Objective To investigate the effect of the Nogo receptor antagonist NEP1-40,administered via an exogenous route,on axonal regeneration in rats with spinal cord injury(SCI),and to explore its mecha-nism of action in the process of neural repair.Methods SD rats were divided into a sham surgery group(Group A),an injury group(Group B),and an injury+NEP1-40 treatment group(Group C).In Group A,only laminectomy was performed without spinal cord injury.Groups B and C were subjected to a clip-type SCI model.Group C received treatment with NEP1-40 based on the established SCI model.Hindlimb motor func-tion in the three groups was assessed using the BBB score at 1,3,7,and 14 days post-surgery.Real-time quan-titative PCR(qPCR)and Western blot were used to detect changes in gene and protein expression levels of growth-associated protein-43(GAP-43)and microtubule-associated protein-2(MAP-2),characteristic markers of axonal and dendritic regeneration.Immunofluorescence was employed to analyze NF-200 and BrdU double-labeling,and changes in the number of double-labeled positive cells were observed and analyzed.Results In group A rats,the BBB scores at various time points after surgery showed no significant change compared with preoperative scores.In groups B and C,the BBB scores on postoperative day 1 were obviously lower than pre-operative scores.From days 3 to 14 after surgery,the BBB scores partially recovered compared with postopera-tive day 1,though they remained lower than those in group A.However,on postoperative days 3,7,and 14,the BBB scores in group C were higher than those in group B(P<0.05).qPCR and Western blot results showed that compared with preoperative levels,GAP-43 and MAP-2 mRNA and protein expression in groups B and C at postoperative days 3,7,and 14 showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing,and the expression in group C was consistently higher than in group B(P<0.05).The expression level of NogoA in group C showed an opposite trend to GAP-43 and MAP-2.Compared with preoperative levels,NogoA mRNA and pro-tein expression in group B rats decreased on postoperative days 1 and 3(P<0.05)and increased on days 7 and 14(P<0.05).Compared with preoperative levels,NogoA mRNA and protein expression in groups B and C also showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing,but in group C,at all postoperative time points except day 1,it was lower than in group B(P<0.05).Immunofluorescence results showed that over time,the number of cells double-labeled with BrdU and NF-200 gradually increased,with the highest number observed in group C on postoperative day 14.Conclusion NEP1-40 promotes neurological repair in SCI,providing a new approach for SCI repair treatment.

Objective: To investigate whether fibroblast growth factor 18(FGF18) can induce human gingival fibroblasts(HGFs) isolatedin vitroto differentiate into osteoblast-like cells, and to explore the mechanism of osteogenesis. Methods : HGFs were isolated, cultured and identified by tissue block method. The third generation of HGFs were divided into experimental group and control group. FGF18 and L-DMEM was added to the experimental group while L-DMEM was added to the control group.The effects of different concentrations of FGF18(0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 mg/L) on proliferation of HGFs were detected by Methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide(MTT) assay. Alkaline phosphatase(ALP) and alizarin red staining were used to detect the osteogenesis and mineralization ability of the cells after induction. RT-PCR, immunocytochemistry staining, and Western blot were used to detect the expression of genes and proteins related to osteogenesis and BMP2 in the BMP signaling pathway. Results: Compared with the control group, the experimental group could promote the proliferation of HGFs at 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11days(P<0.05),ALP activity and mineral salt deposition increased after induction at 14 and 21 days(P<0.05), and the expressions of ALP, OPN, OCN mRNA and BMP2 mRNA in BMP signaling pathway significantly increased(P<0.01). The expressions of OPN, OCN and BMP2 protein at 21 days were significantly higher than those at 14 days(P<0.01). Conclusion FGF18 can promote the proliferation of HGFs, and induce the differentiation of HGFs into functional osteoblasts. The osteogenic mechanism is related to the upregulation of BMP2.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of multimodality-enhanced CT-based radiomics nomogram for muscle-inva-sive bladder urothelial carcinoma.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the preoperative data of 644 patients with pathologically confirmed bladder urothelial carcinoma from three medical centers.Region of interest(ROI)were drawn on preopera-tive contrast-enhanced CT images,and radiomics features were extracted.Patients from medical center 1 were randomly divided into training set and internal validation set in a 7∶3 ratio,while patients from medical centers 2 and 3 were combined as an external val-idation set.The diagnostic performance of the models was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results In the external validation set,the area under the curve(AUC)for diagnosing muscle-invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma using the multi-phase fusion radiomics model was 0.861[95％ confidence interval(CI)0.811-0.911].The nomogram constructed by combi-ning the multi-phase fusion radiomics model with clinical factors achieved an AUC of 0.901(95％ CI 0.862-0.939).Conclusion The nomogram combining multimodality-enhanced CT-based radiomics with clinical factors can effectively diagnose muscle-invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma.

