Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of urine pH, serum uric acid and related clinical indicators in the diagnosis of urinary infection stones, and to construct a prediction nomogram.Methods:The clinical data of 432 patients with urinary calculi admitted to Xuzhou Central Hospital from August 2018 to November 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The study included 289 males and 143 females, with an average age of (52.72±13.46) years old. Among the patients, there were 98 cases of hypertension, 67 cases of diabetes, and 100 cases of recurrent calculi. Kidney stones were present in 152 cases, ureteral stones in 242 cases, and bladder stones in 38 cases. Urine bacterial culture yielded positive results in 97 cases. According to the results of postoperative stone composition analysis, the two groups were categorized as infection and no-infection stone groups, and the differences in general data between the two groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were conducted to assess the diagnostic value of urine pH, serum uric acid, and related clinical indicators for urinary infection stones. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under curve (AUC) were utilized to evaluate the clinical significance of urine pH, serum uric acid, and combined indexes in preoperatively diagnosing urinary infection stones, as well as constructing a nomogram prediction model.Results:There were 127 cases of infection stones and 305 cases of no-infection stones. The infection stone group exhibited a higher urine pH value [7.0(6.5, 7.5) vs. 6.0(5.5, 6.5), P<0.001], lower serum uric acid levels [(301.38±70.12) vs. (358.88±88.99) μmol/L, P<0.001], a higher proportion of females [55.1%(70/127) vs. 23.9%(73/305), P<0.001], younger age [(48.36±14.83)vs. (53.12±12.61)years old, P<0.001], a higher proportion of recurrence stones [34.6 %(44/127) vs. 18.4%(56/305), P<0.001], and a higher rate of positive urine bacteria culture[29.9%(38/127)vs. 19.3%(59/305), P=0.016]and nitrite test results [18.9%(24/127)vs. 6.3%(19/305), P <0.001]. Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that urine pH value, serum uric acid levels, gender, age, recurrent stones, urine bacterial culture, and urine nitrite were associated with urinary infection stones ( P< 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that urine pH value ( OR= 4.836, 95% CI 3.342-6.997), female gender( OR=2.320, 95% CI 1.286-4.186), recurrent stones ( OR=2.225, 95% CI 1.208-4.101), positive urine bacterial culture ( OR=2.061, 95% CI 1.094-3.883), serum uric acid ( OR=0.992, 95% CI 0.949-0.989), age ( OR=0.969, 95% CI 0.949-0.990) were independent risk factors for urinary infection stones ( P<0.05). The combined diagnostic value of six indicators was the highest, with an AUC of 0.874 (95% CI 0.837-0.911). Following this, urine pH exhibited an AUC of 0.818 (95% CI 0.778-0.858), while serum uric acid had an AUC of 0.704 (95% CI 0.652-0.756). The nomogram model was successfully constructed based on the six indicators. The mean AUC of the ROC curve after 1 000 resamples of the Bootstrap method was 0.864 (95% CI 0.828-0.900), and the calibration curve showed that the predicted curve fit the ideal curve well, with a mean absolute error of 0.005 and a Hosmer-Lemeshow test of P>0.05. Clinical decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the model had a higher net clinical benefit when the model had a threshold probability value≥0.01. Conclusions:Urine pH and serum uric acid are closely related to urinary infection stones. A nomogram model combining these factors with gender, age, recurrent stones, and urine culture results can effectively predict the probability of infection-related stones, providing significant clinical value.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of urine pH, serum uric acid and related clinical indicators in the diagnosis of urinary infection stones, and to construct a prediction nomogram.Methods:The clinical data of 432 patients with urinary calculi admitted to Xuzhou Central Hospital from August 2018 to November 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. The study included 289 males and 143 females, with an average age of (52.72±13.46) years old. Among the patients, there were 98 cases of hypertension, 67 cases of diabetes, and 100 cases of recurrent calculi. Kidney stones were present in 152 cases, ureteral stones in 242 cases, and bladder stones in 38 cases. Urine bacterial culture yielded positive results in 97 cases. According to the results of postoperative stone composition analysis, the two groups were categorized as infection and no-infection stone groups, and the differences in general data between the two groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were conducted to assess the diagnostic value of urine pH, serum uric acid, and related clinical indicators for urinary infection stones. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under curve (AUC) were utilized to evaluate the clinical significance of urine pH, serum uric acid, and combined indexes in preoperatively diagnosing urinary infection stones, as well as constructing a nomogram prediction model.Results:There were 127 cases of infection stones and 305 cases of no-infection stones. The infection stone group exhibited a higher urine pH value [7.0(6.5, 7.5) vs. 6.0(5.5, 6.5), P<0.001], lower serum uric acid levels [(301.38±70.12) vs. (358.88±88.99) μmol/L, P<0.001], a higher proportion of females [55.1%(70/127) vs. 23.9%(73/305), P<0.001], younger age [(48.36±14.83)vs. (53.12±12.61)years old, P<0.001], a higher proportion of recurrence stones [34.6 %(44/127) vs. 18.4%(56/305), P<0.001], and a higher rate of positive urine bacteria culture[29.9%(38/127)vs. 19.3%(59/305), P=0.016]and nitrite test results [18.9%(24/127)vs. 6.3%(19/305), P <0.001]. Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that urine pH value, serum uric acid levels, gender, age, recurrent stones, urine bacterial culture, and urine nitrite were associated with urinary infection stones ( P< 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that urine pH value ( OR= 4.836, 95% CI 3.342-6.997), female gender( OR=2.320, 95% CI 1.286-4.186), recurrent stones ( OR=2.225, 95% CI 1.208-4.101), positive urine bacterial culture ( OR=2.061, 95% CI 1.094-3.883), serum uric acid ( OR=0.992, 95% CI 0.949-0.989), age ( OR=0.969, 95% CI 0.949-0.990) were independent risk factors for urinary infection stones ( P<0.05). The combined diagnostic value of six indicators was the highest, with an AUC of 0.874 (95% CI 0.837-0.911). Following this, urine pH exhibited an AUC of 0.818 (95% CI 0.778-0.858), while serum uric acid had an AUC of 0.704 (95% CI 0.652-0.756). The nomogram model was successfully constructed based on the six indicators. The mean AUC of the ROC curve after 1 000 resamples of the Bootstrap method was 0.864 (95% CI 0.828-0.900), and the calibration curve showed that the predicted curve fit the ideal curve well, with a mean absolute error of 0.005 and a Hosmer-Lemeshow test of P>0.05. Clinical decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the model had a higher net clinical benefit when the model had a threshold probability value≥0.01. Conclusions:Urine pH and serum uric acid are closely related to urinary infection stones. A nomogram model combining these factors with gender, age, recurrent stones, and urine culture results can effectively predict the probability of infection-related stones, providing significant clinical value.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab (UST) for Crohn′s disease (CD) .Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted to collect clinical data of CD patients with active lesions in colonoscopy before the treatment of UST in Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine from May 2020 to September 2021. Primary endpoint was the endoscopic response and remission rates at the 24th/32th week after the treatment of UST.Results:A total of 36 CD patients who were endoscopically active at baseline [25 men, 11 women; mean age, 29.8±8.7 years; disease duration, 38.0 (15.5, 66.1) months] were included. According to Montreal classification, 4 patients (11.1%) were L1 type (terminal ileum) , 4 (11.1%) were L2 type (colon) , 28 (77.8%) belonged to L3 type (ileocolon) , and upper digestive tract involvement occurred in 4 (11.1%) . As for disease behavior, 28 patients (77.8%) had non-structuring and non-penetrating lesions; 5 (13.9%) had structuring lesions and 3 (8.3%) had penetrating lesions. (1) Endoscopic activity: At the 24th/32th week, the endoscopic remission rate and response rate were 33.3% (12/36) and 63.9% (23/36) , respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in endoscopic remission rate and response rate between first-line and second-line usages of UST (all P>0.05) . (2) Clinical activity: Among the 36 patients, 16 were in the clinical active phase, and 20 patients were in the clinical remission phase at baseline. The clinical remission rate and clinical response rate of 16 clinical active patients at the 24th/32th week were 81.2% and 93.8% respectively. (3) Radiological activity: Twenty-seven patients completed the radiological evaluation at the 24th/32th week. In 3 patients with L1 lesions, 2 achieved response or partial response and no response in 1. In 24 patients with L3 lesions, radiological response occurred in 5 patients (20.8%) , partial response in 19 (79.2%) , and no response in 5 (20.8%) . In 19 patients with active perianal fistula at baseline, 6 achieved healing fistule at the 24th/32th week, 2 had partial response, 6 remained stable, while progress were seen in the other 5. (4) Serological and nutritive index: Compared with baseline values, the body mass index, hemoglobin and serum albumin levels of patients were significantly improved at the 24th/32th week (all P<0.05) , but the level of C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate at the 24th/32th week showed no significant difference (all P>0.05) . (5) Safety: No serious adverse events and infusion reactions were observed, and adverse events occurred in 2 patients. Conclusion:UST can effectively improve the endoscopic manifestations, clinical symptoms, imaging and nutritive index of CD patients with good safety.

BACKGROUND: The molecular mechanisms driving tumorigenesis have continually been the focus of researchers. Cuproplasia is defined as copper-dependent cell growth and proliferation, including its primary and secondary roles in tumor formation and proliferation through signaling pathways. In this study, we analyzed the differences in the expression of cuproplasia-associated genes (CAGs) in pan-cancerous tissues and investigated their role in immune-regulation and tumor prognostication. METHODS: Raw data from 11,057 cancer samples were acquired from multiple databases. Pan-cancer analysis was conducted to analyze the CAG expression, single-nucleotide variants, copy number variants, methylation signatures, and genomic signatures of micro RNA (miRNA)-messenger RNA (mRNA) interactions. The Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer and the Cancer Therapeutics Response Portal databases were used to evaluate drug sensitivity and resistance against CAGs. Using single-sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA) and Immune Cell Abundance Identifier database, immune cell infiltration was analyzed with the ssGSEA score as the standard. RESULTS: Aberrantly expressed CAGs were found in multiple cancers. The frequency of single-nucleotide variations in CAGs ranged from 1% to 54% among different cancers. Furthermore, the correlation between CAG expression in the tumor microenvironment and immune cell infiltration varied among different cancers. ATP7A and ATP7B were negatively correlated with macrophages in 16 tumors including breast invasive carcinoma and esophageal carcinoma, while the converse was true for MT1A and MT2A . In addition, we established cuproplasia scores and demonstrated their strong correlation with patient prognosis, immunotherapy responsiveness, and disease progression ( P  <0.05). Finally, we identified potential candidate drugs by matching gene targets with existing drugs. CONCLUSIONS This study reports the genomic characterization and clinical features of CAGs in pan-cancers. It helps clarify the relationship between CAGs and tumorigenesis, and may be helpful in the development of biomarkers and new therapeutic agents.
Humans ; Female ; Genomics ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma ; Breast Neoplasms ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Nucleotides ; Tumor Microenvironment

Objective To investigate the potential of ginkgolide B(GB)in mitigating vascular endothelial injury by antagonizing endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS)and elucidate its underlying molecular mechanism.Methods An injury model of human bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells(EPCs)induced by tunica-mycin(TM)was established.Cell proliferation was assessed using MTS assay,while cell viability was determined through Calcein-AM/EthD-I double staining.Transwell assay was employed to evaluate cell migration ability.DCFH-DA staining was utilized to measure intracellular ROS levels,and NADPH activity was quantified via ELISA.JC-1 and DiOC6 staining were performed for qualitative and quantitative assessment of mitochondrial membrane potential respectively.Qrt-pcr analysis was conducted to determine mRNA expression levels,whereas western blot analysis enabled detection of protein expression levels in the cells.Results GB dose-dependently attenuated tunicamycin-induced ERS-mediated endothelial injury in hEPCs,as evidenced by decreased cell viability,impaired cell migration,and angiogenesis inhibition(P<0.01).Furthermore,GB treatment significantly reduced ROS production and NADPH levels within the cells(P<0.01),while also inhibiting ERS-mediated decline in mitochondrial membrane potential concentration-dependently(P<0.01).Additionally,GB inhibited the expression of ERS-related proteins such as GRP78,ATF4,CHOP etc.,regulated apoptosis-related protein Bcl-xl,Bax cleaved caspase-4 cytochrome c;thereby effectively counteracting endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced cellular damage.Conclusions GB exerts a protective effect on vascular endothelium by antagonizing endoplasmic reticulum stress;this mechanism may be attributed to its ability to reduce intracellular reactive oxygen species levels.It also suppresses the expression of ERS-related proteins(CHOP78 and ATF4),and modulates apoptosis-associated proteins(Bcl-xl,Bax,cleaved caspase-4,and cytochrome c).

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab (UST) for Crohn′s disease (CD) .Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted to collect clinical data of CD patients with active lesions in colonoscopy before the treatment of UST in Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine from May 2020 to September 2021. Primary endpoint was the endoscopic response and remission rates at the 24th/32th week after the treatment of UST.Results:A total of 36 CD patients who were endoscopically active at baseline [25 men, 11 women; mean age, 29.8±8.7 years; disease duration, 38.0 (15.5, 66.1) months] were included. According to Montreal classification, 4 patients (11.1%) were L1 type (terminal ileum) , 4 (11.1%) were L2 type (colon) , 28 (77.8%) belonged to L3 type (ileocolon) , and upper digestive tract involvement occurred in 4 (11.1%) . As for disease behavior, 28 patients (77.8%) had non-structuring and non-penetrating lesions; 5 (13.9%) had structuring lesions and 3 (8.3%) had penetrating lesions. (1) Endoscopic activity: At the 24th/32th week, the endoscopic remission rate and response rate were 33.3% (12/36) and 63.9% (23/36) , respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in endoscopic remission rate and response rate between first-line and second-line usages of UST (all P>0.05) . (2) Clinical activity: Among the 36 patients, 16 were in the clinical active phase, and 20 patients were in the clinical remission phase at baseline. The clinical remission rate and clinical response rate of 16 clinical active patients at the 24th/32th week were 81.2% and 93.8% respectively. (3) Radiological activity: Twenty-seven patients completed the radiological evaluation at the 24th/32th week. In 3 patients with L1 lesions, 2 achieved response or partial response and no response in 1. In 24 patients with L3 lesions, radiological response occurred in 5 patients (20.8%) , partial response in 19 (79.2%) , and no response in 5 (20.8%) . In 19 patients with active perianal fistula at baseline, 6 achieved healing fistule at the 24th/32th week, 2 had partial response, 6 remained stable, while progress were seen in the other 5. (4) Serological and nutritive index: Compared with baseline values, the body mass index, hemoglobin and serum albumin levels of patients were significantly improved at the 24th/32th week (all P<0.05) , but the level of C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate at the 24th/32th week showed no significant difference (all P>0.05) . (5) Safety: No serious adverse events and infusion reactions were observed, and adverse events occurred in 2 patients. Conclusion:UST can effectively improve the endoscopic manifestations, clinical symptoms, imaging and nutritive index of CD patients with good safety.

Objective:To assess the short-term efficacy and safety of tacrolimus in patients with refractory Crohn′s disease (CD) , and analyze the influencing factors of clinical response.Methods:A single center restrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinical data of patients with refractory CD in Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine from March 2014 to June 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients received tacrolimus treatment for at least 3 months. Clinical response, clinical remission and relapse after tacrolimus treatment were evaluated by Crohn′s disease activity index (CDAI) . According to the existence of clinical response after 3 months of tacrolimus treatment, the patients were divided into clinical response group and non-clinical response group. The differences in clinical data between the 2 groups were assessed by univariate analysis. The variables with P<0.1 in univariate analysis and having clinical significance were further analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression to determine the independent risk factors of clinical response. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the value of risk factors in predicting the clinical response of tacrolimus for the treatment of refractory CD. Results:A total of 45 patients with refractory CD were included, including 31 males and 14 females with the age of 32 (27, 39) years old. The disease duration was 61.0 (28.0, 97.5) months. The CDAI was 203 (175, 229) points before the treatment of tacrolimus while it decreased to 137 (117, 175) points after the treatment of tacrolimus for 3 months, and the difference was significant ( Z = -5.512, P<0.01) . After the treatment of tacrolimus for 3 months, 13 patients (28.9%) with clinical response were set as clinical response group and 32 (71.1%) without clinical response were set as non-clinical response group. Univariate analysis showed that the differences in gender, CDAI before the treatment of tacrolimus and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) between the clinical response group and non-clinical response group were statistically significant (all P<0.05) . Gender, CDAI before the treatment of tacrolimus and NLR were included for the multivariate Logistic regression analysis. The results showed that CDAI ( OR = 1.026, 95% CI: 1.006-1.046, P = 0.012) and NLR ( OR = 2.605, 95% CI: 1.290-5.258, P = 0.008) were the independent risk factors for predicting clinical response. The areas under ROC curve of CDAI, NLR and NLR combined with CDAI in predicting clinical response of tacrolimus in patients with refractory CD were 0.786 (95% CI : 0.648-0.924) , 0.764 (95% CI: 0.595-0.934) and 0.861 (95% CI : 0.729-0.992) , the optimal cut-off values were 189.15, 2.82 and 0.31, sensitivities were 100%, 84.6% and 84.6%, and specificities were 53.1%, 71.9% and 84.4%, respectively. Twenty-six patients continued to receive tacrolimus for 12 months, and the clinical remission rate was 73.1% (19/26) and the recurrence rate was 26.9% (7/26) . Forty-five patients were followed up for 1 year, adverse effects occurred in 6 and there was no severe adverse effects during the treatment of tacrolimus. Conclusions:Tacrolimus can be used as an immunosuppressant to induce the remission and maintenance in refractory CD patients. CDAI and NLR can be used as independent indicators to predict the clinical response of tacrolimus in the treatment of patients with refractory CD, and the combination of CDAI and NLR has higher prediction efficiency.

Objective:To assess the short-term efficacy and safety of tacrolimus in patients with refractory Crohn′s disease (CD) , and analyze the influencing factors of clinical response.Methods:A single center restrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinical data of patients with refractory CD in Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine from March 2014 to June 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients received tacrolimus treatment for at least 3 months. Clinical response, clinical remission and relapse after tacrolimus treatment were evaluated by Crohn′s disease activity index (CDAI) . According to the existence of clinical response after 3 months of tacrolimus treatment, the patients were divided into clinical response group and non-clinical response group. The differences in clinical data between the 2 groups were assessed by univariate analysis. The variables with P<0.1 in univariate analysis and having clinical significance were further analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression to determine the independent risk factors of clinical response. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the value of risk factors in predicting the clinical response of tacrolimus for the treatment of refractory CD. Results:A total of 45 patients with refractory CD were included, including 31 males and 14 females with the age of 32 (27, 39) years old. The disease duration was 61.0 (28.0, 97.5) months. The CDAI was 203 (175, 229) points before the treatment of tacrolimus while it decreased to 137 (117, 175) points after the treatment of tacrolimus for 3 months, and the difference was significant ( Z = -5.512, P<0.01) . After the treatment of tacrolimus for 3 months, 13 patients (28.9%) with clinical response were set as clinical response group and 32 (71.1%) without clinical response were set as non-clinical response group. Univariate analysis showed that the differences in gender, CDAI before the treatment of tacrolimus and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) between the clinical response group and non-clinical response group were statistically significant (all P<0.05) . Gender, CDAI before the treatment of tacrolimus and NLR were included for the multivariate Logistic regression analysis. The results showed that CDAI ( OR = 1.026, 95% CI: 1.006-1.046, P = 0.012) and NLR ( OR = 2.605, 95% CI: 1.290-5.258, P = 0.008) were the independent risk factors for predicting clinical response. The areas under ROC curve of CDAI, NLR and NLR combined with CDAI in predicting clinical response of tacrolimus in patients with refractory CD were 0.786 (95% CI : 0.648-0.924) , 0.764 (95% CI: 0.595-0.934) and 0.861 (95% CI : 0.729-0.992) , the optimal cut-off values were 189.15, 2.82 and 0.31, sensitivities were 100%, 84.6% and 84.6%, and specificities were 53.1%, 71.9% and 84.4%, respectively. Twenty-six patients continued to receive tacrolimus for 12 months, and the clinical remission rate was 73.1% (19/26) and the recurrence rate was 26.9% (7/26) . Forty-five patients were followed up for 1 year, adverse effects occurred in 6 and there was no severe adverse effects during the treatment of tacrolimus. Conclusions:Tacrolimus can be used as an immunosuppressant to induce the remission and maintenance in refractory CD patients. CDAI and NLR can be used as independent indicators to predict the clinical response of tacrolimus in the treatment of patients with refractory CD, and the combination of CDAI and NLR has higher prediction efficiency.

In recent years, with the application and exploration of fluorescence imaging technology in pancreatic surgery, it has brought new changes and new hope for the intraoperative treatment of pancreatic diseases. Intraoperative fluorescence imaging with indocyanine green (ICG) as probe is increasingly applied in identify neoplasms, real-time margin assessment, tissue perfusion, lymph node detection, anastomotic leakage and so on, which provides a new means for intraoperative decision-making. This article reviewed the progress in the application of ICG fluorescence imaging in pancreatic surgery.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical effect of embolization of congenital parotid arteriovenous fistula(AVF) using coils and absolute ethanol.Methods:From January 2015 to December 2019, 8 patients with congenital AVF in parotid region were admitted to the Department of Interventional Radiology Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital. AVF was confirmed by angiography of common carotid artery and vertebral artery through femoral artery puncture with Seldinger technique. Using coaxial microcatheter to reach the fistula via artery or using direct percutaneous puncture to reach the dilated vein and introduced microcatheter to the fistula via puncture needle. Combined detachable coils with fiber coils, and used absolute ethanol to occlude the fistula. Then the outcome was evaluated.Results:There were 7 males and 1 female involved in this study. The average age was 28.5 years (3-58 years). All of the 8 patients were confirmed AVF in parotid region by angiography, five on the right and three on the left. The feeder artery was external carotid artery, and the outflow vein was external jugular vein. Among them, 6 patients used coaxial microcatheter to reach the fistula via artery, 2 patients used direct percutaneous puncture after failure via transarteral approach. All the 8 patients were treated with absolute ethanol, the total amount of which was 17.4 ml on average. After embolization, the external carotid angiography demonstrated that the fistula was completely occluded, the branches of the external carotid artery at the distal end of the fistula were normal, and there was no obvious reflux vein. After the operation, all the patients had no pulsation and tremor. The external jugular vein dilation disappeared in 4 patients. One patient had temporary facial paralysis on the same side of the operation area. The symptoms disappeared three days after treatment. This patient had undergone coils exposed three months after operation. After local debridement, the exposed coils were removed and the wound healed. The 8 patients were followed up for 6-12 months without recurrence.Conclusions:Embolization with coils combined with absolute ethanol is safe and affective treatment for congenital parotid AVF.