Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease lacking effective therapy. Metformin, an antidiabetic medication, has shown promising therapeutic properties in preclinical fibrosis models; however, its precise cellular targets and associated mechanisms in fibrosis resolution remain incompletely defined. Most research on metformin's effects has focused on mesenchymal and inflammatory responses with limited attention to epithelial cells. In this study, we utilized Sftpc lineage-traced and Fgfr2b conditional knockout mice, along with BMP2/PPARγ and AMPK inhibitors, to explore metformin's impact on alveolar epithelial cells in a bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis model and cell culture. We found that metformin increased the proliferation and differentiation of alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells, particularly the recently identified injury-activated alveolar progenitors (IAAPs)-a subpopulation characterized by low SFTPC expression but enriched for PD-L1. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed a reduction in apoptosis among mature AT2 cells. Interestingly, metformin's therapeutic effects were not significantly affected by BMP2 or PPARγ inhibition, which blocked the lipogenic differentiation of myofibroblasts. However, Fgfr2b deletion in Sftpc lineage cells significantly impaired metformin's ability to promote fibrosis resolution, a process linked to AMPK signaling. In conclusion, metformin alleviates fibrosis by directly activating AT2 cells, especially the IAAPs, through a mechanism that involves AMPK and FGFR2b signaling, but is largely independent of BMP2/PPARγ pathways.

Objective: To preliminarily develop a multidimensional blood donor role scale based on role theory and systematically compare the psychosocial characteristic differences between award-winning donors and first-time donors in Guangzhou, and to provide an empirical reference for formulating differentiated donor retention strategies. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was adopted. A random sample of award-winning donors and concurrently sampled first-time donors yielding 1 361 valid responses collected (721 from the award group, 640 from the first-time group). Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the scale structure. Data were post-stratified and weighted according to the gender and age distributions of the general donor population. Independent samples t-tests, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and generalized linear models were employed to compare dimensional scores between the two groups. A paired t-test was conducted to analyze the annual donation frequency of award-winning donors before and after receiving the award. Results: Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 5-factor structure, including Role Identity and Expectations, Role Adaptation and Maintenance, Role Environment and Experience, Role Relationships and Conflict, and Role Incentives and Rewards, with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 56.43%. The scale demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α=0.906). Known-group validity test showed that award-winning donors scored significantly higher than first-time donors on Role Identity and Expectations (t=4.366, P<0.001, d=0.240), Role Adaptation and Maintenance (t=5.436, P<0.001, d=0.500), and Role Relationships and Conflict (t=4.844, P<0.001, d=0.220). These differences remained significant after controlling for selected demographic variables (MANCOVA, Wilks' λ=0.943, P<0.001). Generalized linear models suggested that donation frequency was an independent predictor for these dimensions. Additionally, the annual donation frequency of award-winning donors was slightly higher after receiving the award than before (t=2.007, P=0.045). Conclusion: The preliminary blood donor role scale demonstrates acceptable reliability and validity and can effectively distinguish groups with different donation behavior characteristics. The study reveals that award-winning donors exhibit more positive psychological characteristics across multiple role identity dimensions and maintain their donation behavior after receiving an award. External incentives and internal role identity may jointly contribute to behavioral persistence. The findings provide a preliminary reference for further exploring the formation pathways of donor role identity and developing differentiated donor retention strategies.

AIM:To investigate the potential impact of mitoNEET[mitochondrial protein containing Asn-Glu-Glu-Thr(NEET)sequence]on mitochondrial metabolism in brown adipocytes,and to elucidate its underlying mecha-nism.METHODS:An in vitro model of primary mouse brown adipocytes was established.Western blot were utilized to detect relevant proteins,and iron ion and ATP content was measured using kits.Mitochondrial membrane potential and re-active oxygen species(ROS)were assessed by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry.RESULTS:The expression of the ferroptosis-related protein ACSL4 increased by 1.13 times in ferroptosis inducer erastin treatment group,whereas the expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4 decreased by 27.33%and 25.33%,respectively,compared with control group(P<0.05).The expression of Nrf1,PGC-1α,MFN2 and UCP1 proteins,related to mitochondrial energy metabolism,de-creased by 20.98%,15.17%,15.03%and 34.22%,respectively(P<0.05).Additionally,the mitoNEET protein con-tent was significantly reduced by 42.14%(P<0.05).The iron ion content in erastin group was substantially increased by 1.80 times compared with control group.However,a notable decrease in ATP content of 14.95%was seen(P<0.05).The results obtained from fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry demonstrated a significant decrease in the mitochon-drial membrane potential of brown adipocytes in erastin group,with reductions of 52.18%and 61.31%(P<0.05),re-spectively.A substantial increase in mitochondrial ROS content of 80.97%was seen(P<0.05).Western blot analysis of overexpressed stable strains revealed a significant elevation in mitoNEET levels in brown adipocytes following lentivirus transfection,exhibiting an increase of 11.19 times(P<0.05),thus confirming successful transfection.The LV-mitoNEET group exhibited a significant decrease of 37.95%in the expression of ferroptosis-related protein ACSL4 in brown adipose cells compared with control group.Additionally,there was a notable increase of 77.82%and 66.3%in the expression of SLC7A11 and GPX4,respectively(P<0.05).Up-regulation was observed in the expression of MFN2(79.06%),PGC-1α(72.89%),Nrf1(40.14%),and UCP1(31.68%)(P<0.05).The test results demonstrated that the LV-mitoNEET group experienced a reduction of 43.5%in iron ion content compared with control group while exhibiting an increase of 33.5%in ATP content(P<0.05).The results obtained from fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry demonstrated that mitoNEET overexpression led to a significant increase in the mitochondrial membrane potential of erastin-induced brown adipocytes,with increments of 17.61%and 96.05%,respectively.Additionally,mitoNEET overexpression effec-tively reduced the production of mitochondrial ROS by 24.48%(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:Our findings suggest that mitoNEET overexpression can effectively inhibit the disruption of mitochondrial energy metabolism caused by ferroptosis-induced death of brown adipocytes.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics and potential predisposing factors of the external cervical resorption(ECR).Methods:22 ECR cases with 38 affected teeth from 2016 to 2022 were retrospectively reviwed.Descriptive analysis combined with single factor analysis was used to study the clinical characteristics and influencing factors of ECR.Results:Maxillary anterior teeth(34.2％)were the most affected by ECR.Univariate analysis showed that ECR was more commonly noted in teeth without percussion pain and palpation pain,the probing depth of the periodontal pocket was greater than 3mm,with pulp activity reaction,without forma-tion of abscess and/or sinus tract,and without periapical lesions.There were statistically significant differences in percussion tender-ness,palpation tenderness and probing depth among the different Heithersary stages(P＜0.05).In the advanced cases,deep periodon-tal pockets and abscess formation were observed.The most common related dental factors of ECR were orthodontic treatment(15.87％)and dental traumatic injury(28.57％).Conclusion:ECR affected teeth often lack of clinical signs and symptoms.Radiology is the key to early diagnosis.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the third most common malignancy with a high recurrence and metastasis rate in South China. Natural compounds extracted from traditional Chinese herbal medicines have been developed and utilized for the treatment of a variety of cancers with modest properties and slight side effects. Maackiain (MA) is a type of flavonoid that was first isolated from leguminous plants, and it has been reported to relieve various nervous system disorders and exert anti-allergic as well as anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we demonstrated that MA inhibited proliferation, arrested cell cycle and induced apoptosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma CNE1 and CNE2 cells in vitro and in vivo. The expression of the related proteins associated with these processes were consistent with the above effects. Moreover, transcriptome sequencing and subsequent Western blot experiments revealed that inhibition of the MAPK/Ras pathway may be responsible to the anti-tumor effect of MA on NPC cells. Therefore, the effects of MA and an activator of this pathway, tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), alone or combination, were investigated. The results showed TBHQ neutralized the inhibitory effects of MA. These data suggest that MA exerts its anti-tumor effect by inhibiting the MAPK/Ras signaling pathway and it has the potential to become a treatment for patients with NPC.
Humans ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma/pathology* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Apoptosis ; Signal Transduction ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/pathology*

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) is a subtype of acute encephalopathy presented with disturbance of consciousness and symmetric bilateral thalamic necrosis in neuroradiology.Patients with ANE had a high mortality or severe neurological sequela.ANE usually secondary to virus infectious disease, in which influenza is a common etiology.During the 3 years of the worldwide pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)infection, ANE has become a severe complication and cause of death in children, which has aroused much concern.Here is a review of the research progress of epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatments and prognosis of ANE, in order to improve the knowledge of clinicians on this disease.

China has classified the Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19) as a statutory category B infectious disease and managed it according to Category B since January 8, 2023.In view that Omicron variant is currently the main epidemic strain in China, in order to guide the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2) infection in children with the times, refer to the Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for Novel Coronavirus Infection (Trial 10 th Edition), Expert Consensus on Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Novel Coronavirus Infection in Children (Fourth Edition) and the Diagnosis and Treatment Strategy for Pediatric Related Viral Infections.The Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Novel Coronavirus Infection in Children (Fifth Edition) has been formulated and updated accordingly on related etiology, epidemiology, pathogenic mechanism, clinical manifestations, auxiliary examination, diagnosis and treatment, and added key points for the treatment of COVID-19 related encephalopathy, fulminating myocarditis and other serious complications for clinical reference.

Patient experience is an important window for modern hospital management and medical service quality, and also an important point for humanistic hospital construction. Improving patient experience is of great significance for constructing harmonious doctor-patient relationship and improving patients’ satisfaction and sense of gain. Based on the perspective of patient experience improvement, this paper analyzed the core value of "patient demand first" of Mayo Clinic and the operational experience of Cleveland Medical Center Patient Experience Office, and applied them to the cultivation of humanistic hospital culture in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University. Based on the concept of "strengthening patient demand orientation", with the goal of "building a high-quality patient service system and significantly improving patient satisfaction", through building education platforms for medical ethics and medical humanism, exploring the medical humanism dissemination mode for medical staff, and carrying out the humanism literacy cultivation practice in the training camp for improving hospital service efficiency, the humanistic cultural atmosphere of the hospital has been further enhanced, and the patient satisfaction has been steadily improved. It provides reference for the cultivation of humanistic literacy and the construction of new culture in public hospitals in the context of high-quality development.

Objective:To compare the clinical utility of 18F-prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-1007 and 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging in newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods:From April 2022 to July 2022, 17 patients (14 males, 3 females, age 36-73(54.4±10.1) years) with newly diagnosed HCC who underwent 18F-FDG and 18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT imaging within 3 d in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were prospectively enrolled. ROIs were drawn from normal liver tissue (L), abdominal aorta (A), right gluteus medius (M), and SUV max of these regions were compared with the SUV max of primary tumor (T). Wilcoxon rank sum test and Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test were used to analyze the data. Results:18F-FDG PT/CT, 18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT and enhanced MRI detected 1(0, 2), 2(1, 5) and 2(1, 4) tumor lesions of the liver in each patient respectively ( H=7.10, P=0.029), and 18F-PSMA-1007 detected more lesions than 18F-FDG ( P=0.024). Although SUV max of 18F-PSMA-1007 in HCC was significantly higher than that of 18F-FDG (25.7(17.1, 45.1) vs 6.3(2.9, 12.4); z=3.39, P=0.001), there was no significant difference of T/L ratio between 18F-PSMA-1007 and 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging (2.7(2.1, 4.7) vs 1.6(1.0, 4.5); z=0.52, P=0.602). T/A and T/M ratios were significantly higher in 18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT imaging than those in 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging ( z values: 3.15, 3.53, P values: 0.002, <0.001). 18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT imaging found high uptake foci in the liver and ribs in 2 cases, which were pathologically confirmed as bone metastasis of HCC, while those lesions were not found by 18F-FDG imaging. Conclusion:Compared with 18F-FDG, 18F-PSMA-1007 PET/CT demonstrates higher tumor uptake, more intrahepatic tumors foci and distant bone metastases.