OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the photothermal and antibacterial activities of polydopamine-modified phycocyanin nanoparticles (PDA@PC NPs) and their capacity for promoting wound healing. METHODS: PDA@PC NPs were synthesized from phycocyanin (C-PC) and dopamine hydrochloride using a one-pot method. The photothermal activity of the nanoparticles was assessed in vitro by 808 nm laser irradiation, their biocompatibility was evaluated using CCK-8 assay, and their photothermal antibacterial activity by plate colony counting. In adult male BALB/c mice, two symmetrical full-thickness skin wounds (1.0 cm ×1.0 cm) were created on both sides of the spine, and 200 μL of Staphylococcus aureus suspension was inoculated into the wounds. The mice were divided into control group, PDA@PC NPs group, and PDA@PC NPs with laser irradiation group, and wound healing rates and histomorphological changes in the wound tissues were evaluated on days 0, 7 and 14 after modeling. RESULTS: The synthesized PDA@PC NPs exhibited no obvious cytotoxicity up to a concentration of 500 μg/mL and showed strong photothermal and antibacterial activities in response to 808 nm laser irradiation. In the mouse models, the size of the infected skin wounds showed substantial reduction at 7 and 14 days in PDA@PC NPs group and PDA@PC NPs with laser irradiation group, and the mean wound healing rate was faster in the latter group. HE staining and Masson's trichrome staining revealed extensive granulation tissue formation and collagen deposition on the wound surfaces in both of the treatment groups, and these changes were more obvious in the PDA@PC NPs with laser irradiation group. CONCLUSIONS PDA@PC NPs possess excellent photothermal and antibacterial activities and can effectively promote wound healing in mice.
Animals ; Indoles/chemistry* ; Wound Healing/drug effects* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Male ; Nanoparticles ; Polymers/chemistry* ; Phycocyanin/chemistry* ; Skin/injuries* ; Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology*

Objective:To investigate the feasibility of thigh muscles segmentation in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) using the TransUNet deep learning model on MRI.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. From April 2023 to September 2024, the axial T 1WI imagings of 60 DMD patients, confirmed by genetic analysis at Northwest Women′s and Children′s Hospital, were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients were divided into a training set ( n=48) and a test set ( n=12) at a ratio of 8∶2 using random sampling. Fat infiltration scores were assigned to 11 thigh muscles, including the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis, sartorius, adductor longus, adductor magnus, gracilis, semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris long head. A total of 1 078 images were included (884 for training, 194 for testing).The 12 DMD patients in the test set were divided into groups G1 to G4, with 2, 4, 2, and 4 cases respectively, according to the total score of muscle fat infiltration from low to high. A TransUNet model was trained on the T 1WI to perform automatic segmentation of the 11 thigh muscles in both thighs. The segmentation performance of the TransUNet automatic segmentation model was evaluated using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), intersection over union (IoU), and average symmetric surface distance (ASSD), with the results of manual delineation by physicians as the gold standard. And one-way analysis of variance or the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare the segmentation effects of the automatic segmentation model on the thigh muscles of children among G1 to G4. Results:The mean processing time for the automatic segmentation of all 11 muscles in both thighs per patient was (8.3±1.5) s. The DSC, IoU and ASSD in training set and in test set were 0.971±0.011, 0.948±0.019, 0.69 (0.55, 0.96) and 0.944±0.021, 0.900±0.038, 0.58 (0.55, 0.91), respectively. In the training set, the semitendinosus muscle achieved the best segmentation results (DSC 0.99, IoU 0.97, ASSD 0.52). In the test set, the sartorius muscle showed the best segmentation performance (DSC 0.96, IoU 0.93, ASSD 0.50). There were no statistically significant differences in the overall DSC, IoU, or ASSD of the automatic segmentation model across groups G1 to G4 ( P>0.05). Conclusions:The TransUNet automatic segmentation model can rapidly and accurately segment the bilateral thigh muscles in patients with DMD, and the segmentation performance demonstrated consistent among patients with different degrees of muscle fat infiltration.

Objective:To identify the relevant factors for the first-course remission of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and to develop a predictive model as well as assess its predictive capability.Methods:Clinical data of 749 patients newly diagnosed with AML admitted to the Department of Hematology, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine from January 1, 2019, to April 30, 2023, were collected and randomly divided into training and validation sets. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine variables associated with complete remission in the first course of induction therapy, and a predictive model was established based on these variables. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the predictive model was plotted, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated.Results:The indicators predicting the first remission course included peripheral blood white blood cell count during onset, CBF::MYH11 fusion gene, CEBPA bZIP region mutation, myelodysplastic syndrome-related gene mutation, and induction chemotherapy regimen selection as independent factors for the first remission course. The model’s area under the training and validation curves was 0.738 (95% CI: 0.696-0.780) and 0.726 (95% CI: 0.650-0.801), respectively. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test results yielded P-values of 0.993 and 0.335, respectively. Conclusion:In this study, the developed model demonstrates a strong predictive capability for the efficacy of the first course of patients with AML, providing valuable guidance to clinicians in assessing patient prognosis and selecting appropriate treatment strategies.

Objective:To understand trends and hotspots of TCM research papers published in journals with high IF basing on a bibliometric analysis.Methods:TCM research papers published between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2024 from 80 journals with IF higher than 16.0 were retrieved from medical, life sciences and comprehensive journals in Journal Citation Reports of 2024. CiteSpace 6.3.R1 and Excel 2021 were used to analyze and visualize annual publication volume, research fields, features of clinical study, institutes, funds and keywords.Results:A total of 51 papers were included, showing an increasing trend in annual publication volume; the main research areas were pharmacology, acupuncture&moxibustion and internal medicine. Multi-center randomized controlled trials were the main clinical studies; China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences was the leading institute in terms of publication volume; 84 funds were involved, including National Natural Science Foundation of China. Keywords that appeared most frequently were TCM, efficacy, double blind, electroacupuncture, stimulation and management.Conclusion:The number and quality of TCM research papers are improved simultaneously; future research needs to deepen international cooperation, and pay attention to the integration of TCM diagnosis and treatment characteristics and modern scientific research methods.

Objectives:To investigate the prognostic value of the CHA2DS2-VASc and R2CHA2DS2-VASc scores in patients with atrial fibrillation(AF)and heart failure(HF).Methods:Patients with AF and HF from hospitals diagnosed by the Heart Failure Center in Guangdong Province between January 2017 and December 2021 were selected.Major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)were used as the follow-up endpoint.Statistical methods such as the area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve(AUC),net reclassification index(NRI),and integrated discrimination improvement(IDI)were applied to evaluate the predictive value of the CHA2DS2-VASc and R2CHA2DS2-VASc scores in patients with AF and HF.Results:A total of 1 839 patients were enrolled in this study,comprising 703 patients in the MACE group and 1 136 patients in the non-MACE group.Compared with the non-MACE group,the MACE group exhibited significantly advanced age,higher prevalence of New York Heart Association class Ⅳ and coronary artery disease,lower diastolic blood pressure and estimated glomerular filtration rate levels,and elevated serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concentrations(all P<0.05).Additionally,significantly lower proportions of patients in the MACE group received angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers/angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors,beta-blockers,mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists,or anticoagulant therapy(all P<0.05).Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that each 1-point increment in both CHA2DS2-VASc and R2CHA2DS2-VASc scores was associated with approximately 10%increased risk of MACE.ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the AUC values for predicting MACE in AF patients with HF were 0.555(95%CI:0.528-0.582,P<0.001)for CHA2DS2-VASc and 0.576(95%CI:0.549-0.608,P<0.001)for R2CHA2DS2-VASc,indicating marginally superior discriminatory capacity of the R2CHA2DS2-VASc score.Delong's test confirmed statistically significant differences between the two scoring systems(P=0.001).The R2CHA2DS2-VASc score demonstrated a NRI of 0.259(95%CI:0.166-0.352,P<0.001)and an IDI of 0.007(95%CI:0.005-0.010,P<0.001)compared with the conventional CHA2DS2-VASc score.Although the R2CHA2DS2-VASc score exhibited slightly better predictive accuracy and outcome discrimination capacity than the original scoring system,both scores demonstrated suboptimal clinical predictive performance.Conclusions:Both the R2CHA2DS2-VASc and CHA2DS2-VASc scores show suboptimal performance for predicting the risk of MACE in patients with AF and HF,and the predicting performance of R2CHA2DS2-VASc score is marginally superior to CHA2DS2-VASc score in this patient cohort.

