ObjectiveTo find out whether there is any difference in the monitoring results of mosq-ovitraps placed in different orientations in multi-storey residential areas, so as to provide a scientific basis for routine and emergency monitoring of Aedes albopictus with mosq-ovitraps in residential areas. MethodsFrom July 6th to October 26th 2023, one mosquito ovitrap was set up in each of the 4 orientations of east, south, west and north around the buildings in a multi-storey residential area in Jinhui Town, Fengxian District, Shanghai. Data was collected and recorded 72 hours after placement. The chi-square test was used to compare the mosquito ovitrap indices (MOIs) of two independent samples, and the Kruskal⁃Wallis H test was used to compare the MOIs of multiple independent samples. ResultsAfter 16 weeks of surveillance, 997 mosquito ovitraps were recovered, of which 211 were positive, with the mosquito ovitrap index (MOI) of 21.16% and the Aedes albopictus density index of 1.03 mosquitoes·ovitrap^-1. The MOIs were higher in September (24.22%) and October (23.96%), and the MOIs in the west, south and north within the two months were all above 20.00%. From July to October, the MOIs in the east, west, south and north were 20.70%, 22.20%, 25.50% and 16.20%, respectively, and the difference in MOIs among the 4 orientations was not statistically significant (χ²=6.647, P=0.084). Stratified analysis by month showed that in August, the south side of the multi-storey residential areas had the highest MOI (31.30%), the north side had the lowest MOI (1.30%), and there was a statistically significant difference in MOI in the east, west, south and north (χ²=25.986, P<0.001). In October, the MOI in the west was the highest (33.30%) and the MOI in the east was the lowest (6.30%), the difference in MOIs of the 4 orientations was statistically significant (χ²=12.007, P=0.007). The MOIs in the south side of the building in the outskirts of the residential area from the 1st week in July to the 4th week in October was lower (19.20%) than that in the south side of the inner building (31.70%), and the difference in MOI was statistically significant (χ²=5.118, P=0.024). ConclusionThe study of MOI in different orientations in a multi-storey residential area is a preliminary exploration based on field work, and the results show that there is a difference in MOIs in different orientations during the peak breeding period of mosquitoes. Further indicators such as temperature, humidity and wind speed in different orientations can be collected to explore the influencing factors of MOIs.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of wrist-ankle acupuncture in the treatment of functional frequent premature ventricular contractions (PVCs). METHODS: A total of 64 patients with functional frequent PVCs were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 32 cases in each group. The observation group was treated with wrist-ankle acupuncture at bilateral upper 1 and upper 2 on the wrist. The control group received sham acupuncture at the same points as the observation group. Both groups were treated once every day from Monday to Friday, with the needles retained for 60 min each time, for a total of 4 weeks. The TCM syndrome score, the 24-hour PVC count, and MOS 36-item short form health survey (SF-36) score were compared between the two groups before and after treatment, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated after treatment. RESULTS: After treatment, the TCM syndrome scores and the 24-hour PVC counts in both groups were reduced compared with those before treatment (P<0.01), and the above indexes in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.01). After treatment，scores of all SF-36 items in the observation group were increased compared with those before treatment (P<0.01); in the control group, the scores of general health (GH), social function (SF) and role-emotional (RE) were increased compared with those before treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, scores of all SF-36 items in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.01). The total effective rate in the observation group was 90.6% (29/32), which was higher than 46.9% (15/32) in the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION Wrist-ankle acupuncture has a significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of functional frequent PVCs. It can effectively improve symptoms such as chest tightness and palpitations, reduce 24-hour PVC count, and improve patients' quality of life.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Ventricular Premature Complexes/physiopathology* ; Ankle/physiopathology* ; Wrist/physiopathology* ; Acupuncture Points ; Treatment Outcome ; Aged ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: To detect prfA and hly toxin genes of Listeria monocytogenes using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and colloidal gold technology. METHODS: L. monocytogenes DNA was extracted by boiling method. With prfA and hly of L. monocytogenes as the target genes, the 5' ends of upstream and downstream primers of prfA gene were labeled with 6-FAM and biotin, and the 5' ends of upstream and downstream primers of hly gene were labeled with digoxin and biotin, respectively, to establish the toxin gene detection method. Using cloning transformation, sequencing analysis, cloning of positive control products, the detection kid was developed and its specificity, sensitivity, reproducibility and stability were tested, followed by verification with sample testing. RESULTS: The concentration of L. monocytogenes DNA extracted by boiling method was 148.81±0.97 ng/μL, and the A₂₆₀/A₂₈₀ ratio ranged from 1.8 to 2.0. The PCR products showed a 100% homology with the gene sequences in GenBank database after cloning, transformation and sequencing. The colloidal gold strip yielded positive results only for L. monocytogenes samples without cross-reactions with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli or Bacillus cereus, and its minimum detection limit was 10^-2 ng/μL, demonstrating a 10-fold greater sensitivity of the test than agarose gel electrophoresis. The test also showed good reproducibility of the results when performed by different operators with good stability of the test strips after storage for 6 to 12 months. The test results showed that this kit could accurately and quickly detect L.monocytogenes in the test samples. CONCLUSIONS The detection kit developed in this study can simultaneously detect prfA and hly toxin genes of L. monocytogenes with good specificity, sensitivity, reproducibility and stability for use in food safety inspection.
Listeria monocytogenes/isolation & purification* ; Gold Colloid ; Bacterial Toxins/genetics* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods* ; Hemolysin Proteins/genetics* ; Bacterial Proteins/genetics* ; DNA, Bacterial/genetics* ; Food Microbiology ; Heat-Shock Proteins

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by the host's dysregulated response to infection, with a complex pathogenesis and high mortality rate. Currently, there are no clear and effective treatment drugs available. Epigenetic modification serves as a major mechanism regulating gene expression under pathological and physiological conditions, and it has been shown to play a critical role in regulating the occurrence and development of sepsis. Histone acetylation modification, as a sophisticated epigenetic modification mechanism, plays a crucial regulatory role in many aspects of life. It can jointly regulate the acetylation status of histones through histone acetyltransferase (HAT) and histone deacetylase (HDAC), thereby changing DNA expression and dynamically regulating sepsis related gene expression at the epigenetic level. Previous studies have shown that histone acetylation can participate in the progression of sepsis by regulating inflammatory mediators, nuclear factor-ΚB (NF-ΚB) signaling pathway, autophagy, efferocytosis, ferroptosis, pyroptosis. These mechanisms are promising targets for novel sepsis treatments. In addition, with the deepening of research, it has been found that various selective/non selective histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACI) can regulate histone acetylation status by acting on different HDAC targets, which has been shown to alleviate organ damage caused by sepsis and improve prognosis in septic animal models. This article further summarizes the role and potential applications of histone acetylation in sepsis, providing new ideas for the treatment of sepsis.
Sepsis/metabolism* ; Acetylation ; Humans ; Histones/metabolism* ; Histone Acetyltransferases/metabolism* ; Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Histone Deacetylases/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Animals

ObjectivesTo summarize the clinical and pathological features of patients with congenital liver fibrosis （CHF）， and to investigate the differences in clinical and pathological features between patients in different age groups. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinicopathological data of 26 patients with pathologically confirmed CHF in China-Japan Friendship Hospital from August 2005 to June 2023， and the patients were stratified by age to investigate the clinical and pathological features of patients in different age groups. ResultsAmong the 26 patients， there were 12 male patients and 14 female patients， with an age of onset of 4 — 61 years. There were 19 patients with portal hypertension type （73.08%）， 2 patients with cholangitis type （7.69%）， 4 patients with mixed type （15.38%）， and 1 patient with occult type （3.85%）. Of all 26 patients， 4 had unknown clinical symptoms， and among the 22 patients with clear clinical symptoms， 10 （45.45%） attended the hospital due to upper gastrointestinal bleeding caused by portal hypertension. Pathological manifestations included roughly normal liver parenchyma separated by fibrous septa in the portal area， with the presence of abnormal reactive bile duct hyperplasia. Denser fibrous septa and a lack of portal veins with the corresponding caliber were observed in 4 pediatric patients with disease onset before the age of 10 years， with a significant reduction or even disappearance of compensatory thin-walled blood vessels. ConclusionPortal hypertension-type CHF is the most common type in clinical practice. Patients with an early age of onset have certain histopathological features of the liver， with the presence of serious complications associated with portal hypertension. Therefore， liver biopsy should be performed for patients suspected of CHF in clinical practice， and genetic testing should be performed when necessary. Early identification and diagnosis are of great importance for improving the prognosis of patients.

Fibroblasts are stromal cells widely distributed in tissues and organs throughout the body.Fibroblasts are involved in the synthesis and remodelling of the extracellular matrix.Fibroblasts participate in physiopathological processes such as tissue damage repair,inflammatory responses and immune regulation.Large numbers of activated fibroblasts have been found in fibrosis,autoimmune diseases and tumor lesions.Activated fibroblasts participate in tissue fibrosis and influence the tumor microenvi-ronment mainly by secreting collagen and fibronectin.They also secrete a variety of inflammatory and growth factors that play an immunomodulatory role in autoimmunity and tumors.In recent years,it has been found that modulating fibroblast activation can effectively delay the development of these diseases,and that targeting fibroblast activation biomarkers can assess the development and treatment of these diseases.Therefore,the use of fibroblast-targeted drugs and therapeutic tools is expected to achieve new breakthroughs in the clinical management of fibrosis,autoimmune diseases and tumors.

Objective:To observe the therapeutic effect of intraocular lens (IOL) protected phacoemulsification (PHACO) in patients with hard nucleus cataract.Methods:A randomized controlled clinical study was conducted.A total of consecutive 120 patients (120 eyes) with hard nucleus cataract of Emery grade Ⅳ or Ⅴ were enrolled from January 2019 to May 2022.The patients were randomly divided into PHACO group receiving routine PHACO, IOL protected PHACO group receiving PHACO under IOL protection, and extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) group receiving ECCE, with 40 cases (40 eyes) in each group.Finally, 99 patients completed the follow-up, including 30 cases (30 eyes) in PHACO group, 35 cases (35 eyes) in IOL protected PHACO group, and 34 cases (34 eyes) in ECCE group.The total operation time, intraoperative PHACO time and cumulative energy release of each patient were recorded.The corneal endothelial cell density (ECD), coefficient of variation in endothelial cell area (CV), hexagonal endothelial cell ratio (6A), corneal astigmatism and the number of eyes with different grades of uncorrected visual acuity were measured and compared after 3-month follow-up.The intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Yanbian University Hospital (NO.2023002).Patients were informed of study content and purpose and signed a consent form before treatment.Results:There was no significant difference in ultrasonic energy and time between PHACO group and IOL protected PHACO group ( P=0.691, 0.982).The total operation time was (38.81±2.73) and (36.45±3.45) minutes in PHACO group and IOL protected PHACO group, significantly shorter than (69.60±4.35) minutes in ECCE group (both at P<0.001).There was no significant difference in age, sex, lens nucleus hardness and other baseline data among the three groups before operation (all at P>0.05).Three months after operation, the number of patients with higher uncorrected visual acuity in PHACO group and IOL protected PHACO group was larger than that in ECCE group ( P=0.006, 0.007).The ECD and 6A in IOL protected PHACO group were (2 155.57±177.88)/mm 2 and (41.31±5.18)%, respectively, which were significantly higher than (1 912.64±224.11)/mm 2 and (36.18±3.27)% in PHACO group, and the CV in IOL protected PHACO group was (50.34±5.90)%, which was lower than (55.67±3.30)% in PHACO group, showing statistically significant differences ( P=0.007, 0.003, 0.005).At 1 week and 3 months after the operation, the corneal astigmatism was significantly lower in IOL-protected PHACO group than in ECCE group, but higher than in PHACO group, and the difference were statistically significant (all at P<0.05). Conclusions:Compared with conventional PHACO, IOL-protected PHACO can effectively reduce the damage of corneal endothelium caused by ultrasonic energy, shorten the operation time and reduce postoperative inflammatory reaction compared with ECCE, and does not significantly increase postoperative corneal astigmatism.IOL-protected PHACO is an effective improved surgical method for patients with hard nucleus cataract.

Objective To identify the causative variants in 5 Chinese families with tuberous sclerosis complex(TSC)to provide genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis.Methods Genetic counseling and clinical diagnosis were performed in 8 patients from five unrelated TSC families by teleconsultation.With informed consent obtained from the participants,3 to 5 mL peripheral blood samples were collected from the probands and their family mem-bers for the extraction of genomic DNA.Candidate pathogenic variants were screened by panel sequencing(PS).The candidate pathogenic variants found in TSC1 and TSC2 by PS were validated by PCR-Sanger sequencing and bioinformatics analysis.Results All the pathogenic mutations were identified in the probands and their available family members.Causative variants in TSC1 or TSC2 were detected in all patients,including three reported variants and two novel variants.The two novel variants,TSC2:c.245G＞A and TSC2:c.235delG,which were predicted to cause the nonsense variant p.(Trp82?)and the frameshift variant p.(Val79Lysfs27?)respectively was believed to introduce premature stop codons.The analysis of family co-segregation and bioinformatics were identified as very positive factors for pathogenicity.Conclusions This result provides more evidences for the genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis in these families and expand the spectrum of TSC2 pathogenic variants.

Objective To explore the diagnosis and treatment of fourth branchial cleft deformity.Methods The clinical data of a patient with bilateral fourth branchial cleft deformity in the neck were summarized,and the literature was reviewed.Results The patient was a 17-year-old male who had a painless lump in his neck for 10 years.During specialized examination,a lump approximately 4.0 cm × 3.0 cm in size could be palpated subcutaneously on the right side of the neck,with clear boundaries,a regular shape,a soft texture,and a wave-like sensation without obvious tender-ness.A fistula with a size of approximately 0.5 cm × 0.5 cm could be observed on the left side of the neck,and yellow clear liquid could be seen flowing out of the fistula.The surrounding skin was locally red and swollen,and the surface temperature of the skin was elevated.Computed tomography examination demonstrated a circular cystic low-density shadow approximately 4.4 cm × 3.4 cm in size in the right supraclavicular and anterior cervical regions.A flocculent isodense image could be observed in the middle;moreover,nodular calcification could be observed at the edge,and the surrounding fat spaces were blurred.The enhanced scan showed mild enhancement of the cyst wall but no obvious en-hancement of the contents.On the left side,a circular nodular shadow with a diameter of approximately 1.4 cm could be seen,with enhanced scanning and circular enhancement.The surrounding skin was thickened,and the subcutaneous fat gap was blurred.Multiple small lymph nodes could be observed on both sides of the neck,with the larger nodes having a short diameter of approximately 0.8 cm.The size and morphology of the thyroid gland were not significantly abnormal,and there was no obvious abnormal density shadow inside of the gland.Upon admission,the diagnosis was a fourth gill fissure cyst in the right neck and a fourth gill fissure fistula in the left neck.Under general anesthesia and intravenous anesthesia,right branchial cleft cyst resection and left branchial cleft fistula resection were performed.Postoperative pathological examination demonstrated a left branchial cleft fistula and a right branchial cleft cyst.The wound healed by first intention,and there was no recurrence after 6 months of follow-up.According to the literature,fourth branchial cleft deformity is a congenital developmental abnormality of the branchial apparatus,the incidence of which accounts for only 1％of all branchial cleft deformities;moreover,it often occurs on the left side.The anatomical position is often located in the cervical root and supraclavicular region,thus demonstrating cysts or sinuses adjacent to the thyroid gland.The di-agnosis should be confirmed by anatomical location,imaging examination or laryngoscopy combined with postoperative pathological results and should be differentiated from cervical masses such as thyroglossal duct cysts and lymph node metastasis.The main treatment methods include surgical procedures and endoscopic cauterization of the internal fistula.The prognosis is generally good,and there is a risk of recurrence;however,cancer rarely occurs.Conclusion Deformi-ty of the fourth branchial fissure is very rare;thus,it should be identified early to avoid excessive and ineffective surgi-cal drainage,reduce potential complications during resection and completely remove the lesion to prevent recurrence.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of first-line anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs combined with linezolid in treatment of children with tuberculous meningitis (TBM).Methods:A retrospective cohort study design was performed . Eight-nine Children diagnosed as TBM during January 1 st 2016 and December 31 st 2023 in Department of Infectious Disease, Children′s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University were enrolled in the study. According to different treatment regimens, children were divided into a group of first-line anti-tuberculous drugs (isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, ethambutol (HRZE)) and a group of HRZE and linezolid combination (HRZEL). The efficacy and safety of the 2 regimens were compared and the relationship between linezolid drug concentration and adverse reactions were analyzed. Comparisons between groups were performed using χ2 test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results:The 89 children with TBM included 53 males and 36 females with an onset age of 4.6 (1.4, 9.6) years. There were 27 cases in the HZREL group and 62 cases in the HRZE group. Before treatment, positive rate of interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) in HRZEL group was lower than that in HRZE group (64% (16/25) vs.92% (55/60), χ2=9.82, P<0.05), but protein level of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was higher than that in HRZE group (1.2 (1.0, 2.0) vs.0.8 (0.4,1.4) g/L, Z=0.32, P<0.05). By the end of the intensive phase, there were no significant differences of rates of CSF improvement and etiology negativity between HRZEL group and HRZE group (both P>0.05).The 44 TBM children with high CSF protein (>1 g/L) included 25 males and 19 females with an onset age of 6.7 (3.0, 11.8) years. There were 21 cases in the HZREL group and 23 cases in the HRZE group accordingly. Before treatment, there were no significant differences of positive rate of IGRA test and CSF protein level between the 2 groups (62% (13/21) vs. 87% (20/23), 1.7 (1.1, 2.2) vs. 1.5 (1.2, 1.9) g/L, χ2=3.67, Z=0.23, both P>0.05). There were no significant differences in CSF indicators, etiology negativity or imaging remission between the two groups by the end of intensive phase (all P>0.05). Higher frequencies of granulocytopenia, gastrointestinal symptoms as well as withdrawal or change of drugs were found in HRZEL group when compared to those in HRZE group (44% (12/27) vs. 19% (12/62), 7% (2/27) vs. 0, 33% (9/27) vs. 3% (2/62), χ2=6.01, 4.70, 15.74, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The efficacy of HRZEL regimen is similar to conventional HRZE regimen in children with TBM, but with higher adverse effect. Prudentially evaluating the pros and cons of linezolid in the usage of drug-susceptible TB and carefully monitoring of linezolid associated adverse effects is suggested.