Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy of visual dilated sheath combined with needle nephroscope percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) with traditional PCNL for renal calculi，so as to enhance the intraoperative safety and puncture accuracy. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 100 patients with renal calculi treated on hospital during Sep.2022 to Sep.2023.Based on the surgical approaches，patients were divided into the needle nephroscope group (PCNL with visual dilator sheath and needle nephroscope，n=52) and traditional group (traditional PCNL，n=48).Clinical characteristics，surgical parameters，and outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups in baseline data，total operation time and hospital stay (P>0.05).The needle nephroscope group had a longer channel establishment time compared to the traditional group [20.0(17.0-22.0) min vs.16.0 (15.0-21.0) min，P=0.002]，but significantly shorter puncture time [2.0 (1.0-2.6) min vs. 2.8(2.0-3.5) min，P<0.001]，and fewer adjustments of the puncture needle (9.6% vs. 64.6%，P<0.001).The channel was successfully established on the first attempt in all patients in the needle nephroscope group，while only 41 of patients in the traditional group achieved success on the first attempt，6 cases needed 2 attempts，and 1 case needed 3 attempts.Postoperative complications were absent in the needle nephroscope group，whereas postoperative bleeding requiring interventional treatment occurred in 1 case in the traditional group.There was no significant difference in the first-stage stone-clearance rate between the two groups (88.4%vs. 85.4%，P=0.872). Conclusion: PCNL using a visual dilator sheath combined with a needle nephroscope achieves a comparable first-stage stone-clearance rate to traditional PCNL.However，it offers significant advantages in terms of shorter puncture time，fewer adjustments of the puncture needle，and lower postoperative complication rate.These findings suggest superior safety and precision，making it a valuable technique for clinical application.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of individualized dosing regimen on blood trough concentration of vancomycin and renal function in critically ill patients. METHODS According to relevant guidelines and the results of Vancomycin Calculator， clinical pharmacists formulated an individualized dosing regimen of vancomycin including loading dose and maintenance dose for critically ill patients based on the two independent variables of body weight and creatinine clearance rate. Using the method of retrospective study， patients who were admitted to the department of intensive care unit （ICU） of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University and used the regimen from July 2018 to December 2021 were selected as the trial group， and patients who were treated with vancomycin and received blood drug concentration monitoring in ICU from January 2015 to June 2018 were recruited in the control group. The difference in trough concentration distribution and the incidence of acute kidney injury （AKI） after medication were compared between the two groups， the change of serum creatinine before and after medication in the trial group was analyzed. RESULTS Totally 197 patients were included in the trial group and 144 patients were in the control group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the clinical information （gender， age， body weight， acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ score， the proportion of patients with renal insufficiency， etc.） （P＞0.05）. The proportions of major infection sites （including lung， urinary， abdominal， blood and central nervous system） and treatment type （target or empirical treatment） also had no significant difference between the two groups （P＞0.05）. There was no significant difference in the attainment rate of ideal trough concentration （15-20 μg/mL） and the proportion of patients with trough concentration　＞20 μg/mL between the two groups （P＞0.05）， while the attainment rate of target trough concentration （10-20 μg/mL） and the proportion of patients with trough concentration ＜10 μg/mL were significantly different between the two groups （P＜0.05）. The attainment rate of target trough concentration in patients with chronic renal insufficiency in trial group was significantly higher than that in control group （P＜0.05）. There was no significant difference in the incidence of AKI and vancomycin-associated AKI between the two groups （P＞0.05）. In the trial group with medication duration ≥7 days ， the level of serum creatinine on the 7th day of treatment was increased significantly， compared with that on the 3rd day of treatment （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS This individualized dosing regimen can improve the attainment rate of target trough concentration of vancomycin in critically ill patients， especially those with chronic renal insufficiency， during the first standardized monitoring， and not increase the risk of renal injury compared with previous empirical medication.