Genomic imprinting refers to the phenomenon of differential expression of two alleles due to their different parental origins. Genes that produce genomic imprinting are usually called imprinted genes. The genetic effect caused by the presence of imprinted genes is called parent-of-origin effect. Parent-of-origin effect and genomic imprinting play important roles in the pathophysiological mechanism and occurrence and development of cardio-metabolic diseases. In-depth exploration of the law and potential roles of imprinted genes and parent-of-origin effects will help to better understand the mechanism of cardio-metabolic diseases, and also provide important theoretical basis for the precise treatment of diseases related to imprinted genes.

Objective To explore the effectiveness of"near peer learning"(NPL)in the electromyo-graphy(EMG)teaching module for neurology residents.Methods The Department of Neurology,Peking Union Medical College Hospital implemented an NPL instructional design for a course on EMG for residents from November 2020 to March 2024.This teaching session was held annually,in which senior residents in-structed juniors who were 1 or 2 years earlier in their training.The residents participated in the pre-course/post-course tests and completed a feedback survey at the end of the session.This evaluation method was used to un-derstand the effectiveness of the NPL intervention in EMG teaching.Results Over four years,a total of 83 residents participated.Among them,there were 24 postdoctoral students,52 postgraduates and 7 junior resi-dents.The results showed that the post-course test scores were significantly improved compared with pre-course test scores(74.33±2.43 vs.70.11±2.49,P=0.005),with the most remarkable improvements seen for"tu-tees"(73.84±20.53 vs.70.29±21.46,P=0.020),postgraduates(74.04±22.51 vs.68.97±21.40,P=0.009),first-year residents(70.19±4.02 vs.63.59±3.59,P=0.040)and first-time participating resi-dents(65.23±3.24 vs.60.97±3.21,P=0.030).The post-program feedback showed that both tutors and tu-tees thought highly of NPL,believing that it enabled them to gain knowledge and helped them to improve teaching skills.Conclusions The NPL intervention is suitable for the teaching of EMG,because of its contri-bution to knowledge acquisition and basic clinical skills improvement.The NPL is worth replicating in other teaching and learning programs.

Objective: To explore the causal association between micronutrients and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using a Mendelian randomization (MR) method, so as to provide the evidence for formulating prevention and treatment measures for IBS. Methods: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) summary data for 14 micronutrients (copper, selenium, zinc, iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, folate, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and carotene) were collected from the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol GWAS data and the UK Biobank data. GWAS data for IBS were obtained from the FinnGen R10 database. A bidirectional two-sample MR analysis was conducted to assess the causal relationships between micronutrients and IBS, with the inverse-variance weighted method as the primary analytical approach. Heterogeneity among instrumental variables was evaluated using Cochran's Q test. Horizontal pleiotropy was assessed via MR-Egger regression and the MR-PRESSO test. The robustness of the results was examined using leave-one-out and funnel plot. Results: Forward MR analysis revealed a statistically significant association between vitamin B12 and IBS (OR=1.523, 95%CI: 1.093-2.213), while no significant associations were observed for the other 13 micronutrients (all P>0.05). Reverse MR analysis showed no significant association between IBS and any of the 14 micronutrients (all P>0.05). Sensitivity analyses revealed no evidence of heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy among the instrumental variables (all P>0.05). The robustness of the findings was supported by leave-one-out and funnel plot. Conclusion Higher vitamin B12 level is associated with an increased risk of IBS, but no reverse causal relationship between vitamin B12 and IBS has been found.

