Environmental pollution is a significant public health challenge worldwide, and investigating the causal relationship between environmental exposure and population health outcomes is a key objective of environmental epidemiology research. In recent years, the complexity of environmental exposures has increasingly come to the forefront, making it challenging for observational studies that dominate environmental epidemiology to accurately estimate causal effects. Causal inference methods are particularly advantageous in controlling for confounding factors, thus holding great potential in environmental epidemiology research. Researchers can use appropriate causal inference methods to simulate the process of randomization, providing strong support for revealing the causal relationship between environmental exposure and health outcomes. However, there is a lack of reviews on the application of causal inference methods in environmental epidemiology studies in China. Therefore, this study introduced the basic principles of common causal inference statistical methods in environmental epidemiology, summarized the applicable conditions, advantages and disadvantages of various methods, and provided R software implementation codes for these methods, aiming to offer guidance for optimizing research design and practicing causal inference statistical methods.

Myelin formation is considered the last true "invention" in the evolution of vertebrate nervous system cell structure. The rapid jumping pulse propagation achieved by myelin enables the high conduction speed that is the basis of human movement, sensation, and cognitive function. As a key structure in the brain, white matter is the gathering place of myelin. However, with age, white matter-associated functions become abnormal and a large number of myelin sheaths undergo degenerative changes, causing serious neurological and cognitive disorders. Despite the extensive time and effort invested in exploring myelination and its functions, numerous unresolved issues and challenges persist. In-depth exploration of the functional role of myelin may bring new inspiration for the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases and even mental illnesses. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive examination of the structure and key molecules of the myelin in the CNS, delving into its formation process. Specifically, we propose a new hypothesis regarding the source of power for myelin expansion in which membrane compaction may serve as a driving force for myelin extension. The implications of this hypothesis could provide valuable insights into the pathophysiology of diseases involving myelin malfunction and open new avenues for therapeutic intervention in myelin-related disorders.
Myelin Sheath/metabolism* ; Humans ; Central Nervous System/metabolism* ; Animals

Among tumor microenvironment (TME), the entire metabolic characteristics of tumor-resident cells are reprogrammed to benefit the expansion of tumor cells, which count on glutamine in large part to fuel the tricarboxylic acid cycle for energy generation and anabolic metabolism support. Endothelial cells that are abducted by tumor cells to form a pathological tumor vascular network for constructing the hypoxic immunosuppressive TME, also rely on glutaminolysis as the "engine" of angiogenesis. Additionally, the glutamine metabolic preference benefits the polarization of TAMs towards pro-tumoral M2 phenotype as well. Herein, we developed a type of siRNA micelleplexes (MH@siGLS1) to reverse immunosuppressive TME by targeting glutaminolysis within tumor-resident cells for tumor vasculature normalization- and TAMs repolarization-enhanced photo-immunotherapy. Tumor cell starvation and antioxidant system destruction achieved by MH@siGLS1-mediated glutaminolysis inhibition could promote photodynamic therapy efficacy, which was available to trigger immunogenic cell death for adaptive antitumor immune responses. Meanwhile, glutaminolysis inhibition of tumor endothelial cells and TAMs could realize tumor vascular normalization and TAMs repolarization for antitumor immunity amplification. This study provides a unique perspective on cancer treatments by focusing on the interrelations of metabolic characteristics and the biofunctions of various cell types within TME.

Ivonescimab is a humanized bispecific antibody targeting human vascular endothelial growth factor-A(VEGF-A)and programmed death protein-1(PD-1).It was approved by National Medi-cal Products Administration on May 24th,2024,and can be used in combination with pemetrexed and carboplatin for locally advanced or positive EG-FR gene mutation after treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR)tyrosine kinase inhib-itor.This paper mainly introduces the research progress of the world's first PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody ivonescimab,and summarizes the mecha-nism of action,pharmacokinetics,phase Ⅰ-Ⅲ clinical trials and drug safety.

