Objective To investigate the prognostic value of serum procalcitonin(PCT),serum amyloid A(SAA),and heparin-binding protein(HBP)in pediatric patients with sepsis.Methods A total of 92 pediatric patients diagnosed with sepsis and admitted to Jianhu Hospital Affiliated to Xinglin College of Nantong University from May 2020 to May 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.Based on 28-day outcomes,the patients were categorized into survival group(n=65)and death group(n=27).Serum levels of PCT,SAA,and HBP were compared between the two groups.Their correlations with the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II(APACHE II)score were assessed using Spearman analysis.Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify independent risk factors for poor prognosis.The predictive performance of PCT,SAA,and HBP for adverse outcomes was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results There were significant differences in terms of hospital stay,APACHE II score,SOFA score,and serum levels of PCT,SAA,and HBP between the two groups(P<0.05).Spearman correlation analysis indicated positive correlations between APACHE II score and serum levels of PCT,SAA,and HBP(P<0.05).Multivariate regression analysis revealed that elevated APACHE II and SOFA scores,as well as high levels of PCT,SAA,and HBP were independent risk factors for poor prognosis(P<0.05).Combined detection of PCT,SAA,and HBP showed high prognostic value,with an area under the ROC curve(AUC)of 0.868,sensitivity of 90.0%,and specificity of 96.8%.Conclusion Abnormal expression in serum PCT,SAA,and HBP are closely associated with poor prognosis in pediatric patients with sepsis.These biomarkers may serve as valuable indicators for predicting clinical outcomes of sepsis.

Rheumatoid neutrophilic dermatitis(RND)is a rare skin manifestation specific for rheumatoid arthritis(RA).This article reported an elderly female patient with RND and reviewed the relevant literature.The patient presented with erythema,blisters,and pustules.The diagnosis of RND was confirmed on the basis of her RA history,characteristics of skin le-sions,laboratory examination and histopathologic findings.The combination therapy of dapsone and tofacitinib demonstrated sig-nificant clinical efficacy in this patient.Immunohistochemistry results showed localized interleukin-6(IL-6)aggregation and over-activation of the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in the lesions.These results suggest that the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 pathway may be involved in the pathogenesis of RND,and provide theoretical support and clinical justification for targeting the JAK/STAT3 path-way in the treatment of RND.

Rheumatoid neutrophilic dermatitis(RND)is a rare skin manifestation specific for rheumatoid arthritis(RA).This article reported an elderly female patient with RND and reviewed the relevant literature.The patient presented with erythema,blisters,and pustules.The diagnosis of RND was confirmed on the basis of her RA history,characteristics of skin le-sions,laboratory examination and histopathologic findings.The combination therapy of dapsone and tofacitinib demonstrated sig-nificant clinical efficacy in this patient.Immunohistochemistry results showed localized interleukin-6(IL-6)aggregation and over-activation of the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in the lesions.These results suggest that the IL-6/JAK/STAT3 pathway may be involved in the pathogenesis of RND,and provide theoretical support and clinical justification for targeting the JAK/STAT3 path-way in the treatment of RND.

Objective To explore the clinical features,treatment and prognosis of glioblastomas(GBM)in adults.Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed on 176 adult GBM patients admitted to our department from January 2015 to December 2021.Chi-square test was used to investigate the clinical differences between isocitrate dehydrogenase(IDH)mutant and wild-type GBM.Kaplan-Meier and Log-Rank tests were employed to plot survival curve and compute the survival analysis.Multivariate Cox regression model was applied to identify the independent prognostic factors.Results IDH wild-type GBM account for 89.2％and had significantly differences from the IDH-mutant GBM in terms of age of onset,Karnofsky(KPS)score at admission,symptoms of neurological deficit,and methylation status of O6-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase(MGMT)promoter(P＜0.05).For the IDH wild-type GBM patients receiving conventional therapy,univariate Cox hazard analysis showed gross total resection,methylation of MGMT promoter,initiation of radiation within the 5th to 6th week after surgery,and adjuvant temozolomide(TMZ)chemotherapy ≥6 cycles were favorable prognostic factors for overall survival(OS);GBMs in the left hemisphere,involvement of single lobe,methylation of MGMT promoter,and initiation of radiation within the 5th to 6th week after surgery were favorable prognostic factors for progression free survival(PFS)(all P＜0.05).Moreover,multivariate Cox hazard regression analysis indicated that methylation of MGMT promoter,and initiation of radiation within the 5th to 6th week after surgery,and adjuvant TMZ chemotherapy ≥6 cycles were independent protective factors for OS,and GBMs in the left hemisphere,involvement of single lobe and methylation of MGMT promoter were independent protective factors for PFS in the GBM patients(all P＜0.05).Conclusion The clinical and prognostic features are totally different between IDH mutant and wild-type GBM,and molecular detections are needed for the further pathological classification.Methylation of MGMT promoter is a primary marker of favorite prognosis for IDH wild-type GBM,and slightly delay in radiotherapy(the 5th to 6th week after surgery)can effectively improve the survival prognosis of IDH wild-type GBM.

Objective:To explore the factors influencing the supportive communication ability of medical undergraduates, and to propose strategies to improve supportive communication.Methods:By cluster sampling, we selected 388 medical undergraduates of grades 2017 and 2018 from Harbin Medical University for a questionnaire survey on supportive communication, general self-efficacy, and health education abilities. SPSS 22.0 was used for descriptive statistical analysis. AMOS 22.0 was used to construct a structural equation model to verify the relationship between the three variables. Mediating effects were also tested.Results:The students showed good supportive communication ability, with a total score of (74.28±10.84) points. The general self-efficacy score was (27.81±5.58) points, and the total score of health education ability was (25.50±4.76) points. General self-efficacy had direct positive effects on supportive communication and health education abilities ( β=0.75, 0.31, both P<0.001). Health education ability had a direct positive effect on supportive communication ability ( β=0.14, P<0.001). Health education ability played a significant mediating role in the influence of general self-efficacy on supportive communication ability (standardized mediating effect value=0.042, P<0.01), with the mediating effect accounting for 5.1%. Conclusions:The health education competency of medical undergraduates can mediate the effect of general self-efficacy on supportive communication ability. By strengthening medical humanities education to increase general self-efficacy and also emphasizing the cultivation of health education competency, the supportive communication ability of students can be improved.

Pheochromocytoma and paranganglioma (PPGL) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor. In recent years, the continuous development of multimodal imaging, pathonomics, genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, metabolism and proteomics have provided us with ideas to better understand the complex transfer mechanism of PPGL. This paper will review the precise typing system of PPGL, current research advances in the diagnosis and clinical prognosis.

Objective:To establish a standard method to evaluate the scanning accuracy of intraoral scanner (IOS) and to investigate six IOS′s scanning accuracy and the relationship between different scan span.Methods:Five simplified six abutments full arch model were fabricated by high accuracy (5 μm) milling machine with 7075 aluminum alloy. The machining accuracy, which was verified by a coordinate measuring machine with higher accuracy (0.7 μm), was considered as the reference accuracy. The model with the highest machining accuracy was considered as the test model in IOS′s scanning accuracy test, and computer-aided design (CAD) data of the model was used as the reference data. Six IOS scanned the test model 10 times with the same scanning path, obtained 60 test data. CAD data and test data were input into Geomagic Studio 2014. The preparation part above the margin of the abutments of the data was isolated and divided into 4 segments of interest: single crown, three-unit bridge, five-unit bridge, and full arch. The test data were then best-fit aligned to CAD data or each other followed by deviation analysis. Scanning trueness and precision were then calculated.Results:The mid-value of scanning trueness and precision of six IOS in single crown, three-unit bridge, five-unit bridge and full arch were 13.3-29.6 μm and 7.6-20.7 μm, 15.4-30.9 μm and 8.7-26.5 μm, 17.0-66.1 μm and 11.3-44.2 μm, 24.0-107.9 μm and 24.6-150.1 μm respectively.Conclusions:Long-span scanning can affect the accuracy of IOS to a varying extent.

Intraoral three-dimensional scanning technology has been adopted in stomatology field and developed rapidly with improved accuracy. At present, the scanning accuracy of the intraoral three-dimensional scanners used in restoration of single crown, three unit fixed partial bridge and single implant crown satisfies the clinical requirements. While for restoration of multi-unit fixed, the scanning accuracy is not enough. There are still technical bottlenecks for scanning functional motion boundary of soft tissue, especially for direct acquisition of edentulous functional impressions. Through literature review and analysis, we summarize the intraoral scanning accuracy of oral hard and soft tissues, and analyze the clinical applicability and limitations of intraoral scanning technology, providing reference for clinical application.

To investigate the role of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) in evaluating pulmonary hemodynamics and right ventricular function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pulmonary hypertension (PAH); and the relationship between CMRI parameters and pulmonary function parameters, blood gas analysis parameters and 6-minute walk test (6MWT) parameters in patients with COPD complicated with PAH. Methods Thirty-seven patients were diagnosed with COPD in the department of respiratory and critical care discipline of Ningxia Medical University General Hospital from October 2013 to October 2016, who underwent transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) to measure pulmonary arterial systolic pressure (PASP), and were divided into COPD group and COPD+PAH group according to whether there was PAH [PASP > 40 mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa) was defined as PAH]. All patients completed pulmonary function tests [1 second forced expiratory volume to forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC), FEV1 predicted value (FEV1pred)], blood gas analysis [arterial blood oxygen partial pressure (PaO2), arterial blood carbon dioxide partial pressure (PaCO2)], CMRI examination [relative dilatation of the main pulmonary artery (mPAD), mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF), right ventricular end-diastolic myocardial mass (RVMED), right ventricular end-systolic myocardial mass (RVMES)], and 6MWD [6-minute walk distance (6MWD)] within 1 week. The obtained clinical parameters had been compared between the groups, and correlation was analyzed. Results Among the 37 patients with COPD, 16 patients were complicated with PAH. There were no significant differences in FEV1/FVC, FEV1pred, PaO2, PaCO2 and other baseline indicators between the two groups. In the COPD group, TTE obtained PASP of 2 patients were normal (PSAP < 40 mmHg), while CMRI measured mPAP were higher than the normal limit (> 25 mmHg). Compared with the COPD group, mPAD, RVEF and 6MWD were significantly decreased in the COPD+PAH group [mPAD: (25.64±5.01)% vs. (44.00±22.52)%, RVEF: 0.525±0.054 vs. 0.592±0.071, 6MWD (m): 319.3±116.5 vs. 408.2±38.0, all P < 0.01], mPAP, RVMED and RVMES were significantly increased [mPAP (mmHg): 28.89±3.16 vs. 20.18±2.43, RVMED (g): 57.19±15.46 vs. 40.71±15.44, RVMES (g): 45.99±11.16 vs. 33.71±13.39, all P < 0.01], and there was no significant differences in LVEF (0.663±0.082 vs. 0.699±0.075, P > 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that mPAD was positively correlated with FEV1/FVC and FEV1pred (r1 = 0.538, P1 = 0.021; r2 = 0.448, P2 = 0.049);RVMED was negatively correlated with PaO2 (r = -0.581, P = 0.015), and positively correlated with PaCO2 (r = 0.592, P = 0.014); 6MWD was positively correlated with RVEF (r = 0.485, P = 0.041), and had no correlation with LVEF (r = 0.271, P = 0.104). Conclusions Compared with COPD patients, changes in pulmonary hemodynamics and right ventricular function in COPD patients with PAH are related to the severity of airflow limitation. CMRI can early monitor pulmonary hemodynamics and right heart function changes in patients with COPD. Once PAH appears, pulmonary hemodynamics, right heart function and exercise tolerance have changed.

Objective To analyze the pathological significance of CK5 expression in primary cutaneous amyloidosis(PCA).Methods The expression of CK5 in superficial dermis of PCA group and the control group[lichen planus(LP),lupus erythematosus(LE)]were detected by CK5 monoclonal antibody.The infiltration densities of CD3-positive T lymphocytes and CD68-positive macrophages in superficial dermis of PCA and control group were measured respectively by immunohistochemical staining using anti-CD3 antibodies and anti-CD68 antibodies.The skin lesions of PCA and control groups were analyzed by immunofluorescence to detect whether CK5 was phagocytosed by macrophages in superficial dermis.Results Totally,39 cases of PCA all were CK5-positive.Some control cases were positive.The number of CD3-positive T lymphocytes and CD68-positive macrophages in 8 cases of PCA group was lower than that of control group.The result of immunofluorescence colocalization of monoclonal anti-CK5 antibodies and anti-CD68 antibodies in 5 cases of PCA lesions was negative;that in 2 cases of LE lesions were both positive,and that in 2 cases of LP lesions were both negative.Conclusion Amyloid protein may be derived from the basal keratinocytes after interface damage.The amyloid protein deposits may be related to the number decrease or the functional defect of macrophages.