AIM: To investigate the application value of pre-treatment tear inflammatory factor levels in predicting therapeutic efficacy for dry eye patients.METHODS:Prospective controlled observational study. A total of 120 patients with dry eye(240 eyes)admitted to our hospital from November 2022 to March 2024 were included. Before dry eye treatment, the levels of inflammatory factors, including interlukin-4(IL-4), IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-15, IL-18, IL-1β, interferon-γ(IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), granulocyte-colony stimulating factor(G-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor(GM-CSF), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1)in the tear fluid were detected by ELISA. According to the treatment protocol in the Chinese Expert Consensus on the Treatment of Dry Eye(2020), the patients were given treatments, and the related factors affecting the treatment outcomes of dry eye patients were analyzed.RESULTS:After continuous treatment for 4 wk, all the patients completed follow-up, and they were divided into the markedly effective group(60 patients, 120 eyes)and the ineffective group(60 patients, 120 eyes)based on their therapeutic effects. The markedly effective group had significantly lower pre-treatment levels of IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, IL-1β, and TNF-α than the poor efficacy group(all P<0.05). IL-6(OR=0.994), IL-18(OR=0.998), IL-1β(OR=0.933), and TNF-α(OR=0.998)were independently associated with treatment efficacy(all P<0.05). The nomogram model yielded a C-index of 0.971(95% CI: 0.950-0.993), with calibration curves closely aligned to the ideal curve. The model demonstrated significant predictive value for early therapeutic efficacy(sensitivity=96.67%, specificity=71.67%, cutoff=208, AUC=0.866, 95% CI=0.794-0.952, P<0.001).CONCLUSION:The nomogram model constructed based on the levels of inflammatory factors in dry eye patients before treatment can well predict the treatment effect of patients.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a multidisciplinary weight management intervention, so as to provide a reference for the formulation of overweight and obesity intervention measures. Methods: From April to September 2025, overweight and obese residents aged 18-60 years who participated in a weight loss competition at the Health Management Center of Beilun People's Hospital in Ningbo City were selected as study subjects. They were divided into a control group and an intervention group. The control group received conventional weight management, while the intervention group received the multidisciplinary integrated weight management in addition to the conventional weight management, for a total intervention period of 8 weeks. Weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and blood pressure were collected before and after the intervention through physical examinations and laboratory tests. The generalized estimating equations (GEE) method was employed to analyze the differences in indicators between the two groups before and after the intervention. Results: The control group comprised 241 participants, including 161 females (66.80%), with a mean age of (35.66±7.80) years. The intervention group consisted of 127 participants, including 86 females (67.72%), with a mean age of (36.80±7.05) years. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups at baseline in terms of age, gender, weight, BMI, or waist-to-hip ratio (all P>0.05). Results from the GEE analysis indicated significant interactions between group and time for weight, BMI, waist circumference, and hip circumference (all P<0.05) with greater reductions in these parameters observed in the intervention group compared to the control group before and after the intervention. Similarly, significant interactions between group and time were observed for FBG, TG, TC, and LDL-C (all P<0.05), with the intervention group demonstrating larger decreases in these markers compared to the control group. However, no statistically significant interactions between group and time were observed for waist-to-hip ratio, HDL-C, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure (all P>0.05). Following the intervention, a weight loss exceeding 10% was achieved by 13 participants (5.39%) in the control group and 62 participants (48.82%) in the intervention group. The proportion of individuals with a weight loss exceeding 10% was significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Compared to conventional weight management, multidisciplinary integrated weight management demonstrated greater efficacy in improving weight-related indicators and blood glucose, blood lipids, and enhancing weight loss outcomes among overweight and obese residents.

