Galectin-9 （Gal-9） is a member of the galectin family that can specifically recognize and bind to galactosides. Recent studies have shown that Gal-9 is highly expressed in the liver and can help to maintain intrahepatic immune homeostasis and perform biological functions in various liver diseases. This article reviews the immunomodulatory functions of Gal-9 and its role in different liver diseases. Studies have shown that Gal-9 has important biological functions in different liver diseases through multiple pathways. Research on the specific immunomodulatory mechanisms and functions of Gal-9 may help to discover the therapeutic role of Gal-9 in liver diseases.

BackgroundPrevention and intervention of procrastination in college students are of great practical significance， and studies have illustrated a pairwise correlation among mindfulness， self-control， insecure attachment and procrastination， whereas the mechanism by which insecure attachment leads to procrastination remains unclear， and the related mediation path is quite understudied. ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of insecure attachment on procrastination among college students and the pathway of mindfulness and self-control， so as to inform the design of interventions for procrastination among college students. MethodsRandom and cluster sampling method were utilized to enroll 514 college students from 4 colleges in Guangdong Province From February to April 2023. Subjects were assessed using Irrational Procrastination Scale （IPS）， Adult Attachment Scale （AAS）， Mindful Attention Awareness Scale （MAAS） and Brief Self-Control Scale （BSCS）. Pearson correlation analysis were adopted to identify the correlation among above scales， and the mediation effect was examined via Bootstrap procedure. ResultsAAS score was positively correlated with IPS score （r=0.382， P<0.01）， and negatively correlated with MAAS and BSCS scores （r=-0.242， -0.353， P<0.01）. IPS score was negatively correlated with MAAS and BSCS scores （r=-0.314， -0.682， P<0.01）. MAAS score was positively correlated with BSCS score （r=0.439， P<0.01）. Insecure attachment positively predicted procrastination （β=0.377， P<0.01）， and the prediction of procrastination by insecure attachment was mediated by self-control， with an indirect effect value of 0.163 （95% CI： 0.105~0.223）， accounting for 43.24% of the total effect value. The mindfulness and self-control exerted a chained mediation effect on the relationship between insecure attachment and procrastination， and the indirect effect value was 0.056 （95% CI： 0.028~0.089）， accounting for 14.85% of the total effect value. ConclusionInsecure attachment can influence procrastination among college students both directly and indirectly through the single mediation of self-control or the chained mediation of mindfulness and self-control. ［Funded by 2023 National College Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program （number， 202310570023）］

【Objective】 To statistically analyze the relationship between homologous recombination repair deficiency (HRD) score and clinicopathological characteristics, genomic mutations in patients with high-risk and metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) and the prognostic predictive value in mHSPC. 【Methods】 A total of 127 patients diagnosed with high-risk prostate cancer and mHSPC, treated at the Department of Urology of Chinese PLA General Hospital during Dec.2021 and Nov.2023 were enrolled.Homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene sequencing was performed, and the genomic scar score (GSS) algorithm were conducted to calculate the HRD score.The relationship between HRD scores and clinicopathological features, genomic alterations, and prognosis were analyzed. 【Results】 The median HRD score was 1.6(0.8, 5.2), 30(23.6%) patients’ HRD scores ≥10, and 11(8.7%) patients’ HRD scores ≥20.Clinicopathological features, including ISUP classification ≥4 (P=0.044) and metastatic status (P=0.008) were associated with high HRD score.Patients with mutations in the BRCA, TP53 and MYC systems had significantly higher HRD score than those with wild-type genes (P<0.05).In mHSPC, the risk of biochemical recurrence was 12.836 times higher in patients with HRD score ≥20 than in those with <20 [OR:12.836 (1.332-124.623), P=0.028]. 【Conclusion】 Baseline HRD score was lower in patients with high-risk prostate cancer and mHSPC.Patients with high HRD score may have higher histological grading (ISUP≥4) and later clinical stage.Further investigation is needed to determine the threshold of HRD scores as biochemical markers suggestive of a poor prognosis.

Objective:To explore the correlation between mechanical complications and paraspinal muscle degeneration following posterior single-segment osteotomy corrective surgery for chronic osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 80 patients who underwent surgery between January 2008 and January 2021 at Peking University Third Hospital. These patients, who developed kyphotic deformity following OVCF, included 17 males and 63 females with a mean age of 63.21±8.07 years (range, 47-77 years). Postoperative mechanical complications included proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK), screw loosening, adjacent segment degeneration (ASD), and distal junctional kyphosis or failure. Patients were compared based on the occurrence of mechanical complications in relation to fat infiltration (FI), relative gross cross-sectional area (rGCSA), and relative functional cross-sectional area (rFCSA) of the paraspinal muscles. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors for postoperative complications.Results:Among the 80 patients, 19 developed PJK, while 61 did not. The PJK group exhibited significantly higher paraspinal muscle FI (0.44±0.05) compared to the non-PJK group (0.38±0.10, P<0.05). Screw loosening occurred in 7 cases, with 73 cases remaining stable. Those with screw loosening demonstrated higher paraspinal muscle FI (0.47±0.05) than those without (0.38±0.09, P<0.05). Thirty patients experienced ASD, while 50 did not. The ASD group had higher paraspinal muscle FI (0.45±0.07) and lower rFCSA (0.09±0.03) compared to the non-ASD group (0.36±0.10 and 0.13±0.06, respectively, P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis indicated that paraspinal muscle FI and rFCSA were not independent risk factors for developing ASD. Twenty-three patients experienced distal junctional kyphosis or failure, while 57 did not; those with complications exhibited higher paraspinal muscle FI (0.48±0.08) and lower rGCSA (0.16±0.04) and rFCSA (0.09±0.03) compared to those without complications (0.37±0.09, 0.20±0.09, and 0.13±0.06, respectively, P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis suggested that paraspinal muscle FI, rGCSA, and rFCSA were not independent risk factors for developing distal junctional kyphosis or failure. Conclusion:Mechanical complications following corrective surgery for chronic OVCF-related kyphosis may be associated with increased paraspinal muscle FI. Additionally, the occurrence of ASD and distal junctional kyphosis or failure may correlate with reduced paraspinal muscle rFCSA

Objective To propose a classification method for ultrasound images of pedicle screw canals based on radiomics analysis,and to evaluate the integrity of the screw canal.Methods With thoracolumbar spine specimens from 4 fresh cadavers,50 pedicle screw canals were pre-established and ultrasound images of the canals were acquired.A total of 2 000 images(1 000 intact and 1 000 damaged canal samples)were selected.The dataset was randomly divided in a 4∶1 ratio using 5-fold cross-validation to form training and testing sets(consisting of 1 600 and 400 samples,respectively).Firstly,the optimal radius of the region of interest was identified using the Otsu's thresholding method,followed by feature extraction using pyradiomics.Principal component analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator algorithm were employed for dimensionality reduction and feature selection,respectively.Subsequently,3 machine learning models(support vector machine[SVM],logistic regression,and random forest)and 3 deep learning models(visual geometry group[VGG],ResNet,and Transformer)were used to classify the ultrasound images.The performance of each model was evaluated using accuracy.Results With a region of interest radius of 230 pixels,the SVM model achieved the highest classification accuracy of 96.25%.The accuracy of the VGG model was only 51.29%,while the accuracies of the logistic regression,random forest,ResNet,and Transformer models were 85.50%,80.75%,80.17%,and 75.18%,respectively.Conclusion For ultrasound images of pedicle screw canals,the machine learning model performs better than the deep learning model as a whole,and the SVM model has the best classification performance,which can be used to assist physicians in diagnosis.

A composite nystagmus classification framework enhanced by dual attention mechanism is proposed to address the problem that the existing researches only identify whether nystagmus occurs in a horizontal,vertical,or axial direction,but fail to consider the issue of composite nystagmus composed of multiple directions with various intensities in clinical practice.A spatiotemporal concentration algorithm for nystagmus videos is presented,and it combines convolutional neural networks and Hough transform to remove interference from invalid frames and regions and to improve the quality of nystagmus videos.Then,a dense optical flow algorithm is used to extract the optical flow field of eye movement.Finally,a composite nystagmus classification network based on dual attention mechanism enhancement is constructed.An improved efficient channel attention module is used to effectively obtain the direction and intensity of nystagmus in different channels of the optical flow map;and a temporal attention module is added at the end of the bidirectional long short-term memory network to achieve significant expression of classification results based on different temporal features.On the nystagmus dataset provided by the cooperating hospital,the proposed method has an accuracy rate of 83.17%for composite nystagmus classification,and achieved accuracy rates of 91.03%,89.74%,and 86.05%for individual horizontal,vertical,and axial nystagmus classifications.The proposed method realizes the intelligent classification of composite nystagmus and is valuable in clinic.

