Prevalence and influencing factors of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among clinical nurses in China: A meta-analysis / 环境与职业医学

Background Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) seriously affect work efficiency and quality of life of nurses. Currently, there are significant differences in the published studies on WMSDs in nurses. Objective To systematically evaluate the prevalence of WMSDs among nurses in the mainland of China and analyze its main influencing factors. Methods Eight databases (CNKI, Wanfang data, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase) were selected for searching literature reporting prevalence and influencing factors of WMSDs among clinical nurses in China from inception to December 31, 2022. The literature was included according to a pre-set criteria of inclusion and exclusion. The quality of cross-sectional studies was assessed using the criteria recommended by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the extracted data were analyzed by Stata 15.0 software. A random effect model or a fixed effect model was selected to calculate combined effects based on heterogeneity of included studies. Results A total of 19 studies were included in this meta-analysis, including 14 studies published in Chinese and 5 in English, involving 17852 nurses in total. The estimated prevalence rate of WMSDs since work among clinical nurses in China was 85.5% (95%CI: 79.8%, 91.1%), the estimated annual prevalence rate was 81.0% (95%CI: 75.2%, 86.8%), and the estimated weekly prevalence rate was 65.0% (95%CI: 48.5%, 81.5%). The results of subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence rate of WMSDs among nurses in specific departments of emergency, ICU, and midwifery was 88.6% (95%CI: 82.6%, 94.6%), higher than that among nurses in general departments [79.0% (95%CI: 72.5%, 85.5%)]. The reported prevalence of WMSDs from 2018 to 2022 was 82.2% (95%CI: 75.0%, 89.4%), which was higher than that from 2004 to 2017 [76.8% (95%CI: 67.2%, 86.4%)]. Age >40 years (OR=2.34, 95%CI: 1.69, 3.24), length of service >10 years (OR=2.12, 95%CI: 1.43, 3.15), obesity (OR=2.73, 95%CI: 1.56, 4.77), night shift (OR=2.03, 95%CI: 1.81, 2.28), lifting heavy objects (OR=3.80, 95%CI: 1.79, 8.07), rest during work (OR=0.49, 95%CI: 0.30, 0.83), and bending (OR=3.47, 95%CI: 2.37, 5.08) were influencing factors of WMSDs in nurses. Conclusion The prevalence rate of WMSDs among Chinese nurses is high, and it is increasing year by year. Nurses in specific departments such as emergency, ICU, and midwifery show higher prevalence rates than those in general departments. Age > 40 years, length of service >10 years, obesity, night shifts, lifting heavy objects, and bending are risk factors for WMSDs among nurses, while rest during work is a protective factor. Therefore, early prevention actions should be taken targeting the above factors, such as increasing auxiliary assistance facilities and improving work patterns, so as to reduce the risk of WMSDs.

Clinical effect of integrated prosthesis on eyebrow arch augmentation / 中华医学美学美容杂志

Objective:To explore the feasibility and advantages of integrated prosthesis of expanded polytetra-fluoroethylene (e-PTFE) in eyebrow arch augmentation.Methods:The clinical data of 45 patients with low or flat brow arch and glabellar zone from June 2019 to October 2020 in Chengdu High-tech Zone Xinyuerong Medical Aesthetic Clinic were analyzed retrospectively, in which it included 45 women, whose ages ranged from 20 to 39 years with average 29.8 years. Forty-three cases underwent primary surgery, and 2 cases underwent repair. The e-PTFE was sculpted to be personalized integrated prosthesis according to the shape of the patient's eyebrow arch and glabellar zone. The incision was designed on the medial and lateral sides of the lower margin of the bilateral eyebrow to avoid the supraorbital foramen, and the lacunae were striped under the frontal periosteum, and the two sides were connected to cover the glabellar zone and inverted triangle area between the eyebrows. The carved e-PTFE was implanted into one side and pulled out from the other side. The prosthesis was smoothed by Venn pliers of the ventral and dorsal sides.Results:The 45 patients in this group were followed up for 6-18 months. The incisions of all the patients were healed Ⅰ/A, and the scar of the incisions was concealed. Slight scalp numbness occurred in 4 patients and returned to normal 3 months later. The prosthesis in the glabellar zone appeared in 1 case 3 months after operation and returned to normal after reoperation. The symmetry, radian, fullness, convexity and tactility of bilateral eyebrow arch were all satisfactory in 45 cases. 39 cases were very satisfied, accounting for 86.7%; 6 cases (13.3%) were satisfactory. The sagittal distance of the anterior surface of the cornea to the soft tissues overlying the supraorbital rims was (2.02±1.72) mm preoperatively and (6.5±1.19) mm in the last follow-up. The difference was statistically significant ( t=14.49, P<0.01). Conclusions:This design of integral e-PTFE in eyebrow arch augmentation is safe, effective and easy to operate. It can significantly increase the bony beauty and stereoscopic sense of the eyebrow arch and glabellar zone, effectively deepen the eye socket, improve the eye protrusion, and reduce the risk of asymmetry and prosthesis displacement, and therefore it is one of the ideal methods for eyebrow arch augmentation.

