Thyroglobulin(Tg)is a glycoprotein with large molecular weight,which is synthesized and secreted into the bloodstream by thyroid follicular cells.The concentration level of Tg in blood is one of the important biomarkers for diagnosis of thyroid diseases such as differentiated thyroid cancer(DTC),subacute thyroiditis,etc..Radioimmunoassay(RIA),immunoradiometric assay(IRMA),and immunochemiluminescence assay(ICMA)are the main clinical methods for detecting Tg.Recently,for meeting the requirement of detecting low concentration of Tg in blood after thyroid clearance surgery,researchers have developed various high-performance analysis methods for detecting Tg concentration in blood samples,providing new assays for thyroid disease screening and efficacy evaluation.This review summarized the analysis methods of Tg,especially the new progresses in the biosensors for monitoring low concentration of Tg in blood during the past five years.The current technical challenges of these methods in clinical applications were briefly discussed,which might provide useful information for developing new liquid biopsy methods of DTC.

Aim To explore the improvement effect of Bazi Bushen capsule on thymic degeneration in SAMP6 mice and the possible mechanism.Methods Twenty 12 week old male SAMP6 mice were randomly divided into the model group(SAMP6)and the Bazi Busheng capsule treatment group(SAMP6+BZBS).Ten SAMR1 mice were assigned to a homologous control group(SAMR1).The SAMP6+BZBS group was oral-ly administered Bazi Bushen capsule suspension(2.8 g·kg-1)daily,while the other two groups were orally administered an equal amount of distilled water.After nine weeks of administration,the morphology of the thymus in each group was observed and the thymus in-dex was calculated;HE staining was used to observe the structural changes of thymus tissue;SA-β-gal stai-ning was used to detect thymic aging;flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of thymic CD3+T cells in each group;Western blot was used to detect the levels of p16,Bax,Bcl-2,and cleaved caspase-3 proteins in thymus;immunofluorescence was applied to detect the proportion of cortical thymic epithelial cells in each group;ELISA was employed to detect IL-7 lev-els in thymus.Results Compared with the SAMP6 group,the thymic index of the SAMP6+BZBS group significantly increased(P＜0.05);the disordered thy-mic structure was significantly improved;the positive proportion of SA-β-gal staining significantly decreased(P＜0.01);the proportion of CD3+T cells apparently increased(P＜0.05);the level of p16 protein signifi-cantly decreased(P＜0.05);the level of Bcl-2 pro-tein significantly increased(P＜0.05),while the lev-el of cleaved caspase-3 protein markedly decreased(P＜0.05);the proportion of cortical thymic epithelial cells evidently increased;the level of IL-7 significantly increased(P＜0.01).Conclusions Bazi Bushen capsule can delay thymic degeneration,inhibit cell ap-optosis in thymus and promote thymic cell development in SAMP6 mice,which may be related to increasing the proportion of cortical thymic epithelial cells and promoting IL-7 secretion.

Objective To establish a health education program for home emergency management of acute complications of diabetes in the elderly.Methods The program was drafted by literature review and panel discussion.The final draft was formed after two rounds of correspondence from 13 experts.Results The recovery rate of the two rounds of expert correspondence was 100%,and the expert authority coefficient was 0.98.The Kendall's harmony coefficients of the two rounds of correspondence were 0.263 and 0.212 respectively(both P<0.001).The established health education program included indicators of three categories:early stage of acute complications of diabetes at home(understanding the inducing factors),emergency warning(quick and early identification in case of emergency),and emergency treatment at home.Conclusion The contents of the health education program are systematic and reliable and meet the needs of health education for home emergency management of the elderly with diabetes.
Humans ; Aged ; Delphi Technique ; Health Education ; Diabetes Mellitus/therapy* ; Diabetes Complications

OBJECTIVE: Omicron, a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant, is responsible for numerous infections in China. This study investigates the association between the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea (SFHT) and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection to develop precise and differentiated strategies for control of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: This case-control study was conducted at shelter hospitals and quarantine hotels in China. A total of 5348 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled between April 1 and May 31, 2022, while 2190 uninfected individuals served as healthy controls. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on demographics, underlying diseases, vaccination status, and use of SFHT. Patients were propensity-score-matched using 1:1 nearest-neighbor matching of the logit of the propensity score. Subsequently, a conditional logistic regression model was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Overall, 7538 eligible subjects were recruited, with an average age of [45.54 ± 16.94] years. The age of COVID-19 patients was significantly higher than that of uninfected individuals ([48.25 ± 17.48] years vs [38.92 ± 13.41] years; t = 22.437, P < 0.001). A total of 2190 COVID-19 cases were matched with uninfected individuals at a 1:1 ratio. The use of SFHT (odds ratio = 0.753, 95% confidence interval: 0.692, 0.820) was associated with a lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to untreated individuals. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that taking SFHT reduces the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is a useful study in the larger picture of COVID-19 management, but data from large-sample multi-center, randomized clinical trial are warranted to confirm the finding. Please cite this article as: Zhang SX, Chen XX, Zheng Y, Cai BH, Shi W, Ru M, Li H, Zhang DD, Tian Y, Chen YL. Reduced SARS-CoV-2 infection risk is associated with the use of Seven-Flavor Herb Tea: A multi-center observational study in Shanghai, China. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(4):369-376.
Humans ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Case-Control Studies ; China/epidemiology* ; Tea

The“14th Five-Year” National Eye Health Plan has been released and national eye health has risen as a national strategy. Cataract is the primary blinding eye disease in our country, which seriously affects the national eye health. Shaanxi Province, an old revolutionary base area in the western of China, has a relative lower socioeconomic level and about millions of people need to undergo cataract surgery. In 1996, multi-cooperation built the mobile ophthalmic operation vehicle — “Fuming No.1” to contribute the poverty alleviation initiative in Shaanxi Province. In the past 25a, “Fuming No.1” has taken the advantage of the convenience of mobile operation vehicles, implementing operations in rural, mountainous and old areas with weak medical services in Shaanxi Province. A total of more than 480 trips have been made, with a total mileage of more than 200 000 kilometers,covering 104 counties and districts in the province, and nearly 60 000 cases of cataract operations have been completed. “Fuming No.1” bring the light, relieve the pain for cataract patients and help them better fit the world. Furthermore, “Fuming No.1” also offers free operation and intraocular lens for more than 30 000 poor rural patients and reduces medical expenses by nearly 10 million yuan, which has obtained high praise and support from the patients and all walks of life. In addition, “Fuming No.1” is also a mobile training vehicle, which could improve the operation skills of ophthalmologists. In the process of teaching and training, the operations had also been completed with high quality. In view of the unbalanced economic development in our country, “Fuming No.1” will expand service projects, innovate work models, and continue to construct eye healthy in Shaanxi province, making greater contributions to consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation.

OBJECTIVE: Ganoderma lucidum spore (GLS) is gaining recognition as a medicinal part of G. lucidum and has been reported to possess various pharmacological properties, such as antitumor activity. In this work, wall-broken GLS powder (BGLSP) and wall-removed GLS powder (RGLSP), two kinds of GLS powder with different manufacturing techniques, were compared in terms of contents of active constituents and in vivo and in vitro antitumor effects. METHODS: The ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometry method was used to determine the contents of polysaccharides and total triterpenoids in BGLSP and RGLSP. Seventeen individual triterpenoids were further quantified using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker. The antitumor effects of BGLSP and RGLSP were evaluated using in vitro cell viability assay against human gastric carcinoma SGC-7901, lung carcinoma A549 and lymphoma Ramos and further validated by in vivo zebrafish xenograft models with transplanted SGC-7901, A549 and Ramos. RESULTS: The results showed that the contents of polysaccharides, total triterpenoids and individual triterpenoids of RGLSP were significantly higher than those of BGLSP. Although both BGLSP and RGLSP inhibited the three tumor cell lines in vitro in a dose-dependent manner, the inhibitory effects of RGLSP were much better than those of BGLSP. In the in vivo zebrafish assay, RGLSP exhibited more potent inhibitory activities against tumors transplanted into the zebrafish compared with BGLSP, and the inhibition rates of RGLSP reached approximately 78%, 31% and 83% on SGC-7901, A549 and Ramos, respectively. CONCLUSION The results indicated that the antitumor effects of GLS were positively correlated with the contents of the polysaccharides and triterpenoids and demonstrated that the wall-removing manufacturing technique could significantly improve the levels of active constituents, and thereby enhance the antitumor activity.

