1.Severity Assessment Parameters and Diagnostic Technologies of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Zhuo-Zhi FU ; Ya-Cen WU ; Mei-Xi LI ; Ping-Ping YIN ; Hai-Jun LIN ; Fu ZHANG ; Yu-Xiang YANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(1):147-161
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an increasingly widespread sleep-breathing disordered disease, and is an independent risk factor for many high-risk chronic diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, arrhythmias and diabetes, which is potentially fatal. The key to the prevention and treatment of OSA is early diagnosis and treatment, so the assessment and diagnostic technologies of OSA have become a research hotspot. This paper reviews the research progresses of severity assessment parameters and diagnostic technologies of OSA, and discusses their future development trends. In terms of severity assessment parameters of OSA, apnea hypopnea index (AHI), as the gold standard, together with the percentage of duration of apnea hypopnea (AH%), lowest oxygen saturation (LSpO2), heart rate variability (HRV), oxygen desaturation index (ODI) and the emerging biomarkers, constitute a multi-dimensional evaluation system. Specifically, the AHI, which measures the frequency of sleep respiratory events per hour, does not fully reflect the patients’ overall sleep quality or the extent of their daytime functional impairments. To address this limitation, the AH%, which measures the proportion of the entire sleep cycle affected by apneas and hypopneas, deepens our understanding of the impact on sleep quality. The LSpO2 plays a critical role in highlighting the potential severe hypoxic episodes during sleep, while the HRV offers a different perspective by analyzing the fluctuations in heart rate thereby revealing the activity of the autonomic nervous system. The ODI provides a direct and objective measure of patients’ nocturnal oxygenation stability by calculating the number of desaturation events per hour, and the biomarkers offers novel insights into the diagnosis and management of OSA, and fosters the development of more precise and tailored OSA therapeutic strategies. In terms of diagnostic techniques of OSA, the standardized questionnaire and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) is a simple and effective method for preliminary screening of OSA, and the polysomnography (PSG) which is based on recording multiple physiological signals stands for gold standard, but it has limitations of complex operations, high costs and inconvenience. As a convenient alternative, the home sleep apnea testing (HSAT) allows patients to monitor their sleep with simplified equipment in the comfort of their own homes, and the cardiopulmonary coupling (CPC) offers a minimal version that simply analyzes the electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. As an emerging diagnostic technology of OSA, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) adeptly pinpoint respiratory incidents and expose delicate physiological changes, thus casting new light on the diagnostic approach to OSA. In addition, imaging examination utilizes detailed visual representations of the airway’s structure and assists in recognizing structural abnormalities that may result in obstructed airways, while sound monitoring technology records and analyzes snoring and breathing sounds to detect the condition subtly, and thus further expands our medical diagnostic toolkit. As for the future development directions, it can be predicted that interdisciplinary integrated researches, the construction of personalized diagnosis and treatment models, and the popularization of high-tech in clinical applications will become the development trends in the field of OSA evaluation and diagnosis.
2.The Impairment Attention Capture by Topological Change in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Hui-Lin XU ; Huan-Jun XI ; Tao DUAN ; Jing LI ; Dan-Dan LI ; Kai WANG ; Chun-Yan ZHU
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(1):223-232
ObjectiveAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties with communication and social interaction, restricted and repetitive behaviors. Previous studies have indicated that individuals with ASD exhibit early and lifelong attention deficits, which are closely related to the core symptoms of ASD. Basic visual attention processes may provide a critical foundation for their social communication and interaction abilities. Therefore, this study explores the behavior of children with ASD in capturing attention to changes in topological properties. MethodsOur study recruited twenty-seven ASD children diagnosed by professional clinicians according to DSM-5 and twenty-eight typically developing (TD) age-matched controls. In an attention capture task, we recorded the saccadic behaviors of children with ASD and TD in response to topological change (TC) and non-topological change (nTC) stimuli. Saccadic reaction time (SRT), visual search time (VS), and first fixation dwell time (FFDT) were used as indicators of attentional bias. Pearson correlation tests between the clinical assessment scales and attentional bias were conducted. ResultsThis study found that TD children had significantly faster SRT (P<0.05) and VS (P<0.05) for the TC stimuli compared to the nTC stimuli, while the children with ASD did not exhibit significant differences in either measure (P>0.05). Additionally, ASD children demonstrated significantly less attention towards the TC targets (measured by FFDT), in comparison to TD children (P<0.05). Furthermore, ASD children exhibited a significant negative linear correlation between their attentional bias (measured by VS) and their scores on the compulsive subscale (P<0.05). ConclusionThe results suggest that children with ASD have difficulty shifting their attention to objects with topological changes during change detection. This atypical attention may affect the child’s cognitive and behavioral development, thereby impacting their social communication and interaction. In sum, our findings indicate that difficulties in attentional capture by TC may be a key feature of ASD.
