OBJECTIVE: To explore clinical effects of bone setting manipulation combined with pry reduction and Kirschner needle internal fixation in treating SandersⅡ-Ⅲ calcaneal fracture. METHODS: Clinical data of 52 patients with types Sanders Ⅱand Ⅲ calcaneal fracture (foot) treated with bone-setting manipulation combined with pry reduction and Kirscher needle internal fixation from July 2017 to July 2019 were retrospectively analyzed, including 43 males and 9 females, aged from 31 to 72 years old with an average of (50.83±10.48) years old; 15 patients with Sanders typeⅡ and 37 patients with Sanders type Ⅲ. The changes of Bühler angle, Gissane angle, calcaneus width and calcaneus height before operation and 24 months after operation were compared, and Maryland foot function score was performed to evaluate clinical effects. RESULTS: All patients were followed up from 24 to 60 months with an average of (41.50±9.86)months. The fracture healed normally and the healing time was (11.00±0.95) weeks. Bühler angle, Gissane angle, calcaneal bone width and calcaneal bone height were increased from (16.37±8.36)°, (96.27±9.62)°, (46.82±4.67) mm, (38.41±3.58) mm before operation to (31.48±8.24)°, (111.62±8.69)°, (42.06±4.83) mm, (44.21±3.82) mm at 24 months after operation, and the difference were statistically significant (P<0.01). Postoperative Maryland score at 24 months was (93.04±8.83), 40 patients got excellent result, 7 good and 5 fair. CONCLUSION Orthopedic manipulation combined with percutaneous reduction and Kirschner wire internal fixation could significantly improve Bühler angle, Gissane angle, width, and height of Sanders typeⅡ and Ⅲ calcaneal fractures, and the curative effect is satisfactory.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Calcaneus/surgery* ; Middle Aged ; Fracture Fixation, Internal/methods* ; Adult ; Aged ; Fractures, Bone/therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Bone Wires ; Manipulation, Orthopedic/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Shexiang Tongxin Dropping Pill (STDP) in treating stable angina patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis syndrome by exercise duration and metabolic equivalents. METHODS: This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial enrolled stable angina patients with phlegm-heat and blood-stasis syndrome from 22 hospitals. They were randomized 1:1 to STDP (35 mg/pill, 6 pills per day) or placebo for 56 days. The primary outcome was the exercise duration and metabolic equivalents (METs) assessed by the standard Bruce exercise treadmill test after 56 days of treatment. The secondary outcomes included the total angina symptom score, Chinese medicine (CM) symptom scores, Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) scores, changes in ST-T on electrocardiogram and adverse events (AEs). RESULTS: This trial enrolled 309 patients, including 155 and 154 in the STDP and placebo groups, respectively. STDP significantly prolonged exercise duration with an increase of 51.0 s, compared to a decrease of 12.0 s with placebo (change rate: -11.1% vs. 3.2%, P<0.01). The increase in METs was significantly greater in the STDP group than in the placebo group (change: -0.4 vs. 0.0, change rate: -5.0% vs. 0.0%, P<0.01). The improvement of total angina symptom scores (25.0% vs. 0.0%), CM symptom scores (38.7% vs. 11.8%), reduction of nitroglycerin consumption (100.0% vs. 11.3%), and all domains of SAQ, were significantly greater with STDP than placebo (all P<0.01). The changes in Q-T intervals at 28 and 56 days from baseline were similar between the two groups (both P>0.05). Twenty-five participants (16.3%) with STDP and 16 (10.5%) with placebo experienced AEs (P=0.131), with no serious AEs observed. CONCLUSION STDP could improve exercise tolerance in patients with stable angina and phlegm-heat and blood stasis syndrome, with a favorable safety profile. (Registration No. ChiCTR-IPR-15006020).
