Blastocystis is a common unicellular intestinal protozoa in humans and animals, and the most common clinical manifestations of infections include abdominal pain and diarrhea. Based on the sequence of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene, 28 subtypes of B. hominis (ST1 to ST17, ST21 and ST23 to ST32) have been characterized. Previous studies have demonstrated that B. hominis infection is strongly associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other intestinal diseases, which threatens the health and quality of life among patients with B. hominis infection and is considered as an important public health problem. This review summarizes the progress of researches on B. hominis infection among IBD and IBS patients during the past 20 years, so as to provide insights into management of blastocystosis in China.
Animals ; Humans ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome/parasitology* ; Blastocystis Infections/complications* ; Quality of Life ; Blastocystis hominis/genetics* ; Feces/parasitology* ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/parasitology*

Background: and Purpose Social determinants of health (SDOH) are non-medical factors that may contribute to the development of diseases, with a higher representation in underserved populations. Our objective is to determine the association of unfavorable SDOH with self-reported stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) and vascular risk factors (VRFs) among Hispanic/Latino adults living in the US. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. SDOH and VRFs were assessed using questionnaires and validated scales and measurements. We investigated the association between the SDOH (individually and as count: ≤1, 2, 3, 4, or ≥5 SDOH), VRFs and stroke/TIA using regression analyses. Results: For individuals with stroke/TIA (n=388), the mean age (58.9 years) differed from those without stroke/TIA (n=11,210; 46.8 years; P<0.0001). In bivariate analysis, income <$20,000, education less than high school, no health insurance, perceived discrimination, not currently employed, upper tertile for chronic stress, and lower tertiles for social support and language- and social-based acculturation were associated with stroke/TIA and retained further. A higher number of SDOH was directly associated with all individual VRFs investigated, except for at-risk alcohol, and with number of VRFs (β=0.11, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.09–0.14). In the fully adjusted model, income, discrimination, social support, chronic stress, and employment status were individually associated with stroke/TIA; the odds of stroke/TIA were 2.3 times higher in individuals with 3 SDOH (95% CI 1.6–3.2) and 2.7 times (95% CI 1.9–3.7) for those with ≥5 versus ≤1 SDOH. Conclusion Among Hispanic/Latino adults, a higher number of SDOH is associated with increased odds for stroke/TIA and VRFs. The association remained significant after adjustment for VRFs, suggesting involvement of non-vascular mechanisms.

Platelets are reprogrammed by cancer via a process called education, which favors cancer development. The transcriptional profile of tumor-educated platelets (TEPs) is skewed and therefore practicable for cancer detection. This intercontinental, hospital-based, diagnostic study included 761 treatment-naïve inpatients with histologically confirmed adnexal masses and 167 healthy controls from nine medical centers (China, n = 3; Netherlands, n = 5; Poland, n = 1) between September 2016 and May 2019. The main outcomes were the performance of TEPs and their combination with CA125 in two Chinese (VC1 and VC2) and the European (VC3) validation cohorts collectively and independently. Exploratory outcome was the value of TEPs in public pan-cancer platelet transcriptome datasets. The AUCs for TEPs in the combined validation cohort, VC1, VC2, and VC3 were 0.918 (95% CI 0.889-0.948), 0.923 (0.855-0.990), 0.918 (0.872-0.963), and 0.887 (0.813-0.960), respectively. Combination of TEPs and CA125 demonstrated an AUC of 0.922 (0.889-0.955) in the combined validation cohort; 0.955 (0.912-0.997) in VC1; 0.939 (0.901-0.977) in VC2; 0.917 (0.824-1.000) in VC3. For subgroup analysis, TEPs exhibited an AUC of 0.858, 0.859, and 0.920 to detect early-stage, borderline, non-epithelial diseases and 0.899 to discriminate ovarian cancer from endometriosis. TEPs had robustness, compatibility, and universality for preoperative diagnosis of ovarian cancer since it withstood validations in populations of different ethnicities, heterogeneous histological subtypes, and early-stage ovarian cancer. However, these observations warrant prospective validations in a larger population before clinical utilities.
Humans ; Female ; Blood Platelets/pathology* ; Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics* ; Ovarian Neoplasms/pathology* ; China

