Objective:To investigate imaging characteristics of papulopustular rosacea (PPR) by high-frequency ultrasound combined with color Doppler flow imaging.Methods:From August 2021 to August 2022, 30 patients with PPR were enrolled from the Department of Dermatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and 30 healthy volunteers served as controls. The 22-MHz high-frequency ultrasound combined with color Doppler blood flow imaging was performed to measure the skin thickness, echo and blood flow parameters at the cheek, and the ultrasound results were compared between the two groups. Comparisons between groups were conducted by using t test or chi-square test. The diagnostic value was analyzed using the area under the curve (AUC) in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results:In the case group, there were 12 males and 18 females, and their ages ranged from 22 to 65 years (42.3 ± 12.8 years) ; in the control group, there were 10 males and 20 females, and their ages ranged from 24 to 62 years (41.0 ± 8.4 years) . The epidermal and dermal thicknesses at the cheek were significantly higher in the case group (132.64 ± 12.29 μm, 1 812.29 ± 85.52 μm, respectively) than in the control group (104.34 ± 14.45 μm, 1 671.77 ± 146.55 μm, respectively, both P < 0.05) . High-frequency ultrasound images showed that the case group was mainly characterized by irregular hypoechoic areas in the cheek dermis (80%) , while banded moderately echoic areas were common in the cheek dermis in the control group (90%) ; subepidermal low-echogenic bands and dermal irregular hypoechoic areas were more likely to appear in the case group than in the control group (93.33% vs. 43.33%, 80% vs. 10%, respectively, both P < 0.001) . Compared with the control group, the case group showed a significantly increased proportion of patients with abundant blood flow signals (93.3% vs. 10%, P < 0.05) , and significantly increased blood vessel diameters (1.60 ± 0.42 mm vs. 0.95 ± 0.32 mm, P < 0.05) ; there was no significant difference in peak systolic blood flow velocity and vascular resistance index between the two groups (both P > 0.05) . The AUC of high-frequency ultrasound combined with color Doppler flow imaging quantitative parameters (including epidermal thicknesses, dermal thicknesses, and blood vessel diameters) was 0.989 (95% CI: 0.970 - 1.000) for the diagnosis of PPR, and the sensitivity and specificity were both 96.7%, which were higher than those of single parameter-based diagnostic model. Conclusion:High-frequency ultrasound combined with color Doppler flow imaging can help improve the accuracy of the diagnosis of PPR, by accurately and non-invasively measuring skin thickness and blood flow parameters.

Objective:To observe the efficacy of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) combined with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), so as to provide evidence-based evidence in these special populations.Methods:Data from 91 CHB cases who received TDF 300 mg/d antiviral therapy for 96 weeks were analyzed retrospectively. Among them, 43 cases with NAFLD were included in the study group, and 48 cases without NAFLD were included in the control group. The virological and biochemical responses of the two groups of patients at 12, 24, 48, and 96 weeks were compared. Among them, 69 patients underwent highly sensitive detection of HBV DNA. The t-test and χ2 test were performed on the data. Results:ALT normalization rate was lower in the study group (42%, 51%) at 12 and 24 weeks of treatment than that in the control group (69%, 79%), and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups at 48 and 96 weeks. HBV DNA concentration below the lower limit of detection (200 IU/ml) was lower in the study group at 12 weeks of treatment than in the control group (35% vs. 56%), and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups at 24, 48, and 96 weeks. Furthermore, HBV DNA concentration below the lower limit was significantly lower in the study group than that in the control group at 12, 24, 48, and 96 weeks of treatment when the lower limit of HBV DNA detection was set at 20IU/ml, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). The HBeAg serological negative conversion rate was gradually higher in the study group at 48 and 96 weeks of treatment than in the control group, and the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion:TDF antiviral treatment can affect the virological and biochemical responses of NAFLD in chronic hepatitis B.

Objective:To compare the in vitro susceptibility of fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans strains from superficial and deep infections to 8 antifungal drugs, and to compare drug resistance mutations in these strains. Methods:According to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) protocol M27-A4, 26 deep infection-derived and 33 superficial infection-derived drug-resistant Candida albicans strains were tested for in vitro susceptibility to 8 antifungal drugs (fluconazole, voriconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole, amphotericin B, fluorocytosine, terbinafine, and micafungin) alone or in combination. DNA was extracted from all drug-resistant strains, and mutations in 3 drug resistance genes, including ERG3, ERG11 and FUR1, were detected by PCR. Normally distributed measurement data with homogeneous variance were compared between two groups by using two-independent-sample t test, non-normally distributed measurement data with non-homogeneous variance were compared using Mann-Whitney U test, and enumeration data were compared using chi-square test. Results:The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole and fluorocytosine all significantly differed between the superficial infection group and deep infection group (all P < 0.05) , while there was no significant difference in the MIC of amphotericin B or micafungin between the two groups (both P > 0.05) . The MIC of terbinafine was >64 μg/ml in 96.6% of the above strains, so could not be compared between groups. As combination drug susceptibility testing revealed, the combination of terbinafine with azoles (fluconazole, voriconazole, itraconazole or posaconazole) showed synergistic inhibitory effects against 15 Candida albicans strains (7 strains from deep infections, 8 strains from superficial infections) , with fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) indices being 0.033 to 0.187; no marked synergistic effect was observed in the combinations between fluorocytosine and azoles, between fluorocytosine and amphotericin B, or between amphotericin B and fluconazole, with the FIC indices being 0.56 to 1.125. The missense mutation V351A in the ERG3 gene was identified in all the 33 (100%) superficial infection-derived strains, as well as in 13 (50%) deep infection-derived strains, and the mutation A353T in the ERG3 gene was identified in 4 (15%) deep infection-derived strains; as for the ERG11 gene, missense mutations identified in the superficial infection-derived strains included I437V (32 strains, 97%) , Y132H (23 strains, 70%) , T123I (16 strains, 48%) , K128T (6 strains, 18%) , D116E (5 strains, 15%) , A114S (4 strains, 12%) , E266D (2 strains, 6%) , G448E (2 strains, 6%) , and G465S (2 strains, 6%) , while missense mutations identified in the deep infection-derived strains included I437V (23 strains, 88%) , E266D (13 strains, 50%) , E260G (5 strains, 19%) , and V488I (4 strains, 15%) ; the missense mutation R101C in the FUR1 gene was identified in 11 (33%) superficial infection-derived strains, but not identified in deep infection-derived strains. Conclusion:The drug susceptibility and drug resistance mutations differed to some extent between superficial infection- and deep infection-derived fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans strains.

Objective:To explore the association between blood pressure control and risk of ischemic stroke (IS) in patients with hypertension.Methods:A total of 5 488 patients with hypertension from 60 communities were randomly selected from 101 communities in 8 streets of Nanshan District in Shenzhen City by using two-stage sampling method. The social demographic characteristics, behavior and life style, coronary heart disease and diabetes were collected and the physical condition, blood pressure and blood biochemical indexes were measured. From April 1, 2010 to August 31, 2017 as the follow-up period, the incidence of IS was annually collected by using telephone survey. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze the relationship between blood pressure control, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and the risk of IS.Results:The age of all patients was (58.50±12.14) years old, including 2 712 males (49.42%) and 3 112 patients with well-controlled blood pressure (56.71%). During the follow-up period, 358 new cases of IS were confirmed, and the incidence density was 1 346.27/100 000 person-years. Cox proportional hazard regression model analysis showed after adjusting for confounding factors, unstable blood pressure control, SBP≥150 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa; compared with SBP<120 mmHg), and DBP≥95 mmHg (compared with DBP<80 mmHg) were associated with risk of IS. The HR (95% CI) was 1.29 (1.04, 1.59), 2.00 (1.26, 3.17) and 1.52 (1.01, 2.64), respectively. Subgroup analyses showed these associations only existed in female patients with hypertension. The HR (95% CI) was 1.39 (1.05, 1.85), 2.53 (1.41, 4.56) and 1.73 (1.00, 3.36), respectively. Conclusion:Unstable blood pressure control increases the risk of IS in female patients with hypertension.

