OBJECTIVE: To observe the efficacy of "Biaoben acupoint compatibility" moxibustion for abdominal obesity and its effect on blood lipid, lipid accumulation product (LAP) and cardiometabolic index (CMI). METHODS: A total of 150 patients with abdominal obesity were randomly divided into an observation group (75 cases, 5 cases dropped out) and a control group (75 cases, 6 cases dropped out). The control group received lifestyle guidance. The observation group received "Biaoben acupoint compatibility" moxibustion at Zhongwan (CV12), Guanyuan (CV4) and bilateral Tianshu (ST25), Zusanli (ST36) on the basis of the control group, 20 min each time, once every other day, 3 times a week for 8 weeks. Before and after treatment, the waist circumference, hip circumference, weight, body mass index (BMI) were observed, the levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were measured, and the LAP and CMI were calculated in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the waist circumference, weight and BMI were decreased compared with those before treatment in both groups (P<0.05), the changes of the above indexes in the observation group were larger than those in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the hip circumference, TC level, TG level, LAP and CMI in the observation group were decreased compared with those before treatment (P<0.05), the HDL-C level was increased compared with that before treatment (P<0.05)；the changes of the TC level, TG level, LAP, CMI and HDL-C level in the observation group were larger than those in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION "Biaoben acupoint compatibility" moxibustion can reduce the degree of obesity in patients with abdominal obesity, and improve blood lipid and reduce lipid accumulation.
Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Moxibustion ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Obesity, Abdominal/blood* ; Adult ; Lipids/blood* ; Lipid Metabolism ; Triglycerides/blood* ; Young Adult ; Treatment Outcome ; Aged

Objective To explore the nephrotoxic effects of exposure to perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) and its mechanism in mice, with a particular focus on analyzing the changes in kidney metabolism and their potential implications. Methods The specific pathogen free C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group, low-dose group, and high-dose group, with 10 mice in each group. Mice in the three groups received intragastric administration of PFBA solution at doses of 0, 35 and 350 mg/kg body weight, once per day for seven consecutive days. The histopathological changes of kidneys of mice in these three groups were evaluated. Metabolomic profiling of mouse kidneys was performed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Differentially accumulated metabolites (DAMs) were identified based on the Human Metabolome Database, and related metabolic pathways were analyzed through MetaboAnalyst 6.0 and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Results Histopathological analysis of kidneys showed that the renal pelvis mucosa of mice in the low-dose group presented focal mild inflammatory changes without marked structural damage, whereas mice in the high-dose group showed severe inflammation and partial destruction of renal structure. The kidney coefficient of mice in both low-dose group and the high-dose group decreased (both P<0.05), and the Paller scores of renal tissues increased (both P<0.05) compared with that in the control group. The Paller score of mouse renal tissue in the high-dose group was higher than that in the low-dose group (P<0.05). Metabolomic profiling identified 46 DAMs (26 upregulated, 20 downregulated) in the low-dose group and 104 DAMs (54 upregulated, 50 downregulated) in the high-dose group, with 26 shared DAMs between the two dose groups. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that DAMs were mainly involved in metabolic pathways such as glycerophospholipid metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, sphingolipid and steroid hormone synthesis. Conclusion Acute exposure to PFBA can cause kidney injury in mice. Lipid metabolism pathways such as glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolism is involved in the development of acute renal toxicity of PFBA.

