Driven by the growing practical need to accelerate drug development and the continuous innovation of trial design in recent years， the number of protocol amendments during clinical trials have gradually increased， and the changed contents have become more flexible and complex， which significantly heightens the difficulty of ethical review on amendments. Against this backdrop， it is of great importance to fully leverage the role and responsibilities of ethics committees， effectively control clinical trial risks， and ensure subject safety. This paper analyzed development trends of protocol amendments in recent years， sorted out requirements for protocol amendments in Chinese regulations and guiding principles， and examined difficulties of amendment ethical review in practical work. Based on these， targeted strategies and recommendations were proposed， namely， strengthening the integration with scientific review， enhancing the formal review， adjusting the scope of review according to approval notifications， and adopting appropriate review methods， with a view to providing insights and references for the management of the amendment ethical review in drug clinical trials.

The surgical management of empyema (excluding those caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis and non-tuberculous mycobacteria) is rapidly evolving towards minimally invasive, precise, and stepwise approaches. The traditional three-stage classification (exudative, fibrinopurulent, and organizing) has limitations in guiding dynamic clinical decision-making. For the first time, this consensus explicitly identifies two critical junctures in the pathological progression of empyema: "early transformation" (stage Ⅰ to Ⅱ) and "late transformation" (stage Ⅱ to Ⅲ), and thereby constructs a corresponding "identification-early warning-intervention" stepwise therapeutic framework. The consensus emphasizes that proactive debridement via video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery should be performed during the early transformation phase to halt disease progression. Conversely, during the late transformation phase, therapeutic goals should be rationally adjusted to prioritize adequate drainage, avoiding futile pleural decortication. Moreover, the consensus underscores the pivotal role of precise perioperative etiological diagnosis (e.g. metagenomic nest-generation sequencing) and standardized anti-infective therapy. Integrating practical experiences from multiple thoracic surgery centers in China and relevant evidence-based literature, this consensus formulates recommendations on the precise definitions of staging, surgical indications for each phase, key technical points, perioperative management, and training systems. It aims to promote the standardized and individualized surgical management of empyema, ultimately optimizing patient prognosis.

Biomolecular condensates are formed through phase separation of biomacromolecules such as proteins and RNAs. These condensates exhibit liquid-like properties that can futher transition into more stable material states. They form complex internal structures via multivalent weak interactions, enabling precise spatiotemporal regulations. However, the use of inconsistent and non-standardized terminology has become increasingly problematic, hindering academic exchange and the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the terminology related to biomolecular condensates in order to clarify concepts, promote interdisciplinary cooperation, enhance research efficiency, and support the healthy development of this field.

Objective: To investigate the mental health status and related factors among primary and secondary school students in western Yunnan Province, so ao to provide scientific evidences for advancing mental health education. Methods: In June 2024, a stratified cluster sampling method was employed to select 4 584 students from 18 schools across Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Lincang City and Baoshan City three regions in western Yunnan Province. The Mental Health Test (MHT) was used for assessment. Latent class analysis (LCA) and Logistic regression were applied for data classification and related factor analysis respectively. Results: The overall positive detection rate of MHT was 11.81%, with a mean total score of 40.50±19.25. The predominant issues were learning anxiety (58.4%), hypersensitivity tendency (31.1%), and self blame tendency (23.1%). LCA categorized students into four groups:severe psychological problems group (74.4% detection rate), learning anxiety hypersensitivity group ( 16.4 %), learning anxiety physical symptoms group (9.2%), and healthy group (0). Logistic regression revealed that compared with the healthy group, the severe problems group showed higher risks among females ( OR =3.01), junior/senior high school students ( OR =1.88/4.02), and those with authoritarian parenting ( OR =3.54); the anxiety hypersensitivity group had higher risks for females ( OR =1.87), senior high students ( OR =1.54), boarders ( OR =1.31), and authoritarian parenting recipients ( OR = 1.85 ); the anxiety physical symptoms group demonstrated increased risks among females ( OR =2.22), senior high students ( OR =2.58), and authoritarian parenting recipients ( OR =2.74), while lower risks were observed for students with parent/grandparent guardians ( OR =0.38) and non only children ( OR =0.58) (all P <0.05). Conclusions Mental health problems are prominent among students in western Yunnan, with gender, grade level, boarding status, guardian type, and parenting style being key determinants. Recommendations include strengthening mental health education, prioritizing left behind children s psychological well being and promoting healthy development.

