OBJECTIVES: To establish a prognostic model for primary liver cancer (PLC) using bioinformatics methods. METHODS: Based on the data from 404 patients in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, we constructed a prognostic model integrating the differentially expressed genes, anoikis, and immune-related genes (DAIs) using univariate Cox regression and the LASSO-Cox approach. The predictive ability of the model was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier method and receiver-operating characteristic curves, and a nomogram was developed to facilitate its clinical applications. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to explore the associated pathways and relationship between the DAIs and the tumor immune microenvironment, and the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of liver cancer drugs was calculated using the "pRRophetic" R package. We also detected the expression of SEMA7A in paired tumor and adjacent tissues from liver cancer patients. RESULTS: We constructed and validated a prognostic model based on 7 DAIs (NR4A3, SEMA7A, IL11, AR, BIRC5, EGF, and SPP1), and obtained consistent results in both the TCGA training cohort and GEO validation cohort (GSE14520), where the patients in the low-risk group were characterized by more favorable clinical outcomes and immune status. By integrating this prognostic signature with clinical information, a composite nomogram was generated. Somatic mutation analysis showed that TTN, TP53, and CTNNB1 mutations accounted for the largest proportion of total mutations, and the patients in the low-risk-low-TMB group had higher survival rate. Drug sensitivity analysis revealed differences in sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents between high- and low-risk groups and between TP53 mutations and non-mutations. In clinical tissue specimens, SEMA7A expression was significantly higher in liver cancer tissues than in the adjacent tissues. CONCLUSIONS We established a new prognostic model based on DAIs for predicting clinical outcomes and therapeutic response of patients with primary liver cancer.
Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Prognosis ; Anoikis ; Nomograms ; Computational Biology ; Tumor Microenvironment ; Semaphorins/metabolism*

Objective:To investigate the application value of photon-counting detector CT (PCD-CT) in preoperative identification of critical anatomical structures and surgical assessment in pancreatic cancer, and to compare its performance with conventional energy-integrating detector CT (EID-CT) in delineating tumor margins, vascular structures, and neural anatomy.Methods:This single-center retrospective matched case-control study included 25 patients with pathologically confirmed pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who underwent PCD-CT enhanced scanning and curative surgery at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between February and June 2025 (PCD-CT group). These patients were matched in a 1∶2 ratio to 50 patients who underwent EID-CT between January 2016 and December 2024 and subsequently received curative surgery (EID-CT group). Tumor boundary clarity, vascular visualization scores, and neural structure visibility were subjectively evaluated using the Likert scoring system. The assessed vessels included the celiac artery, common hepatic artery, superior mesenteric artery, splenic artery, portal vein, superior mesenteric vein, splenic vein, and pancreaticoduodenal arterial arcade. Imaging-based assessment of structural involvement was compared with intraoperative findings and pathological results to calculate diagnostic accuracy. Surgeons rated the usefulness of PCD-CT images for identifying key structures and determining resectability using a 5-point Likert scale. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for group comparisons of subjective scores, and categorical data were analyzed using the χ2 test or Fisher exact test. Results:The PCD-CT group showed significantly higher scores for tumor boundary clarity, vascular visualization, and neural structure detectability than those of the EID-CT group (all P<0.05). The accuracy of assessing superior mesenteric vein involvement was 96.0% (24/25) in the PCD-CT group and 72.0% (36/50) in the EID-CT group, with a significant difference ( χ2=6.00, P=0.014). Postoperative surgeon evaluations indicated that PCD-CT provided substantial assistance for both key structure identification [5 (5, 5)] and resectability assessment [5 (4, 5)]. Conclusion:PCD-CT demonstrates superior performance over EID-CT in preoperative delineation of tumor margins, vascular structures, and neural anatomy and in the assessment of structural involvement in pancreatic cancer. It provides valuable anatomical information to support preoperative evaluation and surgical decision-making.

Objective To explore the biological mechanism of radiation resistance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC)and search for effective sensitization targets.Methods We retrieved 186 signaling pathways and related gene information from the MSigDB database.We also obtained RNA transcriptome data of ESCC patients using the Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)and Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)databases.We collected clinical pathological characteristics and tissue samples of 97 ESCC patients in our hospital from 2013 to 2020.Gene set variation analysis(GSVA)was made to calculate KEGG signaling pathway score,radiotherapy resistance related signaling pathways were screened through random forest algorithm,key genes in the pathway were screened using DESeq2,and a radiotherapy efficacy prediction model was constructed based on support vector machine-recursive feature elimination(SVM-RFE).The results were validated through experiments such as Western blotting and clonogenic assay.Results Based on the KEGG signaling pathway and GSVA enrichment score,random forest analysis showed that in the TCGA and GSE45670 cohorts,the contribution of tryptophan metabolism pathway enrichment values to radiation resistance in ESCC was significantly better than that of the other pathways.DESeq2 analysis revealed that key molecules in the tryptophan metabolism pathway,namely,IDO1,ALDH1B1,AOC1,INMT,AFMID and ALDH7A1,were significantly differentially expressed in the resistant and sensitive groups of ESCC.Based on the SVM-RFE algorithm,the AUC was 0.77,which could accurately predict the radiotherapy efficacy of ESCC.Western blotting experiments showed that IDO1 was highly expressed in ESCC cells,and IDO1 inhibitor treatment significantly inhibited the survival ability and radiosensitivity of KYSE-410 cells.In the enrolled patients of our hospital,immunohistochemical studies showed that IDO1 was highly expressed in the radiotherapy resistant group of ESCC and was associated with poor radiotherapy prognosis in ESCC patients.In addition,further testing showed that the expression of IDO1 in patient samples from our hospital was positively correlated with its PD-L1 expression,but negatively correlated with the infiltration ratio of CD3/CD8 immune cells.Conclusion Tryptophan catabolism is associated with radiation resistance in ESCC,and the key enzyme IDO1 in tryptophan metabolism can be used as a therapeutic target for radiosensitization in ESCC.

BACKGROUND:The repair process of myocardial injury involves complex cellular and molecular mechanisms,especially mitochondrial calcium homeostasis,macrophage autophagy and pyroptosis pathways.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has shown significant clinical efficacy in improving myocardial injury,but its mechanism of action needs to be thoroughly investigated. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the role of mitochondrial calcium homeostasis-mediated macrophage autophagy and pyroptosis pathways in myocardial injury,and to summarize the progress of TCM in this field. METHODS:A computerized search was performed for relevant literature from the database inception to March 2024 in the Web of Science,PubMed and CNKI.The search terms were"mitochondrial calcium homeostasis,macrophage autophagy,macrophage pyroptosis,traditional Chinese medicine,myocardial injury,myocardial injury reperfusion"in Chinese and English.Through literature review,we analyzed the relationship between mitochondrial calcium homeostasis and macrophage autophagy and pyroptosis,explored the mechanism of their roles in myocardial injury,and summarized the pathways of multi-targeted,multi-pathway effects of TCM. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The maintenance of mitochondrial calcium homeostasis has been found to be closely related to the normal function of cardiomyocytes.Macrophages can participate in the repair process of myocardial injury through autophagy and pyroptosis pathways.Autophagy contributes to cell clearance and regulation of inflammatory response,while pyroptosis affects myocardial repair by releasing inflammatory factors.TCM regulates mitochondrial calcium homeostasis and macrophage function through multiple mechanisms.For example,astragalosid regulates calcium homeostasis by lowering mitochondrial membrane potential and inhibiting cytochrome C,and epimedium glycoside plays a role in reducing β-amyloid deposition.In addition,herbal compounds and single drugs promote myocardial repair by activating or inhibiting specific signaling pathways,such as PI3K/AKT and nuclear factor-κB signaling pathways.Future studies should focus on the interactions between mitochondrial calcium homeostasis,autophagy and pyroptosis pathways,as well as how TCM can exert therapeutic effects through these pathways to provide new strategies and drugs for the treatment of myocardial injury.

