In recent years, gut microbiota has been increasingly recognized as a key player in ethanol metabolism and the development of related diseases. On one hand, ethanol intake directly affects the gut, leading to significant alterations in microbial diversity and composition. On the other hand, gut microbiota influences ethanol-induced damage to various organs, especially the liver, through multiple metabolic byproducts (such as short-chain fatty acids like butyrate, propionate, and acetate), modulation of immune responses, alteration of intestinal barrier function, and regulation of ethanol-metabolizing enzymes. Given the close association between gut microbiota and ethanol metabolism, the gut microbiome presents a promising therapeutic target for alcohol-related liver diseases. This review summarizes recent advances in understanding how gut microbiota affects ethanol metabolism, aiming to elucidate its role in the onset and progression of ethanol-related diseases and to provide a theoretical basis and novel targets for microbiota-based interventions.
Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology* ; Ethanol/metabolism* ; Humans ; Fatty Acids, Volatile/metabolism* ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic/metabolism* ; Animals ; Alcohol Drinking/metabolism*

Objective To investigate the changes in the prevalence of Babesia microti infections, spleen morphology and proportions of splenic immune cells in BALB/c mice following intravenous and intraperitoneal injections, so as to provide insights into unraveling the immune regulatory mechanisms of Babesia infections. Methods Laboratory - maintained B. microti strains were prepared into whole blood samples with 10% prevalence of B. microti infection. A total of 75 BALB/c mice were randomly divided into three groups, including the normal control group, intravenous injection group, and intraperitoneal injection group, of 25 mice in each group. Mice in the intravenous and intraperitoneal injection groups were administered 100 μL of whole blood samples with 10% prevalence of B. microti infection, with the day of injection recorded as d0, and animals in the normal control group were given no treatments. Blood was sampled from mice in each group via the tail tip on d7, d14, d21, d28 and d35, and prepared into thin-film blood smears, and B. microti infection was observed in red blood cells. Five mice were randomly sampled from each group and sacrificed on d7, d14, d21, d28 and d35, and spleen was collected for measurement of spleen size and weight. In addition, splenic cells were isolated, and the proportions of CD3e⁺ T cells, CD45R⁺ B cells, CD49b⁺ nature killer (NK) cells, and F4/80⁺ macrophages were detected in CD45⁺ lymphocytes using flow cytometry. Results The prevalence of B. microti infection in the intravenous (22.80%) and intraperitoneal injection groups (44.82%) peaked on d7 (χ² = 8.141, P < 0.01) and then rapidly decreased, and no parasites were observed on d35. The longest mouse spleen length [(32.91 ± 2.20) mm] and width [(9.82 ± 0.43) mm], and the greatest weight [(0.78 ± 0.10) g] were found on d14 in the intravenous injection group, and the longest spleen length [(32.42 ± 3.21) mm] and width [(10.25 ± 0.73) mm], and the greatest weight [(0.73 ± 0.09) g] were seen in the intra-peritoneal injection group on d21, d7 and d14, respectively. There were significant differences among the intravenous injection group, intraperitoneal injection group and the normal control group in terms of spleen length (F = 10.310, P < 0.05), width (F = 9.824, P < 0.05), and weight (F = 10.672, P < 0.05) on d21, and the mouse spleen length, width and weight were all significantly greater in the intraperitoneal injection group than in the intravenous injection group (allP values < 0.05). The proportions of splenic CD3e⁺ T cells [(60.60 ± 6.20)% and (39.68 ± 7.62)%], CD45R⁺ B cells [(43.32 ± 2.08)% and (49.53 ± 4.90)%], CD49b⁺ NK cells [(6.88 ± 1.34)% and (7.71 ± 1.59)%], and F4/80⁺ macrophages [(2.21 ± 0.29)% and (3.80 ± 0.35)%] peaked on d14, d21, d21 and d14 in the intravenous and intraperitoneal injection groups, respectively. There were significant differences in the proportions of CD3e⁺ T cells (F = 16.730, P < 0.05) and F4/80⁺ macrophages (F = 15.941, P < 0.05) among the intravenous injection group, intraperitoneal injection group and normal control group on d14, and a higher proportion of CD3e⁺ T cells and a lower proportion of F4/80⁺ macrophages were detected in the intravenous injection group than in the intraperitoneal injection group (both P values < 0.01). There were significant differences among the intravenous injection group, intraperitoneal injection group and normal control group on d21 in terms of proportions of splenic CD3e⁺ T cells (F = 9.252, P < 0.05), CD45R⁺ B cells (F = 14.349, P < 0.05), CD49b⁺ NK cells (F = 13.436,P < 0.05), and F4/80⁺ macrophages (F = 8.180, P < 0.05), and a higher proportion of CD3e⁺ T cells and lower proportions of CD45R⁺ B cells and F4/80⁺ macrophages were detected in the intravenous injection group than in the intraperitoneal injection group (all P values < 0.01). In addition, there was a significant difference in the proportion of CD3e⁺ T cells among the intravenous injection group, intraperitoneal injection group and normal control group on d28 (F = 9.772,P < 0.05), and a lower proportion of CD3e⁺ T cells was found in the intravenous injection group than in the intraperitoneal injection group (P < 0.01). Conclusions Both intraperitoneal and intravenous routes are effective to induce B. microti infections in BALB/c mice, and the prevalence of B. microti infections is higher in BALB/c mice through the intraperitoneal route than through the intravenous route. Intraperitoneal and intravenous injections with B. microti cause diverse spleen morphologies and proportions of splenic immune cells in mice, indicating routes of B. microti infections cause different impacts on immune response mechanisms in mice.

