Objective To investigate the effect of serum uric acid (UA) on cardiovascular diseases in hemodialysis patients. Methods The serum level of uric acid and other laboratory indexes of 80 hemodialysis patients were detected,and the left ventricular mass index (LVMI) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were detected by ultrasonic cardiography examination. Results According to the serum level of UA, the hemodialysis patients were divided into 2 groups:the group with high serum level of UA and the group with normal serum level of UA. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in hypertension history,the period of hypertension history, systolic blood pressure before hemodialysis between the two groups. The serum levels of UA,creatinine, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, C-reactive protein, brain natriuretic peptide and LVMI were significantly higher,while the serum levels of albumin,pre-albumin,high density lipoprotein cholesterol, LVEF were lower in the group with high serum level of UA than those in the group with normal high serum level of UA (P<0.05) . Furthermore, the serum levels of UA in 80 patients was positively correlated to systolic blood pressure before hemodialysis, serum creatinine, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, C-reactive protein, brain natriuretic peptide, and LVMI (P<0.05), while it was negatively correlated to serum albumin, pre-albumin, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and LVEF (P<0.05) . Conclusion High serum level of uric acid is associated with the onset of cardiovascular diseases in hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUNDTo study the anti-invasive effects and its mechanism and apoptosis induction of pentacyclic triterpenoid including glycyrrhizin (GL), 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), ursolic acid (UA) and oleanolic acid (OA) in highly potentially metastatic lung cancer cell line (PGCL3).

METHODSThe invasive ability, the adhesive ability, the migration ability and the activity of cathepsin B (CB) of PGCL3 cells treated with the four drugs were determined by the invasion test of reconstituted basement membrane, the laminin adhesion test, the chemotactic migration test and the enzymological method of CB. The apoptosis of the cells was detected with acridine orange-ethidium bromide fluorescent stain (AO/EB) and TUNEL.

RESULTSThe GL,GA, UA and OA could decrease the proliferative ability of PGCL3 cells, and their IC₅₀ values were 1.83 mmol/L, 145.3 μmol/L, 44.73 μmol/L and 40.71 μmol/L respectively. After treatment with 0.5 and 1.0 mmol/L GL, 25 and 50 μmol/L GA, 30 and 40 μmol/L UA, 35 and 45 μmol/L OA for 96 h, the invasive ability of the PGCL3 cells was significantly decreased compared with that of the control groups ( P < 0.01 or P < 0.001). The adhesive and migration ability, the secretion of CB and the colony-formation number in semi solid agar were significantly decreased after PGCL3 cells were treated with the above concentration of the four drugs for 96 h ( P < 0.05, P < 0.01 or P < 0.001), and the inhibition was in a dose-dependent fashion. The percentages of apoptosis of the cells were obviously increased after treatment with the above concentration of the four durgs for 48 h, compared with the control group ( P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSAll of the four drugs can inhibit the proliferative and invasive ability, and induce apoptosis of the PGCL3 human lung cancer cells. The mechanism of anti invasion may be to inhibit the adhesion, migration, and the CB secretion of the cells.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a subset of myeloid malignancies defined by clonality of immature hematopoietic stem cells that leads to faulty blood cell development. These syndromes can lead to an increased risk of infection and may transform into acute myeloid leukemia, making it critical to determine effective treatments for the condition. While hypomethylating agents such as azacitidine and decitabine, as well as stem cell transplants, have been delineated as favored treatments for MDS, not all patients are physiologically receptive to these treatments. However, black raspberries (BRBs) have been shown to exert hypomethylating effects in various malignancies, with minimal adverse effects and thus a broader range of potential candidacies. This study aimed to investigate the potential of BRBs to exert such effects on MDS using Addition of Sex Combs Like/Tet Methylcytosine Dioxygenase 2 (Asxl1/Tet2) double knockout mice (Vav-cre Asxl1fl/fl Tet2fl/fl ), which typically manifest symptoms around 25 weeks of age, mirroring genetic mutations found in humans with MDS. Following a 12-week dietary supplementation of Vav-cre Asxl1fl/fl Tet2fl/fl mice with 5% BRBs, we observed both hyper- and hypomethylation at multiple transcription start sites and intragenic locations linked to critical pathways, including hematopoiesis. This methylation profile may have implications for delaying the onset of MDS, prompting a need for in-depth investigation. Our results emphasize the importance of exploring whether an extended BRB intervention can effectively alter MDS risk and elucidate the relationship between BRB-induced methylation changes, thus further unlocking the potential benefits of BRBs for MDS patients.