3.The Effects of Tai Chi Training on Bone Density,Bone Turnover Markers,and Heart Rate Variability in High-Risk Osteoporosis Population
Jiaming LIN ; Chao LI ; Wei ZHAO ; Jun ZHOU ; Xiaoying CHEN ; Xiangyu XI ; Haijun HE ; Baohong MI ; Yuefeng CHEN ; Weiheng CHEN
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;66(15):1566-1571
ObjectiveTo explore the effects of the Tai Chi training on bone density, bone turnover markers, and heart rate variability for people with high-risk osteoporosis, and to provide evidence for the prevention of osteoporosis at early stage. MethodsSixty-six cases of people with high risk of osteoporosis were included, and they were divided into 33 cases each in the intervention group and the control group using the random number table method. The control group received osteoporosis health education three times a week, and the intervention group received Tai Chi training under the guidance of a trainer three times a week for 40 mins each time on the basis of the control group, and both groups were intervened for 12 weeks. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to measure the bone density of L1~L4 vertebrae, bilateral femoral necks and bilateral total hips in the two groups before and after the intervention; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine bone turnover markers before and after the intervention, including pro-collagen type Ⅰ pro-amino-terminal prepropyl peptide (P1NP) and β-collagen type Ⅰ cross-linking carboxy-terminal peptide (β-CTX). Seven cases with good compliance in the intervention group were selected. After wearing the heart rate sensor, they successively performed Tai Chi training and walking activities recommended by the guideline for 20 mins each, and the heart rate variability (HRV) during exercise was collected, including time-domain indexes such as standard deviation of normal sinus intervals (SDNN), root-mean-square of the difference between adjacent RR intervals (RMSSD), frequency-domain metrics such as low-frequency power (LF), high-frequency power (HF), and low-frequency/high-frequency power ratio (LF/HF), as well as nonlinear metrics such as approximate entropy (ApEn), sample entropy (SampEn). ResultsFinally, 63 cases were included in the outcome analysis, including 30 cases in the intervention group and 33 cases in the control group. After the intervention, the differences of L1~L4 vertebrae, bone density of bilateral femoral neck and bilateral total hip in the intervention group were not statistically significant when compared with those before intervention (P>0.05), while the bone density of all parts of the control group decreased significantly compared with that before intervention (P<0.05), and the difference in the bone density of the L1~L4 vertebrae, bilateral femoral neck, and the right total hip before and after the intervention of the intervention group was smaller than that of the control group (P<0.05). The differences in P1NP and β-CTX between groups before and after intervention was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Compared with walking exercise, LF decreased, HF increased and LF/HF decreased during Tai Chi exercise (P<0.05); the time domain indexes and non-linear indexes between groups had no statistically significant difference (P>0.05). ConclusionTai Chi exercise can maintain lumbar, hip, and femoral bone density and improve sympathetic/parasympathetic balance in people at high risk for osteoporosis, but cannot significantly improve bone turnover markers.
