Endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) transplantation has therapeutic effects in cerebral ischemia. However, how EPCs modulate microglial activity remains unclear. In the study, we explored whether EPCs modulated microglial/macrophage activity and facilitated injured brain repair. Adult male mice (n = 184) underwent transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, and EPCs were transplanted into the brain immediately after ischemia. Microglial/macrophage activity and complement receptor 3 (CR3) expression were evaluated in ischemic brains and cultured microglia. CR3 agonist leukadherin-1...

Abstract Tumor phototheranostics holds a great promise on account of its high spatiotemporal resolution, tumor-specificity, and noninvasiveness. However, physical limitation of light penetration and “always on” properties of conventional photothermal-conversion agents usually cause difficulty in accurate diagnosis and completely elimination of tumor. Meanwhile, nanozymes mediated Fenton reactions can well utilize the tumor microenvironment (TME) to generate hydroxyl radicals for chemodynamic therapy (CDT), but limited by the concentration of H2O2 in TME and the delivery efficiency...

ObjectivesTo explore the associated factors of otitis media with effusion (OME) and analyze the diagnostic value of the adenoid-nasopharyngeal (A/N) ratio to OME.MethodsPatients with adenoid hypertrophy (AH) recently in 2 years were collected, including sex, age, duration, with/without rhinosinusitis, and examination results, including Cone Beam Computerized Tomography (CBCT) sinus imaging, tympanometry, pure tone audiometry (PTA), blood test, and allergen detection. According to Liden/Jerger’s classification, the patients were divided into two groups: Type B and type...

Abstract Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often accompanied by intellectual disability (ID). Despite extensive studies, however, the genetic basis for this comorbidity is still not clear. In this study, we tried to develop an analyzing pipeline for de novo mutations and possible pathways related to ID phenotype in ASD. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed to screen de novo mutations and candidate genes in 79 ASD children together with their parents (trios). The de novo...

Abstract Introduction Stellate ganglion block has been reported to expand cerebral vessels and alleviate vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. However, the causal relationship between early stellate ganglion block and cerebral vasospasm prevention has not yet been established. The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness and safety of early stellate ganglion block as a preventive treatment for cerebral vasospasm and delayed cerebral ischemia. Methods/design This is a single-center, prospective, randomized, controlled, blinded endpoint...

Abstract Background Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids poses a threat to medical providers and to nurses especially. This harm is not only physical, but psychology as well and can ultimately impact patient safety. This study aims to understand the prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids among Chinese registered nurses and explores the factors that influence this exposure. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted for 31 province-level divisions in China,...

Abstract Background Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has been proven to be a promising tumor-specific biomarker in solid tumors, but its clinical utility in risk stratification and early prediction of relapse for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has not been well explored. Methods Here, using a lymphoma-specific sequencing panel, we assessed the prognostic and predictive utilities of ctDNA measurements before, during, and after first-line therapy in 73 Chinese DLBCL patients. Results The pretreatment ctDNA level...

Neural network-based inverse lithography technology (NNILT) has been used to improve the computational efficiency of large-scale mask optimization for advanced photolithography. NNILT is now mostly based on labels, and its performance is affected by the quality of labels. It is difficult for NNILT to achieve high performance and extrapolation ability for mask optimization without using labels. Here, we propose a label-free NNILT (LF-NNILT), which is implemented completely without labels and greatly improves the printability of...

Abstract Background Understanding resident physicians’ perceptions of competency-based medical education(CBME) may help improve approaches for implementing such education in standardized resident training (SRT). We conducted surveys of residents in China to identify their perceptions of CBME and determine the degree to which such education impacts their career plans. Methods Questionnaire contained a total of 24 questions, which were answered using multiple choice or yes/no, was distributed to residents who were undergoing SRT, regardless of specialty,...

Abstract Background Laryngeal cancer (LC) is the second frequent malignant head and neck cancer around world, while LC patients’ prognosis is unsatisfactory. This study aims to investigate the prognostic value of tumor mutation burden (TMB)-related genes in LC. Methods LC data was downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases. TMB values of all samples were calculated basing on mutation data. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between LC samples with distinct TMB...

Abstract Background Mammalian sperm maturation in the epididymis is mainly modulated by exosomes that are secreted into the epididymal lumen from epididymal epithelial cells (EECs). Exposure to oxidative stress (OS) resulting from being fed a high fat diet (HFD) reduces sperm fertility, which is one of the cause inducing male infertility. Thus, we hypothesize that stress-induced changes in exosome content play a critical role in mediating this detrimental process. Methods An obese mouse model was...

Abstract Objective Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with elevated morbidity and mortality, and it usually occurs in older adults. Our goal here was to assess the efficacies of muscle mass-related biomarkers, such as, aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase (AST/ALT) and creatinine/cystatin C*100 (Cr/CysC*100), in predicting 1-, 2-, and 3-year mortalities of older CAP patients. Methods Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting and Participants: A teaching hospital in western China. Hospitalized CAP patients, aged≥60 years. We separated patients into...

Abstract Background Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is one of the most lethal breast cancer subtypes. Due to a lack of effective therapeutic targets, chemotherapy is still the main medical treatment for TNBC patients. Thus, it is important and necessary to find new therapeutic targets for TNBC. Recent genomic studies implicated the Hippo / Yap signal is over activated in TNBC, manifesting it plays a key role in TNBC carcinogenesis and cancer progression. RBCK1 was...

Abstract Objective Using bipolar disorder (BD) as a control, we explored the possible developmental process of impaired glucose metabolism rhythm. Methods In total, 441 subjects (77, 162, 134, 54, and 14 in the pre-diabetes [pre-DM], DM, BD, BD + pre-DM, and BD + DM groups, respectively) and 160 controls were included. All subjects were assessed using the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid (HPT) axes were measured. Results Cluster analysis...

Abstract Objectives To quantify the dose-response relationship of changes in pelvic bone marrow (PBM) functional MR radiomic features (RF) during concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for patients with cervical cancer and establish the correlation with hematologic toxicity to provide a basis for PBM sparing. Methods A total of 54 cervical cancer patients who received CCRT were studied retrospectively. Patients underwent MRI IDEAL IQ and T2 fat suppression (T2fs) scanning pre- and post-CCRT. The PBM RFs were extracted...

Abstract Objectives To quantify the dose-response relationship of changes in pelvic bone marrow (PBM) functional MR radiomic features (RF) during concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for patients with cervical cancer and establish the correlation with hematologic toxicity to provide a basis for PBM sparing. Methods A total of 54 cervical cancer patients who received CCRT were studied retrospectively. Patients underwent MRI IDEAL IQ and T2 fat suppression (T2fs) scanning pre- and post-CCRT. The PBM RFs were extracted...

Abstract Background Little is known about patients’ intention for participation in end-of-life decisions (EOLD) in three coastal provinces in southern China. This study aimed to explore the willingness of patients with cancer pain to participate in EOLD and potential influencing factors. Methods A multi-center cross-sectional study was performed in three coastal provinces in southern China. Two hundred and thirty patients with cancer pain were recruited and consented to fill out the questionnaires. The patients’ willingness...

Abstract Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) cells have been regarded as attractive alternatives to achieve higher energy densities because of their theoretical specific energy far beyond the lithium-ion cells. However, the achieved results of Li–S cells are exaggerating the cycle performance in their pouch formats because the considerable works are based on the coin cells where flood electrolyte and endless Li supply ensure the Li metal with nature structure features, resulting in a negligible effect on cycle performance...

Abstract Objective The purpose of our study was to perform a meta-analysis and systematic review to compare differences in clinical manifestations and chest computed tomography (CT) findings between immunocompetent and immunocompromised pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC) patients. Methods An extensive search for relevant studies was performed using the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Sciences databases from inception to September 30, 2021. We included studies that compared the clinical manifestations and chest CT findings between immunocompetent...

Abstract Flowering time and active accumulated temperature (AAT) are two key factors that limit the expanded production especially for soybean across different regions. Wild soybean provides an important germplasm for functional genomics study in cultivar soybean. However, the studies on genetic basis underlying flowering time in response to AAT especially in wild soybean were rarely reported. In this study, we used 294 wild soybean accessions derived from major soybean production region characterized by different AAT...

Abstract Background and aims Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) are increasingly being studied in clinical trials of end-stage liver disease because of their good tissue repair and anti-inflammatory effects. hUC-MSC exosomes are vesicles with spherical structures secreted by cells that produce them. The diameter of exosomes is much smaller than that of hUC-MSCs, suggesting that exosomes might be a novel and safer therapeutic product of mesenchymal stem cells. As exosomes have been suggested...

Abstract Background Non-alcoholic simple fatty liver disease patients have very low compliance with almost all types of physical activities. A transtheoretical model-oriented lifestyle modification plan awakens the patient’s consciousness in the pre-intention stage. Aim to evaluate whether a management by stages of change plan based on the Transtheoretical Model and Stages of Change promoted behavior change for patients with non-alcoholic simple fatty liver disease. Methods Patients with simple fatty liver diagnosed from July to December...

Abstract Background To investigate the effect of tea consumption on the improvement of postoperative quality of life in male patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods The quality of life information of 290 male patients with ESCC was collected. The time to deterioration and the number of events in each area of quality of life was calculated by time-to-deterioration (TTD) model. The association between postoperative tea drinking and postoperative quality of life in male...

Abstract Background To investigate the effect of tea consumption on the improvement of postoperative quality of life in male patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods The quality of life information of 290 male patients with ESCC was collected. The time to deterioration and the number of events in each area of quality of life was calculated by time-to-deterioration (TTD) model. The association between postoperative tea drinking and postoperative quality of life in male...

Background:Returning to social life after the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown may increase risk of social anxiety, which is highly co-morbid with depression. However, few studies have reported the association between them.Aims:To explore the complex relationship between social anxiety and depression symptoms in left-behind children after the lifting of the COVID-19 lockdown.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted 6 months after the lockdown removal. A total of 3,107 left-behind children completed the survey with a mean age of...