Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) are both chronic progressive respiratory diseases that cannot be completely cured. COPD is characterized by irreversible airflow limitation, chronic airway inflammation, and gradual decline in lung function, whereas PH is characterized by pulmonary vasoconstriction, remodeling, and infiltration of inflammatory cells. These diseases have similar pathological features, such as vascular hyperplasia, arteriolar contraction, and inflammatory infiltration. Despite these well-documented observations, the exact mechanisms underlying the occurrence and development of COPD and PH remain unclear. Evidence that mitochondrial dynamics imbalance is one major factor in the development of COPD and PH. Mitochondrial dynamics is precisely regulated by mitochondrial fusion proteins and fission proteins. When mitochondrial dynamics equilibrium is disrupted, it causes mitochondrial and even cell morphological dysfunction. Mitochondrial dynamics participates in various pathological processes for heart and lung disease. Mitochondrial dynamics may be different in the early and late stages of COPD and PH. In the early stages of the disease, mitochondrial fusion increases, inhibiting fission, and thereby compensatorily increasing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. With the development of the disease, mitochondria decompensation causes excessive fission. Mitochondrial dynamics is involved in the development of COPD and PH in a spatiotemporal manner. Based on this understanding, treatment strategies for mitochondrial dynamics abnormalities may be different at different stages of COPD and PH disease. This article will provide new ideas for the potential treatment of related diseases.
Humans ; Mitochondrial Dynamics/physiology* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/metabolism* ; Hypertension, Pulmonary/metabolism* ; Mitochondria/metabolism* ; Animals

One of the critical pathogenic factors contributing to non-healing chronic wounds is the formation of bacterial biofilms. In light of this, exploring effective strategies for the prevention and control of biofilms to improve the prognosis of patients with chronic wounds has become a research focus in the field of wound care and treatment. This review aimed to provide an in-depth exploration of the concept of bacterial biofilms, their complex formation mechanisms, and how they promote persistent infection states within the context of chronic wounds, offering valuable references for the detection and treatment of these biofilms in chronic wounds.

Tubular aggregates(TA)are ultrastructural abnormalities in muscle biopsies,which can be detected in muscle biopsy specimens from patients with a variety of hereditary and acquired disorders.A 34-year-old male patient diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)presented with intermittent muscle weakness localized to the proximal extremities of both lower limbs during prolonged oral administration of methylprednisolone,hydroxychloroquine and tacrolimus.Laboratory findings indicated normal creatine kinase levels,and anti-U1-RNP/Sm antibodies were elevated up to 49.45 RU/mL.Electromyography revealed myogenic lesions in the left iliopsoas muscle and muscle pathology demonstrated TA within the muscle fibers.Genetic testing excluded the possibility of hereditary disorders with tubular aggregas.Combined with literature review,the etiology and clinical characteristics of TA were discussed to increase the understanding of the diagnosis of diseases with TA.This case report demonstrates that SLE patients can have fluctuating muscle weakness and TA in muscle pathology.The symptoms of SLE can be partially relieved by adjusting SLE medications.

Purpose Based on liver lesions,to investigate the feasibility and influencing factors of virtual non-contrast(VNC)replacing true non-contrast(TNC)in tri-phase derived from Revolution CT.Materials and Methods A total of 62 patients who underwent TNC and tri-phase(arterial,venous,and delayed phases)spectral enhanced liver scans were retrospectively enrolled in Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University from December 2021 to April 2022.Liver lesions with a diameter of≥5 mm were measured and categorized into Group 1(≤20 Hu)and Group 2(>20 Hu)according to the CT values of TNC,then were respectively further categorized into group a(≤20 Hu across all three phases of enhancement)and group b(>20 Hu in at least one phase of enhancement)based on the degree of enhancement.CT attenuation,maximum diameter and detection rates of lesions were compared between TNC and three-phase VNC groups.Multivariate regression analysis was used to investigate the influencing factors of the density difference between VNC and TNC.Results A statistically significant difference in the attenuation of lesions was observed among the each groups(χ2/F=14.712,18.603,7.334,all P<0.01).Except for VNCV and VNCD in Group-1a which had no significant difference with TNC(both P>0.05),the attenuation of other VNCs were lower than TNC in category-a and greater than TNC in category-b(all P<0.05).Maximal diameter presented strong correlation and no significant difference in VNCA and VNCV compared to TNC in each group(all P>0.05;all r>0.8 and P<0.001).A significant difference in the detection rate of the lesions was observed among the groups(χ2=47.660,P<0.001),VNCV images displayed the higher detection rate than VNCA and VNCD(all P<0.05).The density difference between VNC and TNC was positively correlated with CT values of the corresponding enhancement phase(r2adjusted=0.209,0.142,0.062,P<0.001).Conclusion Based on Revolution CT,VNCV is the optimal phase to replace TNC and can be mitigated by CT value of the lesions in venous-phase.

Objective:To explore the value of coronary artery plaque progression parameters based on coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in predicting the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with non-obstructive coronary artery disease.Methods:The study included clinical, imaging, and prognosis (MACE) parameters of non-obstructive coronary artery disease patients who underwent CCTA at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from September 2010 to December 2022. Patients were grouped based on the occurrence of MACE, and differences in clinical data, plaque baseline, and progression parameters between the two groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were employed to identify factors that could effectively predict the occurrence of MACE in patients. Models were constructed using plaque baseline parameters, plaque progression parameters, and a combination of both. The concordance index-time curve, net reclassification improvement and integrated discrimination improvement were used to evaluate the risk stratification ability of the models.Results:A total of 258 patients were included, of whom 62 cases experienced MACE during the follow-up period. In comparison to the MACE(-) group, patients in the MACE(+) group exhibited longer lesion length, greater degree of stenosis, larger plaque total volume, calcified plaque volume, non-calcified plaque volume, fibrous plaque volume, total plaque burden, lipid-rich plaque burden, higher peri-coronary adipose tissue attenuation index (FAI), and annual change of diameter stenosis(ΔDS/y). There were also more cases of coronary artery disease reporting and data system upgrades and non-obstructive progression to obstructive status ( P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis revealed that FAI, ΔDS/y, and non-obstructive progression to obstructive status were independent predictors of MACE occurrence. Concordance index-time curve results indicated that the combined model had a better predictive efficacy for MACE in patients with non-obstructive coronary artery disease compared to models based on plaque baseline parameters and plaque progression parameters. Conclusion:The plaque progression parameters and FAI based on CCTA have the potential to predict the high-risk population for MACE in patients with non-obstructive coronary artery disease, demonstrating good risk stratification value.

To examine the molecular epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) and investigate the horizontal transmission of blaKPC and blaNDM genes for the prevention and treatment of CRKP. A total of 49 clinically isolated CRKP strains were retrospectively analyzed from January to December 2022 at The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine. Phenotypic screening was performed using modified carbapenem inactivation assay (mCIM) and EDTA-carbapenem inactivation assay (eCIM). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was utilized to identify carbapenem resistance genes, β-lactamase resistance genes, and virulence genes, while multi-locus sequence analysis (MLST) was employed to assess the homology of CRKP strains. Conjugation experiments were conducted to infer the horizontal transmission mechanism of blaKPC and blaNDM genes. The results showed that the study included 49 CRKP strains, with 44 carrying blaKPC and 8 carrying blaNDM, Three strains were identified as blaKPC+ blaNDM-CRKP. In this study, 28 out of 49 CRKP strains (57.2%) were found to carry virulence genes. Additionally, one CRKP strain tested positive in the string test and was found to carry both Aerobactin and rmpA virulence genes. MLST results revealed a total of 5 ST types, with ST11 being predominant (41/49, 83.7%). Successful conjugation was observed in all 3 blaKPC-CRKP strains, while only 1 out of 3 blaNDM-CRKP strains showed successful conjugation. The transconjugant exhibited significantly reduced susceptibility to imipenem and cephalosporin antibiotics. In conclusion, the resistance mechanism of CRKP in this study is primarily attributed to the production of KPC enzymes, along with the presence of multiple β-lactamase resistance genes. Additionally, there is a local prevalence of hv-CRKP and blaKPC+ blaNDM-CRKP. blaKPC and blaNDM can be horizontally transmitted through plasmids, with varying efficiency among different strains.

To examine the molecular epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) and investigate the horizontal transmission of blaKPC and blaNDM genes for the prevention and treatment of CRKP. A total of 49 clinically isolated CRKP strains were retrospectively analyzed from January to December 2022 at The First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine. Phenotypic screening was performed using modified carbapenem inactivation assay (mCIM) and EDTA-carbapenem inactivation assay (eCIM). Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was utilized to identify carbapenem resistance genes, β-lactamase resistance genes, and virulence genes, while multi-locus sequence analysis (MLST) was employed to assess the homology of CRKP strains. Conjugation experiments were conducted to infer the horizontal transmission mechanism of blaKPC and blaNDM genes. The results showed that the study included 49 CRKP strains, with 44 carrying blaKPC and 8 carrying blaNDM, Three strains were identified as blaKPC+ blaNDM-CRKP. In this study, 28 out of 49 CRKP strains (57.2%) were found to carry virulence genes. Additionally, one CRKP strain tested positive in the string test and was found to carry both Aerobactin and rmpA virulence genes. MLST results revealed a total of 5 ST types, with ST11 being predominant (41/49, 83.7%). Successful conjugation was observed in all 3 blaKPC-CRKP strains, while only 1 out of 3 blaNDM-CRKP strains showed successful conjugation. The transconjugant exhibited significantly reduced susceptibility to imipenem and cephalosporin antibiotics. In conclusion, the resistance mechanism of CRKP in this study is primarily attributed to the production of KPC enzymes, along with the presence of multiple β-lactamase resistance genes. Additionally, there is a local prevalence of hv-CRKP and blaKPC+ blaNDM-CRKP. blaKPC and blaNDM can be horizontally transmitted through plasmids, with varying efficiency among different strains.

OBJECTIVE To develop a questionnaire of the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice （KAP） for patients receiving oral anticoagulant therapy. METHODS Under the guidance of the theory of KAP， literature analysis and interview method were used to design the initial KAP questionnaire for patients treated with oral anticoagulants. Delphi method was adopted to consult the initial questionnaire and modify the questionnaire based on expert suggestions to form the final questionnaire. RESULTS Two rounds of consultation were conducted with 18 experts， and 18 questionnaires were sent out and recovered in each round， so the positive coefficient of experts was 100%. The expert authority coefficient was 0.94. The average importance scores for all dimensions， factors， and items of the questionnaire in both rounds were ≥4 points. The coefficient of variation was ≤0.25. The Kendall’s concordance coefficient for the overall questionnaire and the three dimensions of knowledge， attitude， and practice ranged from 0.09 to 0.34 （all P＜0.05）. Following the first round of expert consultation， four items were modified， two items were deleted， and five items were added； after the second round of expert consultation， ten items were modified. The final version of the questionnaire included three dimensions （knowledge， attitudes， and practice）， 17 questionnaire factors， and 40 items. CONCLUSIONS The questionnaire has high reliability and scientific validity with relatively concentrated expert opinions. It is suitable for assessing the knowledge， attitudes， and practice status of patients receiving oral anticoagulant therapy.

AIM: To investigate the effects of agkis-trodon halys venom anti-tumor component (AHVAC-) on the biological behavior of gastric cancer MKN-28 cells. METHODS: Gastric cancer MKN-28 cells were treated with the experimental concentrations (5, 10, 15 μg/mL) of AHAVC- for 24 h. Cell proliferation and toxicity assay (cell counting kit-8, CCK-8) was used to detect the inhibition rates of the cells in different concentrations of AHVAC-. The migration ability of the cells was evaluated by wound-healing and Transwell assay. The apoptosis were observed by laser confocal microscopy with annexin V-mCherry/DAPI double staining, and the apoptosis rates were analyzed by flow cytometry with annexin V-FITC/PI double fluorescence staining. The protein level of Caspease-3 was determined by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with normal control group, the results of AHVAC- concentration groups showed that with the increase of AHVAC- concentration, the proliferative activity of MN-28 cells decreased gradually (P<0.01), the cell migration ability decreased gradually (P<0.01), and the cell apoptosis rate increased (P<0.05). The expression of apoptosis-related protein Caspease-3 was up-regulated (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: AHVAC- inhibits proliferation and migration of gastric cancer MSN-28 cells and induces apoptosis.