Objective To investigate the suitable habitats of Phlebotomus chinensis in Gansu Province, so as provide insights into effective management of mountain-type zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis (MT-ZVL). Methods The geographical coordinates of locations where MT-ZVL cases were reported were retrieved in Gansu Province from 2015 to 2023, and data pertaining to 26 environmental variables were captured, including 19 climatic variables (annual mean temperature, mean diurnal range, isothermality, temperature seasonality, maximum temperature of the warmest month, minimum temperature of the coldest month, temperature annual range, mean temperature of the wettest quarter, mean temperature of the driest quarter, mean temperature of the warmest quarter, mean temperature of the coldest quarter, annual precipitation, precipitation of the wettest month, precipitation of the driest month, precipitation seasonality, precipitation of the wettest quarter, precipitation of the driest quarter, precipitation of the warmest quarter, and precipitation of the coldest quarter), five geographical variables (elevation, annual normalized difference vegetation index, vegetation type, landform type and land use type), and two population and economic variables (population distribution and gross domestic product). Twelve species distribution models were built using the biomod2 package in R project, including surface range envelope (SRE) model, generalized linear model (GLM), generalized additive model (GAM), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) model, generalized boosted model (GBM), classification tree analysis (CTA) model, flexible discriminant analysis (FDA) model, maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model, optimized maximum entropy (MAXNET) model, artificial neural network (ANN) model, random forest (RF) model, and extreme gradient boosting (XGBOOST) model. The performance of 12 models was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), true skill statistics (TSS), and Kappa coefficient, and single models with high performance was selected to build the optimal ensemble models. Factors affecting the survival of Ph. chinensis were identified based on climatic, geographical, population and economic variables. In addition, the suitable distribution areas of Ph. chinensis were predicted in Gansu Province under shared socioeconomic pathway 126 (SSP126), SSP370 and SSP585 scenarios based on climatic data during the period from 1991 to 2020, from 2041 to 2060 (2050s), and from 2081 to 2100 (2090s) . Results A total of 11 species distribution models were successfully built for prediction of potential distribution areas of Ph. chinensis in Gansu Province, and the RF model had the highest predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.998). The ensemble model built based on the RF model, XGBOOST model, GLM, and MARS model had an increased predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.999) relative to single models. Among the 26 environmental factors, precipitation of the wettest quarter (12.00%), maximum temperature of the warmest month (11.58%), and annual normalized difference vegetation index (11.29%) had the greatest contributions to suitable habitats distribution of Ph. sinensis. Under the climatic conditions from 1991 to 2020, the potential suitable habitat area for Ph. chinensis in Gansu Province was approximately 5.80 × 10⁴ km², of which the highly suitable area was 1.42 × 10⁴ km², and primarily concentrated in the southernmost region of Gansu Province. By the 2050s, the unsuitable and lowly suitable areas for Ph. chinensis in Gansu Province had decreased by varying degrees compared to that of 1991 to 2020 period, while the moderately and highly suitable areas exhibited expansion and migration. By the 2090s, under the SSP126 scenario, the suitable habitat area for Ph. chinensis increased significantly, and under the SSP585 scenario, the highly suitable areas transformed into extremely suitable areas, also showing substantial growth. Future global warming is conducive to the survival and reproduction of Ph. chinensis. From the 2050s to the 2090s, the highly suitable areas for Ph. chinensis in Gansu Province will be projected to expand northward. Under the SSP126 scenario, the suitable habitat area for Ph. chinensis in Gansu Province is expected to increase by 194.75% and 204.79% in the 2050s and 2090s, respectively, compared to that of the 1991 to 2020 period. Under the SSP370 scenario, the moderately and highly suitable areas will be projected to increase by 164.40% and 209.03% in the 2050s and 2090s, respectively, while under the SSP585 scenario, they are expected to increase by 195.98% and 211.66%, respectively. Conclusions The distribution of potential suitable habitats of Ph. sinensis gradually shifts with climatic changes. Intensified surveillance and management of Ph. sinensis is recommended in central and eastern parts of Gansu Province to support early warning of MT-ZVL.

