Objective This study aimed to examine the risk factors and prognostic factors of brucellar spondylitis for early prevention and treatment of the disease,and improving the outcomes of patients.Methods A retrospective case-control study was conducted on the patients with brucellosis who were hospitalized in the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University from June 2020 to June 2022.Patients were assigned to brucellosis without spondylitis group or brucellar spondylitis group according to the presence of spondylitis.The patients in brucellar spondylitis group were followed for 1 year.Then they were stratified into a subgroup of good or poor prognosis according to clinical outcomes.The dataset for the demographic and clinical variables of patients were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software.Results A total of 300 patients with brucellosis were enrolled,including 113 cases of brucellosis without spondylitis and 187 cases of brucellar spondylitis.Multivariate analysis showed that age,time from onset to diagnosis,low back pain,and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were independent risk factors for brucellar spondylitis(P＜0.05).Of the 154 cases of brucellar spondylitis with known outcomes,121 cases showed good prognosis and 33 cases had poor prognosis.COX regression analysis showed that the time from onset to diagnosis,diabetes mellitus,paravertebral abscess,and neurological impairment were independent risk factors for poor prognosis in patients with brucellar spondylitis(P＜0.05).Conclusions Old age,prolonged time from onset to diagnosis,low back pain,and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate are independent risk factors for spondylitis in patients with brucellosis.Prolonged time from onset to diagnosis,diabetes mellitus,paravertebral abscess,and neurological impairment are independent risk factors for poor prognosis of brucellar spondylitis.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies found that the proliferative scar-specific long non-coding RNA lncRNA HSFAS is a novel biomarker that can be used in the diagnosis of hypertrophic scar,but how it functions in hypertrophic scar is not clear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the role and mechanism of lncRNA HSFAS in hypertrophic scar.METHODS:Fresh scar tissue and surrounding normal skin tissue samples from three patients with hypertrophic scar were collected,and tissue immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression of lncRNA HSFAS in frozen sections of two skin tissues. Primary fibroblasts were isolated from proliferative scarred skin tissue and normal skin tissue and cultured by enzyme digestion method. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of lncRNA HSFAS in cells. The proteins bound to lncRNA HSFAS were detected by RNA pull-down combined mass spectrometry. GO and KEGG were used to analyze the main functions and pathways of lncRNA HSFAS involved in hypertrophic scar progression. The targeted binding of lncRNA HSFAS to proteins was determined by catRAPID and RPISeq website analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with normal skin tissue and fibroblasts from normal skin tissue,the expression of lncRNA HSFAS in human hypertrophic scar tissue and primary fibroblasts from hypertrophic scar tissue was significantly increased (P<0.05). There were 510 proteins clearly bound to lncRNA HSFAS by RNA pull-down combined mass spectrometry. The results of GO and KEGG analyses showed that these proteins were mainly involved in RNA splicing and processing,chromosome synthesis and separation,and cell cycle. Among them,the proteins involved in RNA splicing and processing included scaffold attachment factor B2 and DICER1,and the binding fraction with lncRNA HSFAS was higher. The results of bioinformatics analysis showed that lncRNA HSFAS was bound to scaffold attachment factor B2 and DICER1 proteins. To conclude,lncRNA HSFAS may affect gene expression by interacting with scaffold attachment factor B2 and DICER1 proteins to regulate RNA splicing and processing modification,thus promoting the occurrence and development of hypertrophic scar.

Objective This study aimed to examine the risk factors and prognostic factors of brucellar spondylitis for early prevention and treatment of the disease,and improving the outcomes of patients.Methods A retrospective case-control study was conducted on the patients with brucellosis who were hospitalized in the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University from June 2020 to June 2022.Patients were assigned to brucellosis without spondylitis group or brucellar spondylitis group according to the presence of spondylitis.The patients in brucellar spondylitis group were followed for 1 year.Then they were stratified into a subgroup of good or poor prognosis according to clinical outcomes.The dataset for the demographic and clinical variables of patients were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software.Results A total of 300 patients with brucellosis were enrolled,including 113 cases of brucellosis without spondylitis and 187 cases of brucellar spondylitis.Multivariate analysis showed that age,time from onset to diagnosis,low back pain,and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were independent risk factors for brucellar spondylitis(P＜0.05).Of the 154 cases of brucellar spondylitis with known outcomes,121 cases showed good prognosis and 33 cases had poor prognosis.COX regression analysis showed that the time from onset to diagnosis,diabetes mellitus,paravertebral abscess,and neurological impairment were independent risk factors for poor prognosis in patients with brucellar spondylitis(P＜0.05).Conclusions Old age,prolonged time from onset to diagnosis,low back pain,and increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate are independent risk factors for spondylitis in patients with brucellosis.Prolonged time from onset to diagnosis,diabetes mellitus,paravertebral abscess,and neurological impairment are independent risk factors for poor prognosis of brucellar spondylitis.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies found that the proliferative scar-specific long non-coding RNA lncRNA HSFAS is a novel biomarker that can be used in the diagnosis of hypertrophic scar,but how it functions in hypertrophic scar is not clear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the role and mechanism of lncRNA HSFAS in hypertrophic scar.METHODS:Fresh scar tissue and surrounding normal skin tissue samples from three patients with hypertrophic scar were collected,and tissue immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression of lncRNA HSFAS in frozen sections of two skin tissues. Primary fibroblasts were isolated from proliferative scarred skin tissue and normal skin tissue and cultured by enzyme digestion method. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of lncRNA HSFAS in cells. The proteins bound to lncRNA HSFAS were detected by RNA pull-down combined mass spectrometry. GO and KEGG were used to analyze the main functions and pathways of lncRNA HSFAS involved in hypertrophic scar progression. The targeted binding of lncRNA HSFAS to proteins was determined by catRAPID and RPISeq website analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with normal skin tissue and fibroblasts from normal skin tissue,the expression of lncRNA HSFAS in human hypertrophic scar tissue and primary fibroblasts from hypertrophic scar tissue was significantly increased (P<0.05). There were 510 proteins clearly bound to lncRNA HSFAS by RNA pull-down combined mass spectrometry. The results of GO and KEGG analyses showed that these proteins were mainly involved in RNA splicing and processing,chromosome synthesis and separation,and cell cycle. Among them,the proteins involved in RNA splicing and processing included scaffold attachment factor B2 and DICER1,and the binding fraction with lncRNA HSFAS was higher. The results of bioinformatics analysis showed that lncRNA HSFAS was bound to scaffold attachment factor B2 and DICER1 proteins. To conclude,lncRNA HSFAS may affect gene expression by interacting with scaffold attachment factor B2 and DICER1 proteins to regulate RNA splicing and processing modification,thus promoting the occurrence and development of hypertrophic scar.

Objective:To survey the perceived social support status and influencing factors of medical staffs working in community health service institutions in Shanghai Minhang District .Methods:The study was a cross-sectional study. From September 2022 to January 2023, a survey on the status of perceived social support was conducted among 181 medical staffs working in community health service institutions in Shanghai Minhang District. The self-designed general information questionnaire, perceived social support scale, general self-efficacy scale, quality of professional life scale, and trait coping style scale were used in the survey. The effects of demographic characteristics, general self-efficacy, empathy fatigue and trait coping style on perceived social support status of community medical workers were analyzed.Results:A total of 181 questionnairs were distributed and 178 valid ones returned with a valid recovery rate of 98.3%. In three dimensions of perceived social support, family support scored (17.11±8.87), friend support scored (17.08±8.41), other support scored (19.89±4.09), and the total score of understanding social support was (60.99±11.71). There were 2 cases of low support status (1.12%), 81 cases of intermediate support status (45.51%), and 95 cases of high support status (53.37%). Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in perceived social support among participants with different ages, marriage status, majors, professional titles, job satisfaction, positive or negative coping styles, general self-efficacy, and empathy fatigue ( P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that people aged 40 and above had a higher degree of perceived social support than those under 40 ( OR=2.792, 95% CI: 1.051-7.418, P<0.05); compared with public health professionals, clinical medicine, nursing and other medical technique professionals had a higher degree of perceived social support ( OR=4.024, 95% CI: 1.479-10.953; OR=2.941, 95% CI: 1.031-8.393; OR=3.996, 95% CI: 0.543-29.409, all P<0.05); compared with those who were less satisfied with their self-assessment work, participants who were more satisfied or generally satisfied with their self-assessment work had lower perceived social support ( OR=0.200, 95% CI: 0.051-0.781; OR=0.320, 95% CI: 0.146-0.701, all P<0.05); compared with those with mild and moderate empathy fatigue, participants with high empathy fatigue had lower perceived social support ( OR=0.406, 95% CI: 0.182-0.909, P<0.05). Except supporting primary and secondary traumatic stress, the total score of perceived social support and its dimensions were positively correlated with empathy satisfaction; and negatively correlated with job burnout and secondary traumatic stress. Regression analysis shows that empathy satisfaction had a positive predictive effect on overall scores of perceived social support and its dimensions of friend support and other support capacity. Conclusions:The social support status of community healthcare workers in Shanghai Minhang district is generally acceptable. However, it is important to pay special attention to the social support status of those who are under 40 years old, have a background in public health, are satisfied with their work, and experience a high level of empathy fatigue. Measures should be implemented to specifically enhance empathy satisfaction among healthcare workers; timely guidance and intervention should be provided accordingly.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for portopulmonary hypertension(POPH)in liver cirrhosis,and to construct a noninvasive predictive model.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 310 cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension who were hospitalized in The Third Affiliated Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2013 to August 2022,and according to whether pulmonary artery systolic pressure was≥40 mmHg on ultrasound,the patients were divided into POPH group with 31 patients and non-POPH group with 279 patients.The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups,and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups;the chi-square test or the Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups.A binary Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent risk factors for POPH,and a nomogram prediction model was constructed.The Bootstrap resampling method was used for internal validation,and C-index and calibration curve were used to assess the discriminatory ability and consistency of the model.The rms package was used to plot the nomogram.Results Compared with the non-POPH group,the POPH group had a significantly younger age,a significantly higher proportion of women or patients with hepatic encephalopathy or Child-Pugh class C disease,and significantly higher levels of direct bilirubin,Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score,albumin-bilirubin(ALBI)score,international normalized ratio,prothrombin time,FIB-4 index,LOK score,and Forns index,as well as significantly lower levels of serum albumin,alanine aminotransferase,gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase,hemoglobin,total cholesterol,and triglycerides(all P<0.05).The multivariate analysis showed that sex(odds ratio[OR]=0.172,95%confidence interval[CI]:0.064-0.462,P<0.001),age(OR=0.944,95%CI:0.901-0.989,P=0.016),ALBI score(OR=3.091,95%CI:1.100-8.687,P=0.032),and hepatic encephalopathy(OR=3.466,95%CI:1.331-9.031,P=0.011)were independent risk factors for POPH.A predictive model for POPH in liver cirrhosis was established based on the above independent risk factors,with a C-index of 0.796(95%CI:0.701-0.890),suggesting that the model had good discriminatory ability,and the calibration curve showed that the model had good calibration ability,suggesting that the model had certain predictive efficacy.Conclusion Young female individuals,elevated ALBI score,and comorbidity with hepatic encephalopathy are independent risk factors for POPH in patients with liver cirrhosis,and the predictive model established based on these factors has a certain clinical application value.

