The placenta is a regulator of maternal-fetal circulation，regulating nutrient and waste exchange，endocrine function，and immune response. The placental vascular structure is the basis of the placental exchange function and the key to maternal-fetal circulation. Placental vascular changes may affect fetal growth and cardiovascular development，and even the origin of postnatal health and disease. The placenta is crucial in fetal growth and development and future health，but our understanding of placental vascular structure is still insufficient. This article reviews the imaging methods and progress of placental imaging，focusing on the placental microvascular imaging technology，which aims to provide a method reference for prenatal evaluation and monitoring of placental vascular structure by realizing the visualization of placental vascular structure. Based on this new technology，it is expected to provide new ideas for the study of the hemodynamic mechanisms of fetal growth and cardiovascular development in the future.

With advancements in prenatal diagnostic technology and postnatal clinical rescue，the survival rate of children with congenital heart disease（CHD）has significantly improved. However，neurodevelopmental delay or disorder has become the most common complication，profoundly affecting the quality of life throughout their lifetime. The risk factors and pathogenic mechanisms underlying CHD associated neurodevelopmental abnormalities remain unclear. This paper focus on the current status of neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with CHD and the potential risk factors，summarize prenatal and postnatal imaging methods for neurodevelopmental assessment，explore possible pathogenic mechanisms，and outline an integrated prenatal and postnatal neurodevelopmental evaluation framework for CHD patients. This review aims to provide comprehensive literature support for both scientific research and clinical evaluation of neurodevelopment in children with CHD.

Objective To investigate the changes and clinical significance of pyroptosis and inflammation in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after chemotherapy.Methods A retrospective analysis was con-ducted on the clinical data of 98 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who received chemotherapy in the pediatrics and hematology and oncology departments of the hospital from May 2023 to August 2024.Accord-ing to the results of blood culture,the selected children were divided into the Gram-positive bacteria group,the Gram-negative bacteria group,the fungal group and the non-bloodstream infection group,and drug sensitivity tests were conducted.After chemotherapy,the children were divided into the granulocytosis group and the non-granulocytosis group according to the granulocyte level.The relevant indicators were detected and com-pared by methods such as blood routine,flow microsphere array technology,enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),and Western blot.Results After chemotherapy,the pyroptosis related indicators caspase-1,caspase-4,caspase-5,caspase-11,interleukin(IL)-1 β,IL-18,the proportion of pyroptosis cells and the relative expression level of GSDMD protein in children of each infection type were significantly increased compared with those before chemotherapy(P＜0.05).After chemotherapy,the levels of IL-4,IL-6,IL-10 and interfer-on-γ(IFN-γ)in the granulocytosis group were significantly higher than those in the non-granulocytosis group(P＜0.05),and the granulocyte level was negatively correlated with the levels of IL-4,IL-6,IL-10 and IFN-γ(P＜0.05).There were statistically significant differences in the levels of IL-4,IL-6,IL-10 and IFN-γ in dif-ferent infection states after chemotherapy(P＜0.05).Conclusion The number of granulocytes and the levels of serum cytokines can serve as potential indicators of infection in children with leukemia.The regulation of pyroptosis may provide new strategies for the treatment of childhood leukemia.

The placenta is a regulator of maternal-fetal circulation，regulating nutrient and waste exchange，endocrine function，and immune response. The placental vascular structure is the basis of the placental exchange function and the key to maternal-fetal circulation. Placental vascular changes may affect fetal growth and cardiovascular development，and even the origin of postnatal health and disease. The placenta is crucial in fetal growth and development and future health，but our understanding of placental vascular structure is still insufficient. This article reviews the imaging methods and progress of placental imaging，focusing on the placental microvascular imaging technology，which aims to provide a method reference for prenatal evaluation and monitoring of placental vascular structure by realizing the visualization of placental vascular structure. Based on this new technology，it is expected to provide new ideas for the study of the hemodynamic mechanisms of fetal growth and cardiovascular development in the future.

With advancements in prenatal diagnostic technology and postnatal clinical rescue，the survival rate of children with congenital heart disease（CHD）has significantly improved. However，neurodevelopmental delay or disorder has become the most common complication，profoundly affecting the quality of life throughout their lifetime. The risk factors and pathogenic mechanisms underlying CHD associated neurodevelopmental abnormalities remain unclear. This paper focus on the current status of neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with CHD and the potential risk factors，summarize prenatal and postnatal imaging methods for neurodevelopmental assessment，explore possible pathogenic mechanisms，and outline an integrated prenatal and postnatal neurodevelopmental evaluation framework for CHD patients. This review aims to provide comprehensive literature support for both scientific research and clinical evaluation of neurodevelopment in children with CHD.

