In the field of ethics,issues related to brain-computer interface(BCI)technology mainly focus on physical and mental ethics,as well as social ethics,including personal privacy rights,whether a person is a person in the complete sense,the attribution of social responsibility.The population involved includes patients,doctors,and the whole social group in which patients live.In addition to analyzing physical and mental ethical risks,this paper also analyzed the potential ethical issues that may exist in the future large-scale application of BCI based on the current research status,mainly including the right of informed consent,privacy,and decision-making of physical and mental ethical risks,the responsibility attribution and fairness of social ethical risks,the responsibility ascription and equity of social ethical risk,and the question that whether the brain is the carrier of machine or the machine is the continuation of the brain in future ethical risks.Solutions have been proposed in the three levels of individual,system,and institution to provide governance recommendations for the future development of BCI.In addition,local data was obtained by collecting and summarizing relevant opinions through social research.Based on these,the future risks of BCI were introduced for the first time,and from the perspective of ethics,solutions to future problems were explored.

Background::Heterotaxy (HTX) is a thoracoabdominal organ anomaly syndrome and commonly accompanied by congenital heart disease (CHD). The aim of this study was to analyze rare copy number variations (CNVs) in a HTX/CHD cohort and to examine the potential mechanisms contributing to HTX/CHD.Methods::Chromosome microarray analysis was used to identify rare CNVs in a cohort of 120 unrelated HTX/CHD patients, and available samples from parents were used to confirm the inheritance pattern. Potential candidate genes in CNVs region were prioritized via the DECIPHER database, and PNPLA4 was identified as the leading candidate gene. To validate, we generated PNPLA4-overexpressing human induced pluripotent stem cell lines as well as pnpla4-overexpressing zebrafish model, followed by a series of transcriptomic, biochemical and cellular analyses. Results::Seventeen rare CNVs were identified in 15 of the 120 HTX/CHD patients (12.5%). Xp22.31 duplication was one of the inherited CNVs identified in this HTX/CHD cohort, and PNPLA4 in the Xp22.31 was a candidate gene associated with HTX/CHD. PNPLA4 is expressed in the lateral plate mesoderm, which is known to be critical for left/right embryonic patterning as well as cardiomyocyte differentiation, and in the neural crest cell lineage. Through a series of in vivo and in vitro analyses at the molecular and cellular levels, we revealed that the biological function of PNPLA4 is importantly involved in the primary cilia formation and function via its regulation of energy metabolism and mitochondria-mediated ATP production. Conclusions::Our findings demonstrated a significant association between CNVs and HTX/CHD. Our data strongly suggested that an increased genetic dose of PNPLA4 due to Xp22.31 duplication is a disease-causing risk factor for HTX/CHD.

Objective:To assess the predictive efficacy of 18F-FDG PET/CT-based radiomics models for the mutation status of Kirsten rats sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods:From January 2016 to January 2021, the 18F-FDG PET/CT images and KRAS testing of 258 NSCLC patients (180 males, 78 females; age: 33-91 years) in the First Affiliated Hospital of the Air Force Military Medical University were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were randomly divided into training set ( n=180) and validation set ( n=78) in the ratio of 7∶3. Tumor lesions on PET and CT images were drawn respectively, and the radiomics features of PET and CT lesions were extracted. The radiomics features were screened by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO). CT radiomics score (RS) model, PET/CT RS model and composite models of PET/CT RS combined with screened clinical information were eventually developed. ROC curves were used to assess the predictive efficacy of these models. Results:The CT RS model included 4 radiomics features and the PET/CT RS model included 4 CT radiomics features and 8 PET radiomics features. The CT RS model and the PET/CT RS model both had significant differences in RS between KRAS mutant and wild-type patients in the training set and validation set ( z values: from -8.30 to -4.10, all P<0.001). In predicting KRAS mutations, the composite model of PET/CT RS combined with age showed AUCs of 0.879 and 0.852 in the training and validation sets respectively, which were higher than those of the CT RS model (0.813 and 0.770) and the PET/CT RS model (0.858 and 0.834). The accuracy of the composite model of PET/CT RS combined with age were 81.67%(147/180) and 79.49%(62/78) in the training set and validation set respectively, which were also higher than those of the CT RS model (75.00%(135/180) and 74.36%(58/78)) and the PET/CT RS model (78.89%(142/180) and 78.21%(61/78)). Conclusion:Models based on radiomics features can predict KRAS gene mutation status, and the composite model combining PET/CT RS and age can improve the prediction performance.

With the improvement of sanitation, the infection rate of hookworm is greatly reduced and the severe infected case is rarely reported. Combined morphological and molecular biological examinations, a severe hookworm infection patient was diagnosed in Department of Laboratorial Examination, Quanzhou First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University. The morphological methods such as direct fecal smear microscopy, saturated brine flotation and hookworm larvae culture methods were used to identify the eggs and larvae from stool samples of the patient. There were a large number of hookworm eggs in patient's stool samples, and the average count was 60 840 per gram by modified Kato method, which belonged to severe hookworm infection. Meanwhile, to distinguish the hookworm species, the semi-nested RT-PCR assay was employed to detect hookworm internal transcribed spacer series from eggs in patient's stool samples, and the result showed that the hookworm species was confirmed to be Necator americanus.
Ancylostomatoidea/genetics* ; Animals ; Feces ; Hookworm Infections/diagnosis* ; Humans ; Necator americanus/genetics* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect worldwide. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in many diseases. However, their involvement in CHD is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the role of dysregulated lncRNAs in CHD. We used Gene Expression Omnibus data mining, bioinformatics analysis, and analysis of clinical tissue samples and observed that the novel lncRNA SAP30-2:1 with unknown function was significantly downregulated in damaged cardiac tissues from patients with CHD. Knockdown of lncRNA SAP30-2:1 inhibited the proliferation of human embryonic kidney and AC16 cells and decreased the expression of heart and neural crest derivatives expressed 2 (HAND2). Moreover, lncRNA SAP30-2:1 was associated with HAND2 by RNA immunoprecipitation. Overall, these results suggest that lncRNA SAP30-2:1 may be involved in heart development through affecting cell proliferation via targeting HAND2 and may thus represent a novel therapeutic target for CHD.
Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors ; Cell Proliferation ; Heart Defects, Congenital/genetics* ; Histone Deacetylases ; Humans ; RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics* ; Transcription Factors

Objective:To establish an early prediction model with multiple indicators to predict the risk of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) in hyperlipidemic acute pancreatitis (HLAP).Methods:The clinical data of 92 patients with HLAP admitted to the Emergency Department of our hospital from March 2018 to February 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Among them, 29 cases deteriorated to SAP and 63 cases did not. Univariate analysis was used to screen predictive indicators related to hyperlipidemic severe acute pancreatitis (HL-SAP), and logistic regression analysis was used to screen independent predictive indicators related to HL-SAP. Then a prediction model was established. The area under (AUC) the receiver operating curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the predictive ability of each predictive indicator and the model for HL-SAP. Bootstrap resampling technology was used to validate the predictive ability of the model.Results:Univariate analysis showed that procalcitonin, D-dimer, C-reactive protein, albumin, cholesterol and CT grade had influence on the progression of HLAP to SAP ( P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that D-dimer ( OR=2.112, 95% CI: 1.022-4.366; P<0.05), CT grade ( OR=5.818, 95% CI: 2.481-13.643; P<0.01) and cholesterol ( OR=1.146, 95% CI: 1.004-1.308; P<0.05) were independent risk factor of HL-SAP. The AUC of D-dimer, CT grade, cholesterol and the model were 0.802, 0.875, 0.665 and 0.927, respectively. Internal validation of the predictive ability of the model showed that the C-index was 0.927. Conclusions:In the early phase, application of the prediction model that composes D-dimer, CT grade and cholesterol has a good predictive effect on HL-SAP.

The liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used to detect the urinary proteomics of 223 residents aged 40-69 years old who participated in the National Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Early Detection Program in Linqu County, Shandong Province from November 22 to December 7, 2018, and analyze the alcohol consumption related proteomic profiles and individual urinary protein. There were significant differences in urinary protein profiles between alcohol consumption group and non-alcohol consumption group. The expression of 26 urinary proteins was up-regulated and 20 urinary proteins were down-regulated in alcohol consumption group ( P<0.05). The differentially expressed proteins had enzyme inhibitor activity and phospholipid binding function, and mainly enriched in pathways involving proximal tubule bicarbonate regeneration, complement and coagulation cascade, and cholesterol metabolism. The protein expressions of complement factor I (CFI), angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and protein C inhibitor (SERPINA5) were positively correlated with daily alcohol consumption.

The liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used to detect the urinary proteomics of 223 residents aged 40-69 years old who participated in the National Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Early Detection Program in Linqu County, Shandong Province from November 22 to December 7, 2018, and analyze the alcohol consumption related proteomic profiles and individual urinary protein. There were significant differences in urinary protein profiles between alcohol consumption group and non-alcohol consumption group. The expression of 26 urinary proteins was up-regulated and 20 urinary proteins were down-regulated in alcohol consumption group ( P<0.05). The differentially expressed proteins had enzyme inhibitor activity and phospholipid binding function, and mainly enriched in pathways involving proximal tubule bicarbonate regeneration, complement and coagulation cascade, and cholesterol metabolism. The protein expressions of complement factor I (CFI), angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and protein C inhibitor (SERPINA5) were positively correlated with daily alcohol consumption.

Gastric cancer is a malignant tumor characterized by high morbidity and mortality. With the development of molecular biol-ogy technology and the emergence of various new omics detection techniques in recent years, molecular epidemiologists of gastric cancer have conducted extensive studies on the genetic and host factors, as well as gene-environment interactions associated with ex-posure to environmental factors in gastric cancer. In addition, epidemiologists have studied the evolution of precancerous gastric le-sions, the development of gastric cancer, and explored relevant biomarkers to provide major evidence for the prevention and control of gastric cancer. This review summarizes the latest advances in the molecular epidemiology of gastric cancer, including existing evi-dence in studies for candidate-approach-based serum/plasma biomarkers, genome-wide association, whole-exome sequencing, tissue microarrays, as well as studies on metabolomics and microbiomes. We expect to provide insights into the future of molecular epidemi-ology studies in gastric cancer, promoting etiologic research, and the precise prevention and control of gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between metabolic syndrome (MS) and the risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 1346 community-based women from June to October 2012 and collected the data of personal history, lifestyle, physical measures and laboratory indicators. The diagnosis of CKD was established for an eGFR of less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m or albuminuria. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was based on the International Diabetes Federation Guide. According to an epidemiological survey in Guangdong province, women older than 48.9 years were classified as having a postmenopausal status. The prevalence of MS and CKD was determined in both the premenopausal and postmenopausal women, and the association between MS and CKD was analyzed using logistic regression models. RESULTS: MS was significantly correlated with CKD in premenopausal women in both unadjusted analyses (OR=3.10, 95% : 1.32-7.28, =0.009) and in analysis after adjustment for potential confounders (OR=4.09, 95% : 1.63- 10.32, =0.003). When adjusted for diabetes, hypertension, and hyperuricemia, no correlation was found between MS and CKD in premenopausal women (OR=1.56, 95% : 0.31-7.63, = 0.592); in the unadjusted analyses, MS was significantly correlated with CKD in postmenopausal women ( < 0.001). After further adjustment for age, education status, current smoking, physical inactivity, and current drinking, MS was still significantly correlated with CKD (OR=2.60, 95% : 1.69-3.99, < 0.001). When adjusted for diabetes, hypertension, and hyperuricemia, the correlation between MS and CKD was still significant (OR=1.61, 95% : 1.09-2.37, =0.018). In the unadjusted model, a high blood pressure (OR=2.77, 95%CI: 1.57-4.89, < 0.001), an elevated serum triglyceride level (OR=1.84, 95%: 1.16-2.90, =0.009) and a high fast glucose level (OR=2.07, 95%: 1.30-3.28, =0.002) were all significantly correlated with CKD in postmenopausal women. After adjusting for age, current smoking, current alcohol use, education status and physical inactivity, a high blood pressure (OR=2.28, 95%: 1.22-4.26, =0.01), a high serum triglyceride level (OR=1.71, 95%: 1.03-2.86, =0.039) and a high fast glucose (OR=2.25, 95%: 1.36-3.73, =0.002) were still significantly correlated with CKD in postmenopausal women. Blood pressure, serum triglyceride level, fast glucose, serum HDL cholesterol level and central obesity were not correlated with CKD in either the unadjusted model or adjusted model in premenopausal women ( > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS MS is correlated with CKD in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women, and the association is dependent on diabetes, hypertension, and hyperuricemia in premenopausal women but not in postmenopausal women.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Metabolic Syndrome ; Postmenopause ; Premenopause ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Risk Factors