ObjectiveTo obtain the epidemiological characteristics of re-positive cases infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Pudong New Area from March to July 2022, including clinical manifestations, duration of a negative nucleic acid conversion after tested for re-positive, and length of time from the discharge of the initial infection to the most recent re-positivity, so as to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of COVID-19. MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted among the re-positive cases infected with SARS-CoV-2 after discharged from hospital/quarantine facility in Pudong New Area, and descriptive epidemiological methods were used for characteristics analysis. ResultsA total of 2 422 re-positive cases met the inclusive and exclusive criteria, with males accounting for 61.02%. The age distribution mainly fell between 18 and <60 years old, accounting for 62.39%. Clinical manifestations were predominantly asymptomatic (72.15%), followed by cough (12.03%) and sore throat (6.58%). Among the stratified randomized sample of 416 individuals, there were statistically significant differences in symptoms (χ²=262.667, P<0.001), clinical typing (χ²=12.996, P=0.001), and duration of a negative nucleic acid conversion (χ²=142.578, P<0.001) between the initial positive and re-positive instances. Besides, statistically significant differences in symptoms (χ²=13.696, P=0.016) and self-perception of the severity of re-infection (χ²=7.923, P=0.048) between the initial and re-positive cases were observed by different genders. ConclusionAmong re-positive cases, males experienced milder symptoms compared to females, and the self-perception of symptoms during re-positivity is milder than that in the initial positive infection. The length of time for negative nucleic acid conversion during the initial positive period is shorter than that during the re-positive period.

Cells and exosomes derived from them are extensively used as biological carrier systems. Cells demonstrate superior targeting specificity and prolonged circulation facilitated by their rich array of surface proteins, while exosomes, due to their small size, cross barriers and penetrate tumors efficiently. However, challenges remain, cells' large size restricts tissue penetration, and exosomes have limited targeting accuracy and short circulation times. To address these challenges, we developed a novel concept termed exosomal spheres. This approach involved incorporating platelet-derived exosomes shielded with phosphatidylserine (PS) and linked via pH-sensitive bonds for drug delivery applications. The study demonstrated that, compared with exosomes, the exosomal spheres improved blood circulation through the upregulation of CD47 expression and shielding of phosphatidylserine, thereby minimizing immune clearance. Moreover, the increased expression of P-selectin promoted adhesion to circulating tumor cells, thereby enhancing targeting efficiency. Upon reaching the tumor site, the hydrazone bonds of exosome spheres were protonated in the acidic tumor microenvironment, leading to disintegration into uniform-sized exosomes capable of deeper tumor penetration compared to platelets. These findings suggested that exosome spheres addressed the challenges and offered significant potential for efficient and precise drug delivery.

Cemental tear is a rare and indetectable condition unless obvious clinical signs present with the involvement of surrounding periodontal and periapical tissues. Due to its clinical manifestations similar to common dental issues, such as vertical root fracture, primary endodontic diseases, and periodontal diseases, as well as the low awareness of cemental tear for clinicians, misdiagnosis often occurs. The critical principle for cemental tear treatment is to remove torn fragments, and overlooking fragments leads to futile therapy, which could deteriorate the conditions of the affected teeth. Therefore, accurate diagnosis and subsequent appropriate interventions are vital for managing cemental tear. Novel diagnostic tools, including cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), microscopes, and enamel matrix derivatives, have improved early detection and management, enhancing tooth retention. The implementation of standardized diagnostic criteria and treatment protocols, combined with improved clinical awareness among dental professionals, serves to mitigate risks of diagnostic errors and suboptimal therapeutic interventions. This expert consensus reviewed the epidemiology, pathogenesis, potential predisposing factors, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of cemental tear, aiming to provide a clinical guideline and facilitate clinicians to have a better understanding of cemental tear.
Humans ; Dental Cementum/injuries* ; Consensus ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Tooth Fractures/therapy*

Objective:To investigate the effect and mechanism of vitamin K2 on vascular calcification in a type 2 diabetes rat model.Methods:Thirty male Wistar rats,6 weeks old,were acclimatized for 7 days.Ten rats were randomly selected as the negative control group,fed a normal diet,and injected with an equal amount of citrate buffer.The remaining rats were fed a high-fat and high-sugar diet for 4 weeks,and then type 2 diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin.After successful induction of the diabetes model,the diabetic rats were numbered by body weight and divided into the diabetes group and the diabetes+vitamin K2 group according to the principle of stratified random grouping.These two groups were fed a high-fat diet and a high-fat diet containing vitamin K2,respectively,while the control group continued to be fed a normal diet.After 13 weeks of feeding,the rats were sacrificed for sample collection,and blood glucose and vascular calcium concentration were measured.Von Kossa staining was used for histopathological detection.The relative expression levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α),pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4(PDK4),matrix Gla protein(MGP),and bone morphogenetic protein-2(BMP-2)mRNA and proteins were measured by qRT-PCR and Western blot,respectively.Results:Compared with the control group,blood glucose levels in the diabetes group and diabetes+vitamin K2 group were significantly elevated(P＜0.01),but there was no significant difference between the two groups.There was no significant difference in vascular calcium concentration among the three groups(P＞0.05).Von Kossa staining showed that the control group exhibited normal vascular structures,while the diabetes group showed a large number of brown-black calcification plaques between elastic fibers in the vascular media.The diabetes+vitamin K2 group had either no calcification plaques or only a few brown-black calcification plaques.Compared with the control group,the expression levels of PDK4,MGP,and BMP-2 mRNA and proteins were higher in the diabetes group(P＜0.05),but there was no significant difference in the expression level of HIF-1α.Only the expression level of PKD4 protein had significance between the control group and diabetes+vitamin K2 group(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in the above indexes between the diabetic group and diabetic+vitamin K2 group(P＞0.05).Conclusions:Type 2 diabetes mellitus may cause vascular calcification by increasing the expression of PDK4,which in turn leads to increased expression of BMP-2 and MGP.Vitamin K2 can inhibit vascular calcification in diabetes.

Based on the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）'s understanding of consumptive thirst disease and modern medicine's understanding of the etiology of diabetes mellitus and the evolution of the disease， this article discussed the rationality and clinical significance of using "sugar collateral disease" as the name of diabetes mellitus in TCM， to provide a reference for modernization and development of TCM diseases' names. It is argued that the clinical manifestations described in the TCM disease name of consumptive thirst disease are only at a certain stage of diabetes mellitus， and it is difficult to cover the clinical characteristics of modern diabetes mellitus comprehensively. In 2003， academician TONG Xiaolin proposed to use "sugar collateral disease" as the TCM disease name of diabetes mellitus， which on the one hand can reflect the essence of diabetes mellitus， and on the other hand can embody the disease location， disease mechanism and the evolution of the disease， highlight the harms of complications， and serve as a warning for the early diagnosis and treatment of the disease， which can help to enhance the level of diagnosis and treatment of diabetes mellitus in TCM.

Objective To evaluate the value of red cell volume distribution width(RDW)in the prognosis of patients with cardiac arrest(CA).Methods Clinical data of 146 CA patients admitted to intensive care unit(ICU)of Huzhou Central Hospital from January 2018 to October 2022 were retrospectively analyzed,and the patients were divided into survival group and death group according to the prognosis during ICU stay.The clinical data of two groups were compared,and the risk factors affecting the prognosis of CA patients were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of RDW in CA patients.The survival curve was plotted by Kaplan-Meier method.Results A total of 146 CA patients were included in the analysis,among which 49 patients survived and 97 patients died,the mortality rate of CA patients in ICU was 66.44%.The scores of acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ,RDW,blood sodium and alanine aminotransferase in death group were significantly higher than those in survival group,the time of cardiopulmonary resuscitation was significantly longer than that in survival group,and the length of ICU stay was significantly shorter than that in survival group(P<0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that RDW and time of cardiopulmonary resuscitation were independent risk factors for predicting death during ICU stay in CA patients(P<0.05).ROC curve results showed that RDW predicted death in CA patients with the area under curve of 0.742,the best cut-off value was 13.95%,the sensitivity was 59.8%,and the specificity was 85.7%.Patients with low RDW had significantly higher one-year cumulative survival rate than those with high RDW(χ2=18.757,P<0.001).Conclusion RDW was an independent risk factor for predicting death during ICU stay in CA patients.

Objective To observe the effect of ultrasound-guided anterior quadratus lumborum block at lateral supra-arcuate ligament(QLB-LSAL)and transversus abdominis plane block(TAPB)on analgesia and recovery quality after laparoscopic partial hepatectomy(LPH).Methods Fifty-eight patients underwent elective LPH were selected and divided into the quadratus lumborum group or the transversus abdominis group randomly,with 29 patients in each group.The quadratus lumborum group received bilateral QLB-LSAL,and the transversus abdominis group received bilateral subcostal TAPB block before surgery.Both groups received 20 mL of 0.33%ropivacaine on each side.All patients used patient-controlled intravenous analgesia(PCIA)postoperatively.The numeric rating scale(NRS)scores for rest and movement were recorded at 2,4,6,12,24 and 48 hours postoperatively,as well as the Quality of Recovery-15(QoR-15)scores at 1 day preoperatively,1 and 3 days postoperatively.The perioperative anesthetic agent consumption,PCIA pressing frequency,remedial analgesia use in 48 h,postoperative nausea and vomiting(PONV)incidence and time of first out-of-bed mobilization were also recorded.Results Compared with the transversus abdominis group,the quadratus lumborum group had lower movement NRS scores at 2,4,6,12,24 and 48 hours postoperatively,and lower rest NRS scores at 2,4,6,12 and 24 hours postoperatively(P＜0.05).The quadratus lumborum group had higher QoR-15 scores at 1 and 3 days postoperatively(P＜0.05).Patients in the quadratus lumborum group had reduced perioperative remifentanil and sufentanil consumption,postoperative 48-hour rescue analgesia use,PCIA pressing frequency,PONV incidence and time of first out-of-bed mobilization(P＜0.05).Conclusion QLB-LSAL block provides superior analgesic effects and recovery quality compared to TAPB block after LPH.

OBJECTIVE To observe the preventive and therapeutic effect of Ganoderma lucidum spore powder on cancer-related fatigue in postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy patients with breast cancer, and to provide a basis for using traditional Chinese medicine processed by modern processing to effectively improve the quality of life of cancer patients. METHODS Seventy-four female patients who received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital from November 2021 to March 2023 were randomly divided into either treatment(n=37) or control group(n=37). Both groups were given 4 cycles of epirubicin(or liposomal doxorubicin) combined with cyclophosphamide adjuvant chemotherapy and corresponding symptomatic treatment: the treatment group was treated with sporoderm-removed Ganoderma lucidum spore powder 2 g·d–1, and the control group was treated with placebo. The incidence and severity of cancer-related fatigue, the changes in T lymphocyte subsets, serum inflammatory factors, intestinal flora, and the effects of drugs on blood routine, liver, and kidney function were compared between the two groups after treatment. RESULTS The incidence of cancer-related fatigue and the score of the Piper correction scale in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.05), the proportion of CD3+, CD4+, and CD3-CD56+ was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05), while the proportion of CD8+ was significantly lower than that in the control group(P<0.05). The counts of IL-2 and IL-10 were higher than those in the control group, while the counts of IL-6, IL-8, and CRP were lower than those in the control group(P<0.05). The counts of leukocytes, neutrophils, and platelets in the control group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P<0.05), and the abundance of intestinal microflora in the control group was higher than that in the control group. There was no significant difference in liver and kidney function between the 2 groups. CONCLUSION Sporoderm-removed Ganoderma lucidum spore powder can significantly reduce the incidence and level of cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients during adjuvant chemotherapy, inhibit inflammatory factors, regulate intestinal flora and body immunity.