BACKGROUND:Alginate-chitosan microcapsule can improve the mechanical property of sodium alginate hydrogels. How to obtain the ideal sodium alginate-chitosan microcapsule and the prospect for application of the microcapsule system is the key to this study.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the preparation method and formation mechanism of alginate-chitosan microcapsules, to analyze several important factors affecting the strength of the microcapsule membrane, and to explore the prospects of alginate-chitosan microcapsules in immobilized celltechnology, in tissue engineering and as a drug carrier.
METHODS:The first author searched PubMed, Elsevier ScienceDirect, CNKI and Wanfang database (1987/2013) to retrieve literatures about the preparation method, formation mechanism and application prospect of alginate-chitosan microcapsules.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Sodium alginate hydrogels have many advantages in drug release and tissue engineering, but its application is limited by gel dissolution phenomena and deficiencies in its mechanical properties. Chitosan-alginate microcapsules make up for the deficiency of sodium alginate hydrogels by electrostatic interactions to form polyelectrolyte complexes. By control ing the nature of the chitosan solution--the molecular weight of chitosan, pH and concentration of chitosan solution, we can prepare the microcapsules with high film strength. Alginate-chitosan microcapsules have shown broad application prospects in immobilization technology, drug release and tissue engineering.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of dexketoprofen trometamol in the treatment of patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS).

METHODSA total of 115 patients with CP/CPPS were divided into a dexketoprofen trometamol group (n = 40), treated with dexketoprofen trometamol (25 mg, tid) and terazosin (2 mg, qn), an indometacin group (n = 40) given indometacin (25 mg, tid) and terazosin (2 mg, qn), and a terazosin group (n = 35) administered terazosin (2 mg, qn) only, all treated for 4 weeks. Scores on the NIH-chronic prostatitis symptom index (NIH-CPSI) were obtained before and after the treatment, and the efficacy and adverse events were observed and compared.

RESULTSThe NIH-CPSI scores were significantly improved after the treatment in all the three groups. The clinical efficacy was significantly better in the dexketoprofen trometamol and indometacin groups than in the terazosin group (P < 0.05), but with no significant difference between the former two (P > 0.05). The rates of adverse events were 10.00%, 18.57% and 27.50% in the dexketoprofen trometamol, terazosin and indometacin groups, significantly lower in the former two than in the latter one (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe combination of dexketoprofen trometamol with terazosin could effectively improve the clinical symptoms of CP/CPPS, better than terazosin in therapeutic efficacy and than indometacin in drug tolerance.

Adult ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Indomethacin ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Ketoprofen ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Pelvic Pain ; drug therapy ; Prazosin ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use ; Prostatitis ; drug therapy ; Tromethamine ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; therapeutic use

Objective:To prepare a dual targeting nanobubble both for HER2 target and cancer cell target, and compare the targeting ability with single targeting nanobubble either with HER2 targeting or cancer cell targeting ability in vitro.Methods:Nanobubbles(NBs) were prepared using the modified thin film hydration method and then connected with IR783 directly (NBs-IR783), HER2 antibody Affibody by avidin-biotin method (NBs-Affibody), or both of them (IR783-NBs-Affibody). The size distribution, stability, and biosafety of these contrast agents were observed. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence were applied to compare the binding rate of these NBs against HER2 positive breast cancer cell in vitro.Results:The average size of NBs-Affibody, NBs-IR783 and IR783-NBs-Affibody was (538.4±95.8)nm, (551.8±114.8)nm, and (482.7±54.3)nm, respectively. The binding rate for HER2 positive cell was 26.6%, 97.6%, 84.5%, while for HER2 negative cell was 5.4%, 99.9% and 99.3%, respectively. The results of dual-labeled flow cytometry showed that the binding rate of IR783-NBs-Affibody mediated by IR783 to HER2 positive breast cancer cells were 79.5% and Affibody mediated HER2 targeting binding rate were 19.4%. However, NBs-IR783 only showed IR783-mediated tumor targeted binding without HER2 targeting ability with binding rate of 2.3%.Conclusions:The prepared IR783-NBs-Affibody has the dual targeting ability for HER2 positive breast cancer cell, which is superior to the single targeting NBs (NBs-Affibody and NBs-IR783). IR783-NBs-Affibody is optimal to meet the imaging requirements of tumor heterogeneity.

Objective:To compare the effects of patellar position on the balance of soft tissue during the operation and the postoperative outcomes in minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty via a midvastus approach.Methods:From December 2018 to February 2019, a total of 55 patients were enrolled for primary total knee arthroplasty via a midvastus approach. All patients were randomly divided into 2 groups by random number table. During the operation, the gap balance technique was used with patella reduced or subluxated to complete the osteotomy and balance of soft tissue. The changes of gap and varus-valgus angle were compared between the patellar reduction group and the patellar subluxation group in both extension and flexion position. These data were also compared before and after reducing patellar in the patellar subluxation group. Furthermore, the differences of femoral prosthesis rotation, mechanical femoral axis to tibial axis angle, Knee Society score (KSS), visual analogue scale (VAS) and range of motion (ROM) were compared between the two groups.Results:All patients finished 6 months follow-up, including 27 patients in the patellar reduction group and 28 patients in the patellar subluxation group. After osteotomy and soft tissue balance during the operation, there was no significant difference in gap and varus-valgus angle between two groups in either extension or flexion position. While in the patellar subluxation group, the flexion gap was 10.5±0.3 mm with patella subluxated, less than 11.0 ± 0.3 mm after reducing the patella. The varus-valgus angle was 1.5±0.3 with patella subluxated, less than 2.3±0.4 degree after reducing the patella. The difference was statistically significant ( t=4.180, P<0.001; t=7.642, P<0.001). There was no significant difference in extension gap and varus-valgus angle before and after patella reduction in the patellar subluxation group ( P>0.05). The rotation angle of the femoral component in the patellar subluxation group was -0.49°±1.2°, and the external rotation angle was smaller than that in the patellar reduction group (0.24°±1.3°). The difference was statistically significant ( t=2.116, P=0.039). At one month after operation, ROM of the patellar reduction group was 109.6°±8.5° which was higher than that of the patellar subluxation group (104.9°±8.6°, t=2.048, P=0.046). There was no significant difference in ROM between the two groups at 3 and 6 months ( P>0.05). Moreover, there was no significant difference in KSS and VAS at 1, 3 and 6 months after operation ( P>0.05). Conclusion:In the minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty, it is suggested to balance the soft tissue as much as possible with the patellar reduced. Otherwise, the consequence of increased flexion space, increased varus and increased internal rotation of femoral prosthesis should be considered. The patients undergoing soft tissue balance with patella reduced have better ROM in the early stage postoperatively.

Background::Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and diameter, stiffness, and wave reflections, are independent and important clinical biomarkers and risk predictors for cardiovascular diseases. The purpose of the present study was to establish nationwide reference values of carotid properties for healthy Chinese adults and to explore potential clinical determinants.Methods::A total of 3053 healthy Han Chinese adults (1922 women) aged 18-79 years were enrolled at 28 collaborating tertiary centers throughout China between April 2021 and July 2022. The real-time tracking of common carotid artery walls was achieved by the radio frequency (RF) ultrasound system. The IMT, diameter, compliance coefficient, β stiffness, local pulse wave velocity (PWV), local systolic blood pressure, augmented pressure (AP), and augmentation index (AIx) were then automatically measured and reported. Data were stratified by age groups and sex. The relationships between age and carotid property parameters were analyzed by Jonckheere-Terpstra test and simple linear regressions. The major clinical determinants of carotid properties were identified by Pearson’s correlation, multiple linear regression, and analyses of covariance.Results::All the parameters of carotid properties demonstrated significantly age-related trajectories. Women showed thinner IMT, smaller carotid diameter, larger AP, and AIx than men. The β stiffness and PWV were significantly higher in men than women before forties, but the differences reversed after that. The increase rate of carotid IMT (5.5 μm/year in women and 5.8 μm/year in men) and diameter (0.03 mm/year in both men and women) were similar between men and women. For the stiffness and wave reflections, women showed significantly larger age-related variations than men as demonstrated by steeper regression slopes (all P for age by sex interaction <0.05). The blood pressures, body mass index (BMI), and triglyceride levels were identified as major clinical determinants of carotid properties with adjustment of age and sex. Conclusions::The age- and sex-specific reference values of carotid properties measured by RF ultrasound for healthy Chinese adults were established. The blood pressures, BMI, and triglyceride levels should be considered for clinical application of corresponding reference values.

The Zika virus (ZIKV) and dengue virus (DENV) flaviviruses exhibit similar replicative processes but have distinct clinical outcomes. A systematic understanding of virus–host protein–pro-tein interaction networks can reveal cellular pathways critical to viral replication and disease patho-genesis. Here we employed three independent systems biology approaches toward this goal. First, protein array analysis of direct interactions between individual ZIKV/DENV viral proteins and 20,240 human proteins revealed multiple conserved cellular pathways and protein complexes, including proteasome complexes. Second, an RNAi screen of 10,415 druggable genes identified the host proteins required for ZIKV infection and uncovered that proteasome proteins were crucial in this process. Third, high-throughput screening of 6016 bioactive compounds for ZIKV inhibition yielded 134 effective compounds, including six proteasome inhibitors that suppress both ZIKV and DENV replication. Integrative analyses of these orthogonal datasets pinpoint proteasomes as crit-ical host machinery for ZIKV/DENV replication. Our study provides multi-omics datasets for fur-ther studies of flavivirus–host interactions, disease pathogenesis, and new drug targets.

Objective:To explore the therapeutic characteristics of population with gout achieving treat-to-target (T2T) indicators through real-world research and evaluate their safety.Methods:A total of 3 287 patients diagnosed with gout by rheumatologists in 21 first-class tertiary hospitals in 10 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China from January 2015 to December 2021 were included in this polycentric cross-sectional study. The database included patients′ general information, disease characteristics, and clinical application of traditional Chinese and Western medicine treatment measures. SPSS and Excel software were used for data analysis. Frequency analysis, cluster analysis, and factor analysis were used to summarize the characteristics and rules of treatment measures for patients with gout who achieved the target after treatment. The occurrence of adverse events (AE) was recorded during treatment.Results:After treatment, 691 visits (7%) achieved the serum urate (SUA) target, and the most frequent use of urate-lowering therapy (ULT) was febuxostat, followed by benzbromarone. The most common treatment options were following: GroupⅠ: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoction-TCM external treatment-physical exercise-proprietary Chinese medicine; GroupⅡ: ferulic acid-nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs); Group Ⅲ: allopurinol-sodium bicarbonate-benzbromarone; Group Ⅳ: glucocorticoid-colchicine; Group Ⅴ: febuxostat. A total of 5 898 visits (60%) chieved manifestations of joint pain VAS scores target, and the most frequently used drug to control joint symptoms was NSAIDs. The frequency of use of drugs to control joint symptoms were 2 118 times (usage rate reached 35.9%), while the frequency of ULT were 2 504 times (usage rate reached 42.5%), which was higher than the joint symptom control drug. The most common treatment options were following: Group Ⅰ: proprietary Chinese medicine-TCM decoction-TCM external treatment-physical exercise; Group Ⅱ: NSAIDs-colchicine hormones; Group Ⅲ: allopurinol, Group Ⅳ: benzbromarone; Group Ⅴ: febuxostat. A total of 59 adverse events occurred during treatment.Conclusion:The proportions of gout patients who reach target serum urate level & good control of joint symptoms are both very low, and ULT and anti-inflammatory prescription patterns are very different from international guidelines, so it is necessary to strengthen the standardized management of gout patients. At the same time, life intervention measures account for a certain proportion of the treatment plans for the T2T population, and further exploration is needed.

The condition of patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) complicated by corona virus 2019 disease (COVID-19) is complex. sTBI can significantly increase the probability of COVID-19 developing into severe or critical stage, while COVID-19 can also increase the surgical risk of sTBI and the severity of postoperative lung lesions. There are many contradictions in the treatment process, which brings difficulties to the clinical treatment of such patients. Up to now, there are few clinical studies and therapeutic norms relevant to sTBI complicated by COVID-19. In order to standardize the clinical treatment of such patients, Critical Care Medicine Branch of China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Healthcare and Editorial Board of Chinese Journal of Trauma organized relevant experts to formulate the Chinese expert consensus on clinical treatment of adult patients with severe traumatic brain injury complicated by corona virus infection 2019 ( version 2023) based on the joint prevention and control mechanism scheme of the State Council and domestic and foreign literatures on sTBI and COVID-19 in the past 3 years of the international epidemic. Fifteen recommendations focused on emergency treatment, emergency surgery and comprehensive management were put forward to provide a guidance for the diagnosis and treatment of sTBI complicated by COVID-19.

Traumatic supraorbital fissure syndrome (TSOFS) is a symptom complex caused by nerve entrapment in the supraorbital fissure after skull base trauma. If the compressed cranial nerve in the supraorbital fissure is not decompressed surgically, ptosis, diplopia and eye movement disorder may exist for a long time and seriously affect the patients′ quality of life. Since its overall incidence is not high, it is not familiarized with the majority of neurosurgeons and some TSOFS may be complicated with skull base vascular injury. If the supraorbital fissure surgery is performed without treatment of vascular injury, it may cause massive hemorrhage, and disability and even life-threatening in severe cases. At present, there is no consensus or guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of TSOFS that can be referred to both domestically and internationally. To improve the understanding of TSOFS among clinical physicians and establish standardized diagnosis and treatment plans, the Skull Base Trauma Group of the Neurorepair Professional Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Neurotrauma Group of the Neurosurgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, Neurotrauma Group of the Traumatology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and Editorial Committee of Chinese Journal of Trauma organized relevant experts to formulate Chinese expert consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic supraorbital fissure syndrome ( version 2024) based on evidence of evidence-based medicine and clinical experience of diagnosis and treatment. This consensus puts forward 12 recommendations on the diagnosis, classification, treatment, efficacy evaluation and follow-up of TSOFS, aiming to provide references for neurosurgeons from hospitals of all levels to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of TSOFS.