This paper introduces a real-world cohort research model for community-acquired pneumonia （CAP） based on the Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） Dominant Diseases Diagnosis and Treatment Data Platform. Firstly， data cleaning is performed by standardizing diagnosis， symptoms， treatment and imaging， intelligently extracting unstructured information， and cleaning and constructing a standardized database. Secondly， for cohort establishment， CAP patients across the province are screened in accordance with CAP diagnostic criteria to build a high-quality disease-specific cohort. Lastly， in terms of protocol design， the characteristics of TCM research and the CAP disease profile are considered to determine appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria， estimate sample size， define interventions， outcomes and economic evaluations， providing a reference for real-world TCM research on CAP.

This paper introduces a real-world cohort research model for community-acquired pneumonia （CAP） based on the Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） Dominant Diseases Diagnosis and Treatment Data Platform. Firstly， data cleaning is performed by standardizing diagnosis， symptoms， treatment and imaging， intelligently extracting unstructured information， and cleaning and constructing a standardized database. Secondly， for cohort establishment， CAP patients across the province are screened in accordance with CAP diagnostic criteria to build a high-quality disease-specific cohort. Lastly， in terms of protocol design， the characteristics of TCM research and the CAP disease profile are considered to determine appropriate inclusion and exclusion criteria， estimate sample size， define interventions， outcomes and economic evaluations， providing a reference for real-world TCM research on CAP.

Objective: To explore the influencing factors of anxiety symptoms and to construct a predictive model based on machine learning algorithms, so as to provide support for the prevention and management of anxiety symptoms among junior high school students. Methods: From April to May 2023, a stratified random cluster sampling method was adopted to select 8 176 junior high school students from Zhengzhou and Shangqiu citys. All participants completed the Adolescent Self rating Life Events Checklist, the 10item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the School Connectedness Scale, the Parent-Child Cohesion Questionnaire, and the 7 item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale. Logistic regression analysis identified the associated factors of anxiety symptoms among junior high school students. Predictive models were constructed using Logistic regression, Random Forest, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) algorithms, with SHapley Additive exPlanations analysis explaining the optimal model. Results: The detection rate of anxiety symptoms among junior high school students was 16.3%. Logistic regression analysis showed that junior high school students who were female ( OR =1.22), in the ninth grade ( OR =1.27), living in urban areas ( OR =1.37), having a father with a college education or above ( OR =1.26), having a mother with a senior high school education ( OR =1.26), and experiencing higher levels of negative life events ( OR =1.05) reported a higher risk of anxiety symptoms(all P <0.05). In contrast, those with moderate family economic status ( OR =0.71), moderate academic burden ( OR =0.59), low academic burden ( OR =0.54), moderate sleep quality ( OR =0.46), good sleep quality ( OR =0.26), excellent sleep quality ( OR =0.15), higher levels of psychological resilience ( OR =0.96), higher levels of school connectedness ( OR =0.96), and higher levels of parent-child cohesion ( OR =0.98) reported a lower risk of anxiety symptoms (all P <0.05). Three machine learning models demonstrated good predictive performance for anxiety symptoms among junior high school students (all AUC>0.8), with the XGBoost model achieving the best predictive performance. SHAP analysis revealed that negative life events, sleep quality, school connectedness, psychological resilience and parent-child cohesion were the top five relevant factors for predicting anxiety symptoms. Conclusions The detection rate of anxiety symptoms among junior high school students is relatively high. The XGBoost model is the optimal predictive model for anxiety symptoms in the population. Negative life events, sleep quality, school connectedness, psychological resilience, and parent-child cohesion are significant correlates of anxiety symptoms among junior high school students.

