Objective: To explore the relationship between serum homocysteine (Hcy), interleukin-5 (IL-5), folate and core symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders, so as to provide potential biomarkers for early diagnosis and intervention of diseases. Methods: A total of 106 children with autism spectrum disorders and 106 healthy children with matched sex and age in Lu an People s Hospital were enrolled as autism group and healthy group between May 2020 to December 2023. On the day of admission, levels of serum Hcy, IL-5 and folate were detected. The core symptoms in autism group were evaluated by Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-fourth edition(WPPSI-IV), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). The levels of serum Hcy, IL-5 and folate in the two groups were compared by t- test. The relationship between serum Hcy, IL-5, folate and core symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders was determined by Pearson correlation analysis. Results: The levels of serum Hcy and IL-5 in autism group were (7.48±0.32) μmol/L and (345.77±32.51) pg/mL, higher than those in healthy group [(6.11±0.54) μmol/L, (274.04±25.17) pg/mL], while folate level was lower than that in healthy group [(15.24±3.47) ng/mL, (22.51±4.69) ng/mL], the differences were statistically significant ( t =22.47, 17.96, 12.83, all P < 0.05 ). In autism group, levels of serum Hcy and IL-5 were positively correlated with scores of ABC, CARS and SRS ( r =0.29, 0.53 , 0.54; 0.45, 0.41, 0.50), while negatively correlated with WPPSI-IV score ( r =-0.28, -0.26)(all P <0.05). The folate level was negatively correlated with scores of ABC, CARS and SRS ( r =-0.55, -0.40, -0.25), while positively correlated with WPPSI-IV score ( r =0.41) (all P <0.05). Conclusion Children with ASD show elevated serum Hcy and IL-5 alongside decreased folate,and three markers correlate with core symptoms and intellectual level.

In recent years, there has been a significant surge in the prevalence of myopia at younger ages in China. Numerous studies have investigated methods for preventing and controlling myopia, including orthokeratology, low-concentration atropine eye drops, light therapy, posterior scleral reinforcement, and traditional Chinese medicine. These approaches can modulate choroidal thickness, blood flow, and target various molecular mechanisms. Orthokeratology and low-concentration atropine demonstrate a thickening effect on the choroid and regulate choroidal blood flow; the use of multi-point defocus control lenses also shows promise in thickening the choroid; the influence of light and light feeding therapy on myopia prevention and control is also reflected in the choroidal thickness and blood flow; and the traditional Chinese medicine has shown good prospect in influencing the microstructure of the choroid for myopia prevention and control. However, the long-term effects of various prevention and control measures on the choroid still need to be explored with a large sample size. This article provides an overview of various methods used to regulate the choroid and prevent myopia. The mechanisms by which these interventions act on the choroid are described to provide new insights and identity novel clinical strategies for myopia management.

BACKGROUND:Crosslinked sodium hyaluronate gel has good mechanical property,biocompatibility,and biodegradability,and can be used as an isolated protective material in tumor radiation therapy to protect endangered organs from damage caused by excess radiation dose. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the safety and efficacy of crosslinked sodium hyaluronate gel in reducing the dose of radiation to dangerous organs during brachytherapy. METHODS:A total of 16 specific pathogen-free Kunming mice of the same age and similar body weight were selected as experimental subjects and divided into experimental group and control group by the random number table method,with 8 mice in each group.125I seeds were implanted subcutaneously in the back of mice in the experimental group,and then crosslinked sodium hyaluronate gel was injected around the radioactive particles.Only 125I seeds were implanted subcutaneously in the back of mice in the control group.After injection,the distance between the radioactive particles and the epidermis was measured by spiral CT scan,and the surface radiation dose was measured by radiation dosimeter.Within 10 weeks after injection,the growth state,survival rate,skin radiation damage,and gel retention of mice were observed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Spiral CT scan showed that the implanted gel was relatively concentrated and created an effective distance between the radioactive seeds and the epidermis.The body surface radiation dose of the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group(P<0.01).(2)During the experimental observation period,mice in both groups survived;mice in the control group showed obvious irritability and other unstable behavior in the late experimental period,and some mice in the experimental group showed similar behavior.The daily food intake of mice in the two groups had no significant change,and the body mass showed the same increasing trend.After implantation of radioactive seeds,the two groups of mice showed different degrees of radioactive skin injury.From day 23 after injection to the end of the experiment,the skin radiation injury score of the experimental group was lower than that of the control group(P<0.01).At week 10 after implantation,6 mice in the experimental group had no obvious gel residue under their skin,and 2 mice had a very small amount of scattered gel-like samples under their skin.(3)Therefore,the crosslinked sodium hyaluronate injection technique can increase the space between the radioactive target area of 125I seeds and the organ at risk outside the target through physical space occupying,which can effectively reduce the dose of the organ at risk,and play a role in the isolation and protection of the organ at risk.

BACKGROUND:With the development of biomechanics,its research into cardiovascular diseases has become more and more extensive.By studying the mechanical properties of blood vessels,the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and restenosis can be effectively revealed and new ideas and methods can be developed for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. OBJECTIVE:To review the research status of apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells induced by mechanical stress and search for potential target molecules and signaling pathways for clinical treatment,thereby improving the clinical treatment effect on cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and restenosis. METHODS:We searched the literature in CNKI,PubMed and ScienceDirect databases from January 1992 to May 2023.The search terms were"vascular smooth muscle cell,mechanical stress,shear stress,stretch stress,apoptosis"in Chinese and English.Finally,63 articles were included for review and analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Physiological and pathological apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells is an adaptive remodeling in response to the changes in vascular mechanics.Vascular smooth muscle cells in different parts have different mechanical stimuli and their pathogenesis is also different.Low shear stress,physiological shear stress and high shear stress directly interact with surface molecules,receptors and proteins of vascular smooth muscle cells to regulate apoptosis-related signaling molecules and inhibit cell proliferation,thus regulating the apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells.In this part,the research on promoting proliferation is not summarized.Low stretch stress,physiological stretch stress and high stretch stress can all cause apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells,but it is still controversial.There are many mechanoreceptors(such as integrins and receptor tyrosine kinases)on the surface of vascular smooth muscle cells,which can transform mechanical signals into intracellular chemical signals(such as the Hippo pathway),activate the apoptosis signals of vascular smooth muscle cells and regulate the apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells.In short,different mechanical stimuli start a variety of signal pathways and regulate the apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells through various signal molecules.For example,shear stress affects Fas/FasL and Akt pathways mainly by stimulating prostaglandin secretion and transforming growth factors.Strech stress mainly regulates the YAP pathway and Notch pathway through Yes-related proteins.At different times or intensities,these molecules may play opposite two-way roles.For example,when mouse vascular smooth muscle cells are stretched at 10%physiological tension for 1 hour,cell proliferation increases.However,the proliferation of human vascular smooth muscle cells can decrease after 12 hours of stretching.Clinically,the key molecules of mechanical transduction can be disturbed by searching for key molecules that interfere with mechanical transduction at their critical time points of action.

BACKGROUND:At present,modern medical treatment has certain limitations on the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.Traditional Chinese medicine alkaloids can effectively prevent and treat knee osteoarthritis through various mechanisms. OBJECTIVE:To review the mechanism of alkaloids in traditional Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of knee osteoarthritis,providing a scientific basis for the clinical development of drugs for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. METHODS:CNKI,WanFang,PubMed,Web of Science and Google Scholar were retrieved for relevant literature published from database inception to May 2024.The key words were"knee osteoarthritis""osteoarthritis""osteoclast""chondrocyte""alkaloids"in Chinese and English.Duplicates and obsolete non-referenced literature were excluded,and a total of 68 eligible papers were included for further review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Although traditional Chinese medicine has a long history of treating knee osteoarthritis,only a small number of natural compounds are in the preclinical stage of research against knee osteoarthritis.Alkaloids have a greater potential for the prevention and treatment of knee osteoarthritis,among which,sophocarpidine,oxymatrine,sinomenine,and betaine have been shown to be effective in the prevention and treatment of knee osteoarthritis by modulating multiple signaling pathways.Alkaloids can delay the progression of knee osteoarthritis by inhibiting inflammatory response,exerting antioxidant response,inhibiting chondrocyte apoptosis,promoting chondrocyte proliferation,and inhibiting osteoclast formation and differentiation.

To investigate the correlation between hepatic lipid accumulation and the metabolic profiles of free fatty acids(FFAs), tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and ketone body in alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD), a chronic plus acute alcohol feeding model (Gao-Binge model) was employed using C57BL/6N mice to simulate different stages of AFLD. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was employed to measure the levels of FFAs, TCA cycle intermediates, and ketone bodies in mouse liver tissue and plasma, followed by Pearson correlation analysis. The study revealed that both acute and chronic models showed significant increases in total FFAs, saturated FFAs and short-chain FFAs, as well as β-hydroxybutyric acid(HDBT) in plasma and liver, indicating FFA metabolic profile disturbances in the Gao-Binge model. Moreover, in both models, acetic acid (AA), 2-Methylbutyric acid (2-meBA), and HDBT displayed strong positive correlations with hepatic injury markers in plasma and liver samples (for instance, in the acute model plasma data, r = 0.834, 0.699, 0.818, P<0.05), while pyruvic acid (PRA) showed a strong negative correlation (r = −0.66, P<0.05). These findings suggest that FFAs, TCA cycle, and ketone body metabolism are disrupted in the alcoholic liver disease in mice model, and metabolites such as AA, 2-meBA, HDBT and PRA may serve as potential biomarkers for AFLD, which would be helpful in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

International travel is increasing steadily worldwide. People in the Republic of Korea (Korea) tend to have an increased chance of overseas travel. As a result, various exotic diseases have been imported into the country. Among these, parasitic diseases constitute a considerable proportion of the cases. This continuing education column aims to review and introduce the status and issues related to imported parasitic diseases reported from 1965–2024 in Korea.Current Concepts: Sixteen types of parasitic diseases (n=4,203 patients) were imported from Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and North and South America. These include protozoan diseases (malaria, babesiosis, cyclosporiasis, and leishmaniasis), nematode diseases (ancylostomiasis, angiostrongyliasis, capillariasis, gnathostomiasis, larva migrans, loiasis, and syngamosis), trematode diseases (heterophyiasis and schistosomiasis), and cestode among other diseases (hydatidosis, pentastomiasis, and myiasis). Most patients were Korean, but a few were emigrants from different countries. Where necessary, indigenous cases of the above diseases, except malaria, are also briefly presented.Discussion and Conclusion: In Korea, some parasites cannot continue their life cycles because of the absence of proper intermediate hosts or unfavorable environmental conditions. However, others, including parasites causing vivax malaria, babesiosis, cyclosporiasis, ancylostomiasis, capillariasis, gnathostomiasis, larval migrans, heterophyiasis, and hydatidosis, can establish life cycles in Korea. As the number of patients and types of imported parasitic diseases are expected to increase further, caution is needed to avoid infections with parasitic diseases while traveling abroad.

Objective: To investigate the role and mechanism of the heat-clearing and detoxifying drug Laggerae Herba in regulating the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor-2(Nrf2)/solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11)/glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) signaling pathway to inhibit ferroptosis and improve chronic heart failure induced by transverse aortic arch constriction in mice. Methods: Twenty-four male ICR mice were divided into the sham (n=6) and transverse aortic arch constriction groups (n=18) according to the random number table method. The transverse aortic arch constriction group underwent transverse aortic constriction surgery to establish models. After modeling, the transverse aortic arch constriction group was further divided into the model, captopril, and Laggerae Herba groups according to the random number table method, with six mice per group. The captopril (15 mg/kg) and Laggerae Herba groups (1.95 g/kg) received the corresponding drugs by gavage, whereas the sham operation and model groups were administered the same volume of ultrapure water by gavage once a day for four consecutive weeks. After treatment, the cardiac function indexes of mice in each group were detected using ultrasound. The heart mass and tibia length were measured to calculate the ratio of heart weight to tibia length. Hematoxylin and eosin staining were used to observe the pathological changes in myocardial tissue. Masson staining was used to observe the degree of myocardial fibrosis. Wheat germ agglutinin staining was used to observe the degree of myocardial cell hypertrophy. Prussian blue staining was used to observe the iron deposition in myocardial tissue. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and glutathione (GSH) contents in mice serum. Colorimetry was used to detect the malondialdehyde (MDA) content in mice serum. Western blotting was used to detect the Nrf2, GPX4, SLC7A11, and ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1) protein expressions in mice cardiac tissue. Results: Compared with the sham group, in the model group, the ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS) of mice decreased, the left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) and left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD) increased, the left ventricular anterior wall end-systolic thickness (LVAWs) and left ventricular posterior wall end-systolic thickness (LVPWs) decreased, the ratio of heart weight to tibia length increased, the myocardial tissue morphology changed, myocardial fibrosis increased, the cross-sectional area of myocardial cells increased, iron deposition appeared in myocardial tissue, the serum NT-proBNP and MDA levels increased, the GSH level decreased, and Nrf2, GPX4, SLC7A11, and FTH1 protein expressions in cardiac tissue decreased (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, in the captopril and Laggerae Herba groups, the EF, FS, and LVAWs increased, the LVESV and LVESD decreased, the ratio of heart weight to tibia length decreased, the myocardial cells were arranged neatly, the degree of myocardial fibrosis decreased, the cross-sectional area of myocardial cells decreased, the serum NT-proBNP level decreased, and the GSH level increased. Compared with the model group, the LVPWs increased, the iron deposition in myocardial tissue decreased, the serum MDA level decreased, and Nrf2, GPX4, SLC7A11, and FTH1 protein expressions in cardiac tissue increased (P<0.05) in the Laggerae Herba group. Conclusion Laggerae Herba improves the cardiac function of mice with chronic heart failure caused by transverse aortic arch constriction, reduces the pathological remodeling of the heart, and reduces fibrosis. Its mechanism may be related to Nrf2/SLC7A11/GPX4 pathway-mediated ferroptosis.

Objective To predict the radiation impact of discharging wastewater containing uranium within the specified limit generated during the normal operation of a new production line at a nuclear fuel plant on the receiving water body and its downstream, and to provide a reference for the management of radioactive liquid effluent discharge from nuclear facilities. Methods Based on the technical guidelines for environmental impact assessment, literature on radiation environmental impact assessment, and data collected from on-site investigations, appropriate hydrological parameters and prediction models were selected to analyze and predict the variation pattern of radioactive nuclide uranium along the receiving water body and the radiation exposure of nearby residents. Results The maximum increase in uranium concentration in the receiving water body and its downstream caused by the discharge of uranium-containing wastewater was 1.14 μg/L. The maximum predicted concentration was 2.75 μg/L after adding the background data of the water body. The resulting maximum individual annual effective dose for the public was 1.49 × 10⁻⁴ mSv/a. Conclusion The maximum predicted uranium concentration in the receiving water body and its downstream is lower than the uranium concentration limit of 30 μg/L specified in the Standards for Drinking Water Quality (GB 5749-2022). The maximum individual annual effective dose for the public is much lower than the control value of 0.2 mSv/a specified in the Radiation Protection Regulations for Uranium Processing and Fuel and Fuel Manufacturing Facilities (EJ 1056-2018). The radiation impact is acceptable.

Synthetic data, generated using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, replicates the statistical properties of real-world datasets while excluding identifiable information.Although synthetic data does not consist of actual data points, it is derived from original datasets, thereby enabling analyses that yield results comparable to those obtained with real data. Synthetic datasets are evaluated based on their utility—a measure of how effectively they mirror real data for analytical purposes. This paper presents the generation of synthetic datasets through the Healthcare Big Data Showcase Project (2019–2023). The original dataset comprises comprehensive multi-omics data from 400 individuals, including cancer survivors, chronic disease patients, and healthy participants. Synthetic data facilitates efficient access and robust analyses, serving as a practical tool for research and education. It addresses privacy concerns, supports AI research, and provides a foundation for innovative applications across diverse fields, such as public health and precision medicine.