Objective To investigate the prevalence of Echinococcus infections in small rodents around human residential areas in Yushu City, Qinghai Province in 2023, so as to provide insights into precision echinococcosis control. Methods One or two quadrats, each measuring 50 m × 50 m, were randomly assigned in Shanglaxiu Township and Longbao Township, Yushu City, Qinghai Province on June 2023, respectively, and 300 plate-type mouse traps, each measuring 12.0 cm × 6.5 cm, were assigned in each quadrat. Small rodents were captured during the period between 10 : 00 and 18 : 00 each day for 4 days. Then, all captured small rodents were identified and dissected, and liver specimens with suspected Echinococcus infections were subjected to pathological examinations. The Echinococcus cytochrome c oxidase 1 (cox1) gene was amplified using PCR assay, and the sequence of the amplified product was aligned to that was recorded in the GenBank to characterize the parasite species. In addition, a phylogenetic tree of Echinococcus was generated based on the cox1 gene sequence using the neighbor-joining method. Results A total of 236 small rodents were captured in Shanglaxiu and Longbao townships, Yushu City, including 65 Qinghai voles and 51 plateau pikas in Shanglaxiu Township, and 62 Qinghai voles and 58 plateau pikas in Longbao Township, and there was no significant difference in the constituent ratio of small rodents between the two townships (χ² = 0.294, P > 0.05). Seven plateau pikas and 12 Qinghai voles were suspected to be infected with Echinococcus by dissection, and pathological examinations showed unclear structure of hepatic lobules and disordered hepatocyte arrangement in livers of small rodents suspected of Echinococcus infections. PCR assay identified E. shiquicus DNA in 7 Qinghai voles, which were all captured from Shanglaxiu Township. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the cox1 gene sequence of Echinococcus in small rodents was highly homologous to the E. shiquicus cox1 gene sequence reported previously. Conclusion Plateau pika and Qinghai vole were predominant small rodents around human residential areas in Yushu City, Qinghai Province in 2023, and E. shiquicus infection was detected in Qinghai voles.

Objective To investigate the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and potential influencing factors of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases in Qinghai Province from 2016 to 2022, so as to provide insights into the formulation of the echinococcosis control strategy in Qinghai Province. Methods The number of individuals screened for echinococcosis, number of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases, number of registered dogs and number of stray dogs were captured from the annual reports of echinococcosis control program in Qinghai Province from 2016 to 2022, and the detection of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases was calculated. The number of populations, precipitation, temperature, wind speed, sunshine hours, average altitude, number of year-end cattle stock, number of year-end sheep stock, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, and number of village health centers in each county (district) of Qinghai Province were captured from the Qinghai Provincial Statistical Yearbook, and county-level electronic maps in Qinghai Province were downloaded from the National Platform for Common Geospatial Information Services. The software ArcGIS 10.8 was used to map the distribution of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases in Qinghai Province, and the spatial autocorrelation analysis of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases was performed. In addition, the spacetime scan analyses of number of individuals screened for echinococcosis, number of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases and geographical coordinates in Qinghai Province were performed with the software SaTScan 10.1.2, and the spatial stratified heterogeneity of the detection of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases was investigated with the software GeoDetector. Results A total of 6 569 426 residents were screened for echinococcosis in Qinghai Province from 2016 to 2022, and 5 924 newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases were found. The detection of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases appeared a tendency towards a decline over years from 2016 to 2022 (χ² = 11.107, P < 0.01), with the highest detection in Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in 2017 (82.12/10⁵). There were spatial clusters in the detection of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases in Qinghai Province from 2016 to 2018 (Moran’s I = 0.34 to 0.65, all Z values > 1.96, all P values < 0.05), and the distribution of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases appeared random distribution from 2019 to 2022 (Moran’s I = −0.09 to 0.04, all Z values < 1.96, all P values > 0.05). Local spatial autocorrelation analysis showed high-high clusters and low-low clusters in the detection of new diagnosed echinococcosis cases in Qinghai Province from 2016 to 2022, and space-time scan analysis showed that the first most likely cluster areas of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases in Qinghai Province from 2016 to 2022 were mainly distributed in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. GeoDetector-based analysis of the driving factors for the spatial stratified heterogeneity of detection of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases in Qinghai Province showed that average altitude, number of village health centers, number of cattle and sheep stock, GDP per capita, annual average sunshine hours, and annual average temperature had a strong explanatory power for the spatial distribution of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases, with q values of 0.630, 0.610, 0.600, 0.590, 0.588, 0.537 and 0.526, respectively. Conclusions The detection of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases appeared a tendency towards a decline in Qinghai Province over years from 2016 to 2022, showing spatial clustering. Targeted control measures are required in cluster areas of newly diagnosed echinococcosis cases for further control of the disease.

Aim To investigate the mechanisms of Ke-chuanting granules(KCT)inhibiting the IL-33/ILC2s pathway and pathogenic T cells to intervene in allergic airway inflammation.Methods Network pharmacolo-gy was utilized to analyze the potential targets and mechanisms of KCT-treated asthma.Allergic asthma models were induced in mice using OVA.Lung histo-pathology was conducted to observe injury changes.ELISA and quantitative PCR were utilized to measure key inflammatory factors and their mRNA expression levels in Th2-type asthma.Western blot was used to detect the phosphorylation levels of relevant proteins in the MAPK pathway.Flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the proportions of ILC2s,Th1,Th 17,Th2 and Treg cells.Results Network pharmacology iden-tified 227 main active components and 143 key targets of KCT in treating asthma,primarily enriched in signa-ling pathways such as MAPK and IL-17.Further vali-dation experiments demonstrated that KCT significantly alleviated lung inflammatory injury in asthmatic mice,reduced the number of B cells,production of I L-4,TNF-α and TGF-β,downregulated JNK phosphoryla-tion levels in lung tissue,as well as mRNA levels of Il-33,Bcl11b,Rorα,Tcf-7,Jun,Mapk3 and Mapk14.KCT intervention reduced the numbers of ILC2s and Th 17 cells in lungs and spleens of mice,and inhibited Th2 cell infiltration in lungs.Conclusions KCT ex-hibits therapeutic effects on allergic airway inflamma-tion in asthma,closely associated with the inhibition of the IL-33/ILC2s pathway,pathogenic T cell subsets,and JNK-MAPK signaling pathway.

Objective To study the clinical characteristics of children with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody(ANCA)-associated vasculitis(AAV).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 25 children diagnosed with AAV at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 2010 to June 2022.Results Among the AAV children,there were 5 males and 20 females,with a median age of onset of 11.0 years.Involvement of the urinary system was seen in 18 cases(72%);respiratory system involvement in 10 cases(40%);skin involvement in 6 cases(24%);eye,ear,and nose involvement in 5 cases(20%);joint involvement in 4 cases(16%);digestive system involvement in 2 cases(8%).Eleven cases underwent kidney biopsy,with 5 cases(46%)showing focal type,2 cases(18%)showing crescentic type,2 cases(18%)showing mixed type,and 2 cases(18%)showing sclerotic type.Immune complex deposits were present in 5 cases(45%).Seven cases reached chronic kidney disease(CKD)stage Ⅴ,with 2 cases resulting in death.Two cases underwent kidney transplantation.At the end of the follow-up period,2 cases were at CKD stage Ⅱ,and 1 case was at CKD stage Ⅲ.Of the 16 cases of microscopic polyangiitis(MPA)group,13(81%)involved the urinary system.Of the 9 cases of granulomatosis with polyangiitis(GPA),6 cases(66%)had sinusitis.Serum creatinine and uric acid levels were higher in the MPA group than in the GPA group(P<0.05),while red blood cell count and glomerular filtration rate were lower in the MPA group(P<0.05).Conclusions AAV is more common in school-age female children,with MPA being the most common clinical subtype.The onset of AAV in children is mainly characterized by renal involvement,followed by respiratory system involvement.The renal pathology often presents as focal type with possible immune complex deposits.Children with MPA often have renal involvement,while those with GPA commonly have sinusitis.The prognosis of children with AAV is poor,often accompanied by renal insufficiency.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the potential relationship between urinary metals copper (Cu), arsenic (As), strontium (Sr), barium (Ba), iron (Fe), lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn) and grip strength. Methods We used linear regression models, quantile g-computation and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to assess the relationship between metals and grip strength.Results In the multimetal linear regression, Cu (β=-2.119), As (β=-1.318), Sr (β=-2.480), Ba (β=0.781), Fe (β= 1.130) and Mn (β=-0.404) were significantly correlated with grip strength (P < 0.05). The results of the quantile g-computation showed that the risk of occurrence of grip strength reduction was -1.007 (95％ confidence interval:-1.362, -0.652; P < 0.001) when each quartile of the mixture of the seven metals was increased. Bayesian kernel function regression model analysis showed that mixtures of the seven metals had a negative overall effect on grip strength, with Cu, As and Sr being negatively associated with grip strength levels. In the total population, potential interactions were observed between As and Mn and between Cu and Mn (Pinteractions of 0.003 and 0.018, respectively).Conclusion In summary, this study suggests that combined exposure to metal mixtures is negatively associated with grip strength. Cu, Sr and As were negatively correlated with grip strength levels, and there were potential interactions between As and Mn and between Cu and Mn.

