Pulmonary electrical impedance tomography (EIT), a noninvasive, continuous, dynamic, and radiation-free bedside imaging technique for monitoring pulmonary ventilation, is now widely utilized in the diagnosis and management of critically ill patients. Beyond ventilation monitoring, hypertonic saline contrast-enhanced EIT for bedside pulmonary perfusion assessment has recently garnered significant attention. This article describes the application of hypertonic saline contrast-enhanced EIT to evaluate pulmonary perfusion in two patients following pulmonary endarterectomy, providing a reference for its perioperative application in such patients.

ObjectiveNeuroinflammation plays a crucial role in both the onset and progression of ischemic stroke, exerting a significant impact on the recovery of the central nervous system. Excessive neuroinflammation can lead to secondary neuronal damage, further exacerbating brain injury and impairing functional recovery. As a result, effectively modulating and reducing neuroinflammation in the brain has become a key therapeutic strategy for improving outcomes in ischemic stroke patients. Among various approaches, targeting immune regulation to control inflammation has gained increasing attention. This study aims to investigate the role of in vitro induced regulatory T cells (Treg cells) in suppressing neuroinflammation after ischemic stroke, as well as their potential therapeutic effects. By exploring the mechanisms through which Tregs exert their immunomodulatory functions, this research is expected to provide new insights into stroke treatment strategies. MethodsNaive CD4⁺ T cells were isolated from mouse spleens using a negative selection method to ensure high purity, and then they were induced in vitro to differentiate into Treg cells by adding specific cytokines. The anti-inflammatory effects and therapeutic potential of Treg cells transplantation in a mouse model of ischemic stroke was evaluated. In the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model, after Treg cells transplantation, their ability to successfully migrate to the infarcted brain region and their impact on neuroinflammation levels were examined. To further investigate the role of Treg cells in stroke recovery, the changes in cytokine expression and their effects on immune cell interactions was analyzed. Additionally, infarct size and behavioral scores were measured to assess the neuroprotective effects of Treg cells. By integrating multiple indicators, the comprehensive evaluation of potential benefits of Treg cells in the treatment of ischemic stroke was performed. ResultsTreg cells significantly regulated the expression levels of both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in vitro and in vivo, effectively balancing the immune response and suppressing excessive inflammation. Additionally, Treg cells inhibited the activation and activity of inflammatory cells, thereby reducing neuroinflammation. In the MCAO mouse model, Treg cells were observed to accumulate in the infarcted brain region, where they significantly reduced the infarct size, demonstrating their neuroprotective effects. Furthermore, Treg cell therapy notably improved behavioral scores, suggesting its role in promoting functional recovery, and increased the survival rate of ischemic stroke mice, highlighting its potential as a promising therapeutic strategy for stroke treatment. ConclusionIn vitro induced Treg cells can effectively suppress neuroinflammation caused by ischemic stroke, demonstrating promising clinical application potential. By regulating the balance between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, Treg cells can inhibit immune responses in the nervous system, thereby reducing neuronal damage. Additionally, they can modulate the immune microenvironment, suppress the activation of inflammatory cells, and promote tissue repair. The therapeutic effects of Treg cells also include enhancing post-stroke recovery, improving behavioral outcomes, and increasing the survival rate of ischemic stroke mice. With their ability to suppress neuroinflammation, Treg cell therapy provides a novel and effective strategy for the treatment of ischemic stroke, offering broad application prospects in clinical immunotherapy and regenerative medicine.

Elderly end-of-life patients often experience distress due to being caught in dilemmas of contemplation and decision-making. Narrative wills， grounded in life values and premised on respecting individual wishes and needs， present an individual’s unique life story through narrative forms， conveying their overall experience， interpretation of meaning， and understanding of life. They are preserved and passed on in a way that meets individual expectations， thereby promoting human exploration， reflection， and growth regarding the meaning of life through interpersonal interactions that transcend space and time. This paper explored the concept of narrative wills among elderly end-of-life patients， the ethical value and ethical principles of narrative wills， and the moral and ethical risks. It also provided specific ethical interpretations， assisting in the application and development of narrative wills in elderly end-of-life patients.

ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Yulin Hukun decoction on autophagy mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）/mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR） signaling pathway in the mouse model of cyclophosphamide-induced diminished ovarian reserve and explore the follicular development-improving mechanism of this decoction. MethodsSixty female ICR mice with normal estrous cycle were assigned into a blank group （n=10） and a modeling group （n=50）. The model was established by intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide （60 mg·kg^-1） for 5 days. The successfully modeled mice were randomly grouped as follows： model， estradiol （0.26 mg·kg^-1）， and high-， medium-， and low-dose （56.42， 28.21， 14.105 g·kg^-1， respectively） Yulin Hukun decoction， with 10 mice in each group. The blank group and the model group received normal saline （10 mL·kg^-1）. The intervention was performed once a day for 21 days. The general conditions， estrous cycle， body weight， and ovary index were observed and recorded for each group. Serum levels of follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， luteinizing hormone （LH）， estradiol （E₂）， and anti-Müllerian hormone （AMH） were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Histopathological changes in the ovarian tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of PI3K， Akt， mTOR， autophagy-related protein 7 （Atg7）， beclin1， microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3Ⅱ （LC3Ⅱ）， ubiquitin-binding adaptor protein （p62）， forkhead box protein O1 （FoxO1）， and acetylated forkhead box protein O1 （Ac-FoxO1） in mouse ovaries. Real-time PCR was adopted to determine the mRNA levels of PI3K， Akt， mTOR， Atg7， beclin1， and LC3Ⅱ in the mouse ovarian tissue. ResultsCompared with the blank group， the model group had disturbed estrous cycle， decreased body weight （P<0.05）， loose ovarian structure with increased atretic follicles， increased serum FSH level （P<0.05）， and decreased AMH and estradiol levels （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group， the treatment groups showed recovered estrous cycles and body weight. The estradiol group and high- and medium-dose Yulin Hukun decoction groups showed declined FSH level （P<0.05） and elevated AMH levels （P<0.05）. In addition， the treatment groups showed downregulated protein levels of Atg7， LC3Ⅱ， beclin1， FoxO1， and Ac-FoxO1 （P<0.01）， upregulated protein levels of PI3K， Akt， mTOR， and p62 （P<0.01） in the ovarian tissue， gradual repair of the ovarian structure， with more intact and numerous follicles of various stages. ConclusionYulin Hukun decoction can inhibit autophagy in ovarian granulosa cells by activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and inhibiting the expression of autophagy-related proteins and transcription factors， thereby improving follicular development and ovarian reserve.

Breast cancer， as one of the major cancers threatening women's health globally， is characterized by high aggressiveness， high malignancy， and poor prognosis. In 2022， according to the World Health Organization， breast cancer ranked second in the incidence of female cancers globally， accounting for 11.6% of all new cancer cases. Western medical doctors mainly use surgery， chemotherapy， radiotherapy， endocrine therapy， and molecular targeted therapy to treat breast cancer， which can effectively improve the recurrence rate and death rate of breast cancer patients and prolong the survival period of patients. However， its treatment process is often accompanied by a series of side effects， which bring challenges to patients' quality of life. However， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has demonstrated significant therapeutic effects in inhibiting the proliferation and metastasis of breast cancer cells， reducing toxic side effects produced by chemotherapy， and improving patients' survival rate and quality of life. It is therefore particularly necessary to investigate the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of TCM in breast cancer treatment. The authors combed the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of the etiology and pathogenesis of breast cancer， identification and treatment of breast cancer， TCM compound， TCM single medicine， TCM monomer， and external treatment of TCM to prevent and control breast cancer and found that TCM has a therapeutic effect on breast cancer. It can play a role in increasing the effectiveness， reducing the toxicity， and alleviating the adverse reactions. It can inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation， cell cycle， migration， invasion， immune escape， epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT）， aerobic glycolysis， mitochondrial biosynthesis， aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis， reduce drug resistance， promote apoptosis， ferroptosis， cell autophagy， and regulate the tumor immune microenvironment by regulating signaling pathways. This paper aims to provide new ideas and methods for experimental research and clinical treatment of breast cancer.

