ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical application value of thromboelastographic parameters in assessing coagulation function by analyzing the thromboelastographic features of patients with primary liver cancer （PLC）， and to provide a basis for coagulation management and prognostic evaluation in liver cancer patients. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for 1 253 PLC patients who were admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University from May 2015 to December 2022. According to the presence or absence of cirrhosis， the patients were divided into non-cirrhosis group with 262 patients and cirrhosis group with 991 patients， and according to the presence or absence of HBV infection， they were divided into HBV infection group with 1 055 patients and non-HBV infection group with 198 patients. The patients were stratified based on the severity of liver cirrhosis （Child-Pugh class and MELD score） and liver reserve function （indocyanine green retention rate at 15 minutes ［ICGR15］）， and thromboelastography was used to measure thromboelastographic parameters （reaction time ［R］， coagulation formation time ［K］， α-angle， maximum thrombosis amplitude ［MA］， and coagulation composite index ［CI］） and conventional coagulation markers. The t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups； a one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison between multiple groups， and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between two groups. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups； the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups， and the Bonferroni correction method was used for further comparison between two groups. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between grouips， and the Spearman test was used for correlation analysis. ResultsAmong the 991 patients in the cirrhosis group， 826 had Child-Pugh class A （5 — 6 points）， and 165 had Child-Pugh class B （7 — 9 points）； 812 had an MELD score of <10， and 179 had an MELD score of ≥10； 679 had an ICGR15 of <10%， and 294 had an ICGR15 of ≥10%. Compared with the patients with Child-Pugh class A， the patients with Child-Pugh class B had a significantly longer K time and significant reductions in α-angle， MA， and CI （all P <0.001）； compared with the MELD score <10 group， the MELD score ≥10 group had a significantly longer K time and significant reductions in α-angle， MA， and CI （all P<0.001）； compared with the ICGR15 <10% group， the ICGR15 ≥10% group had a significantly longer K time and a significant reduction in MA （both P <0.001）. Among the 1 253 patients， MA was strongly positively correlated with fibrinogen and platelet count （r=0.675 and 0.667， both P<0.001）； The MA had a weak correlation with Child-Pugh score， MELD score， and ICGR15 （r=-0.112， -0.250， and -0.117， all P<0.001）， while the K time，α-angle and CI were weakly correlated with the MELD score （r=0.222， -0.184， and -0.183， all P<0.001），R time was negatively correlated with ICGR15 （r=-0.080， P=0.005）. The HBV infection group had significantly higher MA and CI than the non-HBV infection group （P<0.05）. ConclusionThromboelastography can sensitively identify the hypocoagulable state associated with the progression of liver cirrhosis and the hypercoagulable tendency in HBV-related liver cancer， which provides an important reference for individualized anticoagulant therapy in clinical practice.

ObjectiveTo address the limitations of the current quality standard for Polygalae Radix（PR）， which relies on a single component for quality assessment and struggles to holistically control its intrinsic quality， by constructing a comprehensive quality evaluation system integrating "macro-characterization of chemical profile， synchronous quantification of multiple index components， and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker（QAMS） for key component groups". This study aims to facilitate the scientific revision of the quality standard for PR. MethodsHigh performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） characteristic chromatograms were established for 11 batches of PR medicinal materials（YZ）， 10 batches of PR decoction pieces（YP）， and 10 batches of licorice-processed PR decoction pieces（ZYZ）， followed by similarity evaluation and identification of common peaks. HPLC-QAMS was developed for xanthones（sibiricaxanthone B， polygalaxanthone Ⅺ， polygalaxanthone Ⅲ） in the characteristic chromatograms. Simultaneously， the external standard method（ESM） was used to determine the contents of the corresponding xanthones and 3，6'-disinapoyl sucrose in YZ， YP， and ZYZ， followed by multivariate statistical analysis and Spearman correlation analysis. ResultsThe similarity between the characteristic chromatograms of 31 batches of PR samples and the reference chromatogram was>0.9. A total of 13 common peaks were identified， and 10 of these peaks were characterized through reference standard comparison. The successfully constructed QAMS method showed that the relative correction factors（RCFs） of sibiricaxanthone B and polygalaxanthone Ⅺ to polygalaxanthone Ⅲ were 0.76 and 0.88， and their relative retention times（RRTs） were 0.85 and 0.97， respectively. The results calculated by the QAMS method showed no significant difference from those obtained by the ESM. According to the limit standard for polygalaxanthone Ⅲ in the 2020 edition of the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China（hereinafter referred to as the Chinese Pharmacopoeia）， the pass rate of 31 batches of samples was only 19.35%. Multivariate statistical analysis indicated certain compositional differences between different batches of YZ and YP， as well as between YP and ZYZ， with 3，6'-disinapoyl sucrose identified as the main differentiating component. Furthermore， correlation analysis revealed that the content of polygalaxanthone Ⅲ was positively correlated with the contents of sibiricaxanthone B and polygalaxanthone Ⅺ， but showed no association with the content of 3，6'-disinapoyl sucrose. ConclusionIt is recommended that the content limit for polygalaxanthone Ⅲ in YZ，YP and ZYZ be revised to not less than 0.07%， or the total content of polygalaxanthone Ⅲ， sibiricaxanthone B and polygalaxanthone Ⅺ be not less than 0.18%. The newly established triple quality control model of "holistic control via characteristic chromatograms， precise quantification of oligosaccharide esters， and efficient detection of xanthones by QAMS" provides a systematic and precise solution for quality evaluation of PR and similar Chinese herbal medicines.

Endoscopic transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) offers substantial advantages in the management of degenerative spinal diseases, including accelerated postoperative recovery. However, its technical complexity and steep learning curve pose risks for nerve root injury. Optimizing nerve root protection in full-endoscopic facet-sparing TLIF (FE fs-TLIF) and full-endoscopic facet-resecting TLIF (FE fr-TLIF) is essential for enhancing surgical safety. This study aimed to improve the nerve root protection in FE fs-TLIF and FE fr-TLIF by optimizing cage glider selection and insertion techniques based on the specific cage shape—banana-shaped or bullet-shaped. The goal was to ensure safe cage positioning and mitigate nerve root injury during discectomy, endplate preparation, and cage insertion. These strategies were validated through cadaveric simulations and clinical implementation. In FE fr-TLIF utilizing bullet-shaped (straight) cages, one-tip and two-tip cage gliders effectively protected the traversing nerve root by facilitating medial cage entry, thereby minimizing irritation of the exiting nerve root. Conversely, in FE fr-TLIF with banana-shaped cages, the lateral tilt of the cage holder during implantation required the use of a two-tip cage glider to protect the traversing and exiting nerve roots, thereby mitigating the potential risk of nerve irritation. In FE fs-TLIF, a one-tip cage glider is preferred for safeguarding the exiting nerve root, while the traversing root is inherently protected by the medial wall of the facet joint. The use of a two-tip cage glider in FE fs-TLIF can cause injury to the nerve root during glider insertion. In addition to the selection of cage gliders, improper cage insertion steps can also contribute to postoperative neurapraxia. The appropriate selection of cage gliders with corresponding insertion techniques is critical for nerve root protection in endoscopic TLIF. Tailoring these choices to the specific approach (FE fs-TLIF or FE fr-TLIF) and cage type (banana or bullet) enhances surgical safety and clinical outcomes.

ObjectiveStroke poses a heavy burden due to its high mortality and morbidity rates. Accurate and real-time detection of lesions is pivotal for prompt clinical intervention and favorable prognosis. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and microwave tomography (MWT) have emerged as compelling alternatives for stroke screening, owing to their non-ionizing, non-invasive and portable nature. EIT provides information on tissue conductivity, and MWT offers high sensitivity to changes in dielectric properties. However, single-modality imaging is inherently limited, EIT suffers from low sensitivity to deep-seated tissues and severe ill-posedness of inverse problems, whereas MWT is challenged by strong nonlinearity in inverse scattering and susceptibility to modeling errors. Consequently, the clinical utility of standalone EIT or MWT for stroke diagnosis remains constrained by poor spatial resolution and imaging artifacts. To improve the accuracy and robustness of stroke imaging, a dual-modality fusion conditional denoising diffusion probabilistic model (DM-DDPM) was proposed for high-precision dual-modality image reconstruction. MethodsA dual-encoder network with a symmetric architecture and independently trained parameters was constructed to extract heterogeneous features separately from EIT boundary voltage measurements and MWT scattered field signals. Attentional feature fusion (AFF) is employed to integrate complementary information from the two modalities adaptively, generating robust fused priors that suppress redundant noise while preserving key physical characteristics. Subsequently, the fused priors are embedded into a Transformer-based diffusion model via a cross attention mechanism to guide the reverse denoising process. This approach effectively reduces artifacts and enhances the stability of conductivity distribution reconstruction. Time step embedding is introduced to enable the network to perceive the diffusion stage and further improve the accuracy of noise prediction. ResultsSimulated experiments demonstrated that DM-DDPM significantly outperforms single-modality and multi-modality networks under various noise levels. A head model simulation dataset was constructed based on COMSOL Multiphysics, and tests were carried out under 50 dB, 40 dB and 30 dB signal-to-noise ratio levels. At 30 dB, the average relative error (RE) was below 0.20, while the structural similarity index measure (SSIM) and correlation coefficient (CC) remained above 0.90 and 0.89, respectively. Compared with single-modality and multi-modality networks, artifacts were significantly reduced, lesion edges were clearer, and localization was more accurate. The model maintains high reconstruction quality and strong robustness for single, double, and triple lesions simultaneously. Furthermore, physical experiments were conducted using a 16-electrode EIT system and a 16-antenna MWT system with asynchronous data acquisition. These experiments confirmed the feasibility of the method in real-world scenarios and demonstrated that it can robustly reconstruct simulated lesions despite environmental interference and measurement noise, validating its reliability for practical clinical applications. ConclusionThe proposed method effectively combines complementary dual-modality information with a conditional diffusion model. Low accuracy and poor noise resistance in single-modality imaging were effectively addressed, while the noise amplification issue caused by direct multimodal data fusion was avoided. The proposed algorithm exhibits strong anti-noise interference ability and high imaging stability in both simulation and physical experiments. Precise localization of stroke lesions with different quantities was achieved, providing a high-precision, and practical technical support for clinical stroke detection.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the seasonal variation of mosquitoes in Yantai, Shandong Province, and provide a scientific basis for mosquito and mosquito-borne disease control. Methods From March to November for each of the years between 2020 and 2023, adult mosquitoes were collected from different habitats, including parks, hospitals, urban residential areas, rural households and livestock sheds, in 13 counties of Yantai City using a mosquito trap lamp method, among which, female mosquitoes were separated and identified, and the numbers were counted. We used the circular distribution method to analyze the temporal distribution characteristics of mosquito density. Results The γ values obtained for mosquitoes in Yantai from 2020 to 2023, the distribution of mosquitoes in different habitats, and dominant mosquito species in different months showed strong seasonality, with values ranging from 0.7461 to 0.8531(P ＜ 0.05). The peak period of seasonal variation in mosquitoes occurred from June 28thto September 13th, with August 5thbeing identified as the peak day. The peak periods of seasonal variation in mosquitoes in residential areas, parks, hospitals, peasant households, and animals sheds were observed from June 24thto September 14th, June 25thto September 10th, June 22ndto September 12th, July 1stto September 9th, and July 2ndto September 17th, respectively, with corresponding peak days on August 4th,3rd, 2nd, 5th, and 9th, respectively. The peak periods of Culex pipiens pallens, Aedes albopictus, and Anopheles sinensis were from June 26thto September 11th, June 28thto September 17th, and July 12thto September 17th, respectively, with corresponding peak days on August 3rd,7th, and 14th, respectively. Conclusions Our findings in this study revealed that the peak of mosquito activity in Yantai was concentrated in early August, with a peak period extending from June 28thto September 13th, and there were differences between different habitats(with peak periods for rural households and livestock sheds occurring later than those in residential areas, parks, and hospitals). Moreover, with respect to the mosquito species, populations of Cx. pipiens pallens and Ae. albopictus peaked earlier than those of An. sinensis. Based on these findings, we recommend that city-wide mosquito control work should commence in late June, and include appropriate early prevention and control measures for key habitats, such as livestock sheds, and dominant mosquito species, such as Cx. pipiens pallens, to minimize the density of mosquito vectors and the risk of disease transmission.

