ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Yiqi Yangyin Jiedu Huayu prescription on minimal hepatic encephalopathy in liver cirrhosis based on intestinal metabolomics. MethodsA total of 11 patients with liver cirrhosis who were hospitalized in Beijing Ditan Hospital， Capital Medical University， from March to May 2024， and were diagnosed with MHE based on psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score were enrolled as subjects， and 11 healthy family members of the patients were enrolled as control group. Fecal samples were collected for metabolomics analysis from the control group and the patients with MHE before and after treatment with Yiqi Yangyin Jiedu Huayu prescription， and a population cohort study was conducted to investigate the effect of Yiqi Yangyin Jiedu Huayu prescription on intestinal metabolism of patients with MHE. The Fisher’s exact test was used for categorical data between two groups； the independent samples t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， the paired t-test was used for comparision before and after treatment within the same group， and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups. ResultsA total of 29 differentially expressed metabolites were detected between the MHE group and the control group， mainly amino acids， organic acids， organic amines， carbohydrates， fatty acids， and vitamins， and there were 12 upregulated metabolites and 17 downregulated metabolites in the MHE group， which were mainly enriched in the metabolic pathways of ornithine， branched-chain amino acid， and aromatic amino acid. After the treatment with Yiqi Yangyin Jiedu Huayu prescription， 80 differentially expressed metabolites were detected in the patients with MHE， mainly carbohydrates， organic acids， and amino acids， and there were 56 upregulated metabolites and 24 downregulated metabolites， which were mainly enriched in the metabolic pathways of ornithine， branched-chain amino acid， and aromatic amino acid. ConclusionYiqi Yangyin Jiedu Huayu prescription can exert a therapeutic effect on patients with MHE by regulating intestinal metabolism.

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of anticentromere antibody （ACA） on the clinical features and prognosis of patients with primary biliary cholangitis （PBC） by comparing clinical classification， ursodeoxycholic acid （UDCA） response， GLOBE score， and UK-PBC score between ACA-positive PBC patients and ACA-negative PBC patients. MethodsA total of 749 patients who were admitted to Beijing Ditan Hospital， Capital Medical University， from August 2013 to December 2022 and were diagnosed with PBC were enrolled and divided into ACA-positive group with 147 patients and ACA-negative group with 602 patients. According to their conditions on admission， the two groups were compared in terms of the distribution of clinical types， i.e.， chronic progression-type PBC， portal hypertension-type PBC， and standard jaundice/liver failure-type PBC. There were 261 patients with complete data after 1-year follow-up， among whom there were 53 patients with positive ACA and 208 with negative ACA. A statistical analysis was performed， and propensity score matching was performed based on sex and age at a ratio of 1∶2. The two groups were compared in terms of 1-year UDCA response rate， GLOBE score， and UK-PBC score before and after matching. The independent-samples t test or the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups， and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. ResultsCompared with the ACA-negative group， the ACA-positive group had a significantly higher age （61.28±10.35 years vs 56.74±12.17 years， t=4.164， P<0.001）， a significantly higher proportion of female patients （93.9% vs 77.6%， χ²=20.221， P<0.001）， a significantly higher proportion of patients with portal hypertension （48.3% vs 27.6%， χ²=23.289， P<0.001）， and a significantly lower proportion of patients with jaundice/liver failure （24.5% vs 38.5%， χ²=10.205， P<0.001）. After 1-year follow-up， for the 261 PBC patients with complete data， there was no significant difference in UDCA response rate before propensity score matching between the ACA-positive group and the ACA-negative group （41.5% vs 41.8%， P>0.05）， and there was a significant difference in the proportion of patients with a GLOBE score of >0.3 between the ACA-positive group and the ACA-negative group （92.5% vs 80.3%， χ²=3.935， P=0.047）. There were 53 patients in the ACA-positive group and 106 patients in the ACA-negative group after propensity score matching， and there were no significant differences between the two groups in UDCA response rate， GLOBE score， and UK-PBC score （all P>0.05）. ConclusionACA-positive patients tend to have an older age， with a higher proportion of female patients or patients with portal hypertension， while there is a relatively low proportion of patients with jaundice/liver failure. Positive ACA has no significant impact on UDCA response rate， GLOBE score， and UK-PBC score.

Objective To investigate the differences in clinical features between the primary biliary cholangitis(PBC)patients with negative or positive anti-mitochondrial antibody(AMA)by analyzing related immune and biochemical parameters.Methods This study was conducted among the patients who attended Beijing Ditan Hospital,Capital Medical University,from January 2013 to December 2022 and were diagnosed with PBC,and they were divided into AMA negative group with 139 patients(24.5%)and AMA positive group with 428 patients(75.5%).Propensity score matching at a ratio of 1∶1 was performed with age and sex as matching factors and a matching tolerance of 0.06.Liver function,coagulation,and immune parameters on admission were analyzed,as well as the changes in liver function and other indicators after 6 months of treatment and the response to ursodeoxycholic acid(UDCA)at 6 and 12 months of treatment.The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups,and the Mann-Whitney U rank sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups;the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups.Results There were 139 AMA-negative PBC patients and 139 AMA-positive PBC patients after propensity score matching.Compared with the AMA positive group on admission,the AMA negative group had significantly lower levels of direct bilirubin and globulin(Glo)and significantly higher levels of albumin,albumin/globulin ratio,prealbumin,and fibrinogen(all P<0.05).After 6 months of UDCA treatment,there were significant differences in Glo and prealbumin between the AMA negative group and the AMA positive group(P<0.05).Both the AMA negative group and the AMA positive group had an increase in prealbumin after 6 months of treatment,and the AMA negative group had a significantly greater increase than the AMA positive group(U=41.00,P=0.015).After UDCA treatment for 6 and 12 months,there was no significant difference in treatment response to UDCA between the AMA negative group and the AMA positive group(all P>0.05).Conclusion After matching for age and sex,compared with the AMA-positive PBC patients,the AMA-negative PBC patients tend to have a milder degree of liver inflammation and damage,significantly greater improvements in inflammation and liver synthesis ability after UDCA treatment,and better response to UDCA.

Background Air pollution is a major public health concern. Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is a very important air quality risk communication tool. However, AQHI is usually constructed by single-pollutant model, which has obvious disadvantages. Objective To construct an AQHI based on the joint effects of multiple air pollutants (J-AQHI), and to provide a scientific tool for health risk warning and risk communication of air pollution. Methods Data on non-accidental deaths in Yunnan, Guangdong, Hunan, Zhejiang, and Jilin provinces from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2018 were obtained from the corresponding provincial disease surveillance points systems (DSPS), including date of death, age, gender, and cause of death. Daily meteorological (temperature and relative humidity) and air pollution data (SO₂, NO₂, CO, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and maximum 8 h O₃ concentrations) at the same period were respectively derived from China Meteorological Data Sharing Service System and National Urban Air Quality Real-time Publishing Platform. Lasso regression was first applied to select air pollutants, then a time-stratified case-crossover design was applied. Each case was matched to 3 or 4 control days which were selected on the same days of the week in the same calendar month. Then a distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) was used to estimate the exposure-response relationship between selected air pollutants and mortality, which was used to construct the AQHI. Finally, AQHI was classified into four levels according to the air pollutant guidance limit values from World Health Organization Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQG 2021), and the excess risks (ERs) were calculated to compare the AQHI based on single-pollutant model and the J-AQHI based on multi-pollutant model. Results PM_2.5, NO₂, SO₂, and O₃ were selected by Lasso regression to establish DLNM model. The ERs for an interquartile range (IQR) increase and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for PM_2.5, NO₂, SO₂ and O₃ were 0.71% (0.34%–1.09%), 2.46% (1.78%–3.15%), 1.25% (0.9%–1.6%), and 0.27% (−0.11%–0.65%) respectively. The distribution of J-AQHI was right-skewed, and it was divided into four levels, with ranges of 0-1 for low risk, 2-3 for moderate risk, 4-5 for high health risk, and ≥6 for severe risk, and the corresponding proportions were 11.25%, 64.61%, 19.33%, and 4.81%, respectively. The ER (95%CI) of mortality risk increased by 3.61% (2.93–4.29) for each IQR increase of the multi-pollutant based J-AQHI , while it was 3.39% (2.68–4.11) for the single-pollutant based AQHI . Conclusion The J-AQHI generated by multi-pollutant model demonstrates the actual exposure health risk of air pollution in the population and provides new ideas for further improvement of AQHI calculation methods.

Objective:To study the safety and feasibility of anatomic left hemihepatectomy via cranial-dorsal approach in the treatment of left hepatolithiasis.Methods:Clinical data of 47 patients with left intrahepatic bile duct stones who underwent cranial-dorsal approach laparoscopic anatomic left hemihepatectomy in Hunan People's Hospital from October 2016 to June 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including 15 males and 32 females, aged (56.45±1.37) years old. The operative time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative liver function and complications were analyzed. Patients were followed up by telephone and outpatient review.Results:All 47 patients successfully underwent laparoscopic surgery without conversion. The median operative time was 260 (range, 160-440) min. The median intraoperative blood loss was 100 ml (range, 20-400 ml). The total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were 15.7 (11.7, 21.9) μmol/L, 126.6 (91.7, 168.5) U/L, and 151.1 (98.0, 212.4) U/L on postoperative day (POD) 1, respectively, and decreased to 12.6 (9.6, 16.2) μmol/L, 97.9 (60.7, 156.9) U/L, 54.2 (40.0, 104.1) U/L on POD 3, respectively. The median postoperative hospital stay was 7 (range, 4-24) d. Postoperative abdominal effusion and infection occurred in one patient, and the complication rate was 2.1% (1/47). Postoperative CT review found residual stones in common bile duct in one patient [2.1% (1/47)]. No stone recurrence or death occurred during postoperative follow-up.Conclusion:Anatomic left hemihepatectomy via cranial-dorsal approach is a safe and feasible surgery for the treatment of left hepatolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: Low-density computed tomography (LDCT) improved early lung cancer diagnosis but introduces an excess of false-positive pulmonary nodules data. Hence, accurate diagnosis of early-stage lung cancer remains challenging. The purpose of the study was to assess the feasibility of using circulating tumour cells (CTCs) to differentiate malignant from benign pulmonary nodules. METHODS: 122 patients with suspected malignant pulmonary nodules detected on chest CT in preparation for surgery were prospectively recruited. Peripheral blood samples were collected before surgery, and CTCs were identified upon isolation by size of epithelial tumour cells and morphological analysis. Laser capture microdissection, MALBAC amplification, and whole-exome sequencing were performed on 8 samples. The diagnostic efficacy of CTCs counting, and the genomic variation profile of benign and malignant CTCs samples were analysed. RESULTS: Using 2.5 cells/5 mL as the cut-off value, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was of 0.651 (95% confidence interval: 0.538-0.764), with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.526 and 0.800, respectively, and positive and negative predictive values of 91.1% and 30.3%, respectively. Distinct sequence variations differences in DNA damage repair-related and driver genes were observed in benign and malignant samples. TP53 mutations were identified in CTCs of four malignant cases; in particular, g.7578115T>C, g.7578645C>T, and g.7579472G>C were exclusively detected in all four malignant samples. CONCLUSIONS CTCs play an ancillary role in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules. TP53 mutations in CTCs might be used to identify benign and malignant pulmonary nodules.
Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Exome Sequencing ; Multiple Pulmonary Nodules ; Carcinoma ; DNA Repair

Objective To investigate the clinical features of patients with Polygonum multiflorum preparation-related liver injury with or without positive autoantibody based on propensity score matching, as well as the influence of positive autoantibody on the prognosis of such patients. Methods A total of 364 patients with Polygonum multiflorum preparation-related liver injury who were hospitalized in Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, from August 2008 to June 2021 were enrolled, and according to whether autoantibodies were detected, they were divided into negative autoantibody group (H0 group) with 157 patients and positive autoantibody group (H1 group) with 207 patients. After adjustment for confounding factors by propensity score matching, the two groups were compared in terms of biochemical parameters, severity of liver injury, classification of liver injury, and disease outcome when liver injury reached the peak. The t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Mann-Whitney U rank sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the chi-square test or the Mann-Whitney U rank sum test was used for comparison of categorical data or ranked data between two groups. The Cox regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors for liver function recovery. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to plot survival curves, and the Log-rank test was used for comparison between groups. Results A total of 98 pairs of cases were successfully matched after propensity score matching. Comparison of biochemical parameters between the two groups at the peak of liver injury showed that compared with the H0 group, the H1 group had significantly higher levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), globulin, and total bile acid and a significantly lower level of albumin (all P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the classification of liver injury between the two groups ( P > 0.05), and there was a significant difference in the severity of liver injury between the two groups ( Z =1.710, P =0.045). Antinuclear antibody (ANA) was the main positive autoantibody and accounted for 49%, and there was a significant difference in the severity of liver injury between the patients with different ANA antibody titers ( Z =20.252, P =0.001). Comparison of disease outcome in terms of whether liver function returned to normal within 6 months showed that the normalization rate of liver function within 6 months was 90.8% in the H0 group and 75.5% in the H1 group, and the H1 group had a lower normalization rate of liver function ( χ 2 =8.199, P =0.004). The Cox regression analysis showed that autoantibody (hazard ratio [ HR ]=5.248, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.554-17.718, P =0.008) and ALP ( HR =1.013, 95% CI : 1.002-1.025, P =0.026) were independent risk factors for liver function recovery. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that compared with the negative autoantibody group, the positive autoantibody group had a significantly higher risk of failure in liver function recovery after 6 months ( χ 2 =8.802, P =0.003). Conclusion Autoantibody has no significant influence on the classification of Polygonum multiflorum preparation-related liver injury, and compared with the patients with negative autoantibody, the patients with positive autoantibody tend to have more severe liver injury and a more obvious tendency of chronicity.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the gold standard for nucleic acid amplification in molecular diagnostics. The PCR includes multiple reaction stages (denaturation, annealing, and extension), and a complicated thermalcycler is required to repetitively provide different temperatures for different stages for 30-40 cycles within at least 1-2 hours. Due to the complicated devices and the long amplification time, it is difficult to adopt conventional PCR in point-of-care testing (POCT). Comparing to conventional PCR, isothermal amplification is able to provide a much faster and more convenient nucleic acid detection because of highly efficient amplification at a constant reaction temperature provided by a simple heating device. When isothermal amplification is combined with microfluidics, a more competent platform for POCT can be established. For example, various diagnosis devices based on isothermal amplification have been used to rapidly and conveniently detect SARS-CoV-2 viruses. This review summarized the recent development and applications of the microfluidics-based isothermal amplification. First, different typical isothermal amplification methods and related detection methods have been introduced. Subsequently, different types of microfluidic systems with isothermal amplification were discussed based on their characteristics, for example, functionality, system structure, flow control, and operation principles. Furthermore, detection of pathogens (e.g. SARS-CoV-2 viruses) based on isothermal amplification was introduced. Finally, the combination of isothermal amplification with other new technologies, e.g. CRISPR, has been introduced as well.
COVID-19/diagnosis* ; Humans ; Microfluidics ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; SARS-CoV-2/genetics*

