Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy of a fixed exoskeleton robot with that of an exoskeleton walker in training the balance of stroke survivors in the subacute stage.Methods:Thirty persons with subacute stroke were divided at random into a fixed robot group (15 cases) and a walking robot group (15 cases). In addition to conventional rehabilitation treatment, the fixed robot group underwent daily 20-minute treadmill-based fixed exoskeleton robot training, 5 days a week for 2 weeks. The walking group was trained with an exoskeleton walking robot on the same schedule. Before and after the treatment, the Berg balance scale, the sitting modified functional stretch test (SMFRT), an isokinetic muscle strength test and the modified Barthel index (MBI) were used to evaluate the subjects′ global balance, self-dynamic balance, knee proprioception and ability in the activities of daily living (ADL).Results:After the treatment, both groups′ average Berg score, SMFRT extension difference, proprioceptive absolute error angle in the affected knee and MBI had improved significantly. The average SMFRT extension difference after treatment in the walker group was then significantly better than the fixed robot group′s average. However, the fixed robot group′s proprioception in the affected knee joint was then significantly better, on average, than among the walking robot group.Conclusions:Both fixed exoskeleton robot training and exoskeleton walker training can improve the balance, proprioception and ADL ability after a stroke. The former better improves dynamic balance; the latter better improves proprioception in the affected knee joint.

Objective:To explore the effect of anterior traction orthodontic treatment in adolescents with bone type Ⅲ malocclusion of different bone ages.Methods:Two hundred patients with bony class Ⅲ malocclusion admitted to the Department of Stomatology of the Zhangjiakou First Hospital were prospectively selected as the research subjects; An experienced physician divided the research subjects into the Cvs1 stage group ( n=54), the Cvs2 stage group ( n=56), the Cvs3 stage group ( n=47), and the Cvs4 stage group ( n=43) based on the morphological changes of the second, third, and fourth cervical vertebrae in the modified cervical spine analysis method. Before and after orthodontic treatment, X-ray lateral cranial films were taken respectively to compare the indicators of the upper airway and the structural indicators of the temporomandibular joint. Results:The nasopharyngeal volume (NPvolume), nasopharyngeal minimum cross-sectional area (NParea), and nasopharyngeal minimum cross-sectional sagittal diameter (NPsag) of the four groups of adolescents after treatment all increased significantly compared with those before treatment (all P<0.05), especially the increase was the most obvious in the Cvs3 stage group ( P<0.05). In the Cvs1 stage group, Cvs2 stage group, and Cvs3 stage group, except for the Y-axis to Mandibular first molar (Y-Mn6), Overbite, and the ratio of the Angle between the Posterior maxillary vertical to Occlusal plane angle (PMV/OP), there was no statistically significant difference before and after treatment (all P>0.05). The differences in other items before and after treatment were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Anterior traction orthodontic treatment has a significant effect on adolescents of different bone ages with skeletal class Ⅲ malocclusion, and can improve the maxillofacial structure and the position of the temporomandibular joint. There are differences in therapeutic effects among different bone age groups, and the effect of the Cvs3 stage group is the most obvious. These results provide important reference basis for clinical treatment decisions.

Objective To investigate the requirement of blood sugar management in elderly patients with Type Ⅱ diabetes and to provide a reference for development of a program in management of blood sugar.Methods Using interpretive decriptive phenomenological research,an interview outline based on the theoretical domain framework was developed and face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 aged patients who had Type Ⅱ diabetes in the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism of a Grade ⅢA hospital in Jiangxi Province.The participants were selected by purposive sampling.Colaizzi 7-step analytical method,in conjunction with Nvivo 11 software,was used to analyse,summarise and extract the themes.Results Seven themes related to the theoretical domain framework were extracted,which included knowledge,skills,environmental context and resources,behavioural adjustment,motivation and goals,emotions and self-efficacy.After refinement,nine sub-themes on major requirement for blood glucose management were extracted,which included the requirements for knowledge and skills in blood sugar management,support from the community and healthcare resources,support from the family,changes in maladaptive behaviours,individualised blood sugar management,motivation for self-management,clarity in goals of blood sugar control,emotional support and psychological adjustment,and support for strengthened beliefs(9 sub-themes).Conclusion Elderly patients with Type Ⅱ diabetes have diverse and individualised needs in management of blood sugar.In the future,healthcare staff should develop appropriate strategies or programs to meet the individual needs of patients by addressing the actual needs of patients,improving the self-management behaviours of patients so as to improve the effects of the blood sugar control.