Humans ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Angina, Stable/physiopathology* ; Aged ; Syndrome ; Treatment Outcome ; Placebos ; Tablets

OBJECTIVE: Pneumoconiosis, a lung disease caused by irreversible fibrosis, represents a significant public health burden. This study investigates the causal relationships between gut microbiota, gene methylation, gene expression, protein levels, and pneumoconiosis using a multi-omics approach and Mendelian randomization (MR). METHODS: We analyzed gut microbiota data from MiBioGen and Esteban et al. to assess their potential causal effects on pneumoconiosis subtypes (asbestosis, silicosis, and inorganic pneumoconiosis) using conventional and summary-data-based MR (SMR). Gene methylation and expression data from Genotype-Tissue Expression and eQTLGen, along with protein level data from deCODE and UK Biobank Pharma Proteomics Project, were examined in relation to pneumoconiosis data from FinnGen. To validate our findings, we assessed self-measured gut flora from a pneumoconiosis cohort and performed fine mapping, drug prediction, molecular docking, and Phenome-Wide Association Studies to explore relevant phenotypes of key genes. RESULTS: Three core gut microorganisms were identified: Romboutsia ( OR = 0.249) as a protective factor against silicosis, Pasteurellaceae ( OR = 3.207) and Haemophilus parainfluenzae ( OR = 2.343) as risk factors for inorganic pneumoconiosis. Additionally, mapping and quantitative trait loci analyses revealed that the genes VIM, STX8, and MIF were significantly associated with pneumoconiosis risk. CONCLUSIONS This multi-omics study highlights the associations between gut microbiota and key genes ( VIM, STX8, MIF) with pneumoconiosis, offering insights into potential therapeutic targets and personalized treatment strategies.
Humans ; Male ; East Asian People/genetics* ; Europe ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Lung ; Macrophage Migration-Inhibitory Factors/metabolism* ; Mendelian Randomization Analysis ; Multiomics ; Pneumoconiosis/microbiology* ; Intramolecular Oxidoreductases

Human exhaled breath has great application prospects,e.g.,monitoring pharmacokinetics,disease diagnosis,due to its advantages such as non-invasive and high-frequency sampling.Breath samples can be collected from the oral and nasal cavity.However,the oral and nasal environment affect the chemical composition of breath sample.Therefore,the investigation on the chemical composition of mouth-exhaled breath and nose-exhaled breath is crucial for selection of appropriate sampling strategy for individual studies.In this work,secondary electrospray ionization-high resolution mass spectrometry(SESI-HRMS)was applied to analysis of respiratory metabolomics in real time.A quantitative analysis approach was established for 9 kinds of volatile organic compounds(VOCs)e.g.2-butanone,2-pentanone,ethyl acetate,methyl methacrylate,toluene,styrene,mesitylene,isoprene and limonene.The limit of detection was 2.3?240.8 ng/m3.The intra-day(n=6)and inter-day(n=18)relative standard deviations were 0.6%?4.6%and 4.3%?12.2%,respectively.Nine healthy subjects were recruited to investigate the chemical composition of mouth-exhaled and nose-exhaled breath.The results showed the good performance in quantitative analysis of 9 VOCs in breath air.It was found that the number of unique component(m/z)detected in mouth-exhaled breath(167)was 2.2 times greater than that detected in nose-exhaled breath(76),which might result from the complex environment in oral cavity.The signal intensity of commun component(163)was significantly different between mouth-exhaled breath and nose-exhaled breath.Additionally,the elemental composition analysis showed that the proportion of polar compounds detected in nose-exhaled breath was higher than that in mouth-exhaled breath.This study demonstrated that there was significant differences in the chemical composition between mouth-exhaled and nose-exhaled breath,which provided a theoretical basis for selection of exhalation mode.