Objective To study the etiology and drug resistance of escherichia coli isolated from clinic in chengde from 2016 to 2018, and to provide an objective basis for the epidemiological study and clinical rational use of antimicrobial agents. Methods The feces of 702 diarrhea patients in an outpatient clinic in chengde district from 2016 to 2018 were collected, isolated and prepared by conventional pathogen testing procedures, and the specimens suspected of escherichia coli were identified by multiple PCR and single PCR experiments. DEC was sensitized to 15 antibiotic drugs in vitro by automatic microbiological identification and drug sensitivity analyzer Vitke-2 compact. Results A total of 189 DEC strains was isolated from the feces of 702 diarrhea patients, and the detection rate was 26.92%. Among 189 DEC strains, EAEC had the highest detection rate (57.67%), followed by ETEC (32.80%), then EPEC (6.35%) and mixed (3.17%). EIEC and EHEC were not detected. The virulence genes were mainly ast A 、est Ib and esc V. All types of DEC were detected throughout the year, with the highest detection rate (29.19%) between June and August. The patients were mainly aged between 20 and 45 years old, and the detection rate was 25.86% and 27.97% for men and women. The detection of EPEC was not affected by season, sex or age, except by season and age. DEC had the highest resistance to ampicillin at 62.96%, 51.32%, 49.74% and 30.16% to cotrimoxazole, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin, and less than 20% to the other 11 drugs, all of which were sensitive to meropenem but not resistant. Among 189 DEC strains, esbl-producing strains accounted for 1.59%. Multiple resistant strains accounted for 32.80%. Conclusion DEC for chengde area of the most common bacterial pathogens in gastrointestinal tract infection, clinical laboratory should strengthen the monitoring of the region DEC, especially to carry on a variety of virulence genes, ESBL producing and multiple drug resistance strains, timely grasp the dynamics of bacterial drug resistance, and to guide clinical rational drug use, delay and reduce the generation of bacterial drug resistance.

Objective:To investigate the association between oxygen saturation (SpO 2) and risk of 3-year all-cause mortality among Chinese older adults aged 65 or over. Methods:The participants were enrolled from Healthy Aging and Biomarkers Cohort Study in year of 2012 to 2014 in 9 longevity areas in China. In this prospective cohort study, 2 287 participants aged 65 or over were enrolled. Data on SpO 2 and body measurements were collected at baseline in 2012, and data on survival outcome and time of mortality were collected at the follow-up in 2014. Participants were divided into two groups according to whether SpO 2 was abnormal (SpO 2<94% was defined as abnormal). Results:The 2 287 participants were (86.5±12.2) years old, 1 006 were males (44.0%), and 315 (13.8%) were abnormal in SpO 2. During follow-up in 2014, 452 were died, 1 434 were survived, and 401 were lost to follow-up. The all-cause mortality rate was 19.8%, and the follow-up rate was 82.5%. The mortality rate of SpO 2 in normal group was 21.1%, and that of abnormal group was 41.6% ( P<0.001). After adjusting for confounding factors, compared to participants with normal SpO 2, participants with abnormal SpO 2 had increased risk of all-cause mortality with HR (95% CI) of 1.62 (1.31-2.02); HR (95 % CI) was 1.49 (0.98-2.26) for males and 1.71 (1.30-2.26) for females in abnormal SpO 2group, respectively; HR (95% CI) was 2.70 (0.98-7.44) for aged 65-79 years old, 1.22 (0.63-2.38) for aged 80-89 years old, and 1.72 (1.35-2.19) for aged over 90 years old in abnormal SpO 2 group, respectively. Conclusion:Abnormal SpO 2 was responsible for increased risk of 3-year all-cause mortality among Chinese elderly adults.