Objective:To investigate the molecular mechanisms of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), to identify key cell subgroups and genes, to construct effective diagnostic models, and to screen for potential therapeutic drugs.Methods:Key cell subgroups in CRS were identified through single-cell transcriptomic sequencing data. Essential genes associated with CRS were selected and diagnostic models were constructed by hdWGCNA (high dimensional weighted gene co-expression network analysis) and various machine learning algorithms. Causal inference analysis was performed using Mendelian randomization and colocalization analysis. Potential therapeutic drugs were identified using molecular docking technology, and the results of bioinformatics analysis were validated by immunofluorescence staining. Graphpad Prism, R, Python, and Adobe Illustrator software were used for data and image processing.Results:An increased proportion of basal and suprabasal cells was observed in CRS, especially in eosinophilic CRS with nasal polyps (ECRSwNP), with P=0.001. hdWGCNA revealed that the "yellow module" was closely related to basal and suprabasal cells in CRS. Univariate logistic regression and LASSO algorithm selected 13 key genes ( CTSC, LAMB3, CYP2S1, TRPV4, ARHGAP21, PTHLH, CDH26, MRPS6, TENM4, FAM110C, NCKAP5, SAMD3, and PTCHD4). Based on these 13 genes, an effective CRS diagnostic model was developed using various machine learning algorithms (AUC=0.958). Mendelian randomization analysis indicated a causal relationship between CTSC and CRS (inverse variance weighted: OR=1.06, P=0.006), and colocalization analysis confirmed shared genetic variants between CTSC and CRS (PPH4/PPH3>2). Molecular docking results showed that acetaminophen binded well with CTSC (binding energy:-5.638 kcal/mol). Immunofluorescence staining experiments indicated an increase in CTSC +cells in CRS. Conclusion:This study integrates various bioinformatics methods to identify key cell types and genes in CRS, constructs an effective diagnostic model, underscores the critical role of the CTSC gene in CRS pathogenesis, and provides new targets for the treatment of CRS.

Objective To investigate the relationship between the therapeutic effect of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and cytokines in aqueous humor in patients with diabetic retinopathy(DR).Methods From July 2023 to December 2023,50 DR patients(56 eyes)who were treated with anti-VEGF drugs in the Department of Ophthal-mology,the Third Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University were included in this study.The patients were divided into the diabetic macular edema(DME)group(30 patients,36 eyes)and the proliferative DR(PDR)group(20 patients,20 eyes).Patients in the DME group received an intravitreal injection of aflibercept once a month for three consecutive times,with aqueous humor extracted before each injection.Patients in the PDR group received an intravitreal injection of aflibercept one week before vitrectomy,with aqueous humor extracted before injection and during vitrectomy,respective-ly.The concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGF-A),placental growth factor(PLGF),interleukin(IL)-1β,IL-23,IL-17A,and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)in the aqueous humor were detected using the Luminex as-say.Before injection therapy,all patients underwent best corrected visual acuity(BCVA)and central macular thickness(CMT)examinations,and their correlations with cytokine concentrations in DR patients before injection therapy were ana-lyzed.Results Compared to before injection therapy,the concentrations of VEGF-A,PLGF,and IL-23 in the aqueous humor of patients in the DME group decreased significantly after treatment(all P＜0.05);additionally,the CMT de-creased,and the BCVA increased(both P＜0.05).After injection therapy,the concentrations of VEGF,PLGF,IL-1β,IL-23,IL-17A,and TNF-α in the aqueous humor of patients in the PDR group significantly decreased compared to before injec-tion therapy(all P＜0.05).Before injection therapy,the levels of VEGF-A,PLGF,and IL-23 in the aqueous humor of pa-tients in the DME group were higher than those in the PDR group,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The correlation analysis results showed that before injection therapy,VEGF was negatively correlated with BCVA(r=-0.767,P=0.004)and was positively correlated with CMT(r=0.662,P=0.019)and IL-23(r=0.765,P=0.004)in the DME group.There was no correlation between the cytokines in the aqueous humor of patients in the PDR group be-fore injection therapy(all P＞0.05).Conclusion Changes in the concentration of VEGF-A,PLGF,and IL-23 are closely related to the occurrence and development of DR.Anti-VEGF treatment can improve BCVA and decrease CMT in DME pa-tients.The expression level of IL-23 in aqueous humor can serve as a predictive factor for the anti-VEGF efficacy in DR pa-tients,providing new targets for early diagnosis and treatment of DR.

