Objective:To investigate the early clinical characteristics of elderly patients with severe burns and the risk factors on prognosis.Methods:This study was a retrospective case series study. Clinical data of 124 elderly patients with severe burns who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted to the 12 hospitals from January 2015 to December 2020 were collected, including 4 patients from the Fourth People's Hospital of Dalian, 5 patients from Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 22 patients from Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital of Jinan University, 5 patients from Heilongjiang Provincial Hospital, 27 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, 9 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, 10 patients from Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, 9 patients from Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University & Wuhan Third Hospital, 12 patients from the 924 th Hospital of PLA, 6 patients from Zhangjiagang First People's Hospital, 4 patients from Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, and 11 patients from Zhengzhou First People's Hospital. The patients' overall clinical characteristics, such as gender, age, body mass index, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, inhalation injury, causative factors, whether combined with underlying medical diseases, and admission time after injury were recorded. According to the survival outcome within 28 days after injury, the patients were divided into survival group (89 cases) and death group (35 cases). The following data of patients were compared between the two groups, including the basic data and injuries (the same as the overall clinical characteristics ahead); the coagulation indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time, D-dimer, fibrinogen degradation product (FDP), international normalized ratio (INR), and fibrinogen; the blood routine indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as white blood cell count, platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, monocyte count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit; the organ function indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, urea, serum creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total protein, albumin, globulin, blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase, creatine kinase, electrolyte indexes (potassium, sodium, chlorine, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus in blood), uric acid, myoglobin, and brain natriuretic peptide; the infection and blood gas indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, pH value, oxygenation index, base excess, and lactate; treatment such as whether conducted with mechanical ventilation, whether conducted with continuous renal replacement therapy, whether conducted with anticoagulation therapy, whether applied with vasoactive drugs, and fluid resuscitation. The analysis was conducted to screen the independent risk factors for the mortality within 28 days after injury in elderly patients with severe burns. Results:Among 124 patients, there were 82 males and 42 females, aged 60-97 years, with body mass index of 23.44 (21.09, 25.95) kg/m 2, total burn area of 54.00% (42.00%, 75.00%) total body surface area (TBSA), and full-thickness burn area of 25.00% (10.00%, 40.00%) TBSA. The patients were mainly combined with moderate to severe inhalation injury and caused by flame burns. There were 43 cases with underlying medical diseases. The majority of patients were admitted to the hospital within 8 hours after injury. There were statistically significant differences between patients in the 2 groups in terms of age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, and inhalation injury, and PT, APTT, D-dimer, FDP, INR, white blood cell count, platelet count, urea, serum creatinine, blood glucose, blood sodium, uric acid, myoglobin, and urine volume within the first 24 hours of injury (with Z values of 2.37, 5.49, 5.26, 5.97, 2.18, 1.95, 2.68, 2.68, 2.51, 2.82, 2.14, 3.40, 5.31, 3.41, 2.35, 3.81, 2.16, and -3.82, respectively, P<0.05); there were statistically significant differences between two groups of patients in whether conducted with mechanical ventilation and whether applied with vasoactive drugs (with χ2 values of 9.44 and 28.50, respectively, P<0.05). Age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, serum creatinine within the first 24 hours of injury, and APTT within the first 24 hours of injury were the independent risk factors for the mortality within 28 days after injury in elderly patients with severe burns (with odds ratios of 1.17, 1.10, 1.10, 1.09, and 1.27, 95% confidence intervals of 1.03-1.40, 1.04-1.21, 1.05-1.19, 1.05-1.17, and 1.07-1.69, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusions:The elderly patients with severe burns had the injuries mainly from flame burns, often accompanied by moderate to severe inhalation injury and enhanced inflammatory response, elevated blood glucose levels, activated fibrinolysis, and impaired organ function in the early stage, which are associated with their prognosis. Age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, and serum creatinine and APTT within the first 24 hours of injury are the independent risk factors for death within 28 days after injury in this population.

AIM: To investigate the correlation between the ocular demodex infection and the composition of meibum lipid flora.METHODS: A non-interventional and observational study was performed on recruited 39 patients in our hospital between July 2020 and February 2021. They were divided into control group(n=14), meibomian gland dysfunction(MGD)group(n=14), and demodex group(FM, n=11)according to the presence or absence of demodex infection or MGD. High-throughput sequencing of V3-V4 fragment of 16S rRNA gene was performed on the meibomian ester samples of the three groups of subjects, and bioinformatics analysis was performed on the sequencing data to study the composition and difference of meibum lipid flora in the subjects of ocular demodex.RESULTS: Pseudomonas and Comamonas in FM group were significantly higher than those in control group and MGD group(P<0.05), while Ralstonia in Demodex infection group was significantly lower than that in control group and MGD group(P<0.05). The microbial richness and community diversity of meibum lipid flora of the MGD group and the FM group were significantly higher than those of the control group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION: Ocular demodex infection changed the composition of meibum lipid flora and increased the microbial richness and community diversity of meibum lipid flora.

There are many multi-original medicinal materials in Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and the mixed use of medicinal materials from different sources is common, which has certain influence on the stability of clinical medication. In this study, pyrosequencing technology was used to screen species-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) from commonly used DNA barcode sequences, and a rapid and accurate molecular identification method for original species in mixed medicinal powder of Epimedii Folium was established. Multiple sequence alignment analysis showed that the 176th (C/T) mutation and the 196th (A/G) mutation of ITS, the 123rd (C/G) mutation of matK and the 892nd (A/C) mutation of rbcL could be used as the unique SNPs of E. sagittatum, E. koreanum, E. brevicornu and E. pubescens, respectively. In this study, the applicability of pyrosequencing and Sanger sequencing methods in the sequencing of mixture samples was investigated from the perspective of sensitivity and stability. Pyrosequencing method has higher detection sensitivity than Sanger sequencing method for low content samples in the mixed samples. Stability analysis showed that pyrosequencing technology could still obtain effective sequencing results for the amplified products of template DNA after 45 min of 95 ℃ high temperature water bath, while the critical point of Sanger sequencing method was 30 min. In this study, a new identification technology of Epimedii Folium mixed powder primordial species based on pyrosequencing and specific SNP was developed, which can quickly and accurately identify the mixed use of Epimedii Folium with high sensitivity and stability, and can also support the identification of different primordial species and mixed powder primordial herbs, which is conducive to ensuring the consistency and stability of clinical medication.

Objective: This cross-sectional investigation aimed to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics, prognosis, and related risk factors of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain in mainland China. Methods: Data of patients with SARS-CoV-2 from December 28, 2022, to February 21, 2023, were collected through online and offline questionnaires from 45 tertiary hospitals and one center for disease control and prevention in mainland China. The questionnaire included demographic information, previous health history, smoking and alcohol drinking, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, olfactory and gustatory function before and after infection, other symptoms after infection, as well as the duration and improvement of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. The self-reported olfactory and gustatory functions of patients were evaluated using the Olfactory VAS scale and Gustatory VAS scale. Results: A total of 35 566 valid questionnaires were obtained, revealing a high incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain (67.75%). Females(χ2=367.013, P<0.001) and young people(χ2=120.210, P<0.001) were more likely to develop these dysfunctions. Gender(OR=1.564, 95%CI: 1.487-1.645), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (OR=1.334, 95%CI: 1.164-1.530), oral health status (OR=0.881, 95%CI: 0.839-0.926), smoking history (OR=1.152, 95%CI=1.080-1.229), and drinking history (OR=0.854, 95%CI: 0.785-0.928) were correlated with the occurrence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2(above P<0.001). 44.62% (4 391/9 840) of the patients who had not recovered their sense of smell and taste also suffered from nasal congestion, runny nose, and 32.62% (3 210/9 840) suffered from dry mouth and sore throat. The improvement of olfactory and taste functions was correlated with the persistence of accompanying symptoms(χ2=10.873, P=0.001). The average score of olfactory and taste VAS scale was 8.41 and 8.51 respectively before SARS-CoV-2 infection, but decreased to3.69 and 4.29 respectively after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and recovered to 5.83and 6.55 respectively at the time of the survey. The median duration of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions was 15 days and 12 days, respectively, with 0.5% (121/24 096) of patients experiencing these dysfunctions for more than 28 days. The overall self-reported improvement rate of smell and taste dysfunctions was 59.16% (14 256/24 096). Gender(OR=0.893, 95%CI: 0.839-0.951), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (OR=1.334, 95%CI: 1.164-1.530), history of head and facial trauma(OR=1.180, 95%CI: 1.036-1.344, P=0.013), nose (OR=1.104, 95%CI: 1.042-1.171, P=0.001) and oral (OR=1.162, 95%CI: 1.096-1.233) health status, smoking history(OR=0.765, 95%CI: 0.709-0.825), and the persistence of accompanying symptoms (OR=0.359, 95%CI: 0.332-0.388) were correlated with the recovery of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2 (above P<0.001 except for the indicated values). Conclusion: The incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain is high in mainland China, with females and young people more likely to develop these dysfunctions. Active and effective intervention measures may be required for cases that persist for a long time. The recovery of olfactory and taste functions is influenced by several factors, including gender, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status, history of head and facial trauma, nasal and oral health status, smoking history, and persistence of accompanying symptoms.
Female ; Humans ; Adolescent ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Smell ; COVID-19/complications* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Incidence ; Olfaction Disorders/etiology* ; Taste Disorders/etiology* ; Prognosis

