This article systematically reviews the role and relationship of heme oxygenase （HO） in the pathogenesis of metabolic associated fatty liver disease （MAFLD） and discusses the biological function of HO， its expression in the liver， its association with lipid metabolism， and its regulatory role in inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress， in order to reveal the potential therapeutic targets and mechanism of HO in MAFLD and provide new perspectives and directions for future treatment strategies.

In the era of big data, neuroimaging and algorithmic analyses have propelled brain science research and brain mapping. Acupuncture, widely recognized as an effective surface stimulation therapy, has demonstrated therapeutic efficacy for various brain conditions such as stroke and depression. However, the mechanisms linking acupuncture to brain function and its modulatory effects on brain activity require systematic exploration. Additionally, there is an urgent need to scientifically reinterpret traditional meridian theory and enhance its clinical applicability. Therefore, we propose the initiative of constructing a "brain mapping atlas of meridian, collateral and body surface stimulation" to explore the patterns linking the therapeutic effects of stimulating the twelve meridians, eight extraordinary vessels, divergent channels, collateral channels, sinew channels, and skin regions to brain function. This initiative aims to provide a scientific interpretation of traditional Chinese medicine meridian theory and enhance its practical applicability. This paper begins by reviewing the current state of brain mapping. It then summarizes existing research on the relationship between acupuncture and the brain, highlighting the necessity of constructing this atlas. The paper further analyzes the methodologies and technical challenges involved. Finally, the potential applications of the brain mapping atlas of meridian, collateral and body surface stimulation, and its main significance in advancing traditional meridian theory to keep pace with the times are prospected.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Meridians ; Big Data ; Brain/physiology* ; Brain Mapping

Osteoporosis is a prevalent skeletal condition characterized by reduced bone mass and strength, leading to increased fragility. Buqi-Tongluo (BQTL) decoction, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, has yet to be fully evaluated for its potential in treating bone diseases such as osteoporosis. To investigate the mechanism by which BQTL decoction inhibits osteoclast differentiation in vitro and validate these findings through in vivo experiments. We employed MTS assays to assess the potential proliferative or toxic effects of BQTL on bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) at various concentrations. TRAcP experiments were conducted to examine BQTL's impact on osteoclast differentiation. RT-PCR and Western blot analyses were utilized to evaluate the relative expression levels of osteoclast-specific genes and proteins under BQTL stimulation. Finally, in vivo experiments were performed using an osteoporosis model to further validate the in vitro findings. This study revealed that BQTL suppressed receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast resorption activity in vitro in a dose-dependent manner without observable cytotoxicity. The inhibitory effects of BQTL on osteoclast formation and function were attributed to the downregulation of NFATc1 and c-fos activity, primarily through attenuation of the MAPK, NF-κB, and Calcineurin signaling pathways. BQTL's inhibitory capacity was further examined in vivo using an ovariectomized (OVX) rat model, demonstrating a strong protective effect against bone loss. BQTL may serve as an effective therapeutic TCM for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis and the alleviation of bone loss induced by estrogen deficiency and related conditions.
Animals ; NFATC Transcription Factors/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Ovariectomy ; Osteoclasts/metabolism* ; Female ; Osteogenesis/drug effects* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; NF-kappa B/genetics* ; Osteoporosis/genetics* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Bone Resorption/genetics* ; Cell Differentiation/drug effects* ; Humans ; RANK Ligand/metabolism* ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/genetics* ; Transcription Factors

Objective:To investigate the effects of early percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on myocardial perfusion and left ventricular function in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after thrombolysis.Methods:A total of 108 patients with STEMI treated in the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2020 to December 2022 were divided into early PCI following thrombolysis group ( n=65) and primary PCI (pPCI) group ( n=43). The general clinical data, and the parameters of routine echocardiography at 1 day after PCI and before discharge were compared between the two groups. Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) was used to evaluate myocardial perfusion at 1 day after PCI and before discharge. Results:There were no significant differences in general clinical data between the early PCI following thrombolysis group and the pPCI group (all P>0.05). The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in the early PCI following thrombolysis group and pPCI group before discharge was significantly higher than that on the 1st day after PCI(both P<0.05). The difference of LVEF was significant between the early PCI following thrombolysis group and the pPCI group before discharge and 1 day after PCI ( P<0.05). Compared with 1 day after PCI, the global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) of left ventricle increased in early PCI following thrombolysis group and pPCI group before discharge(both P<0.05). The difference of LVGLS between early PCI following thrombolysis group and pPCI group before discharge and 1 day after discharge was statistically significant( P<0.05). There were no significant differences in left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), left atrial volume (LAV), ratio of mitral early diastolic velocity to late diastolic velocity (E/A), mean early diastolic velocity of mitral annulus (Em) and E/Em 1 day after PCI and before discharge between early PCI following thrombolysis group and pPCI group (all P>0.05). MCE showed that the MCE score index of early PCI following thrombolysis group and pPCI group before discharge was significantly lower than that of 1 day after PCI(both P<0.001). Compared to the 1 day after PCI, the early PCI following thrombolysis group showed a significant increase in the proportion of normal microvascular perfusion (nMVP) and a decrease in the proportion of delayed microvascular perfusion (dMVP) and microvascular obstruction (MVO) before discharge (all P<0.05). In contrast, the pPCI group demonstrated a significant decrease in the proportion of both nMVP and dMVP before discharge compared to the first day after PCI (all P<0.05). However, the decrease in the proportion of MVO was not statistically significant ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Early PCI following thrombolysis and pPCI can enhance left ventricular systolic function and myocardial perfusion in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Early PCI following thrombolysis may offer additional advantages in improving left ventricular systolic function and myocardial perfusion.

