Objective:To observe the effect of Xuebijing injection on sepsis combined with acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI), and analyze the risk factors of sepsis combined with AGI.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted. Patients with non-gastrointestinal origin admitted to the department of intensive care medicine of the First Hospital of Qinhuangdao from May 1, 2021 to October 30, 2023 were enrolled. The baseline data, source of sepsis infection, vital signs, acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ(APACHEⅡ), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA), laboratory tests, comorbidities, interventions during treatment, and the 28-day prognosis were collected. The patients were divided into Xuebijing group and non-Xuebijing group according to whether Xuebijing injection was used or not. According to whether AGI was merged or not, patients were divided into merged AGI group and non-merged AGI group. The main observational indexes were the difference in the incidence of AGI between the Xuebijing group and non-Xuebijing group and the difference in the magnitude of the decline in procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and white blood cell count (WBC) at 7 days after admission, and the difference in the 28-day morbidity and mortality. Risk factors for AGI in septic patients were explored by univariate analysis, and statistically significant indicators were screened and included in binary Logistic regression analysis to determine independent risk factors.Results:A total of 129 patients with sepsis of non-gastrointestinal origin were enrolled, including 57 patients in the Xuebijing group and 72 patients in the non-Xuebijing group. Among 129 patients, 80 patients in the merged AGI group and 49 patients in the non-merged AGI group. There were no statistically significant differences between Xuebijing group and non-Xuebijing group in gender, age, body mass index (BMI), underlying disease, source of infection, vital sign, APACHEⅡscore, SOFA score, and clinical intervention, and there were no statistically significant differences in laboratory tests except for aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN). The incidence of AGI was significantly lower in the Xuebijing group than that in the non-Xuebijing group [50.87% (29/57) vs. 70.83% (51/72), P < 0.05], and the 28-day mortality was slightly lower than that in the non-Xuebijing group [24.56% (14/57) vs. 30.56% (22/72), P > 0.05]. In the Xuebijing group, the decreases in CRP, PCT and WBC at 7 days after admission were greater than those in the non-Xuebijing group, with statistically significant differences in the decreases of CRP and PCT [CRP (mg/L): 47.12±67.34 vs. 7.76±111.03, PCT (μg/L): 14.08 (-1.22, 50.40) vs. 2.94 (-1.27, 14.80), all P < 0.05]. Univariate analysis showed that the use of acid suppressants, the use of analgesic sedation, the non-use of Xuebijing injections, pulmonary infections, and urinary tract infections were the risk factors for the development of AGI in patients with sepsis. Binary Logistic regression analysis further showed that the use of acid suppressants [odds ratio ( OR) = 2.450, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 1.021-5.883, P = 0.045], use of analgesic sedatives ( OR = 2.521, 95% CI was 1.074-5.918, P = 0.034), and urinary tract infection ( OR = 4.011, 95% CI was 1.085-14.831, P = 0.037) were independent risk factors for sepsis combined with AGI, in which the use of Xuebijing injection was a protective factor ( OR = 0.315, 95% CI was 0.137-0.726, P = 0.007). Conclusions:Xuebijing injection reduced the incidence of AGI in patients with non-gastrointestinal sepsis. PCT and CRP decreased more markedly than in patients who did not use Xuebijing injection. The use of acid-suppressing agents, analgesic and sedative agents, and urinary tract infections were independent risk factors for sepsis in combination with AGI, while the use of Xuebijing injection is a protective factor.

Objective:To investigate the early clinical characteristics of elderly patients with severe burns and the risk factors on prognosis.Methods:This study was a retrospective case series study. Clinical data of 124 elderly patients with severe burns who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted to the 12 hospitals from January 2015 to December 2020 were collected, including 4 patients from the Fourth People's Hospital of Dalian, 5 patients from Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 22 patients from Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital of Jinan University, 5 patients from Heilongjiang Provincial Hospital, 27 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, 9 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, 10 patients from Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, 9 patients from Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University & Wuhan Third Hospital, 12 patients from the 924 th Hospital of PLA, 6 patients from Zhangjiagang First People's Hospital, 4 patients from Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, and 11 patients from Zhengzhou First People's Hospital. The patients' overall clinical characteristics, such as gender, age, body mass index, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, inhalation injury, causative factors, whether combined with underlying medical diseases, and admission time after injury were recorded. According to the survival outcome within 28 days after injury, the patients were divided into survival group (89 cases) and death group (35 cases). The following data of patients were compared between the two groups, including the basic data and injuries (the same as the overall clinical characteristics ahead); the coagulation indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time, D-dimer, fibrinogen degradation product (FDP), international normalized ratio (INR), and fibrinogen; the blood routine indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as white blood cell count, platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, monocyte count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit; the organ function indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, urea, serum creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total protein, albumin, globulin, blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase, creatine kinase, electrolyte indexes (potassium, sodium, chlorine, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus in blood), uric acid, myoglobin, and brain natriuretic peptide; the infection and blood gas indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, pH value, oxygenation index, base excess, and lactate; treatment such as whether conducted with mechanical ventilation, whether conducted with continuous renal replacement therapy, whether conducted with anticoagulation therapy, whether applied with vasoactive drugs, and fluid resuscitation. The analysis was conducted to screen the independent risk factors for the mortality within 28 days after injury in elderly patients with severe burns. Results:Among 124 patients, there were 82 males and 42 females, aged 60-97 years, with body mass index of 23.44 (21.09, 25.95) kg/m 2, total burn area of 54.00% (42.00%, 75.00%) total body surface area (TBSA), and full-thickness burn area of 25.00% (10.00%, 40.00%) TBSA. The patients were mainly combined with moderate to severe inhalation injury and caused by flame burns. There were 43 cases with underlying medical diseases. The majority of patients were admitted to the hospital within 8 hours after injury. There were statistically significant differences between patients in the 2 groups in terms of age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, and inhalation injury, and PT, APTT, D-dimer, FDP, INR, white blood cell count, platelet count, urea, serum creatinine, blood glucose, blood sodium, uric acid, myoglobin, and urine volume within the first 24 hours of injury (with Z values of 2.37, 5.49, 5.26, 5.97, 2.18, 1.95, 2.68, 2.68, 2.51, 2.82, 2.14, 3.40, 5.31, 3.41, 2.35, 3.81, 2.16, and -3.82, respectively, P<0.05); there were statistically significant differences between two groups of patients in whether conducted with mechanical ventilation and whether applied with vasoactive drugs (with χ2 values of 9.44 and 28.50, respectively, P<0.05). Age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, serum creatinine within the first 24 hours of injury, and APTT within the first 24 hours of injury were the independent risk factors for the mortality within 28 days after injury in elderly patients with severe burns (with odds ratios of 1.17, 1.10, 1.10, 1.09, and 1.27, 95% confidence intervals of 1.03-1.40, 1.04-1.21, 1.05-1.19, 1.05-1.17, and 1.07-1.69, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusions:The elderly patients with severe burns had the injuries mainly from flame burns, often accompanied by moderate to severe inhalation injury and enhanced inflammatory response, elevated blood glucose levels, activated fibrinolysis, and impaired organ function in the early stage, which are associated with their prognosis. Age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, and serum creatinine and APTT within the first 24 hours of injury are the independent risk factors for death within 28 days after injury in this population.

Chemotherapy has occupied the critical position in cancer therapy, especially towards the post-operative, advanced, recurrent, and metastatic tumors. Paclitaxel (PTX)-based formulations have been widely used in clinical practice, while the therapeutic effect is far from satisfied due to off-target toxicity and drug resistance. The caseless multi-components make the preparation technology complicated and aggravate the concerns with the excipients-associated toxicity. The self-assembled PTX nanoparticles possess a high drug content and could incorporate various functional molecules for enhancing the therapeutic index. In this work, we summarize the self-assembly strategy for diverse nanodrugs of PTX. Then, the advancement of nanodrugs for tumor therapy, especially emphasis on mono-chemotherapy, combinational therapy, and theranostics, have been outlined. Finally, the challenges and potential improvements have been briefly spotlighted.

Objective:To analyze the value of serum related cytokines in predicting intestinal mucosal injury in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) and its correlation with intestinal mucosal injury.Methods:A total of 92 patients with SAP admitted to the First Hospital of Qinhuangdao from January 2020 to December 2021 were included in the study. According to the presence or absence of intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction, the patients were divided into intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction group (33 cases) and non-intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction group (59 cases). Another 100 healthy subjects were selected as the control group. Clinical data of the subjects were collected. Serum levels of procalcitonin (PCT), D-lactic acid (D-L), endotoxin, diamine oxidase (DAO), citrulline and intestinal fatty acid binding protein (I-FABP) of the three groups were compared, and the correlation between the above indexes was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of each indicator in predicting intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction in SAP patients.Results:The levels of serum PCT, D-L, endotoxin, DAO and I-FABP in intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction group, non-intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction group and control group showed a downward trend, while the level of serum citrulline showed an upward trend, with statistically significant difference (all P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that serum citrulline was negatively correlated with serum PCT, D-L, and endotoxin levels ( r=-0.740, -0.629, -0.310, all P<0.05); There was a positive correlation between serum DAO and serum PCT, D-L and endotoxin levels ( r=0.482, 0.779, 0.338, all P<0.05); There was a positive correlation between serum I-FABP and serum PCT, D-L and endotoxin levels ( r=0.613, 0.421, 0.341, all P<0.05). The ROC curve results showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of serum PCT, D-L, endotoxin, DAO, citrulline, and I-FABP predicting intestinal mucosal injury in SAP patients were 0.816, 0.789, 0.732, 0.801, 0.812, and 0.857, respectively. The AUC of the combination of the above indicators predicting intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction in SAP patients was 0.909, significantly higher than that predicted by each index alone (all P<0.05). Conclusions:The occurrence of intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction in SAP patients may be related to the increase of serum PCT, D-L, endotoxin, DAO, I-FABP levels and the decrease of citrulline levels. It may be considered to predict the risk of intestinal mucosal injury by detecting the levels of various indicators in patients′ serum.

Objective:To investigate the effect of different stent oversize in thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) on lumen remodeling of type B aortic dissection (TBAD).Methods:The clinical and follow-up data of 89 TBAD patients receiving TEVAR from Nov 2010 to Jun 2020 at Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. According to the difference of proximal stent oversize, 89 patients were divided into: low oversize group (<10%, 47 cases) and high oversize group (≥10%, 42 cases). The changes of the normal vessel diameter and area at the proximal end of the stent and the long diameter, short diameter and area of the true/false lumen at the distal end of the stent at 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery and postoperative complications were analyzed.Results:The change of proximal vessel diameter with time in the low oversize group is smaller than that in the high oversize group ( P<0.05),and the change of the distal false lumen area of the stent in the low oversize group was greater than that in the high oversize group ( P<0.05). The high oversize group was prone to retrograde type A aortic dissection (RTAD) ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Low oversize stents are more conducive to the remodeling of the aortic lumen in the early and mid-term after TEVAR in TBAD patients.

Background::With functionally heterogeneous cells, tumors comprise a complex ecosystem to promote tumor adaptability and evolution under strong selective pressure from the given microenvironment. Diversifying tumor cells or intra-tumor heterogeneity is essential for tumor growth, invasion, and immune evasion. However, no reliable method to classify tumor cell subtypes is yet available. In this study, we introduced the single-cell sequencing combined with copy number characteristics to identify the types of tumor cells in microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer (CRC).Methods::To characterize the somatic copy number alteration (SCNA) of MSS CRC in a single cell profile, we analyzed 26 tissue samples from 19 Korean patients (GSE132465, the Samsung Medical Center [SMC] dataset) and then verified our findings with 15 tissue samples from five Belgian patients (GSE144735, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 3 [KUL3] dataset). The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort, GSE39582 cohort, and National Cancer Center (NCC) cohort (24 MSS CRC patients were enrolled in this study between March 2017 and October 2017) were used to validate the clinical features of prognostic signatures.Results::We employed single cell RNA-sequencing data to identify three types of tumor cells in MSS CRC by their SCNA characteristics. Among these three types of tumor cells, C1 and C3 had a higher SCNA burden; C1 had significant chromosome 13 and 20 amplification, whereas C3 was the polar opposite of C1, which exhibited deletion in chromosome 13 and 20. The three types of tumor cells exhibited various functions in the tumor microenvironment and harbored different mutations. C1 and C2 were linked to the immune response and hypoxia, respectively, while C3 was critical for cell adhesion activity and tumor angiogenesis. Additionally, one gene ( OLFM4) was identified as epithelium-specific biomarker of better prognosis of CRC (TCGA cohort: P = 0.0110; GSE39582 cohort: P= 0.0098; NCC cohort: P= 0.0360). Conclusions::On the basis of copy number characteristics, we illustrated tumor heterogeneity in MSS CRC and identified three types of tumor cells with distinct roles in tumor microenvironment. By understanding heterogeneity in the intricate tumor microenvironment, we gained an insight into the mechanisms of tumor evolution, which may support the development of therapeutic strategies.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effects of free transplanted pre-expanded scapular flap in reconstructing scar contracture deformity of neck.Methods:A retrospective observational study was conducted. From February 2010 to August 2020, 17 cervical scar deformity patients (9 males and 8 females, aged 8-42 years) who met the inclusion criteria were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University. The patients underwent skin and soft tissue expander (hereinafter referred to as expander) implantation in scapular region in stage Ⅰ procedures, and the free transplanted pre-expanded flaps were used to resurface the wounds followed by neck scar resection in the stage Ⅱ procedures. The wound size after neck scar release was 12.0 cm×6.0 cm-30.0 cm×24.0 cm, and the size of the flap ranged from 13.0 cm×7.5 cm to 31.5 cm×25.0 cm. The wounds in donor site of 15 patients were sutured directly, and the wounds in donor site of 2 patients were covered with full-thickness skin graft from abdominal area. The survival of flaps was observed after the operation of stage Ⅱ. Six months after stage Ⅱ surgery, Z plasty was performed to treat the incision scar contracture in 2 patients. For the 5 patients of overweight or bloating appearance in the 1/3 proximal flap underwent debulking procedures in 6-9 months after stage Ⅱsurgery. Before the stage Ⅰ surgery and six months after the last procedure (stage Ⅱ or stage Ⅲ), mental cervical angle (MCA) and cervical mandibular angle (CMA) were measured and the improvement of neck scar was evaluated by the angle values. The cervical motor function, skin color and texture in recipient areas, and scar in the donor sites assessed by Vancouver scar scale (VSS) were observed during follow-up. Data were statistically analyzed with paired sample t test. Results:After stage Ⅱ surgery, 15 patients' flaps survived well; venous crisis occurred in 2 flaps within 24 h after operation, and the flaps survived well after emergency exploration and thrombus removal+vascular re-anastomosis. Compared with the angle values of MCA of (126±12)° and CMA of (148±13)° of patients before the stage Ⅰ surgery, the angle values of MCA of (107±12)° and CMA of (123±11)° of patients in six months after the last procedure were significantly decreased (with t values of 10.68 and 6.54, respectively, P<0.05). After 2 years of follow-up, the patient's neck dorsiflexion, lateral bending, or other motor functions were not restricted; the color and texture of the flap in recipient site were close to those of the normal neck skin; the patient cases with VSS scores of scarring of 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were 1, 3, 7, 5, and 1 case, respectively. Conclusions:The free transplantation of the pre-expanded scapular flaps can provide sufficient tissue for wound coverage after the release of cervical scar contracture deformity; the expanded skin tissue is featured by thin soft tissue and good pliability, which is conducive to restore the neck appearance; the donor sites are relatively covert with less tension, therefore, the treatment is an effective method for correcting the contracture in the neck.

Objective:To explore the regulation effects of baicalin on the behavior as well as extracellular regulated protein kinase(ERK)and cAMP-response element binding protein(CREB) in chronic unpredictable mild stimulus(CUMS) model mice.Methods:Thirty ICR mice were randomly assigned to control(CON) group, model(CUMS) group, fluoxetine(FLU) group, baicalin high-dose(BA-H) group and baicalin low-dose(BA-L) group with 6 mice in each group.In addition to the CON group, the mice in the other four groups were modeled by CUMS method.The modeling was carried out for 42 days, and intragastric administration was carried out according to groups from the 21st day to the completion of modeling.After administration, the depression like behavior of mice was measured by sugar water preference test and water maze test.Western blot (WB) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to detect the protein level and mRNA level of ERK and CREB in mouse hippocampus respectively.SPSS 21.0 was used for statistical analysis.After normal test and variance homogeneity test, one-way ANOVA was used for multi group comparison, and Tukey test was used for pairwise comparison.Results:Results from the sugar preference experiment showed that compared with CON group, the sugar preference rate of CUMS group was decreased ((82.88±2.00)%, (64.49±1.24)%, t=19.11, P<0.05). Compared