ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) and cognitive dysfunction, and its mediating role between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cognitive dysfunction. MethodsA case-control study was conducted from May 2019 to April 2021 at the Shanghai Yangpu District Central Hospital, China. A total of 193 subjects were recruited and divided into two groups based on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): normal control (NC) group (n=95) and cognitive impairment group (n=98). The prevalence of T2DM was determined on the basis of medical history, while mtDNAcn in peripheral blood samples was quantified using realtime fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction. ResultsUnivariate analyses revealed that the mean mtDNAcn in the cognitive impairment group was 0.76±0.37, significantly lower than that in the NC group (1.06±0.45) (P<0.05). Logistic regression analyses showed that higher mtDNAcn was associated with a reduced risk of cognitive impairment (OR=0.315, 95%CI: 0.125‒0.795). Additionaly, a statistically significant positive correlation was observed between mtDNAcn and the total MoCA score (r=0.381, P<0.01). Morever, T2DM history (OR=2.741, 95%CI: 1.002‒7.497) and elevated glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels (OR=1.796, 95%CI: 1.190‒2.711) were identified as risk factors for cognitive impairment. Mediation analyses indicated that mtDNAcn served as a mediator between T2DM/HbA1c and the risk of cognitive impairment, with proportions of mediating effect of 9.04% and 9.18%, respectively. ConclusionPatients with mild and moderate cognitive impairment have significantly lower mtDNAcn than those with normal cognitive function. Reduced mtDNAcn is an influencing factor for cognitive dysfunction and may play a mediating role in the association between T2DM and mild to moderate cognitive impairment.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of Huayu Tongluo moxibustion on the NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3)/cysteine-aspartic acid protease-1 (Caspase-1)/gasdermin D (GSDMD) signaling pathway in rats with vascular dementia (VD), and to explore its mechanism in improving learning and memory ability and alleviating neuronal injury in the hippocampal CA1 region. METHODS: A total of 80 SPF-grade male Wistar rats were included. Three rats were excluded based on the Morris water maze test. From the remaining rats, 12 were randomly selected as the sham operation group. The rest were used to establish VD models via modified bilateral common carotid artery ligation. Thirty-six successfully modeled rats were randomly divided into a model group, a medication group, and a moxibustion group, with 12 rats in each group. The medication group was treated with nimodipine solution (12 mg/kg) via gavage. The moxibustion group was treated with Huayu Tongluo moxibustion. The suspended moxibustion was applied at Shenting (GV24) and Dazhui (GV14), and aconite cake-separated moxibustion was applied at Baihui (GV20), with each acupoint treated for 20 min. All treatments were administered once daily for 21 consecutive days. Before and after modeling, and after intervention, the Morris water maze test was used to assess cognitive function. After intervention, the activation and morphology of microglia in the hippocampal CA1 region were observed by immunofluorescence. Ultrastructure of hippocampal CA1 neurons was examined by transmission electron microscopy. Western blot was used to detect protein expression of NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein (ASC), Caspase-1, GSDMD, and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the hippocampal CA1 region. ELISA was used to detect the content of IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the hippocampal CA1 region. RESULTS: Compared with the sham operation group, the model group showed longer mean escape latency (P<0.01) and fewer platform crossings (P<0.01); the microglial processes in the hippocampal CA1 region were thickened, cytoplasm was hypertrophic, and relative fluorescence intensity of ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (IBA-1) was increased (P<0.05); the neuronal ultrastructure in the CA1 region was severely damaged, rough endoplasmic reticulum was swollen, mitochondria were deformed and swollen, some cristae were ruptured or dissolved, showing vacuolar changes; the protein expression of NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, GSDMD, and IL-1β, as well as levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were significantly elevated (P<0.001). Compared with the model group, both the medication group and the moxibustion group showed shortened mean escape latency (P<0.01) and increased platform crossings (P<0.01); the microglial processes were thinner, and IBA-1 fluorescence intensity was decreased (P<0.05); the neuronal ultrastructure in the CA1 region was partially improved; the protein expression of NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, GSDMD, and IL-1β, and levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were significantly reduced (P<0.001). Compared with the medication group, the moxibustion group showed shortened mean escape latency (P<0.05) and more platform crossings (P<0.05); the IBA-1 fluorescence intensity was decreased (P<0.05); the neuronal ultrastructure in the CA1 region was improved; the protein expression of NLRP3, ASC, Caspase-1, GSDMD, and IL-1β, as well as levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α, were significantly lower (P<0.001). CONCLUSION The Huayu Tongluo moxibustion could enhance learning and memory abilities in VD rats, inhibit excessive activation of microglia, and alleviate neuronal injury in the hippocampal CA1 region. Its mechanism may involve modulation of the NLRP3/Caspase-1/GSDMD signaling pathway, reduction of inflammatory responses.
Animals ; Male ; Dementia, Vascular/physiopathology* ; Rats ; Signal Transduction ; Moxibustion ; Rats, Wistar ; CA1 Region, Hippocampal/injuries* ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/genetics* ; Caspase 1/genetics* ; Memory ; Humans ; Neurons/metabolism* ; Learning

Emotion can reflect the psychological and physiological health of human beings, and the main expression of human emotion is voice and facial expression. How to extract and effectively integrate the two modes of emotion information is one of the main challenges faced by emotion recognition. In this paper, a multi-branch bidirectional multi-scale time perception model is proposed, which can detect the forward and reverse speech Mel-frequency spectrum coefficients in the time dimension. At the same time, the model uses causal convolution to obtain temporal correlation information between different scale features, and assigns attention maps to them according to the information, so as to obtain multi-scale fusion of speech emotion features. Secondly, this paper proposes a two-modal feature dynamic fusion algorithm, which combines the advantages of AlexNet and uses overlapping maximum pooling layers to obtain richer fusion features from different modal feature mosaic matrices. Experimental results show that the accuracy of the multi-branch bidirectional multi-scale time sensing dual-modal emotion recognition model proposed in this paper reaches 97.67% and 90.14% respectively on the two public audio and video emotion data sets, which is superior to other common methods, indicating that the proposed emotion recognition model can effectively capture emotion feature information and improve the accuracy of emotion recognition.
Humans ; Emotions ; Algorithms ; Facial Expression ; Time Perception ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Speech

Background Multiple studies have shown a close relationship between changes in gut microbiota composition and obesity, and research results are influenced by factors such as race and geographical location, but there are few studies on children. Objective To analyze the diversity of gut microbiota related to obesity in a population of 2-6 years old, observe the distribution characteristics and species differences of gut microbiota between obese/overweight and normal weight groups, and explore the association betweenobese/overweight and gut microbiota diversity. Methods Fecal samples were collected from 74 children aged 2-6 years in Shanghai, including 18 obese/overweight individuals, 6 males and 12 females (male to female ratio of 1∶2), and 56 normal weight individuals, 18 males and 38 females (male to female ratio is nearly 1∶2). The 16S rDNA was extracted from bacteria in fecal samples, followed by PCR amplification, cDNA construction, and high-throughput sequencing. Naive Bayes algorithm was used to perform taxonomic analysis (phylum, class, order, family, genus, species) and community diversity analysis (Sobs index, Shannon index, Shannoneven index, Coverage index, PD index, and principal co-ordinates analysis) on representative sequences and abundance of amplicon sequence variants (ASV). Wilcoxon rank sum test, P-value multiple test correction, and analysis of similarities were used to test differences between the two groups to obtain information on the distribution characteristics and species differences of intestinal microbiota in children. Results Seventy-four fecal samples were sequenced, and the sequencing results were subjected to quality control and filtering. A total of 4905306 optimized sequences were obtained, resulting in 1860 ASVs. The diversity data analysis of ASVs generated 889 species annotation results at 8 taxonomic levels. The alpha diversity analysis showed that the richness (Sobs index), diversity (Shannon index), evenness (Shannoneven index), and phylogenetic diversity (PD index) of fecal community of the obese/overweight children were increased compared to those of the normal weight children, but there were no statistical differences between the two groups (P>0.05). The beta diversity analysis showed that there was little difference in the composition of microbial species between the two groups, and no significant clustering separation was observed. The results of species composition analysis at phylum, order, family, and genus levels of 74 samples showed a consistent core microbiota structure in the two groups of gut microbiota, but there were differences in microbiota composition. The differences in microbial community composition between the two groups were manifested at the taxonomic levels of order, family, and genus, among which phylum Firmicutes, order Erysipelotrichales, family Erysipelatocyclostridiaceae, genus Erysipelotrichaceae_ UCG-003 and genus Catenibacterium were significantly enriched in the obese/overweight group and contributed significantly to the phenotypic difference of obese/overweight [linear discriminant analysis (LDA)=3.72, P<0.01; LDA=3.29, P<0.05). Phylum Proteobacteria, order Enterobacterales, family Enterobacteriaceae, genus unclassified was significantly enriched in the normal weight group and contributed significantly to the phenotypic difference of normal body weight (LDA=3.93, P<0.05). Conclusion The richness and diversity of gut microbiota in obese/overweight children aged 2-6 years in Shanghai are increased, but there is no difference compared to normal weight children. There is a difference in the composition of gut microbiota between the obese/overweight group and the normal weight group.

Objective To investigate the relationship between polymorphism of resistin(RETN)gene and metabolic associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD)in type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)patients in middle and high altitude areas.Methods A total of 400 patients with T2DM in Qinghai area were recruited and divided into simple T2DM group(T2DM,n=200)and T2DM combined with MAFLD group(T2DM+ MAFLD,n=200)according to liver ultrasonography.Healthy individuals confirmed by physical examination were selected as the normal control group(NC,n=180).Plasma resistin levels were measured by ELISA.The polymorphism of RETN-420C/G and +299G/A genes were detected by PCR sequencing.Results By comparing the polymorphism of RETN-420C/G gene in each group,it was found that the frequencies of G/G genotype and G allele frequency in T2DM+MAFLD group were higher than those in NC group and T2DM group(P<0.05),while the frequencies of C/C genotype and C allele frequency were lower than those in NC group and T2DM group(P<0.05).The risk of MAFLD increased by 1.571,2.126 and 1.537 times respectively in T2DM patients with C/G,G/G genotype and G allele.Logistic regression analysis showed that G/G genotype was a risk factor for MAFLD in T2DM patients.By comparing the polymorphism of RETN+299G/A gene in each group,it was found that A allele frequency in T2DM+MAFLD group was higher than that in NC group and T2DM group,while G allele frequency was lower than that in NC group and T2DM group(P<0.05).The allele A increased the risk of MAFLD in T2DM patients by 1.432 times compared to allele G.Conclusion RETN gene-420C/G locus G/G genotype increases the risk of T2DM combined with MAFLD in middle and high altitudeareas.

ObjectiveTo analyze the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of confirmed cases of human monkeypox infection in Changning District， Shanghai， and to explore their clinical and epidemiological characteristics. MethodsClinical data from 10 reported cases of monkeypox in individuals residing in Changning District or identified by local medical institutions between July 20 and September 30， 2023， were collected. Epidemiological case investigations were conducted， and throat swabs， anal swabs， and rash swabs were collected by the treating medical institutions. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used for monkeypox virus nucleic acid testing， and descriptive epidemiological analysis was applied to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of the cases. ResultsAll 10 confirmed cases of human monkeypox infection were all young males with an average age of 35.4 years， all of whom belonged to the men who have sex with men （MSM） population， with no occupational clustering. The primary clinical symptoms included fever， rash， enlarged inguinal lymph nodes， and muscle soreness. Nine cases presented with a rash， and seven cases experienced fever symptoms. Among the 10 cases， one experienced fever， rash， enlarged lymph nodes， and muscle soreness； two had fever， rash， and enlarged lymph nodes； two had fever， rash， and systemic soreness； two had only a rash； one had fever or rash； and one was asymptomatic. Among the nine cases with a rash， the rash was mainly localized to the genital or anal area， with fewer cases presenting rashes on the limbs or trunk simultaneously. All cases reported a history of non-exclusive MSM behavior within 21 days before the onset of the disease. The interval between the last suspected high-risk exposure and the onset of symptoms was 4 to 10 days， with an average interval of 6.9 days. The time from the onset of fever to the appearance of a rash was 0 to 5 days， with an average of 1.87 days. ConclusionThe main clinical manifestations of human infection with monkeypox are fever， rash， and enlarged inguinal lymph nodes. The MSM population is a high-risk group for monkeypox infection， and its source of infection may be associated with MSM exposure. Early-stage symptoms are mild， leading to potential underdiagnosis. Additionally， patients may conceal information during the investigation process， which increases the difficulty of epidemic prevention and control.

ObjectiveTo explore the risk of different levels of pre-pregnancy obesity on trimester-specific thyroid dysfunction. MethodsQuestionnaire information， blood samples， and urine samples from a 2017 pregnancy cohort study in Shanghai， China were collected. A total of 2 455 pregnant women were included in the analysis. Pre-pregnancy BMI was calculated based on the height and self-reported pre-pregnancy weight. Serum TSH， total thyroxine （TT4）， free thyroxine （FT4）， total triiodothyronine （TT3）， free triiodothyronine （FT3）， thyroid globulin antibody（TgAb）， and Thyroid peroxidase antibody （TPOAb） were measured using the electrochemiluminescence method. Urine iodine levels were measured using the acid digestion method. Levels of thyroid function indexes of pregnant women with different degrees of obesity during pre-pregnancy were compared， and trimester-specific thyroid dysfunction was evaluated according to the reference range of trimester-specific thyroid hormone established by this cohort. Multivariate logistic regressions analysis was used to assess the correlation between pre-pregnancy obesity and trimester-specific thyroid dysfunction. ResultsAs the degree of obesity increased， maternal levels of FT3 and TT3 gradually increased during pregnancy （P<0.001， P=0.001）， while FT4 levels gradually decreased （P=0.001）. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with the normal weight group， pregnant women who were overweight or obesity before pregnancy had a significantly higher risk of hypothyroxinemia （OR=3.85， 95%CI： 2.08‒7.14， P<0.001） and high TT3 （OR=2.78， 95%CI： 1.45‒5.26， P=0.002） during pregnancy. ConclusionPre-pregnancy overweight or obesity can increase the risk of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy.

Objective:To analyze the development status,frontiers and hotspots of radiomics research in the past five years from 2019 to 2023,and to provide theoretical reference and guidance for radiomics research in China.Methods:The relevant literature in the field of radiomics published in the core database of Web of Science(WOS)from January 1,2003 to August 10,2023 were searched.According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,6,777 eligible literatures were screened and obtained,including 6,254 articles in the past five years from January 1,2019 to August 10,2023.Bibliometric methods were used to analyze the clustering of countries and regions,institutions,journals,authors,keywords and draw visual maps.Results:The 6,777 radiomics-related articles published between 2003 and 2023 were first published in 2011,and the number of papers tended to stabilize in 2018,and then the number showed a significant trend of increasing year by year.Among the 6,254 articles published from 2019 to 2023,China(3,564 articles),United States(1,164 articles),and Italy(530 articles)ranked the top 3 in terms of publication volume,with close cooperation between countries.General Electric of the United States published the most papers(448 articles),and the journal Frontiers in Oncology(704 papers)ranked first in terms of paper publication volume.From 2019 to 2023,the diseases of concern in the field of radiomics are rectal cancer,hepatocellular carcinoma,breast cancer,and lung cancer(especially non-small cell lung cancer).Conclusion:Although China ranks first in the number of national publications,the quality of research still needs to be improved.In the future,the research trend in the field of radiomics may be the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of various diseases,the prediction and evaluation of curative effect,the evaluation of tumor disease metastasis and the identification of gene phenotype based on radiomics combined with multiple imaging techniques.

ObjectiveTo explore the quality differences between steamed products and raw products of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium（CRP）. MethodThe color of steamed products and raw products of CRP was determined from the perspective of appearance by electronic eye technique， and the quality differences between them was objectively characterized by the luminous value（L^*）， yellow-blue value（b^*）， red-green value（a^*） and total chromatic value（E^*_ab）. Based on this， ultra-high performance liquid chromatography（UPLC） was used to establish a fingerprint evaluation method with the mobile phase of acetonitrile（A）-0.1% formic acid aqueous solution（B） for gradient elution（0-5 min， 5%A； 5-30 min， 5%-20%A； 30-60 min， 20%-52%A）， detection wavelength at 270 nm， flow rate of 0.3 mL·min^-1 and column temperature of 30 ℃. The quality differences between steamed products and raw products of CRP were compared from the perspective of chemical composition， and correlation analysis was used to reveal the correlation between the difference in appearance color and the difference in internal chemical composition. ResultAfter being steamed， L^*， b^* and E^*_ab of CRP showed an overall decreasing trend， indicating that the color of the steamed products darkened and deepened from yellow to blue but still tended to be yellow， while a^* showed an overall increasing trend， indicating that the color of the steamed products tended to red. A total of 24 peaks were identified in the fingerprint profiles of raw products and steamed products of CRP， and 13 of the main peaks were identified. The precision， stability and repeatability studies showed that compared with the reference peak （peak 14， hesperidin）， the relative standard deviations（RSDs） of the relative peak area and relative retention time of the remaining peaks were<3.0%.The results of chemometric statistical analysis showed that there were some differences between raw products and steamed products of CRP， and 7 main differential components were identified， among which 5-hydroxymaltol（peak 1） and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural（peak 2） were the characteristic components of steamed products. The correlation analysis results showed that， in addition to the above two characteristic components， four components of peak 4， peak 10 （vicenin-2）， peak 23 （tangeretin） and peak 24 （5-demethylnobiletin） also correlated significantly with the color change （E^*_ab） of the samples （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionBefore and after steaming， not only the chemical composition changes， but also the color. Comparing the characteristic peaks of chemical composition difference and color difference before and after steaming of CRP， it is found that 5-hydroxymaltol， 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and peak 4 are common characteristic difference components， which can provide a reference for establishing the characteristic quality control method of steamed products， and quickly evaluating the quality difference between raw products and steamed products of CRP.

Background::A simplified protocol for regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) using a commercial calcium-containing replacement solution, without continuous calcium infusion, is more efficient for use in continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). We aim to design a randomized clinical trial to compare the safety and efficacy between calcium-free and calcium-containing replacement solutions in CRRT with RCA.Methods::Of the 64 patients receiving RCA-based postdilution continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) enrolled from 2017 to 2019 in West China Hospital of Sichuan University, 35 patients were randomized to the calcium-containing group and 29 to the calcium-free replacement solution group. The primary endpoint was circuit lifespan and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed. Secondary endpoints included hospital mortality, kidney function recovery rate, and complications. The amount of 4% trisodium citrate solution infusion was recorded. Serum and effluent total (tCa) and ionized (iCa) calcium concentrations were measured during CVVHDF.Results::A total of 149 circuits (82 in the calcium-containing group and 67 in the calcium-free group) and 7609 circuit hours (4335 h vs. 3274 h) were included. The mean circuit lifespan was 58.1 h (95% CI 53.8-62.4 h) in the calcium-containing group vs. 55.3 h (95% CI 49.7-60.9 h, log rank P = 0.89) in the calcium-free group. The serum tCa and iCa concentrations were slightly lower in the calcium-containing group during CRRT, whereas the postfilter iCa concentration was lower in the calcium-free group. Moreover, the mean amounts of 4% trisodium citrate solution infusion were not significantly different between the groups (171.1 ± 15.9 mL/h vs. 169.0 ± 15.1 mL/h, P = 0.49). The mortality (14/35 [40%] vs. 13/29 [45%], P = 0.70) and kidney function recovery rates of AKI patients (19/26, 73% vs. 14/24, 58%, P = 0.27) were comparable between the calcium-containing and calcium-free group during hospitalization, respectively. Six (three in each group) patients showed signs of citrate accumulation in this study. Conclusions::When compared with calcium-free replacement solution, RCA-based CVVHDF with calcium-containing replacement solution had a similar circuit lifespan, hospital mortality and kidney outcome. Since the calcium-containing solution obviates the need for a separate venous catheter and a large dose of intravenous calcium solution preparation for continuous calcium supplementation, it is more convenient to be applied in RCA-CRRT practice.Registration::Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ( www.chictr.org.cn, ChiCTR-IPR-17012629)