Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of brucellosis presenting as fever of unknown origin in non-endemic area.Methods Clinical data of 11 patients with fever of unknown origin,who were admitted in a general hospital of non-endemic area from Jan 2013 to Jan 2017 and diagnosed as brucellosis by blood culture,were retrospectively analyzed.Results There were 8 males and 3 females aged 40-70 years.The patients were admitted with or without accompanied symptoms.The patients were initially presented in rheumatology (1 case),neurology (1 case),emergency (4 cases),hematology (1 case),orthopedics (2 cases) and pneumology (2 cases) departments,respectively.The time from onset to presentation was 0.5-7.0 months.The clinical manifestations were nonspecific,and blood cultures of Brucella were positive between 2 to 5 weeks with a mean of 3 weeks.Time to diagnosis was 1 to 9 months with a mean of 4 months.All patients were transferred to infectious hospital when the diagnosis was confirmed.The telephone follow-up showed that none of the patients had fever after discharged.Conclusion Brucellosis should not be neglected in the differential diagnosis of FUO in non-endemic area,and blood culture is important for a definitive diagnosis.

Objective To explore the relationship between infant feeding practices and infants growth,especially the weight gain for length in the first 6 months of life. Methods Two-hundred healthy full-term singlet normal birth weight 5 - 6 months old infants and their main care givers were recruited in Kongjiang community health service center in Shanghai. The questionnaires included infants feeding pattern, feeding environment and care givers feeding behaviors, and were completed on-site by investigators. The birth weight was obtained. The weight and length of infants at 6 months were measured. Results There were 70/200 (35.0%) infants overweight (BMI for age Z score>+1) at 6 months. There were more overweight boys than girls (40.0% vs. 30.9%, x2 = 1.798, P = 0.180). Compared with normal weight infants, the overweight infants had same birth weight (3.30 ± 0.35 kg vs. 3.35 ± 0.32 kg, t =1.010, P = 0.314) and same length at 6 months (67.64 ± 2.10 cm vs. 67.91 ± 1.97 cm, t=- 0.896, P = 0.371). However, the overweight infants gained much more weight for length in the first six months of life. At 6 months, the weight and BMI of overweight infants was significantly higher than that of normal weight infants (9.16 ± 0.67 vs. 7.94 ±0.64, t = 12.324, P < 0.01;19.86 ± 1.24 vs. 17.41 ± 0.80, t = 14.953, P < 0.01). The rates of exclusive breastfeeding for at least four months, continued breastfeeding at six months, complementary food consistency, and complementary feeding frequency, were not significantly differenct between overweight and normal weight infants (x2 =0.723 - 2.701, P > 0.05). The grandparents played an important role in infants feeding in Shanghai. There were 39.0% infants fed only by grandparents, and 23.0% infants fed jointly by grandparents and parents (x2 = 0.175, P > 0.05).The care givers' educational level and knowledge of feeding skill were similar in overweight and normal weight infants (x2 = 0.446, t = 0.949, P > 0.05). However, the overweight infants were fed more quickly than normal weight infants (Z = 2.753, P < 0.01), and there was less language communication between care givers and overweight infants during feeding (Z = 2.932, P < 0.01). In overweight infants, the overfeeding behaviors of care givers were positively correlated with BAZ (r = 0.281, P < 0.05). Conclusions Overweight in early life is associated with some particular infants feeding behaviors of care givers in Shanghai. The long term effect of more rapid weight gain for length in the first 6 months of life on the risk of childhood obesity warranted to be further followed and researched.

Objective To systematically evaluate the short-term outcomes of laparoscopic splenectomy and azygoportal disconnection (LSD) with open splenectomy and azygoportal disconnection (OSD) in the prevention and treatment of portal hypertension (PHT) hemorrhage.Methods A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the short-term outcomes published in randomized controlled studies and high quality casecontrolled studies on patients who underwent LSD or OSD from January 2006 to January 2016.Results 1 359 patients from 18 Chinese and English articles which met the inclusion criteria were included into this study.LSD and OSD were performed in 685 patients (the LSD group) and 674 patients (the OSD group),respectively.Meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference in operation time between the LSD and OSD groups [MD=17.66,95％CI=(-2.46 ～37.78),P＞0.05].When compared with the OSD group,the LSD group had a shorter postoperative hospitalization stay [MD =-3.99,95％ CI =(-4.82 ～ -3.16),P ＜ 0.05],earlier postoperatively first passing of flatus [MD =-1.09,95％ CI =(-1.41 ～ -0.78),P ＜ 0.05],less intraoperative bleeding [MD =-272.66,95％ CI =(-345.11 ～-200.21),P ＜ 0.05],a lower complication rate [OR =0.34,95％ CI =(0.25 ～ 0.47),P ＜ 0.05],less postoperative pain [MD =-2.54,95％ CI =(-2.79 ～-2.29),P ＜ 0.05],shorter postoperative ambulation time [MD =-3.16,95％ CI =(-3.53 ～-2.79),P ＜ 0.05],less amount of peritoneal drainage [MD =-180.28,95％ CI =(-293.06 ～-67.49),P ＜0.05] and earlier recovery from postoperative loss in appetite [MD =-1.42,95％ CI =(-1.70 ～-1.13),P ＜ 0.05].Conclusion Compared with the traditional OSD,LSD had the advantages of less invasiveness,quicker recovery and higher quality of life in the perioperative period.LSD is the preferred operation for the prevention and treatment of PHT massive hemorrhage.

