ObjectiveMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS); however, its underlying neurological pathogenic mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Endogenous formaldehyde (FA), a metabolic byproduct of methylation-demethylation cycles, has recently been implicated in neurotoxicity, oxidative damage, and cognitive impairment. This study aimed to investigate whether excessive FA contributes to myelin sheath demyelination in mice and to evaluate the protective effects and mechanisms of two FA-elimination strategies: sodium bisulfite (NaHSO₃), a classical FA scavenger, and polyethylene glycol-modified astaxanthin nanoparticles (PEG-ATX@NPs), a brain-targeted nano-antioxidant formulation. MethodsA chronic demyelination model was established by feeding female C57BL/6J mice a diet containing 0.2% cuprizone (CPZ) for four weeks, followed by a two-week intervention period. Eighty mice were randomly assigned to four groups: NS (normal saline), CPZ+NS, CPZ+NaHSO₃, and CPZ+PEG-ATX@NPs. Behavioral tests, including open-field, Y-maze, and pole-climbing assays, were conducted to assess locomotor activity, motor coordination, and working memory. FA levels in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord were measured using an Na-FA fluorescent probe and quantified via in vivo and ex vivo fluorescence imaging. Neuroinflammatory responses were evaluated by measuring TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels using ELISA, while oxidative stress was assessed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) fluorescence intensity. Demyelination was examined via Luxol fast blue staining, and microglial activation was analyzed by Iba1 immunofluorescence. Correlation analyses were performed to explore relationships among FA levels, inflammatory cytokines, ROS intensity, and behavioral parameters. ResultsCompared with the NS group, mice in the CPZ+NS group exhibited significant weight loss, impaired motor coordination and memory, and markedly reduced myelin regeneration (P<0.05). FA levels and pro-inflammatory cytokines were significantly elevated in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord (P<0.05). FA-associated fluorescence in brain and spinal tissues, as well as ROS intensity across all tissues examined, also increased substantially (P<0.05). CPZ treatment induced pronounced microglial activation and severe demyelination in the corpus callosum (P<0.01). Both NaHSO₃ and PEG-ATX@NPs effectively reduced FA accumulation in the brain and spinal cord, attenuated demyelination, suppressed microglial activation, decreased inflammatory cytokine levels, and improved motor and cognitive performance. These results confirm that CPZ induced severe demyelination accompanied by oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and abnormal FA accumulation. Following intervention with either NaHSO₃ or PEG-ATX@NPs, endogenous FA levels in the CNS were substantially reduced. Both treatments alleviated demyelination and significantly decreased the number of activated microglia. Levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord were downregulated. Behavioral performance improved significantly, as evidenced by enhanced locomotor activity, better coordination, and improved memory function. These findings indicate that both FA-scavenging agents mitigate CPZ-induced biochemical and behavioral abnormalities. ConclusionThis study demonstrates that excessive endogenous FA is closely associated with cognitive impairment, inflammatory dysregulation, and demyelination in a CPZ-induced chronic demyelination mouse model. Clearing abnormally elevated FA effectively reduces neuroinflammation, suppresses microglial overactivation, decreases oxidative stress, and alleviates demyelination, ultimately improving motor and cognitive outcomes in mice. These results suggest that targeting endogenous FA represents a promising therapeutic strategy for MS and other demyelinating disorders. Further investigations are warranted to explore the long-term safety, dosage optimization, and molecular pathways involved in FA-mediated neurotoxicity.

ObjectiveMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS); however, its underlying neurological pathogenic mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Endogenous formaldehyde (FA), a metabolic byproduct of methylation-demethylation cycles, has recently been implicated in neurotoxicity, oxidative damage, and cognitive impairment. This study aimed to investigate whether excessive FA contributes to myelin sheath demyelination in mice and to evaluate the protective effects and mechanisms of two FA-elimination strategies: sodium bisulfite (NaHSO₃), a classical FA scavenger, and polyethylene glycol-modified astaxanthin nanoparticles (PEG-ATX@NPs), a brain-targeted nano-antioxidant formulation. MethodsA chronic demyelination model was established by feeding female C57BL/6J mice a diet containing 0.2% cuprizone (CPZ) for four weeks, followed by a two-week intervention period. Eighty mice were randomly assigned to four groups: NS (normal saline), CPZ+NS, CPZ+NaHSO₃, and CPZ+PEG-ATX@NPs. Behavioral tests, including open-field, Y-maze, and pole-climbing assays, were conducted to assess locomotor activity, motor coordination, and working memory. FA levels in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord were measured using an Na-FA fluorescent probe and quantified via in vivo and ex vivo fluorescence imaging. Neuroinflammatory responses were evaluated by measuring TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels using ELISA, while oxidative stress was assessed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) fluorescence intensity. Demyelination was examined via Luxol fast blue staining, and microglial activation was analyzed by Iba1 immunofluorescence. Correlation analyses were performed to explore relationships among FA levels, inflammatory cytokines, ROS intensity, and behavioral parameters. ResultsCompared with the NS group, mice in the CPZ+NS group exhibited significant weight loss, impaired motor coordination and memory, and markedly reduced myelin regeneration (P<0.05). FA levels and pro-inflammatory cytokines were significantly elevated in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord (P<0.05). FA-associated fluorescence in brain and spinal tissues, as well as ROS intensity across all tissues examined, also increased substantially (P<0.05). CPZ treatment induced pronounced microglial activation and severe demyelination in the corpus callosum (P<0.01). Both NaHSO₃ and PEG-ATX@NPs effectively reduced FA accumulation in the brain and spinal cord, attenuated demyelination, suppressed microglial activation, decreased inflammatory cytokine levels, and improved motor and cognitive performance. These results confirm that CPZ induced severe demyelination accompanied by oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and abnormal FA accumulation. Following intervention with either NaHSO₃ or PEG-ATX@NPs, endogenous FA levels in the CNS were substantially reduced. Both treatments alleviated demyelination and significantly decreased the number of activated microglia. Levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in serum, corpus callosum, and spinal cord were downregulated. Behavioral performance improved significantly, as evidenced by enhanced locomotor activity, better coordination, and improved memory function. These findings indicate that both FA-scavenging agents mitigate CPZ-induced biochemical and behavioral abnormalities. ConclusionThis study demonstrates that excessive endogenous FA is closely associated with cognitive impairment, inflammatory dysregulation, and demyelination in a CPZ-induced chronic demyelination mouse model. Clearing abnormally elevated FA effectively reduces neuroinflammation, suppresses microglial overactivation, decreases oxidative stress, and alleviates demyelination, ultimately improving motor and cognitive outcomes in mice. These results suggest that targeting endogenous FA represents a promising therapeutic strategy for MS and other demyelinating disorders. Further investigations are warranted to explore the long-term safety, dosage optimization, and molecular pathways involved in FA-mediated neurotoxicity.

Radar-based non-contact health monitoring technology (RBNHMT) has emerged as a transformative paradigm in continuous health sensing, enabling non-invasive and continuous monitoring of physiological parameters and behavioral patterns by transmitting electromagnetic waves, analyzing the reflected signals, and detecting subtle bodily movements—ranging from millimeter-scale chest wall displacements due to respiration to micro-scale vibrations associated with cardiac activity—ultimately transforming them into quantifiable health data. Distinguished by its non-contact operation, inherent privacy preservation, and adaptability to diverse scenarios, RBNHMT exhibits stronger resistance to environmental interference than conventional contact-based monitoring, and has solidified its position as a prominent and dynamic research focus in the field of non-contact health monitoring. Currently, significant and multifaceted progress has been made across several key areas. In human activity recognition (HAR), systems leveraging micro-Doppler signatures or point cloud sequences achieve high-precision detection of gait, gestures, and fall events, with state-of-the-art deep learning-based models achieving accuracy rates exceeding 99% in controlled experimental settings. For vital sign and sleep monitoring, it not only tracks respiratory and heart rates continuously but also extracts clinically relevant metrics such as heart rate variability (HRV) for autonomic nervous system assessment and estimates blood pressure through indirect methods like pulse transit time analysis, while maintaining robustness in dynamic settings through advanced motion compensation algorithms. In sleep monitoring, it further enables sleep posture classification and apnea event detection. In emotion and stress recognition, it provides a non-intrusive approach for psychological assessment by analyzing autonomic-response physiological signal patterns or behavioral features. Furthermore, its applications in auxiliary medical diagnosis have expanded to promising interdisciplinary areas such as non-contact heart sound auscultation, radar-based screening for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and emerging research into breast cancer detection using microwave and millimeter-wave imaging techniques. However, several challenges impede its practical deployment. Signal quality is significantly compromised by multipath interference in complex indoor environments and clutter from static objects, and by motion artifacts in dynamic scenarios where gross body movements obscure the subtle physiological signals. Algorithmically, separating signals from multiple targets in close proximity and calibrating for substantial individual physiological differences, such as body habitus, baseline vital signs, remain difficult and limit generalizability. Hardware design also faces the challenge of balancing power consumption, cost, integration, and performance, often requiring trade-offs that constrain miniaturization, battery life, or measurement sensitivity. Future advancement, therefore, requires collaborative and targeted innovation across multiple dimensions. Algorithmically, developing adaptive signal processing models based on emerging paradigms such as few-shot learning (for user-specific calibration with minimal data) and reinforcement learning (for dynamic noise suppression) is essential. At the hardware level, highly integrated radar SoCs with embedded processing capabilities and advanced packaging technologies are crucial for achieving the dual goals of device miniaturization and cost reduction without sacrificing performance. At the system level, fusing radar data with complementary modalities such as infrared and acoustic sensing can create a synergistic, multi-modal framework that significantly enhances perceptual robustness and reliability in complex, real-world environments. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis that systematically summarizes the relevant theoretical foundations and application progress, and offers an in-depth analysis of the current technical bottlenecks. It aims to provide a clear development path and a foundational academic reference for the in-depth integration and practical application of RBNHMT in critical scenarios including rehabilitation engineering, smart elderly care, in-vehicle health monitoring, and beyond, thereby offering innovative technical support for the vision of universal, proactive, and personalized health management.

Objective: To investigate the current status of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among freshmen in junior and senior high schools in Lanzhou, so as to provide scientific basis for improving the tuberculosis prevention and control strategy in schools. Methods: The screening results of 74 516 freshmen in senior and boarding junior high schools in Lanzhou during 2023 and 2024 were collected. The Chi square test and multivariate Logistic regression model were applied to analyze LTBI level, strongly positive risk for tuberculin skin test (TST) and related factors of the freshmen. Results: During 2023 and 2024, the screening rate of tuberculosis among freshmen in senior and boarding junior high schools in Lanzhou was 93.45%, of which the positive rate for TST was 5.71%, the infection rate for LTBI was 3.80%, and the strongly positive rate for TST was 1.24%. There were statistically significant differences in the screening rate of tuberculosis among freshmen in different years, grades, regions, school types and districts ( χ 2=5.34, 2 463.88, 3 516.13, 132.34, 4 436.56, all P <0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that senior high schools ( OR =1.62, 2.18) and urban areas ( OR =2.08, 3.07 ) were all related factors for LTBI and strong positivity for TST among freshmen; schools located in Xigu District, Honggu District, Yongdeng County, Yuzhong County, and Lanzhou New Area ( OR =3.57, 5.67, 9.12, 3.70, 3.64) were related factors of strong positivity for TST among freshmen (all P <0.05). Conclusions The LTBI level among freshmen in senior and boarding junior high schools in Lanzhou is relatively low. Grades and regions are related factors for LTBI and strong positivity for TST.

