ObjectiveTo explore the efficacy and predictive indicators of stellate ganglion block （SGB） as an adjunctive intervention for chronic subjective tinnitus and accumulate experience for the application of SGB in the clinical treatment of tinnitus. MethodsA retrospective review was conducted on the data of chronic subjective tinnitus patients who received SGB intervention， with unsatisfactory outcomes otherwise. Pure tone audiometry （PTA）， tinnitus loudness evaluation and Pittsburgh sleep quality index （PSQI） were used. The tinnitus handicap inventory （THI） scores were compared before and after SGB intervention. Correlation analysis and linear regression equations were employed to identify the potential indicators predicting the effectiveness of SGB intervention. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 24.0 software. ResultsBy April 2023， a total of 107 patients with chronic subjective tinnitus had undergone SGB intervention， including 67 male and 40 female， with a mean age of （45.32±11.40） years old and an average tinnitus history of （20.32±24.64） months ［16 （12~20）］. Only 7 patients （6.54%） quitted the intervention for personal reasons， which demonstrated good compliance with the intervention. No patients experienced adverse reactions such as infection at the injection site， hematoma， nerve injury， local anesthetic intoxication and so on， which revealed good safety. After SGB intervention， THI scores decreased to below 36 points in 77 patients and decrease by 10 points or more in 12 of the remaining patients， with a total effective rate of 89%. A paired sample t-test showed a significant difference in THI scores before and after SGB intervention （t=15.575， P<0.001）， indicating good improvement. Pearson correlation analysis suggested that pre-intervention THI scores and subjective tinnitus loudness were significantly positively correlated with the improvement level of THI scores （P<0.05）. Further stepwise linear regression analysis found that "pre-intervention THI scores" had statistical significance （P<0.001）， with a regression coefficient of 0.308， predicting a 17.4% improvement level in THI scores. ConclusionsDue to its good and safe short-term effects， SGB intervention can be used as a supplementary option for chronic subjective tinnitus when other interventions are not ideal， especially for patients with higher THI scores. However， further research is needed to clarify the long-term efficacy and underlying mechanisms， in order to establish a more solid theoretical basis for SGB intervention in the treatment of subjective tinnitus.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for pulmonary infection in patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure(ACLF),and to establish a predictive model.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for 585 ACLF patients who were admitted to Department of Infectious Diseases,The Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University,from January 2009 to September 2022,and according to the condition of pulmonary infection after admission,they were divided into infection group with 213 patients and non-infection group with 372 patients.The independent-samples t test or the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups,and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups.The clinical data of these patients were collected.Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the risk factors for pulmonary infection in ACLF patients and establish a predictive model,and the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was plotted to assess the predictive value of the model.The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was used to evaluate the degree of fitting of the model,and the ROC curve and the area under the ROC curve(AUC)were used to assess the predictive performance of the model.Results Among the 585 patients with ACLF,213 experienced pulmonary infection,with an infection rate of 36.41%.The multivariate logistic analysis showed that upper gastrointestinal bleeding(odds ratio[OR]=2.463,P=0.047),infection at other sites(OR=2.218,P=0.004),femoral vein catheterization(OR=2.520,P＜0.001),and combined use of two or more antibiotics(OR=2.969,P＜0.001)were risk factors for pulmonary infection in ACLF patients.These factors were included in the risk factor predictive model of Logit(P)=-1.869+0.901×upper gastrointestinal bleeding+0.755×infection at other sites+0.924×femoral vein catheterization+1.088×combined use of two or more antibiotics.The ROC curve analysis showed that the model had a good predictive value(Hosmer-Lemeshow χ2=3.839,P=0.698),with an AUC of 0.753(95%confidence interval:0.700-0.772).Conclusion There is a relatively high incidence rate of pulmonary infection in patients with ACLF,and upper gastrointestinal bleeding,spontaneous peritonitis,femoral vein catheterization,and combined use of two or more antibiotics are related risk factors.The model established based on these factors can effectively predict the onset of pulmonary infection in ACLF patients.

