Objective To construct an index system for assessment of schistosomiasis transmission risk following natural disasters such as rainstorms, floods, earthquakes, mudslides, and landslides, so as to provide insights into rapid identification of schistosomiasis transmission risk post-disasters and formulation of targeted schistosomiasis control strategies. Methods An initial framework for the index system for assessment of schistosomiasis transmission risk following natural disasters was drafted through literature review, brainstorming, and focus group discussions. Two rounds of expert correspondence consultations were conducted using the Delphi method to refine and finalize the system, and the degrees of expert activeness, authority and endorse ment, and consensus were evaluated. In addition, the weights of each index were calculated using the analytic hierarchy process. Results A total of 18 experts participated in the consultation. The expert positive coefficients were 100.00% and 94.44% for two rounds of consultations, with authority coefficients of 0.92 and 0.94, respectively. The coefficients of coordination on the index importance, rationality and operability were 0.209, 0.185, 0.222 and 0.407, 0.214, 0.257 for two rounds of consultations, respectively, and all consistency tests were statistically significant (χ² = 246.771 to 505.278, all P values < 0.001). Following two rounds of expert consultations, an index system consisting of 6 first-level indicators, 15 second-level indicators, and 49 third-level indicators was ultimately constructed. In terms of first-level indicators, “disaster situation”, “previous epidemics”, “healthcare guarantee”, “response capacity” and “emergency recovery” had the highest weights, each at 18.18%. Regarding second-level indicators, “Schistosoma japonicum infections in animals”, “S. japonicum infections in snails” and “medical treatment” had the highest weights, each at 7.35%. In terms of third-level indicators, ten items had the highest weights, including “identification of schistosomiasis cases”, “detection of S. japonicum infections in wild feces”, “detection of S. japonicum infections in snails”, “reserves of schistosomiasis diagnostic/testing reagents and consumables”, “reserves of chemotherapy agents for human and animal schistosomiasis”, “reserves of cercariacides”, “periodical surveillance on schistosomiasis”, “identification of schistosomiasis transmission risk and timely response”, “normal provision of diagnosis and treatment services” and “post-disaster schistosomiasis surveillance”, each at 2.40%. Conclusion A scientific, systematic, and practical index system has been constructed for assessment of schistosomiasis transmission risk following natural disasters, which may provide insights into rapid post-disaster identification of schistosomiasis transmission risk, formulation of targeted schistosomiasis control strategies and optimization of resource allocation.

Objective Based on the assumption of spatial heterogeneity,the distribution pattern and risk characteristics of health poverty in middle-aged and elderly people with chronic diseases are described from the perspective of spatial differentiation.In order to providing a theoretical basis for the optimization of subsequent poverty reduction policies and a model policy for other countries.Methods It used factor detector and interaction detector to capture the role of single-factor and multi-factor interactions on the spatial differentiation of health poverty,and risk detectors were utilized to explore the high-risk factors in risky areas Results The single factor explanation of medical assistance and health education activities is prominent,and the factors such as PM2.5,old-age dependency ratio and urban unemployment rate have strong interaction.Furthermore,it identified high-risk factor characteristics in areas at high risk of health poverty.Conclusion The spatial differentiation pattern of health poverty among the middle-aged and elderly chronic disease population in China is the result of the synergistic driving effect of multidimensional factors,and there is variability in the risk characteristics among regions.The government should establish a contextual optimization strategy and pay attention to the joint effect of multiple factors to establish a synergistic management system.

Objective:To reveal the differences in the transcriptome maps of brain tissues in mice subjected to Flash irradiation and conventional dose rate irradiation with electron beams and to explain the biological effect and mechanisms of Flash irradiation from multiple perspectives.Methods:Following the principle of grouping based on approximate body weights, 36 female C57BL/6J mice were divided into three groups, i. e., the control, conventional dose rate irradiation (CONV), and Flash irradiation (Flash) groups, with 12 mice in each group. Both the CONV and Flash groups received a single 15 Gy whole-brain irradiation with 9 MeV electron beams. At 3 d post-irradiation, the whole-brain tissue specimens were collected for hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining to observe pathological changes. At 1, 3, and 10 weeks post-irradiation, the motion function, cognitive ability, depression level, and spatial memory capacity of the mice were assessed using ethology. At 1 and 10 weeks after behavioral experiments, brain tissue samples were collected and snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen for reference-based transcriptome sequencing. Accordingly, the differences in the transcriptome maps of radiation-induced brain injury between CONV and Flash groups were analyzed.Results:The HE staining-based pathological result revealed that compared to the CONV group, the Flash group exhibited reduced glial cell hyperplasia and inflammatory cell infiltration in brain tissues. Ethological research result at 1 week post-irradiation showed that the CONV group manifested a significantly decreased total traveled distance compared to the control and Flash groups ( t = 5.51, 2.38, P < 0.05) and a significantly increased immobility time compared to the control group ( t = 3.60, P < 0.05). Ethological research result at 3 weeks post-irradiation indicated that compared to the CONV group, the Flash group displayed significantly alleviated cognitive impairment ( t = 3.35, P < 0.05) and reduced depression levels ( t = 2.39, P < 0.05). Ethological research result at 10 weeks post-irradiation demonstrated that the CONV group showed the worst cognitive performance, significantly differing from the control group ( t = 4.53, P < 0.05). Transcriptome sequencing result revealed that besides immune-related pathways, the Flash group also exhibited multiple upregulated metabolic pathways and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-related pathways compared to the CONV group. Conclusions:Compared to conventional dose rate irradiation, Flash irradiation can effectively alleviate radiation-induced brain injury in mice. This effect is associated with various metabolic pathways (including amino acid metabolism) and FGF-related pathways besides immune pathways.

Objective:To investigate the radiation field distribution characteristics in a 9 MeV electron FLASH (e-FLASH) linear accelerator treatment room.Methods:The Geant4 Monte Carlo program was employed for physical simulating of the radiation field distribution inside and outside the treatment room under a single-beam delivery condition with a total dose of 50 Gy at the reference point and a dose rate of 250 Gy/s. High-sensitivity radiation detectors (AT1123) were used to validate the measurements at key points.Results:The dose rate at the reference point was approximately 9×10 11 μSv/h. Due to the scattering and shielding effects, the deviation of the attenuation rate from the inverse-square law was observed and the isodose lines exhibited spatial drift. Measured dose rates at key points showed good agreement with the simulation result, with a maximum deviation within 30%. Conclusions:The complex radiation field distribution can be effectively simulated using Geant4 in an e-FLASH treatment room. This indicated the Geant4 is not only applicable for the shielding calculations in e-FLASH radiotherapy facilities, but also for the design optimization through, reduction of trial-and-error iterations and engineering costs.

Objective:To reveal the differences in the transcriptome maps of brain tissues in mice subjected to Flash irradiation and conventional dose rate irradiation with electron beams and to explain the biological effect and mechanisms of Flash irradiation from multiple perspectives.Methods:Following the principle of grouping based on approximate body weights, 36 female C57BL/6J mice were divided into three groups, i. e., the control, conventional dose rate irradiation (CONV), and Flash irradiation (Flash) groups, with 12 mice in each group. Both the CONV and Flash groups received a single 15 Gy whole-brain irradiation with 9 MeV electron beams. At 3 d post-irradiation, the whole-brain tissue specimens were collected for hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining to observe pathological changes. At 1, 3, and 10 weeks post-irradiation, the motion function, cognitive ability, depression level, and spatial memory capacity of the mice were assessed using ethology. At 1 and 10 weeks after behavioral experiments, brain tissue samples were collected and snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen for reference-based transcriptome sequencing. Accordingly, the differences in the transcriptome maps of radiation-induced brain injury between CONV and Flash groups were analyzed.Results:The HE staining-based pathological result revealed that compared to the CONV group, the Flash group exhibited reduced glial cell hyperplasia and inflammatory cell infiltration in brain tissues. Ethological research result at 1 week post-irradiation showed that the CONV group manifested a significantly decreased total traveled distance compared to the control and Flash groups ( t = 5.51, 2.38, P < 0.05) and a significantly increased immobility time compared to the control group ( t = 3.60, P < 0.05). Ethological research result at 3 weeks post-irradiation indicated that compared to the CONV group, the Flash group displayed significantly alleviated cognitive impairment ( t = 3.35, P < 0.05) and reduced depression levels ( t = 2.39, P < 0.05). Ethological research result at 10 weeks post-irradiation demonstrated that the CONV group showed the worst cognitive performance, significantly differing from the control group ( t = 4.53, P < 0.05). Transcriptome sequencing result revealed that besides immune-related pathways, the Flash group also exhibited multiple upregulated metabolic pathways and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-related pathways compared to the CONV group. Conclusions:Compared to conventional dose rate irradiation, Flash irradiation can effectively alleviate radiation-induced brain injury in mice. This effect is associated with various metabolic pathways (including amino acid metabolism) and FGF-related pathways besides immune pathways.

