Objective To explore the effect of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) on preoperative heart rate variability in patients with heart valves. Methods Patients scheduled to undergo on-pump cardiac valve surgery in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, between January and July 2022 were initially enrolled. Eligible patients were randomly assigned at a 1 : 1 ratio to either the RIPC group or the control group. Relevant indicators of heart rate variability [standard deviation of NN interval (SDNN), standard deviation of mean value of NN interval in every five minutes (SDANN), mean square root of difference between consecutive NN intervals (RMSSD), percentage of adjacent RR interval>50 ms (PNN50), low frequency (LF) component, high frequency (HF) component and LF/HF] at 8 hours in the morning on the surgical day between two groups were compared. Results A total of 118 patients were initially assessed. After screening, 58 patients were excluded, and 60 patients provided written informed consent and were enrolled in the trial, with 30 allocated to the RIPC group and 30 to the control group. Seven patients in the control group and 5 patients in the RIPC group were subsequently excluded due to missing heart rate variability data resulting from cancelled operations. Finally, 23 patients in the control group and 25 patients in the RIPC group were included in the analysis. There was no statistical difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups, and there was no significant difference in heart rate variability 24 hours before intervention (P>0.05). After the intervention measures were taken, the comparison of the results of heart rate variability at 8 hours on the day of operation showed that SDNN and SDANN of patients in the RIPC group were higher than those in the control group, with statistical differences (P<0.05). Conclusion RIPC can stabilize the preoperative heart rate variability of patients undergoing cardiac valve surgery.

Objective: To analyze the school tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks and preventive treatment in Hefei from 2022 to 2024, so as to provide reference for TB prevention and control in schools. Methods: Data were collected on all school based TB outbreaks occurring during 2022-2024 in Hefei, defined as ≥2 epidemiologically linked TB cases within the same school during a single semester. Statistical analyses were performed using the Chi square test. Results: Close contacts exhibited significantly higher TB incidence (2.88%) and latent mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) rates (13.80%) in the school TB outbreaks, compared to non close contacts (0.12% and 2.63%, respectively). Among close contacts, secondary school students showed lower TB incidence (0.48%) and LTBI prevalence (3.42%) than both primary school or younger children (0.68%, 6.95%) and college students ( 0.78% , 6.50%), with statistically significant differences ( χ 2=360.91, 6.37; 791.71, 102.03, all P <0.05). The proportion of LTBI individuals recommended for preventive therapy was higher in primary school or younger groups (98.59%) than in secondary (95.25%) or college students (86.34%) ( χ 2=25.86, P <0.01). However, among those recommended, close contacts had higher uptake (85.82%) and completion rates (87.25%) of preventive therapy than non close contacts (69.63% and 70.57%); similarly, secondary school students demonstrated higher uptake (91.21%) and completion rates (86.45%) compared to primary school or younger (88.57%, 83.87%) and college students (57.28%, 64.08%) ( χ 2=30.52, 26.72; 125.17, 38.84, all P <0.01). Subsequent TB incidence among LTBI close contacts (13.30%) and among those who did not complete preventive therapy (22.73%) were significantly higher than among non close contacts (2.80%, 2.41%), respectively ( χ 2=32.19, 13.87, both P <0.05). Conclusions In school TB outbreaks, close contacts face higher LTBI prevalence and subsequent TB risk than non close contacts. College students show notably low adherence to preventive therapy. It is necessary to take targeted measures to improve the compliance of preventive measures among students.

ObjectiveTo systematically compare the differential regulation of the maternal-fetal interface cell lineages and communication networks in the CBA/J×DBA/2 mouse model of recurrent pregnancy loss （RPL） by the two classic therapeutic methods-tonifying the kidney to stabilize the fetus and invigorating the spleen to stabilize the fetus （Shoutai Wan， Juyuan Jian）-of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） at the single-cell resolution and clarify their modern scientific connotations. MethodsFemale non-pregnant CBA/J mice were caged with male BALB/c （blank group） and DBA/2 （modeling group） mice separately. Pregnant mice in the modeling group were randomly grouped as follows： high/low-dose Shoutai Wan， high/low-dose Juyuan Jian， model （RPL）， and positive control （dydrogesterone）， with 10 mice in each group. Starting from the day after the detection of the vaginal plug， mice were administrated with drugs or an equal volume of normal saline by gavage for 10 consecutive days. After the intervention， the following indicators were measured. ① Macroscopic evaluation： general conditions， uterine wet weight， embryo loss rate， four coagulation parameters ［prothrombin time （PT）， activated partial thromboplastin time （APTT）， fibrinogen （FIB）， and thrombin time （TT）］， and peripheral blood estradiol （E₂） and progesterone （Pg） levels. The decidua with embryos was stained with hematoxylin-eosin （HE） and evaluated by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF）， angiotensin Ⅱ （AngⅡ）， matrix metalloproteinase-2 （MMP-2）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， leukemia inhibitory factor （LIF）， CXC chemokine ligand 12 （CXCL12）， and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 homolog （LC3）Ⅰ/Ⅱ was quantified by Western blot. ② Mechanism analysis at the single-cell level： The decidua with embryos from the blank， model， high-dose Shoutai Wan， and high-dose Juyuan Jian groups （6 mice per group， with 3 single-cell samples per group， totaling 24 mice） were analyzed by the BD Rhapsody™ platform， and the whole-cell atlas was drawn by uniform manifold approximation and projection （UMAP） dimensionality reduction clustering combined with the single-cell mouse cell atlas （scMCA）. The differentially expressed genes （DEGs） and cell interaction networks were analyzed via Gene Ontology （GO）， Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG）， and CellChat， and the protein-protein interaction （PPI） map of subtype cells was constructed. The CytoTRACE pseudo-temporal analysis was performed to explore the developmental trajectories of core immune cells （natural killer cells， NK cells） from maternal and fetal sources. Results① Pathological and Western blot results indicated that compared with the blank group， the RPL group showed an increase in the embryo loss rate （P<0.01）， down-regulated expression of Bcl-2， LIF， MMP-2， and Vegf in the decidua with embryos （P<0.05）， up-regulated protein levels of CXCL-12， AngⅡ， and IL-6 （P<0.05）， blocked angiogenesis， apoptosis-inflammation imbalance， and coagulation dysfunction. Both prescriptions dose-dependently reduced the abortion rate and restored the angiogenesis-inflammation balance， and Shoutai pill showed superior performance in restoring the E₂ level to the Pg level （P<0.05）. ② Single-cell transcriptome analysis indicated that compared with the blank group， the RPL group showed differences in multiple key cell populations such as decidual cells， trophoblast cells， endothelial cells， erythroblasts， NK cells， and macrophages at the maternal-fetal interface. Immunity and angiogenesis were the key links in RPL. Compared with the RPL group， high-dose Shoutai Wan reversed the changes of NK cells in the embryonic layer （upregulating the mRNA levels of 17 genes and downregulating the mRNA levels of 29 genes） and macrophages （upregulating the mRNA levels of 117 genes and downregulating the mRNA levels of 53 genes） through the regulation of gene expression. High-dose Shoutai pill regulated the immune cells to affect unfolded proteins， cell adhesion， and programmed cell death， thereby promoting decidualization and angiogenesis and modulating embryo-membrane development. High-dose Juyuan Jian regulated the key subgroups of NK cells （up-regulating the mRNA levels of 9 genes and down-regulating the mRNA levels of 17 genes） and macrophages （up-regulating the mRNA levels of 110 genes and down-regulating the mRNA levels of 81 genes）， which affected decidual inflammation and apoptosis and intervened in glycolysis. ③ The pseudo-temporal analysis and communication network indicated that the communication frequency of the RPL group decreased. High-dose Shoutai Wan restored maternal-fetal tolerance through pathways such as NKG2D， CDH5， GDF， and FASLG. High-dose Juyuan Jian enhanced the IL-6/LIFR/JAK/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3） and desmosome/SEMA6/tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis （TWEAK） signaling to improve endometrial receptivity. The RPL group showed an increased proportion of toxic dNK7， a decreased proportion of reparative dNK4， and blocked embryo fNK1. High-dose Shoutai Wan down-regulated dNK7 and up-regulated dNK4. High-dose Juyuan Jian inhibited the terminal differentiation of dNK7 and up-regulated LILRB1， thus restoring the balance of cytotoxicity and repair. ConclusionBoth the kidney-tonifying and spleen-invigorating methods are effective in treating RPL. NK and macrophages are the key immune cells in the interaction between the embryo and the membrane. The kidney-tonifying method （Shoutai Wan） has an advantage in regulating the phenotypes of unfolded protein， cell adhesion， and programmed cell death， and shows expression characteristics closer to the physiological state in the regulation of NKG2D and CDH5 signals. The spleen-invigorating method （Juyuan Jian） has an advantage in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT）， angiogenesis， and glycolysis and shows higher communication intensity in the IL-6 and LIFR pathways.

Lung cancer still ranks first among malignant tumors in the world and China. Although surgery， radiotherapy， chemotherapy， and other treatments can delay patients' lives， thorny problems remain to be solved， such as adverse reactions after intervention， patient resistance to treatment， and the economic burden of treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） featuring a holistic view advocates macro interventions throughout the entire disease cycle， which has the advantages of reducing toxicity， improving efficiency， and enhancing patients' quality of life. The theory of ''sensation and response'' was first recorded in the book of I-Ching. This is the natural law of mutual induction， influence， and interaction among all things in nature. According to the theory of ''Qi monism'' and the proposal of regulating Qi movement and removing toxin by Professor Hua Baojin， we re-examine lung cancer from the primitive thinking in TCM and explain the relevance of Qi movement changes to the occurrence， progression， and treatment of lung cancer. The core pathogeneses of lung cancer are the deficiency of healthy Qi and invasion of deficiency pathogen resulting in the formation of cancer and the internal generation of cancer toxin leading to intermediate dysfunction. Six excesses and Yin pathogen invade and gradually accumulate in the lung and spleen， leading to the generation of cancer toxin， which eventually evolve into lung cancer. The treatment can be based on the theories of five elements and visceral manifestation from three aspects. First， on the basis of syndrome differentiation， medicinal materials of different flavors can be used. Specifically， pungent medicinal materials can be used for dredging and sweet medicinal materials can be used for tonifying. Second， medicinal materials with similar morphology or origin to that in the human body can be used for treating the diseases in corresponding sites. Finally， corrigent medicinal materials can be combined for two-way regulation. These measures can be applied in lung cancer treatment to optimize the prevention and treatment strategies and provide new research directions for TCM diagnosis and treatment of tumors.

Objective To investigate the synergistic therapeutic effects of HER2 antibody-drug conjugate(HER2-ADC)combined with anti-PD-1 antibody(anti-PD-1)on HER2-expressing bladder cancer and elucidate its regulatory mechanisms on the tumor immune microenvironment.Methods Orthotopic tumor models were established in 40 female C57BL/6 mice(6～8 weeks old,body mass 18～22 g)using MB49 bladder cancer cells overexpressing human HER2.When tumors reached 100 mm3,the mice were randomized into(n=10)control(intraperitoneal injection of 1.0 mL PBS),anti-PD-1(200 μg per mouse every 3 d),HER2-ADC(2.5 mg/kg once weekly),and combination groups(same regimens as above monotherapy).Tumor volume and body mass were measured every 3 d during 28-day treatment.Tumor growth kinetics and survival rates were analyzed.Post-treatment survival was monitored until natural death to determine median survival time(n=5).At day 28,blood and tumor samples(n=5)were collected to detect myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs;CD11b?Gr1?)and regulatory T cells(Tregs;CD4?CD25?FOXP3?)with flow cytometry,tumor-infiltrating CD3?T,CD8?T,and FOXP3?T cells with immunohistochemical assasy,and liver/kidney functions[alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),creatinine(CRE)]and tissue damage indicators[lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme(LDH-L)].Results In 28 d after treatment,the combination group obtained significantly smallest tumor volume than the control group and the 2 monotherapy groups(all P<0.01).The longest median survival was observed in the combination group(65 d,P<0.01),followed by the HER2-ADC group(55 d),anti-PD-1 group(53 d)and control group(41 d).After 28 d of treatment,the combination group exhibited obviously the smallest peripheral proportions of MDSCs/Tregs,most tumor-infiltrating CD3?T/CD8?T cells,and less FOXP3?T cells when compared with the 2 monotherapy groups and control group(all P<0.05).While,the 2 monotherapy groups had smaller MDSCs/Tregs proportions than the control group(P<0.05).No significant differences were observed among the 4 groups in serum ALT,AST,BUN,CRE,or LDH-L levels,and all of them were within normal ranges.Conclusion HER2-ADC combined with anti-PD-1 suppresses the growth of orthotopic bladder tumor,probably through their synergic effects on down-regulating MDSCs/Treg and enhancing CD8?T cell infiltration.

Accurate analysis of metal nanoparticles(MNPs)in sediments is a prerequisite for assessing the ecological risks of MNPs in aquatic environmental sediments.In this study,an analytical method for quantitative detection of concentration and particle size distribution of silver-containing nanoparticles(Ag-NPs),zinc-containing nanoparticles(Zn-NPs),cerium-containing nanoparticles(Ce-NPs),and titanium-containing nanoparticles(Ti-NPs)in sediments was established based on ultrasonic extraction-single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(SP-ICP-MS).The effects of sample preparation conditions such as extraction solvent type,solid-liquid ratio,ultrasonic time,and settling time on the recovery of MNPs were investigated.The results showed that the extraction of MNPs from sediment by distilled water could effectively eliminate the high background signal interference introduced by the extractant under the conditions of solid-liquid ratio of 1∶400(g∶mL),ultrasonic extraction time of 1 h and settling time of 3 h.The detection limits for particle size of Ag-NPs,Zn-NPs,Ce-NPs and Ti-NPs in sediments were 31,35,26 and 85 nm,respectively,while the detection limits of particle concentrations were 1.21×104,1.90×104,5.26×107 and 1.48×107 particles/g,respectively.The spiking recoveries of Ag-NPs,Zn-NPs,Ce-NPs and Ti-NPs in sediments were 62.1％-108.7％,with relative standard deviations below 10％.This method could rapidly,accurately and simultaneously determine the concentration and particle size distribution of various MNPs in sediments,and was successfully applied to analysis of Ag-NPs,Zn-NPs,Ce-NPs,and Ti-NPs in authentic marine sediments.

Nitrofurantoin(NFT)is a nitrofuran antibiotic commonly used as a veterinary drug to treat bacterial infections in animals.However,due to the low solubility and bioaccumulation properties,NFT is prone to leave excessive residues in animal-derived foods and water systems,posing serious threats to human health and ecosystems.Therefore,there is an urgent need to develop an efficient and rapid detection method for NFT.In this work,nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials with unique bowl-like structures(N-CNBs)were synthesized via a hydrothermal-carbonization method.The morphology,surface structure,and specific surface area of N-CNBs were characterized using transmission electron microscopy(TEM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The N-CNB modified glassy carbon electrode(N-CNB/GCE)was prepared,and the electrochemical test revealed that the N-CNB/GCE exhibited higher conductivity and larger electrochemical active surface area compared to bare GCE and nitrogen-doped hollow carbon nanosphere-modified electrode(N-HCNS/GCE).Additionally,the N-CNB/GCE demonstrated superior electrocatalytic activity toward NFT.An NFT electrochemical sensor was constructed based on N-CNB/GCE.The detection conditions of the sensor were optimized,and differential pulse voltammetry(DPV)was employed for NFT detection under optimal experimental conditions.The established NFT electrochemical sensor had a wide linear range of 0.4-500 μmol/L,a low detection limit(S/N=3)of 0.015 μmol/L and high selectivity,with excellent stability and reproducibility.The practical feasibility of this sensor was confirmed by analysis of NFT in milk and tap water samples,with spiked recoveries ranging from 94.2%to 108.9%.

A method for simultaneous determination of 21 kinds of Aconitum alkaloids(ATS)in biological specimens and infused liquor using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS)was developed.The biological samples were pretreated with methanol-acetonitrile(1∶2,V/V)for protein precipitation,while infused liquors were diluted 100-fold with acetonitrile,followed by centrifugation,and filtration by a 0.22-μm membrane.Chromatographic separation was carried out on an EC-C18 column using gradient elution with the mixture of 10 mmol/L ammonium acetate and 0.2%formic acid as mobile phase A and acetonitrile as mobile phase B.With this method,all the analytes were separated within 9.5 min.The samples were detected in positive ESI mode with dynamic multiple reaction monitoring(MRM)and quantified via external standard calibration.The results showed that the concentrations of the analytes in the range of 2-1000 ng/mL had excellent linearity(R2>0.9992)with the peak area.The developed method was successfully used for detection of 21 kinds of aconitum alkaloids,with limits of detection of 0.5-2 ng/mL,quantification limits of 2-6 ng/mL,intra/inter-day precision≤6.0%,spiked recoveries of 89.4%-100.9%,extraction recoveries of 74.2%-104.4%,and matrix effects ranging from-11.1%to 9.2%in blood/urine.The method was applied to detection of 12 samples from 4 fatal aconite poisoning cases,and all 21 kinds of ATS with total alkaloid concentrations of 0.04-4.18 μg/mL in blood and 154.96-422.83 μg/mL in medicinal liquors were detected.Tissue distribution revealed that the order of concentrations from highest to lowest is as follows:urine(157.22 μg/mL)>gastric contents(51.37 μg/mL)>kidney(21.6 μg/g)>whole blood(4.18 μg/mL)>liver(0.03 μg/g).This method showed many advantages such as simple pretreatment,low detection limits,accurate quantification,broad analyte coverage,and superior anti-interference capability in complex matrices,proving ideal for forensic and toxicological analysis of aconitum alkaloids.

Objective To explore serum levels of serine/threonine protein kinase 4(MST4)and heat shock protein 70(HSP70)in children with idiopathic immune thrombocytopenia(ITP)and their clinical signifi-cance.Methods Totally 98 children with ITP admitted to Northwest Women and Children's Hospital from April 2019 to April 2023 were retrospectively selected as the ITP group,and 50 healthy children who under-went physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group.Enzyme linked immu-nosorbent assay was used to detect serum levels of MST4 and HSP70,and the serum MST4 and HSP70 levels in children with different ITP levels were compared.The correlation between the indicators were analyzed by Pearson correlation.Logistic regression model was used to screen the prognostic factors of ITP,and the as-sessment value of serum MST4 and HSP70 on ITP prognosis was analyzed by subject working characteristic curve.Results Serum MST4,HSP70,and CD8 in the ITP group were higher than those in the control group,while PLT,CD3+,CD4+,CD4+/CD8+were lower than those in the control group,with statistical significance(P＜0.05).Serum MST4 and HSP70 levels in mild group,moderate group and severe group were increased successively,with statistical significance(P＜0.05).Correlation analysis showed that serum MST4 and HSP70 were positively correlated with CD8+(P＜0.05),and negatively correlated with PLT,CD3+,CD4+,CD4+/CD8+(P＜0.05).The disease course,serum MST4 and HSP70 of ITP children in the poor prognosis group were higher than those in the good prognosis group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that the course of disease(OR=1.579,P＜0.001),serum MST4(OR=1.451,P＜0.001)and serum HSP70(OR=1.442,P＜0.001)were independent risk factors af-fecting the prognosis of children with ITP.The area under the curve of serum MST4 and HSP70 combined in the assessment of poor prognosis of ITP children was larger than that of serum MST4 and HSP70,and the difference was statistically significant(Z=4.568,4.672,both P＜0.001).Conclusion The elevated serum MST4 and HSP70 levels in children with ITP are related to the severity of the disease and cellular immune function.The combination of the two has a high evaluation value for the prognosis of children with ITP.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of Yiqi Huoxue Prescription(derived from Shengyu Decoction)in the treatment of mild cervical spondylotic myelopathy(CSM)with qi deficiency and blood stasis type.Methods A total of 128 patients with mild CSM of qi deficiency and blood stasis type who admitted to Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine from January 2022 to January 2024 were randomly divided into the control group and the trial group according to the random number table method,with 64 cases in each group.The control group was treated with oral administration of Mecobalamin Tablets,and the trial group was treated with Yiqi Huoxue Prescription orally on the basis of treatment for the control group.The two groups were all treated for four weeks,and then were followed up for three months after the completion of treatment.The CSM scores of the Japanese Orthopedic Association(JOA)and the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome scores in the two groups were observed before treatment,after two weeks of treatment,after four weeks of treatment,and three months after the completion of treatment.And then the clinical efficacy,progression of CSM and the incidence of adverse reactions of the two groups were evaluated.Results(1)During the trial,two cases in the control group and three cases in the trial group fell off,and eventually a total of 123 cases were included,62 cases in the control group and 61 cases in the trial group.(2)Three months after the completion of treatment,the total effective rate of the trial group was 93.44%(57/61)and that of the control group was 82.26%(51/62),and the intergroup comparison(tested by chi-square test)showed that the efficacy of the trial group was significantly superior to that of the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).(3)After two and four weeks of treatment as well as three months after the completion of treatment,JOA scores in the two groups were increased compared with those before treatment(P<0.05),and JOA scores of the trial group at various time points mentioned above were higher than those of the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).(4)After two and four weeks of treatment as well as three months after the completion of treatment,TCM syndrome scores in the two groups were decreased compared with those before treatment(P<0.05),and TCM syndrome scores of the trial group at various time points mentioned above were lower than those of the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).(5)During the follow-up period,there was none case of significant aggravation or progression to moderate-severe illness in the two groups,and there were no adverse events such as allergies and gastrointestinal reactions.Conclusion Yiqi Huoxue Prescription exerts certain efficacy in treating patients with mild CSM of the qi deficiency and blood stasis type,and the treatment method is effective on improving the spinal cord function and symptoms of qi deficiency and blood stasis type,and slowing down the progression of disease in the patients,with high safety.