Objective To explore the value of phase contrast(PC)MRI intracranial hemodynamic parameters for predicting acute mountain sickness(AMS).Methods Totally 72 healthy young volunteers were prospectively recruited.Intracranial hemodynamic parameters of internal carotid artery(ICA)and internal jugular vein(IJV)were measured using PC MRI under normal breathing,as well as mild,moderate and severe Valsalva maneuvers(VM)in plain area.The subjects were divided into AMS group(n=9)and non-AMS group(n=63)according to results of Lake Louise score(LLS)10 h after a rapid ascent to plateau area with altitude of 4 411 m.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to screen independent predictors of AMS under different states and then construct single and combined VM states prediction models.Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted,and the area under the curve(AUC)was calculated to evaluate the predictive efficacy of each model.Results ICA pulsatility index(PIICA)under mild VM,IJV cross-sectional area(SIJV)under moderate VM and IJV resistance index(RIIJV)under severe VM were all independent predictors of AMS(all P＜0.05).The efficacy of combined VM states model(AUC=0.869)for predicting AMS was higher than each single VM state model(AUC=0.698-0.738).Conclusion The model constructed based on PIICA under mild VM,SIJV under moderate VM and RIIJV under severe VM could be used to effectively predict AMS.

Objective To explore the potential of CS-AI technique in accelerating cranial three-dimensional double inversion recovery(3D DIR)sequence imaging.Methods Twenty-six healthy volunteers were prospectively recruited for brain sagittal 3D DIR sequence scanning.The 3D DIR sequences were accelerated with four different acceleration factor(AF)(4,6,8,10)and reconstructed using the traditional compressed sensing(CS)algorithm and a new CS-AI algorithm.Subjective image quality was assessed by two observers using a 5-point Likert scale.Objective image quality was evaluated by calculating contrast(CN)and contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR).Firstly,using CS 4 as the standard,the optimal CS AF was derived after comparing the CN,CNR and subjective scores of CS 4 with those of CS 6,8 and 10 images in a comprehensive judgement,and then further comparing the optimal CS AF with images of CS-AI with different AF to validate the efficacy of the CS-AI,and to select the final optimal CS-AI AF.Results The comparison results between CS 4 and different CS AF indicated that CS 6 was selected as the optimal AF for CS.In further comparisons between CS and different CS-AI AF,the CS-AI technique outperformed the CS technique overall.CS-AI 8 was the maximum applicable AF.Conclusion The CS-AI is overall even better in terms of image quality with higher acceleration potential than the CS.The CS-AI 8 serves as the optimal AF and reduces scanning times by up to 50％while maintaining image quality.

Objective To explore the value of phase contrast(PC)MRI intracranial hemodynamic parameters for predicting acute mountain sickness(AMS).Methods Totally 72 healthy young volunteers were prospectively recruited.Intracranial hemodynamic parameters of internal carotid artery(ICA)and internal jugular vein(IJV)were measured using PC MRI under normal breathing,as well as mild,moderate and severe Valsalva maneuvers(VM)in plain area.The subjects were divided into AMS group(n=9)and non-AMS group(n=63)according to results of Lake Louise score(LLS)10 h after a rapid ascent to plateau area with altitude of 4 411 m.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to screen independent predictors of AMS under different states and then construct single and combined VM states prediction models.Receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted,and the area under the curve(AUC)was calculated to evaluate the predictive efficacy of each model.Results ICA pulsatility index(PIICA)under mild VM,IJV cross-sectional area(SIJV)under moderate VM and IJV resistance index(RIIJV)under severe VM were all independent predictors of AMS(all P＜0.05).The efficacy of combined VM states model(AUC=0.869)for predicting AMS was higher than each single VM state model(AUC=0.698-0.738).Conclusion The model constructed based on PIICA under mild VM,SIJV under moderate VM and RIIJV under severe VM could be used to effectively predict AMS.

This study analyzed the practical experience of the World Health Organization,the European Union,the United States,and Japan,to reveal the characteristics of health emergency drills in terms of institutional construction,technological integration,and international collaboration.The health emergency drills present three major development trends:paradigm shift driven by social demand,efficiency improvement empowered by intelligent technology,and deepening international cooperation under the global governance framework.In response to the construction needs of China's public health emergency system,policy recommendations were proposed to establish a hierarchical classification system,a full-cycle training strategy for major infectious diseases,a dual wheel drive mechanism by both techniques and qualified personnel,and a path for global governance participation.

