Objective To establish a method to simultaneously determinate cobalt, nickel, arsenic, molybdenum, silver, cadmium and lead in blood and urine using inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS). Methods The blood samples were diluted 20 times with a mixed solution of nitric acid (0.10% V/V) and Triton X-100 (0.02% V/V). The urine samples were diluted 10 times with nitric acid (1.00% V/V). Yttrium-89, rhodium-103, and lutetium-175 were used as internal standards to decrease matrix interference, and either On-Mass mode or Mass-Shift mode was used to decrease mass spectrometry interference, with detection by ICP-MS/MS. Results The linear ranges of the seven elements were 0.100-10.000 μg/L, with the correlation coefficient >0.999 9. The detection limits for the seven elements in the blood and urine were 0.003-0.021 and 0.003-0.031 μg/L, respectively, and the minimum quantification limits were 0.009-0.064 and 0.009-0.094 μg/L, respectively. The recovery rates were 96.64%-102.90% and 96.34%-104.50% for the blood and urine, respectively. The within-run relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 0.32%-2.33% and 0.25%-2.31%, and the between-run RSDs were 1.07%-3.81% and 1.30%-3.62% for blood and urine, respectively. The samples were stable at 4 ℃ for at least 14 days. Conclusion ICP-MS/MS is a simple, sensitive, and accurate method for rapid detection of seven heavy metal elements in the blood and urine of occupational hazard-exposed workers.

Brain aging is closely related to cognitive decline,neurodegenerative diseases,and vascular dementia.Hydrogen sulfide(H2S)can delay brain aging by regulating protein homeostasis,anti-oxidative stress,inhibiting inflammation,reducing brain cell apoptosis and improving microcirculation.

The department of critical care medicine, the clinical base of critical care medicine, is the centralized management unit for the treatment of critical patients. Medicine and nursing are independent disciplines, but both can be fully utilized from different perspectives when dealing with critically ill patients. With the development of critical care medicine understanding and technology, the concept of doctor-nurse integration construction in the department of critical care medicine has emerged. Doctor-nurse integration construction in the department of critical care medicine needs to take severe diseases as the core and academic development as the orientation. Clinical practice should be carried out through medical cooperation, based on critical cognition and unified thinking mode.

AIM:To investigate the effects of sodium hydrosulfide(NaHS)on hexokinase 2(HK2)-nucleo-tide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3)-gasdermin D(GSDMD)pathway and pyroptosis in-duced by lung ischemia/reperfusion(I/R)in rats.METHODS:Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 6 groups:control group,control+NaHS group,I/R group,low-dose NaHS+I/R(L+I/R)group,medium-dose NaHS+I/R(M+I/R)group,and high-dose NaHS+I/R(H+I/R)group,with 6 rats in each group.The NaHS was administered via intraperi-toneal injection at 1.5 mL,30 min before modeling.The left lung tissues were collected 30 min after ischemia and 1 h af-ter reperfusion,and the wet/dry weight ratio and total lung water content were recorded.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining was used to examine lung tissue morphological changes.The levels of malondialdehyde(MDA),myeloperoxidase(MPO)and lactate in lung tissues were measured with test kits.ELISA was employed to determine the levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and IL-18.The expression of glycolysis-and pyroptosis-related indicators was analyzed by Western blot,qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining.RESULTS:Compared with control group,the rats in NaHS group showed no signifi-cant differences in all laboratory tests(P>0.05).The rats in I/R group exhibited significant lung injury,oxidative stress,increased lactate level,and up-regulated glycolysis and pyroptosis(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Compared with I/R group,the indicators in L+I/R group showed a downward trend(P<0.01)or no difference(P>0.05),while those in M+I/R group dis-played a significant reduction(P<0.05 or P<0.01).However,the indexes in H+I/R group exhibited no significant dif-ferences in these tests(all P>0.05).CONCLUSION:A moderate dose(56 μmol·L-1·kg-1)of NaHS mitigated the oc-currence of pyroptosis by inhibiting the HK2-NLRP3-GSDMD pathway,thus contributing to the attenuation of lung I/R in-jury in rats.

This paper interprets the background, content overview and characteristics, clinical practice significance and disciplinary development of Nursing Standards for Clinical Operation Techniques in Critical Care Ultrasound (hereinafter referred to as the Standards) and puts forward reflections on the clinical application of the Standards, aiming to improve the critical care ultrasound techniques of clinical nursing staff, solve nursing challenges and make clinical nursing ultrasound techniques more scientific, standardized and homogenized.

Objective:To comprehensively search and summarize the evidence on critical ultrasound nursing practice training courses, with the aim of providing a basis for critical ultrasound nursing practice training.Methods:Taking the evidence-based clinical translation model of Fudan University Centre for Evidence-based Nursing as the theoretical framework, the evidence was retrieved, evaluated, and summarized to determine the evidence to be introduced into clinical practice, forming a training program for critical ultrasound nursing practice. From July to August 2023, 25 experts from 10 provinces/municipalities across the country were selected for two rounds of consultation to determine the practical training course system for critical ultrasound nursing.Results:A total of 14 articles were included, including one clinical decision, nine expert consensus, and four systematic reviews. In the two rounds of consultation, the positive coefficients of experts were 90.0% (27/30) and 92.6% (25/27), the authority coefficients of experts were 0.956 and 0.964, and the coefficients of Kendall's harmony were 0.303 and 0.350 ( P<0.01), respectively. The final practical training course system for critical ultrasound nursing included five first-level indicators, 25 second-level indicators, and 67 third-level indicators. Conclusions:Ultrasound examination is a complex skill. The construction method of the practical training course system for critical ultrasound nursing is scientific, reasonable, with strong practicality in content, which can provide reference for the development and evaluation of critical ultrasound nursing training courses.

Objective To establish a method for the determination of thallium and its soluble compounds in workplace air using microporous filter membrane sampling and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Methods Thallium and its soluble compounds in workplace air were collected using microporous filter membranes, digested with nitric acid, quantified using lutetium internal standard method, and detected by ICP-MS. Results The linear range of thallium was 0.00 to 600.00 μg/L, with the correlation coefficient of 1.000. The detection limit was 0.08 μg/L, and the lower limit of quantification was 0.26 μg/L. The minimum detection concentration and minimum quantitation concentration of thallium of 75.00 L workplace air were 1.0×10^-5 and 3.0×10^-5 mg/m³, respectively. The minimum detection concentration and minimum quantitation concentration of thallium of 480.00 L workplace air was 2.0×10^-6 and 5.0×10^-6 mg/m³, respectively. The recovery rate of spiking was 100.82%-103.44%, and the relative standard deviation within- and between-batches was 1.50%-3.32% and 1.32%-3.11%, respectively. The sample could be stored at room temperature for at least 14 days. Conclusion This method can be used for the detection of thallium and its soluble compounds in workplace air.

Objective:To detect the concentration of various cytokines in aqueous humor of patients with diabetes retinopathy (DR) with Luminex liquid chip, and analyze the relationship between the cytokines and the occurrence and development of DR.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted.Sixty-three DR patients (97 eyes) treated with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from March 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 were enrolled as DR group, including 38 nonproliferative DR (NPDR) eyes in NPDR group and 59 proliferative DR (PDR) eyes in PDR group, 39 eyes in photocoagulation group and 58 eyes in non-photocoagulation group.Twenty-seven patients (31 eyes) hospitalized for cataract surgery at the same time were collected as the control group.Aqueous humor was extracted during the operation, and Luminex liquid chip was used to detect the concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), placental growth factor (PLGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-AA, PDGF-BB, angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-1β, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in aqueous humor.The concentrations of various cytokines of different groups were compared, and the correlation among various aqueous humor cytokines was analyzed by Spearman rank correlation analysis.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (No.Y[2019]230). Written informed consent was obtained from each patient.Results:The concentrations of VEGF-A, PLGF, PDGF-AA, ANGPTL4, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1 and ICAM-1 in DR group were significantly higher and the concentration of IL-1β was significantly lower than those of control group ( Z=-4.747, -5.164, -3.373, -8.062, -4.535, -5.954, -5.098, -3.228, -5.954, all at P<0.01). The concentrations of VEGF-A, PLGF, PDGF-AA, ANGPTL4, IL-6, IL-8 and MCP-1 of the photocoagulation and non-photocoagulation groups were higher and the concentration of IL-1β was significantly lower than those in the control group (all at P<0.017). The concentration of ICAM-1 in the photocoagulation group was significantly higher than that in the control group ( P<0.017). The concentrations of PLGF, PDGF-AA and ANGPTL4 of PDR group were higher than those of NPDR group, and the differences were statistically significant ( Z=-2.291, -3.396, -2.276, all at P<0.05). VEGF-A was positively correlated with the other cytokines except ICAM-1 ( rs=0.237-0.540, all at P<0.05). ANGPTL4 was positively correlated with the other cytokines except IL-1β ( rs=0.361-0.733, all at P<0.01). Conclusions:The occurrence and development of DR are closely related to VEGF family, PDGF family, ANGPTL family and inflammatory factors.The concentrations of PLGF, PDGF-AA and ANGPTL4 are higher in PDR eyes.There are close and complex relationships among a variety of cytokines in the eyes of DR patients.

Thyroid cancer(TC)is an inert tumor,with a high proportion of patients undergoing lymph node metastasis(LNM),and a high recurrence rate after metastasis,resulting in a poor clinical prognosis.The key to solving this problem is to find non-invasive biomarkers with high specificity.Extracellular vesicles play a crucial role in intercellular communication and epigenetic regulation by transporting genetic material.TC tumor cells can transfer genetic information to the tumor microenvironment through miRNA in exosomes,changing the surrounding microenvironment into an environment suitable for tumor growth,thereby promoting pro-liferation and migration of TC.This article will review the role and application prospects of extracellular miRNAs in the early diagnosis of TC metastasis in recent years,to provide a reference for exploring biomarkers of TC.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the disease burden of prostate cancer (PC) and assess key influencing factors associated with the disease expenditures of PC in the United States. METHODS: The total deaths, incidence, prevalence, and disability-adjusted life-years of PC were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey was used to estimate healthcare expenditures and productivity loss and to investigate patterns of payment and use of healthcare resources in the United States. A multivariable logistic regression model was conducted to identify key factors influencing expenditures. RESULTS: For patients aged 50 and older, the burden for all age groups showed a modest increase over the 6-year period. Annual medical expenditures were estimated to range from US$24.8 billion to US$39.2 billion from 2014 to 2019. The annual loss in productivity for patients was approximately US$1,200. The top 3 major components of medical costs were hospital inpatient stays, prescription medicines, and office-based visits. Medicare was the largest source of payments for survivors. In terms of drug consumption, genitourinary tract agents (57.0%) and antineoplastics (18.6%) were the main therapeutic drugs. High medical expenditures were positively associated with age (p=0.005), having private health insurance (p=0.016), more comorbidities, not currently smoking (p=0.001), and patient self-perception of fair/poor health status (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS From 2014 to 2019, the national real-world data of PC revealed that the disease burden in the United States continued to increase, which was partly related to patient characteristics.