BACKGROUND:Cervical disc herniation can cause pain in the neck and shoulder area,as well as radiating pain in the upper limbs.The incidence rate is increasing year by year and tends to affect younger individuals.Fully understanding the biomechanical characteristics of the cervical spine in adolescents is of great significance for preventing and delaying the onset of cervical disc herniation in this age group. OBJECTIVE:To reconstruct cervical spine models for both healthy adolescents and adolescent patients with cervical disc herniation utilizing finite element analysis techniques,to analyze the motion range of the C1-T1 cervical vertebrae as well as the biomechanical characteristics of the annulus fibrosus,nucleus pulposus,endplates,and the cartilage of the small joints. METHODS:A normal adolescent's cervical spine and an adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation were selected in this study.The continuous scan cervical spine CT raw image data were imported into Mimics 21.0 in DICOM format.The C1-T1 vertebrae were reconstructed separately.Subsequently,the established models were imported into the 3-Matic software for disc reconstruction.The perfected models were then imported into Hypermesh software for meshing of the vertebrae,nucleus pulposus,annulus fibrosus,and ligaments,creating valid geometric models.After assigning material properties,the final models were imported into ABAQUS software to observe the joint motion range of the C1-C7 cervical vertebrae segments under different conditions,and to analyze the biomechanical characteristics of the annulus fibrosus,nucleus pulposus,endplates,and small joint cartilage of each cervical spine segment. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)In six different conditions,the joint motion range of the C1 vertebra in the cervical spine models of both normal adolescent and adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation was higher than that of the other vertebrae.Additionally,the joint motion range of each cervical spine segment in normal adolescent was greater than that in adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation.(2)In the cervical spine model of normal adolescent,the maximum stress values in the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus were found on the left side during C2-3 flexion conditions(0.43 MPa and 0.17 MPa,respectively).In the cervical spine model of adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation,the maximum stress values were found on the left side during C7-T1 flexion conditions(0.54 MPa and 0.18 MPa,respectively).(3)In the cervical spine model of normal adolescent,the maximum stress value on the endplate was found on the left side of the upper endplate of C3 during flexion conditions(1.46 MPa).In the model of adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation,the maximum stress value on the endplate was found on the left side of the lower endplate of C7 during flexion conditions(1.32 MPa).(4)In the cervical spine model of normal adolescent,the maximum stress value in the small joint cartilage was found in the C2-3 left rotation conditions(0.98 MPa).In adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation,the stress in the small joint cartilage significantly increased under different conditions,especially in C1-2,with the maximum stress found during left flexion(3.50 MPa).(5)It is concluded that compared to normal adolescent,adolescent patient with cervical disc herniation exhibits altered cervical curvature and a decrease in overall joint motion range in the cervical spine.In adolescent with cervical disc herniation,there is a significant increase in stress on the annulus fibrosus,nucleus pulposus,and endplates in the C7-T1 segment.The stress on the left articular cartilage of the C1-2 is notable.Abnormal cervical curvature may be the primary factor causing these stress changes.

BACKGROUND:The asymmetrical biomechanical environment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis can lead to further wedge deformation of the vertebral body,which may affect cardiopulmonary function and compress nerves in severe cases.Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis with different degrees of scoliosis should be treated with exercise,bracing,and surgery.However,the mechanical mechanism of selecting an orthopedic approach remains unclear due to the individual variability of patients.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the biomechanical mechanism of different orthopedic modalities for the treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis to provide a basis for clinical selection of treatment modalities based on the spine model of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patients.METHODS:Based on the CT images of an adolescent idiopathic scoliosis patient,a scoliosis model(C7-L5)was reconstructed in Mimics software in three dimensions,and lateral thrust force was applied at the T8/T9 thorax and vertical distraction force was applied over the C7 vertebra with the magnitude of 20,40,60,80,100,and 120 N.The intervertebral disc stress and vertebral displacement in concave and convex sides,and Cobb angle of the spine were analyzed under two orthopedic modalities.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)With lateral thrust,there was no significant change in the C7T1-T7T8 intervertebral disc.The concave and convex stress of T7T8-L4L5 segment decreased first and then increased with the increase of lateral thrust force.The correction effect of lateral thrust on the segment near T8T9 was obvious and weakened with the extension of the segment to the cephalic and caudal ends.At 120 N of lateral thrust,the thoracic Cobb angle changed from 53.2° to 32.5° and the lumbar Cobb angle changed from 50.2° to 43.9°.(2)With the vertical distraction,the thoracic intervertebral disc stresses first decreased and then increased,and all the lumbar disc stresses decreased.The C7 displacement was the most obvious,and the correction effect gradually diminished with the segment extended to the caudal end.At a vertical distraction force of 120 N,the thoracic Cobb angle changed from 53.2° to 39.4° and the lumbar Cobb angle changed from 50.2° to 47.6°.(3)It is concluded that both orthopedic modalities provide improvement in the degree of scoliosis,with the thoracic correction being greater than the lumbar correction.Also,the asymmetric stress distribution on the concave and convex sides is improved,which contributes to normal bone growth.A vertical distraction approach is appropriate for larger Cobb angles,and a lateral thrust approach is appropriate for smaller Cobb angles.The results of this study help to understand the mechanism of spinal orthosis and provide a theoretical basis for the choice of orthopedic approach.