This study aims to investigate the mechanism of Qingrun Decoction in alleviating hepatic insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) rats through the reprogramming of amino acid metabolism. A T2DM rat model was established by inducing insulin resistance through a high-fat diet combined with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The model rats were randomly divided into five groups: model group, high-, medium-, and low-dose Qingrun Decoction groups, and metformin group. A normal control group was also established. The rats in the normal and model groups received 10 mL·kg~(-1) distilled water daily by gavage. The metformin group received 150 mg·kg~(-1) metformin suspension by gavage, and the Qingrun Decoction groups received 11.2, 5.6, and 2.8 g·kg~(-1) Qingrun Decoction by gavage for 8 weeks. Blood lipid levels were measured in different groups of rats. Pathological damage in rat liver tissue was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining and oil red O staining. Transcriptome sequencing and untargeted metabolomics were performed on rat liver and serum samples, integrated with bioinformatics analyses. Key metabolites(branched-chain amino acids, BCAAs), amino acid transporters, amino acid metabolites, critical enzymes for amino acid metabolism, resistin, adiponectin(ADPN), and mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR) pathway-related molecules were quantified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR), Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). The results showed that compared with the normal group, the model group had significantly increased serum levels of total cholesterol(TC), triglycerides(TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), and resistin and significantly decreased ADPN levels. Hepatocytes in the model group exhibited loose arrangement, significant lipid accumulation, fatty degeneration, and pronounced inflammatory cell infiltration. In liver tissue, the mRNA transcriptional levels of solute carrier family 7 member 2(Slc7a2), solute carrier family 38 member 2(Slc38a2), solute carrier family 38 member 4(Slc38a4), and arginase(ARG) were significantly downregulated, while the mRNA transcriptional levels of solute carrier family 1 member 4(Slc1a4), solute carrier family 16 member 1(Slc16a1), and methionine adenosyltransferase(MAT) were upregulated. Furthermore, the mRNA transcription and protein expression levels of branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase E1α(BCKDHA) and DEP domain-containing mTOR-interacting protein(DEPTOR) were downregulated, while mRNA transcription and protein expression levels of mTOR, as well as ribosomal protein S6 kinase 1(S6K1), were upregulated. The levels of BCAAs and S-adenosyl-L-methionine(SAM) were elevated. The serum level of 6-hydroxymelatonin was significantly reduced, while imidazole-4-one-5-propionic acid and N-(5-phospho-D-ribosyl)anthranilic acid levels were significantly increased. Compared with the model group, Qingrun Decoction significantly reduced blood lipid and resistin levels while increasing ADPN levels. Hepatocytes had improved morphology with reduced inflammatory cells, and fatty degeneration and lipid deposition were alleviated. Differentially expressed genes and differential metabolites were mainly enriched in amino acid metabolic pathways. The expression levels of Slc7a2, Slc38a2, Slc38a4, and ARG in the liver tissue were significantly upregulated, while Slc1a4, Slc16a1, and MAT expression levels were significantly downregulated. BCKDHA and DEPTOR expression levels were upregulated, while mTOR and S6K1 expression levels were downregulated. Additionally, the levels of BCAAs and SAM were significantly decreased. The serum level of 6-hydroxymelatonin was increased, while those of imidazole-4-one-5-propionic acid and N-(5-phospho-D-ribosyl)anthranilic acid were decreased. In summary, Qingrun Decoction may improve amino acid metabolism reprogramming, inhibit mTOR pathway activation, alleviate insulin resistance in the liver, and mitigate pathological damage of liver tissue in T2DM rats by downregulating hepatic BCAAs and SAM and regulating key enzymes involved in amino acid metabolism, such as BCKDHA, ARG, and MAT, as well as amino acid metabolites and transporters.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Rats ; Insulin Resistance ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/genetics* ; Male ; Liver/drug effects* ; Amino Acids/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Humans ; Metabolic Reprogramming

The plants of the genus Caragana Fabr. are desert plants of the Leguminosae family, which are widely used in traditional ethnomedicine, with the effects of nourishing Yin and nourishing blood, dispelling wind and removing dampness, clearing heat and detoxifying toxins. The anti-inflammatory effect of Caragana Fabr. has attracted much attention, the research on the related mechanism has made some progress, but it lacks systematic collation. By summarising the anti-inflammatory effects of the active ingredients of Caragana Fabr., the authors found that they have good anti-inflammatory activities on different inflammatory cell models in vitro, and have good improvement effects on rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, complex nephritis, and acute lung injury and other disease models. The anti-inflammatory effects of the active components of this genus mainly include the reduction of the levels of a variety of pro-inflammatory factors, and the signalling pathways involved mainly include TLR4/NF-κB, TLR4/MAPK, TLR4/NF-κB/IRF3, JAK/STAT-1, ERK/STAT-1 and so on. Therefore, the paper mainly reviews the research progress on the anti-inflammatory effects and mechanisms of the Caragana Fabr. plants and their active components according to disease types, with a view to providing reference for the in-depth study of their anti-inflammatory activities and the development of new products with related functions.

Objective:To explore the distant metastatic characteristics of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) and metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) based on prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET-CT.Methods:This is a retrospective cohort study. Ultimately, data from 227 patients with metastatic prostate cancer who underwent PSMA PET-CT examinations at Xiangya Hospital, Central South University between March 2016 and May 2025 were retrospectively reviewed, including 117 mHSPC patients with an age of (68.8±7.6) years (range:53 to 89 years) and 110 mCRPC patients with an age of (69.4±7.5) years (range: 49 to 88 years). Clinical and pathological data, along with metastatic characteristics identified via PSMA PET-CT, were collected and compared. Intergroup comparisons were performed using χ 2 tests. Results:The incidence rates of lymph node metastasis, bone metastasis, and visceral metastasis in the mHSPC group were 71.8% (84/117), 89.7% (105/117), and 11.1% (13/117), respectively, while those in the mCRPC group were 52.7% (58/110), 91.8% (101/110), and 15.5% (17/110), respectively. The incidence of lymph node metastasis in the mHSPC group was significantly higher than that in the mCRPC group ( χ2=8.800, P=0.003). Among patients with bone metastasis, the rates of osteoblastic metastasis, osteolytic metastasis, and mixed metastasis in the mHSPC group were 76.2% (80/105), 8.6% (9/105), and 15.2% (16/105), respectively, while the corresponding rates in the mCRPC group were 74.3% (75/101), 7.3% (8/101), and 16.4% (18/101), respectively, all indicating a relatively high probability of osteolytic and mixed bone metastases ( χ2=0.260, P=0.878). Among patients with mHSPC and mCRPC who tested positive for visceral metastasis, lung metastasis (9/13 and 8/17) and liver metastasis (4/13 and 9/17) were the most common sites of metastasis, but there was no significant difference in the composition of visceral metastasis between the two groups ( χ2=0.933, P=0.564). In this study, among 20 patients who progressed from mHSPC to mCRPC, 35.0% (7/20) had persistent or progressive activity at the original metastatic site, 35.0% (7/20) developed new metastatic lesions, and 30.0% (6/20) showed inhibitory changes in the original metastatic lesions. Among patients with imaging progression, 1/14 of patients with osteoblastic metastatic lesions at the mHSPC stage exhibited osteolytic changes upon progression to mCRPC. Conclusion:Compared with the mCRPC group, the mHSPC group has a higher lymph node metastasis rate,and both groups have common rates of osteolytic and mixed bone metastases and visceral metastasis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection's effect on gestational liver function, pregnancy and delivery complications, and neonatal development. METHODS: A total of 157 HCV antibody-positive (anti-HCV[+]) and HCV RNA(+) patients (Group C) and 121 anti-HCV(+) and HCV RNA(-) patients (Group B) were included as study participants, while 142 anti-HCV(-) and HCV RNA(-) patients (Group A) were the control group. Data on biochemical indices during pregnancy, pregnancy complications, delivery-related information, and neonatal complications were also collected. RESULTS: Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) rates in Group C during early, middle, and late pregnancy were 59.87%, 43.95%, and 42.04%, respectively-significantly higher than Groups B (26.45%, 15.70%, 10.74%) and A (23.94%, 19.01%, 6.34%) ( P < 0.05). Median ALT levels in Group C were significantly higher than in Groups A and B at all pregnancy stages ( P < 0.05). No significant differences were found in neonatal malformation rates across groups ( P > 0.05). However, neonatal jaundice incidence was significantly greater in Group C (75.16%) compared to Groups A (42.25%) and B (57.02%) ( χ ² = 33.552, P < 0.001). HCV RNA positivity during pregnancy was an independent risk factor for neonatal jaundice ( OR = 2.111, 95% CI 1.242-3.588, P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS Chronic HCV infection can affect the liver function of pregnant women, but does not increase the pregnancy or delivery complication risks. HCV RNA(+) is an independent risk factor for neonatal jaundice.
Humans ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Adult ; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Infant, Newborn ; Viremia/virology* ; Hepatitis C ; Hepacivirus/physiology* ; Hepatitis C, Chronic/virology* ; Young Adult ; Alanine Transaminase/blood*

OBJECTIVE: Pseudomonas aeruginosa( P. aeruginosa) is a prevalent pathogenic bacterium involved in meningitis; however, the virulence factors contributing to this disease remain poorly understood. METHODS: The virulence of the P. aeruginosa A584, isolated from meningitis samples, was evaluated by constructing in vitro blood-brain barrier and in vivo systemic infection models. qPCR, whole-genome sequencing, and drug efflux assays of A584 were performed to analyze the virulence factors. RESULTS: Genomic sequencing showed that A584 formed a phylogenetic cluster with the reference strains NY7610, DDRC3, Pa58, and Pa124. Its genome includes abundant virulence factors, such as hemolysin, the Type IV secretion system, and pyoverdine. A584 is a multidrug-resistant strain, and its wide-spectrum resistance is associated with enhanced drug efflux. Moreover, this strain caused significantly more severe damage to the blood-brain barrier than the standard strain, PAO1. qPCR assays further revealed the downregulation of the blood-brain barrier-associated proteins Claudin-5 and Occludin by A584. During systemic infection, A584 exhibited a higher capacity of brain colonization than PAO1 (37.1 × 10 ⁶ CFU/g brain versus 2.5 × 10 ⁶ CFU/g brain), leading to higher levels of the pro-inflammatory factors IL-1β and TNF-α. CONCLUSION This study sheds light on the virulence factors of P. aeruginosa involved in meningitis.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa/genetics* ; Virulence Factors/metabolism* ; Animals ; Virulence ; Mice ; Pseudomonas Infections/microbiology* ; Blood-Brain Barrier/microbiology* ; Humans ; Female

Objective:To analyze the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening status and the resulting residual risk (RR) among blood donors across 17 provincial blood centers in China.Methods:This study used a cross-sectional study. Data on HIV infection markers per 100 000 first-time donors (FD) and repeat donors (RD) from January 2015 to December 2024 were extracted from the National Blood Establishment Performance Comparison Information Management System. Questionnaires were used to collect each center′s HIV screening strategy, algorithm, serological test (ST) kit manufacturers, gray-zone setting for ST, and nucleic acid test (NAT) modality, method, and platform. The incidence-window-period model was used to calculate the residual risk for first-time donors (RR FD), repeat donors (RR RD), and total donors (RR TD) at each center. Horizontal and vertical analysis of RR FD, RR RD, and RR TD across centers and years were performed. Results:All 17 centers applied the same HIV screening strategy which was two rounds of ST followed by one round of NAT. Eight of them operated a single screening algorithm, six employed two algorithms and three used three. Eleven centers used both imported and domestic ST kits, five relied on domestic ST kits only, and one used imported ST kits only, while four centers never set a grey zone for ST throughout the decade. For NAT modalities, eight centers adopted both individual nucleic acid test (ID-NAT) and minipool nucleic acid test (MP-NAT), eight used MP-NAT only and one used ID-NAT only. Seven centers combined transcription mediated amplification (TMA) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nine used PCR only and one used TMA only, and fourteen centers ran both imported and domestic NAT systems, two used imported systems only and one used a domestic system only. Over the ten-year period, the mean RR FD across the centers ranged from 2.22 to 12.33 per 10 6 person-years, RR RD from 0.83 to 3.29 per 10 6 person-years and RR TD from 1.59 to 9.29 per 10 6 person-years, with center Z4 consistently showing the lowest values for all three metrics and center U4 recording the highest RR FD and RR TD, while center D2 had the highest RR RD. In 2024 compared with 2015, eleven centers achieved a lower RR FD and ten centers achieved lower RR RD and RR TD. The RR FD and RR TD of centers W2 and U4 displayed pronounced fluctuations and an upward trend in recent years. Conclusions:The 17 provincial blood centers maintain consistent HIV screening strategies, while demonstrating variations in screening algorithm, ST kit manufacturers, NAT modalities, methods, and platform. And the RR FD, RR RD, and RR TD differ across centers. Although most centers show declining trend in RR over the ten-year period, some centers exhibite data fluctuations with a rising trend, suggesting potential for further optimization of HIV screening protocols.