The accumulation of uremic toxins such as urea nitrogen, blood creatinine, and uric acid of patients with renal failure in vivo would lead to aggravated kidney damage. In this study, coated aldehyde oxy-starch (CAO) was used as an adsorbent to investigate its in vitro adsorption performance on renal failure indexes for urea, indoxyl sulfate (INS), monomethylamine (MMA), dimethylamine (DMA), uric acid (UA), and creatinine (Cr). The effects of variables such as pH, temperature, concentration, dosage, and time on the adsorption capacity of CAO were systematically investigated, employing analytical techniques of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC). The results revealed that CAO exhibited a strong adsorption capacity for urea, INS, and MMA, alongside a moderate adsorption capacity for DMA, UA, and Cr. The adsorption kinetics and thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption of urea and UA by CAO were fitted in pseudo-first-order kinetics, and the adsorption isotherm aligned with the Freundlich adsorption model. The enthalpy change ΔH of urea in adsorption was in the range of 40 to 60 kJ·mol^-1, which demonstrated the presence of strong adsorption force due to the interactions of coordinating groups. The ΔH of UA was greater than 80 kJ·mol^-1, indicating the generation of chemical bonds during the adsorption. Both of them, Gibbs free energy ΔG was less than 0, within the range of -20 to 0 kJ·mol^-1, suggested that the adsorption of urea and UA by CAO occurred spontaneously as physical adsorption process. The adsorption entropy ΔS of urea and UA was > 0, which indicated an increase in entropy throughout the adsorption. The infrared spectroscopygram showed the formation of a chemical bond, specifically the imine bond, following the adsorption of urea by CAO, thereby indicating a chemical reaction during the adsorption. This study elucidates the adsorption mechanism of CAO on various indexes of renal failure, providing a scientific basis for its clinical usage.

Objective To explore the CT imaging features and independent risk factors for cystic pulmonary nodules and establish a malignant probability prediction model. Methods The patients with cystic pulmonary nodules admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the First People's Hospital of Neijiang from January 2017 to February 2022 were retrospectively enrolled. They were divided into a malignant group and a benign group according to the pathological results. The clinical data and preoperative chest CT imaging features of the two groups were collected, and the independent risk factors for malignant cystic pulmonary nodules were screened out by logistic regression analysis, so as to establish a prediction model for benign and malignant cystic pulmonary nodules. Results A total of 107 patients were enrolled. There were 76 patients in the malignant group, including 36 males and 40 females, with an average age of 59.65±11.74 years. There were 31 patients in the benign group, including 16 males and 15 females, with an average age of 58.96±13.91 years. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that the special CT imaging features such as cystic wall nodules [OR=3.538, 95%CI (1.231, 10.164), P=0.019], short burrs [OR=4.106, 95%CI (1.454, 11.598), P=0.008], cystic wall morphology [OR=6.978, 95%CI (2.374, 20.505), P<0.001], and the number of cysts [OR=4.179, 95%CI (1.438, 12.146), P=0.009] were independent risk factors for cystic lung cancer. A prediction model was established: P=ex/(1+ex), X=–2.453+1.264×cystic wall nodules+1.412×short burrs+1.943×cystic wall morphology+1.430×the number of cysts. The area under the receiver operating charateristic curve was 0.830, the sensitivity was 82.9%, and the specificity was 74.2%. Conclusion Cystic wall nodules, short burrs, cystic wall morphology, and the number of cysts are the independent risk factors for cystic lung cancer, and the established prediction model can be used as a screening method for cystic pulmonary nodules.

Objective    To predict the probability of lymph node metastasis after thoracoscopic surgery in patients with lung adenocarcinoma based on nomogram. Methods    We analyzed the clinical data of the patients with lung adenocarcinoma treated in the department of thoracic surgery of our hospital from June 2018 to May 2021. The patients were randomly divided into a training group and a validation group. The variables that may affect the lymph node metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma were screened out by univariate logistic regression, and then the clinical prediction model was constructed by multivariate logistic regression. The nomogram was used to show the model visually, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration curve and clinical decision curve to evaluate the calibration degree and practicability of the model. Results    Finally 249 patients were collected, including 117 males aged 53.15±13.95 years and 132 females aged 47.36±13.10 years. There were 180 patients in the training group, and 69 patients in the validation group. There was a significant correlation between the 6 clinicopathological characteristics and lymph node metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma in the univariate logistic regression. The area under the ROC curve in the training group was 0.863, suggesting the ability to distinguish lymph node metastasis, which was confirmed in the validation group (area under the ROC curve was 0.847). The nomogram and clinical decision curve also performed well in the follow-up analysis, which proved its potential clinical value. Conclusion    This study provides a nomogram combined with clinicopathological characteristics, which can be used to predict the risk of lymph node metastasis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma with a diameter≤3 cm.

Objective:To explore the differences of microenviroment between peri-implant tissue and oral mucosal tissue.Methods:The gene chip data GSE43744 was downloaded from the GEO database,bioinformatics tools were used to analyze the differentially ex-pressed genes between the peri-implant tissue and normal oral mucosal tissue in rat.Results:1315 differentially expressed important genes,including 797 upregulated genes and 518 downregulated genes,were screened out.Gene enrichment analysis showed that com-pared with normal oral mucosal tissue,the gene expression of innate immune activity,cell activation,inflammatory response,and func-tional expression related to external and bacterial stimuli in peri-implant tissue were significantly upregulated,while that of extracellular matrix tissue,adhesion,extracellular matrix polysaccharides,response to mechanical stimuli and response to toxic substances was sig-nificantly downregulated.Meanwhile,multiple molecular functions and biological pathways related to T cells were highly expressed,which may play an important role in the peri-implant microenvironment.In addition,PPI network was constructed,and screened 7 core genes including FCER1G,TYROBP,PTPRC,ITGB2,AIF1,EMR1 and RAC2,which may be target genes for studying peri-implant microenvironment.Conclusion:There is a significant difference of microenvironment characteristics between peri-implant tissue and o-ral mucosa.The target genes screened using PPI network may be the key to future research on the peri-implant microenvironment.

Objective To investigate the current situation and influencing factors of latent tuberculosis infection(LTBI)among close contacts of positive etiology pulmonary tuberculosis(PTB)patients,provide basis for formula-ting intervention measures for LTBI.Methods A multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select close contacts of positive etiology PTB patients from 39 districts and counties in Chongqing City as the study objects.Demographic information was collected by questionnaire survey and the infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was detected by interferon gamma release assay(IGRA).The influencing factors of LTBI were analyzed by x2 test and binary logistic regression model.Results A total of 2 591 close contacts were included,the male to female ratio was 0.69∶1,with the mean age of(35.72±16.64)years.1 058 cases of LTBI were detected,Myco-bacterium tuberculosis latent infection rate was 40.83％.Univariate analysis showed that the infection rate was dif-ferent among peoples of different age,body mass index(BMI),occupation,education level,marital status,wheth-er they had chronic disease or major surgery history,whether they lived together with the indicator case,and whether the cumulative contact time with the indicator case ≥250 hours,difference were all statistically significant(all P＜0.05);infection rate presented increased trend with the increase of age and BMI(both P＜0.001),and decreased trend with the increase of education(P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that age 45-54 years old(OR=1.951,95％CI:1.031-3.693),age 55-64 years old(OR=2.473,95％CI:1.279-4.781),other occupations(OR=0.530,95％CI:0.292-0.964),teachers(OR=0.439,95％CI:0.242-0.794),students(OR=0.445,95％CI:0.233-0.851),junior high school education or below(OR=1.412,95％CI:1.025-1.944),BMI＜18.5 kg/m2(OR=0.762,95％CI:0.586-0.991),co-living with indicator cases(OR=1.621,95％CI1.316-1.997)and cumu-lative contact time with indicator cases ≥250 hours(OR=1.292,95％CI:1.083-1.540)were the influential fac-tors for LTBI(all P＜0.05).Conclusion The close contacts with positive etiology PTB have a high latent infection rate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis,and it is necessary to pay attention to close contacts of high age,farmers,and frequent contact with patients,and take timely targeted interventions to reduce the risk of occurrence of disease.

