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Huiling Hao, Yanhua Su, Mei Feng Department of Endocrinology, Children’s Hospital of Shanxi, Taiyuan, Shanxi, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Huiling Hao, Email b20160905216@stu.ccsu.edu.cnIntroduction: Diabetes is a significant public health concern worldwide, having increased rapidly in recent decades among younger generations. The correlation between metabolic/obesity phenotypes and the development of pre-diabetes in children and adolescents remains unclear.Methods: This study aimed to explore this association within a cohort of 1,524 subjects aged 7 to 18 years. Subjects were categorized into four groups based on their metabolic and obesity status: Metabolically Unhealthy with Normal Body Weight (MUNW), Metabolically Healthy Overweight/Obesity (MHO), Metabolic Healthy with Normal Body Weight (MHNW), and Metabolically Unhealthy Overweight/Obesity (MUO). Physical parameters such as body mass, as well as biochemical markers including blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglycerides, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, were measured.Results: A total of 61.9% of children were within the normal range for both body weight and metabolism (MHNW), while 24.4% were classified as MUNW, 5.7% as MHO, and 8% as MUO. The risks of diabetes in the MUNW and MUO groups were 8.89 and 9.18 times higher than in the MHNW group for boys, and 8.15 and 11.24 times higher for girls (P< 0.05).Conclusion: These findings suggest that abnormal metabolism, irrespective of body weight, significantly increases the risk of diabetes, while obesity alone does not predict pre-diabetes unless accompanied by metabolic dysregulation. Metabolic markers may serve as more sensitive indicators for assessing diabetes risk in this population.Keywords: Abnormal metabolism, body mass, diabetes, children and adolescents

Qi Liu,1,2,&ast; Nan Nan,1,2,&ast; Wenfang Li,1,2 Mengwei Dong,1,2 Wei Pu,1,2 Yang Liu,1,2 Jie Zhao,3 Huiqin Hao1,2 1Basic Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Jinzhong, 030619, People’s Republic of China; 2Engineering Research Center of Cross Innovation for Chinese Traditional Medicine of Shanxi Province, Jinzhong, 03619, People’s Republic of China; 3Shanxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Classical Prescription Strengthening Yang, Taiyuan, 030013, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence:Huiqin Hao, Email hhq@sxtcm.edu.cnBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a synovial inflammation-associated autoimmune disease with secondary osteoporosis. Pain is the most important symptom of RA, and some patients with well-controlled inflammation may still experience pain.Purpose: To explore the relationship and dynamic changes between synovial inflammation and pain and bone destruction in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model rats, and to choose a better time window for drug treatment.Methods: The CIA model rats were constructed for 1, 2, 3, and 4-week groups. The changes were observed by joint swelling and behavioral assessment. The paw mechanical withdrawal threshold (PWT) was used for pain assessment. The micro-CT was used to assess joint injury and bone destruction. The biomechanics were performed to evaluate tension and compression test. The histological staining was used to observe ankle joint pathology. The immunohistochemical staining and Western blot were used to estimate the expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and c-fos.Results: The results showed that the degree of joint swelling, synovial hyperplasia, and inflammatory response were alleviated to varying extents over time. However, there were no significant changes in bone destruction, osteoclasts, or the maximum load of compression and tension. It showed secondary osteoporosis from the first week of the CIA model with no significant changes during the course of the experiment. There was no significant improvement in the PWT, and the expression of CGRP and c-fos was significantly increased over time, indicating hyperalgesia aggravation. Additionally, the result showed that repeated open-field tests might reduce the total distance of spontaneous movement.Conclusion: The results suggested that the pain and joint inflammation might not be synchronized, possibly related to post-inflammatory hyperalgesia. CIA model could be used for the study of pain, also relatively stable and suitable for the study of RA with secondary osteoporosis.Keywords: collagen-induced arthritis rats, temporal changes, inflammation, pain, secondary osteoporosis