ObjectiveTo observe the protective effect and mechanism of Tianhuang formula (THF) against renal injury in hyperuricemia nephropathy (HN) mice through network pharmacology. MethodAll mice were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, a febuxostat group (5 mg·kg^-1), a low-dose THF group (L-THF, 60 mg·kg^-1), and a high-dose THF group (H-THF, 120 mg·kg^-1). The mice in the normal group were treated with 0.5% sodium carboxymethylcellulose (CMC-Na) by gavage daily. The HN model was induced by oral administration of 500 mg·kg^-1 hypoxanthine and intraperitoneal injection of 200 mg·kg^-1 oteracil potassium in mice except for those in the blank group. The mice in the groups with drug intervention were treated with corresponding drugs by gavage for three weeks. The levels of serum uric acid, creatinine, urea nitrogen, and 24-h albuminuria were measured. The renal injury was observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and PAS staining, and renal fibrosis was observed by Sirius red staining. The effects and molecular mechanism of THF in HN mice were analyzed by Western blot, network pharmacology, and molecular docking. ResultBiochemical results indicated that compared with model group, BUN and 24 h urinary protein levels were significantly decreased in L-THF group (P<0.05), SUA and SCr levels were significantly decreased (P<0.01), and SUA, BUN, SCr and 24 h urinary protein levels in H-THF group were significantly decreased (P<0.01). The results of pathological staining showed that the kidney injury and interstitial fibrosis were improved in different doses of THF groups (P<0.05). Western blot results showed that the Nod-like receptor heat protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammatorome, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), fibronectin (FN), uric acid transporter 1 (URAT1), phosphorylated p65 (p-p65) and phosphorylated nuclear transcription factor (NF) -κB were inhibited in the H-THF group The expression of protein-producing α (p-IκBα) was reduced to the normal level (P<0.01), but the expression of IL-1β, URAT1 and p-IκBα in HN mice was not affected in the L-THF group. ConclusionTHF ameliorates renal inflammation and fibrosis by inhibiting the activation of NF-κB and NLRP3 inflammasomes to alleviate HN

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to predict the risk of deep caries exposure in radiographic images based on the convolutional neural network model, compare the prediction results of the network model with those of senior dentists, evaluate the performance of the model for teaching and training stomatological students and young dentists, and assist dentists to clarify treatment plans and conduct good doctor-patient communication before surgery. METHODS: A total of 206 cases of pulpitis caused by deep caries were selected from the Department of Stomatological Hospital of Tianjin Medical University from 2019 to 2022. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 104 cases of pulpitis were exposed during the decaying preparation period and 102 cases of pulpitis were not exposed. The 206 radiographic images collected were randomly divided into three groups according to the proportion: 126 radiographic images in the training set, 40 radiographic images in the validation set, and 40 radiographic images in the test set. Three convolutional neural networks, visual geometry group network (VGG), residual network (ResNet), and dense convolutional network (DenseNet) were selected to analyze the rules of the radiographic images in the training set. The radiographic images of the validation set were used to adjust the super parameters of the network. Finally, 40 radiographic images of the test set were used to evaluate the performance of the three network models. A senior dentist specializing in dental pulp was selected to predict whether the deep caries of 40 radiographic images in the test set were exposed. The gold standard is whether the pulp is exposed after decaying the prepared hole during the clinical operation. The prediction effect of the three network models (VGG, ResNet, and DenseNet) and the senior dentist on the pulp exposure of 40 radiographic images in the test set were compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, area under the ROC curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and F1 score to select the best network model. RESULTS: The best network model was DenseNet model, with AUC of 0.97. The AUC values of the ResNet model, VGG model, and the senior dentist were 0.89, 0.78, and 0.87, respectively. Accuracy was not statistically different between the senior dentist (0.850) and the DenseNet model (0.850)(P>0.05). Kappa consistency test showed moderate reliability (Kappa=0.6>0.4, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Among the three convolutional neural network models, the DenseNet model has the best predictive effect on whether deep caries are exposed in imaging. The predictive effect of this model is equivalent to the level of senior dentists specializing in dental pulp.
Humans ; Deep Learning ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Pulpitis/diagnostic imaging* ; Reproducibility of Results ; ROC Curve ; Random Allocation

