A mounting body of research suggests that circRNAs significantly contribute to the develop-ment of myocardial fibrosis.The microarray results of human circular RNA expression profile indicated that circHERC4_041 expression increased in the myocardium of patients with heart failure,RT-qPCR a-nalysis confirmed that the myocardial expression level of circHERC4_041 in individuals with heart failure were considerably elevated compared to that in healthy organ donors.Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)confirmed that circHERC4_041 was abundant in the cytoplasm of human cardiomyocyte AC16.Overexpression of circHERC4_041 in mouse myocardial fibroblasts(mCFs)mediated by adenovirus in-hibited the expression of fibrosis-related proteins in mCFs.Experiments involving cell proliferation,wound healing,and Transwell assays demonstrated that overexpression of circHERC4_041 suppressed the growth and mobility of mCFs(P＜0.001).Sequence analysis results suggested that circHERC4_041 con-tains potential ribosome entry sequence(IRES)and open reading frame(ORF).Western blot confirmed that circHERC4_041 could translate the 516 amino acid HERC4-516aa protein,which was mainly located in the cytoplasm of the cell.Cell functional experiments confirmed that circHERC4_041 inhibited the fi-brotic phenotype of mCFs by specifically translating HERC4-516aa(P＜0.05).The specific interaction between HERC4-516aa and transglutaminase 2(TGM2)was confirmed by IP-MS screening and Co-IP i-dentification.Further results found that the degradation of TGM2 was promoted through proteasome path-way.The overexpression of TGM2 in mCFs facilitated by adenoviral vectors could counteract the suppres-sive effects of HERC4-516aa on the fibrotic phenotype of mCFs.Therefore,this study confirmed that the HERC4-516aa protein translated by circHERC4_041 can specifically bind to TGM2 to inhibit the fibrotic phenotype of myocardial fibroblasts.

Objective:To construct a scientific and objective evaluation system for the popular science ability of pharmacists in traditional chinese medicine hospitals,accurately assess the popular science ability of pharmacists,and provide quantitative evaluation standards and improvement directions for the popular science work of hospital pharmacy.Methods:Based on the actual popular science activities of pharmacists in the Pharmacy Department of Wuxi Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from June 2023 to June 2024,relevant literatures on the evaluation index system of popular science ability in multiple fields were reviewed,to construct an evaluation index system of pharmacy popular science ability,which includes four secondary dimensions:talent team,platform construction,popular science works and popular science activities,and 16 tertiary indicators.By using entropy weight method,the original data was first subjected to range standardization processing to eliminate dimensional differences,and the information entropy of each index was calculated to determine the weights and reduce the subjective judgment deviation.By using TOPSIS method,to construct a weighted standardized matrix,determine the ideal solution and the negative ideal solution,calculate the euclidean distance and relative proximity of each pharmacist to the ideal solution,and achieve the quantitative ranking of the popular science ability of pharmacists.Results:The evaluation system for the popular science ability of pharmacists in traditional chinese medicine hospitals was successfully constructed.The evaluation results show that,the pharmacy popular science ability of the pharmacist group as a whole shows an upward trend,but the individual differences were obvious.Some pharmacists perform outstandingly in terms of the update frequency of popular science content,the click-through rate of their works,and the satisfaction of the audience,while others have deficiencies in the scientific accuracy of popular science content and the number of audiences.Potential improvement factors include hospitals attaching greater importance to popular science in pharmacy,optimizing the allocation of popular science resources,and strengthening the cultivation of personal abilities of pharmacists,etc.Conclusion:This evaluation system is of great value in assessing the popular science ability of pharmacists in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals.It can provide a scientific basis for the improvement of pharmacists' personal abilities,the allocation of popular science resources in hospitals,personnel training and strategy formulation.At the same time,it also provides a reference for the popular science work of pharmacists in other medical institutions.

With the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence(GAI)technologies,their widespread application in academic research and writing is continuously expanding the boundaries of sci-entific inquiry.However,this trend has also raised a series of ethical and regulatory challenges,inclu-ding issues related to authorship,content authenticity,citation accuracy,and accountability.In light of the growing involvement of AI in generating academic content,establishing an open,controllable,and trustworthy ethical governance framework has become a key task for safeguarding research integrity and maintaining trust within the academic community.This expert consensus outlines ethical requirements across key stages of AI-assisted academic writing-including topic selection,data management,citation practices,and authorship attribution.It aims to clarify the boundaries and ethical obligations surrounding AI use in academic writing,ensuring that technological tools enhance efficiency without compromising in-tegrity.The goal is to provide guidance and institutional support for building a responsible and sustainable research ecosystem.

A mounting body of research suggests that circRNAs significantly contribute to the develop-ment of myocardial fibrosis.The microarray results of human circular RNA expression profile indicated that circHERC4_041 expression increased in the myocardium of patients with heart failure,RT-qPCR a-nalysis confirmed that the myocardial expression level of circHERC4_041 in individuals with heart failure were considerably elevated compared to that in healthy organ donors.Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH)confirmed that circHERC4_041 was abundant in the cytoplasm of human cardiomyocyte AC16.Overexpression of circHERC4_041 in mouse myocardial fibroblasts(mCFs)mediated by adenovirus in-hibited the expression of fibrosis-related proteins in mCFs.Experiments involving cell proliferation,wound healing,and Transwell assays demonstrated that overexpression of circHERC4_041 suppressed the growth and mobility of mCFs(P＜0.001).Sequence analysis results suggested that circHERC4_041 con-tains potential ribosome entry sequence(IRES)and open reading frame(ORF).Western blot confirmed that circHERC4_041 could translate the 516 amino acid HERC4-516aa protein,which was mainly located in the cytoplasm of the cell.Cell functional experiments confirmed that circHERC4_041 inhibited the fi-brotic phenotype of mCFs by specifically translating HERC4-516aa(P＜0.05).The specific interaction between HERC4-516aa and transglutaminase 2(TGM2)was confirmed by IP-MS screening and Co-IP i-dentification.Further results found that the degradation of TGM2 was promoted through proteasome path-way.The overexpression of TGM2 in mCFs facilitated by adenoviral vectors could counteract the suppres-sive effects of HERC4-516aa on the fibrotic phenotype of mCFs.Therefore,this study confirmed that the HERC4-516aa protein translated by circHERC4_041 can specifically bind to TGM2 to inhibit the fibrotic phenotype of myocardial fibroblasts.

Objective:To explore the interrelationship between brain functional networks and features in functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI)of patients with Alzheimer's disease(AD),and to construct mixed-function networks(MFN),and apply them in machine learning classification models to improve the accuracy of AD classification.Methods:102 AD patients and 227 healthy subjects in the Alzheimer's Neuroimaging Initiative(ADNI)dataset were retrospectively analyzed.The partial correlation brain network of the blood oxygen level dependent(BOLD)signal was calculated and fused with low-frequency wave amplitude(ALFF),fractional low-frequency wave amplitude(fALFF)and local consistency(ReHo)features to construct MFN.Network topology parameters were extracted,and a variety of machine learning classification models were constructed based on MFN topological parameters,accuracy,precision,recall and area under the curve(AUC)were used to evaluate the predictive efficiency of the models.Results:By constructed MFN and calculated intra group to inter group ratio(IIGR),35 features could be obtained from ALFF,fALFF and ReHo feature topological parameter analysis,after rank sum test and FDR correction,there were statistical differences among 28 features(P＜0.05).The classification results show that,all the five classifiers have high classification performance on the test data set.The accuracy,precision and recall rates of random forest(RF),adaptive lifting algorithm(AdaBoost),guided aggregation algorithm(Bagging)and support vector machine(SVM)were all 99.7％,and the AUC values were up to 100％,99.5％,99.1％and 99.5％,respectively.The accuracy(98.5％),precision(98.5％),recall(98.5％),and AUC(99.1％)of the multi-layer perceptron(MLP)were slightly lower than other models,but remained excellent.It was worth noting that RF has the highest AUC value of all models at 100.0％,while Bagging has the lowest AUC value(99.1％)in the integrated approach.The results of performance comparison show that,MFN classification model can significantly improve the recognition and classification of AD disease,and greatly improve the performance of various indicators of the classifier.The results showed that,MFN classification model was superior to intelligent classification based fusion,DBN-based multitask learning,PVT-TSVM,unsupervised learning and clustering,SVM and SVM of degree 3 polynomial kernel function in key indicators such as accuracy(99.13％),AUC(99.42％),recall rate(99.46％)and specificity(99.42％)with plasma proteins,machine learning algorithms.It was further proved that MFN classification model has good generalization ability and robustness in AD disease classification.Conclusion:The AD classification model constructed based on brain mixed function network topology parameters and machine learning can improve the accuracy of AD classification.

