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Effect of local oxygen therapy combined with vacuum sealing drainage on the healing of stage IV sacrococcygeal pressure ulcers

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of local oxygen therapy combined with vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) on the healing of stage IV pressure ulcers sacrococcygeal. In this prospective study, we included a total of 98 patients with stage IV sacrococcygeal pressure ulcers in our hospital between February 2021 and June 2022. The patients enrolled were randomly and equally divided into two groups: the study group (undergoing local oxygen therapy combined with VSD treatment) and the control group (receiving conventional treatment). The wound healing time and hospital stay were compared between the two groups. Additionally, the wound area, tissue type, wound exudation and pain intensity were assessed before treatment, 10, 20, 30 and 40 days after treatment. The incidence of complications was also calculated. The study group demonstrated significantly shorter wound healing time and hospital stays compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Before treatment, there were no significant differences in terms of wound area, tissue type and wound exudation between the two groups (p > 0.05); after 10, 20, 30 and 40 days of treatment, however, evidently smaller wound areas, improved tissue types and reduced wound exudation were observed in the study group compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the study group exhibited increased microvascular count compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Before treatment, there was no significant difference in pain intensity between the two groups (p > 0.05), whereas markedly lower pain intensity was seen in the study group than in the control group after 10, 20, 30 and 40 days of treatment (p < 0.05). The incidence of complications did not significantly differ between the two groups after 40 days of treatment (p > 0.05). Local oxygen therapy combined with VSD was found to effectively accelerate the healing process of stage IV sacrococcygeal pressure ulcers, leading to shorter hospital stays and improved patient prognosis. This combined therapy shows promise for widespread application in clinical practice.

Effect of thoracoscopic and thoracotomy on postoperative wound complications in patients with lung cancer: A meta‐analysis

Abstract

Because of the difficult surgical procedures, patients with lung cancer who have received thoracic surgery tend to have postoperative complications. It may lead to postoperative complications like wound infection, wound haematoma and pneumothorax. A lot of research has assessed the effect of various surgery methods on postoperative complications in pulmonary cancer. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to establish if thoracoscopic is superior to that of thoracotomy in the rate of post-operative complications. From the beginning to the end of June 2023, we performed an exhaustive search on four main databases for key words. The Hazard of Bias in Non-Randomized Interventional Studies (ROBINS-I) was evaluated in the literature. In the end, 13 trials that fulfilled the eligibility criteria underwent further statistical analyses. The results showed that thoracoscopic intervention decreased the risk of post operative wound infection (dominant ratio [OR], 3.00; 95% confidence margin [CI], 1.98, 4.55; p < 0.00001) and air-leakage after operation (OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.04, 1.63; p = 0.02). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the rate of haemorrhage after operation (OR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.73, 1.66; p = 0.63). Our findings indicate that thoracoscopic is less likely to cause post operative infection and gas leakage than thoracotomy, and it does not decrease the risk of postoperative haemorrhage. As some of the chosen trials are too small to conduct meta-analyses, care must be taken when handling the data. In the future, a large number of randomized, controlled trials will be required to provide additional evidence for this research.

A bibliometric study: Relevant studies on scar laser therapy since the 21st century

Abstract

To summarise research studies on scar laser therapy since the 21st century using bibliometric methods, and to speculate on the possible development in the future. The literature about scar laser therapy in Web of Science database was searched. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used to analyse main countries, institutions, journals,subject hotspots and trends, etc. A total of 884 papers have been published since the 21st century. These publications were written by 653 authors from 515 institutions in 58 countries. The United States published 287 papers in this field and ranks first. Laser in Surgery and Medicine is the most widely published journal, with Shumaker as the core author. The main keyword clustering includes terms such as combination therapy, wound healing, fractional photothermolysis, experience, scar formation, etc. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used to sort out and summarise the countries, institutions, authors, journals, research hotspots and frontier topics of related literature about scar laser therapy since the 21st century. The current situation of its application and basic scientific research in clinical treatments were summarised briefly. This provides a new idea for the development and research of scar laser therapy in the future.

