Objective:To explore the clinical application value of MRI ultra-short echo time sequence (MRI-UTE) in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. A total of 101 consecutive patients were recruited prospectively from January to August 2024 at Huazhong Fuwai Hospital of Zhengzhou University. All of the included patients were diagnosed with pulmonary nodules by chest CT examination and intended for treatment. All patients underwent low-dose CT examination and MRI-UTE examination. The number, classification, and lung imaging reporting and data system (lung-RADS) grading of the pulmonary nodules were analyzed. Nodules classification was determined as solid nodules or sub-solid nodules, and sub-solid nodules included part-solid nodules and pure ground-glass nodules. Taking the evaluation results of radiologists with 10 and 12 years of experience in chest imaging diagnosis as the reference standard, the Kappa test was used to analyze the agreement of CT and MRI-UTE in terms of the accurate diagnosis, classification, and lung-RADS grading of pulmonary nodules. Results:Among the 101 patients, a total of 216 pulmonary nodules were identified. MRI-UTE accurately diagnosed 180 pulmonary nodules, while 203 pulmonary nodules were detected by CT. The concordance was moderate ( Kappa=0.48, P<0.001). In terms of nodule classification, CT correctly classified 167 nodules as solid and 36 as sub-solid, whereas MRI-UTE correctly classified 153 as solid and 23 as sub-solid, with good agreement (weighted Kappa=0.73, P<0.001). For lung-RADS grading, CT correctly graded 186 nodules, with 85 graded as category 2, 46 as category 3, 33 as category 4A, 12 as category 4B, and 10 as category 4X; MRI-UTE correctly graded 155 nodules, with 74 graded as category 2, 30 as category 3, 30 as category 4A, 12 as category 4B, and 9 as category 4X. The agreement between the two modalities in determining lung-RADS grade was also good (weighted Kappa=0.74, P<0.001). Conclusion:MRI-UTE demonstrates good agreement with CT in the accurate diagnosis, classification, and lung-RADS grading of pulmonary nodules, indicating certain clinical application value.

Objective:To characterize the vaginal flora of pregnant women during the second trimester using full-length 16S rRNA sequencing.Methods:A total of 142 pregnant women were systematically sampled from a pregnancy cohort. Vaginal swabs were collected for full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing，and bioinformatics analysis was performed to characterize the vaginal microbiota and identify associated influencing factors.Results:Among the 142 pregnant women，the most frequently detected species were Lactobacillus iners（83.10%，118/142）and Lactobacillus crispatus（49.30%，70/142）. The majority of samples（90.85%，129/142）were classified as Lactobacillus-dominant vagitypes，with the Lactobacillus iners vagitype accounting for 48.59%（69/142）and the Lactobacillus crispatus vagitype accounting for 38.73%（55/142）. The vaginal microbiota was clustered into five community state types（CSTs）：Ⅰa，Ⅰb，Ⅲa，Ⅲb，and Ⅳ. The most prevalent CSTs were Lactobacillus iners-dominated CST-Ⅲ（51.41%，73/142）and Lactobacillus crispatus-dominated CST-Ⅰ（24.65%，35/142）. No samples were classified as CST-Ⅱ or CST-Ⅴ. A significant negative correlation was observed between Lactobacill and vaginosis-associated bacteria. Age，alcohol consumption，smoking，and vaginal treatments showed significant associations or trends toward significance with various Alpha diversity indices. Vaginal douching was associated with CST clustering，while obstetric history（primiparity，previous miscarriage history）was associated with vagitype classification. However，no significant associations were identified between maternal baseline characteristics and Beta diversity indices. Conclusions:Full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing reveals that the vaginal microbiota of pregnant women is dominated by Lactobacillus iners and Lactobacillus crispatus. Maternal age，lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption，and obstetric history are significantly associated with variations in vaginal microbiota composition.

Objective To explore the acceptability of routine biochemical test results for serum samples with varying degrees of chylous high triglyceride(TG).Methods Blood samples of 69 patients with different degrees of lipids were collected,including 33 patients with mild to moderate lipids(1.7 mmol/L≤TG<5.6 mmol/L)and 36 patients with severe lipids(TG≥5.6 mmol/L).Twenty-nine biochemical tests were detected before and after high-speed centrifugation.The result acceptability before high speed centrifugation of serum was compared with the results after high speed centrifugation as the gold standard[TG and total cholesterol(TC)before centrifugation].The acceptable criteria were subject to the following three conditions at the same time.Firstly,correlation coefficient(R2)was greater than or equal to 0.95.Secondly,the slope of linear re-gression equation was 1.00±0.05.Thirdly,for the same index,the number of samples whose result bias be-fore and after centrifugation was less than 1/2 total allowable error(TEa)in more than 90%of the total sam-ple numbers.Results Firstly,in the mild to moderate lipemia group,22 tests met the criteria,7 tests did not,including total protein(TP),albumin(ALB),TG,aspartate aminotransferase(AST),carbon dioxide(CO2),α-L-fucosidase(AFU),lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)(bias<10%),and the coincidence rate was 75.9%.In the severe lipemia group,12 tests met the criteria,17 tests did not,including pre-albumin(PA),AFU,γ-glu-tamyltransferase(γ-GT),LDH,AST,TC,direct bilirubin(DBIL),CO2,5'-nucleotidase(5'-NT),small and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(sd-LDL-C),high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),adenosine deaminase(ADA),cystatin C(CysC),glycosylated albumin(GA),total bilirubin(TBIL)(bias>10%),the coincidence rate was 41.4%,and there was a statistically sig-nificant difference in the coincidence rate between the two groups(P<0.05).Secondly,there was no statisti-cally significant difference in the acceptability of results between continuous monitoring method and endpoint method detection methods(P>0.05).Conclusion Most test results of direct determination with mild or moderate lipemia samples are acceptable,and the bias of unacceptable tests is small(<10%),so it is recom-mended to issue a test report without further sample treatment.However,due to the large number of unacceptable tests and larger bias(>10%),severe lipemia samples should be determined after high-speed centrifugation.

Objective:To explore the clinical application value of MRI ultra-short echo time sequence (MRI-UTE) in the diagnosis of pulmonary nodules.Methods:This study was a cross-sectional study. A total of 101 consecutive patients were recruited prospectively from January to August 2024 at Huazhong Fuwai Hospital of Zhengzhou University. All of the included patients were diagnosed with pulmonary nodules by chest CT examination and intended for treatment. All patients underwent low-dose CT examination and MRI-UTE examination. The number, classification, and lung imaging reporting and data system (lung-RADS) grading of the pulmonary nodules were analyzed. Nodules classification was determined as solid nodules or sub-solid nodules, and sub-solid nodules included part-solid nodules and pure ground-glass nodules. Taking the evaluation results of radiologists with 10 and 12 years of experience in chest imaging diagnosis as the reference standard, the Kappa test was used to analyze the agreement of CT and MRI-UTE in terms of the accurate diagnosis, classification, and lung-RADS grading of pulmonary nodules. Results:Among the 101 patients, a total of 216 pulmonary nodules were identified. MRI-UTE accurately diagnosed 180 pulmonary nodules, while 203 pulmonary nodules were detected by CT. The concordance was moderate ( Kappa=0.48, P<0.001). In terms of nodule classification, CT correctly classified 167 nodules as solid and 36 as sub-solid, whereas MRI-UTE correctly classified 153 as solid and 23 as sub-solid, with good agreement (weighted Kappa=0.73, P<0.001). For lung-RADS grading, CT correctly graded 186 nodules, with 85 graded as category 2, 46 as category 3, 33 as category 4A, 12 as category 4B, and 10 as category 4X; MRI-UTE correctly graded 155 nodules, with 74 graded as category 2, 30 as category 3, 30 as category 4A, 12 as category 4B, and 9 as category 4X. The agreement between the two modalities in determining lung-RADS grade was also good (weighted Kappa=0.74, P<0.001). Conclusion:MRI-UTE demonstrates good agreement with CT in the accurate diagnosis, classification, and lung-RADS grading of pulmonary nodules, indicating certain clinical application value.

