ObjectiveTo investigate the expression level of HBV cccDNA in patients in the convalescence stage of hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure （HBV-ACLF） and its correlation with HBV markers and liver histopathological changes. MethodsA total of 30 patients in the convalescence stage of HBV-ACL who were hospitalized in The Ninth Hospital of Nanchang from January 2015 to October 2023 were enrolled as liver failure group， and 9 patients with chronic hepatitis B （CHB）， matched for sex and age， were enrolled as control group. The content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue was measured， and its correlation with clinical data and laboratory markers was analyzed. The independent-samples t test or the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups， and a one-way analysis of variance or the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups； the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. A Spearman correlation analysis was performed. ResultsThe liver failure group had a significantly lower content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue than the control group （-0.92±0.70 log₁₀ copies/cell vs -0.13±0.91 log₁₀ copies/cell， t=2.761， P=0.009）. In the liver failure group， there was no significant difference in the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue between the HBeAg-positive patients and the HBeAg-negative patients （P>0.05）； there was no significant difference in the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue between the patients with different grades （G0-G2， G3， and G4） of liver inflammatory activity （P>0.05）； there was no significant difference in the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue between the patients with different stages （S0-S2， S3， and S4） of liver fibrosis （P>0.05）； there was no significant difference in the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue between the patients with negative HBV DNA and those with positive HBV DNA （P>0.05）. For the liver failure group， the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue was positively correlated with the content of HBV DNA in liver tissue （r=0.426， P=0.043） and was not significantly correlated with the content of HBV DNA in serum （P>0.05）. ConclusionThere is a significant reduction in the content of HBV cccDNA in liver tissue in the convalescence stage of HBV-ACLF. HBV cccDNA exists continuously and stably in liver tissue and can better reflect the persistent infection and replication of HBV than HBV DNA in serum and liver tissue.

Objective:To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Sensitivity to Pun-ishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire-Revised and Clarified(SPSRQ-RC)in patients with eating disor-ders.Methods:Totally 111 patients with eating disorders meeting diagnostic criteria of DSM-5 were assessed with SPSRQ-RC,Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11(BIS-11),Trait Anxiety Inventory(TAI)and Eating Disorder Exami-nation Questionnaire 6.0(EDE-Q 6.0).Results:Three factors were extracted from the items by exploratory factor analysis with cumulative variance being 55.65％.The interclass correlation coefficient(ICC)of SR and BIS-11 was 0.26,the ICC of SP and TAI was 0.25,and the correlation coefficient of the SPSRQ-RC and EDE-Q 6.0 was 0.35.The Cronbach's α coefficient of the SPSRQ-RC was 0.83,the test-retest reliability of the scale was 0.82.Conclusion:The Chinese version of SPSRQ-RC shows good psychometric properties in patients with eating disor-ders.

Objective:To explore the application effect of hydration therapy in patients with intermittent claudication (IC) of peripheral arterial disease, and to provide reference for clinical application.Methods:A randomized controlled trial method was used to select 86 patients with IC of peripheral arterial disease who attended the Department of Vascular Surgery of Shanxi Bethune Hospital from June to September 2023 as the study subjects by convenience sampling method, and they were divided into the control group and the intervention group by using the method of randomized numerical table, each group had 43 cases. In the control group, routine care was provided, and in the intervention group, hydration therapy was implemented on the basis of the control group. Ankle-brachial index, transcutaneous partial pressure of oxygen, and claudication distance were assessed in both groups 1d before and 6 months after the intervention.Results:Forty-two patients in each group completed the study, 21 males and 21 females, aged (61.33 ± 8.93) years in the intervention group; 24 males and 18 females, aged (61.33 ± 9.01) years in the control group. Compared with the ankle-brachial index, transcutaneous oxygen partial pressure and limp distance of the 2 groups 1 d before intervention, the differences were not statistically significant (all P>0.05), and 6 months after the intervention, the transcutaneous oxygen partial pressure of the patients in the intervention group was (37.69 ± 8.86) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), and that of the control group was (29.69 ± 7.79) mmHg, and the differences between the 2 groups were statistically significant ( t=4.40, P<0.05). The differences in patients′ transcutaneous partial pressure of oxygen and limp distance before and after intervention in the intervention group were -7.00 (-13.00, -1.75) mmHg and -50.00 (-100.00, 0.00) m, respectively, and in the control group were 0.01 (-1.00, 1.00) mmHg and 0.01 (-1.25, 20.00) m, respectively, and the differences between the 2 groups were statistically were statistically significant ( Z=5.59, 4.33, both P<0.05). Conclusions:Hydration therapy improves transcutaneous oxygen partial pressure values and claudication distance in patients with peripheral arterial disease IC, and improves microcirculation of the affected limbs in patients.

Objective:To investigate the metabolism-related proteins and their presence in the plasma of female androgenetic alopecia (FAGA) patients.Methods:From March 2021 to March 2023, FAGA patients aged 18-50 (FAGA group) and healthy women (HC group) were recruited from the Dermatology Outpatient Department of Huashan Hospital. 3 ml of peripheral venous blood was collected from each participant and centrifuged to obtain plasma. Olink proteomics analysis was performed on the collected plasma, differentially expressed proteins were screened with R language, the diagnostic accuracy of the differentially expressed proteins was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Gene ontology (GO) analysis was performed on differentially expressed proteins. Immunofluorescence analysis on hair follicles in the parietal region of the FAGA group and the occipital region of the HC group was performed to validate the differentially expressed proteins identified. SPSS 25.0 software was used to analyze the data, with normal distribution metric data represented by Mean±SD. Student’s t-test was used to compare the basic information of two groups of subjects and the relative fluorescence intensity of differentially expressed proteins in hair follicles. Pearson correlation analysis was performed on plasma metabolism-related proteins and the basic information of subjects. P<0.05 indicates a statistically significant difference. Results:Sixty-one cases were included in the FAGA group, with an average age of (33.8±7.4) years and an onset age of (29.5±7.8) years. Among them, 38 cases were mild FAGA, 14 cases were moderate, and 9 cases were severe. Twenty-seven cases were included in the HC group, with an average age of (32.0±7.7) years. There was no statistically significant difference in the basic information (age, body mass index, testosterone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, uric acid, and ferritin levels) between the two groups of subjects ( P>0.05). Compared to the HC group, the plasma of the FAGA group showed 26 significantly upregulated differentially expressed proteins ( P<0.05), with AHCY and NECTIN2 exhibiting the most significant differences (all P=0.003). The ROC curve evaluation revealed that the area under the curve for AHCY and NECTIN2 was greater than 0.7, indicating good diagnostic accuracy. The GO analysis revealed that the differentially expressed proteins were primarily enriched in the BAT3 complex (cellular component), ubiquitin-dependent ERAD pathway, natural killer cell activation (biological process), as well as ubiquitin protein ligase binding and ubiquitin-specific protease binding (molecular function). Pearson correlation analysis revealed that AHCY ( r=-0.23, P=0.010) and NECTIN2 ( r=-0.31, P=0.033) were negatively correlated with the severity of hair loss in FAGA patients. The results of hair follicle immunofluorescence analysis showed that the relative fluorescence intensity of AHCY and NECTIN2 in the FAGA group was higher than that in the HC group ( P<0.05). In other words, both AHCY and NECTIN2 were upregulated in the FAGA group. Conclusion:Metabolism-related proteins play an important role in FAGA. AHCY and NECTIN2 may serve as early diagnostic biomarkers for FAGA.

Objective:To study the epidemiological characteristics of brucellosis (hereinafter referred to as brucellosis) among non-occupational population in Jinan City, and to provide a basis for formulating further prevention and control measures.Methods:From "the Infectious Disease Monitoring System of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention", Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Jinan City and its subordinate counties, the epidemiological data and case investigation data of brucellosis in Jinan from 2012 to 2021 were collected and statistically analyzed using descriptive epidemiological methods.Results:From 2012 to 2021, a total of 453 cases of brucellosis were reported in the non-occupational population of Jinan City, accounting for 20.21% (453/2 241) of the total number of cases. The proportion of brucellosis cases in the non-occupational population showed an increasing trend year by year (χ 2tend = 25.50, P < 0.001). Among the non-occupational population, there were 317 males and 136 females, with a gender ratio of 2.33∶1.00; the age was (46.34 ± 17.72) years old, with a minimum age of 1 year and a maximum age of 86 years. The majority of the affected population were farmers, accounting for 71.74% (325/453). The peak onset time was April and May. The main routes of infection were through the digestive tract and respiratory tract, accounting for 36.87% (167/453) and 33.77% (153/453), respectively. The clinical symptoms were mainly fever, muscle soreness, fatigue, and hyperhidrosis. The diagnosis time was 20.0 (7.5, 37.5) d, and the sensitivity of city and district general hospitals to detect and diagnose brucellosis was relatively low. Conclusions:The incidence rate of brucellosis among non-occupational population in Jinan is increasing year by year. The high incidence season is spring, and the high incidence population is male young and middle-aged farmers. Digestive and respiratory transmission are the main transmission routes, with atypical clinical symptoms and a long diagnosis time. The next step is to strengthen the promotion of brucellosis prevention and control knowledge and the training of medical personnel in brucellosis diagnosis.

Objective:To explore the caregiving feelings and needs of caregivers of children with β-thalassemia major.Methods:A semi-structured interview was conducted with 14 caregivers of children with β-thalassemia major who were treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities from December 2022 to March 2023, and the data were analyzed using the Colaizzi 7-step analysis method.Results:Caregivers of children with β-thalassemia major felt a greater burden of care, including declining physical and mental health, disruption of daily life rhythms and heavy financial burden. And their caregiving needs included psychological and emotional support, guidance on the physical and mental health of children, assurance of a stable blood supply and medical and social support.Conclusions:Caregivers of children with β-thalassemia major have a heavy burden of care and face various nursing difficulties in the daily care of children. Medical staff should actively take measures to meet their care needs and improve their care quality and quality of life.

Objective:To systematically search and evaluate risk prediction models for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) of ICU in order to provide references for developing higher-quality VAP risk prediction models.Methods:Relevant literature was retrieved from databases including China Biology Medicine disc, WanFang data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. The search timeframe was from the establishment of the databases to September 30, 2023, limited to English and Chinese languages. Two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted data, and the PROBAST tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias and applicability of the included studies.Results:A total of 15 studies on VAP risk prediction models were included. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the 15 models ranged from 0.722 to 0.982. The most frequently involved predictors were age, duration of mechanical ventilation, ICU length of stay, and comorbid chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The overall adaptability was good, but the risk of bias was high. The main sources of bias included insufficient sample size, inappropriate data sources, lack of model performance evaluation, and inadequate attention to missing data.Conclusions:The risk of bias in studies on VAP risk prediction models is high, indicating that the field is still developing. Future research should focus on the effectiveness of different risk assessment methods to construct models with low bias, excellent predictive performance, and suitability for clinical practice in China.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of a new variety of Sambucus williamsii Hance Yandan on the healing in rats with fractures. METHODS SD rats were randomly allocated to sham surgery group， model group， Zhonghua dieda pill group （0.54 g/kg）， wild S. williamsii group （5.4 g/kg， using raw drug dosage）， and high-， medium-， and low-dose groups of Yandan （10.8， 5.4， 2.7 g/kg， using raw drug dosage）， with 12 rats in each group. Except for the sham surgery group， the remaining groups were prepared with a femoral fracture model. Starting from the second day after surgery， each group was intubated with the corresponding drugs and distilled water once daily for 8 consecutive weeks. At 2， 4， and 8 weeks after administration， the levels of calcium， phosphorus， alkaline phosphatase （ALP）， and osteocalcin （OCN） in rat serum were detected. Micro-CT scanning was used to evaluate the morphology and bone microstructural parameters of the fractured femur [bone mineral density （BMD）， bone volume/tissue volume （BV/TV）， trabecular number （Tb.N）， trabecular separation （Tb.Sp）， trabecular thickness （Tb.Th）]， and hematoxylin-eosin staining was adopted to observe the morphological changes at the bone fracture site. RESULTS Compared with the model group， the levels of calcium in rat serum were significantly decreased （except at 4 weeks after administration）， and the levels of phosphorus， ALP， and OCN were significantly increased （P＜0.05） at 2， 4， and 8 weeks after administration in the high- dose group of Yandan； bone callus formation， connection of fracture ends， gradual blurring or disappearance of the fracture line， and opening of the marrow cavity were observed in the bone repair process， and a large amount of granulation tissue， fibroblasts， chondrocytes， new trabeculae， and new bone plates were visible at the fracture site of bone tissue； after 8 weeks of administration， BMD， BV/TV， Tb.N， and Tb.Th were significantly increased， and Tb.Sp was significantly decreased （P＜0.05）. Most of the above indicators in the wild S. williamsii Hance group showed no significant changes. CONCLUSIONS Yandan has the effect of promoting fracture healing in rats， and its effect is superior to that of wild S. williamsii.

Objective To investigate the effects of DNA demethylation drugs combined with histone deacetylase in-hibitors on fragile X mental retardation 1 neighbor protein (FMR1NB) expression and its promoter methylation in human oral cancer cells and try to find a strategy of weakening the heterogeneity of FMR1NB expression.Methods Human oral cancer cell lines Cal27 and SCC-9 were treated with decitabine (DAC) , an inhibitor of DNA meth-yltransferase, combined with trichostatin A (TSA) and valproic acid (VPA), inhibitors of histone deacetylase.Then reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) , quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot were used to detect the expression of FMR1 NB and pyrosequencing was used to detect the methylation of FMR1NB promoter.Results Compared with the blank control group, DAC and its combination with TSA and VPA significantly induced the expression of FMR1NB mRNA and protein in Cal27 and SCC-9 cells.Compared with DAC alone group, FMR1NB mRNA expression of each DAC-combined drug groups significantly increased, but FMR1NB protein did not significantly change in Cal27 cells; for SCC-9 cells, except for DAC+TSA group, the mRNA and protein levels of FMR1NB significantly increased in all other groups.In addition, there was no signifi-cant difference in the expression of FMR1 NB mRNA and protein between the three-combined drugs group and two-combined drugs groups.Further methylation assay showed that the methylation level of the overall FMR1NB promot-er and its each CpG site measured were reduced to varying degrees in all treatment groups except for three-combina-tion drug group of SCC-9.Conclusion DAC and its combination with TSA and VPA can enhance the expression of FMR1NB by mediating the demethylation of FMR1NB promoter, wherein the enhanced expression effect of the com-bination of the two drugs is stronger, suggesting that they have the potential to weaken the heterogeneity of FMR1NB expression and improve the immunotherapy effect of oral cancer.

Objective:To investigate the metabolism-related proteins and their presence in the plasma of female androgenetic alopecia (FAGA) patients.Methods:From March 2021 to March 2023, FAGA patients aged 18-50 (FAGA group) and healthy women (HC group) were recruited from the Dermatology Outpatient Department of Huashan Hospital. 3 ml of peripheral venous blood was collected from each participant and centrifuged to obtain plasma. Olink proteomics analysis was performed on the collected plasma, differentially expressed proteins were screened with R language, the diagnostic accuracy of the differentially expressed proteins was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Gene ontology (GO) analysis was performed on differentially expressed proteins. Immunofluorescence analysis on hair follicles in the parietal region of the FAGA group and the occipital region of the HC group was performed to validate the differentially expressed proteins identified. SPSS 25.0 software was used to analyze the data, with normal distribution metric data represented by Mean±SD. Student’s t-test was used to compare the basic information of two groups of subjects and the relative fluorescence intensity of differentially expressed proteins in hair follicles. Pearson correlation analysis was performed on plasma metabolism-related proteins and the basic information of subjects. P<0.05 indicates a statistically significant difference. Results:Sixty-one cases were included in the FAGA group, with an average age of (33.8±7.4) years and an onset age of (29.5±7.8) years. Among them, 38 cases were mild FAGA, 14 cases were moderate, and 9 cases were severe. Twenty-seven cases were included in the HC group, with an average age of (32.0±7.7) years. There was no statistically significant difference in the basic information (age, body mass index, testosterone, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, uric acid, and ferritin levels) between the two groups of subjects ( P>0.05). Compared to the HC group, the plasma of the FAGA group showed 26 significantly upregulated differentially expressed proteins ( P<0.05), with AHCY and NECTIN2 exhibiting the most significant differences (all P=0.003). The ROC curve evaluation revealed that the area under the curve for AHCY and NECTIN2 was greater than 0.7, indicating good diagnostic accuracy. The GO analysis revealed that the differentially expressed proteins were primarily enriched in the BAT3 complex (cellular component), ubiquitin-dependent ERAD pathway, natural killer cell activation (biological process), as well as ubiquitin protein ligase binding and ubiquitin-specific protease binding (molecular function). Pearson correlation analysis revealed that AHCY ( r=-0.23, P=0.010) and NECTIN2 ( r=-0.31, P=0.033) were negatively correlated with the severity of hair loss in FAGA patients. The results of hair follicle immunofluorescence analysis showed that the relative fluorescence intensity of AHCY and NECTIN2 in the FAGA group was higher than that in the HC group ( P<0.05). In other words, both AHCY and NECTIN2 were upregulated in the FAGA group. Conclusion:Metabolism-related proteins play an important role in FAGA. AHCY and NECTIN2 may serve as early diagnostic biomarkers for FAGA.