Objective To investigate whether activation of mitochondrial acetal dehydrogenase 2(ALDH2)alleviates hypoxic pulmonary hypertension by regulating the SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway.Methods Thirty 8-week-old C57 BL/6 mice were randomized into control,hypoxia,and hypoxia+Alda-1(an ALDH2 activator)group(n=10),and the mice in the latter two groups,along with 10 ALDH2 knockout(ALDH2-/-)mice,were exposed to hypoxia(10%O2,90%N2)with or without daily intraperitoneal injection of Alda-1 for 4 weeks.The changes in right ventricular function and pressure(RVSP)of the mice were evaluated by echocardiography and right ventricular catheter test,and pulmonary artery pressure was estimated based on RVSP.Pulmonary vascular remodeling,right ventricular injury,myocardial α-SMA expression,distal pulmonary arteriole muscle normalization,right ventricular cross-sectional area,myocardial cell hypertrophy,and right cardiac hypertrophy index were assessed with HE staining,immunofluorescence staining and WGA staining,and the expressions of ALDH2,SIRT1,PGC-1α,P16INK4A and P21CIP1 were detected.In pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells with hypoxic exposure,the effect of Alda-1 and EX527 on cell senescence and protein expressions was evaluated using β-galactose staining and Western blotting.Results The wild-type mice with hypoxic exposure showed significantly increased RVSP,right ventricular free wall thickness and myocardial expressions of P16INK4A and P21CIP1,which were effectively lowered by treatment with Alda-1 but further increased in ALDH2-/-mice.In cultured pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells,hypoxic exposure significantly increased senescent cell percentage and cellular expressions of P16INK4A and P21CIP1,which were all lowered by treatment with Alda-1,but its effect was obviously attenuated by EX527 treatment.Conclusion ALDH2 alleviates hypoxia-induced senescence of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells by upregulating the SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway to alleviate pulmonary hypertension in mice.

With the advent of big data era and improvement of computer performance, the artificial intelligence (AI) technology has rapidly boosted in the field of stomatology. Dental caries is one of the cutting-edge research domains in stomatology. The application of AI in dental caries is expected to promote intelligent, precise and high-efficient diagnosis and treatment of caries. This article focuses on the application of AI in medical-aided diagnosis, treatment and risk prediction of caries and discusses their challenges.

Objective To investigate whether activation of mitochondrial acetal dehydrogenase 2(ALDH2)alleviates hypoxic pulmonary hypertension by regulating the SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway.Methods Thirty 8-week-old C57 BL/6 mice were randomized into control,hypoxia,and hypoxia+Alda-1(an ALDH2 activator)group(n=10),and the mice in the latter two groups,along with 10 ALDH2 knockout(ALDH2-/-)mice,were exposed to hypoxia(10%O2,90%N2)with or without daily intraperitoneal injection of Alda-1 for 4 weeks.The changes in right ventricular function and pressure(RVSP)of the mice were evaluated by echocardiography and right ventricular catheter test,and pulmonary artery pressure was estimated based on RVSP.Pulmonary vascular remodeling,right ventricular injury,myocardial α-SMA expression,distal pulmonary arteriole muscle normalization,right ventricular cross-sectional area,myocardial cell hypertrophy,and right cardiac hypertrophy index were assessed with HE staining,immunofluorescence staining and WGA staining,and the expressions of ALDH2,SIRT1,PGC-1α,P16INK4A and P21CIP1 were detected.In pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells with hypoxic exposure,the effect of Alda-1 and EX527 on cell senescence and protein expressions was evaluated using β-galactose staining and Western blotting.Results The wild-type mice with hypoxic exposure showed significantly increased RVSP,right ventricular free wall thickness and myocardial expressions of P16INK4A and P21CIP1,which were effectively lowered by treatment with Alda-1 but further increased in ALDH2-/-mice.In cultured pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells,hypoxic exposure significantly increased senescent cell percentage and cellular expressions of P16INK4A and P21CIP1,which were all lowered by treatment with Alda-1,but its effect was obviously attenuated by EX527 treatment.Conclusion ALDH2 alleviates hypoxia-induced senescence of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells by upregulating the SIRT1/PGC-1α signaling pathway to alleviate pulmonary hypertension in mice.