Objective To retrospectively analyze the association between metabolic factors and high-risk colorectal adenoma(CRA).Methods The medical records of patients aged 18-75 years who underwent their initial colonoscopy at Karamay Central Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from Jul 2000 to Mar 2017 were collected.The comparison between normal colonoscopy(NC)and high-risk CRA patients was conducted using an unpaired t-test,while chi-square test was used for categorical variables.Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)regression and Logistic regression were utilized to analyze the association between metabolic factors and high-risk CRA.Results A total of 1 798 patients meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled and divided into normal colonoscopy(NC)findings group(n=972)and high-risk CRA group(n=826).The high-risk CRA group exhibited significantly lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)in comparison to the NC group,while uric acid and fibrosis 4(FIB-4)index levels were significantly higher than those observed in the NC group(all P<0.05).Based on LASSO regression analysis,we identified 12 variables that potentially influence the occurrence of high-risk CRA,including age,gender,smoking history,alcohol consumption history,non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),hypertension,coronary artery disease,hyperglycemia,hypercholesterolemia,low levels of HDL-C,elevated alanine aminotransferase,and elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase.Multivariate analysis revealed that individuals aged over 50 years,male gender,cigarette and alcohol consumption,low HDL-C levels,history of NAFLD and hypertension were identified as independent risk factors associated with high-risk CRA(P<0.05).In addition,without or with adjusting for age,sex,smoking,and drinking history,patients with a high TG/HDL-C ratio(the ratio≥2.68)had a significantly higher risk of high-risk CRA than those with a low TG/HDL-C ratio(the ratio<2.68)[odds ratios(ORs)were1.430 and 1.235 respectively,all P<0.05)].Without or with adjusting variables,the ORs for NAFLD patients with FIB-4 index>2.67 were 1.849(P=0.466)and 1.435(P=0.707),respectively.Conclusion A significant association exists between metabolic factors and high-risk CRA.Independent risk factors for high-risk CRA include older age(≥50 years),male,smoking history,alcohol consumption history,low levels of HDL-C,and a history of NAFLD and hypertension.Individuals exhibiting a TG/HDL-C ratio exceeding 2.68 manifest a significantly heightened susceptibility to the development of high-risk CRA.Therefore,elderly males with one or more aforementioned metabolic abnormalities should be considered a priority population for colorectal screening.

