Hypertrophic scar is a fibrous hyperplastic disorder that arises from skin injuries. The current therapeutic modalities are constrained by the dense and rigid scar tissue which impedes effective drug delivery. Additionally, insufficient autophagic activity in fibroblasts hinders their apoptosis, leading to excessive matrix deposition. Here, we developed an active microneedle (MN) system to overcome these challenges by integrating micromotor-driven drug delivery with autophagy regulation to remodel the scar microenvironment. Specifically, sodium bicarbonate and citric acid were introduced into the MNs as a built-in engine to generate CO₂ bubbles, thereby enabling enhanced lateral and vertical drug diffusion into dense scar tissue. The system concurrently encapsulated curcumin (Cur), an autophagy activator, and triamcinolone acetonide (TA), synergistically inducing fibroblast apoptosis by upregulating autophagic activity. In vitro studies demonstrated that active MNs achieved efficient drug penetration within isolated scar tissue. The rabbit hypertrophic scar model revealed that TA-Cur MNs significantly reduced the scar elevation index, suppressed collagen I and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) expression, and elevated LC3 protein levels. These findings highlight the potential of the active MN system as an efficacious platform for autonomous augmented drug delivery and autophagy-targeted therapy in fibrotic disorder treatments.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the underlying mechanism by which quercetin (Que) alleviates sepsis-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). METHODS: In vivo, C57BL/6 mice were assigned to sham, cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), and CLP+Que (50 mg/kg) groups (n=15 per group) by using a random number table. The sepsisrelated ARDS mouse model was established using the CLP method. In vitro, the murine alveolar macrophages (MH-S) cells were classified into control, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), LPS+Que (10 μmol/L), and LPS+Que+acetylcysteine (NAC, 5 mmol/L) groups. The effect of Que on oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in mice lungs and MH-S cells was determined, and the mechanism with reactive oxygen species (ROS)/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway was also explored both in vivo and in vitro. RESULTS: Que alleviated lung injury in mice, as reflected by a reversal of pulmonary histopathologic changes as well as a reduction in lung wet/dry weight ratio and neutrophil infiltration (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Additionally, Que improved the survival rate and relieved gas exchange impairment in mice (P<0.01). Que treatment also remarkedly reduced malondialdehyde formation, superoxide dismutase and catalase depletion, and cell apoptosis both in vivo and in vitro (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Moreover, Que treatment diminished the release of inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, and IL-6 both in vivo and in vitro (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Mechanistic investigation clarifified that Que administration led to a decline in the phosphorylation of p38 MAPK in addition to the suppression of ROS expression (P<0.01). Furthermore, in LPS-induced MH-S cells, ROS inhibitor NAC further inhibited ROS/p38 MAPK pathway, as well as oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell apoptosis on the basis of Que treatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01). CONCLUSION Que was found to exert anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects by suppressing the ROS/p38 MAPK pathway, thereby conferring protection for mice against sepsis-related ARDS.
Animals ; Sepsis/drug therapy* ; Quercetin/therapeutic use* ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome/enzymology* ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Male ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; MAP Kinase Signaling System/drug effects* ; Lung/drug effects* ; Mice ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Macrophages, Alveolar/pathology* ; Inflammation/pathology* ; Protective Agents/therapeutic use*

Objective To construct a diagnostic model for phlegm-dampness syndrome in hypertension based on multimodal feature fusion.Methods Clinical text information(physiological/lifestyle data,symptoms,pulse characteristics)and tongue image data were collected from 261 hypertension patients.For clinical text data,statistical analyses,including ANOVA,Mann-Whitney U test,and Chi-square test,were performed to identify significant features(P<0.05),which were incorporated into a clinical text-based diagnosis model(CTDM)using a multilayer perceptron algorithm.For tongue images,a tongue image-based diagnosis model(TIDM)was constructed based on channel attention mechanisms and residual networks.A multimodal diagnostic model(MDM)was built by fusing clinical text and tongue image features using a feature concatenation method.The diagnostic performance of each model was evaluated using five-fold cross-validation with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC),accuracy,specificity,and sensitivity.Results Seven clinical text features,including physiological/lifestyle factors(disease duration,body mass index),symptoms(chest tightness,loss of appetite,excessive phlegm),and pulse characteristics(slippery pulse,damp pulse),were identified as risk factors for phlegm-dampness syndrome in hypertension.The AUC of the CTDM was 0.831±0.021,the AUC of the TIDM was 0.878±0.035,and the MDM achieved an AUC of 0.972±0.015.Conclusion The multimodal diagnostic model that integrates clinical text and tongue image features demonstrates high diagnostic accuracy and provides valuable guidance for AI-assisted diagnosis of phlegm-dampness syndrome in hypertension.

OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of early warning mechanisms based on nosocomial infection surveil-lance system on precise prevention and control of spread of multidrug-resistant organisms(MDROs)infections in intensive care unit of neurosurgery department.METHODS The dynamic monitoring was performed in the ICU of neurosurgery department of a three-A general hospital by using real-time surveillance system of nosocomial infec-tion from Jan.2023 to Dec.2023.The warning information was sent to the doctor' station immediately once the MDROs infections were detected,the detection of drug-resistant bacteria was carried out for the relevant personnel and their surroundings,and the precise prevention and control measures were implemented.The impact on the iso-lation rate of MDROs,isolation rate of MDROs from the relevant personnel and surroundings,incidence of noso-comial MDROs infections and incidence of surgical site infection was observed after the measures were taken.RESULTS The carrying rate of MDROs was decreased from 21.80％to 5.74％among the relevant personnel after the precise prevention and control measures were taken(P＜0.05),which was improved remarkably among the doctors(decreasing from 21.43％to 6.07％),nurses(decreasing from 23.68％to 3.98％),nursing workers(decreasing from 25.15％to 8.65％),and cleaning staff(decreasing from 25.49％to 5.05％)(P＜0.001).The isolation rate of MDROs was decreased from 20.77％to 7.12％among the surroundings(P＜0.05),which was decreased most remarkably among head cushions(decreasing from 32.28％to 12.13％),bed rails(decreasing from 16.70％to 3.27％),ventilator panels(decreasing from 23.00％to 6.95％)and bedside floors(decreasing from 31.99％to 9.96％)(P＜0.001).The incidence of nosocomial MDROs infections declined from 3.84％to 1.71％(P＜0.05),with incidence of incision infections decreasing from 4.00％to 1.45％(P＜0.05),the inci-dence of intracranial infections decreasing from 2.38％to 0.56％(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION The detection of drug-resistant bacteria is carried out immediately and precisely for the patients with MDROs infection,relevant personnel and their surroundings by using the real-time surveillance system of nosocomial infection,which achieve remarkable effect on prevention of transmission of MDROs and reduction of incidence of hospital-associated infec-tions and surgical site infections.

Objective To construct a diagnostic model for phlegm-dampness syndrome in hypertension based on multimodal feature fusion.Methods Clinical text information(physiological/lifestyle data,symptoms,pulse characteristics)and tongue image data were collected from 261 hypertension patients.For clinical text data,statistical analyses,including ANOVA,Mann-Whitney U test,and Chi-square test,were performed to identify significant features(P<0.05),which were incorporated into a clinical text-based diagnosis model(CTDM)using a multilayer perceptron algorithm.For tongue images,a tongue image-based diagnosis model(TIDM)was constructed based on channel attention mechanisms and residual networks.A multimodal diagnostic model(MDM)was built by fusing clinical text and tongue image features using a feature concatenation method.The diagnostic performance of each model was evaluated using five-fold cross-validation with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC),accuracy,specificity,and sensitivity.Results Seven clinical text features,including physiological/lifestyle factors(disease duration,body mass index),symptoms(chest tightness,loss of appetite,excessive phlegm),and pulse characteristics(slippery pulse,damp pulse),were identified as risk factors for phlegm-dampness syndrome in hypertension.The AUC of the CTDM was 0.831±0.021,the AUC of the TIDM was 0.878±0.035,and the MDM achieved an AUC of 0.972±0.015.Conclusion The multimodal diagnostic model that integrates clinical text and tongue image features demonstrates high diagnostic accuracy and provides valuable guidance for AI-assisted diagnosis of phlegm-dampness syndrome in hypertension.

OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of early warning mechanisms based on nosocomial infection surveil-lance system on precise prevention and control of spread of multidrug-resistant organisms(MDROs)infections in intensive care unit of neurosurgery department.METHODS The dynamic monitoring was performed in the ICU of neurosurgery department of a three-A general hospital by using real-time surveillance system of nosocomial infec-tion from Jan.2023 to Dec.2023.The warning information was sent to the doctor' station immediately once the MDROs infections were detected,the detection of drug-resistant bacteria was carried out for the relevant personnel and their surroundings,and the precise prevention and control measures were implemented.The impact on the iso-lation rate of MDROs,isolation rate of MDROs from the relevant personnel and surroundings,incidence of noso-comial MDROs infections and incidence of surgical site infection was observed after the measures were taken.RESULTS The carrying rate of MDROs was decreased from 21.80％to 5.74％among the relevant personnel after the precise prevention and control measures were taken(P＜0.05),which was improved remarkably among the doctors(decreasing from 21.43％to 6.07％),nurses(decreasing from 23.68％to 3.98％),nursing workers(decreasing from 25.15％to 8.65％),and cleaning staff(decreasing from 25.49％to 5.05％)(P＜0.001).The isolation rate of MDROs was decreased from 20.77％to 7.12％among the surroundings(P＜0.05),which was decreased most remarkably among head cushions(decreasing from 32.28％to 12.13％),bed rails(decreasing from 16.70％to 3.27％),ventilator panels(decreasing from 23.00％to 6.95％)and bedside floors(decreasing from 31.99％to 9.96％)(P＜0.001).The incidence of nosocomial MDROs infections declined from 3.84％to 1.71％(P＜0.05),with incidence of incision infections decreasing from 4.00％to 1.45％(P＜0.05),the inci-dence of intracranial infections decreasing from 2.38％to 0.56％(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION The detection of drug-resistant bacteria is carried out immediately and precisely for the patients with MDROs infection,relevant personnel and their surroundings by using the real-time surveillance system of nosocomial infection,which achieve remarkable effect on prevention of transmission of MDROs and reduction of incidence of hospital-associated infec-tions and surgical site infections.

As a novel iron-dependent form of cell death, ferroptosis is characterized by the excessive accumulation of phospholipids containing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on the cell membrane and peroxidation. Lipid droplets are always in the dynamic transition of generation and decomposition, play a central role in regulating lipid metabolism, and are always in the dynamic transition of generation and decomposition. Lipid droplet metabolism is closely related to the occurrence of ferroptosis and plays an important role in the disease caused by ferroptosis. This review firstly focuses on the lipid droplet metabolism process and its effects on the storage and release of PUFA, and further elucidates the regulatory mechanism and key regulatory proteins of lipid drop metabolism on ferroptosis, in order to reveal the intrinsic relationship between lipid droplets and ferroptosis, and provide a new strategy for disease prevention and treatment.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pneumococcal meningitis(PM),and drug sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae(SP)isolates in Chinese children.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical information,laboratory data,and microbiological data of 160 hospitalized children under 15 years old with PM from January 2019 to December 2020 in 33 tertiary hospitals across the country.Results Among the 160 children with PM,there were 103 males and 57 females.The age ranged from 15 days to 15 years,with 109 cases(68.1% )aged 3 months to under 3 years.SP strains were isolated from 95 cases(59.4% )in cerebrospinal fluid cultures and from 57 cases(35.6% )in blood cultures.The positive rates of SP detection by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing and cerebrospinal fluid SP antigen testing were 40% (35/87)and 27% (21/78),respectively.Fifty-five cases(34.4% )had one or more risk factors for purulent meningitis,113 cases(70.6% )had one or more extra-cranial infectious foci,and 18 cases(11.3% )had underlying diseases.The most common clinical symptoms were fever(147 cases,91.9% ),followed by lethargy(98 cases,61.3% )and vomiting(61 cases,38.1% ).Sixty-nine cases(43.1% )experienced intracranial complications during hospitalization,with subdural effusion and/or empyema being the most common complication[43 cases(26.9% )],followed by hydrocephalus in 24 cases(15.0% ),brain abscess in 23 cases(14.4% ),and cerebral hemorrhage in 8 cases(5.0% ).Subdural effusion and/or empyema and hydrocephalus mainly occurred in children under 1 year old,with rates of 91% (39/43)and 83% (20/24),respectively.SP strains exhibited complete sensitivity to vancomycin(100% ,75/75),linezolid(100% ,56/56),and meropenem(100% ,6/6).High sensitivity rates were also observed for levofloxacin(81% ,22/27),moxifloxacin(82% ,14/17),rifampicin(96% ,25/26),and chloramphenicol(91% ,21/23).However,low sensitivity rates were found for penicillin(16% ,11/68)and clindamycin(6% ,1/17),and SP strains were completely resistant to erythromycin(100% ,31/31).The rates of discharge with cure and improvement were 22.5% (36/160)and 66.2% (106/160),respectively,while 18 cases(11.3% )had adverse outcomes.Conclusions Pediatric PM is more common in children aged 3 months to under 3 years.Intracranial complications are more frequently observed in children under 1 year old.Fever is the most common clinical manifestation of PM,and subdural effusion/emphysema and hydrocephalus are the most frequent complications.Non-culture detection methods for cerebrospinal fluid can improve pathogen detection rates.Adverse outcomes can be noted in more than 10% of PM cases.SP strains are high sensitivity to vancomycin,linezolid,meropenem,levofloxacin,moxifloxacin,rifampicin,and chloramphenicol.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):131-138]

A quartz crystal microbalance(QCM)-systematic evolution of ligands by the exponential en-richment(SELEX)technique was developed to screen out aptamers with high affinity for arsenic(Ⅲ).A random single strand DNA library was designed and fixed on the mercaptoethylamine-modified crystal plate with arsenic(Ⅲ)as the target,and the free aptamer was captured in the solution,and the QCM-SELEX screening method was constructed.After 6 rounds of screening,the secondary library was se-quenced with high throughput method,and the 6S1 dissociation coefficient Kd value was 0.36 μmol/L based on QCM resonance frequency.Using 6S1 as a probe,the QCM biosensor was constructed for the detection of arsenic(Ⅲ).The sensor has a good linear relationship in the range of 0.01 μmol/L～0.2μmol/L,and the detection limit of arsenic(Ⅲ)is 5.2 nmol/L(3σ),indicatinggood selectivity.

BACKGROUND: LY01005 (Goserelin acetate sustained-release microsphere injection) is a modified gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist injected monthly. This phase III trial study aimed to evaluated the efficacy and safety of LY01005 in Chinese patients with prostate cancer. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled, open-label, non-inferiority trial across 49 sites in China. This study included 290 patients with prostate cancer who received either LY01005 or goserelin implants every 28 days for three injections. The primary efficacy endpoints were the percentage of patients with testosterone suppression ≤50 ng/dL at day 29 and the cumulative probability of testosterone ≤50 ng/dL from day 29 to 85. Non-inferiority was prespecified at a margin of -10%. Secondary endpoints included significant castration (≤20 ng/dL), testosterone surge within 72 h following repeated dosing, and changes in luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and prostate specific antigen levels. RESULTS: On day 29, in the LY01005 and goserelin implant groups, testosterone concentrations fell below medical-castration levels in 99.3% (142/143) and 100% (140/140) of patients, respectively, with a difference of -0.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], -3.9% to 2.0%) between the two groups. The cumulative probabilities of maintaining castration from days 29 to 85 were 99.3% and 97.8%, respectively, with a between-group difference of 1.5% (95% CI, -1.3% to 4.4%). Both results met the criterion for non-inferiority. Secondary endpoints were similar between groups. Both treatments were well-tolerated. LY01005 was associated with fewer injection-site reactions than the goserelin implant (0% vs . 1.4% [2/145]). CONCLUSION: LY01005 is as effective as goserelin implants in reducing testosterone to castration levels, with a similar safety profile. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04563936.
Humans ; Male ; Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal/therapeutic use* ; East Asian People ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone/agonists* ; Goserelin/therapeutic use* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatic Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Testosterone