POEMS syndrome is a rare condition associated with plasma cell disorders， and it often involves multiple systems and has diverse clinical manifestations. This article reports two cases of POEMS syndrome with hepatosplenomegaly as the initial manifestation. During the course of the disease， the patients presented with lower limb weakness， hepatosplenomegaly， lymph node enlargement， ascites， hypothyroidism， positive M protein， and skin hyperpigmentation， and ¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT imaging revealed bone lesions mainly characterized by osteolytic changes and plasma cell tumors. There was an increase in the serum level of vascular endothelial growth factor. The patients were finally diagnosed with POEMS syndrome， and the symptoms were relieved after immunomodulatory treatment.

Objective To monitor the antifungal resistance of clinical isolates of Candida spp.in the East China region.Methods MALDI-TOF MS or molecular methods were used to re-identify the strains collected from January 2018 to December 2022.Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed using the broth microdilution method.The susceptibility test results were interpreted according to the breakpoints of 2022 Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)documents M27 M44s-Ed3 and M57s-Ed4.Results A total of 3 026 strains of Candida were collected,65.33％of which were isolated from sterile body sites,mainly from blood(38.86％)and pleural effusion/ascites(10.21％).The predominant species of Candida were Candida albicans(44.51％),followed by Candida parapsilosis complex(19.46％),Candida tropicalis(13.98％),Candida glabrata(10.34％),and other Candida species(0.79％).Candida albicans showed overall high susceptibility rates to the 10 antifungal drugs tested(the lowest rate being 93.62％).Only 2.97％of the strains showed dose-dependent susceptibility(SDD)to fluconazole.Candida parapsilosis complex had a SDD rate of 2.61％and a resistance rate of 9.42％to fluconazole,and susceptibility rates above 90％to other drugs.Candida glabrata had a SDD rate of 92.01％and a resistance rate of 7.99％to fluconazole,resistance rates of 32.27％and 48.24％to posaconazole and voriconazole non-wild-type strains(NWT),respectively,and susceptibility rates above 90％to other drugs.Candida tropicalis had resistance rates of 29.55％and 26.24％to fluconazole and voriconazole,respectively,resistance rates of 76.60％and 21.99％to posaconazole and echinocandins non-wild-type strains(NWT),and a resistance rate of 2.36％to echinocandins.Conclusions The prevalence and species distribution of Candida spp.in the East China region are consistent with previous domestic and international reports.Candida glabrata exhibits certain degree of resistance to fluconazole,while Candida tropicalis demonstrates higher resistance to triazole drugs.Additionally,echinocandins resistance has emerged in Candida albicans,Candida glabrata,Candida tropicalis,and Candida parapsilosis.

Objective:To investigate the eye movement characteristics of non-emotional pictures and emotion-al pictures in college students with different self-rating levels of depression.Methods:The Baker Depression Ques-tionnaire(BDI-2)was used to select 20 college students in high score group(BDI-2 score≥ 18 points)and 20 col-lege students in low score group(BDI-2 score ≤2 points).In experiment 1 the different finding tasks were used to investigate the difference of eye movement features between the two groups when viewing non-emotional pic-tures.In experiment 2 the expression recognition tasks were used to investigate the difference of the eye movement features between the two groups when viewing emotional pictures.Results:The results of experiment 1 showed that when completing the judgment task,the fixation times of each interest area of non-emotional images was smaller in the high score group than in the low score group(P＜0.01).The results of experiment 2 showed that the reaction time was longer to sad faces than to happy faces in the high score group(P＜0.05),and the correct rate to sad faces was higher in the high score group than in the low score group(P＜0.05).For the eye interest area,the first fixation arrival time was earlier in the high score group than in the low score group(P＜0.001),and the first fixa-tion time and total fixation time were shorter in the high score group than in the low score group(Ps＜0.01).Con-clusion:College students with high self-rating level of depression show a decrease of interest when viewing non-e-motional pictures,and show an advantage in processing negative emotional information and avoiding eye gaze when viewing emotional pictures.

