Objective To explore the association between occupational exposure to cesium and sex hormone levels in male workers. Methods A total of 988 male workers involved in assembly work at an electric vehicle assembly plant in Guangdong Province were recruited via purposive sampling. Blood samples of the workers were collected, and blood cesium-133 (Cs-133) levels were determined using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Serum levels of estradiol, testosterone, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and prolactin were measured using chemiluminescence immunoassay. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to explore the associations between blood Cs-133 and the six sex hormones in the male workers. Results The median blood Cs-133 level was 2.23 μg/L, with a detection rate of 100.0%. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that blood Cs-133 levels were negatively associated with serum estradiol levels (P<0.05), after adjusting for covariates including age, length of service, educational level, marital status, body mass index (BMI), annual household income, alcohol consumption, and smoking. There was no significant interaction between blood Cs-133 levels and age, smoking, alcohol consumption, or BMI in relation to serum estradiol (all P>0.05). Conclusion Occupational exposure to Cs-133 is negatively associated with serum estradiol levels in the male workers of electric vehicle assembly industry, suggesting that occupational cesium exposure may influence male sex hormone profiles.

Objective To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of schisandrin A(SA)on hydrogen peroxide(H2O2)-induced oxidative stress injury in renal tubular epithelial cells(HK-2).Methods HK-2 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into five groups:blank control group,model control group(treated with 600 μmol·L-1 H2O2 for 2 h),low-dose SA group(0.125 μmol·L-1 SA,24 h pretreatment+H2O2),medium-dose SA group(0.5 μmol·L-1 SA,24 h pretreatment+H2 O2),high-dose SA group(0.75 μmol·L-1 SA,24 h pretreatment+H2O2).The cell survival was assessed by CCK-8 assay;apoptosis level was tested by Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining;cell cycle distribution was detected by propidium iodide staining;oxidative markers(ROS,SOD,MDA,GSH,LDH)was determined with commercial kits;and apoptosis-related proteins(Bax,Bcl-2,Caspase-3,Cytochrome C)was evaluated by Western blot.Results Compared with the blank control,the model group reduced in cell viability and increased in apoptosis(P＜0.01),elevated in the ratio of G0/G1-phase cells and decreased in S-phase cells(P＜0.05),decreased in SOD activity and GSH content(P＜0.01),and increased in the levels of ROS,LDH,and MDA levels(P＜0.01).In all SA dose,cell apoptosis reduced(P＜0.01).In medium/high dose groups,the G0/G1-phase arrest reduced(P＜0.05).In high dose group,the S-phase cells ratio increased(P＜0.05).And in medium/high dose groups,ROS(P＜0.01)decreased in a dose-dependent manner.The SOD activity increased non-significantly in all SA groups.In SA medium/high dose groups,the LDH activity decreased in a dose-dependent manner.In all SA groups,GSH increased(P＜0.01)and MDA decreased,both in a dose-dependent manner.The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio significantly decreased(P＜0.05)in all SA groups.The caspase-3 activity decreased in medium/high dose group(P＜0.05);and Cytochrome C reduced in all SA groups(P＜0.05).Conclusion SA protects HK-2 cells against H2O2-induced oxidative injury by modulating oxidative stress,inhibiting apoptosis,and ameliorating cell cycle arrest.

This article reports the first case of percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale(PFO)using a biodegradable occluder under echocardiography guidance.The patient is a 43-year-old female diagnosed with PFO-related stroke.The procedure was successfully completed under echocardiography guidance without complications.During the 48-month follow-up period,the patient experienced no recurrent strokes,and the occluder was fully degraded.

Currently, transcatheter intervention is the preferred treatment for patients with anatomically suitable atrial septal defects. However, the use of nickel-titanium alloy occluders in interventional procedures results in lifelong presence of the implant in the body, leading to complications such as metal allergies and arrhythmias in some patients. To overcome the short-term and long-term complications associated with the presence of metal, and to avoid radiation exposure and metal toxicity, this paper reports a case of successful transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect in a pediatric patient with metal allergies using fully biodegradable occluder under ultrasound guidance, achieving excellent results by interventional therapy.

This article reports the first case of percutaneous closure of patent foramen ovale(PFO)using a biodegradable occluder under echocardiography guidance.The patient is a 43-year-old female diagnosed with PFO-related stroke.The procedure was successfully completed under echocardiography guidance without complications.During the 48-month follow-up period,the patient experienced no recurrent strokes,and the occluder was fully degraded.

