Objective To develop an innovative recognition algorithm that aids physicians in the identification of pulmonary nodules. Methods Patients with pulmonary nodules who underwent thoracoscopic surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School in December 2023, were enrolled in the study. Chest surface exploration data were collected at a rate of 60 frames per second and a resolution of 1 920×1 080. Frame images were saved at regular intervals for subsequent block processing. An algorithm database for lung nodule recognition was developed using the collected data. Results A total of 16 patients were enrolled, including 9 males and 7 females, with an average age of (54.9±14.9) years. In the optimized multi-topology convolutional network model, the test results demonstrated an accuracy rate of 94.39% for recognition tasks. Furthermore, the integration of micro-variation amplification technology into the convolutional network model enhanced the accuracy of lung nodule identification to 96.90%. A comprehensive evaluation of the performance of these two models yielded an overall recognition accuracy of 95.59%. Based on these findings, we conclude that the proposed network model is well-suited for the task of lung nodule recognition, with the convolutional network incorporating micro-variation amplification technology exhibiting superior accuracy. Conclusion Compared to traditional methods, our proposed technique significantly enhances the accuracy of lung nodule identification and localization, aiding surgeons in locating lung nodules during thoracoscopic surgery.

Objective:To investigate the effect of modified percutaneous closure in the treatment of ventricular septal rupture.Methods:This study is a retrospective cohort study. Forty-four patients with ventricular septal rupture who underwent percutaneous closure at the Fuwai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital from December 2017 to October 2023 were included. According to the closure method, patients were divided into the modified group (11 cases) and the traditional group (33 cases). Surgical success was defined as successful placement of the occluder. The operation time, X-ray intake, sheath bending rate, incidence of ventricular fibrillation and pericardial tamponade, and postoperative residual shunt were compared between the two groups.Results:The age of the patients was (75.0±5.7) years, with 20 (45%) males. There were 3 cases of operation failure in the traditional group, while all patients in the modified group were successfully occluded. The procedure time in the modified group was shorter than that in the traditional group (40 (35, 45) min vs. 60 (50, 65)min, P<0.001); X-ray dose intake was lower ((442.43±73.26)mGy vs. (784.45±247.78)mGy, P<0.001). There was no occurrence of sheath bending in the modified group, while the incidence of sheath bending in the traditional surgery group was 46% (15/33), and the difference was statistically significant ( P=0.017). Intraoperative ventricular fibrillation and pericardial tamponade occurred in 7 cases (21%) and 2 cases (6%) in the traditional group respectively, while none occurred in the modified group, but the differences between the groups were not statistically significant (both P>0.05). There was no significant difference in residual shunt between the two groups (3.6 (2.5, 4.3) mm vs. 4.0 (3.5, 4.5) mm, P=0.506). Conclusion:The procedure of modified ventricular septal rupture closure is more simplified, with a lower incidence ofventricular fibrillation and pericardial tamponade.

Background::Due to the wide variety of morphology, size, and dynamics, selecting an optimal valve size and location poses great difficulty in percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI). This study aimed to report our experience with in vitro bench testing using patient-specific three-dimensional (3D)-printed models for planning PPVI with the Venus P-valve. Methods::Patient-specific 3D soft models were generated using PolyJet printing with a compliant synthetic material in 15 patients scheduled to undergo PPVI between July 2018 and July 2020 in Central China Fuwai Hospital of Zhengzhou University.Results::3D model bench testing altered treatment strategy in all patients (100%). One patient was referred for surgery because testing revealed that even the largest Venus P-valve would not anchor properly. In the remaining 14 patients, valve size and/or implantation location was altered to avoid valve migration and/or compression coronary artery. In four patients, it was decided to change the point anchoring because of inverted cone-shaped right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) ( n = 2) or risk of compression coronary artery ( n = 2). Concerning sizing, we found that an oversize of 2-5 mm suffices. Anchoring of the valve was dictated by the flaring of the in- and outflow portion in the pulmonary artery. PPVI was successful in all 14 patients (absence of valve migration, no coronary compression, and none-to-mild residual pulmonary regurgitation [PR]). The diameter of the Venus P-valve in the 3D simulation group was significantly smaller than that of the conventional planning group (36 [2] vs. 32 [4], Z = -3.77, P <0.001). Conclusions::In vitro testing indicated no need to oversize the Venus P-valve to the degree recommended by the balloon-sizing technique, as 2-5 mm sufficed.

Background::Although some well-established oncogenes are involved in cancer initiation and progression such as prostate cancer (PCa), the long tail of cancer genes remains to be defined. Goosecoid ( GSC) has been implicated in cancer development. However, the comprehensive biological role of GSC in pan-cancer, specifically in PCa, remains unexplored. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of GSC in PCa development. Methods::We performed a systematic bioinformatics exploration of GSC using datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas, Genotype-Tissue Expression, Gene Expression Omnibus, German Cancer Research Center, and our in-house cohorts. First, we evaluated the expression of GSC and its association with patient prognosis, and identified GSC-relevant genetic alterations in cancers. Further, we focused on the clinical characterization and prognostic analysis of GSC in PCa. To understand the transcriptional regulation of GSC by E2F transcription factor 1 ( E2F1), we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Functional experiments were conducted to validate the effect of GSC on the tumor cellular phenotype and sensitivity to trametinib. Results::GSC expression was elevated in various tumors and significantly correlated with patient prognosis. The alterations of GSC contribute to the progression of various tumors especially in PCa. Patients with PCa and high GSC expression exhibited worse progression-free survival and biochemical recurrence outcomes. Further, GSC upregulation in patients with PCa was mostly accompanied with higher Gleason score, advanced tumor stage, lymph node metastasis, and elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. Mechanistically, the transcription factor, E2F1, stimulates GSC by binding to its promoter region. Detailed experiments further demonstrated that GSC acted as an oncogene and influenced the response of PCa cells to trametinib treatment. Conclusions::GSC was highly overexpressed and strongly correlated with patient prognosis in PCa. We found that GSC, regulated by E2F1, acted as an oncogene and impeded the therapeutic efficacy of trametinib in PCa.

Oral bacteria are associated with a variety of oral diseases such as caries,periodontal disease and oral cancer.Some patho-genic bacteria also play an important role in the occurrence and development of systemic diseases.The rapid identification of bacterial pathogens helps the diagnosis and precise treatment of oral diseases.Raman spectroscopy is a simple,rapid and non-invasive novel de-tection technique that can provide abundant and detailed bacterial information and can rapidly identify bacteria,but the application of this technique in oral clinical settings is still relatively rare and needs further exploration.This paper summarizes the research progress of Raman spectroscopy in the identification of oral bacteria and discusses the prospects and challenges of its clinical application.

Objective: To understand the influencing factors underlying physical exercise behavior among children and adolescents aged 9-18 years in Ningxia, China, in 2019, and to provide suggestions for physical exercise among children and adolescents by adopting a social ecological model. Methods: Based on data related to 12 018 children and adolescents in Ningxia aged 9-18 years old which were obtained from the National Survey on Students Constitution and Health in 2019, the survey questions scored based on the four levels of the social ecological model. Results: The proportion of children and adolescents who engaged in physical exercise for less than 1 hour a day accounted for 55.97% of the total number of people in Ningxia. Regardless of whether they were able to engage in enough physical activity, individual factors played a dominant role in influencing the behavior of the children and adolescents, and an interaction was found between influencing factors at different levels( r=-0.01, 0.01, -0.08, 0.04, P <0.01). The results of the stepwise regression analysis showed that the personal factors e.g. sports makes me healthy, I don t have enough time, muscle strength exercise, I have no movement of any relationship partner, sports make me know partner, policy in the number of physical education, number of sports meeting in a school year, the average daily lesson hold number all affect children s sports activities in time( B =-0.05-0.16, P <0.01). Conclusions The lack of physical exercise among children and adolescents in Ningxia is the result of multiple factors. Comprehensive and diversified intervention should be administered from a socio ecological framework to promote the formation of physical exercise habits among children and adolescents.

Objective:To investigate the mediating effect of inflammatory factors in the association between low density lipoprotein-cholesterol(LDL-C) and thyroid associated ophthalmopathy(TAO).Methods:This study was a prospective study, which icluded a total of 86 patients with Graves′ disease who attended the Department of Endocrinology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2021 to June 2022. Among them, there were 56 patients with Graves′ disease accompanied by TAO, including 30 cases in the inactive group and 26 in the active group. Additionally, there were 30 cases having Graves′ disease alone. The relationship between LDL-C, inflammatory factors, and the onset and activity of TAO were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Mediation analysis was used to explore the mediating effect of inflammatory factors in the association between LDL-C and TAO onset and activity.Results:Interleukin(IL) -6 was a potential mediator that linking the association between LDL-C and TAO onset: LDL-C had a direct effect on TAO(Total effect value=0.274, 95% CI 0.161-0.386), while IL-6(mediated effect=0.067, 95% CI 0.011-0.123) and IL-17(mediated effect=0.042, 95% CI 0.007-0.077) partially mediated the effect of LDL-C on TAO, accounting for 24.45% and 15.33% of the total effect, respectively. IL-6 was a potential mediator of the association between LDL-C and TAO activity: LDL-C had a direct effect on TAO activity(Total effect value=0.320, 95% CI 0.204-0.435), and IL-6(mediated effect=0.103, 95% CI 0.021-0.185) partially mediated the effect of LDL-C on TAO activity, with a mediation effect of 32.19%. Conclusion:IL-6 plays a partiall mediating role in the association of LDL-C with TAO onset and activity.

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a fatal heart disease characterized by fibroadipocytic replacement of cardiac myocytes, accounts for 20% of sudden cardiac death and lacks effective treatment. It is often caused by mutations in desmosome proteins, with Desmoglein-2 (DSG2) mutations as a common etiology. However, the mechanism underlying the accumulation of fibrofatty in ACM remains unknown, which impedes the development of curative treatment. Here we investigated the fat accumulation and the underlying mechanism in a mouse model of ACM induced by cardiac-specific knockout of Dsg2 (CS-Dsg2 ^-/-). Heart failure and cardiac lipid accumulation were observed in CS-Dsg2 ^-/- mice. We demonstrated that these phenotypes were caused by decline of fatty acid (FA) β-oxidation resulted from impaired mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling. Rapamycin worsened while overexpression of mTOR and 4EBP1 rescued the FA β-oxidation pathway in CS-Dsg2 ^-/- mice. Reactivation of PPARα by fenofibrate or AAV9-Pparα significantly alleviated the lipid accumulation and restored cardiac function. Our results suggest that impaired mTOR-4EBP1-PPARα-dependent FA β-oxidation contributes to myocardial lipid accumulation in ACM and PPARα may be a potential target for curative treatment of ACM.

Objective    To investigate the expression of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7 nAChR) in thymocytes of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and its effect on cytokine secretion and T cell proliferation. Methods    Patients with MG who underwent expanded thoracoscopic thymectomy in the Comprehensive Diagnosis and Treatment Center of the Henan Provincial People’s Hospital from June 2021 to June 2022 were selected and allocated to a MG group. Patients who underwent partial thymectomy to expose the surgical field during the cardiac disease surgery from June 2021 to September 2022 in the Department of Adult Cardiac Surgery of Fuwai Huazhong Cardiovascular Hospital were selected as the control group. Thymic single cell suspensions were prepared from MG and control groups, and the expression of α7 nAChR in thymocytes of the two groups was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Then CD3/CD28 monoclonal antibody coupled with magnetic beads was used to induce T cell activation, and the levels of cytokines interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, and IL-21 in thymocytes of the two groups were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The activated T cells of the MG group were divided into a blank control group, an α7 nAChR antagonist group, and an α7 nAChR agonist group according to different treatment methods. After 72 hours of culture, IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, and IL-21 expression levels in the culture supernatant were measured by ELISA. Afterwards, CD4-PE and CD8-APC antibodies were added, and the proliferation of T cell subsets was detected by flow cytometry. Results    A total of 10 MG patients were collected, including 3 males and 7 females with an average age of 19.25±6.28 years; and 15 control patients were collected, including 6 males and 9 females with an average age of 26.18±6.77 years. Compared with the control group, the mRNA and protein levels of α7 nAChR in the thymocytes of MG group were decreased, and the expression levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6 and IL-21 in the supernatant were increased (P<0.05), but there was no statistical difference in the expression of IL-10 and IL-17 (P>0.05). The cell-culture experiment showed that compared with the blank control group, the levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-21 secreted by T cells in the α7 nAChR antagonist group were increased (P<0.05), while they were decreased in the α7 nAChR agonist group (P<0.05). There was no statistical difference in the secretion levels of IL-4, IL-10 or IL-17 among the three groups (P>0.05). CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells in the α7 nAChR agonist group were significantly less than those in the blank control group and α7 nAChR antagonist group (P<0.001), while they were significantly more in the α7 nAChR antagonist group than those in the blank control group (P<0.001). Conclusion    The expression of α7 nAChR in thymocytes of MG patients is decreased, and α7 nAChR may be involved in the inflammatory response in thymocytes and thus in thymic function.

Objective:To investigate the effects of intervention mapping on cardiopulmonary function for patients with acute heart failure in compensatory period, so as to provide references for their early rehabilitation activities.Methods:A total of 90 patients with acute heart failure admitted to Fuwai Central China Cardiovascular Hospital from October 2018 to October 2019 were enrolled in the present study. They were divided into experimental group and control group according to draw-lots-method, with 45 cases in each group. The control group received the routine care and activity plan, while the experimental group implemented intervention mapping-based stage early rehabilitation program. The indicators included 6MWT, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) as well as Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), and the intervention effects were compared between the two groups. Results:There were no significant differences in FEV 1, 6MWT, BNP and MLHFQ scores between the two groups at admission ( P>0.05). On discharge, FEV 1, 6MWT were (2.17±0.44) L, (273.09±55.80) m in the experimental group, significantly higher than (1.94 ± 0.39) L and (236.44 ± 50.99) m in the control group; the plasma BNP were (676.79 ± 78.75) ng/L in the experimental group, significantly lower than (736.05 ± 78.77) ng/L in the control group; in addition, the physical demention, emotional dimenson, other demension scores and total scores of MLHFQ in the experimental group were (65.39 ± 5.02), (67.56 ± 4.99), (66.05 ± 4.16) and (66.33 ± 2.63) points, significantly higher than (59.79 ± 5.94), (64.33 ± 5.93), (62.76 ± 4.47), (62.36 ± 2.98) points in the control group, the differences were statistically significant ( t values were 2.56-6.51, all P<0.05). Conclusions:Designing and implementing stage early rehabilitation program using intervention mapping can promote cardiopulmonary function and quality of life of patients with acute heart failure in compensatory period.