Objective:To explore the role of tripartite motif-containing protein 21(TRIM21)in chronic apical periodontitis(CAP)and its potential mechanism.Methods:Human CAP tissue and normal periodontal tissue were collected.The expression of inflamma-tory factors(IL-1 β,IL-6,TNF-a,TGF-β1),osteoclast related genes(TRAP,RANKL,CTSK),macrophage polarization related genes(CD86,iNOS,CD206,Arg1)and TRIM21 were detected by RT-qPCR.TRIM21 protein was detected by immunohistochemical staining,and the osteoclasts was detected by tartrate resistant acid phosphatase(TRAP)staining.The inflammation cell model was es-tablished by stimulating Raw264.7 cells with lipoteichoic acid(LTA)or lipopolysaccharide(LPS),and the expression of the above factors was detected.The bone marrow-derived macrophages(BMDMs)extracted from wild-type and TRIM21-/-mice stimulated by LPS were used to verify the expression of the above factors by RT-qPCR,the osteoclasts were detected by TRAP staining,and the po-larization of macrophages was detected by immunofluorescence staining.Results:In CAP tissue the expression of inflammatory factors,osteoclast related genes,CD86,iNOS and TRIM21 increased,while CD206 and Arg1 decreased,and osteoclasts were more than that in normal tissue.The stimulation of LTA/LPS promoted the proliferation of Raw264.7 cells,and the expression of these factors in cells was consistent with that in tissues.After LPS stimulation,BMDMs of TRIM21-/-mice had lighter inflammation,lower expression of os-teoclast specific genes,fewer osteoclasts and lower M1 polarization than those of wild type mice.Conclusion:TRIM21 might promote the progress of CAP by promoting M1 polarization of macrophages.

A portable washing device for eyes in on-site treatment was designed to be used in emergent event,so as to effectively respond to the needs of injury condition of on-site eye contamination,emergency rescue and other cure.The portable washing device for eyes designed in this study consists of an ophthalmic first-aid washing kit,an ocular electronic cleaning instrument and a washing needle for puncture in anterior chamber.The first-aid washing kit is equipped with a case and a protective cover,and the case is capable of storing spare first-aid medicines and instruments.It is possible to quickly check whether the medicines and instruments are all in readiness in the case through the transparently protective cover of the first-aid washing kit.The simple and convenient operation of this device can realize self-rescue operation of washing both eyes'conjunctival sacs at the same time by single person.This washing device not only can wash conjunctival sac on the contaminated ocular surface,but also can complete cleaning function for poison in the anterior chamber,and can real-timely monitor the acid-base value of the anterior chamber by using the measuring valve in the cavity of the ophthalmic electronic cleaning instrument.This washing device designed in this study is a highly practical toolkit specially designed for dealing with first-aid situations of eyes,which has many advantages include meeting the basic functions of emergency medical rescue for required nuclear and chemical injuries in daily training and support,emergency rescue and disaster relief,as well as defense and service support in wartime,and raising the emphasis of people to first-aid for eyes,and providing timely rescue for eyes.This device has a favorable value of conversion and promotion.

Objective To investigate the effect of oral fish oil on wound healing and related indexes in patients with diabetic foot ulcer(DFU).Methods A randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled design was used to recruit 68 patients with DFU aged 18-80 years old in the hospital,and the baseline clinical data of the patients were collected.The patients were randomly divided into experimental group(32 cases,fish oil soft capsule,3 g/d)and control group(33 cases,corn oil soft capsule,3 g/d)by random number generated by Ex-cel,and the intervention lasted for 12 weeks.The primary endpoints included the proportion of complete wound healing and healing area≥50%.The secondary endpoints included wound area,healing time,inflamma-tion index,glucose metabolism index,nutrition related index and wound reinfection.Additionally,the influen-cing factors of wound healing were analyzed.Results After intervention,the proportion of complete wound healing and healing area≥50%in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P=0.007,0.039).In the subjects with complete wound healing,the mean healing time in the experi-mental group was shorter than that in the control group,but the difference was not statistically significant(P=0.132).The reduction area of wound area in the experimental group was significantly larger than that in the control group(P=0.045).The decrease of interleukin(IL)-6 and IL-8 in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the reduc-tion of C-reactive protein(CRP),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),glycated hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c)and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR)between the two groups(P>0.05).The improvement of prealbumin(PA)in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group,but the difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that oral fish oil intervention(OR=6.771,95%CI:1.787-25.652),HbA1c(OR=4.149,95%CI:1.026-16.770)and ulcer type(OR=4.319,95%CI:1.026-18.173)were the influencing factors of wound healing(P<0.05).Conclusion Oral fish oil promotes wound healing in patients with DFU,which may be re-lated to improving the level of chronic inflammation in the body.

BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that cardiomyocyte apoptosis is closely related to cardiac decompensation and the cardiac aging process.Appropriate exercise can alter heart pump function in patients with heart failure as well as attenuate aging-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis,hypertrophy,and fibrotic damage. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effects of long-term aerobic exercise on cardiomyocyte apoptosis and the thioredoxin system in aging rats. METHODS:Thirty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were selected and divided into three age groups:3-month-old young group,9-month-old middle-aged group,and 18-month-old elderly group,with 12 rats in each group.Within each age group,rats were randomly assigned to sedentary and exercise subgroups(n=6 per group).The sedentary groups did not undergo any exercise intervention.The exercise groups were acclimated to a treadmill environment and subsequently subjected to treadmill exercise for 45 minutes per day,at a speed of 15 m/min,5 days per week for 10 weeks in total.At 24 hours after the final intervention,ELISA was employed to measure serum levels of cardiac troponin I and creatine kinase-MB in rats.TUNEL assay was utilized to detect cardiomyocyte apoptosis,while western blot assay was employed to assess the protein expression of Bax,Bcl-2,Caspase 3,thioredoxin-1,thioredoxin-2,thioredoxin reductase-1,thioredoxin reductase-2,thioredoxin-interacting protein,apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1,and P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase in rat myocardial tissue. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Serum levels of cardiac troponin I and creatine kinase-MB in the elderly sedentary group were significantly higher than those in the young and middle-aged sedentary groups and elderly exercise group(P<0.01).Serum levels of cardiac troponin I and creatine kinase-MB in the elderly sedentary group were significantly higher than those in the young and middle-aged exercise groups and elderly exercise group(P<0.01).Positive apoptotic cells in rat myocardial tissue,along with increased protein expression of Bax and Caspase 3,exhibited an age-related upward trend,while Bcl-2 protein expression showed a declining trend.In comparison with the sedentary groups within each age category,the number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes and the expression of Bax and Caspase 3 proteins were reduced to different degrees,and the expression of Bcl-2 protein was increased to different degrees in the corresponding exercise groups.Compared with the young sedentary group,middle-aged sedentary group and elderly exercise group,elderly sedentary rats showed a significant decrease in the expression of myocardial thioredoxin 1,thioredoxin 2,thioredoxin reductase 1,and thioredoxin reductase 2 proteins(P<0.05,P<0.01).The expression of myocardial thioredoxin 1,thioredoxin 2,and thioredoxin reductase 2 proteins was lower in the elderly exercise group than in the young exercise group(P<0.05,P<0.01),while the expression of thioredoxin reductase 1 and thioredoxin reductase 2 proteins was lower in the elderly exercise group than in the middle-aged exercise group(P<0.01).The protein expression of thioredoxin-interacting protein,apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1,and P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase in rat myocardium was significantly higher in the elderly sedentary group than the young sedentary group,middle-aged sedentary group and elderly exercise group(P<0.01).The protein expression of thioredoxin-interacting protein,apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1,and P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase in rat myocardium was significantly higher in the elderly exercise group than the young exercise group and middle-aged exercise group(P<0.01).To conclude,aerobic exercise may enhance the anti-apoptotic effects of thioredoxin by down-regulating the expression of thioredoxin-interacting protein in aging rat hearts,leading to the downregulation of apoptosis signal-regulated kinase 1 and P38 mitogen-activated kinase protein,thereby alleviating myocardial cell apoptosis in aging rat hearts.

Objective To investigate the effect of Yam gruel on postoperative incision healing in patients with Type Ⅱ diabetes and complicated with colorectal cancer,hence to provide a better diet plan for postoperative incision healing.Methods A convenience sampling method was used to select 92 patients with Type Ⅱ diabetes who were complicated with colorectal cancer and underwent surgery of laparoscopic radical resection for colorectal cancer in a general hospital in Fujian province.IBM SPSS 25.0 software was used to randomly divide the patients into control group and trial group,with 46 patients per group.Conventional postoperative treatment and care was offered to the patients in control group,while patients in the trial group,after anal exhaust,consumed Yam gruel made from Chinese Yam along with the remaining breakfast after deducting an 84 kcal of energy produced by the gruel for 3 weeks.The two groups were compared in terms of the post-intervention healing time,healing grade,incidence of poor incision healing,and changes in blood glucose before intervention,at 1 week and 3 weeks post-intervention.Results Forty-four patients completed the trial in the trial group,with two left at the third week of intervention.A total of 45 patients completed the study in the control group,with one dropped out of the follow-up after 3 weeks of intervention.After intervention,the incision healing time in the trial group was significantly shorter than that of the control group(P<0.05).Additionally,the healing grade was better(P<0.05),and the incidence of incision infections was significantly lower than that of the control group(P<0.05).Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that there were statistically significances in both groups in either main effects on fasting blood glucose and blood glucose at 2 hours after breakfast(all P<0.001).Particularly,at Week 1 and Week 3 post-intervention,the trial group showed both lower fasting blood glucose and blood glucose at 2 hours after breakfast compared with those in the control group(both P<0.01).Conclusion Yam gruel can reduce the time for incision healing,improve the quality of incision healing and regulate blood sugar.

Objective To compare artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostic system and conventional manual CT image interpretation for detection of positive pulmonary nodules and differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules, and to provide a reference for the application of artificial intelligence in clinical screening for lung cancer. Methods Patients who underwent chest CT scans for pulmonary nodules from March 2019 to December 2023 were enrolled. The CT images were subjected to artificial intelligence-based and conventional manual CT image interpretation. The pathological examination results of pulmonary lesions served as a gold standard for comparison of artificial intelligence-based and conventional manual CT image interpretation in detection rate of positive pulmonary nodules and differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. Results A total of 327 positive pulmonary nodules were identified in 207 patients. The detection rate of positive pulmonary nodules was significantly higher with artificial intelligence-based CT image interpretation than with conventional manual CT image interpretation (95.72% vs. 86.85%; χ²=16.16, P < 0.01). Moreover, artificial intelligence-based CT image interpretation showed significantly higher detection rates for solid (χ²=7.71, P < 0.01) and ground-glass pulmonary nodules (χ²=5.80, P < 0.05) than conventional manual CT image interpretation. The detection rates for pulmonary nodules with < 1 cm (χ²=4.97, P < 0.05), 1 to < 2 cm (χ²=7.04, P < 0.01), and 2 to < 3 cm (χ²=4.91, P < 0.05) diameters were significantly higher with artificial intelligence-based CT image interpretation than with conventional manual CT image interpretation. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules were 98.08%, 91.53%, 95.33%, 96.43%, and 95.71% with artificial intelligence-based CT image interpretation and 91.34%, 77.97%, 87.96%, 32.62%, and 86.50% with conventional CT image interpretation. The sensitivity (χ²=4.70, P < 0.05), specificity (χ²=4.20, P < 0.05), negative predictive value (χ²=65.28, P < 0.01), and accuracy (χ²=8.52, P < 0.01) were significantly higher with artificial intelligence-based CT image interpretation than with conventional manual CT image interpretation. However, there was no significant difference in the positive predictive value (χ²=3.80, P > 0.05). Conclusion Compared with conventional manual CT image interpretation, artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostic system for CT image interpretation can significantly increase the detection rate of positive pulmonary nodules and improve the efficiency of differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules, so it deserves widespread applications in physical examination and early screening for lung cancer.

Objective To compare artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostic system and conventional manual CT image interpretation for detection of positive pulmonary nodules and differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules, and to provide a reference for the application of artificial intelligence in clinical screening for lung cancer. Methods Patients who underwent chest CT scans for pulmonary nodules from March 2019 to December 2023 were enrolled. The CT images were subjected to artificial intelligence-based and conventional manual CT image interpretation. The pathological examination results of pulmonary lesions served as a gold standard for comparison of artificial intelligence-based and conventional manual CT image interpretation in detection rate of positive pulmonary nodules and differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. Results A total of 327 positive pulmonary nodules were identified in 207 patients. The detection rate of positive pulmonary nodules was significantly higher with artificial intelligence-based CT image interpretation than with conventional manual CT image interpretation (95.72% vs. 86.85%; χ²=16.16, P < 0.01). Moreover, artificial intelligence-based CT image interpretation showed significantly higher detection rates for solid (χ²=7.71, P < 0.01) and ground-glass pulmonary nodules (χ²=5.80, P < 0.05) than conventional manual CT image interpretation. The detection rates for pulmonary nodules with < 1 cm (χ²=4.97, P < 0.05), 1 to < 2 cm (χ²=7.04, P < 0.01), and 2 to < 3 cm (χ²=4.91, P < 0.05) diameters were significantly higher with artificial intelligence-based CT image interpretation than with conventional manual CT image interpretation. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules were 98.08%, 91.53%, 95.33%, 96.43%, and 95.71% with artificial intelligence-based CT image interpretation and 91.34%, 77.97%, 87.96%, 32.62%, and 86.50% with conventional CT image interpretation. The sensitivity (χ²=4.70, P < 0.05), specificity (χ²=4.20, P < 0.05), negative predictive value (χ²=65.28, P < 0.01), and accuracy (χ²=8.52, P < 0.01) were significantly higher with artificial intelligence-based CT image interpretation than with conventional manual CT image interpretation. However, there was no significant difference in the positive predictive value (χ²=3.80, P > 0.05). Conclusion Compared with conventional manual CT image interpretation, artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostic system for CT image interpretation can significantly increase the detection rate of positive pulmonary nodules and improve the efficiency of differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pulmonary nodules, so it deserves widespread applications in physical examination and early screening for lung cancer.

Objective:To investigate the auditory and speech abilities of children with congenital auditory neuropathy (AN) after cochlear implant (CI), and to analyze the role of genetic testing in predicting the postoperative outcomes of CI in AN patients.Methods:Fourteen children diagnosed with AN by audiological battery test and underwent CI surgery in Xijing Hospital of the Air Force Medical University from 2002 to 2021 were included in this study (9 males and 5 females), with an implantation age of (3.1±1.7) years (mean±standard deviation, the same as follows). The preoperative audiological results and deafness gene results were analyzed. Another 52 children with ordinary sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) were selected as the control group (30 males and 22 females), with an implantation age of (2.2±0.9) years. The demographic factors such as age and gender were matched with those of the AN group. The modified Category Auditory Performance (CAP-Ⅱ) and Speech Intelligence Rate (SIR) were used to evaluate the development of postoperative auditory and speech abilities in two groups. The Mandarin Speech Test System was used to test the speech recognition rate of monosyllabic and disyllabic words and sentences. Matlab 2022 software was used to analyze the data.Results:The results of gene in 14 children with AN showed that 6 cases had OTOF gene mutations, 2 cases (siblings) were confirmed to have TNN gene mutations through whole exome sequencing, and the remaining 6 cases were not find any clear pathogenic gene mutations. All subjects underwent CI surgery with electrodes implanted into the cochlea smoothly, and there were no postoperative complications. After surgery, all AN children had improved auditory and speech abilities, but only 64% (9/14) of AN children with CI had auditory ability scores comparable to the control group of SNHL children (including 2 children with TNN gene mutations), and 36% (5/14) of AN children had lower scores than the control group of SNHL children.The average speech recognition rate of two children with TNN gene mutations was 86.5%, and of two children with OTOF gene mutations was 83.2%. Conclusions:AN children achieved varying degrees of auditory and speech abilities after CI, but the postoperative effects varied greatly. Some children achieved similar results as ordinary SNHL children, but there were still some children whose effects were worse than those of ordinary SNHL children. The postoperative efficacy of CI in two children with AN caused by TNN pathogenic genes were comparable to that of ordinary SNHL in children. Genetic testing had certain reference value for predicting the postoperative effect of CI in AN children.

Objective:To observe and evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of albumin-bound paclitaxel as first-line treatment for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in China, and to explore the prognosis-related molecules in pancreatic cancer based on next-generation sequencing (NGS) of tumor tissues.Methods:From December 2018 to December 2020, patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer were recruited to accept albumin-bound paclitaxel as first-line treatment in the oncology departments of 24 hospitals in East China. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and treatment related adverse events, and the secondary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Adverse effects were graded using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events 5.0 (CTCAE 5.0). NGS sequencing on the primary or metastatic tissue samples of pancreatic cancer obtained through surgical resection or biopsy was performed.Results:This study recruited 229 patients, including 70 patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) and 159 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (mPC). The disease control rate was 79.9% and the objective response rate is 36.3%.The common adverse effects during treatment were anaemia (159 cases), leucopenia (170 cases), neutropenia (169 cases), increased aminotransferases (110 cases), and thrombocytopenia (95 cases), and the incidence of grade 3-4 neutropenia is 12.2% (28/229). The median follow-up time was 21.2 months (95% CI: 18.5-23.1 months). The median PFS (mPFS) was 5.3 months (95% CI: 4.37-4.07 months) and the median OS (mOS) was 11.2 months (95% CI: 9.5-12.9 months). The mPFS of patients with LAPC was 7.4 months (95% CI: 6.6-11.2 months), and their mOS was 15.5 months (95% CI: 12.6-NA months). The mPFS of patients with mPC was 3.9 months (95% CI: 3.4-5.1 months), and their mOS was 9.3 months (95% CI: 8.0-10.8 months). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that clinical stage ( HR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.06-2.04), primary tumor site ( HR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.48-0.86), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) score ( HR=2.66, 95% CI: 1.53-4.65), and whether to combine radiotherapy ( HR=0.65, 95% CI: 0.42-1.00) were independent influencing factors for the PFS of these patients. The primary tumor site ( HR=0.68, 95% CI: 0.48-0.95), ECOG score ( HR=5.82, 95% CI: 3.14-10.82), and whether to combine radiotherapy ( HR=0.58, 95% CI: 0.35-0.96) were independent influencing factors of the OS of these patients. The most frequent gene mutations in these advanced stage pancreatic patients were KRAS (89.66%), TP53 (77.01%), CDKN2A (32.18%), and SMAD4 (21.84%) by NGS of tumor tissues from 87 pancreatic cancer patients with sufficient specimens. Further analysis revealed that mutations in CDKN2B, PTEN, FGF6, and RBBP8 genes were significantly associated with an increased risk of death ( P＜0.05). Conclusion:Albumin-bound paclitaxel as first-line treatment demonstrated feasible anti-tumor efficacy and manageable safety for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in China.

Objective:To observe and evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of albumin-bound paclitaxel as first-line treatment for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in China, and to explore the prognosis-related molecules in pancreatic cancer based on next-generation sequencing (NGS) of tumor tissues.Methods:From December 2018 to December 2020, patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer were recruited to accept albumin-bound paclitaxel as first-line treatment in the oncology departments of 24 hospitals in East China. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and treatment related adverse events, and the secondary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). Adverse effects were graded using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events 5.0 (CTCAE 5.0). NGS sequencing on the primary or metastatic tissue samples of pancreatic cancer obtained through surgical resection or biopsy was performed.Results:This study recruited 229 patients, including 70 patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) and 159 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (mPC). The disease control rate was 79.9% and the objective response rate is 36.3%.The common adverse effects during treatment were anaemia (159 cases), leucopenia (170 cases), neutropenia (169 cases), increased aminotransferases (110 cases), and thrombocytopenia (95 cases), and the incidence of grade 3-4 neutropenia is 12.2% (28/229). The median follow-up time was 21.2 months (95% CI: 18.5-23.1 months). The median PFS (mPFS) was 5.3 months (95% CI: 4.37-4.07 months) and the median OS (mOS) was 11.2 months (95% CI: 9.5-12.9 months). The mPFS of patients with LAPC was 7.4 months (95% CI: 6.6-11.2 months), and their mOS was 15.5 months (95% CI: 12.6-NA months). The mPFS of patients with mPC was 3.9 months (95% CI: 3.4-5.1 months), and their mOS was 9.3 months (95% CI: 8.0-10.8 months). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that clinical stage ( HR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.06-2.04), primary tumor site ( HR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.48-0.86), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) score ( HR=2.66, 95% CI: 1.53-4.65), and whether to combine radiotherapy ( HR=0.65, 95% CI: 0.42-1.00) were independent influencing factors for the PFS of these patients. The primary tumor site ( HR=0.68, 95% CI: 0.48-0.95), ECOG score ( HR=5.82, 95% CI: 3.14-10.82), and whether to combine radiotherapy ( HR=0.58, 95% CI: 0.35-0.96) were independent influencing factors of the OS of these patients. The most frequent gene mutations in these advanced stage pancreatic patients were KRAS (89.66%), TP53 (77.01%), CDKN2A (32.18%), and SMAD4 (21.84%) by NGS of tumor tissues from 87 pancreatic cancer patients with sufficient specimens. Further analysis revealed that mutations in CDKN2B, PTEN, FGF6, and RBBP8 genes were significantly associated with an increased risk of death ( P＜0.05). Conclusion:Albumin-bound paclitaxel as first-line treatment demonstrated feasible anti-tumor efficacy and manageable safety for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer in China.