Objective: To investigate the effects of a Twin-Block appliance combined with slow maxillary expansion (SME) on transverse dental and skeletal parameters in adolescent patients with Angle Class Ⅱ division 1 malocclusion, and to provide a reference for clinical orthodontic practice. Methods: This retrospective study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. A total of 21 adolescents with Class Ⅱ division 1 malocclusion who underwent two-phase treatment with a Twin-Block appliance combined with SME at the Department of Orthodontics, College & Hospital of Stomatology, Guangxi Medical University, in 2021 to 2023 were consecutively enrolled. In the first phase, a functional appliance was used to coordinate the skeletal relationship between the maxilla and mandible by leveraging growth potential. In the second phase, a fixed appliance was employed for fine adjustments of the dental arches based on the specific condition. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were obtained before treatment (T0) and after the first phase of functional correction (T1). Transverse measurements at the first molar region, including molar buccolingual inclination, dental arch width, and basal bone width, were performed using Dolphin 3D Imaging software. Changes between T0 and T1 were statistically analyzed. Results: After the first phase of treatment, the left and right maxillary first molars showed a significant increase in buccal inclination by 5.47° ± 1.38° and 5.35° ± 1.61°, respectively (P<0.001). The arch width in the maxillary first molar region also increased by (2.68 ± 1.14) mm, and the basal bone width increased by (1.14 ± 1.24) mm (all P<0.001). The proportion of skeletal expansion accounted for an average of 42.86%, while dental expansion accounted for 57.14%. No statistically significant changes were observed in any mandibular transverse measurements (all P>0.05). Conclusion In adolescent patients with Angle Class Ⅱ division 1 malocclusion accompanied by maxillary transverse deficiency, Twin-Block appliance combined with SME can effectively expand maxillary dental arch and basal bone width while improving sagittal relationship, thereby correcting transverse discrepancy. The maxillary width changes were predominantly dental.

The lacrimal gland organoids are innovative in vitro cultured tissue model that mimics the lacrimal gland, retaining its original histological and molecular biological properties. This model can more accurately reproduce the physiological environment of the lacrimal gland, including its ductal system and tear film protein secretion. It offers a new platform for studying the physiopathological basis of the lacrimal gland, establishing disease models, conducting regenerative medicine applications, and performing drug screening. Currently, organoids technology is continuously evolving, with ongoing updates to the methods for in vitro culturing of the lacrimal gland. These advancements gradually address challenges related to cultivation complexity, cost, and time, demonstrating a wide range of application potential. In this paper, we summarize the latest progress in lacrimal gland organoids research both domestically and internationally, exploring the development of lacrimal gland organoids, 3D construction technologies, and their potential for clinical applications, in order to provide new insights for clinical research on lacrimal gland-related diseases and to promote broader application of lacrimal gland organoids in drug development and personalized diagnosis and treatment.

The lacrimal gland organoids are innovative in vitro cultured tissue model that mimics the lacrimal gland, retaining its original histological and molecular biological properties. This model can more accurately reproduce the physiological environment of the lacrimal gland, including its ductal system and tear film protein secretion. It offers a new platform for studying the physiopathological basis of the lacrimal gland, establishing disease models, conducting regenerative medicine applications, and performing drug screening. Currently, organoids technology is continuously evolving, with ongoing updates to the methods for in vitro culturing of the lacrimal gland. These advancements gradually address challenges related to cultivation complexity, cost, and time, demonstrating a wide range of application potential. In this paper, we summarize the latest progress in lacrimal gland organoids research both domestically and internationally, exploring the development of lacrimal gland organoids, 3D construction technologies, and their potential for clinical applications, in order to provide new insights for clinical research on lacrimal gland-related diseases and to promote broader application of lacrimal gland organoids in drug development and personalized diagnosis and treatment.

Osteoporosis is a prevalent skeletal condition characterized by reduced bone mass and strength, leading to increased fragility. Buqi-Tongluo (BQTL) decoction, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, has yet to be fully evaluated for its potential in treating bone diseases such as osteoporosis. To investigate the mechanism by which BQTL decoction inhibits osteoclast differentiation in vitro and validate these findings through in vivo experiments. We employed MTS assays to assess the potential proliferative or toxic effects of BQTL on bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) at various concentrations. TRAcP experiments were conducted to examine BQTL's impact on osteoclast differentiation. RT-PCR and Western blot analyses were utilized to evaluate the relative expression levels of osteoclast-specific genes and proteins under BQTL stimulation. Finally, in vivo experiments were performed using an osteoporosis model to further validate the in vitro findings. This study revealed that BQTL suppressed receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast resorption activity in vitro in a dose-dependent manner without observable cytotoxicity. The inhibitory effects of BQTL on osteoclast formation and function were attributed to the downregulation of NFATc1 and c-fos activity, primarily through attenuation of the MAPK, NF-κB, and Calcineurin signaling pathways. BQTL's inhibitory capacity was further examined in vivo using an ovariectomized (OVX) rat model, demonstrating a strong protective effect against bone loss. BQTL may serve as an effective therapeutic TCM for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis and the alleviation of bone loss induced by estrogen deficiency and related conditions.
Animals ; NFATC Transcription Factors/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Ovariectomy ; Osteoclasts/metabolism* ; Female ; Osteogenesis/drug effects* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; NF-kappa B/genetics* ; Osteoporosis/genetics* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Bone Resorption/genetics* ; Cell Differentiation/drug effects* ; Humans ; RANK Ligand/metabolism* ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/genetics* ; Transcription Factors

Objective: To investigate the scientific research capacity building of administrative offices of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) across 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities), the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and 5 separately listed cities in China, so as to provide the reference for improving the positioning of office functions and promoting the enhancement of scientific research capabilities. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted among heads and staff members of administrative offices in 37 CDCs. Data on office setup, general information, staffing, scientific research incentive measures and outputs were collected and analyzed. Results: The 37 administrative offices of the CDCs had an average authorized staffing size of 12 personnel. There were 17 of them setting independently allocated budgets. A total of 511 staff members were surveyed, comprising 238 males and 273 females, resulting in a male-to-female ratio of 0.87∶1. In terms of educational attainment, the majority held bachelor's degrees (225 individuals, 44.03%) or master's degrees and above (157 individuals, 30.72%). Professional technical personnel constituted the main occupational category, 302 individuals accounting for 59.10%. Intermediate professional titles were most common, 138 individuals accounting for 27.00%. From 2021 to 2023, a total of 68 research incentive measures have been implemented, and 579 personnel have received further training. These offices cumulatively led or participated in 80 scientific research projects and published 253 papers. Sixteen offices reported 10 and above scientific research outputs. These offices generally exhibited higher proportions of independently allocated budgets, greater numbers of senior professional titles, more staff with master's degrees or above, more implemented research incentive measures, and higher frequencies of staff further trainings. Conclusions The staff in the administrative offices of CDCs generally have a high level of educational attainment and include a significant number of professional technical personnel. However, their scientific research capacity remains relatively underdeveloped. It is recommended to conduct targeted professional training and research-focused lectures to enhance research literacy, leverage the strengths of multidisciplinary backgrounds, and promote cross-departmental and cross-institutional scientific research activities.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor was initially developed and marketed as a novel oral hypoglycemic agent.Currently,it has been recommended as one of the main therapeu-tic agents for chronic heart failure by national and international guidelines,and it has a significant cardioprotective effect on heart failure with reduced ejection fraction,heart failure with im-proved ejection fraction,heart failure with mildly reduced ejec-tion fraction,and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.However,cardiac tissues do not express sodium-glucose cotrans-porter 2,and the underlying mechanisms of clinical cardiovascu-lar benefits of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors remain unclear.This review intends to summarize the cardiovascular benefits of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors in clinical trials and the recommendations suggested by national and inter-national heart failure guidelines and to elucidate further the po-tential mechanisms of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor-mediated cardioprotective effects.

