【Objective】 To compare the degree, efficacy and safety of testicular catch-up growth after inguinal and subinguinal surgery for adolescent varicocele. 【Methods】 Clinical data of 121 adolescent varicocele patients with secondary testicular atrophy treated during Sep.2014 and Jun.2021 at Huili People’s Hospital were retrospectively analyzed, including 40 cases treated with the inguinal incision approach, and 81 with the subinguinal approach. The characteristics of intraoperative, efficacy, surgical complications and prognosis were compared between the two groups. 【Results】 The inguinal group had significantly shorter microscope usage time (P=0.006), fewer number of preserved internal spermatic arteries (P<0.001), and significantly larger diameter of preserved internal spermatic arteries than the subinguinal group (P=0.005). The subinguinal group required ligation of more internal spermatic veins, and there were significantly more internal spermatic veins with a diameter of 4 mm or more (P<0.001). No recurrence occurred, and the incidences of scrotal edema and hydrocele were very low (P>0.05). Two years after surgery, the bilateral testicular volume of both groups was significantly larger than that before surgery (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in the testicles (P>0.05). 【Conclusion】 In the treatment of adolescent varicocele patients with secondary testicular atrophy, the subinguinal approach significantly reduces the difficulty of microsurgical varicocele ligation, and has good efficacy and safety, which is worthy of clinical promotion and application.

Objective To characterize the temporal dynamics of endophytic community and key metabolites during the growth developmental stages of Artemisia indica and to explore the effects of endophytes on the medicinal material quality of A.indica from the perspective of microorganism combined with the correlation analysis.Methods In this study,high-throughput sequencing was performed to obtain the temporal dynamics of diversity and composition of endophytic community during the growth stages of A.indica.Key metabolites quantitative analysis were performed using high-performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet spectrophotometry.Spearman's correlation analysis was further conducted to identify the endophytic communities that were significantly correlated with metabolites.Results There were significant differences in the diversity and composition of endophytic communities during the growth stages of A.indica.Linear discriminant analysis efect size(LEfSe)analyses identified some potential microbial biomarkers,such as Firmicutes,Massilia,Pantoea,Alternaria,Didymella,and Trichomerium.The abundances of some genera were significantly and positively correlated with the content of total polyphenols and total flavonoids(P<0.05),such as Curtobacterium,Pantoea,Tilletiopsis,and Dissoconium.The abundances of Pseudozyma,Ralstonia,and Pleospora were significantly and positively correlated with Chlorogenic acid,Isochlorogenic acid B,Isochlorogenic acid A,and Isochlorogenic acid C(P<0.05).Conclusion This work described the distribution of endophytes and key metabolites during the development stages of A.indica.Some endophytic communities with significant correlation of key metabolites were identified,which provided valuable information to guide the isolation of endophytic strains related to key metabolites and improve the quality of A.indica.

According to the polarity of different components in Sanpian Decoction, two fingerprints were established. Then the substance benchmark freeze-dried powder of 15 batches of Sanpian Decoction was prepared, followed by the determination of the fingerprints, index component content, and dry extract rates, the identification of attribution of characteristic peaks, and the calculation of similarities between these fingerprints and the reference(R), the content and transfer rate ranges of ferulic acid, sinapine thiocyanate, liquiritin, and glycyrrhizic acid, and the dry extract rate range. The results showed that the similarities of 15 batches of the substance benchmark fingerprints with R were all greater than 0.900.Further summarization of the characteristic peaks revealed that there were a total of 20 characteristic peaks in fingerprint 1, among which, eight were from Sinapis Semen, four from Paeoniae Radix Alba, six from Chuanxiong Rhizoma, and two from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. A total of 16 characteristic peaks were observed in fingerprint 2, including one from Sinapis Semen, three from Paeoniae Radix Alba, eight from Chuanxiong Rhizoma, and four from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. The average dry extract rate of 15 batches of substance benchmarks was 18.25%, with a dry extract rate range of 16.28%-20.76%. The index component content and transfer rate ranges were listed as follows: 0.15%-0.18% and 38.81%-58.05% for ferulic acid; 0.26%-0.42% and 36.51%-51.02% for sinapine thiocyanate; 0.09%-0.15% and 48.80%-76.61% for liquiritin; 0.13%-0.24% and 23.45%-35.61% for glycyrrhizic acid. The fingerprint, dry extract rate, and index component content determination was combined for analyzing the quality value transfer of substance benchmarks in the classic prescription Sanpian Decoction.The established quality evaluation method for the substance benchmarks was stable and feasible, which has provided a basis for the quality control of Sanpian Decoction and the follow-up development of related preparations.
Benchmarking ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Glycyrrhizic Acid/analysis* ; Paeonia ; Quality Control ; Thiocyanates

