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Wen Wu,1,2,* Yu-Pei Zhang,1,2,* Yu-Meng Pan,2 Zhen-Jie He,1,2 Yan-Ping Tan,1 Ding-Deng Wang,1,2 Xing-Guang Qu,1,2 Zhao-Hui Zhang1,2 1Department of Critical Care Medicine, Yichang Central People’s Hospital, Yichang, Hubei, 443003, People’s Republic of China; 2The First College of Clinical Medical Science, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, Hubei, 443003, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zhao-Hui Zhang, Department of Critical Care Medicine, Yichang Central People’s Hospital, Yichang, 443003, Hubei, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86-0717-6481546, Email zhaohuizhang0630@163.comPurpose: This study aims to evaluate the predictive efficacy of the C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR), a cost-effective, easily accessible, and reproducible biomarker obtained from standard blood tests, in forecasting acute kidney injury (AKI) among patients undergoing acute pancreatitis (AP). Considering that changes in the CAR are associated with AKI incidence in AP cases, this work aims to explore whether CAR can be used as the innovative, inflammation-based diagnostic marker for AKI in AP patients.Methods: The current retrospective cohort study consecutively enrolled AP patients admitted to First College of Clinical Medical Science of China Three Gorges University during the period from January 2019 to October 2023. Data were extracted systematically in electronic medical records from these hospitalized individuals, including baseline demographic and clinical characteristics. To ascertain the association of the CAR level with the development of AKI, we carried out multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders. These confounders were initially identified through univariate regression. Furthermore, the potential effect modifiers in the relationship between CAR and AKI occurrence were explored by stratified logistic regression.Results: Totally, 1514 AP were recruited, including 257 (16.9%) with AKI. CAR was positively correlated with AKI. When adjusting for potential confounders, the AKI risk in patients in the upper CAR tertile (2.628– 22.994) increased by 83% relative to those in lower tertile (0.05– 0.289) (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.13– 2.96, P = 0.013). The AKI risk tended to increase according to the increasing CAR tertile (P for trend = 0.013). No significant interactions were observed among subgroups based on age, sex, BMI, admission to ICU, hypertension, DM, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, severity of AP, etiology of AP, demand for CRRT, mechanical ventilation, and blood transfusion (all P > 0.05).Conclusion: A higher CAR is significantly related to the higher AKI incidence in AP patients in the Chinese population.Keywords: acute pancreatitis, acute kidney injury, CRP/albumin ratio, cohort study

Mei-Yu Lv, Li-Xia Qiang, Bao-Cai Wang, Yue-Peng Zhang, Zhi-Heng Li, Xiang-Shun Li, Ling-Ling Jin, Shou-De Jin Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Shou-De Jin, Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, No. 37 Yiyuan Street, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86 0451-85939123, Email jinshoude@163.comPurpose: Pulmonary surfactant proteins A (SP-A) and D (SP-D) are lectins, involved in host defense and regulation of pulmonary inflammatory response. However, studies on the assessment of COPD progress are limited.Patients and Methods: Pulmonary surfactant proteins were obtained from the COPD mouse model induced by cigarette and lipopolysaccharide, and the specimens of peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage (BALF) in COPD populations. H&E staining and RT-PCR were performed to demonstrate the successfully established of the mouse model. The expression of SP-A and SP-D in mice was detected by Western Blot and immunohistochemistry, while the proteins in human samples were measured by ELISA. Pulmonary function test, inflammatory factors (CRP, WBC, NLR, PCT, EOS, PLT), dyspnea index score (mMRC and CAT), length of hospital stay, incidence of complications and ventilator use were collected to assess airway remodeling and progression of COPD.Results: COPD model mice with emphysema and airway wall thickening were more prone to have decreased SP-A, SP-D and increased TNF-α, TGF-β, and NF-kb in lung tissue. In humans, SP-A and SP-D decreased in BALF, but increased in serum. The serum SP-A and SP-D were negatively correlated with FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and positively correlated with CRP, WBC, NLR, mMRC and CAT scores (P < 0.05, respectively). The lower the SP-A and SP-D in BALF, the worse the lung function and the increased probability of complications and ventilator use. Moreover, the same trend emerged in COPD patients grouped according to GOLD severity grade (Gold 1– 2 group vs Gold 3– 4 group). The worse the patient’s condition, the more pronounced the change.Conclusion: This study suggests that SP-A and SP-D may be related to the progression and prognostic evaluation of COPD in terms of airway remodeling, inflammatory response and clinical symptoms, and emphasizes the necessity of future studies of surfactant protein markers in COPD.Keywords: COPD, pulmonary surfactant protein A and D, airway remodeling

Li-Yun Jia, Yan-Xia Sun, Yong-Peng Zhang, Kai Ma Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Kai MaBeijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Key Laboratory, Beijing 100730, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 1058269508Email jialiyun@126.comObjective: To identify potential risk factors for recurrent retinal detachment after surgical treatment for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with choroidal detachment (RRD-CD) in a Chinese population.Methods: A total of 1212 patients with RRD-CD admitted to Beijing Tongren Hospital from 2004 to 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. The rate of recurrent retinal detachment was calculated, and risk factors were analyzed by logistic regression analysis.Results: The average age of the patients was 48.51 years, 760 patients (62.7%) were male, and 630 patients (52.0%) had right eye disease. The recurrence rate in the same eye was 21.3%. The incidence of recurrence retinal detachment was higher in patients who were male, middle age, and with poor preoperative vision, longer axial length, and scleral buckling. Recurrence usually occurred 3 months after surgery.Conclusion: Male, middle age, longer axial length, and scleral buckling could be risk factors for recurrent retinal detachment following surgical treatment in patients with RRD-CD.Keywords: rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, choroidal detachment, risk factor

Since the first plasma realized in 2020, a series of key systems on HL-3 (known as HL-2M before) tokamak have been equipped/upgraded, including in-vessel components (the first wall, lower divertor, and toroidal cryogenic/water-cooling/baking/glow discharge systems, etc.), auxiliary heating system of 11 MW, and 28 diagnostic systems (to measure the plasma density electron temperature, radiation, magnetic field, etc.). Magnet field systems were commissioned firstly for divertor plasma discharges. During the 2nd experimental campaign of HL-3 tokamak, several great progresses have been achieved. Firstly, the successful operation with plasma current larger than 1 MA was achieved under a divertor configuration. Secondly, the advanced divertor concept with two distinct snowflake configurations was realized. It is found that the distribution of ion saturation current and heat flux on bottom plate becomes wide due to magnetic surface expansion, demonstrating the advantage of such configuration in the heat flux mitigation. In addition, using the combination of NBI, ECRH and LHCD, the standard sawtoothing high confinement mode of megampere plasma was firstly accessed on the HL-3. The successful commissioning of HL-3 is beneficial for the initial operation of ITER.

Yaxiong Li,* Yongping Zhang,* Jiansheng LiuDepartment of General Surgery, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: The biological functions of neuropilin and tolloid-like 2 (NETO2) in the progression of pancreatic cancer remained unexplored. We aimed to investigate the biological roles and underlying molecular mechanisms of NETO2 in pancreatic cancer.Materials and methods: Thirty paired pancreatic tumor tissue samples and corresponding nontumor tissues were obtained from 30 pancreatic cancer patients who did not receive preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The changes in multiple cellular functions associated with tumor progression were assessed after NETO2 knockdown/overexpression in pancreatic cancer cell lines. Additionally, a mouse-xenograft model was developed to verify the in vitro results.Results: NETO2 was upregulated in pancreatic tumor tissues. Elevated expression of NETO2 was not only associated with an advanced tumor stage, but was also a prediction of poor prognosis for pancreatic cancer patients. Knockdown of NETO2 in pancreatic cancer cell lines arrested the cell cycle and inhibited cell proliferation, colony formation, invasion, and migration; in contrast, overexpression of NETO2 had an opposite effect on all of these parameters. A STAT3 specific inhibitor, cryptotanshinone, reversed the tumor-promoting effects induced by NETO2 overexpression in pancreatic cancer. Western blot analysis showed that invasion and migration were closely related to epithelial–mesenchymal transition, and that the STAT3 signaling pathway was involved in NETO2-mediated oncogenic transformation in pancreatic cancer cells. Furthermore, NETO2 knockdown significantly inhibited the growth of pancreatic tumor xenografts in nude mice.Conclusion: NETO2 has an important role in the progression and metastasis of pancreatic cancer and could serve as a novel candidate for targeted therapy of pancreatic cancer.Keywords: pancreatic cancer, NETO2, proliferation, metastasis, STAT3

