BACKGROUND: Diabetic foot is a complex condition with high incidence, recurrence, mortality, and disability rates. Current treatments for diabetic foot ulcers are often insufficient. This study was conducted to identify potential therapeutic targets for diabetic foot. METHODS: Datasets related to diabetic foot and diabetic skin were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using R software. Enrichment analysis was conducted to screen for critical gene functions and pathways. A protein interaction network was constructed to identify node genes corresponding to key proteins. The DEGs and node genes were overlapped to pinpoint target genes. Plasma and chronic ulcer samples from diabetic and non-diabetic individuals were collected. Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were performed to verify the S100 calcium binding protein A9 (S100A9), inflammatory cytokine, and related pathway protein levels. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to measure epidermal layer thickness. RESULTS: In total, 283 common DEGs and 42 node genes in diabetic foot ulcers were identified. Forty-three genes were differentially expressed in the skin of diabetic and non-diabetic individuals. The overlapping of the most significant DEGs and node genes led to the identification of S100A9 as a target gene. The S100A9 level was significantly higher in diabetic than in non-diabetic plasma (178.40 ± 44.65 ng/mL vs. 40.84 ± 18.86 ng/mL) and in chronic ulcers, and the wound healing time correlated positively with the plasma S100A9 level. The levels of inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin [IL]-1, and IL-6) and related pathway proteins (phospho-extracellular signal regulated kinase [ERK], phospho-p38, phospho-p65, and p-protein kinase B [Akt]) were also elevated. The epidermal layer was notably thinner in chronic diabetic ulcers than in non-diabetic skin (24.17 ± 25.60 μm vs. 412.00 ± 181.60 μm). CONCLUSIONS S100A9 was significantly upregulated in diabetic foot and was associated with prolonged wound healing. S100A9 may impair diabetic wound healing by disrupting local inflammatory responses and skin re-epithelialization.
Calgranulin B/therapeutic use* ; Diabetic Foot/metabolism* ; Humans ; Datasets as Topic ; Computational Biology ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Animals ; Mice ; Protein Interaction Maps ; Immunohistochemistry

OBJECTIVES: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is often diagnosed at a late stage due to its concealed location and exhibits marked regional clustering, posing a significant public health challenge in China. This study aims to analyze the disease burden of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in China using the latest 2021 Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) database, providing epidemiological evidence for precise prevention and control of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. METHODS: Age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), mortality rate, and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rate were used as indicators of disease burden. Stratified analyses were conducted by age, sex, socio-demographic index (SDI), and relevant risk factors. The autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model and Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) model were employed to project ASIR trends through 2050. RESULTS: In 2021, China's age-standardized incidence, mortality, and DALY rates of nasopharyngeal carcinoma were 3.4/100 000, 1.5/100 000, and 48.7/100 000, respectively, all higher than the global average. Across all age groups, Chinese males exhibited higher ASIR, mortality, and DALY rates than females. From 1990 to 2021, the disease burden of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in China decreased gradually with rising SDI. The proportion of nasopharyngeal carcinoma burden attributed to alcohol consumption, smoking, and occupational formaldehyde exposure in China exceeded global levels, especially among males. Projections from both models indicate a rising trend in ASIR for males, females, and the general population in China and globally from 2022 to 2050. CONCLUSIONS Over the past 30 years, the disease burden of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in China has decreased with the increasing SDI values but remains higher than the global average. Furthermore, ASIR is projected to increase over the next 30 years. It is imperative for China to enhance healthcare resource allocation for nasopharyngeal carcinoma prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, particularly among high-risk male populations.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma/mortality* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/mortality* ; Adult ; Incidence ; Global Burden of Disease ; Disability-Adjusted Life Years ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Adolescent ; Databases, Factual ; Young Adult ; Cost of Illness ; Child ; Bayes Theorem

Ischemic stroke（IS） is a common cerebrovascular disease in clinics，with a high disability rate. In recent years，the incidence of IS has gradually increased，especially in young people，which seriously affects the physical and mental health and quality of life of patients. Western medicine has made some progress in the treatment of IS but still faces some limitations. Therefore， choosing a measure that can assist in the treatment of IS is particularly important. A large number of studies have confirmed that traditional Chinese medicine can treat IS based on the effective ingredients and extracts of traditional Chinese medicine monomers and formulas，utilizing advantages such as multiple targets，multiple bioactive ingredients，multiple systems，and fewer adverse reactions to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the treatment pathway. At present，the mechanism of action of traditional Chinese medicine in treating IS can be achieved by intervening in various signaling pathways，mainly including secretory glycoprotein/β-catenin（Wnt/β-catenin） signaling pathway，phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B（PI3K/Akt） signaling pathway，nuclear factor kappa-B（NF-κB） signaling pathway，Toll-like receptor 4/NOD-like receptor protein 3（TLR4/NLRP3） signaling pathway，mitogen-activated protein kinase（MAPK） signaling pathway，and neurogenic site-gap homologous protein（Notch） signaling pathway. This article summarized the relationship between IS and related signaling pathways in recent years，as well as the regulation of IS-related pathways and corresponding mechanisms by traditional Chinese medicine，so as to provide a reference for future clinical and experimental research on IS.

