Objective To explore the risk factors of acute respiratory failure(ARF)in adult patients with community-acquired pneu-monia(CAP),and thereby construct and validate the efficacy of nomogram model.Methods The clinical and laboratory data of 172 adult CAP patients admitted to Taikang Xianlin Drum Tower Hospital affiliated to Nanjing University School of Medicine from January 2018 to December 2021 were retrospectively collected.The patients were divided into two groups based on whether they had concurrent ARF.After the comparison for the differences of single factor between the two groups,collinearity analysis was assessed.The risk fac-tors were then screened by binary logistic regression analysis with forward stepwise regression method.A nomogram model was subse-quently constructed and the discrimination and accuracy of the model were evaluated by ROC and colibration curves.Results Among the 172 CAP patients,53 cases(30.8％)developed ARF.The results of univariate analysis showed that the CAP patients with concur-rent ARF group had higher age,CURB-65 score and inflammatory markers than the non-concurrent ARF group,and the incidence of complex infection(culturing two or more pathogenic bacteria)was high.The values of CRP(C-reactive protein)and BUN/Alb(blood urea nitrogen/albumin)were significantly different between the two groups(53.910[25.900,101.200]vs.23.300[6.800,48.930],0.231[0.160,0.302]vs.0.123[0.089,0.171],P＜0.05).Multivariate analysis indicated:glucose(Glu)≥6.06 mmol/L(odds ra-tio(OR):2.737,95％confidence interval(CI):1.116-7.037),AST(aspartate aminotransferase)≥22.5 U/L(OR:4.291,95％CI:1.779-11.120),fibrinogen(Fib)≤3.83 g/L(OR:3.955,95％CI:1.631-10.237),uric acid(UA)188.07 μmol/L(OR:4.617,95％CI:1.859-12.489),BUN/Alb≥0.15 mmol/g(OR:6.381,95％CI:2.423-18.513),total number of multicomor-bidity≥3(OR:6.191,95％CI:2.088-21.905)were the risk factors(P＜0.05).All the screened indicators were incorporate into the nomogram model and its efficacy was verified.The results showed that the area under the curve of the model was 0.888[95％CI:0.840-0.935](P＜0.05),the sensitivity was 0.868,and the specificity was 0.790.The calibration curve showed that the predicted probability of adult CAP patients-associated with ARF was in good consistency with the observed probability(Briser Score:0.125;H-L test:x2=7.563,P=0.477).Conclusion The established model has a good ability to predict adult CAP associated with ARF,and can provide a reference basis for early clinical prediction and intervention treatment.

Objective To investigate the effect of resveratrol on the proliferation,apoptosis,and migration of breast cancer cells and its mechanism and correlation with immune cell infiltration.Methods The network pharmacology and bioinformatics(GEPIA and KM-PLOT databases)were used to predict the target genes of breast cancer regulated by resveratrol,and their expression levels in breast cancer and correlations with immune cell infiltration were verified.The effects of resveratrol on the proliferation,cell cycle and apopto-sis,and migration of breast cancer cells were determined by the CCK-8 assay,flow cytometry,and cell scratch test,respectively.The mRNA expression levels of related target genes were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR).Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlations of the expression levels of related genes with immune cell infiltration.Results The expression levels of TP53 and VEGFA genes in breast cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in normal tissues(Z=-4.181 and-8.763,P＜0.05).In the GEPIA database,the expression level of CDKN1A gene in breast cancer tis-sues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues(Z=-2.135,P＜0.05).In the KMPLOT database,the expression level of HIF1α gene in breast cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues(Z=-2.269,P＜0.05).Pearson correlation a-nalysis showed that the expression level of TP53 gene was positively correlated with B cell infiltration(partial.cor=0.102,P＜0.01).The expression level of HIF-1α was positively correlated with the infiltration of CD8+T cells,CD4+T cells,monocytes,neutrophils,and dendritic cells(partial.cor=0.39,0.159,0.284,0.325,and 0.294,P＜0.01).The expression level of VEGFA gene was positive-ly correlated with neutrophil infiltration(partial.cor=0.141,P＜0.01).The expression level of CDKN1A gene was positively correlated with the infiltration of CD8+T cells,monocytes,neutrophils,and dendritic cells(partial.cor=0.081,0.209,0.11,and 0.09,P＜0.01).Resveratrol could inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer cells,and the IC50 and IC25 values of breast cancer cells were 150 μmol/L and 50 μmol/L,respectively,after 48 hours of treatment with resveratrol.In addition,resveratrol could also arrest breast cancer cells in G1 phase,induce their apoptosis,and inhibit their migration.After treating breast cancer cells with resveratrol for 24 hours,with the increase of resveratrol concentration from 50 μmol/L to 150 μmol/L,the mRNA expression levels of TP53 and HIF1α genes increased gradually,with a significant difference between the two groups(P＜0.05).After treating breast cancer cells with res-veratrol for 48 hours,the expression level of VEGFA mRNA was significantly decreased,and there was a significant difference between the two groups(P＜0.05).Conclusion TP53,HIF-1α,VEGFA,and CDKN1A genes are the action targets of resveratrol in breast cancer,which are mainly involved in the regulation of immune cell infiltration in breast cancer.Resveratrol inhibits the proliferation of breast cancer cells,induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis,and inhibits cell migration by regulating the P53-HIF1α/CDKN1A-VEGFA signaling pathway.

Objective To identify serum metabolic markers served in the clinical diagnosis of ulcerative colitis(UC).Methods Ser-um samples from 29 UC patients,31 Crohn's disease(CD)patients,and 21 matched healthy controls(HC)admitted to Department of Gastroenterology,Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital during September 2022 and March 2024 were collected.The ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q Exactive HF-X)technology was used to detect and analyze serum metabolites.A partial least squares discrimination analysis(PLS-DA)model was constructed,and the metabolites significantly up-regulated in UC were screened based on the variable importance in projection(VIP)score＞1,P value＜0.05,and fold change(FC)＞1.2.The pathway enrichment analysis was performed using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)database to reveal the biological pathways involved in the metabolites.The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUCROC)was calculated to evaluate the diagnostic potential of the differential metabolites.Results A total of 1 522 metabo-lites were identified from the three sample groups.Among them,4 metabolites,namely leucodopachrome(VIP=1.964,P＜0.05,FC=1.916),tetrahydrodipicolinate(VIP=1.74,P＜0.05,FC=2.65),N-ethylmaleimide(VIP=1.519,P＜0.05,FC=1.597),and 5,6-dihydroxyindole(VIP=3.018,P＜0.05,FC=1.575),were significantly up-regulated in UC.Their AUCROC values for distinguishing UC from CD were 0.788(95%CI:0.655-0.921),0.773(95%CI:0.639-0.907),0.834(95%CI:0.720-0.949),and 0.899(95%CI:0.821-0.977),respectively,while those for distinguishing UC from HC were 0.966(95%CI:0.924-1.000),0.926(95%CI:0.857-0.995),0.969(95%CI:0.928-1.000),and 0.910(95%CI:0.830-0.990),respectively.KEGG pathway analysis showed that the up-regulated metabolites in UC were primarily enriched in biological pathways such as tyrosine metabolism,glycerophospholipid me-tabolism,and arachidonic acid metabolism.Conclusion The serum metabolic profile of UC patients is significantly changed,and the four differential metabolites mentioned above may serve as effective biomarkers for the differential diagnosis of UC,CD,and HC.

