ObjectiveTo analyze the epidemiological characteristics of long COVID and to investigate its main influencing factors by examining individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 between March and June 2022 in two communities in Shanghai, to lay the foundation for further research on the mechanism and clinical treatment of long COVID, and to provide the basis for the development of inexpensive, convenient, and feasible prevention and intervention strategies. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted, enrolling 6 410 individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey. The incidence and common symptoms of long COVID were analyzed, along with their associations with demographic characteristics, medical history, and behavioral factors. A logistic regression model was used to identify the major factors associated with the development of long COVID symptoms. ResultsThe overall incidence rate of long COVID among the study population was 13.9%. The most commonly reported symptoms included fatigue (65.1%), attention disorders (23.1%), and cough (16.9%). The analysis showed that having underlying chronic diseases (OR=2.580, 95%CI: 2.165‒3.074), a history of allergies (OR=1.418, 95%CI: 1.003‒1.971), current smoking (OR=1.461, 95%CI: 1.013‒2.079), ever smoking (OR=2.462, 95%CI: 1.687‒3.551), a greater number of symptoms during the acute phase [1 symptom (OR=1.778, 95%CI: 1.459‒2.162), 2 symptoms (OR=2.749, 95%CI: 2.209‒3.409), ≥3 symptoms (OR=7.792, 95%CI: 6.333‒9.593)] and aggravated symptoms during the acute phase (OR=1.082, 95%CI: 1.070‒1.094) were factors associated with a higher risk of developing long COVID symptoms. Additionally, individuals who had consumed alcohol in the past year (OR=1.914, 95%CI: 1.344‒2.684) were more prone to objective long COVID symptoms. Among individuals under 50 years of age, females (OR=1.427, 95%CI: 1.052‒1.943) were more likely to develop objective long COVID symptoms. ConclusionThis study has identified the diversity of long COVID symptoms, which involve multiple organs and systems, including fatigue, attention disorders, cough, and joint pain. It has also revealed associations between long COVID and various demographic factors (e.g., age, gender), personal medical history (e.g., underlying chronic diseases, history of allergies), acute-phase characteristics (e.g., number and severity of symptoms), and behavioral factors (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption). These findings highlight the need for further research and ongoing surveillance of long COVID and may inform the development of more targeted health management strategies for specific populations.

Objective:To explore the association between insulin resistance (IR) and genome-wide DNA methylation based on Shanghai twin study.Methods:Monozygotic twins (MZ) from Shanghai were recruited during 2012-2013, 2017-2018, and 2022-2023. Data were collected by questionnaire survey, physical examination and laboratory tests. Genome-wide DNA methylation was quantified. Generalized linear mixed effect model was applied to analyze the association between methylation level at each site and homeostatic model assessment 2-insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR). Non-paired and paired designs were used to assess the association between DNA methylation and phenotype of IR. Cluster analysis was conducted to identify the clusters of top significant sites. Generalized linear regression was performed to examine the differential methylation patterns from clusters.Results:A total of 100 MZ pairs were included in this study. Hypermethylated cg10535199-2q23.1 ( β=0.74%, P=1.51×10 -7, OR=1.06, 95% CI: 1.03-1.09) and ch.17.49619327- SPOP ( β=0.23%, P=7.54×10 -7, OR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.08-1.28) were identified with suggestive significance. After correcting for multiple testing, no sites reached genome-wide significance. There was no statistical significance in the paired analysis. Two clusters with hypomethylated ( β=-0.39%, P<0.001) and hypermethylated ( β=0.47%, P<0.001) patterns were observed for HOMA2-IR. Conclusions:IR was significantly associated with DNA methylation, and genetic factors might contribute to the association.

