N-dodecanoyl-l-homoserine lactone (C12-HSL) is a signaling molecule that mediates bacterial quorum sensing, regulating bacterial population behaviors. This study investigated the effects of C12-HSL on the isolation and cultivation of gut microbiota, with the goal of enriching the diversity and number of cultivable bacterial strains from the mouse gut microbiota. Using a culture medium supplemented with C12-HSL, we isolated and cultivated bacterial strains from mouse intestinal contents, obtaining a total of 235 isolates. Preliminary identification based on the 16S rRNA gene revealed 54 bacterial species, including 4 potential new species, 4 potential new genera and 1 potential new family. Compared with the previously established mouse gut microbial biobank (mGMB), this study newly identified 42 bacterial species, enhancing the diversity of the strain library. Statistical analysis showed that the proportion of Gram-negative bacteria, particularly those belonging to Proteobacteria, isolated by this method was significantly higher than that obtained by conventional isolation and cultivation methods without the addition of C12-HSL. Subsequent cultivation experiments with one of the newly discovered bacterial species indicated that exogenous C12-HSL at 20-200 μmol/L significantly promoted the growth of this species, while higher concentrations of C12-HSL significantly reduced the cell density of this bacterium. This work confirms that quorum sensing molecules, such as C12-HSL, can enhance the growth, isolation, and cultivation of Gram-negative bacteria in the gut within a specific concentration range. Although the mechanism by which C12-HSL promotes the growth of gut bacterial strains requires further investigation, the findings of this study provide new insights into the targeted isolation, cultivation, and regulation of gut microbiota using bacterial quorum sensing signal molecules.
Animals ; Mice ; Acyl-Butyrolactones/pharmacology* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Quorum Sensing ; Gram-Negative Bacteria/classification* ; Intestines/microbiology* ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics* ; Culture Media

The prevalence rate of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)in postmenopausal women is significantly higher than that in premenopausal women and even exceeds that in men of the same age group,and exercise intervention remains an effective method for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD in postmenopausal women.In addition,postmenopausal women with NAFLD often have comorbidities such as sarcopenia,osteoporosis,cardiovascular diseases,and diabetes,which requires targeted exercise prescriptions and proactive intervention for potential comorbidities.Through a literature review,this article provides targeted recommendations for exercise intervention prescriptions in postmenopausal women with NAFLD and related comorbidities.

Objective:To analyze the operational efficiency of the oncology department in multi-campus hospital, providing reference for rational resource allocation and efficiency enhancement.Methods:A certaion tertiary grade A Hospital is a multi-campus public hospital with integrated management. This study focused on its oncology department, with 9 wards located in different campus as decision-making units. Data from 2020 to 2022 were extracted from the hospital′s medical records management system, disease diagnosis-related groups management system, and hospital information system. The super-efficiency DEA model and Malmquist index model were used to evaluate efficiency variations of the oncology department in different time slots and decision-making units. Identifying input redundancies and output deficiencies in wards not achieving constant returns to scale through projection value analysis. Selecting the total number of medical staff and the actual total number of bed-days occupied as input indicators, while bed utilization rate, discharge rate, and case mix index as output indicators.Results:From 2020 to 2022, the wards with a DEA super-efficiency value greater than 1 were 0, 2, and 4, respectively, showing a gradual increase in overall efficiency. In 2022, wards S3, S4, S7, and S9 achieved constant returns to scale with super-efficiency values of 1.001, 1.005, 1.113, and 1.112, respectively. The other five wards had zero input redundancy, but some suffered from insufficient outputs. For example, wards S5 and S8 should increase their bed utilization rates by 5% and 4%, respectively. Wards S1 and S8 needed to increase their annual discharge numbers by 24% and 1%, respectively, while wards S2 and S6 should increase their annual case mix index by 21% and 20%, respectively. From 2020 to 2021, the Malmquist index of the oncology department was 0.959, while from 2021 to 2022 it rose to 1.030, and the Malmquist index of each ward was greater than 1.Conclusions:By implementing integrated management across multiple campus, the operational efficiency of the oncology department has been comprehensively improved. The use of the super efficient DEA-Malmquist index model to evaluate the operational efficiency of departments has practical significance.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of enameloplasty sealant technique (EST) com-bined with fluoride releasing flowable resin in pit and fissure enamel caries.Methods A total of 247 young permanent molars diagnosed as early pit and fissure enamel caries from 125 children aged 6-12 years in Uru-mqi Stomatological Hospital were selected as the study subjects.They were divided into four groups:group A (conventional cleaning of pit and fissure+conventional sealant) 32 cases,62 teeth;group B (conventional cleaning of pit and fissure+fluorine releasing flowable resin) 29 cases,62 teeth;group C (EST+conven-tional sealant) 33 cases,62 teeth;group D (EST+fluorine releasing flowable resin) 31 cases,61 teeth.After 6 and 18 months of follow-up,the retention rate of sealants and rate of caries-free were compared among the various groups.Results After 6 months of follow-up,the retention rates of sealant in groups A,B,C and D were 75.00％,76.67％,93.33％ and 95.00％ respectively,and which after 18 months of follow-up were 45.76％,41.38％,71.93％ and 94.92％ respectively,and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05).The results of further multiple comparisons showed that there were statistically significant differences in the retention rate of sealant between group A and group C,group B and group D after 6 and 18 months of follow-up (P<0.0083),moreover there was statistically significant difference in the retention rate of sealant between group C and group D after 18 months of follow-up (P<0.0083).After 18 months of follow-up,the rates of caries-free in groups A,B,C and D were 66.10％,63.79％,94.74％ and 98.31％,respectively.The re-sults of further multiple comparisons showed that the rates of caries-free between group A and group C,group B and group D were statistically significantly different (P<0.0083).Conclusion The retention rate of seal-ant and long-term caries prevention effect of adopting the EST in the treatment of pit and fissure enamel caries are superior to the conventional sealant technique.EST combining with fluorine releasing flowable resin could further increase the retention rate of sealant.

Objective To observe the value of energy spectrum CT angiography(CTA)optimal single energy imaging combined with adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction V(ASIR-V)for optimizing visualization of thoracodorsal artery(TDA).Methods Energy spectrum CTA was prospectively performed in 60 patients to observe TDA.The images were reconstructed as 120 kVp-like combined with 40%post-set ASIR-V(group A),as well as totally 18 kinds of single energy images ranging from 45 to 70 keV(with interval of 5 keV)combined with 40%,60%and 80%post-set ASIR-V(group B),and the subjective and objective evaluation results of the images were compared between and within groups.Results Under the same post-set ASIR-V weight,significant differences of subjective scores of axial and 3D images were found among different keV levels(all P＜0.001).With the increase of keV level,subjective scores of axial images increased first and then decreased,among which subjective score of 50 keV was the highest(all P＜0.001).Under the same keV levels,with the increase of ASIR-V weight,the subjective scores of overall axial images and 3D images for displaying the main trunk of TDA,as well as contrast-to-noise ratio of axillary artery increased(all P＜0.01).Conclusion Performing CTA using 50 keV single energy imaging combined with 80%ASIR-V reconstruction could balance image contrast and noise better,hence improving visualization of TDA and its branches.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) presents with complex and diverse clinical manifestations, making accurate and objective diagnosis challenging when relying solely on clinical assessments. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop reliable and objective auxiliary diagnostic models to provide effective diagnosis for PTSD patients. Currently, the application of graph neural networks for representing PTSD is limited by the expressiveness of existing models, which does not yield optimal classification results. To address this, we proposed a multi-graph multi-kernel graph convolutional network (MK-GCN) model for classifying PTSD data. First, we constructed functional connectivity matrices at different scales for the same subjects using different atlases, followed by employing the k-nearest neighbors algorithm to build the graphs. Second, we introduced the MK-GCN methodology to enhance the feature extraction capability of brain structures at different scales for the same subjects. Finally, we classified the extracted features from multiple scales and utilized graph class activation mapping to identify the top 10 brain regions contributing to classification. Experimental results on seismic-induced PTSD data demonstrated that our model achieved an accuracy of 84.75%, a specificity of 84.02%, and an AUC of 85% in the classification task distinguishing between PTSD patients and non-affected subjects. The findings provide robust evidence for the auxiliary diagnosis of PTSD following earthquakes and hold promise for reliably identifying specific brain regions in other PTSD diagnostic contexts, offering valuable references for clinicians.
Humans ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/diagnostic imaging* ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Algorithms ; Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Objective:To investigate the value of retrograde thyroidectomy from top to bottom in the operation of retrosternal thyroid surgery. Methods:Retrospective analysis was performed on the cases of retrosternal goiter excised by our surgeons from January 2017 to June 2022,the technical points, feasibility and advantages of the operation were summarized. Results:A total of 15 cases of retrosternal goiter treated by retrograde thyroidectomy were collected, including 5 cases of type Ⅰ retrosternal goiter and 10 cases of type Ⅱ retrosternal goiter.The postoperative pathology was benign. The surgical time is 40-60 minutes for unilateral retrosternal goiter and 70-90 minutes for bilateral goiter. All patients were discharged normally within 7 days after operation, and no operative complications were observed such as bleeding, hoarseness or hypoparathyroidism. Conclusion:This surgical excision method of thyroid is suitable for the type Ⅰ and type Ⅱ retrosternal goiter surgery, which can avoid the difficulties in exposing and separating the the inferior thyroid behind the sternum in conventional surgical method, speed up the operation and reduced the difficulty of operation, and has certain promotion value in clinic.
Humans ; Thyroidectomy/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Goiter, Substernal/pathology* ; Hypoparathyroidism/surgery*

Objective:To evaluate the left ventricular myocardial strain and mechanical synchrony in patients suspected of non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) by two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) and real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT-3DE), and to investigate the value of combined echocadiographic parameters in predication of significant coronary artery stenosis.Methods:A total of 95 patients suspected of NSTE-ACS, definitely planed to run coronary angiography (CAG) within 24-72 hours of admission were recruited in the Department of Cardiology, General Hospital of the Southern Theatre Command, PLA from December 2020 to June 2021. Regular echocardiography exam, 2D-STI and RT-3DE were performed prior to CAG.Global longitudinal peak strain (GLPS), territorial longitudinal peak strain (T RCALPS, T LADLPS, T LCXLPS) were computed by 2D-STI; the maximal difference of time to minimal systolic volume of 16-segments (Tmsv16-Dif), standard deviation of time to minimal systolic volume of 16-segment (Tmsv16-SD) and heart rate adjusted standard deviation of time to minimal systolic volume of 16-segment (Tmsv16-SD/R-R) were obtained by RT-3DE. The patients were divided into two groups according to the degree of coronary stenosis.Significant coronary artery stenosis group was defined as ≥70% of left main or any other main branch luminal narrowing ( n=53), non-significant coronary artery stenosis group was defined as <70% of luminal narrowing ( n=42). The differences of general clinical features, left ventricular strain and mechanical synchronization parameters between the two groups were compared. A binary logistic regression model was established to draw the ROC curve for predicting the severity of coronary stenosis by single and combined ultrasound parameters, and calculate the area under the ROC curve (AUC). Results:Compared with non-significant coronary artery stenosis group, GLPS were significantly reduced, while Tmsv16-SD, Tmsv16-Dif and Tmsv16-SD/R-R were significantly increased in sginificant coronary artery stenosis group (all P<0.05). The AUC of GLPS and Tmsv16-SD, Tmsv16-Dif and Tmsv16-SD/R-R for predicting significant coronary stenosis in suspected NSTE-ACS patients were 0.78, 0.69, 0.71 and 0.67, respectively. The result of joint test analysis for the dignosis of NSTE-ACS suspected significant coronary stenosis were as follows: the specificity of tandem test was 90.5%; the sensitivity of parallel test was 83.0%; the sensitivity, specificity and AUC of GLPS-Tmsv16-Dif joint index prediction test were 90.7%, 60.1% and 0.82 (95% CI=0.73-0.89) with 0.508 as Youden index. Conclusions:NSTE-ACS suspected patients with significant coronary stenosis are often accompanied by impaired left ventricular myocardial strain and mechanical dyssynchrony. A simple combination of left ventricular myocardial strain and contractility synchronization improves noninvasive prediction of high-risk coronary artery stenosis in suspected NSTE-ACS, which maybe helpful for screening patients requiring invasive examination.

Objective To investigate the value of age and D-dimer (D-D) combined with Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score in predicting the prognosis of patients with hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF). Methods A total of 111 patients with HBV-ACLF who were hospitalized in The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from December 2019 to October 2021 were enrolled, and according to their prognosis on day 90 after confirmed diagnosis, they were divided into survival group with 49 patients and death group with 62 patients. Related clinical data were collected, including age, sex, underlying liver diseases, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBil), Albumin (Alb), D-D, prothrombin time (PT), plasma fibrinogen (FIB), prothrombin activity (PTA), international normalized ratio (INR), serum creatinine (SCr), and serum sodium (Na), and MELD score was calculated. Immunoturbidimetric assay was used to measure the plasma level of D-D. The t -test or the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of continuous data between the two groups, and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between the two groups; a binary Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the independent risk factors for the prognosis of patients, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to predict the accuracy of variables. Results There were significant differences between the two groups in age, TBil, D-D, PT, PTA, INR, SCr, Na, and MELD score (all P < 0.05). The binary Logistic regression analysis showed that age (odds ratio [ OR ]=1.088, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.001-1.183, P =0.047), D-D ( OR =1.521, 95% CI : 1.078-2.145, P =0.017), and MELD score ( OR =1.892, 95% CI : 1.408-2.543, P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for the prognosis of HBV-ACLF patients. Age, MELD score and D-D had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.664, 0.869, and 0.887, respectively, in predicting the prognosis of HBV-ACLF, while D-D combined with age, age combined with MELD score, D-D combined with MELD score, and the combination of these three indicators had an AUC of 0.895, 0.906, 0.965, and 0.970, respectively. A combination of the three indices had a significantly increased AUC compared with other indices except D-D combined with MELD score. and the combination of these three indicators had relatively high sensitivity (0.935) and specificity (0.918). Conclusion Age, D-D, and MRLD score are independent risk factors for the prognosis of HBV-ACLF, among which D-D and MELD score have a good value in predicting prognosis, and the combination of these three indicators has a significantly better predictive value.

Objective    To investigate the effectiveness of sublobar resection and lobectomy via uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (U-VATS) for lung metastases from colorectal cancer. Methods    Retrospective research was conducted on 42 colorectal cancer patients with lung metastases who underwent U-VATS sublobar resection and lobectomy at the Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology between April 2016 and May 2019, including 24 males and 18 females with an average age of 58.0±9.9 years. Among them 17 patients received U-VATS sublobar resection and 25 patients received lobectomy. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative pulmonary infection, drainage tube indwelling time, drainage volume on the first day after surgery, postoperative hospital stay were analyzed between the two groups, and the relationship between the prognosis and clinical characteristics of the two groups was compared. Results    Sublobar resection patients had less lung metastases (P=0.043) and shorter operation time (P=0.023) compared with the lobectomy patients. There was no significant difference between the lobectomy and sublobar resection groups in intraoperative blood loss (P=0.169), rate of postoperative infection (P=0.982), postoperative drainage duration (P=0.265), drainage volume on the first day after surgery (P=0.402) and postoperative hospital stay (P=0.612). The progression-free survival of the two groups was 25.19 months and 23.63 months (P=0.721), and their overall survival was 29.09 months and 30.64 months (P=0.554). Conclusion    Considering guantity and locations of lung metastases, U-VATS sublobar resection can achieve a similar prognosis to lobectomy for lung metastases from colorectal cancer. Further efficacy of this surgical strategy remains to be proved by longer follow-up.