Objective To investigate the influence of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)on cognitive function and the effective connectivity with in the default mode network(DMN)in the brain.Methods A total of 93 hospitalized patients diagnosed with T2DM were enrolled in this study as T2DM group from The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine during September 2021 to December 2022.Simultaneously,108 healthy individuals were recruited from the community as normal control(NC)group.The cognitive functions were evaluated in the two groups.A random dynamic causal modeling approach was employed to analyze the effective connectivity within DMN in both groups.Additionally,Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the association between differential connectivity,clinical indicators,and cognitive scores in both groups.Results In comparison to the NC group,T2DM individuals exhibited statistically significant reductions in scores in the auditory verbal learning test(AVLT)for immediate recall and the digit symbol substitution test(DSST)(P＜0.05).Additionally,they displayed a notable decrease in effective connectivity from the left lateral parietal cortex(LLPC)to the posterior cingulate cortex(PCC),as well as from the LLPC to the right lateral parietal cortex(RLPC)within the DMN(P＜0.05).Pearson correlation analysis unveiled a negative association between HbA1c levels and the strength of effective connectivity from LLPC to PCC.Conversely,a positive correlation was observed between AVLT(immediate)scores and the strength of effective connectivity from LLPC to PCC and LLPC to RLPC.Additionally,DSST scores displayed a positive correlation with the strength of effective connectivity from LLPC to PCC(P＜0.05).Conclusion Patients with T2DM display compromised effective connectivity from LLPC to PCC and LLPC to RLPC within the DMN network,and this alteration may associated with cognitive impairment.

Objective To study the use of phospholipase A2(PLA2)to open blood brain barrier(BBB)by affecting the physiological barrier function and promote the antidote drug asoxime(HI-6)to take effect in brain,providing a new research idea for the treatment of central nervous system organophosphorus poisoning.Methods The stability of the complex of PLA2-HI-6 was characterized through methods such as release and stability experiments.The cerebral delivery ability of the complex was evaluated through brain tissue FLU fluorescence pathology.The effect of PLA2 on cell membrane permeability was evaluated by observation with propidium iodide(PI)staining.The mouse model of soman poisoning was established to evaluate cerebral effects of the complex against soman central poisoning:(1)measuring the reactivation rate of mouse brain acetylcholinesterase(AChE);(2)observing pathological sections of mouse brain tissues;(3)calculating the survival time of mice in different groups.The safety of PLA2 was evaluated at both cellular and animal levels.Results Releasing and stability test results showed that the addition of PLA2 didn't affect the release and degradation of HI-6.PLA2 helped FLU transport into brain tissues,demonstrating excellent central delivery capability.The complex of PLA2-H1-6 significantly increased the reactivation rate of AChE in the brain of poisoned mice to 50％,about 12 times higher than that treated by HI-6 alone.Pathological results of mouse brain tissue showed that the complex effectively counteracted the cerebral nervous system damage caused by organophosphorus poisoning,significantly prolonged the survival time of mice at three times the lethal dose,and significantly alleviated symptoms of central toxicity.Research on delivery mechanisms found that complex achieved central delivery by increasing the permeability of the cell membrane to crossing the cell.Safety tests at the cellular and animal levels showed that the dosage of PLA2 used in this study was safe and reliable,and did not cause any adverse reactions.Conclusion By using PLA2 as an open material,combined with the therapeutic drug of HI-6,a complexcapable of effectively penetrating the BBB was successfully constructed.This complex has a certain central targeting ability and significantly improves the reactivation rate of AChE in the brain after organophosphorus poisoning,whichprovides a referencefor solving the difficult problem of enzyme reactivation incentral nervous system organophosphorus poisoning.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 （SARS-CoV-2） and its variants are still globally spreading. Vaccines can reduce the mortality， but cannot eliminate the risk of infection. The identification and protection of the high-risk susceptible population remains of great importance for the prevention and control of SARS-CoV2 and other coronavirus infections. Smoking is an important risk factor for many respiratory diseases， and therefore may also influence the risk of SARS-CoV2 infection and the disease progression after infection. This study reviewed the epidemiological and mechanistic evidence supporting the relationship between tobacco exposure and SARS-CoV2 infection， summarized the contributing effects of tobacco exposure to the infection risk， disease severity， and mortality of COVID-19， and analyzed the molecular mechanisms by which cigarette smoking affects COVID-19 through regulating inflammatory microenvironment and gene expression.

Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） has emerged as a significant public health concern， posing a serious threat to the lives and health of residents in China. Furthermore， the incidence and mortality rates of HCC are notably higher in males than in females. Androgen receptors （AR） can contribute to the occurrence of male-specific cancers such as prostate cancer， suggesting a potential link to the increased susceptibility of males to HCC. Elucidating the cancer-promoting mechanism of AR and developing specific targeted interventions are effective ways to advance tertiary prevention of HCC and improve patient prognosis. This paper reviews the relevant evidence of AR’s role in promoting the occurrence and development of HCC， summarizes relevant mechanisms discovered to date， including promoting the stemness of HCC cells， altering the immune microenvironment， regulating key signaling pathways， inducing glycolysis in hepatocellular carcinoma， and synergizing with hepatitis B virus to promote HCC. Additionally， research directions for targeted interventions in HCC through AR-related signaling pathways are discussed.

Abstract: Chronic infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is the major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in China. The occurrence of HCC through chronic inflammation follows the Darwinian evolutionary law, known as "mutation-selection-adaptation". Inflammatory mutagenic molecules promote the generation of somatic mutations, and the most mutant cells are eliminated by inflammatory microenvironment. However, a minority of mutant cells survive the selective pressure and develop to tumor initial cells by activating oncogenic signaling pathway and acquiring "stemness" characteristics. Alongside this process, HBV also evolves under the pressure of inflammatory microenvironment, which is characterized by the accumulation of cancer-promoting viral mutations, reducing the ability to infect new individuals. The high-risk mutant strains are eliminated with the death of hosts, leading to a phenomenon termed as "dead-end evolution". HBV evolution contributes to cancer evolution by maintaining the inflammatory microenvironment, activating oncogenic pathways, inducing somatic cell mutations, and altering metabolic patterns. The combo mutations of HBV and HBV integrations can be applied to predict the occurrence and prognosis of HCC. Anti-viral treatment reduces the risk of HCC by relieving inflammation. This article reviews the molecular epidemiological evidence and mechanistic advances related to the co-evolution of HBV and HCC. Clarifying the co-evolutionary pattern of virus and cancer and the key molecular events involved, is beneficial for identifying new biomarkers and therapeutic targets, thus improving the prevention and treatment strategies for HCC.

With the widespread use of mobile phones, laptops, and WIFI, the effects of radio frequency radiation (RFR) on human health are of increasing concern, and there are particular concerns about its reproductive toxicity. Studies have shown that the reproductive system is a sensitive target for RFR. In males, RFR is associated with decreased sperm quality and serum testosterone levels, but there are few studies on the biological effects of RFR by altering physical parameters on the male reproductive system. This paper introduced common sources of RFR, reviewed the toxic effects and mechanisms of RFR targeting male reproductive system from the aspects of spermatogenic cells, sperm structure, blood-testicular barrier, and testicular function, and analyzed male reproductive system related toxic effects of RFR by varying physical parameters including frequency, treatment duration, and specific absorption rate, so as to provide a theoretical basis and scientific basis for the safe and reasonable use of radio frequency electromagnetic field by humans and subsequent in-depth research.

As a limiting factor in telomerase activity,telomerase reverse transcriptase(TERT)controls cellular senescence and apoptosis by maintaining telomere length.TERT is not expressed or little expressed in most normal cells.However,the abnormal overexpression of TERT promotes the ability of tumor cells to replicate indefinitely.This review summarizes the regulatory mechanisms of TERT expression,including the main transcription factor families,single nucleotide polymorphism sites,and epigenetic modification changes such as DNA methylation,histone modification,and non-coding RNA.The role of these molecular mechanisms as well as significant TERT single-base variants and virus integration variants in the occurrence and development of cancer are reviewed.On this basis,its application in tumor diagnosis and prognosis is discussed.

Upper respiratory tract is directly connected with the external environment， and its natural immune system is the first line of defense against pathogens. In antiviral infection， interferon （IFN） is the main component of the antiviral natural immune system and IFN-λ is a newly discovered immune effector molecule that is mainly produced in the mucosal barrier. IFN-λ exerts a biological role through Janus kinase （JAK） and signal transducer and activator of transcription （STAT） signaling pathway， and plays an important part in regulating innate and acquired immunity of respiratory mucosa. IFN-λ principally expresses on the mucosal barrier with a long-lasting antiviral impact and controls immune-inflammatory damage， which is becoming a new focus of antiviral immunity research in the upper respiratory tract， especially in fighting against 2019 novel coronavirus diseases （COVID-19）. Thus， we summarize the research progress of IFN-λ antiviral immunity in the upper respiratory tract to provide new insight in the prevention and treatment of viral infection in the upper respiratory tract.

Objective:To detect the expressions of anterior gradient protein 2 (AGR2) in the cultures of three colon cancer cell lines SW480, SW620 and COLO205, and to investigate the effects of different concentrations of exogenous AGR2 on the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of SW620 cells.Methods:Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of AGR2 protein in SW480, SW620 and COLO205 colon cancer cell cultures. SW620 cells were divided into blank control group, anterior gradient protein 2 homologous human recombinant protein (rAGR2) low concentration group (100 μg/ml) and rAGR2 high concentration group (200 μg/ml), and CCK-8 assay, cell scratch assay and Transwell migration and invasion assay were used to detect the effects of different concentrations of rAGR2 on the biological behaviors of SW620 cells.Results:Western blotting results showed that the expression levels of AGR2 protein in SW480, SW620 and COLO205 cells were 0.545±0.097, 0.662±0.040 and 0.882±0.156 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=7.46, P=0.024). The level of AGR2 protein in COLO205 cell line was significantly higher than that in SW480 and SW620 cell lines ( P=0.009; P=0.047). The results of CCK-8 experiment showed that the proliferative activities of SW620 cells in the blank control group, rAGR2 low concentration group and rAGR2 high concentration group were 0.422±0.031, 0.542±0.040 and 0.574±0.033 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=26.35, P<0.001), and the rAGR2 low concentration group and rAGR2 high concentration group were significantly higher than the blank control group (both P<0.001). The results of cell scratching assay showed that the percentage of 36 h cell scratching area was (28.029±2.107)%, (20.642±0.983)% and (16.951±1.608)% for the three groups of cells respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=35.85, P<0.001), the rAGR2 low concentration group was higher than the blank control group ( P=0.001), and the rAGR2 high concentration group was higher than the rAGR2 low concentration group ( P=0.032). The results of cell migration assay showed that the number of cells migrated in the three groups was 447.1±32.3, 513.1±55.8 and 632.4±50.3 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=35.62, P<0.001), the rAGR2 low concentration group was more than the blank control group ( P=0.007), and the rAGR2 high concentration group was more than the rAGR2 low concentration group ( P<0.001). The results of the invasion assay showed that the number of cells invaded in the three groups was 369.1±56.1, 505.1±34.4 and 579.0±71.5 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=32.40, P<0.001), the rAGR2 low concentration group was more than the blank control group ( P<0.001), and the rAGR2 high concentration group was more than the rAGR2 low concentration group ( P=0.010). Conclusion:The expression of AGR2 protein varies in the extracellular fluid of different invasive colon cancer cells and increases with the invasive ability. AGR2 protein can increase the proliferation, migration and invasive abilities of colon cancer cells SW620.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between pancreatic fibrotic marker transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) and platelet derived growth factor-BB(PDGF-BB) and serum glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels in patients with type 3c diabetes mellitus secondary to chronic pancreatitis(CP-T3cDM).Methods:The clinical data of 39 patients with CP-T3cDM admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University between February 2018 and August 2020 were collected, and the patients' age, gender, body mass index, duration of chronic pancreatitis and diabetes mellitus, smoking history, alcohol consumption history, serum HbA1c level at admission, degree of pancreatic atrophy, morphology of the main pancreatic duct, and treatment of diabetes mellitus were recorded. Serum TGF-β and PDGF-BB were detected by ELISA. Patients were divided into high and low level group according to the median TGF-β and PDGF-BB levels, respectively. Clinical characteristics of patients were compared between the TGF-β and PDGF-BB high and low level group. The correlation between TGF-β, PDGF-BB and HbA1c was analyzed by Spearman's correlation analysis.Results:A total of 39 CP-T3cDM patients were included; 35 were male and 4 were female. The age of first onset of chronic pancreatitis was (42±14) years old, and the duration of diabetes mellitus was 24(4, 36) months. The serum HbA1c level was (7.8±1.6)%, and the serum TGF-β and PDGF-BB levels were 20.5(10.5, 43.1) and 647.5(276.9, 1349.2)pg/ml, respectively. The serum HbA1c levels of patients in the high-level group of serum TGF-β and PDGF-BB were significantly higher than those in the corresponding low-level group [8.6%(7.4%, 9.9%) vs 6.7%(6.2%, 7.8%) and 8.6%(7.4%, 9.6%) vs 6.7%(6.1%, 7.8%), respectively] , and the difference was statistically different (both P value <0.01), while none of other indicators showed statistically significant differences between both groups. The correlation analysis showed that the levels of TGF-β and PDGF-BB were significantly positively correlated with HbA1c level ( r=0.45, 0.53, both P value <0.01). Conclusions:Increased pancreatic fibrosis in patients with CP-T3cDM was an important factor contributing to elevated blood glucose level. Patients with higher serum pancreatic fibrotic factors exhibited a significant increase in HbA1c level.