Background Coal workers' pneumoconiosis is a serious occupational disease in China. Exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can serve as the "breath fingerprint" of internal pathological processes, which provides a theoretical basis for exhaled VOCs to be used as potential non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Objective To screen out the characteristic VOCs and important characteristic VOCs of exhaled air in patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis, and to explore the potential of these VOCs as biomarkers for early non-invasive diagnosis of the disease. Methods In this study, 27 VOCs in the exhaled breath of 22 patients with stage I coal workers' pneumoconiosis, 77 workers exposed to dust, and 92 healthy controls were quantitatively detected by thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Substances with P<0.05 in univariate analysis and variable importance projection (VIP) >1 in supervised orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model were selected as the characteristic VOCs for early diagnosis of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Age was included in the LASSO regression model as a covariate to screen out important characteristic VOCs, and the diagnostic performance was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Spearman correlation was further used to explore the correlation between important characteristic VOCs and clinical lung function indicators. Results Through univariate analysis and OPLS-DA modeling, 8 VOCs were selected, including 2-methylpentane, 3-methylpentane, n-hexane, methylcyclopentane, n-heptane, methylcyclohexane, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and 2-hexanone, in exhaled breath of patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. The concentrations of 4 VOCs, including 3-methylpentane, n-hexane, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and 2-hexanone, showed a decreasing trend with the increase of dust exposure years. By LASSO regression, the important characteristic VOCs of the coal workers' pneumoconiosis group and the dust exposure group were n-hexane, methylcyclohexane and 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and the important characteristic VOCs of the coal workers' pneumoconiosis group and the healthy group were 2-methyl-pentane and 4-methyl-2-pentanone. The ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of n-hexane, methylcyclohexane, and 4-methyl-2-pentanone were 0.969, 0.909, and 0.956, respectively, and the AUC of combined diagnosis was 0.988 and its Youden index was 0.961, suggesting that these results can serve as a valuable reference for further research on early diagnosis. The Correlation analysis found that there was a positive correlation between n-hexane and lung function indicators in the important characteristic VOCs, indicating that it could indirectly reflect the obstruction of lung function ventilation, further proving that important characteristic VOCs have the potential to monitor lung function decline. Conclusion Three important characteristic VOCs selected in this study have the potential to be used as non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis and disease monitoring of coal workers' pneumoconiosis, and are worthy of further study and verification.

Acupuncture is an ancient treatment method used in traditional Chinese medicine and has been popularized worldwide. Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the amount of acupuncture research, mostly comprised of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that aimed to answer the question on the efficacy of acupuncture. However, poor methodology and low replicability in these acupuncture RCTs have resulted in uncertainty about the efficacy of acupuncture. In this review, current advancements and challenges in acupuncture RCTs, regarding the methodological aspects of randomization, blinding, sham acupuncture and quality of reporting, were discussed. While there have been advancements in various aspects, current acupuncture RCTs still face pressing issues such as inadequate randomization and blinding, unviable sham acupuncture controls, and poor reporting quality. Given these limitations, this review seeks to identify the methodological problems that are responsible for these problems and to suggest solutions that could help to overcome them so as to improve the quality of future studies evaluating the efficacy of acupuncture. Please cite this article as: Seetoh WS, Lim RQR, Xu RB, Sun MX, Zhang P, Wang MN. Advancements and challenges of acupuncture randomized controlled trials. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(4): 333-343.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic/methods* ; Research Design

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to evaluate the changes in the mandibular canal following the treatment of large odontogenic keratocysts through decompression and curettage, providing a theoretical basis for sequential treatment. METHODS: Twenty patients were selected for each decompression and curettage treatment of large odontogenic keratocysts in the mandible. Postoperative follow-up with was conducted every three months, during which cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were performed. Then, the data were imported into MIMICS software to observe 3D changes in the position and structure of the mandibular nerve canal, followed by a comparative analysis. RESULTS: The total displacement of the mandibular canal was (1.89±0.21) mm on the decompression side and (0.80±0.19) mm on the curettage side. Vertically, the displacement range of the mandibular canal on the decompression side (M=1.03, SD=0.17) was larger than on the curettage side (M=0.52, SD=0.010) within nine months post-operation. In the buccal-lingual direction, the ratio of the thickness of the buccal plate to the lingual plate gradually increased with time. The amount of bone reconstruction at the part of the mandibular nerve canal closest to the cyst was (1.75±0.15) mm on the decompression side and (1.45±0.09) mm on the curettage side after nine months. CONCLUSIONS The mandibular nerve canal showed varying degrees of recovery and "relocation" after two surgical procedures. Osteogenesis around the mandibular nerve canal was more remarkable after decompression than after curettage. Therefore, for large odontogenic keratocyst, decompression is recommended as the initial treatment, followed by secondary curettage nine months later.
Humans ; Odontogenic Cysts/diagnostic imaging* ; Retrospective Studies ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Decompression, Surgical/methods* ; Mandibular Nerve/surgery* ; Mandible/innervation* ; Curettage ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged

Objective To evaluate the value of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging(DCE-MRI)in differentiating histopathological types of brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).Methods Sixty-eight patients with brain metastases confirmed by pathology were collected,including 47 lung adenocarcinoma patients divided into a lung adenocarcinoma group and 21 lung squamous cell carcinoma patients into a lung squamous cell carcinoma group.The two groups were compared in terms of the DCE-MRI derived parameters including volume transfer constant(Ktrans),extra vascular extracellular volume fraction(Ve)and plasma volume fraction(Vp);ROC curves were used to assess the diagnostic efficacy of different quantitative parameters for the pathologic types of brain metastases from lung adenocarcinoma group or lung squamous cell carcinoma.SPSS 22.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results The lung adenocarcinoma group had the values of Ktrans,Ve,Vp and Ve+Vp higher than those of the lung squamous cell carcinoma group,with the differences being statistically significant(all P＜0.05).ROC curve analysis results showed that Ktrans,Vp and Ve had high differential diagnosis values for the pathologic types of brain metastases from lung adenocarcinoma group or lung squamous cell carcinoma,with the AUC being 1.000,0.998 and 0.875,the optimal Youden index being 0.183 min-1,0.039 and 0.270,the sensitivity being 100.00％,100.00％and 80.56％and the specificity being 100.00％,97.06％and 80.88％,respectively.Conclusion The quantitative parameters of DCE-MRI gain advantages in the differential diagnosis of NSCLC brain metastases,and provide references for the diagnosis and treatment of brain metastases of lung cancer.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(5):54-59]

Objective:To investigate the role of YTHDF2 in cervical lesions and its potential molecular mechanism.Methods:Gene expression data of cervical tissue were obtained from the GEO database to analyze the expression of YTHDF2 mRNA and perform pathway enrichment analysis. Patients with cervical lesions diagnosed by thinprep cytologic test in Gynecological Outpatient Department of Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Jiexiu, Shanxi Province, were selected as the research subjects. Data of cervical lesions and cervical exfoliated cells were collected. HPV infection status was detected by flow-through hybridization, and the expression of YTHDF2 mRNA was detected by reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction. The expression of YTHDF2 in cervical lesions and the mediating role of HPV infection in the relationship between YTHDF2 and squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) were evaluated. YTHDF2-related genes were screened from multiple datasets in the GEO and ENCORI databases, and their expression, immune infiltration, and survival analysis were performed to assess the association between YTHDF2 and prognosis. Results:Compared with normal cervical tissue, YTHDF2 was highly expressed in cervical lesion tissue ( P<0.05). A total of 3 672 differentially expressed genes were screened from the dataset GSE49339. Gene Ontology analysis showed that YTHDF2 was mainly involved in transcription regulation. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that YTHDF2 might be related to HPV infection and other signaling pathways. In the mediation analysis, χ2 test results showed that the expression level of YTHDF2 was significantly different among groups ( χ2=22.47, P<0.001). Trend χ2 test further showed that the expression level of YTHDF2 was upregulated with the degree of cervical precancerous lesions (trend χ2=10.26, P=0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that high YTHDF2 expression increased the risk of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions ( OR=3.15, 95% CI: 1.93-5.15) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions ( OR=1.85, 95% CI: 1.01-3.39). Mediation effect analysis revealed a partial mediating effect of HPV infection between YTHDF2 and SIL, accounting for 32.02% of the total effect. Twelve YTHDF2 related genes were screened by the intersection of multiple datasets. The immune infiltration analysis results showed that YTHDF2 and related genes KLF4, E2F3 and HOXC6 were associated with immune infiltration (all P<0.05). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model analysis showed that low expression of KLF4 ( HR=0.53, 95% CI: 0.30-0.94) and high expression of RHOB ( HR=1.80, 95% CI: 1.04-3.13) were risk factors for the prognosis of cervical cancer. Conclusion:YTHDF2 is highly expressed in cervical lesions and may have been involved in the regulation of HPV infection-related pathways and its downstream related genes are related to immune infiltration and prognosis of cervical cancer, providing a theoretical basis for the study of mechanisms related to cervical lesions.

Objective:To investigate the 10-year incidence of reproductive system malignancies and their associated risk factors among overweight and obese women with different metabolic phenotypes aged 40 years and older in Guiyang City.Methods:A total of 6 444 female residents in Yunyan District, Guiyang City were included from the 2011 " Epidemiological Study on the Risk of Malignancy in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus(REACTION)". Based on body mass index(BMI) and the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome(MetS), participants were categorized into four groups: metabolically healthy normal weight(MHNW, n=2 373), metabolically unhealthy normal weight(MUNW, n=1 098), metabolically healthy overweight/obese(MHO, n=2 229), and metabolically unhealthy overweight/obese(MUO, n=744). Baseline data were collected, and participants were followed up for 10 years to document the incidence of female reproductive system malignancies, including breast cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and endometrial cancer. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between metabolic phenotype and the 10-year risk of developing reproductive system malignancies. Results:Over a mean follow-up period of (9.89±0.77) years, the overall incidence of reproductive system malignancies was 1.15%(74/6, 444). Baseline characteristics such as age, BMI, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol(HDL-C), and triglycerides(TG) differed significantly among the groups( P<0.05). The cumulative incidence of reproductive system malignancies in each group was: MHNW 0.93%(22/2 373), MUNW 0.73%(8/1 098), MHO 1.57%(35/2 229), and MUO 1.21%(9/744). There were no statistically significant differences in incidence across the four groups( P>0.05). However, multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that, compared with the MHNW group, the adjusted HR (95% CI) were: MUNW 0.787(0.349-1.774, P>0.05), MHO 4.835(1.708-13.688, P<0.05), and MUO 3.719(1.144-12.089, P<0.05). Conclusion:Overweight and obesity are significant risk factors for reproductive system malignancies in women aged 40 and above. The presence of metabolic abnormalities in overweight or obese women further increases the risk of developing such malignancies.

Objective:To investigate the radioactivity levels and variation trends of 90Sr in drinking water and food around the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant in operation. Methods:From 2012 to 2022, the source, factory, and tap water was collected within 30 km around the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant during the wet and dry seasons (i.e., May and October, respectively) each year to determine the 90Sr concentration in water. According to the dietary habits of local residents, four kinds of food, including rice, cabbage, mullet, and crucian carp, were collected to determine and analyze the 90Sr radioactivity concentration in food using the bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid extraction chromatographic method. Results:From 2012 to 2022, the 90Sr radioactivity concentrations in the source, factory, and tap water around the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant ranged from 3.73 to 11.89 mBq/L, 2.95 to 9.83 mBq/L, and 3.12 to 8.70 mBq/L, respectively, showing nonsignificant fluctuations over the years. The 90Sr radioactivity concentrations in rice, cabbage, mullet, and crucian carp ranged from 0.02 to 0.46 Bq/kg (dry weight), 0.26 to 1.07 Bq/kg (fresh weight), 0.38 to 1.05 Bq/kg (fresh weight), and 0.08 to 1.32 Bq/kg (fresh weight), respectively, all below the national standard limits. Conclusions:From 2012 to 2022, the 90Sr radioactivity levels in drinking water and food around the Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant were at the background level and remained stable.

Objective:To explore the differences between the Phoenix sepsis scoring system including Phoenix sepsis score (PSS) and Phoenix-8 organ dysfunction score (hereinafter referred to as Phoenix-8) and the commonly used pediatric sepsis scores in evaluating clinical characteristics and prognostic analysis of pediatric patients with severe sepsis diagnosed under traditional standards, namely the diagnostic criteria from the 2005 International Pediatric Sepsis Consensus Conference.Methods:This study was a retrospective observational study. From December 2020 to March 2023, 202 pediatric patients with severe sepsis meeting the inclusion criteria were admitted to the Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Based on the sepsis diagnostic criteria outlined in the International Consensus Criteria for Pediatric Sepsis and Septic Shock (2024), the pediatric patients were categorized into a sepsis group and a non-sepsis group. Sepsis group was further subdivided into a death subgroup and a survival subgroup based on the outcomes. The age, hospitalization costs, disease outcome indicators (e.g., mortality rate and incidence of septic shock), major organ (e.g., heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys) damage and their correlations, as well as PSS, Phoenix-8 and commonly used pediatric sepsis scores (e.g., pediatric sequential organ failure assessment (pSOFA), pediatric risk of mortality score Ⅲ (PRISM Ⅲ), pediatric logistic organ dysfunction-2 score (PELOD-2), pediatric multiple organ dysfunction score (P-MODS), pediatric critical illness score (PCIS), and pediatric early warning score (PEWS)) were collected and compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and precision-recall curve were plotted to evaluate the predictive ability of PSS, Phoenix-8, and commonly used pediatric sepsis scores for mortality risk in pediatric patients with severe sepsis under traditional standards. Predictive performance was quantified using the area under the ROC curve (AUROC). Univariate logistic regression analysis was employed to quantify the odds ratios of PSS and Phoenix-8 for predicting mortality risk. Patients with severe sepsis under traditional standards were further stratified into subgroups based on complications and comorbidities, including central nervous system (CNS) diseases, multiple infections, cardiovascular system diseases, shock, and malignancies. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was used to assess calibration of PSS and Phoenix-8, and the DeLong test was used to compare whether there were statistically significant differences in the AUROC of PSS and Phoenix-8 for predicting mortality risk among different subgroups of pediatric patients. Results:Compared with those in non-sepsis group, pediatric patients in sepsis group were significantly older ( Z=-2.92, P<0.05) with higher incidences of septic shock and mortality, hospitalization costs, PRISM Ⅲ, PEWS, pSOFA, PELOD-2, PSS, and Phoenix-8 (with χ2 values of 21.28 and 13.64, respectively, Z values of -1.99, -5.33, -5.10, -8.55, -6.91, -10.98, and -9.93, respectively, P<0.05), and lower PCIS ( Z=-3.34, P<0.05). Compared with those in survival subgroup, hospitalization costs, PSS, Phoenix-8, PRISM Ⅲ, PEWS, pSOFA, PELOD-2, and P-MODS of pediatric patients in death subgroup was significantly higher (with Z values of -2.50, -3.50, -2.47, -5.11, -3.84, -2.94, -3.61, and -3.04, respectively, P<0.05). Compared with those in survival subgroup, the incidences of lung damage and liver damage of pediatric patients in death subgroup were also significantly higher (with χ2 values of 6.20 and 10.94, respectively, P<0.05), and 64.7% (97/150) of patients exhibited two or more concurrent organ damage. For predicting mortality risk in pediatric patients with severe sepsis under traditional standards, the AUROC values for PRISM Ⅲ, PCIS, PEWS, pSOFA, PELOD-2, P-MODS, PSS, and Phoenix-8 were approximately 0.70, with optimal cutoff values of 17.5, 91.0, 5.5, 4.5, 2.5, 4.5, 3.5, and 4.5, respectively; PELOD-2 demonstrated the highest sensitivity (0.83); while PRISM Ⅲ, PSS, and Phoenix-8 showed high specificity (>0.80). Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that for every 1-point increase in the PSS within 24 hours of pediatric intensive care unit admission, the relative risk of mortality increased by 63.7% (with odds ratio of 1.64, 95% confidence interval of 1.34-1.99, P<0.05). Similarly, for every 1-point increase in the Phoenix-8, the relative risk of mortality increased by 37.5% (with odds ratio of 1.38, 95% confidence interval of 1.18-1.60, P<0.05). The AUROC values (around 0.80) of PSS and Phoenix-8 for predicting mortality risk in pediatric patients with severe sepsis combined with CNS diseases, multiple infections, and cardiovascular system diseases were relatively high. In contrast, the AUROC values (0.60-0.80) for predicting mortality risk in pediatric patients with severe sepsis combined with shock or malignant tumors were moderate. All models passed the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test ( P>0.05). The DeLong test indicated no statistically significant differences in predictive ability between PSS and Phoenix-8 across subgroups of pediatric patients ( P>0.05). Conclusions:PSS and Phoenix-8 exhibited higher specificity than most of the commonly used pediatric sepsis scores in predicting mortality risk under traditional standards. Both scores performed much better in predicting the mortality risk in pediatric patients with severe sepsis combined with CNS diseases, multiple infections, and cardiovascular system diseases.

Objective:To identify risk factors associated with endoscopic atrophic progression of gastric mucosa after Helicobacter pylori ( HP) eradication and to develop a risk scoring system for establishing an individualized endoscopic follow-up strategy for patients with chronic gastritis. Methods:This retrospective cohort study included chronic gastritis patients with successful HP eradication at the Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Friendship Hospital between January 2018 and October 2021. Demographic characteristics, endoscopic findings, and other clinical data were analyzed. Endoscopic outcomes of gastric mucosal atrophy before and after follow-up were compared to classify patients into progression and non-progression groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors for endoscopic atrophic progression. A risk scoring system was then constructed based on these factors. Results:A total of 218 patients with chronic gastritis were included, including 153 in the non-progression group and 65 in the progression group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that gastric ulcer ( P=0.008, OR=4.24, 95% CI: 1.46-12.25), history of proton pump inhibitor use ( P=0.007, OR=4.06, 95% CI: 1.46-11.27), alcohol consumption ( P=0.002, OR=3.77, 95% CI: 1.64-8.67), high-salt diet ( P=0.008, OR=2.90, 95% CI: 1.32-6.41), and high red meat intake ( P=0.025, OR=2.33, 95% CI: 1.11-6.31) were independent risk factors for endoscopic atrophic progression after HP eradication. The predictive model based on these 5 factors demonstrated strong discriminative capacity, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.813 (95% CI: 0.755-0.876, P<0.001). The optimal cut-off value was 1.5 points, stratifying patients into low-risk (0-2 points) and high-risk (3-5 points) groups. Conclusion:Patients with chronic gastritis remain susceptible to progression even after successful HP eradication. Individualized endoscopic follow-up strategies should be considered based on patients' medical history, medication use, lifestyle, and dietary habits.

Objective:This study aims to investigate the effect of androgen receptor(AR)on doxorubicin(DOX)-induced cardiomyocyte senescence and autophagy.Methods:H9C2 cardiomyocytes were cultured in vitro, and treated with 0.1 μM DOX for 48 hours to construct an aging cardiomyocytes model.An AR-overexpressing cardiomyocyte model was generated via adenovirus transfection.The cells were divided into four groups: Control group, Control+ AR-overexpression group, DOX group and DOX+ AR-overexpression group.Senescence-associated β-galactosidase staining was performed to assess the positive rate of β-galactosidase staining in myocardial cells; RT-PCR technology was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of senescence-related genes( P21, P53, IL-1 β, IL-6, MCP-1), the inflammasome NLRP3, and autophagy regulatory genes( TFEB and P62)in cardiomyocytes; the Western blot method was used to detect the protein expression levels of P21, AR, TFEB, P62, LC3-Ⅰ, LC3-Ⅱ, and the LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ ratio. Results:Compared with the Control group, the DOX group exhibited a significantly increased positive rate of SA-β-gal staining in myocardial cells( P<0.001). The mRNA expression of P21, P53, IL-1 β, IL-6, MCP-1, and NLRP3 were upregulated(all P<0.05), accompanied by elevated P21 protein expression( P<0.05), while the AR protein expression was downregulated( P<0.05). The LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ ratio was increased significantly( P<0.01), whereas both mRNA and protein expression levels of TFEB and P62 were reduced( P<0.05). Compared with the DOX group, the DOX+ AR-overexpression group exhibited a significantly reduced positive rate of SA-β-gal staining in myocardial cells( P<0.000 1), a decrease in P21 protein expression( P<0.05), a decrease in LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ ratio( P<0.01), and an increase in TFEB and P62 protein expression levels( P<0.05). Conclusions:AR enhances the autophagic clearance function of aging myocardial cells and inhibits cell aging phenotype through upregulating the expression levels of TFEB and P62.