Objective To explore the role of secreted phosphoprotein 1(SPP1)and myeloid differentiation primary response 88(MYD88)in morphine-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis.Methods A morphine addiction model was established in Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats.Twelve SD rats were randomly assigned to the normal saline(NS)group or the morphine-dependent(DAM)group.Histopathological analysis was employed to observe and compare myocardial tissue morphology between the two groups.Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling(TUNEL)staining was performed to assess the number of apoptotic cells in each group.The expression levels of SPP1 and MYD88 were evaluated using immunohistochemistry.Quantitative real-time poly merase chain reaction(RT-qPCR)and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of SPP1,MYD88,Bax,Bcl2,Caspase-3,and Caspase-9.Simultaneously,Western blot analysis was used to detected the expression of Cleaved Caspase-3 and Cleaved Caspase-9 proteins.In vitro,SPP1 expression was knocked down in primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes(NRCMs),and cells were divided into three groups:control(CON),morphine treated(DA),and shSPP1#3+DA.Cell viability was assessed using the CCK-8 assay,and apoptosis rates were determined by flow cytometry.Results HE and TUNEL staining of myocardial tissues from morphine-addicted SD rats revealed that,compared with the NS group,myofibrils in the DAM group exhibited partial disruption and a significant increase in apoptotic cells(P<0.05).Western blot and RT-qPCR analyses demonstrated that,relative to the NS group,the mRNA and protein levels of SPP1,MYD88,Bax,Caspase-3,and Caspase-9 were significantly upregulated in the DAM group(P<0.05),whereas Bcl2 expression was significantly downregulated at both mRNA and protein levels(P<0.05),and the protein expression levels of Cleaved Caspase-3 and Cleaved Caspase-9 were also increased.with all differences being statistically significant.In NRCMs following morphine intervention,cell viability in the DA group was markedly reduced compared to the CON group(P<0.05),accompanied by a signifi-cant increase in apoptosis rate(P<0.05).Consistently,Western blot and RT-qPCR results showed elevated mRNA and protein expression of SPP1,MYD88,Bax,Caspase-3,and Caspase-9 in the DA group(P<0.05),along with decreased Bcl2 expression(P<0.05).The protein expression levels of Cleaved Caspase-3 and Cleaved Caspase-9 were elevated simultaneously.In contrast,the shSPP1#3+DA group exhibited opposing trends compared to the DA group,with statistically sig nificant differences(P<0.05).Conclusion SPP1 and MYD88 play critical roles in mediating morphine-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis,and silencing SPP1 has been shown to significantly reduce the extent of cardiomyocyte apoptosis following morphine exposure.

