OBJECTIVES: To report the development, validation, and findings of the Multi-dimensional Attention Rating Scale (MARS), a self-report tool crafted to evaluate six-dimension attention levels. METHODS: The MARS was developed based on Classical Test Theory (CTT). Totally 202 highly educated healthy adult participants were recruited for reliability and validity tests. Reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability. Structural validity was explored using principal component analysis. Criterion validity was analyzed by correlating MARS scores with the Toronto Hospital Alertness Test (THAT), the Attentional Control Scale (ACS), and the Attention Network Test (ANT). RESULTS: The MARS comprises 12 items spanning six distinct dimensions of attention: focused attention, sustained attention, shifting attention, selective attention, divided attention, and response inhibition.As assessed by six experts, the content validation index (CVI) was 0.95, the Cronbach's alpha for the MARS was 0.78, and the test-retest reliability was 0.81. Four factors were identified (cumulative variance contribution rate 68.79%). The total score of MARS was correlated positively with THAT (r = 0.60, P < 0.01) and ACS (r = 0.78, P < 0.01) and negatively with ANT's reaction time for alerting (r = -0.31, P = 0.049). CONCLUSIONS The MARS can reliably and validly assess six-dimension attention levels in real-world settings and is expected to be a new tool for assessing multi-dimensional attention impairments in different mental disorders.
Humans ; Adult ; Male ; Attention/physiology* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Reproducibility of Results ; Young Adult ; Psychometrics

OBJECTIVE: To explore the current research status and hotspots in the field of biomechanics of diabetic foot by bibliometric analysis methods. METHODS: Literatures related to biomechanics of diabetic foot published in the Web of Scienc Core Collection (WoSCC) from 1981 to 2024 were searched. CiteSpace software and R language bibliometrics plugin were used to conduct a visual analysis of annual publication volume of the literature, including publication volume of each country and region, the publication situation of authors and institutions, the citation situation of individual literature, and the co-occurrence network of keywords. RESULTS: Totally 996 literatures were included, and the number of published papers increased steadily. The United States (261 papers) and China (89 papers) were the top two countries in terms of the number of published papers. The mediating centrality of the United States was 0.94, and that of China was 0.01. Scholars such as Cavanagh and institutions like the Cleveland Clinic were at the core of research in this field. High-frequency keywords include plantar pressure (plantar pressure), diabetic foot (diabetic foot), ulceration (ulcer), etc. The research focuses on plantar pressure, ulcer formation and prevention, etc. CONCLUSION Biomechanical research on diabetic foot mainly focuses on the pressure distribution on the sole of the foot, callus formation, mechanical analysis of soft tissues on the sole of the foot, and the study of plantar decompression caused by Achilles tendon elongation. The research trend has gradually shifted from focusing on joint range of motion to gait and the design of braces and assistive devices, and has begun to pay attention to muscle strength, gait imbalance and proprioception abnormalities.
Humans ; Diabetic Foot/physiopathology* ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Bibliometrics

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness of Chinese medicine (CM) Lianhua Qingwen Granule (LHQW) and Jingyin Gubiao Prescription (JYGB) in asymptomatic or mild patients with Omicron infection in the shelter hospital. METHODS: This single-center retrospective cohort study was conducted in the largest shelter hospital in Shanghai, China, from April 10, 2022 to May 30, 2022. A total of 56,244 asymptomatic and mild Omicron cases were included and divided into 4 groups, i.e., non-administration group (23,702 cases), LHQW group (11,576 cases), JYGB group (12,112 cases), and dual combination of LHQW and JYGB group (8,854 cases). The length of stay (LOS) in the hospital was used to assess the effectiveness of LHQW and JYGB treatment on Omicron infection. RESULTS: Patients aged 41-60 years, with nadir threshold cycle (C_T) value of N gene <25, or those fully vaccinated preferred to receive CM therapy. Before or after propensity score matching (PSM), the multiple linear regression showed that LHQW and JYGB treatment were independent influence factors of LOS (both P<0.001). After PSM, there were significant differences in LOS between the LHQW/JYGB combination and the other groups (P<0.01). The results of factorial design ANOVA proved that the LHQW/JYGB combination therapy synergistically shortened LOS (P=0.032). CONCLUSIONS Patients with a nadir C_T value <25 were more likely to accept CM. The LHQW/JYGB combination therapy could shorten the LOS of Omicron-infected individuals in an isolated environment.
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; China/epidemiology* ; Hospitalization ; COVID-19 Drug Treatment ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Length of Stay ; Young Adult ; Aged

OBJECTIVES: To explore the underlying pharmacological mechanisms and its potential effects of Chinese medicine herbal formula Sini Powder (SNP) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: The active components of SNP and their in vivo distribution were identified using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Construction of component-target-disease networks, protein-protein interaction network, Gene Ontology function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis, and molecular docking were employed to analyze the active components and anti-HCC mechanisms of SNP. Cell viability assay and wound healing assay were utilized to confirm the effect of SNP-containing serum (2.5%, 5.0%, 10%, 20%, and 40%), isoprenaline or propranolol (both 10, 100, and 1,000 µ mol/L) on proliferation and migration of HepG 2 or Huh7 cells. Meanwhile, the effect of isoprenaline or propranolol on the β 2 adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) mRNA expression on HepG2 cells were measured by real-time quantitative reverse transcription (RT-qPCR). Mice with subcutaneous tumors were either subjected to chronic restraint stress (CRS) followed by SNP administration (364 mg/mL) or directly treated with SNP (364 mg/mL). These two parallel experiments were performed to validate the effects of SNP on stress responses. Stress-related proteins and hormones were quantified using RT-qPCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunohistochemistry. Metagenomic sequencing was performed to confirm the influence of SNP on the gut microbiota in the tumor-bearing CRS mice. RESULTS: The distribution of the 12 active components of SNP was confirmed in various tissues and feces. Network pharmacology analysis confirmed the anti-HCC effects of the 5 active components. The potential anti-HCC mechanisms of SNP may involve the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src (SRC) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathways. SNP-containing serum inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 and Huh7 cells at concentrations of 2.5% and 5.0%, respectively, after 24 h of treatment. Furthermore, SNP suppressed tumor progression in tumor-bearing mice exposed to CRS. SNP treatment also downregulated the expressions of stress-related proteins and pro-inflammatory cytokines, primarily by modulating the gut microbiota. Specifically, the abundance of Alistipes and Prevotella, which belong to the phylum Bacteroidetes, increased in the SNP-treated group, whereas Lachnospira, in the phylum Firmicutes, decreased. CONCLUSION SNP can combat HCC by alleviating stress responses through the regulation of gut microbiota.
Animals ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Liver Neoplasms/microbiology* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/microbiology* ; Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Powders ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects* ; Mice ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Hep G2 Cells ; Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2/genetics* ; Stress, Physiological/drug effects* ; Cell Movement/drug effects* ; Male ; Protein Interaction Maps/drug effects* ; Cell Survival/drug effects* ; Proto-Oncogene Mas

Mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs)play a crucial role in tissue repair and regeneration,and the extracellular vesicle(EV)released by them holds great promise for applications in clinical biomarkers,vaccines,and drug delivery.However,MSCs-derived EV(MSCs-EV)face challenges such as low pro-duction yield,poor retention,and targeted delivery issues.There-fore,engineering MSCs-EV to enhance their performance and en-able visual research has become a hot topic.Curcumin(CUR),an active component in traditional chinese medicine,exhibits pharmacological effects but has limited bioavailability.Using MSCs-EV as a carrier for CUR delivery can address its solubility and bioavailability challenges.This article reviews the drug loading methods,engineering strategies of MSCs-EV,and their important applications in the delivery and treatment of CUR for cartilage injury diseases.It provides a basis for the clinical ap-plication of engineered MSCs-EV in CUR delivery for cartilage repair,offering potential solutions to the challenges in cartilage tissue repair.

Family with sequence similarity 3 member A(FAM3A),a novel mitochondrial protein,plays a pivotal role in hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism by enhancing ATP synthesis and secretion and mod-ulating the ATP-P2 receptor-Akt signaling pathway.Dysregulation of FAM3A is closely associated with the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)and type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).In this study,targeting FAM3A as a therapeutic candidate,we conducted virtual screening to identify 47 small-molecule compounds with potential binding activity.Surface plasmon resonance(SPR)analysis re-vealed three compounds exhibiting high binding affinity to FAM3 A.Further structural characterization of the FAM3A-compound complexes,combined with intermolecular interaction analysis,elucidated the binding mode of the lead compound Index 2(taxifolin)to FAM3A at atomic resolution.These findings provide critical insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying ligand-FAM3A interactions and deliver valuable chemical scaffolds for the development of therapeutics targeting NAFLD and T2DM.This work establishes a foundation for advancing drug discovery efforts focused on FAM3A-mediated metabolic disor-ders.

Objective:To investigate the value of biparametric-MRI (bpMRI) based peritumoral radiomics for preoperative prediction of extraprostatic extension (EPE) in prostate cancer (PCa).Methods:In this cross-sectional study, consecutive bpMRI of patients undergoing prostatectomy for PCa were retrospectively collected from the First Medical Center (center 1) and the Third Medical Center (center 2) of Chinese PLA General Hospital. A total of 274 patients were finally enrolled. Patients at center 1 from January 2020 to December 2022 were randomly divided into a training set (149 cases) and an internal validation set (63 cases) by stratified random sampling. Patients at center 2 from January 2023 to March 2024 were assigned to the external test set (62 cases). Patients were categorized into EPE-positive group and EPE-negative group according to pathological assessment postoperatively. In the training set, there were 49 cases in EPE-positive group and 100 cases in EPE-negative group. In the internal validation set, there were 26 cases in EPE-positive group and 37 cases in EPE-negative group. In the external test set, there were 22 cases in EPE-positive group and 40 cases in EPE-negative group. Axial T 2WI and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) images were manually annotated to obtain index lesion regions of interest (ROIs), with the peritumoral ROIs subsequently delineated by semi-automatic segmentation technique. Radiomics features were extracted from intra-tumoral, peri-tumoral, and intra-tumoral plus peri-tumoral ROIs. The training set data was employed to select and optimize features to build the radiomics models. The logistic regression analysis was used to develop radiomics, clinical, and integrated models. The predictive performance was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in the external test set, and compared by the DeLong test. The sensitivity and specificity were compared by the exact McNemar test. Results:In the external test set, the peri-tumoral radiomics model based on bpMRI showed the highest performance in evaluating EPE, with an AUC of 0.739 (95% CI 0.611-0.842), which was identified as the optimal radiomics model. EPE grade ( OR=6.151, 95% CI 3.371-11.226, P<0.001) was incorporated into the clinical model, with an AUC of 0.780 (95% CI 0.657-0.875) in the external test set. The integrated model had an AUC of 0.817 (95% CI 0.698-0.904) in the external test set. There was no statistically significant difference in comparisons of AUCs among the three models (all P>0.05). The sensitivity of the integrated model (68.2%) showed no significant difference from those of the clinical model and the optimal radiomics model (77.3% and 86.4%, respectively; P=0.500 and P=0.289). However, the specificity of the integrated model (85.0%) was significantly higher than those of the clinical model (67.5%, P=0.016) and the optimal radiomics model (50.0%, P<0.001). Conclusion:A bpMRI-based peritumoral radiomics integrating clinical model demonstrates high performance for preoperative prediction of EPE in PCa.

Objective:To analyze the pathological features of recurrent cardiac myxoma to provide a reference basis for clinical treatment and postoperative follow-up.Methods:The pathological data of cardiac myxoma patients who underwent cardiac myxoma surgery in Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Beijing, China from 2002 to 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the grouping criteria, the cases were divided into the recurrence group ( n=6) and control group ( n=73). Results:In the recurrence group, there were 3 females and 3 males with a median age of 47 years. In the control group, there were 49 females and 24 males, with a median age of 53 years. Cardiac myxoma usually occurred in the left atrium. In the recurrence group, 5 cases occurred in the left atrium and 1 case in the right atrium. In the control group, 68 cases occurred in the left atrium, 4 cases in the right atrium, and 1 case in bilateral atria. Among the 6 cases in the recurrence group, the recurrence time was 1-7 years, with average 4.8 years. In the univariate analysis of recurrent cardiac myxoma pathology, disruption of elastic fiber layer and tumor cells of the tumor stalk invading into the myocardium through the elastic fiber layer were statistically associated with recurrence of cardiac myxoma ( P<0.05). Logistic regression analyses showed that the invasion of tumor cells through the elastic fiber layer of the heart wall into the myocardium was an independent risk factor for recurrence ( Odds Ratio=0.999, P<0.05). Conclusion:During the pathologic diagnosis, assessing the relationship between tumor cells in the stalk of cardiac myxoma and elastic fiber layer can help estimate the recurrence risk of cardiac myxoma, and thus guide clinical treatment and postoperative follow-up.

Freeze-drying technique,also known as lyophilization,is a process of removing moisture from a solution or suspension through freezing and vacuum dehydration to maintain the stability of the samples and prolong their shelf life.Freeze-drying technology has been widely used in food,pharmaceutical,clinical testing,chemical and other fields but its application in the field of forensic medicine has just started.Polymerase chain reaction(PCR)and its derivative detection technologies are widely used in forensic DNA detection,but PCR reagents need to be stored and transported at low temperature.In recent years,forensic scientists have begun applying freeze-drying technology to PCR amplification reagents to solve the transportation and storage problems of PCR reagents.In order to promote the application of PCR freeze-drying technology in forensic genetics,this paper mainly expounds the research course,system and process of PCR freeze-drying technology,compares the advantages and disadvantages of PCR reagents with traditional PCR reagents,and introduces the advantages and challenges of PCR freeze-drying reagents in forensic medicine.