Objective:To investigate the prevalence of liver fibrosis in patients with HBV infection detected by ultrasound transient elastography.Methods:A total of 2 689 patients with HBV infection who received liver transient elastography examination at the Department of Hepatology, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from November 2021 to April 2022 were enrolled in the study. The severity of liver fibrosis was graded according to the liver stiffness value. The association of liver fibrosis detection rate with gender, age and physiological stages of patients was analyzed, and the correlation between liver stiffness value and HBV DNA, HBsAg, HBeAg level, alanine aminotransferase (AST), aspartate aminotransferase (ALT) and serum albumin levels was further analyzed.Results:Among 2 689 patients with chronic HBV infection, there were 1 417 males aged 46 (34, 57) years and 1 272 females aged 45 (33, 55) years. A total of 1 382 patients (51.03%) showed varying degrees of liver fibrosis, including 381 cases (14.20%) of significant liver fibrosis and 259 (9.60%) cases of progressive fibrosis. Male patients had a significantly higher prevalence of liver fibrosis than that of female patients [60.78%(840/1 382) vs. 39.22%(542/1 382), χ2=74.566, P<0.001]. There were significant differences in liver stiffness values and liver fibrosis detection rates ( F=46.516, 199.079, P<0.001) among patients of different age groups. The liver stiffness index (9.41±4.49 vs. 8.10±3.89, t=9.011, P<0.001) and the prevalence of liver fibrosis in males was higher than those in females in age groups younger than 60 years [61.59%(643/1 044) vs. 38.41%(401/1 044), χ2=78.418, P<0.001]; However, there was no significant gender difference in people over 60 years of age [73.80%(200/271) vs. 71.71%(142/198), χ2=0.252, P>0.05; 20.30%(55/271) vs. 21.21%(42/198), χ2=0.059, P>0.05]. The prevalence of liver fibrosis was significantly lower in premenopausal and perimenopausal females than that in males of the same age groups [29.70%(188/633)and 52.20%(154/295) vs. 64.50%(202/313), χ 2=56.683, P<0.001; χ 2=9.519, P=0.029], whereas there was no significant difference between postmenopausal females and males in the same age group [65.40%(220/336) vs. 72.20%(319/441), χ 2=5.822, P=0.061]. The prevalence of liver fibrosis increased significantly in postmenopausal females as compared to premenopausal females[38.40%(497/1 294) vs. 67.50%(532/787), χ 2=56.683, P=0.002]. The value of liver stiffness in patients with chronic HBV infection was positively correlated with total bilirubin, AST and ALT levels( r=0.208, 0.227, 0.218, P<0.05). Conclusions:The prevalence of liver fibrosis detected by ultrasound transient elastography in chronic HBV-infected patients is substantial, the liver stiffness value and detection rate are higher in males than those in females, however, the prevalence is increased in postmenopausal females. The liver stifness value is related to some biochemical indicators of the liver.

