ObjectiveTo observe the effects of Yiqi Huoxue Jiedu formula（YHJF） on immune cell exhaustion in the spleen of septic mice and to explore and validate its potential intervention targets. MethodsMice were randomly divided into the sham-operated， model， low-dose YHJF（4.1 g·kg^-1）， and high-dose YHJF（8.2 g·kg^-1） groups. Except for the sham-operated group， a cecal ligation and puncture（CLP） procedure was performed to establish a mouse sepsis model. The treatment groups received oral administration of the corresponding doses， while the sham-operated and model groups received an equal volume of physiological saline. After the intervention， the 7-day survival rate of each group was recorded， and spleen samples were collected 72 h post-intervention， and the spleen index was calculated. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate（dUTP） nick end labeling（TUNEL） staining was used to detect apoptosis in spleen cells. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was performed to measure the levels of interleukin（IL）-4 and IL-10 in the serum. Transcriptomics and metabolomics were used to screen for differentially expressed genes（DEGs） and differential metabolites in the spleen， followed by bioinformatics analysis to identify key targets. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）， flow cytometry， and multiplex immunofluorescence were used to verify the expressions of key genes and proteins. ResultsThe high-dose YHJF group significantly improved the 7-day survival rate of septic mice（P0.05）. Compared with the sham-operated group， the model group showed a significant increase in apoptosis of spleen cells and a decrease in the spleen index at 72 h post-modeling， with markedly elevated peripheral serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels（P0.01）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose YHJF group showed a reduction in apoptosis of spleen cells， an increase in the spleen index， and a significant decrease in peripheral serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels（P0.05）. Spleen transcriptomics identified 255 DEGs between groups， potentially serving as intervention targets for YHJF. Gene Ontology（GO） enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were mainly involved in biological processes such as natural killer（NK） cell-mediated positive immune regulation， cell killing， cytokine production， positive regulation of innate immune cells， and interferon production. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were mainly involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions， viral protein interactions with cytokines and cytokine receptors， chemokine signaling pathway， and nuclear transcription factor-κB（NF-κB） signaling pathway. Protein-protein interaction（PPI） network analysis identified CD160， granzyme B（GZMB）， and chemokine ligand 4（CCL4） as key targets for YHJF in treating sepsis. Metabolomics identified 46 differential metabolites that were significantly reversed by YHJF intervention， and combined transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis identified 17 differential metabolites closely related to CD160. Pathway enrichment revealed that these metabolites were mainly involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism， arachidonic acid metabolism， glycosylphosphatidylinositol（GPI） anchor biosynthesis， linoleic acid metabolism， and α-linolenic acid metabolism pathways. Verification results showed that， compared with the sham-operated group， the model group exhibited significantly elevated CD160 mRNA expression level in the spleen， along with markedly decreased CCL4 and GZMB mRNA expression， and had a significant increase in CD160 expression on the surface of natural killer T（NKT） cells in the spleen（P0.01）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose YHJF group had a significant decrease in CD160 mRNA expression in the spleen， a significant increase in CCL4 and GZMB mRNA expressions. Further flow cytometry and immunofluorescence revealed that compared with the sham-operated group， CD160 expression on the surface of splenic NKT cells in the model group was significantly increased（P0.01）， while high-dose YHJF intervention significantly reduced CD160 expression（P0.01）. ConclusionYHJF may alleviate NKT cell exhaustion in sepsis by downregulating the expression of the negative co-stimulatory molecule CD160， and this regulatory effect is closely related to fatty acid metabolism pathways. This study provides new insights and targets for further exploration of strengthening vital Qi and detoxifying strategy to improve immune cell exhaustion in acute deficiency syndrome of sepsis.

ObjectiveTo observe the effects of Yiqi Huoxue Jiedu formula（YHJF） on immune cell exhaustion in the spleen of septic mice and to explore and validate its potential intervention targets. MethodsMice were randomly divided into the sham-operated， model， low-dose YHJF（4.1 g·kg^-1）， and high-dose YHJF（8.2 g·kg^-1） groups. Except for the sham-operated group， a cecal ligation and puncture（CLP） procedure was performed to establish a mouse sepsis model. The treatment groups received oral administration of the corresponding doses， while the sham-operated and model groups received an equal volume of physiological saline. After the intervention， the 7-day survival rate of each group was recorded， and spleen samples were collected 72 h post-intervention， and the spleen index was calculated. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate（dUTP） nick end labeling（TUNEL） staining was used to detect apoptosis in spleen cells. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was performed to measure the levels of interleukin（IL）-4 and IL-10 in the serum. Transcriptomics and metabolomics were used to screen for differentially expressed genes（DEGs） and differential metabolites in the spleen， followed by bioinformatics analysis to identify key targets. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）， flow cytometry， and multiplex immunofluorescence were used to verify the expressions of key genes and proteins. ResultsThe high-dose YHJF group significantly improved the 7-day survival rate of septic mice（P0.05）. Compared with the sham-operated group， the model group showed a significant increase in apoptosis of spleen cells and a decrease in the spleen index at 72 h post-modeling， with markedly elevated peripheral serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels（P0.01）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose YHJF group showed a reduction in apoptosis of spleen cells， an increase in the spleen index， and a significant decrease in peripheral serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels（P0.05）. Spleen transcriptomics identified 255 DEGs between groups， potentially serving as intervention targets for YHJF. Gene Ontology（GO） enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were mainly involved in biological processes such as natural killer（NK） cell-mediated positive immune regulation， cell killing， cytokine production， positive regulation of innate immune cells， and interferon production. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were mainly involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions， viral protein interactions with cytokines and cytokine receptors， chemokine signaling pathway， and nuclear transcription factor-κB（NF-κB） signaling pathway. Protein-protein interaction（PPI） network analysis identified CD160， granzyme B（GZMB）， and chemokine ligand 4（CCL4） as key targets for YHJF in treating sepsis. Metabolomics identified 46 differential metabolites that were significantly reversed by YHJF intervention， and combined transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis identified 17 differential metabolites closely related to CD160. Pathway enrichment revealed that these metabolites were mainly involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism， arachidonic acid metabolism， glycosylphosphatidylinositol（GPI） anchor biosynthesis， linoleic acid metabolism， and α-linolenic acid metabolism pathways. Verification results showed that， compared with the sham-operated group， the model group exhibited significantly elevated CD160 mRNA expression level in the spleen， along with markedly decreased CCL4 and GZMB mRNA expression， and had a significant increase in CD160 expression on the surface of natural killer T（NKT） cells in the spleen（P0.01）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose YHJF group had a significant decrease in CD160 mRNA expression in the spleen， a significant increase in CCL4 and GZMB mRNA expressions. Further flow cytometry and immunofluorescence revealed that compared with the sham-operated group， CD160 expression on the surface of splenic NKT cells in the model group was significantly increased（P0.01）， while high-dose YHJF intervention significantly reduced CD160 expression（P0.01）. ConclusionYHJF may alleviate NKT cell exhaustion in sepsis by downregulating the expression of the negative co-stimulatory molecule CD160， and this regulatory effect is closely related to fatty acid metabolism pathways. This study provides new insights and targets for further exploration of strengthening vital Qi and detoxifying strategy to improve immune cell exhaustion in acute deficiency syndrome of sepsis.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the targeting effect of folic acid-modified crebanine nanoparticles （FA-Cre@PEG- PLGA NPs， hereinafter referred to as “NPs”） combined with ultrasound irradiation on M109 cells in vitro and in vivo after administration， and explore the anti-tumor mechanism. METHODS CCK-8 assay was used to detect the inhibitory effect of NPs combined with ultrasound irradiation on the proliferation of M109 cells， and the best ultrasound time was selected. Using human lung cancer A549 cells as a control， the targeting of NPs combined with ultrasound irradiation to M109 cells was evaluated by free folic acid blocking assay and cell uptake assay. The effects of NPs combined with ultrasound irradiation on the migration， invasion， apoptosis， cell cycle and reactive oxygen species （ROS） levels of M109 cells were detected by cell scratch test， Transwell chamber test and flow cytometry at 1 h after 958401536@qq.com administration； the changes of mitochondrial membrane potential （MMP） were observed by fluorescence inverted microscope. A mouse subcutaneous tumor model of M109 cells was constructed， and the in vivo tumor targeting of NPs combined with ultrasound irradiation was investigated by small animal in vivo imaging technology. RESULTS NPs combined with ultrasound irradiation could significantly inhibit the proliferation of M109 cells， and the optimal ultrasound time was 1 h after administration. The free folic acid could antagonize the inhibitory effect of NPs on the proliferation of M109 cells， and combined with ultrasound irradiation could partially reverse this antagonism. Compared with A549 cells， the uptake rate of NPs in M109 cells was significantly higher （P＜0.01）， and ultrasound irradiation could promote cellular uptake. NPs combined with ultrasound irradiation could inhibit the migration and invasion of M109 cells and block the cell cycle in the G0/G1 and G2/M phases. Compared with control group， the apoptosis rate of M109 cells and ROS level were increased significantly （P＜0.01）， while the MMP decreased significantly （P＜0.01） in the different concentration （100， 200， 300 μg/mL） groups of M109 cells. Compared with the mice in non-ultrasound group， the fluorescence intensity and tumor-targeting index of the tumor site in the 0 h ultrasound group were significantly enhanced （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS NPs combined with ultrasound irradiation have a strong targeting effect on M109 cells in vitro and in vivo， the anti-tumor mechanism includes inhibiting cell migration and invasion， blocking cell cycle， and inducing apoptosis.