ObjectiveTo explore the protective effect and mechanism of Yangxin Dingji capsules on isoproterenol （ISO）-induced ventricular arrhythmia in SD rat cardiomyocytes based on the transforming growth factor-β activated kinase 1 （TAK1）-mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 （MKK3）-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p38 MAPK） signaling pathway. MethodFifty male SPF-grade SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group， a model group， a propranolol group， a low-dose Chinese medicine group， and a high-dose Chinese medicine group. The ventricular arrhythmia model was constructed using the ISO "6+1" method. The propranolol group received propranolol at 0.015 g·kg^-1·d^-1. The Chinese medicine groups received Yangxin Dingji capsules at doses of 0.5、 2 g·kg^-1·d^-1， respectively. The normal and model groups were given an equal volume of 0.9% NaCl solution. Electrocardiogram （ECG） changes in SD rats were recorded using the BL-420F biological function experimental system. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to observe the pathological changes in the heart. Serum levels of cardiac troponin I （cTnI）， creatine kinase-MB （CK-MB）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， and transforming growth factor-β₁ （TGF-β₁） were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. The mRNA expression of IL-1β and TNF-α was assessed using real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. Reactive oxygen species （ROS） expression was detected using immunofluorescence. Protein expression levels of TAK1， phosphorylated TAK1 （p-TAK1）， MKK3， phosphorylated MKK3 （p-MKK3）， p38 MAPK， phosphorylated p38 MAPK （p-p38 MAPK）， nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， phosphorylated NF-κB （p-NF-κB）， IL-1β， and TNF-α were measured using Western blot or immunohistochemistry. ResultCompared with normal group， the model group showed significant ventricular arrhythmia in ECG， with an increased arrhythmia score （P<0.01）. Pathological damage to myocardial tissue was evident， and serum levels of cTnI， CK-MB， IL-1β， TNF-α， and TGF-β₁ were elevated （P<0.01）. The mRNA and protein expression of IL-1β and TNF-α in myocardial tissue was also increased （P<0.01）. ROS level and protein expression of p-TAK1， p-MKK3， p-p38 MAPK， and p-NF-κB were elevated in myocardial tissue （P<0.01）. In the propranolol and Chinese medicine groups， the incidence of sustained ventricular tachycardia （SVT） and arrhythmia scores were significantly reduced compared to model group （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Pathological damage to cardiomyocytes was alleviated， and levels of myocardial injury markers and inflammatory factors in serum and myocardial tissue were decreased. The ROS level in myocardial tissue was also reduced （P<0.01）， with a noticeable reduction in related molecules in the p38 MAPK pathway （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionThe expression of p38 MAPK pathway molecules was up-regulated in myocardial tissue of ISO-induced ventricular arrhythmia rats. Yangxin Dingji capsules may inhibit cardiac inflammation damage by regulating the expression of related molecules in the p38 MAPK pathway， thereby exerting a protective effect on myocardial cells， with TAK1 being a potential target.

Aim To explore whether platelet-derived growth factor C(PDGFC)derived from cancer-associat-ed fibroblasts(CAFs)can promote resistance of breast cancer cells to doxorubicin(DOX)and the underlying mechanisms.Methods CAFs and normal fibroblasts(NFs)were extracted from freshly resected breast cancer tissue and adjacent normal breast tissue respec-tively.Conditioned medium(CM)from CAFs and NFs was collected and co-cultured with breast cancer cells.Cell proliferation and toxicity were assessed using a Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK-8).The expression of PDG-FC in CAFs,NFs and corresponding CM was detected by Western blot and ELISA respectively.The influence of CAFs-CM on intracellular doxorubicin content in breast cancer cells was observed by fluorescence mi-croscopy.The impact of CAFs-CM on apoptosis-related proteins BAX and BCL2 was predicted and valifated u-sing the Starbase database and Western blot.The changes in ROS levels,mitochondrial membrane po-tential,and mitochondrial membrane proteins TOM20 and COX Ⅳ in breast cancer cells were measured using DCFH-DA fluorescence staining,JC-1 assay,and Western blot.Results CAFs-CM decreased the intra-cellular doxorubicin content and inhibited the sensitivi-ty of breast cancer cells to doxorubicin.Additionally,the expression of apoptosis protein BAX decreased while the anti-apoptotic protein BCL2 increased in breast cancer cells cultured with CAFs-CM.Further-more,CAFs-CM led to decreased ROS levels and in-creased mitochondrial membrane potential in breast cancer cells accompanied with elevated expression of mitochondrial membrane proteins TOM20 and COX Ⅳ.Further study found that PDGEF was highly expressed in CAFs and CAFs-CM,recombinant human PDGFC produced resistance of breast cancer cells to DOX simi-lar to CAFs-CM,and the specific inhibitors of PDGFRα significantly inhibited CAFs-CM.Further mechanistic studies revealed that PDGFC in CAFs-CM induced chemoresistance by activating PI3K-mTOR signaling pathway.Conclusion PDGFC secreted by CAFs promotes doxorubicin resistance in breast cancer cells through PI3K-mTOR signaling pathway,which provides a new perspective for the development of anti-cancer drugs targeting CAFs.

Aim To investigate the involvement of mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor(MANF)in rifampicin(RFP)-induced cholestatic liv-er injury.Methods We investigated the impact of MANF gene deletion on rifampicin-induced BAT ex-pression in mice by the MANF gene knockout mouse model.We investigated the influence of MANF knock-down on nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2)in HepG2 cells by the MANF knockdown cell model.Results Compared with the wild-type(WT)mice,the mRNA and protein expression levels of bile salt export pump(BSEP)and multidrug-resistant asso-ciated protein4(MRP4)significantly increased in WT mice treated with RFP.However,compared to the WT mice treated with RFP,the mRNA and protein expres-sion levels of BSEP,Multidrug resistance protein 1(MDR1),multidrug resistance associated proteins 2/3/4(MRP2/3/4),and organic solute transport pro-teins α(OST α)were significantly reduced.In cell experiments we found that MANF knockdown weakened the expression of Nrf2 and its nuclear translocation by RFP.Conclusion MANF may regulate adaptive BAT expression by modulating Nrf2 expression,thereby pla-ying a protective role in RFP-induced liver injury.

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pneumococcal meningitis(PM),and drug sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae(SP)isolates in Chinese children.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical information,laboratory data,and microbiological data of 160 hospitalized children under 15 years old with PM from January 2019 to December 2020 in 33 tertiary hospitals across the country.Results Among the 160 children with PM,there were 103 males and 57 females.The age ranged from 15 days to 15 years,with 109 cases(68.1% )aged 3 months to under 3 years.SP strains were isolated from 95 cases(59.4% )in cerebrospinal fluid cultures and from 57 cases(35.6% )in blood cultures.The positive rates of SP detection by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing and cerebrospinal fluid SP antigen testing were 40% (35/87)and 27% (21/78),respectively.Fifty-five cases(34.4% )had one or more risk factors for purulent meningitis,113 cases(70.6% )had one or more extra-cranial infectious foci,and 18 cases(11.3% )had underlying diseases.The most common clinical symptoms were fever(147 cases,91.9% ),followed by lethargy(98 cases,61.3% )and vomiting(61 cases,38.1% ).Sixty-nine cases(43.1% )experienced intracranial complications during hospitalization,with subdural effusion and/or empyema being the most common complication[43 cases(26.9% )],followed by hydrocephalus in 24 cases(15.0% ),brain abscess in 23 cases(14.4% ),and cerebral hemorrhage in 8 cases(5.0% ).Subdural effusion and/or empyema and hydrocephalus mainly occurred in children under 1 year old,with rates of 91% (39/43)and 83% (20/24),respectively.SP strains exhibited complete sensitivity to vancomycin(100% ,75/75),linezolid(100% ,56/56),and meropenem(100% ,6/6).High sensitivity rates were also observed for levofloxacin(81% ,22/27),moxifloxacin(82% ,14/17),rifampicin(96% ,25/26),and chloramphenicol(91% ,21/23).However,low sensitivity rates were found for penicillin(16% ,11/68)and clindamycin(6% ,1/17),and SP strains were completely resistant to erythromycin(100% ,31/31).The rates of discharge with cure and improvement were 22.5% (36/160)and 66.2% (106/160),respectively,while 18 cases(11.3% )had adverse outcomes.Conclusions Pediatric PM is more common in children aged 3 months to under 3 years.Intracranial complications are more frequently observed in children under 1 year old.Fever is the most common clinical manifestation of PM,and subdural effusion/emphysema and hydrocephalus are the most frequent complications.Non-culture detection methods for cerebrospinal fluid can improve pathogen detection rates.Adverse outcomes can be noted in more than 10% of PM cases.SP strains are high sensitivity to vancomycin,linezolid,meropenem,levofloxacin,moxifloxacin,rifampicin,and chloramphenicol.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):131-138]