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of curculigoside(CUR)on hippocampal neuron injury in epileptic rats.Methods Forty-eight rats were selected,and the epileptic rat models were established by induction with 35 mg/kg pentylenetetrazol.The epileptic rats were randomly divided into the epilepsy group,the epilepsy+low-dose CUR group(the epilepsy+CUR-L group),the epilepsy+high-dose CUR group(the epilepsy+CUR-H group),and the epilepsy+CUR-H+PI3K activator 740Y-P group(the epilepsy+CUR-H+740Y-P group),with 12 rats in each group.Another 12 rats that were intraperitoneally injected with the same amount of normal saline were taken as the control group.Four weeks after administration,the behavioral changes of rats in each group were observed.Nissl staining was applied to determine the neuronal changes in hippocampal tissue.Immunohistochemistry was applied to detect the number of microglia in hippocampal tissue.ELISA was applied to detect the levels of interleukin-6(IL-6),IL-1β,and gamma-aminobutyric acid(GABA)in hippocampal tissue.TUNEL staining was applied to analyze the level of neuronal apoptosis in hippocampal tissue.Western blot was applied to detect the phosphorylation levels of PI3K,Akt and mTOR in hippocampal tissue.Results Compared with the control group,the Racine score and the frequency of epileptic seizures in rats,and the number of microglia,level of IL-6,level of IL-1β,the apoptosis rate of neurons,and levels of p-PI3K/PI3K,p-Akt/Akt,p-mTOR/mTOR in hippocampal tissue in the epilepsy group were obviously increased(P<0.05),while the level of GABA in hippocampal tissue was obviously reduced(P<0.05),and the arrangement of neurons in hippocampal tissue was disordered,with neuronal loss.Compared with the epilepsy group,the Racine score,and the frequency of epileptic seizures in rats,and the number of microglia,levels of IL-6,levels of IL-1β,the apoptosis rates of neurons,and levels of p-PI3K/PI3K,p-Akt/Akt,p-mTOR/mTOR in hippocampal tissue in the epilepsy+CUR-L group and the epilepsy+CUR-H group were significantly decreased(P<0.05),while the levels of GABA in hippocampus tissue were significantly increased(P<0.05),the loss and necrosis of neurons in hippocampus tissue were decreased,and the disorder of cell arrangement was improved.Compared with the epilepsy+CUR-H group,the Racine score and the frequency of epileptic seizures in rats,and the number of microglia,level of IL-6,level of IL-1β,the apoptosis rate of neurons,and levels of p-PI3K/PI3K,p-Akt/Akt,p-mTOR/mTOR in hippocampal tissue in the epilepsy+CUR-H+740Y-P group were significantly increased(P<0.05),while the level of GABA in hippocampus tissue was significantly decreased(P<0.05),the loss and necrosis of hippocampal neurons increased,and the cell arrangement was disordered.Conclusion CUR may reduce hippocampal neuron damage in epileptic rats by downregulating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.

Objective To explore the relationship between the levels of serum death-associated protein kinase 1(DAPK1)and total tau(T-tau)protein and cognitive dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods A total of 178 patients with T2DM who were diagnosed and treated at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from May 2024 to January 2025 were selected.According to whether the patients had cognitive dysfunction,they were divided into cognitive dysfunction group(88 cases)and control group(90 cases).Based on Montreal cognitive assessment(MoCA)score,patients with cognitive dysfunction were further divided into severe group(MoCA score＜10 points,24 cases);moderate group(10 points ≤MoCA score ≤17 points,31 cases),and mild group(18 points ≤MoCA score＜26 points,33 cases).The levels of serum DAPK1 and T-tau proteins were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay,and the risk factors were analyzed by Logistic regression.Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between T-tau protein,DAPK1 and the severity of cognitive dysfunction.Results The age,duration of diabetes mellitus,proportion of hyperlipidemia,fasting blood glucose,2-hour postprandial blood glucose,glycated hemoglobin,T-tau protein,and DAPK1 of patients in cognitive dysfunction group were significantly higher than those in control group,while the educational level was significantly lower than that in control group(P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that the duration of diabetes mellitus,T-tau protein,DAPK1,and glycated hemoglobin were all independent risk factors for cognitive dysfunction in patients with T2DM(P＜0.05).The T-tau protein and DAPK1 of patients in severe group were significantly higher than those in mild group and moderate group(P＜0.001).Spearman correlation analysis showed that DAPK1 and T-tau proteins were positively correlated with severity of cognitive dysfunction(P＜0.05).Conclusion The duration of diabetes mellitus,glycated hemoglobin,DAPK1 and T-tau protein are all independent risk factors for cognitive dysfunction in patients with T2DM.The levels of DAPK1 and T-tau protein are related to the severity of cognitive dysfunction and can be used as potential markers for risk assessment.

