Objective:To observe any effect of exercise preconditioning on the levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the brain tissue of rats after induced cerebral ischemia and reperfusion, and how it might promote angiogenesis.Methods:Thirty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a sham-operation group, a model group and an exercise preconditioning group, each of 12. After adaptive running training for 3 days, the exercise preconditioning group ran daily for 30 minutes at 15m/min for 14 days, while the other two groups did not exercise. Middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion were then induced in the model and exercise preconditioning groups using the modified Zea-Longa suture method. Rats in the sham-operation group were only cut open to expose the right carotid artery. Right after the modeling, and again 24 hours later neurological deficit was evaluated using the Zea-Longa score and modified neurological severity scoring (mNSS). Infarct sizes were measured using 2, 3, 5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining. Any morphological changes were noted using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and the expression of CD31 protein, hypoxia-inducible factor-1α and vascular endothelial growth factor in the ischemic cerebral cortex were quantified immunohistochemically.Results:Right after the modelling, compared with the sham-operation group, the average Zea-Longa scores of the model and exercise groups had increased significantly, but were not significantly different from each other. Twenty-four hours later the average Zea-Longa score, mNSS score and relative cerebral infarction area of the model group had increased significantly compared with the sham-operation group, while the exercise preconditioning group′s averages had decreased significantly. The HE staining showed that compared with the sham-operation group, pathological changes such as loose tissue, reduced number of nerve cells, nucleolysis, and vacuolization of the cerebral cortex on the ischemic side were found in the model group. Compared with the model group, the pathological changes in the exercise preconditioning group were less serious. The levels of CD31 protein, HIF-1α and VEGF in the ischemic cerebral cortexes of the model group had by then increased significantly. But compared with the model group, those levels had increased more in the exercise preconditioning group.Conclusion:Exercise preconditioning can effectively promote angiogenesis after cerebral ischemia and reduce chronic injury. That may be related to the activation of the HIF-1α and/or VEGF signaling pathways.

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of modified Shenqi Pill （肾气丸） plus Tongdu Tiaoshen Acupuncture （通督调神针刺） in the treatment of neurogenic bladder after spinal cord injury of kidney-yang deficiency syndrome. MethodsForty-six patients were randomly divided into 23 cases each in the control group and the treatment group. Both groups were given conventional treatment， i.e. oral methylcobalamin tablets （0.5 mg each time， 3 times a day） and paraplegic conventional acupuncture （once a day， 6 consecutive days a week）. The control group was given simple bladder function rehabilitation training on the basis of the conventional treatment； and the treatment group was given modified Shenqi Pill orally （1 dose a day， 150 ml each time， taken warmly in morning and evening） and Tongdu Tiaoshen Acupuncture （once a day， 6 consecutive days per week） in addition to what were given to the control group. The treatment course lasted for 4 weeks. The 24 h urination frequency， 24 h urine leakage frequency， 24 h single urine volume， bladder residual urine volume， international lower urinary tract symptom （LUTS） score， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score were compared between the two groups， and clinical effectiveness and TCM syndrome effectiveness were compared between the two groups after treatment. ResultsTwenty patients in each group were finally analyzed in this study. The number of 24 h urination， the number of 24 h urine leakage， bladder residual urine volume， LUTS score， and the TCM syndrome scores decreased after treatment in both groups， and the 24 h single urine volume increased （P＜0.01）； and much more improvement was found of each index in the treatment group than in the control group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The total clinical effectiveness and TCM syndrome effectiveness in the treatment group was 85.00% （17/20） respectively， which were statistically significantly higher than 45.00% （the total clinical effectiveness， 9/20） and 60.00% （TCM syndrome effectiveness， 12/20） in the control group （P＜0.01）. ConclusionModified Shenqi Pill plus Tongdu Tiaoshen Acupuncture can signi-ficantly improve the clinical symptoms of neurogenic bladder patients after spinal cord injury of kidney-yang deficiency syndrome， having better effectiveness than simple bladder function rehabilitation training， and its mechanism may be related to the improvement of the injured nerve function innervating the bladder.

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of azithromycin sequential therapy combined with risk management in the treatment of mycoplasmal pneumonia pneumonia(MPP)in children.Methods MPP children admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of Quzhou People's Hospital from March 2023 to November 2023 were retrospectively selected,and divided into a study group(azithromycin sequential therapy combined with risk management)and a control group(azithromycin sequential therapy combined with routine care)according to different intervention methods.The clinical efficacy,inflammatory cytokines[interleukin-6(IL-6),interleukin-17(IL-17),and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)],incidence of MPP-related complications,and incidence of drug-related adverse reactions(DRAR)in the two groups after treatment were observed and compared.Results A total of 119 children with MPP were included in the study,with 57 in the study group and 62 in the control group.The clinical efficacy of children with MPP in the study group was significantly higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in IL-6,IL-17,and TNF-α between the two groups before treatment(P＞0.05);after treatment,both groups showed significant decreases in IL-6,IL-17,and TNF-α compared with before treatment,and these indicators of the study group were lower than thsoe of the control group(P＜0.05).The incidence of MPP-related complications in children in the study group was lower than that in the control group(P＜0.05),and there was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse drug reactions between the two groups(P＞0.05).In addition,the satisfaction of MPP children's family members in the study group with nursing care was significantly higher than that in the control group(P＜0.05).Conclusion The clinical efficacy of azithromycin sequential therapy combined with risk management in the treatment of pediatric MPP is significant,which can regulate the expression of inflammatory cytokines,reduce MPP-related complications,and improve clinical efficacy and family satisfaction with nursing care.

Objective To explore the prediction of heart diseases using machine learning-based methods,including decision trees(DT),random forest(RF),support vector machine(SVM),K-nearest neighbors(KNN),and naive Bayes(NB).Methods The Cleveland heart disease dataset was utilized as the data source.Significant features were selected using Pearson correlation coefficients.Heart disease prediction models were constructed using DT,RF,SVM,KNN,and NB algorithms,separately,and the model performance was evaluated with multiple metrics,including accuracy,precision,recall rate,F1 score,and AUC value.Results The study included 303 samples,and among the 13 clinical features,11 were found to be significant.RF prediction model achieved the highest accuracy(0.869),recall rate(0.906),F1 score(0.879),and AUC value(0.93),while NB prediction model obtained the highest precision(0.900).Conclusion Machine learning-based methods are promising in heart disease prediction,with the RF prediction model demonstrating significant advantages and NB prediction model exhibiting satisfactory performance.

Vascular dementia (VaD) is the second commonest type of dementia which lacks of efficient treatments currently. Neuroinflammation as a prominent pathological feature of VaD, is highly involved in the development of VaD. In order to verify the therapeutic potential of PDE1 inhibitors against VaD, the anti-neuroinflammation, memory and cognitive improvement were evaluated in vitro and in vivo by a potent and selective PDE1 inhibitor 4a. Also, the mechanism of 4a in ameliorating neuroinflammation and VaD was systematically explored. Furthermore, to optimize the drug-like properties of 4a, especially for metabolic stability, 15 derivatives were designed and synthesized. As a result, candidate 5f, with a potent IC₅₀ value of 4.5 nmol/L against PDE1C, high selectivity over PDEs, and remarkable metabolic stability, efficiently ameliorated neuron degeneration, cognition and memory impairment in VaD mice model by suppressing NF-κB transcription regulation and activating cAMP/CREB axis. These results further identified PDE1 inhibition could serve as a new therapeutic strategy for treatment of VaD.

Objective:To investigate the effects of letrozole combined with human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) on pregnancy rate and prognosis in patients with refractory polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).Methods:A total of 102 patients with refractory PCOS who received treatment in Jinhua Hongyue Women's and Children's Hospital between May 2019 and May 2020 were included in this study. They were randomly assigned to observation and control groups ( n = 51/group). All patients received the same treatment in the early period. During later ovulation induction period, patients in the control group were administered HMG and those in the observation group were given letrozole combined with HMG. Before treatment and 3 months after treatment, sex hormones [follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E 2), testosterone (T)], arterial hemodynamic indicators around the follicle [end diastolic velocity (EDV), peak systolic velocity (PSV), pulsation index (PI)], endometrial thickness and classification were compared between the two groups. The ovulation rate and pregnancy rate as well as pregnancy outcomes at 6 months of follow-up were recorded in each group. Results:After 3 months of treatment, FSH, LH, E 2 and T levels in each group were significantly decreased compared with those before treatment (all P < 0.05). FSH, LH, E 2 and T levels in the observation group were (1.85 ± 0.45) U/L, (9.86 ± 1.47) U/L, (81.25 ± 10.47) pmol/L, (1.75 ± 0.26) nmol/L, respectively, which were significantly lower than those in the control group [(3.12 ± 1.47) U/L, (12.58 ± 2.14) U/L, (109.25 ± 27.14) pmol/L, (3.58 ± 0.76) nmol/L, t = 5.90, 7.48, 6.87, 16.27, all P < 0.05). EDV in each group was significantly decreased after 3 months of treatment compared with that before treatment (both P < 0.05). After treatment, EDV in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group [(3.12 ± 1.42) cm/s vs. (5.14 ± 1.89) cm/s, t = 21.14, P < 0.001]. PSV in each group was significantly increased after treatment compared with that before treatment (both P < 0.05). After treatment, PSV in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [(13.36 ± 2.01) cm/s vs. (10.24 ± 2.47) cm/s, t = 4.21, P < 0.001]. In each group, PI measured after treatment was not significantly different from that measured before treatment (both P > 0.05). After treatment, endometrial thickness in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [(9.09 ± 1.58) mm vs. (8.41 ± 1.42) mm, t = 2.28, P < 0.05]. Ovulation rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group [88.24% (45/51) vs. 70.59% (36/51), χ2 = 4.85, P < 0.05]. There were no significant differences in endometrial type, biochemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy rate, abortion rate, and premature delivery rate between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Conclusion:Letrozole combined with HMG has an ideal effect on refractory PCOS. It can improve the levels of sex hormones, restore the hemodynamic status in ovarian stroma and increase ovulation rate.

From November to December of 2018, twenty 65-year-old or older women patients with knee osteoarthritis were recruited from the Department of Physical Therapy, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University. Meanwhile, twenty healthy 65-year-old or older women were recruited from the local community. The results showed that the knee contact angle of the patient group was more flexed ( P=0.040), and the minimum angle of the knee joint increased ( P=0.008) during the stance period compared to the healthy group. However, there was no significant difference in the maximum contact angle between the angle of hip and ankle joints. In addition, the tibialis anterior muscle of the patients was significantly smaller than the healthy group ( P=0.023). Therefore, knee osteoarthritis could change the gait and muscle activity of older women, especially the knee joint.

From November to December of 2018, twenty 65-year-old or older women patients with knee osteoarthritis were recruited from the Department of Physical Therapy, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University. Meanwhile, twenty healthy 65-year-old or older women were recruited from the local community. The results showed that the knee contact angle of the patient group was more flexed ( P=0.040), and the minimum angle of the knee joint increased ( P=0.008) during the stance period compared to the healthy group. However, there was no significant difference in the maximum contact angle between the angle of hip and ankle joints. In addition, the tibialis anterior muscle of the patients was significantly smaller than the healthy group ( P=0.023). Therefore, knee osteoarthritis could change the gait and muscle activity of older women, especially the knee joint.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of white matter damage (WMD) and the neuroprotective effect of Xenon on neonates with WMD.Methods Three-day-old SD rat pups (n =96) were randomly divided into the blank control group (n =24),the WMD control group (n =24),the Xenon intervention group A (n =24) and the Xenon intervention group B (n =24) by random number method according to their birth time.WMD rat models were successfully established by giving intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide(LPS) 0.05 mg/kg combined with carotid artery ligation and hypoxia for 1 hour in the WMD control group and the Xenon intervention groups.In the control group,only 9 g/L saline (0.05 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally,while carotid artery ligation and hypoxia were not administered.Rats in Xenon intervention group A and group B were given inhalation of 500 mL/L Xenon for 3 hours at 0 and 2 hours respectively after establishment of the models.Six rats in each group were randomly selected and decapitated at 0,24,48 and 72 hours after the intervention.The brain white matter on the right was analyzed by using HE staining and myelin basic protein(MBP) immunofluorescence staining,and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expressions level of CLIC4 mRNA.Results (1) Brain tissue pathology:compared with the blank control group,the brain white matter on the right of the WMD control group and the Xenon intervention group A and group B had loose and disordered structure,nuclear pyknosis and cytoplasm loosening.However,the lesions in both Xenon intervention group A and group B were significantly less than those in the WMD control group,and there was no significant difference between the Xenon intervention group A and group B.(2) MBP measurement:the number of MBP-positive cells in the brain white matter on the right of WMD control group was significantly lower than that in the blank control group,while compared with WMD control group,they were significantly higher in Xenon intervention group A and group B.(3) CLIC4 mRNA expression level:compared with blank control group,the expressions levels of CLIC4 mRNA at most time point were higher both in the WMD control group and the Xenon intervention group A and group B (all P ＜ 0.05),except the time point 24 h in the Xenon intervention group A.The expressions of CLIC4 mRNA in group A and group B were significantly decreased compared with those in the WMD control group (all P ＜ 0.05).However,there were no significant differences between Xenon intervention group A and group B (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The expressions of CLIC4 mRNA in brain tissues on neonatal rats with WMD significantly increased,indicating that the mitochondrial pathway could be one of the pathological processes of WMD.Early Xenon intervention may reduce neonatal WMD by reducing the expression of CLIC4 mRNA,which plays a neuroprotective role.

Twin-twin transfusion syndrome is the specific complication in monochorionic diamnionic twin pregnancy with the higher morbidity and mortality.Now,the progress in the clinical manifestation,complications,diagnosis and treatment of the twin-twin transfusion syndrome are introduced,in order to arouse clinicians to put importance on the diagnosis of chorion and amnion,specially monochorion,and provide help for the early management and intervention of twin pregnancy.