Renal fibrosis is the common pathological endpoint of many forms of chronic kidney disease (CKD), yet the mechanisms determining effective repair versus persistent fibrotic remodeling remain incompletely understood. Peritubular capillaries (PTCs) are not merely passive targets of fibrotic injury, but form a dynamic vascular microenvironment linking regional perfusion, oxygen delivery, tubular metabolism, endothelial barrier integrity, pericyte support, immune-cell trafficking, and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. We propose that PTC abnormalities should not be interpreted simply as reduced capillary density, but as a multidimensional disturbance of microvascular structure and function. Structural vascular preservation does not necessarily indicate effective microcirculation: anatomically detectable capillaries may still exhibit impaired perfusion, barrier dysfunction, abnormal endothelial-pericyte interactions, disturbed oxygen metabolism, or reduced network connectivity. Conversely, increased angiogenesis does not necessarily signify successful vascular repair if vessels remain immature, poorly perfused, or inadequately integrated into the existing network. To organize these abnormalities, we conceptualize PTC remodeling into four predominant but nonexclusive states: endothelial barrier disruption with inflammatory adhesion; endothelial-pericyte uncoupling with no-reflow; dysregulated angiogenesis with network simplification; and capillary rarefaction with fibrotic matrix locking. These states are not sequential stages of CKD. They may coexist within the same kidney, overlap within the same anatomical region, and vary with disease etiology, injury phase, vascular compartment, and treatment exposure. We further propose six dimensions for evaluating PTC status—structural presence, functional perfusion, barrier integrity, pericyte coupling, oxygen metabolism, and network connectivity—so that vascular quantity, function, and reparative capacity are assessed separately rather than inferred from a single endothelial marker or capillary-density measurement. Mechanistically, these states converge on a bidirectional microvascular-fibrotic feedback loop. Barrier disruption facilitates leukocyte recruitment and alters vascular paracrine signaling. Endothelial-pericyte uncoupling compromises capillary stability, whereas abnormal pericyte contraction may increase local vascular resistance and contribute to no-reflow before overt capillary loss. Dysregulated angiogenesis may generate vessels that fail to mature or connect to an effective perfusion network. Progressive capillary rarefaction compromises oxygen delivery, while sustained tubular transport demand and mitochondrial dysfunction may aggravate regional oxygen supply-demand mismatch. Injured tubules, immune cells, endothelial cells, pericytes, and fibroblasts communicate through soluble mediators, extracellular vesicles, direct cell contact, and cell-matrix signaling. Importantly, fibrosis is not merely a downstream consequence of microvascular injury. Altered ECM may increase diffusion distance, modify mechanotransduction, impair endothelial survival and migration, and restrict capillary reopening and regeneration. We use the term matrix locking to describe this sustained constraint on vascular repair, while emphasizing that current evidence does not establish irreversible disease in humans. This framework also has therapeutic implications. PTC-directed treatment should not be reduced to increasing vessel number or uniformly promoting angiogenesis. Instead, intervention should be matched to the dominant and potentially reversible abnormality: preserving endothelial barrier function; restoring endothelial-pericyte stability and reducing pathological microvascular resistance; normalizing angiogenesis so that vascular growth is accompanied by maturation, barrier competence, network integration, and effective perfusion; and, in advanced rarefaction, relieving matrix-related constraints while supporting vascular regeneration. The context- and time-dependent effects of signaling through VEGF, Tie2, PDGF-B/PDGFRβ, eNOS/NO, and related pathways indicate that the same molecular signal may exert different effects depending on disease context and timing. Therapeutic efficacy should therefore be evaluated by restoration of effective microcirculation and tissue function rather than by isolated molecular changes or capillary counts alone. Despite increasing mechanistic evidence, the translational basis for this framework remains limited. Most causal and interventional data derive from animal or cell models, whereas human evidence is largely limited to pathological observations, patient-sample associations, and prognostic studies. Currently available circulating and urinary candidate biomarkers generally lack sufficient specificity for PTC injury or state assignment, and no standardized quantitative thresholds have been externally validated. The four-state model should therefore be regarded as a hypothesis-generating analytical framework rather than a clinicopathological classification system. Future studies should integrate spatially resolved tissue phenotyping, blood and urine biomarkers, and dynamic microcirculatory assessment in longitudinal cohorts. They should test reproducibility, assess prognostic value beyond conventional pathology, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and proteinuria, and determine whether changes in PTC status precede or mediate therapeutic benefit. Linking reproducible microvascular phenotypes to defined mechanisms, treatment response, and long-term renal outcomes will be essential to determine whether state-directed assessment and restoration of the PTC microenvironment can ultimately inform patient stratification and therapeutic decision-making.