Ivonescimab is a humanized bispecific antibody targeting human vascular endothelial growth factor-A(VEGF-A)and programmed death protein-1(PD-1).It was approved by National Medi-cal Products Administration on May 24th,2024,and can be used in combination with pemetrexed and carboplatin for locally advanced or positive EG-FR gene mutation after treatment with epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR)tyrosine kinase inhib-itor.This paper mainly introduces the research progress of the world's first PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody ivonescimab,and summarizes the mecha-nism of action,pharmacokinetics,phase Ⅰ-Ⅲ clinical trials and drug safety.

ObjectiveThis study aims to understand the recognition of practitioners in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） hospitals on hospital-based health technology assessment （HB-HTA）， assessment needs， challenges， and suggestions， so as to provide references for the future work. MethodThe convenient sampling method was adopted to survey the relevant practitioners in TCM hospitals. The questionnaire included 39 questions in 4 dimensions and was distributed through the online platform Weijuanxing. ResultA total of 244 questionnaires were recovered， and the obtained data were analyzed in SPSS. The results showed that 137 practitioners were very familiar with HB-HTA and there was no significant difference in the recognition of practitioners in different occupations （F=0.251； P=0.778）. The practitioners in Hong Kong， Macao， and Taiwan had lower recognition than those in other regions. In terms of the assessment needs， 127 practitioners believed that it was very necessary to carry out HB-HTA in TCM hospitals in the future. Chinese patent medicines/Chinese herbal medicine decoction pieces （5.91） and TCM appropriate technology （5.57） had higher assessment priority scores. The assessment needs were high for the effectiveness （235 practitioners） and safety （224 practitioners） of health technology. The lack of specialized organization and standardized evaluation process system and the shortage of talents were considered to be the major challenges for the future development in this field. ConclusionThe stakeholders carrying out the health technology assessment in TCM hospitals had certain awareness of HB-HTA. Most practitioners believed that it was necessary to carry out HB-HTA in TCM hospitals in the future， while the work might face challenges such as the lack of organizations and system and the shortage of talents， which requires policy support.

We retrospectively analyzed therapy efficacy and the adverse reactions of 10 patients suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with intestinal involvement treated with rituximab (RTX). Patients were hospitalized in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology of the First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital from January 2015 to January 2023. Among the 10 patients, two were men and eight were women. The age of the cohort was (41.9±8.8) years. The age at disease onset was (28.8±9.2) years. The total course of the SLE diagnosis was(109.6±59.9) months. The course of the diagnosis of SLE with intestinal involvement was (89.3±50.2) months. The time from the appearance of intestinal symptoms to the diagnosis of SLE with intestinal involvement was 1.5 (1.0,8.0) months. The time from the diagnosis of SLE with intestinal involvement to RTX use was 13.0 (1.0,46.3) months. Follow-up duration after application of RTX treatment was (55.3±28.4) months. There were five cases of abdominal pain, four cases of abdominal distension, nine cases of diarrhea, three cases of nervous-system involvement, nine cases of lupus nephritis, and seven cases of serositis. All 10 patients underwent computed tomography and radiology of the abdomen. Eight patients had intestinal-wall edema, seven suffered intestinal dilation, four had target signs, three suffered congestion of mesenteric blood vessels, eight had increased mesenteric-fat density, and six had false intestinal obstruction. All 10 patients showed a low level of complement C3 (250-750 mg/L). Nine cases showed a low level of complement C4 (10-90 mg/L). The SLE disease activity index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) at baseline in 10 patients was 20.5 (17.8, 30.0). After receiving RTX (0.5 g: day 1, day 14, or 375 mg/m 2: day 1, day 14) induction treatment, the intestinal symptoms of 10 cases were relieved completely. Four patients had adverse reactions, of which three received a high-dose glucocorticoid combined with RTX treatment simultaneously. Adverse reactions manifested mainly as a reduced level of IgG and infection with herpes simplex virus in one case, reduced level of IgG and lung infection in one patient, lung infection in one case, and reduced IgG level in one patient. RTX may an efficacious treatment strategy for patients suffering from refractory SLE with intestinal involvement.

BACKGROUND:Animal models of diabetic encephalopathy that have been studied mainly include streptozotocin-induced model,high-sugar and high-fat diet-induced model and spontaneous animal model.Establishing a simple,easy,short-cycle,safe and effective model of diabetic encephalopathy can help to explore the subsequent pathogenesis and screen therapeutic drugs. OBJECTIVE:To further explore and evaluate the method of building diabetic encephalopathy rat models. METHODS:Twenty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control(n=10)and model(n=10)groups.Rats in the model group were given a single injection of 45 mg/kg streptozotocin in the left lower abdominal cavity,and those in the control group were given the same amount of citrate buffer.During the experiment,the body mass,feed intake,water intake and blood glucose were measured.After 8 weeks,the glucose tolerance and oxidative stress levels were measured,and the pathological changes of brain tissue and the expression of apoptotic proteins were compared between groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the control group,the food intake,water intake,encephalization quotient,blood glucose and area under the blood glucose curve were significantly increased in the model group,while the body mass decreased significantly(P<0.01).Histopathological examination of the brain showed that compared with the control group,the number of surviving nerve cells was significantly reduced in the model group(P<0.01),with more significant pathological damage of nerve cells.Compared with the control group,the activities of serum superoxide dismutase,catalase and glutathione in the model group were significantly decreased(P<0.01),and the content of oxidative malondialdehyde was significantly increased(P<0.05).The expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins Bax and Caspase-3 in brain tissue increased in the model group compared with the control group,while the expression of Bcl-2 decreased(P<0.01).In conclusion,an 8-week injection of 45 mg/kg streptozotocin can cause obvious pathological damage to the brain tissue of diabetic rats,to successfully establish the rat model of diabetic encephalopathy.

Objective:To conduct a visual analysis of domestic and international research on kinesiophobia to explore recent advancements and trending topics within the field and to provide references for future research in China.Methods:Literature published from 2015 to 2022 retrieved from Chinese databases such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang data, and VIP, and those published from 2009 to 2022 from the Web of Science, was analyzed using CiteSpace software. This analysis summarized and examined the number of publications, authors, collaborating institutions, and keywords, etc.Results:Both domestic and international publications on kinesiophobia showed an increasing trend in recent years, with international publications consistently outnumbering domestic ones. The most prolific authors were Cai Libai and Vlaeyen, and the leading institutions were the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and Maastricht University. Domestic research primarily involved intra-team collaborations with less inter-institutional cooperation, whereas international collaborations were more extensive. Key research topics identified through keyword analysis included kinesiophobia, pain, and movement, with frontiers in risk factors, clinical outcomes, and psychological health.Conclusions:There is a noticeable gap between domestic and international research on kinesiophobia. China should further focus on the emerging hotspots and trends in this field to enhance the prevention and intervention strategies for kinesiophobia research.

Objective:To explore the influence of social exclusion on the relapse tendency of female drug re-hab patients,and the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of positive psychological capital.Method:A total of 288 female drug rehabilitation patients were selected,and the Social Exclusion Question-naire(SEQ)was used to assess the degree of social exclusion experienced by the patients.The Relapse Tendency Questionnaire(RPQ)was used to evaluate the current tendency of drug relapse.The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(RSES)was used to evaluate the self-esteem level of the patients,and the Positive Psychological Capital Question-naire(PPCQ)was used to evaluate their level of positive psychological capital.Results:The SEQ scores of female drug rehab patients were positively correlated with the RPQ scores(β=0.41,P＜0.001),The RSES scores had a mediating effect between the scores of SEQ and RPQ,with a mediation effect size of 0.09(95％CI:0.04-0.15,accounting for 20.6％of the total effect).The PPCQ scores had a moderating effect between the scores of RSES and RPQ(β=-0.08,P＜0.05)and between the scores of SEQ and RPQ(β=0.10,P＜0.05).Conclusion:So-cial exclusion could not only directly affect but also indirectly affect the relapse tendency through self-esteem of fe-male drug rehab patients.Positive psychological capital could moderate the relationship between social exclusion,self-esteem,and relapse tendency.