To construct PTEN/PLGA-(HE)10-MAP nanoparticles, which encapsulated PTEN plasmid DNA and combined with the pH-responsive cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), and to investigate their effects of gene delivery and anti-tumor targets in vitro. Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles loaded with PTEN plasmid DNA were prepared by double emulsification-solvent evaporation method. PTEN/PLGA-(HE)10-MAP nanoparticles were prepared by coupling the histidine-glutamic acid-model amphipathic peptide nanocomplex [(HE)10-MAP] to the surface through amide condensation reaction. Particle size, Zeta potential, encapsulation rate and drug loading were tested to characterize the nanoparticles. By analyzing the cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, targeted transfection of eukaryotic expression plasmids and anti-tumor cell proliferation, the feasibility as a targeted gene delivery system were evaluated. The particle size of PTEN/PLGA-(HE)10-MAP nanoparticles was (266.5 ± 2.86) nm, with the encapsulation efficiency (80.6 ± 6.11)%. Zeta potentials were -(6.7 ± 0.26) mV, +(0.7 ± 0.22) mV and +(37.5 ± 0.85) mV at pH 7.4, 7.0 and 6.5, respectively. In the cytotoxicity test, the cell survival rates of tumor and normal cells were above 80%.Non-loading PLGA-(HE)10-MAP nanoparticles showed no obvious cytotoxicity. The results of cellular uptake experiments showed that PTEN/PLGA-(HE)10-MAP nanoparticles were more readily taken up by cells.The results of CCK-8 showed that the nanoparticles could pH-specifically inhibit proliferation of tumor cell in vitro.And PTEN/PLGA-(HE)10-MAP nanoparticles may be applied in tumor gene therapy.

ObjectiveTo understand the infection of AIDS， syphilis， and gonorrhea in men who have sex with men （MSM）， and the factors influencing the acceptance of gonorrhea testing in Dehong Dai Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture （Dehong Prefecture）， Yunnan Province. MethodsAcross-sectional survey was conducted to describe and analyze the acceptance of AIDS， syphilis， and gonorrhea testing among MSM tracked in Dehong Prefecture in 2018. ResultsA total of 385 MSM were included in the analysis， with a 100.0% HIV and syphilis testing rate. The HIV antibody positivity rate was 10.6% （41/385） and the positivity rate of syphilis antibody was 14.8%（57/385）. Only 30.4% of the subjects were willing to test for gonorrhea， and 13.7%（16/117）of them were test positive. Further multifactorial analysis revealed that local MSM and syphilis co-infected individuals were more likely to be tested for gonorrhea （aOR=2.48， 95%CI=1.33-4.65， P=0.004； aOR=2.59， 95%CI=1.43-4.71， P=0.002）. ConclusionThe positive rates of AIDS， syphilis and gonorrhea in MSM population in Dehong Prefecture are relatively high. Integrated interventions of STD/AIDS and gonorrhoea detection should be strengthened.

Objective To investigate the clinical features, laboratory findings, chest CT findings and treatment of patients with COVID-19, and to analyze their relationship with prognosis. Methods From January to February 2020, the clinical data on the 42 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the Wenzhou Sixth People′s Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Results The clinical symptoms of the 42 cases included fever (35 cases), cough (26 cases), fatigue (14 cases), aspiration (9 cases), sore throat (4 cases), muscle ache (5 cases), headache (2 cases), nausea (4 cases), diarrhea (6 cases) and abdominal pain (1 case).The absolute number of blood lymphocyte decreased to different degrees in 22 cases.Fourteen cases had lactate dehydrogenase obviously, with no obvious change in procalcitonin.The imaging manifestations were cloud-like and ground-glass-like high density shadows scattered outside the lungs, small flaky consolidation and bronchus inflating sign were seen locally.A few images showed diffuse high density, most of the lesions showed consolidation or striate change, and local fibrosis was formed in the lower lobes of both lungs. Conclusion Fever and cough are the first symptoms of COVID-19, and a few cases are associated with shortness of breath and diarrhea, accompanied by different degrees of systemic symptoms, but most of the patients improve their conditions after active antivirus, anti-infection, systematic symptoms improvement and supportive treatment.The disease is highly infectious and its condition changes rapidly.Therefore, early detection, early diagnosis and comprehensive treatment of the whole body as soon as possible are the keys to treatment.

Since December 2019, the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has been reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Almost 70% of patients susceptible to 2019-nCoV are over age of 50 years, with extremely large proportion of critical illness and death of the elderly patients. Meanwhile, the elderly patients are at high risk of osteoporotic fractures especially osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF). During the prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic, orthopedists are confronted with the following difficulties including how to screen and protect OVCF patients, how to accurately diagnose and assess the condition of OVCF patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, and how to develop reasonable treatment plans and comprehensive protective measures in emergency and outpatient clinics. In order to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of patients with OVCF diagnosed with COVID-19, the authors jointly develop this expert consensus. The consensus systematically recommends the standardized emergency and outpatient screening and confirmation procedures for OVCF patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and protective measures for emergency and outpatient clinics. Moreover, the consensus describes the grading and classification of OVCF patients diagnosed with COVID-19 according to the severity of illness and recommends different treatment plans and corresponding protective measures based on the different types and epidemic prevention and control requirements.