Gastric cancer(GC)is one of the most common gastrointestinal tumors.As a newly discovered type of non-coding RNAs,transfer RNA(tRNA)-derived small RNAs(tsRNAs)play a dual biological role in cancer.Our previous studies have demonstrated the potential of tRF-23-Q99P9P9NDD as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for GC.In this work,we confirmed for the first time that tRF-23-Q99P9P9NDD can promote the proliferation,migration,and invasion of GC cells in vitro.The dual luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that tRF-23-Q99P9P9NDD could bind to the 3'untranslated region(UTR)site of acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase short/branched chain(ACADSB).In addition,ACADSB could rescue the effect of tRF-23-Q99P9P9NDD on GC cells.Next,we used Gene Ontology(GO),the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG),and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis(GSEA)to find that downregulated ACADSB in GC may promote lipid accumulation by inhibiting fatty acid catabolism and ferroptosis.Finally,we verified the correlation between ACADSB and 12 ferroptosis genes at the transcriptional level,as well as the changes in reactive oxygen species(ROS)levels by flow cytometry.In summary,this study proposes that tRF-23-Q99P9P9NDD may affect GC lipid metabolism and ferroptosis by targeting ACADSB,thereby promoting GC progression.It provides a theoretical basis for the diagnostic and prognostic monitoring value of GC and opens up new possibilities for treatment.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between FCER2（2206A>G） gene polymorphism and the efficacy of inhaled corticosteroids（ICS） in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis（CRS）. Methods:A total of 208 CRS patients were routinely treated with functional endonasal sinus surgery and postoperative ICS. DNA extraction, PCR amplification and gene sequencing were performed to observe the FCER2（2206A>G） gene polymorphism and calculate the allele frequency. The visual analog scale（VAS） score, Lund-Kennedy score, and computed tomography（CT） Lund-Mackay score were determined 6 months after surgery among patients with different genotypes. Moreover, the polymorphism frequency was compared among different subgroups（chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps versus chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps, eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis versus non-eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis）. Results:There were FCER2（2206A>G） gene polymorphism in patients with CRS, and the phenotypes included 3 genotypes, AA, AG and GG, with distribution frequencies of 68（32.7%）, 116（55.8%） and 24（11.5%） cases, respectively. No significant differences were found in age, VAS score, nasal endoscopic Lund-Kennedy score and CT imaging Lund-Mackay score among patients with CRS of each genotype before surgery. In patients with the AA genotype, the changes in VAS score（5.74±1.10）, Lund Kennedy score（5.92 ± 1.14）, and CT imaging Lund-Mackay score（13.26±4.26） were significantly higher than in patients with the AG（4.37±0.86, 5.37±1.24, 10.82±3.77） and GG（4.26±0.80, 5.18±1.56, 10.10±3.53） genotype（P<0.05）. However, there were no marked difference between patients with the AG genotype and those with the GG genotype（P>0.05）. Compared with patients with non-eosinophilic sinusitis, Among them, the differences between the GG genotype and AG /AA genes were more significant in eosinophilic sinusitis compared to non-eosinophilic sinusitis（P<0.01）. Conclusion:The FCER2（2206A>G） gene in patients with CRS has genetic polymorphism and is associated with the recovery of CRS patients after surgery, individual corticosteroid sensitivity, and subgroup variability.
Humans ; Nasal Polyps/complications* ; Rhinitis/complications* ; Sinusitis/complications* ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use* ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Endoscopy/methods* ; Chronic Disease ; Receptors, IgE ; Lectins, C-Type

Objective:To explore the impact of PM 2.5 concentration in Shanghai on the incidence of allergic rhinitis（AR） in the population, and provide strategies for early warning and prevention of AR. Methods:Collect daily average concentrations of atmospheric pollutants monitored in Shanghai from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019, and clinical data of AR patients from five hospitals in Shanghai during the same period. We used a time-series analysis additive Poisson regression model to analyze the correlation between PM 2.5 levels and outpatient attendance for AR patients. Results:During the study period, a total of 56 500 AR patients were included, and the daily average concentration of PM 2.5 was（35.28±23.07）μg/m³. There is a correlation between the concentration of PM 2.5 and the number of outpatient attendance for AR cases. There is a positive correlation between the daily average number of outpatient for AR and levels of PM 2.5 air pollution（（P<0.05）） . We found that every 10 μg/m³ increase in PM 2.5, the impact of on the number of AR visits was statistically significant on the same day, the first day behind, and the second day behind, with the strongest impact being the exposure on the same day. Every 10 μg/m³ increases in PM 2.5, the number of outpatient visits increased by 0.526% on the same day（95%CI 1.000 50-1.010 04）. Conclusion:The atmospheric PM 2.5 concentration in Shanghai is positively correlated with the number of outpatient for AR, and PM 2.5 exposure is an independent factor in the onset of AR. This provides an important theoretical basis for AR.