Objective To explore the clinical significance of long non-coding RNA(lncRNA)VIM-AS5 expres-sion in human breast cancer tissues and its regulatory mechanism involved in cancer cell proliferation and mi-gration.Methods The Lnc2Cancer 3.0 database was used to analyze the expression of VIM-AS5 in breast cancer tissues and its correlation with the clinical stage and survival time of breast cancer patients.RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of VIM-AS5 in breast cancer cell lines BT-549,MDA-MB-435,MDA-MB-231 and CAL-51.Plasmid with VIM-AS5 overexpression and negative control were all transfected into CAL-51 cells through liposome recorded as VIM-AS5 group and NC group,respectively.The proliferation and migration of CAL-51 cells were detected by colony formation assay and scratch healing method,respectively.Dual-lucif-erase reporter gene experiment verified the targeting relationship between VIM-AS5 and miR-500a.RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of miR-500a in CAL-51 cells.Western blot was used to detect the expression of JAK/STAT3 pathway in CAL-51 cells.Results The expression of VIM-AS5 in breast cancer tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent tissues(P＜0.01).VIM-AS5 expression was negatively correlated with the clinical stage of breast cancer patients(P＜0.01).The survival time of breast cancer patients with low VIM-AS5 expression was significantly shorter than that of breast cancer patients with high VIM-AS5 ex-pression(P＜0.01).Compared with mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10 A cells,VIM-AS5 expression was significantly reduced in breast cancer cells(P＜0.01).The counting number of colony formed in the VIM-AS5 group was significantly lower than that in the NC group(P＜0.01).The cell migration rate in the VIM-AS5 group was significantly lower than that in the NC group(P＜0.01).Dual-luciferase reporter gene experiment confirmed that miR-500a was the target gene of VIM-AS5(P＜0.01).VIM-AS5 can negatively regulate the expression of miR-500a(P＜0.01).Compared with the NC group,the expression of JAK/STAT3 pathway proteins JAK,p-STAT3,c-Myc,Bcl-2,and CDK3 in CAL-51 cells of the VIM-AS5 group were significantly decreased.Conclusions VIM-AS5 is low-expressed in breast cancer cells,and up-regulation of VIM-AS5 may inhibit the proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells CAL-51 by targeting at miR-500a/JAK/STAT3 pathway.

Objective:To analyze the clinical epidemiological characteristics and the prognostic risk factors of patients with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).Methods:A total of 2 245 HFRS patients who were admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from September 2008 to December 2021 were enrolled. Clinical epidemiological data (including gender, age, onset season, onset region, case fatality rate, et al) of HFRS patients were analyzed. The clinical epidemiological characteristics of patients with HFRS in the 2008 to 2012, 2013 to 2017, and 2018 to 2021 groups were compared. Statistical comparisons were performed using chi-square test. The Bonferroni adjusted P-value method was used for pairwise comparisons between groups, and logistic regression analysis was used to screen and evaluate the risk factors associated with the prognosis of HFRS patients. Results:The age of 2 245 HFRS patients was (42.3±15.9) years old. Most of them were male (79.24%(1 779/2 245)), and the main incidence area was Xi′an City (69.53%(1 561/2 245)). There were 132 deaths with an overall case fatality rate of 5.88%. There were 1 088 patients (48.46%) from 2008 to 2012, 647 patients (28.82%) from 2013 to 2017, and 510 patients (22.72%) from 2018 to 2021, with a mortality rate of 7.17%(78/1 088), 5.10%(33/647) and 4.12%(21/510), respectively. From 2008 to 2021, both the number of HFRS cases and the case fatality rate had shown a fluctuating downward trend. There were significant differences in case fatality rate, age distribution, onset season, and onset region among patients in the different year groups ( χ2=6.84, 49.22, 83.47 and 19.29, respectively, all P<0.05). The results of pairwise comparisons showed that the proportion of patients aged >60 years in the 2018 to 2021 group (23.33%(119/510)) was higher than those in the 2008 to 2012 group (12.13%(132/1 088)) and the 2013 to 2017 group (12.36%(80/647)), and the differences were statistically significant (both P<0.05). The proportions of patients at large peak (October to December) were 62.35%(318/510) in the 2018 to 2021 group and 56.26%(364/647) in the 2013 to 2017 group, which were both lower than that in the 2008 to 2012 group (75.18%(818/1 088)), and the differences were both statistically significant (both P<0.05). The case fatality rate of patients aged >60 years was 9.67%(32/331), which was higher than those of patients aged <30 years (2.86%(16/559)) and patients aged 30 to 60 years (6.20%(84/1 355)), with statistically significant differences (both P<0.05). Univariate analysis showed that age 30 to 60 years, age >60 years, smoking, complicated with hypertension, hypotensive shock and hypoxemia were significantly correlated with the prognosis of HFRS patients (odds ratio ( OR)=2.243, 3.632, 1.484, 3.532, 79.422 and 143.955, respectively, all P<0.05). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that complicated with hypertension ( OR=2.467, P=0.004), hypotensive shock ( OR=11.658, P=0.001), and hypoxemia ( OR=67.767, P<0.001) were the independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of HFRS patients. Conclusions:The prevalence of HFRS has shown new changing characteristics from 2008 to 2021. The numbers of HFRS patients and the case fatality rates show a downward trend, and the proportion of HFRS patients aged >60 years increases. Complicated with hypertension, hypotensive shock and development with hypoxemia are the independent risk factors for the prognosis of HFRS.

Objective:To investigate the dynamic changes of routine laboratory parameters during the course of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and estimate the predictive value for the severity of the disease.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted, which enrolled 394 HFRS patients admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University (374 cases) and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University (20 cases) from January 2019 to January 2022. The patients were divided into mild (mild and moderate) and severe (severe and critical) groups.The basic information, personal history, past history, treatment, complications and other clinical data of patients were collected and the results of the laboratory examinations in the morning at day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 25 of hospitalization and before discharge were recorded. The dynamic changes of the patients′ routine laboratory indicators and the dynamic predictive values of each indicator for severe condition were analyzed. Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test were used for comparison, and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was used for predictive value evaluation. Results:The age of 212 patients in the mild group was 38(27, 61) years, and that of 182 patients in the severe group was 49(32, 64) years, the difference was statistically significant ( Z=-2.24, P=0.025). The incidences of acute pancreatitis, acute respiratory distress syndrome, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, the utilization rates of blood purification and mechanical ventilation in the severe group were 6.0%(11/182), 12.6%(23/182), 19.8%(36/182), 89.6%(163/182) and 22.5%(41/182), respectively, and those in the mild group were 0(0/212), 0(0/212), 0(0/212), 15.6%(33/212) and 0.5%(1/212) respectively, and the differences were all statistically significant ( χ2=13.18, 28.45, 46.15, 214.48 and 50.02, respectively, all P<0.05). The levels of white blood cell count, lymphocyte count, monocyte count and neutrophil count were all increased rapidly after onset and peaked at days 4 to 6 of illness, with the counts of 14.2(9.7, 20.7)×10 9/L, 4.2(2.3, 6.2)×10 9/L, 1.5 (0.8, 3.3)×10 9/L and 8.3(4.3, 11.4)×10 9/L, respectively. Aspartate aminotransferase peaked (102(66, 178) U/L) within three days after onset and then decreased rapidly, returned to normal level by day 12. Blood urea nitrogen and creatinine both increased steadily after onset, peaked at day 9 to 10, with the levels of 13.2(7.7, 19.1) mmol/L and 255.4(122.9, 400.9) μmol/L, respectively. Prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen degradation products and D-dimer levels at day 3 after onset were 12.7(12.0, 13.2) s, 38.7(33.5, 51.9) s, 12.6(6.9, 32.0) mg/L and 4.9(2.2, 13.7) mg/L, respectively.Platelet count at day 4, neutrophil count at day 5, creatinine at day 11 and blood urea nitrogen at day 14 after onset had decent predictive values for estimating severity, of which the area under curve (AUC) values were 0.801(95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.727 to 0.875), 0.824(95% CI 0.770 to 0.878), 0.862(95% CI 0.805 to 0.919) and 0.810(95% CI 0.722 to 0.897), respectively. Conclusions:Routine blood count, liver function and coagulation are important reference indicators for early warning of severe disease of HFRS, while with the progress of the disease, renal function indicators are effective in differentiating the severity of the disease. The platelet count at day 4, neutrophil count at day 5, creatinine at day 11 and blood urea nitrogen at day 14 after onset have predictive values for severe HFRS.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and risk factors for severe disease of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in underage patients, and to construct the severe disease risk model.Methods:A total of 170 HFRS patients (<18 years old) from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University (153 cases) and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University (17 cases) from January 2009 to December 2021 were included. According to the severity of the disease, the patients were divided into mild and severe groups. Baseline demographic data, symptoms, signs, laboratory examination on admission and prognosis were analyzed between the two groups. Statistical comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test.Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the independent risk factors of patients with severe disease, and the severe disease risk model was built.The receiver operator characteristic curve was used to analyze the value of the risk model in predicting severity of disease. Results:Among the 170 underage patients, 132 (77.6%) were males, aged (14.9±3.1) years, including 124 cases in mild group and 46 cases in severe group. One hundred and sixty-nine cases (99.4%) had fever, 119 cases (70.0%) had headache, 106 cases (62.4%) had lumbago, 158 cases (92.9%) had skin and mucous congestion, and 101 cases (59.4%) had nausea and vomiting. Renal percussive pain was found in 139(81.8%) patients. The incidence of nausea and vomiting and bleeding of skin and mucosa in the severe group were 71.7%(33/46) and 67.4%(31/46), respectively, which were both higher than those in the mild group (54.8%(68/124) and 44.4%(55/124), respectively), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=3.97 and 7.12, respectively, both P<0.05). There were significant differences in platelet count, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), serum creatinine (SCr), aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, leukocyte count, total bilirubin and albumin levels between the two groups ( Z=-4.14, -4.04, -4.87, -3.90, -4.07, -2.60, -2.78 and t=2.50, respectively, all P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that chemosis (odds ratio ( OR)=8.035, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 2.946 to 21.916), SCr ( OR=1.010, 95% CI 1.006 to 1.015) and APTT ( OR=1.049, 95% CI 1.003 to 1.098) were the independent risk factors for severe HFRS in the underage patients. The risk model was constructed as: Logit(P)=-10.323+ 2.084×chemosis (no=0, grade Ⅰ=1, grade Ⅱ=2, grade Ⅲ=3)+ 0.010×SCr (μmol/L)+ 0.048×APTT (s). The area under the curve to predict severity of disease in underage HFRS patients was 0.868, with an optimal cut-off value of -4.39, with a sensitivity of 73.90% and a specificity of 91.10%. According to the internal verification of the data of the study based on the severe disease risk model, 34 out of 46 patients with severe disease were severe (sensitivity, 73.91%), 113 out of 124 patients with mild disease were mild (specificity, 91.13%). Conclusions:The clinical manifestations of the underage HFRS patients are not typical.The main manifestations are fever, headache and lumbago, nausea and vomiting, and the incidences of skin and mucous congestion and renal percussive pain are high.Chemosis, SCr and APTT are independent risk factors for severe disease in underage patients with HFRS. The severe disease risk model could effectively predict the severity of disease.

Objective:To study the expressions of heat shock protein (HSP) 90α and HSP90β in colorectal cancer and paracancer tissues, and to investigate the relationships between HSP90α, HSP90β and clinicopathological features of colorectal cancer patients, and to analyze their correlation.Methods:The tumor tissues and paracancer tissues of 117 patients with colorectal cancer were selected from the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Third Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University from January 2016 to December 2020. The expression levels of HSP90α and HSP90β were detected by immunohistochemistry, and the relationships between the two proteins and clinicopathological features and the correlation of their expressions were analyzed.Results:The positive expression rates of HSP90α in colorectal cancer tissues and paracancer tissues were 74.4% (87/117) and 12.0% (14/117) , and there was a statistically significant difference ( χ2=92.83, P<0.001) . The positive expression rate of HSP90β in colorectal cancer tissues and paracancer tissues was 61.5% (72/117) and 10.3% (12/117) , and there was a statistically significant difference ( χ2=66.86, P<0.001) . The expression of HSP90α was correlated with tumor location ( χ2=8.67, P=0.003) , vascular invasion ( χ2=8.68, P=0.003) , lymph node metastasis ( χ2=8.52, P=0.004) , T stage ( χ2=21.07, P<0.001) , N stage ( χ2=11.94, P=0.003) , M stage ( χ2=5.37, P=0.020) , pathological stage ( χ2=25.64, P<0.001) . The expression of HSP90β was correlated with lymph node metastasis ( χ2=4.03, P=0.045) , T stage ( χ2=11.09, P=0.007) , N stage ( χ2=6.56, P=0.038) , M stage ( χ2=12.43, P<0.001) , pathological stage ( χ2=17.34, P=0.001) . There was a positive correlation between the expressions of the two proteins in colorectal cancer tissues ( r=0.42, P<0.001) . Conclusion:The expressions of HSP90α and HSP90β in colorectal cancer tissues are significantly higher than those in paracancer tissues, and they are related to lymph node metastasis and pathological stage. There is a positive correlation between the two proteins, which may be involved in the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer and are expected to become new tumor markers.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is spread primary via respiratory droplets and infects the lungs. Currently widely used cell lines and animals are unable to accurately mimic human physiological conditions because of the abnormal status of cell lines (transformed or cancer cells) and species differences between animals and humans. Organoids are stem cell-derived self-organized three-dimensional culture in vitro and model the physiological conditions of natural organs. Here we showed that SARS-CoV-2 infected and extensively replicated in human embryonic stem cells (hESCs)-derived lung organoids, including airway and alveolar organoids which covered the complete infection and spread route for SARS-CoV-2 within lungs. The infected cells were ciliated, club, and alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells, which were sequentially located from the proximal to the distal airway and terminal alveoli, respectively. Additionally, RNA-seq revealed early cell response to virus infection including an unexpected downregulation of the metabolic processes, especially lipid metabolism, in addition to the well-known upregulation of immune response. Further, Remdesivir and a human neutralizing antibody potently inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in lung organoids. Therefore, human lung organoids can serve as a pathophysiological model to investigate the underlying mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection and to discover and test therapeutic drugs for COVID-19.
