Bone metastasis is common for advanced breast cancer, and can cause pathologic fractures, hypercalcemia, spinal cord compression and other skeletal-related events. The life quality of patients with bone metastasis will be seriously affected. But for now, the mechanism of breast cancer bone metastasis is not clear. As a result, there are no effective and targeted treatments, except the locoregional therapy such as radiation therapy and surgery. Therefore, this review focuses on the molecular mechanisms of breast cancer bone metastasis in order to lay a foundation for further research of effective targeted therapy. Firstly, in this review, a complex succession of invasion-metastasis cascade in bone metastasis is expounded, and the positive feedback “vicious cycle” promoting the milignant proliferation of tumor cells is expatiated. Then the estrogen receptor mediating mechanism of bone metastasis is discussed. In the end, the recent advances in clinical research of breast cancer bone metastasis and the forward future research directions are summarized.

BACKGROUND:Cartilage defects are one of the major clinical challenges faced by orthopedic surgeons.Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary approach that combines knowledge of engineering and cell biology to provide new ideas and approaches for the repair of cartilage defects. OBJECTIVE:To prepare a multi-component composite scaffold based on silk fibroin,gelatin,and chitosan to screen for a three-dimensional porous scaffold suitable for cartilage regeneration by evaluating its physicochemical properties and biological performance. METHODS:Four groups of porous scaffolds were prepared by vacuum freeze-drying method using silk fibroin,gelatin and chitosan as the base materials,namely chitosan/gelatin scaffold,silk fibroin/chitosan scaffold,silk fibroin/gelatin scaffold and silk fibroin/chitosan/gelatin scaffold.The suitable cartilage scaffolds were screened by scanning electron microscopy,X-ray diffractometer,porosity,water absorption and swelling rate,biodegradation rate and mechanical property detection.Then cartilage scaffolds were co-cultured with chondrocytes isolated and extracted from patients with osteoarthritis.The feasibility of porous scaffolds for cartilage injury repair was evaluated in vitro by cell adhesion rate assay,cell live-dead staining and cell activity proliferation assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)All four groups of scaffolds had porous structures.The comprehensive physical performance test results showed that the silk fibroin/gelatin/chitosan scaffold was more in line with the requirements of cartilage defect repair.This scaffold had a pore size of(176.00±53.68)μm,the porosity of(80.15±2.57)%,and water absorption and swelling rate of(3 712±358)%.After immersion in PBS containing lysozyme for 28 days in vitro,the biodegradation rate was(46.87±3.25)%,and it had good mechanical properties.(2)Chondrocytes could adhere well on the silk fibroin/gelatin/chitosan scaffold,and the cell adhesion rate increased with time.CCK8 and live/dead cell double staining results showed that silk fibroin/gelatin/chitosan scaffold had good biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity.(3)The results showed that silk fibroin/gelatin/chitosan scaffold had a highly hydrated 3D structure,suitable pore size and porosity,good biodegradability and superior mechanical properties,which can provide a good reticular skeleton and microenvironment for nutrient transport and chondrocyte attachment and proliferation.

Purpose: Pyrotinib is a newly-developed irreversible pan-ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. This study reported the first real-world data of pyrotinib-based therapy in metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer (BC), focusing on efficacy in lapatinib-treated patients and in brain metastasis. Materials and Methods: One hundred thirteen patients with metastatic HER2-positive BC treated with pyrotinib-based therapy in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center under non-clinical trial settings from September 1, 2018 to March 1, 2019 were included. Results: Over half patients have received more than two lines of systematic therapy and exposed to two or more kinds of anti-HER2 agents. Most patients received a combined therapy, commonly of pyrotinib plus capecitabine, or vinorelbine or trastuzumab. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.3 months (range, 5.54 to 7.06 months) and objective response rate (ORR) was 29.5%, with two patients (1.9%) achieving complete response. Lapatinib-naïve patients had significantly longer PFS than lapatinib-treated patients (9.0 months vs. 5.4 months, p=0.001). ORR for lapatinib-treated patients was 23.2%. Thirty-one of 113 patients have brain metastasis. Median PFS was 6.7 months and intracranial ORR was 28%. For patients without concurrent radiotherapy and/or brain surgery, the ORR was very low (6.3%). But for patients receiving concurrent radiotherapy and/or brain surgery, the ORR was 66.7%, and three patients achieved complete response. Most common adverse event was diarrhea. Conclusion Pyrotinib-based therapy demonstrated promising effects in metastatic HER2-positive BC and showed activity in lapatinib-treated patients. For patients with brain metastasis, pyrotinib-based regimen without radiotherapy showed limited efficacy, but when combined with radiotherapy it showed promising intracranial control.