Objective To investigate the differences in visual perception between children with autism spectrum disorder(ASD)and typically developing(TD)children when watching different intention videos,and to explore the feasibility of machine learning algorithms in objectively distinguishing between ASD children and TD children.Methods A total of 58 children with ASD and 50 TD children were enrolled and were asked to watch the videos containing joint intention and non-joint intention,and the gaze duration and frequency in different areas of interest were used as original indicators to construct classifier-based models.The models were evaluated in terms of the indicators such as accuracy,sensitivity,and specificity.Results When using eight common classifiers,including support vector machine,linear discriminant analysis,decision tree,random forest,and K-nearest neighbors(with K values of 1,3,5,and 7),based on the original feature indicators,the highest classification accuracy achieved was 81.90% .A feature reconstruction approach with a decision tree classifier was used to further improve the accuracy of classification,and then the model showed the accuracy of 91.43% ,the specificity of 89.80% ,and the sensitivity of 92.86% ,with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.909(P<0.001).Conclusions The machine learning model based on eye-tracking data can accurately distinguish ASD children from TD children,which provides a scientific basis for developing rapid and objective ASD screening tools.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):151-157]

Objective To monitor the susceptibility of clinical isolates to antimicrobial agents in tertiary hospitals in major regions of China in 2022.Methods Clinical isolates from 58 hospitals in China were tested for antimicrobial susceptibility using a unified protocol based on disc diffusion method or automated testing systems.Results were interpreted using the 2022 Clinical &Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)breakpoints.Results A total of 318 013 clinical isolates were collected from January 1,2022 to December 31,2022,of which 29.5％were gram-positive and 70.5％were gram-negative.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains in Staphylococcus aureus,Staphylococcus epidermidis and other coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species(excluding Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and Staphylococcus schleiferi)was 28.3％,76.7％and 77.9％,respectively.Overall,94.0％of MRSA strains were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 90.8％of MRSE strains were susceptible to rifampicin.No vancomycin-resistant strains were found.Enterococcus faecalis showed significantly lower resistance rates to most antimicrobial agents tested than Enterococcus faecium.A few vancomycin-resistant strains were identified in both E.faecalis and E.faecium.The prevalence of penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae was 94.2％in the isolates from children and 95.7％in the isolates from adults.The resistance rate to carbapenems was lower than 13.1％in most Enterobacterales species except for Klebsiella,21.7％-23.1％of which were resistant to carbapenems.Most Enterobacterales isolates were highly susceptible to tigecycline,colistin and polymyxin B,with resistance rates ranging from 0.1％to 13.3％.The prevalence of meropenem-resistant strains decreased from 23.5％in 2019 to 18.0％in 2022 in Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and decreased from 79.0％in 2019 to 72.5％in 2022 in Acinetobacter baumannii.Conclusions The resistance of clinical isolates to the commonly used antimicrobial agents is still increasing in tertiary hospitals.However,the prevalence of important carbapenem-resistant organisms such as carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae,P.aeruginosa,and A.baumannii showed a downward trend in recent years.This finding suggests that the strategy of combining antimicrobial resistance surveillance with multidisciplinary concerted action works well in curbing the spread of resistant bacteria.