Objective: To understand the changing trends and related factors of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding the three major infectious diseases (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, tuberculosis, hepatitis B) among freshmen in Jiangsu from 2019 to 2022, so as to provide a reference basis for the health education of infectious diseases in schools. Methods: From 2019 to 2022, a total of 33 944 freshmen from 20 universities in Jiangsu Province were randomly selected for four consecutive years to investigate their KAP levels online through self designed questionnaires on three major infectious diseases. The multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the changing trends of students KAP levels of the three major infectious diseases, and to explore the influencing factors of KAP. Results: From 2019 to 2022, the knowledge scores(18.0±3.1,18.4±3.2,18.7±3.2,18.8±3.2), related to the three major infectious diseases showed an upward trend ( F=436.50, P <0.01), and the positive attitude reporting rates were 81.77%, 81.46%, 82.68% and 81.74%, respectively. The reporting rates of positive practice were 80.11%, 79.25%, 79.08 % and 79.04%, respectively. Multiple linear regression showed that school type, parental education level, mother s occupation, average income per person in family and living arrangements during high school all had an impact on the knowledge ( β = -1.510 -0.559), attitudes ( β =-0.043-0.065) and practice ( β =-0.028-0.027) of the three major infectious diseases ( P < 0.05 ). The family residence areas only affected the reporting rate of positive attitude scores ( β =0.002-0.065), and whether only children or not affected the reporting rate of positive practice scores ( β =0.009)( P <0.05). The knowledge score showed an upward trend ( β= 0.297, P <0.01), the positive attitude reporting rate showed no statistically significant change ( β=0.001, P =0.22), and the positive practice reporting rate showed a downward trend ( β=-0.005, P <0.01). Conclusions Freshman in Jiangsu Province from 2019 to 2022 have shown a separation in KAP scores regarding the three major infectious diseases. Targeted measures should be taken to improve their health practice level.

Objective: To understand the trends and associated factors of tuberculosis knowledge and behavior among freshmen from Jiangsu Province, 2019 to 2022, so as to provide theoretical support for the popularization of tuberculosis knowledge and the prevention and control of tuberculosis in universities. Methods: From 2019 to 2022, a total of 33 944 freshmen from 20 universities in Jiangsu Province were selected by stratified random sampling, and tuberculosis knowledge and behavior were surveyed online using a selfdesigned questionnaire. Oneway variance trend test and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the trend of knowledge and behavior levels, and a multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors. Results: The overall awareness rate of tuberculosis among freshmen from Jiangsu Province was 90.6%, and the overall awareness rates from 2019 to 2022 were 88.4%, 90.4%, 91.7%, and 91.8%, respectively. The overall behavioral accuracy rate was 92.3%, with the annual rates from 2019 to 2022 being 91.8%, 92.3%, 92.7%, and 92.4%, respectively. Both the awareness rate and accuracy behavior rate increased annually (F=216.67, 11.75, P<0.01). The multiple linear regression analysis showed that school type, ethnicity, fathers educational level, mothers educational level, mothers occupation, family per capita monthly income, and living arrangement in high school affected both personal knowledge awareness rate and personal behavioral accuracy rate (β=-0.047-0.035, P<0.01), while region, gender, family residence, and being an only child only affected behavioral accuracy rate (β=-0.003-0.032, P<0.05). Conclusions The tuberculosis knowledge and behavior levels of freshmen from Jiangsu Province have been increasing by year. Targeted health education should be carried out based on the relevant influencing factors to further enhance the tuberculosis prevention and control literacy.

Background and Aims:Cholangiocarcinoma,a rare malignant tumor,is difficult to diagnose and often detected at an advanced stage,limiting treatment options to palliative care.Conventional chemotherapy drugs have poor efficacy against cholangiocarcinoma,making the search for new treatments critical.This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Huai'erjunzhi on the malignant biological behavior of human cholangiocarcinoma cells and its relationship with the TGF-β/Smad pathway,aiming to provide a theoretical basis for the use of Huai'erjunzhi in cholangiocarcinoma treatment. Methods:Human normal liver cells(L-02)and human cholangiocarcinoma cells(HuCCT1)were incubated with different concentrations of Huai'erjunzhi for various durations.Cell proliferation was assessed,and the half-maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)was calculated.HuCCT1 cells were divided into a negative control group(no intervention),a positive control group(15 mg/L cisplatin),and different Huai'erjunzhi intervention groups(1/5 IC50,2/5 IC50,and IC50 based on preliminary experimental results).Scratch and Transwell assays were used to measure cell migration and invasion,while Western blot was employed to detect the expression of proteins related to the TGF-β/Smad pathway in HuCCT1 cells. Results:Only high concentrations of Huai'erjunzhi(＞312.5 mg/L)significantly inhibited the proliferation of L-02 cells.Huai'erjunzhi significantly inhibited the proliferation of HuCCT1 cells at concentrations above 5 mg/L in a concentration-dependent manner(all P＜0.05),with IC50 values of 138.52 mg/L at 24 h,99.41 mg/L at 48 h,and 113.52 mg/L at 72 h.Compared with the negative control group,the positive control group and the three Huai'erjunzhi intervention groups(20,40,and 100 mg/L)exhibited reduced migration distance,decreased invasive cell numbers,lower expression of TGF-β1,Smad2,Smad3,Smad4,N-cadherin,Snail,and Slug,and increased expression of E-cadherin(all P＜0.05).Compared with the positive control group,these changes in the Huai'erjunzhi groups were less pronounced but showed a clear concentration-dependent relationship(all P＜0.05). Conclusion:Huai'erjunzhi can potentially inhibit the malignant biological behavior of HuCCT1 cells by inhibiting the TGF-β/Smad pathway.

Introduction::Observational studies have revealed an association between waist circumference (WC) and atrial fibrillation (AF). However, it is difficult to infer a causal relationship from observational studies because the observed associations could be confounded by unknown risk factors. Therefore, the causal role of WC in AF is unclear. This study was designed to investigate the causal association between WC and AF using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.Methods::In our two-sample MR analysis, the genetic variation used as an instrumental variable for MR was acquired from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of WC (42 single nucleotide polymorphisms with a genetic significance of P <5 × 10 –8). The data of WC (from the Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits consortium, containing 232,101 participants) and the data of AF (from the European Bioinformatics Institute database, containing 55,114 AF cases and 482,295 controls) were used to assess the causal role of WC on AF. Three different approaches (inverse variance weighted [IVW], MR–Egger, and weighted median regression) were used to ensure that our results more reliable. Results::All three MR analyses provided evidence of a positive causal association between high WC and AF. High WC was suggested to increase the risk of AF based on the IVW method (odds ratio [OR] = 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30–1.58, P = 2.51 × 10 -13). The results of MR–Egger and weighted median regression exhibited similar trends (MR–Egger OR = 1.40 [95% CI, 1.08–1.81], P = 1.61 × 10 -2; weighted median OR = 1.39 [95% CI, 1.21–1.61], P = 1.62 × 10 -6). MR–Egger intercepts and funnel plots showed no directional pleiotropic effects between high WC and AF. Conclusions::Our findings suggest that greater WC is associated with an increased risk of AF. Taking measures to reduce WC may help prevent the occurrence of AF.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of psoriasis and status quo of medical care for patients in county areas of China.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional investigation. Based on the “Qianxian Wuyin” Project (a national project for upgrating ability for psoriasis care at county level), an online questionnaire survey was conducted in the dermatology departments of 459 county hospitals in 404 pilot administrative counties across China from February to June 2023. The questionnaire included demographic information of patients (gender, ethnicity, age, place of residence, education, marital status), and clinical characteristics of psoriasis (disease course, type, comorbidities, body surface area (BSA) and previous treatment. The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) were applied for assessing the quality of life and disease severity, and completed by patients or guardian and doctors, respectively.Results:A total of 16 935 patients completed the questionnaire. The age of patients was 1-102(44.17±11.58)years, and 71.0% (12 036/16 935) were 30-59 years old. The ratio of male to female was 2.21∶1; 24.3%(4 117/16 935) of patients had high school education; there were 9 940 patients(58.7%) with previous or current smoking and/or alcohol use; 42.8%(7 218/16 855) of patients had a disease course of 1-5 years. There were 15 630 patients(92.3%) with DLQI≥10, 8 346 patients(49.7%) with PASI≥10, 15 017 patients(89.2%) with BSA≥10%. The plaque type was the most common disease type ( n=14 965, 88.7%), and spotting type ranked the second ( n=1 141, 6.8%). The most common initial site was the trunk ( n=12 309, 72.9%). Among the comorbidities, hypertension was the most common one ( n=1 681, 10.0%). There were 7 650 reports of treatment response to conventional topical drug therapy and 3 112 reports of treatment response to systemic drug therapy, with 6 269 (81.9%) and 2 493 (80.1%) reporting poor or no response, respectively. Conclusions:The survey shows that in the county areas of China, the majority of psoriasis patients are severe patients with short course of disease, plaque type is the most common type, and hypertension is the most common comorbidity; and the conventional treatment is less effective for most patients.

