OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of manual acupuncture manipulations (MAMs) on subcutaneous muscle tissue, by developing quantitative models of "lifting and thrusting" and "twisting and rotating", based on machine learning techniques. METHODS: A depth camera was used to capture the acupuncture operator's hand movements during "lifting and thrusting" and "twisting and rotating" of needle. Simultaneously, the ultrasound imaging was employed to record the muscle tissue responses of the participants. Amplitude and angular features were extracted from the movement data of operators, and muscle fascicle slope features were derived from the data of ultrasound images. The dynamic time warping barycenter averaging algorithm was adopted to align the dual-source data. Various machine learning techniques were applied to build quantitative models, and the performance of each model was compared. The most optimal model was further analyzed for its interpretability. RESULTS: Among the quantitative models built for the two types of MAMs, the random forest model demonstrated the best performance. For the quantitative model of the "lifting and thrusting" technique, the coefficient of determination (R²) was 0.825. For the "twisting and rotating" technique, R² reached 0.872. CONCLUSION Machine learning can be used to effectively develop the models and quantify the effects of MAMs on subcutaneous muscle tissue. It provides a new perspective to understand the mechanism of acupuncture therapy and lays a foundation for optimizing acupuncture technology and designing personalized treatment regimen in the future.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Machine Learning ; Male ; Adult ; Female ; Subcutaneous Tissue/diagnostic imaging* ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between fish consumption and stroke is inconsistent, and it is uncertain whether this association varies across predicted stroke risks. METHODS: A cohort study comprising 95,800 participants from the Prediction for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk in China project was conducted. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data on fish consumption. Participants were stratified into low- and moderate-to-high-risk categories based on their 10-year stroke risk prediction scores. Hazard ratios ( HRs) and 95% confidence intervals ( CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models and additive interaction by relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attributable proportion (AP), and synergy index (SI). RESULTS: During 703,869 person-years of follow-up, 2,773 incident stroke events were identified. Higher fish consumption was associated with a lower risk of stroke, particularly among moderate-to-high-risk individuals ( HR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.47-0.60) than among low-risk individuals ( HR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.49-0.85). A significant additive interaction between fish consumption and predicted stroke risk was observed (RERI = 4.08, 95% CI: 2.80-5.36; SI = 1.64, 95% CI: 1.42-1.89; AP = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.28-0.43). CONCLUSION Higher fish consumption was associated with a lower risk of stroke, and this beneficial association was more pronounced in individuals with moderate-to-high stroke risk.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Stroke/etiology* ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Incidence ; Aged ; Animals ; Fishes ; Risk Factors ; Diet ; Seafood ; Adult ; Cohort Studies

OBJECTIVE: To assess the independent and combined effects of air pollutants, meteorological factors, and greenspace exposure on new tuberculosis (TB) cases. METHODS: TB case data from Shanghai (2013-2018) were obtained from the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Environmental data on air pollutants, meteorological variables, and greenspace exposure were obtained from the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center. We employed a distributed-lag nonlinear model to assess the effects of these environmental factors on TB cases. RESULTS: Increased TB risk was linked to PM _2.5, PM ₁₀, and rainfall, whereas NO ₂, SO ₂, and air pressure were associated with a reduced risk. Specifically, the strongest cumulative effects occurred at various lags: PM _2.5 ( RR = 1.166, 95% CI: 1.026-1.325) at 0-19 weeks; PM ₁₀ ( RR = 1.167, 95% CI: 1.028-1.324) at 0-18 weeks; NO ₂ ( RR = 0.968, 95% CI: 0.938-0.999) at 0-1 weeks; SO ₂ ( RR = 0.945, 95% CI: 0.894-0.999) at 0-2 weeks; air pressure ( RR = 0.604, 95% CI: 0.447-0.816) at 0-8 weeks; and rainfall ( RR = 1.404, 95% CI: 1.076-1.833) at 0-22 weeks. Green space exposure did not significantly impact TB cases. Additionally, low temperatures amplified the effect of PM _2.5 on TB. CONCLUSION Exposure to PM _2.5, PM ₁₀, and rainfall increased the risk of TB, highlighting the need to address air pollutants for the prevention of TB in Shanghai.
China/epidemiology* ; Humans ; Air Pollutants/analysis* ; Tuberculosis/epidemiology* ; Incidence ; Meteorological Concepts ; Particulate Matter/adverse effects* ; Environmental Exposure ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Air Pollution ; Middle Aged