4.Desalination effect on FⅧ components: a compartive study among 5 desalination methods
Renjun PEI ; Xi DU ; Pan SUN ; Xiaoyue LI ; Peng JIANG ; Changqing LI ; Fangzhao LIN ; Haijun CAO
Chinese Journal of Blood Transfusion 2024;37(3):304-311
【Objective】 To compare the desalination effects of five desalination methods and their effects on the components for human coagulation factor Ⅷ(FⅧ), and provide reference for selection of protein desalination methods. 【Methods】 Sephadex G-25 Medium gel, Fractogel EMD BioSEC gel, ultrafiltration, room temperature dialysis and 4℃ dialysis were used to desalt human FⅧ. The desalination effect was evaluated by the removal rate of Na +, citrate ion and glycine. FⅧ protein recovery, FⅧ activity (FⅧ∶C), VWF antigen (VWF∶Ag), VWF activity(VWF∶Ac), VWF polymers and SDS-PAGE analysis before and after desalination were compared to evaluate the effect of desalination on FⅧ components. 【Results】 In terms of desalination effect, the removal rate of Na+ was the lowest in ultrafiltration desalination, while that of Fractogel EMD BioSEC gel was the highest [(97.90±0.06) % vs (99.82±0.07) %]. Except that there was no statistical significance between Sephadex G-25 Medium gel desalination and Fractogel EMD BioSEC gel desalination (P=0.90), the removal rates of the other four methods were statistically significant. The removal rate of glycine was the lowest in ultrafiltration desalination, wihle that of Fractogel EMD BioSEC gel desalination was the highest [(95.78±0.42) % vs (99.81±0.08) %]. Significant difference in glycine removal was noticed in ultrafiltration desalination, but not among the other four desalination methods. There was no significant difference in the removal rate of citrate ions among the five methods (P=0.85). For the effect of FⅧ components, FⅧ∶C, VWF∶Ag, VWF∶Ac and protein recovery rates of ultrafiltration desalination were the highest, with (18.34±1.99) IU/mL, (11.81±0.33) IU/mL, (12.26±0.58) IU/mL and (97.13±1.37) %, respectively. There was no significant change in VWF∶Ac/VWF∶Ag before and after desalination by the five methods. SDS-PAGE and VWF polymer analysis showed that different desalination methods had no significant impact on protein composition. 【Conclusion】 Although different desalination methods had no significant effect on the composition of FⅧ protein, the desalination effect was different. Moreover, different desalination methods had significant effects on protein recovery, FⅧ∶C, VWF∶Ag and VWF∶Ac. The selection of desalination methods should be more considered during protein processing,
5.Consensus statement on research and application of Chinese herbal medicine derived extracellular vesicles-like particles (2023 edition).
Qing ZHAO ; Tong WANG ; Hongbin WANG ; Peng CAO ; Chengyu JIANG ; Hongzhi QIAO ; Lihua PENG ; Xingdong LIN ; Yunyao JIANG ; Honglei JIN ; Huantian ZHANG ; Shengpeng WANG ; Yang WANG ; Ying WANG ; Xi CHEN ; Junbing FAN ; Bo LI ; Geng LI ; Bifeng LIU ; Zhiyang LI ; Suhua QI ; Mingzhen ZHANG ; Jianjian ZHENG ; Jiuyao ZHOU ; Lei ZHENG ; Kewei ZHAO
Chinese Herbal Medicines 2024;16(1):3-12
To promote the development of extracellular vesicles of herbal medicine especially the establishment of standardization, led by the National Expert Committee on Research and Application of Chinese Herbal Vesicles, research experts in the field of herbal medicine and extracellular vesicles were invited nationwide with the support of the Expert Committee on Research and Application of Chinese Herbal Vesicles, Professional Committee on Extracellular Vesicle Research and Application, Chinese Society of Research Hospitals and the Guangdong Engineering Research Center of Chinese Herbal Vesicles. Based on the collation of relevant literature, we have adopted the Delphi method, the consensus meeting method combined with the nominal group method to form a discussion draft of "Consensus statement on research and application of Chinese herbal medicine derived extracellular vesicles-like particles (2023)". The first draft was discussed in online and offline meetings on October 12, 14, November 2, 2022 and April and May 2023 on the current status of research, nomenclature, isolation methods, quality standards and research applications of extracellular vesicles of Chinese herbal medicines, and 13 consensus opinions were finally formed. At the Third Academic Conference on Research and Application of Chinese Herbal Vesicles, held on May 26, 2023, Kewei Zhao, convenor of the consensus, presented and read the consensus to the experts of the Expert Committee on Research and Application of Chinese Herbal Vesicles. The consensus highlights the characteristics and advantages of Chinese medicine, inherits the essence, and keeps the righteousness and innovation, aiming to provide a reference for colleagues engaged in research and application of Chinese herbal vesicles at home and abroad, decode the mystery behind Chinese herbal vesicles together, establish a safe, effective and controllable accurate Chinese herbal vesicle prevention and treatment system, and build a bridge for Chinese medicine to the world.
6.Advances of Volume Electron Microscopy
Yan ZHANG ; Xi CHEN ; Xi-Xia LI ; Lin-Lin LI ; Lian-Wan CHEN ; Hua HAN ; Fei SUN
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2024;51(10):2430-2455
Volume electron microscopy (vEM) imaging technology was rapidly developed in recent years. It has been the advanced technology to solve high-resolution three-dimensional structures of biological samples. Much wonderful work has revealed the fine structure and interactions of intracellular organelles, the ultrastructure of tissues, and even the three-dimensional structure of entire small biological organisms. With the continuous improvement of resolution, scale and throughput, vEM is becoming more and more widely used in medicine, life sciences, clinical diagnostics and other fields. As a result, this technology has been rated by Nature as one of the seven most noteworthy frontier technologies to watch in 2023. However, the development and application of vEM-related technologies started late in China and need to be further promoted. We write this review to introduce all related vEM technologies, covering the development history of vEM, technology classification, sample preparation, data collection, image processing, etc., which is convenient for people in various fields to understand, learn, apply and further develop this technology.
7.Advances in DNA origami intelligent drug delivery systems
Zeng-lin YIN ; Xi-wei WANG ; Jin-jing CHE ; Nan LIU ; Hui ZHANG ; Zeng-ming WANG ; Jian-chun LI ; Ai-ping ZHENG
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica 2024;59(10):2741-2750
DNA origami is a powerful technique for generating nanostructures with dynamic properties and intelligent controllability. The precise geometric shapes, high programmability, and excellent biocompatibility make DNA origami nanostructures an emerging drug delivery vehicle. The shape, size of the carrier material, as well as the loading and release of drugs are important factors affecting the bioavailability of drugs. This paper focuses on the controllable design of DNA origami nanostructures, efficient drug loading, and intelligent drug release. It summarizes the cutting-edge applications of DNA origami technology in biomedicine, and discusses areas where researchers can contribute to further advancing the clinical application of DNA origami carriers.
8.Correlation of serum metabolites and clinical features in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma
Yishuo DUAN ; Jun RAO ; Jing XIA ; Naya MA ; Shijia LIN ; Fu LI ; Shuhan TANG ; Sha ZHOU ; Yunjing ZENG ; Xinlei LI ; Dezhi HUANG ; Qiong LI ; Bangdong LIU ; Xianlan ZHAO ; Jin WEI ; Xi ZHANG
Journal of Army Medical University 2024;46(4):352-358
Objective To explore the changes in serum energy metabolites in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma,and investigate serum biomarkers for monitoring peripheral T-cell lymphoma from the perspective of energy metabolism.Methods Multiple/selected reaction monitoring(MRM/SRM)was used to detect the energy-related metabolites in the sera of 16 patients with newly diagnosed peripheral T-cell lymphoma admitted in the Hematology Medical Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from November 2020 to December 2021,as well as 10 recruited healthy volunteers.The corresponding clinical data including medical history,laboratory results and image data were collected and retrospectively analyzed.Results Significant differences were seen in the contents and expression profiles of serum energy metabolism-related products between the patients and the healthy volunteers.The patients had significantly reduced serum contents of cyclic AMP,succinate,citrate and cis-aconitate(P<0.05),and elevated D-glucose 6-phosphate content(P<0.05).The serum contents of citrate and succinate were negatively correlated with the risk stratification(low-,moderate-and high-risk)and clinical stage of the disease(P<0.05).Meanwhile,there was a negative correlation between the contents of L-malic acid and citrate and the mid-term efficacy evaluation results,such as complete/partial response(CR/PR)or stable disease(SD)(P<0.05).For patients with extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma(n=10),there were also significant reductions in the contents of cyclic AMP,succinate,citrate,isocitrate and cis-aconitate in the sera of patients compared with healthy volunteers(P<0.05),and the contents of citrate and succinate were negatively correlated with the clinical stage(P<0.05)and were rather correlated with mid-term efficacy evaluation results(CR/PR or SD)(P<0.05).For patients with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma(n=6),the serum contents of cyclic AMP,citrate and succinate were significantly lower,while the content of D-glucose 6-phosphate was higher when compared with the healthy volunteers(P<0.05),and the content of succinate was negatively correlated with both clinical stage and risk grade of the patients(P<0.05).Conclusion There are 5 serum differential metabolites identified between patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma and healthy controls,and succinate and citrate are expected to be serum biomarkers of peripheral T-cell lymphoma.
9.A Retrospective Study of Acupuncture Combined with Rehabilitation Training in the Treatment of Post-stroke Hemiplegia
Lin-Hong LI ; Wei WEI ; Fu-Xi XING
Journal of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2024;41(3):683-688
Objective To analyze the clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with rehabilitation training in the treatment of post-stroke hemiplegia.Methods A retrospective study was conducted to select 121 cases of post-stroke hemiplegia patients who attended Haikou People's Hospital,Haikou Affiliated Hospital of Central South University Xiangya School of Medicine from January 2021 to January 2023,and were divided into the control group and the acupuncture group according to whether acupuncture treatment was performed or not;59 cases in the control group were given conventional rehabilitation training methods of treatment,and 62 cases in the acupuncture group were added with acupuncture treatment on the basis of the conventional rehabilitation treatment.The course of treatment was 1 month.The changes in the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome scores of the patients in the two groups were observed before and after treatment,as well as the cerebrovascular resistance values,including carotid artery mean blood flow(Qmean),mean velocity(Vmean),cerebrovascular bed characteristic impedance(Zc),and peripheral vascular resistance(R),and the changes in the Stroke Impact Scale(SIS),China Stroke Scale(CSS),and Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FMA)in the patients in the two groups were observed before and after treatment,and the clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated.Results(1)The total effective rate was 93.55%(58/62)in the acupuncture group and 79.66%(47/59)in the control group.The efficacy of the acupuncture group was superior to that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).(2)After treatment,all TCM syndrome scores and total scores of patients in the two groups were significantly improved(P<0.05),and the acupuncture group was significantly superior to the control group in improving TCM syndrome scores,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).(3)After treatment,the cerebral circulatory kinetic parameters of the patients in the two groups were significantly improved(P<0.05),and the acupuncture group was significantly superior to the control group in improving the cerebral circulatory kinetic parameters,with a statistically significant difference(P<0.05).(4)After treatment,the SIS,CSS,and FMA scores of patients in the two groups were significantly improved(P<0.05),and the acupuncture group was significantly superior to the control group in improving the SIS,CSS,and FMA scores,and the differences were all statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion The efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of post-stroke hemiplegia is remarkable,and its efficacy is better than that of simple conventional rehabilitation training.
10.Efficacy of comprehensive optic canal decompression for traumatic optic nerve injury with no light perception
Xin-Yu LI ; Xi-Tao YANG ; Zhi-Lin GUO
Medical Journal of Chinese People's Liberation Army 2024;49(2):177-181
Objective To evaluate the clinical effect of total optic nerve canal decompression in the treatment of traumatic optic neuropathy(TON)without photoreceptor.Methods The clinical data of 67 patients with no photoreceptor TON admitted to Department of Neurosurgery of the Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from January 2015 to December 2021 were selected for retrospective analysis,in which 37 cases in observation group received total optic nerve canal decompression surgery and 30 cases in control group received non-total optic nerve canal decompression surgery.Both groups received high-dose glucocorticoid therapy and oral administration of methylcobalamin before surgery.The visual acuity changes and complications after admission and treatment were examined and recorded in both groups.The effective rate,unblinding rate and complications after treatment were compared between the two groups.Results There were no statistically significant differences between observation group and control group in terms of age,gender,time from injury to surgery,preoperative GCS score,operative time,and intraoperative bleeding volume(P>0.05).After treatment,the effective rate of observation group was 54.1%and the unblinding rate was 35.1%,while the effective rate of control group was 46.7%and the unblinding rate was 33.3%;there was no statistically significant difference between the effective rate and unblinding rate of the two groups(P>0.05).No serious complications such as cerebrospinal fluid leakage,epilepsy,and intracranial infection occurred in both groups after surgery.In observation group,the effective rate after treatment was significantly lower in those with optic nerve canal fractures than that in those without optic nerve canal fractures(P<0.05);the effective rate was significantly higher in patients with injury-to-operation time≤7 d than that in patients with injury-to-operation time>7 d(P<0.05).Conclusion Total optic nerve canal decompression can improve the visual acuity of patients without photoreceptor TON and reduce the blinding rate,which is an effective surgical treatment method.

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