Chronic liver disease remains a severe threat to human health. Furthermore, if left untreated promptly and effectively, it may gradually develop into end-stage liver disease, including decompensated cirrhosis and liver failure. Currently, mesenchymal stem cell technology is acting as a kind of an emerging treatment method, and multiple clinical trials have confirmed its promising application prospects in the treatment of decompensated cirrhosis and liver failure. Hence, stem cell therapy may offer a novel therapeutic option for these patients. This article summarizes the clinical research progress of stem cell therapy for decompensated cirrhosis and liver failure and analyzes present challenges and application prospects.

Exosomes(Exo)are a class of extracellular vesicles with diameters ranging from 30 to 150 nm,capable of carrying proteins,lipids,RNA,and other bioactive molecules derived from donor cells.These nanoscale vesicles are released into the extracellular environment through complex secretory mechanisms and participate in various biological processes,playing a particularly important role in intercellular communication.Atherosclerosis(As)is a chronic inflam-matory vascular disease characterized by lipid deposition,inflammatory responses in the vessel wall,and luminal stenosis.Exosomes serve as crucial information carriers in the initiation and progression of As,influencing the disease course by modulating signaling pathways and gene expression.This article reviews the biogenesis of exosomes,discusses their func-tional roles in the progression of As,and explores their potential applications in clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Exosomes(Exo)are a class of extracellular vesicles with diameters ranging from 30 to 150 nm,capable of carrying proteins,lipids,RNA,and other bioactive molecules derived from donor cells.These nanoscale vesicles are released into the extracellular environment through complex secretory mechanisms and participate in various biological processes,playing a particularly important role in intercellular communication.Atherosclerosis(As)is a chronic inflam-matory vascular disease characterized by lipid deposition,inflammatory responses in the vessel wall,and luminal stenosis.Exosomes serve as crucial information carriers in the initiation and progression of As,influencing the disease course by modulating signaling pathways and gene expression.This article reviews the biogenesis of exosomes,discusses their func-tional roles in the progression of As,and explores their potential applications in clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Chronic liver disease remains a severe threat to human health. Furthermore, if left untreated promptly and effectively, it may gradually develop into end-stage liver disease, including decompensated cirrhosis and liver failure. Currently, mesenchymal stem cell technology is acting as a kind of an emerging treatment method, and multiple clinical trials have confirmed its promising application prospects in the treatment of decompensated cirrhosis and liver failure. Hence, stem cell therapy may offer a novel therapeutic option for these patients. This article summarizes the clinical research progress of stem cell therapy for decompensated cirrhosis and liver failure and analyzes present challenges and application prospects.

【Objective】 To analyze the effects of different fortified feeding methods on nutritional metabolism and growth rate of preterm very low birth weight infants (VLBWI), in order to provide new clues for improving the prognosis of the preterm infants. 【Methods】 A total of 115 cases of premature VLBWI admitted to Department of Neonatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from January 2019 to December 2020 were included in this study, and were divided into fortified breastfeeding group (HFM group), mixed feeding group, and premature formula feeding group (PF group) based on their feeding methods. The effects of different feeding methods on the nutritional metabolism and growth rate of premature VLBWI were analyzed. 【Results】 1) The hospitalization time of infants in the HFM group was shorter than that in PF group and mixed feeding group (t=7.185, 6.924, P<0.05). 2) The proportion of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in the HFM group during hospitalization was lower than that in the PF group (P<0.05); the proportions of late onset septicemia(LOS) and extra uterine growth restriction(EUGR) in the HFM group during hospitalization were lower than those in the PF group (χ²=5.030, 4.147, P<0.05); the proportion of LOS was lower than that of the mixed feeding group(χ²=6.589, P<0.05). 3) During hospitalization, the proportions of abdominal distension, bloody stools and increased eosinophils in the HFM group were lower than those in the PF group (P<0.05), which in mixed feeding group was lower than those in PF group (Fisher exact test, P<0.05). 4) At discharge, the weight and length growth rate of the HFM group were higher than those of the mixed feeding group (t=3.722, 0.425, P<0.001) and the PF group (t =6.015, 0.496, P< 0.001). 【Conclusion】 Fortified breastfeeding can more effectively increase the growth rate of VLBWI in premature infants, improve nutritional metabolism, reduce complications and adverse feeding reactions related to premature infants, and is safer and more effective.

End-stage liver disease includes liver failure and decompensated cirrhosis resulting from various etiologies and often leads to patient mortality due to complications and clinical symptoms such as severe jaundice, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, coagulopathy, and hepatorenal syndrome. Liver transplantation is currently regarded as the most effective treatment, but its clinical application is limited by the shortage of donors, elevated expenses, and post-transplant rejection. Stem cells are a group of cells with multidirectional differentiation potential and self-renewal ability, which can improve the clinical indicator outcomes through mechanisms such as immunoregulation and promotion of tissue repair in patients with end-stage liver disease. Clinical trials of stem cell therapy have achieved a series of results for end-stage liver disease, proving the safety and effectiveness of stem cell therapy. This article reviews the clinical studies that have been registered and published at home and abroad and provides a reference for the clinical plan on stem cell therapy for end-stage liver disease.

End-stage liver disease includes liver failure and decompensated cirrhosis resulting from various etiologies and often leads to patient mortality due to complications and clinical symptoms such as severe jaundice, ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, coagulopathy, and hepatorenal syndrome. Liver transplantation is currently regarded as the most effective treatment, but its clinical application is limited by the shortage of donors, elevated expenses, and post-transplant rejection. Stem cells are a group of cells with multidirectional differentiation potential and self-renewal ability, which can improve the clinical indicator outcomes through mechanisms such as immunoregulation and promotion of tissue repair in patients with end-stage liver disease. Clinical trials of stem cell therapy have achieved a series of results for end-stage liver disease, proving the safety and effectiveness of stem cell therapy. This article reviews the clinical studies that have been registered and published at home and abroad and provides a reference for the clinical plan on stem cell therapy for end-stage liver disease.

Objective:To study the short-term clinical outcomes of different courses of antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) for preterm twins.Methods:From January 2017 to December 2021, preterm twins with gestational age (GA) 24-34 weeks admitted to the neonatal ward of our hospital and received ACS were retrospectively studied. The infants were assigned into single-course group, partial-course group and multiple-course group according to ACS courses. The short-term clinical outcomes were compared among the groups. SPSS software version 25.0 was used for statistical analysis.Results:A total of 286 infants were enrolled in this study, including 128 in single-course group, 89 in partial-course group and 69 in multiple-course group. Compared with single-course group, the risks of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in both partial-course group ( OR=2.332, 95% CI 1.028-5.293, P=0.043) and multiple-course group ( OR=3.872, 95% CI 1.104-13.584, P=0.034) were higher. The birth length in multiple-course group ( β=-0.016, 95% CI -0.029 - -0.002, P=0.024) was lower than single-course group. Conclusions:The risks of neonatal RDS in preterm twins are higher in partial-course and multiple-course of ACS. A full course of ACS should be used to prevent neonatal RDS until further evidence of effectiveness is available.

The highly contagious novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) that broke out in December 2019 has brought huge threats and losses to human society, so it has been the concern of every countries government. Presently, there are no specific drugs for COVID-19; however, a variety of potentially effective antiviral drugs, vaccines, cell therapies, traditional Chinese medicine and other methods are in clinical trials. Liver injury is a common complication of patients receiving COVID-19 treatment and its possible high incidence may affect the outcome of the disease. The pathogenesis of COVID-19 combined with liver injury in existing studies is still unclear, and relevant guidelines and expert consensuses are insufficient for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, the relevant progress and issues are now reviewed here.

Objective:To translate the Attention to Positive and Negative Inventory(APNI)and analyze the validity and reliability in Chinese undergraduates sample,to offer a convenient and reliable tool of measuring the cognitive bias for national researchers. Methods:The English-version APNI went through translation into Chinese, retroversion into English,translation into Chinese again,and revision several stages. Two parts of samples (1450 Chinese college students)were surveyed. Sample one (n=1000)was used for item analysis,exploratory factor a-nalysis (EFA),concurrent validity and reliability analysis,while sample 2 (n=450)was used for confirmatory fac-tor analysis (CFA). Totally 68 subjects of sample 1 were randomly chosen and resurveyed with an interval of one week. Beck depression inventory (BDI-II)and patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9)was used for concurrent validi-ty. Results:Item analysis indicated that the 22 items of Chinese APNI had good discriminability. EFA focused onattention to positive information(API)and attention to negative information(ANI)two factors. CFA showed good model fit (χ2 =1376,RMESA=0. 09,CFI=0. 94). Concurrent validity result showed that the total scores of BDI-II and PHQ-9 was negatively correlated with total scores of API (r=-0. 24,-0. 29,Ps<0. 01 ),and posi-tively correlated with total scores of ANI (r=0. 36,0. 31,Ps<0. 01). The Cronbach'αcoefficients of API and ANI sub-scale were 0. 86 and 0. 82,while the retest reliability coefficients were 0. 79 and 0. 62. Conclusion:It suggests that the Chinese APNI has good validity and reliability in a sample of college students,which could be used to eval-uate the cognitive bias of Chinese college students.