Abstract: Objective　To retrospectively analyze the clinical characteristics of patients with Talaromyces marneffei infection (TSM) complicated by osteolytic lesions in non-HIV infected individuals, aiming to improve the diagnosis and treatment of TSM in non-HIV patients. Methods　Clinical characteristics and laboratory data, of non-HIV adults diagnosed with TSM complicated by osteolytic destruction were collected from the People's Hospital of Liuzhou City from January 2019 to October 2023, covering nearly five years. Results　All 14 patients were healthy hosts without HIV infection or any underlying diseases. All patients had systemic manifestations such as fever, anemia, and weight loss, while 7 patients experienced bone pain. The initial symptoms mainly included neck mass, ulceration, and purulent discharge from the skin. Laboratory tests showed elevated white blood cell counts, C-reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The CD4+ lymphocyte count ranged from 157 to 1 477 cells/μL, and CD8+ lymphocyte counts from 112 to 1 779 cells/μL, with CD4+/CD8+ ratios from 0.651 to 3.797. Pathogenic evidence was obtained from positive cultures of purulent or ulcerative secretions from the neck, chest, face, and joints in 9 cases, positive metagenome sequencing of mediastinal lymph nodes in 1 case, positive cultures of sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in 4 cases, and positive blood cultures in 1 case. Imaging findings showed osteolytic destruction involving any part of the skeleton. Nine patients improved with treatment, 2 died, 3 showed no improvement, and 6 cases were misdiagnosed as lung cancer or metastatic tumors. After antifungal treatment, 7 patients developed non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection, and 4 cases were co-infected with TSM and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Conclusions　TSM complicated by osteolytic destruction is more common in non-HIV infected, with prominent manifestations of severe bone or joint pain. Early diagnosis is difficult, and it is prone to be complicated by non-tuberculous mycobacterial or Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, leading to frequent misdiagnosed as cancer and tumors clinically.

Objective:To establish the reference values and neurological intervention cutoffs for cerebral ventricular size in neonates born at 33 +0-41 +6 weeks of gestation and to investigate the influential factors and reliability of the related indices. Methods:This study prospectively recruited 1 370 1-to 7-day neonates born or hospitalized at the Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital from February to August 2021. All the neonates, who were born between 33 +0 and 41 +6 weeks of gestation, were subjected to ultrasound scanning to obtain the indices, including ventricular index (VI), anterior horn width (AHW), thalamo-occipital distance (TOD), and ventricular height (VH). The reference value and neurological intervention cutoff for each index were set. Quantile regression was used to estimate the correlation between each index and continuous covariates [gestational age at birth (GA) and birth weight (BW)]. Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze the differences in the medians of indices in different categorical covariates groups (males/females, left/right lateral ventricles, vaginal delivery/cesarean section, and singleton/multiple births). Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) calculated by a two-way mixed effect model and absolute agreement was used to access intra-rater reliability; ICC via a two-way random effect model and absolute agreement was utilized to rate inter-rater reliability (pool reliability: ICC below 0.50; moderate reliability: ICC between 0.50 and 0.75; good reliability: ICC between 0.75 and 0.90; excellent reliability: ICC exceeding 0.90). Results:The upper limits of reference values for AHW, TOD, VI, and VH in 555 (40.5%) preterm neonates were 2.7-3.5 mm, 20.9-22.5 mm, 12.6-13.7 mm, and 3.8-4.9 mm, and in 815 (59.5%) term newborns were 3.4-4.3 mm, 18.6-21.3 mm, 14.2-14.7 mm, and 3.4-3.8 mm, respectively. The cutoff of neurosurgical intervention for each index was the upper limit of reference value plus 4 mm. AHW median was positively correlated with GA [partial regression coefficient (PRC): 0.12, P<0.05], while TOD and VH medians were negatively correlated with GA (PRC:－0.31 and－0.06, both P<0.05). VI, AHW, and TOD medians were positively associated with BW (PRC: 0.46, 0.23, and 0.97, all P<0.05). The medians of VH, AHW, and TOD in the left cerebral ventricular exceeded those in the right cerebral ventricular, respectively (VH: 2.0 vs 1.8 mm, U=836 071.50; AHW: 1.8 vs 1.7 mm, U=874 141.50; TOD: 13.6 vs 12.5 mm, U=738 409.00, all P<0.05). The medians of AHW and VI in male neonates were greater than those in female newborns, respectively (AHW: 1.8 vs 1.7 mm, U=834 124.00; VI: 11.1 vs 10.8 mm, U=884 156.50, both P<0.05). The neonates delivered vaginally had greater AHW median, but smaller TOD median than those delivered by cesarean section (AHW: 2.0 vs 1.6 mm, U=685 546.00, P<0.001; TOD: 13.1 vs 12.9 mm, U=850 797.00, P=0.010). The AHW median in singleton newborns exceeded that in multiple births (1.9 vs 1.4 mm, U=356 999.00, P<0.001). The lower limits of 95% confidence intervals for intra-rater and inter-rater ICCs exceeded 0.75 and 0.50, respectively. Conclusion:Reference values and surgical intervention thresholds for VI, AHW, TOD, VH of newborns with a gestational age of 33 +0-41 +6 weeks were preliminarily established, and the reliability of these indicators were verified.

