Objective To investigate the species of sandflies and the prevalence of Leishmania infections in sandflies from selected areas of northern and northwestern China, so as to provide insights into identification of leishmaniasis vectors and assessment of epidemiological trends of leishmaniasis in China. Methods Sandfly samples were collected from Mentougou District of Beijing Municipality, Xiangning County in Linfen City of Shanxi Province, Ejin Banner in Alxa League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Payzawat County of Karamay District of Karamay City, Gaochang District of Turpan City in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from July 2023 to July 2024. Approximately 100 intact female sandfly samples were randomly selected from each site and the species of sandflies was identified according to morphological characteristics and molecular assays. Female sandflies originating from the same habitat were grouped into pools of 10 individuals. Leishmania infection was detected using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS-1) gene, and the prevalence of Leishmania infection was calculated in sandflies from different sampling sites using the minimum infection rate (MIR) method. In addition, positive amplicons were sequenced and subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Results A total of 6 155 sandflies were collected from different environments at sampling sites across the six aforementioned regions from July 2023 to July 2024. Phlebotomus chinensis (96.00%) was the dominant sandfly species in Mentougou District, Beijing Municipality, with a small proportion of Ph. sergenti (4.00%), and only Ph. chinensis was found in Xiangning County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province. Ph. wui was the only sandfly species detected in Ejin Banner, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Payzawat County, Kashgar City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Ph. caucasicus (97.70%) was the dominant sandfly species in Karamay District, Karamay City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with a small proportion of Ph. wui (2.30%), while Ph. alexandri was the only species in Gaochang District, Turpan City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. A total of 40, 60, 34, 18, 18, and 22 pools of sandfly samples were tested from Mentougou District in Beijing Municipality, Xiangning County in Linfen City of Shanxi Province, Ejin Banner in Alxa League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Payzawat County in Kashgar City, Karamay District in Karamay City, and Gaochang District in Turpan City of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, respectively. L. infantum was detected in Ph. chinensis samples from Mentougou District in Beijing Municipality, and Xiangning County of Linfen City in Shanxi Province, with MIR of 0.25% to 1.00%, and L. donovani was detected in Ph. wui from Ejin Banner in Alxa League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Payzawat County in Kashgar City of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with MIR of 0.56% to 0.88%; however, no Leishmania infection was detected in Ph. caucasicus from Karamay District in Karamay City or Ph. alexandri from Gaochang District in Turpan City of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Leishmania ITS-1 gene sequences obtained from Mentougou District in Beijing Municipality and Xiangning County in Linfen City of Shanxi Province were clustered into the same clade with the reference sequences of L. infantum ITS-1 gene, while the Leishmania ITS-1 gene sequences obtained from Ejin Banner in Alxa League of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Payzawat County in Kashgar City of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region were clustered into the same clade with the reference sequences of L. donovani ITS-1 gene. Conclusions There are variations in sandfly species in selected areas of northern and northwestern China, and variations in the species of Leishmania infecting sandflies. Improved surveillance of sandfly vectors and targeted control strategies with adaptations to geographical features and leishmaniasis vectors are recommended.

AIM To analyze the dynamic change patterns of aflatoxin B1,aflatoxin B2,aflatoxin G1,aflatoxin G2,T-2 toxin and deoxynivalenol contents during the fermentation of Massa Medicata Fermentata.METHODS The analysis was performed on a 40 ℃ thermostatic Waters ACQUITY UPLC HSS T3 column(100 mm×2.1 mm,1.8 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of 0.01％formic acid-[acetonitrile-methanol(1∶1)]flowing at 0.3 mL/min,and electron spray ionization source was adopted in positive ion scanning with multiple reaction monitoring mode.RESULTS Six mycotoxins showed good linear relationships within their own ranges(R2＞0.998 0),whose average recoveries were 76.1％-119.3％with the RSDs of 0.49％-9.27％,and except for deoxynivalenol,their contents demonstrated the trends of growing out of nothing and gradually increasing.CONCLUSION The risk of mycotoxin infection exists in the fermentation of Massa Medicata Fermentata.This simple,efficient,rapid and sensitive method can provide a reference for whole-process monitoring the fermentation process for Massa Medicata Fermentata.

