Several types of arthritis share the common feature that the generation of inflammatory mediators leads to joint cartilage degradation. However, the shared mechanism is largely unknown. H2BK120ub1 was reportedly involved in various inflammatory diseases but its role in the shared mechanism in inflammatory joint conditions remains elusive. The present study demonstrated that levels of cartilage degradation, H2BK120ub1, and its regulator WW domain-containing adapter protein with coiled-coil (WAC) were increased in cartilage in human rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) patients as well as in experimental RA and OA mice. By regulating H2BK120ub1 and H3K27me3, WAC regulated the secretion of inflammatory and cartilage-degrading factors. WAC influenced the level of H3K27me3 by regulating nuclear entry of the H3K27 demethylase KDM6B, and acted as a key factor of the crosstalk between H2BK120ub1 and H3K27me3. The cartilage-specific knockout of WAC demonstrated the ability to alleviate cartilage degradation in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and collagenase-induced osteoarthritis (CIOA) mice. Through molecular docking and dynamic simulation, doxercalciferol was found to inhibit WAC and the development of cartilage degradation in the CIA and CIOA models. Our study demonstrated that WAC is a key factor of cartilage degradation in arthritis, and targeting WAC by doxercalciferol could be a viable therapeutic strategy for treating cartilage destruction in several types of arthritis.

Objective To compare the cost-utility of tislelizumab and sorafenib in the first-line treatment of advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma,and to provide a reference for the selection of treatment regimens from the perspective of pharmacoeconomics.Methods A partitioned survival model was used to simulate the survival status of patients using tislelizumab or sorafenib within 10 years,and the cost and health output were calculated respectively to obtain the incremental cost-utility ratio(ICUR).The 3 times China's per capita gross domestic product(GDP)in 2022 was taken as the threshold for willingness to pay(WTP).Results During the simulation period,the ICER of tislelizumab versus sorafenib was 280 691.4 yuan/quality-adjusted life year(QALY),which was significantly higher than that of the sorafenib group,which had obvious economic performance.Univariate sensitivity analysis showed that the incidence of grade 3 or above adverse reactions in the tislelizumab group,the cost of tislelizumab,and the incidence of grade 3 or higher adverse reactions in the sorafenib group were important factors affecting ICUR.Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that tislelizumab had a significant cost-utility advantage when WTP was 3 times GDP,with an economic probability of 81.4％,and the results were robust.Conclusion For the first-line treatment of advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma,tislelizumab has a significant cost-utility advantage over sorafenib.

Objective:To observe the effects of brain-computer interface(BCI)combined with GEO system? lower limb robot(G-EO)on the balance and walking function in stroke patients. Method:Forty stroke patients were recruited from Wuxi central rehabilitation hospital,randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group,with 20 cases in each group.The patients in the control group un-derwent lower limb active-passive bicycle training and G-EO training on the basis of conventional rehabilitation treatment.The patients in the experimental group underwent BCI training and G-EO training on the basis of conventional rehabilitation treatment.Patients in both groups were assessed using the Fugl-Meyer lower limb motor function scale(FMA-LE),the Berg balance scale(BBS),the tecnobody balance assessment system and the Gait Watch 3D gait analyzer before treatments and after 4 weeks of treatments. Result:Before treatment,there were no significant differences between the control group and the experimental group(P＞0.05).After 4 weeks of treatment,the FMA-LE,BBS,elliptical area of pressure center motion,length of the pressure center trajectory,stability limit,cadence,gait cycle,stride,stride speed,step length symmetry ratio and maximum ankle dorsiflexion in both groups were significantly better than before treatment(P＜0.05).Compared with the control group,the FMA-LE,BBS,elliptical area of pressure center motion,length of the pressure center trajectory,stability limit,cadence,gait cycle,stride,stride speed of the experi-mental group were significantly improved(P＜0.05). Conclusion:The 4-weeks BCI combined with G-EO training can effectively improve the lower limb move-ment function,the balance and the walking ability of stroke patients,demonstrating immediate effects.

Objective:To observe the effects of the modified Wuqinxi on balance function in stroke patients,and to ex-plore the correlations among three balance assessment methods which are the sacral marker method,the Pro-Kin system,and the Berg balance scale(BBS). Method:Fifty-six patients with stroke were randomly divided into a control group and an experimental group,with 28 patients in each.The control group received conventional physiotherapy,while the experimental group received both conventional physiotherapy and the modified Wuqinxi for four weeks.Balance was assessed us-ing the BBS,three-dimensional motion analysis system via sacral marker method,and the Pro-Kin balance de-vice before and after treatment.Trunk control was evaluated using the Trunk Impairment Scale(TIS). Result:①Pre-and post-intervention comparisons showed significant improvements in BBS scores,the sway path of the sacral markers,which is the center of gravity during standing on two feet and one foot,the move-ment track length of the pressure center,and the area of motion ellipse in the seated position,the stability lim-it,and the TIS scores were significantly improved in both groups(P＜0.05).②Inter-group comparisons post-treatment revealed that the experimental group showed significant improvements in BBS scores,the sway path of the center of gravity standing on two feet and one foot,the movement track length of pressure center,and the area of motion ellipse in the seated position,and the TIS scores compared to the control group(P＜0.05).Compared with the control group,the difference of BBS,the difference of the sway path of the center of gravity standing on two feet and one foot,the difference of the area of motion ellipse in the seated posi-tion,and the difference of the stability limit were significantly improved in the two groups at post-intervention(P＜0.05).③Before the intervention,the sway path of the center of gravity,the movement track length of the pressure center,and the area of motion ellipse were negatively correlated with the BBS scores(r=-0.324--0.562,P＜0.05).The sway path of the center of gravity was positively correlated with the movement track length of pressure center and the area of motion ellipse(r=0.547-0.809,P＜0.01). Conclusion:Trunk control,postural stability,and balance function can be improved effectively by the modi-fied Wuqinxi in stroke patients.There are certain correlations among the sacral marker method,the Pro-Kin system,and the BBS in terms of balance function assessment,all of which can objectively reflect the balance function of stroke patients.The sacral marker method based on three-dimensional motion analysis can detect the balance of stroke patients in different states more objectively therefore is worthy to be recommended and applicated clinically.

The purpose of this study was to identify the tick species native to Xindi Township,Yumin County,Xinjiang,China.Preliminary morphological identification of parasitic ticks collected from animals in the area was conducted with an ultra-depth of field three-dimensional VHX 600 digital stereo microscope.Total DNA of the ticks was extracted,amplified by PCR based on the COI and ITS2 gene loci,and the posi-tive PCR products were sequenced.The sequence were a-ligned with reference sequences from the NCBI database were aligned with the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool.A genet-ic phylogenetic tree was generated with the neighbor-joining method of MEGA 7.0 software to determine the evolutionary biological characteristics of ticks.Morphological identification showed that the ticks collected from Xindi Township of Yu-min County were consistent with the characteristics of Hya-lomma asiaticum.An evolutionary tree based on the COI and ITS2 gene sequences showed that the ticks collected in this study were clustered with known H.asiaticum sequences.The PCR products of COI and ITS2 were sequenced and compared,which confirmed that the collected tick species were H.asiaticum,in agreement with the morphological and molecular biological results.These findings help to clarify the distribution of ticks in Xindi Township of Xinjiang,and provide basic data for the analysis of tick genetic and evolutionary characteristics,as reference for surveillance and control of ticks in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Objective:To investigate the effects of Ziyin Liangxue formula combined with prednisone on immune function and the ST2/IL-33 pathway in mice with immune thrombocytopenia.Methods:In 40 BALB/c mice,32 were constructed as immune thrombocytopenia mouse models by antiplatelet serum injection.After successful modeling,the mice were randomly divided into model group,Ziyin Liangxue formula group(0.2 ml/10 g),prednisone group(0.2 ml/10 g),and Ziyin Liangxue formula+prednisone group(0.2 ml/10 g),8 mice in each group,and the other 8 mice were set as control group.The drugs were administered by gavage at the dose,and the model group and control group were given equal amounts of saline by gavage once a day for 2 weeks of continuous intervention.Blood samples and spleen tissues were collected,the peripheral platelet count was measured by automatic hematology analyzer,the pathological changes in spleen tissue was observed by HE staining,the levels of serum transforming growth factor(TGF)-β,interleukin(IL)-17,and peripheral blood thrombopoietin(TPO)were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),the expression of IL-33,sST2,and ST2 in spleen tissue was detected by Western blot,and the cell counts of peripheral blood Th17 and Treg were detected by flow cytometry.Results:Compared with the control group,the number of platelets,the level of TPO,TGF-β,and Treg cells were significantly decreased(P＜().05),while the level of IL-17,Thl7 cells,and the expression of IL-33,sST2,and ST2 protein were significantly increased in the model group(P＜0.01).Compared with the model group,the number of platelets,the level of TPO,TGF-β,and Treg cells were significantly increased(P＜0.05),while the level of IL-17,Th17 cells,and the expression of IL-33,sST2,and ST2 protein were significantly decreased in the Ziyin Liangxue formula+prednisone group(P＜0.01).Conclusion:Ziyin Liangxue formula+prednisone can effectively regulate Th17/Treg balance,thus effectively improve immune thrombocytopenia,and the mechanism may be related to the regulation of ST2/IL-33 signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the effect of different stent oversize in thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) on lumen remodeling of type B aortic dissection (TBAD).Methods:The clinical and follow-up data of 89 TBAD patients receiving TEVAR from Nov 2010 to Jun 2020 at Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. According to the difference of proximal stent oversize, 89 patients were divided into: low oversize group (<10%, 47 cases) and high oversize group (≥10%, 42 cases). The changes of the normal vessel diameter and area at the proximal end of the stent and the long diameter, short diameter and area of the true/false lumen at the distal end of the stent at 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery and postoperative complications were analyzed.Results:The change of proximal vessel diameter with time in the low oversize group is smaller than that in the high oversize group ( P<0.05),and the change of the distal false lumen area of the stent in the low oversize group was greater than that in the high oversize group ( P<0.05). The high oversize group was prone to retrograde type A aortic dissection (RTAD) ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Low oversize stents are more conducive to the remodeling of the aortic lumen in the early and mid-term after TEVAR in TBAD patients.

There is growing evidence that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with increased risks of psychiatric sequelae. Depression, anxiety, cognitive impairments, sleep disturbance, and fatigue during and after the acute phase of COVID-19 are prevalent, long-lasting, and exerting negative consequences on well-being and imposing a huge burden on healthcare systems and society. This current review presented timely updates of clinical research findings, particularly focusing on the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying the neuropsychiatric sequelae, and identified potential key targets for developing effective treatment strategies for long COVID. In addition, we introduced the Formosa Long COVID Multicenter Study (FOCuS), which aims to apply the inflammation theory to the pathogenesis and the psychosocial and nutrition treatments of post-COVID depression and anxiety.

Objectives: Sarcopenia has emerged as a significant aging-related disease that affects many facets of societal-level and patient-level public health. This study analysed knowledge of sarcopenia and associated socio-demographic factors among the general public of Malaysia in order to effectively improve its prevention and countermeasures. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Selangor, Malaysia, using Google Forms among 202 Malaysian adults from January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2021. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge scores. The continuous variables were evaluated using the independent t-test, Mann–Whitney test, and one-way analysis of variance test. The Spearman correlation coefficient was employed to determine the correlation between socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge score levels. Results: The final analysis included 202 participants. The mean±standard deviation age was 49.03±12.65. Only 6.9% of participants had good knowledge of sarcopenia and were aware of sarcopenia’s characteristics, consequences, and treatments. Post-hoc comparisons using the Dunnett T3 test showed statistical significance in mean knowledge score and age group (p=0.011) and education level (p≤0.001). The Mann–Whitney test revealed that gender (p=0.026) and current smoking status (p=0.023) significantly influenced knowledge scores. Conclusions The general public’s knowledge of sarcopenia was found to be poor to moderate and associated with age and education status. Therefore, education and interventions by policymakers and healthcare professionals to improve public knowledge of sarcopenia in Malaysia are needed.

BACKGROUND: Whether regional anesthesia may help to prevent disease recurrence in cancer patients is still controversial. The stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis is a key factor that defines prognosis and is one of the most important sources of heterogeneity for the treatment effect. We sought to update existing systematic reviews and clarify the effect of regional anesthesia on cancer recurrence in late-stage cancer patients. METHODS: Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched from inception to September 2020 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies that assessed the effect of regional anesthesia on cancer recurrence and overall survival (OS) compared with general anesthesia. Late-stage cancer patients were primarily assessed according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer Cancer Staging Manual (eighth edition), and the combined hazard ratio (HR) from random-effects models was used to evaluate the effect of regional anesthesia. RESULTS: A total of three RCTs and 34 cohort studies (including 64,691 patients) were identified through the literature search for inclusion in the analysis. The risk of bias was low in the RCTs and was moderate in the observational studies. The pooled HR for recurrence-free survival (RFS) or OS did not favor regional anesthesia when data from RCTs in patients with late-stage cancer were combined (RFS, HR = 1.12, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.58-2.18, P = 0.729, I2 = 76%; OS, HR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.63-1.18, P = 0.345, I2 = 48%). Findings from observational studies showed that regional anesthesia may help to prevent disease recurrence (HR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.78-0.96, P = 0.008, I2 = 71%) and improve OS (HR = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.79-0.98, P = 0.022, I2 = 79%). CONCLUSIONS RCTs reveal that OS and RFS were similar between regional and general anesthesia in late-stage cancers. The selection of anesthetic methods should still be based on clinical evaluation, and changes to current practice need more support from large, well-powered, and well-designed studies.
Anesthesia, Conduction ; Humans ; Neoplasms ; Recurrence