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical treatment outcomes and the changes of the outcomes over time in extremely preterm twins in Guangdong Province, China. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for 269 pairs of extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks who were admitted to the department of neonatology in 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province from January 2008 to December 2017. According to the admission time, they were divided into two groups: 2008-2012 and 2013-2017. Besides, each pair of twins was divided into the heavier infant and the lighter infant subgroups according to birth weight. The perinatal data of mothers and hospitalization data of neonates were collected. The survival rate of twins and the incidence rate of complications were compared between the 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 groups. RESULTS: Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of severe asphyxia and smaller head circumference at birth (P<0.05). The mortality rates of both of the twins, the heavier infant of the twins, and the lighter infant of the twins were lower in the 2013-2017 group compared with the 2008-2012 group (P<0.05). Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of pulmonary hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (P-IVH), and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) and a higher incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS There is a significant increase in the survival rate over time in extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks in the 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province. The incidences of severe asphyxia, pulmonary hemorrhage, PDA, P-IVH, and NRDS decrease in both the heavier and lighter infants of the twins, but the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia increases. With the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the multidisciplinary collaboration between different fields of fetal medicine including prenatal diagnosis, obstetrics, and neonatology is needed in the future to jointly develop management strategies for twin pregnancy.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology* ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: To analyze the clinical epidemiological characteristics including composition of pathogens , clinical characteristics, and disease prognosis acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) in Chinese children. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical and laboratory data of 1 610 children <15 years of age with ABM in 33 tertiary hospitals in China from January 2019 to December 2020. Patients were divided into different groups according to age,<28 days group, 28 days to <3 months group, 3 months to <1 year group, 1-<5 years of age group, 5-<15 years of age group; etiology confirmed group and clinically diagnosed group according to etiology diagnosis. Non-numeric variables were analyzed with the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, while non-normal distrituction numeric variables were compared with nonparametric test. Results: Among 1 610 children with ABM, 955 were male and 650 were female (5 cases were not provided with gender information), and the age of onset was 1.5 (0.5, 5.5) months. There were 588 cases age from <28 days, 462 cases age from 28 days to <3 months, 302 cases age from 3 months to <1 year of age group, 156 cases in the 1-<5 years of age and 101 cases in the 5-<15 years of age. The detection rates were 38.8% (95/245) and 31.5% (70/222) of Escherichia coli and 27.8% (68/245) and 35.1% (78/222) of Streptococcus agalactiae in infants younger than 28 days of age and 28 days to 3 months of age; the detection rates of Streptococcus pneumonia, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus agalactiae were 34.3% (61/178), 14.0% (25/178) and 13.5% (24/178) in the 3 months of age to <1 year of age group; the dominant pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae and the detection rate were 67.9% (74/109) and 44.4% (16/36) in the 1-<5 years of age and 5-<15 years of age . There were 9.7% (19/195) strains of Escherichia coli producing ultra-broad-spectrum β-lactamases. The positive rates of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture and blood culture were 32.2% (515/1 598) and 25.0% (400/1 598), while 38.2% (126/330)and 25.3% (21/83) in CSF metagenomics next generation sequencing and Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen detection. There were 4.3% (32/790) cases of which CSF white blood cell counts were normal in etiology confirmed group. Among 1 610 children with ABM, main intracranial imaging complications were subdural effusion and (or) empyema in 349 cases (21.7%), hydrocephalus in 233 cases (14.5%), brain abscess in 178 cases (11.1%), and other cerebrovascular diseases, including encephalomalacia, cerebral infarction, and encephalatrophy, in 174 cases (10.8%). Among the 166 cases (10.3%) with unfavorable outcome, 32 cases (2.0%) died among whom 24 cases died before 1 year of age, and 37 cases (2.3%) had recurrence among whom 25 cases had recurrence within 3 weeks. The incidences of subdural effusion and (or) empyema, brain abscess and ependymitis in the etiology confirmed group were significantly higher than those in the clinically diagnosed group (26.2% (207/790) vs. 17.3% (142/820), 13.0% (103/790) vs. 9.1% (75/820), 4.6% (36/790) vs. 2.7% (22/820), χ²=18.71, 6.20, 4.07, all P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the unfavorable outcomes, mortility, and recurrence between these 2 groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions: The onset age of ABM in children is usually within 1 year of age, especially <3 months. The common pathogens in infants <3 months of age are Escherichia coli and Streptococcus agalactiae, and the dominant pathogen in infant ≥3 months is Streptococcus pneumoniae. Subdural effusion and (or) empyema and hydrocephalus are common complications. ABM should not be excluded even if CSF white blood cell counts is within normal range. Standardized bacteriological examination should be paid more attention to increase the pathogenic detection rate. Non-culture CSF detection methods may facilitate the pathogenic diagnosis.
Adolescent ; Brain Abscess ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Escherichia coli ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Meningitis, Bacterial/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Streptococcus agalactiae ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Subdural Effusion ; beta-Lactamases

External apical root resorption is among the most common risks of orthodontic treatment, and it cannot be completely avoided and predicted. Risk factors causing orthodontic root resorption can generally be divided into patient- and treatment-related factors. Root resorption that occurs during orthodontic treatment is usually detected by radiographical examination. Mild or moderate root absorption usually does no obvious harm, but close attention is required. When severe root resorption occurs, it is generally recommended to suspend the treatment for 3 months for the cementum to be restored. To unify the risk factors of orthodontic root resorption and its clinical suggestions, we summarized the theoretical knowledge and clinical experience of more than 20 authoritative experts in orthodontics and related fields in China. After discussion and summarization, this consensus was made to provide reference for orthodontic clinical practice.
Humans ; Tooth Movement Techniques/adverse effects* ; Root Resorption/etiology* ; Consensus ; Dental Cementum ; Risk Factors

Because of the complex components, simple content determination can hardly reflect the overall quality of Guizhi Fuling Capsules. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a multi-component dissolution test. The variability of quality among different batches of products from different manufacturers is a common problem of Chinese medicine solid preparations. To comprehensively control the quality of Guizhi Fuling Capsules, we studied the dissolution behaviors of 7 index components in the capsules under different conditions, and investigated the consistency of dissolution behaviors among different batches of products from the same manufacturer. The basket method of general rule 0931 in Chinese Pharmacopoeia was adopted, and the rotating speeds were set at 50, 75, and 100 r·min~(-1), respectively. The hydrochloric acid solution(pH 1.2), acetate buffer solution(pH 4.0), pure water, and phosphate buffer solution(pH 6.8) were used as the dissolution media. Automatic sampling was carried out at the time points of 5, 10, 20, 30, 45, and 60 min, respectively. The cumulative dissolution of 7 index components was measured through ultra-performance liquid chromatography(UPLC). The difference factor f_1 and similarity factor f_2 were calculated to comprehensively evaluate the similarity of the dissolution curves among 8 batches of Guizhi Fuling Capsules, and a variety of dissolution and release equations were fitted. The results showed that multiple components had faster dissolution rates at higher rotating speed and in hydrochloric acid medium. The 8 batches of Guizhi Fuling capsules showed the average f_1 value lower than 15 and the average f_2 value higher than 50, which indicated that different batches of products had similar dissolution behaviors. Most components had synchronous dissolution behaviors and similar release cha-racteristics. This study provides a reference for the quality consistency evaluation among batches, processing optimization, and dosage form improvement of Guizhi Fuling Capsules.
Capsules ; Wolfiporia ; Solubility ; Hydrochloric Acid ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid

Objective To obtain comprehensive expression profile of microRNAs(miRNAs)in endometrial cancer stem cells(ECSCs)during differentiation.Methods ECSCs were enriched by spheroid formation and spontaneously differentiated into cancer cells by attached culture.We characterized miRNA expression in ECSCs and its differentiated cells using miRNA microarrays and verified the results by RT-qPCR.Meanwhile,we applied bioinformatic method to predict the target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs.Furthermore,gene expression profile was detected by genomic microarray.Finally,we summarized the relationship between the predicted target genes of miRNAs and gene expression profile.Results We observed that 10 miRNAs were significantly upregulated in ECSCs,including miR-522,miR-139-3p,miR-520c-5p,miR-518d-5p,miR-146b-5p,miR-34a,miR-526a,miR-193a-3p,miR-221,and miR-4674.Only 1 miRNA,miR-760,was downregulated in ECSCs.A total of 11 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified by RT-qPCR.The results showed these differentially expressed miRNAs(except miR-526a and miR-4674)were in accordance with those obtained by miRNA microarray analysis. By using bioinformatic approach,the target genes of these differentially expressed miRNAs could be found.The results of genomic microarray showed that 207 genes were more highly expressed and 238 genes were more lowly expressed in ECSCs compared with its differentiated cells.Analysis of the gene expression profile and the predicted target genes of miRNAs showed that some common genes except miR-139-3p could be found.Conclusion Our study provides an available information about miRNAs and target genes from different starting points,such as ECSCs differentiation.Further studies are needed to ascertain the role of these miRNAs in ECSCs'differentiation.

Objective To evaluate the localization of transplanted human menstrual-derived stem cells (MenSCs)in the premature ovarian failure (POF)mouse model.Methods Mice were intraperitoneally injected with cisplatin to create the POF mouse model.Ninety mice aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into MenSCs transplantation group,POF model group and blank control group.Green fluorescence protein (GFP)-expressing MenSCs were transplanted to MenSCs transplantation group by the tail vein;meanwhile the same volume of PBS was injected into the mice in POF model group and blank control group.Physiological characteristics of mice,serum concentration of FSH and E2,ovarian histology and distribution of green fluorescence signal in the ovarian tissues were assessed in the three groups at 10 days after transplantation.Results Following anorexia and lethargy,the average weight of mice in POF mouse model decreased compared with that in blank control group. The concentration of FSH increased but E2 level decreased significantly in POF model group.Meanwhile,the number of primordial,growing and mature follicles reduced significantly and interstitial fibrosis was observed in the ovary ofPOF model group.After MenSCs transplantation,the average weight of mice in MenSCs transplantation group increased gradually with the improvement of feeding and activities.Ten days after injection of MenSCs,sex hormone levels and the number of follicles returned to normal values.The level of E2 was significantly higher and the level of FSH was lower,while the number of primordial,growing as well as mature follicles in MenSCs transplantation group was significantly higher than that in POF model group.By observing the location of GFP-MenSCs,we found that GFP-positive cells were located in the interstitium but not in follicles,granulose cells,the liver,the kidney,or lung tissue.Conclusion MenSCs can home to the ovary and be located in the interstitium in the POF mouse model.MenSCs can repair ovarian injury and improve endocrine functions of the ovary.

OBJECTIVETo explore the neuroprotective effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and to further investigate the role of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family receptor member RET (rearranged during transfection) and its key downstream phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI-3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway in the process.

METHODSA total of 220 seven-day-old SD rats (of either sex, from 22 broods) were randomly divided into two groups, one (30 rats) for sham-surgery group and the other (190 rats) for HIE model group. The HIE model was established using the left common carotid artery ligation method in combination with hypoxic treatment. The successfully established rats were randomly divided into five groups, including control model group, EA group, sham-EA group, antagonist group and antagonist plus electroacupuncture group, with 35 rats in each group. Baihui (GV 20), Dazhui (GV 14), Quchi (LI 11) and Yongquan (KI 1) acupoints were chosen for acupuncture. EA was performed at Baihui and Quchi for 10 min once a day for continuous 1, 3, 7 and 21 days, respectively. The rats were then killed after the operation and injured cerebral cortex was taken for the measurement of neurologic damage by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and the degenerative changes of cortical ultrastructure by transmission electron microscopy. RET mRNA level and Akt protein level were detected by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blot analysis, respectively.

RESULTSEA could ameliorate neurologic damage of the first somatic sensory area (S1Tr) and alleviate the degenerative changes of ultrastructure of cortical neurons in rats subjected to HIE. And the longer acupuncture treatment lasted, the better its therapeutic effect would be. This was accompanied by gradually increased expression of GDNF family receptor RET at the mRNA level and its downstream signaling Akt at the protein level in the ischemic cortex.

CONCLUSIONEA has neuroprotective effects on HIE and could be a potential therapeutic strategy for HIE in the neonate. Activation of RET/Akt signaling pathway might be involved in this process.

Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cerebral Cortex ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; genetics ; metabolism ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; genetics ; pathology ; therapy ; Male ; Nerve Degeneration ; pathology ; Neurons ; pathology ; ultrastructure ; Neuroprotective Agents ; therapeutic use ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; genetics ; metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction