Application of Antithrombotic Drugs in Different Age-Group Patients with Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

Objective: This study aimed at exploring the safety and timing of antithrombotic drugs in different age-group patients with UGIB. Methods: An observational study retrospectively based on the single-center database with 713 patients with UGIB. Result: Among the 713 patients, 62.13% were elderly patients (aged > 60 years) and the mortality was 2.9%. In elderly patients with UGIB, we found that previous medication history, resumption of medication, and time of resumption did not affect the in-hospital mortality. The resumption of anticoagulants increased the risk of rebleeding. The independent risk factors of mortality were CHF, cirrhosis, creatine kinase, and albumin. The independent risk factors of rebleeding were the application of anticoagulants during hospitalization, variceal bleeding, black stool, red blood cells (lab), platelets (lab), and heart rate. Conclusions: In UGIB patients, a history of antiplatelet or antithrombotic drugs and the use of antiplatelet drugs after UGIB did not affect the patient's prognosis. In elderly UGIB patients, although antithrombotic drugs did not increase the risk of death, the increased risk of rebleeding after resumption of use deserved careful treatment. It was safe to recover anticoagulant drugs as soon as possible in young UGIB patients.

Can the prosocial benefits of episodic simulation transfer to different people and situational contexts?

Previous research has found that episodic simulation of events of helping others can effectively enhance intentions to help the same person involved and the identical situational context as the imagined scenarios. This 'prosocial simulation effect' is argued to reflect, at least in part, associative memory mechanisms whereby the simulation is reactivated when in the same situation as that imagined. However, to date, no study has examined systematically whether this 'prosocial simulation effect' can be transferred to response scenarios involving different people and/or situational contexts to the imagined scenarios, and if so, whether the degree of overlap with the imagined helping episode modulated the transfer effect. Across two experiments, we systematically varied the overlap of the simulated and response scenarios, both in terms of the persons in need and/or the situational contexts, and whether would influence the magnitude of prosocial simulation effect. Results from both experiments showed that the prosocial simulation effect can be transferred to response scenarios involving different people and situational contexts to the simulated scenarios. However, this finding was primarily driven by response scenarios that had a high degree of overlap to the simulated scenarios. The application of our findings to the practical implementation of simulation to promote prosociality in the real world is discussed.

Mechanism of catalpol regulating Th17 cell differentiation by interfering PKM2/LDHA expression / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism of catalpol affecting the differentiation of helper T cell 17 （Th17） by interfering the expressions of pyruvate kinase M2 （PKM2） and lactate dehydrogenase A （LDHA）. METHODS The naive CD4+ T cells were selected from the spleen of C57BL/6 mice， and were differentiated into Th17 cells by adding directional differentiation stimulants for 72 hours. At the same time， the cells were treated with 0 （directed control）， 20， 40 and 80 μg/mL catalpol. The flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of Th17 cell differentiation in cells； the colorimetric method was adopted to detect the levels of pyruvate and lactate in cell culture supernatant； mRNA expressions of retinoid-related orphan nuclear receptor gamma t （RORγt）， PKM2 and LDHA were detected by qRT-PCR method； Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of PKM2， LDHA， signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3）， and phosphorylated STAT3 （p-STAT3） proteins in cells. RESULTS Compared with the directed control group， after 72 hours of treatment with 20， 40， 80 μg/mL catalpol， the differentiation ratio of Th17 cells were decreased by 6.74%， 8.41%， 9.24%， and the levels of pyruvate and lactate in the cell culture supernatant， the mRNA expressions of PKM2， LDHA and RORγt as well as the protein expressions of PKM2 and LDHA and the phosphorylation of STAT3 were significantly reduced （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Catalpol can reduce the glycolysis level by down-regulating the expressions of PKM2 and LDHA， thereby inhibiting the differentiation of Th17 cells.

SAVE Testis-sparing score: a multicenter retrospective study of a novel predictive tool for quantifying testicular tumors.

