Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and influencing factors of thyroid function abnormality (TFA) in patients with malignant tumors receiving programmed death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor therapy, and its correlation with PD-1 inhibitors. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data and biochemical indicators of 669 patients with malignant tumors who received PD-1 inhibitor therapy. Of these, 561 patients maintained normal thyroid function (normal group), while 108 developed TFA (TFA group). Baseline characteristics, PD-1 inhibitor type, tumor type, and other indice were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify related factors for TFA development. Additionally, the relationship between PD-1 inhibitors and TFA types was further analyzed within the TFA group. Results The rates of patients treated with pembrolizumab and with respiratory tumors were significantly higher in TFA group than those in the normal group (P＜0.01). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that treatment with pembrolizumab and with respiratory tumor increased 5.350 and 1.514 times than tislelizumab and digestive tumor for risk of TFA development, respectively (P＜0.01). Within the TFA group, hypothyroidism was the predominant type (75, 69.4%); treatment with pembrolizumab increased 2.999 times than tislelizumab for development risk of hyperthyroidism (P＝0.042). Conclusions Among patients with malignant tumors treated with PD-1 inhibitors, pembrolizumab is more frequently associated with TFA, and patients with respiratory tumors were at a higher risk of developing TFA. Clinicians should closely monitor thyroid function in patients with respiratory tumors treated with pembrolizumab.

Objective To investigate the effects of cucurbitacin B (CucB) on alleviating skin lesions and inflammation in psoriasis mice via the cGAS-STING signaling pathway. Methods The expression of genes associated with the cGAS-STING signaling pathway in psoriatic lesions and non-lesional skin was analyzed, and hallmark gene set enrichment analysis was performed. The cytotoxicity of CucB on BMDMs was evaluated using the CCK-8 assay. The expression levels of genes and proteins related to the cGAS-STING signaling pathway, along with the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, were measured at different concentrations of CucB using quantitative PCR, Western blotting, and ELISA. Imiquimod-induced psoriasis BALB/c mice were divided into four groups: normal group, model group, low-dose CucB group [0.1 mg/ (kg.d)], and high-dose CucB group [0.4 mg/ (kg.d)], with five mice per group. PASI scoring was performed to assess the severity of psoriasis after 6 days of treatment, and HE staining was conducted to observe pathological damage. Meanwhile, the mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines and their secretion were detected by qPCR and ELISA. Results Most cGAS-STING signaling-related genes were upregulated in lesional skin of psoriasis patients, and the hallmark gene set enrichment analysis revealed that the most significantly upregulated genes were primarily associated with immune response signaling pathways. CucB inhibited dsDNA-induced phosphorylation of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) and STING proteins in both bone-marrow derived macrophages(BMDMs) and THP-1 cells. CucB also suppressed dsDNA-induced mRNA expression of IFNB1, TNF, IFIT1, CXCL10, ISG15, and reduced the secretion of cytokines such as IFN-β, IL-1β, and TNF-α in THP-1 cells. In the imiquimod-induced psoriasis mouse model, CucB treatment reduced psoriatic symptoms, alleviated skin lesions, and attenuated inflammation. ELISA and qPCR results showed that CucB significantly reduced serum secretion levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β, as well as the mRNA levels of IL23A, IL1B, IL6, TNF, and IFNB1. Conclusion CucB inhibits cytoplasmic DNA-induced activationc of the GAS-STING pathway. CucB significantly attenuates skin lesions and inflammation in IMQ-induced psoriatic mice, and the potential molecular mechanism may be related to the down-regulation of the cGAS-STING pathway.
Animals ; Psoriasis/pathology* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Membrane Proteins/genetics* ; Mice ; Nucleotidyltransferases/genetics* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Skin/metabolism* ; Triterpenes/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Inflammation/drug therapy* ; Male

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of individualized dosing regimen on blood trough concentration of vancomycin and renal function in critically ill patients. METHODS According to relevant guidelines and the results of Vancomycin Calculator， clinical pharmacists formulated an individualized dosing regimen of vancomycin including loading dose and maintenance dose for critically ill patients based on the two independent variables of body weight and creatinine clearance rate. Using the method of retrospective study， patients who were admitted to the department of intensive care unit （ICU） of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University and used the regimen from July 2018 to December 2021 were selected as the trial group， and patients who were treated with vancomycin and received blood drug concentration monitoring in ICU from January 2015 to June 2018 were recruited in the control group. The difference in trough concentration distribution and the incidence of acute kidney injury （AKI） after medication were compared between the two groups， the change of serum creatinine before and after medication in the trial group was analyzed. RESULTS Totally 197 patients were included in the trial group and 144 patients were in the control group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the clinical information （gender， age， body weight， acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ score， the proportion of patients with renal insufficiency， etc.） （P＞0.05）. The proportions of major infection sites （including lung， urinary， abdominal， blood and central nervous system） and treatment type （target or empirical treatment） also had no significant difference between the two groups （P＞0.05）. There was no significant difference in the attainment rate of ideal trough concentration （15-20 μg/mL） and the proportion of patients with trough concentration　＞20 μg/mL between the two groups （P＞0.05）， while the attainment rate of target trough concentration （10-20 μg/mL） and the proportion of patients with trough concentration ＜10 μg/mL were significantly different between the two groups （P＜0.05）. The attainment rate of target trough concentration in patients with chronic renal insufficiency in trial group was significantly higher than that in control group （P＜0.05）. There was no significant difference in the incidence of AKI and vancomycin-associated AKI between the two groups （P＞0.05）. In the trial group with medication duration ≥7 days ， the level of serum creatinine on the 7th day of treatment was increased significantly， compared with that on the 3rd day of treatment （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS This individualized dosing regimen can improve the attainment rate of target trough concentration of vancomycin in critically ill patients， especially those with chronic renal insufficiency， during the first standardized monitoring， and not increase the risk of renal injury compared with previous empirical medication.

Cognitive impairment caused by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) is associated with white matter injury (WMI), possibly through the alteration of autophagy. Here, the autophagy-lysosomal pathway (ALP) dysfunction in white matter (WM) and its relationship with cognitive impairment were investigated in rats subjected to two vessel occlusion (2VO). The results showed that cognitive impairment occurred by the 28th day after 2VO. Injury and autophagy activation of mature oligodendrocytes and neuronal axons sequentially occurred in WM by the 3rd day. By the 14th day, abnormal accumulation of autophagy substrate, lysosomal dysfunction, and the activation of mechanistic target of rapamycin (MTOR) pathway were observed in WM, paralleled with mature oligodendrocyte death. This indicates autophagy activation was followed by ALP dysfunction caused by autophagy inhibition or lysosomal dysfunction. To target the ALP dysfunction, enhanced autophagy by systemic rapamycin treatment or overexpression of Beclin1 (BECN1) in oligodendrocytes reduced mature oligodendrocyte death, and subsequently alleviated the WMI and cognitive impairment after CCH. These results reveal that early autophagy activation was followed by ALP dysfunction in WM after 2VO, which was associated with the aggravation of WMI and cognitive impairment. This study highlights that alleviating ALP dysfunction by enhancing oligodendrocyte autophagy has benefits for cognitive recovery after CCH.

Objective:To explore the value of constrast-enhanced ultrasound-micro flow imaging (CEUS-MFI) in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant renal tumors.Methods:Totally 96 patients with renal space occupying found in two-dimensional gray-scale ultrasound examination in the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University from November 2020 to August 2021 were collected, and 97 lesions were examined by CEUS-MFI and constrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS), respectively. The microvascular morphology and contrast-enhanced characteristics of renal tumors were recorded, ROC curves were constructed, and the diagnostic efficacies of the two methods were compared.Results:In the CEUS examination, the enhancement modes of malignant tumors were mainly fast wash-in(52/66, 78.8%) and fast wash-out (49/66, 74.2%) and high perfusion (56/66, 84.8%), and ring enhancement can be seen in 48.5%(32/66) of the lesions. The enhancement patterns of benign tumors were mainly slow wash-in (17/31, 54.8%) and slow wash-out (20/31, 64.5%) and low perfusion (18/31, 58.1%), and no circular blood flow was found in 31 lesions.In the CEUS-MFI examination, the vascular morphology of malignant tumors was mainly irregular (46/66, 69.7%), 93.9%(62/66) of malignant tumors had circular blood flow. Most of benign tumors were of linear vascular structure(12/31, 38.7%) and dendritic vascular structures (14/31, 45.2%), 93.5% (29/31) of benign tumors showed no circular blood flow. The detection rate of the annular blood flow in malignant tumors by CEUS-MFI was higher than that by CEUS, and the difference was statistically significant (93.9% vs 48.5%, P<0.001). The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of diagnosing renal tumors for using CEUS-MFI were 90.7%, 93.9% and 83.8%, respectively; and 84.5%, 92.4% and 67.7%, respectively, for using CEUS. The areas under the ROC curve were 0.898 and 0.814 for using CEUS-MFI and CEUS, respectively, the difference between the two techniques was not significant ( P=0.151). Conclusions:CEUS-MFI can sensitively and clearly display the microvascular morphology inside the tumor, and greatly improve the detection rate of annular blood flow in renal malignant tumors, which provides a new method for clinicians to identify benign and malignant renal tumors.

Objective:To explore the feasibility and clinical value of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy through cervix-uterine combined two-step injection with two tracers in patients with early stage endometrial cancer.Methods:From July 2019 to April 2021, a total of 73 patients, aged (54.2±3.3) year, who were preoperatively diagnosed as stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ endometrial cancer (including 56 low-risk patients and 17 medium-high risk patients) in Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University were selected. According to the different sites of tracer injection, the patients were randomly divided into three groups: cervical injection group (25 cases): 1 ml of nano-carbon was used to inject at 3 and 9 o'clock in the cervix; uterine injection group (21 cases): the magnetic resonance imaging examination was performed to determine the location of the lesion, and 4 ml of methylene blue was injected into the uterine body at 2 sites where the lesion was located; combined injection group (27 cases): cervical injection of nano-carbon (1 ml) combined with uterine injection of methylene blue (4 ml). The SLN in all patients were identified under laparoscopy, removed, and followed by frozen pathological examination. Pathological ultra-staging was performed if the postoperative pathological outcome of SLN was negative. The total detection rate of SLN, bilateral pelvic SLN detection rate, sensitivity, negative predictive value, and location of SLN in each group were calculated and compared.Results:(1) In 73 patients with endometrial cancer, the overall detection rate of SLN was 88% (64/73), the detection rate of bilateral pelvic SLN was 67% (49/73), and the detection rate of para-aortic SLN was 49% (36/73). The overall detection rate of SLN (71%, 15/21) and bilateral pelvic SLN (43%, 9/21) in the intrauterine injection group were significantly lower than those in the cervical injection group [92% (23/25), 76% (19/25), respectively] and the combined injection group [96% (26/27), 78% (21/27), respectively; all P<0.05]; the detection rate of para-aortic SLN in the cervical injection group (28%, 7/25) was significantly lower than those in the intrauterine injection group and combined injection group [52% (11/21) and 67% (18/27), respectively; both P<0.05]. Among 73 cases with endometrial cancer, 9 had lymph node metastasis confirmed by postoperative pathological examination, 8 of them had lymph node metastasis detected by SLN and 1 had no lymph node metastasis detected by SLN, with a total sensitivity of 89% and a negative predictive value of 98%. The sensitivity and negative predictive value of cervical injection group and combined injection group were 100%, while the sensitivity and negative predictive value of intrauterine injection group were 67% and 95%. Among 56 low-risk patients, only one patient with lymph node metastasis was confirmed by postoperative pathology by SLN detection, and the metastasis rate was 2% (1/56), and the sensitivity and negative predictive value were 100%. Lymph node metastasis was confirmed in 8 of 17 patients (8/17) with a sensitivity of 88% and a negative predictive value of 90%. (2) A total of 459 SLN were detected in 73 endometrial cancer patients, with the highest proportion of external iliac (33.3%, 153/459).The obturator foramen was 25.3% (116/459), para-aortic 19.6% (90/459), iliac 12.0% (55/459), and presacral 9.8% (45/459). The proportion of para-aortic SLN in the cervical injection group was 12.4% (21/169), which were significantly lower than that in the intrauterine injection group and the combined injection group [27.4% (26/95) and 22.1% (43/195), respectively; both P<0.05]. (3) Pathological super-staging results: among 64 patients with negative SLN routine paraffin pathology, 4 cases of lymph node micro-metastases and 1 case of isolated tumor cell metastasis were detected, and the SLN micro-metastases rate was 8% (5/64), including 2 cases of low-risk patients and 3 cases of medium-high risk patients. Conclusions:SLN biopsy has high sensitivity and negative predictive value in patients with early endometrial cancer and could be used as an alternative to systematic lymph node dissection in low-risk patients. The SLN mapping through cervical-uterine combined injection could further improve the detection rate effectively and avoid the missed detection of positive para-aortic lymph node, especially for high-risk patients or patients with fundal tumor involvement.

OBJE CTIVE To establish the finger prints for Yinhuang solution for inhalation and determine the contents of neochlorogenic acid ，chlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid simultaneously. METHODS Using baicalin as reference ，the fingerprints of Yinhuang solution for inhalation were established by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）. Relative correction factors of neochlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid were calculated by slope correction method ，using chlorogenic acid as reference ；the contents of them were calculated according to relative correction factor. The results of quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker （QAMS）were compared with those of external standard method （ESM）. RESULTS There were 18 common peaks in the fingerprints of 10 batches of Yinhuang solution for inhalation ，and their similarities with reference fingerprint were higher than 0.90. A total of 7 common peaks were identified as baicalin ，neochlorogenic acid ，chlorogenic acid ， cryptochlorogenic acid ，isochlorogenic acid B ，3，5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 4，5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid. The linear range of neochlorogenic acid ，chlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid were 0.025 0-1.247 4 μg（r＝0.999 7），0.039 3-1.178 7 μg（r＝ 0.999 9），0.031 6-1.184 1 μg（r＝0.999 9），respectively. RSDs of precision ，reproducibility and stability tests （48 h）were all lower than 1.0％. The average recoveries were 93.92％（RSD＝1.32％ ，n＝6），94.46％（RSD＝1.45％，n＝6），93.93％（RSD＝ 1.57％，n＝6）. Relative correction factors of neochlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid were 1.068 and 1.233. The contents of neochlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid determined by QAMS method were 0.301 8-0.386 3 and 0.262 5-0.362 5 mg/mL， respectively. The contents of neochlorogenic acid ，chlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid by ESM were 0.302 6-0.387 2， 0.231 0- 0.334 0，0.261 6-0.361 3 mg/mL，respectively. The deviations of the content determination results of the two methods（except for chlorogenic acid ）were both not higher than 0.20％. CONCLUSIONS Established HPLC fingerprints are stable and feasible. Established QAMS method is accurate and rapid. HPLC fingerprint combined with QAMS can be used for the quality control for Yinhuang solution for inhalation ．

Objective:To explore the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined with fine-needle aspiration biopsy and BRAF gene detection for TI-RADS category 4 nodules.Methods:The clinical datas of 80 patients who underwent surgery in the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine and Lishui People′s Hospital and diagnosed with TI-RADS 4 thyroid nodules from January 2019 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined fine-needle aspiration biopsy and BRAF gene detection, the ROC curves were plotted, the area under the ROC curve(AUC) and the best diagnostic cut-off values were calculated, and the application value of ultrasound-enhanced contrast, fine-needle aspiration biopsy and BRAF gene detection were compared.Results:Based on the results of pathological diagnosis, in diagnosing TI-RADS 4 thyroid nodules, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 77.61%, 70.97% and 75.51% for contrast-enhanced ultrasound, respectively; 80.60%, 74.19%, and 78.57% for ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy, respectively; 79.10%, 96.77%, and 84.69% for the BRAF gene test, respectively; and 98.51%, 70.97% and 89.80% for the combined diagnosis, respectively. The AUC was 0.790 for contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and 0.774 for ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy, 0.799 for BRAF genetic testing, and 0.847 for combined testing. The diagnostic value of combined diagnosis was significantly higher than other diagnostic methods ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Contrast-enhanced ultrasound combined with fine-needle aspiration biopsy and BRAF gene detection is valuable for the diagnosis of TI-RADS 4 class thyroid nodules and improves the preperative diagnosis.

The presence of tension blister often predicts severe soft tissue damage，which not only increases the risk of wound complications but also prolongs the surgical treatment time. However，the developed tension blister has been proposed as a potential decompressive approach for it may relieve the pressure of osteofascial compartment and improve the likelihood of relieving clinical symptoms，as well as avoid unnecessary surgery in cases of suspected osteofascial compartment syndrome. Recently，the osteofascial system has been increasingly recognized that associations were found between the tension blister and osteofascial self-release processing. Thus，the timing of blister occurrence and regression substantially influences physicians′ clinical decisions，making blister management as part of the treatment of fractures. In this review，the authors give an overview of the characteristics，mechanism，stress reduction effect，prevention，current treatment status and complications of the fracture-related tension blister，hoping to help orthopedic physicians understand and treat the tensile blister.

DNA/metabolism* ; Gene Editing ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans