Objective To investigate the awareness of radon exposure hazards among non-uranium miners in Chongqing, China. Methods A survey was conducted among 177 male miners from eight non-uranium metal mines in Chongqing to collect data on basic information, personal habits, and the rate of radon awareness. Factors affecting radon awareness were analyzed using chi-square test and logistic regression model. Results The awareness rate of radon among miners was 23.73%. The chi-square test indicated significant difference in the radon awareness rate among miners with different levels of education (χ² = 10.28, P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference across different ages, years of work, labor relations, job categories, and types of miners (P > 0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that a college (junior college) or higher level of education, a high school level of education, and working in mines were factors affecting the radon awareness among miners (χ² = 4.030, 9.150, 11.776, P < 0.05). Conclusion Miners lack awareness of radon, and there is an urgent need to strengthen education and propaganda regarding the hazards of radon.

ObjectiveTo explore the effectiveness and safety of vibration-kneading abdominal tuina as an adjunct treatment for insomnia of phlegm-heat harassing the interior syndrome with "stomach disharmony" symptom. MethodsSeventy-six insomnia patients of phlegm-heat harassing the interior syndrome with "stomach disharmony" symptom were recruited， and randomly divided into the treatment group and the control group with 38 cases in each group. The control group received eszopiclone 2mg once a night and sleep hygiene guidance， while the treatment group received vibration-kneading abdominal tuina additionally， 5 times a week， 30 min each time. Both groups were treated for 4 weeks. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI） （including sleep quality， time to fall asleep， sleep duration， sleep efficiency， sleep disorders， daytime functioning scores， and total scores） and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptom scores of "stomach disharmony" was assessed before and after 4-week treatment and at follow-up （12 weeks after treatment）. Adverse events were also observed and recorded during the study. Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between the pre-treatment PQSI total score and TCM symptom score of "stomach disharmony". ResultsThe PSQI scores of sleep quality， time to fall asleep， sleep duration， sleep efficiency， sleep disorders， daytime dysfunction scores， and total scores reduced in both groups decreased after treatment and at follow-up （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）， as well as the TCM symptom score of "stomach disharmony" （P＜0.01）. After treatment， the PSQI scores of sleep quality， sleep duration， and TCM symptom score of "stomach disharmony" of the treatment group were lower than those of the control group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. At follow-up， the PSQI scores of sleep quality， sleep duration， sleep efficiency， daytime dysfunction score， total score， and TCM symptom score of "stomach disharmony" of the treatment group were lower than those of the control group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. No adverse reactions occurred in any participants during the study. There was a positive correlation between the patients' pre-treatment PQSI total scores and TCM symptom score of "stomach disharmony" （r=0.88， P＜0.01）. ConclusionVibration-kneading abdominal tuina as an adjunct treatment could significantly improve the symptoms of stomach and epigastric symptoms in insomnia patients of phlegm-heat harassing the interior syndrome with "stomach disharmony" symptom， and improve the quality of sleep， with good immediate and long-term therapeutic effects， and sound safety.

Objective:To investigate the value of CT radiomic model based on analysis of primary gastric cancer and the adipose tissue outside the gastric wall beside cancer in differentiating stage T1-2 from stage T3-4 gastric cancer.Methods:This study was a case-control study. Totally 465 patients with gastric cancer treated in Affiliated People′s Hospital of Jiangsu University from December 2011 to December 2019 were retrospectively collected. According to postoperative pathology, they were divided into 2 groups, one with 150 cases of T1-2 tumors and another with 315 cases of T3-4 tumors. The cases were divided into a training set (326 cases) and a test set (139 cases) by stratified sampling method at 7∶3. There were 104 cases of T1-2 stage and 222 cases of T3-4 stage in the training set, 46 cases of T1-2 stage and 93 cases of T3-4 stage in the test set. The axial CT images in the venous phase during one week before surgery were selected to delineate the region of interest (ROI) at the primary lesion and the extramural gastric adipose tissue adjacent to the cancer areas. The radiomic features of the ROIs were extracted by Pyradiomics software. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator was used to screen features related to T stage to establish the radiomic models of primary gastric cancer and the adipose tissue outside the gastric wall beside cancer. Independent sample t test or χ2 test were used to compare the differences in clinical features between T1-2 and T3-4 patients in the training set, and the features with statistical significance were combined to establish a clinical model. Two radiomic signatures and clinical features were combined to construct a clinical-radiomics model and generate a nomogram. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the efficacy of each model in differentiating stage T1-2 from stage T3-4 gastric cancer. The calibration curve was used to evaluate the consistency between the T stage predicted by the nomogram and the actual T stage of gastric cancer. And the decision curve analysis was used to evaluate the clinical net benefit of treatment guided by the nomogram and by the clinical model. Results:There were significant differences in CT-T stage and CT-N stage between T1-2 and T3-4 patients in the training set ( χ2=10.59, 15.92, P=0.014, 0.001) and the clinical model was established. After screening and dimensionality reduction, the 5 features from primary gastric cancer and the 6 features from the adipose tissue outside the gastric wall beside cancer established the radiomic models respectively. In the training set and the test set, the AUC values of the primary gastric cancer radiomic model were 0.864 (95% CI 0.820-0.908) and 0.836 (95% CI 0.762-0.910), and the adipose tissue outside the gastric wall beside cancer radiomic model were 0.782 (95% CI 0.731-0.833) and 0.784 (95% CI 0.702-0.866). The AUC values of the clinical model were 0.761 (95% CI 0.705-0.817) and 0.758 (95% CI 0.671-0.845), and the nomogram were 0.876 (95% CI 0.835-0.917) and 0.851 (95% CI 0.781-0.921). The calibration curve reflected that there was a high consistency between the T stage predicted by the nomogram and the actual T stage in the training set ( χ2=1.70, P=0.989). And the decision curve showed that at the risk threshold 0.01-0.74, a higher clinical net benefit could be obtained by using a nomogram to guide treatment. Conclusions:The CT radiomics features of primary gastric cancer lesions and the adipose tissue outside the gastric wall beside cancer can effectively distinguish T1-2 from T3-4 gastric cancer, and the combination of CT radiomic features and clinical features can further improve the prediction accuracy.

