Objective:To investigate the relationship between epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and frequent premature ventricular contractions (PVC) based on no-contrast chest CT scanning and evaluate the predictive value of EAT for high PVC loading levels.Methods:A case-control study was conducted to collect patients with PVC from January 2021 to June 2023 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University. The study subjects were divided into a PVC high-load group (≥20%) and a PVC low-load group (<20%) based on the level of PVC loading in the 24-hour Holter electrocardiography monitoring. The parameter characteristics of EAT were obtained from no-contrast chest CT images. Multivariate logistic regression model analysis was used to assess the factors associated with high PVC loading levels, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the predictive value of the model.Results:A total of 166 subjects were included in the study, including 50 in the PVC high-load group and 116 in the PVC low-load group. Compared with the PVC low-load group, EATV was significantly increased in the high-load group ( Z=4.83, P<0.001), and EATA was significantly lower in the high-load group than in the low-load group ( t=-3.95, P<0.001). However, there was no statistically significant difference for the comparison of EATD ( Z=-1.56, P=0.120). Multivariate logistic regression model analysis showed that high EATV and low EATA were factors of high PVC loading levels [EATV: OR=1.01 (95% CI: 1.00-1.02), EATA: OR=1.16 (95% CI: 1.02-1.32)]. The area under the ROC curve for predicting high PVC loading levels by EATV and EATA was 0.79 (95% CI: 0.71-0.86). Conclusion:EATV and EATA are factors of high PVC loading levels and have predictive value for high PVC loading levels.

Coronary CT angiography(CCTA)plays an important role in study of coronary atherosclerotic plaques,which can be used to assess plaque composition and vulnerability,hence predicting major adverse cardiovascular events.Furthermore,CCTA combined with radiomics analysis is helpful for optimizing cardiovascular risk stratification.The research progresses in CCTA of coronary atherosclerotic plaques were reviewed in this article.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) and frequent premature ventricular contractions (PVC) based on no-contrast chest CT scanning and evaluate the predictive value of EAT for high PVC loading levels.Methods:A case-control study was conducted to collect patients with PVC from January 2021 to June 2023 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University. The study subjects were divided into a PVC high-load group (≥20%) and a PVC low-load group (<20%) based on the level of PVC loading in the 24-hour Holter electrocardiography monitoring. The parameter characteristics of EAT were obtained from no-contrast chest CT images. Multivariate logistic regression model analysis was used to assess the factors associated with high PVC loading levels, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the predictive value of the model.Results:A total of 166 subjects were included in the study, including 50 in the PVC high-load group and 116 in the PVC low-load group. Compared with the PVC low-load group, EATV was significantly increased in the high-load group ( Z=4.83, P<0.001), and EATA was significantly lower in the high-load group than in the low-load group ( t=-3.95, P<0.001). However, there was no statistically significant difference for the comparison of EATD ( Z=-1.56, P=0.120). Multivariate logistic regression model analysis showed that high EATV and low EATA were factors of high PVC loading levels [EATV: OR=1.01 (95% CI: 1.00-1.02), EATA: OR=1.16 (95% CI: 1.02-1.32)]. The area under the ROC curve for predicting high PVC loading levels by EATV and EATA was 0.79 (95% CI: 0.71-0.86). Conclusion:EATV and EATA are factors of high PVC loading levels and have predictive value for high PVC loading levels.

Coronary CT angiography(CCTA)plays an important role in study of coronary atherosclerotic plaques,which can be used to assess plaque composition and vulnerability,hence predicting major adverse cardiovascular events.Furthermore,CCTA combined with radiomics analysis is helpful for optimizing cardiovascular risk stratification.The research progresses in CCTA of coronary atherosclerotic plaques were reviewed in this article.

Objective To study the possibility of salivary microbiota model to diagnose laryngopharyngeal re-flux(LPR).Methods A case-control study was applied to enroll 34 patients as case group who showed significant efficacy after 8 weeks of proton pump inhibitor treatment from February 2022 to November 2022.And 47 healthy volunteers matched by age,gender and body mass index with the case group were enrolled as the control group.Their salivary samples were collected before medication,and the salivary microbiota was detected by 16S rDNA se-quencing.Bioinformatics analysis was conducted on the sequencing results to compare species differences at the ge-nus level.A total of 24 patients and 33 cases in the control group were selected as train set and the rest as test set.Random forest method was used to classify data and ten fold cross validation was applied to select the optimal bacte-rial genus combination to construct a diagnostic model.The probability of disease(POD)index was calculated and receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC)was used to evaluate the diagnostic model in diagnosis of LPR.SPSS 18.0 software was utilized for statistical analysis.Results Compared with the control group,there was a statistical difference in the relative abundance of 22 genera in saliva between the case group and the control group(P＜0.05).A diagnostic model consisting of 6 genera was constructed,namely Lactobacillus,Novosphingobium,Bacillus,Pseudoalteromonas,Ralstonia and Phocaeicola.The area under the ROC curve of the test set was 0.843,the sensi-tivity of the diagnostic model was 60.0％,the specificity was 87.71％,and the Kappa value was 0.470.Conclusion The bacterial combination diagnostic model constructed from saliva microbiota based on microbiome and machine learning can effectively distinguish LPR patients from healthy individuals,which has potential clinical application value.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of 5-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyflavone(5-HDF),a compound extracted from Elsholtzia blanda Benth.,against lung injury induced by H1N1 influenza virus and explore its possible mechanism of action.Methods 5-HDF was extracted from Elsholtzia blanda Benth.using ethanol reflux extraction and silica gel chromatography and characterized using NMR and MS analyses.In an A549 cell model of H1N1 influenza virus infection(MOI=0.1),the cytotoxicity of 5-HDF was assessed using MTT assay,and its effect on TRAIL and IL-8 expressions was examined using flow cytometry;Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of inflammatory,apoptosis,and ferroptosis-related proteins.In a mouse model of H1N1 influenza virus infection established by nasal instillation of 50 μL H1N1 virus at the median lethal dose,the effects of 30 and 60 mg/kg 5-HDF by gavage on body weight,lung index,gross lung anatomy and lung histopathology were observed.Results 5-HDF exhibited no significant cytotoxicity in A549 cells within the concentration range of 0-200 μg/mL.In H1N1-infected A549 cells,treatment with 5-HDF effectively inhibited the activation of phospho-p38 MAPK and phospho-NF-κB p65,lowered the expressions of IL-8,enhanced the expression of anti-ferroptosis proteins(SLC7A11 and GPX4),and inhibited the expressions of apoptosis markers PARP and caspase-3 and the apoptotic factor TRAIL.In H1N1-infected mice,treatment with 5-HDF for 7 days significantly suppressed body weight loss and increment of lung index and obviously alleviated lung tissue pathologies.Conclusion 5-HDF offers protection against H1N1 influenza virus infection in mice possibly by suppressing H1N1-induced ferroptosis,inflammatory responses,and apoptosis via upregulating SLC7A11 and GPX4,inhibiting the activation of phospho-NF-κB p65 and phospho-p38 MAPK,and decreasing the expression of cleaved caspase3 and cleaved PARP.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of 5-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxyflavone(5-HDF),a compound extracted from Elsholtzia blanda Benth.,against lung injury induced by H1N1 influenza virus and explore its possible mechanism of action.Methods 5-HDF was extracted from Elsholtzia blanda Benth.using ethanol reflux extraction and silica gel chromatography and characterized using NMR and MS analyses.In an A549 cell model of H1N1 influenza virus infection(MOI=0.1),the cytotoxicity of 5-HDF was assessed using MTT assay,and its effect on TRAIL and IL-8 expressions was examined using flow cytometry;Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of inflammatory,apoptosis,and ferroptosis-related proteins.In a mouse model of H1N1 influenza virus infection established by nasal instillation of 50 μL H1N1 virus at the median lethal dose,the effects of 30 and 60 mg/kg 5-HDF by gavage on body weight,lung index,gross lung anatomy and lung histopathology were observed.Results 5-HDF exhibited no significant cytotoxicity in A549 cells within the concentration range of 0-200 μg/mL.In H1N1-infected A549 cells,treatment with 5-HDF effectively inhibited the activation of phospho-p38 MAPK and phospho-NF-κB p65,lowered the expressions of IL-8,enhanced the expression of anti-ferroptosis proteins(SLC7A11 and GPX4),and inhibited the expressions of apoptosis markers PARP and caspase-3 and the apoptotic factor TRAIL.In H1N1-infected mice,treatment with 5-HDF for 7 days significantly suppressed body weight loss and increment of lung index and obviously alleviated lung tissue pathologies.Conclusion 5-HDF offers protection against H1N1 influenza virus infection in mice possibly by suppressing H1N1-induced ferroptosis,inflammatory responses,and apoptosis via upregulating SLC7A11 and GPX4,inhibiting the activation of phospho-NF-κB p65 and phospho-p38 MAPK,and decreasing the expression of cleaved caspase3 and cleaved PARP.

Objective:To explore the relationship between perceived stigma and self-transcendence meaning of life among male college students who have sex with men with HIV,and the role of fear of negation evaluation,seeking for meaning,perspective change in it.Methods:A total of 474 male college students who had sex with men with HIV were selected and tested with the simplified Berger HIV Stigma Scale(BHSS),Fear of Negative Evalua-tion Rating Scale(FNE),Chinese Meaning in Life Questionnaire(C-MLQ),Meaning-focused Coping Questionnaire(MFCQ),and Self-transcendence Meaning of Life Scale(SMLS).Results:The BHSS total scores were negatively correlated with the SMLS total scores(r=0.69,P＜0.001).The FNE scores and the seeking for meaning scores were mediating variables between the BHSS total scores and the SMLS total scores,with estimated effects of-0.13 and-0.11,respectively.The FNE score and seeking for meaning score played a chain mediating role in the total scores of BHSS and SMLS,with estimated effects of-0.16,the perspective change score played a moderating role in the score of the seeking for meaning and the SMLS total score(β=0.07,P＜0.05).Conclusion:Fear of negation evaluation and seeking for meaning play a mediating role between perceived stigma and self-transcendence meaning of life,as well as the moderating effect of perspective change between the search for meaning and self-transcendence meaning of life.

Objective:To observe the effects of electroacupuncture(EA)combined with Western medication on lower-limb motor function and blood circulation in patients with cerebral infarction-induced hemiplegia in the acute stage. Methods:One hundred eligible patients with acute ischemic stroke accompanied by lower-limb motor dysfunction were allocated to an observation group and a control group using the random number table method,with 50 cases in each group.The control group received routine Western medications for treatment,and the observation group received additional EA intervention.After 2-week and 4-week treatments,the improvement of lower-limb motor function was assessed using the Fugl-Meyer assessment scale for lower extremity(FMA-LE),and changes in the peak blood flow velocities of the posterior tibial(PT)and dorsalis pedis(DP)arteries on the affected side were detected using Doppler. Results:Three cases dropped out during the study,so there were 48 cases in the observation group and 49 in the control group collected for statistical analysis.The FMA-LE score and the peak blood flow velocities of PT and DP arteries increased after 2-week and 4-week treatments in both groups compared with the pre-treatment baseline(P<0.05).After 2-week treatments,the FMA-LE score and the peak blood flow velocities of PT and DP arteries showed no significant differences between the two groups(P>0.05).After 4-week treatments,compared with the control group,the FMA-LE score was higher(P<0.05),and the peak blood flow velocities of PT and DP arteries on the affected side were larger in the observation group(P<0.05). Conclusion:EA combined with Western medication can significantly improve the motor function and blood flow velocity of the affected lower limb in patients with acute cerebral infarction accompanied by hemiplegia.

As an important part of tumor microenvironment, neutrophils are poorly understood due to their spatiotemporal heterogeneity in tumorigenesis. Here we defined, at single-cell resolution, CD44-CXCR2- neutrophils as tumor-specific neutrophils (tsNeus) in both mouse and human gastric cancer (GC). We uncovered a Hippo regulon in neutrophils with unique YAP signature genes (e.g., ICAM1, CD14, EGR1) distinct from those identified in epithelial and/or cancer cells. Importantly, knockout of YAP/TAZ in neutrophils impaired their differentiation into CD54+ tsNeus and reduced their antitumor activity, leading to accelerated GC progression. Moreover, the relative amounts of CD54+ tsNeus were found to be negatively associated with GC progression and positively associated with patient survival. Interestingly, GC patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy had increased numbers of CD54+ tsNeus. Furthermore, pharmacologically enhancing YAP activity selectively activated neutrophils to suppress refractory GC, with no significant inflammation-related side effects. Thus, our work characterized tumor-specific neutrophils in GC and revealed an essential role of YAP/TAZ-CD54 axis in tsNeus, opening a new possibility to develop neutrophil-based antitumor therapeutics.
Humans ; Animals ; Mice ; Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/metabolism* ; Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology* ; Neutrophils/pathology* ; Signal Transduction/genetics* ; YAP-Signaling Proteins ; Tumor Microenvironment ; Hyaluronan Receptors/genetics*