Objective: To explore the clinical features, treatment and prognosis of emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN), so as to enhance the clinical awareness of this disease. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of one EPN patient at The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, and a literature review was performed on articles published in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure and PubMed databases from Jan.1, 2015 to Dec.31, 2024. Results: The patient, a 62-year-old male with a 5 years' history of type 2 diabetes, was admitted due to left flank pain for 4 days, with a temperature of 39.4 ℃.Laboratory tests indicated significantly elevated inflammatory markers, decreased platelet count, and abnormal coagulation function.Preoperative blood and urine cultures showed positivity for Escherichia coli.Computed tomography (CT) revealed complete erosion of the left kidney, with gas in the left ureter and surrounding effusion, as well as multiple free gas in the abdominal cavity, bilateral ureteral stones, right renal lower calyx stones.After a multidisciplinary consultation, he underwent emergency phase Ⅰ left pyeloplasty and perirenal drainage with ureteral stenting.After discharge, the patient received maintenance hemodialysis once every two days in the outpatient clinic.One week after-discharge, the patient was readmitted due to polypnea.Following symptomatic management, vital signs stabilized.Approximately 2 months after the first-stage surgery, ureteroscopic stone extraction was successfully performed.One month after the stone extraction procedure, a follow-up CT showed normalization of the left kidney, renal pelvis and calyces, leading to phase Ⅱ laparoscopic left nephrectomy via the abdominal approach, with postoperative pathology indicating renal necrosis.Among 89 EPN patients reported in 35 articles, the median age was 58(24-92) years old；there were 59（66.3%） females and 30（33.7%） males；fever was the most common clinical symptom (60.7%)；73(82.0%) had diabetes, 12 (13.5%) had urinary tract obstruction；55 (61.8%) were infected with Escherichia coli, and 7 (7.9%) were infected with Klebsiella pneumoniae; 13 died due to ineffective treatmen. Conclusion: EPN presents acutely and progresses rapidly, often leading to misdiagnosis due to the lack of specific early symptoms.Abdominal CT is the preferred imaging modality for rapid diagnosis, and proactive interdisciplinary intervention can improve survival rates, reduce the need for nephrectomy, and enhance prognosis.

Objective To assess the clinical value of a novel surgical technique—Tubeless subxiphoid uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with percutaneous suspension technique via balance-shaped sternal elevation device in the resection of anterior mediastinal masses. Methods Patients who underwent tubeless subxiphoid uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery via balance-shaped sternal elevation device in anterior mediastinal masses process at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University from March to April 2025 were included, and their clinical data were analyzed. Results A total of 4 patients were included, with 2 males and 2 females, aged 58-75 years. The diameter of the tumor was 2.5-3.0 cm. The operation time was 60.0-150.0 min, intraoperative blood loss was 5-10 mL, pain score on the 3rd day after surgery was 0 points, and postoperative hospital stay was 2-3 days. All patients achieved complete resection of the masses and thymus without perioperative complications. Conclusion The tubeless subxiphoid uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with percutaneous suspension technique via balance-shaped sternal elevation device technique optimizes surgical visualization and instrument maneuverability while avoiding complications related to conventional anesthesia and tubing, thereby markedly enhancing the minimally invasive profile of anterior mediastinal masses resections. In addition to maintaining procedural safety, this approach effectively reduces postoperative pain and accelerates patient recovery, highlighting its potential for widespread clinical adoption.

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics,drug resistance and risk factors for poor prognosis in children patients with carbapenem resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae(CRKP)infection.Methods The samples of CRKP isolated from the children inpatients in this hospital from August 5,2016 to December 31,2020 were collected.The clinical data and drug resistance of CRKP in the patients with CRKP positive were analyzed.The risk factors in the poor prognosis group and good prognosis group of children pa-tients with CRKP infection conducted the correlation analysis.Results A total of 106 strains of non-repeti-tive CRKP were collected,which were mainly isolated from the patients ≤ 1 year old.The department distri-bution was dominated by the neonatal ICU and comprehensive ICU.CRKP showed the high resistance to mul-tiple antibacterial drugs,and its resistance rates to amikacin,levofloxacin,gentamicin,ciprofloxacin,minocy-cline and chloramphenicol were less than 30％.The poor prognosis rate in the children patients with CRKP in-fection reached 27.4％.The logistic multivariate regression analysis results showed that the multiple organ dysfunction and anemia were the independent risk factors for poor prognosis in the children patients with CRKP infection(P＜0.05).Conclusion The children CRKP infection is mainly the infants ≤1 years old,and CRKP shows the high resistance to multiple antibacterial drugs,the independent risk factors of poor prognosis include the multiple organ dysfunction and anemia

Objective:To explore the impact of sleep duration, physical exercise, and their interactions on the risk of dyslipidemia in older adults aged ≥80 (the oldest old) in China.Methods:The study subjects were the oldest old from four rounds of Healthy Aging and Biomarkers Cohort Study (2008-2009, 2011-2012, 2014 and 2017-2018). The information about their demographic characteristics, lifestyles, physical examination results and others were collected, and fasting venous blood samples were collected from them for blood lipid testing. Competing risk model was used to analyze the causal associations of sleep duration and physical exercise with the risk for dyslipidemia. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) function was used to explore the dose-response relationship between sleep duration and the risk for dyslipidemia. Additive and multiplicative interaction model were used to explore the interaction of sleep duration and physical exercise on the risk for dyslipidemia.Results:The average age of 1 809 subjects was (93.1±7.7) years, 65.1% of them were women. The average sleep duration of the subjects was (8.0±2.5) hours/day, 28.1% of them had sleep duration for less than 7 hours/day, and 27.2% had sleep for duration more than 9 hours/day at baseline survey. During the 9-year cumulative follow-up of 6 150.6 person years (follow-up of average 3.4 years for one person), there were 304 new cases of dyslipidemia, with an incidence density of 4 942.6/100 000 person years. The results of competitive risk model analysis showed that compared with those who slept for 7-9 hours/day, the risk for dyslipidemia in oldest old with sleep duration >9 hours/day increased by 22% ( HR=1.22, 95% CI: 1.07-1.39). Compared with the oldest old having no physical exercise, the risk for dyslipidemia in the oldest old having physical exercise decreased by 33% ( HR=0.67, 95% CI: 0.57-0.78). The RCS function showed a linear positive dose-response relationship between sleep duration and the risk for hyperlipidemia. The interaction analysis showed that physical exercise and sleep duration had an antagonistic effect on the risk for hyperlipidemia. Conclusion:Physical exercise could reduce the adverse effects of prolonged sleep on blood lipids in the oldest old.

Na⁺/H⁺ antiporter (NHX) gene subfamily plays an important role in plant response to salt stress. In this study, we identified the NHX gene family members of Chinese cabbage and analyzed the expression patterns of BrNHXs gene in response to abiotic stresses such as high temperature, low temperature, drought and salt stress. The results showed that there were 9 members of the NHX gene family in Chinese cabbage, which were distributed on 6 chromosomes respectively. The number of amino acids was 513-1 154 aa, the relative molecular weight was 56 804.22-127 856.66 kDa, the isoelectric point was 5.35-7.68. Members of BrNHX gene family mainly existed in vacuoles, the gene structure is complete, and the number of exons is 11-22. The secondary structures of the proteins encoded by the NHX gene family in Chinese cabbage had alpha helix, beta turn and random coil, and the alpha helix occurred more frequently. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that the gene family members had different responses to high temperature, low temperature, drought and salt stress, and their expression levels differed significantly in different time periods. BrNHX02 and BrNHX09 had the most significant responses to these four stresses, and their expression levels were significantly up-regulated at 72 h after treatments, which could be used as candidate genes to further verify their functions.
Genome, Plant ; Multigene Family ; Stress, Physiological/genetics* ; Brassica/metabolism* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Phylogeny ; Plant Proteins/metabolism*

Objective To evaluate the effect of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) on the degree of bronchial asthma (BA) in adults, and to analyze the potential relationship between the two. Methods A retrospective study was used to collect 90 patients with BA patients who were admitted to Jiangsu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2018 to June 2022. All patients received polysomnography (PSG) to calculate the apnea hypopnea index (AHI). Patients were divided into mild OSAS (AHI<15), moderate OSAS (1530) according to AHI value. In addition, BA related indicators of patients were measured, such as forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), FEV1%, FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC), exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), total airway resistance (R5), central airway resistance (R20) and peripheral elastic resistance (X5). Analysis of variance was used to compare the differences in BA related indicators in patients with different degrees of OSAS, and Pearson linear correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between AHI and the measured values of BA indicators. Results There was 1 case (1.11%) in AHI<15, 41 cases (45.56%) in 1530. There was no difference in gender composition among different AHI groups, but the AHI value of BA patients aged 70 years and above was higher, and the age difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The results of different AHI groups showed that the patients with moderate to severe OSAS received higher step-up treatment for asthma, most of which were in step 3 and step 4, with a statistically significant difference (2=90.085，P<0.001). The variance analysis results showed that the more severe the OSAS, the lower the ratio of FEV1/FVC (%) (F=2.600, P=0.011), and the higher the FeNO and R5 measurements values (F=-6.454 , F=-3.291, P<0.001). Pearson linear correlation analysis showed that AHI was negatively correlated with FEV1% (r=-0.356, P<0.05) and FEV1/FVC% (r=-0.289, P<0.001), but AHI was positively correlated with R5 (r=0.447, P<0.05). Conclusion BA patients with OSAS have significantly abnormal respiratory function-related indicators, and with the aggravation of OSAS, BA will further deteriorate

Objective:To study the effects of arsenic exposure on necroptosis pathway and inflammatory response of mouse myocardial cells.Methods:Sixty male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group (group C) and low, medium, and high dose arsenic exposure groups (groups L, M, H) based on body weight using a random number table method. Each group had 15 mice, and they drank 0.00, 0.15, 1.50, and 15.00 mg/L arsenic trioxide (As 2O 3) solution prepared with deionized water. The exposure period was 12 weeks. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Masson trichrome staining of paraffin-embedded heart tissues were used to observe the histopathology changes of the heart. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to evaluate the ultrastructural changes of myocardial cells. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression of inflammatory genes [tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin(IL)-6] and the genes involved in necroptosis pathway [receptor-interacting protein (RIP) 1, RIP3 and mixed-lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL)]. Protein expressions of RIP1 and RIP3 in the heart were assessed by western blotting. Results:Histopathological examination results showed there were myocardial necrosis, inflammatory cells infiltration and fibroblasts hyperplasia and other changes in groups M and H. TEM analysis revealed marked ultrastructural changes in groups M and H, including fractured myofibril, fractured Z lines of sarcomere, and swollen mitochondria with fractured cristae. Compared with group C (1.00 ± 0.00), the mRNA expression of RIP1 in group H was significantly up-regulated (1.41 ± 0.06, P < 0.05); the mRNA expressions of RIP3 (1.29 ± 0.14, 1.56 ± 0.08), MLKL (1.23 ± 0.05, 1.36 ± 0.07), TNF-α (2.20 ± 0.10, 2.23 ± 0.18) and IL-6 (1.87 ± 0.16, 1.63 ± 0.15) were significantly up-regulated in groups M and H ( P < 0.05). The protein expressions of RIP1 (0.43 ± 0.04, 0.50 ± 0.04) and RIP3 (0.68 ± 0.02, 0.84 ± 0.05) in groups M and H were higher than those in group C (0.25 ± 0.01, 0.45 ± 0.04, P < 0.05). Conclusion:Subchronic arsenic exposure induces histopathological changes such as myocardial necrosis and fibrosis in mice, inducing necroptosis and inflammatory reactions in myocardial cells.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of serum proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid) on incidence and the 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis-associated acute kidney injury (SA-AKI).Methods:This study was a single center, observational cohort study. Sepsis/septic shock patients admitted to Department of Critical Care Medicine of Taizhou People's Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University from September 2021 to September 2022 were selected and divided into the SA-AKI group and the non-SA-AKI group according to whether acute kidney injury (AKI) occurred within 28 days. Patients in the SA-AKI group were subdivided into the death group and the survival group according to whether death occurred within 28 days. Baseline data and laboratory indicators such as penKid concentration were compared among different groups. COX regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors of death within 28 days in the SA-AKI patients, And Kaplan-Meier curve was used to analyze patient prognosis.Result:A total of 161 patients were included in this study, of whom 66 (41.0%) developed AKI. The baseline penKid concentration in the SA-AKI group was significantly higher than that in the non-SA-AKI group [(2.99 ± 0.68) μg/L vs. (1.86±0.75) μg/L, P<0.05]. Multivariate COX regression analysis showed that the baseline penKid ( HR=5.608, 95% CI: 3.507-8.967, P<0.001) and lactate (LA) ( HR=1.089, 95% CI: 1.003-1.183, P=0.043) were independent risk factors for AKI in sepsis/septic shock patients. Of the 66 SA-AKI patients, 27 (40.9%) died within 28 days, and the baseline penKid concentration in the death group was significantly higher than that in the survival group [ (3.55 ± 0.54) μg/L vs. (2.60±0.47) μg/L, P<0.05]. COX regression analysis showed that penKid ( HR=5.892, 95% CI: 2.457-14.132, P<0.001) was an independent risk factor for mortality in SA-AKI patients. Kaplan-Meier curve showed that the 28-day mortality of patients with baseline penKid ≥ 3.24 μg/L was significantly higher than that of patients with baseline penKid <3.24 μg/L ( P<0.001). Conclusions:In sepsis/septic shock patients, the penKid concentration measured on the first day in the SA-AKI group is significantly higher than that in the non-SA-AKI group. In SA-AKI patients, the penKid concentration measured in patients who survived within 28 days is significantly lower than that in the death group. PenKid is an independent risk factor for the occurrence and death of SA-AKI.

Objective:To explore the risk factors of acute kidney injury (AKI) in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients with mechanical ventilation.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted. ARDS patients with mechanical ventilation admitted to ICU of Taizhou People's Hospital from January 2019 to December 2019 were enrolled. Patients were divided into the AKI group and non-AKI group according to whether the patients had AKI. Clinical characteristics and laboratory indicators of the two groups were compared. Risk factors of incidence of AKI in ARDS patients were analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was drawn to evaluate the survival rates of the two groups.Results:A total of 120 ARDS patients with mechanical ventilation were included, and 57 patients (47.5%) developed AKI. Procalcitonin, increased basal creatinine, decreased pH and impaired consciousness were independent risk factors for AKI in ARDS patients with mechanical ventilation. Fifty-seven of the 120 patients died with a mortality of 38.3%. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the survival rate of the AKI group was significantly lower than that of the non-AKI group ( P<0.001). Conclusions:The incidence and mortality of AKI is high in ARDS patients with mechanical ventilation. Procalcitonin, increased basal creatinine, decreased pH and impaired consciousness are independent risk factors for AKI in ARDS patients with mechanical ventilation.

Objective:To investigate the safety of warfarin for Kawasaki disease (KD) with coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) and its prognosis.Methods:Twenty one children with KD complicated with giant CAA, multiple CAA in one coronary artery or thrombosis in coronary artery were enrolled in this prospective study. Warfarin was used to control the goal international normalized ratio (INR) ranging from 2.0 to 3.0. The CAA diameter, number, location and thrombus in coronary artery were recorded at the beginning of treatment, 1, 2, 3, 4 weeks and 2, 3, 6, 12 months after treatment, as well as the influence on INR, electrocaroliogram, creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), troponin I. Standardized warfarin bleeding risk training and management was implemented. Children were divided into implementation group and non-implementation group according to the status of actual implementation of their parents. The incidence of bleeding events was compared between the two groups. Comparisons between groups were performed using a Rank sum test and a Fisher exact test.Results:In the 21 patients (15 males and 6 females), the age of onset ranged from 2 months to 6 years. There were 4 cases with grade Ⅱ, 7 cases with grade Ⅲ, 7 cases with grade Ⅳ and 3 cases with grade Ⅴ according to the severity of coronary arterial lesions before treatment. The time of clinical detection of thrombus in 10 children with thrombosis ranged from the fourth day to the fourth month. The dose distribution of warfarin was 0.06-0.10 mg/(kg·d), and the INR was 1.80-2.59. Among the 10 cases with thrombus, 8 cases had disappearance of thrombi and 2 cases with grade Ⅴ had thrombus organization to different degree. After treatment, the coronary artery ectasia of the 4 cases with grade Ⅱ all returned to normal. Among the 7 cases with grade Ⅲ, 3 cases of coronary artery aneurysms returned to normal, and 4 cases did not change. Among the 7 cases with grade Ⅳ , 5 cases of coronary artery aneurysms shrank to grade Ⅲ, and 2 cases remained unchanged. Three cases with grade Ⅴ lesions had no changes in aneurysm. Neither new thrombus nor new CAA was detected during the treatment. There was no significant change in electrocardiogram before and after treatment. No statistically significant difference was found regarding the troponin I (0.07 (0-3.01) vs. 0.04 (0-0.29) μg/L, Z=0.932, P>0.05) and CK-MB (20.6 (11.2-58.2) vs. 29.0 (16.7-47.0) U/L, Z=1.906, P>0.05) before and after treatment. The incidence of bleeding events in the implementation group was significantly lower than that in the non-implementation group (2/15 vs. 4/6, Fisher=5.689, P=0.031). Conclusions:The application of goal INR of 2.0-3.0 and adjustment of warfarin dose according to the severity of CAA combined with standardized and strict warfarin bleeding risk training and management, can increase the safety of warfarin therapy in children with KD, improve the prognosis of coronary artery lesions, promote the dissolution of thrombi, prevent new thrombosis, and effectively reduce the incidence of bleeding complication.