OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects and mechanism of the Yishen paidu formula on renal fibrosis in rats with chronic renal failure （CRF） through the reactive oxygen species （ROS）/thioredoxin-interacting protein （TXNIP）/NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 （NLRP3） pathway. METHODS Rats were randomly divided into control group， model group， Yishen paidu formula low-dose （Yishen paidu formula-L） group， Yishen paidu formula high-dose （Yishen paidu formula- H） group， Yishen paidu formula-H+pcDNA-NC group， and Yishen paidu formula-H+ pcDNA-TXNIP group， with 10 rats in each group. Except for control group， all other rats were fed a diet containing 0.5% adenine to establish a CRF model； the rats were then administered corresponding drugs or normal saline intragastrically or via tail vein， once daily， for 8 consecutive weeks. After the last administration， the levels of serum creatinine （Scr）， blood urea nitrogen （BUN）， ROS， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin （IL）-6， and IL-1β were measured in each group. Pathological changes in renal tissue were observed， and the protein expression levels of Collagen Ⅲ， α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA）， transforming growth factor-β1 （TGF-β1）， TXNIP and NLRP3 in renal tissue were detected. RESULTS Compared with model group， the renal histopathological damage and fibrosis of rats in Yishen paidu formula-L group and Yishen paidu formula-H group were significantly alleviated. The levels of Scr， BUN， ROS， MDA， TNF- α， IL-6 and IL-1β， and the protein expressions of Collagen Ⅲ， α-SMA， TGF-β1， TXNIP and NLRP3 were significantly decreased， while SOD levels were significantly increased （P＜0.05）. Moreover， the changes were more pronounced in the Yishen paidu formula-H group （P＜0.05）. Compared with Yishen paidu formula-H+pcDNA-NC group， above indexes of rats in Yishen paidu formula-H+pcDNA-TXNIP group were reversed significantly （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Yishen paidu formula can inhibit renal fibrosis in CRF rats by suppressing the ROS/TXNIP/NLRP3 pathway.

BACKGROUND: The contraction behaviors of cardiomyocytes (CMs), especially contraction synchrony, are crucial factors reflecting their maturity and response to drugs. A wider field of view helps to observe more pronounced synchrony differences, but the accompanied greater computational load, requiring more computing power or longer computational time. METHODS: We proposed a method that directly correlates variations in optical field brightness with cardiac tissue contraction status (CVB method), based on principles from physics and photometry, for rapid video analysis in wide field of view to obtain contraction parameters, such as period and contraction propagation direction and speed. RESULTS: Through video analysis of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived CMs labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) cultured on aligned and random nanofiber scaffolds, the CVB method was demonstrated to obtain contraction parameters and quantify the direction and speed of contraction within regions of interest (ROIs) in wide field of view. The CVB method required less computation time compared to one of the contour tracking methods, the LucasKanade (LK) optical flow method, and provided better stability and accuracy in the results. CONCLUSION This method has a smaller computational load, is less affected by motion blur and out-of-focus conditions, and provides a potential tool for accurate and rapid analysis of cardiac tissue contraction synchrony in wide field of view without the need for more powerful hardware.

AIM:To observe the changes of atrial fibrillation susceptibility,and the remodeling of atrial myo-cyte action potential,ultrarapid activation delayed rectifier potassium current(IKur)and transient outward potassium cur-rent(Ito)in elderly mice,and to explore the mechanism of atrial fibrillation from the single cell electrophysiological level.METHODS:The C57BL/6J mice were divided into old group(20 months old)and young group(4 months old).Atrial fi-brillation was induced by esophageal atrial pacing.The atrial myocytes were isolated,and action potential and ion currents were recorded with patch-clamp technique.The associated proteins were detected by Western blot technique.RE-SULTS:(1)Compared with young mice,the total incidence of atrial fibrillation was significantly increased in old mice(20.0%at 4 months old vs 60.0%at 20 months old,P<0.01).(2)The action potential duration of atrial myocytes in aged mice was shortened,and more significantly after stimulation.(3)The density of Ito and IKur in atrial myocytes of aged mice increased significantly,from(12.6±1.4)pA/pF to(21.7±1.1)pA/pF,and from(7.5±1.5)pA/pF to(13.3±2.1)pA/pF,respectively(P<0.01).After stimulation,the current increased more significantly,especially in older atrial cells.Compared with the young mice,the steady-state activation curve of Ito in the atrial myocytes of the aged mice shifted towards the depolarization,suggesting that activation of Ito channels in the aged mice increased at the same voltage stimula-tion.(4)Compared with young group,the expression of KV4.2(generating Ito)and KV1.5(generating IKur)proteins in the atrial tissue of the mice in old group was significantly increased,and the expression of caveolin-3 and end-binding protein 1(EB1)was up-regulated,suggesting that the increases in KV4.2 and KV1.5 total channel proteins and effective proteins in the cell membrane might contribute to the increase in the remodeling of potassium currents in the elderly atrial myo-cytes.CONCLUSION:The incidence of atrial fibrillation in elderly mice is significantly augmented,which may be related to the increases in Ito and IKur in atrial myocytes.The remodeling of potassium currents in elderly atrial myocytes is one of the electrophysiological bases leading to the shortening of action potential duration and the occurrence of atrial fibrillation.

