Osteoarthritis (OA), a highly prevalent degenerative joint disease worldwide, is defined by articular cartilage degradation, abnormal bone remodeling, and persistent chronic inflammation. It severely compromises patients’ quality of life, and currently, there is no radical cure. Abnormal mechanical stress is widely regarded as a core driver of OA pathogenesis, and the exploration of mechanical signal perception and transduction mechanisms has become crucial for deciphering OA’s pathophysiological processes. Piezo1, a key mechanosensitive cation channel belonging to the Piezo protein family, has recently gained significant attention due to its pivotal role in mediating cellular responses to mechanical stimuli in joint tissues. This review systematically examines Piezo1’s expression patterns, regulatory mechanisms, and pathological functions in OA, with a particular focus on its dual roles in modulating chondrocyte homeostasis and bone metabolism disorders, while also delving into the underlying molecular signaling pathways and potential therapeutic implications. Piezo1, consisting of approximately 2 500 amino acids and forming a unique trimeric propeller-like structure, is widely expressed in chondrocytes, osteocytes, mesenchymal stem cells, and synovial cells. It exhibits permeability to cations such as Ca²⁺, K⁺, and Na⁺, and directly responds to membrane tension changes induced by mechanical stimuli like fluid shear stress and mechanical overload. In OA patients and animal models, Piezo1 expression is significantly upregulated, especially in cartilage regions subjected to abnormal mechanical stress (e.g., human temporomandibular joint cartilage). This overexpression is closely associated with aggravated cartilage degeneration, increased chondrocyte apoptosis, accelerated cellular senescence, and intensified inflammatory responses. Mechanical overload and pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-1β) are key inducers of Piezo1 upregulation: IL-1β activates the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway to enhance Piezo1 expression, forming a pathogenic positive feedback loop that inhibits chondrocyte autophagy, promotes apoptosis, and further accelerates joint degeneration. Mechanistically, Piezo1 mediates OA progression through multiple interconnected pathways. When activated by mechanical stress, Piezo1 triggers excessive Ca²⁺ influx, leading to endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) and mitochondrial dysfunction, which directly induce chondrocyte apoptosis. This process involves the activation of downstream signaling cascades such as cGAS-STING and YAP-MMP13/ADAMTS5. YAP, a transcriptional regulator, upregulates the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13) and aggrecanase (ADAMTS5), thereby accelerating cartilage matrix degradation. Additionally, Piezo1-driven Ca²⁺ overload promotes the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and upregulates senescence markers (p16 and p21), accelerating chondrocyte senescence via the p38MAPK and NF-κB pathways. Senescent chondrocytes secrete senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors (e.g., IL-6, IL-1β), further amplifying joint inflammation. In terms of bone metabolism, Piezo1 maintains joint homeostasis by promoting the differentiation of fibrocartilage stem cells into chondrocytes and balancing bone formation and resorption through regulating the FoxC1/YAP axis and RANKL/OPG ratio. Therapeutically, targeting Piezo1 shows promising potential. Preclinical studies have demonstrated that Piezo1 inhibitors (e.g., GsMTx4) can reduce joint damage and alleviate pain in OA mice. Simultaneously, siRNA-mediated co-silencing of Piezo1 and TRPV4 (another mechanosensitive channel) decreases intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration, inhibits chondrocyte apoptosis, and promotes cartilage repair. Conditional knockout of Piezo1 using Gdf5-Cre transgenic mice alleviates cartilage degeneration in post-traumatic OA models by downregulating MMP13 and ADAMTS5 expression. Despite existing challenges, such as off-target effects of inhibitors, inefficient local drug delivery, and interindividual genetic variability, strategies like developing selective Piezo1 antagonists, optimizing targeted nanocarriers, and combining Piezo1-targeted therapy with physical therapy provide viable avenues for clinical translation. The authors propose that Piezo1 serves as a critical therapeutic target for OA, and future research should focus on deciphering its context-dependent regulatory networks, developing tissue-specific intervention strategies, and validating their efficacy and safety in clinical trials to address the unmet medical needs of OA patients.

Attention refers to the body's capacity to maintain alert awareness of internal and external stimuli.Attention deficit can impair an individual's learning capacity and working proficiency,resulting in a heavy burden to the family and society.Vagus nerve stimulation(VNS)is an emerging neuro regulatory technique that can achieve reciprocal interaction between the central and peripheral nervous systems,which has demonstrated great potential for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases;however,it has not been used clinically to treat attention-deficient developmental disorders in children or neurodegenerative diseases in the aged population.We briefly review the anatomical and physiological bases of VNS,and its application status and potential use in treating attention deficit diseases.A potential mechanism by which VNS participates in attention-related nervous regulation is proposed,to lay a theoretical foundation for the application of VNS in the field of attention nervous regulation.

Objective To design an electric ice blanket system for prehospital emergency care of patients of heat sroke disease.Methods The electric ice blanket system consisted of a cooling host and cooling accessories.The cooling host had its chassis made of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene(ABS),which was equipped externally with an lithium battery and a DC power adapter,and integrated internally a cooling system,an internal circulation pump,an external circulation pump and a main control system;the cooling accessories included a cooling blanket,a cooling cap and a cooling vest,which had the inner layer made of thermoplastic polyurethane(TPU)elastomer and the outer layer made of Oxford cloth or polyester fiber.The system was compared with the existing subcooling therapeutic apparatus on the market in terms of cooling effect with a water bag simulation cooling experiment.Results The cooling experiment showed that the system was comparable to the existing subcooling therapeutic apparatus on the market in terms of cooling effect while behaved well in size and weight.Conclusion The system developed has a high cooling effect and advantages in portability and compatibility to the environment without power supply,which can be used for the early treatment of patients of heat stroke disease.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(9):16-21]

Biochemistry,as a fundamental course for science and engineering majors related to biology and chemistry,holds a significant position in the curriculum.The course team at Dalian Minzu University is committed to teaching innovation,adopting the outcome-based education(OBE)concept for teaching de-sign and incorporating ideological and political elements,in order to achieve the dual goals of knowledge transmission and value guidance.The team has established a three-dimensional teaching goal of"knowl-edge,morality,and ability",covering"consolidating core knowledge,cultivating moral sentiment,and enhancing innovation ability".Through a multi-dimensional integrated teaching method of"three integra-tions and five combinations",multiple rounds of teaching practice have been carried out in the applied chemistry major using"classification and specificity of enzyme"as an example.The output of teaching re-sults and survey questionnaires show that students highly recognize the teaching design and its"process-based learning"evaluation method,fully reflecting the student-centered teaching idea.Research has shown that OBE design combined with ideological and political elements can effectively promote students' knowl-edge acquisition,moral growth,and innovation ability improvement in the course of Biochemistry.This teaching design not only helps students construct correct worldviews,outlooks on life,and values,but also significantly enhances their innovative thinking and practical abilities.This teaching design can not only ef-fectively improve the teaching quality of the course,but also provide new perspectives and ideas for the teaching design of Biochemistry,realizing the organic integration of professional knowledge imparting and i-deological and political education,and has certain innovation and practical significance.

Objective:To analyze the clinical effect of health education based on Theory of Inventive Problem Solving(TRIZ)mode in patients with senile degenerative heart valvular disease(SDHVD).Methods:This randomized con-trolled study enrolled 126 SDHVD patients admitted in Department of Cardiology,The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University between May 2020 and October 2022.They were divided into control group(n=63,health education mode)and intervention group(n=63,health education based on TRIZ mode),and intervened for 3 months.Coagulation function,cardiac function indexes,mastery of health knowledge,incidence of adverse cardi-ovascular events,compliance of medication and review were compared between two groups.Results:After inter-vention,compared with patients in control group,those in intervention group had significant higher activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT)[(39.22±2.04)s vs.(32.82±1.73)s],prothrombin time(PT)[(14.32±0.39)s vs.(12.73±0.45)s],left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)[(58.58±1.87)％vs.(53.58±1.48)％],scores of health knowledge questionnaire[(78.95±2.27)points vs.(55.07±3.63)points]and Morisky Medication Ad-herence Scale-8[(8.27±0.52)points vs.(6.28±0.89)points]and proportion of review(93.65％vs.65.08％),and significant lower left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDd)[(51.70±2.12)mm vs.(57.61±1.56)mm]and total incidence of adverse cardiovascular events(15.87％vs.36.51％)(P＜0.01 all).Conclu-sion:The health education mode based on TRIZ theory could effectively improve coagulation function and cardiac function,improve patients'understanding of the disease,medication and review compliance,and reduce incidence of adverse cardiovascular events in SDHVD patients.

Attention refers to the body's capacity to maintain alert awareness of internal and external stimuli.Attention deficit can impair an individual's learning capacity and working proficiency,resulting in a heavy burden to the family and society.Vagus nerve stimulation(VNS)is an emerging neuro regulatory technique that can achieve reciprocal interaction between the central and peripheral nervous systems,which has demonstrated great potential for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases;however,it has not been used clinically to treat attention-deficient developmental disorders in children or neurodegenerative diseases in the aged population.We briefly review the anatomical and physiological bases of VNS,and its application status and potential use in treating attention deficit diseases.A potential mechanism by which VNS participates in attention-related nervous regulation is proposed,to lay a theoretical foundation for the application of VNS in the field of attention nervous regulation.

Objective To design an electric ice blanket system for prehospital emergency care of patients of heat sroke disease.Methods The electric ice blanket system consisted of a cooling host and cooling accessories.The cooling host had its chassis made of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene(ABS),which was equipped externally with an lithium battery and a DC power adapter,and integrated internally a cooling system,an internal circulation pump,an external circulation pump and a main control system;the cooling accessories included a cooling blanket,a cooling cap and a cooling vest,which had the inner layer made of thermoplastic polyurethane(TPU)elastomer and the outer layer made of Oxford cloth or polyester fiber.The system was compared with the existing subcooling therapeutic apparatus on the market in terms of cooling effect with a water bag simulation cooling experiment.Results The cooling experiment showed that the system was comparable to the existing subcooling therapeutic apparatus on the market in terms of cooling effect while behaved well in size and weight.Conclusion The system developed has a high cooling effect and advantages in portability and compatibility to the environment without power supply,which can be used for the early treatment of patients of heat stroke disease.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(9):16-21]

Aim To explore the mechanism of the syn-ergistic effect of the ferroptosis inducer erastin com-bined with shikonin in promoting ferroptosis in human hypertrophic scar fibroblasts(HSFBs).Methods Hypertrophic scar tissues provided by the General Hos-pital of Ningxia Medical University were collected,and HSFBs were extracted.HSFBs were identified by HE staining and immunofluorescence.The inhibitory rates of Era and SHK on HSFBs at different concentrations were detected by CCK-8 assay,and the IC50 value was calculated.CompuSyn software was used to calculate the co-use index(CI).Control group,Erastin(Era)group,shikonin(SHK)group and Era+SHK group were set up,and the number and morphological chan-ges of cells were observed after 24 hours of interven-tion.The ability of cell migration and invasion was de-tected by scratch test and Transwell test.The changes of malondialdehyde(MDA),total iron ion and reactive oxygen species(ROS)were detected by corresponding biochemical kits.The expressions of collagen I,α-SMA and GOT1,SLC7A11,GPX4 and FTH1 were detected by Western blot.Results The IC50 value of Era and SHK of primary HSFBs was 2.22 μmol·L-1 and 3.94μmol·L-1 respectively,which was used as the single drug concentration for subsequent experiments.The CompuSyn software was employed to calculate the CI value when the two drugs were used in combination,and the concentrations corresponding to CI=0.39597(Era:1.2 μmol·L-1+SHK:1.5 μmol·L-1)were selected as subsequent combination concentrations(Because when CI was equal to 0.395 97,the concen-tration of each drug was lower than the concentration of single drug,and the inhibition rate of combined drug was greater than 50％).Compared with the monother-apy group,the number of HSFBs in the SHK+Era group was significantly reduced,cell membrane showed breakage and vesiculation,cell wrinkling became smal-ler,and cytoplasm was concentrated.The migration and invasion ability of HSFBs in the SHK+Era group were obviously weakened(P＜0.05),and the expres-sion of fibrosis-related proteins collagen Ⅰ and α-SMA was reduced(P＜0.05);the contents of MDA,total i-ron ions,and ROS in HSFBs of the SHK+Era group increased(P＜0.05),and the protein expression lev-els of SLC7A11,GOT1,GPX4,and FTH1 further de-creased(P＜0.05).Conclusions Erastin in combi-nation with shikonin can synergistically inhibit the pro-liferation,migration and fibrosis levels of HSFBs.The mechanism may be that erastin enhances the inhibition of shikotin on GOT1,increases the levels of cellular i-ron ions,ROS,and lipid peroxides,thereby promoting ferroptosis in HSFBs.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effect of minimally invasive technique in the treatment of moderate and severe gluteal muscle contracture. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 85 patients (170 sides) with bilateral gluteal muscle contracture admitted from January 2016 to December 2019. All patients were treated with minimally invasive release of tendon knife. There were 32 males and 53 females, ranging in age from 15 to 37 years old, with an average age of (22.3±6.3) years old. Operation time, intraoperative blood loss, incision length, first postoperative ambulation time, complication rate, recurrence rate, and Harris hip score (HHS) were analyzed and evaluated. RESULTS: The average follow-up time was (16.2±4.6) months, ranging from 12 to 30 months. The operation time ranged from 7 to 15 min, with an average of (10.2±3.1) min. Intraoperative blood loss ranged from 2 to 20 ml, with an average of (8.4±2.2) ml. The incision length ranged from 0.6 to 2.0 cm, with an average of (0.8±0.3) cm. The time to postoperative ambulation ranged from 12 to 28 h, with an average of (20.0±3.2) h. All patients achieved primary wound healing without sciatic nerve injury or recurrence. HHS hip function scores ranged from 90 to 98, with an average score of (96.2±1.4). Complications included intraoperative tendon blade tip fracture in two cases (removed under fluoroscopic guidance) and subcutaneous hematoma in three cases-two resolved with compression and one with open evacuation.. Twenty-nine patients exhibited transient swaying gait postoperatively, of which 24 patients returned to normal after 4 weeks and 5 patients returned to normal after 6 weeks. CONCLUSION Minimally invasive tendon blade release is a safe and effective technique for treating gluteal muscle contracture, offering minimal trauma, rapid recovery, and excellent cosmetic and functional outcomes. However, it exhibits a low risk of blade tip fracture and sciatic nerve injury, warranting experienced surgical handling.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Adolescent ; Retrospective Studies ; Buttocks/surgery* ; Young Adult ; Contracture/surgery* ; Tendons/surgery* ; Muscle, Skeletal/surgery*

OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical efficacy of tibial transverse transport(TTT) combined with antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ABC) and TTT in treating diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 60 patients with DFU treated from January 2019 to January 2023. They were divided into bone cement group and bone transfer group according to different treatment methods, with 30 patients in each group. There were 20 males and 10 females in bone cement group, aged from 61 to 76 years old with an average of (68.15±4.85) years old;the course of ulcer disease ranged from 7 to 28 months with an average of (15.28±5.52) months;16 patients were grade 3 and 14 patients were grade 4 according to Wagner classification; TTT combined with ABC treatment was performed. There were 22 males and 8 females in bone transfer group, aged from 60 to 75 years old with average of (67.85±4.62) years old;the course of ulcer disease ranged from 6 to 29 months with an average of (14.35±5.21) months;17 patients were grade 3 and 13 patients were grade 4 according to Wagner classification;TTT was performed. The control time of wound infection, duration of antibiotic use, frequency of debridement, weight-bearing time of the affected limb, healing time of ulcer surface and recurrence of infection were compared between two groups. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and ankle brachial index (ABI) between two groups was compared before operation and 2 and 6 months after operation. RESULTS: Sixty patients were followed up for 12 to 24 months with average of (17.24±4.42) months. The control time of wound infection, duration of antibiotic use, frequency of debridement, weight-bearing time of the affected limb, and healing time of ulcer surface in bone cement group were (11.02±2.14) days, (12.7±3.5) days, (1.2±0.4) times, (90.02±2.75) days, and (2.32±3.45) months, respectively;while in bone transfer groups were (20.14±3.15) days, (20.4±4.5) days, (2.2±0.8) times, (106.64±8.35) days, and (4.53±3.12) months respectively; bone cement group was superior to bone transfer group, and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05). Comparisons of VAS and ABI before and after treatment between two groups showed preoperative VAS and ABI in bone cement group were (6.71±0.73) points and (0.25±0.04) respectively, and those in bone transfer group were (6.87±0.17) points and (0.27±0.03) respectively. At 2 months after operation, VAS and ABI in bone cement group were (3.71±0.47) points and (0.61±0.03) respectively, and those in bone transfer group were (3.79±0.70) points and (0.59±0.05) respectively;postoperative VAS and ABI at 6 months in bone cement group were (2.26±0.13) points and (0.80±0.05) respectively, and those in bone transfer group were (2.57±0.17) points and (0.79±0.04) respectively;postoperative VAS and ABI between groups were improved at each time points compared with those of before operation (P<0.05). In bone cement group, there were 2 patients with ulcer recurrence and 1 patient with gangrene;while in bone transfer group, 5 patients with recurrence of infection, 2 patients with recurrence of ulcer and 1 patient with gangrene;the recurrence rate of infection in bone cement group were lower than that in bone transfer group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION The combination of TTT and ABC in treating DFU has a good therapeutic effect, which could be shorten the infection control time, ulcer healing time and antibiotic use time, effectively relieve pain, reduce the recurrence rate of infection and improve the quality of life of patients.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Aged ; Bone Cements/therapeutic use* ; Middle Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use* ; Diabetic Foot/therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tibia/surgery*