ObjectiveThe present study aimed to investigate alterations in white matter microstructure and spontaneous neural activity in male college smokers, and to further explore their associations with nicotine dependence. Given that adolescence and early adulthood represent critical periods for brain maturation, particularly for white matter development, understanding the neural correlates of smoking behavior during this stage is of substantial importance for both neuroscience and public health. MethodsA total of 115 male undergraduate students were initially recruited for this study. After quality control and exclusion procedures, 52 male college smokers and 42 demographically matched healthy non-smokers were included in the final analysis. All participants underwent multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). White matter fiber tracts were reconstructed using the automated fiber quantification (AFQ) method, which enables precise identification and quantification of major fiber bundles. Eighteen major white matter tracts were segmented for each participant. Along the core trajectory of each tract, 100 equidistant nodes were sampled. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was calculated at each node to assess white matter microstructural integrity, while amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was computed to evaluate spontaneous neural activity within white matter tracts. Between-group differences in FA and ALFF were assessed using two-sample t-tests, with appropriate corrections applied for multiple comparisons. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between imaging-derived metrics (FA and ALFF values in regions showing significant group differences) and nicotine dependence severity, as measured by the Fagerström test for nicotine dependence (FTND). ResultsCompared with healthy non-smokers, male college smokers exhibited significantly increased FA values in several white matter tracts, including the left thalamic radiation, right corticospinal tract, forceps major of the corpus callosum, left uncinate fasciculus, and right arcuate fasciculus. These findings suggest altered microstructural organization or increased directional coherence within these pathways. In addition, smokers demonstrated significantly elevated ALFF values in the forceps major, right uncinate fasciculus, and left arcuate fasciculus, indicating enhanced spontaneous neural activity in these white matter regions. Correlation analyses revealed that FA values in the left thalamic radiation and right corticospinal tract were negatively correlated with FTND scores, suggesting that higher levels of nicotine dependence were associated with reduced microstructural integrity or altered fiber organization in these regions. In contrast, ALFF values in the forceps major and right uncinate fasciculus were positively correlated with FTND scores, indicating that greater nicotine dependence was associated with increased spontaneous neural activity in specific white matter pathways. ConclusionThe present study provides evidence that male college smokers exhibit distinct alterations in both white matter microstructure and functional activity. These abnormalities are not uniformly distributed but rather localized to specific fiber tracts implicated in sensorimotor processing, interhemispheric communication, and higher-order cognitive and emotional regulation. Importantly, the observed associations between imaging metrics and nicotine dependence severity suggest that these structural and functional alterations may reflect neurobiological mechanisms underlying addiction. The combination of AFQ-based tract profiling and multimodal MRI offers a sensitive approach for detecting subtle changes along white matter pathways, highlighting its potential utility in identifying neuroimaging biomarkers of nicotine dependence. Overall, these findings indicate that smoking during early adulthood may disrupt ongoing white matter maturation, potentially leading to long-term consequences for brain function. This study provides novel insights into the neural basis of nicotine dependence and underscores the importance of early intervention and prevention strategies targeting young smokers.

Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness of amplification intervention with hearing aids for restoring binaural auditory function in patients with unilateral moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. Methods:This study selected 30 patients with normal hearing in one ear and moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss in the other ear. They were fitted with hearing aids for the worse ear and underwent more than half a year and one year of adaptation training. The Chinese translation of the Twelve-item version of SSQ（C-SSQ12）, angle identification test, speech recognition score（SRS） at different signal-to-noise ratios（SNR=5 and SNR=10） and audiometric thresholds were used to compare the results before and after hearing aid use to evaluate the effectiveness of the unilateral hearing loss intervention. Results:The results of the audiometric thresholds, C-SSQ12 scores, angle identification test, and SRS at SNR=5 and SNR=10 in the worse ear of the unilateral hearing loss patients after hearing aid use were all statistically significant compared to before hearing aid use（P<0.01）. Conclusion:Amplification intervention with hearing aids has significant effects on restoring binaural auditory function in patients with unilateral moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss.
Humans ; Hearing Aids ; Hearing Loss, Unilateral/therapy* ; Middle Aged ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/rehabilitation* ; Adult ; Female ; Male ; Auditory Threshold ; Young Adult ; Aged

