Objective:To investigate the risk factors for patients with hypertriglyceridemia-related acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP) developing into severe acute pancreatitis or experiencing organ failure.Methods:This retrospective cohort study collected clinical data from 2 429 patients diagnosed with acute pancreatitis from five hospitals in China between January 2019 and December 2023 using a pre-designed data collection form. The cohort included 1 516 males and 913 females,with an age of (50.2±16.5)years(range: 11 to 99 years). Among them,353 patients (16.1%) had HTG-AP,while 1 846 (83.9%) had non-HTG-AP. HTG-AP was defined as serum triglyceride levels>500 mg/dl with other etiologies excluded. Intergroup comparisons were performed using t-tests,Mann-Whitney U test or χ2 tests,respectively. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess risk factors for severe acute pancreatitis after adjusting for potential confounders,and a predictive model was developed and validated. Results:Compared with other etiologies,HTG-AP patients had a higher risk of progressing to SAP ( OR=1.415,95% CI: 0.866 to 2.312, P=0.017) and organ failure ( OR=1.256,95% CI: 1.015 to 1.554, P=0.036). Among HTG-AP patients,risk factors for SAP included body mass index ( OR=1.856,95% CI: 1.742 to 1.987, P=0.033),fasting blood glucose ( OR=1.128,95% CI: 1.036 to 1.229, P=0.006),white blood cell count( OR=1.162,95% CI: 1.055 to 1.281, P=0.002),and the presence of pleural effusion ( OR=13.151,95% CI: 4.330 to 19.946, P<0.01). A nomogram prediction model for SAP in HTG-AP was constructed based on these risk factors,demonstrating good discriminative ability with area under the curve values of 0.877 in the training set and 0.894 in the validation set,along with satisfactory calibration. Conclusions:HTG-AP patients are at higher risk of developing SAP and organ failure. The risk prediction model incorporating body mass index,fasting blood glucose,white blood cell count,and pleural effusion shows good predictive value for SAP.

Objective To explore the association between plasma fibrinogen(FBG)levels and the risk of in-hospital mortality among patients with septic shock.Methods The clinical data of 563 patients diagnosed with septic shock in the Intensive Care Unit(ICU)of Shenzhen Second People's Hospital from August 1,2018,to December 31,2020,were collected.Patient demographic information,basic vital signs,and blood routine and biochemical indices upon admission were gathered.Moreover,the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation Ⅱ(APACHEⅡ)scores were calculated.Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between plasma fibrinogen levels and in-hospital mortality in patients with septic shock.Additionally,a generalized additive model(GAM)and smoothed curve fitting were employed to investigate the nonlinear relationship between plasma fibrinogen and in-hospital mortality.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were constructed for FBG and APACHEⅡ scores to predict in-hospital mortality in septic shock patients.The area under the curve(AUC)was computed to compare the predictive efficacies of the two.Furthermore,a segmented linear regression model was utilized for quantification.Results Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated a significant negative correlation between plasma fibrinogen levels and in-hospital mortality among patients with septic shock(P<0.05).GAM modeling and smoothed curve fitting disclosed a nonlinear association between plasma fibrinogen levels and in-hospital mortality,with an inflection point at 5.54 g/L.The segmented linear regression model indicated that,to the left of the inflection point(FBG≤5.54 g/L),for every 1 g/L decrease in plasma fibrinogen,the risk of death increased by 24.5%(OR=0.755,P=0.003).Conversely,to the right of the inflection point(FBG>5.54 g/L),the relationship was not statistically significant(OR=1.049,P=0.685).The findings of the subgroup analyses indicated that the characteristics of the subgroups did not alter the relationship between blood fibrinogen levels and in-hospital mortality.Conclusion There is a nonlinear relationship between FBG levels and in-hospital mortality in patients with septic shock,which has predictive value for evaluating the risk of in-hospital mortality in this patient cohort.

Objective To explore the mechanism of myocardial toxicity caused by N-methyl-3,4-methyle-nedioxyamphetamine(MDMA),the changes of intracellular calcium oscillation mode and calcium han-dling proteins during acute exposure to different concentrations of MDMA were detected,and the in-volvement of nuclear factor κB(NF-κB)and its effect on calcium handling proteins were investigated.Methods Primary rat cardiomyocytes were cultured to establish MDMA acute exposure model,and a control group was set up.The MDMA poisoning model was divided into three concentration groups of 10,100 and 1 000 μmol/L.After 1 h of exposure,the morphological changes of cardiomyocytes were ob-served,the cytotoxicity and changes in calcium signals were measured,and the changes in calcium handling proteins RyR2,SERCA2a,PLN,NCX1 and Cav1.2 were detected.The changes of NF-κB activity and the expression of nucleoprotein p-p65(Ser311)and PKCζ after MDMA exposure,and the intervention of NF-κB inhibitors pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate ammonium(PDTC)and protein kinase C(PKC)inhibitor chelerythrine(CHE)were detected by electrophoretic mobility shift assay(EMSA)and Western blotting.The effects of PDTC intervention on calcium signals,and the expressions of RyR2,SERCA2a,PLN,NCX1 and Cav1.2 after acute MDMA exposure were also observed.Results No obvious changes were observed in the morphology of cardiomyocytes after acute exposure to MDMA,whereas the oscillation waveform of intracytoplasmic calcium ion showed irregular changes with increased oscillation amplitude,intense fluctuations,irregular frequency,and increased fluctuation range of relative optical density values.The expression of RyR2,SERCA2a and NCX1 increased,while the expression of Cav1.2 and PLN de-creased.Acute MDMA exposure could increase NF-κB activity,while PDTC and CHE intervention could inhibit NF-κB activity.In MDMA exposed group,the expression of PKCζ and nucleoprotein p-p65(Ser311)both increased and could be inhibited by CHE.After the intervention of PDTC to block NF-κB,the amplitude of calcium oscillation was lower than that of the MDMA exposed group,and the expres-sion of RyR2,SERCA2a and NCX1 decreased.There was no significant change in PLN,while the ex-pression of Cav1.2 increased.Conclusion MDMA can lead to an increase of calcium ion concentration in cardiomyocytes.Calcium ions are involved in myocardial toxicity of MDMA.The mechanism is re-lated to changes in calcium handling proteins,mainly associated with the increased expression of RyR2.MDMA can up-regulate the intracellular activity of NF-κB through the PKCζ-NF-κB pathway and affect calcium handling proteins,which aggravate intracellular calcium overload during acute MDMA exposure.

Objective:To understand the current status of thyroid 131I internal exposure of nuclear medicine staff in Jiangxi province and analyze its influencing factors. Methods:An survey was conducted for the years 2022 to 2023, involving 211 nuclear medicine staff who had received 131I treatment in Jiangxi province. The 131I activity in thyroid was measured by in vitro monitoring measurement, and the committed effective dose was estimated. Results:In 2022, 14 nuclear medicine staff were detected to have 131I in thyroid, with activities ranging from 121.32 to 2 859.09 Bq, including four staff who were estimated to have received committed effective doses above 2 mSv. In 2023, there were 21 nuclear medicine staff who were detected to have 131I in thyroid, with activities ranging from 81.75 to 1 482.21 Bq, in which 10 staff were estimated to have the committed effective dose above 2 mSv. There were no statistically significant differences between the two years in detection rate, measured activity, and committed effective dose to thyroid from 131I ( P>0.05). The highest valure of detection rate was found in cleaning staff, and there were no statistically significant differences between different position types ( P>0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the detection rate of 131I between those who only have received hyperthyroidism treatment and those who have received both hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer treatment ( P>0.05). Conclusions:The issue of internal exposure of nuclear medicine staff should receive attention. It is necessary to further carry out internal exposure monitoring. Meanwhile, it is suggested that the management of radiation protection should be strengthened in nuclear medicine workplaces on the part of hospitals.

Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effects of the copper chelator ammonium tetrathiomolybdate (TTM) on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a mouse model.Methods:Twenty-four male dilution brown non-Agoutia/1 mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: a blank control group (Ctrl group, n=6), a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) + phosphate buffer saline (PBS) treatment group (PBS group, n=6), a CIA+TTM treatment group (TTM group, n=6), and a CIA+Elesclomol treatment group (Eles group, n=6). Eles, a copper ion carrier, served as a control for administration of TTM, a copper ion chelator. One week after treatment, the swelling of mouse paw was observed, and the clinical scoring of the arthritis in mice was evaluated once a week. Paw mechanical pain detection was performed and photographs were taken to observe the severity of paw swelling before the mice were sacrificed. Catwalk gait analysis system was used to evaluate the gait changes in mice. HE and saffron O solid green staining were used to evaluate pathomorphologic changes in the mice knee joints and paws. Immunostaining techniques were used to detect the protein expression of MMP3, CD31, and VEGF in the mice paws. Luminex technology was used to detect alterations in the serum inflammatory factors. Results:Compared with the Ctrl group, in the PBS and Eles groups, the joints were red, swollen and deformed; the arthritis clinical scores were significantly higher; the bone destruction, synovial hyperplasia and inflammatory cell infiltration and pathological changes in the joint tissues were obvious; the expression levels of inflammatory factors, such as serum MCP-1, IL-1 β, IL-9, and IFN- γ, were significantly higher while the expression level of IL-10 was significantly lower. Simultaneously, the expression of CD31 and VEGF factors was significantly enhanced. Compared with the PBS group, in the TTM group, the joint swelling and deformation were significantly improved, the arthritis clinical score was reduced, and the joint bone destruction, inflammatory cell infiltration and synovial hyperplasia were alleviated, and the levels of serum MCP-1, IL-1 β, IL-9 and IFN- γ were significantly decreased while the level of anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 was increased. There was no significant difference in the expression of MMP-3, CD31 or VEGF factors between the CTRL group and the TTM group. Conclusion:TTM can block synovial inflammation, angiogenesis, and bone destruction multiple times by simultaneously targeting multiple inflammatory factors, VEGF factors, and bone destruction mediators, thereby alleviating the pathological damage to the joint tissues induced by CIA in RA mice.

Objective To access the current situation of the service capacity of radiation health technical service institutions in Jiangxi Province, analyze the existing problems of these institutions, and provide a scientific basis for standardizing the management of such institutions and improving their service capability. Methods A total of 11 radiation health technical service institutions in Jiangxi Province in the National Occupational Health Technical Service Organization Management Information System were selected as the monitoring objects. During the period from 2022 to 2024, 5-6 technical service institutions were selected each year and comprehensively evaluated and inspected using a checklist formulated by the state. Results Among the 16 quality monitoring results of 11 institutions, 2 (12.5%) were rated as excellent, 12 (75%) as qualified, and 2 (12.5%) as unqualified. The risk level assessment identified 7 (43.75%) high-risk institutions, 9 (56.25%) medium-risk institutions, and 0 (0%) low-risk institutions. Conclusion The overall service capacity of radiation health technical service institutions in Jiangxi Province needs to be improved. Notably, institutions within the health system, such as centers for disease control and prevention, show significant shortcomings in both on-site and laboratory testing capabilities.

Objective To study a method for determining the cumulative dose of low-energy neutrons ( < 100 keV) independently based on a CR-39 detector. Methods According to the theory of track etching kinetics, the differences in the tracks formed by low-energy neutrons or fast neutrons in a BN + CR-39 detector under broad-spectrum neutron irradiation were analyzed. A method was proposed to identify the tracks produced by low-energy neutrons under specific etching conditions while avoiding interference from fast neutron tracks. Results Experimental results demonstrated that the BN + CR-39 detector using TASTRAK PADC CR-39 track-detecting plastic could independently detect the tracks of low-energy neutrons when etched in a 6.25 mol/L NaOH solution for 1 h. The track density showed a good linear relationship with the ambient dose equivalent of low-energy neutrons, and the calibration coefficient was 0.0366 μSv·tr⁻¹·cm². Conclusion The BN + CR-39 detector proposed in this study demonstrated high sensitivity to low-energy neutrons. The track identification method can be used for effective and independent determination of the cumulative dose equivalent of low-energy neutrons.

