ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effect and potential mechanism of thymosin β4 （Tβ4） on carbon tetrachloride （CCl₄）-induced hepatic fibrosis by regulating the expression of platelet-derived growth factor （PDGF） and inducing the apoptosis of hepatic stellate cell （HSC）， and to provide new experimental evidence for anti-hepatic fibrosis treatment in clinical practice. MethodsA total of 30 male C57 mice were randomly divided into normal control group， model group， low-dose Tβ4 treatment group （3 mg/kg）， middle-dose Tβ4 treatment group （6 mg/kg）， and high-dose Tβ4 treatment group （12 mg/kg）， with 6 mice in each group. The mice in the normal control group were fed with a normal diet ad libitum， and those in the other groups were given intraperitoneal injection of 50% CCl₄ mixed with olive oil to establish a model of hepatic fibrosis. After successful modeling confirmed by ultrasound and histopathology， the mice in each treatment group were given subcutaneous injection of Tβ4 for 4 consecutive weeks. Liver tissue was collected at the end of the experiment， and HE staining and Masson staining were used to observe histopathological changes； quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression level of PDGF； TUNEL assay was used to assess the apoptosis of HSC. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups， and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsCompared with the model group， the middle- and high-dose Tβ4 treatment groups had varying degrees of alleviation of hepatic fibrosis. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that Tβ4 could significantly downregulate the mRNA expression level of PDGF in liver tissue， with a significant difference between the treatment groups （P>0.05）， and there was no significant difference in the mRNA expression level of PDGF between the high-dose Tβ4 treatment group and the normal control group （P>0.05）. TUNEL assay showed that the middle- and high-dose Tβ4 treatment groups had a significantly higher number of apoptotic HSCs than the model group. ConclusionTβ4 may improve CCl₄-induced hepatic fibrosis in mice by downregulating the expression of PDGF and promoting the apoptosis of HSC， suggesting that it has a potential application value in the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.

Heart failure,as a severe consequence or late-stage manifestation of various cardiac conditions,is marked by high morbidity,high mortality,and high rates of readmission,significantly compromising patients' quality of life.Despite ongoing advancements in novel drugs and technologies that have improved the clinical efficacy of heart failure,5％to 10％of patients still progress to end-stage heart failure annually.Heart transplantation stands as an effective approach to enhance both the quality of life and survival rates for patients with end-stage heart failure.However,due to the scarcity of donor organs,it falls short of meeting the needs of a large number of patients.In this scenario,left ventricular assist device(LVAD)implantation emerges as a promising alternative therapeutic option for these patients.Acute kidney injury(AKI)represents one of the common complications encoun-tered after LVAD implantation,with notable morbidity and mortality rates.This article synthesized relevant research findings and literature to investigate the risk factors associated with the development of AKI in patients following LVAD implantation.

BackgroundChildhood represents a critical stage for cognitive development. Accurate assessment of children's cognitive abilities and understanding their developmental characteristics are essential for promoting healthy growth. However， traditional cognitive assessment methods typically rely on manual administration， presenting limitations such as low efficiency and insufficient engagement. These methods struggle to meet the assessment needs of children and are difficult to scale up for large-scale applications. ObjectiveTo develop a digital cognitive assessment tool for children， so as to provide a more convenient approach for evaluating children's cognitive functions. MethodsBased on classic psychological paradigms （Stroop Task， N-back， digit span， spatial orientation， and face-name matching）， a digital cognitive assessment tool was developed. This tool includes five tasks including color matching， shape matching， greening the home， great collector， and face-name matching， designed to assess core cognitive functions such as inhibitory control， working memory， short-term memory， spatial orientation， and semantic processing， respectively. From August 2024 to March 2025， a total of 750 students aged 9–12 yeas old from a primary school in Chengdu were enrolled and assessed using the digital cognitive assessment tool. Three months later， 40 children were randomly selected for retesting using both the digital tool and its corresponding standardized psychological paradigms. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine the correlation between the pre-test and retest scores of the digital cognitive assessment tool， as well as the correlation between the digital cognitive task scores and the corresponding psychological paradigm assessment results， in order to evaluate the reliability and validity of the digital cognitive assessment tool. Additionally， differences in scores across the cognitive tasks were compared among children of different age groups and genders. ResultsA total of 699 valid samples were included. The younger age group consisted of children aged 9–10 years old （n=460）， while the older age group comprised those aged 11–12 years old （n=239）. There were 356 boys （50.93%） and 343 girls （49.07%）. In the reliability analysis， the Pearson correlation coefficients between the pre-test and retest scores of each assessment task ranged from 0.732 to 0.970 （P<0.01）， indicating statistically significant results. In the validity analysis， the Pearson correlation coefficients between each task and its corresponding standard cognitive test ranged from 0.679 to 0.988 （P<0.01）. In the color-matching task， both the main effects of age and gender were statistically significant （F=31.071， 21.198， P<0.01）. In the shape-matching task， the main effects of age， gender， and their interaction were all statistically significant （F=20.933， 5.926， 4.318， P<0.05 or 0.01）. In the greening the home task， the main effect of age was significant （F=5.243， P=0.023）. In the great collector task， the main effect of age was significant （F=33.697， P<0.01）. In the face-name matching task， only the main effect of gender was significant （F=27.016， P<0.01）. Further analysis showed that within the female group， older group scored significantly higher than younger group in five tasks（P<0.05 or 0.01）. Within the male group， younger group scored lower than older group in both the color-matching and great collector tasks （P<0.05 or 0.01）. Within the younger group， boys scored significantly higher than girls in color-matching and shape-matching tasks （P<0.01）. In the older group， girls scored significantly higher than boys in face-name matching task （P<0.01）. ConclusionThe digital cognitive assessment tool developed in this study demonstrates good reliability and validity. The development of cognitive functions in children aged 9–12 years old showed significant differences in age and gender， with specific developmental trajectories across different cognitive dimensions. At younger ages， boys outperformed girls in inhibitory control and working memory tasks， though this advantage diminished with age. At older ages， girls exhibited superior performance in semantic processing compared with boys.

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical effectiveness and safety of Dingchan Granule （定颤颗粒） for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation with syndrome of qi stagnation and blood stasis. MethodsUsing a randomised， double-blind， placebo controlled study method， 90 patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation with qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome were divided into 45 cases each in the treatment group and the control group. Both groups were given conventional western medicine treatment， and the treatment group was additionally treated with Dingchan Granule， while the control group was treated with Dingchan Granule placebo， both of which were taken orally for 8 g each time twice a day. Both groups were treated for 8 weeks. We compared the clinical effectiveness， the improvement of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptoms and the recovery rate of atrial fibrillation between the two groups. We compared the number and duration of atrial fibrillation episodes， TCM symptoms score， atrial fibrillation symptom classification， 24-hour average ventricular rate， Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI）， anxiety index， depression index before and after treatment， and evaluated the safety of the two groups. ResultsThe total clinical effectiveness rate in the treatment group was 82.22% （37/45）， which was better than 60.00% （27/45） in the control group （P＜0.05）. The total effective rate of TCM syndrome effectiveness in the treatment group was 88.89% （40/45）， which was better than 66.67% （30/45） in the control group （P＜0.05）； and the rate of atrial fibrillation regression in the treatment group was 26.67% （12/45）， better than 6.67% （3/45） in the control group （P＜0.05）. The number and duration of atrial fibrillation episodes in both groups were significantly decreased （P＜0.01）， and the number and duration of atrial fibrillation episodes in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group （P＜0.01）. The TCM syndrome scores of both groups after treatment were significantly lower than before treatment （P＜0.01）， and the scores of the treatment group was lower than those of the control group （P＜0.05）. The severity of atrial fibrillation symptoms and the grading of atrial fibrillation symptoms in both groups after treatment were improved （P＜0.01）， and the degree of symptom improvement in the treatment group was better than that in the control group （P＜0.01）. The 24-hour average ventricular rate of both groups after treatment was significantly lower （P＜0.01）. The PSQI， anxiety index and depression index of the treatment group were all lower than before treatment （P＜0.01）， while the PSQI and anxiety index of the control group were both lower than before treatment （P＜0.01 or P＜0.05）， the PSQI， anxiety index and depression index of the treatment group being lower than those of the control group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. No adverse events occurred in both groups， and no abnormalities were observed in blood， urine， stool routine， liver and kidney function， and coagulation function indexes. ConclusionDingchan Granule for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation with qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome can alleviate clinical symptom， improve TCM symptom scores， increase atrial fibrillation recovery rate， stabilise the average ventricular rate， and significantly improve the quality of sleep， alleviate the anxiety and depression， with a good safety profile.