In vaccination,traditional vaccines are administered intramuscularly or subcutaneously,mainly inducing humoral immunity,with weak induction of mucosal immunity and insufficient protection against respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses.Current research has found that immuni-zation vaccines can effectively induce mucosal immunity through oral or nasal administration,but there is a lack of effective mucosal adjuvants,and there is an urgent need for the development of safe and effective new mucosal adjuvants.With the advancement of nano-adjuvant research,novel nanoparticles have attracted widespread attention due to their good mucosal adhesion,efficient an-tigen-loading ability,biocompatibility,and advantages in immune-enhancement,nano-size effect,tissue-targeting,and slow release of antigens,etc.,and are expected to be used as novel mucosal ad-juvants in the prevention and treatment of animal diseases.To date,significant progress has been made in research targeting mucosal adjuvants such as polymeric nanoparticles,inorganic nanoparti-cles,and liposomes.This paper reviews the application of nanomucosal adjuvants in animal vaccines and their mechanisms of action at home and abroad,and analyzes the physicochemical factors af-fecting the immune-enhancing effect of nanoparticle adjuvants,with a view to providing a reference for the development of novel mucosal adjuvants.

BACKGROUND:Research has shown that endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced autophagy of neurons in the ischemic penumbra is a key link in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.Autophagy mediated by the dissociation and activation of endoplasmic reticulum transmembrane proteins PERK,IRE1 α,ATF6,and GRP78/BIP plays an important role in neuronal outcomes.Traditional Chinese medicine can regulate endoplasmic reticulum stress-autophagy,reduce neuronal damage or death,and exert neuroprotective effects.OBJECTIVE:To explore the role of endoplasmic reticulum stress-autophagy in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and the research progress in the regulatory mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine.METHODS:A literature retrieval was conducted in CNKI and PubMed for relevant literature related to endoplasmic reticulum stress,autophagy,cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury,and regulation by traditional Chinese Medicine published from January 2015 to May 2024.The search terms were"cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury,ischemic stroke,brain injury,endoplasmic reticulum stress,autophagy,traditional Chinese medicine,compounds,signaling pathways,saponins,polyphenols,alkaloids"in Chinese and English,respectively.Any literature that is inconsistent with the research content,outdated,or duplicated was excluded.A total of 1197 relevant literature were retrieved,and 71 articles were ultimately included.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Numerous studies have suggested that endoplasmic reticulum stress-autophagy is closely related with cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury.(2)The active ingredients and compound formulas of traditional Chinese medicine monomers can regulate the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress-autophagy related proteins,alleviate neuronal damage,and exert neuroprotective effects by regulating signal pathways such as PERK-eIF2α-ATF4,IRE1α-ASK1-JNK,and IRE1α-XBP.

Objectives:To investigate the prognostic value of the CHA2DS2-VASc and R2CHA2DS2-VASc scores in patients with atrial fibrillation(AF)and heart failure(HF).Methods:Patients with AF and HF from hospitals diagnosed by the Heart Failure Center in Guangdong Province between January 2017 and December 2021 were selected.Major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)were used as the follow-up endpoint.Statistical methods such as the area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve(AUC),net reclassification index(NRI),and integrated discrimination improvement(IDI)were applied to evaluate the predictive value of the CHA2DS2-VASc and R2CHA2DS2-VASc scores in patients with AF and HF.Results:A total of 1 839 patients were enrolled in this study,comprising 703 patients in the MACE group and 1 136 patients in the non-MACE group.Compared with the non-MACE group,the MACE group exhibited significantly advanced age,higher prevalence of New York Heart Association class Ⅳ and coronary artery disease,lower diastolic blood pressure and estimated glomerular filtration rate levels,and elevated serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide concentrations(all P<0.05).Additionally,significantly lower proportions of patients in the MACE group received angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers/angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors,beta-blockers,mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists,or anticoagulant therapy(all P<0.05).Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that each 1-point increment in both CHA2DS2-VASc and R2CHA2DS2-VASc scores was associated with approximately 10%increased risk of MACE.ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the AUC values for predicting MACE in AF patients with HF were 0.555(95%CI:0.528-0.582,P<0.001)for CHA2DS2-VASc and 0.576(95%CI:0.549-0.608,P<0.001)for R2CHA2DS2-VASc,indicating marginally superior discriminatory capacity of the R2CHA2DS2-VASc score.Delong's test confirmed statistically significant differences between the two scoring systems(P=0.001).The R2CHA2DS2-VASc score demonstrated a NRI of 0.259(95%CI:0.166-0.352,P<0.001)and an IDI of 0.007(95%CI:0.005-0.010,P<0.001)compared with the conventional CHA2DS2-VASc score.Although the R2CHA2DS2-VASc score exhibited slightly better predictive accuracy and outcome discrimination capacity than the original scoring system,both scores demonstrated suboptimal clinical predictive performance.Conclusions:Both the R2CHA2DS2-VASc and CHA2DS2-VASc scores show suboptimal performance for predicting the risk of MACE in patients with AF and HF,and the predicting performance of R2CHA2DS2-VASc score is marginally superior to CHA2DS2-VASc score in this patient cohort.

In vaccination,traditional vaccines are administered intramuscularly or subcutaneously,mainly inducing humoral immunity,with weak induction of mucosal immunity and insufficient protection against respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses.Current research has found that immuni-zation vaccines can effectively induce mucosal immunity through oral or nasal administration,but there is a lack of effective mucosal adjuvants,and there is an urgent need for the development of safe and effective new mucosal adjuvants.With the advancement of nano-adjuvant research,novel nanoparticles have attracted widespread attention due to their good mucosal adhesion,efficient an-tigen-loading ability,biocompatibility,and advantages in immune-enhancement,nano-size effect,tissue-targeting,and slow release of antigens,etc.,and are expected to be used as novel mucosal ad-juvants in the prevention and treatment of animal diseases.To date,significant progress has been made in research targeting mucosal adjuvants such as polymeric nanoparticles,inorganic nanoparti-cles,and liposomes.This paper reviews the application of nanomucosal adjuvants in animal vaccines and their mechanisms of action at home and abroad,and analyzes the physicochemical factors af-fecting the immune-enhancing effect of nanoparticle adjuvants,with a view to providing a reference for the development of novel mucosal adjuvants.

Objective:To investigate the feasibility of thigh muscles segmentation in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) using the TransUNet deep learning model on MRI.Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. From April 2023 to September 2024, the axial T 1WI imagings of 60 DMD patients, confirmed by genetic analysis at Northwest Women′s and Children′s Hospital, were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients were divided into a training set ( n=48) and a test set ( n=12) at a ratio of 8∶2 using random sampling. Fat infiltration scores were assigned to 11 thigh muscles, including the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, vastus medialis, sartorius, adductor longus, adductor magnus, gracilis, semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris long head. A total of 1 078 images were included (884 for training, 194 for testing).The 12 DMD patients in the test set were divided into groups G1 to G4, with 2, 4, 2, and 4 cases respectively, according to the total score of muscle fat infiltration from low to high. A TransUNet model was trained on the T 1WI to perform automatic segmentation of the 11 thigh muscles in both thighs. The segmentation performance of the TransUNet automatic segmentation model was evaluated using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), intersection over union (IoU), and average symmetric surface distance (ASSD), with the results of manual delineation by physicians as the gold standard. And one-way analysis of variance or the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to compare the segmentation effects of the automatic segmentation model on the thigh muscles of children among G1 to G4. Results:The mean processing time for the automatic segmentation of all 11 muscles in both thighs per patient was (8.3±1.5) s. The DSC, IoU and ASSD in training set and in test set were 0.971±0.011, 0.948±0.019, 0.69 (0.55, 0.96) and 0.944±0.021, 0.900±0.038, 0.58 (0.55, 0.91), respectively. In the training set, the semitendinosus muscle achieved the best segmentation results (DSC 0.99, IoU 0.97, ASSD 0.52). In the test set, the sartorius muscle showed the best segmentation performance (DSC 0.96, IoU 0.93, ASSD 0.50). There were no statistically significant differences in the overall DSC, IoU, or ASSD of the automatic segmentation model across groups G1 to G4 ( P>0.05). Conclusions:The TransUNet automatic segmentation model can rapidly and accurately segment the bilateral thigh muscles in patients with DMD, and the segmentation performance demonstrated consistent among patients with different degrees of muscle fat infiltration.