BACKGROUND: Children's respiratory health demonstrates particular sensitivity to air pollution. Existing evidence investigating the association between short-term ozone (O₃) exposure and childhood pneumonia remains insufficient and inconsistent, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). METHOD: To provide more reliable and persuasive evidence, we implemented a multi-city, time-stratified case-crossover design with a large sample size, using data from seven representative children's hospitals across major geographical regions in China. To avoid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, individual-level medical records of inpatient children under 6 years of age diagnosed with pneumonia during 2016-2019 were collected. Conditional logistic regression models were fitted for each city, and city-specific estimates were pooled through a meta-analysis using a random-effects model. RESULTS: In total, the study included 137,470 pediatric pneumonia hospital admissions. The highest pooled estimate for O₃ occurred at lag0-1, with a 10 µg/m³ increase in O₃ associated with a 1.57% (95% CI: 0.67%-2.48%) higher risk of pediatric pneumonia hospital admissions. Stratified analyses indicated that the effects of O₃ were robust across different sexes, age groups, and admission seasons. We also observed a statistically significant increase in risk associated with O₃ concentrations exceeding the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines (WHO-AQGs). CONCLUSIONS This study revealed a significant positive association between O₃ and pediatric pneumonia hospital admissions. Our findings substantially strengthen the evidence base for the adverse health impacts of O₃, underscoring the importance of O₃ pollution control and management in reducing the public health burden of pediatric pneumonia.
Humans ; Ozone/analysis* ; China/epidemiology* ; Pneumonia/chemically induced* ; Child, Preschool ; Male ; Female ; Infant ; Cross-Over Studies ; Air Pollutants/analysis* ; Hospitalization/statistics & numerical data* ; Child ; Cities/epidemiology* ; Air Pollution/adverse effects* ; Infant, Newborn ; Environmental Exposure/adverse effects*

Objective To examine the association between sleep and depressive symptoms among community-dwelling older adults and whether loneliness mediates this association.Methods Using a multistage sampling approach,we enrolled participants aged 60 years or older from two communities in Chengdu,China.A questionnaire was used to collect basic information,including age,sex,etc.,from the participants.In addition,loneliness,depressive symptoms,and sleep quality were assessed using a short-form University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale(ULS-8),the 10-item version of Center of Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale(CESD-10),and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI),respectively.The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was employed to assess the correlations among social sleep,loneliness,and depression symptoms.Generalized structural equation modeling was used to assess the mediating effect of loneliness between sleep and depressive symptoms.Results Of the 1377 participants,32.03％(441)experienced loneliness and 30.57％(421)had depressive symptoms,with the median and interquartile range of their sleep quality being 6(3,9).Correlation analysis revealed statistically significant associations between sleep quality,loneliness,and depressive symptoms(P＜0.001).Generalized structural equation modeling analysis revealed that loneliness had a partial mediation effect on the association between sleep quality and depressive symptoms(b=0.075;95％CI,0.025-0.125;P＜0.05),accounting for 44.38％of the total effect(95％CI,0.258-0.630;P＜0.001).Conclusion Poor sleep quality is associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults,with loneliness mediating the association.Further research on improving the sleep quality to mitigate depressive symptoms in older adults is warranted.Special attention should be given to older adults experiencing both poor sleep and loneliness.

Objective To explore the effects and mechanisms of Changpu Yujin Tang(CPYJT)on the NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3/cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-1/Gasdermin D(NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD)signaling pathway-mediated neuroinflammation in rats with Tourette syndrome(TS).Methods SPF-grade male SD rats were randomly divided into the Control and TS groups.After successful modeling in the TS group,the rats were randomly divided into the Model,Tiapride,and CPYJT groups,and were treated with the corresponding drugs for 4 weeks.After the treatment,the rats' behavior was scored,H & E staining was used to observe pathological changes in the striatum,ELISA was used to measure the content of IL-1β and IL-18,RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of NLRP3 and ASC mRNA,and Western blot was used to detect the expression of NLRP3,ASC,Caspase-1,Cleaved-Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-NT proteins.Results Compared with the Control group,the Model group showed increased scores of stereotyped and motor behaviors(P＜0.01),pathological changes in the striatal tissue,increased content of IL-1β and IL-18(P＜0.01),and upregulated expression of NLRP3,ASC mRNA,and NLRP3,ASC,Caspase-1,Cleaved-Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-NT proteins(P＜0.01).Compared with the Model group,the Tiapride group and the CPYJT group showed decreased scores of stereotyped and motor behaviors(P＜0.01),improved pathological damage in the striatal tissue,reduced content of IL-1β and IL-18(P＜0.01),and inhibited expression of NLRP3,ASC mRNA,and NLRP3,ASC,Caspase-1,Cleaved-Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-NT proteins(P＜0.01).Conclusion The therapeutic effect of CPYJT on TS is related to the inhibition of the neuroinflammatory response mediated by the NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the feasibility of magnetic tracer technique for locating pulmonary nodules.Methods A tracer magnet and a matching puncture instrument were designed by ourselves for locating pulmonary nodules.After preliminarily verifying the feasibility of the operation in the isolated lung,four beagle dogs were used as animal models to perform puncture localization of the assumed lesions in the upper lobe of the right lung under the guidance of X-ray by using self-designed tracer magnets and puncture instruments,and the positioning effect was observed and evaluated after thorax opening.The operation time required for the tracer magnet implantation,whether there is bleeding at the puncture site,whether the tracer magnet is displaced,and the positioning time of pulmonary nodules after thorax opening were recorded.Results Two tracer magnets were successfully inserted into the upper lobe of the right lung under X-ray guidance in four beagle dogs,and the magnets were successfully attracted and fixed.The median insertion time of the tracer magnet was 5 minutes(4 to 7 minutes),and the insertion process was smooth without bleeding at the puncture site.After thorax opening,oval forceps were used to conveniently locate the location of the tracer magnet,achieving accurate positioning of pulmonary nodules with a median positioning time of 13 seconds(10 to 17 seconds),and the tracer magnet did not shift during the whole process.Conclusion The magnetic tracer technique is simple to operate and pricise for localization of pulmonary nodules.With further optimization of the operation process,this technique is expected to be applied in clinic.

