OBJECTIVE: To identify the gene mutation types of 4 suspected β-thalassemia patients in Yunnan Province, and to analyze the genotypes and hematological phenotypes. METHODS: Whole genome sequencing was performed on the samples of 4 suspected β-thalassemia patients from the Dai ethnic group in a thalassemia endemic area of Yunnan Province, whose hematological phenotypes were not consistent with the results of common thalassemia gene mutations. The mutations of β-globin gene clusters were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger DNA sequencing technology. RESULTS: The 3.5 kb deletion in β-globin gene cluster (NC_000011.10: g. 5224302-5227791del3490bp) was detected in 4 patients' samples, of which 1 case was also detected with HbE mutation and 1 case with CD17 mutation. These 2 patients displayed moderate anemia phenotype, while the two patients with only the 3.5 kb deletion presented with other mild anemia phenotype. CONCLUSION Heterozygous carriers with rare 3.5 kb deletion of the β-globin gene cluster may develop mild anemia, compound mutations of the 3.5 kb deletion with other mutations may led to intermediate thalasemia with moderate to sever anemia. In areas with a high incidence of thalassemia, suspected patients should undergo genetic testing to avoid missing or misdiagnosing rare mutations.
Humans ; beta-Globins/genetics* ; Multigene Family ; beta-Thalassemia/genetics* ; Mutation ; Genotype ; Sequence Deletion ; Phenotype ; Male ; Female

Objective:To develop, validate and initially apply a joint function and health assessment scale for juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients.Methods:The first draft of the juvenile idiopathic arthritis joint function and health assessment scale was developed through literature analysis, discussion by the research team, semi-structured interviews, Delphi expert correspondence. From March to June 2024, a total of 260 children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis or their parents were prospectively recruited from Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Children′s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University by convenience sampling method for pre-investigation and formal investigation.The reliability and validity of the scale were tested by item analysis, reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, content validity and criterion validity analysis, and the responsiveness of the scale to clinical changes was evaluated by estimating the minimum clinically important difference, and finally the formal scale was formed.Results:The juvenile idiopathic arthritis joint function and health assessment scale included disease activity assessment, daily activity and function assessment, pain, fatigue and disease outcome assessment, with a total of 5 dimensions and 24 items, in which the functional assessment subscale included 4 secondary dimensions and 18 items. The Cronbach′s α coefficient of the function assessment subscale was 0.88, the fold-half reliability was 0.86, and the test-retest reliability after 2-4 weeks was 0.84; the item-level content validity index was 0.80-1.00, and the scale-level content validity index was 0.93. Exploratory factor analysis extracted 4 common factors with a cumulative variance contribution of 70.0%. Preliminary application indicated the functional assessment subscale was moderately correlated with childhood health assessment questionnaire ( r=0.70, P<0.05), the total scale was strongly correlated with juvenile arthritis disease activity score-27 ( r=0.92, P<0.05), and moderately correlated with both active and limited joint count ( r=0.77, 0.68, both P<0.05). Reactivity analysis suggested that the minimum clinically important difference between the two visits of 41 children with clinical improvement and 25 children with disease activity was 0.49 (0.44, 0.54) and 0.51 (0.43, 0.58). Conclusion:The juvenile idiopathic arthritis joint function and health assessment scale has good reliability and validity, and has certain responsiveness to clinical changes, is simple and operable, and can be used as a tool for assessing joint function in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: To study the expression levels of CD4⁺NKG2D⁺ T cells and NKG2D soluble ligands, the soluble MHC class I chain-related molecules A and B (sMICA/sMICB) in the active stage and stable stage of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and their role in the disease activity of JIA. METHODS: Nineteen children with systemic JIA and 20 children with articular JIA who were diagnosed in Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from November 2019 to December 2021 were enrolled in this prospective study. Six healthy children were enrolled as the control group. After peripheral blood samples were collected, ELISA was used to measure the levels of sMICA and sMICB, and flow cytometry was used to measure the percentage of CD4⁺NKG2D⁺ T cells. Systemic Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score-27 (sJADAS-27)/Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score-27 (JADAS-27) was used to evaluate the disease activity in children with JIA. The Pearson correlation analysis and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to assess the role of CD4⁺NKG2D⁺ T cells, sMICA and sMICB in the disease activity of JIA. RESULTS: The active systemic JIA and active articular JIA groups had a significant increase in the percentage of CD4⁺NKG2D⁺ T cells compared with the control group and their corresponding inactive JIA group (P<0.05). The JIA groups had significantly higher levels of sMICA and sMICB than the control group (P<0.05), and the active articular JIA group had a significantly higher level of sMICB than the stable articular JIA group (P<0.05). In the children with JIA, the percentage of CD4⁺NKG2D⁺ T cells and the levels of sMICA and sMICB were positively correlated with sJADAS-27/JADAS-27 disease activity scores (P<0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that sMICB had an area under the curve of 0.755 in evaluating the disease activity of JIA, with a specificity of 0.90 and a sensitivity of 0.64. CONCLUSIONS The percentage of CD4⁺NKG2D⁺ T cells and the levels of sMICA and sMICB increase in children with JIA compared with healthy children and are positively correlated with the disease activity of JIA, suggesting that CD4⁺NKG2D⁺ T cells and NKG2D ligands can be used as potential biomarkers for evaluating the disease activity of JIA.
Child ; Humans ; Arthritis, Juvenile/pathology* ; Ligands ; NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily K ; Prospective Studies ; T-Lymphocytes/pathology*

ObjectiveTo obtain a mouse model of chronic obsessive-compulsive disorder with a shorter modeling time and longer symptom duration， we improved an existing method to obtain a simple and stable mouse model of chronic obsessive-compulsive disorder. Methods22 mice were randomly divided into experimental group （n=11） and control group （n=11） . The mice were injected subcutaneously with 0.75 mg/kg quinpirole solution or the same amount of saline in the neck for 19 consecutive days and were put into the compulsive behavior training device. The drinking behavior and drinking volume of the two groups were recorded during training， and the effects of quinpirole on the behavior of mice were evaluated. After training， behavioral studies such as open field test， elevated plus maze test and new object recognition test were conducted to evaluate the anxiety state and cognitive ability of the mice after modeling. In addition， immunofluorescence experiments were performed to explore the neural mechanism of behavioral changes in mice. ResultsQuinpirole injection combined with behavioral training for 19 days could effectively induce compulsive checking behavior without anxiety or cognitive decline in mice （P<0.001）， and this behavior lasted more than 28 days after training. In this model， several brain regions on the cortical-striatum-thalamic-cortical circuit were activated （P<0.000 1）. ConclusionChronic quinpirole administration combined with behavior training can effectively construct a mouse model of OCD with an obvious and stable phenotype， and effectively shorten the time required for modeling.

Objective To explore and analyze the risk factors of severe falciparum malaria cases,and to provide evidence for early clinical prevention and intervention measures. Methods A total of 114 imported cases of falciparum malaria in Wuhan from March 2012 to November 2019 were selected,divided into mild group(n=87)and severe group(n=27),and logistic regression analysis was performed on the risk factors of severe disease. Results There were significant differences in length of stay, erythrocyte, hemoglobin, platelet, urea, creatinine, albumin, creatine kinase isoenzyme, lactate dehydrogenase, urine occulting blood and urine protein between mild group and severe group (P<0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that alanine aminotransferase (OR=0.167, 95%CI: 0.042-0.668), albumin (OR=24.843, 95% CI: 5.170-119.383), urea (OR=0.240,95%CI: 0.074-0.779) and occulted blood in urine (OR=0.204, 95%CI: 0.062-0.672) were independent influencing factors for the occurrence of severe falciparum malaria. Conclusion Patients with liver function damage and alanine aminotransferase increased by more than 2 times(≥80U/L),albumin decreased(<30g/L),renal function damage,increased urea nitrogen,hematuria and other abnormal results, the possibility of severe falsiparum malaria development should be highly suspected.

Nano-drug delivery strategies have been highlighted in cancer treatment, and much effort has been made in the optimization of bioavailability, biocompatibility, pharmacokinetics profiles, and in vivo distributions of anticancer nano-drug delivery systems. However, problems still exist in the delicate balance between improved anticancer efficacy and reduced toxicity to normal tissues, and opportunities arise along with the development of smart stimuli-responsive delivery strategies. By on-demand responsiveness towards exogenous or endogenous stimulus, these smart delivery systems hold promise for advanced tumor-specificity as well as controllable release behavior in a spatial-temporal manner. Meanwhile, the blossom of nanotechnology, material sciences, and biomedical sciences has shed light on the diverse modern drug delivery systems with smart characteristics, versatile functions, and modification possibilities. This review summarizes the current progress in various strategies for smart drug delivery systems against malignancies and introduces the representative endogenous and exogenous stimuli-responsive smart delivery systems. It may provide references for researchers in the fields of drug delivery, biomaterials, and nanotechnology.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the therapeutic effect of moxibustion on sarcomas from mesenchymal tissues, which have a low response rate to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. METHODS: S180 sarcoma cell line was inoculated in C57BL/6 mice to form transplanted tumor. Moxibustion therapy was directly applied at the transplanted tumor sites, at a distance of 3.0 cm, 10 min per session, till skin temperature reached 45 °C, once a day, for 14 consecutive days of intervention. After the mice were killed, serum was collected and used to detect concentrations of interleukin-10 (IL-10), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), IL-4 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) by Luminex liquid suspension chip. The numbers of Treg RESULTS: Weight of S180 transplanted tumor in the control group was (2.03 ± 0.54) g, and that in the moxibustion group was (1.27 ± 0.29) g, which was statistically different (P = 0.023). The mean value of Foxp3 CONCLUSION Moxibustion may have therapeutic effects on sarcomas by reducing the number of Treg cells in the blood and controlling the infiltration of Treg cells in the TME.

