Objective: To explore the potential application of PAK4-PROTAC targeted degradation drug (PpD) in renal cancer immunotherapy. Methods: TIMER 2.0 and TISIDB databases were used to analyze the relationship among PAK4 expression, tumor purity and abundance of immune cell infiltration in renal tumor microenvironment (TEM).Renal cancer cell lines OS-RC-2, 786-O and ACHN were treated with 0, 125 and 250 nmol/L PpD, and the effects of Jurkat cell co-culture on the results were investigated.The cell apoptosis was detected with flow cytometry, and the expression of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) in renal cancer cells was detected with immunoblotting. Results: The high expression of PAK4 was positively related to immune purity, and inhibited the abundance of immune killer cells in TEM, such as CD8 T cells, CD4 T cells, natural killer cells and dendritic cells.With 250 nmol/L PpD treatment, there were 21.02% apoptotic cells in OS-RC-2, 29.67% apoptotic cells in 786-O, and 15.39% apoptotic cells in ACHN, respectively.However, with the same concentration of 250 nmol/L PpD treatment, cell apoptotic rate was sharply increased to 70.13% in OS-RC-2/Jurkat, 70.68% in 780-O/Jurkat, and 60.27% in ACHN/Jurkat co-culture models, respectively. Conclusion: PpD can promote apoptosis of renal cancer cells by reducing the expression of PAK4 protein, and enhance the killing effects of immune cells on tumor cells.

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of birth defect-related mortality. However, more recent CHD mortality data for China are lacking. Additionally, limited studies have evaluated sex, rural-urban, and region-specific disparities of CHD mortality in China. METHODS: We designed a population-based study using data from the Dataset of National Mortality Surveillance in China between 2008 and 2021. We calculated age-adjusted CHD mortality using the sixth census data of China in 2010 as the standard population. We assessed the temporal trends in CHD mortality by age, sex, area, and region from 2008 to 2021 using the joinpoint regression model. RESULTS: From 2008 to 2021, 33,534 deaths were attributed to CHD. The period witnessed a two-fold decrease in the age-adjusted CHD mortality from 1.61 to 0.76 per 100,000 persons (average annual percent change [AAPC] = -5.90%). Females tended to have lower age-adjusted CHD mortality than males, but with a similar decline rate from 2008 to 2021 (females: AAPC = -6.15%; males: AAPC = -5.84%). Similar AAPC values were observed among people living in urban (AAPC = -6.64%) and rural (AAPC = -6.12%) areas. Eastern regions experienced a more pronounced decrease in the age-adjusted CHD mortality (AAPC = -7.86%) than central (AAPC = -5.83%) and western regions (AAPC = -3.71%) between 2008 and 2021. Approximately half of the deaths (46.19%) due to CHD occurred during infancy. The CHD mortality rates in 2021 were lower than those in 2008 for people aged 0-39 years, with the largest decrease observed among children aged 1-4 years (AAPC = -8.26%), followed by infants (AAPC = -7.01%). CONCLUSIONS CHD mortality in China has dramatically decreased from 2008 to 2021. The slower decrease in CHD mortality in the central and western regions than in the eastern regions suggested that public health policymakers should pay more attention to health resources and health education for central and western regions.
Humans ; Heart Defects, Congenital/mortality* ; Male ; Female ; China/epidemiology* ; Infant ; Child, Preschool ; Adult ; Child ; Adolescent ; Infant, Newborn ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult ; Aged ; Rural Population

Intentional tooth replantation (ITR) is an advanced treatment modality and the procedure of last resort for preserving teeth with inaccessible endodontic or resorptive lesions. ITR is defined as the deliberate extraction of a tooth; evaluation of the root surface, endodontic manipulation, and repair; and placement of the tooth back into its original socket. Case reports, case series, cohort studies, and randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of ITR in the retention of natural teeth that are untreatable or difficult to manage with root canal treatment or endodontic microsurgery. However, variations in clinical protocols for ITR exist due to the empirical nature of the original protocols and rapid advancements in the field of oral biology and dental materials. This heterogeneity in protocols may cause confusion among dental practitioners; therefore, guidelines and considerations for ITR should be explicated. This expert consensus discusses the biological foundation of ITR, the available clinical protocols and current status of ITR in treating teeth with refractory apical periodontitis or anatomical aberration, and the main complications of this treatment, aiming to refine the clinical management of ITR in accordance with the progress of basic research and clinical studies; the findings suggest that ITR may become a more consistent evidence-based option in dental treatment.
Humans ; Tooth Replantation/methods* ; Consensus ; Periapical Periodontitis/surgery*

Objective:To establish an early prediction model based on triglyceride glucose index (TyG) and procalcitonin (PCT) for patients of acute pancreatitis (AP) complicated with acute kidney injury (AKI), and evaluate the diagnostic value of prediction model.Methods:This study was a single center prospective study. AP patients were recruited from the Emergency Department at Peking University People’s Hospital from January to December 2022. The observation endpoint was 14 days after the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, patients were divided into AKI and control (no AKI) groups according to the observation endpoint. The general characteristics, clinical laboratory examinations, complications, and clinical scores were compared. The risk for AKI development was determined using logistic analyses to establish a risk prediction model. The receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the model were calculated, and the diagnostic value of the model was compared with that of Ranson score, APACHEⅡ score and BISAP score.Results:A total of 258 patients were selected for this study, including 79 in the AKI group and 179 in the control group. There was no significant difference in serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels between the two groups. Compared with the control group, the AKI group had a higher proportion of males, older age, and had a higher proportion of hypertension. The ratio of neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, PCT, and TyG were significantly increased. The Ranson score, APACHE Ⅱ score, and BISAP score were higher, and more patients had ARDS and serous fluid accumulation in the later period. Multivariate logistic regression showed that age ( OR=1.071, 95% CI: 1.020-1.125, P=0.006), increased TyG index ( OR=2.632, 95% CI: 1.423-4.866, P=0.002), and elevated PCT ( OR=1.275, 95% CI: 1.067-1.524, P=0.008) were risk factors for AKI in AP patients. According to the risk factors, forecast the AP patients complicated with AKI risk assessment model is established: Logistic (AKI/AP) = -16.697+0.069×age+ 0.968×TyG+0.243×PCT. The sensitivity and specificity of the model for predicting AKI in AP were 79.75% and 96.65%, respectively, and the AUC was 0.856 (95% CI: 0.790-0.922). The predictive ability was better than that of Ranson score, BISAP score and APACHE Ⅱ score (AUC: 0.856 vs. 0.691 vs. 0.745 vs. 0.705, P=0.041). Conclusion:The prediction model based on age, TyG and PCT was valuable for the prediction of AP concurrent AKI in early stage.

Objective:To evaluate the prognosis of patients with primary thyroid malignant lymphoma (PTL) treated with total thyroidectomy alone or in combination with R-CHOP chemotherapy, and analyze the factors influencing their prognosis.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 62 patients with PTL admitted to the Hematology Department of Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital from Jan. 2009 to Jan. 2020. The patients were with an average age of (63.51±9.83) years, with 20 males and 42 females. According to Ann Arbor staging and patients' wishes, 10 cases received simple thyroidectomy, 47 cases received total thyroidectomy +R-CHOP, and 5 cases received total thyroidectomy +R-CHOP+ radiotherapy. After 3 months of treatment, the short-term curative effect was collected. According to the prognosis of patients after 24 months of follow-up, the dead cases were classified into bad group and the surviving cases into good group. Single factor and LASSO regression dimensionality reduction were used to screen the influencing factors, and Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of PTL prognosis.Results:Among 62 patients with PTL, 21 (33.87%) had complete response (CR), 27 (43.55%) had partial response (PR), 9 (14.52%) had stable disease (SD), and 5 (8.06%) had progressive disease (PD). After a follow-up of 24 months, the mortality rate among 10 patients who underwent surgical treatment alone was 90% (9/10), the mortality rate among those who underwent surgical treatment combined with R-CHOP therapy was 19.15% (9/47) ,18 deaths were categorized as having a poor prognosis, while 44 survivors were classified as having a favorable prognosis.Univariate, LASSO regression screening, and Logistic regression analysis showed that Ann Arbor staging ( OR=5.105), pathological type ( OR=3.622), international prognostic index (IPI) score ( OR=2.709), treatment method ( OR=0.730), hemoglobin ( OR=0.392), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) ( OR=6.469) were factors affecting the prognosis of PTL (all P<0.05) . Conclusions:The combined use of total resection and R-CHOP treatment for patients has a superior prognosis compared to patients undergoing total resection alone. Furthermore, the prognosis of patients is also influenced by factors such as Ann Arbor staging and IPI scoring. Based on this, clinical care plans can be refined to improve the prognosis.

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum levels of E-cadherin and β-catenin and calcium phosphorus metabolism and carotid artery calcification in patients with diabetic nephropathy.Methods A total of 112 patients with diabetic nephropathy admitted to the hospital from May 2019 to No-vember 2022 were selected as the study group,and were divided into a carotid artery calcification group(n=44)and a non-carotid artery calcification group(n=68)according to the results of bilateral carotid artery col-or Doppler ultrasound.In addition,90 healthy people who underwent physical examination in the hospital dur-ing the same period were selected as the control group.Serum E-cadherin,β-catenin,calcium phosphorus me-tabolism levels were detected and compared.Pearson correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between serum E-cadherin,β-catenin and calcium phosphorus metabolism in patients with diabetic nephropa-thy.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of serum E-cad-herin and β-catenin for carotid artery calcification in patients with diabetic nephropathy.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of carotid artery calcification in patients with di-abetic nephropathy.Results The levels of glycosylated hemoglobin,serum phosphorus,calcium-phosphorus product,parathyroid hormone(iPTH),creatinine,alkaline phosphatase and β-catenin in the study group were higher than those in the control group,and the level of E-cadherin was lower than that in the control group(P＜0.05).The levels of serum phosphorus,serum calcium,calcium phosphorus product,iPTH,creatinine,al-kaline phosphatase and β-catenin in the carotid artery calcification group were higher than those in the non-ca-rotid artery calcification group,and the level of E-cadherin was lower than that in the non-carotid artery calci-fication group(P＜0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed that serum E-cadherin level in patients with di-abetic nephropathy was negatively correlated with serum phosphorus,serum calcium,calcium phosphorus product,iPTH,creatinine and alkaline phosphatase(r=-0.453,-0.654,-0.365,-0.490,-0.411,-0.377,all P＜0.001).The level of serum β-catenin was positively correlated with serum phosphorus,serum calcium,calcium phosphorus product,iPTH,creatinine,and alkaline phosphatase(r=0.444,0.345,0.421,0.398,0.651,0.622,all P＜0.001).ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve of serum E-cad-herin,β-catenin and their combination for predicting carotid artery calcification in diabetic nephropathy were 0.844(95％CI 0.795-0.894),0.853(95％CI 0.801-0.901)and 0.901(95％CI 0.801-0.901),respec-tively.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that serum E-cadherin(OR=3.789,95％CI 2.055-6.983),β-catenin(OR=4.104,95％CI 1.795-9.385),calcium phosphorus product(OR=2.998,95％CI 1.895-4.743)and iPTH(OR=2.713,95％CI 1.787-4.118)were the influencing factors of carotid artery calcification in patients with diabetic nephropathy(P＜0.05).Conclusion The level of β-catenin is increased and the level of E-cadherin is decreased in patients with diabetic nephropathy.β-catenin and E-cadherin are closely related to calcium phosphorus metabolism and carotid artery calcification,which could be used as effec-tive indicators to evaluate carotid artery calcification in patients with diabetic nephropathy.The combination ofβ-catenin and E-cadherin has a higher predictive value for carotid artery calcification.

Objective To investigate the relationship between serum levels of growth differentiation factor-11(GDF-11)and S100 calcium binding protein A4(S100A4)and the severity and disease outcome in diabetic nephropathy(DN)patients.Methods A total of 95 DN patients admitted to the hospital from May 2021 to January 2023 were selected as the study group,and 110 healthy people were selected as the healthy group.The DN patients were divided into mild group(n=66)and severe group(n=29)according to the severity of the disease.The patients were followed up for half a year after discharge,and were divided into good prognosis group(n=64)and poor prognosis group(n=31)according to the prognosis.Serum GDF-11 and S100A4 lev-els were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to ex-plore the relationship between serum GDF-11,S100A4 levels and the severity of the disease.Receiver operat-ing characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of serum GDF-11 and S100A4 for dis-ease outcome in DN patients,and multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of disease outcome in DN patients.Results The levels of serum GDF-11 and S100A4 in mild group and severe group were higher than those in healthy group,and those in severe group were higher than those in mild group(P＜0.05).Serum GDF-11 and S100A4 levels were positively correlated with the severity of DN patients(P＜0.05).The good prognosis group had significantly lower serum levels of GDF-11 and S100A4 than the poor prognosis group(P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of serum GDF-11 and S100A4 in predicting the outcome of DN patients was 0.785 and 0.839,respectively,and the AUC of combined prediction was 0.902.The proportion of type 2 diabetes(T2DM)duration,glomerular grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ,interstitial inflammation score 2,interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy(IFTA)score 2-3 points,estimate glomerular filtration rate＜60 mL/(min·1.73 m2)and the levels of total cholesterol,triglyceride,low-density lipoprotein choles-terol,24 h urinary protein,glycosylated hemoglobin,C-peptide,hematocrit,and erythrocyte sedimentation rate in the good prognosis group were higher than those in the good prognosis group(P＜0.05).Multivariate Lo-gistic regression analysis showed that the duration of T2DM ≥12.0 years,IFTA score ≥2 points,GDF-11≥700.82 ng/mL,S100A4 ≥ 211.53 ng/L were risk factors for poor prognosis in DN patients(P＜0.05).Conclusion The levels of serum S100A4 and GDF-11 are highly expressed in patients with diabetes mellitus,and are related to the severity and outcome of the disease,which are expected to be potential markers for eval-uating the condition and prognosis of diabetes mellitus.

Background::Heterotaxy (HTX) is a thoracoabdominal organ anomaly syndrome and commonly accompanied by congenital heart disease (CHD). The aim of this study was to analyze rare copy number variations (CNVs) in a HTX/CHD cohort and to examine the potential mechanisms contributing to HTX/CHD.Methods::Chromosome microarray analysis was used to identify rare CNVs in a cohort of 120 unrelated HTX/CHD patients, and available samples from parents were used to confirm the inheritance pattern. Potential candidate genes in CNVs region were prioritized via the DECIPHER database, and PNPLA4 was identified as the leading candidate gene. To validate, we generated PNPLA4-overexpressing human induced pluripotent stem cell lines as well as pnpla4-overexpressing zebrafish model, followed by a series of transcriptomic, biochemical and cellular analyses. Results::Seventeen rare CNVs were identified in 15 of the 120 HTX/CHD patients (12.5%). Xp22.31 duplication was one of the inherited CNVs identified in this HTX/CHD cohort, and PNPLA4 in the Xp22.31 was a candidate gene associated with HTX/CHD. PNPLA4 is expressed in the lateral plate mesoderm, which is known to be critical for left/right embryonic patterning as well as cardiomyocyte differentiation, and in the neural crest cell lineage. Through a series of in vivo and in vitro analyses at the molecular and cellular levels, we revealed that the biological function of PNPLA4 is importantly involved in the primary cilia formation and function via its regulation of energy metabolism and mitochondria-mediated ATP production. Conclusions::Our findings demonstrated a significant association between CNVs and HTX/CHD. Our data strongly suggested that an increased genetic dose of PNPLA4 due to Xp22.31 duplication is a disease-causing risk factor for HTX/CHD.

OBJECTIVE To explore the predictive factors of cefoperazone/sulbactam-induced thrombocytopenia in adult inpatients， and to establish and validate the nomogram prediction model. METHODS Data of adult inpatients treated with cefoperazone/sulbactam in Xi’an Central Hospital from Jun. 30th， 2021 to Jun. 30th， 2023 were retrospectively collected. The training set and internal validation set were randomly constructed in a 7∶3 ratio. Singler factor and multifactor Logistic regression analysis were used to screen the independent predictors of cefoperazone/sulbactam-induced thrombocytopenia. The nomogram was drawn by using “RMS” of R 4.0.3 software， and the predictive performance of the model was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic curve and C-index curve. Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was used to evaluate the calibration degree of the model. Using the same standard， the clinical data of hospitalized patients receiving cefoperazone/sulbactam in Xi’an First Hospital in the same period were collected for external validation of the nomogram prediction model. RESULTS A total of 1 045 patients in Xi’an Central Hospital were included in this study， among which 67 patients suffered from cefoperazone/sulbactam-induced thrombocytopenia， with an incidence of 6.41%. After the false positive patients were excluded， 473 patients were included finally， including 331 in the training set and 142 in theinternal validation set. Multifactor Logistic regression analysis showed that age [OR＝1.043， 95%CI （1.017， 1.070）]， estimated glomerular filtration rate （eGFR） [OR＝0.988，95%CI（0.977， 0.998）]， baseline platelet （PLT） [OR＝0.989， 95%CI（0.982， 0.996）]， nutritional risk [OR＝3.863， 95%CI（1.884， 7.921）] and cumulative defined daily doses （DDDs） [OR＝1.082， 95%CI（1.020， 1.147）] were independent predictors for cefoperazone/sulbactam-induced thrombocytopenia （P＜0.05）. The C-index values of the training set and the internal validation set were 0.824 [95%CI （0.759， 0.890）] and 0.828 [95%CI （0.749， 0.933）]， respectively. The results of the Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed that χ 2 values were 0.441 （P＝0.802） and 1.804 （P＝0.406）. In the external validation set， the C-index value was 0.808 [95%CI （0.672， 0.945）]， the χ 2 value of the Hosmer-Lemeshow test was 0.899 （P＝0.638）. CONCLUSIONS The independent predictors of cefoperazone/sulbactam-induced thrombocytopenia include age， baseline PLT， eGFR， nutritional risk and cumulative DDDs. The model has good predictive efficacy and extrapolation ability， which can help clinic identify the potential risk of cefoperazone/sulbactam-induced thrombocytopenia quickly and accurately.