Objective:To analyze the iodine nutrition status and its related factors among adults aged 18 years and above in Zhejiang Province in 2022.Methods:A multistage stratified sampling method was used to select 4 320 adults aged 18 years and above from 16 on-site survey sites in Zhejiang Province for the study. A questionnaire was used to investigate the general demographic information and personal dietary characteristics of the study participants. Household edible salt and urine samples were collected to detect salt iodine content and urinary iodine level by using direct titration and cerium arsenate-catalyzed spectrophotometry, respectively, to evaluate the iodine nutritional status according to the standard. The multiple-ordered logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors influencing the urinary iodine concentration.Results:The age of the 4 320 study participants was (51.19±15.33) years, with males accounting for 44.44% (1 920). About 40.16% of adults (1 735) were from coastal areas and 56.37% (2 435) from urban areas. The salt iodine content, M ( Q1, Q3), of the 4 320 household edible salt samples was 21.10 (0.00, 24.16) mg/kg, including 1 662 non-iodized salt samples, 182 unqualified iodized salt samples and 2 476 qualified iodized salt samples. The rate of iodized salt coverage was 61.53%, and the rate of qualified iodized salt consumption was 57.31%. There was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of qualified iodized salt in adult households among different regions ( P<0.001), with the proportion of non-iodized salt gradually decreasing from coastal to inland areas ( χ 2trend=618.458, P<0.001). The urinary iodine concentration M ( Q1, Q3) was 137.60 (86.85, 210.60) μg/L in 4 320 adult urine samples, with the urinary iodine levels of<100, 100-199, 200-299, and≥300 μg/L accounting for 31.64% (1 367), 40.56% (1 752), 17.66% (763), and 10.14% (438), respectively. There was a nonlinear positive correlation between household salt iodine content and urinary iodine level in adults aged 18 years and above by using the χ 2 test for trend ( χ 2regression=231.10, P<0.001 and χ 2skew=28.81, P<0.001). Urinary iodine concentrations were higher in men than in women ( P=0.029) and higher in adults in rural areas than in urban areas ( P<0.001). There were statistically significant differences in the distribution of iodine nutritional status among adults of different ages, regions, and urban and rural areas (all P<0.001). The proportion of those with urinary iodine levels<100 μg/L gradually increased with age ( χ 2trend=37.493, P<0.001), and gradually decreased from coastal areas to inland areas ( χ 2trend=71.381, P<0.001). The results of the multiple-ordered logistic regression model analysis showed that compared with adults aged 18 to 44 years and male adults, those aged 45 to 59 years and female adults had lower urinary iodine levels, with OR (95% CI) of 0.75 (0.68-0.83) and 0.85 (0.76-0.95), respectively. Compared with adults in coastal and urban adults, those in sub-coastal, inland and rural adults had higher levels of urinary iodine, with OR (95% CI) of 1.89 (1.63-2.19), 2.02 (1.72-2.37) and 1.46 (1.28-1.66), respectively. Conclusion:The overall iodine nutrition level of adults aged 18 years and above in Zhejiang Province in 2022 is generally appropriate. However, there is a potential risk of iodine deficiency among adults in coastal areas.

Purpose To explore the clinicopathological features of EBV-positive nodal T-and NK-cell lymphoma.Methods Clinical and pathological data of 5 cases were collected.The expression of CD3,CD56,TIA-1,Granzyme B and other markers were detected by immunohistochemistry.The expression of EBER was detected by in situ hybrid-ization.The gene rearrangement and clonality were analyzed by PCR and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.The litera-tures were reviewed.Results The primary lesions of the 5 patients were all located in lymph nodes.All patients pres-ented with multiple lymphadenopathy,B symptoms,elevated lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)and C-reactive protein(CRP),and were in stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ.Histopathologically,the lesions show a diffuse infiltration of large to medium monot-onous tumor lymphocytes.Cell apoptosis,necrosis,and vascular invasion were not significant.Tumor cells of all cases were positive for CD3 but negative for CD56.All cases were positive for the cytotoxic markers.In situ hybridization de-tection showed that the majority of tumor cells were diffusely positive for EBER.Nevertheless,only 4 cases were posi-tive for TCR gene clonal rearrangement.Three patients received chemotherapy,2 patient declined the treatments.The median overall survival was only 3 months.Conclusions EBV-positive nodal T-and NK-cell lymphoma is an EBV-positive lymphoma of cytotoxic T-or NK-cell lineage presenting primarily with nodal disease,which is more common in elderly males.The patient has obvious symptoms and signs,rapid disease progression,and poor prognosis.Under-standing the clinicopathological features of EBV-positive nodal T-and NK-cell lymphoma can help differentiate it from other EBV-positive T-and NK-cell lymphoid proliferations and lymphomas.