Common rheumatic musculoskeletal(MSK)diseases in children include juvenile idiopathic arthritis,juvenile dermatomyositis and chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis/chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis,with clinical manifestations and laboratory findings lack specificity.Imaging plays an important role in diagnosing and monitoring treatment efficacy of related diseases.Traditional localized imaging is difficult to comprehensively assess the site and extent of lesions.Whole-body MRI,as a noninvasive,radiation-free imaging technique capable of displaying entire body through one scanning,has significant advantages,especially in pediatric patients,yet the requirement for high-end equipment,the lack of standardized scanning protocols,and the need of sedation in young children,limit the application of whole-body MRI.It is of practical clinical urgency to raise clinical awareness of the advantages of whole-body MRI application and to propose expert consensus and guidelines for whole-body MRI in children through multi-neutral cooperation.

Rice is the world's largest food crop, and its yield and quality are directly related to food security and human health. Grain size, as one of the important factors determining the rice yield, has been widely concerned by breeders and researchers for a long time. To decipher the regulatory mechanism of rice grain size, we obtained a multi-tiller, dwarf, and small-grain mutant htd1 by ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) mutation from the Japonica rice cultivar 'Zhonghua 11' ('ZH11'). Genetic analysis indicated that the phenotype of htd1 was controlled by a single recessive gene. Using the mutation site map (Mutmap) method, we identified the candidate gene OsHTD1, which encoded a carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase involved in the biosynthesis of strigolactone (SL). The SL content in htd1 was significantly lower than that in 'ZH11'. Cytological analysis showed that the grain size of the mutant decreased due to the reductions in the length and width of glume cells. The function of htd1 was further verified by the CRISPR/cas9 gene editing technology. The plants with the gene knockout exhibited similar grain size to the mutant. In addition, gene expression analysis showed that the expression levels of multiple grain size-related genes in the mutant changed significantly, suggesting that HTD1 may interact with other genes regulating grain size. This study provides a new theoretical basis for research on the regulatory mechanism of rice grain size and potential genetic resources for breeding the rice cultivars with high yields.
Oryza/growth & development* ; Mutation ; Edible Grain/growth & development* ; Alleles ; Plant Proteins/genetics* ; Dioxygenases/genetics* ; Lactones/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Genes, Plant ; Gene Editing ; CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Phenotype

Collapsin response mediator proteins(CRMPs),also known as dihydropyrimidine-like proteins,contain five isoforms(CRMP1,CRMP2,CRMP3,CRMP4,CRMP5).In central nervous system,CRMPs are mainly in-volved in a variety of physiological processes such as neuronal differentiation and migration,synaptic plasticity,neurite growth and development and guiding extension.Recent studies have found that inhibiting or reducing the phosphorylation of CRMPs can affect the survival and axonal regeneration of retinal ganglion cells(RGCs)after op-tic nerve injury,which may provide new ideas for the treatment of optic nerve injury in the future.

Common rheumatic musculoskeletal(MSK)diseases in children include juvenile idiopathic arthritis,juvenile dermatomyositis and chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis/chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis,with clinical manifestations and laboratory findings lack specificity.Imaging plays an important role in diagnosing and monitoring treatment efficacy of related diseases.Traditional localized imaging is difficult to comprehensively assess the site and extent of lesions.Whole-body MRI,as a noninvasive,radiation-free imaging technique capable of displaying entire body through one scanning,has significant advantages,especially in pediatric patients,yet the requirement for high-end equipment,the lack of standardized scanning protocols,and the need of sedation in young children,limit the application of whole-body MRI.It is of practical clinical urgency to raise clinical awareness of the advantages of whole-body MRI application and to propose expert consensus and guidelines for whole-body MRI in children through multi-neutral cooperation.

Objective To explore the clinical features,treatment and prognosis of glioblastomas(GBM)in adults.Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed on 176 adult GBM patients admitted to our department from January 2015 to December 2021.Chi-square test was used to investigate the clinical differences between isocitrate dehydrogenase(IDH)mutant and wild-type GBM.Kaplan-Meier and Log-Rank tests were employed to plot survival curve and compute the survival analysis.Multivariate Cox regression model was applied to identify the independent prognostic factors.Results IDH wild-type GBM account for 89.2％and had significantly differences from the IDH-mutant GBM in terms of age of onset,Karnofsky(KPS)score at admission,symptoms of neurological deficit,and methylation status of O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase(MGMT)promoter(P＜0.05).For the IDH wild-type GBM patients receiving conventional therapy,univariate Cox hazard analysis showed gross total resection,methylation of MGMT promoter,initiation of radiation within the 5th to 6th week after surgery,and adjuvant temozolomide(TMZ)chemotherapy ≥6 cycles were favorable prognostic factors for overall survival(OS);GBMs in the left hemisphere,involvement of single lobe,methylation of MGMT promoter,and initiation of radiation within the 5th to 6th week after surgery were favorable prognostic factors for progression free survival(PFS)(all P＜0.05).Moreover,multivariate Cox hazard regression analysis indicated that methylation of MGMT promoter,and initiation of radiation within the 5th to 6th week after surgery,and adjuvant TMZ chemotherapy ≥6 cycles were independent protective factors for OS,and GBMs in the left hemisphere,involvement of single lobe and methylation of MGMT promoter were independent protective factors for PFS in the GBM patients(all P＜0.05).Conclusion The clinical and prognostic features are totally different between IDH mutant and wild-type GBM,and molecular detections are needed for the further pathological classification.Methylation of MGMT promoter is a primary marker of favorite prognosis for IDH wild-type GBM,and slightly delay in radiotherapy(the 5th to 6th week after surgery)can effectively improve the survival prognosis of IDH wild-type GBM.

