Perceived stress and influencing factors for the people at high risk to COVID-19 in centralized quarantine camps in Wenzhou, China.

BACKGROUND: This study was designed to assess stress levels and related factors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic among individuals in centralized quarantine camps in Wenzhou, China. METHODS: The survey was conducted using a questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions on sociodemographic characteristics, life events related to the COVID-19 and stressful situations, as well as Perceived Stress Scale-14. Participants included close contacts of patients with COVID-19 or at-risk individuals in quarantine camps. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze different factors affecting perceived stress. RESULTS: The prevalence of high stress among quarantine camp participants was 37.45%. Of the 881 respondents, 51.99% were concerned about the difficulty of controlling the epidemic, 46.20% were concerned about the health of themselves and their family members and 39.61% were concerned about not being able to leave their homes. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed statistically significant differences in the prevalence of stress among different groups for certain variables, including occupation, education level and knowledge of COVID-19 (all P < 0.05). Our study found that at-risk individuals and close contacts experienced high levels of stress in quarantine camps during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that centralized quarantine policies should be adapted and optimized to minimize negative psychological effects on quarantined individuals.

Interpretation and application of guidelines on the prevention of foot ulcers in patients with diabetes(IWGDF2023 Updated) / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Foot ulcer prevention plays a crucial role in reducing the amputation rate among diabetic patients. With regard to the prevention of diabetic foot ulcers, the 2023 guidelines of the International Working Group of Diabetic Foot(IWGDF) were different from the 2019 counterpart. The most notable change is the addition of high-level evidence to support recommendations, primarily derived from randomized controlled studies. The 2023 guidelines also advocate for local skin temperature measurement, participation in ankle exercise training, and psychological intervention for foot ulcer prevention. This article conducts a comparative analysis of the two guidelines across six key dimensions: identification of high-risk feet, regular examination of high-risk feet, health education, ensuring appropriate daily footwear, addressing ulcer risk factors, and comprehensive foot care. Drawing from clinical insights, the application and prospective implications of the 2023 guidelines in China are also examined.

Textual Research and Clinical Application of Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiangtang / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiangtang with a definite clinical effect has been widely used and recorded since the Han Dynasty. As a classic prescription of Chaihu classic formula praised by doctors ofsuccessive generations， it has been included in the Ancient Classic Prescription Catalogue （Second Batch）： Han Medicine published by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine in August 2023. We carried out a bibliometric study involved 34 ancient books of traditional Chinese medicine， with 37 records including the name and composition of the prescription. This paper summarizes the source name， composition， original medicinal plant， dose， preparation method， usage， ancient and modern indications， and clinical application of Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiangtang. The results of textual research show that Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiangtang is derived from the Treatise on Febrile Diseases （Shanghanlun） written by ZHANG Zhongjing in the Han dynasty， and the original plants of medicines in this prescription are basically the same in ancient and modern times. Most records about the doses in ancient books are consistent with those in the Treatise on Febrile Diseases （Shanghanlun）. The efficacy of Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiangtang is to harmonize lesser yang and resolve water retention by warming. This prescription was used to treat a variety of diseases， especially those caused by disturbance of Qi movement in the greater Yang and lesser Yang. It is now mainly used to treat the diseases in the digestive system， respiratory system， dermatology， nervous system， etc.， being effective for difficult and complicated diseases. Through the excavation and combing of the ancient records of Chaihu Guizhi Ganjiangtang， this paper clarifies the key information， providing a reference for the clinical application of classical prescriptions and the development of new drugs.

