[Geographic environment-related research advances on children's myopia: intraocular and environmental exposure factors and analytical methods].

Myopia has become a global phenomenon, transitioning into a significant public health issue of worldwide reach. The escalating prevalence of myopia may lead to an increase in the incidence of related complications, potentially resulting in irreversible vision damage for individuals. This not only causes considerable economic strain on societies but also poses a serious threat to vital sectors like national defense. This review outlines various external and internal exposure factors related to childhood myopia. It places particular focus on the analysis of the interaction between geographical environmental factors and internal exposure factors, and examines the limitations of applying traditional methods in studying the relationship between childhood myopia and geographical environmental factors. The paper also introduces two spatial regression methodologies based on frequency estimation and Bayesian estimation, summarizing their feasibility and merits when applied in the study of external exposure elements related to childhood myopia. Finally, it provides a fresh perspective on regional childhood myopia prevention strategies that are conscious of geographical environmental factors.

[Value of high-resolution anoscopy in the diagnosis of anal precancerous lesions].

Objective: To evaluate the value of high-resolution anoscopy (HRA) in the diagnosis of anal precancerous lesions. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed, which included 142 patients who underwent HRA in vulvar and anal clinic at Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University from January 2014 to December 2019. With the perianal and anal canal biopsy pathology as the "gold standard", the diagnostic value of HRA and specific findings for anal precancerous lesions were evaluated and the clinical characteristics of patients with anal precancerous lesions were analyzed. Results: (1) Agreement between HRA and anal pathology were 76.6% (95/124, perianal) and 70.0% (84/120, anal canal), in which there was no significant difference (χ2=1.365, P=0.243). The strength of agreement with weighted Kappa statistic were 0.604 (perianal) and 0.455 (anal canal) respectively. HRA diagnosis were more overestimated [16.9% (21/124) in perianal and 25.0% (30/120) in anal canal] than underestimated [6.5% (8/124) in perianal and 5.0% (6/120) in anal canal]. The sensitivity and specificity of HRA in the diagnosis of anal precancerous lesions were all more than 60.0% (perianal lesions: 97.8% and 74.7%; anal canal lesions: 90.9% and 66.7%), and Youden's index were >0.5 (perianal lesions: 0.725; anal canal lesions: 0.576). The positive predictive value of HRA in anal canal lesions (50.8%) was lower than that in perianal lesions (68.8%). (2) The thin acetowhite epithelium was the most common finding in anal precancerous lesions, and its performance in anal canal lesions (the sensitivity, the specificity and the Youden's index were 78.8%, 62.4% and 0.412, respectively) were better than those in perianal lesions (the sensitivity, the specificity and the Youden's index were 28.9%, 96.9% and 0.258, respectively). The dense acetowhite epithelium and vascular patterns were only seen in anal canal lesions. Lugol's iodine was little useful for perianal lesions (the incidence of iodine negative was 0),but quite useful to evaluate the canal lesions (the positive predictive value was 83.3% and the negative predictive value was 82.3%). (3) The average age of patients with low-grade anal precancerous lesion was (37±10) years old, and high-grade anal precancerous lesion was (42±11) years old, and there was significant difference between them (P=0.034). Age curve showed that the peak age was 30-40 years old. Vulvar intraepithelial lesion was the risk factor of anal precancerous lesions (χ2=4.284, P<0.05). Conclusions: HRA patterns are reliable in the diagnosis of anal precancerous lesions, which is important for guiding biopsy. However, it is easy to be overestimated, especially for anal canal lesions. The acetowhite epithelium is the most common finding in anal precancerous lesions, but vascular patterns are only seen in anal canal lesions.

EVALUATION OF ANTIVIRAL THERAPY TREATMENT FOR LIVER CIRRHOSIS CAUSED BY CHRONIC HEPATITIS C AND HEPATITIS C BY 31P-MRS, BASED ON METABOLITE DETECTION.

This study discusses the application of magnetic resonance spectrum (MRS) to evaluate the efficacy of antiviral therapy in the treatment of liver cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis C and hepatitis C, based on metabolite detection. A total of 54 patients with liver cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis C and hepatitis C were selected and divided into treatment group and control group. 31P-MRS imaging was carried out on patients in the two groups both before receiving antiviral treatment and 6 months after treatment to compare the change of metabolite ratio (PE+PC)/(GPE+GPC). It was revealed that no statistically significant difference was found in the comparison of (PC+PE)/(GPC+GPE) ratio in the two groups before treatment, but the difference was found 6 months after treatment; ratio of (PC+PE)/ (GPC+GPE) in the treatment group distinctly decreased 6 months after treatment compared to before treatment, with a statistically significant difference, while the control group had no remarkable change or statistical significance. Moreover, 32 patients were found with sustained virus response to antiviral therapy. Of these, 25 patients possessed a decreased ratio of (PC+PE)/ (GPC+GPE), 4 remained without change and 3 had a slightly increased ratio after antiviral treatment. Of 12 patients with no response, 1 had a decreased ratio of (PC+PE)/ (GPC+GPE), 2 remained without change and 9 had a slightly increased ratio. The differences were all statistically significant in comparison of the two groups. 31P-MRS is thought to be effective for evaluating the efficacy of antiviral therapy through non-invasive detection of liver energy metabolism.

Trichosanthin, a Chinese medicine for the medical treatment of ectopic pregnancy with high levels of ß-hCG.

This was a retrospective study of the effectiveness of trichosanthin (TCS), an active component isolated from the Chinese herb root tuber of Trichosanthes kirilowii on 140 cases of ectopic pregnancy with higher levels of ß-human chorionic gonadotropin (ß-hCG) managed with a single dose of TCS treatment. Trichosanthin has been used for medical treatment of ectopic pregnancy in China since the 1980s. This study was performed in a major teaching hospitals in China. The mean pretreatment level of ß-hCG in the TCS treatment group was 3387.57 IU/L. The success rate of TCS treatment was 85% (119 of 140) which was similar to methotrexate (MTX) treatment. In 86 women with a high level of ß-hCG (over 2000 IU/L), the success rate was 80.08% when treated with TCS. Of this group, 26 women who had a high level of ß-hCG (over 5000 IU/L) showed a success rate of 73%. The level of ß-hCG on days 4, 7, and 10 in TCS group was significantly decreased. This study has shown that TCS may be an option for the medical treatment of unruptured ectopic pregnancy or an option for the treatment of ectopic pregnancy with higher levels of ß-hCG than currently recommended for medical management with MTX.

Oxygen consumption and resting energy expenditure during phototherapy in full term and preterm newborn infants.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of phototherapy on the oxygen consumption and resting energy expenditure of term and preterm newborn infants. METHODS: A total of 202 infants (gestation 30-42 weeks; body weight 1270-4100 g) requiring phototherapy for the treatment of neonatal hyperbilirubinaemia were enrolled in a randomised crossover study. In random sequence, the oxygen consumption and resting energy expenditure were measured twice in each infant by indirect calorimetry, once at the end of six hours of continuous phototherapy and once after a control period of at least six hours without phototherapy. Anterior abdominal wall temperature was servocontrolled at 36.5 degrees C throughout the study. RESULTS: At the end of six hours of continuous phototherapy, oxygen consumption (mean (SD): 6.21 (1.35) v 6.26 (1.51) ml/kg, p = 0.555) and resting energy expenditure (178.11 (37.62) v 180.37 (43.14) kJ/kg/24 h, p = 0.382) did not differ significantly from those measured after the control period. There were also no significant differences in heart rate, respiratory rate, or rectal temperature. Subgroup analysis of those of gestation < 37 weeks or < 34 weeks also showed no effect of phototherapy on either oxygen consumption or resting energy expenditure. CONCLUSION: Phototherapy has no effect on the metabolic rate of thermally stable term or preterm infants.

Neuroprotective effect of low dose riluzole in gerbil model of transient global ischemia.

Riluzole is a neuroprotective agent the efficacy of which was proven in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in human and in animal models of cerebral ischemia. However, the dosage used in animal experiments was much higher than that in human. We investigated the efficacy of low dose riluzole, which was similar to the dose used in human trials, in animal model of global ischemia. Global ischemia was induced in male Mongolian gerbils for 5min under monitoring of rectal temperature. Riluzole (0.8 mg/kg) were injected intraperitoneally 30min before ischemia. Seven days after ischemia, animals were decapitated and surviving nerve cells in hippocampal CA1 area were quantified. The number of surviving cells was compared between in riluzole-treated and control groups and the former showed statistically significant better survivals than the latter (P<0.001).

Three new taxane diterpenoids from the seeds of the Chinese yew, Taxus chinensis var mairei.

Three new taxoids were isolated from the seeds of the Chinese yew, Taxus chinesis var mairei, their structures were established as 9alpha, 13alpha-diacetoxy-5alpha-cinnamoyloxy-11(15-->1)-abeo-taxa-4(20),11-diene-10beta, 15-diol, 2alpha,9alpha,10beta-triacetoxy-taxa-4(20),11-diene-5alpha,13alpha-diol and 2alpha,7beta,10beta-triacetoxy-5alpha-cinnamyloxy-9alpha-hydroxy-taxa-4(20),11-diene-13-one on the basis of 1D, 2D NMR, and MS spectral analyses.

Interleukin 1beta-stimulated production of nitric oxide in rat hepatocytes is mediated through endogenous synthesis of interferon gamma.

The multiple interlocking regulatory mechanisms that underlie induction of hepatocyte inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression are largely unknown. Although previous work has indicated the requirement for multiple proinflammatory cytokines to induce hepatocyte NO production, investigators have recently shown that interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) alone can initiate iNOS expression. In contrast, interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) serves as the sole initiating factor in other cell systems. On the basis of the known ability of IL-1beta to induce transcription and translation of the IFN family of genes, we hypothesized that IL-1beta-mediated hepatocyte expression of iNOS is dependent on endogenous IFN-gamma synthesis. In a system of rat hepatocytes in primary culture, IL-1beta induced production of both NO and IFN-gamma. Using in situ hybridization and immunoblot analysis, IFN-gamma messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein were detected in hepatocytes exposed to IL-1beta. Inhibition of NO synthesis using the competitive substrate inhibitor N-monomethyl-L-arginine (100 micromol/L) did not alter the extent of IL-1beta-mediated IFN-gamma synthesis. In contrast, anti-IFN-gamma antibody or inhibition of IFN-gamma mRNA translation by addition of antisense IFN-gamma oligodeoxynucleotide probes resulted in undetectable levels of NO metabolites and iNOS protein. Repletion of IFN-gamma to the system restored NO production to levels noted in the presence of IL-1beta alone. Transient transfection analysis using a rat hepatocyte iNOS promoter-reporter gene plasmid construct showed that IL-1beta-induced promoter activation was abolished in the presence of anti-IFN-gamma or antisense IFN-gamma. Again, addition of IFN-gamma to the system restored activity of the iNOS promoter. Parallel experiments examining IL-1beta-mediated endogenous hepatocyte IL-1beta and TNF-alpha synthesis indicated no role for these cytokines in the induction of iNOS expression by IL-1beta. It is concluded that IL-1beta-mediated hepatocyte synthesis of NO is dependent on the simultaneous endogenous synthesis of IFN-gamma.