Objective:To compare the therapeutic effects of modified plantar skin grafting and thigh skin grafting on the deep burn wounds of the back and buttocks.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 30 patients with deep burn wounds on their back and buttocks who were admitted to the 910th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of PLA from January 2021 to April 2023, including 26 males and 4 females, aged 21-72 years [(49.9±14.0)years]. The total burn size was 50%-97% of the total body surface area (TBSA), with the third-degree burn on the back and buttocks 6%-16% TBSA. The burn wounds on the back and buttocks were repaired using plantar skin grafts alone, thigh skin grafts alone or plantar skin grafts combined with the grafts from other body parts. The patients were grouped according to the skin graft donor sites and the times of harvesting skin grafts: there were 20 patients undergone plantar skin grafting including 10 patient with plantar skin graft harvested once (group of plantar skin graft harvested once) and 10 patients with plantar skin graft harvested twice or three times (group of plantar skin graft harvested more than once), and 10 patients undergone thigh skin grafting harvested once (group of thigh skin graft harvested once). The areas of plantar skin grafts harvested at the last time and the wound areas on the back and butts that could be repaired each time were calculated. After the last harvest, the thickness of the stratum corneum, 7-day survival rate of the skin grafts, proportion of 3-month residual wound area in the skin graft area, healing time of the donor sites, and 6-month Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) scores of the donor sites in the group of plantar skin graft harvested once were compared with those in the group of thigh skin graft harvested once and the group of plantar skin graft harvested more than once. The appearance and texture of the skin graft, patients′ walking patterns and complications were observed at 6 months after the last skin harvest.Results:All the patients were followed up for 6-18 months [(7.8±1.6)months]. In the 20 patients with plantar skin grafts harvested, the areas of skin grafts harvested at the last time were 2.5%-4.5% TBSA [(3.4±0.6)% TBSA] and the wound areas that could be repaired each time were 3%-8% TBSA [(5.5±1.5)% TBSA]. After the last harvest, the thickness of the stratum corneum in the group of plantar skin graft harvested once was (190.4±8.9)μm, which was significantly thicker than that in the group of thigh skin graft harvested once [(50.0±6.6)μm] and that in the group of plantar skin graft harvested more than once [(166.8±21.9)μm] ( P<0.01); the 7-day survival rate of the skin grafts, proportion of 3-month residual wound area in the skin graft area, healing time of the donor sites, and 6-month VSS scores of the donor sites were (93.6±2.3)%, 2.0 (0.1, 3.5)%, (9.9±1.8)days and (1.7±0.7)points in the group of plantar skin graft harvested once, (78.0±6.6)%, 5.3 (4.0, 5.8)%, (14.0±1.4)days and (4.9±2.3)points in the group of thigh skin graft harvested once, and (93.4±2.6) %, 2.0 (0.1, 3.8)%, (10.0±1.2)days and (1.8±0.8)points in the group of plantar skin graft harvested more than once. The group of plantar skin graft harvested once showed a significant increase in the 7-day survival rate and a significant decrease in the proportion of 3-month residual wound area in the skin graft area, healing time of the donor sites, and 6-month VSS scores of the donor sites in comparison with the group of thigh skin graft harvested once ( P<0.05 or 0.01), while there were no significant differences in above mentioned indices between the group of plantar skin graft harvested once and the group of plantar skin graft harvested more than once ( P>0.05). At 6 months after the last skin harvest, the skin graft areas on the back and buttocks were flat, hard and firm and all the patients in the three groups could walk normally, with no complications such as severe itching, pain or folliculitis in the skin graft area. Conclusions:In the treatment of burn wounds on the back and buttocks, compared with thigh skin grafting, modified plantar skin grafting has advantages of thicker stratum corneum, better wear resistance and pressure resistance in the skin graft areas, a higher survival rate of skin grafts, rapid healing, mild scar, and undisturbed walking pattern after surgery and no common complications. Moreover, skin grafts can be harvested repeatedly from the donor sites, with no impact on the therapeutic effects.

Aging poses a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of death in the aged population. However, the cell type-specific changes underlying cardiac aging are far from being clear. Here, we performed single-nucleus RNA-sequencing analysis of left ventricles from young and aged cynomolgus monkeys to define cell composition changes and transcriptomic alterations across different cell types associated with age. We found that aged cardiomyocytes underwent a dramatic loss in cell numbers and profound fluctuations in transcriptional profiles. Via transcription regulatory network analysis, we identified FOXP1, a core transcription factor in organ development, as a key downregulated factor in aged cardiomyocytes, concomitant with the dysregulation of FOXP1 target genes associated with heart function and cardiac diseases. Consistently, the deficiency of FOXP1 led to hypertrophic and senescent phenotypes in human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Altogether, our findings depict the cellular and molecular landscape of ventricular aging at the single-cell resolution, and identify drivers for primate cardiac aging and potential targets for intervention against cardiac aging and associated diseases.
Aged ; Animals ; Humans ; Aging/genetics* ; Forkhead Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Myocytes, Cardiac/metabolism* ; Primates/metabolism* ; Repressor Proteins/metabolism* ; Transcriptome ; Macaca fascicularis/metabolism*

Objective:To analyze the changes of thyroid volume before and after supplementation with lipiodol pills in children with goiter, and to evaluate the recovery effect of lipiodol pills supplementation on children with goiter in the short term.Methods:In October 2018, 4 townships and towns in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture with relatively serious historical conditions and high goiter rate of children aged 8 to 10 were selected for thyroid examination in 19 primary schools within the jurisdiction. Sixty children with goiter were selected as research subjects; at the same time, 138 children of the same age with normal thyroid B-ultrasound examination results were selected as control in the same period. Under the condition of normal diet, children with goiter were intervened by taking 200 mg lipiodol pills at one time. After 6 months, the thyroid volume of children with goiter and control children was measured by B-ultrasound.Results:Fifty-three children with goiter were finally included, with a sex ratio of 1.00 ∶ 1.04 (26 ∶ 27). There were 138 control children in the same period, with a sex ratio of 1.00 ∶ 1.30 (60 ∶ 78). Six months after taking lipiodol pills, the median thyroid volume of children with goiter was 3.7 ml, which was significantly different from that before supplementing with lipidol pills (5.8 ml, Z = - 7.95, P < 0.001), and not significantly different from that of control children (4.1 ml) in the same period ( Z = - 0.91, P = 0.365). Among them, 90.6% (48/53) of children with goiter recovered to the normal range, and 100.0% (15/15), 81.8% (18/22) and 93.8% (15/16) children's thyroid recovered returned to the normal range in the 8-, 9-, and 10-year-old age groups, respectively, and the highest proportion was in the 8-year-old age group. Stratified by age and gender, the thyroid volume of children with goiter in all age groups and gender after supplementation with lipiodol pills was lower than that before supplementation with lipiodol pills ( P < 0.001), but there was no difference compared with the control children in the same period ( P > 0.05). After supplementing with lipiodol pills, the diameters of thyroid in children with goiter were significantly lower than those before supplementing with lipiodol pills ( P < 0.001). Compared with the control children in the same period, there were significant differences in the right width, left length and right long diameter of the thyroid ( P < 0.05). Conclusion:Supplementing lipiodol pills can restore the thyroid volume of 8 - 10 year old children with goiter to normal range in a short term, and can effectively treat simple goiter.

Bone homeostasis is a relative balance between bone formation and resorption. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), which is closely related to bone homeostasis, takes part in multiple intracellular and extracellular signal pathways. STAT3 participates in the process of osteoblast differentiation regulated by several factors. It can also maintain bone homeostasis by regulating the recruitment, differentiation and activation of osteoclasts. In addition, STAT3 is involved in the interaction between osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Patients with STAT3 mutations can have several inherited bone metabolism diseases. Furthermore, STAT3 plays a critical role in load-driven bone remodeling. Mechanical stimulation promotes osteoblast differentiation and bone formation through activating or enhancing STAT3 expression during bone remodeling process. This review summarizes the participation of STAT3 in maintaining bone homeostasis together with its possible mechanisms and discusses the connection between STAT3 and mechanical stimulation in bone remodeling, so as to provide a potential pharmacological target for the treatment of bone diseases.

Age-associated changes in immune cells have been linked to an increased risk for infection. However, a global and detailed characterization of the changes that human circulating immune cells undergo with age is lacking. Here, we combined scRNA-seq, mass cytometry and scATAC-seq to compare immune cell types in peripheral blood collected from young and old subjects and patients with COVID-19. We found that the immune cell landscape was reprogrammed with age and was characterized by T cell polarization from naive and memory cells to effector, cytotoxic, exhausted and regulatory cells, along with increased late natural killer cells, age-associated B cells, inflammatory monocytes and age-associated dendritic cells. In addition, the expression of genes, which were implicated in coronavirus susceptibility, was upregulated in a cell subtype-specific manner with age. Notably, COVID-19 promoted age-induced immune cell polarization and gene expression related to inflammation and cellular senescence. Therefore, these findings suggest that a dysregulated immune system and increased gene expression associated with SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility may at least partially account for COVID-19 vulnerability in the elderly.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aging ; genetics ; immunology ; Betacoronavirus ; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; metabolism ; Cell Lineage ; Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly ; Coronavirus Infections ; immunology ; Cytokine Release Syndrome ; etiology ; immunology ; Cytokines ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Disease Susceptibility ; Flow Cytometry ; methods ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ; Gene Rearrangement ; Humans ; Immune System ; cytology ; growth & development ; immunology ; Immunocompetence ; genetics ; Inflammation ; genetics ; immunology ; Mass Spectrometry ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; immunology ; Sequence Analysis, RNA ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Transcriptome ; Young Adult

From December 2019, the new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) broke out in Wuhan, Hubei, and spread rapidly to the nationwide. On January 20, 2020, the National Health Committee classified COVID-19 pneumonia as one of B class infectious diseases and treated it as class A infectious disease. During the epidemic period, the routine diagnosis and treatment of tumor patients was affected with varying degrees. In this special period, we performed the superiority of the multi-disciplinary team of diagnosis and treatment, achieved accurate diagnosis and treatment of patients with hepatobiliary malignant tumors, provided support for these patients with limited medical resources, and helped them to survive during the epidemic period.On the basis of fully understanding the new coronavirus pneumonia, the treatment strategy should be changed timely during the epidemic, and more appropriate treatment methods should be adopted to minimize the adverse effect of the epidemic on tumor treatment.

Objective:To observe the effect of intermittent oro-esophageal tube feeding (IOE) on dysphagia patients with cerebral small vessel disease.Methods:Sixty such patients were randomly divided into an experimental group ( n=30) and a control group ( n=30). In addition to the routine basic treatment and swallowing function training, the control group was given nasogastric tube feeding, while the experimental group was provided with IOE. Before and after two weeks of the treatment the swallowing function and nutritional status of both groups were evaluated along with the incidence of pneumonia, ability in the activities of daily living and general quality of life. Results:Before the intervention, there were no significant differences between the two groups in any of the measurements. Afterward significant improvements were observed in all of the measurements in both groups, but the experimental group had improved significantly more than the control group in terms of each measure.Conclusions:IOE is superior to NG in improving the nutrition and swallowing function of patients with dysphagia and cerebral small vessel disease. It betters their ability in daily life activities and their quality of life.