ObjectiveTo investigate the ameliorative effect of Xingpi capsules on functional dyspepsia（FD） and the potential mechanism. MethodsSixty SPF-grade male SD neonatal rats（7 days old） were randomly divided into the normal group（n=12） and the modeling group（n=48）， and the FD model was prepared by iodoacetamide gavage in the modeling group. After the model was successfully prepared， the rats in the modeling group were randomly divided into the model group， the low-dose and high-dose groups of Xingpi capsules（0.135， 0.54 g·kg^-1） and the domperidone group（3 mg·kg^-1）， with 12 rats in each group. Rats in the normal and model groups were gavaged with distilled water， and rats in the rest of the groups were gavaged with the corresponding medicinal solution， once a day for 7 d. The general survival condition of the rats was observed， and the water intake and food intake of the rats were measured， the gastric emptying rate and the small intestinal propulsion rate were measured at the end of the treatment， the pathological damage of the rat duodenum was examined by hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining， and the expressions of colonic tight junction protein（Occludin） and zonula occludens protein-1（ZO-1） were detected by immunofluorescence. The differentially expressed genes in the duodenal tissues of the model group and the normal group， and the high-dose group of Xingpi capsules and the model group were detected by transcriptome sequencing after the final administration， and Gene Ontology（GO） and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） enrichment analyses were carried out. The transcriptomic results were validated by Western blot， immunofluorescence， and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）， and the active ingredients of Xingpi capsules were screened for molecular docking with the key targets. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the general survival condition of rats in the model group was poorer， and the water intake， food intake， gastric emptying rate and small intestinal propulsion rate were all significantly reduced（P<0.05）， inflammatory infiltration was seen in duodenal pathology， and the fluorescence intensities of Occludin and ZO-1 in the colon were significantly reduced（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the general survival condition of rats in the high-dose group of Xingpi capsules improved significantly， and the water intake， food intake， gastric emptying rate and small intestinal propulsion rate were all significantly increased（P<0.05）， the duodenal pathology showed a decrease in inflammatory infiltration， and the fluorescence intensities of colonic Occludin and ZO-1 were significantly increased（P<0.01）. Transcriptomic results showed that Xingpi capsules might exert therapeutic effects by regulating the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase（PI3K）/protein kinase B（Akt） through the key genes such as Slc5a1， Abhd6. The validation results showed that compared with the normal group， the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt proteins， the protein expression level of interleukin（IL）-1β， and the fluorescence intensities of IL-6 and IL-1β were significantly increased in the model group（P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the mRNA levels of Slc5a1， Abhd6， Mgam， Atp1a1， Slc7a8， Cdr2， Chrm3， Slc5a9 and other key genes were significantly increased（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt， the protein expression level of IL-1β and the fluorescence intensities of IL-6 and IL-1β in the high-dose group of Xingpi capsules were significantly reduced（P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the mRNA levels of Slc5a1， Abhd6， Mgam， Atp1a1， Slc7a8， Cdr2， Chrm3 and Slc5a9 were significantly reduced（P<0.05）. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis and molecular docking results showed that E-nerolidol and Z-nerolidol in Xingpi capsules were well bound to ABDH6 protein， and linarionoside A， valerosidatum and senkirkine were well bound to Slc5a1 protein. ConclusionXingpi capsules can effectively improve the general survival and gastrointestinal motility of FD rats， its specific mechanism may be related to the inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway to alleviate the low-grade inflammation of duodenum， and E-nerolidol， Z-nerolidol， linarionoside A， valerosidatum and senkirkine may be its key active ingredients.