Objective:To explore the spousal correlations of total cholesterol(TC),total triglyceride(TG),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),and to investigate the reasons behind these spousal correlations.Methods:Participants and data were from the baseline survey of family-based cohort studies in Fangshan,Beijing and Tulou,Fujian.The ori-gin of spousal correlations were explored from perspectives of convergence,assortative mating,social ho-mogamy.Pearson's correlation and generalized linear models(GLM)were used to estimate the spousal correlation.Convergence was assessed by Pearson's correlation between the phenotypic differences be-tween couples and the duration of marriage,with GLM used for further validation.Pearson's correlation of genetic risk scores(GRS)and couple-specific Mendelian randomization(MR)were calculated to assess the genetic correlation and possible causal relationships between spouses.Two-independent-sample t-tests were used to compare GRS consistency across subgroups divided by education attainment,couple-specific MR and Q statistics used to test assortative mating in subgroups and intergroup differences.Results:In the study,342 couples(287 couples from Fangshan and 55 couples from Fujian)were included,with the average age of(64.91±8.76)years.Spousal correlations of TC,TG,HDL-C,and LDL-C showed statistically significant associations both before and after adjusting for covariates,with effect sizes of 0.229(95％CI:0.125-0.327),0.257(95％CI:0.155-0.354),0.179(95％CI:0.074-0.280),and 0.181(95％CI:0.076-0.282).For convergence,for each additional year of marriage,ΔTC increased by 0.016 mmol/L(95％CI:0.001-0.033 mmol/L),and ΔLDL-C increased by 0.017 mmol/L(95％CI:0.002-0.031 mmol/L).For assortative mating,GRS correlations and results of couple specific MR didn't show any statistical significance.For social homogamy,no differences in GRS or assortative mating were found between subgroups stratified by education attainment.Conclusion:The blood lipid in participants exhibit spousal phenotypic correlations,however,no effects of convergence,assortative mating or social homogamy were observed.More independent studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to further validate these findings in the future.

Genomic imprinting refers to the phenomenon of differential expression of two alleles due to their different parental origins. Genes that produce genomic imprinting are usually called imprinted genes. The genetic effect caused by the presence of imprinted genes is called parent-of-origin effect. Parent-of-origin effect and genomic imprinting play important roles in the pathophysiological mechanism and occurrence and development of cardio-metabolic diseases. In-depth exploration of the law and potential roles of imprinted genes and parent-of-origin effects will help to better understand the mechanism of cardio-metabolic diseases, and also provide important theoretical basis for the precise treatment of diseases related to imprinted genes.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of multimodality-enhanced CT-based radiomics nomogram for muscle-inva-sive bladder urothelial carcinoma.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the preoperative data of 644 patients with pathologically confirmed bladder urothelial carcinoma from three medical centers.Region of interest(ROI)were drawn on preopera-tive contrast-enhanced CT images,and radiomics features were extracted.Patients from medical center 1 were randomly divided into training set and internal validation set in a 7∶3 ratio,while patients from medical centers 2 and 3 were combined as an external val-idation set.The diagnostic performance of the models was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results In the external validation set,the area under the curve(AUC)for diagnosing muscle-invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma using the multi-phase fusion radiomics model was 0.861[95％ confidence interval(CI)0.811-0.911].The nomogram constructed by combi-ning the multi-phase fusion radiomics model with clinical factors achieved an AUC of 0.901(95％ CI 0.862-0.939).Conclusion The nomogram combining multimodality-enhanced CT-based radiomics with clinical factors can effectively diagnose muscle-invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma.

Objective:To explore the spousal correlations of total cholesterol(TC),total triglyceride(TG),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),and to investigate the reasons behind these spousal correlations.Methods:Participants and data were from the baseline survey of family-based cohort studies in Fangshan,Beijing and Tulou,Fujian.The ori-gin of spousal correlations were explored from perspectives of convergence,assortative mating,social ho-mogamy.Pearson's correlation and generalized linear models(GLM)were used to estimate the spousal correlation.Convergence was assessed by Pearson's correlation between the phenotypic differences be-tween couples and the duration of marriage,with GLM used for further validation.Pearson's correlation of genetic risk scores(GRS)and couple-specific Mendelian randomization(MR)were calculated to assess the genetic correlation and possible causal relationships between spouses.Two-independent-sample t-tests were used to compare GRS consistency across subgroups divided by education attainment,couple-specific MR and Q statistics used to test assortative mating in subgroups and intergroup differences.Results:In the study,342 couples(287 couples from Fangshan and 55 couples from Fujian)were included,with the average age of(64.91±8.76)years.Spousal correlations of TC,TG,HDL-C,and LDL-C showed statistically significant associations both before and after adjusting for covariates,with effect sizes of 0.229(95％CI:0.125-0.327),0.257(95％CI:0.155-0.354),0.179(95％CI:0.074-0.280),and 0.181(95％CI:0.076-0.282).For convergence,for each additional year of marriage,ΔTC increased by 0.016 mmol/L(95％CI:0.001-0.033 mmol/L),and ΔLDL-C increased by 0.017 mmol/L(95％CI:0.002-0.031 mmol/L).For assortative mating,GRS correlations and results of couple specific MR didn't show any statistical significance.For social homogamy,no differences in GRS or assortative mating were found between subgroups stratified by education attainment.Conclusion:The blood lipid in participants exhibit spousal phenotypic correlations,however,no effects of convergence,assortative mating or social homogamy were observed.More independent studies with larger sample sizes are warranted to further validate these findings in the future.