ObjectiveTo assess the microstructural involvement of gray matter in recovered COVID-19 patients using Synthetic MRI. MethodsThis study was conducted in 29 recovered COVID-19 patients， including severe group （SG， n=11） and ordinary group （OG， n=18）. Healthy volunteers matched by age， sex， BMI and years of education were selected as a healthy control group （HC=23 cases）. Each subject underwent synthetic MRI to generate quantitative T₁ and T₂ maps， and the T₁ and T₂ maps were segmented into 90 regions of interest （ROIs） using automatic anatomical labeling （AAL） mapping. T₁ and T₂ values for each ROI were obtained by averaging all voxels within the ROIs. The T₁ and T₂ values of the 90 brain regions between the three groups were compared. ResultsRelative to HC， the SG had significantly higher T2 values in bilateral orbital superior frontal gyrus， bilateral parahippocampal gyrus， bilateral putamen， bilateral middle temporal gyrus， bilateral Inferior temporal gyrus， left orbital superior frontal gyrus， left orbital inferior frontal gyrus， left gyrus rectus， left anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri， right median cingulate and paracingulate gyri， left posterior cingulate gyrus， and left supramarginal gyrus （P＜0.05）； Relative to OG， SG showed significantly increased T₂ values in the left rectus gyrus， left parahippocampal gyrus， bilateral middle temporal gyrus， and bilateral inferior temporal gyrus （P＜0.05）. Relative to HC， the T₁ values of SG were significantly increased in bilateral orbital superior frontal gyrus， left rectus gyrus， left anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri， right posterior cingulate gyrus， left parahippocampal gyrus， left lingual gyrus， left putamen， left thalamus（P＜0.05）； Relative to OG， the T₁ values of SG were significantly higher in the right posterior cingulate gyrus， right calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex， and left putamen （P＜0.05）. ConclusionsEven after recovering from COVID-19， patients may still have persistent or delayed damage to their brain gray matter structure， which is correlated with the severity of the condition. SyMRI can serve as a sensitive tool to assess the extent of microstructural damage to the central nervous system， aiding in early diagnosis of the disease.

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of transhepatic arterial chemoembolization(TACE)combined with tyrosine kinase inhibitors(TKIs)and programmed death receptors-1(PD-1)inhibitors(TACE+TKIs+PD-1 antibody)in the treatment of moderate advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).Methods The clinical data of 65 patients with moderate advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College from January 2020 to January 2022 were analyzed retrospectively.65 patients were treated with TACE+TKIs+PD-1 antibody.The observation indexes were tumor response,objective response rate(ORR),disease control rate(DCR),total survival time,progression free survival time,conversion operation rate and adverse drug reaction.Results The ORR of 65 p-atients with hepatocellular carcinoma was 49.2％(32/65),and the DCR was 89.2％(58/65).Among them,there were 2 patients with complete remission(CR),30 patients with partial remission(PR),26 patients with stable disease(SD),and 7 patients with progression disease(PD).Among 65 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma,18 patients were transformed into resectable hepatocell-ular carcinoma and underwent RO surgery.The conversion rate was 27.6％(18/65).65 patients were followed up for 3 to 22.4 months,The median follow-up time was 16.5 months.The median overall survival time and median disease progression free survival time of 65 patients were 14.5 months(95％CI:12.3～16.6 months)and 8.8 months(95％CI:6.9～10.6 months),respectively.After treatment,65 patients all had post embolism syndrome(abdominal pain,fever,nausea,vomiting and other symptoms),and some patients had transient abnormal liver function.Adverse drug reactions below grade 3 recovered within a few days.Some patients were associated with multiple adverse drug reactions.1 patient(1.5％)stopped using TACE because of stubborn vomiting,and 5 patients(7.6％)stopped using Lenvatinib because of severe liver function damage during treatment,2 patients(3％)stopped using Camrelizumab because of severe reactive capillary hyperplasia,one patient(1.5％)stopped using Tislelizumab because of severe hypothyroidism,one patient(1.5％)stopped the treatment of Lenvatinib and Sintilimab due to severe gastrointestinal bleeding.The adverse drug reactions of grade 3～4 occurred in other patients were alleviated after drug reduction,symptomatic treatment and hormone treatment.Conclusion TACE+TKIs+PD-1 antibody can obtain reliable clinical efficacy and anti-tumor activity in the treatment of moderate advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND:The alteration of miR-146a-3p level is a common event in the pathogenesis of most neurological diseases,and the specific mechanism of miR-146a-3p regulation of astrocytes has not been studied. OBJECTIVE:To verify that miR-146a-3p regulates astrocyte proliferation,migration and apoptosis through insulin-like growth factor 1. METHODS:12 SD rats were divided into a sham operation group and a spinal cord injury group,with six rats in each group.RNA sequencing analysis was performed on the spinal cord tissues of all groups 2 weeks after surgery to screen out the differential genes(log2FC>2),and to select spinal cord injury-related genes(Score>20)in the Genecards database,and then to predict the target genes of miR-146a-3p by Targetscan.The intersection of three gene sets was obtained to screen out insulin-like growth factor 1 as one of the important target genes.qPCR,western blot assay and immunohistochemistry were performed to analyze the expression level of insulin-like growth factor 1 in spinal cord tissues.The primary astrocytes were divided into NC group,NC-mimics group and miR-146a-3p mimics group.Annexin-V/PI staining was used to detect cell apoptosis.CCK-8 assay was used to detect cell proliferation.Transwell assay was used to detect cell migration ability. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The expression of miR-146a-3p in the spinal cord tissue of the spinal cord injury group was lower than that of the sham operation group(P<0.05).The expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 in the spinal cord tissue of the spinal cord injury group was higher than that of the sham operation group(P<0.05).Compared with the NC group and NC-mimics group,the apoptotic rate of astrocytes was increased(P<0.01);the proliferation of astrocytes was decreased(P<0.01)and the number of migration was decreased(P<0.01)in the miR-146a-3p mimics group.To conclude,the expression of miR-146a-3p decreased and the expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 increased in spinal cord tissue after spinal cord injury.miR-146a-3p targeted regulation of insulin-like growth factor 1 in astrocytes,inhibited the proliferation and migration of astrocytes and promoted their apoptosis.

BACKGROUND:Establishing a nomogram prediction model for postoperative pulmonary infection in hip fractures and taking early intervention measures is crucial for improving patients'quality of life and reducing medical costs. OBJECTIVE:To construct a nomogram risk prediction model of postoperative pulmonary infection in elderly patients with hip fracture,and provide theoretical basis for feasible prevention and early intervention. METHODS:Case data of 305 elderly patients with hip fractures who underwent surgical treatment at Wuxi Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine between January and October 2020(training set)were retrospectively analyzed.Using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis and Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test,receiver operating characteristic curve was utilized to analyze the diagnostic predictive efficacy of independent risk factors and joint models for postoperative pulmonary infections.Tools glmnet,pROC,and rms in R Studio software were applied to construct a nomogram model for predicting the risk of postoperative pulmonary infection in elderly patients with hip fractures,and calibration curves were further drawn to verify the predictive ability of the nomogram model.Receiver operating characteristic curves,calibration curves,and decision curves were analyzed for 133 elderly patients with hip fractures(validation set)receiving surgery at the same hospital from November 2022 to March 2023 to further predict the predictive ability of the nomogram model. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The postoperative pulmonary infection rate in elderly patients with hip fractures in this group was 9.18%(28/305).(2)Single factor and multivariate analysis,as well as forest plots,showed that preoperative hospitalization days,leukocyte count,hypersensitive C-reactive protein,and serum sodium levels were independent risk factors(P<0.05).The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test showed good fit(χ2=4.57,P=0.803).Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was conducted on the independent risk factors and their joint models mentioned above,and the differentiation of each independent risk factor and joint model was good,with statistical significance(P<0.05).(3)The graphical calibration method,C-index,and decision curve were used to validate the nomogram prediction model.The predicted calibration curve was located between the standard curve and the acceptable line,and the predicted risk of the nomogram model was consistent with the actual risk.(4)The validation set used receiver operating characteristic curve,graphic calibration method,and decision curve to validate the prediction model.The results showed good consistency with clinical practice,indicating that the model had a good fit.The nomogram risk prediction model constructed for postoperative pulmonary infection in elderly patients with hip fractures has good predictive performance.The use of the nomogram risk prediction model can screen high-risk populations and provide a theoretical basis for early intervention.

Objective To investigate the effect of Jisuikang formula-medicated serum for promoting spinal cord injury (SCI) repair in rats and explore the possible mechanism. Methods Thirty adult SD rats were randomized into sham-operated group, SCI (induced using a modified Allen method) model group, and Jisuikang formula-medicated serum treatment group. After the operations, the rats were treated with normal saline or Jisuikang by gavage on a daily basis for 14 days, and the changes in hindlimb motor function of the rats was assessed with Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scores and inclined-plate test. The injured spinal cord tissues were sampled from the SCI rat models for single-cell RNA sequencing, and bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the target genes of Jisuikang, spinal cord injury and glycolysis. In the cell experiment, cultured astrocytes from neonatal SD rat cortex were treated with SOX2 alone or in combination with Jisuikang-medicated serum for 21 days, and the protein expressions of PKM2, p-PKM2 and YAP and colocalization of PKM2 and YAP in the cells were analyzed with Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining, respectively. Results The SCI rats with Jisuikang treatment showed significantly improved BBB scores and performance in inclined-plate test. At the injury site, high PKM2 expression was detected in various cell types. Bioinformatic analysis identified the HIPPO-YAP signaling pathway as the target pathway of Jisuikang. In cultured astrocytes, SOX2 combined with the mediated serum, as compared with SOX2 alone, significantly increased PKM2, p-PKM2 and YAP expressions and entry of phosphorylated PKM2 into the nucleus, and promoted PKM2 and YAP co-localization in the cells. Conclusion Jisuikang formula accelerates SCI repair in rats possibly by promoting aerobic glycolysis of the astrocytes via activating the PKM2/YAP axis to induce reprogramming of the astrocytes into neurons.

[Objective]To investigate the effect and mechanism of Shuxuetong and its main component hirudin on the apoptosis of cerebellar granule neurons(CGNs)in Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats.[Methods]CGNs incubated in vitro for 7 days were divided into survival control group or 25 K group(cultured in medium containing 25 mmol/L KCL)and apopto-sis group or 5 K group(cultured in medium containing 5 mmol/L KCL).CGNs were separately treated with proportionally diluted and different concentrations of Shuxuetong(1/50,1/40,1/30,1/20 and 1/10)and the corresponding different con-centrations of hirudin(2,2.5,3.34,5 and 10 U/mL).Hoechst staining was performed to analyze the apoptosis.Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of Cleaved Caspase-3,Bim and VEGF.[Results]Hoechst staining showed that 5 K group had a higher apoptosis rate than 25 K group.In 25 K group,there was no significant change in the apoptosis rate between neurons treated with different concentrations of Shuxuetong and hirudin,but significant changes was found in 5 K group and the higher the concentration,the lower the apoptosis rate.Western blot results revealed that,compared with control neurons in 5 K group,Shuxuetong injection and hirudin treatments resulted in a decrease of Cleaved Caspase-3 and Bim expression,but an increase of VEGF protein.[Conclusions]Shuxuetong and its main component hirudin inhibits the apoptosis of CGNs through suppressing proapoptotic BH3-only protein Bim.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of Gateway balloon dilation in the treatment of symptomatic severe stenosis of middle cerebral artery.Methods The clinical data and imaging materials of 98 patients with severe symptomatic stenosis of the middle cerebral artery,who were admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University of China from May 2019 to August 2022 to receive Gateway balloon dilation,were retrospectively analyzed.The diameter of the narrowed artery before and after Gateway balloon dilation treatment,peak systolic blood flow velocity(PSV),end-diastolic blood flow velocity(EDV),Mori classification of stenosis lesion,operation-related complications,imaging manifestations and clinical follow-up results were analyzed.Results Of the 98 patients,Mori type A was seen in 83(84.69％)and Mori type Bin 15(15.31％).Successful Gateway balloon dilation procedure was accomplished in all patients.After surgery,the symptoms were improved or stabilized to varying degrees.The mean residual lumen diameter of the stenosis lesion was significantly increased from preoperative(2.01±0.13)mm to postoperative(2.33±0.25)mm,the stenosis ratio was remarkably decreased from preoperative(81.28±15.17)％to postoperative(50.24±12.83)％,the PSV and EDV were strikingly decreased from preoperative(251.01±60.13)cm/s and(104.28±32.25)cm/s to postoperative(155.33±53.28)cm/s and(70.24±36.33)cm/s respectively,the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Seven patients developed surgical complications,which were improved in short time.The patients were followed up for 10 months,modified Rankin Scale(mRS)score of ≤2 points was obtained in 88 patients(89.79％),indicating that the patients had a good quality of life as well as a good functional recovery.Conclusion For the treatment of symptomatic severe stenosis of middle cerebral artery,Gateway balloon dilation carries a significant long-term therapeutic effect with fewer surgical complications.Therefore,Gateway balloon dilation is an effective treatment for this type of disease.

Objective:To analyze categories and influencing factors of fall risk perception of elderly inpatients with chronic heart failure (CHF) based on latent profile analysis for providing references on improving their levels of fall risk perception.Methods:During December 2022 and July 2023, the elderly inpatients with CHF were selected as survey subjects through convenience sampling from department of geriatrics of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, and they were taken a cross-sectional investigation using a general information questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale, Multidimensional Chronic Disease Self-management Effectiveness Scale, Nurse-patient Trust Scale and Fall Risk Perception Questionnaire for Patients.Their categories of fall risk perception were analyzed by latent profile analysis.The influence factors of their different categories of fall risk perception were analyzed by unordered multi-class Logistic regression analysis.Results:There were 279 patients in final investigation, which contained 148 males and 131 females, and their age were during 60 to 78 (68.58 ± 6.37) years old. The score of fall risk perception of elderly inpatients with CHF was (42.12 ± 13.74).Among the fall risk perception categories of elderly CHF patients, the percentage of patients low risk perception group was 12.55% (35/279), percentage of patents from physical risk perception group was 17.20%(48/279), percentage of patents from environmental risk perception group was 56.99% (159/279) and percentage of patents from high risk perception group was 13.26% (37/279).Compared to high-risk perception group, unordered multi-class logistic regression analysis showed that male, no fall experience, self-management effectivenessand level of patient′s trust on nursewere significant influencing factors of fall risk perception of low risk perception group ( OR values were 0.023-55.980, all P<0.05); no having other chronic diseases, less than 5 years long course of disease, 5 to 10 years long course of disease, self-management effectiveness and level of trusting nurse were significant influencing factors of fall risk perception of physical risk resulting in perception group ( OR values were 0.027-1.711, all P<0.05); less than 7 days long hospital stay, 7 to 14 days long hospital stay, abnormal vision, self-management effectiveness and level of patient′s trust on nurse were significant influencing factors of fall risk perception of environmental risk resulting in perception group ( OR values were 0.907-6.482, all P<0.05). Conclusions:The level of fall risk perception of elderly inpatients with CHF was low and could be divided into low risk perception group, physical risk perception group, environmental risk perception group and high risk perception group. Their fall risk perception was influenced by gender, fall experience, having chronic diseases, course of disease, hospital stay, abnormal vision, self-management effectiveness, and level of patient′s trust on nurse.Clinical medical staff should provide personalized health education to different categories of fall risk perception of elderly inpatients with CHF, in order to improve their level of fall risk perception.

Objective:To explore the clinical outcomes of locking compression plating (LCP) in the treatment of periprosthetic fracture (PPF) of the distal femur in the aged patients.Methods:A retrospective study was performed to analyze the 31 aged patients who had been treated at Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital to Nantong University for PPF of the distal femur with LCP between June 2012 and May 2023. There were 27 females and 4 males with an age of (80.2±6.1) years. According to the Unified Classification System (UCS), 18 PPFs were classified as type Ⅴ.3B1 and 6 PPFs as type Ⅴ.3B2 after total knee arthroplasty and 7 PPFs as type Ⅳ.3C after total hip arthroplasty. The patients were fixated with a lateral single plate in 25 cases, and with lateral and medial dual plates in 6 cases. The surgical time, intraoperative blood loss, hospitalization time, postoperative weight-bearing time, fracture healing time, and knee joint function and complications during follow-up were recorded.Results:For the 25 patients undergoing fixation with a lateral single plate, the surgical time was (58.7±7.9) minutes, the intraoperative blood loss (78.0±15.1) mL, the hospitalization time (6.9±1.6) days, the postoperative weight-bearing time (5.9±1.4) days, and the follow-up time 37 (15, 51) months. For the 6 patients undergoing fixation with lateral and medial dual plates, the surgical time was (186.6±9.8) minutes, the intraoperative blood loss (1,256.7±231.2) mL, the hospitalization time (17.8±3.3) days, the postoperative weight-bearing time (3.6±0.6) days, and the follow-up time 17 (16, 21) months. The fracture healing time was (14.9±2.0) and (18.7±2.6) weeks, respectively, for patients fixed with single and double steel plates. By the scoring criteria of the American Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), the knee joint function was evaluated at the last follow-up as excellent in 10 cases and as good in 15 cases for the 25 patients undergoing fixation with a lateral single plate, and as good for all the 6 patients undergoing fixation with lateral and medial dual plates. No patient experienced such complications as incision infection, bone nonunion, or internal fixation failure during the follow-up period.Conclusions:LCP fixation can achieve satisfactory outcomes in the treatment of PPF of the distal femur in the aged patients. As fixation with a single lateral femoral plate is suitable for most of the aged patients with PPF of the distal femur, it can be used as the first choice. Fixation with dual plates can provide stronger stability, but its indications should be strictly controlled.

Neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced colorectal cancer has made great progress in the past 20 years, but there are still limitations such as side effects, organ dysfunction and unsatisfactory control of metastasis. In recent years, with the improvement of surgical techniques and further development of molecular research, how to further improve local control, reduce distant metastasis, and even avoid surgery according to clinical remission to achieve organ preservation, is the current demand and research goal. With the advancement of molecular research, colorectal cancer has different treatment strategies based on microsatellite status. For patients with microsatellite instability locally advanced colorectal cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy significantly increased the pathologic complete response rate, reduced the incidence of adverse events and improved organ function compared with conventional chemoradiotherapy. For patients with microsatellite stable locally advanced colon cancer, neoadjuvant therapy is still in the exploratory stage. The standard of care is surgery combined with perioperative chemotherapy. For microsatellite stable locally advanced rectal cancer, the complete response rate is improved by enhancing neoadjuvant therapy, which helps to preserve organs. On the other hand, selective radiotherapy preserves organ function and improves quality of life. This article reviews the neoadjuvant treatment strategies for locally advanced colorectal cancer based on organ-sparing strategies.