Werner syndrome (WS) is a premature aging disorder that mainly affects tissues derived from mesoderm. We have recently developed a novel human WS model using WRN-deficient human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). This model recapitulates many phenotypic features of WS. Based on a screen of a number of chemicals, here we found that Vitamin C exerts most efficient rescue for many features in premature aging as shown in WRN-deficient MSCs, including cell growth arrest, increased reactive oxygen species levels, telomere attrition, excessive secretion of inflammatory factors, as well as disorganization of nuclear lamina and heterochromatin. Moreover, Vitamin C restores in vivo viability of MSCs in a mouse model. RNA sequencing analysis indicates that Vitamin C alters the expression of a series of genes involved in chromatin condensation, cell cycle regulation, DNA replication, and DNA damage repair pathways in WRN-deficient MSCs. Our results identify Vitamin C as a rejuvenating factor for WS MSCs, which holds the potential of being applied as a novel type of treatment of WS.
Animals ; Ascorbic Acid ; pharmacology ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; drug effects ; Cell Line ; Cellular Senescence ; drug effects ; DNA Damage ; DNA Repair ; drug effects ; DNA Replication ; drug effects ; Disease Models, Animal ; Heterochromatin ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; metabolism ; pathology ; Mice ; Nuclear Lamina ; metabolism ; pathology ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; metabolism ; Telomere Homeostasis ; drug effects ; Werner Syndrome ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism

Objective To study the correlation between clinicopathological characteristics and lymph node metastasis and prognosis of rectal neuroendocrine tumors (NET),and try to explore the choice of surgical approach.Methods The clinicopathological data of 48 postoperative rectal NET patients were collected.The univariate and multivariate analysis of the correlation between clinicopathologic characteristics and lymph node metastasis were performed by chi-square test and Logistic regression.The prognosis single factor survival analysis was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method.The survival rates were compared by Log-rank test.The prognosis multivariate survival analysis was performed by the use of Cox model.Results The results of univariate analysis indicated that clinicopathological characteristics related with lymph node metastasis were tumor distance from anal verge less than six cm,tumor diameter over two cm,muscularis invasion,distant metastasis and histological grade 3.The results of multivariate analysis showed that histological grade 3 was an independent risk factor of lymph node metastasis (OR=9.333,95 ％CI:1.054 to 82.635,P=0.045).The results of univariate survival analysis suggested that factors correlated with poor prognosis were tumor distance from anal verge less than six cm,tumor diameter over two cm,muscularis invasion,lymph node metastasis,distant metastasis and histological grade 3.The results of multivariate survival analysis indicated that tumor distance from anal verge less than six cm (HR=0.215,95 ％CI:0.047 to 0.980,P=0.047),distant metastasis (HR=8.788,95％CI:2.612 to 29.571,P＜0.01) and histological grade3 (HR=5.510,95％CI:1.692-17.944,P=0.005) were independent factors associated with poor prognosis.Conclusions For histological grade 1 and 2 rectal NET patients without distant metastasis,radical surgery is recommended when tumor diameter over two cm or muscularis invasion exists.For histological grade 3 rectal NET patients without distant metastasis,radical surgery is recommended.

Objective To investigate the differentiation of neuroendocrine component (NEC) in colorectal adenocarcinoma in relation to its significance by comparing the outcome between patients with or without NEC.Methods The paraffin sections from patients with pathologically confirmed colorectal adenocarcinoma were retrospectively collected and screened for those with NEC by morphological examination and immunohistochemistry with neuroendocrine markers.Control patients (n=54) without NEC were selected from colorectal cancer database and 2: 1 matched on the basis of clinical features with NEC positive patients (n=27).Relative analysis was performed between two groups.Results With a median follow-up of 72 months,the 5-year disease free survival was 58.0% (16/27) in NEC positive group and 79.1% (43/54) in control group (P=0.036).Similarly,the 5-year cancer-specific overall survival was significantly lower in NEC positive group than in control group (58.3% versus 81.1%,P=0.037).Cox regression showed that the 5-year cumulative risks of disease recurrence and cancer-caused death in NEC positive patients were 2.38 and 2.41 times higher than those in control patients,respectively.Conclusions NEC appears to bear a poor prognosis in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma.