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Background Fibrinogen (FIB) is often elevated in children with Henoch Schonlein purpuric nephritis (HSPN), but the correlation between FIB and renal lesions has been less studied. Objective To explore the correlation between FIB in children with HSPN and the International Study Group on Pediatric Kidney Disease (ISKDC) pathology grading and micropathological changes in parts of renal units, and to clarify whether FIB can assess the severity of renal injury in children with HSPN. Methods In total, 922 children with HSPN who were hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine in the pediatric nephrology ward and underwent kidney biopsy at the same time from December 2017 to December 2022 were collected, and the clinical information, FIB and renal pathological information during renal biopsy were summarized, and based on the FIB level, the children were categorized into group A (low) 4.98 g/L. The correlation between FIB and ISKDC pathological grades, glomerular mesangial hyperplasia ratio, the crescentic bodies ratio and the nature of the glomerular lesions from acute to chronic was investigated by Spearman rank correlation analysis, and the prediction of FIB on the micropathological changes of renal units was analyzed by the subject's work characteristic (ROC) curve. Results Among 922 children with HSPN who had undergone renal biopsy, the FIB was (3.48±1.01) g/L. 113 cases in group A had a low FIB rate of 12.26%; 734 cases in group B had a standardized FIB rate of 79.61%; and 75 cases in group C had a high FIB rate of 8.13%. The ISKDC pathology classification was type Ⅱa in 173 cases (18.76%), type Ⅱb in 29 cases (3.15%), 466 cases (50.54%) of type Ⅲa, 232 cases (25.16%) of type Ⅲb, and 22 cases (2.39%) of type Ⅳ and above (including 2 cases of type Ⅳa, 18 cases of type Ⅳb, and 2 cases of type Ⅴ). The results of the Spearman's rank correlation analysis showed that the FIB and the grouping of the FIB of the children with HSPN were positively related to the renal pathology ISKDC grading (rs=0.146, P

Drawing on Chinese studies of the Soviet collapse since 1992, this article examines the main arguments and relative influence of Sovietologists and ideological scholars from their publications in relation to the contexts of China's political and ideological changes. The study finds that although Sovietologists dominated the academic discourse on the Soviet collapse during Deng's lifetime, they were gradually eclipsed by the ideological scholars in the post-Deng era. As the Communist Party leadership expanded Marxist schools and allowed ideological scholars more room after Deng's death, historical nihilism eventually displaced "irreformable structural failures" as the dominant school for the collapse of the Soviet Union in contemporary Chinese academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Cultural Revolution, millions of youths, workers, intellectuals, and cadres were separated from their families and mobilized to work in distant places according to the needs of the state. For these families, the transition to the post-Mao era was experienced not as an epochal change but as a family reunion often delayed by specific institutional constraints. The constant friction between families' strategies to reunite and the bureaucratic logic specific to local contexts led to a sense of victimhood and a turn to domestic life and hope in children as the new sacred in life. By examining the processes of family reunion told in three sets of family letters, this article explores "transitional frictions," defined as the conflicts and tensions arising from different speeds of institutional change during a rapid transition, as a ubiquitous phenomenon in the post-Mao transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to externally validate a predictive score for fracture-related infections, establishing generalizability for absolute and relative risk of infection in the setting of orthopedic fracture surgery. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective, case-control study performed at a level I academic trauma center that included 147 patients with fracture-related infection in the study group and 300 control patients. We analyzed the same 8 independent predictors of fracture-related infection cited by a previous study. We then used the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) to compare the derivation and validation cohorts. The validation and derivation cohorts were then compared by grouping patients into 4 strata of Wise score groups. This allowed for comparison of AUC and risk of fracture-related infection in our institution with those in the previously studied institution. Results: The resulting data yielded an AUC (0.74) nearly identical to that of the previously studied institution. It was also found that the relative risk of infection correlated with the Wise score in the same way the initial model did with the absolute risks being similar. Conclusion: The previous predictive model was externally validated and shown to be generalizable to a different patient population. The relative risk of a fracture-related infection can be determined using this scoring model preoperatively with the goal of aiding in patient counseling and surgical decision-making, giving a quantitative value to patient risk factors. [Orthopedics. 2024;47(5):e268–e272.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is defined as the loss of 2 or more consecutive intrauterine pregnancies with the same sexual partner in the first trimester. Despite its significance, the etiology and underlying mechanisms of RSA remain elusive. Defective decidualization is proposed as one of the potential causes of RSA, with abnormal decidualization leading to disturbances in trophoblast invasion function. Objective To assess the role of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) in decidualization and RSA. Methods Decidual samples were collected from both RSA patients and healthy controls to assess BMP4 expression. In vitro cell experiments utilized the hESC cell line to investigate the impact of BMP4 on decidualization and associated aging, as well as its role in the maternal-fetal interface communication. Subsequently, a spontaneous abortion mouse model was established to evaluate embryo resorption rates and BMP4 expression levels. Results Our study identified a significant downregulation of BMP4 expression in the decidua of RSA patients compared to the normal control group. In vitro, BMP4 knockdown resulted in inadequate decidualization and inhibited associated aging processes. Mechanistically, BMP4 was implicated in the regulation of FOXO1 expression, thereby influencing decidualization and aging. Furthermore, loss of BMP4 hindered trophoblast migration and invasion via FOXO1 modulation. Additionally, BMP4 downregulation was observed in RSA mice. Conclusion Our findings highlighted the downregulation of BMP4 in both RSA patients and mice. BMP4 in human endometrial stromal cells was shown to modulate decidualization by regulating FOXO1 expression. Loss of BMP4 may contribute to the pathogenesis of RSA, suggesting potential avenues for abortion prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we study the unintended subversion of official ideology among ordinary people in Mao's China by analyzing the everyday life represented in the letters of a Shanghai worker who sought to overcome political anxieties by turning the political rituals, symbols, and tropes to his ends without resisting political mobilizations and challenging official ideology. By examining how the writer of the letters read Maoist political texts and employ political discourse in everyday life, we seek to explain how such a tactic of everyday politics differs from resistance and escape. We demonstrate that ordinary people could still find a way to transcend the political logic of the Cultural Revolution while outwardly participating in the revolutionary routine. This mode of unintentional subversion helps to explain how the Cultural Revolution ended without a major political upheaval against the Party-state's official ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine if the results of the OXYGEN trial changed using an "as-treated" approach instead of the original "intention-to-treat" approach. The multi-center randomized controlled OXYGEN trial aimed to determine the effectiveness of high FiO2 in decreasing infection rates for high-risk tibial plateau, tibial pilon, and calcaneus fractures., Methods: A secondary analysis of a multi-center randomized controlled trial conducted at 29 US trauma centers was performed. A total of 1231 patients aged 18-80 years with tibial plateau, tibial pilon, or calcaneus fractures thought to be at elevated risk of infection were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to receive inspired oxygen at a concentration of 80 % FiO2 (treatment) or 30 % FiO2 (control). Adherence was defined using two different criteria. Criterion 1 required at least 80 % of the surgery time ≤40 % FiO2 for the control group or ≥70 % FiO2 for the treatment group. Criterion 2 required at least 80 % of surgery time within 20-40 % (control) or 70-90 % FiO2 (treatment). The primary outcome was surgical site infection (SSI) within 182 days of definitive fracture fixation. Secondary outcomes were deep and superficial surgical site infections within 90, 182, and 365 days of definitive fixation., Results: Under Criterion 1, the primary outcome occurred in 7 % (38/523) and 10 % (49/471) of patients in the treatment and control groups, respectively (p = 0.10). Deep infection occurred in 30 (6 %) treatment and 30 (6 %) control patients (p = 0.75). Superficial infection occurred in 9 (2 %) treatment and 20 (4 %) control patients (RR, 0.41; p = 0.03). Using Criterion 2, the primary outcome occurred in 7 % (36/498) of treatment and 10 % (48/468) of control patients (p = 0.12). Deep infection occurred in 28 (6 %) treatment and 29 (6 %) control patients (p = 0.81). Superficial infection occurred in 9 (2 %) treatment and 20 (4.3 %) control patients (RR = 0.43; p = 0.03)., Conclusions: When re-analyzing based on which patients actually received high or control levels of perioperative oxygen fraction, the results are somewhat consistent with the original "intent-to-treat" analysis. Specifically, high perioperative oxygen lowered the risk of superficial SSI but did not affect deep infections., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No conflicts specific to this manuscript were declared., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: This study investigates the clinical characteristics and outcomes of pediatric patients with rheumatic diseases infected with COVID-19 in China., Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of pediatric patients with rheumatic diseases who contracted COVID-19. Data were collected via a comprehensive questionnaire with a 14-day follow-up. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess severe outcomes, and network analyses evaluated symptom correlations., Results: A total of 1070 cases were collected. Fever (88.05%) and cough (62.75%) were the most common symptoms. Cough, nasal congestion, and runny nose exhibited a stronger correlation with each other. A higher incidence of fever reduced the incidence of two single symptoms (nasal congestion [r = -0.833], runny nose [r = -0.762]). Vaccinated children showed a shorter time to negative COVID-19 conversion (7.21 days vs. 7.63 days, p < 0.05) and lower hospitalization rates (p = 0.025). Prolonged symptom duration was associated with older age (OR: 1.07 [1.04-1.11]; p < 0.001) and systemic lupus erythematosus (OR: 1.47 [1.01-2.12]; p = 0.046)., Conclusions: Pediatric patients with rheumatic diseases exhibited a wide range of clinical symptoms after COVID-19 infection. The infection generally did not lead to severe outcomes in this study. COVID-19 vaccination was associated with reduced hospitalization risk and expediting the time to negativity for virus., Impacts: This manuscript demonstrates a comprehensive analysis of the clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 infection in pediatric patients with rheumatic diseases in China. It provides critical insights into the specific challenges faced by this vulnerable population and offers practical recommendations for improving patient management during periods of increased infectious risk., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Our study aims to investigate the immunological pathogenesis underlying immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) and explore potential biomarkers for IgAN diagnosis., Materials and Methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples were screened between IgAN patients and healthy people based on GSE115857. Gene oncology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) enrichment was performed to identify related biological processes and pathways. CIBERSORT was utilized to seek the relationship of immune cell infiltration with IgAN. Finally, the expression of paraoxonase 2 (PON2) related to innate immune response was verified in FFPE samples of minimal change disease and IgAN patients by immunohistochemistry and PAS staining., Results: 25 down-regulated genes and 12 up-regulated genes were identified in IgAN patients, which mainly responded to endothelial cell proliferation, inflammatory response, and angiogenesis. Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection might be involved in IgAN pathogenesis. In addition, the infiltration of macrophages M0, naïve B cells, and follicular helper T (Tfh) cells was positively correlated in IgAN patients. Macrophages M1 and M2 infiltration were up-regulated in IgAN patients, which indicated that innate immune response was closely associated with IgAN. Besides, the results of immunohistochemistry showed that PON2 was obviously positively expressed in acute and chronic lesions of IgAN patients., Conclusion: In addition to abnormalities in the adaptive immune response, macrophages M1/M2 and innate immune disorder may participate in IgAN pathogenesis. PON2 may become the feasible targets for further investigation of IgAN.