Objective A porcine vocal cord injury model was established to analyze and compare the damage range of porcine vocal cords and the repair process after vocal cord injury caused by CO2 laser surgery and radiofre-quency ablation with plasma spot excitation technology.Methods Fifteen pigs,30 sides of vocal cords,were used in this study.The bilateral vocal cords of the same pig were divided into CO2 laser and radiofrequency coblation(RFC)groups respectively.CO2 laser and radiofrequency ablation with plasma spot excitation technology were used to perform ubligamental cordectomy.Three pigs were sacrificed after anesthesia on postoperative day 1 and postop-erative 3,6,9,and 15 weeks.The vocal cords were harvested for HE staining.The depth of edema degeneration zone and the fibrous tissue thickness were measured vertically in the two groups,and the postoperative vocal cord damage range and vocal cord repair process were compared between the two groups.Results The depth of edema degeneration zone in the CO2 laser group was deeper than that in the RFC group at 1 day postoperatively(P＜0.01).There was no significant difference in the depth of the edema degeneration zone between the two groups at the 3rd,6th,and 9th weeks after operation(P＞0.05).The depth of the edema degeneration zone at 3rd weeks postoperatively was less than that at 1 day postoperatively,and at 6th weeks postoperatively was less than that at 3rd weeks postoperatively for both operation modes(P＜0.05).There was no statistically significant difference be-tween 9th weeks postoperatively and 6th weeks postoperatively(P＞0.05).At the 15th week after operation,the fibrous tissue thickness of the vocal fold lamina propria in the RFC group was thinner than that in the CO2 laser group(P＜0.01).Conclusion Radiofrequency ablation with plasma spot excitation technology causes less damage to porcine vocal fold than CO2 laser.There is no significant difference between the two operation modes in terms of postoperative repair process,while the fibrous tissue in the lamina propria of the vocal fold is thinner in the RFC group when a vocal fold scar is formed.

Objective To investigate the impacts of LINC00943 on proliferation,apoptosis,and invasion of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)cells by regulating the miR-126-5p/HOXB2 axis.Methods QRT-PCR was applied to detect the expression of LINC00943 in 45 ESCC tissues and cell lines;The effects of LINC00943 knockdown on the proliferation,apoptosis and invasion of KYSE30 cells were detected by MTT assay,flow cytometry and Transwell chamber.Western blot was applied to detect the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA),Bcl-2 associated X protein(Bax),anti apoptotic factor B cell lymphomatoma-2(Bcl-2),cleaved caspase-3,matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2),MMP-9,and HOXB2;dual luciferase reporter gene experiment was applied to verify the relationship between miR-126-5p and LINC00943 and HOXB2;the ESCC nude mouse in vivo model was constructed and separated into si-NC and si-LINC00943 groups,the tumor mass and volume were measured,qRT-PCR was applied to detect the expression of miR-126-5p in transplanted tumor tissue,immunohistochemistry was applied to detect the expression of HOXB2 protein in transplanted tumor tissue,and TUNEL staining was applied to detect cell apoptosis in tumor tissue.Results The expression of LINC00943 mRNA increased in ESCC tissues and cell lines(P＜0.05);Compared with the si-NC group,the proliferation activity,migration and invasion cell number,HOXB2,PCNA,MMP-2,MMP-9 and Bcl-2 protein expression of KYSE30 cells in the si-LINC00943 group were decreased,and the expression of miR-126-5 p,Bax,Cleaved Caspase-3 and apoptosis rate were increased(P＜0.05);downregulation of miR-126-5p was able to weaken the inhibitory effect of LINC00943 knockdown on the malignant behavior of KYSE30 cells(P＜0.05);dual luciferase reporter gene experiment confirmed the targeted regulatory relationship between miR-126-5p and LINC00943,and miR-126-5p and HOXB2(P＜0.05);The ESCC nude mouse model was constructed in vivo and divided into si-NC and si-LINC00943 groups.The tumor mass,tumor volume,expression of miR-126-5p and HOXB2 in transplanted tumor tissues and apoptosis rate of tumor cells were measured.(P＜0.05).Conclusion LINC00943 is highly expressed in ESCC tissues and cell lines.Knocking down LINC00943 may inhibit the expression of HOXB2 by up-regulating the expression of miR-126-5p,promote the apoptosis of ESCC cells,and inhibit their proliferation,migration and invasion.

Objective To study the distribution of intestinal flora in osteoporosis patients with spleen deficiency syndrome.Methods According to the diagnostic criteria of osteoporosis of the World Health Organization(WHO)and the syndrome differentiation criteria of spleen deficiency syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),26 healthy attenders with normal bone mass while without spleen deficiency were selected from the population visited Shunde Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from January 2022 to September 2023 as the normal bone mass group,23 patients with bone mass reduction and spleen deficiency syndrome served as decreased bone mass with spleen deficiency group(shorten as DBM-SD group),and 69 patients with osteoporosis and spleen deficiency syndrome diagnosis were osteoporosis with spleen deficiency group(shorten as OS-SD group).A total of 118 attenders were enrolled in the analysis.The gender,age,body height,body weight,and body mass index(BMI)of the subjects were collected.The bone mineral density(BMD)and serum levels of calcium and alkaline phosphatase(ALP)of the subjects were measured.Stools were collected for the detection of the sequence of the 16SrRNA V3-V4 region,and the sequencing results were given species annotation,and then the correlation of community difference between groups and BMD with the intestinal flora was explored.Results(1)There were significant differences in the relative abundance of intestinal flora between the normal bone mass group and the OS-SD group:differences were shown in Firmicutes(t=2.490,P=0.016),Verrucomicrobia(t=2.180,P=0.003)and Fusobacteria(t=2.270,P=0.026),in Acidobacteria(t=3.003,P=0.003),Lactobacillus(t=3.150,P=0.002)and Bifidobacterium(t=7.248,P=0.001),and in Fecalibacterium(t=2.810,P=0.006)and Rothia(t=2.810,P=0.006).(2)There were significant differences in the relative abundance of intestinal flora between the normal bone mass group and the DBM-SD group:differences were shown in Lactobacillus(t=3.841,P=0.001)and Bifidobacterium(t=2.712,P=0.01),and in Faecalibacterium(t=2.466,P=0.017).(3)There were significant differences in the relative abundance of intestinal flora between the OS-SD group and DBM-SD group:differences were shown in Firmicutes(t=2.321,P=0.025),Bacteroidetes(t=0.393,P=0.020)and Verrucomicrobia(t=3.109,P=0.031).(4)The results of logistic regression analysis showed that in the OS-SD group,lumbar BMD was negatively correlated with Lactobacillus(R=0.355,P=0.003)and Bifidobacterium(R=0.366,P=0.002),positively correlated with Bacteroides(R=0.245,P=0.042),and was negatively correlated Rothia(R=0.330,P=0.006).Conclusion Some bacteria in the intestinal flora are related to the BMD of osteoporosis patients with spleen deficiency syndrome,and significant difference exists in the distribution of intestinal flora between the normal bone mass group and the OS-SD group.The results will provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis patients with spleen deficiency syndrome from the perspective of the changes of intestinal flora.

Objective To explore the diagnostic efficacy of serum 14-3-3β protein combined with fractional exhaled nitric oxide(FeNO)and conventional ventilatory lung function parameters in diagnosing bronchial asthma(referred to as"asthma")in children.Methods A prospective study included 136 children initially diagnosed with asthma during an acute episode as the asthma group,and 85 healthy children undergoing routine health checks as the control group.The study compared the differences in serum 14-3-3β protein concentrations between the two groups,analyzed the correlation of serum 14-3-3β protein with clinical indices,and evaluated the diagnostic efficacy of combining 14-3-3β protein,FeNO,and conventional ventilatory lung function parameters for asthma in children.Results The concentration of serum 14-3-3β protein was higher in the asthma group than in the control group(P<0.001).Serum 14-3-3β protein showed a positive correlation with the percentage of neutrophils and total serum immunoglobulin E,and a negative correlation with conventional ventilatory lung function parameters(P<0.05).Cross-validation of combined indices showed that the combination of 14-3-3β protein,FeNO,and the percentage of predicted value of forced expiratory flow at 75%of lung volume had an area under the curve of 0.948 for predicting asthma,with a sensitivity and specificity of 88.9%and 93.7%,respectively,demonstrating good diagnostic efficacy(P<0.001).The model had the best extrapolation.Conclusions The combination of serum 14-3-3β protein,FeNO,and the percentage of predicted value of forced expiratory flow at 75%of lung volume can significantly improve the diagnostic efficacy for asthma in children.

Objective To analyze the distribution and antimicrobial resistance of pathogens from wounds of burned patients,providing reference for the rational use of antimicrobial agents and healthcare-associated infection(HAI)prevention and control.Methods Clinical data of burned patients admitted to a tertiary first-class hospital from Ja-nuary 2020 to December 2022 were analyzed retrospectively,pathogens in the wound was cultured,identified,and performed antimicrobial susceptibility analysis.Results From 2020 to 2022,a total of 588 burned patients were ad-mitted,734 strains of pathogens were detected,including 415 strains(56.54％)of Gram-negative bacteria,306 strains(41.69％)of Gram-positive bacteria,and 13(1.77％)strains of fungi.The top 5 pathogens were Staphy-lococcus aureus,Escherichia coli,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Klebsiella pneumoniae,and Enterobacter cloacae.Staphylococcus aureus had higher resistance rates(93.02％-97.37％)to penicillin G,resistance rate to oxacillin increased from 11.63％to 21.92％.Pseudomonas aeruginosa mainly exhibited resistance to ticarcillin/clavulanic acid,aztreonam,and levofloxacin,resistance rates to imipenem and meropenem were 15.00％-38.10％and 10.00％-33.33％,respectively.Susceptibility of Enterobacterales bacteria to cephalosporins enhanced with the increased of cephalosporin generations,and exhibited higher resistance to commonly used antimicrobial agents.Conclusion Over the past three years,there has been no significant change in the detection of major pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in wounds of burned patients in this hospital.Antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus aureus and En-terobacterales is relatively severe,and it is necessary to carry out surveillance on pathogens from burn wounds in corresponding areas.

To investigate the existence of tick-borne pathogens infection of rodents at the border of China and the Demo-cratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK).PCR was used to detect the spotted fever group rickettsiae(SFGR)ompA gene,Ehrlichia chaffeensis(Ec)and Anaplasma phagocytophilum(Ap)16S rRNA,Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis(CNm)groEL gene,Bartonella(Ba)rpoB gene,and Francisella tularensis(Ft)fopA gene in rodents samples collected from Ji'an of Jilin province and Kuandian of Liaoning Province.The positivity rates of 132 wild rats spleen samples,SFGR,Ec,Ap,CNm,Ba,and Ft were 9.85％,12.88％,5.30％,3.79％,51.52％,and 6.06％,respectively,with statistical differences in in-fection rates(x2=149.236,P=0.000).The infection rate of Ba was the highest in wild rats in this area.There was no signifi-cant difference in the infection rate of SFGR,Ec,Ap,CNm,and Ft among different rats species,but there were significant differences in the infection rate of Ba(x2=13.36,P=0.010).The infection rate of Apodemus agrarius was the highest.A-mong 132 wild rats specimens,the coinfection rate of the two pathogens was 15.9％(21/132),with Ba as the main species(15/132),and two cases of coinfection with three pathogens were detected.The infection of six tick-borne pathogens is common in wild rats at the China/DPRK border.Co-infection of two or three pathogens indicates a risk of multiple tick-borne pathogens and mixed natural foci of multiple tick-borne infec-tious diseases.

Objective: To analyze the short-term effect of individual atmospheric PM_2.5 exposure on the diversity, enterotype, and community structure of gut microbiome in healthy elderly people in Jinan, Shandong province. Methods: The present panel study recruited 76 healthy elderly people aged 60-69 years old in Dianliu Street, Lixia District, Jinan, Shandong Province, and followed them up five times from September 2018 to January 2019. The relevant information was collected by questionnaire, physical examination, precise monitoring of individual PM_2.5 exposure, fecal sample collection and gut microbiome 16S rDNA sequencing. The Dirichlet multinomial mixtures (DMM) model was used to analyze the enterotype. Linear mixed effect model and generalized linear mixed effect model were used to analyze the effect of PM_2.5 exposure on gut microbiome α diversity indices (Shannon, Simpson, Chao1, and ACE indices), enterotype and abundance of core species. Results: Each of the 76 subjects participated in at least two follow-up visits, resulting in a total of 352 person-visits. The age of 76 subjects was (65.0±2.8) years old with BMI (25.0±2.4) kg/m². There were 38 males accounting for 50% of the subjects. People with an educational level of primary school or below accounted for 10.5% of the 76 subjects, and those with secondary school and junior college or above accounting for 71.1% and 18.4%. The individual PM_2.5 exposure concentration of 76 subjects during the study period was (58.7±53.7) μg/m³. DMM model showed that the subjects could be divided into four enterotypes, which were mainly driven by Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, Lachnospiraceae, Prevotellaceae, and Ruminococcaceae. Linear mixed effects model showed that different lag periods of PM_2.5 exposure were significantly associated with a lower gut α diversity index (FDR<0.05 after correction). Further analysis showed that PM_2.5 exposure was significantly associated with changes in the abundances of Firmicutes (Megamonas, Blautia, Streptococcus, etc.) and Bacteroidetes (Alistipes) (FDR<0.05 after correction). Conclusion: Short-term PM_2.5 exposure is significantly associated with a decrease in gut microbiome diversity and changes in the abundance of several species of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes in the elderly. It is necessary to further explore the underlying mechanisms between PM_2.5 exposure and the gut microbiome, so as to provide a scientific basis for promoting the intestinal health of the elderly.
Aged ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Feces/microbiology* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Particulate Matter ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics* ; Female

AIM:To explore the use of attention mechanism and Pix2Pix generative adversarial network to predict the postoperative corneal topography of age-related cataract patients undergone femtosecond laser arcuate keratotomy.METHODS:In this retrospective case series study, the 210 preoperative and postoperative corneal topographies from 87 age-related cataract patients(105 eyes)undergoing femtosecond laser arcuate keratotomy at Shanxi Eye Hospital between March 2018 and March 2020 were selected and divided into a training set(180)and a test set(30)for model training and testing. The peak signal-to-noise ratio(PSNR), structural similarity(SSIM)and Alpins astigmatism vector analysis were used to compare the accuracy of postoperative corneal topography prediction under different attention mechanisms.RESULTS:The model based on attention mechanism and Pix2Pix network can predict postoperative corneal topography, among which the model based on Self-Attention mechanism has the best prediction effect, with PSNR and SSIM reaching 16.048 and 0.7661, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in the difference vector, difference vector axis position, surgically induced astigmatism, and correction index between real and generated corneal topography on the 3mm and 5mm rings(all P>0.05).CONCLUSION:Based on the Self-Attention mechanism and Pix2Pix network, the postoperative corneal topography can be well predicted, which can provide reference for the surgical planning and postoperative effects of ophthalmic clinicians.

Quantity is the key factor to ensure the safety and effectiveness of medicines. It is very important to study and determine the traditional measuring units and their quantity values of Tibetan medicine. Based on the literature records of Tibetan medicine and combined with modern experimental verification and investigation research, this study determined the reference, name, and conversion rate of traditional measuring units of Tibetan medicine. Meanwhile, through large sample sampling and repeated quantification of refe-rence of basic units, its weight and volume were clarified. The modern SI volume and weight unit values corresponding to the traditional volume and weight units of Tibetan medicine were deduced, and the correctness, reliability, and practicability of these determination results were demonstrated. This study also put forward some specific suggestions and reference values for formulating the standards of measuring units of weight and volume of Tibetan medicine. It is of great significance in guiding the processing, production, and clinical treatment of Tibetan medicine, and promoting the standardization and standardized development of Tibetan medicine.
Medicine, Tibetan Traditional ; Reproducibility of Results

Objective: To clarify the phenotypes of the newborns with SLC26A4 single-allele mutation in deafness genetic screening and second variant; to analyze the SLC26A4 genotype and hearing phenotype. Methods: 850 newborns born in Beijing from April 2015 to December 2019 were included and there were 468 males and 382 females. They received genetic deafness screening for 9 or 15 variants, with the result of SLC26A4 single-allele mutation. Firstly, three step deafness gene sequencing was adopted in this work, i.e., the first step was "SLC26A4 gene whole exons and splice sites" sequencing; the second step was "SLC26A4 gene promoter, FOXI1 gene and KCNJ10 gene whole exons" sequencing; and the third step was detection for "SLC26A4 gene copy number variation". Secondly, we collected the results of newborn hearing screening for all patients with the second mutation found in the three step test, and conducted audiological examinations, such as acoustic immittance, auditory brainstem response and auditory steady state response. Thirdly, for novel/VUS mutations, we searched the international deafness gene database or software, such as DVD, ClinVar and Mutation Taster, to predict the pathogenicity of mutations according to the ACMG guideline. Lastly, we analyzed the relationship between genotype and phenotype of newborns with SLC26A4 single allele mutation. Results: Among 850 cases, the median age of diagnosis was 4 months. In the first step, 850 cases were sequenced. A total of 32 cases (3.76%, 32/850) of a second variants were detected, including 18 cases (2.12%, 18/850) with identified pathogenic variants; 832 cases were sequenced and 8 cases of KCNJ10 gene missense variants were detected among the second step. No missense mutations in the FOXI1 gene and abnormal SLC26A4 gene promoter were detected; the third step sequencing results were all negative. Genotypes and hearing phenotypes included 18 cases combined with the second clear pathogenic variant, 16 cases (16/18) referred newborn hearing screening and 2 cases (2/18) passed in both ears; degree of hearing loss consisted of 18 profound ears (18/36), 13 severe ears (13/36) and 5 moderate ears (5/36); audiogram patterns comprised 17 high frequency drop ears (17/36), 14 flat ears (14/36), 3 undistinguished ears (3/36), and 2 U shaped ears (2/36); 11 cases underwent imaging examination, all of which were bilateral enlarged vestibular aqueduct. As for 22 cases of other genotypes, all passed neonatal hearing screening and the hearing diagnosis was normal, including 9 cases with VUS or possibly novel benign variants, 8 cases with KCNJ10 double gene heterozygous variants, and 5 cases with double heterozygous variants. Conclusions: The probability of individuals with SLC26A4 single-allele variant who merge with a second pathogenic variant is 2.12%, all of which are SNV, which can provide scientific basis for the genetic diagnosis and genetic counseling of SLC26A4 variants. Those who have merged with second pathogenic variant are all diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss. Patients with KCNJ10 gene mutations do not manifest hearing loss during the infancy, suggesting the need for further follow-up.
Female ; Humans ; Male ; Alleles ; Deafness/genetics* ; DNA Copy Number Variations ; Forkhead Transcription Factors/genetics* ; Genotype ; Hearing Loss/genetics* ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/genetics* ; Mutation ; Phenotype ; Sulfate Transporters/genetics* ; Vestibular Aqueduct ; Infant, Newborn ; Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying/genetics*