Objective To explore the changes in task-state brain region activation of stroke patients using functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS)in the treatment of upper limb motor function with brain-computer interfaces(BCI).Methods From April to October,2024,40 stroke patients in Linyi People's Hospital were randomly divided into control group and BCI group,with 20 cases in each group.Both groups received conventional rehabilitation therapy.The control group underwent low-frequency electrotherapy before conventional treatment,while BCI group received BCI therapy before conventional treatment,for four weeks.Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremities(FMA-UE)and modified Barthel Index were used to evaluate the upper limbs motor function before and after treatment.A"wrist movement task"was designed to detect the level of oxyhemoglobin(HbO?)in the regions of interest(ROI)during the task.Results After treatment,the scores of MBI and FMA-UE increased in both groups(|t|>8.904,P<0.001),and were higher in BCI group than in the control group(|t|>2.584,P<0.05).The HbO? level in the premotor cortex/sup-plementary motor area(PMC/SMA)increased after treatment in BCI group(t=-3.965,P<0.01),and was high-er in BCI group than in the control group(t=-3.630,P<0.01).The difference of HbO? level in PMC/SMA be-fore and after treatment correlated with both the difference of MBI score(r=0.498,P<0.05)and the difference of FMA-UE score(r=0.799,P<0.001).Conclusion BCI can further improve the upper limb motor function of stroke patients on the basis of conventional treat-ment and enhance the cortical activation of PMC/SMA.

Objective To explore the changes in task-state brain region activation of stroke patients using functional near-infrared spectroscopy(fNIRS)in the treatment of upper limb motor function with brain-computer interfaces(BCI).Methods From April to October,2024,40 stroke patients in Linyi People's Hospital were randomly divided into control group and BCI group,with 20 cases in each group.Both groups received conventional rehabilitation therapy.The control group underwent low-frequency electrotherapy before conventional treatment,while BCI group received BCI therapy before conventional treatment,for four weeks.Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremities(FMA-UE)and modified Barthel Index were used to evaluate the upper limbs motor function before and after treatment.A"wrist movement task"was designed to detect the level of oxyhemoglobin(HbO?)in the regions of interest(ROI)during the task.Results After treatment,the scores of MBI and FMA-UE increased in both groups(|t|>8.904,P<0.001),and were higher in BCI group than in the control group(|t|>2.584,P<0.05).The HbO? level in the premotor cortex/sup-plementary motor area(PMC/SMA)increased after treatment in BCI group(t=-3.965,P<0.01),and was high-er in BCI group than in the control group(t=-3.630,P<0.01).The difference of HbO? level in PMC/SMA be-fore and after treatment correlated with both the difference of MBI score(r=0.498,P<0.05)and the difference of FMA-UE score(r=0.799,P<0.001).Conclusion BCI can further improve the upper limb motor function of stroke patients on the basis of conventional treat-ment and enhance the cortical activation of PMC/SMA.

Purpose/Significance To explore and implement the automated interpretation of pediatric medical exam answers,so as to enhance the efficiency and quality of answer explanation compilation.Method/Process The paper proposes a method that combines latent semantic indexing(LSI),MC-BERT,and the CoSENT model.Initially,multiple candidate answer explanations are extracted from ref-erence documents using the LSI method and the MC-BERT model.Subsequently,the CoSENT model is employed to calculate the simi-larity between the candidate explanations and the question stems as well as the answer options.The candidate explanation with the highest similarity is then selected as the final answer explanation.Result/Conclusion The experimental results show that the method presented in this paper achieves a precision rate of 72.6％.Compared to single methods or models,it significantly improves the recall and precision of answer parsing,effectively enhances the efficiency of compiling question answer explanations,reduces the burden on educators,and pro-vides significant data support for educational research.

COVID-19 associated Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) caused by peripheral nerve damage after SARS-CoV-2 infection is one of the most common COVID-19 related nervous system inflammatory diseases, with high incidence of respiratory failure and mortality. Positive SARS-CoV-2 RNA in cerebrospinal fluid of COVID-19 associated GBS patients has been rarely reported. This paper reports 4 patients with COVID-19 associated GBS in China who developed neurological symptoms 4-15 days after fever and were confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. All patients presented with progressive weakness of both lower limbs, 3 patients with autonomic dysfunction such as defecation and urination disorders, and 1 patient with polycranial neuritis and Miller-Fisher syndrome such as bilateral facial palsy, dysphagia, diplopia and ataxia. Nerve conduction velocity and F wave were abnormal in 3 patients, and motor conduction pathway was abnormal in 1 patient. Anti-ganglioside antibodies were tested in 3 patients, and GD1a-IgG was positive in 1 patient. All 4 patients underwent metagenomic next-generation sequencing examination in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was positive in blood and cerebrospinal fluid of 3 patients, and SARS-CoV-2 RNA was positive in cerebrospinal fluid of 1 patient.

【Objective】 To explore the safety of transrectal ultrasound-guided transperineal injection of sodium hyaluronate to expand the Dirichlet gap in laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. 【Methods】 A total of 14 healthy male purebred beagle dogs were selected and randomly divided into 2 groups, with 7 in either group.The control group was treated with conventional laparoscopic radical prostatectomy, while the experimental group was treated with laparoscopic radical prostatectomy after 2.5 mL sodium hyaluronate was injected into the Dirichlet gap under the guidance of transrectal ultrasound.The total operation time, prostate separation time, intraoperative blood loss and rectal status of the 2 groups were observed. 【Results】 After the injection of sodium hyaluronate into the Dirichlet gap between the prostate and the rectum, no rectal tissue was found in the prostate, and no obvious damage was found in the posterior rectum in either groups.The postoperative hemoglobin (HGB) was [(118.70±2.56) g/L vs.(122.10±2.19) g/L, P=0.02]; the total operation time was [(141.40±9.80) min vs.(119.10±9.16) min, P<0.05]; the prostate separation time was [(24.99±1.75) min vs.(16.64±2.34) min, P<0.05]; the amount of bleeding was [(47.43±4.32) mL vs.(34.86±5.18) mL, P<0.05] in the control group and experimental group. 【Conclusion】 Laparoscopic radical prostatectomy performed after 2.5 mL of sodium hyaluronate injection into the Dirichlet gap under the guidance of transrectal ultrasound can shorten the total operation time, the separation and resection time of the prostate, and reduce the amount of bleeding, which can improve and reduce the incidence of rectal injury, and prove the feasibility of this approach for prostatic cancer.

Objective To analyze the application value of a Nomogram model established on clinical and ultrasound features of thyroid in modifying classification results of the Chinese Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (C-TI-RADS) by ultrasound physicians. Methods The clinicopathological ultrasound materials of patients with surgical resection for thyroid nodules in Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital (training set, n=841) and Sichuan Mianyang 404 Hospital (external validation set, n=295) from January 2021 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, and preoperative thyroid ultrasound was used to classify thyroid nodules by C-TI-RADS. Univariate and Multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to screen independent predictors in the training set and a Nomogram model was constructed, and Bootstrap resampling was used for internal validation; ultrasound physicians in Sichuan Mianyang 404 Hospital were charged in external verification based on this Nomogram model. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration curve were drawn to evaluate the efficacy of the model and its clinical value in modifying the classification results by C-TI-RADS. Results Univariate and Multivariate Logistic regression analyses showed that gender, age, maximum diameter of nodules, the number of nodules, ultrasound abnormalities of cervical lymph nodes and C-TI-RADS classification were the independent factors for predicting the modified classification results of C-TI-RADS by ultrasound physicians (P < 0.05). Consistency index of the Nomogram model constructed based on these factors was 0.842 (95%CI, 0.816 to 0.867), the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.842, sensitivity was 92.9%, specificity was 63.7%, and accuracy was 75.9%. The prediction results of the Nomogram model were in good agreement with the actual situation in both the training set and the external validation set. Conclusion Nomogram model based on clinical and ultrasound features of thyroid shows good predictive accuracy in modifying classification results of C-TI-RADS by ultrasound physicians, which has potential clinical application value.