Objective:To assess the effectiveness of a 6-month Ba Duan Jin exercise program in improving the balance of community-dwelling older adults.Methods:A two arms, parallel-group, cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted in 1 028 community residents aged 60-80 years in 40 communities in 5 provinces of China. Participants in the intervention group (20 communities, 523 people) received Ba Duan Jin exercise 5 days/week, 1 hour/day for 6 months, and three times of falls prevention health education, and the control group (20 communities, 505 people) received falls prevention health education same as the intervention group. The Berg balance scale (BBS) score was the leading outcome indicator, and the secondary outcome indicators included the length of time of standing on one foot (with eyes open and closed), standing in a tandem stance (with eyes open and closed), the closed circle test, and the timed up to test.Results:A total of 1 028 participants were included in the final analysis, including 731 women (71.11%) and 297 men (28.89%), and the age was (69.87±5.67) years. After the 3-month intervention, compared with the baseline data, the BBS score of the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group by 3.05 (95% CI: 2.23-3.88) points ( P<0.001). After the 6-month intervention, compared with the baseline data, the BBS score of the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group by 4.70 (95% CI: 4.03-5.37) points ( P<0.001). Ba Duan Jin showed significant improvement ( P<0.05) in all secondary outcomes after 6 months of exercise in the intervention group compared with the control group. Conclusions:This study showed that Ba Duan Jin exercise can improve balance in community-dwelling older adults aged 60-80. The longer the exercise time, the better the improvement.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment strategies of patients with connective tissue disease (CTD) related lymphatic duct obstruction.Methods:The clinical data, laboratory tests results, imaging data, and treatment of CTD patients associated with lymphatic vessel obstruction were retrospectively collected from January 2008 to December 2020 at Beijing Shijitan Hospital. Lymphatic duct obstruction was confirmed by thoracic duct ultrasound or thoracic duct MRI or lymphoscintigraphy or direct lymphangiography. SLE and RA patients were matched with gender and age in a 1∶2 ratio, and SLE and RA patients without lymphatic reflux disorder admitted at the same time were randomly selected as the control group. When comparing the data between the two groups, t-test or rank sum test was used to test continuous variables, and chi-square test or Fisher′s exact probability method was used to test categorical variables. Results:Forty-four patients with CTD complicated with thoracic duct obstruction were included, with a male-to-female ratio of 7∶37, including 14 cases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 21 cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 8 cases of primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS), and 1 case of systemic sclerosis (SSc). The onset age of CTD ranged from 14 to 68 years, the mean age was (37±15) years and the median duration of CTD was 66 (range 1~480) months. The median age at the onset of lymphatic duct obstruction such as limb edema or thoracoabdominal effusion was (42±17) years, and the median duration of lymphatic duct obstruction symptoms was 12 (range 3~480) months. 59%(26/44) of patients were diagnosed with CTD followed by the diagnosis of thoracic duct obstruction, and 41%(18/44) of patients had lymphatic duct obstruction symptoms as the initial presentation of CTD. Thoracic duct-related imaging was performed in 44 patients and showed thoracic duct obstruction (64%, 28/44), thoracic duct malformation or variation (36%, 16/44), limb lymphatic reflux disorder (34%, 15/44), and small bowel lymphatic duct dilatation or intestinal protein loss (18%, 8/44), respectively. Compared with the control group, among these patients, patients with RA complicated with lymphatic involvement had a younger onset age [(34±14)years old vs. (44±13)years old, t=-2.15, P=0.037)] and longer RA course [(17±11)months vs. (7±7)months, t=3.38, P=0.002] and presented with limb swelling (12/14). While compared with the control group, SLE patients complicated with lymphatic duct obstruction presented with celiac multi-plasmatic effusion (20/21), more patients presented with multiple serous cavity effusion [95%(20/21) vs. 62%(25/42), χ2=7.63, P=0.006], but the prevalence of lupus nephritis [(60%(12/21) vs. 86%(36/42), χ2=4.87, P=0.027] and lupus encephalopathy [0%(0/21) vs. 16.7%(17/42), χ2=6.11, P=0.013] was lower. 27% (12/44) of patients improved with aggressive glucocorticoids combined with immunosuppressive therapy, 54%(24/44) of patients were performed with lymphatic duct reconstruction surgery on top of medical treatment, 5 patients were lost of follow-up, and 2 patients deceased. Conclusion:CTD patients may develop lymphatic duct obstruction during the disease course, while lymphatic duct obstruction can also be the initial presentation of CTD. Rheumatologists and surgeons should be alert to this rare situation. Young women with refractory polyserositis or lymphedema should be examined for the possibility of combined CTD. Lymphatic duct obstruction may be associated with long-term chronic inflammation in CTD. Glucocorticoids combined with immunosuppressive agents and surgery can be used to treat lymphatic duct obstruction in patients with CTD.

Capsular warning syndrome (CWS) is a rare clinical syndrome characterized by recurrent and transient episodes of focal neurological deficits. Patients with CWS are at high risk of developing infarction. However, the exact physiological mechanism of CWS remains unclear. This paper presents an imaging assessment of penetrating arteries in the context of CWS using advanced time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography and high resolution magnetic resonance imaging. This case reveals atherosclerosis of the lenticulostriate artery as a potential etiological factor contributing to CWS.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a critical role in the regulation of atherosclerosis. Here, we investigated the role of the lncRNA growth arrest-specific 5 (lncR-GAS5) in atherogenesis. We found that the enforced expression of lncR-GAS5 contributed to the development of atherosclerosis, which presented as increased plaque size and reduced collagen content. Moreover, impaired autophagy was observed, as shown by a decreased LC3II/LC3I protein ratio and an elevated P62 level in lncR-GAS5-overexpressing human aortic endothelial cells. By contrast, lncR-GAS5 knockdown promoted autophagy. Moreover, serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 10 (SRSF10) knockdown increased the LC3II/LC3I ratio and decreased the P62 level, thus enhancing the formation of autophagic vacuoles, autolysosomes, and autophagosomes. Mechanistically, lncR-GAS5 regulated the downstream splicing factor SRSF10 to impair autophagy in the endothelium, which was reversed by the knockdown of SRSF10. Further results revealed that overexpression of the lncR-GAS5-targeted gene miR-193-5p promoted autophagy and autophagic vacuole accumulation by repressing its direct target gene, SRSF10. Notably, miR-193-5p overexpression decreased plaque size and increased collagen content. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that lncR-GAS5 partially contributes to atherogenesis and plaque instability by impairing endothelial autophagy. In conclusion, lncR-GAS5 overexpression arrested endothelial autophagy through the miR-193-5p/SRSF10 signaling pathway. Thus, miR-193-5p/SRSF10 may serve as a novel treatment target for atherosclerosis.
Humans ; Atherosclerosis/genetics* ; Autophagy/genetics* ; Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism* ; Endothelial Cells/metabolism* ; Endothelium/metabolism* ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Repressor Proteins/metabolism* ; RNA Splicing Factors ; Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors/genetics* ; RNA, Long Noncoding/metabolism*

Objective:To analyze clinical characteristics of neurosyphilis patients with abnormal mental behaviors as the initial symptom, and to provide a reference for clinical classification of, as well as outcome prediction and efficacy monitoring in neurosyphilis.Methods:Clinical data were collected from 67 HIV-negative neurosyphilis patients with abnormal mental behaviors as the initial symptom in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from November 2012 to November 2019, and retrospectively analyzed. Statistical analysis was carried out by using t test. Results:Among the 67 patients, 52 (77.6%) were males, and 15 (22.4%) were females; there were 63 (94.0%) middle-aged and elderly patients and 4 (6.0%) adolescent patients; 38 (56.7%) patients were diagnosed with progressive general paresis, 21 (31.3%) with meningovascular neurosyphilis, 1 (1.5%) with meningeal neurosyphilis, 3 (4.5%) with tabes dorsalis, and 4 (6.0%) with mixed-type neurosyphilis. As laboratory examination showed, 67 patients all presented with positive serum rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test, serum Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) test, and cerebrospinal fluid TPPA test, 55 (82.1%) had positive cerebrospinal fluid RPR test, 47 (70.1%) had elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein levels of > 0.45 g/L, 50 (74.6%) had increased white blood cell counts of > 8 ×10 6/L in cerebrospinal fluids, and 28 (41.8%) had elevated IgG levels in cerebrospinal fluids. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed multiple ischemic foci in 21 (31.3%) cases, multiple leukodystrophy in 17 (25.4%) , cerebral atrophy in 15 (22.4%) , infarction in 8 (11.9%) , and encephalitis-like changes in 2 (3.0%) . Of the 67 patients, 48 were treated with penicillin in aqueous solutions, 15 with ceftriaxone, and 4 with doxycycline. Six months later, the follow-up showed that 46 (68.7%) patients responded to the treatment, and the early course of disease was significantly shorter in the highly responsive group than in the poorly responsive group ( P < 0.05) . Conclusion:The middle-aged and elderly males were predominant in the neurosyphilis patients with abnormal mental behaviors as the initial symptom, magnetic resonance imaging is helpful for clinical classification and prognosis prediction of neurosyphilis, and early and standardized antisyphilitic treatment can markedly improve the prognosis of patients.

Aggregatibacter aphrophilus is a member of the normal flora of the human oral cavity and pharynx, a Gram-negative fastidous bacteria, belonging to agglomerates, which is a normal mixed oropharyngeal flora in humans, most commonly colonized on the surface of oral mucosa. This bacterial infection is rare in clinical practice, and it is difficult to culture and identify the bacteria, which is easy to be missed. A patient with intracranial infection was admitted to Huaihe Hospital, who showed fever and headache as the main clinical manifestations, and Aggregatibacter aphrophilus was detected by the metagenomic next-generation sequencing of cerebrospinal fluid. The patient′s symptoms were significantly improved after anti-infection treatment.

Objective:To analyze the characteristics of viral isolation and unique recombinant from untreated HIV-1 patients infected through sexual transmission and injection drug use, so as to provide evidence for understanding the biological characteristics and precise prevention and control of HIV-1 infection in different transmission routes.Methods:In view of the different HIV-1 transmission risks, newly diagnosed untreated HIV-1 patients from Beijing, Guangxi and Sichuan were carefully selected. Venous blood was collected to detect the viral load and CD4 + T cell count, and peripheral blood lymphocytes were isolated for virus isolation. Viral RNAs were extracted from the virus supernatant, and the near full-length genome sequences were obtained using in-house method, then the recombination patterns were determined. Results:Among the 65 HIV-1 infection, 32(49.2%), 20(30.8%) and 13(20.0%) were infected via men who have sex with men (MSM), heterosexual and injection drug use (IDU), respectively; genotypes mainly included 26(40.0%) CRF07_ BC, 23(35.4%) CRF01_ AE, and 9(13.8%) unique recombinant types (URFs). A total of 46 HIV-1 clinical strains were isolated. The positive rate of HIV-1 isolation was significantly negatively correlated with CD4 + T cells ( X2=4.22, P=0.04), but positively correlated with viral load ( X2=22.4, P<0.001); the multi-variate generalized estimating equations(GEE) model analysis of HIV-1 P24 antigen content showed similar result. In addition, GEE model showed a positive correlation between viral P24 antigen content and virus-producing culture time (52.14, 95% CI: 9.42~94.87, P=0.017). Viral growth curve analysis showed that the level of viral P24 antigen in MSM Group was significantly higher than that in heterosexual group and IDU group (adjusted P values were p<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively), on the 14th day after culture. The proportion of URFs in MSM Group was higher than that in heterosexual group, and the recombinant breakpoints in MSM Group were more than that in heterosexual group. Conclusions:MSM population was more sensitive to HIV-1 virus isolation; there was unique diversity of recombinant forms of HIV-1 among those with sexually transmitted infections, especially in the MSM population.

In the past ten years, the research and application of microbiome has continued to increase. The microbiome has gradually become the research focus in the fields of life science, environmental science, and medicine. Meanwhile, many countries and organizations around the world are launching their own microbiome projects and conducting a multi-faceted layout, striving to gain a strategic position in this promising field. In addition, whether it is scientific research or industrial applications, there has been a climax of research and a wave of investment and financing, accordingly, products and services related to the microbiome are constantly emerging. However, due to the rapid development of microbiome sequencing and analysis related technologies and methods, the research and application from various countries have not yet unified on the standards of technology, programs, and data. Domestic industry participants also have insufficient understanding of the microbiome. New methods, technologies, and theories have not yet been fully accepted and used. In addition, some of the existing standards and guidelines are too general with poor practicality. This not only causes obstacles in the integration of scientific research data and waste of resources, but also gives related companies unfair competition opportunity. More importantly, China still lacks national standards related to the microbiome, and the national microbiome project is still in the process of preparation. In this context, the experts and practitioners of the microbiome worked together and developed the consensus of experts. It can not only guide domestic scientific research and industrial institutions to regulate the production, learning and research of the microbiome, the application can also provide reference technical basis for the relevant national functional departments, protect the scale and standardized corporate company's interests, strengthen industry self-discipline, avoid unregulated enterprises from disrupting the market, and ultimately promote the benign development of microbiome-related industries.
China ; Consensus ; Humans ; Industry ; Microbiota

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor-α receptorⅡ: IgG Fc fusion protein (rhTNFR:Fc) in the treatment of drug-induced toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) .Methods:From 2009 to 2018, 22 patients with TEN were enrolled from 8 centers such as the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, including 10 males and 12 females, whose age ranged from 22 to 75 years. These patients were subcutaneously injected with rhTNFR:Fc at a dose of 25 mg once every 3 days for 6 - 8 consecutive sessions, and the initial dose was doubled. The drug eruption area and severity index (DASI) score and DASI improvement indices (DASI50, DASI75 and DASI90) were assessed before treatment and on days 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22 and 25 after treatment; cytometric bead array (CBA) technology was used to detect the level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) -α in peripheral blood and blister fluid samples. During the treatment, body temperature, rash changes, liver and kidney function of patients were monitored, and adverse reactions were recorded. Statistical analysis was carried out by using repeated measures analysis of variance, paired t test and Pearson correlation analysis. Results:Of the 22 patients, the temperature stopped rising in 20 patients without infections 24 - 72 hours after the first treatment, and returned to normal after 48 - 120 hours. Among the 22 patients, new blisters stopped appearing 24 - 48 hours after the first treatment, the skin color changed from bright red to dark purple after 48 - 96 hours, and most skin lesions subsided after 2 weeks. After 2 - 4 weeks of treatment, levels of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase returned to normal in 19 patients with abnormal liver function. After 4 - 13 days of treatment, levels of creatinine and urea nitrogen stopped rising in 7 patients with abnormal renal function. During the treatment, the DASI score of the 22 patients gradually decreased ( F = 532.81, P < 0.01) , from 53.64 ± 8.67 before treatment to 2.05 ± 1.21 on day 25 after treatment ( t = 26.60, P < 0.001) . On day 10 after treatment, 22 patients (100%) achieved DASI50; on day 19, 22 (100%) achieved DASI75; on day 25, 20 (90.90%) achieved DASI90. The level of TNF-α in peripheral blood of the 22 patients gradually decreased along with the extension of treatment duration, from 33.95 ± 27.90 ng/L before treatment to 2.38 ± 0.79 ng/L on day 25. Before treatment, the level of TNF-α in blister fluid of 15 patients was 111.99 ± 99.41 ng/L, and the ratio of blister-fluid TNF-α level to peripheral blood TNF-α level was 1.83 - 28.21. Before treatment, no correlation was observed between the serum level of TNF-α and DASI score in the 22 patients ( P = 0.10) , while the blister-fluid TNF-α level was positively correlated with DASI score in the 15 patients ( r = 0.59, P = 0.02) . No acute adverse reactions were observed during the treatment. All the 22 patients completed the treatment and were discharged with complete recovery. During 6 months of follow-up after discharge, no recurrence or any complication was observed. Conclusion:rhTNFR:Fc is effective and safe for the treatment of drug-induced TEN.

Objective:To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and transmission chain of COVID-19 in two families, and to provide scientific evidence for effective prevention and control measures.Methods:Field epidemiological investigation was conducted for the COVID-19 cases occurred in two families and the close contacts in a county of Baotou city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Descriptive statistical analysis on epidemiological data was conducted.Results:The infection source of the COVID-19 cases in the two families was a man who had living history in Wuhan. After his return, his parents were infected by him. A few days later, the members of a neighbor family were found to be infected, and relatives of this family were also infected after dining together repeatedly. Finally, ten confirmed cases and three suspected cases of COVID-19 were detected in the two families.Conclusions:Human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 can occur not only in a family but also in neighborhoods. The cases in two families had close relationship, indicating the necessity to strengthen the health education about COVID-19 prevention and control and the management of groups at high risk to reduce the incidence of COVID-19 in families and neighborhoods.