Objective To analyze the effect of preoperative nutritional status on the intraoperative un-expected hypothermia in elderly patients with laparoscopic gastrointestinal tumor radical operation and its risk factors.Methods The clinical case data in 282 elderly patients with laparoscopic gastrointestinal tumor radical surgery in the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from February 2021 to December 2023 were analyzed retrospectively.The mini nutritional assessment short form(MNA-SF)was adopted to e-valuate the preoperative nutritional status of the patients.The intraoperative unexpected hypothermia occur-rence were statistically analyzed.The univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the in-fluencing factors.Results Among 282 patients,104 cases(36.88％)had unexpected hypothermia during op-eration.The incidence rate of intraoperative unexpected hypothermia in the patients with complicating malnu-trition or malnutritional risk was significantly higher than that in the patients with normal nutritional status(P＜0.05).The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the age ≥70 years old,body mass index(BMI)＜18.5 kg/m2,progressive weight loss appearance before surgery,preoperative MNA-SF score＜12 points,CO2 pneumoperitoneum time＞4 h and complicating hypoalbuminemia were the independent risk fac-tors for intraoperative unexpected hypothermia occurrence in the elderly patients with laparoscopic gastroin-testinal tumor radical operation(P＜0.05),while the use of heating device for initiatively maintaining tem-perature during surgery was the protective factor for avoiding intraoperative unexpected hypothermia occur-rence(P＜0.05).Conclusion The elderly patients with poor nutritional status undergoing laparoscopic gas-trointestinal tumor radical surgery are more likely to develop unexpected hypothermia.There are many influ-encing factors,so close attention should be paid to.

Objective To analyze the influencing factors of coronary artery lesions in patients with Ka-wasaki disease(KD)in Xinjiang.Methods A total of 1 500 KD patients who were treated in the First Affilia-ted Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from December 2020 to December 2022 were selected as the re-search objects.According to whether coronary artery disease occurred,they were divided into two groups.886 patients with coronary artery lesions were included in the experimental group,and 614 patients without coro-nary artery lesions were included in the control group.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of coronary artery lesions.Results The results of logistic regression anal-ysis showed that the duration of fever(＞10 d),high Gensini score,high level of N-terminal pro-brain natri-uretic peptide(NT-proBNP),C-reactive protein(CRP),total cholesterol(TC),low-density lipoprotein cho-lesterol(LDL-C)and triglycerides(TG)may be risk factors for coronary artery lesions(P＜0.05).Conclusion In clinical diagnosis and treatment,targeted intervention should be given as early as possible to prevent the occurrence of coronary artery lesions.

Objective:Based on the questionnaire, to analyze the current status of children′s bone age assessment in China, especially the application of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted bone age assessment system in the clinic.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. The questionnaire was adapted by ourselves through the literature method and expert interview method, and the whole volume included 22 questions, which were released in the form of WeChat applet questionnaire star to the physician groups of several associations and entrusted to the radiology and paediatricians with senior titles. The results of the different types of questions were summarised and analyzed, and the chi-square test was used to compare the count data.Results:A total of 450 valid questionnaires were collected from 162 medical institutions in 26 provinces and cities and autonomous regions, of which 232 (51.6%) were from 87 (53.7%) tertiary hospitals and 218 (48.4%) from 75 (46.3%) secondary hospitals. Of the respondents, 115 (25.6%) were senior, 137 (30.4%) middle and 198 (44.0%) junior. Child bone age measurement was performed at 75.9% (66/87) of tertiary care organizations and 26.7% (20/75) of secondary care organizations, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=39.10, P<0.001). Left wrist radiographs were predominantly used for bone age assessment (76.0%, 123/162), with 72.8% (118/162) of sites using the ATLAS method of assessment and 17.9% (29/162) using the scoring method. A total of 98.4% (443/450) of respondents agreed that AI technology should be used to assist in bone age assessment, but only 9.3% (15/162) of healthcare organizations used AI-assisted technology. Conclusion:At present, bone age assessment is widely used in medical institutions, but there are problems with non-standardized examination methods, inconsistent assessment standards, and imprecise assessment results. Expectations for AI technology-assisted diagnosis exist among a wide range of physicians, but there are fewer users.