1.The Use of Speech in Screening for Cognitive Decline in Older Adults
Si-Wen WANG ; Xiao-Xiao YIN ; Lin-Lin GAO ; Wen-Jun GUI ; Qiao-Xia HU ; Qiong LOU ; Qin-Wen WANG
Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2025;52(2):456-463
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder that severely affects the health of the elderly, marked by its incurability, high prevalence, and extended latency period. The current approach to AD prevention and treatment emphasizes early detection and intervention, particularly during the pre-AD stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which provides an optimal “window of opportunity” for intervention. Clinical detection methods for MCI, such as cerebrospinal fluid monitoring, genetic testing, and imaging diagnostics, are invasive and costly, limiting their broad clinical application. Speech, as a vital cognitive output, offers a new perspective and tool for computer-assisted analysis and screening of cognitive decline. This is because elderly individuals with cognitive decline exhibit distinct characteristics in semantic and audio information, such as reduced lexical richness, decreased speech coherence and conciseness, and declines in speech rate, voice rhythm, and hesitation rates. The objective presence of these semantic and audio characteristics lays the groundwork for computer-based screening of cognitive decline. Speech information is primarily sourced from databases or collected through tasks involving spontaneous speech, semantic fluency, and reading, followed by analysis using computer models. Spontaneous language tasks include dialogues/interviews, event descriptions, narrative recall, and picture descriptions. Semantic fluency tasks assess controlled retrieval of vocabulary items, requiring participants to extract information at the word level during lexical search. Reading tasks involve participants reading a passage aloud. Summarizing past research, the speech characteristics of the elderly can be divided into two major categories: semantic information and audio information. Semantic information focuses on the meaning of speech across different tasks, highlighting differences in vocabulary and text content in cognitive impairment. Overall, discourse pragmatic disorders in AD can be studied along three dimensions: cohesion, coherence, and conciseness. Cohesion mainly examines the use of vocabulary by participants, with a reduction in the use of nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives in AD patients. Coherence assesses the ability of participants to maintain topics, with a decrease in the number of subordinate clauses in AD patients. Conciseness evaluates the information density of participants, with AD patients producing shorter texts with less information compared to normal elderly individuals. Audio information focuses on acoustic features that are difficult for the human ear to detect. There is a significant degradation in temporal parameters in the later stages of cognitive impairment; AD patients require more time to read the same paragraph, have longer vocalization times, and produce more pauses or silent parts in their spontaneous speech signals compared to normal individuals. Researchers have extracted audio and speech features, developing independent systems for each set of features, achieving an accuracy rate of 82% for both, which increases to 86% when both types of features are combined, demonstrating the advantage of integrating audio and speech information. Currently, deep learning and machine learning are the main methods used for information analysis. The overall diagnostic accuracy rate for AD exceeds 80%, and the diagnostic accuracy rate for MCI also exceeds 80%, indicating significant potential. Deep learning techniques require substantial data support, necessitating future expansion of database scale and continuous algorithm upgrades to transition from laboratory research to practical product implementation.
