1.Mechanism of action of D-limonene on steatosis in primary hepatocytes based on AMPK/ACC/CPT1A signaling pathway
Qian-jun REN ; Su LI ; Yu-qing CHEN ; Yin-ying LIAO ; Chun-ni LIANG ; Rui-chao FANG ; Xu-dong LIU ; Xiao-fang ZHAO
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(9):1665-1672
Aim To explore the effects of D-limonene on the steatosis of primary mouse hepatocytes and its potential mechanism of action.Methods Oleic acid-induced steatosis in primary mouse hepatocytes was used as a model to observe the effects of D-limonene on cell viability,cellular lipid content,and intracellular expression of proteins such as AMP-activated protein kinase(AMPK),acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase 1(ACC1),and carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1A(CPT1A).Results It was found that a low dose of D-limonene could effectively enhance the viability of primary mouse hepatocytes.When oleic acid at a con-centration of 300 μmol·L-1 successfully induced steatosis in primary mouse hepatocytes,D-limonene re-duced the lipid content of the cells,and D-limonene up-regulated the cellular AMPK expression level,down-regulated the cellular ACC1 and fatty acid synthetase(FAS)expression levels,which in turn promoted the overexpression of CPT1A.Conclusions D-limonene has the effect of reducing lipid deposition in primary mouse hepatocytes,and the mechanisms may be related to the activation of AMPK,the inhibitions of ACC1 and FAS,and the up-regulation of CPT1A protein expres-sion level.
2.Recent advances in osteoporosis in children and adolescents
Kangkang NI ; Dan DONG ; Guoqing LI ; Lianguo WU ; Bocheng LIANG ; Shaoning SHEN ; Jie LI ; Yawei XU ; Chao XU
Chinese Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism 2025;41(5):430-434
Osteoporosis is a systemic metabolic disease characterized by decreased bone mass, leading to an increased risk of fractures. Although osteoporosis in children and adolescents is rare, its incidence in younger populations is showing an increasingly notable trend. The diagnostic criteria for osteoporosis in children and adolescents include a bone mineral density(BMD) Z-score of≤-2.0 accompanied by a significant fracture history, defined as two or more long bone fractures before the age of 10, three or more long bone fractures before the age of 19, or the presence of low-energy vertebral compression fractures even in the absence of low BMD. The genetic causes and underlying mechanisms of pediatric osteoporosis remain largely unknown, requiring further research to elucidate the molecular pathways involved. Such advances could help reduce the disease′s impact on growth and development and improve the quality of life in affected children and adolescents.
3.Value of artificial intelligence in assisting ultrasound residents training for the identification,measurement and diagnosis of fetal nuchal translucency thickness
Liqun FENG ; Siying LIANG ; Rongbo LING ; Chengcheng WU ; Naimin SUN ; Chunya JI ; Yuanji ZHANG ; Xin YANG ; Dong NI ; Xuedong DENG ; Linliang YIN
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(7):579-585
Objective:To explore the clinical application value of artificial intelligence(AI)-assisted training in enhancing the accuracy of nuchal translucency(NT)identification,standardization of measurement,and diagnostic efficacy for abnormalities among ultrasound residents.Methods:A retrospective collection of 300 standard fetal NT ultrasound images was conducted at the Center for Medical Ultrasound,Suzhou Hospital Affiliated of Nanjing Medical University from January 2018 to June 2024. The AI model performed NT measurements and diagnoses once. Four sonographers of different seniority levels(including two resident physicians)independently conducted NT measurements and diagnoses twice. Prior to the experiment,the middle-age and resident sonographers had uniformly completed traditional theory training. Following the first independent measurements,the two resident sonographers received additional AI-assisted training,after which all 4 sonographers performed the second independent measurements. A fetal medicine expert evaluated blindly all the results and compared the differences in NT recognition accuracy,measurement standard rate and diagnosis accuracy between the middle-age sonographer(traditional training only)and two resident sonographers(traditional + AI-assisted training).Results:For the middle-aged sonographer who only received traditional lecture-based training,the accuracy of NT recognition,standardization rate of measurement,or diagnostic accuracy were not significantly improved befroe and after the training,and the diffrence was not statistically significant( χ2=0.189,1.887,0.326;all P>0.05). In contrast,the second-year resident(Resident 2)and first-year resident(Resident 1),who received both traditional lecture-based training and AI training,demonstrated some improvements in the accuracy of NT measurement site recognition,though the differences were not statistically significant( χ2=1.301,2.418;all P>0.05). However,both residents did significant improvements in the standardization rate of NT measurement( χ2=25.768,17.035;all P<0.05). In terms of diagnostic accuracy,Resident 1 did significant improvement( χ2=10.180, P<0.05),while Resident 2 also did some improvement,though the difference was not statistically significant( χ2=2.573, P>0.05). Conclusions:The AI-assisted training system enhances the ability of ultrasound resident sonographers to recognize,measure,and diagnose NT,providing a novel and efficient training model for standardized residency training in ultrasound specialties.
