ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanisms by which Renshentang treats atherosclerosis （AS） in mice， focusing on the regulation of endothelial inflammatory responses mediated by transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 1 （TRPV1）. MethodsAn AS model was established in apolipoprotein E knockout （ApoE^-/-） mice fed a high-fat diet. The mice were randomly divided into a simvastatin group （0.02 g·kg^-1·d^-1） and low-， medium-， and high-dose Renshentang groups （1.77， 3.54， 7.08 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， with 12 mice in each group. ApoE^-/- mice were fed a high-fat diet and treated simultaneously. C57BL/6J mice fed a normal diet served as the normal group （n=9）. After continuous administration for 12 weeks， mice were anesthetized and the aortas were collected. Oil Red O staining was used to observe lipid plaque formation in the aorta. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to examine pathological changes in the aortic root. Immunohistochemistry was used to analyze the levels of pro-inflammatory factors tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， as well as the expression of TRPV1， phosphorylated phosphoinositide 3-kinase （p-PI3K）， and phosphorylated protein kinase B （p-Akt） in the aortic root. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used to detect endothelial nitric oxide synthase （eNOS） mRNA expression in the aorta， and Western blot was used to detect TRPV1 protein expression. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the model group showed a significant increase in aortic plaque formation （P<0.01） and significantly elevated levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in the aortic root （P<0.01）. The expression levels of TRPV1， p-PI3K， and p-Akt were decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and eNOS mRNA expression was reduced （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， all Renshentang groups significantly reduced aortic plaque formation （P<0.01）， significantly decreased TNF-α and IL-1β levels （P<0.01）， and markedly increased the expression levels of TRPV1， p-PI3K， p-Akt， and eNOS mRNA （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionRenshentang may inhibit endothelial inflammation and suppress the formation of AS by increasing TRPV1 protein expression and up-regulating the PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling pathway， which may be one of the molecular mechanisms underlying its therapeutic effect against AS.

Objective To compare the clinical outcomes of subxiphoid robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (SRATS) and intercostal robot-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (IRATS) in the treatment of anterior mediastinal tumors. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with anterior mediastinal tumors who underwent robot-assisted surgery in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Gansu Provincial Hospital, from May 2020 to July 2022. According to the surgical approach, patients were divided into an SRATS group and an IRATS group. Perioperative data were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 87 patients were included. There were 41 patients in the SRATS group [23 males, 18 females; mean age, (44.51±11.28) years] and 46 patients in the IRATS group [21 males, 25 females; mean age, (46.67±8.76) years]. Compared with the IRATS group, the SRATS group had significantly less intraoperative blood loss [(24.41±6.67) mL vs. (37.93±9.23) mL, P<0.001], shorter postoperative drainage duration [(1.73±0.59) days vs. (2.54±0.50) days, P<0.001], lower postoperative drainage volume [(94.46±34.08) mLvs. (116.72±24.90) mL, P=0.001], lower visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores on postoperative day 1 [(3.66±0.76) points vs. (4.15±0.84) points, P=0.005] and day 3 [(2.41±0.59) points vs. (2.89±0.82) points, P=0.003], shorter postoperative hospital stay [(4.12±0.81) days vs. (4.98±1.02) days, P<0.001], and lower hospitalization costs [(4.51±0.65) ten thousand yuan vs. (4.86±0.68) ten thousand yuan, P=0.020]. There were no statistical differences between the two groups in operative time or incidence of postoperative complications (P>0.05). Conclusion Both SRATS and IRATS are safe and effective for the treatment of anterior mediastinal tumors. However, SRATS is less invasive and more conducive to enhanced postoperative recovery.

