Background In 2021, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) emerged as the forth leading cause of death in the world. However, the impact of air pollutants on COPD is still inconsistent across current studies. Objective To analyze the relationship between ambient sulfur dioxide (SO₂) exposure and hospital admissions for COPD in Lanzhou, and to examine the modified effects of SO₂ across different genders, age groups, and seasons. Methods A total of 20718 hospital admission records for COPD were collected from Lanzhou between 2016 and 2020, alongside synchronized data on SO₂ concentration and meteorological variables. A generalized additive model integrated with a distributed lag nonlinear model was used to assess the relationship and the lag effects between SO₂ exposure and COPD admissions. Potential confounders, including meteorological factors, day-of-the-week effect, and holidays, were controlled for, with a maximum lag period set at 7 d. Two-pollutant models and sensitivity analyses were conducted to ensure robustness. Results are expressed as relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results During the study period, the average daily number of COPD admissions was 11.34±7.03. The average mass concentration of SO₂ was (23.72±12.35) μg·m⁻³. SO₂ exposure was positively correlated with COPD admissions; specifically, each 10 μg·m⁻³ increase in SO₂ concentration was associated with an RR of 1.440 (95%CI: 1.317, 1.573). Stratified analyses found that at a cumulative lag of 7 d, the RRs were higher among females, individuals aged ≥65 years, and during the cold season. Conversely, no significant increase in COPD admission risk related to SO₂ was observed during the warm season. For every 10 μg·m⁻³ increase in SO₂ concentration, the RR was 1.483 (95%CI: 1.311, 1.678) for females, 1.441 (95%CI: 1.311, 1.583) for those aged > 65 years， and 1.595 (95%CI: 1.313, 1.937) during the cold season. Conclusion Short-term exposure to ambient SO₂ exposure in Lanzhou is associated with an increased risk of COPD admission. The association is more pronounced among females, the elderly (aged> 65 years) and during the cold season.

Systemic inflammation of cachexia is an important cause of high mortality of degenerative diseases such as ad-vanced cancer,and also the most important factor to aggravate the cachexia process.Systemic inflammation of cachexia has a profound impact on the proliferation and invasion of tumors and the catabolism of muscle and adipose tissue in patients with cachexia.In recent years,studies have shown that the dysfunction of gut microbiota during cachexia is an important cause of cachexia systemic inflamma-tion and a key therapeutic target.The dysfunctions of intestinal barrier mediated by gut microbiota and the translocation of bacterial tox-ins during the cachexia period are important causes of cachexia systemic inflammation.This article mainly summarized the relationship between gut microbiota and cachexia systemic inflammation,and summarized the mechanism of intestinal flora inducing cachexia sys-temic inflammation by regulating short chain fatty acids,lipopolysaccharide,flagellin,peptidoglycan and other substances,with a view to providing new ideas for the prevention and treatment of cachexia systemic inflammation from the perspective of intestinal flora.

Root caries is a prevalent chronic oral disease with an average global prevalence of 41.5%, characterized by high incidence, low rate of treatment, and high rate of retreatment. Root caries is primarily caused by core microbiome-induced dysbiosis and has multiple risk factors, including gingival recession, root surface exposure, and salivary dysfunction. The traditional preventive measures and treatments such as fluoride, mineralizing agents, and restorative materials, are unable to restore or maintain oral microecological homeostasis. Recent studies have demonstrated that probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and antimicrobial peptides may prevent and treat root caries by reversing dysbiosis. In addition, these biotherapeutics can reduce acid production by acidiferous bacteria, promote alkali production (hydrogen peroxide and ammonia) by alkali-producing bacteria, inhibit biofilm formation, decrease extracellular polysaccharide production, and suppress microbial adhesion and aggregation. It is expected to play an important role in the prevention and control of root caries. This article aims to review oral probiotics (Streptococcus oligofermentans, Streptococcus oralis subsp. dentisani, and Streptococcus salivarius), prebiotics (arginine, nitrates, and synthetic compounds), synbiotics, and antimicrobial peptides (gallic acid-polyphemusin I and LH12) to provide evidence and guidance for root caries management through microecological modulation.

BACKGROUND: It is inaccurate to reflect the level of dust exposure through working years. Furthermore, identifying a predictive indicator for lung function decline is significant for coal miners. The study aimed to explored whether club cell secretory protein (CC16) levels can reflect early lung function changes. METHODS: The cumulative respiratory dust exposure (CDE) levels of 1,461 coal miners were retrospectively assessed by constructed a job-exposure matrix to replace working years. Important factors affecting lung function and CC16 were selected by establishing random forest models. Subsequently, the potential of CC16 to reflect lung injury was explored from multiple perspectives. First, restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were used to compare the trends of changes in lung function indicators and plasma CC16 levels after dust exposure. Then mediating analysis was performed to investigate the role of CC16 in the association between dust exposure and lung function decline. Finally, the association between baseline CC16 levels and follow-up lung function was explored. RESULTS: The median CDE were 35.13 mg/m³-years. RCS models revealed a rapid decline in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV₁), and their percentages of predicted values when CDE exceeded 25 mg/m³-years. The dust exposure level (<5 mg/m³-years) causing significant changes in CC16 was much lower than the level (25 mg/m³-years) that caused changes in lung function indicators. CC16 mediated 11.1% to 26.0% of dust-related lung function decline. Additionally, workers with low baseline CC16 levels experienced greater reductions in lung function in the future. CONCLUSIONS CC16 levels are more sensitive than lung indicators in reflecting early lung function injury and plays mediating role in lung function decline induced by dust exposure. Low baseline CC16 levels predict poor future lung function.
Uteroglobin/blood* ; Humans ; Dust/analysis* ; Occupational Exposure/analysis* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Retrospective Studies ; Lung Injury/chemically induced* ; Coal Mining ; Biomarkers/blood* ; China/epidemiology* ; Air Pollutants, Occupational ; Female

International studies have established that electrons, X-rays, protons, and heavy ions can all be utilized in ultra-high dose-rate radiotherapy. Among these modalities, megavoltage X-ray ultra-high dose-rate radiotherapy holds particularly broad clinical promise. With its long-term expertise in high-intensity pulsed radiation sources, the Institute of Applied Electronics at the China Academy of Engineering Physics has pioneered global solutions for generating and measuring megavoltage X-rays ultra-high dose-rate radiotherapy, positioning China at the forefront of this field. Herein, we review the development history, current status, and future trends in ultra-high dose-rate X-ray generation, measurement, and protection. The insights provided aim to serve as a reliable reference for clinical and preclinical research, equipment development, and standardization, thereby enabling more precise and reliable megavoltage ultra-high dose-rate X-ray production and measurement. We hope this work will significantly support further research and clinical translation of ultra-high dose-rate radiotherapy technology.

Objective:To establish a rapid and precise dose measurement method with EBT4 film and ensure its measurement accuracy to be within the required range through strict operational procedures for the purpose of addressing the two essential issues of poor measurement accuracy and timeliness of EBT film under FLASH conditions.Methods:After storing under different humidity conditions for a certain period of time, the film was exposed to radiation for analyzing the influence of air humidity on the intrinsic performance of EBT film. By means of repeated scanning operations and the film angle rotation, the influences of repeated scanning and film placement angle were analuzed. Parabolic correction method was used to reduce the spatial position influence during the scanning process. By analying the relationship between net optical density (netOD) and absorbed dose through the comparison of three fitting method, the optimal fitting curve was selected. After irradiation of the same batch of films for 5 min and 24 h, the film doses were calibrated and then compared with ionization chamber-measured result. The rapid and precise film dosimetry method was used to measure both the percentage depth dose from X-rays at ultra-high dose rate and the dose distribution at a depth of 2 cm in water.Results:Air humidity had the greatest influence on the intrinsic performance of EBT film (approximately 20%). The average deviation of repeated scans is within 0.5%. The angle at which the film is placed significantly affected the readouts of the film with the maximum influence approximately 70%. The net optical density combined with polynomial fitting can control the fitting residuals of 1-16 Gy within 3%. The change rate of light channels at 5 min already mostly met the requirements of the rapid mode (< 0.5%). Compared with the measurement result obtained using the reference ionization chamber, the deviations of the 5 min or 24 h dose calibration curves were all within 2%.Conclusions:The EBT4 film can be employed as a precise dosimeter to quickly measure the FLASH radiation dose. Rapid and precise FLASH dose measurements can meet the stringent requirements of both preclinical and clinical FLASH research.

Objective The objective of this study was to analyze the mortality and changing trend of head and neck cancer(nasopharyngeal cancer,laryngeal cancer,thyroid cancer,and oral cancer)in cancer registry areas of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Re-gion from 2010 to 2020,and to provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of head and neck cancer in Inner Mongolia Au-tonomous Region.Methods The mortality data for head and neck cancers(nasopharyngeal cancer,laryngeal cancer,thyroid cancer,and oral cancers)in the tumor registration database of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 2010 to 2020 were sorted out,and the China standard mortality of head and neck were calculated by gender,urban and rural areas,and cancer types.The average annual per-centage change(AAPC)was analyzed using Joinpoint 4.9.1.0 software to assess the trend of China standard mortality of head and neck cancers and cancer types.Results The China standard mortality of head and neck cancers in cancer registry areas of Inner Mongolia was 2.85/100,000.The China standard mortality of males(4.24/100,000)was higher than that of females(1.53/100,000),and the China standard mortality in rural areas(2.93/100,000)was higher than that in urban areas(2.79/100,000).The China standard mortality of oral cancer was the highest at 1.16/100,000,and the China standard mortality of nasopharyngeal cancer was the lowest at 0.42/100,000.From 2010 to 2020,the mortality of head and neck cancers increased by an average annual rate of 3.79%(95%CI:1.45%-6.17%),and the trend was statistically significant(P=0.005).The mortality of male head and neck canc-er increased by an annual rate of 7.27%(95%CI:3.05%-11.65%),and the trend was statistically significant(P=0.003).The mortality of females decreased by an average annual rate of 1.08%(95%CI:-4.51%-2.47%),and the trend was not statistically significant(P=0.500).The mortality of oral cancer showed an upward trend with an AAPC of 7.35%(P=0.040),and the mortality of laryngeal cancer,thyroid cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer showed no statistically significant trend(AAPC was3.36%,1.38%and-0.36%,respectively,P>0.05).Conclusion The mortality of head and neck cancer in cancer registry areas of Inner Mongolia Au-tonomous Region showed an upward trend from 2010 to 2020.The prevention and treatment of head and neck cancer should be paid to attention,with rural areas and male groups as the key prevention and control targets.The control measures should be strengthened for high-risk behaviors such as occupational exposure and alcohol consumption,oral cancer prevention and control should be focused on,and HPV vaccination and tobacco control policies should be strengthened.