Objective To explore the effects and mechanisms of Changpu Yujin Tang(CPYJT)on the NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3/cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase-1/Gasdermin D(NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD)signaling pathway-mediated neuroinflammation in rats with Tourette syndrome(TS).Methods SPF-grade male SD rats were randomly divided into the Control and TS groups.After successful modeling in the TS group,the rats were randomly divided into the Model,Tiapride,and CPYJT groups,and were treated with the corresponding drugs for 4 weeks.After the treatment,the rats' behavior was scored,H & E staining was used to observe pathological changes in the striatum,ELISA was used to measure the content of IL-1β and IL-18,RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of NLRP3 and ASC mRNA,and Western blot was used to detect the expression of NLRP3,ASC,Caspase-1,Cleaved-Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-NT proteins.Results Compared with the Control group,the Model group showed increased scores of stereotyped and motor behaviors(P＜0.01),pathological changes in the striatal tissue,increased content of IL-1β and IL-18(P＜0.01),and upregulated expression of NLRP3,ASC mRNA,and NLRP3,ASC,Caspase-1,Cleaved-Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-NT proteins(P＜0.01).Compared with the Model group,the Tiapride group and the CPYJT group showed decreased scores of stereotyped and motor behaviors(P＜0.01),improved pathological damage in the striatal tissue,reduced content of IL-1β and IL-18(P＜0.01),and inhibited expression of NLRP3,ASC mRNA,and NLRP3,ASC,Caspase-1,Cleaved-Caspase-1,GSDMD,and GSDMD-NT proteins(P＜0.01).Conclusion The therapeutic effect of CPYJT on TS is related to the inhibition of the neuroinflammatory response mediated by the NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the subacute toxicity and target organs of triethylenediammonium perchlorate ammonium complex salt (DAP-4) .Methods:In August 2024, 40 SPF-grade SD rats were selected, with 10 rats in each group, half male and half female. There were 45, 140, and 420 mg/kg DAP-4 groups and a control group. Rats in each dose DAP-4 group were orally administered the corresponding amount of DAP-4 solution, while the control group was given the same dose of 1% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose. SD rats were given intragastric administration once a day for 28 consecutive days. The behaviors, histopathological changes, and blood physiological and biochemical indicators of rats were detected at the corresponding time points respectively. One-way analysis of variance was used for the comparison of quantitative data between groups.Results:Compared with the control group, the body weight, food intake and food utilization rate of female and male rats in the 420 mg/kg DAP-4 group were significantly decreased ( P<0.05), while no abnormalities were observed in the other dose groups. Compared with the control group, the white blood cell count of female rats in the 420 mg/kg DAP-4 group decreased, while the hemoglobin and hematocrit decreased and the total serum protein increased of male rats ( P<0.05). Compared with the control group, fibrinogen was increased in both female and male rats in the 420 mg/kg DAP-4 group, and the thrombin time of female rats was shortened ( P<0.05). In each dose group, the livers of female and male rats showed varying degrees of vacuolar degeneration, and the renal tubules of female rats were swollen. Conclusion:420 mg/kg DAP-4 can cause damage to the liver and kidney of rats, and the maximal no effect level of DAP-4 for rats is 140 mg/kg.

Objective:Exploring the association rules of factors influencing high hospitalization costs for cancer patients, providing references for hospitals to optimize medical cost management measures.Methods:In the inpatient case information system of a tertiary general hospital, the medical record homepages of inpatients in the DRG groups of the oncology department in 2022 were obtained. The upper four scores of hospitalization costs was used as the threshold for patient grouping. Patients with hospitalization costs≥this threshold were the high-cost group, while other patients were control group; 12 factors, including age, gender, and admission condition, etc, were considered as potential influencing factors of high hospitalization costs. FP-Growth and Apriori algorithms were used to excavate the potential association rules between the influencing factors of high hospitalization costs. Logistic regression was used to analyze the independent influencing factors of high hospitalization costs.Results:A total of 5 512 hospitalized patients were included, including 1 378 patients in the high-cost group. Thirteen validated strong association rules for factors influencing high hospitalization costs were obtained, of which the rule antecedents included age (≥70 years), number of days in hospital (≥7 days), other diagnoses (≥5), surgery, planned readmission, use of antibiotics, admission (general/critical), living admission score (61~99), level of care (level 1/level 2), non-day ward, criticality during hospitalisation. Logistic regression results showed that all nine influencing factors except gender, use of antibiotics, and readmission plans were independent influences on high hospitalization costs ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The joint application of FP-Growth and Apriori algorithm could effectively explore the association rules of high hospitalization costs for oncology patients. The early warning information mainly included the number of hospitalization days, the number of other diagnoses, surgeries, and so on. It was suggested that medical institutions can reasonably control the high hospitalization costs through clinical pathway management, diagnosis and treatment process reengineering, admission risk assessment, and multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment strategies.

Objective To investigate the feasibility of magnetic tracer technique for locating pulmonary nodules.Methods A tracer magnet and a matching puncture instrument were designed by ourselves for locating pulmonary nodules.After preliminarily verifying the feasibility of the operation in the isolated lung,four beagle dogs were used as animal models to perform puncture localization of the assumed lesions in the upper lobe of the right lung under the guidance of X-ray by using self-designed tracer magnets and puncture instruments,and the positioning effect was observed and evaluated after thorax opening.The operation time required for the tracer magnet implantation,whether there is bleeding at the puncture site,whether the tracer magnet is displaced,and the positioning time of pulmonary nodules after thorax opening were recorded.Results Two tracer magnets were successfully inserted into the upper lobe of the right lung under X-ray guidance in four beagle dogs,and the magnets were successfully attracted and fixed.The median insertion time of the tracer magnet was 5 minutes(4 to 7 minutes),and the insertion process was smooth without bleeding at the puncture site.After thorax opening,oval forceps were used to conveniently locate the location of the tracer magnet,achieving accurate positioning of pulmonary nodules with a median positioning time of 13 seconds(10 to 17 seconds),and the tracer magnet did not shift during the whole process.Conclusion The magnetic tracer technique is simple to operate and pricise for localization of pulmonary nodules.With further optimization of the operation process,this technique is expected to be applied in clinic.

Objective:To systematically evaluate the associations of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) with post-stroke depression (PSD).Methods:PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, and Wanfang databases were searched to collect literature comparing levels of CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α at the peripheral blood between PSD and non-PSD patients, with retrieval time limit from inception to June 2024. Literature was screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria, and data were extracted. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of included literature. Meta analysis was conducted using Stata 18.0 software, and publication bias was assessed.Results:A total of 21 pieces of literature with 3,177 participants were collected, including 1,425 patients with PSD and 1,752 patients with non-PSD. Meta analysis results showed that CRP level at the peripheral blood in PSD patients was significantly higher than that in non-PSD patients (standardized mean difference [ SMD]=0.930, 95% CI: 0.580-1.280, P<0.001). Subgroup analysis results showed that, among the 7 pieces of literature with CRP detection<14 days after stroke, CRP level at the peripheral blood in PSD patients was significantly higher than that in non-PSD patients ( SMD=0.640, 95% CI: 0.38-0.89, I2=83.9%, P<0.001); among the 4 pieces of literature with CRP detection≧14 days after stroke, CRP level at the peripheral blood in PSD patients was significantly higher than that in non-PSD patients ( SMD=1.450, 95% CI: 0.820-2.090, P<0.001), enjoying higher heterogeneity ( I2=90.6%). IL-6 level at the peripheral blood in PSD patients was significantly higher than that in non-PSD patients ( SMD=2.659, 95% CI: 1.583-3.735, P<0.001). No significant difference in TNF-α level at the peripheral blood was noted between PSD patients and non-PSD patients ( SMD=0.403, 95% CI: -0.208-1.014, P=0.196). Conclusion:CRP and IL-6 levels at the peripheral blood in PSD patients are obviuosly higher than those in non-PSD patients, suggesting that CRP and IL-6 may be potential biomarkers for early identification and intervention of PSD.