BACKGROUND: Recent studies have provided compelling evidence that exposure to brominated flame retardants (BFRs) can adversely affect human health. We aim to explore the potential impact of BFRs on adiposity and central obesity. METHODS: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) cycles conducted between 2009 and 2014 was used to study the connections between variables. After filtering, we analyzed a sample of 4,110 adults aged 20 years and above. Our goal was to examine the potential association between BFRs and consequences and investigate the part played by oxidative stress and inflammatory markers as intermediaries. To achieve this, we used advanced statistical methods such as weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, quantile-based g-computation (QGC), and the Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). RESULTS: The findings showed that among the examined chemicals, exposure to PBDE85 (weight: 41%), PBDE100 (24%), and PBB153 (23%) may be the dominant contributors to general obesity risk. Upon controlling for all variables that could impact the results, it was found that the QGC outcomes indicated a positive correlation between exposure to mixtures of brominated flame retardants and the occurrence of abdominal obesity (OR = 1.187, 95% CI: 1.056-1.334, p = 0.004). Significant contributions were made by PBDE85 (52%), PBB153 (27%), and PBDE100 (21%). Mediation analysis shows that lymphatic cells (LC) and albumin (ALB) partially mediate the link between brominated flame retardants and obesity. The results of BKMR are generally consistent with those of WQS and QGC. CONCLUSION At a population level, our research has revealed a noteworthy correlation between BFRs and obesity. However, further investigation is required through prospective cohort studies and in-depth mechanistic exploratory studies.
Humans ; Flame Retardants/adverse effects* ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Adult ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Inflammation/epidemiology* ; Obesity/chemically induced* ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Nutrition Surveys ; Mediation Analysis ; Young Adult ; United States/epidemiology* ; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects* ; Aged ; Environmental Pollutants/adverse effects* ; Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers/adverse effects*

An ideal dermal filler should integrate filling, repair, and anti-aging effects, with immediate tissue augmentation, slow degradation, and progressive stimulation of collagen regeneration. However, commonly used hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogels, while effective for rapid filling, suffer from limited duration of support, weak cell adhesion, and an inability to promote collagen regeneration. Silk fibroin (SF), a natural protein from silkworm cocoons, is known for its excellent cell adhesion and collagen-stimulating abilities. However, its limited gelation capability restricts its potential application as a standalone injectable hydrogel. Based on a complementary strategy, this study combines the rapid gelling properties of HA with the collagen regenerative properties of SF to create a co-crosslinked HA-SF hydrogel. The composite hydrogel merges HA's rapid filling effect with SF's strong tissue adhesion and collagen-stimulating abilities. The formulation, physicochemical properties, degradation, biocompatibility, and filling effects of the HA-SF hydrogel were systematically investigated. HA-SF hydrogel exhibits excellent mechanical properties and ensures long-term support while maintaining injectability. Interestingly, after intradermal injection in the UVB-induced photoaging model, HA-SF hydrogel not only enhances hydrogel-cell interaction but also continues to stimulate collagen regeneration, especially type III collagen. This dual action achieves the biological effects of repair and anti-aging while maintaining the filling effect. Proteomic analysis confirms that repair and anti-aging effects are enhanced by the regulation of skin fibroblasts and modulation of amino acid and lipid metabolism. This composite hydrogel holds strong promise for clinical applications, offering a safer, long-lasting, and more natural injectable filler that combines filling, repair, and anti-aging into one system.

Purpose To analyze the value of a deep learning(DL)radiomics model based on dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI images in predicting the expression of Ki-67 status in breast cancer.Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis of 152 breast cancer patients confirmed by pathological results at Guangdong Women and Children Hospital,MRI images and clinical pathological data were reviewed,and based on postoperative immunohistochemistry results,the images of the high and low expression groups of Ki-67 were randomly sampled in a ratio of 8∶2 to form a training set of 122 cases and a validation set of 30 cases.Single-factor and multi-factor Logistic regression analyses of clinical data were performed to select independent predictors of breast cancer expressing Ki-67 status.The ResNet-18 model was used as the basic model for DL feature extraction.Hand-crafted radiomic features and DL features were extracted.Eight machine learning models were constructed based on clinical features,hand-crafted radiomic features,DL features,and their combinations.The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the predictive performance of the models,and the best model was determined as the output model.Results The progesterone receptor status(OR=0.764,P=0.040)and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 status(OR=1.187,P=0.046)were independent clinical predictors of breast cancer expressing Ki-67 status.The combined feature models demonstrated superior performance over the individual feature models,and the support vector machine algorithm had the highest prediction performance in the validation set,with an area under the curve of 0.847.Conclusion The DL radiomics model based on dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI images can effectively predict the expression of Ki-67 status in breast cancer.The support vector machine algorithm combined with feature model is the best,which can help the clinical diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and prognosis evaluation.

Objective:Based on the process theory of stress effect, the mediating effect of health literacy and perceived social support between perceived control and fatigue symptom of asthmatic patients was analyzed, which provide the evidence for the formulation of intervention programs to relieve fatigue in patients.Methods:Adopting a cross-sectional survey design, from January 2019 to November 2023, asthmatic patients at The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (Feidong County People′s Hospital) were selected by convenience sampling method and investigated by the General Information Questionnaire, Fatigue Severity Scale, Perceived Control of Asthma Questionnaire, Health Literacy Management Scale, and Perceived Social Support Scale. Pearson correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between fatigue symptom, perceived control, health literacy, and perceived social support in asthma patients. A structural equation model was constructed using AMOS24.0 software and conduct mediation analysis.Results:A total of 260 questionnaires were distributed, and 241 valid questionnaires were collected. There were 110 males and 131 females aged (55.48 ± 15.03) years old. The scores of Fatigue Severity Scale, Perceived Control of Asthma Questionnaire, Health Literacy Management Scale, and Perceived Social Support Scale were (4.27 ± 1.68), (31.72 ± 8.51), (85.71 ± 19.36), (46.97 ± 11.79) points, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis showed that fatigue symptom was negatively correlated with perceived control, health literacy, and perceived social support ( r=-0.719, -0.716, -0.767, all P<0.01). The mediating model showed that perceived control had a significant direct effect on fatigue symptom ( β=-0.204, 95% CI-0.252--0.169). Moreover, perceived control also indirectly affected fatigue symptom through the independent mediating effect of health literacy ( β=-0.378, 95% CI-0.405--0.202), the independent mediating effect of perceived social support ( β=-0.227, 95% CI-0.381--0.203), and the chain mediating effect of health literacy and perceived social support ( β=-0.089, 95% CI-0.142--0.025), which accounting for 77.3% of the total effect. Conclusions:Health literacy and perceived social support play a mediating role in the correlation between perceived control and fatigue symptom, which can promote health literacy and perceived social support and thus alleviate fatigue symptom in asthmatic patients.

Objective:To explore whether perioperative oral probiotic therapy reduces infectious complications following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), aiming to obtain higher-level evidence for clinical practice.Methods:A total of 81 participants undergoing PD at the Department of Pancreatic and Metabolic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital & Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, from May 2024 to December 2024 were enrolled in this single-center, prospective, randomized controlled trial. The participants were randomly divided into a probiotic treatment group and a control group (receiving conventional treatment without probiotics) using a random number method. The primary outcomes included the incidence of postoperative infectious complications and intra-abdominal infection, and the secondary outcomes were the recovery of gastrointestinal function, postoperative hospital stay, and duration and costs of antibiotic use. The hematological indicators including inflammation and immune markers on postoperative days (POD) 1, 3, 5, and 7 were also compared between these two groups.Results:Finally 72 cases (39 males and 33 females) were analyzed, with 36 patients in the probiotic treatment group and 36 patients in the control group. Compared to the control group, the probiotic treatment group showed statistically significant reductions in the incidence of infectious complications (33.3% vs. 66.7%, P=0.029), intra-abdominal infection (27.8% vs. 58.3%, P=0.030), and incidence of delayed gastric emptying (0 vs. 16.7%, P=0.033). Also, the probiotic treatment group exhibited significantly faster recovery in postoperative bowel movements and shorter time to defecation, liquid diet, and semi-liquid diet (all P<0.05). Additionally, the probiotic treatment group had significantly shorter hospital stay, reduced duration of antibiotic use, and lower antibiotic costs (all P<0.05). Finally, the probiotic treatment group had significantly higher lymphocyte counts on POD 1 ( P<0.05) and showed a significant downward trend in inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6 on PODs 3 and 5 and C-reactive protein on POD 7 (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Perioperative application of probiotic preparations in PD may reduce the incidence of postoperative infectious complications, especially intra-abdominal infection. Additionally, it can prevent delayed gastric emptying, promote the recovery of postoperative gastrointestinal function, shorten hospital stay, and reduce the use of antibiotics. These benefits may be related to the improvement of postoperative inflammatory status.

Objective:To explore whether perioperative oral probiotic therapy reduces infectious complications following pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), aiming to obtain higher-level evidence for clinical practice.Methods:A total of 81 participants undergoing PD at the Department of Pancreatic and Metabolic Surgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital & Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, from May 2024 to December 2024 were enrolled in this single-center, prospective, randomized controlled trial. The participants were randomly divided into a probiotic treatment group and a control group (receiving conventional treatment without probiotics) using a random number method. The primary outcomes included the incidence of postoperative infectious complications and intra-abdominal infection, and the secondary outcomes were the recovery of gastrointestinal function, postoperative hospital stay, and duration and costs of antibiotic use. The hematological indicators including inflammation and immune markers on postoperative days (POD) 1, 3, 5, and 7 were also compared between these two groups.Results:Finally 72 cases (39 males and 33 females) were analyzed, with 36 patients in the probiotic treatment group and 36 patients in the control group. Compared to the control group, the probiotic treatment group showed statistically significant reductions in the incidence of infectious complications (33.3% vs. 66.7%, P=0.029), intra-abdominal infection (27.8% vs. 58.3%, P=0.030), and incidence of delayed gastric emptying (0 vs. 16.7%, P=0.033). Also, the probiotic treatment group exhibited significantly faster recovery in postoperative bowel movements and shorter time to defecation, liquid diet, and semi-liquid diet (all P<0.05). Additionally, the probiotic treatment group had significantly shorter hospital stay, reduced duration of antibiotic use, and lower antibiotic costs (all P<0.05). Finally, the probiotic treatment group had significantly higher lymphocyte counts on POD 1 ( P<0.05) and showed a significant downward trend in inflammatory markers such as interleukin-6 on PODs 3 and 5 and C-reactive protein on POD 7 (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Perioperative application of probiotic preparations in PD may reduce the incidence of postoperative infectious complications, especially intra-abdominal infection. Additionally, it can prevent delayed gastric emptying, promote the recovery of postoperative gastrointestinal function, shorten hospital stay, and reduce the use of antibiotics. These benefits may be related to the improvement of postoperative inflammatory status.

Purpose To analyze the value of a deep learning(DL)radiomics model based on dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI images in predicting the expression of Ki-67 status in breast cancer.Materials and Methods A retrospective analysis of 152 breast cancer patients confirmed by pathological results at Guangdong Women and Children Hospital,MRI images and clinical pathological data were reviewed,and based on postoperative immunohistochemistry results,the images of the high and low expression groups of Ki-67 were randomly sampled in a ratio of 8∶2 to form a training set of 122 cases and a validation set of 30 cases.Single-factor and multi-factor Logistic regression analyses of clinical data were performed to select independent predictors of breast cancer expressing Ki-67 status.The ResNet-18 model was used as the basic model for DL feature extraction.Hand-crafted radiomic features and DL features were extracted.Eight machine learning models were constructed based on clinical features,hand-crafted radiomic features,DL features,and their combinations.The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the predictive performance of the models,and the best model was determined as the output model.Results The progesterone receptor status(OR=0.764,P=0.040)and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 status(OR=1.187,P=0.046)were independent clinical predictors of breast cancer expressing Ki-67 status.The combined feature models demonstrated superior performance over the individual feature models,and the support vector machine algorithm had the highest prediction performance in the validation set,with an area under the curve of 0.847.Conclusion The DL radiomics model based on dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI images can effectively predict the expression of Ki-67 status in breast cancer.The support vector machine algorithm combined with feature model is the best,which can help the clinical diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and prognosis evaluation.

Objective:Based on the process theory of stress effect, the mediating effect of health literacy and perceived social support between perceived control and fatigue symptom of asthmatic patients was analyzed, which provide the evidence for the formulation of intervention programs to relieve fatigue in patients.Methods:Adopting a cross-sectional survey design, from January 2019 to November 2023, asthmatic patients at The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (Feidong County People′s Hospital) were selected by convenience sampling method and investigated by the General Information Questionnaire, Fatigue Severity Scale, Perceived Control of Asthma Questionnaire, Health Literacy Management Scale, and Perceived Social Support Scale. Pearson correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between fatigue symptom, perceived control, health literacy, and perceived social support in asthma patients. A structural equation model was constructed using AMOS24.0 software and conduct mediation analysis.Results:A total of 260 questionnaires were distributed, and 241 valid questionnaires were collected. There were 110 males and 131 females aged (55.48 ± 15.03) years old. The scores of Fatigue Severity Scale, Perceived Control of Asthma Questionnaire, Health Literacy Management Scale, and Perceived Social Support Scale were (4.27 ± 1.68), (31.72 ± 8.51), (85.71 ± 19.36), (46.97 ± 11.79) points, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis showed that fatigue symptom was negatively correlated with perceived control, health literacy, and perceived social support ( r=-0.719, -0.716, -0.767, all P<0.01). The mediating model showed that perceived control had a significant direct effect on fatigue symptom ( β=-0.204, 95% CI-0.252--0.169). Moreover, perceived control also indirectly affected fatigue symptom through the independent mediating effect of health literacy ( β=-0.378, 95% CI-0.405--0.202), the independent mediating effect of perceived social support ( β=-0.227, 95% CI-0.381--0.203), and the chain mediating effect of health literacy and perceived social support ( β=-0.089, 95% CI-0.142--0.025), which accounting for 77.3% of the total effect. Conclusions:Health literacy and perceived social support play a mediating role in the correlation between perceived control and fatigue symptom, which can promote health literacy and perceived social support and thus alleviate fatigue symptom in asthmatic patients.

Objective:To introduce the method of using anal fistula endoscope to treat chronic sinus tract leakage at rectal anastomosis site.Methods:We used anal fistula endoscopy to treat a patient with chronic sinus tract leakage after radical resection of rectal cancer, mainly including the following 5 steps: (1) establishing a water injection circulation system through the anus; (2) scraping off purulent coating and mucosa on the surface of the sinus tract with the brush; (3) hemostasis and removal of necrotic tissue with electrocoagulation rods; (4) filling the sinus tract with bioprotein gel; (5) compressing the sinus tract with transanal drainage tube.Results:The patient is a 70 year old male with rectal cancer. After undergoing 3D laparoscopic assisted radical resection of rectal cancer via abdominal anterior resection (Dixon's procedure) and diverting ileostomy surgery for more than 3 months, leakage of the rectal anastomosis was found through colonoscopy and anal iodine water contrast imaging .The patient started eating and flowing juice 6 hours after surgery, got out of bed 24 hours after surgery, and was discharged 48 hours after the removal of the anal canal. Three months after surgery, colonoscopy and transanal iodine hydrography showed that the sinus repair was intact. The diverting ileostomy was reduced 4 months after surgery.Conclusion:Anal fistula endoscope is safe and feasible for the treatment of chronic sinus tract anastomotic leakage in selected patients.

This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of portable hemoglobinometer (Hemocue Hb 201+ hemoglobin analyzer) in patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) and its diagnostic value for anemia. The data of venous hemoglobulin (Hb) and fingertip capillary hemoglobulin (DHb) in MHD patients from Lingnan Hospital, the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were retrospectively analyzed, and the correlation and difference between DHb and Hb and the accuracy of DHb in the diagnosis of anemia were evaluated. A total of 105 patients were included in the study. There was no significant difference between the paired DHb and Hb [(109±21) g/L vs. (108±20) g/L, t=-1.284, P=0.202]. Pearson correlation analysis showed that DHb was positively correlated with Hb ( r=0.929, P<0.001). Linear regression analysis showed that DHb and Hb met the regression equation Hb=0.88×DHb+12.23, and P<0.001. Bland-Altman analysis showed that the differences between the paired DHb and Hb was (1.0±7.8) g/L with the limit of agreement as (-14.2, 16.2) g/L. The mean percentage of the differences in Hb was 1% with limit of agreement as (-13.7%, 15.7%). A DHb of >110 g/L was 0.90 sensitive and 0.83 specific to identify patients with an Hb >110 g/L and its positive and negative predictive values were 0.84 and 0.90, respectively. It suggests that, in MHD patients, Hemocue Hb 201+ analyzer shows good accuracy, and can be used to monitor the Hb trend and serve as a screen method for those reaching target Hb.