Objective:To investigate the value of BRAF V600E and multigene detection and stratified application for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules.Methods:A total of 1 117 patients with thyroid nodules resection at Nanjing Gulou Hospital from December 2020 to July 2022 were enrolled in the study. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) and core biopsy samplings were performed for cytopathologic examination and genetic testings; the findings were combined with BSRTC classification. The diagnostic performance of BRAF V600E and multigene detection were compared.Results:Among the 1, 117 patients who underwent thyroid nodules resection, 285 were male and 832 were female, with a median age of 46 years (range: 24-76 years). Postoperative histopathologic examination confirmed 1 040 cases of thyroid cancer and 77 cases of benign nodules. The sensitivity (87.0% vs. 80.8%, P<0.01) and diagnostic accuracy (87.9% vs. 82.1%, P<0.01) of multigene detection were significantly higher than those of BRAF V600E detection. The result of multigene detection showed that BRAF V600E mutation was the most common finding, followed by CCDC6-RET (E1-E12) fusion, ETV6-NTRK3 fusion, and KRAS mutation. Multigene detection had a higher sensitivity (81.9% vs. 72.8%, P<0.01) and lower cancer risk in wild-type (47.6% vs. 57.7%, P=0.069) than BRAF V600E detection in BSRTCⅠ-Ⅴ lesions. Compared with BRAF V600E detection, multigene had no significant difference of sensitivity in BSRTC Ⅰ lesions, but significantly higher sensitivity (86.3% vs 74.0%, P<0.01) in BSRTC Ⅲ lesions. Conclusions:Genetic detection can be used as an effective tool for the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. A stratified application of molecular markers in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules is proposed. Combined with FNA, single gene or multigene detection both can effectively assist in the diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Moreover, multigene detection is superior to single gene detection. For BSRTC Ⅲ lesion with wild-type BRAF, multigene detection can be considered with a repeated FNA.

Objective To study the changes of tinnitus after cochlear implantation in post-lingual adault recip-ients and analyze the factors that affect tinnitus.Methods A total of 47 postilingually-deafened adult subjects with tinnitus who underwent cochlear implantation at the Department of Otology,the first affiliated hospital of Zheng-zhou University,from January 2017 to December 2021.The subjects were evaluated using tinnitus handicap invento-ry(THI)and visual analogue scale(VAS)before cochlear implantation and 6 months after cochlear implant surger-y.Results Among 47 subjects who were eligible for this study,the THI scores were 36.94±13.337,14.48± 12.726,respectively,before CI and 6 months after cochlear implantation.The VAS scores were 5.13±1.676 be-fore and 2.34±1.903 after cochlear tmplantation.Statistical analysis showed significant differences in THI and VAS scores before and after cochlear implantation(P＜0.05).A total of 18 patients experienced complete tinnitus suppression,14 patients experienced alleviation of tinnitus,tinnitus remained unchanged in 13 patients,tinnitus worsened in 2 patients,and the overall efficiency was 66.0％(31/47).The tinnitus alleviation rate was signifant higher in the patients with tinnitus history of ≤5 years than the patients with tinnitus history of＞5 years(P＜0.05).There was a statistically significant difference in tinnitus alleviation between the patients with mild tinnitus and the patients with more than mild tinnitus before surgery(P＜0.001).Conclusion Cochlear implantation has an inhibitory effect on tinnitus in adults.Patients with shorter duration of the tinnitus and higher tinnitus handicap are more likely to experience tinnitus improvement after cochlear implantation.

Objective:To investigate the feasibility and therapeutic effects of a self-designed portable enteral nutrition (EN) kit for home EN in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) .Methods:A total of 60 patients suffered from moderately severe AP and severe AP and needed home EN in Department of Gastroenterology of First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University between April 2022 and June 2023 were enrolled. They were randomly assigned to portable EN group (observation group, n=28) and routine EN group (control group, n=29) according to random number table. All patients were given EN guidance before discharge. After discharge, all patients were given weekly telephone follow-up to guide the resolution of home EN problems. Patients were followed up from discharge to extubation. The age, gender, body mass index (BMI), disease severity, laboratory indicators (white blood cell, hemoglobin, albumin, total protein), AP related complications before discharge were recorded. During the follow-up period, changes in BMI, laboratory indicators, gastrointestinal symptoms, infection related complications, nutrition tube related complications and Barthel index were recorded. Results:all indicators in the two groups were not significantly statistically different, which comparable at baseline. During the 1-week, 2-week, 3-week and 4-week follow-up period, there was no significant difference on the incidence of infection and complications related to nutrition tube between the two groups, while the incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). At the 3-week and 4-week follow-up, the BMI [ (22.38±3.84) vs (20.38±3.56) kg/m 2; (22.59±3.77) vs (20.54±3.37) kg/m 2], hemoglobin [ (125.00±13.46) vs (113.4±13.64) g/L; (126.20±14.37) vs (114.3±13.25) g/L], and albumin [ (40.96±3.07) vs (39.17±3.31) g/L; (41.79±2.73) vs (39.97±2.67) g/L] levels of the observation group were significantly higher than those of the control group; the living ability score of the observation group was significantly higher than that of the control group (87.32±5.85 vs 82.59±9.79; 89.64±1.31 vs 83.97±8.80) ; and all the differences were statistically significant (all P value <0.05) . Conclusions:The application of portable EN kit can help reduce the gastrointestinal symptoms of AP patients who need long-term home EN, improve nutritional status and life ability.

