OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical efficacy of acupoint thread-embedding therapy of regulating governor vessel, dispersing lung, and suppressing reflux for gastroesophageal reflux cough (GERC). METHODS: A total of 120 GERC patients were randomly assigned to an observation group (60 cases, 1 case dropped out) and a control group (60 cases, 1 case was eliminated). The observation group received acupoint thread-embedding treatment at positive response points of governor vessel. If no such points were detected, the following acupoints were used: Dazhui (GV14), Fenghu (Extra), Shendao (GV11), Lingtai (GV10), and Zhiyang (GV9). Treatment was administered once every two weeks. The control group received oral rabeprazole enteric capsules at 20 mg twice daily. All the treatment was given for 6 weeks. Clinical outcomes were assessed using cough symptom score, reflux disease questionnaire (RDQ) score, and Leicester cough questionnaire (LCQ) score before and after treatment in the two groups. Clinical efficacy was also compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, both groups showed decreased cough symptom scores and the each item scores and total scores of RDQ (P<0.001), and increased LCQ scores (P<0.001) compare with those before treatment. The observation group exhibited lower cough symptom score and chest pain, reflux and total score of RDQ, and higher LCQ score compared to those in the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate in the observation group was 94.9% (56/59), which was higher than 84.7% (50/59) in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Acupoint thread-embedding therapy of regulating governor vessel, dispersing lung, and suppressing reflux could effectively alleviate cough and reflux symptoms in patients with GERC and improve their quality of life.
Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Gastroesophageal Reflux/physiopathology* ; Male ; Female ; Cough/physiopathology* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Treatment Outcome ; Lung/physiopathology* ; Meridians

Gastric cancer is a high-incidence malignancy that poses a serious threat to public health in China, ranking among the top three cancers in both incidence and mortality. The majority of patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, resulting in limited treatment options and poor prognosis. To address key challenges in gastric cancer diagnosis and treatment, a research team led by Professor Jiafu Ji at Peking University Cancer Hospital has focused on the project "Development and Dissemination of Precision Medicine Approaches in Gastric Cancer Management". Through a series of high-quality multicenter clinical studies, the team established a set of new international standards in perioperative treatment, individua-lized drug selection, intelligent noninvasive diagnostics, and novel immunotherapy strategies. These advances have significantly improved treatment efficacy and reduced surgical trauma, achieving key technological breakthroughs in diagnosis, therapy, and mechanistic understanding, and systematically enhancing outcomes for gastric cancer patients. The project ' s findings had a broad international impact, including hosting China ' s first International Gastric Cancer Congress. Through nationwide dissemination, they have promoted the development of precision diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer as a discipline, and led the formulation of the National Health Commission's guidelines for gastric cancer diagnosis and treatment. In recognition of its achievements, the project was awarded the First Prize of the 2024 Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award.
Stomach Neoplasms/genetics* ; Humans ; Precision Medicine/methods* ; China ; Immunotherapy/methods*

Phages, as obligate bacterial and archaeal parasites, constitute a virus group of paramount ecological significance due to their exceptional abundance and genetic diversity. These biological entities serve as critical regulators in Earth's ecosystems, driving biogeochemical cycles, energy fluxes, and ecosystem services across terrestrial and marine environments. Within soil microbiomes, phages function as microbial "dark matter," maintaining the soil-plant system balance through precise modulation of the microbial community structure and functional dynamics. Despite the growing research interests in soil phages in recent years, the proportion of such studies in environmental virology remains disproportionately low, which is primarily attributed to researchers' limited familiarity with the research methodologies for phage microecology, incomplete technical frameworks, and inherent challenges posed by soil environmental complexity. To address these challenges, this review synthesizes cutting-edge methodologies for soil phage investigation from four aspects: (1) tangential flow filtration (TFF)-based phage enrichment strategies; (2) integrated quantification approaches combining double-layer agar plating, epifluorescence microscopy, and flow cytometry; (3) multi-omics analytical pipelines leveraging metagenomics and viromics datasets; and (4) computational frameworks merging machine learning algorithms with eco-evolutionary theory for deciphering phage-host interaction networks. Through comparative analysis of methodological principles, technical merits, and application scopes, we establish a comprehensive workflow for soil phage research. Future research in this field should prioritize: (1) construction of soil phage resource libraries, (2) exploration of RNA phages based on transcriptomes, (3) functional characterization of unknown genes, and (4) deep integration and interaction validation of multi-omics data. This systematic methodological synthesis provides critical technical references for addressing fundamental challenges in characterizing soil phages regarding the community structure, functional potential, and interaction mechanisms with hosts.
Bacteriophages/physiology* ; Soil Microbiology ; Ecosystem ; Microbiota ; Metagenomics/methods*

Objective Evaluation of Chinese-thyroid imaging reporting and data system(C-TIRADS)combined with contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)for the assessment of category 4 nodules in the setting of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.Methods Retrospective analysis of 120 C-TIRADS category 4 thyroid nodules from 79 patients with confirmed Hashimoto's thyroiditis who attended the Yiyang Central Hospital from June to December 2022.Thyroid nodules exhibiting one or more benign or malignant features that were suspicious on CEUS were treated as downgraded or upgraded one level.Using the final surgical pathology results as the gold standard,working characteristic(ROC)curves of subjects based on C-TIRADS grading before and after CEUS adjustment were plotted to compare diagnostic efficacy.Results The sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy of the CEUS-adjusted C-TIRADS were 93.0％,87.8％and 90.8％,respectively(P<0.05).The area under the ROC curve was 0.811 and 0.904,respectively(P<0.05).Conclusion C-TIRADS combined with CEUS has better diagnostic efficacy in evaluating category 4 nodules in Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Objective:To observe the clinical features of high myopia domed-shaped macula (DSM) complicated with choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and the efficacy of intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).Methods:A retrospective clinical study. A total of 23 eyes of 23 patients with high myopia DSM combined with CNV diagnosed by ophthalmology examination in Department of Ophthalmology of The Second People's Hospital of Foshan from January 2019 to December 2023 were included in the study.Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure, optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed in all eyes. BCVA tests are performed using the international standard visual acuity chart, which was statistically converted to logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity. DSM height, central macular thickness (CMT) and choroidal thickness (ChT) were measured by OCT. According to OCT image features, DSM was divided into horizontal and vertical elliptic bulges and circular bulges. According to the literature standard, CNV was divided into subfoveal CNV and parafoveal CNV. All patients were treated with 0.05 ml intravitreal injection of ranibizumab or conbercept (IVR or IVC). The treatment regimen was 1+ on-demand treatment. The first IVR and IVC treatment were performed on 17 eyes and 6 eyes, respectively, and were divided into IVR group and IVC group. Follow-up time ≥1 month after treatment. The clinical features of the patients and the changes of BCVA, intraocular pressure, CMT and ChT after treatment were observed. Independent sample t test was used for comparison between groups. Results:There were 23 eyes in 23 cases, 7 males had 7 eyes and 16 females had 16 eyes. There were 11 and 12 eyes in the right and left eyes respectively. Age were (49±16) years old; logMAR BCVA was 0.94±0.39. Shapes of DSM were in 13 (56.52%, 13/23), 6 (26.09%, 6/23), and 4 (17.39%, 4/23) eyes, respectively. The dome height was (97.83±46.14) μm. CMT and ChT were (276.39±98.35) and (49.48±31.66) μm, respectively. There were 17 eyes in the IVR group, including 4 males and 13 females. There were 6 cases in the IVC group, 3 cases were male and 3 cases were female. At the last follow-up, logMAR BCVA and CMT were 0.60±0.39 and (209.96±71.38) μm, respectively. BCVA was significantly increased and CMT was significantly decreased compared with before treatment, with statistical significance ( t=2.98, 2.62; P=0.005, 0.010). One month after treatment and at the last follow-up, there were no significant differences in the degree of BCVA improvement ( t=1.47, 1.35), intraocular pressure change ( t=-0.20, -0.56) and ChT reduction thickness ( t=0.80, -0.62) between IVR group and IVC group ( P>0.05). At 1 month after treatment and last follow-up, the CMT of patients in IVR group and IVC group was decreased by (57.94±67.61), (83.17±78.37) μm and (13.33±9.73), (18.17±17.88) μm compared with that before treatment, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant ( t=2.64, 3.21; P<0.05). Conclusions:IVR or IVC in the treatment of high myopia DSM combined with CNV can effectively improve BCVA. The reduction of CMT with ranibizumab is better than conbercept.

It is estimated that approximately seven million people worldwide are affected by inflammatory bowel disease(IBD),causing a huge burden on healthcare systems and society.In the occurrence,progression,and treatment of IBD,the intestinal microbiota and its key metabolic product,bile acids,play a crucial role.The intestinal microbiota not only participates in the biotransformation of bile acids,enriching the diversity of bile acids,but also regulates their synthesis and transport through the farnesoid X receptor(FXR).Meanwhile,bile acids contribute to regulating the structure and function of the intestinal microbiota by supporting microbial diversity,exerting direct toxicity,participating in indirect antimicrobial pathways,and influencing microbial metabolic capabilities.Furthermore,under normal physiological conditions,intestinal microbiota-derived bile acids facilitate the repair process of the intestinal epithelial barrier.They also promote the balance of the immune system by modulating the functions of various immune cells including helper T(Th)cells 17,regulatory T(Treg)cells,CD8+T cells and natural killer T(NKT)cells,thereby slowing down the development of IBD.This article focuses on exploring the role of intestinal microbiota and bile acids in the onset and progression of IBD,and investigating new effective treatment strategies by targeting intestinal microbiota and bile acids,such as bile acid receptor modulators,probiotics,prebiotics,fecal microbiota transplantation(FMT),and phage therapy.

"Biochemical Engineering Experiment" is a compulsory curriculum for the concentrated practical teaching of biotechnology majors in Hunan University of Science and Engineering. It is also an experimental curriculum for improving the overall quality of bioengineering students under the context of "Emerging Engineering Education". The course includes comprehensive experiments and designable experiments, and the contents of which are designed by combining the local characteristic resources of Yongzhou, the research platform and the characteristics of the talents with engineering background. In the teaching practice, methods such as heuristic teaching, research cases-embedded teaching and interactive teaching are comprehensively used to boost students' interest in learning and stimulate their innovative thinking and application capability. Through curriculum examination and post-class investigation, it was found that the students' abilities of knowledge transfer and application were significantly improved, and they achieved excellent performances in discipline competitions and approved project proposals. The practice and continuous improvement of this course may facilitate fostering high-level innovative and application-oriented talents of biotechnology majors.
Humans ; Curriculum ; Students ; Learning ; Bioengineering ; Biomedical Engineering

Microglial surveillance plays an essential role in clearing misfolded proteins such as amyloid-beta, tau, and α-synuclein aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases. However, due to the complex structure and ambiguous pathogenic species of the misfolded proteins, a universal approach to remove the misfolded proteins remains unavailable. Here, we found that a polyphenol, α-mangostin, reprogrammed metabolism in the disease-associated microglia through shifting glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation, which holistically rejuvenated microglial surveillance capacity to enhance microglial phagocytosis and autophagy-mediated degradation of multiple misfolded proteins. Nanoformulation of α-mangostin efficiently delivered α-mangostin to microglia, relieved the reactive status and rejuvenated the misfolded-proteins clearance capacity of microglia, which thus impressively relieved the neuropathological changes in both Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease model mice. These findings provide direct evidences for the concept of rejuvenating microglial surveillance of multiple misfolded proteins through metabolic reprogramming, and demonstrate nanoformulated α-mangostin as a potential and universal therapy against neurodegenerative diseases.

Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection is the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial disease worldwide. However, unlike that in female infertility, the role of CT infection in male infertility remains controversial. The objective of this retrospective study was to explore the impacts of CT infection in the genital tract on sperm quality, sperm acrosin activity, antisperm antibody levels, and inflammation in a large cohort of infertile males in China. A total of 7154 semen samples were collected from infertile male subjects, 416 of whom were CT positive (CT+ group) and 6738 of whom were CT negative (CT- group), in our hospital between January 2016 and December 2018. Routine semen parameters (semen volume, pH, sperm concentration, viability, motility, morphology, etc.), granulocyte elastase levels, antisperm antibody levels, and sperm acrosin activity were compared between the CT+ and CT- groups. Our results showed that CT infection was significantly correlated with an abnormally low semen volume, as well as an increased white blood cell count and granulocyte elastase level (all P < 0.05) in the semen of infertile males; other routine semen parameters were not negatively impacted. The antisperm antibody level and sperm acrosin activity were not affected by CT infection. These findings suggested that CT infection might contribute to inflammation and hypospermia but does not impair sperm viability, motility morphology, and acrosin activity or generate antisperm antibodies in the infertile males of China.
Chlamydia trachomatis ; Female ; Genitalia ; Humans ; Infertility, Male/epidemiology* ; Inflammation/epidemiology* ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Semen ; Spermatozoa

Objective:To compare the dosimetric difference between 3D-printed multi-channel applicator and conventional vaginal single-channel applicator for brachytherapy, aiming to provide guidance for patients receiving brachytherapy after cervical cancer surgery.Methods:From January 2019 to November 2020, 25 cervical cancer patients complicated with VAIN Ⅲ receiving 192Ir high-dose-rate brachytherapy after cervical cancer surgery were selected. Each patient was located by CT scanning with 3D-printed multi-channel applicator and conventional vaginal single-channel applicator, and corresponding plan and evaluation were carried out. The dose volume histogram (DVH) was obtained by inverse dose optimization algorithm. The dosimetric differences of high-risk clinical target volume (HRCTV), bladder and rectum during brachytherapy were compared with those of source applicators. The optimal treatment plan was selected. Results:D 90%, D 100%, V 100% and V 150% of the plans designed by 3D-printed individual multi-channel applicator had no significant differences compared with those designed by conventional single-channel applicator (all P>0.05). The bladder and rectal D 2cm 3 designed by 3D-printed multi-channel applicator were significantly lower than those using conventional single-channel applicator, and the differences were statistically significant (both P<0.05). Conclusion:The multi-channel individual applicator target made by 3D-printing technology has good conformal property, properly protects the bladder and rectum and possesses treatment advantages over conventional single-channel applicator.