Vulvovaginal candidiasis（VVC）is an opportunistic infection of the vaginal mucosa mainly caused by Candida albicans， which is the second most common vaginal infection other than bacterial vaginosis. The azole antifungal agent fluconazole is the drug of the first choice for treatment of VVC. With the widespread and non-standard use in clinical practice，the resistance of Candida albicans to fluconazole is on the rise. This article reviews the mechanisms of vaginal Candida vaginalis resistance to fluconazole，including the target mutations or high expression of drug action-related genes，the overexpression of drug efflux pump，the regulation of stress response，and the formation of biofilms，in order to provide information for a new strategy of VVC treatment.

Objective To explore the effect and mechanism of miR-208b-3p on energy metabolism in mice with heart failure(HF)induced by transverse aortic constriction(TAC).Methods Twenty-four mice were randomly divided into sham operation group(Sham group,n=6)and surgery group(n=18).TAC was used to establish an HF model in the surgical group,the sham group received the same surgical procedures as TAC,but no ligation of the transverse aortic arc.At the second week after TAC,the surgery group was randomly divided into Antagomir group(n=6),Antagomir-NC group(n=6)and TAC group(n=6).The mice of the Antagomir group and the Antagomir-NC group were injected with miR-208b-3p antagomir reagent(800 μg)and miR-208b-3p antagomir negative control reagent(800 μg),respectively by tail vein,twice a week,for 4 consecutive weeks.Echocardiography was performed at the 6th week after surgery to evaluate the cardiac function.HE staining and Sirius red staining were used to observe myocardial histopathology in mice.ATP assay was employed to detect the ATP level in myocardial tissues.RT-qPCR was applied to detect the expression of miR-208b-3p,mitochondrial genes(ND1,ND2,ND3,ND4,ND4L,ND5,ND6,CO1,CO2,CO3,CYTB,ATP6 and ATP8),POLRMT and 12S rRNA in myocardial tissues.Double luciferase reporter assay was conducted to detect the interaction between miR-208b-3p and the potential target gene POLRMT.Western blotting was utilized to detect the changes in the protein levels of POLRMT and ND1,CO2,CYTB and ATP8 in myocardial tissues.Results The expression of miR-208b-3p was significantly higher in myocardial tissues of the TAC group than the Sham group(P＜0.05).Echocardiography revealed that the ejection fraction,systolic and diastolic functions were significantly improved in the Antagomir group than the TAC group(P＜0.05).Pathological observation showed significantly improved cardiomyocyte hypertrophy,arrangement disorder and myocardial interstititial cell infiltration in the Antagomir group(P＜0.05).Compared with the TAC group,the ATP level was significantly increased(P＜0.05),the expression levels of POLRMT and mitochondrial gene transcripts(12SrRNA and 13 mitochondrial gene-coding polypeptides)were significantly increased(P＜0.05),but there were no changes in SDHA and SDHB levels in the Antagomir group.Double luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-208b-3p bound to the CDS region of POLRMT.The protein levels of POLRMT,ND1,CO2,CYTB and ATP8 were significantly increased in the myocardial tissues in the Antagomir group than the TAC group(P＜0.05).Conclusion MiR-208b-3p inhibits the expression of mitochondrial genes by targeting POLRMT,aggravates mitochondrial energy metabolism disorder,and deteriorates cardiac insufficiency and ventricular remodeling in HF mice.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the development present situation of the department of critical care medicine in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (hereinafter referred to as Inner Mongolia), in order to promote the standardized and homogeneous development of critical care medicine in Inner Mongolia, and also provide a reference for discipline construction and resource allocation. METHODS: A survey study was conducted in comprehensive intensive care unit (ICU) of tertiary and secondary hospitals in Inner Mongolia by online questionnaire survey and telephone data verification. The questionnaire was based on the Guidelines for the Construction and Management of Intensive Care Units (Trial) (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines) issued by the National Health Commission in 2009 and the development trend of the discipline. The questionnaire covered six aspects, including hospital basic information, ICU basic information, personnel allocation, medical quality management, technical skill and equipment configuration. The questionnaire was distributed in September 2022, and it was filled out by the discipline leaders or department heads of each hospital. RESULTS: As of October 24, 2022, a total of 101 questionnaires had been distributed, 85 questionnaires had been recovered, and the questionnaire recovery rate had reached 84.16%, of which 71 valid questionnaires had been collected in a total of 71 comprehensive ICU. (1) There were noticeable regional differences in the distribution of comprehensive ICU in Inner Mongolia, with a relatively weak distribution in the east and west, and the overall distribution was uneven. The development of critical care medicine in Inner Mongolia was still lacking. (2) Basic information of hospitals: the population and economy restricted the development of ICU. The average number of comprehensive ICU beds in the western region was only half of that in the central region (beds: 39.0 vs. 86.0), and the average number of ICU beds in the eastern region was in the middle (83.6 beds), which was relatively uneven. (3) Basic information of ICU: among the 71 comprehensive ICU surveyed, there were 44 tertiary hospitals and 27 secondary hospitals. The ratio of ICU beds to total beds in tertiary hospitals was significantly lower than that in secondary hospitals [(1.59±0.81)% vs. (2.11±1.07)%, P < 0.05], which were significantly lower than the requirements of the Guidelines of 2%-8%. The utilization rate of ICU in tertiary and secondary hospitals [(63.63±22.40)% and (44.65±20.66)%, P < 0.01] were both lower than the bed utilization rate required by the Guidelines (75% should be appropriate). (4) Staffing of ICU: there were 376 doctors and 1 117 nurses in tertiary hospitals, while secondary hospitals had 122 doctors and 331 nurses. There were significant differences in the composition ratio of the titles of doctors, the degree of doctors, and the titles of nurses between tertiary and secondary hospitals (all P < 0.05). Most of the doctors in tertiary hospitals had intermediate titles (attending physicians accounted for 41.49%), while most of the doctors in secondary hospitals had junior titles (resident physicians accounted for 43.44%). The education level of doctors in tertiary hospitals was generally higher than that in secondary hospitals (doctors: 2.13% vs. 0, masters: 37.24% vs. 8.20%). The proportion of nurses in tertiary hospitals was significantly lower than that in secondary hospitals (17.01% vs. 24.47%). The ratio of ICU doctors/ICU beds [(0.64±0.27)%, (0.59±0.34)%] and ICU nurses/ICU beds [(1.76±0.56)%, (1.51±0.48)%] in tertiary and secondary hospitals all failed to meet the requirements above 0.8 : 1 and 3 : 1 of the Guidelines. (5) Medical quality management of ICU: compared with secondary hospitals, the proportion of one-to-one drug-resistant bacteria care in tertiary hospitals (65.91% vs. 40.74%), multimodal analgesia and sedation (90.91% vs. 66.67%), and personal digital assistant (PDA) barcode scanning (43.18% vs. 14.81%) were significantly higher (all P < 0.05). (6) Technical skills of ICU: in terms of technical skills, the proportion of bronchoscopy, blood purification, jejunal nutrition tube placement and bedside ultrasound projects carried out in tertiary hospitals were higher than those in secondary hospitals (84.09% vs. 48.15%, 88.64% vs. 48.15%, 61.36% vs. 55.56%, 88.64% vs. 70.37%, all P < 0.05). Among them, the placement of jejunal nutrition tube, bedside ultrasound and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were mainly completed independently in tertiary hospitals, while those in secondary hospitals tended to be completed in cooperation. (7) Equipment configuration of ICU: in terms of basic equipment, the ratio of the total number of ventilators/ICU beds in tertiary and secondary hospitals [0.77% (0.53%, 1.07%), 0.88% (0.63%, 1.38%)], and the ratio of injection pump/ICU beds [1.70% (1.00%, 2.56%), 1.25% (0.75%, 1.88%)] didn't meet the requirements of the Guidelines. The equipment ratio was insuffcient, which means that the basic needs of development had not been met yet. CONCLUSIONS The development of comprehensive ICU in Inner Mongolia has tended to mature, but there is still a certain gap in the development scale, personnel ratio and instruments and equipment compared with the Guidelines. Moreover, the comprehensive ICU appears the characteristics of relatively weak eastern and western regions, and the overall distribution is uneven. Therefore, it is necessary to increase efforts to invest in the construction of the department of critical care medicine.
Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Critical Care ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tertiary Care Centers ; China

New drug discovery is under growing pressure to satisfy the demand from a wide range of domains, especially from the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare services. Assessment of drug efficacy and safety prior to human clinical trials is a crucial part of drug development, which deserves greater emphasis to reduce the cost and time in drug discovery. Recent advances in microfabrication and tissue engineering have given rise to organ-on-a-chip, an in vitro model capable of recapitulating human organ functions in vivo and providing insight into disease pathophysiology, which offers a potential alternative to animal models for more efficient pre-clinical screening of drug candidates. In this review, we first give a snapshot of general considerations for organ-on-a-chip device design. Then, we comprehensively review the recent advances in organ-on-a-chip for drug screening. Finally, we summarize some key challenges of the progress in this field and discuss future prospects of organ-on-a-chip development. Overall, this review highlights the new avenue that organ-on-a-chip opens for drug development, therapeutic innovation, and precision medicine.

Objective:The characteristics of women with false elevated testosterone were analyze and the literature was reviewed to provide reference for clinical laboratory identification of false elevated testosterone.Methods:The characteristics of three patients with false elevated testosterone in Peking Union Medical College Hospital were analyzed retrospectively, and the results of different detection platforms and methods for the determination of testosterone levels were compared. International and domestic literatures related to false elevation of testosterone and detection methods of testosterone were searched for a comprehensive analysis from PUBMED and CNKI.Results:The levels of testosterone in 3 female patients were elevated by immunoassay and normal by mass spectrometry. They were excluded from the diagnosis of hyperandrogenemia. A total of 38 literatures related to testosterone detection were retrieved, of which 9 case reports of pseudohyperandrogenemia, among which 12 cases of pseudohyperandrogenemia were reported in 2 domestic literatures in 2021. All cases were confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Previous studies have clearly indicated that the result of routine immunoassay in clinical laboratory for the determination of female testosterone have poor correlation with the results of LC-MS/MS, with varying degrees of deviation.Conclusions:Immunoassay tests for female testosterone is susceptible to interference and lead to elevated false results. It is suggested that clinical laboratories evaluate the detection methods used and establish a identification program, and confirm samples with suspected pseudoelevated testosterone elevation using other immune platforms or LC-MS/MS.

OBJECTIVE：To evaluate the current situation and implementation effect of the pilot project of electronic prescription and remote pharmaceutical care in social pharmacy from the perspective of consumers ，and to provide reference for improving and optimizating the electronic prescription and remote pharmaceutical care in social pharmacy. METHODS ：Totally 264 consumers in 6 counties and 36 drugstores of Chengdu were randomly selected for the questionnaire survey. Descriptive statistics were conducted by using SPSS 23.0 software. Compare the distribution and differences of various. The influential factors in consumer satisfaction based on χ2 test and ordinal multiple Logistic regression analysis. Consumers were randomly selected for semi-structured interviews. Text analysis was conducted by Nvivo 12.0 software to refine the problem of this service . RESULTS ：A total of 271 questionnaires were distributed to consumers in various districts of Chengdu ，and 264 valid questionnaires were collected，with an effective recovery rate of 97.4％. Among 264 respondents，178（67.9％）knew about electronic prescription and remote pharmaceutical care ；197（74.6％）received electronic prescription and remote pharmaceutical care service in pharmacies ； 202（76.5％）said they needed this service ，and 63（23.9％）expressed that they would like to pay for it. Of the 197 respondents who had received the service ，163（82.2％）were satisfied or very satisfied with the service ，and only one （0.5％）was dissatisfied with the service. Waiting time ，satisfaction of drug demand ，staff attitude ，service platform configuration ，the qualifications of tele-practice pharmacists and service quality were the main influential factors of satisfaction ；while the service also suffered from difficulties in electronic prescription circulation ，inadequate service monitoring measures ，insufficient certification of physicians and pharmacists，cultural lag ，and irregular service processes. CONCLUSIONS ：Electronic prescription and remote pharmaceutical care service in social pharmacy is inadequate in terms of technical level ，institutional design and social acceptance. It is recommended that relevant departments implement incentive policies ，optimize technology ；follow up supporting policies in time ，strengthen supervision；and increase social publicity and supervision ，so as to promote the continuous improvement and long-term development of electronic prescription and remote pharmaceutical care in social pharmacy.

Objectives:To investigate the diagnostic value of whole blood quantitative PCR for DNA load of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) .Methods:A total of 694 patients with hematologic diseases who underwent allo-HSCT at the Hematology Department of Peking University First Hospital from April 2004 to April 2019 were included, and their data were retrospectively analyzed.Results:①Among the 694 cases, 29 cases (22 males and 7 females, with a median age of 22 (1-52) years) developed PTLD after allo-HSCT with a cumulative incidence of 4.2% and a median onset time of 2.1 (0.8-20.6) months. ② Univariate analysis showed that age<30 years, diagnosis with aplastic anemia, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch, use of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) in preconditioning regimens, and EBV reactivation were the risk factors for the occurrence of PTLD. Multivariate analysis showed that EBV reactivation was an independent risk factor for the occurrence of PTLD. ③Further analysis of EBV reactivation cases showed that the peak value of EBV-DNA load was significantly higher in the PTLD group than that in the non-PTLD group ( P<0.001) and the incidence of PTLD increased with the increase of EBV-DNA load. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that PTLD was more likely to be diagnosed when the EBV-DNA load was >1.19×10 6 copies/ml (sensitivity 0.800 and specificity 0.768) . ④All patients with PTLD received rituximab-based treatment, with an overall response rate of 86.2% and an overall survival rate of 54.3%. Conclusion:The PTLD occurrence after allo-HSCT is highly correlated with EBV reactivation, and the higher the EBV-DNA load, the greater the risk of PTLD occurrence. The dynamic monitoring of EBV-DNA load plays an important role in predicting PTLD occurrence.

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effects of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) with FLAG sequential busulfan/cyclophosphamide(Bu/Cy) conditioning regimen for refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. Methods: From February 2012 to June 2017, 21 patients with refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia underwent allo-HSCT with FLAG sequential Bu/Cy conditioning regimen. Transplantation-related complications and clinical outcome were retrospectively analyzed. Results: After conditioning, no hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) and grade Ⅲ hemorrhagic cystitis occurred. 76.2% (16/21) patients had fever with 4 septicemia. One patient died of septic shock before engraftment. Twenty patients achieved neutrophil engraftment with a median time of 13 days (range, 10 to 21 days). Seventeen patients achieved platelet engraftment with a median time of 18 days (range, 9 to 25 days). The cumulative incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) was 39.5%, and 3 patients developed grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ aGVHD. Of 19 patients who survived more than 100 days after transplantation, 4 had local chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). Of 21 patients, the median survival time was 15 months (range, 0.5 to 67 months) post-transplantation. Transplantation-related mortality rate was 28.7%. Leukemia relapse occurred in 4 patients with a median time of 4 months (range, 3 to 8 months) after transplantation. The cumulative relapse rate at 1 year was 21.4%. The 1-year and 3-year overall survival (OS) rates were 60.7% and 54.9% respectively. Log-rank analysis revealed that bone marrow blasts ≥ 20% or extramedullary leukemia before transplantation, poor platelet engraftment and grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ aGVHD were significantly related to shortened OS (P<0.05). Conclusions Allo-HSCT with FLAG sequential Bu/Cy conditioning regimen in patients with refractory/relapsed myeloid leukemia has acceptable transplantation-related risk and relapse rate. The 1-year and 3-year OS rates are comparable with those in remission patients.

BACKGROUND:Transplantation of alogeneic intervertebral disc can be facilitated by the cryopreservation of the intervertebral disc. But the traditional cryopreservation methods always lead to the appearing of ice crystals inside and outside the cels which can cause celular injury. The vitrification method that can avoid the formation of ice crystals have been widely applied in the cryopreservation field. However, only a few reports have assessed the vitrified cryopreservation of the intervertebral disc, and the toxicity of cryoprotectants to the nucleus pulposus cels have not been fuly explored.
OBJECTIVE:To determine the order of toxicity of five commonly used cryoprotectants that are used alone or in combination to rabbit nucleus pulposus cels, and to select the optimal cryoprotectant for the vitrification of the intervertebral disc.
METHODS: We chose five most commonly used cryoprotectants including dimethyl sulphoxide, formamide, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol and glycerol. Then, 5 single commonly used cryoprotectants, 10 mixed agents containing any 2 commonly used cryoprotectants, and 10 mixed agents containing any 3 commonly used cryoprotectants were formulated. Cel viability of nucleus pulposus cels was determined using cel counting kit-8 and fluorescein diacetate/propidium iodide method. Al data obtained were analyzed statisticaly to choose the appropriate combining scheme with less toxicity.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The order of the toxicity of these five commonly used cryoprotectants from low to high was ethylene glycol, glycerol, formamide, dimethyl sulphoxide, and propylene glycol. The toxicity of the combined agents containing two or three commonly used cryoprotectants was lower than that of any commonly used cryoprotectants that were used to formulate them. The toxicity of the mixed agents that contained ethylene glycol or glycerol was lower than that of any other mixed agents. So we can choose the mixed cryoprotectants that contain ethylene glycol and (or) glycerol for the vitrification of the intervertebral disc.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the safety and efficacy of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and secondary acute myelogenous leukemia (MDS-AML) using conditioning regimen with busulfan (Bu) and increased-dose of fludarabine (ID-Flu).

METHODSA total of 49 patients with MDS or MDS-AML were treated by allo-HSCT, the clinical data was analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSAll patients achieved hematopoietic reconstitution. Neutrophil engraftment was at 10 - 22 days (median 13 days), and platelet engraftment was at 8 - 66 days (median 16 days). The cumulative incidences of Ⅱ-Ⅳ degree acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), hemorrhagic cystitis (HC), and hepatic venous occlusive disease (VOD) were 28.6%, 14.3% and 2.0%, respectively. The transplant-related mortality (TRM) was only 4.1% at 100d and 8.2% at 1-92 months of followed-up (median 14 months) period. Overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) was 75.5%, 73.5%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curve showed that 3-year OS and 3-year DFS was (71.1 ± 7.8)%, (66.7 ± 8.3)%, respectively, with a relapse incidence (RI) 16.3%. OS for MDS and MDS-AML was 81.5% and 68.2%, and RI in two settings was 3.7%, 31.8%, respectively. OS for MDS-AML at complete remission (CR) and non-CR subgroup was 83.3% and 50.0%, respectively, while cumulative RR was 16.7% and 50.0%, respectively. OS and RI except for non-CR subgroup were 82.1% and 7.7%. Univariate analysis showed that pre-HSCT disease status had correlation with OS (P=0.031), but age, decitabine in conditioning regimen, stem cell source, HLA matching, patient-donor gender, dose of mononuclear cells and GVHD had no correlation with OS.

CONCLUSIONBu/ID-Flu conditioning regimen for MDS and MDS-AML has high efficiency, fewer complications, lower toxicity and TRM. The OS and DFS were higher and RI was lower except for refractory MDS-AML patients. The regimen is valuable for clinical application.

Busulfan ; Disease-Free Survival ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; Recurrence ; Remission Induction ; Retrospective Studies ; Tissue Donors ; Transplantation Conditioning ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Vidarabine ; analogs & derivatives