Effects of a special shaped tip cartilage support structure on alar rim retraction / 中华医学美学美容杂志

Objective:To investigate the clinical effectiveness and significance of special fixing cartilaginous support structure on nasal tip to prevent and correct alar rim retraction.Methods:Special shaped tip extension support structure was composed of two parts of type Ⅲ of septum extension graft (SEG) and two pieces of wedge graft fixed on either side of the cephalic end near the top of support structure. After the alar cartilage vault was fixed to the nasal tip cartilage support structure, the lower lateral cartilage (LLC) cephalic was fixed to both sides of this nasal tip support structure. The LLC received support from the cartilaginous support structure to counter and correct the lower lateral cartilage cephalic retraction. From January 2017 to January 2020, this surgical procedure was used in 34 patients (aged from 20 to 46 years, with mean 32.6 years) with rhinoplasty who had a nasal tip support structure but still had a space between the LLC and the stent intraoperativly. Preoperativly, 4 cases had normal relation of alar columella and alar rim, 18 cases had mild alar rim retraction, and 12 cases had moderate alar rim retraction. The patients were followed up for 6 to 18 months to observe the correction effect and patient satisfaction.Results:Among the 34 patients, 8 patients received alar edge graft, 2 patients received lateral foot support graft, and 2 patients received alar rim graft combined with lateral foot support graft. All patients were followed up for 6-18 months, 30 patients with alar rim retraction were completely corrected, and 4 patients with normal alar and nasal columella relationship did not have alar rim retraction after surgery. No complications such as infection, necrosis, contracture or respiratory dysfunction were found in all patients. 28 cases (82.4%) were very satisfied; 6 cases (17.6%) were satisfied; the satisfactory rate was 100%.Conclusions:The special shaped nasal tip cartilage support structure combined with type Ⅲ SEG and its cephalic wedge grafts could achieve satisfactory clinical results in the prevention and correction of alar rim retraction.

Research progress on cirrhosis reversal and recompensation / 中华肝脏病杂志

Previously, liver lesions in cirrhosis were considered irreversible, especially because the condition aggravated gradually after entering the decompensated phase, thus making it difficult to return to the compensated phase. At present, more and more evidence shows that some patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis can be recompensated after the cause is controlled and complications are managed. This article explores the research progress related to LC reversal and recompensation from three aspects: liver histopathology, liver function, and clinical complications.

Research on quality control standard and safety of liquid bandage / 药学实践杂志

Objective To investigate the quality and safety of liquid bandage and establish a reliable quality control method. Methods The quality of liquid bandage was evaluated by appearance, film forming time, viscosity, comfort, waterproof and air permeability. The content was determined by HPLC. The safety of liquid bandage was investigated with skin irritation test and allergy test. Results The self-made liquid bandage was uniform and delicate, with good ductility, fast film formation, good mechanical strength, waterproof and air permeability. The content of active pharmaceutical ingredients in the film met the requirements. It had no obvious irritation to the skin and no allergic reaction. Conclusion The established quality control method was reliable. The liquid bandage had good safety profile.

Comparison of the survival outcomes between primary and secondary muscle-invasive bladder cancer: a propensity score-matched study / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Studies have classified muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) into primary (initially muscle-invasive, PMIBC) and secondary subtypes (initially non-muscle-invasive but progresses, SMIBC), for which controversial survival outcomes were demonstrated. This study aimed to compare the survival outcomes between PMIBC and SMIBC patients in China.@*METHODS@#Patients diagnosed with PMIBC or SMIBC at West China Hospital from January 2009 to June 2019 were retrospectively included. Kruskal-Wallis and Fisher tests were employed to compare clinicopathological characteristics. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox competing proportional risk model were used to compare survival outcomes. Propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to reduce the bias and subgroup analysis was used to confirm the outcomes.@*RESULTS@#A total of 405 MIBC patients were enrolled, including 286 PMIBC and 119 SMIBC, with a mean follow-up of 27.54 and 53.30 months, respectively. The SMIBC group had a higher proportion of older patients (17.65% [21/119] vs. 9.09% [26/286]), chronic disease (32.77% [39/119] vs . 22.38% [64/286]), and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (19.33% [23/119] vs . 8.04% [23/286]). Before matching, SMIBC had a lower risk of overall mortality (OM) (hazard ratios [HR] 0.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.41-0.85, P  = 0.005) and cancer-specific mortality (CSM) (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.44-0.94, P  = 0.022) after the initial diagnosis. However, higher risks of OM (HR 1.47, 95% CI 1.02-2.10, P  = 0.038) and CSM (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.09-2.29, P  = 0.016) were observed for SMIBC once it became muscle-invasive. After PSM, the baseline characteristics of 146 patients (73 for each group) were well matched, and SMIBC was confirmed to have an increased CSM risk (HR 1.83, 95% CI 1.09-3.06, P  = 0.021) than PMIBC after muscle invasion.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Compared with PMIBC, SMIBC had worse survival outcomes once it became muscle-invasive. Specific attention should be paid to non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer with a high progression risk.

Building bioorthogonal click-release capable artificial receptors on cancer cell surface for imaging, drug targeting and delivery

The current targeting drug delivery mainly relies on cancer cell surface receptors. However, in many cases, binding affinities between protein receptors and homing ligands is relatively low and the expression level between cancer and normal cells is not significant. Distinct from conventional targeting strategies, we have developed a general cancer targeting platform by building artificial receptor on cancer cell surface via a chemical remodeling of cell surface glycans. A new tetrazine (Tz) functionalized chemical receptor has been designed and efficiently installed on cancer cell surface as "overexpressed" biomarker through a metabolic glycan engineering. Different from the reported bioconjugation for drug targeting, the tetrazine labeled cancer cells not only locally activate TCO-caged prodrugs but also release active drugs via the unique bioorthogonal Tz-TCO click-release reaction. The studies have demonstrated that the new drug targeting strategy enables local activation of prodrug, which ultimately leads to effective and safe cancer therapy.

An empirical study on the evaluation system of hospital scientific research based on principal component analysis / 中华医学科研管理杂志

Objective:To construct a scientific research evaluation model through principal component analysis, and to explore scientific research evaluation methods for hospitals.Methods:The professional title, educational background, positions and scientific research output information of the scientific research personnel in the First Hospital of Jilin University from 2019 to 2020 were collected. Delphi expert consultation was used to determine the assignment value of each variable, and use SPSS 21.0 software was used to build the principal component analysis model and conduct model verification.Results:The study collected a total of 1 882 researchers′ information. The KMO value of the validity test and the Bartlett sphere test meet the requirements of principal component analysis (KMO=0.731, P<0.05); the model obtained a total of 7 principal components. Among them, principal component 1 represents researchers who published SCI papers, applying for national, provincial and ministerial level scientific research projects, and their part-time positions in academic societies. The second principal component represents the status of applying for patents and publications, and the third principal component represents the status of the awards. The scores of scientific research output of researchers were summarized and sorted according to disciplines, according to which the neurology, endocrinology and metabolism, neurosurgery, general surgery and orthopedics ranked better. The model verification results found that researchers with senior professional titles and doctoral degrees had the highest median weighted comprehensive score( P<0.05), suggesting that scholars with higher professional title levels and higher education received higher comprehensive scientific research output scores. Conclusions:The scientific research evaluation model constructed by this study can provide scientific data reference for the hospital scientific research evaluation.