Humans ; Particulate Matter/analysis* ; Air Pollutants/adverse effects* ; Incidence ; China/epidemiology* ; Air Pollution/adverse effects* ; Rhinitis, Allergic/etiology*

Objective:To compare serum procalcitonin and fibrinogen degradation product levels between type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with Escherichia coli bloodstream and urinary tract infections. Methods:The clinical data of 82 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with Escherichia coli infections who received treatment between December 2014 and December 2019 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Datong University (The Fifth People's Hospital of Datong) were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were assigned to bloodstream infection ( n = 40) and urinary tract infection ( n = 42) according to the way of Escherichia coli infection. Serum procalcitonin and fibrinogen degradation product levels, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, D-Dimer level, antithrombin III activity, and electrolytes were determined and compared between the two groups. Correlation between procalcitonin and other variables was analyzed. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed with procalcitonin level as a dependent variable and other relevant indexes as independent variables. Results:Body temperature, white blood cell count, neutrophil count, monocyte count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, procalcitonin level, C-reactive protein level, fibrinogen degradation product level, and D-Dimer level in the bloodstream injection group were (39.49 ± 0.64) ℃, (14.92 ± 11.78) × 10 9/L, (13.39 ± 11.60) × 10 9/L, (0.72 ± 0.36) ×10 9/L, (14.86 ± 10.52), (199.15 ± 160.69), (22.81 ± 17.86) μg/L, (133.44 ± 63.63) mg/L, (49.71 ± 41.44) mg/L, (16.56 ± 12.20) mg/L, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the urinary tract infection group [(37.12 ± 1.20) ℃, (9.04 ± 3.95) × 10 9/L, (6.25 ± 4.02) × 10 9/L, (0.42 ± 0.29) × 10 9/L, (3.67 ± 3.34), (120.01 ± 44.08), (4.46 ± 8.69) μg/L, (39.22 ± 22.16) mg/L, (3.81 ± 3.41) mg/L, (0.84 ± 0.75) mg/L), t = 7.356, 2.578, 3.162, 2.958, 5.538, 2.591, 2.810, 4.825, 2.902, 2.375, all P < 0.05]. Platelet count, lymphocyte count, blood sodium level and antithrombin Ⅲ activity in the bloodstream infection group were (167.50 ± 104.93) × 10 9/L, (1.06 ± 0.58) × 10 9/L, (130.89 ± 6.50) mmol/L, (57.88 ± 16.28)% , which were significantly lower than those in the urinary tract infection group [(239.40 ± 82.52)× 10 9/L, (2.14 ± 0.71) × 10 9/L, (138.46 ± 5.96) mmol/L, (90.11 ± 8.90)%, t = -2.853, -6.313, -4.046, -7.350, all P < 0.05]. Correlation analysis revealed that serum procalcitonin level was positively correlated with body temperature ( r = 0.387), white blood cell count ( r = 0.355), neutrophil count ( r = 0.368), C-reactive protein ( r = 0.605), fibrinogen degradation product level ( r = 0.616), D-Dimer level ( r = 0.486) (all P < 0.05), and it was negatively correlated with sodium level ( r = -0.319) and antithrombin Ⅲ activity ( r = -0.465) (both P < 0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis results revealed that fibrinogen degradation product level and body temperature were greatly correlated with procalcitonin level. Conclusion:Inflammatory indicators procalcitonin level, body temperature, white blood cell count, neutrophil count, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen degradation product level and D-Dimer level were remarkably higher in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with Escherichia coli bloodstream infection than those in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with Escherichia coli urinary tract infection. Procalcitonin level was greatly correlated with body temperature and fibrinogen degradation product level.