Objective:To investigate the disease burden, clinical characteristics and independent risk factors affecting in-hospital outcomes of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) combined with heart failure (HF) in China.Methods:(1) Descriptive study: based on the global burden of disease study 2021, available data on children under 15 years of age with CHD and HF in China from 1990 to 2021 were collected. The prevalence and trends in different age subgroups (<1 year, 1-<2 years, 2-<5 years, 5-<10 years, 10-<15 years) were analyzed, and the annual percentage change (EAPC) was estimated using linear regression. (2) Retrospective cohort study: a total of 1 062 children with CHD and HF from a multicenter study on pediatric HF in China were included. The children were divided into two groups:<2 years group and 2-<18 years group. Data on demographics, clinical features, diagnosis, treatments, and in-hospital outcomes were analyzed. Mann-Whitney U test and chi-square test were used for group comparisons.Multivariable Logistic regression was applied to identify factors influencing outcomes (in-hospital mortality and adverse cardiovascular events). Results:(1) From 1990 to 2021, the number of children with CHD and HF in China increased from 333 000 (95% uncertainty interval ( UI) 271 000-405 000) to 368 000 (95% UI 296 000-459 000), a growth of 10.8% (95% UI 5.0%-16.6%). Concurrently the prevalence rate increased from 104.5 (95% UI 85.1-127.3) per 100 000 to 142.0 (95% UI 114.0-176.8) per 100 000, a growth of 35.9% (95% UI 28.7%-43.0%), with an EAPC of 1.5% (95% CI 1.2%-1.8%). Although the number of cases in the<1 year and 1-<2 years groups decreased by 41.0% and 25.6%, respectively, the prevalence in all age groups showed an upward trend:<1 year EAPC 0.6% (95% CI 0.5%-0.7%); 1-<2 years EAPC 0.9% (95% CI 0.8%-1.0%); 2-<5 years EAPC 1.2% (95% CI 1.0%-1.4%); 5-<10 years EAPC 1.5% (95% CI 1.2%-1.8%); 10-<15 years EAPC 2.1% (95% CI 1.9%-2.3%). (2) The multicenter study revealed that among 1 062 hospitalized children, 528 (49.7%) were male and 534 (50.3%) were female, with the age at admission of 5.4 (2.2,18.2) months. The majority of the children (77.9%, 827/1 062) were under 2 years of age, whereas 22.1% (235/1 062) were aged between 2-<18 years. Children with complex congenital heart defects accounted for the highest proportion (48.6%, 516/1 062), while those with isolated CHD made up 31.5% (335/1 062). Statistically significant differences were observed in several variables in demographics, clinical features, diagnosis, treatments, and outcomes between the two age groups (all P<0.05). The use of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (41.1%, 436/1 062) and beta-blockers (8.7%, 92/1 062) was lower in hospitalized children with CHD and HF. Logistic regression identified complex CHD ( OR=7.73, 95% CI 2.24-26.63; OR=3.17, 95% CI 1.92-5.23), pulmonary hyperperfusion ( OR=2.15, 95% CI 1.01-4.18; OR=2.00, 95% CI 1.35-2.97), left ventricular ejection fraction<55% ( OR=2.13, 95% CI 1.08-4.21; OR=2.80, 95% CI 1.45-5.56), arterial oxygen partial pressure ( OR=0.99, 95% CI 0.98-0.99; OR=0.99, 95% CI 0.98-0.99), and serum calcium levels ( OR=0.31, 95% CI 0.17-0.58; OR=0.42, 95% CI 0.28-0.62) as independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality and cardiovascular events. Conclusions:The disease burden of CHD combined with HF in China has shown a continuous upward trend from 1990 to 2021, with higher growth rates in older age groups. Complex CHD, pulmonary hyperperfusion, left ventricular ejection fraction <55%, arterial oxygen partial pressure, and serum calcium concentration are independent risk factors for in-hospital mortality and cardiovascular events.