Kui was first recorded in The Rites of Zhou and is the earliest domesticated wild vegetable in China. In the Qi Min Yao Shu, Kui was called “the master of all vegetables” and has a long history of application in China. As a medicine, Kuizi was first recorded in Shen Nong’s Herbal Classic, which has a history of more than 2 000 years of medicinal use and a long history of clinical application. By researching the ancient and modern herbal literature, the first herbs texts of Kui were examined, various recorded texts, confused products and the history of the original medicinal use were clarified. It was concluded that the ancient herbal texts recorded the base plant of Kui as Malva verticillata L. belonging to family Malvaceae, which provided scientific basis for the development and utilization of Kui.

ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effects and mechanism of decoctions from four kinds of processed products of Aconiti Radix Lateralis Praeparata（ARLP） in deficiency-cold syndrome. MethodsA total of 36 SD rats were randomly divided into the control group， model group， Shengfupian（SFP） group， Paofuzi（PFZ） group， Heishunpian（HSP） group and Paofupian（PFP） group with 6 rats in each group. Except for the control group， rats in other groups were administered hydrocortisone sodium succinate via intramuscular injection to induce a cold deficiency syndrome model. After 14 consecutive days， each ARLP decoction pieces was administered via continuous gastric lavage at a dose of 12 g·kg^-1·d^-1 for 7 d， while the control and model groups received an equivalent volume of physiological saline. After the end of administration， body weight， spleen weight and thymus weight were measured for calculating the spleen and thymus indexes. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe the pathological morphology of adrenal tissue. The fully automatic biochemistry analyzer was used to measure the total cholesterol（TC）， triglyceride（TG）， lactic dehydrogenase（LDH） and lactate（LAC） levels in serum. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was employed to measure the contents of 17-hydroxycorticosteroid（17-OHCS）， cortisol（CORT）， triiodothyronine（T₃）， thyroxine（T₄）， thyrotropin（TSH）， immunoglobulin（Ig） M， IgG， cyclic adenosine monophosphate（cAMP） and cyclic guanosine monophosphate（cGMP）. Western blot was used to measure the protein expression levels of protein kinase A（PKA）， cAMP response element-binding protein（CREB）， silent information regulator 1（Sirt1） and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α（PGC-1α）. And high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） was used to determine the content of major alkaloids， followed by Pearson correlation analysis with pharmacodynamic indicators. ResultsAfter modeling， compare with the control group， the model rats exhibited symptoms such as lethargy and loose stools， mild abnormalities were observed in adrenal tissue structure， and both spleen and thymus indices were significantly reduced（P<0.01）. Thyroid， adrenal and immune system functions were suppressed， with decreased serum cAMP level and significantly elevated cGMP level（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the adrenal injury by hydrocortisone sodium succinate were repaired and the spleen index were increased significantly in all four ARLP groups（P<0.05， P<0.01）. The thymus index in SFP and PFZ groups were increased significantly（P<0.05）. The contents of T₃， TSH， 17-OHCS and CORT were increased significantly in SFP and PFZ groups（P<0.05）. In addition， the content of IgG in SFP， PFZ and PFP groups were increased significantly（P<0.01）， while the content of IgM in PFZ and HSP groups were also increased significantly（P<0.05）. Regarding the cyclic nucleotide system， PFZ significantly elevated cAMP level while reducing cGMP level（P<0.05）， exhibiting the most pronounced effect among the four decoction pieces. For energy metabolism indicators， PFZ significantly improved abnormal markers including TC， TG， LDH， and LAC（P<0.05）. HSP showed marked improvement effects on TG， LDH， and LAC（P<0.05）. Both PFZ and SFP significantly elevated the expression levels of PKA， CREB， Sirt1， and PGC-1α proteins（P<0.01）. Additionally， the diester alkaloids in ARLP showed a strong positive correlation with TG， IgG， and CORT， a strong negative correlation with LAC， a moderate positive correlation with T₄， and moderate negative correlations with cAMP and spleen index. Monomeric alkaloids showed strong