Objective:To evaluate the ability of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2(VEGFR2)/integrin α vβ 3 dual-targeted microubble (MBD) to target angiogenesis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in vivo. Methods:Non-targeted microbubble (MBN) USphere LA was employed as a template to prepare single- and dual-targeted microbubbles which could bind VEGFR2 and/or integrin α vβ 3 (MBV and MBI) by the biotin-avidin bridging method. A total of 40 RCC nude mice models were established by subcutaneously injecting 786-O cells.Twenty of the models were all injected with MBN, MBV, MBI and MBD in a random order, and the other 20 models were registered for antibody blocking assays. The results of ultrasound images were used for quantitative analyses, and the following quantitative parameters were obtained: intensity increment (a 1), peak halving speed (a 2), curve rising slope (a 3), perfusion time (t 0), time to peak (TTP), peak intensity (PI), mean transit time (MTT) and area under the curve (AUC) for the first three minutes, peak intensity at 10 s before (P 1) and after (P 2) ultrasound destruction, and the differences of tissue enhancement (dTE) between P 1 and P 2 (dTE=P 1-P 2). All the quantitative parameters of four contrast agents and the antibody blocking assays were compared.Besides, the immunohistochemical assays were performed to evaluate the expression of CD31, VEGFR2 and integrin α vβ 3 in tumor tissues. Results:The differences of parameters of a 1, a 3, t 0, TTP, PI and P 2 among four different microbubbles had no statistical significances (all P>0.05), and all parameters between the two single-targeted contrast agents were not statistically different (all P>0.05). The parameters of AUC, MTT, P 1 and dTE all showed a trend that dual-targeted bubbles > single-targeted bubbles > non-targeted bubbles (all P<0.05). On the contrary, the trend of dual-targeted bubbles < single-targeted bubbles < non-targeted bubbles (all P<0.05) was observed for a 2. In the antibody blocking experiment, a 2 was faster after the antibody injection ( P<0.001), while AUC, MTT, P 1 and dTE were all lower than those before the antibody injection ( P<0.001), and the other parameters were not statistically different before and after the antibody injection (all P>0.05). Immunohistochemical analyses confirmed the high expression of CD31, VEGFR2 and integrin β 3 in tumor tissues. Conclusions:The VEGFR2 and integrin α vβ 3 dual-targeted microbubble has a good potential to target the angiogenesis of human RCC in vivo.