Objective To investigate the protective effect and mechanism of schisandrin A(SA)on hydrogen peroxide(H2O2)-induced oxidative stress injury in renal tubular epithelial cells(HK-2).Methods HK-2 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into five groups:blank control group,model control group(treated with 600 μmol·L-1 H2O2 for 2 h),low-dose SA group(0.125 μmol·L-1 SA,24 h pretreatment+H2O2),medium-dose SA group(0.5 μmol·L-1 SA,24 h pretreatment+H2 O2),high-dose SA group(0.75 μmol·L-1 SA,24 h pretreatment+H2O2).The cell survival was assessed by CCK-8 assay;apoptosis level was tested by Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining;cell cycle distribution was detected by propidium iodide staining;oxidative markers(ROS,SOD,MDA,GSH,LDH)was determined with commercial kits;and apoptosis-related proteins(Bax,Bcl-2,Caspase-3,Cytochrome C)was evaluated by Western blot.Results Compared with the blank control,the model group reduced in cell viability and increased in apoptosis(P＜0.01),elevated in the ratio of G0/G1-phase cells and decreased in S-phase cells(P＜0.05),decreased in SOD activity and GSH content(P＜0.01),and increased in the levels of ROS,LDH,and MDA levels(P＜0.01).In all SA dose,cell apoptosis reduced(P＜0.01).In medium/high dose groups,the G0/G1-phase arrest reduced(P＜0.05).In high dose group,the S-phase cells ratio increased(P＜0.05).And in medium/high dose groups,ROS(P＜0.01)decreased in a dose-dependent manner.The SOD activity increased non-significantly in all SA groups.In SA medium/high dose groups,the LDH activity decreased in a dose-dependent manner.In all SA groups,GSH increased(P＜0.01)and MDA decreased,both in a dose-dependent manner.The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio significantly decreased(P＜0.05)in all SA groups.The caspase-3 activity decreased in medium/high dose group(P＜0.05);and Cytochrome C reduced in all SA groups(P＜0.05).Conclusion SA protects HK-2 cells against H2O2-induced oxidative injury by modulating oxidative stress,inhibiting apoptosis,and ameliorating cell cycle arrest.

Objective:To compare the efficacy of internal fixation using cannulated screw combined with fibular allograft and internal fixation using cannulated screw alone in the treatment of femoral neck fracture in young and middle-aged patients.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 75 young and middle-aged patients with femoral neck fracture admitted to the Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2020 to December 2022, including 44 males and 31 females, aged 34-56 years [(46.1±12.7)years]. According to Garden classification, 26 patients were classified as type II, 35 type III and 14 type IV. According to the Pauwels classification, 9 patients were classified as type I, 31 type II and 35 type III. Forty-nine patients were treated with internal fixation using three cannulated screws alone (cannulated screw group) and 26 with internal fixation using three cannulated screws combined with double-barrel fibular allograft (cannulated screw combined with bone grafting group). The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, length of hospital stay, and quality of fracture reduction were compared between the two groups. At 4, 8 months after operation and at the last follow-up, grading of femoral neck shortening, number of patients walking with crutches, Barthel index, and Harris hip function score were evaluated. The incidence of complications was measured at the last follow-up.Results:All the patients were followed up for 16-37 months [(23.2±4.5)months]. The operation time of the cannulated screw combined with bone grafting group was (86.3±16.1)minutes, longer than (76.9±20.8)minutes of the cannulated screw group ( P<0.05). The intraoperative blood loss was 100.0(50.0, 200.0)ml in the cannulated screw combined with bone grafting group, more than 50.0(50.0, 100.0)ml in the cannulated screw group ( P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the length of hospital stay or the quality of fracture reduction between the two groups ( P>0.05). At 4 months after operation, grading of the femoral neck shortening in the cannulated screw combined with bone grafting group [24 patients (92.3%) with grade 1, 2(7.7%) with grade 2, and 0(0.0%) with grade 3] was better than that in the cannulated screw group [18 patients (36.7%) with grade 1, 28(57.1%) with grade 2, and 3(6.2%) with grade 3] ( P<0.01). At 8 months after operation, grading of femoral neck shortening in the cannulated screw combined with bone grafting group [22 patients (84.6%) with grade 1, 3(11.5%) with grade 2, and 1(3.8%) with grade 3] was better than that in the cannulated screw group [13 patients (26.5%) with grade 1, 27(55.1%) with grade 2, and 9(18.4%) with grade 3] ( P<0.01). At the last follow-up, grading of femoral neck shortening in the cannulated screw combined with bone grafting group [19 patients (73.0%) with grade 1, 5(19.2%) with grade 2, and 2(7.6%) with grade 3] was better than that in the cannulated screw group [8 patients (16.3%) with grade 1, 31(63.2%) with grade 2, and 10(20.4%) with grade 3] ( P<0.01). At 4, 8 months after operation and at the last follow-up, 12(46.2%), 8(30.8%) and 5(19.2%) patients in the cannulated screw combined with bone grafting group and 38(77.6%), 27(55.1%) and 20(40.8%) patients in the cannulated screw group had to walk with crutches, respectively, showing significant difference between the two groups at the other two time points ( P<0.05 or 0.01) except for at the last follow-up ( P>0.05). The Barthel index values were 85.3±3.2, 90.3±4.3, and 95.3±3.9 in the cannulated screw combined with bone grafting group at 4, 8 months after operation and at the last follow-up, significantly higher than 80.8±7.3, 85.4±7.4, and 90.9±7.8 in the cannulated screw group ( P<0.05 or 0.01). The Harris hip scores were (87.0±2.9)points, (92.0±2.9)points and (91.3±2.4)points in the cannulated screw combined with bone grafting group at 4, 8 months after operation and at the last follow-up, significantly higher than (81.0±6.1)points, (85.7±5.8)points, and (89.6±2.0)points in the cannulated screw group ( P<0.01). At the last follow-up, the complication rate was 3.8%(1/26) in the cannulated screw combined with bone grafting group, significantly lower than 22.4%(11/49) in the cannulated screw group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:For femoral neck fractures in young and middle-aged patients, compared with internal fixation using cannulated screw alone, internal fixation using cannulated screw combined with fibular allograft has more advantages in correcting femoral neck shortening, restoring independent living activities and hip joint function, and reducing the incidence of complications despite its longer operation time and more intraoperative blood loss.

A two-stage-based generative adversarial network incorporating contextual transformer is proposed for synthesis and multiclass classification of pulmonary nodules.Contextual transformer adopts a channel-enhanced multi-head contextual transformer mechanism which combines channel attention and multi-head contextual transformer to better deal with the complex semantic relationship in the feature space,thereby effectively enhancing the feature extraction capability of the model.A two-stage-based generative adversarial network framework is used to achieve the injection of pulmonary nodules in the designated lung area,and divide the synthesis task into two stages.In the first stage,pulmonary nodule regions of interest images are generated and then fused with designated lung parenchyma through a Poisson blending module to generate preliminary samples;in the second stage,an improved CycleGAN model is used to fine-tune the preliminary samples.Meanwhile,the skip layer excitation module and auxiliary classifier are introduced into the discriminator for realizing the re-correction of the feature channel and the classification of pulmonary nodules.Experiments on LIDC-IDRI dataset reveal that the proposed method has a FID,IS and KID of 115.153,2.619±0.095 and 0.062 on pulmonary nodule synthesis,and achieves an accuracy,sensitivity,F1 value and AUC of 70.23%,68.66%,68.92%and 87.59%on pulmonary nodule malignancy classification,respectively,outperforming GAN-based classification models such as ADGAN,as well as benchmark networks such as VGG16.

A two-stage-based generative adversarial network incorporating contextual transformer is proposed for synthesis and multiclass classification of pulmonary nodules.Contextual transformer adopts a channel-enhanced multi-head contextual transformer mechanism which combines channel attention and multi-head contextual transformer to better deal with the complex semantic relationship in the feature space,thereby effectively enhancing the feature extraction capability of the model.A two-stage-based generative adversarial network framework is used to achieve the injection of pulmonary nodules in the designated lung area,and divide the synthesis task into two stages.In the first stage,pulmonary nodule regions of interest images are generated and then fused with designated lung parenchyma through a Poisson blending module to generate preliminary samples;in the second stage,an improved CycleGAN model is used to fine-tune the preliminary samples.Meanwhile,the skip layer excitation module and auxiliary classifier are introduced into the discriminator for realizing the re-correction of the feature channel and the classification of pulmonary nodules.Experiments on LIDC-IDRI dataset reveal that the proposed method has a FID,IS and KID of 115.153,2.619±0.095 and 0.062 on pulmonary nodule synthesis,and achieves an accuracy,sensitivity,F1 value and AUC of 70.23%,68.66%,68.92%and 87.59%on pulmonary nodule malignancy classification,respectively,outperforming GAN-based classification models such as ADGAN,as well as benchmark networks such as VGG16.

The clinical efficacy of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) in reducing major cardiovascular adverse events related to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) has been well established in recent large randomized outcome trials. Although the cardiovascular and all-cause mortality benefit of PCSK9i remains inconclusive, current cholesterol management guidelines have been modified toward more aggressive goals for lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Consequently, the emerging concept of "the lower the better" has become the paradigm of ASCVD prevention. However, there is evidence from observational studies of a U-shaped association between baseline LDL-C levels and all-cause mortality in population-based cohorts. Among East Asian populations, low LDL-C was associated with an increased risk for hemorrhagic stroke in patients not on antithrombotic therapy. Accumulating evidence showed that low LDL-C was associated with an enhanced bleeding risk in patients on dual antiplatelet therapy following percutaneous coronary intervention. Additionally, low LDL-C was associated with a higher risk for incident atrial fibrillation and thereby, a possible increase in the risk for intracranial hemorrhage after initiation of anticoagulation therapy. The mechanism of low-LDL-C-related bleeding risk has not been fully elucidated. This review summarizes recent evidence of low-LDL-C-related bleeding risk in patients on antithrombotic therapy and discusses potential measures for reducing this risk, underscoring the importance of carefully weighing the pros and cons of aggressive LDL-C lowering in patients on antithrombotic therapy.