Objective:To investigate the radiation field distribution characteristics in a 9 MeV electron FLASH (e-FLASH) linear accelerator treatment room.Methods:The Geant4 Monte Carlo program was employed for physical simulating of the radiation field distribution inside and outside the treatment room under a single-beam delivery condition with a total dose of 50 Gy at the reference point and a dose rate of 250 Gy/s. High-sensitivity radiation detectors (AT1123) were used to validate the measurements at key points.Results:The dose rate at the reference point was approximately 9×10 11 μSv/h. Due to the scattering and shielding effects, the deviation of the attenuation rate from the inverse-square law was observed and the isodose lines exhibited spatial drift. Measured dose rates at key points showed good agreement with the simulation result, with a maximum deviation within 30%. Conclusions:The complex radiation field distribution can be effectively simulated using Geant4 in an e-FLASH treatment room. This indicated the Geant4 is not only applicable for the shielding calculations in e-FLASH radiotherapy facilities, but also for the design optimization through, reduction of trial-and-error iterations and engineering costs.

Objective Based on the assumption of spatial heterogeneity,the distribution pattern and risk characteristics of health poverty in middle-aged and elderly people with chronic diseases are described from the perspective of spatial differentiation.In order to providing a theoretical basis for the optimization of subsequent poverty reduction policies and a model policy for other countries.Methods It used factor detector and interaction detector to capture the role of single-factor and multi-factor interactions on the spatial differentiation of health poverty,and risk detectors were utilized to explore the high-risk factors in risky areas Results The single factor explanation of medical assistance and health education activities is prominent,and the factors such as PM2.5,old-age dependency ratio and urban unemployment rate have strong interaction.Furthermore,it identified high-risk factor characteristics in areas at high risk of health poverty.Conclusion The spatial differentiation pattern of health poverty among the middle-aged and elderly chronic disease population in China is the result of the synergistic driving effect of multidimensional factors,and there is variability in the risk characteristics among regions.The government should establish a contextual optimization strategy and pay attention to the joint effect of multiple factors to establish a synergistic management system.

ObjectiveTo investigate the regulatory effect of circular RNA circ_0120051 on the fibrotic phenotype of cardiac fibroblasts and the potential mechanism involved. MethodsThe expression of circ_0120051 and its host gene of solute carrier family 8 member A1（SLC8A1） mRNA in the myocardium of healthy organ donors （n=24） and heart failure （HF） patients （n=21） were assessed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （RT-qPCR） assay. RNA stability of circ_0120051 was identified by RNase R exonuclease digestion assay. The cytoplasmic and nuclear distribution of circ_0120051 in human cardiomyocyte AC16 was detected by RT-qPCR assay. The expression of fibrosis-related genes in mouse cardiac fibroblasts （mCFs） with adenovirus-mediated overexpression of circ_0120051 was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot assay， respectively. The effect of overexpression of circ_0120051 on the migration activity of mCFs was evaluated by wound-healing assay. RNA co-immunoprecipitation （RIP） was conducted to detect the interaction between circ_0120051 and miR-144-3p. The binding site of miR-144-3p in the 3'-UTR of isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 （Idh2） mRNA was identified by the dual luciferase reporter gene assay. ResultsCirc_0120051 was significantly up-regulated in the myocardium of HF patients， while the mRNA expression of its host gene SLC8A1 was not changed. Circ_0120051 was mainly located in the cytoplasm of human AC16 cells. Results of RNase R exonuclease digestion revealed that circ_0120051 possesses the characteristic stability of circular RNA compared to the linear SLC8A1 mRNA. Overexpression of circ_0120051 could inhibit the expression of fibrosis-related gene in mCFs and mCFs migration. RIP assay confirmed the specific interaction between circ_0120051 and miR-144-3p. Transfection of miR-144-3p mimic could efficiently promote the expression of fibrosis-related genes in mCFs and reverse the inhibitory effect of circ_0120051 on the fibrotic phenotype of mCFs. Results of the dual luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed the interaction between miR-144-3p and the 3'-UTR of Idh2. Transfection of miR-144-3p transcriptionally inhibited Idh2 expression， and overexpression of circ_0120051 enhanced IDH2 expression in mCFs. MiR-144-3p mimic and Idh2 small interfering RNA （siRNA） could consistently reverse the inhibitory effects of circ_0120051 on fibrosis-related genes expression in mCFs and mCFs migration. ConclusionsCirc_0120051 inhibits the fibrotic phenotype of cardiac fibroblasts via sponging miR-144-3p to enhance the target gene of IDH2 expression.

Objective To explore the left and right ventricular myocardial strain and dyssynchrony in patients with Micra AV leadless pacing implantation,and to further analyze the impact of implantation site on myocardial strain and dyssynchrony.Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 43 patients with Micra AV implantation and 20 patients with high-degree atrioventricular block(Ⅱdegree typeⅡandⅢdegree atrioventricular block)at the Department of Cardiology,Zhongshan Hospital from April 2023 to December 2023.The demographic information and clinical characteristics of the patients were collected.Echocardiography and speckle tracking imaging techniques were used to obtain conventional echocardiographic parameters,myocardial strain,and dyssynchrony indices of patients in the two groups,including global longitudinal strain(GLS),free wall longitudinal strain(FWLS),peak strain dispersion(PSD)of 18 left ventricular segments,PSD of 6 right ventricular segments,and other indices.According to the implantation location of Micra AV,the patients were further divided into middle group(right ventricular septum),high group(right ventricular inflow tract),and low group(apical region),and the differences in myocardial strain and dyssynchrony indices among the three subgroups were compared.Results The left ventricular GLS(LVGLS),right ventricular GLS(RVGLS),and right ventricular FWLS(RVFWLS)of the Micra AV group were significantly lower than those of the conduction block group(P＜0.001),and the right ventricular dyssynchrony of the Micra AV group was significantly higher than that of the conduction block group(P＜0.05).Comparison of myocardial strain and dyssynchrony at different implantation sites showed that the LVGLS of the high implantation group was significantly higher than that of the middle and low implantation groups,and the left ventricular dyssynchrony index Yu was significantly lower than that of the middle group(P＜0.05);the right ventricular ejection fraction(RVEF)of the low implantation group was significantly lower than that of the high group,and the right ventricular 6-segment PSD was significantly higher than that of the middle and high implantation groups(P＜0.05).Conclusions Compared with patients with high-degree atrioventricular block,patients with Micra AV leadless pacing have reduced left and right ventricular strain,and the implantation of low position had greater effect.

AIM:To investigate the effect of circular RNA MYO9A-006(circMYO9A_006)on hypertrophic phenotype of cardiomyocytes and the underlying mechanism.METHODS:The effect of adenovirus-mediated overexpres-sion of circMYO9A_006 on the expression of hypertrophy-related proteins,including β-myosin heavy chain(β-MHC),skeletal muscle actin alpha 1(ACTA1)and atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP),was evaluated in neonatal mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes(NMVCs).Moreover,a neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocyte(NRVC)model of phenylephrine(PE)-in-duced hypertrophy was established.The effect of circMYO9A_006 overexpression on NRVC size was ascertained using Phalloidin-iFluor 647 staining method.Dual-luciferase reporter assay was employed to measure the activity of potential in-ternal ribosome entry sites(IRES)in circMYO9A_006.The translation and intracellular location of the circMYO9A_006-translated protein,MYO9A-208aa,were verified using Western blot.To investigate the role of MYO9A-208aa in the ef-fect of circMYO9A_006 on the cardiomyocyte hypertrophic phenotype,we prepared and used the following adenoviruses:the recombinant circMYO9A_006-ORF adenovirus to express MYO9A-208aa,the recombinant circMYO9A_006-ATG-mut adenovirus that does not express MYO9A-208aa,the recombinant circMYO9A_006 adenovirus,and the adenovirus vector control.These were then employed to infect NRVCs.RESULTS:Successful adenovirus-mediated overexpression of circMYO9A_006 was observed in NMVCs.The increased expression of circMYO9A_006 notably reduced the expres-sion of hypertrophy-related proteins in NMVCs(P<0.01).Concurrently,overexpression of circMYO9A_006 substantially reduced the expression of hypertrophy-associated proteins and diminished the size of PE-induced NRVCs(P<0.05).Dual-luciferase reporter assay identified the activity of 2 IRES in circMYO9A_006.Western blot results indicated that circ-MYO9A_006 could produce the MYO9A-208aa protein with an anticipated molecular weight of 28 kD in NRVCs,primari-ly found in the cytoplasm.Elevated expression of both circMYO9A_006 and MYO9A-208aa consistently reduced the ex-pression of hypertrophy-associated proteins(P<0.01),and counteracted the enlarged size of PE-induced NRVCs(P<0.05).However,increased expression of circMYO9A_006-ATG-mut did not counteract the PE-induced hypertrophic phe-notype of NRVCs.CONCLUSION:circMYO9A_006 attenuates the hypertrophic phenotype of cardiomyocytes by synthe-sizing the MYO9A-208aa protein.