Objective:To investigate the effects of diquat (DQ) on the expression of intestinal pyroptosis-related proteins and tight junction proteins in rats, and to analyze the role of pyroptosis in the intestinal injury of rats with acute DQ poisoning.Methods:A total of 36 Wistar male rats were randomly divided into control group, and 3 hours, 12 hours, 36 hours and 3 days exposure groups, with 6 rats in each group. Each exposure group was given 1/2 median lethal dose (LD50) of 115.5 mg/kg DQ by one-time gavage. The control group was given the same amount of normal saline by gavage. The control group was anesthetized at 3 hours after DQ gavage to take jejunal tissues; each exposure group was anesthetized at 3 hours, 12 hours, 36 hours, and 3 days after DQ gavage to take jejunal tissues, respectively. The general conditions of the rats were recorded. The pathological changes of jejunum tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The expression of intestinal pyroptosis-related proteins [NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), cysteine aspartate-specific protease 1 (caspase-1), Gasdemin D (GSDMD)] in the intestinal tissues was observed by immunohistochemical staining. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of intestinal pyroptosis-related proteins and intestinal tight junction proteins (Occludin and Claudin-1).Results:Light microscopy showed that pathological changes occurred in jejunum tissue at the early stage of exposure (3 hours), and the injury was the most serious in the 12 hours exposure group, with a large number of inflammatory cells infiltrating in the tissue, and the damage was significantly reduced after 3 days exposure. Immunohistochemical results showed that NLRP3, caspase-1 and GSDMD were expressed in the jejunal mucosa of the control group and the exposure groups, and the positive cells in the control group were less expressed with light staining. The expression of the above proteins in the exposed group was increased significantly and the staining was deep. Western blotting results showed that compared with the control group, the expression of NLRP3 protein in jejunum tissues of all groups was increased, with the most significant increase in the 36 hours group (NLRP3/β-actin: 1.47±0.06 vs. 0.43±0.14, P < 0.01). Compared with the control group, the expression of GSDMD protein in the 3 hours, 12 hours and 36 hours exposure groups increased, and the expression of GSDMD protein in the 3 hours and 12 hours exposure groups increased significantly (GSDMD/β-actin: 1.04±0.40, 1.25±0.15 vs. 0.65±0.25, both P < 0.05). The expression of caspase-1 protein was increased in 36 hours exposure group compared with the control group (caspase-1/β-actin: 1.44±0.34 vs. 0.98±0.19, P > 0.05). Compared with the control group, the expression of Occludin and Claudin-1 proteins in each exposure group decreased, and the expression of Occludin proteins was significantly decreased in the 3 hours, 12 hours, and 36 hours exposure groups decreased significantly (Occludin/β-actin: 0.74±0.17, 0.91±0.20, 0.79±0.23 vs. 1.41±0.08, all P < 0.05). Although the protein expression of Claudin-1 decreased in each exposure group, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion:The intestinal injury caused by acute DQ poisoning may be related to the activation of pyroptosis pathway of small intestinal cells and the reduction of the density of intercellular junctions.

Objective To retrieve,evaluate and summarize the relevant evidences of oral health manage-ment in the community elderly people to provide reference for community medical staffs.Methods The evi-dences on oral health management of the comunity elderly people were systematically retrieved from various guide websites and Chinese and English databases.The retrieval limit was from the database establishment to September 2021.The research group conducted the evaluation and extracted the evidences according to the rel-evant literature evaluation criteria.Results A total of 17 literatures were included,including 5 guidelines,4 expert consensuses and 8 systematic reviews.A total of 28 pieces of evidences were summarized from the five aspects of assessment and examination,daily life management,management of special oral problems,denture management,and education and training.Conclusion Community medical staffs should fully consider the clin-ical situation,department resources and patient wishes,and conduct the evidence application to increase the o-ral health level of the community elderly people.

Objective·To evaluate the quality of clinical practice guidelines of obstructive sleep apnea(OSA)published worldwide.Methods·The guidelines of OSA were retrieved in PubMed,Embase,China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),Wanfang Data,SinoMed,MedSci,The Cochrane Library,and the websites such as Medlive,U.S.Preventive Services Task Force(USPSTF),National Institute for Health and Care Excellence(NICE),New Zealand Guidelines Group(NZGG),Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network(SIGN),and Guidelines International Network(GIN)from establishment to December 2022.Two reviewers screened the literature and extracted the main information independently,using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation Ⅱ(AGREE Ⅱ)and Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Healthcare(RIGHT)to evaluate the quality of the included OSA guidelines.Subgroup analysis was performed according to the publication regions of guidelines.The inter-evaluator consistency test was also performed and the results were expressed as the intra-class correlation coefficient(ICC).All the included guidelines were read entirely and the clinical questions they raised were summarized.Results·A total of 35 OSA guidelines were included.The ICC value of 0.975 showed a good inter-evaluator agreement.The results of AGREE Ⅱ showed that the average score of all guidelines was(63.60±16.45)%,with a minimum of 23.40%and a maximum of 91.67%.In the six domains,the scores of"Rigor of development"[(56.07±25.89)%]and"Applicability"[(53.57±15.52)%]were relative low.The average reporting rate of RIGHT of all the included guidelines was(67.84±20.03)%,with a minimum of 14.29%and a maximum of 94.29%,and the three domains with the lowest reporting rates were"Review and quality assurance"[(31.40±45.51)%],"Funding and conflict of interest declaration and management"[(56.43±33.95)%]and"Other aspects"[(56.19±36.85)%].Subgroup analysis showed that guidelines in Asian had a lower score in"Rigor of development"and a lower overall score of AGREE Ⅱ than the guidelines in America and Europe(both P<0.05),and the reporting rates in the domains of"Evidence"and"Other information"of RIGHT of the Asian guidelines were also lower than those in the guidelines in America and Europe(P<0.05).These guidelines focused on 42 clinical questions which were classified to 3 aspects,i.e.screening and diagnosis,treatment and long-term management of OSA.Conclusion·The quality of current global OSA guidelines varies a lot,and they need to be strengthened in terms of rigor of development,applicability,review and quality assurance,funding and conflict of interest declaration and management,especially those in Asia.

Objective To explore the factors influencing the pregnancy rate after fallopian tube recanalization(FTR),and to construct and validate a nomogram prediction model.Methods The clinical data of a total of 322 female patients with tubal obstructive infertility,who received FTR at the Wuhan Municipal Third Hospital of China between January 2018 and December 2022,were retrospectively analyzed.According to whether the female patient had natural pregnancy or not within 12 months after FTR treatment,the female patients were divided into the pregnant group and the non-pregnant group.Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent factors influencing pregnancy.The female patients were randomly divided into training group and validation group at 1∶1 ratio.A nomogram model was constructed in the training group,and the predictive efficacy of the model was verified in the validation group by using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves,calibration curves and decision curve analysis(DCA).Results The natural pregnancy rate at one year after FTR was 45.34％(146/322).Age＞35 years,primary infertility,duration of infertility＞3 years,distal fallopian tube obstruction,and moderate to severe tubal lesion were the independent risk factors affecting the pregnancy rate after FTR(all P＜0.05).The constructed nomogram model had a good differentiation and calibration ability and it carried a high degree of clinical utility.Conclusion The nomogram model constructed in this study can effectively predict the risk of infertility within one year after FTR treatment,which is helpful for formulating the individualized therapeutic scheme for infertility female patients.

Objective To investigate the clinical features and risk factors for deep vein thrombosis(DVT)of the lower ex-tremities in burn patients.Methods The clinical data of 155 burn patients admitted to Wuhan Third Hospital from January 2021 to January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.The patients were divided into DVT group and non-DVT group according to whether they had concurrent DVT during hospitalization.Two groups of baseline data were compared[sex,age,body mass in-dex(BMI),coexisting diseases,smoking,drinking,DVT history of the lower limbs,burn cause,burn site,burn degree,central venous catheter retention in the femoral vein,wound infection,low-molecular-weight heparin application,time in bed,and labora-tory indicators[D-dimer(D-d),fibrinogen(FIB),homocysteine(Hey)].The levels of tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)and C-reac-tive protein(CRP)differed,and the risk factors for DVT in burn patients were determined via multivariate logistic regression a-nalysis.Finally,this study analyzed the value of BMI,time in bed,D-dimer,fibrinogen,Hcy,TNF-α,and CRP in predicting DVT in burn patients via receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves.Results There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of sex,combined disease,smoking or drinking,or cause of burn(all P＞0.05).The following risk factors were found to be significantly greater in the group with deep vein thrombosis(DVT)than in the group without DVT:age 60 years or older,history of lower limb DVT,lower limb burn of degree Ⅱ or above covering 30％or more of the area,femoral vein indentation central venous catheter,wound infection,and lack of low-molecular-weight heparin treatment.Additionally,BMI,D-dimer levels,fibrinogen levels(FIB),homocysteine(Hcy)levels,TNF-α levels,and C-reactive protein(CRP)levels were signifi-cantly higher in the DVT group than in the non-DVT group.The time in bed was significantly longer in the DVT group than in the non-DVT group(P＜0.01).Multivariate logistic regression analysis confirmed that the risk factors for DVT in burn pa-tients included age ≥60 years,history of lower extremity DVT,lower extremity burn,burn degree Ⅱ or above,burn area≥30％,femoral vein indwelling central venous catheter,wound inf ection,lack of low-molecular-weight heparin application,increased BMI,elevated levels of D-dimer,FIB,Hcy,TNF-α,and CRP,and prolonged time in bed.ROC analysis confirmed that BMI,time in bed,D-d,FIB,Hcy,TNF-α and CRP could all be used to predict DVT in burn patients,and the areas under the curve were 0.844,0.853,0.890,0.817,0.892,0.962 and 0.776,respectively,(all P＜0.01).Conclusion Burn patients complicated with DVT are affected by many factors.Moreover,ROC analysis confirmed that BMI,time in bed,D-d,FIB,Hcy,TNF-α and CRP could be indicators for predic-ting DVT,which should be considered in the subsequent clinical treatment of such patients.

Background Air pollution is a major public health concern. Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is a very important air quality risk communication tool. However, AQHI is usually constructed by single-pollutant model, which has obvious disadvantages. Objective To construct an AQHI based on the joint effects of multiple air pollutants (J-AQHI), and to provide a scientific tool for health risk warning and risk communication of air pollution. Methods Data on non-accidental deaths in Yunnan, Guangdong, Hunan, Zhejiang, and Jilin provinces from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2018 were obtained from the corresponding provincial disease surveillance points systems (DSPS), including date of death, age, gender, and cause of death. Daily meteorological (temperature and relative humidity) and air pollution data (SO₂, NO₂, CO, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and maximum 8 h O₃ concentrations) at the same period were respectively derived from China Meteorological Data Sharing Service System and National Urban Air Quality Real-time Publishing Platform. Lasso regression was first applied to select air pollutants, then a time-stratified case-crossover design was applied. Each case was matched to 3 or 4 control days which were selected on the same days of the week in the same calendar month. Then a distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) was used to estimate the exposure-response relationship between selected air pollutants and mortality, which was used to construct the AQHI. Finally, AQHI was classified into four levels according to the air pollutant guidance limit values from World Health Organization Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQG 2021), and the excess risks (ERs) were calculated to compare the AQHI based on single-pollutant model and the J-AQHI based on multi-pollutant model. Results PM_2.5, NO₂, SO₂, and O₃ were selected by Lasso regression to establish DLNM model. The ERs for an interquartile range (IQR) increase and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for PM_2.5, NO₂, SO₂ and O₃ were 0.71% (0.34%–1.09%), 2.46% (1.78%–3.15%), 1.25% (0.9%–1.6%), and 0.27% (−0.11%–0.65%) respectively. The distribution of J-AQHI was right-skewed, and it was divided into four levels, with ranges of 0-1 for low risk, 2-3 for moderate risk, 4-5 for high health risk, and ≥6 for severe risk, and the corresponding proportions were 11.25%, 64.61%, 19.33%, and 4.81%, respectively. The ER (95%CI) of mortality risk increased by 3.61% (2.93–4.29) for each IQR increase of the multi-pollutant based J-AQHI , while it was 3.39% (2.68–4.11) for the single-pollutant based AQHI . Conclusion The J-AQHI generated by multi-pollutant model demonstrates the actual exposure health risk of air pollution in the population and provides new ideas for further improvement of AQHI calculation methods.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the toxicokinetic parameters, absorption characteristics and pathomorphological damage in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract of rats poisoned with different doses of diquat (DQ). METHODS: Ninety-six healthy male Wistar rats were randomly divided into a control group (six rats) and low (115.5 mg/kg), medium (231.0 mg/kg) and high (346.5 mg/kg) dose DQ poisoning groups (thirty rats in each dose group), and then the poisoning groups were randomly divided into 5 subgroups according to the time after exposure (15 minutes and 1, 3, 12, 36 hours; six rats in each subgroup). All rats in the exposure groups were given a single dose of DQ by gavage. Rats in the control group was given the same amount of saline by gavage. The general condition of the rats was recorded. Blood was collected from the inner canthus of the eye at 3 time points in each subgroup, and rats were sacrificed after the third blood collection to obtain gastrointestinal specimens. DQ concentrations in plasma and tissues were determined by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (UPHLC-MS), and the toxic concentration-time curves were plotted to calculate the toxicokinetic parameters; the morphological structure of the intestine was observed under light microscopy, and the villi height and crypt depth were determined and the ratio (V/C) was calculated. RESULTS: DQ was detected in the plasma of the rats in the low, medium and high dose groups 5 minutes after exposure. The time to maximum plasma concentration (Tmax) was (0.85±0.22), (0.75±0.25) and (0.25±0.00) hours, respectively. The trend of plasma DQ concentration over time was similar in the three dose groups, but the plasma DQ concentration increased again at 36 hours in the high dose group. In terms of DQ concentration in gastrointestinal tissues, the highest concentrations of DQ were found in the stomach and small intestine from 15 minutes to 1 hour and in the colon at 3 hours. By 36 hours after poisoning, the concentrations of DQ in all parts of the stomach and intestine in the low and medium dose groups had decreased to lower levels. Gastrointestinal tissue (except jejunum) DQ concentrations in the high dose group tended to increase from 12 hours. Higher doses of DQ were still detectable [gastric, duodenal, ileal and colonic DQ concentrations of 6 400.0 (1 232.5), 4 889.0 (6 070.5), 10 300.0 (3 565.0) and 1 835.0 (202.5) mg/kg respectively]. Light microscopic observation of morphological and histopathological changes in the intestine shows that acute damage to the stomach, duodenum and jejunum of rats was observed 15 minutes after each dose of DQ, pathological lesions were observed in the ileum and colon 1 hour after exposure, the most severe gastrointestinal injury occurred at 12 hours, significant reduction in villi height, significant increase in crypt depth and lowest V/C ratio in all segments of the small intestine, damage begins to diminish by 36-hour post-intoxication. At the same time, morphological and histopathological damage to the intestine of rats at all time points increased significantly with increasing doses of the toxin. CONCLUSIONS The absorption of DQ in the digestive tract is rapid, and all segments of the gastrointestinal tract may absorb DQ. The toxicokinetics of DQ-tainted rats at different times and doses have different characteristics. In terms of timing, gastrointestinal damage was seen at 15 minutes after DQ, and began to diminish at 36 hours. In terms of dose, Tmax was advanced with the increase of dose and the peak time was shorter. The damage to the digestive system of DQ is closely related to the dose and retention time of the poison exposure.
Animals ; Male ; Rats ; Diquat/toxicity* ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Intestines ; Poisons ; Rats, Wistar ; Toxicokinetics

Objective:To explore the clinical features of acute diquat (DQ) poisoning, and further improve the awareness of acute DQ poisoning.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of patients with acute DQ poisoning diagnosed in the emergency department of the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2021. The clinical data included age, gender, exposure routes, presence of pesticides (drugs) mixture poisoning, dosage of poison, the time from taking poisoning to admitting in the emergency department, clinical manifestations, laboratory data, treatment, hospital days, prognosis and survival days.Results:The number of cases who firstly complained of acute DQ poisoning in the past three years were 19 cases in 2019, 28 cases in 2020, and 51 cases in 2021. A total of 12 patients were excluded due to being diagnosed paraquat (PQ) poisoning by toxicology detection. Finally, 86 cases of acute DQ poisoning were included, including 80 cases of oral DQ poisoning, 1 case of intramuscular injection, 1 case of binocular contact and 4 cases of dermal exposure. In 80 cases of oral DQ poisoning, there were 70 cases of diquat poisoning alone (42 cases survived, 28 cases died) and 10 cases of pesticide mixture poisoning (6 cases survived, 4 cases died). The time from oral poisoning to admitting in the emergency department was 0.5-96.0 hours, with an average of (8.6±5.8) hours. The time of intramuscular injection poisoning to admitting in the emergency department was 3 hours. The time of dermal exposure to admitting in the emergency department was relatively long, with an average of 66.1 hours. The time from oral simple DQ poisoning to death was 12.0-108.0 hours, and the time from oral mixed DQ poisoning to death was 24.0-576.0 hours. A total of 70 patients with oral diquat poisoning alone presented various degrees of multiple organ injuries. All patients presented gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. Renal injury and central nervous system injury were the most significant and closely related to the prognosis.Conclusions:Acute oral DQ poisoning can cause to multiple organ injuries, and the clinical manifestations are related to the dose of the poison. In severe cases, acute renal failure and refractory circulatory failure occur within 24 hours after poisoning, and severe central nervous system injury with disturbance of consciousness as the primary manifestation occurs within 36 hours, followed by multiple organ failure until death.

Objective:To evaluate the optimization efficacy of anterior quadratus lumborum block at supra-arcuate ligament (SA-AQLB) combined with general anesthesia for laparoscopic gynecological surgery.Methods:Eighty American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status Ⅰ or Ⅱ patients, aged 28-64 yr, weighing 52-78 kg, with height of 154-166 cm, scheduled for elective laparoscopic gynecological surgery, were divided into general anesthesia group (group G, n=40) and SA-AQLB combined with general anesthesia group (group SG, n=40) using a random number table method.In group SG, bilateral SA-AQLB was performed under ultrasound guidance before anesthesia induction, and 0.4% ropivacaine 25 ml plus dexamethasone 5 mg was injected into both sides.Combined intravenous-inhalational anesthesia was applied in both groups.Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) with sufentanil 2 μg/kg (in 150 ml of normal saline) was performed after surgery.The PCIA pump was set up to deliver a 2 ml bolus dose with a 15-min lockout interval and background infusion at 2 ml/h.Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores for abdomen, pelvis and shoulder pain were recorded at 1, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h after operation.Flurbiprofen was used for rescue analgesia when VAS score >4.The occurrence of intraoperative cardiovascular events and amount of sufentanil used during operation were recorded.The time to first pressing the analgesia pump, effective pressing times of PCA, requirement for rescue analgesia and consumption of sufentanil after operation were recorded.The extubation time, time to first flatus after operation, first ambulation time, length of hospital stay and development of postoperative adverse reactions such as nausea and vomiting, urinary retention and respiratory depression within 48 h after operation were recorded. Results:Compared with group G, the incidence of intraoperative hypertension and tachycardia was significantly decreased, the incidence of intraoperative hypotension and bradycardia was increased, the intraoperative consumption of sufentanil was reduced, the extubation time was shortened, the time to first pressing the analgesia pump was prolonged, the effective pressing times of PCA, requirement for rescue analgesia and postoperative consumption of sufentanil were reduced, the time to first flatus, first ambulation time and length of hospital stay were shortened, VAS scores for abdomen, pelvis and shoulder pain were decreased at each time point after operation, and the incidence of nausea and vomiting, urinary retention and respiratory depression after operation was decreased in group SG ( P<0.01). Conclusions:Compared with general anesthesia, the combination of SA-AQLB and general anesthesia can reduce the opioid consumption, inhibit intraoperative stress responses and postoperative hyperalgesia and promote early postoperative recovery when used for the patients undergoing laparoscopic gynecological surgery.

Objective:To investigate the current situation of emergency medical service (EMS) system and its effect on treatment of the acute stage and short- and long-term prognosis in patients with acute myocardial infarction in Hebei province.Methods:Totally 2 961 patients with acute myocardial infarction who were admitted to major tertiary and some representative secondary hospitals in Hebei province from January 2016 to December 2016 were collected. According to the pattern of arriving hospital, all the patients were divided into the EMS group and self-transport group. The general conditions, time from onset to treatment, treatment methods, in-hospital mortality rate and 3-year mortality rate were compared between the two groups.Results:Of the included 2 961 patients, 33.13% of them were transported through EMS and 66.87% of them by private transport. Patients with a history of hypertension and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction were more likely to choose EMS, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). Moreover, patients in the EMS group were more likely to go to tertiary hospitals for treatment (88.58% vs 85.76%, P=0.033). The time from onset to treatment of the EMS group was significantly shorter than that of the self-transport group (160 min vs 185 min, P<0.01), and the proportion of patients in the EMS group from onset-to-door time in <3 h and 3-6 h was higher than that of the self-transport group (55.76% vs 49.14%, 21.41% vs 19.09%, P<0.01). Compared with the self-transport group, the EMS group has a higher rate of reperfusion therapy (67.48% vs 61.67%, P=0.002). Patients in the EMS group had a higher in-hospital mortality rate in the acute stage (7.03% vs 4.44%, P=0.003), but its 3-year mortality rate was lower than that of the self-transport group (17.31% vs 20.77%, P<0.05). Conclusions:EMS can shorten symptom-onset-to-arrival time, increase the rate of reperfusion therapy and improve long-term prognosis of patients with acute myocardial infarction.