Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a progressive and irreversible fibroinflammatory disorder, accompanied by pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and dysregulated gut microbiota. Recently, accumulating evidence has supported a correlation between gut dysbiosis and CP development. However, whether gut microbiota dysbiosis contributes to CP pathogenesis remains unclear. Herein, an experimental CP was induced by repeated high-dose caerulein injections. The broad-spectrum antibiotics (ABX) and ABX targeting Gram-positive (G⁺) or Gram-negative bacteria (G^-) were applied to explore the specific roles of these bacteria. Gut dysbiosis was observed in both mice and in CP patients, which was accompanied by a sharply reduced abundance for short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)-producers, especially G⁺ bacteria. Broad-spectrum ABX exacerbated the severity of CP, as evidenced by aggravated pancreatic fibrosis and gut dysbiosis, especially the depletion of SCFAs-producing G⁺ bacteria. Additionally, depletion of SCFAs-producing G⁺ bacteria rather than G^- bacteria intensified CP progression independent of TLR4, which was attenuated by supplementation with exogenous SCFAs. Finally, SCFAs modulated pancreatic fibrosis through inhibition of macrophage infiltration and M2 phenotype switching. The study supports a critical role for SCFAs-producing G⁺ bacteria in CP. Therefore, modulation of dietary-derived SCFAs or G⁺ SCFAs-producing bacteria may be considered a novel interventive approach for the management of CP.

Objective:To investigate the effects of 3-methyladenine(3-MA)on extracellular matrix deposition in early diabetic nephropathy(DN)and its mechanism.Methods:A streptozotocin(STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes mouse model was used, and the mice were divided into vehicle control group, diabetes group(STZ group), 3-MA group, and chloroquine(CQ)group, 8 mice in each group. After 6 weeks of intervention, both kidneys were harvested, and the kidney-to-body weight ratio was recorded. Western blotting was performed to detect protein expressions of renal cortex fibronectin, α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA), LC3, Beclin 1, p62, and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF). Immunohistochemistry was used to observe kidney fibronectin staining. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted on shared genes between diabetic nephropathy(DN)gene targets and 3-MA predicted gene targets.Results:Both 3-MA and CQ exhibited certain hypoglycemic effects in diabetic mice. Compared to the STZ group, the kidney-to-body weight ratio decreased in the 3-MA group( P<0.05). Western blotting showed that 3-MA reduced the expression of renal cortex matrix-related proteins fibronectin and α-SMA in diabetic mice( P<0.05 or P<0.01). Immunohistochemistry also revealed that 3-MA reduced fibronectin staining in the kidneys of diabetic mice. Both 3-MA and CQ inhibited the protein expression of renal cortex Beclin 1 in diabetic mice(both P<0.05), while 3-MA increased the expression of renal cortex p62( P<0.05). Bioinformatics analysis indicated a connection between shared genes of DN gene targets and 3-MA predicted gene targets with the VEGF signaling pathway. Western blotting results further showed that 3-MA reduced renal cortex VEGF expression in diabetic mice( P<0.01). Conclusion:3-MA can alleviate extracellular matrix deposition in the kidneys of early DN mice by inhibiting the VEGF signaling pathway.

Objective:The decline in nutritional status in patients with severe pneumonia may contribute to an increase in in-hospital mortality. Enteral nutrition support can improve the nutritional status of patients, and is relatively easy to manage, with low cost and fewer serious complications. On the other hand, adverse reactions such as gastric retention and gastric microbiota translocation may increase the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia and increase the uncertainty of patient prognosis. There is no predictive model for in-hospital death in severe pneumonia patients receiving enteral nutrition support. The objective of this study was to investigate the risk factors of in-hospital death in patients with severe pneumonia receiving enteral nutrition support and to establish a prognostic model for such patients.Methods:This was a single-center retrospective study. Patients with severe pneumonia who were hospitalized in Peking Union Medical College Hospital and received enteral nutrition support were included from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2020. The primary endpoints were in-hospital mortality rate and unordered discharge rate. The independent risk factors were determined using univariate and multifactorial logistic regression analysis, the nomogram scoring model was constructed, and the decision curve analysis (DCA) was performed.Results:A total of 632 severe pneumonia patients who received enteral nutrition support were included. Patients were divided into death and survival groups according to the presence or absence of in-hospital death, and 24 parameters were found with significant differences between groups. Nine parameters were independent predictors of mortality, namely the duration of ventilator use, the presence of malignant hyperplasia diseases, the maximal levels of platelet and prothrombin during hospitalization, and the nadir levels of alanine aminotransferase, serum albumin, sodium, potassium, and blood glucose. Based on these variables, a risk prediction scoring model was established (ROC = 0.782; 95% CI: 0.744 to 0.819, concordance index: 0.772). Calibration curves, DCA, and clinical impact curve were plotted to evaluate the goodness of function, accuracy, and applicability of the predictive nomogram, using the training and test sets. Conclusion:This study summarized the clinical characteristics of patients with severe pneumonia receiving enteral nutrition support and developed a scoring model to identify risk factors and establish prognostic models.

Objective: To understand the cognition and medication use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China and its associated factors. Method: From August 25 to September 5, 2021, 2 447 MSM were recruited in 24 cities to complete the online questionnaire through a male social interaction platform, Blued 7.5 software. The survey contents included demographic information of the respondents, PrEP awareness and usage, and risk behaviors. Descriptive analysis and multi-level logistic regression were performed for data analysis. SPSS 24.0 and SAS 9.4 software were used for statistical analysis. Results: Among the 2 447 respondents of MSM, 1 712 (69.96%) had heard of PrEP, 437 (17.86%) ever used PrEP, 274 (11.20%) were on PrEP, and 163 (6.66%) had discontinued PrEP; among the 437 cases (whoever used PrEP), more than 61.88% (388/627) adopted emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate regimen, and most of them adopted on-demand regimen. The average PrEP dosage reported in the past year is 1.12 tabletsper person per week. PrEP purchase was primarily via an online channel, and the most concerned factor was the PrEP effectiveness on HIV prevention. The most common reasons for discontinuing PrEP, reported by 163 cases, were the lack of HIV risk perception, the use of a condom to prevent HIV, and the economic burden of PrEP use. The logistic regression analysis showed that PrEP use among MSM in 24 cities was statistically associated with age, monthly income, ever having unprotected anal sex in the past year, used sexual drugs and sexually transmitted disease (STD) diagnosis in the past year. Compared with MSM aged 18-24, the proportion of MSM was relatively lower among those aged 25-44, who discontinued the PrEP (aOR=0.54,95%CI:0.34-0.87) or never used PrEP (aOR=0.62,95%CI:0.44-0.87). The proportion of unprotected anal sex among MSM currently on PrEP use was higher than those who have stopped PrEP and never used PrEP (all P<0.05). Those MSM group, with monthly income higher than 5 000 Yuan, used sexual drugs and STD diagnosis in the past year were more likely to have a higher rate for PrEP usage (all P<0.05). Conclusions: Currently, pre-exposure prophylaxis in the MSM group is primarily obtained via the online channel and adopted in an on-demand mode. Although the PrEP users have reached a certain proportion, it is still necessary to strengthen health education on the PrEP effects and side effects of MSM and to improve the awareness and use rate, especially for young MSM group, which can be combined with the advantages of the internet targeting its needs and use barriers.
Humans ; Male ; Homosexuality, Male ; Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis ; Cities ; Sexual and Gender Minorities ; Sexual Behavior ; China ; HIV Infections/prevention & control*

Color is an important indicator for evaluating the ornamental traits of horticultural plants, and plant pigments is a key factor affecting the color phenotype of plants. Plant pigments and their metabolites play important roles in color formation of ornamental organs, regulation of plant growth and development, and response to adversity stress. It has therefore became a hot topic in the field of plant research. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a vital genomics tool that specifically reduces host endogenous gene expression utilizing plant homology-dependent defense mechanisms. In addition, VIGS enables characterization of gene function by rapidly inducing the gene-silencing phenotypes in plants. It provides an efficient and feasible alternative for verifying gene function in plant species lacking genetic transformation systems. This paper reviews the current status of the application of VIGS technology in the biosynthesis, degradation and regulatory mechanisms of plant pigments. Moreover, this review discusses the potential and future prospects of VIGS technology in exploring the regulatory mechanisms of plant pigments, with the aim to further our understandings of the metabolic processes and regulatory mechanisms of different plant pigments as well as improving plant color traits.
Plant Viruses/genetics* ; Plants/genetics* ; Gene Silencing ; Plant Development ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Genetic Vectors

