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Orychophragmus violaceus (OV) and chicory ( Cichorium intybus L., CC) can be used as fresh or dry forage for animals. To determine whether OV and/or CC have beneficial effects on performance and egg quality, a total of 1212 28-wk-old Beijing You Chicken (BYC) laying hens with similar performance were randomly allocated to 4 groups with 3 replicate pens per group, and 101 birds per pen. The birds were fed a basal diet (control), the basal diet + OV (3.507 kg/d/pen), the basal diet + CC (2.525 kg/d/pen), and the basal diet + OV + CC (OVC, 1.7535 kg/d/pen OV + 1.2625 kg/d/pen CC) for 3 wks after one wk of adaptation. The results showed that egg-laying rate was not affected by OV, CC and OVC ( p  > 0.05), but weekly average egg mass was significantly increased by OV and CC ( p  < 0.05). The feed egg ratio in the CC group (2.82) was significantly lower than that in the other three groups ( p  < 0.05). The eggshell thickness (EST), albumen height (AH) and Haugh unit (HU) were decreased by OV and CC ( p  < 0.05); while yolk color (YC) was increased in the CC and OVC groups ( p  < 0.05). Egg grade was decreased by OV ( p  < 0.05). Sensory evaluation showed that there was a trend for increased YC in OV, CC and OVC ( p  = 0.089). Serum total protein was significantly lower in OV group than those in the control and CC group ( p  < 0.05); serum albumin content was significantly decreased in OV, CC and OVC groups ( p  = 0.006). Serum glutathione peroxidase activity in CC and OVC groups was significantly higher than that in the control group ( p  < 0.05). In conclusion, the present study suggests that CC had a better effect on the performance of the native laying hens than OV. The OV and CC affected egg quality, while YC was increased in CC and OVC groups. The OVC improved YC and serum antioxidative properties of native laying hens without affecting the performance.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on a MonoMAC syndrome case admitted in October 2022 to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. The patient, a 16-year-old female with a history of persistent monocytopenia and mild anemia for several years, experienced recurrent symptoms of cough, expectoration, and fever, leading to multiple visits to the hospital. The diagnosis of MonoMAC syndrome was confirmed through comprehensive assessments including routine blood tests, pathogen metagenomic sequencing, lung and bone marrow biopsies, and next-generation sequencing of peripheral blood. The patient underwent haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, with a smooth course of transplantation, achieving neutrophil engraftment on + 16 d and platelet engraftment on + 17 d, eventually restoring normal monocyte and NK cell counts. MonoMAC syndrome patients often initially present with infectious symptoms, and the diagnosis can be established based on significant monocytopenia in routine blood tests, history of non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections, and GATA2 germline mutations. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may be required for some patients to improve their prognosis.

Objective: To explore the evaluation effect of ultrasonography and Pirani score on tarsal deformity, treatment effect and pseudo-correction of congenital clubfoot in infants and young children, and the correlation between the two methods. Methods: This is a retrospective case series study. The clinical data of 26 children (40 feet) with congenital clubfoot who were evaluated by ultrasonography in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2020 to January 2023 were retrospectively collected. There were 16 males and 10 females. The age at the first ultrasound examination was ( M (IQR)) 9.0 (18.0) days (range: 1 to 46 days). All patients were treated with Ponseti method by the same physician. The Pirani scores before and after treatment and at the last examination, and the talonavicular angle, calcaneocuboid angle and tibiocalcaneal angle measured by ultrasound were collected, and the treatment and follow-up were recorded. Paired sample t test, repeated measures analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis test were used for data comparison, and Spearman correlation analysis was used for correlation analysis. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to calculate the efficacy of ultrasound in evaluating different Pirani scores. Results: The number of plaster fixation in 26 children was 4.0 (1.0) times (range: 2 to 8 times). The medial talonavicular angle and posterior tibiocalcaneal angle were significantly improved after treatment and at the last follow-up compared with those before treatment, and the differences were statistically significant (all P <0.01). There was no difference in lateral calcaneocuboid angle before and after treatment and at the last follow-up ( F =1.971, P >0.05). Pseudo-correction occurred in 2 cases (2 feet) during the treatment, with an incidence of 5%. Correlation analysis showed that there was a moderate positive correlation between talonavicular angle and Pirani midfoot score ( r =0.480, P <0.01). There was no correlation between calcaneocuboid angle and Pirani midfoot score ( r =0.114, P =0.105). There was a moderate negative correlation between tibial heel angle and Pirani hindfoot score ( r =-0.566, P <0.01). The cut-off point of Pirani midfoot score of 1.5 was 38.78°, the sensitivity was 0.90, the specificity was 0.56, and the area under the curve was 0.75. The cut-off value of angle was 27.51 °, the sensitivity was 0.16, the specificity was 0.92, and the area under the curve was 0.44.The cut-off points of Pirani midfoot score of 3.0 were 45.08°and 9.96°, the sensitivity was 0.94 and 0.91, the specificity was 0.37 and 0.42, and the area under the curve was 0.59 and 0.62, respectively. The cut-off values of Pirani hindfoot score of 2.0 and 3.0 were 167.46° and 160.15°, respectively. The sensitivity was 0.75 and 0.67, the specificity was 0.81 and 0.83, and the area under the curve was 0.78 and 0.71, respectively. Conclusion: Ultrasound can complement with Pirani score, visually and dynamically observe the morphology and position changes of talonavicular joint, calcaneocuboid joint and tibiotalocalcaneal joint, monitor the recovery and pseudo-correction of tarsal bones, and better evaluate the therapeutic effect.

Chronic hepatitis C is a kind of viral hepatitis caused by hepatitis C virus infection, which can further progress to cirrhosis, liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma, and even death. Presently, there is no preventive vaccine yet. Therefore, preventing infection and safe and effective drug treatment are currently the most effective strategies for dealing with hepatitis C virus infection. Since 2014, the clinical application of direct-acting antiviral drugs has brought revolutionary changes to the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Direct-acting antiviral drugs have an excellent hepatitis C virus clearance effect, are well tolerated, have a good safety profile, and can significantly improve liver function, metabolic disorders, immune dysfunction, etc. However, some studies have pointed out that even if the hepatitis C virus is cleared during the treatment of chronic hepatitis C-related cirrhosis with direct-acting antiviral drugs, a considerable proportion of patients still have severe liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma, and even liver disease-related death, so there are still some problems in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C- related cirrhosis with direct-acting antiviral drugs that need to be further explored. This article reviews the research progress of direct-acting antiviral drugs so as to provide meaningful references for the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C-related cirrhosis.