Adenosine Monophosphate/therapeutic use* ; Alanine/therapeutic use* ; Alveolar Epithelial Cells/virology* ; Antibodies, Neutralizing/therapeutic use* ; COVID-19/virology* ; Down-Regulation ; Drug Discovery ; Human Embryonic Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Humans ; Immunity ; Lipid Metabolism ; Lung/virology* ; RNA, Viral/metabolism* ; SARS-CoV-2/physiology* ; Virus Replication/drug effects*

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pregnant women with hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS).Methods:A total of 11 pregnant women with HFRS admitted to The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University (four cases), The Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University (four cases), The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University (one case) and Central Hospital of Xianyang City (two cases) between November 2009 and February 2019 were included as the study group, and 24 age-matched non-pregnant women with HFRS were selected as the control group. The age, complications, clinical classification and laboratory indexes of the two groups were analyzed retrospectively, and the clinical outcomes of pregnant women and their fetuses in the study group were followed up. The data between two groups were compared using Mann-Whitney U test or chi-square test. Results:Patients in the study and control groups were 29 (22, 33) and 32 (24, 37) years old, respectively. Seven of 11 patients in study group were severe and critical cases, which was significantly higher than that in the control group (16.7%(4/24), χ2=7.722, P=0.015). In the study group, 10 patients had hypervolemic syndrome, 10 patients had pulmonary edema and six patients had overlapping hypotension shock phase and oliguria phase, which were all higher than those in the control group ((2/24, 8.3%), (2/24, 8.3%) and (2/24, 8.3%), respectively; χ2=22.828, 22.828 and 9.135, respectively, all P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the pregnant patients in study group had a higher urea nitrogen maximum and serum creatinine maximum, and the differences were both statistically significant ( Z=-2.453 and -2.336, respectively, both P<0.05), while they had a lower serum albumin minimum, hemoglobin maximum and hemoglobin minimum, and the differences were all statistically significant ( Z=-3.742, -3.350 and -4.034, respectively, all P<0.01). All pregnant women with HFRS recovered. Nine pregnant women gave birth to nine healthy infants. All of them received breastfeeding and the feeding duration were more than six months. No abnormal growth and development were found during an average follow-up of three years. Conclusions:Pregnancy can aggravate the severity of HFRS, and pregnant women have higher risk of the multiple stages overlap and the complications such as hypervolemic syndrome and acute pulmonary edema. After recovery from HFRS, mother may carry to full-term pregnancy.

The infectious disease outpatient service as a frontier is an important fulcrum of public health service. Its standardized construction is an important support for ensuring medical safety, reducing nosocomial infections, and controlling the epidemic of infectious diseases. The sub-specialty outpatient service of infection diseases includes fever outpatient service, intestinal outpatient service, tuberculosis outpatient service, AIDS outpatient service, liver disease outpatient service, etc. According to the characteristics of each subspecialty outpatient service and combining with clinical practice, we elaborated the setting norms of subspecialty outpatient service for common infectious diseases from the perspective of planning and design, building layout, equipment and facilities configuration, staffing, daily management and demonstration.