BACKGROUND: Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is indicated as a broad-spectrum medicine for a variety of diseases, including cancer and cardiac disease. While the role of ATO in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (HIRI) has not been reported. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the effects of ATO on HIRI. METHODS: In the present study, we established a 70% hepatic warm I/R injury and partial hepatectomy (30% resection) animal models in vivo and hepatocytes anoxia/reoxygenation (A/R) models in vitro with ATO pretreatment and further assessed liver function by histopathologic changes, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, cell counting kit-8, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) for extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 was transfected to evaluate the role of ERK1/2 pathway during HIRI, followed by ATO pretreatment. The dynamic process of autophagic flux and numbers of autophagosomes were detected by green fluorescent protein-monomeric red fluorescent protein-LC3 (GFP-mRFP-LC3) staining and transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS: A low dose of ATO (0.75 μmol/L in vitro and 1 mg/kg in vivo ) significantly reduced tissue necrosis, inflammatory infiltration, and hepatocyte apoptosis during the process of hepatic I/R. Meanwhile, ATO obviously promoted the ability of cell proliferation and liver regeneration. Mechanistically, in vitro  studies have shown that nontoxic concentrations of ATO can activate both ERK and phosphoinositide 3-kinase-serine/threonine kinase (PI3K-AKT) pathways and further induce autophagy. The hepatoprotective mechanism of ATO, at least in part, relies on the effects of ATO on the activation of autophagy, which is ERK-dependent. CONCLUSION Low, non-toxic doses of ATO can activate ERK/PI3K-AKT pathways and induce ERK-dependent autophagy in hepatocytes, protecting liver against I/R injury and accelerating hepatocyte regeneration after partial hepatectomy.
Animals ; Arsenic Trioxide ; Autophagy/physiology* ; Reperfusion Injury/prevention & control* ; Mice ; Male ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/physiology* ; Arsenicals/therapeutic use* ; Oxides/therapeutic use* ; Liver/metabolism* ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

OBJECTIVE To explore the clinical characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia(MPP)after COVID-19 epidemic so as to offer help for early clinical diagnosis and treatment.METHODS The clinical data that were collected from the MPP patients who were treated in the fever clinic of the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from Jul.2023 to Aug.2024 were retrospectively analyzed.The results of laboratory tests for the different age groups of patients complicated with other pathogens were statistically analyzed.RESULTS Of totally 161 MPP patients who were enrolled in the study,78(48.85％)were male,and 83(51.55％)were fe-male;the average age was(32.98±14.35)years old,and the patients aged between 20 and 40 years old accoun-ted for 43.48％(70 cases).The enrolled patients were divided into the simple MPP group with 92(57.14％)ca-ses and the MPP+mixed group with 69(42.86％)cases according to the result of etiological test of sputum;the patients of MPP+mixed group were divided into the MPP+bacteria group with 42(60.87％)cases,the MPP+fungi group with 10(14.49％)cases,and the MPP+viruses group with 17(24.64％)cases.There was significant difference in the age among the groups(P＜0.05);there were no significant differences in the sex,white blood cell counts and percentage of mononuclear cells among the groups,the percentage of lymphocytes was highest in the simple MPP group,the levels of C-reactive protein(CRP)and interleukin-6(IL-6)were highest in the MPP+bacteria group,and there were significant differences(P＜0.05).All of the patients were divided into three groups:the ≤20-year-old group the＞20-40-year old group and the＞40-year-old group.There were no sig-nificant differences in the white blood cell counts,percentage of lymphocytes,percentage of mononuclear cells and IL-6 level among the three groups,and the CRP level was highest in the＞20-40-year old group(P=0.025).Ran-dom forest model analysis showed that the weight of CRP was highest(22.65％)among the clinical characteristics of the MPP patients,which played a key role in construction of model.As for other factors,the weight of age was 17.02％,the percentage of lymphocytes 15.34％,the white blood cells counts 14.86％,the percentage of mono-nuclear cells 14.39％,the IL-6 13.61％,the gender 2.13％.CONCLUSION MPP maintains common among the patients aged less than 40 years old after the COVID-19 epidemic,nearly half of the patients are complicated with the infections of other pathogens,and CRP is more helpful for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of the MPP in early stage.