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical efficacy of integrating pharmacists into family health teams （FHTs） for long-term medication therapeutical management （MTM） in stroke patients， and empirically evaluate the service model. METHODS A pharmacist team， jointly established by clinical and community pharmacists from the Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University （hereinafter referred to as “our hospital”）， developed a pharmacist-supported MTM model integrated into FHTs. Using a prospective randomized controlled design， 170 stroke patients discharged from our hospital （July 2022-December 2023） and enrolled in FHTs at Suzhou Runda Community Hospital were randomly divided into trial group （88 cases） and control group （82 cases） according to random number table. The control group received routine FHTs care （without pharmacist involvement in the team collaboration）， while the trial group xhz8405@126.com received 12-month MTM services supported by pharmacists via an information platform. These services specifically included innovative interventions such as personalized medication regimen optimization based on the MTM framework， dynamic medication adherence management， medication safety monitoring， a home medication assessment system， and distinctive service offerings. Outcomes of the 2 grousp were compared before and after intervention， involving medication adherence （adherence rate， adherence score）， compliance rates for stroke recurrence risk factors [blood pressure， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）]， and incidence of adverse drug reactions （ADR）. RESULTS After 12 months， the trial group exhibited significantly higher medication adherence rates， improved adherence scores， higher compliance rates for blood pressure and LDL-C targets compared to the control group （P＜0.05）. The incidence of ADR in the trial group （4.55%） was significantly lower than that in the control group （8.11%）， though the difference was not statistically significant （P＞ 0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Pharmacist involvement in FHTs to deliver MTM services significantly enhances medication adherence and optimizes risk factor for stroke recurrence， offering practical evidence for advancing pharmaceutical care in chronic disease management under the family doctor system.

Background: and Purpose Symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) following endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) is a severe complication associated with adverse functional outcomes and increased mortality rates. Currently, a reliable predictive model for sICH risk after EVT is lacking. Methods: This study used data from patients aged ≥20 years who underwent EVT for anterior circulation stroke from the nationwide Taiwan Registry of Endovascular Thrombectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke (TREAT-AIS). A predictive model including factors associated with an increased risk of sICH after EVT was developed to differentiate between patients with and without sICH. This model was compared existing predictive models using nationwide registry data to evaluate its relative performance. Results: Of the 2,507 identified patients, 158 developed sICH after EVT. Factors such as diastolic blood pressure, Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score, platelet count, glucose level, collateral score, and successful reperfusion were associated with the risk of sICH after EVT. The TREAT-AIS score demonstrated acceptable predictive accuracy (area under the curve [AUC]=0.694), with higher scores being associated with an increased risk of sICH (odds ratio=2.01 per score increase, 95% confidence interval=1.64–2.45, P<0.001). The discriminatory capacity of the score was similar in patients with symptom onset beyond 6 hours (AUC=0.705). Compared to existing models, the TREAT-AIS score consistently exhibited superior predictive accuracy, although this difference was marginal. Conclusions The TREAT-AIS score outperformed existing models, and demonstrated an acceptable discriminatory capacity for distinguishing patients according to sICH risk levels. However, the differences between models were only marginal. Further research incorporating periprocedural and postprocedural factors is required to improve the predictive accuracy.

BACKGROUND: Severe stroke has high rates of mortality and morbidity. This study aimed to investigate the clinical course, causes of worsening, and outcomes of severe ischemic stroke. METHODS: This prospective, multicenter cohort study enrolled adult patients admitted ≤30 days after ischemic stroke from nine hospitals in China between September 2017 and December 2019. Severe stroke was defined as a score of ≥15 on the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). Clinical worsening was defined as an increase of 4 in the NIHSS score from baseline. Unfavorable functional outcome was defined as a modified Rankin scale score ≥3 at 3 months and 1 year after stroke onset, respectively. We performed Logistic regression to explore baseline features and reperfusion therapies associated with clinical worsening and functional outcomes. RESULTS: Among 4201 patients enrolled, 854 patients (20.33%) had severe stroke on admission. Of 3347 patients without severe stroke on admission, 142 (4.24%) patients developed severe stroke in hospital. Of 854 patients with severe stroke on admission, 33.95% (290/854) experienced clinical worsening (median time from stroke onset: 43 h, Q1-Q3: 20-88 h), with brain edema (54.83% [159/290]) as the leading cause; 24.59% (210/854) of these patients died by 30 days, and 81.47% (677/831) and 78.44% (633/807) had unfavorable functional outcomes at 3 months and 1 year respectively. Reperfusion reduced the risk of worsening (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.24, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.12-0.49, P  <0.01), 30-day death (adjusted OR: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.11-0.41, P  <0.01), and unfavorable functional outcomes at 3 months (adjusted OR: 0.24, 95% CI: 0.08-0.68, P <0.01) and 1 year (adjusted OR: 0.17, 95% CI: 0.06-0.50, P  <0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Approximately one-fifth of patients with ischemic stroke had severe neurological deficits on admission. Clinical worsening mainly occurred in the first 3 to 4 days after stroke onset, with brain edema as the leading cause of worsening. Reperfusion reduced the risk of clinical worsening and improved functional outcomes. REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03222024.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Prospective Studies ; Ischemic Stroke/mortality* ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Stroke ; Brain Ischemia

BACKGROUND: The American Heart Association recently released a new cardiovascular health (CVH) metric, Life's Essential 8 (LE8), for health promotion. However, the association between LE8 scores and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains uncertain. We aimed to explore the association of LE8 scores with new-onset CKD and examine whether socioeconomic deprivation and genetic risk modify this association. METHODS: A total of 286,908 participants from UK Biobank and without prior CKD were included between 2006 and 2010. CVH was categorized using LE8 scores: low (LE8 scores <50), moderate (LE8 scores ≥50 but <80), and high (LE8 scores ≥80). The study outcome was new-onset CKD, ascertained by data linkage with primary care, hospital inpatient, and death data. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to investigate the association between CVH categories and new-onset CKD. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 12.5 years, 8857 (3.1%) participants developed new-onset CKD. Compared to the low CVH group, the moderate (adjusted hazards ratio [HR], 0.50; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.47-0.53) and high CVH (adjusted HR, 0.31; 95% CI: 0.27-0.34) groups had a significantly lower risk of developing new-onset CKD. The population-attributable risk associated with high vs. intermediate or low CVH scores was 40.3%. Participants who were least deprived ( vs.  most deprived; adjusted HR, 0.75; 95% CI: 0.71-0.79) and with low genetic risk of CKD ( vs.  high genetic risk; adjusted HR, 0.89; 95% CI: 0.85-0.94) had a significantly lower risk of developing new-onset CKD. However, socioeconomic deprivation and genetic risks of CKD did not significantly modify the relationship between LE8 scores and new-onset CKD (both P -interaction >0.05). CONCLUSION Achieving a higher LE8 score was associated with a lower risk of developing new-onset CKD, regardless of socioeconomic deprivation and genetic risks of CKD.
Humans ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics* ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Adult ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Socioeconomic Factors