ObjectiveTo compare the differences in fungal community composition between lesional and non-lesional scalp areas in patients suffering from severe alopecia areata （AA）， and compare these with healthy scalp areas in control subjects. Additionally， to preliminarily explore the changes in scalp fungal communities in severe AA patients and their potential underlying immunological mechanisms. MethodsA total of 20 severe AA patients and 18 healthy controls were enrolled. Skin swab samples were collected from lesional and non-lesional scalp areas of severe AA patients， as well as from the normal scalp of healthy controls. The fungal internal transcribed spacer （ITS） region was amplified and analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. ResultsThe lesional scalp areas of severe AA patients exhibited higher α-diversity and species richness in fungal communities. Notably， the relative abundance of Ascomycota， along with genera such as Mycosphaerella， Aspergillus， Penicillium， and Wallemia， significantly increased in the bald regions. In contrast， Acremonium and Schizophyllum were more predominant in the non-lesional areas of severe AA patients. ConclusionDistinct region-specific differences in scalp fungal microbiota in severe AA patients suggests that fungal dysbiosis may play a potential role in the pathogenesis of alopecia areata. These findings provide new insights into the disease characteristics of severe AA from the perspective of scalp microecology.

ObjectiveTo analyze the influencing factors of hepatic fibrosis in patients with Wilson's disease （WD） and to develop and validate a predictive model for hepatic fibrosis in WD that integrates traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes and modern biomarkers， thus providing a basis for early identification of high-risk populations and medical intervention. MethodsThe clinical data of 220 WD patients diagnosed in the Department of Encephalopathy， The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine between January 2010 and December 2024 were retrospectively collected. Through a random number table， patients were assigned into a training set （154 patients） and a validation set （66 patients） in a 7∶3 ratio. Univariate COX regression， LASSO regression analysis， and multivariate COX regression analysis were performed to identify independent influencing factors for hepatic fibrosis in WD patients， and a clinical prediction model was established based on these factors. The discrimination， calibration， and clinical utility of the model were evaluated based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve （AUC）， calibration curves， and decision curve analysis （DCA）， respectively. ResultsA total of 220 patients were included. The syndrome of combined phlegm and stasis， triglycerides （TG）， laminin （LN）， and male gender were identified as independent risk factors for hepatic fibrosis in WD patients， while TCM intervention and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） were protective factors. The C-index indicated excellent discriminative ability （training set： 3-year AUC=0.908， 5-year AUC=0.869， 7-year AUC=0.829； validation set： 3-year AUC= 0.898， 5-year AUC=0.780， 7-year AUC=0.743）. Calibration curves showed good consistency. DCA demonstrated the clinical net benefit probabilities across different risk thresholds at various time points. ConclusionThe predictive model established in this study has high accuracy and can be conveniently used for the early identification and risk prediction of hepatic fibrosis in patients with WD.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

Objective To explore the differences in muscle synergies of healthy individuals,intact limbs and residual limbs of above-knee amputees under different gaits,provide references for electromyographic control of the prosthetics.Methods Surface electromyography(sEMG)signals of 7 muscles(4 thigh muscles,3 calf muscles)were collected from 7 healthy individuals and 3 lower-limb amputees during level walking,ascending/descending slopes,and ascending/descending stairs.Muscle synergy weights(W)and temporal activation coefficients(H)were extracted using concatenated non-negative matrix factorization(CNMF).The W matrices were compared using the coefficient of determination R2,and the activation coefficients were analyzed using statistical parametric mapping(SPM).Furthermore,peak activation and activation integral were used for hierarchical clustering analysis.Results The comparison of W matrices indicated a similar set of muscle synergies between the healthy group and the intact limb of amputees,whereas the residual limb showed greater variability in synergies.The analysis of H showed statistically significant differences in muscle activation throughout the gait cycle for all amputees.Clustering of time-domain features revealed that amputees exhibited higher activation integral and peak values in their intact limb during ascending slopes.Conclusions This study provides an in-depth investigation of the neuromuscular compensation strategies in lower-limb amputees under different gaits,offering theoretical insights for gait rehabilitation and assisting in the development of EMG-controlled prosthetics.