Objective:To explore the association between blood pressure control and risk of ischemic stroke (IS) in patients with hypertension.Methods:A total of 5 488 patients with hypertension from 60 communities were randomly selected from 101 communities in 8 streets of Nanshan District in Shenzhen City by using two-stage sampling method. The social demographic characteristics, behavior and life style, coronary heart disease and diabetes were collected and the physical condition, blood pressure and blood biochemical indexes were measured. From April 1, 2010 to August 31, 2017 as the follow-up period, the incidence of IS was annually collected by using telephone survey. Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze the relationship between blood pressure control, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and the risk of IS.Results:The age of all patients was (58.50±12.14) years old, including 2 712 males (49.42%) and 3 112 patients with well-controlled blood pressure (56.71%). During the follow-up period, 358 new cases of IS were confirmed, and the incidence density was 1 346.27/100 000 person-years. Cox proportional hazard regression model analysis showed after adjusting for confounding factors, unstable blood pressure control, SBP≥150 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa; compared with SBP<120 mmHg), and DBP≥95 mmHg (compared with DBP<80 mmHg) were associated with risk of IS. The HR (95% CI) was 1.29 (1.04, 1.59), 2.00 (1.26, 3.17) and 1.52 (1.01, 2.64), respectively. Subgroup analyses showed these associations only existed in female patients with hypertension. The HR (95% CI) was 1.39 (1.05, 1.85), 2.53 (1.41, 4.56) and 1.73 (1.00, 3.36), respectively. Conclusion:Unstable blood pressure control increases the risk of IS in female patients with hypertension.

Objective To evaluate the effect of the treatment with low-concentration hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on the adhesive function of and autophagy in human melanocytes,and to screen long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) related to autophagy.Methods Melanocytes were isolated from foreskins of healthy males after circumcision,and subjected to cultivation.Melanocytes at exponential growth phase were divided into 3 groups:control group receiving no treatment,H2O2 group treated with 400 μ mol/L H2O2,and H2O2 + NAC group pretreated with 4 mmol/L NAC for 2 hours followed by the treatment with 400 μmol/L H2O2.After 5-day treatment,immunofluorescence study was performed to determine the expression of Ecadherin,microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)and p62,and Western blot analysis to determine the expression of autophagy-related protein LC3 and p62.Cell structures and autophagosomes were observed by transmission electron microscopy,and autophagy-related lncRNAs were screened using gene chip technology.Statistical analysis was done with Graphpad Prism 6 software using one-way analysis of variance for comparison among groups,and Tukey's test for multiple comparisons.Results Under the confocal microscopy,the H2O2 group showed significantly decreased fluorescence intensity of E-cadherin and LC3 in the melanocytes and decreased number of autophagosomes in melanocytes,but significantly increased fluorescence intensity of p62 compared with the control group and H2O2 + NAC group.Western blot analysis showed that the LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ ratio in the melanocytes was significantly lower in the H2O2 group (0.604 ± 0.012) than in the control group (1.200 ± 0.081,q =7.718,P ＜ 0.01) and H2O2 + NAC group (1.017 ± 0.062,q =5.076,P ＜ 0.05),while the p62/β-actin ratio in the melanocytes was significantly higher in the H2O2 group (0.881 ± 0.079) than in the control group (0.456 ± 0.121,q =4.847,P ＜ 0.05) and H2O2 + NAC group (0.492 ± 0.049,q =4.439,P ＜ 0.05).There were no significant differences in the LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ ratio or p62/β-actin ratio between the H2O2 + NAC group and control group (P ＞ 0.05).Gene chip technology showed that 18 autophagy-related lncRNAs were associated with premature senescence of melanocytes and differentially expressed in the H2O2 group compared with the control group,and the autophagy-related lncRNA NONHSAT190308.1 (＞ 10-fold increase) was screened out.Conclusion Lowconcentration H2O2 can decrease the expression of E-cadherin and the level of autophagy in melanocytes,and can up-regulate the expression of autophagy-associated lncRNA NONHSAT190308.1.

Objective To investigate the prognostic factors of renal cell carcinoma and to establish a prognostic model for patients with non-metastasis renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after operation.Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of patients with RCC who underwent radical or partial nephrectomy from January 2008 to December 2012,including 392 males (67.6％) and 188 females (32.4％),with an average age of 56 years(range 24-86 years).The average diameter of tumor was 4.8 cm (range 1.5-17.5 cm).The pathological slides of tumor tissue were reviewed by pathologist,and the tissue microarray (TMA) were constructed.The immunohistochemical staining of TMA were carried out.All patients were followed up the prognosis information of the overall survival (OS),cancer specific survival (CSS) and progression free survival (PFS).Based on these data,univariate and multivariate analysis and survival analysis were performed.Independent prognostic factors related to different follow-up endpoints of patients were screened out.A Nomogram prognostic model for RCC was established and verified.Internal validation were performed by boots value analysis.Results Among 580 cases,160 cases (27.6％) accepted nephron sparing surgery and 420 cases (72.4％) radical nephrectomy,included 514 cases (88.6％) of laparoscopic surgery and 66 cases (11.4％) of open surgery.There were 468 cases of clear cell carcinoma (80.7％),56 cases of papillary carcinoma (9.7％),32 cases of chromophobe cell carcinoma (5.5％),24 patients with other subtypes of cancer cells (4.1％).In pathological staging,stage Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ,Ⅳ were 442 cases (76.2％),88 cases (15.2％),48 cases (8.3％),2 cases (0.3％),respectively.There were 424 cases (73.1％) with high expression of CA9,and 156 cases (26.9％) with low expression.The median followup was 66 (4-82) months,and 41 cases (7.1％) were lost of follow-up.For 3 and 5 years,OS,CSS and PFS were 83.4％,88.2％,72.4％ and 69.6％,73.0％,55.8％ respectively.Multivariate analysis showed that tumor pathological subtypes,tumor stage,tumor diameter and positive expression of carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA9) were independent prognostic factors associated with the survival of RCC patients.The Nomogram prognostic model was established by the above four factors.The established Nomogram prognostic model for RCC patients was verified by Harrell's consistency index,and the c-index of OS,CSS and PFS of RCC patients were 0.72 (95％ CI 0.69-0.75),0.77 (95％ CI 0.74-0.81),0.79 (95％ CI 0.76-0.83),respectively.Conclusions Tumor pathological subtypes,staging,tumor diameter and CA9 are independent risk factors for patients with non metastatic renal cell carcinoma.The established Nomogram prognostic model certified by internal validation should be tested by large samples and multicenter studies need tested.

Objective At present, the risk factors for cognitive impairment in epilepsy patients are not quite clear.This study was to explore the impacts of the clinical features, emotional health and quality of life (QOL) on the cognitive function of the adult patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Methods Using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scales, we evaluated the cognitive functions of the 109 adult epileptics of the outpatient clinic of neurology in Jinling Hospital.We assessed their emotional health with Hamilton Depression Scale-24 (HAMD-24), estimated their QOL with Quality Of Life in Epilepsy-31 (QOLIE-31), and collected their baseline clinical data by questionnaire survey.Results There were 67 cases of MCI (61.5%) among the 109 patients.The residential area was the strongest predictor of MCI in the adult epileptics (OR=0.226, 95% CI: 0.082-0.627).Among other risk factors of post-epileptic MCI were the total scores of HAMD-24 (OR=0.770, 95% CI: 0.644-0.921) and QOLIE-31 (OR=0.712, 95% CI: 0.575-0.880), QOL (OR=1.070, 95% CI: 1.015-1.128), cognitive function (OR=1.120, 95% CI: 1.043-1.203), and social function (OR=1.103, 95% CI: 1.035-1.175).Conclusion The incidence of MCI is high in adult patients with epilepsy.The development and progression of post-epileptic MCI can be delayed by more emphasis on the evaluation of cognitive function, emotional health, and quality of life.

Objective Ischemic stroke with elevated serum immunoglobulin E ( IgE) in some young patients is regarded as cerebral vasculitis clinically though without sufficient pathological evidence .This study was to investigate the characteristics of vascular lesions in these patients by temporal artery biopsy . Methods We performed histopathologic examinations on the temporal arteries of 32 young ischemic stroke patients with unknown etiology , 16 with normal and the other 16 with elevated serum IgE .We observed inflammatory cells infiltration and mast cells by HE staining and toluidine blue stai-ning respectively and determined the expressions of matrix metalloproteinase -9 (MMP-9), monocyte chemotaxis protein -1 (MCP-1) and serum IgE by immunohistochemistry . Results Compared with the patients with normal IgE , those of the elevated IgE group showed a significantly higher rate of inflammatory cells infiltration (12.5%vs 62.5%, P<0.01), with 1 case of focal necrosis and fi-brinous exudation in the adventitia in the latter group .The average optical density ( OD) of monocyte chemotaxis protein-1 ( MCP-1) in the temporal artery was also dramatically higher in the elevated IgE group than in the normal controls ([9.25 ±5.79] ×10 -5 vs [4.41 ±2.87] ×10 -5, P<0.01).The average OD of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and intima-media thickness were both increased in the elevated IgE group ([32.79 ±21.38] ×10 -4 and [0.25 ±0.06] mm) but showed no statistically significant differ-ence from those in the normal IgE group ([25.23 ±12.78] ×10 -4 and [0.22 ±0.06] mm) (both P>0.05).Nor was any signifi-cant difference observed in the number of the mast cells between the normal and elevated IgE groups (2.8 ±1.5 vs 3.6 ±2.3, P>0.05). Conclusion The infiltration and necrosis of inflammatory cells and fibrin exudation in the temporal artery of the young pa-tient with elevated serum IgE are likely to be the manifestations of vasculitis , and MCP-1 may play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Objective Inflammation response is involved in the whole pathological process of acute cerebral infarction ( ACI) , but few reports are seen on its clinical implication in ACI patients .The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive value of the differential count of leukocytes for stroke severity and early clinical outcomes in the acute phase of cerebral infarction . Methods We collected the clinical and laboratory data of 635 patients diagnosed with ACI within 72 hours of symptom onset and eval-uated the association between the differential count of peripheral blood leukocytes and stroke severity at admission and within 3 days af-ter admission as well as the clinical outcomes at discharge .The neural function impairment scores of the patients were obtained with The NIH Stroke Score ( NIHSS) at admission and on the third day after admission , and the therapeutic results evaluated with the modi-fied Rankin Scale ( mRS) , mRS >2 as poor prognosis .Analyses were performed on the correlation of the differential count of leuko-cytes with NIHSS and mRS scores and its influence on the ACI patients . Results At discharge , the mRS related influencing factors included the total count of leukocytes (OR=1.147, 95% CI:1.038-1.268), count of neutrophil cells (OR=1.227, 95% CI:1.00-1.369 ), count of lymphocytes ( OR =0.508, 95% CI:0.342-0.753), and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (OR=1.150, 95%CI:1.008-1.314).the NIHSSs were correlated with the counts of leucocytes (r=0.078, P=0.024), neutrophil cells (r=0.083, P=0.019), and lymphocytes (r=0.010, P=0.004) at admission, and with the counts of leucocytes ( r =0.238, P <0.001), neutrophil cells (r=0.335, P<0.001), lymphocytes (r=-0.269, P<0.001), and NLR (r=0.423, P<0.001) on the third day after admission. Conclusion In the acute phase of cer-ebral infarction , the differential count of leukocytes and NLR are valuable for predicting the severity of neurologic impairment and early poor functional outcome .