Objective:To evaluate the value of ultrasound radiomics combined with machine learning for early diagnosis of seronegative Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (SN-HT) .Methods:This retrospective study included 164 patients from Liaoning Provincial People’s Hospital , Lixin County People’s Hospital, Linghai Dalinghe Hospital, Fengcheng Phoenix Hospital, who underwent thyroidectomy for solitary nodules with normal thyroid function between Nov. 2016 and Jan. 2024. Postoperative pathology confirmed Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) in some cases, who were further categorized into antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups based on serum antibody status. Patients without Hashimoto’s thyroiditis served as the control group. A total of 298 ultrasound images were analyzed. Radiomics features were extracted from hypoechoic non-nodular areas within 0.5 cm surrounding the tumor. Two senior pathologists and two senior ultrasound physicians independently assessed lymphocytic infiltration, eosinophilic changes of follicular epithelium, and the proportion of hypoechoic areas in pathology and ultrasound images, respectively. A machine learning model, CCH-NET, was developed using linear regression and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) techniques. The dataset was divided into a training set (80%) and a validation set (20%) to compare the diagnostic accuracy of CCH-NET with that of senior ultrasound physicians. Results:In internal validation, CCH-NET achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 88.89% for both antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups, significantly higher than the 66.67% accuracy of senior ultrasound physicians ( P<0.01). In external validation, CCH-NET achieved 75.00% and 66.67% accuracy for the two groups, compared to 50.00% by senior ultrasound physicians. For the control group, both methods achieved 93.33% accuracy. The AUC of CCH-NET was 0.848, outperforming senior ultrasound physicians (0.681) ,demonstrating superior diagnostic performance. Conclusion:The radiomics-based CCH-NET model, using non-nodular hypoechoic areas as a specific indicator, can accurately identify early SN-HT in euthyroid patients. It significantly outperforms senior ultrasound physicians, improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing missed diagnoses.

