Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics and analyze prognostic factors of neuroblastoma (NB) in infants (≤12 months) at a single center. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of infant patients (≤12 months) diagnosed with NB and treated between January 2014 and December 2022. Clinical features were analyzed, and comparisons between two sample rates were performed using the χ² test. Univariate prognostic analysis was conducted using the log-rank test, and survival outcomes were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results A total of 42 infants (≤12 months) with NB were enrolled. Low-risk patients underwent surgical resection alone; intermediate-risk patients received surgery combined with chemotherapy with or without maintenance therapy; high-risk patients were treated with surgery and chemotherapy with or without maintenance therapy or radiotherapy. The 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rate was (92.7±4.9)%, and the 5-year overall survival rate was (95.2±3.6)%. Only two patients died because of tumor recurrence or progression. Univariate analysis identified MYCN amplification and the initial lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level ≥ five times the upper limit of the normal were significantly associated with poor prognosis (5-year EFS: 33.3% vs. 97.4% and 60.0% vs. 97.3%, P<0.0001 and P=0.0035). Conclusion Infant NB has a favorable overall prognosis. MYCN amplification and markedly elevated initial LDH are associated with poor outcomes.

Objective: To conduct screening for rare blood types within important blood group systems for the Chinese population, such as Rh, Duffy, Kidd, P1Pk, Diego, and MNS, in the Guangzhou region, and to establish a corresponding rare blood type database and physical repository. Methods: The saline medium microplate method was used to screen blood donors with the ccDEE phenotype combined with either Jk(a-) or Jk(b-). The polybrene microplate method was employed to screen for donors with Fy(a-), s(-), Lu(b-), Di(b-), k(-), and p phenotypes. The urea lysis microplate method was applied to screen for the Jk(a-b-) phenotype. A high-resolution melting (HRM) curve method was established for screening some donors with the Di(b-) phenotype. Subsequently, expanded phenotyping of antigens in the Rh, Kidd, MNS, Duffy, P1Pk, Lewis, Kell, and Lutheran blood group systems was performed on identified rare blood type donors using monoclonal antibodies. The test results are entered into the Rare Blood Type Bank Management System of the Guangzhou Blood Center, enabling functions such as confirmation reminders and cryopreservation storage when the donor donates again. Red blood cells of rare blood types are processed into frozen red blood cells for long-term storage. Results: Among voluntary blood donors, 16 cases of the ccDEE combined with Jk(a-) phenotype were identified (0.221 7%, 16/7 216); 10 cases of the ccDEE combined with Jk(b-) phenotype (0.138 6%, 10/7 216); 78 cases of the Fy(a-) phenotype (0.169 5%, 78/46 012); 39 cases of the Lu(b-) phenotype (0.138 2%, 39/28 214); 31 cases of the s(-) phenotype (0.081 8%, 31/37 913); 22 cases of the Di(b-) phenotype (0.029 9%, 22/73 691); 30 cases of the Jk(a-b-) phenotype (0.010 1%, 30/298 250); and 1 case of the k(-) phenotype (0.001 3%, 1/77 382), which was further identified as KELnull phenotype (K0). No p phenotype donors were identified (0/88 528). A total of 228 units of frozen red blood cells were prepared. The screening results were compared and analyzed with rare blood type data from other regions. Conclusion: This study, through a combination of different screening methods, significantly improved the efficiency of rare blood type screening while remaining cost-effective. By conducting large-scale screening and performing data informatization processing, a database and physical repository of rare blood types in the Guangzhou region were successfully established. This provides a strong guarantee for the timely supply of blood to patients with difficult-to-match and rare blood types in the region, effectively enhances the level of transfusion safety in the region, and offers a practical paradigm for constructing a comprehensive blood transfusion support system.