OBJECTIVES: To explore the bioactive components in Jiawei Xiaoyao Pills (JWXYP) and their mechanisms for alleviating depression-like behaviors. METHODS: The active compounds, key targets, and pathways of JWXYP were identified using TCMSP and TCMIP databases. Thirty-six SD rats were randomized equally into 6 groups including a control group and 5 chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression groups. After modeling, the 5 model groups were treated with daily gavage of normal saline, 1.8 mg/kg fluoxetine hydrochloride (positive control drug), or JWXYP at 1.44, 2.88, and 4.32 g/kg. The depression-like behaviors of the rats were evaluated using behavioral tests, and pathological changes in the liver and hippocampus were examined with HE staining. The biochemical indicators in the serum and brain tissues were detected using ELISA. Serum metabolomics analysis was performed to identify the differential metabolites using OPLS-DA, and gut microbiota changes were analyzed using 16S rDNA sequencing. RESULTS: Network pharmacology revealed that menthone and paeonol in JWXYP were capable of penetrating the blood-brain barrier to regulate inflammatory pathways and protect the nervous system. In the rat models subjected to CUMS, treatment with JWXYP significantly improved body weight loss, sucrose preference and open field activities, reduced liver inflammation, alleviated structural changes in the hippocampal neurons, decreased serum levels of TNF‑α, IL-1β, IL-6 and LBP, and increased 5-HT and VIP concentrations in the serum and brain tissue, and these effects were the most pronounced in the high-dose group. Metabolomics analysis showed changes in such metabolites as indole-3-acetamide and acetyl-L-carnitine in JWXYP-treated rats, involving the pathways for bile acid biosynthesis and amino acid metabolism. 16S rDNA analysis demonstrated increased gut microbiota diversity and increased abundance of Lactobacillus species in JWXYP-treated rats. CONCLUSIONS JWXYP alleviates depression-like symptoms in rats by regulating the neurotransmitters, inhibiting inflammation and oxidation, and modulating gut microbiota.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Depression/drug therapy* ; Neurotransmitter Agents/metabolism* ; Rats ; Inflammation ; Male ; Hippocampus ; Behavior, Animal/drug effects*

Hypoxemia is a common pathological state characterized by low oxygen saturation in the blood. This condition compromises mucosal barrier integrity particularly in the gut and oral cavity. However, the mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. This study used periodontitis as a model to investigate the role of platelet activation in oral mucosal immunopathology under hypoxic conditions. Hypoxia upregulated methyltransferase-like protein 4 (METTL4) expression in platelets, resulting in N⁶-methyladenine modification of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). This modification impaired mitochondrial transcriptional factor A-dependent cytosolic mtDNA degradation, leading to cytosolic mtDNA accumulation. Excess cytosolic mt-DNA aberrantly activated the cGAS-STING pathway in platelets. This resulted in excessive platelet activation and neutrophil extracellular trap formation that ultimately exacerbated periodontitis. Targeting platelet METTL4 and its downstream pathways offers a potential strategy for managing oral mucosa immunopathology. Further research is needed to examine its broader implications for mucosal inflammation under hypoxic conditions.
DNA, Mitochondrial/metabolism* ; Mouth Mucosa/pathology* ; Hypoxia/immunology* ; Methyltransferases/metabolism* ; Blood Platelets/metabolism* ; Animals ; Periodontitis/immunology* ; Humans ; Platelet Activation ; Mice

Acute-on-chronic liver failure （ACLF） is a form of acute hepatic insufficiency that occurs in the context of a chronic liver disease， with a relatively high mortality rate. To improve the prognosis of ACLF patients， it is essential to early identify the patients with pre-ACLF and constantly optimize and innovate treatment regimens for the disease in the progressive stage. With more than 10 years of research， the Chinese CLIF consortium has developed an early warning model for ACLF and established a system for transferring high-risk patients to tertiary hospitals. At present， the real-world study has also confirmed the consistency between the early warning model and actual conditions in clinical practice， making contributions to the early screening， diagnosis， and treatment of ACLF. The treatment options for the progressive stage of ACLF are also expanding， from the development of innovative pharmaceuticals to the use of artificial liver support and stem cell therapy， and such treatment modalities have made significant achievements in clinical studies and are expected to be implemented in the near future. The development of a more efficient diagnostic system and novel treatment modalities has led to a significant improvement in the diagnosis and treatment of ACLF.

ObjectiveTobacco-related diseases remain one of the leading preventable public health challenges worldwide and are among the primary causes of premature death. In recent years, accumulating evidence has supported the classification of nicotine addiction as a chronic brain disease, profoundly affecting both brain structure and function. Despite the urgency, effective diagnostic methods for smoking addiction remain lacking, posing significant challenges for early intervention and treatment. To address this issue and gain deeper insights into the neural mechanisms underlying nicotine dependence, this study proposes a novel graph neural network framework, termed TI-GNN. This model leverages functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to identify complex and subtle abnormalities in brain connectivity patterns associated with smoking addiction. MethodsThe study utilizes fMRI data to construct functional connectivity matrices that represent interaction patterns among brain regions. These matrices are interpreted as graphs, where brain regions are nodes and the strength of functional connectivity between them serves as edges. The proposed TI-GNN model integrates a Transformer module to effectively capture global interactions across the entire brain network, enabling a comprehensive understanding of high-level connectivity patterns. Additionally, a spatial attention mechanism is employed to selectively focus on informative inter-regional connections while filtering out irrelevant or noisy features. This design enhances the model’s ability to learn meaningful neural representations crucial for classification tasks. A key innovation of TI-GNN lies in its built-in causal interpretation module, which aims to infer directional and potentially causal relationships among brain regions. This not only improves predictive performance but also enhances model interpretability—an essential attribute for clinical applications. The identification of causal links provides valuable insights into the neuropathological basis of addiction and contributes to the development of biologically plausible and trustworthy diagnostic tools. ResultsExperimental results demonstrate that the TI-GNN model achieves superior classification performance on the smoking addiction dataset, outperforming several state-of-the-art baseline models. Specifically, TI-GNN attains an accuracy of 0.91, an F1-score of 0.91, and a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.83, indicating strong robustness and reliability. Beyond performance metrics, TI-GNN identifies critical abnormal connectivity patterns in several brain regions implicated in addiction. Notably, it highlights dysregulations in the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex, consistent with prior clinical and neuroimaging findings. These regions are well known for their roles in emotional regulation, reward processing, and impulse control—functions that are frequently disrupted in nicotine dependence. ConclusionThe TI-GNN framework offers a powerful and interpretable tool for the objective diagnosis of smoking addiction. By integrating advanced graph learning techniques with causal inference capabilities, the model not only achieves high diagnostic accuracy but also elucidates the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction. The identification of specific abnormal brain networks and their causal interactions deepens our understanding of addiction pathophysiology and lays the groundwork for developing targeted intervention strategies and personalized treatment approaches in the future.

Objective To explore the safety and effects of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) in patients with ischemic heart failure (IHF). Methods A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was designed (ClinicalTrial.gov registration number NCT03491969). From January 2019 to January 2023, 300 patients with IHF were enrolled in four medical centers in China, and were randomly assigned at a 1∶1 ratio to receive ALA (600 mg daily) or placebo on top of standard care for 24 months. The primary outcome was the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure (HF) or all-cause mortality events. The second outcome included non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), non-fatal stroke, changes of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) from baseline to 24 months after randomization. Results Finally, 138 patients of the ALA group and 139 patients of the placebo group attained the primary outcome. Hospitalization for HF or all-cause mortality events occurred in 32 patients (23.2%) of the ALA group and in 40 patients (28.8%) of the placebo group (HR＝0.753, 95%CI 0.473-1.198, P＝0.231; Figure 1A-1C). The absolute risk reduction (ARR) was 5.6%, the relative risk reduction (RRR) associated with ALA therapy was approximately 19.4% compared to placebo, corresponding to a number needed to treat (NNT) of 18 patients to prevent one event. In the secondary outcome analysis, the composite outcome of the major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) including the hospitalization for HF, all-cause mortality events, non-fatal MI or non-fatal stroke occurred in 35 patients (25.4%) in the ALA group and 47 patients (33.8%) in the placebo group (HR＝0.685, 95%CI 0.442-1.062, P＝0.091; Figure 1D). Moreover, greater improvement in LVEF (β＝3.20, 95%CI 1.14-5.23, P＝0.002) and 6MWD (β＝31.7, 95%CI 8.3-54.7, P＝0.008) from baseline to 24 months after randomization were observed in the ALA group as compared to the placebo group. There were no differences in adverse events between the study groups. Conclusions These results show potential long-term beneficial effects of adding ALA to IHF patients. ALA could significantly improve LVEF and 6MWD compared to the placebo group in IHF patients.

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response caused by severe infection or trauma, and is one of the common causes of acute lung injury(ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS). Sepsis-acute lung injury(SALI) is a critical clinical condition with high morbidity and mortality. Its pathogenesis is complex and not yet fully understood, and there is currently a lack of targeted and effective treatment options. Pyroptosis, a novel form of programmed cell death, plays a key role in the pathological process of SALI by activating inflammasomes and releasing inflammatory factors, making it a potential therapeutic target. In recent years, the role of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) in regulating signaling pathways related to pyroptosis through multi-components and multi-targets has attracted increasing attention. TCM may intervene in pyroptosis by inhibiting the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes and regulating the expression of Caspase family proteins, thus alleviating inflammatory damage in lung tissues. This paper systematically reviews the molecular regulatory network of pyroptosis in SALI and explores the potential mechanisms and research progress on TCM intervention in cellular pyroptosis. The aim is to provide new ideas and theoretical support for basic research and clinical treatment strategies of TCM in SALI.
Pyroptosis/drug effects* ; Humans ; Sepsis/genetics* ; Acute Lung Injury/physiopathology* ; Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Inflammasomes/metabolism* ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/genetics*

Objective To develop novel metformin carbon dots(MCDs)with superior performance to enhance the osteogenic differentiation potential of human periodontal ligament stem cells(hPDLSCs)under inflammatory conditions.Methods Three types of MCDs-MCDsCA,MCDsAA,and MCDsCS were synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method using metformin(Met)in combination with citric acid(CA),ascorbic acid(AA),and carboxymethyl chitosan(CS),respectively.Their physicochemical properties were characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM),Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),and UV-visible spectrophotometry.The biocompatibility and cellular uptake of the MCDs were assessed using CCK-8 assay and confocal laser scanning microscopy.Alkaline phosphatase(ALP)staining and ALP activity assay were conducted to identify the most effective MCDs type in promoting osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs under inflammatory conditions.Subsequently,ALP and Alizarin Red S(ARS)staining,qRT-PCR,and Western blotting were performed to assess the effects of the optimal concentration of MCDsCS and its raw material(Met+CS)on osteogenic differentiation under inflammatory conditions.Results All 3 types of nanoscale MCDs exhibited favorable physicochemical characteristics and biocompatibility,and could be effectively internalized by hPDLSCs.Both MCDsCA and MCDsAA significantly promoted hPDLSCs proliferation at lower concentrations(0～0.50 mg/mL),while MCDsCS exhibited excellent cytocompatibility over a broader range(0～2.00 mg/mL).Under inflammatory conditions,MCDsCA and MCDsAA showed no significant effect on ALP expression in hPDLSCs,whereas MCDsCS significantly enhanced ALP expression in a dose-dependent manner,with the optimal effect observed at 0.10 mg/mL(P<0.05).Compared to Met+CS,0.10 mg/mL MCDsCS significantly enhanced ALP expression and calcium nodule formation under inflammatory conditions.It also upregulated the expression of osteogenesis-related genes(ALP,RUNX2,COL-1,OCN)and proteins(ALP,RUNX2,OCN)(P<0.01),while reducing the levels of inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6(P<0.01).Conclusion A novel MCDsCS with sound biocompatibility is successfully developed,and can effectively promote osteogenic differentiation of hPDLSCs and exerts anti-inflammatory effects under inflammatory conditions,indicating its potential as a nanotherapeutic agent for periodontitis-associated bone regeneration.

In this work,with tris(4-aminophenyl)amine(TAPA)and 1,3,5-tris(4-formylphenyl)benzene(TFPB)as monomers,an imine-type porous organic polymer,TAPA-TFPB,was synthesized using a simple method under the catalysis of acetic acid.The material TAPA-TFPB was used as solid-phase extraction adsorbent and combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight-tandem mass spectrometry(UHPLC-QTOF-MS)to establish a detection method for four kinds of nitrofuran metabolites(NFMs)residues in meat samples.The parameters of the adsorbent dosage,the pH value and volume of sample,and the type and volume of washing and eluent solvents were optimized,respectively.Under the optimal extraction conditions,low detection limits(0.11-1.60 μg/kg)were achieved for four kinds of NFMs.At three different spiked levels,the intra-day and inter-day precisions(Relative standard deviations)were 2.8% -10.9% and 4.3% -16.2%,respectively,and the spiked recoveries were 72.0% -107.2%.The results showed that the method chould be used for efficient extraction and analysis of trace NFMs residues in meat samples,indicating that TAPA-TFPB was a kind of promising SPE adsorbent.