BACKGROUND:Cervical instability is a common orthopedic disease in young and middle-aged people,and is the early manifestation of cervical spondylosis,which has a great impact on the quality of life of patients.Therefore,early diagnosis of cervical instability to implement early intervention has positive clinical and social significance.OBJECTIVE:The clinical prediction model of cervical instability in young and middle-aged people was constructed based on machine learning to realize early screening of cervical instability in young and middle-aged people before X-ray examination.METHODS:From September 2022 to October 2023,155 young and middle-aged adults with cervical instability and 88 with non-cervical instability recruited through recruitment advertisements and spinal department outpatient of Wangjing Hospital,China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences were selected as research subjects.The research subjects'general information,living and working habits,discomfort symptoms,visual analog scale score,Neck Disability Index,and 36-ltem Short Form Health Survey were collected on site based on questionnaires.The above information was used as predictive factors.After screening,six machine learning algorithms of Support Vector Machine,LightGBM,RandomForest,Logistic,AdaBoost,and XGBClassifier were used to train the model by ten-fold cross-validation method,and the clinical prediction model of cervical instability was constructed.Area under the curve was used as the main evaluation index.Univariate analysis was performed on the predictors,and SHAP method was used to rank the importance of the predictors.Correlation heat maps were used to show the degree of linear correlation between the predictors and the cervical instability.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Among the six machine learning models,RandomForest model was chosen as the final prediction model,including nine predictors,such as age,body mass index,neck circumference/neck length,visual analog scale score,Neck Disability Index,bodily pain,general health,vitality,and mental health,area under the curve=0.725 4,and the calibration degree was good.It could be used as a reference tool for early screening of cervical instability in young and middle-aged people.(2)There were significant differences in age,visual analog scale score,Neck Disability Index,bodily pain,general health,and vitality between the two groups(P＜0.05).(3)The order of importance of predictors was age,Neck Disability Index,visual analog scale score,general health,body mass index,vitality,bodily pain,neck circumference/neck length,mental health,among which age,visual analog scale score,Neck Disability Index were positively correlated with cervical instability,while general health,body mass index,vitality,bodily pain,neck circumference/neck length,and mental health were negatively correlated with cervical instability.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy and impact on quality of life of the biofeedback (BF) therapy combined with the Wenyang Yiqi Prescription and self-efficacy interventions in patients with functional defecation disorders (FDD).Methods:A prospective, randomized controlled trial design was employed. A total of 128 FDD patients were selected from the Pelvic Floor Center of the Department of Proctology, Suzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, between January 2021 and April 2023. These patients were randomly divided into two groups, with 64 cases in each group. Additionally, 41 historical control patients, who had received conventional BF training between June 2015 and January 2018 at the same center, were included for comparison. The historical control group received conventional BF therapy, the intervention group 1 combined BF therapy with self-efficacy interventions, and the intervention group 2 added the Wenyang Yiqi Prescription based on intervention group 1's treatment. All three groups underwent two treatment courses. Constipation symptom scores before and after treatment were performed; self-efficacy was assessed via the Self-Rated Abilities for Health Practices scale (SRAHP); health behaviors were evaluated using the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP); anxiety and depression were evaluated through Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS); quality of life was measured through SF-36. Clinical efficacy was evaluated based on constipation symptom scores.Results:During the treatment period, seven patients dropped out due to personal reasons, leaving 61 patients in intervention group 1 and 60 patients in intervention group 2 for efficacy analysis.　The total effective rates were 80.32% (49/61) in intervention group 1, 83.33% (50/60) in intervention group 2, and 56.10% (23/41) in the historical control group. The total effective rates of both intervention groups were significantly higher than those in the historical control group ( χ2=7.06, 9.15; P=0.029, 0.010, respectively). After treatment, intervention group 2 showed significantly lower constipation-related straining scores [1 (1, 2) vs. 2 (1, 2), Z=-4.51] compared to intervention group 1 ( P<0.05). Additionally, intervention group 2 had lower scores for straining [1 (1, 2) vs. 2 (1, 2), Z=-3.15] and defecation time [1 (0, 1) vs. 1 (1, 2), Z=-3.13] compared to the historical control group ( P<0.05). Psychological comfort efficacy (19.13 ± 2.51 vs. 16.98 ± 1.86, t=5.36), health responsibility efficacy (23.63 ± 4.69 vs. 22.59 ± 3.05, t=2.06), and overall SRAHP scores (75.98 ± 4.44 vs. 72.33 ± 5.16, t=4.17) were higher in intervention group 2 compared to intervention group 1 ( P<0.05). The HPLP scores (79.33 ± 11.13 vs. 72.80 ± 9.20, t=3.10) of intervention group 2 were higher than those of the historical control group ( P<0.05). Emotional functioning scores (75.98 ± 18.45 vs. 68.92 ± 20.58 and 68.55 ± 18.21, F=20.91) in intervention group 2 were higher than in both intervention group 1 and the historical control group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The combination of the Wenyang Yiqi Prescription with BF therapy and self-efficacy interventions effectively improves the clinical symptoms and quality of life in FDD patients.

Turning to critical illness is a common stage of various diseases and injuries before death. Patients usually have complex health conditions, while the treatment process involves a wide range of content, along with high requirements for doctor′s professionalism and multi-specialty teamwork, as well as a great demand for time-sensitive treatments. However, this is not matched with critical care professionals and the current state of medical care in China. Telemedicine, which shortens the distance of medical professionals and the gap of disease diagnosis and treatments in various regions through electronic information, can effectively solve the current problem. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a standardized, high-quality visualization telemedicine round system .Therefore, experts have been organized to search domestic and foreign literature on telemedicine round for critically ill patients and to form this consensus based on clinical experiences so as to further improve the level of critical care treatments in regions.

Objective To explore the experiences of master degree nursing students and their supervisors under the dual-supervisor system.Methods A phenomenological research was adopted in this study eighteen master degree nursing students,five principle supervisors and four assistant supervisors from our university were selected through purposive sampling for semi-structured interviews between July and September 2023.Data acquired from the interviews was analysed using Colaizzi's method to summarise and extract the themes.Results Three main themes and eleven sub-themes were extracted,including the collaborative framework of the dual-mentor system(discrepancies in the perception of the dual-mentor system between faculty and students,the selection and matching process for associate mentors,the division of responsibilities and collaborative dynamics between primary and associate mentors,student-centered personalized training strategies,context-specific guidance provided by associate mentors,and the extent to which inter-role communication relies on student initiative),the benefits of the dual-mentor system(encompassing diversified academic and professional guidance,as well as integrated theoretical and practical support)and the expectations held by faculty and students regarding the dual-mentor system(refining institutional design and reinforcing accountability,enhancing the support infrastructure for associate mentors,and improving the tripartite communication mechanism among faculty,students,and associate mentors).Conclusion In nursing postgraduate education,the roles and responsibilities within the dual-mentor system can be more clearly delineated,and inter-mentor collaboration should be further strengthened.It is recommended to enhance tripartite communication among faculty,students,and associate mentors to foster the effective implementation and development of the dual-mentor system.

