Rheumatic diseases are a group of chronic disorders characterized by abnormalities in the immune system， while portal hypertension occurs due to increased blood flow or heightened resistance in the portal venous system or obstruction of hepatic venous outflow. Both rheumatic diseases and their medications can lead to noncirrhotic portal hypertension. The hypercoagulable state associated with rheumatic diseases can result in thrombosis within the portal and hepatic venous systems， and damage to the intrahepatic portal system and hepatic sinusoidal endothelial system can lead to porto-sinusoidal vascular disease and hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome. Moreover， drugs used for the treatment of rheumatic diseases may cause liver parenchymal injury， which further leads to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis， or they may damage the hepatic vascular endothelium and thus cause noncirrhotic portal hypertension. This article elaborates on the mechanisms and characteristics by which common rheumatic diseases and their therapeutic agents lead to portal hypertension， in order to provide insights and assistance for clinical diagnosis， treatment， and follow-up monitoring.

Objective:This study aimed to explore the clinical value of myostatin(MST) and follistatin(FST) as biological biomarkers in evaluating sarcopenia in elderly women.Methods:This was a retrospective cross-sectional study that enrolled 350 females aged 20-89 years who underwent physical examinations in Shanghai Huadong Hospital in 2021. Demographic characteristics, muscle mass, fat mass, bone mineral density, hand grip strength, gait speed, and serum indices of MST and FST were collected.Results:The serum levels of MST did not change significantly with age. However, the serum levels of FST increased with age. In women aged≥60 years, MST was positively correlated with total lean mass and appendicular skeletal muscle index(ASMI; r=0.236, P=0.041; r=0.289, P=0.014), while FST was negatively correlated with ASMI( r=-0.265, P=0.030). In multivariate stepwise regression analysis, after adjusting for age, body mass index, hip bone mineral density, and total fat mass, only FST was independently correlated with ASMI( β=-0.238, P=0.006), while MST was not correlated with ASMI. The receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted using muscle mass reduction as the state variable and serum FST level as the test variable. The area under the curve was 0.753. And when the FST cutoff value was 17.49 ng/mL, the maximum Jordan index was 0.46, with a sensitivity of 77.3% and a specificity of 68.7%. Women aged ≥60 years were divided into three groups based on serum FST levels. Compared to the upper third of the serum FST level group, the low third of the FST level group had a significantly reduced risk of suffering from sarcopenia( OR=0.098, P =0.036). Conclusions:Serum FST lever has a better correlation with muscle mass among elderly women, making it a promising biomarker for evaluating muscle mass.

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) represent a significant component of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) microenvironments which play a critical role in tumor progression and drug resistance. Tumor-on-a-chip technology has provided a powerful in vitro platform to investigate the crosstalk between activated HSCs and HCC cells by mimicking physiological architecture with precise spatiotemporal control. Here we developed a tri-cell culture microfluidic chip to evaluate the impact of HSCs on HCC progression. On-chip analysis revealed activated HSCs contributed to endothelial invasion, HCC drug resistance and natural killer (NK) cell exhaustion. Cytokine array and RNA sequencing analysis were combined to indicate the iron-binding protein LIPOCALIN-2 (LCN-2) as a key factor in remodeling tumor microenvironments in the HCC-on-a-chip. LCN-2 targeted therapy demonstrated robust anti-tumor effects both in vitro 3D biomimetic chip and in vivo mouse model, including angiogenesis inhibition, sorafenib sensitivity promotion and NK-cell cytotoxicity enhancement. Taken together, the microfluidic platform exhibited obvious advantages in mimicking functional characteristics of tumor microenvironments and developing targeted therapies.

Objective:To retrospectively compare the clinical efficacy of two PDE3 inhibitors, oplinone and Milrinone, in order to evaluate which drug has better effects on the improvement of cardiac function, protection of renal function and adverse effects of arrhythmia.Methods:A total of 41 neonates with congenital heart disease after biventricular treatment under cardiopulmonary bypass in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Soochow University Children's Hospital during 2018-2022 were collected. The experimental group was divided into two groups: Oprilinone(25 cases) and Milinone(16 cases). A retrospective study was conducted on the incidence of renal function, cardiac function improvement and arrhythmia in the children.Results:On the first day after operation, EF in both groups decreased significantly compared with that before operation( P<0.01); On day 4 after surgery, EF in the oprilinone group was significantly higher than that on day 1 after surgery( P<0.01), Milrinone group was slightly higher than that on day 1 after surgery( P<0.05), and EF in oprilinone group was significantly higher than that in Milinone group during the same period( P<0.01); EF in Milinone group continued to increase on day 7 compared with day 4( P<0.01), but there was no significant difference between the two groups. Long-term follow-up showed that there was no significant difference in EF value in the oprilinone intervention group on day 7 after surgery( P<0.05), and the long-term EF in Milinone group was higher than that at 7 days after surgery( P<0.05). The creatinine level in the oprinone intervention group continued to decrease on the 4th and 7th day after surgery( P<0.01; P<0.05); The creatinine level of Milinone group on day 4 after surgery was significantly lower than that on day 1 after surgery( P<0.01), the decrease was not significant on the 7th day after surgery compared with the 4th day after surgery; The creatinine level in the oprilinone group was lower than that in the Milrinone group on day 7 after surgery( P<0.05). The rate of arrhythmia in children was slightly decreased in the intervention group of olplinone. There was no change in the Milinone group. Conclusion:Oplinone improved cardiac function better than Milrinone, and the recovery time to normal cardiac function was shorter. In terms of renal function protection, oplinone was stronger than Milrinone, and the protective effect of oplinone on kidney lasted longer. No significant abnormalities were found with respect to adverse reactions, such as the incidence of arrhythmia.

Objective:To establish a set of scientific and reasonable indicator system of common prosperity in the field of health, so as to promote the construction and evaluation of the demonstration area of common prosperity with high quality of health.Methods:According to the requirements of promoting common prosperity demonstration area with high quality of health in Zhejiang province, the initial indicator pool was established through literature research and theoretical analysis in July 2021, and experts were convened to carry out expert brainstorming to determine indicator system in the form of meetings. Delphi method was used to conduct two rounds of expert consultation on the indicator system.Finally, the analytic hierarchy process and percentage weight method were used to calculate the indicator weight value.Results:The final indicator system included 4 first-level indicators and 30 second-level indicators. Among the first-level indicators, the weight values of the development, equilibrium, inclusiveness, and sustainability were 0.326 4, 0.242 8, 0.245 8, and 0.185 0. There were 8 second-level indicators in developmental indicator dimension, of which the indicator with the highest weight was the per capita health expectancy. The balance indicator dimension included 6 second-level indicators, of which the indicator with the highest weight was the per capita financing difference of basic medical insurance between the urban workers with the urban-rural residents. The inclusive indicator dimension included 6 second-level indicators, and the proportion of personal health expenditure to total health expenditure had the highest weight. The sustainability indicator dimension included 10 second-level indicators, and the proportion of government health expenditure in fiscal expenditure had the highest weight.Conclusions:The indicator system constructed in this research could provide certain guidance and reference for promoting the construction of common prosperity in health, and provide some reference for follow-up research in this field.

Objective To compare simulated training of "45° tilting insertion" and the "dynamic scan" needling under B ultrasound.Methods Fifty volunteer residents and visiting physicians worked in the anesthesiology department in Peking Union Medical College Hospital were recruited to attend the simulated needling training.The insertion time,insertion attempts until success,numbers of success while advancing the needle and numbers of needle tip visible upon success were re corded.The degree of difficulty and safety of the techniques,the confidence of performing the techniques,the clinical usefulness of the techniques and the training effect were evaluated among the volunteers.Results There were no differences in the insertion time,numbers of successful insertion while advancing the needle and numbers of needle tip visible upon success between the two techniques.Compared with "45° tilting insertion" technique,"dynamic scan" resulted in less needle redirection times and a higher first-attempt successful rate,and got higher scores in terms of difficulty and safety (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).The confidence scores of performing the two technique were similar.20 (40％) volunteers chose to use "dynamic scan",8 (16％) chose to use "45° tilting insertion" and 22 (440％) chose to use both technique in their clinical work.100％ of them considered the training was greatly helpful or helpful.Conclusion The technique of "dynamic scan" produced a higher first-attempt successful rate and was easier and safer than "45° angle insertion".The combination of the two techniques might be a new technique that is worth trying.

Objective To study the expression of serum interleukin (IL )-6 and IL-10 in sepsis patients ,and their correlations with immune function .Methods A total of 56 patients with sepsis were divided into three groups ,including 18 patients in sepsis group ,21 patients in severe sepsis group ,17 patients in septic shock group .All the patients were also divided into survivor and death group according to whether they survived within 2 weeks .Other 30 healthy persons were selected in the control group .Serum IL-6 and IL-10 ,CD4+ /CD8+ were detected and compared .Results Serum IL-6 and IL-10 levels in the three sepsis groups were significantly higher than those in control group ,and with the severity aggravating ,these indicators increased .The level of serum IL-6 in sepsis patients was significantly reduced at the 3rd day ,while there was no difference on the serum IL-10 in severe sepsis group and septic shock group compared with that at admission(P>0 .05) .Compared with survivor group ,serum IL-6 and IL-10 levels on both admission and the 3rd in death groups increased significantly (P<0 .05) .CD4+ ,CD8+ ,CD4+ /CD8+ were negative related with serum IL-6 and IL-10 in both severe sepsis and septic shock group (P<0 .05) .Conclusion The expression of IL-6 and IL-10 in patients with sepsis are over-expressive ,and closely related with disease activity and immune function .

OBJECTIVE: To explore a new way to modify the UPPP and to assess the operative efficacy of modified-coblation assisted UPPP (M-CAUP) on patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). METHOD: A retrospective analysis was made on surgical therapeutic effect of M-CAUP performed in our hospital. INCLUSION CRITERIA: 87 adult inpatients with severe OSAHS were involved in the study whose preoperative AHI were beyond 30/h and LSaO2 were under or equal to 85%. All those had the primary level obstruction within the retropalatal region as determined by PSG and airway pressure fluctuation monitoring (ApneaGraph 200, MRA-Medical Ltd, Gloucestershire UK) . The surgical approach of M-CAUP: (1) bilateral tonsillectomy by using Arthrocare EVac 70 T&A Wand. (2) dissection of velum palatinum space by using Arthrocare EVac 70 T&A Wand, ablation of fat tissue to removed it from the space, avoiding injure levator palatini muscle and tensor palatini muscle and preserving musculus uvula, maintaining the normal structure of oropharynx. (3) ablation of channel of soft palate by using Arthrocare EVac 55 T&A Wand to reduce the volume of soft palate moderately. (4) plasty: suturing the tonsilar fossa to close the space, interrupted suture two sides of palatine arch and uvula. All patients were followed up for six to eighteen months postoperatively and received PSG. RESULT: After M-CAUP, the pharyngeal cavity was enlarged while the basic structure of oropharynx was maintained and no nasopharyngeal refluxing occurred. The subjective symptoms were also improved evidently after operation. After operation, the AHI and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) decreased while LSaO2 increased. The reduction of AHI and ESS had statistical significance (P < 0.01), and the rise of LSaO2 also had statistical significance (P < 0.01). The total effective ratio of the operation was 89.7%. CONCLUSION Despite of various treatment, the operative efficacy of conventional UPPP was almost not ideal on severe OSAHS due to complex pathogeny. It was proved that M-CAUP was an effective surgical treatment of severe OSAHS with less blood loss. The operation was minimally invasive and maintained the normal functions of palatopharynx in principle. It could be applied in clinical practice.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Otorhinolaryngologic Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Palate, Soft ; surgery ; Pharynx ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; surgery ; Uvula ; surgery

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes of leukotriene D4 (LTD4) in nasal discharge and plasma of patients with persistent allergic rhinitis (AR) and the effects of antihistamine. METHOD: The investigation was a prospective, randomized controlled trial. Forty AR patients (group C) were divided randomly into two subgroup. One group received oral antihistamine 10 mg everyday for one week (group CA) and another group received no loratadine tablets 10 mg everyday for one week (group CB). Fifteen age matched healthy (group D) people were enrolled as control. The level of LTD4 and interleukin-5 (IL-5) in both nasal discharge and plasma by using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and enzyme immunoassay (EIA), cell counts and cell differentials in nasal discharge, were measured before and after three month. The clinical symptom and life quality scores of group C were also investigated. RESULT: The concentrations of LTD4 in nasal discharge [(794 +/- 305) pg] and plasma [(5219 +/- those in group D [(347 +/- 169) pg, (2283 +/- 489) ng/L, all P 1185) ng/L] in group C were significantly higher than those in group D [(347 +/- 169) pg, (2283 +/- 489) ng/L, all P < 0.05]. The level of LTD4 in nasal discharge was positively correlated with the percentage of neutrophil (r = 0.453, P < 0.05) and IL-5 (r = 0.364, P < 0.05). The pre- and post-therapy concentrations of nasal discharge and plasma in group CA were (812 +/- 1592) pg, (657 +/- 495) pg and (5422 +/- 935) ng/L, (4589 +/- 1057) ng/L respectively; While in group CB the concentrations were (776 +/- 227) pg, (860 +/- 194) pg and (5074 +/- 1850) ng/L, (6063 +/- 450) ng/L, respectively. There were no significant difference either in the level of LTD4 in nasal discharge or in plasma in both groups (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION The results suggested that LTD4 was involved in airway inflammation in AR. Antihistamine was not effective enough in decreasing the levels of LTD4 in both nasal discharge and plasma of AR patients.
Adult ; Anti-Allergic Agents ; pharmacology ; Bodily Secretions ; chemistry ; Female ; Histamine H1 Antagonists ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Leukotriene Antagonists ; therapeutic use ; Leukotriene D4 ; analysis ; blood ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Plasma ; chemistry ; Prospective Studies ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; blood ; drug therapy ; metabolism