Objective Compared with endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration(EBUS-TBNA),this study aims to explore the diagnostic advantages of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial node biopsy(EBUS-TBNB)in the diagnosis of mediastinal lymph node metastasis,lymphadenitis,sarcoidosis and other mediastinal lymph node diseases associated with mediastinal enlargement in lung cancer and extra-pulmonary tumors.Methods The detection rate of malignant tumor was(14/35,40％)by EBUS-TBNA and average amount of bleeding during each operation was 1-2 mL;Compared with EBUS-TBNA,the detection rate of malignant tumors by EBUS-TBNB was(23/35,66％)(P＜0.01),and 4 cases of granulomas were diagnosed,and the average amount of bleeding during each operation was 3-4 mL.Conclusions Compared with EBUS-TBNA,EBUS-TBNB has a higher detection rate for malignant tumors and has more advantages in the diagnosis of benign proliferative dis-eases.It can further improve the accuracy and sensitivity of diagnosing mediastinal enlarged lymph nodes so is wor-thy of clinical promotion and application.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of irreversible electroporation in focal ablation of localized prostate cancer.Methods:Clinical data of 128 patients with localized prostate cancer treated with irreversible electroporation from August 2019 to September 2023 at Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Dongfang Hospital of Tongji University, were retrospectively analyzed. The median age was 68 (62, 75) years. The median PSA was 8.64 (5.83, 12.57) ng/ml. Gleason score was 6 in 57 cases, 7 in 39 cases, and greater than 7 in 19 cases. There were 4 cases of T 1c, 69 cases of T 2a, 27 cases of T 2b, and 28 cases of T 2c. No lymph node or distant metastasis was seen in preoperative examination. All patients had no preoperative urinary retention or urinary incontinence. Irreversible electroporation treatment was administered under general anesthesia with patients in the lithotomy position. A transrectal ultrasound probe was used to measure prostate lesion size, determining the type and number of electrode needles. Electrode needles were strategically positioned around the targeted lesion. The distance between each pair of needles used for ablation ranged from 0.5 to 2.0 cm. The system automatically generated treatment parameters, including voltage, current, and the number of pulses, with each pulse cycle lasting approximately 5 minutes. After treatment, the needles were removed, gauze was applied for 1 minute. The urethra was then irrigated with a painless iodine solution diluted 1∶1 with 0.9% saline, followed by the insertion of a urinary catheter. Treatment efficacy and adverse reactions were documented. Biochemical recurrence was defined as a PSA increase of over 2 ng/ml from the post-treatment nadir; imaging recurrence was identified by abnormal lesions on MRI or contrast-enhanced ultrasound. Results:All 128 surgeries were successfully completed. At 6 months postoperatively, 116 cases were followed. Tne median PSA was 1.58 (0.56, .95) ng/ml, which was 82.22% (65.37%, 93.33%) lower than preoperative level( P<0.01). Five patients (4.31%) had biochemical recurrence, and MRI or contrast-enhanced ultrasound examinations were negative, 1 patient underwent radical prostatectomy with pathology of prostate cancer, and the remaining 4 were continued to be followed up. Ninety-eight patients underwent MRI or contrast-enhanced ultrasound review, including 6 patients (6.12%) detected imaging recurrence, of which 2 patients underwent radical prostatectomy with pathology of prostate cancer, and the remaining 4 underwent endocrine therapy. The postoperative continence rate was 98.28%, and 8 patients (6.89%) had complications of class II. Conclusions:Irreversible electroporation for focal treatment of localized prostate cancer has shown favorable results in terms of tumor control, safety and urinary continence.