Jin-Xiu Li,1,2,* Wei-Ping Fu,3,* Jing Zhang,4 Xiao-Hua Zhang,1,2 Chang Sun,1,5 Lu-Ming Dai,3 Li Zhong,1,5,6 Li Yu,1,2 Ya-Ping Zhang1,7 1State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resource in Yunnan, 2Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Diversity and Evolution of High Education in Yunnan Province, School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, 3Department of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine, 4Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 5College of Life Sciences, 6Provincial Demonstration Center for Experimental Biology Education, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, 7State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, and Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Previous studies have suggested that β2-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) is associated with COPD. However, the role of genetic polymorphisms in ADRB2 on COPD has not been evaluated yet. Methods: In this study, SNaPshot genotyping, luciferase assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation and real-time polymerase chain reaction were adopted to investigate the association between ADRB2 genetic polymorphisms and COPD, comprehensively. Results: One single nucleotide polymorphism (rs12654778), located upstream of ADRB2, showed a significant association with COPD by the logistic regression analysis after adjusting for age, sex and smoking history (p=0.04) in 200 COPD patients and 222 controls from southwest Chinese population. Furthermore, the luciferase assay indicated that rs12654778-A allele reduced the relative promoter activity by ~26% compared with rs12654778-G allele (p=0.0034). The chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated that rs12654778 modulated the binding affinity of transcription factor neurofibromin 1. In addition, a significantly reduced expression of ADRB2 in COPD patients was observed, compared with normal controls (p=0.017). Conclusion: Our findings suggest a previously unknown mechanism linking allele-specific effects of rs12654778 on ADRB2 expression to COPD onset, for the first time. Keywords: β2-adrenergic receptor, ADRB2, FEV1, lung, polymorphism

The mission of HL-2A is to explore the key physical topics relevant to ITER and to the advanced tokamak operation (e.g. the operation of future HL-2M), such as the access of H-mode, energetic particle physics, edge-localized mode (ELM) mitigation/suppression and disruption mitigation. Since the 2016 Fusion Energy Conference, the HL-2A team has focused on the investigations on the following areas: (i) pedestal dynamics and L-H transition, (ii) techniques of ELM control, (iii) turbulence and transport, (iv) energetic particle physics. The HL-2A results demonstrated that the increase of mean shear flow plays a key role in triggering L-I and I-H transitions, while the change of flow is mainly induced by the ion pressure gradient. Both mitigation and suppression of ELMs were realized by laser blow-off seeded impurity (Al, Fe, W). The 30% Ne mixture supersonic molecular beam injection seeding also robustly induced ELM mitigation. The ELMs were mitigated by low-hybrid current drive. The stabilization of m/n = 1/1 ion fishbone activities by electron cyclotron resonance heating was found on the HL-2A. A new m/n = 2/1 ion fishbone activity was observed recently, and the modelling indicated that passing fast ions dominantly contribute to the driving of 2/1 fishbone. The non-linear coupling between the toroidal Alfven eigenmode and tearing mode (TM) led to the generation of a high frequency mode with the toroidal mode number n = 0. The turbulence was modulated by TM when the island width exceeds a threshold and the modulation is localized merely in the inner area of the islands. Meanwhile, turbulence radial spread took place across the island region.

Abstract Density profiles in the pedestal region (H-mode) are measured in HL-2A and the characteristics of the density pedestal are described. Cold particle deposition by supersonic molecular beam injection (SMBI) within the pedestal is verified. Edge-localized mode (ELM) mitigation by SMBI into the H-mode pedestal is demonstrated and the relevant physics is elucidated. The sensitivity of the effect to SMBI pressure and duration is studied. Following SMBI, the ELM frequency increases and the ELM amplitude decreases for a finite duration. Increases in ELM frequency of are achieved. This experiment argues that the ELM mitigation results from an increase in higher frequency fluctuations and transport events in the pedestal, which are caused by SMBI. These inhibit the occurrence of large transport events which span the entire pedestal width. The observed change in the density pedestal profiles and edge particle flux spectrum with and without SMBI supports this interpretation. An analysis of the experiment and a model shows that ELMs can be mitigated by SMBI with shallow particle penetration into the pedestal.

An association of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene located on chromosome 11p15.5 and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been demonstrated and replicated by multiple investigators. A specific allele [the 7-repeat of a 48-bp variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in exon 3] has been proposed as an etiological factor in attentional deficits manifested in some children diagnosed with this disorder. In the current study, we evaluated ADHD subgroups defined by the presence or absence of the 7-repeat allele of the DRD4 gene, using neuropsychological tests with reaction time measures designed to probe attentional networks with neuroanatomical foci in D4-rich brain regions. Despite the same severity of symptoms on parent and teacher ratings for the ADHD subgroups, the average reaction times of the 7-present subgroup showed normal speed and variability of response whereas the average reaction times of the 7-absent subgroup showed the expected abnormalities (slow and variable responses). This was opposite the primary prediction of the study. The 7-present subgroup seemed to be free of some of the neuropsychological abnormalities thought to characterize ADHD.

Purpose: Clinical studies with dentifrices formulated with antimicrobial ingredients typically examine the effects of their use on clinical parameters of dental plaque and gingivitis. The effects of routine use of these formulations on the microorganisms found in the distinct regions of the human mouth remain unexplored. The present cross-over design clinical study compared the effects of brushing with a recently formulated dentifrice with 1% zinc citrate to a control dentifrice on oral bacteria found in oral niches.Materials and Methods: A total of 35 adults completed a 1-week wash-out phase prior to providing baseline samples of dental plaque on the teeth, gums, saliva and scrapings from cheeks and tongue to quantify anaerobic bacteria. Subjects brushed twice daily with a randomly assigned test dentifrice for the next 13 days. On the 14th day, they arrived at the dental clinic prior to oral hygiene and provided samples similar to baseline samples for microbiological examinations. Subjects brushed with the test formulation they used in the previous 13 days, prior to providing additional samples at 5-h post-brushing for microbial assessments. An additional wash-out phase was assigned to subjects prior to completing the study with the alternate test dentifrice.Results: Analyses of log10-transformed microbial counts indicated no statistical differences in the baseline samples from each oral site (P > 0.05), while brushing with the zinc citrate dentifrice resulted in a significant reduction in bacteria in each post-brushing oral site versus the control paste (P < 0.05). Brushing with the zinc citrate dentifrice resulted in 38.56%, 23.57%, 26.24% and 29.1% decreases in anaerobic bacteria from dental plaque, tongue, cheek and saliva, respectively, in the overnight samples collected on the 14th day versus the control. Similarly, the 5-h post-brushing samples indicated 24.8%, 34.25%, 37.98% and 38.31% reductions in anaerobic organisms when compared with control.Conclusions: Toothbrushing with the zinc citrate formulation resulted in significant reductions in oral bacteria from all of the intraoral locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease with a higher prevalence in women. Expression of estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) gene has been identified throughout the brain. Owing to the putative neuroprotective effects of estrogen, estrogen receptor gene is a potential candidate modulating the development of AD. Preliminary associations between two polymorphisms of ESR1 (PvuII and XbaI) gene and AD have been reported.Methods: In this study, 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the ESR1 gene (including four commonly studied ESR1 SNPs and 12 other tagging SNPs selected from the HapMap database) were investigated to further evaluate the association between ESR1 polymorphisms and the risk of AD in the Chinese population.Results: A total of 233 Chinese AD patients and 245 age-matched elderly control subjects were recruited. Genetic associations were analyzed by chi-square test and interaction effect was analysed by logistic regression analysis. Five SNPs (clustered between intron 3 and intron 7) were associated with the risk of AD (p-value ranges from 0.001 to 0.035); another two SNPs (located on exon 2 and intron 2) were shown to modulate the age-at-onset (AAO) in AD (p-value = 0.036 and 0.011).Conclusions: ESR1 gene polymorphisms may be associated with the AAO in AD. The present results provided information for possible associations between certain polymorphisms of ESR1 gene and the risk of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Suicide is the most common cause of death among youth in China.MethodA case-control psychological autopsy study in 23 geographically representative disease surveillance points around China collected information from family members and close associates of 114 persons aged 15-24 years who died by suicide (cases) and 91 who died of other injuries (controls). RESULTS: Among the 114 suicides 61% were female, 88% lived in rural villages, 70% died by ingesting pesticides (most commonly stored in the home), 24% previously attempted suicide, and 45% met criteria of a mental illness at the time of death. Multivariate logistic regression identified several independent risk factors: severe life events within 2 days before death (OR 31.8, 95% CI 2.6-390.6), presence of any depressive symptoms within 2 weeks of death (OR 21.1, 95% CI 4.6-97.2), low quality of life in the month before death (OR 9.7, 95% CI 2.8-34.1), and acute stress at time of death (moderate: OR 3.1, 95% CI 0.8-11.9; high: OR 9.1, 95% CI 1.2-66.8). A significant interaction between mental illness at time of death and gender indicated that diagnosis was an important predictor of suicide in males (OR 14.0, 95% CI 2.6-76.5) but not in females (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.0-3.6). Prior suicide attempt was related to suicide in the univariate analysis (OR 57.5) but could not be included in the multivariate model because no controls had made prior attempts. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide prevention efforts for youth in China must focus on restricting access to pesticides, early recognition and management of depressive symptoms and mental illnesses, improving resiliency, and enhancing quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]