ObjectiveTo investigate somatization symptoms in adolescents during frequent earthquakes in Hefei， and to explore their correlation with earthquake experiences. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was used to select 324 adolescents in Hefei as the survey objects. The self-rating scale of somatization symptoms （SSS） and the fatigue intensity scale （FIS） were used to evaluate the somatization symptoms and fatigue degree of middle school students， and multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the related factors of somatization symptoms and fatigue among middle school students. ResultsA total of 324 adolescents were included， and the overall detection rate of somatization symptoms was 6.5%， and the detection rate of moderate or above fatigue was 20.1%. The results of regression analysis showed that adolescents who were concerned about the earthquake for a longer time （≥1 h） had a higher risk of somatization symptoms （OR=5.430， 95%CI： 1.547-19.058）， and adolescents who received pre-earthquake training had a lower degree of fatigue （OR=0.535， 95%CI： 0.292-0.981） （P<0.05）. ConclusionDuring the frequent earthquakes， adolescents have more somatization symptoms and fatigue. Therefore， it is crucial to enhance health education， reduce the emphasis on event-related reports， and implement earthquake prevention and disaster reduction training to improve the physical and mental health of adolescents.

ObjectiveTo address the key challenges in breast electrical impedance tomography (EIT) reconstruction including the severe ill‑posedness of the inverse problem, limited measurement information from the electrodes, low contrast of small lesions, as well as the common drawbacks of traditional reconstruction methods such as boundary blurring, low spatial resolution, and weak small-target detection capability, and to overcome the limitations of existing deep learning approaches namely low training efficiency, insufficient physical consistency, and substantial information loss during the low‑to‑high dimensional mapping process, this study proposes a multi‑scale attention and dynamic sparse mask fusion network (MADS‑Net). The proposed method aims to enhance high‑resolution reconstruction accuracy, small-lesion detectability, noise robustness, and computational efficiency in breast‑screening-oriented EIT, thereby providing a feasible solution for the application of EIT in breast functional imaging. MethodsThe proposed network adopts a strategy of “locate first, reconstruct later”. It realizes adaptive allocation of computational resources through a dynamic mask module, alleviates information loss in the low-to-high dimensional mapping process via a multi-scale attention mechanism, and embeds physical constraints to improve the physical rationality of reconstruction results. The performance of the proposed method was validated through systematic numerical simulations, agar phantom experiments, and porcine tissue experiments. Comparisons were made with mainstream methods including the Gauss-Newton algorithm, convolutional neural networks, U-Net, and Deep D-Bar. The image correlation coefficient (ICC), root mean square error (RMSE), and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) were adopted as quantitative evaluation metrics. Furthermore, lesion‑level evaluation metrics were introduced to assess the capability of different methods in reconstructing abnormal target boundaries and small‑sized target regions. ResultsExperimental results demonstrate that MADS-Net outperforms all comparison methods across all test scenarios. In numerical simulations, it achieves higher accuracy in target morphology and spatial location recovery as well as better background suppression. In agar phantom experiments, its detection and imaging reliability for small targets is significantly superior to the comparison methods. In porcine tissue experiments, the model maintains good generalization performance and can adapt to complex biological tissue imaging scenarios. Quantitative results show that MADS-Net achieves an average ICC of 0.917 6±0.048 8, an RMSE as low as0.060 6±0.031 6, and a PSNR of (23.893 9±2.685 3) dB. It successfully detects tiny targets as small as 5 mm within a 100 mm diameter sensing field, reduces the total training duration by 23.5% compared with the baseline method, and maintains stable reconstruction performance even under strong noise interference. ConclusionThe results demonstrate that MADS-Net achieves favorable EIT reconstruction performance in numerical simulations, agar phantom experiments, and porcine tissue experiments, even under common practical imaging challenges including low signal-to-noise ratio and blurred tissue boundaries. This study provides a methodological reference for further research on EIT in breast-screening-related scenarios and other medical functional imaging tasks, and also offers a low-cost, radiation-free alternative for breast lesion screening that aligns with the clinical demand for non-invasive diagnostic tools. It should be noted that real clinical breast data have not yet been used for validation in this study, and the clinical applicability of the proposed method requires further investigation. Future work will prioritize collecting multi-center real clinical breast datasets, and further optimize the model’s generalization ability to adapt to individual differences in breast tissue composition to promote its clinical application.

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy and safety of Tangning Tongluo tablets in the treatment of nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy （DR）. MethodsFourteen research centers participated in this study， which spanned a time interval from September 2021 to May 2023. A total of 240 patients with nonproliferative DR were included and randomly assigned into an observation group （120 cases） and a control group （120 cases）. The observation group was treated with Tangning Tongluo tablets， and the control group with calcium dobesilate capsules. Both groups were treated for 24 consecutive weeks. The vision， DR progression rate， retinal microhemangioma， hemorrhage area， exudation area， glycosylated hemoglobin （HbA1c） level， and TCM syndrome score were assessed before and after treatment， and the safety was observed. ResultsThe vision changed in both groups after treatment （P<0.05）， and the observation group showed higher best corrected visual acuity （BCVA） than the control group （P<0.05）. The DR progression was slow with similar rates in the two groups. The fundus hemorrhage area and exudation area did not change significantly after treatment in both groups， while the observation group outperformed the control group in reducing the fundus hemorrhage area and exudation area. There was no significant difference in the number of microhemangiomas between the two groups before treatment. After treatment， the number of microhemangiomas decreased in both the observation group （Z=-1.437， P<0.05） and the control group （Z=-2.238， P<0.05）， and it showed no significant difference between the two groups. As the treatment time prolonged， the number of microhemangiomas gradually decreased in both groups. There was no significant difference in the HbA1c level between the two groups before treatment. After treatment， the decline in the HbA1c level showed no significant difference between the two groups. The TCM syndrome score did not have a statistically significant difference between the two groups before treatment. After treatment， neither the TCM syndrome score nor the response rate had significant difference between the two groups. With the extension of the treatment time， both groups showed amelioration of TCM syndrome compared with the baseline. ConclusionTangning Tongluo tablets are safe and effective in the treatment of nonproliferative DR， being capable of improving vision and reducing hemorrhage and exudation in the fundus.

Patients suffering from nerve injury often experience exacerbated pain responses and complain of memory deficits. The dorsal hippocampus (dHPC), a well-defined region responsible for learning and memory, displays maladaptive plasticity upon injury, which is assumed to underlie pain hypersensitivity and cognitive deficits. However, much attention has thus far been paid to intracellular mechanisms of plasticity rather than extracellular alterations that might trigger and facilitate intracellular changes. Emerging evidence has shown that nerve injury alters the microarchitecture of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and decreases ECM rigidity in the dHPC. Despite this, it remains elusive which element of the ECM in the dHPC is affected and how it contributes to neuropathic pain and comorbid cognitive deficits. Laminin, a key element of the ECM, consists of α-, β-, and γ-chains and has been implicated in several pathophysiological processes. Here, we showed that peripheral nerve injury downregulates laminin β1 (LAMB1) in the dHPC. Silencing of hippocampal LAMB1 exacerbates pain sensitivity and induces cognitive dysfunction. Further mechanistic analysis revealed that loss of hippocampal LAMB1 causes dysregulated Src/NR2A signaling cascades via interaction with integrin β1, leading to decreased Ca²⁺ levels in pyramidal neurons, which in turn orchestrates structural and functional plasticity and eventually results in exaggerated pain responses and cognitive deficits. In this study, we shed new light on the functional capability of hippocampal ECM LAMB1 in the modulation of neuropathic pain and comorbid cognitive deficits, and reveal a mechanism that conveys extracellular alterations to intracellular plasticity. Moreover, we identified hippocampal LAMB1/integrin β1 signaling as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of neuropathic pain and related memory loss.
Animals ; Laminin/genetics* ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Neuralgia/metabolism* ; Cognitive Dysfunction/etiology* ; Male ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries/metabolism* ; Extracellular Matrix/metabolism* ; Integrin beta1/metabolism* ; Pyramidal Cells/metabolism* ; Signal Transduction

Due to its high sensitivity and non-destructive nature, Raman spectroscopy has become an essential analytical tool in biopharmaceutical analysis and drug development. Despite of the computational demands, data requirements, or ethical considerations, artificial intelligence (AI) and particularly deep learning algorithms has further advanced Raman spectroscopy by enhancing data processing, feature extraction, and model optimization, which not only improves the accuracy and efficiency of Raman spectroscopy detection, but also greatly expands its range of application. AI-guided Raman spectroscopy has numerous applications in biomedicine, including characterizing drug structures, analyzing drug forms, controlling drug quality, identifying components, and studying drug-biomolecule interactions. AI-guided Raman spectroscopy has also revolutionized biomedical research and clinical diagnostics, particularly in disease early diagnosis and treatment optimization. Therefore, AI methods are crucial to advancing Raman spectroscopy in biopharmaceutical research and clinical diagnostics, offering new perspectives and tools for disease treatment and pharmaceutical process control. In summary, integrating AI and Raman spectroscopy in biomedicine has significantly improved analytical capabilities, offering innovative approaches for research and clinical applications.

Lingguizhugan Decoction (LGZG) demonstrates significant efficacy in treating various cardiovascular diseases clinically, yet its precise mechanism of action remains elusive. This study aimed to elucidate the potential mechanisms and effects of LGZG on isoproterenol (ISO) continuous stimulation-induced chronic heart failure (CHF) in mice, providing direct experimental evidence for further clinical applications. In vivo, continuous ISO infusion was administered to mice, and ventricular myocytes were utilized to explore LGZG?s potential mechanism of action on the ?1-adrenergic receptor (?1-AR)/Gs/G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs)/?-arrestin signaling deflection system in the heart. The findings reveal that LGZG significantly reduced the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of hypertrophy-related biomarkers [atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)] and improved cardiac remodeling and left ventricular diastolic function in mice with ISO-induced CHF. Furthermore, LGZG inhibited the overactivation of Gs/cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling and downregulated the downstream transcriptional activity of cAMP-response element binding protein (CREB) and the expression of the coactivator CBP/P300. Notably, LGZG downregulated the expression of ?-arrestin1 and GRK 2/3/5 while upregulating the expression of ?1-AR and ?-arrestin2. These results suggest that LGZG inhibits Gs/cAMP/PKA signaling and ?-arrestin/GRK-mediated desensitization and internalization of ?1-AR, potentially exerting cardioprotective effects through the synergistic regulation of the ?1-AR/Gs/GRKs/?-arrestin signaling deflection system via multiple pathways.
Animals ; Heart Failure/genetics* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Mice ; Male ; G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Kinases/genetics* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Humans ; Isoproterenol ; Arrestins/genetics* ; Chronic Disease

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between non-high-density lipoprotein (NHDL) cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (NHHR) and stoke remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the adult NHHR and stroke occurrence in the United States of America (USA). METHODS: To clarify the relationship between the NHHR and stroke risk, this study used a multivariable logistic regression model and a restricted cubic spline (RCS) model to investigate the association between the NHHR and stroke, and data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005 to 2018. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted to test the robustness of the results. RESULTS: This study included 29,928 adult participants, of which 1,165 participants had a history of stroke. Logistic regression analysis of variables demonstrated a positive association between NHHR and stroke ( OR 1.24, 95% CI: 1.03-1.50, P = 0.026). Compared with the lowest reference group of NHHR, participants in the second, third, and fourth quartile had a significantly increased risk of stroke after full adjustments ( OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.08-1.69) ( OR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.42-2.36) ( OR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.50-2.79). In the total population, a nonlinear dose-response relationship was observed between the NHHR and stroke risk ( P non-linearity = 0.002). This association remained significant in several subgroup analyses. Further investigation of the NHHR may enhance our understanding of stroke prevention and treatment. CONCLUSION Our findings suggest a positive correlation between the NHHR and an increased prevalence of stroke, potentially serving as a novel predictive factor for stroke. Timely intervention and management of the NHHR may effectively mitigate stroke occurrence. Prospective studies are required to validate this association and further explore the underlying biological mechanisms.
Humans ; Stroke/blood* ; United States/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Nutrition Surveys ; Adult ; Aged ; Cholesterol, HDL/blood* ; Cholesterol/blood* ; Risk Factors

Objective:To investigate the expression of serum miR-326 and miR-501 in patients with endometrial cancer (EC) and their correlation with postoperative recurrence.Methods:From Sep. 2020 to Sep. 2023, 108 patients diagnosed with EC who received initial treatment in Heping Hospital Affiliated to Changzhi Medical College were as the study group, and another 108 patients with benign endometrial hyperplasia were as the control group. All EC patients were followed up for 1 year after surgery, and were assigned into a recurrence group of 15 cases and a non recurrence group of 93 cases based on the follow-up results. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was applied to determine the expression levels of serum miR-326 and miR-501. Logistic regression was applied to analyze the factors affecting postoperative recurrence in EC patients. The predictive efficacy of serum miR-326 and miR-501 for postoperative recurrence in EC patients was analyzed by establishing receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.Results:Compared with the control group, the expression level of serum miR-326 in the study group was prominently lower ( P<0.05), while the expression level of miR-501 was obviously higher ( P<0.05). Compared with the non recurrence group, the expression level of serum miR-326 in the recurrence group was obviously lower ( P<0.05), while the expression level of miR-501 was obviously higher ( P<0.05). The combination of serum miR-326 and miR-501 had the highest AUC in predicting postoperative recurrence in EC patients, which was better than their individual predictions ( Zcombination - miR-326=2.456, P=0.014, Zcombination - miR-501=2.282, P=0.023). Logistic regression analysis revealed that serum miR-326 was a protective factor affecting postoperative recurrence in EC patients ( P<0.05), while miR-501 was a risk factor affecting postoperative recurrence in EC patients ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:The expression level of miR-326 in the serum of EC patients is prominently reduced, while the expression level of miR-501 is obviously increased. The combination of the two can be better used to predict postoperative recurrence in patients.

This study investigated the potential pathogenicity and genetic characteristics of ST314 Salmonella Kentucky(S.Ken-tucky)isolates from a broiler slaughterhouse.Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing(WGS)were used to determine antimicrobial resistance,virulence factors,and the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes(ARGs)and mobile genetic elements(MGEs)among the isolates.The three multidrug resistant(MDR)isolates exhibited high resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents.The F4-2S strain exhibited resistance to 14 drugs across seven categories,whereas the F4T strain showed resistance to 13 drugs in the same number of categories.In contrast,the Y23 strain was resistant to nine drugs in six categories.Notably,F4-2S dem-onstrated high homology with F4T:both possessed 13 ARGs distributed across nine categories,in addition to a wide range of virulence factors,including secretion systems and effector proteins.The presence of IncR and IncX1 plasmids significantly enhanced both the antimicrobial resistance and pathogenicity of the isolates.The genome map of Y23 revealed a chromosome alongside two plasmids.The chromosome containedonly one resistance gene but several virulence factors,including the type III secretion system(T3SS),which is crucial for bacterial invasion.The plasmid pY23-1 contained eight types of 19 ARGs.Comparative analysis indicated that pY23-1 ex-hibited high homology with pZ1323SSL0055 and pSAL-045,all of which contained multiple ARGs,thus suggesting critical roles of these genes in the evolution of bacterial resistance.In conclusion,ST314 S.Kentucky demonstrated a complex mechanism of resis-tance coupled with significant pathogenic potential.The ARGs and MGEs in the plasmid contributed to the emergence and dissemina-tion of antimicrobial resistance.The multiple virulence factors present in the chromosome may be key factors driving the increasing virulence of ST314 S.Kentucky.

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of WISP-1 on renal tubular epithelial cell fibrosis in rats with renal fibrosis.Methods Twenty-four adult rats and renal tubular epithelial cell line(NEK-52E)were se-lected for in vivo and in vitro experiments.The rats were randomly divided into control group and study group,and the in vivo renal fibrosis model was established.The expression of WISP-1 in the study group was blocked.The cell lines were induced to fibrosis followed by WISP-1 over-expression or inhibition.The related indicators of fibrosis were observed.Results Protein and mRNA level of Collagen Ⅰ(Col Ⅰ),fibronectin(FN),transforming growth factor-β1(TGF-β1)in WISP-1 over-expression group were all higher than those in control group.The protein and mRNA level of Col Ⅰ,FN and TGF-β1 in the WISP-1 inhibition group were lower than those in the control group(P＜0.05).WISP-1 blockade attenuated the pathological changes of renal fibrosis.The protein and mRNA levels of Col Ⅰ,FN,α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA),TGF-β1,LC3 and Beclin-1 in the study group were lower than those in the control group,and the level of ubiquitin binding protein p62(SQSTM1/p62)was higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05).The expression of LC3 and Beclin-1 in WISP-1 inhibitor group was lower than that in the control group and the expression of SQSTM1/p62 was higher than that in the control group.The expression of LC3 and Beclin-1 in the WISP-1 over-expression group was higher than that in the control group,and the expres-sion of SQSTM1/p62 was lower than that in the control group.Conclusions Overexpression of WISP-1 promotes the fibrosis of rat renal tubular epithelial cells,and enhanced TGF-β1-mediated autophagy might be a underlying mechanism to mediate renal fibrosis.