ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which Luoshi Neiyi prescription treats endometriosis （EMs） through regulating ferroptosis， and to screen key metabolites and analyze their association with ferroptosis. MethodsClinical samples of normal endometrium from patients without EMs and eutopic and ectopic endometrium from EMs patients （10 cases each） were collected and divided into control group， eutopic group， and EMs group. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to observe ectopic lesions of EMs. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 （SLC7A11） and glutathione peroxidase 4 （GPX4）. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was adopted to determine the levels of malondialdehyde （MDA）， ferrous ion （Fe²⁺）， GPX4 and glutathione （GSH） in endometrial tissues， as well as serum levels of Fe²⁺， GPX4 and GSH. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used to detect the mRNA expression of SLC7A11， GPX4， transferrin receptor （TFR） and ferritin heavy chain 1 （FTH1）. In the in vitro experiment， primary stromal cells were isolated from ectopic lesions of EMs patients. Cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） was used to determine the optimal concentration of drug-containing serum for intervention. The level of reactive oxygen species （ROS） was measured， and Real-time PCR was applied to detect ferroptosis-related indicators. In the animal experiments， an EM rat model was established， and the rats were randomly assigned to the sham operation group， EMs group， low-dose Luoshi Neiyi Formula group （7.87 g·kg^-1）， high-dose Luoshi Neiyi prescription group （15.74 g·kg^-1）， and danazol group （42 mg·kg^-1）. Untargeted metabolomics detection and pathway enrichment analysis were conducted on serum samples from patients and rats. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between differential metabolites and ferroptosis indicators. The correlations between differential metabolites in patient endometrium and serum and key ferroptosis indicators （GPX4， Fe²⁺， MDA， GSH） as well as ferroptosis-related mRNAs （GPX4， SLC7A11， FTH1） were analyzed， and correlation heatmaps were generated accordingly. ResultsCompared with normal eutopic endometrium， ectopic lesions in EMs patients showed glandular disorganization and stromal fibrosis. In ectopic endometrium， the contents of MDA， ROS， and Fe²⁺ decreased， while GPX4 level increased， and the mRNA expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 was upregulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In serum， the levels of GPX4 and Fe²⁺ were elevated， whereas the GSH level declined， suggesting abnormalities in ferroptosis-related pathways in ectopic lesions （P<0.05， P<0.01）. After intervention with Luoshi Neiyi prescription-containing serum， the intracellular ROS level in ectopic endometrial stromal cells was elevated， the mRNA expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 was downregulated， and TFR mRNA expression was upregulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Metabolomics analysis revealed 1104 and 198 differential metabolites in EMs patients and EMs rats， respectively， compared with their corresponding control groups， and both low-dose and high-dose Luoshi Neiyi prescription were found to regulate this metabolic disturbance， with the core regulatory pathways mainly involving arginine and proline metabolism. Correlation analysis showed that the glycerophospholipids including PI（16∶0/17∶0） and PI［18∶2（9Z，12Z）］ were negatively correlated with GPX4 and positively correlated with MDA， while 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was positively correlated with GPX4， SLC7A11， and FTH1 q<0.05）. ConclusionLuoshi Neiyi prescription may systematically ameliorate disease-associated metabolic dysregulation via modulation of the serum arginine and proline metabolism pathway， and may regulate ferroptosis in ectopic lesions through a mechanism potentially linked to the serum glycerophospholipid and steroid metabolism pathways. Collectively， these findings provide experimental evidence for the clinical application of Luoshi Neiyi prescription.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the mechanism by which Luoshi Neiyi prescription treats endometriosis （EMs） through regulating ferroptosis， and to screen key metabolites and analyze their association with ferroptosis. MethodsClinical samples of normal endometrium from patients without EMs and eutopic and ectopic endometrium from EMs patients （10 cases each） were collected and divided into control group， eutopic group， and EMs group. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to observe ectopic lesions of EMs. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 （SLC7A11） and glutathione peroxidase 4 （GPX4）. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was adopted to determine the levels of malondialdehyde （MDA）， ferrous ion （Fe²⁺）， GPX4 and glutathione （GSH） in endometrial tissues， as well as serum levels of Fe²⁺， GPX4 and GSH. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used to detect the mRNA expression of SLC7A11， GPX4， transferrin receptor （TFR） and ferritin heavy chain 1 （FTH1）. In the in vitro experiment， primary stromal cells were isolated from ectopic lesions of EMs patients. Cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） was used to determine the optimal concentration of drug-containing serum for intervention. The level of reactive oxygen species （ROS） was measured， and Real-time PCR was applied to detect ferroptosis-related indicators. In the animal experiments， an EM rat model was established， and the rats were randomly assigned to the sham operation group， EMs group， low-dose Luoshi Neiyi Formula group （7.87 g·kg^-1）， high-dose Luoshi Neiyi prescription group （15.74 g·kg^-1）， and danazol group （42 mg·kg^-1）. Untargeted metabolomics detection and pathway enrichment analysis were conducted on serum samples from patients and rats. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between differential metabolites and ferroptosis indicators. The correlations between differential metabolites in patient endometrium and serum and key ferroptosis indicators （GPX4， Fe²⁺， MDA， GSH） as well as ferroptosis-related mRNAs （GPX4， SLC7A11， FTH1） were analyzed， and correlation heatmaps were generated accordingly. ResultsCompared with normal eutopic endometrium， ectopic lesions in EMs patients showed glandular disorganization and stromal fibrosis. In ectopic endometrium， the contents of MDA， ROS， and Fe²⁺ decreased， while GPX4 level increased， and the mRNA expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 was upregulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）. In serum， the levels of GPX4 and Fe²⁺ were elevated， whereas the GSH level declined， suggesting abnormalities in ferroptosis-related pathways in ectopic lesions （P<0.05， P<0.01）. After intervention with Luoshi Neiyi prescription-containing serum， the intracellular ROS level in ectopic endometrial stromal cells was elevated， the mRNA expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 was downregulated， and TFR mRNA expression was upregulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Metabolomics analysis revealed 1104 and 198 differential metabolites in EMs patients and EMs rats， respectively， compared with their corresponding control groups， and both low-dose and high-dose Luoshi Neiyi prescription were found to regulate this metabolic disturbance， with the core regulatory pathways mainly involving arginine and proline metabolism. Correlation analysis showed that the glycerophospholipids including PI（16∶0/17∶0） and PI［18∶2（9Z，12Z）］ were negatively correlated with GPX4 and positively correlated with MDA， while 17α-hydroxyprogesterone was positively correlated with GPX4， SLC7A11， and FTH1 q<0.05）. ConclusionLuoshi Neiyi prescription may systematically ameliorate disease-associated metabolic dysregulation via modulation of the serum arginine and proline metabolism pathway， and may regulate ferroptosis in ectopic lesions through a mechanism potentially linked to the serum glycerophospholipid and steroid metabolism pathways. Collectively， these findings provide experimental evidence for the clinical application of Luoshi Neiyi prescription.

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and spatio-temporal clustering characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in Minqin County, Gansu Province from 2014 to 2023, so as to provide the evidence for formulating targeted PTB prevention and control strategies. Methods: Surveillance data on PTB cases in Minqin County from 2014 to 2023 were collected through the China Disease Prevention and Control Information System. Descriptive methods were used to analyze the population, temporal and regional distribution characteristics of PTB cases. Trend surface analysis and spatio-temporal scan analysis were used to analyze the spatio-temporal clustering characteristics of PTB. Results: A total of 1 856 PTB cases were reported in Minqin County from 2014 to 2023, with an average annual reported incidence of 86.50/105. The reported incidence of PTB decreased from 107.82/105 in 2014 to 83.56/105 in 2023, showing an average annual decline rate of 2.79%. There were 1 091 males, accounting for 58.78%, and 765 females, accounting for 41.22%. The average annual reported incidence of PTB was 99.05/105 in males, higher than 73.27/105 in females (P<0.05). The population aged 65-<70 years had the largest number of PTB cases, with 410 cases, accounting for 22.09%. Farmers were the predominant occupation, with 1 608 cases, accounting for 86.64%. A relatively large number of cases were reported in spring and winter, with 550 and 510 cases, accounting for 29.63% and 27.48%, respectively. Hongshaliang Town, Donghu Town and Shuangcike Town had higher average annual reported incidence of PTB, which were 167.82/105, 140.51/105 and 133.23/105, respectively. Trend surface analysis showed that the average annual reported incidence rates of PTB across various townships in Minqin County from 2014 to 2023 were unevenly distributed. In the east-west direction, the reported incidence of PTB was relatively higher in the eastern part. In the north-south direction, the reported incidence of PTB was relatively higher in the northern part. Spatio-temporal scan analysis showed that there was one Class Ⅰcluster of PTB in Minqin County from 2014 to 2023, covering 9 townships, with clustering period spanning from 2014 to 2017 (P<0.05). There was one Class Ⅱ cluster of PTB in Minqin County, covering 8 townships, with clustering period spanning from 2020 to 2021 (P<0.05). Conclusions From 2014 to 2023, the average annual reported incidence of PTB in Minqin County remained at a relatively high level, with a relatively slow decline rate. PTB was highly prevalent in winter and spring as well as in townships in the northeastern part. Special attention should be paid to high-risk groups such as males, the elderly, and farmers.

