Objective:To investigate the regulatory effects of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on functional connectivity (FC) of thalamic subregions in patients with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).Methods:This study was a cross-sectional investigation. Clinical, laboratory, and imaging data were retrospectively collected from 56 PMS patients (PMS group) and 66 healthy controls (control group) recruited from various universities and hospitals in Nanning between November 2021 and June 2024. Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data and fMRI data during taVNS immediate stimulation (2 Hz, 25 Hz) were acquired from subjects during their late luteal phase. Using thalamic subregions (anterior thalamic nucleus, lateral nucleus, ventral nucleus, medial nucleus, central nucleus, posterior nucleus) as seeds, two-sample t-tests or paired t-tests were employed to analyze alterations in thalamic subregion FC in PMS patients and the regulatory effects of taVNS on these changes. Independent samples t-test were used to compare the differences in clinical and laboratory indicators between the PMS group and the control group. The relationship between taVNS regulation of thalamic subregion FC in PMS patients and thalamic internal functional connectivity were analyzed using mediation effect analysis. Results:Compared to the control group, patients in the PMS group showed increased scores on the Daily Record of Severity of Problems, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale 17, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 14 during the late luteal phase ( P<0.05). At baseline, PMS patients exhibited higher FC between the left thalamic lateral nucleus and the left insula, and lower FC between the left medial nucleus, posterior nucleus, and ventral nucleus of the thalamus and the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG) compared to the control group (GRF corrected, voxel-level P<0.001, cluster-level P<0.05). During 2 Hz taVNS immediate stimulation in PMS group, FC between the left thalamic medial nucleus, posterior nucleus, ventral nucleus and the right MFG, as well as the FC between the left thalamic ventral nucleu and the left MFG increased compared to baseline levels; meanwhile, FC between the left thalamic posterior nucleus, ventral nucleus and the left insula decreased compared to baseline levels (GRF corrected, voxel-level P<0.001, cluster-level P<0.05). During 25 Hz taVNS immediate stimulation, the FC between the left thalamic ventral nucleus and the right MFG decreased compared to the baseline level (GRF corrected, voxel-level P<0.001, cluster-level P<0.05). Mediation effect analysis showed that the FC between the left thalamic posterior nucleus and the left lateral nucleus mediated part of the association between the FC of the left lateral thalamic nucleus-left insula and the FC of the left ventral thalamic nucleus-left putamen/insula; there were significant direct effects between the FC of the left lateral thalamic nucleus-the left posterior nucleus and FC of the left lateral thalamic nucleus-the left insula, as well as between the FC of the left ventral thalamic nucleus-the left MFG and FC of the left ventral thalamic nucleus-the right MFG. Conclusions:taVNS can modulate abnormal FC of the left thalamic subregions in PMS patients, restoring it toward normalization. The regulatory effects of 2 Hz stimulation are more pronounced than those of 25 Hz stimulation. This modulation primarily operates through two pathways: the left thalamic lateral nucleus-left insula-left thalamic ventral nucleus pathway and the left MFG-left thalamic ventral nucleus-right MFG.

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics and serogroup distribution of meningococcal meningitis.Methods:This study was a case series summary of the demographic data, laboratory results, vaccination history, clinical diagnoses,treatment and prognosis of 16 children with meningococcal meningitis who were hospitalized in Department of Infectious Diseases, Hunan Children′s Hospital from April 2014 to March 2024. According to ages, these patients were divided into infants and toddlers (≤3 years) and school-aged children (6-15 years) groups. Between-group comparison was performed using Independent samples t-test and Mann-Whitney U test. Results:A total of 16 hospitalized patients were included, of whom 8 were male and 8 female. The age of these patients at visit was 4.25 (0.33, 12.30) years. The cases presented a sporadic distribution. There were 11 cases from rural regions, 6 patients were unvaccinated due to age restriction.All patients presented with acute onset, with neurological symptoms manifesting within 0.6 (0.5, 1.0) days, and the duration of hospitalization was 20 (12, 28) days. There were 10 typical cases and 6 fulminant cases, with fever duration ≤7 days in 7 cases. Clinical manifestations included petechiae and purpura in 8 cases, shock in 3 cases, respiratory failure in 3 cases, and disseminated intravascular coagulation in 4 cases. There were 8 cases in both the infant and toddlers group and the school-aged childrengroup, 5 cases in the infant and toddler group manifested seizures. In contrast, in the school-aged children group, 6 individuals exhibited headache, nausea, and vomiting, while 4 cases demonstrated signs of altered consciousness. The C-reactive protein level in the 16 patients was 124.5 (71.3, 212.3) mg/L, and the procalcitonin level was 26.8 (11.0, 92.8) μg/L, the normal values are 0-8.0 mg/L for C-reactive protein and 0-0.5 μg/L for procalcitonin. Compared to the school-aged children group, the infants and toddlers group showed lower white blood cell counts ((7±4)×10 9vs. (17±10)×10 9/L, t=-2.36, P=0.034). All patients tested positive for pathogens, serogroup identification revealed a diverse distribution, including 1 case each of serogroups C, W135, and X; 4 cases of serogroup B; 3 cases of serogroup Y; and 6 cases that remained ungrouped. A total of 10 strains of Neisseria meningitidis were cultured, 7 strains were resistant to sulfonamides, 5 strains to penicillin, and 3 strains to levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. A total of 9 patients treated with meropenem, and all cases showed improvement and were discharged without any fatalities. At discharge, 1 case had profound sensorineural hearing loss, and 5 patients required rehabilitation treatment due to sequelae. Conclusions:Meningococcal meningitis predominantly affected children aged ≤3 years and 6-15 years. The white blood cell count in meningococcal meningitis patients aged ≤3 years was lower. The serogroups of Neisseria meningitidis were highly diverse, with cases of serogroups X and Y identified. Since isolated Neisseria meningitidis has shown resistance to penicillin and other antibiotics, it is crucial to be vigilant about potential antimicrobial susceptibility when clinical efficacy is poor.

" Mutual recognition and sharing of medical examination and test results in Zhejiang Province" (MRZJ) holds significant value in rationally utilizing healthcare resources, reducing patient costs, streamlining treatment procedures, and enhancing patient satisfaction. This study reviewed the development of medical test result mutual recognition in China and summarized the implementation of MRZJ at Zhejiang Provincial People′s Hospital. Since its launched in October 2021, the hospital had achieved interoperability through enhanced organizational leadership, standardized coding, process optimization, capacity building, quality control reinforcement, and public awareness campaigns. By March 2024, MRZJ covered all outpatient departments of the pilot hospital, with 936 items recognized daily, improving healthcare efficiency and generating notable social and economic benefits. These outcomes provided references for advancing nationwide medical test mutual recognition. Future efforts should focused on strengthening standardized training, refining performance evaluation mechanisms, developing MRZJ early warning functions, and safeguarding patients′ informed consent and choice rights.

Disruption of the intestinal mucosal barrier caused by gut dysbiosis and metabolic imbalance is the underlying pathology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Traditional Chinese medicine Wuji Wan (WJW) is commonly used to treat digestive system disorders and showed therapeutic potential for IBD. In this interdisciplinary study, we aim to investigate the pharmacological effects of WJW against experimental colitis by combining functional metabolomics and gut-microbiota sequencing techniques. Treatment with WJW altered the profile of the intestinal microbiota and notably increased the abundance of Lactobacillus, thereby facilitating the conversion of tryptophan into indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and indoleacrylic acid (IA). These indole derivatives activated the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway, which reduced colonic inflammation and restored the expression of intestinal barrier proteins. Interestingly, the beneficial effects of WJW on gut barrier function improvement and tryptophan metabolism were disappeared in the absence of gut microbiota. Finally, pre-treatment with the AhR antagonist CH-223191 confirmed the essential role of IAA-mediated AhR activation in the therapeutic effects of WJW. Overall, WJW enhanced intestinal barrier function and reduced colonic inflammation in a murine colitis model by modulating Lactobacillus-IAA-AhR signaling pathway. This study provides novel insights into colitis pathogenesis and presents an effective therapeutic and preventive approach against IBD.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of toric implantable collamer lens (Toric-ICL) and femtosecond laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) for myopia correction in patients with moderate to high myopia complicated with astigmatism. METHODS: We retrospectively collected data from 64 patients (aged 18-42 years) with moderate to high myopia complicated with astigmatism (128 eyes) undergoing either Toric-ICL (28 patients/56 eyes) or FS-LASIK (36 patients/72 eyes) at our department between January, 2019 and December, 2020. The changes of uncorrected distance visual acuity (UCVA), spherical equivalent (SE), mean astigmatism correction index (CI), corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) and intraocular pressure (IOP) following the procedures were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: In FS-LASIK group, all the eyes (72/72) achieved an UCVA≥1.0, similar to the rate in Toric-ICL group (55/56 eyes; P=0.2374). The postoperative SE was also comparable between FS-LASIK and Toric-ICL groups [0.43±0.06 D (range: -1.0 to 1.50 D) vs 0.38±0.05 D (range: -0.75 to 1.00 D); P=0.56]. The mean astigmatism CI was significantly higher in FS-LASIK group than in Toric-ICL group (0.8561 vs 0.7176; P<0.0001), and 88.89% of the eyes in FS-LASIK group and 69.64% in Toric-ICL group had postoperative astigmatism ≤0.50 D. No significant changes were observed in postoperative corneal ECD in FS-LASIK group, whereas ECD decreased significantly after the procedure in Toric-ICL group (P=0.0057). The patients undergoing Toric-ICL exhibited no significant changes of postoperative IOP, but the patients receiving FS-LASIK had significantly reduced IOP after the procedure (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Although the patients included in Toric-ICL group had higher myopia and astigmatism, Toric-ICL still showed better predictability and efficacy for astigmatic correction in Toric-ICL group. Toric-ICL is an effective and safe equivalent of FS-LASIK for correcting moderate myopia but can be more advantageous for correcting high myopia with astigmatism.
Humans ; Astigmatism/complications* ; Myopia/complications* ; Keratomileusis, Laser In Situ/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Adult ; Visual Acuity ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Treatment Outcome ; Male ; Lens Implantation, Intraocular/methods* ; Female ; Phakic Intraocular Lenses ; Intraocular Pressure

Objective To investigate the status of oral frailty(OF)in patients who underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer,identify key factors influencing OF,and develop a risk prediction model.Methods Using convenience sampling,431 lung cancer inpatient were recruited from three Tier-IIIA hospitals in Jiangsu Province between September and November 2024 as the training cohort.The patients were divided into OF and non-OF groups.Relevant data were compared between the two groups.Multifactorial logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors that associated with OF,and a risk prediction model was created accordingly.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was used to predict model performance.In December 2024,additional 185 patients from one other Tier-IIIA hospitals were recruited to validate the developed model.Results The prevalence of OF among lung-cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy was 58.93%.Following listed items were identified as the risk factors of OF(all P<0.05):older in age(OR=3.420),poor education(OR=0.030),brain metastasis(OR=7.880),high nutritional risk screening 2002 score(OR=1.550),elevated C-reactive protein(OR=1.100),and elevated lactate dehydrogenase(OR=1.010).ROC area under the curve(AUC)of the model was 0.860(95%CI:0.830-0.900)in modelling cohort and 0.840(95%CI:0.780-0.900)in validation cohort.Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test yielded χ 2=4.870,P=0.770 for the training set and χ 2=2.770,P=0.950 for the validation set.Conclusion The risk prediction model for OF developed in this study demonstrates a good predictive performance and can facilitate early identification of high-risk patients,thereby providing a scientific basis for clinical interventions.

Objective To explore the impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage based on GBZ70-2015 criteria.Methods Sixty-five case of pneumoconiosis were retrospectively enrolled.Chest high-resolution CT were independently analyzed by one associate chief physician,one attending physician and one resident physician,respectively.The stage of pneumoconiosis was judged,and the inter-observer consistency was observed.Taken the results of 5 experts using Delphi method as gold standard,the impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage were analyzed.Results Among 65 cases,there were 42 cases of stage 1,16 cases of stage 2 and 7 cases of stage 3 pneumoconiosis.The inter-observer consistency of pneumoconiosis stage was relatively high(Kappa=0.653),of stage 3 pneumoconiosis was the best(Kappa=0.803),followed by stage 1(Kappa=0.661),while of stage 2 was the lowest(Kappa=0.518).Radiologist lack experience(OR=4.872),the lesions mainly located in the posterior upper area of lungs(OR=2.317),the present of r-type small shadows(OR=3.105)and high CT pulmonary emphysema index(OR=1.214)were all independent impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Both the experience of radiologist and lesions'heterogeneity were main impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage based on GBZ70-2015 criteria.

Objective To explore the association between dynamic indexes of maternal progesterone in early pregnancy and the average level and growth rate of fetal head circumference(HC)in mid-and late pregnancy.Methods This study adopted a retrospective cohort design and included 255 singleton pregnant women in the maternal and infant cohort of The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2015 to December 2024.The progesterone levels of their early venous blood were detected and divided into two groups of progesterone trajectories,namely,fluctuating type and increasing type,by morphology.The dynamic indicators of progesterone in early pregnancy were constructed:cumulative dynamic deviation index in the first trimester(CDDI-P1T),gestational age at progesterone peak(GA-PP),and maximal relative progesterone decline in the first trimester(MRD-P1T).The average head circumference level and linear growth rate of the fetuses in the middle and late pregnancy were calculated.Generalized linear regression(GLM)was used to analyze the linear association between progesterone dynamic indicators and head circumference development.The key gestational weeks of progesterone affecting fetal head development were explored by linear regression of gestational weeks.Ordinary least squares(OLS)regression and restricted cubic spline(RCS)plots were used to draw the nonlinear association between progesterone dynamic indicators and head circumference.Results Among the 255 pregnant women included,92.5％of the progesterone trajectories in early pregnancy were fluctuating,and 7.5％were increasing.The growth rates of the increasing progesterone trajectory group were higher in the second and third trimesters than in the fluctuating group,but the differences were not statistically significant(all P＞0.05).GLM analysis showed that for every 1 unit increase in CDDI-P1T,the head circumference in the middle and late pregnancy increased significantly by 1.574 cm and 1.193 cm(Z=3.714,2.885,P＜0.01).The delay of GA-PP was negatively correlated with the head circumference in the middle pregnancy(β=-0.190 cm,95％CI:-0.339--0.041,P=0.010)but positively correlated with the head circumference growth rate in the late pregnancy(β=0.022 cm/week,95％CI:0.003-0.041,P=0.025).A 10％decrease in the decline of CDDI-P1T increased the head circumference in the middle pregnancy by 0.200 cm(95％CI:0.016-0.384,P=0.033),and a 100％decrease in the decline increased the head circumference growth rate in the late pregnancy by 0.201 cm/week(95％CI:0.002-0.399,P=0.048).The analysis of the key time window showed that for every 20 nmol/L increase in progesterone during 9.5-13 weeks of pregnancy,the mid-term head circumference increased by 0.035-0.166 cm(Z=2.452-3.517,allP＜0.05),and the late-term head circumference increased by 0.767 cm during 9-13 weeks of pregnancy(Z=2.452-3.517,all P＜0.05).When progesterone increased during 9.5-10.5 weeks of pregnancy,the growth rate of mid-term head circumference increased by 0.013-0.023 cm/week(Z=2.074-2.243,all P＜0.01).When progesterone increased during 8.5-10.5 weeks of pregnancy,the growth rate of late-term head circumference increased by 0.010-0.026 cm/week(Z=2.061-3.137,all P＜0.05).Conclusion Progesterone dynamic index is a new sensitive tool for evaluating fetal head circumference development.There is a stage-specific window period for progesterone regulation.9.5-13 weeks of pregnancy is the critical period for progesterone to affect head circumference growth,and 9.5-10.5 weeks of pregnancy is the core window for regulating the growth rate of head circumference.Therefore,it is necessary to combine progesterone dynamic index and time window for individualized intervention to promote the transformation of prenatal care from pregnancy maintenance to eugenics intervention.

Objective To investigate the status of oral frailty(OF)in patients who underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer,identify key factors influencing OF,and develop a risk prediction model.Methods Using convenience sampling,431 lung cancer inpatient were recruited from three Tier-IIIA hospitals in Jiangsu Province between September and November 2024 as the training cohort.The patients were divided into OF and non-OF groups.Relevant data were compared between the two groups.Multifactorial logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors that associated with OF,and a risk prediction model was created accordingly.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was used to predict model performance.In December 2024,additional 185 patients from one other Tier-IIIA hospitals were recruited to validate the developed model.Results The prevalence of OF among lung-cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy was 58.93%.Following listed items were identified as the risk factors of OF(all P<0.05):older in age(OR=3.420),poor education(OR=0.030),brain metastasis(OR=7.880),high nutritional risk screening 2002 score(OR=1.550),elevated C-reactive protein(OR=1.100),and elevated lactate dehydrogenase(OR=1.010).ROC area under the curve(AUC)of the model was 0.860(95%CI:0.830-0.900)in modelling cohort and 0.840(95%CI:0.780-0.900)in validation cohort.Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test yielded χ 2=4.870,P=0.770 for the training set and χ 2=2.770,P=0.950 for the validation set.Conclusion The risk prediction model for OF developed in this study demonstrates a good predictive performance and can facilitate early identification of high-risk patients,thereby providing a scientific basis for clinical interventions.

Objective To explore the impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage based on GBZ70-2015 criteria.Methods Sixty-five case of pneumoconiosis were retrospectively enrolled.Chest high-resolution CT were independently analyzed by one associate chief physician,one attending physician and one resident physician,respectively.The stage of pneumoconiosis was judged,and the inter-observer consistency was observed.Taken the results of 5 experts using Delphi method as gold standard,the impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage were analyzed.Results Among 65 cases,there were 42 cases of stage 1,16 cases of stage 2 and 7 cases of stage 3 pneumoconiosis.The inter-observer consistency of pneumoconiosis stage was relatively high(Kappa=0.653),of stage 3 pneumoconiosis was the best(Kappa=0.803),followed by stage 1(Kappa=0.661),while of stage 2 was the lowest(Kappa=0.518).Radiologist lack experience(OR=4.872),the lesions mainly located in the posterior upper area of lungs(OR=2.317),the present of r-type small shadows(OR=3.105)and high CT pulmonary emphysema index(OR=1.214)were all independent impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Both the experience of radiologist and lesions'heterogeneity were main impact factors of misjudge of pneumoconiosis stage based on GBZ70-2015 criteria.