Objective To investigate the expression of allograft inflammatory factor-1(AIF-1)in the testicular model of diabetes mellitus(DM)rats as well as its significance.Methods The rat model of DM testis(DMT)was established,which were randomly divided into the DM testis 4-week group(DMT4W),DM testis s 8-week group(DMT8W)and the DM testis 12-week group(DMT12W).The normal control group(NC group)was randomly divided into three subgroups:NC 4-week(NC4W),NC 8-week(NC8W)and NC 12-week(NC12W).The morphologic changes of testis in the different groups was detected by histopathology.The expression of AIF-1 protein was detected by immunohistochemistry.The expression of AIF-1 and NF-κB p65 protein was observed by immunofluorescence.Results The histopathological results suggested that the numbers of spermatogenic cells,sertoli cells,interstitial cells and sperms in the DMT group were significantly decreased,as compared with the NC group.The immunohistochemistry results showed that the expression of AIF-1 protein was significantly increased in the DMT group,as compared with the NC group(P<0.05).The intensity of AIF-1 and NF-κB p65 in the DMT group was significantly increased by immunofluorescence,as compared with the NC group.Conclusion The over expression of AIF-1 protein in DMT tissue suggests that it may play an important role in the pathological process of DMT and may become a new therapeutic target and diagnostic marker in the future.

Objective:To explore the cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) screening and intervention based on family doctor contract services.Methods:From January 2023 to October 2023, using purposive sampling and a cross-sectional survey method, 1 040 individuals aged 60 to 75 years who underwent physical examinations at community health service centers in Shanghai Minhang district were selected as research subjects. The subjects were divided into a control group ( n=532) and a study group ( n=508). The control group received conventional community health education and participated in a COPD screening and intervention program provided by the examination center. The study group received COPD screening and intervention provided by contracted family doctors under a tightly integrated medical consortium. The screening content for both groups included initial and follow-up risk assessment questionnaires, pulmonary function tests, bronchodilator tests, and CT scans. A comparative analysis was conducted on the screening compliance rate, positive rate, and cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit between the two groups. Results:A total of 251 individuals at high risk for COPD and confirmed COPD patients were identified through initial and re-screening in both groups, accounting for 24.13% of the subjects, including 222 individuals at high risk (21.35%) and 29 confirmed patients (2.79%). The study group had significantly higher compliance rates in questionnaire-based initial screening, questionnaire-based re-screening+pulmonary function tests, bronchodilator experiments, diagnosis, and subsequent CT scans than the control group ( χ2=33.563, 41.425, 24.842, 17.363, all P<0.05).There were significant higher proportions of high-risk individuals and patients identified through screening in the study group than those in the control group ( χ2=44.880, all P<0.05). The study group had significantly higher positive rates of questionnaire-based initial screening, pulmonary function tests, bronchodilator experiments, and CT scans than the control group ( χ2=29.191, 11.313, 12.370, 4.429, all P<0.05). The overall costs of the screening in the control and study groups were 36 100 and 53 900 yuan, respectively. The cost of pulmonary function tests in the screening for the control and study groups was 1.44 million and 2.45 million yuan, respectively, accounting for 43.19% of the total cost, which was the highest proportion among all costs. The per capita cost for identifying one high-risk individual or patient with COPD was 358.46 Yuan, and the cost in study groups was significantly lower than that in the control group (322.75 vs. 429.45 yuan, χ2=20.396, P<0.05). The per capita net benefits and cost-benefit ratios for the overall subjects in the two groups were 0.37 million yuan and 43.50, respectively. The average net benefit of the study group and the control group was 0.49 million yuan and 0.26 million yuan respectively. The average net benefit of the study group was 0.23 million yuan higher than that of the control group. The cost-benefit ratio of the study group and the control group were 46.77 and 38.61, respectively. The cost-benefit ratio of the study group was 8.16 higher than that of the control group. Conclusion:The screening and intervention for COPD based on family doctor contract services have significant effectiveness, with a marked improvement in screening compliance and high cost-effectiveness, and can be used in community medical institutions with relatively sound family doctor and medical consortium services for targeted COPD screening.

The metastasis of contralateral adrenal gland and gallbladder following radical nephrectomy is extremely uncommon in clinical practice. We presented one such case. The patient underwent laparoscopic radical right nephrectomy. Postoperative pathology revealed clear cell carcinoma of the right kidney. Five years after operation, CT revealed occupying lesions in the left adrenal gland and gallbladder. Transperitoneal laparoscopic left adrenalectomy and cholecystectomy were performed. Pathological examination showed that the left adrenal tumor and gallbladder tumor were clear cell carcinoma. The patient received targeted therapy and tumor-free survived for 10 months.

Influenza viruses are common pathogens causing respiratory infections in humans. Among the four seasonal influenza viruses, influenza A virus H3N2 has become the leading cause of seasonal influenza illness and death, posing a great threat to public health and the economy. Since it first emerged and caused a pandemic in 1968, H3N2 has been circulating repeatedly in human beings and continually evades host immune attack by antigenic drift, resulting in a decrease in vaccine efficacy. In this paper, the antigenic evolution of influenza A virus H3N2, the impact of antigenic evolution on the selection of vaccine strains and some models for predicting the evolution of influenza viruses were analyzed and reviewed, which paved the road for understanding the antigenic evolution of influenza virus and vaccine development.

Objective: To compare and investigate the physicochemical characteristics and antibacterial effect of ZnO nanofilms prepared by atomic layer deposition(ALD) at different deposition cycles. Methods: According to different ALD cycles, four groups were set up (control group, 300, 600 and 1 200 cycles group). Using DEZn and water as precursors, ZnO nanofilms were prepared by ALD on the surface of pure titanium specimens. Surface morphology of the films was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM); the element composition and crystal type of the films were observed by energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD); the hydrophilicity and thickness of the films were detected by water contact angle detector and ellipsometer. The cytotoxicity of the films was evaluated by CCK-8 assay. The antibacterial effect against S. aureus in vitro of the films was evaluated by optical density method. Results: The surface morphology of the films was uniform and compact as shown through SEM. The grain size increased with the increase of the number of ALD cycles. EDS results showed that the films were mainly composed of Zn and O elements. XRD results confirmed that the composition of the films was ZnO. Results of water contact angle showed that the films were hydrophobic. The thickness of the films was nanoscale and there was a linear relationship between the thickness and ALD cycles. All experimental groups showed no cytotoxicity. The 1 200 cycles group showed the highest antibacterial rate of 65.9% and 52.3% at 24 and 48 hours respectively, which was the best among all experimental groups. Conclusion The ZnO nanofilms prepared by ALD at different cycles on pure titanium surface are uniform and compact. Thickness of the films increases with the increase of ALD cycles. The films have good biocompatibility and anti-S. aureus effect in vitro. The 1 200 cycles group has the best antibacterial effect.

Objective: To investigate the effects of fiber surface deposited with silicon dioxide films by atomic layer deposition on properties of dental fiber-reinforced composites. Methods : SiO2 films were deposited on the surface of quartz fiber by atomic layer deposition(ALD). Then the quartz fiber was used to manufacture fiber resin composites, which were divided into four groups: A(no soaking agent removal), B(soaking agent removed), C(soaking agent removed and silanization), and D(soaking agent removed, 600 ALD cycles performed and then silanization). Scanning electron microscopy, water contact angle test, hygroscopicity test, CCK8 test and three-point bending test were used to investigate the properties of fiber resin composites. Results: The surface morphology of the quartz fiber treated by ALD was smooth and had no obvious change compared with that before treatment. Moreover, the quartz fiber showed hydrophobicity after silanization. The results of three-point bending test revealed that the mechanical properties of fiber-resin composites modified by ALD were significantly improved(P<0.05). When viewed by scanning electron microscopy, a good interfacial bonding could be seen between quartz fibers and the resin matrix in Group D. In addition, it was found that Group D had low absorbability, low solubility and good biocompatibility. Conclusion It is shown that deposition of SiO2 films on the quartz fiber by ALD can significantly enhance the mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced composites.