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is one of the most common congenital malformations in humans. Inconsistent results emerged in the existed studies on associations between air pollution and congenital heart disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of gestational exposure to air pollutants with congenital heart disease, and to explore the critical exposure windows for congenital heart disease. METHODS: The nested case-control study collected birth records and the following health data in Tianjin Women and Children's Health Center, China. All of the cases of congenital heart disease from 2013 to 2015 were selected matching five healthy controls for each case. Inverse distance weighting was used to estimate individual exposure based on daily air pollution data. Furthermore, the conditional logistic regression with distributed lag non-linear model was performed to identify the association between gestational exposure to air pollution and congenital heart disease. RESULTS: A total of 8,748 mother-infant pairs were entered into the analysis, of which 1,458 infants suffered from congenital heart disease. For each 10 µg/m³ increase of gestational exposure to PM_2.5, the ORs (95% confidence interval, 95%CI) ranged from 1.008 (1.001-1.016) to 1.013 (1.001-1.024) during the 1^st-2^nd gestation weeks. Similar weak but increased risks of congenital heart disease were associated with O₃ exposure during the 1^st week and SO₂ exposure during 6^th-7^th weeks in the first trimester, while no significant findings for other air pollutants. CONCLUSIONS This study highlighted that gestational exposure to PM_2.5, O₃, and SO₂ had lag effects on congenital heart disease. Our results support potential benefits for pregnancy women to the mitigation of air pollution exposure in the early stage, especially when a critical exposure time window of air pollutants may precede heart development.
Infant ; Pregnancy ; Child ; Humans ; Female ; Air Pollutants/analysis* ; Case-Control Studies ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects/epidemiology* ; Heart Defects, Congenital/etiology* ; China/epidemiology* ; Particulate Matter/adverse effects* ; Maternal Exposure/adverse effects*

Ovarian cancer is the most malignant gynecologic malignancy. In recent years, histone modifying enzymes (HMEs) have been widely studied as an important part of epigenetic modifi-cations in ovarian cancer. Histone modifying enzymes, including histone methyltransferases and demethylases, histone acetyltransferases and deacetylases, play an important role in the prolif-eration and migration of ovarian cancer cells by modifying histone and non-histone proteins, and can regulate the development of chemoresistance. Inhibitors of various histone modifying enzymes play good anti-tumor effects in ovarian cancer by promoting cell growth arrest and apoptosis, inhibi¬ting tumor cell invasion, and increasing chemo¬therapy sensitivity, and are expected to be a new strategy for precision treatment of ovarian cancer. Therefore, this paper will review the mechanism of action and therapeutic potential of histone modifying enzymes involved in methylation and acetylation processes in ovarian cancer.

Objective:To establish a rapid, sensitive and specific detection method for important imported viruses based on the recombinase aided amplification (RAA) method and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated protein 13a (CRISPR-Cas13a) system.Methods:In this study, we selected Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), Yellow fever virus (YEV), West Nile virus (WNV), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)、Ebola virus (EBOV), Dengue virus (DENV), Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), Zika virus (ZIKV) as subjects, and designed specific RAA primers and CRISPR RNA(crRNA). The sensitivity and specificity of the method were evaluated. We detected suspected clinical samples of dengue fever and compared with the fluorescent reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology. Clinical simulation samples of the remaining seven viruses were also detected.Results:The RAA method combined with CRISPR-Cas13a can detect eight pathogens within 40-52 min at 39 ℃. The sensitivity was 1-10 copies/μl. There was no cross-reaction among eight viruses and all clinical samples could be detected by this method.Conclusions:The established RAA combined with CRISPR-Cas13a detection method can sensitively, specifically and quickly detect eight imported infectious disease pathogens.

OBJECTIVE：To ex plore the effects of solamargine on the growth and apoptosis of human hepatocarcinoma cells HepG2 and its underlying mechanism. METHODS ：The effects of 0（blank group ）-12 μmol/L solamargine treatment of 24，48 h on survival rate of HepG 2 cells were investigated. The effects of 0（blank group ），6 μmol/L solamargine treatment of 10 days on cell clone formation were also investigated. The effects of 0（blank group ），4，6，8 μmol/L solamargine for 24 h on the apoptotic rate of cells，mRNA expression of Bcl- 2，Bax and caspase- 3， protein expression of Bcl- 2 and cleaved caspase- 3 as well as ratio of p-AMPKα to AMPKα were all tested. The effects of AMPK inhibitor as compound C on the protein expression of AMPKα and Bcl- 2 in cells were investigated after treated with 6 μmol/L solamargine for 24 h. RESULTS ：Compared with 020-39318678。E-mail：wujingjing6028@gzucm.edu.cn blank group ，1-12 μ mol/L solamargine for 24，48 h could significantly decrease the survival rates of cells （P＜0.05）in a concentration-dependent manner ；IC50 of them were 8.310 and 7.996 μmol/L，respectively；the rate of cell clone formation was decreased significantly after treated with 6 μmol/L solamargine for 10 days（P＜0.05）. The apoptotic rate of HepG 2 cells，mRNA expression of Bax and caspase- 3，protein expression of cleaved caspase-3（except for 8 μmol/L）as well as ratio of p-AMPKα to AMPKα（except for 8 μmol/L）were all increased significantly after treated with 6，8 μmol/L solamargine（P＜0.05）；mRNA and protein expression of Bcl- 2 were decreased significantly （P＜ 0.05）；the changes of some indexes were in a concentration-dependent manner. The compound C could inhibit protein expression of AMPKα，and reverse the inhibitory effect of solamargine on Bcl- 2 protein. CONCLUSIONS ：Solamargine can inhibit the proliferation of HepG 2 cells and induce apoptosis ，the mechanism of which may be associated with activating AMPK signaling pathway.

Objective:To understand the profile type of serum Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies in children with infectious mononucleosis (IM), and to analyze the significance of viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgG antibody affinity in the diagnosis of IM.Methods:Retrospective analysis was performed on the results of the serum anti-EBV antibody profile and plasma EBV nucleic acid test of 150 hospitalized children with IM diagnosed in Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University, from May 2016 to May 2019.Anti-EBV antibody profiles, including anti-VCA-IgG, anti-VCA-IgM, anti-early antigen (EA) IgA, anti-EBV nuclear antigen (EBNA) IgG, and anti-VCA-IgG affinity, were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Plasma EBV nucleic acids were detected by real-time quantitative PCR.Results:There were mainly two types of anti-EBV antibody profiles in 150 children with IM: (1)130 cases who were positive for anti-VCA-IgM/IgG, negative for anti-EBNA-IgG and positive for anti-VCA-IgG antibodies with low affinity, accounting for 86.7% (130/150 cases), of which 50 cases were positive for anti-early antigen IgA; (2)18 cases who were negative for anti-VCA-IgM, positive for anti-VCA-IgG, negative for anti-EBNA-IgG and positive for anti-VCA-IgG antibody with low affinity, accounting for 12.0% (18/150 cases), of which 5 cases were positive for anti-EA IgA.EBV DNA was measured in 132 children, with a posi-tive rate of 37.9% (50/132 cases).Conclusions:There were several types of serum EBV antibody profiles in children with IM, 12.0% of patients with IM in this study were negative for anti-VCA-IgM, and the diagnosis of IM was confirmed by the affinity of anti-VCA IgG.

Objective: To investigate the effects of simulated-thermobaric explosive gas on the respiration and nervous system in rats. Methods: 70 of SPF SD rats were randomly divided into four thermobaric explosive gas groups, two restoration observation groups and control group from April to August in 2018. The exposure time of in four thermobaric explosive gas groups were 3.75, 7.5, 15.0 and 30 min, respectively. The restoration observation groups were designed to observe for 30 and 120 min after exposure thermobaric explosive gas 30 min. The bloods were collected and analyzed at the end of exposure and recovery observation. The endogenous carbon monoxide (CO) , nitric oxide (NO) , glutamic acid (GLU) , acetylcholinesterase (AchE) and dopamine (DA) were detected in brain tissues, respectively. Results: The blood gas index (pH, PCO₂, PO₂, COHb, O₂Hb, MeHbt) and blood electrolytes (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Cl^-) in exposure groups have significant differences with these in control (P<0.05) . The pH value decreased with the exposure time longer. However, it basically returned to normal level when terminating exposure for 120 min. The concentration of PCO₂, MeHb and CoHb increased first and then decreased with the exposure time extension. Conversely, The PO₂ and O₂Hb decreased first and then increased with the exposure time longer. The concentration of endogenous CO, GLU, and AchE decreased and NO increased in exposure group 4 and the restoration observation group 1 compared with those in control (P<0.01) . In addition, there were pathological changes in lung and brain tissue of exposure group, such as inflammatory cell infiltration and edema. Conclusion The blood gas index, electrolytes, neurotransmitter, histopathology of lung and brain were changed to various degrees by thermobaric bomb gas exposure. These findings would provide some beneficial support for evaluating the damage effect of thermobaric bomb gas on organisms.