Based on copper death, this study investigates the effect and mechanism of Shenmai Injection on isoproterenol(ISO)-induced myocardial fibrosis(MF) in rats. SPF-grade male SD rats were randomly divided into a normal group, model group, captopril(5 mg·kg~(-1)) positive control group, and Shenmai Injection low(6 mL·kg~(-1)), medium(9 mL·kg~(-1)), and high(12 mL·kg~(-1)) dose groups. Except for the normal group, the rats in the other groups were subcutaneously injected with ISO(5 mg·kg~(-1)) once a day for 10 consecutive days to establish an MF model. Starting from the second day after successful modeling, intraperitoneal injections of the respective treatments were administered for 28 consecutive days. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) and Masson staining were used to observe pathological changes and fibrosis levels in the myocardial tissue. Colorimetry was employed to detect serum Cu~(2+) concentration in rats. The levels of inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), interleukin-18(IL-18), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), as well as mitochondrial energy metabolites adenosine triphosphate(ATP), adenosine diphosphate(ADP), and adenosine monophosphate(AMP) in serum were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Western blot was performed to detect the expression of collagen Ⅰ(Col-Ⅰ), collagen Ⅲ(Col-Ⅲ), and copper death-related proteins dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase(DLAT), ferredoxin 1(FDX1), lipoic acid synthetase(LIAS), and heat shock protein 70(HSP70) in myocardial tissue. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression of DLAT, FDX1, and HSP70, while immunohistochemistry was conducted to examine the expressions of DLAT, FDX1, LIAS, and HSP70. The results showed that, compared to the model group, the myocardial structure disorder and collagen fiber deposition in the drug treatment groups were significantly improved, the cardiac index level was reduced, serum Cu~(2+), IL-6, IL-1β, IL-18, TNF-α, ADP, and AMP levels were significantly decreased, ATP levels were significantly increased, and the expressions of Col-Ⅰ, Col-Ⅲ, and HSP70 proteins in myocardial tissue were significantly reduced, while the expressions of DLAT, FDX1, and LIAS proteins were significantly elevated. In conclusion, Shenmai Injection effectively alleviates myocardial structure disorder and interstitial collagen fiber deposition in ISO-induced MF rats, promotes copper excretion, and reduces copper death in the ISO-induced rat MF model.
Animals ; Male ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Myocardium/metabolism* ; Drug Combinations ; Fibrosis/metabolism* ; Copper/blood* ; Cardiomyopathies/genetics* ; Humans

Jiuwei Xifeng Granules have become a Chinese patent medicine in the market. Because the formula contains Os Draconis, a top-level protected fossil of ancient organisms, the formula was to be improved by replacing Os Draconis with Ostreae Concha. To evaluate whether the improved formula has the same effectiveness and safety as the original formula, a randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled, equivalence clinical trial was conducted. This study enrolled 288 tic disorder(TD) of children and assigned them into two groups in 1∶1. The treatment group and control group took the modified formula and original formula, respectively. The treatment lasted for 6 weeks, and follow-up visits were conducted at weeks 2, 4, and 6. The primary efficacy endpoint was the difference in Yale global tic severity scale(YGTSS)-total tic severity(TTS) score from baseline after 6 weeks of treatment. The results showed that after 6 weeks of treatment, the declines in YGTSS-TSS score showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The difference in YGTSS-TSS score(treatment group-control group) and the 95%CI of the full analysis set(FAS) were-0.17[-1.42, 1.08] and those of per-protocol set(PPS) were 0.29[-0.97, 1.56], which were within the equivalence boundary [-3, 3]. The equivalence test was therefore concluded. The two groups showed no significant differences in the secondary efficacy endpoints of effective rate for TD, total score and factor scores of YGTSS, clinical global impressions-severity(CGI-S) score, traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) response rate, or symptom disappearance rate, and thus a complete evidence chain with the primary outcome was formed. A total of 6 adverse reactions were reported, including 4(2.82%) cases in the treatment group and 2(1.41%) cases in the control group, which showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. No serious suspected unexpected adverse reactions were reported, and no laboratory test results indicated serious clinically significant abnormalities. The results support the replacement of Os Draconis by Ostreae Concha in the original formula, and the efficacy and safety of the modified formula are consistent with those of the original formula.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Tic Disorders/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome