Objective:To investigate the postoperative prosthesis position and early clinical efficacy of 3D printing patient-specific instrumentation (PSI)-assisted unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA).Methods:The clinical data of 15 patients (17 knees, PSI group) with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis who underwent PSI-assisted UKA in the Second Affiliated Hospital, the Air Force Medical University from May to August 2023 were retrospectively analyzed, matched with fifteen patients (17 knees, non-PSI group) with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis undergoing conventional UKA. The differences in the prosthesis placement positions in the postoperative X-ray films between the two groups were compared, including the coronal varus-valgus angles of the tibial and femoral prostheses, the sagittal posterior inclination angle of the tibial prosthesis, the flexion-extension angle of the femoral prosthesis, and the height of the reconstructed joint line. The indicators related to the lower limb alignment (including the femoral valgus angle, the lateral femoral angle, the hip-knee-ankle angle, and the femur-tibia angle) and the range of motion of the knee joint before and after the operation were compared. The Oxford knee score (OKS), American Knee Society (AKS) knee score and function score, and the visual analogue scale (VAS) were used to evaluate the clinical effects of the two groups.Results:In the PSI group, the coronal varus-valgus angle of the tibial prosthesis was 1.6°±0.3° after the operation, and the sagittal posterior inclination angle was 5.7°±0.8°. The coronal varus-valgus angle of the femoral prosthesis was -0.5°±1.5°, and the sagittal flexion-extension angle was 4.0°±1.9°. In the non-PSI group, the corresponding angles were 2.3°±0.6°, 4.5°±1.0°, 1.4°±1.5°, and 7.3°±2.2° respectively with significant differences between the two groups ( P<0.05). The OKS of the PSI group before and after the operation were 26.5±1.8 and 38.6±4.1 points respectively. The AKS knee score were 56.9±8.6 and 89.2±7.2 points. The AKS function score were 70.1±4.2 and 77.5±9.4 points. The VAS were 4.5±3.7 and 2.3±0.3 points, and the range of motion of the knee joint were 115.2°±4.8° and 125.9°±4.6° with significant differences ( P<0.05). The OKS of the non-PSI group before and after the operation were 25.3±6.2 and 38.2±3.5 points respectively. The AKS knee score were 50.6±9.3 and 84.5±6.6 points. The AKS function score were 73.4±3.9 and 77.2±4.8 points. The VAS were 5.8±2.4 and 2.5±1.6 points, and the range of motion of the knee joint were 113.6°±6.7° and 122.3°±5.0° with significant differences ( P<0.05). There were inter-group differences in the AKS knee score and the range of motion of the knee joint after the operation between the two groups with significant differences ( P<0.05). Conclusion:PSI guides-assisted UKA can effectively correct the lower limb alignment of patients and improve knee joint function with good short-term efficacy. Compared with conventional UKA, PSI guides-assisted UKA is less time-consuming with higher precision in prosthesis installation position and fewer post-operative complications.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a destructive pest native to America and has recently become an invasive insect pest in China. Because of its rapid spread and great risks in China, understanding of FAW genetic background and pesticide resistance is urgent and essential to develop effective management strategies. Here, we assembled a chromosome-level genome of a male FAW (SFynMstLFR) and compared re-sequencing results of the populations from America, Africa, and China. Strain identification of 163 individuals collected from America, Africa and China showed that both C and R strains were found in the American populations, while only C strain was found in the Chinese and African populations. Moreover, population genomics analysis showed that populations from Africa and China have close relationship with significantly genetic differentiation from American populations. Taken together, FAWs invaded into China were most likely originated from Africa. Comparative genomics analysis displayed that the cytochrome p450 gene family is extremely expanded to 425 members in FAW, of which 283 genes are specific to FAW. Treatments of Chinese populations with twenty-three pesticides showed the variant patterns of transcriptome profiles, and several detoxification genes such as AOX, UGT and GST specially responded to the pesticides. These findings will be useful in developing effective strategies for management of FAW in China and other invaded areas.
Animals ; China ; Genomics ; Humans ; Male ; Pesticides ; Spodoptera/genetics* ; Transcriptome

Objective:To examine differences in metabolic characteristics and metabolites between elderly overweight patients with metabolic syndrome and healthy elderly people, and to identify related factors.Methods:A group of 36 MS patients(the MS group)admitted to The Fourth Central Hospital of Tianjin from April to August 2018 and 43 elderly people(the control group)who underwent physical examination during the same period were included in this prospective study.Serum samples of the patients with metabolic syndrome and elderly healthy controls were collected, and ultra-performance liquid chromatography and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF/MS)based non-targeted metabolomics was used to search for differences in metabolites between the serum samples of the two groups.The Pearson correlation statistical method was used to find related clinical factors.Results:Comparison of baseline data of the enrolled participants showed that there were statistically significant differences between the two groups in body mass index[(26.9±2.0)kg/m 2vs.(21.7±1.4)kg/m 2], waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol( P<0.01). Metabolomics results showed that there were differences in 65 serum metabolites between elderly overweight patients with metabolic syndrome and elderly normal controls, and these differences were enriched in 21 pathways.Correlation analysis showed that waist circumference had the largest number of differential metabolites, followed by body mass index.The major differential metabolites were monosaccharides such as mannose, lyxose and glucose, linolenic acid and its derivatives, and pyroglutamate. Conclusions:Compared with normal elderly people, elderly patients with overweight metabolic syndrome have a variety of differential metabolites, and these metabolites are highly correlated with clinical indicators related to overweight, such as body mass index and waist circumference, and they include monosaccharides, linolenic acid derivatives and amino acids.

The oral cavity of each person is home to hundreds of bacterial species.While taxa for oral diseases have been studied using culture-based characterization as well as amplicon sequencing,metagenomic and genomic information remains scarce compared to the fecal microbiome.Here,using metagenomic shotgun data for 3346 oral metagenomic samples together with 808 published samples,we obtain 56,213 metagenome-assembled genomes(MAGs),and more than 64％of the 3589 species-level genome bins(SGBs)contain no publicly available genomes.The resulting genome collection is representative of samples around the world and contains many genomes from candi-date phyla radiation(CPR)that lack monoculture.Also,it enables the discovery of new taxa such as a genus Candidatus Bgiplasma within the family Acholeplasmataceae.Large-scale metagenomic data from massive samples also allow the assembly of strains from important oral taxa such as Por-phyromonas and Neisseria.The oral microbes encode genes that could potentially metabolize drugs.Apart from these findings,a strongly male-enriched Campylobacter species was identified.Oral sam-ples would be more user-friendly collected than fecal samples and have the potential for disease diagnosis.Thus,these data lay down a genomic framework for future inquiries of the human oral microbiome.

The vagina contains at least a billion microbial cells,dominated by lactobacilli.Here we perform metagenomic shotgun sequencing on cervical and fecal samples from a cohort of 516 Chinese women of reproductive age,as well as cervical,fecal,and salivary samples from a second cohort of 632 women.Factors such as pregnancy history,delivery history,cesarean section,and breastfeeding were all more important than menstrual cycle in shaping the microbiome,and such information would be necessary before trying to interpret differences between vagino-cervical micro-biome data.Greater proportion of Bifidobacterium breve was seen with older age at sexual debut.The relative abundance of lactobacilli especially Lactobacillus crispatus was negatively associated with pregnancy history.Potential markers for lack of menstrual regularity,heavy flow,dysmenor-rhea,and contraceptives were also identified.Lactobacilli were rare during breastfeeding or post-menopause.Other features such as mood fluctuations and facial speckles could potentially be predicted from the vagino-cervical microbiome.Gut and salivary microbiomes,plasma vitamins,metals,amino acids,and hormones showed associations with the vagino-cervical microbiome.Our results offer an unprecedented glimpse into the microbiota of the female reproductive tract and call for international collaborations to better understand its long-term health impact other than in the settings of infection or pre-term birth.

Objective: To examine the effects of Berberine(BBR)on inflammatory pathways related to endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS)in the penumbra area following focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in type 2 diabetic rats. Methods: A total of 72 healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a high-fat, high-sugar diet and injected with streptozotocin to establish a type 2 diabetes mellitus model.The diabetic rats were randomly divided by digital lottery method into a Sham operation group(Sham group), a diabetic rat + BBR treatment group(BBR group), a diabetic middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)model group(MCAO group), and a diabetic rats MCAO + BBR treatment group(MCAO + BBR group). Six rats were included in each group.The two treatment groups received prespecified doses of BBR through gastric perfusion at 48 h, 24 h before surgery, and 6h after surgery.The MCAO model was prepared by a suture occlusion method.The neurological deficit scores were performed, and the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)and interleukin-1β(IL-1β)was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The mRNA expression of ERS marker protein GRP78 was detected by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR), and the expression of ERS-related inflammatory pathway proteins[78 Glucoseregulated protein(GRP78)、Pancreatic endoplasmic reticulum Rinase(PERK)、nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB)]was detected by Western blot. Results: the cerebral ischemic penumbra area, after 2 h of ischemia and 24 h of reperfusion, the neurological deficit score in the MCAO group was higher than that in the MACO+ BBR group [(2.83±0.41)vs.(1.67±0.52), P<0.05], and the expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines(TNF-α and IL-1β)and ERS-related inflammatory pathway proteins(GRP78, PERK and NF-κB p65)were also significantly increased(all P<0.05). However, BBR treatment was able to alleviate the neurological dysfunction caused by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in type 2 diabetic rats(P<0.05). Similarly, BBR treatment also reduced the expression levels of pro-inflammatory factors(TNF-α and IL-1β)and ERS-related inflammatory pathway proteins(GRP78, PERK and NF-κB p65)in the cerebral ischemic penumbra area(all P<0.05). Conclusions Through inhibiting ERS-related inflammatory pathways, BBR plays a neuroprotective role to alleviate cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in type 2 diabetic rats.

