OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predictive value of plasma heparin-binding protein (HBP) combined with albumin (Alb) for predicting 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with sepsis admitted to the emergency intensive care unit (EICU) of the People's Hospital of Shenzhen Baoan District from March 2020 to March 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. The study began at the time of the first diagnosis of sepsis upon EICU admission and ended upon patient death or at 28 days. The gender, age, length of stay in EICU, underlying diseases, and infection sites were recorded. Within 24 hours of sepsis diagnosis, blood culture results, white blood cell count (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), blood lactate acid (Lac), HBP, Alb, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II), mortality in emergency department sepsis score (MEDS), modified early warning score (MEWS), number of organ failures, use of vasopressors, application of mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, and 28-day prognosis were recorded, the differences in these indicators between two groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the risk factors of 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis. Receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was drawn, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the early predictive value of various risk factors for 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis. RESULTS: A total of 300 patients with sepsis were included, with 16 excluded, resulting in 284 patients being analyzed. Among them, 191 survived and 93 died within 28 days. There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of gender, age, underlying diseases, infection sites, blood culture positivity rate, number of organ failures, and length of stay in EICU. Univariate analysis showed that the rate of vasopressor use, the rate of mechanical ventilation, HBP, PCT, CRP, Lac, SOFA score, APACHE II score, MEDS score, and MEWS score were significantly higher in the death group than those in the survival group, while Alb was significantly lower in the death group than that in the survival group. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that HBP and Alb were independent risk factors for predicting 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis [odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were 1.093 (0.989-1.128) and 1.174 (1.095-1.259), both P < 0.05]. ROC curve analysis showed that both HBP and Alb had certain predictive value for 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis [AUC and 95%CI were 0.820 (0.717-0.923) and 0.786 (0.682-0.890), both P < 0.05]. When the critical value of HBP was 117.50 μg/L, the sensitivity was 85.90%, and the specificity was 70.50%. When the critical value of Alb was 28.30 g/L, the sensitivity was 69.30%, and the specificity was 81.20%. When the two indexes were combined for diagnosis, the AUC was 0.881 (95%CI was 0.817-0.945, P < 0.001), the sensitivity was 92.70%, and the specificity was 76.80%. CONCLUSIONS HBP and Alb are independent risk factors for predicting 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis. The combined prediction efficiency of HBP and Alb for 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis is superior to a single indicator.
Humans ; Sepsis/diagnosis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Intensive Care Units ; Blood Proteins/analysis* ; Prognosis ; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides/blood* ; APACHE ; Male ; Female ; Organ Dysfunction Scores ; ROC Curve ; Middle Aged ; C-Reactive Protein/analysis* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Aged ; Hospital Mortality ; Serum Albumin/analysis*

OBJECTIVE: Because of the limited number of studies and small sample sizes, whether metabolic syndrome (MS) leads to the occurrence and progression of osteoporosis and the possible underlying mechanisms require further investigation. This study aimed to investigate the association between MS and osteoporosis, along with its influencing factors. METHODS: This observational cross-sectional study included 139,470 individuals aged ≥ 18 years who underwent health examinations from September 2014 to March 2022. Based on bone mineral density (BMD) screening results, the participants were categorized into a suspected osteoporosis or non-osteoporosis group (control). Participants were further divided into those who met 0 MS criteria, 1 MS criterion, 2 MS criteria, and ≥ 3 MS criteria (MS group). Participants who had undergone health examinations at least twice formed the follow-up cohort; a self-matched analysis was performed on those with follow-up periods ≥ 5 years and unchanged MS grouping. RESULTS: Several examination indicators in the suspected osteoporosis group showed statistically significant differences compared with the control group. The proportion of suspected osteoporosis in the MS group was significantly increased compared with that in the 0 MS criteria group (odds ratio [ OR]: 1.215, Z = 29.11, P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval: 1.199-1.231). After adjusting for age, sex, smoking, and alcohol consumption, the 2 MS criteria group and MS group still had OR values > 1 ( P < 0.001). In the follow-up cohort, the proportion of suspected osteoporosis increased gradually with an increase in the number of MS criteria met at baseline and during each follow-up visit ( P < 0.05), with the highest proportion observed in the MS group. However, the proportion of suspected osteoporosis did not increase significantly over time in the different MS groups ( P > 0.05). In the follow-up cohort, the proportion of individuals transitioning from normal BMD to suspected osteoporosis was higher in the MS group after ≥ 5 years of follow-up compared with the group meeting 0 MS criteria (0.08% versus 1.15%, χ ² = 10.76, P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in BMD values for the 0 MS criteria group after 5 years ( P > 0.05), whereas the other three groups experienced a significant decrease in BMD values after 5 years ( P < 0.05). CONCLUSION MS is an independent risk factor for osteoporosis, and the effect of risk factors related to MS on osteoporosis may exceed that of aging alone. The specific mechanisms warrant further investigation.
Humans ; Osteoporosis/etiology* ; Female ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome/complications* ; Middle Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; China/epidemiology* ; Aged ; Adult ; Bone Density ; Risk Factors

We researched the mechanism of African swine fever virus (ASFV) protein E248R in regulating the cGAS-STING pathway. First, we verified via the dual-luciferase reporter assay system that E248R protein inhibited the secretion of IFN-β induced by cGAS-STING or HT-DNA in a dose-dependent manner. The relative quantitative PCR analysis indicated that the overexpression of E248R inhibited HT-DNA-induced transcription of IFN-b1, RANTES, IL-6, and TNF-α in PK-15 cells. Next, we found that E248R interacted with STING by co-immunoprecipitation assay and laser confocal microscopy. Finally, we demonstrated that E248R inhibited the expression of STING protein by using Western blotting. We demonstrated for the first time that the E248R protein of ASFV suppressed the host innate immune response via inhibiting STING expression. The results are pivotal in extending the understanding of the ASFV immune escape and can guide the design of vaccines against ASFV.
African Swine Fever Virus/genetics* ; Animals ; DNA ; Immunity, Innate ; Nucleotidyltransferases/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction ; Swine

Beh?et′s syndrome is a kind of chronic systemic vasculitis with involvement of multiple organs. Intestinal involvement of Beh?et′s syndrome is presently named as intestinal Beh?et′s syndrome. Recently, there is considering another kind of disease type with only typical intestinal ulcers. Since it is difficult to differentiate intestinal Beh?et′s syndrome from Crohn′s disease, intestinal tuberculosis, intestinal lymphoma, and intestinal manifestations of many other autoimmune diseases, and there is limited evidence for the therapy of intestinal Beh?et′s syndrome, proposing diagnosis and treatment recommendations for intestinal Beh?et′s syndrome through evidence-based judgment will be of great significance for clinical practice.

Behçet’s syndrome is a kind of chronic systemic vasculitis with involvement of multiple organs. Intestinal involvement of Behçet’s syndrome is presently named as intestinal Behçet’s syndrome (disease). Recently, there is considering another kind of disease type with only typical intestinal ulcers. Since it is difficult to differentiate intestinal Behçet’s syndrome from Crohn’s disease, intestinal tuberculosis, intestinal lymphoma, as well as intestinal manifestations of many other autoimmune diseases, and there is limited evidence for the therapy of intestinal Behçet’s syndrome, proposing diagnosis and treatment recommendations for intestinal Behçet’s syndrome through evidence-based judgment will be of great significance for clinical practice.

Objective: To investigate the combined impact of lifestyle factors on stomach cancer risk. Methods: We analyzed the data from the Shanghai Men's Health Study (SMHS) (2002-2013). The SMHS was conducted in eight neighborhood communities of urban Shanghai. From 2002 through June 2006, 61 480 residents aged 40 to 74 years old with no history of cancer were recruited. Failure time was the date of stomach cancer incidence, death or date of the last follow-up (December 31, 2013). The first two in-person follow-up surveys were conducted in 2004-2008, and 2008-2011, respectively. Using data on lifestyle, the healthy lifestyle index (HLI) was developed. The following lifestyle factors were included: smoking, alcohol consumption, diet habit, overweighted and physical activity. Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association of stomach cancer risk with lifestyle factors and HLI. Results: Over 9.28 years' follow-up, 477 incident cases of stomach cancer were identified from 59 503 study participants. Participants with zero, one, two, three, four, and five favorable lifestyle behaviors accounted for 3.44% (n=2 045), 18.14% (n=10 793), 33.68% (n=20 041), 29.43% (n=17 511), 12.82% (n=7 627), and 2.50% (n=1 486), respectively. Among all the five lifestyle factors, smoking and alcohol use were significantly related to stomach cancer risk. The relative risk of stomach cancer was 0.71 (95%CI: 0.57-0.87) for those who never smoked or quitted smoking for no less than 10 years and 0.70 (95%CI: 0.55-0.90) for those who consumed alcohol no more than 14 drinks per week. For each increment of healthy lifestyle index, the relative risk of stomach cancer was 0.86 (95%CI: 0.79-0.95). Compared to men with none or one healthy lifestyle factor, the relative risk for those with four or five was 0.62 (95%CI: 0.46-0.83). When we rebuilt HLI using more categories of each lifestyle factors, the HLI ranged from 0 to 11. For each point increase, the relative risk of stomach cancer was 0.93 (95%CI: 0.89-0.97). Compared those with 0 to 3 points, the relative risk of those with 8 to 11 points was 0.64 (95%CI: 0.47-0.87). Conclusion In the SMHS, only a small proportion of men adhered to all the five healthy lifestyle factors. Compared to those with none or one healthy lifestyle behaviors, those with five may prevent about 1/3 stomach cancer incidence and the HLI was inversely associated with stomach cancer risk.

Objective To explore pre-hospital delay factor of coronary reperfusion therapy for ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEAMI) patients presenting with non-chest pains. Methods A retrospective observation was conducted. The clinical data of STEAMI patients underwent emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) admitted to Luoyang Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University from August 2013 to August 2015 were analyzed. The patients were divided into chest pain group and non-chest pain group according to the presence of chest pain or not. Clinical characteristics were compared between the two groups, and incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), door-to-balloon time, door-to-electrocardiograms (ECG) time and ECG-to-balloon time were evaluated. Influencing factors of pre-hospital delay was analyzed by logistic multiple stepwise regression. Results A total of 259 patients with STEAMI were enrolled, including 154 patients with chest pain and 105 presented with non-chest pains. Compared with chest pain group, the patients in the non-chest pain group were older (years: 68.12±8.93 vs. 62.34±7.12, P < 0.05), less female (26.67% vs. 42.20%, P< 0.05), and had a higher past history of angina, stroke and heart failure (27.61% vs. 13.63%, 31.42% vs. 18.83%, 26.67% vs. 11.68%, respectively, all P < 0.05), and higher percentage of Killip ≥ Ⅲ patients (15.24% vs. 6.49%, P < 0.05), the lower ambulance use (26.67% vs. 44.81%, P < 0.01), longer hospitalization time (days: 12.50±2.89 vs. 9.50±2.67, P < 0.05), higher incidence of MACE (19.05% vs. 9.09%, P < 0.05), longer door-to-balloon time and door-to-ECG time (minutes: 159.01±51.21 vs. 115.31±36.74, 53.06±18.17 vs. 30.35±9.93, both P < 0.01). It was shown by logistic multivariate regression analysis that no-chest pain [odds ratio (OR) = 5.14, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 2.34-10.81, P < 0.001], age ≥ 65 years old (OR = 1.43, 95%CI = 0.93-2.99, P = 0.022), diabetes (OR = 1.57, 95%CI = 0.66-2.15, P = 0.015) and no-ambulance transport (OR = 1.55, 95%CI = 0.73-2.75, P < 0.001) were risks factors of coronary reperfusion delay ≥ 2 hours. Conclusions STEAMI patients presenting without chest pain showed higher incidences of MACE, longer time of ECG obtained and initial PCI time delay. Clinicians should try to reduce the delay time of the patients in order to improve patient survival rates.

Objective To discuss the influence of two recombinant hemoglobin (rHb1.1 and rHb2.0) and human serum albumin (HSA) on oxygen supply and demand balance in rat with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into normal control group, CHD model group, HSA treatment group, rHb1.1 treatment group and rHb2.0 treatment group, 20 rats in each group. Rat model of CHD was established by high fat diet combined with pituitrin injection. The mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased to 40 mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa) after femoral arterial blood was drawn from the femoral arteries, and the rats were resuscitated with 13.4% HSA, rHb1.1 and rHb2.0, respectively, at the rate of 60 mL·kg-1·h-1 (20 mL/kg). The changes of electrocardiogram (ECG) ST-segment were calculated before model reproduction and at 12 hours after the last time injection of pituitrin. MAP, heart rate (HR), superior mesenteric artery blood flow (QSMA) and arterial blood gas analysis were recorded at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after the administration. The blood was collected after 12-hour fasting, and serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) were determined by enzymatic method. The pathological changes in cardiac tissue were observed with light microscope. Results Compared with the normal control group, the changes of ECG ST-segment and TC, TG of model group were significantly increased. Compared with the model group, rHb can significantly reduce the value of ST segment changes, and HSA has no such effect; rHb short-term infusion has no significant effect on blood lipids, but can reduce myocardial pathological changes. Compared with the normal control group, the MAP of the model group decreased significantly, the HR was increased, the QSMA was slowed down, the pH value, the residual alkali (BE), the arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure (PaCO2) and HCO3- were decreased significantly. MAP in rHb1.1 group and rHb2.0 group were significantly higher than those in HSA group. Values of MAP were significantly higher in rHb2.0 group than those in rHb1.1 group at 90 minutes and 120 minutes (mmHg: 80.9±3.3 vs. 69.4±4.9, 79.2±4.0 vs. 69.1±3.7, both P < 0.05). The HR of HSA, rHb1.1 and rHb2.0 decreased to normal in 30 minutes after administration, significantly lower than those in the model group (bpm: 534±46, 518±28, 526±37 vs. 609±52, all P < 0.05). In the rHb2.0 group, the QSMA increased significantly at 60, 90 and 120 minutes compared with the model group (qv·mL-1·min-1: 5.6±0.4 vs. 3.9±0.6, 6.2±0.6 vs. 4.1±0.4, 6.9±0.7 vs. 4.0±0.3, all P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between the HSA group and the rHb1.1 group. The pH, BE, PaCO2 did not return to the normal level after administration of HSA; pH, PaCO2 and HCO3- in the rHb1.1 group returned to normal level at 60 minutes after administration, and BE returned to normal level at 90 minutes after administration. Each index in rHb2.0 group can restore to normal levels 30 minutes ahead of. Conclusion Recombinant hemoglobin can significantly improve the oxygen supply and demand balance of rats with CHD model, can quickly and effectively correct the hypoxic state of blood metabolic acidosis, and rHb2.0 has better effect than rHb1.1.

Objective To explore the significance of motor unit number estimation (MUNE) by using multiple point stimulating technique to evaluate patients with Hirayama disease (HD).Methods Multiple point stimulating technique was used to estimate the motor unit number of abductor pollicis brevis and abductor digiti minimi in 35 normal subjects [14-33 years old,mean (20.9 ±4.0) years old,33 men and 2 women]without nerve and muscle disease and 69 patients definitely diagnosed as HD [16-35 years old,mean (21.46 ±6.61 ) years old,67 men and 2 women].The differences between the two groups were examined by Fisher's exact test and t test.Results There were 42 patients with atrophy and 27 patients with normal clinical manifestation of left hand.For right hand there were 54 patients with atrophy and 15 normal.For controls,the MUNE value of left abductor pollicis brevis was 226.97 ± 30.59,while that of right side was 22g.31 ± 25.35.The MUNE value of left abductor digiti minimi was 237.43 ± 30.78,while that of right side was 240.20 ± 37.73.For HD patients,the MUNE of left abductor pollicis brevis and abductor digiti minimi was 145.66 ± 126.10 ( t =5.07,P ＜ 0.01 ) and 102.20 ± 112.67 ( t =9.31,P ＜ 0.01 )respectively,while those of right hand was 149.72 ± 117.80 ( t =5.31,P ＜ 0.01 ) and 64.23 ± 69.27 ( t =16.76,P ＜0.01 ) respectively.MUNE of left abductor digiti minimi in 17 patients that was below 200 among 27 patients with normal clinical manifestation (x2 =9.57,P =0.002).MUNE of right abductor digiti minimi in 12 patients that was below 200 among 15 patients with normal clinical manifestation ( x2 =4.64,P =0.03).Conclusions The differences of MUNE values by multiple point stimulating technique between the normal subjects and the HD patients is significant,which suggests this method is very useful to evaluate HD in the early state.

BACKGROUND: Stem cell factors are hypoxia-induced neural regeneration factors. They stimulate animals' neural regeneration.OBJECTIVE: To observe Nestin and stem cell factor mRNA expressions after ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat brain, and to analyze the time rule of the two.DESIGN: A randomized controlled animal experiment.SETTING: Department of Ultrasound Diagnosis, Affdiated Hospital of Qingdao University Medical College.MATERIALS: Thirty-six healthy female adult Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were provided by the Shanghai Laboratory Animal Center, Chinese Academy of Science. Nestin and stem cell factor mRNA in situ hybridization kits and 3,3'-diaminobenzidine (DAB)kit were provided by Boster Bioengineering Co.,Ltd (Wuhan, China).METHODS: This study was performed at the Shangdong Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Encephalopathy from January to June 2005. Thirty-two rats were created into models of ischemia/reperfusion models by occluding left middle cerebral artery with suture. At ischemia 1.5 hours and reperfusion 2, 6, 12, 24 hours, 2, 3, 7, 14 days, 4 rats were separately used in order to observe the expressions of Nestin and stem cell factor mRNA. The other 4 rats were used for sham-operation,in which, suture insertion was omitted, and the other procedures were identical to experimental groups. The expressions of Nestin and stem cell factor mRNA were detected in the cortex, corpora striatum and paraventricular nucleus region in rat brain by in situ hybridization.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Nestin and stem cell factor mRNA expressions in the cortex, corpora striatum and paraventricular nucleus region in rat brain.RESULTS: Thirty-six rats were included in the final analysis. Nestin mRNA and stem cell factor were weakly expressed in the cortex, corpora striatum and paraventricular nucleus region in rats of sham-operation group. After ischemia/reperfusion, Nestin mRNA expression at each time point was significandy higher in the experimental groups (except in the cortex at ischemia 1.5 hours and reperfusion 2 hours, in the corpora striatum at ischemia 1.5 hours and reperfusion 2 and 6 hours and in the paraventricular nucleus region at ischemia 1.5 hours and reperfusion 2, 6 hours and 14 days) than in the sham-operation group (P＜0.05). While stem cell factor mRNA expression at each time point was significandy higher in the experimental groups (except in the cortex at ischemia 1.5 hours and reperfusion 2,6 and 12 hours, in the corpora striatum at ischemia 1.5 hours and reperfusion 2 and 6 hours and in the paraventricular nucleus region at ischemia 1.5 hours and reperfusion 2 hours and 14 days) than in the sham-operation group (P＜0.05).CONCLUSION: The time rule of stem cell factor mRNA expression is basically the same as that of neural stem cell proliferation. It indicates that following cerebral ischemia/reperfusion, stem cell factor mRNA expression may promote the proliferation of neural stem cells.