Objective:The aim of this study is to analyze the clinical characteristics and genetic variants of a late-onset auditory neuropathy pedigree caused by maternally inherited- mitochondrial mutation.Methods:A male proband who presented with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at Henan Children′s Hospital in September 2023 was chosen, along with his family members (4 generations, 20 individuals) as the study subjects. Data from this pedigree were collected, organized, and analyzed for clinical genetic characteristics. Medical histories were obtained from family members, pedigree charts were drawn, audiological, imaging, and physical examinations were conducted. Pathogenic genes and mutations were screened using high-throughput sequencing. Sanger sequencing was employed for variant confirmation and segregation validation in the family.Results:In this family, a total of 12 members (10 members collected) had sensorineural hearing loss, characterized by late-onset hearing impairment with an onset age ranging from 9 to 30 years. The patients exhibited poor speech recognition rates, and audiometric examinations are consistent with auditory neuropathy. There was no history of ototoxic drug use. High-throughput sequencing identified the variant NC_012920.1:m.7471dup in the mitochondrial MT-TS1 gene as the pathogenic variant. Sanger sequencing results confirmed that the pathogenic gene mutation site perfectly co-segregated with the auditory neuropathy phenotype in this family. According to the classification criteria and guidelines for genetic variations by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, the variant was classified as a pathogenic mutation. Conclusion:The mitochondrial MT-TS1 gene mutation m.7471dup is considered to be the pathogenic cause in this late-onset auditory neuropathy pedigree.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the underlying pharmacological mechanisms and its potential effects of Chinese medicine herbal formula Sini Powder (SNP) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: The active components of SNP and their in vivo distribution were identified using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Construction of component-target-disease networks, protein-protein interaction network, Gene Ontology function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis, and molecular docking were employed to analyze the active components and anti-HCC mechanisms of SNP. Cell viability assay and wound healing assay were utilized to confirm the effect of SNP-containing serum (2.5%, 5.0%, 10%, 20%, and 40%), isoprenaline or propranolol (both 10, 100, and 1,000 µ mol/L) on proliferation and migration of HepG 2 or Huh7 cells. Meanwhile, the effect of isoprenaline or propranolol on the β 2 adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) mRNA expression on HepG2 cells were measured by real-time quantitative reverse transcription (RT-qPCR). Mice with subcutaneous tumors were either subjected to chronic restraint stress (CRS) followed by SNP administration (364 mg/mL) or directly treated with SNP (364 mg/mL). These two parallel experiments were performed to validate the effects of SNP on stress responses. Stress-related proteins and hormones were quantified using RT-qPCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunohistochemistry. Metagenomic sequencing was performed to confirm the influence of SNP on the gut microbiota in the tumor-bearing CRS mice. RESULTS: The distribution of the 12 active components of SNP was confirmed in various tissues and feces. Network pharmacology analysis confirmed the anti-HCC effects of the 5 active components. The potential anti-HCC mechanisms of SNP may involve the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src (SRC) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathways. SNP-containing serum inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 and Huh7 cells at concentrations of 2.5% and 5.0%, respectively, after 24 h of treatment. Furthermore, SNP suppressed tumor progression in tumor-bearing mice exposed to CRS. SNP treatment also downregulated the expressions of stress-related proteins and pro-inflammatory cytokines, primarily by modulating the gut microbiota. Specifically, the abundance of Alistipes and Prevotella, which belong to the phylum Bacteroidetes, increased in the SNP-treated group, whereas Lachnospira, in the phylum Firmicutes, decreased. CONCLUSION SNP can combat HCC by alleviating stress responses through the regulation of gut microbiota.
Animals ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Liver Neoplasms/microbiology* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/microbiology* ; Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Powders ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Mice ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Hep G2 Cells ; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2/genetics* ; Stress, Physiological/drug effects* ; Cell Movement/drug effects* ; Male ; Protein Interaction Maps/drug effects* ; Cell Survival/drug effects* ; Proto-Oncogene Mas

Ovarian tumor (OT) is the most lethal form of gynecologic malignancy, with minimal improvements in patient outcomes over the past several decades. Metastasis is the leading cause of ovarian cancer-related deaths, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Psychological stress is known to activate the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1), a factor associated with poor prognosis in OT patients. However, the precise mechanisms linking NR3C1 signaling and metastasis have yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that chronic restraint stress accelerates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis in OT through an NR3C1-dependent mechanism involving nuclear protein 1 (NUPR1). Mechanistically, NR3C1 directly regulates the transcription of NUPR1, which in turn increases the expression of snail family transcriptional repressor 2 (SNAI2), a key driver of EMT. Clinically, elevated NR3C1 positively correlates with NUPR1 expression in OT patients, and both are positively associated with poorer prognosis. Overall, our study identified the NR3C1/NUPR1 axis as a critical regulatory pathway in psychological stress-induced OT metastasis, suggesting a potential therapeutic target for intervention in OT metastasis.