Objective To analyze the correlation of inflammatory indicators of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR),monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio(MLR),and systemic immune-inflammation index(SII)with traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome types and Chinese version of Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System(C-TIRADS)classification and properties of nodules in the patients with thyroid nodules(TN),thus to provide evidence for guiding TCM syndrome differentiation and treatment,and for assessing C-TIRADS classification and properties of the nodules in patients with TN.Methods A retrospective analysis was carried out in 140 inpatients who were diagnosed as TN and had underwent thyroidectomy during the period of January 2021 to January 2024 in the Department of General Surgery of Guangzhou Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine(Guangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional and West Medicine).The patients were allocated to various group with reference to TCM syndrome types,C-TIRADS classification,and the properties of TN.The correlation of each clinical indicator with TCM syndrome types and C-TIRADS classification and properties of TN was analyzed.The Spearman correlation coefficient was employed for evaluating the correlation of clinical indicators with the C-TIRADS classification and properties of TN,receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)was used to analyze the predictive value of NLR,MLR,PLR,and SII for the properties of nodules in patients with TN,and the Youden's Index was used to determine the cutoff value for optimal prediction.Results(1)According to the criteria of TCM syndrome differentiation,72 cases were differentiated as qi stagnation and phlegm obstruction syndrome,65 cases as phlegm accumulation and blood stasis syndrome,and 3 cases as heart-liver yin deficiency syndrome.For the number of cases of heart-liver yin deficiency syndrome was too small,only the first two syndromes were included for the analysis.(2)The levels of free T3(FT3)and free T4(FT4)in the patients of qi stagnation and phlegm obstruction syndrome were higher,and the levels of anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody(A-TPO),anti-thyroglobulin antibody(A-TG),neutrophil(NEU),NLR,and SII were lower than those in the patients of phlegm accumulation and blood stasis syndrome,the differences being all statistically significant(P<0.05 or P<0.01).(3)The levels of NLR,PLR,and SII in the patients with C-TIRADS3 classification were lower than those in the patients with C-TIRADS4 classification,the differences being all statistically significant(P<0.05 or P<0.01);no statistically significant difference of MLR was presented between the patients with C-TIRADS3 classification and those with C-TIRADS4 classification(P>0.05).(4)The levels of NLR,PLR,MLR,and SII in patients with benign nodules were lower than those in patients with malignant nodules,the differences being statistically significant(P<0.05 or P<0.01).(5)The Spearman correlation analysis showed that NLR,PLR,and SII were positively correlated with the C-TIRADS classification of the nodules,and NLR,PLR,MLR,and SII were positively correlated with the properties of the nodules,the differences being all statistically significant(P<0.05 or P<0.01).(6)The levels of NLR,MLR,PLR,and SII in patients with high-risk TN exerted a certain predictive value for the properties of the nodules,and their area under the curve(AUC)was 0.645,0.641,0.604,and 0.716,respectively,the differences being statistically significant(P<0.05 or P<0.01).For the prediction of nodule properties by NLR,MLR,PLR,and SII levels in patients with high-risk TN,their cutoff values and the corresponding sensitivities and specificities were 2.261(0.551,0.791),138.108(0.735,0.527),5.132(0.714,0.495),493.114(0.776,0.615),respectively;and their Youden's Index was 0.342,0.262,0.209,0.391,respectively.Conclusion The results indicated that in patients with TN,the FT3 and FT4 levels are positively correlated with the qi stagnation and phlegm obstruction syndrome;the values of A-TPO,A-TG,NEU,NLR,and SII are positively correlated with the phlegm accumulation and blood stasis syndrome;NLR,PLR and SII values are positively correlated with C-TIRADS classification;NLR,PLR,PLR,SII values are positively correlated with malignant TN.NLR,MLR,PLR,SII values exert high efficiency for the prediction of the properties of nodules in patients with TN.