Despite being a common therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), insufficient thermal ablation can leave behind tumor residues that can cause recurrence. This is believed to augment M2 inflammatory macrophages that usually play a pro-tumorigenic role. To address this problem, we designed d-mannose-chelated iron oxide nanoparticles (man-IONPs) to polarize M2-like macrophages into the antitumor M1 phenotype. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that man-IONPs specifically targeted M2-like macrophages and accumulated in peri-ablation zones after macrophage infiltration was augmented under insufficient microwave ablation (MWA). The nanoparticles simultaneously induced polarization of pro-tumorigenic M2 macrophages into antitumor M1 phenotypes, enabling the transformation of the immunosuppressive microenvironment into an immunoactivating one. Post-MWA macrophage polarization exerted robust inhibitory effects on HCC progression in a well-established orthotopic liver cancer mouse model. Thus, combining thermal ablation with man-IONPs can salvage residual tumors after insufficient MWA. These results have strong potential for clinical translation.

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics and related background diseases of type 1 gastric neuroendocrine tumor (g-NET) and to provide reference information for clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods From Januayy 2011 to February 2019,at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University and China-Japan Friendship Hospital,the clinical features and related background diseases of type 1 g-NET patients (41 cases and 93 cases respectively)were retrospectively analyzed.The clinical symptoms,serological indicators,gastroscopic and pathological features,tumor location,metastasis and treatment,and concomitant diseases were statistically described.Results Among 134 patients with type 1 g-NET,there were 53 males (39.6％) and 81 females (60.4 ％);and the mean diagnosed age was (51 ± 11) years (21 to 76 years).Main clinical manifestations were non-specific gastrointestinal symptoms.The mean level of serum chromogranin A was (237.7 ± 176.8) μg/L.The endoscopic findings of 97.8％ (131/134) of the patients were polypoid or protuberant lesions at gastric fundus or gastric body.And 75.0％ (96/128) of the patients had multiple tumors.65.7％ (88/134) of the patients had the tumors with the maximum diameter less than 1 cm (77.2％,88/114) and the lesions mainly located in mucosa (59.8％,52/87) and submucosa (40.2％,35/87).The pathological classification of 79.3％ (96/121) of the tumors was G1 grade and 20.7％ (25/121) were G2 grade.The rate of local lymph node metastasis was 1.4％ (1/73) and no distant metastasis was found.About 70.9％ (95/134) of the patients received endoscopic treatment.Among the patients,93.6％ (103/110) of the patients had chronic atrophic gastritis confirmed by endoscopy or pathology,45.6％ (47/103) were confirmed by both endoscopy and pathology.Among the patients with chronic atrophy gastritis,serum gastrin levels of 93.2％ (96/103) patients were twice higher than the upper limit of the normal value.The positive rates of antiparietal cells antibody (PCA) and intrinsic factor (IFA) were 78.5％ (73/93) and 51.9％ (14/27),respectively.The incidence of Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori) infection was 28.1％ (16/57).The incidence of autoimmune atrophy gastritis was 80.6％ (75/93).The percentage of patients with deficiency of serum vitamin B12 and ferritin was 70.8％ (63/89) and 30.7％ (27/88),respectively.Patients with anemia accounted for 27.8％ (25/90).The patients with microcytic anemia,normocyticanemia and macrocytic anemia were 28.0％ (7/25),56.0％ (14/25) and 16.0％ (4/25),respectively.46.9％ (45/96) of the patients had increased thyroid autoantibodies and 17.9％ (17/95) patients had changes of thyroid hormone level.Conclusions Type 1 g-NET is more common in women and mainly caused by autoimmune atrophic gastritis.The level of serum PCA and IFA increase in more than half of the patients.And it is often accompanied by vitamin B12 deficiency and autoimmune thyroid disease.

Objective To determine the efficacy of individual cognitive training (CT) in the treatment of cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease ( AD). Methods A randomized, controlled, rater-blind clinical trial recruited 32 AD patients. AH patients were assigned to a CT group (n = 16) or a control group (a time and attention control, n = 16) for 10 weeks. All outcome measures were administered at baseline and follow-up. The cognitive status was evaluated using the Mini Mental State examination (MMSE) , a clock-drawing test (CDT) , Fuld's object memory evaluation (FOME) , a rapid verbal retrieval (RVR) , digit span assessments (DS) , block designing (BD), and the A version of the trail making test (TMTA). The patients' functional status was evaluated using an activities of daily living (ADL) scale. Any psychological and behavioural disorders were evaluated with the Neuropsychiatry Inventory ( NPI). Results Patients receiving CT showed greater average improvements in NPI total score, TMT-A score and MMSE total score than the controis at week 10. There was no statistically significant benefit for CT-treated patients in terms of ADL score. Conclusions Cognitive training can raise the NPI total scores and MMSE total scores of patients with mild to moderate AD.