【Objective】 To explore the efficacy of flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy (FURL) under local anesthesia (LA) in the treatment of upper urinary tract calculi, and to analyze the risk factors of pain. 【Methods】 Clinical data of 255 patients treated during Apr.2022 and Sep.2022 were reviewed, including visual analogue score (VAS) of pain during ureteroscopy, sheath placement, holmium laser lithotripsy, 1 hour and 8 hours after operation. VAS ≥5 was defined as significant pain. Clinical and follow-up data of the significant pain group and non-significant pain group were analyzed with logistic regression to analyze the risk factors of pain in FURL under LA. 【Results】 Altogether 198 patients (77.6%) successfully completed the operation, and the stone-free rate (SFR) was 89.9% (178/198). The VAS of ureteroscopy was the highest (4.49±1.08), and 73 patients (28.6%) experienced significant pain. Univariate analysis showed that significant pain was associated with gender, previous surgical history, age, body mass index (BMI), education level, and ASA classification (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that male (OR=2.896, 95%CI:1.413-5.933, P=0.040) and BMI≥28 (OR=7.776, 95%CI:2.268-26.657, P=0.001) were independent risk factors of significant pain, while age ≥65 years (OR=0.237, 95%CI:0.083-0.672, P=0.007) and previous surgical history (OR=0.156, 95%CI:0.032-0.754, P=0.021) were the protective factors. 【Conclusion】 It is feasible and effective to treat upper urinary tract calculi with FURL under LA. The presence of significant pain is associated with factors such as gender, age, BMI and previous surgical history.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a nasty disease with extremely high malignancy and poor prognosis. Annexin A3 (ANXA3) is a potential prognosis biomarker, displaying an excellent correlation of ANXA3 overexpression with patients' poor prognosis. Silencing the expression of ANXA3 effectively inhibits the proliferation and metastasis of TNBC, suggesting that ANXA3 can be a promising therapeutic target to treat TNBC. Herein, we report a first-in-class ANXA3-targeted small molecule (R)-SL18, which demonstrated excellent anti-proliferative and anti-invasive activities to TNBC cells. (R)-SL18 directly bound to ANXA3 and increased its ubiquitination, thereby inducing ANXA3 degradation with moderate family selectivity. Importantly, (R)-SL18 showed a safe and effective therapeutic potency in a high ANXA3-expressing TNBC patient-derived xenograft model. Furthermore, (R)-SL18 could reduce the β-catenin level, and accordingly inhibit the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in TNBC cells. Collectively, our data suggested that targeting degradation of ANXA3 by (R)-SL18 possesses the potential to treat TNBC.

Objective:To investigate the effect of early enteral nutrition in patients with severe traumatic brain injury requiring exploratory abdominal surgery.Methods:The clinical data of 104 patients with severe traumatic brain injury requiring exploratory abdominal surgery treated in the PLA Army 72th Group Military Hospital from January 2016 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 47 patients were given early enteral nutrition (24-48 hr) as the observation group, and 57 patients were given delayed enteral nutrition (>48 hr), as the control group. The levels of hemoglobin, albumin, prealbumin, total bilirubin, alanine transaminase, C-reactive protein, white blood cells, postoperative infectious complications and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups on the 1st, 7th and 14th days after surgery.Results:On the 14th day after operation, the prealbumin level of the observation group was higher than that of the control group, and the leukocyte level of the observation group was lower than that of the control group, with statistical significance ( P=0.020, P=0.013). The hospital stay and hospitalization costs of the observation group were lower than those of the control group ( P=0.017, P=0.032). The incidence of pulmonary infection in the observation group was 10.6%, which was lower than 29.8% in the control group ( P=0.017). Conclusions:Early postoperative enteral nutrition in patients with severe traumatic brain injury requiring exploratory abdominal surgery can significantly improve the nutritional status of patients, reduce the incidence of pulmonary infection, the hospital stay and the hospitalization cost.

Objective:To investigate the serum levels, diagnosis and prognosis value of endothelin-1(ET-1) in children suffering from lung metastasis of osteosarcoma.Methods:A total of 84 children with osteosarcoma, 67 children with lung metastasis of osteosarcoma and 35 healthy people from January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2018 in Second People′s Hospital of Nanyang were retrospectively included.The serum level of ET-1 was measured by performing enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) methods and the influencing factors of serum ET-1 levels in children with lung metastasis of osteosarcoma were conducted by Logistic regression analysis.The clinical value of ET-1 in the prediction of the incidence of lung metastasis in children with osteosarcoma was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Forty-five children with lung metastasis of osteosarcoma were followed up for 18 months and the prognosis value of serum ET-1 levels in children with lung metastasis of osteosarcoma was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results:The serum ET-1 level in children with lung metastasis of osteosarcoma was 97.23 (65.13, 134.98) ng/L and significantly higher than osteosarcoma group 60.21 (43.12, 74.63) ng/L and healthy control group 34.45 (12.01, 63.03) ng/L, respectively ( Z=-5.671, -4.92, all P<0.05), with significant differences. Logistic regression analysis proved that lung bilateral involvement ( OR=3.449), numbers of lung metastases (more than 3)( OR=3.449), average diameter of lung metastases (more than 5 cm) ( OR=6.501) and extrapulmonary metastasis ( OR=4.369) were independent risk factors for elevated serum ET-1 levels in children developing lung metastasis of osteosarcoma.The predictive value of ET-1 in the incidence of lung metastasis in children with osteosarcoma was significant (area under ROC curve: 0.841). When the cut-off value was 94.27 ng/L, the sensitivity and specificity were 88.5% and 92.6%, respectively.Survival analysis revealed that higher levels of ET-1 was correlated with poor prognosis ( OR=3.287, 95% CI: 1.119-9.547). Conclusions:The serum levels of ET-1 in children with lung metastasis of osteosarcoma are significantly elevated.ET-1 is a serological marker for the differential diagnosis of lung metastasis of osteosarcoma.Moreover, the higher levels of ET-1 are correlated with poor prognosis in children with lung metastasis of osteosarcoma.

A number of research has shown that the plant polyphenol resveratrol,one of the most prominent small molecules,has beneficial protective effects in multiple organisms,including worms,flies,and killifish.To understand the effects of resveratrol on lifespan,we evaluated its effects in the silkworm Bombyx mori.In this study,we found that lifespan was significantly prolonged in both female and male silkworms treated with resveratrol.Silkworm larval weight was significantly increased from day 3 of the 5th larval instar(L5D3) to day 7 of the 5th larval instar (L5D7).However,the weight of the pupa,cocoon,and total cocoon was not significantly different in female silkworms with resveratrol treatment than that in controls.Meanwhile,resveratrol significantly improved the thermotolerance of the silkworms,which enhanced their survival rate.Moreover,antioxidant activity was increased by resveratrol in both female and male silkworms.Furthermore,an antioxidant-related signalling pathway,SIRT7-FoxO-GST,was activated in silkworms with resveratrol treatment.Collectively,these results help us to understand the molecular pathways underlying resveratrol induced pro-longevity effects and indicate that silkworm is a promising animal model for evaluating the effects of lifespan-extending drugs.

Objective:To investigate the clinical features and prognosis of duodenal lateral fistula (DLF), and to explore the high-risk factors affecting its prognosis, so as to improve its treatment outcome.Methods:The regression study was conducted based on the database of the Registration System of Chinese Gastrointestinal Fistula and Intra-Abdominal Infections. DLF patients who were hospitalized from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 and had complete clinical data in the database were selected as the research object. The clinical data included patient gender, age, length of hospital stay, hospitalization costs, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, underlying diseases, primary diseases, direct causes of DLF, complications, treatment and outcomes.Results:A total of 142 patients with DLF were enrolled, including 97 males and 45 females, with a median age of 54 years. The top three primary diseases of DLF were gastrointestinal ulcers and perforations in 33 cases (23.2%), biliary tract disease in 27 cases (19.0%), and trauma in 24 cases (16.9%). There were 117 cases (82.4%) with single DLF, and 25 cases (17.6%) were combined with other fistula. Among the 142 patients, 127 were healed (49 by surgery and 78 self-healing) and 15 (10.6%) died. 14 cases (9.9%) underwent percutaneous catheter drainage, and 18 cases underwent laparotomy drainage. Univariate prognostic analysis showed that advanced age (≥60 years old) (χ 2=6.891, P=0.009), primary diseases as gastrointestinal ulcers/perforations (χ 2=8.515, P=0.004), combined with other fistula (χ 2=5.798, P=0.016), malnutrition (χ 2=5.595, P=0.018), pulmonary infection (χ 2=12.449, P<0.001), hemorrhage (χ 2=6.466, P=0.011), multiple organ dysfunction syndrome(MODS ) (χ 2=37.258, P<0.001), underwent laparotomy drainage (χ 2=6.466, P=0.011) were associated with mortality. Multivariate prognostic analysis confirmed that age ≥60 years old ( OR=44.375, 95% CI: 2.676-735.822, P=0.008), combined with other fistula ( OR=16.54, 95% CI: 1.744-156.913, P=0.015) and MODS ( OR=238.447, 95% CI: 9.496-5 987.78, P=0.001) were independent risk factors of the death for DLF patients. Conclusions:The mortality rate of DLF is still relatively high. Iatrogenic duodenal injury (surgical operation, endoscopic treatment) is the main direct cause of fistula. Advanced age, combined with other fistula and MODS significantly increases the risk of death of patients.

Objective: To summarize the isolation characteristics and drug resistance of HACEK bacteria in lower respiratory tract infection of coal worker's pneumoconiosis. Methods: From 2016 to 2018, K-B method and MIC method were used to test the susceptibility of 10 commonly used antimicrobial agents to isolated 46 strains of HACEK bacteria, and the drug resistance of lactamase and non-enzyme producing haemophilus was compared. Results: Haemophilus influenza (Hi) accounted for 71.74% (33/46) of the HACEK bacteria in the lower respiratory tract infection patients of coal workers' pneumoconiosis in our hospital, Haemophilus parainfluenzae (HPi) accounted for 23.91% (11/46) , which corroded one strain of Eikenella and one strain of actinomycetes. HACEK bacteria were isolated most in winter and spring, and less in summer and autumn. Cefuroxime, ceftriaxone, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and levofloxacin have good antimicrobial activity against HACEK bacteria. The sensitivity of non-enzyme-producing strains Tetracycline (TE) , Compound trimethoprim (SXT) , Azithromycin (AZI) and Ampicillin (AMP) was stronger than that of enzyme-producing strains (P<0.05) . Conclusion Hi is the main HACEK bacteria isolated from patients with lower respiratory tract infection of coal worker's pneumoconiosis, followed by Hpi. The enzyme-producing strains of these bacteria are resistant to AMP, SXT and AZI to some extent. These drugs should not be the first choice for treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the current status of diagnosis and management of acute appendicitis (AA) in China. METHODS: Questionnaire survey was used to retrospectively collect data of hospitalized patients with AA from 43 medical centers nationwide in 2017 (Sort by number of cases provided: Jinling Hospital of Medical School of Nanjing University, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Lu'an People's Hospital, Tengzhou Central People's Hospital, Dalian Central Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Dongying People's Hospital, Jinjiang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Huangshan Shoukang Hospital, Xuyi People's Hospital, Nanjing Jiangbei People's Hospital, Lanzhou 940th Hospital of PLA, Heze Municipal Hospital, The First College of Clinical Medical Science of China Three Gorges University, Affiliated Jiujiang Hospital of Nanchang University, The Second People's Hospital of Hefei, Affiliated Central Hospital of Shandong Zaozhuang Mining Group, The Third People's Hospital of Kunshan City, Xuzhou First People's Hospital, The 81st Group Army Hospital of PLA, Linyi Central Hospital, The General Hospital of Huainan Eastern Hospital Group, The 908th Hospital of PLA, Liyang People's Hospital, The 901th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, The Fourth Hospital of Jilin University, Harbin Acheng District People's Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Nanjing Luhe People's Hospital, Taixing Municipal People's Hospital, Baotou Central Hospital, The Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Linyi People's Hospital, The 72st Group Army Hospital of PLA, Zaozhuang Municipal Hospital, People's Hospital of Dayu County, Taixing City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, Beijing Guang'anmen Hospital, Langxi County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanyang Central Hospital, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University).The diagnosis and management of AA were analyzed through unified summary. Different centers collected and summarized their data in 2017 and sent back the questionnaires for summary. RESULTS: A total of 8 766 AA patients were enrolled from 43 medical centers, including 4 711 males (53.7%) with median age of 39 years and 958 (10.9%) patients over 65 years old. Of 8 776 patients, 5 677 cases (64.6%) received one or more imaging examinations, and the other 3 