BACKGROUND:Relatively or absolutely active bone resorption function of osteoclasts is one of the causative factors of osteoporosis. Therefore,how to inhibit the formation of osteoclasts and reduce the bone resorption activity is a key element in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Liquiritin,which is derived from licorice,plays a role in the clinical treatment of bone diseases,but there are fewer studies addressing the application of liquiritin in osteoporosis and the mechanism is unknown.OBJECTIVE:To confirm,through both in vivo and in vitro experiments,that liquiritin inhibits osteoclast differentiation and alleviates bone loss.METHODS:Cell counting kit-8 was used to detect whether Liquiritin exerts toxic or proliferative effects on mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages,and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining was performed to observe the effect of liquiritin in inhibiting osteoclast differentiation. The affinity of liquiritin binding to proteins related to osteoclast differentiation was verified by network pharmacology. RT-PCR and western blot assays were performed to detect the inhibitory effects of liquiritin on osteoclast-specific protein and gene expression as well as relevant signaling pathways. Finally,the mitigating effect of liquiritin on bone loss was verified in the C57BL/6J mouse osteoporosis model.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Liquiritin,at concentrations of 20 μmol/L and below,could inhibit the formation and differentiation of osteoclasts. Concurrently,it exhibited a high affinity with osteoclast-specific proteins such as nuclear factor of activated T-cells 1,Cathepsin K,c-Fos,and matrix metalloproteinase 9,and reduced the relative expression levels of these genes and proteins. Liquiritin could also effectively lower the phosphorylation expression level of JNK in the MAPK signaling pathway at the 15th,30th,45th,and 60th minutes,and it could salvage the degradation of nuclear factor-κB inhibitor α in the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway at the 60th minute. In vivo experiments demonstrated that liquiritin could mitigate bone loss caused by osteoclasts and improve parameters related to trabecular bone. To conclude,liquiritin possesses the capacity to inhibit osteoclast differentiation and alleviate bone loss,thereby exerting a protective role against osteoporosis.

Objective:To investigate the promoting effect of individualized instruction combined with a blended learning model (IIBLM) in continuing training of neurology.Methods:A total of 93 trainees who received continuing training in Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, from August 2022 to December 2024 were enrolled as subjects. The 50 trainees registered since January 2024 were enrolled as observation group and received IIBLM teaching, including sub-specialty modular training, a cycle-adaptive cultivation system, a "mutual-selection" mentorship program, an on/off-line dual-track curriculum system, a dynamic course allocation mechanism based on "mutual selection", and a competency growth evaluation system, while the 43 trainees registered before January 2024 were enrolled as control group and received traditional teaching. A questionnaire survey and comprehensive competency assessments were performed to evaluate the effect of teaching, and the t-test, the chi-square test, and the qualitative analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results:Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed systematic improvements in clinical contents, theoretical curriculum, faculty competency, and workflow arrangement during continuing training, with a significant difference in the score of workflow arrangement between the two groups [(9.58±0.67) vs. (9.07±1.44), t=-2.13, P=0.037]. The observation group had a score of (97.70±1.30) for dynamic course allocation, an overall satisfaction rate of 97.15%, and a course benefit rate of 97.55%. The qualitative analysis showed that the trainees in the control group mainly complained of course monotony, while those in the observation group expected to enhance interdisciplinary integration and the cultivation of scientific research abilities. In addition, the results of competency assessment showed a continuous improvement in teaching effect after reform, with no significant difference. Conclusions:IIBLM teaching effectively enhances professional qualities, clinical competency, and the degree of satisfaction with courses among the trainees receiving continuing training, and it also revealed the necessity of interdisciplinary collaborative teaching and the integration of research and clinical practice.

