BACKGROUND:Mesenchymal stem cells show extremely therapeutic potential for radiation-induced lung injury through delivering exosomes.Age is a primary factor affecting the function and biological efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the protective effects of exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of different mouse ages on radiation-induced lung injury in mice.METHODS:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of young mice and old mice were obtained by whole bone marrow adherent culture.The exosomes were isolated from the supernatant of passage 3 bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.Ten 2-month-old C57BL/6J mice were randomly selected as the control group after anesthesia and not irradiated.The remaining 30 2-month-old C57BL/6J mice were used to establish a mouse radiation-induced lung injury model and were randomly divided into three groups.Exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of young mice,exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of old mice,and PBS were injected through the tail vein,respectively.The survival rate of mice was monitored.The lung function,lung inflammation and fibrosis were assessed at 1 and 12 weeks after irradiation.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The concentrations of particles and proteins in exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of young mice were higher than those in exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of old mice.(2)Compared with the control group,the survival rate of mice in the PBS group was low,and lung inflammation was obvious at week 1 after irradiation,and the levels and mRNA expressions of interleukin-1β,interleukin-6,and tumor necrosis factor-α were increased.Collagen deposition in lung tissues was observed at week 12 after irradiation,and the mRNA level of E-cadherin was decreased,while the mRNA levels of α-smooth muscle actin,transforming growth factor-β1,and β-catenin were increased.(3)Compared with the PBS group,the survival rate of mice in the exosome group was significantly improved,and the level of proinflammatory factors and their mRNA expression were reduced at week 1 after irradiation,the mRNA level of E-cadherin was increased,and the mRNA levels of α-smooth muscle actin,transforming growth factor β1 and β-catenin were reduced at week 12 after irradiation.(4)Among all the above indicators,the therapeutic effect of exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of young mice was better than that of exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of old mice.(5)The results showed that exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of young mice contained more particles and proteins,and the effect of alleviating early inflammation and late fibrosis of radiation-induced lung injury in mice was better than that of exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of old mice.

Objective To investigate the current distribution of radiotherapy resources in Gansu Province, evaluate the equity of resource allocation, and provide a scientific basis for optimizing regional resource allocation. Methods A questionnaire survey was carried out to assess radiotherapy resources in medical institutions across Gansu Province, China. The equity of radiotherapy resource distribution and associated disparities were assessed using the Gini coefficient, Lorenz curve, and Theil index. Results A total of 23 medical institutions in Gansu Province provided radiotherapy services, comprising 39 radiotherapy devices and 438 professionals, of whom medical physicists accounted for 16.9%. The radiotherapy frequency was 0.47 cases per thousand population. The Gini coefficients for radiotherapy resource distribution ranged from 0.38 to 0.56 by population and from 0.52 to 0.70 by geography. The Theil index for radiotherapy resources ranged from 1.36 to 3.67. Conclusion Radiotherapy resources in Gansu Province were insufficient, and the capacity of radiotherapy service was suboptimal. The equity of radiotherapy resource allocation by geography was worse than that by population. Therefore, it is imperative to address the shortage of radiotherapy resources, strengthen the professional workforce, enhance the capacity radiotherapy service and resource utilization, optimize resource allocation, and promote regional equity in radiotherapy provision in Gansu Province.

BACKGROUND:Mesenchymal stem cells show extremely therapeutic potential for radiation-induced lung injury through delivering exosomes.Age is a primary factor affecting the function and biological efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells.OBJECTIVE:To investigate the protective effects of exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of different mouse ages on radiation-induced lung injury in mice.METHODS:Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of young mice and old mice were obtained by whole bone marrow adherent culture.The exosomes were isolated from the supernatant of passage 3 bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.Ten 2-month-old C57BL/6J mice were randomly selected as the control group after anesthesia and not irradiated.The remaining 30 2-month-old C57BL/6J mice were used to establish a mouse radiation-induced lung injury model and were randomly divided into three groups.Exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of young mice,exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of old mice,and PBS were injected through the tail vein,respectively.The survival rate of mice was monitored.The lung function,lung inflammation and fibrosis were assessed at 1 and 12 weeks after irradiation.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The concentrations of particles and proteins in exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of young mice were higher than those in exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of old mice.(2)Compared with the control group,the survival rate of mice in the PBS group was low,and lung inflammation was obvious at week 1 after irradiation,and the levels and mRNA expressions of interleukin-1β,interleukin-6,and tumor necrosis factor-α were increased.Collagen deposition in lung tissues was observed at week 12 after irradiation,and the mRNA level of E-cadherin was decreased,while the mRNA levels of α-smooth muscle actin,transforming growth factor-β1,and β-catenin were increased.(3)Compared with the PBS group,the survival rate of mice in the exosome group was significantly improved,and the level of proinflammatory factors and their mRNA expression were reduced at week 1 after irradiation,the mRNA level of E-cadherin was increased,and the mRNA levels of α-smooth muscle actin,transforming growth factor β1 and β-catenin were reduced at week 12 after irradiation.(4)Among all the above indicators,the therapeutic effect of exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of young mice was better than that of exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of old mice.(5)The results showed that exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of young mice contained more particles and proteins,and the effect of alleviating early inflammation and late fibrosis of radiation-induced lung injury in mice was better than that of exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of old mice.

Objective We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Shengxuebao Mixture in the treatment of cancer-related anemia(CRA)presenting with syndrome of deficiency of liver and kidney combined with syndrome of deficiency of both qi and blood.Methods A randomized,double-blind,placebo-controlled,multicenter clinical trial was conducted.Eligible patients with malignant tumors meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled from 26 hospitals,including Dongzhimen Hospital,Beijing University of Chinese Medicine,Xiaogan Central Hospital,and Yangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine,from June 1,2022,to September 30,2024.Patients were allocated 1:1 to either the experimental group receiving Shengxuebao Mixture or the control group receiving its simulator(placebo)using a block randomization method under double-blind conditions.Both groups received 15 mL orally three times daily for 28 consecutive days.The primary efficacy indicators included the hemoglobin(Hb)improvement rate(RHb)and the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome improvement rate(RTCM)at week 4 of treatment.The secondary efficacy indicators encompassed Hb and red blood cell(RBC)count,Karnofsky Performance Status(KPS)score,TCM syndrome score,individual TCM symptom scores,and changes in each of these indicators compared to the baseline period at weeks 2,4,and 6 of treatment.Safety evaluations were conducted at week 4 of treatment.Results A total of 239 patients were enrolled,with 225 cases included in the Full Analysis Set(FAS)(109 in the experimental group vs.116 control group),163 in the Per Protocol Set(PPS)(77 vs.86),and 225 in the Safety Set(SS)(109 vs.116).Baseline characteristics between groups showed no significant differences.Significant differences were observed between the experimental and control groups in RHb at week 4(FAS:49.51%vs.35.24%,P<0.05;PPS:53.25%vs.36.05%,P<0.05)and RTCM at week 4(FAS:61.54%vs.39.62%,P<0.01;PPS:64.94%vs.40.70%,P<0.01).At weeks 2,4,and 6,the experimental group showed greater improvements in Hb and RBC counts than the control group.Additionally,the TCM syndrome scores were lower in the experimental group than in the control group at these time points.Except for week 2 in PPS,the KPS improvement was better in the experimental group than in the control group(P<0.05).The experimental group also demonstrated a greater reduction in scores for individual TCM symptoms such as spiritlessness and weakness,poor appetite and reduced food intake at weeks 4 and 6 compared to the control group(P<0.05,P<0.01).Furthermore,the reduction in vertigo score was more pronounced in the experimental group at week 6(P<0.01).For the score of pale and lusterless complexion,only in the PPS was the reduction from baseline more significant in the experimental group than in the control group at weeks 4 and 6(P<0.05).No significant differences were observed between the experimental and control groups in the incidence of all adverse events or drug-related adverse reactions.Conclusion Shengxuebao Mixture demonstrates significant efficacy in patients with CRA presenting syndrome of deficiency of liver and kidney combined with syndrome of deficiency of both qi and blood,effectively increasing Hb levels,ameliorating TCM syndromes,alleviating clinical symptoms,and enhancing functional status,with no significant difference in adverse drug reactions compared to the placebo.

Objective To explore the influencing factors of immune-associated thyroid dysfunction caused by sintilimab treatment in solid tumors and construct a prediction model.Methods Medical records of patients diagnosed with solid tumors and treated with sintilimab at Peking University People's Hospital(Xizhimen Campus,Tongzhou Campus,Shijiazhuang Campus)from January 2023 to September 2024 were collected to explore the influencing factors that caused immune-related thyroid dysfunction using univariate and multifactorial binary logistic regression analyses and to establish a prediction model.The predictive effect of the model was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results A total of 120 patients were included,and 33 presented with immune-related thyroid dysfunction.Multifactorial logistic regression analysis revealed that thyroid-stimulating hormone(TSH)[OR=2.470,95%CI=(1.279,4.771)]and treatment cycles[OR=1.298,95%CI=(1.117,1.509)]were independent risk factors for the occurrence of immune-associated thyroid dysfunction,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The area under the ROC curve was(0.897±0.043)[95%CI=(0.813,0.981)],the Yoden index was 0.703,and the model prediction accuracy was 86.5%.Conclusion The risk of immune-related thyroid dysfunction caused by sintilimab is high,and TSH and treatment cycle are the influencing factors,and the constructed model has certain predictive value and is of reference significance.

