Objective To investigate the predictive value of the preoperative fasting Triglyceride-Glucose index(TyG)for contralateral new silence ischemic brain lesions(CNSIBL)following carotid artery stenting(CAS).Methods A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 183 patients who underwent carotid CAS.The patients were divided into a CNSIBL group(50 cases)and a non-CNSIBL group(133 cases)based on the occurrence of CNSIBL.Baseline data,laboratory tests,and imaging indicators were collected,and TyG was calculated.Using the occurrence of CNSIBL as the dependent variable,multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed with TyG as the independent variable after controlling for confounding factors,and the predictive value of TyG for CNSIBL post-CAS was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves.Results(1)The number of patients with a history of diabetes mellitus,as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure on admission in CNSIBL group were statistically significantly higher than that in non-CNSIBL group(P<0.05).(2)Triglyceride(TC)levels were higher in the CNSIBL group compared to the non-CNSIBL group(P<0.05);TyG was also higher in the CNSIBL group than in the non-CNSIBL group(P<0.05);(3)Multivariate Logistic regression analysis results showed that TyG[a OR=1.125,95%CI(1.042-1.214),P<0.001]was an independent risk factor for contralateral new silent ischemic brain lesions after carotid artery stenting;(4)The ROC curve suggested that the AUC for TyG predicting contralateral new silent ischemic brain lesions post-CAS was 0.77[95%CI(0.71-0.84),P<0.001],with a cut-off value of 1.93,sensitivity of 86.0%,and specificity of 63.9%.Conclusion TyG is an independent influencing factor for contralateral new silent ischemic brain lesions following carotid artery stenting.

N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) modification plays a critical role in cell cycle regulation, while the mechanism of m⁶A in regulating mitosis remains underexplored. Here, we found that the total m⁶A modification level in cells increased during mitosis by the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry and m⁶A dot blot assays. Silencing methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) or METTL14 results in delayed mitosis, abnormal spindle assembly, and chromosome segregation defects by the immunofluorescence. By analyzing transcriptome-wide m⁶A targets in HeLa cells, we identified polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) as a key gene modified by m⁶A in regulating mitosis. Specifically, through immunoblotting and RNA pulldown, m⁶A modification inhibits PLK1 translation via YTH N⁶-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 1, thus mediating cell cycle homeostasis. Demethylation of PLK1 mRNA leads to significant mitotic abnormalities. These findings highlight the critical role of m⁶A in regulating mitosis and the potential of m⁶A as a therapeutic target in proliferative diseases such as cancer.
Humans ; Polo-Like Kinase 1 ; Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins/metabolism* ; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism* ; Mitosis/physiology* ; HeLa Cells ; Adenosine/genetics* ; Methyltransferases/metabolism* ; RNA, Messenger/metabolism* ; RNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: We propose a sparse-view cone-beam CT reconstruction algorithm based on bidirectional flow field guided projection completion (BBC-Recon) to solve the ill-posed inverse problem in sparse-view cone-beam CT imaging. METHODS: The BBC-Recon method consists of two main modules: the projection completion module and the image restoration module. Based on flow field estimation, the projection completion module, through the designed bidirectional and multi-scale correlators, fully calculates the correlation information and redundant information among projections to precisely guide the generation of bidirectional flow fields and missing frames, thus achieving high-precision completion of missing projections and obtaining pseudo complete projections. The image restoration module reconstructs the obtained pseudo complete projections and then refines the image to remove the residual artifacts and further improve the image quality. RESULTS: The experimental results on the public datasets of Mayo Clinic and Guilin Medical University showed that in the case of a 4-fold sparse angle, compared with the suboptimal method, the BBC-Recon method increased the PSNR index by 1.80% and the SSIM index by 0.29%, and reduced the RMSE index by 4.12%; In the case of an 8-fold sparse angle, the BBC-Recon method increased the PSNR index by 1.43% and the SSIM index by 1.49%, and reduced the RMSE index by 0.77%. CONCLUSIONS The BBC-Recon algorithm fully exploits the correlation information between projections to allow effective removal of streak artifacts while preserving image structure information, and demonstrates significant advantages in maintaining inter-slice consistency.