positive correlations with TG and IgG， strong negative correlations with LAC， moderate positive correlations with CORT and T₄， and moderate negative correlations with cAMP and spleen index. However， the content of water-soluble alkaloids showed strong positive correlations with TC， LDH， 17-OHCS， T₃， TSH， and thymus index， moderate positive correlations with cAMP， CORT， T₄， and spleen index， and moderate negative correlation with cGMP. ConclusionAmong different processed ARLP decoction pieces， PFZ processed according to ZHANG Zhongjing's method exhibits the most potent warming and cold-dispelling effects. Its pharmacological actions are mediated through regulating the thyroid， adrenal， immune， cyclic nucleotide systems， and material-energy metabolism pathways. Among these， water-soluble alkaloids show strong or moderate correlations with more indicators of deficiency-cold syndrome and exhibit the highest content in PFZ. Therefore， PFZ processed according to ZHANG Zhongjing's method may exert its warming and cold-dispelling effects through water-soluble alkaloids.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of artificial intelligence(AI)-assisted imaging diagnostic trials using multi-reader multi-case(MRMC)design,so as to provide a scientific basis for clinical evaluation of imaging diagnostic trials.Methods The MRMC design,widely used in imaging diagnostic trials,was adopted in this study.The Obuchowski-Rockette(OR)method of MRMC design was detailed,including model construction and test methods.A case study was conducted,collecting imaging data of 200 subjects from 3 hospitals,with 133 cases of rib fractures and 68 cases of non-rib fractures.Three radiologists reviewed all CT images of the subjects.The area under curve(AUC)value,sensitivity and specificity in detecting rib fractures between 2 reading modalities(radiologists with AI assistance vs radiologists reading independently)were compared.Results The AI-assisted reading group had an AUC value of 0.958,while the radiologist-independent reading group had an AUC value of 0.902,showing a significant difference(P＜0.001).The overall sensitivity and specificity of the AI-assisted reading group were 0.970 and 0.946,respectively;while the sensitivity and specificity of the radiologist-independent reading group were 0.838 and 0.966,respectively.The difference of sensitivity between groups was 0.131(95％confidence interval[CI]0.091-0.171),and the difference of specificity was-0.020(95％CI-0.059-0.020),indicating a significant difference in sensitivity but not in specificity between AI-assisted and radiologist-independent reading groups.Both groups had positive likelihood ratios(+LR)greater than 10 and negative likelihood ratios(-LR)less than 0.2,with positive predictive values approaching 1,suggesting that the diagnostic accuracy of the AI-assisted imaging diagnostic trials was high.Conclusion The AI-assisted reading method demonstrates a significant advantage in enhancing diagnostic efficiency,not only improving the diagnostic accuracy and detection rate of rib fractures,but also improving the work efficiency of radiologists and optimizing hospital services.

Objective To estimate the sample size of radiological diagnostic tests in multireader multicase(MRMC)design,and to explore the numbers of readers and cases under 3 different inference situations:random-reader random-case,fixed-reader random-case,and random-reader fixed-case.Methods The images of 114 participants(45 cases diagnosed as aortic coarctation by the gold standard)in the Van Dyke dataset were used,and 5 radiologists read these images under 2 different magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)sequences(Spin-echo and Cine MRI)to obtain the pre-experiment data.Then Obuchowski-Rockette method was used to estimate sample size.Results The mean area under curve(AUC)of aortic coarctation determined by radiologists was 0.941(95%confidence interval[CI]0.899-0.983)with the Spin-echo MRI sequence,and 0.897(95%CI 0.837-0.957)with the Cine MRI sequence.When the effect size was 0.044 and the number of readers was 5,we needed 337 participants for random-reader random-case,162 participants for fixed-reader random-case,and 282 participants for random-reader fixed-case.Conclusion In MRMC design,we need both the number of readers and cases;the larger the number of readers,the smaller the cases required.We need more samples under the situation of random-reader random-case,when the number of readers is≥5.

Objective The pathophysiological process of acute high-altitude hypoxia-induced lung injury affects protein expression levels,which are mainly evaluated by Western blot.No systematic study has investigated changes in internal control proteins as calibration loading amounts.Methods Lung injury at an altitude of 6000 m was induced in a low-pressure,low-oxygen chamber for 8,24,and 72 h using C57BL/6J mice.Establishment of the model was confirmed by hematoxylin and eosin staining.Expression levels of various internal control proteins,including vinculin,α-tubulin,eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5(EIF5),β-actin,and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase(GAPDH)were detected by Western blot,and total protein expression was detected by Coomassie blue staining.Furthermore,the lung injury model in vitro was establised by using,Bronchial epithelial cell(BZAS-2B)andhunman umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECS)confirmed by TUNEL staining.Expression levels of internal control proteins were detected by Western blot,and total protein expression was detected by Coomassie Blue staining.Results Acute 8,24,and 72 h hypoxic models were successfully established in lung tissue,demonstrating consistent total protein expression and stable levels of the internal reference proteins vinculin,α-tubulin,EIF5,andβ-actin.GAPDH expression was elevated in the HH8 h,HH24 h,and HH72 h groups compared with the normoxia(Nor)group,but only the increase at HH72 h groups was significant.Similarly,8,24,and 48 h hypoxic models were successfully established in BEAS-2B cells and HUVECs,with consistent total protein expression.In BEAS-2B cells,expression levels of the internal reference proteins β-actin and GAPDH were consistent with the normoxic control(NC)group,while vinculin,α-tubulin,and EIF5 expression levels were significantly reduced under hypoxic conditions for up to 24 h.In HUVECs,vinculin and α-tubulin expression levels were also consistent with the NC group,while EIF5,β-actin,and GAPDH expression levels were significantly reduced at 8 h and increased at 48 h.Conclusions Acute hypoxia induces lung tissue injury,and protein expression levels of the internal reference proteins vinculin,α-tubulin,EIF5,and β-actin are stable,making them suitable internal references for Western blot.Additionally,Western blot detected differential expression levels of the internal reference proteins vinculin,α-tubulin,EIF5,β-actin,and GAPDH in BEAS-2B cells and HUVECs,as the most important in vitro lung tissue models of hypoxia-induced injury.

Objective To investigate the risk factors and clinical significance of layered plaques that were detected by optical coherence tomography(OCT)in patients with angiographically intermediate coronary lesions,and relationship with prognosis.Methods This was a signal-center retrospective study focusing on patients whom underwent coronary angiography and OCT.The layered plaque group and non-layered plaque group were divided according to the presence or absence of stratified plaque.Clinical data,laboratory indicators,angiography,and OCT results were collected and compared between the two groups.Using logistic regression to analyze the relationship between stratified plaques and clinical features;Cox regression analysis was used to investigate the influencing factors of cardiovascular adverse events in patients with critical coronary artery disease.Results A total of 172 patients were enrolled,including 96 patients in non-layered plaque group and 76 patients in layered plaque group.Male(OR 2.415,95％CI 1.162-5.020,P=0.018),diabetes(OR 2.505,95％CI 1.137-5.525,P=0.023)and history of hyperlipidemia(OR 3.590,95％CI 1.478-6.333,P=0.003)were independent risk factors for stratified plaque.In OCT analysis,the proportion of thin-cap fibroatheroma(TCFA)plaque,macrophage infiltration,microvascularization,thrombosis,plaque rupture,and intimal dissection,as well as lipid plaque length,lipid plaque arc,and lipid plaque index were higher in the layered plaque group.After adjusting for other risk factors,macrophage infiltration is independently associated with stratified plaques(OR 2.106,95％CI 1.019-4.353,P=0.044).Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the target lesion revascularization rate in the layered plaque group was higher than that in the non-layered plaque group(Log-rank P=0.030).Cox regression analysis shows that it has both stratified plaque and thin fibrous membrane plaque characteristics was an independent predictor of cardiovascular adverse events(HR 5.165,95％CI 1.696-15.727,P=0.004).Conclusions In patients with angiographically intermediate coronary lesions,OCT detection of stratified lesions is often accompanied by other unstable plaque features,indicating an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events.Simultaneously possessing features of stratified plaques and TCFA is an independent predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in patients with critical coronary artery disease.