In prokaryotes like Escherichia coli (E. coli), transcription tends to be coupled with translation, which is usually manifested in the mutual regulation of transcription and translation such as transcription polarity, transcription attenuation and synchronization of transcription and translation rates. Indirect coupling and physical coupling are two different models of the coupling. Indirect coupling maintained by the alarmone (p)ppGpp may require the assistance of DksA and TufA proteins. Physical coupling could be divided into those mediated by NusG or RfaH factors and those induced via “collision” under non-factor condition. Changes in transcription or translation in response to pressure will lead to mutual transitions among several coupling modes. Coupling is necessary for normal gene expression, and its release will contribute to adverse events such as transcription termination, R-loop formation, conflict between replication and transcription and mRNA cleavage. The related technologies of structural biology have clearly demonstrated the structural details and characteristics of partial coupled expressomes. These technologies, combined with methods like multiomics analysis, will provide deeper insights into the coupling. Significantly, the study of the coupling may bring new ideas for development of the targeted antibiotics.

BACKGROUND:Superovulation is a common therapy in assisted reproductive technology.In clinical practice,some patients experience repeated superovulation to get pregnant. OBJECTIVE:To explore the effect of repeated superovulation on the developmental potential of oocytes in mice and humans. METHODS:Both animal experiments and retrospective clinical research were conducted.The animal study involved 90 SPF grade ICR 8-week-old female mice,who were randomly divided into three groups for 1,3,and 5 superovulations,respectively.The clinical study involved 306 patients who had undergone three consecutive in vitro fertilization cycles.The number of ovules obtained and embryonic development in different cycles were compared. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The animal study indicated that repeated superovulation did not affect the embryonic development or developmental speed of mouse embryos.Similarly,there was no significant difference in the mouse blastocyst apoptosis,DNA damage,or the formation of inner cell mass and trophectoderm(P>0.05).(2)The clinical study also revealed no significant differences in the number of retrieved oocytes(8.60±5.04,8.58±4.87,and 8.38±4.63,P=0.81)and transferable embryos(2.42±1.99,2.40±1.92,and 2.64±2.00,P=0.26)over the three cycles.(3)In both the young group(<35 years)and the old group(≥35 years),the embryo quality was not affected by repeated superovulation(P>0.05).(4)These findings show that repeated superovulation does not affect the developmental potential of oocytes in mice and humans.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the innovation and sustainable development ability of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) preparation in medical institutions, and to provide reference for the decision-making of administrative departments and the sustainable development of TCM preparation in hospitals. METHODS Based on the information data of 133 medical institutions in Zhejiang Province, analytic hierarchy process was used to construct the evaluation system of innovation and sustainable development ability of TCM preparation of medical institutions, and the prediction model of evaluation system of TCM preparation room/center was built by back propagation neural network. RESULTS The evaluation index system for innovation and sustainable development of TCM preparations in medical institutions included 4 second-level indexes and 19 third-level indexes. Among them, the number of varieties developed, the number of over one million varieties, the number of registered varieties, the way of research and development, and the area of preparation room had higher weight values, which were 0.15758, 0.12928,0.09343, 0.07879 and 0.07458, respectively. The entropy weight method and analytic hierarchy process index weights were used to construct the back propagation neural network. The overall correlation coefficients of the training models of the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm and the Scaled Conjugate Gradient algorithm were 0.98983 and 0.93480, respectively. CONCLUSION This study establishes a scientific and effective comprehensive evaluation system for the innovation and sustainable development ability of TCM preparations in medical institutions, which can realize the prediction and evaluation of the comprehensive ability of TCM preparations in medical institutions.

Objective To study the expression and clinical significance of neural Wiskott-Alrdich syndrome protein(N-WASP)in pla-centas with preeclampsia.Methods This study included a total of 65 pregnant women:15 in the early-onset preeclampsia group,15 in the early-onset control group,15 in the late-onset preeclampsia group,and 20 in the late-onset control group.Real-time fluorescence quan-titative PCR(RT-qPCR)was used to detect the relative expression of N-WASP mRNA in placental tissues.Western blotting and immu-nohistochemistry were used to detect the expression and position of N-WASP protein in placental tissues from each group.Results RT-qPCR revealed significantly lower N-WASP mRNA expression levels in the placental tissue of the early-onset preeclampsia group compared to those in the early-onset control group(0.50±0.19 vs.0.93±0.73,P＜0.05).The N-WASP mRNA expression levels in late-onset preeclampsia placenta were significantly lower than those in the late-onset control group(0.83±0.34 vs.1.15±0.34,P＜0.05).Western blotting revealed significantly lower N-WASP protein expression in the placental tissue of early-onset preeclampsia compared to that in the early-onset control group(0.35±0.17 vs.0.72±0.21,P＜0.05).The N-WASP protein expression in late-onset preeclampsia placenta was significantly lower than that in the late-onset control group(0.39±0.16 vs.0.76±0.20,P＜0.05).The N-WASP mRNA expression in the placenta negatively correlated with the occurrence of early-onset(r =-0.37,P = 0.042)and late-onset preeclampsia(r =-0.39,P = 0.019).Immunohistochemistry revealed that N-WASP protein was localized in the cytoplasm of syncytiotrophoblasts,cytotrophoblasts,villous stromal cells,and vascular endothelial cells.Conclusion The low expression of N-WASP may be closely associated with preeclampsia.

Objective:To investigate the associations of onset age, diabetes duration, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels with ischemic stroke risk in type 2 diabetes patients.Methods:The participants were from Comprehensive Research on the Prevention and Control of the Diabetes in Jiangsu Province. The study used data from baseline survey from December 2013 to January 2014 and follow-up until December 31, 2021. After excluding the participants who had been diagnosed with stroke at baseline survey and those with incomplete information on onset age, diabetes duration, and HbA1c level, a total of 17 576 type 2 diabetes patients were included. Cox proportional hazard model was used to calculate the hazard ratio ( HR) and 95% CI of onset age, diabetes duration, and HbA1c level for ischemic stroke. Results:During the median follow-up time of 8.02 years, 2 622 ischemic stroke cases were registered. Multivariate Cox proportional risk regression model showed that a 5-year increase in type 2 diabetes onset age was significantly associated with a 5% decreased risk for ischemic stroke ( HR=0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.99). A 5-year increase in diabetes duration was associated with a 5% increased risk for ischemic stroke ( HR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.02-1.10). Higher HbA1c (per 1 standard deviation increase: HR=1.17, 95% CI: 1.13-1.21) was associated with an increased risk for ischemic stroke. Conclusion:The earlier onset age of diabetes, longer diabetes duration, and high levels of HbA1c are associated with an increased risk for ischemic stroke in type 2 diabetes patients.

To investigate the associations of serum gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its subtypes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Jiangsu Province.Methods:The participants were enrolled in the Comprehensive Research project regarding 'Prevention and Control of Diabetes' in Jiangsu Province. The baseline survey was conducted from 2013 to 2014, and follow-up until December 31, 2021. After excluding the participants who self-reported with chronic liver disease/stroke/coronary heart disease at baseline survey and those with incomplete information on GGT, a total of 16 147 T2DM patients were included in the final analysis. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to calculate the hazard ratio ( HR) and their 95% CI of GGT for CVD, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Restricted cubic spline models were applied to analyze the dose-response relationship between GGT and the risk of CVD and its subtypes. Results:During the median follow-up time of 8.02 years, 2 860 CVD cases were registered, including 196 cases of myocardial infarction and 2 730 cases of stroke. Multivariate Cox proportional risk regression model indicated that compared to the lowest serum GGT level group, the highest GGT level group had a 24% increased risk of CVD ( HR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.09-1.41) and a 23% increased risk of stroke ( HR=1.23, 95% CI: 1.08-1.40). The restricted cubic spline model showed a nonlinear dose-response relationship between GGT and the risk of CVD, myocardial infarction, and stroke in T2DM patients. Conclusions:High levels of GGT may be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in T2DM patients, which needs further exploration and validation in future clinical practice.

Ferroptosis is a novel form of cell death discovered in recent years, characterized by iron-dependent cell death featuring the peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acid phospholipids. Recent studies have found that radiotherapy can induce ferroptosis in tumor cells through ionizing radiation, and the combination of radiotherapy with small molecule or nano-scale ferroptosis inducers can inhibit tumor growth and enhance radiosensitization. This review summarizes the mechanisms of ferroptosis and the pathways through which radiotherapy induces ferroptosis, and also explores the potential application prospects of small molecule drugs and nanomaterials in mediating ferroptosis for the radiosensitization of tumor treatment.