Objective To investigate the species of ticks in Suizhou City, Hubei Province, so as to provide insights into management of ticks and tick-borne diseases. Methods During the period between May 2023 and June 2024, livestock breeding farms and vegetation neighboring the place of residence of confirmed and suspected patients with tick-borne disease were selected as sampling points in rural areas from Yindian Township, Gaocheng Township, Wanhe Township, Wushan Township, Xiaolin Township, Xihe Township, Hedian Township and Beijiao Street in Suizhou City, Hubei Province, where confirmed and suspected cases with tick-borne diseases had been reported. The parasitic ticks on the body surface of free-range livestock were captured with tweezers in livestock breeding farms, and free ticks on the vegetation surface were captured with the flagging method. Morphological identification of tick samples was performed under a microscope, and the gender and developmental stage of ticks were determined. One engorged adult tick, 2 to 3 blood-feeding but non-engorged adult ticks, 10 to 15 unfed female ticks, 15 to 20 unfed male ticks, and 30 to 40 tick nymphs or larvae were assigned into a group, respectively. Genomic DNA was extracted from tick samples in each group, and mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene was amplified. Sequence analysis was performed with the DNASTAR software, and phylogenetic analysis was performed using the software MEGA 7.0. In addition, the phylogenetic tree was generated using the maximum likelihood method based on the Kimura 2 parameter model. Results A total of 2 438 ticks were captured from Suizhou City, Hubei Province during the period between May 2023 and June 2024, including 595 free ticks and 1 483 parasitic ticks. Three developmental stages of ticks were captured, including larvae, nymphs, and adults, and 75.18% (1 899/2 438) of captured ticks were adult, in which 79.04% (1 501/1 899) were female. Morphological and molecular biological assays identified one family, three genera and four species of captured ticks, including 2 425 Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks (99.47%) and one H. flava tick (0.04%) of the genus Haemaphysalis, 11 Rhipicephalus microplus ticks (0.45%) of the genus Rhipicephalus, and one Ixodes sinensis tick (0.04%) of the genus Ixodes in the family Ixodidae. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the H. longicornis sequence (SZ49) in this study was clustered with sequences from Yunnan Province (GenBank accession number: MH024510.1), Hebei Province (GenBank accession number: MK450606.1) and Henan Province (GenBank accession number: MZ230645.1) into a clade, and the H. flava sequence (SZ19) in this study was clustered with sequences from Japan (GenBank accession number: MW064044.1), South Korea (GenBank accession number: ON629585.1), and Jiangsu Province (GenBank accession number: PP494741.1) and Hebei Province of China (GenBank accession number: MH520685.1) into a clade, while the R. microplus sequence (SZ8) in this study was clustered with the sequences from India (GenBank accession number: MK621328.1), and Henan Province (GenBank accession number: MT555307.1) and Guizhou Province of China (GenBank accession number: PP446801.1) into a clade. The sequence of I. sinensis (SZ23) in this study had 99.51% homology with that (GenBank accession number: OM368265.1) of ticks sampled from Wuhan City, Hubei Province. Conclusion There are four tick species of H. longicornis, H. flava, R. microplus and I. sinensis in Suizhou City, Hubei Province, and H. longicornis is the dominant species. H. flava is firstly recorded in Suizhou City.

Objective: To explore the correlation and lag effects of environmental factors on pediatric respiratory disease visits at hospital, so as to provide scientific basis for disease prediction and optimizing clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods: Data from 503 889 pediatric respiratory disease outpatient and emergency visits a central hospital in Minhang District of Shanghai between 2017 and 2019, along with concurrent meteorological data were collected. A distributed lag non-linear models (DLNM) was constructed to explore the specific relationship between pediatric respiratory disease consultations and various environmental factors and to quantify the cumulative lag effects of environmental factors on respiratory disease consultations. Results: Among the environmental factors, temperature, fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), inhalable particulate matter (PM 10 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), and sulfur dioxide (SO 2) were associated with pediatric respiratory disease visits. After adjusting for temperature, PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentrations did not show significant immediate or lag effects. The relative risk (RR) of pediatric respiratory disease visits increased with rising NO 2 concentrations. When NO 2 concentration ≥55 μg/m 3, significant immediate and lagged effects (lag 3, 5, and 7 days) were observed. The RR values were 1.05, 1.13, 1.17, and 1.21( P <0.05). The RR values showed an inverted “U” shaped relationship with SO 2 concentrations. When SO 2 concentration ≥5 μg/m 3, significant lagged effects (lag 3, 5, and 7 days) were observed. The RR values were 1.03 , 1.03, and 1.04 ( P <0.05). Conclusion High concentrations of NO 2 and SO 2 increase the risk of pediatric respiratory disease visits, with observable lag effects.

BACKGROUND: Preclinical studies have indicated that Angong Niuhuang Pills (ANP) reduce cerebral infarct and edema volumes. This study aimed to investigate whether ANP safely reduces cerebral infarct and edema volumes in patients with moderate to severe acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial included patients with acute ischemic stroke with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores ranging from 10 to 20 in 17 centers in China between April 2021 and July 2022. Patients were allocated within 36 h after onset via block randomization to receive ANP or placebo (3 g/day for 5 days). The primary outcomes were changes in cerebral infarct and edema volumes after 14 days of treatment. The primary safety outcome was severe adverse events (SAEs) for 90 days. RESULTS: There were 57 and 60 patients finally included in the ANP and placebo groups, respectively for modified intention-to-treat analysis. The median age was 66.0 years, and the median NIHSS score at baseline was 12.0. The changes in cerebral infarct volume at day 14 were 0.3 mL and 0.4 mL in the ANP and placebo groups, respectively (median difference: -7.1 mL; interquartile range [IQR]: -18.3 to 2.3 mL, P = 0.30). The changes in cerebral edema volume of the ANP and placebo groups on day 14 were 11.4 mL and 4.0 mL, respectively ( median difference: 3.0 mL, IQR: -1.3 to 9.9 mL, P = 0.15). The rates of SAE within 90 days were similar in the ANP (3/57, 5%) and placebo (7/60, 12%) groups ( P = 0.36). Changes in serum mercury and arsenic concentrations were comparable. In patients with large artery atherosclerosis, ANP reduced the cerebral infarct volume at 14 days (median difference: -12.3 mL; IQR: -27.7 to -0.3 mL, P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: ANP showed a similar safety profile to placebo and non-significant tendency to reduce cerebral infarct volume in patients with moderate-to-severe stroke. Further studies are warranted to assess the efficacy of ANP in reducing cerebral infarcts and improving clinical prognosis. TRAIL REGISTRATION Clinicaltrials.gov , No. NCT04475328.
Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Ischemic Stroke/drug therapy* ; Pilot Projects ; Stroke/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome

Medical cross-modal retrieval aims to achieve semantic similarity search between different modalities of medical cases, such as quickly locating relevant ultrasound images through ultrasound reports, or using ultrasound images to retrieve matching reports. However, existing medical cross-modal hash retrieval methods face significant challenges, including semantic and visual differences between modalities and the scalability issues of hash algorithms in handling large-scale data. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a Medical image Semantic Alignment Cross-modal Hashing based on Transformer (MSACH). The algorithm employed a segmented training strategy, combining modality feature extraction and hash function learning, effectively extracting low-dimensional features containing important semantic information. A Transformer encoder was used for cross-modal semantic learning. By introducing manifold similarity constraints, balance constraints, and a linear classification network constraint, the algorithm enhanced the discriminability of the hash codes. Experimental results demonstrated that the MSACH algorithm improved the mean average precision (MAP) by 11.8% and 12.8% on two datasets compared to traditional methods. The algorithm exhibits outstanding performance in enhancing retrieval accuracy and handling large-scale medical data, showing promising potential for practical applications.
Algorithms ; Semantics ; Humans ; Ultrasonography ; Information Storage and Retrieval/methods* ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods*