Objective:Postoperative neurosurgical bacterial meningitis (PNBM) has been frequently reported, but fewer studies have focused on the contemporaneous comparison of clinical features of PNBM caused by different pathogenic bacteria. This study aimed to simultaneously investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of PNBM by Gram-positive bacterial(GPB) or Gram-negative bacterial (GNB) infection.Methods:Inpatients with PNBM at our institution were recruited between February 2013 and October 2023. These PNBM patients were categorized into two groups: GPB infection and GNB infection. Data from electronic medical records were collected and analyzed.Results:A total of 401 patients with PNBM were finally included, with 78 (19.5%) having GPB infections and 323 (80.5%)having GNB infection. The average age of the patients was 56 years, and 55.1% were male. Compared to the GPB group, PNBM patients with GNB infection had significantly higher SOFA and APACHE Ⅱ scores, higher proportions of hyperthermia (body temperature>39°C) and altered consciousness, increased ratios of postoperative cerebral hemorrhage or intracranial aneurysm, as well as greater needs for ICU treatment and mechanical ventilation (all P <0.05). The proportions of inflammatory indicators such as blood CRP and PCT≥2 ng/mL, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and total bilirubin (TBIL) were significantly higher in the GNB group (all P<0.05). In contrast, The concentrations of hemoglobin and albumin were substantially lower in this group(both P <0.05). Additionally, the cerebrospinal fluid in the GNB group showed significantly higher nucleated cell counts, protein concentration, and adenosine deaminase concentration, and but lower glucose level (all P <0.001). A total of 426 bacterial strains were isolated, with 343 strains (80.5%) being GNB and 83 strains (19.5%) being GPB. Among these, 25 (6.2%) patients had 2 or more gram-positive or gram-negative bacterial infections. The proportions of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria and intrathecal treatment were higher in the GNB group (80.5% vs. 68.7%, 36.5% vs. 2.6%, respectively), while the ratio of correct empirical antibiotic treatment was significantly lower (30.3% vs. 80.0%) (all P <0.05). In terms of outcomes, the length of stay in the ICU was significantly longer in the GNB group [(median (interquartile range, IQR): 11.5 (5.25,22.75) vs. 17.0 (9.0,30.0), P <0.01)], and the rate of septic shock (9.3% vs. 2.6%), poor prognosis (GCS≤8 at discharge) (65.9% vs. 32.1%), and 28-day hospital mortality rate (34.4% vs. 10.3%) were significantly higher compared to the GPB group (all P <0.05). However, there were no differences in 7-day hospital mortality and total hospitalization time. Conclusions:Gram-negative bacterial infections are more prevalent than Gram-positive bacterial infections in PNBM, and they are also associated with more severe symptoms, abnormal cerebrospinal fluid findings, higher severity, and more treatment difficulty. Despite comparable short-term (7-day) mortality rates between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial infections, Gram-negative bacterial infections result in higher medium- to long-term (14-day and 28-day) case-fatality rates among patients with post-neurosurgical bacterial meningitis and are associated with overall poorer prognosis, warranting greater attention from clinicians.

Perfluorobutyric acid (PFBA) is a representative short-chain compound of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which is widely used in fluorochemical manufacturing, food packaging, and outdoor textile processing industries. PFBA primarily enters into the human body via oral intake, inhalation, and dermal exposure and can be efficiently metabolized. PFBA exhibits cytotoxicity by disrupting cell proliferation, inducing oxidative stress, and disturbing lipid metabolism, thereby impairing cellular homeostasis. In addition, PFBA can induce abnormal activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α-dependent and/or independent pathways, leading to lipid metabolism disorders and subsequent liver injury. Animal studies have demonstrated that PFBA exposure alters renal biochemical parameters and induces epidermal inflammation, abnormal keratinization, and even necrosis, suggesting potential nephrotoxicity and dermal toxicity. PFBA is capable of crossing the placental barrier, and PFBA levels in umbilical cord blood have been negatively correlated with insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1. Moreover, plasma PFBA levels in patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 have been associated with infection severity, indicating potential reproductive, developmental, and immunotoxic effects. At present, systematic occupational and environmental exposure monitoring data for PFBA remain limited, the toxic mechanisms in certain target organs have not been fully elucidated, and the molecular regulatory networks underlying reproductive and immune toxicity remain unclear. Future research should focus on improving PFBA monitoring strategies, strengthening studies on PFBA occupational exposure detection methods, toxic effects and mechanisms, and refining occupational risk assessment systems, to provide a scientific basis for establishing occupational exposure limits, optimizing risk management strategies, and safeguarding public health.

With the development of clinical related disciplines, the update and establishment of relevant standards/guidelines at home and abroad, GBZ 185-2006 Diagnostic Criteria for Occupational Medicamentose-like Dermatitis due to Trichloroethylene (hereinafter referred to as “GBZ 185-2006”) was unable to meet clinical needs. Therefore, the GBZ 185-2006 was revised based on the principles of evidence-based medicine, in accordance with relevant laws/regulations and relevant standards/guidelines in combination with review of research data on occupational medicamentose-like dermatitis due to trichloroethylene (OMDT) home and abroad, and the development of clinical practice and clinical related disciplines. The main modifications include: adding terms and definitions of OMDT, modifying the description of clinical manifestations of the diagnostic principles, adjusting the description of latency, deleting the diagnostic requirement of the incidence probability, adding the specific allergen patch test as the etiological diagnostic index, standardizing the application scope, operating procedure and precautions of the specific allergen patch test. In addition, the relevant content of “Basic Characteristics and Clinical Types of Skin Damage of Medicamentose-like Dermatitis due to Trichloroethylene” in Appendix A is improved, the treatment principles are revised, and the content of new progress in treatment, artificial liver application, are added. The revised GBZ 185-2024 Diagnostic Standard for Occupational Medicamentose-like Dermatitis due to Trichloroethylene is more scientific and practical, and can provide technical basis for the standardized diagnosis and treatment of OMDT in medical and health institutions.

Objective:In chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with previous 96-week treatment with tenofovir amibufenamide (TMF) or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), we investigated the safety profile of sequential TMF treatment from 96 to 144 weeks.Methods:Enrolled subjects that previously assigned (2:1) to receive either 25 mg TMF or 300 mg TDF with matching placebo for 96 weeks received extending or switching TMF treatment for 48 weeks. Safety profiles of kidney, bone, metabolism, body weight, and others were evaluated.Results:666 subjects from the initial TMF group and 336 subjects from TDF group with at least one dose of assigned treatment were included at week 144. The overall safety profile was favorable in each group and generally similar between extended or switched TMF treatments from week 96 to 144. In subjects switching from TDF to TMF, the non-indexed estimated glomerular filtration rate (by non-indexed CKD-EPI formula) and creatinine clearance (by Cockcroft-Gault formula) were both increased, which were (2.31±8.33) ml/min and (4.24±13.94) ml/min, respectively. These changes were also higher than those in subjects with extending TMF treatment [(0.91±8.06) ml/min and (1.30±13.94) ml/min]. Meanwhile, switching to TMF also led to an increase of the bone mineral density (BMD) by 0.75% in hip and 1.41% in spine. On the other side, a slight change in TC/HDL ratio by 0.16 (IQR: 0.00, 0.43) and an increase in body mass index (BMI) by (0.54±0.98) kg/m 2 were oberved with patients switched to TMF, which were significantly higher than that in TMF group. Conclusion:CHB patients receiving 144 weeks of TMF treatment showed favorable safety profile. After switching to TMF, the bone and renal safety was significantly improved in TDF group, though experienceing change in metabolic parameters and weight gain (NCT03903796).

Objective:Evaluate the effects of brief mindfulness meditation training on improving negative e-motions,mindfulness attention awareness,and sleep quality in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)for coronary heart disease.Methods:Eighty-four patients with coronary heart disease after PCI admitted to the cardiology department were selected.According to the principle of simple randomization,they were divided into an intervention group of 42 cases and a control group of 42 cases.The Self Rating Anxiety Scale/Self Rating De-pression Scale,Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale,and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Scale were used as eval-uation indicators before and after intervention.Results:The difference in total scores of anxiety,depression,and mindfulness attention awareness before and after intervention in the intervention group was higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05).The difference in total sleep score,sleep quality,time to fall asleep,sleep duration,use of hypnotic drugs,daytime dysfunction,and total sleep score before and after intervention was higher than that of the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion:It suggests that brief mindfulness meditation training could alleviate negative emotions in patients with coronary heart disease after PCI,improve mindfulness awareness,and improve sleep quali-ty.

Objective:To construct a prediction model for peripherally inserted central catheter-related upper extremity deep vein thrombosis (PICC-UEDVT) in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and validate its effectiveness.Methods:A case-control study was conducted on the clinical data of 222 TBI patients admitted to Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 2019 to December 2021, including 171 males and 51 females, aged 18-86 years [54.5(46.0, 65.0)years]. Glasgow coma scale (GCS) motor score was 4.0(3.0, 5.0)points on the day of catheterization. A total of 82 patients (36.9%) had PICC-UEDVT. The patients were randomly divided with a ratio of 7∶3 into training set ( n=156, including 58 with PICC-UEDVT) and validation set ( n=66, including 24 with PICC-UEDVT) using R programming language. The baseline data of general information, intravenous medication, catheterization, and laboratory indices were compared between the training set and the validation set. Lasso regression analysis was employed to identify those variables, with the diagnosis of PICC-UEDVT as the outcome variable. Variables with non-zero regression coefficients were included in a multifactorial Logistic regression model and independent variables were selected based on the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) of R programming language. The regression equation was constructed, based on which, the predictive nomogram model was constructed for PICC-UEDVT in TBI patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the training set and validation set were plotted and the discriminability of the model was assessed. The calibration of the model was evaluated using the Hosmer-Lemeshow (H-L) goodness-of-fit test and calibration curves and the clinical practicality of the model was assessed with decision curve analysis (DCA). Results:The baseline analysis of both the training set and the validation set demonstrated a well-balanced sample distribution. Through Lasso regression analysis, 5 prediction variables were identified: GCS motor score on the day of catheterization, Caprini score on the day of catheterization, use of glucocorticoids, tip position of the catheter, and D-dimer (D-D) level before catheterization. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that the Caprini score on the day of catheterization ( OR=1.20, 95% CI 1.08, 1.33), use of glucocorticoids ( OR=3.13, 95% CI 0.99, 10.46), and D-D level before catheterization ( OR=1.16, 95% CI 1.07, 1.33) were independent risk factors for PICC-UEDVT in TBI patients. The regression equation was developed as: Logit [ P/(1- P)]=-2.56+0.18×"Caprini score on the day of catheterization"+1.14×"use of glucocorticoids"+0.15×"D-D level before catheterization". In the prediction model which was constructed based on the equation, the AUC values for the training set and validation set were 0.73 (95% CI 0.65, 0.81) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.65, 0.87) respectively. The H-L goodness-of-fit test indicated χ2=3.28, P=0.950 for the training set and χ2=13.05, P=0.160 for the validation set. Calibration curves for both sets demonstrated alignment between the actual and predicted probabilities of PICC-UEDVT in TBI patients. DCA results showed that the net benefit rate of patients was optimal when the threshold probability ranged from 15% to 72% for the training set and from 10% to 81% for the validation set. Conclusion:The prediction model based on the Caprini score on the day of catheterization, use of glucocorticoids, and D-D level before catheterization demonstrates good predictive accuracy, calibration and clinical practicality in predicting PICC-UEDVT in TBI patients.

Objective:To investigate the post-traumatic growth status of patients with benign central airway stenosis undergoing interventional therapy, and analyze the influencing factors, so as to provide basis for the formulation of measures to improve the treatment tolerance and quality of life of patients.Methods:Patients with benign central airway stenosis treated by interventional therapy in the First Affiliated Hospital of Second Military Medical University from May 2020 to May 2022 were selected by convenient sampling. The general information questionnaire, Chinese Version of Post-traumatic Growth Inventory, Perceived Social Support Scale and Chronic Disease Patients′ Health Literacy Management Scale were used to conduct a cross-sectional survey. Multivariate linear regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of patients′ posttraumatic growth.Results:A total of 183 questionnaires were distributed, and 172 questionnaires were effectively collected, with an effective recovery rate of 93.99% (172/183). The posttraumatic growth score of 172 patients was (62.66 ± 9.54) points; Pearson correlation analysis showed that perceived social support, health literacy and post-traumatic growth were positively correlated ( r=0.483, 0.246, both P<0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the degree of stenosis, the number of interventional therapy, social support, and health literacy were the main influencing factors for the post-traumatic growth of patients with benign central airway stenosis undergoing interventional therapy ( t values were -3.46-4.55, all P<0.05), could jointly explain 38.9% of the variation in post-traumatic growth scores. Conclusions:The post-traumatic growth of patients with benign airway stenosis undergoing interventional therapy is at a moderate level. The degree of stenosis and the number of interventional therapy are the limiting factors for post-traumatic growth. Systematic health education, social support and health literacy are conducive to more post-traumatic growth of patients. Medical staff can enhance patients' disease awareness, and provide more channels for acquiring disease knowledge through WeChat groups and WeChat official account, so as to promote patients' post-traumatic growth and reduce their painful experience during treatment.

Accumulating studies have demonstrated that non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), functioning as important regulators of transcription and translation, are involved in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy, especially the maternal immune adaptation process. The endometrial stromal cells (ESCs), trophoblast cells, and decidua immune cells that reside at the maternal-fetal interface are thought to play significant roles in normal pregnancy and pregnancy-associated diseases. Here, we reviewed the up-to-date evidence on how microRNA, long non-coding RNA, and circular RNA regulate ESCs, trophoblast cells, and immune cells and discussed the potential applications of these ncRNAs as diagnostic and therapeutic markers in pregnancy complications.
Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; MicroRNAs/genetics* ; RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics* ; RNA, Circular/genetics* ; Trophoblasts ; Pregnancy Complications/genetics*