BACKGROUND:Hippocampal injury caused by aortic coarctation has been poorly studied,and combined detection of tumor necrosis factor α,nuclear factor κB and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule-1 expression in aortic dissection has not been reported.OBJECTIVE:To observe histomorphologic changes in the hippocampus of a mouse model of aortic dissection and investigate the expression and significance of tumor necrosis factor alpha,nuclear factor kappaB and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule-1 in the hippocampus of aortic dissection mice.METHODS:Sixteen healthy 3-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups:control group and aortic dissection group,with eight mice in each group.In the aortic dissection group,mice were given β-aminopropionitrile monofumarate as drinking water for 4 weeks,and the angiotensin Ⅱ microinfiltration pump was then implanted to establish an animal model of aortic dissection.Mice in the control group were given normal diet and water.After the model was established,the maximum diameter of the ascending aorta was measured,hematoxylin-eosin staining and EVG staining were performed to evaluate the model formation rate,and the levels of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6 in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The hippocampus was dissected and stained with hematoxylin-eosin to observe the pathological changes of the hippocampus in brain sections.The protein expression of tumor necrosis factor α,nuclear factor κB and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule-1 was detected by western blot analysis.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with the control group,the maximum diameter of the ascending aorta in the aortic dissection group was significantly enlarged.(2)Hematoxylin-eosin staining of the aorta showed obvious thickening of the middle aorta and destruction and disorder of the aortic wall structure in mice.Neurons in the CA1 and CA3 regions of mice were sparsely arranged,reduced in size,and showed pyknosis with deeply stained nuclei.(3)Serum levels of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6 were increased in the aortic dissection group compared with the control group(P＜0.01).(4)The expression levels of tumor necrosis factor α,nuclear factor κB,phosphorylated nuclear factor κB,and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule-1 in the hippocampus were increased in the aortic dissection group compared with the control group(P＜0.05).To conclude,microglial activation and increased expression of tumor necrosis factor α and nuclear factor κB may be involved in hippocampal neuron injury in aortic dissection mice.

Despite publishing and securing research grants being obligatory in research universities, the literature on the factors influencing academic productivity is relatively scarce. Thus, in this study, we aimed to determine the personal and behavioural-related factors that influence the culture of publishing and securing research grants among academicians with lower research-related performance. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 49 academic staff members of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). A self-administered questionnaire consisting of personal, attitude and behavioural (barriers, perceived stress scale, work extrinsic and intrinsic motivation scale, psychological well-being scale, and basic needs satisfaction scale) questions were distributed during a workshop and online. Simple linear regression (SLR) analyses were performed for each variable, followed by multiple linear regression (MLR) to identify the associated factors of research output. After adjusting for covariates, having a doctoral degree (β=0.396, 95% CI=0.221-2.146, p<0.05) and integrated regulation (β=0.574, 95% CI=0.036-3.612, p<0.05) were found to be associated with research grant acquisition (R2=0.273). Moreover, increasing age (β=0.426, 95% CI=0.088-0.397, p<0.05), living alone (β=0.331, 95% CI=0.944-6.626, p<0.05), having a doctoral degree (β=0.248, 95% CI=0.174-6.747, p<0.05), environmental mastery (β=0.318, 95% CI=0.013-0.347, p<0.05), self-acceptance (β=0.284, 95% CI=0.010-0.242, p<0.05), satisfaction incompetence (β=0.273, 95% CI=0.001-0.200, p<0.05) and relatedness (β=0.280, 95% CI=0.001-0.116, p<0.05) were found to be the factors that influence the publications produced among participants (R2 =0.423). The findings of this study could be used by management to formulate effective strategies to increase the productivity of academics in their research-related performance.

