Greening the economy: how culture values shape environmental policies in America and Europe.

This research explores the theory that cultural factors shape how people feel about the environment. Both theoretical and empirical approaches are used in our investigation of this problem. In the theoretical part of the study, we provide a model for transferring cultural practices from one generation to the next. To provide empirical evidence for the existence of this cultural factor in environmental views, we analyze survey data from the European Values Research. Using a comparative method, we use differences caused by migration patterns in Europe and America. According to our research, cultural influences on migrants' ecological beliefs are long-lasting and statistically significant. Variations in migrants' environmental views may be traced back to societal norms that endure in their home countries. We also demonstrate that ecological views are robust in the face of incentives originating from the external environment, demonstrating that migrants' choices in the host nation are not much influenced by the environmental circumstances they were exposed to in their home countries. We uncover fascinating variations in the cultural transfer procedure, and our results hold up under various hypotheses. These findings suggest that, in light of the prevalence of ecological problems requiring community action, it is crucial to formulate policies that consider the factors that led to the development of ecological cultures.

Effects and Mechanisms of Electroacupuncture at Zhongwan （CV12） on Gastric Nociceptive Response Induced by Gastric Acid Stimulation in Rats / 中医杂志

ObjectiveTo observe the effects of electroacupuncture at Zhongwan （CV12） on gastric nociceptive response induced by gastric acid stimulation and explore the underlying mechanisms associated with nuclei of the medullary viscerosensory and visceral motor neurons. MethodsTwenty SD rats were given intragastric administration of 0.5 mol/L diluted hydrochloric acid （0.5 ml/100 g） to induce gastric nociceptive response induction. Eight rats were randomly selected to record the gastric slow wave （GSW） area under the curve， and extracellular discharge frequency of neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract （NTS） and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve （DMV） before intragastric administration and at 1， 5， 10， 15， 20， 25， 30， 35， 40， 45， 50， 55， and 60 minutes after intragastric administration. The remaining 12 rats received electroacupuncture intervention at Zhongwan within 5 to 25 minutes after intragastric administration of diluted hydrochloric acid， with a duration of one minute. The GSW area under the curve and extracellular discharge frequency of NTS and DMV neurons were compared between the 1-minute intervals before and after electroacupuncture intervention. ResultsCompared to the baseline before intragastric administration， the area under the curve of GSW significantly increased at 1， 5， 10， 15， 20， and 25 minutes after intragastric administration， and the extracellular discharge frequency of excitatory neurons in the NTS （accounting for 90%， 57/63） significantly increased at 1， 5， 10， 15， 20， 25， 30， 35， and 40 minutes， both reaching peak values at 1 minute after intragastric administration （P＜0.01 or P＜0.05）. The extracellular discharge frequency of inhibitory neurons in the DMV （accounting for 91%， 20/22） showed a non-significant increase at 1 minute after intragastric administration （P＞0.05）， but significantly decreased at other timepoints （P＜0.05）. Compared to the baseline before electroacupuncture intervention， the GSW area under the curve and the extracellular discharge frequency of excitatory neurons in the NTS significantly decreased （P＜0.05）， while the extracellular discharge frequency of inhibitory neurons in the DMV showed no significant difference （P＞0.05）. ConclusionElectroacupuncture at Zhongwan can improve gastric nociceptive response induced by gastric acid stimulation， possibly by reducing the transmission of visceral sensation and decreasing the excitability of NTS neurons in the medulla.

Comparative study of different large language models and medical professionals of different levels responding to ophthalmology questions / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To evaluate the performance of three distinct large language models(LLM), including GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and PaLM2, in responding to queries within the field of ophthalmology, and to compare their performance with three different levels of medical professionals: medical undergraduates, master of medicine, and attending physicians.METHODS: A total of 100 ophthalmic multiple-choice tests, which covered ophthalmic basic knowledge, clinical knowledge, ophthalmic examination and diagnostic methods, and treatment for ocular disease, were conducted on three different kinds of LLM and three different levels of medical professionals(9 undergraduates, 6 postgraduates and 3 attending physicians), respectively. The performance of LLM was comprehensively evaluated from the aspects of mean scores, consistency and confidence of response, and it was compared with human.RESULTS: Notably, each LLM surpassed the average performance of undergraduate medical students(GPT-4:56, GPT-3.5:42, PaLM2:47, undergraduate students:40). Specifically, performance of GPT-3.5 and PaLM2 was slightly lower than those of master's students(51), while GPT-4 exhibited a performance comparable to attending physicians(62). Furthermore, GPT-4 showed significantly higher response consistency and self-confidence compared with GPT-3.5 and PaLM2.CONCLUSION: LLM represented by GPT-4 performs well in the field of ophthalmology, and the LLM model can provide clinical decision-making and teaching aids for clinicians and medical education.

Clinical laboratory genetic diagnosis of Marfan syndrome / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective:To establish the clinical laboratory genetic diagnosis procedures for Marfan syndrome (MFS) and carry out clinical laboratory genetic diagnosis for MFS families.Methods:The second generation high-throughput sequencing was used to sequence and analyze the FBN1 gene of two MFS families who visited to Fuwai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital (Heart Center of Henan People′s Hospital) from January to December 2020, and then Sanger sequencing was used to verify the second generation high-throughput sequencing results. At the same time, the sanger sequencing of mutation sites was performed on normal family members and 100 healthy people to identify the pathogenic mutations of FBN1 gene in the MFS families. The pregnant women of two families were guided for prenatal diagnosis in the second trimester of pregnancy.Results:The clinical laboratory diagnosis of MFS showed that two MFS patients had the pathogenic mutation of c.2560T>C heterozygous mutation and c.6772T>C heterozygous mutation in FBN1 gene, respectively. The mutation was not observed in 100 healthy people and normal members in two families. The prenatal diagnosis showed that there was a heterozygous mutation of FBN1 gene c.2560T>C in the first fetus of the MFS family, which was MFS. There was no mutation in the FBN1 gene in the second fetus of the MFS family, so it was recommended to continue the pregnancy. The results of postpartum follow-up were consistent with the results of clinical laboratory diagnosis.Conclusion:The clinical laboratory genetic diagnosis procedures for MFS have been established successfully, which provides an important reference for clarifying the clinical diagnosis of MFS.

Structural asymmetries in neonatal brain white matter: a diffusion tensor imaging study / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To explore the asymmetry of neonatal brain white matter using fractional anisotropy (FA) parameter generated from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).Methods:From January 2011 to June 2013, 88 neonates with normal cranial MRI performance, aged 1-14 (7.7±0.3) days and gestational age 31-42 (37.5±0.3) weeks, were retrospectively collected from the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University. According to the gestational age at birth, the neonates were divided into preterm group (37 cases) and term group (51 cases). DTI was processed to generate FA parametric maps. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was used to analyze the asymmetry in neonatal white matter. Regions of interest were placed in bilaterally symmetrical white matter tracts. The white matter tracts included the bilateral anterior thalamic radiation, corticospinal tract-posterior limb of the inner capsule (CST-IC), corticospinal tract-corona radiata, cingulum hippocampus part (CGH), inferior frontal occipital fasciculus (IFOF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), uncinate fasciculus, superior longitudinal fasciculus temporal part (SLF-temp). The FA value was measured and asymmetry index (AI) was calculated. The independent-sample t test or Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the AI of each tract between the preterm and term groups. Partial correlation was used to analyze the effects of neonatal gestational age and birth anthropometric measures on the asymmetry of neonate at birth. Results:The results of TBSS showed that the left lateralized areas of brain white matter in the neonatal period were mainly located in the corticospinal tract, external capsule and genu of corpus callosum. The right lateralized areas of brain white matter in the neonatal period were mainly located in the optic radiation and splenium of corpus callosum. In both the preterm and term groups, the tracts related to motor (CST-IC) and language function (ILF, SLF, SLF-temp) were left asymmetry. The CGH of the preterm and the term neonates were right asymmetry, and AI was -0.086±0.114 and -0.140±0.108 respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( t=2.27, P=0.026), while the differences of AI in the remaining tracts were not statistically significant ( P>0.05). Only gestational age was correlated with the AI of ILF ( r=0.234, P=0.033), SLF ( r=0.259, P=0.018), SLF-temp ( r=0.252, P=0.022), CST-IC ( r=0.235, P=0.033). No significant correlation was found between birthweight, head circumference, body length and AI. Conclusions:The asymmetries of brain white matter already exist in neonates aged less than two weeks. The tracts associated with motor and language function are predominantly left asymmetry.

Research on back scraping skin symptoms of sub healthy population based on constitution theory of traditional Chinese Medicine / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To observe the characteristics of back scraping skin symptoms in sub-health people through diagnostic scraping, and explore the characteristics of back scraping skin symptoms in sub-health people with different constitutions.Methods:By adopting a cross-sectional study method, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine recruited volunteers through a combination of offline and online methods from March 2021 to September 2022. Totally 2 239 sub-health people were treated for TCM constitution identification and were diagnostic scraped with Wentong scraping cup. The differences of back scraping skin symptoms in the color, speed, amount, shape, nature of pain and feeling characteristics under scraping board were compared between sub-health people with different TCM constitutions and gentle constitution.Results:There were differences in the characteristics of Sha Xiang among sub-health individuals with different constitutions. Among them, 49.02% (351/716) of individuals with a gentle constitution had a bright red color, 90.64% (649/716) had a fast rate of appearance, 5.73% (41/716) had a large amount of sha, 3.35% (24/716) had a patchy shape, 3.35% (24/716) felt a stabbing pain, and 0 felt nodules under the scraping plate. Among individuals with a damp-heat constitution, 86.72% (457/527) had a bright red color, 95.64% (504/527) had a fast rate of appearance, 100.00% (527/527) had a large amount of sha, 88.80% (468/527) had a patchy shape, 95.64% (504/527) felt a stabbing pain and 97.72% (515/527) felt nodules under the scraping plate. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups ( χ2 values were 11.27 to 1 243.00, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The characteristics of back scraping skin symptoms of sub-health people with different constitutions are different. It is expected that the type of TCM constitution of sub-health people can be judged according to the characteristics of scraping skin symptoms in the future, in order to guide patients in health management and improve their satisfaction with traditional Chinese medicine scraping treatment.

The chain mediating effect of professional identity and person-organization fit on the relationship between spiritual leadership and work engagement of young nurses / 中国实用护理杂志

Objective:To explore the relationship between spiritual leadership, professional identity, person-organization fit and work engagement of young nurses, so as to provide reference for developing strategies to improve young nurses′ work engagement.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. From December 2021 to April 2022, 449 young nurses from 9 hospitals in Shandong province were investigated by general data questionnaire, Spiritual Leadership Scale, Professional Identity Rating Scale, Nurse Person-organizational Fit Assessment Scale and Work Engagement Scale.Results:The scores of professional identity, spiritual leadership, person-organization fit and work engagement of young nurses were (116.04 ± 23.06), (68.07 ± 13.87), (163.50 ± 25.88), (38.80 ± 14.65) points, respectively. The total effect of spiritual leadership on work engagement was 0.707. The mediating path of spiritual leadership to work engagement included spiritual leadership→professional identity→work engagement; Spiritual leadership→person-organization fit→work engagement. Spiritual leadership→professional identity→ person-organization fit→work engagement. Three indirect effects accounted for 63.60%, 6.80% and 10.60% of the total effect, respectively.Conclusions:Professional identity and person-organization fit play chain mediating effect between spiritual leadership and work engagement of young nurses. Nursing managers should implement spiritual leadership to improve young nurses′ professional identity and person-organization fit, and then improve the level of young nurses′ work engagement.

Clinical and imaging analysis of neurological complications in critically ill children infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron / 中华危重病急救医学

OBJECTIVE@#To summarize clinical predictors and imaging characteristics of critically ill children infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron with neurological complications in Shenzhen during the peak of the first round of infections.@*METHODS@#The clinical data of 11 critically ill children with neurological complications infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron in Shenzhen Children's Hospital from December 12 to 31, 2022, were retrospectively collected and analyzed. Laboratory test results related to liver parenchymal injury, histiocytic injury, inflammation, and coagulation function were collected, and imaging characteristics including CT and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were analyzed. The differences in CT/MRI score, acute necrotizing encephalopathy severity scale (ANE-SS) score and total score (CT/MRI score + ANE-SS score) were compared between the two groups with different prognosis during hospitation.@*RESULTS@#Among 11 children, 7 were male and 4 were female. The age ranged from 10 months to 16 years. There were 5 cases of acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) and 6 cases of acute fulminant cerebral edema (AFCE). During hospitalization, 3 patients survived and 8 patients died of multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS), including 2 cases of ANE and 6 cases of AFCE. All cases had fever (> 38.5 centigrade), and 3 cases had ultra-high fever (> 41 centigrade). Within 48 hours of onset, all cases had disorders of consciousness and 9 cases had seizures. The 8 dead children had complications with multisystem involvement, including shock, respiratory failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), liver failure, renal failure or myocardial damage, and the laboratory predictors related to hepatocellular injury [alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST)], histocyte injury [creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)], inflammation [procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), serum ferritin (SF)], coagulation function (D-dimer) and blood glucose (Glu) increased in different quantities, of which PCT was specifically increased in 6 cases with AFCE, PLT was specifically decreased in 3 cases with AFCE, and ALT and LDH were significantly increased in 2 cases with ANE. Imaging analysis showed subarachnoid hemorrhage, basal ganglia and thalamus lesions in all 6 cases with AFCE, while thalamus lesions in all 5 cases with ANE. The ANE-SS score of 8 deceased children ranged from 2 to 7 (of which 6 cases were ≥ 5), and the ANE-SS score of 3 surviving children ranged from 0 to 2. Eight dead children had a CT/MRI score of 1-4 (of which 6 cases were 4), and 3 surviving children had a CT/MRI score of 1-2 (of which 2 cases were 1). The total score of 8 deceased children was 6-10 (of which 6 cases ≥ 8), and 3 surviving children was 1-4.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The neurological complications of critically ill children infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron in Shenzhen progressed rapidly to ANE and AFCE, with high mortality. High fever (> 40 centigrade), convulsion/disturbance of consciousness, and multiple organ failure were the most common symptoms in ANE and AFCE cases. PCT increased and PLT decreased specifically in AFCE cases. Poor prognosis (death) was more common in age < 4 years old, predictors of ALT, AST, CK, LDH, PCT, D-dimer, Glu, IL-6 increased significantly, PLT decreased significantly. The common imaging feature of ANE and AFCE is the involvement of dorsal thalamus, a new imaging sign of AFCE (subarachnoid hemorrhage) was found. The higher the ANE-SS score, CT/MRI score and total score, the greater the risk of death.

Current applications for magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound in the treatment of Parkinson's disease / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) is a novel and minimally invasive technology. Since the US Food and Drug Administration approved unilateral ventral intermediate nucleus-MRgFUS for medication-refractory essential tremor in 2016, studies on new indications, such as Parkinson's disease (PD), psychiatric diseases, and brain tumors, have been on the rise, and MRgFUS has become a promising method to treat such neurological diseases. Currently, as the second most common degenerative disease, PD is a research hotspot in the field of MRgFUS. The actions of MRgFUS on the brain range from thermoablation, blood-brain barrier (BBB) opening, to neuromodulation. Intensity is a key determinant of ultrasound actions. Generally, high intensity can be used to precisely thermoablate brain targets, whereas low intensity can be used as molecular therapies to modulate neuronal activity and open the BBB in conjunction with injected microbubbles. Here, we aimed to summarize advances in the application of MRgFUS for the treatment of PD, with a focus on thermal ablation, BBB opening, and neuromodulation, in the hope of informing clinicians of current applications.

Hypoxia-induced ROS aggravate tumor progression through HIF-1α-SERPINE1 signaling in glioblastoma / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Hypoxia, as an important hallmark of the tumor microenvironment, is a major cause of oxidative stress and plays a central role in various malignant tumors, including glioblastoma. Elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a hypoxic microenvironment promote glioblastoma progression; however, the underlying mechanism has not been clarified. Herein, we found that hypoxia promoted ROS production, and the proliferation, migration, and invasion of glioblastoma cells, while this promotion was restrained by ROS scavengers N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and diphenyleneiodonium chloride (DPI). Hypoxia-induced ROS activated hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) signaling, which enhanced cell migration and invasion by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, the induction of serine protease inhibitor family E member 1 (SERPINE1) was ROS-dependent under hypoxia, and HIF-1α mediated SERPINE1 increase induced by ROS via binding to the SERPINE1 promoter region, thereby facilitating glioblastoma migration and invasion. Taken together, our data revealed that hypoxia-induced ROS reinforce the hypoxic adaptation of glioblastoma by driving the HIF-1α-SERPINE1 signaling pathway, and that targeting ROS may be a promising therapeutic strategy for glioblastoma.

SCI-indexed papers and research hotspots of provincial centers for disease control and prevention in China from 2011 to 2020 / 环境与职业医学

Background The COVID-19 pandemic hints at the importance of modernizing disease control system. To understand the scientific research strength of our country's disease control system in recent years is conducive to formulating more targeted policies or measures to promote the modernization of the disease control system. Objective To understand the scientific research strength and research hotspots of China's provincial-level centers for disease control and prevention (CDCs) from 2011 to 2020, and provide evidence for the development of scientific research work, discipline construction, and talent team construction in CDCs in the future. Methods The Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) of the Web of Science Core Collection were used to retrieve SCI-indexed English papers published by 31 provincial CDCs (excluding Taiwan Province, Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions) in our country from 2011 to 2020, and to screen literature with provincial CDCs as the first affiliation for bibliometric analysis and visual analysis. Bibliometric analysis included the SCI-indexed publications of different provincial CDCs (as co-affiliation and the first affiliation), the number of SCI-indexed papers published by provincial CDCs (as the first affiliation) and funding rates by years, the high-frequency authors of SCI-indexed papers published by provincial CDCs (as the first affiliation) and their distribution, and the characteristics of the journals. Visual analysis software Citespace 5.8.R1 was used to draw keyword co-occurrence maps, cluster information tables, and emergence maps to provide information on research hotspots and their evolution. Results From 2011 to 2020, the number of SCI-indexed papers from 31 provincial CDCs was 8420 (including co-affiliation), of which 2060 papers listed provincial CDCs as the first affiliation. The provincial CDCs of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Beijing, Shandong, and Guangdong were the leading six institutes in terms of the total number of SCI-indexed papers contributed as co-affiliation or the first affiliation. There was a large gap in the total number of SCI-indexed papers among the provincial CDCs. The highest total number of SCI-indexed papers contributed by provincial CDCs as the first affiliation was Zhejiang CDC (448 papers), while the lowest number was Xinjiang CDC (only 1 paper). From 2011 to 2020, the total number of SCI-indexed papers contributed by the 31 provincial CDCs as the first affiliation showed an overall increasing trend. Except for 2011, which was 63.1%, the funding rates in other years exceeded 70%. In terms of high-frequency authors, 13 first authors published ≥10 SCI-indexed papers: Zhang Yingxiu from Shandong CDC had the highest number of SCI-indexed papers (47), followed by Hu Yu from Zhejiang CDC. Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Beijing, Guangdong, Shanghai, and Shandong still ranked the top six of ≥4 first authored-SCI papers. In terms of journal characteristics, the top 20 journals with the highest number of SCI papers published a total of 862 papers, accounting for 41.8% (862/2060), and PLOS ONE ranked the first (188 papers). The research hotspots were mainly concentrated in the fields of infection, child health, and epidemiology. The main keywords of the first three cluster categories were related to the research fields of adolescent overweight and obesity, HIV, and vaccine immunity. The results of keyword emergence showed that research hotspots shifted from overweight, obesity, and body mass index to antibodies, vaccines/vaccination, and cohorts. Conclusion The past ten years have witnessed increasing numbers of SCI-indexed papers published by provincial CDCs in our country and a stubbornly high funding rate. However, the gap among the provincial CDCs is still large seeing that economically developed eastern provincial CDCs published more SCI-indexed papers. Research hotspots have gradually shifted from overweight, obesity, and body mass index to antibodies, vaccines/vaccination, and cohorts.

Bibliometric and visual analysis of Chinese-language scholarly journal papers published by China provincial centers for disease control and prevention from 2011 to 2020：based on CSCD data / 环境与职业医学

Background By analyzing the publication of scientific and technological papers of the provincial centers for disease control and prevention (CDCs) in China, we can understand their scientific research strength, dominant disciplines, research hotspots, and talent development, which is conducive for further optimizing the scientific research construction of the disease control system. Objective To conduct a bibliometric analysis and draw a visual map of the Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD) sourced papers published by 31 provincial CDCs in China from 2011 to 2020, to understand the scientific research status of China's provincial CDC system in the past ten years. Methods In April 2021, China National Knowledge Infrastructure was used to retrieve CSCD sourced papers published by 31 provincial CDCs (excluding Taiwan Province, Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions) in China as the primary unit from 2011 to 2020, and finally 5231 CSCD papers were included. Bibliometric analysis indicators include number of CSCD papers published and financial support rate, proportion of CSCD papers to total Chinese papers, distribution of CSCD papers published in high-volume journals, and number of papers for a specific CDC that their first authors affiliated with. Citespace 5.8.R1 software was used to draw author's cooperation network map, keyword co-occurrence map, keyword clustering information table, and keyword emergence map. Results The number of CSCD papers published every year showed a stationary trend, and the total funding rate was 61%, showing an year-by-year upward trend (increased from 49.3% in 2011 to 68.7% in 2020). Jiangsu Province, Fujian Province, and Beijing CDCs ranked the top three in the total number of CSCD papers contributed by a specific CDC. The Chinese Journal of Epidemiology, Chinese Journal of Public Health, Chinese Journal of Zoonoses, Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine, and Chinese Journal of Endemic Diseases were the top five high-volume journals. The top three authors of CSCD papers (counted as co-authors) were Xu Bianli of Henan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (110 papers), Yan Yansheng of Fujian Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention (72 papers), and Wang Quanyi of Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control (71 papers), and they studied the epidemiology of parasitic diseases and infectious diseases, the prevention and treatment of natural epidemic diseases and AIDS, and the epidemiology of infectious diseases, respectively. The keyword co-occurrence map showed that AIDS, zoonotic diseases, hand-foot-mouth disease, etc. (frequency ≥90) were the key research directions of provincial CDCs in the past ten years. The keyword clustering categories were closely related, although there were subtle differences, the topics focused on virus and chronic disease research. The keyword emergence results suggested that the frontiers of research had gradually shifted from infectious diseases such as enterovirus, hantavirus, and Zika virus to food-borne diseases and chronic non-communicable diseases such as tumors and senile diseases over time. Conclusion The number of papers issued by the provincial CDCs in China in the past ten years has shown an overall steady and rising trend. The leading themes of researchers and institutions are infectious diseases, parasitic diseases, etc., while food-borne diseases and elderly diseases are the hot frontiers.

Risk analysis of recurrence of women with DMD birth history in families with new mutations in DMD gene / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective:To summarize and analyze the risk of pregnancy recurrence of women with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) birth history in families with new DMD gene mutations, clarify the laws of DMD gene mutations and discuss the mode of genetic counseling in such families.Methods:Collected DMD families from January 2013 to December 2017 in Henan Provincial People′s Hospital. Firstly, the 79 exons of DMD gene were analyzed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) in DMD patients and their mothers. The families that DMD patients with DMD gene mutations but no mutations in their mothers were selected for this study, and then MLPA combined with STR-gene linkage analysis were used to perform prenatal diagnosis for females in these DMD gene new mutation families.Results:A total of 64 families with new DMD gene mutations were included in this study. All mutations were DMD gene exon deletion mutations. A total of 65 fetuses were conducted prenatal diagnosis, included 26 SRY negative, 39 SRY positive; 63 fetuses′ DMD gene normal and 2 fetues′ DMD gene with exon deletion mutations. The results of postpartum follow-up and prenatal diagnosis were consistent.Conclusions:Exon mutations in newly mutated DMD families were mainly manifested as exon deletion, mainly presented in the 45-55 exon region. For families with new DMD mutations, even if there is no DMD gene mutation in women which had reproductive history of DMD, prenatal diagnosis for DMD during pregnancy was still recommended.

Effects of booster vaccination with tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria and acellular pertussis combined vaccine (Tdap) after vaccination of rats with DTacP-sIPV or DTacP-IPV/Hib / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the effects of a booster immunization with a candidate tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid and acellular pertussis combined vaccine (Tdap) in a rat model after primary vaccination with diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis and Sabin strain inactivated poliovirus combined vaccine (DTacP-sIPV) or diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, inactivated poliovirus and haemophilus type b combined vaccine (DTacP-IPV/Hib) for further preclinical study.Methods:Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups and respectively immunized with a self-developed DTacP-sIPV, a marketed DTacP-IPV/Hib and normal saline at 0, 1, and 2 months of age. Serum levels of antibody against each component in each group were detected before immunization and after each dose. A booster dose of the candidate Tdap was given 10 months after primary immunization. Serum levels of antibody against each component in each group were detected before, 1 month and 6 months after the booster immunization.Results:One month after three doses of primary immunization, the geometric mean titers (GMT, Log2) of antibodies against diphtheria toxoid (DT), tetanus toxoid (TT), pertussis toxin (PT), filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA) and pertactin (PRN) in the DTacP-sIPV group were 17.41, 18.34, 18.11, 19.93 and 13.91, respectively, and the seroconversion rates of these components all reached 100%. Ten months after primary immunization, the GMTs of antibodies against DT, TT, PT, FHA and PRN decreased to 15.17, 14.26, 13.60, 14.51 and 10.39, respectively, and the seroconversion rates remained above 89%. One month after booster immunization, the GMTs of antibodies against DT, TT, PT and FHA in the DTacP-sIPV and DTacP-IPV/Hib groups were 16.49/17.26, 16.80/17.63, 16.70/17.74 and 18.48/19.26, respectively, and the seroconversion rates of these components all reached 100% with no significant difference between the two groups ( P>0.05). The GMTs of anti-PRN antibody in the DTacP-sIPV and DTacP-IPV/Hib groups were 13.07 and 11.00, and the seroconversion rates were 100% and 88%, which were higher in the DTacP-sIPV group than in the DTacP-IPV/Hib group ( P<0.05). Six months after booster immunization, the GMTs of antibodies against DT, TT, PT, FHA and PRN in the DTacP-sIPV and DTacP-IPV/Hib groups decreased to 15.74/14.87, 15.07/15.14, 14.84/15.73, 16.62/16.37 and 11.44/9.96, respectively, and the seroconversion rates remained above 88%. Conclusions:Booster vaccination with the candidate Tdap vaccine induces humoral immune response following primary immunization with DTacP-sIPV or DTacP-IPV/Hib in the Wistar rat model, while the antibody titer decreases with time.

Application of mesenchymal stem cells in psoriasis / 中华皮肤科杂志

Mesenchymal stem cells are an important member of the stem cell family, characterized by self-renewal ability, multipotent differentiation potential, immunomodulatory effects, low immunogenicity, etc. Studies have demonstrated varying degrees of clinical efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of psoriasis, with long remission periods. This review summarizes the application of mesenchymal stem cells in psoriasis and related research progress.

Therapeutic effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells on imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like mouse models / 中华皮肤科杂志

Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effect of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on psoriasis-like mouse models induced by imiquimod and the underlying mechanisms.Methods:Eighteen C57BL/6 mice were randomly and equally divided into vaseline group, model group and treatment group according to a random number table. The mice in the model group and treatment group received topical treatment with 5% imiquimod cream at a dose of 62.5 mg once a day for 6 consecutive days on the shaved back, and those in the vaseline group received the treatment with the same amount of vaseline ointment; the mice in the treatment group were injected with 1.5×10 6 human umbilical cord MSCs via the caudal vein on days 1 and 4. The severity of skin lesions on the back of the mice was assessed everyday according to the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) . Twenty-four hours after the last treatment, that is, on day 7, blood samples were taken, and the mice were sacrificed. The dorsal skin tissues were resected and subjected to hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. A single cell suspension of the resected spleen was prepared, and flow cytometry was performed to detect the Th1 and Th17 cell subsets in the spleen cells. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was conducted to detect serum levels of cytokines interleukin (IL) -17A and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) -α. One-way analysis of variance was used for comparisons among groups, Tukey test for multiple comparisons, and repeated measures analysis of variance for the analysis of changes in the PASI score over time. Results:On day 7, there was obvious scaly erythema on the back of the mice in the model group, and the skin thickness and number of infiltrating inflammatory cells were significantly higher in the model group (78.73 ± 23.11 μm, 36.16 ± 2.95 cells/mm 2) than in the vaseline group (13.28 ± 4.57 μm, 13.33 ± 1.15 cells/mm 2, q=19.25, 7.21, respectively, both P < 0.001) . The treatment group showed significantly decreased PASI score, epidermal thickness and number of infiltrating inflammatory cells compared with the model group (all P < 0.001) . The percentage of Th17 cell subsets in the spleen cells and serum level of TNF-α were significantly lower in the treatment group than in the model group (both P < 0.05) . There were no significant differences in the spleen weight, spleen index, spleen cell count, Th1 cell percentage or serum IL-17A level between the treatment group and the model group (all P>0.05) . Conclusion:Human umbilical cord MSCs can effectively alleviate skin inflammation induced by imiquimod in the psoriasis-like mouse models, likely by inhibiting Th17 cell formation and TNF-α expression.

Cultivating public health youth talents with illustrious virtue and lofty aspirations to undertake glorious tasks of a new era: Minutes of the Sixteenth National Postgraduates Symposium on Environmental and Occupational Medicine / 环境与职业医学

　　From October 22 to 23, 2021, the 16th National Postgraduates Symposium on Environmental and Occupational Medicine was successfully held in Central South University, sponsored by the Editorial Board of Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Xiangya School of Public Health of Central South University, and co-organized by School of Public Health of South China University and Shanghai Preventive Medicine Association. Keeping in view the outbreak of COVID-19, the symposium was held in the form of "offline+online". More than 100 teachers and students from more than 30 universities and research institutions across China attended the conference. A total of 114 excellent papers were submitted to this conference. Focusing on the theme of "Research and practice: Healing the schism", young scholars' forum as well as postgraduates' academic exchanges at the main venue and four parallel sessions were launched. This conference not only provided an excellent platform for postgraduate students in the field of environmental and occupational medicine nationwide to share academic trends and exchange academic research, but also expanded the influence of the Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine.

The role of DUSP6 in TGF-β2-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and extracellular matrix synthesis in human lens epithelial cells / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

【Objective】 To investigate the role of dual-specific phosphatase 6 （DUSP6） in the regulation of human lens epithelial cells （HLECs） epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT） and extracellular matrix （ECM） synthesis induced by transforming growth factor β2 （TGF-β2）. 【Methods】 Human lens epithelial B3 （HLE-B3） cells were treated with 10 μg/L of TGF-β2 for 0 h，12 h， 24 h and 48 h. Then we detected the expressions of α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA） and fibronectin （Fn） by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR （RT-qPCR） and Western blotting. The overexpression vector of DUSP6 was constructed and transfected into HLE-B3 cell line and divided into three groups： TGF-β2， empty vector （EV）+TGF-β2， and DUSP6+TGF-β2. RT-qPCR and Western blotting were used to detect the effect of overexpression of DUSP6 on the expressions of α-SMA and Fn. Scratch test and Transwell migration test were used to evaluate the effect of DUSP6 overexpression on cell migration. 【Results】 Compared with the control group， the expressions of DUSP6 mRNA and protein decreased after 10 μg/L of TGF-β2 treatment for 24 h （P<0.05）. Compared with EV+TGF-β2 group， DUSP6+TGF-β2 group inhibited the migration of HLE-B3 cells and the expressions of α-SMA and Fn （P<0.05）. 【Conclusion】 DUSP6 could inhibit EMT and ECM synthesis in lens epithelial cells induced by TGF-β2， which might provide a potential therapeutic strategy for posterior capsule opacification.

Binding of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein to Glycans

The pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 has caused a high number of deaths in the world. To combat it, it is necessary to develop a better understanding of how the virus infects host cells. Infection normally starts with the attachment of the virus to cell-surface glycans like heparan sulfate (HS) and sialic acid-containing oligosaccharides. In this study, we examined and compared the binding of the subunits and spike (S) proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV to these glycans. Our results revealed that the S proteins and subunits can bind to HS in a sulfation-dependent manner, the length of HS is not a critical factor for the binding, and no binding with sialic acid residues was detected. Overall, this work suggests that HS binding may be a general mechanism for the attachment of these coronaviruses to host cells, and supports the potential importance of HS in infection and in the development of antiviral agents against these viruses.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.View Full Text

Genetic variants in the TORC2 gene promoter and their association with body measurement and carcass quality traits in Qinchuan cattle.

The TORC2 gene is responsible for nutrient metabolism, gluconeogenesis, myogenesis and adipogenesis through the PI3K-Akt, AMPK, glucagon and insulin resistance signaling pathways. Sequencing of PCR amplicons explored three novel SNPs at loci g.16534694G>A, g.16535011C>T, and g.16535044A>T in the promoter region of the TORC2 gene in the Qinchuan breed of cattle. Allelic and genotypic frequencies of these SNPs deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) (P < 0.05). SNP1 genotype GG, SNP2 genotype CT and SNP3 genotype AT showed significantly (P <0.05) larger body measurement and improved carcass quality traits. Haplotype H1 (GCA) showed significantly (p<0.01) higher transcriptional activity (51.44%) followed by H4 (ATT) (34.13%) in bovine preadipocytes. The diplotypes HI-H3 (GG-CC-AT), H1-H2 (GG-CT-AT) and H3-H4 (GA-CT-TT) showed significant (P<0.01) associations with body measurement and improved carcass quality traits. Analysis of the relative mRNA expression level of the TORC2 gene in different tissues within two different age groups revealed a significant increase (P<0.01) in liver, small intestine, muscle and fat tissues with growth from calf stage to adult stage. We can conclude that variants mapped within TORC2 can be used in marker-assisted selection for carcass quality and body measurement traits in breed improvement programs of Qinchuan cattle.