AIM:This study aims to investigate the therapeutic effects of Xiaozhen Fang(XZF)on epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR)inhibitor,erlotinib-induced skin toxicity in mice,with a focus on the underlying functional mechanisms.METHODS:A mouse model of skin toxicity was established and divided into three groups(n=5 per group):blank,erlotinib(150 mg/kg),and erlotinib(150 mg/kg)combined with XZF(45 g/kg)groups.Skin toxicity se-verity and body weight were evaluated.Western blot was performed to detect protein levels of gasdermin D(GSDMD),caspase-1,and interleukin-1β(IL-1β)in skin tissue.Immunofluorescence was employed to analyze gasdermin E,IL-1β,caspase-1,and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3)expression in skin tissue.In vitro,HacaT cells were cultured and treated with erlotinib followed by different concentrations of XZF-containing se-rum.Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay.Cell ultrastructure was observed by transmission electron microscopy,and p53-binding protein 1(53BP1)expression was analyzed by immunofluorescence staining.RESULTS:The XZF signifi-cantly alleviated erlotinib-induced skin toxicity in mouse model,as evidenced by reduced rash incidence,alleviated limb swelling,and increased body weight(P<0.05).Expression of Gasdermins,IL-1β,caspase-1,and NLRP3 was distinctly down-regulated in dorsal skin tissue(P<0.05 or P<0.01).In vitro,XZF-containing serum markedly suppressed pyropto-sis in HacaT cells(P<0.01),preserved cell membrane integrity,and significantly reduced 53BP1 fluorescence intensity(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:The XZF mitigates EGFR inhibitor,erlotinib-induced skin toxicity in mice,potentially by regulating pyroptosis through the NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathway.This mechanism exerts a cytoprotective ef-fect and alleviates erlotinib-induced skin toxicity.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is a metabolic disease characterized by abnormal deposition of lipid in hepatocytes.If not intervened in time,NAFLD may develop into liver fibrosis or liver cancer,and ultimately threatening life.NAFLD has complicated etiology and pathogenesis,and there are no effective therapeutic means and specific drugs.Currently,insulin sensitizers,lipid-lowering agents and hep-atoprotective agents are often used for clinical intervention,but these drugs have obvious side effects,and their effectiveness and safety need to be further confirmed.Adenosine monophosphate(AMP)-activated protein kinase(AMPK)plays a central role in maintaining energy homeostasis.Activated AMPK can enhance lipid degradation,alleviate insulin resistance(IR),suppress oxidative stress and inflammatory response,and regulate autophagy,thereby alleviating NAFLD.Natural herbal medicines have received extensive attention recently because of their regulatory effects on AMPK and low side effects.In this article,we reviewed the biologically active natural herbal medicines(such as natural herbal medicine formulas,extracts,polysaccharides,and monomers)that reported in recent years to treat NAFLD via regulating AMPK,which can serve as a foundation for subsequent development of candidate drugs for NAFLD.