ObjectiveTo analyze the impact of diabetes-related deaths on the probability of premature mortality and life expectancy in Minhang District of Shanghai from 2004 to 2023, and to provide reference data for the optimization of targeted prevention and control strategies. MethodsAll death cases involving diabetes among the registered residents of Minhang District from 2004 to 2023 were collected. The probability of premature mortality and life expectancy was computed using the abridged life table method. The average annual percent change (AAPC) was calculated with Joinpoint 4.9.0.0. The Arriaga decomposition method was employed for statistical analyses of the influence of cause-specific and age-specific mortality related to diabetes on life expectancy. ResultsThe total number of diabetes-related mortality, crude mortality, and standardized mortality for both males and females in Minhang District from 2004 to 2023 exhibited an increasing trend (P<0.001). The primary causes of death among diabetes-related cases were cardiovascular disease (37.68%), diabetes mellitus (31.95%), and malignant tumor (17.80%). From 2004 to 2023, probability of premature mortality to diabetes-related diseases demonstrated a rising trend (P<0.001), contrasting with the declining trend observed in the overall population (P=0.001). Males showed a significant upward trajectory (P<0.001), while females displayed a stable pattern. Among the diseases exerting considerable influence, cardiovascular disease and malignant tumor revealed a marked increase over time (P<0.001), whereas diabetes mellitus maintained a stable trend; both factors negatively impacted the reduction in probability of premature mortality. From 2004 to 2023, diabetes-related mortality reduced life expectancy among residents by an average of 1.22 years (-49.89%), indicating a negative impact; the reduction was 1.41 years in males and 0.90 years in females. The age groups exhibiting greater negative contributions differed by genders, namely males aged 50‒54 years and females aged 70‒74 years. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and malignant tumor contributed significantly to this decline (-0.46 years, -0.42 years, -0.20 years, respectively), with male experiencing higher negative contributions than females. ConclusionIn Minhang District, the rising mortality associated with diabetes-related diseases negatively impact both the reduction of the probability of premature mortality and the increase in life expectancy. This trend is primarily attributed to the rapid escalation of mortality and younger age demographic of male residents, which warrants significant attention. It is recommended that, based on the enhancement of case management, efforts should be directed towards the targeted prevention and control of risk factors and high-risk populations.

ObjectiveTo analyze the reported cases of infectious diseases across different tiers of public medical and healthcare institutions in Minhang District, Shanghai from 2013 to 2023, to investigate the status and changes in reported infectious diseases in this district from a temporal, etiological, and demographic perspectives, so as to provide a scientific basis for the construction of a hierarchica early-warning surveillance system under the grading diagnosis and treatment model in medical institutions, as well as for optimizing sentinel surveillance at facilities of different levels. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed using surveillance data from the China Disease Prevention and Control Information System in Minhang District from 2013 to 2023. Reported infectious diseases were categorized into three categories based on transmission routes: respiratory infectious diseases, intestinal infectious diseases, and sexually transmitted and blood borne infectious diseases. According to the implementation phase of the grading diagnosis and treatment policy, the research time was divided into four time periods: 2013‒2016, 2017‒2019, 2020‒2022, and 2023. The distribution and temporal changes of reported cases of infectious diseases were compared across community health service centers (CHCs), secondary hospitals, tertiary grade-A hospitals and tertiary grade-B hospitals. Chi-square test was used for univariate analysis of differences in the number of reported cases. Quantitative data with normal distribution were analyzed using parametric tests, otherwise, Kruskal⁃Wallis H tests were used. ResultsThe proportions of total reported cases of infectious diseases in medical institutions at all levels in Minhang District, Shanghai from 2013 to 2023 were 10.66% in CHCs, 9.10% in secondary hospitals, 64.95% in tertiary grade-B hospitals, and 15.29% in tertiary grade-A hospitals, with an overall decline and then rebound trend in the reported cases. After the implementation of grading diagnosis and treatment policy, the number of reported cases in CHCs and secondary hospitals showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing, while that in tertiary grade-B hospitals showed a steady decreasing trend and that in tertiary grade-A hospitals showed an increasing trend. In terms of the research periods divided above, a total of 10 392 cases were reported in 2013‒2016 (70.34% from tertiary grade-B hospitals and 12.59% from CHCs), including 2 922 cases of respiratory infectious diseases, 1 241 cases of intestinal infectious diseases, and 6 229 cases of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infectious diseases. Between 2017 and 2019, a total of 6 967 cases were reported (73.49% from tertiary grade-B hospitals and 11.84% from tertiary grade-A hospitals), including 2 983 cases of respiratory infectious diseases, 279 cases of intestinal infectious diseases, and 3 705 cases of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infectious diseases. Between 2020 and 2022, a total of 4 599 cases were reported (69.92% from tertiary grade-B hospitals and 24.57% from tertiary grade-A hospitals), including 1 627 cases of respiratory infectious diseases, 123 cases of intestinal infectious diseases, and 2 849 cases of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infectious diseases. In 2023, a total of 4 648 cases were reported (35.20% from tertiary grade-B hospitals and 27.50% from tertiary grade-A hospitals), including 3 165 cases of respiratory infectious diseases, 69 cases of intestinal infectious diseases, and 1 414 cases of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infectious diseases. The proportion of reported cases from tertiary grade-B hospitals was the highest in all the four research periods, but exhibited an obvious decrease in 2023. The differences in the reported cases of infectious diseases with different transmission routes among medical institutions at all levels were statistically significant (χ²=3 225.628, P<0.05). The differences in the mean age of patients among medical institutions at all levels were statistically significant (H=1 325.927, P<0.05). ConclusionThere are significant differences in the number of reported cases of infectious disease in the medical institutions at different levels. Tertiary grade-B hospitals have historically dominated the number of reported cases, but its share has declined recently. Whereas, CHCs and tertiary grade-A hospitals have played an increasingly important role in the surveillance and early warning of respiratory and intestinal infectious diseases. Therefore, it is recommended to leverage the strengths of grading diagnosis and treatment to establish targeted sentinel sites and deploy specialized teams tailored to the epidemiological characteristics of specific disease categories.

Background Previous research on chlorinated paraffins (CPs) in fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) has predominantly focused on short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs and MCCPs), and few studies could simultaneously determine short-, medium-, and long-chain chlorinated paraffins (LCCPs). Simultaneous extraction and determination of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs in PM_2.5 could provide technical support for their environmental monitoring and human health risk assessment. Objective To establish a method based on QUEChERS pretreatment method in conjunction with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry for simultaneously determining the levels of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs in PM_2.5. Methods The extraction solvents, extraction salts, and extraction steps of a QuEChERS method were optimized. The extraction efficiencies of the target substances were compared under 4 extraction solvents [acetonitrile, dichloromethane, and n-hexane solvents in sequence; acetonitrile: dichloromethane: n-hexane = 1: 1: 2 (v/v/v) mixed solvent; 1% acetic acid-acetonitrile: dichloromethane: n-hexane = 1: 1: 1 (v/v/v) mixed solvent; acetonitrile: dichloromethane: n-hexane = 1: 1: 1 (v/v/v) mixed solvent], 2 dehydrated salts (anhydrous MgSO₄+NaCl and anhydrous Na₂SO₄+NaCl), 2 purification salts (C18 and PSA), and 4 vortex time (5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5 min) conditions. Then internal standard was utilized to estimate linear range and detection limit of the refined QuEChERS approach. Results The linearities of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs were good in the range of 10~1000 ng·mL⁻¹ with the correlation coefficients all greater than 0.96. The method detection limits (MDLs) ranged from 0.01 to 0.29 ng·m⁻³. The spiked recoveries of SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs at the low, medium, and high concentrations were 77.38%-81.64%, 93.11%-99.78%, and 87.41%-101.39%, respectively, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 2.90%-12.84%. This method was used to determine the CPs levels in 11 PM_2.5 samples from Shijiazhuang. The positive rates of ∑SCCPs, ∑MCCPs, and ∑LCCPs were all 100%, the concentration ranges were 0.24-2.18 ng·m⁻³ (mean 0.84 ng·m⁻³), 0.17-1.67 ng·m⁻³ (mean 0.70 ng·m⁻³), and 0.01-0.16 ng·m⁻³ (mean 0.04 ng·m⁻³), respectively, and the percentages to ΣCPs were 52.95%, 44.39%, and 2.66%, respectively. Conclusion The method established in this study is simple, time-saving, solvent saving, and can simultaneously detect SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs in PM_2.5, which is suitable for the determination of PM_2.5 samples in large quantities, and can also provide a reference for the detection methods of other halogenated organic compounds in PM_2.5.

Objective To investigate the expression level and clinical application value of G-protein coupled receptor 15 ligand (GPR15L) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods In a retrospective cohort, real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression levels of G-protein coupled receptor 15 (GPR15) mRNA and GPR15L mRNA in peripheral blood from 63 SLE patients (SLE group) and 57 healthy controls (control group). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the serum GPR15L protein expression levels in the SLE group, control group, and 50 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients (disease control group). The relationship between serum GPR15L and laboratory indicators as well as therapeutic efficacy in SLE patients was analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the diagnostic efficacy of serum GPR15 alone and combination with common autoantibody indicators for SLE. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the independent risk factors for SLE onset. Results Compared with the control group, the SLE group exhibited increased levels of GPR15 mRNA and GPR15L mRNA in peripheral blood (P=0.016 4, P < 0.000 1, respectively). The serum GPR15L expression in the SLE group was higher than that in the disease control group (P < 0.000 1). The serum GPR15L protein expression level in SLE patients was positively correlated with GPR15L mRNA and disease activity (r=0.301 3, P=0.016 4; r=0.361 7, P=0.003 6) and negatively correlated with complement C3 and C4 levels (r=-0.341 2, P=0.006 2; r=-0.338 4, P=0.006 7). The ROC curves showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for serum GPR15L in distinguishing the SLE group from the control group was 0.870 8, and the AUC for distinguishing the SLE group from the control group was 0.765 5. The diagnostic efficacy of serum GPR15L combined with anti-SSA for SLE was significantly improved, with an AUC of 0.895 2. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that elevated GPR15L protein and GPR15L mRNA were independent risk factors for SLE onset (P < 0.05). Conclusion The significant increase in serum GPR15L protein levels in SLE patients is closely related to SLE disease activity, and abnormal expression of GPR15L may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SLE.

Objective:To explore the relationship between macrophage infiltration in the coronary plaque and downstream myocardial perfusion in mice.Methods:The experimental group consisted of 20 ApoE knockout mice models of the coronary plaque established by feeding with cholesterol-rich diets, and the control group consisted of 20 sex- and age-matched C57BL/6 mice with the same genetic background as ApoE mice.Adenosine stress myocardial contrast echocardiography was performed on all experimental animals to obtain the values of A, β and A×β of the left ventricular myocardium in anteroseptal and posterior walls both in the resting status and during adenosine stress. Concentrations of serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were determined using mouse enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits according to the manufacturer′s instructions. The degree of macrophage infiltration in the coronary plaque was evaluated by pathological immunohistochemistry staining and the correlations with the above indicators were analyzed.Results:There were no statistically significant differences in heart rate and left ventricular structural parameters between two groups (all P>0.05). The experimental group had a lower left ventricular ejection fraction( P=0.021), and higher weight and serum levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, IL-6, and TNF-α than the control group (all P<0.05). The values of A, β and A × β of the left ventricular myocardium in anteroseptal and posterior walls in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group during adenosine stress (all P<0.05). In the experimental group, the value of the macrophage infiltration found in the plaque of the left main coronary artery correlated positively with the level of serum TNF-α ( r=0.63, P=0.003) and negatively correlated with the values of A×β of the left ventricular myocardium in anteroseptal and posterior walls during adenosine stress ( r=-0.74, P<0.001; r=-0.72, P<0.001; respectively). Conclusions:Myocardial perfusion in ApoE knockout mice models of the coronary atherosclerosis was related with degree of macrophage infiltration in the coronary plaque, and macrophages may play a role by releasing inflammatory mediator TNF-α.

Objective To explore the clinical value of methylation at promoter sites of urine protein kinase Y-linked(PRKY)gene in the early diagnosis of prostate cancer(PCa).Methods Urine samples were collected from 50 suspected PCa patients.After extracting DNA,the methylation levels of the PRKY gene promoter sites cg05163709,cg08045599,and cg05618150 were detected using quantitative methylation-specific PCR(qMSP).Simultaneously,the patients were divided into the benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH)group and the PCa group.The differences in clinical indicators between the two groups were analyzed,as well as the methylation status of the PRKY gene promoter sites in the urine of the two groups of patients.The receiver operating charac-teristic(ROC)curve of PRKY promoter sites methylation was established,and the area under the curve(AUC)was calculated to analyze the diagnostic value of PRKY promoter sites methylation in PCa,and to perform com-bined diagnosis with clinical indicators.Results The methylation rates of cg05163709 and cg05618150 in urine specimens of PCa patients were significantly higher than those of BPH patients.The AUC for cg05163709 methyla-tion in diagnosing PCa was 0.762,with a sensitivity of 86.70%.It showed better performance in early screening for PCa compared to total prostate specific antigen(tPSA),percentage free prostate specific antigen(f/tPSA)and prostate specific antigen density(PSAD)index.We found that the AUC for cg05618150 methylation in conjunc-tion with PSAD in diagnosing PCa was 0.787,with a sensitivity of 86.70%.The AUC of cg05163709 methylation and PSAD in the joint diagnosis of PCa was 0.855,and the specificity could reach 95.00%.Conclusion The methylation of urine PRKY gene promoter sites cg05163709 and cg05618150 shows high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing PCa,making them promising biomarkers for early detection of PCa.