Expression of serum miR-145 and miR-195 in OSCC patients and their relationship with cervical lymph node metastasis / 国际检验医学杂志

Objective To analyze the expression of serum microRNA(miR)-145 and miR-195 in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma(OSCC)and their relationship with cervical lymph node metastasis.Methods A total of 102 patients diagnosed with OSCC in the hospital from January 2020 to June 2022 were selected as OSCC group.Clinicopathological parameters of OSCC patients were collected and sorted.According to whether cervical lymph node metastasis occurred,the patients were divided into a cervical lymph node me-tastasis group(43 cases)and a non-cervical lymph node metastasis group(59 cases).In the same period,79 patients with precancerous lesion were selected as the precancerous lesion group,and 86 healthy subjects with-out oral disease were selected as the healthy control group.Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the relative expression levels of serum miR-145 and miR-195.The evaluation value of relative expression levels of serum miR-145 and miR-195 in cervical lymph node metastasis in OSCC patients was examined by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.Results The relative expression lev-els of serum miR-145 and miR-195 in OSCC group were lower than those in precancerous lesion group and healthy control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The relative expression levels of serum miR-145 and miR-195 in precancerous lesion group were lower than those in healthy control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The relative expression levels of serum miR-145 and miR-195 in OSCC patients with low tumor differentiation and TNM stage Ⅲ+Ⅳ were lower than those in OSCC patients with medium/high tumor differentiation and TNM stage Ⅰ+Ⅱ,with statistical significance(P＜0.05).The relative expression levels of serum miR-145 and miR-195 in cervical lymph node metastasis group were lower than those in non-cervical lymph node metastasis group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The relative expression levels of serum miR-145 and miR-195 were 0.840(95％CI:0.765-0.915),0.832(95％CI:0.754-0.910)and 0.898(95％CI:0.754-0.910)of cervical lymph node metastasis in OSCC patients respectively.The specificity was 79.1％,88.4％and 77.5％,and the sensitivity was 74.6％,67.8％and 87.4％,respectively.Conclusion Serum miR-145 and miR-195 are low expressed in OSCC patients,and are related to cervical lymph node metastasis,tumor differentiation,and TNM stage in OSCC patients,which can be used as an important indicator to evaluate cervical lymph node metastasis in OS-CC patients.

Analysis of Knowledge Map of Acupoint Catgut Embedd Therapy for Pain Based on Citespace / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To comprehensively excavate and analyze the research status,research hotspots and future trends of the literature related to the field of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for pain treatment in the CNKI database.Methods We searched the CNKI database from its establishment to June 2022,and scientifically analyzed the authors,keywords,and institutions of the included literature of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for pain treatment through specific algorithms of Citespace to generate a visual knowledge map.Results A total of 319 documents were included for statistical analysis,the number of publications in the field of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for the treatment of pain was generally on the rise,the number of publications by various authors was on the low side,and there was a lack of co-operation between the research teams,with the main institutions being the Guang'anmen Hospital,Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences,Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical Universities of Nationalities and the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine,forming a 10-keyword clustering,and the hotspots of diseases under study were mainly mixed haemorrhoids,postoperative pain,low back and leg pain and dysmenorrhoea,etc..The main interventions were pure acupoint catgut embedding therapy and the combination of acupoint catgut embedding therapy and other acupuncture therapies,and the main research method was clinical research.Conclusion Acupoint catgut embedding therapy for the treatment of pain has a good development prospect,the future needs to deepen the clinical research,strengthen the mechanism research,pay attention to the joint use of acupoint catgut embedding therapy and other traditional Chinese medicine methods,and pay attention to the research of different thread materials.

The Prevalance of Depression and Anxiety among Elderly People in Dai Rural Areas of Jinggu County Yunnan Province and Its Relationship with Socio-economic Status / 昆明医科大学学报