Algorithms ; Cone-Beam Computed Tomography/methods* ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Humans

OBJECTIVES: We propose a segmented backprojection tensor degradation feature encoding (SBP-MAC) model for motion artifact correction in dental cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) to improve the quality of the reconstructed images. METHODS: The proposed motion artifact correction model consists of a generator and a degradation encoder. The segmented limited-angle reconstructed sub-images are stacked into the tensors and used as the model input. A degradation encoder is used to extract spatially varying motion information in the tensor, and the generator's skip connection features are adaptively modulated to guide the model for correcting artifacts caused by different motion waveforms. The artifact consistency loss function was designed to simplify the learning task of the generator. RESULTS: The proposed model could effectively remove motion artifacts and improve the quality of the reconstructed images. For simulated data, the proposed model increased the peak signal-to-noise ratio by 8.28%, increased the structural similarity index measurement by 2.29%, and decreased the root mean square error by 23.84%. For real clinical data, the proposed model achieved the highest expert score of 4.4221 (against a 5-point scale), which was significantly higher than those of all the other comparison methods. CONCLUSIONS The SBP-MAC model can effectively extract spatially varying motion information in the tensors and achieve adaptive artifact correction from the tensor domain to the image domain to improve the quality of reconstructed dental CBCT images.
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography/methods* ; Artifacts ; Humans ; Motion ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Signal-To-Noise Ratio ; Algorithms

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the role and mechanism of microRNA-145-5p (miR-145-5p) in hypoxia-induced pyroptosis of human alveolar epithelial cells. METHODS: In vitro, human alveolar epithelial cell line BEAS-2B was cultured. Cells in the logarithmic growth phase were cultured to 80% confluence and then used for the experiment. (1) BEAS-2B cells were cultured under 1% O₂ hypoxic condition, with a normoxic control group. Western blotting was employed to detect the expressions of pyroptosis marker proteins [NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), Gasdermin D N-terminal domain (GSDMD-N), and caspase-1] in cells cultured for 24 hours. Real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of miR-145-5p in cells cultured for 6 hours and 12 hours. (2) Cells were transfected with 30 nmol/L miR-145-5p mimic to overexpress miR-145-5p expression under normoxic condition or 30 nmol/L miR-145-5p inhibitor to suppress miR-145-5p expression under hypoxic condition. Control group and negative control group were respectively set up. After 24 hours of cell culture, Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of pyroptosis marker proteins and nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in cells. Flow cytometry was applied to detect the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells. The target genes of miR-145-5p were predicted by miR target gene prediction software miRWalk and verified by Western blotting. (3) Under hypoxic condition, cells were transfected with 6.94 ng/μL silent information regulator 5 (Sirt5) overexpression plasmid or pretreated with 12.5 mmol/L N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) as an ROS inhibitor. The empty plasmid group and control group were set up. After 24 hours of cell culture, Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of Sirt5, Nrf2, and pyroptosis marker proteins in cells. Flow cytometry was used to detect the level of ROS in cells. RESULTS: (1) Compared with the normoxic control group, the expression levels of pyroptosis marker proteins in the 24-hour hypoxia group was significantly increased, indicating that hypoxia could induce pyroptosis in BEAS-2B cells. The expression level of miR-145-5p in cells gradually increased with the extension of hypoxia induction time, indicating that hypoxia could cause the increase of miR-145-5p expression level. (2) The expression levels of pyroptosis marker proteins in cells of miR-145-5p mimic group significantly increased under normoxic condition as compared with the control and negative control groups [NLRP3 protein (NLRP3/β-actin): 1.58±0.07 vs. 1.00±0.01, 0.98±0.07, GSDMD-N protein (GSDMD-N/β-actin): 1.71±0.03 vs. 1.01±0.01, 0.85±0.03, caspase-1 protein (caspase-1/β-actin): 2.33±0.04 vs. 1.01±0.01, 1.05±0.04, all P < 0.05], Nrf2 protein expression level was significantly decreased (Nrf2/β-actin: 0.79±0.03 vs. 1.00±0.01, 1.03±0.04, both P < 0.05), ROS level was significantly up-regulated (fluorescence intensity: 1.74±0.03 vs. 1.00±0.01, 0.92±0.03, both P < 0.05). Under hypoxia condition, compared with control group and negative control group, the expression levels of pyroptosis marker proteins in miR-145-5p inhibitor group were significantly decreased [NLRP3 protein (NLRP3/β-actin): 0.21±0.04 vs. 1.70±0.02, 1.63±0.04; GSDMD-N protein (GSDMD-N/β-actin): 1.32±0.02 vs. 2.51±0.02, 2.72±0.03; caspase-1 protein (caspase-1/β-actin): 0.56±0.01 vs. 2.77±0.02, 3.12±0.03; all P < 0.05], Nrf2 protein expression level was significantly increased (Nrf2/β-actin: 1.57±0.04 vs. 1.22±0.01, 1.28±0.04, both P < 0.05), ROS level was significantly down-regulated (fluorescence intensity: 0.64±0.05 vs. 1.87±0.04, 1.70±0.07, both P < 0.05). The results indicated that miR-145-5p could promote cell pyrodeath. The predictive result of miRWalk showed that the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of Sirt5 had complementary base binding sites with miR-145-5p. The expression level of Sirt5 protein in cells of miR-145-5p mimic group was significantly lower than that of control group and negative control group under normoxic condition (Sirt5/β-actin: 0.59±0.03 vs. 1.00±0.01, 1.01±0.03, both P < 0.05), which verified that Sirt5 was the target gene of miR-145-5p. (3) The occurrence of pyrodeath could be partially reversed by transfection with Sirt5 overexpression plasmid or adding ROS inhibitor NAC into cells, and Sirt5 overexpression could also up-regulate Nrf2 expression and eliminate intracellular ROS. CONCLUSION In human alveolar epithelial cells, miR-145-5p can down-regulate Nrf2 by targeting Sirt5, thereby increasing ROS expression and inducing pyrodeath.
Humans ; MicroRNAs ; Pyroptosis ; Cell Hypoxia ; Alveolar Epithelial Cells/cytology* ; Cell Line ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein ; Caspase 1/metabolism* ; Epithelial Cells/metabolism* ; Gasdermins ; Phosphate-Binding Proteins

Objective To develop a neural network-based deep learning model for predicting postoperative recurrence in thyroid tumor patients and validate the model with external datasets for providing clinicians with a reliable decision support tool.Methods An artificial neural network structure was adopted in the study,with thyroid tumor data from the SEER database serving as the training set.External validation was conducted with open-source data from the University of California,Irvine(UCIrvine),and the data from 100 patients at a general tertiary hospital in Hunan province.The model's accuracy and reliability in predicting recurrence were evaluated through multiple performance metrics.Results Experimental results showed that the model outperformed Logistic model in recurrence prediction,with accuracy,recall rate,precision and F1 score reaching 0.915 3,0.981 8,0.921 1 and 0.947 4 in internal validation.Moreover,the model achieved accuracies,recall rates,precisions,F1 scores and ROC_AUC values of 0.832 9,0.945 5,0.841 4,0.890 4 and 0.78 on the UCIrvine validation set,while 0.870 0,0.880 0,0.862 7,0.871 3 and 0.80 on the local validation set.Conclusion This neural network-based predictive model exhibits excellent performance in thyroid tumor recurrence prediction,providing clinicians with a valuable decision support tool that can help optimize postoperative treatment plans and improve patient prognosis management.