Obesity, as a chronic recurrent disease, has become a major public health challenge in China. To implement the requirements of the Healthy China Initiative (2019—2030), under domestic guidelines or consensus statements on overweight and obesity, and in alignment with the latest scientific advances globally, the Quality control protocol for adult overweight and obesity screening in health management (examination) institutions (2025 edition) was developed. This protocol was drafted by the Health Management Center of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital and formulated through multiple rounds of deliberation by experts in China’s health examination quality control field. The protocol establishes unified standards for screening facilities, personnel qualifications, and measurement or testing procedures. It defines specific screening items, outlines a standardized screening pathway, and sets requirements for the final medical review, ensuring the scientific validity, effectiveness, and safety of the screening process. The implementation of this protocol will enhance the consistency of weight management practices for adults across health examination institutions and strengthen the quality control of overweight and obesity screening programs.

Objective: To establish a machine learning-based precision blood donor recruitment model at the county level and assess its generalizability and applicability. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted using blood donation and SMS recruitment data from the Taicang Branch of the Suzhou Blood Center between 2019 and 2024. Multiple machine learning algorithms were employed, including extreme gradient boosting, support vector machine, k-nearest neighbor, logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, and multilayer perceptron. These were combined with techniques such as synthetic minority oversampling, undersampling, and cost-sensitive learning (using MFE and MSFE loss functions). Model parameters were optimized through grid search to identify the best-performing model. Results: In a prospective comparative study against conventional methods, the machine learning models increased the recruitment success rate among high-willingness donors by an average of 129.15%, and the recruitment efficiency per SMS improved by 125.02% compared with the traditional method. Under full-scale SMS sending, the recruitment rate per SMS increased by 42.61%, and SMS sending efficiency improved by 31.77%, significantly enhancing recruitment performance. Conclusion: This study represents the first application of a machine learning-based precision donor recruitment model at the county-level in China. The precise recruitment framework not only improves recruitment efficiency and reduces recruitment costs but also demonstrates strong scalability and generalizability. It provides a scientific and feasible intelligent pathway to ensure the safety and sustainability of the blood supply.

Objective:To establish a comprehensive evaluation index system based on government supervision for private hospitals to standardize their management and guide their healthy operation with standardized, quantifiable assessment criteria.Methods:Through literature review, regulatory challenges and key issues in private hospital management were identified. Drawing on public hospital performance evaluations and hospital accreditation standards, a three-tiered evaluation index system was developed across four dimensions: legal establishment and practice, service capability and quality & safety, operational management, and comprehensive evaluation. The Delphi method was employed to screen indicators and determine their weights, followed by empirical research to validate the system.Results:The response rate for both rounds of expert consultation was 100%, with an authority coefficient>0.85. Indicators were optimized based on the following criteria: mean scores for importance, feasibility, and sensitivity>3.5; coefficient of variation<0.1; and Kendall′s coefficient of concordance P<0.05. The final comprehensive evaluation system consisted of 4 first-level indicators, 10 second-level indicators, and 49 third-level indicators. The evaluation of 6 private hospitals was basically consistent with the actual situation of the hospitals and the understanding of the health management department on the hospitals. Conclusions:The validated evaluation index system could provide a multi-dimensional, objective assessment of private hospitals, offering quantifiable criteria for management and serving as a reference for government oversight to promote standardized development.

