As the search for effective treatments for COVID-19 continues, the high mortality rate among critically ill patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU) presents a profound challenge. This study explores the potential benefits of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a supplementary treatment for severe COVID-19. A total of 110 critically ill COVID-19 patients at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Vulcan Hill Hospital between Feb., 2020, and April, 2020 (Wuhan, China) participated in this observational study. All patients received standard supportive care protocols, with a subset of 81 also receiving TCM as an adjunct treatment. Clinical characteristics during the treatment period and the clinical outcome of each patient were closely monitored and analysed. Our findings indicated that the TCM group exhibited a significantly lower mortality rate compared with the non-TCM group (16 of 81 vs 24 of 29; 0.3 vs 2.3 person/month). In the adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, TCM treatment was associated with improved survival odds (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the analysis also revealed that TCM treatment could partially mitigate inflammatory responses, as evidenced by the reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and contribute to the recovery of multiple organic functions, thereby potentially increasing the survival rate of critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Critical Illness ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To investigate the effects of remimazolam and propofol on postoperative nausea and vomiting(PONV)in patients undergoing painless prostate biopsy,so as to optimize the anesthesia protocols.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 1217 patients who underwent painless prostate biopsy in our hospital during Jan.2023 and Jun.2024.Among them,1093 patients met the inclusion criteria and were divided into two groups:the remimazolam group(n=294)and the propofol group(n=799).After 1∶1 propensity score matching,with 267 patients in either group,a comparison was conducted regarding the incidence of PONV and anesthesia recovery time.Results Before propensity score matching,the remimazolam group had older age[66(53,83)years vs.63(49,78)years],higher body mass index(BMI)[25.30(21.83,29.23)vs.24.46(20.79,28.91)],larger intraoperative use of sufentanil[9(8,10)μg vs.7(6,9)μg],higher intraoperative use rate of ondansetron(55.4％vs.47.6％),and longer surgical duration[16(14,20)min vs.15(13,17)min],with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in the aforementioned factors between the two groups after propensity score matching(P＞0.05).Before propensity score matching,the incidence of PONV was higher in the remimazolam group than in the propofol group(17.7％vs.11.5％,P=0.007),while after propensity score matching,the incidence of PONV did not differ significantly between the two groups(12.7％vs.17.2％,P=0.146).Before and after propensity score matching,the anesthesia recovery time was significantly shorter in the remimazolam group than in the propofol group[3(2,4)min vs.7(4,10)min,P＜0.001].Conclusion Compared with propofol,remimazolam does not increase the incidence of PONV in patients undergoing painless prostate biopsy but can shorten anesthesia recovery time.

This study aimed to explore key quality control factors that affected the prognosis of intensive care unit (ICU) patients in Chinese mainland over six years (2015-2020). The data for this study were from 31 provincial and municipal hospitals (3425 hospital ICUs) and included 2 110 685 ICU patients, for a total of 27 607 376 ICU hospitalization days. We found that 15 initially established quality control indicators were good predictors of patient prognosis, including percentage of ICU patients out of all inpatients (%), percentage of ICU bed occupancy of total inpatient bed occupancy (%), percentage of all ICU inpatients with an APACHE II score ⩾15 (%), three-hour (surviving sepsis campaign) SSC bundle compliance (%), six-hour SSC bundle compliance (%), rate of microbe detection before antibiotics (%), percentage of drug deep venous thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis (%), percentage of unplanned endotracheal extubations (%), percentage of patients reintubated within 48 hours (%), unplanned transfers to the ICU (%), 48-h ICU readmission rate (%), ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) (per 1000 ventilator days), catheter related blood stream infection (CRBSI) (per 1000 catheter days), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) (per 1000 catheter days), in-hospital mortality (%). When exploratory factor analysis was applied, the 15 indicators were divided into 6 core elements that varied in weight regarding quality evaluation: nosocomial infection management (21.35%), compliance with the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines (17.97%), ICU resources (17.46%), airway management (15.53%), prevention of deep-vein thrombosis (14.07%), and severity of patient condition (13.61%). Based on the different weights of the core elements associated with the 15 indicators, we developed an integrated quality scoring system defined as F score=21.35%xnosocomial infection management + 17.97%xcompliance with SSC guidelines + 17.46%×ICU resources + 15.53%×airway management + 14.07%×DVT prevention + 13.61%×severity of patient condition. This evidence-based quality scoring system will help in assessing the key elements of quality management and establish a foundation for further optimization of the quality control indicator system.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross Infection/epidemiology* ; Intensive Care Units/statistics & numerical data* ; Quality Control ; Quality Indicators, Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Sepsis/therapy* ; East Asian People/statistics & numerical data*

Objective:To investigate the safety and efficacy of a combined anterior and posterior approach in total hip arthroplasty (THA) for fused/ankylosed hip.Methods:37 patients who underwent THA for fused/ankylosed hip from January 2015 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, including 28 males and 9 females, with an average age of 47.9±12.0 years (range, 26-72 years). Etiologies included 23 cases of ankylosing spondylitis, 9 cases of infectious arthritis of the hip in youth, and 5 cases of traumatic arthritis after acetabulum or femoral neck fracture. All patients underwent THA with combined anterior and posterior approach. These factors include operation time, blood loss, amount of transfused blood, blood transfusion rate, preoperative and postoperative Harris score, postoperative range of motion of the hip, and perioperative complications, etc. were evaluated. Postoperative radiography of the hip was performed to evaluate acetabular abduction angle, anterior inclination angle, the prosthesis fixation, osteolysis and heterotopic ossification around the hip.Results:A total of 37 patients were enrolled. The mean operative time was 147.6±16.8 min (range, 129-190 min); the mean estimated blood loss (EBL) was 850.0±10.8 ml (range, 600-1,200 ml); the blood transfusion rate was 59% (22/37), and the mean blood transfusion was 420±45.0 ml (range, 0-800 ml). All patients were followed up for 4.2±0.9 years (range, 1.2-7.2 years). The average abductor angle of the acetabular was 43.7°±5.4° (range, 31°-55°), and the average inclination angle was 20.9°±6.7° (range, 10°-35°); the preoperative Harris score was 47.1±9.9 (range, 40-55) and the mean Harris score at the last follow-up was 83.4±12.4 (range, 75-90). The preoperative range of motion of the hip in all directions was 0°. Postoperative hip range of motion was good, with a mean hip flexion of 95.5°±12.2° (range, 80°-110°), mean extension of 10.5°±3.4° (range, -10°-25°), and mean abduction of 38.0°±8.2° (range, 10°-50°). Postoperative complications were minor, including 2 case with poor wound healing, 2 cases with paresthesia or tingling sensation in the anterior or anterolateral thigh, which returned to normal within 3 months after surgery, and no deep infection or dislocation occurred. The acetabular cup was in poor position in 2 cases and the femoral stem was varus in 1 case, but the prosthesis was stable and no treatment was needed. All the acetabular cups and femur stems were confirmed with bone ingrowth on the last follow-up radiographs, and one patient had heterotopic ossification (Brooker grade 1). No osteolysis or wear of the acetabular liner was observed.Conclusion:Combined anterior and posterior approach (Gibson posterolateral approach + modified Hardinge approach) in THA for fusion/ankylosed hip can fully expose the operative field and sufficiently release the soft tissue, and the function of hip recovered well postopratively.

Objective:To explore the impact of a modified blood management strategy on blood loss and transfusion rates during outpatient total hip arthroplasty(THA).Methods:The retrospective research was performed in a total of 125 patients (125 hips) who underwent outpatient primary THA from January 2019 to December 2021 at a medical center. According to whether a modified blood management protocol was used or not, all patients were divided into two groups. Group A was used the original perioperative blood management strategies (1 g tranexamic acid, intravenously, 10 minutes before skin incision), and group B was used the modified perioperative blood management strategy (on the basis of the original protocol, 2 g tranexamic acid was sprayed locally in the joint cavity before the incision was closed, 1 g tranexamic acid was injected intravenously 3 hours after surgery, and 1 g tranexamic acid was injected intravenously again on the first day after surgery). There were 52 cases in group A, including 32 males and 20 females, aged 58.5±9.8 years (range, 39-69 years), 13 cases were developmental hip dysplasia (Crowe I°-II°), 24 cases were avascular necrosis of the femoral head, 10 cases were hip osteoarthritis, 3 cases were ankylosing spondylitis involving hip joint, and 2 cases were femoral neck fracture. Among the 73 patients in group B, there were 43 males and 30 females, aged 55.8±10.4 years (range, 42-67 years), including 17 cases of developmental hip dysplasia (Crowe I°-II°), 32 cases of avascular necrosis of the femoral head, 16 cases of hip osteoarthritis, 7 cases of ankylosing spondylitis involving hip joint, and 1 case of femoral neck fracture. Intraoperative blood loss, transfusion, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) events (vascular ultrasound, 2w Postop.), the hemoglobin (Hb) drop, the hematocrit (Hct) drop and other complications were recorded.Results:After using the modified strategy, the intraoperative blood loss was significantly reduced (305.6±38.6 ml vs. 416.2±88.3 ml, t=9.51, P<0.001), and the drop of hemoglobin was significantly decreased (18.1±4.0 g/L vs. 22.3±5.8 g/L, t=4.97, P<0.001). The drop of Hct also decreased significantly (7.3%±0.7% vs. 9.6%±1.3%, t=10.21, P<0.001), and total blood loss decreased significantly (720.6±57.4 ml vs. 919.6±86.3 ml, t=15.49, P<0.001). The hidden blood loss was also significantly lower than that in group A (414.9±71.1 ml vs. 503.5±96.4 ml, t=5.91, P<0.001). One patient (in group A) developed intra-articular hemorrhage 2 h after surgery and was transferred back to the inpatient ward for treatment after transfusion. Three patients (2.4%, 1 in group A and 2 in group B) developed symptomatic anemia and were discharged successfully after conservative treatment. Calf muscular venous thrombosis occurred in 3 patients (2.4%), but no symptomatic deep vein thrombosis occurred in all patients. Conclusion:According to this retrospective research, the use of modified blood management strategy during outpatient THA can further reduce intraoperative blood loss, hidden blood loss and postoperative hematocrit drop, and does not increase the occurrence of perioperative thrombosis-related complications.

Background::It is crucial to improve the quality of care provided to ICU patient, therefore a national survey of the medical quality of intensive care units (ICUs) was conducted to analyze adherence to quality metrics and outcomes among critically ill patients in China from 2015 to 2019.Methods::This was an ICU-level study based on a 15-indicator online survey conducted in China. Considering that ICU care quality may vary between secondary and tertiary hospitals, direct standardization was adopted to compare the rates of ICU quality indicators among provinces/regions. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify potential factors for in-hospital mortality and factors related to ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs), and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs).Results::From the survey, the proportions of structural indicators were 1.83% for the number of ICU inpatients relative to the total number of inpatients, 1.44% for ICU bed occupancy relative to the total inpatient bed occupancy, and 51.08% for inpatients with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores ≥15. The proportions of procedural indicators were 74.37% and 76.60% for 3-hour and 6-hour surviving sepsis campaign bundle compliance, respectively, 62.93% for microbiology detection, 58.24% for deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis, 1.49% for unplanned endotracheal extubations, 1.99% for extubated inpatients reintubated within 48 hours, 6.38% for unplanned transfer to the ICU, and 1.20% for 48-hour ICU readmission. The proportions of outcome indicators were 1.28‰ for VAP, 3.06‰ for CRBSI, 3.65‰ for CAUTI, and 10.19% for in-hospital mortality. Although the indicators varied greatly across provinces and regions, the treatment level of ICUs in China has been stable and improved based on various quality control indicators in the past 5 years. The overall mortality rate has dropped from 10.19% to approximately 8%.Conclusions::The quality indicators of medical care in China’s ICUs are heterogeneous, which is reflected in geographic disparities and grades of hospitals. This study is of great significance for improving the homogeneity of ICUs in China.

Bacillus subtilis is a model strain for studying the physiological and biochemical mechanisms of microorganism, and is also a good chassis cell for industrial application to produce biological agents such as small molecule compounds, bulk chemicals, industrial enzymes, precursors of drugs and health product. In recent years, studies on metabolic engineering methods and strategies of B. subtilis have been increasingly reported, providing good tools and theoretical references for using it as chassis cells to produce biological agents. This review provides information on systematically optimizing the Bacillus subtilis chassis cell by regulating global regulatory factors, simplifying and optimizing the genome, multi-site and multi-dimensional regulating, dynamic regulating through biosensors, membrane protein engineering. For producing the protein reagent, the strain is optimized by optimizing the promoters, signal peptides, secretion components and building the expression system without chemical inducers. In addition, this review also prospects the important issues and directions that need to be focused on in the further optimization of B. subtilis in industrial production.
Bacillus subtilis/genetics* ; Bacterial Proteins/genetics* ; Biotechnology ; Metabolic Engineering ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Protein Sorting Signals/genetics*

Objective: To carry out variant analysis for a fetus suspected with harlequin ichthyosis (HI). Methods: Whole exome sequencing (WES) was employed to detect potential variant in the fetus. Suspected variant was validated by Sanger sequencing. Results: A homozygous missense variant c. 6858delT (p.F2286fs) was detected in the fetus, for which both parents were heterozygous carriers. Pathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of HI. Conclusion The c. 6858delT variant of the ABCA12 gene probably underlies the disease in the fetus.

OBJECTIVE: Citron Rho-interacting serine/threonine kinase (CIT) was identified recently as an oncogene involved in the progression of various malignant tumors, but its role in prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the biological functions of CIT in PCa. METHODS: We analyzed the expression of CIT in PCa tissues and its clinical correlations based on the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) dataset. We then examined the effects of RNA interference-mediated CIT silencing on the proliferation, migration and invasion of PC-3 cells using cell counting kit-8, wound healing assay and Transwell assay. We also investigated the effect of CIT silencing on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and Hippo-Yap signaling pathway in the cells using Western blotting. RESULTS: CIT expression was significantly elevated in PCa tissues from TCGA cohort ( < 0.05). MSKCC dataset analysis showed that an elevated expression of CIT was significantly correlated with N stage (=0.001), distant metastasis ( < 0.001), Gleason score (=0.010) and PSA (=0.004). In cultured PC-3 cells, knockdown of CIT significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion, reversed the EMT phenotype and decreased the expression and activity of YAP. CONCLUSIONS CIT might function as an oncogene in PCa by modulating the Hippo-YAP signaling pathway and serve as a candidate therapeutic target for PCa.
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Phosphoproteins ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases ; Serine ; Signal Transduction

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the transcriptome profile of genital tubercles (GTs) in male SD rats and explore the mechanism of hypospadias induced by Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). METHODS: Forty time-pregnant SD rats were randomly divided into 4 equal groups, namely GD16 group and GD19 group (in which the male GTs were collected on gestation day[GD]16 and GD19 for RNA-seq, respectively), control group and DEHP exposure group (with administration of oil and 750 mg/kg DEHP by gavage from GD12 to GD19, respectively).In the control and DEHP exposure groups, the GTs were collected from the male fetuses on GD19.5, and scanning electron microscopy and HE staining were used to observe the morphological changes.The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the GTs were screened using lllumina HiSeq 2000 followed by GO and KEGG enrichment analyses to characterize the transcriptome profile.Immunofluorescence assay was performed to verify the DEGs (Mafb) identified by RNA-seq results.Immunofluorescence assay and Western blotting were used to examine the expression levels of Mafb in the penile tissue. RESULTS: A total of 1360 DEGs were detected in the GTs between GD16 group and GD19 group by RNA-seq.Among these genes, 797 were up-regulated and 563 were down-regulated.These DEGs were mainly enriched in the cell adhesion plaque signaling pathway, axon guidance signaling pathway, and extracellular matrix receptor signaling pathway.Compared with that in GD16 group, Mafb was significantly up-regulated in GD19 group, which was consistent with the sequencing results.Mafb and β-catenin were significantly down-regulated in DEHP-exposed group compared with the control group ( < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Mafb expression increases progressively with the development of GTs in male SD rats.DEHP exposure causes significant down-regulation of Mafb and β-catenin, suggesting that β-catenin signaling pathway that affects Mafb is related to DEHP-induced hypospadias in SD rats.
Animals ; Diethylhexyl Phthalate ; Female ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; Hypospadias ; MafB Transcription Factor ; Male ; Oncogene Proteins ; Phthalic Acids ; Pregnancy ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley