AIM:To evaluate the effects of periocular injection of triamcinolone acetonide combined with dexamethasone on ocular surface function and tear dynamics in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy(TAO).METHODS: In this single-center retrospective study, 26 TAO patients(52 eyes)treated between September 2020 and September 2023 received periocular injections of triamcinolone acetonide(20 mg)and dexamethasone(2.5 mg). Clinical parameters, including clinical activity score(CAS), ocular surface disease index(OSDI), Schirmer I test(SⅠt), tear film breakup time(BUT), tear meniscus height(TMH), corneal fluorescein staining(FL), meibomian gland loss, and lipid secretion score, were assessed at baseline, 1 wk, and 1 mo post-injection.RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in CAS, OSDI, SⅠt, BUT, TMH, FL score, and meibomian gland secretion score before and after injection in the included patients(all P<0.05). At 1 wk after injection, there were differences in CAS, OSDI, SⅠt, BUT, TMH, FL score, and meibomian gland secretion score compared with those before injection(all P<0.0167). At 1 mo after injection, there were differences in CAS, OSDI, SⅠt, BUT, TMH, FL score, and meibomian gland secretion score compared with those at 1 wk after injection(all P<0.0167). At 1 mo after injection, there were no differences in CAS, OSDI, SⅠt, BUT, TMH, FL score, and meibomian gland secretion score compared with those before injection(all P>0.05). There was a difference in meibomian gland dropout score before and after injection in the included patients(P<0.05), but pairwise comparisons showed no differences(P=0.900, 0.306). During the treatment period, 1 patient experienced transient elevation of intraocular pressure(25 mmHg), which was alleviated after control with intraocular pressure-lowering medication, and no cases of secondary glaucoma occurred.CONCLUSION: Periocular injection of triamcinolone acetonide combined with dexamethasone provides short-term improvement in ocular surface symptoms, tear film stability and secretion in TAO patients. However, efficacy diminishes over time and does not reverse structural damage. Long-term maintenance therapy is recommended.

Objective:To systematically analyze the revisions content and technological development trends of microbiological standards in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia(ChP)2025 Edition,and explore its novel requirements in risk-based pharmaceutical product lifecycle management.Methods:A comprehensive review was conducted on 26 microbiological-related standards to summarize the revision directions and scientific implications from perspectives including the revision overview,international harmonization of microbiological standards,risk-based quality man-agement system,and novel tools and methods with Chinese characteristics.Results:The ChP 2025 edition demon-strates three prominent features in microbiological-related standards:enhanced international harmonization,intro-duced emerging molecular biological technologies,and established a risk-based microbiological quality control sys-tem.Conclusion:The new edition of the Pharmacopoeia has systematically constructed a microbiological standard system,which significantly improves the scientificity,standardization and applicability of the standards,providing a crucial support for advancing the microbiological quality control in pharmaceutical industries of China.

BACKGROUND: Spicy food consumption has been reported to be inversely associated with mortality from multiple diseases. However, the effect of spicy food intake on the incidence of vascular diseases in the Chinese population remains unclear. This study was conducted to explore this association. METHODS: This study was performed using the large-scale China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) prospective cohort of 486,335 participants. The primary outcomes were vascular disease, ischemic heart disease (IHD), major coronary events (MCEs), cerebrovascular disease, stroke, and non-stroke cerebrovascular disease. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to assess the association between spicy food consumption and incident vascular diseases. Subgroup analysis was also performed to evaluate the heterogeneity of the association between spicy food consumption and the risk of vascular disease stratified by several basic characteristics. In addition, the joint effects of spicy food consumption and the healthy lifestyle score on the risk of vascular disease were also evaluated, and sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the reliability of the association results. RESULTS: During a median follow-up time of 12.1 years, a total of 136,125 patients with vascular disease, 46,689 patients with IHD, 10,097 patients with MCEs, 80,114 patients with cerebrovascular disease, 56,726 patients with stroke, and 40,098 patients with non-stroke cerebrovascular disease were identified. Participants who consumed spicy food 1-2 days/week (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.95, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = [0.93, 0.97], P <0.001), 3-5 days/week (HR = 0.96, 95% CI = [0.94, 0.99], P = 0.003), and 6-7 days/week (HR = 0.97, 95% CI = [0.95, 0.99], P = 0.002) had a significantly lower risk of vascular disease than those who consumed spicy food less than once a week ( Ptrend <0.001), especially in those who were younger and living in rural areas. Notably, the disease-based subgroup analysis indicated that the inverse associations remained in IHD ( Ptrend = 0.011) and MCEs ( Ptrend = 0.002) risk. Intriguingly, there was an interaction effect between spicy food consumption and the healthy lifestyle score on the risk of IHD ( Pinteraction = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS Our findings support an inverse association between spicy food consumption and vascular disease in the Chinese population, which may provide additional dietary guidance for the prevention of vascular diseases.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Prospective Studies ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Vascular Diseases/etiology* ; Risk Factors ; China/epidemiology* ; Adult ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Cerebrovascular Disorders/epidemiology* ; East Asian People

With the rapid development of generative adversarial networks (GAN), learning the mapping between CT and PET images enables cross-modality generation. This not only integrates anatomical and functional information to improve image quality, but also helps reduce the radiation exposure to some extent. Based on a review of representative GAN architectures such as conditional GAN and CycleGAN, this paper discusses their research progress and limitations in various application scenarios, including initial tumor diagnosis and staging, treatment evaluation and follow-up, as well as methods for reducing PET/CT radiation dose. Additionally, challenges related to small-sample learning, model interpretability, and cross-institutional standardization are highlighted, and the clinical application prospects of GAN-based cross-modality generation technology are explored.

Objective To investigate the short-term efficacy of transforaminal endoscope combined with percutaneous fixation in the treatment of single-segment Brucella spondylitis with intraspinal abscess. Methods The clinical data of 14 patients with single-segment lumbar Brucella spondylitis with intraspinal abscess treated by transforaminal endoscopic decompression combined with percutaneous fixation in our hospital from March 2021 to August 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The operation time,intraoperative blood loss,erythrocyte sedimen-tation rate(ESR) and C-reactive protein(CRP) before operation,3 days and 3 months after operation,postoperative drainage volume,post-operative bed rest time and occurrence of complications were recorded. Before operation,3 days and 3 months after operation,the visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to evaluate the pain degree of lower back and leg,the lumbar function was evaluated by Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score,Oswestry disability index (ODI)was used to evaluate the dysfunction,and the modified Macnab criteria was used to evaluate the good to excellent rate of efficacy. Results The operation time of 14 patients was 182～217 min,with an average of (197.3±18.6) minutes. The mean intraoperative blood loss was (37.8±15.5)mL;the mean drainage volume was (23.5±5.8)mL;the postoperative bed rest time was (3.5±1.4) days. ESR and CRP gradually decreased 3 days and 3 months after operation compared with those before opera-tion,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05). The VAS scores of lower back and legs,JOA scores,and ODI at each time point of follow-up after operation were significantly improved compared with those before operation,with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). After 3 months of follow-up,the good to excellent rate of efficacy was 85.7％.Conclusion The minimally invasive technique of transforaminal endoscope in the treatment of Brucella spondylitis with intraspinal abscess can conduct neuraxial root decompression,abscess removal,and local surgical area irrigation,significantly relieve the pain of lower limbs,and combined with the percutaneous fixation can significantly alleviate the low back pain and improve the function of patients. The combination of the two methods is minimally invasive,safe and effective in the treatment of Brucella spondylitis with intraspinal abscess.

Objective To investigate the effect of exogenous luteinizing hormone (LH) on vitrification granulosa cells and its mecha-nisms. Methods The granulosa cells of 4-week-old preadolescent mice were selected and divided into the fresh group (without vitrification procedure),the vitrification group (treated according to vitrification procedure) and the LH group (treated with 0.3 IU/L of LH intervention on the basis of the vitrification group). Granulocyte count was performed,and Realtime PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression changes of Foxl2,PI3K,AKT and mTOR mRNAs and proteins in each group. Results Compared with the vitrification group,the total number of granulosa cells in the LH group was significantly increased (P<0.05),and the expression of Foxl2,PI3K,AKT and mTOR mRNAs and proteins were elevated (P<0.05). Conclusion The intevention of exogenous LH is beneficial for the survival of vitrifi-cation granulosa cells,and the mechanism may be related to the activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

The scaphoid bone is one of the important bone of hand,which is frequently injured and difficult to treat in clinical practice.Therefore,it is very important to deeply study the microstructure and biomechanical characteristics of the scaphoid bone for understanding its injury mechanism and optimizing treatment scheme.Microcomputed tomography(micro-CT)provides high-resolution imaging of bone tissue,while finite element analysis can help to simulate the stress distribution and behavioral patterns of the scaphoid bone under various physiological and pathological states.The high-resolution three-dimensional image of the scaphoid bone obtained by micro-CT technology can be used to construct finite element models of real anatomical structure of the scaphoid bone,thus achieving accurate simulation of the mechanical properties of the scaphoid bone.The fusion of these two advanced technologies provides a new perspective for revealing the structural and functional relationships and injury mechanism of the scaphoid bone.Therefore,this paper reviews the anatomical characteristics of the scaphoid bone and its biomechanical behavior in different states,emphasizing the specific applications and advantages of micro-CT and finite element analysis techniques in the study of the scaphoid bone.By summarizing the research findings in recent years,this paper provides novel scientific basis and methods for the diagnosis,treatment,and prevention of scaphoid bone-related disorders.

The microbial limit standards in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020 edition primarily focus on total aerobic microbial count and specified objectionable microorganisms,which are insufficient for comprehensively assessing the potential risks posed by microbial contamination to drug efficacy and patient safety.With the increasing com-plexity of rising regulatory requirements,there is an urgent need to establish a scientific and systematic microbial risk assessment and control framework.In response,the Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2025 edition,introduces a new general guideline 9212 Risk Assessment and Control of Unacceptable Microorganisms for Non-sterile Products.This chapter systematically constructs a framework for the identification and control of risks associated with unacceptable microorganisms,filling a gap in the relevant field within international pharmacopoeias.This article systematically elaborates on its key elements based on its core framework and content.It covers the development background,core concepts,testing and identification strategies,evaluation of risk characterization factors,formulation of risk control measures,and implementation pathways.The aim is to provide pharmaceutical enterprises and regulatory agencies with systematic and clear practical guidance.

The Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2025 Edition added the 9213 Guideline for validation,verification,and transfer of microbiological analytical methods.Based on the characteristics of pharmaceutical microbiological analyt-ical methods and practical applications,it specified definitions of relevant terms and application scenarios,estab-lished technical indicators and acceptance criteria for methodological evaluation,and introduced key statistical tools and evaluation principles.This article systematically elaborates on the drafting background and process of the Guideline,and interprets its key content,aiming to offer theoretical guidance and practical reference for relevant practitioners in applying this guideline.This guideline strengthens the foundation of pharmaceutical microbial analytical methods in China and enhances the scientificity and accuracy of the pharmaceutical microbial standards system.