Objective:To explore the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D[25(OH)D]and handgrip strength in middle-aged and elderly people in 5 cities of Western China.Methods:Based on the data of a cross-sectional survey conducted in the 5 cities of Western China from February to July 2023,the relevant demographic characteristics of people were collected by questionnaire,handgrip strength was collected by physical examination,and serum 25(OH)D was detected by HPLC-MS/MS.The association between the serum 25(OH)D and handgrip strength was analyzed using Logistic regres-sion and Chi-square test for between-group comparisons models.Results:The prevalence of 25(OH)D deficiency and insufficiency among the middle-aged and elderly people in the 5 cities of Western China was 52.9％and 34.5％,respectively.The people who were older,female,and sampled in winter had lower serum 25(OH)D levels(P＜0.05).The prevalence of loss of handgrip strength among the mid-dle-aged and elderly people was 25.3％.The prevalence of handgrip strength loss was higher in the aged 65-80 participants with 25(OH)D deficiency(45.0％)than in those with 25(OH)D insufficiency(32.6％)and 25(OH)D sufficiency(20.6％).The highest prevalence of loss of handgrip strength was found in the aged 75-80 participants with 25(OH)D deficiency(62.1％),followed by the 25(OH)D insufficient group(11.1％,P＜0.05).The study found that middle-aged and elderly people with 25(OH)D deficiency had a 1.4-fold increased risk of handgrip strength loss compared with those with 25(OH)D sufficiency(OR=2.403,95％CI:1.202-4.804,P=0.013).No significant association was found between 25(OH)D insufficiency and handgrip strength status in the middle-aged and elderly people.For every 5 μg/L increase in total serum 25(OH)D,the risk of handgrip strength loss reduced by 13.1％(OR=0.869,95％CI:0.768-0.982,P=0.025).For every 5 μg/L increase in serum 25(OH)D2,the risk of handgrip strength loss reduced by 24.1％(OR=0.759,95％CI:0.582-0.990,P=0.042).No significant association was found between serum 25(OH)D3 levels and the risk of hand-grip strength loss.The risk of handgrip strength loss in middle-aged and elderly people was reduced by 25.2％for each incremental increase in the total serum 25(OH)D levels(deficient,insufficient and suf-ficient)(OR=0.748,95％CI:0.598-0.936,P=0.011).The risk of handgrip loss was reduced by 40.0％for each incremental increase in serum 25(OH)D levels in the aged 65-80 and aged 65-69 participants,and by 80.0％for each incremental increase in 25(OH)D levels in the aged 75-80 parti-cipants.Conclusion:Serum total 25(OH)D and 25(OH)D2 levels are associated with handgrip strength status in middle-aged and elderly people in the 5 cities of Western China.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the potential of low-frequency, low-power ultrasound to enhance the transdermal absorption and efficacy of ketoprofen gel. METHODS Ketoprofen gel was used as a model drug to compare the in vitro transdermal permeation of ultrasound treated group and untreated group. Additionally, a rat model of collagen-induced inflammation provided a basis for evaluating pharmacodynamic differences. Pharmacokinetic studies further elucidated the effects of ultrasound on ketoprofen gel's penetration process. RESULTS Ultrasound treatment enhanced the cumulative transdermal permeation of ketoprofen gel by 3.5-fold over 24 hours compared to untreated. Significant pharmacokinetic improvements in AUC0-t from (4289.02±763.58)ng·h·mL−1 to (11301.10±3386.30)ng·h·mL−1 and a reduction in Tmax from (6.0±1.4)h to (3.0±2.0)h. Ultrasound notably improved the gel's anti-inflammatory effects in the rat model, effectively and rapidly reducing inflammation-induced swelling. CONCLUSION Low-frequency, low-power ultrasound can significantly improve the amount and rate of transdermal absorption of ketoprofen gel and enhance its pharmacological potency, from the aspects of skin permeation tests, pharmacodynamic evaluation, and pharmacokinetic studies, which is an effective penetration enhancer for transdermal administration of ketoprofen gel.

Objective:To analyze the clinical features of patients with severe dengue (SD) in Guangdong Province, and to improve the understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of SD in China.Methods:The clinical data, laboratory examination and etiological test results of 257 SD cases from 29 dengue fever designated hospitals in Guangdong Province from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2019 were respectively collected. The relevant indicators of the criteria for severe organ involvement were quantified. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the risk factors for the development of multiple organ failure in SD patients.Results:Among the 257 SD patients, age was (64.1±20.1) years old, with 65.4%(168/257) of them ≥60 years old, 142 were male and 115 were female. One hundred and fifty-two (59.1%) patients had underlying conditions, including 115(44.7%) patients with hypertension. The clinical manifestations were mainly fever (98.4%(253/257)), fatigue (70.0%(180/257)), cough or expectoration (44.4%(114/257)), lethargy or irritability (39.3%(101/257)), vomiting (30.4%(78/257)), abdominal pain or tenderness (20.6%(53/257)), hepatomegaly (2.3%(6/257)), bleeding tendency (59.5%(153/257)), and pleural effusion or ascites (43.6%(112/257)). Platelet count levels were decreased in 90.9%(231/254) of the cases, and 97.1%(234/241) of patients had normal or decreased hematocrit. The most common of severe manifestations were severe organ involvement (61.1%(157/257)), followed by severe bleeding (37.0%(95/257)) and severe plasma leakage (30.0%(77/257)). Severe organ involvements were more common in the kidney (27.6%(71/257)) and heart (26.8%(69/257)). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age (odds ratio ( OR)=1.051, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.004 to 1.100, P=0.035), hypertension ( OR=5.224, 95% CI 1.272 to 21.462, P=0.022), elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level ( OR=1.002, 95% CI 1.001 to 1.003, P=0.001), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) ( OR=1.050, 95% CI 1.005 to 1.098, P=0.030), and international normalized ratio (INR) ( OR=4.604, 95% CI 1.601 to 13.238, P=0.005) were risk factors for the development of multiple organ failure in SD patients. The detection results of serum samples form 113 SD patients in acute phase showed that dengue virus (DENV)-1 accounted for 89.4%(101/113), DENV-2 accounted for 9.7%(11/113), and DENV-3 accounted for 0.9% (1/113). Conclusions:Elderly and those with co-existing conditions such as hypertension in SD patients in Guangdong Province are more common. Severe organ involvement such as kidney and heart is the main cause of SD. DENV-1 infection is predominant. Significant elevated levels of AST, BUN and INR may be related to a poor prognosis.

Objective:To explore the clinical application of a new high dielectric constant (HDC) to improve image quality in 3.0 T fetal head MR scans.Methods:Forty pregnant women who underwent 3.0 T fetal head MR examinations at the Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University School of Medicine from May to July 2021 were prospectively included and divided into a test group and a control group according to the placement and non-placement of HDC pads. After the scans were completed, qualitative and quantitative analysis were performed on the image quality of the two groups acquired in each case. Qualitative analysis: A 5-point scale was used to score the images of both groups by two diagnosticians and their scores were recorded. Quantitative analysis: Firstly, the overall radiofrequency specific absorption ratio (SAR) values of the two sets of fetal cranial cross-sectional scans of each pregnant woman were recorded separately, and the average rate of change of the overall SAR values was calculated; secondly, four regions of interest (ROIs) were placed on the standard level of the cross-sectional section of each fetal cranium (including the level of the basal ganglia region of the dorsal thalamus), and the minimum and maximum of the four ROIs of each of the two data sets were calculated separately. The ratio of minimum to maximum signal intensity (RSI), signal to noise ratio (SNR) and contrast to noise ratio (CNR) were calculated for each of the four ROIs in the two sets of data. Wilcoxon test was used to analyze the differences between the two groups of image quality score results; paired sample t-test or paired rank sum test was used to analyze the differences in SAR, RSI, SNR and CNR values between the two groups. Results:The fetal head image quality score was 4 (3, 4) in the test group and 3 (1, 4) in the control group, and the test group was significantly higher than the control group, with statistically significant difference ( Z=-3.62, P<0.01), and the images in the test group had a uniform signal compared with the control group, and none of them had significant artifacts. The results of quantitative analysis showed that the overall SAR value of the test group was significantly reduced, with a mean reduction rate of 32.1%, and the difference between the SAR values of the two groups was statistically significant ( Z=-2.78, P<0.01). The RSI, SNR and CNR in the frontal, temporal, thalamic and occipital lobes of the test group were all higher than those of the control group, and the differences were all statistically significant ( P<0.01). Conclusion:The HDC pads can significantly improve the image quality of 3.0 T fetal head imaging by reducing or eliminating the inhomogeneous artifacts in the RF field, which makes a good technical foundation for fetal head MR imaging.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is becoming the main cause of global liver disease-related morbidity and mortality. Notably, its pathological mechanism is complicated and not yet fully understood. Therefore, immune regulation is undoubtedly an important link in its pathogenesis, especially the change of T lymphocyte subsets. This article introduces the research progress of T lymphocytes involved in steatosis, inflammation, fibrosis, malignant transformation and immunotherapy.

Objective:To investigate the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) during the progression of liver diseases and the molecular mechanism of HIF-1α in regulating the expression of angiogenic factors in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:Serum samples from hospitalized patients with liver cancer, liver cirrhosis, and chronic hepatitis were collected, and healthy people were used as controls. Mouse models of hepatocarcinogenesis were used to detect the dynamic expression of HIF-1α, VEGF and Ang-2. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to quantitatively analyze the serum levels of HIF-1α, VEGF and Ang-2 in patients with liver disease and mice. HIF-1α-specific miRNA expression plasmids was constructed to transfect HepG2 human HCC cells. HIF-1α mRNA transcriptional interference effects were analyzed on biological behavior, VEGF and Ang-2 expression, and epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) in human HCC cell line. The sample means of multiple groups were compared by analysis of variance and q test and the sample rate was compared by χ2 test. Results:In patients with chronic liver disease, the serum expression of HIF-1α, VEGF and Ang-2 in the liver cancer group (145.6 ± 32.6) μg/L, (458.9 ± 125.3) μg/L and (42.9 ± 5.1) μg/L was significantly higher than the liver cirrhosis ( P < 0.001) (79.5 ± 28.4) μg/L, (206.8 ± 56.8) μg/L and (26.2 ± 6.1) μg/L and chronic hepatitis group (60.1 ± 18.8) μg/L, (178.1 ± 85.4) μg/L and (21.8 ± 6.9) μg/L. In addition, HIF-1α was positively correlated with VEGF ( r = 0.937, P < 0.001), HIF-1α and Ang-2 ( r = 0.933, P < 0.001), and VEGF and Ang-2 ( r = 0.910, P < 0.001). Mouse models of hepatocarcinogenesis confirmed that HIF-1α, VEGF and Ang-2 had progressively increased during the process of malignant transformation from normal hepatocytes, hepatocyte degeneration, and precancerous lesions to canceration. HIF-1α miRNA intervention plasmid had transformed HepG2 cells. Compared with the blank group, HIF-1α mRNA, HIF-1α, VEGF and Ang-2 were decreased by 88.1%, 59.8%, 54.0% and 36.0% at 72h, respectively. The expression level of EMT-related protein Snail (0.26 ± 0.02 and 0.67 ± 0.09, q = 6.75, P < 0.003), VIM (0.27±0.08 and 0.73±0.04, t = 10.35, P < 0.001) and Twist (0.24 ± 0.07 and 0.73 ± 0.02, q = 12.08, P < 0.001) was significantly reduced, but the expression level of E-cadherin (0.76 ± 0.08 and 0.27 ± 0.09, q = 7.05, P < 0.002) was significantly increased. Conclusion:HIF-1α mediates and regulates angiogenesis-related factors such as VEGF and Ang-2 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma. Furthermore, HIF-1α transcriptional interference can significantly affect the biological characteristics and EMT transformation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

The quality control of lung transplantation involves many aspects, such as team building, selection of recipients, preoperative diagnosis and evaluation of recipients, maintenance of brain-dead donors, evaluation and acquisition of donors, surgical operation, postoperative management and postoperative follow-up. Precision management is the core concept of operation quality control. Only by normalizing the operation quality control of lung transplantation to provide basic guarantee for multi-team cooperation and development of lung transplantation management in the future, building a complete lung transplantation database to excavate data resources and improve the quality of transplanta-tion, and comprehensively building a Chinese lung transplantation quality control system with multi-team participation and cooperation, can we improve the overall level of surgical diagnosis and treatment of lung transplantation in China.

Objective:To obtain differential expression profiles of circRNAs and miRNAs in peripheral blood of female patients with major depressive disorder based on high-throughput sequencing technology, and then construct an interaction network.Based on the outcome, it made a further exploration of the possible occurrence and development mechanisms of female major depressive disorder through functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis.Methods:According to the ceRNA theory, circRNA-miRNA network was constructed by TargetScan software via predicting the binding sites.Subsequently, the GO functional enrichment analysis was performed, and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were utlized to illustrate the target genes of co-expressed miRNAs.Thereby, the key genes related to major depressive disorder could be screened out.Results:A total of 724 differential circRNAs and 26 differential miRNAs were detected in female patients with major depressive disorder.And hsa_circ_0086092 and hsa-miR-146a-3p were the most co-expressed.Go functional annotations pointed out that it involved the regulation of nucleobase-containing compound metabolic process, regulation of RNA splicing, regulation of cell communication, amino acid transfer, regulation of RNA metabolic process, regulation of signaling and other biological processes.KEGG pathway analysis showed that target genes were mainly enriched in neurotrophin signaling pathway, Rap1 signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, AMPK signaling pathway, cocaine addiction, mTOR signaling pathway, Jak-STAT signaling pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, etcetera.Among the predicted target genes, BDNF, FGF2, MAPK14, GRIN2A, GRIN2B, GRM2 and PDE4 have the highest correlation with major depressive disorder.Conclusion:Hsa_circ_0086092 may be involved in the occurrence and development of female major depressive disorder through interaction with hsa-miR-146a-3p.

Objective:To study the prognostic factors in patients with occult ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after hepatectomy.Methods:The clinical data of 31 patients with occult ruptured HCC who underwent hepatectomy at the Heze Multiple Hospital from January 2001 to December 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 27 males and 4 females, with ages ranging from 29 to 73 years. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was carried out for survival analysis, and compared by the log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was conducted using the Cox proportional hazards regression model.Results:Of 31 patients in this study, 27(87.1%) had died, and 25(80.6%) had developed tumor recurrence and metastasis. The median overall survival was 8 months and the median tumor-free survival was 4 months. On Cox regression analysis, non-R 0 resection was an independent risk factor of overall survival ( RR=2.816, 95% CI: 1.006-7.887) and disease-free survival ( RR=3.295, 95% CI: 1.215-8.940). Poor tumor differentiation was an independent risk factor of overall survival ( RR=3.120, 95% CI: 1.193-8.160). Conclusions:The prognosis of patients with occult rupture HCC who underwent no R 0 resection was poor. However, the prognosis of patients who underwent non-R 0 resection was even poorer.