Background::Immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a recently recognized immune-mediated disorder that can affect almost any organ in the human body. IgG4-RD can be categorized into proliferative and fibrotic subtypes based on patients’ clinicopathological characteristics. This study aimed to compare the clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, and treatment outcomes of IgG4-RD among different subtypes.Methods::We prospectively enrolled 622 patients with newly diagnosed IgG4-RD at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from March 2011 to August 2021. The patients were divided into three groups according to their clinicopathological characteristics: proliferative, fibrotic, and mixed subtypes. We compared demographic features, clinical manifestations, organ involvement, laboratory tests, and treatment agents across three subtypes. We then assessed the differences in treatment outcomes among 448 patients receiving glucocorticoids alone or in combination with immunosuppressants. Moreover, risk factors of relapse were revealed by applying the univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis.Results::We classified the 622 patients into three groups consisting of 470 proliferative patients, 55 fibrotic patients, and 97 mixed patients, respectively. We found that gender distribution, age, disease duration, and frequency of allergy history were significantly different among subgroups. In terms of organ involvement, submandibular and lacrimal glands were frequently involved in the proliferative subtype, while retroperitoneum was the most commonly involved site in both fibrotic subtype and mixed subtype. The comparison of laboratory tests revealed that eosinophils ( P = 0.010), total IgE ( P = 0.006), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein ( P <0.001), erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( P <0.001), complement C4 ( P <0.001), IgG ( P = 0.001), IgG1 (P <0.001), IgG4 (P <0.001), and IgA ( P <0.001), at baseline were significantly different among three subtypes. Compared with proliferative and mixed subtypes, the fibrotic subtype showed the lowest rate of relapse (log-rank P = 0.014). Conclusions::Our study revealed the differences in demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations, organ involvement, laboratory tests, treatment agents, and outcomes across proliferative, fibrotic, and mixed subtypes in the retrospective cohort study. Given significant differences in relapse-free survival among the three subtypes, treatment regimens, and follow-up frequency should be considered separately according to different subtypes.Trial Registration::ClinicalTrials. gov, NCT01670695.

Objective:To analyze the clinical features, prognosis and risk factors of SARS-CoV-2 associated acute pancreatitis (SAAP), and provide a basis for early prevention and treatment of SAAP.Methods:Patients with coronavirus disease 19 infection (COVID-19) admitted to Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital from December 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical characteristics such as age, gender and other data were recorded, and the indexes of blood routine, liver and kidney function, inflammatory factor, coagulation function, blood gas analysis, immunoglobulin and complement were collected after admission. Patients were divided into pancreatic injury group and non-pancreatic injury group according to the level of serum amylase/lipase. The difference of prognosis and related hematological parameters between the two groups was compared. Multifactorial logistic regression equation was constructed to analyze the risk factors of SAAP.Results:A total of 2 101 patients with COVID-19 who met the criteria were included, including 298 patients in the pancreatic injury group and 1 803 patients in the non-pancreatic injury group. 17 cases (5.7%) in the pancreatic injury group met the diagnostic criteria for AP. The age, male percentage and mortality rate of the pancreatic injury group were all significantly higher than those of the non-pancreatic injury group (all P<0.05). In the pancreatic injury group, white blood cell count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, C-reactive protein (CRP), calcitoninogen, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, inflammatory cytokines, tumour necrosis factor, liver and kidney functions, coagulation (D-dimer and plasma fibrinogen degradation products), and lactate level were significantly higher than those in the non-pancreatic injury group (all P<0.05). Serum complement C3, albumin, albumin globule ratio and arterial oxygenation index were lower in the pancreatic injury group (all P<0.05). Multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that gender, age, CRP, calcitoninogen, total bilirubin, creatinine, PaO 2, PaO 2/FiO 2 and lactate were independent risk factors for the occurrence of pancreatic injury in patients with COVID-19 (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Inflammation-related markers, D-dimer and fibrinogen degradation products were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients comorbid with pancreatic injury than in the patients without pancreatic injury. The risk of SAAP was significantly higher in male patients of senior age. Sex, age, CRP, calcitoninogen, total bilirubin, creatinine, oxygenation index, and lactic acid were independent risk factors for the onset of pancreatic injury in COVID-19 patients.

Objective To explore the effects of metformin on the proliferation,migration,and epithelial-mesenchy-mal transition(EMT)of human lens epithelial cells(LEC)induced by transforming growth factor-β2(TGF-β2).Methods Immortalized human LEC(HLEB-3 cells)was selected as the cell source.Human LEC with a cell fusion degree of 80％was cultured in DMEM low-glucose medium containing 10 mg·L-1 TGF-β2 for 24 hours as the control group.The cells treated with TGF-β2 and then further treated with different concentrations of metformin were used as the experimental group.After treatment,the morphological changes of cells in each group were observed under an inverted microscope.The cytotoxicity was detected by CCK-8 assay,and the cell survival rate was calculated.The expression levels of Yes-associated protein 1(YAP1),large tumor suppressor 1(LATS1),and Vimentin in cells were detected by Western blot.The mRNA ex-pression levels of YAP1,LATS1,mammalian STE20-like kinase 1(MST1),Vimentin,and E-cadherin were detected by re-al-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.Results The cytotoxicity test of metformin showed that when the concen-tration of metformin was greater than 15 mmol·L-1,the survival rate of human LEC significantly decreased,indicating that the concentration of metformin had a significant impact on the survival of LEC.Therefore,15 mmol·L-1 was selected for subsequent experiments.Metformin significantly inhibited the proliferation of human LEC induced by TGF-β2 in a dose-dependent manner(P＜0.001).After 24 hours of treatment with 15 mmol·L-1 metformin,the relative expression levels of YAP1 and Vimentin proteins in human LEC were lower than those in the control group(both P＜0.05),while the relative expression level of LATS1 protein was higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05).After 24 hours of treatment with 15 mmol·L-1 metformin,the relative expression levels of YAP1 and Vimentin mRNA in human LEC were lower than those in the control group,while the relative expression levels of LATS1,MST1,and E-cadherin mRNA were higher than those in the control group,with statistically significant differences(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Metformin can inhibit the prolifer-ation,migration and EMT of human LEC induced by TGF-β2 in vitro,downregulate the expression of YAP1 and Vimentin mRNA,and upregulate the expression of LATS1,MST 1 and E-cadherin.The mechanism of action may be related to its ac-tivation of the Hippo signaling pathway.

Objective To establish a method for measurement of ²³⁹Pu in fecal samples based on inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and to provide a novel method for assessing the internal exposure of workers. Methods Fecal samples were collected from workers and labeled. The samples were pretreated with carbonization ashing and microwave digestion devices, purified on TEVA resin, and measured using ICP-MS. Results The detection limit of ²³⁹Pu in fecal samples based on ICP-MS was 1.91 × 10⁻⁴ Bq. Conclusion In the routine monitoring of class S substances characterized by a 5 μm aerodynamic diameter during 12 months, the committed effective dose corresponding to the detection limit is 0.17 mSv. This value meets the requirements of relevant national standards and ICP-MS can be used as a novel means for accurate evaluation of internal exposure for workers.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical application value of MR amide proton transfer weighted imaging (APTWI) in predicting the pathological grade of brainstem glioma (BSG).Methods:The data of 41 BSG patients in Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University from August 2019 to June 2020 who underwent both MRI and APTWI 2 weeks before surgery and had pathological grading results were retrospectively analyzed. According to the pathological results, 41 patients were classified into high-grade BSG (20 patients) and low-grade BSG (21 patients). Combined with conventional MR images, the signal intensity (%) of amide proton transfer (APT) in the parenchymal area of the tumor was obtained on APTWI images. χ 2 test or independent sample t-test was used to analyze the differences in gender distribution, age and APT signal intensity between patients with high and low grade BSG. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to predict the efficacy of APT signal intensity in the differential diagnosis of high and low grade BSG, and Youden index was calculated to obtain the optimal diagnostic threshold; the predictive ability of APT signal intensity was analyzed in combination with Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test. Results:There was no significant difference in age [(23±18) years, (20±17) years, t=0.97, P=0.340] and gender distribution (9/11, 9/12 for males/females, χ 2=0.02, P=0.890) between high-grade and low-grade BSG patients. The APT signal intensity of high-grade BSG [(3.9±0.9)%] was significantly higher than that of low-grade BSG [(2.8±0.9)%], and the difference had statistical significance ( t=4.16, P<0.001). The area under the ROC curve of APT signal intensity to distinguish high-grade and low grade BSG was 0.836, and with 2.85% as the optimal diagnostic threshold of APT signal intensity, its sensitivity for the diagnosis of high-grade BSG was 90.0% and specificity was 71.4%. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed that APTWI had a good predictive ability for BSG grade (χ 2=13.33, P=0.101). Conclusion:APTWI can be applied in distinguishing high grade BSG from low grade BSG, and has clinical value in predicting glioma grading.

Bone regeneration remains a great clinical challenge. Low intensity near-infrared (NIR) light showed strong potential to promote tissue regeneration, offering a promising strategy for bone defect regeneration. However, the effect and underlying mechanism of NIR on bone regeneration remain unclear. We demonstrated that bone regeneration in the rat skull defect model was significantly accelerated with low-intensity NIR stimulation. In vitro studies showed that NIR stimulation could promote the osteoblast differentiation in bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and MC3T3-E1 cells, which was associated with increased ubiquitination of the core circadian clock protein Cryptochrome 1 (CRY1) in the nucleus. We found that the reduction of CRY1 induced by NIR light activated the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathways, promoting SMAD1/5/9 phosphorylation and increasing the expression levels of Runx2 and Osterix. NIR light treatment may act through sodium voltage-gated channel Scn4a, which may be a potential responder of NIR light to accelerate bone regeneration. Together, these findings suggest that low-intensity NIR light may promote in situ bone regeneration in a CRY1-dependent manner, providing a novel, efficient and non-invasive strategy to promote bone regeneration for clinical bone defects.
Animals ; Rats ; Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2/metabolism* ; Bone Regeneration ; Cell Differentiation ; Circadian Clocks ; Cryptochromes/metabolism* ; Osteoblasts/metabolism* ; Osteogenesis ; Transcription Factors/metabolism*

Dermatomyositis is an autoimmune disease involving the skin and muscles. At the onset of dermatomyositis, it is difficult to make an early diagnosis due to atypical clinical manifestations and lack of serological markers. Skin and muscle lesions are associated with disease activity and prognosis in patients with dermatomyositis or clinical amyopathic dermatomyositis. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography, dermoscopy and other imaging techniques may be used to assess skin and muscle involvements, which can not only improve the accuracy of early diagnosis of dermatomyositis, but also provide important reference for the assessment of disease activity and prognosis.

Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is the main cause of vascular cognitive impairment. Its mechanism is not yet fully clear, which may be associated with vascular endothelial dysfunction and the destruction of blood-brain barrier. In recent years, some studies have been conducted on biomarkers of cognitive impairment in patients with CSVD. This article reviews the biomarkers of cognitive impairment in patients with CSVD from the aspects of inflammatory response, oxidative stress, vascular endothelial dysfunction, endocrine, nervous system damage, and microRNAs.

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the value of chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) for the identification of DMD gene deletions during prenatal diagnosis. METHODS: G-banded karyotyping and CMA were performed on fetuses with ultrasonographic soft markers but no family history for Duchenne/Becker muscular dystrophy (DMD/BMD). Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatograghy (DHPLC) was used to detect DMD gene mutations in umbilical cord blood and peripheral blood samples from the mothers. RESULTS: For fetus 1, analysis of amniocytes showed a normal karyotype, while CMA detected a 119 kb deletion at Xp21.1 (32 565 489 - 32 681 461), which encompassed exons 10 to 16 of the DMD gene. The result was confirmed by DHPLC analysis. The mother was found to have loss of heterozygosity in the same region. For fetus 2, karyotyping of amniocytes also showed a normal male karyotype, while CMA detected a 254 kb deletion at Xp21.1 (32 104 604 - 32 358 874), which encompassed exons 41 to 44 of the DMD gene. The same deletion was not detected in the mother. DHPLC analysis confirmed the presence of both deletions. CONCLUSION Two fetuses harboring DMD gene deletions but without a family history were discovered. CMA can improve the efficiency for detecting single gene diseases caused by deletions.
Dystrophin ; genetics ; Exons ; Female ; Fetus ; Gene Deletion ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Male ; Microarray Analysis ; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne ; genetics ; Pregnancy

Based on the Kraljic model,this paper established the scoring standard system for medical equipment procurement,and determined the weight coefficients of each evaluation factor by the analytic hierarchy process (AHP),then the procurement classification model of medical equipment was successfully established.It is proved that this model can classify medical equipment effectively,which enables the purchasing personnel to adopt corresponding purchasing strategies according to different classification.This model can be extended to all medical equipment procurement,realizing the delicacy and individualized procurement management of the equipment,which has strong operability and guiding significance.
Equipment and Supplies ; economics ; Models, Theoretical