Objective To explore the potential mechanism of Erchen decoction in the treatment of obese polycystic ovary syndrome and obese infertility, in order to provide theoretical basis for “treating different diseases with same method”. Methods The active ingredients and targets of Erchen decoction were obtained from TCMSP database, and the targets of obese polycystic ovary syndromes and obese infertility were obtained from GeneCard database. Active ingredient-target network was constructed by Cytoscape 3.7.1, and protein-protein interaction network and core target were obtained from STRING. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were performed by Cytoscape 3.7.1 and online software. Results 125 ingredients and 218 targets of Erchen decoction were obtained. There were 2 783 target genes for obese infertility and 2 962 target genes for obese polycystic ovary syndrome. Erchen decoction has a total of 117 target genes in the treatment of obese infertility and obese polycystic ovary syndromes, which proves the principle of “treating different diseases with same method”. Potential active ingredients include quercetin, kaempferol, naringin, baicalin and formononetin. PPI showed that STAT3, JUN, AKT1, MAPK3, MAPK1, MAPK14, IL-6 and FOS were the core targets of “treating different diseases with same method”. Molecular docking results showed that quercetin, kaempferol, etc. had good binding ability with JUN. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway and endocrine resistance might be the key pathways for the “treating different diseases with same method” of Erchen decoction. Conclusion Erchen decoction treating "different diseases with same method" involves same targets and same pathways, which can provide reference for future experimental research.

[摘 要] 目的：探讨胶质母细胞瘤（GBM）患者肿瘤组织来源的GBM类器官（GBO）模型的制备方法。方法：选取2021年广东三九脑科医院新诊断经病理确诊的8例GBM患者的新鲜肿瘤组织标本，将其剪成0.5~1 mm大小的组织碎片并用特制的培养基进行培养，待其成球且直径达到1 mm时剪小传代，同时选取培养2周以上的GBO进行石蜡包埋、切片，后进行H-E染色和免疫组化染色检测，并与亲本GBM组织进行组织学与细胞学的比较。结果：成功培养2例可传代冻存的GBO，并建立GBO生物库。H-E染色结果显示，GBO保留了与亲本GBM组织相似的组织结构和细胞形态；免疫组化实验结果显示，GBO与GBM组织中GFAP、OLIG2、Ki67和ATRX分子的表达情况一致。结论：将患者来源的GBM组织在体外剪小并用特制培养基培养，可构建与GBM患者肿瘤组织在组织和细胞层面一致的GBO。

Objective: To identify the initial chest computed tomography (CT) findings and clinical characteristics associated with the course of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Materials and Methods: Baseline CT scans and clinical and laboratory data of 72 patients admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia (39 men, 46.2 ± 15.9 years) were retrospectively analyzed. Baseline CT findings including lobar distribution, presence of ground glass opacities, consolidation, linear opacities, and lung severity score were evaluated. The outcome event was recovery with hospital discharge. The time from symptom onset to discharge or the end of follow-up (for those remained hospitalized) was recorded. Data were censored in events such as death or discharge without recovery. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression was used to explore the association between initial CT, clinical or laboratory findings, and discharge with recovery, whereby hazard ratio (HR) values < 1 indicated a lower rate of discharge at four weeks and longer time until discharge. Results: Thirty-two patients recovered and were discharged during the study period with a median length of admission of 16 days (range, 9 to 25 days), while the rest remained hospitalized at the end of this study (median, 17.5 days; range, 4 to 27 days). None died during the study period. After controlling for age, onset time, lesion characteristics, number of lung lobes affected, and bilateral involvement, the lung severity score on baseline CT (> 4 vs. ≤ 4 [reference]: adjusted HR = 0.41 [95% confidence interval, CI = 0.18–0.92], p = 0.031) and initial lymphocyte count (reduced vs. normal or elevated [reference]: adjusted HR = 0.14 [95% CI = 0.03–0.60], p = 0.008) were two significant independent factors that influenced recovery and discharge. Conclusion Lung severity score > 4 and reduced lymphocyte count at initial evaluation were independently associated with a significantly lower rate of recovery and discharge and extended hospitalization in patients admitted for COVID-19 pneumonia.

To address the increasing need for detecting and validating protein biomarkers in clinical specimens, mass spectrometry (MS)-based targeted proteomic techniques, including the selected reaction monitoring (SRM), parallel reaction monitoring (PRM), and massively parallel data-independent acquisition (DIA), have been developed. For optimal performance, they require the fragment ion spectra of targeted peptides as prior knowledge. In this report, we describe a MS pipe-line and spectral resource to support targeted proteomics studies for human tissue samples. To build the spectral resource, we integrated common open-source MS computational tools to assemble a freely accessible computational workflow based on Docker. We then applied the workflow to gen-erate DPHL, a comprehensive DIA pan-human library, from 1096 data-dependent acquisition (DDA) MS raw files for 16 types of cancer samples. This extensive spectral resource was then applied to a proteomic study of 17 prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Thereafter, PRM validation was applied to a larger study of 57 PCa patients and the differential expression of three proteins in prostate tumor was validated. As a second application, the DPHL spectral resource was applied to a study consisting of plasma samples from 19 diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients and 18 healthy control subjects. Differentially expressed proteins between DLBCL patients and healthy control subjects were detected by DIA-MS and confirmed by PRM. These data demonstrate that the DPHL supports DIA and PRM MS pipelines for robust protein biomarker discovery. DPHL is freely accessible at https://www.iprox.org/page/project.html?id=IPX0001400000.

Non-small cell lung cancer is a prevalent and rapidly-expanding challenge to modern medicine. While generalized medicine with traditional chemotherapy yielded comparatively poor response rates and treatment results, the cornerstone of personalized medicine using genetic profiling to direct treatment has exalted the successes seen in the field and raised the standard for patient treatment in lung and other cancers. Here, we discuss the current state and advances in the field of personalized medicine for lung cancer, reviewing several of the mutation-targeting strategies that are approved for clinical use and how they are guided by patient genetic information. These classes include inhibitors of tyrosine kinase (TKI), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), and monoclonal antibodies. Selecting from these treatment plans and determining the optimal dosage requires in-depth genetic guidance with consideration towards not only the underlying target genes but also other factors such as individual metabolic capability and presence of resistance-conferring mutations both directly on the target gene and along its cascade(s). Finally, we provide our viewpoints on the future of personalized medicine in lung cancer, including target-based drug combination, mutation-guided drug design and the necessity for data of population genetics, to provide rough guidance on treating patients who are unable to get genetic testing.

Objective: To identify the spatial clustering and its temporal trends among newly detected female HIV/AIDS cases aged 15 years or older, in China from 2010 to 2016. Methods: Newly detected HIV/AIDS cases among aged 15 years or older women in China during 2010-2016 were collected, to describe their demographic characteristics, changing trends and spatial autocorrelation. This program was conducted at county level, using the ArcGIS 10.3. Results: The number of newly detected HIV/AIDS cases among aged 15 years or older women was increasing annually from 16 603 to 26 196 in 2010 and in 2016. As the main route proportion of heterosexual transmission increased from 84.25% (13 988/16 603) in 2010 to 96.29%(25 224/26 196) in 2016. Both the number and proportion of HIV/AIDS cases among elderly women ≥50 years of age increased significantly from 17.82%(2 959/16 603) to 38.10%(9 981/26 196) in 2016. Results from spatial analysis demonstrated a county-level clustered distribution of HIV/AIDS cases across the country with a rising global Moran's I value=0.55 over the years (Z=51.46, P<0.001), which was concentrating on western and southern China, covering 9 provinces/autonomous regions/municipalities (Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Guizhou, Guangdong, Chongqing, Henan and Hunan). The temporal trends of hot spots differed by age groups, with the trend of epidemic shifting towards western border and southern coastal regions among women aged 15-49 years old, while the elderly women aged ≥50 years old were spreading northward from the southwestern regions. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that an increasing trend of clusters appeared on HIV epidemic among newly detected female HIV/AIDS cases aged 15 years or older in China, particularly in the western and southern regions. Prevention and intervention strategies should target on women according to their age distribution, particularly in regions with increasing trend of HIV epidemics.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; China/epidemiology* ; Epidemics ; Female ; HIV Infections/ethnology* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Spatial Analysis ; Young Adult