Objective:To explore the value of dual-layer spectral CT virtual monoenergetic images (VMI) in contrast-enhanced abdominal CT scans with reduced contrast medium volume in pediatric tumor patients.Methods:The study is a self-matched case-control study. From January to October 2024, pediatric patients admitted to Shandong Cancer Hospital with abdominal tumors who underwent low contrast dose spectral CT contrast-enhanced scans during follow-up were prospectively included. A total of 47 patients aged (6.2±2.2) years (4-14 years) were enrolled. Usual contrast dose enhanced CT served as the conventional-dose group, while the follow-up low-dose spectral CT scans employed a protocol with half the contrast agent dose (low-dose group). Images were reconstructed as conventional CT images and VMI at 45, 55, and 65 keV. Using muscle as the reference background, differences in CT values and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in the aorta, kidneys, liver, and spleen were compared between the low-dose group and conventional-dose group. Multi-group comparisons were performed using the Friedman test. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons were conducted with Bonferroni correction for P-values. Results:CT values and CNRs for all measured regions progressively increased with decreasing keV levels in spectral CT VMI. Significant overall differences were found in CT values and CNRs for the aorta, kidneys, liver, and spleen among the low-dose group (all VMIs) and the conventional-dose group (all P<0.001). At 65 keV VMI in the low-dose group, both CT values and CNRs (except for the liver CNR) were significantly lower than those in the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P<0.05). At 55 keV VMI in the low-dose group, CT values and CNRs for all regions did not show statistically significant differences compared to the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P>0.05). At 45 keV VMI in the low-dose group, CT values for all structures and CNR for the spleen were significantly higher than those in the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P<0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was found in CNRs for the aorta, kidneys, and liver (adjusted P=1.000, 0.313, and 0.503, respectively). Conclusion:When the contrast dose is halved, spectral CT 45 keV VMI enhances CT attenuation values and CNR in the abdomen of pediatric tumor patients, while 55 keV VMI provides image quality comparable to that of conventional-dose CT.

Sacroiliac complex injuries are commonly seen in high-energy pelvic fractures. The injuries make a big difference in treatment patterns due to the diverse injury types, posing considerable challenges in formulating optimal treatment strategies, and hence are persistent clinical difficulties in orthopedic trauma. The clinical management of sacroiliac complex injuries presents several key challenges such as a non-negligible rate of missed diagnoses in associated vascular and visceral injuries, absence of standardized protocols for surgical approaches and reduction-fixation strategies across different injury patterns, and ongoing controversies regarding surgical indications and optimal timing for patients combined with concomitant lumbosacral plexus injuries. Currently, no systematic clinical guidelines are available for the diagnosis and treatment of sacroiliac complex injuries both domestically and internationally. To this end, the Pelvic and Acetabular Surgery Group, Orthopedic Branch, China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care and Orthopedic Physician Branch, Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized a panel of domestic experts in the field to develop the Clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of sacroiliac complex injuries ( version 2025), based on evidence-based medicine and adhering to the principles of scientific rigor, clinical applicability, and innovation. These guidelines provided 11 recommendations covering diagnosis, therapeutic principles and techniques, management protocols for lumbosacral plexus injuries, outcome evaluation, and postoperative rehabilitation pathways, etc., aiming to standardize the clinical management of sacroiliac complex injuries.

Abnormal accumulation of collagen fibrils is a hallmark feature of oral submucous fibrosis (OSF). However, the precise characteristics and underlying mechanisms remain unclear, impeding the advancement of potential therapeutic approaches. Here, we observed that collagen I, the main component of the extracellular matrix, first accumulated in the lamina propria and subsequently in the submucosa of OSF specimens as the disease progressed. Using RNA-seq and Immunofluorescence in OSF specimens, we screened the cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) responsible for the abnormal collagen accumulation. Genetic COMP deficiency reduced arecoline-stimulated collagen I deposition significantly in vivo. In comparison, both COMP and collagen I were upregulated under arecoline stimulation in wild-type mice. Human oral buccal mucosal fibroblasts (hBMFs) also exhibited increased secretion of COMP and collagen I after stimulation in vitro. COMP knockdown in hBMFs downregulates arecoline-stimulated collagen I secretion. We further demonstrated that hBMFs present heterogeneous responses to arecoline stimulation, of which COMP-positive fibroblasts secrete more collagen I. Since COMP is a molecular bridge with Fibril-associated collagens with Interrupted Triple helices (FACIT) in the collagen network, we further screened and identified collagen XIV, a FACIT member, co-localizing with both COMP and collagen I. Collagen XIV expression increased under arecoline stimulation in wild-type mice, whereas it was hardly expressed in the Comp^-/- mice, even with under stimulation. In summary, we found that COMP may mediates abnormal collagen I deposition by functions with collagen XIV during the progression of OSF, suggesting its potential to be targeted in treating OSF.
Oral Submucous Fibrosis/pathology* ; Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein/genetics* ; Animals ; Mice ; Humans ; Fibroblasts/metabolism* ; Collagen Type I/metabolism* ; Arecoline/pharmacology* ; Mouth Mucosa/metabolism* ; Cells, Cultured ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique

The regulatory processes in developmental biology research are significantly influenced by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). However, the dynamics of lncRNA expression during human tooth development remain poorly understood. In this research, we examined the lncRNAs present in the dental epithelium (DE) and dental mesenchyme (DM) at the late bud, cap, and early bell stages of human fetal tooth development through bulk RNA sequencing. Developmental regulators co-expressed with neighboring lncRNAs were significantly enriched in odontogenesis. Specific lncRNAs expressed in the DE and DM, such as PANCR, MIR205HG, DLX6-AS1, and DNM3OS, were identified through a combination of bulk RNA sequencing and single-cell analysis. Further subcluster analysis revealed lncRNAs specifically expressed in important regions of the tooth germ, such as the inner enamel epithelium and coronal dental papilla (CDP). Functionally, we demonstrated that CDP-specific DLX6-AS1 enhanced odontoblastic differentiation in human tooth germ mesenchymal cells and dental pulp stem cells. These findings suggest that lncRNAs could serve as valuable cell markers for tooth development and potential therapeutic targets for tooth regeneration.
Humans ; RNA, Long Noncoding/metabolism* ; Odontogenesis/genetics* ; Tooth Germ/embryology* ; Cell Differentiation ; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental ; Mesoderm/metabolism* ; Tooth/embryology* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Sequence Analysis, RNA ; Dental Pulp/cytology*

Congenital orofacial cleft, the most common birth defect in the maxillofacial region, exhibits a wide range of prognosis depending on the severity of deformity and underlying etiology. Non-syndromic congenital orofacial clefts typically present with milder deformities and more favorable treatment outcomes, whereas syndromic congenital orofacial clefts often manifest with concomitant organ abnormalities, which pose greater challenges for treatment and result in poorer prognosis. This consensus provides an elaborate classification system for varying degrees of orofacial clefts along with corresponding diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines. Results serve as a crucial resource for families to navigate prenatal screening results or make informed decisions regarding treatment options while also contributing significantly to preventing serious birth defects within the development of population.
Humans ; Cleft Lip/diagnosis* ; Cleft Palate/diagnosis* ; Consensus ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Female

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of percutaneous pedicle screw combined with unilateral nail placement combined with bone cement strengthening and bilateral nail placement in the treatment of osteoporotic thoracic and lumbar fractures. METHODS: A retrospective case-control study was used to analyze the clinical data of 78 patients with osteoporotic thoracic and lumbar fractures admitted from October 2017 to May 2019. According to the surgical method, it was divided into percutaneous pedicle screw combined with unilateral nail placement combined with unilateral bone cement strengthening group(bone cement group) and percutaneous pedicle screw combined with bilateral nail placement(screw group). In the bone cement group, 40 patients included 16 males and 24 females, with a mean age of (62.1±8.1) years old. In the screw group, 38 patients included 18 males and 20 females with a mean age of (65.1±9.3) years old. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, length of hospital stay and postoperative complications were compared between two groups. The kyphosis Cobb angle, anterior edge height ratio, central height ratio and pain visual analogue score(VAS) were compared. RESULTS: All patients were followed up for 25 to 36 months. The operation time (70.1±17.3) min of the cement group was shorter than that of the screw group (78.6±18.2) min(P<0.05). There were no significant differences in intraoperative blood loss and length of hospital stay(P>0.05). The VAS in the cement group 1 year 1.5±0.5 and the latest follow-up 0.5±0.3 after operation were lower than 1 year 1.8±0.3 and the latest follow-up 0.8±0.4 in the screw group(P<0.05). The kyphosis Cobb angle, anterior edge height ratio, central height ratio in bone cement group, 1 year (6.2±1.2)°, (86.6±3.5)%, (91.1±2.5)%, the last follow-up (6.4±0.7)°, (85.5±3.3)%, (90.5±6.3)% were better than that of the screw group 1 year (6.8±1.4)°, (83.1±2.4)%, (89.9±3.4)% and the latest follow-up (7.1±1.1)°, (82.6±4.1)%, (87.6±5.9)%(P<0.05). There were 3 cases of bone cement leakage in the cement group, all of which had no clinical symptoms;and 2 cases of pedicle screws were extracted in the screw group, and the screws were removed at the last follow-up. CONCLUSION Percutaneous pedicle screw combined with unilateral nail placement combined with bone cement strengthening and bilateral nail placement in the treatment of osteoporotic thoracic and lumbar compression fractures in the elderly can achieve satisfactory efficacy and effectively relieve the pain of patients, but the former internal fixation system is more stable, and the long-term follow-up can effectively maintain the height of the anterior middle column and the correction of kyphosis deformity, and the incidence of chronic low back pain is lower.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Bone Cements ; Middle Aged ; Thoracic Vertebrae/surgery* ; Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Fractures/surgery* ; Osteoporotic Fractures/surgery* ; Case-Control Studies ; Bone Nails ; Pedicle Screws

Objective:To explore the value of dual-layer spectral CT virtual monoenergetic images (VMI) in contrast-enhanced abdominal CT scans with reduced contrast medium volume in pediatric tumor patients.Methods:The study is a self-matched case-control study. From January to October 2024, pediatric patients admitted to Shandong Cancer Hospital with abdominal tumors who underwent low contrast dose spectral CT contrast-enhanced scans during follow-up were prospectively included. A total of 47 patients aged (6.2±2.2) years (4-14 years) were enrolled. Usual contrast dose enhanced CT served as the conventional-dose group, while the follow-up low-dose spectral CT scans employed a protocol with half the contrast agent dose (low-dose group). Images were reconstructed as conventional CT images and VMI at 45, 55, and 65 keV. Using muscle as the reference background, differences in CT values and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in the aorta, kidneys, liver, and spleen were compared between the low-dose group and conventional-dose group. Multi-group comparisons were performed using the Friedman test. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons were conducted with Bonferroni correction for P-values. Results:CT values and CNRs for all measured regions progressively increased with decreasing keV levels in spectral CT VMI. Significant overall differences were found in CT values and CNRs for the aorta, kidneys, liver, and spleen among the low-dose group (all VMIs) and the conventional-dose group (all P<0.001). At 65 keV VMI in the low-dose group, both CT values and CNRs (except for the liver CNR) were significantly lower than those in the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P<0.05). At 55 keV VMI in the low-dose group, CT values and CNRs for all regions did not show statistically significant differences compared to the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P>0.05). At 45 keV VMI in the low-dose group, CT values for all structures and CNR for the spleen were significantly higher than those in the conventional-dose group (all adjusted P<0.05). However, no statistically significant difference was found in CNRs for the aorta, kidneys, and liver (adjusted P=1.000, 0.313, and 0.503, respectively). Conclusion:When the contrast dose is halved, spectral CT 45 keV VMI enhances CT attenuation values and CNR in the abdomen of pediatric tumor patients, while 55 keV VMI provides image quality comparable to that of conventional-dose CT.

Sacroiliac complex injuries are commonly seen in high-energy pelvic fractures. The injuries make a big difference in treatment patterns due to the diverse injury types, posing considerable challenges in formulating optimal treatment strategies, and hence are persistent clinical difficulties in orthopedic trauma. The clinical management of sacroiliac complex injuries presents several key challenges such as a non-negligible rate of missed diagnoses in associated vascular and visceral injuries, absence of standardized protocols for surgical approaches and reduction-fixation strategies across different injury patterns, and ongoing controversies regarding surgical indications and optimal timing for patients combined with concomitant lumbosacral plexus injuries. Currently, no systematic clinical guidelines are available for the diagnosis and treatment of sacroiliac complex injuries both domestically and internationally. To this end, the Pelvic and Acetabular Surgery Group, Orthopedic Branch, China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care and Orthopedic Physician Branch, Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized a panel of domestic experts in the field to develop the Clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of sacroiliac complex injuries ( version 2025), based on evidence-based medicine and adhering to the principles of scientific rigor, clinical applicability, and innovation. These guidelines provided 11 recommendations covering diagnosis, therapeutic principles and techniques, management protocols for lumbosacral plexus injuries, outcome evaluation, and postoperative rehabilitation pathways, etc., aiming to standardize the clinical management of sacroiliac complex injuries.

Objective To analyze the interaction between voriconazole(VRC)and immunosuppressants such as tacrolimus and cyclosporine and the effect of CYP2C19 gene polymorphism on the interaction and adverse reactions(ADR)based on the results of CYP2C19 gene polymorphism and therapeutic drug monitoring,so as to provide a basis for the development of individualized VRC combined with immunosuppressants.Methods Two-dimensional liquid chromatography and pyrosequencing was used to detect the concentration of VRC and the CYP2C19 gene pol-ymorphism,respectively.And the concentration of immunosuppressants was detected at the same time.The rela-tionship among CYP2C19 gene polymorphism,the concentration of VRC and immunosuppressant and ADR was an-alyzed.Results A total of 61 patients were enrolled in this study,and the mutation rates of CYP2C19*2 and CYP2C19*3 were 54.1％(33/61)and 9.84％(6/61),respectively.The concentrations of VRC in patients with extensive metabolism(EMs),intermediate metabolism(IMs)and poor metabolism(PMs)were(4.44±3.46),(3.62±3.02)and(10.05±1.46)μg/ml(P＜0.05),respectively.The concentration of tacrolimus af-ter combined with VRC significantly increased compared to tacrolimus alone[(13.4±9.2)ng/ml vs(6.5±3.6)ng/ml;P=0.002],and the concentration of tacrolimus increased along with an increasing of VRC concentration.The concentration of VRC in patients combined with tacrolimus was lower than that in patients without immunosup-pressants[(3.81±3.48)μg/ml vs(5.84±3.71)μg/ml;P=0.032].The concentration of VRC inpatients with cyclosporine significantly decreased(P＜0.01),while tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil had no signifi-cant effect on the concentration of VRC.45.90％(28/61)of the patients had adverse reactions,the concentration of VRC in patients with ADR was significantly higher than that in patients without ADR[(7.07±3.43)μg/ml vs(3.06±2.90)μg/ml;P＜0.001].And the concentration of VRC in patients with ADR was higher than patients without ADR with based on CYP2C19 genotype.Conclusion CYP2C19 gene polymorphism can significantly affect the concentration and adverse reactions of VRC,and VRC has significant interaction with immunosuppressants such as tacrolimus.CYP2C19 gene polymorphism combined with therapeutic drug monitoring can improve the individual-ized treatment of tacrolimus and voriconazole,and is expected to minimize toxicity and improve treatment effects.

Objective: To examine the Longitudinal influence of perceived discrimination on pro social behavior of left alone junior middle school students and to explore the longitudinal mediating role of teacher-student relationship and classmate relationship, so as to provide a reference for improving pro social behavior of left behind junior middle school students. Methods: The Perceived Discrimination Questionnaire, Teacher-Student Relationship Questionnaire, Classmate Relationship Questionnaire and Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire were used to conduct two follow up surveys on 930 left behind junior middle school students in Guizhou Province at two time points, in mid November 2021(T1) and mid May 2022(T2). Deviation corrected Bootstrap method was used to examine the mediating effect of T2 teacher-student relationship and T2 classmate relationship on the impact of T1 discrimination perception on T2 pro social behavior. Results: The perceptions of discrimination, teacher-student relationship, classmate relationship, and pro social behavior scores of the left behind junior high school students were (1.98±0.94) (4.13± 0.77 ) (3.54±0.91) (3.52±0.75) for T1, and (3.98±0.83)(3.42±0.86)(3.48±0.72) for teacher-student relationship, classmate relationships and pro social behavior scrores of T2. After controlling for gender, age and self assessment of family economic status, T1 perceived discrimination negatively predicted T2 pro social behavior ( β =-0.07); and T1 perceived discrimination indirectly influenced T2 pro social behavior through T2 teacher-student relationship, and mediated effect value was -0.02(95% CI = -0.02 to -0.01); and T1 perceived discrimination indirectly influenced T2 pro social behavior through T2 classmate relationship, mediated effect was -0.03(95% CI =-0.05 to -0.02)( P <0.05). Conclusions Perceived discrimination not only directly reduces pro social behavior of left behind junior middle school students, but also indirectly and negatively affects pro social behavior of left alone junior middle school students by reducing teacher-student relationship and classmate relationship.