ObjectiveTo clarify whether METTL14 mediates the core role of acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) in promoting myelination and improving behavior in young autistic rats through gene intervention technology. MethodsThe ASD model was established by intraperitoneal injection of valproic acid (VPA) in pregnant rats. Male offspring were intracerebroventricularly injected with adenovirus-packaged METTL14 shRNA (sh-METTL14) or its control (sh-NC) on postnatal day 1, with a model group set as well. Subsequently, the juvenile rats were divided into model group, acupuncture group, acupuncture+sh-NC group, and acupuncture+sh-METTL14 group. The acupuncture group received acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) from postnatal day 7, once daily for 21 consecutive days. Neurobehavioral changes were evaluated by behavioral tests; METTL14 knockdown efficiency and the expression of METTL14, METTL3, and PTEN were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot (WB); PTEN m⁶A levels were measured by RNA immunoprecipitation-qPCR (RIP-qPCR); myelin ultrastructure, expression of myelin basic protein (MBP) and neurofascin 155 (NF155), and dendritic spine density were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and primary neuron culture. ResultsBehaviorally, knockdown of METTL14 significantly counteracted the beneficial effects of acupuncture in improving self-grooming, open field exploration, three-chamber social interaction, and Morris water maze learning and memory (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the acupuncture+sh-NC group, the acupuncture+sh-METTL14 group showed significantly decreased mRNA and protein expression of hippocampal METTL14 (P<0.01), and the upregulating effects of acupuncture on METTL3 and PTEN expression were reversed (P<0.01). Meanwhile, knockdown of METTL14 significantly inhibited the acupuncture-induced increase in PTEN m⁶A levels (P<0.01). Morphologically, knockdown of METTL14 attenuated the improvement of myelin structure by acupuncture, reversed the downregulation of MBP and upregulation of NF155 induced by acupuncture, and blocked the increase in dendritic spine density (P<0.05, P<0.01). ConclusionMETTL14 is a key molecule mediating the therapeutic effect of acupuncture at Neiguan. Acupuncture at Neiguan upregulates METTL14, thereby enhancing m⁶A methylation modification of PTEN mRNA to stabilize its expression, ultimately promoting myelin development and improving behavioral symptoms in ASD juvenile rats. This preliminarily reveals the modern biological connotation of “opening Xuanfu and dredging myelin”.

ObjectiveTo clarify whether METTL14 mediates the core role of acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) in promoting myelination and improving behavior in young autistic rats through gene intervention technology. MethodsThe ASD model was established by intraperitoneal injection of valproic acid (VPA) in pregnant rats. Male offspring were intracerebroventricularly injected with adenovirus-packaged METTL14 shRNA (sh-METTL14) or its control (sh-NC) on postnatal day 1, with a model group set as well. Subsequently, the juvenile rats were divided into model group, acupuncture group, acupuncture+sh-NC group, and acupuncture+sh-METTL14 group. The acupuncture group received acupuncture at Neiguan (PC6) from postnatal day 7, once daily for 21 consecutive days. Neurobehavioral changes were evaluated by behavioral tests; METTL14 knockdown efficiency and the expression of METTL14, METTL3, and PTEN were detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blot (WB); PTEN m⁶A levels were measured by RNA immunoprecipitation-qPCR (RIP-qPCR); myelin ultrastructure, expression of myelin basic protein (MBP) and neurofascin 155 (NF155), and dendritic spine density were observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), immunofluorescence, qRT-PCR, and primary neuron culture. ResultsBehaviorally, knockdown of METTL14 significantly counteracted the beneficial effects of acupuncture in improving self-grooming, open field exploration, three-chamber social interaction, and Morris water maze learning and memory (P<0.05, P<0.01). Compared with the acupuncture+sh-NC group, the acupuncture+sh-METTL14 group showed significantly decreased mRNA and protein expression of hippocampal METTL14 (P<0.01), and the upregulating effects of acupuncture on METTL3 and PTEN expression were reversed (P<0.01). Meanwhile, knockdown of METTL14 significantly inhibited the acupuncture-induced increase in PTEN m⁶A levels (P<0.01). Morphologically, knockdown of METTL14 attenuated the improvement of myelin structure by acupuncture, reversed the downregulation of MBP and upregulation of NF155 induced by acupuncture, and blocked the increase in dendritic spine density (P<0.05, P<0.01). ConclusionMETTL14 is a key molecule mediating the therapeutic effect of acupuncture at Neiguan. Acupuncture at Neiguan upregulates METTL14, thereby enhancing m⁶A methylation modification of PTEN mRNA to stabilize its expression, ultimately promoting myelin development and improving behavioral symptoms in ASD juvenile rats. This preliminarily reveals the modern biological connotation of “opening Xuanfu and dredging myelin”.

ObjectiveTobacco-related diseases remain one of the leading preventable public health challenges worldwide and are among the primary causes of premature death. In recent years, accumulating evidence has supported the classification of nicotine addiction as a chronic brain disease, profoundly affecting both brain structure and function. Despite the urgency, effective diagnostic methods for smoking addiction remain lacking, posing significant challenges for early intervention and treatment. To address this issue and gain deeper insights into the neural mechanisms underlying nicotine dependence, this study proposes a novel graph neural network framework, termed TI-GNN. This model leverages functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to identify complex and subtle abnormalities in brain connectivity patterns associated with smoking addiction. MethodsThe study utilizes fMRI data to construct functional connectivity matrices that represent interaction patterns among brain regions. These matrices are interpreted as graphs, where brain regions are nodes and the strength of functional connectivity between them serves as edges. The proposed TI-GNN model integrates a Transformer module to effectively capture global interactions across the entire brain network, enabling a comprehensive understanding of high-level connectivity patterns. Additionally, a spatial attention mechanism is employed to selectively focus on informative inter-regional connections while filtering out irrelevant or noisy features. This design enhances the model’s ability to learn meaningful neural representations crucial for classification tasks. A key innovation of TI-GNN lies in its built-in causal interpretation module, which aims to infer directional and potentially causal relationships among brain regions. This not only improves predictive performance but also enhances model interpretability—an essential attribute for clinical applications. The identification of causal links provides valuable insights into the neuropathological basis of addiction and contributes to the development of biologically plausible and trustworthy diagnostic tools. ResultsExperimental results demonstrate that the TI-GNN model achieves superior classification performance on the smoking addiction dataset, outperforming several state-of-the-art baseline models. Specifically, TI-GNN attains an accuracy of 0.91, an F1-score of 0.91, and a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.83, indicating strong robustness and reliability. Beyond performance metrics, TI-GNN identifies critical abnormal connectivity patterns in several brain regions implicated in addiction. Notably, it highlights dysregulations in the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex, consistent with prior clinical and neuroimaging findings. These regions are well known for their roles in emotional regulation, reward processing, and impulse control—functions that are frequently disrupted in nicotine dependence. ConclusionThe TI-GNN framework offers a powerful and interpretable tool for the objective diagnosis of smoking addiction. By integrating advanced graph learning techniques with causal inference capabilities, the model not only achieves high diagnostic accuracy but also elucidates the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction. The identification of specific abnormal brain networks and their causal interactions deepens our understanding of addiction pathophysiology and lays the groundwork for developing targeted intervention strategies and personalized treatment approaches in the future.

BACKGROUND: Without timely and effective rehabilitation, hearing loss may profoundly affect human life quality. China has a large population of hearing-impaired individuals, which imposes a heavy health burden on society. Moreover, this population is projected to increase rapidly owing to China's aging society. METHODS: We used data from a population-representative epidemiological investigation of hearing loss and ear diseases in four Chinese provinces. We estimated the national prevalence using multiple linear regression of the age-group proportions and prevalence in 31 provinces with clustering analysis. We used years lived with disability (YLDs) to analyze the disease burden and forecasted the prevalence of hearing loss by 2060 in China. RESULTS: An estimated 115 million people had moderate-to-complete hearing loss in 2015 across the 31 provinces of China (8.4% of 1.37 billion people). Of these, 85.7% were older than age 50 years (99 million people) and 2.4% were younger than 20 years old (2.8 million people). Of all YLDs attributable to hearing loss, 68.9% were attributable to moderate-to-complete cases. By 2060, a projected 242 million people in China will have moderate-to-complete hearing loss, a 110.0% increase from 2015. CONCLUSIONS The hearing loss prevalence in China is high. Population aging and socioeconomic factors substantially affect the prevalence and severity of hearing loss and the disease burden. The prevalence and severity of hearing loss are unevenly distributed across different provinces. Future public health policies should take these trends and regional variations into account.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Hearing Loss/epidemiology* ; Prevalence ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Aged ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Infant ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cost of Illness

BACKGROUND: Telesurgery has the potential to overcome spatial limitations for surgeons, which depends on surgical robot and the quality of network communication. However, the influence of network latency and bandwidth on telesurgery is not well understood. METHODS: A telesurgery system capable of dynamically adjusting image compression ratios in response to bandwidth changes was established between Beijing and Sanya (Hainan province), covering a distance of 3000 km. In total, 108 animal operations, including 12 surgical procedures, were performed. Total latency ranging from 170 ms to 320 ms and bandwidth from 15-20 Mbps to less than 1 Mbps were explored using designed surgical tasks and hemostasis models for renal vein and internal iliac artery rupture bleeding. Network latency, jitter, frame loss, and bit rate code were systemically measured during these operations. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) and a self-designed scale measured the workload and subjective perception of surgeons. RESULTS: All 108 animal telesurgeries, conducted from January 2023 to June 2023, were performed effectively over a total duration of 3866 min. The operations were completed with latency up to 320 ms and bandwidths as low as 1-5 Mbps. Hemostasis for vein and artery rupture bleeding models was effectively achieved under these low bandwidth conditions. The NASA-TLX results indicated that latency significantly impacted surgical performance more than bandwidth and image clarity reductions. CONCLUSIONS This telesurgery system demonstrated safety and reliability. A total of 320 ms latency is acceptable for telesurgery operations. Reducing image clarity can effectively mitigate the potential latency increase caused by decreased bandwidth, offering a new method to reduce the impact of latency on telesurgery.
Animals ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Laparoscopy/methods*

BACKGROUND: China has made significant progress in medical accessibility and quality over the past decades, and quality improvements in gastroenterology and digestive endoscopy have been consistent. The study aimed to describe the status quo of gastroenterology and digestive endoscopy in the Chinese mainland based on the data from the National Clinical Improvement System (NCIS) and the Hospital Quality Monitoring System (HQMS). METHODS: Data were extracted from the NCIS and the HQMS. Data analysis included general information from the Department of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy centers, management of inpatients and outpatients, and annual volume and quality indicators of digestive endoscopy. Acute pancreatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, inflammatory bowel disease, and cirrhosis were identified as priority diseases and were subjected to detailed analysis. RESULTS: Data from 4620 and 7074 hospitals were extracted from the NCIS and HQMS, respectively. In 2023, 9.6 gastroenterologists, 6.7 endoscopists, and 37.3 gastroenterology beds per hospital nationwide were observed, achieving 19,252.4 outpatient visits, 1615.2 hospitalizations (97.0 for acute pancreatitis, 146.1 for gastrointestinal bleeding, 40.2 for inflammatory bowel disease, and 111.4 for cirrhosis), and 9432.7 digestive endoscopic procedures per hospital. Overall, the quality of practice improved significantly. The proportion of early cancer among gastrointestinal cancers increased from 11.1% in 2015 to 23.4% in 2023, and the adenoma detection rate during colonoscopy increased from 19.3% in 2019 to 26.9% in 2023. Regarding priority diseases, hospitalizations increased, and 31-day unplanned readmission rates decreased between 2019 and 2023. The median hospitalization costs and median proportion of medication costs decreased for acute pancreatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding, and cirrhosis. However, it increased for inflammatory bowel disease. CONCLUSION This report evaluates the status quo and development of gastroenterology and digestive endoscopy in the Chinese mainland, providing guidance for future quality improvements.
Humans ; China ; Gastroenterology/statistics & numerical data* ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal/statistics & numerical data* ; Endoscopy, Digestive System/statistics & numerical data*

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a prevalent clinical vascular condition and serves as a pivotal pathological foundation for cardiovascular diseases. Understanding the pathogenesis of AS has significant clinical and societal implications, aiding in the development of targeted drugs. Neutrophils, the most abundant leukocytes in circulation, assume a central role during inflammatory responses and closely interact with AS, which is a chronic inflammatory vascular disease. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are substantial reticular formations discharged by neutrophils that serve as an immune defense mechanism. These structures play a crucial role in inducing dysfunction of the vascular barrier following endothelial cell injury. Components released by NETs pose a threat to the integrity of vascular endothelium, which is essential as it acts as the primary barrier to maintain vascular wall integrity. Endothelial damage constitutes the initial stage in the onset of AS. Recent investigations have explored the intricate involvement of NETs in AS progression. The underlying structures of NETs and their active ingredients, including histone, myeloperoxidase (MPO), cathepsin G, neutrophil elastase (NE), matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), antimicrobial peptide LL-37, alpha-defensin 1-3, and high mobility group protein B1 have diverse and complex effects on AS through various mechanisms. This review aims to comprehensively examine the interplay between NETs and AS while providing insights into their mechanistic underpinnings of NETs in this condition. By shedding light on this intricate relationship, this exploration paves the way for future investigations into NETs while guiding clinical translation efforts and charting new paths for therapeutic interventions.
Extracellular Traps/physiology* ; Humans ; Atherosclerosis/immunology* ; Neutrophils/physiology* ; Leukocyte Elastase/metabolism* ; Peroxidase/physiology* ; Matrix Metalloproteinases/physiology* ; Cathepsin G/metabolism* ; Cathelicidins ; HMGB1 Protein/physiology* ; Histones ; Animals ; Endothelium, Vascular