Objective:To construct and verify a risk prediction model for pulmonary infection in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) after craniotomy and clipping, providing theoretical basis and practical guidance for improving the quality of postoperative care.Methods:Using the convenience sampling method, a retrospective selection was made of 397 patients with aSAH after craniotomy and clipping who were hospitalized in the Department of Neurosurgery of Shanxi Bethune Hospital (Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences) from January 2019 to December 2023 as the modeling group. They were randomly divided into the training set and the test set at a ratio of 7:3, with 278 cases in the training set and 119 cases in the test set. Patients were divided into the infection group and the non-infection group based on whether they developed pulmonary infection. Univariate analysis was used to model the risk factors of pulmonary infection after aSAH craniotomy and clamping in the group, and Lasso regression was used to construct a predictive model. A total of 119 patients with aSAH admitted to the neurosurgery department of the same hospital from January to April 2024 were selected for the external validation of the model. The predictive effect of the model was evaluated through the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:In the modeling group, there were 216 male patients and 181 female patients. The incidence of pulmonary infection was 38.54% (153/397). Finally, five influencing factors, namely stroke, Hunt-Hess classification, mechanical ventilation, indwelling nasogastric tube and the timing of initiating enteral nutrition, were included to construct a predictive model. The areas under the ROC curves of the nomogram prediction models of this model in the training set, test set, and external validation group were 0.859(95% CI 0.791-0.928), 0.843(95% CI 0.796-0.890), and 0.800(95% CI 0.711-0.889), respectively. The calibration curve shows that the model's prediction fits well with the actual situation and has a high degree of calibration. Decision curve analysis indicates that this model has high clinical application value under different risk thresholds. Conclusions:The risk prediction model for pulmonary infection in patients after craniotomy and clipping with aSAH has good discrimination and calibration, which can provide reference for medical staff to identify high-risk patients at an early stage and take preventive intervention measures.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic efficacy of fat fraction(FF)and T2* values of infrapatellar fat pad(IPFP)based on MR mDixon-Quant technique for knee osteoarthritis(KOA),and to analyze their related influencing factors.Methods A total of 178 knee joints from 114 volunteers were included and underwent knee joints X-ray examination and MR mDixon-Quant sequence scanning.The correlation between FF and T2* values of IPFP with gender,age,body mass index(BMI),and K-L grade was analyzed by Spearman's test and multiple linear regression.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were plotted to assess the diag-nostic efficacy of FF and T2* values for KOA.Results FF value of IPFP was negatively correlated with age,BMI,and K-L grade(r=-0.470,-0.276,-0.679,P＜0.001),and T2* value was also negatively correlated with age,BMI,and K-L grade(r=-0.291,-0.173,-0.505,P＜0.001).Multiple linear regression analysis results showed that only K-L grade had a statistically significant correlation with FF and T2* values(P＜0.001).ROC curve analysis indicated that the area under the curve(AUC)for diagnosing KOA using the FF and T2* values of IPFP were 0.859 and 0.767,respectively,with sensitivity of 0.878 and 0.841,and specificity of 0.719 and 0.573,respectively.The combined diagnosis had an AUC of 0.855,a sensitivity of 0.625,and a specificity of 0.963,improving the diagnostic specificity for KOA.Conclusion FF and T2* values of IPFP can serve as objective imaging indicators for KOA assessment,and their reduction is correlated with the progress of age,BMI,and K-L grade,of which the K-L grade is an independent influencing factor.The combination of FF and T2 can improve the diagnostic specificity of KOA,and provide a quantitative basis for early KOA detection and severity stratification.

This study aims to determine the therapeutic effect and then elucidate the molecular mechanism of Dietary Yangrong Decoction(DYRT)on blood deficiency syndrome based on net-work pharmacology and study its active compounds.The molecular mechanism of DYRT in the treatment of blood deficiency syndrome was predicted by network pharmacology.The blood defi-ciency of rats was established using cyclophosphamide and acetophenohydrazine jointly,which was divided into a blank control group,a model group,a Men's Yangrong Decoction group(MYRT)(positive control group),a medicinal group and food-based Yangrong Decoction group.The active components were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(HPLC-MS),the periph-eral hemogram was detected by an automatic biochemical analyzer,the levels of hematopoietic regulatory factors in serum were determined by ELISA,and the relative expression of EPO in kid-ney and PI3K,AKT,GM-CSF in bone marrow were measured by RT-PCR.The results showed that DYRT had 57 active ingredients and 128 potential targets for the treatment of spleen deficien-cy syndrome.1 835 items were obtained by GO enrichment analysis,and 20 pathways were ob-tained by KEGG enrichment analysis;DYRT and MYRT were identified by HPLC-MS to contain 12 same blood active compounds.Animal experiments showed that,compared with the model group,the number of red blood cells,the number of platelets and the content of hemoglobin in the DYRT group were significantly increased,and the number of white blood cells was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).The contents of EPO,IL-3,IL-6 and GM-CSF in serum were significantly in-creased,and the content of TNF-α was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).The relative expression levels of EPO in kidney and PI3K,AKT and GM-CSF mRNA in bone marrow were significantly increased(P＜0.05).Compared with the MYRT group,the number of white blood cells in the DYRT group was significantly reduced,the content of GM-CSF in serum was significantly in-creased,and the content of EPO and GM-CSF mRNA was significantly increased(P＜0.05).In conclusion,DYRT contains the same active compounds as MYRT,which can regulate hematopoi-etic factors,thereby activating the PI3K/AKT pathway to restore hematopoietic function and im-prove the blood deficiency state of the body.

Objective:To analyze and explore the selection of secondary intervention strategies for residual issues following congenital aortic valve disease surgery in children, as well as to evaluate their prognostic efficacy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 41 children with residual issues after congenital aortic valve disease surgery, who were treated at the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Children's Medical Center, between January 2013 and August 2024. Among them, 25 were male and 16 were female, with a mean age of(116.8±45.1)months and a mean weight of(40.0±20.2)kg. The mean interval for secondary intervention was(60.0±36.4)months. The residual issues included aortic valve insufficiency(20 cases), aortic valve stenosis(11 cases), and combined aortic valve insufficiency and stenosis(10 cases).Results:Secondary interventions included aortic valve repair(7 cases), mechanical valve replacement(20 cases), Ross procedure(13 cases), and Ozaki procedure(1 case). Additionally, 5 cases with left ventricular outflow tract stenosis underwent concomitant Konno surgery.One case of early postoperative in-hospital death occurred, with a mortality rate of 2.4%, primarily due to acute left heart failure and multiple organ dysfunction. The average follow-up period for surviving children was( 64.6±34.5) months(5-147 months), with no mid- to long-term mortality. Follow-up results showed that In surviving children, the left heart showed significant reduction in size postoperatively, with the LVEDD Z-score decreasing from 1.24±2.23 before surgery to -0.97±1.48( P=0.001). Postoperative LVEF 0.66±0.06 showed no significant difference compared to pre-reintervention 0.68±0.10( P=0.140). In aortic stenosis(AS) patients, the peak transvalvular pressure gradient decreased from(69.5±19.8) mmHg(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) preoperatively to(25.1±10.9) mmHg postoperatively( P=0.003). In aortic insufficiency(AI) patients, the width of the aortic regurgitation jet decreased from(5.8±1.1) mm preoperatively to(2.7±1.1) mm postoperatively( P=0.012). 97.5% of children maintained mild-to-moderate aortic regurgitation(jet width <4 mm), with only 1 case of moderate regurgitation(jet width 4.4 mm)remaining under close observation.Two children underwent reoperation on the aortic valve, with a tertiary intervention rate of 5.0%. One case underwent redo commissurotomy 21 months after aortic valve repair due to recurrent stenosis, and the other underwent mechanical valve replacement 34 months after the Ozaki procedure due to leaflet calcification and infective endocarditis. Mid-term follow-up revealed good cardiac function recovery in surviving children, with 87.5% achieving NYHA functional class Ⅰ/Ⅱ. Conclusion:Due to the demands of growth and development and the degenerative nature of valve tissue, residual issues are inevitable in the mid- to long-term following congenital aortic valve disease surgery in children, often necessitating secondary intervention. Given the lack of suitable autologous valve tissue, the use of aortic valve replacement has significantly increased in secondary interventions. The Ross procedure, as an ideal secondary intervention, demonstrates satisfactory mid-term follow-up outcomes. For children with high-risk factors for the Ross procedure, mechanical valve replacement also yields favorable prognoses.