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.

Pristimerin, which is one of the compounds present in Celastraceae and Hippocrateaceae, has antitumor effects. However, its mechanism of action in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. This study aims to investigate the efficacy and mechanism of pristimerin on ESCC in vitro and in vivo. The inhibitory effect of pristimerin on cell growth was assessed using trypan blue exclusion and colony formation assays. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry. Gene and protein expressions were analyzed through quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was employed to identify significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Cell transfection and RNA interference assays were utilized to examine the role of key proteins in pristimerin?s effect. Xenograft models were established to evaluate the antitumor efficiency of pristimerin in vivo. Pristimerin inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis in ESCC cells. Upregulation of Noxa was crucial for pristimerin-induced apoptosis. Pristimerin activated the Forkhead box O3a (FoxO3a) signaling pathway and triggered FoxO3a recruitment to the Noxa promoter, leading to Noxa transcription. Blocking FoxO3a reversed pristimerin-induced Noxa upregulation and cell apoptosis. Pristimerin treatment suppressed xenograft tumors in nude mice, but these effects were largely negated in Noxa-KO tumors. Furthermore, the chemosensitization effects of pristimerin in vitro and in vivo were mediated by Noxa. This study demonstrates that pristimerin exerts an antitumor effect on ESCC by inducing AKT/FoxO3a-mediated Noxa upregulation. These findings suggest that pristimerin may serve as a potent anticancer agent for ESCC treatment.
Forkhead Box Protein O3/genetics* ; Humans ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma/physiopathology* ; Esophageal Neoplasms/physiopathology* ; Pentacyclic Triterpenes ; Animals ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/genetics* ; Mice ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Mice, Nude ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Triterpenes/pharmacology* ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Male ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/drug effects*

Dental treatments for children and adolescents have unique clinical characteristics that differ from dental care for adults in terms of children's physiology, psychology, and behavior. These differences impose specific requirements on the application of local anesthesia in pediatric dental procedures. This article presents expert consensus on the principles of local anesthesia techniques in pediatric dental therapies, including the use of common anesthetic drugs and dosage control, safety and efficacy evaluation, and prevention and management of complications. The aim is to improve the safety and quality of pediatric dental treatments and offer guidance for clinical application by dentists.
Humans ; Child ; Anesthesia, Local/methods* ; Consensus ; Anesthesia, Dental/methods* ; Adolescent ; Anesthetics, Local/administration & dosage* ; Dental Care for Children

Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic performance of resting echocardiography in detecting severe coronary artery stenosis.Methods:A total of 136 patients with suspected coronary artery disease（CAD）who presented to Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital between January 2021 and December 2024 were prospectively enrolled. All patients underwent both coronary computed tomography angiography（CCTA）and transthoracic echocardiography within one week. Based on CCTA results，the patients were divided into non-severe stenosis group（ n=78）and severe stenosis group（ n=58）. Echocardiographic parameters including left atrial maximum volume（LAVmax），left ventricular global longitudinal strain（GLS），left ventricular longitudinal strain of endo-myocardium，mid-myocardium，epi-myocardium（LSendo，LSmid，LSepi），early diastolic mitral inflow velocity（E），early diastolic mitral annular velocity of the lateral and septal walls（e'），and E/e' were measured. Predictive factors for severe coronary stenosis were identified using LASSO regression，and a nomogram model was developed via multivariate Logistic regression. Model performance was evaluated using ROC curves，calibration curves，and decision curve analysis. Results:Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed LSendo，LAVmax，and E/e' as independent predictors of severe coronary artery stenosis. The nomogram constructed based on these predictors achieved an area under the curve of 0.798（95% CI=0.723-0.873），with sensitivity and specificity of 0.756 and 0.759，respectively. Conclusions:The resting echocardiography-based nomogram model demonstrates good diagnostic efficacy for severe coronary artery stenosis. It may serve as a noninvasive tool to assist in risk stratification and clinical decision-making in patients with suspected CAD.

BACKGROUND: Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy is the primary surgical treatment for lung cancer. A significant factor affecting postoperative recovery is prolonged air leak (PAL). Despite numerous clinical strategies could prevent and manage postoperative PAL, its incidence remains high. Phrenic nerve cryotherapy (PNC) temporarily inhibits phrenic nerve function, causing diaphragm elevation, which reduces thoracic cavity volume, enhances pleural apposition, and mitigates air leakage. This study investigates the efficacy of PNC in preventing postoperative PAL during VATS lobectomy. METHODS: A total of 108 eligible lung cancer patients who underwent surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, from June 2023 to January 2025, were enrolled and randomly assigned to the control group (n=54) and the experimental group (n=54). The patients in both the two groups received VATS lobectomy and systematic lymph node dissection, with the experimental group also undergoing PNC during the operation. The baseline characteristics, intraoperative, postoperative indicators and dynamic changes in air leakage between the two groups were compared. RESULTS: The baseline clinical characteristics were comparable between the two groups (P>0.05). The incidence of pulmonary air leakage at 24 h after surgery (31.5% vs 29.6%) and the incidence of postoperative PAL (20.4% vs 14.8%) showed no significant differences between the two groups (P>0.05). The intraoperative air leak test to 24 hours after surgery revealed that air leakage ceased in 8 cases (32.0%) in the control group, compared to 14 cases (46.7%) in the experimental group. Moreover, during the progression from air leakage at 24 hours post-surgery to postoperative PAL, air leakage ceased in 6 cases (35.3%) in the control group and 8 cases (50.0%) in the experimental group, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.001). Compared to the control group, the patients in the experimental group exhibited more pronounced postoperative diaphragmatic elevation that recovered to a slightly higher than preoperative level by 3 mon after surgery. CONCLUSIONS The combination of PNC and active lung repair can serve as an important intervention for patients at high risk of intraoperative air leakage, reducing the occurrence of postoperative PAL.
Humans ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Lung Neoplasms/surgery* ; Aged ; Phrenic Nerve/physiopathology* ; Cryotherapy ; Pneumonectomy/adverse effects* ; Postoperative Complications/etiology* ; Adult

Objective:To find out the distribution of water iodine in Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, and provide scientific basis for scientifically delimiting the distribution range of different water iodine level areas.Methods:From March to August 2024, by using a cross-sectional survey method, the administrative villages (communities, abbreviated as administrative villages) were used as units in 11 counties (districts, cities, abbreviated as counties) of the city to verify the changes in the names and administrative divisions of counties, townships, and administrative villages based on the survey results of iodine content in drinking water in the city in 2017. Population data, water source information, and water supply project operation were investigated, and 10% sampling method was used to collect drinking water samples. Cerium sulfate catalytic spectrophotometry was used to test water iodine level.Results:A total of 2 402 centralized water supply projects in 2 181 administrative villages were investigated and all were operating normally. The median iodine concentration in the city's water was 2.43 μg/L, ranging from 0.15 to 556.45 μg/L. The number of villages and population covered by water iodine level of < 40, 40 - 100, and > 100 μg/L was 1 990 villages and 2 841 752, 153 villages and 372 085, 38 villages and 75 493, respectively.Conclusions:According to the classification of water iodine standards, Jinzhong City presents a coexistence of iodine deficiency, adequate iodine, and high iodine areas, with iodine deficiency areas still being the main focus. Therefore, it is necessary to continue implementing salt iodization measures. Areas with high iodine levels need to continue to promote the implementation of measures to improve water quality, reduce iodine levels, and supply non iodized salt. Efforts should be made to promote disease prevention knowledge among key areas and populations, guide the public to scientifically supplement iodine, and effectively control the hazards of high iodine.

Objective:To explore the feasibility and clinical effect of surgical treatment for patients with malignant tumor complicated with coronary heart disease.Methods:The medical records of 12 patients with malignant solid tumor complicated with coronary heart disease who were treated by the same surgical team in the Department of Cardiac Surgery, the First Hospital of Tsinghua University from January 2018 to May 2025 were collected retrospectively, including 8 cases of digestive system tumors, 3 cases of lung tumors and 1 case of urinary system tumor. All patients underwent simultaneous (4 cases) or staged (8 cases) coronary artery bypass grafting and tumor resection. Coronary artery bypass grafting under cardiopulmonary bypass was performed in 2 cases, and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting was performed in the remaining 10 cases. Postoperative follow-up was conducted.Results:None of the 12 patients died during hospitalization, and all were cured and discharged. No perioperative myocardial ischemia or infarction occurred during hospitalization, and no postoperative surgical bleeding occurred. The 12 patients were followed up for 1 month to 7 years and 5 months. One patient with rectal cancer complicated with coronary heart disease had liver and lung metastases 13 months after surgery and died suddenly during the second cycle of chemotherapy 16 months after surgery. The remaining 11 patients survived.Conclusions:It is feasible to perform coronary artery bypass grafting and tumor resection in patients with coronary heart disease complicated with malignant tumor, and the short-term and medium-term effects are satisfactory.

Objective To investigate the effect of acupuncture at Hegu(LI4)on neural activity in the visual cortex of healthy volunteers using functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS).Methods Each healthy volunteer underwent three sets of trials in a resting state:the LI4 group received acupuncture stimulation at the right Hegu(LI4)acupoint;the negative control was the sham acupoint group(SHAM group);and the positive control was the visual stimulation group(VISUAL group).fNIRS was used to simultaneously monitor changes in oxygenated hemoglobin(Oxy-Hb)levels in the vis-ual cortex during various stages of acupuncture or visual tasks,thereby reflecting the activation level of the visual cortex.The entire acupuncture procedure was performed with the subjects' eyes closed.fNIRS recorded the raw optical density values of hemodynamics in the region of interest(ROI)of the visual cortex during each task phase.The relative coefficientβ value for oxygenated hemoglobin was obtained via Matlab analysis,and the coefficient difference Δβ value between the task period and the baseline period was calculated,representing the degree of change in oxygenated hemoglobin content in-duced by the stimulus,which reflected the change in activation level of the visual cortex after acupuncture or visual stimu-lation.A larger Δβ value indicates a higher degree of visual cortex activation.Generalized estimating equations(GEE)were applied to analyze the differences in visual cortex activation levels among the LI4,SHAM,and VISUAL groups.Results In channels 15 and 17 of the striate area and channels 10 and 13 of the extrastriate area,the Δβ values of sub-jects in the LI4 group during the needle manipulation and withdrawal phases were significantly higher than those in the SHAM group(all P＜0.01).When comparing the Δβ values of the LI4 group during the needle manipulation and withdrawal phases with those of the VISUAL group,under the current sample size,the differences were not statistically significant(all P＞0.05).The Δβ values in both the striate and extrastriate areas of the LI4 group peaked during the needle manipulation phase.Conclusion Acupuncture at Hegu(LI4)can effectively activate the visual cortex in healthy volunteers,with the most significant increase in activation observed during the needle manipulation phase.

Objective To investigate the mid- to long-term follow-up results of ascending aorta (AAO)-descending thoracic aorta (DTA) bypass grafting via median sternotomy incision for the treatment of complex aortic arch coarctation. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients with complex aortic arch coarctation who underwent AAO-DTA bypass grafting via median sternotomy incision at the First Hospital of Tsinghua University from August 2004 to May 2017. Results A total of 7 patients were enrolled, including 4 males and 3 females, aged (13.3±4.6) years, and weighted (40.2±12.2) kg. Six (85.7%) patients had concomitant upper limb hypertension. Four patients were aortic arch coarctation combined with intracardiac malformations, two were post-operative restenosis, and 1 was post-operative restenosis combined with intracardiac malformation. All patients underwent surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass. There were no perioperative deaths or major complications. The pre-operative upper-lower limb pressure difference was (39.3±19.2) mm Hg, which decreased to (2.9±2.7) mm Hg post-operatively (P<0.01). The follow-up period was (14.9±5.9) years. There were no long-term deaths or artificial graft-related complications. Except for one patient who still had mild hypertension, the blood pressure of the remaining patients returned to normal. Conclusion AAO-DTA bypass grafting via median sternotomy incision for the treatment of complex aortic arch coarctation can effectively reduce upper limb blood pressure and the upper-lower limb arterial pressure difference, has fewer complications, and demonstrates satisfactory mid- to long-term efficacy.