The development of animal early embryos commences with the reprogramming of terminally differentiated gametes into totipotent zygotes following fertilization. During the initial stages of embryonic development, the transcriptional levels of zygotic genome remain silent and maternal gene products dominate the regulation of development. As embryonic development progresses, the maternal gene products undergo phased degradation while the zygotic genome gradually activates transcription, marking the transition from the maternal regulation to the zygotic genome regulation in early embryonic development, which is also referred to as the maternal-zygotic transition (MZT). Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is a critical turning process in this transition, and its accurate occurrence is crucial for early embryonic development and cell fate decisions. However, the regulatory factors and molecular mechanisms of ZGA remain poorly understood. Studies have shown that ZGA varies greatly among different species and may be affected by a variety of regulatory factors such as DNA methylation, histone modification, non-coding RNA, chromatin remodeling and ZGA related factors. Here, we review the research progress of the above regulatory factors affecting ZGA, which can provide valuable insights for further investigations into the ZGA related mechanisms of early embryos.

Nutritional therapy is a core component of critically ill patient management,and the enteral route has become the preferred method due to its dual roles of nutrition and non-nutrition. The use of vasoactive medications makes enteral nutrition decisions more challenging for these patients. This review systematically examines the pathophysiological effects of vasoactive medications on gastrointestinal tract of critically ill patients,the current value and safety of enteral nutrition in this patient's population,summarizes the optimal strategies for implementing enteral nutrition in these patients for clinical reference.

Objective: To examine the safety and effectiveness of a new stent graft system for endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm(AAA). Methods: This is a prospective,multi-center,single-arm clinical trial. The patients with AAA treated with a new stent graft system were enrolled at 21 centers from September 2018 to September 2019 in China. Follow-up was performed before discharge, and at 30, 180, 360 days after operation, respectively. The primary safety endpoint was the incidence of major adverse events(MAE) within 30 days. The primary efficacy endpoint was the success rate of AAA treatment at 360 days. Secondary safety endpoints were the incidence of perioperative access complications and acute lower limb ischemia,all-cause mortality, AAA related mortality and incidence of serious adverse events (SAE) at 180 and 360 days. Secondary efficacy endpoints were the incidence of type Ⅰ or Ⅲ endoleak,stent displacement,and conversion to open surgery or re-intervention at 180 and 360 days. Results: One hundred and fifty-six patients were enrolled,including 137 males and 19 females. The age was (68.9±6.9) years (range:48.2 to 84.6 years).Maximum aneurysm diameter was (50.8±11.2) mm (range:25.0 to 85.0 mm),diameter of proximal landing zone was (21.2±2.5) mm (range:17.0 to 29.5 mm),and length of proximal landing zone was (31.4±13.0) mm (range:11.0 to 75.0 mm).The incidence of MAE was 1.3% (2/156) at 30 days,both were all-cause death cases. The success rate of AAA treatment was 88.5% (138/156) at 360 days. No perioperative access complication and acute lower limb ischemia occurred. All-cause mortality was 2.0% (3/154) at 180 days and 2.6% (4/153) at 360 days,and there was no AAA related death. The incidence of SAE was 23.0%(35/152) at 180 days and 30.5%(46/151) at 360 days, and no device-related SAE occurred. The incidence of type Ⅰor Ⅲ endoleak was 3.4% (5/147) at 180 days and 3.5% (5/144) at 360 days. Conclusion: The new stent graft system is easy to operate,and early-term safety and effectiveness results are expected.
Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Prospective Studies ; China ; Ischemia ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal/surgery*

Today, there is greater awareness on the association between oral diseases and respiration diseases after the outbreak of COVID-19. However, confusion regarding the oral health management and medical risk prevention for patients with chronic airway diseases has been remained among dental clinicians. Therefore, the dental experts of the Fifth General Dentistry Special Committee, Chinese Stomatological Association, combined with the experts of respiratory and critical care medicine, undertook the formation of consensus on the oral health management of patients with chronic airway diseases in order to help dental clinicians to evaluate medical risks and make better treatment decision in clinical practice. In the present consensus report, the relationship of oral diseases and chronic airway diseases, the oral health management and the treatment recommendations of patients with chronic airway diseases are provided.
COVID-19 ; Consensus ; Humans ; Oral Health ; Oral Medicine

With the aging process of population in the society, the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in China is increasing continuously and the number of dental patients with CVD is increasing gradually too. Due to the lack of guidelines for dental patients with CVD in our country, how to implement standardized preoperative evaluation and perioperative risk prevention remains a problem to be solved for dentists at present. The present expert consensus was reached by combining the clinical experiences of the expert group of the Fifth General Dentistry Special Committee, Chinese Stomatological Association and respiratory and cardiology experts in diagnosis and treatment for CVD patients, and by systematically summarizing the relevant international guidelines and literature regarding the relationship between CVD and oral diseases and the diagnosis and treatment of dental patients with heart failure, hypertension and antithrombotic therapy. The consensus aims to provide, for the dental clinicians, the criteria on diagnosis and treatment of CVD in dental patients in China so as to reduce the risk and complications, and finally to improve the treatment levels of dental patients with CVD in China.
Cardiovascular Diseases/prevention & control* ; China/epidemiology* ; Consensus ; Dental Care ; Humans ; Oral Medicine

