Search

Background: The demand for mammaplasty has increased in recent years, and infection remains one of the common and serious post‐operative complications. In this study, we analyzed the pathogen distribution and antibiotic susceptibility of breast plastic surgery infections, and compared the differences in pathogenic species between surgical procedures. Methods: The number of each species was counted in the microbial samples of breast plastic surgery infections in Plastic Surgery Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 2011 to December 2021. The in vitro antibiotic sensitivity testing data were analyzed using WHONET 5.6 software. The surgical techniques, the period of infection, and other details were gathered in accordance with the clinical data. Results: There were a total of 42 cases included, and 43 different types of pathogenic bacteria, mostly gram‐positive bacteria, were found. CoNS (13/43) and Staphylococcus aureus (22/43) made up the majority. The most prevalent of the five Gram‐negative bacteria was Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Results of drug sensitivity tests indicate that S. aureus is highly sensitive to vancomycin, cotrimoxazole, and linezolid, whereas CoNS is highly sensitive to vancomycin, linezolid, and chloramphenicol. Both of these bacteria show high resistance to erythromycin and penicillin. Breast augmentation, breast reconstruction, and breast reduction surgery were the most frequently associated breast surgery procedures in this study with infections, with the highest number of infections occurring following breast augmentation with fat grafting, breast reduction surgery, and breast reconstruction with autologous tissue. Various breast plastic surgery procedures have different common pathogens of infection, but the most prevalent are CoNS and S. aureus. Additionally, the majority of the infections in this study were in the early stages. Conclusions: Gram‐positive bacteria were the predominant cause of breast plastic surgery infections, and the types of infection strains, the period of infection onset, and the antibiotic susceptibility of prevalent strains varied between breast plastic procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CaV1.3 channels are unique among the high voltage-activated Ca2+ channel family because they activate at the most negative potentials and display very rapid calcium-dependent inactivation. Both properties are of crucial importance in neurons of the suprachiasmatic nucleus and substantia nigra, where the influx of Ca2+ ions at subthreshold membrane voltages supports pacemaking function. Previously, alternative splicing in the CaV1.3 C terminus gives rise to a long (CaV1.342) and a short form (CaV1.342A), resulting in a pronounced activation at more negative voltages and faster inactivation in the latter. It was further shown that the C-terminal modulator in the CaV1.342 isoforms modulates calmodulin binding to the IQ domain. Using splice variant-specific antibodies, we determined that protein localization of both splice variants in different brain regions were similar. Using the transcript-scanning method, we further identified alternative splicing at four loci in the C terminus of CaV1.3 channels. Alternative splicing of exon 41 removes the IQ motif, resulting in a truncated CaV1.3 protein with diminished inactivation. Splicing of exon 43 causes a frameshift and exhibits a robust inactivation of similar intensity to CaV1.342A. Alternative splicing of exons 44 and 48 are in-frame, altering interaction of the distal modulator with the IQ domain and tapering inactivation slightly. Thus, alternative splicing in the C terminus of CaV1.3 channels modulates its electrophysiological properties, which could in turn alter neuronal firing properties and functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Adenosine-to-inosine RNA editing is crucial for generating molecular diversity, and serves to regulate protein function through recoding of genomic information. Here, we discover editing within CaV1.3 Ca2+ channels, renown for low-voltage Ca2+-influx and neuronal pacemaking. Significantly, editing occurs within the channel''s IQ domain, a calmodulin-binding site mediating inhibitory Ca2+-feedback (CDI) on channels. The editing turns out to require RNA adenosine deaminase ADAR2, whose variable activity could underlie a spatially diverse pattern of CaV1.3 editing seen across the brain. Edited CaV1.3 protein is detected both in brain tissue and within the surface membrane of primary neurons. Functionally, edited CaV1.3 channels exhibit strong reduction of CDI; in particular, neurons within the suprachiasmatic nucleus show diminished CDI, with higher frequencies of repetitive action-potential and calcium-spike activity, in wild-type versus ADAR2 knockout mice. Our study reveals a mechanism for fine-tuning CaV1.3 channel properties in CNS, which likely impacts a broad spectrum of neurobiological functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, the position of PCSK9 inhibitors as adjuvant therapy to statins in guidelines has further improved. However, there remained a dearth of direct comparative studies among different PCSK9 inhibitors. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a network meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of different PCSK9 inhibitors combined with statins., Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted from the study's inception to 12 November 2023, encompassing multiple online databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov to obtain relevant randomized controlled trials. Frequentist network meta-analysis was employed to compare the efficacy and safety of different PCSK9 inhibitors. The efficacy endpoints were low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), and lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)). The safety endpoints were any adverse events (AE), severe adverse events (SAE), AE leading to treatment discontinuation, and injection-site reaction., Results: Compared with placebo and ezetimibe, all PCSK9 inhibitors demonstrated significant reductions in LDL-C levels. Notably, evolocumab exhibited the most pronounced effect with a treatment difference of -63.67% (-68.47% to -58.87%) compared with placebo. Regarding dosage selection for evolocumab, the regimen of 140 mg Q2W (-69.13%, -74.55% to -63.72%) was superior to 420 mg QM (-61.51%, -65.97% to -57.05%). Based on rankings and P -scores analysis, tafolecimab 150 mg Q2W demonstrated superior efficacy in reducing ApoB levels (-61.70%, -84.38% to -39.02%) and Lp(a) levels (-43%, 30%, -68%, 81% to -17%, 79%). Furthermore, the safety profile of PCSK9 inhibitors was favorable with no increase in the incidence of AE, SAE, or AE leading to treatment discontinuation; however, alirocumab, inclisiran, and tafolecimab may potentially entail a potential risk associated with injection-site reactions., Conclusion: Compared with placebo and ezetimibe, PCSK9 inhibitors can significantly reduce LDL-C, ApoB, and Lp(a) when combined with statins to treat hypercholesterolemia. Furthermore, PCSK9 inhibitors and ezetimibe exhibit similar safety profiles., Systematic Review Registration: [PROSPERO], identifier [CRD42023490506]., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 Liu, Zhang, Zhang, Jiang, Wu, Yang, Li, Fan, Li, Sun, Gou and Wang.)

Background: We aimed to summarize the distribution of pathogenic bacteria for postoperative infection of different genitourinary plastic surgery and the antimicrobial resistance of the major pathogens., Methods: Between January 2011 and December 2021, following plastic surgery of the urogenital system, microbial strains from infected patients were collected, identified, and counted. The antibiotic sensitivity and distribution characteristics of common pathogens in relation with the surgical procedures were studied by WHONET 5.6, along with the main bacteria accounting for early infection., Results: A total of 76 cases were included in the study. Among these, 53 Gram-negative bacteria were detected, with Escherichia coli (18 of 53) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (nine of 53) accounting for the majority. There were also 23 Gram-positive bacteria, among which Staphylococcus aureus (six of 23) and Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (five of 23) were the most common. In terms of antimicrobial resistance, E. coli was highly sensitive to amikacin, piperacillin/tazobactam, cefoxitin, and imipenem, whereas P. aeruginosa was highly sensitive to gentamicin, amikacin, cefepime, piperacillin/tazobactam, imipenem, ceftazidime, and ciprofloxacin. Procedures for urethral repair, urethral reconstruction, and lump resection were most commonly associated with infection. Among these, urethral repair was responsible for the majority of infections. The pathogenic bacteria involved in postoperative infections varied overall, but the most prevalent was E. coli ., Conclusions: Gram-negative bacteria are the major cause of infection following genitourinary plastic surgery. The specific bacterial strains, degrees of antimicrobial resistance, and length of infection varied among the various procedures. The results of this study may provide references for clinical medication and the prevention and control of such infections., Competing Interests: The authors have no financial interest to declare in relation to the content of this article. The study was supported by The Key Medical Discipline Research Project of Beijing Shijingshan District., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons.)

Background: Tislelizumab is the first PD-1 inhibitor in China to demonstrate superior efficacy in second-line or third-line treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of tislelizumab compared to docetaxel from a Chinese healthcare system perspective., Methods: A dynamic Markov model was developed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of tislelizumab in comparison to docetaxel in second or third-line treatment. The efficacy data utilized in the model were derived from the RATIONALE-303 clinical trial, while cost and utility values were obtained from the drug data service platform and published studies. The primary outcomes of the model encompassed quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). One-way sensitivity analysis and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were conducted to validate the robustness of the base case analysis results., Results: The tislelizumab group demonstrated a cost increase of CNY 117,473 and a gain of 0.58 QALYs compared to the docetaxel group, resulting in an ICER value of CNY 202,927 per QALY gained., Conclusion: The administration of tislelizumab in patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC not only extends the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Moreover, this treatment demonstrates a favorable cost-effectiveness profile across the Chinese population., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhang, Fan, Zhang, Jiang, Wu, Yang, Li and Liu.)