AIM: To observe the changes of corneal densitometry(CD)and higher-order aberrations after small incision lenticule extraction(SMILE), and to explore their correlations and influencing factors.METHODS: Prospective study. A total of 62 high-degree myopia and compound myopic astigmatism patients(62 eyes)who underwent SMILE in Urumqi Aier Eye Hospital from December 2022 to November 2023 were collected. The CD, root mean square of corneal higher-order aberrations(RMS HOA), spherical aberration, vertical coma, horizontal coma, and corneal epithelial thickness(CET)of the patients were measured before surgery, and at 1 d, 1 wk, 1, 3, and 6 mo after surgery, respectively.RESULTS:There were 4 patients lost to follow-up during the period, all due to failure to attend scheduled reexaminations. The number of complete and valid cases was 58 eyes. The CD in the central and paracentral regions of the anterior, middle, and total layer of the cornea increased significantly on the first day after surgery(all P<0.003). At 6 mo after surgery, there was a slight but statistically significant decrease in the CD of the central and paracentral regions of the anterior and the total anterior layer(all P<0.003). Compared with the preoperative baseline values, the RMS HOA, spherical aberration, and vertical coma significantly increased at 6 mo after surgery(all P<0.003), while the change in horizontal coma was not statistically significant. Compared with the preoperative baseline values, the CET in the central, paracentral, and peripheral regions of the cornea, as well as the total average CET in the 0-7 mm range of the cornea increased at 6 mo after surgery(all P<0.003). At 1 d after surgery, CD of the anterior layer and total layer in the central region of the cornea were positively correlated with the CET in the central region(rs=0.327, rs=0.250, all P<0.05). At 6 mo after the surgery, the CD of the middle layer and posterior layer in the central corneal region were negatively correlated with the preoperative spherical equivalent and the change of RMS HOA(all P<0.05).CONCLUSION:The anterior CD decreases at 6 mo after SMILE for high myopia correction, and there is a certain correlation between the changes in CD and some clinical parameters.

AIM: To compare the changes in corneal epithelial thickness(CET)after small incision lenticule extraction(SMILE)and femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis(FS-LASIK).METHODS: A total of 187 patients(187 eyes)who underwent either SMILE or FS-LASIK at Urumqi Aier Eye Hospital between December 2022 and November 2023 were collected. The patients were divided into SMILE group and FS-LASIK group according to surgical methods. The CET of the patients was measured by optical coherence tomography(OCT)system before surgery and at 1 wk, 1, 3, and 6 mo postoperatively.RESULTS: Changes in corneal epithelial thickness(△CET)in the central, paracentral, and mid-peripheral regions were compared at 6 mo postoperatively. The SMILE group was characterized by the most significant thickening in the central area and the least thickening in the mid-peripheral area; while the FS-LASIK group was characterized by the most significant thickening in the paracentral area and the least thickening in the mid-peripheral region. At 1 wk, 1, 3, and 6 mo postoperatively, within the 0-7 mm corneal area, the △CET for both the SMILE and FS-LASIK groups was correlated with the preoperative spherical equivalent.CONCLUSION: Within 6 mo postoperatively, both SMILE and FS-LASIK showed a similar trend in epithelial thickening but with distinct characteristics. The change in corneal epithelial thickness for both procedures was positively correlated with the preoperative diopter.

