Palliative care is recognized as an effective measure to improve the quality of life for patients with end-stage diseases， and the significance and role of such patients participating in clinical trials to conquer major diseases has also become a broad consensus. However， due to the special physical， psychological， and social conditions of terminal trial participants， the ethical problems encountered in the trial process are more serious and complex. Drawing on ethical practice experience， these seemingly common phenomena and issues were deeply analyzed. Combined with the palliative care philosophy for end-stage patients， this paper proposed a series of improvement suggestions throughout the entire life cycle of clinical trials， hoping to promote the quality improvement of clinical research in which end-stage patients participate as subjects， while effectively protecting the safety and rights of the subjects and ensuring they receive appropriate palliative care during their participation in clinical trials or clinical-related scientific research.

Objective To analyze the related factors of prognosis in patients with primary Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) complicated with renal damage, and to provide reference for clinical development of personalized prevention and treatment measures. Methods A total of 508 patients with primary SS complicated with renal damage in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from February 2020 to February 2022 were enrolled as study subjects. According to the prognosis status within 3 years, the enrolled patients were divided into good prognosis group (n=426) and poor prognosis group (n=82). Univariate and logistic multivariate regression analyses were adopted to analyze the influencing factors of poor prognosis. Results There were significant differences in hypertension, anemia, renal interstitial chronicity grading, and levels of globulin (GLO), immunoglobulin G (IgG) and hemoglobin between the two groups (P<0.05). Logistic multivariate analysis showed that concurrent hypertension, anemia, increased grade of renal interstitial chronicity, and elevated GLO and IgG levels were risk factors of poor prognosis in patients with primary SS complicated with renal damage, while hemoglobin level was a protective factor (OR: 1.962, 95%CI: 1.056-3.645; OR: 2.467, 95%CI: 1.153-5.278; OR: 17.796, 95%CI: 5.157-61.419; OR: 3.655, 95%CI: 1.812-7.372; OR: 5.732, 95%CI: 2.632-12.480; OR: 0.325, 95%CI: 0.165-0.640, P<0.05). Conclusion Patients with primary SS complicated with renal damage have a higher risk of poor prognosis, which is affected by factors such as hypertension, anemia, and GLO, IgG and hemoglobin levels. Clinically, it is necessary to take active prevention and treatment measures to improve the prognosis of patients.

Hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain damage poses a high risk of death or lifelong disability, yet effective treatments remain elusive. Here, we demonstrated that miR-100-5p levels in the lesioned cortex increased after HI insult in neonatal mice. Knockdown of miR-100-5p expression in the brain attenuated brain injury and promoted functional recovery, through inhibiting the cleaved-caspase-3 level, microglia activation, and the release of proinflammation cytokines following HI injury. Engineered extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing neuron-targeting rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG) and miR-100-5p antagonists (RVG-EVs-Antagomir) selectively targeted brain lesions and reduced miR-100-5p levels after intranasal delivery. Both pre- and post-HI administration showed therapeutic benefits. Mechanistically, we identified protein phosphatase 3 catalytic subunit alpha (Ppp3ca) as a novel candidate target gene of miR-100-5p, inhibiting c-Fos expression and neuronal apoptosis following HI insult. In conclusion, our non-invasive method using engineered EVs to deliver miR-100-5p antagomirs to the brain significantly improves functional recovery after HI injury by targeting Ppp3ca to suppress neuronal apoptosis.
Animals ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Extracellular Vesicles/metabolism* ; Mice ; Recovery of Function/physiology* ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain/therapy* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Antagomirs/administration & dosage* ; Male ; Animals, Newborn ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Brain Injuries/metabolism* ; Glycoproteins ; Peptide Fragments ; Viral Proteins

Transient perivascular inflammation of the carotid artery(TIPIC)syndrome is a relatively rare disease,and ultrasound is the first screening method for initial diagnosis of the disease.Contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)has unique advantages in the follow-up of patients with TIPIC syndrome.This paper reports a patient with TIPIC syndrome who was treated with acute left neck pain.The inflammation was significantly re-lieved and subsided after treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.The ultrasound changes of carotid artery lesions in this patient during follow-up were analyzed,and the application value of CEUS in the follow-up diagnosis of this disease was summarized,in the hope of providing clinical reference.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the carrier rates and profiles of pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants for hearing loss-related genes MYO7A, PCDH15, and CDH23 among neonates in Nanjing city through targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS). METHODS: Heel-prick blood samples were collected from 30 043 newborns delivered at Nanjing Women and Children's Health Care Hospital between March 2022 and April 2024. Dried blood spots were prepared, and genomic DNA was extracted. Targeted NGS was applied to detect variants across the full coding regions of the MYO7A, PCDH15, and CDH23 genes. The carrier rates and profiles of pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants of the three genes were analyzed. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital (Ethics No.: 2021KY-071). RESULTS: The carrier rates of pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants (with ≥ 1 variant site) for the MYO7A, PCDH15, and CDH23 genes were 0.340%, 0.226%, and 0.156%, respectively. A total of 65, 49, and 30 variant types were detected in the MYO7A, PCDH15, and CDH23 genes, respectively. For MYO7A, single base variants were predominant, with the most common variant being c.5581C>T, followed by c.1343+1G>A, c.2837T>G, and c.5660C>T, with allelic frequencies of 0.013% (8/60 086), 0.007% (4/60 086), 0.007% (4/60 086), and 0.007% (4/60 086), respectively. PCDH15 variants were mainly deletions, with the most common variant site being c.4699_4715dupAGAGAAAAGATTCAGAG, followed by c.3441delA, c.440T>G, and c.4733_4736delTCAG, with allelic frequencies of 0.015% (9/60 086), 0.005% (3/60 086), 0.005% (3/60 086), and 0.005% (3/60 086), respectively. For CDH23, single base variants were predominant, with c.6604G>A being the most common, followed by c.6085C>T, c.6050+9G>A, and c.6253+1G>A, with allelic frequencies of 0.013% (8/60 086), 0.012% (7/60 086), 0.005% (3/60 086), and 0.005% (3/60 086). CONCLUSION This study analyzed the carrier rates and profiles of pathogenic and likely pathogenic variants of the MYO7A, PCDH15, and CDH23 genes, which can provide more evidence for the prevention and management of deafness in the region.
Humans ; Cadherins/genetics* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods* ; Infant, Newborn ; Female ; Myosin VIIa/genetics* ; Cadherin Related Proteins ; Male ; Hearing Loss/genetics* ; Myosins/genetics* ; Heterozygote

Objective:This study evaluates the performance of chemiluminescence assay, which is designed to detect Hepatitis D Virus (HDV) Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies.Methods:A comparative analysis was conducted among chemiluminescence anti-HDV IgG reagent, the magnetic particle-based domestic reagent A and domestic reagent B, and the Robo Gene HDV RNA kit, using 1909 HBsAg-positive plasma samples. This comparison aimed to delineate clinical specificity and detection accuracy. The anti-HDV IgG reagent precision was assessed at three different concentration levels following the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute EP5-A2 guidelines. The specificity of the assay was validated using 200 HAV IgM positive, 545 HBsAg-positive but anti-HDV IgG-negative, 350 anti HCV positive plasma samples and 200 healthy human blood samples. Additionally, a concordance study was conducted with 545 HBsAg-positive and 37 anti-HDV IgG-positive plasma samples, comparing the anti-HDV IgG reagent against reagent A.Results:1 909 HBsAg-positive plasma samples were tested using 3 anti HDV IgG reagent and 1 HDV RNA reagent, 19 samples were identified as anti-HDV IgG-positive. The anti-HDV IgG demonstrated superior accuracy and specificity. The assay exhibited excellent precision, with intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) values ranging from 1.57% to 4.30%, and inter-assay CV values between 1.71% and 4.67% for detecting samples at high, medium, and low concentration levels. Concordance with Reagent A showed consistent results in both positive and negative detections.Conclusion:In this study, the anti-HDV IgG reagent (chemiluminescence method) displayed outstanding specificity in detecting clinical samples and exhibited a high conformity rate with commercialized reagents, making it potentially suitable for screening anti-HDV IgG in HBsAg-positive samples.

Objective:This study aims to evaluate the quality and explore the preliminary clinical applications of a domestically developed hepatitis D virus nucleic acid quantification reagent (abbreviated as"domestic HDV RNA reagent").Methods:The sensitivity and accuracy of the reagent were evaluated in accordance with the WHO HDV RNA international standard, employing the Bio-Rad CFX Opus 96 real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR analysis system. Serial dilutions of pseudo-viruses or cell culture-derived virus were used to determine the linear range of the domestic HDV RNA reagent. Specificity was assessed using positive samples of HAV, HBV, HCV infection, and HEV national reference materials. Precision was evaluated with samples at both high and low concentrations. In a comparative analysis, 30 HDV IgG positive samples were tested using both the domestic HDV RNA reagent and the RoboGene HDV RNA kit based on the ABI 7500 FAST DX system. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was used to examine the correlation between the two reagents.Results:The domestic HDV RNA reagent demonstrated a high sensitivity of up to 6 IU/ml, consistent with that of the comparator reagent. The calibration curve for WHO HDV RNA standards had a slope of -3.286, with an amplification efficiency of 101.6%. The linear detection range spanned from 10 to 10 8 IU/ml for eight HDV genotypes. The domestic HDV RNA reagent exhibited exceptional specificity, without cross-reactivity observed with HAV, HBV, HCV, or HEV. Accuracy assessments at five concentration levels met the required standards, with intra-assay precision coefficient of variation ( CV) ranging from 1.20% to 4.20%, and inter-assay precision CV from 1.20% to 7.90%. The detection results for HDV IgG positive samples were highly correlated with the comparator reagent ( r=0.984, P<0.001), achieving a diagnostic accuracy of 100% compared to sequencing results. Conclusion:In this study, the domestic HDV RNA reagent possesses excellent specificity, accuracy, precision, and a broad linear range, attaining a sensitivity level on par with international reagents of the same type.

Objective:To determine the erythromycin resistance of Bordetella pertussis isolates and their ptxP1 and ptxP3 phenotypic composition and compare clinical manifestations of children with pertussis caused by the two types of strains. Methods:This was a cross-sectional study, the pertussis cases diagnosed using bacterial culture from January 2019 to December 2022 in Beijing Children′s Hospital and the First People′s Hospital of Wuhu were collected.Any suspected Bordetella pertussis colonies were identified by the slide agglutination test.The susceptibility of isolates to erythromycin was detected by the E-test and K-B test.The ptxP gene was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced to determine its genotype. t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Chi-square test and Fisher′s exact test were use to statistical analysis. Results:A total of 192 strains of Bordetella pertussis were identified, including 188 (97.9%) erythromycin-resistant strains.Among the 188 strains, 30.3%(57/188) belonged to the ptxP1 genotype and 69.7%(131/188) belonged to the ptxP3 genotype.In children aged below 1 year old, the incidence of paroxysmal cough caused by infection with the ptxP3 strain was higher than that with the ptxP1 strain (57.1% vs.29.4%, P<0.05), and children infected with the ptxP3 strain were more likely to develop apnea or asphyxia (23.8% vs.17.6%), post-tussive vomiting (44.4% vs.32.4%), whooping cough (72.0% vs.50.0%) and pneumonia or bronchitis (85.7% vs.73.5%) compared to those infected with the ptxP1 strain, but the differences were not statistically significant(all P>0.05). In children aged 1 year old and above, the white blood cell count of children infected with the ptxP1 strain was higher than that of infections with the ptxP3 strain [13.5(9.9, 24.5)×10 9/L, 10.3 (7.0, 16.4)×10 9/L, P<0.05], and children infected with the ptxP1 strain were more likely to contract other pathogen infections than those infected with the ptxP3 strain (17.4% vs.4.4%, P>0.05). Conclusions:ptxP3 erythromycin-resistant Bordetella pertussis has become the main pathogen of pertussis.Infants with pertussis caused by the ptxP3 erythromycin-resistant strain show more significant manifestations and a higher possibility of severe symptoms than those infected with the ptxP1 erythromycin-resistant strain.

Objective:To explore the influencing factors of abnormal blood pressure and electrocardiogram (ECG) in occupational motor vehicle drivers.Methods:In January 2024, a cluster sampling method was used to study 606 occupational motor vehicle drivers from a transportation service enterprise in Beijing who completed occupational health examination in 2023 in Peking University Third Hospital as observation group and 596 non-occupational motor vehicle drivers as control group. The data of personal history, occupational history, blood pressure and ECG were collected, and the effects of occupational motor vehicle driving on hypertension and ECG were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.Results:The age of workers in the observation group was (34.1±7.8) years old, and the length of service was (7.0±7.1) years. The age of the control group was (33.8±7.6) years old, and the working age was (7.7±6.5) years. There was no significant difference in age and length of service between the two groups ( t=0.62, -1.90, P=0.538, 0.057). Systolic blood pressure (133.0±14.7) mmHg, diastolic blood pressure (83.7±11.6) mmHg, hypertension detection rate of 33.0% (200/606), ECG abnormality detection rate of 39.9% (242/606). They were significantly higher than those in the control group [ (127.8±14.4) mmHg, (77.5±11.0) mmHg, 24.7% (147/596), 31.0% (185/596) ], and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that occupational motor vehicle driving were risk factors for hypertension and abnormal ECG ( OR= 1.210, 1.578; 95% CI: 1.145-1.231, 1.237-2.012; P<0.001) . Conclusion:Occupational motor vehicle driving may increase the risk of hypertension and abnormal ECG in workers.

Objective:To explore the influencing factors of abnormal blood pressure and electrocardiogram (ECG) in occupational motor vehicle drivers.Methods:In January 2024, a cluster sampling method was used to study 606 occupational motor vehicle drivers from a transportation service enterprise in Beijing who completed occupational health examination in 2023 in Peking University Third Hospital as observation group and 596 non-occupational motor vehicle drivers as control group. The data of personal history, occupational history, blood pressure and ECG were collected, and the effects of occupational motor vehicle driving on hypertension and ECG were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression.Results:The age of workers in the observation group was (34.1±7.8) years old, and the length of service was (7.0±7.1) years. The age of the control group was (33.8±7.6) years old, and the working age was (7.7±6.5) years. There was no significant difference in age and length of service between the two groups ( t=0.62, -1.90, P=0.538, 0.057). Systolic blood pressure (133.0±14.7) mmHg, diastolic blood pressure (83.7±11.6) mmHg, hypertension detection rate of 33.0% (200/606), ECG abnormality detection rate of 39.9% (242/606). They were significantly higher than those in the control group [ (127.8±14.4) mmHg, (77.5±11.0) mmHg, 24.7% (147/596), 31.0% (185/596) ], and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that occupational motor vehicle driving were risk factors for hypertension and abnormal ECG ( OR= 1.210, 1.578; 95% CI: 1.145-1.231, 1.237-2.012; P<0.001) . Conclusion:Occupational motor vehicle driving may increase the risk of hypertension and abnormal ECG in workers.