Here, we report a previously unrecognized syndromic neurodevelopmental disorder associated with biallelic loss-of-function variants in the RBM42 gene. The patient is a 2-year-old female with severe central nervous system (CNS) abnormalities, hypotonia, hearing loss, congenital heart defects, and dysmorphic facial features. Familial whole-exome sequencing (WES) reveals that the patient has two compound heterozygous variants, c.304C>T (p.R102*) and c.1312G>A (p.A438T), in the RBM42 gene which encodes an integral component of splicing complex in the RNA-binding motif protein family. The p.A438T variant is in the RRM domain which impairs RBM42 protein stability in vivo. Additionally, p.A438T disrupts the interaction of RBM42 with hnRNP K, which is the causative gene for Au-Kline syndrome with overlapping disease characteristics seen in the index patient. The human R102* or A438T mutant protein failed to fully rescue the growth defects of RBM42 ortholog knockout ΔFgRbp1 in Fusarium while it was rescued by the wild-type (WT) human RBM42. A mouse model carrying Rbm42 compound heterozygous variants, c.280C>T (p.Q94*) and c.1306_1308delinsACA (p.A436T), demonstrated gross fetal developmental defects and most of the double mutant animals died by E13.5. RNA-seq data confirmed that Rbm42 was involved in neurological and myocardial functions with an essential role in alternative splicing (AS). Overall, we present clinical, genetic, and functional data to demonstrate that defects in RBM42 constitute the underlying etiology of a new neurodevelopmental disease which links the dysregulation of global AS to abnormal embryonic development.
Female ; Animals ; Mice ; Humans ; Child, Preschool ; Intellectual Disability/genetics* ; Heart Defects, Congenital/genetics* ; Facies ; Cleft Palate ; Muscle Hypotonia

Objective:To explore the application of observation teaching discussion (OTD) in vascular surgery nursing intern teaching under the guidance of process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) theory.Methods:Forty nursing students who were doing their internship in The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from July 2022 to July 2023 were randomly divided into two groups using a random number table: control group (20 students, OTD teaching) and observation group (20 students, POGIL theory-guided teaching) . The two groups were compared for competence assessment scores before entering the department and 3 days prior to departure from the department, autonomous learning ability scale scores, Competency Inventory for Registered Nurses (CIRN) scores, and Chinese Problem Solving Inventory (CPSI) scores. T-tests and chi-square tests were conducted using SPSS 22.0. Results:Three days prior to departure from the department, the theoretical performance and practical performance were significantly better in the observation group [(91.67±5.22) and (89.69±4.36) points, respectively] than in the control group [(84.53±4.75) and (82.41±4.18) points, respectively] ( P<0.05). The observation group also performed significantly better than the control group in autonomous learning ability scale score [(139.52±13.52) vs. (128.86±10.76)], CIRN score [(207.73±6.23) vs. (195.67±5.98)], and CPSI score [(103.60±4.72) vs. (92.18±5.03)] (all P<0.05). Conclusions:The application of OTD in vascular surgery nursing intern teaching under the guidance of POGIL theory can improve the autonomous learning ability, core ability, and problem-solving ability of nursing interns.

To analyze the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment and outcome of patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). The clinical data of 69 adult patients with TTP were retrospectively analyzed. There were 19 males and 50 females with a median age of 42 (18-79) years. PLASMIC score 6-7 was recognized in 82.8% (53/64) patients. The activity of von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease (ADAMTS13), which was detected in 21 patients before treatment, was less than 5% in 17 patients and 5%-10% in 3 patients. All 69 patients were treated with plasma exchange (PEX) and/or fresh frozen plasma infusion (PI), 43 of whom were also given glucocorticoid. In addition to PEX/PI and glucocorticoid, rituximab and/or immunosuppressants were administrated in 20 patients. The median follow-up time was 12 (1-57) months. The remission rate was 69.6%, while the relapse rate was 11.6%. The 2-year overall survival (OS) rate was 69.6%±5.5%. The univariate and multivariate analysis showed that relapsed/refractory disease was an independent risk factor for OS. The 2-year OS rate of relapsed/refractory patients was significantly lower than that of the rest patients (41.5%±9.8% vs. 83.7%±5.6%, P<0.001). Regarding the unfavorable prognosis in relapsed/refractory patients, rituximab and/or immunosuppressants are strongly recommended for sake of improving the overall survival.

Objective:To investigate the effect of deescalation noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in the removal of endotracheal intubation in patients with Stanford type A aortic dissection (AAD) complicated with obesity.Methods:A total of 80 obese patients with AAD from March 2018 to January 2020 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University were divided into experimental group and control group with 40 cases in each group by random number table method. The control group received traditional oxygen treatment with mask, while the experimental group received de-escalation noninvasive positive pressure ventilation. The blood gas index, respiratory rate and respiratory comfort score was recorded at different times before and after intervention, make a comparison with the two groups in the incidence of hypoxemia, secondary intubation and other complications.Results:Finally, 36 cases were included in the experimental group and 38 cases in the control group. After 2, 8, 24, 48, 72 h of extubation, the oxygenation index, PaO 2, SaO 2 were higher and PaCO 2, respiratory rate were lower in the experimental group compared to the control group, the differences were statistically significant ( t values were 2.02-9.00, all P<0.05). At 72 h after extubation, the pH value of the experimental group was 7.43 ± 0.08, which was higher than 7.38 ± 0.09 of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( t=2.44, P<0.05). At 24, 48, 72 h after extubation, the throat pain scores and oral nasal dryness symptom and sore throat symptom scores were (3.11 ± 1.53), (2.25 ± 0.57), (0.94 ± 0.14) points and (4.33 ± 1.08), (3.33 ± 0.68), (2.81 ± 0.43) points in the experimental group, lower than in the control group (5.24 ± 1.96), (3.58 ± 0.73), (2.18 ± 0.91) points and (6.00 ± 1.92), (5.39 ± 1.13), (4.79 ± 0.54) points, the differences were statistically significant ( t values were 3.46-5.21, all P<0.05). The incidence of hypoxemia, secondary intubation and intolerance were 2.8% (1/36), 2.8% (1/36) and 0 in the experimental group, lower than in the control group 26.3% (10/38), 21.1% (8/38) and 10.5% (4/38), the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=8.09, 5.78, 4.01, all P<0.05). Conclusions:De-escalation noninvasive positive pressure ventilation for obese patients with AAD can effectively improve oxygenation, reduce the incidence of hypoxemia and secondary intubation, and alleviate respiratory symptoms.

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a serious impact on global health. COVID-19 vaccines may be one of the most effective measure to end the pandemic. High infection risk and higher serious incident and mortality rates have been shown in cancer patients with COVID-19. Therefore, cancer patients should be the priority group for COVID-19 prevention. Until now, data of COVID-19 vaccination for cancer patients is lacking. We review the interim data of safety and immune-efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination in cancer patients based on the latest studies. Due to the complicated immune systems of cancer patients caused by the malignancy and anticancer treatments, we proposed preliminary specific COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for cancer patients with different anticancer treatments and at different stages of the disease. Preventing COVID-19 with vaccinations for cancer patients is crucial, and we call for more large-scale clinical trials and real-world studies, for further COVID-19 vaccination recommendations development.
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Objective:To evaluate the cerebral blood flow circulation time (CCT) by contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and to explore the change rule of CCT in different degree of intracranial pressure, so as to provide a new method for non-invasive monitoring of intracranial pressure.Methods:Ten patients with hemorrhagic stroke or acute craniocerebral trauma with increased intracranial pressure were selected from Tangdu Hospital, the Air Force Military Medical University from January to December 2019. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound was performed when the invasive intracranial pressure (iICP) increased (>20 mmHg, iICP increased group) and decreased to normal (≤20 mmHg, iICP normal group), CCT was measured and analyzed. The differences of CCTs between different iICP groups were compared and the relationship between CCT and iICP was analyzed.Results:①The CCT on the lesion sides of the same patients in the iICP increased group was significantly longer than in the iICP normal group[(9.34±2.58)s vs (6.48±1.91)s, P=0.002]. ②When iICP was increased in patients with hemorrhagic stroke or acute craniocerebral trauma, the CCTs of the diseased side and the non-pathological side were not statistically significant [(9.34±2.58)s vs (9.01±3.22)s, P=0.809]. ③Pearson correlation analysis and Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that there were no correlations between patient′s breathing, heart rate, carbon dioxide partial pressure, body temperature, GCS score and CCT (all P>0.05). Age, mean arterial pressure and CCT were moderately correlated ( r=0.518, 0.463 and P=0.023, 0.046, respectively). ④Logistic regression analysis showed that CCT was an independent risk factor related to intracranial hypertension( OR=0.7, 95% CI=0.47-0.95, P=0.036). The area under ROC curve (AUC) predicted by logistic regression was 0.750(0.588~0.912). Conclusions:Contrast-enhanced ultrasound noninvasive assessment of CCT can reflect the intracranial pressure in patients with hemorrhagic stroke or acute traumatic brain injury, and CCT has a predictive value for intracranial hypertension. When the patient has limited conditions for invasive intracranial pressure monitoring, or when the invasive monitoring probe is pulled out but still needs to evaluate intracranial pressure, the change of CCT can provide an effective reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.