ObjectiveBased on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we investigated the brain activity characteristics of gross motor tasks in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and motor dysfunctions (MDs) to provide a theoretical basis for further understanding the mechanism of MDs in children with ASD and designing targeted intervention programs from a central perspective. MethodsAccording to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 48 children with ASD accompanied by MDs were recruited into the ASD group and 40 children with typically developing (TD) into the TD group. The fNIRS device was used to collect the information of blood oxygen changes in the cortical motor-related brain regions during single-handed bag throwing and tiptoe walking, and the differences in brain activation and functional connectivity between the two groups of children were analyzed from the perspective of brain activation and functional connectivity. ResultsCompared to the TD group, in the object manipulative motor task (one-handed bag throwing), the ASD group showed significantly reduced activation in both left sensorimotor cortex (SMC) and right secondary visual cortex (V2) (P<0.05), whereas the right pre-motor and supplementary motor cortex (PMC&SMA) had significantly higher activation (P<0.01) and showed bilateral brain region activity; in terms of brain functional integration, there was a significant decrease in the strength of brain functional connectivity (P<0.05) and was mainly associated with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and V2. In the body stability motor task (tiptoe walking), the ASD group had significantly higher activation in motor-related brain regions such as the DLPFC, SMC, and PMC&SMA (P<0.05) and showed bilateral brain region activity; in terms of brain functional integration, the ASD group had lower strength of brain functional connectivity (P<0.05) and was mainly associated with PMC&SMA and V2. ConclusionChildren with ASD exhibit abnormal brain functional activity characteristics specific to different gross motor tasks in object manipulative and body stability, reflecting insufficient or excessive compensatory activation of local brain regions and impaired cross-regions integration, which may be a potential reason for the poorer gross motor performance of children with ASD, and meanwhile provides data support for further unraveling the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of MDs in the context of ASD and designing targeted intervention programs from a central perspective.

Intraoperative cell salvage (IOCS) has been widely applied as an important blood conservation measure in surgical operations. However, there is currently a lack of clinical practice guidelines for the implementation of IOCS in patients with malignant tumors. This report aims to provide clinicians with recommendations on the use of IOCS in patients with malignant tumors based on the review and assessment of the existed evidence. Data were derived from databases such as PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and Wanfang. The guideline development team formulated recommendations based on the quality of evidence, balance of benefits and harms, patient preferences, and health economic assessments. This study constructed seven major clinical questions. The main conclusions of this guideline are as follows: 1) Compared with no perioperative allogeneic blood transfusion (NPABT), perioperative allogeneic blood transfusion (PABT) leads to a more unfavorable prognosis in cancer patients (Recommended); 2) Compared with the transfusion of allogeneic blood or no transfusion, IOCS does not lead to a more unfavorable prognosis in cancer patients (Recommended); 3) The implementation of IOCS in cancer patients is economically feasible (Recommended); 4) Leukocyte depletion filters (LDF) should be used when implementing IOCS in cancer patients (Strongly Recommended); 5) Irradiation treatment of autologous blood to be reinfused can be used when implementing IOCS in cancer patients (Recommended); 6) A careful assessment of the condition of cancer patients (meeting indications and excluding contraindications) should be conducted before implementing IOCS (Strongly Recommended); 7) Informed consent from cancer patients should be obtained when implementing IOCS, with a thorough pre-assessment of the patient's condition and the likelihood of blood loss, adherence to standardized internally audited management procedures, meeting corresponding conditions, and obtaining corresponding qualifications (Recommended). In brief, current evidence indicates that IOCS can be implemented for some malignant tumor patients who need allogeneic blood transfusion after physician full evaluation, and LDF or irradiation should be used during the implementation process.

In order to explore the role of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3)in the infection process of porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus(PHEV),Western blot,qRT-PCR and indirect immunofluorescence experiments were used to detect the phosphoryla-tion level and subcellular localization changes of STAT3 after PHEV infection.The replication of PHEV were examined in cells with STAT3 knockdown or overexpression,respectively.The results showed the phosphorylation level of STAT3 at tyrosine 705 was significantly increased after PHEV infection,and the expression of STAT3 in the nucleus increased.In addition,STAT3 knock-down in cells can significantly inhibit PHEV replication.The above results further reveal the path-ogenic mechanism of PHEV and provide a theoretical basis for the research of anti-PHEV drugs.

Objective:Middle ear cholesteatoma is a common otolaryngological disease, and traditional diagnostic methods have certain limitations. This study aims to construct a computer-aided diagnosis model for middle ear cholesteatoma based on integrated convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to improve diagnostic accuracy and efficiency.Methods:Firstly, Data were collected from patients who visited the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the First People′s Hospital of Yinchuan between January 2020 and December 2021. 8 000 temporal bone CT images were collected, including 5 000 images diagnosed pathologically as middle ear cholesteatoma and 3 000 normal images. A five-fold cross-validation method was used to divide the dataset into training and testing sets. Next, a transfer learning approach was used to initialize model parameters, and the AlexNet, GoogleNet, and ResNet networks were pre-trained to extract deep features from the images. Then, the Softmax classification algorithm was applied to classify the features, resulting in three independent classifiers. These classifiers were combined using an ensemble learning method with a weighted voting approach to obtain the final diagnostic results. Finally, the model was evaluated by comparing the ensemble classifier with individual classifiers to assess its accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic time, and a comparison with low-mid-and high-experience physician groups was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the model′s diagnostic performance.Results:The experimental results showed that the model achieved an accuracy of 88.8%(178/200), precision of 92.9%,(112/120) sensitivity of 89.8%(108/120), and specificity of 88.1%(70/80). The average diagnostic time for individual patient temporal bone CT images was reduced to 2-3 seconds. Compared to the diagnostic results from low-mid-and high-experience physician groups, the model demonstrated significant advantages and effectively assisted clinicians in making rapid and accurate middle ear cholesteatoma diagnoses.Conclusion:The proposed middle ear cholesteatoma diagnostic model based on integrated convolutional neural networks exhibits high recognition accuracy and rapid diagnostic speed, significantly improving clinical diagnostic efficiency, especially in early screening and auxiliary diagnosis, making it of considerable value in clinical practice.

Objective To investigate the mechanism by which angiotensin Ⅱ type 1 receptor autoantibody(AT1-AA)promotes phenotypic switch of vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs)and vascular fibrosis through abnormal expression of circadian clock protein BMAL1.Methods Twelve male SD rats(6～8 weeks old,weighing 180～220 g)were randomly divided into(n=6)a control group and an AT1-AA-positive group[established by active immunization of SD rats with AT1R extracellular loop Ⅱ peptide(AT1R-ECLⅡ)].HE and Masson stainings were used to observe structural changes and fibrosis in the thoracic aorta(n=3).Western blotting was performed to detect the expression of Collagen I,phenotypic switch-related proteins(SM22,α-SMA,OPN and MMP2)in vascular tissues and primary VSMCs(n=4),as well as the expression of BMAL1 at CT0,CT4,CT8,CT12,CT16,and CT20.Transwell and scratch assays were used to assess the proliferation and migration of VSMCs(n=3).si-RNA was employed to knock down Bmal1,followed by detection of BMAL1,Collagen I,and phenotypic conversion-related protein expression(n=3).Additionally,AT1-AA-positive AT1R-knockout(AT1R-KO)rats were constructed to measure BMAL1 expression in thoracic aortic tissues(n=4).Results The AT1-AA-positive rats had significantly thickened thoracic aortic vessel wall[(140±9)%vs(120±5)%,P<0.05],badly arranged VSMCs,obvious blue Masson staining,and up-regulated Collagen I expression(P<0.05).In the thoracic aorta of AT1-AA-positive rats and AT1-AA-treated VSMCs,the expression of contractile phenotype-related proteins(α-SMA,SM22)was decreased(P<0.05),while the expression of synthetic phenotype-related proteins(OPN,MMP2)was increased(P<0.05).AT1-AA enhanced the scratch healing ability and migration ability of VSMCs.Furthermore,both mRNA and protein levels of Bmal1 were significantly up-regulated at CT12(P<0.05),and the rhythmicity of Bmal1 was lost.Knockdown of Bmal1 partially ameliorated AT1-AA-induced phenotypic switch of VSMCs.Compared with AT1-AA-positive WT rats,AT1-AA-positive AT1R-KO rats showed significantly reduced BMAL1 expression in the thoracic aorta(1.35±0.06 vs 0.86±0.07,P<0.001).At the cellular level,AT1-AA-induced phenotypic switch and high Collagen I expression in VSMCs were partially improved in AT1R-KO VSMCs.Conclusion AT1-AA promotes VSMCs phenotypic conversion and vascular fibrosis through the AT1R-Bmal1 axis.

OBJECTIVE: Acupuncture therapies are known for their effectiveness in treating a variety of gastric diseases, although the mechanisms underlying these effects are not fully understood. This study tested the effectiveness of electroacupuncture (EA) at acupoints Zhongwan (RN12) and Weishu (BL21) for managing gastric motility disorder (GMD) and investigated the underlying mechanisms involved. METHODS: A GMD model was used to evaluate the impact of EA on various aspects of gastric function including the amplitude of gastric motility, electrogastrogram, food intake, and the rate of gastric emptying. Immunofluorescence techniques were used to explore the activation of spinal neurons by EA, specifically examining the presence of cholera toxin B subunit (CTB)-positive neurons and fibers emanating from acupoints RN12 and BL21. The stimulation of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic neurons in the spinal dorsal horn, the inhibition of sympathetic preganglionic neurons in the spinal lateral horn, and their collective effects on the activity of sympathetic nerves were examined. RESULTS: EA at RN12 and BL21 significantly improved gastric motility compromised by GMD. Notably, EA activated spinal neurons, with CTB-positive neurons and fibers from RN12 and BL21 being detectable in both the dorsal root ganglia and the spinal dorsal horn. Further analysis revealed that EA at these acupoints not only stimulated GABAergic neurons in the spinal dorsal horn but also suppressed sympathetic preganglionic neurons in the spinal lateral horn, effectively reducing excessive activity of sympathetic nerves triggered by GMD. CONCLUSION EA treatment at RN12 and BL21 effectively enhances gastric motility in a GMD model. The therapeutic efficacy of this approach is attributed to the activation of spinal neurons and the modulation of the spinal GABAergic-sympathetic pathway, providing a neurobiological foundation for the role of acupuncture in treating gastric disorders. Please cite this article as: Zhang MT, Liang YF, Dai Q, Gao HR, Wang H, Chen L, Huang S, Wang XY, Shen GM. A spinal neural circuit for electroacupuncture that regulates gastric functional disorders. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(1): 56-65.
Electroacupuncture ; Animals ; Male ; Acupuncture Points ; Stomach Diseases/physiopathology* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; Rats ; Gastric Emptying ; Neurons ; Spinal Cord ; Stomach/physiopathology*