AIM To investigate the effects of Gan Jiang-Huang Qin-Huang Lian-Ren Shen Decoction(GJHQHLRSD)on the pyroptosis,pathway of colonic epithelial cells in mouse models of ulcerative colitis(UC).METHODS Among the 63 C57BL/6J mice,13 were randomly selected and assigned to the model group,and the others were divided into the control group,the positive Sulfasalazine Enteric-Coated Tablets group(0.6 g/kg),and low,medium,and high dose GJHQHLRSD groups(3.9,7.8,15.6 g/kg),with 10 mice in each group.The UC mouse model was established using DSS,and the corresponding drugs were administered by gavage.The mice had their general condition observed;their disease activity index(DAI)score assessed;their colon length measured;their histopathological damage of the colon analyzed using HE staining;their colonic IL-1β,IL-8,and TNF-α levels measured by ELISA method;their colonic NLRP3,GSDMD,pro-IL-1β,pro-caspase-1,and IL-1βprotein expression detected by Western blot method;and their cell pyroptosis detected by TUNEL and GSDMD fluorescence double staining.RESULTS Compared with the control group,the model group exhibited significant decrease in body weight and a shortened colon length(P＜0.01);increases in DAI score,levels of IL-1β,IL-8,TNF-α,as well as the protein expressions of NLRP3,GSDMD,and active-caspase-1(P＜0.05,P＜0.01);significant increase of colonic GSDMD and TUNEL positivity;indicating increased tissue damage and inflammatory response.Compared with the model group,the groups intervened with GJHQHLRSD showed a significant increase in body weight and colonic elongation(P＜0.05,P＜0.01);decreases in DAI score,levels of IL-1β,IL-8,TNF-α,as well as the protein expressions of NLRP3,GSDMD,and active-caspase-1(P＜0.05,P＜0.01);a gradient decrease in positivity of GSDMD and TUNEL;indicating a significantly reduced colonic pathological damage.CONCLUSION GJHQHLRSD can improve the DSS-induced inflammatory reaction of colonic mucosa in UC mice,and its mechanism mainly involves the NLRP3/caspase-1,thereby the regulation of the cell pyroptosis process.

Objective To explore the predictive efficacy of several multimodal MRI-based machine learning models for the promoter methylation states of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase(MGMT)of glioblastoma muliforme(GBM)patients in terms of the GBM heterogeneity and the complexity of the tumor microenvironment.Methods Firstly,the multimodal MRI images of 317 GBM patients from The University of Pennsylvania Glioblastoma(UPENN-GBM)dataset were pre-processed,with four sequences involved in including T1-weighted imaging(T1WI)sequence,T1-weighted contrast-enhanced imaging(T1CE)sequence,T2-weighted imaging(T2WI)sequence and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery(FLAIR)sequence,and the radiomics features were extracted for two regions of interest(ROIs)such as the tumor core region and the tumor edema region.Secondly,the data of the 317 GBM patients were randomly divided into a training set(254 cases)and a test set(63 cases),which underwent normalization with Z-scores and feature selection and dimensionality reduction with Lasso regression.Finally,three models were established respectively with particle swarm optimization-support vector machine(PSO-SVM),C-support vector classification(C-SVC)and adaptive boosting(adaptive boosting(Adaboost)algorithms,and the predictive efficacy of the three models for glioblastoma multiforme MGMT promoter methylation states were evaluated in terms of accuracy and AUC.Results The Adaboost model based on T2WI sequence and radiomics features of the tumor core region had the highest predictive efficacy with accuracy and AUC values of 67％and 0.74,respectively,higher than those of other combinations of sequences,models and regions of interest.Conclusion The multimodal MRI-based machine learning models can be used for the prediction of glioblastoma multiforme MGMT promoter methylation states,which provides powerful support for personalized treatment and prognostic assessment of GBM.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(6):7-13]

Aim To investigate the regulatory mecha-nisms of donepezil on the expression and enzymatic ac-tivity of cytochrome P450 3A4(CYP3A4),elucidate the synergistic impact of hypoxia on CYP3A4 function,and reveal its potential association with drug-induced cardiotoxicity,particularly QT interval prolongation.Methods Western blot,co-immunoprecipitation,and gene knockdown techniques were employed to evaluate the effects of donepezil and hypoxia on CYP3A4 pro-tein expression.CYP3A4 enzymatic activity was as-sessed using an in vitro incubation system with rat liver microsomes combined with high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC),and the half-maximal inhib-itory concentration(IC50)was determined.Results Donepezil(10 μmol·L-1)and hypoxia reduced CYP3A4 protein expression to 31.75％and 45.90％of the control levels,respectively.Both interventions activated the gp78-mediated ubiquitin-proteasome path-way,significantly increasing CYP3A4 ubiquitination levels by 2.1-fold compared to the control group,thereby promoting proteasomal degradation.Donepezil inhibited CYP3A4 enzyme activity with an IC50 of 83.4μmol·L-1,and hypoxia synergistically enhanced this inhibitory effect,reducing the IC50 to 20.79 μmol·L-1.Conclusion Donepezil downregulates CYP3A4 function through dual mechanisms involving ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation and direct enzymatic inhibition.Hypoxia potentiates this effect,leading to impaired metabolism of CYP3A4 substrate drugs,ele-vated plasma drug concentrations(1.6-2.3-fold in-crease compared to normal metabolic conditions),and an increased risk of QT interval prolongation and other forms of cardiotoxicity.

Objective To improve and refine the relevant regulations and guiding principles of warnings on drug instructions and labels in China.Methods This paper sorted out the drug instructions of small molecule anti-tumor drugs listed by the U.S.Food and Drug Administration(FDA)from 2005 to 2022,included the drugs mentioned in the QT interval prolongation risk,analyzed the clinical research and QT research results,and sorted out the identification and warning rules of the instructions.Results A total of 35 drugs were included,4 drugs wrote the risk of QT interval prolongation in the black box warning,21 drugs were wrote in the warning and precautions position,6 drugs were wrote in the adverse reaction section,and 2 drugs were only described under clinical pharmacology section.According to the severity of the QT interval prolongation caused by the drug and whether there were serious clinical consequences,they were displayed in the warnings(black box warnings),precautions(warnings and precautions)and adverse reactions in the instructions.Conclusion The aim of this article is to provide a reference for the writing of QT risk warning information of the instructions of domestic drug production enterprises and regulatory departments.It is recommended to clarify the severity of drug safety and the location of the instructions in clinical research,and continue to carry out safety monitoring and update the instructions in time after listing.

Objective To explore the therapeutic effect of precise disconnection of pargastric varices guided by endoscopic ultrasound in the treatment of esophagogastric variceal bleeding.Method A retrospective analysis was conducted on 20 patients with cirrhosis esophagogastric variceal bleeding treated with endoscopic ultrasound-guided precise disconnection of pargastric varices from January 1,2024 to December 31,2024.The efficacy was analyzed.Result All 20 patients successfully completed the precise disconnection of pargastric varices under the guidance of endoscopic ultrasound.The injection of tissue gel combined with the placement of spring coils(14 cases)and the injection of tissue gel alone(4 cases)successfully blocked the pargastric varices.All patients did not experience perforation,esophageal and cardia stenosis,massive bleeding,septicemia,or ectopic embolization.One patient who received tissue gel alone had slight bleeding from the pargastric varices after surgery and improved after 3 days of treatment to reduce portal vein pressure.Another one patient who received tissue gel alone had a low-grade fever and normal body temperature after 3 days of anti-infection treatment.Conclusion Precise disconnection of pargastric varices under the guidance of endoscopic ultrasound has a good therapeutic effect on esophagogastric variceal bleeding,with fewer complications such as ectopic embolization,massive bleeding,infection,and perforation.However,close follow-up observation is still needed to address the issue of pargastric varices.