Objective:To observe any effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) mediated by curcumin (CUR) on the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) induced by platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3k)/serine threonine protein kinase (AKT) signaling pathway and explore its possible mechanism.Methods:Twenty μg/L of PDGF-BB was used to induce proliferation of VSMCs in A7R5 rat aortic smooth muscle cells and mouse aortic smooth muscle cells. Well-cultured VSMCs were randomly divided into a normal group, a PDGF-BB group, a curcumin group, and a low-dose PDT group (irradiated for 60s), a medium-dose PDT group (irradiated for 120s), and a high-dose PDT group (irradiated for 180s). The normal group was not given any intervention, and the PDGF-BB group was starved overnight and then stimulated for 24h by adding fresh medium containing 20μg/L of PDGF-BB. The curcumin group was first given the same intervention as the PDGF-BB group, and then placed in a medium containing 20μmol/L of curcumin for 6h. The PDT groups were first given the same intervention as the curcumin group, and then irradiated using a 425nm laser after removal of the medium. A CCK8 cell counting kit was used to detect the survival rate of VSMCs in the PDT groups after irradiation with the different laser doses. VSMC proliferation was detected using 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EDU) positive labeling. The cell cycle was observed using flow cytometry, and the expression levels of related phosphorylated proteins of the PI3K/AKT pathway and proliferating cell nuclear antigen were detected using western blotting.Results:The CCK-8 counts suggested that 120s was the optimum irradiation dose. The cell survival rates in the medium-dose and high-dose PDT groups were significantly different from the PDGF-BB group′s average. The proportion of proliferating cells in the PDT groups was significantly lower than in the PDGF-BB group. The proportion of cells in the G0 or G1 phase was significantly lower in the PDT group than in the normal group, while that in the G2 or M phase was significantly higher than in the normal and PDGF-BB groups. The expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and the phosphorylated proteins of the PI3K/AKT pathway had decreased significantly in the PDT group compared with the PDGF-BB group.Conclusion:CUR-mediated PDT inhibits PDGF-BB-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells, probably by down-regulating the expression of phosphorylated proteins related to the PI3K/AKT pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of aristolochic acid (AA)-associated cancer in patients with AA nephropathy (AAN). METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on patients diagnosed with AAN at Peking University First Hospital from January 1997 to December 2014. Long-term surveillance and follow-up data were analyzed to investigate the influence of different factors on the prevalence of cancer. The primary endpoint was the incidence of liver cancer, and the secondary endpoint was the incidence of urinary cancer during 1 year after taking AA-containing medication to 2014. RESULTS: A total of 337 patients diagnosed with AAN were included in this study. From the initiation of taking AA to the termination of follow-up, 39 patients were diagnosed with cancer. No cases of liver cancer were observed throughout the entire follow-up period, with urinary cancer being the predominant type (34/39, 87.17%). Logistic regression analysis showed that age, follow-up period, and diabetes were potential risk factors, however, the dosage of the drug was not significantly associated with urinary cancer. CONCLUSIONS No cases of liver cancer were observed at the end of follow-up. However, a high prevalence of urinary cancer was observed in AAN patients. Establishing a direct causality between AA and HCC is challenging.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Incidence ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Liver Neoplasms/epidemiology* ; Kidney Diseases/chemically induced* ; Aristolochic Acids/adverse effects*

BackgroundNegative effects of mobile phone addiction on undergraduate students have led to several health problems including depression， anxiety， attention deficit disorder， cognitive impairment and sleep disturbance. The undergraduate nursing students serve as an important reserve force of the clinical nursing work， and their poor psychological health would have a non-ignorable impact on the quality of the nursing work and the nurse-patient relationship in the future. ObjectiveTo investigate the relation between neuroticism and tendency of mobile phone addiction among undergraduate nursing students， and to examine the pathways through which perceived stress and self-control play a role in the relation by constructing a chain-mediated model. MethodsFrom February to March 2023， a total of 900 undergraduate nursing students across 10 universities in Xi'an， Shaanxi Province were selected through convenient sampling method. Several scales were adopted to assess undergraduate nursing students respectively， including the neuroticism subscale of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised Short Scale for Chines （EPQ-RSC）， Perceived Stress Scale （PSS）， Self-Control Scale （SCS） and Mobile Phone Addiction Tendency Scale （MPATS）. The assessment were conducted on multiple aspects of these students including neurotic personality， subjective stress， self-control and mobile phone addiction tendency. Model 6 in the SPSS Macro Process 4.1 was used to examine the mediating effect of perceived stress and self-control between neuroticism and mobile phone addiction tendency among undergraduate nursing students. Results① Among the 900 students， 314 cases （34.89%） were found to be addicted to mobile phones. ② The score of neuroticism subscale in EPQ-RSC of nursing undergraduates was positively correlated with the total scores of PSS and MPATS （r=0.400， 0.287， P<0.01）， and negatively correlated with score of SCS （r=-0.364， P<0.01）. The total score of MPATS was positively correlated with the total score of PSS （r=0.362， P<0.01）， and negatively correlated with the total score of SCS （r=-0.468， P<0.01）. The total score of SCS was negatively correlated with the total score of PSS （r=-0.515， P<0.01）. ③ Perceived stress and self-control performed partial mediation between neuroticism personality and mobile phone addiction tendency （with indirect effect values of 0.056 and 0.065， respectively， accounting for 19.72% and 22.89% of the total effect）. Perceived stress and self-control played a chain mediating role between neuroticism personality and mobile phone addiction tendency （with an indirect effect value of 0.064， accounting for 22.54% of the total effect）. ConclusionNeuroticism personality， perceived stress and self-control are confirmed to play important roles in mobile phone addiction tendency among undergraduate nursing students. Neuroticism personality not only directly affects the tendency of mobile phone addiction， but also affects their mobile phone addiction tendency through the chain mediating effect of perceived stress and self-control.［Funded by The 2020 Annual Project of the 13th Five-Year Plan of Education Science in Shaanxi Province （number， SGH20Y1386）］