Objectives: . The prognostic value of the pretreatment albumin-to-alkaline phosphatase ratio (AAPR) in head and neck cancer (HNC) remains uncertain. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the predictive role of AAPR for survival outcomes in patients with HNC. Methods: . A comprehensive search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase databases was conducted to identify relevant studies published up to July 30, 2024. We included studies on AAPR and survival outcomes in HNC patients. Results: . Eight studies comprising 1,737 HNC patients were analyzed using random-effects models. Lower AAPR values were significantly correlated with worse overall survival (hazard ratio [HR], 2.08), progression-free survival (HR, 2.00), and disease-free survival (HR, 2.18). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these results, with no significant publication bias detected. Conclusion . Our findings suggest that pretreatment AAPR could serve as a valuable and cost-effective prognostic indicator in HNC, potentially aiding clinicians in risk stratification and treatment decision-making. However, additional validation studies are warranted to confirm its clinical applicability.

Background: To investigate directional deviations between pilot holes and final pedicle screw trajectories in freehand placement and analyze risk factors for misplacement. While pedicle screws are widely used in thoracolumbosacral surgery, directional deviations between pilot holes and final screw trajectories remain understudied as potential risk factors for misplacement. Methods: Thirty-three patients undergoing posterior fixation were prospectively enrolled. Inertial measurement units (IMUs) tracked the spatial positions of pedicle finders and screwdrivers via custom software. Surgeons (n = 6) were stratified into senior, middle, and junior groups. Analyzed variables included the use of tapping, surgeon experience, spinal deformity status, screw tip morphology, and surgical parameters. Results: Among 198 implanted screws (6.00 ± 2.88/patient), all exhibited trajectory deviations (8.12° ± 3.47°). Tapping significantly reduced deviations (7.23° ± 3.23° vs. 8.87° ± 3.31°, p < 0.01). Senior surgeons achieved smaller deviations (7.34° ± 3.33°) than the middle group (8.60° ± 3.51°, p = 0.039) and junior group (8.68° ± 3.49°, p = 0.022). Multivariate analysis confirmed tapping (p = 0.001) and senior experience (p = 0.023) as protective factors. No significant associations emerged for spinal deformity (8.43° ± 3.73° vs. 7.97° ± 3.35°, p = 0.377), screw tip type (cylindrical, 8.43° ± 3.26° vs. tapered, 8.07 ± 3.51°; p = 0.637), obesity, or surgical position parameters. Conclusions Freehand pedicle screw placement consistently produces trajectory deviations from pilot holes, and surgeon experience and tapping are modifiable protective factors. The IMU-based tracking system enables quantitative surgical motion analysis, suggesting its utility for training optimization and technique standardization.

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture in treatment of simple obesity patients and its effects on the metabolism-inflammation network. MethodsSeventy-two patients with simple obesity were randomly divided into a electroacupuncture group and a sham electroacupuncture group， with 36 patients in each group. In the electroacupuncture group， conventional acupuncture was applied at Zhongwan （CV 12）， bilateral Tianshu （ST 25）， bilateral Daheng （SP15）， Qihai （CV 6）， Guanyuan （CV 4）， bilateral Zusanli （ST 36） and Fenglong （ST 40）. The sham electroacupuncture group used placebo needle at same acupoints as the electroacupuncture group. Both groups were given sparse-dense waves with a frequency of 2/10 Hz， 30 minutes per session， 3 times a week， for a total of 8 weeks of treatment. The changes of human body parameters including body weight， body mass index （BMI）， waist circumference， and body fat percentage （BFP）， metabolic factors including serum fasting blood glucose （FBG）， triglyceride （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， high density lipoprotein （HDL）， low density lipoprotein （LDL）， leptin， and ghrelin， and inflammatory factors including interleukin-6 （IL-6） and tumor necrosis factor α （TNF-α） were compared before and after treatment. Correlations between changes in leptin， ghrelin and inflammatory factors were further analyzed. ResultsWaist circumference was significantly reduced after treatment in both groups compared with baseline （P＜0.05）， and the post-treatment waist circumference was lower in the electroacupuncture group than in the sham electroacupuncture group （P＜0.05）； body weight， BMI and BFP decreased significantly after treatment compared to pretreatment levels in the electroacupuncture group （P＜0.05）. Serum leptin， IL-6 and TNF-α declined significantly after treatment in both groups versus baseline （P＜0.05）； the electroacupuncture group had lower post-treatment levels of leptin， IL-6 and TNF-α as well as larger pre-post changes than the sham group （P＜0.05）； ghrelin increased markedly after treatment in both groups （P＜0.05）， with higher post-treatment ghrelin and greater pre-post variation observed in the electroacupuncture group （P＜0.05）. In the electroacupuncture group， changes in ghrelin were negatively correlated with IL-6 and positively correlated with TNF-α （P＜0.01）； in the sham electroacupuncture group， ghrelin changes were negatively correlated with both IL-6 and TNF-α， whereas leptin changes were positively correlated with the two inflammatory markers （P＜0.01）. ConclusionElectroacupuncture can effectively improve clinical manifestations， as well as regulate serum metabolic and pro-inflammatory factors in patients with simple obesity， and discrepant correlation patterns of metabolism-inflammation are observed between the two groups.

OBJECTIVE To optimize the extraction process of flavonoids from Potentilla discolor .METHODS Deep eutectic solvents （DESs） were used as the extraction solvent to prepare test sample solutions. The contents of rutin， quercitrin， and kaempferol were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography. The analytic hierarchy process combined with the criteria importance through intercriteria correlation weighting method was employed to assign comprehensive weights to the contents of the three flavonoids， and calculate the comprehensive score. The optimal DESs were screened based on the comprehensive score.Mean while， using the comprehensive score as the response variable and the liquid-to-solid ratio， ultrasonic time， and urltrasonic temperature as the influencing factors， the extraction technology of flavonoids from P.discolor was optimized by Box-Behnken response surface methodology and subsequently validated.RESULTS The comprehensive weight coefficients of rutin， quercitrin， and kaempferol were 0.646 7， 0.207 5， and 0.145 8， respectively. The optimal DESs were choline chloride-lactic acid （molar ratio 1∶4） with a water content of 40%. The optimal extraction conditions were determined as follows： liquid-to-solid ratio of 25∶1， ultrasonic time of 40 min， and ultrasonic temperature of 50 ℃. The validation results showed that the average comprehensive score of three batches of samples was 99.28， with an RSD of 0.54% （ n ＝3）.CONCLUSIONS The optimal extraction technology of flavonoids from P. discolor based on DESs obtained in this study was stable and feasible.

ObjectiveTo investigate whether modified Taohe Chengqitang （JTCT） treats liver fibrosis by inhibiting hepatic sinusoidal capillarization， and to verify whether its specific mechanism is related to the Homologous genes responsible for the notches along the edges of Drosophila wings（Notch） signaling pathway and endothelial nitric oxide synthase （eNOS） signaling pathway. MethodsFifty C57BL/6 mice were randomized into 5 groups： Control， model （5 mL·kg^-1·3 d^-1）， low-dose JTCT， medium-dose JTCT， and high-dose JTCT （JTCT-L，JTCT-M，JTCT-H）. Except the control group， the other groups were intraperitoneally injected with 20% carbon tetrachloride （CCl₄） olive oil solution every 3 days for 4 weeks to induce liver fibrosis. Meanwhile， JTCT-L， JTCT-M， and JTCT-H groups were administrated with JTCT by gavage at doses of 16.6， 33.3， and 66.6 g·kg^-1·d^-1， respectively， for 4 consecutive weeks （the control and model groups received equal volumes of normal saline by gavage）. Primary liver sinusoidal endothelial cells （LSECs） were isolated from rat livers through in situ perfusion of collagenase， Percoll density gradient centrifugation， and selective removal of Kupffer cells. After verification of cell phenotype， LSECs were used for experiments. For cells at the logarithmic growth phase， the small interfering RNA（siRNA） kit was used to knock down the expression of soluble guanylate cyclase （sGC） through transient transfection. Subsequently， the Notch agonist Jagged-1 was applied. Cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） was used to examine the cytotoxicity of JTCT on LSECs. Real-time PCR and Western blot were employed to measure the expression of molecules in the Notch and eNOS signaling pathways at mRNA and protein levels， respectively. Intracellular Ca²⁺ was labeled with the fluorescent probe Fluo-4 acetoxymethyl ester（Fluo-4/AM）. ResultsThe animal experiment showed that compared with the control group， the model group exhibited hepatic steatosis， inflammatory cell infiltration， hepatocyte degeneration and necrosis， lobular structural disorder， and fibrous tissue hyperplasia in the mouse liver tissue， significantly elevated serum levels of hydroxyproline （Hyp）， alanine transaminase （ALT）， and aspartate transaminase （AST） （P<0.01）， significantly upregulated expression levels of Notch1， Hes family bHLH transcription factor 1（Hes1）， Cluster of Differentiation 31（CD31）， and von Willebrand factor（vWF） （P<0.01）， and significantly downregulated phosphorylate（p）-eNOS/eNOS ratio and sGC expression （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， all the JTCT groups showed significantly reduced serum Hyp， ALT， and AST levels （P<0.01）， downregulated expression of Notch1， Hes1， CD31， and vWF （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and upregulated p-eNOS/eNOS ratio and sGC expression （P<0.05， P<0.01） in the liver tissue， with the JTCT-H group showing the most significant changes （P<0.01）. The cell experiment showed that compared with the LSEC-1day group， the LSEC-5day group exhibited significantly increased expression of Notch1， Hes1， CD31， and vWF （P<0.01）， significantly decreased p-eNOS/eNOS ratio and sGC expression （P<0.01）， and elevated intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration （P<0.01）. Compared with the LSEC-5day group， the JTCT group showed decreased expression of Notch1， Hes1， CD31， and vWF （P<0.01）， significantly increased p-eNOS/eNOS ratio （P<0.01）， and significantly reduced intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration （P<0.01）. No significant differences were observed in the expression of Notch1， Hes1， eNOS， p-eNOS， CD31， vWF， sGC， or intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration between the Jagged1 group and the Jagged1+JTCT group. Compared with the LSEC-5day group， the sGC knockout group （sGC-KO） showed significantly increased expression of CD31 and vWF （P<0.01）. There was no significant difference in CD31 or vWF expression between the sGC-KO group and the sGC-KO+JTCT group. ConclusionJTCT inhibits the activation of the Notch signaling pathway and restores the activity of the eNOS signaling pathway to suppress sinusoidal capillarization of LSECs， thereby treating liver fibrosis.

Immobilized enzyme-based enzyme electrode biosensors, characterized by high sensitivity and efficiency, strong specificity, and compact size, demonstrate broad application prospects in life science research, disease diagnosis and monitoring, etc. Immobilization of enzyme is a critical step in determining the performance (stability, sensitivity, and reproducibility) of the biosensors. Random immobilization (physical adsorption, covalent cross-linking, etc.) can easily bring about problems, such as decreased enzyme activity and relatively unstable immobilization. Whereas, directional immobilization utilizing amino acid residue mutation, affinity peptide fusion, or nucleotide-specific binding to restrict the orientation of the enzymes provides new possibilities to solve the problems caused by random immobilization. In this paper, the principles, advantages and disadvantages and the application progress of enzyme electrode biosensors of different directional immobilization strategies for enzyme molecular sensing elements by specific amino acids (lysine, histidine, cysteine, unnatural amino acid) with functional groups introduced based on site-specific mutation, affinity peptides (gold binding peptides, carbon binding peptides, carbohydrate binding domains) fused through genetic engineering, and specific binding between nucleotides and target enzymes (proteins) were reviewed, and the application fields, advantages and limitations of various immobilized enzyme interface characterization techniques were discussed, hoping to provide theoretical and technical guidance for the creation of high-performance enzyme sensing elements and the manufacture of enzyme electrode sensors.

Objective:To investigate the risk of falls in patients with Parkinson's disease and establish and validate a prediction model.Methods:We selected 372 patients with Parkinson's disease at Sichuan Nanchong Mental Health Centre from January 2022 to Septem-ber 2023.The patients were divided in a 7:3 ratio into model group(260 cases)and validation group(112 cases).According to previ-ous literature and suspected factors found in clinical practice,we collected general information(sex,age,etc.)and disease-related factors(the duration of Parkinson's disease,the type of medications taken,etc.)that may be associated with falls in patients with Parkinson's disease.In the model group,between patients with and those without falls within 1 year as reported by the patients or their family members,potential predictors for falls were determined through comparison of general information and disease-related factors,least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)regression,and multivariable logistic regression.Based on the significant factors,a nomogram model was established and validated.Results:In the model group,81(31.15%)of the 260 patients experienced falls.According to the LASSO regression and multivariable logistic regression results,alcohol consumption,the type of medications,the score of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part Ⅲ(UPDRS-Ⅲ),the Berg Balance Scale score,the presence of arthritis,and the presence of osteoporosis were independent factors influenc-ing falls in patients with Parkinson's disease.The area under curve(AUC)of the receiver operator characteristic curve(ROC)for pre-dicting the risk of falls in patients with Parkinson's disease was 0.896(95%CI=0.856-0.935)in the model group and 0.883(95%CI=0.840-0.926)in the validation group.The calibration curve analysis results showed that the prediction curves of the model and valida-tion groups closely fitted the standard curves.The decision curve analysis results indicated that when the probability threshold for pre-dicting the fall risk in Parkinson's disease using the nomogram was 0.10-0.90,the net benefit rate of the patients was greater than 0.Conclusion:The risk of falls in patients with Parkinson's disease are mainly influenced by factors such as alcohol consumption and the type of medications.The nomogram model established in this study can be used to predict the fall risk in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Objective To investigate the influence of basic condition,surgical strategy,and postoperative condition of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis(AIS)patients on the length of hospitalization.Methods A total of 145 AIS patients who underwent posterior spinal fusion and internal fixation in The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University(Second Military Medical University)from Jan.1,2014 to Dec.31,2023 with more than 2 years of follow-up were retrospectively enrolled.According to the surgical strategy,they were assigned to selective fusion group(n=50)and non-selective fusion group(n=95).AIS patients were assigned to intensive care unit(ICU)group(n=81)and non-ICU group(n=64)according to whether they were admitted to ICU.Parameters related to basic,surgical and postoperative conditions,hospital stay and postoperative hospital stay were analyzed.Multiple linear regression analysis was used to study the influencing factors of hospital stay and postoperative hospital stay.Results The number of surgical segments,surgical time,intraoperative blood loss,drainage volume on the 3rd day postoperatively,hospital stay,and postoperative hospital stay in the selective fusion group were significantly less than those in the non-selective fusion group(all P＜0.05).The patients in the ICU group were younger,had longer surgery time,had more intraoperative blood loss and blood transfusion,and had longer hospital stay and postoperative hospital stay compared with those in the non-ICU group(all P＜0.05).Correlation analysis showed that hospital stay and postoperative hospital stay were both positively correlated with ICU admission(r=0.179,0.240;both P＜0.05)and were both negatively correlated with selective fusion(r=-0.187,-0.242;both P＜0.05).Conclusion The hospital stay and postoperative hospital stay of AIS patients with non-selective fusion in posterior spinal fusion and internal fixation is longer than those of patients with selective fusion.Non-selective fusion and ICU admission may be factors contributing to the prolonged hospital stay and postoperative hospital stay in AIS patients.