ObjectiveTobacco-related diseases remain one of the leading preventable public health challenges worldwide and are among the primary causes of premature death. In recent years, accumulating evidence has supported the classification of nicotine addiction as a chronic brain disease, profoundly affecting both brain structure and function. Despite the urgency, effective diagnostic methods for smoking addiction remain lacking, posing significant challenges for early intervention and treatment. To address this issue and gain deeper insights into the neural mechanisms underlying nicotine dependence, this study proposes a novel graph neural network framework, termed TI-GNN. This model leverages functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to identify complex and subtle abnormalities in brain connectivity patterns associated with smoking addiction. MethodsThe study utilizes fMRI data to construct functional connectivity matrices that represent interaction patterns among brain regions. These matrices are interpreted as graphs, where brain regions are nodes and the strength of functional connectivity between them serves as edges. The proposed TI-GNN model integrates a Transformer module to effectively capture global interactions across the entire brain network, enabling a comprehensive understanding of high-level connectivity patterns. Additionally, a spatial attention mechanism is employed to selectively focus on informative inter-regional connections while filtering out irrelevant or noisy features. This design enhances the model’s ability to learn meaningful neural representations crucial for classification tasks. A key innovation of TI-GNN lies in its built-in causal interpretation module, which aims to infer directional and potentially causal relationships among brain regions. This not only improves predictive performance but also enhances model interpretability—an essential attribute for clinical applications. The identification of causal links provides valuable insights into the neuropathological basis of addiction and contributes to the development of biologically plausible and trustworthy diagnostic tools. ResultsExperimental results demonstrate that the TI-GNN model achieves superior classification performance on the smoking addiction dataset, outperforming several state-of-the-art baseline models. Specifically, TI-GNN attains an accuracy of 0.91, an F1-score of 0.91, and a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.83, indicating strong robustness and reliability. Beyond performance metrics, TI-GNN identifies critical abnormal connectivity patterns in several brain regions implicated in addiction. Notably, it highlights dysregulations in the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex, consistent with prior clinical and neuroimaging findings. These regions are well known for their roles in emotional regulation, reward processing, and impulse control—functions that are frequently disrupted in nicotine dependence. ConclusionThe TI-GNN framework offers a powerful and interpretable tool for the objective diagnosis of smoking addiction. By integrating advanced graph learning techniques with causal inference capabilities, the model not only achieves high diagnostic accuracy but also elucidates the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction. The identification of specific abnormal brain networks and their causal interactions deepens our understanding of addiction pathophysiology and lays the groundwork for developing targeted intervention strategies and personalized treatment approaches in the future.

The chemical constituents of sesquiterpenes from 95% ethanol extract of Aquilariae Lignum Resinatum were isolated and purified by various column chromatography techniques, including silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, octadecylsilyl(ODS), and semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). Their planar structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by ultraviolet(UV) spectrometry, infrared(IR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry(MS), nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR), electronic circular dichroism(ECD), and other techniques. Eight sesquiterpenoids were isolated and identified as(+)-(7R,10R)-selina-4,11-dien-12-dimethoxy-15-al(1),(+)-(7R,10R)-selina-4,11-diene-12,15-dial(2), agalleudesmanol B(3), aquisinenoid C(4), 12,15-dioxo-α-selinen(5), agarospiranic aldehyde B(6), neopetasane(7), and eremophila-7(11),9-dien-8-one(8). Compound 1 was a new compound, and it was the first time to find a dimethoxy substitution on the side chain of eudesmane-type sesquiterpene skeleton.
Sesquiterpenes/isolation & purification* ; Thymelaeaceae/chemistry* ; Molecular Structure ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/isolation & purification* ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the incidence of ipsilateral upper urinary tract stones after partial nephrectomy and its risk factors. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed baseline patient characteristics (age, gender, and body mass index), smoking, alcohol consumption, comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperuricemia, and cardiovascular diseases), preoperative tumor conditions (tumor diameter, multiple foci, location, hemorrhage, necrosis, cystic changes, and endophytic growth), preoperative glomerular filtration rate and intraoperative factors (renal collecting system damage, ischemia time, operation time, surgical approach, and estimated intraoperative blood loss) to identify the risk factors for ipsilateral upper urinary tract stones following partial nephrectomy in our center. RESULTS: The overall incidence of upper urinary tract stones following partial nephrectomy was 7.80% (112/1435). The incidence of ipsilateral upper urinary tract stones was significantly higher than those of contralateral stones (4.95% vs 1.46%, P<0.001) and bilateral stones (4.95% vs 1.39%, P<0.001). Intraoperative damage to the renal collecting system was identified as a significant risk factor for ipsilateral upper urinary tract stones (OR=4.550, 95% CI: 2.237-9.252, P<0.001). Diabetes was a probable risk factor for secondary ipsilateral upper urinary tract stones after partial nephrectomy (OR=2.419, 95% CI: 0.973-6.012, P=0.057). CONCLUSIONS The incidence of ipsilateral upper urinary tract stones after partial nephrectomy is higher than that of contralateral and bilateral stones. Intraoperative renal collecting system damage is a risk factor for secondary ipsilateral upper urinary tract stones after partial nephrectomy.
Humans ; Nephrectomy/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Male ; Female ; Case-Control Studies ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Kidney Neoplasms/surgery* ; Adult ; Intraoperative Complications ; Kidney Tubules, Collecting/injuries* ; Propensity Score ; Incidence ; Kidney Calculi/etiology* ; Urinary Calculi/epidemiology*

Objective To comprehensively excavate and analyze the research status,research hotspots and future trends of the literature related to the field of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for pain treatment in the CNKI database.Methods We searched the CNKI database from its establishment to June 2022,and scientifically analyzed the authors,keywords,and institutions of the included literature of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for pain treatment through specific algorithms of Citespace to generate a visual knowledge map.Results A total of 319 documents were included for statistical analysis,the number of publications in the field of acupoint catgut embedding therapy for the treatment of pain was generally on the rise,the number of publications by various authors was on the low side,and there was a lack of co-operation between the research teams,with the main institutions being the Guang'anmen Hospital,Chinese Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences,Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical Universities of Nationalities and the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine,forming a 10-keyword clustering,and the hotspots of diseases under study were mainly mixed haemorrhoids,postoperative pain,low back and leg pain and dysmenorrhoea,etc..The main interventions were pure acupoint catgut embedding therapy and the combination of acupoint catgut embedding therapy and other acupuncture therapies,and the main research method was clinical research.Conclusion Acupoint catgut embedding therapy for the treatment of pain has a good development prospect,the future needs to deepen the clinical research,strengthen the mechanism research,pay attention to the joint use of acupoint catgut embedding therapy and other traditional Chinese medicine methods,and pay attention to the research of different thread materials.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have reported inconsistent results with positive,negative,and J-shaped associations between alcohol consumption and the hazard of aortic aneurysm and dissection(AAD).This study aimed to examine the connections between weekly alcohol consumption and the subsequent risk of AAD. METHODS:The UK Biobank study is a population-based cohort study.Weekly alcohol consumption was assessed using self-reported questionnaires and the congenital risk of alcohol consumption was also evaluated using genetic risk score(GRS).Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios(HRs)with 95%confidence intervals(CIs)for the associations between alcohol consumption and AAD.Several sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results. RESULTS:Among the 388,955 participants(mean age:57.1 years,47.4%male),2,895 incident AAD cases were documented during a median follow-up of 12.5 years.Compared with never-drinkers,moderate drinkers(adjusted HR:0.797,95%CI:0.646-0.984,P<0.05)and moderate-heavy drinkers(adjusted HR:0.794,95%CI:0.635-0.992,P<0.05)were significantly associated with a decreased risk of incident AAD.Interaction-based subgroup analysis revealed that the protective effect of moderate drinking was reflected mainly in participants younger than 65 years and women. CONCLUSION:Our findings support a protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption on AAD,but are limited to participants younger than 65 years and women.

BACKGROUND:The distribution of the necrotic area plays an important role in hip preservation treatment.At present,there are few studies on whether the difference in the three-dimensional spatial distribution of osteonecrosis of the femoral head affects the clinical outcome of fibular support. OBJECTIVE:To explore the relationship between the spatial distribution and clinical outcome at the sites of osteonecrosis of the femoral head and fibular support using CT three-dimensional reconstruction so as to provide a basis for optimizing the applicable conditions of fibular support and improving the hip preservation effect of fibular support. METHODS:Eighty patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head who were treated with fibular support for hip preservation from January 2010 to January 2021 were selected as the study subjects according to the inclusion criteria.They were followed up for at least 2 years.According to the clinical outcome,the patients were divided into the successful hip preservation group(n=55)and the failure hip preservation group(n=25).3D reconstruction was performed according to the preoperative and postoperative CT images of the patients.According to the three-column theory,the femoral head was divided into outer nine areas,middle nine areas and inner nine areas(L1-9,C1-9,and M1-9)to explore the spatial distribution of necrotic area of the femoral head and fibular support area and its relationship with clinical outcome. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Before operation,the necrotic area of the femoral head was mainly distributed in L1,L2,L4,L5,C1,C2,C4,and C5(the upper and middle part of the anterior part of the outer ninth area and the middle part of the middle ninth area).After operation,the fibular support area was mainly distributed in L5,L6,C5,and C6(the middle and lower part of the outer ninth area and the middle and lower part of the middle ninth area).(2)There were significant differences in the distribution of osteonecrosis of the femoral head between the successful hip preservation group and the failure hip preservation group in L8(the posterior middle part of the outer ninth area),C3(the anterior lower part of the middle ninth area),C6(the lower middle part of the middle part of the inner ninth area)and M2(the anterior middle part of the inner ninth area)(P<0.05).There was a significant difference in the distribution of fibular support in L5 and L6(middle and lower part of outer nine)(P<0.05).Among them,the L8 region could be used as an independent predictor of hip preservation failure in fibular support surgery.The area under the curve of the L8 single factor prediction model was 0.698[95%CI(0.575,0.822)];the sensitivity was 76%,and the specificity was 63.6%.(3)It turns out,when the necrotic area involves L8,C3,C6,and M2,especially L8,the failure of fibular support may increase,and when the fibular support involves L5 and L6,the effect of hip preservation is often not ideal.

BACKGROUND:Bone has bioelectric effects.However,bone defects can lead to loss of endogenous bioelectricity in bone.The implantation of bone tissue engineering scaffolds with bioelectric effect into bone defects will replenish the missing electrical signals and accelerate the repair of bone defects. OBJECTIVE:To introduce the bioelectric effect of bone tissue and expound the repair effect of electrical stimulation on bone defects,summarize the research progress of bioelectric effect applied to bone tissue engineering,in order to provide new ideas for the research of bone tissue engineering. METHODS:Relevant articles were searched on CNKI,WanFang,PubMed,Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases,using"bioelectrical effect,bioelectrical materials,electrical stimulation,bone tissue engineering,bone scaffold,bone defect,bone repair,osteogenesis"as the English and Chinese search terms.Finally,87 articles were included for analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Bioelectrical effect combined with ex vivo electrical stimulation to design bone tissue engineering scaffolds is an ideal and feasible approach,and the main materials involved include metallic materials,graphene materials,natural bio-derived materials,and synthetic biomaterial.At present,the most widely used conductive material is graphene material,which benefits from its super conductivity,large specific surface area,good biocompatibility with cells and bones,and excellent mechanical properties.(2)Graphene materials are mainly introduced into the scaffold as modified materials to enhance the conductivity of the overall scaffold,while its large surface area and rich functional groups can promote the loading and release of bioactive substances.(3)However,there are still some major challenges to overcome for bioelectrically effective bone tissue engineering scaffolds:not only electrical conductivity but also the overall performance of the bracket needs to be considered;lack of uniform,standardized preparation of bioelectrically effective bone tissue engineering scaffolds;extracorporeal electrical stimulation intervention systems are not yet mature enough;lack of individualized guidance on stent selection to enable the selection and design of the most appropriate stent for patients with different pathologies.(4)When designing conductive scaffolds,researchers have to deeply consider the comprehensive effects of the scaffolds,such as biocompatibility,mechanical properties,and biodegradability.This combination of properties can be achieved by combining multiple materials.(5)Beyond that,clinical translation should be the ultimate consideration for conductive stent design.On the basis of evaluating the safe current threshold for electrical stimulation to act on the human body and facilitate the repair of bone defects,animal experiments as well as basic experiments are designed and then applied to the clinic to achieve the ultimate goal of applying bioelectrical effect bone tissue engineering scaffolds in the clinic.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have reported inconsistent results with positive,negative,and J-shaped associations between alcohol consumption and the hazard of aortic aneurysm and dissection(AAD).This study aimed to examine the connections between weekly alcohol consumption and the subsequent risk of AAD. METHODS:The UK Biobank study is a population-based cohort study.Weekly alcohol consumption was assessed using self-reported questionnaires and the congenital risk of alcohol consumption was also evaluated using genetic risk score(GRS).Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios(HRs)with 95%confidence intervals(CIs)for the associations between alcohol consumption and AAD.Several sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results. RESULTS:Among the 388,955 participants(mean age:57.1 years,47.4%male),2,895 incident AAD cases were documented during a median follow-up of 12.5 years.Compared with never-drinkers,moderate drinkers(adjusted HR:0.797,95%CI:0.646-0.984,P<0.05)and moderate-heavy drinkers(adjusted HR:0.794,95%CI:0.635-0.992,P<0.05)were significantly associated with a decreased risk of incident AAD.Interaction-based subgroup analysis revealed that the protective effect of moderate drinking was reflected mainly in participants younger than 65 years and women. CONCLUSION:Our findings support a protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption on AAD,but are limited to participants younger than 65 years and women.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have reported inconsistent results with positive,negative,and J-shaped associations between alcohol consumption and the hazard of aortic aneurysm and dissection(AAD).This study aimed to examine the connections between weekly alcohol consumption and the subsequent risk of AAD. METHODS:The UK Biobank study is a population-based cohort study.Weekly alcohol consumption was assessed using self-reported questionnaires and the congenital risk of alcohol consumption was also evaluated using genetic risk score(GRS).Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios(HRs)with 95%confidence intervals(CIs)for the associations between alcohol consumption and AAD.Several sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results. RESULTS:Among the 388,955 participants(mean age:57.1 years,47.4%male),2,895 incident AAD cases were documented during a median follow-up of 12.5 years.Compared with never-drinkers,moderate drinkers(adjusted HR:0.797,95%CI:0.646-0.984,P<0.05)and moderate-heavy drinkers(adjusted HR:0.794,95%CI:0.635-0.992,P<0.05)were significantly associated with a decreased risk of incident AAD.Interaction-based subgroup analysis revealed that the protective effect of moderate drinking was reflected mainly in participants younger than 65 years and women. CONCLUSION:Our findings support a protective effect of moderate alcohol consumption on AAD,but are limited to participants younger than 65 years and women.

Lung cancer ranks the top of malignancies that cause cancer-related deaths worldwide.The leaves of Morus alba L are traditional Chinese medicine widely applied in respiratory diseases.Our previous work has demonstrated the anti-lung cancer effect of secondary metabolites of mulberry leaf,but their mechanism of action has still not fully elucidated.We synthesized Moracin N(MAN)-Probe conjugated with alkyne to label lung cancer cells and identified protein targets by chemical proteomic analysis.MAN and its probe exerted similar growth-inhibitory effect on human lung cancer cells.Chemical proteomic results showed that MAN targeted the programmed death ligand 1(PD-L1)checkpoint pathway and T cell receptor(TCR)signaling pathway,indicating its immune-regulatory function.Cell-free surface plasmon resonance(SPR)results showed the direct interaction of MAN with PD-L1 protein.Molecular docking analysis demonstrated that MAN bound to E158 residue of PD-L1 protein.MAN downregulated the expression levels of PD-L1 in a time-and dose-dependent manner and disrupted the PD-L1/programmed death 1(PD-1)binding,including other secondary metabolites of mulberry leaves Guangsangon E(GSE)and Chalcomoracin(CMR).Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)co-cultured with MAN-treated A549 cells,resulting in the increase of CD8+GZMB+T cells and the decrease of CD8+PD-1+T cells.It suggested that MAN exerts anti-cancer effect through blocking the PD-L1/PD-1 signaling.In vivo,MAN combined with anti-PD-1 antibody significantly inhibited lung cancer development and metastasis,indicating their synergistic effect.Taken together,secondary metabolites of mulberry leaves target the PD-L1/PD-1 signaling,enhance T cell-mediated immunity and inhibit the tumorigenesis of lung cancer.Their modulatory effect on tumor microenvironment makes them able to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in lung cancer.