OBJECTIVE To summarize the clinical characteristics and diagnosis and treatment experiences in dealing with non-severe Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia.METHODS The clinical data were collected from 34 patients who were diagnosed with non-severe C.psittaci pneumonia through quantitative polymerase chain reactiong(qPCR)for sputum in fever clinic of the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from Mar.2023 to Mar.2024 and were retrospectively analyzed.The clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes were evaluated.RESULTS The average age of the patients was(44.82±13.74)years old,the ratio of male to female was 1∶1.83;all of the patients had fever;major symptoms were cough(70.59％),pharyngodynia(44.12％),and flu-like symptoms(41.18％);82.35％of the patients had the history of contact with poultry.The C-reactive pro-tein(CRP)level,interleukin-6(IL-6),systemic inflammatory response index(SIRI)and aggregate index of sys-temic inflammation(AISI)were higher among the patients aged no less than 44 years old than among the patients less than 44 years old(P＜0.05);the percentage of lymphocytes of the patients aged no less than 44 years old was lower than that of the patients aged less than 44 years old(P＜0.05).As for the imaging findings,73.53％of the patients had consolidation shadows,26.47％had ground-glass opacities,and 32.35％involved both lungs.All of the patients received quinolones or tetracyclines for treatment of 7-14 days and all symptoms relieved.CT reexami-nated 1 month after the treatment showed that 55.88％of the cases had complete absorption of pulmonary infec-tious lesions,and 35.29％had partial absorption.CONCLUSIONS The patients with non-severe Chlamydia psitta-ci pneumonia are characterized by the history of contact with poultry,fever complicated with respiratory tract symptoms,rise of inflammatory markers(more significant among patients of advanced age)and lower lobe con-solidation shadow/ground-glass opacities.Early identification and standardized treatment may facilitate the favora-ble treatment outcomes.

OBJECTIVE To explore the clinical characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia(MPP)after COVID-19 epidemic so as to offer help for early clinical diagnosis and treatment.METHODS The clinical data that were collected from the MPP patients who were treated in the fever clinic of the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from Jul.2023 to Aug.2024 were retrospectively analyzed.The results of laboratory tests for the different age groups of patients complicated with other pathogens were statistically analyzed.RESULTS Of totally 161 MPP patients who were enrolled in the study,78(48.85％)were male,and 83(51.55％)were fe-male;the average age was(32.98±14.35)years old,and the patients aged between 20 and 40 years old accoun-ted for 43.48％(70 cases).The enrolled patients were divided into the simple MPP group with 92(57.14％)ca-ses and the MPP+mixed group with 69(42.86％)cases according to the result of etiological test of sputum;the patients of MPP+mixed group were divided into the MPP+bacteria group with 42(60.87％)cases,the MPP+fungi group with 10(14.49％)cases,and the MPP+viruses group with 17(24.64％)cases.There was significant difference in the age among the groups(P＜0.05);there were no significant differences in the sex,white blood cell counts and percentage of mononuclear cells among the groups,the percentage of lymphocytes was highest in the simple MPP group,the levels of C-reactive protein(CRP)and interleukin-6(IL-6)were highest in the MPP+bacteria group,and there were significant differences(P＜0.05).All of the patients were divided into three groups:the ≤20-year-old group the＞20-40-year old group and the＞40-year-old group.There were no sig-nificant differences in the white blood cell counts,percentage of lymphocytes,percentage of mononuclear cells and IL-6 level among the three groups,and the CRP level was highest in the＞20-40-year old group(P=0.025).Ran-dom forest model analysis showed that the weight of CRP was highest(22.65％)among the clinical characteristics of the MPP patients,which played a key role in construction of model.As for other factors,the weight of age was 17.02％,the percentage of lymphocytes 15.34％,the white blood cells counts 14.86％,the percentage of mono-nuclear cells 14.39％,the IL-6 13.61％,the gender 2.13％.CONCLUSION MPP maintains common among the patients aged less than 40 years old after the COVID-19 epidemic,nearly half of the patients are complicated with the infections of other pathogens,and CRP is more helpful for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of the MPP in early stage.

