Objective: To investigate the effect of different surface treatment protocols on the surface properties and immediate shear bond strength (SBS) between 3D-printed zirconia and resin cement to provide a reference for clinical practice. Methods: Disc-shaped zirconia specimens (Ø 14 mm× 1.2 mm) with two different surface designs were fabricated using 3D printing technology: a smooth surface (Group S) and microporous surface (Group M), with 40 specimens in each group. Each group was further randomly divided into four subgroups according to surface treatment: untreated (Subgroup U), alumina sandblasting (Subgroup ST), alumina sandblasting + Z-Prime ceramic primer (Subgroup ZP), and alumina sandblasting + Monobond N ceramic primer (Subgroup MN). The surface morphology was examined, roughness was measured, and wettability was evaluated via contact-angle testing. Composite resin cylinders (Ø 3.5 mm× 2.0 mm) were bonded to the zirconia surfaces with resin cement. Immediate SBS was determined by shear testing, and failure modes were analyzed. Results: Scanning electron microscopy revealed clear micro-grooves (2-5 μm wide) in Subgroup S-U and micropores (approximately 400 μm in diameter) in Subgroup M-U. After sandblasting, the micro-grooves in Subgroup S-ST were partially destroyed with some micro-cracks, while the microporous structure in Subgroup M-ST remained clear. Compared with Subgroups S-U and M-U, sandblasted zirconia specimens (Subgroups S-ST, S-ZP, S-MN, M-ST, M-ZP, M-MN) showed significantly increased roughness and decreased contact angles. Different surface treatments significantly affected SBS between 3D-printed zirconia and resin. Sandblasted groups (Subgroups S-ST and M-ST) had significantly higher SBS than untreated groups (Subgroups S-U and M-U). The application of ceramic primers after sandblasting (Subgroups S-ZP, S-MN, M-ZP, M-MN) further increased SBS; however, there was no statistically significant difference in SBS between the two primers used after sandblasting (Subgroup S-ZP vs. S-MN, Subgroup M-ZP vs. M-MN). Under the same surface treatment, microporous surface groups (Subgroups M-U, M-ST, M-MN, M-ZP) all exhibited significantly higher SBS than smooth surface groups (Subgroups S-U, S-ST, S-MN, S-ZP). Conclusion Fabricating a microporous surface using 3D printing technology can improve resin bonding effectiveness. Sandblasting combined with a ceramic primer yields the highest immediate SBS.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the impact of the diagnosis-related groups （DRG） payment reform on the length of stay and medical costs in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） in Kashgar region， aiming to provide localized empirical evidence for the optimization of regional medical insurance payment methods. METHODS Based on the inpatient settlement database of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Healthcare Security Administration， settlement data of COPD inpatients from 17 medical institutions in Kashgar region between January 1， 2022， and December 31， 2024， were extracted. The overall changes in patients’ length of stay and costs were compared before and after the reform. Subsequently， interrupted time series analysis （ITSA） was employed to explore the impact of the DRG payment reform on these variables. RESULTS Following the reform， both the average length of stay and various cost decreased significantly compared to the pre-reform period （ P ＜0.001）. At the overall sample level， the average length of stay， average total cost， average drug cost， average medical service cost， and average examination cost per admission all demonstrated significant long-term downward trends after the reform （ P ＜0.05）. However， the decrease in average out-of-pocket costs and the increase in average consumable costs per admission were not statistically significant （ P ＞0.05）. In tertiary medical institutions， the average length of stay and all categories of costs （except average consumable costs per admission） exhibited significant long-term upward trends after the reform （ P ＜0.05）； conversely， in secondary and lower-level medical institutions， the average length of stay， average total cost， average drug cost， average medical service cost， and average examination cost per admission showed significant long-term downward trends （ P ＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS The DRG payment reform has achieved an overall effect of reducing the length of stay and controlling costs in COPD patients from Kashgar region. However， the effects vary across different levels of medical institutions： secondary and lower-level institutions show a long-term downward trend in length of stay and costs， whereas tertiary institutions exhibit a long-term upward trend. Furthermore， patients’ out-of-pocket financial burden does not show significant improvement.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease （MAFLD） is a chronic liver disease closely related to metabolic dysfunction. Its global prevalence is increasing year by year and shows a trend toward younger onset. It is closely associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases， chronic kidney disease， and extrahepatic malignant tumors， and has become a major public health problem affecting the health of the Chinese population. At present， the treatment of MAFLD mainly focuses on lifestyle intervention. When metabolic cardiovascular risk factors and liver injury are present， pharmacological intervention is required. However， there is still no specific drug therapy for MAFLD. In recent years， many studies have found that the pathogenesis of MAFLD involves interactions among multiple factors， including insulin resistance， oxidative stress， endoplasmic reticulum stress， programmed cell death， immune dysregulation， inflammasomes， gut microbiota imbalance， and bile acid metabolism. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has advantages in integrated regulation with multiple components and multiple targets， and shows significant efficacy in the treatment of MAFLD. Active components of Chinese medicinal herbs and Chinese medicine compound formulas exert definite therapeutic effects by regulating multiple signaling pathways to improve lipid metabolism disorders， inhibit inflammatory responses， and regulate the gut microbiota， thereby effectively improving clinical symptoms and delaying the occurrence and development of MAFLD. Therefore， strengthening research on the mechanisms of action of TCM in MAFLD is of crucial importance and significance for its treatment. This article summarizes the mechanisms by which Chinese medicine monomers and compound formulas intervene in MAFLD through the regulation of related signaling pathways， based on the retrieval and analysis of relevant literature from multiple databases， with the aim of providing theoretical support and a reference basis for the clinical application of TCM in the treatment of MAFLD.

ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy of C-reactive protein （CRP） in predicting the progression to acute-on-chronic liver failure （ACLF） within 90 days after disease onset in patients with acute decompensation （AD） of cirrhosis， and to provide a reference for the early identification of high-risk populations in clinical practice. MethodsA retrospective study was conducted among 906 patients with liver cirrhosis who were hospitalized due to AD in Nanjing Second Hospital from January 1， 2015 to October 31， 2024， and demographic features， AD type， and laboratory markers were collected on admission. The primary endpoint was progression to ACLF within 90 days after admission， and according to the presence or absence of ACLF， the patients were divided into non-ACLF group with 676 patients and ACLF group with 230 patients. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups， and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups； the chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression models were used to identify independent predictive factors for ACLF. The receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was used to assess the predictive performance of CRP and existing scoring systems （Model for End-Stage Liver Disease ［MELD］， Child-Turcotte-Pugh ［CTP］ score， and Chronic Liver Failure Consortium Acute Decompensation ［CLIF-C AD］ score）， and the restricted cubic spline analysis was used to investigate the nonlinear relationship between CRP and the risk of ACLF. Youden index was used to determine the optimal predictive cut-off value for CRP， and the Kaplan-Meier survival curve was plotted for risk stratification， while the log-rank test was used for survival analysis. ResultsAmong the 906 AD patients， the incidence rate of ACLF was 25.39% within 90 days. The incidence rate of ACLF within 90 days was 45.1% in the 264 patients with bacterial infection and 17.3% in the 642 patients without bacterial infection （χ²=74.791， P<0.001）. Among the 906 patients， 312 patients （34.44%） had acute-on-chronic pre-liver failure （pre-ACLF）， with a significantly higher proportion of patients who progressed to ACLF than those in the non-pre-ACLF group ［60.58% （189/312） vs 6.90% （41/594）， χ²=310.234， P<0.001］. Among the 230 patients with ACLF， there were 102 patients with stable ACLF （44.35%） and 128 patients with unstable ACLF （55.65%）， with a significant difference in CRP between the two groups of patients （U=5 234.500， P<0.001）. The restricted cubic spline analysis showed a significant nonlinear relationship between CRP and the risk of ACLF （P<0.001）. The optimal cut-off value of CRP was determined as 10.16 mg/L based on the Youden index， with a sensitivity of 70.4% and a specificity of 64.5%. The Kaplan-Meier curve analysis showed that the high-risk group with CRP≥10.16 mg/L had a significantly higher event-free survival rate of ACLF within 90 days compared with the low-risk group （P<0.001）. The multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that AD type-hepatic encephalopathy （hazard ratio ［HR］=4.199， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 3.056 — 5.770， P<0.001）， AD type-bacterial infection （HR=1.826， 95%CI： 1.356 — 2.459， P<0.001）， CRP （≥10.16 mg/L） （HR=2.356， 95%CI： 1.825 — 3.047， P<0.001）， white blood cell count （HR=1.021， 95%CI： 1.002 — 1.041， P=0.035）， hemoglobin （HR=0.994， 95%CI： 0.989 — 0.999， P=0.025）， international normalized ratio （HR=1.657， 95%CI： 1.372 — 2.001， P<0.001）， total bilirubin （HR=1.003， 95%CI： 1.002 — 1.004， P<0.001）， albumin （HR=0.956， 95%CI： 0.926 — 0.986， P=0.004）， creatinine （HR=1.005， 95%CI： 1.004 — 1.006， P<0.001）， serum sodium （HR=0.976， 95%CI： 0.956 — 0.997， P=0.025）， and lactate dehydrogenase （HR=1.001， 95%CI： 1.001 — 1.002， P<0.001） were all independent predictive factors for progression to ACLF within 90 days. The ROC curve analysis showed that CRP alone had an area under the ROC curve （AUC） of 0.724 （95%CI： 0.685 — 0.763） in predicting ACLF， and CRP+MELD score had the best predictive performance （AUC=0.870， 95%CI： 0.843 — 0.898）， while CRP+CTP score and CRP+CLIF-C AD score had an AUC of 0.852 （95%CI： 0.823 — 0.881） and 0.845 （95%CI： 0.812 — 0.877）， respectively. There was a significant increase in model performance after integration （P<0.05）. ConclusionSerum CRP level on admission is an independent predictive factor for progression to ACLF within 90 days in patients with AD of cirrhosis， and a CRP level of ≥10.16 mg/L can be used as a simple threshold for identifying high-risk patients. Incorporating CRP into existing assessment systems may enhance the early identification of patients at a high risk for ACLF， which provides a reference for clinical intervention.

Plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs), describe a group of nanoparticles released by plants. These particles are characterized by a lipid bilayer structure containing various proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and unique metabolites. Although the study on PDEVs is relatively new, having only been around for ten years, they have shown promising development prospects in both basic research and clinical transformation areas. Evidence suggests that PDEVs have excellent application prospects in regulating inflammation and treating tumors. Their distinctive, vesicle-mimicking architecture and stellar biocompatibility render them prime candidates for ferrying various anti-cancer agents, including RNA, proteins, and conventional chemotherapy drugs. Increasingly, studies have shown that PDEVs can be engineered as an innovative platform for combination cancer immunotherapy. Consequently, this paper provides an extensive summary of current developments in engineering methods and strategies for PDEVs in cancer treatment and combined cancer immune therapeutics. The essential characteristics of PDEVs, including the biogenesis process and components, as well as their anti-tumor activity and mechanism, are summarized. Finally, the in vivo safety of PDEVs as delivery vectors and the challenges of scale-up production and clinical transformation are discussed.

Repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is one of the commonly used brain stimulation techniques. In order to investigate the effects of rTMS on the excitability of different types of neurons, this study is conducted to investigate the effects of rTMS on the cognitive function of mice and the excitability of hippocampal glutaminergic neurons and gamma-aminobutyric neurons from the perspective of electrophysiology. In this study, mice were randomly divided into glutaminergic control group, glutaminergic magnetic stimulation group, gamma-aminobutyric acid energy control group, and gamma-aminobutyric acid magnetic stimulation group. The four groups of mice were injected with adeno-associated virus to label two types of neurons and were implanted optical fiber. The stimulation groups received 14 days of stimulation and the control groups received 14 days of pseudo-stimulation. The fluorescence intensity of calcium ions in mice was recorded by optical fiber system. Behavioral experiments were conducted to explore the changes of cognitive function in mice. The patch-clamp system was used to detect the changes of neuronal action potential characteristics. The results showed that rTMS significantly improved the cognitive function of mice, increased the amplitude of calcium fluorescence of glutamergic neurons and gamma-aminobutyric neurons in the hippocampus, and enhanced the action potential related indexes of glutamergic neurons and gamma-aminobutyric neurons. The results suggest that rTMS can improve the cognitive ability of mice by enhancing the excitability of hippocampal glutaminergic neurons and gamma-aminobutyric neurons.
Animals ; Mice ; Hippocampus/cytology* ; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ; Neurons/physiology* ; Male ; Cognition/physiology* ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/metabolism* ; Action Potentials/physiology*