Hua-Jing Yuan,1 Hua-Chen Jiao,2 Xiu-Juan Liu,2 Hao Hao,2 Yang Liu,2 Yi-Tao Xue,2 Yan Li2 1Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250014, People’s Republic of China; 2Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250014, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yi-Tao Xue; Yan Li, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanshi East Road, Lixia District, Jinan City, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-531-82602943 ; +86-531-68611662, Email xytsdzydfy@126.com; liyan88130@163.comPurpose: The association between serum uric acid (SUA) and atrial fibrillation (AF) has been widely focused on and studied in recent years. However, the exact association between SUA and AF is unclear, and the effect of gender on the association between SUA levels and AF has been controversial. This study aimed to investigate the association between SUA levels and non-valvular AF (NVAF) and the potential effect of gender on it.Patients and Methods: A total of 866 NVAF patients (463 males, age 69.44 ± 8.07 years) and 646 sex-matched control patients in sinus rhythm, with no history of arrhythmia were included in this study. t-test, ANOVA, and chi-square test were used for baseline data analysis. The receiver operating characteristic curve, logistic regression and Pearson correlation analysis were used for correlation analysis.Results: Compared to controls, NVAF patients exhibited higher SUA (P< 0.001). After adjusting for confounders of NVAF, SUA remained significantly associated with NVAF, regardless of gender (OR= 1.31, 95% CI 1.18– 1.43, P< 0.001). SUA demonstrated higher predictability and sensitivity in predicting the occurrence of female NVAF compared to male (area under the curve was 0.68 (95% CI 0.64– 0.72, P< 0.001), sensitivity 87.3%), with the optimal cut-off point identified as 5.72 mg/dL. Furthermore, SUA levels correlated with APOA1, Scr and NT-proBNP in NVAF patients. SUA levels varied significantly among NVAF subtypes.Conclusion: High SUA levels were independently associated with NVAF, regardless of gender. SUA exhibited higher predictability and sensitivity in predicting the occurrence of NVAF in females compared to males. High SUA levels may affect other NVAF-related factors and participate in the pathophysiological process of NVAF.Keywords: serum uric acid, non-valvular atrial fibrillation, gender difference, retrospective study, predictive indicators

Many biomarkers in clinical neuroscience lack pathological certification. This issue is potentially a significant contributor to the limited success of neuroprotective and neurorestorative therapies for human neurological disease-and is evident even in areas with therapeutic promise such as myelin repair. Despite the identification of promising remyelinating candidates, biologically validated methods to demonstrate therapeutic efficacy or provide robust preclinical evidence of remyelination in the CNS are lacking. Therapies with potential to remyelinate the CNS constitute one of the most promising and highly anticipated therapeutic developments in the pipeline to treat multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases. The optic nerve has been proposed as an informative pathway to monitor remyelination in animals and human subjects. Recent clinical trials using visual evoked potential have had promising results, but without unequivocal evidence about the cellular and molecular basis for signal changes on visual evoked potential, the interpretation of these trials is constrained. The visual evoked potential was originally developed and used in the clinic as a diagnostic tool but its use as a quantitative method for assessing therapeutic response requires certification of its biological specificity. Here, using the tools of experimental pathology we demonstrate that quantitative measurements of myelination using both histopathological measures of nodal structure and ultrastructural assessments correspond to visual evoked potential latency in both inflammatory and chemical models of demyelination. Visual evoked potential latency improves after treatment with a tool remyelinating compound (clemastine), mirroring both quantitative and qualitative myelin assessment. Furthermore, clemastine does not improve visual evoked potential latency following demyelinating injury when administered to a transgenic animal incapable of forming new myelin. Therefore, using the capacity for therapeutic enhancement and biological loss of function we demonstrate conclusively that visual evoked potential measures myelin status and is thereby a validated tool for preclinical verification of remyelination.