INTRODUCTION: Visual impairment and obesity remain the major public health issues among school-age students in rural areas of China. Obesity is an underlying risk of vision problems. This study aimed to assess the association between visual impairment and body mass index (BMI) among school-age students in rural northwest China. METHODS: This study included 39,385 students from the 4 th to 9 th grade in rural northwest China. From 2018 to 2020, students underwent an assessment of visual acuity (VA) and completed a questionnaire on family demographics, and height and weight measurements. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The association between visual impairment and BMI groups was significant in the study population ( P = 0.002) and in different groups (at the different educational, provincial and national levels) ( P < 0.001, separately). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed a positive relationship between visual impairment and obesity in the study population, including those attending primary school, Han students and the residents of Ningxia autonomous region. CONCLUSION The association between visual impairment and obesity was significant among school-age students in rural northwest China. There should be implementation of policies to address the problem about visual impairment and obesity among school-age students in rural areas.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Body Mass Index ; Male ; Female ; Rural Population ; Vision Disorders/complications* ; Child ; Adolescent ; Students ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Logistic Models ; Obesity/complications* ; Visual Acuity ; Cross-Sectional Studies

This paper reported a case of juvenile trabecular ossifying fibroma（JTOF） originating from the uncinate process. The main clinical manifestation was nasal obstruction and epiphora. Contrast-enhanced sinus CT revealed an irregular heterogeneous soft tissue mass centered in the right uncinate process, with involvement of the right anterior ethmoid sinus, maxillary sinus ostium, frontal process of the maxilla, and partial nasolacrimal duct. The solid components of the tumor demonstrated enhancement on contrast imaging. The patient underwent endoscopic resection of the right sinonasal tumor under general anesthesia. Postoperative pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of JTOF. No tumor recurrence was observed during the 3-month follow-up period.
Humans ; Ethmoid Bone/pathology* ; Fibroma, Ossifying

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the leading cause of respiratory failure with high morbidity and mortality. Pulmonary surfactant (PS)-based complementary therapies have exhibited potential for ARDS healing and applied as an adjunctive therapy strategy. Coacervate (Coac) has the characteristics of softness, deformability and excellent molecular enrichment properties, and has attracted extensive attention in the biomedical field. Here PS and coacervate were combined for the potential ARDS treatment. The Coac, fabricated from polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by simple mixing, exhibited soft droplet property and high enrichment for dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DSP). To avoid the fusion effect of membraneless coacervate and endow it with biological functions of PS, liposomes with PS-biomimetic lipid components (PS-lipo) were further introduced to construct PS-biomimetic membranized coacervate (DSP@PS-Coac). The DSP@PS-Coac demonstrated high lung targeting effect and significant penetration efficiency after intravenous injection. Furthermore, PS-lipo replenished the endogenous PS pool and facilitated the distribution of DSP in inflammatory cells in the lung. In the ARDS mouse model, PS-Coac and DSP exerted synergetic anti-inflammatory functions, via reducing the recruitment of inflammatory neutrophils and modulating macrophages into anti-inflammatory phenotype. The overall results confirmed that DSP@PS-Coac may provide a promising delivery option for the treatment of ARDS.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the value of ferroptose-related genes in the diagnosis and prediction of ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: We used UC dataset from the GEO database to screen for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in UC. The DEGs related to ferroptositis were screened from the FerrDb database and their functions were analyzed. The hub genes were identified by constructing the protein-protein interaction network (PPI), the differences in immune infiltration levels between UC and the control group were evaluated using CIBERSORT, and the diagnostic values of the hub genes for UC were verified by using the training set. In a mouse model of UC, we examined the expression levels of the hub genes in the colon tissues of the mice using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR). RESULTS: We identified a total of 76 DEGs related to ferroptosis. Functional enrichment analysis showed that these genes were significantly enriched in ferroptosis and hypoxia pathways. The PPI network identified 10 hub genes, and 9 of them were highly expressed in UC. Analysis of immune cell infiltration showed that 27 cell types were significantly increased in UC (P<0.05), and the immune checkpoints-related genes had the strongest correlation with the hub gene PPARG (P<0.05). Verification analysis using the training set showed that P4HB, PPARG and STAT3 had the best predictive value for UC (P<0.05). In the UC mouse model, the expression of PPARG was significantly decreased and the expressions of P4HB and STAT3 were significantly increased in the colon tissues of the mice as compared with the normal mice. CONCLUSIONS Ferroptose-related genes have significant value for diagnosis and prediction of UC.
Colitis, Ulcerative/genetics* ; Animals ; Mice ; Ferroptosis/genetics* ; Humans ; Protein Interaction Maps ; Disease Models, Animal ; Gene Expression Profiling ; STAT3 Transcription Factor/genetics*

AIM: To analyze the diagnostic value of optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA)in evaluating the parameters of foveal avascular zone(FAZ)in early diabetic retinopathy(DR).METHODS: Retrospective study. A total of 209 cases(209 eyes)of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)with DR admitted to our hospital from June 2019 to December 2022 were selected as DR group. The DR group was divided into three groups, with 115 cases(115 eyes)in mild group, 54 cases(54 eyes)in moderate group, and 40 cases(40 eyes)in severe group according to stage. Another 100 cases(100 eyes)of T2DM patients without DR were selected as No-DR group, and 70 cases(70 eyes)of healthy people were selected as control group for physical examination at the same time, all of whom underwent OCTA examination. The DR group was enrolled according to the disease degree, one eye was randomly taken for the study if the degree in both eyes was the same, while the control group and the No-DR group were randomly selected for one eye to be included in the study. The perimeter of the foveal avascular area(PERIM), FAZ transverse diameter, FAZ vertical diameter, FAZ area, macular fovea retinal thickness(MFRT), acircularity index(AI), full layer retinal blood flow density within a range of 300 μm around the FAZ(FD-300), and changes in FAZ vascular density(VD)levels among different groups of subjects were compared. Furthermore, Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation between general data and FAZ related indicators, and receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of macular FAZ indicators for DR.RESULTS: The levels of FBG, MFRT, FAZ area, and PERIM in patients with mild, moderate, and severe DR were significantly higher than those in the No-DR group and the control group, while the levels of AI and VD were significantly lower than those in the No-DR group(all P<0.05); patients in the No-DR group, mild DR group, moderate DR group, and severe DR group had significantly higher cystatin C, FAZ transverse diameter, and FAZ vertical diameter than the control group, while FD-300 vascular density was significantly lower than the control group(all P<0.05); the MFRT was positively correlated with age(r=0.295, P=0.001); The AI and VD was negatively correlated with age(r=-0.296, -0.235, all P<0.05); the area under the curve(AUC)of MFRT, FAZ area, PERIM, AI, and VD for the diagnosis of DR were 0.745, 0.738, 0.696, 0.792, and 0.847, respectively.CONCLUSION:The structure and microcirculation of FAZ can be changed in DM patients, and the related parameters of FAZ have certain value in the diagnosis of early DR.

In this research， a comprehensive examination of historical materia medica， medical literature， medical books and contemporary literature was conducted to systematically compile and verify the naming， origin， geographical variations， quality， medicinal properties and processing of Tremolitum， and combined with the physical analysis of 15 batches of samples， with a view to providing a basis for the quality evaluation. The evidences unequivocally support Yangqishi as the rectification of name， while alternative aliases include Baishi， Shisheng， Yangjushi and Yangshi. The primary source of Tremolitum has been the silicate hornblende mineral tremolite throughout recorded history， and its accompanied minerals are mainly chlorite， talc schist， anthophyllite asbestos， etc. In ancient times， the main production area of Tremolitum was situated in the "Yaoshan Mountain" region of Jinan， Shandong province. Presently， it is primarily produced in Hubei， Henan， Shanxi， Hebei and Shandong provinces. The ancient quality evaluation of Tremolitum includes "white color"， "wolf teeth"， "cloud head and rain foot"， "heron hair"， etc. While， modern materia medica mostly evaluates its quality in terms of color， luster and texture， including the characteristics of needle bundle， grayish-white， glossy and easy to be twisted and crushed. Tremolitum is slightly warm， non-toxic， and possesses a salty taste. It is associated with the kidney meridian， known for its benefits in nourishing the fire of the gate of life， warming the kidneys and strengthening the Yang. Common processing methods include fire calcination， elutriation， and processing with wine. Additionally， there is an exclusive processing method known as the "ascending Tremolitum method". Through the X-ray diffraction（XRD） analysis， the commercially available Tremolitum is mainly composed of tremolite［Ca₂Mg₅（Si₄O₁₁）₂（OH）₂］， and the accompanied minerals are calcite and quartz， etc. Its color includes white， light gray， light green and so on， and it is weight and soft texture， irregular cross-section， with obvious fibrous texture and mostly glassy luster. Among the commercially available Tremolitum， samples with high content of tremolite are characterized by high quality features， such as "white color"， "heron hair" and "ease of tearing". Also， Tremolitum is the Fe-bearing heterogeneous species of tremolite， and the two are often symbiotic. Therefore， by the herbal textual research and the comparison of the properties and composition of Tremolitum and its similar species， it has been verified that the primary source of Tremolitum is the silicate hornblende minerals tremolite and actinolite.