OBJECTIVE To systematically analyze the functional system and construction requirements for infection prevention and control('infection control system'in short)in medical institutions so as to facilitate the effective,standardized and practical construction of the infection control system.METHODS The questionnaires were de-signed based on the relevant criteria and literatures that were released in China with the combination of expect con-sultant and were distributed to experts or professionals involving multiple fields such as hospital infection manage-ment,clinical medical treatment and information technology.The questionnaires were recycled,summarized and analyzed.RESULTS The list of functions of the infection control system(consultative draft)was formulated after review of literatures and expert consultation,including fundamental functions such as data management,case sur-veillance and intervention feedback as well as the advanced functions like target surveillance,occupational protec-tion and interconnection.The surveyed subjects agreed unanimously after the questionnaire survey that all of the function modules and elements enlisted were important,the average score of importance was more than 4 points,the score of coefficient of variable(CV)for importance of the function modules was less than 0.25,indicating that there was high consistency in the opinions among the surveyed subjects.The element of tracing and epidemiologi-cal survey function was adopted and added according to the feedback suggestions from some of the subjects;two function elements including data query and clinical interaction were revised,and the list of function requirements for the infection control systems was finally defined.CONCLUSION The requirements for functions of the infection control system that are determined in the study can provide important bases and data support for the research and standardized development of future infection control system.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a metabolic disease characterized by abnormal deposition of lipid in hepatocytes. If not intervened in time, NAFLD may develop into liver fibrosis or liver cancer, and ultimately threatening life. NAFLD has complicated etiology and pathogenesis, and there are no effective therapeutic means and specific drugs. Currently, insulin sensitizers, lipid-lowering agents and hepatoprotective agents are often used for clinical intervention, but these drugs have obvious side effects, and their effectiveness and safety need to be further confirmed. Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) plays a central role in maintaining energy homeostasis. Activated AMPK can enhance lipid degradation, alleviate insulin resistance (IR), suppress oxidative stress and inflammatory response, and regulate autophagy, thereby alleviating NAFLD. Natural herbal medicines have received extensive attention recently because of their regulatory effects on AMPK and low side effects. In this article, we reviewed the biologically active natural herbal medicines (such as natural herbal medicine formulas, extracts, polysaccharides, and monomers) that reported in recent years to treat NAFLD via regulating AMPK, which can serve as a foundation for subsequent development of candidate drugs for NAFLD.

Objective:To formulate the audit standards of Chinese patent medicine prescriptions, and provide reference for rational prescriptions of Chinese patent medicine.Methods:A three-level evidence system for prescription review of Chinese patent medicine was established according to the national regulatory documents, drug labels, relevant guidelines, and expert consensuses. The catalog of Chinese patent medicines in Army Medical Center of the People′s Liberation Army was integrated and classified, preliminary review criteria including indications, drug selection, usage and dosage, and combination drugs was established and submitted to clinical experts of traditional Chinese medicine for review and revision, and finally the prescription review standard was confirmed.Results:The Chinese patent medicine catalog of the Medical Center contained 218 drugs, which were divided into 23 kinds according to efficacy and 17 kinds according to dosage forms. The prescription review standards of Chinese patent medicine were as follows. (1) Indications: both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine diagnosis were required. (2) Drug selection: 37 kinds of Chinese patent medicines were marked as forbidden for pregnant women in the labels, and 16 kinds were not marked but contained forbidden ingredients; 4 kinds were marked with caution for patients with liver dysfunction, and 24 kinds were not marked but contained ingredients with caution; 2 kinds of Chinese patent medicines were marked with caution for patients with renal insufficiency, and 9 kinds were not marked but contained ingredients with caution. (3) Usage and dosage: the usage and dosage rules of Chinese patent medicines for children, the elderly and patients with liver and kidney dysfunction were formulated. (4) Combined medication: 5 and 21 kinds of Chinese patent medicines were marked as "highly toxic" and "toxic" in the labels, respectively, 11 kinds of Chinese patent medicines contained incompatible ingredients of "Shibafan" (eighteen antagonisms) and "Shijiuwei (nineteen incompatibilities), and a new review scale for repeated use of Chinese patent medicine was developed.Conclusions:Based on the existing evidence-based medicine, the evidence system of prescription review of Chinese patent medicine is established, the prescription review standards of Chinese patent medicine prescription based on the pharmaceutical interaction mode is formulated and constructed.