Feature extraction methods and classifier selection are two critical steps in heart sound classification. To capture the pathological features of heart sound signals, this paper introduces a feature extraction method that combines mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) and power spectral density (PSD). Unlike conventional classifiers, the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was chosen as the classifier for this study. In terms of experimental design, we compared different PSDs across various time intervals and frequency ranges, selecting the characteristics with the most effective classification outcomes. We compared four statistical properties, including mean PSD, standard deviation PSD, variance PSD, and median PSD. Through experimental comparisons, we found that combining the features of median PSD and MFCC with heart sound systolic period of 100-300 Hz yielded the best results. The accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and F1 score were determined to be 96.50%, 99.27%, 93.35%, 99.60%, and 96.35%, respectively. These results demonstrate the algorithm's significant potential for aiding in the diagnosis of congenital heart disease.
Humans ; Heart Sounds ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Algorithms ; Heart Defects, Congenital

Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of radium-223 in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients with and without homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene mutation.Methods:The clinical data of 27 patients with mCRPC bone metastases who received radium-223 therapy from April 2021 to November 2022 in Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine were retrospectively analyzed. Among the 27 mCRPC patients, 18 patients carrying HRR gene mutations belonged to the HRD(+ ) group, and 9 patients without HRR gene mutation belonged to the HRD(-) group. The age of patients in HRD(+ ) group was 69.5 (63.8, 77.0) years old, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was 243.0 (82.8, 301.3) U/L, prostate specific antigen (PSA) was 71.6 (7.3, 329.8) ng/ml, pain score was 3.0 (1.0, 5.0) points. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score ranged from 0 to 1 points in 7 cases, and 2 points in 11 cases. In the HRD(-) group, the median age was 72.0 (64.5, 76.5) years old, ALP was 88.0 (67.5, 260.6) U/L, PSA was 19.1 (1.1, 117.8) ng/ml, and pain score was 2.0 (0, 4.5) points. The ECOG score ranged from 0 to 1 in 4 cases, and 2 in 5 cases in the HRD(-) group. There was no significant difference in the above general data between the two groups ( P>0.05). All patients received radium-223 treatment every 4 weeks, no more than 6 times. The changes of ALP, PSA, pain score and hematological adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results:In the HRD(+ ) group, the median number of radium-223 treatment was 4.5 (3.0, 5.3) couses, 4 patients (22.2%) completed 6 courses, and 6 patients died of prostate cancer during follow-up. In the HRD(-) group, the median number of radium treatment was 4.0 (2.5, 6.0) couses, 3 patients (33.3%) completed 6 courses, and 1 patient died of prostate cancer during follow-up. There was no significant difference in the number of radium treatment courses between the two groups ( P=0.320). ALP in HRD(+ ) group was 101.8 (61.3, 147.0) U/L after radium-223 treatment, which was significantly lower than that before treatment ( P=0.002). ALP in HRD(-) group was 73.0 (64.0, 113.5) U/L after radium-223 treatment, and it was not significantly different from that before treatment ( P=0.327). The rate of ALP response (ALP decrease >10%) in HRD(+ ) group was significantly higher than that in HRD(-) group [83.3% (15/18) vs. 44.4% (4/9), P=0.037]. PSA was 105.9(5.2, 798.4) ng/ml in HRD (+ ) group after radium-223 treatment, and was 25.6(0.8, 1 031.0) ng/ml in HRD(-) group, and they were not significantly different from that before treatment ( P=0.145, P=0.386). There were no significant differences in the rate of PSA response (PSA decrease>10%) between HRD(+ ) group and HRD(-) group [38.9% (7/18) vs. 22.2% (2/9), P=0.386]. The median pain score of HRD(+ ) group was 3.0 (0, 4.0) points after treatment, which was significantly lower than that before treatment ( P=0.028). The pain score of HRD(-) group was 1.0(0, 3.0) points after treatment, and it was not significantly different from that before treatment ( P=0.129). There was no significant difference in pain relief rate between HRD(+ ) group and HRD(-) group [66.7% (12/18) vs. 44.4% (4/9), P=0.411]. The incidence of at least one hematological adverse event during radium-223 treatment in the HRD(+ ) group was higher than that in the HRD(-) group [77.8% (14/18) vs. 33.3% (3/9), P=0.039]. There was no significant difference in the incidence of grade 1-2 hematological adverse events between the two groups [72.2%(13/18) vs. 33.3%(3/9), P=0.097]. Only 1 patient in the HRD(+ ) group experienced grade 3 anemia during treatment which was recovered after blood transfusion. Conclusions:Compared to mCRPC patients without HRR gene mutation, patients with HRR gene mutations had better ALP response and bone pain relief after radium-223 treatment. The overall incidence of adverse events in the HRD(+ ) group is higher than that in HRD(-) group, and there was no significant difference in grade 1-2 hematological adverse events between the two goups. It is necessary to expand the sample size to further verify the conclusion.

Purpose: In non-metastatic prostate cancer (nmPCa) setting, it is important to early identify the patients at risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) for immediate postoperative intervention. Our study aimed to evaluate the potential clinical utility of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for predicting disease recurrence. Materials and Methods: This real-world observational study evaluated 161 cases of nmPCa undergoing next-generation sequencing at our institution. A total of 139 ctDNA samples and 31 biopsied tumor tissue underwent genomic profiling. The study endpoint was BCR after radical prostatectomy. Relationships between the ctDNA status and the biochemical progression-free survival (bPFS) were analyzed by log-rank test and multivariate Cox regression. Results: Of 161 enrolled patients, 19 (11.8%) harbored deleterious alterations in NCOR2, followed by BRCA2 (3.7%), ATR (2.5%), and CDK12 (2.5%). Of available pre-operative blood samples (n=139), ctDNA was detectable in 91 (65.5%). Until last follow-up, 56 of 68 patients (85.3%) with detectable ctDNA had achieved BCR, whereas only eight of 39 patients (20.5%) with undetectable ctDNA had achieved BCR. Patients who had undetectable ctDNA experienced significantly longer bPFS compared with those who had detectable ctDNA (not available vs. 8.2 months; hazard ratio, 0.14; p < 0.01). Pre-operative ctDNA status was a significant prognostic factor of disease recurrence. Conclusion Pre-operative ctDNA detection could identify patients at high risk of recurrence and has the potential to inform immediate postoperative interventions, but these approaches remain to be validated in prospective studies. ctDNA studies can provide insights into accurate monitoring and precise treatment rather than simply following routine clinical care.

Heart sound analysis is significant for early diagnosis of congenital heart disease. A novel method of heart sound classification was proposed in this paper, in which the traditional mel frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC) method was improved by using the Fisher discriminant half raised-sine function (F-HRSF) and an integrated decision network was used as classifier. It does not rely on segmentation of the cardiac cycle. Firstly, the heart sound signals were framed and windowed. Then, the features of heart sounds were extracted by using improved MFCC, in which the F-HRSF was used to weight sub-band components of MFCC according to the Fisher discriminant ratio of each sub-band component and the raised half sine function. Three classification networks, convolutional neural network (CNN), long and short-term memory network (LSTM), and gated recurrent unit (GRU) were combined as integrated decision network. Finally, the two-category classification results were obtained through the majority voting algorithm. An accuracy of 92.15%, sensitivity of 91.43%, specificity of 92.83%, corrected accuracy of 92.01%, and F score of 92.13% were achieved using the novel signal processing techniques. It shows that the algorithm has great potential in early diagnosis of congenital heart disease.
Humans ; Heart Sounds ; Algorithms ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Heart Defects, Congenital/diagnosis* ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

Objective    To investigate the early clinical results of MitraClip system in domestic patients. Methods     We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 36 patients who underwent transcatheter edge-to-edge repair procedure using MitraClip system in Beijing Fuwai Hospital, Shenzhen Fuwai Hospital and Fuwai Yunnan Cardiovascular Hospital between January and June 2021. There were 24 males and 12 females, with a median age of 70 (47-86) years. Ten (27.8%) patients had 3+ mitral regurgitation (MR) and 26 (72.2%) patients had 4+ MR preoperatively. Results    All procedures were successfully performed. The reduction in MR was 2+ at least immediately after surgery, and 91.7% of patients had MR≤2+ at 3 days postoperatively. There was no statistical difference in left ventricular ejection fraction change postoperatively. Forward velocity and peak gradient of mitral valve were increased after the procedure. Mean gradient of mitral valve were increased at 3 days postoperatively than immediately after surgery (P<0.001). Two patients had acute pericardial effusion intraoperatively, and received pericardial puncture and drainage immediately. Conclusion    MitraClip system has been applied well in domestic patients and can significantly improve MR. This sutdy has a good consistency with foreign studies, and the early results are satisfactory.