Background In recent years, the increasingly widespread application of nuclear and medical radiation technologies has resulted in a large number of occupational populations exposed to low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR). At present, there is no consistent conclusion on the effects of long-term exposure to LDIR on the metabolic health of the occupational population. Objective To explore the association between long-term exposure to LDIR and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among medical radiologists. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to enroll 6431 medical radiologists who ordered occupational health checkups from January 2022 to December 2023, and basic information such as demographic characteristics, occupational characteristics, lifestyles, and dietary habits was collected through questionnaires. Physical examinations were conducted using a standardized protocol. Individual dose equivalents of occupational external exposure were monitored by dosimeters worn by medical radiologists. Logistic regression model was used for identifying influencing factors of MetS and sensitivity analysis, and restricted cubic spline model was used to explore the dose-response relationship between cumulative effective dose and MetS. Two-stage linear regression was used to evaluate threshold effect of association between cumulative effective dose and MetS. Results The positive rate of MetS was 13.6% (877/6431) among the enrolled 6431 study participants. The logistic regression showed that gender, age, monthly income, body mass index (BMI), cumulative effective dose, and smoking were influencing factors for MetS. The risk of MetS was higher in males (OR=1.511, 95%CI: 1.209, 1.888); using the < 30 years old group as reference, the risk of MetS was higher in the 30-39 years old (OR=1.509, 95%CI: 1.095, 2.079), 40-49 years old (OR=2.214, 95%CI: 1.551, 3.161), and ≥50 years old (OR=3.480, 95%CI: 2.338, 5.181) groups; using the <10000 yuan group as reference, the risk of MetS was lower in the group with a monthly income of 10000-14999 yuan (OR=0.715, 95%CI: 0.582, 0.878); the risk of MetS was higher in the BMI ≥ 24 kg·m⁻² group (OR=7.548, 95%CI: 6.223, 9.156); using the < 0.76 mSv group as reference, the risk of MetS was higher in the cumulative effective dose of 0.76-2.73 mSv group (OR=1.270, 95%CI: 1.017, 1.586); the risk of MetS was higher in the smoking group (OR=1.734, 95%CI: 1.428, 2.107). The results of restricted cubic spline showed that the cumulative effective dose was nonlinearly correlated with MetS (P _{non-linearity}=0.028), with an inflection point of 1.25 mSv. The risk of developing MetS increased by 34.1% for each unit increase in cumulative effective dose up to 1.25 mSv, whereas above 1.25 mSv, the statistical association was not significant. The sensitivity analysis results showed that after excluding the self-reported hypertensive and diabetic patients, the cumulative effective dose 0.76-2.73 mSv group still had an increased risk of developing MetS compared with the < 0.76 mSv group (P < 0.05), and the results were robust. Conclusion Among medical radiologists, male, age, BMI, and smoking are positively correlated with MetS, and monthly income is negatively correlated with MetS; cumulative effective dose is non-linearly correlated with MetS among medical radiologists.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the therapeutic mechanism of 2,6-dimethoxy-1,4-benzoquinone (DMQ) for alleviating dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice. METHODS: Eighteen male C57BL/6J mice were equally randomized into control group, DSS group and DMQ treatment group. In DSS and DMQ groups, the mice were treated with DSS in drinking water to induce UC, and received intraperitoneal injections of sterile PBS or DMQ (20 mg/kg) during modeling. The changes in body weight, disease activity index (DAI), colon length, spleen weight, and colon histological scores of the mice were examined, and the percentages of Th17 and IFN-γ⁺ CD8⁺ T cells in the mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen were analyzed using flow cytometry. The expressions of tight junction proteins (Occludin and ZO-1), proteins associated with inflammasome activation (caspase-1 and p20), IL-1β and TNF-α in the colon tissues were detected using Western blotting or ELISA. In the cell experiment, mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) primed with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were treated with DMQ, followed by stmulation with nigericin to activate the classical NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. In cultured human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) treated with either LPS alone or LPS plus nigericin, the effects of DMQ on inflammasome activation, pyroptosis, and cytokine release were evaluated via Western blotting, ELISA, and flow cytometry. RESULTS: In DSS-treated mice, DMQ treatment significantly alleviated DSS-induced body weight loss, colon shortening, spleen enlargement, and colon inflammation. The DMQ-treated mice showed significantly reduced percentages of Th17 cells and IFN-γ⁺ CD8⁺ T cells in the mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen, with increased occludin and ZO-1 expressions and decreased caspase-1 expression in the colon tissue. DMQ obviously inhibited classical NLRP3 inflammasome activation in mouse BMDMs and both the classical and alternative pathways of NLRP3 activation in human PBMCs, causing also suppression of caspase-1-dependent pyroptosis. CONCLUSIONS DMQ ameliorates DSS-induced UC in mice by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation.
