OBJECTIVES: Keratoconus (KC) is a progressive corneal ectasia disorder, arising from a myriad of causes including genetic predispositions, environmental factors, biomechanical influences, and inflammatory reactions. This study aims to identify potential pathogenetic gene mutations in patients with sporadic KC in the Han Chinese population. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with primary KC as well as 50 unrelated population-matched healthy controls, were included in this study to identify potential pathogenic gene mutations among sporadic KC patients in the Han Chinese population. Sanger sequencing and whole-exome sequencing (WES) were used to analyze mutations in the zinc finger protein 469 (ZNF469) gene. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to explore the potential role of ZNF469 in KC pathogenesis. RESULTS: Five novel heterozygous missense variants were identified in KC patients. Among them, 2 compound heterozygous variants, c.8986G>C (p. E2996Q) with c.11765A>C (p. D3922A), and c.4423C>G (p. L1475V) with c.10633G>A (p. G3545R), were determined to be possible pathogenic factors for KC. CONCLUSIONS Mutations in the ZNF469 gene may contribute to the development of KC in the Han Chinese population. These mutation sites may provide valuable information for future genetic screening of KC patients and their families.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Case-Control Studies ; China/ethnology* ; Exome Sequencing ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Keratoconus/genetics* ; Mutation ; Mutation, Missense ; Transcription Factors/genetics* ; East Asian People/genetics*

Objective:To investigate the clinicopathological and molecular genetic characteristics of Crohn′s disease (CD).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 52 CD patients who underwent surgical resection at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between January 2014 and June 2023. Clinical presentations and histopathological features were assessed. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on 17 of the samples, followed by sequencing and pathway enrichment analyses. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess the expression of frequently mutated genes.Results:Among the 52 patients, 34 were males and 18 were females, male-to-female ratio was 1.9∶1.0, with a median age of 45 years at surgery and 35 years at diagnosis. According to the Montreal classification, A3 (51.9%,27/52), B2 (61.5%, 32/52), and L3 (50.0%,26/52) subtypes were the most predominant. Abdominal pain and diarrhea were the common symptoms. Histopathological features seen in all 52 patients included transmural inflammation, disruption of cryptal architecture, lymphoplasmacytic infiltration, varying degrees of submucosal fibrosis and thickening, increased enteric nerve fibers and neuronal proliferation. Mucosal defects, fissure ulcers, abscesses, pseudopolyps, and adenomatous proliferation were also observed in 51 (98.1%), 38 (73.1%), 28 (53.8%), 45 (86.5%), and 28 (53.8%) cases, respectively. Thirty-one (59.6%) cases had non-caseating granulomas, and 3 (5.8%) cases had intestinal mucosal glandular epithelial dysplasia. Molecular analysis showed that 12/17 CD patients exhibited mutations in at least one mucin family gene (MUC2, MUC3A, MUC4, MUC6, MUC12, MUC17), and MUC4 was the most frequently mutated in 7/17 of cases. Immunohistochemical stains showed reduced MUC4 expression in epithelial cells, with increased MUC4 expression in the epithelial surface, particularly around areas of inflammatory cell aggregation; and minimal expression in the lower half of the epithelium.Conclusions:CD exhibits diverse clinical and pathological features, necessitating a comprehensive multidimensional analysis for diagnosis. Mutations and expression alterations in mucin family genes, particularly MUC4, may play crucial roles in the pathogenesis of CD.

OBJECTIVE To optimize the ultrasound-assisted extraction-deep eutectic solvents technology of total flavonoids from Hypericum japonicum， evaluate its hypoglycemic activity in vitro， and analyze its chemical compositions preliminarily. METHODS The most suitable deep eutectic solvent for total flavonoids from H. japonicum was screened using the composition of hydrogen bond acceptor and donor， molar ratio， water content as factors， and the total flavonoid yield as the response value. Using liquid-solid ratio， ultrasonic power， ultrasonic temperature and ultrasonic time as factors， the yield of total flavonoids as response value， the extraction technology of total flavonoids from H. japonicum was optimized by single-factor experiments combined with Box-Behnken response surface method， and the optimum extraction technology was validated. Taking acarbose as the positive control， the inhibitory activities of total flavonoids from H. japonicum on α-amylase and α-glucosidase in vitro were determined. The chemical constituents of total flavonoids from H. japonicum were analyzed by UPLC combined with comparing the reference substances. RESULTS The most suitable deep eutectic solvent was choline chloride-oxalic acid （the molar ratio of 1∶1， the water content of 30%）. The optimum extraction technology was as follows： the ratio of liquid-solid was 52∶1 （mL/g）， the ultrasonic temperature was 54 ℃ ， the ultrasonic power was 240 W， and the ultrasonic time was 42 min； the total extraction yield of total flavonoids from H. japonicum in 3 validation tests was （73.26±2.48） mg/g， the relative error of which with the theoretical value （73.48 mg/g） was －0.30%. The total flavonoids from H. japonicum could inhibit α-amylase and α-glucosidase with IC50 values of 0.73 and 0.44 mg/mL， respectively， which were higher than those of acarbose （0.23 and 0.15 mg/mL）. UPLC analysis showed that the total flavonoids from H. japonicum contained isoquercetin， quercitrin， quercetin-7-O-α-L-rhamnoside and quercetin. CONCLUSIONS The optimized extraction technology of total flavonoids from H. japonicum is stable and feasible， and the extract has certain hypoglycemic activity in vitro and contains isoquercetin， quercitrin and quercetin-7-O-α-L-rhamnoside， etc.

Objective This paper analyzed the characteristics and changes in the disease spectrum of internal medicine inpatients of a tertiary hospital in Zhongshan City.It aimed to explore the evolving trends in disease ranking and treatment charac-teristics to provide a scientific basis for enhancing hospital management.Methods This paper selected 26 053 patients dis-charged from the internal medicine department of the tertiary hospital in Zhongshan City between January 1,2018,and December 31,2022.A retrospective analysis was used to classify these patients by ages,hospitalization date,and relative weight.Results In the past five years,those discharged patients showed no significant increase in the number,but a significant increase in age and ase Mix Index(CMI).Conclusion Since the outbreak of COVID-19,intractable inpatients in the hospital has steadily in-creased in number each year,while the diseases spectrum remains stable.The CMI of circulatory system,respiratory system,and nervous system diseases is relatively high.As key tricky components of internal medicine,these sub-specialties should concentrate on enhancing diagnostic and treatment capabilities as well as service quality to offer improved healthcare services to the public.

Humans ; Consensus ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/therapy* ; Neuroendocrine Tumors/therapy*

OBJECTIVE To clarify the core content of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） policy in the provinces of China， so as to provide reference for optimizing the structure of the policy system of traditional Chinese medicine in China and assisting the inheritance and innovation of TCM industry in various regions. METHODS The websites of directly affiliated organs in 31 provinces， excluding Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan， were retrieved to collect the TCM policies released from 2000 to 2021. The importance of keywords in the TCM policies of each province was measured based on term frequency-inverse documentation frequency （TF-IDF） keyword extraction method， and the similarities and differences were analyzed among TCM policies. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS A total of 99 documents related to TCM policies of various provinces were obtained in this study， most of which were released after 2016. The theme of national TCM policy covered four aspects： building TCM talent team， perfecting TCM service system， strengthening TCM resource management and promoting TCM industry innovation. The TF-IDF values of “medical institutions”“traditional Chinese medicine”“medical treatment” were higher than other keywords in each province， indicating that the provinces paid more attention to the construction of TCM service system and the management of TCM resources than other aspects. Anhui and Jiangsu， Beijing and Henan， Hubei and Jilin， Hubei and Tianjin， and Hubei and Yunnan had the more degree of similarity in TCM policies， which all contained 16 of the same keywords. Therefore， the above regions should be encouraged to strengthen exchanges and cooperation and realize mutual promotion and joint development. Among all the keywords whose importance ratio was greater than 0.2，“ Tibetan medicine” was unique to Qinghai and Tibet，“ disease type” was unique to Guangdong， and the TF-IDF value of “supervision and management” in Beijing was higher， indicating that the emphasis of TCM policy formulation in different provinces was various. Meanwhile， the top 10 keywords of TF- IDF value in all provinces did not have words related to financial input， and the TF-IDF values of “informatization” in most provinces did not rank at the top. It is suggested to increase financial input or encourage social financing， and add “Internet+new business” in the field of TCM.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of measuring the soft tissue height of bone cristae around implant by digital method. METHODS: A total of 36 patients with dental implants were selected from the Dental Medicine Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China (Anhui Provincial Hospital) from August 2022 to December 2022. A total of 43 dental implants were enrolled. All postoperative cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging data and intraoral digital impressions obtained before surgery were immediately obtained by the patients on the day of completion of oral implant surgery and they were imported into oral implant surgery planning software for image fitting. Then, virtual implants of the same specification were placed in the planting area, and the implant position was adjusted to overlap with the implant shadow in the CBCT image. Supracrestal tissue height (STH) was measured at the implant view interface (digital group). During the operation, implant holes were prepared step by step in accordance with the standard preparation method, and implants were implanted. The upper edge of the implant was flushed with the crest of the alveolar ridge. STH was measured by perio-dontal probing (periodontal probe group). Paired t-test was used to compare the STH differences between the digital and periodontal probe groups. Bland-Altman test was used to analyze the consistency of the two methods. Intra-group correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to verify the reliability of the results measured by different surveyors using di-gital methods. RESULTS: No statistical significance was observed in the STH difference between the two methods (P>0.05). Bland-Altman test showed good consistency between the two methods, but the measurement of mandibular posterior teeth showed that the results of periodontal probe were greater than those of digital method. The ICC and 95%CI of the STH results measured digitally by different surveyors are 0.992 (0.986-0.996). CONCLUSIONS The digital me-thod is in good agreement with the periodontal probe method in measuring the soft tissue height of the bone cristae around the implant.
Humans ; Alveolar Process/diagnostic imaging* ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography/methods* ; Dental Implants ; Feasibility Studies ; Reproducibility of Results ; Tooth/diagnostic imaging*

Objective:To conduct quality evaluation and content analysis of adult postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) guidelines, so as to provide reference for management of clinical PONV.Methods:Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, UpToDate, SinoMed, Wanfang Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP, domestic and foreign clinical practice guidelines and related professional association websites were systematically searched, and the search period was from database establishment to May 6, 2022. Four researchers independently evaluated the guidelines that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria using a clinical guideline research and evaluation system, and summarized the recommendations of the guidelines.Results:Finally, a total of 15 guidelines were included in this study. The overall quality evaluation of the guide was 3 A-level recommendations and 12 B-level recommendations. The average standardization percentages for 6 areas were 81.57% for scope and purpose, 49.91% for participants, 65.38% for rigor, 89.54% for clarity, 34.86% for applicability and 55.42% for independence. A total of 18 recommendations were summarized from five aspects, such as team and organizational management, PONV risk assessment, baseline risk reduction, multimodal prevention of PONV and effectiveness evaluation and monitoring.Conclusions:The guidelines for PONV management mainly come from foreign countries. It is recommended that clinical personnel should learn from foreign guidelines and combine them with domestic clinical situations to localize the recommended opinions and guide the development of clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical and genetic characteristics of a child with clinical manifestations of hypoplasia, epilepsy and abnormal face. METHODS: The clinical data of the child were collected. The peripheral blood samples of the patient and his parents were extracted for high-throughput sequencing, and Sanger sequencing verification and bioinformatics analysis were performed to detect suspected pathogenic variants. RESULTS: The clinical manifestations of the child were overall developmental backwardness, seizures, autism, and special facial appearance. High throughput sequencing showed that there was a heterozygous mutation of exon 11: c.1920_c.1927delCCTCTACC (p.Ser641Rfs*31) of the DYRK1A gene. The same variant was found in neither of her parents, suggesting that it has a denovo origin. CONCLUSION The exon11: c.1920_c.1927delCCTCTACC (p.Ser641Rfs*31) mutation in DYRK1A gene was the genetic etiology of the case, which enriches the pathogenic gene spectrum of DYRK1A and provides the basis for clinical diagnosis and genetic counseling.
Arthrogryposis ; Child ; Facies ; Female ; Heterozygote ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Mutation

Autophagy is a highly conserved intracellular catabolic process used to degrade cytoplasmic components. In recent years, it has attracted much attention because of its importance in the pathogenesis and targeted therapy of acute and chronic kidney disease. Autophagy plays an important role in maintaining renal homeostasis under physiological and pathological conditions. The study of conditional autophagy related gene knockout specific to various renal cells has gradually revealed the role of autophagy in renal diseases. Recent studies have found that autophagy deficiency may play a key role in different pathological states of the kidney. Activated autophagy shows cytoprotective function in both glomerulus and renal tubulointerstitium, suggesting that the up regulation of autophagy may become a potential therapeutic strategy. However, there is also contrary evidence that autophagy may be harmful, which poses a great challenge to the development of therapeutic strategies for up-regulated autophagy.