with CUMS group, sugar preference rate in FLU group ((81.90±1.19) %), BA-H group (77.86±2.51)%) and BA-L group ((67.98±2.56)%) increased ( t=24.83, 11.68, 3.00, all P<0.05). The results of water maze test showed that compared with CON group, the number of crossing platform ((6.33±0.82), (1.83±0.75), t=9.93, P<0.05) and the target quadrant residence time ((46.83±4.78)s, (24.25±6.12)s, t=7.13, P<0.05) of mice in CUMS group were decreased, but the the escape latency was prolonged ((14.88±3.00) s, (70.70±4.77) s, t=24.26, P<0.05). Compared with CUMS group, the number of crossing platform ((5.00±0.89)times, (5.17±0.75)times and (3.33±0.82) times, t=6.64, 7.67, 3.31, all P<0.05), and the residence time in the target quadrant ((36.80±2.66) s, (36.82±5.62) s, (33.28±3.56) s, t=4.61, 3.71, 3.13, all P<0.05) in FLU group, BA-H group and BA-L group increased, but the escape latencies were shortened ((23.37±4.86) s, (34.83±4.72) s, (62.15±5.30) s, t=17.02, 13.10, 2.94, all P<0.05). WB results showed that compared with CON group, the expression of ERK protein ((1.00±0.15), (0.36±0.10), t= 6.26, P<0.05) and CREB protein((1.00±0.12), (0.29±0.03), t=10.32, P<0.05) in hippocampus of mice in CUMS group decreased.Compared with CUMS group, ERK protein in hippocampus of mice in FLU, BA-H and BA-L groups increased ((0.87±0.05), (0.77±0.08), (0.67±0.03), t=8.25, 5.7, 5.39, all P<0.05), and CREB protein in FLU, BA-H and BA-L groups were also increased ((0.90±0.12), (0.84±0.14), (0.62±0.04), t=8.94, 6.59, 12.25, all P<0.05). qPCR results showed that compared with CON group, ERK mRNA ((1.00±0.03), (0.41±0.10), t=9.78, P<0.05) and CREB mRNA ((1.00±0.08), (0.61±0.12), t=4.62, P<0.05) were decreased in CUMS group.Compared with CUMS group, ERK mRNA in hippocampus of mice in FLU, BA-H and BA-L groups were increased ((0.71±0.08), (0.69±0.03), (0.59±0.04), t=4.15, 4.65, 2.84, all P<0.05), CREB mRNA in FLU group and BA-H group were increased ((0.87±0.08), (0.86±0.07), t=3.14, 3.19, all P<0.05). Conclusion:BA can improve the depression-like behavior of CUMS model mice.The mechanism of action may be related to the regulation of ERK and CREB proteins.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of lymph node metastasis and the clinical significance of deep submucosal invasion in patients with T1 stage colorectal cancer.Methods:From January 30, 2010 to December 31, 2019, at Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, among patients with T1 stage colorectal cancer, 41 patients underwent radical surgery for colorectal cancer (surgery group) and 23 patients received endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) (ESD group) were enrolled. The tumor gross type, maximum diameter, histologically poorly differentiated components, degree of invasion (the type of mucosal muscle destruction, the width and depth of invasion), the budding grade of tumor, and whether with vascular tumor thrombus were recorded. The additional treatment and prognosis of patients were collected by telephone follow-up. The risk factors of lymph node metastasis in stage T1 colorectal cancer, the correlation between the complete muscularis mucosa destruction and the width and depth of invasion in the ESD group, and the effects of additional treatment after operation on the prognosis of patients were analyzed. Independent sample t test and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis. Results:The rate of lymph node metastasis in patients with poorly differentiated components or vascular tumor thrombus was higher than that in patients without poorly differentiated components or vascular tumor thrombus (3/6 vs. 12.1%, 7/58; 3/4 vs. 11.7%, 7/60), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=5.934 and 11.409, both P<0.05). All patients in the surgery group had complete muscularis mucosa destruction. In ESD group, the width of tumor invasion was ≥ 2 mm in 16 cases, including complete destruction of muscularis mucosa in 15 cases and partial destruction in one case; the width of tumor invasion was <2 mm in seven cases, including complete destruction of muscularis mucoa in two cases and partial destruction in five cases; the depth of infiltration was ≥ 2 000 μm in 14 cases, including complete destruction of muscularis mucosa in 13 cases and partial destruction in one case; the depth of infiltration was <2 000 μm in nine cases, including complete destruction of muscularis mucosa in four cases and partial destruction in five cases. The complete muscularis mucosa destruction was related with tumor of invasion width ≥ 2 mm and invasion depth ≥ 2 000 μm (15/16 vs.2/7, 13/14 vs. 4/7), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=10.729, 6.659, both P<0.05). Among the 64 patients with T1 stage colorectal cancer in this study, six cases (9.4%) had poor prognosis; five cases (7.8%) died, and three of them (4.7%) were tumor-related deaths. Adjuvant therapy was added in 10 cases in surgery group and 10 cases in ESD group, and there were no poor prognosis in those patients. There were no significant difference in the incidences of poor prognosis of patients without additional treatment and patients with additional treatment of the two groups (9.7% (3/31) vs. 0 (0/10) and 23.1% (3/13) vs. 0 (0/10)) (both P>0.05). Conclusion:When T1 stage colorectal cancer with tumor submucosal invasion, clinicians should comprehensively evaluate the prognostic risk based on various pathological characteristics such as the degree of tumor differentiation, vascular tumor thrombus and mucosal muscle destruction.