BACKGROUND: Testis-sparing surgery (TSS) is a safe treatment for patients with benign testicular tumors. Presently, assessments for evaluating the suitability of TSS are poorly standardized, partially because testicular anatomical elements cannot be quantitatively described. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors developed a scoring method known as the SAVE testis-sparing score based on four critical and accessible anatomical features of a testicular tumor. The SAVE score ranges from 0 to 8 and is divided into four risk classes ( low , medium , high , and extremely high ) to evaluate the feasibility of TSS, wherein low-risk indicates high feasibility and vice versa. This study included 444 testicular tumor patients from eight centers. Among them, 216 patients (model group: 151 patients, validation group: 65 patients) were included in the modeling analysis, and the other 228 patients from children's centers were included in the proportion analysis. Using retrospective data, patient characteristics associated with surgical methods were identified. Furthermore, a multivariate logistic regression model was built quantify the associations between these characteristics and the surgery method. The receiver operator characteristic curve was used to evaluate the classification efficiency of SAVE. RESULTS: The SAVE testis-sparing score includes size (tumor size as maximal diameter), available testicular tissue volume, volume ratio of the tumor to the testis, and the exophytic / endophytic properties of the tumor. The SAVE scoring system accurately classified the suitability of TSS based on the complexity of benign testicular tumors. CONCLUSION: The SAVE score is a reproducible and robust tool for quantitatively describing the anatomical characteristics of benign testicular tumors and guide the preoperative evaluation of TSS.

Single-Port Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy with the Novel Shurui Single-Port Robotic Surgical System.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the safety and efficacy of radical prostatectomy with a novel Shurui single-port (SR-SP) robotic surgical system. Methods: A total of 11 patients with prostate cancer were enrolled in this study. Extraperitoneal radical prostatectomy was performed using the SR-SP robotic surgical system for all patients. Clinicopathologic data, perioperative data, and short-term surgical outcomes were prospectively collected and analyzed. Results: Of the 11 patients, the median age was 65 years (range 52-73), and the median body mass index was 22.6 kg/m2 (range 20.2-26.7). The median operative time was 229 minutes (range 194-317), and the median console time was 167 minutes (range 141-265). The median blood loss was 40 mL (range 10-120), and none of the patients required intraoperative transfusion. There was no conversion to open surgery during the operation, and no assistant ports were added. The surgeons reported a good task load rating with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) score of 25.1 ± 3.3 points. The median postoperative hospital stay time was 7 days (range 4-15). There were no severe intraoperative or postoperative complications (Clavien grade ≥3). Postoperative positive surgical margin occurred in 4 (36.4%) patients. No biochemical recurrence occurred within 1 month of surgery. The continence rate was 72.7% (8/11) 1 month after surgery. Conclusions: The new SR-SP robotic surgical system is safe, effective, flexible, and stable for application in radical prostatectomy.

Inverted U Waves-Red Flags in Electrocardiograms.

This case report presents the electrocardiogram findings of a patient in their 50s with intermittent compression-like pain in the chest and a history of hypertension and diabetes.

Machine Learning Prediction of Hydration Free Energy with Physically Inspired Descriptors.

We present machine learning models for predicting experimental hydration free energies of molecules without any atom-, bond-, or geometry-specific input feature. Four types of physically inspired descriptors are adopted for predictions. The first type is composed of the total dipole moment, anisotropic polarizability, and vibrational analysis results of the solute molecule. The second and third types are derived from the electrostatic potential distribution of the solute. The last type includes the solvent accessible surface area and shape similarities. Several machine learning regression models are built on the basis of the FreeSolv database with ∼600 samples, showing a better performance in comparison with that of most traditional approaches and other prediction methods based on molecular fingerprints. In particular, the present descriptors are capable of predicting hydration free energies of new compounds with elements or fragments that are never seen in the training set. The importance of these descriptors, the impact of dissociation energies of specific covalent bonds, and the outliers with relatively large prediction errors are also discussed.

Preliminary Experience of Partial Nephrectomy Through a New Single-Port Surgical Robot System.

Purpose: To explore the preliminary safety and efficacy of the Shurui single-port (SP) surgical robot in partial nephrectomy (PN). Methods: This study prospectively enrolled patients with T1a renal tumors who met the inclusion criteria from February to July 2022 in The First Affiliated Hospital School of Medicine Zhejiang University. The operative outcomes and perioperative data, including clinical and histological data, were prospectively collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 13 patients were included in this study, including 7 males and 6 females. The median age was 53 (33-74) years, and the average body mass index was 24.9 ± 4.2 kg/m2. There were 6 cases of left kidney tumors and 7 cases of right kidney tumors in the 13 patients. The average tumor diameter was 1.9 ± 0.9 cm. In all operations, the diseased tissue was removed according to the established surgical plan. The average warm ischemia time was 26.2 ± 9.7 minutes; the average device docking time was 3.6 ± 1.8 minutes; and the average robotic arm operation time was 124.7 ± 40.4 minutes. All operations were successfully completed; there was no conversion to open surgery during the operation; and no operation holes were added. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) score was 26.3 ± 2.6 points, and no device-related adverse events occurred during the operation. The median time to discharge was 6 days (range, 4-11 days). Postoperative pathological examination showed that all tumor margins were negative. There were no Clavien grade ≥3 surgical complications in any of the patients during the perioperative period or at the 1-month postoperative follow-up. Conclusion: The new SP surgical robot system is safe, effective, flexible, and stable for application in PN.

Clinical analysis of different parts of medullary infarction / 中华神经科杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical, imaging, etiological and prognostic features of patients with infarctions in different locations of the medulla oblongata.Methods:Patients with acute medullary infarction hospitalized at Tianjin Huanhu Hospital from July 2017 to July 2022 were included. The risk factors, clinical manifestation, stroke mechanism and 90-day prognosis of these patients were analyzed retrospectively.Results:Among the 256 patients enrolled, 150 (58.6%) had lateral medullary infarction (LMI), 106 (41.4%) had medial medullary infarction (MMI). The most frequent clinical manifestation of patients with LMI was dizziness (84.7%,127/150). And motor disorders (83.0%,88/106) was the most frequent clinical manifestation of patients with MMI. LMI lesions were mostly located in the middle (42.7%,64/150) and MMI lesions were mostly located in the upper (60.4%,64/106) medulla oblongata, with statistically significant difference (χ 2=47.53, P<0.001). Large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) was the main stroke mechanism in LMI and MMI [57.3%(86/150) vs 56.6%(60/106)]. Early neurological deterioration was more common in MMI (25.5%,27/106) and less common in LMI (7.3%,11/150), with statistically significant difference (χ 2=16.17, P<0.001). At discharge, more patients with MMI showed poor prognosis in short term [45.3% (48/106) vs 24.0% (36/150), with statistically significant difference (χ 2=12.76, P<0.001)] and even long term at 90-day follow-up [33.0% (35/106) vs 12.7% (19/150), also with statistically significant difference (χ 2=15.48, P<0.001)] than those with LMI. A total of 10 patients (4.0%, 10/256) developed respiratory failure during hospitalization, including 7 patients with LMI (4.7%, 7/150) and 3 patients with bilateral MMI (2.8%,3/106). Early neurological deterioration ( OR=3.38, 95% CI 1.25-9.10, P=0.016) and LAA (compared with small artery occlusion) ( OR=3.08, 95% CI 1.13-8.37, P=0.028) were independent risk factors for poor prognosis in MMI. Age ( OR=1.01, 95% CI 1.01-1.17, P=0.026) and early neurological deterioration ( OR=20.19, 95% CI=2.63-155.06, P=0.004) were independently correlated with poor outcome in LMI. Conclusions:LMI and MMI had similar etiology and significant differences in clinical manifestations, early neurological deterioration and prognosis. Further classification of medullary infarction was of great significance for diagnosis, treatment and prognosis evaluation.

Effect of mycophenolate mofetil alleviates carbon tetrachloride-induced liver fibrosis in mice / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVES@#Hepatic fibrosis is a serious pathological consequence of chronic liver disease. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is a commonly used immunosuppressant after organ transplant. However, the relationship between MMF and hepatic fibrosis remains unclear. This study aims to explore the effect of MMF on hepatic fibrosis in mice and the potential mechanism.@*METHODS@#A total of 24 mice (male, 8-week old, C57BL/6) were randomly divided into a control group, a MMF group, a carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) group and a CCl4+MMF group (n=6 in each group). After the mice were sacrificed, the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were detected. The liver tissues were taken up for Masson staining and collagen I (COL1) immunohistochemistry. The levels of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were detected by Western blotting. Finally, the levels of mRNA for TGF-β1, α-SMA, and COL1 were detected using real-time PCR.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the CCl4 group, the ALT and AST levels were lower (both P<0.05), the degree of liver fibrosis was alleviated, and the deposition of COL1 in the liver was significantly decreased (P<0.01) in the CCl4+MMF group. Compared with the CCl4 group, the protein expression levels of TGF-β1 and α-SMA were significantly decreased (both P<0.05) and the relative expression levels of TGF-β1, α-SMA and COL1 mRNA in the liver were significantly decreased (all P<0.05) in the CCl4+MMF.@*CONCLUSIONS@#MMF could reduce CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis, which might be related to the inhibition of TGF-β1. This study is expected to provide a target for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.

Ethics considerations on brain-computer interface technology / 生物医学工程学杂志

The development and potential application of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology is closely related to the human brain, so that the ethical regulation of BCI has become an important issue attracting the consideration of society. Existing literatures have discussed the ethical norms of BCI technology from the perspectives of non-BCI developers and scientific ethics, while few discussions have been launched from the perspective of BCI developers. Therefore, there is a great need to study and discuss the ethical norms of BCI technology from the perspective of BCI developers. In this paper, we present the user-centered and non-harmful BCI technology ethics, and then discuss and look forward on them. This paper argues that human beings can cope with the ethical issues arising from BCI technology, and as BCI technology develops, its ethical norms will be improved continuously. It is expected that this paper can provide thoughts and references for the formulation of ethical norms related to BCI technology.

Efficacy of oral nystatin treatment for patients with oral mucosal dysesthesia but without objective oral mucosal manifestations and necessity of Candida culture test before oral nystatin treatment.

Background/purpose: Previous studies have shown that some of the patients with oral mucosal dysesthesia but without objective oral mucosal manifestations (so-called oral dysesthesia patients in this study) may have good responses to oral nystatin treatment. This study evaluated the efficacy of oral nystatin treatment for oral dysesthesia patients and the necessity of Candida culture test before oral nystatin treatment. Materials and methods: The 147 oral dysesthesia patients were divided into 3 groups: Candida culture (+) group (n = 29), Candida culture (-) group (n = 34), and without Candida culture test group (n = 84), and treated with oral nystatin. The pain improvement was evaluated by the reduction of numeric pain rating scale (NRS) and global perceived effects (GPE). We defined the GPE score ≥4 points as a great improvement. Results: We found that 44.8% of 29 patients in the Candida culture (+) group, 47.1% of 34 patients in the Candida culture (-) group, and 47.6% of 84 patients in the without Candida culture test group showed a significant reduction in the NRS score and achieved a great improvement after oral nystatin treatment for 1-4 weeks. Moreover, 72.4% of our 29 patients with Candida culture test achieved a great improvement within one week, and all the 29 patients achieved a great improvement within 4 weeks of oral nystatin treatment. Conclusion: A portion of our oral dysesthesia patients are infected by Candida and it is beneficial to our patients to use oral nystatin treatment before the Candida culture test.

Ascorbic acid induced TET2 enzyme activation enhances cancer immunotherapy efficacy in renal cell carcinoma.

Exploring the regulatory mechanism of PD-L1 in renal cancer is one of the key strategies to improve the response of renal cancer patients to checkpoint blockade therapy. In this study, the synergistic effect of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) supplementation and the impact of TET2 depletion on anti-PD-L1 therapy were determined in xenograft model experiments. Lymphocyte infiltration and chemokine expression were determined using flow cytometry and qRT-PCR. To determine the downstream targets of TET2, we performed hMeDip-seq and RNA-seq analyses. The molecular mechanism was further confirmed by hMeDip-qPCR, MeDip-qPCR, bisulfite sequencing, Western blotting, qRT-PCR and xenograft model experiments in vitro and in vivo. The present study demonstrated that ascorbic acid enhanced the efficacy of immunotherapy and that the loss of TET2 function enabled renal cancer cells to evade antitumor immunity. Ascorbic acid treatment significantly increased the intratumoral infiltration of T cells and the expression of cytokines and chemokines, while the loss of TET2 impaired the infiltration of T cells and the expression of cytokines and chemokines. TET2 was recruited to IRF1 by IFN-γ-STAT1 signaling, thereby maintaining IRF1 demethylation and ultimately inducing PD-L1 expression. These results suggest a new strategy of stimulating TET activity to improve immunotherapy for renal cell carcinoma.

MiR-182-5p inhibits the tumorigenesis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma by repressing UBE2T.

Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2T (UBE2T), a member of the E2 family, has been reported to be overexpressed in certain tumor types and to have an important role in the Fanconi anemia pathway. However, the role of UBE2T in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) has not been clarified. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) participate in tumorigenesis by binding to genes and proteins that regulate cell proliferation or cell apoptosis. The aim of this study was to determine the role of UBE2T and the relationship between miR-182-5p and UBE2T in ccRCC. In the present study, UBE2T expression levels in ccRCC tissues and cells were assessed using real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blotting. UBE2T protein expression was assessed in a total of 93 ccRCC patients from Peking University First Hospital (PKU) via immunohistochemistry (IHC). The effects of UBE2T knockdown on ccRCC cells were assessed with MTS assays, wound healing assays, Transwell invasion assays and flow cytometry. The effects of in vivo treatment were evaluated through xenograft experiments. The relationship between miR-182-5p and UBE2T was verified with a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. We found that UBE2T was highly expressed in ccRCC cells and tissues. High UBE2T expression was positively correlated with advanced pathological stage, histological grade, maximum tumor diameter and distant metastasis. Multivariate analysis revealed that UBE2T expression was an independent risk factor for overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with ccRCC. Knockdown of UBE2T significantly suppressed RCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Flow cytometry analysis showed that UBE2T knockdown promoted RCC cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase and increased cell apoptosis. The xenograft model confirmed that suppression of UBE2T significantly delayed tumor formation and growth in vivo. In addition, miR-182-5p inhibited UBE2T protein expression by targeting UBE2T mRNA and then inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of ccRCC cell. Our research reveals that UBE2T likely plays a critical role in ccRCC progression and may be a potential therapeutic target for ccRCC.

Prediction of Early Recurrence After R0 Resection for Gallbladder Carcinoma of Stage T1b-T3.

PURPOSE: The time-to-tumor recurrence can predict the prognosis of hepatobiliary cancers following curative-intent resection. Therefore, for patients with gallbladder carcinoma (GBC) of stage T1b-T3 who had undergone R0 resection, we investigated the risk factors for early recurrence of GBC and their prognosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 260 patients with GBC with T1b-T3 disease and an R0 margin were identified. Their clinicopathologic characteristics, perioperative details and prognostic data were reviewed. Survival analyses were carried out using the Kaplan-Meier method. Logistic regression models were used to identify the risk factors for early recurrence. RESULTS: The optimal cutoff for early recurrence was 29 months. Early recurrence tended to result in relapse far from the primary tumor, and such patients tended to have significantly worse overall survival. Multivariate analysis revealed that T3 disease, N1/N2 stage, poor differentiation of tumor, and lymphovascular invasion (LI) were associated with a greater risk of early recurrence. Patients diagnosed as having GBC incidentally and who had the risk factors of early recurrence were more likely to benefit from re-resection 2-4 weeks after a cholecystectomy. CONCLUSION: T3 stage, N1-N2 stage, poor differentiation, and LI were independent risk factors associated with early recurrence for patients with GBC with stage T1b-T3 disease after R0 resection.

The effect of aspirin in patients with nonvaricose upper gastrointestinal bleeding and risk factors analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to explore the effect of aspirin on the in-hospital mortality of patients with NVUGIB. METHODS: An observational study retrospectively examined 1514 patients with NVUGIB based on a multi-center database. RESULT: Our study reported a mortality rate of 4.8% in patients with NVUGIB, with 163 patients had a history of aspirin. Among 163 patients with an aspirin history, 76 patients (46.6%) continued to take aspirin in the hospital, with an average duration of 0.66 days after bleeding. Subsequent multivariate regression analysis showed heart rate (p <.001, OR = 0.978, 95%CI 0.969-0.987) and albumin (p =.019, OR = 0.658, 95%CI 0.464-0.933) were independent factors for aspirin-therapy after bleeding. Patients who received aspirin after NVUGIB (log-rank = 3.968, p =.046) had better survival than those who did not, but it was not an independent risk factor. The levels of albumin (p < .001, OR = 0.288, 95%CI 0.165-0.505) and INR (p =.013, OR = 1.166, 95%CI 1.033-1.316) and heart rate (p =.005, OR = 1.017, 95%CI 1.005-1.029) were independent factors of in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality in patients with NVUGIB were albumin and INR and heart rate. The history of aspirin and the aspirin therapy after the bleeding did not affect the in-hospital mortality in patients with NVUGIB.