ObjectiveTo explore the current situation of forensic ethics practice and education by designing a questionnaire on forensic ethics， with a view to exploring the path of forensic ethics education construction. MethodsA total of 667 valid questionnaires were collected using the online survey method， basically covering various regions across the country and all sub-specialties of forensic medicine. Descriptive analysis was used to analyze the relevant data. ResultsMost practitioners had relevant ethical reflections in the process of forensic practice. 69.12% of the respondents indicated that they had studied the relevant rules， but approximately half stated that there were no corresponding ethical norms or standard operating manuals. The specific behaviors violating ethics in different units were diverse. 23.04% of the respondents reported that they had encountered unethical behaviors， but only 4.9% of them reported such violations. In terms of forensic ethics education， 87.75% of the respondents believed that there were issues with the current model of forensic ethics education. Meanwhile， the respondents showed a high degree of recognition for receiving forensic ethics education， with 84.15% of respondents expressing willingness to participate in relevant courses. More than half of respondents were willing to participate in forensic ethics education during undergraduate studies， new employee training， and regular post-employment training. ConclusionCurrently， there is a problem of ethical neglect in forensic work in China. Combining ethics courses with professional courses at the practitioner training stage and providing regular training at the practice stage are effective measures to popularize forensic ethics knowledge， enhance ethical awareness， and improve the quality of practice.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical significance of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in response evaluation and relapse monitoring for patients with primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL). METHODS: The clinical characteristics, efficacy and survival of 38 PMBCL patients in our hospital from January 2010 to April 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The ctDNA monitoring was conducted by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS). RESULTS: Among the 38 patients, 26 cases were female, and 32 cases were diagnosed with Ann Arbor stage I-II. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate and progression-free survival (PFS) rate were 74.7% and 61.7%, respectively. Males and those with high aaIPI scores (3 points) had a relatively poor prognosis. The NGS results of 23 patients showed that STAT6 (65.2%), SOCS1 (56.5%), and TNFAIP3 (56.5%) were the most common mutated genes. Patients with stable disease (SD)/progressive disease (PD) exhibited enrichment in cell cycle, FoxO, and TNF signaling pathways. A total of 29 patients underwent end-of-treatment PET/CT (EOT PET/CT), and 16 of them received ctDNA monitoring with 12 negative. Among 6 patients with EOT PET/CT positive (Deauville 4), 4 underwent ctDNA monitoring, and 3 of them were negative, being still in continuous remission without any subsequent anti-tumor therapy. CONCLUSION CtDNA may be combined with PET/CT to assess efficacy, monitor relapse, and guide treatment of PMBCL.
Humans ; Circulating Tumor DNA/blood* ; Female ; Mediastinal Neoplasms ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ; Prognosis ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics* ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Mutation

Abuse of amphetamine-based stimulants is a primary public health concern. Recent studies have underscored a troubling escalation in the inappropriate use of prescription amphetamine-based stimulants. However, the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the impact of acute methamphetamine exposure (AME) on sleep homeostasis remain to be explored. This study employed non-human primates and electroencephalogram (EEG) sleep staging to evaluate the influence of AME on neural oscillations. The primary focus was on alterations in spindles, delta oscillations, and slow oscillations (SOs) and their interactions as conduits through which AME influences sleep stability. AME predominantly diminishes sleep-spindle waves in the non-rapid eye movement 2 (NREM2) stage, and impacts SOs and delta waves differentially. Furthermore, the competitive relationships between SO/delta waves nesting with sleep spindles were selectively strengthened by methamphetamine. Complexity analysis also revealed that the SO-nested spindles had lost their ability to maintain sleep depth and stability. In summary, this finding could be one of the intrinsic electrophysiological mechanisms by which AME disrupted sleep homeostasis.
Animals ; Methamphetamine ; Electroencephalography ; Male ; Sleep/drug effects* ; Central Nervous System Stimulants ; Delta Rhythm/drug effects* ; Sleep Stages/drug effects*

Osteoporosis is a prevalent skeletal condition characterized by reduced bone mass and strength, leading to increased fragility. Buqi-Tongluo (BQTL) decoction, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, has yet to be fully evaluated for its potential in treating bone diseases such as osteoporosis. To investigate the mechanism by which BQTL decoction inhibits osteoclast differentiation in vitro and validate these findings through in vivo experiments. We employed MTS assays to assess the potential proliferative or toxic effects of BQTL on bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) at various concentrations. TRAcP experiments were conducted to examine BQTL's impact on osteoclast differentiation. RT-PCR and Western blot analyses were utilized to evaluate the relative expression levels of osteoclast-specific genes and proteins under BQTL stimulation. Finally, in vivo experiments were performed using an osteoporosis model to further validate the in vitro findings. This study revealed that BQTL suppressed receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast resorption activity in vitro in a dose-dependent manner without observable cytotoxicity. The inhibitory effects of BQTL on osteoclast formation and function were attributed to the downregulation of NFATc1 and c-fos activity, primarily through attenuation of the MAPK, NF-κB, and Calcineurin signaling pathways. BQTL's inhibitory capacity was further examined in vivo using an ovariectomized (OVX) rat model, demonstrating a strong protective effect against bone loss. BQTL may serve as an effective therapeutic TCM for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis and the alleviation of bone loss induced by estrogen deficiency and related conditions.
Animals ; NFATC Transcription Factors/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Ovariectomy ; Osteoclasts/metabolism* ; Female ; Osteogenesis/drug effects* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; NF-kappa B/genetics* ; Osteoporosis/genetics* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Bone Resorption/genetics* ; Cell Differentiation/drug effects* ; Humans ; RANK Ligand/metabolism* ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/genetics* ; Transcription Factors

In China, the crude oil supply is highly dependent on overseas countries, and thus strengthening crude oil self-sufficiency has become an important issue of the national energy security. Tertiary oil recovery, especially polymer flooding, has been widely applied in large oil fields in China, which can increase the recovery rate by 15%-20% compared with water flooding. However, the widely used oil flooding polymers show poor thermal stability and salinity tolerance, complicated synthesis ways of monomers, and environmental unfriendliness. Moreover, the polymer flooding induces problems including pore plugging, heterogeneity intensification, high dispersion of remaining oil resources, pressure rise in injection wells, and low efficiency circulation of injection medium, which restrict the subsequent recovery of old oil fields. Here, we systematically review the developing and current situations of polymer flooding, introduce the innovative biomanufacturing of oil flooding polymers and their monomers or precursors as well as low-cost bio-based chemical raw materials for multiple compound flooding. The comprehensive study of the relationships between microbial fermentation metabolites and polymer flooding will reveal the green and low-carbon paths for polymer flooding. Such study will enable the application of enzymes produced by microorganisms in polymer production and polymer plugging removal after polymer flooding as well as the application of microbial metabolites such as biosurfactants, organic acids, alcohols, biogas, and amino acids in enhancing oil recovery. This review suggests that incorporating biomanufacturing into polymer flooding will ensure the high productivity and stability for crude oil production in China.
Polymers/metabolism* ; China ; Petroleum ; Oil and Gas Fields

Objective:To study the influence of the severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR) on the visual function of patients with type 2 diabetes, to provide scientific basis for the early prevention and control of DR.Methods:This study was designed as a cross-sectional study, recruiting already-diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients in four community health service centers in Guizhou Province between February and September 2022. Employing the Chinese version of the Visual Function Index-14 (VF-14), assess the participants′ near vision, visual adaptation, subjective visual perception, and stereo vision, with higher scores indicating poorer visual function. Categorize the severity of each eye′s damage into no diabetic retinopathy (DR), mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), moderate NPDR, severe NPDR, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and use a 5-level DR grading system to evaluate the overall severity of diabetic retinopathy in both eyes. Employing linear regression analysis to investigate the linear relationship between DR and visual function index. Local weighted regression evaluates the nonlinear relationship between the DR composite score and the scores of visual function, with a steeper slope indicating poorer visual function for that level.Results:A total of 542 patients with type 2 diabetes were investigated, including 244 (45.02%) males, 298 (54.98%) females, and 162 (29.89%) patients with DR. After adjusting for confounders, compared with those without DR, patients with binocular DR Had overall scores ( β=0.136, P=0.003), near vision ( β=0.163, P<0.001), visual adaptation ( β=0.092, P=0.042), subjective vision ( β=0.120, P=0.009) and stereo vision ( β=0.094, P=0.044) were higher than those without DR. There were no differences in visual functions between DR And monocular DR. The local weighted regression curve showed that near vision (slope: 23.78) and overall score (slope: 58.37) increased sharply from mild to moderate NPDR in both eyes. Visual adaptation (slope: 5.37, 7.72), subjective vision (slope: 6.53, 7.93), stereovision (slope: 0.74, 0.91) increased slowly in mild to moderate NPDR in both eyes and in moderate to severe NPDR/PDR in both eyes. Conclusion:Binocular DR is associated with impaired visual function, but there is no difference between monocular DR And non-DR visual function. The early damage of DR To visual function is mainly manifested in near vision. In the prevention and control of DR, more attention should be paid to visual function, especially the change of near vision, and retinal damage should not be assessed solely by visual status.

Objective:To study the influence of the severity of diabetic retinopathy (DR) on the visual function of patients with type 2 diabetes, to provide scientific basis for the early prevention and control of DR.Methods:This study was designed as a cross-sectional study, recruiting already-diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients in four community health service centers in Guizhou Province between February and September 2022. Employing the Chinese version of the Visual Function Index-14 (VF-14), assess the participants′ near vision, visual adaptation, subjective visual perception, and stereo vision, with higher scores indicating poorer visual function. Categorize the severity of each eye′s damage into no diabetic retinopathy (DR), mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), moderate NPDR, severe NPDR, and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and use a 5-level DR grading system to evaluate the overall severity of diabetic retinopathy in both eyes. Employing linear regression analysis to investigate the linear relationship between DR and visual function index. Local weighted regression evaluates the nonlinear relationship between the DR composite score and the scores of visual function, with a steeper slope indicating poorer visual function for that level.Results:A total of 542 patients with type 2 diabetes were investigated, including 244 (45.02%) males, 298 (54.98%) females, and 162 (29.89%) patients with DR. After adjusting for confounders, compared with those without DR, patients with binocular DR Had overall scores ( β=0.136, P=0.003), near vision ( β=0.163, P<0.001), visual adaptation ( β=0.092, P=0.042), subjective vision ( β=0.120, P=0.009) and stereo vision ( β=0.094, P=0.044) were higher than those without DR. There were no differences in visual functions between DR And monocular DR. The local weighted regression curve showed that near vision (slope: 23.78) and overall score (slope: 58.37) increased sharply from mild to moderate NPDR in both eyes. Visual adaptation (slope: 5.37, 7.72), subjective vision (slope: 6.53, 7.93), stereovision (slope: 0.74, 0.91) increased slowly in mild to moderate NPDR in both eyes and in moderate to severe NPDR/PDR in both eyes. Conclusion:Binocular DR is associated with impaired visual function, but there is no difference between monocular DR And non-DR visual function. The early damage of DR To visual function is mainly manifested in near vision. In the prevention and control of DR, more attention should be paid to visual function, especially the change of near vision, and retinal damage should not be assessed solely by visual status.

Objective To investigate the plasma level of interleukin-31(IL-31)in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH)and its clinical relevance.Methods The patients who were diagnosed as PAH in Zhongshan Hospital,Fudan University from January 1,2021 to December 30,2023(PAH group)and the healthy people in the same period(control group)were selected.The clinical data and follow-up records were collected.Plasma levels of IL-31,IL-1β,IL-6,IL-10,IL-12p70,monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Pearson correlation test was used to evaluate the correlations between IL-31 and right cardiac catheterization parameters,echocardiography parameters and blood indices in patients with PAH.Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the prognostic factors of patients in PAH group.Results A total of 50 patients with PAH and 22 healthy controls were included.There was no significant difference in age,gender,body mass index and left ventricular ejection fraction between the two groups.Compared with the control group,the plasma level of IL-31 in the PAH group was significantly higher(168.82[149.14,177.26]pg/mL vs 152.76[145.58,159.41]pg/mL,P=0.001).Pearson correlation test showed that the plasma level of IL-31 in PAH patient was positively correlated with mean pulmonary artery pressure(r=0.652,P＜0.001)and pulmonary vascular resistance(r=0.651,P＜0.001),but was negatively correlated with tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion(r=-0.496,P＜0.001).Cox proportional hazard model showed that higher plasma level of IL-31 was an independent predictor of readmission for heart failure/all-cause mortality in patients with PAH(HR=1.130,95％CI 1.052-1.214,P=0.001).Conclusions Plasma level of IL-31 may be significantly increased in patients with PAH and be positively correlated with the severity of PAH,and elevated level of IL-31 is predictive of poor prognosis in PAH patients.

Objective:To investigate the effectiveness and feasibility of whole exome sequencing (WES), as a molecular diagnosis technique, for adult patients with genetic diseases.Methods:The present retrospective analysis included 445 adult patients (ages 18-80 years) with suspected genetic diseases who underwent whole exome sequencing (WES) from August 2021 to December 2022. The pathogenicity classification of each variant was assessed in accordance with the recommendations developed by the American Society of Medical Genetics and Genomics.Results:The overall positive rate of WES among adult patients with suspected genetic diseases was 28.08% (125/445). The highest positive rate was observed in the age group of 41-50 years (34.33%, 23/67). Among the diagnosed genetic diseases, those affecting the cardiovascular system (63.16%, 84/133), nervous system (18.05%, 24/133), and endocrine system (13.53%, 18/133) ranked as the top three. The most common genetic diseases identified through WES in adult patients were hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (18.80%, 25/133), dilated cardiomyopathy (16.54%, 22/133), Marfan syndrome (15.04%, 20/133), epilepsy (9.02%, 12/133), and familial hypercholesterolemia (4.51%, 6/133). The main causative genes identified included FBN1 (14.29%, 19/133), MYBPC3 (9.02%, 12/133), MYH7 (9.02%, 12/133), LDLR (3.76%, 5/133), TTN (3.76%, 5/133), and TNNI3 (3.01%, 4/133).Conclusion:Applying the WES technique in clinical practice can improve the diagnostic rate of adult genetic diseases, especially in adult patients with suspected genetic conditions involving the cardiovascular system, nervous system, and endocrine system.