The quality of traditional Chinese medicine tablets is correlated with clinical efficacy and drug safety, and plays a great role in promoting the development of traditional Chinese medicine. However, the existing traditional artificial identification and modern instrument detection in terms of accuracy and timeliness have both advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, how to quickly and accurately identify the quality of traditional Chinese medicine tablets has become a high-profile issue. The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility of the application of electronic eye technology in the study of rapid identification of traditional Chinese medicine quality. A total of 80 batches of samples were collected and tested by Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus for traditional empirical identification(M_1) and modern pharmacopeia(M_2). The optical data was collected from electronic eyes, and the chemical metrology was used to establish suitable discrimination models(M_3). Four authenticity and commodity specification models, namely identification analysis(DA), minimum bidirectional support vector machine(LS-SVM), partial minimum two-multiplier analysis(PLS-DA), main component analysis identification analysis(PCA-DA), were established, respectively. The accuracies of the authenticity identification models were 82.5%, 90.0%, 96.2% and 93.8%, while the accuracies of the commodity specification identification models were 89.3%, 96.0%, 90.7% and 97.3%, respectively. The models were well judged, the authenticity identification was based on the final identification model of PLS-DA, and the commodity specification was based on the final identification model of PCA-DA. There was no significant difference between its accuracy and M_1, and the time of determination was much shorter than M_2(P<0.01). Therefore, electronic-eye technology could be used for the rapid identification of the quality of Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Fritillaria ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Plant Roots ; Technology

Objective To estimate the dose-response relationship between sedentary behavior with mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 17786 type 2 diabetic patients were recruited as participants, who were included in National Basic Public Health Service in Changshu County of Suzhou City, Qinghe District and Huai'an District in Huai'an City of Jiangsu Province. Cox proportional hazards regression model and restricted cubic spline model were employed to estimate the dose-response relationship between sedentary behavior with all-cause and cause specific mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. Results Among 78114.34 person-years of the fo1low-up, the median of follow-up time was 4 years, and 1285 deaths occurred during that period. Compared to patients with sedentary behavior≤2 h/d, the multivariate adjusted hazard ratios of all-cause death associated with sedentary behavior levels of 3-4 h/d, 5-6 h/d, and≥7 h/d were 1.05(95％CI 0.92-1.20), 1.20(95％CI 1.03-1.42), and 1.39 (95％CI 1.16-1.65), respectively. Eevry increase of 1 h/d in sedentary behavior was associated with an increased hazard of death from cardiovascular disease(CVD) of 4％(HR=1.04, 95％CI 1.01-1.07) and from other causes of 6％( HR=1.06, 95％CI 1.03-1.09) . However, no significant association between sedentary behavior and malignant tumor death was found. The multivariable restrictive cubic spline regression indicated that the linear dose-response relationships were found between sedentary time with the all-cause, CVD cause, and other cause of mortality ( Non-linear test, P>0.05) . Conclusion Longer sedentary behavior could increase the risk of mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is considered an immune privileged system as it is separated from the periphery by the blood brain barrier (BBB). Yet, immune functions have been postulated to heavily influence the functional state of the CNS, especially after injury or during neurodegeneration. There is controversy regarding whether adaptive immune responses are beneficial or detrimental to CNS injury repair. In this study, we utilized immunocompromised SCID mice and subjected them to spinal cord injury (SCI). We analyzed motor function, electrophysiology, histochemistry, and performed unbiased RNA-sequencing. SCID mice displayed improved CNS functional recovery compared to WT mice after SCI. Weighted gene-coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) of spinal cord transcriptomes revealed that SCID mice had reduced expression of immune function-related genes and heightened expression of neural transmission-related genes after SCI, which was confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis and was consistent with better functional recovery. Transcriptomic analyses also indicated heightened expression of neurotransmission-related genes before injury in SCID mice, suggesting that a steady state of immune-deficiency potentially led to CNS hyper-connectivity. Consequently, SCID mice without injury demonstrated worse performance in Morris water maze test. Taken together, not only reduced inflammation after injury but also dampened steady-state immune function without injury heightened the neurotransmission program, resulting in better or worse behavioral outcomes respectively. This study revealed the intricate relationship between immune and nervous systems, raising the possibility for therapeutic manipulation of neural function via immune modulation.