Humans ; PPAR gamma/metabolism* ; Multiple Sclerosis ; Transcription Factors/metabolism* ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha

Background Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath are closely associated with respiratory diseases and are linked to various metabolic reactions in the human body. A quantitative analytical method can provide technical support for studying VOCs related to various diseases. Objective To establish a thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) method for the determination of 27 VOCs in exhaled breath. Methods VOCs in exhaled breath were collected using a Bio-VOC sampler and enriched with Tenax TA thermal desorption tubes before TD-GC-MS analysis. Standards were collected using thermal desorption tubes and optimized for thermal desorption conditions as well as chromatographic and mass spectrometric conditions: The separation of the 27 VOCs was achieved by an optimized temperature program, the improvement of sensitivity by optimizing quantitative ions, and the increase of VOCs desorption efficiency by optimizing thermal desorption time and temperature. Limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, precision, and stability of the proposed method were investigated by spiking with a blank gas bag, and exhaled breath samples from 20 healthy individuals were collected for an application study of the proposed method. Results The thermal desorption temperature was 280 ℃, and desorption time was 6 min. A VF-624ms chromatographic column was selected for the separation of target substances. The initial temperature of heating program was 35 ℃, maintained for 1 min, and then increased to 100 ℃ at a heating rate of 3 ℃·min⁻¹ for 1 min, followed by increasing to 210 ℃ at a heating rate of 28 ℃·min⁻¹ for 5 min. A quantitative analysis was conducted with a single ion monitoring (SIM) mode. Under these conditions, the 27 VOCs showed good linear relationships in their respective concentration ranges and the correlation coefficients were higher than 0.9990. The limits of detection of the method were in the range of 0.01-0.13 nmol·mol⁻¹, the limits of quantification were in the range of 0.02-0.44 nmol·mol⁻¹, and the spiked recoveries were in the range of 80.1%-120.5%, with intra-batch and inter-batch precision ≤ 18.8% and 17.9% respectively. All substances can be stored at room temperature (23-28 °C) for 7 d and at 4 °C for 14 d. The proposed method was applied to exhaled breath samples from 20 subjects with detection rates≥ 80% (except for trans-2-pentene and decane) and a concentration range of 0.00-465.50 nmol·mol⁻¹. Conclusion The established TD-GC-MS method for quantification of VOCs in exhaled breath is characterized by high sensitivity and good accuracy, and is suitable for quantitative determination of VOCs in exhaled breath, which can provide technical support for the study of exhaled breath VOCs.

BACKGROUND:With computer-aided design,melt electrowriting technology can precisely construct 3D tissue engineering scaffolds with specific morphology,which has attracted increasing attention in tissue engineering. OBJECTIVE:To elaborate on the progress of melt electrowriting technology in tissue engineering in recent years. METHODS:PubMed and CNKI were used to retrieve articles about applications of melt electrowriting technology in tissue engineering.The search time was from March 2008 to February 2023.The search terms were"melt electrowriting,melt electrospinning,electrospinning,tissue engineering,scaffold,regeneration"in English and"melt electrowriting,electrospinning,tissue engineering"in Chinese.A preliminary screening of articles was performed by reading the titles and abstracts.Finally,69 articles were included for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Melt electrowriting technology can achieve precise layer-by-layer deposition of fibers compared to traditional electrospinning technology,which better simulates the complex structure of natural tissues.Compared to other 3D printing technologies,smaller-diameter fibers can be prepared by melt electrowriting technology,resulting in highly ordered porous structures.(2)By combining with other scaffold preparation techniques or materials,such as fused deposition modeling,solution electrospinning technology,and hydrogel,melt electrowriting technology shows great potential in preparing complex tissue engineering scaffolds,which provides certain possibilities for achieving complex tissue regeneration.