Recent advances of cell membrane-derived biomimetic nanotechnology in cancer targeted drug delivery system / 药学学报

The development of nanotechnology has made it possible to develop safe, efficient, precise and controllable drug delivery system (DDS). Among them, organic or inorganic synthetic nanocarriers have been widely reported and used for the delivery of tumor therapeutic agents. However, some of carriers have several problems, such as easily eliminated by the body's immune system, difficult to preparation or poor safety in vivo. In recent years, with the development of biomedicine, biomimetic technology based biomembrane-mediated nanodrug delivery has organically integrated the low immunogenicity of natural biomembrane, cancer targeting, and the controllable and multifunctional of smart nanocarrier design. It will achieve a new breakthrough of nanotechnology in cancer targeted therapy. Based on the recent advances of cell membrane-derived biomimetic nanotechnology and the nanomedicine in the field of cancer therapy, this review discusses the three aspects including the experimental basis of cell membrane-derived biomimetic nanotechnology, the classification of biomimetic nanodrug delivery platforms, and the application in cancer targeted therapy. Therefore, the review will provide reference for the design of smart drug delivery system and its development in cancer targeted treatment.

Advances in biodegradation of sulfonamides antibiotics in aerobic activated sludge system / 生物工程学报

Sulfonamides (SAs) are a kind of antibiotics widely used in medical treatment and livestock breeding. However, they have poor degradability in human and animal intestines, and will enter the sewage treatment system through the discharge of feces and urine. The aerobic activated sludge (AAS) in wastewater treatment plant was found to be able to effectively transform SAs. This article summarizes the advances in biodegradation of SAs in aerobic activated sludge system, which includes the biodegradation mechanisms, the main biodegradation pathways, and the environmental factors affecting the degradation efficiency. Challenges encountered in the current research were discussed, with the aim to provide scientific basis for optimizing the biodegradation of SAs in wastewater treatment process.

Effect of modified upper lip lifting by retaining nasal columellar base incision / 中华医学美学美容杂志

Objective:To investigate the effectiveness of a modified upper lip lifting technique with retaining the nasal columellar base incision.Methods:From Jun. 2019 to Jun. 2020, 24 cosmetic patients (aged from 18 to 36 years, with mean 26.5 years) underwent upper lip lifting with skin flap resection of bilateral upper lip flaps and retained the nasal columellar base in Chengdu High-Tech Zone Xinyuerong Medical Aesthetic Clinic. These factors were analyzed, including postoperative complications, improvement of nasolabial angle, effectiveness of upper lip lifting and overall satisfaction.Results:In the 24 patients, 2 patients had numbness in the upper lip after surgery, and returned to normal after 4 months. The concealed scar was effective to improve the linear scar and scar contracture of traditional upper lip lifting. All patients were followed up for 3 months to 1 year. The satisfactory lifting effectiveness was obtained in 24 cases. As for overall satisfaction, 22 cases were very satisfied (91.7%) and 2 cases were satisfied (8.3%).Conclusions:This upper lip lifting surgical procedure of upper lip flaps with retaining the nasal columellar base incision has changed the traditional method to avoid the upper lip horizontal line scar, nasolabial angle contracture, while ensuring the columellar base blood supply is not damaged, with minimized and concealed scar. This surgical procedure is a safe and effective method and worth clinical application.

Preparation and enhanced photodynamic therapy of supramolecular nanoparticles to overcome tumor hypoxia / 药学学报

The therapeutic effect of tumor photodynamic therapy is severely limited by the hypoxic tumor microenvironment. Inhibiting tumor celloxygen consumption is a more effective way than increasing its oxygen supply to overcome the tumor hypoxia and enhance photodynamic therapy. To carry out this strategy, the supramolecular nanoparticles VER-ATO-SMN loaded with photosensitizer verteporfin (VER), oxygen-consuming inhibitor atovaquone (ATO), and stabilizer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-K30 were prepared by the nanoprecipitation method, and the optimal prescription was screened and optimized by single factor experiments. The results showed that the optimal prescription for VER-ATO-SMN was ATO∶VER (w/w) = 1∶1, PVP-K30 = 100 mg, N,N-dimethylformamide∶water (v/v) = 1∶10. The morphology, particle size, particle dispersion index and encapsulation efficiency of supramolecular nanoparticles were characterized. The VER-ATO-SMN showed a spherical morphology and was well dispersed. The hydrodynamic size of VER-ATO-SMN was 101.21 ± 4.30 nm as determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The encapsulation efficiencies of VER and ATO in VER-ATO-SMN prepared with the optimal prescription were 70.86% and 77.52%, respectively. The VER-ATO-SMN exhibited good laser stability and also showed high stability in conditions which simulated the physiological solution. Compared with free VER and VER liposome, VER-ATO-SMN performed enhanced therapeutic effect at the cell level. The mechanism was that VER-ATO-SMN could effectively incorporate into cells and improving the intracellular oxygen concentration by reducing the oxygen consumption of tumor cells could increase the amount of reactive oxygen species generated by VER mediated photodynamic therapy. The in vivo anticancer efficacy results of tumor-bearing mice suggested that VER-ATO-SMN could effectively inhibit the tumor growth or even completely eliminate the tumor. All animal experiments were performed in line with national regulations and approved by the Animal Experiments Ethical Committee of 900 Hospital of the Joint Logistics Team.

Advanced structure analysis and structure-activity relationship of polysaccharide SGP-2 from Sarcandra glabra / 中国药科大学学报

@#SGP-2 was an acidic polysaccharide with good hypoglycemic activity isolated from Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai in the previous study. This study used the laser particle size analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy(AFM) analysis techniques to analyze the advanced structure of SGP-2 in the deionized water and Na2SO4 solution and discuss the structure-activity relationship between the advanced structural characterizations and the α-glucosidase inhibition activities of SGP-2 and its derivative in vitro.Results showed that SGP-2 presented aggregates and spheres in the deionized water.AFM analysis showed that the diameter of SGP-2 was 33 nm and the height was 1.84 nm, whereas compact spherical conformations with high degrees of branching were observed in 0.05 mol/L Na2SO4 solution and SGP-2 had smaller particle size in saline solution compared with that in water.SGP-2 treated by 0.5 mol/L urea and dialysis at the concentration of 1 000 μg/mL showed 98.8% inhibition activity of that from untreated SGP-2. The inhibition rate of short rod conformation with branches reached 83.3% when the temperature rose up to 140 °C, and the α-glucosidase inhibition activity was even higher than that of untreated SGP-2 under the same condition; while SGP-2 with the tangled glycan chains under the condition of carboxyl group reduced had much lower inhibition activity.Therefore, the spherical structure or the short rod conformation with branches played an important role in the activity of SGP-2. This research provides a theoretical basis for further study of structure-function relationship between the advanced structure and activity of polysaccharides.

Research progress on film forming materials for liquid band-aid / 药学实践杂志

Liquid band-aid is a new type of wound dressing that has emerged in recent years. Compared with traditional band-aid, it has the advantages of convenient use, natural shedding, good waterproof and breathable effect, and easy fitting for irregular wounds. It has brought a great convenience to the wound treatment in our daily life. This paper reviews the current research status of liquid band-aids at home and abroad and summarizes the research progress on film forming materials for liquid band-aids with the purpose to provide references for the further development and improvement of liquid band-aids.

Hydroxychloroquine increased psychiatric-like behaviors and disrupted the expression of related genes in the mouse brain

