Background: High-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) is a chromatin-binding protein involved in arthritis, ischemia, sepsis, atherosclerosis, neurodegenerative disorders, meningitis, and cancer. HMGB1 exhibits dual roles in cancer, acting as either a tumor suppressor or oncoprotein depending on context. Objective: This research aimed to elucidate HMGB1’s functional significance in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). Methods: We overexpressed HMGB1 in cSCC cell lines using recombinant adenovirus and examined its effects on cell proliferation, colony formation, and cell migration. Results: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed elevated HMGB1 expression levels in cSCC tissue relative to normal epidermis. To assess the influence of HMGB1, we employed recombinant adenoviruses expressing HMGB1 to transduce SCC cell lines (SCC12 and SCC13). Enhanced HMGB1 expression significantly promoted cellular proliferation and colony formation capacity.Notably, HMGB1 overexpression elevated the levels of proliferation regulators, including P63, SOX2, CDK4 and CDK6. Furthermore, HMGB1 overexpression substantially enhanced tumor invasiveness, accompanied by upregulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) biomarkers. Mechanistically, overexpression of HMGB1 enhanced transforming growth factor-β signaling by increasing phosphorylation of SMAD2/3, the key mediators of EMT. Conclusion These data imply that HMGB1 acts as a tumor-promoting factor in cSCC.

ObjectiveStroke poses a heavy burden due to its high mortality and morbidity rates. Accurate and real-time detection of lesions is pivotal for prompt clinical intervention and favorable prognosis. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) and microwave tomography (MWT) have emerged as compelling alternatives for stroke screening, owing to their non-ionizing, non-invasive and portable nature. EIT provides information on tissue conductivity, and MWT offers high sensitivity to changes in dielectric properties. However, single-modality imaging is inherently limited, EIT suffers from low sensitivity to deep-seated tissues and severe ill-posedness of inverse problems, whereas MWT is challenged by strong nonlinearity in inverse scattering and susceptibility to modeling errors. Consequently, the clinical utility of standalone EIT or MWT for stroke diagnosis remains constrained by poor spatial resolution and imaging artifacts. To improve the accuracy and robustness of stroke imaging, a dual-modality fusion conditional denoising diffusion probabilistic model (DM-DDPM) was proposed for high-precision dual-modality image reconstruction. MethodsA dual-encoder network with a symmetric architecture and independently trained parameters was constructed to extract heterogeneous features separately from EIT boundary voltage measurements and MWT scattered field signals. Attentional feature fusion (AFF) is employed to integrate complementary information from the two modalities adaptively, generating robust fused priors that suppress redundant noise while preserving key physical characteristics. Subsequently, the fused priors are embedded into a Transformer-based diffusion model via a cross attention mechanism to guide the reverse denoising process. This approach effectively reduces artifacts and enhances the stability of conductivity distribution reconstruction. Time step embedding is introduced to enable the network to perceive the diffusion stage and further improve the accuracy of noise prediction. ResultsSimulated experiments demonstrated that DM-DDPM significantly outperforms single-modality and multi-modality networks under various noise levels. A head model simulation dataset was constructed based on COMSOL Multiphysics, and tests were carried out under 50 dB, 40 dB and 30 dB signal-to-noise ratio levels. At 30 dB, the average relative error (RE) was below 0.20, while the structural similarity index measure (SSIM) and correlation coefficient (CC) remained above 0.90 and 0.89, respectively. Compared with single-modality and multi-modality networks, artifacts were significantly reduced, lesion edges were clearer, and localization was more accurate. The model maintains high reconstruction quality and strong robustness for single, double, and triple lesions simultaneously. Furthermore, physical experiments were conducted using a 16-electrode EIT system and a 16-antenna MWT system with asynchronous data acquisition. These experiments confirmed the feasibility of the method in real-world scenarios and demonstrated that it can robustly reconstruct simulated lesions despite environmental interference and measurement noise, validating its reliability for practical clinical applications. ConclusionThe proposed method effectively combines complementary dual-modality information with a conditional diffusion model. Low accuracy and poor noise resistance in single-modality imaging were effectively addressed, while the noise amplification issue caused by direct multimodal data fusion was avoided. The proposed algorithm exhibits strong anti-noise interference ability and high imaging stability in both simulation and physical experiments. Precise localization of stroke lesions with different quantities was achieved, providing a high-precision, and practical technical support for clinical stroke detection.