Animals ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Colitis, Ulcerative/metabolism* ; Dextran Sulfate/adverse effects* ; Male ; Inflammasomes/metabolism* ; Mice ; Benzoquinones/therapeutic use* ; Th17 Cells ; Caspase 1/metabolism*

Objective To investigate the value of integrin subunit αM(ITGAM)and integrin subunit β2(ITGB2)levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC)in the diagnosis and prognosis evaluation for patients with severe acute pancreatitis(SAP)complicated with acute lung injury(ALI).Methods A total of 205 patients with SAP admitted from November 2022 to February 2024 in the hospital were selected,and they were divided into ALI group(103 cases)and non-ALI group(102 cases)according to whether they were com-plicated with ALI.Meanwhile,110 healthy people who underwent the physical examination were selected as the control group.The differences of the levels of ITGAM and ITGB2 in PBMC in different groups were com-pared.Logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors for ALI in patients with SAP.The re-ceiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of levels of ITGAM and ITGB2 in PBMC for SAP patients complicated with ALI and the predictive value for poor prognosis.Results The levels of ITGAM,ITGB2 in PBMC,and serum amylase and urine amylase levels in ALI group were higher than those in non-ALI group and control group(P＜0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression anal-ysis showed that the increase of ITGAM,ITGB2 and serum amylase levels were risk factors for ALI in pa-tients with SAP(P＜0.05).ROC curve results showed that the area under the curve(AUC)of ITGAM com-bined with ITGB2 in diagnosing ALI in patients with SAP was significantly higher than those of ITGAM and ITGB2 alone(P＜0.05).The levels of ITGAM and ITGB2 in PBMC in the poor prognosis group were higher than those in the good prognosis group(P＜0.05).ROC curve results showed that the AUC of ITGAM com-bined with ITGB2 in predicting poor prognosis in patients with SAP complicated with ALI was significantly higher than those of ITGAM and ITGB2 alone(P＜0.05).Conclusion Increased levels of ITGAM and IT-GB2 in PBMC are risk factors for ALI in patients with SAP.ITGAM combined with ITGB2 has a good predic-tive efficacy for the poor prognosis in patients with SAP complicated with ALI,which has important value in clinical practice and is expected to become potential biomarkers.

Objective To explore the factors associated with respiratory syncytial virus(RSV)infection in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(AECOPD)and its correlation with serum levels of heat shock protein 70(HSP70),Krüppel-like factor 5(KLF5),and macrophage inflammatory protein-2(MIP-2).Methods A total of 195 AECOPD patients were prospectively enrolled and categorized into an RSV-infected group(n=95)and an uninfected group(n=100)based on RSV infection status.The infected group was further subdivided by disease severity into mild,moderate,and severe subgroups(31 cases,35 cases,29 cases),and by prognosis into poor prognosis(n=51)and good prognosis subgroups(n=44).ELISA method was used to measure the serum levels of HSP70,KLF5,and MIP-2 in each group,and their correlation with relevant clinical indicators was analyzed.Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to explore risk factors for RSV infection in AECOPD patients.Relative risk analysis was used to explore the impact of high and low levels of HSP70,KLF5,and MIP-2 on the prognosis of AECOPD patients with RSV infection.Kaplan-Meier survival curves analyzed patient survival outcomes.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were plotted to analyze the predictive value of serum HSP70,KLF5,and MIP-2 levels for the prognosis of AECOPD patients with RSV infection.Results The infected group had significantly higher proportions of respiratory failure,higher number of exacerbations within one year,and higher levels of CRP,HSP70,KLF5,and MIP-2 compared to the non-infected group(P<0.05),while FEV1%pred were significantly lower(P<0.05).Serum HSP70,KLF5,MIP-2 levels were positively correlated with respiratory failure,number of exacerbations within one year,and CRP levels(P<0.05),and negatively correlated with FEV1%pred(P<0.05).Multivariate Cox regression identified respiratory failure,number of AECOPD exacerbations within one year≥3 times,low FEV1%pred,and high levels of CRP,HSP70,KLF5,and MIP-2 as independent risk factors for RSV infection in AECOPD patients(P<0.05).As the condition worsens,the levels of serum HSP70,KLF5,and MIP-2 gradually increase(P<0.05).The poor prognosis subgroup had prominently higher serum levels than the good prognosis subgroup(P<0.05).Patients with high levels of HSP70,KLF5,and MIP-2 have a greater risk of poor prognosis and a lower 28-day progression-free survival rate(P<0.05).The areas under the ROC curve(AUC)predicted by the combination of the three indicators was significantly better than that predicted by a single indicator(P=0.015).Conclusion Respiratory failure,the number of AECOPD exacerbations within one year≥3 times,low FEV1%pred,high CRP level,and high serum levels of HSP70,KLF5,and MIP-2 are risk factors for RSV infection in AECOPD patients.Serum levels of HSP70,KLF5,MIP-2 are closely related to disease severity and prognosis in AECOPD patients with RSV infection.The combined detection of the three biomarkers has significant predictive value for patient prognosis,which is helpful for early clinical assessment and the formulation of intervention strategies.

Objective:To analyze the clinical features of postpartum hepatitis flares in pregnant women with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted. Patients who met the enrollment criteria were included. Liver function and HBV virology tests were collected from pregnant women with chronic HBV infection at delivery, 6, 24, 36, and 48 weeks after delivery through the hospital information and test system. Additionally, antiviral therapy types and drug withdrawal times were collected. Statistical analysis was performed on all the resulting data.Results:A total of 533 pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria were included, with all patients aged (29.5±3.7) years old. A total of 408 cases received antiviral drugs during pregnancy to interrupt mother-to-child transmission. There was no significant difference in the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT, z ?=?-1.981, P ?=?0.048), aspartate aminotransferase (AST, z ?=?-3.956, P ?

Objective:To investigate the changes in liver injury and oxidative-antioxidant level in mice exposed to X-rays at varying doses.Methods:Fifty-four 8-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were divided into three groups, namely the control, 2 Gy irradiation, and 4 Gy irradiation groups. Then, each of the groups was further divided by days post-irradiation (i.e., 1, 3, and 7 d), and so nine sub-groups ( n = 6). After irradiation was performed as planned, all the mice were dissected and weighed, and their liver indexes were calculated to determine any histopathological changes in the liver. The peripheral blood cell count and the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were detected. Furthermore, spectrophotometry was also used to determine the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, the malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, and the reduced glutathione (GSH) concentration in liver tissues. Results:Compared to the control group, mice undergoing irradiation exhibited a significant reduction in body weight ( F = 84.03, 27.11, 25.50, P < 0.001), but significantly increased liver indexes ( F = 28.40, 17.75, P <0.001) at 1, 3, and 7 d post-irradiation. Pathological observations of these mice revealed liver injury, which proved related to dose and time course. The counts of leukocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes in peripheral blood decreased significantly ( F = 8.42-22.91, P < 0.05), trending downward with an increase in the radiation dose. For mice in the 4 Gy irradiation group, their AST and ALT levels increased significantly at 1 d post-irradiation ( H = 7.24, 7.82, P < 0.05), and their ALP levels rose notably at 1 and 3 d post-irradiation ( F = 11.86, 9.75, P < 0.05). Furthermore, their MDA and SOD levels initially rose and then dropped but their GSH levels exhibited an opposite trend at 1, 3, and 7 d post-irradiation. There was a positive correlation between their MDA levels in the liver and the degree of damage to histopathological lesions at 1, 3, and 7 d post-irradiation ( r = 0.30, P < 0.001). Conclusions:A model for radiation-induced liver injury of mice was preliminarily established in this study. It can be concluded that X-rays at varying doses affect the severity of liver injury, pathological grade, peripheral blood cell count, liver function index, and liver oxidative and antioxidant levels of mice, presenting a certain relationship between dose and time course effects.

Objective:To investigate the value of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), pediatric sequential organ failure assessment (pSOFA) and pediatric critical illness score (PCIS) in predicting mortality of pediatric sepsis in pediatric intensive care units (PICU) from Southwest China.Methods:This was a prospective multicenter observational study. A total of 447 children with sepsis admitted to 12 PICU in Southwest China from April 2022 to March 2023 were enrolled. Based on the prognosis, the patients were divided into survival group and non-survival group. The physiological parameters of SIRS, pSOFA and PCIS were recorded and scored within 24 h after PICU admission. The general clinical data and some laboratory results were recorded. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to compare the predictive value of SIRS, pSOFA and PCIS in mortality of pediatric sepsis.Results:Amongst 447 children with sepsis, 260 patients were male and 187 patients were female, aged 2.5 (0.8, 7.0) years, 405 patients were in the survival group and 42 patients were in the non-survival group. 418 patients (93.5%) met the criteria of SIRS, and 440 patients (98.4%) met the criteria of pSOFA≥2. There was no significant difference in the number of items meeting the SIRS criteria between the survival group and the non-survival group (3(2, 4) vs. 3(3, 4) points, Z=1.30, P=0.192). The pSOFA score of the non-survival group was significantly higher than that of the survival group (9(6, 12) vs. 4(3, 7) points, Z=6.56, P<0.001), and the PCIS score was significantly lower than that of the survival group (72(68, 81) vs. 82(76, 88) points, Z=5.90, P<0.001). The predictive value of pSOFA (AUC=0.82) and PCIS (AUC=0.78) for sepsis mortality was significantly higher than that of SIRS (AUC=0.56) ( Z=6.59, 4.23, both P<0.001). There was no significant difference between pSOFA and PCIS ( Z=1.35, P=0.176). Platelet count, procalcitonin, lactic acid, albumin, creatinine, total bilirubin, activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time and international normalized ratio were all able to predict mortality of sepsis to a certain degree (AUC=0.64, 0.68, 0.80, 0.64, 0.68, 0.60, 0.77, 0.75, 0.76, all P<0.05). Conclusion:Compared with SIRS, both pSOFA and PCIS had better predictive value in the mortality of pediatric sepsis in PICU.

Sedentary bad habits and unhealthy diets in modern lifestyles have led to an upward trend in the incidence of obesity, and a series of diseases related to obesity have also gradually received attention. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, and obesity has a common inflammatory component with most chronic diseases. Therefore, this paper reviews the research progress on the relationship between obesity and multiple sclerosis in order to better understand the role of obesity in the management of multiple sclerosis.

Objective:To formulate a ladder type early activity program in order to provide a theoretical and practical basis for improving the current activity status of tumor patients with pulmonary embolism.Methods:This research was conducted experimentally. A total of 92 tumor patients diagnosed as pulmonary embolism from January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 in Sichuan Cancer Hospital were divided into control group and experimental group with 46 cases each by random number table method. In the control group, a routine activity program was carried out, and the patients were confined to bed for 7 days. The experimental group obtained the best evidence of early pulmonary embolism activity plan through evidence-based nursing, formed a nurse-led ladder type early pulmonary embolism activity team, and finally constructed and implemented the ladder type early activity plan. The mortality rate, new thrombosis in ICU for 3 days and 7 days, length of stay in ICU and patients′ comfort were compared between the two groups.Results:The mortality rates within 30 days after the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism were 4.35% (2/46) and 2.17% (1/46) respectively in the control group and the experimental group, with no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=0.35, P>0.05). The rates of new thrombosis were 15.22% (7/46) and 26.09% (12/46) in the control group, and 4.35% (2/46) and 4.35% (2/46) in the experimental group, respectively at 3 and 7 days after ICU admission, with a significant difference between the two groups at 7 days after ICU admission ( χ2=8.43, P<0.05). The length of stay in ICU and the score of General Comfort Questionnaire (GCQ) were (15.74 ± 11.11) days and (64.30 ± 15.54) points in the experimental group, respectively, while those in the control group were (11.07 ± 5.63)days and (73.84 ± 11.73) points, respectively. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( t=-2.55, -3.32, both P<0.05). Conclusions:The evidence-based ladder type early activity program for patients with pulmonary embolism caused by tumor will not increase the mortality of patients, but can ensure the safety of patients, reduce the incidence of new thrombosis and the length of ICU stay, improve the comfort of patients during the treatment of pulmonary embolism. It is worthy of clinical application.

Background The thyroid gland is one of the organs sensitive to ionizing radiation, and there are few studies on the effects of long-term exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation on the thyroid gland of radiation workers. Objective To investigate thyroid abnormalities in workers in medical radiology departments in Guangdong Province and to identify potential influencing factors of thyroid abnormalities. Methods A total of 1657 radiation workers from 48 hospitals in Guangdong Province were selected as survey subjects using convenience sampling, and their personal dose monitoring results and health examination information were retrospectively analyzed to determine the factors affecting thyroid abnormalities. Results The M (P₂₅, P₇₅) of thyroid absorbed dose (D_T) was 1.55 (0.65, 3.96) mGy in the 1657 investigated workers. The attribute-specific medians of D_T were 1.29, 1.38, 1.99, and 3.51 mGy for departments of diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, radiotherapy, and nuclear medicine, respectively; and 1.10, 1.55, and 1.80 mGy for job titles of nurse, technician, and physician, respectively. Differences in D_T by gender, age, years of radiological work, age of radiation exposure onset, occupational category, and job title were statistically significant (Z=−6.35, H=708.52, 918.20, 31.19, 95.64, 39.28, P<0.05). The positive rate of thyroid abnormalities in investigated workers was 46.53% (771/1657). Among them, the positive rate of abnormal thyroid function was 22.87% (379/1657), that of abnormal thyroid morphology was 33.98% (563/1657), and that of thyroid nodule was 26.55% (440/1657). The differences in thyroid abnormality rates by gender, age, years of radiation work, age of radiation exposure onset, D_T, and job title of radiation workers were statistically significant (χ²=51.89, 49.64, 20.54, 18.29, 12.07, 16.16, P<0.05). The differences in abnormal thyroid function positive rate by gender, age of radiation exposure onset, and job title were statistically significant (χ²=26.21, 6.21, 8.32, P<0.05). The differences in the positive rates of abnormal thyroid morphology and nodules were statistically significant by gender, age, years of radiological work, age of radiation exposure onset, D_T, and job title (abnormal thyroid morphology, χ²=40.24, 64.17, 37.63, 15.17, 19.28, 15.05; nodules, χ²=31.41, 77.98, 42.11, 19.16, 21.70, 13.52, P<0.05). The positive rates of thyroid abnormality, thyroid morphology abnormality, and nodules all showed a linear increasing trend with increasing age, years of radiation work, and age of radiation exposure onset (P<0.05). The results of logistic regression analysis indicated that the factors influencing thyroid abnormalities were female (OR=2.17, 95%CI: 1.72-2.74), increased years of radiological work (OR=1.04, 95%CI: 1.03-1.06), onset of radiation exposure in age groups of 30-34 and ≥35 years (OR=1.63, 95%CI: 1.12-2.37; OR=2.58, 95%CI: 1.74-3.29), and working in department of diagnostic radiology (OR=1.40, 95%CI: 1.07-1.84). Conclusion Long-term exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation has an effect on thyroid abnormalities in medical radiation workers. Among them, being female, physicians, and working in department of diagnostic radiology are at a higher risk of abnormal thyroid function; being female, increased years of radiation work, and radiation exposure onset at age ≥30 years are associated with a higher risk of reporting abnormal thyroid morphology.