Thimerosal has been widely used as a preservative in drug and vaccine products for decades.Due to the strong propensity to modify thiols in proteins,conformational changes could occur due to covalent bond formation between ethylmercury(a degradant of thimerosal)and thiols.Such a conformational change could lead to partial or even complete loss of desirable protein function.This study aims to investigate the effects of thimerosal on the capsid stability and antigenicity of recombinant human papillomavirus(HPV)18 virus-like particles(VLPs).Dramatic destabilization of the recombinant viral capsid upon thimerosal treatment was observed.Such a negative effect on the thermal stability of VLPs preserved with thimerosal was shown to be dependent on the thimerosal concentration.Two highly neutralizing antibodies,13H12 and 3C3,were found to be the most sensitive to thimerosal treatment.The kinetics of antigenicity loss,when monitored with 13H12 or 3C3 as probes,yielded two distinctly different sets of kinetic parameters,while the data from both monoclonal antibodies(mAbs)followed a biphasic expo-nential decay model.The potential effect of thimerosal on protein function,particularly for thiol-containing proteinaceous active components,needs to be comprehensively characterized during formulation development when a preservative is necessary.

Objective To investigate short-term clinical efficacy of autologous leukocyte-poor platelet-rich plasma(LP-PRP)treatment of knee osteoarthritis(KO A).Methods 85 cases of patients with Keligren Lawrence grade Ⅰ-Ⅲ knee os-teoarthritis in Peking University First Hospital Taiyuan Hospital(Taiyuan Central Hospital)from 2022 to 2023 were collect-ed for autologous LP-PRP collection and quality assessment using a blood component separator,and all patients were treated with autologous LP-PRP.The degree and function of knee pain were assessed by visual analog scale(VAS)and knee arthri-tis index scale(WOMAC)at 1,3 and 6 months after injection.Knee MRI was performed after 6 months of treatment,and the MRI imaging changes before and after treatment were compared.Different influencing factors in the treatment results were grouped and analyzed,mainly including platelet concentration in LP-PRP and K-L grading of knee joint.According to the platelet concentration in LP-PRP,it was divided into three grades,which are low concentration[(＜800)×109/L],medium concentration[(800-1 000)×109/L],and high concentration[(＞1 000)× 109/L];According to the K-L grade of the knee joint,the severity of knee osteoarthritis was divided into three grades:Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ.Results The VAS and WOMAC scores at 1,3 and 6 months after LP-PRP treatment were significantly lower than those before treatment,and the difference was sta-tistically significant(P＜0.05).There was a statistically significant difference in the therapeutic effect of different levels of platelet concentration,and when the platelet concentration was more than 1 000×109/L,the significant effect was the most obvious(P＜0.05).The therapeutic effect of different levels of platelet concentration was statistically significant(P＜0.05).MRI showed that the articular cartilage signal was significantly improved after treatment.Conclusion Autologous LP-PRP injection into knee cavity for the treatment of KO A has a good short-term clinical effect in relieving knee pain.

Endocrine therapy is the most important adjuvant treatment for early estrogen receptor(ER)-positive breast cancer.ER-low-positive(immunohistochemistry staining 1%-10%)breast cancer has drawn widespread attention in recent years.This group accounts for 3%-9%of overall breast cancer patients.The efficacy of endocrine adjuvant therapy is relatively limited in patients with ER-low-positive breast cancer.Although the proportion of patients with low ER expression in breast cancer population is relatively low,the clinical needs of this population can not be ignored because of the large number of breast cancer patients.A number of studies have suggested that ER-low-positive breast cancer is different from ER-positive breast cancer,and is similar to ER-negative breast cancer in terms of molecular and biological characteristics,clinical features and prognosis.There are still controversies on the benefit and duration of endocrine therapy for early ER-low-positive breast cancer,and there is a lack of evidence from large-scale prospective studies.Multiple retrospective studies and meta-analyses have suggested that ER-low-positive breast cancer may have limited benefit from adjuvant endocrine therapy,and therefore endocrine therapy should be considered with caution in this population.The benefit of adjuvant therapy combined with cyclin-dependent kinase(CDK)4/6 inhibitors is yet to be supported by future data.Some patients with ER-low-positive breast cancer may try adjuvant chemotherapy in consideration of other risk factors.Additionally,clinical trials that test antibody-drug conjugates(such as sacituzumab govitecan and Dato-DXd),poly(ADP-ribose)polymerase(PARP)inhibitors,and immunotherapies for the treatment of early ER-low-positive breast cancer are still ongoing,including the phase Ⅲ ASCENT-05 study evaluating the adjuvant therapy of sacituzumab govitecan combined with pembrolizumab in high-risk human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)-negative,ER and progesterone receptor(PR)＜10%patients after surgery,the phase Ⅲ SASCIA study evaluating the adjuvant therapy of sacituzumab govitecan in high-risk HER2-negative patients after surgery,and the phase Ⅲ TROPION-Breast 04 study evaluating the neoadjuvant therapy of Dato-DXd combined with durvalumab.In addition,a neoadjuvant treatment for triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC)and ER-low expression breast cancer with olaparib and durvalumab(NCT03594396)is being explored,and the results are worth expecting.This article aimed to introduce the definition,clinical and pathological characteristics,and prognosis of ER-low breast cancer,and expound on the current treatment status and potential therapeutic strategies for HER2-negative,ER-low-positive early breast cancer in the future.

Objective:To formulate the Nursing standards of clinical practice of critical care ultrasonography (referred to as the Standards), so as to provide recommendations for the application of ultrasound in intensive care nursing practice. Methods:Based on the experience of intensive care ultrasound nursing practice and literature research, combined with the consensus recommendations of intensive care ultrasound, the critical care ultrasound study group formed the first draft of the Standards. After expert interview, consensus discussion, two rounds of Delphi expert letter consultation and other methods, the content of the Standards was revised and improved, and the final draft of the Standards was formed. Results:The Standards included four parts, such as basic application of intensive care ultrasound, nursing evaluation standard of intensive care ultrasound guidance, nursing operation process guided by ultrasound and intensive care ultrasound training. Conclusions:The establishment of Standards is scientific and practical, which can provide guidance for nursing practice of clinical operation technology of critical care ultrasonography.

Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19),which is caused by SARS-CoV-2,varies with regard to symptoms and mortality rates among populations.Humoral immunity plays critical roles in SARS-CoV-2 infection and recovery from COVID-19.However,differences in immune responses and clinical features among COVID-19 patients remain largely unknown.Here,we report a database for COVID-19-specific IgG/IgM immune responses and clinical parameters(named COVID-ONE-hi).COVID-ONE-hi is based on the data that contain the IgG/IgM responses to 24 full-length/truncated proteins corresponding to 20 of 28 known SARS-CoV-2 proteins and 199 spike protein peptides against 2360 serum samples collected from 783 COVID-19 patients.In addition,96 clinical parameters for the 2360 serum samples and basic information for the 783 patients are integrated into the database.Furthermore,COVID-ONE-hi provides a dashboard for defining samples and a one-click analysis pipeline for a single group or paired groups.A set of samples of interest is easily defined by adjusting the scale bars of a variety of parameters.After the"START"button is clicked,one can readily obtain a comprehensive analysis report for further interpretation.COVID-ONE-hi is freely available at www.COVID-ONE.cn.

[Objective] To investigate the infection status and characteristics of HEV among voluntary blood donors in Ningbo, and to provide a basis for improving the blood screening strategy. [Methods] A total of 12 227 blood samples from voluntary blood donors in Ningbo from June 2022 to May 2023 were tested for HEV serology, enzymology, and nucleic acid testing. Furthermore, HEV gene sequencing was performed for genotyping analysis, and donors with reactive nucleic acid testing results were followed up to confirm their infection status. [Results] The reactivity rate of HEV Ag, anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgG was 0.098%, 0.899% and 29.198%, respectively. There was no difference in the reactivity of anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgG between genders, donation frequencies and donation types (P>0.05). The reactivity rate increased significantly with age (P<0.05). The rate of ALT disqualification (ALT>50U/L) was significantly higher than that in non-reactive samples (P<0.05). The HEV Ag reactivity rate (0.098%) was not correlated with gender, donation frequency, donation type or age. One HEV RNA positive case was found, with a positive rate of 0.008%(1/12 227). It was confirmed to be hepatitis E virus genotype 3 by sequencing analysis. Apart from HEV Ag reactivity, all other blood safety screening items were non-reactive, suggesting this case might be in the acute infection phase. The follow-up results showed that all indicators of the donor's previous blood donation were non-reactive. [Conclusion] Pre-donation ALT detection can reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted HEV (TT-HEV) to a certain extent, and the effective way to prevent TT-HEV is to detect HEV RNA and serology of donor blood.

Kallistatin, which protects organs and cells against inflammation, fibrosis and oxidative stress, is mainly synthesized and secreted in liver. However, its relationship to human liver disease remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between serum kallistatin and clinical evidence of both cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to determine if serum kallistatin levels could be used as a diagnostic indicator of hepatic health status, especially human liver cirrhosis (LC). Our cohort consisted of 115 patients with clinically proven liver fibrosis (LF), LC, or HCC by liver biopsies, and 31 healthy controls (CON). Serum kallistatin levels were quantified by ELISA. Results of the present study demonstrated that irrespective of the underlying etiology, serum kallistatin levels were significantly lower in the LF/LC group when compared with the CON group. A decrease in serum kallistatin levels appeared to reflect the extent of cirrhosis, with the lowest levels associated with higher grades of cirrhosis. Patients with LC had a noticeable correlation between serum kallistatin levels and other serum biochemical indicators. The area under the curve (AUC) for LC, viral liver cirrhosis (VLC) and alcoholic liver cirrhosis (ALC) was 0.845, 0.757 and 0.931, respectively. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that kallistatin, a plasma protein produced by the liver, can be a useful and reliable diagnostic indicator of hepatic health status, especially for LC.