Objective To investigate the clinicopathological parameters and risk factors of the patients with connective tissue disease-associated interstitial lung disease(CTD-ILD)complicated with Epstein-Barr virus(EBV)viraemia.Methods The CTD-ILD pa-tients admitted to Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from January 2023 to April 2024 were collected.Based on the detection results of EBV DNA,the patients were divided into the EBV DNA(+)group and EBV DNA(-)group.The clinicopathological parameters of the two groups were analyzed.Results Out of 162 CTD-ILD patients who underwent EBV DNA testing,a total of 28 were found to have EBV viraemia.The levels of serum albumin([32.7±4.1]g/L vs[34.8±3.8]g/L,t=2.559,P＜0.05),oxygenation index([268.5±94.0]mmHg vs[323.2±120.9]mmHg,t=2.062,P＜0.05),and percentages of predicted diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide([30.9±15.3]% vs[44.9±18.8]%,t=2.127,P＜0.05])in the EBV DNA(+)group were significantly lower than those in the EBV DNA(-)group,while the levels of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH,[369.1±206.2]U/L vs[298.8±128.7]U/L,t=2.335,P＜0.05)were significantly higher than that in the EBV DNA(-)group.The acute exacerbation of ILD in the EBV DNA(+)group was more common than that in the EBV DNA(-)group(P＜0.05).Multivariate Lo-gistic analysis showed that honeycombing and low oxygenation index were independent risk factors of CTD-ILD patients complicated with EBV viraemia.Conclusion The CTD-ILD patients complicated with EBV viraemia have poorer oxygenation and are more prone to suf-fer from acute exacerbation of ILD.Honeycombing in chest HRCT and low oxygenation index are independent risk factors of CTD-ILD patients complicated with EBV viraemia.

Objective To investigate the role and mechanism of inflammatory marker C5a in regulating the polarization of M2 macro-phages as well as its clinical application value in the prognosis evaluation of lung cancer.Methods The phorbol 12-myristate 13-ace-tate(PMA)-pulsed human monocytic leukemia cell line THP-1 was stimulated with C5a for 0,6,12,24,and 48 h or 0,1,2,3,6,and 12 h,and then the expression levels of M2 markers CD163 and CD206 mRNA were determined by real-time fluorescence quantita-tive PCR(qRT-PCR).The expression level of general control non-repressed protein 5(GCN5)with histone acetyltransferase(HAT)activity was detected by Western blot.Co-immunoprecipitation(co-IP)was used to determine the acetylation of GATA binding protein 3(GATA3),a key transcription factor for macrophages,and its binding ability to GCN5 and E1A binding protein p300(Ep300/p300).After the macrophages pre-treated with GCN5 inhibitor butyrolactone 3(MB-3)were stimulated with C5a,the expression levels of CD163 and CD206,acetylation of GATA3,and its binding ability to GCN5 were determined by Western blot and co-IP.The clinical significance of the expression of C5a receptor 1(C5aR1)and GCN5 in lung cancer tissues in the prognosis of lung cancer patients was analyzed using the KM plotter database.Results C5a could significantly increase the expression levels of CD163 and CD206 mRNA,expression of GCN5,acetylation of GATA3,and its binding ability to GCN5 in PMA-induced adherent macrophages,but did not affect the binding of GATA3 to p300.Inhibiting the activity of GCN5 not only significantly reduced the acetylation of GATA3 and its binding ability to GCN5,but also down-regulated the expressions of CD163 and CD206.The overall survival rate of lung cancer patients with high expression of C5aR1 or GCN5 was significantly reduced.Conclusion C5a promotes the polarization of M2 macrophages by indu-cing GCN5 to acetylate GATA3.The expressions of C5aR1 and GCN5 in lung cancer tissues may have certain clinical application value for the prognosis of the patients.

Objective To investigate the expression level and clinical significance of circular RNAs(circRNAs)in serum extracellular vesicles(EVs)of patients with recurrent spontaneous abortion(RSA).Methods The serum samples from 3 RSA patients and 3 nor-mal pregnant women(controls)visited our hospital from May 2021 to March 2023 were collected and the gene expression profiling chips were used to screen for differentially expressed circRNAs in serum EVs.Ten RSA patients and 10 normal pregnant women were enrolled in a training set and 80 RSA patients and 64 normal pregnant women were enrolled in a validation set.Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)was used to detect the levels of differentially expressed circRNAs between the two groups.The predictive value of differentially expressed circRNAs for RSA was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results A total of 57 563 circRNAs in serum EVs were detected by the gene expression profiling chips.Compared with the control group,3 516 circRNAs were differentially expressed in RSA patients,including 2 377 up-regulated and 1 139 down-regulated.The de-tection results of qRT-PCR in the training set and validation set showed that the expression levels of hsa＿circ＿0054403 in serum EVs of RSA patients(2.07[1.00,6.68])was significantly higher than that in the control group(1.00[0.42,1.46],U=1 239,P＜0.01),while those of hsa＿circ＿0020897(0.33[0.11,1.40]vs 1.00[0.46,3.66],U=1 712,P＜0.01)and hsa＿circ＿0072745(0.49[0.22,1.60]vs 1.00[0.51,7.93],U=1 714,P＜0.01)were significantly lower than that in the control group.The ROC curve showed that the hsa＿circ＿0054403,hsa＿circ＿0020897,and hsa＿circ＿0072745 in serum EVs had high predictive value for RSA.Their AUCROC were 0.758,0.666,and 0.664,respectively,and the corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 47.5% and 100.0%,50.0% and 81.2%,and 62.5% and 70.3%,respectively.When the three circRNAs were combined,it's AUCROC,sensitivity,and specificity were 0.842,73.7%,and 79.7%,respectively.Conclusion The hsa＿circ＿0054403,hsa＿circ＿0020897,and hsa＿circ＿0072745 in serum EVs of RSA patients are abnormally expressed,which may serve as the potential markers for predicting RSA.

Objective To investigate the infection status and clinical parameters of human metapneumovirus(HMPV)in children with acute respiratory tract infections in Jianyang area.Methods A total of 2 669 hospitalized children with acute respiratory tract infec-tions at Jianyang People's Hospital from March 2023 to February 2024 were enrolled.Thirteen kinds of respiratory pathogens were de-tected using multiplex PCR and capillary electrophoresis.The clinical data of HMPV-infected children were collected and analyzed.Re-sults Out of 2 669 children with acute respiratory tract infections,209 were detected with HMPV,with a positive rate of 7.83%.HMPV-positive children were mainly concentrated in under 5 years old(73.21%),with cough,fever,wheezing,and shortness of breath as main clinical manifestations.The rate of single HMPV infection was 58.85%,and those of mixed bacterial infection and mixed viral infection were 26.69% and 13.88%,respectively.The levels of white blood cells(WBC),lymphocytes(LYM),platelets(PLT),C-reactive protein(CRP),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),lactate dehydrogenase(LDH),troponin I(cTn I),and procalcitonin(PCT)in the mixed infection group were significantly higher than those in the single HMPV infection group(P＜0.05),while the levels of hemoglobin(Hb),total protein(TP),and creatinine(Cr)were significantly lower than those in the single HMPV infection group(P＜0.05).Compared with the non-severe pneumonia group,the levels of WBC,Hb,PLT,and CRP in the severe pneumonia group were significantly increased(P＜0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age＜3 years,co-infection,and CRP≥20 mg/L were risk factors for severe HMPV pneumonia(P＜0.05).Conclusion HMPV is one of the important pathogens causing acute respiratory tract infections in children in Jianyang area.The elevated levels of some laboratory indicators are associated with the severity of infection.Early and comprehensive bacteriological testing and detection of inflammatory markers are beneficial for guiding clinical treatment.

Objective To investigate the expression level of tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein zeta(YWHAZ)in breast cancer tissues and its effect on the proliferation,migration,and invasion ability of breast cancer MCF-7 cells.Methods Real-time quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR)was used to detect the expression levels of YWHAZ in the cancer tissues of 96 breast cancer patients.The correlations of the expression levels of YWHAZ in cancer tissues with clinical pathological parameters and prognosis of the patients were analyzed by the Pearson method.The effects of down-regulating YWHAZ on the proliferation,migration,and invasion ability of MCF-7 cells were verified by the CCK-8,cell scratch,and Transwell assays.The changes in the expression lev-els of epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)related proteins such as E-cadherin and Vimentin were detected by the Western blot.Results The expression levels of YWHAZ in cancer tissues of patients with triple-negative breast cancer(2.659±0.214,t=2.815,P=0.012)and non-triple-negative breast cancer(1.822±0.165,t=5.079,P=0.001)were significantly higher than that in adjacent tissues.The expression levels of YWHAZ in breast cancer tissues were related to vascular invasion,lymph node metastasis,distant me-tastasis,TNM stage,pathological classification and recurrence(P＜0.05).Among the breast cancer patients with TNM stages I toⅣ,the recurrence-free survival rate(χ2=31.10,P＜0.000 1)and overall survival rate(χ2=18.99,P＜0.000 1)of patients with higher levels of YWHAZ were significantly shorter than those of patients with lower levels of YWHAZ.The expression level of YWHAZ was an independent risk factor for the poor prognosis of breast cancer patients.The down-regulation of YWHAZ could inhibit the proliferation(F=10.73,P=0.000 4),migration(t=20.88,P=0.002 3)and invasion(t=13.72,P=0.000 2)ability of MCF-7 cells.Western blot confirmed that down-regulating the expression of YWHAZ could lead to an increase in the levels of E-cadherin protein(4.478±0.832,t=8.45,P=0.013 7)and an reduce in the levels of Vimentin protein(0.549±0.143,t=6.86,P=0.020 6).Conclusion The abnormal high expression of YWHAZ is closely related to the occurrence,development,and poor prognosis of breast cancer.The down-regulation of YWHAZ can inhibit the proliferation,migration,invasion,and EMT progression of breast cancer MCF-7 cells.