Objective To study carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales(CRE)infection in the neurosurgical inten-sive care unit(NS-ICU)under the combination of active screening using anal swabs and bundled intervention mea-sures in environment with high prevalence of CRE infection,and provide scientific basis for healthcare-associated in-fection(HAI)prevention and control.Methods Inpatients in NS-ICU from 2020 to 2021 were selected as the con-trol group,and didn't undergo active anal swab screening.NS-ICU inpatients from 2022 to 2023 were taken as the trial group,and implemented intervention of active anal swab screening.Isolation measures for CRE positive cases in two groups were implemented,and the incidence of CRE HAI between two groups of patients were compared.Results 645 patients were actively screened for CRE,with a total of 912 screenings.The overall screening positive rate was 9.21％,and the rectal CRE colonization rate in NS-ICU patients was 13.02％(84/645),out of which Klebsiella pneumoniae accounted for 92.86％(n=78 strains).The positive screening rates in patients in the trial group within 48 hours after admission as well as on day 3-7,day 8-15,and 16-30 were 3.30％,4.94％,13.68％,and 18.85％,respectively.With prolonged hospitalization time,the positive rate of CRE anal swab screening gradually increased.During the study period,the overall CRE HAI rate was 6.24％(72/1 153).After implementing active screening intervention,the CRE HAI rate in the trial group was lower than that in the control group(3.57％[23/645]vs 9.65％[49/508],P＜0.001).Conclusion In hospital environment with high CRE prevalence,implementing active screening and bundled intervention measures can effectively identify CRE carriers and reduce the risk of infection caused by intestinal colonization.

Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of perioperative chemotherapy regimens based on docetaxel administered in different cycles for locally advanced gastric cancer(LAGC)and gastroesophageal junction cancer(GEJC)through a network Meta-analysis.Methods PubMed,Embase,Cochrane Library,and Web of Science databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials(RCTs)evaluating docetaxel-based perioperative regimens for the treatment of LAGC and GEJC from inception to February 28,2025.Two researchers independently screened the literature,extracted relevant data,and assessed the risk of bias in the included studies.Subsequently,a network Meta-analysis was performed using R 4.5.0 software.Results A total of 10 RCTs involving 2,064 patients were included.The results of the network Meta-analysis showed that,compared with three cycles of epirubicin,cyclophosphamide,and fluorouracil(ECF regimen)and four cycles of platinum and fluorouracil(PF regimen),both three-cycle and four-cycle docetaxel,platinum,and fluorouracil(TPF regimen)significantly increased the complete tumor resection rate(R0 resection rate).Compared with surgery alone,the three-cycle TPF regimen significantly improved the R0 resection rate.Additionally,the four-cycle TPF regimen significantly improved 3-year and 5-year progression-free survival(PFS)compared with the two-cycle PF regimen,and significantly improved overall survival(OS)at 3 and 5 years compared with the three-cycle ECF regimen.Compared with surgery alone,the three-cycle TPF regimen also significantly increased the pathological complete response rate(pCR rate).Furthermore,compared with the two-cycle TPF and three-cycle ECF regimens,the four-cycle TPF and PF regimens were associated with a lower risk of surgical complications.Conversely,the two-cycle TPF and three-cycle ECF regimens significantly increased the risk of surgical complications compared with surgery alone.No statistically significant differences were observed in the incidence of grade 3 to 4 adverse events among the treatment regimens(P＞0.05).Based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve(SUCRA)plot and pairwise comparisons,the three-cycle PF regimen appeared to be the most effective in achieving the highest R0 resection rate,the three-cycle TPF regimen appeared to be the most effective in achieving the highest pCR rate,while the four-cycle TPF regimen was associated with the best outcomes in terms of 3-year and 5-year PFS and OS.Conclusion The four-cycle TPF regimen may be associated with the optimal PFS and OS among perioperative chemotherapy regimens.No statistically significant differences were observed between the four-cycle TPF and the three-cycle PF in terms of R0 resection rate,between the four-cycle TPF and the three-cycle TPF in terms of pCR rate,or between the four-cycle TPF and the other seven regimens included in the study in terms of safety assessment.The four-cycle TPF regimen may represent the optimal perioperative chemotherapy regimen for patients with LAGC and GEJC.

Objective To investigate the short-term efficacy of the retrograde semi-retrieval technique(RESET)in the treatment of patients with acute intracranial large vessel occlusion.Methods This retrospective study involved 286 patients with acute intracranial large vessel occlusion who underwent mechanical thrombectomy using RESET at Tianjin Huanhu Hospital from November 2017 to March 2019.The patients were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis(ICAS):ICAS group(n=186,65％)and non-ICAS group(n=100,35％).Baseline characteristics,procedural outcomes,and 90-day modified Rankin Scale(mRS)scores were compared between the two groups.Results The two groups did not significantly differ in baseline characteristics,including age,gender,past medical history,on-admission National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS)score,and Alberta Stroke Program Early CT(ASPECT)score(all P＞0.05).Successful vascular recanalization was achieved in 272 patients(95.1％),with 209 patients(73.1％)achieving complete recanalization with a single thrombectomy attempt.Rescue therapy was required in 33 patients(11.5％).Two patients in the ICAS group died due to postoperative symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage,and one patient in the non-ICAS group died due to postoperative multiple organ failure.Compared with the non-ICAS group,the ICAS group had a significantly longer puncture-to-recanalization time[141.36(124.11,156.53)min vs.65.17(53.92,83.25)min,P＜0.001]but a significantly smaller number of thrombectomy attempts[1.00(1.00,1.00)vs.1.00(1.00,2.00),P=0.002].However,there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of final recanalization rate,complete recanalization rate with a single thrombectomy attempt,distal embolism or embolization of new territory,symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage,perioperative death,or 90-day mRS score(all P＞0.05).Conclusion RESET demonstrates satisfactory short-term efficacy in the treatment of acute intracranial large vessel occlusion.The number of thrombectomy attempts required for complete recanalization is significantly lower in the ICAS group than in the non-ICAS group,suggesting that RESET is particularly suitable for patients with ICAS.

Objective:To explore the changes in carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA)during the immune process of programmed death-1(PD-1)inhibitor Sintilimab in human epithelial growth factor receptor 2(HER2)negative advanced gastric cancer patients and its relationship with prognosis.Methods:HER2 negative late stage gastric cancer patients(88 cases)who were treated in North Anhui Coal Power Group General Hospital from May 2020 to April 2022 were selected as study subjects,all of whom received PD-1 inhibitor Sintilimab treatment;according to the prognosis,they were divided into death group(36 cases)and survival group(52 cases).Followed up was conducted every 6 months to collect tumor marker levels before and after treatment.Analyzed relationship between tumor markers(CEA,CA199,CA125)levels and clinical staging,lymph node metastasis and prognosis.Kaplan-Meier sur-vival curve was used to analyze survival time of patients with negative and positive tumor markers.Multivariate Cox regression model and stepwise regression analysis were used to identify risk factors affecting prognosis.Spearman was used for correlation analysis.Results:After two cycles of treatment,72 cases(81.82%)had disease control and 16 cases(18.18%)had progression.Compared with patients before treatment,positive rate of serum tumor markers in patients after treatment was significantly reduced(P<0.05).Positive rates of CEA and CA199 were significantly correlated with clinical staging(P<0.05).When predicting patient death,sensitivity of CEA level was the highest(48.57%),while CA125 had the highest specificity(95.62%)and the lowest sensitivity(25.71%).Kaplan-Meier sur-vival curve analysis showed that the survival time of patients with positive tumor markers were significantly shorter than that of negative patients(P<0.05).Clinical staging,serum CEA and CA199 levels were independent factors for predicting prognosis(P<0.05).Spear-man correlation analysis results showed that the multiple increases in CEA(r=-0.512,P=0.005)and CA199(r=-0.467,P=0.011)were negatively correlated with patient survival time.Conclusion:After treatment with PD-1 inhibitor Sintilimab,serum tumor markers levels in HER2 negative advanced gastric cancer patients have been significantly reduced on average.High serum levels of CEA,CA199 and CA125 can all predict poor prognosis,and clinical staging,serum CEA and CA199 levels are independent factors in pre-dicting prognosis.The higher the increase in CEA and CA199,the shorter the patient's survival time.