Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of thermal tomography in breast cancer (BC) screening. Methods We conducted a general population-based BC screening in three regions of Hubei Province (Xiantao, Hongan, and Yangxin Districts). Participants underwent a questionnaire-based interview for baseline data collection. They then received a physical examination, thermal tomography, and ultrasound from doctors and technicians. We compared the efficacies, including sensitivity, specificity, and false-positive rates, of ultrasound and thermal tomography in BC screening. Results A total of 59 712 eligible women were included in this screening program. The BI-RADS 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 accordance rates between the two screening methods were 0.9549, 0.8047, 0.9037, 0.3352, and 0, respectively. The overall accordance rate was 0.933 1. The kappa consistency results showed that the Cicchetti-Allison and Fleiss-Cohen kappa values were 0.7970 and 0.8583, respectively. Although the two methods had equal sensitivities, specificity was higher in thermal tomography than in ultrasound. The false-positive rate was lower in thermal tomography than in ultrasound. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of thermal tomography was significantly larger than that of ultrasound. Conclusion The general consistency between thermal tomography and ultrasound in BC screening was high. Thermal tomography outperformed ultrasound in terms of specificity and diagnostic efficiency. Therefore, thermal tomography has a high application value for general population-based BC screening.

Objective To investigate the correlation between early clinical outcomes following endoscopic surgery for unilateral lumbar disc herniation and variations in the cross-sectional area of the sciatic nerve.Methods Fifty-two patients(n=52)with unilateral lumbar disc herniation were recruited from June 2023 to June 2024 at the Pain Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University.The cross-sectional area(CSA)values of bilateral sciatic nerves were measured at the gluteal sciatic tuberosity-great femoral rotor level using ultrasound before and on the 4th day after surgery.The change in nerve cross-sectional area ΔCSA and sciatic nerve swelling rate(SR-SN)were calculated.Patient BMI(Body Mass Index),visual analog scale(VAS),Japanese Orthopaedic Association score(JOA),Oswestry Disability Index(ODI),and Treatment Improvement Rate(TIR)were collected preoperatively and on postoperative day 4.Changes in sciatic nerve cross-sectional area in unilateral lumbar disc herniation and its relationship to clinical outcomes were analyzed using the scoring scales as controls.Results Compared to the preoperative period,there was a significant decrease in VAS and ODI scores,as well as an increase in JOA score on the 4th postoperative day(P<0.01).Furthermore,surgical intervention led to substantial improve-ment in clinical outcomes for the patients.Prior to surgery,the CSA value of the affected side of the sciatic nerve was greater than that of the healthy side(P<0.01).Although CSA value decreased on the affected side after surgery,it remained higher than that of the healthy side(P<0.01).Additionally,there was a significant difference between SR-SN values on both sides with higher values observed on the affected side(P<0.01).Notably,△CSA on the affected side exhibited a negative correlation with postoperative VAS score,JOA score,and treatment improvement rate(P<0.05);The SR-SN on the affected side exhibited a positive correlation with BMI and negative correlations with postoperative VAS score,JOA score,and treatment improvement rate(P<0.05).However,no significant correlations were observed between △CSA,SR-SN,and ODI score on the affected side.(P>0.05).Conclusions In patients undergoing endoscopic surgery for lumbar disc herniation,a greater change in the cross-sectional area of the affected sciatic nerve before and after the operation is associated with more pronounced improvement in early symptoms.However,further investigation is required to explore the relationship between this change and recovery of both lumbar spine and lower limb function.

Objective·To develop a graph neural network(GNN)-based auxiliary diagnostic model for gallbladder cancer on CT images,and validate its accuracy and feasibility.Methods·From January 2010 to November 2023,1 774 contrast-enhanced CT arterial-phase images were acquired from 887 patients with normal gallbladder,benign gallbladder disease,or gallbladder cancer at Xinhua Hospital and Renji Hospital,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.These images were randomly divided into training and testing sets at a 4∶1 ratio to develop a hybrid GNN-convolutional neural network(CNN)model,named VJK-GIN.The model constructed a pixel-level graph in which each pixel served as a node,and spatial adjacency defined the edges,enabling extraction of local texture features.In the model architecture design,VJK-GIN integrated a three-layer graph isomorphism network,augmented with virtual nodes and jump-knowledge connections;global pooling compressed node features into a graph-level representation,which was classified by a multi-layer perceptron head.Five-fold cross-validation was used to compare VJK-GIN with GNN baselines(GCN,GraphSAGE,GAT,and GIN)and CNN baselines(ViT,EfficientNetV2,and ConvNeXt)in terms of accuracy,precision,recall,F1-score,and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC).Results·The results of five-fold cross-validation showed that VJK-GIN achieved an F1-score of 0.799(95%CI 0.775?0.823),recall of 0.795(95%CI 0.773?0.817),precision of 0.799(95%CI 0.775?0.823),AUC of 0.812(95%CI 0.792?0.832),and accuracy of 0.773(95%CI 0.748?0.798),surpassing all competing models across every metric.Conclusion·The VJK-GIN model exhibits high stability and accuracy in identifying contrast-enhanced CT images of normal,benign,and malignant gallbladder conditions.

Central venous lesion represents one of the common complications affecting vascular access in hemodialysis patients, potentially compromising hemodialysis efficacy. The management of symptomatic central venous lesion remains a critical challenge in clinical practice. Current primary treatment strategies include percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal stenting. Advances in techniques such as sharp recanalization and the mother-child platform approach, along with the development of high-pressure balloons, paclitaxel- coated balloons, and covered stents, have significantly improved procedural success rates. However, unresolved issues persist, including standardized treatment protocols, technical considerations for lesion traversal, and optimal stent selection criteria. This article comprehensively reviews the treatment principles, lesion passage techniques, treatment techniques, and recent advancements of central venous lesion.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of Pinggan Capsules(composed of six Chinese herbs,i.e.Gentianae Radix et Rhizoma,Prunellae Spica,Rehmanniae Radix,Gastrodiae Rhizoma,Gardeniae Fructus and Plantaginis Herba)in treating patients with hypertension complicated with anxiety and depression of liver-yang hyperactivity type,and to explore the related influencing factors of efficacy.Methods A total of 150 patients diagnosed as hypertension complicated with anxiety and depression of liver-yang hyperactivity type treated at Guangdong Second Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital from January 2022 to January 2023 were enrolled.The patients were randomly divided into the trial group and the control group using a random number table,with 75 cases in each group.The control group received conventional medicine treatment(Amlodipine Besylate Tablets plus Losartan Potassium Tablets),while the trial group received Pinggan Capsules in addition to the conventional treatment.The treatment for the two groups lasted for 8 weeks.Before and after treatment,the changes in blood pressure,Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS)scores,Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS)scores,and scores of each domain of World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF(WHO-QOL-BREF)were observed in the two groups.Antihypertensive efficacy,TCM syndrome efficacy,and drug safety in the two groups were evaluated,and the main factors influencing the efficacy of Pinggan Capsules were analyzed.Results(1)During the treatment period,6 cases dropped out from the trial group and 4 cases dropped out from the control group.A total of 140 patients completed the full course of treatment,including 69 in the trial group and 71 in the control group.(2)After 8 weeks of treatment,the total effective rate for antihypertensive efficacy in the trial group was 89.86%(62/69),significantly higher than that in the control group[64.79%(46/71)].The intergroup(tested by chi-square test)showed that the antihypertensive efficacy of the trial group was significantly superior to that of the control group(P＜0.05).(3)After 8 weeks of treatment,the total effective rate for TCM syndrome efficacy in the trial group was 92.75%(64/69),significantly higher than that in the control group[66.20%(47/71)].The intergroup(tested by chi-square test)showed that the TCM syndrome efficacy of the trial group was significantly superior to that of the control group(P＜0.05).(4)After treatment,systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure were improved in both groups compared to those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the improvement in the trial group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.05).(5)After treatment,the scores of all domains(physical,psychological,social relationships,and environmental)of WHO-QOL-BREF scale were significantly improved in both groups compared to those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the improvement in the trial group was significantly superior to in the control group(P＜0.05).(6)After treatment,SAS and SDS scores were significantly improved in both groups compared to those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the improvement in the trial group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.05).(7)No significant adverse reactions occurred in either group during the treatment period,indicating high safety.(8)Sankey diagram and correspondence analysis showed that patients aged＜65 years,male,grade 1 hypertension,mild anxiety,and mild depression achieved significant hypotensive effect and symptom-relief effect(P＜0.05).Conclusion Pinggan Capsules have significant clinical efficacy in treating hypertension complicated with anxiety and depression of liver-yang hyperactivity type and is worthy of clinical promotion and application.

