Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) shows a significant gender difference. In addition to X chromosome inactivation (XCI) abnormalities, which may lead to the gender difference in SLE, studies have found that estrogen plays a key role in regulating Th17/Treg immune balance in SLE. Estrogen indirectly affects the quantity and function of Th17 and Treg cells by acting on B cells. In this process, the mutual influence and the interaction between B and T cells promote the development of SLE. Recent studies have reported gender differences in intestinal microbiota, which may lead to sex-dependent genetic susceptibility and epigenetic changes in autoimmune diseases represented by SLE. The interaction between estrogen and intestinal microbiota in SLE affects the immune balance of Th17/Treg cells. This paper mainly reviews the way estrogen works, and the mechanisms by which estrogen regulates Th17/Treg immune balance and the interaction between B and T cells in SLE, hoping to provide new targets for new therapeutic strategies such as selective estrogen receptor modulators.

Pulmonary fibrosis(PF)is a chronic progressive end-stage lung disease.However,the mechanisms un-derlying the progression of this disease remain elusive.Presently,clinically employed drugs are scarce for the treatment of PF.Hence,there is an urgent need for developing novel drugs to address such diseases.Our study found for the first time that a natural source of Prismatomeris connata Y.Z.Ruan(Huang Gen,HG)ethyl acetate extract(HG-2)had a significant anti-PF effect by inhibiting the expression of the transforming growth factor beta 1/suppressor of mothers against decapentaplegic(TGF-β1/Smad)pathway.Network pharmacological analysis suggested that HG-2 had effects on tyrosine kinase phosphorylation,cellular response to reactive oxygen species,and extracellular matrix(ECM)disassembly.Moreover,mass spec-trometry imaging(MSI)was used to visualize the heterogeneous distribution of endogenous metabolites in lung tissue and reveal the anti-PF metabolic mechanism of HG-2,which was related to arginine biosyn-thesis and alanine,asparate and glutamate metabolism,the downregulation of arachidonic acid meta-bolism,and the upregulation of glycerophospholipid metabolism.In conclusion,we elaborated on the relationship between metabolite distribution and the progression of PF,constructed the regulatory metabolic network of HG-2,and discovered the multi-target therapeutic effect of HG-2,which might be conducive to the development of new drugs for PF.

Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics of patients with epilepsy caused by focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), and identify the influencing factors for postoperative seizure controls.Methods:Fifty-seven patients with epilepsy caused by FCD admitted to Department of Neurosurgery, Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from July 2019 to November 2023 were chosen; standard preoperative evaluation, surgery, postoperative management and follow-up were performed. A retrospective study of clinical data, imaging and video electroencephalogram (VEEG) data, surgical approaches, pathological findings, and follow-up data was performed; influencing factors for postoperative seizure controls were analyzed.Results:In these 57 patients with epilepsy caused by FCD, 29 were males (50.88%) and 28 were females (49.12%). Onset age was 30.00 (8.00, 74.50) months, and surgery age was 95.00 (50.00, 138.50) months. Focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (42/57; 73.68%) and epileptic spasms (13/57; 22.81%) were common seizure types. Cranial MRI was positive in 34 patients (59.65%), mainly manifested as abnormal cortical gyri/sulci morphology (17/57; 29.82%). In 43 patients accepted PET-CT, hypometabolic sites were detected in 40 (93.02%), and complete agreement between PET/MRI fusion results and actual lesion sites was noted in 40 (93.02%). FCD type I was noted in 16 patients (28.07%), type II in 39 (68.42%), and type III in 2 (3.51%). By December 2023, 44 (77.19%) had Engel grading I, 4 (7.02%) had grading II, 4 (7.02%) had grading III, and 5 (8.77%) had grading IV. Children with good prognosis (Engel grading I+II) and those with poor prognosis (Engel grading III+IV) showed significant differences in terms of time from first seizure to surgery, positive/negative MRI, and regularity of postoperative ASMs ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizure is the most common seizure type in patients with epilepsy caused by FCD, and abnormal cortical gyri/sulci morphology is the most common MRI manifestation; PET/MRI fusion imaging is superior to PET-CT or MRI in identifying epileptogenic foci. Poor seizure control can be noted in patients with long onset time to surgery, with negative cranial MRI results, or with irregular postoperative ASMs.

Objective To detect the expressions of intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1)and nu-clear factor(NF)-κB in hepatic tissues of the patients with chronic hepatitis B,and to analyze their correlation with the hepatic inflammatory activity and fibrosis degree.Methods The liver biopsy specimens from 66 pa-tients with hepatitis B and 10 non-hepatopathic controls were selected,and immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization were used to detect ICAM-1 and NF-κB expression levels in different liver tissues.Results The positive rate of ICAM-1 and NF-κB expression in liver tissues of the patients with chronic hepatitis B was higher than that in normal liver tissues,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The expres-sion of ICAM-1 and NF-κB in the patients with hepatitis B was positively correlated with the inflammatory ac-tivity and fibrosis degree(r=0.493,0.496,P＜0.01;r=0.580,0.519,P＜0.01).Conclusion ICAM-1 and NF-κB in the patients with chronic hepatitis B are highly expressed,which is useful in judging the hepatic in-flammatory activity and fibrosis degree.