Yigongsan， derived from QIAN Yi’s Key to Therapeutics of Children’s Diseases in the Song Dynasty， is a classic pediatric prescription that is included in the Catalogue of Ancient Classic Prescriptions （the Second Batch of Pediatrics） released by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2022. This paper verifies and analyzes the historical origin， composition， dosage， processing， decoction method and efficacy of Yigongsan by systematically combing ancient books and modern documents. As a result， Yigongsan is composed of five herbs： Panax ginseng， Poria cocos， Atractylodes macrocephala， Citrus reticulata and Glycyrrhiza uralensis， of which P. cocos should be peeled， A. macrocephala is fried with soil， G. uralensis is roasted with honey while P. ginseng and C. reticulata are raw products. According to the dosage of ancient and modern times， each medicinal herb must be ground into fine powder， 1.6 g for each， added with 300 mL of water， 5 pieces of Zingiber officinale， and 2 Ziziphus jujuba， decocted together to 210 mL， and taken before meals. In ancient books， Yigongsan is used to treat vomiting， diarrhea， spleen and stomach deficiency， chest and abdominal distension， and lack of appetite， etc. Modern research showed that Yigongsan could also be used in the diseases of immune system， respiratory system， blood system， etc.， involving infantile anorexia， asthma， anemia， tumors and so on.

BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence (AI) technology represented by deep learning has made remarkable achievements in digital pathology, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of diagnosis and prognosis evaluation. The spatial distribution of CD3 + and CD8 + T cells within the tumor microenvironment has been demonstrated to have a significant impact on the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to investigate CD3 CT (CD3 + T cells density in the core of the tumor [CT]) prognostic ability in patients with CRC by using AI technology. METHODS: The study involved the enrollment of 492 patients from two distinct medical centers, with 358 patients assigned to the training cohort and an additional 134 patients allocated to the validation cohort. To facilitate tissue segmentation and T-cells quantification in whole-slide images (WSIs), a fully automated workflow based on deep learning was devised. Upon the completion of tissue segmentation and subsequent cell segmentation, a comprehensive analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The evaluation of various positive T cell densities revealed comparable discriminatory ability between CD3 CT and CD3-CD8 (the combination of CD3 + and CD8 + T cells density within the CT and invasive margin) in predicting mortality (C-index in training cohort: 0.65 vs. 0.64; validation cohort: 0.69 vs. 0.69). The CD3 CT was confirmed as an independent prognostic factor, with high CD3 CT density associated with increased overall survival (OS) in the training cohort (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.22, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.12-0.38, P <0.001) and validation cohort (HR = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.05-0.92, P = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS We quantify the spatial distribution of CD3 + and CD8 + T cells within tissue regions in WSIs using AI technology. The CD3 CT confirmed as a stage-independent predictor for OS in CRC patients. Moreover, CD3 CT shows promise in simplifying the CD3-CD8 system and facilitating its practical application in clinical settings.
Humans ; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Artificial Intelligence ; Reproducibility of Results ; Prognosis ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Tumor Microenvironment

Considering the substantial role played by dendritic cells (DCs) in the immune system to bridge innate and adaptive immunity, studies on DC-mediated immunity toward biomaterials principally center on their adjuvant effects in facilitating the adaptive immunity of codelivered antigens. However, the effect of the intrinsic properties of biomaterials on dendritic cells has not been clarified. Recently, researchers have begun to investigate and found that biomaterials that are nonadjuvant could also regulate the immune function of DCs and thus affect subsequent tissue regeneration. In the case of proteins adsorbed onto biomaterial surfaces, their intrinsic properties can direct their orientation and conformation, forming "biomaterial-associated molecular patterns (BAMPs)". Thus, in this review, we focused on the intrinsic physiochemical properties of biomaterials in the absence of antigens that affect DC immune function and summarized the underlying signaling pathways. Moreover, we preliminarily clarified the specific composition of BAMPs and the interplay between some key molecules and DCs, such as heat shock proteins (HSPs) and high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1). This review provides a new direction for future biomaterial design, through which modulation of host immune responses is applicable to tissue engineering and immunotherapy.
Biocompatible Materials/metabolism* ; Dendritic Cells/metabolism* ; Tissue Engineering ; Immunomodulation ; Adaptive Immunity