Background: Patients with coarctation of the aorta (CoA) and an interrupted aortic arch (IAA) may present with small mitral valves (MVs) and a reduced left ventricular (LV) volume. Biventricular repair (BVR) in these patients is dependent on adequate size of the left cardiac structures.Purpose: This study evaluated the impact of the hemodynamic characteristics of atrial septal defects (ASDs) on MV growth following surgical repair. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of patients diagnosed with CoA or IAA between 2007 and 2024. The z score for MV size measured 6 months postoperatively (Z2) was compared with the preoperative MV size (Z1). The factors associated with MV growth were also studied. Results: A total of 161 patients with CoA or IAA were included. Transthoracic echocardiography was used to assess the MV and LV dimensions preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. Of the cohort, 155 (96.3%) underwent initial BVR and 6 underwent single-ventricle palliation. MV z scores significantly increased following BVR (mean change: +0.45±1.35; P<0.001) but decreased after single-ventricle repair (-0.56±0.49, P=0.04). Multivariate analysis identified the initial MV z score and ASD pressure gradient as independent predictors of MV growth (R2=0.39). Conclusion Annular growth of the MV was not observed in patients who underwent single-ventricle palliation. In contrast, among patients who achieved BVR, those with a small preoperative MV annulus and low ASD pressure gradient demonstrated subsequent catch-up MV growth, suggesting that adequate left-sided preload is essential for MV development.

ObjectiveThe present study aimed to investigate alterations in white matter microstructure and spontaneous neural activity in male college smokers, and to further explore their associations with nicotine dependence. Given that adolescence and early adulthood represent critical periods for brain maturation, particularly for white matter development, understanding the neural correlates of smoking behavior during this stage is of substantial importance for both neuroscience and public health. MethodsA total of 115 male undergraduate students were initially recruited for this study. After quality control and exclusion procedures, 52 male college smokers and 42 demographically matched healthy non-smokers were included in the final analysis. All participants underwent multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). White matter fiber tracts were reconstructed using the automated fiber quantification (AFQ) method, which enables precise identification and quantification of major fiber bundles. Eighteen major white matter tracts were segmented for each participant. Along the core trajectory of each tract, 100 equidistant nodes were sampled. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was calculated at each node to assess white matter microstructural integrity, while amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was computed to evaluate spontaneous neural activity within white matter tracts. Between-group differences in FA and ALFF were assessed using two-sample t-tests, with appropriate corrections applied for multiple comparisons. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between imaging-derived metrics (FA and ALFF values in regions showing significant group differences) and nicotine dependence severity, as measured by the Fagerström test for nicotine dependence (FTND). ResultsCompared with healthy non-smokers, male college smokers exhibited significantly increased FA values in several white matter tracts, including the left thalamic radiation, right corticospinal tract, forceps major of the corpus callosum, left uncinate fasciculus, and right arcuate fasciculus. These findings suggest altered microstructural organization or increased directional coherence within these pathways. In addition, smokers demonstrated significantly elevated ALFF values in the forceps major, right uncinate fasciculus, and left arcuate fasciculus, indicating enhanced spontaneous neural activity in these white matter regions. Correlation analyses revealed that FA values in the left thalamic radiation and right corticospinal tract were negatively correlated with FTND scores, suggesting that higher levels of nicotine dependence were associated with reduced microstructural integrity or altered fiber organization in these regions. In contrast, ALFF values in the forceps major and right uncinate fasciculus were positively correlated with FTND scores, indicating that greater nicotine dependence was associated with increased spontaneous neural activity in specific white matter pathways. ConclusionThe present study provides evidence that male college smokers exhibit distinct alterations in both white matter microstructure and functional activity. These abnormalities are not uniformly distributed but rather localized to specific fiber tracts implicated in sensorimotor processing, interhemispheric communication, and higher-order cognitive and emotional regulation. Importantly, the observed associations between imaging metrics and nicotine dependence severity suggest that these structural and functional alterations may reflect neurobiological mechanisms underlying addiction. The combination of AFQ-based tract profiling and multimodal MRI offers a sensitive approach for detecting subtle changes along white matter pathways, highlighting its potential utility in identifying neuroimaging biomarkers of nicotine dependence. Overall, these findings indicate that smoking during early adulthood may disrupt ongoing white matter maturation, potentially leading to long-term consequences for brain function. This study provides novel insights into the neural basis of nicotine dependence and underscores the importance of early intervention and prevention strategies targeting young smokers.

Background and Aims:Primary hepatic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL)is rare and carries a poor prognosis,with no large-scale evidence supporting the value of chemotherapy.This study used real-world,large-sample data from the SEER database to evaluate the prognostic impact of chemotherapy in patients with primary hepatic DLBCL.Methods:Clinical data of patients pathologically diagnosed with primary hepatic DLBCL between 2000 and 2019 were extracted from the SEER database and grouped according to whether they received chemotherapy.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis,Cox proportional hazards models,and random survival forest models were employed to identify factors influencing overall survival(OS)and cancer-specific survival(CSS),and subgroup analyses were performed.Results:A total of 594 patients were included,with a median age of 66 years;435(73.2%)received chemotherapy.After a median follow-up of 17.5 months,the median OS was 81(7-173)months in the chemotherapy group versus 11(2-171)months in the non-chemotherapy group.The OS and CSS rates in the chemotherapy group were significantly higher than those in the non-chemotherapy group(67.99%vs.47.77%;71.03%vs.52.87%,both P<0.05).Multivariate analysis showed that chemotherapy was an independent protective factor for OS(HR=0.39,95%CI=0.31-0.48)and CSS(HR=0.37,95%CI=0.29-0.48).In the random survival forest model,chemotherapy ranked highest in variable importance.Subgroup analyses produced consistent results.Conclusion:Chemotherapy is an independent prognostic factor for patients with primary hepatic DLBCL and can significantly improve survival.The R-CHOP regimen may be the preferred therapeutic option.

Objective:To explore the relationship between childhood abuse, pleasure experience, sleep quality and self-injury behavior in adolescents with depressive disorder.Methods:One hundred and twenty adolescent patients with depressive disorder hospitalized in the Fourth People's Hospital of Hefei City from January 2021 to February 2024 were selected as the study group, as well as 120 healthy controls matched with the patients' age, gender and education level were selected as the control group.The adolescent non-suicidal self-injury assessment questionnaire, Pittsburgh sleep quality index, temporal experience of pleasure scale, and childhood trauma questionnaire were used for assessment. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0 software. Independent sample t-test was used for comparison between the two groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze correlations between scale scores. Chain mediating modeling was used with the PROCESS macro program. Results:The differences of the study group and the control group in childhood abuse ((53.33±15.21), (39.07±11.81), t=8.081, P<0.001), pleasure experience ((85.60±15.77), (67.44±19.46), t=7.941, P<0.001), self-injury behavior ((29.01±9.89), (3.76±0.49), t=8.811, P<0.001), sleep quality ((12.24±4.15), (6.56±4.05), t=10.711, P<0.001), and depression ((30.62±7.97), (5.88±3.28), t=31.451, P<0.001) were all statistically significant. The self-injury behavior of the study group was positively correlated with the sleep quality ( r=0.487, P<0.001) and childhood abuse ( r=0.553, P<0.001), and negatively correlated with the pleasure experience ( r=-0.483, P<0.001). Childhood abuse had a negative predictive effect on pleasure experience ( β=-0.491, P<0.001), there was a positive predictive effect of childhood abuse on sleep quality ( β=0.363, P<0.001), there was a negative predictive effect of pleasure experience on sleep quality ( β=-0.321, P<0.001), there was a simultaneous predictive effect of childhood abuse, pleasure experience and sleep quality on self-injury behaviors predictive effect ( β=0.343, P<0.001, β=-0.211, P<0.001, β=0.208, P<0.001).The total effect of childhood abuse on self-injury behavior mediated by pleasure experience and sleep quality was 0.555(95% CI=0.448-0.663), and the direct effect was 0.343(95% CI=0.219-0.468).The mediating effect of pleasure experience between childhood abuse and self-injury behavior was 0.104(95% CI=0.007-0.196), accounting for 18.74% of the total effect, the mediating effect of sleep quality between childhood abuse and self-injury behavior was 0.075(95% CI=0.028-0.133), accounting for 13.51% of the total effect, and the chain mediating effect of pleasure experience and sleep quality between childhood abuse and self-injury behavior was 0.033(95% CI=0.011-0.060), accounting for 5.95% of the total effect. Conclusion:Sleep quality and pleasure experience exert the chain mediating effect between the childhood abuse and self-injury behavior in adolescents with depressive disorders.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the management status of small pressure steam sterilizers in dental institu-tions across seven major regions of China and provide references for establishing standardized monitoring and eval-uation protocols for sterilization efficacy.METHODS From Aug.to Nov.2023,a convenience sampling method was employed to select 885 dental institutions of various levels from seven geographical regions.An online survey using a self-designed questionnaire was conducted to assess the management status of small pressure steam steri-lizers in dental institutions.RESULTS A total of 885 questionnaires were distributed,with 770 valid responses col-lected,covering 770 dental institutions at all levels.The survey involved 2 056 small pressure steam sterilizers,of which 43.14％were pre-vacuum type and 89.40％were benchtop models.Tertiary dental institutions had the high-est proportion of imported small pressure steam sterilizers(60.15％),with most devices in use for 5-10 years(36.88％).Secondary and low er-level institutions predominantly used domestically produced small pressure steam sterilizers(74.60％),which used for 3-5 years accounting for the highest proportion(34.29％).While 85.58％of dental institutions employed dedicated sterilization personnel,only 45.84％performed proper maintenance for small pressure steam sterilizers.Training rates were 80.00％for department of stomatology in ungraded general hospitals and primary medical institutions,76.19％in prejob and 71.43％during the work for department of sto-matology in primary clinics,respectively.CONCLUSIONS Although most dental institutions demonstrate sound policy formulation,challenges persist in equipment maintenance,policy implementation and grassroots training.Future efforts should be made on strengthening maintenance and inspection of equipment,enhancing sys-tem supervisory mechanisms,and optimizing training systems to ensure dental treatment safety.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the frailty status of elderly patients with acquired immune deficiency syn-drome(AIDS)and opportunistic infection,and to analyze the associated risk factors.METHODS A convenience sampling method was used to survey 210 elderly patients with AIDS and opportunistic infection in Guangzhou from May 2024 to Apr.2025.General information questionnaires,FRAIL scale,Nutritional Risk Screening 2002,Athens Insomnia Scale and objective biological indicators were utilized to investigate the incidence of frailty.Logis-tic regression analysis was employed to identify the risk factors for frailty in elderly patients with AIDS and oppor-tunistic infection.RESULTS Among the 210 elderly patients with AIDS and opportunistic infection,40(19.05％)were frail,including 20(15.62％)patients aged＜60 years and 20(24.39％)≥60 years.Advanced age(OR=1.111,95％CI:1.033-1.194,P=0.004),body mass index(BMI)≥ 24.0 kg/m2(OR=4.329,95％CI:1.008-18.1585,P=0.049),hemoglobin level(OR=1.037,95％CI:1.009-1.065,P=0.009)and CD4+T lymphocyte count＜200(OR=10.792,95％CI:1.358-85.765,P=0.024)were identified as risk factors for frailty.Regular exercise(OR=0.108,95％CI:0.032-0.362,P＜0.001)was found to be a protective factor.CONCLUSIONS Elderly patients with AIDS and opportunistic infection experience early onset and high inci-dence of frailty,influenced by multiple factors.Early intervention,enhanced nutrition and engaging in regular ex-ercise can reduce the occurrence of frailty.

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction disease caused by a dysregulated host response to infection.It has com-plex pathophysiological changes,and in severe cases,it can rap-idly develop into septic shock and multiple organ dysfunction or multiple organ failure.At present,the pathological mechanism of sepsis and its induced organ dysfunction is complex and the in-fluencing factors are numerous.So far,there is still a lack of specific and effective treatment strategies.RNA modify-N6-methyladenosine(m6 A)is one of the most common post-tran-scriptional modifications on eukaryotic RNAs.It is involved in the regulation of the occurrence and development of a variety of inflammatory diseases,including sepsis,and even multiple organ dysfunction induced by sepsis by affecting the metabolism of RNAs.It includes cardiac dysfunction,acute lung injury(ALI)and acute kidney injury(AKI).Therefore,this article will dis-cuss the effect of m6A modification on the function of immune cells,and its important role in sepsis and its induced multiple or-gan dysfunction diseases by regulating inflammatory signals,py-roptosis,mitochondrial damage and ferroptosis.This will provide new therapeutic targets and strategies for the clinical prevention and treatment of sepsis and its induced multiple organ dysfunc-tion diseases.

Objective To investigate the benefits and challenges of the reform in evidence-based obstetric nursing practice in clinical nursing,therefore to provide a reference for initiating and keeping the reform in evidence-based nursing practices.Methods A method of descriptive phenomenological research was conducted between January and February 2024 in our hospital on 10 selected clinical nurses by purposive sampling.An outline for interviews was developed based on literature review and expert interviews,followed by semi-structured interviews with the nurses.Core themes were extracted with Colaizzi's seven-step analysis.Results Three themes and 12 sub-themes were summarised in this study.The 3 core themes that were identified among the nurses included:acceptance of evidence-based nursing practice reform(with 3 domains regarding knowledge,decision-making and action),perception of the benefits of the reform in evidence-based nursing practice(with 5 domains regarding the professionalism and scientific nature of clinical nursing,improvement of patient experience and nursing outcomes,enhancement of nursing quality and safety,promotion of innovation in on-the-job training and education,and facilitation of collaboration within the nursing team),and perception in the challenges of reform in evidence-based nursing practice(with 4 domains regarding the stress and challenges,doubts and resistance,poor cooperation between doctors and nurses,and risks in clinical decision-making).Conclusion The acceptance regarding reform in evidence-based nursing practice varies among the nurses.It is necessary to promote the acceptance,provide the targeted guidance and intervene in the factors of benefits and challenges among the nurses,hence to facilitate a smooth implementation of the reform in evidence-based nursing practice.

Objective:Invasive pulmonary mucormycosis(PM)is a rare but highly lethal opportunistic infection.COVID-19 associated mucormycosis(CAM)is difficult to diagnose,often leading to misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis,and has poor treatment outcomes.This study reports a case of successfully treated CAM and explores optimized diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.Methods:A retrospective analysis of the diagnosis and treatment process in a 50-year-old female patient with COVID-19 associated with diabetic ketoacidosis(DKA)and invasive pulmonary mucormycosis was conducted.Combined with a literature review,the therapeutic efficacy of local bronchoscopic instillation in conjunction with systemic treatment using liposomal Amphotericin B(L-AmB)was specifically evaluated.Results:The patient was rapidly diagnosed with Rhizopus microsporus infection through metagenomic next-generation sequencing(mNGS).She subsequently received antifungal treatment with intravenous L-AmB combined with local bronchoscopic instillation.After treatment,the patient was significantly improved,with imaging studies showing gradual absorption of the lesions.Follow-up at six months revealed no recurrence.A literature review suggests that early diagnosis and multimodal therapy are key to improving survival rates in patients with CAM.Conclusion:mNGS can significantly improve the early diagnosis rate of CAM.The combination of local and systemic treatment with L-AmB is valuable in improving prognosis.Early diagnosis,multimodal antifungal therapy,and individualized management are key to increasing the survival rate of patients with CAM.

Objective:To explore the relationship between childhood abuse, pleasure experience, sleep quality and self-injury behavior in adolescents with depressive disorder.Methods:One hundred and twenty adolescent patients with depressive disorder hospitalized in the Fourth People's Hospital of Hefei City from January 2021 to February 2024 were selected as the study group, as well as 120 healthy controls matched with the patients' age, gender and education level were selected as the control group.The adolescent non-suicidal self-injury assessment questionnaire, Pittsburgh sleep quality index, temporal experience of pleasure scale, and childhood trauma questionnaire were used for assessment. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0 software. Independent sample t-test was used for comparison between the two groups. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze correlations between scale scores. Chain mediating modeling was used with the PROCESS macro program. Results:The differences of the study group and the control group in childhood abuse ((53.33±15.21), (39.07±11.81), t=8.081, P<0.001), pleasure experience ((85.60±15.77), (67.44±19.46), t=7.941, P<0.001), self-injury behavior ((29.01±9.89), (3.76±0.49), t=8.811, P<0.001), sleep quality ((12.24±4.15), (6.56±4.05), t=10.711, P<0.001), and depression ((30.62±7.97), (5.88±3.28), t=31.451, P<0.001) were all statistically significant. The self-injury behavior of the study group was positively correlated with the sleep quality ( r=0.487, P<0.001) and childhood abuse ( r=0.553, P<0.001), and negatively correlated with the pleasure experience ( r=-0.483, P<0.001). Childhood abuse had a negative predictive effect on pleasure experience ( β=-0.491, P<0.001), there was a positive predictive effect of childhood abuse on sleep quality ( β=0.363, P<0.001), there was a negative predictive effect of pleasure experience on sleep quality ( β=-0.321, P<0.001), there was a simultaneous predictive effect of childhood abuse, pleasure experience and sleep quality on self-injury behaviors predictive effect ( β=0.343, P<0.001, β=-0.211, P<0.001, β=0.208, P<0.001).The total effect of childhood abuse on self-injury behavior mediated by pleasure experience and sleep quality was 0.555(95% CI=0.448-0.663), and the direct effect was 0.343(95% CI=0.219-0.468).The mediating effect of pleasure experience between childhood abuse and self-injury behavior was 0.104(95% CI=0.007-0.196), accounting for 18.74% of the total effect, the mediating effect of sleep quality between childhood abuse and self-injury behavior was 0.075(95% CI=0.028-0.133), accounting for 13.51% of the total effect, and the chain mediating effect of pleasure experience and sleep quality between childhood abuse and self-injury behavior was 0.033(95% CI=0.011-0.060), accounting for 5.95% of the total effect. Conclusion:Sleep quality and pleasure experience exert the chain mediating effect between the childhood abuse and self-injury behavior in adolescents with depressive disorders.