BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that there is a close relationship between pyroptosis,inflammatory factors and osteoporosis.OBJECTIVE:To review the effects of pyroptosis and inflammatory factors on the pathogenesis of osteoporosis from the perspectives of osteogenic differentiation and osteoclastic differentiation,based on an overview of pyroptosis in relation to the interaction of relevant inflammatory factors.METHODS:The first author used the computer to search the literature published by each database until 2024,and searched CNKI,WanFang,VIP and PubMed databases with the search terms of"pyroptosis,inflammatory factors,osteoporosis,osteoblast,osteoclast,bone metabolism,signaling pathway,review"in Chinese and English.A total of 79 papers were finally included according to the inclusion criteria.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The progression of osteoporosis is closely related to inflammation,in which pyroptosis plays a key role.Immune cells induce pyroptosis through apoptosis pathway,promote the secretion of inflammatory factors such as interleukin-18,interleukin-1β and NLRP3,build an inflammatory immune microenvironment,and regulate bone metabolism through complex signaling pathways,resulting in enhanced bone absorption and reduced bone formation,thereby leading to osteoporosis.Previous studies have shown that inhibiting pyroptosis is anti-inflammatory and slows the progression of osteoporosis,and it has been shown to improve inflammatory bone loss in vitro and in animal models.At present,research on pyroptosis and osteoporosis is limited.On the one hand,the exact mechanism of osteoporosis and the pathogenesis of pyroptosis are unknown,and the specific pathways and regulatory mechanisms remain to be understood.On the other hand,therapeutic strategies targeting pyroptosis are still theoretical,not clinically proven,and drug side effects are unknown.In the future,the research focus is to further explore the pathogenesis,especially the mechanism of pyroptosis,identify potential therapeutic targets,further study the pyroptosis signaling pathway and Gasdermin protein,and develop new drugs to improve the therapeutic effect in patients with osteoporosis.

Objective To investigate the efficacy of early, short-term, low-dose corticosteroid administration for the prevention and treatment of early acute lung injury (EALI) in patients undergoing thoracoscopic lobectomy. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients who underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, from January 2019 to January 2022. Patients were divided into an early steroid therapy group and an observation group based on whether they received corticosteroids in the early postoperative period. In the early steroid therapy group, in addition to standard postoperative care, patients received a low-dose intravenous push of methylprednisolone (80-120 mg/d) for 3 consecutive days. In the observation group, patients received standard postoperative care without intravenous corticosteroids for the first 3 days. Chest plain CT scans were performed on postoperative day (POD) 1 and POD 3 or 4 to evaluate lung injury. CT scores and the incidence of postoperative EALI were recorded. Results A total of 521 patients were included (268 males, 253 females; age range: 11-80 years). There were 318 patients in the observation group and 203 in the early steroid therapy group. On POD 1, the incidence of EALI was 16.0% in the observation group and 13.8% in the early steroid therapy group, with no statistical difference (P=0.486). Correspondingly, there was no statistical difference in chest CT scores among EALI-positive patients between the two groups (P=0.927). On POD 3-4, the incidence of EALI was significantly lower in the early steroid therapy group (22.7%) compared to the observation group (33.6%) (P=0.007). Although chest CT scores among EALI-positive patients were lower in the early steroid therapy group, the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.377). The overall incidence of EALI within the first 4 postoperative days was significantly lower in the early steroid therapy group (26.1%) than in the observation group (37.4%) (P=0.007). Radiological progression (defined as new-onset EALI or progression of existing EALI) occurred in 14.8% of the early steroid therapy group, significantly lower than the 28.9% in the observation group (P<0.001). The early steroid therapy group had a shorter postoperative length of stay (P<0.001), while there was no statistical difference in the incidence of poor wound healing between the groups (P=0.762). Conclusion Early postoperative corticosteroid use effectively reduces the incidence of EALI on POD 3-4, lowers the risk of radiological progression, and decreases the overall incidence of postoperative EALI. This is achieved without prolonging the length of stay or increasing the risk of poor wound healing. Therefore, early administration of low-dose corticosteroids is beneficial in suppressing the occurrence and progression of EALI. Its early use is recommended for patients at high risk for postoperative EALI.

BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that there is a close relationship between pyroptosis,inflammatory factors and osteoporosis.OBJECTIVE:To review the effects of pyroptosis and inflammatory factors on the pathogenesis of osteoporosis from the perspectives of osteogenic differentiation and osteoclastic differentiation,based on an overview of pyroptosis in relation to the interaction of relevant inflammatory factors.METHODS:The first author used the computer to search the literature published by each database until 2024,and searched CNKI,WanFang,VIP and PubMed databases with the search terms of"pyroptosis,inflammatory factors,osteoporosis,osteoblast,osteoclast,bone metabolism,signaling pathway,review"in Chinese and English.A total of 79 papers were finally included according to the inclusion criteria.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The progression of osteoporosis is closely related to inflammation,in which pyroptosis plays a key role.Immune cells induce pyroptosis through apoptosis pathway,promote the secretion of inflammatory factors such as interleukin-18,interleukin-1β and NLRP3,build an inflammatory immune microenvironment,and regulate bone metabolism through complex signaling pathways,resulting in enhanced bone absorption and reduced bone formation,thereby leading to osteoporosis.Previous studies have shown that inhibiting pyroptosis is anti-inflammatory and slows the progression of osteoporosis,and it has been shown to improve inflammatory bone loss in vitro and in animal models.At present,research on pyroptosis and osteoporosis is limited.On the one hand,the exact mechanism of osteoporosis and the pathogenesis of pyroptosis are unknown,and the specific pathways and regulatory mechanisms remain to be understood.On the other hand,therapeutic strategies targeting pyroptosis are still theoretical,not clinically proven,and drug side effects are unknown.In the future,the research focus is to further explore the pathogenesis,especially the mechanism of pyroptosis,identify potential therapeutic targets,further study the pyroptosis signaling pathway and Gasdermin protein,and develop new drugs to improve the therapeutic effect in patients with osteoporosis.

The Huangdi Neijing proposes the " using bitter herbs to nourish or purge" theory to guide clinical prescription and formulation of herbal remedies based on the physiological characteristics and functions of the five zang viscera, along with the properties and flavors of medicinal herbs. This study explored diabetic kidney disease pathogenesis and treatment based on the " using bitter herbs to nourish or purge" theory. Kidney dryness is a key pathological factor in diabetic kidney disease, and the disharmony of kidney dryness is an essential aspect of its pathogenesis. Strengthening is the primary therapeutic principle, and kidney dryness is a persistent factor throughout the occurrence and progression of diabetic kidney disease. In the early stage, the pathogenesis involves heat-consuming qi and injuring yin, leading to kidney dryness. In the middle stage, the pathogenesis manifests as qi deficiency and blood stasis in the collaterals, resulting in turbidity owing to kidney dryness. In the late stage, the pathogenesis involves yin and yang deficiency, with kidney dryness and disharmony. This study proposes the staging-based treatment based on the " need for firmness" characteristic of the kidney. The aim is to provide new insights for clinical diagnosis and treatment in traditional Chinese medicine by rationally using pungent, bitter, and salty medicinal herbs to nourish and moisturize the kidney. This approach seeks to promote precise syndrome differentiation and personalized treatment for different stages of diabetic kidney disease, thereby enhancing clinical efficacy.

Under the current situation of "low prevalence and low infection" of schistosomiasis in China, and to provide a basis for achieving the goal of eliminating schistosomiasis by 2030 proposed by the Healthy China Action (2019 - 2030) as scheduled, the Hunan Provincial Corps Hospital of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force established a schistosomiasis monitoring and early warning index system based on the previous studies on schistosomiasis early warning index system and the recent literature analysis, combined with the current potential risk factors affecting the transmission and prevalence of schistosomiasis, and organized two rounds of expert consultation and carried out project promotion meetings. The experts reached a consensus on the comprehensiveness and practicability of the index system, aiming to lay a solid foundation for construction of China's schistosomiasis prevention and control early warning system.

Under the current situation of "low prevalence and low infection" of schistosomiasis in China, and to provide a basis for achieving the goal of eliminating schistosomiasis by 2030 proposed by the Healthy China Action (2019 - 2030) as scheduled, the Hunan Provincial Corps Hospital of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force established a schistosomiasis monitoring and early warning index system based on the previous studies on schistosomiasis early warning index system and the recent literature analysis, combined with the current potential risk factors affecting the transmission and prevalence of schistosomiasis, and organized two rounds of expert consultation and carried out project promotion meetings. The experts reached a consensus on the comprehensiveness and practicability of the index system, aiming to lay a solid foundation for construction of China's schistosomiasis prevention and control early warning system.

[Objective]To investigate the intervention effect of eriocitrin on intracranial aneurysm(IA)model rats based on stromal cell derived factor-1α(SDF-1α)/C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4(CXCR4)signaling pathway.[Methods]IA rat model was established by isolating and ligating the left common carotid artery and renal artery,and removing both ovaries.The rats were randomly assigned into IA group(intragastric and intraperitoneal administration of 0.9%sodium chloride solution),eriocitrin low(intragastric 8 mg·kg-1 of eriocitrin),medium(intragastric 16 mg·kg-1 of eriocitrin)and high(intragastric 32 mg·kg-1 of eriocitrin)dose groups,and eriocitrin high dose(intragastric 32 mg·kg-1)+SDF-1α/CXCR4 pathway activator CTCE-0214(intraperitoneal administration of 10 mg·kg-1 CTCE-0214)group,and the other 10 rats only exposed the left common carotid artery,renal artery and ovaries,which were recorded as sham operation(intragastric and intraperitoneal administration of 0.9%sodium chloride solution)group.Each group was intervened once a day for 8 consecutive weeks.Tweenty-four hours after the last administration,enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was used to detect the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6)and nitric oxide(NO)in each group.Elastica van Gieson staining was used to measure the length of aneurysms,the area of the aneurysm lumen and the length of internal elastic layer rupture.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining was applied to detect pathological changes in arterial aneurysm tissue.Real time-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)was applied to detect the mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9),vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)and MMP-2 in tissues.Western blot was applied to detect the expression of SDF-1α/CXCR4 related proteins in tissues.[Results]Compared with sham operation group,the levels of TNF-α,IL-6;aneurysm length,aneurysm cavity area,internal elastic layer rupture length;MMP-9,VEGF,MMP-2 mRNA expression;SDF-1α and CXCR4 protein expression were prominently higher in IA group,while the level of NO was obviously lower(P<0.05).Compared with IA group,the levels of TNF-α,IL-6;aneurysm length,aneurysm cavity area,internal elastic layer rupture length;MMP-9,VEGF,MMP-2 mRNA expression;SDF-1α and CXCR4 protein expression in eriocitrin low,medium and high dose groups were obviously lower,while the level of NO was prominently higher(P<0.05).Compared with eriocitrin high dose group,the levels of TNF-α,IL-6;aneurysm length,aneurysm cavity area,internal elastic layer rupture length;MMP-9,VEGF,MMP-2 mRNA expression;SDF-1α and CXCR4 protein expression in eriocitrin-high+CTCE-0214 group were prominently higher,while the level of NO was prominently lower(P<0.05).[Conclusion]Eriocitrin alleviates the inflammatory response in IA rats by regulating the SDF-1α/CXCR4 signaling pathway,improves the function of vascular endothelial cells and reduces the risk of aneurysm rupture.

An automatic epileptic seizure detection model based on multi-channel recurrence plots and SE-VGG16 is proposed to enhance the accuracy of automatic detection of epileptic seizures.Firstly,triaxial accelerometer is used to collect patients'motion signals as a substitute of electroencephalogram signals,and these signals are converted into two-dimensional images through recurrence plots and then subjected to multi-channel fusion for generating multi-channel recurrence plots.Subsequently,squeeze-and-excitation module is employed to improve VGG16,which enhances the network's adaptability to different channels and enables precise classification.Experimental results show that the proposed model achieves the best performance across all indicators,attaining an accuracy of 99.3%,precision of 99.2%,recall rate of 98.9%,and F1-score of 99.0%.This model significantly boosts the accuracy and applicability of epileptic seizure detection,expands the potential of wearable devices for epileptic seizure monitoring in non-clinical settings,and provides a new technical pathway for epilepsy management and research.

Objective:To investigate the effect of a blended teaching mode based on medical knowledge graph and artificial intelligence (AI) teaching assistant on students' learning effectiveness and systematic thinking ability in teaching of pathogens and immunology.Methods:A controlled experimental design was employed, involving 114 clinical medical students ("5+3" integrated) enrolled in 2023 at Tianjin Medical University. They were divided into experimental group ( n=57) and control group ( n=57) based on their classes. A blended online-offline teaching mode based on medical knowledge graph and AI teaching assistant was used in the experimental group, and a blended online-offline teaching mode based on the online resources of this course was used in control group. Teaching effectiveness was assessed by comparing the scores of four chapter quizzes and the final exam between the two groups, as well as by analyzing student questionnaire responses. Data were analyzed using t test and χ2 test. Results:The experimental group achieved significantly higher scores in all four chapter quizzes and the final exam compared to the control group [(78.77±19.65) vs. (69.47±22.95), (84.56±14.02) vs. (76.49±16.20), (81.89±13.60) vs. (73.13±16.52), (81.56±21.28) vs. (73.16±16.27), (69.75±13.30) vs. (64.10±14.93), all P<0.05]. The questionnaire survey showed that 74.07% students ( n=40) believed that this blended teaching model stimulated their learning interest, 74.07% ( n=40) students believed that this blended teaching model enhanced their learning initiative, 81.48% ( n=44) students believed that this blended teaching model could help them construct the relationship between the old and new knowledge and thus improved memory retention, and 81.48% students b( n=44) elieved that this blended teaching model helped them integrate and summarize knowledge and construct systematic knowledge framework to improve their learning effectiveness. Conclusions:The blended teaching mode based on medical knowledge graph and AI teaching assistant is beneficial for cultivating students' systematic thinking ability and is helpful to improve their learning efficiency and effectiveness.