Objective To identify and cluster non-O1/O139 Vibrio cholerae(NOVC)using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry(MALDI-TOF MS),and evaluate the feasibility of MALDI-TOF MS as a method for the identification and clustering of NOVC.Methods The NOVC was identified by the MALDI-TOF MS equipped with V5 database,V12 database,highly pathogenic bacteria database,and V5 database combined with self-built spectrum projection and analyzed by the principal com-ponent analysis(PCA)and main spectrum projection(MSP)clustering.Results The NOVC was incorrectly identified as Vibrio al-bensis by the MALDI-TOF MS equipped with V5 database or V12 database,while the MALDI-TOF MS equipped with highly pathogenic bacteria database or V5 database combined with self-built spectrum projection could correctly identify NOVC.The PCA clustering of MALDI-TOF MS could distinguish NOVC from other bacterial strains and refine the differentiation of NOVC species to show the dis-tance relationship between NOVC species.Some spectrum projections of NOVC were extremely similar to the reference strains used to establish the database,and MSP clustering could not distinguish the differences between NOVC species.Conclusion The identifica-tion ability of MALDI-TOF MS for NOVC is limited by its database.The MALDI-TOF MS equipped with highly pathogenic bacteria da-tabase or V5 database combined with the self-built spectrum projection can accurately identify NOVC.The PCA clustering of MALDI-TOF MS has certain reference significance for the intra-and inter-species identification and homology analysis of NOVC.

Objective To investigate the proportions of myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs)and their subsets,including poly-morphonuclear MDSCs(PMN-MDSCs),early-stage MDSCs(e-MDSCs),monocytic MDSCs(M-MDSCs),and lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1(LOX-1)positive PMN-MDSCs,in the peripheral blood of ovarian cancer(OC)patients and ana-lyze their correlations with clinicopathological parameters of the patients.Methods The proportions of MDSCs and their subsets in the peripheral blood of 38 OC patients(OC group)and 46 healthy individuals(healthy control group)were detected by flow cytometry.The levels of serum IL-10 and TGF-β were detected using ELISA.The OC group was further divided into LOX-1 high and low expres-sion subgroups based on the median proportion of LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in MDSCs.Results The proportions of MDSCs,PMN-MDSCs,and LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)of the OC group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group(U=492,P＜0.001;t=8.741,P＜0.000 1;U=223,P＜0.000 1).The proportions of M-MDSCs and e-MDSCs in the OC group were significantly lower than those in the healthy control group(t=4.366,P＜0.000 1;t=6.927,P＜0.000 1).The proportion of LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in the lymph node metastasis group of OC patients was significantly higher than that in the non-metastasis group(t=2.249,P＜0.05).The levels of serum IL-10 and TGF-β in the OC group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group(P＜0.05).In addition,the level of serum TGF-β in the LOX-1 high expression group was significantly higher than that in the LOX-1 low expression group(t=2.302,P＜0.05).Conclusion The proportion of LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in the peripheral blood of OC patients is significantly increased and closely related to lymph node metastasis.