Objective To investigate the short-term clinical outcome of one-level degenerative diseases for a single surgeon during his initial phase of performing a minimally invasive surgery oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) on the basis of perioperative parameters and follow-up data.Methods A prospective analysis of 49 consecutive patients that underwent a OLIF between November 2014 and March 2016 by corresponding author was performed.Only those patients that were single level,index surgeries were included.Every patient had a diagnosis of degenerative lumbar diseases including lumbar spondylolisthesis (25 cases),discogenic low back pain (14 cases) or segmental instability (10 cases).Patients underwent an indirect decompression and fusion using an expandable tubular retractor and single intervertebral cage with bilateral percutaneous pedicle screw fixation.49 patients were divided into the A group (the first 24 patients) and the B group (25 patients after the initial 24 patients).The following data were compared between the two groups:surgical time for Skin-Skin (minutes),estimated blood loss (ml),radiograph exposure time (seconds),the clinical and radiographic results,and intra-/postoperative complications.All intraoperative parameters only included the measurement and findings related with the OLIF procedure.The short-term clinical outcome of single level degenerative lumbar diseases treated by OLIF was assessed on the basis of follow-up data.The learning curve was measured using a logarithmic curve-fit regression analysis.Results Average operative time was significantly longer in the A group 47.1±10.6 min compared with the B group 37.2± 10.0 min.In comparison with the B group,the A group had significantly more X-ray exposure time (25.3±6.1 s versus 17.1±6.9 s).The operative and X-ray exposure time gradually decreased as the series progressed,and an asymptote was reached after about 20 cases.There was no statistically significant difference in intraoperative blood loss between the A group (28.1± 18.2) ml and the B group 24.4± 10.9 ml.The most observed complication was donor site pain (11 cases,45.8％),followed by thigh numbness/pain (5 cases,20.8％) and psoas/quadriceps weakness (2cases,8.3％),paralytic ileus (one case,4.2％) and sympathetic nerve injury (one case,4.2％) in the A group.Donor site pain occurred in four patients (16.0％),thigh numbness/ pain in three patients (12.0％),psoas/quadrieeps weakness in one patient (4.0％) and sympathetic nerve injury in one patient (4.0％) in the B group.All complications were transient and resolved within 3 months.The incidence of complications excluding donor site pain in the early period (A group) and the later period (B group) was 37.5％ and 20.0％,respectively,although there were no significant differences in perioperative complications between both groups.Forty nine patients were followed up for more than 1 year,and the average follow-up period was 18.5±3.9 months.The back pain VAS and ODI scores decreased respectively from 6.4±2.3 before surgery to 1.5±0.9 in final follow-up and from 37.1 ±9.4 before surgery to 11.8±3.9 in the last follow-up time.Total fusion rate was 89.8％ (44/49 cases)in final follow-up.Radiographic evaluation showed similar bony fusion in the A group (22 of 24 cases) with the B group (22 of 25 cases) in the last follow-up time.Conclusion Single level degenerative lumbar diseases can safely and effectively be treated by using OLIF with a good short-term clinical outcome.The procedure presents a learning curve to the practicing spine surgeon with regards to operative time,X-ray exposure time and intra-/postoperative complications.Intraoperative parameters improved with understanding the minimally invasive technique.Close attention to details can minimize complications that may be associated with the learning curve.

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effects of high mobility group chromosomal protein N2 (HMGN2)on growth of human bladder cancer T24 cells and ectopic tumor growth of nude mice. Methods MTT and flow cytometry assay were conducted to detect cell growth of bladder epithelial cells(T24)cells in vitro. The transplantation tumor models in nude mice were constructed by injecting T24 cells in vivo. The para-tumorswere injected with PBS,HMGN2 protein and cisdichlorodiamineplatinum(DDP),respectively. Tumor volume and weight were calculated. The expression of cell proliferation-related proteins was detected by Western blot assay. Results MTT assay proved that HMGN2 could significantly inhibit the growth of T24 cells. Flow cytometry assay verified that HMGN2 could block T24 cells in S stage of the cell cycle. The average tumor volume and weight in the HMGN2 group and DDP positive control group were smaller than those in the PBS group(P<0.05,respectively), with the tumor inhibitory rate of 25% and 23%,respectively. The results of Westernblot showed that HMGN2 could decrease Bcl-2 expression and increase Bax expression in tumor. Conclusion HMGN2 has a significant antitumor effect on T24 cells and bladder carcinoma in nude mice,which may be associated with the induction of the apoptosis of carcinoma cells and the regulation of the cell cycle.