The emergence of single-cell sequencing technology enables people to observe cells with unprecedented precision. However, it is difficult to capture the information on all cells and genes in one single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) experiment. Single-cell data of a single modality cannot explain cell state and system changes in detail. The integrative analysis of single-cell data aims to address these two types of problems. Integrating multiple scRNA-seq data can collect complete cell types and provide a powerful boost for the construction of cell atlases. Integrating single-cell multimodal data can be used to study the causal relationship and gene regulation mechanism across modalities. The development and application of data integration methods helps fully explore the richness and relevance of single-cell data and discover meaningful biological changes. Based on this, this article reviews the basic principles, methods and applications of multiple scRNA-seq data integration and single-cell multimodal data integration. Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of existing methods are discussed. Finally, the future development is prospected.
Base Sequence ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; Sequence Analysis, RNA ; Single-Cell Analysis

Objective To investigate the clinical features, laboratory findings, chest CT findings and treatment of patients with COVID-19, and to analyze their relationship with prognosis. Methods From January to February 2020, the clinical data on the 42 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the Wenzhou Sixth People′s Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Results The clinical symptoms of the 42 cases included fever (35 cases), cough (26 cases), fatigue (14 cases), aspiration (9 cases), sore throat (4 cases), muscle ache (5 cases), headache (2 cases), nausea (4 cases), diarrhea (6 cases) and abdominal pain (1 case).The absolute number of blood lymphocyte decreased to different degrees in 22 cases.Fourteen cases had lactate dehydrogenase obviously, with no obvious change in procalcitonin.The imaging manifestations were cloud-like and ground-glass-like high density shadows scattered outside the lungs, small flaky consolidation and bronchus inflating sign were seen locally.A few images showed diffuse high density, most of the lesions showed consolidation or striate change, and local fibrosis was formed in the lower lobes of both lungs. Conclusion Fever and cough are the first symptoms of COVID-19, and a few cases are associated with shortness of breath and diarrhea, accompanied by different degrees of systemic symptoms, but most of the patients improve their conditions after active antivirus, anti-infection, systematic symptoms improvement and supportive treatment.The disease is highly infectious and its condition changes rapidly.Therefore, early detection, early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment of the whole body as soon as possible are the keys to treatment.

AIM To study the chemical constituents from Polygonum lapathifolium L..METHODS The ethyl acetate fraction of 80％ ethanol extract of P.lapathifolium L.was isolated and purified by silica column,Sephadex LH-20 and ODS,then the structures of obtained compounds were identified by physicochemical properties and spectral data.RESULTS Fifteen compounds were isolated and identified as 2',4'-di-hydroxy-6'-mehtoxy-chaltone (1),2',6'-di-hydroxy-4'-methoxy-chaltone (2),2',3'-di-hydroxy-4',6'-di-methoxy-chaltone (3),kaempferol (4),quercetin (5),quercetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside (6),quercetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside (7),kaempferol-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside (8),kaempferol-3-O-β-D-glucoside (9),quercetin-3-O-β-D-galactoside (10),quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside (11),kaempferol-3-O-β-D-galactoside (12),quercetin-3-O-(2"-O-galloyl)-rhamnoside (13),quercetin-3-O-(2"-O-galloyl)-glucoside (14),quercetin-3-O-[(6"-O-transferuloyl)-β-D-galactoside] (15).CONCLUSION Compound 3-8 are isolated from this plant for the first time.

