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Ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury can lead to severe arrhythmia and aggravate myocardial damage. Exosomes are small‐membrane vesicles that play a protective role in myocardial I/R injury. This study aimed to explore the protective effects of ischaemic preconditioning (IPC)‐induced serum exosomes (IPC‐Exo) on myocardial I/R injury in rats and its underlying mechanism. Serum exosomes were extracted from IPC rats and quantified using a bicinchoninic acid assay kit. IPC‐Exo (50 μg) was injected into the infarcted myocardium immediately after ligation. Rats were randomly divided into Sham, I/R, IPC‐Exo + I/R, I/R + LY294002, and I/R + IPC‐Exo + LY294002 groups. Haemodynamic parameters were measured by physiological recording. Transthoracic echocardiography was used to detect cardiac function. The serum levels of creatine kinase isomer‐MB, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate transaminase, tumour necrosis factor‐alpha, interleukin (IL)‐1β, and IL‐10 were detected by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining was used to measure the myocardial infarct size. Apoptosis in myocardial tissues was detected by TUNEL staining. Western blotting was used to detect the levels of PI3K/AKT and apoptosis‐related proteins. Our results showed that treatment with IPC‐Exo ameliorated cardiac function and reduced inflammatory factor production, cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and myocardial infarct size. Moreover, IPC‐Exo treatment promoted the protein expression of Bcl‐2, p‐PI3K, and p‐AKT but inhibited that of caspase‐3 and Bax. However, treatment with LY294002 significantly reversed that IPC‐Exo‐induced increase in p‐PI3K and p‐AKT levels, improvement of haemodynamics, and decrease of inflammatory factor production and apoptosis in the I/R + IPC‐Exo group. Taken together, our results suggest that IPC‐Exo may alleviate I/R injury via activating the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteosarcoma, known for its rapid progression and high metastatic potential, poses significant challenges in adolescent oncology. This study delves into the roles of lipid metabolism and acetylation genes in the disease's pathogenesis. Utilizing gene set variation analysis, we examined 14 lipid metabolism-related pathways in osteosarcoma patients, identifying significant variances in three pathways between metastatic and primary cases. Additionally, differences in four acetylation genes between these groups were observed. A comprehensive analysis pinpointed 62 lipid metabolism-related genes, with 39 exhibiting significant correlations with acetylation genes, termed lipid metabolism acetylation (LMA) genes. Employing machine learning techniques like Lasso+RSF and GBM, we developed a predictive model for overall survival based on LMA genes. This model, with an average c-index of 0.771, focuses on three key genes: CYP2C8, PAFAH2, and ACOX3, whose prognostic value was confirmed through survival and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses. Quantitative RT-PCR results indicated higher expression levels of ACOX3 and PAFAH2 in OS cells (143B, HOS, MG63) than in osteoblasts (hFOB1.19), while CYP2C8 was lower in OS cells. Furthermore, drug sensitivity analysis through the pRRophetic algorithm suggested potential targeted therapies, revealing drugs with differential sensitivity based on LMA scores and varied treatment responses related to the expression of core genes. This study not only highlights the crucial role of lipid metabolism and acetylation in osteosarcoma but also offers a foundation for personalized treatment strategies, marking a notable advancement in combating this severe form of adolescent cancer., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Introduction: Concern about Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) bloodstream infections (KP-BSIs) is widespread because of their high incidence and lethality. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical features of, and risk factors for mortality caused by KP-BSIs., Methodology: This was a single-center retrospective observational study performed between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2021, at a tertiary hospital. All patients with KP-BSIs were enrolled and their clinical data were retrieved from electronic medical records., Results: A total of 145 patients were included (121 in the survival group and 24 in the non-survival group). There was a higher proportion of lower respiratory tract infections in the non-survival group than in the survival group (33.3% vs. 12.4%) (p < 0.05). There was a higher proportion of multi drug resistant (MDR) strains of K. pneumoniae in the non-survival group than in the survival group (41.7% vs. 16.5%) (p < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score > 6.5 (OR, 13.71; 95% CI, 1.05-179.84), admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 0.26-19.61) and gastrointestinal bleeding (OR, 19.97; 95% CI, 1.11-361.02) were independent risk factors for death in patients with KP-BSIs., Conclusions: Among all KP-BSIs, a high proportion of K. pneumoniae originated from lower respiratory tract infections, and a high proportion of K. pneumoniae were MDR; however, mortality was not influenced. SOFA score > 6.5, admission to the ICU, and gastrointestinal bleeding were independent risk factors for death in patients with KP-BSI., Competing Interests: No Conflict of Interest is declared, (Copyright (c) 2024 Panpan Xu, Xijiang Zhang, Qingqing Chen, Qin Si, Xinhua Luo, Chuming Zhang, Zongguang He, Ronghai Lin, Cheng Zheng.)

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of annual reported people living with HIV/AIDS (HIV/AIDS)in Qingdao city, Shandong province from 2010 to 2014 and to provide theoretical evidence for strategies on targeted prevention and control., Methods: Information on annual reported HIV/AIDS and sentinel surveillance data from 2010 to 2014 was abstracted from the HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Response Information Management System (CRIMS). Statistical analysis was done by SPSS software., Results: The number of annual reported HIV/AIDS increased from 2010 to 2014 in Qingdao, with the sex ratio as 10.8. Among all the patients, 77.1% were aged 20-39 years, 65.6% were unmarried, 67.6% graduated from high school or above. Homosexual contact was the major mode of transmission, and the prevalence of MSM increased yearly (P<0.05)., Conclusions: MSM appeared the major high risk population for AIDS epidemic in Qingdao. However, surveillance projects should also be strengthened among the female population with multiple sexual partners. Optimal prevention and control measures based on the characteristics of AIDS epidemic should be developed to explore the stern spread and epidemics of the disease, in Qingdao.