Objective: To translate the Menopause Perception Scale (MPS) into Chinese, and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the MPS. Methods: The MPS was translated back-translated, culturally adapted and pre-tested according to the Brislin translation model to develop the Chinese version of MPS. The menopausal women from five communities were selected using simple random sampling to assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of MPS. Content validity was evaluated based on expert ratings, criterion-related validity was evaluated using the Chinese version of the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) as the criterion. Structural validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's α, and split-half reliability and test-retest reliability were calculated. Results: Totally 430 questionnaires were allocated, and 414 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 96.28%. The Chinese version of the MPS consisted of 18 items across four dimensions: acceptance, sexual perception, normalization, and support perception. The item-level content validity index ranged from 0.833 to 1.000, and the scale-level content validity index average was 0.924. The correlation coefficients between the scores of each dimension and the total scores of the Chinese version of the MPS and the Chinese version of the MRS ranged from 0.529 to 0.790 (all P<0.05). Exploratory factor analysis extracted four common factors, with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 64.502%. Confirmatory factor analysis showed good model fit, with a root mean square error of approximation of 0.052, root mean square residual of 0.053, comparative fit index of 0.958, Tucker-Lewis index of 0.950, goodness of fit index of 0.908, incremental fit index of 0.958, and relative fit index of 0.884. The Cronbach's α of the Chinese version of the MPS was 0.916, the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.845, and the test-retest reliability was 0.906. Conclusion The Chinese version of the MPS demonstrates good reliability and validity, and can be used to assess the perceptions and attitudes of menopausal women in China toward menopause.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the first cohort of people in China treated with a responsive neurostimulation system (Epilcure TM , GenLight MedTech, Hangzhou, China) for focal drug-resistant epilepsy in this study. METHODS: This multicenter, before-and-after self-controlled study was conducted across 8 centers from March 2022 to June 2023, involving patients with drug-resistant epilepsy who were undergoing responsive neurostimulation (RNS). The study was based on an ongoing multi-center, single-blind, randomized controlled study. Efficacy was assessed through metrics including median seizure count, seizure frequency reduction (SFR), and response rate. Multivariable linear regression analysis was conducted to explore the relationships of basic clinical factors and intracranial electrophysiological characteristics with SFR. The postoperative quality of life, cognitive function, depression, and anxiety were evaluated as well. RESULTS: The follow-up period for the 19 participants was 10.7 ± 3.4 months. Seizure counts decreased significantly 6 months after device activation, with median SFR of 48% at the 6th month (M6) and 58% at M12 ( P  <0.05). The average response rate after 13 months of treatment was 42%, with 21% ( n  = 4) of the participants achieving seizure freedom. Patients who have previously undergone resective surgery appear to achieve better therapeutic outcomes at M11, M12 and M13 ( β  <0, P  <0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed in patients' scores of quality of life, cognition, depression and anxiety following stimulation when compared to baseline measurements. No serious adverse events related to the devices were observed. CONCLUSIONS: The preliminary findings suggest that Epilcure TM exhibits promising therapeutic potential in reducing the frequency of epileptic seizures. However, to further validate its efficacy, larger-scale randomized controlled trials are required. REGISTRATION Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (No. ChiCTR2200055247).
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Drug Resistant Epilepsy/therapy* ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Middle Aged ; China ; Adolescent ; Treatment Outcome ; Quality of Life ; Single-Blind Method ; Seizures ; Electric Stimulation Therapy/methods*

Objective: To investigate the antidepressant effects of Yuanzhi (Polygalae Radix, PR) aqueous extract on chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression rat models and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: A total of 40 male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into control, model, low dose of PR (PR-L, 0.5 g/kg), high dose of PR (PR-H, 1 g/kg), and fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) groups, with 8 rats in each group. Except for the rats in control group, those in the other four groups underwent CUMS-induced depression modeling. PR and fluoxetine were administered intragastrically once daily, 30 min prior to the CUMS procedure, for 14 consecutive days until the behavioral tests were performed. After CUMS modeling, the sucrose preference test (SPT), open field test (OFT), novelty-suppressed feeding test (NSFT), forced swim test (FST), and tail suspension test (TST) were employed to assess the pharmacological effects of PR on the mitigation of depressive-like behaviors in rat models. Additionally, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was utilized to quantify the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β in the rats. Western blot analysis was also conducted to evaluate the protein expression levels of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing caspase recruitment domain (ASC), and caspase-1 in the hippocampal tissues of the rats. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to observe the morphological changes in ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1positive (Iba-1+) cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) of rats with CUMS-induced depression. Result: (i) Treatment with PR-H and fluoxetine resulted in significant enhancements in both the total distance and time the rats moved during tests (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Post-administration of PR-H and fluoxetine also led to statistically significant increase in sucrose preference among rats (P < 0.05). Besides, PR-L, PR-H, and fluoxetine treatment markedly decreased the latency of ingestion (P < 0.05, P < 0.05, and P < 0.01, respectively). As observed from the FST, PR-L, PR-H, and fluoxetine presented antidepressant effects on rats with CUMS-induced depression, leading to the reduction in time of their immobility (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, and P < 0.01, respectively). The results of TST indicated reduced immobility time in rats receiving PR-H and fluoxetine treatment as well (P < 0.01). (ii) Rats in model group showed an increase in the levels of Iba-1+ microglia in their left and right brains in comparison with control group (P < 0.01). However, such increase was negated post PR treatment (P < 0.01). Treatment with PR-L, PR-H, and fluoxetine considerably reduced the levels of inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, P < 0.01). In addition, treatment of PR-L and PR-H effectively counteracted the elevated levels of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1, and markedly down-regulated the expression levels of phosphorylated p65 (p-p65), COX-2, and iNOS in rats’ hippocampus (P < 0.01). Conclusion Collectively, these findings indicate that PR exerts an antidepressant effect on rats with CUMS-induced depression partially through the modulation of the NLRP3 and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of cervical cell DNA ploidy analysis combined with negative costimulatory molecule B7 homolog 4 (B7-H4) and protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ) for cervical cancer.Methods:A total of 160 cervical cancer patients diagnosed and treated at Shijiazhuang People's Hospital from January 2018 to January 2022 were selected as the cervical cancer group. Meantime, 160 women who were screened for cervical cancer in our hospital during this period were selected as the control group. According to the examination results, they were divided into normal or inflammatory group ( n=52), low-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) group ( n=68) and high-grade CIN group ( n=40). The automatic cell image analysis system was used to analyze the DNA ploidy of cervical cells. The levels of B7-H4 and PKCδ in serum were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Pearson method was used to analyze the correlation between serum B7-H4 and PKCδ; the diagnostic value of cervical cell DNA ploidy analysis combined with serum B7-H4 and PKCδ in cervical cancer was evaluated by the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve; multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of cervical cancer. Results:The numbers of DNA ploidy positive cases of cervical cells in normal or inflammatory group, low-grade CIN group, high-grade CIN group and cervical cancer group were 16 (30.8%), 27 (39.7%), 26 (65.0%) and 127 (79.4%), respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( H=55.86, P<0.001). Further pin-by-pair comparison showed that compared with normal or inflammatory groups, the proportion of DNA ploidy positive in high-grade CIN group and cervical cancer group were higher (both P<0.05). The proportion of DNA ploidy positive in cervical cancer group was higher than that in low-grade CIN group ( P<0.05). Serum B7-H4 levels in normal or inflammatory group, low-grade CIN group, high-grade CIN group and cervical cancer group were (57.21±10.21), (79.17±11.34), (92.73±15.36), (126.56±20.25) ng/ml, respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=285.45, P<0.001). Serum PKCδ levels were (89.34±18.29), (71.79±15.82), (53.39±11.84), (40.23±10.21) ng/ml, respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=216.28, P<0.001). Further pin-by-pair comparison showed that serum B7-H4 levels in normal or inflammatory groups, low-grade CIN group, high-grade CIN group and cervical cancer group increased in turn (all P<0.05). Serum PKCδ levels in normal or inflammatory groups, high-grade CIN group and cervical cancer group were decreased in turn (all P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the serum B7-H4 and PKCδ levels in patients with cervical cancer were negatively correlated ( r=-0.47, P<0.001). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of cervical cell DNA ploidy for cervical cancer diagnosis was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.78-0.86), and the sensitivity and specificity were 83.9% and 79.9%, respectively. The AUC of serum B7-H4 in the diagnosis of cervical cancer was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.89-0.95), the sensitivity and specificity were 95.7% and 76.1%, respectively, and the cutoff value was 111.12 ng/ml. The AUC of serum PKCδ for diagnosis of cervical cancer was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.89-0.95), the sensitivity and specificity were 85.6% and 88.9%, respectively, and the cut-off value was 54.83 ng/ml. The AUC of the combined diagnosis of cervical cancer was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.97-0.99), and the sensitivity and specificity were 98.3% and 75.9%, respectively. The AUC of the combined diagnosis of cervical cancer was higher than that of DNA ploidy ( Z=8.00, P<0.001), serum B7-H4 ( Z=4.34, P<0.001), and serum PKCδ ( Z=4.61, P<0.001) alone. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that high level of B7-H4 in serum ( OR=2.94, 95% CI: 1.78-4.84, P<0.001), low level of PKCδ ( OR=4.33, 95% CI: 1.88-10.00, P=0.001) and positive DNA ploidy in cervical cells ( OR=5.77, 95% CI: 2.38-13.99, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for cervical cancer. Conclusion:The positive proportion of DNA ploidy in cervical cells of patients with cervical cancer is increased, the serum B7-H4 level is increased, the PKCδ level is decreased, and cervical cell DNA ploidy analysis combined with serum B7-H4 and PKCδ has a high diagnostic value for cervical cancer.

Objective To develop a Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)syndrome diagnosis scale suitable for evaluating the overall health status of participants in long-term simulated weightlessness experiments,and preliminarily evaluate its reliability and validity.Methods Based on the understanding of the pathogenesis of TCM in different stages of long-term manned spaceflight,a scale was developed through literature research and expert consultation.Test-retest reliability and internal consistency coefficient were used to test the reliability of the scale.Item analysis and factor principal component analysis were used to evaluate the validity of the scale,and a rotating component matrix was used to analyze the correlation between each item and dimension using 36 volunteers in a 90 days head down bed rest experiment as the research subjects.Results The scale contains eight dimensions and 57 items.The reliability analysis showed that the correlation coefficient of the total score of the scale for the first and second tests of 30 participants was 0.889,indicating high stability of the scale.The Cronbach coefficient of the scale was 0.934,indicating very good internal consistency.The split half reliability after correction was 0.858,indicating a high reliability of the scale.The validity analysis showed that the difference between the high score group and the low score one for each of the 57 items was statistically significant(P<0.01),and the Pearson correlation coefficient between each item and the total score of the scale was greater than 0.4(P<0.001).The cumulative contribution rate of 8 common factors extracted using principal component factor analysis was 55.293%,and the results of rotating component matrix analysis,after applying TCM theory and expert feedback,had a coincidence of up to 87.5%with the initial 8 dimensions,indicating good structural validity of the scale.Conclusion The scale has good reliability and validity,and can diagnose TCM syndromes.It is suitable for long-term simulated weightlessness experiment and provides an objective and quantitative new method for evaluating the subjective feelings of participants.

Objective To observe MRI features of H3K27M mutant type and wild type astrocyte differentiated diffuse midline glioma(DMG)in spinal cord.Methods Totally 91 patients with astrocyte differentiation diffuse midline glioma(DMG)in spinal cord confirmed by pathology were retrospectively enrolled and divided into mutant group(n=44)and wild group(n=47)according to H3K27M status.Clinical and MRI manifestations were compared between groups,and logistic regression analysis was used to screen the impact factors of H3K27M mutation.Results The incidence of peritumoral edema and spinal cord cavity in mutant group were lower than those in wild group(both P＜0.05),while no significant difference of other parameters was found between groups(all P＞0.05).All clinical and MRI parameters were included in logistic regression analysis,and the result showed that they were not influencing factors of H3K27M mutation(all P＞0.05).Conclusion The incidence of peritumoral edema and spinal cord cavity in spinal cord H3K27M mutant type astrocyte differentiated DMG were lower than those of wild type,yet not sufficient to be regarded as impact factors for predicting H3K27M mutation of DMG.

Objective:To explore and analyze the predictive value of EuroSCORE Ⅱ and SYNTAX Ⅱ scores for clinical outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery.Methods:A total of 500 coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who underwent CABG in Shanxi Cardiovascular Hospital from April 2014 to July 2023 were selected as the study subjects, all patients were given EuroSCORE Ⅱand SYNTAX Ⅱ scores to evaluate the predictive value of EuroSCOREⅡfor perioperative mortality and SYNTAX Ⅱ for 4-year mortality. Univariate and multivariate Logistic analysis were employed to analyze the independent risk factors for perioperative and 4-year mortality.Results:There were 3 deaths during the perioperative period, with a mortality rate of 0.60%, the predicted mortality rate of EuroSCOREⅡwas 1.71%; there were 21 deaths at 4 years after surgery, with a mortality rate of 4.23% and the predicted mortality rate of SYNTAX Ⅱwas 9.02%. Logistic regression analysis showed that left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was the only independent protective factor for perioperative mortality, and advanced age was the only independent risk factor for 4-year postoperative mortality in patients ( P<0.05). The analysis of the working characteristic curve of the subjects found that the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve ( ROC) of EuroSCORE Ⅱ for perioperative mortality was 0.782, and the area under ROC curve of SYNTAX Ⅱfor postoperative 4-year mortality was 0.743. Conclusion:Both EuroSCORE Ⅱand SYNTAX Ⅱhave certain predictive value for perioperative mortality and postoperative 4-year mortality in patients undergoing CABG, respectively, but the predicted mortality rate is relatively higher.

Background and purpose:Currently,for patients with mid-to-low locally advanced rectal cancer and potentially resectable T4bM0 colon cancer,guidelines recommend neoadjuvant therapy strategies to enhance the response rate and increase the likelihood of conversion surgery.Among these patients,ypⅢ stage colorectal cancer(CRC)is assessed using the Union for International Cancer Control(UICC)/American Joint Committee on Cancer(AJCC)TNM staging system for postoperative pathological features.However,neoadjuvant therapy can lead to lymph node regression in the surgical area,resulting in an insufficient number of detected lymph nodes(less than 12),preventing classification according to conventional TNM staging.Thus,TNM staging often fails to predict the prognosis of ypⅢ patients who have undergone neoadjuvant therapy.This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the positive lymph node ratio(LNR)in ypⅢ stage CRC patients treated with neoadjuvant therapy.Methods:Retrospective data was collected from ypⅢ stage CRC patients who received neoadjuvant therapy and underwent radical surgery at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center between 2008 and 2018.Collect clinical pathological characteristics such as age,gender,primary tumor location,tumor differentiation grade,pathological staging,and whether the patient has relapsed or died during follow-up at the time of surgery.Inclusion criteria:CRC patients who have received neoadjuvant therapy and surgery and have been confirmed to be stage Ⅲ by postoperative pathological examination.Exclusion criteria:① Preoperative imaging examination or intraoperative exploration reveals distant organ metastasis;② History of malignant tumors in the past;③ Multiple primary CRC.This study was approved by the medical ethics committee of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center(ethics number:050432-4-2108*).The R software survminer package(surv_cutpoint algorithm)was used to calculate the optimal cutoff value for LNR relative to disease-free survival(DFS),and patients were divided into low and high LNR groups accordingly.Clinical pathological characteristics and DFS were compared between the two groups.COX proportional hazards regression models were employed to identify adverse pathological features,and survival plots along with prediction models for DFS were generated using the survival and rms packages.Results:A total of 489 patients were included,comprising 289 males and 200 females,with a median age of 56 years(23-80 years)and a median follow-up time of 1 062 d.During the follow-up period,164 patients(33.5%)died.In the entire cohort,204(41.7%)patients had fewer than 12 lymph nodes detected.The optimal cutoff value for LNR was 0.29,classifying 317 patients into the low LNR group(LNR≤0.29)and 172 patients into the high LNR group(LNR＞0.29).The high LNR group exhibited shorter DFS compared to the low LNR group[hazard ratio(HR)=2.103,95%CI:1.582-2.796,P＜0.000 1].Multivariate COX regression indicated that LNR was an independent prognostic factor for DFS(HR=1.825,95%CI:1.391-2.394,P＜0.001).The inclusion of LNR in a multicategory DFS nomogram prediction model effectively assessed DFS in stage Ⅲ CRC patients who had undergone neoadjuvant therapy.Conclusion:LNR is an independent prognostic factor for ypⅢ stage CRC patients,showing good predictive power for DFS when combined with other adverse pathological features.Therefore,incorporating LNR as a supplement to TNM staging can improve the accuracy of CRC prognosis assessment.

Objective To explore the possible causes of CAST/EiJ mouse susceptibility to multiple pathogens,the immune cell phenotypes in the peripheral blood and spleen of CAST/EiJ mice were analyzed to clarify their composition.Methods Classical dendritic cells(cDCs),natural killer(NK)cells,B lymphocytes,T lymphocytes,and their subsets in the peripheral blood and spleen of CAST/EiJ mice and C57BL/6J mice were detected by flow cytometry using the cell surface markers CD3,CD4,CD8,CD11b,CD11c,CD19,CD27,CD49b,and TCRβ.Results There was no significant difference in the proportion of cDCs between CAST/EiJ and C57BL/6J mice,but the cDC1 cell subset population was smaller in CAST/EiJ.The proportions of NK cells(mainly mature NK cell subsets)and T lymphocytes(mainly CD8+T cells)were both lower in CAST/EiJ mice than C57BL/6J mice,while the proportion of B cells was higher in CAST/EiJ mice than C57BL/6J mice.Conclusions The proportions of NK and T lymphocytes in CAST/EiJ mice were lower than those in C57BL/6J mice.