COVID-19 patients was significantly higher than that of uninfected individuals ([48.25 ± 17.48] years vs [38.92 ± 13.41] years; t = 22.437, P < 0.001). A total of 2190 COVID-19 cases were matched with uninfected individuals at a 1:1 ratio. The use of SFHT (odds ratio = 0.753, 95% confidence interval: 0.692, 0.820) was associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to untreated individuals. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that taking SFHT reduces the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is a useful study in the larger picture of COVID-19 management, but data from large-sample multi-center, randomized clinical trial are warranted to confirm the finding. Please cite this article as: Zhang SX, Chen XX, Zheng Y, Cai BH, Shi W, Ru M, Li H, Zhang DD, Tian Y, Chen YL. Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk is associated with the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea: A multi-center observational study in Shanghai, China. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(4):369-376.
Humans ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Case-Control Studies ; China/epidemiology* ; Tea

Adipose Tissue ; Cadaver ; Humans ; Vertebral Artery

Objective:To investigate the correlation between ipsilateral metastatic supraclavicular lymph nodes(ISLN) pathologically complete response (spCR) and the prognosis in breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy(NAC) and lymphadenectomy.Methods:Clinical data of 234 breast cancer patients with ISLN at the time of diagnosis and receiving supraclavicular lymph node dissection following NAC were retrospectively analyzed.Results:All patients were female, with a median age of 52 years. The spCR rate was 52.6%. Multivariate analysis showed that the expression level of Ki67, the pathological status of breast and axillary nodes and the dissection number of supraclavicular lymph node were independent relate factors for spCR (all P<0.05). After a median follow-up of 16.6 months, the risk of recurrence and metastasis in the spCR group was 51%. It was lower than that in the non-spCR group ( HR=0.49, 95% CI 0.27-0.89, P=0.020). It was mainly manifested in hormone receptor negative patients. Supraclavicular spCR was an independent prognostic factor for DFS. Conclusions:The expression level of Ki67, pathological state of breast and axillary node and the dissection number of supraclavicular lymph node were independent related factors of spCR, which was also an independent predictor of DFS.

Student contacts of tuberculosis (TB) cases are susceptible to latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), and chemo-prophylaxis can reduce the risk of active TB among them. This study aimed to assess the acceptance of chemo-prophylaxis for LTBI among students, and their concerns regarding TB and its preventive treatment. A total of 560 students contacts were included in the investigation. The extent of contact was categorized from high to low (4 levels) with 12.9% of the students being close contacts. About 87.0% of the students were willing to receive chemo-prophylaxis if diagnosed with, LTBI, whereas 73 students declined. Students with a higher level of knowledge about TB (aOR = 1.11) or close contact with TB patients (aOR = 4.30) were more likely to accept treatment. To conclude, education regarding TB transmission is necessary. Moreover, LTBI detection should be integrated into the current school-based TB contact investigation.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Antitubercular Agents ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; China ; epidemiology ; Contact Tracing ; Female ; Humans ; Latent Tuberculosis ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; Male ; Students ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Universities ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo establish and compare the method of static headspace gas chromatography hydrogen flame detector (static headspace method) and purge and trap gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (dynamic headspace method) of anisole in water.

METHODSNitrogen gas was used as carrier gas in the static headspace method, 5 g NaCl as matrix modifier was added into 10 ml water. The sample was balanced with high speed vibration at 75°C for 30 min, and anisole was detected by gas chromatography and quantified with external standard. Helium was used as carrier gas in dynamic headspace method, 5.0 ml water and 0.004 mg/L internal standard fluorobenzene was purged into the purge and trap apparatus. After purging, trapping and desorption, anisole was detected by the gas chromatography-mass spectrograph, confirmed by the retention time and comparison of mass-spectrogram in spectrum library and quantified with internal standard. The repeatability and sensitivity of assay were evaluated.

RESULTSA good linear range for anisole was observed in static headspace gas chromatography and dynamic headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, within the range of 10 - 500 µg/L and 0.5 - 60.0 µg/L respectively. The linear regression equation was Y = 782.150X + 1.3446 and Y = 0.0358X - 0.0209 respectively, both the correlation coefficient ≥ 0.999. The detection limit (LOD) were 0.002 µg/L and 0.110 µg/L, the lower limit of quantitation (LOQ) were 0.006 µg/L and 0.350 µg/L, the relative standard deviation (RSD) were 1.8% - 2.3% and 2.0% - 3.4%, and the spiking recovery were 93% - 101% and 96% - 101% respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe methods of static headspace gas chromatography and dynamic headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry are simple and can measure anisole in water quickly, sensitively and accurately.