Objective To construct an intelligent postoperative rehabilitation management platform and evaluate its effect in patients with head and neck cancer.Methods The postoperative intelligent rehabilitation management platform of head and neck cancer patients was divided into 5 layers from bottom to top,including the underlying environment,platform support,core database,analysis algorithm and application platform.Through the construction of head and neck tumor postoperative complications knowledge base and risk prediction model and wearable device auxiliary precision prediction risk,the head and neck cancer patients with postoperative intelligent rehabilitation management was realized.A historical controlled study was conducted and 90 participants with head and neck cancer were selected who underwent the surgical treatment in a hospital in Hangzhou,Zhejiang Province.The experimental group(45 participants admitted from February to July)received the intervention by the intelligent rehabilitation management platform,while the control group(45 patients from August to December)received the routine rehabilitation management.The outcome measures including NRS scores at 12 h,24 h,48 h and 72 h after surgery,incidence of postoperative complications,postoperative length of hospital stay,and patient satisfaction were compared between the 2 groups.Results The scores of incidences of complications,postoperative hospital stay,and NRS scores at 12 h,24 h,48 h and 72 h after surgery in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05),while the scores of patient satisfaction in the experimental group were higher than those of the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion The intelligent postoperative rehabilitation management platform can achieve accurate prediction of postoperative complications,reduce postoperative complications of head and neck tumors,timely intervene to relieve patients'pain and discomfort,shorten hospital stays,improve nursing work efficiency and improve patient satisfaction.

BACKGROUND:Relatively or absolutely active bone resorption function of osteoclasts is one of the causative factors of osteoporosis. Therefore,how to inhibit the formation of osteoclasts and reduce the bone resorption activity is a key element in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Liquiritin,which is derived from licorice,plays a role in the clinical treatment of bone diseases,but there are fewer studies addressing the application of liquiritin in osteoporosis and the mechanism is unknown.OBJECTIVE:To confirm,through both in vivo and in vitro experiments,that liquiritin inhibits osteoclast differentiation and alleviates bone loss.METHODS:Cell counting kit-8 was used to detect whether Liquiritin exerts toxic or proliferative effects on mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages,and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining was performed to observe the effect of liquiritin in inhibiting osteoclast differentiation. The affinity of liquiritin binding to proteins related to osteoclast differentiation was verified by network pharmacology. RT-PCR and western blot assays were performed to detect the inhibitory effects of liquiritin on osteoclast-specific protein and gene expression as well as relevant signaling pathways. Finally,the mitigating effect of liquiritin on bone loss was verified in the C57BL/6J mouse osteoporosis model.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Liquiritin,at concentrations of 20 μmol/L and below,could inhibit the formation and differentiation of osteoclasts. Concurrently,it exhibited a high affinity with osteoclast-specific proteins such as nuclear factor of activated T-cells 1,Cathepsin K,c-Fos,and matrix metalloproteinase 9,and reduced the relative expression levels of these genes and proteins. Liquiritin could also effectively lower the phosphorylation expression level of JNK in the MAPK signaling pathway at the 15th,30th,45th,and 60th minutes,and it could salvage the degradation of nuclear factor-κB inhibitor α in the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway at the 60th minute. In vivo experiments demonstrated that liquiritin could mitigate bone loss caused by osteoclasts and improve parameters related to trabecular bone. To conclude,liquiritin possesses the capacity to inhibit osteoclast differentiation and alleviate bone loss,thereby exerting a protective role against osteoporosis.

Objective To construct an intelligent postoperative rehabilitation management platform and evaluate its effect in patients with head and neck cancer.Methods The postoperative intelligent rehabilitation management platform of head and neck cancer patients was divided into 5 layers from bottom to top,including the underlying environment,platform support,core database,analysis algorithm and application platform.Through the construction of head and neck tumor postoperative complications knowledge base and risk prediction model and wearable device auxiliary precision prediction risk,the head and neck cancer patients with postoperative intelligent rehabilitation management was realized.A historical controlled study was conducted and 90 participants with head and neck cancer were selected who underwent the surgical treatment in a hospital in Hangzhou,Zhejiang Province.The experimental group(45 participants admitted from February to July)received the intervention by the intelligent rehabilitation management platform,while the control group(45 patients from August to December)received the routine rehabilitation management.The outcome measures including NRS scores at 12 h,24 h,48 h and 72 h after surgery,incidence of postoperative complications,postoperative length of hospital stay,and patient satisfaction were compared between the 2 groups.Results The scores of incidences of complications,postoperative hospital stay,and NRS scores at 12 h,24 h,48 h and 72 h after surgery in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05),while the scores of patient satisfaction in the experimental group were higher than those of the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion The intelligent postoperative rehabilitation management platform can achieve accurate prediction of postoperative complications,reduce postoperative complications of head and neck tumors,timely intervene to relieve patients'pain and discomfort,shorten hospital stays,improve nursing work efficiency and improve patient satisfaction.

Objective To investigate the effects of miR-338-3p on interleukin(IL)-13-induced human bronchial epithelial cell line(BEAS-2B)injury and airway inflammation in mice with ovalbumin(OVA)-induced asthma.Methods OVA was used to replicate an asthma model of mice,which were divided into control group,model group,miR-NC agomir and miR-338-3p agomir intervention groups.HE staining microscopy was employed to ob-serve the pathological morphology of lung tissue,while TUNEL staining was used to assess cell apoptosis in lung tis-sue.ELISA was conducted to measure the levels of interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α in lung tissue.The BEAS-2B cells were subjected to IL-13-induced injury and divided into control group,IL-13 group,IL-13+miR-NC group,and IL-13+miR-338-3p mimic group.Cell viability was assessed with MTT assay.Flow cytometry was employed to evaluate cell apoptosis.The level of IL-1β and TNF-α in cells was measured by ELISA.The targeting relationship between miR-338-3p and Ras homologous(Rho)was investigated using bioinfor-matics analysis,luciferase assay,Western blot,and functional repair assay.Results Compared to the model group,the miR-338-3p agamid intervention group exhibited a significant reduction in inflammatory cell infiltration and airway wall thickening in lung tissue,as well as decreased cell apoptosis and the level of IL-1β and TNF-α in lung tissue(P＜0.05).Compared to the control group,cell viability of BEAS-2B cells in the IL-13+miR-338-3p mimic group exhibited a significant increase(P＜0.05),while apoptosis and level of IL-1β and TNF-α within the cells demonstrated a notable decrease(P＜0.05).Rho was a target gene of miR-338-3p,and over-expression of Rho attenuated the effect of miR-338-3p mimic on IL-13-induced injury and inflammation in BEAS-2B cells.Conclusions Up-regulation of miR-338-3p can inhibit asthma-related airway inflammation and injury of lung epi-thelial cells with a potential mechanism targeting at Rho gene.

Objective:To investigate the promoting effect of individualized instruction combined with a blended learning model (IIBLM) in continuing training of neurology.Methods:A total of 93 trainees who received continuing training in Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, from August 2022 to December 2024 were enrolled as subjects. The 50 trainees registered since January 2024 were enrolled as observation group and received IIBLM teaching, including sub-specialty modular training, a cycle-adaptive cultivation system, a "mutual-selection" mentorship program, an on/off-line dual-track curriculum system, a dynamic course allocation mechanism based on "mutual selection", and a competency growth evaluation system, while the 43 trainees registered before January 2024 were enrolled as control group and received traditional teaching. A questionnaire survey and comprehensive competency assessments were performed to evaluate the effect of teaching, and the t-test, the chi-square test, and the qualitative analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results:Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed systematic improvements in clinical contents, theoretical curriculum, faculty competency, and workflow arrangement during continuing training, with a significant difference in the score of workflow arrangement between the two groups [(9.58±0.67) vs. (9.07±1.44), t=-2.13, P=0.037]. The observation group had a score of (97.70±1.30) for dynamic course allocation, an overall satisfaction rate of 97.15%, and a course benefit rate of 97.55%. The qualitative analysis showed that the trainees in the control group mainly complained of course monotony, while those in the observation group expected to enhance interdisciplinary integration and the cultivation of scientific research abilities. In addition, the results of competency assessment showed a continuous improvement in teaching effect after reform, with no significant difference. Conclusions:IIBLM teaching effectively enhances professional qualities, clinical competency, and the degree of satisfaction with courses among the trainees receiving continuing training, and it also revealed the necessity of interdisciplinary collaborative teaching and the integration of research and clinical practice.

Objectives:To compare the efficacy of the combination of excimer laser coronary angioplasty(ELCA)and drug-coated balloon(DCB)for in-stent restenosis(ISR)and to evaluate the impact of neointimal tissue characteristics on treatment outcomes. Methods:A total of 96 ISR lesions from 86 patients who underwent optical coherence tomography(OCT)evaluation and DCB with or without ELCA treatment at The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2019 to May 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.ISR lesions were divided into ELCA+DCB group(n=30)and DCB group(n=66).Additionally,ISR lesions were classified as homogeneous and non-heterogeneous patterns based on the OCT characteristics of the neointimal tissue,and the impact on acute lumen gains was compared between different ISR patterns.Acute lumen gain(ΔMLA)was defined as the changes in minimum lumen area before and after the intervention. Results:The ELCA+DCB group had a significantly greater ΔMLA than the DCB group([3.2±0.8]mm2 vs.[2.6±1.4]mm2,P=0.015).Among the ISR with a homogeneous pattern,the ΔMLA of the ELCA+DCB group was significantly greater than that of the DCB group([3.0±0.9]mm2 vs.[2.2±1.1]mm2,P=0.030).There was no significant difference in ΔMLA between the two ISR groups with the non-homogeneous pattern([3.4±0.7]mm2 vs.[3.2±1.5]mm2,P=0.533).There was no death,the rate of target lesion revascularization was similar between the patients with lesions receiving DCB treatment and patients receiving ELCA +DCB treatment(7.4%vs.4.2%,P＞0.05). Conclusions:The combination of ELCA and DCB is an effective strategy for treating ISR,which can achieve greater acute lumen gain compared to DCB treatment alone,especially for the treatment of homogenous ISR pattern characterized by OCT.

BACKGROUND:The problem of intervertebral disc injury and degeneration has been studied in many ways.Many studies have shown that intervertebral disc injury and degeneration is driven by mechanical loading factors.However,the potential relationship between common phenotypes of intervertebral disc injury and degeneration and mechanical loading factors has been rarely summarized. OBJECTIVE:To summarize the types of common structural abnormalities exhibited by intervertebral disc injury and degeneration in the published literature,and sum up the potential links to the types of mechanical loading that lead to these structural abnormalities in in vitro and ex vivo experimental studies. METHODS:Using the terms"intervertebral disc failure,intervertebral disc injury,mechanical load,mechanical factor,load factor,biomechanics"as Chinese and English key words in PubMed,CNKI,and WanFang databases,articles related to intervertebral disc injury degeneration and mechanical load factors were retrieved.Literature screening was performed according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,and 88 articles were finally included. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Common structural abnormalities of intervertebral discs include decreased intervertebral disc height,disc bulge,osteophyte formation,annulus fibrosus tear,intervertebral disc herniation or disc prolapse,endplate damage,Schmorl nodes and intervertebral disc calcification.Intervertebral discs are susceptible to mechanical load types such as compression,bending,axial rotation,and compound loads.(2)The compressive load mainly causes the decrease of the proteoglycan content and the water-binding ability of the intervertebral disc,leading to the decrease or swelling of the intervertebral disc and further damage and degeneration of the intervertebral disc.In addition,the excessive compressive load causes greater damage to the endplate.(3)Bending load and axial rotation load damage the annulus fibrosus more than the endplate,and prolonged or repeated bending loads can cause tearing of the fibrous annulus and herniation or prolapse of the intervertebral disc,while pure axial rotation loads can induce less damage to the intervertebral disc and only cause the tear of the annulus fibrosus.(4)However,when different load types act in combination,it is more likely to result in high stress on the disc and a greater risk of disc injury.(5)Injury and degeneration of the intervertebral disc present progressive structural damage,and early prevention and protection are particularly important in clinical practice.Future tissue engineering research can start with early repair of the intervertebral disc.

BACKGROUND:Vibration environment can cause spinal injury,especially in patients with scoliosis.At present,there is no information about the inherent mode of the whole spine from T1 to the pelvis in scoliosis patients in the free state. OBJECTIVE:To analyze the dynamic characteristics of the whole spine in patients with scoliosis by the finite element method. METHODS:Based on CT scan images,a three-dimensional finite element model of the T1-pelvic total spine of an 11-year-old patient with thoracolumbar biflexion scoliosis was established,and the Cobb angles of thoracolumbar scoliosis were 36° and 24°,respectively.The mode analysis in the free state of the whole spine was carried out by the finite element method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The fifteen-order free modes of the spine were extracted,and the dynamic characteristics of the scolio-curved spine were obtained.The resonance frequency distribution of the spine was concentrated.The thoracic vertebra was the most deformed in the whole spine model,and the amplitude of the thoracic vertebra was larger than that of the lumbar vertebra.Modal analysis was used to analyze the vibration characteristics of scoliosis patients in the vibration environment.It is of great significance to determine the natural frequency,vibration mode,and amplitude of scoliosis patients for analyzing the vibration characteristics of scoliosis.