2.Value of different noninvasive diagnostic models in the diagnosis of esophageal and gastric varices with significant portal hypertension in compensated hepatitis B cirrhosis
Cheng LIU ; Jiayi ZENG ; Mengbing FANG ; Zhiheng CHEN ; Bei GUI ; Fengming ZHAO ; Jingkai YUAN ; Chaozhen ZHANG ; Meijie SHI ; Yubao XIE ; Xiaoling CHI ; Huanming XIAO
Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2025;41(2):263-268
ObjectiveTo investigate the value of different noninvasive diagnostic models in the diagnosis of esophageal and gastric varices since there is a high risk of esophageal and gastric varices in patients with compensated hepatitis B cirrhosis and significant portal hypertension, and to provide a basis for the early diagnosis of esophageal and gastric varices. MethodsA total of 108 patients with significant portal hypertension due to compensated hepatitis B cirrhosis who attended Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from November 2017 to November 2023 were enrolled, and according to the presence or absence of esophageal and gastric varices under gastroscopy, they were divided into esophageal and gastric varices group (GOV group) and non-esophageal and gastric varices group (NGOV group). Related data were collected, including age, sex, imaging findings, and laboratory markers. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups; the least significant difference t-test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to evaluate the diagnostic value of five scoring models, i.e., fibrosis-4 (FIB-4), LOK index, LPRI, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio (AAR). The binary logistic regression method was used to establish a combined model, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was compared between the combined model and each scoring model used alone. The Delong test was used to compare the AUC value between any two noninvasive diagnostic models. ResultsThere were 55 patients in the GOV group and 53 patients in the NGOV group. Compared with the NGOV group, the GOV group had a significantly higher age (52.64±1.44 years vs 47.96±1.68 years, t=0.453, P<0.05) and significantly lower levels of alanine aminotransferase [42.00 (24.00 — 17.00) U/L vs 82.00 (46.00 — 271.00) U/L, Z=-3.065, P<0.05], aspartate aminotransferase [44.00 (32.00 — 96.00) U/L vs 62.00 (42.50 — 154.50) U/L,Z=-2.351, P<0.05], and platelet count [100.00 (69.00 — 120.00)×109/L vs 119.00 (108.50 — 140.50)×109/L, Z=-3.667, P<0.05]. The ROC curve analysis showed that FIB-4, LOK index, LPRI, and AAR used alone had an accuracy of 0.667, 0.681, 0.730, and 0.639, respectively, in the diagnosis of esophageal and gastric varices (all P<0.05), and the positive diagnostic rates of GOV were 69.97%, 65.28%, 67.33%, and 58.86%, respectively, with no significant differences in AUC values (all P>0.05), while APRI used alone had no diagnostic value (P>0.05). A combined model (LAF) was established based on the binary logistic regression analysis and had an AUC of 0.805 and a positive diagnostic rate of GOV of 75.80%, with a significantly higher AUC than FIB-4, LOK index, LPRI, and AAR used alone (Z=-2.773,-2.479,-2.206, and-2.672, all P<0.05). ConclusionFIB-4, LOK index, LPRI, and AAR have a similar diagnostic value for esophageal and gastric varices in patients with compensated hepatitis B cirrhosis and significant portal hypertension, and APRI alone has no diagnostic value. The combined model LAF had the best diagnostic efficacy, which provides a certain reference for clinical promotion and application.
3.Expression of indoleamin 2, 3-dioxygenase 1 in different types of breast cancer and its relationship with patient prognosis and immune cell infiltration
LI Xiaopiao1 ; LI Jie1 ; XIAO Jun2 ; DONG Yuhua2 ; HE Xun1 ; ZHANG Jinjuan2,3
Chinese Journal of Cancer Biotherapy 2025;32(6):620-627
[摘 要] 目的:探究吲哚胺2,3-双加氧酶1(IDO1)在不同类型乳腺癌组织中的表达及其与患者预后和免疫细胞浸润的关系。方法:收集 TCGA 数据库中乳腺癌RNA测序数据和相应临床资料,分析IDO1 mRNA在不同亚型、不同分期、不同绝经阶段及不同年龄等各类型乳腺癌组织与癌旁组织中的表达差异。将IDO1 mRNA表达有明显差异的乳腺癌类型的患者分为IDO1高、低表达组,比较3组间的疾病特异性生存率(DSS),分析IDO1 mRNA在DSS有明显差异的癌组织中的表达水平与免疫细胞浸润的关系。采用免疫组化法检测IDO1蛋白在ER阴性、PR阴性、HER2阳性及Ⅱ期乳腺癌组织中的表达情况,对数据库数据进行验证。结果:IDO1 mRNA在乳腺癌组织中呈高表达,但在不同类型乳腺癌中的表达不同。IDO1 mRNA在ER阴性、PR阴性、HER2阳性、HER2阴性亚型、Ⅱ期、T2期、N0期和M0期分期、绝经前、绝经后和年龄≤ 60岁患者的乳腺癌组织中呈高表达(P < 0.05或P < 0.01或P < 0.001)。ER阴性、PR阴性、HER2阳性和Ⅱ期亚组中,IDO1 mRNA高表达患者的DSS明显高于低表达患者(P < 0.05或P < 0.01)。ER阴性、PR阴性、HER2阳性和Ⅱ期乳腺癌组织中IDO1 mRNA表达与活化的树突状细胞(aDC)、Th1细胞、T细胞、CD56dim NK细胞、CTL和Treg细胞等免疫细胞浸润有关联(均P < 0.001)。IDO1蛋白在ER阴性、PR阴性、HER2阳性及Ⅱ期乳腺癌组织中均呈高表达(均P < 0.001),与数据库数据分析结果一致。结论:IDO1在不同类型的乳腺癌组织中的表达不同,IDO1表达与ER阴性、PR阴性、HER2阳性和Ⅱ期乳腺癌患者的预后和免疫细胞浸润有关联。
4.Mechanism of saikosaponin D enhancing temozolomide sensitivity in glioma cells via inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress
Gui-Mei LIU ; Rui ZHENG ; Xiao-Bin LIU ; Yong-Xian LIU ; Ya-Ping WANG ; Yu-Fu ZHANG ; Jing ZHANG ; Xiao-Yan JIN ; Yu-Si LIU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2024;40(6):1105-1114
Aim To investigate the synergistic sensiti-zation effect of saikosaponin D(SSD)combined with temozolomide(TMZ)on glioblastoma cells(GBM)and its molecular mechanism.Methods The sensitiv-ity of RG-2,U251 and LN-428 GBM cell lines to SSD and TMZ was analyzed by CCK-8 method combined with HE staining,and the optimal compatible concen-tration was screened.The effect of HE staining com-bined with Hoechst fluorescence staining on the prolif-eration of GBM cell line was detected by clonal forma-tion experiment.The autophagosome formation of GBM cells was observed by monodansylcadaverine(MDC)staining.The expression and distribution of endoplas-mic reticulum stress-related factors and apoptosis and autophagy proteins were detected by Western blot and ICC.Results The sensitivity order of GBM cells to TMZ was RG-2>U251>LN-428.The results of com-bined administration showed the synergistic inhibitory effect of SSD combined with TMZ on proliferation of GBM cell lines,which was confirmed by cell cloning formation experiment.Compared with the TMZ group,Hoechst fluorescence staining showed a significant in-crease in the number of nuclear bright staining in the combined administration group.MDC fluorescence staining showed that there were more dense green parti-cles in the cytoplasm of SSD/TMZ plus group than that of TMZ group.Western blot results showed that com-pared with TMZ group,the expression of ER stress markers GRP78,CHOP,p-PERK and ATF6 signifi-cantly increased in SSD/TMZ group(P<0.05).The expressions of apoptosis proteins caspase-12,caspase-9,caspase-3,cleaved caspase-3,Bax and autophagy proteins LC3 and Beclin-1 significantly increased(P<0.05),which were verified by ICC test.Conclusions SSD can cooperate with TMZ to inhibit the prolifera-tion of GBM cells and induce apoptosis and autophagy,and enhance the sensitivity of GBM cells to TMZ by ac-tivating endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway.
5.Progress of intraosseous basivertebral nerve ablation for symptomatic Modic alterations
Gui LIAO ; Yu-Min MENG ; Zhuan ZOU ; Kai-Zhen XIAO ; Guang-Yu HUANG ; Rong-He GU
China Journal of Orthopaedics and Traumatology 2024;37(4):423-428
Chronic lumbar and back pain caused by degenerative vertebral endplates presents a challenging issue for pa-tients and clinicians.As a new minimally invasive spinal treatment method,radiofrequency ablation of vertebral basal nerve in bone can denature the corresponding vertebral basal nerve through radiofrequency ablation of degenerative vertebral endplate.It blocks the nociceptive signal transmission of the vertebral base nerve,thereby alleviating the symptoms of low back pain caused by the degenerative vertebral endplate.At present,many foreign articles have reported the operation principle,opera-tion method,clinical efficacy and related complications of radiofrequency ablation of the vertebral basal nerve.The main pur-pose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the current relevant research,and provide a reference for the follow-up clinical research.
6.Psychological experience of nursing assistants of elderly patients with disability and mental disorders: a qualitative study
Gang ZENG ; Weiye CAO ; Aixiang XIAO ; Xingxiao HUANG ; Rong GUI ; Danhua HE ; Wen WANG ; Li LU
Chinese Journal of Modern Nursing 2024;30(2):161-166
Objective:To explore the real work experience and needs of nursing assistants of elderly patients with disability and mental disorders, and provide reference for relevant institutions to develop a reasonable support system and promote their physical and mental health.Methods:From October to November 2022, purposive sampling was used to select nursing assistants of elderly patients with disability and mental disorders from the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University as the research subject. The phenomenological method was used to conduct in-depth interviews, recordings, and transcripts of 12 nursing assistants. The Colaizzi analysis program was used to analyze, organize, refine, and summarize.Results:A total of five themes were extracted, including multiple emotional experiences, lack of rest and relaxation, insufficient professional identity and external support, lack of care knowledge and skills, heavy workload and poor treatment.Conclusions:Accompanying management institutions and hospitals need to strengthen their attention to nursing assistants, reduce their physical and mental burden, attach importance to skill training, increase welfare benefits, enhance professional identity, and improve the quality of care.
7.Morphological classification and molecular identification of Hyalomma asiaticum in parts of Xindi Township,Xinjiang
Xiao-Qing ZAN ; Qiao-Yun REN ; Jin LUO ; Yan-Long WANG ; Pei-Wen DIAO ; Li-Yan CHE ; Jian-Xun LUO ; Hong YIN ; Gui-Quan GUAN ; Guang-Yuan LIU ; Hong-Xi ZHAO
Chinese Journal of Zoonoses 2024;40(4):289-294
The purpose of this study was to identify the tick species native to Xindi Township,Yumin County,Xinjiang,China.Preliminary morphological identification of parasitic ticks collected from animals in the area was conducted with an ultra-depth of field three-dimensional VHX 600 digital stereo microscope.Total DNA of the ticks was extracted,amplified by PCR based on the COI and ITS2 gene loci,and the posi-tive PCR products were sequenced.The sequence were a-ligned with reference sequences from the NCBI database were aligned with the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool.A genet-ic phylogenetic tree was generated with the neighbor-joining method of MEGA 7.0 software to determine the evolutionary biological characteristics of ticks.Morphological identification showed that the ticks collected from Xindi Township of Yu-min County were consistent with the characteristics of Hya-lomma asiaticum.An evolutionary tree based on the COI and ITS2 gene sequences showed that the ticks collected in this study were clustered with known H.asiaticum sequences.The PCR products of COI and ITS2 were sequenced and compared,which confirmed that the collected tick species were H.asiaticum,in agreement with the morphological and molecular biological results.These findings help to clarify the distribution of ticks in Xindi Township of Xinjiang,and provide basic data for the analysis of tick genetic and evolutionary characteristics,as reference for surveillance and control of ticks in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
8.Optimized expression of the diphtheria toxin mutant CRM197 in Escherichia coli and population analysis of serum antibody levels
Xiao-Li CHEN ; Yi-Xin GU ; Hai-Rui WANG ; Gui-Lan ZHOU ; Xin ZHANG ; Chang LIU ; Jian-Zhong ZHANG ; Zhu-Jun SHAO ; Mao-Jun ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Zoonoses 2024;40(5):430-434
A prokaryotic expression vector for the mutant diphtheria toxin CRM197 was constructed and expressed in Esch-erichia coli cells.Anti-CRM197 antibody concentrations were detected in serum samples of healthy volunteers.The crm 197 gene was codon-optimized in E.coli and cloned into the plasmid pET28a(+)under optimized expression conditions.CRM197 was purified using Ni-NTA spin columns and ion exchange chromatography,and confirmed by western blot analysis.The puri-fied CRM197 was used to detect specific anti-CRM197 antibody levels in serum samples of different age groups.The results showed that soluble codon-optimized CRM197 was successfully expressed under optimized expression conditions.The purity of CRM197 was more than 95%,as determined with Ni-NTA spin columns and ion exchange chromatography,consistent with the single specific bands obtained by western blot analysis and detection of serum levels of the anti-CRM197 antibody.Collec-tively,these results confirmed that the proposed expression strategy achieved high-yield production of soluble CRM197,al-though high levels in human serum may affect evaluation of immune interactions with glycan-CRM197 conjugates for applica-tion as a diagnostic antigen.The diphtheria mutant toxin CRM197 is used in many conjugate vaccines.The synthetic crm 197 gene with codon optimization in pET28a was transformed into E.coli Origami B(DE3)cells.CRM197 was induced by isopro-pyl β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside and high level accumulation of soluble CRM197 was purified using Ni-NTA spin columns and ion exchange chromatography.The purity of the final prepara-tion reached 95%.CRM197 was used to detect the concentra-tions of the anti-CRM197 antibody in serum samples of healthy volunteers of different ages.The proposed expression strategy yielded high production of CRM197,which could interfere with evaluations of induced immune interactions by glycan-CRM197 conjugates and prohibit application as a diagnostic antigen.
9.Inhibitory Effect of Metformin and Arsenic Trioxide on KG1a Cell Proliferation
Meng LIU ; Shu-Min GUI ; Ming-Ming FENG ; Hui LIU ; Xiao-Hui SI ; Xin-Qing NIU
Journal of Experimental Hematology 2024;32(1):66-70
Objective:To investigate the effect of metformin and arsenic trioxide on KG1a cells proliferation of acute myeloid leukemia and its possible mechanism.Methods:CCK-8 method was used to detect the killing effect of metformin,arsenic trioxide and combined application on KG1a cells.Annexin V-FITC/P1 Dual Stain Flow Cytometry was used to detect the effect of combined application on apoptosis of KG1 a cells.Western blot was used to detect the expression of intracellular apoptosis-,autophagy-related protein.Results:Metformin and arsenic trioxide alone or in combination could inhibit the proliferation of KG1 a cells and induce apoptosis of KG1 a cells,and the proliferation inhibition rate and apoptosis rate in the combined drug group were higher than those in the drug group alone(P<0.05).The combination of drugs induced upregulation of Caspase 8 protein and P62 protein expression and was higher than that in the drug group alone(P<0.05).Conclusion:Metformin can synergize with arsenic trioxide to kill KG1a cells,and its mechanism of action may be related to inducing apoptosis and enhancing autophagy.
10.Curcumol Mediates the Programmed Cell Death in Acute Myeloid Leukemia through PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway
Zuo-Tao LI ; Xiao-Yun CHEN ; Hai-Liang LI ; Gui-Xiang LENG ; Yan-Quan LIU ; Ling GUO ; Yi-Li WANG
Journal of Experimental Hematology 2024;32(6):1682-1688
Objective:To investigate the effects of Curcumol on the malignant biological characteristics of acute myeloid leukemia (AML)cells and its molecular mechanism,and to provide theoretical and experimental evidence for the anti-leukemia treatment of traditional Chinese medicine.Methods:After the AML cell lines HL-60 and KG-1 cells were treated different concentrations of with Curcumol.The proliferation activity of cells was detected by CCK-8 method,and the expression changes of apoptotic proteins and PI3 K/AKT signaling pathway proteins were detected by Western blot. Real-time quantitative fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR ) was used to detect the expression of Caspase family mRNA.Results:Curcumol could inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis of HL-60 and KG-1 cells,promote apoptosis by up-regulating the expression of Bax and down-regulating the expression of Bcl-2 protein (P<0.05).When Curcumol interferes with HL-60 and KG-1 cells,it can also induce programmed cell death of AML by inhibiting PI3 K/AKT signaling pathway.In addition,after the intervention of Curcumol,the expression of Caspase 3,Caspase 6,Caspase 8 and Caspase 9 were up-regulated in HL-60 cells (P<0.05 ),the expression of Caspase 3,Caspase 8 and Caspase 9 were significantly up-regulated in KG-1 cells (P<0.01),while the expression of Caspase 6 was weakly affected (P<0.05 ),but low concentration of Curcumol (<60 μg/ml)had no effect on the expression of Caspase 6 in KG-1 cells (P>0.05).Conclusion:Curcumol may mediate the programmed death of AML cells by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway,affecting the expression of Bcl-2 family proteins,and promoting the activation of core members of Caspase family,so as to play an anti-leukemia role.

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