Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are common organic compounds in indoor and outdoor air, and enter the human body primarily through the respiratory tract and directly damage the respiratory system. Previous studies have suggested that exposure to VOCs/SVOCs may associate with the prevalence, incidence, and progression of asthma, but the extent of the associations is still vague. Furthermore, biomarkers for efficient and simple asthma diagnosis, typing, and attack prediction remain unclear at this stage. From the perspective of the collection and detection methods of VOCs/SVOCs, this paper summarized the epidemiological associations and underlying biological mechanisms between VOCs/SVOCs exposure and the prevalence, incidence, and progression of asthma in children/adults. It also demonstrated the application of VOCs/SVOCs in recent years in assisting asthma diagnosis, such as distinguishing asthma patients from the healthy population, differentiating different asthma phenotypes, and predicting asthma acute exacerbations, aiming to provide a scientific basis for improving current asthma management.

OBJECTIVE To provide direction and reference for the adjustment of the discount rate （DR） in China’s pharmacoeconomic guidelines. METHODS Search was conducted on the official websites of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research， health technology assessment agencies in various countries/regions， as well as relevant websites of other upper-middle-income or high-income countries/regions. The recommended DR， adjustment trends， and setting rationales in pharmacoeconomic evaluation guidelines across different countries/regions were then summarized and compared. Based on theoretical derivation and literature analysis， the effects of different DR on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio （ICER） were examined. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS Among the 40 included guidelines， the base-case DR ranged from 1.5% to 5%， with 5% being the most common value； the range for sensitivity analysis was 0 to 12%. Thirty-six countries/regions applied the same DR to both costs and health outcomes， while in the Netherlands， Belgium， Poland and Czech Republic， DR for costs was higher than for health outcomes. In recent years， Korea， France and Ireland had lowered their DR in response to economic changes， whereas the Netherlands and Czech Republic had raised their DR for cost. The setting of the DR was primarily based on the public project investment interest rate or referred to recommendations from internationally authoritative institutions and other relevant guidelines. The direction and magnitude of the impact of different DR on the ICER largely depended on the distribution of costs and health outcomes between the intervention and reference measure. The setting and adjustment of DR were closely associated with the economic environment. Based on international experience, the DR in China can be lowered by 0.5% to 1.5%， and localized empirical research can be conducted using internationally common estimation methods.

Objective To investigate the correlation between the concentration of air pollutants (PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂) and the number of outpatient and emergency visits for pediatric respiratory diseases in a general hospital in Shanghai. Methods Data including pediatric respiratory disease outpatient and emergency visits in a hospital in Pudong New Area of Shanghai from May 1, 2013 to March 20, 2022 were collected. Daily concentration of air pollutants including PM₁₀, SO₂ and NO₂ and meteorological data in Pudong New Area during the same period were collected. A case-crossover study with distributed lag non-linear model was conducted to explore the correlation between air pollutants (PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂) and the number of outpatient and emergency visits for pediatric respiratory diseases. Results The concentrations of PM₁₀, SO₂ and NO₂ were positively with the number of outpatient and emergency visits for pediatric respiratory diseases. The strongest cumulative effect was observed on six days lag (Lag0-5) for PM₁₀. For a 10 μg/m³ increase of the concentrations of PM₁₀, the corresponding increase of cumulative pediatric respiratory disease outpatients was 1.10% (95%CI:0.97%, 1.23%) in Lag0-5. The strongest cumulative effect was observed on eight days lag (Lag0-7) for SO₂ and NO₂. For a 10 μg /m³ increase of the concentrations of SO₂ and NO₂, the corresponding increase of cumulative pediatric respiratory disease outpatients was 5.64% (95%CI:5.16%, 6.13%) and 5.41% (95%CI:5.15%, 5.66%) in Lag 0-7, respectively. The association of PM₁₀ and SO₂ with the number of pediatric respiratory disease visits in males was significantly stronger than that in females. The impact of PM₁₀ on the number of pediatric respiratory disease visits in children aged 0-6 was higher than that in children aged 7-14, while the impact of SO₂ and NO₂ on the number of pediatric respiratory disease visits in children aged 7-14 was higher than that in children aged 0-6. Conclusion The concentration of ambient PM₁₀, SO₂, and NO₂ is positively correlated with outpatient and emergency visits for pediatric respiratory diseases, with obvious lag and cumulative effect. Boys and children aged 0-6 are more susceptible to the hazard of air pollution.

Objective To quantitatively assess the influence of various factors on the pharmacokinetic parameters of propofol and to develop a propofol population pharmacokinetic model tailored for Chinese patients.Methods Thirty patients scheduled for selective abdominal surgeries received an anesthesia dose of propofol at 2.0 mg·kg-1.The concentration of propofol in collected venous blood samples was measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.Polymorphisms in metabolizing enzyme genes were detected through Sanger sequencing technology.Pharmacokinetic parameters were computed,and models were constructed and evaluated using Phoenix Winnonlin software.Results Through software analysis,the drug's in vivo process was best described by a three-compartment model.The population mean values for the central compartment clearance rate(CL),shallow peripheral compartment clearance rate(Q2),deep peripheral compartment clearance rate(Q3),central compartment volume of distribution(V),shallow peripheral compartment volume of distribution(V2),and deep peripheral compartment volume of distribution(V3)were 1.71 L·min-1,1.31 L·min-1,1.51 L·min-1,5.92 L,19.86 L and 99.06 L,respectively.Body weight was identified as a significant covariate affecting CL and V,and was incorporated into the model.Conclusion The evaluation of the final model demonstrates its substantial predictive capability,offering directional guidance for the clinical administration of propofol.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by chronic relapsing intestinal inflammation and encompasses ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). IBD has emerged as a global healthcare problem. Clinically efficacious therapeutic agents are deficient. This study concentrates on models of ulcerative colitis with the objective of discovering novel therapeutic strategies. Previous investigations have established that schisandrin A demonstrates anti-inflammatory effects in vitro, concurrently enhancing the transcriptional activity of farnesoid X receptor (FXR). FXR inversely modulates the transcriptional activity of NF-κB, which has an important role in regulating inflammatory responses. Consequently, the current study was to explore the safeguarding influence of schisandrin A on ulcerative colitis and delineate the mechanism by which it regulates this effect through the FXR signaling pathway. The effect of schisandrin A on the mRNA levels of inflammatory factors was evaluated in RAW264.7 cells. The dual luciferase reporter gene assay was used to verify the relationship between schisandrin A and FXR targeting. The animal experiments were performed in accordance with the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (approval No. PZSHUTCM2304250005). Acute ulcerative colitis was induced in wild-type or FXR knockout C57BL/6 mice by drinking 3% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) for 7 days, and schisandrin A was administered via gavage for a continuous treatment period of 7 days. The body weight and faecal were monitored daily. The mRNA levels of inflammatory factors in colon tissue and FXR target genes were measured by RT-qPCR. The findings revealed that schisandrin A, in vitro, impeded the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced elevation in mRNA levels of inflammatory factors and schisandrin A could augment transcriptional activity of FXR. In wild-type mice, schisandrin A significantly improved weight loss, colon shortening, loose stools and blood in stools in mice with acute ulcerative colitis, and schisandrin A significantly reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory factors genes and significantly increased the expression of FXR target genes in colon tissues. In FXR knockout mice, the administration of schisandrin A failed to yield ameliorative effect on acute ulcerative colitis in mice. In conclusion, schisandrin A can reduce intestinal inflammation through the FXR signaling pathway to alleviate acute ulcerative colitis in mice. Implications arise that Schisandra lignans could serve as lead compounds for drug development aimed at inflammatory bowel disease.

Objective:To evaluate the consistency of the Chinese three-dimensional anterior visual field analysis system (Scansys), the anterior segment analyzer (Pentacam), the frequency-domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography system (CASIA SS-1000), and a new ultra-high frequency digital ultrasound scanning system (Arcscan Insight100) to measure central vault after implantable collamer lens (ICL) implantation in myopic eyes with crystalline lenses.Methods:A diagnostic test study was conducted.Fifty-six myopic patients (56 eyes) who underwent ICL V4c implantation from June to December 2019 were included.Scansys, Pentacam, CASIA and Arcscan were used to measure the central vault after surgery.The vault measurements were compared.Correlations between the measurements of the four instruments were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis, and consistency comparisons were analyzed using the Bland-Altman method.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Henan Eye Hospital (No.HNEECKY-2021[13]). Written informed consent was obtained from each subject.Results:The central vault measurements by Scansys, Pentacam, CASIA and Arcscan were (481.8±191.6), (476.4±190.6), (619.3±207.5) and (534.0±221.2)μm, respectively, with a statistically significant overall difference ( F=143.301, P<0.001). The vault measurements by Scansys and Pentacam were significantly lower than CASIA and Arcscan, and Arcscan was lower than CASIA, with statistically significant differences (all at P<0.001). There were strong positive correlations in vault measurements between Arcscan and CASIA, Arcscan and Pentacam, Arcscan and Scansys, CASIA and Pentacam, CASIA and Scansys, Pentacam and Scansys ( r=0.982, 0.933, 0.931, 0.942, 0.941, 0.989; all at P<0.001). Intraclass correlation coefficients of vault measurements by Scansys, Pentacam, CASIA and Arcscan were 0.985, 0.975, 0.998, 0.992, respectively.The 95% limits of agreement of vault measurements differences were -170 to 0, 0 to 280, 0 to 280, -110 to 210, -100 to 220 μm, between CASIA and Arcscan, CASIA and Scansys, CASIA and Pentacam, Arcscan and Scansys, Arcscan and Pentacam, respectively, and the maximum absolute value of the difference was beyond the clinically acceptable range, showing poor agreement.The 95% limits of agreement of vault measurement difference was -60 to 50 μm between Scansys and Pentacam, showing a good agreement. Conclusions:The repeatability of the vault after ICL V4c implantation in myopic eyes measured by the four instruments is good.Among them, the vault measurements of Scansys and Pentacam are smaller, showing good consistency, and their results could be substituted for each other.The measurement of CASIA is the largest, followed by Arcscan, which have a large difference from each other, and their results can not be substituted for each other, which should be comprehensively analyzed with the actual situation in clinical work.

Objective:To investigate the mechanisms underlying the effect of levocarnitine on myocardial cell fibrosis, proliferation, apoptosis and migration.Methods:Between June and December 2022, an overexpression vector for tissue inhibitor-1 of metalloproteinase(TIMP-1)and siRNA TIMP-1 were used to transfect rat H9c2 cardiomyocytes(from the cell bank of the Chinese Academy of Sciences), and transfection efficiency was measured using fluorescence reverse transcription quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR). After treating H9c2 cells with angiotensin Ⅱ(AngⅡ), the expression of the MMP3 and TIMP-1 genes in the cells was detected by RT-qPCR.A CCK8 kit was used to assess the effect of levocarnitine intervention on the proliferation of myofibroblasts after overexpression or knockdown of TIMP-1.The effects of levocarnitine on apoptosis and migration of myofibroblasts were detected by flow cytometry and Transwell assays.Results:The RT-qPCR results showed that the expression level of the MMP3 gene(1.38±0.05)in cardiomyocytes treated with AngⅡ for 24 hours exhibited an upward trend( P<0.01), while the expression level of the TIMP-1 gene(0.71±0.03)showed a downward trend( P<0.01). In addition, H9c2 cells with TIMP-1 overexpression(905.98±24.17)and knockdown(0.18±0.01)%, respectively, were successfully constructed.Based on CCK-8 detection results, knockdown of TIMP-1(86.56±7.98)% was able to promote the proliferation of H9c2 cells induced by levocarnitine( P<0.01). Apoptosis experiments showed that inhibition of TIMP-1 expression(23.22±2.69)significantly reduced the apoptosis level of H9c2 cells induced by levocarnitine( P<0.01). Migration experiments showed that inhibition of TIMP-1 expression(217.67±23.44)significantly promoted the migration ability of H9c2 cells induced by levocarnitine( P<0.01). Conclusions:After intervention to reduce TIMP-1 expression, levocarnitine can promote proliferation, inhibit apoptosis and promote migration of myofibroblasts and may therefore ameliorate myocardial fibrosis.

Thyroid cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the head and neck, among which papillary thyroid carcinoma is the most common. Papillary thyroid carcinoma with a diameter of ≤ 1.0 cm is called thyroid micropapillary carcinoma. In recent years, thermal ablation technology for the treatment of thyroid micropapillary carcinoma has developed rapidly at home and abroad. At present, many guidelines, consensus and clinical studies related to thermal ablation treatment of thyroid micropapillary carcinoma have been published at home and abroad. Based on the existing literature, guidelines and clinical studies, this article summarizes, discusses and analyzes the advantages, indications, efficacy, safety, and existing problems of thermal ablation therapy for thyroid cancer.

Objective To compare the pharmacokinetic behavior of two captopril tablets in Chinese healthy subjects,and evaluate the bioequivalence and safety of the tested and reference preparations.Methods This study was a single-center,random,open,double-cycle,double-cross design scheme.Twenty-four healthy subjects were randomized divided two groups and took single dose of 25 mg captopril of test tablet or reference tablet under fasting condition during each period.Plasma concentrations of captopril were determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy(LC-MS/MS)following administration of the oral single captopril tablet.The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by using non-atrioventricular model with WinNonlin 8.0 software to evaluate bioequivalence.The safety of clinical observation indexes of the subjects was evaluated during the trail.Results Main pharmacokinetic parameters of test preparation and reference preparation captopril in fasting group test:Cmax were(803.22±196.81)and(844.75±163.43)ng·mL-1;AUC0-t were(3 118.06±642.05)and(3 353.53±597.94)h·ng·mL-1;AUC0-∞ were(3 347.35±712.07)and(3 594.15±654.39)h·ng·mL-1.The 90％confidence intervals(CI)of geornetric mean ratio of Cmax,AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ were 87.15％-99.97％,89.54％-96.14％and 89.55％-96.26％,all in the range of 80.00％-125.00％,indicating that the bioequivalence of the two preparations could be determined.During the trial,the incidence rates of adverse events for the test preparation and the reference preparation were 30.43％and 33.33％,respectively,without any serious adverse events occurring.Conclusion The test tablet and reference tablet of captopril were equivalent and safe during the trial.

Objective:To investigate and compare the clinical outcomes of the arterial pre-occlusion technique(APOT) and the traditional technique in the surgery of locally advanced pancreatic cancer with arterial involvement after conversion therapy.Methods:This is a retrospective cohort study. The clinical data of 145 patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer with arterial involvement admitted to the Department of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery of the First Hospital Affiliated to Naval Medical University,from January 2020 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients completed neoadjuvant therapy for tumors, and the feasibility of radical surgical treatment was determined by a multidisciplinary collaborative team evaluation before surgery. According to whether the intraoperative artery was pre-occluded, 145 patients were divided into two groups, including 28 cases in the APOT group(16 males, 12 females, aged (59.0±9.4) years), and 117 cases in the routine surgery group(76 males, 41 females, aged (55.1±8.2) years). To ensure comparability of baseline data between the APOT group and the routine surgery group, a 1∶2 match was performed using the propensity score matching method, and the caliper value was 0.006 45. The t-test,the Mann-Whitney U test, χ2 test or Fisher′s exact test were used to compare the data between the two groups,respectively. Results:After matching the propensity score,there were 28 cases in the APOT group and 56 cases in the routine surgery group. There were no significant differences in gender,age,preoperative comorbidities,preoperative body mass index,surgical approaches,chemotherapy regimen,stereotactic body radiation therapy ratio,tumor markers,and type of invaded artery between the two groups (all P>0.05).The arterial occlusion time M(IQR) in the APOT group was 7.0(3.8)minutes(range:3 to 15 minutes),and no ischemic manifestations were observed in the distal target organs that blocked blood vessels after surgery. The operation time was (170.3±57.7)minutes in the APOT group and (235.0±80.2)minutes in the routine surgery group,and the difference was statistically significant ( t=-3.800, P<0.01). The APOT group also experienced less intraoperative blood loss(650(588)ml vs. 800(600)ml; U=1 026.500, P=0.021). No significant differences were found between the groups in combined vein resection and reconstruction,celiac trunk resection,early postoperative complications, readmission rates at 30 days,and postoperative length of stay(all P>0.05). Extra-arterial dissection was performed in all patients,with arterial resection and reconstruction in 3 cases: 2 cases in the APOT group(1 case involving the superior mesenteric artery and 1 case involving the common hepatic artery) and 1 case in the routine group(involving the common hepatic artery). Postoperative abdominal bleeding occurred in 4 cases,with 3 cases in the routine group,1 case in the routine group. The R0 resection rate was 85.7%(24/28) in the APOT group and 80.4%(45/56) in the routine group,without significant differences between the groups( P=0.763). The median overall survival time was 27.6 months for the APOT group and 22.5 months for the routine group,while the median disease-free survival was 11.7 months and 16.8 months,respectively,with no significant differences between the two groups( P=0.532, P=0.927). Conclusion:The arterial pre-occlusion technique can be used for extra-arterial dissection in patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer involving the arteries,reducing surgery time and intraoperative blood loss.