Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 153 single-level OLIF cases between January 2016 and December 2023. Postoperative computed tomography was used to classify patients into central fusion, lateral fusion, and non-fusion groups. Demographic, surgical, and radiographic parameters—including osteophyte grade, Hounsfield unit (HU) values, and cage positioning—were analyzed to identify factors affecting fusion. Cage subsidence and clinical outcomes (Oswestry Disability Index [ODI], Visual Analog Scale) were compared across groups. Results: Lateral fusion occurred in 39.9% of cases, central in 56.9%, and non-fusion in 3.2%. Preoperative osteophytes and higher HU values were associated with lateral fusion (p<0.001). OLIF with standalone cages (OLIF-SA) had a significantly higher lateral fusion rate than OLIF with posterior screw fixation (OLIF-PS) (p=0.002). Smoking was a significant risk factor for non-fusion (p=0.005). No significant difference in cage subsidence was observed between central and lateral fusion, but non-fusion showed more severe subsidence. Clinical outcomes improved across fusion groups, though non-fusion cases had worse ODI scores at follow-up. Conclusions Lateral fusion is a distinct OLIF feature influenced by osteophytes, bone density, and fixation type. It does not negatively affect cage subsidence or outcomes, but solid fusion remains essential for recovery. These findings enhance understanding of OLIF fusion and may guide surgical planning.

Objective: To analyze the serological phenotypes and molecular genetic characteristics of a proband with ABO forward and reverse typing discrepancy and their family members, and to investigate the molecular genetic mechanism underlying the Ael/AelB phenotype caused by the c. 575T>C variant on an ABO A1.02 background. Methods: Serological testing and adsorption-elution assays were performed for blood group identification of the proband and family members. PCR-SBT, cloning sequencing, and Nanopore third-generation sequencing were used to analyze ABO gene variants and haplotypes. Phyre2 and PyMOL were used to predict the effect of the p. Ile192Thr variant on the structure of glycosyltransferase A (GTA), and plasma GTA activity was evaluated using an in vitro transferase assay. Results: Among thirteen family members, four members showed a serological phenotype consistent with the Ael subtype and one with the AelB subtype. Cloning sequencing and third-generation sequencing confirmed that five family members carried the ABO A1.02 (c. 575T>C) variant, which co-segregated with the weak A phenotype in the family. Structural modeling suggested that p. Ile192Thr may alter the local spatial conformation and hydrogen-bond interactions of GTA. Plasma GTA activity testing showed markedly reduced GTA activity in the tested individuals. Conclusion: The ABO A1.02 (c. 575T>C) variant is associated with the Ael/AelB phenotype. The p. Ile192Thr substitution may weaken A antigen expression by altering GTA conformation and reducing enzymatic activity. This study provides additional evidence for the role of this variant in the Ael/AelB phenotype from the perspectives of familial inheritance, full-length haplotype analysis, and functional assessment, which is important for accurate ABO subtype identification and individualized transfusion strategies.

Tick-borne encephalitis is a central nervous system disease caused by infections with tick-borne pathogens, which is characterized by severe clinical symptoms, multiple sequelae, and a high fatality rate. Currently, there is no cure for tick-borne encephalitis. Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the most common pathogen of tick-borne encephalitis. Therefore, rapid and accurate detection of TBEV contributes to reducing the mortality of tick-borne encephalitis, improving patients' prognosis, and reducing the risk of TBEV transmission. The currently available serological tests for detection of TBEV infections mainly include neutralization test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence assay, and nucleic acid tests mainly include polymerase chain reaction (PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), reverse transcription polymerase spiral reaction, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas)-based assays. This review summarizes the progress of researches on serological and nucleic acid tests for detection of TBEV infections, so as to provide insights into prevention and control of tick-borne encephalitis.

Objective To explore the value of MR modulated flip angle technique in refocused imaging with extended echo train(MATRIX)contrast enhanced(CE)T1-weighted fluid attenuated inversion recovery(T1 FLAIR)for detecting skull metastases.Methods Forty-four patients with malignant tumors who underwent head MR scanning for screening skull metastasis were prospectively enrolled,and skull metastasis were then confirmed by pathology or imaging examinations,including MRI,CT,radionuclide bone imaging(BS),PET/CT and follow-up.Head MATRIX CE-T1 FLAIR(group A),3D gradient recalled echo_fast spin echo with magnetization preparation(GRE_fsp)CE-T1 FLAIR(group B)and fast spin echo(FSE)CE-T1 FLAIR(group C)images of all 44 cases were acquired.The subjective scores(including images quality and diagnostic confidence)and objective evaluation results of images were compared among groups.Taken BS or PET/CT results as standards,the efficacy of 3 kinds of images for detecting skull metastases was calculated.Results The subjective scores of images quality and diagnostic confidence,as well as signal-to-noise ratio(SNR)in group A and C were all higher than those in group B(all P＜0.001),and signal intensity(SI)metastases in group A was higher than those in group B and C(both P＜0.05).No significant difference of subjective score and SNR was found between groups A and C,nor of SImetastases between groups B and C(all P＞0.05).Totally 102 skull metastases were diagnosed with PET/CT or BS,while 129,151 and 115 lesions were detected in group A,B and C,respectively,with accuracy rate of 79.07%(102/129),67.55%(102/151)and 88.70%(102/115),respectively.Conclusion MATRIX CE-T1 FLAIR sequence could be used to detect skull metastases.

Objective To investigate the causal relationship between psychiatric and psychological disorders(depression,bipolar dis-order,and schizophrenia)and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).Methods The two-sample Mendelian randomization(MR)method was adopted,with depression,bipolar disorder,and schizophrenia as exposure variables and NAFLD as the outcome variable.The single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)independently associated with exposure variables were obtained from the summary data of the genome-wide association study(GWAS)as instrumental variables for MR analysis.The analysis results of the inverse-variance weighted(IVW)were used as the primary outcome indicators,while those of the MR Egger regression method,weighted median,and weighted mode as supplementary results.The Cochran's Q test,MR-Egger intercept,and"leave-one-out"method were used for sensi-tivity analysis.Results The results of IVW analysis showed that depression was positively correlated with the incidence risk of NAFLD(OR=1.21,95％CI:1.01-1.44,P＜0.05),while bipolar disorder was negatively correlated with the incidence risk of NAFLD(OR=0.91,95％CI:0.84-1.00,P＜0.05).No causal relationship was found between schizophrenia and NAFLD.The heterogeneity and sen-sitivity analysis supported the robustness of the results of the study.Conclusion Depression and bipolar disorder are causally associat-ed with the incidence of NAFLD.Depression is associated with an increased risk of NAFLD,while bipolar disorder is associated with a reduced risk of NAFLD.

Objective:To understand the potential characteristics of decision-making preparation in outpatient hypertensive patients based on latent profile analysis, to identify the influencing factors of different categories of decision-making preparation levels, and to explore the performance of different decision-making preparation types in facilitation of patients involvement in treatment decision-making.Methods:Through a cross-sectional study, 350 hypertensive patients attending outpatient clinics in five different types of healthcare institutions (general hospitals, specialised hospitals and community hospitals) in Tianjin during January to May 2024 who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected by the convenience sampling method as study subjects. General Information Questionnaires, Preparation for Decision Making Scale, and Facilitation of Patient Involvement Scale were used for investigation.Results:Totally 350 valid questionnaires [178 males and 172 females aged 25-89(57.24 ± 13.39)years old] were collected. The decision-making preparation score of outpatient hypertensive patients was (64.19 ± 18.69). The latent profile analysis results showed that the decision-making preparation of outpatient hypertensive patients could be divided into three potential categories: decision-making information scarcity type accounted for 20.0%(70/350), decision-making balance negotiation type accounted for 39.7%(139/350), and decision-making preparation adequacy type accounted for 40.3%(141/350). The results of multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that age, medical insurance type, occupation, and children′s condition were the influencing factors for the potential categories of decision-making preparation in outpatient hypertensive patients (all P<0.05). Age [less than 35 years old: OR(95% CI)=0.127(0.020-0.796)], occupation [on the job: OR(95% CI)=2.010 (1.034-3.906)], were the influencing factors of decision-making balance negotiation group (all P<0.05). Medical insurance type [basic medical insurance for urban employees: OR(95% CI)=0.372(0.193-0.720)], occupation [on the job: OR(95% CI)=2.500(1.270-4.920)], children′s condition[junior and senior high school: OR(95% CI)=0.391(0.190-0.802)] were the influencing factors of decision-making preparation adequacy group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:The level of promoting patient participation among outpatients with hypertension is relatively high, and there are differences in the perceived degree of promoting patient participation among patients with different types of decision preparation.It is recommended that medical staff provide decision-making related information based on the characteristics of different decision-making preparation categories of patients, encourage patients to actively participate in decision-making, and construct targeted decision support plans.

Objective To investigate the biological function and molecular mechanism of solute carrier family 4,member 3(SLC43)in glioblastoma(GBM).Methods The expression difference of SLC4A3 in 30 GBM and 10 normal brain tissues were analyzed by immu-nohistochemistry.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to evaluate the effect of SLC4A3 on the prognosis of GBM patients.The ex-pression of SLC4A3 in U87 and U251 cells was reduced by shRNA,and the changes in the proliferation,migration and invasion ability of GBM cells were detected after the knockdown,and Western blot was used to investigate the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transi-tion(EMT)and NF-κB signaling pathway related proteins after SLC4A3 knockdown.Results SLC4A3 was overexpressed in GBM,and high expression of SLC4A3 was associated with poor prognosis.Knocking down SLC4A3 inhibited the proliferation,migration and in-vasion of U87 and U251 cells,and the expression levels of N-cadherin and Vimentin were down-regulated,while the expression levels of E-cadherin were increased.In addition,knocking down SLC4A3 inhibited the NF-κB signaling pathway and further found that nu-clear translocation of NF-κB p65 was inhibited.Conclusion SLC4A3mediates the NF-κB signaling pathway by regulating the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 to influence the growth and EMT of GBM cells,which is a novel prognostic biomarker for GBM.

Objective:To evaluate the characteristic manifestations of lumbar fusion following oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF), determine the specific incidence of these patterns, and the identify factors associated with fusion characteristics.Methods:This retrospective study analyzed 209 patients who underwent OLIF surgery at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, between July 2017 and September 2023. The cohort had a mean age of 64.2±9.8 years and included 125 males and 84 females. A total of 338 lumbar segments were assessed, comprising 159 segments treated with stand-alone OLIF (OLIF-SA) and 179 segments treated with OLIF combined with posterior pedicle screw fixation (OLIF-PSF). Inclusion criteria were: patients aged 18-80 years who underwent OLIF with complete radiographic records. Surgical parameters, including fixation method, number of fused segments, surgical approach, and cage dimensions (height and width), were obtained from operative records. Radiographic evaluation included preoperative osteophytes, Hounsfield unit (HU) values of endplates, and cage positioning. Fusion rate, fusion pattern (lateral vs. central), cage subsidence, and related influencing factors were assessed. Clinical outcomes were measured via the Oswestry disability index (ODI) and visual analog scale (VAS) preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and at 1-year follow-up. Results:The overall fusion rate was 98.2% (332/338), with a non-union rate of 1.8% (6/338). The incidence of lateral fusion was 40.2% (136/338). In the OLIF-SA group, lateral and central fusion rates were 50.3% (80/159) and 49.7% (79/159), respectively, with no cases of non-union. In the OLIF-PSF group, lateral fusion occurred in 31.3% (56/179), central fusion in 65.4% (117/179), and non-union in 3.3% (6/179), with statistically significant differences between groups ( P<0.05). Preoperative osteophytes and higher endplate HU values were significantly associated with lateral fusion ( P<0.05). However, cage dimensions and cage position (anterior-posterior and lateral placement) were not significantly associated with fusion pattern ( P>0.05). Overall, 61.5% (208/338) of segments showed no cage subsidence; 24.5% (83/338) had settling, and 14.0% (47/338) had grade 1 or higher subsidence. Among lateral fusion cases, the rates of no subsidence, anchoring, grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 subsidence were 67.6%, 21.3%, 7.4%, 3.9%, and 0.7%, respectively. In the central fusion group, these rates were 59.2%, 27.6%, 9.2%, 2.5%, and 1.3%, respectively. In the non-union group, grade 2 and 3 subsidence occurred in 50% (3/6) each, significantly higher than in the other fusion groups ( P<0.05). Post hoc analysis confirmed that grade 2 and 3 subsidence rates were significantly elevated in the non-union group compared to the lateral and central fusion groups, while other subsidence categories showed no significant differences across groups. Clinically, patients showed significant improvements in ODI and VAS scores following surgery ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Lateral fusion occurred in 40.2% of OLIF cases. The OLIF-SA technique, preoperative osteophytes, and elevated preoperative HU values were significantly associated with lateral fusion. In contrast, surgical approach, number of fused segments, cage height, width, and cage positioning did not significantly influence the occurrence of lateral fusion.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Weiyan Tongluo Granules in treating chronic atrophic gastritis(CAG)and explore its potential mechanisms.METHODS From June 2020 to December 2022,100 CAG patients with spleen defi-ciency and blood stasis syndrome were enrolled and randomly divided into a trial group(n=50)and a control group(n=50)using a random number table.The trial group received Weiyan Tongluo Granules plus a folic acid placebo,while the control group received fo-lic acid tablets plus a traditional Chinese medicine granule placebo.The treatment course for both groups was 24 weeks,with 8 and 10 dropouts in the trial and control groups,respectively.Post-treatment comparisons included OLGA/OLGIM staging reversal rates,low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia regression rate,SSDPRO-CG(Patient-Reported Outcome Scale for Chronic Gastritis in Spleen-Stomach Diseases)scores,TCM syndrome scores,and safety indicators.Serum levels of PG I,PGⅡ,PGR,and G-17 were measured via ELISA before and after treatment.Gastric mucosal p-NF-κB and CDX2 protein expression levels were analyzed by Western blot,while mRNA levels of IL-1β,IL-6,VIL1,and MUC2 were quantified via qPCR.RESULTS After treatment,the trial group showed sig-nificantly higher OLGA and OLGIM stage reversal rates than the control group(P<0.05,P<0.01),though no significant difference was observed in low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia regression.Both groups exhibited significant improvements in physiological domain scores and total SSDPRO-CG scores(P<0.01),with the trial group outperforming the control group in physiological,independence,psychological domains,and total scores(P<0.05,P<0.01).TCM syndrome scores(total and sub-items:gastric distension,pain,poor appetite,bloating)decreased significantly in both groups(P<0.01),while the trial group showed greater reductions in loose stools and dull complexion(P<0.01).After-treatment,the trial group had significantly lower TCM syndrome scores than the control group(P<0.05,P<0.01).Serum PG I,PGⅡ,PGR,G-17,gastric mucosal p-NF-κB,CDX2,and IL-1β,IL-6,VIL1,MUC2 mRNA levels improved significantly in the trial group(P<0.05,P<0.01),while the control group improved only in PGⅡ(P<0.05,P<0.01).The trial group's improvements in these biomarkers surpassed the control group's(P<0.05,P<0.01).No treatment-related adverse events occurred in either group.CONCLUSION Weiyan Tongluo Granules ameliorate gastric mucosal pathology,clinical symptoms,psychological state,and quality of life in CAG patients without significant adverse effects.Its mechanism may involve sup-pressing the NF-κB pathway to reduce IL-1β and IL-6 expression,downregulating CDX2 to inhibit VIL1 and MUC2 transcription,thereby reversing the vicious cycle of inflammation-intestinal metaplasia.

Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effect of combined extracranial-intracranial revascularization on elderly patients with symptomatic chronic internal carotid artery occlusion, and to evaluate its safety and efficacy in the elderly population.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 35 elderly patients(aged ≥60 years)who underwent combined extracranial-intracranial revascularization for symptomatic chronic internal carotid artery occlusion in the Department of Neurosurgery, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from January 2017 to June 2022.The clinical data during hospitalization, as well as the follow-up data within 2 years after operation, were collected and analyzed.Results:A total of 35 cases of combined extracranial-intracranial revascularization were performed on 35 patients.The age at surgery ranged from 60 to 74 years(mean age 65.5 ± 4.2 years). The incidence of reversible neurological deficits within 2 weeks postoperation was 34.3%, and the incidence of focal cerebral infarction within 30 days postoperation was 5.7%.The patency rate of the bridging vessel was 97.1% at 3 months postoperation., and the incidence of focal cerebral infarction during the follow-up period of 30 days to 2 years postoperation was 2.9%.At 3 months after surgery, computed tomography perfusion imaging showed that regional cerebral blood flow(rCBF), regional cerebral blood volume(rCBV), regional mean transit time(rMTT), and regional time to peak(rTTP)were improved compared with those before surgery.The modified Rankin scale score decreased compared to preoperative values, while the Montreal Cognitive Assessment showed improvement in cognitive function compared to preoperative levels(all P<0.05). From 6 months to 1-year postoperation, cerebral angiography showed that 38.7% of the patients had neovascularization of Matsushima grade A or grade B. No cases of cerebral hemorrhage or death was observed during the treatment and follow-up. Conclusions:Combined extracranial-intracranial revascularization is safe and effective for elderly patients with symptomatic chronic internal carotid artery occlusion, which can improve the patient′s hemodynamic disorders, prevent infarction events, and improve the patients′ neurological function and cognitive ability.