Outcomes of endoscopic modified cartilage-perichondrium tympanoplasty on different sized perforations.

Objectives: To evaluate the anatomic and functional outcomes of type1 tympanoplasty with endoscopic modified butterfly cartilage-perichondrium technique.

Methods: In our modification, perichondrium was elevated circumferentially till the attached part of the composite graft was approximately same size and shape of the perforation, cartilage was trimmed based on the perforation but 0.5 mm larger.

The Contribution of Mosaic Chromosomal Alterations to Schizophrenia.

Background: Mosaic chromosomal alterations are implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, but the contribution to schizophrenia (SCZ) risk for somatic copy number variations (sCNVs) emerging in early developmental stages has not been fully established.

Methods: We analyzed blood-derived genotype arrays from 9715 patients with SCZ and 28,822 control participants of Chinese descent using a computational tool (MoChA) based on long-range chromosomal information to detect mosaic chromosomal alterations. We focused on probable early developmental sCNVs through stringent filtering.

Olgotrelvir as a Single-Agent Treatment of Nonhospitalized Patients with Covid-19.

Background: Olgotrelvir is an oral antiviral with dual mechanisms of action targeting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 main protease (i.e., M) and human cathepsin L.

Iron overload promotes hemochromatosis-associated osteoarthritis via the mTORC1-p70S6K/4E-BP1 pathway.

Backgrounds: Joint iron overload in hemochromatosis induces M1 polarization in synovial macrophages, releasing pro-inflammatory factors and leading to osteoarthritis development. However, the mechanism by which iron overload regulates M1 polarization remains unclear. This study aims to elucidate the mechanism by which synovial iron overload promotes macrophage M1 polarization.

Intrahepatic Venous Collateral Circulation and Reverse Blood Flow After Main Hepatic Vein Obstruction: A Case Report with Literature Review.

BACKGROUND Alveolar echinococcosis, a lethal parasitic disease, can invade important vessels in the liver. A liver vascular anomaly causes compensatory changes in other blood vessels connected to it because of the close relationship between them. Obstruction of the retrohepatic inferior vena cava and the second hilum can form the intrahepatic venous network and the vertebral venous plexus pathway, which can be demonstrated by hepatic venography and anatomical and autopsy studies.

Structural Comparison and Drug Screening of Spike Proteins of Ten SARS-CoV-2 Variants.

SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) has evolved many variants with stronger infectivity and immune evasion than the original strain, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Kappa, Iota, Lambda, and 21H strains. Amino acid mutations are enriched in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which plays a crucial role in cell infection. However, the impact of these mutations on protein structure and function is unclear.

Structural Analysis of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Proteins.

The spread of the latest SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron is particularly concerning because of the large number of mutations present in its genome and lack of knowledge about how these mutations would affect the current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and treatments. Here, by performing phylogenetic analysis using the Omicron spike (S) protein sequence, we found that the Omicron S protein presented the longest evolutionary distance in relation to the other SARS-CoV-2 variants. We predicted the structures of S, M, and N proteins of the Omicron variant using AlphaFold2 and investigated how the mutations have affected the S protein and its parts, S1 NTD and RBD, in detail.

Current Practice of Acute Appendicitis Diagnosis and Management in China (PANDA-C): A National Cross-Sectional Survey.

The aim of this study was to describe and analyze the current status of the diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis in China. An online record system was used to collect data retrospectively from 52 medical centers in mainland China. All patients with acute appendicitis who were first treated at the hospital in 2017 were included and followed up for one year.

Genetic risk of clozapine-induced leukopenia and neutropenia: a genome-wide association study.

Background: Clozapine is considered to be the most effective antipsychotic medication for schizophrenia. However, it is associated with several adverse effects such as leukopenia, and the underlying mechanism has not yet been fully elucidated. The authors performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a Chinese population to identify genetic markers for clozapine-induced leukopenia (CIL) and clozapine-induced neutropenia (CIN).

Diagnosis, treatment, and misdiagnosis analysis of 28 cases of central nervous system echinococcosis.

Background: To explore central nervous system (CNS) involvement in this disease, from the perspectives of diagnosis, treatment, and misdiagnosis METHODS: Twenty-eight patients with CNS echinococcosis were included in this retrospective study, including 18 males (64.3%) and 10 (35.7%) females.

The amino acid variants in HLA II molecules explain the major association with adult-onset Still's disease in the Han Chinese population.

Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a rare autoinflammatory disease with systemic involvement, and its pathophysiology remains unclear. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in the Chinese population have revealed an association between AOSD and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) locus; however, causal variants in the MHC remain undetermined. In the present study, we identified independent amino-acid polymorphisms in human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules that are associated with Han Chinese patients with AOSD by fine-mapping the MHC locus.

SNX29, a new susceptibility gene shared with major mental disorders in Han Chinese population.

Objectives: Environmental and genetic factors play important roles in the development of schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BPD) or major depressive disorder (MDD). Some risk loci are identified with shared genetic effects on major psychiatric disorders. To investigate whether gene played a significant role in these psychiatric disorders in the Han Chinese population.

UPLC-MS-based urine nontargeted metabolic profiling identifies dysregulation of pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis pathway in diabetic kidney disease.

Aims: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a major prevalent chronic microvascular complication of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the present diagnostic indicators have limitations in the early diagnosis of DKD. This study concentrated on the sensitive and specific biomarkers in early diagnosis of DKD by metabolomics.

Four Loci Are Associated with Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Endurance Performance in Young Chinese Females.

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and endurance performance are characterized by a complex genetic trait with high heritability. Although research has identified many physiological and environmental correlates with CRF, the genetic architecture contributing to CRF remains unclear, especially in non-athlete population. A total of 762 Chinese young female participants were recruited and an endurance run test was used to determine CRF.

Cigarette smoking and schizophrenia: Mendelian randomisation study.

Background: The link between schizophrenia and cigarette smoking has been well established through observational studies. However, the cause-effect relationship remains unclear.

Aims: We conducted Mendelian randomisation analyses to assess any causal relationship between genetic variants related to four smoking-related traits and the risk of schizophrenia.

Common variants in FAN1, located in 15q13.3, confer risk for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in Han Chinese.

Multiple genetic risk factors have been associated with psychiatric disorders which provides the genetic insight to these disorders; however, the etiology of these disorders is still elusive. 15q13.3 was previously associated with schizophrenia, bipolar and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Aspirin use and endometrial cancer risk: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

Background: The use of aspirin has been linked to a reduced risk of cancer at several sites, such as the breast, prostate, and colorectum. However, the evidence for this chemopreventive effect from aspirin use on endometrial cancer is conflicting, and whether an association exists is an open question.

Methods: After carrying out a database search of articles published up to December 2019, we identified 7 case-control studies and 11 cohort studies, including a total of 14,766 endometrial cancer cases.

[The association between carotid atherosclerosis and ischemic stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation].

To investigate the relationship between indicators of carotid atherosclerosis and onset of ischemic stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This is a case-control study, a total of 397 NVAF patients with newly diagnosed ischemic stroke (case group) and 3 038 NVAF patients without ischemic stroke (control group) from January 2015 to December 2017 were included in the study. Differences in general clinical features and carotid atherosclerosis indexes between the two groups were compared.