ObjectiveTo observe the effects of Yiqi Huoxue Jiedu formula（YHJF） on immune cell exhaustion in the spleen of septic mice and to explore and validate its potential intervention targets. MethodsMice were randomly divided into the sham-operated， model， low-dose YHJF（4.1 g·kg^-1）， and high-dose YHJF（8.2 g·kg^-1） groups. Except for the sham-operated group， a cecal ligation and puncture（CLP） procedure was performed to establish a mouse sepsis model. The treatment groups received oral administration of the corresponding doses， while the sham-operated and model groups received an equal volume of physiological saline. After the intervention， the 7-day survival rate of each group was recorded， and spleen samples were collected 72 h post-intervention， and the spleen index was calculated. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate（dUTP） nick end labeling（TUNEL） staining was used to detect apoptosis in spleen cells. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was performed to measure the levels of interleukin（IL）-4 and IL-10 in the serum. Transcriptomics and metabolomics were used to screen for differentially expressed genes（DEGs） and differential metabolites in the spleen， followed by bioinformatics analysis to identify key targets. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）， flow cytometry， and multiplex immunofluorescence were used to verify the expressions of key genes and proteins. ResultsThe high-dose YHJF group significantly improved the 7-day survival rate of septic mice（P0.05）. Compared with the sham-operated group， the model group showed a significant increase in apoptosis of spleen cells and a decrease in the spleen index at 72 h post-modeling， with markedly elevated peripheral serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels（P0.01）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose YHJF group showed a reduction in apoptosis of spleen cells， an increase in the spleen index， and a significant decrease in peripheral serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels（P0.05）. Spleen transcriptomics identified 255 DEGs between groups， potentially serving as intervention targets for YHJF. Gene Ontology（GO） enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were mainly involved in biological processes such as natural killer（NK） cell-mediated positive immune regulation， cell killing， cytokine production， positive regulation of innate immune cells， and interferon production. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were mainly involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions， viral protein interactions with cytokines and cytokine receptors， chemokine signaling pathway， and nuclear transcription factor-κB（NF-κB） signaling pathway. Protein-protein interaction（PPI） network analysis identified CD160， granzyme B（GZMB）， and chemokine ligand 4（CCL4） as key targets for YHJF in treating sepsis. Metabolomics identified 46 differential metabolites that were significantly reversed by YHJF intervention， and combined transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis identified 17 differential metabolites closely related to CD160. Pathway enrichment revealed that these metabolites were mainly involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism， arachidonic acid metabolism， glycosylphosphatidylinositol（GPI） anchor biosynthesis， linoleic acid metabolism， and α-linolenic acid metabolism pathways. Verification results showed that， compared with the sham-operated group， the model group exhibited significantly elevated CD160 mRNA expression level in the spleen， along with markedly decreased CCL4 and GZMB mRNA expression， and had a significant increase in CD160 expression on the surface of natural killer T（NKT） cells in the spleen（P0.01）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose YHJF group had a significant decrease in CD160 mRNA expression in the spleen， a significant increase in CCL4 and GZMB mRNA expressions. Further flow cytometry and immunofluorescence revealed that compared with the sham-operated group， CD160 expression on the surface of splenic NKT cells in the model group was significantly increased（P0.01）， while high-dose YHJF intervention significantly reduced CD160 expression（P0.01）. ConclusionYHJF may alleviate NKT cell exhaustion in sepsis by downregulating the expression of the negative co-stimulatory molecule CD160， and this regulatory effect is closely related to fatty acid metabolism pathways. This study provides new insights and targets for further exploration of strengthening vital Qi and detoxifying strategy to improve immune cell exhaustion in acute deficiency syndrome of sepsis.

ObjectiveTo observe the effects of Yiqi Huoxue Jiedu formula（YHJF） on immune cell exhaustion in the spleen of septic mice and to explore and validate its potential intervention targets. MethodsMice were randomly divided into the sham-operated， model， low-dose YHJF（4.1 g·kg^-1）， and high-dose YHJF（8.2 g·kg^-1） groups. Except for the sham-operated group， a cecal ligation and puncture（CLP） procedure was performed to establish a mouse sepsis model. The treatment groups received oral administration of the corresponding doses， while the sham-operated and model groups received an equal volume of physiological saline. After the intervention， the 7-day survival rate of each group was recorded， and spleen samples were collected 72 h post-intervention， and the spleen index was calculated. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate（dUTP） nick end labeling（TUNEL） staining was used to detect apoptosis in spleen cells. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was performed to measure the levels of interleukin（IL）-4 and IL-10 in the serum. Transcriptomics and metabolomics were used to screen for differentially expressed genes（DEGs） and differential metabolites in the spleen， followed by bioinformatics analysis to identify key targets. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR）， flow cytometry， and multiplex immunofluorescence were used to verify the expressions of key genes and proteins. ResultsThe high-dose YHJF group significantly improved the 7-day survival rate of septic mice（P0.05）. Compared with the sham-operated group， the model group showed a significant increase in apoptosis of spleen cells and a decrease in the spleen index at 72 h post-modeling， with markedly elevated peripheral serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels（P0.01）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose YHJF group showed a reduction in apoptosis of spleen cells， an increase in the spleen index， and a significant decrease in peripheral serum IL-4 and IL-10 levels（P0.05）. Spleen transcriptomics identified 255 DEGs between groups， potentially serving as intervention targets for YHJF. Gene Ontology（GO） enrichment analysis revealed that DEGs were mainly involved in biological processes such as natural killer（NK） cell-mediated positive immune regulation， cell killing， cytokine production， positive regulation of innate immune cells， and interferon production. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis showed that DEGs were mainly involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions， viral protein interactions with cytokines and cytokine receptors， chemokine signaling pathway， and nuclear transcription factor-κB（NF-κB） signaling pathway. Protein-protein interaction（PPI） network analysis identified CD160， granzyme B（GZMB）， and chemokine ligand 4（CCL4） as key targets for YHJF in treating sepsis. Metabolomics identified 46 differential metabolites that were significantly reversed by YHJF intervention， and combined transcriptomics and metabolomics analysis identified 17 differential metabolites closely related to CD160. Pathway enrichment revealed that these metabolites were mainly involved in glycerophospholipid metabolism， arachidonic acid metabolism， glycosylphosphatidylinositol（GPI） anchor biosynthesis， linoleic acid metabolism， and α-linolenic acid metabolism pathways. Verification results showed that， compared with the sham-operated group， the model group exhibited significantly elevated CD160 mRNA expression level in the spleen， along with markedly decreased CCL4 and GZMB mRNA expression， and had a significant increase in CD160 expression on the surface of natural killer T（NKT） cells in the spleen（P0.01）. Compared with the model group， the high-dose YHJF group had a significant decrease in CD160 mRNA expression in the spleen， a significant increase in CCL4 and GZMB mRNA expressions. Further flow cytometry and immunofluorescence revealed that compared with the sham-operated group， CD160 expression on the surface of splenic NKT cells in the model group was significantly increased（P0.01）， while high-dose YHJF intervention significantly reduced CD160 expression（P0.01）. ConclusionYHJF may alleviate NKT cell exhaustion in sepsis by downregulating the expression of the negative co-stimulatory molecule CD160， and this regulatory effect is closely related to fatty acid metabolism pathways. This study provides new insights and targets for further exploration of strengthening vital Qi and detoxifying strategy to improve immune cell exhaustion in acute deficiency syndrome of sepsis.

BACKGROUND: Currently, lung cancer is one of the malignant tumors with a high morbidity and mortality all over the world. However, the exact mechanisms underlying lung cancer progression remain unclear. The tumor necrosis factor receptor associated factor (TRAF) family members are cytoplasmic adaptor proteins, which function as both adaptor proteins and ubiquitin ligases to regulate diverse receptor signalings, leading to the activation of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and interferon regulatory factor (IRF) signaling. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of TRAFs in different tissues and cancer types, as well as its mRNA expression, protein expression, prognostic significance and functional enrichment analysis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in order to provide new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of NSCLC. METHODS: RNA sequencing data from the The Genotype-Tissue Expression database was used to analyze the expression patterns of TRAF family members in different human tissues. RNA sequencing data from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia database was used to analyze the expression patterns of TRAF family members in different types of cancer cell lines. RNA sequencing data from the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to analyze the mRNA levels of TRAF family members across different types of human cancers. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analyses from HPA database were used to analyze the TRAF protein levels in NSCLC [lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and lung squamous carcinoma (LUSC)]. Overall survival analysis was performed by Log-rank test using original data from Kaplan-Meier Plotter database to evaluate the correlation between TRAF expressions and prognosis. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses were performed on the TRAF family-related genes using RNA sequencing data from the TCGA database for NSCLC. The correlation between the expression levels of TRAF family members and the tumor immune microenvironment was analyzed using the ESTIMATE algorithm based on RNA sequencing data from the TCGA database. RESULTS: The TRAF family members exhibited significant tissue-specific expression heterogeneity. TRAF2, TRAF3, TRAF6 and TRAF7 were widely expressed in most tissues, while the expressions of TRAF1, TRAF4 and TRAF5 were restricted to specific tissues. The expressions of TRAF family members were highly specific among different types of cancer cell lines. In mRNA database of LUAD and LUSC, the expressions of TRAF2, TRAF4, TRAF5 and TRAF7 were significantly upregulated; while TRAF6 did the opposite; moveover, TRAF1 and TRAF3 only displayed a significant upregulation in LUAD and LUSC, respectively. Except for TRAF3, TRAF4 and TRAF7, other TRAF proteins displayed an obviously deeper IHC staining in LUAD and LUSC tissues compared with normal tissues. Additionally, patients with higher expression levels of TRAF2, TRAF4 and TRAF7 had shorter overall survival; while patients with higher expression levels of TRAF3, TRAF5 and TRAF6 had significantly longer overall survival; however, no significant difference had been observed between TRAF1 expression and the overall survival. TRAF family members differentially regulated multiple pathways, including NF-κB, immune response, cell adhesion and RNA splicing. The expression levels of TRAF family members were closely associated with immune cell infiltration and stromal cell content in the tumor immune microenvironment, with varying positive and negative correlations among different members. CONCLUSIONS TRAF family members exhibit highly specific expression differences across different tissues and cancer types. Most TRAF proteins exhibit upregulation at both mRNA and protein levels in NSCLC, whereas, only upregulated expressions of TRAF2, TRAF4 and TRAF7 predict worse prognosis. The TRAF family members regulate processes such as inflammation, immunity, adhesion and splicing, and influence the tumor immune microenvironment.
Humans ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology* ; Lung Neoplasms/mortality* ; Prognosis ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Peptides and Proteins/metabolism*

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a highly aggressive hematologic malignancy with a poor prognosis, despite advancements in treatment. Many patients struggle with relapse or refractory disease. Investigating the role of the super-enhancer (SE) regulated gene ubiquitin-specific protease 20 (USP20) in T-ALL could enhance targeted therapies and improve clinical outcomes. Analysis of histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation (H3K27ac) chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) data from six T-ALL cell lines and seven pediatric samples identified USP20 as an SE-regulated driver gene. Utilizing the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (CCLE) and BloodSpot databases, it was found that USP20 is specifically highly expressed in T-ALL. Knocking down USP20 with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) increased apoptosis and inhibited proliferation in T-ALL cells. In vivo studies showed that USP20 knockdown reduced tumor growth and improved survival. The USP20 inhibitor GSK2643943A demonstrated similar anti-tumor effects. Mass spectrometry, RNA-Seq, and immunoprecipitation revealed that USP20 interacted with hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF1A) and stabilized it by deubiquitination. Cleavage under targets and tagmentation (CUT&Tag) results indicated that USP20 co-localized with HIF1A, jointly modulating target genes in T-ALL. This study identifies USP20 as a therapeutic target in T-ALL and suggests GSK2643943A as a potential treatment strategy.

Objective To investigate the cause of a suspected outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae infection(CRKP)in the neurological ICU,to find out the reason for infection and the way of transmission to provide evidence for the prevention and control of nosocomial infection.Methods Four patients with CRKP infection in the department of neurological ICU of a hospital from Au-gust 4 to August 20,2020 were investigated epidemiologically and environmental hygiene monitoring of the ward was carried out.Compre-hensive measures were taken to control the outbreak.Results All four CRKP infection cases were hospital-acquired,and the isolated strains showed consistent drug susceptibility test results,indicating they were the same clone.Environmental hygiene monitoring revealed the presence of the same clone in samples from patient bedside items,suction devices,oxygen therapy equipment,and personal belongings of healthcare workers.After implementing comprehensive corrective measures,no new cases of CRKP infection occurred,and subsequent surface sampling did not isolate any CRKP strains.Conclusion Environmental surface contamination in the neurointensive care unit and inadequate disinfection procedures were likely the main causes of the suspected outbreak of CRKP infection.Prompt identification of the outbreak,activation of emergency response plans,and implementation of corrective measures are crucial for controlling the outbreak of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections in hospitals.After adopting comprehensive measures,there were no new CRKP infection cases.

Objective To systematically review whether mirror therapy(MT)intervention can effectively improve upper extremity motor function and activities of daily living(ADL)in stroke patients;whether its improvement is affected by pa-tients'age and disease course;and whether MT's influencing factors,such as intervention period,time,and fre-quency,have a dosage effect on upper extremity motor function and ADL. Methods Seven databases were searched,including Embase,Web of Science,PubMed,Cochrane Library,Wanfang data,VIP and CNKI from establishment to April,2023,and randomized controlled trials of MT for upper extremity motor function and ADL in stroke patients were screened.Quality assessment was performed using Physiothera-py Evidence Database(PEDro).Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4.1,and network meta-analysis was performed using R software,reticulated meta-analysis tables and cumulative probability tables were drawn for ranked comparisons,and funnel plots were drawn to test for publication bias of the outcome indicators using Stata 17.0 software.GRADE was used to evaluate the quality of evidence for the outcome indicators. Results A total of 13 papers(532 patients)were included.The PEDro score ranged from 6 to 8.Most of the literature did not report the blinding completely or did not implement allocation concealment,which might have some limita-tions.MT could improve the scores of Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremities(n = 466,MD = 6.05,95%CI 3.44～8.66,P<0.001),Barthel index(n = 230,MD = 9.95,95%CI 6.23～13.68,P<0.001)and Functional Inde-pendence Measure(n = 147,MD = 4.17,95%CI 2.61～5.72,P<0.001)in stroke patients.Network meta-analysis showed that MT was more effective in upper limb motor function intervention for stroke patients aged 40 to 59 years with a disease course less than three months;and an intervention period less than four weeks,single inter-vention time less than 30 minutes,intervention duration daily more than 30 minutes and intervention twice daily might optimize the effects on upper limb motor function. Conclusion MT is effective on upper limb motor function and ADL in stroke patients,and the effect on upper limb mo-tor function is affected by the age and disease course of the patients,as well as the period,time and frequency of intervention.

Objective To explore the predictive value of CT radiomics and morphological features for the prognosis and survival in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)patients.Methods The clinic data of 300 NSCLC patients(300 lesions)were downloaded from the Cancer Imaging Archive,with 210 randomly selected as the training set and 90 as the test set.According to the prognosis and survival,the patients were divided into two groups with survival period≤3 and＞3 years.3D Slicer software was used to delineate the regions of interest layer by layer in CT images,and the radiomics features were extracted from each region of interest.Both t-test and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator were utilized for radiomics feature screening.Three types of prediction models,namely radiomics model,morphological model and combined model,were constructed with Logistic regression,whose performances were evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results The differences in radiomics labels and mediastinal lymph node metastasis between the training set and the test set were statistically significant.For radiomics model,morphological model and combined model,the area under the ROC curve was 0.784(95%CI:0.722-0.847),0.734(95%CI:0.664-0.804)and 0.748(95%CI:0.680-0.815)in the training set,and 0.737(95%CI:0.630-0.844),0.665(95%CI:0.554-0.777)and 0.687(95%CI:0.578-0.797)in the test set,which demonstrated that radiomics model had the best diagnostic performance.Conclusion The CT radiomics model can effectively predict the prognosis and survival in NSCLC patients.

Objective To summarize the liver biopsy and clinical features of patients with liver injury of unknown origin,and to investigate the value of ultrasound-guided percutaneous liver biopsy in the diagnosis of liver injury of unknown origin.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data and ultrasound-guided percutaneous liver biopsy results of 94 patients with liver injury of unknown origin who were admitted to Zhongshan Hospital,Xiamen University,from January 2018 to February 2023.According to the proportion of the patients with different final diagnoses,the patients were divided into autoimmune liver disease(AILD)group,metabolic associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD)group,drug-induced liver injury(DILI)group,alcoholic liver disease(ALD)group,and unknown group.An analysis of variance was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between multiple groups,and the Bonferroni analysis or the Dunnett'T3 test was used for further comparison between two groups;the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between multiple groups;the Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between multiple groups.Results All 94 patients with liver injury of unknown origin underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous liver biopsy after admission,among whom 90 patients(95.7%)had a confirmed diagnosis based on liver biopsy and clinical features.There were 43 patients(45.7%)with AILD,21(22.3%)with MAFLD,15(16.0%)with DILI,6(6.4%)with ALD,1(1.1%)with AILD and MAFLD,1(1.1%)with hemochromatosis,1(1.1%)with Budd-Chiari syndrome,1(1.1%)with congenital hepatic fibrosis,and 1(1.1%)with idiopathic portal hypertension,while 4 patients(4.3%)still had an unknown etiology after liver biopsy.There were significant differences between the patients with top five diagnoses in age(F=4.457,P<0.05),body mass index(BMI)(F=3.245,P<0.05),aspartate aminotransferase(AST)(H=11.128,P<0.05),gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase(GGT)(H=24.789,P<0.05),alkaline phosphatase(ALP)(H=26.013,P<0.05),IgG(H=19.099,P<0.05),IgM(H=21.263,P<0.05),AMA-M2 positive rate(P<0.05),and ANA positive rate(P<0.05).Compared with the MAFLD group,the AILD group had significantly higher age,AST,GGT,and ALP and a significantly lower BMI;compared with the MAFLD group and the DILI group,the AILD group had significant increases in IgG and IgM;the AILD group had significant increases in the positive rates of AMA-M2 and ANA compared with the other four groups.Conclusion AILD,MAFLD,and DILI are the most common causes in patients with liver injury of unknown origin.Ultrasound-guided percutaneous liver biopsy plays an important role in determining the cause of liver injury of unknown origin,but it is still needed to make a comprehensive analysis based on clinical history,different types of liver injury,laboratory markers,and imaging data.

Objective To systematically evaluate the effect of speech and language therapies and educational interventions on chil-dren with intellectual and developmental disabilities(IDD). Methods A systematic review was conducted by searching relevant literature in PubMed,PsycINFO,ERIC,Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases,ranging from January,2018 to May,2024. Results A total of eight English articles were included,from six countries including the United States,France,Italy,Nor-way,Poland and New Zealand,involving 610 children with IDD,from journals about speech language pathology,Down syndrome research and speech language hearing research.The publication time was mainly from 2018 to 2023.The age of the subjects was two to twelve years,and the main health conditions included intellectual dis-ability,autism and Down syndrome.The intervention methods included routine speech therapy(individualized therapy and group therapy),augmentative and alternative communication(device-assisted and sign language and picture cards),family-involved language training programs(parent training and family interaction),computer-as-sisted language learning(language learning software and telehealth),and play-based interventions(interactive games and structured games);15 to 150 minutes a time,one to ten times a week,for ten to 144 weeks.The out-comes were reflected in five aspects:increasing the vocabulary in speaking;improving the language comprehen-sion,symbol recognition and vocabulary comprehension;improving both expressive and receptive language skills;improving participation in game diversity and game participation levels,communication,social interaction and interaction skills;and improving overall language and non-verbal communication skills. Conclusion Combining a variety of methods,such as individualized therapy,family participation,technologic assistance and interactive games,speech and language therapies and education are effective on spoken language production,language comprehension,speech production,social interaction and communication skills for children with IDD.

Objective:To investigate the value of 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging in the diagnosis of suspected autoimmune encephalitis (AE) in children with epilepsy and negative MRI. Methods:From May 2019 to August 2022, 94 suspected AE children (49 males, 45 females; age 1-15 years) with epilepsy and negative MRI who underwent brain 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging at Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were divided into AE and non-AE groups based on clinical final diagnosis. The effectiveness of visual diagnosis was evaluated. The cortical lesion extent score (S), and SUV max, SUV mean and minimum of SUV (SUV min) of cortical lesions (L), basal ganglia (B) and thalamus (T) were measured and SUV ratios (SUVR) of L/B or L/T were obtained. Independent-sample t test or Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze data. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to screen the diagnostic factors of AE, and a diagnostic model was established. The diagnostic efficiency was evaluated by ROC curve analysis and Delong test. Results:There were 53 cases in AE group and 41 cases in non-AE group. Based on visual analysis, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT for AE were 100%(53/53), 43.9%(18/41) and 75.5%(71/94), respectively. Differences of LSUV max, LSUV mean, LSUV min, L/BSUVR max, L/BSUVR mean, L/BSUVR min, L/TSUVR max, L/TSUVR mean, L/TSUVR min and S between AE and non-AE groups were statistically significant ( z=-6.74, t values: from -8.51 to -3.97, all P<0.001). ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC of L/BSUVR max was the highest (0.914) among visual analysis and semi-quantitative parameters. Logistic regression analysis showed that S (odds ratio ( OR)=11.40, 95% CI: 2.18-59.52, P=0.004), L/BSUVR max( OR=13.19, 95% CI: 2.11-82.51, P=0.006) and L/TSUVR max( OR=9.66, 95% CI: 1.57-59.55, P=0.015) were independent diagnostic factors for AE. Regression model was established: P=1/(1+ e - x), x=2.433×S+ 2.580×L/BSUVR max+ 2.267×L/TSUVR max-3.802. The AUC of this model was 0.948, with the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 98.1%(52/53), 90.2%(37/41) and 94.7%(89/94), respectively. The diagnostic efficacy of the optimized scoring system was consistent with the pre-optimization model, and were both superior to L/BSUVR max(both z=2.01, both P=0.040). Conclusion:The diagnostic model and scoring system based on the semi-quantitative analysis of 18F-FDG PET/CT have better diagnostic efficacy for AE and are superior to semi-quantitative parameters alone.