Objective To explore the predictive value of serum high-mobility group box protein B1(HMGB1)and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products(sRAGE)in the occurrence and short-term prognosis of sepsis-associated encephalopathy(SAE).Methods Clinical data of 228 patients with sepsis were retrospectively analyzed.According to the presence of SAE,patients were divided into the SAE group(96 cases)and the non-SAE group(132 cases).General clinical data,laboratory test results,Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ(APACHEⅡ)scores,Sequential Organ Failure Assessment(SOFA)scores and serum HMGB1 and sRAGE levels were compared between the two groups.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors influencing SAE occurrence.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were plotted to evaluate the predictive ability of HMGB1,sRAGE and the HMGB1/sRAGE ratio to predict the occurrence and short-term prognosis of SAE.Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare the 28-day mortality rates of SAE patients with different HMGB1 and sRAGE expression levels.Results Compared to the non-SAE group,patients in the SAE group exhibited elevated serum HMGB1 levels,decreased sRAGE levels and an increased HMGB1/sRAGE ratio(P＜0.05).The areas under the curve(AUC)for predicting SAE using HMGB1,sRAGE and the HMGB1/sRAGE ratio were 0.826(95%CI:0.770-0.872),0.682(95%CI:0.617-0.742)and 0.895(95%CI:0.848-0.932),respectively,indicating predictive value.Among the 96 SAE patients,52(54.2%)died within 28 days.There were no statistically significant differences in HMGB1,sRAGE and the HMGB1/sRAGE ratio between surviving and deceased patients(P＞0.05).Similarly,there were no significant differences in 28-day mortality rates between SAE patients with different HMGB1 or sRAGE expression levels.Conclusion Elevated serum HMGB1 and reduced sRAGE are of significant value in the auxiliary diagnosis of SAE,but have limited clinical predictive value for short-term prognosis.

Objective To quantitatively evaluate the structure and content of the long-term care insurance(LTCI)policy in China's deeply aging areas.Methods Using the Policy Modeling Consistency(PMC)index model indicator design method,a LTCI policy evalua-tion index system was constructed,consisting of nine primary indicators and 34 secondary indicators.A total of 123 provincial-level LTCI policies issued in deeply aging regions of China between June 1,2014,and October 1,2024 were analyzed.High-frequency word extraction was performed using ROSTCM 6.0,and a social network diagram of LTCI policies was created.The policy structure and content were quantitatively evaluated and ana-lyzed based on the established policy evaluation index system.Results The main content of LTCI policies in deeply aging areas of China covered services,institutions and assessment.The highest policy score was 7.28,and the lowest was 2.20,with an average score of 5.00.There were 25 perfect policies,63 excellent policies,28 good policies and seven qualified policies.In the dimension of policy content,the indexes of five primary indicators of policy evaluation,policy target groups,policy nature,policy perspective and policy tools were 0.60 or more;while the indexes of four primary indicators of policy content,incentives and constraints,policy timeliness,and policy level were 0.50 or less.Conclusion LTCI policies issued in China's deeply aging areas provide comprehensive coverage in aspects such as poli-cy evaluation,policy target groups and policy nature,and need to be improved in policy tool selection and the construction of incentive and constraint mechanisms.

Objective To quantitatively evaluate the structure and content of the long-term care insurance(LTCI)policy in China's deeply aging areas.Methods Using the Policy Modeling Consistency(PMC)index model indicator design method,a LTCI policy evalua-tion index system was constructed,consisting of nine primary indicators and 34 secondary indicators.A total of 123 provincial-level LTCI policies issued in deeply aging regions of China between June 1,2014,and October 1,2024 were analyzed.High-frequency word extraction was performed using ROSTCM 6.0,and a social network diagram of LTCI policies was created.The policy structure and content were quantitatively evaluated and ana-lyzed based on the established policy evaluation index system.Results The main content of LTCI policies in deeply aging areas of China covered services,institutions and assessment.The highest policy score was 7.28,and the lowest was 2.20,with an average score of 5.00.There were 25 perfect policies,63 excellent policies,28 good policies and seven qualified policies.In the dimension of policy content,the indexes of five primary indicators of policy evaluation,policy target groups,policy nature,policy perspective and policy tools were 0.60 or more;while the indexes of four primary indicators of policy content,incentives and constraints,policy timeliness,and policy level were 0.50 or less.Conclusion LTCI policies issued in China's deeply aging areas provide comprehensive coverage in aspects such as poli-cy evaluation,policy target groups and policy nature,and need to be improved in policy tool selection and the construction of incentive and constraint mechanisms.

Objective To explore the predictive value of serum high-mobility group box protein B1(HMGB1)and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products(sRAGE)in the occurrence and short-term prognosis of sepsis-associated encephalopathy(SAE).Methods Clinical data of 228 patients with sepsis were retrospectively analyzed.According to the presence of SAE,patients were divided into the SAE group(96 cases)and the non-SAE group(132 cases).General clinical data,laboratory test results,Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ(APACHEⅡ)scores,Sequential Organ Failure Assessment(SOFA)scores and serum HMGB1 and sRAGE levels were compared between the two groups.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors influencing SAE occurrence.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were plotted to evaluate the predictive ability of HMGB1,sRAGE and the HMGB1/sRAGE ratio to predict the occurrence and short-term prognosis of SAE.Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to compare the 28-day mortality rates of SAE patients with different HMGB1 and sRAGE expression levels.Results Compared to the non-SAE group,patients in the SAE group exhibited elevated serum HMGB1 levels,decreased sRAGE levels and an increased HMGB1/sRAGE ratio(P＜0.05).The areas under the curve(AUC)for predicting SAE using HMGB1,sRAGE and the HMGB1/sRAGE ratio were 0.826(95%CI:0.770-0.872),0.682(95%CI:0.617-0.742)and 0.895(95%CI:0.848-0.932),respectively,indicating predictive value.Among the 96 SAE patients,52(54.2%)died within 28 days.There were no statistically significant differences in HMGB1,sRAGE and the HMGB1/sRAGE ratio between surviving and deceased patients(P＞0.05).Similarly,there were no significant differences in 28-day mortality rates between SAE patients with different HMGB1 or sRAGE expression levels.Conclusion Elevated serum HMGB1 and reduced sRAGE are of significant value in the auxiliary diagnosis of SAE,but have limited clinical predictive value for short-term prognosis.

Chronic hepatitis B virus(HBV)infection remains a major public health challenge in China,affecting over 70 million people and posing great challenges to the prevention and control of the disease.At present,both the government and sectors of the society are making efforts to achieve the goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.Mother-to-child transmission is the main route of transmission of HBV,and therefore,blocking the mother-to-child transmission of HBV is the key link in eliminating viral hepatitis.At present,several critical issues still remain unresolved,including the long-term safety of tenofovir alafenamide fumarate during pregnancy,the safety of antiviral therapy in early pregnancy,the effectiveness of immunoglobulin-free strategy,and the risk of HBV transmission through germ cells.Addressing these challenges is important for promoting the blocking of the mother-to-child transmission of HBV and accelerating the progress toward the 2030 goals.