Objective:To investigate the genetic causal relationship of leukocyte telomere length(LTL)with prostatitis,orchi-tis and epididymitis by two-sample Mendelian randomization(MR).Methods:Using LTL as the exposure factor and prostatitis,or-chitis and epididymitis as outcome factors,we mined the Database of Genome-Wide Association Studies(GWAS).Then,we analyzed the causal relationship of LTL with prostatitis,orchitis and epididymitis by Mendelian randomization using inverse variance weighting(IVW)as the main method and weighted median and MR-Egger regression as auxiliary methods,determined the horizontal multiplicity by MR-Egger intercept test,and conducted sensitivity analysis using the leaving-one-out method.Results:A total of 121 related sin-gle nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs)were identified in this study.IVW showed LTL to be a risk factor for prostatitis(OR=1.383,95％CI:1.044-1.832,P=0.024),and for orchitis and epididymitis as well(OR=1.770,95％CI:1.275-2.456,P=0.000 6).Conclusion:Genetic evidence from Mendelian randomized analysis indicates that shortening of LTL reduces the risk of prostatitis,orchitis and epididymitis.

[Purpose]To analyze the incidence and mortality of liver cancer in cancer registration areas of Zhejiang Province in 2021 and the epidemiological trends of liver cancer from 2000 to 2021.[Methods]Using liver cancer data from 2000 to 2021 reported by Zhejiang Provincial Can-cer Registries,stratified by sex,age,and urban-rural areas,indicators including crude incidence rate,crude mortality rate,age-standardized incidence rate by Chinese standard population(ASIRC),age-standardized mortality rate by Chinese standard population(ASMRC),age-standardi-zed incidence rate by world standard population(ASIRW),age-standardized mortality rate by world standard population(ASMRW)were calculated.Joinpoint Regression Program(Version 5.3.0)was used to fit the log-linear relationship between rates and years,and calculate the annual percentage change(APC)and average annual percentage change(AAPC)with 95％confidence interval(CI).[Results]In 2021,the crude incidence rate of liver cancer in Zhejiang cancer registration areas was 26.93/105(ASIRC:13.35/105),and the crude mortality rate was 20.87/105(ASMRC:9.52/105).The number of new cases and deaths of liver cancer accounted for 5.07％and 11.33％of all malig-nant tumor cases and deaths,respectively.The incidence and mortality rates of liver cancer in male were significantly higher than those in female(crude incidence rate:40.17/105 vs 13.85/105;ASIRC:20.60/105 vs 6.34/105;crude mortality rate:30.78/105 vs 11.07/105;ASMRC:14.67/105 vs 4.57/105),and those in rural areas were higher than those in urban areas(crude incidence rate:30.39/105 vs 24.79/105;ASIRC:15.35/105 vs 12.10/105;crude mortality rate:24.32/105 vs 18.72/105;ASMRC:11.30/105 vs 8.40/105).In 2021,the incidence rate of liver cancer was low before the age of 30 years old,and increased significantly with age after 30 years old,reaching the peak in male aged 85 years old and above(170.04/105)and in female aged 80～84 years old(84.74/105).The mortality rate showed a similar trend to the incidence rate,which was low before the age of 30 years old and increased significantly with age after 30 years old,peaking in male aged 85 years old and above(211.64/105)and in female aged 80～84 years old(98.31/105).From 2000 to 2021,the crude incidence rate of liver cancer in Zhejiang Province showed an overall upward trend(AAPC=1.01％,95％CI:0.44％～1.58％),while the ASIRC remained relatively stable(AAPC=-0.81％,95％CI:-1.48％～0.02％)with a significant remained relatively stable(AAPC=-0.81％,95％CI:-1.48％～0.02％),after 2010,the ASIRC remained relatively stable(AAPC=-0.81％,95％CI:-1.48％～0.02％)with a significant decreased significantly.Both the crude mortality rate(AAPC=-0.84％,95％CI:-1.23％～-0.36％)and ASMRC(AAPC=-2.78％,95％CI:-3.28％～-2.20％)showed sig-nificant downward trends,and the decline of ASMRC was more obvious.[Conclusion]From 2000 to 2021,the incidence of liver cancer in cancer registration areas of Zhejiang Province showed a fluctuating downward trend,and the mortality showed a steady downward trend,but the disease burden remains heavy.Rural areas,the elderly,and males are high-risk populations,which should be the key targets of liver cancer prevention and control.

Extensive epigenetic reprogramming involves in memory CD8+ T-cell differentiation. The elaborate epigenetic rewiring underlying the heterogeneous functional states of CD8+ T cells remains hidden. Here, we profile single-cell chromatin accessibility and map enhancer-promoter interactomes to characterize the differentiation trajectory of memory CD8+ T cells. We reveal that under distinct epigenetic regulations, the early activated CD8+ T cells divergently originated for short-lived effector and memory precursor effector cells. We also uncover a defined epigenetic rewiring leading to the conversion from effector memory to central memory cells during memory formation. Additionally, we illustrate chromatin regulatory mechanisms underlying long-lasting versus transient transcription regulation during memory differentiation. Finally, we confirm the essential roles of Sox4 and Nrf2 in developing memory precursor effector and effector memory cells, respectively, and validate cell state-specific enhancers in regulating Il7r using CRISPR-Cas9. Our data pave the way for understanding the mechanism underlying epigenetic memory formation in CD8+ T-cell differentiation.
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism* ; Cell Differentiation ; Chromatin/immunology* ; Animals ; Mice ; Immunologic Memory ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; SOXC Transcription Factors/immunology* ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2/immunology* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Gene Regulatory Networks ; Enhancer Elements, Genetic

Objective:To analyze the relationship between Cardiovascular Health(CVH)and Pelvic Inflamma-tory Disease(PID)using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys(NHANES).Meth-ods:Participants from the NHANES database were extracted based on the inclusion of PID,LE8 scores,and mul-tiple potential confounding factors,excluding those with missing variables.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was conducted using R to assess the relationship between the CVH and the risk of PID.Additionally,subgroup a-nalysis and interaction tests were performed for age,race,poverty,marital status,education,BMI,menstrual regu-larity,and pregnancy history.Results:A total of 3934 female participants were included,with an average age of 39.95±11.42 years.Multivariable Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for age,race,BMI,edu-cation level,marital status,household income,menstrual cycle,and pregnancy history,the risk of PID gradually decreased with an increase in CVH assessment metric LE8 scores(OR 0.98,95％CI 0.97-0.99,P＜0.001).Stratified analysis indicated significant interactions between age,race,and marital status in the association be-tween CVH and PID(interaction P＜0.05 for all),while household income level,education level,BMI,menstrual regularity,and pregnancy history showed no significant interactions with the CVH and PID association(P＞0.05).Conclusions:There is a significant negative relationship between CVH and PID in adult women in the United states,suggesting that better cardiovascular health may help reduce the risk of PID.

Objective:To analyze the relationship between Cardiovascular Health(CVH)and Pelvic Inflamma-tory Disease(PID)using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys(NHANES).Meth-ods:Participants from the NHANES database were extracted based on the inclusion of PID,LE8 scores,and mul-tiple potential confounding factors,excluding those with missing variables.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was conducted using R to assess the relationship between the CVH and the risk of PID.Additionally,subgroup a-nalysis and interaction tests were performed for age,race,poverty,marital status,education,BMI,menstrual regu-larity,and pregnancy history.Results:A total of 3934 female participants were included,with an average age of 39.95±11.42 years.Multivariable Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for age,race,BMI,edu-cation level,marital status,household income,menstrual cycle,and pregnancy history,the risk of PID gradually decreased with an increase in CVH assessment metric LE8 scores(OR 0.98,95％CI 0.97-0.99,P＜0.001).Stratified analysis indicated significant interactions between age,race,and marital status in the association be-tween CVH and PID(interaction P＜0.05 for all),while household income level,education level,BMI,menstrual regularity,and pregnancy history showed no significant interactions with the CVH and PID association(P＞0.05).Conclusions:There is a significant negative relationship between CVH and PID in adult women in the United states,suggesting that better cardiovascular health may help reduce the risk of PID.

[Purpose]To analyze the incidence and mortality of liver cancer in cancer registration areas of Zhejiang Province in 2021 and the epidemiological trends of liver cancer from 2000 to 2021.[Methods]Using liver cancer data from 2000 to 2021 reported by Zhejiang Provincial Can-cer Registries,stratified by sex,age,and urban-rural areas,indicators including crude incidence rate,crude mortality rate,age-standardized incidence rate by Chinese standard population(ASIRC),age-standardized mortality rate by Chinese standard population(ASMRC),age-standardi-zed incidence rate by world standard population(ASIRW),age-standardized mortality rate by world standard population(ASMRW)were calculated.Joinpoint Regression Program(Version 5.3.0)was used to fit the log-linear relationship between rates and years,and calculate the annual percentage change(APC)and average annual percentage change(AAPC)with 95％confidence interval(CI).[Results]In 2021,the crude incidence rate of liver cancer in Zhejiang cancer registration areas was 26.93/105(ASIRC:13.35/105),and the crude mortality rate was 20.87/105(ASMRC:9.52/105).The number of new cases and deaths of liver cancer accounted for 5.07％and 11.33％of all malig-nant tumor cases and deaths,respectively.The incidence and mortality rates of liver cancer in male were significantly higher than those in female(crude incidence rate:40.17/105 vs 13.85/105;ASIRC:20.60/105 vs 6.34/105;crude mortality rate:30.78/105 vs 11.07/105;ASMRC:14.67/105 vs 4.57/105),and those in rural areas were higher than those in urban areas(crude incidence rate:30.39/105 vs 24.79/105;ASIRC:15.35/105 vs 12.10/105;crude mortality rate:24.32/105 vs 18.72/105;ASMRC:11.30/105 vs 8.40/105).In 2021,the incidence rate of liver cancer was low before the age of 30 years old,and increased significantly with age after 30 years old,reaching the peak in male aged 85 years old and above(170.04/105)and in female aged 80～84 years old(84.74/105).The mortality rate showed a similar trend to the incidence rate,which was low before the age of 30 years old and increased significantly with age after 30 years old,peaking in male aged 85 years old and above(211.64/105)and in female aged 80～84 years old(98.31/105).From 2000 to 2021,the crude incidence rate of liver cancer in Zhejiang Province showed an overall upward trend(AAPC=1.01％,95％CI:0.44％～1.58％),while the ASIRC remained relatively stable(AAPC=-0.81％,95％CI:-1.48％～0.02％)with a significant remained relatively stable(AAPC=-0.81％,95％CI:-1.48％～0.02％),after 2010,the ASIRC remained relatively stable(AAPC=-0.81％,95％CI:-1.48％～0.02％)with a significant decreased significantly.Both the crude mortality rate(AAPC=-0.84％,95％CI:-1.23％～-0.36％)and ASMRC(AAPC=-2.78％,95％CI:-3.28％～-2.20％)showed sig-nificant downward trends,and the decline of ASMRC was more obvious.[Conclusion]From 2000 to 2021,the incidence of liver cancer in cancer registration areas of Zhejiang Province showed a fluctuating downward trend,and the mortality showed a steady downward trend,but the disease burden remains heavy.Rural areas,the elderly,and males are high-risk populations,which should be the key targets of liver cancer prevention and control.

This study was aimed at surveying the distribution of Himalayan marmots in Gaotai County,Zhangye City,Gan-su Province,and analyzing the risk of plague occurrence,to provide a scientific basis for plague prevention and control in the area.On the basis of preliminary evidence,we used a combined approach of on-site investigation and Global Positioning System(GPS)positioning to survey the distribution and natural geographical landscape characteristics of the Himalayan marmot in Gaotai County.Population information and customs in the marmot distribution area were investigated through methods such as data retrieval and household visits.Himalayan marmots were captured through bow-shaped trapping,and blood,liver,spleen,heart,lung,kidney,femur,and surface-intermediate host samples were collected.Pathological and serological tests were conducted according to the Plague Diagnosis Criteria(WS279-2008).In Xinba Town,Gaotai County,Himalayan marmots were found in 16 villages(53.33％).Heping Village had the largest distribution area(100％),and was followed by Zhaoyi Village(79.17％)and Xishang Village(55.32％),whereas the other areas had values below 50％.Regarding the direct threats posed by marmots,Heping Village,Dongda Vil-lage,and Zhaoyi Village had values of 100％,Xishang Village had a value of 90.59％,and the other areas had values below 50％.The flea infestation rate on marmots'bodies was 59.62％,and the flea index was 1.48％(77/52).The main surface-in-termediate hosts were steppe ticks,body lice,Xenopsylla siberica,and Nosopsyllus laeviceps,accounting for 72.31％(517/715),16.92％(121/715),6.43％(46/715),and 4.20％(30/715),respectively,with steppe ticks being the dominant species.A total of 52 liver and spleen tissue samples from marmots,and 715 surface-intermediate hosts samples,were collected for bacterial culture.No Yersinia pestis was found.RIHA testing for plague F1 antigen was negative in all samples.Additionally,52 blood serum samples from marmots were collected,and IHA testing for plague-specific F1 antibodies was negative in all samples.The natural plague foci of marmots in the Qilian Mountains and Altyn Mountains is affected by factors including con-tinuing increases in temperature and grassland degradation.As a result,the marmot plague hosts continually migrate to sur-rounding non-epidemic areas,particularly in Gaotai County,Zhangye City.Local residents often hunt wild rabbits and mar-mots,thus posing a risk of human plague outbreaks if animal plague occurs.This county is recommended to be included in the province's plague surveillance and epidemic source investigation.Additionally,efforts should be strengthened in health educa-tion,medical personnel training,and management of key individuals and emergency reserves.If necessary,protective measures should be taken in marmot and flea control,to prevent the occurrence and spread of plague.

Objective:To investigate the association between the Doppler variables of the ophthalmic artery with the severity of preeclampsia(PE).Methods:Systematic literature was searched between January 1995 and March 2023 in PubMed,Web of Science,Embase,and the Cochrane Library.Studies comparing ophthalmic artery Doppler variables,including peak systolic velocity(PSV),end-diastolic velocity(EDV),resistive index(Rl),pulsa-tility index(PI),and peak ratio(PR,the ratio of the flow velocity of the second peak to that of the initial peak)in patients with PE,severe preeclampsia(sPE),and healthy pregnant women were included.The random-effects model was adopted as the method of pooled analysis,and the I2value was used to assess heterogeneity.The pooled standardized mean difference(SMD)with 95％confidence interval(CI)was used to estimate the associa-tion between ophthalmic artery Doppler variables and PE patient's characteristics.Results:Eight retrospective studies were eventually included in this Meta-analysis.Our pooled results suggested that compared with PE ca-ses,sPE patients had lower PI levels(SMD-0.56,95％CI-0.92～-0.20,P=0.000),higher EDV levels(SMD 0.47,95％CI 0.12～0.83,P=0.028)and higher PR levels(SMD0.96,95％CI 0.13～1.78,P=0.023).Howev-er,there was no significant difference between PE and sPE patients about the PSV and RI(P=0.361,P=0.626).Conclusions:This review demonstrates that ophthalmic artery Doppler variables(PI,EDV and PR)could be useful for predicting PE and PE development(especially in identifying sPE),which in turn may help the practitioner in the management of these complicated cases and in taking early necessary precautions.

Objective:To find benefit of adaptive challenges in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients of long-term treatment in the challenge of vision decline, and provide new ideas for improving the quality of life of patients.Methods:It was a phenomenological study from qualitative research, selected by purpose sampling method and semi-structured interview which involved 20 AMD patients who received intravitreal treatment of drug in the Ophthalmology Department of Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from January to March 2023.Two interviewees comprehensively read and analyzed the transcript of the interview and its meaning, subsequently Colaizzi seven-step analysis method was used to classify and encode the transcribed data.Results:Among 20 patients, there were 9 males and 11 females, aged 56-81 years old. Patients with AMD experience a sense of benefit in their long-term management of the condition, adapting to the challenges posed by declining strength, which could be summarized into four main themes: moderate sense of decision control, satisfactory social support, active self-management of the disease, and an improvement in quality of life.Conclusions:Patients with AMD experience a sense of disease-related benefit during the long-term management of visual acuity challenges. Healthcare professionals should guide patients to seek this benefit from adverse events, identify the adaptive challenges patients face, and leverage their adaptive leadership skills. Furthermore, offering multi-channel low vision rehabilitation services can assist patients in enhancing their adaptive capabilities, ultimately contributing to further improving their quality of life.