1.Quantitative Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer MRI for Diagnosing Thyroid-Associated Ophthalmopathy Activity: A Prospective Feasibility Study
YunMeng WANG ; WeiYi ZHOU ; YuanYuan CUI ; JianKun DAI ; YuXin CHENG ; QingQing WEN ; TianYi XING ; HongBiao SUN ; Song JIANG ; MeiLing XU ; ZhenHuan WANG ; Yan SONG ; Tuo LI ; Yi XIAO
Korean Journal of Radiology 2026;27(2):161-173
Objective:
This prospective study evaluated the feasibility of chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI for assessing disease activity in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO).
Materials and Methods:
A total of 88 patients with active TAO, 76 with inactive TAO, and 30 healthy controls were enrolled. CEST MRI-derived magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) and MTR asymmetry (MTRasym) at 1 ppm, 2 ppm, and 3.5 ppm were calculated. Clinical data, MTR, and MTRasym values for the extraocular muscles (one representative muscle per eye, yielding two measurements per participant) were compared among the groups. Spearman’s correlation was used to examine associations between imaging parameters and the clinical activity score (CAS) in patients with TAO. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent associations between imaging parameters and disease activity in patients with TAO (active vs. inactive). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic performance for discriminating active from inactive TAO.
Results:
Patients with active TAO showed lower MTR values (P < 0.001) and higher MTRasym (1 ppm), MTRasym (2 ppm), and MTRasym (3.5 ppm) (all P < 0.001) compared with those with inactive TAO. MTR was negatively correlated with CAS (r = -0.402; P < 0.001), while MTRasym (1 ppm), MTRasym (2 ppm), and MTRasym (3.5 ppm) were positively correlated with CAS (r = 0.369, 0.350, and 0.349, respectively;all P < 0.001). MTR and MTRasym (1 ppm) were independently associated with TAO activity. The areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) for MTR and MTRasym (1 ppm) in discriminating active from inactive TAO were 0.772 and 0.730, respectively. Combining MTR with MTRasym (1 ppm) significantly improved diagnostic performance compared with either parameter alone, achieving an AUC of 0.805 (P = 0.029 and 0.001).
Conclusion
MTR and MTRasym (1 ppm) were independently associated with TAO activity. Their combination further enhanced diagnostic performance in distinguishing active from inactive TAO, suggesting their potential as quantitative imaging biomarkers to guide treatment in patients with TAO.
2.Comparative analysis of social skills and problem behaviors between children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD
Li SONG ; Xiaoru JIANG ; Qin ZHOU ; Zenghe YUE ; Jiaxue LIU ; Ke XU ; Yuxin QIAN ; Nana QIU ; Jing XU ; Xiaoyan KE
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science 2025;34(4):316-322
Objective:To explore the characteristics of social skills and problem behaviors of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as the association with core symptoms.Methods:A total of 409 patients aged 5-18 years old with ASD or ADHD in the outpatient department of Nanjing Brain Hospital from 2023 to 2024, and 344 children and adolescents with typical development(TD) were recruited.All participants were matched in a ratio of 1∶1∶1 (ASD∶ADHD∶TD) according to gender and age, and 97 participants were included in each group for analysis.The Chinese version of the social skills improvement system rating scales(SSIS-RS-C) was used to evaluate social skills and problem behaviors, and autistic child behavior checklist(ABC), childhood autism rating scale(CARS), the Chinese version of the social communication questionnaire(SCQ) and the Chinese version of Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, version Ⅳ scale-parent form(SNAP-Ⅳ) were used to evaluate the core symptoms of ASD and ADHD, respectively. SPSS 26.0 software was used to perform variance, Chi-square test, Spearman correlation analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis.Results:The social skills score of ASD group was lower than ADHD group ((61.53±24.26) vs (80.89±15.19), P<0.05), while the problem behavior score of ASD group was higher than ADHD group ((38.82±11.92) vs (34.00±12.45), P<0.05). In ASD group, the scores of ABC, CARS and SCQ were negatively correlated with the score of social skills ( r=-0.26--0.55, P<0.05). In ADHD group, the total score and each subscale of SNAP-Ⅳ were positively correlated with the score of problem behavior ( r=0.25-0.65, P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that empathy was a negative influencing factor of ASD ( B=-0.246, OR=0.782, P<0.05), and hyperactivity/inattention was a positive influencing factor of ASD ( B=0.589, OR=1.802, P<0.01), while only hyperactivity/inattention was a positive influencing factor of ADHD( B=0.779, OR=2.180, P<0.01). Conclusion:Children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD both have defects in social skills and problem behaviors, and these defects are associated with the core characteristics of their respective diseases.
3.A qualitative study on the experiences of nutrition impact symptoms in esophageal cancer patients
Muxi CHENG ; Huiyan LIAO ; Hui LI ; Yuxin HE ; Lei ZHONG ; Xinhui SONG ; Mei LI
Chinese Journal of Nursing 2025;60(19):2378-2383
Objective To explore the real experiences of nutrition impact symptoms in esophageal cancer patients during diagnosis and treatment,and to provide references for developing nutritional management strategies.Methods Using purposive sampling,15 esophageal cancer patients admitted to the thoracic surgery department of a tertiary grade A hospital in Guangzhou from October to December 2024 were selected for semi-structured interviews.Thematic analysis was used for data analysis.Results 4 themes and 12 sub-themes were identified:①Multiple symptom perceptions:esophageal obstruction-dysphagia,appetite-affecting symptoms,multiple symptom over-lap,and individual differences in symptom perception.② Insufficient symptom cognition:overestimation of symptom controllability and biased symptom attribution.③ Negative emotional reactions:anxiety and fear about eating,frustration with declining eating function,and helplessness and guilt about losing control over eating.④ Di-verse symptom coping strategies:avoidance coping,adaptive coping,and active nutritional management.Conclusion The nutrition impact symptom experiences of esophageal cancer patients are complex and diverse.Healthcare professionals should promptly identify and assess nutrition impact symptoms,provide nutrition health education,strengthen psychological guidance,and develop culturally distinctive individualized nutritional management strategies.
4.Comparison of the effect of delaying pediatric myopia progression between defocus incorporated multiple segments spectacle lenses combined with low-dose atropine and orthokeratology lenses
Desheng SONG ; Yuxin ZHANG ; Guangfeng LONG ; Zhijun CHEN
Recent Advances in Ophthalmology 2025;45(4):291-297
Objective To compare the efficacy of controlling pediatric myopia progression between defocus incorpo-rated multiple segments(DIMS)spectacle lenses combined with low-concentration atropine(0.1 g·L-1)(DIMSA)and orthokeratology(OK)lenses.Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted on myopic children treated at the De-partment of Ophthalmology,Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between January 2022 and February 2023.Participants were divided into a DIMSA group(88 cases)and an OK lens group(73 cases).Only right eye data were in-cluded for statistical analysis,and the children were followed up for 1 year.The axial length(AL)and spherical equivalent refraction(SER)were measured for the DIMSA group while only AL was measured for the OK lens group at baseline and each follow-up visit.The AL regression rate[(AL regression rate=the number of AL regression cases/total cases in the group)× 100%]and axial elongation(AE)were calculated to compare the myopia control efficacy between the two groups.Results The baseline age of the OK lens group was significantly larger than that of the DIMSA group(P=0.001).The AE value in the DIMSA group was significantly smaller than that in the OK lens group after following up for 6 months,following up for 1 year,and adjusting for baseline age(all P<0.05).Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that baseline age was the only factor influencing the AE value[OK lens group:unstandardized β=-0.024,standardizedβ=-0.266(P=0.022);DIMSA group:unstandardized β=-0.052,standardized β=-0.487(P<0.001)].There was a negative correlation between AE and baseline age(OK lens group:r=-0.30,P<0.001;DIMSA group:r=-0.42,P<0.001).In the DIMSA group,baseline age was positively correlated with SER progression(r=0.28,P=0.001 5).After following up for 1 year,the proportions of children with different AE velocities differed significantly between the two groups(x2=11.09,P=0.004).AE was controlled better in the DIMSA group than that in the OK lens group.AL regression rates in the DIMSA group were significantly higher than those in the OK lens group after 6 months and 1 year of follow-up(all P<0.05).No severe ocular adverse events occurred in either group.Conclusion DIMSA demonstrates superior effi-cacy over OK lenses in controlling myopia progression in children with mild-to-moderate myopia.Ophthalmologists should tailor myopia control strategies based on individual needs and characteristics.
5.Dynamic functional connectivity analysis of insomnia patients based on triple brain network model
Wuyuan XIN ; Juan WANG ; Yongxin CHENG ; Daining SONG ; Junxuan WANG ; Yuxin MA ; Ting XUE ; Jingjing DING ; Dahua YU ; Kai YUAN
Chinese Journal of Medical Physics 2025;42(8):1004-1010
Objective To investigate the dynamic functional connectivity differences between insomnia patients and healthy controls in triple brain networks[the significant network(SN),the default mode network(DMN),and the executive control network(ECN)]using functional magnetic resonance imaging,and uncover their associations with cognitive ability.Methods Dynamic functional connectivity analysis was performed on functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 40 insomnia patients and 40 healthy controls.The changes in dynamic functional connectivity values were studied for SN,DMN,ECN[including the left executive control network(LECN)and the right executive control network(RECN)];the similarities and differences in time characteristic indicators such as time score,average dwell time,and conversion rate were explored;and their associations with clinical information were analyzed.Results The SN-LECN and DMN-RECN dynamic functional connectivity was significantly higher in insomnia patients than in healthy controls(P=0.013,0.047),while the RECN-LECN and RECN internal functional connectivity strength was lower in insomnia patients than in healthy controls(P<0.001).Additionally,the fractional time in state 2 in insomnia group was significantly higher than that in healthy controls(P<0.001),and it was positively correlated with the Pittsburgh sleep quality index(r=0.524,P=0.001).Conclusion Insomnia patients exhibit significant abnormalities in triple brain network dynamic functional connectivity,which may be related to abnormalities in cognitive control and sensory processing in insomnia patients.These findings provide a new perspective for further research on the neural mechanisms and potential intervention strategies for insomnia.
6.Study on the Improvement Effect of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine and Its Active Components on Inflamma-tory Response in Acute Lung Injury
Yanqing XU ; Xinzhi WANG ; Xiaobing CUI ; Yuxin GU ; Qianlin CHEN ; Shengjun CHEN ; Song LI ; Hao WU ; Hongli YU
Journal of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;41(8):1055-1065
OBJECTIVE To investigate the ameliorative effect of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine and its effective components on inflammatory response in mice with acute lung injury(ALI).METHODS A mice model of acute lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS)was used as the in vivo animal model.The levels of inflammatory factors TNF-α,IL-6,and IL-1β,the total protein concentration,the number of inflammatory cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid,the ratio of lung wet weight to dry weight,and the pathological damage of lung tissues were taken as the evaluation indexes.RAW264.7 macrophages induced by LPS were used as the in vitro experimental model,with the mRNA levels of intracellular inflammatory factors TNF-α,IL-1β,and IL-6 as indicators,systematic solvent extraction and silica gel column chromatography were used to separate and screen the effective parts and components of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine for treating acute lung injury.The component composition of the effective fractions was analyzed by mass spectrometry,the content of cyclic dipeptide components in the effective fraction was determined,and the anti-in-flammatory activity of cyclic dipeptides was verified in vitro.RESULTS The ethyl acetate extraction fraction obtained by extracting the supernatant of water extraction and ethanol precipitation of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine(referred to as the ethyl acetate fraction for short)significantly improved the inflammatory response in mice with acute lung injury and significantly reduced the mRNA levels of TNF-α,IL-1β,and IL-6 in RAW264.7 cells induced by LPS.The Fr.1 fraction isolated from the ethyl acetate frac-tion by silica gel column chromatography had anti-inflammatory effects in vitro.Mass spectrometry determined the content of two main cyclic dipeptide components,cyclo-(Pro-Phe)and cyclo-(Pro-Val),in the Fr.1 fraction.After mixing these two cyclic dipeptide components in the molar ratio in the Fr.1 fraction and administering them in vitro,the results showed that the combination of these two cyclic dipeptide components could significantly inhibit the mRNA expression levels of TNF-α,IL-1β,and IL-6 in RAW264.7 cells induced by LPS.CONCLUSION Cyclic dipeptide component is one of the main material basis categories for the anti-inflammatory effect of Pinelliae Rhizoma Praeparatum Cum Alumine.
7.An investigation into how fixation and permeabilization affect antigens'mean fluorescence values and percentage of positive cells obtained through flow cytometry
Xianing GUO ; Yuxin LIU ; Song YU ; Rong LI ; Ye YANG ; Jiaqing LI ; Meng CAO ; Jing LUAN
Chinese Journal of Immunology 2025;41(8):1997-2002
Objective:Conventional myeloid cell staining methodologies were employed to stain splenocytes and peripheral blood cells by fixation and permeabilization and non-fixation and permeabilization methods,respectively,and effects of staining were compared following flow cytometry detection.Methods:Peripheral blood and spleen of three 8-week-old C57 male mice were divided into fixation and permeabilization group and non-fixation and permeabilization group for staining,and flow cytometry was used to detect mean fluorescence intensity(MFI)of each fluorescent antibody and proportion of positive cells.Results:In mouse peripheral blood samples,MFI of 7-AAD-PerCP-Cyanine5.5 and CD147-PE were lower in fixation and permeabilization group than non-fixation and permeabilization group,MFI of F4/80-FITC,MHC Class Ⅱ(I-A/I-E)-APC-R700,Ly-6c-APC-Cy7,CD206-BV421,CD45-BV510,CD11b-BV605,CD11c-BV650 and CD86-BV786 were higher than non-fixation and permeabilization group.Proportions of each immune cell in fixation and permeabilization group and non-fixation and permeabilization group were highly similar.In mouse spleen samples,MFI of antibodies in fixation and permeabilization group were higher than those in non-fixation and permeabilization group,with exception of CD147-PE,which had a lower MFI than non-fixation and permeabilization group;proportions of dendritic cells and Mon/Ly-6clow cells were lower than non-fixation and permeabilization group,whereas proportions of rest myeloid subpopula-tions were higher than non-fixation and permeabilization group.Conclusion:Fixation and permeabilization in peripheral blood cells can improve antibody MFI,but it has little effect on proportion of positive cells.Fixation and permeabilization can enhance antibody MFI in splenocytes,while effect on proportion of each positive cell is more significant.It is advised that when designing staining strate-gies,researchers attempt to choose alternative cell surface antigens for assay or optimize protocols through required pre-experiments in order to acquire stable and dependable results.
8.Identification and genetic analysis of a novel goose astrovirus isolated from Jiangxi Province
Enfu HUANG ; Qianlang GU ; Yuxin LIU ; Jun CHEN ; Deping SONG ; Jiangnan HUANG ; Jia TAN ; Fanfan ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Veterinary Science 2025;45(11):2334-2342
In order to understand the genetic variation and whole genome characteristics of goose as-trovirus(GoAstV)in Jiangxi Province,a strain of GoAstV was successfully isolated from a typical gosling gout case sample and the whole genome sequencing and genetic characteristics of the isola-ted strain were analyzed.The results showed that the JXNC1 strain could be stably passaged on LMH cells and could cause mild cytopathic effects in LMH cells.Sequencing and analysis showed that the full-length genome of the strain was 7 173 bp,and its genetic relationship was the closest to the GZ2301(PP966939)reference strain,belonging to the GoAstV-Ⅱ genotype.The complete genome of JXNC1 strain shared 98.1%-98.8%nucleotide similarity with 22 GoAstV-Ⅱ reference strains,and the amino acid similarity of ORF2 gene was 97.6%-99.6%.At the same time,the analysis results showed that the mutation of the strain mainly occurred in the ORF2 gene,and there were 13 amino acid site mutations,of which T630I was a unique mutation.Animal regression experiments showed that the inoculation of JXNC1 strain could cause urate deposition in the or-gans of goslings,congestion and dilatation of hepatic sinusoids,and small focal necrosis of some hepatocytes.Renal tissue tubular dilatation,renal interstitial connective tissue hyperplasia.The re-sults of this study laid a foundation for accurate prevention and control of the disease.
9.Identification and genetic analysis of a novel goose astrovirus isolated from Jiangxi Province
Enfu HUANG ; Qianlang GU ; Yuxin LIU ; Jun CHEN ; Deping SONG ; Jiangnan HUANG ; Jia TAN ; Fanfan ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Veterinary Science 2025;45(11):2334-2342
In order to understand the genetic variation and whole genome characteristics of goose as-trovirus(GoAstV)in Jiangxi Province,a strain of GoAstV was successfully isolated from a typical gosling gout case sample and the whole genome sequencing and genetic characteristics of the isola-ted strain were analyzed.The results showed that the JXNC1 strain could be stably passaged on LMH cells and could cause mild cytopathic effects in LMH cells.Sequencing and analysis showed that the full-length genome of the strain was 7 173 bp,and its genetic relationship was the closest to the GZ2301(PP966939)reference strain,belonging to the GoAstV-Ⅱ genotype.The complete genome of JXNC1 strain shared 98.1%-98.8%nucleotide similarity with 22 GoAstV-Ⅱ reference strains,and the amino acid similarity of ORF2 gene was 97.6%-99.6%.At the same time,the analysis results showed that the mutation of the strain mainly occurred in the ORF2 gene,and there were 13 amino acid site mutations,of which T630I was a unique mutation.Animal regression experiments showed that the inoculation of JXNC1 strain could cause urate deposition in the or-gans of goslings,congestion and dilatation of hepatic sinusoids,and small focal necrosis of some hepatocytes.Renal tissue tubular dilatation,renal interstitial connective tissue hyperplasia.The re-sults of this study laid a foundation for accurate prevention and control of the disease.
10.Comparative analysis of social skills and problem behaviors between children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD
Li SONG ; Xiaoru JIANG ; Qin ZHOU ; Zenghe YUE ; Jiaxue LIU ; Ke XU ; Yuxin QIAN ; Nana QIU ; Jing XU ; Xiaoyan KE
Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medicine and Brain Science 2025;34(4):316-322
Objective:To explore the characteristics of social skills and problem behaviors of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as the association with core symptoms.Methods:A total of 409 patients aged 5-18 years old with ASD or ADHD in the outpatient department of Nanjing Brain Hospital from 2023 to 2024, and 344 children and adolescents with typical development(TD) were recruited.All participants were matched in a ratio of 1∶1∶1 (ASD∶ADHD∶TD) according to gender and age, and 97 participants were included in each group for analysis.The Chinese version of the social skills improvement system rating scales(SSIS-RS-C) was used to evaluate social skills and problem behaviors, and autistic child behavior checklist(ABC), childhood autism rating scale(CARS), the Chinese version of the social communication questionnaire(SCQ) and the Chinese version of Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, version Ⅳ scale-parent form(SNAP-Ⅳ) were used to evaluate the core symptoms of ASD and ADHD, respectively. SPSS 26.0 software was used to perform variance, Chi-square test, Spearman correlation analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis.Results:The social skills score of ASD group was lower than ADHD group ((61.53±24.26) vs (80.89±15.19), P<0.05), while the problem behavior score of ASD group was higher than ADHD group ((38.82±11.92) vs (34.00±12.45), P<0.05). In ASD group, the scores of ABC, CARS and SCQ were negatively correlated with the score of social skills ( r=-0.26--0.55, P<0.05). In ADHD group, the total score and each subscale of SNAP-Ⅳ were positively correlated with the score of problem behavior ( r=0.25-0.65, P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that empathy was a negative influencing factor of ASD ( B=-0.246, OR=0.782, P<0.05), and hyperactivity/inattention was a positive influencing factor of ASD ( B=0.589, OR=1.802, P<0.01), while only hyperactivity/inattention was a positive influencing factor of ADHD( B=0.779, OR=2.180, P<0.01). Conclusion:Children and adolescents with ASD and ADHD both have defects in social skills and problem behaviors, and these defects are associated with the core characteristics of their respective diseases.

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