As one of the pathogenic mechanisms contained in The Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor （《黄帝内经》）， “disease with latent pathogen induced by a new pathogen” means that the induced new pathogen resulted to a combination of the latent previous pathogen and the new pathogen， which caused the disease. Based on this， it is believed that the change of “nodule-cancer transformation” of pulmonary nodules is actually based on the deficiency of original qi， and the new pathogen induces the latent pathogens like phlegm coagulation， qi stagnation， blood stasis， toxicity， so healthy qi can not drive the pathogens out， and the long-time detention generated into cancerous turbidity， and deve-loped into cancerous tumour at the end. Therefore， based on the three-stage treatment of unformed cancer， dense cancerous toxin， and developed cancer， the clinical practice applied six methods of clearing， expelling， dissipating， tonifying， harmonizing， and transforming， taking into account both the manifestation and root cause， moving the treatment window of pulmonary nodules forward， attacking the pathogens when the toxin was not yet overbearing， supporting the healthy qi before declining， delaying the process of nodules-cancer transformation， and providing ideas for the prevention and treatment of pulmonary nodules “nodule-cancer transformation” in traditional Chinese medicine.

Objective To investigate the population distribution of intermediate host snails and crabs of Paragonimus along the Jiulongjiang River, Zhangjiang River, and Dongxi River basins in Bopingling Mountain, southern Fujian Province, so as to provide baseline data for researches on parasitic disease prevention and control and enlargement of samples in the parasitic resource bank. Methods A total of 23 villages in 8 counties (districts) along the Jiulong River, Zhangjiang River, and Dongxi River basins in Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province were selected as survey sites during the period from November 2020 through March 2023, and snail and freshwater crabs were sampled from 1 to 3 streams and ditches neighboring residential areas in each village. Morphological identification of snails was performed according to the external morphological characteristics of collected snail shells, and the unidentified snail species sampled from the natural foci of paragonimiasis in Yunxiao County were subjected to se-quence analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (CO1) gene. The crab species was identified by observing the morphological characteristics of the terminal segment of the first pleopod of male crabs, and Paragonimus cercariae and metacercariae were detected in collected snails. Results The shells of the unidentified snails sampled from the natural foci of paragonimiasis in Yunxiao County were approximately 50 mm in height and 18 mm in width, thick and solid, long tower cone-shaped, and had 8 to 10 whorls. CO1 gene sequence analysis identified the snail species as Sulcospira hainanensis. A total of 6 freshwater snail species belonging to 5 genera within 3 families, identified 23 survey sites, including Semisulcospira libertina, Paludomus zhangchouensis and S. hainanensis that belonged to the Family Pleurceridae, Tricula fujianensis and T. huaanensis that belonged to the subfamily Triculinae, Family Pomatiopsidae, and Melanoides tuberculata (Family Thiaridae), and 11 species of freshwater crabs belonging to 5 genera within 2 families were identified, including Sinopotamon genus of S. jianglense, S. pinheense, and S. zhangzhouense, Huananpotamon genus of H. planopodum and H. zhangzhouense, Nanhaipotamon genus of N. huaanense and N. longhaiense, and Minpotamon genus of M. nasicum and M. auritum that belonged to the Family Potamidae, and Somanniathelphusa genus of S. huaanensis and S. zhangpuensis (Family Parathelphusidae). In addition, the prevalence of P. westermani cercariae infections was 0.08% (2/2 317) in P. zhangchouensis from Danyan Village in Changtai District and 0.09% (1/1 039) in S. hainanensis from Jinkeng Village in Yunxiao County, and the prevalence of P. westermani metacercariae infections was 25.81% (8/31) in S. jianglense from Danyan Village in Changtai District, and 26.31% (5/19) in S. zhangzhouense from Jinkeng Village in Yunxiao County, respectively. Conclusions There is a population diversity in the intermediate host snails and crabs along the Jiulongjiang River, Zhangjiang River, and Dongxi River basins in Bopingling Mountain, southern Fujian Province, and P. zhangzhouensis and S. hainanensis are, for the first time, confirmed as the first intermediate hosts of P. westermani.

Objective The volume and cortical thickness of gray matter in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica (NMO) were compared and analyzed by voxel⁃based morphometry (VBM) and surface⁃based morphometry (SBM), and the differences in the structural changes of gray matter in the two diseases were discussed. Methods A total of 21 MS patients, 16 NMO patients and 19 healthy controls were scanned by routine MRI sequence. The data were processed and analyzed by VBM and SBM method based on the statistical parameter tool SPM12 of Matlab2014a platform and the small tool CAT12 under SPM12. Results Compared with the normal control group (NC), after Gaussian random field (GRF) correction, the gray matter volume in MS group was significantly reduced in left superior occipital, left cuneus, left calcarine, left precuneus, left postcentral, left central paracentral lobule, right cuneus, left middle frontal, left superior frontal and left superior medial frontal (P<0. 05). After family wise error (FWE) correction, the thickness of left paracentral, left superiorfrontal and left precuneus cortex in MS group was significantly reduced (P<0. 05). Compared with the NC group, after GRF correction, the gray matter volume in the left postcentral, left precentral, left inferior parietal, right precentral and right middle frontal in NMO group was significantly increased (P<0. 05). In NMO group, the volume of gray matter in left middle occipital, left superior occipital, left inferior temporal, right middle occipital, left superior frontal orbital, right middle cingulum, left anterior cingulum, right angular and left precuneus were significantly decreased (P<0. 05). Brain regions showed no significant differences in cortical thickness between NMO groups after FWE correction. Compared with the NMO group, after GRF correction, the gray matter volume in the right fusiform and right middle frontal in MS group was increased significantly(P<0. 05). In MS group, the gray matter volume of left thalamus, left pallidum, left precentral, left middle frontal, left middle temporal, right pallidum, left inferior parietal and right superior parietal were significantly decreased (P<0. 05). After FWE correction, the thickness of left inferiorparietal, left superiorparietal, left supramarginal, left paracentral, left superiorfrontal and left precuneus cortex in MS group decreased significantly (P<0. 05). Conclusion The atrophy of brain gray matter structure in MS patients mainly involves the left parietal region, while NMO patients are not sensitive to the change of brain gray matter structure. The significant difference in brain gray matter volume between MS patients and NMO patients is mainly located in the deep cerebral nucleus mass.

Objective To understand the prevalence and risk factors of hyperuricemia in electronics factory workers in Wuhan, and to provide evidence for the health protection of electronics factory workers. Methods A total of 1 415 employees in an electronics factory in Wuhan were selected as the research subjects, and the physical examination and determination of various biochemical indicators, as well as questionnaire survey were carried out. Results The detection rate of hyperuricemia among workers in the electronics factory in Wuhan was 32.43%, with 36.33% for men and 14.11% for women, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ²＝46.077，P＜0.001). The detection rate of hyperuricemia was the highest (33.77%) among those with university or college education, followed by graduate students and above (31.50%). Compared with subjects with good lifestyle habits, people with drinking habits had higher hyperuricemia detection rate (49.38%), and the difference was statistically significant (P =0.001). The detection rates of hyperuricemia in those with central obesity and elevated alanine aminotransferase were 48.23% and 61.29%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the subjects without the above diseases (26.91% and 27.21%, respectively), and the differences were statistically significant (P <0.001). Obese people had the highest detection rate of hyperuricemia (66.95%), followed by overweight people (43.75%), and the difference was statistically significant (P <0.001). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that alcohol drinking (OR=1.836, 95% CI=1.139-2.961, P =0.013) and body mass index ≥ 24 kg/m² (OR=2.175, 95% CI=1.686 -2.806, P <0.001) were risk factors for hyperuricemia in electronic factory workers. Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) was significantly correlated with hyperuricemia (OR=2.964, 95%CI=2.146-4.095 , P <0.001). Female gender was a protective factor for hyperuricemia in workers in the electronics factory (OR=0.441, 95%CI=0.297-0.653 , P <0.001). Conclusion The detection rate of hyperuricemia among workers in an electronics factory in Wuhan is high, and the detection rate of hyperuricemia in men is higher than that in women. Alcohol consumption, overweight and obesity will increase the risk of hyperuricemia. Elevated ALT is associated with hyperuricemia. Maintaining an ideal body mass index and establishing a good lifestyle play an important role in preventing hyperuricemia.

Simulation-based medical education（SBME）is an important model in international medical education.With the development of SBME domestically,various forms such as in-situ simulation,team simulation,interdisciplinary simulation,and hybrid simulation are gradually emerging.While post-graduate education and competency receive more attention,SBME has shown its value in areas including education and training,clinical thinking,assessment,and evaluation,as well as improving medical quality and patients safety,especially in the management of emergency and critical care crisis resources.However,the progress of pediatric SBME has been slow despite attracting significant attention within the field of pediatric critical care.The establishment of pediatric critical care skills simulation,scenario simulation,in-situ simulation and other training methods can not only enable clinicians to achieve“standardized operation” and “team collaboration”,but also promote“system transformation”,greatly improving the medical quality of pediatric critical care while ensuring patients safety.