Objective To observe the value of 18F-prostate specific membrane antigen(PSMA)-1007 PET/MRI for diagnosing seminal vesicle invasion(SVI)of prostatic cancer(PCa).Methods Totally 92 male patients with PCa who underwent radical prostatectomy were retrospectively enrolled and divided into positive group(n=26)and negative group(n=66)based on postoperative pathology showed SVI or not.PET/MRI parameters,including maximum standard uptake value(SUVmax),minimum apparent diffusion coefficient(ADCmin),mean apparent diffusion coefficient(ADCmean),SUVmax/ADCmin,SUVmax/ADCmean,PSMA tumor volume(PSMA-TV)and total lesion PSMA(TL-PSMA)were compared between groups.The receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn,and the efficacy of each parameter for diagnosing SVI was analyzed.Results Among 92 cases of PCa,18F-PSMA-1007 PET/MRI showed 30 cases with SVI and 62 cases without SVI,with accuracy of 73.91％,sensitivity of 61.54％,specificity of 78.79％,positive predictive value of 53.33％and negative predictive value of 83.87％.Significant differences of ADCmin,PSMA-TV and TL-PSMA were found between groups(all P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of SUVmax,ADCmin,ADCmean,SUVmax/ADCmin,SUVmax/ADCmean,PSMA-TV and TL-PSMA for diagnosing SVI of PCa was 0.554,0.341,0.396,0.603,0.581,0.755 and 0.705,respectively.The AUC of PSMA-TV was higher than other parameters except for TL-PSMA,with sensitivity of 84.60％and specificity of 56.10％.Conclusion 18 F-PSMA-1007 PET/MRI was helpful for diagnosing SVI of PCa.

Objective To explore the effect of remote ischemic conditioning(RIC)combined with binaural beat music(BBM)train-ing in patients with cognitive dysfunction after cerebral infarction.Methods From June,2024 to January,2025,200 patients with cognitive dysfunction after cerebral infarction in the Affil-iated Hospital of North China University of Science and Technology were randomly divided into control group(n=50),RIC group(n=50),BBM group(n=50)and combined group(n=50).All the groups received stan-dardized routine training,RIC group received RIC,BBM group received BBM,and the combined group received RIC+BBM,for 14 days.They were assessed with Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA)and Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale(SS-QOL)at baseline,day 14,and day 90.Results Two cases in the control group,four in RIC group,three in BBM group and three in the combined group dropped out.For MoCA scores,the inter-group effect,intra-group effect and interaction effect were all significant(F>13.463,P<0.001).After intervention,on both day 14 and day 90,the score of MoCA was higher in each in-tervention group than in the control group(P<0.05),and was higher in the combined group than in both BBM and RIC groups(P<0.05);and on day 90,it was higher in RIC group than in BBM group(P<0.05).For SS-QOL,the score increased with time in all the groups(χ2>75.182,P<0.001).After intervention,there was signif-icant difference at each time point among four groups(H>18.260,P<0.001).On day 14 and day 90,the score of SS-QOL was higher in the combined group than in the control and BBM groups(|Z|>3.149,P<0.05);on day 90,the score was higher in RIC group than in the control group(|Z|=3.590,P<0.05),and it was higher in the combined group than in RIC group(|Z|=3.186,P<0.05).Conclusion RIC,BBM and their combination all improved cognitive function after cerebral infarction.RIC was superior to BBM,and the combined intervention yielded the greatest benefit.Both RIC and the combined intervention im-proved quality of life,with the combined approach being the most effective.

OBJECTIVE To systematically analyze the functional system and construction requirements for infection prevention and control('infection control system'in short)in medical institutions so as to facilitate the effective,standardized and practical construction of the infection control system.METHODS The questionnaires were de-signed based on the relevant criteria and literatures that were released in China with the combination of expect con-sultant and were distributed to experts or professionals involving multiple fields such as hospital infection manage-ment,clinical medical treatment and information technology.The questionnaires were recycled,summarized and analyzed.RESULTS The list of functions of the infection control system(consultative draft)was formulated after review of literatures and expert consultation,including fundamental functions such as data management,case sur-veillance and intervention feedback as well as the advanced functions like target surveillance,occupational protec-tion and interconnection.The surveyed subjects agreed unanimously after the questionnaire survey that all of the function modules and elements enlisted were important,the average score of importance was more than 4 points,the score of coefficient of variable(CV)for importance of the function modules was less than 0.25,indicating that there was high consistency in the opinions among the surveyed subjects.The element of tracing and epidemiologi-cal survey function was adopted and added according to the feedback suggestions from some of the subjects;two function elements including data query and clinical interaction were revised,and the list of function requirements for the infection control systems was finally defined.CONCLUSION The requirements for functions of the infection control system that are determined in the study can provide important bases and data support for the research and standardized development of future infection control system.