Objective To investigate the value of radiomics nomogram model based on enhanced CT for predicting postoperative pancreatic fistula(POPF)in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD).Methods The clinical and abdominal imaging data of 82 patients who underwent PD were analyzed retrospectively.They were divided into training set and validation set at a ratio of 3∶2.In the venous phase of CT,the maximum slice of the pancreatic duct was selected to delineate the region of interest(ROI),and the features were extracted and screened to construct the radiomics model.The independent risk factors associated with POPF were screened by univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses to construct the clinical model.A nomogram model was created by combining Radiomics score(Radscore)and clinical risk factors.The diagnostic performance of the model was verified by the vali-dation set.Results The nomogram model demonstrated significant predictive power,with an area under the curve(AUC)of 0.862 and 0.806 in the training set and validation set,respectively.Conclusion The nomogram model exhibits excellent predictive performance and outperforms the clinical model and radiomics model in predicting POPF,which can provide important guidance for clinical deci-sion-making.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility,reliability and validity of the symptom identification scale for kidney yang deficiency syndrome.Methods The symptom identification scale for kidney yang deficiency syndrome developed in previous research was administered to 200 vascular cognitive impairment patients from September 2020 to September 2022 to assess feasibility through recall rate,completion rate,and completion time;reliability was measured using retest reliability,split-half reliability,homogeneity reliability,and inter-rater reliability;and validity was evaluated based on discriminant and structural validity.Results A total of 200 scales were sent out,and all of them cooperated and were completed and retrieved within 20 min.The results of reliability analysis showed that the retest reliability of the scale was 0.828 for the dimension of yang deficiency and 0.718 for the dimension of kidney qi deficiency;the Spearman-Brown coefficient of split-half reliability was 0.784;the Cronbach coefficient of the dimension of yang deficiency was 0.799,and the Cronbach coefficient of the dimension of kidney qi deficiency in the homogeneity reliability was 0.670.The results of the analysis showed that the differences between the kidney yang deficiency syndrome group and the non-kidney yang deficiency syndrome group in the yang deficiency dimension,kidney qi deficiency dimension scores and total scale scores in the discriminant validity were statistically significant(P<0.001);the KMO value in the structural validity was 0.842,and a total of two factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 were extracted,with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 58.227%.Conclusion The symptom identification scale for kidney yang deficiency syndrome demonstrates adequate reliability and validity,potentially enhancing the prediction of kidney yang deficiency in vascular cognitive impairment.However,the validity of the scale is somewhat limited and requires further refinement for clinical application.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease affecting both upper and lower motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. One important aspect of ALS pathogenesis is superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) mutant-mediated mitochondrial toxicity, leading to apoptosis in neurons. This study aimed to evaluate the neural protective synergistic effects of ginsenosides Rg1 (G-Rg1) and conditioned medium (CM) on a mutational SOD1 cell model, and to explore the underlying mechanisms. We found that the contents of nerve growth factor, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor significantly increased in CM after human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) were exposed to neuron differentiation reagents for seven days. CM or G-Rg1 decreased the apoptotic rate of SOD1^G93A-NSC34 cells to a certain extent, but their combination brought about the least apoptosis, compared with CM or G-Rg1 alone. Further research showed that the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 was upregulated in all the treatment groups. Proteins associated with mitochondrial apoptotic pathways, such as Bax, caspase 9 (Cas-9), and cytochrome c (Cyt c), were downregulated. Furthermore, CM or G-Rg1 also inhibited the activation of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway by reducing the phosphorylation of p65 and IκBα. CM/G-Rg1 or their combination also reduced the apoptotic rate induced by betulinic acid (BetA), an agonist of the NF-κB signaling pathway. In summary, the combination of CM and G-Rg1 effectively reduced the apoptosis of SOD1^G93A-NSC34 cells through suppressing the NF-κB/Bcl-2 signaling pathway (Fig. 1 is a graphical representation of the abstract).
Humans ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Ginsenosides/pharmacology* ; Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/genetics* ; Culture Media, Conditioned/pharmacology* ; Superoxide Dismutase-1 ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neurons/metabolism* ; Apoptosis

