[Objective] To conduct a retrospective statistical comparison of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) test values in blood donors prior to blood collection, aiming to analyze the objective characteristics of the population with elevated ALT levels (ALT>50 U/L) and provide reference data for adjusting the screening eligibility threshold for ALT. [Methods] The preliminary ALT screening data of 30 341 blood donor samples collected prior to blood donation from three smart blood donation sites at the Shenzhen Blood Center between 2022 and 2023 were extracted and compared with data from a health examination department of a tertiary hospital in Shenzhen (representing the general population, n=24 906). Both datasets were categorized and statistically described. A retrospective analysis was conducted to examine the associations between ALT test results and factors such as donors' gender, age, ethnicity, donation site, donation season, and frequency of blood donation. [Results] The ALT levels in both blood donors and the general population were non-normally distributed. The 95th percentile of ALT values was calculated as 61.4 U/L (male: 67.8 U/L, female: 39.3 U/L) for blood donors and 58.1 U/L (male: 63.7 U/L, female: 51.2 U/L) for the general population. The non-compliance rates (ALT>50 U/L) were 7.65% (2 321/30 341) in blood donors and 7.08% (1 763/24 906) in the general population. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the ALT failure rate among blood donors based on gender, age, and donation site, but no significant differences (P>0.05) during the blood donation season. There was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) in the positive rates of four serological markers (HBsAg, anti HCV, HIV Ag/Ab, anti TP) for blood screening pathogens between ALT unqualified and qualified individuals (2.05% vs 1.5%). If the ALT qualification threshold was raised from 50 U/L to 90 U/L, the non qualification rates of male and female blood donors would decrease from 9.82% (2 074/21 125) to 2.23% (471/21 125) and from 2.70% (249/9 216) to 0.75% (69/9 216), respectively. Among the 154 blood donors who donated blood more than 3 times, 88.31% of the 248 ALT test results were in the range of 50-90 U/L. Among them, 9 cases had ALT>130 U/L, and ALT was converted to qualified in subsequent blood donations. [Conclusion] There are differences in the ALT failure rate among blood donors of different genders and ages, and different blood donation sites and operators can also affect the ALT detection values of blood donors. The vast majority of blood donors with ALT failure are caused by transient and non pathological factors. With the widespread use of blood virus nucleic acid testing, appropriately increasing the ALT qualification threshold for blood donors can expand the qualified population and alleviate the shortage of blood sources, and the risk of blood safety will not increase.

[Objective] To investigate the factors associated with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) abnormalities in multi-ethnic blood donors across five Zang autonomous prefectures in the plateau regions of Qinghai Province, and to provide evidence for ensuring blood safety and formulating screening strategies. [Methods] A retrospective analysis was performed on the ALT abnormal test results of blood donors in the Zang autonomous prefectures of Qinghai from 2022 to 2024. The correlations between ALT levels and factors including gender, age, altitude, and infectious markers were investigated. [Results] The overall ALT unqualified rate among blood donors in this region was 9.01%. Significant differences in ALT levels were observed across genders and age groups (P<0.05). Variations in ALT abnormality rates were also noted among different plateau regions (P<0.05). Overall, ALT values exhibited an increasing trend with rising altitude. The average ALT unqualified rates were 11.19% in Zang donors, 7.96% in Han donors, and 4.79% in donors from other ethnic groups (P<0.05). No statistically significant association was observed between ALT abnormality and the presence of HBV/HCV infectious markers (P>0.05). [Conclusion] In the plateau areas of Qinghai, multi-ethnic blood donors have a relatively high ALT levels and ALT unqualified rates, showing distinct regional characteristics. ALT elevation in voluntary blood donors is related to non-pathological factors such as gender, age, and dietary habits, but not to infectious indicators.