Grey matter (GM) alterations may contribute to cognitive decline in individuals with white matter hyperintensities (WMH) but no consensus has yet emerged. Here, we investigated cortical thickness and grey matter volume in 23 WMH patients with mild cognitive impairment (WMH-MCI), 43 WMH patients without cognitive impairment, and 55 healthy controls. Both WMH groups showed GM atrophy in the bilateral thalamus, fronto-insular cortices, and several parietal-temporal regions, and the WMH-MCI group showed more extensive and severe GM atrophy. The GM atrophy in the thalamus and fronto-insular cortices was associated with cognitive decline in the WMH-MCI patients and may mediate the relationship between WMH and cognition in WMH patients. Furthermore, the main results were well replicated in an independent dataset from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database and in other control analyses. These comprehensive results provide robust evidence of specific GM alterations underlying WMH and subsequent cognitive impairment.

Objective To investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) among elderly people in communities of Nanning, so as to provide scientific basis for the formulation of MCI early intervention measures. Methods A total of sample of 3 000 elderly people aged 60 or above living in Nanning area were sampled out using the method of cluster random sampling from three communities in Nanning. The Beijing version of the montreal cognitive assessment (MOCA-BJ) was administered by face to face interview. Results 833 MCI patients were detected. The standardized prevalence rate of MCI was 27.27% by the age composition of the population in Nanning in 2010. Single factor analysis showed that there were significant differences(all P<0.05)in the prevalence of MCI in different groups by age, education, occupation, exercise time, sleep time, number of reading, community activities and housework. Multivariate analysis showed that old age, primary education level, occupation of farmer/migrant worker and enterprise personnel/worker were the risk factors of MCI, adequate sleep time, moderate exercise time and reading times were the protective factors of MCI (all P<0.05). Conclusions The prevalence rate of MCI is high among the elderly in Nanning. The elderly with advanced age, primary school education, occupation as farmer/peasant-worker and enterprise personnel/workerare at high risk of developing MCI. Effective measures should be taken as soon as possible to prevent the occurrence and development of MCI.

Objectives: To investigate the relationships between the stability of carotid plaque and serum Lp-PLA2, A-FABP levels in hypertensive postmenopausal women. Methods: 195 postmenopausal women with hypertension were selected and divided into non-plaque group, stable plaque group and unstable plaque group according to the results of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and plaque types derived from color doppler ultrasonography. In addition, 40 healthy postmenopausal women were recruited as normal control group. The serum Lp-PLA2 and A-FABP levels of all subjects were measured. Lp-PLA2 and A-FABP levels were compared among four groups by One-Way ANOVA. Spearman correlation analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis were also performed. Results: Plaque group included 123 subjects (unstable plaque group: 29 cases; stable plaque group: 94 cases), and non-plaque group included 72 subjects. The average serum A-FABP level was significantly higher in unstable plaque group [(172.60±33.70) ng/L] than in non-plaque group[(133.04±29.49) ng/L], P<0.05. Serum Lp-PLA2 level was similar between the four groups, P>0.05. Serum A-FABP level was positively correlated with the carotid plaque (r=0.3446, P=0.0049);serum Lp-PLA2 level was not correlated with the carotid plaque (r=0.2058, P=0.0996). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that high A-FABP level was associated with stable plaque in hypertensive postmenopausal women (P=0.040, OR=1.017, 95%CI: 1.001~1.033), which was also associated with unstable plaque in this population (P=0.003, OR=1.031, 95%CI: 1.010~1.052). Conclusions: The level of A-FABP is a determinant responsible for the occurrence and stability of carotid plaque among hypertensive postmenopausal women. There was no correlation between Lp-PLA2 level and the stability of carotid plaque in this patient cohort.

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Schistosoma japonicum cysteine protease inhibitor (rSjCystatin) for treatment of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis in mice.

METHODSAfter a week of adaptive feeding, 54 BALB/c mice were randomly divided into normal control group (group A), sepsis group (group B), and rSjCystatin intervention group (group C). The mice in group A received an intraperitoneal injection of PBS (100 µL), and those in groups B and C were injected with PBS (100 µL) containing LPS (10 mg/kg); the mice in group C were also intraperitoneally injected with 25 µg sjCystatin in 100 µL PBS 30 min after LPS injection. From each group, 10 mice were randomly selected 24 h after PBS or LPS injection for detecting serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 using ELISA and the levels of ALT, AST, BUN, and Cr using automatic biochemical analyzer; the pathological changes in the liver, lung and kidney were observed with HE staining. The remaining 8 mice in each group were used for observing the changes in the general condition and the 72-h survival.

RESULTSThe 72-h survival rates of the mice was 100% in group A, 0 in group B, and 36% in group C, showing a significant difference among the 3 groups (P<0.05). Compared with those in group A, the mice in group B exhibited obvious liver, lung, and renal pathologies with increased levels of ALT, AST, BUN, Cr, IL-6, and TNF-α (P<0.05). Treatment with sjCystatin significantly lessened LPS-induced organ pathologies, lowered the levels of liver and renal functional indexes and the pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increased the serum level of IL-10 in the mice (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSjCystatin can produce a significant therapeutic effect on sepsis induced by LPS in mice.