Objective: To investigate the prevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infection among blood donors in Hunan Province from 2022 to 2024. Methods: A total of 1 830 342 blood donors from 14 prefecture-level blood centers in Hunan Province over the past three years were screened for anti-HTLV-Ⅰ/Ⅱ using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Initially reactive samples were further tested with Line Immunoassay (LIA )/MP-Western blot and RT-PCR nucleic acid test for confirmation. Blood donors confirmed positive for HTLV were tracked and followed up. Results: From 2022 to 2024, the initial ELISA reactive rate for anti-HTLV-I/II among blood donors in Hunan Province was 1.36 per 10 000 (249/1 830 342). The confirmed positive rate was 0.20 per 10 000 (37/1 830 342), accounting for 14.86% of the initially reactive donors. The follow-up success rate for confirmed HTLV-positive blood donors was only 18.92%, while that for HTLV-indeterminate donors was 54.17%. Conclusion: The confirmed HTLV infection rates in Yueyang, Loudi, Shaoyang, Yiyang, and Zhuzhou cities were higher than the provincial (0.20 per 10 000). Chenzhou, Yongzhou, Zhangjiajie, and Xiangxi were identified as low prevalence areas, with an infection rate of 0. The overall follow-up success rate was low, indicating significant difficulties and bottlenecks in follow-up work. The comprehensive screening for HTLV and follow-up studies in Hunan provide valuable data to further improve blood safety testing strategies and risk warning mechanisms.

Addressing the enduring challenge of evaluating traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), the integrated evidence chain-based effectiveness evaluation of TCMs (Eff-iEC) has emerged. This paper explored its capacity through a demonstration study that evaluated the effectiveness evidence of six commonly used anti-hepatic fibrosis Chinese patent medicines (CPMs), including Biejiajian Pill (BP), Dahuang Zhechong Pill (DZP), Biejia Ruangan Compound (BRC), Fuzheng Huayu Capsule (FHC), Anluo Huaxian Pill (AHP), and Heluo Shugan Capsule (HSC), using both Eff-iEC and the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. The recognition of these CPMs within the TCM academic community was also assessed through their inclusion in relevant medical documents. Results showed that the evidence of BRC and FHC received higher assessments in both Eff-iEC and GRADE system, while the assessments for others varied. Analysis of community recognition revealed that Eff-iEC more accurately reflects the clinical value of these CPMs, exhibiting superior evaluative capabilities. By breaking through the conventional pattern of TCMs effectiveness evaluation, Eff-iEC offers a novel epistemology that better aligns with the clinical realities and reasoning of TCMs, providing a coherent methodology for clinical decision-making, new drug evaluations, and health policy formulation.

Objective:To explore the role of serum cholinesterase (CHE) levels in the prognosis of patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).Methods:Total of 244 consecutive patients with ADHF who were admitted to the emergency department and were successfully discharged were prospectively enrolled from January 2018 to June 2020. Patients were divided into groups according to the first and third quartile of CHE level and the clinical data, laboratory tests and other nutritional indices were recorded after discharge, and then were followed up. The primary end points were the composites of cardiovascular death and hospitalization for worsening HF (composite end points). The secondary end points were all-cause mortality and cardiovascular death. Cox proportional risk analysis, time-dependent Cox regression model or stratified cox regression were used to identify the risk of primary and secondary endpoints. Clinical, biomarker and the compound models of clinical and biomarker were constructed. Kaplan-Meier method was used to plot the survival curves of different groups and compare their differences. Receiver Operating characteristics (ROC) curves were used to compare the area under the curve for CHE levels and other nutritional or prognostic indicators to identify composite end-point events.Results:During a follow-up period of 350(100,683) days, 158 patients reached the composite end points. In the multivariable Cox analysis, cholinesterase level was significantly associated with the composite end points after adjustment for major confounders. Cox proportional risk analysis or time-dependent Cox regression model showed that CHE level was significantly associated with the composite end points, all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in both clinical, biomarker and composite models (all P< 0.05). A Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that patients with low cholinesterase levels had significantly greater risk of reaching the composite end points than those with middle or high cholinesterase levels (78.1% vs 66.7% vs. 46.7%, P<0.001); Cholinesterase level showed the largest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.736 (95% CI, 0.664-0.888) for prediction of the composite end points among other nutritional indices. The AUROC of the Global Meta-Analysis Group Chronic Heart Failure (MAGGIC) Risk Score for prediction of the composite end points was increased from 0.704 to 0.762 ( P=0.038), when cholinesterase level was added. Conclusions:Cholinesterase may serve as a simple and effective prognostic marker for predicting adverse outcomes in ADHF patients.

Objective To compare the analgesic effect, duration and incidence of adverse reactions of liposome bupivacaine (LB) and bupivacaine hydrochloride after intercostal nerve block in single-port thoracoscopic lung surgery. Methods In Department of Thoracic Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University between September 2023 and March 2024, 228 patients who needed to undergo thoracoscopic lung surgery were selected and divided into two groups by random number table method: a group B with bupivacaine hydrochloride (n=118), and a group LB with LB (n=110). Intraoperative intercostal nerve block was performed under endoscopy, and the time of first use of analgesic drugs after surgery, cumulative use of opioids 72 h after surgery, incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, length of stay and other indicators were evaluated and recorded. Results Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h in the LB group were significantly lower than those in the group B (P<0.05). The total number of activities within 48 h after surgery in the group B was significantly lower than that in the LB group (P<0.05), and the postoperative hospitalization stay in the LB group was shorter than that in the group B, but the difference was not statistically significant. There was no statistical difference between the two groups in postoperative adverse reactions. Conclusion Intercostal nerve block with LB during single-port thoracoscopic lung surgery can significantly reduce postoperative pain, improve quality of life, and promote recovery of the patients. It is worthy of clinical application.

Objective:To investigate the intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the differential diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) and non-diabetic renal disease (NDRD) among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods:A diagnostic test. In this prospective study, patients with T2DM who underwent both IVIM-DWI and renal biopsy at the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital between October 2017 and September 2021 were consecutively enrolled. IVIM-DWI parameters including perfusion fraction (f), pure diffusion coefficient (D), and pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D*) were measured in the renal cortex, medulla, and parenchyma. Patients were divided into the DN group and NDRD group based on the renal biopsy results. IVIM-DWI parameters, clinical information, and diabetes-related biochemical indicators between the two groups were compared using Student′s t-test or Mann-Whitney U test. The correlation of IVIM-DWI parameters with diabetic nephropathy histological scores were analyzed using Spearman′s correlation analyzes. The diagnostic efficiency of IVIM-DWI parameters for distinguishing between DN and NDRD were assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results:A total of 27 DN patients and 23 NDRD patients were included in this study. The DN group comprised 19 male and 8 female patients, with an average age of 52±9 years. The NDRD group comprised 16 male and 7 female patients, with an average age of 49±10 years. The DN group had a higher D* value in the renal cortex and a lower f value in the renal medulla than the NDRD group (9.84×10 -3 mm 2/s vs. 7.35×10 -3 mm 2/s, Z=-3.65; 41.01% vs. 46.74%, Z=-2.29; all P<0.05). The renal medulla D* value was negatively correlated with DN grades, interstitial lesion score, and interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IFTA) score ( r=-0.571, -0.409, -0.409; all P<0.05) while the renal cortex f value was positively correlated with vascular sclerosis score ( r=0.413, P=0.032). The renal cortex D* value had the highest area under the curve (AUC) for discriminating between the DN and NDRD groups (AUC=0.802, sensitivity 91.3%, specificity 55.6%). Conclusion:IVIM-derived renal cortex D* value can be used non-invasively to differentiate DN from NDRD in patients with T2DM that can potentially facilitate individualized treatment planning for diabetic patients.

Objective To investigate the effect of IFN-γ on the proliferation and migration of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell line Eca9706 and related mechanism. Methods Cells were cultured in vitro and treated with interferon-γ. Cell morphology changes were observed under microscope, cell proliferation ability was detected by CCK-8 experiment, and cell migration ability was detected by cell scratch experiment and Transwell experiment. Real-time PCR method was used to detect the expression efficiency of chemokine CXCL8 (interleukin 8), and the ELISA experiment was used to detect the change of CXCL8 secretion. Results Compared with the blank control group, Eca9706 cells treated with different concentrations of interferon-γ did not change significantly in cell morphology. CCK8 experiment confirmed that the proliferation ability of Eca9706 cells after IFN-γ treatment was significantly reduced (P < 0.01). Cell scratch experiment found that IFN-γ significantly decreased the migration ability of Eca9706 cells (P < 0.01). Transwell experiment showed that after IFN-γ treatment, the migration ability of Eca9706 cells was significantly inhibited (P < 0.01). CXCL8 gene expression level in Eca9706 cells treated with interferon-γ was significantly down-regulated (P < 0.01), and the amount of CXCL8 secretion significantly reduced (P < 0.05). Conclusion Interferon-γ can inhibit the proliferation and migration of esophageal cancer cell line Eca9706, which may be related to its inhibition of the expression and secretion of CXCL8.