Objective: To analyze the school tuberculosis (TB) outbreaks and preventive treatment in Hefei from 2022 to 2024, so as to provide reference for TB prevention and control in schools. Methods: Data were collected on all school based TB outbreaks occurring during 2022-2024 in Hefei, defined as ≥2 epidemiologically linked TB cases within the same school during a single semester. Statistical analyses were performed using the Chi square test. Results: Close contacts exhibited significantly higher TB incidence (2.88%) and latent mycobacterium tuberculosis infection (LTBI) rates (13.80%) in the school TB outbreaks, compared to non close contacts (0.12% and 2.63%, respectively). Among close contacts, secondary school students showed lower TB incidence (0.48%) and LTBI prevalence (3.42%) than both primary school or younger children (0.68%, 6.95%) and college students ( 0.78% , 6.50%), with statistically significant differences ( χ 2=360.91, 6.37; 791.71, 102.03, all P <0.05). The proportion of LTBI individuals recommended for preventive therapy was higher in primary school or younger groups (98.59%) than in secondary (95.25%) or college students (86.34%) ( χ 2=25.86, P <0.01). However, among those recommended, close contacts had higher uptake (85.82%) and completion rates (87.25%) of preventive therapy than non close contacts (69.63% and 70.57%); similarly, secondary school students demonstrated higher uptake (91.21%) and completion rates (86.45%) compared to primary school or younger (88.57%, 83.87%) and college students (57.28%, 64.08%) ( χ 2=30.52, 26.72; 125.17, 38.84, all P <0.01). Subsequent TB incidence among LTBI close contacts (13.30%) and among those who did not complete preventive therapy (22.73%) were significantly higher than among non close contacts (2.80%, 2.41%), respectively ( χ 2=32.19, 13.87, both P <0.05). Conclusions In school TB outbreaks, close contacts face higher LTBI prevalence and subsequent TB risk than non close contacts. College students show notably low adherence to preventive therapy. It is necessary to take targeted measures to improve the compliance of preventive measures among students.

Purpose: The role of the Clinical Treatment Score post-5 years (CTS5) in male breast cancer (MBC) remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics and prognosis of CTS5 between MBC and female breast cancer (FBC). Materials and Methods: Patients diagnosed with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–negative/estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer between 2010 and 2015 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and multivariate Cox proportional hazard model were used for statistical analysis. Results: This study included 169,869 patients, comprising 168,422 (99.1%) FBC and 1,447 (0.9%) MBC patients. More MBC patients had intermediate risk (IR)/high risk (HR) disease compared to FBC patients (17.7% vs. 8.7%, p < 0.001). MBC patients had an inferior overall survival (OS) but similar breast cancer-specific survival compared to those with FBC. Sensitivity analyses showed that sex was an independent prognostic factor associated with OS but not breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) in both the low-risk (LR) and IR/HR cohorts. Those with MBC exhibited significantly worse OS (p < 0.001) than FBC patients in both cohorts. In MBC patients, those with IR/HR disease had significantly worse OS (p < 0.001) and BCSS (p < 0.001) compared to those with LR disease. For FBC patients, the IR/HR group had also significantly worse OS (p < 0.001) and BCSS (p < 0.001) compared to the LR group. Conclusion Our findings highlight critical differences in clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes between MBC and FBC, suggesting the need for sex-tailored approaches in breast cancer management.

Based on the practice of National Diabetes Prevention and Control Center (DPCC) in Hunan Province for five years, this paper systematically reviewed the excellent experience and advanced practices of diabetes prevention and control in several demonstration areas.

