BACKGROUND:Ossification of the ligamentum flavum was previously considered to be rare in the population.As research has progressed,its incidence rate is increasing gradually,which has aroused the interest of a large number of researchers. OBJECTIVE:To visualize and analyze the research results on ossification of the ligamentum flavum from the Web of Science Core Collection since 1999 using bibliometric methods,and to review the research history of ossification of the ligamentum flavum,highlighting important literature,summarizing research hotspots,and providing ideas for researchers to find research directions. METHODS:Using the Web of Science Core Collection as the data source,relevant papers on ossification of the ligamentum flavum were searched and screened.VOSviewer 1.6.19 and CiteSpace 6.2.R6 were used to conduct the visual analysis of annual publication volume,research countries,institutions,citations,journals,authors,and keywords. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)A total of 347 papers were included.Since 1999,the number of published papers has increased in a spiral pattern.China's research started later than Japan's,but the number of publications has come up later,with Peking University being the institution with the most publications,and Prof.Chen Zhongqiang from Peking University being the scholar with the most publications.(2)Five of the 10 most frequently cited publications were related to the surgical treatment of the disease.(3)Excluding keywords directly related to the research topic and synthetically analyzing frequencies and betweenness centralities of key words,terms such as"thoracic myelopathy,""dural ossification,""minimally invasive surgery,"and"ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament"occupied a central position in this field.(4)Keywords clustering analysis showed that clinical manifestations and surgical treatment of ossification of the ligamentum flavum accounted for a large proportion of study.(5)The timeline and burst analysis of keywords revealed that"minimally invasive surgery"appeared as a keyword around 2015,with the highest burst strength and the latest burst start time,and began to receive extensive attention from researchers in 2019.The burst of the keyword"dural ossification"has not yet ended.(6)Surgical treatment for ossification of the ligamentum flavum has been at the forefront of research.Development and research of minimally invasive surgery and research on dural ossification secondary to ossification of the ligamentum flavum are both current research hotspots and possible future research trends.

Objective: To investigate the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of sodium pyruvate (SP) on RBC storage lesions using an oxidative damage model. Methods: Six units of leukocyte-depleted suspended RBCs (discarded for non-infectious reasons within three days post-collection) were randomly assigned to four groups: negative control (NS), positive control (PS), experimental group 1 (SP1), and experimental group 2 (SP2). Oxidative stress was induced in the PS group by the addition of hydrogen peroxide (H O ), while SP1 and SP2 received SP supplementation at different concentrations (25 mM and 50 mM, respectively) in the presence of H O . After 1 hour of incubation, RBC morphology was assessed microscopically, and biochemical indicators including glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), methemoglobin (MetHb), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and Na /K -ATPase activity were measured. Results: RBCs in the PS group exhibited pronounced morphological damage, including cell shrinkage and echinocyte formation, whereas both SP-treated groups showed significantly reduced structural injury. SP treatment led to elevated GSH levels and decreased concentrations of MDA and MetHb, suggesting attenuation of oxidative stress. Additionally, SP enhanced intracellular ATP levels and Na /K -ATPase activity, thereby contributing to membrane stability. Notably, the SP2 group (50 mM) demonstrated superior protective effects compared to SP1 (25 mM). Conclusion: Sodium pyruvate effectively attenuates oxidative storage lesions in RBCs, primarily through its antioxidant properties, energy metabolism supporting ability, and celluar membrane stabilizing function. These findings suggest SP as a promising additive for enhancing the quality and safety of stored RBCs.

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) decoction pieces are a core carrier for the inheritance and innovation of TCM, and their quality and safety are critical to public health and the sustainable development of the industry. Conventional quality control models, while having established a well-developed system through long-term practice, still face challenges such as relatively long inspection cycles, insufficient objectivity in characterizing complex traits, and urgent needs for improving the efficiency of integrating multidimensional quality information when confronted with the dual demands of large-scale production and precision quality control. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, machine learning can deeply analyze multidimensional data of the morphology, spectroscopy, and chemical fingerprints of decoction pieces by constructing high-dimensional feature space analysis models, significantly improving the standardization level and decision-making efficiency of quality evaluation. This article reviews the research progress in the application of machine learning in the processing, production, and rapid quality evaluation of TCM decoction pieces. It further analyzes current challenges in technological implementation and proposes potential solutions, offering theoretical and technical references to advance the digital and intelligent transformation of the industry.
Machine Learning ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/standards* ; Quality Control ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards* ; Humans

Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus is the dried bulb of perennial herbaceous plants in the Fritillaria genus(Liliaceae family) and is a representative traditional Chinese medicinal material with distinctive regional characteristics. Clinically, it is widely used in the treatment of dry cough, bronchial asthma, and other respiratory diseases, possessing significant medicinal and economic value and being highly esteemed in TCM. Currently, Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus primarily relies on wild harvesting. However, due to excessive collection, its wild resources have drastically declined, and all source species have been classified as category Ⅱ in the List of National Key Protected Wild Plants, exacerbating the supply-demand imbalance in the market. To mitigate this issue, large-scale cultivation through the domestication of wild Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus has become an inevitable trend. However, its strict environmental requirements, low propagation efficiency, high seedling mortality, and immature cultivation techniques have severely hindered industrialization. This study investigates the domestication process of Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus, focusing on seed propagation, seedling cultivation, and medicinal material production. It also reviews the species and distribution of wild resources, their endangered status, market supply-demand dynamics, and the historical and current development of domestication. The findings indicate that enhancing propagation efficiency, optimizing cultivation models, and distinguishing between seed propagation and medicinal material production are key measures to accelerate the industrialization of domesticated Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus. This research aims to promote the industrialization of Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus domestication and provide a reference model for the conservation and sustainable utilization of rare and endangered medicinal plant resources.
Fritillaria/chemistry* ; Endangered Species ; Plants, Medicinal/growth & development* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/economics* ; China

Objective To investigate the effects of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy(LSG)on the cardiac structure and function in obese patients with heart failure(HF)and compare the efficacy of LSG across obese patients with different HF types.Methods This study included 33 obese patients with HF who underwent LSG.The clinical indicators were compared between before operation and 12 months after operation.Repeated measures analysis of variance was employed to evaluate the changes in echocardiographic parameters before operation and 3,6,and 12 months after operation.Patients were allocated into a HF with preserved ejection fraction group(n=17),a HF with mildly reduced ejection fraction group(n=5)and a HF with reduced ejection fraction(HFrEF)group(n=11)based on left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)before operation for subgroup analyses of the effects of LSG on the cardiac structure and function of obese patients with HF.The paired samples t-test was conducted to assess the degree of cardiac structural and functional alterations after LSG.Results The 33 patients included 69.7% males,with an average age of(35.3±9.9)years,and a body mass index(BMI)of(51.2±9.8)kg/m².The median follow-up was 9.0(5.0,13.3)months.Compared with the preoperative values,the postoperative BMI(P=0.002),body surface area(BSA)(P=0.009),waist circumference(P=0.010),hip circumference(P=0.031),body fat content(P=0.007),and percentage of patients with cardiac function grades Ⅲ-IV(P<0.001)decreased.At the 12-month follow-up left atrial diameter(P=0.006),right atrial long-axis inner diameter(RAD1)(P<0.001),right atrial short-axis inner diameter(RAD2)(P<0.001),right ventricular inner diameter(P=0.002),interventricular septal thickness at end-diastolic(P=0.002),and left ventricular end-diastolic volumes(P=0.004)and left ventricular end-systolic volumes(P=0.003) all significantly reduced compared with preoperative values.Additionally,left ventricular fractional shortening and LVEF improved(both P<0.001).Subgroup analyses revealed that cardiac structural parameters significantly decreased in the HF with preserved ejection fraction,HF with mildly reduced ejection fraction,and HFrEF subgroups compared with preoperative values.Notably,the HFrEF group demonstrated the best performance in terms of left atrial diameter(P=0.003),left ventricular inner diameter at end-diastole(P=0.008),RAD1(P<0.001),RAD2(P=0.004),right ventricular inner diameter(P=0.019),left ventricular end-diastolic volume(P=0.004)and left ventricular end-systolic volume(P=0.001),cardiac output(P=0.006),tricuspid regurgitation velocity(P=0.002),and pulmonary artery systolic pressure(P=0.001) compared to preoperatively.Postoperative left ventricular fractional shortening(P<0.001,P=0.003,P<0.001)and LVEF(P<0.001,P=0.011,P=0.001)became higher in all the three subgroups than the preoperative values.Conclusions LSG decreased the body weight,BMI,and BSA,improved the cardiac function grade,reversed the enlargement of the left atrium and left ventricle,reduced the right atrium and right ventricle,and enhanced the left ventricular systolic function.It was effective across obese patients with different HF types.Particularly,LSG demonstrates the best performance in improving the structures of both atria and ventricles in obese patients with HFrEF.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Gastrectomy/methods* ; Heart Failure/complications* ; Adult ; Obesity/physiopathology* ; Laparoscopy ; Middle Aged ; Heart/physiopathology* ; Stroke Volume