BACKGROUND:Peripheral nerves play an important role in bone metabolism.In clinical practice,the specific impact of nerve injury on bone transport technology needs further study. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of tibial nerve injury on the treatment of tibial slip by single-plane osteotomy. METHODS:Thirty-two patients with tibial bone defects admitted to Tangshan Second Hospital from May 2011 to June 2022 were selected.According to the presence or absence of tibial nerve injury,patients were divided into the tibial nerve injury group(n=16)and the non-tibial nerve injury group(n=16).Both groups were treated with single-plane osteotomy and bone slip.After treatment,the patients were followed up to collect the mineralization zone healing index,external fixation index,docking point healing and needle infection.After the removal of external fixation,the bone healing and functional evaluation were evaluated by a classification of the Association for the Study and Application of the Method of Ilizarov(ASAMI). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)All 32 patients were followed up for(25.28±4.79)months.There were no significant differences in bone healing time,external fixation time,healing index and external fixation index between the two groups(P＞0.05).Needle infection occurred in two cases of the tibial nerve injury group and one case of the non-tibial nerve injury group,all of which were PALEY I,and there was no significant difference between the two groups(P＞0.05).The non-union rate of the occlusal end of the tibial nerve injury group was 31%,and that of the non-tibial nerve injury group was 13%;there was no statistical difference between the two groups(P＞0.05).The excellent and good rate of ASAMI bone healing score in the two groups was 100%;the excellent and good rate of limb score was 81%in the tibial nerve injury group and 94%in the non-tibial nerve injury group;there was no statistical difference between the two groups(P＞0.05).(2)Our research shows that tibial nerve injury has no significant effect on the mineralization speed,external fixation time,union of the occlusal end,infection of the needle tract,and the quality of bone formation in the mineralized area of the single-plane osteotomy.

Objective To clarify the responsibilities and influencing factors of infection control liaison nurses(ICLNs)in general hospitals.Methods Relevant databases were systematically retrieved with scoping review method from establishment to March 18,2023,and the included literatures were reported standardizedly.Results A total of 36 literatures were included in the analysis.Responsibilities of ICLNs included admittance criteria,selec-tion methods,and job responsibilities.Influencing factors of ICLNs included training,empowerment,performance evaluation,continuous improvement measures,and personnel allocation.After the establishment of ICLNs,inci-dence of healthcare-associated infection and detection rate of multidrug-resistant organisms were reduced,compli-ance rate of health care workers'hand hygiene and monitoring rate of hospital environment were improved,and the cleaning and disinfection of hospital environment was standardized.Conclusion ICLNs play a role in preventing and controlling the occurrence of healthcare-associated infection.The management and application should be further standardized and improved,the effectiveness of ICLNs needs to be thoroughly studied,so as to promote the deve-lopment of ICLNs,and improve the quality of healthcare-associated infection management.

AIM: To analyze the mechanism of Usher syndrome(USH)caused by Adgrv1 gene variation through the Hedgehog(Hh)signaling pathway.METHODS: Based on Adgrv1 gene variant mice(Adgrv1-/-), taking wild type(WT)C57BL/6 mice as controls, the expression of Adgrv1 gene and the structure of retina and cell cilia were analyzed by qRT-PCR, HE, transmission electron microscopy, and immunofluorescence. Additionally, the changes of key factors in the Hh signaling pathway caused by Adgrv1 gene variation were observed.RESULTS: The Adgrv1 gene was expressed in both the retina and primary cultured lung fibroblasts of Adgrv1-/- mice, but the expression levels were significantly decreased. The Adgrv1 gene variation can cause dissolution of the outer disc membrane of the retinal photoreceptors and significantly shorten the cilia length in primary lung fibroblasts. In the Hh signaling pathway, the expression of Ptch1 and Gli genes of Adgrv1-/- was significantly reduced, while the expression of PKA genes was increased.CONCLUSION:The Adgrv1 gene variation leads to shortened cell cilia and dissolution of the outer disc membrane of the retinal photoreceptors, resulting in retinitis pigmentosa, which is related to decreased expression of PTCH1 and GLI1 proteins in the Hh pathway.

Currently, there are practical and technical difficulties in the construction of clinical questions in the development of clinical practice guidelines. Clinicians or guideline developers seldom construct clinical questions based the actual case scenario, leading to some information loss between structured and actual clinical connotation. To overcome this challenge, we proposed a case-guided questions construction approach, and carried out case research and verification in the formulation of the guideline. We found that this method could more efficiently and scientifically assist the formulation of clinical questions, and provide reference for clinicians or guideline developers.