Objective To analyze the predictive value of serum Ficolin-3 combined with National Early Warning Score(NEWS)score in the prognosis of sepsis patients.Methods A total of 120 sepsis patients ad-mitted in the hospital from February 2021 to February 2024 were selected.Serum Ficolin-3 level was detected with samples collected at the time of admission and NEWS score was counted.According to the short-term prognosis,the patients were included in the survival group(n=82)and the death group(n=38).Serum Fico-lin-3 level and NEWS score of all patients were compared.The factors affecting the prognosis of sepsis pa-tients were explored by Multivariate Logistic regression.Results The serum Ficolin-3 and NEWS score in death group were higher than those in survival group(P<0.05).The area under the curve of serum Ficolin-3,NEWS score,and their combined evaluation for predicting the prognosis of sepsis patients were 0.819(95%CI:0.774-0.864),0.764(95%CI:0.714-0.814)and 0.921(95%CI:0.876-0.971),respectively.Arterial oxygen partial pressure(PO2)in the death group was lower than that in the survival group(P<0.05),se-quential organ failure assessment(SOFA)score at admission,acute physiology and chronic health evaluation(APACHEⅡ)score at admission,the proportion of acute kidney injury after admission and diabetes were higher than those in the survival group(P<0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that PO2<70.30 mmHg(OR=2.399,95%CI:1.182-4.867),SOFA score≥7 points at admission(OR=2.479,95%CI:1.306-4.706),APACHEⅡ score≥24 points(OR=2.557,95%CI:1.355-4.826),serum Ficolin-3≥4.16 mg/L(OR=3.421,95%CI:1.750-6.688),NEWS score≥7.15 points(OR=2.921,95%CI:1.661-5.137)were factors affecting the prognosis of sepsis patients(P<0.05).Conclusion High level of serum Ficolin-3 and high NEWS score are closely related to poor short-term prognosis of sepsis patients,and the combination of Ficolin-3 level and NEWS score could effectively improve the predictive value of short-term prognosis of sepsis patients.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion (ex20ins) mutation is a rare subtype of mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with advanced NSCLC carrying the EGFR ex20ins mutation tend to have poor responses to traditional EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, leading to a poor clinical prognosis. Significant progress has been made in the development of new drugs targeting the EGFR ex20ins mutation. The research on new drugs targeting EGFR ex20ins mutations has made significant progress. The main ones include new EGFR-TKIs (such as sunvozertinib, mobocertinib, and furmetinib, etc.), bispecific antibodies (such as amivantamab, JMT101, and GB263T, etc.), and emerging drugs such as AUY922. These agents have demonstrated promising efficacy in clinical trials, improving the objective response rate and progression-free survival of patients, and are expected to improve overall survival. An in-depth analysis of the mechanism of action and clinical trial progress of these novel targeted drugs for EGFR ex20ins-mutated NSCLC can offer new therapeutic strategies for patients with EGFR ex20ins-mutated NSCLC.

Objective:To establish the UPLC fingerprint evaluation system of Viticis Fructus; To comprehensively evaluate the quality of Viticis Fructus and its processed products combining with multivariate statistical methods and compositional variance analysis.Methods:19 batches of Viticis Fructus from different regions were collected and processed by frying process into decoction pieces. The separation was operated on Waters CORTECS T3 C18 chromatographic column (100 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.6 μm). Acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid water were used as mobile phases for gradient elution, to establish the UPLC fingerprints of Viticis Fructus. The UPLC fingerprints of Viticis Fructus were analyzed using similarity evaluation, principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). The contents of seven active components in the samples of Viticis Fructus and fried Viticis Fructus were determined.Results:A total of 26 common peaks were identified in the fingerprints of 38 batches of samples, and 7 components were identified. Similarity evaluation results demonstrated that the chemical components of Viticis Fructus from Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, were significantly different from those of other regions. The results of PCA and PLS-DA analysis showed that the chemical components of Viticis Fructus and fried Viticis Fructus could be clearly distinguished, and the processing process had an impact on the components. The results of content determination showed that the contents of some components increased or decreased after frying. The analysis results of grey correlation method and TOPSIS method show that the medicinal materials in Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province have a high score ranking and stable quality.Conclusion:This study successfully establishes the fingerprints of Viticis Fructus and its processed products, grey correlation method and TOPSIS method analysis revealed the quality differences of samples from different origins, which providing a scientific basis for the quality control and evaluation of Viticis Fructus and its processed products.

Gelsemium elegans (G. elegans) is an extremely poisonous plant that is widely distributed in southern China and southeastern Asia. G. elegans poisoning events occur frequently in southern China, and are therefore an urgent public health problem requiring multidisciplinary action. However, the toxic components and toxicological mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we describe a systematic investigation on the toxic components of G. elegans, resulting in the isolation and identification of 120 alkaloids. Based on acute toxicity screening, the structure-toxicity relationship of Gelsemium alkaloids was proposed for the first time. Moreover, gelsedine- and humantenine-type alkaloids were detected in the clinical blood sample, and were confirmed to be causative in the poisoning. The most toxic compound, gelsenicine (1), had selective inhibitory effects toward ventral respiratory group (VRG) neurons in the medulla, which is the main brain region controlling respiration in the central nervous system. Gelsenicine (1) strongly inhibited the firing of action potentials in VRG neurons through its ability to stimulate GABA_A receptors, the main receptors involved in inhibitory neurotransmission. Application of GABA_A receptor antagonists successively reversed action potential firing in gelsenicine (1)-treated VRG neurons. Importantly, the GABA_A receptor antagonists securinine and flumazenil significantly increased the survival of poisoned animals. Our findings provide insight into the components and mechanisms of G. elegans toxicity, and should assist the development of effective emergency treatments for G. elegans poisoning.

Objective To Observe the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with the acute macular neuroretinopathy(AMN)associated with novel coronavirus infection(COVID-19).Methods The data of 13 patients diagnosed with COVID-19-associated AMN attending the Department of Ophthalmology of the Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University from December 2022 to February 2023,as well as 13 case reports in PubMed and Web of Science databases from 2020 to 2023 and a case series study totaling 41 patients were retrospectively selected and analyzed for their ophthalmic imaging and prognostic outcomes in clinic.Results A total of 13 cases with 25 eyes in the clinical case group were included in the study with a mean age of 30.23±6.02 years,of which 10 were females.The literature case group consisted of 41 cases and 72 eyes with a mean age of 30.12±13.24 years,including 31 female patients.(1)Duration between COVID-19 symptoms/diagnosis and ophthalmic symptoms:3(2.0,4.0)days in the clinical case group and 2(0.75,5.0)days in the literature case group.(2)Clinical characteristics:12(92.31％)of the clinical case group had the binocular onset and the literature case group,31(75.61％)had the binocular onset.The symptoms in both groups were mainly dark spots in vision,followed by decreased visual acuity.(3)Ancillary examinations:optical coherence tomography(OCT)showed the ellipsoid zone(EZ)and/or chimeric zone(IZ)breaks with strong reflections in the outer plexiform layer(OPL)and outer nuclear layer(ONL)in 13 patients in the clinical case group,and the near-infrared photography(NIR)showed the low-reflective wedge-shaped foci around the center of the macula,and some patients'optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA)showed deep capillary lesions,and some patients'OCTA showed low reflectivity.Reduced blood flow in the deep capillary layer(DCP)and choroidal capillary layer(CC)was observed in all patients,7 patients with cotton-wool spots also had the reduced blood flow in the superficial capillary layer(SCP),and 33 patients in the case group in the literature had the visible EZ and/or IZ breaks on OCT.(4)Treatment and prognosis:11 out of 13 patients were treated with oral glucocorticoids,2 were under the observation.After year,the condition of 23 patients had been improved,1 case had visual field defects,1 case had retinal vein occlusion secondary to macular edema,and 1 case had a hyporeflective signal in the outer nuclear layer(ONL)and outer plexiform layer(OPL).Conclusion The age of onset of AMN related to COVID-19 is slightly older,with more cases involving both eyes.The main symptom is visual field scotoma,often accompanied by decreased vision.Near-infrared imaging shows low-reflective wedge-shaped lesions around the fovea,and OCT shows mainly disruption of the EZ and/or IZ.OCTA shows decreased blood flow density in the DCP and CC layers.The visual prognosis of AMN related to COVID-19 is good,but vigilance is needed for the occurrence of complications such as retinal vein occlusion.

Objective To investigate the effects of miR-126 on myocardial remodeling and macrophage polarization after acute myocardial infarction(AMI).Methods(1)Twenty-one rats were divided into a sham operation group and an AMI group.The AMI group was further divided into postoperative days 1,3,5,7,9,and 11 days(AMI-1,AMI-3,AMI-5,AMI-7,AMI-9,AMI-11),with 3 rats in each group,and postoperative day 3 was selected for subsequent study.(2)Thirty rats were randomly divided into three groups:sham operation group,AMI group and miR-126 overexpression group,with 10 rats in each group.RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression levels of miR-126 mRNA.2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazole chloride(TTC)staining was used to detect the infarct size.Myocardial fibrosis was detected by Masson staining.The cross-sectional area of the myocardium was determined by H&E staining.Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the protein levels of CD86 and CD206 in myocardial tissue.Western blotting was used to detect the protein levels of CD86 and CD206 in myocardial tissue.The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and IL-6 in serum were detected by ELISA kit.Results Compared with the sham operation group,the expression level of miR-126 mRNA in myocardial tissue of rats in the AMI group was significantly decreased on postoperative day 1(P<0.05),reached the lowest level on postoperative day 3.And then although it rose to a certain extent,it remained lower than that of the sham operation group on postoperative day 11(P<0.05),and postoperative day 3 was selected for further study.Compared with the sham operation group,the expression of miR-126 mRNA in myocardial tissue of the AMI group was decreased(P<0.05),and the myocardial fibrosis,infarct size and myocardial cross-sectional area were increased(P<0.05).The expression of CD86 protein in myocardial tissue was increased and the expression of CD206 protein was decreased(P<0.05).The serum levels of TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-1β were increased(P<0.05).Compared with the AMI group,the rats in the miR-126 overexpression group had a significant increase in the mRNA expression of miR-126 in myocardial tissue(P<0.05),a significant reduction in myocardial fibrosis,infarct size,and myocardial cross-sectional area(P<0.05),a significant reduction in the expression of CD86 protein in myocardial tissue,and a significant increase in the expression of CD206 protein(P<0.05).The serum levels of TNF-α,IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly decreased(P<0.05).Conclusion Over-expression of miR-126 can improve myocardial remodeling and promote M2 macrophage polarization in AMI rats.

Objective: To investigate the characteristics and risk factors of an outbreak of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) in a boarding middle school in Guangdong Province, in order to provide a scientific evidence for effective prevention and control of campus AHC outbreaks. Methods: From September 1st to 28th 2023, case identification was conducted among 559 students and 60 faculty members using standardized definition. Descriptive analysis was conducted on the three distrubution patterns of the outbreak. Questionnaires were designed, and a case-control study was adopted to analyze the possible risk factors of the disease transmission. The propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to control the difference of baseline data. Results: A total of 269 cases of AHC were identified, with an attack rate of 43.46%. The pathogen was confirmed as Coxsackie virus A24 variant (CA24v). Among these, 264 cases were students (attack rate of 47.23%) and 5 were staff (attack rate of 8.33%). A total of 153 pairs of PSM were successfully matched. After PSM matching, there were no statistically significant differences in gender, grade and class between the case group and the control group ( χ 2=0.12, 5.41, 11.24, P >0.05). The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that middle school students whose towels contacted with others ( OR =1.81), and direct contact with other AHC cases recently ( OR =4.89) were more likely to have AHC; while wearing glasses ( OR =0.43) and frequent use of hand sanitizer ( OR = 0.37 ) were less likely to have AHC ( P <0.05). Conclusion The outbreak of AHC is caused by CA24v, demonstrating rapid spread and extensive impact within the school setting.

Objective To compare the postoperative enhanced recovery outcomes of lobectomy performed under non-intubated video-assisted thoracic surgery (NIVATS) versus intubated video-assisted thoracic surgery (IVATS). Methods Computerized searches were performed in the following databases: China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data, VIP Information, China Biomedical Literature Database (CBMdisc), Web of Science, Clinicaltrials.gov, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, and PubMed. We collected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies comparing NIVATS and IVATS. The search period extended from the inception of each database to April 1, 2023. Two independent researchers screened the literature and assessed study quality. Results A total of 14 studies were included, comprising 4 RCTs, 7 retrospective cohort studies, and 3 propensity score matching studies, involving 1 840 patients. Meta-analysis results indicated that, compared to IVATS, NIVATS was associated with significantly shorter operative time [MD=–13.39, 95%CI (–20.16, –6.62), P<0.001], shorter length of hospital stay [MD=–0.81, 95%CI (–1.39, –0.22), P=0.005], shorter chest tube duration [MD=–0.73, 95%CI (–1.36, –0.10), P=0.02], shorter postoperative anesthesia recovery time [MD=–20.34, 95%CI (–26.83, –13.84), P<0.001], and shorter time to oral intake after surgery [MD=–5.68, 95%CI (–7.63, –3.73), P<0.001]. Furthermore, NIVATS showed a lower incidence of postoperative airway complications [OR=0.49, 95%CI (0.34, 0.71), P<0.001] and less total chest tube drainage volume [MD=–251.11, 95%CI (–398.25, –103.98), P<0.001], all contributing to significantly accelerated postoperative enhanced recovery for patients. Conclusion NIVATS is a safe and technically feasible anesthesia method in thoracoscopic lobectomy, which can to some extent replace IVATS.