(3)The regeneration of complex tissues often involves blood vessels,nerves,and soft and hard tissues at the same time.The regeneration of blood vessels and nerves is of great significance to realize the physiological reconstruction of tissues.However,soft and hard tissues have certain difficulties to realize the coordinated regeneration of both due to their different biological and mechanical properties.Melt electrowriting technology has certain advantages in the field of bionic scaffolds due to its good biocompatibility,the ability to prepare multi-scale scaffolds and high porosity.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Danmu Extract Syrup (DMS) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) in mice and explore the mechanism. METHODS: Seventy-two male Balb/C mice were randomly divided into 6 groups according to a random number table (n=12), including control (normal saline), LPS (5 mg/kg), LPS+DMS 2.5 mL/kg, LPS+DMS 5 mL/kg, LPS+DMS 10 mL/kg, and LPS+Dexamethasone (DXM, 5 mg/kg) groups. After pretreatment with DMS and DXM, the ALI mice model was induced by LPS, and the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected to determine protein concentration, cell counts and inflammatory cytokines. The lung tissues of mice were stained with hematoxylin-eosin, and the wet/dry weight ratio (W/D) of lung tissue was calculated. The levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-1 β in BALF of mice were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The expression levels of Claudin-5, vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), phospho-protein kinase B (p-Akt) and Akt were detected by Western blot analysis. RESULTS: DMS pre-treatment significantly ameliorated lung histopathological changes. Compared with the LPS group, the W/D ratio and protein contents in BALF were obviously reduced after DMS pretreatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01). The number of cells in BALF and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity decreased significantly after DMS pretreatment (P<0.05 or P<0.01). DMS pre-treatment decreased the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1 β (P<0.01). Meanwhile, DMS activated the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) pathway and reversed the expressions of Claudin-5, VE-cadherin and VEGF (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS DMS attenuated LPS-induced ALI in mice through repairing endothelial barrier. It might be a potential therapeutic drug for LPS-induced lung injury.
Mice ; Male ; Animals ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; Interleukin-1beta/metabolism* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; Claudin-5/metabolism* ; Acute Lung Injury/chemically induced* ; Lung/pathology* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

Objective Hippocampal atrophy is a clinically important marker for the diagnosis of many psychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease‚ so accurate segmentation of the hippocampus is an important scientific issue. With the development of deep learning‚ a large number of advanced automatic segmentation method have been proposed. However‚ 3D hippocampal segmentation is still challenging due to the effects of various noises in MRI and unclear boundaries between various classes of the hippocampus. Therefore‚ the aim of this paper is to propose new method to segment the hippocampal head‚ body‚ and tail more accurately. Methods To overcome these challenges‚ this paper proposed two strategies. One was the spatial and frequency domain features adaptive fusion strategy‚ which reduced the influence of noise on feature extraction by automatically selecting the appropriate frequency combination through fast Fourier transform and convolution. The other was an inter-class boundary region enhancement strategy‚ which allowed the network to focus on learning the boundary regions by weighting the loss function of the boundary regions between each class to achieve the goal of pinpointing the boundaries and regulating the size of the hippocampal head‚ body and tail. Results Experiments performed on a 50-case teenager brain MRI dataset show that our method achieves state-of-the-art hippocampal segmentation. Hippocampal head‚ body and tail had been improved compared to the existing method. Ablation experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of our two proposed strategies‚ and we also validated that the network had a strong generalization ability on a 260-case Task04_Hippocampus dataset. It was shown that the method proposed in this paper could be used in more hippocampal segmentation scenarios. Conclusion The method proposed in this paper can help clinicians to observe hippocampal atrophy more clearly and accomplish more accurate diagnosis and follow-up of the condition.

Objective To compare the effects of two arc(TA)and dual arc(DA)techniques on the dose distribution to the planning target volume(PTV)and organs at risk(OAR)in volumetric modulated arc therapy(VMAT)for lower mid-thoracic esophageal cancer.Methods Ten patients with lower mid-thoracic esophageal cancer who received radiation therapy at some hospital from July 2020 to June 2022 were selected retrospectively.A TA radiation therapy plan and a DA radiation therapy plan were developed for each patient using the Ray Arc module of RayStation 4.7.5.4 planning system,and the two kinds of radiation plans were compared in terms of dosimetric parameters including D2,D5,D50,D95,D98,homogeneity index(HI),conformity index(CI),beam-on time and total monitor unit for PTV and lung V5,V10,V20,V30 and Dmean and heartV30,V40 and Dmean and spine cord Dmax for OAR.SPSS 22.0 was used for statistical analysis.Results TA and DA radiation therapy plans had no significant differences in PTV CI,HI,D2,D5,D50,D95 and beam-on time(P＞0.05),and DA plan had D98 and total monitor unit higher obviously than those of TA plan(P＜0.05).In terms of OARs protection,DA plan had heart V30,V40 and Dmean slightly lower than those of TA plan with non-significantly differences(P＞0.05),while lung V5,V30 and Dmean and spine cordDmax significantly lower(P＜0.05).Conclusion DA technique gains advantages over TA technique in PTV dose distribution and dose to OAR,and the involvement of DA technique in preparing the VMAT plan for esophageal cancer contributes to enhancing the treatment efficacy.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(1):62-66]

Objective To investigate the effects of pre-electroacupuncture(EA)on spatial learning and memory,the locus coeruleus-hippocampal neural circuit,and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease(AD)-like rats,and to explore the possible mechanism of pre-EA in preventing and treating AD.Methods Thirty-six male SD rats were divided into the normal,model,EA,and sham EA groups using the random number table method,with nine rats per group.An AD-like rat model was prepared through intraperitoneal injection of 120 mg/(kg·d)D-galactose for eight consecutive weeks.After daily intraperitoneal injection,the rats in the EA group underwent EA stimulation at the"Neiguan"(PC6)and"Jianshi"(PC5)acupoints with a continuous wave,frequency of 50 Hz,and a current of 1 mA for 20 min once a day for 8 weeks.The sham EA group was only superficially punctured to the subcutaneous tissue at the"Neiguan"(PC6)and"Jianshi"(PC5)acupoints without electricity,and the rest of the operations were the same as those in the EA group.The Morris water maze experiment was then used to evaluate the spatial learning and memory of the rats.Immunofluorescence labeling was used to detect dopamine β hydroxylase and c-Fos co-localization in the locus coeruleus of noradrenergic neurons,as well as glial fibrillary acidic protein and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α)co-localization in the CA1 area of the hippocampus of astrocytes.Western blotting was used to measure the protein expressions of norepinephrine(NE),β2-adrenergic receptor(β2AR),β-inhibitory protein 2(β-arrestin2),nuclear transcription factor-κB(NF-κB)inhibitory factor protein α(IκBα),and NF-κB in the hippocampus of rats.An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the TNF-α,interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and interleukin-6(IL-6)contents in hippocampal tissue.Results Compared with the normal group,the average escape latency of the model group rats was prolonged,and the times of crossing platform and exploration time in the target quadrant were reduced(P<0.01),while the EA intervention can shorten the average escape latency and increase the times of crossing platform and exploration time in the target quadrant(P<0.01).Compared with the normal group,the expression of co-located noradrenergic neurons in the model group decreased,co-located astrocytes increased(P<0.01);NE,β2AR,β-arrestin2,and IκBα protein expression decreased(P<0.01),NF-κB protein expression increased(P<0.01);the contents of TNF-α,IL-1β,and IL-6 increased(P<0.01).Compared with the model group,the EA group showed an increase in the expression of co-located noradrenergic neurons,a decrease in co-located astrocytes(P<0.01),an increase in NE,β2AR,β-arrestin2,and IκBα protein expressions(P<0.01),a decrease in NF-κB protein expression(P<0.01),and a decrease in TNF-α,IL-1β,and IL-6 levels(P<0.01).No significant difference was observed in the above indicators between the model and sham EA groups.Conclusion Pre-EA at"Neiguan"(PC6)and"Jianshi"(PC5)can alleviate learning and memory dysfunction,alleviate noradrenergic neuronal loss in the locus coeruleus,inhibit astrocyte activation,protect the locus coeruleus-hippocampal neural circuit,and may be associated with inhibiting β2AR/β-arrestin2/NF-κB inflammatory pathway activation.

Objective To investigate the neuroprotective effect and potential mechanism of rehabilitation training combined with citicoline on cerebral hemorrhage model in mice based on Keap1/Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway.Methods The C57BL/6 male mice were randomly divided into sham operation group(sham operation treatment),model group(right caudate putamen hemorrhage model induced by type Ⅶcollagenase),choline group(model+choline 64 mg·kg-1),rehabilitation training group(rehabilitation training)and combined group(model+rehabilitation training+choline 64 mg·kg-1).The study observed the modified neurological severity score(mNSS)in mice with cerebral hemorrhage;colorimetric assays were used to detect the expression of malondialdehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase(SOD)and catalase(CAT)in brain tissues;protein imprinting and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction were employed to assess the expression of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1(Keap1),nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2)/antioxidant response element(ARE),heme oxygenase-1(HO-1),quinone oxidoreductase 1(NQ01)proteins and mRNA in brain tissues.Results The mNSS scores of sham operation group,model group,citicoline group,rehabilitation training group and combined group were 0,1.56±0.73,1.00±0.00,0.78±0.44 and 0.67±0.50;the MDA contents were(6.93±0.92),(22.97±0.77),(19.26±1.73),(13.21±0.78)and(7.25±0.97)nmol·mgprot-1;the relative expression of Keap1 protein were 0.79±0.03,1.02±0.04,0.95±0.10,0.90±0.09 and 0.86±0.05;the relative expression levels of Nrf2 protein were 0.94±0.12,0.71±0.08,0.90±0.07,0.98±0.12 and 1.33±0.25.There were significant differences in the above indexes between the model group and the sham operation group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01);there were significant differences between the citicoline group and the rehabilitation training group,the model group(P＜0.05,P＜0.01);there were significant differences between the combined group and the citicoline group,the rehabilitation training group except for protein expression of Keap1(all P＜0.01).Conclusion Rehabilitation training and citicoline can reduce the symptoms of neurological deficits in mice with cerebral hemorrhage.The mechanism way be that they can activate the Keap1/Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway to exert anti-oxidative stress,and the combined effect is the best.

Objective China is among the 30 countries with a high burden of tuberculosis(TB)worldwide,and TB remains a public health concern.Kashgar Prefecture in the southern Xinjiang Autonomous Region is considered as one of the highest TB burden regions in China.However,molecular epidemiological studies of Kashgar are lacking. Methods A population-based retrospective study was conducted using whole-genome sequencing(WGS)to determine the characteristics of drug resistance and the transmission patterns. Results A total of 1,668 isolates collected in 2020 were classified into lineages 2(46.0%),3(27.5%),and 4(26.5%).The drug resistance rates revealed by WGS showed that the top three drugs in terms of the resistance rate were isoniazid(7.4%,124/1,668),streptomycin(6.0%,100/1,668),and rifampicin(3.3%,55/1,668).The rate of rifampicin resistance was 1.8%(23/1,290)in the new cases and 9.4%(32/340)in the previously treated cases.Known resistance mutations were detected more frequently in lineage 2 strains than in lineage 3 or 4 strains,respectively:18.6%vs.8.7 or 9%,P<0.001.The estimated proportion of recent transmissions was 25.9%(432/1,668).Multivariate logistic analyses indicated that sex,age,occupation,lineage,and drug resistance were the risk factors for recent transmission.Despite the low rate of drug resistance,drug-resistant strains had a higher risk of recent transmission than the susceptible strains(adjusted odds ratio,1.414;95%CI,1.023-1.954;P = 0.036).Among all patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis(DR-TB),78.4%(171/218)were attributed to the transmission of DR-TB strains. Conclusion Our results suggest that drug-resistant strains are more transmissible than susceptible strains and that transmission is the major driving force of the current DR-TB epidemic in Kashgar.