BACKGROUND:Mitochondrial reactive oxygen bursts have been shown to play a key role in skeletal muscle ischemia-reperfusion injury.3-Nitro-N-methylsalicylamide(3-NNMS)can effectively reduce the electron transport rate and has a potential protective effect on limb ischemia-reperfusion injury,but there is no clear research and clinical application. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the protective effect of 3-NNMS on the skeletal muscle after limb ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats and its mechanism. METHODS:Forty healthy 8-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group,0,25 and 125 μg/mL 3-NNMS groups,with 10 rats in each group.Animal models of limb ischemia-reperfusion injury were prepared in the latter three groups.3-NNMS was injected into the injury site 30 minutes before reperfusion.The animals were sacrificed 2 hours after reperfusion.Blood from the apical part of the heart,and the tissue of the rectus femoris muscle of the right lower limb were taken for testing.The pathological morphology of the rectus femoris muscle was detected by hematoxylin-eosin staining.Serum levels of creatine kinase found in the skeletal muscle(CK-MM),lactate dehydrogenase,and myeloperoxidase were detected using ELISA;the levels of nuclear factor κB,tumor necrosis factor α,interleukin 1β,cyclooxygenase 2,malondialdehyde,reactive oxygen species,superoxide dismutase,catalase and glutathione peroxidase in the rectus femoris muscle were measured;and adenosine triphosphate(ATP)level,ATPase activity,and mitochondrial respiratory control rate were tested. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the control group,the model rats with ischemia-reperfusion injury had increased serum levels of CK-MM,lactate dehydrogenase,and myeloperoxidase,increased levels of nuclear factor κB,tumor necrosis factor α,interleukin 1β,cyclooxygenase 2,malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species in the rectus femoris muscle,decreased levels of catalase and glutathione peroxidase in the rectus femoris muscle,and reduced ATPase activity and mitochondrial respiratory control rate.Moreover,cell morphology was irregular,inflammatory cell infiltration was obvious,and the cells were swollen in rats after ischemia-reperfusion injury.Compared with the 0 μg/mL group,the serum CK-MM and lactate dehydrogenase levels decreased,the levels of nuclear factor κB and cyclooxygenase 2 in the rectus femoris muscle decreased,reactive oxygen species level decreased,and superoxide dismutase activity increased in the 25 μg/mL group;cell morphology was more regular,inflammatory cell infiltration was lighter,and cell swelling was alleviated.Compared with the 0 μg/mL group,the 125 μg/mL group had a reduction in the serum levels of CK-MM,lactate dehydrogenase,and myeloperoxidase and the levels of nuclear factor κB,tumor necrosis factor α,cyclooxygenase 2,malondialdehyde and reactive oxygen species in the rectus femoris muscle,as well as an increase in the levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in the rectus femoris muscle,and mitochondrial respiratory control rate.Moreover,the cells were arranged neatly,the outline was clear and complete,and the inflammatory cell infiltration was light.To conclude,3-NNMS can alleviate the functional impairment of the skeletal muscle caused by limb ischemia-reperfusion,and its mechanism of action may be through improving mitochondrial function,reducing reactive oxygen species production,decreasing oxidative stress and inflammatory response,and thus reducing tissue damage and repairing skeletal muscle function.

Objective To investigate the effect of Polyetheretherketone(PEEK)rod semi-rigid pedicle screw fixation sys-tem in lumbar spine non-fusion surgery.Methods A total of 74 patients with tow-level lumbar degenerative diseases who un-derwent surgery from March 2017 to December 2019 were divided into PEEK rod group and titanium rod group.In the PEEK rod group,there were 34 patients,including 13 males and 21 females,aged from 51 to 79 years old with an average of(62.4±6.8)years old;There were 1 patient of L1-L3 segments,7 patients of L2-L4 segments,20 patients of L3-L5 segments and 6 pa-tients of L4-S1 segments.In the titanium rod group,there were 40 patients,including 17 males and 23 females,aged from 52 to 81 years old with an average of(65.2±7.3)years old;There were 3 patient of L1-L3 segments,11 patients of L2-L4 segments,19 patients of L3-L5 segments and 7 patients of L4-S1 segments.The general conditions of operation,such as operation time,intraoperative blood loss,postoperative drainage was recorded.The visual analogue scale(VAS)for low back pain and Os-westry disability index(ODI)were compared in preoperatively and postoperatively(3 months,12 months and last follow-up)between two groups.The change of range of motion(ROM)was observed by flexion and extension x-ray of lumbar Results All patients successfully completed the operation.The follow-up time ranged from 22 to 34 months with an average of(26.8±5.6)months.The operative time(142.2±44.7)min and intraoperative blood loss(166.5±67.4)ml in PEEK group were lower than those in titanium group[(160.7±57.3)min、(212.8±85.4)ml](P＜0.05).There was no significant differences in postoperative drainage between the two groups(P＞0.05).At the final follow-up visit,in PEEK group and titanium group VAS of low back pain[(0.8±0.4)points vs(1.0±0.5)points],VAS for leg