With the increasing attention of domestic and foreign scholars to death with dignity, the importance of death with dignity in the field of hospice care is becoming increasingly prominent. This study reviews the fundamental concept of death with dignity, comprehensively analyzes the content, application scenarios, advantages, and limitations of various cognition and practice assessment tools for death with dignity at home and abroad, aiming to provide reference for promoting the development and appropriate use of cognition and practice assessment tools for death with dignity in China.

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and spatiotemporal clustering of varicella in Lu'an City from 2005 to 2023, and to provide a scientific basis for optimizing varicella prevention and control strategies. Methods Data on varicella cases were collected through the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention Information System. Descriptive epidemiology, temporal trend analysis, seasonal analysis, spatiotemporal clustering analysis, and spatial autocorrelation analysis were conducted using QGIS, JoinPoint, SaTScan and GeoDa software. Results The average annual reported incidence rate of varicella in Lu'an City from 2005 to 2023 was 34.55/100,000, showing a trend of initial increase followed by a decrease. The peak incidence occurred from October to January of the following year (RR=1.97, LLR=1743.95, P=0.001). Students aged 0 to 19 was the primary affected group. Spatiotemporal scan analysis revealed four types of spatiotemporal clusters, with the cluster in Jin'an District from October 2017 to December 2023 being particularly prominent (RR=2.87，LLR=1734.15，P<0.001). Spatial autocorrelation analysis indicated significant clustering of varicella cases in the main urban area (Moran's I=0.216，Z=4.786，P=0.003). Conclusion The incidence of varicella in Lu'an City exhibits distinct seasonal and spatial clustering, and schools and kindergartens in the main urban area are the key to varicella prevention and control. It is necessary to enhance the monitoring of disease outbreaks during peak periods and in key areas, and to increase the two-dose vaccination rate for varicella in areas with case aggregation and among key populations.

Objective: To explore the role of N6-methyladenosine(m6A) modification of RNA and Methyltransferase like Protein 14 methyltransferase(METTL14) in the pathogenesis of early-onset preeclampsia(ePE). Methods: Placental tissues of 15 pregnant women with early-onset preeclampsia and 15 normal pregnant women were collected. The level of m6A was determined by colorimetry, and the expression of METTL14 was determined by RT-qPCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry(IHC) experiments. By transfecting siRNA and plasmid, METTL14 levels of trophoblast cells were knocked down and overexpressed, and cell phenotype experiments were carried out in vitro. The effects of METTL14 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of trophoblast cells were investigated by CCK-8, scratch assay, Transwell assay and invasion assay. Results: The level of m6A in placental tissue of ePE was lower than that of normal pregnancy. METTL14 was mainly expressed in the nuclei of trophoblast cells. Compared with normal pregnancy, the expression of METTL14 in placental tissue of ePE decreased, and thelevel of METTL14 mRNA was positively correlated with the level of m6A in placental tissue. The results of the CCK-8 experiment showed that compared with the control group, knockdown of METTL14 expression in trophoblast cells significantly reduced the cell proliferation rate, while the proliferation ability of trophoblast cells with overexpressed METTL14 was enhanced. The results of the scratch test showed that compared with the control group, the relative healing rate of scratches was significantly reduced after METTL14 knockdown, while it increased after the overexpression of METTL14. The results of the Transwell assay and invasion assay showed that compared with the control group, after knockdown of METTL14, the number of trophoblast cells passing through the chamber was significantly reduced, while the number of trophoblast cells with overexpressed METTL14 passing through the chamber increased. Conclusion The total RNA m6A modification level in placental tissue of ePE is lower than that in the normal pregnancy group. The down-regulation of methyltransferase METTL14 is involved in the regulation of the total RNA m6A modification level. The overexpression of METTL14 can enhance the proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of trophoblast cells. It provides a new perspective for exploring the pathogenesis of early-onset preeclampsia.

Objective: To evaluate the incremental vaccine effectiveness (VE) of two dose of the mumps containing vaccine (MuCV) in chidren, so as to provide a basis for optimizing mumps immunization strategies. Methods: A 1∶2 frequency matched case-control study was conducted by using reported mumps cases in childcare centers or schools from Lu an, Hefei, Ma anshan and Huainan cities of Anhui Province from September 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, as a case group(383 cases). And healthy children in the same classroom were selected as a control group(766 cases). The MuCV immunization histories of participants were collected to estimate the incremental VE of the second dose of MuCV against mumps. Group comparisons were performed using the Chi square test or t-test. For matched case-control pairs, the Cox regression model was employed to calculate the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for two dose MuCV vaccination and to estimate the incremental vaccine effectiveness (VE). Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the case and control groups regarding gender, age, dosage of MuCV vaccination and the time interval since the last dose vaccination( χ 2/t=0.05, 0.20, 0.94, -0.02, P >0.05). The proportions of the case and control groups vaccinated with two doses of MuCV were 26.63% and 29.37%, respectively, and the overall incremental VE of the second dose of MuCV was 40.73% (95% CI=3.03%-63.77%, P <0.05). Subgroup analyses revealed that the incremental VE for children with a period of ≥1 year between the two doses of MuCV was 54.13% (95% CI=1.90%-78.56%, P <0.05), while for children with a period of <1 year, it was 30.63% (95% CI=-28.59%-62.58%, P >0.05). The incremental VE of the second dose of MuCV was 30.36% (95% CI=-25.95%-61.50%, P >0.05) in kindergarten children and 66.73% (95% CI=14.92%-86.99%, P <0.05) in elementary and secondary school students. The incremental VE was 28.78% (95% CI=-27.46%-60.21%, P >0.05) within five years of the last dose of MuCV vaccination and 66.07% (95% CI=-41.56%-91.87%, P >0.05) for vaccinations administered beyond five years. Conclusions The second dose of MuCV may offer additional protection for children; however, extending the interval between two dose of MuCV (<1 year) has shown limited incremental protective effects. Therefore, it is crucial to consider optimizing current immunization strategies for mumps.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the status of targeted monitoring of the health care-associated infections in in-tensive care unit(ICU)of a three-A hospital of northwest China in recent 7 years so as to provide bases for formu-lating effective prevention and control measures for the health care-associated infections.METHODS The related data were successively collected from the ICU hospitalized patients of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University who were under the targeted monitoring by nosocomial infection real-time monitoring system from Jan.2017 to Dec.2023.The data included the incidence of infections,infection sites,use of catheters,inci-dence of catheter-related infections,and distribution and prevalence trend of pathogens.RESULTS A total of 49,137 hospitalized patients from five ICU wards of respiratory medicine department,neurosurgery department,neurology department,thoracic surgery department and critical care medicine department were under the monito-ring,1446(1681 case-times)of whom had health care-associated infections,with the infection rate 2.94％,the case-time infection rate 3.42％.The respiratory system was the major infection site of the patients with the health care-associated infections.Among the patients with instrument-associated infections,20.70％had ventilator-asso-ciated pneumonia(VAP),5.71％had urinary catheter-associated urinary tract infection(CAUTI),and 1.96％had catheter-related bloodstream infection(CRBSI).Totally 405 strains of non-repetitive pathogens were isolated from 477 patients with instruments-associated infections,78.77％of which were gram-negative bacteria.The iso-lation rate of multidrug-resistant organisms(MDROs)was 44.12％,and Acinetobacter baumannii was the pre-dominant species of pathogen isolated from the patients with VAP.CONCLUSIONS The targeted monitoring of health care-associated infections may facilitate the awareness of dynamic changes of the infections in a accurate and timely manner so as to provide bases for developing effective prevention and control measures for the health care-associated infection.It is necessary to strengthen the prevention and control of the infections in critical care medi-cine department,neurosurgery department as well as the lower respiratory tract infections and prevent the MDROs infection in the meantime.

Objective:To investigate the impacts of different surgical fixation sequences on the post-operative functional outcomes in patients with ankle fracture combined with Lisfranc injury.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the 20 patients with ankle fracture and concomitant Lisfranc injury who had been treated between January 2014 and December 2023 at Department of Orthopedics, The 82nd Group Army Hospital of PLA. The cohort included 16 males and 4 females, with an age of (41.3±12.3) years. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on their surgical sequence: an ankle-first group ( n=12) treated first by open reduction and internal fixation of the ankle fracture and then by additional incision reduction and fixation of the Lisfranc injury, and a foot-first group ( n=8) treated first by open reduction and fixation of the Lisfranc injury and then by another incision for open reduction and internal fixation of the ankle fracture. The surgical time, intraoperative fluoroscopy frequency, postoperative Lisfranc articular step-off, postoperative arch height index (AHI), and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score and incidence of traumatic arthritis at 1 year after surgery were compared between the 2 groups. Results:There was no statistically significant difference in the preoperative general data between the 2 groups, indicating comparability ( P>0.05). All patients were followed up for (18.3±3.2) months after surgery. There was no statistically significant difference in surgical time or incidence of traumatic arthritis between the 2 groups ( P>0.05). In the ankle-first group, the intra-operative fluoroscopy frequency [(16.6±2.6) times] was significantly higher than that in the foot-first group [(13.6±2.5) times], and the postoperative Lisfranc articular step-off [0.0 (0.0, 0.8) mm], postoperative AHI [0.31 (0.29, 0.32)], and AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score at 1 year after surgery [(85.2±2.2) points] were all significantly better than those in the foot-first group [(1.3±1.3) mm, 0.29±0.01, and (81.0±4.1) points] (all P<0.05). Conclusion:In the treatment of ankle fracture combined with Lisfranc injury, prioritizing ankle fixation provides a stable biomechanical foundation for subsequent midfoot reduction, leading to improved functional recovery and radiographic outcomes, but requires increased intraoperative fluoroscopy.

With the increasing attention of domestic and foreign scholars to death with dignity, the importance of death with dignity in the field of hospice care is becoming increasingly prominent. This study reviews the fundamental concept of death with dignity, comprehensively analyzes the content, application scenarios, advantages, and limitations of various cognition and practice assessment tools for death with dignity at home and abroad, aiming to provide reference for promoting the development and appropriate use of cognition and practice assessment tools for death with dignity in China.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the status of targeted monitoring of the health care-associated infections in in-tensive care unit(ICU)of a three-A hospital of northwest China in recent 7 years so as to provide bases for formu-lating effective prevention and control measures for the health care-associated infections.METHODS The related data were successively collected from the ICU hospitalized patients of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University who were under the targeted monitoring by nosocomial infection real-time monitoring system from Jan.2017 to Dec.2023.The data included the incidence of infections,infection sites,use of catheters,inci-dence of catheter-related infections,and distribution and prevalence trend of pathogens.RESULTS A total of 49,137 hospitalized patients from five ICU wards of respiratory medicine department,neurosurgery department,neurology department,thoracic surgery department and critical care medicine department were under the monito-ring,1446(1681 case-times)of whom had health care-associated infections,with the infection rate 2.94％,the case-time infection rate 3.42％.The respiratory system was the major infection site of the patients with the health care-associated infections.Among the patients with instrument-associated infections,20.70％had ventilator-asso-ciated pneumonia(VAP),5.71％had urinary catheter-associated urinary tract infection(CAUTI),and 1.96％had catheter-related bloodstream infection(CRBSI).Totally 405 strains of non-repetitive pathogens were isolated from 477 patients with instruments-associated infections,78.77％of which were gram-negative bacteria.The iso-lation rate of multidrug-resistant organisms(MDROs)was 44.12％,and Acinetobacter baumannii was the pre-dominant species of pathogen isolated from the patients with VAP.CONCLUSIONS The targeted monitoring of health care-associated infections may facilitate the awareness of dynamic changes of the infections in a accurate and timely manner so as to provide bases for developing effective prevention and control measures for the health care-associated infection.It is necessary to strengthen the prevention and control of the infections in critical care medi-cine department,neurosurgery department as well as the lower respiratory tract infections and prevent the MDROs infection in the meantime.

Objective:To investigate the impacts of different surgical fixation sequences on the post-operative functional outcomes in patients with ankle fracture combined with Lisfranc injury.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the 20 patients with ankle fracture and concomitant Lisfranc injury who had been treated between January 2014 and December 2023 at Department of Orthopedics, The 82nd Group Army Hospital of PLA. The cohort included 16 males and 4 females, with an age of (41.3±12.3) years. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on their surgical sequence: an ankle-first group ( n=12) treated first by open reduction and internal fixation of the ankle fracture and then by additional incision reduction and fixation of the Lisfranc injury, and a foot-first group ( n=8) treated first by open reduction and fixation of the Lisfranc injury and then by another incision for open reduction and internal fixation of the ankle fracture. The surgical time, intraoperative fluoroscopy frequency, postoperative Lisfranc articular step-off, postoperative arch height index (AHI), and American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score and incidence of traumatic arthritis at 1 year after surgery were compared between the 2 groups. Results:There was no statistically significant difference in the preoperative general data between the 2 groups, indicating comparability ( P>0.05). All patients were followed up for (18.3±3.2) months after surgery. There was no statistically significant difference in surgical time or incidence of traumatic arthritis between the 2 groups ( P>0.05). In the ankle-first group, the intra-operative fluoroscopy frequency [(16.6±2.6) times] was significantly higher than that in the foot-first group [(13.6±2.5) times], and the postoperative Lisfranc articular step-off [0.0 (0.0, 0.8) mm], postoperative AHI [0.31 (0.29, 0.32)], and AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score at 1 year after surgery [(85.2±2.2) points] were all significantly better than those in the foot-first group [(1.3±1.3) mm, 0.29±0.01, and (81.0±4.1) points] (all P<0.05). Conclusion:In the treatment of ankle fracture combined with Lisfranc injury, prioritizing ankle fixation provides a stable biomechanical foundation for subsequent midfoot reduction, leading to improved functional recovery and radiographic outcomes, but requires increased intraoperative fluoroscopy.

Rapid turnover of the intestinal epithelium is a critical strategy to balance the uptake of nutrients and defend against environmental insults, whereas inappropriate death promotes the spread of inflammation. PPARα is highly expressed in the small intestine and regulates the absorption of dietary lipids. However, as a key mediator of inflammation, the impact of intestinal PPARα signaling on cell death pathways is unknown. Here, we show that Pparα deficiency of intestinal epithelium up-regulates necroptosis signals, disrupts the gut vascular barrier, and promotes LPS translocation into the liver. Intestinal Pparα deficiency drives age-related hepatic steatosis and aggravates hepatic fibrosis induced by a high-fat plus high-sucrose diet (HFHS). PPARα levels correlate with TRIM38 and MLKL in the human ileum. Inhibition of PPARα up-regulates necroptosis signals in the intestinal organoids triggered by TNF-α and LPS stimuli via TRIM38/TRIF and CREB3L3/MLKL pathways. Butyric acid ameliorates hepatic steatosis induced by intestinal Pparα deficiency through the inhibition of necroptosis. Our data suggest that intestinal PPARα is essential for the maintenance of microenvironmental homeostasis and the spread of inflammation via the gut-liver axis.