Brucellosis is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by Brucella infection. So far, animal to animal Brucellosis has not been eradicated, and there is a lack of safe and effective human vaccine. Therefore, "early, combined, sufficient, and full course" drug treatment remains an important strategy in the management of human Brucellosis. The goal of treating brucellosis is to alleviate and shorten the symptom period, reduce complications, relapses, and chronicity. At present, although antibiotic treatment is effective for most patients, there are still some patients who experience treatment failure or later recurrence, so the treatment strategy for brucellosis urgently needs to be optimized. This article elaborates on the treatment principles, clinical treatment status, and future development trends of brucellosis, in order to provide references for optimizing drug treatment methods for brucellosis.

Background/Aims: Existing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) prediction models are derived mainly from pretreatment or early on-treatment parameters. We reassessed the dynamic changes in the performance of 17 HCC models in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) during long-term antiviral therapy (AVT). Methods: Among 987 CHB patients administered long-term entecavir therapy, 660 patients had 8 years of follow-up data. Model scores were calculated using on-treatment values at 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, and 5 years of AVT to predict threeyear HCC occurrence. Model performance was assessed with the area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC). The original model cutoffs to distinguish different levels of HCC risk were evaluated by the log-rank test. Results: The AUROCs of the 17 HCC models varied from 0.51 to 0.78 when using on-treatment scores from years 2.5 to 5. Models with a cirrhosis variable showed numerically higher AUROCs (pooled at 0.65–0.73 for treated, untreated, or mixed treatment models) than models without (treated or mixed models: 0.61–0.68; untreated models: 0.51–0.59). Stratification into low, intermediate, and high-risk levels using the original cutoff values could no longer reflect the true HCC incidence using scores after 3.5 years of AVT for models without cirrhosis and after 4 years of AVT for models with cirrhosis. Conclusions The performance of existing HCC prediction models, especially models without the cirrhosis variable, decreased in CHB patients on long-term AVT. The optimization of existing models or the development of novel models for better HCC prediction during long-term AVT is warranted.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the reasons for conversion and elucidate the safety and efficacy of transition to tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine/bictegravir sodium (TAF/FTC/BIC) in highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)-experienced HIV-infected patients in real-world settings. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study. The treatment conversion rationales, safety, and effectiveness in 1684 HIV-infected patients with previous HAART experience who switched to TAF/FTC/BIC were evaluated at Beijing Ditan Hospital from September 2021 to Auguest 2022. RESULTS: Regimen simplification (990/1684, 58.79%) was the most common reason for switching, followed by osteoporosis or osteopenia (375/1684, 22.27%), liver dysfunction (231/1684, 13.72%), decline in tenofovir alafenamide/emtricitabine/elvitegravir/cobicistat (TAF/FTC/EVG/c) with food restriction (215/1684, 12.77%), virological failure (116/1684, 6.89%), and renal dysfunction (90/1684, 5.34%). In patients receiving non-nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI)-containing regimens, lipid panel changes 1 year after switching indicated a difference of 3.27 ± 1.10 mmol/L vs . 3.40 ± 1.59 mmol/L in triglyceride ( P  = 0.014), 4.82 ± 0.74 mmol/L vs . 4.88 ± 0.72 mmol/L in total cholesterol ( P  = 0.038), 3.09 ± 0.70 mmol/L vs . 3.18 ± 0.66 mmol/L in low-density lipoprotein ( P  <0.001), and 0.99 ± 0.11 mmol/L vs . 0.95 ± 0.10 mmol/L in high-density lipoprotein ( P  <0.001). Conversely, among patients receiving booster-containing regimens, including TAF/FTC/EVG/c and lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r), lipid panel changes presented decreased trends. We also observed an improved trend in viral load suppression, and alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and serum creatinine levels after the transition ( P  <0.001). CONCLUSION The transition to TAF/FTC/BIC demonstrated good treatment potency. Furthermore, this study elucidates the motivations behind the adoption of TAF/FTC/BIC in real-world scenarios, providing clinical evidence supporting the stable conversion to TAF/FTC/BIC for HAART-experienced patients.
Humans ; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active/adverse effects* ; Anti-HIV Agents/adverse effects* ; HIV Infections/drug therapy* ; Tenofovir/therapeutic use* ; Retrospective Studies ; Emtricitabine/pharmacology* ; Adenine/therapeutic use* ; Lipids

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Qinggan Jianpi Huoxue prescription（QGJPHXP） on the polarization of M1/M2 macrophages in rats with hepatic fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride（CCl₄）. MethodA rat hepatic fibrosis model was established by intraperitoneal injection of 40% CCl₄-olive oil suspension twice a week at the dosage of 2.0 mL·kg^-1 for 8 weeks. After the model was successfully established， these rats were randomly divided into the model group， QGJPHXP group（32.084 g·kg^-1） and Biejiajian pills（BJJP） group（0.925 5 g·kg^-1）， with 12 rats in each group. The blank group was injected intraperitoneally with the same amount of olive oil. The rats in the administration groups were given the corresponding solution according to the dose， and the blank and model groups were given the same dose of purified water， once a day. After 4 weeks of continuous administration， the liver tissues of rats were taken and stained with hematoxylin-eosin（HE） and Masson to observe the pathological changes. The serums were collected to detect the alanine aminotransferase（ALT） and aspartate aminotransferase（AST） levels. Interleukin（IL）-6， IL-12， IL-10， IL-1β， transforming growth factor-β₁（TGF-β₁） and tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α） levels in liver tissues were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. The expression levels of CD86 and CD206 were detected by immunohistochemistry（IHC）. Western blot and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） were used to detect the protein and mRNA expression levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase（iNOS）， arginase-1（Arg-1）， phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase（p-p38 MAPK）， nuclear transcription factor-κB p65（NF-κB p65） in liver tissues of rats. ResultCompared with the blank group， the hepatic cell plate was irregularly arranged, and local inflammatory cell infiltration and fibrous hyperplasia were observed， while the serum levels of ALT and AST were significantly increased in the model group（P<0.01）， and IL-1β， IL-6， IL-12， TGF-β₁， TNF-α， CD86， CD206， iNOS， p-p38 MAPK，p38 MAPK and NF-κB p65 levels in liver tissues were obviously increased（P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the levels of IL-10 and Arg-1 were obviously decreased（P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， QGJPHXP group reduced the degree of liver cell fibrosis，and serum levels of ALT and AST（P<0.01）， and IL-1β， IL-6， IL-12， TGF-β₁， TNF-α， CD86， iNOS， p-p38 MAPK， p38 MAPK， and NF-κB p65 levels in liver tissues were obviously decreased（P<0.05， P<0.01）， the levels of IL-10， CD206 and Arg-1 were obviously increased in the QGJPHXP group（P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionQGJPHXP has ability to inhibit the activation of pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages， induce the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines by M2 macrophages， reduce the release of pro-fibrogenic cytokines， and promote the macrophage polarization of M1 to M2 in liver for tissue repair， thereby serving as an anti-inflammatory and anti-hepatic fibrosis drug.

Background::The pharmacokinetic and clinical behaviors of many proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in peptic ulcer treatment are altered by CYP2C19 genetic polymorphisms. This non-inferiority study evaluated the efficacy and safety of the novel PPI anaprazole compared with rabeprazole. We also explored the influence of Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori) infection status and CYP2C19 polymorphism on anaprazole. Methods::In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, positive-drug parallel-controlled, phase III study, Chinese patients with duodenal ulcers were randomized 1:1 to receive rabeprazole 10 mg + anaprazole placebo or rabeprazole placebo + anaprazole 20 mg once daily for 4 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was the 4-week ulcer healing rate assessed by blinded independent review. Secondary endpoints were the proportion of patients with improved overall and individual duodenal ulcer symptoms at 4 weeks. Furthermore, exploratory subgroup analysis of the primary endpoint by H. pylori status and CYP2C19 polymorphism was conducted. Adverse events were monitored for safety. Non-inferiority analysis was conducted for the primary endpoint. Results::The study enrolled 448 patients (anaprazole, n = 225; rabeprazole, n = 223). The 4-week healing rates were 90.9% and 93.7% for anaprazole and rabeprazole, respectively (difference, -2.8% [95% confidence interval, -7.7%, 2.2%]), demonstrating non-inferiority of anaprazole to rabeprazole. Overall duodenal ulcer symptoms improved in 90.9% and 92.5% of patients, respectively. Improvement rates of individual symptoms were similar between the groups. Healing rates did not significantly differ by H. pylori status or CYP2C19 genotype for either treatment group. The incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events was similar for anaprazole (72/220, 32.7%) and rabeprazole (84/219, 38.4%). Conclusions::The efficacy of anaprazole is non-inferior to that of rabeprazole in Chinese patients with duodenal ulcers.Registration::ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04215653.

Objective:Use the droplet digital PCR (ddRCR) technology to establish, optimize and evaluate the method of EGFR-T790M mutation detection.Methods:The relevant probes and primers were designed for EGFR-T790M mutations. The ddPCR reaction system was established, the optimal annealing temperature was set and the basic performance of the method was tested. On this basis, from January 2019 to October 2019, 72 cell-free DNA (cfDNA) samples from NSCLC patients were collected from Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, and clinically verified. The consistency of the gene mutation detections with Bole ddPCR products was analyzed using Kappa test.Results:The ddPCR reaction system was established and optimized. Linear evaluation showed the R2 value was greater than 0.99. Using ddPCR, the blank detection limit was determined to be the numbers of mutant droplets≥2, with excellent specificity. For the sensitivity analysis, the lower limit of mutation detection was determined to be at least 0.05%. In the repeatability and inter-assay precision tests, the results had a coefficient of variation( CV)<20%. The relative deviation of the results was within the range of±10% for the accuracy analysis. Using the established T790M mutation detection method, 72 samples from the NSCLC patients were tested for genetic mutation in cfDNA, and the overall agreement with the Bole ddPCR products was 91.67% (66/72, Kappa=0.749; P<0.001). Conclusion:Using ddPCR, the method of EGFR-T790M mutation detection for NSCLC was successfully established.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of cognitive development of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) degree centrality (DC) from the view of neuro-imaging.Methods Forty-five ADHD children were diagnosed at specialist clinic of Changzhou Children's Hospital,Nantong University from June 2015 to December 2016,and they were divided into 3 groups according to their ages (children aged 7-8 years old,9-10 years old and 11-12 years old,15 children in each group) and received the resting-state fMRI scans.DC value was used to analyze fMRI data.Comparative analysis was done pairwise between the three groups.Results Compared with 7-8 years old group,9-10 years old group showed lower DC value in cerebellum posterior lobe (t =-4.36) and higher DC in inferior parietal lobe (t =-5.86),and the differences were statistically significant (all P ＜ 0.05,after correction).Compared with 7-8 years old group,11-12 years old group showed lower DC value in cerebellum posterior lobe (t =-4.99) and higher DC in left superior temporal gyrus (t =5.18) and superior frontal gyrus (t =4.58),and the differences were statistically significant (all P ＜ 0.05,after correction).Compared with 9-10 years old group,11-12 years old group showed lower DC value in inferior parietal lobe (t =-5.71) and higher DC value in left superior temporal gyrus (t =5.05) and superior frontal gyrus (t =4.36),and all the differences were statistically significant (all P ＜ 0.05,after correction).Conclusion Children with ADHD at different ages had different characteristics of brain regions of fMRI.It can offer objective evidence for early cognitive intervention of children with ADHD at different ages.

Objective: To investigate the methods for qualitative pathological assessment of dynamic changes in liver fibrosis/cirrhosis after antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), since antiviral therapy can partially reverse liver fibrosis and cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B and semi-quantitative, rather than qualitative, pathological assessment is often used for the research on liver fibrosis regression. Methods: Previously untreated CHB patients with liver fibrosis and cirrhosis were enrolled, and liver biopsy was performed before treatment and at 78 weeks after the antiviral therapy based on entecavir. The follow-up assessment was performed once every half a year. Based on the proportion of different types of fibrous septum, we put forward the new qualitative criteria called P-I-R classification (predominantly progressive, predominantly regressive, and indeterminate) for evaluating dynamic changes in liver fibrosis. This classification or Ishak fibrosis stage was used to evaluate the change in liver fibrosis after treatment and Ishak liver inflammation score was used to evaluate the change in liver inflammation after treatment. Results: A total of 112 CHB patients who underwent liver biopsy before and after treatment were enrolled, and among these patients, 71 with an Ishak stage of ≥3 and qualified results of live biopsy were included in the final analysis. Based on the P-I-R classification, 58% (41/71) were classified as predominantly progressive, 29% (21/71) were classified as indeterminate, and 13% (9/71) were classified as predominantly regressive; there were no significant differences between the three groups in alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, albumin, HBeAg positive rate, HBV DNA, and liver stiffness (P < 0.05). After treatment, the proportion of predominantly progressive, indeterminate, or predominantly regressive patients changed to 11% (8/71), 11% (8/71), and 78% (55/71), respectively. Among the 35 patients who had no change in Ishak stage after treatment, 72% (25/35) were classified as predominantly regressive and had certain reductions in the Laennec score, percentage of collagen area, and liver stiffness. Conclusion This new P-I-R classification can be used to assess the dynamic changes in liver fibrosis after antiviral therapy in CHB patients.

Objective To study the pros and cons of two methods of infusing itraconazole injectionand prevent the blockage of peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) and improve patients' satisfaction with nursing technology.Methods 172 patients infusing itraconazole were divided into two groups by random digital table method.86 cases established an independent infusion pathway as the control group,another 86 cases using PICC for itraconazole injection and withdrawing plunger of the syringe about 0.5 ml before and after the infusion and then pulsing-flushing it with 10 ml normal saline as the experimental group.Then compared the blockage rate of PICC and the patients' satisfaction with nursing technology.Results The blockage rate of the two groups had no significant difference (x2 =0.206,P ＞ 0.05) while patients' satisfaction with nursing skills was distinct,and the experimental group's was 96.51％ (83/86),much higher than 16.28％ (14/86) of the control group.Conclusions Withdrawing taken before and after the infusion of itraconazole injection could effectively prevent catheter blockage and improve patients' satisfaction with nursing technology.