Objective:To explore the capability of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2)/integrinα vβ 3 dual-targeted microbubbles in assessing the expression level of pro-angiogenic factors during renal cell carcinoma (RCC) growth. Methods:VEGFR2/integrinα vβ 3 dual-targeted microbubbles were prepared by using biotin-avidin linkage method. Twenty subcutaneous RCC xenografts in nude mice were established by subcutaneously injecting 786-O cells and then divided into 2 groups randomly. The targeted contrast-enhanced ultrasound (t-CEUS) examination was performed for all 10 mice in the first group when xenograft tumors were metered from 5 to 10 mm and >10 to 20 mm respectively. And the quantitative parameters of RCC on t-CEUS were longitudinally evaluated during tumor growth. The second group were divided into two subgroups according to xenograft tumors′ diameter, which was 5 to 10 mm and >10 to 20 mm respectively, and underwent t-CEUS examination. Quantitative analysis was performed for all t-CEUS images to obtain the targeted quantitative parameters, which including peak intensity (PI), area under the time-intensity curve (AUC), the differential tissue enhancement (dTE, presenting the difference in PI before (P 1) and after (P 2) the process of Flash). All xenograft tumors in the second group were harvested for immunohistochemical staining to observe the expression of VEGFR2, integrinα vβ 3 and CD31, and their differences in RCC with different tumor sizes. And the correlations between quantitative parameters and VEGFR2, integrinα vβ 3 and CD31 were analyzed. Results:The longitudinal comparison showed that there were statistically significant differences between AUC and dTE of RCC with different tumor sizes (all P<0.001). The larger the tumor size, the smaller the parameters were. According to the horizontal comparison, the expression levels of VEGFR2 and integrinα vβ 3 in larger RCCs were higher than those of RCCs with smaller size (both P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in CD31 expression between the two subgroups ( P=0.754). Both the targeted quantitative parameters (AUC anddTE ) and pro-angiogenic factors (VEGFR2 and integrinα vβ 3) were negatively correlated with tumor size ( rs=-0.83, -0.81, -0.70, -0.88; all P<0.05). Further more, there were good positive correlations between AUC and VEGFR2, integrinαvβ ( rs=0.76, 0.72; all P<0.05). There were good positive correlations between dTE and VEGFR2, integrinα vβ 3 ( rs=0.81, 0.70; all P<0.05). Additionally, the parameter PI was positively correlated with the expression of CD31 ( rs=0.70, P=0.025). Conclusions:The t-CEUS, mediated by VEGFR/integrinα vβ 3 dual-targeted microbubbles, allows noninvasive assessment of the expression levels of VEGFR2 and integrinα vβ 3 in RCCs, which decrease gradually with the increase of tumor size.

Objective:To investigate the effects of perioperative whole course thermal insulation strategy on extubation, recovery time, coagulation index and the incidence of complications in patients undergoing thoracoscopic surgery.Methods:A total of 121 patients who underwent thoracoscopic surgery who received treatment in Zhoushan Hospital from October 2016 to February 2018 were included in this study. Among them, 59 patients who underwent thoracoscopic surgery from October 2016 to February 2017 were included in the simple thermal insulation group, and 62 patients who underwent thoracoscopic surgery from October 2017 to February 2018 were included in the whole process thermal insulation group. Before and 24 hours and 72 hours after surgery, platelet count, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time and thrombin time were compared between the two groups. Postoperative extubation time and recovery time were recorded. The incidence of shivering, restlessness and other complications was analyzed.Results:Postoperative extubation time and recovery time in the whole process thermal insulation group were significantly shorter than those in the simple thermal insulation group [(8.06 ± 4.60) min vs. (13.98 ± 7.22) min, (47.19 ± 12.97) min vs. (56.84 ± 17.49) min, t = 5.40, 3.47, both P < 0.05). At 24 and 72 hours after surgery, platelet count and activated partial prothrombin time in the whole process thermal insulation group were significantly shorter than those in the simple thermal insulation group [(12.55 ± 0.88) s vs. (13.11 ± 0.97) s, (27.44 ± 2.43) s vs. (29.03 ± 2.14) s, (11.42 ± 0.73) s vs. (11.87 ± 0.74) s, (27.44 ± 1.96) s vs. (28.80 ± 2.22) s, t = 3.32, 3.81, all P < 0.05). The incidence of postoperative shivering and restlessness in the whole process thermal insulation group was significantly lower than that in the simple insulation Group (7 cases vs. 27 cases, 5 cases vs. 22 cases, χ2 = 17.782, 14.894, 3.33, 3.57, all P < 0.05). Conclusion:Perioperative whole course thermal insulation strategy can shorten extubation and recovery time, inhibit perioperative coagulation dysfunction, and decrease the incidence of perioperative restlessness, shivering and other complications caused by hypothermia. The effect of perioperative whole course thermal insulation is superior to that of simple thermal insulation.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of nourishing feeding in patients with acute respiratory failure.Methods:One hundred patients with acute respiratory failure who received treatment in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, China from December 2018 to March 2020 were included in this study. They were randomly divided into a control group and an observation group ( n = 50/group). After admission, all patients were actively treated and given enteral nutritional support. The gastric tube was indwelled. The head of the bed was elevated by 30-40°. The control group was given enteral nutrition which could reach the target dose within 2 days. The observation group was given nourishing feeding. Before and after 7 days of treatment, serum levels of hemoglobin (Hb), albumin (ALB) and total plasma protein as well as white blood cell and lymphocyte counts were determined. Intestinal tolerance was monitored during the treatment period. Mechanical ventilation time, length of intensive care unit stay, total hospital stay, and infection were compared between the control and observation groups. The number of deaths within 60 days after admission was recorded. Results:After treatment, serum levels of ALB, Hb and total plasma protein in the observation group were (49.86 ± 2.41) g/L, (134.96 ± 9.23) g/L, (54.18 ± 3.96) g/L, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control group [(42.34 ± 2.29) g/L, (127.49 ± 6.11) g/L, (42.86 ± 2.88) g/L, ( t = 15.99, 4.77, 16.35, all P < 0.01). After treatment, serum levels of ALB, Hb and total plasma protein in each group were significantly increased compared with before treatment (all P < 0.05). After treatment, white cell count in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group [(7.96 ± 1.06) × 10 9/L vs. (10.27 ± 2.35) × 10 9/L, t = 6.34, P < 0.01]. Lymphocyte count in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [(1.19 ± 0.47) × 10 9/L vs. (1.02 ± 0.34) × 10 9/L, t = 2.07, P = 0.04]. After treatment, white cell count in each group was significantly decreased, and lymphocyte count in each group was significantly increased compared with before treatment (both P < 0.05). Intestinal intolerance rate in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (22.0% vs. 52.0%, χ2 = 9.65, P < 0.01). The duration of mechanical ventilation, intensive care unit stay and total hospital stay in the observation group were (14.75 ± 5.36) d, (15.81 ± 6.28) d and (24.94 ± 7.18) d, respectively, which were significantly shorter than those in the control group [(18.69 ± 8.64) d, (27.96 ± 8.44) d and (29.84 ± 8.65) d, t = 2.74, 8.17 and 3.08, all P < 0.01]. The infection rate in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (24.0% vs. 44.0%, χ2 = 4.46, P = 0.03). Conclusion:Nourishing feeding for enteral nutrition in patients with acute respiratory failure can better improve the nutritional status, reduce the level of systemic inflammation, improve the immune function, can be tolerated by the intestine, avoid infection, and promote the rehabilitation of patients with acute respiratory failure.

Objective:To investigate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in detecting minute renal cell carcinoma (MRCC) smaller than 15 mm (by ultrasonic measurement) and the strategy to improve its detection rate.Methods:Fifty-three pathologically confirmed MRCCs by surgery from November 2007 to October 2019 at Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University were enrolled in this retrospectively study. All of them underwent both conventional ultrasound and CEUS examinations. The clinical and imaging data were collected and analyzed. Common features, such as tumor size, location, echogenicity, morphology, border, and blood flow signals were observed on conventional ultrasound. On CEUS, the presence of enhancement, wash in and wash out pattern, perfusion uniformity within the lesions were observed.Results:Post-operative pathology confirmed 48 clear cell carcinomas, 4 papillary carcinomas, and 1 chromophobe cell carcinoma. On conventional ultrasound, 12/53 lesions showed no protrusion out of the kidney, and 41/53 cases slightly protruded out of the kidney. There was considerable difficulty in the detection of ten lesions, which was achieved with the guidance of CT/MRI, due to their dorsal location of the kidney. On conventional ultrasound, solid, hyper-echoic, color flow signal with varying degrees were the main features of MRCC.The boundary could be well- or ill-defined, and cystic changes existed in part of cases. On CEUS, most MRCCs showed simultaneous enhancement in cortical phase, iso- to hyper-enhancement at peak, and rapid washout in parenchymal phase. The comparisons of imaging features demonstrated that the characteristics were significantly different between conventional ultrasound and CEUS with regard to boundaries, blood supply, and perfusion uniformity (χ 2=12.425, 20.247, 7.185; all P<0.01). Conclusions:CEUS can significantly improve the detection rate of MRCC, which is superior to conventional ultrasound.

Objective To compare the ultrasound differences between gouty arthritis with chronic kidney disease( GCKD) and simple gouty arthritis( GA) ,and evaluate the correlation between the number of tophi and the degree of renal impairment . Methods Twenty-two patients with GCKD and 22 patients only with GA were examined by high frequency and color Doppler ultrasound . The differences between the tophus , intra-tendinous aggregate , double contour sign , hyperechoic spots in synovium , synovium hyperplasia ,effusion and erosion of the knee ,ankle and first metatarsophalangeal joint ( M TP 1 ) were examined . The correlation between the degree of renal impairment and the number of tophi was analyzed . Results The prevalence of tophi in GCKD group were significant serious compared with simple GA group ( Z = - 3 .915 ,P < 0 .001) . The articulations involved tophi in GCKD group were more than those in simple GA group( χ2 = 20 .283 , P < 0 .001) . And the tophi in GCKD group were more likely to involve multiple articulations while simple GA group frequently manifested none or single articulation involved( χ2 = 13 .165 , P = 0 .001 ) . The tophus in GCKD group was more frequently involved tendon than that in simple GA group ( χ2 = 6 .783 , P = 0 .009) ,but the number of aggregates in tendon showed no significant difference between the two groups ( Z = - 1 .499 , P = 0 .134) . The double contour sign was more frequent in GCKD group than that in simple GA group( χ2 = 7 .511 , P = 0 .006) ,there was no difference of hyperechoic spots in synovium ,synovium hyperplasia ,effusion and erosion between the two groups . The number of tophi was correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate ( eGFR) ,serum creatinine( SCr) and blood urea nitrogen ( BUN) ( rs = - 0 .595 ,0 .511 ,0 .583 ;all P < 0 .001) ,respectively .Conclusions GCKD is more likely to manifest multiple tophi ,multiple tophus-involved articulations ,intra-tendinous tophi and double contour sign .The number of tophi is correlated with the degree of renal impairment .

Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic ; Dilatation, Pathologic ; Humans ; Synchrotrons

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of the promoter methylation of plasma RNF180 gene and its protein ex-pression for the detection of gastric cancer. Methods:Methylation-specific polymerase-chain reaction (MSP) and enzyme-linked immu-no-sorbent assay (ELISA) were performed to detect DNA methylation and protein expression of the RNF180 gene, respectively. The correlations of DNA methylation and protein expression of the RNF180 gene with the clinico-pathological parameters of gastric carcino-ma were then separately analyzed. Results:MSP showed that the methylation rates of the RNF180 gene were 62.75%and 21.88%in the plasma of patients with gastric carcinoma and healthy volunteers, respectively;this result indicated that the two groups significantly differed (P<0.01). The methylation of the RNF180 gene was associated with tumor size, clinical stage, tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis (P<0.05). ELISA results showed that the protein expression of the RNF180 gene [(23.22 ± 1.36)μg/mL] was significantly lower (P<0.01) in the plasma of patients with gastric carcinoma than in the plasma of healthy volunteers [(34.25 ± 2.44)μg/mL]. However, the protein expression of the RNF180 gene was not associated with clinicopathological parameters (P>0.05). Conclusion:The RNF180 gene is expressed at a hypermethylation rate, and the corresponding protein expression level is de-creased in the plasma of individuals with gastric carcinoma. Therefore, RNF180 gene methylation in plasma could be applied to detect microinvasion for the clinical diagnosis of gastric cancer.