Gastric cancer is one of the major types of cancer threatening human health worldwide. Its pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated, and patients are often diagnosed at an advanced stage. The oral cavity is the second largest microbial pool after the intestine in the human body, and thus the relationship between oral bacteria and human health is attracting increasing interest. Oral bacteria are closely related to gastric cancer and potentially serve as noninvasive diagnostic screening biomarkers for the disease. Imbalance in and displacement of these bacteria can promote the occurrence and development of gastric cancer. Hence, this article reviews the association between oral bacteria and gastric cancer, aiming to provide a basis for further elucidating the pathogenesis of gastric cancer and screening it early through noninvasive methods and serve as a reference for subsequent related research.

Objective:To systematically evaluate the qualitative study on the sexual health needs of patients with ostomy based on theoretical domains framework (TDF), providing reference for clinical care and practice.Methods:A comprehensive search was conducted for qualitative studies on the sexual experience of ostomy patients in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, VIP database, China Biology Medicine, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Elton B. Stephens Company (EBSCO), Elsevier Scopus (SCOPUS), and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases, with a timeframe of from the creation of the databases to April 15, 2024. The Joanna Briggs Institute Evidence Based Healthcare Center Critical Appraisal Tool was used to evaluate the quality of eligible literature, and the theoretical domain framework was used to integrate the extracted results.Results:A total of 11 articles were included and 51 results were extracted. Based on the theoretical framework, map the sexual health needs of ostomy patients to six core areas: knowledge, skills, optimism, outcome beliefs, environment and resources, and emotions.Conclusions:Medical staff should pay attention to the sexual health needs of patients with intestinal stomas. Based on the six core areas of knowledge, skills, optimism, outcome beliefs, environment and resources, and emotions, they should deeply explore the factors that affect their sexual health, provide professional guidance and comprehensive care, and improve their sexual health level and quality of life.

Objective:To study the relationship between red blood cell distribution width(RDW)and short-term mortality in elderly patients with hip fragility fractures.Methods:The clinical data and blood routine test at admission of 205 elderly patients with brittle hip fractures who were admitted to our hospital from 2020 to 2021 and were followed up for one year were retrospectively analyzed.The comorbid conditions, RDW and cumulative mortality at 6 months and 1 year after fractures were counted, and the relationship between RDW and short-term mortality were analyzed.Results:The 6-month(6.7% and 20.8%, χ2=8.591, P=0.003)and 1-year(6.7% and 26.7%, χ2=14.818, P<0.001)mortality of patients with ≤1 comorbidity were significantly lower than those of patients with ≥2 comorbidities.Moreover, the 6-month and 1-year mortality in patients with RDW>13.5% were significantly higher than those of patients with RDW ≤ 13.5%.The proportion of RDW>13.5 % in patients with at least two comorbidities was significantly higher than that in patients with ≤1 comorbidity.Taking RDW=13.6% as the cut-off value of 6-month and 1-year mortality, the sensitivity and specificity for predicting 6-month mortality were 71.4 % and 59.9 %, respectively, and the sensitivity and specificity for predicting 1-year mortality were 64.7 % and 59.6 %, respectively. Conclusions:Red cell distribution width is associated with short-term mortality, and higher RDW is associated with a higher risk of mortality among elderly patients with brittle hip fractures.

Objective:To evaluate the influence of Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori) infection on anxiety and depression in patients with chronic gastritis. Methods:From December 1 2020 to June 30 2021, 387 patients with chronic gastritis who visited the outpatient Department of Gastroenterology, the First Hospital Affiliated to Air Force Medical University were continuously recruited. According to the status of current H. pylori infection, the patients were divided into H. pylori uninfected group and H. pylori infected group. The general demographic information of patients was collected. Hamilton anxiety scale, Hamilton depression rating scale-24, Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and gastrointestinal symptom rating scale (GSRS) were filled in. The detection rates of anxiety and depression were compared between the H. pylori uninfected group and the H. pylori infected group according to demographic characteristics. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results:Finally, 360 patients with chronic gastritis were enrolled, including 200 patients in H. pylori uninfected group and 160 patients in H. pylori infected group. The detection rates of anxiety and depression of the H. pylori infected group were both higher than those of the H. pylori uninfected group (48.1%, 77/160 vs. 30.0%, 60/200; 25.0%, 40/160 vs. 12.5%, 25/200), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=12.39 and 9.39, P<0.001 and=0.002). The detection rate of anxiety of male patients in the H. pylori infected group was higher than that in the H. pylori uninfected group (45.1%, 32/71 vs. 24.5%, 27/110); the detection rate of depression of female patients in the H. pylori infected group was higher than that in the H. pylori uninfected group (30.3%, 27/89 vs. 11.1%, 10/90), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=8.27 and 10.09, P=0.004 and 0.001). The detection rates of anxiety and depression of patients less than 48 years old in the H. pylori infected group were both higher than those in the H. pylori uninfected group (46.2%, 37/80 vs. 21.9%, 21/96; 20.0%, 16/80 vs. 7.3%, 7/96), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=11.73 and 6.20, P=0.001 and 0.013). The detection rates of anxiety and depression of the patients with high school education and below in the H. pylori infected group were higher than those in the H. pylori uninfected group (56.5%, 48/85 vs. 31.7%, 38/120; 32.9%, 28/85 vs. 14.2%, 17/120), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=12.57 and 10.24, P<0.001 and =0.001). The results of multivariate analysis showed that H. pylori infection, history of hypertension, PSQI score ≥8, GSRS score ≥7, chronic superficial gastritis and chronic atrophic gastritis were independent risk factors of anxiety in patients with chronic gastritis( P<0.001, =0.013, =0.001, <0.001, =0.036, =0.021), and the risk of anxiety of patients with H. pylori infection was 2.509 times as much as that in uninfected patients (95% confidence interval 1.512 to 4.163). H. pylori infection, PSQI score ≥8, GSRS score≥7, and having overnight dish ≥3 times per week all were independent risk factors of depression in patients with chronic gastritis( P=0.004, =0.002, <0.001, =0.001). The risk of depression in patients with H. pylori infection was 2.563 times as much as that in uninfected patients (95% confidence interval 1.356 to 4.846). Conclusion:H. pylori infection is correlated to anxiety and depression in patients with chronic gastritis, and it is an independent risk factor of anxiety and depression in patients with chronic gastritis.

Objective:To screen key genes of renal clear cell carcinoma based on bioinformatics methods, identify possible microRNA (miRNA)-mRNA action axis, and explore the expression of related genes in clear cell renal cell carcinoma tissues and cells.Methods:Gene expression profiles of GSE40435 and GSE71302 datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. TCGA-KIRC datasets were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. R software was used to identify the differentially expressed mRNA and miRNA, and the functional enrichment analysis was performed. STRING database and Cytoscape software were used to perform the protein interaction analysis. The prognosis-related differentially expressed miRNA was evaluated by the Oncomir database. The potential targeted genes regulated by miRNA were determined by using TargetScan and miRDB targeted gene prediction tools. The tissue samples and clinicopathological features of 34 patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma in the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University from June to December 2021 were collected, and normal renal cell line 293T and clear cell renal cell carcinoma cell line 786O were selected. The real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), was used to detect the relative expression of genes; Western blotting and immunohistochemical staining were used to detect the expression levels of the targeted proteins. The dual luciferase reporter gene assay was carried out to verify the targeting relationship between genes.Results:A total of 1 351 differentially expressed mRNA and 50 differentially expressed miRNA were screened and identified. The result of functional enrichment analysis suggested that the fatty acid metabolism pathway and xenobiotic metabolism pathway were suppressed in clear cell renal cell carcinoma, while the apoptosis and immune response pathways were activated. Protein interaction analysis suggested that the signal transduction and protein ubiquitination pathways might play a key role in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The screening results showed that miRNA-224-5p (miR-224-5p) was most closely associated with clear cell renal cell carcinoma progression and was highly expressed in tumor tissues, and its prognosis-related target gene was NEDD4L. The relative expression of NEDD4L mRNA in clear cell renal cell carcinoma tissues and paraneoplastic tissues were 0.138±0.103 and 1.000±0.026 ( t = 46.23, P < 0.05), and the relative expression of miR-224-5p was 1.000±0.043 and 0.129±0.108 ( t = 45.28, P < 0.05). The differences of NEDD4L mRNA and miR-224-5p expressions in different grades and stages of clear cell renal cell carcinoma tissues were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). The expression of NEDD4L protein was decreased in clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The relative expression of NEDD4L gene in 293T and 786O cells were 1.000±0.125 and 0.210±0.044 ( t = 17.52, P < 0.05); the relative expressions of miR-224-5p gene were 0.209±0.049 and 1.000±0.234 ( t = 10.61, P < 0.05). The relative expressions of NEDD4L mRNA in miRNA mimic group and negative control group were 0.236±0.062 and 1.000±0.024, and the difference was statistically significant ( t = 43.56, P < 0.05). NEDD4L protein expression was reduced in the miRNA mimic group. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay suggested that NEDD4L was a direct target gene of miR-224-5p. Conclusions:In clear cell renal cell carcinoma, miR-224-5p targets and regulates NEDD4L expression, and this mechanism may be related to carcinogenesis and progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Objective:To investigate the value of a cuproptosis-related differential long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) scoring formula related to the prognosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients in the clinical diagnosis, prognosis prediction and treatment options based on bioinformatics.Methods:Gene matrix and clinical data of ccRCC patients were obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database (update to 29 March, 2022). The expression data of 539 ccRCC tissues and 72 paracancerous normal tissues were collected from gene matrix; the data of 530 ccRCC were collected from clinical data. Pearson correlation analysis, Wilcoxon signed rank test and univariate Cox proportional risk model were used to analyze the screened cuproptosis-related differential lncRNA related to the prognosis. R software was used to randomly divide 530 ccRCC patients with survival data into training set (266 cases) and validation set (264 cases) according to approximate 1∶1 ratio. LASSO regression analysis was used to construct a cuproptosis-related differential lncRNA scoring formula and cross-validation was performed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to evaluate the specificity and sensitivity of cuproptosis-related differential lncRNA scoring formula, and the area of the curve (AUC) was calculated. According to the median risk value, all patients were divided into the low-risk group and high-risk group; Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the difference in the overall survival (OS) of patients in the low-risk group and high-risk group. T test was used to detect the differences in the risk value of patients with different clinicopathological characteristics. R package rms was used to construct the nomogram for predicting 1-year, 3-year, 5-year OS rates of ccRCC patients, R package pRRophetic was used to predict the half-inhibitory concentration ( IC50) of common targeted drugs such as sorafenib and sunitinib in clinical treatment of ccRCC patients, and IC50 value of patients in low-risk group and high-risk group was compared by using Wilcoxon signed rank test. Tissue samples of 20 ccRCC patients who underwent radical nephrectomy and were diagnosed with pathology and the matched paracancerous normal tissues were collected from the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University between June 2021 and December 2021. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of key lncRNA in ccRCC tissues. Results:Based on the expression matrix of 10 cuproptosis genes (FDX1, LIAS, LIPT1, DLD, DLAT, PDHA1, PDHB, MTF1, GLS, CDKN2A) of ccRCC patients in TCGA database, 153 cuproptosis-related differential lncRNA related to the prognosis were identified. According to LASSO regression analysis, a scoring formula of 4 cuproptosis-related differential lncRNA related to the prognosis was obtained, risk value was calculated as 0.020×AC015912.3+0.011×AC026401.3+0.063×AC103706.1+(-0.076)×EPB41L4A-DT. All patients were divided into high-risk group (≥0.76) and low-risk group (<0.76) based on the median value (0.76). ROC curve analysis showed that the scoring formula had good prediction accuracy in 1-year, 3-year, 5-year OS rates. In training set, validation set, the total cohort, the OS of patients in the high-risk group was worse than that in the low-risk group (all P < 0.001). The age, pathological degree, tumor staging, risk value calculated by cuproptosis-related differential lncRNA were independent influencing factors of OS (all P < 0.001). There were statistically significant differences in the risk value calculated by cuproptosis-related differential lncRNA scoring formula among patients with different pathological degree, tumor staging, T staging, N staging, M staging (all P < 0.01), while there were no statistically significant differences among patients with different gender and age (all P > 0.05). The established nomogram had good prediction accuracy in the 1-year, 3-year, 5-year OS rates. Sunitinib and sirolimus showed higher sensitivity in the high-risk group; axitinib, sorafenib and pazopanib showed higher sensitivity in the low-risk group. qRT-PCR results showed that relative expression level of AC015912.3 in ccRCC tissues was up-regulated compared with paracancerous tissues (1.00±0.04 vs. 0.68±0.24, t = 6.37, P < 0.01); the relative expression level of AC026401.3 in ccRCC tissues was up-regulated compared with paracancerous tissues (1.00±0.05 vs. 0.64±0.22, t = 7.29, P < 0.01); the relative expression level of AC103706.1 in ccRCC tissues was up-regulated compared with paracancerous tissues (1.00±0.04 vs. 0.64±0.21, t = 7.49, P < 0.01); the relative expression level of EPB41L4A-DT in ccRCC tissues was up-regulated compared with paracancerous tissues (1.00±0.06 vs. 0.73±0.10, t = 10.68, P < 0.01). Conclusions:Cuproptosis-related differential lncRNA scoring formula based on TCGA database can be used as a new marker for clinical diagnosis and prognosis prediction of ccRCC patients, which can help guide the clinical drug treatment of patients and facilitate accurate diagnosis and treatment.