Objective To investigate the relationship and potential pathways between metal(loid)exposure and the risk of polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS)in women of childbearing age. Methods This case-control study included 200 patients with PCOS(cases)and 896 non-PCOS controls with the age of 25-37 years.The concentrations of 29 metal(loid)s in the follicular fluid(FF)and clinical indicators in the serum were measured in all participants.Logistic regression analysis and mediation analysis were conducted to evaluate the associations between metal(loid)exposure and PCOS risk and investigate the possible roles of clinical indicators,respectively. Results Logistic regression analysis revealed an association between high copper levels in FF and increased PCOS risk(highest vs.lowest quartile:adjusted odds ratio=2.94,95%confidence interval:1.83-4.72).A high luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone ratio and elevated levels of testosterone and anti-Müllerian hormone(AMH)were strongly associated with increased PCOS risk induced by high copper exposure.The mediation analysis indicated a mediating effect of AMH in the association between copper exposure and PCOS risk. Conclusion Copper may affect PCOS risk through the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis,mediated by AMH.Copper exposure and internal AMH levels are important indicators for early warning of PCOS development.

From October 2021 to February 2023, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical and laboratory data of six patients (three male and three female, median age: 54 years, age range: 29-73 years) with mast cell leukemia (MCL) diagnosed in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University (The Mastocytosis Collaborative Network of China). All patients had acute MCL, with at least one C-finding present. The main clinical presentations were hypoalbuminemia ( n=4), fatigue ( n=3), fever ( n=2), abdominal discomfort ( n=2), osteolytic lesions ( n=2), dizziness ( n=1), skin flushing ( n=1), and weight loss ( n=1). Splenomegaly and lymphadenopathy were noted in six and three patients, respectively. Six patients were strongly positive for CD117, five were positive for CD30 and CD25, and four were positive for CD2. Four patients had a normal karyotype and two patients had an abnormal karyotype. Gene mutations were detected in 4/6 cases. The median serum tryptase level was 24.9 (range: 20.1-171.9) μg/L. Two patients were treated with venetoclax and azacitidine for induction (one patient achieved partial remission by combination with afatinib, while there was no remission after combination with dasatinib in the other patient). Two patients did not achieve complete remission despite treatment with cladribine and imatinib, respectively. One patient treated with interferon combined with glucocorticoids was lost to follow-up, and one patient abandoned treatment. The follow-up time ranged from 1.1 to 21.7 months. Three patients died and two survived. Overall, MCL is a rare subtype of systemic mastocytosis with heterogeneous clinical course, and these patients have poor outcome. A better understanding of the clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of MCL is urgently needed.

Objective:To explore the effect of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) combined with Kangfuxin liquid wet compress and oxygen blowing method on the post chemotherapy oral mucositis (OM) in patients with hematological malignancies.Methods:From January 2022 to February 2023, convenience sampling was used to select 120 patients with post chemotherapy OM in the Department of Hematology of the Affiliated Huai'an First People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. The patients were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group, with 60 cases in each group. The control group received Kangfuxin liquid wet compress, while the observation group carried out a combination of UV-C irradiation and oxygen oral blowing method on the basis of the control group. This study compared the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score before and two days after treatment, the healing status of OM after treatment on the 5th day, and the healing time of OM between the two groups of patients.Results:A total of 108 patients completed the study, with 52 in the control group and 56 in the observation group. After two days of treatment, the VAS scores of both groups of patients were lower than those before treatment, and those of the observation group were lower than those of the control group, with statistically significant differences ( P<0.05). On the 5th day of treatment, the healing rate of OM in the observation group was higher than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=5.425, P<0.05). The healing time of OM in the observation group was shorter than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=2.458, P<0.05) . Conclusions:The combination of UV-C, Kangfuxin liquid and oxygen blowing method can alleviate pain, improve the healing rate of OM, and shorten the healing time of post chemotherapy OM in patients with hematological malignancies, which is worthy of clinical promotion.

Rats ; Animals ; Adipose Tissue, Brown/physiology* ; Adipose Tissue

OBJECTIVE: To propose a diffusion tensor field estimation network based on 3D U-Net and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) model constraint (3D DTI-Unet) to accurately estimate DTI quantification parameters from a small number of diffusion-weighted (DW) images with a low signal-to-noise ratio. METHODS: The input of 3D DTI-Unet was noisy diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) data containing one non-DW image and 6 DW images with different diffusion coding directions. The noise-reduced non-DW image and accurate diffusion tensor field were predicted through 3D U-Net. The dMRI data were reconstructed using the DTI model and compared with the true value of dMRI data to optimize the network and ensure the consistency of the dMRI data with the physical model of the diffusion tensor field. We compared 3D DTI-Unet with two DW image denoising algorithms (MP-PCA and GL-HOSVD) to verify the effect of the proposed method. RESULTS: The proposed method was better than MP-PCA and GL-HOSVD in terms of quantitative results and visual evaluation of DW images, diffusion tensor field and DTI quantification parameters. CONCLUSION The proposed method can obtain accurate DTI quantification parameters from one non-DW image and 6 DW images to reduce image acquisition time and improve the reliability of quantitative diagnosis.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Reproducibility of Results ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Algorithms ; Signal-To-Noise Ratio

Astragali Radix(AR)is a clinically used herbal medicine with multiple immunomodulatory activities that can strengthen the activity and cytotoxicity of natural killer(NK)cells.However,owing to the complexity of its composition,the specific active ingredients in AR that act on NK cells are not clear yet.Cell membrane chromatography(CMC)is mainly used to screen the active ingredients in a complex system of herbal medicines.In this study,a new comprehensive two-dimensional(2D)NK-92MI CMC/C18 column/time-of-flight mass spectrometry(TOFMS)system was established to screen for potential NK cell acti-vators.To obtain a higher column efficiency,3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane-modified silica was synthesized to prepare the NK-92MI CMC column.In total,nine components in AR were screened from this system,which could be washed out from the NK-92MI/CMC column after 10 min,and they showed good affinity for NK-92MI/CMC column.Two representative active compounds of AR,isoastragaloside Ⅰ and astragaloside Ⅳ,promoted the killing effect of NK cells on K562 cells in a dose-dependent manner.It can thus suggest that isoastragaloside Ⅰ and astragaloside Ⅳ are the main immunomodulatory compo-nents of AR.This comprehensive 2D NK-92MI CMC analytical system is a practical method for screening immune cell activators from other herbal medicines with immunomodulatory effects.

Massive burns are catastrophic accidents, usually brings about serious injuries, vast social influence, and great difficulties in treatment. It can impose a big challenge on nursing managers with difficulty in nursing care quality assurance due to a surge of nursing workload within a short period of time and great pressure on nurses. In China, the nursing work mode for dealing with massive burns is to mobilize nursing manpower within the hospital or even outside the hospital by activating the emergency response plan. This mode, however, only ensures the adequacy of nursing staff, but not the professionalism of nursing specialty. In dealing with massive burns, the overseas nursing work mode pays more attentions to scientific transportation of patients, efficient triage, and quality control, which are more systematic and comprehensive. Based on the current status of medical treatment in China and our working experience in the Department of Burn Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, this article reviewed and discussed the working mode from 2 perspectives, i. e. nursing human resource management and nursing quality control, with an aim to provide a reference for the optimization of the nursing work mode for dealing with mass burns in China.

Objective:To observe the changes in the expression of microRNAs in ventricular myocardium in a rat model of hypothermic ischemia-reperfusion (I/R).Methods:Healthy clean-grade male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 2-3 months, weighing 300-400 g, were anesthetized with intraperitoneal chloral hydrate.Their hearts were excised and perfused in a Langendorff apparatus with K-H solution saturated with 95%O 2-5%CO 2.Sixteen Langendorff-perfused hearts were prepared and divided into 2 groups ( n=8 each) by a random number table method: control group (group C) and hypothermic I/R group (group I/R). The hearts were made globally ischemic for 60 min followed by 30-min hypothermic (4 ℃) reperfusion to establish the model of hypothermic I/R injury.The type and duration of arrhythmia and time of recovery of spontaneous heartbeats were recorded during reperfusion.The rats in group I/R were further divided into low-risk group (I/R-L group) and high-risk group (I/R-H group). The left ventricular myocardium was collected after the end of perfusion for high throughput sequencing to screen the differentially expressed microRNAs, and the reliability of the sequencing results was verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.Gene Ontology and KEGG databases were used to analyze the biological regulatory pathways of differentially expressed target genes. Results:Compared with group C, there were 437 up-regulated microRNAs and 242 down-regulated microRNAs in group I/R-L and 419 up-regulated microRNAs and 260 down-regulated microRNAs in group I/R-H.Compared with group I/R-L, 392 microRNAs were up-regulated, and 287 microRNAs were down-regulated in group I/R-H.There were 84 microRNAs with absolute value of fold change ≥2 and significantly differential expression ( P<0.01) among the three groups.Subsequently, 4 microRNAs were randomly selected for validation using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, confirming that the sequencing results were reliable.These differentially expressed target genes were involved in 11 biological processes and 6 KEGG pathways which were related to reperfusion arrhythmia.Potassium ion transmembrane transport and the adrenergic receptor signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes were enriched by the largest number of target genes. Conclusion:The expression of microRNAs in ventricular myocardium changes significantly after heart hypothermic I/R.These differentially expressed microRNAs regulate potassium ion transmembrane transport probably and mainly through the adrenergic receptor signaling pathway in the cardiomyocytes and thus are involved in the occurrence and development of hypothermic I/R arrhythmias.

Objective:To evaluate the relationship between decreased atrial myoelectric conduction and gap junction protein 40 (Cx40) and Cx43 in rats with reperfusion atrial arrhythmia.Methods:Sixteen Langendorff-isolated heart perfusion models were randomly divided into control group (group C) and ischemia-reperfusion group (group IR), with 8 rats in each group.According to whether the atrial arrhythmia occurred after reperfusion, group IR was further divided into reperfusion non-atrial arrhythmia subgroup (group R-NAA) and reperfusion atrial arrhythmia subgroup (group R-AA). Group C was balanced perfusion with K-H solution (37 ℃) for 120 min.In group IR, hearts were perfused with K-H solution (37 ℃) for 30 min, perfusion was then stopped, Thomas solution (4 ℃, 20 ml/kg) was injected to induce cardiac arrest for 60 min, the surrounding of the heart was protected with 4 ℃Thomas solution, and hearts were perfused with Thomas solution (4 ℃, 10 ml/kg) again after 30 min of cardiac arrest and then with K-H solution 37 ℃ for 30 min.At 120 min of equilibration or 30 min of reperfusion, the effective refractory period (ERP) and conduction velocity (CV) of the right atrium were measured, the expression of Cx40 and Cx43 in the right atrial myocardium was detected by Western blot, and ratio of Cx40 to Cx40+ Cx43 and the ratio of Cx43 to Cx40+ Cx43 were calculated.Results:The incidence of reperfusion atrial arrhythmia was 38% in group IR.Compared with group C, ERP was significantly prolonged, CV was decreased, the expression of Cx40 and Cx43 was down-regulated, the ratio of Cx40 to Cx40+ Cx43 was increased, and the ratio of Cx43 to Cx40+ Cx43 was decreased in R-NAA and R-AA groups ( P<0.05). Compared with group R-NAA, ERP was significantly prolonged, CV was decreased, the expression of Cx40 and Cx43 was down-regulated, the ratio of Cx40 to Cx40+ Cx43 was increased, and the ratio of Cx43 to Cx40+ Cx43 was decreased in group R-AA ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The decreased atrial myoelectric conduction may be related to the down-regulation of Cx40 and Cx43 expression in rats with reperfusion atrial arrhythmia.

Objective:To evaluate the changes in the electrical conduction of ventricular myocardium during hypothermic ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in rats with arrhythmia.Methods:Healthy clean-grade adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 2-3 months, weighing 200-300 g, were studied.The hearts were removed and retrogradely perfused with oxygenated K-H solution in a Langendorff apparatus. Sixteen isolated hearts were divided into 2 groups ( n=8 each) using a random number table method: normal control group (group C) and hypothermic I/R group (group I/R). In group C, the heart was perfused with K-H solution at 37 ℃ for 120 min.In group I/R, the heart was perfused with K-H solution at 37 ℃ for 30 min, and then perfusion was stopped, cardiac arrest was induced through injecting Thomas solution (4 ℃), the area around the heart was protected with low temperature (4 ℃) Thomas solution, and hearts were perfused with 4 ℃ Thomas solution at 30 min after cardiac arrest and with 37 ℃ K-H solution for 30 min staring from 60 min after cardiac arrest.The rats in group I/R were further divided into high-risk subgroup (I/R-H subgroup) and low-risk subgroup (I/R-L subgroup). The time of spontaneous recovery of heart beat and development of arrhythmia were recorded.At the end of reperfusion, the atrioventricular conduction 2∶1 block point (2∶1B) and ventricular electrical conduction velocity (CV) were measured and recorded by program-controlled electrical stimulation. Results:Compared with group C, CV and 2∶1B were significantly decreased in IR-L and IR-H subgroups ( P<0.05). Compared with IR-L subgroup, the time for restoration of spontaneous heart beat was significantly prolonged, the incidence of ventricular fibrillation and arrhythmia score were increased, and CV and 2∶1B were decreased in IR-H subgroup ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The electrical CV of ventricular myocardium is decreased during hypothermic I/R, which may be the mechanism of reperfusion-induced ventricular arrhythmia in rats with arrhythmia.