Objective:To study the relationship between urinary arsenic methylation metabolism patterns and skin keratinization and pigmentation abnormalities in population exposed to arsenic through drinking water.Methods:Using a cross-sectional study method, a survey on endemic arsenic poisoning was conducted among permanent residents of drinking water endemic arsenic poisoning areas in Bayannur City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 2004 (before water improvement). In 2017 (after water improvement), 71 arsenic exposed individuals were followed up as survey subjects. According to the "Diagnosis of Endemic Arsenism" (WS/T 211-2015), the clinical grading of skin injuries (skin keratinization, pigmentation abnormalities) in the survey subjects was evaluated. Urine samples were collected for detection of arsenic methylation metabolite levels by high-performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and calibrated with urinary creatinine. The changes and amplitudes of urinary arsenic methylation indicators before and after water improvement were calculated and analyzed according to the outcome of skin keratinization and pigmentation abnormalities which were divided into reduced, unchanged, and added groups.Results:(1) The changes in urinary total arsenic (TAs), inorganic arsenic (iAs), monomethyl arsenic (MMA), and dimethyl arsenic (DMA) levels in different outcome groups of skin keratinization were compared, and the differences were statistically significant ( H = 9.08, 8.77, 9.28, 8.57, P < 0.05). The changes in urinary TAs, iAs, MMA, DMA levels, iAs percentage (iAs%), DMA percentage (DMA%), and primary methylation index (PMI) in different outcome groups of skin pigmentation abnormalities were compared, and the differences were statistically significant ( H = 8.04, 10.67, 8.29, 9.14, 6.30, 9.10, 7.20, P < 0.05). (2) The comparison of amplitudes in urinary TAs, iAs, MMA, and DMA levels in different outcome groups of skin keratinization showed statistically significant differences ( H = 6.92, 7.34, 6.66, 6.16, P < 0.05). The amplitudes in urinary iAs level, iAs%, DMA%, and PMI in different outcome groups of skin pigmentation abnormalities were compared, and the differences were statistically significant ( H = 7.94, 7.61, 9.95, 7.22, P < 0.05). Conclusion:The changes pattern of urinary TAs, iAs, MMA, DMA, iAs%, DMA%, and PMI in population exposed to arsenic through drinking water is related to the transformation of skin keratinization and pigmentation abnormalities.

Objective:To study the relationship between the levels of multiple elements in urine and the risk of arsenic poisoning in populations exposed to drinking water arsenic in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Inner Mongolia).Methods:From April 2023 to January 2024, a case-control study method was used to select 128 individuals with a residence time of ≥10 years in drinking water arsenic exposed areas in Inner Mongolia as study subjects. Eighty-one individuals diagnosed with arsenic poisoning were selected as the case group, and 47 healthy individuals were selected as the control group for urine sample collection and questionnaire survey. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was employed to determine the levels of 10 elements (chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, molybdenum, cadmium and lead) in urine. The levels of each element in urine were divided into four groups ( Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups) based on quartiles. The associations between the levels of various elements in urine and the risk of arsenic poisoning were studied using binary logistic regression model and restricted cubic spline (RCS). Results:The age of the control group and the case group [ M ( Q1, Q3)] were 61 (53, 69) and 61 (56, 67) years old, respectively. There were 19 and 43 males, and 28 and 38 females, respectively. There was no statistically significant differences in age and and gender composition between the two groups ( Z = - 0.39, P = 0.700; χ 2 = 1.91, P = 0.167). The levels of urinary copper and cadmium of the case group were higher than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( Z = - 2.66, - 2.16, P < 0.05). The results of univariate logistic regression analysis showed that urinary copper was an influencing factor for arsenic poisoning ( P = 0.017). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that after adjusting for covariates, urinary copper and arsenic were independent influencing factors of arsenic poisoning ( P < 0.05). Taking Q1 group as a reference, urinary copper in Q3 group [ OR (95% CI) = 8.23 (1.81, 37.39), P = 0.006] increased the risk of arsenic poisoning, while urinary arsenic in Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups [ OR (95% CI) = 0.24 (0.06, 0.92), 0.12 (0.03, 0.53), 0.15 (0.04, 0.63), P < 0.05] decreased the risk of arsenic poisoning. After adjusting for covariates, RCS did not show a dose-response relationship between urinary copper, urinary arsenic, and arsenic poisoning ( P > 0.05). Conclusion:Urinary arsenic and copper are associated with the risk of arsenic poisoning in the drinking water arsenic exposed areas of Inner Mongolia, copper exposure may contribute significantly to arsenic poisoning.