Osteoscarcopenia (OS) is a common degenerative syndrome in the elderly, which is caused by a decrease in both bone and muscle mass during the aging process, leading to osteoporosis and sarcopenia, a decrease in body balance, and a risk of falls and fractures, posing a serious threat to the quality of life and lifespan of the elderly. Osteoskeletal dystrophy increases with age, and its occurrence is higher in females than that in males. At present, there is no unified diagnostic standard, making it impossible to achieve early detection and intervention. The commonly used diagnostic methods include quantitative computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), muscle mass bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), as well as daily gait speed (UGS), short physical performance battery (SPPB), timed start test (TUG), and biochemical evaluation indicators to improve early diagnosis and screening. Due to the fact that both bones and muscles belong to the motor system, osteoporosis and sarcopenia share common pathogenic factors in genetics, endocrine, paracrine, and fat infiltration, which interact and regulate each other, inducing the occurrence of osteoscarcopenia. Osteoporosis and sarcopenia, two age-related diseases, share the same pathogenesis and regulatory pathways, as well as common drug targets. For example: somatostatin α‑actin-3, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ coactivation factor-1α (PGC-1α), myocyte enhancer factor-2 (MEF2C), sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1), protoadhesion 7 (PCDH7) and methyltransferase like 21C (METTL21C), osteocalcin and bone derived bone factor gap junction connexin 43 (Cx43), growth hormone (GH), sex hormones, and diseases (such as tumors, diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, cardiovascular disease, anemia, disability, inflammatory disease), aging, nutrition, and poor living habits are closely related to osteosarcopenia. Osteoporosis is characterized by low bone mass and microstructural degeneration of bone tissue, while sarcopenia is characterized by loss of muscle mass, strength, and function, both of which often coexist in the elderly population. Exercise regulates muscle and skeletal cytokines such as myostatin (MSTN) and irisinβ‑aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA), brain derived neutrophil factor (BDNF), interleukin, prostaglandin E2, Wnt, osteocalcin (OCN), and transforming growth factor‑β (TGF‑β) and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) interfere with each other to prevent and treat osteoscarcopenia. Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway can simultaneously regulate the growth and metabolism of bones and muscles, and promote osteoblast proliferation, maturation, and mineralization by increasing OPG/RANKL, which is beneficial for bone mass increase and induces proliferation of muscle satellite cells, stimulating and promoting increased muscle synthesis. NF‑κB pathway is the main regulatory factor for inflammation mediated muscle atrophy. Meanwhile, NF‑κB DNA can participate in RANKL inducing osteoclast differentiation in bone tissue, thereby reducing bone mass. Although exercise and nutrition can improve the symptoms of osteoporosis, they cannot be completely cured, and there are no specific drugs in clinical practice that can cure sarcopenia. Because osteoscarcopenia has a common crosstalk mechanism in the aging process, it is of great significance to prevent osteoscarcopenia by improving bone mass and muscle content through exercise, nutrition, and medication.

BACKGROUND:Heterotopic ossification of skeletal muscle is a clinically serious complication.For heterotopic ossification of skeletal muscles,the cells involved in the process of heterotopic ossification remain unclear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the involvement of myocytes,fascia cells,and endothelial cells in the process of heterotopic ossification in skeletal muscle and to observe the cell origin of heterotopic ossification in skeletal muscle induced by bone morphogenetic protein 4. METHODS:Both C2C12 cells and the myotubes formed by the C2C12 cells in the induction medium were cultured,and 500 ng/mL bone morphogenetic protein 4 was added to the medium respectively,and whether the C2C12 cells and myotubes continued to proliferate within 10 days under the treatment were observed under a microscope.Myogenic cells(L6,derived from rats)and fibroblast-derived cells(derived from human)were co-cultured.After treatment with 500 ng/mL bone morphogenetic protein 4 and 10 ng/mL transforming growth factor-β,osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potential within 21 days were observed using Safranine O staining and Alcian blue staining.Using transgenic animal FVB/N-TgN(TIE2-LacZ)182Sato mice,15 μL of adeno-associated virus-bone morphogenetic protein 4(5×1010 PFU/mL)were implanted in the thigh muscle space of genetic mice for 10 and 14 days.X-gal staining was used to observe the formation of new blood vessel endothelium in the differentiated bone. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Bone morphogenetic protein 4 caused myotube breakdown and increased C2C12 cell proliferation.Compared with other groups,the pure fibroblast-derived cell group had a higher area of positive alcian blue and safarin O staining(P<0.05)and a lower area of alkaline phosphatase staining(P<0.05),while the pure L6 group had a bigger area of alkaline phosphatase staining(P<0.05)but a smaller area of positive alcian blue and safarin O staining(P<0.05).(2)Transplantation of adeno-associated virus-bone morphogenetic protein 4-adsorbed gelatin sponge into FVB/N-TgN(TIE2-LacZ)182Sato mice resulted in heterotopic ossification.(3)X-gal staining results demonstrated that there was no obvious staining in chondrocytes and differentiated bones and Tie2+ endothelial cells did not participate in the formation of the alienated bone.(4)These findings verify that fibroblasts are the primary source of osteoblasts during the adeno-associated virus-bone morphogenetic protein 4-induced ectopic endochondral ossification in skeletal muscle,but myogenic cells are the main source of osteoblasts.Tie2+ endothelial cells might not be the cell source for cartilage and bone.

Phosphatase and tensin-homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) is an important cancer suppressor gene. Its pathogenic mutation leads to PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS), a rare syndrome also known as Cowden syndrome, which is relevant to early-onset hereditary breast cancer (BC). In this paper, we report three patients with unilateral multicentric BC and synchronous and metachronous bilateral BC who harbored PTEN gene mutations, and summarize the clinical manifestations, pathological characteristics, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up outcomes to provide reference for management of PTEN gene mutation-related BC among the Cowden syndrome population.

Objective To propose a measurement method based on improved YOLOv8 for the anterior segment parameters of ultrasonic biological microscopy(UBM)images to solve the problems of the ophthalmic ultrasound images in low quantity,high annotation cost and weak model generalization ability.Methods Firstly,data enhancement using StyleGAN3 was carried out to improve YOLOv8 model in decreased sensitivity to UBM images and increased generalization ability;secondly,the pseudo-labels of virtual UBM images were generated based on the YOLOv8 model with the original UBM images as the dataset and the method of pseudo-label self-training in semi-supervised learning;finally,the YOLOv8 model was trained with the expan-ded dataset and improved with the global context network(GCNet)module,and the prediction results of the YOLOv8 model were sorted using the key-point ranking algorithm,and the measurements of the anterior segment physiological parameters were computed after screening qualified images based on prior knowledge.Results Compared with the hand-labeled results by the ophthalmologists,the localization error of the StyleGAN3 data-enhanced and self-trained YOLOv8 model was(61.94±40.66)μm,and the mean relative errors for the measurements of anterior chamber angle distance,pupil diameter,ciliary sulcus distance,central corneal thickness,anterior chamber depth and lens thickness were 0.62％,1.35％,0.68％,4.87％,0.93％and 0.75％,respectively.Conclusion The method proposed enhances the accuracy of the measurement method for anterior segment parameters of UBM images,and can meet real-time requirements.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(2):8-16]

Objective:To explore the role of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in the diagnosis of pathogens in primary infectious diseases of the spine (IDS) and to reveal its pathogen spectrum.Methods:This is a retrospective multi-center case series study. Clinical data of 380 patients with primary IDS who were treated at four medical centers in China from December 2019 to April 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 82 cases were from the Department of Spine Surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, 129 cases were from the Orthopedics Section Ⅱ (Bone Infection), Public Health Clinical Center Affiliated to Shandong University, 112 cases were from the Department of Spine Surgery, Fuzhou Second General Hospital, and 57 cases were from the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Sixth People′s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. There were 238 males and 242 females, with an age of (61.4±13.1) years (range: 10 to 91 years). Specimens from the site of spinal infection were obtained for pathogen culture, pathological examination, and mNGS detection preoperatively or intraoperatively in all patients. The number, types, and positive rates of pathogens detected by the two methods were analyzed and compared using the Chi-square test.Results:Among the 380 patients, 320 had confirmed pathogenic bacteria, with the highest proportion being pyogenic bacterial infections, accounting for 76.9% (246/320). The most common pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus, accounting for 22.8% (73/320). Brucella accounted for 13.8% (44/320); Mycobacterium tuberculosis accounted for 6.3% (20/320). Fungal infections accounted for 3.4% (11/320), mainly Aspergillus and Candida. In addition, Mycoplasma was detected in 3 cases (0.9%) and Benacox body in 4 cases (1.2%). The pathogen spectrum constructed by mNGS covered 46 types of pathogens, higher than the 22 types detected by traditional methods. The positive rate of mNGS was 80.8% (308/381), significantly higher than the 27.9% (106/381) of traditional methods ( χ2=182.53, P<0.01). Conclusions:mNGS improves the positive rate of pathogen diagnosis in IDS, detecting a broader spectrum of pathogens, and serves as a valuable complement to traditional diagnostic methods. Combining both methods in the diagnosis of IDS can maximize detection rates, providing robust evidence for precise anti-infective treatment.