OBJECTIVE: To design a portable respiratory device for transporting premature infants and explore its application effect in the in-hospital transportation of extremely premature infants in primary hospitals. METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted. The extremely premature infants born and transferred to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with oxygen therapy support from May to October in 2023 were selected and randomly divided into control group and observation group. The infants in the control group received respiratory support and in-hospital transportation using a traditional T-combination resuscitator connected to pure oxygen, and those in the observation group used a portable premature infant transport respiratory device designed and manufactured by medical staff to provide respiratory support and implement in-hospital transportation. The respiratory device for transporting premature infants is made of 304 stainless steel material, mainly consisting of a T-combination resuscitator, an air oxygen mixer, an air tank, a pure oxygen cylinder, a pressure reducing valve, a telescopic rod, a tray, a hook, a bottom plate, and four moving wheels, which can achieve precise control of the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO₂) during transportation. The achievement rate of first-time target pulse oxygen saturation (SpO₂, achieving a target SpO₂ of 0.90-0.95 was considered as meeting the standard) and arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO₂) after being transferred to the NICU, as well as the manpower expenditure and time required for transportation of pediatric patients between the two groups were observed. RESULTS: A total of 73 extremely premature infants were enrolled, including 38 in the control group and 35 in the observation group. There was no significant difference in the gender, gestational age at birth, birth weight, mode of delivery, Apgar score at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth, and oxygen therapy during the transportation between the two groups. The achievement rate of first-time target SpO₂ after NICU in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [94.29% (33/35) vs. 26.32% (10/38), P < 0.05], the PaO₂ control range was better [mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa): 85.50±6.36 vs. 103.00±2.83, P < 0.05], manpower expenditure and time required for transportation were significantly reduced [manpower expenditure (number): 2.14±0.35 vs. 3.17±0.34, time required for transportation (minutes): 10.42±0.76 vs. 15.54±0.34, both P < 0.05]. CONCLUSIONS The portable respiratory device for transporting premature infants is used for respiratory support during the transportation of extremely premature infants in primary hospitals. It can improve the achievement rate of target SpO₂, control PaO₂ within the target range, and avoid hypoxia or hyperoxia during transportation. The breathing apparatus is compact, easy to carry, can save labor resources and time during transport, is cost-effective, and is suitable for widespread application in primary hospitals.
Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Transportation of Patients ; Prospective Studies ; Equipment Design ; Infant, Extremely Premature ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Infant, Premature

Coptis chinensis Franch. and Panax ginseng C. A. Mey. are traditional herbal medicines with millennia of documented use and broad therapeutic applications, including anti-diabetic properties. However, the synergistic effect of total alkaloids from Coptis chinensis and total ginsenosides from Panax ginseng on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its underlying mechanism remain unclear. The research demonstrated that the optimal ratio of total alkaloids from Coptis chinensis and total ginsenosides from Panax ginseng was 4∶1, exhibiting maximal efficacy in improving insulin resistance and gluconeogenesis in primary mouse hepatocytes. This combination demonstrated significant synergistic effects in improving glucose tolerance, reducing fasting blood glucose (FBG), the weight ratio of epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in leptin receptor-deficient (db/db) mice. Subsequently, a T2DM liver-specific network was constructed based on RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) experiments and public databases by integrating transcriptional properties of disease-associated proteins and protein-protein interactions (PPIs). The network recovery index (NRI) score of the combined treatment group with a 4∶1 ratio exceeded that of groups treated with individual components. The research identified that activated adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) signaling in the liver played a crucial role in the synergistic treatment of T2DM, as verified by western blot experiment in db/db mice. These findings demonstrate that the 4∶1 combination of total alkaloids from Coptis chinensis and total ginsenosides from Panax ginseng significantly improves insulin resistance and glucose and lipid metabolism disorders in db/db mice, surpassing the efficacy of individual treatments. The synergistic mechanism correlates with enhanced AMPK/ACC signaling pathway activity.
Animals ; Panax/chemistry* ; Ginsenosides/administration & dosage* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/metabolism* ; Mice ; Male ; Alkaloids/pharmacology* ; Coptis/chemistry* ; Drug Synergism ; Insulin Resistance ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Humans ; Transcriptome/drug effects* ; Blood Glucose/metabolism* ; Hypoglycemic Agents/administration & dosage* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Hepatocytes/metabolism*

Objective To compare the consistency of voice parameters collected by commonly used smart-phone brands in China and professional recording equipment,and to study whether smartphones can be used for voice research.Methods A total of 67 normal subjects were selected for voice recording using six different smart-phone brands(via the"Active Health"screening APP from the National Key Research and Development Program)and professional recording equipment.Acoustic voice parameters such as fundamental frequency parameters,fre-quency variation parameters,amplitude variation parameters,formant parameters,and energy parameters were ex-tracted from the vowels/a/,/i/,and/u/.A one-way ANOVA test and Tukey's HSD post-hoc comparisons were conducted on the independent variables.Results There were no significant differences between smartphones and professional recording equipment in terms of fundamental frequency parameters such as median F0,mean F0,max F0 and min F0;frequency parameters such as jitter local,jitter local absolute,jitter rap,jitter ppq5,and jitter ddp;amplitude parameters such as shimmer local,shimmer local dB,shimmer apq3,shimmer apq5,shimmer apq11,and shimmer dda;and formant parameters such as F1,F2,F3,and F4.However,significant differences were found in energy parameters such as mean energy(F=31.171,P＜0.001),max energy(F=34.193,P＜0.001),and min energy(F=5.453,P＜0.001)between smartphones and professional recording equipment.Conclusion The smartphones using the"Active Health"screening app from the National Key Research and Development Program can replace professional recording equipment for voice research.However,caution should be exercised when selec-ting energy-related acoustic parameters.

BACKGROUND: Lead is a persistent inorganic environmental pollutant with global implication for human health. Among the diseases associated with lead exposure, the damage to the central nervous system has received considerable attention. It has been reported that long-term lead exposure increases the risk of meningioma; however, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Clinical studies have indicated that loss-of-function and mutations in the neurofibromin-2 (NF2) gene play a crucial role in promoting meningioma formation. METHODS: The effect of Pb on meningioma were tested in-vitro and in-vivo. Two human meningioma cell lines were used in this study, including NF2-wildtype IOMM-Lee cell and NF2-null CH157-MN cell. Cell viability, cell cycle and cell size were examined after Pb exposure. The expression of Merlin, mammalian sterile 20-like kinases 1 and 2 (MST1/2) and Yes-associated protein (YAP) from these two meningioma cells were analyzed by Western blot. A xenograft mouse model was constructed by subcutaneous injection of IOMM-Lee meningioma cells. RESULTS: This study demonstrated that treatment with lead induce dose-dependent proliferation in IOMM-Lee cell (with an EC₅₀ value of 19.6 µM). Moreover, IOMM-Lee cell exhibited augmented cell size in conjunction with elevated levels of phosphorylated histone H3, indicative of altered cell cycle progression resulting from lead exposure. However, no significant change was observed in the CH157-MN cell. Additionally, the Merlin-Hippo signaling pathway was inactivated with decreased Merlin and phosphorylation levels of MST1/2 and YAP, leading to increased YAP nuclear translocation in IOMM-Lee cells. However, there was no change in the Merlin-Hippo signaling pathway in CH157-MN cells after lead treatment. The administration of Pb resulted in an acceleration of the subcutaneous IOMM-Lee meningioma xenograft growth in mice. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the current study elucidates the potential mechanism by which lead exposure promotes the proliferation of meningioma with NF2 expression for the first time.
Meningioma/genetics* ; Neurofibromin 2/genetics* ; Humans ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Animals ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Mice ; Hippo Signaling Pathway ; Lead/adverse effects* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics* ; Meningeal Neoplasms ; Environmental Pollutants/adverse effects* ; Female

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of Haematococcus pluvialis (HP) on bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice and on TGF-β1-induced human fetal lung fibroblasts (HFL1). METHODS: Thirty male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group, BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis model group, low- and high-dose HP treatment groups (3 and 21 mg/kg, respectively), and 300 mg/kg pirfenidone (positive control) group. The effects of drug treatment for 21 days were assessed by examining respiratory function, lung histopathology, and expression of fibrosis markers in the lung tissues of the mouse models. In TGF-β1-induced HFL1 cell cultures, the effects of treatment with 120, 180 and 240 μg/mL HP or 1.85 μg/mL pirfenidone for 48 h on expression levels of fibrosis markers were evaluated. Transcriptome analysis was carried out using the control cells and cells treated with TGF-β1 and 240 μg/mL HP. RESULTS: HP obviously alleviated BLM-induced lung function damage and fibrotic changes in mice, evidenced by improved respiratory function, lung tissue morphology and structure, inflammatory infiltration, and collagen deposition and reduced expressions of fibrotic proteins. HP at the high dose produced similar effect to PFD. In TGF-β1-induced HFL1 cells, treatment with 240 μg/mL HP significantly reduced the mRNA and protein expression levels of α-SMA and FN. Transcriptome analysis revealed that multiple key genes and pathways mediated the protective effect of HP against pulmonary fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS HP alleviates pulmonary fibrosis in both the mouse model and cell model, possibly as the result of the synergistic effects of its multiple active components.
Animals ; Pulmonary Fibrosis/chemically induced* ; Bleomycin/adverse effects* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Male ; Mice ; Fibroblasts/drug effects* ; Lung/pathology* ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1/pharmacology* ; Myofibroblasts/drug effects* ; Humans ; Pyridones

Objective To investigate the acoustic characteristics of speech in Parkinson's disease(PD)pa-tients compared to healthy individuals using smartphone-recorded speech,laying the foundation for future intelligent cloud-based PD detection.Methods A total of 81 PD patients and 63 healthy controls were randomly selected to re-cord their speech using Huawei,Xiao mi,and Apple smartphones through the"Active Health"screening app from the National Key R&D Program.Using the Praat library in Python,parameters such as mean fundamental frequen-cy(Mean F0),minimum fundamental frequency(Min F0),maximum fundamental frequency(Max F0),formants(F1,F2,F3,F4),shimmer,noise-to-harmonics ratio(NHR),and jitter were extracted and compared.Results In PD patients,jitter and shimmer were significantly higher in the/ba/,/bi/,/bu/,and/bo/vowels compared to the control group,while Mean F0 and Max F0 was significantly lower in/bi/and/bo/.Min F0 was significantly higher in/bi/and/bu/for PD patients.No significant differences were found in F1,F2,F3,or F4 between PD pa-tients and controls in/ba/,/bi/,/bo/and/bu/.Conclusion Quantitative analysis of smartphone-recorded speech can detect speech changes in PD patients,providing a solid foundation for the development of a cloud-based PD de-tection system.

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of laparoscopic evaluation of anato-mical position of inferior mesenteric artery (IMA), inferior mesenteric vein (IMV) and left colic artery (LCA).Methods:The prospective one-arm study was conducted. The clinical data of 229 pati-ents who underwent laparoscopic left hemicolectomy for left colon or laparoscopic radical resection of rectal cancer in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from December 2022 to December 2023 were selected. The distance between the origin point of IMA and the origin point of the first branch (L1) as well as the distance from the origin point of LCA root to the junction of LCA and IMV (L2) were measured during the operation. IMA classification, the location relation-ship of LCA and IMV junction were recorded. Observation indicators: (1) situations of enrolled patients; (2) difference analysis between L1, L2 and clinical features; (3) distribution characteristics of the location relationship between LCA and IMV in different types of IMA. Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of measurement data with skewed distribution between groups, Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups, and Dunn-Bonferroni test was used for pairwise comparison. Comparison of count data between groups was performed by chi-square test. Pearson or Spearman correlation analysis was conducted for correlation of continuous variables. Results:(1) Situations of enrolled patients. A total of 229 eligible patients were screened out, including 146 males and 83 females, aged 64(range, 55-71)years. The height of 229 patients was 168(range, 160-172)cm, the weight was 65.0(55.5,71.5)kg, the body surface area was (1.68±0.17)m 2, the tumor maximum diameter was 3.0(2.5,4.0)cm. The total number of lymph nodes dissected was 19(17,21), and the number of No.253 lymph node dissected was 4(3,5). The L1 was 3.50(1.20,8.00)cm, and the L2 was 2.20(0.50,7.30)cm. There were 58, 31, 32, 71, 22, 90, 26 and 212 patients with smoking, alcohol drinking, diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, neoadjuvant chemo-therapy, neoadjuvant radiotherapy and preservation of the LCA, respectively. Among 229 patients, cases with BMI <18.5 kg/m 2, 18.5-23.9 kg/m 2 and >23.9 kg/m 2 were 11, 133 and 85, respectively. There were 153 cases in pathological stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ and 76 cases in stage Ⅲ. There were 168 cases of Dixon operation, 6 cases of Miles operation and 55 cases of sigmoid colon resection. There were 135 cases of IMA type 1, 44 cases of IMA type 2, 23 cases of IMA type 3, 2 cases of IMA type 4, and 25 cases of IMA type unable to judge. (2) Difference analysis between L1, L2 and clinical features.Correlation analysis showed negative correlation between the height, body surface area and L1 ( r=-0.17, -0.15, P<0.05). The L1 was 3.20(2.68,4.00)cm for male patients and 3.60(3.00,4.20)cm for female patients, respectively, showing a significant difference between the two groups ( Z=-2.37, P<0.05). The L1 of patients with IMA type 1, 2, and 3 was 3.20(2.80,4.00)cm, 3.85(3.00,4.48)cm, and 3.20(2.50,4.30)cm, respectively, showing a significant difference among them ( H=7.54, P<0.05). Further pairwise com-parison showed that there was a significant difference in L1 between patients with IMA type 2 and those with IMA type 1 ( P<0.05). The L2 of smokers and non-smokers were 2.50(1.95,3.20)cm and 2.20(1.60,2.80)cm, respectively, showing a significant difference between the two groups ( Z=-2.24, P<0.05). (3)Distribution characteristics of the location relationship between LCA and IMV in different types of IMA. There was no significant difference in LCA distribution between the anterior and posterior positions of IMV among the three IMA types (type 1, 2, 3) ( χ2=1.63, P>0.05). Conclusions:Patients with greater height have larger body surface area and shorter L1. L1 is significantly longer in female patients than in male patients. L1 is significantly longer in patients with IMA type 2 than in those with type 1. L2 is significantly longer in smokers than in non-smokers. There was no significant difference in the distribution location between LCA and IMV among patients of IMA type 1, 2 and 3.

Objective To compare the consistency of voice parameters collected by commonly used smart-phone brands in China and professional recording equipment,and to study whether smartphones can be used for voice research.Methods A total of 67 normal subjects were selected for voice recording using six different smart-phone brands(via the"Active Health"screening APP from the National Key Research and Development Program)and professional recording equipment.Acoustic voice parameters such as fundamental frequency parameters,fre-quency variation parameters,amplitude variation parameters,formant parameters,and energy parameters were ex-tracted from the vowels/a/,/i/,and/u/.A one-way ANOVA test and Tukey's HSD post-hoc comparisons were conducted on the independent variables.Results There were no significant differences between smartphones and professional recording equipment in terms of fundamental frequency parameters such as median F0,mean F0,max F0 and min F0;frequency parameters such as jitter local,jitter local absolute,jitter rap,jitter ppq5,and jitter ddp;amplitude parameters such as shimmer local,shimmer local dB,shimmer apq3,shimmer apq5,shimmer apq11,and shimmer dda;and formant parameters such as F1,F2,F3,and F4.However,significant differences were found in energy parameters such as mean energy(F=31.171,P＜0.001),max energy(F=34.193,P＜0.001),and min energy(F=5.453,P＜0.001)between smartphones and professional recording equipment.Conclusion The smartphones using the"Active Health"screening app from the National Key Research and Development Program can replace professional recording equipment for voice research.However,caution should be exercised when selec-ting energy-related acoustic parameters.

Objective To investigate the acoustic characteristics of speech in Parkinson's disease(PD)pa-tients compared to healthy individuals using smartphone-recorded speech,laying the foundation for future intelligent cloud-based PD detection.Methods A total of 81 PD patients and 63 healthy controls were randomly selected to re-cord their speech using Huawei,Xiao mi,and Apple smartphones through the"Active Health"screening app from the National Key R&D Program.Using the Praat library in Python,parameters such as mean fundamental frequen-cy(Mean F0),minimum fundamental frequency(Min F0),maximum fundamental frequency(Max F0),formants(F1,F2,F3,F4),shimmer,noise-to-harmonics ratio(NHR),and jitter were extracted and compared.Results In PD patients,jitter and shimmer were significantly higher in the/ba/,/bi/,/bu/,and/bo/vowels compared to the control group,while Mean F0 and Max F0 was significantly lower in/bi/and/bo/.Min F0 was significantly higher in/bi/and/bu/for PD patients.No significant differences were found in F1,F2,F3,or F4 between PD pa-tients and controls in/ba/,/bi/,/bo/and/bu/.Conclusion Quantitative analysis of smartphone-recorded speech can detect speech changes in PD patients,providing a solid foundation for the development of a cloud-based PD de-tection system.