Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） is a malignant tumor with high incidence and mortality rates worldwide. Recent studies have shown that neutrophil extracellular traps （NETs） play an important role in the development， progression， and immune escape of HCC. NETs are released by neutrophils and mainly consist of DNA， histones， and antimicrobial molecules， and in addition to immune defense， they are also involved in the initiation， metastasis， and thrombosis of HCC. This article elaborates on the formation and regulatory mechanisms of NETs， explores their potential mechanisms in the initiation， metastasis， immune escape， and thrombosis of HCC， and discusses the prospect of NETs as a target for the diagnosis and treatment of HCC， in order to provide new ideas for the precise treatment of HCC in the future and promote the early diagnosis and effective treatment of HCC.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Chinese medicine (CM) Zihua Wenfei Zhisou Granule (ZWZG) in postinfectious cough (PIC) patients with CM syndrome of wind-cold invading Fei (Lung, WCIF). METHODS: This is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled phase II clinical trial. PIC patients with WCIF syndrome were recruited from the Respiratory Departments in 6 hospitals across China between March 2019 and December 2020. Eligible patients were randomly assigned to group A (ZWZG-matched placebo 15 g), group B (active ZWZG 15 g), and group C (active ZWZG 10 g plus ZWZG-matched placebo 5 g) in a 1:1:1 ratio. All medications were taken orally 3 times daily for 14 consecutive days. The primary outcomes were cough relief rate and cough disappearance rate. The secondary outcomes included time to cough relief, time to cough disappearance, and changes in cough symptom score (CSS), cough Visual Analog Scale (VAS) value, Cough-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (CQLQ) score, and CM syndrome score from baseline (day 0) to post-treatment (day 14). Adverse events (AEs) in each group were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 198 patients were included in the full analysis set (FAS) and safety analysis set (SS), while 183 were enrolled in the per-protocol analysis set (PPS). In the FAS population, the cough relief rate was 47.76%, 90.77% and 84.85% in groups A, B, and C, respectively; while the cough disappearance rate was 31.34%, 72.31% and 68.18%, respectively. The cough relief rates and cough disappearance rates in groups B and C were significantly higher than group A (P<0.0001). Both the median time to cough relief and cough disappearance in groups B and C were shorter than group A (P<0.0001). Compared with group A, groups B and C showed significantly greater improvements from baseline to post-treatment in CSS during daytime and nighttime as well as VAS (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in changes from baseline to post-treatment in CQLQ and CM syndrome scores among 3 groups (P>0.05). Results in the PPS population were consistent with those in the FAS population. Groups B and C showed lower incidence in AEs than group A (P<0.05), while there was no significant difference between groups B and C (P>0.05). No drug-related severe AEs were reported. CONCLUSIONS ZWZG can increase cough disappearance rate and cough relief rate; and it is beneficial in shortening cough duration and reducing cough severity and frequency in patients suffering from PIC. It is safe and generally well tolerated. (Registration No. ChiCTR1900022078).
Humans ; Cough/drug therapy* ; Double-Blind Method ; Male ; Female ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Middle Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Adult ; Aged ; Quality of Life

Objective To develop a hypoxia endurance testing system for aviation physiological training of pilots.Methods The hypoxia endurance testing system comprised a low-oxygen mixed gas generator,a pressurization system for low-oxygen mixed gas and a personal breathing apparatus.The low-oxygen mixed gas generator consisted of a main unit composed of an air compressor,a filter,a buffer tank,polymer membrane,a control module,sensors and regulators,wire cables,supporting hoses,etc.;the pressurization system for low-oxygen mixed gas was made up of a protective box,a cooling fan,a motor and a driver,a control module,a solenoid valve,a convergence block,a pressure gauge,etc.;the personal breating apparatus was composed of a gas cylinder,a pressure reducer,an oxygen supply regulator,etc.Forty-eight subjects were selected for hypoxia exposure tests to verify the effectiveness of the system.Results The system developed had the functions of low-oxygen gas preparation,pressurized filling and hypoxia experiment,and the experimental results indicated the acute hypoxia exposure by the system significantly caused signs and symptoms of hypoxia and weakened physiological functions.Conclusion The system developed gains advantages in high accuracy of gas volume fraction control,safety and remarkable effect of simulated hypoxia,and can be an effective tool for acute high-altitude hypoxia testing and training of pilots.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(10):23-28]

Objective To elucidate the mechanisms of trauma-induced coagulopathy(TIC),clarify the specific pathogenic factors and pathophysiological processes,and discover the effective diagnostic indicators and therapeutic targets.Methods Transcriptomic data of traumatic hemorrhagic shock patients were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)to identify differentially expressed genes(DEGs).Coagulation-related genes(CRGs)from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)were intersected with DEGs.Machine learning algorithms,including least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)and random forest(RF),were applied to identify key genes.The CIBERSORT algorithm was used to analyze the correlation between key genes and immune cell infiltration.Through consensus clustering,subtype analysis was conducted on trauma patients to compare the infiltration of immune cells.A rat model of traumatic hemorrhagic shock was established to validate coagulation function and the expression of key genes.Results The dataset included samples from 17 healthy controls and 478 patients with traumatic hemorrhagic shock.A total of 6 315 DEGs were identified under the screening criterion of corrected P<0.05.Gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA)showed that the up-regulated DEGs were significantly enriched in the glucose metabolism pathway,while the down-regulated DEGs were enriched in the immune reaction-related pathways.Through cross-analysis of DEGs and CRGs,a total of 65 differentially expressed coagulation-related genes(DE-CRGs)were screened out.GO functional enrichment showed that these genes were mainly located in secreting granular membranes and platelet α-granules,and were involved in physiological processes such as blood coagulation,regulation of body fluid levels,and wound healing.KEGG pathway analysis revealed that these genes were significantly enriched in pathways such as platelet activation,complement and coagulation cascade reactions,Rap1 signaling pathway,and human cytomegalovirus infection.Six key DE-CRGs were identified through machine learning.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis indicated that these genes had good diagnostic efficacy.CIBERSORT analysis revealed a significant correlation between key genes and immune cell infiltration.Patients were classified into two subtypes based on the six key genes:subtype A was rich in CD8+T cells and activated NK cells,presented an immune-active state;subtype B was mainly composed of monocytes and resting NK cells,with insufficient activation of immune pathways.Animal experiments on rats showed that hemorrhagic shock can lead to coagulation dysfunction.The results of qRT-PCR further confirmed that the expression trend of key genes was consistent with the results of bioinformatics analysis.Conclusion In this study,through transcriptomics and machine learning methods,six key genes closely related to TIC were systematically screened out,namely GNA13,PIK3R3,ITGAM,MAPK14,PPP1CC and LYN,and their close connections with coagulation function and immune infiltration were revealed.Animal experiments have further verified the value of these genes as potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Aim To identify the underlying target of bullatine A(BA)against rheumatoid arthritis(RA)u-sing limited proteolysis-small molecule mapping(LiP-SMap)drug target proteomics and to provide a scientif-ic basis for clinical application of Aconiti brachypodi Radix in the treatment of RA.Methods LiP-SMap drug target proteomics was employed to perform bioin-formatics analysis for comparing and validating the dif-ferential protein expression after BA intervention.A collagen-induced arthritis(CIA)model was estab-lished in DBA/1 mice using bovine type Ⅱ collagen.The mice were then divided into the CIA model group,methotrexate-positive control group(MTX group),and BA groups(10 mg·kg-1 and 20 mg·kg-1)based on their clinical scores.After drug intervention,the thera-peutic efficacy against RA was assessed by joint index scores and foot thickness measurements.Histopatholog-ical changes in the arthritic joints of CIA mice were e-valuated using hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was employed to detect inflammatory cytokines interleukin-17(IL-17)and total IgG and IgG3 anti-collagen-spe-cific antibodies levels from the serum of CIA mice.Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression levels of intracellular Th17 cells(IL-17+CD4+T cells)and Th1 cells(IFN-γ+CD4+T cells).Fluorescent quanti-tative PCR was performed to detect the expression of genes related to differential proteins.Results The proteomic analysis identified Serpinb1a as a protein with strong binding affinity to BA,and KEGG enrich-ment analysis indicated IL-17 signaling pathway was a crucial pathway of BA in against RA.BA treatment significantly reduced clinical scores and foot thickness,improved local arthritis symptoms in CIA mice,and al-leviated inflammatory cell infiltration into arthritic joints(P＜0.05).Differential protein validation re-sults showed that BA had strong affinity with Serpinb1a(-5.92 kJ·mol-1)and downregulated the expres-sion of Serpinb1a mRNA.Furthermore,the administra-tion of BA markedly reduced serum IL-17 A levels from CIA mice,inhibited the expression of intracellular IL-17 A and IFN-γ cytokines in splenic CD4+T cells(P＜0.05),and significantly downregulated the transcrip-tional expression of IL-17F(P＜0.05).Conclusion BA exhibits therapeutic effects on collagen-induced arthritis,and its mechanism of action may involve the regulation of Serpinb1a and the IL-17 signaling path-way.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of changes in pain-anxiety-depression-fatigue symptom clusters and their possible associated factors in adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL)during early chemotherapy.Methods A prospective longitudinal study was conducted from Nov 2019 to Oct 2021,enrolling newly diagnosed adolescent ALL patients from 5 tertiary or pediatric specialty hospitals in Shanghai,Zhejiang Province,Sichuan Province,Anhui Province and Guangdong Province.Patient-reported pain,anxiety,depression,and fatigue were collected at five time points within the first nine weeks of chemotherapy using the PROMIS Pediatric-25 instrument.Latent profile analysis(LPA)and latent transition analysis(LTA)were applied to explore the latent classes of symptom clusters,their transition probabilities over time,and possible risk or protective factors associated with class membership.Results A total of 134 ALL cases were enrolled,and symptom clusters at all the 5 time points(T1-T5)were consistently classified into three groups of mild,moderate and severe symptoms.The severe symptoms group accounted for the largest proportion at each time point(54.5%,59.7%,66.4%,49.3%,and 47.0%,respectively),while the mild and moderate symptoms groups showed an initial decline followed by an increase.Among participants,40.2%maintained the same symptom status,and 77.4%experienced at least one episode of severe symptom status during the trajectory.Religious affiliation(T5)and family monthly income>5 000 Yuan(T2,T4 and T5)served as protective factors against severe symptoms.Higher baseline fatigue(T1)was associated with membership in the severe symptoms group at subsequent time points.Conclusion Pain-anxiety-depression-fatigue symptoms in adolescents with ALL during early chemotherapy can be categorized into mild,moderate and severe symptoms with dynamic transitions over time.Higher baseline fatigue was associated with increased risk of severe symptoms,whereas higher family income and religious affiliation appeared protective effects.

Objective To develop a hypoxia endurance testing system for aviation physiological training of pilots.Methods The hypoxia endurance testing system comprised a low-oxygen mixed gas generator,a pressurization system for low-oxygen mixed gas and a personal breathing apparatus.The low-oxygen mixed gas generator consisted of a main unit composed of an air compressor,a filter,a buffer tank,polymer membrane,a control module,sensors and regulators,wire cables,supporting hoses,etc.;the pressurization system for low-oxygen mixed gas was made up of a protective box,a cooling fan,a motor and a driver,a control module,a solenoid valve,a convergence block,a pressure gauge,etc.;the personal breating apparatus was composed of a gas cylinder,a pressure reducer,an oxygen supply regulator,etc.Forty-eight subjects were selected for hypoxia exposure tests to verify the effectiveness of the system.Results The system developed had the functions of low-oxygen gas preparation,pressurized filling and hypoxia experiment,and the experimental results indicated the acute hypoxia exposure by the system significantly caused signs and symptoms of hypoxia and weakened physiological functions.Conclusion The system developed gains advantages in high accuracy of gas volume fraction control,safety and remarkable effect of simulated hypoxia,and can be an effective tool for acute high-altitude hypoxia testing and training of pilots.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(10):23-28]

Objective To elucidate the mechanisms of trauma-induced coagulopathy(TIC),clarify the specific pathogenic factors and pathophysiological processes,and discover the effective diagnostic indicators and therapeutic targets.Methods Transcriptomic data of traumatic hemorrhagic shock patients were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)to identify differentially expressed genes(DEGs).Coagulation-related genes(CRGs)from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)were intersected with DEGs.Machine learning algorithms,including least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)and random forest(RF),were applied to identify key genes.The CIBERSORT algorithm was used to analyze the correlation between key genes and immune cell infiltration.Through consensus clustering,subtype analysis was conducted on trauma patients to compare the infiltration of immune cells.A rat model of traumatic hemorrhagic shock was established to validate coagulation function and the expression of key genes.Results The dataset included samples from 17 healthy controls and 478 patients with traumatic hemorrhagic shock.A total of 6 315 DEGs were identified under the screening criterion of corrected P<0.05.Gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA)showed that the up-regulated DEGs were significantly enriched in the glucose metabolism pathway,while the down-regulated DEGs were enriched in the immune reaction-related pathways.Through cross-analysis of DEGs and CRGs,a total of 65 differentially expressed coagulation-related genes(DE-CRGs)were screened out.GO functional enrichment showed that these genes were mainly located in secreting granular membranes and platelet α-granules,and were involved in physiological processes such as blood coagulation,regulation of body fluid levels,and wound healing.KEGG pathway analysis revealed that these genes were significantly enriched in pathways such as platelet activation,complement and coagulation cascade reactions,Rap1 signaling pathway,and human cytomegalovirus infection.Six key DE-CRGs were identified through machine learning.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis indicated that these genes had good diagnostic efficacy.CIBERSORT analysis revealed a significant correlation between key genes and immune cell infiltration.Patients were classified into two subtypes based on the six key genes:subtype A was rich in CD8+T cells and activated NK cells,presented an immune-active state;subtype B was mainly composed of monocytes and resting NK cells,with insufficient activation of immune pathways.Animal experiments on rats showed that hemorrhagic shock can lead to coagulation dysfunction.The results of qRT-PCR further confirmed that the expression trend of key genes was consistent with the results of bioinformatics analysis.Conclusion In this study,through transcriptomics and machine learning methods,six key genes closely related to TIC were systematically screened out,namely GNA13,PIK3R3,ITGAM,MAPK14,PPP1CC and LYN,and their close connections with coagulation function and immune infiltration were revealed.Animal experiments have further verified the value of these genes as potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Objective:To analyze the efficacy of combination of peginterferon α-2b（Peg-IFN α-2b）with nucleos（t）ide analogues（NAs）on antiviral therapy in children with chronic hepatitis B（CHB）and to provide an optimized clinical treatment strategies for CHB children.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 30 CHB children treated in The First Affiliated Hospital of the Army Medical University（Southwest Hospital）from January 2022 to January 2025 with treatment duration at least 48 weeks. The enrolled children were aged between 2 and 17 years and divided into the NAs combined with Peg-IFN α-2b（NPI）group（n=13）and NAs group（n=17）by their therapy regimens. The characteristics of baseline，week 12，week 24，week 48 and week 96 were compared between groups，as well as the differences in response to biochemical，immune and viral indicators at each observation point. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic（ROC）curve analysis were performed to identify factors influencing the HBsAg seroclearance. Results:At baseline of treatment，the proportion of HBeAg positivity in the NPI group and the NAs group was high（76.9% vs 86.6%， χ2=0.679， P=0.628），and the alanine aminotransferase（ALT）and aspartate aminotransferase（AST）in the NPI group were significantly lower than those in the NAs group（ P<0.001）. At 24 weeks，the decrease in HBsAg in the NPI group was also significantly higher than that in the NAs group（ Z=-3.161， P=0.002）. Finally，the cumulative seroclearance rate of HBsAg at 96 weeks in the NPI group was significantly higher than that in the NAs group（46.15% vs 5.88%， χ2=0.679， P=0.025）. Mulitivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that treatment regimen and gender were risk factors affecting the outcome of HBsAg（ P<0.05）. ROC curve analysis showed that the increase in ALT at 12 weeks compared with baseline（AUC=0.857，Cutoff value=3.615 IU/L），the decrease in ALT at 24 weeks（AUC=0.870，Cutoff value=47.85 IU/L），and the decrease in HBsAg at 12 weeks and especially at 24 weeks（AUC=0.885，Cutoff value=0.97log IU/ml）were effective predictors of HBsAg prognosis at 96 weeks. Conclusion:In CHB children，antiviral regimen Peg-IFN α-2b combined with NAs was more effective than NAs alone in improving the HBsAg seroclearance rate of CHB，and the effects in female were better than in male. The decline of HBsAg and the fluctuation of ALT in the early treatment period are valid predictors of HBsAg clearance.