ObjectiveTo investigate the imaging features of calcium salt deposition and serological markers in patients with alveolar echinococcosis through a retrospective analysis， as well as independent risk factors for the degree of calcium salt deposition in lesions， and to provide a basis for assessing disease process. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the imaging and clinical data of 107 patients with alveolar echinococcosis who were admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University from December 2023 to June 2025， and according to the volume of calcium salt deposition， they were divided into non-deposition group with 16 patients， mild deposition group with 52 patients， moderate deposition group with 16 patients， and severe deposition group with 23 patients. A one-way analysis of variance or the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison of continuous data between groups， and the χ² test or Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The four groups were further combined into the low deposition group （no/mild deposition） and the high deposition group （moderate/severe deposition）. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the independent influencing factors for calcium salt deposition， and a predictive model was established. The receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was used to assess the predictive performance of the model， and the Bootstrap method was used for internal validation. ResultsThere were significant differences between the four groups in sex distribution， involvement of other sites， white blood cell count， lymphocyte percentage， fibrinogen， uric acid， sodium ion， chloride ion， and calcium ion （all P<0.05）. The univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences between the four groups in sex， involvement of other sites， white blood cell count， lymphocyte percentage， fibrinogen， alanine aminotransferase， albumin， creatinine， uric acid， sodium ion， chloride ion， and calcium ion （all P<0.1）. The multi-collinearity diagnosis showed that the VIF values for all continuous variables ranged from 1.104 to 1.760， suggesting that collinearity did not affect modeling. An ordinal logistic regression model was established based on sex， involvement of other sites， calcium ion， lymphocyte percentage， and uric acid. The multivariate analysis showed that lymphocyte percentage （odds ratio ［OR］=1.106， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 1.041 — 1.174， P=0.001） and blood calcium level （OR=0.005， 95%CI： 0.000 —0.230， P=0.007） were independent influencing factors for the degree of calcium salt deposition. The regression equation was established as Logit（P）=8.231 + 0.100 × lymphocyte percentage -5.344 × calcium ion. The ROC curve analysis showed that the model had an area under the ROC curve of 0.716， with a Youden index of 0.353， a sensitivity of 1.000， and a specificity of 0.353. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed that the model had poor calibration （χ²=20.688， P=0.008）. The Bootstrap method with 1000 repeated samples showed that the estimated values of lymphocyte percentage （OR=1.106， 95%CI： 1.049 — 1.186， P=0.002） and calcium ion （OR=0.005， 95%CI： 0.000 — 0.214， P=0.010） were consistent with the original model， and the confidence intervals did not include 1， which further supported the reliability of the model. ConclusionBoth lymphocyte percentage and blood calcium level are independent influencing factors for calcium salt deposition in alveolar echinococcosis， and the degree of calcium salt deposition in alveolar echinococcosis lesions increases with the reduction in blood calcium level and the increase in lymphocyte percentage.

Objective To preliminarily investigate the safety and efficacy of donor pancreas needle biopsy in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation. Methods Clinical data of 7 cases undergoing donor pancreas biopsy were collected retrospectively. All cases underwent donor pancreas biopsy before or during simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation. Frozen section or paraffin sectioning techniques were used for tissue preparation, and hematoxylin-eosin and Masson staining were performed to histologically evaluate the donor pancreas. The quality of donor pancreas was comprehensively assessed by combining histological findings with the donor's clinical data. Postoperative follow-up data of 5 simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipients were collected to summarize the safety of donor pancreas biopsy and the prognosis of transplant recipients. Results The 7 pancreas donors were aged 28 to 62 years, with a body mass index ranging from 20.76 to 27.68 kg/m². Liver ultrasound indicated fatty liver in 3 cases, while pancreatic ultrasound did not reveal any significant abnormalities. Among them, biopsy was performed on 2 donors after completion of pancreatic procurement and processing, and the frozen section histology showed moderate acute pancreatitis changes (edema of acinar cells, necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration). Combined with a serum amylase level elevated more than 3 times the upper limit of normal value, these two donor pancreases were finally discarded. The remaining 5 cases underwent biopsy immediately after pancreatic vascular anastomosis during simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation, and histological evaluation was performed on paraffin-embedded sections. No biopsy-related complications (such as bleeding, pancreatic fistula, etc.) occurred after transplantation. One recipient died of severe infection 2 months after transplantation, while the other 4 recipients were followed up for more than 5 years, with well-functioning transplant kidneys and pancreases. Conclusions Donor pancreas biopsy is relatively safe, and the risk of biopsy-related complications after transplantation is controllable. Comprehensive assessment of donor pancreas quality by combining histological evaluation with the donor's clinical indicators is conducive to improving the accuracy of donor pancreas selection and organ utilization.

ObjectiveMethylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP) is found to be frequently deleted in malignant cancers, but the role of MTAP underlying metastasis and stemness of liver cancer remains far from clear. 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) is clinically used in treating advanced liver cancer, however, chemoresistance is one of the major barriers impeding its efficacy. Liver cancer stem cells are considered to be the reservoir for tumor progression and chemoresistance. This study aims to explore the role of MTAP in regulating stemness and chemoresistance of 5-Fu in liver cancer. It is designed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying MTAP-manipulated stemness. How MTAP influences metastasis and chemoresistance against 5-Fu in liver cancer is also elaborated. MethodsThe correlation of MTAP expression with stemness marker CD133 was evaluated by flow cytometry. Colony formation assays were conducted to analyze the tumorigenic ability. Western blot assays were applied to delineate the molecular mechanisms underlying MTAP-regulated stemness. Trans-well assays were conducted to analyze the metastatic potential of liver cancer cells.In vivo experiments were performed using subcutaneous xenograft and lung metastasis model on nude mice. Tumor size and weight were analyzed upon 5-Fu treatment. Metastatic nodules on lungs were evaluated. Immunohistochemical and TUNNEL assays were performed on slides obtained from tumor tissues. ResultsMTAP overexpression inhibited expression of CD133 and colony formation, which is further ablated by MTAP inhibitor. MTAP deprivation augmented stemness and colony formation, which is reversed by protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) overexpression but not its catalytically inactive counterparts. Critically, SRY-box transcription factor 2 (SOX2) was found to be a downstream regulator of MTAP/PRMT5, leading to stemness of liver cancer cells. MTAP overexpression suppressed SOX2 expression, while MTAP inhibition augmented expression of SOX2. Critically, MTAP overexpression inhibited migration and invasion of liver cancer cells. In vivo experiments in animal model found that MTAP deprivation promotes tumor growth and metastatic nodules of liver cancer. Additionally, MTAP overexpression inhibits tumor growth. Moreover, MTAP deprivation contributes to chemoresistance shown by increased tumor size and weight treated by 5-Fu. In contrast, MTAP overexpression led to further decline in tumor size and weight elicited by 5-Fu treatment. Accordingly, SOX2 was inhibited in tumor tissues after MTAP overexpression. Marker of proliferation Ki67 (Ki67) expression was dampened while apoptosis was found in MTAP-overexpressed tumor tissues. ConclusionIn this study, plethora of experimental studies collectively demonstrated that MTAP deprivation enhances stemness of liver cancer by regulating SOX2, exerting anti-cancer and chemoresistant role against 5-Fu in liver cancer. It is also worth noting that MTAP inhibition promoted metastasis of liver cancer. MTAP overexpression augmented tumor shrinking elicited by 5-Fu and SOX2 was involved in this process. These results concluded that MTAP/PRMT5/SOX2 signaling axis was involved in regulating stemness and chemoresistance of liver cancer. These findings help to exploit novel therapies by targeting stemness in MTAP-depleted liver cancer. It shed novel light on unveiling MTAP-regulated stemness in antagonizing 5-Fu treatment in liver cancer. It also adds mounting evidence to the theoretical basis for accomplishing personalized chemotherapy of liver cancer patients by targeting MTAP or its downstream PRMT5/SOX2.

BACKGROUND:Acupuncture is an effective method for lumbar pain in lumbar disc herniation,but its mechanism has not yet been clarified.Factors related to the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway regulate the body's inflammatory response and are involved in the process of neuropathic pain. OBJECTIVE:To study the mechanism of acupuncture on lumbar disc herniation in a rat model based on the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. METHODS:Forty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups:sham operation group,model group,acupuncture group,and acupuncture+agonist group,with 10 rats in each group.Animal models of L5 lumbar disc herniation was constructed through autologous disc cell transplantation in the model group,acupuncture group,and acupuncture+agonist group.Rats in the acupuncture group and the acupuncture+agonist group received acupuncture treatment(Yanglingquan,Shenshu,Huantiao,and Dachangshu acupoints)at 3 days after modeling,and acupuncture treatment was given once a day,20 minutes each,for 15 consecutive days.Rats in the acupuncture+agonist group were injected intrathecally with coumermycin A1,a JAK2 agonist,into the L4/L5 intervertebral space,once a day,20 minutes each,prior to the acupuncture at 6,12,and 18 days after modeling.Paw withdrawal mechanical threshold was detected before and 3,6,9,12,15,and 18 days after modeling.At 18 days after modeling,serum inflammatory factor levels were detected,hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to observe the morphology of L5-L6 tissues,RT-PCR was performed to detect the expression of JAK2 and STAT3 mRNAs in L5-L6 tissues,and western blot was performed to detect the expression of JAK2,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins in L5-L6 tissues. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The paw withdrawal mechanical thresholds of rats in the model group at different time points after modeling were lower than those in the sham operation group(P<0.05),the paw withdrawal mechanical thresholds of rats in the acupuncture group were higher than those in the model group at 9,12,15,and 18 days after modeling(P<0.05),and the paw withdrawal mechanical thresholds of rats in the acupuncture+agonist group were lower than those in the acupuncture group at 9,12,15,and 18 days after modeling(P<0.05).The levels of interleukin 6,tumor necrosis factor α,neurotransmitter substance P,and brain neuropeptide Y were elevated in the model group compared with the sham operation group(P<0.05);the levels of all four inflammatory factors were reduced in the acupuncture group compared with the model group(P<0.05);and the levels of all four inflammatory factors were elevated in the acupuncture+agonist group compared with the acupuncture group(P<0.05).Hematoxylin-eosin staining showed that lumbar degeneration was obvious in the model group but reduced in the acupuncture group and the acupuncture+agonist group.Moreover,the reduction was more obvious in the acupuncture group compared with the acupuncture+agonist group.The JAK2 and STAT3 mRNA expression as well as the p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 protein expression were elevated in the model group compared with the sham operation group(P<0.05),were decreased in the acupuncture group compared with the model group(P<0.05),and were increased in the acupuncture+agonist group compared with the acupuncture group(P<0.05).To conclude,acupuncture can alleviate inflammation to exert analgesic effects in the rat model of lumbar disc herniation,and its mechanism of action may be related to the inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic values of ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy of intra rectal cavity and colonoscopy biopsy for rectal and anal canal tumors.Methods:A total of 100 patients with rectal tumors,who admitted to Beijing Rectum Hospital from March 2021 to March 2023,were selected.All patients completed three-dimensional(3D)ultrasound examination of intra rectal cavity,and all of them adopted both colonoscopy biopsy and ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy of intra rectal cavity to obtain tissue samples.Postoperative pathological results were used as the"gold standard"to compare the diagnostic accuracy,pain index,amount of blood loss and examination time of two kinds of modes in sampling.The Kappa test was adopted to analyze the consistency between two kinds of examination methods and postoperatively pathological staging.Results:The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy rate of pathological diagnosis with colonoscopy biopsy were respectively 90.74%,82.61%and 87.00%in diagnosing the benign and malignant rectal tumor.The sensitivity,specificity and accuracy rate of ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy of intra rectal cavity were respectively 98.25%,97.67%and 98.00%in diagnosing the benign and malignant rectal tumor.The diagnostic accuracy rate of ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy of intra rectal cavity was higher than that of colonoscopy biopsy,and the difference was statistically significant(x2=4.672,P<0.05).Kappa test analysis indicated that there was moderate consistency between colonoscopy biopsy and pathological staging in diagnosing rectal cancer(Kappa=0.66),and there was high consistency between ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy of intra rectal cavity and pathological staging in diagnosing that(Kappa=0.77).Conclusion:Both colonoscopy biopsy and ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy of intra rectal cavity have highly diagnostic accuracy rate for rectal tumors.However,ultrasound-guided puncture biopsy of intra rectal cavity has obvious advantages for the biopsy of submucosal rectal tumors and anal canal tumors,and it has minimally invasive and cost-effective advantages,which has higher clinical application value.