Objective:To analyze clinical characteristics and high-frequency ultrasound features of localized scleroderma, and to construct and validate a non-invasive prediction model for staging of skin lesions based on the high-frequency ultrasound features.Methods:Patients with localized scleroderma were retrospectively collected from the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from February 1, 2021 to February 28, 2023, and clinical data as well as high-frequency ultrasound and pathologic features of 85 lesions from these patients were analyzed. Lesions were divided into modeling cohort and validation cohort according to the chronological order of patient enrollment. The univariate analysis and multivariable logistic regression models were used to analyze the independent influential factors in the staging of localized scleroderma lesions in the modeling cohort, construct the regression equation, and to build a nomogram prediction model. The Bootstrap validation method was used for internal validation, and the predictive performance of the nomogram model in the modeling cohort and validation cohort was further evaluated by the calibration curve and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:In the modeling cohort, 60 patients with localized scleroderma, including 16 males and 44 females, were enrolled, with the age [ M ( Q1, Q3) ] being 22.0 (10.0, 39.2) years, and there were 28 lesions in the oedematous phase and 32 lesions in the fibrotic and atrophic phase; in the validation cohort, 25 patients with localized scleroderma, including 8 males and 17 females, were enrolled, with the age being 18.0 (7.0, 30.0) years, and there were 9 lesions in the oedematous phase and 16 lesions in the fibrotic and atrophic phase. Univariate analysis in the modeling cohort showed no significant differences in the age and gender of patients or the location of lesions between the oedematous phase group and the fibrotic and atrophic phase group (all P > 0.05) ; compared with the oedematous phase group, the fibrotic and atrophic phase group showed an increased proportion of patients with disease duration ≥ 2 years (20/32 cases vs. 10/28 cases, χ2 = 4.29, P = 0.038), decreased thicknesses of the subcutaneous fat layer in skin lesions (1.4 [0.0, 26.0] mm vs. 1.8 [0.1, 14.3] mm, Z = -2.14, P = 0.032), increased decrements in the subcutaneous fat layer thickness in the lesional sites compared with non-lesional control sites (1.8 [0.5, 11.0] vs. 0.3 [-1.9, 8.0] mm, Z = -4.72, P < 0.001), increased ratios of the lesional elasticity values to control elasticity values (2.9 [1.8, 6.9] vs. 1.8 [1.1, 5.9], Z = -4.34, P < 0.001), and increased ultrasound-based lesional activity scores (5.0 [3.0, 8.0] points vs. 3.0 [0.0, 5.0] points, Z = -4.76, P < 0.001). Multivariable logistic stepwise regression analysis showed that the disease duration ≥ 2 years ( P = 0.032), increased ratios of the lesional elasticity values to control elasticity values ( P = 0.019), increased ultrasound-based lesional activity scores ( P = 0.013), and increased decrements in the subcutaneous fat layer thickness in the lesions compared with the controls ( P = 0.013) helped to confirm localized scleroderma lesions in the fibrotic and atrophic phase. Based on the results of regression analysis, a total of 4 factors were included in the nomogram prediction model, including the disease duration, the decrement in the subcutaneous fat layer thickness in lesions compared with controls, the ratio of the lesional elasticity values to control elasticity values, and the ultrasound-based lesional activity score; additionally, the constructed logistic regression model formula for predicting the probability (p) of skin lesions in fibrotic and atrophic phase was "ln (p/[1 - p]) = -9.595 + 2.204 × the disease duration + 0.784 × the decrement in the subcutaneous fat layer thickness in the lesions compared with the controls (mm) + 0.887 × the ratio of the lesional elasticity values to control elasticity values + 1.374 × the ultrasound-based lesional activity score". The calibration curve showed a good predictive performance of the model through the Bootstrap validation method, and the ROC curve demonstrated good discrimination and accuracy (modeling cohort: area under the curve = 0.936, 95% CI: 0.879 - 0.994; validation cohort: area under the curve = 0.889, 95% CI: 0.748 - 1.000) . Conclusions:High-frequency ultrasound could provide essential details for staging the localized scleroderma lesions. Based on the disease duration, subcutaneous fat layer thickness, skin elasticity values, and ultrasound-based lesional activity scores, the constructed prediction model could predict the stages of localized scleroderma lesions with excellent discrimination, accuracy, and predictive performance.

Early recognition and treatment for early warning electrocardiogram (ECG) of sudden death are very important to prevent and treat malignant arrhythmia and sudden death. Previous studies have found that R-on-T and T wave alternation, and QT interval prolongation are closely related to malignant arrhythmia or sudden death, which are included in the critical value of ECG.By analyzing the ECG characteristics of 4 patients with sudden death, we found that although the causes of the patients were different, there were transient prolongation of QT interval after premature contraction in 12 lead ECG, followed by malignant arrhythmia or sudden death. Thus, we thought that the transient prolongation of QT interval after premature contraction had a high value for warning malignant arrhythmia or sudden death. This phenomenon should be paid enough attention to reduce the risk of sudden death.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac/diagnosis* ; Death, Sudden ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Long QT Syndrome/diagnosis*

Objective:To summarize clinical characteristics of and treatment experience with patients with critical illnesses in a dermatological ward.Methods:All patients with serious or life-threatening conditions, who were hospitalized at the dermatological ward of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from July 9, 2011 to December 31, 2020, were collected, and their clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic characteristics, disease types and proportions, main complications, causes of serious or life-threatening conditions, important treatment measures and outcomes were summarized, and causes of death were also analyzed and discussed.Results:A total of 1 057 patients with critical illnesses were collected, with a male-to-female ratio of 1∶1.11, and 64.81% of them aged 18 to 65 years. The types of diseases mainly included drug eruptions (332 cases) , connective tissue diseases (226 cases) , bullous skin diseases (104 cases) , psoriasis (57 cases) , erythroderma (45 cases) , infectious skin diseases (67 cases) , etc. Among them, psoriasis (39 cases) and erythroderma (32 cases) mostly occurred in males, and connective tissue diseases (168 cases) mostly occurred in females. Common complications mainly involved infections, important organ damage or dysfunction, hypoalbuminemia, and fluid, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances. A total of 94 patients were diagnosed with life-threatening conditions, which were found to be mainly caused by primary skin diseases, hematologic abnormalities, respiratory failure, nervous system abnormalities, renal failure, sepsis, fluid, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances, etc. During the management of critical illnesses, 43 patients were treated with high-dose glucocorticoid pulse therapy, 264 were treated with gamma-globulin pulse therapy, 355 were transfused with other blood products, and 34 received special therapies such as hemoperfusion/immunoadsorption therapy, plasma exchange, dialysis, artificial liver support therapy; 42 patients were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) , 12 were transferred to the department of surgery for operations, and 12 were transferred to the department of obstetrics and gynecology for delivery or induction of labor. After treatment, 989 patients (93.57%) achieved improvement and were discharged. A total of 14 patients (1.32%) died, of whom 7 died of secondary sepsis, 2 died of severe pulmonary infections, 2 died of asphyxia caused by respiratory mucosa shedding-induced airway obstruction, the other 3 died of gastrointestinal hemorrhage, cerebral hemorrhage and neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus, respectively.Conclusions:Critical cases in the dermatological ward mainly suffered from serious skin diseases such as severe drug eruptions, connective tissue diseases and bullous skin diseases, as well as complications such as severe underlying diseases, severe organ dysfunction, sepsis or severe fluid, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances. In terms of treatment, it is of critical significance to make a clear diagnosis and assess the severity of disease as early as possible, monitor and prevent possible complications, and to consult with specialists in relevant disciplines in time.

Synthetic polymer hydrogel nanoparticles(NPs)were developed to function as abiotic affinity reagents for fibrinogen.These NPs were made using both temperature-sensitive N-isopropyl acrylamide(NIPAm)and L-amino acid monomers.Five kinds of L-amino acids were acryloylated to obtain functional mono-mers:L-phenylalanine(Phe)and L-leucine(Leu)with hydrophobic side chains,L-glutamic acid(Glu)with negative charges,and L-lysine(Lys)and L-arginine(Arg)with positive charges.After incubating the NPs with fibrinogen,y-globulin,and human serum albumin(HSA)respectively,the NPs that incorporated N-acryloyl-Arg monomers(AArg@NPs)showed the strongest and most specific binding affinity to fibrin-ogen,when compared with y-globulin and HSA.Additionally,the fibrinogen-AArg binding model had the best docking scores,and this may be due to the interaction of positively charged AArg@NPs and the negatively charged fibrinogen D domain and the hydrophobic interaction between them.The specific adsorption of AArg@NPs to fibrinogen was also confirmed by the immunoprecipitation assay,as the AArg@NPs selectively trapped the fibrinogen from a human plasma protein mixture.AArg@NPs had a strong selectivity for,and specificity to,fibrinogen and may be developed as a potential human fibrinogen-specific affinity reagent.

Objective To explore the baseline echocardiographic characteristics and the time course and recovery of left ventricular systolic function in patients with tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy. Methods Fif-teen patients received radiofrequency cather ablation for tachycardiarrhymias from November 2012 to April 2017 were screened in this study.All 15 patients were examined by intracardiac electrophysiology and treated by RFCA under the guidance of three dimensional mapping system.All Patients received transthoracic echocardiography for 3-month follow-up.Levels of NT-proBNP before and after the ablation were compared. Results Successful abla-tion was performed in 14 of 15 patients. There was significant improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction (35.33 ± 6.11 vs. 57.93 ± 9.38%;P < 0.001). The LVEDD after treatment had significant differences(55.47 ± 8.06 vs.49.87 ± 8.99 P<0.001)after 3-month follow-up;the LAD after treatment decreased significantly(38.87 ± 3.27 mm vs. 35.20 ± 2.46;P < 0.001)and the levels of NT-proBNP decreased after ablation from 3 474.07 ± 3 400.59 pg/mL to 497.33 ± 437.84 pg/mL(P = 0.005). Conclusions Restoration of left ventricular systolic func-tion and reversal of LV remodeling can be achieved with successful elimination of tachycardia in the majority of pa-tients.NT-proBNP level elevates in subjects with TCM and decreases sharply after ablation.