099 (35.4%) did not receive any imaging examination. A total of 1 858 (21.2%) cases received medical treatment, mainly a combination of nitroimidazoles (1 107 cases, 59.8%) doublet regimen, followed by a single-agent regimen of non-nitroimidazoles (451 cases, 24.4%), a nitroimidazole-free doublet regimen (134 cases, 7.2%), a triple regimen of combined nitroimidazoles (116 cases, 6.3%), nitroimidazole alone (39 cases, 2.1%) and nitroimidazole-free triple regimen (3 cases, 0.2%). Of the 6 908 patients (78.8%) who underwent surgery, 4 319 (62.5%) underwent laparoscopic appendectomy and 2589 (37.5%) underwent open surgery. Ratio of laparotomy was higher in those patients under 16 years old (392 cases) or over 65 years old (258 cases) [15.1%(392/2 589) and 10.0%(258/2 589), respectively, compared with 8.5%(367/4 316) and 8.0%(347/4 316) in the same age group for laparoscopic surgery, χ²=91.415, P<0.001; χ²=15.915,P<0.001]. Patients with complicated appendicitis had higher ratio of undergoing open surgery as compared to those undergoing laparoscopic surgery [26.7%(692/2 589) vs. 15.6%(672/4 316), χ²=125.726, P<0.001].The cure rates of laparoscopic and open surgery were 100.0% and 99.8%(2 585/2 589) respectively without significant difference (P=0.206). Postoperative complication rates were 4.5%(121/2 589) and 4.7%(196/4 316) respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (χ²=0.065, P=0.799). The incidence of surgical site infection was lower (0.6% vs. 1.7%, χ²=17.315, P<0.001), and hospital stay was shorter [6(4-7) days vs. 6(5-8) days, U=4 384 348.0, P<0.001] in the laparoscopic surgery group, while hospitalization cost was higher (median 12 527 yuan vs. 9 342 yuan, U=2 586 809.0, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS The diagnosis of acute appendicitis is still clinically based, supplemented by imaging examination. Appendectomy is still the most effective treatment at present. Laparoscopic appendectomy has become the main treatment strategy, but anti-infective drugs are also very effective.
Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Appendectomy ; Appendicitis ; diagnosis ; therapy ; China ; Female ; Health Care Surveys ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

To study the inhibitory effect of gigantol on proliferation, migration and invasion of human osteosarcoma U20S cells and to explore the mechanism. Methods: After being treated with different concentrations (10, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150 µmol/L) of gigantol for 24 and 48 h, the proliferation of U20S cells was detected by CCK-8 assay. Transwell assay was used to detect the effects of 25 µmol/L and 50 µmol/L gigantol on the migration and invasion abilities of U20S cells. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to induce inflammatory reaction in U20S cells before gigantol treatment; qPCR and WB were used to detect the mRNA and protein expressions of NF-κB (p65), TNF-α, IL-6 and PRL-3, respectively. Results: Different concentrations of gigantol could all inhibit the proliferation of sarcoma U20S cells at different time (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The 25 µmol/L and 50 µmol/L of gigantol could significantly inhibit the migration and invasion of osteosarcoma U20S cells (all P<0.01); at the same time, it could inhibit the protein expressions of NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6 and PRL-3 (P<0.05 or P<0.01). After LPS induction, the mRNA and protein expressions of NF-κB, TNF-α, IL-6 and PRL-3 in U20S cells were significantly increased (all P<0.01); however, the consequent treatment with gigantol (25 and 50 µmol/L) reversed the effects of LPS on U20S cells obviously (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion: Gigantol can inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma U20S cells, and its mechanism may be related to the regulation of NF-κB/PRL-3 signaling pathway.