A case of cicatricial female pattern hair loss was reported. A 36-year-old female patient presented with gradually aggravated hair loss for more than 10 years. Skin examination showed diffuse hair thinning on the scalp, thin and soft hairs, and some pencil eraser-sized areas of focal atrichia. TrichoScan examination revealed markedly decreased hair density on the forehead, variability in hair diameter greater than 20%, and increased proportions of vellus hairs. Dermoscopic examination showed increased numbers of vellus hairs, plenty of focal atrichia areas measuring 3 - 5 mm in diameter, loss of some follicular ostia, and confluent white dots. Histopathological examination of vertical and transverse scalp sections showed predominantly distributed miniaturized hair follicles with lichenoid folliculitis around the infundibulum and isthmus, concentrically layered perifollicular fibrosis, a marked decrease in the number of hair follicles compared with healthy people of the same age, increased proportions of vellus hairs, a large number of miniaturized hair follicles and follicular streamers, and formation of follicular micro-scars. The patient was diagnosed with cicatricial female pattern hair loss. She received topical treatment with 5% minoxidil liniment once a day, and alternate treatment with topical tacrolimus ointment and clobetasol propionate ointment, as well as oral spironolactone at a dose of 20 mg twice a day and compound glycyrrhizin capsules at a dose of 50 mg thrice a day. After half a year of treatment, there was no marked aggravation of hair loss, and the follow-up continued.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of complete nail plate avulsion in the treatment of retronychia.Methods:From June 2018 to November 2019, 5 patients with retronychia (5 toes) were collected from the Department of Dermatology, Shanghai Ninth People′s Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, and treated with complete nail plate avulsion. In some cases, redundant skin tissues at the distal end of the great toe were removed. After the surgery, artificial nails were placed on the surface of the nail bed followed by the suturing.Results:In the 5 patients, the neonatal nail plate gradually grew over the nail bed, and pain was completely relieved. Within the follow-up of 6-12 months, the nail plates of the 5 patients all returned to normal.Conclusion:Complete nail plate avulsion is effective for the treatment of retronychia, and worthy of clinical promotion.

Objective: To compare diagnostic performance of traditional vertical section technique, horizontal section technique and modified Ho-Vert technique for classical lichen planopilaris. Methods: Clinical data were collected from patients with classical lichen planopilaris in Department of Dermatology, The Affiliated Wuxi People′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 1st 2015 to January 1st 2019. With the help of dermoscopy, 2 scalp specimens were obtained from each patient and sliced horizontally and vertically respectively by using modified Ho-Vert technique. The horizontal and vertical sections were read separately or simultaneously, and histopathological changes were observed. Results: Totally, 21 patients with classical lichen planopilaris were enrolled into this study, including 15 males and 6 females. Their age was 50.0 ± 13.6 years, and the average course of disease was 18 months. The patients mainly presented with multifocal or confluent patchy hair loss, and scalp atrophy, perifollicular hyperkeratosis, loss of follicular ostia, fibrous white dots and orbit sign were observed. On the horizontal sections, lichenoid lymphocytic infiltration around the infundibulum and isthmus of hair follicles and follicular micro-scars could be observed in all patients, and the dermo-epidermal interface could be seen in 7 patients. On the vertical sections, lichenoid lymphocytic infiltration around the infundibulum and isthmus of hair follicles only could be observed in 9 patients, follicular micro-scars could be seen in 4, and the dermo-epidermal interface could be observed in all patients. Moreover, the detection rates of interfollicular interface dermatitis, follicular keratotic plugs, lymphocytic infiltration around sebaceous glands, atrophy or disappearance of sebaceous glands and inflammatory infiltration around hair follicle bulbs were significantly different between the horizontal and vertical sections. In combination with clinical manifestations, 7 patients could be exactly diagnosed with lichen planopilaris according to findings from horizontal sections, and 9 could be diagnosed exactly according to findings from vertical sections, while 21 could be diagnosed exactly according to histopathological findings from both horizontal and vertical sections. Conclusion With the help of dermoscopy, modified Ho-Vert technique can improve the efficacy of pathological diagnosis of classical lichen planopilaris, by multidimensionally showing histopathological changes.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in both physiological and pathological processes. EMT plays an essential role in the invasion, migration and metastasis of tumours. Autophagy has been shown to regulate EMT in a variety of cancers but not in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Herein, we investigated whether autophagy also regulates EMT in HNSCC. Analyses of clinical data from three public databases revealed that higher expression of fibronectin-1 (FN1) correlated with poorer prognosis and higher tumour pathological grade in HNSCC. Data from SCC-25 cells demonstrated that rapamycin and Earle's balanced salt solution (EBSS) promoted autophagy, leading to increased FN1 degradation, while 3-methyladenine (3-MA), bafilomycin A1 (Baf A1) and chloroquine (CQ) inhibited autophagy, leading to decreased FN1 degradation. On the other hand, autophagic flux was blocked in BECN1 mutant HNSCC Cal-27 cells, and rapamycin did not promote autophagy in Cal-27 cells; also in addition, FN1 degradation was inhibited. Further, we identified FN1 degradation through the lysosome-dependent degradation pathway using the proteasome inhibitor MG132. Data from immunoprecipitation assays also showed that p62/SQSTM1 participated as an autophagy adapter in the autophagy-lysosome pathway of FN1 degradation. Finally, data from immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that the interaction between p62 and FN1 was abolished in p62 mutant MCF-7 and A2780 cell lines. These results indicate that autophagy significantly promotes the degradation of FN1. Collectively, our findings clearly suggest that FN1, as a marker of EMT, has adverse effects on HNSCC and elucidate the autophagy-lysosome degradation mechanism of FN1.
Autophagy ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Female ; Fibronectins ; Humans ; Lysosomes/metabolism* ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Sequestosome-1 Protein/metabolism* ; Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck

A case of fibrosing alopecia in a pattern distribution (FAPD) and its clinicopathological, dermoscopic and TrichoScan features were reported to improve the understanding of FAPD. A 23-year-old male patient presented with progressive hair loss on the forehead and top of the head for 10 years, local hair thinning and softening, and occasional scalp itching. Skin examination showed diffuse sparseness of hair from the forehead to the top of the head, frontal hairline recession, focal thinning and softening of hair, some follicular keratotic papules and perifollicular erythema on the alopecic area, with no obvious scales. TrichoScan examination revealed markedly decreased hair density and increased proportions of vellus hairs. Dermoscopy showed loss of some follicular ostia and confluent white dots. Histopathological examination of the scalp showed lichenoid lymphocytic infiltration around the infundibulum and isthmus of hair follicles, concentrically layered perifollicular fibrosis, hair follicle destruction, formation of follicular micro-scars, markedly increased variation in the diameter of residual follicles, and some vellus hairs. The patient was diagnosed with FAPD. FAPD is easily misdiagnosed as androgenetic alopecia, and early diagnosis and treatment are needed.

Objective: To analyze dermoscopic features of blue nevi. Methods: Clinical and dermoscopic data were collected from patients with confirmed blue nevi in the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Wuxi People′s Hospital from January 2008 to May 2018, and analyzed retrospectively. Chi-square test was used to analyze differences between groups. Results: Totally, 65 patients with 66 skin lesions were enrolled into this study. A total of 23 skin lesions were subjected to dermoscopy, which showed homogeneous pattern in 20 (87.0%) lesions, pseudo-pigment network pattern in 2 (8.7%) lesions, and cerebriform pattern in 1 (4.3%) lesion, and the homogeneous pattern was more common than the other patterns (χ² = 8.79, P < 0.05) . Under the dermoscope, 10 lesions were monochromatic (43.5%) , 11 were dichromatic (47.8%) , and 2 were multichromatic (8.7%) . Scar-like hypopigmentation was observed in 4 lesions (17.4%) , and vascular structures were observed in 5 (21.7%) , including punctate vessels in 4 (17.4%) and linear irregular vessels in 1 (4.3%) . Papillary hyperplasia was observed in 2 lesions (8.7%) . Additionally, pigmentation around lesions, white streaks, dots/globules, blotches, comedo-like openings were observed in 1 lesion (4.3%) each. Conclusions Blue homogeneous pattern is the most common dermoscopic feature of blue nevi. Pseudo-pigment network pattern, cerebriform pattern, scar-like hypopigmentation, multiple vascular patterns, papillary hyperplasia, white streaks, dots/globules, blotches, comedo-like openings can also be observed in blue nevus lesions.

This paper aimed at investigating the effects of Xinfukang Oral Liquid on mitochondrial proteomic alterations in rats with heart failure after myocardial infarction and exploring its possible mechanisms. Heart failure models were established by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery of SD rats. Rats were randomly divided into sham group, model group, Xinfukang group. 8 weeks after drug intervention, the mitochondrial proteomic alterations of myocardial tissue were detected by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) . Furthermore, expression levels of part of the differently expressed proteins were verified by western blot. Compared with model group, 20 differentially expressed protein spots were detected in Xinfukang group, 13 of which showed increased protein expression and 7 decreased; 13 differentially expressed protein spots were successfully identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. Bioinformatics analysis showed that these differential proteins were mainly associated with energy metabolism, stress reaction, oxidative damage, cyto-skeleton, cell differentiation and proliferation. Western blot results showed that the expression of Stress-70 protein and Nucleophosmin increased and the expression of ATP-αdecreased in model group. The expression of Stress-70 protein and Nucleophosmin decreased and the expression of ATP-αincreased in Xinfukang group, which shows the same results in proteomics. Xinfukang Oral Liquid can partly adjust proteomic alterations of myocardial mitochondrial in HF rats, and its intervention mechanism may involve improving energy metabolism, reliving stress reaction and oxidative damage, as well as regulating cell differentiation and proliferation. The results of comparative proteomic analysis performed by using2-DE and MALDI-TOF-MS are acurate, stable and reliable.