Objective To evaluate the function of auditory nerve and brainstem in children with Bell's palsy by using brainstem auditory evoked potential ( BAEP) . Methods A retrospective study was car-ried in total of 69 patients with Bell's palsy admitted in the pediatric department of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from January 2017 to January 2018. There were 33 males and 36 females,aged 1 to 12 years old. Sixty healthy children served as control group. BAEP were determined in 69 patients and 60 healthy subjects. EEG and CT or MRI of brain were performed to exclud tumor,intracranial infection and so on. The patients in the case group were divided into 2 groups:1-3 years old group (38 cases) and 4-12 years old group (31 cases). Sixty healthy children were also divided into 2 groups:1-3 years old group (30 cases) and 4-12 years old group (30 cases). Results The hearing threshold was normal in the children of the control group. There was no significant difference not only in potential latency but also internal potential latency of BAEP between right and left ear. The abnormal rate of BAEP was 39. 1％ ( 27/69 ) in case groups,19 cases of them recovered(70. 4％,19/27) after 2 weeks of clinical treatment. Another 8 patients re-covered after 2 months. The abnormality rate of EEG was 5. 8％ (4/69),and the abnormality rate of CT or MRI in head was 14. 5％ (10/69). Both were nonspecific changes. In the two groups,Ⅰ-Ⅲinternal potential latency was significantly shortened ( P <0. 05 ) , and Ⅲ-Ⅴinternal potential latency was significantly pro-longed (P<0. 05)respectively,between the normal side and abnormal side. There were significant differences in the Ⅲ potential latency(P<0. 05),Ⅰ-Ⅲinternal potential latency (P<0. 01),and Ⅲ-Ⅴ internal poten-tial latency ( P <0. 01 ) respectively, between pretherapy and post-treatment. Conclusion Bell's palsy of children could cause abnormal of auditory nerve conduction,and BAEP could find the electro physiologic ab-normality in nervous system,and guide clinical intervention.

Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of 1 470 nm diode laser vaporization of the prostate with transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).Methods From July 2014 to July 2015,82 patients diagnosed as BPH were randomly divided into two groups.Forty cases of them underwent 1 470 nm diode laser vaporization and 42 cases for TURP.The operation time,hemoglobin decrease,serum sodium decrease,bladder irrigation time,duration of bladder catheterization and postoperative complications were recorded.The international prostate symptom score (IPSS),maximum flow rate (Qmax) and post-voiding residual volume (PVR) before and after operation were compared.Results No differences were found between the two groups in basic preoperative characteristics,such as:age,prostate volume,IPSS,PVR and Qmax(P＞0.05).The mean operative time in the diode laser group was (64.8±14.6) min,slightly longer than tin he TURP group ((59.3 ± 14.5) min,P＞0.05).The hemoglobin decrease,the serum sodium decrease,the time of bladder irrigating and the time of catheterization of 1470 nm diode laser group were all less than that in TURP group,the differences were significant between the two groups((2.06±1.43) g/L vs.(6.07±1.68) g/L,(1.16±0.67) mmol/L vs.(4.09±3.78) mmol/L,(5.08±2.80) h vs.(25.8±12.7) h,(3.38±1.17) d vs.(4.88± 1.42) d,respectively;t =-11.615,-4.845,-10.337,-5.232;P＜0.001).The complications in 1470nm diode laser group were less than that in TURP group,but the differences were not significant between the two groups(P＞0.05).All patients were followed up for 3-12 months,the IPSS,PVR and Qmax of 3 months after surgery in 1 470 nm diode laser group and TURP group were all improved significantly compared with that of preoperative in both groups,but no statistical differences could be found between the two groups(IPSS:F inner grouP=527.65,P＜0.001;F between groups=0.099,P=0.753;F across groups=0.040,P=0.843,PVR:F inner grouP =509.57,P＜ 0.001;F between groups =2.817,P =0.097;F across groups =1.02,P=0.315;Qmax:inner grouP=60.06,P＜0.001;F between groups =0.30,P=0.585;F across groups =0.394,P=0.532).Conclusion 1 470 nm diode laser vaporization of the prostate can significantly improve the patient's lower urinary tract obstruction symptoms,which show similar short-term effects with TURP.It also has advantages of less bleeding,shorter catheter indwelling time and rapid postoperative recovery compared with TURP,suggesting that it is a safe and effective operation for BPH treatment.