Objective To investigate the pathogenesis of type-B aortic dissection by using morphological analysis and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method, so as to provide evidence for the effective prediction of type-B aortic dissection. Methods Six primary type-B dissection cases scanned by CT (dissection group) and six normal cases applied to black-blood MRI (control group) were included in this study and patient-specific three-dimensional (3D) models of aorta were established through image segmentation and 3D reconstruction. The pre-type-B dissection aortas were constructed by applying the scaling algorithm to shrink the dissection and then compared with subjects in control group. The differences between morphological parameters and hemodynamic parameters of the two groups were compared. Results Compared with the normal cases, the area of the descending aorta increased dramatically in dissection group ［(892.03±263.78) mm2 vs (523.67±64.10) mm2, P=0.036］. A significant decrease in angle of the left subclavian artery occurred (66.62°±20.11° vs 100.40°±15.35°, P=0.036). The tortuosity of the aorta also had an obvious increase (0.37°±0.07° vs 0.21°±0.51°, P=0.011). The time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS) in dissection group was obviously higher than that in control group; the flow in the dissection region was vortex flow at low speed and the oscillating shear index (OSI) was higher. Conclusions The results of this study can be used to provide guidance for the early diagnosis and treatment of type-B aortic dissection.

Annotation of the genome sequence of the SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus) is indispensable to understand its evolution and pathogenesis. We have performed a full annotation of the SARS-CoV genome sequences by using annotation programs publicly available or developed by ourselves. Totally, 21 open reading frames (ORFs) of genes or putative uncharacterized proteins (PUPs) were predicted. Seven PUPs had not been reported previously, and two of them were predicted to contain transmembrane regions. Eight ORFs partially overlapped with or embedded into those of known genes, revealing that the SARS-CoV genome is a small and compact one with overlapped coding regions. The most striking discovery is that an ORF locates on the minus strand. We have also annotated non-coding regions and identified the transcription regulating sequences (TRS) in the intergenic regions. The analysis of TRS supports the minus strand extending transcription mechanism of coronavirus. The SNP analysis of different isolates reveals that mutations of the sequences do not affect the prediction results of ORFs.
Amino Acid Substitution ; Base Composition ; Base Sequence ; Computational Biology ; methods ; Genome, Viral ; Isoelectric Point ; Models, Genetic ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Molecular Weight ; Open Reading Frames ; SARS Virus ; genetics ; Sequence Analysis ; Transcription, Genetic

Knowledge of the evolution of pathogens is of great medical and biological significance to the prevention, diagnosis, and therapy of infectious diseases. In order to understand the origin and evolution of the SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus), we collected complete genome sequences of all viruses available in GenBank, and made comparative analyses with the SARS-CoV. Genomic signature analysis demonstrates that the coronaviruses all take the TGTT as their richest tetranucleotide except the SARS-CoV. A detailed analysis of the forty-two complete SARS-CoV genome sequences revealed the existence of two distinct genotypes, and showed that these isolates could be classified into four groups. Our manual analysis of the BLASTN results demonstrates that the HE (hemagglutinin-esterase) gene exists in the SARS-CoV, and many mutations made it unfamiliar to us.
Amino Acid Motifs ; Amino Acid Substitution ; Base Composition ; Codon ; genetics ; Computational Biology ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Evolution, Molecular ; Gene Transfer, Horizontal ; Genetic Variation ; Genome, Viral ; Phylogeny ; SARS Virus ; genetics

Beijing has been one of the epicenters attacked most severely by the SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus) since the first patient was diagnosed in one of the city's hospitals. We now report complete genome sequences of the BJ Group, including four isolates (Isolates BJ01, BJ02, BJ03, and BJ04) of the SARS-CoV. It is remarkable that all members of the BJ Group share a common haplotype, consisting of seven loci that differentiate the group from other isolates published to date. Among 42 substitutions uniquely identified from the BJ group, 32 are non-synonymous changes at the amino acid level. Rooted phylogenetic trees, proposed on the basis of haplotypes and other sequence variations of SARS-CoV isolates from Canada, USA, Singapore, and China, gave rise to different paradigms but positioned the BJ Group, together with the newly discovered GD01 (GD-Ins29) in the same clade, followed by the H-U Group (from Hong Kong to USA) and the H-T Group (from Hong Kong to Toronto), leaving the SP Group (Singapore) more distant. This result appears to suggest a possible transmission path from Guangdong to Beijing/Hong Kong, then to other countries and regions.
Genome, Viral ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Mutation ; Open Reading Frames ; Phylogeny ; SARS Virus ; genetics