Objective To comparatively evaluate the diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing(mNGS)versus conventional microbial culture in spinal infections.Methods A cross-section design was conducted on 82 consecutive patients with suspected spinal infections treated between February 2022 and January 2024 at Jiangbei Branch of First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University(Third Military Medical University).Microbiological culture,histopathological examination,and mNGS results from infected specimens were analyzed.Clinical diagnosis,primarily based on clinical manifestations,laboratory tests and radiologic features combined with medical history,was defined as the gold standard,and then the diagnostic performance,including sensitivity and specificity,were compared between mNGS and microbial culture.Results Among the 82 patients,definitive microbiological evidence was identified in 70 cases,and mNGS demonstrated a significantly higher detection rate than microbial culture(64 vs 36 cases,78.05％vs 43.9％,P<0.05).mNGS also obtained obviously higher sensitivity,accuracy,and negative predictive value(NPV),and notably lower positive predictive value(PPV)when compared to conventional microbial culture(all P<0.05).When stratified by infection type,mNGS obtained significantly higher sensitivity and accuracy compared to microbial culture in tuberculous spinal infections(P<0.05).For non-tuberculous spinal infections,mNGS also showed superior sensitivity to microbial culture(P<0.05).Conclusion In patients with spinal infections,mNGS demonstrates a significantly higher pathogen detection rate than conventional microbial culture.This technique can provide early and broad-spectrum pathogenic microbiological evidence for spinal infection.

The applications of nuclear technology in industries, medicine, and other fields have increased the risk of radiation injury. Although some small-molecule drugs for radiation injury treatment have been applied clinically or are in preclinical research, their therapeutic efficacy is significantly limited by short circulation time and rapid metabolism. Nanomaterials have attracted growing attention with their outstanding bioactivity, chemical stability, tissue compatibility, and targeted delivery capabilities, therefore having the promise of offering the potential solutions to the limitations of current small-molecule drugs. However, their biosafety and clinical efficacy require further investigation. This review summarizes the design strategies and classifications of nanomaterials for radiation injury treatment, analyzes current research progress in their therapeutic applications, and introduces nanomaterial-based approaches for enhancing the elimination of internal radionuclide contamination. Finally, the challenges and future prospects of nanomaterials in radiation injury treatment are discussed. This review aims to provide researchers with a comprehensive understanding of recent advances in nanomaterial-based radiation injury therapeutics, thereby promoting further development in this field.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of radiotherapy in patients with advanced esophageal cancer receiving first-line chemoimmunotherapy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 137 patients with Stage Ⅳ esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated at our hospital from January 2018 to May 2023. These patients were divided into two groups: a group treated with first-line chemoimmunotherapy combined with radiotherapy (chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group, n = 43) and a group treated with only chemoimmunotherapy ( n = 94). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to balance baseline characteristics between the groups. With overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as study endpoints, the survival data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test, and the Cox regression method. Results:Before calibration, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group significantly outperformed the sole chemoimmunotherapy group in median PFS (13.6 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.501, 95% CI: 0.309-0.811, P = 0.005). After calibration using the COX proportional-hazards model for age, gender, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, smoking history, T/N/M stage, and tumor location, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group still had significant advantages in PFS (14.7 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.441, 95% CI: 0.261-0.745, P = 0.002). IPTW analysis further confirmed this trend (13.9 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.492, 95% CI: 0.304-0.795, P < 0.001). Specifically, the median OS of the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group demonstrated significant improvement in all analyses: pre-calibration (29.5 months vs. 18.0 months; HR: 0.507, 95% CI: 0.297-0.867, P = 0.013), after calibration using the Cox model (27.5 months vs. 16.7 months; HR: 0.470, 95% CI: 0.266-0.830, P = 0.009), and after calibration using IPTW (29.5 months vs. 16.9 months; HR: 0.448, 95% CI: 0.262-0.764, P < 0.001). Conclusions:The combination of radiotherapy and first-line chemoimmunotherapy can significantly improve survival outcomes of patients with advanced ESCC, suggesting its potential as a standard treatment strategy.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is intricately linked to the most severe clinical manifestations of brain damage. It encompasses dynamic pathological mechanisms, including hemodynamic disorders, excitotoxic injury, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and neuronal death. This review provides a comprehensive analysis and summary of biomaterial-based tissue engineering scaffolds and nano-drug delivery systems. As an example of functionalized biomaterials, nano-drug delivery systems alter the pharmacokinetic properties of drugs. They provide multiple targeting strategies relying on factors such as morphology and scale, magnetic fields, pH, photosensitivity, and enzymes to facilitate the transport of therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier and to promote selective accumulation at the injury site. Furthermore, therapeutic agents can be incorporated into bioscaffolds to interact with the biochemical and biophysical environment of the brain. Bioscaffolds can mimic the extracellular matrix environment, regulate cellular interactions, and increase the effectiveness of local treatments following surgical interventions. Additionally, stem cell-based and exosome-dominated extracellular vesicle carriers exhibit high bioreactivity and low immunogenicity and can be used to design therapeutic agents with high bioactivity. This review also examines the utilization of endogenous bioactive materials in the treatment of TBI.

The applications of nuclear technology in industries, medicine, and other fields have increased the risk of radiation injury. Although some small-molecule drugs for radiation injury treatment have been applied clinically or are in preclinical research, their therapeutic efficacy is significantly limited by short circulation time and rapid metabolism. Nanomaterials have attracted growing attention with their outstanding bioactivity, chemical stability, tissue compatibility, and targeted delivery capabilities, therefore having the promise of offering the potential solutions to the limitations of current small-molecule drugs. However, their biosafety and clinical efficacy require further investigation. This review summarizes the design strategies and classifications of nanomaterials for radiation injury treatment, analyzes current research progress in their therapeutic applications, and introduces nanomaterial-based approaches for enhancing the elimination of internal radionuclide contamination. Finally, the challenges and future prospects of nanomaterials in radiation injury treatment are discussed. This review aims to provide researchers with a comprehensive understanding of recent advances in nanomaterial-based radiation injury therapeutics, thereby promoting further development in this field.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of radiotherapy in patients with advanced esophageal cancer receiving first-line chemoimmunotherapy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 137 patients with Stage Ⅳ esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated at our hospital from January 2018 to May 2023. These patients were divided into two groups: a group treated with first-line chemoimmunotherapy combined with radiotherapy (chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group, n = 43) and a group treated with only chemoimmunotherapy ( n = 94). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to balance baseline characteristics between the groups. With overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as study endpoints, the survival data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test, and the Cox regression method. Results:Before calibration, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group significantly outperformed the sole chemoimmunotherapy group in median PFS (13.6 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.501, 95% CI: 0.309-0.811, P = 0.005). After calibration using the COX proportional-hazards model for age, gender, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, smoking history, T/N/M stage, and tumor location, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group still had significant advantages in PFS (14.7 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.441, 95% CI: 0.261-0.745, P = 0.002). IPTW analysis further confirmed this trend (13.9 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.492, 95% CI: 0.304-0.795, P < 0.001). Specifically, the median OS of the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group demonstrated significant improvement in all analyses: pre-calibration (29.5 months vs. 18.0 months; HR: 0.507, 95% CI: 0.297-0.867, P = 0.013), after calibration using the Cox model (27.5 months vs. 16.7 months; HR: 0.470, 95% CI: 0.266-0.830, P = 0.009), and after calibration using IPTW (29.5 months vs. 16.9 months; HR: 0.448, 95% CI: 0.262-0.764, P < 0.001). Conclusions:The combination of radiotherapy and first-line chemoimmunotherapy can significantly improve survival outcomes of patients with advanced ESCC, suggesting its potential as a standard treatment strategy.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the mechanism by which ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (hereinafter referred to as "ω-3") exert antioxidant stress protection and promote osteogenic differentiation in MC3T3-E1 cells, and to reveal the relationship between ω-3 and the key antioxidant stress pathway involving nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and NAD (P) H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) in MC3T3-E1 cells. METHODS: The optimal concentration of H ₂O ₂ (used to establish the oxidative stress model of MC3T3-E1 cells in vitro) and the optimal intervention concentrations of ω-3 were screened by cell counting kit 8. MC3T3-E1 cells were divided into blank control group, oxidative stress group (H ₂O ₂), low-dose ω-3 group (H ₂O ₂+low-dose ω-3), and high-dose ω-3 group (H ₂O ₂+high-dose ω-3). After osteoblastic differentiation for 7 or 14 days, the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was measured by fluorescence staining and flow cytometry, and the mitochondrial morphological changes were observed by biological transmission electron microscope; the expression levels of Nrf2, NQO1, heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), Mitofusin 1 (Mfn1), and Mfn2 were detected by Western blot to evaluate the cells' antioxidant stress capacity; the expression levels of Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) and osteocalcin (OCN) were detected by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot; osteogenic potential of MC3T3-E1 cells was evaluated by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining and alizarin red staining. RESULTS: Compared with the oxidative stress group, the content of ROS in the low and high dose ω-3 groups significantly decreased, and the protein expressions of Nrf2, NQO1, and HO-1 significantly increased ( P<0.05). At the same time, the mitochondrial morphology of MC3T3-E1 cells improved, and the expressions of mitochondrial morphology-related proteins Mfn1 and Mfn2 significantly increased ( P<0.05). ALP staining and alizarin red staining showed that the low-dose and high-dose ω-3 groups showed stronger osteogenic ability, and the expressions of osteogenesis-related proteins RUNX2 and OCN significantly increased ( P<0.05). And the above results showed a dose-dependence in the two ω-3 treatment groups ( P<0.05). CONCLUSION ω-3 can enhance the antioxidant capacity of MC3T3-E1 cells under oxidative stress conditions and upregulate their osteogenic activity, possibly through the Nrf2/NQO1 signaling pathway.
Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2/metabolism* ; NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone)/metabolism* ; Animals ; Mice ; Osteogenesis/drug effects* ; Cell Differentiation/drug effects* ; Fatty Acids, Omega-3/pharmacology* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Osteoblasts/drug effects* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Cell Line ; Hydrogen Peroxide/pharmacology* ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit/metabolism* ; Antioxidants/pharmacology* ; Heme Oxygenase-1/metabolism*

Objective:To investigate the correlations of KCNJ5 gene mutations and pathological subtypes based on 11β-hydroxylase (CYP11B1)/aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) immunohistochemistry with clinical characteristics and postoperative outcomes in patients with unilateral primary aldosteronism undergoing adrenalectomy.Methods:This retrospective study enrolled 155 patients with primary aldosteronism who underwent unilateral adrenalectomy at the Department of Hypertension, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, between May 2023 and May 2024. KCNJ5 mutations were detected by Sanger sequencing, and patients were stratified into KCNJ5-mutant and wild-type groups based on genetic results. The KCNJ5-mutant cohort was further subclassified into complete remission and partial remission groups according to surgical outcomes. For KCNJ5-mutant cases, postoperative tissues underwent immunohistochemical subtyping for CYP11B1/CYP11B2 expression, and were divided into the CYP11B2 mono-positive group (CYP11B1 -/CYP11B2 +) and the CYP11B1/CYP11B2 co-expression group (CYP11B1 +/CYP11B2 +). Correlations of KCNJ5 mutations and pathological subtypes with baseline characteristics, biochemical profiles, and postoperative outcomes in unilateral primary aldosteronism patients were analyzed. Results:A total of 100 patients were included in the final analysis, aged (51.1±11.0) years, including 35 females (35%). The somatic KCNJ5 mutation rate was 69% (69/100), with 69 KCNJ5-mutant and 31 wild-type cases. Compared to wild-type patients, KCNJ5-mutant patients were younger ((48.4±10.8) years vs. (56.9±9.3) years, P=0.000 2), had a higher female proportion (45% vs. 13%, P=0.004 0), exhibited lower preoperative renin levels (3.4 (1.1, 39.5) ng/L vs. 9.7 (2.7, 19.6) ng/L, P=0.009 1) and had a higher rate of complete clinical remission (55% vs. 16%, P=0.000 3). Among KCNJ5-mutant patients, 38 achieved complete remission and 31 achieved partial remission. The complete remission group demonstrated younger age ((45.6±10.2) years vs. (52.0±10.5) years, P=0.012 6), shorter hypertension duration ((6.2±6.1) years vs. (10.7±10.1) years, P=0.020 4), higher preoperative plasma (951.5 (652.2, 1 690.8) pmol/L vs. 749.8 (518.5, 955.4) pmol/L, P=0.027 7) and urinary ((86 271.4±51 873.8) pmol/24 h vs. (61 860.2±24 411.2) pmol/24 h, P=0.019 2) aldosterone levels, greater lateralization index (22.6 (10.1, 42.5) vs. 11.1 (5.1, 19.8), P=0.022 7), fewer baseline antihypertensive defined daily dose (2.6±1.3 vs. 4.0±1.3, P<0.000 1), and larger tumor diameter (1.5 (1.2, 1.8) cm vs. 1.1 (1.0, 1.5) cm, P=0.000 7). Immunohistochemical subtyping revealed CYP11B2 mono-positivity in 24 mutant cases and CYP11B1/CYP11B2 co-expression in 45. The CYP11B2 mono-positive group showed more pronounced postoperative reduction in antihypertensive defined daily dose (2.9±1.3 vs. 2.2±1.2, P=0.018 3), though no significant difference in complete remission rates (46% vs. 60%, P=0.259 8) was observed. Conclusion:In patients with unilateral primary aldosteronism, those carrying KCNJ5 somatic mutations exhibit characteristics such as younger age and a higher proportion of females compared to wild-type patients, along with significantly better surgical outcomes. Moreover, among patients with KCNJ5 mutations, those whose pathological subtype shows pure CYP11B2 expression demonstrate a more pronounced reduction in postoperative antihypertensive defined daily dose than those with co-expression of CYP11B1/CYP11B2.

Acute lateral ankle sprain (ALAS) is one of the most common sport injuries, with high incidence, recurrence and disability rates. Currently, exercise rehabilitation-based non-surgical treatment is the primary management approach for ALAS. However, there remain improper practices such as excessive immobilization or uncontrolled activity, which contribute to recurrent sprains and chronic ankle instability, significantly impairing patients′ athletic function and quality of life. To standardize the non-surgical management of ALAS, improve the cure rates, and reduce the recurrence and disability rates, Chinese Sports Rehabilitation Medicine Training Project of Chinese Medical Association, Foot and Ankle Basics and Orthopedics Group, Orthopedic Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association, and Sports Medicine Branch of Jiangsu Medical Association organized relevant experts to formulate Expert consensus on non-surgical treatment for acute lateral ankle sprain ( version 2025), following the principles of scientific vigor, practicality, and innovation. Thirteen recommendations were proposed for standardized treatment protocols across different healing phases, aiming to provide references for standard management of ALAS and improve the therapeutic outcomes.

Nonunion of osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVF), predominantly affecting the elderly, can lead to intractable pain, vertebral collapse, progressive kyphotic deformity, and neurological impairment, significantly compromising patients′ quality of life. There exists considerable debate on diagnosis and management of OVF, encompassing key issues such as clinical diagnosis and staging criteria for nonunion, surgical indications and procedure selection, and postoperative rehabilitation planning. Currently, there lacks standardized clinical guideline and expert consensus on the diagnosis and management of OVF nonunion in China. To address this gap, Minimally Invasive Surgery Group of Chinese Orthopedic Association, Osteoporosis Committee of Chinese Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, Prevention and Rehabilitation Committee for Osteoporosis of Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine and Minimally Invasive Orthopedic Surgery Branch of China Association for Geriatric Care jointly organized domestic experts in spinal surgery, endocrinology, and rehabilitation to formulate the Clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment for nonunion of osteoporotic vertebral fractures ( version 2025), based on existing literature and clinical experience and adhering to principles of scientific rigor and practicality. The guideline provided 13 evidence-based recommendations encompassing diagnosis and treatment of OVF nonunion, aiming to standardize its clinical management.