pain[(0.7±0.4)points vs(0.8±0.5)points]and ODI[(9.8±1.6)％vs(12.1±1.5)％]were compared with preoperative[(5.8±1.1)points vs(6.0±1.1)points],[(7.2±1.7)points vs(7.0±1.6)points],[(68.5±8.9)％vs(66.3±8.2)％]were significantly different(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in VAS scores between the two groups at each postoperative time point(P＞0.05).At 3 months after surgery,there was no difference in ODI between the two groups(P＞0.05).There were significant differences in ODI between PEEK group and titanium rod group at 12 months[(15.5±2.1)％vs(18.4±2.4)％]and at the last follow-up[(9.8±1.6)％vs(12.1±1.5)％](P＜0.05).The total range of motion(ROM)of lumbar decreased in both groups after surgery.At 12 months after surgery and the last follow-up,the PEEK group compared with the titanium rod group,the total range of motion of lumbar was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The range of motion(ROM)of the fixed segments decreased in both groups after surgery.The ROM of the fixed segments in PEEK group decreased from(9.5±4.6)° to(4.1±1.9)° at the last follow-up(P＜0.05),which in the titanium rod group was de-creased from(9.8±4.3)°to(0.9±0.5)° at the last follow-up(P＜0.05).The range of motion(ROM)of upper adjacent segment increased in both groups,there was statistical significance in the ROM of upper adjacent segment between the two groups at 12 months after surgery and the last follow-up,(P＜0.05).There was no screw loosening and broken rods in both groups during the follow-up period.Conclusion The PEEK rod semi-rigid pedicle screw internal fixation system used in lumbar non-fusion surgery can retain part of the mobility of the fixed segment,showing comparable short-term clinical efficacy to titanium rod fu-sion.PEEK rod semi-rigid pedicle screw internal fixation system is a feasible choice for the treatment of lumbar spine degener-ative diseases,and its long-term efficacy needs further follow-up observation.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of different thermal insulation measures on intervention of perioperative hypothermia in patients undergoing abdominal surgery,through a network Meta-analysis.Methods A systematic search through online databases was conducted from the inception of the databases to August 2023.Databases of CNKI,VIP,Wan Fang Data,SinoMed,PubMed,the Cochrane Library,Web of Science and Embase were searched to retrieve randomly controlled trials(RCTs)in the effectiveness of different thermal insulation measures on perioperative hypothermia in patients undergoing abdominal surgery.According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,two researchers independently screened the retrieved literatures,extracted data and evaluated the quality of acquired data.Revman 5.4,R 4.3.1 and Stata17.0 were used for the network meta-analysis of the acquired data.Results A total of 26 RCTs were included,involving 9 thermal insulation measures that involved with 2 414 patients.Meta-analysis showed that an inflatable blanket combined with warmed intravenous infusion achieved the best effectiveness in maintaining the perioperative core temperature of the patients with abdominal surgery.An inflatable blanket combined with warmed peritoneal lavage fluid achieved the best effectiveness in reduction of the incidence of perioperative hypothermia and shivering.Conclusion This study shows that a combination of inflatable blanket with warmed peritoneal lavage fluid/warmed intravenous infusion can achieve the best effectiveness on intervention of perioperative hypothermia in patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly malignant solid tumor of the digestive system, characterized by rapid progression and difficulties of early diagnosis. Five-year survival rate of the patients is less than 9%. With the acceleration of global population aging and lifestyle change, the incidence of PDAC has been increasing annually. Currently, surgical treatment and chemotherapy remain the standard treatment options for PDAC patients. Early symptoms of PDAC are so undetectable that most patients miss the optimal opportunity for radical surgical resection. Even among those who undergo surgery, the high recurrence rate remains a major problem. PDAC is known for its unique tumor microenvironment. The cellular and non-cellular components in the tumor microenvironment account for as much as 90% of the tumor stroma, presenting many potential targets for PDAC therapy. Activated pancreatic stellate cells within PDAC tissue express specific proteins and secrete various cytokines and metabolites, which directly contribute to the proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of PDAC cells. These elements are critical in extracellular matrix production, connective tissue hyperplasia, immune tolerance, and drug resistance. Immune cells, such as macrophages and neutrophils, exert immunosuppressive and tumor-promoting roles in PDAC progression. The extracellular matrix, which serve as a natural physical barrier, induces interstitial hypertension and reduces blood supply, thereby hindering the delivery of drugs to the tumor. Additionally, it helps the metastasis and differentiation of PDAC cells, reducing the efficacy of clinical chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Although chemotherapeutic agents like gemcitabine have been used in the clinical treatment of PDAC for more than 20 years, the curative effect is obstructed by their