Objective To explore causal relationship between 25-hydroxyvitamin D[25(OH)D]and ankylosing spondylitis(AS).Methods Genetic data of 25(OH)D and AS were extracted from the genome-wide association study.The causal effect of 25(OH)D on AS was estimated by MR-Egger regression method,weighted median,inverse variance weighted(IVW),simple mode and weighted mode,and sensitivity analysis was conducted for verification.Results The IVW results indicated that there was a causal relationship between 25(OH)D concentration and AS(OR=0.805,95％CI:0.686-0.944,P=0.008),and the maximum likelihood ratio(OR=0.799,95％CI:0.678-0.940,P=0.007)showed consistent results.The IVW results of the reverse Mendelian randomization study showed that there was no causal relationship between the two(OR=1.019,95％CI:0.995-1.043,P=0.110).In addition,MR-Egger intercept,Cochran Q test,"leave-one-out"and MR-PRESSO analysis showed no horizontal pleipotency or heterogeneity.Conclusion There may be a genetic causal relationship between the concentration of 25(OH)D and the onset of AS.AS cannot cause changes in the concentration of 25(OH)D in the body.

OBJECTIVE To understand the prevalence of pathogens causing genital tract infections among the infer-tile patients so as to provide bases for clinical diagnosis,treatment and prevention.METHODS A total of 54,562 infertile patients who were treated in Reproductive Medicine Center of Tang Du Hospital of Air Force Medical University from Jul.2023 to Jan.2025 were enrolled in the study.The cervical swab samples were collect-ed from the female patients,and the urine samples were collected from the male patients.Chlamydia trachomatis(CT),Ureaplasma urealyticum(UU),Mycoplasma genitalium(MG)and Neisseria gonorrhoeae(NG)were tested by real-time fluorescent nucleic acid isothermal amplification for RNA.The statistical analysis was per-formed based on the gender,age and type of infection.RESULTS The total positive rates of UU,MG,CT and NG were 38.36％,2.85％,0.99％and 0.04％,respectively.The patients with CT plus MG infection were dominant a-mong the patients with mixed infections.The positive rates of UU and CT of the female patients were higher than those of the male patients(P＜0.001),while the positive rate of NG of the female patients was lower than that of the male patients(P=0.028).The patients aged more than 25 years old were susceptible to UU,with the positive rate highest among the patients aged between 35 and 40 years old.The patients aged less than 25 years old were dominant among the patients with MG and CT infections,and NG infection was more common among the patients aged between 25 and 35 years old.The positive rate of MG was higher among the patients aged less than 25 years old than among other age groups of patients(P＜0.005);the positive rate of MG was higher among the patients aged between 35 and 40 years old than among the patients aged between 30 and 35 years old(P＜0.005).The positive rate of CT was higher among the patients aged less than 25 years old than among all the age groups except for the 25 to 30 age group;the positive rate of CT of the patients aged no less than 40 years old was lower than that of the patients aged between 25 and 35 years old(P＜0.005).CONCLUSIONS UU is most common among the pathogens causing genital tract infections among the infertile patients.There are a variety of types of mixed infections.The female patients are more likely to have UU and CT infections,while the male patients are more likely to have NG infection.MG and CT infections shows a low-age trend.It is necessary to focus on the joint screening of multiple pathogens during the clinical diagnosis and treatment and strengthen the prevention and intervention to the susceptible population.

Postoperative infection of internal fixation of closed fractures the lower limbs in adults represents a devastating complication, characterized by diagnostic challenges, prolonged treatment duration and high disability rates. Current management of these infections faces multiple challenges, such as difficulties in early accurate diagnosis, and various controversies about the treatment plan, leading to poor overall diagnosis and treatment results. To address these issues, based on evidence-based medicine and principles with emphasis on scientific rigor, clinical applicability and innovation, the Trauma Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, Orthopedic Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, Orthopedics Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and Trauma Orthopedics and Polytrauma Group of the Resuscitation and Emergency Committee of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association have collaboratively organized a panel of relevant experts to develop the Guideline for diagnosis and treatment of infection after internal fixation of closed lower limb fractures in adults ( version 2025). The guideline proposed 10 recommendations, aiming to provide a foundation for standardized diagnosis and treatment of postoperative infection in adults with closed lower limb fractures.

Objective:This study sought to examine the clinicopathological features of monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T-cell lymphoma (MEITL) and to discuss its differential diagnosis.Methods:A total of 36 MEITL cases, collected between June 2015 and January 2024 from the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, were analyzed. Patients underwent immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr virus-encoded small RNA (EBER), and T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangement testing. Clinical data, laboratory results, and follow-up information were collected for correlation analysis.Results:The cohort included 36 patients (20 males and 16 females) aged 17-76 years (median: 57 years). Tumors outside the intestine were observed in 22 cases (61%). A total of 32 patients (89%) underwent surgical intervention and/or chemotherapy, and one patient received auto-HSCT. The median follow-up duration was 11.5 months (range: 8-73 months), with a median overall survival of 6 months (range: 1-67 months) ; 34 patients died during the follow-up period. Morphologically, nine cases (25%) exhibited significant pleomorphism. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that high expression levels of both P53 and c-Myc were correlated with atypical morphology ( P=0.003 and P=0.016, respectively). Notably, patients with high P53 expression had significantly shorter survival times than those with low P53 expression ( χ2=4.922, P=0.027), whereas survival did not differ significantly based on c-Myc expression levels ( χ2=0.034, P=0.854). Furthermore, a PD-L1 CPS score ≥10 was observed in 22 cases (68.8%). Scattered EBER positivity in background cells was identified in four cases. All tested cases (17/17, 100.0%) showed clonal TCR gene rearrangements. Conclusions:MEITL is a rare but highly aggressive lymphoma with distinct clinical and pathological features. A subset of cases may exhibit atypical morphological patterns, complicating the diagnostic process. Improving awareness of this neoplasm is helpful for early and precise diagnosis as well as the estabolishment of novel therapy regimen.

Pasteurella multocida(Pm)type A is an important pathogen responsible for respiratory diseases,such as bovine pneumonia,which seriously restricts the development of cattle industry in China.Currently,the prevention of Pm infection-related diseases primarily relies on vaccination in production.However,the diverse Pm serotypes result in inadequate cross-immunological protection from vaccines.Therefore,it is of great significance to develop vaccines with cross-protection for the prevention and control of Pm infectious diseases.The previous studies conducted by our team have demonstrated that PmCQ2△cra exhibits a strong immune protective effect against Pm type A(PmA),Pm type B(PmB),and Pm type F(PmF).Transcriptomic sequencing results suggest that the cross-immunoprotective effect of PmCQ2△cra may be attributed to high expression levels of bacterial surface protective antigens.Consequently,four putative immune protective antigens,namely PmCQ2-5175,PmCQ2-6290,PmCQ2-0275 and PmCQ2-2640,were screened through bioin-formatics analysis in this study.Subunit vaccines formulated with these potential antigenic proteins exhibited protective efficacy of 62.5％,25％,12.5％and 10％against PmA-infected mice,respectively.Importantly,PmCQ2-5175,one of the most protective single-component antigen vac-cines,demonstrating a 75％cross-protection against PmB infection in mice.Furthermore,the pro-tective efficacy of the PmCQ2-5175 protein screened in this study was superior to that of the previ-ously reported Pm antigen protein plpE.Moreover,the fusion expression protein PmCQ2-5175-PLPE exhibited better protective effects against PmA compared to a single protein.The findings of this study will establish a theoretical foundation for the advancement of Pm subunit vaccines with broad-spectrum immune protection.