Objective: Data on syncopal donation-related vasovagal reaction (DRVR) collected from 74 blood centers between 2020 and 2023 was statistically analyzed to provide a reference for developing preventive strategies against syncopal DRVR. Methods: Data on blood donation adverse reactions and basic information of donors from 2020 to 2023 were collected through the information management system at monitoring sentinel sites. Statistical analysis was performed on the following aspects of syncopal DRVR: characteristics of donors who experienced syncope, reported incidence, triggers, duration, presence and occurrence time of syncope-related trauma, clinical management including outpatient and inpatient treatment, and severity grading. Results: From 2020 to 2023, 45 966 donation-related adverse reactions were recorded. Of these, 1 665 (3.72%) cases were syncopal DRVR. The incidence of syncopal DRVR decreased with age, being the highest in the 18-22 age group. Incidence was significantly higher in female donors than male donors, in first-time donors than repeat donors, and in university and individual donors than group donors (all P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference among different blood donation locations (P>0.05). The top three triggers were tension, fatigue, and needle phobia or fear of blood. Among syncopal DRVR cases, 60.36% occurred during blood collection, 87.63% lasted for less than 60 seconds, and 5.05% were accompanied by trauma. Notably, 57.14% of these traumas occurred after donor had left the blood collection site. Syncope severity was graded based on required treatment: grade 1 (fully recovered without treatment, 95.50%); grade 2 (recovered after outpatient treatment, 4.02%); and grade 3 (recovered after inpatient treatment, 0.48%). Conclusion: By analyzing the data of syncopal DRVR cases, it is possible to provide a reference for formulating blood donor safety policies.

Chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA), a non-radioactive immunoassay technology that has developed rapidly over the past three decades, has increasingly demonstrated its application value in blood screening due to its advantages such as high sensitivity, high specificity, rapid detection, and high degree of automation. This article systematically reviews the application status, technical characteristics, differences from traditional methods, influencing factors for promotion and application of CLIA in blood screening at home and abroad, and looks forward to its development prospects. Countries such as the United States, Germany, and Japan have widely adopted CLIA in the screening of pathogens like HBV, HCV, and HIV, predominantly using "1 CLIA test + 1 nucleic acid testing (NAT) test" model. Some regions have also expanded testing items to include anti-HBc and HTLV. In China, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) combined with NAT remains the primary method. CLIA is still in the stage of detection performance comparison. However, domestic reagents have gradually been approved, and more enterprises are accelerating their layout in this field. CLIA is superior to ELISA in terms of sensitivity, detection range, and automation adaptability, which can reduce missed detection and shorten the window period. But it is limited by factors such as high cost, closed system characteristics, and domestic batch release supervision. In the future, CLIA is expected to complement existing technologies, expand the detection of emerging and re-emerging pathogens, and combine with fully automated assembly lines to improve screening quality, providing more comprehensive protection for clinical blood transfusion safety.

The plateau environment is characterized by low oxygen, low air pressure, low temperature, and strong ultraviolet rays, etc. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a preventable and treatable chronic lung disease. High altitude environment increases COPD prevalence, clinical manifestation and mortality. The therapeutic window of theophylline drugs for COPD is narrow, and the high altitude environment has an influence on the pharmacokinetics of the drugs. This review summarizes the differences in the prevalence, mortality, clinical manifestation and clinical symptoms of COPD in the plateau and plain, providing a basis for identifying the risk factors of COPD in the plateau areas. The effects of plateau hypoxic environment on the pharmacokinetics of COPD drugs were also discussed. It can provide a rationale for more effective prevention and treatment of COPD at high altitude.
Humans ; Altitude ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/drug therapy* ; Oxygen ; Hypoxia

[Abstract] Objective To study the role of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) / stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) pathway in high altitude hypoxia preconditioning in rat. Methods Seventy-six adult male SD rats, which through fed in low-pressure oxygen chamber (altitude 5000 m) and Xining (altitude 2260 m) to establish the rat model of hypoxia preconditioning. Rats randomly divided into 6 groups: control group (Ctrl), high altitude hypoxic preconditioning 1 day group (HHP-1d), high altitude hypoxic preconditioning 4 days group (HHP-4d), high altitude hypoxic preconditioning 15 days group (HHP-15d), high altitude hypoxic preconditioning 30 days group (HHP-30d), medium altitude hypoxic preconditioning group (MHP). 7. 0 T small animal MRI was used to observe the intracranial structure, diameter of basilar artery and cerebral blood flow in the hippocampus and brainstem regions by the sequences of T2 weighted images (T2WI) and arterial spin labeling (ASL) in the groups of Ctrl, HHP-4d, HHP-30d and MHP. In each group, blood routine was tested, the concentrations of HIF-1α, SDF-1 in serum, platelet activating factor (PAF)and P-selectin (SELP) in plasma were detected by the method of ELISA. Results In the hypoxia preconditioning groups, intracranial structure and diameter of basilar artery had no significant difference, while cerebral blood flow in the regions of brainstem and hippocampus increased significantly (P<0. 05). Meanwhile, red blood cell and white blood cell increased significantly, while platelet decreased significantly in the groups of hypoxia preconditioning (P<0. 05). Red blood cell and platelet in MHP group were closer to Ctrl group. The concentrations of HIF-1α and SDF-1 (except HHP-1d group) increased significantly in hypoxia preconditioning groups (P<0. 05).The concentrations of PAF and SELP increased significantly in HHP-1d and HHP-15d groups. The concentration of PAF decreased significantly in the HHP-4d and HHP-30d groups, and SELP decreased significantly in HHP-4d group (P<0. 05). Conclusion Hypoxia preconditioning can increase oxygen storage and immune defense capacity, improve brain reserve capacity and play the effect of brain protection through HIF-1α/ SDF-1 pathway. The best effect preconditioning was feed at medium altitude (altitude 2260 m) for 30 days.

Objective: To describe the distribution characteristics of hypertension among adult twins in the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR) and to provide clues for exploring the role of genetic and environmental factors on hypertension. Methods: A total of 69 220 (34 610 pairs) of twins aged 18 and above with hypertension information were selected from CNTR registered from 2010 to 2018. Random effect models were used to describe the population and regional distribution of hypertension in twins. To estimate the heritability, the concordance rates of hypertension were calculated and compared between monozygotic twins (MZ) and dizygotic twins (DZ). Results: The age of all participants was (34.1±12.4) years. The overall self-reported prevalence of hypertension was 3.8%(2 610/69 220). Twin pairs who were older, living in urban areas, married, overweight or obese, current smokers or ex-smokers, and current drinkers or abstainers had a higher self-reported prevalence of hypertension (P<0.05). Analysis within the same-sex twin pairs found that the concordance rate of hypertension was 43.2% in MZ and 27.0% in DZ, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The heritability of hypertension was 22.1% (95%CI: 16.3%- 28.0%). Stratified by gender, age, and region, the concordance rate of hypertension in MZ was still higher than that in DZ. The heritability of hypertension was higher in female participants. Conclusions: There were differences in the distribution of hypertension among twins with different demographic and regional characteristics. It is indicated that genetic factors play a crucial role in hypertension in different genders, ages, and regions, while the magnitude of genetic effects may vary.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Alcohol Drinking ; Diseases in Twins/genetics* ; Hypertension/genetics* ; Twins, Dizygotic/genetics* ; Twins, Monozygotic/genetics*

Objective: To describe the distribution characteristics of hyperlipidemia in adult twins in the Chinese National Twin Registry (CNTR) and explore the effect of genetic and environmental factors on hyperlipidemia. Methods: Twins recruited from the CNTR in 11 project areas across China were included in the study. A total of 69 130 (34 565 pairs) of adult twins with complete information on hyperlipidemia were selected for analysis. The random effect model was used to characterize the population and regional distribution of hyperlipidemia among twins. The concordance rates of hyperlipidemia were calculated in monozygotic twins (MZ) and dizygotic twins (DZ), respectively, to estimate the heritability. Results: The age of all participants was (34.2±12.4) years. This study's prevalence of hyperlipidemia was 1.3% (895/69 130). Twin pairs who were men, older, living in urban areas, married,had junior college degree or above, overweight, obese, insufficient physical activity, current smokers, ex-smokers, current drinkers, and ex-drinkers had a higher prevalence of hyperlipidemia (P<0.05). In within-pair analysis, the concordance rate of hyperlipidemia was 29.1% (118/405) in MZ and 18.1% (57/315) in DZ, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Stratified by gender, age, and region, the concordance rate of hyperlipidemia in MZ was still higher than that in DZ. Further, in within-same-sex twin pair analyses, the heritability of hyperlipidemia was 13.04% (95%CI: 2.61%-23.47%) in the northern group and 18.59% (95%CI: 4.43%-32.74%) in the female group, respectively. Conclusions: Adult twins were included in this study and were found to have a lower prevalence of hyperlipidemia than in the general population study, with population and regional differences. Genetic factors influence hyperlipidemia, but the genetic effect may vary with gender and area.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult ; China/epidemiology* ; Diseases in Twins/genetics* ; Hyperlipidemias/genetics* ; Metabolic Diseases ; Twins, Dizygotic ; Twins, Monozygotic/genetics*

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly used as first-line therapy for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring no actionable mutations; however, data on their efficacy among patients presenting with intracranial lesions are limited. This study aimed to explore the efficacy and safety of ICIs combined with chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC patients with measurable brain metastasis at initial diagnosis. METHODS: Our study retrospectively analyzed clinical data of a total of 211 patients diagnosed with driver gene mutation-negative advanced NSCLC with measurable, asymptomatic brain metastasis at baseline from Hunan Cancer Hospital between January 1, 2019 and September 30, 2021. The patients were stratified into two groups according to the first-line treatment regimen received: ICI combined with chemotherapy ( n = 102) or chemotherapy ( n = 109). Systemic and intracranial objective response rates (ORRs) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed. Adverse events were also compared between the groups. RESULTS: Compared with the chemotherapy-based regimen, the ICI-containing regimen was associated with a significantly higher intracranial (44.1% [45/102] vs . 28.4% [31/109], χ2 = 5.620, P = 0.013) and systemic (49.0% [50/102] vs . 33.9% [37/109], χ2 = 4.942, P = 0.019) ORRs and longer intracranial (11.0 months vs . 7.0 months, P <0.001) and systemic (9.0 months vs . 5.0 months, P <0.001) PFS. Multivariable analysis consistently revealed an independent association between receiving ICI plus platinum-based chemotherapy as a first-line regimen and prolonged intracranial PFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.52, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.37-0.73, P <0.001) and systemic PFS (HR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.35-0.66, P <0.001). No unexpected serious adverse effects were observed. CONCLUSION: Our study provides real-world clinical evidence that ICI combined with chemotherapy is a promising first-line treatment option for driver gene mutation-negative advanced NSCLC patients who present with brain metastasis at initial diagnosis. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ , OMESIA, NCT05129202.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/genetics* ; Lung Neoplasms/genetics* ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Retrospective Studies ; Brain Neoplasms/genetics*

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of different cultivation modes on the yield of Gentiana crassicaulis and its microbial diversity and secondary metabolite content in the rhizosphere soil. MethodWith G. crassicaulis of different cultivation modes and its rhizosphere soil as the research objects， the composition of bacterial and fungal communities， dominant bacteria， and differential microorganisms in the rhizosphere soil were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing technology. HPLC was used to determine the content of iridoids in G. crassicaulis with different cultivation modes. ResultCompared with plastic film mulching， planting without mulch and intercropping of peony， white kidney bean， potato， and corn increased the yield of fresh products by 16.11%-17.68%， 22.48%-26.34%， 29.37%-32.19%， 34.82%-36.57%， and 35.34%-39.71%， respectively， and increased the yield of dry products by 19.75%-23.17%， 25.86%-29.32%， 30.18%-34.94%， 35.22%-39.87%， and 39.72%-43.73%. The total content of four iridoids， including gentiopicrin， loganic acid， sweroside， and swertiamarin， increased by 10.17%-37.83%， 5.93%-47.44%， 9.09%-28.84%， and 10.71%-28.57%， respectively. The diversity of bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere soil increased significantly （P<0.05）. The relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria such as Sordariomycetes， Leotiomycetes， Tremellomycetes， Eurotiomycetes， Fusarium， and Cladophialophora decreased， and the proportions of beneficial bacteria such as Proteobacteria， Acidobacteria， and Actinobacteriota increased and they gradually became the dominant bacteria. ConclusionDifferent cultivation modes can affect the yield of G. crassicaulis and its microbial diversity and iridoid content in the rhizosphere soil. Cultivation without mulch and intercropping patterns have certain advantages， which can provide theoretical references for the planting of G. crassicaulis.