ObjectiveTo investigate the possible mechanism of Buzhong Yulin Decoction （补中愈淋汤） in the prevention and treatment of recurrent urinary tract infection. MethodsThe mouse models of recurrent urinary tract infection were established by uropathogenic Escherichia coli （UPEC） strain UTI89 by bladder perfusion， and the successful mouse models were randomly divided into a model group， an antibiotic group， and a low- and high-dose Buzhong Yulin Decoction group， with six mice in each group. In addition， 5 C57BL/6 mice without modelling were taken as blank group. The low- and high-dose Buzhong Yulin Decoction groups received 0.1 ml/10 g of decoction by gavage， with concentrations of 1.3 g/ml and 5.2 g/ml， respectively； the antibiotic group received 0.1 ml/10 g of levofloxacin hydrochloride solution with 5 mg/ml by gavage； the blank and model groups received 0.1 ml/10 g of distilled water by gavage. Each group was gavaged once a day for 7 consecutive days. The total number of urine marks， the number of central urine marks， and the total urine volume of the urine marks were observed by the urine marking test； HE staining was used to observe the histopathological changes in the bladder of mice； serum levels of the inflammatory factors interleukin 1β （IL-1β）， interleukin 6 （IL-6） and tumour necrosis factor α （TNF-α） were detected by ELISA； the morphology of the epithelial cells of bladder was observed by scanning electron microscopy； immunofluorescence assay to detect bladder tissue anti-UroPlakin 3A protein level and UPEC bacterial load； the spread plate method to detect urinary bacterial load and bacterial load of bladder epithelial cells； RT-PCR method to detect Ras-related protein Rab-11A （RAB11A） and Ras-related protein Rab-27B （RAB27B） mRNA level in bladder tissue； immunoblotting to detect microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain3 （LC3） and P62 protein levels in bladder tissue. ResultsCompared with the blank group， the bladder epithelial cell layers were lost and showed abnormal morphology in mice of the model group； bladder tissue UroPlakin 3A protein and RAB11A and RAB27B mRNA levels reduced， the total number of urine marks， the number of central urine marks， bladder tissue UPEC bacterial load， urinary bacterial load， bacterial load in bladder epithelial cells， serum IL-1β， IL-6， and TNF-α levels， and LC3 and P62 protein levels in bladder tissue all elevated （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with the model group， the bladder epithelial cell layers were intact and the morphology of epithelial cells were regular in the low- and high-dose Buzhong Yulin Decoction groups； the average surface area of bladder epithelial cells reduced， the levels of UroPlakin 3A protein and RAB11A and RAB27B mRNA in bladder tissues elevated， and total number of urine marks， the number of central urine marks， bladder tissue UPEC bacterial load， urinary bacterial load， bacterial load in bladder epithelial cells， serum IL-1β， IL-6， and TNF-α levels， and P62 protein levels in bladder tissue all reduced （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）， but LC3 protein levels showed no statistically significant （P＞0.05）. In the antibiotic group， the bladder epithelial cells were partially missing and the morphology of epithelial cells was abnormal. Compared with the antibiotic group， the average surface area of the bladder epithelial cells in the mice increased in the low- and high-dose Buzhong Yulin Decoction groups， the bacterial load of the bladder epithelial cells decreased， and the P62 protein level of the bladder tissue decreased （P＜0.05）. When comparing between the low- and high-dose Buzhong Yulin Decoction groups， the differences in each index were not statistically significant （P＞0.05）. ConclusionBuzhong Yulin Decoction may prevent and treat recurrent urinary tract infection by repairing the bladder mucosal barrier， increasing RAB11A and RAB27B level and enhancing autophagy in bladder tissues， thereby facilitating bacterial clearance from bladder epithelial cells and reducing the bacterial load of bladder epithelial cells.