Gene regulation relies on the precise binding of transcription factors (TFs) at regulatory elements, but simultaneously detecting hundreds of TFs on chromatin is challenging. We developed cFOOT-seq, a cytosine deaminase-based TF footprinting assay, for high-resolution, quantitative genome-wide assessment of TF binding in both open and closed chromatin regions, even with small cell numbers. By utilizing the dsDNA deaminase SsdAtox, cFOOT-seq converts accessible cytosines to uracil while preserving genomic integrity, making it compatible with techniques like ATAC-seq for sensitive and cost-effective detection of TF occupancy at the single-molecule and single-cell level. Our approach enables the delineation of TF footprints, quantification of occupancy, and examination of chromatin influences on TF binding. Notably, cFOOT-seq, combined with FootTrack analysis, enables de novo prediction of TF binding sites and tracking of TF occupancy dynamics. We demonstrate its application in capturing cell type-specific TFs, analyzing TF dynamics during reprogramming, and revealing TF dependencies on chromatin remodelers. Overall, cFOOT-seq represents a robust approach for investigating the genome-wide dynamics of TF occupancy and elucidating the cis-regulatory architecture underlying gene regulation.
Transcription Factors/genetics* ; Humans ; Chromatin/genetics* ; Animals ; Binding Sites ; Mice ; DNA Footprinting/methods*

Objective To investigate the population density and seasonal fluctuations of Aedes albopictus in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, from 2021 to 2023, so as to provide insights into A. albopictus control and management of dengue fever. Methods The surveillance of A. albopictus density was performed in all surveillance sites assigned across all streets (townships) in Guangzhou City during the period from January to December from 2021 to 2023. The surveillance frequency was twice every half month from May to September, and once every month for the rest of a year. In each surveillance period, A. albopictus mosquito larvae were captured from indoor and outdoor small water containers in residential areas, parks, medical facilities, schools, other government sectors and social organizations, construction sites, special industries and others for mosquito species identification. Adult mosquitoes were captured using electric mosquito suction apparatus for species identification and gender classification. Adult mosquitoes and mosquito eggs were collected with mosquito and egg traps at the breeding and dwelling places of Aedes mosquitoes for identification. The mosquito oviposition index (MOI), Breteau index (BI), adult mosquito density index (ADI) and standard space index (SSI) were calculated. The A. albopictus density was classified into grades 0, 1, 2 and 3 in each surveillance site, with Grade 0 density defined eligible, and the eligible rate of A. albopictus density was calculated at all surveillance sites each year from 2021 to 2023. In addition, the changing trends in MOI, SSI, BI and ADI of A. albopictus were analyzed in Guangzhou City from 2021 to 2023. Results The eligible rates of A. albopictus density were 61.69%, 68.75% and 55.15% in surveillance sites of Guangzhou City from 2021 to 2023 (χ² = 297.712, P < 0.001), and appeared a tendency towards a reduction followed by a rise each year, which gradually reduced since January, maintained at a low level during the period between May and October, and gradually increased from November to December. The MOI, SSI, BI and ADI of A. albopictus all appeared a tendency towards a rise followed by a reduction in Guangzhou City during the period between January and December from 2021 to 2023. The BI of A. albopictus peaked in the first half of June in 2021 (4.03), the first half of July in 2022 (3.89) and the last half of August in 2023 (5.02), and the SSI of A. albopictus peaked in the last half of June in 2021 (0.93), the last half of May in 2022 (0.59), and the last half of June (0.94) and the first half of September in 2023 (1.12). In addition, the MOI of A. albopictus peaked in the first half of May in 2021 (8.64), the first half of June in 2022 (8.96), and the last half of May (10.21) and the last half of June in 2023 (10.89), and the ADI of A. albopictus peaked in the first half of June in 2021 (3.41), the last half of June in 2022 (4.06), and the first half of July in 2023 (3.61). Conclusions The density of A. albopictus is high in Guangzhou City during the period from May to October, and the risk of local outbreak caused by imported dengue fever is high. Persistent intensified surveillance of the density and seasonal fluctuation of A. albopictus is recommended and timely mosquito prevention and control is required according to the fluctuation in the A. albopictus density.

Objective:To investigate the effects of different doses of whole abdominal ultra‐high dose rate (FLASH) irradiation on the intestinal microbiota of mice.Methods:A total of 25 healthy male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into the control ( n=5) and FLASH irradiation groups ( n=20) by simple randomization method, and the FLASH irradiation group was further divided into different radiation dose subgroups of 10, 15, 20, 25 Gy, 5 in each group. The mice were irradiated with a single whole abdomen at a dose rate of 100 Gy/s, then sacrificed 3.5 d after irradiation. Fresh fecal specimens and intestinal tissues of mice were collected for 16S rRNA sequencing, microbiota analysis, hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining and injury severity score analysis. Two-group comparison was performed by independent sample t-test. Multi-group comparison was conducted by one-way ANOVA. Results:HE staining revealed that the whole abdomen FLASH irradiation caused varying degree of intestinal injury in mice, and the intestinal injury reaction was aggravated with the increase of irradiation dose. β‐diversity analyses showed that there were differences in the composition of intestinal microbiota between FLASH irradiation group and control group ( P=0.001), but the differences in the relative abundance of the species between the irradiation groups at different doses were relatively small, and there were their own dominant genera of bacteria. Comparison of different doses of FLASH irradiation groups with control group screened out 16 species of bacteria with shared differences at the genus level, in which Lactobacillus, Ligilactobacillus and unclassified Lactobacillus were more abundant in the control group, while Escherichia, Allobaculum, and Muribaculum were more abundant in the FLASH irradiation groups. Conclusions:The whole‐abdominal FLASH irradiation induces intestinal damage in mice, and the intestinal damage response is worsened with the increase of irradiation dose. Different doses of whole abdominal FLASH irradiation alter the intestinal microbiota composition of mice. Sixteen species of common intestinal differential microbiota at the genus level are screened out in the different doses of FLASH irradiation groups compared with the control group, which may serve as a marker for measuring intestinal injury in mice irradiated with whole‐abdominal FLASH.

Objective:To investigate the effects of different doses of whole abdominal ultra‐high dose rate (FLASH) irradiation on the intestinal microbiota of mice.Methods:A total of 25 healthy male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into the control ( n=5) and FLASH irradiation groups ( n=20) by simple randomization method, and the FLASH irradiation group was further divided into different radiation dose subgroups of 10, 15, 20, 25 Gy, 5 in each group. The mice were irradiated with a single whole abdomen at a dose rate of 100 Gy/s, then sacrificed 3.5 d after irradiation. Fresh fecal specimens and intestinal tissues of mice were collected for 16S rRNA sequencing, microbiota analysis, hematoxylin eosin (HE) staining and injury severity score analysis. Two-group comparison was performed by independent sample t-test. Multi-group comparison was conducted by one-way ANOVA. Results:HE staining revealed that the whole abdomen FLASH irradiation caused varying degree of intestinal injury in mice, and the intestinal injury reaction was aggravated with the increase of irradiation dose. β‐diversity analyses showed that there were differences in the composition of intestinal microbiota between FLASH irradiation group and control group ( P=0.001), but the differences in the relative abundance of the species between the irradiation groups at different doses were relatively small, and there were their own dominant genera of bacteria. Comparison of different doses of FLASH irradiation groups with control group screened out 16 species of bacteria with shared differences at the genus level, in which Lactobacillus, Ligilactobacillus and unclassified Lactobacillus were more abundant in the control group, while Escherichia, Allobaculum, and Muribaculum were more abundant in the FLASH irradiation groups. Conclusions:The whole‐abdominal FLASH irradiation induces intestinal damage in mice, and the intestinal damage response is worsened with the increase of irradiation dose. Different doses of whole abdominal FLASH irradiation alter the intestinal microbiota composition of mice. Sixteen species of common intestinal differential microbiota at the genus level are screened out in the different doses of FLASH irradiation groups compared with the control group, which may serve as a marker for measuring intestinal injury in mice irradiated with whole‐abdominal FLASH.

Good sleep is essential for children′s physical and mental health, growth, and development.Adequate and high-quality sleep positively impacts children′s quality of life, memory, learning, attention, mood, and behavior.Children of different ages have different sleep needs.Children have various sleep problems in different cultures.Therefore, it is significant to guide children to get healthy sleep by popularizing the sleep problems of Chinese children of all ages and in all dimensions.Based on China′s social and cultural background, this paper summarizes the contents related to children′s sleep physiology, good sleep habits, common sleep problems, sleep apnea disorders, hypnagogic sleep, narcolepsy, insomnia, and other issues that interfere with children′s sleep.Chinese sleep experts summarize and interpret the 100 sleep health problems of children that medical workers and parents are most concerned about.To promote children′s sleep health and popularize solutions to sleep problems.

Objective:To investigate the effects of ultra-high dose rate radiation (FLASH-RT) and conventional radiation (CONV-RT) on plasma metabolites in glioma mice.Methods:Tocally 21 male C57BL/6J mice bearing intracranial glioma xenograft were randomly divided into healthy control group ( n=3), CONV-RT group ( n=9) and FLASH-RT group ( n=9). The CONV-RT group was administered a single dose of 24 Gy radiation on the head of mice at a dose rate of 0.4 Gy/s, and the FLASH-RT group was administered a single dose of 24 Gy radiation on the head of mice at a dose rate of 60 Gy/s, and the healthy control group was given 0 Gy pseudoradiation under the same condition. Mice blood was collected through the inner canthus vein for plasma separation at 1, 3 and 7 d after radiation in the two radiation groups, and the blood plasma of healthy control group was collected at 7 days after sham radiation. The changes in plasma metabolites were detected by the non-targeted metabolomics based on liquid chromatography mass spectrometry tandem platform. Results:After irradiation, the metabolites in plasma of two irradiation groups had significant difference. Compared with the healthy control group, 12 and 5 differential metabolites were screened out in the FLASH-RT group and CONV-RT group at three time points, respectively. The difference of plasma metabolites had the largest value at 1 day and decreased at 3 and 7 d after radiation. The arachidonic acid and isovaleric acid, involving arachidonic acid metabolism, biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, and tyrosine metabolism pathways were screened in both FLASH-RT group and CONV-RT group, and the 10 differential metabolites, mainly involving energy metabolism and redox reactions, only existed in the FLASH-RT group.Conclusions:Arachidonic acid and isovaleric acid may be the common sensitive biomarkers to different radiation patterns, which provides ideas for further exploring the molecular mechanism of FLASH-RT in the treatment of glioma.

Objective:To explore the effect of repetitive high-frequency magnetic stimulation (H-F rTMS) of the dorsolateral part of the prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) combined with smoking-related cues on nicotine addicts′ cigarette craving, the concentration of exhaled CO and sleep quality.Methods:Sixty nicotine addicts were randomly divided into groups A, B and C, each of 20. All were given H-F rTMS five times a week for two weeks, while those in groups A and B watched smoking and non-smoking pictures for ten minutes, respectively. Before and after the intervention, all of the subjects self-reported their cigarette cravings using a visual analogue scale. Exhaled CO (CO ppm) was measured and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) was evaluated. Results:After the intervention the average craving score, CO ppm and PSQI score had improved significantly in all three groups. The average craving score and CO ppm of group A were both significantly better than in the other two groups. Conclusions:rTMS can significantly improve cigarette craving, CO ppm and sleep quality of cigarette adicts. Viewing smoking-related pictures as an addition to rTMS can even better the effects of rTMS.

Since December 2019, a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV, SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia (COVID-19) outbreak has occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and the epidemic situation has continued to spread. Such cases have also been found in other parts of the country. The spread of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic has brought great challenges to the clinical practice of thoracic surgery. Outpatient clinics need to strengthen the differential diagnosis of ground glass opacity and pulmonary plaque shadows. During the epidemic, surgical indications are strictly controlled, and selective surgery is postponed. Patients planning to undergo a limited period of surgery should be quarantined for 2 weeks and have a nucleic acid test when necessary before surgery. For patients who are planning to undergo emergency surgery, nucleic acid testing should be carried out before surgery, and three-level protection should be performed during surgery. Patients who are planning to undergo emergency surgery in the epidemic area should be confirmed with or without novel coronavirus pneumonia before operation, and perform nucleic acid test if necessary. Surgical disinfection and isolation measures should be strictly carried out. Among postoperative patients, cases with new coronavirus infection were actively investigated. For the rescue of patients with novel coronavirus infection, attention needs to be paid to prevention and treatment and related complications, including mechanical ventilation-related pneumothorax or mediastinal emphysema, and injury after tracheal intubation.

With the development of stem cell transplantation technology, anti-aging treatment or treatment of degenerative diseases through the input of stem cells has become a research hotspot. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUCMSCs) are unique precursor cells which are derived from Wharton’s jelly and the perivascular tissue of umbilical cord. They have been identified to be self-renewal and multi-differentiation potential. Currently, a large number of scientific studies have shown that HUCMSCs can achieve anti-aging effects by regenerating and repairing senescent cells, tissues and organs. This article reviews the research advances in biological characteristics, tissue regeneration and repair mechanisms, and anti-aging treatment mechanisms of HUCMSCs in detail. Besides, the current status of preclinical research on HUCMSCs is summarized, suggesting that HUCMSCs is a type of stem cell therapy with good potential and value.

With the development of stem cell transplantation technology, anti-aging treatment or treatment of degenerative diseases through the input of stem cells has become a research hotspot. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (HUCMSCs) are unique precursor cells which are derived from Wharton’s jelly and the perivascular tissue of umbilical cord. They have been identified to be self-renewal and multi-differentiation potential. Currently, a large number of scientific studies have shown that HUCMSCs can achieve anti-aging effects by regenerating and repairing senescent cells, tissues and organs. This article reviews the research advances in biological characteristics, tissue regeneration and repair mechanisms, and anti-aging treatment mechanisms of HUCMSCs in detail. Besides, the current status of preclinical research on HUCMSCs is summarized, suggesting that HUCMSCs is a type of stem cell therapy with good potential and value.