Comparison of the incidence of wound complications with preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy in patients with extremity soft tissue sarcoma resection: A meta‐analysis

Abstract

We performed a meta-analysis to compare the effect of preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy on wound complications after resection of extremity soft tissue sarcoma (ESTS). A comprehensive computerised search of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP, and Wanfang databases was conducted from their inception to August 2023 to identify studies comparing the effect of preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy on wound complications after ESTS resection. Two investigators independently screened the literature, extracted the data, and assessed the quality of the articles. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. Nine studies with 1271 patients were included, with 631 and 640 patients in the preoperative and postoperative radiotherapy groups, respectively. The results showed that the incidence of postoperative wound complications after ESTS resection was significantly higher with preoperative radiotherapy than with postoperative radiotherapy (27.26% vs. 12.03%, odds ratio [OR]: 2.88, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.12–3.91, p < 0.001). However, the rate of local recurrence of ESTS was significantly lower with preoperative radiotherapy than with postoperative radiotherapy (8.75% vs. 14.81%, OR: 0.57, 95% CI: 0.36–0.91, p = 0.02), and the 3-year overall survival was significantly higher in the preoperative radiotherapy group than in the postoperative radiotherapy group (82.24% vs. 70.04%, OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.05–3.71, p = 0.03). This pooled analysis suggests that although preoperative radiotherapy increases the rate of wound complications in ESTS compared with postoperative radiotherapy, it significantly reduces the rate of local recurrence after ESTS resection and improves the overall survival of patients. Owing to the limitations in the number and quality of the included studies, additional prospective cohort studies or randomised controlled trials are required to confirm these findings.

Effects of laparoscopic splenectomy on surgical site wound infection in patients with spleen rupture: A meta‐analysis

Abstract

A meta-analysis was performed to compare the effects of laparoscopic splenectomy (LS) and open splenectomy (OS) for splenic rupture on postoperative surgical site wound infections and postoperative complications. A comprehensive computerised search was conducted for studies comparing LS with OS for the treatment of splenic rupture in the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP, and Wanfang databases, with the search including studies published in any language between the creation of the databases and August 2023. Two researchers independently screened the literature and extracted the data. Literature quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and the included data were collated and analysed using Stata 17.0 software for meta-analysis. Twenty-two studies involving 1545 patients were included. LS was superior to OS in the following aspects: reduced risk of postoperative surgical site wound infection (OR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.11–0.34, p = 0.000), shortened hospital stay (standardised mean difference = −1.73, 95% CI: −2.05 to −1.40, p = 0.000), and reduced postoperative complication rate (OR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.16–0.31, p = 0.000). Compared with OS, LS has a lower rate of postoperative wound infection, shorter hospital stay, and reduced rate of postoperative complications. LS is safe and effective for the treatment of splenic rupture and can be promoted clinically.

Identification of potential immunologic resilience in the healing process of diabetic foot ulcers

Abstract

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are one of the most common and challenging complications of diabetes, yet our understanding of their pathogenesis remains limited. We collected gene expression data of DFU patients from public databases. Bioinformatics tools were applied for systematic analysis, including the identification of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and enrichment analysis. We further used single-cell RNA sequencing to identify the distribution of different cell populations in DFU. Finally, key results were validated using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and flow cytometry. We identified 217 DEGs between ulcerated and healthy skin, and 37 DEGs between healing ulcers and ulcers. WGCNA revealed that the cyan module had the highest positive correlation with healthy skin and negative correlation with ulcers. The black module had the highest negative correlation with healthy skin and positive correlation with ulcers. Enrichment analysis showed that the genes in the cyan module were mainly associated with complement and coagulation cascades, while the genes in the black module were mainly associated with the IL-17 signalling pathway. In addition, CD8 T cells were significantly lower in ulcers than in healthy and healing ulcers. By comparing marker genes of CD8 T cells, we identified key genes in the cyan and black modules and validated their expression using RT-qPCR. The proportion of CD8 T cells was increased in healing ulcers. Flow cytometry detected increased levels of CD8 T, B and natural killer cells in healing ulcers. CD8 T cells and related key genes play an important role in the healing process of DFU. The results of this study provide a new perspective for understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of DFU.

