To develop a novel polyamino acid-based nanohydrogel drug delivery system for dexamethasone to enhance its delivery efficiency to the inner ear.

Refractory inner ear disease refers to a spectrum of inner ear diseases that fail to achieve good therapeutic effects even after standardized treatment recommended by existing clinical practice guidelines. This disease spectrum is characterized by diverse etiological factors, high phenotypic heterogeneity, unclear subtype characteristics, unknown pathogenic mechanisms, and variable prognosis, making it difficult to define precisely. Refractory inner ear disease accounts for a significant proportion of the total population with inner ear diseases and has not been systematically summarized, refined, and deeply studied to date. This article, for the first time, clearly proposes the concept, definition, and scope of refractory inner ear disease, and elaborates on the current research status, challenges, and coping strategies for refractory inner ear disease. With the development and progress of science and technology, we believe that in the future we will witness more innovative technologies and new drugs applied to the treatment of refractory inner ear disease, bringing hope of cure to patients.
Humans ; Labyrinth Diseases/therapy*

Objective To compare the differences in gut microbiota between cirrhosis patients receiving transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(TIPS)and those not,and explore the relationship between TIPS surgery and gut microbiota in order to provide new ideas for improving the prognosis of cirrhosis patients after TIPS surgery based on gut microbiota.Methods Those who had received TIPS surgery previously were assigned into the operation group,and those without the surgery served as the control group.Their stool samples were collected for 16S rRNA sequencing,and the correlation between gut microbiota and clinical indicators was analyzed.Results There were no significant differences in gender,age,body mass index(BMI),etiology and other baseline data between the 2 groups(P＞0.05),but obvious differences were observed in clinical serological indicators between them,including INR,APTT,RBC and PT counts,and HGB,ALP,ALB,total bilirubin(TBIL),and URE levels(P＜0.05).No statistical difference in alpha diversity was observed between the operation group and the control group(P＞0.05),but beta diversity was obviously different(P＜0.01),among which Bacteroides was increased in the operation group(P＜0.01)and Bifidobacterium was increased in the control group(P＜0.05).The function prediction analysis of gut microbiota showed that the metabolism of D-glutamine and D-glutamate(P＜0.05)and biosynthesis with secondary bile acids(P＜0.05)were up-regulated in the operation group compared with the control group.Correlation analysis between clinical indicators and flora indicated that TBIL and direct bilirubin(DBIL)were significantly correlated with the metabolic pathways of Bacteroides and Secondary bile acids biosynthesis.Conclusion Characteristic changes in gut microbiota are found in cirrhosis patients with and without TIPS surgery.Bacteroides may be involved in the regulation of metabolism of bile acids and thus increase bilirubin level.

Objective To explore the challenges and reform strategies of price management in public hospitals under the background of high-quality development.Methods This study uses a tertiary hospital in Guangdong as a case study,analyzed the current situation and challenges of price management from an overall perspective,and proposed effective strategies.Results With the ongoing reforms in medical service prices and health insurance policies,and the increasing need to improve patient expe-rience and hospital operational efficiency,we have identified significant limitations in traditional price management models.These limitations include the inability to adapt to continuous changes in external pricing policies,inadequate organizational structure and professional knowledge,lack of regulatory systems and information platforms,and lagging development of medical service pro-jects.To address these issues,the hospital conducted comprehensive evaluations of the Price Management Committee,Price Man-agement Department,and relevant business departments,adopting a problem-oriented approach to fill institutional gaps and ac-tively respond to new challenges.Conclusion Through the implementation of institutionalized,standardized,intelligent and dy-namic reform measures for price management,the level and ability of hospital price management can be improved and meet the re-quirements of high-quality development.

Humans ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/pathology* ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/pathology* ; Genetic Markers ; Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics* ; Urothelium/pathology*

BACKGROUND:Osteoarthritis is a common chronic inflammation of joints caused by degenerative changes of articular cartilage.More and more studies have shown that mechanical stress is closely related to the development of osteoarthritis.The Hippo pathway is not only involved in the development of tissue cells,but also an effecting factor of mechanical stress,which is involved in the regulation of bone metabolism and cartilage metabolism. OBJECTIVE:Regulation of the Hippo pathway may become one of the new targets for intervention in osteoarthritis.Therefore,this paper reviewed the research on the effect of mechanical stress regulation of the Hippo pathway on osteoarthritis to provide ideas for the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis and provide a new theoretical basis for the treatment of osteoarthritis. METHODS:PubMed,Web of Science,Embase,CNKI,VIP,and WanFang databases were used for a literature search for articles published from inception to 2023 concerning the influence of mechanical stress on osteoarthritis and mechanical stress,Hippo pathway,and osteoarthritis.A total of 75 articles were finally reviewed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Different mechanical stresses may play different roles in cell proliferation,apoptosis and differentiation,osteoarthritis inflammation,and vascular homeostasis in osteoarthritis.(2)Hard extracellular matrix,low cell density,medium shear force,medium tensile force,and compression force can achieve cell proliferation,osteogenic differentiation,and vascular homeostasis,and inhibit inflammatory response by activating YAP/TAZ.(3)Soft extracellular matrix,high cell density,excessive shear force,excessive tensile force,and compressive force inhibit cell proliferation,enhance cartilage differentiation,disrupt vascular homeostasis,and promote inflammation through inactivation of YAP/TAZ,thus promoting the process of osteoarthritis.

Objective:To construct an evaluation indicator system for the efficiency of nursing human resources in integrated medical and elderly care institutions using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and subsequently evaluate its effectiveness.Methods:This cross-sectional survey utilized literature review and investigative methods to initially establish a library of evaluation indicators for nursing human resource efficiency. The Delphi method was employed in two rounds of consultations with 17 experts from various fields, including nursing management, elderly care institution management, integrated medical and elderly care institution management, health economics management, and public health. The reliability of the indicator system was assessed based on factors such as expert enthusiasm, authority, concentration of opinions, and coordination. Adjustments, modifications, and improvements were made to the indicators based on expert opinions to establish the final indicator system. From August to December 2022, the DEA model was applied to evaluate the efficiency of 12 integrated medical and elderly care institutions in Haikou city based on this indicator system.Results:The constructed evaluation indicator system comprised 68 items divided into three levels: 9 primary indicators, 19 secondary indicators, and 40 tertiary indicators. The positive coefficients of the two rounds of expert consultations were 100% and 94.1%, with authority coefficients of 0.88 and 0.92, Kendall harmony coefficients of 0.471 and 0.348, and mean coefficients of variation of 0.16 and 0.12 ( P<0.001). DEA evaluation results for the 12 integrated medical and elderly care institutions showed that 5 were DEA effective institutions with comprehensive efficiency (OE), technical efficiency (TE), and scale efficiency (SE) values all equal to 1.000, while 7 were non-DEA effective institutions, including 4 with SE <1.000 but TE=1.000 and 3 with both SE and TE<1.000. Conclusions:The constructed evaluation indicator system demonstrates high enthusiasm, authority coefficients, and coordination in expert consultations, indicating high acceptability and comprehensive content with distinct levels and strong specialty characteristics. The DEA model′s evaluation results objectively and effectively reflect the efficiency of nursing human resources in integrated medical and elderly care institutions, demonstrating practical utility.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the biomarkers of tinnitus in vestibular schwannoma patients using electroencephalographic (EEG) microstate technology. METHODS: The EEG and clinical data of 41 patients with vestibular schwannoma were collected. All the patients were evaluated by SAS, SDS, THI and VAS scales. The EEG acquisition time was 10-15 min, and the EEG data were preprocessed and analyzed using MATLAB and EEGLAB software package. RESULTS: Of the 41 patients with vestibular schwannoma, 29 patients had tinnitus and 12 did not have tinnitus, and their clinical parameters were comparable. The average global explanation variances of the non-tinnitus and tinnitus groups were 78.8% and 80.1%, respectively. The results of EEG microstate analysis showed that compared with those without tinnitus, the patients with tinnitus had an increased frequency (P=0.033) and contribution (P=0.028) of microstate C. Correlation analysis showed that THI scale scores of the patients were negatively correlated with the duration of microstate A (R=-0.435, P=0.018) and positively with the frequencies of microstate B (R=0.456, P=0.013) and microstate C (R=0.412, P=0.026). Syntax analysis showed that the probability of transition from microstate C to microstate B increased significantly in vestibular schwannoma patients with tinnitus (P=0.031). CONCLUSION EEG microstate features differ significantly between vestibular schwannoma patients with and without tinnitus. This abnormality in patients with tinnitus may reflect the potential abnormality in the allocation of neural resources and the transition of brain functional activity.
Humans ; Neuroma, Acoustic/complications* ; Electroencephalography ; Patients ; Probability

Bone homeostasis is based on the dynamic balance of bone formation and bone resorption. An imbalance in bone homeostasis is a major contributor to many skeletal diseases, including osteoporosis. Changes in the composition and diversity of the gut microbiota (GM) are supposed to have a significant impact on bone homeostasis and are closely correlated with changes in bone mass and bone microarchitecture. The "gut-immune" axis, which is formed by the interaction between the host intestinal immune system and GM, is essential for maintaining bone homeostasis, as well as regulating the body's immunological response and maintaining immune homeostasis throughout the intestine and body. The article reviews recent advances in the study of GM, the immune system, and their synergistic impact on bone homeostasis.
Gastrointestinal Tract ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Immune System ; Bone Density ; Homeostasis

Objective:To review the paper on the admittance evaluation indicators of palliative care for patients with heart failure, and clarify the admittance evaluation indicators of palliative care for patients with heart failure and corresponding evaluation criteria or tools at home and abroad.Methods:Based on the framework of the scoping review, paper retrieval was carried out through computer in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database and VIP. The retrieval time limit was from the establishment of the database to April 30, 2022. The original research and review on the admittance evaluation of palliative care for patients with heart failure were included, and the data were independently screened and extracted by two researchers.Results:A total of 15 papers were included. The results of document integration showed that the admittance evaluation indicators of palliative care for patients with heart failure included four categories, namely, disease progress, patient needs, medical resource utilization and medical institutions. It included 12 evaluation indicators and corresponding evaluation criteria or evaluation tools, including the patient's expected survival period, cardiac function, high-risk biomarkers, exercise status, complications, advanced treatment, patient's subjective will, complex symptom relief needs, social support needs, multiple unplanned admissions, hospital stay extension, and medical institution software and hardware resources.Conclusions:The content of the admittance evaluation indicators of palliative care for patients with heart failure is comprehensive, but the evaluation criteria for some indicators are not clear, and there is no consensus on the whole. In the future, researchers can select sensitive evaluation indicators on the basis of existing research, construct the admittance evaluation indicators of palliative care for patients with heart failure, and verify it in clinical practice, so as to promote the application of palliative care in the disease management of patients with heart failure.