Type 2 diabetes(T2DM)was a chronic metabolic disease,vascular lesions was one of the common complications of T2DM,including microvascular and macrovascular lesions,which seriously threatens the health of patients and increases the risk of disability and death.Dyslipidemia was one of the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes,the disorder of lipid metabolism was also closely related to various acute and chronic complications of diabetes,the cholesterol in the lipoproteins rich in triglycerides(TG)was known as residual cholesterol.Existing studies have shown that,residual cholesterol was closely related to the occurrence and development of vascular lesions in T2DM.Residual cholesterol may be involved in T2DM vascular lesions through mediating inflammatory response,participating in oxidative stress,lipid metabolism disorder and direct damage to vascular endothelial function.This study reviewed the association between residual cholesterol and T2DM vascular lesions and its mechanism of action in T2DM vascular lesions,aiming to provide solid theoretical support for the formulation of prevention and treatment strategies for T2DM vascular lesions.

Objective To investigate the dosimetric differences in preoperative short-course volumetric modulated arc therapy(VMAT)for rectal cancer using different fluence smoothing(FS)levels in the Monaco Treatment Planning System(Monaco TPS).Methods Twenty rectal cancer patients who received preoperative neoadjuvant short-course VMAT at some hospital from September 2021 to December 2022 were retrospectively selected.Four groups of radiotherapy plans were formulated using the Monaco TPS for each case,which were classified into an off group,a low group,a medium group and a high group based on the FS levels.Then the four groups were compared in terms of the dosimetric parameters,monitor unit and number of the segments in the planning target volume(PTV)and organ at risk(OAR).Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 27.0 software.Results All the four groups had the doses to the target volume meeting clinical requirements,which had no significant differences in the doses to 5％(D5％)and 95％(D95％)to the target volume and the maximum dose(Dmax),minimum dose(Dmin),mean dose(Dmean)and conformity index(all P＞0.05).Statistical differences were found between the homogeneity indexes of the four groups(P＜0.05),with the medium group behaving the best.The number of the segments rose while the mornitor units decreased siginificantly with the increase of FS levels,with the differences being statistically significant(P＜0.05).There were no significant differences between the V25,V20,V15 and V10 of the small intestine,the V25 and V20 of the bladder and the V15 and V10 of the left and right femur(all P＞0.05).Conclusion In preoperative short-course VMAT for rectal cancer,clinical requirements can be met with different FS levels in the Monaco TPS,and medium-level FS results in optimal overall dose distribution in terms of treatment planning.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(5):48-53]

Objective:To evaluate the effect of acupuncture on postoperative delirium (POD) in diabetic patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia.Methods:In this randomized controlled trial, 92 diabetic patients of either sex, aged 30-80 yr, with a body mass index of 18-28 kg/m 2, of American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification Ⅱ or Ⅲ, scheduled for elective surgery under general anesthesia, were divided into 2 groups ( n=46 each) using a table of random numbers: control group (group C) and acupuncture group (group A). Group A received acupuncture at the Baihui (GV20), Shenting (GV24) and Sishencong (EX-HN1) acupoints before anesthesia. The needles were retained for 30 min, with manual stimulation applied every 10 min for 10 s each time. After 4 stimulations, routine anesthesia was carried out. Group C received routine anesthesia only. Regional cerebral oxygen saturation was recorded on admission to the operating room (T 0), after anesthesia induction (T 1), at the start of surgery (T 2), at the end of surgery (T 3), and immediately after tracheal extubation (T 4). The POD developed within 3 days after surgery was assessed. The occurrence of needle-related adverse effects such as fainting, subcutaneous bleeding, and local paresthesia was recorded. Results:Compared with group C, the incidence of POD was significantly reduced, and the regional cerebral oxygen saturation was increased at T 1, 4 in group A ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Acupuncture can decrease the development of POD in diabetic patients undergoing surgery under general anesthesia, which is related to an increase in regional cerebral oxygen saturation.