Objective To analyze the status of coronary collateral circulation(CCC)in patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI)and explore its relationship with thrombus burden.Meth-ods Convenient sampling was used to select 161 AMI patients diagnosed and treated in Tongling People's Hospital from May 2022 to March 2024.Their CCC status was assessed by Rentrop clas-sification,and according to the results,they were divided into well-(grade 2～3,84 cases)and poorly-developed CCC groups(grade 0～1,77 cases).The general clinical data,cardiac function in-dicators and thrombus burden were compared between the two groups.Multivariate logistic re-gression was employed to identify the independent influencing factors for CCC status in AMI pa-tients,and ROC curve was plotted to analyze the relationship between CCC status and thrombus burden.Results In the 161 AMI patients,the incidence of adverse CCC was 47.83％(77/161).The poorly-developed CCC group had significantly lower Gensini score,and higher white blood cell count than the well-developed CCC group(P＜0.01);There is a statistically significant differ-ence in proportion of infarct related blood vessels between two groups(P＜0.01).The rate of high thrombus burden in the poorly-developed CCC group was obviously higher than that in the well-developed group(79.22％vs 26.19％,P＜0.01).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that infarction-related vessels(left anterior descending coronary artery),white blood cell count and thrombus burden were independent risk factors for poor development of CCC,while Gensini score was independent protective factors(OR=2.051,95％CI:1.071-3.928;OR=1.647,95％CI:1.353-2.006;OR=6.418,95％CI:2.654-15.519;OR=0.973,95％CI:0.948-0.999).ROC curve analysis indicated that the AUC value of thrombus burden was 0.752(95％CI:0.678-0.817).Conclusion It is quite common of poorly developed CCC in AMI patients,which is associ-ated with the increase of thrombus burden.

We introduce the development,standardization,and experience of U.S.military medical personnel in applying simulation and modeling to military medical training as enlightenment.We also explore the strategies and methods of PLA in constructing a military medical simulation training system,various types of military medical personnel simulation training,and a multiparty collaborative simulation and modeling training pattern,so as to provide reference and inspiration for addressing the current shortcomings of independent and scattered construction of military medical personnel training,single training methods,outdated training equipment,and limited training content.

Objective To explore the relationship between serum lipoprotein(a),Apelin-13,and transforming growth factor beta 1(TGF-β1)and left atrial diameter(LAD)in patients with atrial fibrillation(AF).Methods A total of 100 patients who were admitted to Chuzhou First People's Hospital between December 2022 and January 2024 were selected as research objects.There were 50 patients with AF(AF group)and 50 patients without AF(NAF group).Serum levels of lipoprotein(a),Apelin-13,and TGF-β1 were detected,and LAD were measured by transthoracic echocardiography.Results Compared with those in the NAF group,lipoprotein(a),TGF-β1 and LAD were increased significantly in the AF group,while Apelin-13 was decreased significantly(P<0.05).Multivariable logistic regression revealed that lipoprotein(a),TGF-β1,diastolic blood pressure and LAD were risk factors of AF,while Apelin-13 was a protective factor of AF(P<0.05).Furthermore,lipoprotein(a),TGF-β1,LAD and Apelin-13 had predictive value for AF(P<0.05).Linear regression results showed that the coefficients of lipoprotein(a),TGF-β1 and Apelin-13 influencing on LAD were 0.01(P>0.05),-0.04(P>0.05)and-1.22(P<0.05),respectively.Conclusion Lipoprotein(a),TGF-β1 and LAD are independent risk factors of AF.However,lipoprotein(a)and TGF-β1 have no notable relation with LAD.As an independent protective factor of AF,Apelin-13 is significantly negatively correlated with LAD.

Objective: To investigate the changes of plasma protein expression profile in hyperhomocysteinemia rats and the protective effect of highly expressed angiopoietin 1 in plasma on endothelial cells. Methods: The hyperhomocysteinemia animal model was established. The difference in plasma protein content was analyzed by label-free protein spectroscopy. The effects of homocysteine and angiopoietin 1 on endothelial cell migration and proliferation were detected by wound healing and CCK-8 proliferation assay. Results: The results of protein profiling showed that 5 proteins were significantly up-regulated and 17 proteins were significantly down-regulated in the plasma of hyperhomocysteinemia rats, among which angiopoietin 1 was significantly up-regulated. In endothelial cells in the superior mesenteric artery of rats, treatment with 30 or 50 μmol/L homocysteine for 24 h significantly inhibited the migration and proliferation. Angiopoietin 1(600 ng/ml) significantly reduced the migration and proliferation of endothelial cells inhibited by 30 μmol/L homocysteine, but had no significant effect on the migration and proliferation of endothelial cells inhibited by 50 μmol/L homocysteine. Conclusion Hyperhomocysteinemia can significantly affect the protein expression profile in plasma. Angiopoietin 1 in plasma can compensate for the damage of vascular endothelial migration and proliferation function caused by homocysteine in a certain concentration range.