Objective To investigate the predictive value of preoperative combined detection of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and prothrombin time-international normalized ratio to albumin ratio (PTAR) for early abdominal infection after liver transplantation. Methods Clinical data of 287 recipients who underwent liver transplantation at the Liver Transplant Center of Beijing Friendship Hospital, Affiliated to Capital Medical University, from January 2020 to April 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into infection group (n=60) and non-infection group (n=227) based on whether abdominal infection occurred within 30 days after surgery. The distribution characteristics of pathogens and infection time in infected patients were analyzed. Spearman correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between NLR, PTAR, Child-Pugh score and preoperative model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for abdominal infection. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted for NLR, PTAR, and the combined prediction model to evaluate their predictive efficacy for abdominal infection after liver transplantation. Based on the cutoff value of the combined model, recipients were divided into low-risk and high-risk groups, and Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to compare the cumulative incidence of abdominal infection within 30 days after surgery between the two groups. Results Among the 287 recipients who underwent liver transplantation, 60 developed bacterial or fungal abdominal infections postoperatively. A total of 86 strains were isolated from infected patients, with Gram-negative bacteria accounting for 58%, Gram-positive bacteria for 36%, and fungi for 5%. Preoperative NLR and PTAR were positively correlated with Child-Pugh and MELD scores (all 1 > r > 0, P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that preoperative NLR, preoperative PTAR, postoperative ICU stay duration and postoperative biliary leakage were risk factors for abdominal infection within 30 days after surgery. The area under the curve (AUC) for NLR, PTAR, Child-Pugh score and MELD score were 0.771, 0.735, 0.650 and 0.741, respectively. The AUC for the combined NLR and PTAR prediction model was 0.824 (95% confidence interval: 0.763-0.885, P < 0.001), with a cutoff value of 0.168. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the cumulative incidence of abdominal infection within 30 days after surgery was lower in the low-risk group than in the high-risk group, with statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). Conclusions Preoperative NLR and PTAR are independent risk factors for abdominal infection within 30 days after liver transplantation. The combined prediction model of NLR and PTAR may effectively identify high-risk recipients for early abdominal infection after liver transplantation, providing basis for early intervention.

Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a class of RNA molecules with little or no protein-coding potential. Emerging evidence indicates that ncRNAs are frequently dysregulated and play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer. Their aberrant expression can arise from chromosomal abnormalities, dysregulated transcriptional control, and epigenetic modifications. ncRNAs function as protein scaffolds or molecular decoys to modulate interactions between proteins and other biomolecules, thereby regulating gene expression and contributing to pancreatic cancer progression. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms underlying ncRNA dysregulation in pancreatic cancer, emphasize the biological significance of ncRNA-protein interactions, and highlight their clinical relevance. A deeper understanding of ncRNA-protein interactions is essential to elucidate molecular mechanisms and advance translational research in pancreatic cancer.
Humans ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/metabolism* ; RNA, Untranslated/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/genetics*

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of human biological dressing (human acellular dermal matrix) transplantation in the management of refractory wounds among middle-aged and elderly patients. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted involving 104 middle-aged and elderly patients (74 males, 30 females; aged 56-95 years) with refractory wounds treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from January 2023 to December 2024. Following debridement, wound areas ranged from 1.0 to 48.0 cm². All patients received vacuum sealing drainage for 7 days, followed by human biological dressing transplantation. Subsequently, depending on the wound condition and the patient's preference, autologous skin grafting (ASG) or wound dressing changes were employed to promote wound healing. Outcome measures included: post-human biological dressing coverage of exposed tendons/bones and occurrence of tendon infection/osteomyelitis; survival rate of ASG at postoperative day 7; healing time in patients managed with wound dressing changes alone; patient satisfaction; and changes in pain intensity, sleep disturbance, and anxiety scores assessed before and 1 month after human biological dressing transplantation using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. RESULTS: After human biological dressing transplantation, 103 patients exhibited robust granulation tissue formation achieving complete coverage of the exposed tendons/bones, with no instances of tendon/bone necrosis, infection, or osteomyelitis. Among these, 51 patients underwent successful ASG at (44.4±13.0) d post-human biological dressing transplantation (success rate 100.00%), 52 patients achieved primary wound healing through dressing changes alone within (62.6±13.4) d post-human biological dressing transplantation. One patient experienced human biological dressing dissolution and detachment due to gluteal wound infection, resulting in non-healing. The overall cure rate was 99.04%. Patient satisfaction survey showed that 95 patients were very satisfied, 8 were satisfied, and 1 was dissatisfied (satisfaction rate 99.04%). Pain, sleep disturbance, and anxiety scores at 1 month post-human biological dressing transplantation were significantly reduced compared to pre-transplantation scores (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Human biological dressing transplantation demonstrate excellent outcomes in treating refractory wounds in middle-aged and elderly patients and can serve as an effective therapeutic strategy for managing refractory wounds.
Humans ; Aged ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Aged, 80 and over ; Retrospective Studies ; Wound Healing ; Biological Dressings ; Skin Transplantation ; Acellular Dermis ; Wounds and Injuries/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome

Hypertrophic scar is a fibrous hyperplastic disorder that arises from skin injuries. The current therapeutic modalities are constrained by the dense and rigid scar tissue which impedes effective drug delivery. Additionally, insufficient autophagic activity in fibroblasts hinders their apoptosis, leading to excessive matrix deposition. Here, we developed an active microneedle (MN) system to overcome these challenges by integrating micromotor-driven drug delivery with autophagy regulation to remodel the scar microenvironment. Specifically, sodium bicarbonate and citric acid were introduced into the MNs as a built-in engine to generate CO₂ bubbles, thereby enabling enhanced lateral and vertical drug diffusion into dense scar tissue. The system concurrently encapsulated curcumin (Cur), an autophagy activator, and triamcinolone acetonide (TA), synergistically inducing fibroblast apoptosis by upregulating autophagic activity. In vitro studies demonstrated that active MNs achieved efficient drug penetration within isolated scar tissue. The rabbit hypertrophic scar model revealed that TA-Cur MNs significantly reduced the scar elevation index, suppressed collagen I and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) expression, and elevated LC3 protein levels. These findings highlight the potential of the active MN system as an efficacious platform for autonomous augmented drug delivery and autophagy-targeted therapy in fibrotic disorder treatments.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of HBV infection on pre- and postpartum health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in pregnant women. METHODS: A prospective matched cohort consisting of 70 HBV-infected and 70 healthy pregnant women was recruited from the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University between April 17 and September 25, 2023. HRQoL of the participants was assessed at 16-24 weeks of gestation, between 32 weeks and delivery, and 5-13 weeks postpartum. Mixed linear models were used for evaluating temporal trends of HRQoL changes, and univariate ANOVA with multiple linear regression was used to identify the predictors of HRQoL. RESULTS: Compared with healthy pregnant women, HBV-infected pregnant women had consistently lower total HRQoL scores across all the 3 intervals, with the lowest scores observed between 32 weeks of gestation and delivery, during which these women had significantly reduced mental component scores (74.27±13.43 vs 80.21±12.9, P=0.009) and postpartum mental (76.52±16.19 vs 85.02±6.51, P<0.001) and physical component scale scores (77.17±14.71 vs 83.09±10.1, P=0.009). HBV infection was identified as an independent risk factor affecting HRQoL during late pregnancy and postpartum periods. Additional independent risk factors for postpartum HRQoL reduction included self-pay medical expenses, spouse's neutral attitude toward the current pregnancy, and preexisting comorbidities (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS HRQoL of pregnant women deteriorates progressively in late pregnancy, and HBV infection exacerbates reductions of physical function and role emotion in late pregnancy and after delivery, suggesting the importance of targeted interventions for financial burdens, partner support and comorbid conditions to improve HRQoL of pregnant women with HBV infection.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Quality of Life ; Prospective Studies ; Postpartum Period ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/psychology* ; Adult ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious

The occurrence of benign prostate hyperplasia(BPH)was related to disrupted sex steroid hormones,and metformin(Met)had a clinical response to sex steroid hormone-related gynaecological disease.How-ever,whether Met exerts an antiproliferative effect on BPH via sex steroid hormones remains unclear.Here,our clinical study showed that along with prostatic epithelial cell(PEC)proliferation,sex steroid hormones were dysregulated in the serum and prostate of BPH patients.As the major contributor to dysregulated sex steroid hormones,elevated dihydrotestosterone(DHT)had a significant positive rela-tionship with the clinical characteristics of BPH patients.Activation of adenosine 5'-monophosphate(AMP)-activated protein kinase(AMPK)by Met restored dysregulated sex steroid hormone homeostasis and exerted antiproliferative effects against DHT-induced proliferation by inhibiting the formation of androgen receptor(AR)-mediated Yes-associated protein(YAP1)-TEA domain transcription factor(TEAD4)heterodimers.Met's anti-proliferative effects were blocked by AMPK inhibitor or YAP1 over-expression in DHT-cultured BPH-1 cells.Our findings indicated that Met would be a promising clinical therapeutic approach for BPH by inhibiting dysregulated steroid hormone-induced PEC proliferation.

Clinical pharmacists participated in the anti-infection treatment of a patient with Bartonella henselae meningitis.According to the clinical manifestations and the quantitative metagenomic second-generation sequencing(mNGS)of cerebrospinal fluid,the patient was diagnosed as Bartonella henselae infection.According to the relevant clinical guidelines and foreign case treatment reports,it is recommended to use minocycline hydrochloride capsule oral treatment combined with rifampicin injection.Follow-up treatment of the patient was dynamically adjusted based on the reexamination results of cerebrospinal fluid and related inflammatory indicators.In the treatment process,clinical pharmacists give full play to their professional expertise,provide the patient with individualized pharmaceutical care,optimize anti-infection programs,and further promote clinical rational drug use.

Acute symptomatic seizures secondary to autoimmune encephalitis refers to seizures that occur during the active stage of immune-mediated encephalitis,and autoimmune-related epilepsy refers to disorders with an immune etiol-ogy and a long-term predisposition to unprovoked seizures.Both diseases often have poor response to antiepileptic drugs,and early identification of immune etiology and initiation of immunotherapy may help patients achieve a good prognosis.However,there are no guidelines for the use of drugs in patients with different types of symptomatic seizures,and there is also a lack of diagnostic criteria and treatment principles for autoimmune-related epilepsy.This article reviews and dis-cusses the two diseases from the aspects of possible pathogenesis,clinical manifestations,and recommended treatment methods,so as to provide a theoretical basis for diagnosis and treatment and help to determine future research directions.

The 19 th Chinese Symposium of Burns and Wounds was successfully held in Foshan of Guangdong Province from June 20 th to 22 nd in 2024. There were more than 700 delegates attending the academic event. The theme of the congress was expansion, integration and standardization, which could promote academic exchanges, multi-disciplinary fusion, and standardization of clinical treatment of burns and wounds. A total of nearly 200 famous experts and scholars had their speeches on the two-day keynote forum and special academic seminars including critical care, wound repair, scar prevention and treatment, rehabilitation nursing, and disciplinary integration sessions. The congress ended successfully with abundant fruits and friendship.

Objective:To assess the feasibility of wavelet index (WLI) in monitoring the depth of sedation with propofol in pediatric patients.Methods:This was a prospective observational trial. One hundred and sixty-five pediatric patients, aged >1-12 yr, of American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification Ⅰ or Ⅱ, undergoing elective surgery requiring general anesthesia with endotracheal intubation or laryngeal mask airway from July to December 2016 in our hospital, were divided into 11 age groups ( n=15 each): >1-2 yr group, >2-3 yr group, >3-4 yr group, >4-5 yr group, >5-6 yr group, >6-7 yr group, >7-8 yr group, >8-9 yr group, >9-10 yr group, >10-11 yr group, and >11-12 yr group. General anesthesia was induced by injection of propofol 3 mg/kg for more than 30 s. WLI and BIS values were recorded immediately before administration and at 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 s after the end of administration. If there were differences among age groups, age groups with no statistically significant differences were combined and re-grouped. Pearson linear correlation analysis and Bland-Altman consistency analysis were performed. Results:A total of 149 pediatric patients were actually included. There were no significant differences in BIS values between 4 groups aged > 1-5 yr and between 7 groups aged > 5-12 yr ( P>0.05). Regrouping was performed based on the aforementioned results, 4 groups of children aged > 1-5 yr were divided into > 1-5 yr group ( n=60), and 7 groups of children aged > 5-12 yr were divided into > 5-12 yr group ( n=89). WLI values and BIS values were significantly decreased at each time point after administration compared with immediately before administration in group aged > 1-5 yr and in group aged >5-12 yr ( P<0.05). The BIS values were the lowest at 60 s after the end of the administration, and the WLI values were the lowest at 120 and 180 s after the end of the administration in two groups ( P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between WLI values and BIS values at 90 s and 240 s after the end of the administration ( P>0.05), and there was statistically significant difference at the other time points in group aged > 1-5 yr ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference between WLI values and BIS values at 180 s and 240 s after the end of the administration ( P>0.05), but there were significant differences at the other time points in group aged > 5-12 yr ( P<0.05). The Pearson correlation coefficients between WLI values and BIS values were 0.61 and 0.56 in group aged > 1-5 yr and group aged > 5-12 yr, respectively ( P<0.001). Bland-Altman agreement analysis: In group aged > 1-5 yr and group aged > 5-12 yr, the 95% agreement limits were -0.484-0.621 and -0.551-1.015, respectively, and there were 4.6% (23/504) and 5.1% (40/777) of the points outside the 95% agreement limits, respectively, and both limits exceeded the clinically acceptable range. Conclusions:WLI is feasible for monitoring the depth of sedation with propofol in pediatric patients aged > 1-12 yr, but the accuracy is lower than BIS.