BACKGROUND:Relatively or absolutely active bone resorption function of osteoclasts is one of the causative factors of osteoporosis. Therefore,how to inhibit the formation of osteoclasts and reduce the bone resorption activity is a key element in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Liquiritin,which is derived from licorice,plays a role in the clinical treatment of bone diseases,but there are fewer studies addressing the application of liquiritin in osteoporosis and the mechanism is unknown.OBJECTIVE:To confirm,through both in vivo and in vitro experiments,that liquiritin inhibits osteoclast differentiation and alleviates bone loss.METHODS:Cell counting kit-8 was used to detect whether Liquiritin exerts toxic or proliferative effects on mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages,and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining was performed to observe the effect of liquiritin in inhibiting osteoclast differentiation. The affinity of liquiritin binding to proteins related to osteoclast differentiation was verified by network pharmacology. RT-PCR and western blot assays were performed to detect the inhibitory effects of liquiritin on osteoclast-specific protein and gene expression as well as relevant signaling pathways. Finally,the mitigating effect of liquiritin on bone loss was verified in the C57BL/6J mouse osteoporosis model.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Liquiritin,at concentrations of 20 μmol/L and below,could inhibit the formation and differentiation of osteoclasts. Concurrently,it exhibited a high affinity with osteoclast-specific proteins such as nuclear factor of activated T-cells 1,Cathepsin K,c-Fos,and matrix metalloproteinase 9,and reduced the relative expression levels of these genes and proteins. Liquiritin could also effectively lower the phosphorylation expression level of JNK in the MAPK signaling pathway at the 15th,30th,45th,and 60th minutes,and it could salvage the degradation of nuclear factor-κB inhibitor α in the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway at the 60th minute. In vivo experiments demonstrated that liquiritin could mitigate bone loss caused by osteoclasts and improve parameters related to trabecular bone. To conclude,liquiritin possesses the capacity to inhibit osteoclast differentiation and alleviate bone loss,thereby exerting a protective role against osteoporosis.

In order to meet the demand for high-quality medical professionals,it is an important goal of higher medical education to cultivate a compound medical professional degree postgraduate with both clinical and research capabilities.This study aims to investigate the current status of research ability training for medical postgraduate students in our university and analyze the main problems.Through designing and distributing questionnaires,feedback data from medical postgraduate students in our uni-versity were collected.The results show that some students lack research experience,have limited research output,and do not have the habit of independent literature reading.In response to the needs of training medical professional degree postgraduate students,this study proposes improvement suggestions.On one hand,optimizing the curriculum and using a closed-loop teaching mode with interactive discussions.On the other hand,strengthening mentor responsibilities and creating a good research atmos-phere.These measures can help improve the research ability of medical postgraduate students and better meet the demand for high-quality medical professionals.

In order to meet the demand for high-quality medical professionals,it is an important goal of higher medical education to cultivate a compound medical professional degree postgraduate with both clinical and research capabilities.This study aims to investigate the current status of research ability training for medical postgraduate students in our university and analyze the main problems.Through designing and distributing questionnaires,feedback data from medical postgraduate students in our uni-versity were collected.The results show that some students lack research experience,have limited research output,and do not have the habit of independent literature reading.In response to the needs of training medical professional degree postgraduate students,this study proposes improvement suggestions.On one hand,optimizing the curriculum and using a closed-loop teaching mode with interactive discussions.On the other hand,strengthening mentor responsibilities and creating a good research atmos-phere.These measures can help improve the research ability of medical postgraduate students and better meet the demand for high-quality medical professionals.

BACKGROUND:Relatively or absolutely active bone resorption function of osteoclasts is one of the causative factors of osteoporosis. Therefore,how to inhibit the formation of osteoclasts and reduce the bone resorption activity is a key element in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. Liquiritin,which is derived from licorice,plays a role in the clinical treatment of bone diseases,but there are fewer studies addressing the application of liquiritin in osteoporosis and the mechanism is unknown.OBJECTIVE:To confirm,through both in vivo and in vitro experiments,that liquiritin inhibits osteoclast differentiation and alleviates bone loss.METHODS:Cell counting kit-8 was used to detect whether Liquiritin exerts toxic or proliferative effects on mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages,and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase staining was performed to observe the effect of liquiritin in inhibiting osteoclast differentiation. The affinity of liquiritin binding to proteins related to osteoclast differentiation was verified by network pharmacology. RT-PCR and western blot assays were performed to detect the inhibitory effects of liquiritin on osteoclast-specific protein and gene expression as well as relevant signaling pathways. Finally,the mitigating effect of liquiritin on bone loss was verified in the C57BL/6J mouse osteoporosis model.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Liquiritin,at concentrations of 20 μmol/L and below,could inhibit the formation and differentiation of osteoclasts. Concurrently,it exhibited a high affinity with osteoclast-specific proteins such as nuclear factor of activated T-cells 1,Cathepsin K,c-Fos,and matrix metalloproteinase 9,and reduced the relative expression levels of these genes and proteins. Liquiritin could also effectively lower the phosphorylation expression level of JNK in the MAPK signaling pathway at the 15th,30th,45th,and 60th minutes,and it could salvage the degradation of nuclear factor-κB inhibitor α in the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway at the 60th minute. In vivo experiments demonstrated that liquiritin could mitigate bone loss caused by osteoclasts and improve parameters related to trabecular bone. To conclude,liquiritin possesses the capacity to inhibit osteoclast differentiation and alleviate bone loss,thereby exerting a protective role against osteoporosis.

Breast cancer is the malignant tumor with the highest incidence among women in China, and axillary lymph node metastasis is one of the main metastatic pathways of breast cancer. Early detection and accurate assessment of axillary lymph node metastasis has great significance in guiding treatment and judging prognosis. Currently, imaging techniques are widely used in the diagnosis of breast diseases. Ultrasound, as a commonly used clinical imaging method, has become the preferred method for breast cancer lymph node assessment because of its low price, simple operation and multiple testing. This article review the current status of research on the commonly used ultrasound assessment of axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer to provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective:To investigate the feasibility of sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients with positive axillary lymph nodes turned to clinical negative after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.Methods:Full-text journal databases such as PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Wanfang, VIP, and CNKI were searched to include research literature on sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer patients who had axillary lymph nodes turned negative after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The retrieval time was self-established to November 2020. Meta-analysis was performed on the literature that met the inclusion criteria. Heterogeneity among studies was analyzed by I2 test. If I2<30%, the heterogeneity among studies was considered to be small. If the value of I2 was between 30% and 70%, it was considered that there was a certain heterogeneity among the studies. If I2> 70%, it was considered that there was great heterogeneity among the studies. Small heterogeneity was analyzed by fixed effects model, otherwise, random effects model was used. Publication bias was evaluated by funnel plot and Egger′s test. Results:Finally, 14 literatures were included, including 4 Chinese literatures and 10 English literatures. The results of Meta-analysis showed that the sentinel lymph node detection rate was 90.7% and the false negative rate was 12.2%.Conclusions:In breast cancer patients with axillary lymph node turning negative, the detection rate of sentinel lymph node biopsy can meet the acceptable clinical standard for sentinel lymph node biopsy, but the false negative rate is still higher than the clinically acceptable standard. It is necessary to screen suitable patients and apply new techniques to reduce the false negative rate of sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIRFI) is a new noninvasive detection and diagnosis technology, with the continuous development of NIRFI technology, now widely used in the clinic, characterized by high sensitivity, high penetration, no harmful radiation and simple equipment operation. This article describes the recent applications of NIRFI in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and looks at future developments and perspectives in this field.

Objective:To explore the effects of external diaphragm electrical stimulation on the diaphragm thickness and function in mechanically ventilated children.Methods:A randomized controlled trial was conducted in children who were admitted to PICU at Children′s Hospital of Fudan University and received mechanical ventilation between June 2021 and April 2022.The control group was given the routine treatment of mechanical ventilation, and the intervention group was given external diaphragm electrical stimulation in the early stage of mechanical ventilation in addition to routine treatment.Diaphragm thickness was continuously measured by bedside ultrasound every day for one week after mechanical ventilation, and the changing trend of diaphragm thickness was observed, and the diaphragmatic thickening fraction (DTf) and the incidence of ventilator-induced diaphragmtic dysfunction(VIDD) were calculated at the same time.Results:A total of 32 valid samples were included, including 15 cases in intervention group (10 males) and 17 cases in control group (11 males). The median age of the patients was 33 (10, 77) months, and the median duration of mechanical ventilation was 12 (8, 21) days.The reasons for mechanical ventilation in children included respiratory insufficiency in ten cases, brain dysfunction in ten cases, heart failure in eight cases, and postoperative surgery in four cases.The diaphragm end-expiratory thickness (DTe) in intervention group and the control group showed a gradually decreasing trend from the 1st day to the 7th day.The left thickness was reduced by 11% on the 7th day compared to 1st day in intervention group, which was reduced by 18% in control group; the average daily DTe was reduced by 2% per day in intervention group and by 3% per day in control group.The trends on the right and left were similar.The DTe thickness in the intervention group was greater than that in control group, among which, the mean DTe thickness in the left side of the intervention group on the 7th day was (0.110 7±0.023 7)cm, which was greater than that in control group (0.093 5±0.016 9)cm, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=-2.372, P<0.05); On the second day, the mean DTe thickness on the right side in the intervention group was (0.1267±0.0277) cm, which was greater than that in control group (0.104 7±0.018 1)cm, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=-2.688, P<0.05). DTf in the intervention group was lower than that in control group at 7th day, but the difference was not statistically significant(left DTf: adjusted mean difference was -0.117, P=0.088; right DTf: adjusted mean difference was -0.065, P=0.277). The incidence of VIDD in the intervention group was lower than that in control group(33.3% vs.41.2%), but the difference was not statistically significant ( χ2=0.005, P=0.946). Conclusion:External diaphragmatic electrical stimulation may be helpful for alleviating diaphragmatic atrophy in mechanically ventilated children.However, whether the improvement of diaphragm atrophy is beneficial to clinical outcome still needs further study.

Objective:To evaluate the risk factors of clinical cure and biochemical recurrence (BCR) after radical prostatectomy (RP).Methods:The clinical data of 896 patients who underwent RP at Peking University First Hospital from April 2001 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Average age was (65.90±6.3) years, median preoperative prostate specific antigen (PSA) was 10.75 (0.36-264.20) ng/ml, median prostate volume was 40.0 (12.0-220.9) ml, median PSA density (PSAD) was 0.27 (0.02-3.42) ng/(ml·g). Clinical staging: 432 cases in T 1c stage, 333 cases in T 2a/bstage, 76 cases in T 2c stage, and 55 cases in ≥T 3 stage. Preoperative Gleason score of biopsy: 193 cases in 3+ 3, 315 cases in 3+ 4, 162 cases in 4+ 3, 226 cases in ≥8. The RP surgery was operated by open or laparoscopic or robot-assisted approach. Clinical cure and BCR were used as the end points for analysis. Clinical cure was defined as a decrease in serum PSA level below 0.03 ng/ml 6 weeks after surgery. BCR was defined as the 2 consecutive serum PSA >0.2ng/ml during the follow-up after RP. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the independent risk factors of clinical cure. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw the biochemical recurrence-free survival curve, the log-rank method was used for univariate analysis of BCR, and the Cox regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis. Results:All 896 patients were followed-up for 58 (5-241) months, 678 cases (75.7%) achieved clinical cure. Based on univariate analysis and multivariate analysis, among the preoperative indicators, whether the proportion of positive biopsy needles ≥33% ( P=0.007) and preoperative Gleason score of biopsy ( P=0.041) were independent risk factors of clinical cure. A total of 890 cases were included in the analysis of risk factors of BCR, of whom 172 cases (19.3%) had BCR. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year biochemical recurrence-free survival(BFS)rates were 98.1%, 83.1% and 68.4% respectively. The median BFS has not been reached, and the average BFS was 181 months (95% CI 172-189). The results of univariate and multivariate analysis showed that whether achieved clinical cure ( P=0.001) and postoperative pathological staging ( P<0.001) were independent risk factors of BCR. Conclusions:Whether the proportion of positive biopsy needles≥33% and preoperative Gleason score of biopsy were independent risk factors of clinical cure. Postoperative pathological staging and whether achieved clinical cure may be independent risk factors of BCR.

Two new SAM-dependent methyltransferase encoding genes (fvsmt1 and fvsmt2) were identified from the genome of Flammulina velutipes. In order to make a comprehensive characterization of both genes, we performed in silico analysis of both genes and used qRT-PCR to reveal their expression patterns during the development of F. velutipes. There are 4 and 6 exons with total length of 693 and 978 bp in fvsmt2 and fvsmt1, respectively. The deduced proteins, i.e., FVSMT1 and FVSMT2 contained 325 and 230 amino acids with molecular weight 36297 and 24894 Da, respectively. Both proteins contained a SAM-dependent catalytic domain with signature motifs (I, p-I, II, and III) defining the SAM fold. SAM-dependent catalytic domain is located either in the middle or at the N-terminal of FVSMT2 and FVSMT1, respectively. Alignment and phylogenic analysis showed that FVSMT1 is a homolog to a protein–arginine omega-N-methyltransferase, while FVSMT2 is of cinnamoyl CoA O-methyltransferase type and predicted subcellular locations of these proteins are mitochondria and cytoplasm, respectively. qRT-PCR showed that fvsmt1 and fvsmt2 expression was regulated in different developmental stages. The maximum expression levels of fvsmt1 and fvsmt2 were observed in stipe elongation, while no difference was found in mycelium and pileus. These results positively demonstrate that both the methyltransferase encoding genes are involved in the stipe elongation of F. velutipes.