Objective To investigate the current situation and influencing factors of latent tuberculosis infection(LTBI)among close contacts of positive etiology pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB)patients,provide basis for formula-ting intervention measures for LTBI.Methods A multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select close contacts of positive etiology PTB patients from 39 districts and counties in Chongqing City as the study objects.Demographic information was collected by questionnaire survey and the infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was detected by interferon gamma release assay(IGRA).The influencing factors of LTBI were analyzed by x2 test and binary logistic regression model.Results A total of 2 591 close contacts were included,the male to female ratio was 0.69∶1,with the mean age of(35.72±16.64)years.1 058 cases of LTBI were detected,Myco-bacterium tuberculosis latent infection rate was 40.83％.Univariate analysis showed that the infection rate was dif-ferent among peoples of different age,body mass index(BMI),occupation,education level,marital status,wheth-er they had chronic disease or major surgery history,whether they lived together with the indicator case,and whether the cumulative contact time with the indicator case ≥250 hours,difference were all statistically significant(all P＜0.05);infection rate presented increased trend with the increase of age and BMI(both P＜0.001),and decreased trend with the increase of education(P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that age 45-54 years old(OR=1.951,95％CI:1.031-3.693),age 55-64 years old(OR=2.473,95％CI:1.279-4.781),other occupations(OR=0.530,95％CI:0.292-0.964),teachers(OR=0.439,95％CI:0.242-0.794),students(OR=0.445,95％CI:0.233-0.851),junior high school education or below(OR=1.412,95％CI:1.025-1.944),BMI＜18.5 kg/m2(OR=0.762,95％CI:0.586-0.991),co-living with indicator cases(OR=1.621,95％CI1.316-1.997)and cumu-lative contact time with indicator cases ≥250 hours(OR=1.292,95％CI:1.083-1.540)were the influential fac-tors for LTBI(all P＜0.05).Conclusion The close contacts with positive etiology PTB have a high latent infection rate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis,and it is necessary to pay attention to close contacts of high age,farmers,and frequent contact with patients,and take timely targeted interventions to reduce the risk of occurrence of disease.

Thalassemia trait is an autosomal recessive genetic disease, which is a hemolytic anemia caused by disturbance of erythrocyte hemoglobin production caused by gene mutation or deletion. Iron deficiency anemia is caused by a lack of iron in the body due to an imbalance between the demand and supply of iron. The laboratory manifestations of both are microcytic hypochromic anemia, but the treatment schemes are completely different, and it is difficult to distinguish them from the results of blood count. Erythrocyte parameters can be used to establish a formula or model to differentiate them, which can achieve the purpose of early screening, early diagnosis and early treatment,preventing the occurrence of severe anemia and providing a scientific basis for the thalassemia and iron deficiency anemia prevention. This article will review the research progress of using erythrocyte parameters to distinguish thalassemia trait with iron deficiency anemia.

AIM: To explore the key genes and molecular markers involved in the retinoblastoma development through bioinformatics.METHODS: The mRNA microarray datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database were obtained, and the differentially expressed gene(DEG)between retinoblastoma cell lines and normal retinal pigment epithelial(RPE)cell lines were analyzed through gene ontology(GO)and KEGG enrichment analysis. To screen key genes, establish protein-protein interaction(PPI)network, and use receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve to assess clinical diagnostic efficacy. The RNA expressions of key genes in retinoblastoma cell lines and normal RPE cell lines were compared by qRT-PCR.RESULTS: A total of 121 DEGs were obtained from the retinoblastoma dataset of GSE97508 and GSE110811. KEGG pathway analysis showed that DEG were enriched in phototransduction, cell cycle, and p53 signaling pathways. A total of 9 key genes, including MCM6, DTL, UBE2T, TOP2A, NUSAP1, CENPK, RRM2, RLBP1, and RHO, were obtained from the intersection of PPI network analysis and the top 30 DEG from each dataset. The differentially expressed 9 key genes were verified in GSE24673. ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve(AUC)for UBE2T, RRM2, and RHO was ≥80%, and there was a statistical significance(P>0.05). The mRNA level of UBE2T and RRM2 in retinoblastoma was significantly higher than APRE-19 cell line, while the mRNA level of RHO was significantly lower than that of ARPE-19 cell line.CONCLUSION: UBE2T, RRM2, and RHO may be served as potential molecular markers and potential therapeutic targets for retinoblastoma.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between microRNA (miR)-21, miR-191 and clinical stage of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). METHODS: 100 patients with DLBCL treated in Shanxi Fenyang Hospital from January 2019 to January 2021 were selected as the research subjects. All patients was divided into stage I, stage II, stage III and stage IV according to Ann-Arbor (Cotswolds) staging system at admission. The baseline data of patients at different clinical stages were counted and compared in detail. The relationship between the levels of miR-21 and miR-191 and the clinical stage of DLBCL patients was mainly analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 100 patients with DLBCL, there were 15 patients at stage I, 25 patients at stage II, 37 patients at stage III and 23 patients at stage IV. The levels of miR-21 and miR-191 in patients at stage Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ were increased gradually, which showed statistically significant differences (P<0.05). According to Kendall's tau-b correlation analysis, it was found that the levels of miR-21 and miR-191 were positively correlated with the clinical stage of DLBCL patients (r=0.566, 0.636). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the overexpression of serum miR-21 and miR-191 was a risk factor for high clinical stage in patients with DLBCL (OR>1, P<0.05). Bivariate Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between miR-21 and miR-191 levels in patients with DLBCL (r=0.339). CONCLUSION The overexpression of miR-21 and miR-191 in patients with DLBCL is related to high clinical stage.
Humans ; Prognosis ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/genetics* ; MicroRNAs/genetics*

Objective To investigate the Gram-positive coccus resistance in nationwide's tertiary hospitals and understand the trend of antimicrobial resistance.Methods All the clinical isolates were collected from 19 hospitals and the minimal inhibitory concentrations(MICs)were tested using agar/broth dilution method recommended.Results A total of 1 974 pathogenic Gram-positive coccus from 19 tertiary hospitals in 19 cities nationwide over the period from July 2021 to June 2022 were studied.Based on the MIC results,the prevalence of methicillin resistant Stapylococcus aureus(MRSA)and methicillin resistant Stapylococcus epidermidis(MRSE)were 36.4％and 79.9％respectively.No vancomycin insensitivity Staphylococcus was detected.Staphylococcus aureus were 100％susceptibility to linezolid and teicoplanin.Antibiotic resistance rate of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium to ampicillin were 3.1％and 92.9％.The detectation rate of vancomycin resistant Enterococcus(VRE)was 1.6％.Nonsusceptibility rate of Enterococcus faecalis to linezolid was 32.2％,two consecutive monitoring rises and nonsusceptibility rate of Enterococcus faecium(12.5％)was also significantly increased.The prevalence of penicillin non-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae(PNSSP)was 0.8％based on non-meningitis and parenteral administration criterion,decrease of nearly 30 percentage points from the previous surveillance.While for cases of oral penicillin,the rate was 71.8％,showing similar to last time.The results indicated that the number of strains with higher MIC value of penicillin(MIC ≥4 mg·L-1)decreased significantly.There were no significant differences of resistance rates of Stapylococcus aureus,Stapylococcus epidermidis,Enterococcus faecalis,Enterococcus faecium and Streptococcus pneumoniae among various groups such as different department,age,or specimen source.Conclusion VRE detection ratio stablized at a relatively low level.The number of Streptococcus pneumoniae with higher MIC value of penicillin decreased significantly compared with the previous monitoring.The increase of linezolidin-insensitive Enterococcus was noteworthy.