OBJECTIVE: To report the clinical experience of using Ilizarov wrist joint distraction technique in the treatment of a case of rheumatoid arthritis of the wrist. METHODS: In January 2019, a 49-year-old female patient with rheumatoid arthritis of the left wrist, complicated by ulnar impaction syndrome, was admitted for treatment. Preoperatively, the active range of motion of the left wrist was as follows: extension 0°-flexion 0°, pronation 65°-supination 35°, and grip strength of 4.0 kg. The visual analogue scale (VAS) score was 9, and the Cooney wrist function score was 15, indicating poor function. As conservative treatment failed to achieve symptom relief, Ilizarov wrist joint distraction surgery was performed. Postoperatively, joint distraction was applied at 2 mm increments on postoperative days 2 and 7, in 4 separate sessions. RESULTS: Postoperative X-ray film examination at 7 days revealed a distraction of 3.6 mm in the affected wrist joint compared to the contralateral side. The external fixator was removed 2.5 months postoperatively. At 22 months postoperatively, X-ray film and MRI examinations revealed that the joint space of the left wrist had returned to near-normal, with significant reduction in joint effusion and synovial proliferation. The active range of motion of the left wrist improved to extension 15°- flexion 30°, pronation 90°-supination 90°, with a grip strength of 18.0 kg. The wrist pain VAS score decreased to 0, and the Cooney wrist function score improved to 90, indicating excellent function. At 50 months postoperatively, follow-up X-ray film, MRI, and functional assessments showed the results similar to those at 22 months. CONCLUSION Ilizarov wrist joint distraction may be a viable treatment option for rheumatoid arthritis of the wrist.
Humans ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Wrist Joint/physiopathology* ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/physiopathology* ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Ilizarov Technique ; Treatment Outcome ; Osteogenesis, Distraction/methods*

Intestinal fibrosis is a significant clinical challenge in inflammatory bowel diseases, but no effective anti-fibrotic therapy is currently available. Glucagon receptor (GCGR) and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP1R) are both peptide hormone receptors involved in energy metabolism of epithelial cells. However, their role in intestinal fibrosis and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unexplored. Herein GCGR and GLP1R were found to be reduced in the stenotic ileum of patients with Crohn's disease as well as in the fibrotic colon of mice with chronic colitis. The downregulation of GCGR and GLP1R led to the accumulation of the metabolic byproduct lactate, resulting in histone H3K9 lactylation and exacerbated intestinal fibrosis through epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Dual activating GCGR and GLP1R by peptide 1907B reduced the H3K9 lactylation in epithelial cells and ameliorated intestinal fibrosis in vivo. We uncovered the role of GCGR/GLP1R in regulating EMT involved in intestinal fibrosis via histone lactylation. Simultaneously activating GCGR/GLP1R with the novel dual agonist peptide 1907B holds promise as a treatment strategy for alleviating intestinal fibrosis.

Diabetic kidney disease(DKD)is one of the serious complications of diabetes.Ferroptosis causes pathological damage and is involved in the progression of DKD.How to inhibit ferroptosis and delay DKD is a new academic hotspot.The author's team further enriched and proposed the core pathogenesis theory of"internal heat induced disease"on the basis of the traditional DKD"yin deficiency and dryness-heat"theory,and explained the general development law of DKD.In this article,"internal heat"and"Zhengjia"in the theory of DKD"internal heat induced diseases"are used as the starting point to explore the relationship of the main pathological damage of ferroptosis such as activating inflammatory response,enhancing oxidative stress,promoting fibrosis and so on with the internal mechanism of the theory of"internal heat induced diseases",further explained the scientific connotation of DKD"internal heat induced diseases",in order to provide ideas and theoretical basis for the TCM prevention and treatment of DKD.

Objective To explore the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced(DCE)-MRI quantitative parameters based on differential sub-sampling with Cartesian ordering(DISCO)technology for differentiating high-and low-grade breast cancer.Methods A total of 80 patients with single breast cancer confirmed by biopsy pathology were retrospectively enrolled,including 40 cases of low-grade(L group)and 40 cases of high-grade breast cancer(H group).Then quantitative parameters obtained from DISCO-DCE-MRI before treatment were compared between groups,including extravascular extracellular volume fraction(Ve),rate constant(Kep),contrast enhancement ratio(CER),maximum slope(MaxSlope)and volume transfer constant(Ktrans),and their correlations with histological grade were analyzed.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves of DISCO-DCE-MRI quantitative parameters being significantly different between groups were plotted,and the area under the curves(AUC)were calculated to evaluate their efficacy for differentiating high-and low-grade breast cancer.Results Ve(0.91[0.59,0.99]),CER(2.76±0.54)and MaxSlope(0.02[0.01,0.03])in L group were all higher than those in H group(0.52[0.34,0.73],[2.31±0.74],0.01[0.01,0.02],all P＜0.05),and no significant difference of Kep nor Ktrans was found between groups(both P＞0.05).Ve,CER and MaxSlope of breast cancer were all negatively correlated with histological grade(rs=-0.43,-0.39,-0.35,all P＜0.05),while Kep andKtranshad no significant correlation with histological grade(both P＞0.05).The AUC of Ve,CER and MaxSlope for differentiating high-and low-grade breast cancer was 0.749,0.725 and 0.700,respectively.Conclusion Among DISCO-DCE-MRI quantitative parameters,Ve,CER and MaxSlope could be used for differentiating high-and low-grade breast cancer.