Objective To observe the changes of laboratory blood indexes in patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy(ICP),and analyze the value of blood inflammation indexes and liver function indexes in the diagnosis of ICP and the prediction of delivery mode.Methods A total of 251 patients diagnosed with ICP in this hospital from January 2021 to December 2022 were selected as the ICP group,and another 200 healthy pregnant women were selected as the control group.The patients with ICP were further divided into the severe ICP group(n=47)and the mild ICP group(n=204),the vaginal delivery group(n=113)and the cesarean section group(n=138)according to the severity of ICP and delivery mode.Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of parameters between groups,and Spearman method was used for correlation analy-sis.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were used to evaluate the efficacy of laboratory indicators in diagnosing ICP and predicting delivery mode.Results Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio(NLR)[6.01(4.45,8.37)vs.3.36(4.12,3.51)]and aspartate transaminase(AST)level[20.00(16.00,33.00)U/L vs.15.00(13.00,18.00)U/L]in the ICP group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P＜0.05),and NLR in the severe ICP group was significantly higher than that in the mild ICP group[4.93(3.87,7.35)vs.4.14(3.12,5.17),P＜0.05].Correlation analysis showed that NLR was positively correlated with AST level(r=0.279,P＜0.001)and ICP severity(r=0.139,P=0.028)in patients with ICP.The area under ROC curve(AUC)of NLR combined with AST for ICP diagnosis was 0.882(95％CI:0.851-0.913).In ad-dition,cholinesterase(CHE)[6 020.00(5 499.50,6 703.50)U/L vs.5 341.50(4 651.75,6 259.25)U/L]and prealbumin(PA)[199.00(177.71,225.20)mg/Lvs.169.17(139.18,204.40)mg/L]levels in the va-ginal delivery group were significantly higher than those in the cesarean section group(P＜0.05),and the AUC of CHE combined with PA for predicting vaginal delivery in ICP patients was 0.727(95％CI:0.664-0.789).Conclusion NLR and AST have potential value in the diagnosis of ICP,and CHE and PA have poten-tial value in predicting delivery mode of ICP patients.

Bivalves are species-rich mollusks with prominent protective roles in coastal ecosystems.Across these ancient lineages,colony-founding larvae anchor themselves either by byssus produc-tion or by cemented attachment.The latter mode of sessile life is strongly molded by left-right shell asymmetry during larval development of Ostreoida oysters such as Crassostrea hongkongensis.Here,we sequenced the genome of C.hongkongensis in high resolution and compared it to reference bivalve genomes to unveil genomic determinants driving cemented attachment and shell asymmetry.Importantly,loss of the homeobox gene Antennapedia(Antp)and broad expansion of lineage-specific extracellular gene families are implicated in a shift from byssal to cemented attachment in bivalves.Comparative transcriptomic analysis shows a conspicuous divergence between left-right asymmetrical C.hongkongensis and symmetrical Pinctada fucata in their expression profiles.Especially,a couple of orthologous transcription factor genes and lineage-specific shell-related gene families including that encoding tyrosinases are elevated,and may cooperatively govern asymmet-rical shell formation in Ostreoida oysters.

Objective To study the efficiency changes of private hospitals in Shenzhen and explore influencing factors for the utilization efficiency of health resources. Methods DEA-Tobit two-stage model was used to analyze the operating efficiency and influencing factors of Shenzhen′s private hospitals. Results The range of technical efficiency varied between 0.690 to 0.742 in six years, and the index of total factor production was consistent with the technical change index. The input and output indicators showed non-linear growth. The internal and external factors of sample hospitals jointly influence the efficiency of operation. Conclusions The two-stage method effectively reveals the dynamic efficiency change and the influencing factors of these hospitals in Shenzhen. The technical efficiency of sample hospitals fluctuates in waves in six years,with investment redundancy and insufficient output found. Sample hospitals need to strengthen their innovative application of diagnostic and therapeutic technology,and to strengthen their internal management and improve operating efficiency.

Targeted point mutagenesis through homologous recombination has been widely used in genetic studies and holds considerable promise for repairing disease-causing mutations in patients. However, problems such as mosaicism and low mutagenesis efficiency continue to pose challenges to clinical application of such approaches. Recently, a base editor (BE) system built on cytidine (C) deaminase and CRISPR/Cas9 technology was developed as an alternative method for targeted point mutagenesis in plant, yeast, and human cells. Base editors convert C in the deamination window to thymidine (T) efficiently, however, it remains unclear whether targeted base editing in mouse embryos is feasible. In this report, we generated a modified high-fidelity version of base editor 2 (HF2-BE2), and investigated its base editing efficacy in mouse embryos. We found that HF2-BE2 could convert C to T efficiently, with up to 100% biallelic mutation efficiency in mouse embryos. Unlike BE3, HF2-BE2 could convert C to T on both the target and non-target strand, expanding the editing scope of base editors. Surprisingly, we found HF2-BE2 could also deaminate C that was proximal to the gRNA-binding region. Taken together, our work demonstrates the feasibility of generating point mutations in mouse by base editing, and underscores the need to carefully optimize base editing systems in order to eliminate proximal-site deamination.
APOBEC-1 Deaminase ; genetics ; metabolism ; Animals ; Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Base Sequence ; CRISPR-Associated Protein 9 ; CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Cytidine ; genetics ; metabolism ; Embryo Transfer ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Endonucleases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Editing ; methods ; HEK293 Cells ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Microinjections ; Plasmids ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Point Mutation ; RNA, Guide ; genetics ; metabolism ; Thymidine ; genetics ; metabolism ; Zygote ; growth & development ; metabolism ; transplantation