From August 2019 to July 2024, the Institute of Chest Wall Surgery at the Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University admitted multiple patients with severe thoracic deformities. Authors summarized the characteristics and treatment measures of three cases with typical acute-angled thoracic deformities. Three patients aged from 15 to 21 year-old were suffered from severe pectus excavatum, pectus carinatum, and complex thoracic deformities, respectively. Visually, the local bones were severely distorted, and CT scans showed that the local bones formed acute-angled intersections. Three patients underwent Wung surgery, Wenlin surgery, and Wang+ Wenlin surgery. During the operation, based on pre-shaping, the principle of template shaping was applied to implement correction, and the process was uneventful. All deformities were satisfactorily corrected. There were no postoperative complications such as bleeding, pneumothorax, or poor wound healing during 8 months to 4 years of follow-up. Acute angle deformity is a special type of thoracic deformity, and its occurrence often indicates that the local deformity is severe and complex. Therefore, in treatment, surgeons are required to first understand the basic principle of thoracic deformity correction, have a strong comprehension of the overall deformity, and be skillful and experienced in applying various thoracic deformity correction techniques.

Tumor-associated macrophages(TAM)are a current focus in the study of the tumor microenvironment.To achieve their functionally distinct roles,macrophages undergo phenotypic polarization resulting in two major subgroups:M1 macrophages with pro-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects,and M2 macrophages with anti-inflammatory and pro-tumor effects.Of these,M2 polarization,as the main manifestation of TAMs,has been associated with a poor prognosis in various cancers and has been shown to support malignancies.Gastric carcinoma has a low early-diagnosis rate,late disease stage,and poor prognosis,with biological behavioral characteristics of easy recurrence and metastasis.Drug resistance and toxic side effects currently limit the application and effectiveness of treatments,and there is thus an urgent need to explore new therapeutic drugs and targets.This review summarizes recent progress in studies of TAM in relation to the occurrence,development,and drug resistance of gastric carcinoma,providing new ideas for clinical treatment and prognosis prediction in patients with gastric carcinoma.

Tumor-associated macrophages(TAM)are a current focus in the study of the tumor microenvironment.To achieve their functionally distinct roles,macrophages undergo phenotypic polarization resulting in two major subgroups:M1 macrophages with pro-inflammatory and anti-tumor effects,and M2 macrophages with anti-inflammatory and pro-tumor effects.Of these,M2 polarization,as the main manifestation of TAMs,has been associated with a poor prognosis in various cancers and has been shown to support malignancies.Gastric carcinoma has a low early-diagnosis rate,late disease stage,and poor prognosis,with biological behavioral characteristics of easy recurrence and metastasis.Drug resistance and toxic side effects currently limit the application and effectiveness of treatments,and there is thus an urgent need to explore new therapeutic drugs and targets.This review summarizes recent progress in studies of TAM in relation to the occurrence,development,and drug resistance of gastric carcinoma,providing new ideas for clinical treatment and prognosis prediction in patients with gastric carcinoma.

From August 2019 to July 2024, the Institute of Chest Wall Surgery at the Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University admitted multiple patients with severe thoracic deformities. Authors summarized the characteristics and treatment measures of three cases with typical acute-angled thoracic deformities. Three patients aged from 15 to 21 year-old were suffered from severe pectus excavatum, pectus carinatum, and complex thoracic deformities, respectively. Visually, the local bones were severely distorted, and CT scans showed that the local bones formed acute-angled intersections. Three patients underwent Wung surgery, Wenlin surgery, and Wang+ Wenlin surgery. During the operation, based on pre-shaping, the principle of template shaping was applied to implement correction, and the process was uneventful. All deformities were satisfactorily corrected. There were no postoperative complications such as bleeding, pneumothorax, or poor wound healing during 8 months to 4 years of follow-up. Acute angle deformity is a special type of thoracic deformity, and its occurrence often indicates that the local deformity is severe and complex. Therefore, in treatment, surgeons are required to first understand the basic principle of thoracic deformity correction, have a strong comprehension of the overall deformity, and be skillful and experienced in applying various thoracic deformity correction techniques.

Objective To investigate the association between cardiovascular autonomic function and voiding symptoms in Parkinson disease(PD)patients.Methods We reviewed PD patients from the Department of Neurology of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital(Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences)between November 2020 and July 2023.Patients with PD were diagnosed by movement disorder specialists and received motor symptoms assessment based on Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part Ⅲ(MDS-UPDRS Ⅲ).We included those patients who underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring(ABPM),ultrasound measured post void residual(PVR)and uroflowmetry.Subjects were divided into two groups:PD patients with nocturnal hypertension(PD-NH)group and PD patients without nocturnal hypertension(PD-nNH)group,according to the average nocturnal blood pressure.General clinical features,clinical assessments and urinary evaluations were compared between the two groups.We calculated average real variability(ARV)and examined its correlation factors using generalized linear models.Results Among the total of 87 PD patients,46(52.87% )were found to have nocturnal hypertension(NH).The PD-NH group exhibited more PVR[1.00(0.00,21.25)mL]compared to the PD-nNH group[0.00(0.00,5.50)mL](P<0.05).Additionally,generalized linear model analysis which scale response is Gamma with log link showed in PD patients,ARV of 24-hour diastolic blood pressure was correlated with PVR(OR=1.003,95% CI:1.001-1.005,P=0.008)and sex(male,OR=1.234,95% CI:1.050-1.451,P=0.011).Conclusion Our study demonstrates the association between cardiovascular autonomic function and voiding symptoms in PD.

Objective To explore the value of non-contrast MRI for diagnosing cesarean scar pregnancy(CSP)developed placental implantation(PI)in early pregnancy.Methods Totally 79 pregnant women with CSP in early pregnancy were retrospectively enrolled.According to postoperative pathology,PI was diagnosed when villi tissue or trophoblast cells were found in the scar muscle(PI group,n=23),while single CSP was diagnosed when no villi nor trophoblast cells were detected in the scar muscle(CSP group,n=56).Preoperative non-contrast pelvic MRI parameters were compared between groups,and the efficacy of MRI quantitative parameters for diagnosing CSP developed PI in early pregnancy was evaluated.Results Compared with those in CSP group,the largest area of the pregnancy sac,the length of the pregnancy sac close to the scar were both larger,the thickness of the thinnest scar was smaller,and the proportion of empty blood vessels shadow around the scar was higher in PI group(all P＜0.01).The sensitivity of the largest area of the pregnancy sac,the length of the pregnancy sac close to the scar and the thickness of the thinnest scar for diagnosing CSP developed PI was 78.26％,82.61％and 91.07％,respectively,and the specificity was 67.86％,66.07％and 69.57％,respectively,with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.76,0.79 and 0.82,respectively.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy of empty blood vessels shadow around the scar for diagnosing CSP developed PI was 78.26％(18/23),85.71％(48/56)and 83.54％(66/79),respectively.Conclusion Non-contrast MRI had important clinical value for diagnosing CSP developed PI in early pregnancy.

Depression is a mental disorder with high morbidity, disability and relapse rates. Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE), a traditional Chinese medicine, has a long history of clinical application in the treatment of cerebral and mental disorders, but the key mechanism remains incompletely understood. Here we showed that GEB exerted anti-depressant effect in mice through regulating gut microbial metabolism. GBE protected against unpredictable mild stress (UMS)-induced despair, anxiety-like and social avoidance behavior in mice without sufficient brain distribution. Fecal microbiome transplantation transmitted, while antibiotic cocktail abrogated the protective effect of GBE. Spatiotemporal bacterial profiling and metabolomics assay revealed a potential involvement of Parasutterella excrementihominis and the bile acid metabolite ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in the effect of GBE. UDCA administration induced depression-like behavior in mice. Together, these findings suggest that GBE acts on gut microbiome-modulated bile acid metabolism to alleviate stress-induced depression.
Humans ; Mice ; Animals ; Depression/drug therapy* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Plant Extracts ; Ginkgo biloba

AlM: To investigate the effect of C. sinensis extracts on HBx (Hepatitis B virus X protein) induced cell proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation and the underlying mechanism in cultured human mesangial cells (HMCs). METHODS: Human mesangial cells were stable transfected with pCMV-HBx to establish an HBx over-expression model, and a control group was transfected with an empty vector. Cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay and DNA synthesis assay. Western blotting was used to measure the expression of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway-related proteins and extracellular matrix. RESULTS: HBx transfection induced cell proliferation, matrix accumulation. HBx-transfected mesangial cells had increased activity of the PI3K/Akt pathways, and treatment with C. sinensis suppressed this effect. CONCLUSlON: C.sinensis attenuates the HBx-induced human mesangial cell proliferation and matrix production in human mesangial cells via inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathways.

Objective To investigate the nutritional support of hospitalized patients with advanced lung cancer in Shanghai. Methods From July 2018 to May 2020, hospitalized patients with advanced lung cancer in our hospital were selected. Patients were assessed using general situation questionnaire and patient subjective evaluation scale. The experimental indicators of patients were detected, the nutritional support was analyzed, and the risk factors of nutritional status of patients with lung cancer were analyzed. Results Among the 106 patients, 75 were male and 31 were female, 74 were under 64 years old and 32 were over 65 years old; PG-SGA results revealed that 37 cases (34.91%) scored 0~1, 48 cases (45.28%) scored 2-8, and 21 cases (19.81%) scored equal to or above 9; According to PG-SGA classification, patients were divided into good nutrition group (n=37) and malnutrition group (n=69). The proportion of patients of ≤64-year-old, TNM stage IV, WBC and neutrophil count in good nutrition group was lower than that of malnutrition group (P<0.05), meanwhile, the KPS, body mass index, red blood cell count, lymphocyte count, hemoglobin, serum protein, albumin, immunoglobulin IgG, IgM, IgA, CD4 +, CD3 +, and CD8 + were higher than those of malnutrition group (P<0.05). Logistic analysis showed that age ≥ 64 years old, TNM stage IV, KPS and BMI were risk factors of nutritional status (P<0.05). Conclusion Among the patients with advanced lung cancer in Shanghai, the incidence of malnutrition is 65.09%, and 19.81% of those with severe malnutrition are in urgent need of nutritional support. Logistic analysis results yield that age over 64 years old, TNM stage Ⅳ, KPS, body mass index are risk factors affecting nutritional status of patients.

Objective    To summarize the experience of surgical treatment of asphyxiating thoracic dysplasia (Jeune syndrome). Methods    A total of 15 patients with asphyxiating thoracic dysplasia from August 2018 to April 2020 in our hospital were retrospectively included. There were 7 males and 8 females, aged 1-25 (8.87±6.71) years. Special steel bars were used to correct the growth direction of the rib and costal cartilage. Meanwhile, the concave and convex deformities of the chest wall on both sides were corrected to increase the chest volume and correct the thoracic deformity. Results    The contour appearance of the chest wall of all patients changed after the operation. The shape was close to normal, and the symptoms of hypoxia were improved. The operation time was 147.73±59.78 min, intraoperative bleeding volume was 105.67±91.90 mL, ICU stay time was 14.20±13.54 d and hospital stay time was 26.00±17.87 d. Eleven patients were directly extubated after the operation, 4 patients underwent tracheotomy and received assisted respiration, and the assisted respiration time was 19, 13, 22 and 12 days, respectively. The postoperative chest circumference was significantly increased, and the blood oxygen saturation was significantly improved. There were 5 patients with cardiac insufficiency, and 3 of them were improved by cardiotonic therapy, 2 of them died of heart failure on the 2nd and 31st day after the operation, respectively. Abdominal distention occurred in 10 patients after operation, and 5 of them were obstinate and eliminated by comprehensive treatment. All patients were followed up. The appearance of thorax was improved obviously and there was no sign of compression in lungs. One 13-year-old patient developed respiratory discomfort 3 months after the operation, and the symptoms were relieved after self-administration of oxygen. A 25-year-old patient developed cardiac insufficiency half a month after the discharge, and the symptoms disappeared after cardiotonic treatment. Four patients took out the steel bars in 13, 13, 15 and 17 months after the operation, respectively. The appearance of thorax remained well after the operation. The imaging examination showed that the position of bone structure was normal, the lung field was clear, and there was no sign of chronic inflammation. Conclusion    This technique is a safe and simple operation method. It can not only eliminate the deformity of chest wall, but also increase the volume of chest obviously. However, the long-term effect needs to be further evaluated.