ObjectiveTo explore the effect of oral sodium butyrate on skeletal muscle atrophy in CT26 tumor mice through the gut microbiota-skeletal muscle axis and its potential mechanism. MethodsSixty SPF BALB/c male mice aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into a normal control group (NC, n=18) and a ABX-depleted group (ABX, n=42). The ABX mice were pretreated with a quadruple antibiotic cocktail via oral gavage (0.2 ml per administration, once daily, 6 d per week, for 2 weeks), whereas NC received an equal volume of sterile water. The quadruple antibiotic cocktail consisted of metronidazole (1 g/L), vancomycin (0.5 g/L), ampicillin (1 g/L), and gentamicin (1 g/L). Following successful pretreatment, six mice from each group were randomly selected for gut microbiota sequencing analysis and designated as the Abx group and the NC0 group, respectively. Theremaining mice in ABX were subcutaneously inoculated in the dorsum with 0.2 ml of CT26 cell suspension (at a cell density of 1×10⁷/ml). Then these mice were randomly allocated into three subgroups: a control tumor bearing model group (0_NaB, n=12), a tumor-bearing model group receiving low-dose oral sodium butyrate (L_NaB, n=12), a tumor-bearing model group receiving high-dose oral sodium butyrate (H_NaB, n=12). And mice in NC were inoculated at the same site with 0.2 ml of normal saline. The administration dose for L_NaB was 0.3 g/(kg·d), that for H_NaB was 0.5 g/(kg·d), while NC and 0_NaB were given the same volume of normal saline (0.2ml per time, once daily, 6 d per week, for 4 weeks). The general condition of mice was monitored, and forelimb grip strength gastrocnemius muscle mass and its muscle fiber cross-sectional area were measured for each group. The structural changes in gut microbiota were assessed by 16S rRNA sequencing of cecal contents. Pathological alterations in the intestinal wall were examined via HE staining. Serum and gastrocnemius muscle levels of TNF‑α, IL-6, IL-1β, and LPS were quantified using ELISA. The protein expression of ZO-1 and occludin in the small intestine, as well as proteins associated with the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway in the gastrocnemius muscle, were detected by Western blot analysis. Results(1) The alpha-diversity in Abx was significantly lower than that in NC0 (P<0.01), a significant decrease of the mass and muscle fiber cross-sectional area of the gastrocnemius (P<0.01), with the majority of gut microbiota being effectively depleted. (2) Compared with NC, the subcutaneous tumors of mice in 0_NaB were prominent, a significant increase of the mass and muscle fiber cross-sectional area of the gastrocnemius, accompanied by a significant decrease in body weight at the end of the 3th and 4th week (P<0.05), and a significant weakening of the forelimb grasping strength at the 5th and 6th week (P<0.01). Compared with 0_NaB, the tumor mass of mice in L_NaB and H_NaB showed a significant decreasing trend, and the grip strength of the forelimbs significantly increased at the 5th and 6th week (P<0.05, P<0.01). (3) Compared with 0_NaB, the Shannon and Observed species indices in α diversity of L_NaB and H_NaB were significantly increased (P<0.05). At the genus level, compared with 0_NaB, L_NaB exhibited a significant decrease in the relative abundance of Parasutterella (P< 0.01), while H_NaB showed significant reductions in the relative abundances of both Escherichia-Shigella and Parasutterella (P < 0.01). (4) Compared with 0_NaB, the small intestinal tissue structure in L_NaB and H_NaB was more intact, the infiltration of inflammatory cells was significantly reduced, and the capillaries were slightly dilated. The expression levels of ZO-1 and occludin proteins in L_NaB were significantly increased (P<0.01). (5) The LPS concentration in the gastrocnemius muscle and the protein expression levels of TLR4, MyD88, p-IκBα, and p-NF‑κB p65 in L_NaB and H_NaB were significantly lower than those in 0_NaB (P<0.05). The serum TNF‑α concentration in H_NaB and TNF-α concentration in the gastrocnemius muscle of the L_NaB and H_NaB were significantly lower than those in 0_NaB (P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.01). ConclusionOral administration of NaB can improve gut microbiota α diversity, adjusting its composition, improving intestinal mucosal barrier function, reducing the LPS-induced pro-inflammatory response, and delaying skeletal muscle atrophy. The underlying mechanism may involve down regulation of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling in skeletal muscle.

The rationale for the design of control groups in tuina clinical trial is the foundation for rigorously validating the effectiveness and safety of this therapy. This article reviewed the current state of the design of tuina placebo in control groups of clinical trials， pointed out the necessity of setting up tuina placebo in clinical trials of tuina， analyzed the challenges in implementing blinding of tuina manipulation， and concluded that tuina placebo is still challenged by the placebo effect， the diversification of tuina manipulation but the lack of standardization， and the difficulty of implementing blinding due to the high level of public awareness of tuina. This article also summarized the design of placebo manipulation in three types of clinical trials， including spinal manipulation， acupressure， and paediatric tuina， and proposed four strategies for designing placebo tuina manipulation-controlling placebo effects， developing operational standards for placebo tuina manipulation， ensuring the rigor of blinding implementation， and applying new technologies to enhance the standardization and blinding capacity of placebo tuina methods. So the article is aimed at improving the methodological quality of tuina clinical trial designs， and promoting the standardization and scientificity of tuina clinical trial design.