Objective: To investigate the long-term outcomes and risk factors in children with steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on newly onset SSNS admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2006 to December 2010 and 105 cases with follow-up for more than 10 years were included. Clinical data including general characteristics, clinical manifestation, laboratory tests, treatment and prognosis. The primary outcome was the clinical cure, and the secondary outcomes were relapse or ongoing immunosuppressive treatment within the last 1 year of follow-up and complications at the last follow-up. According to the primary outcome, the patients were divided into clinical cured group and uncured group. Categorical variables were compared between 2 groups using the χ² or Fisher exact test, and continuous variables by t or Mann-Whitney U test. Multiple Logistic regression models were used for multivariate analysis. Results: Of the 105 children with SSNS, the age of onset was 3.0 (2.1, 5.0) years, and 82 (78.1%) were boys, 23(21.9%) were girls. The follow-up time was (13.1±1.4) years; 38 patients (36.2%) had frequently relapsing or steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (FRNS or SDNS) and no death or progression to end-stage kidney disease. Eighty-eight patients (83.8%) were clinically cured. Seventeen patients (16.2%) did not reach the clinical cure criteria, and 14 patients (13.3%) had relapsed or ongoing immunosuppressive treatment within the last year of follow-up. The proportion of FRNS or SDNS (12/17 vs. 29.5% (26/88), χ²=10.39), the proportion of treatment with second-line immunosuppressive therapy (13/17 vs. 18.2% (16/88), χ²=21.39), and the level of apolipoprotein A1 at onset ((2.0±0.5) vs. (1.7±0.6) g/L, t=2.02) in the uncured group were higher than those in the clinical cured group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that patients treated with immunosuppressive therapy had an increased risk of not reaching clinical cure in the long term (OR=14.63, 95%CI 4.21-50.78, P<0.001). Of the 55 clinically cured patients who had relapsed, 48 patients (87.3%) did not relapse after 12 years of age. The age at last follow-up was 16.4 (14.6, 18.9) years, and 34 patients (32.4%) were ≥18 years of age. Among the 34 patients who had reached adulthood, 5 patients (14.7%) still relapsed or ongoing immunosuppressive treatment within the last year of follow-up. At the last follow-up, among the 105 patients, 13 still had long-term complications, and 8 patients were FRNS or SDNS. The proportion of FRNS or SDNS patients with short stature, obesity, cataracts, and osteoporotic bone fracture was 10.5% (4/38), 7.9% (3/38), 5.3% (2/38), and 2.6% (1/38), respectively. Conclusions: The majority of SSNS children were clinically cured, indicating a favorable long-term prognosis. History of treatment with second-line immunosuppressive therapy was the independent risk factor for patients not reaching the clinical cure criteria in the long term. While it is not uncommon for children with SSNS to persist into adulthood. The prevention and control of long-term complications of FRNS or SDNS patients should be strengthened.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Child ; Nephrotic Syndrome/drug therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals ; Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use*

In the outbreak of COVID-19,triage procedures based on epidemiology were implemented in a local hospital in Changsha to control the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and avoid healthcare-associated infection.This re-trospective study analyzed the data collected during the triage period and found that COVID-19 patients were en-riched 7 folds into the Section A designated for patients with obvious epidemiological history.On the other side,nearly triple amounts of visits were received at the Section B for patients without obvious epidemiological history.8 COVID-19 cases were spotted out of 247 suspected patients.More than 50％of the suspected patients were submi-tted to multiple rounds of nucleic acid analysis for SARS-CoV-2 infection.Of the 239 patients who were diagnosed as negative of the virus infection,188 were successfully revisited and none was reported as COVID-19 case.Of the 8 COVID-19 patients,3 were confirmed only after multiple rounds of nucleic acid analysis.Besides comorbidities,delayed sharing of epidemiological history added complexity to the diagnosis in practice.The triaging experience and strategy will be helpful for the control of infectious diseases in the future.

Objective To establish a ultra performance liquid chromatography(UPLC)fingerprint of extract of Cuscutae Semen,and analyze the relationship between the UPLC fingerprint and antioxidant activity.Methods The fingerprint of 11 batches of extract of Cuscutae Semen were determined by UPLC method,the antioxidant activity of Cuscutae Semen in vitro was determined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazine radical,2,2-diazo-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazole-6-sulfonic acid)diamine salt,and the correlation between the fingerprints and antioxidant activity was analyzed by orthogonal partial least squares(OPLS)and gray correlation method.The key substances that contributed greatly to the antioxidant activity were selected.Results The extract of Cuscutae Semen contains 21 common peaks,all of which exhibited a similarity of more than 0.97.By comparing with the reference sample,10 peaks were identified,of which peak 5 was neochlorogenic acid,peak 8 was chlorogenic acid,peak 9 was cryptochlorogenic acid,peak 10 was caffeic acid,peak 12 was coumaric acid,peak 15 was hyperin,peak 16 was isoquercitrin,peak 17 was astragaloside,peak 20 was quercetin,and peak 21 was kaempferol.According to the grey correlation degree and OPLS results,the peaks 8,15,16 and 18 were positively correlated with the antioxidant activity,and were thus considered to be main effective components.Conclusion The antioxidant activity of Cuscutae Semen is the result of the combined effect of multiple components.The fingerprint and antioxidant spectrum analysis can provide evidential reference for further research of Cuscutae Semen.