Hydrogen sulfide(H

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of two different approaches ERRα strategy on the apoptosis in multiple myeloma cell line MM.1S. METHODS: For the one strategy, shRNA was mediated by lentivirus. Stable cell clones were established by transfecting the lentivirus into MM.1S cells and screened by puromycin. For the other strategy, XCT790, a specific reverse agonist of ERRα, was used to treat MM.1S cells. The apoptosis of the cells was analyzed by flow cytometry after ERRα was down-regulated. Western blot assay was used to detect the apoptosis of related proteins. RESULTS: The knocked down ERRα was achieved, lentivirus with shERRα were successfully infected into MM.1S and ERRα was reduced significantly. Knockdown of ERRα could induce MM.1S cell apoptosis dramatically. Meanwhile, the expression of cleaved PARP (a kind of apoptosis related markers) was significantly increased following depletion of ERRα in MM.1S cells. XCT790 could significantly down-regulate the expression of ERRα protein in MM.1S cells, which was consistent with the effect caused by shRNA. CONCLUSION Interference the expression of ERRα by shRNA or XCT790 can induce apparent apoptosis in MM.1S cells, which indicating that ERRα is crucial for the survival of myeloma cells.
Apoptosis ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Lentivirus ; Multiple Myeloma ; RNA, Small Interfering/pharmacology* ; Receptors, Estrogen

ObjectiveTo explore the therapeutic effect and possible mechanism of Banxia Xiexintang and its disassembled prescriptions in regulating the flora disorder induced by mixed antibiotics in young rats. MethodSeventy male BALB/C young rats were randomly assigned into 7 groups： blank group， model group， Bifidobacterium tetralogy viable tablets （0.68 g·kg^-1） group， Banxia Xiexintang （9.1 g·kg^-1） group， Xinkai （3.19 g·kg^-1） group， Kujiang （1.82 g·kg^-1） group， and Ganbu （4.1 g·kg^-1） group， with 10 rats in each group. Except the blank group， the other groups were given mixed antibiotics by gavage to induce intestinal flora disorder. After 14 days， the rats in different drug groups were administrated with corresponding drugs by gavage， and those in the blank group and model group with the same amount of normal saline once a day for 14 days. After that， fecal samples were collected aseptically for 16S rDNA sequencing of intestinal flora， and lipopolysaccharide （LPS， 10 mg·kg^-1） was injected intraperitoneally to induce inflammatory reaction. The tissue morphology of colonic mucosa was observed via hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， and the macrophage infiltration of colonic mucosa was observed via toluidine blue staining and immunohistochemistry. The expression of interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， and interleukin-10 （IL-10） mRNA were determined by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. ResultCompared with the blank group， the modeling changed the intestinal flora structure of the young rats （P<0.01）， damaged the colonic mucosa， reduced the macrophage infiltration， and down-regulated the mRNA levels of IL-1β， IL-6， IL-8， TNF-α， and IL-10 （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， bifidobacterium quadruple viable tablets， Banxia Xiexintang and its disassembled prescriptions increased the diversity of intestinal flora and the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes （P<0.01）. At the same time， they ameliorated colonic mucosal injury （P<0.05， P<0.01）， increased macrophage infiltration （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and up-regulated the mRNA levels of IL-6， IL-8， and TNF-α （P<0.01）. The mRNA level of IL-1β was up-regulated in Bifidobacterium tetralogy viable tablets， Banxia Xiexintang， Kujiang， and Ganbu groups （P<0.01）， and that of IL-10 was up-regulated in Bifidobacterium tetralogy viable tablets， Banxia Xiexintang， Xinkai， and Ganbu groups （P<0.01）. ConclusionBanxia Xiexintang and the disassembled prescriptions can adjust the intestinal flora of young rats exposed to antibiotics and protect the immune barrier of colonic mucosa after intestinal flora disorder. In particularly， the whole prescription of Banxia Xiexintang demonstrates the best performance.

Pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 has seriously threatened human life and health worldwide and caused a large number of deaths. Viral infection and acute inflammation are important causes of death, so it is particularly important to combine antiviral therapy with anti-inflammatory therapy. Glycyrrhizic acid, the main component of the glycyrrhizic root extract, has a wide range of pharmacological effects as well as high efficiency and low toxicity, its preparation has been widely used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis and other diseases. Glycyrrhizic acid can regulate the expression and release of a variety of cytokines and play a significant anti-inflammatory effect. At the same time, glycyrrhizic acid also showed significant inhibition towards a variety types of viruses. Therefore, the potential application of glycyrrhizic acid as COVID-19 treatment should be explored.

METHODS: From January 2005 to December 2013, 83 patients with refractory/recurrent CD20 RESULTS: All the patient achieved complete response. The median follow.up time was 39 months. Both the two groups collected peripheral blood stem cells successfully, and had no difference in hematopoietic reconstitution time. Three patients in treatment group and six patients in control group relapsed and the three year overall survival and EFS in treatment group was significantly higher than that in control group, that is（93.0% vs 73.1%, P=0.037） and （89.5% vs 65.4%, P=0.034）, respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that: compared with the treatment group in which using R in the whole courses(before and after transplantation, and collection of stem cells) was superior to the control group in both OS and EFS, with the OS 97% vs 87.5% (P>0.05) and EFS 97% vs 76.2% (P=0.05) respectively. While stratified by the different courses of rituximab, the OS was 88.9% (1-2 courses, 9 cases), 93.1% (3-4 courses, 29 cases), 94.7%(more than 5 courses,19 cases), and EFS was 77.8%, 89.7% and 94.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION For the patients with refractory/recurrent CD20
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; Disease-Free Survival ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Hodgkin Disease ; Humans ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/drug therapy* ; Rituximab/therapeutic use* ; Transplantation, Autologous ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To investigate the effect of Banxia Xiexintang on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT） of human peritoneal mesothelial cell line （HMrSV5） induced by gastric cancer-derived exosomes （Exo）. Method:Banxia Xiexintang-containing serum was prepared and the human gastric cancer NCI-N87-derived exosomes （NCI-N87-Exo） were extracted， followed by their identification by transmission electron microscopy and Western blotting and labeling with 1，1-dioctadecyl-3，3，3，3- tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate （Dil）. The cells were divided into the blank group， model group， and low-， medium-， and high-dose （13.5，27，54 g·kg^-1） Banxia Xiexintang groups. HMrSV5 cells in the blank group were cultured alone， the ones in the model group with 100 mg·L^-1 NCI-N87-Exo， and those in the low-， medium-， and high-dose Banxia Xiexintang groups with 100 mg·L^-1 NCI-N87-Exo plus low-， medium-， and high-dose 10% Banxia Xiexintang-containing serum， respectively. Confocal laser microscope was used to observe the uptake of NCI-N87-Exo by HMrSV5 cells at 24 h， 48 h and 72 h. Seventy-two hours later， the morphological changes in HMrSV5 cells were observed. The protein expression levels of E-cadherin， cytokeratin 19 （CK19）， α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA）， elastin， and transforming growth factor-β₁ （TGF-β₁）， Smad2/3， and p-Smad2/3 were assayed by Western blot. Result:It was observed under the transmission electron microscope that NCI-N87-Exo showed an oval or dish-shaped vesicle structure with a particle size ranging from 40 to 80 nm. Exo marker proteins CD9 and CD63 were highly expressed while calreticulin was not expressed， implying that the NCI-N87-Exo was confirmed. After 24 h， 48 h， 72 h of co-culture， it was observed under the fluorescence microscope that NCI-N87-Exo were taken up by HMrSV5 cells， which was positively correlated with time. Compared with the blank group， Banxia Xiexintang significantly inhibited the uptake of NCI-N87-Exo by HMrSV5 cells， with better effect noticed in the middle- and high-dose Banxia Xiexintang groups（P<0.05，P<0.01）. After intervention with Banxia Xiexintang-containing serum， the HMrSV5 cells were arranged densely， and the intercellular space was significantly reduced， with the most obvious changes present in the high-dose Banxia Xiexintang group. Western blot revealed that the protein expression levels of E-cadherin and CK19 in HMrSV5 cells after being intervened with the medium- and high-dose Banxia Xiexintang-containing serum were increased significantly as compared with those in the blank group， whereas the levels of α-SMA and Elastin were decreased significantly （P<0.01）. Banxia Xiexintang-containing serum at the low， medium， and high doses remarkably down-regulated TGF-β₁ and p-Smad2/3 protein expression（P<0.05，P<0.01）. However， there was no significant change in Smad2/3. Conclusion:NCI-N87-Exo can be taken up by HMrSV5 cells to induce EMT. Banxia Xiexintang can inhibit the uptake of NCI-N87-Exo by HMrSV5 cells and the resulting EMT induced by NCI-N87-Exo， which is related to the regulation of TGF-β₁/Smads signaling pathway.