OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of difference between hematocrit (HCT) and albumin (Alb) in predicting the prognosis of patients with sepsis. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on the septic patients hospitalized at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from January to October in 2024. Clinical data including gender, age, body mass index (BMI), history of hypertension or diabetes, vital signs on admission, and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score, blood lactic acid (Lac), oxygenation index (PaO₂/FiO₂), hemoglobin (Hb), white blood cell count (WBC), platelet count (PLT), lymphocyte count (LYM), HCT, Alb, difference between HCT and Alb, bilirubin, scrum creatinine (SCr), and fibrinogen (Fib) within 48 hours of admission were collected. The 28-day prognosis of patients was also recorded. Binary multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for 28-day death in patients with sepsis. The predictive efficacy of the difference between HCT and Alb on 28-day death was evaluated using the receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve). RESULTS: Among 180 enrolled septic patients, 140 survived and 40 died on 28 days. Compared with the survival group, the patients in the death group was significantly older (years old: 64±16 vs. 55±15, P < 0.05), and had higher SOFA score, APACHE II score, and SCr [SOFA score: 6 (4, 9) vs. 3 (2, 5), APACHE II score: 13 (10, 18) vs. 8 (6, 11), SCr (μmol/L): 136 (70, 416) vs. 77 (58, 126), all P < 0.05] as well as lower Hb, PLT, HCT, difference between HCT and Alb, and Fib within 48 hours of admission [Hb (g/L): 90±30 vs. 106±79, PLT (×10⁹/L): 158 (57, 240) vs. 215 (110, 315), HCT: 0.258±0.081 vs. 0.333±0.077, difference between HCT and Alb: -6.52±7.40 vs. 1.07±7.63, Fib (g/L): 3.72±1.57 vs. 4.59±1.55, all P < 0.05]. No significant difference in gender, BMI, history of hypertension or diabetes, vital signs on admission, or other laboratory indicators was found between the two groups. Binary multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that age [odds ratio (OR) = 1.040, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.004-1.078, P = 0.030], APACHE II score (OR = 1.218, 95%CI was 1.038-1.430, P = 0.016), Hb (OR = 1.040, 95%CI was 1.014-1.068, P = 0.003), and difference between HCT and Alb (OR = 0.804, 95%CI was 0.727-0.889, P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for 28-day death of septic patients. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of difference between HCT and Alb for predicting 28-day death of septic patients was 0.764 (95%CI was 0.679-0.849, P < 0.001). A cut-off value of difference between HCT and Alb ≤ -5.35 yielded a sensitivity of 80.7% and specificity of 65.0%. CONCLUSIONS The difference between HCT and Alb at early admission is a valuable predictor of prognosis in septic patients. A difference ≤ -5.35 indicates an increased death risk of septic patients.
Humans ; Prognosis ; Sepsis/blood* ; Retrospective Studies ; Hematocrit ; Serum Albumin/analysis* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; APACHE

Nine novel compounds, comprising seven tetrahydroanthraquinones (auxarthrolones A-G, 1-7), a γ-butenolide glycoside (malfilamentoside E, 26), and a γ-butenolide (auxarthrolide A, 27), together with eighteen known compounds (8-25) were isolated from rice-based solid culture of Auxarthron umbrinum (A. umbrinum) DSM3193 using the one strain many compounds (OSMAC) approach. The structural elucidation of these compounds was accomplished through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS), and NMR calculation combined with DP4+ analysis or MAEΔΔδ parameter, while the absolute configurations of new compounds were established through single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopic data analysis and/or chemical derivatization. Austrocortilutein (10) and auxarthrol H (14) demonstrated moderate cytotoxicity against U87 and U251 [half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) 3.5-12.1 μmol·L^-1]. Additionally, auxarthrolone A (1), auxarthrol H (14), eupolyphagin B (15), and 7-hydroxy-2-(2-hydroxypropyl)-5-methylchromone (17) exhibited torsional effects on fibroblast proliferation challenges induced by oleic acid, thus demonstrating fibroblast proliferation-promoting activity.
4-Butyrolactone/pharmacology* ; Molecular Structure ; Anthraquinones/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Animals ; Mice ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

Ferroptosis is a novel strategy for regulating cell death, and its occurrence is closely related to intracellular iron metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and various signaling pathways. Ferroptosis plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of acute kidney injury (AKI). Ferroptosis may serve as an important target for the treatment of AKI caused by various reasons such as ischemia-reperfusion injury, nephrotoxic drugs, rhabdomyolysis syndrome, sepsis, and so on. This paper reviewed the regulatory mechanisms of ferroptosis and its research progress in AKI.

OBJECTIVES: Graves' ophthalmopathy (GO) is a multifactorial disease, and the mechanism of non coding RNA interactions and inflammatory cell infiltration patterns are not fully understood. This study aims to construct a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network for this disease and clarify the infiltration patterns of inflammatory cells in orbital tissue to further explore the pathogenesis of GO. METHODS: The differentially expressed genes were identified using the GEO2R analysis tool. The Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) and gene ontology analysis were used to analyze differential genes. RNA interaction relationships were extracted from the RNA interactome database. Protein-protein interactions were identified using the STRING database and were visualized using Cytoscape. StarBase, miRcode, and DIANA-LncBase Experimental v.2 were used to construct ceRNA networks together with their interacted non-coding RNA. The CIBERSORT algorithm was used to detect the patterns of infiltrating immune cells in GO using R software. RESULTS: A total of 114 differentially expressed genes for GO and 121 pathways were detected using both the KEGG and gene ontology enrichment analysis. Four hub genes (SRSF6, DDX5, HNRNPC,and HNRNPM) were extracted from protein-protein interaction using cytoHubba in Cytoscape, 104 nodes and 142 edges were extracted, and a ceRNA network was identified (MALAT1-MIR21-DDX5). The results of immune cell analysis showed that in GO, the proportions of CD8⁺ T cells and CD4⁺ memory resting T cells were upregulated and downregulated, respectively. The proportion of CD4 memory resting T cells was positively correlated with the expression of MALAT1, MIR21, and DDX5. CONCLUSIONS This study has constructed a ceRNA regulatory network (MALAT1-MIR21-DDX5) in GO orbital tissue, clarifying the downregulation of the proportion of CD4⁺ stationary memory T cells and their positive regulatory relationship with ceRNA components, further revealing the pathogenesis of GO.
Humans ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics* ; Algorithms ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Down-Regulation ; Graves Ophthalmopathy/genetics* ; Gene Regulatory Networks ; MicroRNAs/genetics* ; Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors ; Phosphoproteins

Objective:To explore the correlation between dietary fiber intake and intestinal barrier function in patients with irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D).Methods:IBS-D patients were recruited from May 2019 to October 2019 at the clinic of gastroenterology department in China-Japan Friendship Hospital and healthy controls (HCs) were recruited by advertisement. Clinical manifestations, psychological status and quality of life were assessed using standardized questionnaires. A food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary habits in the preceding year. Serum diamine oxidase (DAO) was measured via ELISA.Results:64 IBS-D patients and 35 HCs were enrolled, with no significant difference in sex ratio, age and BMI between the two groups. Second to health concern, food avoidance was the dominant impacting factor for quality of life in IBS-D patients. The intake frequency of dietary fiber was decreased in IBS-D patients, and the intake frequencies of dietary fiber-rich foods were significantly lower in IBS-D patients ( P < 0.01 for tubers, P = 0.002 for vegetables, P = 0.019 for fruits and P = 0.045 for legumes). On the other hand, the intake frequencies of processed meat ( P < 0.01), greasy food ( P = 0.009), barbecued food ( P = 0.002) and animal offal ( P = 0.003) were significantly higher in IBS-D patients compared with HCs, indicating the increased intake frequency of fat. Multivariate logistic regression showed that tubers might reduce the risk of IBS-D ( OR = 0.409,95% CI: 0.232 to 0.722, P = 0.002). The frequency of abdominal pain was positively associated with the intake frequency of greasy food in IBS-D patients. Serum DAO was measured in 37 IBS-D patients and 27 HCs. IBS-D patients had significantly higher serum DAO than HCs ( 77.0 [55.3, 100.6] μg/L vs 42.5 [28.0, 58.2] μg/L, P < 0.01). Among all the participants with serum DAO test results, the level of DAO was negatively associated with the intake frequencies of tubers, vegetables and fruits while positively associated with the intake frequencies of processed meat and barbecued food. Conclusions:Food avoidance was an important impacting factor for quality of life in IBS-D patients. IBS-D patients might have insufficient dietary fiber intake and excessive fat intake. Tubers could possibly reduce the risk of IBS-D. The decreased intake frequency of dietary fiber might have a role in intestinal barrier dysfunction in IBS-D patients.

Objective:To investigate the changes of autonomic nervous active substances in myocardium of rats with acute high-level spinal cord injury.Methods:Twenty-four clean-level healthy adult male SD rats weighting 250-300 g for 8-10 weeks old were divided into control group ( n=6) and spinal cord injury group ( n=18) according to the random number table. The spinal cord injury group was subdivided at 4, 12 and 24 hours, with 6 rats at each time point. The high-level spinal cord injury model was established by the modified Allen′s weight-drop method, and the spinal cord was only exposed in control group. The postoperative performance and BBB score for limb movement were observed in each group. The myocardium of each group was resected and used to observe ultrastructure of myocardial cells under transmission electron microscope and detect protein and mRNA levels of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), noradrenaline transporter (NET), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) by Western blot and RT-PCR analysis. Results:Rats of control group showed normal limb motion after operation without significant change from the preoperation level, and mean BBB score was 21 points. Rats of spinal cord injury group showed significantly reduced activities and feeding, with flaccid paralysis of both lower limbs as well as no spontaneous excretion, and showed BBB score of 0 point at 4 hours and 12 hours after injury, which was increased slightly at 24 hours after injury, with the highest score for 1 point. The ultrastructure of myocardial cells showed no obvious abnormalities in control group, while different degrees of changes in spinal cord injury group. Compared with control group, Western blot analysis showed that protein levels of TH and NET were decreased, while AChE and ChAT were increased in spinal cord injury group ( P<0.05 or 0.01). Compared with control group, RT-PCR analysis showed that mRNA levels of TH and NET were decreased, while AChE and ChAT were increased in spinal cord injury group ( P<0.05 or 0.01). mRNA levels of TH and NET in spinal cord injury group at 24 hours after injury were significantly different from those at 4 hours and 12 hours after injury (all P<0.05). mRNA levels of ChAT in spinal cord injury group were statistically significant at 12 hours and 24 hours after injury from those at 4 hours after injury, with significant difference at 12 hours and 24 hours after injury (all P<0.05). Conclusion:Sympathetic nerve active substances TH and NET are down-regulated but vagal nerve active substances AChE and ChAT up-regulated in myocardium of rats with acute high-level spinal cord injury, which may be related to the relative excitation of the parasympathetic nerve blocking the sympathetic innervation of the higher center to the heart following high-level spinal cord injury.

Endophytic fungi are promising producers of bioactive small molecules. Bioinformatic analysis of the genome of an endophytic fungus

Objective:To analyze the pollution characteristics and source of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in Shenzhen and Taiyuan, two cities in the north and south of China. Methods:PM 2.5 samples were collected from the year of 2017 to 2018. The levels of 10 heavy metal elements (Pb, Al, As, etc.) , 10 water soluble ions (F -, Cl -, SO 42-, etc.) and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (Nap, Acy, Ace, etc.) in PM 2.5 were detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) , ion Chromatography and high Performance Liquid Chromatography respectively. USA commercial carbon analysis was applied to detect organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) . Source of PM 2.5 was analyzed by Factor analysis method. Results:The concentrations of Pb, Mn, As, Ni, F -, OC and EC in PM 2.5 of Taiyuan city were significantly higher than those of Shenzhen City, and the concentrations of Na +, Cl -, and PO 43- were lower than those of Shenzhen City ( P<0.05) . Except naphthalene, the concentrations of PAHs in PM 2.5 of Taiyuan city were higher than those of Shenzhen City ( P<0.05) . The main sources of metal elements and water soluble ions in PM 2.5 in Shenzhen included: industry/vehicle exhaust factor (42.64%) , construction/soil factor (34.22%) and ocean factor (17.93%) . PAHs in PM 2.5 in Shenzhen mostly came from fuel oil/vehicle exhaust factor (38.58%) , coal combustion factor (30.78%) and biomass combustion factor (24.38%) . Differently, the main sources of metal elements and water soluble ions in PM 2.5 in Taiyuan included: construction factor (30.26%) , fuel oil and coal combustion factor (24.58%) , secondary particles/soil factor (22.03%) and industry factor (18.89%) . PAHs in PM 2.5 were from fuel oil/vehicle exhaust factor (54.71%) and coal combustion factor (43.54%) in Taiyuan. Conclusion:The sources of PM 2.5 pollution are different between Shenzhen and Taiyuan, the occupational health management must be continuously strengthened, measures should be strengthened contrapuntally on the basis of different pollution sources.

Objective:To analyze the pollution characteristics and source of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in Shenzhen and Taiyuan, two cities in the north and south of China. Methods:PM 2.5 samples were collected from the year of 2017 to 2018. The levels of 10 heavy metal elements (Pb, Al, As, etc.) , 10 water soluble ions (F -, Cl -, SO 42-, etc.) and 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (Nap, Acy, Ace, etc.) in PM 2.5 were detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) , ion Chromatography and high Performance Liquid Chromatography respectively. USA commercial carbon analysis was applied to detect organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) . Source of PM 2.5 was analyzed by Factor analysis method. Results:The concentrations of Pb, Mn, As, Ni, F -, OC and EC in PM 2.5 of Taiyuan city were significantly higher than those of Shenzhen City, and the concentrations of Na +, Cl -, and PO 43- were lower than those of Shenzhen City ( P<0.05) . Except naphthalene, the concentrations of PAHs in PM 2.5 of Taiyuan city were higher than those of Shenzhen City ( P<0.05) . The main sources of metal elements and water soluble ions in PM 2.5 in Shenzhen included: industry/vehicle exhaust factor (42.64%) , construction/soil factor (34.22%) and ocean factor (17.93%) . PAHs in PM 2.5 in Shenzhen mostly came from fuel oil/vehicle exhaust factor (38.58%) , coal combustion factor (30.78%) and biomass combustion factor (24.38%) . Differently, the main sources of metal elements and water soluble ions in PM 2.5 in Taiyuan included: construction factor (30.26%) , fuel oil and coal combustion factor (24.58%) , secondary particles/soil factor (22.03%) and industry factor (18.89%) . PAHs in PM 2.5 were from fuel oil/vehicle exhaust factor (54.71%) and coal combustion factor (43.54%) in Taiyuan. Conclusion:The sources of PM 2.5 pollution are different between Shenzhen and Taiyuan, the occupational health management must be continuously strengthened, measures should be strengthened contrapuntally on the basis of different pollution sources.