Objective To evaluate the applicated value of color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS) and CR molybdenum target in the diagnosis of breast nodules.Methods Comparative analysis of 87 patients with breast nodules diagnosed by CDUS and CR molybdenum target were contrasted with postoperative pathology.Results 47 cases of 78 patients with breast nodules were benign lesions.39 cases were correctly diagnosed by CR molybdenum target,41 cases were correctly diagnosed by CDUS,and 44 cases were correctly diagnosed by CR molybdenum target and CDUS.Contrasted with postoperative pathology,the accuracy rates of breast disease diagnosed were 82.5％,75.0％ and 95.0％ diagnosed by CR molybdenum target,CDUS,CR molybdenum target and CDUS.Conclusion There is no significant statistical difference between CR molybdenum target and CDUS in the diagnosis of benign breast nodules.The accuracy rate of breast disease diagnosed by CR molybdenum target and CDUS is better than that diagnosed by CR molybdenum target or CDUS only.The two co-diagnosis are benefit to raise the accuracy rate of breast nodules.

The European Association for the Study of Liver Diseases issued the "Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Hepatic Encephalopathy" in 2022, which included recommendations for clinical diagnosis, assessment, treatment, management, and prevention. The Society’s "Hepatic Encephalopathy Clinical Practice Guidelines in Chronic Liver Disease," which was last published in 2014, and the "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hepatic Encephalopathy in Cirrhosis," which the Chinese Society of Hepatology, Chinese Medical Association, released in 2018, have certain differences and updates in terms of comparison to terminology, grading and classification, diagnosis, clinical evaluation and treatment, management, and prevention. Herein, the updated points of this guideline and the differences between it and our nation’s guidelines are summarized in order to refine and understand the guiding role of the new version of the guideline for the clinical treatment of hepatic encephalopathy and provide aid for standardizing clinical diagnosis and treatment.

In 2022, the European Association for the Study of the Liver issued Clinical practice guidelines on sclerosing cholangitis. With reference to the 2017 edition of Role of endoscopy in primary sclerosing cholangitis: European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) and European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Clinical Guideline (2017) and in comparison to the corresponding contents in Guidelines on the diagnosis and management of primary sclerosing cholangitis (2021) issued by Chinese Society of Hepatology, Chinese Medical Association, in 2021, this article summarizes the updates in diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and management of special populations and analyzes the basis for updated recommendations and their guiding significance in optimizing the clinical management of primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). The comparative analysis shows that the new version of the guidelines is similar to the Chinese guidelines in terms of diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, and it is worth learning from the technical details such as the recommended dose of ursodeoxycholic acid and long-term follow-up plan. Since PSC is a chronic refractory disease, the drugs recommended by current guidelines cannot delay or reverse disease progression, and there is still a lack of consensus statements on immunotherapy and screening protocols for end-stage complications, which might be the directions for further research.

AIM: To investigate the current status of retinopathy of prematurity(ROP)in premature infants in Xiamen and analyze its influencing factors, aiming to provide a scientific basis for clinical treatment and preventive strategies.METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on the case data of 363 preterm infants with a gestational age of <32 wk who underwent fundus examination at Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University from February 11, 2020 to February 25, 2023. The incidence of ROP was statistically analyzed based on the screening results. All premature infants were divided into ROP group(37 cases, 64 eyes)and non-ROP group(326 cases, 652 eyes). General clinical data and perinatal-related information of the two groups were compared, and multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing the occurrence of ROP in premature infants.RESULTS: A total of 363 premature infants were included in this study. The fundus screening results showed that a total of 37 cases(64 eyes)of premature infants were detected with ROP, including 10 cases(10 eyes)monocular and 27 cases(54 eyes)binocular, with an overall incidence of 10.2%(37/363). The severity was determined according to the ROP international classification standard(ROP is divided into 5 stages, with stage I being the least severe and stage V the most severe). Among the 64 eyes, 30 eyes(46.9%)were in stage I, 20 eyes(31.3%)were in stage II, 10 eyes(15.6%)were in stage III, 4 eyes(6.3%)were in stage IV, and there were no cases in stage V. By comparing the clinical data of the two groups, no significant differences were found in gender, mode of delivery, singleton or multiple births, premature rupture of membranes, history of asphyxia, patent ductus arteriosus(PDA), or neonatal respiratory distress syndrome(NRDS)between the two groups(all P>0.05). However, premature infants in the ROP group had significantly younger gestational age and lower birth weight compared to those in the non-ROP group(all P<0.05). Additionally, the ROP group had higher proportions of longer hospital stays, bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD), neonatal sepsis, anemia, oxygen therapy for more than 1 wk, oxygen concentration above 40%, and blood transfusion treatment(all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that combined neonatal sepsis(OR=166.985, 95% CI: 35.239-791.277, P<0.001), anemia(OR=8.111, 95% CI: 2.064-31.871, P=0.003), oxygen use time >1 wk(OR=10.216, 95% CI: 2.543-41.039, P=0.001), oxygen therapy concentration >40%(OR=7.647, 95% CI: 1.913-30.566, P=0.004), and receiving blood transfusion therapy(OR=5.879, 95% CI: 1.412-24.470, P=0.015)were the main risk factors affecting the occurrence of ROP in preterm infants, and the higher birth weight of preterm infants was a protective factor for ROP(OR=0.093, 95% CI: 0.022-0.394, P=0.001).CONCLUSION: The incidence of ROP in premature infants is relatively high, and there are multiple influencing factors. Low birth weight, neonatal sepsis, anemia, oxygen therapy, and blood transfusion treatment are high-risk factors for ROP in premature infants. Clinical attention should be given to such infants, and fundus screening should be conducted in a standardized manner to provide early treatment, thereby further reducing the risk of ROP in premature infants.

β-Catenin plays a critical role in cartilage formation and development. To further understand the role of β-catenin in osteoarthritis (OA) development in temporomandibular joint (TMJ), we have generated β-catenin conditional activation mice (β-cat(ex3) ) by breeding Agc1-CreER mice with β-catenin mice. Results of histologic analysis showed the progressive TMJ defects in 3- and 6-month-old β-cat(ex3) mice (tamoxifen induction was performed at 2 weeks of age), including decreased chondrocyte numbers in the superficial layer associated with less Alcian blue staining, increased numbers of hypertrophic chondrocytes in deep layers, and rough articular surface. Compared to the TMJ phenotype of β-cat(ex3) mice, β-cat(ex3) mice showed much severe morphological defects in the superficial layer of TMJ. This may reflect that Agc1-CreER mice could efficiently target cells in the superficial layer of TMJ. Results of immunostaining showed significantly increased expression of MMP13, Col-X, Adamts4, and Adamts5 in TMJ of β-cat(ex3) mice. Results of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), Ki67, and terminal deoxinucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-fluorescein nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining further demonstrated that cell proliferation was decreased and cell apoptosis was increased in condylar cartilage of β-cat(ex3) mice. Our findings indicate that abnormal upregulation of β-catenin in TMJ leads to defects assembling to OA-like phenotype, further demonstrating that β-catenin plays a critical role in TMJ pathogenesis.
Aggrecans ; metabolism ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Cartilage, Articular ; metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Disease Models, Animal ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Mice ; Osteoarthritis ; metabolism ; Phenotype ; Signal Transduction ; Surface Properties ; Temporomandibular Joint ; metabolism ; beta Catenin ; metabolism