Cultivating and inspiring students’ interests in performing experiments and improving students’ diagnostic skills and scientific research capability for infectious diseases like malaria are critical to comprehensive experimental teaching of morphology. Consequently, Soochow University initiated a problem-based hands-on inquiry-based comprehensive experiment program of blood-borne protozoa infections and diagnosis, which took students in the “5 + 3” integrated program of clinical medicine as the teaching targets, and it consisted of three parts: pre-class, in-class, and post-class. Before the experimental curriculum, students learned the theoretical knowledge and the process of modeling Plasmodium berghei and Babesia microti infections in mice through online course and virtual simulation experiments, and during the experimental curriculum, students performed exploratory experiments on differential diagnosis of P. berghei and B. microti infections with pathogenic and serological tests. After the experimental curriculum, students performed molecular biological testing and extracurricular scientific research project training through open experiments. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 99 students in the “5 + 3” integrated training program of clinical medicine in batch 2021, and a total of 93 valid questionnaires were retrieved, with a questionnaire recovery rate of 93.94%. Questionnaire survey showed that 70.97% (66/93), 70.97% (66/93), 77.42% (72/93), 70.97% (66/93), and 83.87% (78/ 93) of the students strongly agreed with the five statements in the questionnaire respectively, namely “high interest in learning during the experiment”, “reasonable experimental content settings and good classroom atmosphere”;, “teachers were good at guiding students’ practice and thinking”, “students were the main body of the classroom during the experiment” and “Comprehensive experiments had better teaching effects than traditional verification experiments”, indicating that the problem-based hands-on inquiry-based comprehensive experiment teaching has enhanced students’ learning interest, spirit of inquiry, innovative thinking, and teamwork ability.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effect of minimally invasive technique in the treatment of moderate and severe gluteal muscle contracture. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 85 patients (170 sides) with bilateral gluteal muscle contracture admitted from January 2016 to December 2019. All patients were treated with minimally invasive release of tendon knife. There were 32 males and 53 females, ranging in age from 15 to 37 years old, with an average age of (22.3±6.3) years old. Operation time, intraoperative blood loss, incision length, first postoperative ambulation time, complication rate, recurrence rate, and Harris hip score (HHS) were analyzed and evaluated. RESULTS: The average follow-up time was (16.2±4.6) months, ranging from 12 to 30 months. The operation time ranged from 7 to 15 min, with an average of (10.2±3.1) min. Intraoperative blood loss ranged from 2 to 20 ml, with an average of (8.4±2.2) ml. The incision length ranged from 0.6 to 2.0 cm, with an average of (0.8±0.3) cm. The time to postoperative ambulation ranged from 12 to 28 h, with an average of (20.0±3.2) h. All patients achieved primary wound healing without sciatic nerve injury or recurrence. HHS hip function scores ranged from 90 to 98, with an average score of (96.2±1.4). Complications included intraoperative tendon blade tip fracture in two cases (removed under fluoroscopic guidance) and subcutaneous hematoma in three cases-two resolved with compression and one with open evacuation.. Twenty-nine patients exhibited transient swaying gait postoperatively, of which 24 patients returned to normal after 4 weeks and 5 patients returned to normal after 6 weeks. CONCLUSION Minimally invasive tendon blade release is a safe and effective technique for treating gluteal muscle contracture, offering minimal trauma, rapid recovery, and excellent cosmetic and functional outcomes. However, it exhibits a low risk of blade tip fracture and sciatic nerve injury, warranting experienced surgical handling.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Adolescent ; Retrospective Studies ; Buttocks/surgery* ; Young Adult ; Contracture/surgery* ; Tendons/surgery* ; Muscle, Skeletal/surgery*

Early correction of childhood malocclusion is timely managing morphological, structural, and functional abnormalities at different dentomaxillofacial developmental stages. The selection of appropriate imaging examination and comprehensive radiological diagnosis and analysis play an important role in early correction of childhood malocclusion. This expert consensus is a collaborative effort by multidisciplinary experts in dentistry across the nation based on the current clinical evidence, aiming to provide general guidance on appropriate imaging examination selection, comprehensive and accurate imaging assessment for early orthodontic treatment patients.
Humans ; Malocclusion/diagnostic imaging* ; Child ; Consensus

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the association between body mass index (BMI) and mortality based on the 10-year population-based multicenter prospective study. METHODS: A general population-based multicenter prospective study was conducted at four sites in rural China between 2013 and 2023. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models and restricted cubic spline analyses were used to assess the association between BMI and mortality. Stratified analyses were performed based on the individual characteristics of the participants. RESULTS: Overall, 19,107 participants with a sum of 163,095 person-years were included and 1,910 participants died. The underweight (< 18.5 kg/m ²) presented an increase in all-cause mortality (adjusted hazards ratio [ aHR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [ CI]: 1.66-2.41), while overweight (≥ 24.0 to < 28.0 kg/m ²) and obesity (≥ 28.0 kg/m ²) presented a decrease with an aHR of 0.61 (95% CI: 0.52-0.73) and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.37-0.70), respectively. Overweight ( aHR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.67-0.86) and mild obesity ( aHR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87) had a positive impact on mortality in people older than 60 years. All-cause mortality decreased rapidly until reaching a BMI of 25.7 kg/m ² ( aHR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.92-0.98) and increased slightly above that value, indicating a U-shaped association. The beneficial impact of being overweight on mortality was robust in most subgroups and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION This study provides additional evidence that overweight and mild obesity may be inversely related to the risk of death in individuals older than 60 years. Therefore, it is essential to consider age differences when formulating health and weight management strategies.
Humans ; Body Mass Index ; China/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Rural Population/statistics & numerical data* ; Aged ; Follow-Up Studies ; Adult ; Mortality ; Cause of Death ; Obesity/mortality* ; Overweight/mortality*

ObjectiveTo identify key factors influencing cognitive function in the elderly, including traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitutional classification, and to rank their relative importance.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from seven geographical regions across mainland China. The Changsha version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment was used to assess cognitive function. A “least absolute shrinkage and selection operator” (LASSO) model, multivariate linear regression analysis, and random forest (RF) model were used. Subgroup analyses were performed to examine the correlation between key TCM constitution types and cognitive function in different population subgroups.ResultsA total of 24 803 individuals aged 60 and above were included in the study. We selected 18 influential factors using the LASSO model. Higher education, being married, and having insurance were positively correlated with cognitive function in the elderly (all P .05). In contrast, poor sleep, vision impairment, hearing impairment, basic activities of daily living disability, instrumental activities of daily living disability, depression, hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke, yang-deficiency constitution (YADC), yin-deficiency constitution (YIDC), qi deficiency constitution (QDC), and blood stasis constitution (BSC) were negatively correlated with cognitive function (all P .05). YIDC and BSC affected all dimensions of cognitive function (all P .05). YADC mainly affected attention, language, abstraction (verbal analogies), memory, and orientation to time and place dimensions (P .001). QDC mainly affected language and abstraction (verbal analogies) dimensions (P .05). The negative correlations between BSC, YADC, YIDC, and QDC scores and cognitive function revealed statistically significant differences across most subgroups. The RF model identified education, BSC, and poor sleep quality as the three most influential factors in our study.ConclusionBSC, YADC, YIDC, and QDC were associated with cognitive decline in the elderly. Our findings provide new perspectives and significant references for interventions for early-stage cognitive disorders.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a leading cause of dementia in the elderly. Mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1 (MKP-1) plays a neuroprotective role in AD. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of MKP-1 on AD have not been extensively studied. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, thereby repressing mRNA translation. Here, we reported that the microRNA-429-3p (miR-429-3p) was significantly increased in the brain of APP23/PS45 AD model mice and N2A^APP AD model cells. We further found that miR-429-3p could downregulate MKP-1 expression by directly binding to its 3'-untranslated region (3' UTR). Inhibition of miR-429-3p by its antagomir (A-miR-429) restored the expression of MKP-1 to a control level and consequently reduced the amyloidogenic processing of APP and Aβ accumulation. More importantly, intranasal administration of A-miR-429 successfully ameliorated the deficits of hippocampal CA1 long-term potentiation and spatial learning and memory in AD model mice by suppressing extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2)-mediated GluA1 hyperphosphorylation at Ser831 site, thereby increasing the surface expression of GluA1-containing α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors (AMPARs). Together, these results demonstrate that inhibiting miR-429-3p to upregulate MKP-1 effectively improves cognitive and synaptic functions in AD model mice, suggesting that miR-429/MKP-1 pathway may be a novel therapeutic target for AD treatment.

Background::Liver cancer remains the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, causing a heavy burden globally. An updated assessment of the global epidemiology of the liver cancer burden that addresses geographical disparities is necessary to better understand and promote healthcare delivery.Methods::Data were extracted from the GLOBOCAN 2022 database, including the number, crude, and age-standardized rates of incidence and mortality at the global, country, continent, and human development index (HDI) regional levels. Age-standardized rates (incidence and mortality) per 100,000 person-years were adjusted based on the Segi-Doll World standard population. The mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIR) for each region and country were calculated. The HDI and gross national income (GNI) for 2022 were obtained, and a Pearson correlation analysis was conducted with the incidence, mortality, and MIR.Results::In 2022, approximately 866,136 new liver cancer cases and 758,725 related deaths were recorded worldwide, with a global MIR of 0.86. Males had a disproportionately higher burden than females across all levels, and the highest burden was observed in the elderly population. Geographically, the regions with the highest incidence rates included Micronesia, Eastern Asia, and Northern Africa, and the regions with the highest mortality rates included Northern Africa, Southeastern Asia, Eastern Asia, and Micronesia. Notably, Mongolia had a strikingly high burden compared to other countries. The highest MIR was observed in North America and the lowest in Africa. Negative associations of HDI and GNI with liver cancer mortality and MIR were identified, irrespective of sex.Conclusions::The current liver cancer burden underscores the presence of remarkable geographic heterogeneity, which is particularly evident across countries with varying HDI levels, highlighting the urgent need to prioritize health accessibility and availability to achieve health inequities.

Robotic surgery is known as the"third technological revolution"in the field of surgery,and is an important milestone in the development of modern surgery.However,our country's innovative surgical robot industry is still in its early stages,and it is only being utilized in certain surgical fields.To explore the effectiveness of the application of do-mestic surgical robot in oral and maxillofacial surgery,the author successfully completed a case of benign parotid tumor resection with the assistance of a domestic autonomous robot.The operation was successful,facial nerve function was preserved,and postoperative wound healing was good.