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.

GPR126, also known as ADGRG6, is one of the most deeply studied aGPCRs. Initially, GPR126 was thought to be a receptor associated with muscle development and was primarily expressed in the muscular and skeletal systems. With the deepening of research, it was found that GPR126 is expressed in multiple mammalian tissues and organs, and is involved in many biological processes such as embryonic development, nervous system development, and extracellular matrix interactions. Compared with other aGPCRs proteins, GPR126 has a longer N-terminal domain, which can bind to ligands one-to-one and one-to-many. Its N-terminus contains five domains, a CUB (complement C1r/C1s, Uegf, Bmp1) domain, a PTX (Pentraxin) domain, a SEA (Sperm protein, Enterokinase, and Agrin) domain, a hormone binding (HormR) domain, and a conserved GAIN domain. The GAIN domain has a self-shearing function, which is essential for the maturation, stability, transport and function of aGPCRs. Different SEA domains constitute different GPR126 isomers, which can regulate the activation and closure of downstream signaling pathways through conformational changes. GPR126 has a typical aGPCRs seven-transmembrane helical structure, which can be coupled to Gs and Gi, causing cAMP to up- or down-regulation, mediating transmembrane signaling and participating in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation and migration. GPR126 is activated in a tethered-stalk peptide agonism or orthosteric agonism, which is mainly manifested by self-proteolysis or conformational changes in the GAIN domain, which mediates the rapid activation or closure of downstream pathways by tethered agonists. In addition to the tethered short stem peptide activation mode, GPR126 also has another allosteric agonism or tunable agonism mode, which is specifically expressed as the GAIN domain does not have self-shearing function in the physiological state, NTF and CTF always maintain the binding state, and the NTF binds to the ligand to cause conformational changes of the receptor, which somehow transmits signals to the GAIN domain in a spatial structure. The GAIN domain can cause the 7TM domain to produce an activated or inhibited signal for signal transduction, For example, type IV collagen interacts with the CUB and PTX domains of GPR126 to activate GPR126 downstream signal transduction. GPR126 has homology of 51.6%-86.9% among different species, with 10 conserved regions between different species, which can be traced back to the oldest metazoans as well as unicellular animals.In terms of diseases, GPR126 dysfunction involves the pathological process of bone, myelin, embryo and other related diseases, and is also closely related to the occurrence and development of malignant tumors such as breast cancer and colon cancer. However, the biological function of GPR126 in various diseases and its potential as a therapeutic target still needs further research. This paper focuses on the structure, interspecies differences and conservatism, signal transduction and biological functions of GPR126, which provides ideas and references for future research on GPR126.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of Tongmai Hypoglycemic Capsule (THC) on myocardium injury in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) rats. METHODS: A total of 24 Sprague Dawley rats were fed for 4 weeks with high-fat and high-sugar food and then injected with streptozotocin intraperitoneally for the establishment of the DCM model. In addition, 6 rats with normal diets were used as the control group. After modeling, 24 DCM rats were randomly divided into the model, L-THC, M-THC, and H-THC groups by computer generated random numbers, and 0, 0.16, 0.32, 0.64 g/kg of THC were adopted respectively by gavage, with 6 rats in each group. After 12 weeks of THC administration, echocardiography, histopathological staining, biochemical analysis, and Western blot were used to detect the changes in myocardial structure, oxidative stress (OS), biochemical indexes, protein expressions of myocardial fibrosis, and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related faactor 2 (Nrf2) element, respectively. RESULTS: Treatment with THC significantly decreased cardiac markers such as creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and creatine kinase-MB, etc., (P<0.01); enhanced cardiac function indicators including heart rate, ejection fraction, cardiac output, interventricular septal thickness at diastole, and others (P<0.05 or P<0.01); decreased levels of biochemical indicators such as fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, aspartate transaminase, (P<0.05 or P<0.01); and decreased the levels of myocardial fibrosis markers α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and collagen I (Col-1) protein (P<0.01), improved myocardial morphology and the status of myocardial interstitial fibrosis. THC significantly reduced malondialdehyde levels in model rats (P<0.01), increased levels of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione (P<0.01), and significantly increased the expression of Nrf2, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1, heme oxygenase-1, and superoxide dismutase 2 proteins in the left ventricle of rats (P<0.01). CONCLUSION THC activates the Nrf2 signaling pathway and plays a protective role in reducing OS injury and cardiac fibrosis in DCM rats.
Animals ; Diabetic Cardiomyopathies/physiopathology* ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Myocardium/metabolism* ; Fibrosis ; Male ; Capsules ; Hypoglycemic Agents/therapeutic use* ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2/metabolism* ; Rats ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/drug therapy*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of Xuanshen Yishen Decoction (XYD) in the treatment of hypertension. METHODS: Hospital electronic medical records from 2019-2023 were utilized to emulate a randomized pragmatic clinical trial. Hypertensive participants were eligible if they were aged ⩾40 years with baseline systolic blood pressure (BP) ⩾140 mm Hg. Patients treated with XYD plus antihypertensive regimen were assigned to the treatment group, whereas those who followed only antihypertensive regimen were assigned to the control group. The primary outcome assessed was the attainment rate of intensive BP control at discharge, with the secondary outcome focusing on the 6-month all-cause readmission rate. RESULTS: The study included 3,302 patients, comprising 2,943 individuals in the control group and 359 in the treatment group. Compared with the control group, a higher proportion in the treatment group achieved the target BP for intensive BP control [8.09% vs. 17.5%; odds ratio (OR)=2.29, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.68 to 3.13; P<0.001], particularly in individuals with high homocysteine levels (OR=3.13; 95% CI=1.72 to 5.71; P<0.001; P for interaction=0.041). Furthermore, the 6-month all-cause readmission rate in the treatment group was lower than in the control group (hazard ratio=0.58; 95% CI=0.36 to 0.91; P=0.019), and the robustness of the results was confirmed by sensitivity analyse. CONCLUSIONS XYD could be a complementary therapy for intensive BP control. Our study offers real-world evidence and guides the choice of complementary and alternative therapies. (Registration No. ChiCTR2400086589).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Antihypertensive Agents/pharmacology* ; Blood Pressure/drug effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Hypertension/physiopathology* ; Patient Readmission ; Treatment Outcome

Circular RNA(circRNA),as a kind of non-coding RNA,regulates a variety of biological functions.To explore the effect of circRNA on PEDV replication in the host porcine intestinal epi-thelial cells,this study screened and analyzed the differentially expressed circRNAs by bioinforma-tic software in African Green Monkey renal cells(Vero-E6 cells)infected by porcine epidemic di-arrhea virus(PEDV),the differentially expressed circRNA ssc_circ_PIK3C2A was identified and the secondary structure was analyzed.PCR was used to identify the ssc_circ_PIK3C2A circRNA structure,the model of PEDV-infected IPEC-J2 cells was constructed,the TCID50 test was used to validate the viral titer of PEDV.The expression of circ_PIK3C2A was detected by qRT-PCR in IPEC-J2 infected by PEDV.circ_PIK3C2A qRT-PCR was performed to detect the expression of N gene of PEDV when ssc_circ_PIK3C2A was over-expressed in IPEC-J2 cells.The results showed that ssc_circ_PIK3C2 A is a porcine circular RNA with a typical circular structure,the virus titer of PEDV reached 10-6/mL after PEDV infected IPEC-J2 cells for 48 h,the expression of circ_PIK3C2A increased extremely(P＜0.01)at 6 h after PEDV-infection,with the extension of infec-tion time,its expression gradually decreased,and the expression was the lowest at 24 h,but there was no time-dependent trend.The expression of PEDV N gene decreased significantly when ssc_circ_PIK3C2A was over-expressed in IPEC-J2 cells.In conclusion,when PEDV infects IPEC-J2 cells,the expression of porcine circ_PIK3C2A decreases,and replication of PEDV increases signifi-cantly in IPEC-J2 cells.our result provides a basis for further study of the mechanism of circular RNA on PEDV replication and its physiological activities in host cells in the future.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the spatiotemporal patterns and socioeconomic factors influencing the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in the Guangdong Province between 2010 and 2019. METHOD: Spatial and temporal variations in TB incidence were mapped using heat maps and hierarchical clustering. Socioenvironmental influencing factors were evaluated using a Bayesian spatiotemporal conditional autoregressive (ST-CAR) model. RESULTS: Annual incidence of TB in Guangdong decreased from 91.85/100,000 in 2010 to 53.06/100,000 in 2019. Spatial hotspots were found in northeastern Guangdong, particularly in Heyuan, Shanwei, and Shantou, while Shenzhen, Dongguan, and Foshan had the lowest rates in the Pearl River Delta. The ST-CAR model showed that the TB risk was lower with higher per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [Relative Risk ( RR), 0.91; 95% Confidence Interval ( CI): 0.86-0.98], more the ratio of licensed physicians and physician ( RR, 0.94; 95% CI: 0.90-0.98), and higher per capita public expenditure ( RR, 0.94; 95% CI: 0.90-0.97), with a marginal effect of population density ( RR, 0.86; 95% CI: 0.86-1.00). CONCLUSION The incidence of TB in Guangdong varies spatially and temporally. Areas with poor economic conditions and insufficient healthcare resources are at an increased risk of TB infection. Strategies focusing on equitable health resource distribution and economic development are the key to TB control.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Incidence ; Bayes Theorem ; Spatio-Temporal Analysis ; Tuberculosis/epidemiology* ; Socioeconomic Factors

Ambient air pollution is increasingly being recognized as a risk factor for heart failure; however, its effects on cardiac biomarkers remain unclear. This scoping review assessed the existing evidence on the association between air pollution and cardiac biomarkers in heart failure, described the key concepts, synthesized data, and identified research gaps. Following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CNKI databases were searched for studies on air pollution, heart failure, and biomarkers. A total of 765 records were screened, and 81 full texts were assessed for eligibility, resulting in 15 studies. The results showed that the exposure to particulate matter was associated with elevated N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and troponin levels. Several studies have linked particulate matter exposure to a higher cardiovascular risk and heart failure biomarkers. Inflammatory and oxidative stress markers were consistently elevated across studies, supporting the biological relevance of these associations. However, few studies have focused specifically on populations with heart failure or clinically relevant biomarkers, and the evidence for gaseous pollutants remains inconclusive. These findings highlight the need to integrate environmental risk assessment into heart failure care and inform policy efforts to reduce the pollution-related cardiovascular burden. Further research should address these gaps through improved exposure assessments and the integration of mechanistic evidence.
Heart Failure/epidemiology* ; Biomarkers/metabolism* ; Humans ; Air Pollution/adverse effects* ; Air Pollutants/adverse effects* ; Particulate Matter/adverse effects* ; Environmental Exposure ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain/blood* ; Oxidative Stress ; Troponin/blood*

Abnormal lipid metabolism and renal ectopic lipid accumulation have been associated with the occurrence and development of kidney diseases,particularly in diabetic nephropathy.However,the drugs commonly used in clinic to treat hypercholesterolemia,such as statins,ezetimibe and proprotein convertase subtilisin/Kexin type 9(PCSK9)inhibitors,can effectively reduce the blood lipid level,but fail to delay the progress of kidney disease.In recent years,an increasing number of research studies have focused on the impact of free fat acids(FFA)metabolism on kidney function.The profiles and metabolism of fatty acids are altered in chronic kidney disease(CKD),and deregulated fatty acid metabolism contributes to further kidney damage.Furthermore,the role of FFA transporter in the progression of kidney diseases is gradually recognized.Therefore,this review summarizes the recent preclinical researches of fatty acid transporter fatty acid transport protein 2(FATP2)expressed in proximal renal tubular epithelial cells.