Objective:To design a novel electromagnetic ejection device for endoscopic suturing to achieve continuous deployment of suture nails.Methods:An electromagnetic ejection device and its accompanying suture nail structure were designed and a prototype was fabricated based on electromagnetic ejection principles. A finite element model of the electromagnetic ejection device was constructed to study the effects of armature-coil center distance and different driving voltages on suture nail ejection speed. An experimental platform for testing electromagnetic ejection velocity was constructed, and a high-speed camera was used to detect the ejection velocity. A platform for the suture embedding experiment was built to measure the effects of different voltages on the inserting speed of suture into the gastric wall tissue. A platform for a suture extraction force experiment was built to evaluate the extraction force of sutures embedded in tissues under different driving voltages.Results:A suture nail structure and electromagnetic ejection device were designed, and a prototype was fabricated. The ejection velocity increased and then decreased with the increase of the armature-coil center distance, and the maximum ejection velocity was 15.81 m/s at the center distance of 18 mm. At this distance, the voltage was linearly related to the ejection velocity, and the experimental values of the staple basically coincided with the simulated values. When the driving voltage was in the range of 150 to 180 V, the suture nails could successfully insert in the tissues, and the 180 V voltage group had a greater insertion depth. The extraction force of the suture nails at 120, 150, 180, and 210 V voltages were (0.49 ± 0.19), (1.14 ± 0.19), (1.23 ± 0.15), and (1.85 ± 0.31) N, respectively.Conclusions:A novel electromagnetic ejection device for endoscopic suturing is proposed that is capable of continuous firing of suture nails. This device provides a new long-distance driving method for intelligent, minimally invasive surgical instruments.

Objective To evaluate the potential clinical value of T2 mapping and mDixon Quant in the diagnosis of early interver-tebral disc degeneration.Methods A total of 79 volunteers who underwent lumbar MRI examination were enrolled.All subjects were examined for 3.0T MR with T2WI,T2 mapping,and mDixon Quant while recording the condition of low back pain.The differ-ences between T2 mapping(map)value and fat fraction(FF)values of the vertebral(V)and nucleus pulposus(NP)within the Pfir-rmann Ⅰ and Pfirrmann Ⅱ intervertebral disc(grade Ⅰ 76,grade Ⅱ 87)were statistically analyzed.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analyses were performed for meaningful parameters.Results V-FF showed a mild positive correlation with degenera-tive intervertebral disc lesions,and NP-FF and NP-map values showed a mild negative correlation with lesions.There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in V-FF(P＜0.001),NP-FF(P=0.005),and NP-map(P＜0.001).Some measure-ments had statistically significant differences when different intervertebral disc segments were compared.Conclusion V-FF,NP-FF,and NP-map are associated with intervertebral disc degeneration.T2 mapping and mDixon Quant are potentially valuable as diagnostic tools to quantitatively assess early intervertebral disc degeneration and help diagnose.

Objective:To investigate whether IL-7-secreting oncolytic herpes simplex virus(HSV)could activate CD8+T cells and inhibit the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods:The expression of IL-7 was detected by Western blot.The in vitro cleavage of tumor cells by tumor oncolytic virus HSV and HSV-IL-7 were detected by crystal violet staining.The tumor inhibition ability of HSV-IL-7 and HSV were detected in subcutaneous transplanted tumor model.Levels of IL-7,IFN-γ and TNF-α in serum and tumor tissues were determined by ELISA.The infiltration of CD8+T cells in tumor tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry.Flow cytometry was used to detect Granzyme B secretion in CD8+T cells infiltrated by tumor.Results:Tumor cells infected with HSV-IL-7 expressed high level of IL-7.Both HSV and HSV-IL-7 can effectively lyse B16-F10,CT-26 and H22 tumor cell lines in a dose-dependent manner in vitro.HSV-IL-7 could significantly inhibit the growth of H22 hepatoma cells in vivo(P<0.01)and prolong the survival time of tumor-bearing mice(P<0.001).HSV-IL-7 could significantly increase the IL-7 content in tumor sites(P<0.000 1),and effectively increase the number of tumor infiltrating CD8+T cells(P<0.001).HSV-IL-7 significantly enhanced Granzyme B secretion of tumor-infiltrating CD8+T cells and IFN-γ and TNF-α in tumor tissues(P<0.000 1).Conclusion:HSV-IL-7 has well tumor inhibition activity in vivo and in vitro.It also can activate the anti-tumor activity of CD8+T cells in vivo by secreting IL-7,inhibit tumor growth and prolong the survival time of tumor-bearing mice.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Ganjie Bingmei Tablet （甘桔冰梅片， GBT） in treating acute pharyngitis with wind-heat invading the lung syndrome. MethodsUsing multi-center， rando-mized， double-blind， double-dummy， positive and parallel controlled clinical trial design， 144 acute pharyngitis patients with wind-heat invading the lung syndrome from October 8th， 2022 to March 31st， 2023 were collected and randomly assigned to the treatment group and the control group， with 72 cases in each group. The treatment group was treated by GBT （0.4 g each time， 4 times a day） combined with Ganjie Qingyan Granules （甘桔清咽颗粒， GQG） placebo （10 g each time， 3 times a day）， while the control group was treated by GQG （10 g each time， 3 times a day） combined with GBT placebo （0.4 g each time， 4 times a day）， both for 5 days. The clinical efficacy of the two groups was observed， and the disappearance rate of pharyngalgia and the efficacy regarding TCM syndromes were compared between groups after treatment. The visual analog scale （VAS） score before and after treatment was assessed， and the safety was evaluated. ResultsThe disappearance rate of pharyngalgia in the treatment group was 98.61%（71/72）， significantly higher than 80.56%（58/72） in the control group （P＜0.01）. The VAS scores in both groups significantly decreased after treatment （P＜0.05）， and lower score was found in the treatment group than the control group （P＜0.05）. The total effective rate regarding TCM syndromes was 100% in both groups， but the curative rate was significantly higher in the treatment group（73.61%， 53/72） than the control group （62.50%， 45/72， P＜0.05）. There were no obvious adverse reactions in the both groups. ConclusionGBT is effective and safe in treating acute pharyngitis with wind-heat affecting the lung syndrome.

Objective To estimate the disease burden of silicosis in China from 1990 to 2021 and analyze its changing trend using the data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 (GBD 2021), and to provide evidence for the prevention and control of silicosis. Methods Data on the incidence, prevalence, morbidity and death, mortality and disability-adjusted life year (DALY) of silicosis in China were extracted from the GBD 2021 to analyze the disease burden and age distribution of silicosis. The average annual percentage change (AAPC) was calculated to reflect the temporal trend of various disease burden indicators from 1990 to 2021. The results were then compared with those of the global population. Results In China, prevalent cases of silicosis increased by 116.62% from 79 075 in 1990 to 171 291 in 2021; incident cases of silicosis increased by 75.75% from 13 315 in 1990 to 23 401 in 2021; deaths of silicosis increased by 30.76% from 4 837 in 1990 to 6 326 in 2021; DALYs of silicosis increased by 14.84% from 150,729.65 person-years in 1990 to 173 091.06 person-years in 2021. The age-standardized rate of prevalence, incidence, mortality, DALY, YLL, and YLD of silicosis in China all showed a downward trend. The AAPC (95% CI) was -0.42% (-0.56% ~ -0.29%), -1.02% (-1.16 %~ -0.88%), -2.16% (-2.49% ~ -1.83%), -2.24% (-2.63% ~ -1.84%), -2.45% (-2.76% ~ -2.14%), and -0.42% (-0.54% ~ -0.29%), respectively. From 1990 to 2021, the age-standardized indicators of silicosis in China were all higher than the global level, and the differences were statistically significant (all P <0.05). The proportion of silicosis incident cases in the total incident cases of pneumoconiosis in China increased from 68.49% in 1990 to 78.58% in 2021. Conclusion The age-standardized indicators of silicosis in China showed a downward trend from 1990 to 2021, but the number of prevalent cases, incident cases, and DALYs showed an increasing trend. The age-standardized incident rate of silicosis in China remains at a high level, suggesting that further efforts should be made to prevent and control silicosis.

ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between the occupational noise exposure and arteriosclerosis in mechanical manufacturing workers. Methods A total of 453 employees of a machinery manufacturing enterprise were selected as the study subjects using the judgment sampling method. The noise exposure levels in their workplaces were measured, and their cumulative noise exposure (CNE) was assessed based on the type of job-noise exposure matrix and occupational hazard exposure history. Pure-tone audiometry was performed on the research subjects, and their brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was measured. Results The CNE was (91±11) dB(A) per year and the median baPWV was 1 278.0 cm/s in the research subjects. The results of the generalized linear regression model analysis showed that for every one dB(A) per year increase in CNE, the baPWV of the general population increased by 0.20% ［95% confidence interval (CI) 0.10%-0.30%, P<0.01］, with an increase of 0.17% in males (95%CI 0.06%-0.28%, P<0.01) and 0.28% in females (95%CI 0.07%-0.49%, P<0.01). Using the hearing loss as an outcome indicator for high intensity noise exposure, the results showed that baPWV increased by 7.04% (95%CI 2.42%-11.87%, P<0.01) in individuals with bilateral hearing loss, and by 9.84% and 6.53% (95%CI 3.07%-17.07% and 2.13%-11.11%, all P<0.01) in individuals with elevated high-frequency hearing thresholds in both ears and in either ear, respectively. There was no significant association in elevated speech-frequency hearing thresholds and arteriosclerosis (P>0.05). Conclusion Occupational noise exposure may increase the risk of arteriosclerosis.