Objective:To understand the psychology of patients undergoing breast augmentation, and to provide reference for preoperative communication between clinicians and patients.Methods:From September 2016 to September 2017, the Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital formulated a 37-question questionnaire based on BREAST-Q and Chinese national conditions, and investigated patients who planned to undergo breast augmentation in 34 hospitals.Results:A total of 2066 valid questionnaires were collected. Fifty-four percent of women were dissatisfied with their nude appearance, which was more dissatisfied compared with their appearance when dressed. Surgical safety (20.1%), surgical effect (16.8%), surgical method and incision selection (16.5%), breast implant material (14.5%) and doctor′s skill (11.6%) were the five most important factors for considering breast augmentation. Only 26.6% of the respondents were supported by their family members or partners when they made the decision to have breast augmentation. Most women had limited knowledge of breast augmentation, with only 24.9 percent of respondents having a thorough understanding of the procedure.Conclusions:Women undergoing breast augmentation have an urgent need to improve their appearance, and their decision-making process is affected by many factors, among which surgical safety is the most worrying factor for patients. This group of people have limited knowledge about surgery, and the popularization of breast augmentation by plastic surgeons remains to be strengthened.

The importance of structural variants(SVs)for human phenotypes and diseases is now recognized.Although a variety of SV detection platforms and strategies that vary in sensitivity and specificity have been developed,few benchmarking procedures are available to confidently assess their performances in biological and clinical research.To facilitate the validation and application of these SV detection approaches,we established an Asian reference material by characterizing the genome of an Epstein-Barr virus(EBV)-immortalized B lymphocyte line along with identified benchmark regions and high-confidence SV calls.We established a high-confidence SV callset with 8938 SVs by integrating four alignment-based SV callers,including 109x Pacific Biosciences(PacBio)continuous long reads(CLRs),22 x PacBio circular consensus sequencing(CCS)reads,104x Oxford Nanopore Technologies(ONT)long reads,and 114×Bionano optical mapping plat-form,and one de novo assembly-based SV caller using CCS reads.A total of 544 randomly selected SVs were validated by PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing,demonstrating the robustness of our SV calls.Combining trio-binning-based haplotype assemblies,we established an SV benchmark for identifying false negatives and false positives by constructing the continuous high-confidence regions(CHCRs),which covered 1.46 gigabase pairs(Gb)and 6882 SVs supported by at least one diploid haplotype assembly.Establishing high-confidence SV calls for a benchmark sample that has been characterized by multiple technologies provides a valuable resource for investigating SVs in human biology,disease,and clinical research.

Sepsis is a critical illness with high morbidity and mortality. Anaerobic glycolysis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of sepsis. Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) serves as a key regulator during sepsis. With PDHC dephosphorylation and deacetylation, PDHC activity is upregulated, allowing pyruvate translocate to mitochondria in aerobic condition, preceding the production of acetyl-CoA to accelerate aerobic oxidation. Activation of PDHC improves the prognosis of sepsis through regulating the balance of lactate, release of inflammatory factors and energy metabolism. A variety of remedies can improve the prognosis of patients with sepsis by up-regulating the activity of PDHC, including dichloroacetate (DCA), vitamin B1, milrinone, tumor necrosis factor binding protein, and ciprofloxacin.This article reviews the role and the regulatory mechanism of PDHC and signal pathway in the sepsis metabolism, in order to innovate treatment for sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction.

The ongoing pandemic of Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is caused by a newly discovered β Coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). How long the adaptive immunity triggered by SARS-CoV-2 can last is of critical clinical relevance in assessing the probability of second infection and efficacy of vaccination. Here we examined, using ELISA, the IgG antibodies in serum specimens collected from 17 COVID-19 patients at 6-7 months after diagnosis and the results were compared to those from cases investigated 2 weeks to 2 months post-infection. All samples were positive for IgGs against the S- and N-proteins of SARS-CoV-2. Notably, 14 samples available at 6-7 months post-infection all showed significant neutralizing activities in a pseudovirus assay, with no difference in blocking the cell-entry of the 614D and 614G variants of SARS-CoV-2. Furthermore, in 10 blood samples from cases at 6-7 months post-infection used for memory T-cell tests, we found that interferon γ-producing CD4
Adaptive Immunity/physiology* ; Adult ; Aged ; Antibodies, Neutralizing/blood* ; COVID-19/immunology* ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/blood* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; SARS-CoV-2/immunology* ; T-Lymphocytes/physiology* ; Time Factors ; Viral Proteins/immunology*