OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of different endotracheal tube cuff pressure management modes on cuff sealing and the pressure exerted on the tracheal wall. METHODS: A prospective self-controlled study was conducted. Eleven patients undergoing endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation with an automatic airway management system (AGs) admitted to the Second Medical Centre of the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital from October 1, 2020, to April 1, 2022, were enrolled as the study subjects. Within 24 hours after the establishment of artificial airway and mechanical ventilation, four cuff pressure management modes were randomly applied to each patient for 24 hours in sequence: automatic cuff pressure management mode [modeI: the safe range of cuff pressure was set at 20-35 cmH₂O (1 cmH₂O≈0.098 kPa), and the CO₂ pressure above the endotracheal tube cuff was automatically detected by AGs every 5 minutes to determine the cuff sealing status, and the cuff pressure was automatically adjusted], constant cuff pressure (25 cmH₂O) management mode (mode II: the cuff pressure was monitored by AGs through a pressure sensor, and the cuff pressure was maintained at 25 cmH₂O via a pressure pump), constant cuff pressure (30 cmH₂O) management mode (mode III: the cuff pressure was monitored by AGs through a pressure sensor, and the cuff pressure was maintained at 30 cmH₂O via a pressure pump), and manual cuff pressure management mode (mode IV: the cuff pressure was manually measured by nurses every 6-8 hours using a cuff pressure gauge to keep the cuff pressure at 25-30 cmH₂O after inflation). The CO₂ pressure above the endotracheal tube cuff (at 60-minute intervals) and the cuff pressure changes (at 50-ms intervals) were recorded to compare the differences in number of cuff leaks [no leak was defined as CO₂ pressure = 0, small leak as 0 < CO₂ pressure < 2 mmHg (1 mmHg≈0.133 kPa), and large leak as CO₂ pressure ≥ 2 mmHg] and cuff pressure among modesI-IV. RESULTS: A total of 24 CO₂ pressure measurements were taken per patient across the four modes, resulting in a total of 264 detections for each mode. Regarding the cuff leak, the total number of leak and large leak in modeIwas significantly lower than that in modes II-IV [total leak: 30 cases (11.36%) vs. 81 cases (30.68%), 70 cases (26.52%), 103 cases (39.02%); large leak: 15 cases (5.68%) vs. 50 cases (18.94%), 48 cases (18.18%), 66 cases (25.00%), all P < 0.05]. There was no significant difference in the number of cuff leak between modes II and III, and mode IV had the most severe cuff leak. In terms of cuff pressure, since mode IV required blocking the cuff tube from the AGs tube and the AGs cuff pressure management module did not actually work, real-time monitoring of cuff pressure was not possible. Therefore, cuff pressure changes were only analyzed in modes I-III. Each of the 11 patients underwent 24-hour cuff pressure monitoring under modes I-III, with 19 008 000 monitoring times for each mode. The cuff pressure in mode I was between that in modes II and III [cmH₂O: 27.09 (26.10, 28.14) vs. 26.60 (25.92, 27.47), 31.01 (30.33, 31.88), both P < 0.01]. Moreover, the number of extreme values of cuff pressure > 50 cmH₂O in mode I was significantly lower than that in modes II and III [19 900 cases (0.105%) vs. 22 297 cases (0.117%), 27 618 cases (0.145%), both P < 0.05]. CONCLUSION Dynamically monitoring the CO₂ pressure above the cuff to guide the adjustment of endotracheal tube cuff pressure can achieve better cuff sealing with a relatively lower cuff pressure load.
Humans ; Intubation, Intratracheal/instrumentation* ; Pressure ; Prospective Studies ; Respiration, Artificial ; Male ; Airway Management/methods* ; Female ; Middle Aged

Objective:To explore the distribution and characteristics of microbiota in the lower reproductive tract of patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma infected by human papilloma virus (HPV) 16 subtype.Methods:A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 6 patients with HPV16 single subtype positive cervical squamous cell carcinoma admitted to the Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from August 2019 to June 2020 were selected as cervical carcinoma group, and 6 healthy women who did not indicate abnormalities in thin-based layer cytology test (TCT) during the same period among the physical examination population and had HPV negative test result were selected as the healthy control group. A sterile cotton swab was used to collect secretions from the posterior cervical fornix in patients before antitumor treatment and healthy controls during physical examination. The high variable region of the 16S rRNA gene V1-V2 of the bacteria was amplified by using next generation sequencing (NGS), and then the distribution and characteristics of the bacteria were analyzed.Results:The age of cervical cancer group and the healthy control group was (51±8) years and (48±3) years, respectively, and the difference in age between the both groups was statistically significant ( t= 0.63, P= 0.540). The patients of both groups had reproductive history and no smoking experience. Alpha diversity analysis showed that compared with the healthy control group, the sobs ( t= 3.25, P= 0.009) and chao ( t= 2.91, P= 0.016) indexes were higher in cervical cancer group, and the differences were statistically significant. The shannon index was higher ( t= 2.07, P= 0.065) and simpson index was lower ( t= 1.74, P= 0.113) in cervical cancer group, while the difference was not statistically different. Data dimensionality reduction analysis in principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) based on bray-curtis distance showed that the difference in Beta diversity between the healthy control group and cervical cancer group was statistically significant ( R2= 0.154, P = 0.018). At the phylum level, the proportion of Firmicutes in cervical cancer group was lower than that in the healthy control group (30.21% vs. 68.28%), while the proportion of Bacteroidetes in cervical cancer group decreased slightly (6.87% vs. 8.11%); and the proportion of Actinobacteria (26.91% vs. 14.42%) and Proteobacteria (27.33% vs. 0.67%) had an increase in cervical cancer group. At the genus level, compared with the healthy control group, the proportion of Lactobacillus and Corynebacterium decreased in cervical cancer group, and loss of dominant flora could be detected; while Rhodococcus, Klebsiella and Aerococcus increased significantly in cervical cancer group. The bacteria species in cervical cancer group was increased compared with the healthy control group. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) showed that Rhodococcus (LDA = 5.04), Klebsiella (LDA = 4.71), Enterobacter (LDA = 4.29), Ralstonia (LDA = 4.28), Ochrobactrum (LDA = 4.23) and Veillonella (LDA = 4.14) were the distinctive microbiota of cervical cancer group at the genus level. At the phylum level, Firmicutes (LDA = 5.23) in the healthy control group could be considered as a marker species. At the species level, the proportions of Rhodococcus ( P = 0.025), Ralstonia ( P = 0.045), Veillonella ( P = 0.044), Paraburkholderia ( P = 0.045), Pseudomonas ( P = 0.043) in cervical cancer group were increased compared with the healthy control group, and the differences were statistically significant. Conclusions:HPV16 single positive patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma show the characteristics such as the increased diversity and richness of the lower reproductive tract microbiota compared with the healthy controls, while the abundance of Lactobacillus decreases. Rhodococcus and Klebsiella could serve as symbolic microbial in the lower reproductive tract. However, further studies still need to be verified.

【Objective】 To analyze the serological characteristics and molecular mechanism of a novel B subtype allele 803delC. 【Methods】 ABO blood group was detected by serological method. Sequence-specific primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR-SSP) was used to detect ABO blood group genes. The coding region of exon 1-7 of ABO gene was detected by Sanger sequencing to determine the mutation site. 【Results】 Serological identification of patients was with forward O-type and reverse B-type. The result of PCR-SSP genotyping was A/O. There was A gene, which was not consistent with serological results. Further Sanger double-strand sequencing revealed that the C-base was deleted at position 803 of exon 7 on the basis of ABO^*B. 01/ABO^*O. 01.01. The mutation eventually leads to the amino acid substitution of p. Ala268Gly and p. Phe269Ser and the production of new open reading frame starting at position 269, with the new open reading frame No.20 amino acid being stop codon, resulted in the termination of B gene expression. Further single-strand sequencing of the ABO gene revealed that the mutation was located in the ABO^*B. 01 gene. The mutation was submitted to the NCBI database with the number OR343908. 【Conclusion】 A new ABO allele leading to B variant has been found in Chinese population. Genetic detection can be used to identify the ambiguous blood group with discrepancy between forward and reverse blood grouping.

Objective To investigate the effect of genistein on the proliferation,migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells and its molecular mechanism.Methods Prostate cancer LNCaP and CWR22RV1 cells were divided into the control group(conventional culture)and the experimental group(50μmol/L genistein treatment).The effect of genistein on the proliferation of prostate cancer cells were analyzed by MTT assay.The effect of genistein on the migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells were analyzed by cell scratch assay and Transwell assay.The protein levels of epithelial interstital transformation(EMT)intermediate markers E-Cadherin,N-Cadherin,Vimentin,and tumor stem cell markers CD44 and Oct-4 were detected by Western blot assay.Results MTT assay showed that genistein could inhibit the proliferation of prostate cancer cells.The scratch closure rates of LNCaP and CWR22RV1 cells were significantly reduced in the experimental group compared with those in the control group,and the number of cells passing through the Transwell membrane was significantly reduced(P＜0.05).Western blot assay showed that genistein could down-regulate the expression levels of N-Cadherin,Vimentin,CD44 and Oct4 in prostate cancer cells,and up-regulate the expression of E-Cadherin in epithelial cells(P＜0.01).Conclusion Genistein reduces the dryness of prostate cancer cells by inhibiting the EMT process,thus reducing the proliferation,migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells.

Objective To investigate the personal dose level of occupational external exposure among interventional radiology workers in Liaoning Province of China, and to provide a reference for better occupational radiation protection. Methods According to the national standard GBZ 128—2016 Specifications for individual monitoring of occupational external exposure, the thermoluminescence method was used to measure the monitoring dose inside the lead clothes (H_W) and outside the lead clothes (H_N) of interventional radiology workers, and the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis H test were used for statistical analysis. Results Dual dosimeter monitoring data were collected from 307 interventional radiology workers in Liaoning Province in 2019, with a mean annual effective dose of 0.81 mSv and a maximum annual effective dose of 7.03 mSv, and 72.96% of the workers monitored had an annual effective dose of less than 1 mSv. The interventional radiology workers in tertiary hospitals had a significantly higher mean annual effective dose than those in secondary hospitals (0.95 mSv vs 0.65 mSv, P < 0.05). There was a significant difference in mean annual effective dose between departments (P < 0.05), and the department of interventional radiology had a significantly higher mean annual effective dose than the other departments (0.92 mSv vs 0.64 mSv), while the department of cardiology had a similar mean annual effective dose to the cerebrovascular department (0.78 mSv vs 0.78 mSv). Conclusion The occupational exposure dose of 307 interventional radiology workers in Liaoning Province meets the requirements in national regulations and standards and is higher than the national level, which suggests that radiation protection supervision and personal training should be further strengthened for interventional radiology.

Objective:To develop an information system for testing radiological protection that can interface with National Radiation Health Information Platform/Medical Radiation Monitoring Subsystem and to improve the testing efficiency.Methods:Complying with the relevant national regulations and standards, the analysis was carried out of demand investigation and system modeling. An information system for testing radiological protection was established using B/S architecture, comprising three modules such as testing, audit and system management. The users at four levels were set of administrator, inspector, auditor and report issuer.Results:Based on test result, the developed information system has been shown to realize the informatization of the whole process from filling, auditing, issuing, issuing of the testing report to data uploading, with improved testing efficiency.Conclusions:The developed information system for testing radiological protection can improve the testing efficiency, and can be successfully interfaced with the National Radiation Health Information Platform/Medical Radiation Protection Monitoring Subsystem.

Objective:To investigate the neuroprotective effect of long-term prophylactic use of buphthalein on mice with permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion and its relationship with the nuclear factor erysid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway.Methods:Nrf2 + /+ wild-type and Nrf2 -/- knockout mice were randomly divided into control group (equal volume vegetable oil), low-dose butylphthalide group (20 mg/kg) and high-dose butylphthalide group (60 mg/kg), with 6 mice in each group. The drug was administered once a day by gavage for 1 month, and then a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion model was induced by electrocoagulation. After the model was made, the drug was continued and the mice were sacrificed on the 10 th day. The modified Longa grading scale and the rotating rod test were used to evaluate neurological deficits on the 3 rd and 10 th day after the model was made. After the mice were sacrificed, the cerebral infarct volume was measured by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. The brain water content was measured by dry and wet weight method. The expression of Nrf2 pathway related factors, including Nrf2, heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) and NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) were measured by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. Results:On the 10 th day after modeling, compared with the Nrf2 -/- control group, the neurological deficit was significantly milder, the volume of cerebral infarction and brain water content were significantly smaller, and the mRNA and protein levels of Nrf2, HO-1 and NQO1 were significantly higher in the Nrf2 + /+ control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). For Nrf2 + /+ mice, compared with the control group, the cerebral infarct volume was significantly reduced ( P<0.05), the brain water content was significantly reduced ( P<0.05), and the neurological function recovery was significantly better ( P<0.05), and the levels of Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1 mRNA and protein were significantly higher in the high-dose butylphthalide group (all P<0.05). For Nrf2 -/- mice, there were no significant differences in neurological function, cerebral infarction group volume, brain water content, Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1 mRNA and protein levels among the groups. Conclusion:Long-term butylphthalide pretreatment can significantly improve the neurological function, reduce cerebral infarction volume, reduce brain water content, and increase Nrf2, HO-1, NQO1 mRNA and protein expression levels in mice with permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion, suggesting butylphthalide may play a neuroprotective effect by up-regulating the expression of Nrf2 gene and its downstream antioxidant stress factors HO-1 and NQO1.

Objective:To investigate the effect of diallyl trisulfide (DATS) on the expression of folate receptor α (FRα) in human gastric cancer cells and the related regulatory mechanism.Methods:Human gastric cancer cell lines BGC823 and AGS were selected, BGC823 cells were treated with 10, 20, 40, 80 μmol/L DATS for 48 hours, and AGS cells were treated with 5, 10, 20, 40 μmol/L DATS for 48 hours. Cells treated with 6 μmol/L histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) were used as positive control for epigenetic study, and cells untreated with DATS were used as negative control. The apoptosis of gastric cancer cells induced by DATS was detected by flow cytometry. After BGC823 and AGS cells were treated by DATS for 48 hours, they were replaced with DATS-free cell culture medium and cultured for different time to detect the changes in FRα protein expression. BGC823 and AGS cells were treated with 6 μmol/L TSA or 40 μmol/L DATS. The protein expression levels of FRα, HDAC1 and HDAC2, and histone H3 lysine 9 acetylation (H3K9ac) and histone H4 lysine 5 acetylation (H4K5ac) were detected by Western blot. BGC823 cells were inoculated into BALB/c nude mice to establish tumor bearing model. The nude mice in DATS group were injected intraperitoneally with 10 mg/kg DATS for 16 days, and then the protein in tumor-bearing tissues was extracted to detect the expression of target protein, while the control group was injected with equal dose of 0.9% NaCl solution.Results:The expressions of FRα protein in BGC823 and AGS cells were up-regulated in a dose-dependent way after gradient concentrations of DATS treatment ( F = 65.68, P < 0.01; F = 26.65, P < 0.01). After changing the cell culture medium without DATS, the expressions of FRα protein in BGC823 and AGS cells gradually decreased and returned to the initial levels ( F = 74.57, P < 0.01; F = 30.92, P < 0.01). With the increase of DATS concentration, the apoptosis rates of BGC823 and AGS cells increased ( F = 32.95, P < 0.01; F = 38.97, P < 0.01). After TSA treatment, FRα protein expressions in BGC823 and AGS cells were up-regulated by 4.5 times ( t = -12.62, P < 0.01) and 3.6 times ( t = -10.00, P < 0.01). After 40 μmol/L and 20 μmol/L DATS treatment, the expression level of FRα protein in BGC823 and AGS cells was up-regulated (both P < 0.01), the expressions of HDAC1 and HDAC2 were inhibited (all P < 0.01), and the levels of H3K9ac and H4K5ac acetylation modification increased (all P < 0.01). The results of tumor-bearing nude mice experiment showed that the volume of transplanted tumor in DATS group was smaller than that in the control group [(214±39) mm 3 vs. (577±98) mm 3], and the difference was statistically significant ( t = 4.86, P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, FRα protein expression in the transplanted tumor tissues of DATS group was up-regulated about 2 times ( t = -5.29, P < 0.01), and the expression levels of HDAC1 and HDAC2 proteins were down-regulated ( t = 9.36, P < 0.01; t = 9.88, P < 0.01). Conclusions:DATS up-regulates the expression of FRα protein in human gastric cancer BGC823 and AGS cells in a dose-dependent and reversible manner. The mechanism may be related to the effect of DATS on histone acetylation modification in tumor cells.

【Objective】 To evaluate the effect of Arntl on T cell development and T cell-mediated anti-viral immunity. 【Methods】 Arntl^F/FCD4cre⁺(KO) in mice was constructed to delete Arntl gene specifically in T cells. We examined the percentage and number of T cell subsets in the thymus and spleen by flow cytometry (FCM). At day 8 after lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection, the proportions of T cell subsets, virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells and IFN-γ secreting T cells were analyzed. The viral load in the spleen was measured using qPCR. Naive CD4⁺ T cells (CD4⁺CD25^-CD44^-CD62L⁺) were sorted by flow cytometry to perform T helper cell differentiation in vitro. 【Results】 The percentage and number of T cells in the thymus and spleen of KO mice showed no significant change compared with those in the control group (Arntl^F/FCD4cre^- mice, WT) (P>0.05). Acute LCMV infection did not cause observable changes in effector T cell proportion in the spleen of KO mice compared to that in WT mice (P>0.05), but KO mice showed a higher proportion of IFN-γ secreting T cells (P<0.05) and better virus clearance (P<0.05). In addition, naive CD4⁺ T cells from KO mice were more prone to differentiate into Th1 cells in vitro (P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 Arntl deletion in T cells does not affect T cell development, but enhances their ability to defend against viral infection by promoting Th1 cell differentiation and response.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause great damage to the elderly patients and lead to high mortality. The clinical presentations and auxiliary examinations of the elderly patients with COVID-19 are atypical, due to the physiological ageing deterioration and basal pathological state. The treatment strategy for the elderly patients has its own characteristics and treatment protocol should be considered accordingly. To improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of COVID-19 in the elderly, the Expert Committee of Geriatric Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, China Society of Geriatrics established the "Expert consensus for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 in the elderly" . We focused on the clinical characteristics and key points for better treatment and prevention of COVID-19 in the elderly. (1) For diagnosis, atypical clinical presentation of COVID-19 in the elderly should be emphasized, which may be complicated by underlying disease. (2) For treatment, strategy of multiple disciplinary team (mainly the respiratory and critical care medicine) should be adopted and multiple systemic functions should be considered. (3) For prevention, health care model about integrated management of acute and chronic diseases, in and out of hospital should be applied.