Objective This study reports on the obligatory parasitism of water mites Arrenurus sp. on Anopheles messeae at the Manzhouli Port, Inner Mongolia, China. Methods Duing July 2024, a survey on the mosquito diversity was conducted at the Manzhouli Port. Captured mosquitoes and their ectoparasites were identified to species level. Results A total of 1840 adult mosquitoes were collected, representing species from three genera: Culex(Cx. modestus, Cx. pipiens pallens), Aedes(Ae. dorsalis, Ae. flavidorsalis, Ae. flavescens), and Anopheles (An. messeae). Among all the mosqutioes specimens,3 out of 150 captured An. messeae were found to carry ectoparasitic mites, with number of 2,4,27 mites separately. Morphological and molecular identification reached the same result as water mites(Hydrachnidiae, Hydracrina). COI gene sequence showed 94% similarity with the closest species Arrenurus truncatellus. Conlusions Literature review suggests water mites are host-specific parasitism of mosquito species and herein with the first record of Arrenurus sp. parasiting on An. Messeae in the most high-latitude region globally.

Objective : To investigate the distribution of solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 1B1(SLCO1B1) and apolipoprotein E(ApoE) gene polymorphisms in the patients of Han ethnic group with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases from Anhui Province, in order to provide the basis for the individualized therapy of statins in clinical practice. Methods: 924 Han patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases were selected. The SLCO1B1 and ApoE genotypes of the patients were detected by polymerase chain reaction-fluorescent probe method, and their distribution was compared among different genders and other regions in China. Results: Seven SLCO1B1 gene subtypes were detected in 924 patients, including *1a/*1b(33.01%),*1b/*1b(41.45%), *1b/*15(12.34%), *1a/*1a(7.03%), *1a/*15(5.52%), *15/*15(0.54%) and *5/*5(0.11%), without detection of the two gene subtypes of *1a/*5 and *5/*15; the normal metabolic genotype I of SLCO1B1(*1a/*1a, *1a/*1b, *1b/*1b) accounted for the highest proportion in this population(81.49%), the intermediate metabolic genotype II and the weak metabolic genotype III of SLCO1B1 accounted for 17.86% and 0.65% respectively; six ApoE gene subtypes were detected, including E3/E3(66.78%), E3/E4(19.37%), E2/E3(9.63%), E4/E4(1.84%), E2/E4(1.73%) and E2/E2(0.65%); the E3 mass genotype(E2/E4, E3/E3) accounted for the highest proportion in this population(68.51%); there was no significant difference in the distribution of SLCO1B1 and ApoE genes between different genders; there was no significant difference in the distribution of SLCO1B1 between the Han population from Anhui and the South China and Central China, but a significant difference was found between the Anhui Han population and the Southwest China(P<0.05); the distribution of ApoE in the Anhui Han population demonstrated no statistically significant variation from those in South China and Southwest China, whereas significant differences were observed in comparison with Central China(P<0.05). Conclusion In the Han population with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in Anhui, the distributions of SLCO1B1 and ApoE gene polymorphisms show no significant gender differences but exhibit regional variations. These populations are predominantly characterized by class I normal metabolic genotype(SLCO1B1) and E3 mass genotypes(ApoE), indicating a higher tolerance to statin dosages and normal therapeutic efficacy in this cohort.

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1(APE 1)is a multifunctional protein that plays important roles in DNA repair and regulation of gene expression.Because APE 1 is overexpressed in various cancers,it can serve as a cancer biomarker for aiding clinical diagnosis,guiding therapy,and monitoring prognosis.On this basis,a label-free fluorescent probe was designed based on the primer exchange reaction(PER)strategy for highly sensitive detection of APE 1 activity.In the absence of APE 1,the structure of catalytic hairpin(HP)was stable and could not form G-quadruplex.Therefore,the background fluorescence of this sensing system was very low due to the dissociation of thioflavin T(ThT).In the presence of APE 1,the apurinic/apyrimidinic(AP)site of HP was cleaved by APE 1 and a short nucleic acid fragment that acted as a primer to initiate PER was generated.After PER reaction,a large number of G-quadruplex were produced,which could specifically bind with ThT and resulted in significant increase of fluorescence signal.The combination of low background design of HP and PER amplification made this biosensor had high sensitivity with a detection limit(3σ)of 0.0008 U/mL.Furthermore,the primer sequence was directly generated by the cleavage of APE 1 without additional addition,which not only increased the specificity of the reaction,but also simplified the experiment procedure.Moreover,the use of label-free fluorescence signal reduced the cost of the experiment,and realized rapid detection of APE 1.Finally,this sensor was used to detect APE 1 in human serum samples with spiked recoveries of 91%-104%,proving great potential in study of biological enzyme.

Objective To investigate the prevalence of food intolerance among children in Zhuzhou area and its relationship with age,gender,systemic diseases,and food allergies,so as to provide a basis for the scientific adjustment of children's dietary structure.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on totally 1 592 children who underwent food intolerance and food allergen testing in the hospital,the positive rate and distri-bution of 14 kinds of food intolerance were assessed,and their correlation with various factors was analyzed.Results Among 14 kinds of food tested,milk and eggs had the highest positive rates of intolerance,at 82.22％and 55.78％,respectively.The majority of children were intolerant to 1 to 2 kinds of food,with a de-creasing trend in the number of children intolerant to multiple kinds of food.Among the 14 types of food,ex-cept for mushrooms and pork,there were statistically significant differences in the distribution of negative,mild,moderate,and severe intolerance in other foods(P＜0.05).Children tended to have moderate or even se-vere intolerance to milk and eggs,while they tended to have mild intolerance to other foods.There was no sta-tistically significant difference in the overall food intolerance rate between boys and girls(P=0.654),but the positive rate of tomato intolerance in girls was slightly higher than that in boys(P=0.043).Except for pork,there were statistically significant differences in the positive rates of intolerance to 14 different foods among different age groups(P＜0.05).The positive rates of intolerance to cod,mushrooms,and crabs increased with age,while the positive rates of intolerance to beef decreased with age.There was a statistically significant difference in the positive rate of milk intolerance between healthy children and children with skin allergies(P＜0.05).There was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of individuals who were tolerant and not allergic to milk compared to hose who were intolerant and allergic to milk(P＜0.05).There was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of individuals who were tolerant and not allergic to eggs compared to those who were intolerant and allergic to eggs(P＜0.05).Conclusion The positive rate of food intolerance among children in Zhuzhou area is relatively high,with milk and eggs being the main intolerant foods.There are differences in the positive rate of intolerance among different gender and age groups,and in-tolerance to milk and eggs is associated with food allergies to some extent.

Objective:To explore the effect of recombinant human brain natriuretic peptide(rhBNP)combined with dopamine on cystatin C(CysC),homocysteine(Hcy)and cardiac function in patients with severe heart failure(HF).Methods:This randomized controlled study enrolled 110 severe HF patients admitted in Aerospace Center Hospital between December 2021 and December 2022.They were divided into control group(n=55,nitroglycerin combined dopamine)and combined treatment group(n=55,rhBNP combined dopamine).Each group received corresponding therapy based on basic treatment for one week.Therapeutic effect,levels of CysC,Hcy,left ventric-ular end-systolic diameter(LVESd),left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDd),left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between two groups.Results:Compared with patients in control group,those in combined treatment group had significant higher total effective rate(81.82％vs.58.18％)and LVEF[(54.68±4.59)％vs.(44.79±4.37)％],and significant lower CysC[(1.02±0.19)mg/L vs.(1.40±0.21)mg/L],Hcy[(15.98±2.17)μmol/L vs.(21.05±2.82)μmol/L],LVESd[(35.13±3.51)mm vs.(41.71±3.28)mm]and LVEDd[(41.33±4.26)mm vs.(50.51±4.37)mm](P＜0.01 all).There was no significant difference in total incidence of adverse reactions between two groups(16.36％vs.7.27％,P=0.180).Conclusion:rhBNP combined with dopamine could significantly improve the clinical therapeutic effect,im-prove levels of CysC,Hcy and cardiac function with good safety in the treatment of severe HF.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease(CJD)is a rapidly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by prions,with certain infectivity and iatrogenic transmission risks.With the rapid progress and application of new dia-gnostic biomarkers and detection methods,as well as the construction and improvement of surveillance and reporting systems,the detection of CJD in patients domestically and internationally has shown an increasing trend year by year.Due to its long incubation period and heterogeneity of early symptoms,early identification and diagnosis of the disease is difficult,increasing the risk of transmission within medical institutions.Currently,there is a lack of con-sensus on the infection prevention and control of CJD.In order to timely identify and diagnose CJD as well as effec-tively block its transmission in medical institutions,this consensus summarizes 15 clinical concerns and formulates 24 specific recommendations based on the latest domestic and international research findings and clinical evidence,as well as combines with clinical practice,aiming to standardize healthcare-associated infection prevention and control measures for CJD and reduce its transmission risk in medical institutions.

Objective To investigate whether successful percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)could improve symptoms and quality of life(QOL)in left main disease and/or 3-vessel disease patients with diabetes.Methods Patients with left main disease and/or 3-vessel disease who underwent PCI in the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from April 2018 to May 2021 were consecutively enrolled and subdivided into 2 groups:diabetes and no diabetes.Detailed baseline characteristics,symptoms,including dyspnea and angina,assessed with the Rose dyspnea scale(RDS),Seattle angina questionnaire(SAQ),the European quality of life-5 dimensions(EQ-5D)and 12-item short-form health survey(SF-12)questionnaire respectively,procedural details,and 1 month and 1 year follow-up data were collected.Results Among 440 left main disease and/or 3-vessel disease patients,disease was present in 176(40.00％),who had more hypertension,peripheral artery disease,and LCX lesion(all P＜0.05).The incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)and all-cause mortality were similar between the two groups(both P＞0.05)at 1 month follow-up,while all-cause mortality in diabetes patients was significantly higher than those without diabetes at 1 year follow-up(P=0.013).Low left ventricular ejection fraction was an independent risk factor for MACE and all-cause mortality at 1 month and 1 year follow-up after successful revascularization(all P＜0.05).Most importantly,symptoms,including dyspnea and angina,and QOL were markedly improved regardless of diabetes both at 1 month and 1 year follow-up(all P＜0.05).Diabetes patients showed improved dyspnea and QOL at similar degree to the non-diabetes patients(all P＞0.05)and a more significantly relieved angina(P=0.013).Additionally,the number of chronic total occlusion(CTO)per patient was identified as an independent risk factor of dyspnea(OR 0.723,95％CI 0.525～0.997,P=0.048)and angina relief(OR 0.686,95％CI 0.473～0.995,P=0.047),and the contrast volume(OR 0.995,95％CI 0.992～0.999,P=0.008)as an independent risk factor of QOL improvement in diabetic patients.Conclusions Successful PCI is beneficial for relieving symptoms and improving quality of life in patients with diabetes who have left main disease and/or 3-vessel disease.

Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) is a widely utilized therapeutic approach for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), however, the clinical implementation is constrained by the stringent preparation conditions of radioembolization agents. Herein, we incorporated the superstable homogeneous iodinated formulation technology (SHIFT), simultaneously utilizing an enhanced solvent form in a carbon dioxide supercritical fluid environment, to encapsulate radionuclides (such as ¹³¹I,¹⁷⁷Lu, or ¹⁸F) with lipiodol for the preparation of radiolipiodol. The resulting radiolipiodol exhibited exceptional stability and ultra-high labeling efficiency (≥99%) and displayed notable intratumoral radionuclide retention and in vivo stability more than 2 weeks following locoregional injection in subcutaneous tumors in mice and orthotopic liver tumors in rats and rabbits. Given these encouraging findings, ¹⁸F was authorized as a radiotracer in radiolipiodol for clinical trials in HCC patients, and showed a favorable tumor accumulation, with a tumor-to-liver uptake ratio of ≥50 and minimal radionuclide leakage, confirming the feasibility of SHIFT for TARE applications. In the context of transforming from preclinical to clinical screening, the preparation of radiolipiodol by SHIFT represents an innovative physical strategy for radionuclide encapsulation. Hence, this work offers a reliable and efficient approach for TARE in HCC, showing considerable promise for clinical application (ChiCTR2400087731).