poor stability in the bloodstream, low cellular uptake, and poor targeting. While small-molecule inhibitors targeting mutations such as KRAS^G12C, BRCA, and NTRK fusion have shown great potential for molecular targeted treatments and gene therapies of PDAC, their broader application is limited by side effects and restricted scope of patients. The advancement of nanotechnology brings new strategies for PDAC treatment. By virtue of unique size characteristics and actual versatility, different drug-delivery nanosystems contribute to overcome the dense stromal barrier, prolong the circulation time of therapeutics and realize precise PDAC treatment by targeted drug delivery. Clinical nanodrugs such as albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) and irinotecan liposome greatly improve the pharmacokinetics of conventional chemotherapeutics and promote drug accumulation inside the tumor, thereby are applying to the first-line treatment of PDAC. It is noteworthy that none nanodrugs with active targeting design have been approved for clinical treatment yet, though many are in clinical trials. In this review, we discuss promising targeting strategies based on different nanodrug delivery systems for treatment of PDAC. One major nanostrategy focuses on the tumor cell targeting and its applications in chemotherapy, molecular targeting therapy, gene therapy, and immunotherapy of PDAC. Another nanostrategy targets the tumor microenvironment, which highlights the nanosystems specifically regulating pancreatic stellate cells, immune cells and the extracellular matrix. Recent progress of developing new nanotheraputics for breakthrough in the fight of PDAC are elaborated in this review. We also provide our perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in the field.

DNA genetic markers have always played important roles in individual identification, kinship analysis, ancestry inference and phenotype characterization in the field of forensic medicine. DNA methylation has unique advantages in biological age inference, body fluid identification and prediction of phenotypes. The majority of current studies independently examine DNA and DNA methylation markers using various workflows, and they use various analytical procedures to interpret the biological information these two markers present. Integrated methods detect DNA and DNA methylation markers simultaneously through a single experimental workflow using the same preparation of sample. Therefore, they can effectively reduce consumption of time and cost, streamline experimental procedures, and preserve valuable DNA samples taken from crime scenes. In this paper, the integrated detection approaches of DNA and DNA methylation markers on different detection platforms were reviewed. In order to convert methylation modifications to detectable forms, several options were available for pretreatment of genomic DNA, including digestion with methylation-sensitive restriction enzyme, affinity enrichment of methylated fragments, conversion of methylated or unmethylated cytosine. Multiplexed primers can be designed for DNA markers and converted DNA methylation markers for co-amplification. The schemes of using capillary electrophoresis platform for integrated detection add the pretreatment of genomic DNA on the basis of detecting DNA genetic markers. DNA and DNA methylation markers are then integrated by co-amplification. But the limited number of fluorescent options available and the length of amplicons restrict the type and quantity of markers that can be integrated into a panel. Pyrophosphate sequencing also supports integrated detection of DNA and DNA methylation markers. On this platform, due to the conversion of unmethylated cytosine to thymine after treatment with bisulfite, the methylation level of CpG site can be directly calculated using the peak height ratio of cytosine bases and thymine bases. Therefore, the methylation levels and SNP typing can be simultaneously obtained. However, due to the limited read length of sequencing, the detection of markers with longer amplicons is restricted. It is not conducive to fully interpret the complete information of the target sequence. Next-generation sequencing also supports integrated detection of DNA and DNA methylation markers. A preliminary experimental process including DNA extraction, pretreatment of genomic DNA, co-preparation of DNA and DNA methylation library and co-sequencing, has been formed based on the next-generation sequencing platform. It confirmed the feasibility of next-generation sequencing technology for integrated detection of DNA and DNA methylation markers. In field of biomedicine, various integrated detection schemes and corresponding data analysis approaches of DNA and DNA genetic markers developed based on the above detection process.Co-analysis can simultaneously obtain the genomic genetic and epigenetic information through a single analytic process. These schemes suggest that next-generation sequencing may be an effective method for achieving more accurate and highly integrated detection, helping to explore the potential for application in forensic biological samples. We finally explore the impact of interactions between sites and different pretreatment methods on the integrated detection of DNA and DNA methylation markers, and also propose the challenge of applying third-generation sequencing for integrated detection in forensic samples.