To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with antisynthetase syndrome (ASS) and positive anti-Ro52 antibody. The clinical data of 203 ASS patients admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from 2017 to 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Demographics, clinical manifestations, laboratory results, treatment and outcome were collected including data of 18 patients with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD). In total, the majority were women (148,72.9%). The average onset age was (51.9±13.3) years. There were 163 (80.3%) patients with positive anti-Ro52 antibody. The positivity in women (77.3% vs. 55.0%, P=0.004) was higher, and the median time from disease onset to diagnosis [4.5 (2.0, 24.0) months vs. 2.0 (1.0, 12.0) months, P=0.024] was longer in patients with positive anti-Ro52 antibody than those negative. Compared with negative patients, patients with positive anti-Ro52 antibody had a higher incidence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) (96.9% vs. 65.0%, P<0.001), arthritis (33.7% vs. 17.5%, P=0.046), and arthralgia (39.3% vs. 20.0%, P=0.022). Higher rate of positve antinuclear antibody (ANA) (85.3% vs. 55.0%, P<0.001), lower rate of positive anti-Jo-1 antibody (32.5% vs. 50.0%, P=0.039), lower albumin level [(34.6±5.2) g/L vs. (37.3±4.7) g/L, P=0.004] and lower lymphocyte counts [(1.4±0.8) ×10 9/L vs. (1.8±0.8) ×10 9/L, P=0.014] were more common in patients with positive anti-Ro52 antibody. The presence of anti-Ro52 antibody is associated with a particular phenotype of ASS, leading to common ILD, involvement of joints, high ANA positivity, low albumin and low lymphocyte counts.

Objective:To determine whether the blood urea nitrogen to serum albumin (B/A) ratio was a useful prognostic factor of mortality in the patients with acute non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (ANVUGIB).Methods:Totally 1 120 patients with acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (VUGIB) admitted to the Emergency Department from January 2019 to December 2021 were prospectively and continuously collected and 449 eligible patients with acute non-varicose upper gastrointestinal tract were finally enrolled. The clinical data, laboratory tests and endoscopic results of the patients were recorded, and the data from the 30-day survival group and the non-survival group were compared and analyzed.Results:Significant differences were observed in age, mean arterial pressure, pulse rate, albumin levels, total protein levels, blood urea nitrogen levels, glucose, Glasgow-Blatchford score (GBS), Rockall, and AIMS65 scores between the survival and non-survival groups (all P <0.05). The B/A ratio in the non-survival group was significantly higher than that in the survival group [(24.9 ± 16.4) vs. (9.0 ± 8.6) mg/g, P<0.001]. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that the best cutoff value of B/A ratio for predicting 30-day death was 32.08 mg/g, with a sensitivity of 0.776 and specificity of 0.823. There was a significant difference in the 30-day Kaplan-Meier survival curve between patients with B/A ratio ≥32.08 mg/g and those with B/A ratio <32.08 mg/g (Log Rank 32.229, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the B/A ratio (≥32.08 mg/g) was associated with 30-day mortality ( OR=4.87, 95% CI: 1.94-6.85, P<0.001). Area under the ROC curve (AUC) for B/A ratio, GBS, Rockall and AIMS65 scores for predicting 30-day mortality were 0.855 (95% CI: 0.807-0.902), 0.849 (95% CI: 0.796-0.901), 0.657 (95% CI: 0.576-0.737), and 0.828 (95% CI: 0.774-0.883), respectively. Conclusions:The B/A ratio is a simple but potentially useful prognostic factor of mortality in the ANVUGIB patients.

Objective To establish quantitative methods to assay quercetin in Honghuixiang injection by HPLC. Methods Dikma C₁₈ column(250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) was used for the assay with acetonitrile −0.1% phosphoric acid (25∶75) as the mobile phase. Flow rate was 1.0 ml/min. The column temperature was 30 ℃. The detection wavelength was at 256 nm. Results Quercetin showed good linear relationship within the range of 0.2150–3.225 μg. The correlation coefficient was 0.999 6. The average recovery was 99.39% with RSD 0.82% (n=6). The repeatability was 1.194 mg/ml with RSD 0.40%. Conclusion The average quercetin content in three batches of Honghuixiang injection was 1.191 mg/ml. This method is simple, rapid and accurate. It can be used for the determination of quercetin in Honghuixiang injection.