Objective To investigate the correlation between early clinical outcomes following endoscopic surgery for unilateral lumbar disc herniation and variations in the cross-sectional area of the sciatic nerve.Methods Fifty-two patients(n=52)with unilateral lumbar disc herniation were recruited from June 2023 to June 2024 at the Pain Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University.The cross-sectional area(CSA)values of bilateral sciatic nerves were measured at the gluteal sciatic tuberosity-great femoral rotor level using ultrasound before and on the 4th day after surgery.The change in nerve cross-sectional area ΔCSA and sciatic nerve swelling rate(SR-SN)were calculated.Patient BMI(Body Mass Index),visual analog scale(VAS),Japanese Orthopaedic Association score(JOA),Oswestry Disability Index(ODI),and Treatment Improvement Rate(TIR)were collected preoperatively and on postoperative day 4.Changes in sciatic nerve cross-sectional area in unilateral lumbar disc herniation and its relationship to clinical outcomes were analyzed using the scoring scales as controls.Results Compared to the preoperative period,there was a significant decrease in VAS and ODI scores,as well as an increase in JOA score on the 4th postoperative day(P<0.01).Furthermore,surgical intervention led to substantial improve-ment in clinical outcomes for the patients.Prior to surgery,the CSA value of the affected side of the sciatic nerve was greater than that of the healthy side(P<0.01).Although CSA value decreased on the affected side after surgery,it remained higher than that of the healthy side(P<0.01).Additionally,there was a significant difference between SR-SN values on both sides with higher values observed on the affected side(P<0.01).Notably,△CSA on the affected side exhibited a negative correlation with postoperative VAS score,JOA score,and treatment improvement rate(P<0.05);The SR-SN on the affected side exhibited a positive correlation with BMI and negative correlations with postoperative VAS score,JOA score,and treatment improvement rate(P<0.05).However,no significant correlations were observed between △CSA,SR-SN,and ODI score on the affected side.(P>0.05).Conclusions In patients undergoing endoscopic surgery for lumbar disc herniation,a greater change in the cross-sectional area of the affected sciatic nerve before and after the operation is associated with more pronounced improvement in early symptoms.However,further investigation is required to explore the relationship between this change and recovery of both lumbar spine and lower limb function.

Objective·To develop a graph neural network(GNN)-based auxiliary diagnostic model for gallbladder cancer on CT images,and validate its accuracy and feasibility.Methods·From January 2010 to November 2023,1 774 contrast-enhanced CT arterial-phase images were acquired from 887 patients with normal gallbladder,benign gallbladder disease,or gallbladder cancer at Xinhua Hospital and Renji Hospital,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.These images were randomly divided into training and testing sets at a 4∶1 ratio to develop a hybrid GNN-convolutional neural network(CNN)model,named VJK-GIN.The model constructed a pixel-level graph in which each pixel served as a node,and spatial adjacency defined the edges,enabling extraction of local texture features.In the model architecture design,VJK-GIN integrated a three-layer graph isomorphism network,augmented with virtual nodes and jump-knowledge connections;global pooling compressed node features into a graph-level representation,which was classified by a multi-layer perceptron head.Five-fold cross-validation was used to compare VJK-GIN with GNN baselines(GCN,GraphSAGE,GAT,and GIN)and CNN baselines(ViT,EfficientNetV2,and ConvNeXt)in terms of accuracy,precision,recall,F1-score,and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC).Results·The results of five-fold cross-validation showed that VJK-GIN achieved an F1-score of 0.799(95%CI 0.775?0.823),recall of 0.795(95%CI 0.773?0.817),precision of 0.799(95%CI 0.775?0.823),AUC of 0.812(95%CI 0.792?0.832),and accuracy of 0.773(95%CI 0.748?0.798),surpassing all competing models across every metric.Conclusion·The VJK-GIN model exhibits high stability and accuracy in identifying contrast-enhanced CT images of normal,benign,and malignant gallbladder conditions.

Central venous lesion represents one of the common complications affecting vascular access in hemodialysis patients, potentially compromising hemodialysis efficacy. The management of symptomatic central venous lesion remains a critical challenge in clinical practice. Current primary treatment strategies include percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal stenting. Advances in techniques such as sharp recanalization and the mother-child platform approach, along with the development of high-pressure balloons, paclitaxel- coated balloons, and covered stents, have significantly improved procedural success rates. However, unresolved issues persist, including standardized treatment protocols, technical considerations for lesion traversal, and optimal stent selection criteria. This article comprehensively reviews the treatment principles, lesion passage techniques, treatment techniques, and recent advancements of central venous lesion.

Objective To investigate the effect of semaglutide on the prognosis in patients with unstable angina complicated with diabetes after percutaneous coronary intervention.Methods A total of 178 patients with unstable angina complicated with diabetes diagnosed in Zhengzhou Cardiovascular Hospital from September 1,2022 to March 31,2023 were included.The patients were divided into a study group(43 patients)and a control group(135 patients)according to whether they received semiglutide or not.Changes in HbA1c,fasting blood glucose,body weight,blood pressure and blood lipid were observed before and after treatment.Baseline data and differences in postoperative adverse cardiovascular events including cardiovascular death,all-cause death,acute myocardial infarction,acute ischemic stroke,re-hospitalization due to unstable angina,and coronary revasculariza-tion were compared between the two groups.Results After 12 weeks of treatment,fasting blood-glucose levels in the study group and the control group were(6.0±0.9),(8.5±1.3)mmol/L,HbA1c levels were(6.5±0.7)%,(7.9±0.5)%,BMI was(22.8±3.0),(25.0±2.4)kg/m2,systolic blood pressure was(135.3±9.7),(141.5±8.3)mmHg,respectively,with significant differences(P＜0.05 for all comparisons).Diastolic blood pressure showed a trend of improvement(84.7±7.7),(86.6±7.7)mmHg,but there was no statistical difference.Conclu-sions For patients with unstable angina complicated with diabetes after percutaneous coronary intervention,the application of semaglutide can effectively control blood glucose,body weight,systolic blood pressure,and reduce the risk of cardiovascular events.

AIM:To explore the role and molecular mechanism of Men1 gene in regulating mouse renal fibro-sis.METHODS:A unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO)-induced renal fibrosis model was established using C57BL/6 mice,and the mice were randomly divided into 4 groups:sham,UUO-3 d,UUO-7 d,and UUO-14 d,with 15 mice in each group.The C57BL/6 mice with Men1 knockout were randomly divided into 4 groups:sham-Men1-WT,sham-Men1-CKO,UUO-Men1-WT,and UUO-Men1-CKO,with 8 mice in each group.HE staining,Masson staining,and Sirius red staining were used to detect UUO-induced renal injury and renal fibrosis.Human renal tubular epithelial HK-2 cells with MEN1 knockout were constructed.RT-qPCR,Western blot,immunohistochemistry and immunoflurorescnence were per-formed to detect the mRNA and protein expression of MEN1,fibrosis markers(α-smooth muscle actin,collagen type Ⅲ and fibronectin 1)and m6A-related proteins[methyltransferase-like 3(METTL3),METTL14,YTH domain family pro-tein 2(YTHDF2),AlkB homolog 5(ALKBH5),and fat mass and obesity-associated protein(FTO)]in UUO mouse kid-ney tissues and transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β;10 μg/L)-treated HK-2 cells.Dot blot analysis was conducted to measure m6A methylation levels in both mouse kidney tissuess and HK-2 cells.RESULTS:The expression of Men1 de-creased with the aggravation of renal fibrosis(P＜0.01).Men1 inhibited the expression of fibrosis markers in renal tis-sues,and MEN1 knockout increased the accumulation of collagen induced by UUO and TGF-β(P＜0.01).The expres-sion of FTO and ALKBH5 in mouse kidney tissues and HK-2 cells was down-regulated by MEN1 knockout(P＜0.01),and the methylation level of m6A was increased(P＜0.01).Overexpression of FTO significantly reduced the accumulation of m6A modifications and renal fibrosis caused by MEN1 loss,and the methylation level of m6A was increased(P＜0.01).CONCLUSION:Loss of Men1 gene promotes renal fibrosis in mice,and Men1 suppresses renal fibrosis in mice by pro-moting the expression of FTO/ALKBH5 to reduce m6A modifications.