Objective:To evaluate the value of ultrasound radiomics combined with machine learning for early diagnosis of seronegative Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (SN-HT) .Methods:This retrospective study included 164 patients from Liaoning Provincial People’s Hospital , Lixin County People’s Hospital, Linghai Dalinghe Hospital, Fengcheng Phoenix Hospital, who underwent thyroidectomy for solitary nodules with normal thyroid function between Nov. 2016 and Jan. 2024. Postoperative pathology confirmed Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) in some cases, who were further categorized into antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups based on serum antibody status. Patients without Hashimoto’s thyroiditis served as the control group. A total of 298 ultrasound images were analyzed. Radiomics features were extracted from hypoechoic non-nodular areas within 0.5 cm surrounding the tumor. Two senior pathologists and two senior ultrasound physicians independently assessed lymphocytic infiltration, eosinophilic changes of follicular epithelium, and the proportion of hypoechoic areas in pathology and ultrasound images, respectively. A machine learning model, CCH-NET, was developed using linear regression and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) techniques. The dataset was divided into a training set (80%) and a validation set (20%) to compare the diagnostic accuracy of CCH-NET with that of senior ultrasound physicians. Results:In internal validation, CCH-NET achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 88.89% for both antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups, significantly higher than the 66.67% accuracy of senior ultrasound physicians ( P<0.01). In external validation, CCH-NET achieved 75.00% and 66.67% accuracy for the two groups, compared to 50.00% by senior ultrasound physicians. For the control group, both methods achieved 93.33% accuracy. The AUC of CCH-NET was 0.848, outperforming senior ultrasound physicians (0.681) ,demonstrating superior diagnostic performance. Conclusion:The radiomics-based CCH-NET model, using non-nodular hypoechoic areas as a specific indicator, can accurately identify early SN-HT in euthyroid patients. It significantly outperforms senior ultrasound physicians, improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing missed diagnoses.

Objective:To investigate the changes in sympathetic nerve activity after lower limb immobilization and the role of sympathetic nerve in regulating disuse atrophy of skeletal muscles.Methods:The experiment was divided into the following 3 parts: ① Twelve 8-week-old male C57 mice were randomly divided into a blank control group and a hind limb fixation group ( n=6). The blank control group received no intervention while the hind limb fixation group received splint fixation of the hind limbs for 2 weeks before the musculoskeletal multi-dimensional characterization was completed at the behavioral, pathological and molecular levels. ② Thirty-six 8-week-old male C57 mice were selected and randomly divided into a control group and 5 hind limb fixation groups (for 1, 3, 5, 7 and 14 days) ( n=6). The control group was fed normally until 14 days without any intervention while the 5 hind limb fixation groups were sampled after fixation for 1, 3, 5, 7 and 14 days, respectively. The level of norepinephrine in the serum and the expression level of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a marker of sympathetic nerve activity in the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus (PVN), were detected to observe the plasticity of sympathetic nerve activity. ③ Eighteen 8-week-old male C57 mice were selected and randomly divided into a blank control group, a hind limb fixation group and a hind limb fixation plus medication group ( n=6). The blank control group received no intervention while the 2 fixation groups were injected with phosphate buffer (PBS) and propranolol hydrochloride solution for 2 consecutive weeks, respectively. The parameters related to the skeletal muscles were compared between the 3 groups. Results:① Compared with the control group, the mass and function of skeletal muscles in the hind limb fixation group were statistically significantly decreased ( P<0.05). ② The levels of serum norepinephrine [(3.27±1.03) ng/mL, (9.21±1.05) ng/mL, (6.36±0.88) ng/mL, (3.84±1.00) ng/mL, and (3.91±0.75) ng/mL] and the PVN TH levels (42.00%±5.38%, 61.67%±5.57%, 55.82%±3.11%, 50.90%±2.53%, and 39.17%±9.07%) in the 5 hind limb fixation groups (for 1, 3, 5, 7 and 14 days) were significantly higher than those in the control group [(1.81±0.72)] ng/mL and 23.33%±5.50%] ( P<0.05). ③ The wet weight of the gastrocnemius muscle [(93.50±4.32) mg] and the cross-section area of the tibial anterior muscle [(1,180.00±95.09) μm 2] in the hind limb fixation plus medication group were increased significantly compared with those in the hind limb fixation group [(80.83±9.99) mg and (907.80±121.00) μm 2] ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system occurs in the mice model of skeletal muscle disuse atrophy after hind limb fixation. Inhibition of sympathetic nerve activity may reduce the severity of skeletal muscle atrophy at the lower limbs.

Purpose: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common male sexual dysfunction. Gut microbiota plays an important role in various diseases. To investigate the effects and mechanisms of intestinal flora dysregulation induced by high-fat diet (HFD) on erectile function. Materials and Methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into the normal diet (ND) and HFD groups. After 24 weeks, a measurement of erectile function was performed. We performed 16S rRNA sequencing of stool samples. Then, we established fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) rat models by transplanting fecal microbiota from rats of ND group and HFD group to two new groups of rats respectively. After 24 weeks, erectile function of the rats was evaluated and 16S rRNA sequencing was performed, and serum samples were collected for the untargeted metabolomics detection. Results: The erectile function of rats and the species diversity of intestinal microbiota in the HFD group was significantly lower, and the characteristics of the intestinal microbiota community structure were also significantly different between the two groups. The erectile function of rats in the HFD-FMT group was significantly lower than that of rats in the ND-FMT group. The characteristics of the intestinal microbiota community structure were significantly different. In the HFD-FMT group, 27 metabolites were significantly different and they were mainly involved in the several inflammation-related pathways. Conclusions Intestinal microbiota disorders induced by HFD can damage the intestinal barrier of rats, change the serum metabolic profile, induce low-grade inflammation and apoptosis in the corpus cavernosum of the penis, and lead to ED.

Purpose: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common male sexual dysfunction. Gut microbiota plays an important role in various diseases. To investigate the effects and mechanisms of intestinal flora dysregulation induced by high-fat diet (HFD) on erectile function. Materials and Methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into the normal diet (ND) and HFD groups. After 24 weeks, a measurement of erectile function was performed. We performed 16S rRNA sequencing of stool samples. Then, we established fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) rat models by transplanting fecal microbiota from rats of ND group and HFD group to two new groups of rats respectively. After 24 weeks, erectile function of the rats was evaluated and 16S rRNA sequencing was performed, and serum samples were collected for the untargeted metabolomics detection. Results: The erectile function of rats and the species diversity of intestinal microbiota in the HFD group was significantly lower, and the characteristics of the intestinal microbiota community structure were also significantly different between the two groups. The erectile function of rats in the HFD-FMT group was significantly lower than that of rats in the ND-FMT group. The characteristics of the intestinal microbiota community structure were significantly different. In the HFD-FMT group, 27 metabolites were significantly different and they were mainly involved in the several inflammation-related pathways. Conclusions Intestinal microbiota disorders induced by HFD can damage the intestinal barrier of rats, change the serum metabolic profile, induce low-grade inflammation and apoptosis in the corpus cavernosum of the penis, and lead to ED.

Purpose: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common male sexual dysfunction. Gut microbiota plays an important role in various diseases. To investigate the effects and mechanisms of intestinal flora dysregulation induced by high-fat diet (HFD) on erectile function. Materials and Methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into the normal diet (ND) and HFD groups. After 24 weeks, a measurement of erectile function was performed. We performed 16S rRNA sequencing of stool samples. Then, we established fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) rat models by transplanting fecal microbiota from rats of ND group and HFD group to two new groups of rats respectively. After 24 weeks, erectile function of the rats was evaluated and 16S rRNA sequencing was performed, and serum samples were collected for the untargeted metabolomics detection. Results: The erectile function of rats and the species diversity of intestinal microbiota in the HFD group was significantly lower, and the characteristics of the intestinal microbiota community structure were also significantly different between the two groups. The erectile function of rats in the HFD-FMT group was significantly lower than that of rats in the ND-FMT group. The characteristics of the intestinal microbiota community structure were significantly different. In the HFD-FMT group, 27 metabolites were significantly different and they were mainly involved in the several inflammation-related pathways. Conclusions Intestinal microbiota disorders induced by HFD can damage the intestinal barrier of rats, change the serum metabolic profile, induce low-grade inflammation and apoptosis in the corpus cavernosum of the penis, and lead to ED.