OBJECTIVE To summarize the clinical characteristics and diagnosis and treatment experiences in dealing with non-severe Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia.METHODS The clinical data were collected from 34 patients who were diagnosed with non-severe C.psittaci pneumonia through quantitative polymerase chain reactiong(qPCR)for sputum in fever clinic of the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from Mar.2023 to Mar.2024 and were retrospectively analyzed.The clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes were evaluated.RESULTS The average age of the patients was(44.82±13.74)years old,the ratio of male to female was 1∶1.83;all of the patients had fever;major symptoms were cough(70.59％),pharyngodynia(44.12％),and flu-like symptoms(41.18％);82.35％of the patients had the history of contact with poultry.The C-reactive pro-tein(CRP)level,interleukin-6(IL-6),systemic inflammatory response index(SIRI)and aggregate index of sys-temic inflammation(AISI)were higher among the patients aged no less than 44 years old than among the patients less than 44 years old(P＜0.05);the percentage of lymphocytes of the patients aged no less than 44 years old was lower than that of the patients aged less than 44 years old(P＜0.05).As for the imaging findings,73.53％of the patients had consolidation shadows,26.47％had ground-glass opacities,and 32.35％involved both lungs.All of the patients received quinolones or tetracyclines for treatment of 7-14 days and all symptoms relieved.CT reexami-nated 1 month after the treatment showed that 55.88％of the cases had complete absorption of pulmonary infec-tious lesions,and 35.29％had partial absorption.CONCLUSIONS The patients with non-severe Chlamydia psitta-ci pneumonia are characterized by the history of contact with poultry,fever complicated with respiratory tract symptoms,rise of inflammatory markers(more significant among patients of advanced age)and lower lobe con-solidation shadow/ground-glass opacities.Early identification and standardized treatment may facilitate the favora-ble treatment outcomes.

Background and purpose:Currently,for patients with mid-to-low locally advanced rectal cancer and potentially resectable T4bM0 colon cancer,guidelines recommend neoadjuvant therapy strategies to enhance the response rate and increase the likelihood of conversion surgery.Among these patients,ypⅢ stage colorectal cancer(CRC)is assessed using the Union for International Cancer Control(UICC)/American Joint Committee on Cancer(AJCC)TNM staging system for postoperative pathological features.However,neoadjuvant therapy can lead to lymph node regression in the surgical area,resulting in an insufficient number of detected lymph nodes(less than 12),preventing classification according to conventional TNM staging.Thus,TNM staging often fails to predict the prognosis of ypⅢ patients who have undergone neoadjuvant therapy.This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the positive lymph node ratio(LNR)in ypⅢ stage CRC patients treated with neoadjuvant therapy.Methods:Retrospective data was collected from ypⅢ stage CRC patients who received neoadjuvant therapy and underwent radical surgery at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center between 2008 and 2018.Collect clinical pathological characteristics such as age,gender,primary tumor location,tumor differentiation grade,pathological staging,and whether the patient has relapsed or died during follow-up at the time of surgery.Inclusion criteria:CRC patients who have received neoadjuvant therapy and surgery and have been confirmed to be stage Ⅲ by postoperative pathological examination.Exclusion criteria:① Preoperative imaging examination or intraoperative exploration reveals distant organ metastasis;② History of malignant tumors in the past;③ Multiple primary CRC.This study was approved by the medical ethics committee of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center(ethics number:050432-4-2108*).The R software survminer package(surv_cutpoint algorithm)was used to calculate the optimal cutoff value for LNR relative to disease-free survival(DFS),and patients were divided into low and high LNR groups accordingly.Clinical pathological characteristics and DFS were compared between the two groups.COX proportional hazards regression models were employed to identify adverse pathological features,and survival plots along with prediction models for DFS were generated using the survival and rms packages.Results:A total of 489 patients were included,comprising 289 males and 200 females,with a median age of 56 years(23-80 years)and a median follow-up time of 1 062 d.During the follow-up period,164 patients(33.5%)died.In the entire cohort,204(41.7%)patients had fewer than 12 lymph nodes detected.The optimal cutoff value for LNR was 0.29,classifying 317 patients into the low LNR group(LNR≤0.29)and 172 patients into the high LNR group(LNR＞0.29).The high LNR group exhibited shorter DFS compared to the low LNR group[hazard ratio(HR)=2.103,95%CI:1.582-2.796,P＜0.000 1].Multivariate COX regression indicated that LNR was an independent prognostic factor for DFS(HR=1.825,95%CI:1.391-2.394,P＜0.001).The inclusion of LNR in a multicategory DFS nomogram prediction model effectively assessed DFS in stage Ⅲ CRC patients who had undergone neoadjuvant therapy.Conclusion:LNR is an independent prognostic factor for ypⅢ stage CRC patients,showing good predictive power for DFS when combined with other adverse pathological features.Therefore,incorporating LNR as a supplement to TNM staging can improve the accuracy of CRC prognosis assessment.

Surgical smoke is a by-product of aerosol produced by electrosurgical equipment, laser and other energy equipments when cuting tissue or coagulating blood vessels. It contains non-active particles, organic chemicals, pathogens, viable cells and so on. The characteristics of surgical smoke components produced by different types of tissues or using different kinds of energy devices are different. For example, the average diameter of smoke particles produced by electrocautery is smaller, the possibility of viable cells and pathogens in surgical smoke produced by ultrasonic knife is higher. According to the characteristics of its composition, surgical smoke may be an imporant risk factor to the health and safety of operating room staff and patients. The use of surgical masks, suction devices and portable smoke evacuation systems can reduce the risk to some extent. But the most operating room staff don′t take corresponding measures to protect them. In this paper, the characteristics of surgical smoke and the research progress of protective measures will be briefly reviewed.

Objective:To explore the feasibility and clinical value of artificial intelligence-assisted breast ultrasound in screening breast cancer in Tibet.Methods:Two hundred and eighty-six women who participated in breast cancer screening in Shigatse People′s Hospital from August to September in 2021 were selected. The study included four groups. Group 1, ultrasound screening by senior breast ultrasound doctors from Shanghai; Group 2: local ultrasound doctors used intelligent-assisted ultrasound equipment for screening; Group 3: local ultrasound technicians used intelligent-assisted ultrasound equipment for screening; Group 4: ultrasound screening by local ultrasound doctors. The pathological results of screening positive cases and six-month ultrasound follow-up results of negative cases were set as the gold standard.Results:Twenty-seven lesions of 21 persons were screened positive. Pathology showed that 1 case of invasive ductal carcinoma, 1 case of severe atypical hyperplasia, 6 cases of fibroadenoma, 5 cases of breast disease, 14 cases of breast hyperplasia. Two hundred and sixty-five persons were screened negative, and the results of the six-month ultrasound follow-up were still negative. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of group 2 were 0.966, 1, and 0.964 respectively; The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of group 3 were 0.935, 0.769, and 0.943 respectively; The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of group 4 were 0.860, 0.308 and 0.885 respectively. The accuracy and area under the curve of groups 2 and 3 were significantly different from that of group 4 (all P<0.001), and there was no significant difference from that of group 1 ( P=0.063, P=0.055). Conclusions:Artificial intelligence-assisted breast ultrasound screening technology can effectively improve the screening efficiency of non-breast ultrasound specialists and technicians. It is very suitable to solve the problems faced by grass-roots screening in Tibet and has great social significance and clinical value.

Objective To discuss the diagnostic value of a diagnostic strategy combining D-dimer and aortic dissection detection risk score (ADDRS) for patients with acute aortic dissection (AAD). Methods The clinical data of 750 patients with suspected AAD in emergency department of Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University from January 2016 to January 2018 were retrospectively analyzed, including medical history, gender, age, chief complaint, physical examination, diagnostic imaging data and D-dimer levels on admission. ADDRS = 0 was defined as low risk group, ADDRS = 1 as medium risk group, ADDRS≤1 as non-high risk group,whereas ADDRS > 1 as high risk group. The clinical characteristics of AAD and non-AAD patients, ADDRS, D-dimer, and the diagnostic ability of D-dimer (the cutoff value of 500 μg/L) for AAD in different risk groups were observed. Results AAD was diagnosed in 79 of 750 (10.53%) patients. Of the 256 (34.13%) patients in low risk group, 5 patients were diagnosed with AAD. The medium risk group had 337 (44.93%) patients, including 44 cases with AAD. The high risk group had 157 (20.93%) patients, including 30 cases with AAD. In AAD patients, the proportion of male and hypertension, the incidence of ADDRS risk markers (including abrupt onset of pain, severe pain intensity, ripping or tearing pain, pulse deficit or systolic blood pressure differential of upper limb, focal neurological deficit, recent aortic manipulation, known thoracic aortic aneurysm) and the D-dimer levels in AAD group were significantly higher than those of non-AAD patients [male: 82.28% (65/79) vs. 59.76% (401/671), hypertension: 81.01% (64/79) vs. 41.43% (278/671), abrupt onset of pain: 78.48% (62/79) vs. 39.94% (268/671), severe pain intensity: 78.48% (62/79) vs. 50.52% (339/671), ripping or tearing pain: 32.91% (26/79) vs. 0.75% (5/671), pulse deficit or systolic blood pressure differential of upper limb: 15.19% (12/79) vs. 0.15% (1/671), focal neurological deficit: 7.59% (6/79) vs. 1.64% (11/671), recent aortic manipulation: 6.33% (5/79) vs. 0.30% (2/671), known thoracic aortic aneurysm: 15.19% (12/79) vs. 0.30% (2/671), D-dimer (μg/L): 1 160 (588, 3 340) vs 135 (56, 478), all P < 0.05], the proportion of diabetics was significantly lower than that of non-AAD patients [7.59% (6/79) vs. 18.78% (126/671), P < 0.05]. The positive predictive values of D-dimer for AAD diagnosis in the low risk group and the non-high-risk groups (including low and medium risk groups) were lower than that in the high risk group (8.62%, 26.32% vs. 40.91%), the negative predictive values of D-dimer were higher in the low risk group and non-high-risk groups than that in the high risk group (100.00%, 99.05% vs. 96.70%), missed diagnosis rates were higher than that in high risk group (0, 0.95%, vs. 3.30%). Conclusion In the high risk group, D-dimer≥500 μg/L is helpful for diagnosis of AAD; and in low risk group or non-high-risk group, D-dimer < 500 μg/L can efficiently and accurately exclude AAD.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) in rats with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) related right ventricular dysfunction and the protective effect of sodium 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PBA) on right ventricle. METHODS: Sixty male Spragne-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into control group (CON group), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) model group, 4-PBA prevention group and 4-PBA treatment group, with 15 rats in each group. ARDS rat model was established by intratracheal instillation of LPS 10 mg/kg after tracheotomy; CON group was given the same amount of saline. 4-PBA prevention group and 4-PBA treatment group were given 4-PBA 500 mg/kg intragastric administration 2 hours before and after LPS respectively. Echocardiography was performed 12 hours after treatment to evaluate the right ventricular function. Then, the rats were sacrificed by bloodletting, and the serum and right ventricular tissue were harvested. The histopathological changes of myocardial were observed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukins (IL-1β and IL-6) in serum and myocardial were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and Western Blot was used to detect the expression of the marker proteins of ERS in myocardial, including glucose regulatory protein 78 (GRP78), C/EBP cyclic adenosine phosphate reaction primitive binding transcription factor homologous protein (CHOP), caspase-12 and caspase-3. RESULTS: Compared with the CON group, the echocardiography showed pulmonary artery maximum pressure gradient (PAmaxPG), pulmonary artery acceleration time (PAAT), tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) in LPS model group were significantly decreased, and right ventricular end-diastolic excursion (RVDd) was significantly increased, and the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in serum and myocardial, as well as the expressions of GRP78, CHOP, caspase-12 and caspase-3 in myocardial were significantly increased. Compared with LPS model group, TAPSE of 4-PBA preventive and treatment groups were significantly increased (mm: 3.08±0.65, 2.96±0.61 vs. 2.48±0.45), RVDd were significantly decreased (mm: 3.67±0.58, 3.60±0.61 vs. 4.18±0.71), the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in serum and myocardial were significantly decreased [TNF-α (ng/L): 187.98±18.98, 176.08±17.98 vs. 332.00±19.90 in serum, 135.06±19.00, 132.78±17.00 vs. 155.00±20.00 in myocardial; IL-1β(ng/L): 12.07±2.98, 11.05±2.41 vs. 24.06±4.01 in serum, 19.89±2.80, 21.06±2.80 vs. 26.00±2.60 in myocardial; IL-6 (ng/L): 42.98±7.90, 34.05±6.09 vs. 89.80±10.07 in serum, 129.45±25.00, 127.08±26.06 vs. 145.77±23.00 in myocardial]; the expressions of GRP78, CHOP, caspase-12 and caspase-3 in myocardial were significantly decreased (GRP78/GAPDH: 0.090±0.070, 0.103±0.060 vs. 0.167±0.090, CHOP/GAPDH: 0.109±0.090, 0.090±0.080 vs. 0.186±0.090, caspase-12/GAPDH: 0.769±0.230, 0.799±0.210 vs. 1.040±0.350, caspase-3/GAPDH: 0.391±0.060, 0.401±0.054 vs. 0.603±0.340), with statistically significant differences (all P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in each indexes between 4-PBA prevention group and 4-PBA treatment group (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS ERS is involved in ARDS-related right ventricular dysfunction. 4-PBA can protect the right ventricular function of ARDS rats by inhibiting ERS and alleviating inflammation, and the preventive and therapeutic effects of 4-PBA are similar.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents/therapeutic use* ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; Male ; Phenylbutyrates/therapeutic use* ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right