Objective To examine the changing prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Burkholderia cepacia in 52 hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021.Methods A total of 9 261 strains of B.cepacia were collected from 52 hospitals between January 1,2015 and December 31,2021.Antimicrobial susceptibility of the strains was tested using Kirby-Bauer method or automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing systems according to a unified protocol.The results were interpreted according to the breakpoints released in the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)guidelines(2023 edition).Results A total of 9 261 strains of B.cepacia were isolated from all age groups,especially elderly patients.The proportion was 11.1％(1 032 strains)in children,significantly lower than the proportion in adults.About half(46.5％,4 310/9 261)of the strains were isolated from patients at least 60 years old and 42.3％(3 919/9 261)of the strains were isolated from young adults.Most isolates(71.1％)were isolated from sputum and respiratory secretions,followed by urine(10.7％)and blood samples(8.1％).B.cepacia isolates were highly susceptible to the five antimicrobial agents recommended in the CLSI M100 document(33rd edition,2023).B.cepacia isolates showed relatively higher resistance rates to meropenem and levofloxacin.However,the resistance rates to ceftazidime,trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole,and minocycline remained below 8.1％.The percentage of B.cepacia strains resistant to levofloxacin was the highest compared to other antibiotics in any of the three age groups(from 12.4％in the patients＜18 years old to 20.6％in the patients aged 60 years or older).Conclusions B.cepacia is one of the clinically important non-fermenting gram-negative bacteria.Accurate and timely reporting of antimicrobial susceptibility test results and ongoing antimicrobial resistance surveillance are helpful for rational prescription of antimicrobial agents and proper prevention and control of nosocomial infections.

Purpose To evaluate the value of preoperative MRI-based radiomic models for assessing tumor-infiltrating CD8+T-cell expression in glioblastoma patients,and to identify the most stable and efficient radiomic feature region for predicting prognosis following immunotherapy.Materials and Methods This retrospective study included 150 patients with histopathologically confirmed glioblastoma from Lanzhou University Second Hospital(January 2018 to April 2022).Tumor-infiltrating CD8+T-cell expression was quantitatively assessed using immunohistochemical staining,with patients stratified into CD8-high and CD8-low expression groups based on overall survival.A total of 1 185 radiomic features were extracted from each patient's contrast-enhanced T1C and T2WI images,covering the original tumor region and sequentially expanded peritumoral regions(2.5 mm,5.0 mm,7.5 mm,10.0 mm,12.5 mm,15.0 mm morphological dilation of tumor core+peritumoral area).Feature selection was performed using variance threshold,minimum redundancy maximum relevance,and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator methods.XGBoost classifier was employed to construct clinical,radiomic,and clinical-radiomic multimodal combined prediction models.Diagnostic performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.Results The radiomic model based on tumor expansion of 7.5 mm(tumor+peritumoral region)demonstrated optimal predictive performance.The clinical-radiomic multimodal combined model showed superior predictive capability compared to clinical and radiomic models alone,achieving an area under the curve of 0.991 and accuracy of 99.0%in the training set,and area under the curve of 0.840 with accuracy of 80.0%in the validation set.Conclusion MRI radiomics provides a feasible approach for evaluating tumor-infiltrating CD8+T-cell expression in glioblastoma patients,offering potential for preoperative prognosis prediction.

This study was aimed at preliminarily investigating the genetic and antimicrobial resistance characteristics of Salmonella Alachua isolates through whole-genome analyses.Five Salmonella Alachua isolates from various sources(both hu-man and non-human)were collected and identified.Phenotype and serotype verification,antimicrobial susceptibility testing,and whole-genome sequencing were performed.Virulence genes,antimicrobial resistance genes,and plasmid replicons were predicted according to globally available Salmonella Alachua genomic data.A phylogenetic tree was constructed to explore the genetic background.The first report of Salmonella Alachua in China emerged in Shanghai in 2015,and patients presented pri-marily with diarrhea.The isolates have been found predominantly in the eastern and southern coastal regions.Among the five i-solates analyzed,four belonged to sequence type(ST)2061,and one belonged to ST1298.All isolates were susceptible to most commonly used clinical antibiotics.Whole-genome analyses revealed that two ST2061 strains carried the blaKPC-2 gene,and one ST1298 strain carried the fosA7 gene.Phylogenetic analysis of global Salmonella Alachua populations indicated that the ST2061 clone belonged to the C1 clade,which was closely related to strains from the UK,whereas the ST1298 clone was found in the C4 clade,a globally disseminated fosA 7-positive lineage.This study provides initial insights into the genetic and antimi-crobial resistance characteristics of Salmonella Alachua in China,highlighting the presence of strains carrying blaKPC-2 and fo-sA7 genes.These findings may provide a reference for future large-scale molecular epidemiological surveillance and source-trac-ing efforts,and they underscore the importance of enhanced resistance monitoring for Salmonella Alachua.

Spinal trauma, primarily caused by high-energy external forces, predominantly manifest as vertebral fracture and spinal cord injury. These conditions are characterized by spinal pain, restricted mobility, and sensory and autonomic dysfunction, significantly compromising patients′ quality of life and life expectancy. Current diagnostic and therapeutic practices for spinal fracture remain susceptible to subjective clinical experience, resulting in misdiagnosis, underdiagnosis, and imprecise surgical execution. Similarly, the therapeutic efficacy of spinal cord injury rehabilitation is frequently limited by a lack of personalized treatment protocols. The growing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine presents novel opportunities to overcome these obstacles. By excelling in image interpretation, data analytics, clinical decision support, and personalized rehabilitation planning, AI has emerged as a prominent focus of modern research. To this end, the authors reviewed the research progress in the application of AI in the diagnosis and treatment of spinal fracture and rehabilitation of spinal cord injury, providing a reference for AI-assisted precision diagnosis and treatment of vertebral fracture and rehabilitation of spinal cord injury.

Objective To investigate the application of offline solid-phase extraction-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for detecting four synthetic cannabinoids(5F-ADB,5F-MDMB-PICA,4F-MDMB-BUTINACA,and MDMB-4en-PINACA)and their marker metabolites in urban wastewater.Methods Samples were pre-treated using an Oasis PRiME HLB column(60 mg,3CC)and analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry.The mobile phases consisted of 0.02%formic acid-2 mmol/L ammonium formate aqueous solution and acetonitrile solution,with a WATERS ACQUITY UPLCHSS T3 column.Analysis was conducted in positive ionization mode of the ESI ion source,combining multiple reaction monitoring(MRM),information-dependent acquisition(IDA),and enhanced product ion(EPI)scanning modes for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the eight target compounds.Results Good linearity was observed for 4F-MDMB-BUTINACA-M,5F-ADB,5F-ADB-M,and 5F-MDMB-PICA in the concentration range of 1～250 ng/L;for MDMB-4en-PINACA in the range of 5～250 ng/L;and for 4F-MDMB-BUTINACA,5F-MDMB-PICA-M,and 4F-MDMB-BUTINACA-M in the range of 1～500 ng/L.The recovery rates of samples spiked with different concentrations of the eight target compounds ranged from 87.68%to 104.68%,with matrix effects between 88.61%and 112.78%.Both intra-day and inter-day precision were less than 5%.Conclusion The established method demonstrates good accuracy and reproducibility,making it suitable for qualitative and quantitative detection of four synthetic cannabinoids and their metabolites in urban wastewater.

Objective To analyze the global research literature on monkeypox from 2014 to 2024 through bibliometric analysis,and provide reference for monkeypox research in China.Methods Based on data from the Web of Science Core Collection database and utilizing the visualization analysis capabilities of VOSviewer software,we employed keyword co-occurrence analysis and national cooperative network analysis methods and examined the trends in monkeypox research publications,popular journals,high-yield institutions,international collaborations,and keywords.Results A total of 2 396 papers were published from 2014 to 2024,with a significant increase in publications after 2022.The United States had the highest number of publications(808 papers,accounting for 33.72%).The network of international scientific collaborations showed close cooperation between the United States and countries like the United Kingdom and Canada,frequent collaborations among developing countries such as China and India,and extensive cooperation among European countries like Italy and Spain,which also established partnerships with Brazil,Mexico,and others.Keywords co-occurrence clustering and essential science indicators(ESI)highly cited papers revealed that the monkeypox research hotspots after 2022 including the analysis of the virology,clinical,epidemiological characteristics of the global outbreak in 2022,uncovering the causes of the global outbreak and the differences from previous outbreaks.Studies on vaccines and antiviral drugs also gradually became focal points.Conclusion Since the outbreak of monkeypox in 2022,monkeypox research has developed rapidly.Papers focus on specific populations,and gradually shifting from virological,clinical and epidemiological characterization to the development of new drugs,vaccines,and clinical validation studies.

Objective To analyze the current status of malaria vaccine research from 2019 to 2024 by using bibliometric methods.Methods Based on the Web of Science core collection database,we used VOSviewer to conduct a visual analysis of the publishing trends,publishing journals,international cooperation status,institutions and research hotspots of malaria vaccine research.Results A total of 2 467 relevant articles were retrieved,and the annual number of publications showed a stable trend.The number of articles published by different countries/regions varied greatly,and the top effect was obvious.The United States published the most papers(1 032 articles,41.83%).The international cooperation network reflected the regional collaborative relationships in malaria vaccine research,predominantly involving the United States,the United Kingdom,Australia,India and China.Through keyword co-occurrence clustering,the current research hotspots in the field of malaria vaccines were basic research on key sites and mechanisms of potential vaccines,clinical research on new vaccines,epidemiological studies on the impact of malaria vaccines on malaria transmission,etc.Conclusion In recent years,malaria vaccine research has received sustained attention.The translation of clinical research on malaria vaccine was currently accelerating,and children and women were still the key groups of concern.