Objective To investigate the Gram-negative bacteria resistance in nationwide's tertiary hospitals and understand the trend of antimicrobial resistance.Method All the clinical isolates were collected from 19 hospitals and the minimal inhibitory concentrations(MICs)were tested using agar/broth dilution method recommended.Results A total of 4 066 pathogenic isolates from 19 tertiary hospitals in 19 cities nationwide over the period from July 2021 to June 2022 were studied.Based on the MIC results,Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae showed extended spectrum β-lactamase(ESBLs)phenotype rates of 55.0％and 21.0％,respectively,ESBLs phenotype rate of Klebsiella pneumoniae keep going down.The ratios of carbapenems resistance Klebsiella pneumoniae increased by 5 percentage points compared with the previous monitoring.Carbapenems,moxalactam,sitafloxacin,β-lactam combination agents,fosfomycin trometamol,and amikacin displayed desirable antibacterial activity against Enterbacterales,susceptibal rates were above 75％.In addition,tigacycline,omacycline,colistin and fluoxefin maintained good antibacterial activity against their respective effective bacteria/species,and the bacterial sensitivity rates by more than 80％.Resistance rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannnii to imipenem were 26.3％and 72.1％and multidrug-resistant(MDR)detection rates were 41.1％and 77.3％,extensively drug-resistant(XDR)were 12.0％and 71.8％,respectively.Comparison of drug resistance rates from different wards,ages and specimen sources indicated that the proportion of resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from intensive care unit(ICU)were significantly higher than non-ICU.Carbapenem resistance rates of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from ICU were more than 35％.Resistance rates of Haemophilus influenzae isolated in children to β-lactam,macrolide,clindamycin and ESBLs detection rate in Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from children were more than those from adults and the old people,so bacterial resistance in children is an important problem in China.Conclusion ESBLs detection rate of Escherichia coli increased slightly after years of continuous decline.The proportion of carbapenem resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa was stable,but the resistance rate of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii to carbapenems was still increased,which should be paid more attention.

Objective: To investigate the clinical manifestations and genetic features of 2 children with Smith-Kingsmore syndrome caused by MTOR gene variation and review the literature. Methods: The clinical data of 2 children carrying MTOR gene variant, diagnosed at Xi'an Children's Hospital from April 2018 to April 2021, were retrospectively summarized."MTOR"and"Smith-Kingsmore syndrome"were used as key words to search at China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, PubMed and OMIM up to August 2021. The characteristics of MTOR gene variation and the clinical phenotype of children with Smith-Kingsmore syndrome were summarized. Results: Two children were both females, aged 1.5 years and 2 years respectively, the onset age were both in infancy. They both had developmental delay, megalencephaly and abnormal face. Both whole exome sequencing revealed a de novo heterozygous missense variant in MTOR gene. One case carried c.5395G>A (p.Glu1799Lys) and the other case carried c.7234G>C (p.Asp2412His). There was no literature of MTOR gene variation in Chinese. So far, a total of 45 cases were reported worldwide with detailed clinical information. Eleven variations in MTOR gene were involved, which were all heterozygous missense mutations. Among them, p.Glu1799Lys was the most common sites (28 cases,62%). Another case carried c.7234G>C (p.Asp2412His) was not reported before. Summarizing the 47 cases (including these 2 cases), 46 cases had developmental delay or intellectual disability, 9 cases had developmental regression,42 cases had megalencephaly, 30 cases had facial malformation,16 cases had hypotonia, 17 cases had autism spectrum disorders, 3 cases had hyperactivity, 3 cases had obsessive compulsive disorder, 13 cases had eye diseases, 11 cases had cutaneous vascular malformation, and 9 cases had hypoglycemia. Conclusions: The main clinical features of Smith-Kingsmore syndrome include megalencephaly, developmental delay or intellectual disability, and facial malformation, which can be combined with epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, hypotonia, hypoglycemia and so on. The variation of MTOR gene is the cause of Smith-Kingsmore syndrome.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoglycemia ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Megalencephaly/genetics* ; Muscle Hypotonia ; Mutation ; Retrospective Studies ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the characteristics and rules of acupoint sensitization phenomena based on knee osteoarthritis (KOA), one of the clinical dominant diseases of acupuncture-moxibustion. METHODS: In combination with literature and expert experiences, the acupoints with the highest use frequency in treatment of KOA were screened, e.g. Heding (EX-LE 2), Liangqiu (ST 34), Mingmen (GV 4), Neixiyan (EX-LE 4), Ququan (LR 8) and Dubi (ST 35). In 814 patients with KOA and 217 healthy subjects, the acupoint temperature, mechanic pain threshold and pressure pain threshold were detected separately. Using machine learning method, the sensitization was judged at each acupoint. RESULTS: Compared with healthy subjects, the acupoint temperature was increased and the mechanic pain threshold and pressure pain threshold were reduced in KOA patients (P<0.05). Besides, the cut-off value was presented to distinguish whether the acupoint was sensitized or not. The results of machine learning showed that the highest prediction accuracy of acupoint sensitization was 86.7% (Shenshu [BL 23]) and the lowest one was 73.9% (Heding [EX LE 2]). The prediction accuracy at the third clinical stage trial was higher, the highest was 93.3% (Ququan [LR 8]) in KOA patients. CONCLUSION It is confirmed that the acupoint sensitization reflects the characteristics of disease and is correlative with the conditions of illness, which may provide the reference for the auxiliary diagnosis and condition assessment of KOA.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/therapy* ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the subchronic oral toxicity of sodium dehydroacetate (DHA-Na) and to determine the point of departure (POD), which is a critical factor in the establishment of an acceptable dietary intake. Methods: DHA-Na was administered once daily by gavage to Sprague-Dawley rats at dose levels of 0.0, 31.0, 62.0, and 124.0 mg/kg BW per day for 90 days, followed by a recovery period of 4 weeks in the control and 124.0 mg/kg BW per day groups. The outcome parameters were mortality, clinical observations, body weights, food consumption, hematology and clinical biochemistry, endocrine hormone levels, and ophthalmic, urinary, and histopathologic indicators. The benchmark dose (BMD) approach was applied to estimate the POD. Results: Significant decreases were found in the 62.0 and 124.0 mg/kg BW groups in terms of the body weight and food utilization rate, whereas a significant increase was found in the thyroid stimulating hormone levels of the 124.0 mg/kg BW group. Importantly, the 95% lower confidence limit on the BMD of 51.7 mg/kg BW was modeled for a reduction in body weight. Conclusion The repeated-dose study indicated the slight systemic toxicity of DHA-Na at certain levels (62.0 and 124.0 mg/kg BW) after a 90-day oral exposure.
Animals ; Body Weight ; Organ Size ; Pyrones ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Huangqi Sijunzi decoction (HQSJZD) for treating cancer-related fatigue (CRF) of spleen and stomach Qi deficiency type after chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: A total of 94 breast cancer patients who developed CRF of spleen and stomach Qi deficiency type after chemotherapy were randomized into chemotherapy group (n=47) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) + chemotherapy group (n=47). The patients in chemotherapy group received the AC or EC regimen and non-drug interventions including psychological counseling, and those in TCM + chemotherapy group received oral administration of HQSJZD in addition to chemotherapy for 21 days as a treatment cycle, after which improvement of fatigue was assessed using Modified Piper Fatigue Scale. The active ingredients and targets of HQSJZD were screened using the TCM System Pharmacology Analysis Platform (TCMSP); the CRF- and breast cancer-related disease targets were retrieved based on data from the GeneCards, NCBI gene and OMIM databases to construct the component-target network and the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. GO functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of the target genes were performed to construct the component-disease-pathway-target biological network. The binding strength of the major drug ingredients and CRF key targets were predicted using AutoDock software. RESULTS: The scores for somatic fatigue, emotional fatigue and cognitive fatigue, along with the overall fatigue score, showed more significant improvements in TCM+chemotherapy group than in chemotherapy group (P < 0.001), and the response rate reached 89.4% in the combined treatment group. We identified 250 targets for HQSJZD, 2653 CRF-related genes, 15 329 breast cancer-related genes and 161 prescription-disease intersected targets, from which topological analysis identified 66 potential key targets. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses predicted multiple pathways related with the disease. Molecular docking results suggested that the core ingredients of HQSJZD showed high affinities to the key targets AKT1, CASP3, IL6, JUN and VEGFA, among which AKT1 might be the most important target for HQSJZD to treat CRF. CONCLUSION HQSJZD can obviously improve CRF symptoms in breast cancer patients possibly by regulating multiple signaling pathways including PI3K-Akt through AKT1.
Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Female ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Network Pharmacology ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases