The occurrence of benign prostate hyperplasia(BPH)was related to disrupted sex steroid hormones,and metformin(Met)had a clinical response to sex steroid hormone-related gynaecological disease.How-ever,whether Met exerts an antiproliferative effect on BPH via sex steroid hormones remains unclear.Here,our clinical study showed that along with prostatic epithelial cell(PEC)proliferation,sex steroid hormones were dysregulated in the serum and prostate of BPH patients.As the major contributor to dysregulated sex steroid hormones,elevated dihydrotestosterone(DHT)had a significant positive rela-tionship with the clinical characteristics of BPH patients.Activation of adenosine 5'-monophosphate(AMP)-activated protein kinase(AMPK)by Met restored dysregulated sex steroid hormone homeostasis and exerted antiproliferative effects against DHT-induced proliferation by inhibiting the formation of androgen receptor(AR)-mediated Yes-associated protein(YAP1)-TEA domain transcription factor(TEAD4)heterodimers.Met's anti-proliferative effects were blocked by AMPK inhibitor or YAP1 over-expression in DHT-cultured BPH-1 cells.Our findings indicated that Met would be a promising clinical therapeutic approach for BPH by inhibiting dysregulated steroid hormone-induced PEC proliferation.

Objective:To report a case of Kufor-Rakeb syndrome caused by novel ATP13A2 mutation, collect the cases related to ATP13A2 gene mutation published in recent years, summarize the clinical manifestations of the disease, and broaden the clinical diagnostic thinking. Methods:The clinical manifestations of a newly diagnosed patient with Kufor-Rakeb syndrome caused by ATP13A2 gene mutation admitted to Zhongda Hospital, Southeast University on November 26, 2021, were summarized. The related cases of ATP13A2 mutation published from January 2000 to December 2021 were searched through the PubMed and CNKI databases using the keywords "ATP13A2" and "Parkinson′s disease". The onset age, clinical symptoms, family history, genetic testing, and levodopa responsiveness results of the patients were collected. Results:The patient is a 52-year-old female with the main clinical symptoms of static tremor and bradykinesia. Physical examination showed a gear like increase in muscle tension in the right upper limb, involuntary shaking of the right hand and slow movement. She had good responsiveness to levodopa, and the magnetic resonance imaging and susceptibility weighted imaging of the head showed a lack of clear observation of bilateral black matter swallowtail sign. Whole exome sequencing showed that mutations c.3010A>G (p.S1004G) and c.1195+5G>A (splice) were found in the ATP13A2 gene, both of which were not reported. The c.3010A>G (p.S1004G) mutation originated from the mother, and the c.1195+5G>A (splice) mutation originated from the father. In the retrospective literature review, a total of 10 cases were collected, with onset ages ranging from 18 months to 24 years. Among them, 4/10 patients′ parents married close relatives, and the clinical manifestations were mainly motor symptoms of Parkinson′s disease. In addition, 5/10 patients had cognitive dysfunction, and 3/10 patients had mental symptoms. And demonstrations of most patients′ magnetic resonance imaging were normal in the early stage of the disease, and as the disease progressed, some patients′ imaging results showed specific changes, such as whole brain atrophy and changes in the corpus callosum. Meanwhile, 8/10 patients showed good responsiveness to levodopa. Conclusions:Kufor-Rakeb syndrome is a special type of adolescent levodopa responsive Parkinson′s disease caused by ATP13A2 mutation, which is an autosomal recessive disorder. In addition to motor symptoms such as static tremor and bradykinesia, its clinical manifestations may also be accompanied by non motor symptoms such as cognitive and psychiatric disorders. The disease responds well to treatment with levodopa.

Objective:To explore the characteristics and influencing factors of blood carnitine metabolism in premature infants.Methods:A retrospective analysis of 37 037 neonates with negative results of genetic metabolic disease screening at Guangxi Newborn Disease Screening Center from 2018 to 2021, of which 34 517 normal full-term infants were the control group and 2 520 preterm infants were the research group.According to gestational age, the preterm infants were further divided into three groups: extremely preterm group( n=232), moderately preterm group( n=324)and late preterm group( n=1 964). According to birth weight, they were divided into three groups: very low birth weight group( n=188), low birth weight group( n=1 276)and normal birth weight group( n=1 056). According to blood collection time, they were divided into three groups: 3~7 days group( n=1 990), 8~14 days group( n=342) and 15~28 days group( n=188). Tandem mass spectrometry was used to detect the levels of 31 carnitines in dried blood spots and analyze the differences in the levels of metabolic indicators in each group. Results:Carnitine levels in preterm infants are most affected by gestational age.Adjusting the physiological and pathological conditions of premature infants and other related factors, grouped by gestational age, there were differences in the levels of 31 carnitines among the groups(all P<0.05), the smaller the gestational age, the greater the difference in carnitine levels; grouped by blood collection time, there were statistically significant differences in carnitine levels between preterm infants with different blood collection age groups and full-term 3~7 days groups(all P<0.05), and showing age-related; there are differences among 31 carnitines grouped by body weight(all P<0.05), the smaller the body weight, the greater the difference in carnitine levels.Combined with the analysis of gestational age, birth weight and blood collection date, 17 indicators including C0, C2, C3, C4, C6DC, C10, C10∶1, C12, C12∶1, C14, C14∶1, C14OH, C16, C16∶1, C18, C18∶1 and C18∶1OH are important biomarkers of carnitine metabolism in premature infants. Conclusion:Carnitine in premature newborns has different metabolic differences at different gestational ages, birth weights and blood collection ages, which provides a strong basis for establishing reference standards and interpretation of preterm infants in the laboratory in this region, and provides reasonable and effective early diagnosis and treatment for clinical practice.Meanwhile, it provides an optimized program for timely detection of carnitine deficiency and carnitine supplementation to improve nutrition of premature infants.