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and osteoporosis (OP) are two very common metabolic diseases. A growing body of experimental evidence supports a pathophysiological link between MAFLD and OP. MAFLD is often associated with the development of OP. Rutaecarpine (RUT) is one of the main active components of Chinese medicine Euodiae Fructus. Our previous studies have demonstrated that RUT has lipid-lowering, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic effects, and can improve the OP of rats. However, whether RUT can improve both fatty liver and OP symptoms of MAFLD mice at the same time remains to be investigated. In this study, we used C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 4 months to construct a MAFLD model, and gave the mice a low dose (5 mg·kg^-1) and a high dose (15 mg·kg^-1) of RUT by gavage for 4 weeks. The effects of RUT on liver steatosis and bone metabolism were then evaluated at the end of the experiment [this experiment was approved by the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (approval number: IMB-20190124D₃03)]. The results showed that RUT treatment significantly reduced hepatic steatosis and lipid accumulation, and significantly reduced bone loss and promoted bone formation. In summary, this study shows that RUT has an effect of improving fatty liver and OP in MAFLD mice.

Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) significantly endangers the lives of individuals with Marfan syndrome (MFS), yet the intricacies of their biomechanical origins remain elusive. Our investigation delves into the pivotal role of hemodynamic disturbance in the pathogenesis of TAA, with a particular emphasis on the mechanistic contributions of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling cascade. We uncovered that activation of the mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) within smooth muscle cells, instigated by the oscillatory wall shear stress (OSS) that stems from disturbed flow (DF), is a catalyst for TAA progression. This revelation was corroborated through both an MFS mouse model (Fbn1 ^+/C1039G) and clinical MFS specimens. Crucially, our research demonstrates a direct linkage between the activation of the mTORC1 pathway and the intensity in OSS. Therapeutic administration of rapamycin suppresses mTORC1 activity, leading to the attenuation of aberrant SMC behavior, reduced inflammatory infiltration, and restoration of extracellular matrix integrity-collectively decelerating TAA advancement in our mouse model. These insights posit the mTORC1 axis as a strategic target for intervention, offering a novel approach to manage TAAs in MFS and potentially pave insights for current treatment paradigms.

Objective To analyze the cellular and histopathological characteristics of underdiagnosed thyroid nodules of Chinese thyroid imaging reporting and data system(C-TIRADS) categories 3 and 4a,thus improving the understanding of these lesions. Methods The data of ultrasound and fine needle aspiration cytology were collected from 683 nodules diagnosed based on pathological evidence in 549 patients undergoing thyroid surgery.The cellular and histopathological characteristics of C-TIRADS 3 and 4a nodules were analyzed. Results Two hundred and sixty-eight nodules were classified as C-TIRADS category 3,including 236 benign nodules,12 low-risk ones,and 20 (7.46%) malignant ones.Two hundred and twenty-one nodules were classified as C-TIRADS category 4a,including 133 benign nodules,7 low-risk ones,and 81 (36.65%) malignant ones.The malignancy rates differed between C-TIRADS 3 and 4a nodules (χ²=58.93,P<0.001),and both were higher than the recommended malignancy rate in the guidelines for malignancy risk stratification of thyroid nodules (C-TIRADS) (both P<0.001).According to the pathological evidence,the underdiagnosed C-TIRADS 3/4a nodules were mainly papillary thyroid carcinoma,especially in patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis.There was not a consistent one-to-one match between each ultrasound result and each cytological classification of low-risk thyroid nodules.Conclusions When the malignant features in preoprative ultrasound imaging are atypical or absent,papillary thyroid carcinoma (especially with Hashimoto thyroiditis),follicular carcinoma,and medullary carcinoma are likely to be underdiagnosed as C-TIRADS 3 or 4a nodules.Therefore,efforts should be made to fully understand the cellular and pathological characteristics of these lesions.
Humans ; Thyroid Nodule/diagnostic imaging* ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Ultrasonography ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Aged ; Young Adult ; Thyroid Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Adolescent

Objective:To analyze the influencing factors of pregnancy outcome of test-tube baby assisted pregnancy base on clinical data,and build a prediction model.Methods:The clinical data of 283 infertility patients were retrospectively analyzed.They were divided into successful pregnancy group(147 cases)and failed pregnancy group(136 cases)according to the pregnancy outcome.The influencing factors of pregnancy were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression analysis.The predictive value of influencing factors was evaluated by drawn receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Prediction model was constructed and verified based on the results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis.Results:283 cases of infertility patients received test-tube baby assisted pregnancy treatment,147 cases were successfully pregnant,and the pregnancy success rate was 51.94％(147/283).The proportion of the duration of infertility＞3 years,the proportion of endometrial morphology on HCG injection day was B or C,the proportion of endometrial thickness＜7 mm,and the proportion of embryo quality not good in failed pregnancy group were higher than those in successful pregnancy group(P＜0.05).Endometrial thickness＜7 mm,endometrial morphology on HCG injection day was B or C,the duration of infertility＞3 years,embryo quality not good were the risk factors for the failure of test-tube baby assisted pregnancy(P＜0.05).The results of ROC curve analysis showed that,the area under the curve(AUC)of endometrial morphology on HCG injection day,the duration of infertility,endometrial thickness and embryo quality to predict the failure of test-tube baby assisted pregnancy were 0.577,0.617,0.581 and 0.603 respectively.Multivariate Logistic regression model was constructed based on the influencing factors of failure of test-tube baby assisted pregnancy,the AUC of this model for predicting failure of test-tube baby assisted pregnancy was 0.845,and its predictive efficacy was higher than that of each influencing factor alone(Z=6.832,5.905,6.832,6.258,all P＜0.05).Conclusion:Endometrial thicknes＜7 mm,endometrial morphology on HCG injection day was B or C,the duration of infertility＞3 years,embryo quality not good are risk factors for the failure of test-tube baby assisted pregnancy,the prediction model base on the above risk factors has a high predictive value for the pregnancy outcome of test-tube baby assisted pregnancy.

Objective To propose a lead attention network-based ST-T change recognition algorithm to detect ECG ST-T changes accurately.Methods Firstly,heartbeat signals were extracted through R-wave localization,and a 12-lead heartbeat matrix was generated by correlation-based screening and merging to realize data augmentation.Secondly,a lead attention module was constructed by combining depthwise convolution(DWConv)with the channel attention squeeze-and-excitation block(SE-block)structure to perceive the differences in ST-T status among electrocardiogram leads.Thirdly,the mapping output by two independent attention modules was fused and splicing with the original signal residual was carried out,so that attention information extraction and original information transfer were enhanced effectively.Finally,SE-ResNet was used as the backbone network to extract signal features to complete the classification and identification of ST-T changes.To validate the recognition performance of the proposed algorithm for ST-T changes in ECG,the 12-lead ECG data of 97 472 patients containing different ECG rhythms were collected for ablation and comparison experiments at the First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University.Results The proposed algorithm achieved an AUC of 0.965 with a sensitivity of 90.51%,specificity of 90.23%,positive predictive value of 89.24%and overall accuracy of 90.36%on an independent test set.Comparative analysis demonstrated superior performance to four benchmark architectures,including VGG16,ResNet18,MobileNetV3-Small and ShuffleNet,in terms of both classification accuracy and computational efficiency.Conclusion The algorithm designed can accurately detect ST-T changes and can be used for wearable ECG automatic analysis to assist in the early warning of cardiovascular diseases in both acute and chronic patients and highland residents.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(7):1-11]

Objective To explore the factors that may influence the operation time and complications of endoscopic unilateral thyroidectomy by a gasless unilateral axillary approach.Methods Clinical data of 203 consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic unilateral thyroidectomy by a gasless unilateral axillary approach from December 2022 to November 2023 were collected.Results Gender,BMI,TG,glandular lobe volume,number of lesions,and benign and malignant tumors affected the length of surgery;Among them,male,BMI＞19.45 kg/m2 and glandular lobe volume＞9.25 mL were independent influences on the length of surgery(P＜0.05).TG and tumor maximal diameter affected the occurrence of complications;There was no independent influence factor.Conclusion Female patients with BMI≤19.45 kg/m2 and glandular lobe volume ≤ 9.25 mL(which can be measured preoperatively by 3D slicer)are relatively less difficult to perform the procedure and may be more suitable for beginners to learn.

Objective To explore the factors that may influence the operation time and complications of endoscopic unilateral thyroidectomy by a gasless unilateral axillary approach.Methods Clinical data of 203 consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic unilateral thyroidectomy by a gasless unilateral axillary approach from December 2022 to November 2023 were collected.Results Gender,BMI,TG,glandular lobe volume,number of lesions,and benign and malignant tumors affected the length of surgery;Among them,male,BMI＞19.45 kg/m2 and glandular lobe volume＞9.25 mL were independent influences on the length of surgery(P＜0.05).TG and tumor maximal diameter affected the occurrence of complications;There was no independent influence factor.Conclusion Female patients with BMI≤19.45 kg/m2 and glandular lobe volume ≤ 9.25 mL(which can be measured preoperatively by 3D slicer)are relatively less difficult to perform the procedure and may be more suitable for beginners to learn.