Background/Aims: The pathophysiology of refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (RGERD), which differs from proton pump inhibitor dependent gastroesophageal reflux disease (DGERD), remains incompletely elucidated. This study aims to compare esophageal motility patterns, transdiaphragmatic pressure gradients (TPG), and reflux profiles between RGERD and DGERD patients, and to delineate dynamic pressure gradient-esophagogastric junction (EGJ) interactions in these patients. Methods: In this retrospective study, 274 patients who underwent 24-hour impedance-pH monitoring and high-resolution manometry, along with an assessment of proton pump inhibitor responsiveness, were classified as RGERD (32.5%), DGERD (54.4%), or non-GERD (13.1%). Clinical characteristics, TPG, esophageal motility, and reflux metrics were compared between RGERD and DGERD patients. Subgroup analysis excluding hiatal hernia (HH) was conducted to investigate the pathophysiology of RGERD. Results: The RGERD group exhibited a significantly higher proportion of chest pain compared to the DGERD group. Regarding reflux profiles, RGERD patients without HH (RGERDHH- group) experienced increased weakly acidic reflux (P < 0.001) and prolonged bolus exposure (P = 0.006) compared to their counterparts (DGERDHH- group). Mechanistically, the RGERDHH- group showed reduced lower esophageal sphincter basal pressure (P = 0.010) and EGJ contractile integral (P = 0.005). Notably, following a wet-swallow, the RGERDHH- group experienced the significant elevation in gastric pressure and TPG. Correlation analyses revealed weakly acidic reflux and bolus exposure were positively correlated with gastric pressure variation, and inversely correlated with lower esophageal sphincter basal pressure. Conclusions Transient gastric pressure elevation and compromised EGJ barrier function drive weakly acidic reflux and esophageal bolus exposure. This pressure gradient-barrier mismatch underpins the refractoriness of RGERD.

Objective:To analyze the clinical and ultrasonic features of breast invasive ductal carcinoma in young women patients,and improve the accuracy of ultrasonic diagnosis of breast invasive ductal carcinoma in young patients.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on patients with invasive ductal carcinoma who underwent surgery in the Second Hospital of Shandong University from December 2015 to June 2023,with complete clinical data,preopera-tive ultrasonography and postoperative pathology.All patients were divided into two groups:young group(≤35 year-old)and control group(>35 year-old).Univariate t-test and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the factors.Results:There was a statistical difference between the young group and the control group in the accuracy of ultrasound diagnosis(young group 81%vs control group 94%,χ2=13.082,P=0.001).Compared with the control group,the young group had a shorter disease history,a higher proportion of multiple masses,posterior echo changes and hypo-vascular lesions(P<0.05).However,there was no statistical difference in family history of breast cancer,other cancer family history,clinical symptoms,size,lesion classification,palpation,location,aspect ratio,focus echo,shape,edge per-formance,bright ring sign,calcification characteristics,ER,PR,HER-2 and Ki67(P>0.05).Conclusion:The incidence rate of young breast IDC is low,while the misdiagnosis rate of ultrasound is relatively high.More attention should be paid when the patient has a short history,multiple masses,changes in the posterior echo and less lesion blood supply.

Objective To propose an EBT3 film technology-based quality control measurement method for the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment to solve the problems of the traditional methods in cumbersome operation and setup error.Methods According to HJ 1198-2021 Requirements of radiation safety and protection for radiotherapy and GBZ 121-2020 Requirements for radiological protection in radiotherapy,the environmental radiation testing of the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment was carried out point by point by means of the radiation inspection instrument.The INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment was characterized by a point X-ray source(XRS),and the XRS was detected in terms of the probe linearity,radiation dose,dynamic deviation,isotropy and dose rate.The EBT3 film technology was used to verify the symmetry and isotropy of the XRS planar dose of INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment.Results The X-γ dose equivalent rate of each monitoring site of the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy device was lower than the method detection limit(MDL).The results of SQA quality control showed that the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment XRS met the quality control requirements in terms of the probe linearity,radiation dose,dynamic deviation and etc,and the isotropy differences in the+X,-X,+Y,and-Y axis directions ranged from-1.40％to 1.79％,which were all within the allowable range of measurement tolerance(5.60％to 5.65％).The results of measuring the isotropy of the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment based on the EBT3 film technology showed that the dose distribution of the XRS in the directions of the+X,-X,+Y,and-Y axes at the same plane was well isotropic,and that the doses in the directions of the X and Y axes were symmetrically distributed,and that the maximum skewness value for the isotropy of the XRS in the XY plane was-1.581％,which met the requirements of AAPM TG61 report on the reference dosimetry of low-energy and medium-energy X-rays for radiotherapy and radiobiology of≤±5.3％.Conclusion The EBT3 film technology-based measurement method gains high simplicity and feasibility for the isotropy of the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment in the directions of the+X,-X,+Y,and-Y axes at the same planet,which realizes the dynamic monitoring of the dosimetric changes and facilitates the whole-process quality control management of the intraoperative radiotherapy equipment.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(6):47-53]

Objective To propose an EBT3 film technology-based quality control measurement method for the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment to solve the problems of the traditional methods in cumbersome operation and setup error.Methods According to HJ 1198-2021 Requirements of radiation safety and protection for radiotherapy and GBZ 121-2020 Requirements for radiological protection in radiotherapy,the environmental radiation testing of the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment was carried out point by point by means of the radiation inspection instrument.The INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment was characterized by a point X-ray source(XRS),and the XRS was detected in terms of the probe linearity,radiation dose,dynamic deviation,isotropy and dose rate.The EBT3 film technology was used to verify the symmetry and isotropy of the XRS planar dose of INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment.Results The X-γ dose equivalent rate of each monitoring site of the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy device was lower than the method detection limit(MDL).The results of SQA quality control showed that the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment XRS met the quality control requirements in terms of the probe linearity,radiation dose,dynamic deviation and etc,and the isotropy differences in the+X,-X,+Y,and-Y axis directions ranged from-1.40％to 1.79％,which were all within the allowable range of measurement tolerance(5.60％to 5.65％).The results of measuring the isotropy of the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment based on the EBT3 film technology showed that the dose distribution of the XRS in the directions of the+X,-X,+Y,and-Y axes at the same plane was well isotropic,and that the doses in the directions of the X and Y axes were symmetrically distributed,and that the maximum skewness value for the isotropy of the XRS in the XY plane was-1.581％,which met the requirements of AAPM TG61 report on the reference dosimetry of low-energy and medium-energy X-rays for radiotherapy and radiobiology of≤±5.3％.Conclusion The EBT3 film technology-based measurement method gains high simplicity and feasibility for the isotropy of the INTRABEAM PRS500 intraoperative radiotherapy equipment in the directions of the+X,-X,+Y,and-Y axes at the same planet,which realizes the dynamic monitoring of the dosimetric changes and facilitates the whole-process quality control management of the intraoperative radiotherapy equipment.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(6):47-53]

Objective To investigate the value of afterload-related cardiac performance(ACP)in evaluating cardiac dysfunction and prognosis in patients with septic shock.Methods This prospective observational study included 45 patients with septic shock.The patients were divided into the death(n=21)or survival(n=24)group according to whether they died within 28 days.Baseline and labora-tory data were collected within 24 h.Cardiac function indices were collected and monitored at 0,6,12,18,and 24 h using the pulse index continuous cardiac output.Variables affecting the prognosis were included in the multivariate Cox proportional hazard model.Prognosis was predicted using a receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results The ACP in the death group was significantly lower than that in the survival group at 0,6,12,18,and 24 h(all P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that decreased ACP,increased acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ(APACHE Ⅱ)score,increased sequential organ failure assessment(SOFA)score,increased fluid balance at 24 h,increased vasoactive-inotropic score,increased central venous pressure,and decreased mean arterial pressure were risk factors for poor prognosis.The Cox proportional hazard model showed that ACP,APACHE Ⅱ score,and SOFA score were independent risk factors influencing prognosis.ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve of ACP was the largest at 24 h,which was the best time point for predicting 28-day mortality.The corresponding sensitivity,specificity,and best cutoff values were 76.20％,91.70％,and 75.16％,respectively.Conclusion ACP could be used as a valuable index to evaluate cardiac dysfunction and as an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with septic shock.

Objective To investigate the distribution of Streptococcus,sensitivity to commonly used antibiotics,and prognosis of the patients with bloodstream infections,and provide evidence for early diagnosis and selection of antibiotics.Methods The Streptococci i-solated from the blood samples of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from 2017 to 2022 were collected and di-vided into α-and β-hemolytic Streptococci according to the type of hemolysis.Their sensitivity to commonly used antibiotics was ana-lyzed.The differences in clinical data and prognosis between the two groups were also compared.Results A total of 314 strains of Streptococcus were isolated from 305 patients,including 270 strains of α-hemolytic Streptococcus and 44 β-hemolytic Streptococcus.The results of the drug sensitivity test showed that the proportion of Streptococcus strains with a diameter of 17-19 mm in the inhibition zone of vancomycin increased year by year.The positive alarm time of blood culture for β-hemolytic Streptococcus was significantly shorter than that for α-hemolytic Streptococcus(P＜0.001).Using 10.5 hours as the diagnostic threshold could assist in distinguishing blood-stream infections caused by α-and β-hemolytic Streptococcus.The overall mortality rate of patients with streptococcal bloodstream infec-tion was 15.1％,and there was no statistically significant difference in the mortality rate between the two groups(P=0.813).Conclu-sion The main Streptococcus causing bloodstream infections in our hospital is α-hemolytic Streptococcus.There are differences in the antimicrobial sensitivity and clinical characteristics among patients with different streptococcal bloodstream infections.The positive a-larm time of blood culture can assist in distinguishing the type of streptococcal bloodstream infections.In addition,the diameter of the inhibition zone of vancomycin against Streptococcus has drifted towards the breakpoint of drug resistance.

Aim To explore the role and mechanism of epimedokoreanin B(EKB)in HepaRG cell pyroptosis through endoplasmic reticulum stress and NLRP1-me-diated pyroptosis pathway.Methods The effect of EKB on the viability of HepaRG cells at different con-centrations was determined by MTT assay,and the cell growth status was recorded by Incucyte.Four groups of HepaRG cells were set up.The control group was cul-tured with complete medium for 24 h;the drug admin-istration group was cultured with three concentration gradients of 6.25,12.5 and 25 μmol·L-1 of EKB for 24 h.Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins and pyroptosis-related proteins in the cells of each group.Results HepaRG cells showed cytotoxicity at a concentration of 6.25 μmol·L-1 for 24 h,and the half maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)was 12.41 μmol·L-1.Incucyte recordings of the cell growth status showed that the cells in the control group were in good growth status,and the vesicular pyropto-sis cells appeared in the different concentrations of EKB and the cells swelled and ruptured after 24 h.Western blot showed that the protein expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins pERK,eIF-2α,ATF-4,GRP78,and CHOP significantly in-creased in HepaRG cells at 25 μmol·L-1 of EKB compared with the control group.The proteins of the classical pathway of cellular pyroptosis mediated by NLRP1,caspase-1,cleaved caspase-1,GSDMD,GS-DMD-N significantly increased in HepaRG cells.Con-clusion EKB administration induces HepaRG cell py-roptosis,and EKB activates HepaRG cells to undergo endoplasmic reticulum stress and activates the NLRP1/caspase-1/GSDMD-mediated pyroptosis pathway.

Objective To investigate the relationship between ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI)treatment time nodes and coronary microcirculation dysfunction(CMD)after primary percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)and its prognosis,providing evidence for early identification of high-risk patients,further optimization of treatment system,shortening treatment time and improving prognosis.Methods This study selected 150 STEMI patients who received primary PCI at the 920th Hospital of the Joint Logistic Support Force of the People's Liberation Army of China from March 2023 to September 2023 as the CMD group after PCI(89 cases),with a microcirculation resistance index(caIMR)of≥40 U based on coronary angiography.caIMR＜40 U was classified as the non-CMD group(61 cases).The clinical data,various examination indicators and imaging data of the two groups of patients were collected,and the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)within half a year after direct PCI of the patients was followed up.The correlation between the two variables was analyzed using Spearman.Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between each treatment time point and the occurrence of CMD after direct PCI.Using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis to predict the occurrence of CMD after direct PCI.The survival curves between the two groups were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method.Results The levels of symptom onset-to-balloon(S-to-B),symptom onset-to-first medical contact(S-to-FMC),first medical contact-to-balloon(FMC-to-B),symptom onset-to-door(S-to-D)and first medical contact-to-door(FMC-to-D)in the CMD group were significantly higher than those in the non-CMD group(all P＜0.05).Correlation analysis showed that S-to-D,S-to-FMC,the time from FMC-to-B,and the time from FMC-to-D were all positively correlated with the time from S-to-B(r=0.996,P＜0.001;r=0.937,P＜0.001;r=0.431,P＜0.001;r=0.441,P＜0.001).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that the duration of S-to-D(OR 2.165,95％CI 1.655-2.830,P＜0.001)was a significant influencing factor for CMD.Moreover,S-to-D has a relatively high predictive value for the occurrence of CMD after direct PCI.The area under the ROC curve is 0.898(95％CI 0.850-0.946,P＜0.001),the optimal cut-off value is 231 min,the sensitivity is 82.0％,and the specificity is 88.5％.Kaplan-Meier curve analysis showed that the cumulative survival rate of MACE outcomes in the CMD group was significantly lower than that in the non-CMD group(Log-rank P=0.009).Conclusions Shortening the S-to-D time can reduce the occurrence of CMD after PCI,thereby reducing the incidence of MACE and improving prognosis.

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognostic risk factors of patients with atrial fibrillation(AF)related to septic shock admitted to the intensive care unit(ICU).Methods This retrospective cohort study included 152 patients with septic shock who were admitted to the ICU between January 2020 and December 2023.Patients were categorized into AF(n=48)and non-AF(n=104)groups based on the occurrence of AF.Clinical parameters were compared between the two groups,and variables with statistically significant differences(P<0.05)were entered into a multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify clinical features associated with AF.Patients were also stratified into survival(n=103)and death(n=49)groups based on 28-day outcomes.Variables showing signifi-cant intergroup differences(P<0.05)were further included in a multivariate model to identify independent risk factors for mortality.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed using AF as a binary variable,and log-rank tests were applied to compare survival curves.Results The incidence of AF was 31.58%among patients with septic shock.Compared with the non-AF group,the AF group was older,received higher cumulative doses of vasoactive agents,and had elevated levels of lactate(Lac),N-terminal brain natriuretic peptide precursor(NT-proBNP),troponin I(cTnI),tumor necrosis factorα(TNF-α),and C-reactive protein(CRP).The AF group also had higher E/e'ratios,left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation-Ⅱ(APACHEⅡ)scores,Sequen-tial Organ Failure Assessment(SOFA)scores,and 28-day mortality rates(all P<0.05).Multivariate logistic regression identified age(odds ratio[OR]=1.060,P=0.015),SOFA score(OR=1.525,P=0.001),TNF-α(OR=1.009,P=0.026),CRP(OR=1.008,P=0.002),and E/e'(OR=1.363,P=0.023)as independent risk factors for AF.The 28-day mortality rate was 32.24%.Compared with survivors,non-survivors had significantly higher Lac,cTnI,E/e',LVEF,and TNF-α levels,higher APACHEⅡand SOFA scores,longer ICU stays,and a higher incidence of AF(all P<0.05).Multivariate analysis identified SOFA score,cTnI,E/e',and AF as independent predictors of 28-day mortality.Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed significantly poorer survival in patients with AF(χ2=6.747,P=0.009).Conclusion AF is common in ICU patients with septic shock.Advanced age,greater organ dysfunction,elevated inflammatory markers,and diastolic dysfunction are associated with AF occurrence.Organ dysfunction,myocardial injury,diastolic dysfunction,and AF are inde-pendent predictors of mortality in this population.Greater clinical attention is warranted in patients with AF and septic shock due to their elevated risk of poor outcomes.

Diabetic kidney disease(DKD)is one of the common microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus,and it has become the main cause of chronic kidney disease and end stage renal disease.Traditional Chinese medicine can delay the progress of DKD by inhibiting oxidative stress,improving renal tissue damage,restoring renal function.This paper will summarize the relationship between oxidative stress and DKD and the prevention and treatment of DKD by traditional Chinese medicine,so as to provide reference for clinical drug application,basic research and new drug research and development of DKD.