Objective The medication pattern of doctor Chen Jie in treating functional dyspepsia(FD)in children and the potential mechanism of action of core drug group were explored through data mining and network pharmacology methods.Methods The prescriptions for pediatric FD treated by doctor Chen Jie in the outpatient department of Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from January 2020 to December 2024 were collected to establish a prescription database.Excel 2019 and SPSS software were applied to statistically analyze the nature,taste,meridian tropism and frequency of drugs included in the prescriptions,and association rule analysis and cluster analysis were conducted.The potential mechanism of action of the core drug group was explored by using the network pharmacology method.Results A total of 603 prescriptions were included,involving 160 kinds of drugs,with a cumulative frequency of medication reaching 5012 times.Among them,the medicinal nature and flavour were mainly warm and sweet,and channel tropism were mainly the spleen,stomach and lung meridians.The core drug group obtained through association rules and cluster analysis was"Fuchao Baizhu-Fuling-Chenpi".Network pharmacological analysis was conducted on the core drug group,and it was found that its main components included naringenin,atractylenolide Ⅰ,atractylone,and hederagenin,as well as core genes such as AKT1,TNF,IL-6,ESR1,and IL-1β.The main enrichment pathways were lipids and atherosclerosis,advanced glycation end product-advanced glycation end product receptor signaling pathway,cancer pathway,etc..Conclusion Doctor Chen Jie's medication for treating FD in children mainly focuses on invigorating spleen and replenishing qi,regulating qi-flowing for eliminating dampness.The core drug group,"Fuchao Baizhu-Fuling-Chenpi",exerts its effects through multiple components,multiple targets and multiple pathways.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the current status of bloodborne occupational exposures among healthcare workers in a three-A specialized hospital of Shanghai so as to provide bases for formulating prevention measures for occupational exposures.METHODS A questionnaires titled'Survey of bloodborne occupational exposures among healthcare workers'were clinically distributed to Eye &ENT Hospital of Fudan University through'Wenjuanxing platform'from Feb.2024 to Apr.2024.The content of the questionnaire included four parts:the baseline data questionnaire,incidence of occupational exposures,awareness of knowledge about occupational exposures,and preventive behaviors regarding occupational exposures.RESULTS A total of 995 valid questionnaires were collect-ed in the survey,the result of the survey showed that the incidence of bloodborne occupational exposures was 10.65％.The clinicians and doctors engaging in advanced studies were at high risk of the occupational exposures especially when they were busy with work.The result of the survey indicated that the rate of missing report was 71.33％,the implementation rate of monitoring was only 48.11％after the exposures,of which the major cau-ses included the health care workers'insufficient attention to the exposure events,flaws in prevention and control of occupational exposures and some personnels'poor awareness of reporting process and requirements for monito-ring.Although the awareness rate of emergency processing exceeded 90％,the awareness rate of the knowledge a-bout prophylactic use of antibiotics and prevention of needlestick injuries,and the preparations before diagnosis and treatment,standardized operations and use of protective articles still needed to be improved.CONCLUSIONS The survey reveals that the health care workers pay less attention to the risk of infections,and the prevention of occupational exposure needs to be improved.It is of great importance to raise the awareness of prevention and en-hance the systematic training for occupational exposure.

International studies have established that electrons, X-rays, protons, and heavy ions can all be utilized in ultra-high dose-rate radiotherapy. Among these modalities, megavoltage X-ray ultra-high dose-rate radiotherapy holds particularly broad clinical promise. With its long-term expertise in high-intensity pulsed radiation sources, the Institute of Applied Electronics at the China Academy of Engineering Physics has pioneered global solutions for generating and measuring megavoltage X-rays ultra-high dose-rate radiotherapy, positioning China at the forefront of this field. Herein, we review the development history, current status, and future trends in ultra-high dose-rate X-ray generation, measurement, and protection. The insights provided aim to serve as a reliable reference for clinical and preclinical research, equipment development, and standardization, thereby enabling more precise and reliable megavoltage ultra-high dose-rate X-ray production and measurement. We hope this work will significantly support further research and clinical translation of ultra-high dose-rate radiotherapy technology.