Objective To investigate the clinical significance of video-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy. Methods Eighteen patients with thymic diseases or myasthenia gravis (MG) received video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) of either total thymectomy (7 patients) or extended thymectomy (11 patients with MG) from September 2002 to June 2004. Results Thoracoscopic thymectomy was accomplished in 17 patients and a conversion to open mini-incision (7 cm) operation was needed in 1 patient. Postoperative temporary mechanical ventilation (

Objective To establish a flowcytometry method for detecting phagocysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mth) by the human peripheral blood neutrophils( PMNs), and to explore the effects of Thl and Th2 cytokine on phagocytotic activity of PMNs. Methods By using acid-fast staining the phagocytosis of Mtb by human neutrophil was observed by microscopy, and the phagocytosis of FTTC labeled Mtb by human neutrophils was detected under confocal microscope. The whole fresh peripheral blood of healthy adults was incubated with FTTC labeled Mtb and the phagocytosis were measured by flow cytometry. The altered phagocytosis of FTTC-Mtb by neutrophils pretreated with IL-2, IFN-γ, GM-CSF or IL-4 were measured. Results Human peripheral blood neutrophils activity of Mtb phagocytosis was observed by acid-fast staining and confocal microscope. The percentage of phagocytosis of Mtb was dependent on the time of incubation with Mtb. The percentages were 47% at 5 min and reached plateau about 66% ～72% at 15 min to 20 min.Pretreatment with different concentrations of IL-2 or IFN-γincreased the phagocytosis of Mtb by 76.7% and 75.2%, respectively; but pretreatment with IL-4 decreased the phagocytosis by 31.7%. Conclusion IL-2and IFN-γcan increase phagocytosis of Mth by neutrophils; while IL-4 can reduced neutrophil activity of phagocytosis of Mtb by human neutrophils, and demonstrate that Th1/Th2 type cytokins involve in regulating the acitvities of neutrophils anti-Mtb infection.

BACKGROUND:Previous study has observed that the calf acellular dermal membrane exhibits slow repair efficiency, fast degradability speed and other shortcomings in the repair of cartilage defects. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the repair effect of the col agen type Ⅱ-modified acel ular dermal membrane on cartilage defects in rabbits. METHODS:The fetal rabbit chondrocytes were seeded onto the col agen type Ⅱ-modified acel ular dermal membrane, and the composite was then observed under scanning electron microscope at 3, 7 and 14 days. Cartilage defect models were established on the bilateral femoral condyles of 24 New Zealand white rabbits, and these model rabbits were randomly allocated to three groups. The cartilage-acellular dermal membrane and cartilage-collagen type Ⅱ-modified acellular dermal membrane were implanted into the defect regions of control and experimental groups, respectively. Those received no intervention were as blank control group. Collagen type Ⅱ immunohistochemical staining and Wakitani scoring system were performed at 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Chondrocytes grew and adhered well in the scaffold. The Wakitani scores in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control and blank control groups at postoperative 6 and 12 weeks (P<0.05). At 6 and 12 weeks postoperatively, collagen type Ⅱ immunohistochemical staining was the strongest in the experimental group, with yellow and brown particles in the cytoplasm;the control group was positive for collagen type Ⅱ immunohistochemical staining, while the blank control group was negative for the staining. Our findings suggest that the collagen type Ⅱ-modified acellular dermal membrane is beneficial for the repair of cartilage defects.

Ventilators are currently the most commonly used auxiliary mechanical ventilation equipment in clinical practice, and play an important role in the treatment of hypoxemia. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a special type of pulmonary parenchymal inflammation of nosocomial infection in patients with mechanical ventilation, which leads the increase of mortality and affects the prognosis of patients. The non-standard management of ventilator pipeline joints and the aerosol formed by bacterial condensate splashed from ventilator pipeline pollute the air, resulting in cross infection, which are the important reasons for VAP. The existing ventilator pipeline joint cap can achieve the effect of preventing pollution, but the clinical application compliance is not high. Based on the above factors, teachers, students and medical staff of the School of Public Health and Management, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine and other units have designed a device for preventing pollution and air pollution of the ventilator pipeline joint, and obtained the national utility model patent of China (ZL 2020 2 1361981.X). The device is composed of a model lung, a mask body, a suspension part and a beam mouth part, etc. The use method is simple, and can be applied to the pollution avoidance of invasive ventilator and non-invasive ventilator pipeline joints, to reduce the occurrence of VAP in patients and the occupational exposure of medical staff.

Background The number of persons with thyroid nodules has increased rapidly in recent years, and thyroid cancer caused by malignant nodules has become a key problem endangering the health of young and middle-aged groups in China. Objective To explore work and lifestyle influencing factors for developing thyroid cancer among young and middle-aged patients with thyroid nodules. Methods The subjects with thyroid nodules were reported by routine physical examines ordered at the Huadong Sanatorium. We conducted a 1∶4 matched case-control study in which 232 patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer from 2012 to 2022 were matched to 928 controls by gender and age (±5 years). A validated questionnaire was used to collect data on work and lifestyle behaviors. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were applied to explore potential relationships between selected factors (including environment, working hours, stress, diet, exercise, and mental health) and thyroid cancer. Spearman rank correlation was used to analyze the correlations between variables. Results The results of univariate logistic regression showed a history of thyroid cancer reported among first-degree relatives (OR=6.059, 95%CI: 1.007, 36.473), obesity (OR=1.973, 95%CI: 1.296, 3.004), noise and vibration exposure (OR=1.988, 95%CI: 1.143, 3.456), frequent stress (OR=2.093, 95%CI: 1.231, 3.559), frequent depression (OR=2.034, 95%CI: 1.048, 3.947), frequent anger (OR=1.791, 95%CI: 1.066, 3.012), frequent fried food diet (OR=1.535, 95%CI: 1.026, 2.297), and frequent fast food diet (OR=1.836, 95%CI: 1.048, 3.215) were risk factors for reporting thyroid cancer developing from thyroid nodules, while regular meals (OR=0.245, 95%CI: 0.061, 0.989) and frequent exercise (OR=0.571, 95%CI: 0.342, 0.952) were protective factors for reporting no thyroid cancer. The results of Spearman correlation analysis showed that body mass index was positively correlated with frequent fried food, fast food, and sugary beverage diets (r=0.123, 0.083, 0.077, P<0.01), and negatively correlated with frequent depression and anger (r=−0.090, −0.070, P<0.05). The results of multiple logistic regression found that a history of thyroid cancer reported among first-degree relatives (OR=6.712, 95%CI: 1.071, 42.066), obesity (OR=2.032, 95%CI: 1.321, 3.125), noise and vibration exposure (OR=1.991, 95%CI: 1.089, 3.637), and frequent stress (OR=2.468, 95%CI: 1.417, 4.300) were associated with an elevated risk of reporting thyroid cancer developing from thyroid nodules patients. Regular exercise (frequency≥3 times·week⁻¹, > 30 min per episode) (OR=0.516, 95%CI: 0.300, 0.890) was associated with a lowered risk of reporting thyroid cancer. Conclusions Multiple risk factors associated with reporting thyroid cancer among young and middle-aged groups with thyroid nodules are identified, such as obesity, noise and vibration exposure, frequent stress, and lack of exercise.