Transthyretin amyloid polyneuropathy is a rare progressive, autosomal dominant inherited disease that leads to death. It is caused by the deposition of amyloid-like substances formed by misfolded transthyretin protein (TTR) in the extracellular matrix of peripheral nerves, as well as in organs such as the heart, eyes, and kidneys. Its main manifestations include multiple peripheral neuropathies and autonomic dysfunction, often accompanied by myocardial damage. Clinical heterogeneity is significant among different gene mutation types. Tissue biopsy and genetic testing are the "gold standard" for diagnosing the disease. Major treatment modalities include TTR stabilizers, RNA-targeted silencing drugs, and liver transplantation.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hippocampal avoidance whole-brain irradiation with simultaneous integrated boost in the treatment of brain metastases of lung cancer.Methods:Forty lung cancer patients with brain metastases who received whole-brain radiotherapy with simultaneous integrated boost and hippocampal avoidance in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from 2014 to 2020 were enrolled in this study. Brain MRI, survival follow-up and evaluation of side effects were performed before radiotherapy and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after radiotherapy, respectively. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and changes in cognitive function were analyzed. Continuous data were described as Mean ± SD. Categorical data were described by frequency and composition ratio or percentage. Survival analysis was conducted by Kaplan-Meier method. Influencing factors of survival were identified by univariate and multivariate Cox's regression analyses.Results:A total of 40 patients were enrolled in the study. The median follow-up time was 14.2 months and the median OS, PFS and intracranial PFS of all patients were 14.8 months, 6.7 months and 14.8 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that male gender and newly diagnosed stage Ⅳ disease were associated with worse OS and PFS, respectively. The Hopkins verbal learning test-revised (HVLT-R) scores at baseline and 1, 3 and 6 months after radiotherapy were 21.94±2.99, 20.88±3.12, 20.03±3.14, and 19.78±2.98, respectively. The HVLT-R score at 6 months after radiotherapy was decreased by approximately 9.8% compared with the baseline. No grade 3 or above toxic and side effect occurred in the entire cohort.Conclusion:Hippocampal avoidance whole-brain irradiation with simultaneous integrated boost is a safe and effective treatment for brain metastases of lung cancer, which is expected to reduce the impact of radiotherapy on cognitive function.

Background A large amount of iron deposition in the brain can cause neuronal damage by inducing oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and abnormal mitochondrial function. In addition, iron deposition is also reported to be closely related to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The neurofibrillary tangles aggregated by tau hyperphosphorylation are one of the important pathological features of AD. Objective To investigate potential effect of exogenous trivalent iron ions on neuronal activity in human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells and tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation. Methods SH-SY5Y cells were treated with ferric chloride (FeCl₃) at four concentrations (10, 100, 200, and 400 mg·L⁻¹). Cell survival rate was then detected by CCK8 assay. Intracellular iron content was determined prussian blue (Perl's) by iron staining after 24 h exposure to FeCl₃ at 10 or 200 mg·L⁻¹. Transfection of tau-P301L plasmid was conducted to construct an AD-like cell model for tau overexpression. The differences in the expression of the phosphorylated tau (p-tau) protein in SH-SY5Y cells and SH-SY5Y cells with tau overexpression were detected by Western blotting after 24 h exposure to FeCl₃ at 10 and 200 mg·L⁻¹. After dilution with phosphate buffered saline (PBS), FeCl₃, human tauR3, and FeCl₃ + tauR3 were incubated at 37℃, and the fluorescence intensity reflecting tau aggregation level was measured by thioflavin T(ThT) method at 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, and 96 h, respectively. Meanwhile, after 96 h coincubation of FeCl₃ and tauR3, the fibers formed by tau aggregation were observed under a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Results After 24 h of FeCl₃ exposure, the cell survival rate of SH-SY5Y cells among all groups was statistically different (F=8.63, P<0.01). The cell survival rates in the 200 and 400 mg·L⁻¹ groups were 80.1% and 68.7% of the control group, respectively (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the nuclei of the 200 mg·L⁻¹ FeCl₃ group were mainly yellowish-brown after iron staining and the positive cell rate was up-regulated by 12.9% (P<0.01). After 24 h of FeCl₃ exposure , the p-tau (Ser396) protein expression was statistically different among all groups (F=11.6, P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the p-tau protein expression level of SH-SY5Y cells in the 200 mg·L⁻¹ group was up-regulated by 72.7% (P<0.01). After FeCl₃-treated SH-SY5Y cells with tau overexpression for 24 h, the p-tau (Ser396) protein expression was statistically different among all groups (F=27.8, P<0.01). Compared with the tau group, the p-tau (Ser396) protein expression level of SH-SY5Y cells in the tau + 200 mg·L⁻¹ group was up-regulated by 44.6% (P<0.05). Compared with the tauR3 group, the fluorescence intensities in the 84 and 96 h tauR3 + FeCl₃ groups were up-regulated by 49.9% and 53.7% (P<0.01) respectively. After 96 h of coincubation, compared with the tauR3 group, FeCl₃ + tauR3 aggravated tau aggregation and formed fiber deposition under TEM. Conclusion Exogenous trivalent iron ions may inhibit SH-SY5Y cell viability, promote the phosphorylation of tau in SH-SY5Y cells transfected with tau-P301L plasmid, and aggravate tauR3 aggregation and fiber production.

The liver is easily affected by a variety of factors to induce liver damage, which can cause disorders in the synthesis, detoxification, metabolism, and biotransformation functions of the liver in severe cases, and at present, there is still a lack of efficient clinical treatment methods for end-stage liver diseases such as liver failure and decompensated liver cirrhosis. Recent studies have confirmed the clinical efficacy of stem cells, and treatment methods based on stem cell-derived exosomes have become a research hotspot. This article introduces the advantages of treatment based on stem cell-derived exosomes, the research advances in related mechanisms, and the current status of preclinical research. Current research findings suggest that treatment based on stem cell-derived exosomes has a good application prospect in the treatment of liver diseases, but it is still needed to conduct in-depth preclinical and clinical studies.