1.Influence evaluation of pharmaceutical quality control on medication therapy management services by the ECHO model
Kun LIU ; Huanhuan JIANG ; Yushuang LI ; Yan HUANG ; Qianying ZHANG ; Dong CHEN ; Xiulin GU ; Jinhui FENG ; Zijian WANG ; Yunfei CHEN ; Yajuan QI ; Yanlei GE ; Aishuang FU
China Pharmacy 2025;36(9):1123-1128
OBJECTIVE To evaluate the influence of pharmaceutical quality control on the efficiency and outcomes of standardized medication therapy management (MTM) services for patients with coronary heart disease by using Economic, Clinical and Humanistic Outcomes (ECHO) model. METHODS This study collected case data of coronary heart disease patients who received MTM services during January-March 2023 (pre-quality control implementation group, n=96) and June-August 2023 (post-quality control implementation group, n=164). Using propensity score matching analysis, 80 patients were selected from each group. The study subsequently compared the economic, clinical, and humanistic outcome indicators of pharmaceutical services between the two matched groups. RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences in baseline data between the two groups after matching (P>0.05). Compared with pre-quality control implementation group, the daily treatment cost (16.26 yuan vs. 24.40 yuan, P<0.001), cost-effectiveness ratio [23.12 yuan/quality-adjusted life year (QALY) vs. 32.32 yuan/QALY, P<0.001], and the incidence of general adverse drug reactions (2.50% vs. 10.00%, P=0.049) of post-quality control implementation group were decreased significantly; the utility value of the EuroQol Five-Dimensional Questionnaire (0.74± 0.06 vs. 0.71±0.07, P=0.003), the reduction in the number of medication related problems (1.0 vs. 0.5, P<0.001), the medication adherence score ([ 6.32±0.48) points vs. (6.10±0.37) points, P=0.001], and the satisfaction score ([ 92.56±1.52) points vs. (91.95±1.56) points, P=0.013] all showed significant improvements. Neither group experienced serious adverse drug reactions. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of new adverse reactions between the two groups (1.25% vs. 3.75%, P=0.310). CONCLUSIONS Pharmaceutical quality control can improve the quality of pharmaceutical care, and the ECHO model can quantitatively evaluate the effect of MTM services, making pharmaceutical care better priced and more adaptable to social needs, thus being worthy of promotion.
3.Artificial intelligence in prostate cancer.
Wei LI ; Ruoyu HU ; Quan ZHANG ; Zhangsheng YU ; Longxin DENG ; Xinhao ZHU ; Yujia XIA ; Zijian SONG ; Alessia CIMADAMORE ; Fei CHEN ; Antonio LOPEZ-BELTRAN ; Rodolfo MONTIRONI ; Liang CHENG ; Rui CHEN
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(15):1769-1782
Prostate cancer (PCa) ranks as the second most prevalent malignancy among men worldwide. Early diagnosis, personalized treatment, and prognosis prediction of PCa play a crucial role in improving patients' survival rates. The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly the utilization of deep learning (DL) algorithms, has brought about substantial progress in assisting the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis prediction of PCa. The introduction of the foundation model has revolutionized the application of AI in medical treatment and facilitated its integration into clinical practice. This review emphasizes the clinical application of AI in PCa by discussing recent advancements from both pathological and imaging perspectives. Furthermore, it explores the current challenges faced by AI in clinical applications while also considering future developments, aiming to provide a valuable point of reference for the integration of AI and clinical applications.
Humans
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Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnosis*
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Male
;
Artificial Intelligence
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Deep Learning
;
Prognosis
4.SMUG1 promoted the progression of pancreatic cancer via AKT signaling pathway through binding with FOXQ1.
Zijian WU ; Wei WANG ; Jie HUA ; Jingyao ZHANG ; Jiang LIU ; Si SHI ; Bo ZHANG ; Xiaohui WANG ; Xianjun YU ; Jin XU
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(20):2640-2656
BACKGROUND:
Pancreatic cancer is a lethal malignancy prone to gemcitabine resistance. The single-strand selective monofunctional uracil DNA glycosylase (SMUG1), which is responsible for initiating base excision repair, has been reported to predict the outcomes of different cancer types. However, the function of SMUG1 in pancreatic cancer is still unclear.
METHODS:
Gene and protein expression of SMUG1 as well as survival outcomes were assessed by bioinformatic analysis and verified in a cohort from Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. Subsequently, the effect of SMUG1 on proliferation, cell cycle, and migration abilities of SMUG1 cells were detected in vitro . DNA damage repair, apoptosis, and gemcitabine resistance were also tested. RNA sequencing was performed to determine the differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways, followed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting verification. The cancer-promoting effect of forkhead box Q1 (FOXQ1) and SMUG1 on the ubiquitylation of myelocytomatosis oncogene (c-Myc) was also evaluated. Finally, a xenograft model was established to verify the results.
RESULTS:
SMUG1 was highly expressed in pancreatic tumor tissues and cells, which also predicted a poor prognosis. Downregulation of SMUG1 inhibited the proliferation, G1 to S transition, migration, and DNA damage repair ability against gemcitabine in pancreatic cancer cells. SMUG1 exerted its function by binding with FOXQ1 to activate the Protein Kinase B (AKT)/p21 and p27 pathway. Moreover, SMUG1 also stabilized the c-Myc protein via AKT signaling in pancreatic cancer cells.
CONCLUSIONS
SMUG1 promotes proliferation, migration, gemcitabine resistance, and c-Myc protein stability in pancreatic cancer via protein kinase B signaling through binding with FOXQ1. Furthermore, SMUG1 may be a new potential prognostic and gemcitabine resistance predictor in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Humans
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Pancreatic Neoplasms/pathology*
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Forkhead Transcription Factors/genetics*
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Signal Transduction/genetics*
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Animals
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Cell Line, Tumor
;
Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism*
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Cell Proliferation/physiology*
;
Mice
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Uracil-DNA Glycosidase/genetics*
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Female
;
Male
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Gemcitabine
;
Mice, Nude
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Apoptosis/physiology*
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Deoxycytidine/analogs & derivatives*
;
Cell Movement/genetics*
5.Methods for enhancing image quality of soft tissue regions in synthetic CT based on cone-beam CT.
Ziwei FU ; Yechen ZHU ; Zijian ZHANG ; Xin GAO
Journal of Biomedical Engineering 2025;42(1):113-122
Synthetic CT (sCT) generated from CBCT has proven effective in artifact reduction and CT number correction, facilitating precise radiation dose calculation. However, the quality of different regions in sCT images is severely imbalanced, with soft tissue region exhibiting notably inferior quality compared to others. To address this imbalance, we proposed a Multi-Task Attention Network (MuTA-Net) based on VGG-16, specifically focusing the enhancement of image quality in soft tissue region of sCT. First, we introduced a multi-task learning strategy that divides the sCT generation task into three sub-tasks: global image generation, soft tissue region generation and bone region segmentation. This approach ensured the quality of overall sCT image while enhancing the network's focus on feature extraction and generation for soft tissues region. The result of bone region segmentation task guided the fusion of sub-tasks results. Then, we designed an attention module to further optimize feature extraction capabilities of the network. Finally, by employing a results fusion module, the results of three sub-tasks were integrated, generating a high-quality sCT image. Experimental results on head and neck CBCT demonstrated that the sCT images generated by the proposed MuTA-Net exhibited a 12.52% reduction in mean absolute error in soft tissue region, compared to the best performance among the three comparative methods, including ResNet, U-Net, and U-Net++. It can be seen that MuTA-Net is suitable for high-quality sCT image generation and has potential application value in the field of CBCT guided adaptive radiation therapy.
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography/methods*
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Humans
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Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods*
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Artifacts
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Algorithms
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Bone and Bones/diagnostic imaging*
;
Neural Networks, Computer
6.Research on hybrid brain-computer interface based on imperceptible visual and auditory stimulation responses.
Zexin PANG ; Yijun WANG ; Qingpeng DONG ; Zijian CHENG ; Zhaohui LI ; Ruoqing ZHANG ; Hongyan CUI ; Xiaogang CHEN
Journal of Biomedical Engineering 2025;42(4):660-667
In recent years, hybrid brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have gained significant attention due to their demonstrated advantages in increasing the number of targets and enhancing robustness of the systems. However, Existing studies usually construct BCI systems using intense auditory stimulation and strong central visual stimulation, which lead to poor user experience and indicate a need for improving system comfort. Studies have proved that the use of peripheral visual stimulation and lower intensity of auditory stimulation can effectively boost the user's comfort. Therefore, this study used high-frequency peripheral visual stimulation and 40-dB weak auditory stimulation to elicit steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) and auditory steady-state response (ASSR) signals, building a high-comfort hybrid BCI based on weak audio-visual evoked responses. This system coded 40 targets via 20 high-frequency visual stimulation frequencies and two auditory stimulation frequencies, improving the coding efficiency of BCI systems. Results showed that the hybrid system's averaged classification accuracy was (78.00 ± 12.18) %, and the information transfer rate (ITR) could reached 27.47 bits/min. This study offers new ideas for the design of hybrid BCI paradigm based on imperceptible stimulation.
Brain-Computer Interfaces
;
Humans
;
Evoked Potentials, Visual/physiology*
;
Acoustic Stimulation
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Photic Stimulation
;
Electroencephalography
;
Evoked Potentials, Auditory/physiology*
;
Adult
7.Effect of tourniquet on hidden blood loss and knee joint swelling in total knee arthroplasty
Xiuwei ZHANG ; Yinan LI ; Dacheng LIU ; Zijian SONG ; Qiang ZHANG ; Zhengdao LI
Journal of Navy Medicine 2025;46(1):77-82
Objective To investigate the effects of different use methods of tourniquet on hidden blood loss and knee joint swelling in total knee arthroplasty(TKA),and to explore its potential benefits for postoperative rehabilitation.Methods A prospective study was conducted from March 2018 to March 2023 in Xuzhou Municipal Hospital Affiliated to Xuzhou Medical University,involving 131 patients who underwent TKA.The patients were divided into three groups based on the method of tourniquet use:44 patients routinely used a tourniquet in group A,48 patients only used a tourniquet during the application of bone cement in group B,and 39 patients did not use tourniquet in group C.Operation time,dressing changes,intraoperative blood loss,total blood loss,explicit blood loss,hidden blood loss,percentage of hidden blood loss,postoperative blood transfusion,hemoglobin(Hb),hematocrit(HCT),C-reactive protein(CRP),and creatine kinase(CK)were compared among groups.The pain and functional recovery were evaluated by visual analogue scale(VAS)and knee society clinical rating system(KSS)before surgery,and 3 days,1 month,and 3 months after surgery.The degree of limb swelling and the range of motion of the knee were also compared among groups.Results Group A had shorter operation time and less frequency of postoperative dressing changes than the other two groups(P<0.05).The hidden blood loss and total blood loss in group A were significantly less than those in group C(P<0.05),and the hidden blood loss and total blood loss volume in the three groups from low to high was group A
8.Clinical value of the prognostic nutritional index in predicting the prognosis of patients with advanced liver cancer treated with transarterial chemoembolization combined with ablation therapy
Wenjing YANG ; Lingyi ZHU ; Chaoming HUANG ; Qi HUANG ; Zijian ZHU ; Yeyu ZHANG ; Shiji FANG ; Liyun ZHENG ; Zhongwei ZHAO ; Jiansong JI
Journal of Interventional Radiology 2025;34(5):512-517
Objective To assess the clinical value of prognostic nutritional index(PNI)in predicting the prognosis of patients with advanced liver cancer treated with transarterial chemoembolization(TACE)combined with ablation therapy.Methods A total of 112 patients with advanced liver cancer,who received TACE combined with ablation at the Lishui Municipal Central Hospital of China from January 2020 to January 2024,were enrolled in this study.The general data,survival status,and survival time were collected.The Youden index of PNI was calculated using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve model,and the optimal cutoff value was determined.Based on the optimal cutoff value,the patients were divided into low-PNI group and high-PNI group.The progression-free survival(PFS)and overall survival(OS)time were compared between the two groups,and the independent risk factors affecting PFS and OS were analyzed.Results The Youden index for PNI was 0.43,and the optimal cutoff value of PNI was 43.95.The low-PNI group included 65 patients,and the high-PNI group included 47 patients.There were no statistically significant differences in the baseline data between the two groups.The median PFS and the median OS in the high-PNI group were 13.21 months(95%CI=4.37-22.03)and 40.80 months(95%CI=31.55-50.05)respectively,which were longer than 9.20 months(95%CI=6.58-11.82)and 21.37 months(95%CI=16.56-26.17)respectively in the low-PNI group,the differences were statistically significant(both P<0.05).The 6-month,one-year and 2-year PFS in the high-PNI group was 56.95%,47.25%and 33.87%respectively,which were higher than 43.95%,32.56%and 16.31%respectively in the low-PNI group.The one-year,2-year and 3-year cumulative survival rates in the high-PNI group were 80.77%,66.66%and 39.40%respectively,which were higher than 63.79%,34.31%and 27.75%respectively in the low-PNI group.Multivariate regression analysis indicated that the number of nodules,metastasis and PNI significantly affected OS,and metastasis and PNI strikingly affected PFS.High PNI was a protective factor for both PFS and OS.Conclusion For patients with advanced liver cancer treated with TACE combined with ablation therapy,PNI is an effective indicator for predicting the prognosis.
9.The combination score of albumin-bilirubin index and alkaline phosphatase in predicting the prognosis of patients with cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt
Chaoning HUANG ; Lingyi ZHU ; Qi HUANG ; Zijian ZHU ; Fazong WU ; Yeyu ZHANG ; Yixiao JIANG ; Liyun ZHENG ; Zhongwei ZHAO ; Jiansong JI
Journal of Interventional Radiology 2025;34(6):584-589
Objective To evaluate the combination score of albumin-bilirubin index(ALBI)and alkaline phosphatase(ALP)in predicting the prognosis of patients with cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension after receiving transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt(TIPS).Methods A total of 61 patients with cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension,who received TIPS treatment at the Lishui Municipal Central Hospital of China from January 2016 to June 2024,were retrospectively collected.According to the Youden index of ALBI and ALP,the optimal cut-off values were calculated,and the patients were divided into low ALBI-low ALP group(0-point group),high ALBI-high ALP group(2-point group),and high ALBI-low ALP or low ALBI-high ALP group(one-point group).The efficacy of ALBI-ALP score in predicting the prognosis of patients was evaluated,and the survival rate and median survival time were compared between each other among the three groups.The independent risk factors affecting the survival time of patients were analyzed.Results The maximum Youden indexes of ALBI and ALP were 0.31 and 0.34 respectively,and the optimal cut-off values were-1.56 and 108.50 respectively.There were statistically significant differences in MELD score,Child-Pugh classification,and alanine aminotransferase level between each other among the three groups(all P<0.05).The area under the ROC curve(AUC)of ALBI-ALP score was 0.77(95% CI:0.66-0.89,P=0.000 2),which was better than 0.52 of the MELD score(95% CI:0.37-0.67,P=0.77)as well as better than 0.57 of the Child-Pugh classification(95% CI:0.43-0.72,P=0.34).The total mortality of patients was 49.18%.The mortality in the 0-point group was 11.11%(2/18),which was significantly lower than 59.46%(22/37)in the one-point group as well as than 100%(6/6)in the 2-point group,and the differences were statistically significant(x2=18.20,P<0.001).In the 0-point group,as a large number of patients were still alive at the end of the study,the median survival time was unable to be calculated.The median survival time in the one-point group was 38.00 months(95% CI:23.01-52.99 months),which in the 2-point group was only 1.00 month(95% CI=0.00-2.60 months),the difference was statistically significant(x2=33.08,P<0.000 1).In the 0-point group,one-point group and 2-point group,the one-year survival rates were 100%,66% and 17%respectively,the 2-year survival rates were 100%,64% and 17% respectively,and the 3-year survival rates were 90%,53% and 0% respectively.Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that the combination score of ALBI and ALP(HR=7.11,95% CI:2.95-17.15)was an independent risk factor for the survival time of patients with cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension after receiving TIPS.Conclusion The combination score of ALBI and ALP can effectively predict the prognosis of patients with cirrhosis complicated by portal hypertension after receiving TIPS,and this score is an independent risk factor affecting the survival time of patients.
10.Mechanism of Anemoside B4 on glutamine metabolism in oral lichen planus epithelial cells via the NOS3-DHFR axis
Min Li ; Menghua Yang ; Yi Gao ; Zijian Zhang ; Dan Jiang
Acta Universitatis Medicinalis Anhui 2025;60(11):2059-2068
Objective:
To investigate the mechanism of Anemoside B4 (AB4) on glutamine metabolism in oral li- chen planus (OLP) epithelial cells via the nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3)-dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) axis .
Methods:
Bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the intersection of molecular targets of OLP , AB4 , and genes related to glutamine metabolism . A lipopolysaccharide ( LPS)-induced HOK-16B model of OLP was estab- lished . HOK-16B were divided into Ctrl group , OLP group , AB4 group , OLP + oe-NOS3 group , OLP + sh-NOS3 group , OLP + sh-NOS3 + oe-DHFR group , and OLP + sh-NOS3 + AB4 group . Cell proliferation was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) ; cell apoptosis was detected by TdT-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling ( TUNEL) ; inflammatory factors iInterleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factors-α ( TNF-α) concentrations in cell supernatants were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits; glutamine uptake and glutamate produc- tion were determined using kits; and the protein expression of alanine-serine-cysteine transporter2 ( ASCT2) and glutamine synthase (GLS) was assessed by Western blot.
Results:
Bioinformatics analysis of molecular targets of OLP , AB4 , and genes related to glutamine metabolism revealed three intersection targets : NFE2L2 , NOS1 , and NOS3 . Compared with the Ctrl group , the OLP group exhibited decreased HOK-16B cell viability (P < 0. 001) , increased apoptosis rate (P < 0. 01) , upregulated concentrations of IL-1βand TNF-α(P < 0. 001) , elevated glu- tamine uptake and glutamate production (P < 0. 01) , and enhanced expression of ASCPT2 and GLS proteins (P < 0. 001) . Compared with the OLP group , the AB4 group showed improved cell viability (P < 0. 05) , reduced apop- tosis rate and release of IL-1βand TNF-α(P < 0. 05) , decreased glutamine uptake and glutamate production (P < 0. 05) , and downregulated expression of ASCPT2 and GLS proteins ( P < 0. 001) . Compared with the OLP group , the OLP + oe-NOS3 group had increased HOK-16B cell viability (P < 0. 01) , reduced apoptosis rate (P < 0. 05) , decreased concentrations of IL-1βand TNF-α(P < 0. 05) , lowered glutamine uptake and glutamate pro- duction (P < 0. 05) , and weakened expression of ASCPT2 and GLS proteins (P < 0. 01) ; whereas the OLP + sh- NOS3 group had decreased HOK-16B cell viability ( P < 0. 05) , increased apoptosis rate ( P < 0. 05) , elevated concentrations of IL-1βand TNF-α ( P < 0. 01 ) , increased glutamine uptake and glutamate production ( P < 0. 05) , and enhanced expression of ASCPT2 and GLS proteins (P < 0. 001) . Compared with the OLP + sh-NOS3 group , both the OLP + sh-NOS3 + oe-DHFR group and the OLP + sh-NOS3 + AB4 group showed increased HOK- 16B cell viability (P < 0. 001) , reduced apoptosis rate (P < 0. 05) , decreased concentrations of IL-1βand TNF-α (P < 0. 01) , lowered glutamine uptake and glutamate production ( P < 0. 05) , and weakened expression of AS- CPT2 and GLS proteins ( P < 0. 05) .
Conclusion
AB4 inhibits the progression of OLP by mediating glutamine metabolism via the regulation of the NOS3-DHFR axis .


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