AIM:To investigate the potential mechanism of licorice on liver injury induced by Se-men Strychni based on network pharmacology,mo-lecular docking combined with animal experiments,providing an effective strategy for prevention and treatment of liver injury induced by Semen Strych-ni.METHODS:Firstly,the active ingredients of Se-men Strychni and licorice were obtained through the ETCM,TCMSP database and analysis platform,CTD database and literature supplementation.Then,the potential toxic ingredients of Semen Strychni were further screened based on the Swis-sADME platform,and the targets corresponding to the active ingredients were predicted through the SwissTargetPrediction platform.By using the Gene-Cards and OMIM databases to collect DILI-related targets,the potential targets for licorice to alleviate liver injury caused by Semen Strychni were ob-tained.By constructing the active ingredient-target network,the core ingredients of licorice in alleviat-ing liver injury caused by Semen Strychni were screened.The key targets obtained were used to construct and analyze the protein-protein interac-tion networks(PPI)through the STRING database and Cytoscape 3.9.0 software.The potential targets were subjected to GO and KEGG pathway enrich-ment analysis with the aid of the DAVID database,and constructed a network of active ingredient-tar-get-pathway.Molecular docking study was ap-proved for the core targets and the active ingredi-ents by using Schrodinger 2023-1 software,and the visualization operation was conducted through Py-mol.Finally,the regulatory effect of licorice on the key pathway of liver injury caused by Semen Strych-ni was validated by establishing a rat model of liver injury induced by Semen Strychni.RESULTS:After screening,6 potential toxic components of Semen Strychni and 104 corresponding targets,89 active components of licorice and 347 corresponding tar-gets,and 3 200 DILI targets were obtained.A total of 23 intersection targets were obtained through Venn analysis.By constructing the active ingredi-ent-target network,it was found that the main core ingredients were 7-methoxy-2-methyl isofla-vone,medicarpin,shinpterocarpin,quercetin,for-mononetin and isoliquiritigenin.The PPI network indicated that the core targets were protein kinase B1(AKT1),epidermal growth factor receptor(EG-FR),human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(ERBB2),glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta(GSK3B),kinase insert domain receptor(KDR)and Janus ki-nase 2(JAK2).A total of 39 relevant pathways were enriched in KEGG(P＜0.01),among which the phos-phatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)-protein kinase B(AKT)(PI3K-AKT)signaling pathway,which has been confirmed and ranks first in enrichment,and was closely related to liver injury.Molecular docking re-sults showed that the core components have good binding ability with the core targets.In vivo animal experiments demonstrated that,compared to the model group,licorice significantly reduced the liver index(P＜0.01),serum levels of alkaline phospha-tase(ALP),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspar-tate aminotransferase(AST),indirect bilirubin(IBIL),and total bilirubin(TBIL)in rats with liver in-jury,while increasing total protein(TP)levels(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Additionally,licorice alleviated con-gestion in the central veins and hepatic sinusoids,improved the alignment of hepatocytes,and re-duced inflammatory cell infiltration.Furthermore,licorice significantly decreased the levels of malo-ndialdehyde(MDA),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and interleukin-6(IL-6)in the liver tissue of injured rats,while elevating the levels of superoxide dismutase(SOD)and glutathi-one peroxidase(GSH-Px)(P＜0.01).It also markedly downregulated the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and AKT(P＜0.01).CONCLUSION:Licorice has multi-component and multi-target properties in the treat-ment of liver injury induced by Semen Strychni,which may play a hepatoprotective role by inhibit-ing the activation of PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.

Objective:To analyze and explore the diagnostic value of endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for primary gastrointestinal lymphoma (PGIL).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical and pathological data from 37 patients with suspected PGIL and admitted to Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University and Xiamen Hospital, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University between January 2021 and December 2023. The diagnostic accuracy for PGIL of initial endoscopic conventional biopsies was compared with that of ESD biopsies.Results:Among these patients, 6 were diagnosed as having primary gastrointestinal lymphoma by routine endoscopic biopsy, with a diagnostic rate of 16.22% (6/37). Of the 22 patients who underwent ESD, 20 were diagnosed as having primary gastrointestinal lymphoma, achieving a diagnostic rate of 90.91% (20/22), which was significantly higher than that of initial endoscopic routine biopsies ( χ2=31.228, P<0.05). Conclusion:ESD demonstrates significant diagnostic value for PGIL.

Objective:To observe the application effect of dexmedetomidine combined with esketamine nasal drops in pediatric flexible bronchoscopy (referred to as bronchoscopy) surgery with spontaneous respiration retained.Methods:A total of 96 children undergoing bronchoscopy in the Changsha Hospital for Maternal & Child Health Care from May 2022 to December 2023 were selected and divided into the dexmedetomidine nasal drop group (group D, 47 cases) and the dexmedetomidine combined with esketamine nasal drop group (group DE, 49 cases) by random number table method. The mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), blood oxygen saturation (SpO 2) and respiratory rate (RR) of the two groups were observed before nasal drops (T 0), 30 minutes after nasal drops (T 1), 5 minutes after surgery started (T 2), and 10 minutes (T 3), 30 minutes (T 4), 60 minutes (T 5) and 120 minutes (T 6) after surgery. The separation anxiety and mask cooperation scores at T 1, modified Aldrete scores and Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium Scale (PEAD) scores at T 3-T 6 were evaluated; the number of children with PEAD score>10 was recorded, as well as the time to postoperatively take food and clear water. Results:There was no statistically significant difference in MAP and HR at T 0 between the two groups (all P>0.05); the MAP and HR of Group DE at T 1-T 6 were significantly higher than those of group D (all P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in SpO 2 and RR between the two groups within the group or between the groups at each time point (all P>0.05), while the incidence of hypoxemia (SpO 2≤92%) in group D at T 2 was significantly higher than that in group DE ( P<0.05). The separation anxiety and mask cooperation scores of group DE at T 1 were significantly better than those of group D ( P<0.05). The modified Aldrete scores of group DE at T 3, T 4 and T 5 were significantly higher than those of group D (all P<0.05). The PEAD score of group DE at T 3 was significantly lower than that of group D ( P=0.001); there was no statistically significant difference in PEAD scores between the two groups at T 4, T 5 and T 6 (all P>0.05), and no child in either group had PEAD scores>10 at T 4, T 5 and T 6. The time to take clear water and food in group DE was significantly earlier than that in group D (all P<0.05). Conclusions:In pediatric bronchoscopy surgery with spontaneous respiration retained, dexmedetomidine combined with esketamine nasal drops can more effectively relieve children′s separation anxiety, meet surgical needs, improve recovery quality, shorten the postoperative time to take food, and better implement the concept of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) compared with dexmedetomidine alone.

Objective To investigate the requirement of blood sugar management in elderly patients with Type Ⅱ diabetes and to provide a reference for development of a program in management of blood sugar.Methods Using interpretive decriptive phenomenological research,an interview outline based on the theoretical domain framework was developed and face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 aged patients who had Type Ⅱ diabetes in the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism of a Grade ⅢA hospital in Jiangxi Province.The participants were selected by purposive sampling.Colaizzi 7-step analytical method,in conjunction with Nvivo 11 software,was used to analyse,summarise and extract the themes.Results Seven themes related to the theoretical domain framework were extracted,which included knowledge,skills,environmental context and resources,behavioural adjustment,motivation and goals,emotions and self-efficacy.After refinement,nine sub-themes on major requirement for blood glucose management were extracted,which included the requirements for knowledge and skills in blood sugar management,support from the community and healthcare resources,support from the family,changes in maladaptive behaviours,individualised blood sugar management,motivation for self-management,clarity in goals of blood sugar control,emotional support and psychological adjustment,and support for strengthened beliefs(9 sub-themes).Conclusion Elderly patients with Type Ⅱ diabetes have diverse and individualised needs in management of blood sugar.In the future,healthcare staff should develop appropriate strategies or programs to meet the individual needs of patients by addressing the actual needs of patients,improving the self-management behaviours of patients so as to improve the effects of the blood sugar control.

Objective:To compare the clinical efficacy of a fixed exoskeleton robot with that of an exoskeleton walker in training the balance of stroke survivors in the subacute stage.Methods:Thirty persons with subacute stroke were divided at random into a fixed robot group (15 cases) and a walking robot group (15 cases). In addition to conventional rehabilitation treatment, the fixed robot group underwent daily 20-minute treadmill-based fixed exoskeleton robot training, 5 days a week for 2 weeks. The walking group was trained with an exoskeleton walking robot on the same schedule. Before and after the treatment, the Berg balance scale, the sitting modified functional stretch test (SMFRT), an isokinetic muscle strength test and the modified Barthel index (MBI) were used to evaluate the subjects′ global balance, self-dynamic balance, knee proprioception and ability in the activities of daily living (ADL).Results:After the treatment, both groups′ average Berg score, SMFRT extension difference, proprioceptive absolute error angle in the affected knee and MBI had improved significantly. The average SMFRT extension difference after treatment in the walker group was then significantly better than the fixed robot group′s average. However, the fixed robot group′s proprioception in the affected knee joint was then significantly better, on average, than among the walking robot group.Conclusions:Both fixed exoskeleton robot training and exoskeleton walker training can improve the balance, proprioception and ADL ability after a stroke. The former better improves dynamic balance; the latter better improves proprioception in the affected knee joint.

AIM:To investigate the potential mechanism of licorice on liver injury induced by Se-men Strychni based on network pharmacology,mo-lecular docking combined with animal experiments,providing an effective strategy for prevention and treatment of liver injury induced by Semen Strych-ni.METHODS:Firstly,the active ingredients of Se-men Strychni and licorice were obtained through the ETCM,TCMSP database and analysis platform,CTD database and literature supplementation.Then,the potential toxic ingredients of Semen Strychni were further screened based on the Swis-sADME platform,and the targets corresponding to the active ingredients were predicted through the SwissTargetPrediction platform.By using the Gene-Cards and OMIM databases to collect DILI-related targets,the potential targets for licorice to alleviate liver injury caused by Semen Strychni were ob-tained.By constructing the active ingredient-target network,the core ingredients of licorice in alleviat-ing liver injury caused by Semen Strychni were screened.The key targets obtained were used to construct and analyze the protein-protein interac-tion networks(PPI)through the STRING database and Cytoscape 3.9.0 software.The potential targets were subjected to GO and KEGG pathway enrich-ment analysis with the aid of the DAVID database,and constructed a network of active ingredient-tar-get-pathway.Molecular docking study was ap-proved for the core targets and the active ingredi-ents by using Schrodinger 2023-1 software,and the visualization operation was conducted through Py-mol.Finally,the regulatory effect of licorice on the key pathway of liver injury caused by Semen Strych-ni was validated by establishing a rat model of liver injury induced by Semen Strychni.RESULTS:After screening,6 potential toxic components of Semen Strychni and 104 corresponding targets,89 active components of licorice and 347 corresponding tar-gets,and 3 200 DILI targets were obtained.A total of 23 intersection targets were obtained through Venn analysis.By constructing the active ingredi-ent-target network,it was found that the main core ingredients were 7-methoxy-2-methyl isofla-vone,medicarpin,shinpterocarpin,quercetin,for-mononetin and isoliquiritigenin.The PPI network indicated that the core targets were protein kinase B1(AKT1),epidermal growth factor receptor(EG-FR),human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(ERBB2),glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta(GSK3B),kinase insert domain receptor(KDR)and Janus ki-nase 2(JAK2).A total of 39 relevant pathways were enriched in KEGG(P＜0.01),among which the phos-phatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K)-protein kinase B(AKT)(PI3K-AKT)signaling pathway,which has been confirmed and ranks first in enrichment,and was closely related to liver injury.Molecular docking re-sults showed that the core components have good binding ability with the core targets.In vivo animal experiments demonstrated that,compared to the model group,licorice significantly reduced the liver index(P＜0.01),serum levels of alkaline phospha-tase(ALP),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspar-tate aminotransferase(AST),indirect bilirubin(IBIL),and total bilirubin(TBIL)in rats with liver in-jury,while increasing total protein(TP)levels(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Additionally,licorice alleviated con-gestion in the central veins and hepatic sinusoids,improved the alignment of hepatocytes,and re-duced inflammatory cell infiltration.Furthermore,licorice significantly decreased the levels of malo-ndialdehyde(MDA),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and interleukin-6(IL-6)in the liver tissue of injured rats,while elevating the levels of superoxide dismutase(SOD)and glutathi-one peroxidase(GSH-Px)(P＜0.01).It also markedly downregulated the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and AKT(P＜0.01).CONCLUSION:Licorice has multi-component and multi-target properties in the treat-ment of liver injury induced by Semen Strychni,which may play a hepatoprotective role by inhibit-ing the activation of PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.