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), which has been proposed as a therapeutic or prophylactic drug for SARS-COV-2, has been administered to thousands of individuals with varying efficacy; however, our understanding of its adverse effects is insufficient. It was reported that HCQ induced psychiatric symptoms in a few patients with autoimmune diseases, but it is still uncertain whether HCQ poses a risk to mental health. Therefore, in this study, we treated healthy mice with two different doses of HCQ that are comparable to clinically administered doses for 7 days. Psychiatric-like behaviors and the expression of related molecules in the brain were evaluated at two time points, i.e., 24 h and 10 days after drug administration. We found that HCQ increased anxiety behavior at both 24 h and 10 days and enhanced depressive behavior at 24 h. Furthermore, HCQ decreased the mRNA expression of interleukin-1beta and corticotropin-releasing hormone (Crh) in the hippocampus and decreased the mRNA expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) in both the hippocampus and amygdala. Most of these behavioral and molecular changes were sustained beyond 10 days after drug administration, and some of them were dose-dependent. Although this animal study does not prove that HCQ has a similar effect in humans, it indicates that HCQ poses a significant risk to mental health and suggests that further clinical investigation is essential. According to our data, we recommend that HCQ be carefully used as a prophylactic drug in people who are susceptible to mental disorders.

Evaluation of Anticoagulant Effects of Clinical Pharmacist Management in Anticoagulation Clinic / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE：To eva luate the anticoagulant effect of clinical pharmacist management in clinic. METHODS ：Retro- spective analysis was performed on medical records of 481 patients in anticoagulant clinic of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital （herein- after referred as “our hospital ”）from Aug. 2019 to Jan. 2020. The general information （gender，age，patient grading ）of patients ， anticoagulant drug ，anticoagulant causes ，anticoagulant examination [prothrombin time ，international standardized ratio results （INR）]，warfarin dose ，NOACs usage and ADR were recorded. RESULTS ：Totally 481 patients visited anticoagulant clinic of our hospital for 1 587 times in total. The case number of primary ，secondary and tertiary patients were 401，547 and 639，respectively. 470 patients received warfarin ，and 11 patients received NOACs （including 6 cases of riva roxaban，5 cases of dabigatran etexi - . The valve replacement was the main cause of anticoagu - lation（65.28％），followed by atrial fibrillation （14.97％）， valve ring repairment （12.47％）. The main detection method NDYG2017012） of prothrombin time was POCT （83.44％）. Their average dose of warfarin was （3.03±1.28）mg. The average INR of outpa - tients receiving warfarin was 1.99±0.56，and time within treat - E-mail：xiaochongzi78@sina.com ment range （TTR）was 72.79％. The average INR of the first grade was 2.12±0.84 and the TTR was 44.33％；the average INR of the second grade was 1.95±0.52 and the TTR was 72.34％； the average INR of the third grade was 1.94±0.33 and the TTR was 90.42％. There were 102 cases（6.43％）of small bleeding ， and 2 cases（0.13％）of clinical related non major bleeding ；no major bleeding and thromboembolism was observed. CONCLU - SIONS：Clinical pharmacists of anticoagulant clinic in our hospital formulate scientific management and provide individualized con - sultation for patients through implementing hierarchical management of patients. Patients show mild symptoms and low incidence of adverse reactions ；the patients taking warfarin have higher TTR ；clinical pharmacist management has significant anticoagulant effect.

Pretreatment elevated fibrinogen level predicts worse oncologic outcomes in upper tract urothelial carcinoma / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

This study aimed to further validate the prognostic role of fibrinogen in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) in a large Chinese cohort. A total of 703 patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy were retrospectively identified. Fibrinogen levels of ≥4.025 g l-1 were defined as elevated. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the association between fibrinogen and adverse pathological features. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression models were used to assess the associations of fibrinogen with cancer-specific survival (CSS), disease recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS). Harrell c-index and decision curve analysis were used to assess the clinical utility of multivariate models. The median follow-up duration was 42 (range: 1-168) months. Logistic regression analysis revealed that elevated fibrinogen was associated with higher tumor stage and grade, lymph node involvement, lymphovascular invasion, sessile carcinoma, concomitant variant histology, and positive surgical margins (all P < 0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis demonstrated that elevated fibrinogen was independently associated with decreased CSS (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.33; P < 0.001), RFS (HR: 2.09; P < 0.001), and OS (HR: 2.09; P < 0.001). The predictive accuracies of the multivariate models were improved by 3.2%, 2.0%, and 2.8% for CSS, RFS, and OS, respectively, when fibrinogen was added. Decision curve analysis showed an added benefit for CSS prediction when fibrinogen was added to the model. Preoperative fibrinogen may be a strong independent predictor of worse oncologic outcomes in UTUC; therefore, it may be valuable to apply this marker to the current risk stratification in UTUC.

Prognostic value of primary tumor surgery in seminoma patients with distant metastasis at diagnosis: a population-based study / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

The aims of this study were to determine the prognostic value of primary tumor surgery and identify optimal candidates for such surgery among patients with seminoma and distant metastasis at diagnosis. We identified 521 patients with seminoma and distant metastasis at diagnosis between 2004 and 2014 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Among these patients, 434 had undergone surgery, whereas 87 had not. The prognostic value of primary tumor surgery was assessed by Kaplan-Meier methods, log-rank analyses, and multivariate Cox's proportional hazards model. Survival curves and forest plots were also plotted. Survival analysis indicated that patients who underwent surgery had a better 5-year overall survival and cancer-specific survival than those who did not. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that primary tumor surgery is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival and cancer-specific survival, along with age at diagnosis, M stage, and marital status. In addition, primary tumor surgery still had considerable prognostic value in the subgroup of patients with lymph node metastasis. Further, forest plots demonstrated that patients with M1a stage, N1 or N2-3 stage, and a younger age at diagnosis (<60 years) may benefit from primary tumor surgery. In conclusion, our findings indicate that primary tumor surgery is correlated with improved survival in patients with seminoma and distant metastasis. Furthermore, primary tumor surgery is an independent prognostic indicator for patients with seminoma and distant metastasis.

Effect of baicalin on expression of fibrogenic factors TGF-β1, mmp2 and timp2 in tissue of mice with pulmonary fibrosis / 中国中药杂志

To investigate the effect of baicalin extracted from Qinbai Qingfei Concentrated Pills on the expressions of TGF-β1, mmp2 and timp2 in mice with pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin. The Biacore technique was used to detect the specific binding between Qinbai Qingfei Concentrated Pills and TGF-β1, and the affinity components were enriched, regenerated and recovered by Biacore fishing. Then ultra-performance liquid chromatography and quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) were used to determine whether the monomer was baicalin. Biacore was used to verify the affinity kinetics of baicalin, which was validated by pharmacodynamics in vivo. Totally 30 BALB/C mice were randomly divided into three groups: baicalin group, blank group and model group. The blank group was given sodium chloride injection(0.08 mL·kg~(-1)), while the model group and the baicalin group were injected with 4 mg·kg~(-1) bleomycin. The localization of TGF-β1, mmp2 and timp2 protein in the cells and the mRNA expressions of TGF-β1, mmp2 and timp2 were detected by RT-PCR 14 days later. The results of Biacore affinity analysis showed that the peak of binding response between Qinbai Qingfei Concentrated Pills and TGF-β1 protein reached 1 524.0 RU, with specific binding. The affinity constant K_D of baicalin and TGF-β1 was 1.620 06 μmol·L~(-1), which was determined by SPR kinetic analysis, suggesting a stable binding between baicalin and TGF-β1, which verified the results of angulation. The results of immunohistochemistry showed that the deposition of cellulose in baicalin group was significantly less than that in model group, the mRNA expressions of TGF-β1, mmp2 and timp2 were decreased in baicalin solution compared with the model group. Baicalin combined with TGF-β1 could inhibit the expressions of mmp2 and timp2 and delay the progress of pulmonary fibrosis.

Nonsurgical treatment for thyroid nodules / 中国实用内科杂志

Thyroid nodule is a very common disease, and most of the diseases are asymptomatic with benign ultrasound or cytology,which do not require treatment. A regular observation is commonly required, and its frequency should be determined based on the potential risk of malignancy. Only a few benign nodules need intervention due to some certain factors including neck discomfort,cosmetic problem and patients' desire. The nonsurgical treatments include thyroxine suppression therapy, percutaneous ethanol injection, thermal ablation, and radioactive iodine therapy, etc. Currently, active surveillance and thermal ablation are still an experimental treatment in debate for low-risk thyroid cancer. In a patient-centered approach, clinicians should assess the indications,benefits, and risks of various nonsurgical treatments in order to avoid over-treatment.