Objective:This study aims to investigate the feasibility and safety of implanting leadless pacemakers in the low septum and its impact on cardiac electrical synchronization.Methods:A total of 36 patients who received leadless pacemaker implantation at Fuwai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital from January 2021 to August 2023 were included in this study.According to implantation sites of leadless pacemakers,patients were divided into mid-septal group(n=16)and low-septal group(n=20).The clinical characteristics and cardiac electrical synchronization were compared between the two groups.Results:There were 21 male patients,mean age was(68±13)years old.There was no statistical difference in the type of brady-arrhythmia between the two groups(P=0.73).There were 61 implant attempts in these 36 patients,and there was no significant difference in the number of attempts,procedure time,and pacemaker parameters between the two groups,but the average procedure time tended to be shorter in the low-septal group([84±37]minutes vs.[105±35]minutes,P=0.09).In terms of electrical synchronization,there was no statistical difference in QRS duration between the low-septal group and the mid-septal group([162.0±21.1]ms vs.[174.0±14.8]ms,P=0.20).There were no vascular puncture complications,cardiac perforation,or pericardial tamponade during the procedure.There were no complications and readmissions related to the leadless pacemaker during follow-up period.Conclusions:Our results show that the implantation of a leadless pacemaker in the low ventricular septum is safe and effective,has a similar impact on cardiac electrical synchronization as mid-septal pacing.

Objective To evaluate the effect of optical body surface monitoring system(OSMS)in setup of intensity modulated radiotherapy(IMRT)for thoracic tumorsand to analyze its relationship with BMI.Methods Thesetup errors of CBCT and location CT with body membrane and the registration errors of OSMS and first body surface reference image without body membrane were obtained in 49 patients with thoracic tumor who received routine intensity modulated radiotherapy.The paired t-test was used to analyze the difference of registration errors between the two image guidance methods.Pearson′s correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between CBCT errors and OSMS errors,and Bland-Altman analysis was employed to evaluatethe agreement of the two errors.The correlation and consistency of the two registration errors in patients with different BMI index were analyzed.PTV external marginsby the two registration methods were calculated using Van Herk formula.Results The OSMS and CBCT groups demonstrated significant differences in setup errors in the ventrodorsal direction(P<0.05),while no significant differences were found in the left-right,head-foot translation directions,or RTN rota-tion directions(P>0.05).Although the two methods showed a significant correlation in setup errors(P<0.05),this correlation was only moderate in the head-foot and left-right directions(r=0.500,0.408),weak in the RTN rotation direction(r=0.339),and very weak in the ventrodorsal direction(r=0.152).The limits of agreement(LOA,95％CI)between the two methods were[-0.45,0.45]cm in the left-right direction,[-0.59,0.57]cm in the head-foot direction,and[-0.48,0.40]cm in the ventrodorsal direction,with(-2.08°～2.19°)in the RTN rotation direction.Different BMI levels influenced the results of the two registration methods,particularly in patients with a BMI of 18.5～23.9 kg/m2.In this group,OSMS and CBCT exhibited a strong correlation in the head-foot direction(r=0.731),a moderate correlation in the left-right direction(r=0.512),and weak correlations in the ventrodorsal and RTN rotation directions(r=0.345,0.267).The absolute difference in setup errors between the two imaging systems was 0.4～0.5 cm/2°.Using CBCT and OSMS image guidance,the margins in the left-right,head-foot,and ventrodorsal directions were[0.5 cm,0.7 cm,0.3 cm]for CBCT,and[0.5 cm,0.7 cm,0.5 cm]for OSMS.Conclusion In chest tumor patients with a BMI of 18.5～23.9 kg/m2,OSMS and CBCT image guidance methods show good correlation in the head-foot and left-right directions,but their limits of agreement exceed the clinically acceptable range.OSMS cannot yet replace CBCT for image guidance in chest tumor intensity-modulated radiotherapy.Further improvements to tumor motion surrogates are necessary to enhance the accuracy of OSMS image guidance.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of venetoclax combined with hypomethylating agents (Ven-HMA), in patients with core binding factor acute myeloid leukemia (CBF-AML) intolerant to intensive induction therapy.Methods:This study retrospectively analyzed patients newly diagnosed with CBF-AML who were aged <60 years and who received Ven-HMA as induction therapy at the Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, between January 2020 and June 2023. Baseline characteristics and treatment responses of the patients were collected.Results:A total of 70 treatment-na?ve patients receiving Ven-HMA induction therapy were enrolled, of which 38 were men and 32 women [median age: 43 (34 - 55) years]. Of the 70 patients, 44 (62.9%) achieved complete remission (CR) /CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi), 16 (22.9%) achieved partial remission, and 10 (14.2%) exhibited no response after one induction cycle. Among the 32 t (8;21) -positive patients with AML, only 8 (25.0%) achieved CR/CRi, of whom 3 (37.5%) remained measurable residual disease (MRD) -positive; among the 38 inv (16) -positive patients, 36 (94.7%) achieved CR/Cri, of whom 12 (33.3%) remained MRD-positive. Patients harboring the CBFβ::MYH11 fusion gene showed significantly higher response rates to Ven-HMA induction than those with the RUNX1:: RUNX1T1 fusion gene ( P<0.01) . Conclusion:Ven-HMA represents a novel therapeutic strategy that exhibits significant efficacy in inv (16) -positive patients; however, it demonstrates relatively lower remission rates in t (8; 21) -positive patients.

Objectives:This study aims to explore the impact of new-onset heart conduction block post transcatheter aortic valve replacement(TAVR)on the cardiac conduction status during 1-year follow-up.Methods:A total of 130 patients who completed TAVR surgery at Fuwai Central-China Cardiovascular Hospital from July 2019 to October 2022 were screened.Among them,56 cases with postoperative heart conduction block were selected for analysis.According to the degree of heart block,patients were divided into mild block group(n=36),moderate block group(n=9),and severe block group(n=11).The clinical characteristics and cardiac conduction conditions at 1-year follow-up between different groups were compared.Results:During a mean(8.5±4.1)months follow-up period,10(17.9%)patients had long-term atrioventricular conduction block,and 46(82.1%)patients had partial or complete recovery of heart block,with 28(50.0%)patients with completely recovered cardiac conduction.In the mild block group,22(61.1%)cases were completely recovered,9(25.0%)patients partly recovered,and 5(13.9%)cases uncovered.In the moderate block group,2(22.2%)cases were completely recovered,5(55.6%)patients partly recovered,and 2(22.2%)cases uncovered.Difference in long-term atrioventricular conduction block among three groups was statistically significant(P<0.001).The Kaplan-Meier curve shows that patients with moderate to severe heart block have a higher rate of long-term atrioventricular conduction block(86.1%vs.77.8%vs.72.7%,log-rank P=0.03).Cox multivariate analysis exhibited that old age(≥75 years old,HR=1.204,95%CI:1.051-1.525,P=0.041)and severe heart conduction block(HR=1.106,95%CI:1.100-1.616,P=0.031)are the two independent risk factors for long-term atrioventricular conduction block post TAVR.Conclusions:The ratio of complete cardiac conduction recovery post TAVR is 50.0%.Older age(≥75 year)and new-onset severe heart conduction block are independent risk factors for long-term atrioventricular conduction block post TAVR procedure.

Objective To establish and validate the diagnostic model of ferroptosis genes for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) based on bioinformatics. Methods Five AMI gene expression data were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), namely GSE66360, GSE48060, GSE60993, GSE83500, GSE34198. Among them, GSE66360 was used as the training set to perform differential analysis, and intersection of differential genes and ferroptosis genes was taken to obtain differentially expressed ferroptosis genes in AMI. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed using Metascape website. Subsequently, random forest (RF) algorithm was used to screen out key genes with high classification performance according to the Keeny coefficient score, and artificial neural network (ANN) diagnostic model of AMI ferroptosis feature gene was constructed by model group GSE83500. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 10-fold cross-validation was used to evaluate the performance and generalization ability of the model, and 3 external independent datasets were used to verify the diagnostic performance of this model. The single sample gene set enrichment analysis was used to explore the difference in immune cell infiltration between infarcted myocardium and normal myocardium after AMI. In addition, correlation analysis between immune cells and key genes was also conducted. Finally, potential drugs that would prevent and treat AMI by regulating ferroptosis were screened out from the Coremin Medical platform. Results A total of 16 differentially expressed ferroptosis genes were obtained in the training set, GO enrichment analysis showed that they mainly participated in biological functions such as cellular response to biological stimuli and chemical stress, and regulation of interleukin 17. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that these genes were significantly enriched in NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, programmed cell necrosis, Leishmaniasis and other pathways. Four genes with good classification performance were screened out using RF algorithm, namely EPAS1, SLC7A5, FTH1, and ZFP36. The results of 10-fold cross-validation showed that the minimum AUC value was 0.746, the maximum value was 0.906, and the average value was 0.805. The AUC of the ANN model was 0.859, and the AUC values of the three independent validation sets were 0.763 (GSE48060), 0.673 (GSE60993), 0.698 (GSE34198). Immune cell infiltration found that macrophages, mast cells and monocytes were significantly active after AMI. Correlation analysis found that there were positive correlations between 4 key genes and activated dendritic cells, eosinophils and γδT cells. A total of 20 potential western medicines were predicted which could prevent and treat AMI by regulating ferroptosis, and the predicted potential Chinese medicine was mainly heat-clearing and detoxifying and blood-activating and removing blood stasis drugs. Conclusion The identified AMI ferroptosis genes by bioinformatics method have certain diagnostic significance, which provides a reference for disease diagnosis and treatment.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of venetoclax combined with hypomethylating agents (Ven-HMA), in patients with core binding factor acute myeloid leukemia (CBF-AML) intolerant to intensive induction therapy.Methods:This study retrospectively analyzed patients newly diagnosed with CBF-AML who were aged <60 years and who received Ven-HMA as induction therapy at the Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, between January 2020 and June 2023. Baseline characteristics and treatment responses of the patients were collected.Results:A total of 70 treatment-na?ve patients receiving Ven-HMA induction therapy were enrolled, of which 38 were men and 32 women [median age: 43 (34 - 55) years]. Of the 70 patients, 44 (62.9%) achieved complete remission (CR) /CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi), 16 (22.9%) achieved partial remission, and 10 (14.2%) exhibited no response after one induction cycle. Among the 32 t (8;21) -positive patients with AML, only 8 (25.0%) achieved CR/CRi, of whom 3 (37.5%) remained measurable residual disease (MRD) -positive; among the 38 inv (16) -positive patients, 36 (94.7%) achieved CR/Cri, of whom 12 (33.3%) remained MRD-positive. Patients harboring the CBFβ::MYH11 fusion gene showed significantly higher response rates to Ven-HMA induction than those with the RUNX1:: RUNX1T1 fusion gene ( P<0.01) . Conclusion:Ven-HMA represents a novel therapeutic strategy that exhibits significant efficacy in inv (16) -positive patients; however, it demonstrates relatively lower remission rates in t (8; 21) -positive patients.

Objective To analyze the efficacy of different nucleoside(acid)analogs(NAs)used as monotherapy and in combination with pegylated interferon α-2b(Peg-IFN-α-2b)in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B(CHB).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 229 CHB patients who visited the Hepatology Department of the Third People's Hospital of Kunming from September 2022 to August 2023.Patients were divided into six groups based on their antiviral regimen:entecavir(ETV)group(A,n=47),ETV combined with Peg-IFN-α-2b group(B,n=19),Tenofovir Alafenamide(TMF)group(C,n=64),TMF combined with Peg-IFN-α-2b group(D,n=35),Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate(TDF)group(E,n=29),and TDF combined with Peg-IFN-α-2b group(F,n=35).The blood routine,liver function,kidney function,HBV serological markers,and HBV-DNA levels were compared before and after 24 weeks of treatment.Results After 24 weeks of treatment,there were no statistically significant differences in efficacy rates and HBV-DNA positivity rates between the monotherapy with NAs and the combination with Peg-IFN-α-2b(P>0.05).Comparing before and after treatment,the ETV group had the highest effective rate,while TDF combined with Peg-IFN-α-2b group had the lowest effective rate.TDF group had the highest efficiency,while ETV combined with Peg-IFN-α-2b group had the lowest efficiency.Except for ETV+Peg-IFN-α-2b and TDF+Peg-IFN-α-2b groups,the HBV-DNA positivity rates in the other four groups were significantly lower after treatment compared to before(P<0.05).There was a significant difference in HBsAg levels among the different treatment regimens of monotherapy with NAs and combination with Peg-IFN-α-2b(P=0.0483).Additionally,except for the ETV and TDF groups,the serum HBsAg levels in the other four groups were significantly lower after treatment compared to before(P<0.05).There were no significant difference in LSM and GFR before and after treatment(P>0.05).In the monotherapy groups,ALT and GGT levels were significantly lower after treatment compared to before(P<0.05),while in the combination Peg-IFN-α-2b group,WBC,NEUT,and PLT levels were significantly lower after treatment compared to before(P<0.05).Conclusion Combination therapy with Peg-IFN-α-2b can reduce HBsAg levels and may be more effective in controlling the virus;however,it may cause adverse reactions such as bone marrow suppression,increasing risks.Physicians and patients need to weigh the benefits against the risks and develop personalized treatment plans based on individual circumstances.