OBJECTIVES: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine diseases in women with reproductive age, which is associated with hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance, and ovulatory dysfunction. Progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) can mediate progesterone to inhibit the apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells and the growth of follicles, and to induce glucolipid metabolism disorder in ovarian granulosa cells, which is closely related to the occurrence and development of PCOS. This study aims to determine the expression of PGRMC1 in serum, ovarian tissue, ovarian granulosa cells, and follicular fluid in PCOS patients and non-PCOS patients, analyze the value of PGRMC1 in diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of PCOS, and investigate its molecular mechanism on ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis and glucolipid metabolism. METHODS: A total of 123 patients were collected from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Guangdong Women and Children Hospital (hereinafter referred to as "our hospital") from August 2021 to March 2022 and divided into 3 groups: a PCOS pre-treatment group (n=42), a PCOS treatment group (n=36), and a control group (n=45). The level of PGRMC1 in serum was detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The diagnostic and prognostic value of PGRMC1 was evaluated in patients with PCOS by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Sixty patients who underwent a laparoscopic surgery from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in our hospital from January 2014 to December 2016 were collected and divided into a PCOS group and a control group (n=30). The expression and distribution of PGRMC1 protein in ovarian tissues were detected by immunohistochemical staining. Twenty-two patients were collected from Reproductive Medicine Center in our hospital from December 2020 to March 2021, and they divided into a PCOS group and a control group (n=11). ELISA was used to detect the level of PGRMC1 in follicular fluid; real-time RT-PCR was used to detect the expression level of PGRMC1 mRNA in ovarian granulosa cells. Human ovarian granular cell line KGN cells were divided into a scrambled group which was transfected with small interfering RNA (siRNA) without interference and a siPGRMC1 group which was transfected with specific siRNA targeting PGRMC1. The apoptotic rate of KGN cells was detected by flow cytometry. The mRNA expression levels of PGRMC1, insulin receptor (INSR), glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4), very low density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR), and low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) were determined by real-time RT-PCR. RESULTS: The serum level of PGRMC1 in the PCOS pre-treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.001), and the serum level of PGRMC1 in the PCOS treatment group was significantly lower than that in the PCOS pre-treatment group (P<0.001). The areas under curve (AUC) of PGRMC1 for the diagnosing and prognosis evaluation of PCOS were 0.923 and 0.893, respectively, and the cut-off values were 620.32 and 814.70 pg/mL, respectively. The positive staining was observed on both ovarian granulosa cells and ovarian stroma, which the staining was deepest in the ovarian granulosa cells. The average optical density of PGRMC1 in the PCOS group was significantly increased in ovarian tissue and ovarian granulosa cells than that in the control group (both P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the PGRMC1 expression levels in ovarian granulosa cells and follicular fluid in the PCOS group were significantly up-regulated (P<0.001 and P<0.01, respectively). Compared with the scrambled group, the apoptotic rate of ovarian granulosa cells was significantly increased in the siPGRMC1 group (P<0.01), the mRNA expression levels of PGRMC1 and INSR in the siPGRMC1 group were significantly down-regulated (P<0.001 and P<0.05, respectively), and the mRNA expression levels of GLUT4, VLDLR and LDLR were significantly up-regulated (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Serum level of PGRMC1 is increased in PCOS patients, and decreased after standard treatment. PGRMC1 could be used as molecular marker for diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of PCOS. PGRMC1 mainly localizes in ovarian granulosa cells and might play a key role in regulating ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis and glycolipid metabolism.
Child ; Pregnancy ; Humans ; Female ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; Apoptosis ; Granulosa Cells ; Lipid Metabolism ; Membrane Proteins ; Receptors, Progesterone

Objective:To investigate the effect of luteolin(Lut)on the proliferation and ferroptosis of human adriamycin(ADR)resistant chronic myeloid leukemia(CML)K562/ADR cells and the underlying molecular mechanism. Methods:K562 and K562/ADR cells were treated with different concentrations of ADR.The sensitivity of K562 and K562/ADR cells to ADR was evaluated by CCK-8 assay;the effect of different concentrations of Lut on the proliferation of K562/ADR cells was assessed by CCK-8 assay,and the half inhibitory concentration(IC50)was calculated for subsequent experiments;the morphological changes of the cells were observed by an inverted microscope;CCK-8 assay was used to examine the sensitizing effect of Lut on ADR;FCM assay was used to study the effect of Lut on the apoptosis of K562/ADR cells;fluorescence probe DCFH-DA,Fe2+colorimetric assay and glutathione(GSH)kit were used to detect the content of reactive oxygen species(ROS),Fe2+and GSH in K562/ADR cells,respectively;Western blotting was used to examine the expression levels of glutathione peroxidase 4(GPX4),nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2)and heme oxygenase-1(HO-1)in K562/ADR cells;the effects of Lut on the proliferation of K562/ADR cells,ROS content,GSH content,Fe2+content and GPX4 expression were studied after treatment with ferroptosis inhibitor Ferrostatin-1(Fer-1). Results:Compared with control group(cells treated with 0 μmol/L Lut),Lut significantly inhibited the proliferation of K562/ADR cells(P＜0.001),improved the chemosensitivity of K562/ADR cells to ADR(P＜0.05),increased apoptosis rate(P＜0.001)and ROS level(P＜0.05)of K562/ADR cells,reduced the GSH level(P＜0.001),and increase Fe2+content(P＜0.01).Compared with control group(cells treated with 0 μmol/L Lut),the protein expressions of GPX4,Nrf2 and HO-1 decreased with the increase of Lut concentration(P＜0.05).Compared with the Lut treatment alone,the inhibitory effect on the proliferation of K562/ADR cells induced by Lut was partially restored by Fer-1 intervention(P＜0.05),and intracellular ROS level was decreased(P＜0.001),GSH level was increased(P＜0.001),Fe2+content was decreased(P＜0.001)and the expression of GPX4 was increased(P＜0.01)in K562/ADR cells. Conclusion:Lut can inhibit the proliferation of K562/ADR cells through ferroptosis pathway,improve the chemosensitivity to ADR,and the potential mechanism may be related to the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway,which provides experimental basis for the treatment of leukemia by ferroptosis.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of luteolin's(Lut)reversal effect on multidrug resistance of chronic myeloid leukemia K562/ADR cells.Methods CCK-8 assay was used to detect drug resistance in K562 and K562/ADR cells 24 hours after treatment with different doses of adriamycin(ADR).CCK-8 assay was used to assess the cytotoxicity and sensitizing effect of Lut on ADR after K562/ADR cells were treated with Lut alone or in combination with ADR for 24 hours.K562/ADR cells in logarithmic growth phase were separated into three group:0μmol/L Lut,2μmol/L and 4μmol/L Lut groups.ADR accumulation in cells was measured using flow cytometry.Nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2(Nrf2),multidrug resistance associated protein 1(MRP1),P-glycoprotein(P-gp)and glutathione-S-transferase-PI(GST-pi)mRNA and protein expressions were identified using RT-PCR and Western blot assay.Glutathione(GSH)kit was used to detect intracellular GSH content.Results Compared with K562 cells,K562/ADR cell line was significantly resistant to ADR,and the drug resistance was 53.69 times.K562/ADR cell proliferation was decreased to variable degrees by different doses of Lut when compared to the 0μmol/L Lut group(P＜0.05).The proliferation inhibition rates of K562/ADR cells treated with 2 and 4μmol/L Lut were less than 10%,indicating that the concentration of Lut was non-toxic.Compared with the 0 μmol/L Lut group,the 2 μmol/L Lut group and the 4 μmol/L Lut group showed significantly increased ADR growth inhibition rate on K562/ADR and increased accumulation of ADR in cells,improved the reversal resistance fold,and decreased GSH content in cells.MRP1,P-gp,GST-pi and Nrf2 mRNA and protein expression were reduced in cells(P＜0.05).The effect of 4 mol/L Lut was greater than that of 2 mol/L Lut.Conclusion Lut may decrease K562/ADR cell proliferation and reverse ADR medication resistance.The mechanism could be connected to the downregulation of Nrf2,MRP1,P-gp and GST-pi expression,which leads to an increase in ADR accumulation in K562/ADR cells.

Leukemia is a group of hematologic malignancie. Ferroptosis is a novel of cell death caused by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation accumulation, which participates in the occurrence and development of leukemia. Activation of different regulatory sites in the ferroptosis pathway can promote the death of leukemia cells. Therefore, it can provide a new direction for the treatment of leukemia by inducing ferroptosis of cells.

Objective: To examine sleep characteristics of preschool children who were born preterm, which could provide a reference for the future intervention in the risk population. Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted from March 2017 to November 2018 in hospitals in cities of Guangzhou, Zhongshan, and Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, we recruited 202 preschool children aged 4-6 years, including 40 early-and moderate preterm (gestational age <34 weeks), 56 late preterm (34-36 weeks) , and 106 full-term preschool children (≥37 weeks). Caregivers reported children’s sleep time and habits using Chinese version of Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). Results: Compared to the full-term group, the very-or-moderate-preterm group had shorter nighttime sleep duration (9.07±0.75 vs 9.33±0.59 h; adjusted β=-0.33), shorter total sleep duration (10.39±0.86 vs 11.05±1.32 h; adjusted β=-0.70), higher sleep duration score of CSHQ (4.60 ± 1.57 vs 3.97 ± 1.25 points; adjusted β=0.58), and higher sleepdisordered breathing score of CHSQ (3.78±1.27 vs 3.41±0.71 points; adjusted β=0.49). The late preterm group had lower parasomnias score of CSHQ (8.40±1.65 vs 8.75±1.72 points; adjusted β=-0.57), than the full-term group(P<0.05). When gestational age was analyzed as a continuous variable, it was positively associated with the total sleep duration (adjusted β= 0.06), while was inversely associated with sleep-disordered breathing scores of CSHQ (adjusted β=-0.06). Conclusion Very-or-moderate preterm children have shorter sleep duration and more sleep disordered breathing problems than full-term children, and have more disorders of sleeping duration and sleeping breathing than full-term children, while the late preterm children have less sleeping disorders than full-term children. The children of lower gestational age can have shorter sleep duration and more sleep-disordered breathing which should be addressed in future intervention.

Objective To evaluate the application of exponential apparent diffusion coefficient (eADC)value in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid nodules.Methods Routine MR sequences and axial diffusion weighted imaging (DWI)sequences with different b-values(0, 300,500,800 s/mm2)were performed in 46 patients with 51 histopathologically confirmed thyroid nodules,including 35 malignant nodules and 1 6 benign nodules.The eADC values of each thyroid nodules’solid component with different b-values were measured and assessed by independent samples t test.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC)curves were drawn and used to determine the diagnostic threshold and assess the screen test.Results The eADC values of the malignant nodules were higher than that of benign nodules (P<0.05)in all of the three different b-values.The eADC values of the malignant nodules and the benign nodules were 0.618±0.080 and 0.492±0.071 (b=300 s/mm2),0.520±0.104 and 0.371±0.077 (b=500 s/mm2)and 0.407±0.114 and 0.286±0.097 (b=800 s/mm2)respectively. According to the ROC curve,the area under the curve(AUC)was 0.883,0.890 and 0.824 when the b-value was set as 300,500 and 800 s/mm2respectively.When the b-value was set as 500 s/mm2and the diagnostic threshold was 0.454,the sensitivity,specificity, positive predictive value,negative predictive value and Youden index were 74.3%,93.8%,96.3%,60.9% and 0.68,respectively.Conclusion The eADC value is helpful in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid nodules,and the best result can be obtained by using DWI with b-value of 500 s/mm2.

Objective To evaluate the accuracy of variation of epidural labor analgesia in predicting cesarean section.Methods A total of 1 200 parturients with a single baby who were at full term with a singleton fetus,aged 22-34 yr,weighing 60-85 kg,of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ,volunteered for epidural labor analgesia for pain relief,were enrolled in the study.Epidural labor analgesia (patient-controlled epidural analgesia) was performed when uterine contraction was regular and cervical dilatation was 2-3 cm.Patient-controlled epidural analgesia solution contained the mixture of 0.1％ ropivacaine and fentanyl 2 μg/ml with a background infusion 9 ml/h,bolus dose 4 ml,lockout interval 15 min.The variation of labor analgesia was defined as the difference between the highest visual analog scale score during labor and the visual analog scale score at 30 min after epidural injection of the initial dose of local anesthetic.The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the accuracy of variation of epidural labor analgesia in predicting cesarean section.The optimal cut-off value was determined according to the maximum Youden index.Results The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of variation of epidural labor analgesia in predicting cesarean section was 0.795,and the maximum Youden index was 53.6％,the sensitivity 87.5％ and the specificity 66.1％ when the cut-off value was 3.Conclusion Variation of epidural labor analgesia produces better accuracy in predicting cesarean section.