OBJECTIVE：To study the composition and contents of flavonoids chemical components in waste material during industrialization of Pueraria thomsonii resources，and to provide reference for comprehensive development and reasonable utilization of the variety. METHODS ：Using“No. 2 Gange”of P. thomsonii from Jiangxi as objects ，UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and HPLC method were adopted to detect the components and contents of flavonoids in the root （with or without cortex ），cortex，flower， fibrous root ，stem，head and dregs （with or without cortex ）of P. thomsonii as well as dry matter of industrial wastewater （with or without cortex ）after precipitation of pueraria powder. RESULTS ：The linearity ，precision，repeatability，stability and recovery of the established method for content determination of 7 flavonoids（puerarin，daidzin，iridoxine-7-O-xylose glucoside ，genistin， iridin，daidzein and kakkalide ）were all in line with the requirements. Totally 12 kinds of flavonoids were identified ，among which the flavonoids in the root ，cortex，stem，fibrous root ，head and dregs of P. thomsonii as well as dry matter of industrial wastewater were the same ，mainly were puerarin ，daidzin，genistein，daidzein and malonyl-daidzein. The flower of P. thomsonii mainly included iridoxine- 7-O-xylose glucoside ，genistin，iridin，kakkalide，6″-O-xylosyldaidzein，but the components as puerarin ， daidzin and its aglycone were not be detected. The content of puerarin in the head of P. thomsonii was the highest （5.765％）. The contents of puerarin in root and dregs of P. thomsonii as well as dry matter of industrial waste-water in samples with cortex were all higher than in corresponding peeled sample. CONCLUSIONS ：The waste material from the industrialization of P. thomsonii resources contains a lot of flavonoids with rich species and high content ，and can be used as an important raw material for obtaining flavonoids such as puerarin.

Objective:To explore the expression level of serum exosomal miR-223-3p in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and evaluate its clinical application.Methods:A case-control study was performed. Serum samples were collected from the Department of Hematology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from March 2018 to August 2019, including 68 newly diagnosed untreated MM patients (16 in stage Ⅰ, 22 in stage Ⅱ and 30 in stage Ⅲ), 56 healthy controls and 30 patients with recurrent MM in the same period, and follow-up patients who underwent chemotherapy for 3 months after initial diagnosis. Serum exosomes were purified and identified, RNA was extracted, and RT-qPCR was performed to compare the levels of miR-223-3p in serum exosomes between the groups. The correlation between exosomal miR-223-3p levels and clinical pathological data was analyzed, and the diagnostic efficacy was evaluated by ROC curve.Results:Compared with healthy controls (0.92±0.29), the expression level of serum exosomal miR-223-3p in newly diagnosed MM patients (0.52±0.23) decreased significantly ( U=565, P<0.000 1). According to the international staging system of MM, the expression level of serum exosomal miR-223-3p in patients with stage Ⅰ(0.67±0.26) was significantly higher than that in patients with stage Ⅱ (0.47±0.21) and Ⅲ (0.48±0.19) ( U values were 96.5 and 138 respectively, P were all less than 0.05). In addition, the expression level of serum exosomal miR-223-3p increased after 3 months of chemotherapy (0.69±0.19) compared with that before chemotherapy (0.50±0.22) ( U=228.5, P=0.000 8). Compared with the healthy control group (0.84±0.21), the expression level of serum exosomal miR-223-3p in recurrent MM patients (0.65±0.18) was also decreased ( U=244, P=0.002). At the same time, the expression level of serum exosomal miR-223-3p may be related to the low expression of albumin ( U=411.5, P=0.043 1) and bone damage ( U=309, P=0.001). The ROC curves showed that the AUC of serum exosomal miR-223-3p in the diagnosis of MM was 0.853, which was higher than that of β 2-microglobulin (β 2-MG) (AUC=0.805) and albumin (AUC=0.743). The AUC of the three combined detection was 0.918. Conclusions:Serum exosomal miR-223-3p can be used as a potential marker for auxiliary diagnosis of MM, and its combination with β 2-MG and albumin can improve the diagnostic efficacy of MM.

Objective: To compare the tissue morphology and gene expressions of inflammatory and repair-related factors in chronic refractory wound tissue including pressure ulcers and diabetic feet. Methods: During August 2016 to September 2017, 10 samples of prepuce were collected after circumcision of 10 urological patients [all male, aged (38±4) years old] admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University and included in normal skin group, samples of tissue around the edge of wounds with blood supply were collected from 9 heat or electric burn patients [6 male patients, 3 female patients, aged (51±8) years old], 13 pressure ulcer patients [9 male patients, 4 female patients, aged (51±14) years old] and 10 diabetic foot patients [8 male patients, 2 female patients, aged (61±10) years old] during the operations. The samples were divided into burn wound group (9 samples), pressure ulcer group (13 samples), and diabetic foot group (10 samples). Ten slices were taken from pressure ulcer group and diabetic foot group respectively, and 5 slices in each group were used to observe the tissue morphology and expressions of Ki67 and CD31 of wounds respectively with immunofluorescence method. Ten samples from normal skin group, 9 samples from burn wound group, 13 samples from pressure ulcer group, and 10 samples from diabetic foot group were collected for analysis of mRNA expressions of vascular endothelial growth factor 192 (VEGF192), transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) , interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) by real time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Data were processed with Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis rank-sum test. Results: (1) The expression level of Ki67 in diabetic foot group (390±100) was higher than that of pressure ulcer group (182±14, Z=-2.611, P<0.01). (2) Although there were a large number of vascular endothelial cells (CD31 positive cells) in wounds of diabetic foot group, their distribution was disordered and failed to form intact lumen. There were less vascular endothelial cells in wounds of pressure ulcer group than those of diabetic foot group, but the complete lumen was formed. (3) The mRNA expression levels of VEGF192 in wounds of burn wound group, pressure ulcer group, and diabetic foot group were significantly lower than the level in normal skin group (H=13.72, 30.50, 15.20, P<0.05 or P<0.01), and the level was the lowest in pressure ulcer group. The mRNA expression level of VEGF192 in wounds of pressure ulcer group was significantly lower than that of diabetic foot group (H=15.30, P<0.01). Compared with that of normal skin group, the mRNA expression level of TGF-β in wounds of burn wound group showed no significant difference (H=-9.50, P>0.05), while the mRNA expression levels of TGF-β in wounds of pressure ulcer group and diabetic foot group were significantly decreased (H=18.04, 14.50, P<0.01). The mRNA expression level of TGF-β in wounds of pressure ulcer group was similar to that of diabetic foot group (H=3.54, P>0.05). (4) Compared with those of normal skin group, the mRNA expression levels of VCAM-1 in wounds of burn wound group and pressure ulcer group were significantly increased (H=-22.50, -11.50, P<0.05 or P<0.01), and there was no significant difference in the mRNA expression level of VCAM-1 in wounds of diabetic foot group (H=10.00, P>0.05); the mRNA expression level of ICAM-1 in wounds of burn wound group showed no significant difference (H=-9.50, P>0.05), and the levels of ICAM-1 in wounds of pressure ulcer group and diabetic foot group were significantly decreased (H=16.50, 16.50, P<0.01). The mRNA expression level of VCAM-1 in wounds of pressure ulcer group was significantly higher than that of diabetic foot group (H=-21.50, P<0.01), the mRNA expression level of ICAM-1 in wounds of pressure ulcer group was similar to that of diabetic foot group (H=0, P>0.05). (5) Compared with those of normal skin group, except for the mRNA expression level of IL-1β in wounds of diabetic foot group showed no significant difference (H=-10.00, P>0.05), the mRNA expression levels of IL-1β in wounds of burn wound group and pressure ulcer group were significantly increased (H=-32.50, -21.50, P<0.01); the mRNA expression levels of IL-6 were significantly increased in wounds of burn wound group, pressure ulcer group, and diabetic foot group (H=-17.50, -30.50, -11.80, P<0.05 or P<0.01); except for the mRNA expression level of TNF-α in wounds of burn wound group showed no significant difference (H=-9.50, P>0.05), the mRNA expression levels of TNF-α in wounds of pressure ulcer group and diabetic foot group were significantly decreased (H=18.04, 14.50, P<0.01). The mRNA expression levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in wounds of pressure ulcer group were significantly lower than those of burn wound group (H=11.00, 27.54, P<0.05 or P<0.01), while the mRNA expression level of IL-6 was significantly higher (H=-13.00, P<0.05). The mRNA expression levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in wounds of diabetic foot group were significantly lower than those of burn wound group (H=22.50, 24.00, P<0.01), while the mRNA expression level of IL-6 showed no significant difference (H=5.70, P>0.05). Conclusions The phenotypes of diabetic foot and pressure ulcer vary from the expressions levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and blood vessels forming ability to the expression levels of growth factors, cell adhesion factors, and inflammatory cytokines.

Exosomes are small vesicles that are released from multivesicular bodies to the extracellular. They can carry proteins, lipids, DNA, miRNA and mRNA to the recipient cells, thereby altering the biological behavior of the recipient cells. In multiple myeloma (MM), exosomes could regulate the immune system, promote angiogenesis and the transformation of cancer-associated fibroblasts, interact with bone mesenchymal stem cells, enhance osteoclast activity, and induce MM resistance. Exosomes in the blood can be used as an early diagnostic marker for MM in order to provide a new diagnosis and treatment strategy for MM patients. This article summarizes the progress of the function, diagnosis and treatment of exosomes in MM.