Objective:To analyze the correlation between blood glucose index and peripheral neuropathy in type 2 diabetes patients under continuous blood glucose monitoring.Methods:A total of 110 patients with type 2 diabetes admitted to the Lu′an Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University from November 2022 to January 2024 were retrospectively observed, and the blood glucose indexes of patients were monitored by continuous glucose meter [glucose time in range (TIR), mean blood glucose (MBG), estimated hemoglobin A 1c (eHbA 1c), blood glucose standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), largest amplitude of glycemic excursions (LAGE), mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE), means of daily differences (MODD), etc ]. All patients with type 2 diabetes were grouped according to whether they had peripheral neuropathy or not, and were divided into the developing group and the non-developing group. General data and blood glucose indexes of the two groups were collected and sorted out. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the value of various blood glucose indicators in predicting peripheral neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Spearman correlation analysis was also used to evaluate the correlation between blood glucose index and peripheral neuropathy. Results:The disease course, TIR, MBG, eHbA 1c, SD, CV, LAGE, MAGE and MODD of the occurrence group were significantly different from those of the non-occurrence group (all P<0.05). By plotting the ROC curve, It was found that the area under the curve (AUC) of TIR, MBG, eHbA 1c, SD, CV, LAGE, MAGE and MODD predicting peripheral neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes were 0.942, 0.840, 0.705, 0.759, 0.819, 0.813, 0.857 and 0.677, respectively. The AUC of the combined prediction was 0.971(95% CI: 0.946-0.997), which was higher than that of the single indicator (all P<0.05). Spearman correlation assessment showed a negative correlation between TIR and peripheral neuropathy ( r=-0.738, P<0.05). MBG, eHbA 1c, SD, CV, LAGE, MAGE and MODD were positively correlated with peripheral neuropathy ( r=0.554, 0.376, 0.452, 0.490, 0.527, 0.625, 0.272, all P<0.05). Conclusions:Based on continuous blood glucose monitoring, the blood glucose index of type 2 diabetes patients is closely related to peripheral neuropathy, and the above blood glucose index can accurately predict peripheral neuropathy, providing a reference for reducing or preventing the occurrence of peripheral neuropathy.

Scholarly articles published in the Web of Science database from January 1,2004 to November 10,2024 in the field of medical device utilization management were collected.CiteSpace-based bibliometric analysis of the included literature was performed in terms of the year of publication,region of publication,highly cited literature and highly cited journals and keywords.The Internet of Things(IoT),cloud computing and wearable devices were identified as the current research hotspots in the field of medical device utilization management.References were provided for further research related to medical device utilization management.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(7):63-67]

Objective To identify key patterns of programmed cell death(PCD)and core genes during ischemia-reperfusion injury(IRI)in kidney transplantation.Methods Kidney transplant datasets were obtained from gene expression database,and PCD-related differentially expressed genes were screened.The non-negative matrix factorization algorithm was used to classify patients and analyze subtype-specific biological functions and key PCD patterns.Machine learning models combined with univariate Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis were employed to identify core PCD genes during IRI in kidney transplantation and explore their correlation with key PCD patterns.A rat kidney transplant model was used to assess IRI severity through hematoxylin-eosin staining,serum creatinine(Scr),blood urea nitrogen(BUN),and Western blotting for key gene protein expression.Results Fourteen PCD-related genes were identified.Patients were classified into metabolic(subtype 1)and inflammatory(subtype 2)subtypes.Subtype 2 activated four key PCD patterns:pyroptosis,necroptosis,apoptosis and immunogenic cell death.The optimal model(XGBoost-CV:10 fold+Lasso-CV:10 fold)and survival analysis identified MCL1,BAG3,and RHOB as core PCD genes during IRI in kidney transplantation,which were broadly correlated with key PCD patterns.Experimental results showed that compared to the sham group,rats in the model group had more severe tubular injury,higher Scr and BUN levels,and increased BAG3,RHOB and MCL1 protein expression(all P<0.001).Conclusions These four PCD patterns are crucial in the pathogenesis of IRI in kidney transplantation.MCL1,BAG3 and RHOB may serve as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for IRI in kidney transplantation.