Objective To explore the changes in neural activity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)and their corre-lation with executive function,and to analyze the neural mechanisms underlying the decline in executive function in T2DM patients.Methods Thirty-one T2DM patients(T2DM group)and thirty-two healthy controls(HC)(HC group)matched for body mass index(BMI)underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rs-fMRI)scans and N-back task tests were included.Differ-ences in the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation(ALFF),regional homogeneity(ReHo),and seed-based functional connectivity(FC)between the two groups were compared,and partial correlation analyses were performed between the difference results and N-back task performance.Results The T2DM group showed prolonged reaction time(RT)in the 1-back and 2-back tasks.T2DM patients exhibited increased ALFF in the bilateral caudate nucleus,left medial superior frontal gyrus,and right postcentral gyrus,as well as elevated ReHo in the right putamen.FC analysis revealed significant alterations in FC between the caudate nucleus,putamen,and multiple brain regions in T2DM patients,with some of these FC changes significantly correlated with RT and accuracy(ACC)in the N-back task.Conclusion The decline in executive function in T2DM patients may be associated with abnormal neural activity in brain regions such as the striatum,salience network,and frontoparietal control network.FC further decreases under increased cognitive load.These findings provide evidence for the study of the neural mechanisms of executive function impairment in T2DM patients.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of albumin (Alb) administration on the prognosis of patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). METHODS: Clinical data of AKI patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) were retrospectively analyzed from the American Medical Information Mart of Intensive Care-IV (MIMIC-IV), including demographic data, acute physiology score (APS), comorbidities, vital signs, laboratory indicators, treatment status, ICU length of stay, and outcome indicators. The main outcome measure is ICU mortality. AKI patients were divided into Alb infusion group and Alb non infusion group based on whether they received Alb treatment. Multiple imputation was used to process missing data and eliminate variables that missing more than 30%. To ensure the stability of the results, propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability weighting (IPW) were used to correct the results. Using Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Cox proportional hazards regression model to evaluate the effect of Alb infusion on ICU survival rate in AKI patients. Perform subgroup analysis based on patient age, gender, and comorbidities to evaluate the prognostic effects of Alb on different patient subgroups. RESULTS: A total of 6 390 AKI patients were included, including 1 721 in the Alb infusion group and 4 669 in the Alb non infusion group. After adjusting for key covariates in the Cox regression model, compared with the Alb non infusion group, patients in the Alb infusion group were significantly younger in age, with APS III score, proportion of vasoactive drugs and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) use, sepsis proportion, heart rate, respiratory frequency, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatinine (Cr), lactic acid (Lac), and arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO₂) levels significantly higher. The proportion of hypertension, myocardial infarction, and congestive heart failure, as well as blood pressure, urine output, platelet count (PLT), and Alb levels were significantly lower. The results of univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis on the raw data showed that the risk of death in the Alb infusion group was significantly lower than that in the Alb non infusion group [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.69, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.60-0.80, all P < 0.05]. The results after propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability weighting (IPW) processing are consistent with the original data trend (both P < 0.05). The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the cumulative survival rate during ICU stay in the Alb infusion group was significantly higher than that in the Alb non infusion group (24.48% vs. 12.17%, Log-Rank test: χ² = 74.26, P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis shows that Alb infusion has a more significant survival benefit for AKI patients who use vasoactive drugs, have concurrent sepsis, and do not have liver disease. CONCLUSION Albumin infusion can decrease the ICU mortality of AKI patients.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Acute Kidney Injury/mortality* ; Prognosis ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Intensive Care Units ; Albumins/therapeutic use* ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Adult ; Databases, Factual

The catalytic activity of 3-mercaptopyruvate (3MP) sulfurtransferase (MPST) converts 3MP to hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). However, the regulatory mechanisms governing MPST and its impact on the brain remain largely unexplored. Our study reveals the neuroprotective role of endothelial MPST-generated H₂S, regulated by protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A). Bioinformatics analysis and RNA sequencing demonstrated that endothelial PP2A is associated with neurodegenerative disease pathways. Cerebral ischemic mice exhibited significant inactivation of endothelial PP2A, evidenced by the reduction of PP2Acα in the brain endothelium. Mice with endothelium-specific null PP2A (PP2A^EC-cKO) exhibited neuronal loss, cognitive dysfunction, and long-term potentiation deficits. Postnatal inactivation of endothelial PP2A also contributes to cognitive dysfunction and neuronal loss. However, regaining endothelial PP2A activity by overexpressing Ppp2ca rescued neuronal dysfunction. Mechanistically, PP2A deficiency is intricately linked to the MPST-H₂S signaling pathway. A robust reduction in endothelial MPST-dependent H₂S production followed PP2A deficiency. Exogenous H₂S treatment and AAV-mediated overexpression of MPST in brain endothelial cells significantly mitigated neuronal dysfunction in PP2A^EC-cKO mice. Furthermore, PP2A deficiency promotes an increase in calcium influx and calpain2 phosphorylation, subsequently leading to MPST degradation. The PP2A activator (FTY720) and MPST activator (3MP sodium) both remarkably restored endothelial MPST-dependent H₂S production, subsequently rescuing ischemia-induced neurological deficits. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that endothelial PP2A deficiency leads to MPST degradation by activating calpain2, thus damaging neuronal function.

Objective To evaluate the effects of the method of blood-cooling and blood stasis-resolving on heart function and prognosis in patients with sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction(SIMD).Methods Sixty patients with SIMD admitted to the department of critical care medicine of Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from June 2022 to October 2024 were enrolled as study subjects.The patients were divided into treatment group and control group according to random number table,with 30 patients in each group.All patients received conventional treatments,the patients in the treatment group were given Taohe Chengqi decoction(Persicae Semen 12 g,Chinese rhubarb 12 g,Cinnamon twig 6 g,Licorice root 6 g and Sodium Sulfate 6 g),the decoction was concentrated to 200 mL and taken in 2 divided doses in the morning and evening,one dose daily;and the patients in the control group were given the same amount of warm water.The total course of treatment lasts for 7 days.The differences in indicators of cardiac function[brain natriuretic peptide(BNP),cardiac troponin I(cTnI),MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase(CK-MB),aspartate aminotransferase(AST)]and echocardiographic parameters[left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDD),left ventricular end-systolic diameter(LVESD),mitral orifice early/late diastolic blood flow velocity ratio(E/A ratio),E/mitral and tricuspid valve ostia and the peak early diastolic velocity(E/e')]at admission,at 1st and 7th day after treatment,and prognosis indexes[mechanical ventilation time,intensive care unit(ICU)length of stay,total hospital stay,28-day survival rate]were compared between two groups.Draw the Kaplan-Meier survival curve and compare the difference in the 28-day cumulative survival rate between the two groups of patients.Results After 7 days therapy,LVEF of the treatment group was significantly higher than that the control(0.524±0.132 vs.0.458±0.118,P<0.05)and E/e'ratio of the treatment group was significantly lower than the control group[11.17(9.57,12.04)vs.11.82(11.28,13.72),P<0.05].There were no significant differences in the 28-day mortality and total hospital stay time between the two groups,but mechanical ventilation time[days:7.00(0.00,11.00)vs.12.50(3.50,21.75),P<0.05]and stay time of ICU[days:14.50(7.75,25.00)vs.21.00(14.25,31.50),P<0.05]in the treatment group were shorter than those in the control group.The Kaplan-Meier survival showed that the cumulative 28-day survival rate was similar between two groups(Log-Rank:χ2=1.448,P=0.229).Conclusion The method of blood-cooling and blood stasis-resolving could decrease mechanical ventilation time and length of stay in ICU of SIMD patients and could increase LVEF in the treatment group.

Objective To explore the changes in neural activity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)and their corre-lation with executive function,and to analyze the neural mechanisms underlying the decline in executive function in T2DM patients.Methods Thirty-one T2DM patients(T2DM group)and thirty-two healthy controls(HC)(HC group)matched for body mass index(BMI)underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging(rs-fMRI)scans and N-back task tests were included.Differ-ences in the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation(ALFF),regional homogeneity(ReHo),and seed-based functional connectivity(FC)between the two groups were compared,and partial correlation analyses were performed between the difference results and N-back task performance.Results The T2DM group showed prolonged reaction time(RT)in the 1-back and 2-back tasks.T2DM patients exhibited increased ALFF in the bilateral caudate nucleus,left medial superior frontal gyrus,and right postcentral gyrus,as well as elevated ReHo in the right putamen.FC analysis revealed significant alterations in FC between the caudate nucleus,putamen,and multiple brain regions in T2DM patients,with some of these FC changes significantly correlated with RT and accuracy(ACC)in the N-back task.Conclusion The decline in executive function in T2DM patients may be associated with abnormal neural activity in brain regions such as the striatum,salience network,and frontoparietal control network.FC further decreases under increased cognitive load.These findings provide evidence for the study of the neural mechanisms of executive function impairment in T2DM patients.

Objective To evaluate the effects of the method of blood-cooling and blood stasis-resolving on heart function and prognosis in patients with sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction(SIMD).Methods Sixty patients with SIMD admitted to the department of critical care medicine of Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from June 2022 to October 2024 were enrolled as study subjects.The patients were divided into treatment group and control group according to random number table,with 30 patients in each group.All patients received conventional treatments,the patients in the treatment group were given Taohe Chengqi decoction(Persicae Semen 12 g,Chinese rhubarb 12 g,Cinnamon twig 6 g,Licorice root 6 g and Sodium Sulfate 6 g),the decoction was concentrated to 200 mL and taken in 2 divided doses in the morning and evening,one dose daily;and the patients in the control group were given the same amount of warm water.The total course of treatment lasts for 7 days.The differences in indicators of cardiac function[brain natriuretic peptide(BNP),cardiac troponin I(cTnI),MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase(CK-MB),aspartate aminotransferase(AST)]and echocardiographic parameters[left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDD),left ventricular end-systolic diameter(LVESD),mitral orifice early/late diastolic blood flow velocity ratio(E/A ratio),E/mitral and tricuspid valve ostia and the peak early diastolic velocity(E/e')]at admission,at 1st and 7th day after treatment,and prognosis indexes[mechanical ventilation time,intensive care unit(ICU)length of stay,total hospital stay,28-day survival rate]were compared between two groups.Draw the Kaplan-Meier survival curve and compare the difference in the 28-day cumulative survival rate between the two groups of patients.Results After 7 days therapy,LVEF of the treatment group was significantly higher than that the control(0.524±0.132 vs.0.458±0.118,P<0.05)and E/e'ratio of the treatment group was significantly lower than the control group[11.17(9.57,12.04)vs.11.82(11.28,13.72),P<0.05].There were no significant differences in the 28-day mortality and total hospital stay time between the two groups,but mechanical ventilation time[days:7.00(0.00,11.00)vs.12.50(3.50,21.75),P<0.05]and stay time of ICU[days:14.50(7.75,25.00)vs.21.00(14.25,31.50),P<0.05]in the treatment group were shorter than those in the control group.The Kaplan-Meier survival showed that the cumulative 28-day survival rate was similar between two groups(Log-Rank:χ2=1.448,P=0.229).Conclusion The method of blood-cooling and blood stasis-resolving could decrease mechanical ventilation time and length of stay in ICU of SIMD patients and could increase LVEF in the treatment group.

Objective To investigate the risk factors of 28-day mortality in septic patients and develop optimizing clinical prediction model based on machine learning algorithms.Methods Data from patients admitted to the department of intensive care unit(ICU)of the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from January 2019 to December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.The data extracted included①gender,age,history of hypertension,diabetes,coronary heart disease,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)and chronic kidney disease(CKD);②Vital signs and results of laboratory examination at admission were also collected,then acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ(APACHEⅡ)score and sequential organ failure assessment(SOFA)score were calculated;③The other laboratory test results not included in APACHEⅡscore and SOFA score,such as blood lactate acid(Lac),alanine aminotransferase(AST),hemoglobin(Hb),procalcitonin(PCT),brian natriuretic peptide(BNP),C-reactive protein(CRP),activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT),D-dimer and troponin I(TNI)were also gathered.According to the 28-day survival,the patients were divided into a survival group and a death group.The difference of the clinical data and related loboratory indicators between the two groups of sepsis patients were compared.LASSO regression and Boruta algorithm were used to screen predictive variables.Models of Logistic regression(LG),neural network(NN)and light gradient boosting machine(LightGBM)were constructed.The data was divided into training set and verification set under a ratio of 7:3,and fivefold cross-validation was used to evaluate the stability of the models.Confusion matrix,receiver operator characteristic curve(ROC curve)and calibration curve were also used to assess the recognition ability and accuracy of three models.Decision curve analysis(DCA)was conducted to evaluate the models'utility in decision-making.Shapley additive explanations(SHAP)analysis was used to explain the best-performing model.Results A total of 426 patients were included in the study,of which 256 survived and 170 died.Compared with death group,the age(72.09±14.08 vs.76.88±11.32,P<0.05),COPD[11.33%(29/256)vs.20.00%(34/170)],CKD[20.31%(52/256)vs.31.77%(54/170)],Lac on admission[mmol/L:1.72(1.20,2.66)vs.2.25(1.60,3.50)],AST[U/L:32.00(18.00,59.75)vs.37.00(24.00,76.50)],CRP[mg/L:71.23(22.51,151.79)vs.87.00(37.00,173.36)],APACHEⅡscore(19.96±6.55 vs.22.83±6.92)and SOFA score[7(5,10)vs.9(5,12)]in surrial group were significantly decreased,the difference were statistically significant(all P<0.05).Age,APACHEⅡscore,Lac,PCT and CRP were revealed as independent predictors of 28-day mortality in sepsis by LASSO regression and Boruta algorithm,the above 5 variables were incorporated into the LG,NN and LightGBM models,and the five-fold cross-validation showed that the LightGBM model had the best stability.The confusion matrix,ROC curve and calibration curves of the 3 models were plotted,and the results showed that the F1 score of the 3 models were 0.61,0.63 and 0.74,respectively;area under the curve(AUC)was 0.68,0.74 and 0.87,respectively;the Log Loss was 0.62,0.41 and 0.34,respectively;and the Brier scores were 0.22,0.13 and 0.09,respectively,indicating that LightGBM model was optimal.DCA showed that LightGBM model had the greatest clinical net benefit.SHAP showed that the predicted results were in good agreement with the actual results.Conclusion The LightGBM model exhibited the best performance in predicting 28-day mortality in septic patients and has the potential to help clinicians identify high-risk patients and guide clinical decision-making.

Objective To investigate the risk factors of 28-day mortality in septic patients and develop optimizing clinical prediction model based on machine learning algorithms.Methods Data from patients admitted to the department of intensive care unit(ICU)of the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from January 2019 to December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.The data extracted included①gender,age,history of hypertension,diabetes,coronary heart disease,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)and chronic kidney disease(CKD);②Vital signs and results of laboratory examination at admission were also collected,then acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ(APACHEⅡ)score and sequential organ failure assessment(SOFA)score were calculated;③The other laboratory test results not included in APACHEⅡscore and SOFA score,such as blood lactate acid(Lac),alanine aminotransferase(AST),hemoglobin(Hb),procalcitonin(PCT),brian natriuretic peptide(BNP),C-reactive protein(CRP),activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT),D-dimer and troponin I(TNI)were also gathered.According to the 28-day survival,the patients were divided into a survival group and a death group.The difference of the clinical data and related loboratory indicators between the two groups of sepsis patients were compared.LASSO regression and Boruta algorithm were used to screen predictive variables.Models of Logistic regression(LG),neural network(NN)and light gradient boosting machine(LightGBM)were constructed.The data was divided into training set and verification set under a ratio of 7:3,and fivefold cross-validation was used to evaluate the stability of the models.Confusion matrix,receiver operator characteristic curve(ROC curve)and calibration curve were also used to assess the recognition ability and accuracy of three models.Decision curve analysis(DCA)was conducted to evaluate the models'utility in decision-making.Shapley additive explanations(SHAP)analysis was used to explain the best-performing model.Results A total of 426 patients were included in the study,of which 256 survived and 170 died.Compared with death group,the age(72.09±14.08 vs.76.88±11.32,P<0.05),COPD[11.33%(29/256)vs.20.00%(34/170)],CKD[20.31%(52/256)vs.31.77%(54/170)],Lac on admission[mmol/L:1.72(1.20,2.66)vs.2.25(1.60,3.50)],AST[U/L:32.00(18.00,59.75)vs.37.00(24.00,76.50)],CRP[mg/L:71.23(22.51,151.79)vs.87.00(37.00,173.36)],APACHEⅡscore(19.96±6.55 vs.22.83±6.92)and SOFA score[7(5,10)vs.9(5,12)]in surrial group were significantly decreased,the difference were statistically significant(all P<0.05).Age,APACHEⅡscore,Lac,PCT and CRP were revealed as independent predictors of 28-day mortality in sepsis by LASSO regression and Boruta algorithm,the above 5 variables were incorporated into the LG,NN and LightGBM models,and the five-fold cross-validation showed that the LightGBM model had the best stability.The confusion matrix,ROC curve and calibration curves of the 3 models were plotted,and the results showed that the F1 score of the 3 models were 0.61,0.63 and 0.74,respectively;area under the curve(AUC)was 0.68,0.74 and 0.87,respectively;the Log Loss was 0.62,0.41 and 0.34,respectively;and the Brier scores were 0.22,0.13 and 0.09,respectively,indicating that LightGBM model was optimal.DCA showed that LightGBM model had the greatest clinical net benefit.SHAP showed that the predicted results were in good agreement with the actual results.Conclusion The LightGBM model exhibited the best performance in predicting 28-day mortality in septic patients and has the potential to help clinicians identify high-risk patients and guide clinical decision-making.

Nowadays potential preclinical drugs for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) have failed to achieve expected therapeutic efficacy because the pathogenic mechanisms are underestimated. Inactive rhomboid protein 2 (IRHOM2), a promising target for treatment of inflammation-related diseases, contributes to deregulated hepatocyte metabolism-associated nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) progression. However, the molecular mechanism underlying Irhom2 regulation is still not completely understood. In this work, we identify the ubiquitin-specific protease 13 (USP13) as a critical and novel endogenous blocker of IRHOM2, and we also indicate that USP13 is an IRHOM2-interacting protein that catalyzes deubiquitination of Irhom2 in hepatocytes. Hepatocyte-specific loss of the Usp13 disrupts liver metabolic homeostasis, followed by glycometabolic disorder, lipid deposition, increased inflammation, and markedly promotes NASH development. Conversely, transgenic mice with Usp13 overexpression, lentivirus (LV)- or adeno-associated virus (AAV)-driven Usp13 gene therapeutics mitigates NASH in 3 models of rodent. Mechanistically, in response to metabolic stresses, USP13 directly interacts with IRHOM2 and removes its K63-linked ubiquitination induced by ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2N (UBC13), a ubiquitin E2 conjugating enzyme, and thus prevents its activation of downstream cascade pathway. USP13 is a potential treatment target for NASH therapy by targeting the Irhom2 signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the level change of serum total n-terminal propeptide of type Ⅰ precollagen (t-PINP) /type Ⅰ collagen carboxy-terminal peptide (beta-CTX) ratio, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25 (OH) ) ratio, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D in elderly women with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) after surgery and its value in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis (OP) .Methods:From Jan. 2020 to May. 2021, 112 elderly female postoperative DTC patients treated with thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) suppression in Department of Endocrinology of Wenzhou Hospital of Integrative Medicine were collected for a prospective study, and the incidence of OP after 1 year of treatment was counted, and according to the incidence of OP, they were divided into incidence group ( n=78) and non-incidence group ( n=34). The general information, thyroid parameters [TSH, free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4) ], bone mineral density (BMD), and serum t-titrosine (BMD) were compared between the two groups. SPSS22.0 software was used, and the counting data was described by examples χ2 test. Grade data was expressed in u, Ridit test was used, measurement data was described in mean±standard deviation ( ±s), t test was used, Pearson correlation coefficient model was used to analyze postoperative thyroid index and serum t-PINP/β- Correlation between CTX ratio and 25 (OH) D level, and serum t-PINP after 1 year of treatment was analyzed through interaction/β- The role of CTX ratio and 25 (OH) D level in OP occurrence. Results:The incidence of OP after 1 year of TSH suppression treatment in 112 elderly female post-DTC patients in this study was 69.64% (78/112) ; serum TSH levels (0.63±0.19) mIU/ml after 1 year of treatment in patients who developed OP were lower than those in patients who did not develop OP (0.81±0.22) mIU/ml, and serum FT3 (6.15±1.71) pmol/ml and FT4 levels (24.63±4.28) pmol/ml were higher than those of patients without OP (4.32±1.29) pmol/ml and (20.36±3.70) pmol/ml ( t1=4.391, t2=5.581, t3=5.050,all P<0.05) .Serum t-PINP/β-CTX ratio (130.27±18.09) and 25 (OH) D level (20.18±4.15) ng/ml after 1 year of treatment in patients with OP were lower than those in patients without OP (148.56±20.37) and (23.36±4.36) ng/ml ( t1=4.733, t2=3.672, both P<0.05) ; serum TSH levels were positively correlated with serum t-PINP/β-CTX ratio and 25 (OH) D levels, and serum FT3 and FT4 levels were negatively correlated with serum t-PINP/β-CTX ratio and 25 (OH) D levels after 1 year of treatment in patients with OP ( P<0.05) ; low serum t-PINP/β-CTX ratio after 1 year of treatment expression, and low 25 (OH) D levels showed a positive interaction in OP occurrence in a superphase multiplicative model ( P<0.05) . Conclusion:Serum t-PINP/β-CTX ratio and 25 (OH) D level are closely associated with the occurrence of OP after DTC in elderly women, and postoperative monitoring can help prevent and treat OP.