Objective To organize and summarize the medication rules of GU Nai-fang in treating skin diseases through real-world data.Methods We collected traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions for GU Nai-fang's treatment of skin diseases from the outpatient medical record system of Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital to establish a database.Statistical analysis of disease types,performance,and efficacy was conducted,and association rules and systematic clustering analysis were performed using SPSS Modeler 18.0 and SPSS 26.0 software,respectively.Results A total of 5 020 patients were included,and 5 020 prescriptions were collected,involving 241 traditional Chinese medicines with a total frequency of 85 758 uses.The frequency of using heat clearing drugs,deficiency tonifying drugs,blood activating and stasis removing drugs,surface clearing drugs,and wind and dampness dispelling drugs was relatively high;most drugs tended to be cold and warm,mainly targeting the heart,lungs,and colon meridians.The top 15 Chinese medicines with the highest frequency of use were Smilacis Glabrae Rhixoma,Cortex Moutan,Radix Paeoniae Rubra,Rehmanniae Radix,Scutellariae Radix,Cynanchi Paniculati Radix et Rhizoma,Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus,Violsse Herba,Mume Fructus,Herba Pyrolae,Hedyotis Diffusae Herba,Lonicerae Japonicae Flos,Cicadae Periostracum,Bombyx Batryticatus,Radix Salviae.Association rule analysis obtained 15 high-frequency combinations of 2 traditional Chinese medicines and 3 traditional Chinese medicines.Cluster analysis resulted in 7 clustered prescriptions.Conclusion GU Nai-fang commonly used heat clearing drugs,deficiency tonifying drugs,blood activating and stasis removing drugs,surface resolving drugs,and wind and dampness dispelling drugs in the treatment of skin diseases,and Smilacis Glabrae Rhixoma,Cortex Moutan,Radix Paeoniae Rubra,Rehmanniae Radix,and Scutellariae Radix were the most frequently used drugs.

Objective To organize and summarize the medication rules of GU Nai-fang in treating skin diseases through real-world data.Methods We collected traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions for GU Nai-fang's treatment of skin diseases from the outpatient medical record system of Shanghai Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital to establish a database.Statistical analysis of disease types,performance,and efficacy was conducted,and association rules and systematic clustering analysis were performed using SPSS Modeler 18.0 and SPSS 26.0 software,respectively.Results A total of 5 020 patients were included,and 5 020 prescriptions were collected,involving 241 traditional Chinese medicines with a total frequency of 85 758 uses.The frequency of using heat clearing drugs,deficiency tonifying drugs,blood activating and stasis removing drugs,surface clearing drugs,and wind and dampness dispelling drugs was relatively high;most drugs tended to be cold and warm,mainly targeting the heart,lungs,and colon meridians.The top 15 Chinese medicines with the highest frequency of use were Smilacis Glabrae Rhixoma,Cortex Moutan,Radix Paeoniae Rubra,Rehmanniae Radix,Scutellariae Radix,Cynanchi Paniculati Radix et Rhizoma,Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus,Violsse Herba,Mume Fructus,Herba Pyrolae,Hedyotis Diffusae Herba,Lonicerae Japonicae Flos,Cicadae Periostracum,Bombyx Batryticatus,Radix Salviae.Association rule analysis obtained 15 high-frequency combinations of 2 traditional Chinese medicines and 3 traditional Chinese medicines.Cluster analysis resulted in 7 clustered prescriptions.Conclusion GU Nai-fang commonly used heat clearing drugs,deficiency tonifying drugs,blood activating and stasis removing drugs,surface resolving drugs,and wind and dampness dispelling drugs in the treatment of skin diseases,and Smilacis Glabrae Rhixoma,Cortex Moutan,Radix Paeoniae Rubra,Rehmanniae Radix,and Scutellariae Radix were the most frequently used drugs.

Objective:To investigate lymph node metastasis(LNM)in the prostatic anterior fat pad(PAFP)of PCa patients after robot-assisted radical prostatectomy(RARP),and analyze the clinicopathological features and prognosis of LNM in the PAFP.Methods:We retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data on 1 003 cases of PCa treated by RARP in the Department of Urolo-gy of PLA General Hospital from January 2017 to December 2022.All the patients underwent routine removal of the PAFP during RARP and pathological examination,with the results of all the specimens examined and reported by pathologists.Based on the pres-ence and locations of LNM,we grouped the patients for statistical analysis,compared the clinicopathological features between different groups using the Student's t,Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square tests,and conducted survival analyses using the Kaplan-Meier and Log-rank methods and survival curves generated by Rstudio.Results:Lymph nodes were detected in 77(7.7％)of the 1 003 PAFP samples,and LNM in 11(14.3％)of the 77 cases,with a positive rate of 1.1％(11/1 003).Of the 11 positive cases,9 were found in the upgraded pathological N stage,and the other 2 complicated by pelvic LNM.The patients with postoperative pathological stage≥T3 constituted a significantly higher proportion in the PAFP LNM than in the non-PAFP LNM group(81.8％[9/11]vs 36.2％[359/992],P=0.005),and so did the cases with Gleason score ≥8(87.5％[7/8]vs 35.5％[279/786],P=0.009).No statisti-cally significant differences were observed in the clinicopathological features and biochemical recurrence-free survival between the pa-tients with PAFP LNM only and those with pelvic LNM only.Conclusion:The PAFP is a potential route to LNM,and patients with LNM in the PAFP are characterized by poor pathological features.There is no statistically significant difference in biochemical recur-rence-free survival between the patients with PAFP LNM only and those with pelvic LNM only.Routine removal of the PAFP and inde-pendent pathological examination of the specimen during RARP is of great clinical significance.

Objective:To characterize the vaginal flora of pregnant women during the second trimester using full-length 16S rRNA sequencing.Methods:A total of 142 pregnant women were systematically sampled from a pregnancy cohort. Vaginal swabs were collected for full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing，and bioinformatics analysis was performed to characterize the vaginal microbiota and identify associated influencing factors.Results:Among the 142 pregnant women，the most frequently detected species were Lactobacillus iners（83.10%，118/142）and Lactobacillus crispatus（49.30%，70/142）. The majority of samples（90.85%，129/142）were classified as Lactobacillus-dominant vagitypes，with the Lactobacillus iners vagitype accounting for 48.59%（69/142）and the Lactobacillus crispatus vagitype accounting for 38.73%（55/142）. The vaginal microbiota was clustered into five community state types（CSTs）：Ⅰa，Ⅰb，Ⅲa，Ⅲb，and Ⅳ. The most prevalent CSTs were Lactobacillus iners-dominated CST-Ⅲ（51.41%，73/142）and Lactobacillus crispatus-dominated CST-Ⅰ（24.65%，35/142）. No samples were classified as CST-Ⅱ or CST-Ⅴ. A significant negative correlation was observed between Lactobacill and vaginosis-associated bacteria. Age，alcohol consumption，smoking，and vaginal treatments showed significant associations or trends toward significance with various Alpha diversity indices. Vaginal douching was associated with CST clustering，while obstetric history（primiparity，previous miscarriage history）was associated with vagitype classification. However，no significant associations were identified between maternal baseline characteristics and Beta diversity indices. Conclusions:Full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing reveals that the vaginal microbiota of pregnant women is dominated by Lactobacillus iners and Lactobacillus crispatus. Maternal age，lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption，and obstetric history are significantly associated with variations in vaginal microbiota composition.

Objective To explore the mechanism of miR-421 affecting the occurrence and development of depression.Methods A depressive rat model was established by single intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide(LPS),and depressive behavior was detected by glucose preference test and open-field test.miRNA microarray chips and RT-PCR were used to analyze the expression level of miR-421 in hippocampus of the depressed rats.TargetScan database and mi RDB database were used to predict the target genes of miR-421.Dual luciferase reporter gene assay was used to observe the binding of miR-421 to the target genes.The impact of over-expression and inhibition of miR-421 on target genes was observed,then the influence of over-expression and inhibition of target genes on downstream factors was observed,and the related mechanism of miR-421 on depression was explored.Results miRNA microarray chips and RT-PCR assay showed that miR-421 was highly expressed in the hippocampus of the depressed rats(P<0.001),Inhibition of miR-421 expression could significantly restore the body weight and exercise ability of the depressed rats(P<0.001).Binding targets of Menin and miR-421 were predicted by TargetScan database,and interaction between Menin and miR-421 was demonstrated by dual-luciferase reporter gene assay.Menin expression was down-regulated while miR-421 was overexpressed(P<0.001),whereas it was up-regulated as miR-421 was inhibited(P<0.001).qPCR indicated that expressions of Caspase-3 and NF-κB in the hippocampus of the depressed rats was significantly increased(P<0.001),and IL-1β expression in the hippo-campus was significantly increased(P<0.01).When the expression of Menin was inhibited,the expressions of Caspase-3,NF-κB and IL-1β were increased(P<0.001),while the expressions of Caspase-3,NF-κB and IL-1β were decreased when Menin was overexpressed(P<0.001).Conclusions Inhibition of miR-421 expression can increase Menin expression,decrease Caspase-3 content,and reduce neuroinflammatory response,thereby improving depressive symptoms.

During the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) , many patients have developed drug resistance due to the use of targeted EGFR inhibitors. The main reasons for drug resistance are EGFR site mutations and bypass activation. Activation of ALK pathway is one of the major types of bypass activation. A recent authoritative study indicates that ALK is closely related to immunotherapy. This article reviews the treatment of ALK in tumors from three aspects: the structure and physiological function of ALK, the small molecule inhibitor of ALK, the biological function of ALK and its related treatment methods for NSCLC, and prospects future directions for better application of ALK in the treatment of NSCLC.