Objective:To analyze the predictive value of von Willebrand factor (vWF) for venous thromboembolism (VTE) of patients in intensive care unit (ICU) by using propensity score matching (PSM).Methods:Patients admitted to ICU of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from December 2020 to June 2022 who stayed in ICU for ≥72 hours and underwent daily bedside vascular ultrasound screening were included. Baseline data such as age, gender, primary disease, and chronic comorbidities were collected. Coagulation indexes before admission to ICU and 24 hours and 48 hours after ICU admission were collected, including prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), international normalized ratio (INR), fibrinogen (Fib), fibrin monomer (FM), vWF, D-dimer, antithrombin Ⅲ (ATⅢ), etc. Patients were divided into VTE group and non-VTE group according to whether they had VTE or not [diagnosis of VTE: patients underwent daily ultrasound screening of bedside blood vessels (both upper and lower limbs, visceral veins), and those suspected of having thrombosis were confirmed by ultrasonographer or pulmonary angiography]. Using PSM analysis method, the VTE group was used as the benchmark to conduct 1 : 1 matching of age, whether there was malignant tumor, whether there was infection, whether there was diabetes, and coagulation indicators before admission to ICU. Finally, the cases with balanced covariates between the two groups were obtained. The risk factors of VTE were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was drawn to evaluate the predictive value of vWF in the occurrence of VTE in critically ill patients.Results:A total of 120 patients were enrolled, of which 18 (15.0%) were diagnosed with VTE within 72 hours after admission to ICU, and 102 (85.0%) were not found to have thrombus in ICU. Before PSM, there were significant differences in age, gender, proportion of malignant tumor and infection, and coagulation indexes between VTE group and non-VTE group. After PSM, 14 pairs were successfully matched, and the unbalanced covariables between the two groups reached equilibrium. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that vWF was an independent risk factor for VTE at 48 hours after ICU admission in critically ill patients [odds ratio ( OR) = 1.165, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 1.000-1.025, P = 0.004]. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of vWF at 48 hours after ICU admission for predicting VTE was 0.782, 95% CI was 0.618-0.945, P = 0.007. When the optimal cut-off value was 312.12%, the sensitivity was 67.7% and the specificity was 93.0%. Conclusion:Dynamic monitoring of vWF is helpful to predict the occurrence of VTE in ICU patients, and vWF at 48 hours after ICU admission has certain value in predicting the occurrence of VTE.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the diagnostic value of thoracoscopy on idiopathic coalworker's pneumoconiosis with pleural effusion in general medicine.

METHODRoutine (general medicine) thoracoscopyof patients suffering from iIdiopathiccoalworker's pneumoconiosis with pleural effusion, pathological examination of lesions obtained (direct vision).

RESULTPathological examination revealed grayish-white miliary nodules with multiple protruding nodules, irregular focal pleura thickening, pulmonary congestion, edema, fibrous adhesion. Thorascopy produced a diagnostic rate of 93.3%. Confirmed cases includes 13 cases of tuberculous pleurisy, 11 cases of malignant pleural effusion, 4 cases of cardiac insufficiency with pleural effusion and 2 cases of idiopathic pleural effusion, with no serious complications.

CONCLUSIONThoracoscopy of idiopathic coalworker's pneumoconiosis with pleural effusion is a safe, accurate diagnostic methodin general medicine, and could benefit the establishment of a treatment method quickly, visual observation of the lesions of patients suffering from coalworker's pneumoconiosis with pleural effusion using thoracoscopy, and at the same time offer preliminary investigationof the correlation between the intensity and compactibilityof coal macule distribution and clinical stages of coalworker's Pneumoconiosis.

Anthracosis ; diagnosis ; Heart Failure ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Lung ; pathology ; Pleural Effusion ; diagnosis ; Pleural Effusion, Malignant ; diagnosis ; Pulmonary Edema ; diagnosis ; Thoracoscopy ; Tuberculosis, Pleural ; diagnosis

Pregnancy has increased susceptibility to H1N1 influenza virus infection. Maternal influenza infection is associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. A case of influenza A (H1N1) during late pregnancy (pregnancy 1, birth 0, pregnancy 30⁺² weeks) was admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University on December 16th, 2018. The patient was set on mechanical ventilation with a FiO₂ of 1.0, a positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) of 15 cmH₂O (1 cmH₂O = 0.098 kPa), and a tidal volume of 4-6 mL/kg (ideal body weight). However the pulse oxygen saturation (SpO₂) could only be maintained at about 0.85. The disease was controlled by the treatments of anti-infection, mechanical ventilation, immune therapy, nutritional support, preventive anticoagulant treatment by heparin sodium, adequate negative fluid balance, and other organ support therapy. This article introduced the treatment process of the patient in detail, and provided experience for clinical treatment.