Objective:To explore potential signaling pathways and genes related to vitiligo progression by using bioinformatics methods.Methods:A vitiligo genechip dataset GSE75819 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened between lesional and non-lesional skin tissues from 15 Indian patients with vitiligo with the dataset GSE75819 by using LMFit and eBayes functions in R LIMma package. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) -based pathway analysis, Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) were carried out to identify enriched pathways and functions of the DEGs. Protein-protein interaction networks were established to screen hub genes from the DEGs. In addition, lesional and non-lesional skin tissue specimens were obtained from 8 patients of Han nationality with vitiligo vulgaris in Hospital of Xinjiang Traditional Uyghur Medicine between January and June in 2019, and real-time quantitative PCR was performed to verify the expression of the top 10 up- or down-regulated DEGs.Results:Compared with the 15 non-lesional skin tissues, a total of 148 DEGs were identified in the 15 lesional skin tissues. Among these DEGs, KRT9, CXCL10, C8ORF59, TPSAB1 and RPL26 were the top 5 up-regulated genes, and SILV, RPPH1, TYRP1, MLANA and LOC401115 were the top 5 down-regulated genes, which were all verified by real-time quantitative PCR in the lesional and non-lesional skin tissues from the 8 patients of Han nationality with vitiligo. GO analysis showed that the DEGs were chiefly enriched in translational initiation, cellular response to lipopolysaccharide, ribosomes, ribosomal subunits and structural constituents of ribosomes. KEGG analysis showed that the DEGs were chiefly enriched in tyrosine metabolism, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling pathway, oxidative phosphorylation and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. Four hub genes, including UPF3B, SNRPG, MRPL13 and RPL26L1, were screened out by protein-protein interaction analysis.Conclusion:KRT9, CXCL10, C8ORF59, TPSAB1, RPL26, SILV, RPPH1, TYRP1, MLANA and LOC401115 genes may serve as potential diagnostic molecular markers and therapeutic targets for vitiligo.

Objective:To investigate the application value of standard operation procedure (SOP) of thoracentesis in clinical skills training for undergraduates.Methods:In this study, 63 undergraduates were randomized into two groups, with 29 students in experimental group receiving SOP training, and 34 students in control group trained by traditional teaching methods. The performance of the two groups at different stages of thoracentesis were compared after the training. SPSS 19.0 was used to analyze the assessment data.Results:The experimental group was significantly superior to the control group in the stages of "puncture operation" and "post-puncture operation" [(33.76±2.46) points vs. (31.91±3.60) points, P=0.02; (7.93±1.53) points vs. (6.79±1.84) points, P=0.01], as well as the total scores [(82.59±4.14) points vs. (79.26±4.94) points, P=0.01]. Conclusion:It's suggested that application of SOP may improve the effectiveness of thoracentesis training, and organized teaching methods are essential for clinical skills training.

Objective    To investigate the predictive value of prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in complications after thoracoscopy-assisted radical resection of esophageal cancer. Methods    We collected the clinical data of patients who underwent thoracoscopy-assisted esophagectomy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from January 2015 to June 2020. The predictive value of PNI for postoperative complications was evaluated by establishing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the optimal cut-off point was determined. The patients were divided into a high PNI group and a low PNI group according to the cut-off point. The differences of baseline data and perioperative complications-related indicators between the two groups were compared and analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to investigate the influence of PNI and other related indexes on postoperative complications. Results    A total of 116 patients were enrolled in this study, including 75 males and 41 females, aged 65 (58-69) years. The area under ROC curve was 0.647, and the optimal cut-off point was 51.9. According to the cut-off point, there were 45 patients in the high PNI group and 71 patients in the low PNI group. The overall complication rate (χ2=10.437, P=0.001) and the incidence of postoperative pulmonary infection (χ2=10.811, P=0.001) were statistically different between the two groups. The results of univariate analysis showed that the duration of ventilator use (Z=–3.136, P=0.002), serum albumin value (t=2.961, P=0.004), and PNI value (χ2=10.437, P=0.001) were the possible risk factors for postoperative complications after thoracoscopy-assisted esophagectomy. The results of multivariate analysis suggested that the duration of ventilator use (OR=1.015, P=0.002) and the history of drinking (OR=5.231, P=0.013) were independent risk factors for postoperative complications, and high PNI was the protective factor for postoperative complications (OR=0.243, P=0.047). Conclusion    PNI index has a certain value in predicting postoperative complications, which can quantify the preoperative nutritional and immune status of patients. Drinking history and duration of ventilator use are independent risk factors for postoperative complications of thoracoscopy-assisted esophagectomy, and high PNI is a protective factor for postoperative complications.