Birth Outcomes of Pregnant Women Infected with COVID-19 in Highland Areas of China from 2020 to 2022: A Retrospective Analysis.

Purpose: To explore the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection on neonates in plateau regions. Methods: Cases of newborns born to pregnant women infected with COVID-19 who received prenatal care or treatment at the Women and Children's Hospital of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Lhasa People's Hospital between January 2020 and December 2022 (infected group) and newborns born to healthy pregnant women (non-infected group) who were included by age, underlying disease and length of hospital stay were retrospectively collected. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 381 patients in the infected group and 314 patients in the non-infected group were included in the study. Results: The results of multivariate analysis showed that admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (OR = 3.342, 95% CI = 1.564-6.764), shortness of breath (OR = 2.853, 95% CI = 1.789-3.154), irregular breathing (OR = 2.465, 95% CI = 1.879-4.112) and neonatal jaundice (OR = 2.324, 95% CI = 1.989-2.445) were the factors influencing the low Apgar scores of neonates in the infected group (all P < 0.05). Conclusion: Neonates born to pregnant women infected with COVID-19 had lower Apgar scores and higher incidences of complications, such as shortness of breath, groaning, irregular breathing and neonatal jaundice, than newborns born to pregnant women not infected with COVID-19.

A comparison of traditional plant knowledge between Daman people and Tibetans in Gyirong River Valley, Tibet, China.

BACKGROUND: By comparing the differences in plant use between various cultures or regions, we can gain a better understanding of traditional knowledge of plant use among different groups, which may lead to a more objective understanding. Even though the Tibetan and Daman people live in the same ecosystem in Gyirong town, China, their cultural backgrounds and livelihoods differ. Therefore, the objective of this study is to document the traditional knowledge of plant use among the Daman people and compare it with the local Tibetan knowledge of plant use. By doing so, we aim to explore the relationship between plant selection and use and the cultural backgrounds of different groups. METHODS: During fieldwork, ethnobotanical data were collected using various methods including free listings, key informant interviews, and semi-structured interviews. To quantify the importance of plant species in the Daman people's culture, the culture importance index, informant consensus factor index, and The Index of Agreement on Species consensus (IASc) were used. In addition, we cited previous ethnobotanical survey data from the Tibetan in Gyirong. To more comprehensively compare the differences in plant use between the Daman and Tibetan, this study constructed a knowledge network to compare the knowledge differences between the two groups. RESULTS: In this study, traditional knowledge was collected from 32 Daman informants, resulting in a total of 68 species belonging to 39 families mentioned by Daman people and 111 species mentioned by Tibetans. Of these, 58 plants were used by both populations. The plants were classified into 3 categories and 28 subcategories, with 22 identical classes in both groups. The majority of use categories showed a high degree of sharing in both groups, and the Tibetan people had more plant use categories than the Daman people. Five plants with IASc value > 0.5 were identified in both groups: Rhododendron anthopogon D. Don, Artemisia japonica Thunb., Juniperus indica Bertol., Gastrodia elata Blume, and Rheum australe D. Don. The analysis of the knowledge network revealed a 66% overlap between the knowledge of the Daman and the knowledge of the Tibetans. Additionally, the plant knowledge of Tibetan people was found to be richer and more complex than that of the Daman people. However, the Daman people possess 30 unique knowledge items. CONCLUSIONS: From the perspective of plant use, the history of the Daman people's discrete migration on the border between China and Nepal allows them to retain their own knowledge of plant use. The status quo of joining Chinese nationality and settling in Gyirong town allows them to gradually integrate into the local Tibetan society. In summary, despite living in the same ecosystem and biodiversity background, the plant utilization of the Daman people and Tibetans still shows significant differences, which are due to their different cultural backgrounds and social status.

Risk factors of primary acute mesenteric venous thrombosis in plateau area / 中华普通外科杂志

Objective:To explore the risk factors of primary acute mesenteric venous thrombosis (AMVT) in plateau area.Methods:Data of 54 primary AMVT cases admitted to the People's Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region between Jan 2015 and Jul 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 42 males and 12 females, aged from 29-79 years. One hundred and ninty matched volunteers severed as control. Logistic multivariate regression analysis was used to screen out independent risk factors. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve are used to evaluate the value of each indicator and model prediction.Results:Univariate analysis showed that the two groups were significantly different in gender, smoking history, drinking history, and hemoglobin concentration ( P<0.05); there was no significant difference in age, altitude of residence, uric acid and BMI ( P>0.05). Logistic multivariate regression analysis showed that male ( OR=2.466, 95% CI: 1.166-5.212, P=0.018), elevated hemoglobin levels ( OR=2.761, 95% CI: 1.411-5.403, P=0.003) were independent risk factors for primary AMVT. The area under the ROC curve of the two predictors and prediction model are 0.639 (95% CI: 0.559-0.719), 0.650 (95% CI: 0.563-0.737), 0.697 (95% CI: 0.618-0.776). Conclusion:Male and elevated hemoglobin levels are independent risk factors for primary AMVT in plateau areas.

Minimally invasive surgery vs laparotomy in patients with colon cancer residing in high-altitude areas.

BACKGROUND: Colon cancer is associated with a higher incidence among residents in high-altitude areas. Hypoxic environment at high altitudes inhibits the phagocytic and oxygen-dependent killing function of phagocytes, thereby increasing the inflammatory factors, inhibiting the body's innate immunity and increasing the risk of colon cancer. AIM: To examine the effect of minimally invasive surgery vs laparotomy in patients with colon cancer residing in high-altitude areas. METHODS: Ninety-two patients with colon cancer in our hospital from January 2019 to February 2021 were selected and divided into the minimally invasive surgery and laparotomy groups using the random number table method, with 46 patients in each group. Minimally invasive surgery was performed in the minimally invasive group and laparotomy in the laparotomy group. Operative conditions, inflammatory index pre- and post-surgery, immune function index and complication probability were measured. RESULTS: Operative duration was significantly longer and intraoperative blood loss and recovery time of gastrointestinal function were significantly less (all P < 0.05) in the minimally invasive group than in the laparotomy group. The number of lymph nodes dissected was not significantly different. Before surgery, there were no significant differences in serum C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α levels between the groups, whereas after surgery, the levels were significantly higher in the minimally invasive group (26.98 ± 6.91 mg/L, 146.38 ± 11.23 ng/mL and 83.51 ± 8.69 pg/mL vs 41.15 ± 8.39 mg/L, 186.79 ± 15.36 ng/mL and 110.65 ± 12.84 pg/mL, respectively, P < 0.05). Furthermore, before surgery, there were no significant differences in CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+/CD8+ levels between the groups, whereas after surgery, the levels decreased in both groups, being significantly higher in the minimally invasive group (55.61% ± 4.39%, 35.45% ± 3.67% and 1.30 ± 0.35 vs 49.68% ± 5.33%, 31.21% ± 3.25% and 1.13 ± 0.30, respectively, P < 0.05). Complication probability was significantly lower in the minimally invasive group (4.35% vs 17.39%, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic minimally invasive procedures reduce surgical trauma and alleviate the inflammatory response and immune dysfunction caused by invasive operation. It also shortens recovery time and reduces complication probability.

GCH1 plays a role in the high-altitude adaptation of Tibetans.

Tibetans are well adapted to high-altitude hypoxia. Previous genome-wide scans have reported many candidate genes for this adaptation, but only a few have been studied. Here we report on a hypoxia gene ( GCH1, GTP-cyclohydrolase I), involved in maintaining nitric oxide synthetase (NOS) function and normal blood pressure, that harbors many potentially adaptive variants in Tibetans. We resequenced an 80.8 kb fragment covering the entire gene region of GCH1 in 50 unrelated Tibetans. Combined with previously published data, we demonstrated many GCH1 variants showing deep divergence between highlander Tibetans and lowlander Han Chinese. Neutrality tests confirmed a signal of positive Darwinian selection on GCH1 in Tibetans. Moreover, association analysis indicated that the Tibetan version of GCH1 was significantly associated with multiple physiological traits in Tibetans, including blood nitric oxide concentration, blood oxygen saturation, and hemoglobin concentration. Taken together, we propose that GCH1 plays a role in the genetic adaptation of Tibetans to high altitude hypoxia.

EP300 contributes to high-altitude adaptation in Tibetans by regulating nitric oxide production.

The genetic adaptation of Tibetans to high altitude hypoxia likely involves a group of genes in the hypoxic pathway, as suggested by earlier studies. To test the adaptive role of the previously reported candidate gene EP300 (histone acetyltransferase p300), we conducted resequencing of a 108.9 kb gene region of EP300 in 80 unrelated Tibetans. The allele-frequency and haplotype-based neutrality tests detected signals of positive Darwinian selection on EP300 in Tibetans, with a group of variants showing allelic divergence between Tibetans and lowland reference populations, including Han Chinese, Europeans, and Africans. Functional prediction suggested the involvement of multiple EP300 variants in gene expression regulation. More importantly, genetic association tests in 226 Tibetans indicated significant correlation of the adaptive EP300 variants with blood nitric oxide (NO) concentration. Collectively, we propose that EP300 harbors adaptive variants in Tibetans, which might contribute to high-altitude adaptation through regulating NO production.

[Integripetal rhodiola herb attenuates high altitude-induced pulmonary arterial remodeling and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in rats].

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of integripetal rhodiola herb on pulmonary arterial remodeling and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in high altitude pulmonary hypertension in rats. Fifty healthy male Wistar rats were divided into five groups randomly: Plain control group (LC group), 10-day plateau group (H(10) group), 30-day plateau group (H(30) group), 10-day rhodiola-treated plateau group (R(10) group), and 30-day rhodiola-treated plateau group (R(30) group). Each group included 10 rats. The rats in LC group were kept in Chengdu (500 meters above sea level), and rats in H and R groups were kept in Lhasa (3 700 meters above sea level). The rats in R group were daily treated with integripetal rhodiola herb extract (24%, 10 mL/kg) intragastrically for 10 d or 30 d, while rats in LC and H groups were treated with the same volume of saline. Mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) was detected via a catheter in the pulmonary artery by pressure waveform monitoring. The ratio value of right ventricle weight to left ventricle plus septum weight [RV/(LV + S)] was measured. The microstructure of pulmonary arterioles was examined by electron microscopy. The expression of VEGF in the lung was investigated using immunohistochemistry. The results showed that mPAP and [RV/(LV + S)] in H(10) group and H(30) group were higher than those in LC group (P < 0.05); but there was no significant difference between H(10) group and R(10) group (P < 0.05); and mPAP and [RV/(LV + S)] in H(30) group were lower than those in H(30) group (P < 0.05). Electron microscopy showed that compared to LC group, arteriolar endothelial cells were arranged in a columnar or palisading form, protruding into the lumen, accompanied with luminal stenosis, irregular internal elastic membrane, and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells in H groups, which was more obvious in H(30) group than in H(10) group; while these pathological changes were attenuated in the R groups compared to H groups. The levels of VEGF protein in H groups were also higher than those in LC group (P < 0.05); while the expression of VEGF in R(30) group was lower than that in H(30) group. In summary, the results show that the integripetal rhodiola herb can attenuate high altitude-induced pulmonary arterial remodeling in rats, and the inhibition of VEGF protein expression by rhodiola may be one of the mechanisms.

[The effects of TMSG-1 gene transfection on metastatic phenotype of pg cancer cells].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the relationship between TMSG-1 gene and tumor metastatic phenotype. METHODS: TMSG-1 cDNA fragment which contained full length open reading frame of TMSG-1 gene was cloned into pcDNA3 plasmid to reconstruct sense and antisense eukaryotic expression plasmids of TMSG-1 gene containing neo selection marker. Both sense and antisense eukaryotic expression plasmids of TMSG-1 gene were transfected into the highly metastatic subclone PG-BE1 by LipofectAMINE method and the positive clones were selected by G418. RT-PCR was used to examine the expression level of the transfected gene and the changes of biological characteristics were checked by a series of in vitro and in vivo assays. RESULTS: The results showed that higher expression levels of TMSG-1 gene in BE1-S cells (cells transfected by sense TMSG-1 cDNA) than the control BE1 cells and BE1-V cells (cells transfected by pcDNA3 plasmid). The expression levels of TMSG-1 gene in BE1-AS cells (cells transfected by antisense TMSG-1 cDNA) were lower than those of the control BE1 cells and BE1-V cells. Compared with the control BE1 cells and BE1-V cells, BE1-AS cells grew more rapidly, and produced more foci in soft agar. Although the BE1-S cells did not reveal significant different growth capacity, the infiltrating ability and colony formation potential of BE1-S cells were decreased, compared with the control BE1 cells and BE1-V cells. Flow cytometry showed higher percentage of BE1-S cells in G0G1 phase than that of BE1 cells, and the presence of apoptotic peak in BE1-S cells. CONCLUSION: The results suggest TMSG-1 gene may represent a tumor metastasis suppressor gene.