Objective To investigate the effect of L4 transverse process erector spinae plane block(ESPB)before general anesthesia hip surgery in elderly patients on reducing perioperative pain and stress,thus reducing opioid consumption and improving postoperative recovery quality.Methods Sixty patients aged 65 years old and above who underwent unilateral hip surgery from January to December 2023 were randomly divided into two groups(n = 30)by using the random number table method.The ESPB group received ultrasound-guided ESPB at the L4 level with 0.3%ropivacaine(0.5 ml/kg)before induction of anesthesia,while the control group did not receive ESPB.Laryngeal mask anesthesia was administered in both groups.The induction and maintenance methods were consistent in both groups.The Numerical Rating Scale(NRS)was used to evaluate the degree of pain at 8 h and 24 h after surgery.The times of pressing analgesic pump within 24 h after surgery were recorded.The hemodynamic changes at each time point during the operation were observed.The time interval from the end of the operation to the complete recovery and to remove the laryngeal mask were recorded.Intraoperative and Postanesthesia Care Unit(PACU)opioid consumption were noted.The incidence of postoperative agitation,postoperative nausea and vomiting(PONV),dizziness,and the recovery quality score were compared.Results The NRS scores of rest pain and motion pain at 8 h and 24 h after surgery were significantly lower in the ESPB group than those in the control group,and the times of pressing the analgesic pump within 24 h after surgery in the ESPB group was significantly less than that in the control group(P<0.05).The mean arterial pressure(MAP)of the ESPB group at 20 min after peeling was lower than that of the control group[(87.2±15.5)mm Hg vs.(96.7±16.9)mm Hg,P = 0.026].The sufentanil consumption,remifentanil consumption,and the number of cases using urapidil in the ESPB group were significantly lower than those in the control group[12.5(10.0,14.0)μg vs.12.5(12.5,17.5)μg,P =0.041;270(100,400)μg vs.600(448,800)μg,P<0.001;1 case vs.11 cases,P =0.001].The Steward score at30 min after entering PACU was significantly higher in the ESPB group than in the control group[6(5,6)points vs.5(4,5)points,P<0.001].There was no statistical significance in incidence of postoperative agitation,PONV,and dizziness between the two groups(P>0.05).Conclusion Preoperative ESPB at the level of the L4 transverse process can reduce the pain score within 24 h after surgery,reduce the amount of opioid used during and after hip surgery,and improve the quality of postoperative recovery in the elderly.

Objective To establish a nomogram for overall survival rate after liver resection for primary small hepatocellular carcinoma based on SEER data and external validation of Chinese data. Methods The data of 1809 patients, registered in National Cancer Institute SEER database in 2004-2015, who underwent hepatectomy for primary small hepatocellular carcinoma were extracted as modeling group, and 158 patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma who underwent hepatectomy in Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College from 2010 to 2017 were collected as validation group. The univariate Cox risk regression analysis, lasso regression analysis, and multivariate Cox hazard regression analysis were used to investigate the influencing factors for OS after hepatectomy in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma. A nomogram was established based on the independent influencing factors for OS, and index of concordance (C-index), calibration curves, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to analyze the predictive ability of the nomogram. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and the log-rank test were used to investigate the difference in survival between the high- and low-risk groups. Results The multivariate Cox hazard regression analysis showed that sex (hazard ratio [ HR ]=1.22, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.05-1.41, P =0.010), Seer stage ( HR =1.51, 95% CI : 1.23-1.85, P < 0.001; HR =10.31, 95% CI : 2.53-42.04, P =0.001), tumor diameter ( HR =1.22, 95% CI : 1.06-1.39, P =0.004), vascular invasion or metastasis ( HR =1.43, 95% CI : 1.24-1.65, P < 0.001), and alpha-fetoprotein ( HR =1.33, 95% CI : 1.16-1.54, P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for OS after hepatectomy for small hepatocellular carcinoma. The modeling group had a C-index of 0.621, and its area under the ROC curve at 1, 2, and 3 years was 0.666(95% CI 0.628-0.704), 0.678(95% CI 0.647-0.708), and 0.663(95% CI : 0.635-0.690), respectively; the validation group had a C-index of 0.718, and its area under the ROC curve at 1, 2, and 3 years was 0.695(95% CI : 0.593-0.797), 0.781(95% CI : 0.706-0.856), and 0.759(95% CI 0.669-0.848), respectively. Risk stratification was performed based on the nomogram, and the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that for both the modeling group and the validation group, the low-risk group had a significantly better prognosis than the high-risk group ( P < 0.01). Conclusion The model established for survival rate after liver resection for primary small hepatocellular carcinoma can predict the 1-, 2-, and 3-year OS rates and can thus be used in clinical practice in China.

Objective:To explore the effects of Ophiopogon D combined with cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene silencing on the proliferation, migration and invasion of human pancreatic cancer BxPC-3 cells.Methods:BxPC-3 cells were divided into blank control group, Ophiopogonin D high-dose group (40 μmol/L), medium-dose group (20 μmol/L) and low-dose group (10 μmol/L). The COX-2-slienced cells were divided into control group, COX-2 inhibited group (50 pmol/ml siRNA-COX-2), Ophiopogonin D group (20 μmol/L) and combination treatment group (Ophiopogonin D 20 μmol/L+ 50 pmol/ml siRNA-COX-2). The proliferation activity of BxPC-3 cells was detected by CCK-8, and the migration distance of BxPC-3 cells was detected by scratched assay. The invasion degree of BxPC-3 cells was detected by Transwell, the relative expression level of COX-2 gene in BxPC-3 cells was detected by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), and the relative expressions of COX-2, hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) proteins in BxPC-3 cells were detected by Western blotting.Results:The cell proliferation rates of blank control group, Ophiopogonin D high-dose, medium-dose and low-dose groups were (100.0±4.9)%, (71.8±5.4)%, (80.5±5.8)% and (89.7±5.7)%, respectively. The migration distances were (279.8±24.0) μm, (141.9±21.2) μm, (168.8±37.1) μm and (224.6±19.9) μm, respectively. The absorbance ( A) values of invasion number were 1.107±0.095, 0.390±0.030, 0.596±0.017 and 0.826±0.034, respectively.There were statistically significant differences ( F=19.770, P<0.001; F=48.270, P<0.001; F=198.400, P<0.001). The above indexes of the Ophiopogonin D high-, medium- and low-dose groups were significantly lower than those in the blank control group (all P<0.05). The relative expression levels of COX-2 gene were 1.007±0.178, 0.387±0.169, 0.567±0.142 and 0.740±0.030, respectively, and the relative protein expression levels were 1.000±0.033, 0.654±0.085, 0.762±0.110 and 0.881±0.049, respectively, with statistically significant differences ( F=10.280, P=0.004; F=11.780, P=0.003). The above indexes of the Ophiopogonin D high- and medium-dose groups were significantly lower than those in the blank control group (all P<0.05), and there was no statistically significant difference between the Ophiopogonin D low-dose group and blank control group (both P>0.05). The medium-dose of Ophiopogonin D (20 μmol/L) was selected as the subsequent concentration.After COX-2 silencing, the proliferation rates of the control group, COX-2 inhibited group, Ophiopogonin D group and combination treatment group were (100.0±2.8)%, (68.4±6.7)%, (67.7±5.9)% and (57.0±8.5)%, respectively, the migration distances were (274.4±23.8) μm, (217.0±18.8) μm, (186.2±18.6) μm and (115.7±15.8) μm, respectively, and the A values of invasion number were 1.143±0.092, 0.791±0.058, 0.715±0.026 and 0.424±0.058, respectively, with statistically significant differences ( F=34.430, P<0.001; F=103.400, P<0.001; F=131.100, P<0.001). The proliferation rates, migration distances and invasion numbers in each treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.001). Compared with the COX-2 inhibited group and Ophiopogonin D group, the cell proliferation, migration and invasion were significantly inhibited in the combination treatment group (all P<0.05). Compared with the Ophiopogonin D group, only the migration distance of the COX-2 inhibited group was significantly different ( P<0.05). The relative expression levels of COX-2 protein in the above groups were 0.995±0.037, 0.779±0.060, 0.806±0.076 and 0.645±0.079, respectively, the relative expression levels of HIF-1α were 1.083±0.104, 0.749±0.070, 0.736±0.070 and 0.394±0.016, respectively, and the relative expression levels of VEGF protein were 1.016±0.103, 0.757±0.090, 0.745±0.021 and 0.603±0.023, respectively, with statistically significant differences ( F=14.650, P=0.001; F=45.220, P<0.001; F=18.180, P<0.001). The expression levels of the three proteins in each treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Compared with the COX-2 inhibited group and Ophiopogonin D group, the relative protein expression levels of COX-2, HIF-1α and VEGF in the combination treatment group were significantly decreased (all P<0.05). Compared with the Ophiopogonin D group, there were no significant differences in the expression of the three proteins in the COX-2 inhibited group (all P>0.05). Conclusion:Ophiopogon D combined with COX-2 gene silencing can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of pancreatic cancer cells, and the mechanism may be related to the inhibition of COX-2 pathway and the decrease of HIF-1α and VEGF protein expression levels.

Objective To establish an Early Warning System for Recurrence Scoring after Radical Resection of BCLC stage 0/A Primary Liver Cancer (PLC-EWSPRS), and to investigate its predictive value. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 232 patients with BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer who underwent radical resection in Affiliated Hospital of Chuanbei Medical College from January 2009 to January 2015, and according to the presence or absence of recurrence within 5 years after surgery based on telephone or outpatient follow-up data, the patients were divided into recurrence group with 103 patients and non-recurrence group with 129 patients. The t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups; the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The indices with statistical significance were included in the binary logistic regression analysis to investigate the risk factors for recurrence of BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer after surgery. Two points were assigned for independent risk factors and one point was assigned for risk factors to establish the PLC-EWSPRS system. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of this system. Results Compared with the non-recurrence group, the recurrence group had significantly higher levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and a significantly lower level of albumin (Alb) before surgery ( Z =3.864 and 4.587, t =-5.628, all P < 0.001), as well as a significantly higher proportion of patients with positive HBsAg, capsular invasion, microvascular invasion (MVI), tumor diameter ≥5 cm, liver cirrhosis (moderate-to-severe), non-R0 resection, or death within 5 years ( χ 2 =35.539, 22.325, 13.398, 7.130, 4.312, 4.034, and 18.527, all P < 0.05). The regression analysis showed that preoperative Alb < 40 g/L (odds ratio [ OR ]=5.796, P < 0.001), preoperative ALT ≥40 U/L ( OR =3.029, P =0.002), MVI ( OR =3.981, P =0.003), positive HBsAg ( OR =7.829, P < 0.001), capsular invasion ( OR =5.357, P < 0.001), and non-R0 resection ( OR =3.048, P =0.018) were independent risk factors for recurrence of BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer within 5 years after surgery. According to the assignment criteria of the PLC-EWSPRS system, the recurrence group had the lowest score of 2 points and the highest score of 14 points, while the non-recurrence had the lowest score of 0 point and the highest score of 11 points, and the recurrence group had a significantly higher score than the non-recurrence group ( P < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that the PLC-EWSPRS system had an AUC of 0.918 (95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 0.883-0.953, P < 0.001) in predicting recurrence within 5 years after surgery in patients with BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer undergoing radical resection, and subgroup analysis showed that the system had an AUC of 0.796 (95% CI : 0.695-0.896, P =0.002), 0.859 (95% CI : 0.791-0.927, P < 0.001), and 0.944 (95% CI : 0.839-1.000, P =0.044), respectively, in predicting recurrence within 5 years after surgery in patients with a low score of 0-5 points, a moderate score of 6-10 points, and a high score of 11-14 points. Conclusion The PLC-EWSPRS system has a good value in predicting the recurrence of BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer within 5 years after surgery and thus has important guiding significance for postoperative reexamination and treatment strategy for patients with BCLC stage 0/A liver cancer undergoing radical resection.

Objective: To know condom use negotiation with clients and regular sex partners and condom use in female sex workers (FSWs), and provide reference for the development of comprehensive HIV/AIDS intervention for FSWs. Methods: The cross sectional survey was conducted in Jianshui county and Mengzi county in Honghe Hani and Yi autonomous prefecture. A total of 476 FSWs aged 16 years and above were recruited from entertainment venues, and the information about their demographic characteristics, condom use negotiation and condom use were collected by using questionnaires. Logistic regression model was used to analyze related factors of condom use after negotiation between FSWs and clients unwilling use condom. Results: A total of 852 FSWs who aged (24.29±8.44) years old participated in the survey. In past month, 499 FSWs had negotiation for condom use with unwilling clients (58.6%, 499/852), after negotiation, 441 FSWs (88.4%, 441/499) had consistent condom use in each sex with the clients. In the past one month, 99 FSWs had negotiation for unwilling use condom with regular sex partners (14.4%, 99/687), after negotiation, 54 FSWs (54.5%, 54/99) had consistent condom use in each sex with regular sex partners. Among the FSWs, 266 (53.3%, 266/499) reported that they could say "It is a mandatory requirement" to persuade clients who were unwilling to use condom. 97(19.4%, 97/499) reported that they could say "There is risk for infection" to persuade clients who were unwilling to use condoms. 115 (23.1%,115/499) reported that they could say "It is a mandatory requirement" and "there is risk for infection" to persuade their unwilling clients to use condoms. 21 (4.2%, 21/499) reported that they used other strategies. 22 (4.4%, 22/499) felt that it was difficult to persuade clients to use condoms. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with FSWs who felt difficult in persuading clients to use condoms, FSWs who felt moderate difficulty were more likely to have consistent condom use after negotiation (OR=4.00, 95%CI: 1.55-10.32) and FSWs who felt easy in persuading clients to use condoms were also more likely to have consistent condom use (OR=30.17, 95%CI: 3.22-282.44). Compared with FSWs used other strategies to persuade their clients to use condoms, FSWs who said it was a mandatory requirement were more likely to have consistent condom use after negotiation (OR=4.44, 95%CI: 1.41-14.01) and FSWs who said it was a mandatory requirement and there was risk for infection were also more likely to have consistent condom use (OR=5.52, 95%CI: 1.55-19.73). Conclusions Negotiation for condom use increased the rate of condom use in FSWs in sex with clients who were unwilling to use condom. The negotiation strategy of "It is a mandatory requirement" would promote condom use in FSWs in sex with clients who were unwilling to use condom. Besides, the negotiation strategy of saying "there is risk for infection" had additional effects.

Objective To explore the effect on traditional experiment and case teaching method in regional anatomy study. Methods 80 students from 2014 medical students were randomly selected as the teaching subjects and divided into traditional group and case teaching group. The traditional group con-tained 40 students, using the traditional teaching method, while case teaching group had also 40 students with case teaching method. In the process of teaching, three clinical cases were introduced, including thesubtotal thyroidectomy thoracic outlet syndrome andpancreatic cancer. After the end of the course, the students conducted a unified questionnaire and examination. SPSS 18.0 was used for data line t test or chi square test between the two groups. Results The scores of the students in the case group in the selection questions, blanks and essay questions in the final exam were higher than those of the traditional group; The average total score of the case group was (85.69 ±11.61), while the traditional group was (73.19 ±18.66), and the difference was statistically significant (t=3.597, P=0.002). The results of the questionnaire showed that the students in the case group were higher than the traditional group, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=14.753, P=0.001). Conclusion The effect on regional anatomy study with case teaching method is better than the traditional teaching method, and it is a promising teaching reform for the med-ical students.

Objective To construct and identify the recombinant retroviral vector containing five copies of hypoxia responsive elements (5HRE)and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3 ).Methods Using PCR,enzyme digestion and DNA ligase,5HRE and human derived NT-3 were cloned into the retroviral vector plasmid (pLNCX)to construct the recombinant retroviral vector plasmid pLNCX-5HRE-SV40-NT3-IRES-EGFP.The retrovirus RV-5HRE-NT3 was packaged in the PT67 cells,and then it was purified and concentrated by high-speed centrifugation.After infected for 48 h with the concentrated retrovirus,the number of the EGFP positive cells in the NIH 3T3 cells was counted by fluorescence activated cells and sorted to calculate the retrovirus titer.Results The retroviral vector plasmid,pLNCX-5HRE-SV40-NT3-IRES-EGFP,was successfully constructed,and the retrovirus was packaged and defined as RV-5HRE-NT3.After purification and concentration,the retrovirus titer reached 9.1 × 10 6 cfu/mL. Conclusion The recombinant retroviral vector which carried out hypoxia-regulated expression of NT-3 was successfully constructed.It may provide basis for studies on hypoxia-regulated expression of the exogenous genes.

OBJECTIVETo understand the prevalence of high risk behaviors and influencing factors among HIV infected persons aged ≥50 years.

METHODSFace to face questionnaire interview was conducted among the HIV infected persons selected in Jianshui, Gejiu and Mengzi counties in Yunnan province through random sampling in June 2015. The sample size was 450.

RESULTSAmong the HIV infected persons surveyed, 41.2% (122/296) had sexual behaviors with their spouses during past year, and the consistent condom use rate was 66.4% (81/122). Among the HIV infected males, 8.9% (28/313) had commercial sexual behaviors during past year, and the consistent condom use rate was 17.9% (5/28). Among the HIV infected females, 0.7% were still engaged in commercial sex service during past year. Among the 450 HIV infected persons, 32 (7.1%) reported having casual sex behaviors during past years, and the consistent condom use rate was 18.7% (6/32). The rate of commercial sexual behavior in urban residents (13.4%, 19/115) was higher than that in rural residents (4.5%, 9/198), the difference was statistically significant (χ(2)=11.715, P=0.001). The risk factors for commercial sex behaviors included lack of family and social support, aged 50-59 years, living in urban area, higher income and being male. The risk factors for using no condom included living in rural area, lower education level, lack of family and social support and higher income.

CONCLUSIONSRisk sex behaviors are still prevalent in HIV infected people aged >50 years, which exacerbated HIV transmission. Further efforts should be focused on the education about AIDS prevention and control and promoting protected sexual behaviors. Additional effort should be done to improve the family and social support for HIV infected people aged >50 years. Moreover, comprehensive intervention for low-paid female sex workers also needs to be strengthened.

China ; epidemiology ; Condoms ; utilization ; Female ; HIV Infections ; epidemiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Risk-Taking ; Sex Work ; psychology ; statistics & numerical data ; Sexual Behavior ; psychology ; statistics & numerical data ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Objective To investigate the neuroprotective effects of neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) expression controlled by five copies of the hypoxia-responsive elements after focal cerebral ischemia .Methods Three groups of rats re-ceived RV-5H-NT3, RV-5H-EGFP or saline injection .Three days after gene transfer , the rats underwent 90 min of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion ( tMCAO) , followed by 1-28 days of reperfusion .Immunohistostaining and western blotting were performed to detect ischemia/hypoxia-regulated expression of NT-3 controlled by HRE . The volume of brain infarction and the apoptosis were analysised by TTC and TUNEL staining .The neurological scoring was determined by neurological behavior tests .Results Three days after tMCAO , brain NT-3 expression was significantly increased in the RV-5HNT3-transduced animals compared with the RV-5H-EGFP or saline group (P<0.05), and brain infarct volume was smaller in the RV-5H-NT3-transduced group than the RV-5H-EGFP or saline group ( P<0.05 ) .The percentage of TUNEL-positive cells was reduced in RV-5 H-NT3-transduced brains compared with the RV-5 HEGFP or saline group 3 and 7 days after tMCAO ( P<0.05 ) .Furthermore , the neurolog-ical status of RV-5H-NT3-transduced rats was better than that of RV-5H-EGFP-or saline-transduced animals from 1 day to 4 weeks after tMCAO ( P<0.05 ) .Conclusions HRE may modulate NT-3 expression in the ischemic brain tissue and that the up-regulated NT-3 may effectively improve neurological status following tMCAO due to de-creased initial damage .

Objective To explore the risk factors for upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage (UGH) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal hypertension (PH). Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 231 patients with HCC-PH treated in our Department from 1st January 2005 to 1st August 2009. The clinicopathologic factors were evaluated for their possible association with UGH in univariate analysis followed by multivariate analysis using Logistic regression model. The overall survival (OS) was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis with calculation of the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity were carried out to assess the predictive ability of the independent risk factors. Results Among 247 patients diagnosed with HCC-PH, 231 patients met the inclusion criteria and were entered into this study. UGH occurred in 28 patients (12.12 %, 28/231). Patients suffering from UGH had a higher 30-and 60-d mortality when compared with the non UGH group (53.57% vs. 4.43%, 96.43%vs. 10.34%, P＜0. 001, 0. 001). The 1-,2-and 3-year overall survival (OS) rates in the non-UGH and the UGH groups were 3. 57% (1/28), 0% (0/28), 0% (0/28) and 21.18% (43/203), 14.29% (29/203), 4.43% (9/203), respectively. There was a trend towards a non-significantly statistical difference in long-term (≥3 yr) survival (P=0. 605). UGH had a dismal prognosis with a median OS of 0. 8 months (0. 10-2. 40 months). Multivariate analysis of the risk factors showed elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (P = 0. 026) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) more than twice normal (2N)(P=0. 004) were predictive factors, in particular, AST≥2N. A cutoff value (PI≥7. 242) predicted UGH with an AUC of 0.828 (95%CI, 0.698-0.957), sensitivity of 81.0% and a specificity of 81.0%, as calculated from the ROC. Risk score stratification predicted UGH to show a statistically significant difference (P＜0. 001). Conclusions UGH, as one of the end-stage incidents of HCC-PH,had a dismal prognosis. Patients with elevated AFP levels and AST levels above 2N were associated with high risks for UGH and should be monitored carefully or offered prophylactic treatments. Risk score stratification was useful for prediction of UGH.