4.Study on artificial intelligence-based ultrasound diagnosis and auxiliary decision-making for ovarian tumors
Chunli QIU ; Yanlin CHEN ; Yuanji ZHANG ; Haotian LIN ; Xiaoyi PAN ; Siying LIANG ; Xiang CONG ; Xin LIU ; Zhen MA ; Cai ZANG ; Xin YANG ; Dong NI ; Guowei TAO
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(7):608-615
Objective:To apply artificial intelligence(AI)in classifying ovarian tumors on ultrasound images,and compare the diagnostic results of several sonographers with varying seniority levels.Methods:A total of 645 patients diagnosed with adnexal masses via gynecological ultrasound examination at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from January 2021 to December 2024 were enrolled. Three deep learning architectures,i.e.,Alexnet,Densenet121,and Resnet50 were developed and used to internally test the classification effectiveness of ovarian tumors,while the optimal model was selected for external testing. Two junior sonographers and two senior sonographers were recruited to independently diagnose ovarian tumors in the external test dataset. Subsequently,the benign and malignant results of the model's predictions were disclosed to each sonographer,and their revised diagnoses on the same external test data in combination with the best AI model were recorded.Results:The optimal model achieved an accuracy of 0.941,sensitivity of 0.936,and specificity of 0.944 on the internal test dataset,and maintained robust performance on the external test dataset with accuracy of 0.891,sensitivity of 0.880,and specificity of 0.907. Compared to junior sonographers,the optimal model demonstrated significantly higher sensitivity in discriminating benign from malignant ovarian tumors(0.880 vs. 0.723,0.602;all P<0.05). No statistically significant difference was observed in diagnostic accuracy between the optimal model and senior sonographer 1( P=0.05). With assistance from the optimal model,junior sonographers achieved significant improvements in both sensitivity and specificity(sensitivity:0.723 vs. 0.843,0.602 vs. 0.819;specificity:0.778 vs. 0.833,0.685 vs. 0.741;all P<0.05). Conclusions:The optimal model achieves comparable performance to that of senior sonographers in ovarian tumor classification. With model assistance,the diagnostic performance of junior sonographers is significantly improved.
5.Mechanism of action of D-limonene on steatosis in primary hepatocytes based on AMPK/ACC/CPT1A signaling pathway
Qian-jun REN ; Su LI ; Yu-qing CHEN ; Yin-ying LIAO ; Chun-ni LIANG ; Rui-chao FANG ; Xu-dong LIU ; Xiao-fang ZHAO
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(9):1665-1672
Aim To explore the effects of D-limonene on the steatosis of primary mouse hepatocytes and its potential mechanism of action.Methods Oleic acid-induced steatosis in primary mouse hepatocytes was used as a model to observe the effects of D-limonene on cell viability,cellular lipid content,and intracellular expression of proteins such as AMP-activated protein kinase(AMPK),acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase 1(ACC1),and carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1A(CPT1A).Results It was found that a low dose of D-limonene could effectively enhance the viability of primary mouse hepatocytes.When oleic acid at a con-centration of 300 μmol·L-1 successfully induced steatosis in primary mouse hepatocytes,D-limonene re-duced the lipid content of the cells,and D-limonene up-regulated the cellular AMPK expression level,down-regulated the cellular ACC1 and fatty acid synthetase(FAS)expression levels,which in turn promoted the overexpression of CPT1A.Conclusions D-limonene has the effect of reducing lipid deposition in primary mouse hepatocytes,and the mechanisms may be related to the activation of AMPK,the inhibitions of ACC1 and FAS,and the up-regulation of CPT1A protein expres-sion level.
6.Recent advances in osteoporosis in children and adolescents
Kangkang NI ; Dan DONG ; Guoqing LI ; Lianguo WU ; Bocheng LIANG ; Shaoning SHEN ; Jie LI ; Yawei XU ; Chao XU
Chinese Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism 2025;41(5):430-434
Osteoporosis is a systemic metabolic disease characterized by decreased bone mass, leading to an increased risk of fractures. Although osteoporosis in children and adolescents is rare, its incidence in younger populations is showing an increasingly notable trend. The diagnostic criteria for osteoporosis in children and adolescents include a bone mineral density(BMD) Z-score of≤-2.0 accompanied by a significant fracture history, defined as two or more long bone fractures before the age of 10, three or more long bone fractures before the age of 19, or the presence of low-energy vertebral compression fractures even in the absence of low BMD. The genetic causes and underlying mechanisms of pediatric osteoporosis remain largely unknown, requiring further research to elucidate the molecular pathways involved. Such advances could help reduce the disease′s impact on growth and development and improve the quality of life in affected children and adolescents.
7.Value of artificial intelligence in assisting ultrasound residents training for the identification,measurement and diagnosis of fetal nuchal translucency thickness
Liqun FENG ; Siying LIANG ; Rongbo LING ; Chengcheng WU ; Naimin SUN ; Chunya JI ; Yuanji ZHANG ; Xin YANG ; Dong NI ; Xuedong DENG ; Linliang YIN
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(7):579-585
Objective:To explore the clinical application value of artificial intelligence(AI)-assisted training in enhancing the accuracy of nuchal translucency(NT)identification,standardization of measurement,and diagnostic efficacy for abnormalities among ultrasound residents.Methods:A retrospective collection of 300 standard fetal NT ultrasound images was conducted at the Center for Medical Ultrasound,Suzhou Hospital Affiliated of Nanjing Medical University from January 2018 to June 2024. The AI model performed NT measurements and diagnoses once. Four sonographers of different seniority levels(including two resident physicians)independently conducted NT measurements and diagnoses twice. Prior to the experiment,the middle-age and resident sonographers had uniformly completed traditional theory training. Following the first independent measurements,the two resident sonographers received additional AI-assisted training,after which all 4 sonographers performed the second independent measurements. A fetal medicine expert evaluated blindly all the results and compared the differences in NT recognition accuracy,measurement standard rate and diagnosis accuracy between the middle-age sonographer(traditional training only)and two resident sonographers(traditional + AI-assisted training).Results:For the middle-aged sonographer who only received traditional lecture-based training,the accuracy of NT recognition,standardization rate of measurement,or diagnostic accuracy were not significantly improved befroe and after the training,and the diffrence was not statistically significant( χ2=0.189,1.887,0.326;all P>0.05). In contrast,the second-year resident(Resident 2)and first-year resident(Resident 1),who received both traditional lecture-based training and AI training,demonstrated some improvements in the accuracy of NT measurement site recognition,though the differences were not statistically significant( χ2=1.301,2.418;all P>0.05). However,both residents did significant improvements in the standardization rate of NT measurement( χ2=25.768,17.035;all P<0.05). In terms of diagnostic accuracy,Resident 1 did significant improvement( χ2=10.180, P<0.05),while Resident 2 also did some improvement,though the difference was not statistically significant( χ2=2.573, P>0.05). Conclusions:The AI-assisted training system enhances the ability of ultrasound resident sonographers to recognize,measure,and diagnose NT,providing a novel and efficient training model for standardized residency training in ultrasound specialties.
8.Study on artificial intelligence-based ultrasound diagnosis and auxiliary decision-making for ovarian tumors
Chunli QIU ; Yanlin CHEN ; Yuanji ZHANG ; Haotian LIN ; Xiaoyi PAN ; Siying LIANG ; Xiang CONG ; Xin LIU ; Zhen MA ; Cai ZANG ; Xin YANG ; Dong NI ; Guowei TAO
Chinese Journal of Ultrasonography 2025;34(7):608-615
Objective:To apply artificial intelligence(AI)in classifying ovarian tumors on ultrasound images,and compare the diagnostic results of several sonographers with varying seniority levels.Methods:A total of 645 patients diagnosed with adnexal masses via gynecological ultrasound examination at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from January 2021 to December 2024 were enrolled. Three deep learning architectures,i.e.,Alexnet,Densenet121,and Resnet50 were developed and used to internally test the classification effectiveness of ovarian tumors,while the optimal model was selected for external testing. Two junior sonographers and two senior sonographers were recruited to independently diagnose ovarian tumors in the external test dataset. Subsequently,the benign and malignant results of the model's predictions were disclosed to each sonographer,and their revised diagnoses on the same external test data in combination with the best AI model were recorded.Results:The optimal model achieved an accuracy of 0.941,sensitivity of 0.936,and specificity of 0.944 on the internal test dataset,and maintained robust performance on the external test dataset with accuracy of 0.891,sensitivity of 0.880,and specificity of 0.907. Compared to junior sonographers,the optimal model demonstrated significantly higher sensitivity in discriminating benign from malignant ovarian tumors(0.880 vs. 0.723,0.602;all P<0.05). No statistically significant difference was observed in diagnostic accuracy between the optimal model and senior sonographer 1( P=0.05). With assistance from the optimal model,junior sonographers achieved significant improvements in both sensitivity and specificity(sensitivity:0.723 vs. 0.843,0.602 vs. 0.819;specificity:0.778 vs. 0.833,0.685 vs. 0.741;all P<0.05). Conclusions:The optimal model achieves comparable performance to that of senior sonographers in ovarian tumor classification. With model assistance,the diagnostic performance of junior sonographers is significantly improved.
9.Enzalutamide and olaparib synergistically suppress castration-resistant prostate cancer progression by promoting apoptosis through inhibiting nonhomologous end joining pathway.
Hui-Yu DONG ; Pan ZANG ; Mei-Ling BAO ; Tian-Ren ZHOU ; Chen-Bo NI ; Lei DING ; Xu-Song ZHAO ; Jie LI ; Chao LIANG
Asian Journal of Andrology 2023;25(6):687-694
Recent studies revealed the relationship among homologous recombination repair (HRR), androgen receptor (AR), and poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP); however, the synergy between anti-androgen enzalutamide (ENZ) and PARP inhibitor olaparib (OLA) remains unclear. Here, we showed that the synergistic effect of ENZ and OLA significantly reduced proliferation and induced apoptosis in AR-positive prostate cancer cell lines. Next-generation sequencing followed by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses revealed the significant effects of ENZ plus OLA on nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) and apoptosis pathways. ENZ combined with OLA synergistically inhibited the NHEJ pathway by repressing DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) and X-ray repair cross complementing 4 (XRCC4). Moreover, our data showed that ENZ could enhance the response of prostate cancer cells to the combination therapy by reversing the anti-apoptotic effect of OLA through the downregulation of anti-apoptotic gene insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor ( IGF1R ) and the upregulation of pro-apoptotic gene death-associated protein kinase 1 ( DAPK1 ). Collectively, our results suggested that ENZ combined with OLA can promote prostate cancer cell apoptosis by multiple pathways other than inducing HRR defects, providing evidence for the combined use of ENZ and OLA in prostate cancer regardless of HRR gene mutation status.
Male
;
Humans
;
Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant/genetics*
;
Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/genetics*
;
Cell Line, Tumor
;
Receptors, Androgen/genetics*
;
Nitriles
;
Apoptosis
10.Clinical treatment outcomes and their changes in extremely preterm twins: a multicenter retrospective study in Guangdong Province, China.
Bi-Jun SHI ; Ying LI ; Fan WU ; Zhou-Shan FENG ; Qi-Liang CUI ; Chuan-Zhong YANG ; Xiao-Tong YE ; Yi-Heng DAI ; Wei-Yi LIANG ; Xiu-Zhen YE ; Jing MO ; Lu DING ; Ben-Qing WU ; Hong-Xiang CHEN ; Chi-Wang LI ; Zhe ZHANG ; Xiao RONG ; Wei SHEN ; Wei-Min HUANG ; Bing-Yan YANG ; Jun-Feng LYU ; Hui-Wen HUANG ; Le-Ying HUO ; Hong-Ping RAO ; Wen-Kang YAN ; Xue-Jun REN ; Yong YANG ; Fang-Fang WANG ; Dong LIU ; Shi-Guang DIAO ; Xiao-Yan LIU ; Qiong MENG ; Yu WANG ; Bin WANG ; Li-Juan ZHANG ; Yu-Ge HUANG ; Dang AO ; Wei-Zhong LI ; Jie-Ling CHEN ; Yan-Ling CHEN ; Wei LI ; Zhi-Feng CHEN ; Yue-Qin DING ; Xiao-Yu LI ; Yue-Fang HUANG ; Ni-Yang LIN ; Yang-Fan CAI ; Sha-Sha HAN ; Ya JIN ; Guo-Sheng LIU ; Zhong-He WAN ; Yi BAN ; Bo BAI ; Guang-Hong LI ; Yue-Xiu YAN
Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics 2022;24(1):33-40
OBJECTIVES:
To investigate the clinical treatment outcomes and the changes of the outcomes over time in extremely preterm twins in Guangdong Province, China.
METHODS:
A retrospective analysis was performed for 269 pairs of extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks who were admitted to the department of neonatology in 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province from January 2008 to December 2017. According to the admission time, they were divided into two groups: 2008-2012 and 2013-2017. Besides, each pair of twins was divided into the heavier infant and the lighter infant subgroups according to birth weight. The perinatal data of mothers and hospitalization data of neonates were collected. The survival rate of twins and the incidence rate of complications were compared between the 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 groups.
RESULTS:
Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of severe asphyxia and smaller head circumference at birth (P<0.05). The mortality rates of both of the twins, the heavier infant of the twins, and the lighter infant of the twins were lower in the 2013-2017 group compared with the 2008-2012 group (P<0.05). Compared with the 2008-2012 group, the 2013-2017 group (both the heavier infant and lighter infant subgroups) had lower incidence rates of pulmonary hemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage (P-IVH), and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) and a higher incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS
There is a significant increase in the survival rate over time in extremely preterm twins with a gestational age of <28 weeks in the 26 grade A tertiary hospitals in Guangdong Province. The incidences of severe asphyxia, pulmonary hemorrhage, PDA, P-IVH, and NRDS decrease in both the heavier and lighter infants of the twins, but the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia increases. With the improvement of diagnosis and treatment, the multidisciplinary collaboration between different fields of fetal medicine including prenatal diagnosis, obstetrics, and neonatology is needed in the future to jointly develop management strategies for twin pregnancy.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia/epidemiology*
;
Female
;
Gestational Age
;
Humans
;
Infant
;
Infant, Extremely Premature
;
Infant, Newborn
;
Pregnancy
;
Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn/epidemiology*
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Treatment Outcome

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