A retrospective analysis was conducted on 26 patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who were treated with carfilzomib-based regimens at Beijing Chaoyang Integrative Medicine Rescue and First Aid Hospital from July 2021 to May 2024. The median number of treatment cycles was 5 (range, 2-8). The overall response rate was 53.8% (14/26). The median follow-up duration was 9.5 months, and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 8.6 months (range, 1.7-25.2 months). Patients without plasmacytoma recurrence ( n=17) had a PFS of 12.3 months. In contrast, patients with plasmacytoma recurrence ( n=9) had a PFS of 6.2 months. The difference in PFS between these two groups was statistically significant ( P=0.013). Age (over 65 vs. 65 or younger), and treatment line (more than three vs. three or fewer) did not significantly affect treatment efficacy (all P>0.05). Common adverse reactions of grade 3 or higher included hematologic adverse reactions in 10 cases, which improved with symptomatic treatment. Non-hematologic adverse reactions included pulmonary infection (2 cases), renal failure (1 case), and heart failure (1 case). In conclusion, carfilzomib-based regimens demonstrate good clinical efficacy and manageable safety in the treatment of RRMM.

Objective:To explore the clinical application value of artificial intelligence models in identifying bleeding events and hemorrhagic points during laparoscopic pancreatic surgery.Methods:This single-center retrospective cohort study collected surgical videos of 25 patients undergoing laparoscopic pancreatic surgery at the Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2022 to December 2024. Videos within 5 seconds before and after representative bleeding events were captured at 30 frames/s, with 11 666 hemorrhagic-related video frames annotated. Two algorithm models were developed: a pigment-based model and a pigment+optical flow-based model for classification and target recognition of bleeding frames. The training and test sets for the pigment-based algorithm contained 4 692 hemorrhagic and 4 309 non-hemorrhagic frames, while those for the pigment+optical flow model included 1 339 hemorrhagic and 1 326 non-hemorrhagic frames. Performance evaluation was conducted using overlap thresholds, with accuracy and recall rates as key metrics.Results:The pigment-based model achieved 93.8% accuracy (134/143) and 43.3% recall (134/310) in hemorrhagic frame classification. At an overlap threshold of 0.3, the pigment-based model showed 84.1% accuracy (433/515) and 85.4% recall (433/507) in target recognition. When the threshold was increased to 0.5, the pigment+optical flow model demonstrated 88.1% accuracy (354/402) and 89.2% recall (354/397) in hemorrhagic target recognition.Conclusions:It is difficult to distinguish active bleeding from old bleeding completely by pigment information alone. The spatio-temporal features can be effectively extracted by combining pigment and optical flow information, and the bleeding can be accurately identified and located, which has potential clinical application value.

Objectives:To investigate the predictive value of epicardial fat volume(EFV)and atrioventricular groove fat thickness(AVGT)—morphological biomarkers of epicardial adipose tissue—for major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM).Methods:This study enrolled 216 DCM patients.EFV and AVGT were obtained from cardiac magnetic resonance imaging(CMR).Patients were divided into event-free group(n=142)and event group(n=74)based on MACE occurrence during follow-up.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was used to determine optimal cutoff values.Survival differences were assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis,Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors,and restricted cubic spline(RCS)models were used to evaluate dose-response relationships.Results:AVGT and EFV were significantly higher in the event group than in event-free group(both P<0.05).ROC analysis identified optimal MACE-predicting cutoffs as follows:AVGT≥7.74 mm(area under the curve[AUC]=0.57)and EFV≥78.6 ml(AUC=0.62).Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed significantly lower MACE-free survival rates in patients with AVGT≥7.74 mm and EFV≥78.6 ml(both P<0.05).Cox regression analysis confirmed that AVGT(HR=2.18,95%CI:1.34-3.54)and EFV(HR=1.81,95%CI:1.11-2.96)were independent MACE risk factors(both P<0.05)in this patient cohort.RCS models demonstrated the significant linear associations between EFV/AVGT and MACE risk(bothoverall P<0.05).Conclusions:EFV and AVGT,the non-invasive imaging biomarkers quantifying and characterizing fat distribution,are independently correlated with elevated MACE risk in DCM patients.These metrics serve as potential prognostic indicators,enriching risk stratification indicators for early identification of high-risk patients and guiding personalized medication strategies.