Objective:To investigate the effect of iron deficiency on the prognosis of elderly patients with ejection fraction preserved heart failure (HFpEF).Methods:The clinical data of old patients (>75 years) with HFpEF from November 2021 to May 2023 in General Hospital of Eastern Theater of the Chinese People′s Liberation Army were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into iron deficiency group (65 cases) and non-iron deficiency group (90 cases) according to serum ferritin (SF) and transferrin saturation (TSAT) at admission. The first hematological indexes and echocardiogram examination results after admission were compared between two groups. The patients were followed up until November 2023, the poor prognosis was recorded. The correlation between iron deficiency, iron metabolism indexes and poor prognosis in elderly patients with HFpEF was analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was drawn to analyze the effect of iron deficiency on the cumulative survival in elderly patients with HFpEF.Results:There were no statistical difference in triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, C-reactive protein, hemoglobin and echocardiogram indexes between the two groups ( P>0.05). The N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), creatinine, procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in iron deficiency group were significantly higher than those in non-iron deficiency group: 427.23 (281.00, 736.90) pmol/L vs. 313.50 (182.47, 363.25) pmol/L, (167.93 ± 51.22) μmol/L vs. (121.71 ± 11.99) μmol/L, 0.12 (0.05, 0.22) μg/L vs. 0.07 (0.04, 0.16) μg/L and 25.60 (8.38, 47.01) ng/L vs. 10.15 (4.75, 19.89) ng/L, the SF, serum iron (SI) and TSAT were significantly lower than those in non-iron deficiency group: 75.40 (42.30, 198.00) μg/L vs. 207.00 (281.00, 736.90) μg/L, (6.49 ± 2.66) μmol/L vs. (12.75 ± 4.24) μmol/L and (16.65 ± 6.26)% vs. (33.78 ± 11.16)%, and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01 or <0.05). The patients were followed up for (12.06 ± 7.58) months, the all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, readmission rate and heart failure readmission rate in iron deficiency group were significantly higher than those in non-iron deficiency group: 40.0% (26/65) vs. 20.0% (18/90), 18.5% (12/65) vs. 4.4% (4/90), 90.8% (59/65) vs. 70.0% (63/90) and 66.2% (43/65) vs. 17.8% (16/90), and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01). Spearman correlation analysis result showed that the iron deficiency was positive correlation with all-cause death, cardiovascular death, readmission and heart failure readmission in elderly patients with HFpEF ( P<0.01); the SI and TSAT were negative correlation with all-cause death, cardiovascular death, readmission and heart failure readmission ( P<0.01 or <0.05); and the SF was not correlation with the indexes ( P>0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis result showed that the risk of all-cause death was significantly increased in elderly HFpEF patients with iron deficiency, and the cumulative survival rate was significantly reduced (log-rank χ2 = 6.48, P<0.05). Conclusions:The elderly HFpEF patients with iron deficiency have poor prognosis with high mortality and readmission rate.

Objective:To investigate the relation between 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 level and global registry of acute coronary event (GRACE) score in elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).Methods:The clinical data of 120 elderly male patients with ACS hospitalized in the General Hospital of Eastern Theater Command from January 2020 to June 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical characteristics of patients were collected and the 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 level was assessed with the chemiluminescent immunoassay method. According to GRACE score, the patients were divided into intermediate-risk group (109 to 140 scores, 46 cases) and high-risk group(>140 scores, 74 cases). The severity of coronary lesion was assessed according to the results of coronary angiography (CAG) and then they were divided into A, B, C group. The independent influential factors of GRACE score were analyzed by Logistic regression analysis.Results:The level of 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 in the high-risk group was lower than that in the intermediate-risk group: (13.84 ± 3.42) μg/L vs. (18.57 ± 5.17) μg/L, the usage rate of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI)/angiotonin receptor blocker (ARB) in the high-risk group was lower than that in the intermediate-risk group: 17.6%(13/71) vs. 41.3%(19/46), there were statistical differences ( P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 level was the risk factor for GRACE score ( OR = 0.745, 95% CI 0.657-0.844, P<0.05). The level of 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 had negative correlation with the severity of coronary lesion ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The level of 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 has correlation with GRACE score and the severity of coronary lesion in elderly patients with ACS.

Objective To establish a coronavirus(CoV)infection model using human nasal mucosa organoids for testing antiviral drugs and evaluate the feasibility of using human nasal mucosa organoids with viral infection as platforms for viral research and antiviral drug development.Methods Human nasal mucosa organoids were tested for susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-OC43 pseudoviruses.In a P3 laboratory,nasal mucosa organoids were infected with the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and 4 variant strains,and the infection conditions were optimized.The viral loads in the culture supernatants were measured at different time points using RT-qPCR,and immunofluorescence assay was employed to localize SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein to determine the type of the infected cells.In the optimized nasal mucosa viral infection model,the antiviral effects of camostat and bergamot extract(which were known to inhibit SARS-CoV-2)were tested and the underlying molecular mechanisms were explored.Results In the optimized nasal mucosa organoid models infected with SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-OC43 pseudoviruses,the viral load in the culture supernatants increased significantly during the period of 2 to 24 h following the infection,which confirmed infection of the organoids by both of the pseudoviruses.The nasal mucosa organoids could be stably infected by the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and its 4 variant strains,validating successful establishment of the viral infection model,in which both camostat and bergamot extract exhibited dose-dependent antiviral effects.Conclusions Human nasal mucosa organoids with SARS-CoV-2 infection can serve as platforms for screening and testing antiviral drugs,particularly those intended for nasal administration.

Objective:To investigate the endoscopic combined serological diagnosis strategy for G1 and G2 gastric neuroendocrine neoplasms (G-NENs), and to evaluate the safety, short-term, and long-term efficacy of two endoscopic treatment procedures: endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).Methods:This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 100 consecutive patients with G-NENs who were hospitalized at the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 2011 to October 2023. These patients underwent endoscopic treatment, and propensity score matching (PSM) was used to compare clinicopathological characteristics, as well as short-term and long-term efficacy of lesions in the EMR group and ESD group before and after treatment.Results:Among the 100 patients with G-NENs, the median age was 54 years old. Before surgery, 29 cases underwent endoscopic combined serological examination, and 24 of them (82.2%) had abnormally elevated plasma chromogranin A. The combined diagnostic strategy for autoimmune atrophic gastritis (AIG) achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 100%(22/22). A total of 235 G-NEN lesions were included, with 84 in the ESD group and 151 in the EMR group. The median size of the lesions in the ESD group (5.0 mm) was significantly larger than that in the EMR group (2.0 mm, P＜0.001). Additionally, the ESD group had significantly more lesions with pathological grade G2[23.8%(20/84) vs. 1.3%(2/151), P＜0.001], infiltration depth reaching the submucosal layer [78.6%(66/84) vs. 51.0%(77/151), P＜0.001], and more T2 stage compared to the EMR group[15.5%(13/84) vs. 0.7%(1/151), P＜0.001]. After PSM, 49 pairs of lesions were successfully matched between the two groups. Following PSM, there were no significant differences in the en bloc resection rate [100.0%(49/49) vs. 100.0%(49/49)], complete resection rate [93.9%(46/49) vs. 100.0%(49/49)], and complication rate [0(0/49) vs. 4.1%(2/49)] between the two groups. During the follow-up period, no recurrence or distant metastasis was observed in any of the lesions in both groups. Conclusions:The combination of endoscopy and serology diagnostic strategy has the potential to enhance the accuracy of diagnosing G1 and G2 stage G-NENs and their background mucosa. Endoscopic resection surgery (EMR, ESD) is a proven and safe treatment approach for G1 and G2 stage G-NENs.

Objectives:To develop and validate predictive models for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) using circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) terminal motif analysis. The goal was to improve the non-invasive detection of early-stage ESCC and its precancerous lesions.Methods:Between August 2021 and November 2022, we prospectively collected plasma samples from 448 individuals at the Department of Endoscopy, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences for cfDNA extraction, library construction, and sequencing. We analyzed 201 cases of ESCC, 46 high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN), 46 low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), 176 benign esophageal lesions, and 29 healthy controls. Participants, including ESCC patients and control subjects, were randomly assigned to a training set ( n=284) and a validation set ( n=122). The training cohort underwent z-score normalization of cfDNA terminal motif matrices and a selection of distinctive features differentiated ESCC cases from controls. The random forest classifier, Motif-1 (M1), was then developed through principal component analysis, ten-fold cross-validation, and recursive feature elimination. M1's efficacy was then validated in the validation and precancerous lesion sets. Subsequently, individuals with precancerous lesions were included in the dataset and participants were randomly allocated to newly formed training ( n=243), validation ( n=105), and test ( n=150) cohorts. Using the same procedure as M1, we trained the Motif-2 (M2) random forest model with the training cohort. The M2 model's accuracy was then confirmed in the validation cohort to establish the optimal threshold and further tested by performing validation in the test cohort. Results:We developed two cfDNA terminal motif-based predictive models for ESCC and associated precancerous conditions. The first model, M1, achieved a sensitivity of 90.0%, a specificity of 77.4%, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.884 in the validation cohort. For LGIN, HGIN, and T1aN0 stage ESCC, M1's sensitivities were 76.1%, 80.4%, and 91.2% respectively. Notably, the sensitivity for jointly predicting HGIN and T1aN0 ESCC reached 85.0%. Both the predictive accuracy and sensitivity increased in line with the cancer's progression ( P＜0.001). The second model, M2, exhibited a sensitivity of 87.5%, a specificity of 77.4%, and an AUC of 0.857 in the test cohort. M2's sensitivities for detecting precancerous lesions and ESCC were 80.0% and 89.7%, respectively, and it showed a combined sensitivity of 89.4% for HGIN and T1aN0 stage ESCC. Conclusions:Two predictive models based on cfDNA terminal motif analysis for ESCC and its precancerous lesions are developed. They both show high sensitivity and specificity in identifying ESCC and its precancerous stages, indicating its potential for early ESCC detection.