This study established an indirect ELISA method for antibody detection based on human rotavirus group A(RVA)VP6 protein,to provide technical support for RVA antibody detection.An ELISA method for detecting RVA antibodies was established through a checkerboard assay for optimization of the reaction conditions with VP6 protein of RVA as the diagnostic antigen.Serum samples from healthy children and patients infected with RVA were collected and detected with the ELISA method.The optimal work-ing conditions for ELISA involved coating the ELISA plate with VP6 protein at a concentration of 2 μg/mL and diluting the serum at a ratio of 1∶250.The critical value of negative and positive samples was 0.137.The ELISA method had good specificity,sensitivity,and repeatability,and showed a 95%consistency rate with the western blotting antibody detection method.We tested 370 serum samples collected from children,which showed an antibody positivity rate of 81.1%.We additionally tested the acute and recovery phase sera from 15 patients infected with RVA,and observed a significantly higher RVA antibody titer in the recovery phase serum than the acute infection phase serum.The ELISA antibody detection method showed good specificity,sensitivity,and reproducibility,and therefore can be used for RVA antibody detection and auxiliary diagnosis of RVA infection.

This study expressed the VP6 protein of human group A rotavirus in a prokaryotic expression system and prepared mouse polyclonal antibodies to this protein.The human rotavirus VP6 gene was amplified through RT-PCR from fecal samples infected with group A rotavirus and cloned into the pET-32a vector to construct the recombinant pET-32a-VP6 prokaryotic expression plas-mid.The recombinant plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21(DE3).VP6 protein was expressed through induction with isopropyl-β-D-thiopyranoside(IPTG),purified with nickel nitrilotriacetic acid(Ni-NTA)affinity chromatography,and identified through SDS-PAGE and western blotting.Polyclonal antibodies to the VP6 protein were obtained by immunization of BALB/c mice with VP6 protein.Antibody titers were determined through indirect ELISA.The recombinant expression plasmid pET-32a-VP6 was con-structed,and VP6 protein was expressed primarily in inclusion bodies.Polyclonal antibodies to VP6 protein with a titer of 1∶32 000 were obtained by immunization of mice with VP6 protein purified by affinity chromatography.The antibodies specifically reacted with VP6 protein.The VP6 protein of human group A rotavirus was expressed and purified,and mouse polyclonal antibodies to this protein were prepared,thus providing a foundation for the preparation of a diagnostic antigen for human group A rotavirus and the establishment of serological detection methods.

Objective:To explore the clinical efficacy of retrograde tibial intramedullary nail (RTN) combined with less invasive stabilization system (LISS) in the treatment of distal femoral fractures.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 11 patients with distal femoral fractures who underwent RTN combined with LISS locking plate treatment at the 909th Hospital from June 2021 to December 2022. There were 5 males and 6 females, with an average age of 56.5±17.5 years. The fracture types were AO/OTA 33A2 in 2 cases, A3 in 2 cases, C1 in 2 cases, and C2 in 2 cases. There were 3 cases of periprosthetic femoral fractures after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), all classified as Rorabeck type Ⅱ. They were treated with retrograde intramedullary nailing of the tibia combined with a minimally invasive lateral internal fixation system. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, fracture healing time, full weight-bearing time, femorotibial angle, range of motion (ROM) of the knee joint, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score, visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, and complications were recorded.Results:The operation was successfully completed in all 11 cases. The operation time was 98.3±9.0 min (range 83-115 min), and the intraoperative blood loss was 167.8±24.3 ml (range 120-210 ml). All 11 cases were followed up for 11.0±1.9 months (range 9-15 months). The healing time of 11 cases was 5.3±0.8 months (range 4-6 months) after operation. The time of complete weight-bearing activity after operation was 55.7±6.5 d (range 46-67 d). At the last follow-up, the femoral-tibial angle of 11 cases was 171.2°±1.8° (range 169°-174°), the ROM of knee joint was 129.5°±4.7° (range 120°-135°), and the HSS score was 86.8±6.9 points (range 69-95 points). There were no major complications except for one case of superficial infection of surgical incision after operation.Conclusion:RTN combined with lateral LISS locking plate showed good clinical effect with the advantages of less trauma, reliable fixation, rapid recovery, less postoperative complications.