Design and rationale of the ATTRACTIVE trial: a randomised trial of intrAThrombus Thrombolysis versus aspiRAtion thrombeCTomy during prImary percutaneous coronary interVEntion in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients with high thrombus burde

Por: Zhang · Z. · Sheng · Z. · Che · W. · An · S. · Sun · D. · Zhai · Z. · Zhao · X. · Yang · Y. · Meng · Z. · Ye · Z. · Xie · E. · Li · P. · Yu · C. · Gao · Y. · Xiao · Z. · Wu · Y. · Dong · F. · Ren · J. · Zheng · J.
Introduction

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with high thrombus burden is associated with a poor prognosis. Manual aspiration thrombectomy reduces coronary vessel distal embolisation, improves microvascular perfusion and reduces cardiovascular deaths, but it promotes more strokes and transient ischaemic attacks in the subgroup with high thrombus burden. Intrathrombus thrombolysis (ie, the local delivery of thrombolytics into the coronary thrombus) is a recently proposed treatment approach that theoretically reduces thrombus volume and the risk of microvascular dysfunction. However, the safety and efficacy of intrathrombus thrombolysis lack sufficient clinical evidence.

Methods and analysis

The intrAThrombus Thrombolysis versus aspiRAtion thrombeCTomy during prImary percutaneous coronary interVEntion trial is a multicentre, prospective, open-label, randomised controlled trial with the blinded assessment of outcomes. A total of 2500 STEMI patients with high thrombus burden who undergo primary percutaneous coronary intervention will be randomised 1:1 to intrathrombus thrombolysis with a pierced balloon or upfront routine manual aspiration thrombectomy. The primary outcome will be the composite of cardiovascular death, recurrent myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, heart failure readmission, stent thrombosis and target-vessel revascularisation up to 180 days.

Ethics and dissemination

The trial was approved by Ethics Committees of China-Japan Friendship Hospital (2022-KY-013) and all other participating study centres. The results of this trial will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

Trial registration number

NCT05554588.

Determinants of practice for providing decision coaching to facilitate informed values-based decision-making: protocol for a mixed-methods systematic review

Por: Berger-Höger · B. · Lewis · K. B. · Cherry · K. · Finderup · J. · Gunderson · J. · Kaden · J. · Kienlin · S. · Rahn · A. C. · Sikora · L. · Stacey · D. · Steckelberg · A. · Zhao · J.
Introduction

Decision coaching is a non-directive approach to support patients to prepare for making health decisions. It is used to facilitate patients’ involvement in informed values-based decision-making and use of evidence-based health information. A recent systematic review revealed low certainty evidence for its effectiveness with and without evidence-based information. However, there may be opportunities to improve the study and use of decision coaching in clinical practice by systematically investigating its determinants of practice. We aim to conduct a systematic review to identify and synthesise the determinants of practice for providing decision coaching to facilitate patient involvement in decision-making from multiple perspectives that influence its use.

Methods and analysis

We will conduct a mixed-methods systematic review guided by the Cochrane’ Handbook of Systematic Reviews. We will include studies reporting determinants of practice influencing decision coaching with or without evidence-based patient information with adults making a health decision for themselves or a family member. Systematic literature searches will be conducted in Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL and PsycINFO via Ovid and CINAHL via EBSCO including quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods study designs. Additionally, experts in the field will be contacted.

Two reviewers will independently screen and extract data. We will synthesise determinants using deductive and inductive qualitative content analysis and a coding frame developed specifically for this review based on a taxonomy of barriers and enablers of shared decision-making mapped onto the major domains of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. We will assess the quality of included studies using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethical approval is not required as this systematic review involves only previously published literature. The results will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, presented at scientific conferences and disseminated to relevant consumer groups.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42022338299.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with post-stroke epilepsy: protocol for an individual patient data meta-analysis from the International Post-stroke Epilepsy Research Repository (IPSERR)

Por: Mishra · N. K. · Kwan · P. · Tanaka · T. · Sunnerhagen · K. S. · Dawson · J. · Zhao · Y. · Misra · S. · Wang · S. · Sharma · V. K. · Mazumder · R. · Funaro · M. C. · Ihara · M. · Nicolo · J.-P. · Liebeskind · D. S. · Yasuda · C. L. · Cendes · F. · Quinn · T. J. · Ge · Z. · Scalzo · F. · Zela
Introduction

Despite significant advances in managing acute stroke and reducing stroke mortality, preventing complications like post-stroke epilepsy (PSE) has seen limited progress. PSE research has been scattered worldwide with varying methodologies and data reporting. To address this, we established the International Post-stroke Epilepsy Research Consortium (IPSERC) to integrate global PSE research efforts. This protocol outlines an individual patient data meta-analysis (IPD-MA) to determine outcomes in patients with post-stroke seizures (PSS) and develop/validate PSE prediction models, comparing them with existing models. This protocol informs about creating the International Post-stroke Epilepsy Research Repository (IPSERR) to support future collaborative research.

Methods and analysis

We utilised a comprehensive search strategy and searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases until 30 January 2023. We extracted observational studies of stroke patients aged ≥18 years, presenting early or late PSS with data on patient outcome measures, and conducted the risk of bias assessment. We did not apply any restriction based on the date or language of publication. We will invite these study authors and the IPSERC collaborators to contribute IPD to IPSERR. We will review the IPD lodged within IPSERR to identify patients who developed epileptic seizures and those who did not. We will merge the IPD files of individual data and standardise the variables where possible for consistency. We will conduct an IPD-MA to estimate the prognostic value of clinical characteristics in predicting PSE.

Ethics and dissemination

Ethics approval is not required for this study. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals. This study will contribute to IPSERR, which will be available to researchers for future PSE research projects. It will also serve as a platform to anchor future clinical trials.

Trial registration number

NCT06108102

Utilizing the visual analogue scale (VAS) to monitor and manage pain in post‐operative skin wounds after thoracic surgery

Abstract

Due to the global increase in thoracic interventions, there is greater emphasis on refining post-operative care. The purpose of this study was to validate the visual analogue scale (VAS) as the valid method for measuring post-operative pain in thoracic surgery patients. From January 2020 to June 2022, this cross-sectional study investigated 240 adult patients who underwent elective thoracic surgeries in Thoracic Surgery Department of Heilongjiang Provincial Hospital. The participants were instructed to rate their discomfort using VAS at predetermined intervals after surgery. The following demographic and clinical information was recorded: age, gender, type of thoracic surgery, and history of chronic pain. Results showed a progressive decline in post-operative VAS scores over 72 h: 8.2 immediately after surgery, 6.0 at 24 h, 5.4 at 48 h, and 3.6 by 72 h. There were notable correlations between VAS scores and chronic pain history, with moderately positive correlation of 0.40 being observed. Mean scores for males and females were 3.8 and 3.9, respectively. The analysis by age revealed comparable mean scores for age categories below and above 40. With the exception of thoracic wall resection, which resulted in an average VAS score of 4.1 ± 1.0 (p < 0.05), the type of surgery had the minimal effect on variability of pain scores. The VAS is a reliable method for evaluating post-thoracic surgery discomfort. Given the substantial impact of pain history on VAS scores, there is an urgent need for personalized pain management strategies to improve post-operative care.

Attentive immobility: Investigating the emotional-cognitive mechanism underlying conspiracy mentality and Covid-19 preventive behaviors

by Shuguang Zhao, Jue Zhou, Ting Wang

While conspiracy theories have received extensive attention in the realm of misinformation, there has been limited research exploring the impact of conspiracy mentality on individuals’ preventive behaviors during acute public health crises. This study investigates how conspiracy mentality may affect compliance with preventive health measures necessary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and the underlying emotional and cognitive mediators. Data was collected through a survey among 1878 Chinese respondents at the conclusion of the pandemic. The results indicate that individuals with higher levels of conspiracy mentality are significantly less engaged in preventive behaviors. Furthermore, this correlation is mediated by a sequence of mediating factors, starting from anger leading to institutional distrust and fear leading to perceived risk. Conspiracists’ response mode can be described as a state of "attentive immobility," in which the impact of heightened institutional distrust outweighs their perceptions of risk, ultimately reducing engagement in preventive behaviors during crises. These findings underscore the importance of debunking initiatives that aim to address and mitigate the negative consequences of conspiracy mentality by targeting the mediating psychological processes during future pandemic threats.

Emissions reduction strategy in a three-stage agrifood value chain: A dynamic differential game approach

by Huanhuan Wang, Xiaoli Fan, Qilan Zhao, Pengfei Cui

Agrifood systems account for 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Substantial emissions reduction in agrifood systems is critical to achieving the temperature goal set by the Paris Agreement. A key challenge in reducing GHG emissions in the agrifood value chain is the imbalanced allocation of benefits and costs associated with emissions reduction among agrifood value chain participants. However, only a few studies have examined agrifood emissions reduction from a value chain perspective, especially using dynamic methods to investigate participants’ long-term emissions reduction strategies. This paper helps fill this gap in the existing literature by examining the impact of collaborations among agrifood value chain participants on correcting those misallocations and reducing emissions in agrifood systems. We develop a dynamic differential game model to examine participants’ long-term emissions reduction strategies in a three-stage agrifood value chain. We use the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation to derive the Nash equilibrium emissions reduction strategies under non-cooperative, cost-sharing, and cooperative mechanisms. We then conduct numerical analysis and sensitivity analysis to validate our model. Our results show that collaboration among value chain participants leads to higher emissions reduction efforts and profits for the entire value chain. Specifically, based on our numerical results, the cooperative mechanism results in the greatest emissions reduction effort by the three participants, which leads to a total that is nearly three times higher than that of the non-cooperative mechanism and close to two times higher than the cost-sharing mechanism. The cooperative mechanism also recorded the highest profits for the entire value chain, surpassing the non-cooperative and cost-sharing mechanisms by around 37% and 16%, respectively. Our results provide valuable insights for policymakers and agrifood industry stakeholders to develop strategies and policies encouraging emissions reduction collaborations in the agrifood value chain and reduce emissions in the agrifood systems.

Data glove-based gesture recognition using CNN-BiLSTM model with attention mechanism

by Jiawei Wu, Peng Ren, Boming Song, Ran Zhang, Chen Zhao, Xiao Zhang

As a novel form of human machine interaction (HMI), hand gesture recognition (HGR) has garnered extensive attention and research. The majority of HGR studies are based on visual systems, inevitably encountering challenges such as depth and occlusion. On the contrary, data gloves can facilitate data collection with minimal interference in complex environments, thus becoming a research focus in fields such as medical simulation and virtual reality. To explore the application of data gloves in dynamic gesture recognition, this paper proposes a data glove-based dynamic gesture recognition model called the Attention-based CNN-BiLSTM Network (A-CBLN). In A-CBLN, the convolutional neural network (CNN) is employed to capture local features, while the bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) is used to extract contextual temporal features of gesture data. By utilizing attention mechanisms to allocate weights to gesture features, the model enhances its understanding of different gesture meanings, thereby improving recognition accuracy. We selected seven dynamic gestures as research targets and recruited 32 subjects for participation. Experimental results demonstrate that A-CBLN effectively addresses the challenge of dynamic gesture recognition, outperforming existing models and achieving optimal gesture recognition performance, with the accuracy of 95.05% and precision of 95.43% on the test dataset.

Postoperative stellate ganglion block to reduce myocardial injury after laparoscopic radical resection for colorectal cancer: protocol for a randomised trial

Por: Hu · Z. · Li · W. · Zhao · G. · Liang · C. · Li · K.
Introduction

Stellate ganglion block (SGB) is usually used in the department of algiatry. But preoperative SGB may reduce adverse cardiovascular events in high-risk patients, although evidence remains sparse. Therefore, we aim to determine whether a single-shot postoperative SGB can reduce the incidence of myocardial injury after non-cardiac surgery (MINS) and improve recovery in patients undergoing laparoscopic radical resection for colorectal cancer.

Methods and analysis

This is an investigator-initiated, single-centre, randomised, two-arm clinical trial enrolling patients aged over 45 years and scheduled for elective laparoscopic radical colorectal surgery with at least one risk factor for MINS. A total of 950 eligible patients will be randomised into a routine or block groups. The primary outcome is the incidence of MINS. The secondary outcomes include the Visual Analogue Scale of pain during rest and movement, the incidence of delirium, quality of recovery (QOR) assessed by QOR-15, and sleep quality assessed by Richards Campbell Sleep Questionnaire. Tertiary outcomes include time to first flatus, gastrointestinal complications such as anastomotic leak or ileus, length of hospital stay, collapse incidence of severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications of myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and all-cause mortality within 30 days after the operation.

Ethics and dissemination

The protocol was approved by Medical Ethics Committee of the China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University (Approval number: 2021081018) prior to recruitment. The study will be performed according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki. The findings of this study will be published and presented through various scientific forums.

Trial registration number

ChiCTR2200055319.

Trends in the prevalence and economic burden of hypertension and its socioeconomic disparities in rural southwestern China: two repeated cross-sectional studies

Por: Fan · L. · Liu · L. · Zhao · Y. · Mo · Y. · Li · J. · Cai · L.
Objectives

This study aimed to analyse trends in the prevalence and economic burden of hypertension and its socioeconomic disparities in rural southwestern China.

Design

Two repeated cross-sectional studies were conducted to collect interview and health examination data among individuals aged ≥35 years in rural Yunnan Province, China.

Setting

Three rural areas of Yunnan, China.

Participants

We invited 8187 consenting participants in 2010–2011 and 7572 consenting participants in 2020–2021 to undergo interviews and health examinations.

Results

The standardised prevalence of hypertension significantly increased from 26.1% in 2011 to 40.4% in 2021 (p

Conclusions

The prevalence and economic burden of hypertension have visibly accelerated in rural Yunnan Province over the 10 years studied, and socioeconomic disparities have been found in the prevalence and economic burden of hypertension. These findings highlight that socioeconomic differentials should be tailored to address the timing of effective interventions for hypertension prevention and control and reduce the economic burden of hypertension in rural southwestern China.

Influencing factors and improvement paths of manufacturing innovation performance: Configuration analysis based on TOE framework

by Youcai Ma, Zhaobing Cui

Innovation is the first driving force to lead development, how to improve manufacturing innovation performance has become a hot topic. Based on 47 listed companies in the computer, communication and other electronic equipment manufacturing industry in the A-share market, this paper adopted the Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the influencing factors of technology, organization and environment on the innovation performance of manufacturing industry and the improvement path. The findings are as follows: (1) A single condition is not a necessary condition for high innovation performance in manufacturing industry, but government support plays a key role in improving innovation performance in manufacturing industry. (2) There are two improvement paths for high innovation performance in manufacturing industry, which are specifically explained as “technology-environment dual improvement path” and “technology-organization-environment collaborative improvement path”. (3) The improvement of innovation performance in the manufacturing industry is the result of multiple factors, showing the characteristics of “all paths lead to the same destination”. Different manufacturing enterprises have different paths to improve innovation performance based on their actual conditions. Based on these findings, this study may provide some implications for the effective improvement of manufacturing innovation performance.

Machine learning and single‐cell transcriptome profiling reveal regulation of fibroblast activation through THBS2/TGFβ1/P‐Smad2/3 signalling pathway in hypertrophic scar

Abstract

Hypertrophic scar (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin disorder characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix, and the mechanisms underlying their formation remain poorly understood. We analysed scRNA-seq data from samples of normal skin and HS. Using the hdWGCNA method, key gene modules of fibroblasts in HS were identified. Non-negative matrix factorization was employed to perform subtype analysis of HS patients using these gene modules. Multiple machine learning algorithms were applied to screen and validate accurate gene signatures for identifying and predicting HS, and a convolutional neural network (CNN) based on deep learning was established and validated. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blotting were performed to measure mRNA and protein expression. Immunofluorescence was used for gene localization analysis, and biological features were assessed through CCK8 and wound healing assay. Single-cell sequencing revealed distinct subpopulations of fibroblasts in HS. HdWGCNA identified key gene characteristics of this population, and pseudotime analysis was conducted to investigate gene variation during fibroblast differentiation. By employing various machine learning algorithms, the gene range was narrowed down to three key genes. A CNN was trained using the expression of these key genes and immune cell infiltration, enabling diagnosis and prediction of HS. Functional experiments demonstrated that THBS2 is associated with fibroblast proliferation and migration in HS and affects the formation and development of HS through the TGFβ1/P-Smad2/3 pathway. Our study identifies unique fibroblast subpopulations closely associated with HS and provides biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of HS.

Retrospective comparison of postoperative dressing after eschar dermabrasion on paediatric scald wounds: Bacterial cellulose dressing and allogenic skin

Abstract

Eschar dermabrasion is an easy, cost-effective and dependable technique for debriding deep partial-thickness burn wounds, highly suitable for paediatric scalds. Postoperative dressing plays a crucial role in the subsequent healing process. While allogenic skin (AGS) has long been considered as the optimal coverage for abraded burn wounds by Chinese burn specialists, its clinical application on children has encountered challenges. In recent years, our department has observed promising results in the application of bacterial cellulose dressing on paediatric burn wounds after dermabrasion surgery. This study aimed to retrospectively review qualified cases from the past 5 years and categorize them into two groups: 201 cases in the AGS group and 116 cases in the bacterial cellulose dressing (BCD) group. Upon statistical analysis, no differences were oberved between the groups in terms of demographic information and wound characteristics. However, the BCD group had a significantly longer surgery time (44.3 ± 7.0 min vs. 31.5 ± 6.1 min, p < 0.01) and shorter healing time (19.6 ± 2.2 days vs. 24.4 ± 4.3 days, p < 0.01) compared to the AGS group. Moreover, the BCD group required fewer dressing changes (3.5 ± 0.8 vs. 6.7 ± 2.1, p < 0.01) and demonstrated lower rates of skin grafting (10/116 vs. 46/201, p = 0.036). In conclusion, our findings suggest that the bacterial cellulose material may serve as an optimal coverage option for paediatric abraded scald wounds.

Early monitoring of intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischaemic stroke using wearable intelligent vital sign devices: protocol for a prospective, multicentre, observational registry cohort study

Por: Liu · M. · Zhao · J. · Li · S. · Han · J. · Ma · G. · Wang · Y. · Chang · H.
Introduction

Continuous monitoring of vital signs during and after ischaemic stroke was recommended by the ‘Guidelines for the Early Management of Patients with Acute Ischaemic Stroke: 2019 Update to the 2018 Guidelines for the Early Management of Acute Ischaemic Stroke’. Vital sign data can be associated with disease conditions and prognosis, while there is limited evidence regarding continuous monitoring of vital signs during and after acute ischaemic stroke. The wearable intelligent vital sign monitoring device is small and lightweight and constantly monitors the health status during daily activities. However, wearable intelligent vital sign monitoring devices have not been widely used in clinical practice so far. Therefore, we will investigate the effectiveness and safety of wearable intelligent vital sign monitoring devices in early in-hospital management and monitoring programmes for patients with acute ischaemic stroke. This paper presents the study protocol.

Methods and design

This study is a prospective, multicentre, observational registry study starting from 20 March 2023 to 20 March 2025. A total of 5740 patients with acute ischaemic stroke from 10 Chinese hospitals are planned to be enrolled. Continuous vital sign data, demographics, medical history, medication history, treatments, laboratory tests, imaging scans and follow-up data will be collected. Follow-up time points were 30 days after discharge, 30 days after intravenous thrombolysis, 3 months after intravenous thrombolysis and 12 months after intravenous thrombolysis (until March 2026). The primary outcome included the evaluation of the modified Rankin Scale at 3 months, as well as the assessment of the rate of symptomatic and asymptomatic intracranial haemorrhage throughout the hospitalisation period.

Ethics and dissemination

This study has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University ([2022] 203). We plan to disseminate the research findings through publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presentations at international conferences.

Trial registration number

ChiCTR2300069512.

Association of serum potassium level with dietary potassium intake in Chinese older adults: a multicentre, cross-sectional survey

Por: Yuan · Y. · Jin · A. · Zhao · M.-H. · Wang · H. · Feng · X. · Qiao · Q. · Zhang · R. · Gao · R. · Wu · Y.
Objectives

Evidence linking dietary potassium and serum potassium is virtually scarce and inconclusive. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between serum potassium level and potassium intake measured by 24-hour urine. We also explored whether the association differed across health conditions.

Design

A cross-sectional study conducted from September 2017 to March 2018.

Setting

48 residential elderly care facilities in northern China.

Participants

Participants aged 55 years and older and with both serum potassium and 24-hour urinary potassium measured were classified as having a low (apparently healthy), moderate (with ≥1 health condition but normal renal function) and high (with ≥1 health condition and abnormal renal function) risk of hyperkalaemia.

Exposure

Potassium intake is measured by 24-hour urinary potassium.

Outcomes

Serum potassium in association with potassium intake after adjustment for age, sex, region and accounting for the cluster effect.

Results

Of 962 eligible participants (mean age 69.1 years, 86.8% men), 17.3% were at low risk, 48.4% at moderate risk and 34.3% at high risk of hyperkalaemia. Serum potassium was weakly associated with 24-hour urinary potassium among individuals with moderate (adjusted β=0.0040/L; p=0.017) and high (adjusted β=0.0078/L; p=0.003) but not low (adjusted β=0.0018/L; p=0.311) risk of hyperkalaemia.

Conclusions

A weak association between dietary potassium intake and serum potassium level existed only among individuals with impaired renal function or other health conditions but not among apparently healthy individuals. The results imply that increasing dietary potassium intake may slightly increase the risk of hyperkalaemia but may also decrease the risk of hypokalaemia in unhealthy individuals, both of which have important health concerns.

Trial registration number

NCT03290716; Post-results.

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