ObjectiveCleft palate (CP) is a common congenital deformity often associated with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI), which disrupts the physiological coupling between respiration and speech. Conventional clinical assessments, such as nasometry and spirometry, provide limited static data and fail to visualize the dynamic spatiotemporal distribution of lung ventilation during phonation. This study introduces spatiotemporal electrical impedance tomography (ST-EIT) to evaluate speech-respiratory functional features in CP patients compared to normal controls (NC). The aim is to characterize multi-domain respiratory patterns and to validate an interpretable machine learning framework for providing objective, quantitative evidence for clinical assessment. MethodsSeventy-five participants were enrolled in this study, comprising 37 patients with surgically repaired CP and 38 healthy volunteers matched for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). All subjects performed standardized sustained phonation tasks while undergoing synchronous monitoring with a 16-electrode EIT system and a pneumotachograph. A comprehensive feature engineering pipeline was developed to extract physiological parameters across 3 complementary domains. (1) Temporal domain: including inspiratory/expiratory phase duration (tPhase), time constants (Tau), and inspiratory-to-expiratory time ratios (TI/TE); (2) airflow domain: comprising mean flow, peak flow, and instantaneous flow at 25%, 50%, and 75% of tidal volume; and (3) spatial domain: quantifying global and regional tidal impedance variation (TIV), global inhomogeneity (GI), and center of ventilation (CoV). Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) classifiers were trained using 5 distinct data sources (Spirometry, Nasometry, Inspiratory-EIT, Expiratory-EIT, and fused ST-EIT). Model performance was rigorously evaluated via stratified 5-fold cross-validation, and Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) were employed to quantify global and local feature contributions. ResultsThe CP group exhibited a distinct respiratory phenotype compared to controls. In the temporal domain, CP patients showed significantly shorter inspiratory (1.60 s vs.1.85 s, P<0.001) and expiratory phase durations (2.45 s vs. 3.95 s, P<0.001), indicating a rapid, shallow breathing rhythm. In the airflow domain, while inspiratory flows were comparable, the CP group demonstrated significantly elevated mean and peak flows during the expiratory phase (P<0.001), reflecting compensatory respiratory effort. Spatially, CP patients presented significant ventilation redistribution, characterized by higher regional TIV in the right-anterior (ROI1) and left-posterior (ROI4) quadrants, but lower TIV in the left-anterior (ROI2) quadrant. In terms of diagnostic accuracy, the multi-modal ST-EIT model achieved the highest performance (AUC: 0.915±0.012, Accuracy: 0.843±0.019, F1-score: 0.872±0.017), substantially outperforming models based on spirometry (AUC: 0.721) or nasometry (AUC: 0.625) alone. Interpretability analysis revealed that spatial domain features were the most critical, contributing 53.4% to the model’s decision-making, followed by temporal (25.0%) and airflow (21.6%) features. ConclusionST-EIT successfully captures the temporal, airflow, and spatial deviations in CP speech respiration that are undetectable by conventional methods—specifically, rapid phase transitions, hyperdynamic expiratory airflow, and regional ventilation heterogeneity. This study validates ST-EIT as a robust, non-invasive, and radiation-free tool for characterizing speech-respiratory dysfunction, offering high clinical value for bedside screening, rehabilitation planning, and longitudinal monitoring of patients with cleft palate.

ObjectiveCleft palate (CP) is a common congenital deformity often associated with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI), which disrupts the physiological coupling between respiration and speech. Conventional clinical assessments, such as nasometry and spirometry, provide limited static data and fail to visualize the dynamic spatiotemporal distribution of lung ventilation during phonation. This study introduces spatiotemporal electrical impedance tomography (ST-EIT) to evaluate speech-respiratory functional features in CP patients compared to normal controls (NC). The aim is to characterize multi-domain respiratory patterns and to validate an interpretable machine learning framework for providing objective, quantitative evidence for clinical assessment. MethodsSeventy-five participants were enrolled in this study, comprising 37 patients with surgically repaired CP and 38 healthy volunteers matched for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). All subjects performed standardized sustained phonation tasks while undergoing synchronous monitoring with a 16-electrode EIT system and a pneumotachograph. A comprehensive feature engineering pipeline was developed to extract physiological parameters across 3 complementary domains. (1) Temporal domain: including inspiratory/expiratory phase duration (tPhase), time constants (Tau), and inspiratory-to-expiratory time ratios (TI/TE); (2) airflow domain: comprising mean flow, peak flow, and instantaneous flow at 25%, 50%, and 75% of tidal volume; and (3) spatial domain: quantifying global and regional tidal impedance variation (TIV), global inhomogeneity (GI), and center of ventilation (CoV). Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) classifiers were trained using 5 distinct data sources (Spirometry, Nasometry, Inspiratory-EIT, Expiratory-EIT, and fused ST-EIT). Model performance was rigorously evaluated via stratified 5-fold cross-validation, and Shapley additive explanations (SHAP) were employed to quantify global and local feature contributions. ResultsThe CP group exhibited a distinct respiratory phenotype compared to controls. In the temporal domain, CP patients showed significantly shorter inspiratory (1.60 s vs.1.85 s, P<0.001) and expiratory phase durations (2.45 s vs. 3.95 s, P<0.001), indicating a rapid, shallow breathing rhythm. In the airflow domain, while inspiratory flows were comparable, the CP group demonstrated significantly elevated mean and peak flows during the expiratory phase (P<0.001), reflecting compensatory respiratory effort. Spatially, CP patients presented significant ventilation redistribution, characterized by higher regional TIV in the right-anterior (ROI1) and left-posterior (ROI4) quadrants, but lower TIV in the left-anterior (ROI2) quadrant. In terms of diagnostic accuracy, the multi-modal ST-EIT model achieved the highest performance (AUC: 0.915±0.012, Accuracy: 0.843±0.019, F1-score: 0.872±0.017), substantially outperforming models based on spirometry (AUC: 0.721) or nasometry (AUC: 0.625) alone. Interpretability analysis revealed that spatial domain features were the most critical, contributing 53.4% to the model’s decision-making, followed by temporal (25.0%) and airflow (21.6%) features. ConclusionST-EIT successfully captures the temporal, airflow, and spatial deviations in CP speech respiration that are undetectable by conventional methods—specifically, rapid phase transitions, hyperdynamic expiratory airflow, and regional ventilation heterogeneity. This study validates ST-EIT as a robust, non-invasive, and radiation-free tool for characterizing speech-respiratory dysfunction, offering high clinical value for bedside screening, rehabilitation planning, and longitudinal monitoring of patients with cleft palate.

This paper systematically reviews the current status of integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori （Hp） infection， as well as recent progress in clinical and basic research both in China and internationally. It summarizes the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in Hp infection management， including improving Hp eradication rates， enhancing antibiotic sensitivity， reducing antimicrobial resistance， decreasing drug-related adverse effects， and ameliorating gastric mucosal lesions. These advantages are particularly evident in patients who are intolerant to bismuth-containing regimens， those with refractory Hp infection， and individuals with precancerous gastric lesions. An integrated， whole-process management approach and individualized， staged comprehensive treatment strategies combining TCM and western medicine are proposed for Hp infection. Future prevention and control of Hp infection should adopt an integrative Chinese-western medical strategy， emphasizing prevention， strengthening primary care， implementing proactive long-term monitoring， optimizing screening strategies， and advancing the development of novel technologies and mechanistic studies of Chinese herbal interventions. These efforts aim to provide a theoretical basis and practical pathways for the establishment and improvement of Hp infection prevention and control systems.

ObjectiveTo investigate the present situation of input, output, outcome and impact of all registered community-based rehabilitation stations in Inner Mongolia in China, and analyze how the input predict the output, outcome and impact. MethodsFrom March 1st to April 30th, 2025, a questionnaire survey was conducted on all registered community-based rehabilitation stations in Inner Mongolia, covering four dimensions: input, output, outcome and impact. A total of 1 365 questionnaires were distributed. The input included four items: laws and policies, human resources, equipment and facilities, and rehabilitation information management. The output included two items: technical paths and benefits/effectiveness. The outcome included three items: coverage rates, rehabilitation interventions and functional results. The impact included two items: health and sustainability. Each item contained several questions, all of which were described in a positive way. Each question was scored from one to five. A lower score indicated that the situation of the community-based rehabilitation station was more in line with the content described in the question. Regression analysis was performed using the total score of each item of input dimension as independent variables, and the total scores of the output, outcome and impact dimensions as dependent variables. ResultsA total of 1 262 valid questionnaires were collected. The mean values of input, output, outcome and impact of community-based rehabilitation stations were 1.827 to 1.904, with coefficient of variation of 45.892% to 49.239%. The regression analysis showed that, rehabilitation information management, human resources, and laws and policies significantly predicted the output dimension (R² = 0.910, P < 0.001). Meanwhile, all four items in the input dimension predicted both the outcome (R² = 0.850, P < 0.001) and impact dimensions (R² = 0.833, P < 0.001). ConclusionInput, output, outcome and impact of the community-based rehabilitation stations in Inner Mongolia were generally in line with the content of the questions, although some imbalances were observed. Additionally, the input of community-based rehabilitation stations could significantly predict their output, outcome and impact.

BACKGROUND:Hippocampal injury caused by aortic coarctation has been poorly studied,and combined detection of tumor necrosis factor α,nuclear factor κB and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule-1 expression in aortic dissection has not been reported.OBJECTIVE:To observe histomorphologic changes in the hippocampus of a mouse model of aortic dissection and investigate the expression and significance of tumor necrosis factor alpha,nuclear factor kappaB and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule-1 in the hippocampus of aortic dissection mice.METHODS:Sixteen healthy 3-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups:control group and aortic dissection group,with eight mice in each group.In the aortic dissection group,mice were given β-aminopropionitrile monofumarate as drinking water for 4 weeks,and the angiotensin Ⅱ microinfiltration pump was then implanted to establish an animal model of aortic dissection.Mice in the control group were given normal diet and water.After the model was established,the maximum diameter of the ascending aorta was measured,hematoxylin-eosin staining and EVG staining were performed to evaluate the model formation rate,and the levels of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6 in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The hippocampus was dissected and stained with hematoxylin-eosin to observe the pathological changes of the hippocampus in brain sections.The protein expression of tumor necrosis factor α,nuclear factor κB and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule-1 was detected by western blot analysis.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with the control group,the maximum diameter of the ascending aorta in the aortic dissection group was significantly enlarged.(2)Hematoxylin-eosin staining of the aorta showed obvious thickening of the middle aorta and destruction and disorder of the aortic wall structure in mice.Neurons in the CA1 and CA3 regions of mice were sparsely arranged,reduced in size,and showed pyknosis with deeply stained nuclei.(3)Serum levels of inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor α and interleukin 6 were increased in the aortic dissection group compared with the control group(P＜0.01).(4)The expression levels of tumor necrosis factor α,nuclear factor κB,phosphorylated nuclear factor κB,and ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule-1 in the hippocampus were increased in the aortic dissection group compared with the control group(P＜0.05).To conclude,microglial activation and increased expression of tumor necrosis factor α and nuclear factor κB may be involved in hippocampal neuron injury in aortic dissection mice.

Object:To explore the feasibility of using artificial intelligence for quality control of echocardiographic images.Methods:Retrospectively，5 000 two-dimensional echocardiographic video images within the period from 2021 to 2023 were randomly retrieved from the echocardiography database of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital，Affiliated Hospital of Medical School，Nanjing University. Among these selected images，1 559 of them were apical views. The physician team formulated the scoring rules，which specifically included four scoring criteria：gain，scaling ratio，cardiac axis angle，and structure. Subsequently，the data were labeled with view classification and image quality scores. The labeled data were further partitioned into the training set（ n = 643），the validation set（ n = 276），and the test set（ n = 640）. The training and validation sets were utilized for constructing the models for view classification and quality assessment，while the test set was employed to verify the models' effectiveness. The view classification module was implemented using the SlowFast model，and the quality assessment module involved algorithms such as ResNet，Video Swin Transformer，SSD，and U-Net. Results:The average accuracy，precision，recall rate and F1 score of the classification model in identifying each apical view were 0.987 1，0.983 0，0.987 1 and 0.984 9 respectively，and the inference time was（333.4 ± 105.4）ms. The average accuracies of the quality assessment module in terms of gain，scaling ratio，cardiac axis angle and display of main structures were 0.915 1，0.928 2，0.938 7 and 0.965 6 respectively，and the overall scoring accuracy was 0.912 7.Conclusions:The echocardiogram quality control system developed in this research can effectively classify and evaluate the quality of two-dimensional images of the apical views in echocardiograms. Moreover，it guarantees the objectivity，timeliness and high-efficiency of quality control，which has reference value for the establishment of the echocardiogram quality control system.

AIM To investigate the effects of Yiqi Juanbi Formula on chondrocyte pyroptosis in rat models of collagen-induced arthritis(CIA).METHODS Fifty rats were subcutaneously injected at the tail base with an emulsion containing equal volumes of bovine type Ⅱ collagen and incomplete Freund's adjuvant(IFA)to establish the CIA models.These rats were then randomly assigned to the model group,the methotrexate group(0.35 mg/kg),and the low-dose,medium-dose,and high-dose Yiqi Juanbi Formula groups(9.4,18.7,37.4 g/kg),in contrast to the ten intact rats serving in the normal control group.Following four weeks of intragastric administration,the rats had their general conditions observed;their joint swelling and arthritis indices measured;their ankle joint pathology assessed by HE staining;their serum levels of IL-1β,IL-18 and TNF-ɑ detected by ELISA;their mRNA expressions of NLRP3,Caspase-1,GSDMD,IL-1β,IL-18 and TNF-ɑ in ankle cartilage quantified by RT-qPCR;their protein expressions of NF-κB,NLRP3 and Caspase-1 in ankle cartilage analyzed by Western blot;and their NLRP3 and GSDMD positive expressions in ankle cartilage examined by immunohistochemistry.RESULTS Compared to the control group,the model group showed significantly increased joint swelling and arthritis indices(P＜0.01);elevated serum levels of IL-1 β,IL-18 and TNF-ɑ(P＜0.01);pathological changes including cartilage surface defects,reduced cell count,altered cellular morphology,irregular cell arrangement,and significant inflammatory cell infiltration in synovial tissue;upregulated mRNA expressions of NF-κB,NLRP3,Caspase-1,GSDMD,IL-1β,IL-18 and TNF-ɑ(P＜0.01)and increased protein expressions of NF-κB,NLRP3 and Caspase-1(P＜0.01)in ankle cartilage;enhanced positive expressions of NLRP3 and GSDMD in ankle cartilage(P＜0.01).Compared to the model group,the groups intervened with methotrexate or medium-or high-dose Yiqi Juanbi Formula exhibited reduced joint swelling and arthritis indices(P＜0.01);alleviated pathological damage in ankle joints;decreased serum levels of IL-1β,IL-18 and TNF-ɑ(P＜0.01);downregulated mRNA expressions of NF-κB,NLRP3,Caspase-1,GSDMD,IL-1β,IL-18 and TNF-ɑ(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),and reduced protein expressions of NF-κB,NLRP3 and Caspase-1(P＜0.05,P＜0.01)in ankle cartilage;and diminished positive expressions of NLRP3 and GSDMD in ankle cartilage(P＜0.01).CONCLUSION Yiqi Juanbi Formula alleviates inflammation in CIA rats,potentially by inhibiting the activation of the NF-κB/NLRP3/Caspase-1 signaling pathway,thereby suppressing chondrocyte pyroptosis.

Objective To explore the real experiences of nutrition impact symptoms in esophageal cancer patients during diagnosis and treatment,and to provide references for developing nutritional management strategies.Methods Using purposive sampling,15 esophageal cancer patients admitted to the thoracic surgery department of a tertiary grade A hospital in Guangzhou from October to December 2024 were selected for semi-structured interviews.Thematic analysis was used for data analysis.Results 4 themes and 12 sub-themes were identified:①Multiple symptom perceptions:esophageal obstruction-dysphagia,appetite-affecting symptoms,multiple symptom over-lap,and individual differences in symptom perception.② Insufficient symptom cognition:overestimation of symptom controllability and biased symptom attribution.③ Negative emotional reactions:anxiety and fear about eating,frustration with declining eating function,and helplessness and guilt about losing control over eating.④ Di-verse symptom coping strategies:avoidance coping,adaptive coping,and active nutritional management.Conclusion The nutrition impact symptom experiences of esophageal cancer patients are complex and diverse.Healthcare professionals should promptly identify and assess nutrition impact symptoms,provide nutrition health education,strengthen psychological guidance,and develop culturally distinctive individualized nutritional management strategies.