Objective To study the ultrastructural changes of gunshot wounds at the brain stem and the cause of the death. Method A case died of the head injury and two cases died of gunshot wounds of the brain stem were studied. Brain stem tissues were taken 25 min after death. Tissue blocks from the tegmentum of the midbrain and the pons as well as the gray matter of the medulla oblongata in the deep portion of the base of the fourth ventricle were taken and were examined with ultramicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Results (1) The gunshot wound injuries inside the brain including burn and injuries caused by punch and pressure; (2) Although the primary gunshot wounds were located at the midbrain, the pathological changes extended to the whole brain stem; (3)The injuries of the axons and the nerve cells were more severe and extensive than those of the glia fibers. (4)The changes of the burn included condensation and degeneration of the myelin sheath and axonal cytoplasm, especially the mitochondria as well as edema of the myelin sheath and the axonal cytoplasm. The punch and pressure injuries included the torsion, deformation, fusion, compression, breach, torn and displacement of the axons with loss of cytoplasm as well as the deviation of mitochondria, micro ?neuro - fibrils and micro - tubules in the axons. Conclusion The severe and extensive injuries of the axons of nerve fibers in the brain stem might play an important role in the cause of death of gunshot.

Objective Observe the injuries to the cranial nerves in cases of brain stem injury following head trauma;explore the mechanism of injuries and their relations to the mode and point of impact on the head. Method Brain stem specimens of 465 cases of head trauma were designed to take cross sections at the roots of the 3rd～12th cranial nerves. Among the 465 cases, 171 were proven to have contusion of the brain stem. On these cases, the cranial nerves were observed meticulously. Results Cranial nerve injuries were found in all cases suffering from brain stem contusion. The nerves included were: oculomotor nerve (120 cases, 70.2%), facial and acoustic nerve (92 cases, 53.8%), trigeminal nerve (85 cases, 49.7%), abducent nerve (45 cases, 26.3%), hypoglossal nerve (31 cases, 18.1%), vagus nerve (27 cases, 15.8%), glosso-pharyngeal nerve (24 cases, 14.0%), and trochlear nerve and accessory nerve (10 cases each, 5.8%). The nerve injuries may be unilateral or bilateral, involving single or multiple nerves in a case. The pathological changes included hemorrhage (42 cases, 24.6%), edema (26 cases, 15.2%), structural deformation at the root of the nerves (71 cases, 41.5%), tear of the nerve roots (32 cases, 18.7%). Conclusion Cranial nerve injury is an important part of the cranio-cerebral injury, and also an accompaniment of the brain stem injury. The features of interesting in the injuries were the higher frequencies in the nerves at the upper level and the nerves of larger diameter; of highest frequency were oculomotor nerve, facial nerve and acoustic nerve.

Objective To explore the correlations of perceived social support and burnout with general well-being among caregivers in nursing homes. Methods One hundred nursing workers were selected from three nursing homes in Guangzhou. Perceived social support scale ( PSSS ) , Maslach burnout inventory ( MBI ) and general well-being schedule ( GWBS ) were used to investigate the status of their support, burnout and general well-being and analyze the correlations between them. Results The scores on perceived social support, job burnout and general well-being were (59.00 ± 9.00), (2.49 ± 0.88), (77.19 ±9 .90), respectively, all at moderate level. The scores on emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were significantly higher than the norms (both P<0.001). Job burnout together with its three dimensions was negatively correlated with general well-being (all P<0.01), while perceived social support was positively correlated with general well-being ( P < 0 . 01 ) . The exogenous family support , emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment influenced caregiver′s general well-being (all P<0.01). Conclusions Perceived social support, job burnout and general well-being are all at moderate level in caregivers of nursing homes. The higher the perceived social support, the lower the job burnout, the higher the passion and the general well-being in care workers. The general well-being of caregivers of the nursing homes was not high. The managers should pay more attention to them and measures should be taken to promote their physical and mental health.

Objective:Select a suitable macroporous resin for the purification technic of total saponins from Panacis Japonici Rhizoma and determine the parameter of purification technic. Methods:Made the content of total saponins as the index, used static adsorption test and combined the adsorption kinetic parameters to select the type of macroporous resin. By using dynamic adsorption experiment to investigate the technical parameters of the purified macroporous resin extracted from Panacis Japonici Rhizoma. Then the preparation technic of the total saponins of Panacis Japonici Rhizoma was determined. Results:The D101 macroporous resin could absorpt and desorpt total saponins of Panacis Japonici Rhizoma effectively. The optimal purification parameters were as follow: the loading mass concentration was 0.1 g/ml (based on crude drug), and the loading volume was 100 ml (which means the loading volume of resin per ml was equivalent to 3.3 grams of crude drug). During the elution process, distilled water (3 BV) and 20% ethanol (3 BV) were used to remove impurity, and then 70% ethanol elution (6 BV) was used to enrich the total saponins. The flow rate of loading and elution was 0.5 ml/min. The transfer rate of total saponins could reache 85.6%. Conclusion:The D101 macroporous resin can effectively enrich and purify the total saponins of Panacis Japonici Rhizoma, which provides the scientific basis for the development and utilization of Panacis Japonici Rhizoma.

Recent studies have shown that ozone therapy, a widely used immunotherapy in various diseases, can play a therapeutic role in the novel coronavirus infection by enhancing lung function, reducing inflammatory reactions, and bolstering immune system performance. This article reviews the pathophysiological basis of novel coronavirus infection and the mechanisms involved in ozone therapy for its treatment, also summarizes the clinical evidence and safety assessment of ozone therapy in combating novel coronavirus infections.

The study developed a metabolic balance model to evaluated the cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin. The rats were divided into 3 groups, control group(saline), low dose group(8 mg/kg of cumulative doxorubicin)and high dose group(15 mg/kg of cumulative doxorubicin). Doxorubicin or saline was intraperitoneally injected and blood sample was collected at day 1, 4, 7 and 10. The concentrations of nitric oxide(NO), B-type natriuretic peptide(BNP)and the activity of glutathion peroxidase(GSH-Px), xanthine oxidase(XOD)in rat plasma were determined. A metabolic balance model based on the four biomarkers was developed to evaluate the doxorubicin cardiotoxicity in rat. Doxorubicin leaded to significant changes of multiple biomarkers, resulting in metabolic balance disruption according to the metabolic balance maps and dynamic parameters of metabolic balance disruption. Moreover, the correlation study showed a good relationship between metabolic balance disruption and ejection fraction(EF). The metabolic balance model provide a novel method to integrally evaluate the doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity.

BACKGROUND:The appearance of the crescent sign in femoral head necrosis is a"turning point"in the progression of the disease,and repairing and stabilizing the bone-cartilage interface is particularly important in preventing further progression and collapse of the femoral head.Tissue engineering offers potential advantages in the simultaneous repair and integration of the bone-cartilage interface. OBJECTIVE:To review potentially suitable techniques addressing the subchondral separation in femoral head necrosis. METHODS:Relevant articles from January 1970 to April 2023 were searched in PubMed,Web of Science,and China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI)using English search terms"femoral head necrosis,avascular necrosis of femoral head,osteonecrosis of femoral head"and Chinese search terms"femoral head necrosis,subchondral bone,cartilage,integration of cartilage and subchondral bone".A total of 114 articles were included for review and analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Structural defects,ischemic and hypoxic environment,inflammatory factors,and stress concentration may cause subchondral separation in osteonecrosis of the femoral head.Subchondral bone collapse and failure of hip-preserving surgery may be associated.Integration of tissue engineering scaffolds with the bone-cartilage interface is one potential approach for treating subchondral separation in osteonecrosis of the femoral head.(2)Current literature suggests that multiphase scaffolds,gradient scaffolds,and composite materials have shown improvements in promoting cell adhesion,proliferation,and deposition of bone and cartilage matrix.These advancements aid in the integration of scaffolds with the bone-cartilage interface and have implications for the treatment of subchondral separation in osteonecrosis of the femoral head.(3)Surface modifications of scaffolds can enhance interface integration efficiency,but they have their advantages and disadvantages.Scaffolds providing different environments can induce differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells and facilitate integration between different interfaces.(4)Future scaffolds for subchondral separation in osteonecrosis of the femoral head are expected to be composite materials with gradient and differentiated biomimetic structures.Surface modifications and stem cell loading can promote integration between the bone-cartilage interface and scaffolds for therapeutic purposes,but further experimental verification is still needed.Challenges include synchronizing scaffold degradation rate with repair progress and ensuring stability between different interfaces.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of psoriasis and status quo of medical care for patients in county areas of China.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional investigation. Based on the “Qianxian Wuyin” Project (a national project for upgrating ability for psoriasis care at county level), an online questionnaire survey was conducted in the dermatology departments of 459 county hospitals in 404 pilot administrative counties across China from February to June 2023. The questionnaire included demographic information of patients (gender, ethnicity, age, place of residence, education, marital status), and clinical characteristics of psoriasis (disease course, type, comorbidities, body surface area (BSA) and previous treatment. The Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) were applied for assessing the quality of life and disease severity, and completed by patients or guardian and doctors, respectively.Results:A total of 16 935 patients completed the questionnaire. The age of patients was 1-102(44.17±11.58)years, and 71.0% (12 036/16 935) were 30-59 years old. The ratio of male to female was 2.21∶1; 24.3%(4 117/16 935) of patients had high school education; there were 9 940 patients(58.7%) with previous or current smoking and/or alcohol use; 42.8%(7 218/16 855) of patients had a disease course of 1-5 years. There were 15 630 patients(92.3%) with DLQI≥10, 8 346 patients(49.7%) with PASI≥10, 15 017 patients(89.2%) with BSA≥10%. The plaque type was the most common disease type ( n=14 965, 88.7%), and spotting type ranked the second ( n=1 141, 6.8%). The most common initial site was the trunk ( n=12 309, 72.9%). Among the comorbidities, hypertension was the most common one ( n=1 681, 10.0%). There were 7 650 reports of treatment response to conventional topical drug therapy and 3 112 reports of treatment response to systemic drug therapy, with 6 269 (81.9%) and 2 493 (80.1%) reporting poor or no response, respectively. Conclusions:The survey shows that in the county areas of China, the majority of psoriasis patients are severe patients with short course of disease, plaque type is the most common type, and hypertension is the most common comorbidity; and the conventional treatment is less effective for most patients.

Antibiotics are widely used and prevalently distributed in the environment. The issue of antibiotic resistance genes has posed a huge threat to the global public health. Soil is an important sink of antibiotics in the environment. Antibiotic exposure may introduce adverse effects on soil organisms, and bring indirect but potential risks to human health. Therefore, it is urgent to take actions to remediate antibiotics-contaminated soil. This review summarized effects of antibiotics on phenotype growth of plants, physiological characteristics and community structure of animals, composition and structure of microbial communities, and transmission of antibiotic resistance genes among organisms in soil. Additionally, the potential and prospects of employing antibiotic-resistant soil plants, animals, microorganisms, and their combinations to treat antibiotics-contaminated soil were illustrated. Last but not least, the unaddressed issues in this area were proposed, which may provide insights into relevant research directions in the future.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology* ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; Drug Resistance, Microbial/genetics* ; Humans ; Soil ; Soil Microbiology ; Soil Pollutants