Objective The aim of this study is to analyze the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms and its relationship with the socio-economic position(SEP)among the elderly people in Dai rural areas of Jinggu County,Yunnan province.Methods A multi-stage stratified random sampling method was used to conduct a questionnaire survey among 1409 people aged 60 and over in Dai rural areas of Jinggu County,Yunnan Province.The individual SEP index was constructed using the principal component analysis.Results The prevalence of anxiety symptoms,depression symptoms,and mixed anxiety-depressive disorder symptoms was 4.8%,52.0%,and 4.2% among them,2.6%,49.4%,and 2.3% among the males,and 6.8%,54.5%,and 6.0% among the females respectively.Females had the higher prevalence of anxiety symptoms and mixed anxiety-depressive disorder symptoms than males(P<0.05).Elderly people with the higher level of education,annual per capita household income and SEP had the lower prevalence of anxiety symptoms and mixed anxiety-depressive disorder symptoms than their counterparts(both P<0.05).The prevalence of depression symptoms increased with age(P<0.01).The difference in the prevelence of depression symptoms among the elderly people with the different numbers of chronic conditions was statistically significant(P<0.01).The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the elderly people with lower SEP were more likely to suffer from the anxiety symptoms(OR=0.707,95% CI:0.566～0.883),depression symptoms(OR=0.492,95% CI:0.438～0.552),and mixed anxiety-depressive disorder symptoms(OR=0.602,95% CI:0.469～0.773).Conclusion There are significant socio-economic differences in the prevalence of anxiety symptoms and depression symptoms among the elderly people in Dai rural areas of Jinggu County,Yunnan province.Future mental health interventions should more focus on females,elderly people with advanced age,multiple chronic diseases and low SEP,so as to reduce the occurrence of depression symptoms and anxiety symptoms.

Risk factors for ketoacidosis in children/adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus and establishment of a predictive model / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To investigate the risk factors for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children/adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and to establish a model for predicting the risk of DKA.@*METHODS@#A retrospective analysis was performed on 217 children/adolescents with T1DM who were admitted to General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from January 2018 to December 2021. Among the 217 children/adolescents,169 cases with DKA were included as the DKA group and 48 cases without DKA were included as the non-DKA group. The risk factors for DKA in the children/adolescents with T1DM were analyzed, and a nomogram model was established for predicting the risk of DKA in children/adolescents with T1DM.@*RESULTS@#For the 217 children/adolescents with T1DM, the incidence rate of DKA was 77.9% (169/217). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that high levels of random blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood ketone body, and triglyceride on admission were closely associated with the development of DKA in the children/adolescents with T1DM (OR=1.156, 3.2031015, 20.131, and 9.519 respectively; P<0.05). The nomogram prediction model had a C-statistic of 0.95, with a mean absolute error of 0.004 between the risk of DKA predicted by the nomogram model and the actual risk of DKA, indicating that the model had a good overall prediction ability.@*CONCLUSIONS@#High levels of random blood glucose, HbA1c, blood ketone body, and triglyceride on admission are closely associated with the development of DKA in children/adolescents with T1DM, and targeted intervention measures should be developed to reduce the risk of DKA.

Extracellular vesicles derived from cervical cancer cells carrying MCM3AP-AS1 promote angiogenesis and tumor growth in cervical cancer via the miR-93/p21 axis.

Tumor cells can promote angiogenesis by secreting extracellular vesicles (EVs). Meanwhile, tumor-derived EVs can carry long non-coding RNAs to activate pro-angiogenic signaling in endothelial cells. Here, we investigated the role of long non-coding RNA MCM3AP-AS1 carried by cervical cancer (CC) cell-derived EVs in the angiogenesis and the resultant tumor growth in CC, as well as the potential molecular mechanisms. LncRNAs significantly expressed in CC cell-derived EVs and CC were screened, followed by prediction of downstream target genes. EVs were isolated from HcerEpic and CaSki cell supernatants, followed by identification. The expression of MCM3AP-AS1 in CC was analyzed and its interaction with miR-93-p21 was confirmed. Following co-culture system, the role of MCM3AP-AS1 carried by EVs in HUVEC angiogenic ability, CC cell invasion and migration in vitro along with angiogenesis and tumorigenicity in vivo was assayed. MCM3AP-AS1 was overexpressed in CC cell-derived EVs as well as in CC tissues and cell lines. Cervical cancer cell-derived EVs could transfer MCM3AP-AS1 into HUVECs where MCM3AP-AS1 competitively bound to miR-93 and upregulate the expression of the miR-93 target p21 gene. Thus, MCM3AP-AS1 promoted angiogenesis of HUVECs. In the similar manner, MCM3AP-AS1 enhanced CC cell malignant properties. In nude mice, EVs-MCM3AP-AS1 induced angiogenesis and tumor growth. Overall, this study reveals that CC cell-derived EVs may transport MCM3AP-AS1 to promote angiogenesis and tumor growth in CC.

Evaluation and Use of Organs from Donors Poisoned by Organophosphorus Pesticide.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to explore the evaluation and use of donor organs from donors with brain death caused by acute severe organophosphorus pesticides and provide a basis for the use of such donor organs. MATERIAL AND METHODS Seven cases of brain dead donors caused by acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning from January 2014 to December 2018 in the hospital were collected, and a retrospective analysis was made of the donors' age, race, physiological and pathological changes, donor organ function changes and the organ use, liver or kidney function recovery, and complications of the recipients. The 18 recipients were followed up until June 31, 2022. RESULTS We found that 71.42% of organ donors were male, and 71.42% of organ donors were under 50 years old. The main cause of death was respiratory failure caused by organophosphorus pesticide poisoning. The liver and kidney functions of 7 donors were damaged, and 3 livers could not be used due to severe functional damage, but the liver or kidney function of 18 recipients gradually recovered after transplantation. Delayed recovery of graft function occurred after transplantation accounted for 21.43%, and the grafts had good short-term to medium-term performance. CONCLUSIONS Although the function of organs from donor with brain death due to acute severe organophosphorus pesticide poisoning is seriously damaged, most of the organs can still be used for transplantation. Individualized functional maintenance according to the situation of donors is conducive to improving the quality of organs.

DHA inhibits invasion and metastasis in NSCLC cells by interfering with CCL18/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Omega-3 has been proposed as an antitumor substance that suppresses the growth and metastasis of multiple types of tumor cells, including lung cancer, but the specific mechanisms involved remain obscure. Our previous studies showed that the expression of chemokine ligand 18 was related to the migration and metastasis of non-small cell lung cancer. Here, we aim to explore whether omega-3 inhibits invasion and metastasis of NSCLC by regulating the expression of CCL18. The expression of CCL18, metastasis- and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes at mRNA and protein levels in NSCLC cell lines were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot, respectively. The metastatic and invasive capability of NSCLC cells were evaluated by scratch wound healing and Transwell assays, respectively. Our results showed that the level of CCL18 is positively associated with metastatic ability of NSCLC cells. Docosahexaenoic acid, an important long-chain, polyunsaturated omega-3 (n-3) fatty acid, significantly inhibited invasion and metastasis of NSCLC cells, and concomitantly downregulated the expression of metastasis- and EMT-related genes and p-STAT3 signaling pathway. Additionally, we found that DHA inhibited CCL18 expression in lung cancer cells, while overexpression of CCL18 effectively reversed DHA-mediated downregulation in the expression of metastasis- and EMT-related genes and p-STAT3 signaling as well as DHA-mediated inhibitory effect on metastasis and invasion of NSCLC cells. DHA inhibits NSCLC cell invasion and metastasis possibly through targeted inhibition of CCL18/ STAT3 signaling pathway and EMT process.

Research progress on medical image dataset expansion methods / 生物医学工程学杂志

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems play a very important role in modern medical diagnosis and treatment systems, but their performance is limited by training samples. However, the training samples are affected by factors such as imaging cost, labeling cost and involving patient privacy, resulting in insufficient diversity of training images and difficulty in data obtaining. Therefore, how to efficiently and cost-effectively augment existing medical image datasets has become a research hotspot. In this paper, the research progress on medical image dataset expansion methods is reviewed based on relevant literatures at home and abroad. First, the expansion methods based on geometric transformation and generative adversarial networks are compared and analyzed, and then improvement of the augmentation methods based on generative adversarial networks are emphasized. Finally, some urgent problems in the field of medical image dataset expansion are discussed and the future development trend is prospected.

Clinicopathological features of rectal adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation / 中华病理学杂志

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features, immunophenotype, and genetic alterations of rectal adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation. Methods: Four cases of rectal adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation were collected at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China (three cases) and Yantai Yeda Hospital of Shandong Province, China (one case) from January to December 2022. Their clinical features were summarized. Hematoxylin and eosin stain and immunohistochemical stain were performed, while next-generation sequencing was performed to reveal the genetic alterations of these cases. Results: All four patients were male with a median age of 65.5 years. The clinical manifestations were changes of stool characteristics, bloody stools and weight loss. All cases showed mixed morphology composed of conventional adenocarcinoma and adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation. Most of the tumors consisted of glands with tubular and cribriform features. In one case, almost all tumor cells were arranged in papillary structures. The tumor cells with enteroblastic differentiation were columnar, with relatively distinct cell boundaries and characteristic abundant clear cytoplasm, forming fetal gut-like glands. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for SALL4 (4/4), Glypican-3 (3/4) and AFP (1/4, focally positive), while p53 stain showed mutated type in 2 cases. The next-generation sequencing revealed that 2 cases had TP53 gene mutation and 1 case had KRAS gene mutation. Conclusions: Rectal adenocarcinoma with enteroblastic differentiation is rare. It shows embryonal differentiation in morphology and immunohistochemistry, and should be distinguished from conventional colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Application of uterine artery blood flow ultrasonic parameters in prognosis evaluation of threatened abortion during early pregnancy / 中国基层医药

Objective:To explore the application value of uterine artery blood flow ultrasound parameters in evaluating the prognosis of threatened abortion during early pregnancy.Methods:In this non-randomized controlled prospective clinical study, 108 women with threatened abortion during early pregnancy (6-12 weeks of pregnancy) who received treatment in the Health Community Group of Yuhuan Second People's Hospital from July 2021 to December 2022 were included in the observation group. An additional 108 healthy women who were at the early stage of pregnancy were selected for the control group. Color Doppler ultrasound was performed in both groups to measure the ultrasonic parameters of uterine artery blood flow (peak systolic/end diastolic flow velocity, resistance index, pulsatility index) and compare their differences. The pregnant women in the observation group were followed up until 28 weeks of gestation, and their prognosis was analyzed. The pregnant women who had successfully insured their babies were included in the good prognosis group, and the pregnant women who had aborted their babies were included in the poor prognosis group. The ultrasonic parameters of uterine artery blood flow in the two groups were compared. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the correlation between ultrasound parameters of uterine artery blood flow and poor prognosis.Results:In the observation group, the systolic peak/end diastolic flow velocity, resistance index, and pulsatility index on the left side were (6.46 ± 1.71), (0.97 ± 0.30), (2.72 ± 0.89), respectively, and they were (6.49 ± 1.70), (0.96 ± 0.32), (2.70 ± 0.91) respectively on the right side, which were significantly greater than (3.90 ± 1.02), (0.64 ± 0.17), (1.36 ± 0.54), (3.91 ± 1.04), (0.62 ± 0.18), (1.35 ± 0.52) in the control group ( t = 13.36, 9.95, 13.58, 13.45, 9.62, 13.39, all P < 0.001). Twenty-eight-week follow-up results showed that 72 women (66.67%) in the observation group had successfully insured their babies and 36 women (33.33%) had aborted their babies. In the good prognosis group, the systolic peak/end diastolic flow velocity, resistance index, and pulsatile index were (7.95 ± 1.89), (1.22 ± 0.36), (3.06 ± 0.95) on the left side, and they were (7.45 ± 1.94), (1.24 ± 0.37), and (3.03 ± 0.96) on the right side, which were significantly greater than (4.72 ± 1.27), (0.77 ± 0.24), (1.74 ± 0.69), (4.74 ± 1.32), (0.75 ± 0.25), (1.77 ± 0.70) in the poor prognosis group ( t = 10.53, 7.73, 8.23, 8.55, 8.14, 7.76, all P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that peak systolic/end diastolic flow velocity and resistance index were risk factors for poor prognosis of threatened abortion during early pregnancy, while the pulsatility index had no significant correlation with poor prognosis of threatened abortion during early pregnancy. Conclusion:Uterine artery blood flow ultrasound parameters have a certain predictive value for the prognosis evaluation of threatened abortion during early pregnancy, which can provide an important reference for clinical fetal protection treatment and benefit the prognosis of pregnant women.

Pathogenesis and treatment of disorders of gastrointestinal motility / 中国综合临床

Disorders of gastrointestinal motility (DGIM) are very common diseases in the department of gastroenterology and the prevalence is increasing gradually. The pathogenesis of DGIM is complex and closely related to Cajal interstitial cells of gastrointestinal tract, brain-intestinal axis and intestinal microecology. So far, a variety of diagnostic techniques have emerged, including esophageal 24 h pH monitoring and impedance analysis, electrogastrography, radionuclide scanning, ultrasound, 13C gastric emptying breath test, hydrogen breath test, defecation contrast, X-ray marker method, high resolution manometry and wireless motility capsules. According to the different pathogenesis of DGIM, treatment methods emerge in an endless stream, such as adjustment of lifestyle, drugs and surgical treatment and so on. Individual treatment should be provided clinically for different patients.

Value of delta radiomic based on contrast enhanced MRI to predict pathological complete response after neoadjuvant therapy for breast cancer / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To investigate the value of delta radiomics based on longitudinal changes of dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in predicting pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) for breast cancer.Methods:The clinicopathological and imaging data of 117 patients with breast cancer confirmed by surgical pathology from April 2019 to November 2021 at Jiangxi Cancer Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. All patients were female with 23?74 (48±10) years old. The patients were randomly divided into training (81 cases) and test sets (36 cases) at the ratio of 7∶3 according to the number of random seeds in the software. All patients underwent DCE-MRI before and after early NAT (2 courses). The maximum diameter relative regression value of breast tumors before and after early NAT (D%) was calculated and used to construct a conventional imaging model. The delta radiomic features were extracted based on pre-NAT and early-NAT (2 courses) DCE-MRI and selected by redundancy analysis and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm. A ten-fold cross-validation method was used to construct the delta radiomic model and Radscore was calculated for each patient. All patients were classified into pCR group and non-pCR group according to the surgical pathology after NAT. Significant clinicopathological variables were selected by univariate analysis and stepwise regression method. They were integrated with D% and Radscore to build the combined model and nomogram. The model performance in predicting pCR after NAT in breast cancer was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic curve and the area under the curve (AUC), and the clinical utility of the models was compared by using clinical decision curves.Results:The combined model had the best diagnostic performance among the three models, with an AUC of 0.90 in the training set and 0.87 in the test set. The Radscore had the highest weight in the nomogram. In the training set, the diagnostic performance of the combined model and delta radiomics model were better than that of the conventional imaging model ( Z=?3.48, P=0.001; Z=2.54, P=0.011). The clinical decision curves showed an overall greater clinical benefit of the combined model compared with the conventional imaging model and delta radiomic model. Conclusions:The addition of significant clinicopathological variables and Radscore of delta radiomic model which represents the longitudinal changes in tumor heterogeneity to the conventional imaging model may improve the predictive ability of pCR. The delta radiomic may serve as a noninvasive biomarker for early prediction of NAT response.

Research advances on extracellular vesicles-based regulation by traditional Chinese medicines and the relationship with TCM "Qi" / 药学学报

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are an important type of active microvesicles. EVs encapsulate and transfer functional substances such as miRNAs, transcription factors and proteins, which are important vectors for cell communication and organ dialogue. In recent years, studies have shown that quite a number of Chinese medicinal herbs have the pharmacological effect of regulating EVs, and play a unique trans-organ and remote role in the treatment of diseases. Some Chinese medicinal herbs also contain plant-derived EVs themselves, which can be directly involved in the treatment of diseases. As one of the core theories of raditional Chinese medicines (TCM), Qi plays a variety of important roles in the physiological and pathological processes of human body and pharmacology. However, the scientific connotation of Qi′s role and the potential material carrier are still unclear. The latest research suggests that the effect of EVs is potentially related to that of Qi. Therefore, this paper reviews the effect of Qi nourishing Chinese medicinal herbs in regulating EVs in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, nervous system diseases, liver diseases, renal diseases, malignant tumors and other diseases in recent years. EVs may play an important role in the pharmacological effect of some Chinese medicinal herbs in the treatment of diseases as an intermediary substance. EVs have the characteristics of long-distance transportation, which is consistent with the movement of Qi in TCM. EVs carry a variety of functional molecules, which is consistent with the function of Qi. As the potential material basis of Qi in TCM, the function of EVs is worth further study.

Placebo Response among Different Types of Sham Acupuncture for Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials / 中国结合医学杂志

BACKGROUND@#Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent and debilitating condition that poses a significant burden on healthcare systems. Acupuncture has been proposed as a promising intervention for LBP, but the evidence supporting its specific effect is insufficient, and the use of sham acupuncture as a control in clinical trials presents challenges due to variations in sham acupuncture techniques and the magnitude of the placebo effect.@*OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the magnitude of the placebo response of sham acupuncture in trials of acupuncture for nonspecific LBP, and to assess whether different types of sham acupuncture are associated with different responses.@*METHODS@#Four databases including PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library were searched through April 15, 2023, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included if they randomized patients with LBP to receive acupuncture or sham acupuncture intervention. The main outcomes included the placebo response in pain intensity, back-specific function and quality of life. Placebo response was defined as the change in these outcome measures from baseline to the end of treatment. Random-effects models were used to synthesize the results, standardized mean differences (SMDs, Hedges'g) were applied to estimate the effect size.@*RESULTS@#A total of 18 RCTs with 3,321 patients were included. Sham acupuncture showed a noteworthy pooled placebo response in pain intensity in patients with LBP [SMD -1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) -1.95 to -0.91, I2=89%]. A significant placebo response was also shown in back-specific functional status (SMD -0.49, 95% CI -0.70 to -0.29, I2=73%), but not in quality of life (SMD 0.34, 95% CI -0.20 to 0.88, I2=84%). Trials in which the sham acupuncture penetrated the skin or performed with regular needles had a significantly higher placebo response in pain intensity reduction, but other factors such as the location of sham acupuncture did not have a significant impact on the placebo response.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Sham acupuncture is associated with a large placebo response in pain intensity among patients with LBP. Researchers should also be aware that the types of sham acupuncture applied may potentially impact the evaluation of the efficacy of acupuncture. Nonetheless, considering the nature of placebo response, the effect of other contextual factors cannot be ruled out in this study. (PROSPERO registration No. CRD42022304416).

Classification and clinical significance of the branching patterns of the right pulmonary arteries based on the intravital CT data / 解剖学报

[Abstract] Objective To track and make statistics of the right pulmonary arteries’ branches and to study the clinical significance. Methods Technologies of vascular volume rending were used to analyze the 350 CT pulmonary angiography images. And the three-dimensional display was used to classify the pulmonary arteries. Results According to the 350 reconstructed result, the right upper pulmonary arteries were divided into 6 types: anterior trunk+ post ascending artery, anterior trunk, anterior trunk+ anterior ascending artery+ post ascending artery, superior anterior trunk + inferior anterior trunk+ post ascending artery, anterior trunk+ anterior ascending artery and superior anterior trunk+ inferior anterior trunk. The right middle pulmonary arteries were divided into 2 types: one branch and two branches. As for the right lower pulmonary arteries, the apical arteries were divided into 3 types: one branch, two branches and three branches. The basal segmental arteries were divided into 3 types: medial basal segmentalartery+anterior basal segmental artery+lateroposterior basal segmental artery, medioanterior basal segmental artery+lateroposterior basal segmental artery and medial basal segmental artery+anterior and lateral basal segmental artery +posterior basal segmental artery. To be specific, anterior trunk+ post ascending artery type (56. 6%) occupied the most in the right upper pulmonary arteries. The majority type of right middle pulmonary artery was one branch(57. 4%). In the right lower pulmonary arteries, apical artery of the lower lobe (one branch)+medial basal segmental artery+anterior basal segmental artery+lateroposterior basal segmental artery type(32. 5%) was most common. Conclusion The classification of the right pulmonary arteries based on the three dimensional reconstruction of CT pulmonary angiography is of significant to surgical precision therapy of lung tumor.

A survey of loss function of medical image segmentation algorithms / 生物医学工程学杂志

Medical image segmentation based on deep learning has become a powerful tool in the field of medical image processing. Due to the special nature of medical images, image segmentation algorithms based on deep learning face problems such as sample imbalance, edge blur, false positive, false negative, etc. In view of these problems, researchers mostly improve the network structure, but rarely improve from the unstructured aspect. The loss function is an important part of the segmentation method based on deep learning. The improvement of the loss function can improve the segmentation effect of the network from the root, and the loss function is independent of the network structure, which can be used in various network models and segmentation tasks in plug and play. Starting from the difficulties in medical image segmentation, this paper first introduces the loss function and improvement strategies to solve the problems of sample imbalance, edge blur, false positive and false negative. Then the difficulties encountered in the improvement of the current loss function are analyzed. Finally, the future research directions are prospected. This paper provides a reference for the reasonable selection, improvement or innovation of loss function, and guides the direction for the follow-up research of loss function.

METTL3/LINC00662/miR-186-5p feedback loop regulates docetaxel resistance in triple negative breast cancer.

Insight into the mechanism of docetaxel resistance in breast cancer may help to improve prognosis. We aimed to investigate the role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) and the METTL3/LINC00662/miR-186-5p pathway in regulating docetaxel resistance in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). We have recruited 193 pathologically diagnosed TNBC patients from 2016 to 2017 in our hospital. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to evaluate the expression of LINC00662 and miR-186-5p both in vivo and in vitro. CCK8 tests were used to assess cell viability. ELISA was used for protein expression evaluation. Dual luciferase reporter gene assay and RNA pull-down were used to evaluate the interaction between LINC00662 and miR-186-5p. m6A levels were enhanced in breast cancer tissues and cells. LINC00662, miR-186-5p and METTL3 were differentially expressed in vivo, and METTL3 expression was associated with LINC00662 and miR-186-5p expression. LINC00662 and miR-186-5p were differentially expressed in vitro; LINC00662 promoted cell viability and decreased the apoptosis rate, whereas miR-186-5p inhibited cell viability and increased the apoptosis rate. Furthermore, we found that METTL3 regulated m6A levels in docetaxel-resistant breast cancer cells by regulating the expression of LINC00662. Moreover, LINC00662 and miR-186-5p regulated the cell viability rate of docetaxel-resistant breast cancer cells. Further experiments showed that LINC00662 directly interacted with miR-186-5p to exert biological functions; besides miR-186-5p could regulate the expression of METTL3. METTL3 promotes m6A levels and docetaxel resistance in breast cancer by regulating the expression of LINC00662 and miR-186-5p; more experiments are needed to clarify the role of m6A regulation in drug resistance.