Objective:To explore the current situation of understanding of medical and nursing interns on organization culture so as to provide a reference for the comprehensive training and management of trainees.Methods:From July 2019 to November 2019, this study selected full-time nursing or clinical medical interns in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University as subjects by purposive sampling. Semi-structured in-depth interview was used to totals of 19 medical and nursing interns with the method of phenomenological research in qualitative research. Giorgi phenomenological analysis method was applied to analysis induction and theme refinement of interview data.Results:A total of two themes of understanding of medical and nursing interns on organization culture were induced. The awareness theme of organization culture involved lack of cognition and understanding, blurry self-orientation and varying degrees of culture perception. The theme of coping with the cultural conflicts consisted of compromise and being in a pickle.Conclusions:Teaching hospitals should pay attention to the management of cognition, psychology and cultural construction, strengthen the information transmission of hospital organization culture, increase the sense of belonging and team of trainees while improving skill levels of trainees so as to help them be competent for the future work and with self-realization.

Objective: To analyze the specificity and sensitivity of the modified microbubble test in identifying the peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICC) tip based on the chest X-ray location as the "gold standard", and to find out an accurate and noninvasive PICC tip positioning method that can save time and cost. Methods: Convenient sampling method was conducted. The patients under PICC guided by ultrasound in intensive care unit (ICU) or PICC clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from August 2017 to February 2018 were enrolled. All patients were followed up by ultrasound guided PICC catheter placement, modified microbubble test and chest X-ray localization. The relationship between the density of microbubbles in modified microbubble test and the location of PICC tip in chest X-ray localization was analyzed. Using chest X-ray localization as the "gold standard", the diagnostic evaluation indexes such as specificity and sensitivity of PICC tip identification by modified microbubble test were calculated. Results: A total of 120 patients were enrolled during the study period, excluding those who refused to participate in the study, unclear right atrial ultrasound, conscious intolerance, unclear chest X-ray, and finally 108 patients completed the modified microbubble test and chest X-ray tip localization. According to the chest X-ray localization results of 108 patients, 69 patients (63.9%) were in ideal locations, 33 (30.6%) were in dissatisfactory position, and 6 (5.5%) were in malposition. There was no significant difference in gender, age, tube placement, depth of catheterization, placement of catheterization room, and catheterization among the three groups. In the modified microbubble test, there were 74 patients (68.5%) with gradeⅠmicrobubble, 25 (23.2%) with gradeⅡ microbubble, and 9 (8.3%) with grade Ⅲ microbubble. There was a correlation between microbubble density and the tip position of the catheter, showing a moderate intensity correlation, and the contingency coefficient was 0.662. The sensitivity of the modified microbubble test for PICC tip positioning was 95.7% (66/69), the specificity was 89.7% (35/39), the rate of missed diagnosis was 4.4% (3/69), the misdiagnosis rate was 10.3% (4/39), the positive predictive value was 94.3% (66/70), the negative predictive value was 92.1% (35/38), and the Youden index was 0.85. The consistency between the two methods was good, and the Kappa value was 0.86. Conclusions Compared with the chest X-ray localization method, the modified microbubble test method has high sensitivity and specificity in identifying PICC in the position, and the operation is simple, noninvasive, with less time and low cost. The modified microbubble test can be used as a screening test for PICC tip position, especially in ICU. When there are technical limitations or suspicious patient, further chest X-ray is necessary.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the specificity and sensitivity of the modified microbubble test in identifying the peripherally inserted central venous catheters (PICC) tip based on the chest X-ray location as the "gold standard", and to find out an accurate and noninvasive PICC tip positioning method that can save time and cost. METHODS: Convenient sampling method was conducted. The patients under PICC guided by ultrasound in intensive care unit (ICU) or PICC clinic of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from August 2017 to February 2018 were enrolled. All patients were followed up by ultrasound guided PICC catheter placement, modified microbubble test and chest X-ray localization. The relationship between the density of microbubbles in modified microbubble test and the location of PICC tip in chest X-ray localization was analyzed. Using chest X-ray localization as the "gold standard", the diagnostic evaluation indexes such as specificity and sensitivity of PICC tip identification by modified microbubble test were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients were enrolled during the study period, excluding those who refused to participate in the study, unclear right atrial ultrasound, conscious intolerance, unclear chest X-ray, and finally 108 patients completed the modified microbubble test and chest X-ray tip localization. According to the chest X-ray localization results of 108 patients, 69 patients (63.9%) were in ideal locations, 33 (30.6%) were in dissatisfactory position, and 6 (5.5%) were in malposition. There was no significant difference in gender, age, tube placement, depth of catheterization, placement of catheterization room, and catheterization among the three groups. In the modified microbubble test, there were 74 patients (68.5%) with grade I microbubble, 25 (23.2%) with grade II microbubble, and 9 (8.3%) with grade III microbubble. There was a correlation between microbubble density and the tip position of the catheter, showing a moderate intensity correlation, and the contingency coefficient was 0.662. The sensitivity of the modified microbubble test for PICC tip positioning was 95.7% (66/69), the specificity was 89.7% (35/39), the rate of missed diagnosis was 4.4% (3/69), the misdiagnosis rate was 10.3% (4/39), the positive predictive value was 94.3% (66/70), the negative predictive value was 92.1% (35/38), and the Youden index was 0.85. The consistency between the two methods was good, and the Kappa value was 0.86. CONCLUSIONS Compared with the chest X-ray localization method, the modified microbubble test method has high sensitivity and specificity in identifying PICC in the position, and the operation is simple, noninvasive, with less time and low cost. The modified microbubble test can be used as a screening test for PICC tip position, especially in ICU. When there are technical limitations or suspicious patient, further chest X-ray is necessary.
Catheterization, Central Venous ; Catheterization, Peripheral ; Central Venous Catheters ; Humans ; Microbubbles ; Ultrasonography

Objective To systematically evaluate the comprehensive effect of subglottic secretion drainage (SSD) on patients with mechanical ventilation (MV) in intensive care unit (ICU). Methods The randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) comparing SSD (intervention group) versus non-SSD (control group) in adult patients with MV in ICU was collected through the databases such as the PubMed database of the National Library of Medicine, CNKI, Wanfang database and the Chinese journal of science and technology database (VIP). The subjects were ICU patients with MV, and the retrieval time ranged from January 2006 to December 2016. Two reviewers independently screened the studies according to the inclusive and exclusive criteria, extracted the data, and assessed the quality. Then RevMan 5.3 software was used for Meta-analysis. Sensitivity analysis was performed using Stata 11.0 software. Funnel plot was used to analyze publication bias. Results In the 1004 documents obtained from preliminary screening, a total of 13 studies involving 2052 patients were enrolled after excluding duplicated documents and literature did not meet the inclusion criteria, with 1021 patients in intervention group, and 1031 in control group. Meta-analysis showed that compared with control group, the application of SSD in patients with MV could contribute to the reduction of the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia [VAP; risk ratio (RR) = 0.54, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 0.46-0.64, P < 0.00001], the duration of MV [mean difference (MD) = -3.29, 95%CI = -4.53 to -2.05, P < 0.00001] and length of hospital stay (MD = -4.27, 95% CI = -7.36 to -1.18, P = 0.007) were shortened, while there was no significant difference in ICU or hospital mortality rate between the intervention group and control group (RR = 0.89, 95%CI = 0.73-1.09, P = 0.25). The sensitivity analysis for studies enrolled in Meta-analysis of MV duration showed that individual research results were stable through step remove of the included literatures and combined calculation of the remaining literature value, suggesting that individual research results were stable, and would not have a significant impact on the overall results. The results of the funnel analysis showed that there was a symmetry in the inclusion studies, and no significant publication bias was found. Conclusions SSD did have effect in reducing the incidence of VAP, shortening the duration of MV and length of hospital stay, while there was no significant effect on reducing mortality rate. Effective use of SSD is an important measure to prevent VAP. It is necessary to objectively evaluate the clinical effect of SSD.

Objective To analyze the relationship between the catheter to vein ratio and the formation of peripheral insertion of central venous catheter (PICC) related upper extremity deep venous thrombosis (PICC-UEDVT) in cases having undergone PICC in patients at intensive care unit (ICU) and further identify the best optimal ratio cut-off point to reduce the incidence of PICC-UEDVT.Methods A retrospective study was conducted, including 69 patients having undergone PICC with complete clinical data admitted to the Department of Critical Care Medicine of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from August 2013 to December 2016; their ages were > 18 years old and catheter indwelling times were > 1 week; the patients' basic information, disease related laboratory parameters and catheter insertion situation were collected. According to the occurrence of PICC-UEDVT, they were divided into PICC-UEDVT group and non PICC-UEDVT group; the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the catheter to vein ratio versus the incidence ofPICC-UEDVT was plotted to assess the optimal ratio to reduce the incidence of PICC-UEDVT.Results In the 69 patients, there were 7 patients in the PICC-UEDVT group and 62 patients in the non PICC-UEDVT group, the incidence of PICC-UEDVT being 10.14%. Four, 5 and 6 French (Fr) catheters were indwelled in 43, 23 and 3 cases respectively, and the range of catheter to vein ratio was 20% - 67%. The comparisons between PICC-UEDVT group and non PICC-UEDVT group in various aspects were as follows: the incidence of DVT in the PICC-UEDVT group was significantly higher than that in non PICC-UEDVT group [42.9% (3/7) vs. 6.5% (4/62)], the rate of using vasopressor drugs [57.14% (4/7) vs. 17.74% (11/62)], D-dimer level [mg/L: 9.0 (3.0, 12.3) vs. 1.8 (1.0, 3.6)], patients of indwelling 5Fr catheter [71.4% (5/7) vs. 29.0% (18/62)] and the percentage of patientsapplying catheter to vein ratio 45%-67% [57.14% (4/7) vs. 17.74% (11/62)] in PICC-UEDVT group were all higher than those in the non PICC-UEDVT group, the differences being statistically significant (allP < 0.05). ROC analysis showed that the catheter to vein ratio 44% was the optimal cut off or critical point, the area under the ROC curve (AUC) at that point was 0.755, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 0.554-0.955, sensitivity = 71.4% and specificity = 79.0%; compared with the patients using 45%-67% catheter to vein ratio, the incidence of PICC-UEDVT was 6.182 times higher than those using the ratio 20%-44% [odds ratio (OR) = 6.182, 95%CI = 1.208-31.634,P = 0.036]; however, there was no significant difference in incidence of PICC-UEDVT between 20%-32% and 33%-44% (P = 1.000).Conclusion It is found that the 44% catheter to vein ratio was the optimal critical point to reduce the incidence of PICC-UEDVT, possessing relatively high sensitivity and specificity; applying <44% catheter to vein ratio can decrease the risk of PICC-UEDVT occurrence in patients at ICU.

Objective To understand the occurrence and the related risk factors of birth defects. Methods Descriptive analysis was conducted on birth detect surveillance in the infants during January 2008 to June 2014. Results A total of 777 cases of birth defect were detected in 73498 infants, and the incidence of birth defect was 1.06%. The 5 most common birth de-fects were congenital heart disease, multi ifnger (toe), hypospadias, cleft lip, and palate and deformity of external ear. Compared infants born with no birth defects, male, preterm, low birth weight, twin and multiple births and resident were statistically higher in infants with birth defects (P<0.05). The major risk factors of birth defects were the medication history, spontaneous abortion, gestational diabetes mellitus, and family history. Conclusions The incidence of birth defect can be reduced by providing good health care during pre-marriage and pregnant so as to decrease the occurrence of premature infants, twins and multiple births, and low birth weight as well as improving prenatal diagnosis and intensifying birth defects surveillance.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of conventional ultrasound, compression elastography (CE) and acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) in diff erential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors. Methods: A total of 98 patients with liver lesions were included in the study. The images of conventional ultrasound, CE and the values of virtual touch tissue quantiifcation (VTQ) of breast lesions were obtained. hTe diagnostic performance of conventional ultrasound, CE and ARFI were assessed by using pathology as the gold standard, and then evaluate the diagnosis effciency of these three approaches in differential diagnosing benign and malignant breast tumors. Results: The specificity, sensitivity and accuracy in the diagnosis of malignant breast tumors for conventional ultrasound were 80.0%, 81.1% and 81.7%, respectively, whereas for CE elastic score were 85.7%, 86.7% and 86.3%, respectively. With a cutoff value of 3.71 for the SR, the sensitivity, speciifcity, accuracy in diagnosis of malignant breast tumors were 97.1%, 83.3% and 88.4%, respectively. With a cutoff value of 3.78 m/s for VTQ, the sensitivity, speciifcity, accuracy in diagnosis of malignant breast tumors were 94.3%, 91.7% and 92.6%, respectively. The difference in diagnosis efficiency among ARFI, CE and conventional ultrasound in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors was signiifcant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Conventional ultrasound, CE and ARFI are all useful for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors. But the diagnosis effciency of ARFI is superior to CE and conventional ultrasound. The three approaches can help each other in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors.