Patients with severe aplastic anemia(SAA)often present with neutropenia,and are particularly susceptible to infections,especially following immunosuppressive therapy.Bacillus cereus is a ubiquitous,opportunistic pathogen capable of colonizing healthy individuals and causing infections through various routes.Neutropenia is a common feature in many hematologic disorders,placing affected patients at higher risk for Bacillus cereus infections.This report describes a rare case of Bacillus cereus bacteremia with multiple abscesses in a patient with SAA during the neutropenic phase following immunosuppressive therapy.Given the rarity of such presentations,relevant literature was reviewed and the diagnostic and treatment process was analyzed in detail,with the aim of providing clinical insights and improving the management of similar cases.

Patients with severe aplastic anemia(SAA)often present with neutropenia,and are particularly susceptible to infections,especially following immunosuppressive therapy.Bacillus cereus is a ubiquitous,opportunistic pathogen capable of colonizing healthy individuals and causing infections through various routes.Neutropenia is a common feature in many hematologic disorders,placing affected patients at higher risk for Bacillus cereus infections.This report describes a rare case of Bacillus cereus bacteremia with multiple abscesses in a patient with SAA during the neutropenic phase following immunosuppressive therapy.Given the rarity of such presentations,relevant literature was reviewed and the diagnostic and treatment process was analyzed in detail,with the aim of providing clinical insights and improving the management of similar cases.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disease characterized by the proliferation of Langerhans cells and the destruction of local tissue. LCH large occurs in children, whilst incidence of the elderly population is extremely low, and there are few related studies. LCH lesions can involve multiple organs and systems, including bone tissue, lymph nodes, skin, liver, and spleen. However, it is rare that multiple soft tissues are implicated for eldly patients with LCH and present with soft tissue mass as the main manifestation. Here is a report on the clinical features, treatment and prognosis of an elderly LCH with multiple soft tissue masses as the main manifestation, in order to provide clinical reference.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2022.06.009.].

Objective:To systematically evaluate the dose-response relationships of resistance exercise intensity in frail elderly.Methods:A comprehensive search of randomized controlled trials on the dose-response relationships of resistance exercise for frail elderly in PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Database. The documents that met the conditions were screened out, and after the data were extracted and the quality of the documents were evaluated, the RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta analysis.Results:A total of 10 eligible randomized controlled trials were included in this study. The subjects of the study were 454 cases of frail and pre-frail elderly. After Meta analysis, there was a dose-response relationships between the training intensity of resistance exercise and the muscle strength, muscle endurance, and physical function of frail elderly. Both low-intensity and high-intensity resistance exercises can significantly increase the leg muscle strength of frail elderly people ( MD=4.58, 95% CI 3.34-5.82, P<0.05) and muscle endurance ( MD=12.27, 95% CI 6.54-17.99, P<0.05). Compared with low-intensity resistance exercise, high-intensity resistance exercise increased leg muscle strength of frail elderly people ( MD=7.97, 95% CI 0.85-15.09, P<0.05) and muscle endurance ( MD=6.94, 95% CI 5.21-8.66, P<0.05) showed more obvious advantages. The analysis of the results of the chair sitting test and the stairs climbing test shows that low-intensity resistance exercise has no obvious advantage in improving the physical function of frail elderly people, while high-intensity resistance exercise can significantly improve the physical function of frail elderly people ( MD=-5.8, 95% CI -7.3--4.29, P<0.05; MD=-1.20, 95% CI-2.17--0.23, P<0.05). Conclusions:Resistance exercise can significantly improve the muscle strength, muscle endurance and physical function of the frail elderly. High-intensity resistance exercise is more effective than low-intensity resistance exercise.

The poor prognosis of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) results from a lack of approved targeted therapies coupled with aggressive proliferation and metastasis, which is associated with high recurrence and short overall survival. Here we developed a strategy by employing tumor-targeted self-assembled nanoparticles to coordinately regulate BACH1 (BTB domain and CNC homology 1) and mitochondrial metabolism. The BACH1 inhibitor hemin and mitochondria function inhibitor berberine derivative (BD) were used to prepare nanoparticles (BH NPs) followed by the modification of chondroitin sulfate (CS) on the surface of BH NPs to achieve tumor targeting (CS/BH NPs). CS/BH NPs were found to be able to inhibit tumor migration and invasion by significantly decreasing the amounts of tumor cell metabolites, glycolysis and metastasis-associated proteins, which were related to the inhibition of BACH1 function. Meanwhile, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential, activated caspase 3/9 and increased ROS production demonstrated coordinated regulation of BACH1 and mitochondrial metabolism. In a xenograft mice model of breast cancer, CS/BH NPs significantly inhibited tumor growth and metastasis due to the synergetic effect of hemin and BD without showing obvious toxicities for major organs. In sum, the results of efficacy and safety experiments suggest potential clinical significance of the prepared self-assembled CS/BH nanoparticles for the treatment of TNBC.

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) are a group of clonal disorders of hematopoietic stem cells, and JAK2 V617F gene mutation is the main basis for the diagnosis of MPN. Previous studies have shown that BCR-ABL fusion gene and JAK2 V617F gene mutation are mutually exclusive in MPN patients, but in recent years, patients with a double mutation of both genes are often reported. The article synthesizes the relevant domestic and foreign literature in recent years, and reviews the BCR-ABL fusion gene and JAK2 V617F mutation double-positive MPN.

ObjectiveTo investigate the value of albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score in predicting the prognosis of cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric variceal bleeding, and to identify risk stratification and increase clinical applicability. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 273 cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric variceal bleeding who were hospitalized in Subei People’s Hospital of Jiangsu from October 2012 to August 2018, and all patients received standard management after admission. Survival status was obtained through electronic medical records and telephone follow-up, and according to the prognosis in August 2020, the patients were divided into death group with 109 patients and survival group with 164 patients. General data were compared between the two groups. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous variables between two groups, and the chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical variables between two groups; univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify independent risk factors for prognosis. The Kaplan-Meier curve was used to analyze the survival rates of patients with different ALBI grades, and the log-rank test was used for comparison between groups; the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to compare the ability of ALBI score, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score, and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score in predicting short-term (6 weeks) and long-term prognoses. ResultsDuring follow-up, 109 patients (39.9%) died, and the death group had a significantly higher ALBI score than the survival group ［-1.49 (-1.82 to -1.11) vs -1.79 (-2.22 to -1.49), Z=5.630, P＜0.001］. The univariate analysis showed that age ≥55 years, hemoglobin ≤100 g/L, neutrophil count ≥3.4×109/L, platelet count ≤42×109/L, albumin ≤28 g/L, total bilirubin ≥21 μmol/L, alanine aminotransferase ≥42 U/L or aspartate aminotransferase ≥48 U/L, creatinine ≥94 μmol/L, serum sodium ≤137 mmol/L, international normalized ratio of prothrombin ≥1.5, ascites, and hepatic encephalopathy were risk factors for death in cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric variceal bleeding, and the patients with ALBI grade 3 had a significantly higher risk of death than those with ALBI grade 1 or 2; prophylactic ligation was a protective factor for survival improvement in cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric variceal bleeding (all P＜0.05). The multivariate analysis showed that age ≥55 years (hazard ratio ［HR］=2.531, 95% confidence interval ［CI］: 1.624-3.946, P＜0.001), creatinine ≥94 μmol/L (HR=1.935, 95% CI: 1.208-3.100, P=0.006), serum sodium ≤137 mmol/L ［HR=1.519, 95% CI: 1.015-2.274, P=0.042］, ascites (HR=1.641, 95% CI: 1.041-2.585, P=0.033), hepatic encephalopathy (HR=9.972, 95% CI: 3.961-25.106, P＜0.001), and ALBI grade 3 (HR=1591, 95% CI: 1.007-2.515, P=0.047) were independent risk factors for death. The patients with ALBI grade 3 had a significantly lower survival rate than those with ALBI grade 1 (χ2=18.691, P＜0.001) and ALBI grade 2 (χ2=21.364, P＜0.001), and the patients with ALBI grade 1 had a significantly higher survival rate than those with ALBI grade 2 (χ2=6513, P=0.011). The ROC curve analysis showed that ALBI score, CTP score, and MELD score had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0770, 0.730, and 0.706, respectively, in predicting short-term (6 weeks) prognosis, and they had an AUC of 0.701, 0685, and 0659, respectively, in predicting long-term prognosis. ConclusionALBI score has a good value in predicting short-term (6 weeks) and long-term prognoses of cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric variceal bleeding, and the risk of death increases with ALBI grade. ALBI score can be used as an objective and simple model in clinical practice.

Objective:To observe any effect of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) of the cerebellum on swallowing dysfunction after cerebellar infarction, and to explore its mechanism.Methods:Sixty-two cerebellar stroke survivors with dysphagia were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, each of 29. In addition to the routine swallowing rehabilitation training, the observation group was treated with iTBS, while the control group was given sham iTBS. The incubation and amplitude of the bilateral suprahyoid muscle motor evoked potential (MEP) were recorded before and after 4 weeks of treatment. The exponential approximate entropy (ApEn) of different brain regions was compared between the two groups during reflex and autonomous swallowing. Swallowing function was evaluated using the penetration-aspiration scale (PAS).Results:MEP incubation in the bilateral suprahyoid muscles had decreased significantly after 4 weeks of treatment in the observation group, and the MEP amplitude in the bilateral suprahyoid muscles of the two groups had increased significantly. The average improvement in the amplitude and incubation in the observation group was significantly greater than in the control group. The average ApEn at C3, C4, P3, P4, T5 and T6 had increased significantly in both groups during both reflex and spontaneous swallowing, with the improvement in the observation group significantly greater. Swallowing function had improved significantly in both groups, but the average PAS grade of the observation group was again significantly better.Conclusions:iTBS can improve the swallowing function of dysphagic cerebellar stroke survivors. This may be due to iTBS improving the excitability of the cerebral cortex and improving motor control of the swallowing muscles.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a group of diseases with unclear pathophysiological mechanism and is closely associated with metabolic syndrome. Bacterial components and metabolites produced by gut microbiota can regulate glucose and lipid metabolism, inflammatory response, and oxidative stress, and bile acids regulate immune function, energy metabolism, and material metabolism through various signaling pathways after activating their receptors. Gut microbiota and bile acids interact with each other through enterohepatic circulation, and the changes of their structure and function are involved in the development and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This article reviews the effect of the homeostatic dysregulation of gut microbiota and bile acids and their interactions on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.