ObjectiveTo investigate the distribution of vascular cognitive impairment （VCI） with kidney Yang deficiency syndrome and explore the biological nature of VCI with kidney Yang deficiency syndrome from the perspective of DNA methylation under the combination of disease and syndrome， so as to provide an epigenetic target for traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） treatment of this disease with this syndrome in the future. MethodCommunity residents in Beijing were screened out for cognitive impairment from September 2020 to November 2022 through the scale， and VCI patients were analyzed for the syndrome. VCI patients with kidney Yang deficiency syndrome and healthy people were enrolled in this study. Peripheral venous blood was collected and subjected to genome-wide DNA methylation detection by Illumina Human Methylation 850K BeadChip. Then， differentially methylated genes （DMGs） were screened out for bioinformatics analysis. ResultA total of 1 902 people were investigated in this study， and 201 of them had VCI， accounting for 10.57%， including 72.14% with kidney Yang deficiency syndrome. The methylation results showed that compared with the normal group， the VCI group had 386 differential methylation sites， and 136 DMGs were annotated. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genomes（KEGG） signaling pathway enrichment analysis showed that the DMGs between the two groups were mainly involved in mammalian target of rapamycin（mTOR） signaling pathway， Estrogen signaling pathway， cyclic adenosine monophosphate（cAMP） signaling pathway， etc. Protein-protein interaction （PPI） analysis showed that DMGs， such as epidermal growth factor receptor（EGFR）， epidermal growth factor （EGF）， and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3（STAT3）， played important roles in the network. ConclusionKidney Yang deficiency is the main syndrome in VCI patients. DMGs including EGFR， EGF， and STAT3 and the related pathways such as mTOR signaling pathway， Estrogen signaling pathway， and cAMP signaling pathway may play a vital role in the occurrence and development of VCI with kidney Yang deficiency syndrome.

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of virtual monoenergetic images (VMI) and electron density map (EDM) derived from the dual-layer spectral detector CT (DLCT) in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant pulmonary ground glass nodules (GGN).Methods:From July 2019 to August 2020, a total of 65 patients with lung GGN (27 benign GGNs and 38 malignant GGNs) confirmed by pathology were retrospectively enrolled in Gulou Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University. All the patients underwent DLCT plain scanning within two weeks before the surgery. The conventional 120 kVp polyenergetic image (PI), EDM and 40-80 keV VMI were reconstructed. The differences of CT and electron density (ED) values between benign and malignant lesions on different images were compared by Mann-Whitney U test. Independent t-test was used to compare the lesion size and χ 2 test was used to analyze the CT features (including lesion location, shape, edge, internal structure, adjacent structure, nodule type) between benign and malignant lesions. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the efficacy of different energy spectrum quantitative parameters in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant GGN. The statistically significant CT signs and energy spectrum quantitative parameters were analyzed by logistic regression analysis to find out the independent risk factors of malignant GGN, and then ROC curve analysis was performed for each independent risk factor alone or in combination. Results:There were significant differences in lesion shape, spiculation, lobulation, location and size between benign and malignant groups ( P<0.05). The CT value of pulmonary GGN in PI, 40-80 keV VMI and the ED value in EDM were statistically different between benign and malignant lesions ( P<0.05). The area under ROC curve (AUC) were 0.680, 0.682, 0.683, 0.686, 0.694, 0.676 and 0.722, respectively, among which the ED value had the highest AUC. Binary logistic regression analysis was carried out with GGN shape, spiculation, lobulation, location, size, ED value and CT value in PI, 40-80 keV VMI as independent variables, and malignant GGN as dependent variables. The results showed that ED value (OR=1.045, 95%CI 1.001-1.090, P=0.044), lesion size (OR=1.582, 95%CI 1.159-2.158, P=0.004), spiculation sign (OR=11.352, 95%CI 2.379-54.172, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for malignant GGN. ROC curve analysis showed the AUC of ED value, lesion size, spiculation sign and combination of the three for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant GGN were 0.722, 0.772, 0.698 and 0.885. The AUC for the combined parameters was the largest, with sensitivity of 92.1% and specificity of 74.1%. Conclusion:The diagnostic efficacy of EDM is higher than that of other VMI in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary GGN by DLCT images; The efficacy is further improved when EDM is combined with lesion size and spiculation sign for comprehensive diagnosis.

