Objective To examine the sleep status and relevant psychosocial factors in patients with colorectal cancer before surgery and improve their sleep quality. Methods A cross?sectional survey method was used. Participants were 107 cases of patients with colorectal cancer from the Department of Anorectal Surgery in The First Hospital ,which is affiliated with China Medical University. The Athens insomnia scale(AIS),Ham?ilton depression scale(HAMD),Hamilton anxiety scale(HAMA),perceived social support scale(PSSS),self?esteem scale(SES),medical cop?ing questionnaire(MCMQ),memorial University of Newfoundland scale of happiness(MUNSH),Eysenck personality questionnaire(EPQ),and Wong?Baker face scale were used to assess preoperative sleep in patients with colorectal cancer and related psychosocial factors. Results Among the 107 cases,there were 24 cases of insomnia,with an insomnia incidence of 22.43%. No statistical differences were found in demographic charac?teristics and clinical characteristics(P>0.05). According to the degree of insomnia,there were significant differences between groups(P<0.05) for depression,anxiety,social support,avoidance,yield,happiness,and EPQ?N. Before the surgery,the degree of depression,anxiety,and EPQ?P had a significant positive effect on the degree of insomnia (P< 0.05). Conclusion The degree of insomnia before surgery in patients with colorectal cancer is closely associated with depression,anxiety,coping styles,social support,and personality characteristics.

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of ACY1215 (Rocilinostat), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, against brain edema in mice with acute liver failure. Methods: Lipopolysaccharide combined with D-galactosamine was used to establish a mouse model of acute liver failure, and ACY1215 was used for intervention. The effect of ACY1215 on histopathological changes of the liver was observed after 24 hours, as well as the changes in alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), blood ammonia, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), brain water content, blood-brain barrier structure, NF-κB-p65, histone, acetylated histone, and TNF-α mRNA in brain tissue. Results: The mice with acute liver failure had marked pathological damage in liver tissue, as well as significant increases in the levels of ALT, AST, blood ammonia, TNF-α, and IFN-γ (t≥5.367, all P < 0.05). ACY1215 significantly improved the pathological damage in liver tissue and reduced the serum levels of ALT, AST, blood ammonia, TNF-α, and IFN-γ (t≤-3.515, all P < 0.05). ACY1215 also significantly reduced the expression of NF-κB-p65 (t = -5.871, P = 0.004) and the mRNA expression of TNF-α (t = -11.913, P < 0.01) in brain tissue and brain water content (t = -2.355, P < 0.01). According to the results of electron microscopy, the model group had an abnormal blood-brain barrier structure, and the ACY1215 group had slighter damage than the model group. Compared with the normal group, the model group had significant increases in the acetylation level of histone H3 and H4 in brain tissue (t≥3.009, both P < 0.05), while ACY1215 further upregulated the acetylation levels of histone H3 and H4 (t≥6.682, both P < 0.05). Conclusion ACY1215 exerts a protective effect against brain edema in mice with acute liver failure, possibly by regulating histone acetylation and inhibiting inflammation.

Histones are important structural proteins of chromatin in the nucleus, which can regulate gene transcription, and can be released from the nucleus to the outside of the cell under injury and inflammatory stimulations, thereby causing cytotoxicity and immune stimulation, and aggravating tissue damage. Extracellular histones are involved in the occurrence and development of many diseases, including sepsis, autoimmune diseases, liver injury, and acute lung injury. Therefore, its application not only can be used as a body’s biomarker of inflammation, but also it is expected to become a molecular target for the treatment of diseases. This article reviews the role of extracellular histones in the inflammatory process of liver injury.

Objective:To establish a predictive model that can predict the effectiveness and safety of endoscopic surgery for pediatric upper urinary tract calculi, and evaluate its diagnostic efficacy through internal validation.Methods:The data was selected from the prospective database of pediatric upper tract calculi constructed by Beijing Friendship Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from June 2014 to April 2019. A total of 348 children were recruited in this investigation including 250 boys and 98 girls, with a median age of 3.0 years(Interquartile Range 1.4, 7.0 years). Totally 375 endoscopic surgeries were performed, with an overall stone free rate (SFR) of 88.0% (330/375) and complication rate (CR) of 23.2% (87/375). This research used univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis to evaluate and screen the predictors of SFR and CR. The nomogram of SFR and CR was established by using the selected predictive factors. The differentiation degree of the model was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC), the consistency between the prediction probability and the actual risk was evaluated by the calibration curve, and the clinical benefits of the model application were assessed by the decision curve.Results:The results of multivariate analysis demonstrated that stone burden, operation duration, intraoperative perfusion, stone location and operative options were the postoperative predictors of SFR and CR for children. Besides, BMI was also a predictor of postoperative CR. The AUC of the model (model 1: SFR; model 2: CR) based on the above predictive factors was 0.81 and 0.73, respectively. The predictive probability of the calibration curve showed that the model had a good consistency with the actual value. The decision curve showed that the application of model 1 to predict SFR had significant clinical benefits when the threshold value was greater than 20%, and the application of model 2 to predict the postoperative CR had a significant clinical benefit when the threshold was greater than 10%.Conclusions:Nomogram based on stone burden, operation time, intraoperative perfusion, stone location and operative options was validated internally with preferable predictive power on the effectiveness and safety of pediatric endoscopic surgery. This model can be used to predict the clinical effects of pediatric endoscopic lithotripsy. BMI was also an important factor for the safety of pediatric endoscopic procedures.

Background::Scleroderma is characterized by inflammation and fibrosis, predominantly occurring in the skin and extending to various parts of the body. The pathophysiology of scleroderma is multifaceted, with the current understanding including endothelial damage, inflammatory cell infiltration, and fibroblast activation in its progression. Nonetheless, the mechanism of cellular interactions and the precise spatial distribution of these cellular events within the fibrotic tissues remain elusive, highlighting a critical gap in our comprehensive understanding of scleroderma’s pathogenesis.Methods::In this study, we administered bleomycin intradermally to the dorsal skin of four individual murine models. Subsequently, skin tissues were harvested at predetermined intervals for comprehensive spatial transcriptomic analysis to determine the spatial dynamics influencing scleroderma pathogenesis. To validate the possible results from bioinformatic analysis, further in vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted. Results::Analysis of the spatial transcriptome revealed significant alterations in cell clusters during the progression of scleroderma. Gene Ontology analysis identified disruptions in lipid metabolism as the disease advanced. Pseudotime analysis provided evidence for a phenotypic transition from adipocytes to fibroblasts. In vitro studies demonstrated increased expression of Col1a1 and α-SMA as the disease progressed. These fibroblasts have been identified as key contributors to the increasing inflammation. Co-culturing TGF-β induced adipocytes with RAW264.7 cells resulted in overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the RAW264.7 cells. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed adipocyte loss and fibroblast formation, with transformed fibroblasts showing pronounced pro-inflammatory characteristics, highlighting their crucial role in the disease mechanism. Conclusions::Our study showed the spatial distribution and dynamic alterations of various cell types during scleroderma progression. Crucially, we identified the transformation of adipocytes into fibroblasts as a key factor promoting disease advancement. These emergent fibroblasts intensify inflammation, indicating that research on these cell clusters could reveal key scleroderma mechanisms and guide future therapies.

Objective: To investigate the inhibitory effect of small interference RNA (siRNA) targeted against transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) in mice with hepatic fibrosis infected with Schistosoma japonicum. Methods: Three short hairpin RNAs (shRNA) targeting different positions of TGFβ1 and one unrelated control sequence (HK) were designed and cloned to a plasmid pGenesil-1 respectively to obtain four recombinant expression vectors. Thirty male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into six groups, including normal group, model group, control group (pGenesil-HK) and three treatment groups (pGenesil-TGFβ1-m1, pGenesil-TGFβ1-m2 and pGenesil-TGFβ1-m3) and each group had five mice. The hepatic fibrosis animal models infected with Schistosoma japonicum were constructed. The levels of hydroxyproline (HYP) in liver tissue were examined by biochemistry. Liver histopathology was examined by hematoxylin-eosin and Masson staining. The mRNA expression and protein expression levels of TGFβ1, mothers against decapentaplegic homolog (Smad) 3, Smad 7 and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in the livers were detected by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot. Two independent samples t test was used to compare the measurement data between groups. Results: The liver fibrogenesis was obviously improved in all treatment groups compared with model group.The levels of HYP of liver tissue in all treatment groups were significantly lower than that in model group (t=14.870, 7.097 and 10.741, respectively, all P<0.01). The mRNA expression levels of TGFβ1, Smad 3 and α-SMA(model group vs pGenesil-TGFβ1-m1 group, t=3.235, 5.141 and 10.026, respectively; model group vs pGenesil-TGFβ1-m2 group, t=3.396, 5.145 and 4.951, respectively; model group vs pGenesil-TGFβ1-m3 group, t=3.511, 5.429 and 6.485, respectively)and protein (model group vs pGenesil-TGFβ1-m1 group, t=8.847, 8.044 and 10.746, respectively; model group vs pGenesil-TGFβ1-m2 group, t=9.709, 7.484 and 10.847, respectively; model group vs pGenesil-TGFβ1-m3 group, t=9.672, 8.766 and 11.508, respectively) were significantly decreased in all treatment groups compared with model group (all P< 0.01), while the levels of Smad 7 mRNA and protein were significantly increased in all treatment groups compared with model group(t=11.742 and 11.211, respectively in pGenesil-TGFβ1-m1 group; t=14.446 and 13.736, respectively in pGenesil-TGFβ1-m2 group; t=10.892 and 10.908, respectively in pGenesil-TGFβ1-m3 group, all P< 0.01). Conclusions Specific siRNA targeting TGFβ1 could significantly inhibit the liver fibrogenesis in mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum. The anti-fibrosis mechanisms of the siRNA maybe associated with the down-regulation of TGFβ1, Smad 3 and α-SMA expressions and up-regulation of Smad 7 expression in liver tissue, which results in suppressing the activation of hepatic stellate cells.