Objective To investigate the inhibitory effect of Sauchinone(Sch)on renal tissue fibrosis and to explore its mechanism in unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO)mice.Methods Forty male ICR mice were divided into Sham,UUO-Model,Sch Low-dose,Sch High-dose,and positive control(Val)groups.Mice in the sham group underwent isolation of the left renal ureter without ligation,and mice in the UUO-Model group underwent stripping of the left proximal ureter for double ligation.Starting on day 2 after surgery,the Sch Low-dose group received 10 mg/kg Sch,the Sch High-dose group received 30 mg/kg Sch,and the Val group received 100 mg/kg valsartan by gavage once daily for 4 weeks.At the end of drug administration,serum creatinine(SCr),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),and the inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α and interleukin(IL)-6 were measured.Superoxide dismutase(SOD)activity,and malondialdehyde(MDA)and reactive oxygen species(ROS)content were detected in renal tissues.TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA levels were detected in renal tissues by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction.Pathological changes and collagen deposition,as well as transforming growth factor(TGF)-β1,Smad3,and connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)protein expression in mouse renal tissues were detected by hematoxylin and eosin and Masson staining,and immunohistochemistry.Collagen Ⅰ,CTGF,Smad3,nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2),heme oxygenase-1(HO-1),and nuclear factor(NF)-κB protein expression in renal tissues were detected by Western Blot.Results SCr,BUN,TNF-α,and IL-6 were all significantly reduced in Sch Low-dose and Sch High-dose mice compared with the UUO-Model group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),while SOD activity was significantly higher and MDA and ROS levels were significantly lower in renal tissues(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),and TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA in renal tissues were significantly reduced(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Microscopic observation of swollen renal tubules with thylakoid hyperplasia and collagen fiber deposition was significantly improved.Immunohistochemistry showed a significant reduction in TGF-β1,Smad3,and CTGF protein expression in renal tissues,and Western Blot showed significantly reduced levels of Collagen Ⅰ,CTGF,Smad3,and NF-κB protein expression(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),while Nrf2 and HO-1 protein expression levels were significantly elevated(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Conclusions The amelioration of renal tissue fibrosis by sauchinone may be mediated via anti-inflammatory and antioxidative stress effects that modulate the expression of pro-fibrotic proteins in the TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling pathway.

Objective:To analyze the current status of anesthesiology research in the world and China in 2023 and to identify the anesthesiology research hotspots using bibliometrics.Methods:The literature related to anesthesiology published in PubMed in 2023 was searched, and the country and author of the literature, as well as the key words of the literature were visually analyzed by using the software CiteSpace6.2. R4.Results:A total of 22 473 articles were included, the country with the largest number of publications was the United States, and China ranked second. The author with the highest number of publications in the field of anesthesiology in the worldwide in 2023 was Kaye Alan D from the United States. Chronic pain, general anesthesia and pain management were the research hotspots in the field of anesthesiology worldwide in 2023. The research hotspots in the field of anesthesiology in China focused on general anesthesia, oxidative stress and neuropathic pain.Conclusions:The United States is the leader in the research in the field of anesthesiology, with China following behind. The keywords of the literature in the field of anesthesiology between China and the world are roughly the same, reflecting the convergence of Chinese scientific research with global scientific research. Domestic anaesthesia practitioners can refer to or learn from the research hotspots of related countries and strengthen communication and cooperation between teams while conducting academic research.

Black phosphorus, as a novel two-dimensional nanomaterial, has received a lot of attention from researchers for its unique structure and properties. In recent years, with the increasing cross-sectional research related to black phosphorus 2D nanomaterials in various fields such as materials science, physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine, it has shown great potential for development and application in biomedicine. The excellent photoacoustic properties and good biocompatibility of black phosphorus 2D nanomaterials make them outstanding in tumor diagnosis and treatment. In this paper, the structure and properties, preparation, and functional modification of black phosphorus two-dimensional nanomaterials and their potential applications in the bio-detection and treatment of tumors, as well as the application progress of antibacterial were reviewed.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics and outcome of patients with voltage-gated potassium channel complex (VGKCc) antibody associated clinical syndromes complicated with myasthenia gravis (MG) with thymoma.Methods:The clinical history, examinations and follow-up prognosis of 2 cases of VGKCc antibodies associated clinical syndromes with MG complicated with thymoma in Qilu Hospital (Qingdao), Cheeloo College of Medicine,Shandong University in September 2020 and December 2020 were reviewed. Related literatures were summarized at the same time.Results:Case 1, a 64-year-old female clinically presented with cognitive impairment, psychosis, and epilepsy seizures, whose serum autoimmune antibody testing showed positive leucine-rich glioma-inhibited 1 (LGI1) antibody, was diagnosed as anti-LGI1 encephalitis,and had history of MG with thymoma. Her symptoms were improved by immunotherapy. Case 2, a 67-year-old male, was diagnosed as MG, and developed cognitive impairment, myokymia and autonomic dysfunction later. His serum autoimmune antibody testing showed positive contactin associated protein-like 2 antibody. Therefore, Morvan syndrome complicated with MG with thymoma was definitely diagnosed. After admission, the patient was improved with immunotherapy and thymoma resection.Conclusions:Patients with VGKCc antibody-associated clinical syndromes complicated with MG have the clinical characteristics of the two diseases simultaneously, and there is also crossover. Immunotherapy and treatment for thymoma are generally effective.