Objective:To investigate the effects of exosomes of human nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) on the differentiation of urine derived stem cells (USCs) into nucleus pulposus-like cells.Methods:USCs and NPCs were isolated and cultured in vitro. The exosomes of NPCs were extracted and detected by Western-blot. USCs cytoplasm was transfected with GFP lentivirus, while nucleus was transfected with DAPI dye. The NPCs exosomes were transfected with PKH26 dye. After co-incubation for 12 h, USCs and NPCs exosomes were observed by macroscopy. USCs differentiation was induced by NPCs exosomes and non-contact co-culture methods. The relative expression of marker gene mRNA of nucleus pulposus cells in each group and the absorbance at 450 nm wavelength were detected.Results:The isolated USCs had the ability to differentiate into osteocytes, adipocytes and chondrocytes with high expression of marker CD29 (99.57%), CD44 (97.46%) and CD73 (97.71%) and with low expression of negative proteins CD31 (0.59%) and CD45 (0.19%). The isolated NPCs highly expressed nuclear pulposus cell marker COL2A1, ACAN and SOX-9. The exosomes extracted from NPCs showed high expression of exosome marker CD63, CD81 and Tsg101. After 12 h co-incubation, NPCs exosomes fused with USCs membrane and appeared in the cytoplasm of USCs. At 3, 5 and 7 days of co-culture, the absorbance value of USCs cells in exosome group (0.44±0.004, 0.76±0.004, 0.82±0.006) was higher than that in co-culture group (0.39±0.022, 0.63±0.035, 0.69±0.012) ( P<0.05). The mRNA relative expression of USCs nucleus pulposus marker genes ACAN (1.80±0.31, 3.50±0.21, 5.35±0.31, 7.46±0.12), COL2A1 (1.43±0.15, 4.33±0.23, 6.89±0.22, 8.11±0.31), SOX-9 (2.21±0.13, 3.13±0.11, 3.96± 0.14, 4.52±0.26) and HIF-1α (1.45±0.16, 2.14±0.21, 4.31±0.41, 4.01±0.25) in exosomes group were significantly higher than those in the control group ( P<0.05) at the 3rd, 7th, 14th and 21st days. The mRNA relative expression of USCs nucleus pulposus marker genes ACAN (5.69±0.21, 6.69±0.13), COL2A1 (6.33±0.17, 7.89±0.15), SOX-9 (4.19±0.29, 4.38±0.12), HIF-1α (4.49±0.32, 4.96±0.26) in exosomes group were significantly higher than those ACAN (3.69±0.35, 5.13±0.23), COL2A1 (3.40±0.16, 6.79±0.19), SOX-9 (2.26±0.32, 3.69±0.26), HIF-1α (2.39±0.11, 3.96±0.13) in non-contact co-culture group ( P<0.05) at the 14th and 21st days. Conclusion:Human nucleus pulposus exosomes could induce differentiation of human USCs into nucleus pulposus-like cells in vitro. Compared with non-contact co-culture, exosomes have higher induction efficiency and can better maintain the proliferation activity of nucleus pulposus-like cells

OBJECTIVE：To optimize the inclusion technology of volatile oil from Ganmao qingre granules. METHODS ： Guided by the concept of “quality by design ”，taking volatile oil inclusion rate and inclusion complex yield as key quality attribute，comprehensive score of above two indexes after weighting as response value ，inclusion temperature ，inclusion time ，the ratio of β-CD to volatile oil as key technology parameters ，Box-Burman response surface design was adopted to establish the design space of key technology parameters and key quality attributes. The design space was optimized and verified by 95％ confidence interval. The stability of inclusion complex was investigated preliminarily. RESULTS ：The optimal design space ，i. e. the optimal technology parameters rang ，included inclusion temperature 35-40 ℃，inclusion time 1.8-2.0 h，the ratio of β-CD to volatile oil 9.5∶1- 10∶1（g/mL）. The results of 3 validation tests showed that the volatile oil inclusion rates were all over 62％，the yields of inclusion complex were all over 75％，and the comprehensive scores were all over 80 point. The results of preliminary stability showed that the inclusion rate of volatile oil ，the yield of inclusion complex and the comprehensive score did not change significantly. The difference in evaluation indicators within 7 days was within 5％. CONCLUSIONS ：The optimized inclusion technology is feasible ， and the obtained inclusion complex is stable.

Guided bone regeneration technology applied in alveolar bone defect regeneration is based on the barrier function and space maintenance of the barrier membrane. Therefore, traditional development strategies for barrier membranes focus on their physical barrier function, degradation characteristics and biocompatibility to avoid immunogenicity. However, not only does the barrier membrane passively block connective tissue, it is recognized as a “foreign body”that triggers a persistent host immune response, known as a foreign body reaction. The theories of osteoimmunology reveal a close relationship between the immune system and bone system and emphasize the role of immune cells in bone tissue-related pathophysiological processes. Based on these findings, we propose a novel development strategy for barrier membranes based on immune microenvironment regulation: by manipulating mechanical properties, surface properties and physiochemical properties, barrier membranes are endowed with an improved immunomodulation ability, which helps to regulate immune cell reactions to induce a favorable local immune microenvironment, thus coordinating osteogenesis and osteoclastogenesis as well as barrier membrane degradation to increase the efficiency of barrier membranes in GBR applications. In this paper, we review the development of barrier membranes and their close relationship to the immune microenvironment concerning bone regeneration and membrane degradation. Additionally, the outcomes of research on barrier membranes based on the regulation of the immune microenvironment have been summarized to improve the osteogenesis efficiency of barrier membranes and solve the problem of the regeneration and repair of bone defects, especially alveolar bone defects.

Objective:To determine the prevalence, epidemiological characteristics, and related factors of syphilis infection among rural childbearing age people to promote medical interventions on pre-pregnancy aristogenesis and syphilis infection in Yunnan province.Methods:The subjects in this study were 18-49-year-old rural couples of childbearing age from the National Free Preconception Health Examination Project in Yunnan province during 2013-2017. The descriptive study was carried out to determine the positive rate of Treponema pallidum specific antibody (TPsAb) and related sociodemographic characteristics. Results:The overall positive rate of TPsAb was 0.38% (8 204/2 160 455) in 2 160 455 rural childbearing age people in Yunnan. The positive rate of TPsAb was 0.39% (4 019/1 040 981) in men,higher than that in women (0.37%,4 185/1 119 474). The positive rate of TPsAb was highest in the age group 45-49 years (0.70%,158/22 511). The positive rate of TP antibody in the minority ethnic groups and Han ethnic groups appeared the same (0.38%). However,the highest positive rate of TPsAb was 0.77% (461/60 153) in Hani ethnic group among all the 17 minority ethnic groups. People with education level of primary education had the highest anti-TP positive rate (0.54%,2 327/431 275). The positive rate of TPsAb appeared the highest in Zhaotong (0.73%, 2 049/281 614) area among all the 16 prefectures of the province. The positive rate of TPsAb in the population from the impoverished regions (0.50%,2 963/590 039) was higher than in other disadvantaged areas (0.34%, 3 115/929 368) or areas with average income (0.33%,2 126/641 048). Significant differences appeared in the positive rate of TPsAb among populations of different ages, ethnic, education level, and economic level groups (trend χ2 test, P<0.001). Conclusions:The positive rate of TP antibody in rural childbearing age people in Yunnan was related to multi factors,including sex,age,ethnic group,education level,area, residence, and local economic situation. The positive rate of TPsAb was higher in men than in women. And people with elder age, lower education level, being Hani or Lahu ethnic group, and Zhaotong areas had higher TPsAb positive rates and higher syphilis infection risk.

Objective: To provide guidelines for the prevention of post-stroke dementia, we investigated whether stroke patients were aware of post-stroke dementia and their level of dementia-related knowledge. Methods: Five dementia-related questions were designed. A field survey was conducted in a question-and-answer method using the designed questions. The surveys assessed 3000 stroke patients (2 weeks-6 months after stroke attacks) from 14 hospitals/clinical centers in 7 provinces and cities across China. Results: Among 3000 stroke patients, 80.5％had heard of dementia, 39.1％knew that stroke can lead to dementia, 55.7％ believed dementia can be prevented, 50.8％ thought dementia can be cured, and only 8.8％had ever seen a doctor because of memory deterioration. Then, patients were classified into three groups, including a no cognitive impairment (NCI) group, a mild cognitive impairment (MCI) group, and a mild dementia (MD) group. Among the MCI and MD groups, only 8.7％ (75/861) and 9.9％ (64/649) of patients, respectively, had ever seen a doctor because of memory deterioration. According to our results, patients with a higher level of cognitive impairment had a lower awareness of dementia (P<.001). Conclusion: The awareness of dementia in stroke patients in China is low, and the consultation rate is even lower. Moreover, patients with a higher level of cognitive impairment have a lower awareness of dementia. To improve public awareness and improve prevention, more emphasis should be put on ed-ucation regarding post-stroke dementia. Routine cognitive function screening should be conducted on stroke patients as an effective way to assess dementia.