Jin-yan Dong,1 Hong-Lin Yin,2 Hao Hao,3 Yang Liu3 1First Clinical Medical College, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 2Faculty of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 3Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hao Hao; Yang Liu, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13583119291 ; +86-13864018185, Email haohao0826@163.com; 13864018185@163.comAbstract: Autophagy is a highly conserved process that maintains cell stability in eukaryotes, participates in the turnover of intracellular substances to maintain cell function, helps to resist pathogen invasion, and improves cell tolerance to environmental changes. Autophagy has been observed in many diseases, and the symptoms of these diseases are significantly improved by regulating autophagy. Autophagy is also involved in the development of lung diseases. Studies have shown that autophagy may play a beneficial or harmful role in acute lung injury (ALI), and ALI has been treated with traditional Chinese medicine designed to promote or inhibit autophagy. In this paper, the molecular mechanism and common pathways regulating autophagy and the relationship between autophagy and ALI are introduced, and the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine that improve ALI symptoms by regulating autophagy are summarized.Keywords: autophagy, inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis

No single neuroimaging technique or sequence is capable of reflecting the functional deficits manifest in MS. Given the interest in imaging biomarkers for short- to medium-term studies, we aimed to assess which imaging metrics might best represent functional impairment for monitoring in clinical trials. Given the complexity of functional impairment in MS, however, it is useful to isolate a particular functionally relevant pathway to understand the relationship between imaging and neurological function. We therefore analyzed existing data, combining multiparametric MRI and OCT to describe MS associated visual impairment. We assessed baseline data from fifty MS patients enrolled in ReBUILD, a prospective trial assessing the effect of a remyelinating drug (clemastine). Subjects underwent 3T MRI imaging, including Neurite Orientation Dispersion and Density Imaging (NODDI), myelin content quantification, and retinal imaging, using OCT. Visual function was assessed, using low-contrast letter acuity. MRI and OCT data were studied to model visual function in MS, using a partial, least-squares, regression analysis. Measures of neurodegeneration along the entire visual pathway, described most of the observed variance in visual disability, measured by low contrast letter acuity. In those patients with an identified history of ON, however, putative myelin measures also showed correlation with visual performance. In the absence of clinically identifiable inflammatory episodes, residual disability correlates with neurodegeneration, whereas after an identifiable exacerbation, putative measures of myelin content are additionally informative.

Dongna Hui,1,2 Fang Zhang,3 Yuanyue Lu,4 Huiqiang Hao,3 Shuangshuang Tian,3 Xiuzhao Fan,3 Yanqin Liu,3 Xiaoshuang Zhou,2 Rongshan Li1,2 1Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Nephrology, Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China; 3Kidney Disease Data Center, Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Nephrology, The Fifth Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiaoshuang Zhou, Department of Nephrology, Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, No. 29 Shuangta Street, Yingze District, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030012, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13485318729, Email zhouxiaoshuang@sxmu.edu.cn Rongshan Li, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Shanxi University, No. 92 Wucheng Road, Xiaodian District, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-0351-4960486, Email rongshanli@126.comPurpose: In-depth investigations of risk factors for the identification of diabetic kidney disease (DKD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are rare. We aimed to investigate the risk factors for developing DKD from multiple types of clinical data and conduct a comprehensive risk assessment for individuals with diabetes.Methods: We carried out a case-control study, enrolling 958 patients to identify the risk factors for developing DKD in T2DM patients from a database established from inpatient electronic medical records. Multivariable logistic regression was applied to develop a prediction model and the performance of the model was evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) and calibration curve. A multifactorial risk score system was established according to the Framingham Study risk score.Results: DKD accounted for 34.03% of eligible patients in total. Twelve risk factors were selected in the final prediction model, including age, duration of diabetes, duration of hypertension, fasting blood glucose, fasting C-peptide, insulin use, systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, platelet, uric acid, and thyroid stimulating hormone; and one protective factor, serum albumin. The prediction model showed an AUC of 0.862 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.834– 0.890) with an accuracy of 81.5% in the derivation dataset and an AUC of 0.876 (95% CI 0.825– 0.928) in the validation dataset. The calibration curves were excellent and the estimated probability of DKD was more than 80% when the cumulative score for risk factors reached 17 points.Conclusion: Newly recognized risk factors were applied to assess the development of DKD in T2DM patients and the established risk score system was a reliable and feasible tool for assisting clinicians to identify patients at high risk of DKD.Keywords: diabetic kidney disease, multifactorial, prediction model, risk factors, type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND:Retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a clinical and research tool in multiple sclerosis, where it has shown significant retinal nerve fiber (RNFL) and ganglion cell (RGC) layer thinning, while postmortem studies have reported RGC loss. Although retinal pathology in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) has been described, comparative OCT studies among EAE models are scarce. Furthermore, the best practices for the implementation of OCT in the EAE lab, especially with afoveate animals like rodents, remain undefined. We aimed to describe the dynamics of retinal injury in different mouse EAE models and outline the optimal experimental conditions, scan protocols, and analysis methods, comparing these to histology to confirm the pathological underpinnings. METHODS:Using spectral-domain OCT, we analyzed the test-retest and the inter-rater reliability of volume, peripapillary, and combined horizontal and vertical line scans. We then monitored the thickness of the retinal layers in different EAE models: in wild-type (WT) C57Bl/6J mice immunized with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein peptide (MOG35-55) or with bovine myelin basic protein (MBP), in TCR2D2 mice immunized with MOG35-55, and in SJL/J mice immunized with myelin proteolipid lipoprotein (PLP139-151). Strain-matched control mice were sham-immunized. RGC density was counted on retinal flatmounts at the end of each experiment. RESULTS:Volume scans centered on the optic disc showed the best reliability. Retinal changes during EAE were localized in the inner retinal layers (IRLs, the combination of the RNFL and the ganglion cell plus the inner plexiform layers). In WT, MOG35-55 EAE, progressive thinning of IRL started rapidly after EAE onset, with 1/3 of total loss occurring during the initial 2 months. IRL thinning was associated with the degree of RGC loss and the severity of EAE. Sham-immunized SJL/J mice showed progressive IRL atrophy, which was accentuated in PLP-immunized mice. MOG35-55-immunized TCR2D2 mice showed severe EAE and retinal thinning. MBP immunization led to very mild disease without significant retinopathy. CONCLUSIONS:Retinal neuroaxonal damage develops quickly during EAE. Changes in retinal thickness mirror neuronal loss and clinical severity. Monitoring of the IRL thickness after immunization against MOG35-55 in C57Bl/6J mice seems the most convenient model to study retinal neurodegeneration in EAE.

Maintaining retention in care (RIC) for people living with HIV (PLWH) helps achieve viral suppression and reduce onward transmission. This study aims to identify the best machine learning model that predicts the RIC transition over time. Extracting from the enhanced HIV/AIDS reporting system, this study included 9765 PLWH from 2005 to 2020 in South Carolina. Transition of RIC was defined as the change of RIC status in each two–year time window. We applied seven classifiers, such as Random Forest, Support Vector Machine, eXtreme Gradient Boosting and Long–short–term memory, for each lagged response to predict the subsequent year's RIC transition. Classification performance was assessed using balanced prediction accuracy, the area under the curve (AUC), recall, precision and F1 scores. The proportion of the four categories of RIC transition was 13.59%, 29.78%, 9.06% and 47.57%, respectively. Support Vector Machine was the best approach for every lag model based on both the F1 score (0.713, 0.717 and 0.719) and AUC (0.920, 0.925 and 0.928). The findings could facilitate the risk augment of PLWH who are prone to follow–up so that clinicians and policymakers could come up with more specific strategies and relocate resources for intervention to keep them sustained in HIV care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding wood combustion has become increasingly critical as fire safety engineering moves toward a performance‐based approach to building design. Although different kinetic models have been developed for wood burning, chemical kinetics remains a significant challenge for accurate prediction. This work has developed a novel multiscale model by implementing kinetic parameters calculated from molecular dynamics simulations using reactive forcefield into a kinetic model of wood burning. The calculated kinetic parameters of the main components in wood, namely, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, are first utilized to model microscale thermogravimetric experiments for validation. Subsequently, the mesoscale and full‐scale fire tests have been simulated by the multiscale model. Furthermore, the fire properties of various wood species at different heat fluxes have been predicted and compared with results from the cone calorimeter test. Our multiscale model outperforms existing kinetic models in predicting wood combustion and can effectively discern the influence of chemical components on fire properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haixin Wang,1– 4,&ast; Haiwen Huang,1– 3,&ast; Meixia Shang,5 Han Hao,1– 3 Zhijun Xi1– 3 1Department of Urology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Institute of Urology, Peking University, National Urological Cancer Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3National Research Center for Genitourinary Oncology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Urology, Yankuang New Journey General Hospital, Zoucheng, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Medical Statistics, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zhijun Xi; Han Hao, Department of Urology, Peking University First Hospital, 8 Xishiku Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, 100034, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-10-83572481, Fax +86-10-66175710, Email xizhijun@hsc.pku.edu.cn; haohan1122@vip.sina.comPurpose: To compare the perioperative and survival outcomes of patients over 75 years and younger patients who received radical cystectomy.Patients and methods: A total of 119 patients aged ≥ 75 years and 488 patients aged < 75 years were enrolled. All patients underwent radical cystectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection. Clinical characteristics and perioperative outcomes were compared between the two groups. Overall survival and progression-free survival were analyzed by using the Kaplan–Meier method. Cox regression analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to identify the risk factors affecting the outcomes observed.Results: There was no significant difference in perioperative complications between the elderly patient group and the younger patient group (p = 0.349). The 5-year overall survival of elderly patients was lower than that of young patients (p < 0.001). Age ≥ 75 years was a risk factor for overall survival (HR = 1.69 [95% CI: 1.22– 2.35]; p = 0.002) and progression-free survival (HR = 1.69 [95% CI: 1.14– 2.50]; p = 0.008) for patients who received radical cystectomy but was not a poor risk factor for major complications (HR = 1.25 [95% CI: 0.47– 3.31]; p = 0.658) after radical cystectomy. In addition, preoperative renal insufficiency was associated with a higher risk of major complications.Conclusion: In our cohort, compared with younger patients, elderly patients aged ≥ 75 years had worse survival outcomes, but age ≥ 75 years was not a risk factor for major complications after radical cystectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection. Radical surgery should be encouraged for elderly patients who can tolerate aggressive treatments.Keywords: radical cystectomy, elderly, survival outcomes, complications

Yishu Xue,&ast; Wuping Bao,&ast; Yan Zhou,&ast; Qiang Fu, Huijuan Hao, Lei Han, Dongning Yin, Yingying Zhang, Xue Zhang, Min Zhang Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200080, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Min ZhangDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 100, Haining Road, Shanghai, 200080, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail maggie_zhangmin@163.comBackground: There has been growing evidence of small-airway dysfunction in patients with asthma. Few studies have evaluated the mechanism of small-airway dysfunction in mouse models of asthma.Purpose: We explored the correlation between small-airway spirometric variables and large-airway function or inflammation in different endotypes of asthma.Methods: Ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization/challenge was used to produce a type 2 (T2)-high asthma model, and OVA combined with ozone exposure (OVA + ozone) was used for the T2-low asthma model with increased neutrophils. Spirometry, airway responsiveness, cytokine levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and pathological analyses of lung slices stained with hematoxylin-eosin, periodic acid–Schiff, and Masson’s trichrome stain were all determined. Muc5ac expression in lung tissue was evaluated by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and alpha-smooth muscle actin was measured by immunohistochemistry.Results: Inflammatory cells infiltrated the lung tissue and inflammatory cytokines were increased in the BALF of both the OVA and OVA + ozone groups, compared with the control group. Peribronchial hypersecretion and collagen deposition were evident in the models. The OVA + ozone group showed greater neutrophilic infiltration and peribronchial smooth muscle proliferation than the OVA group. Large-airway obstruction, small-airway dysfunction, and airway hyperresponsiveness were confirmed in both models. Small-airway functional variables, such as MMEF (mean midexpiratory flow, average flow from 25 to 75% forced vital capacity [FVC]) and FEF50 (forced expiratory flow at 50% of FVC), were positively correlated with large-airway function and had a stronger negative correlation with airway inflammation, mucus secretion, and responsiveness than large-airway function.Conclusion: Small-airway dysfunction was evident in the two endotypes of asthma and was correlated with severe airway inflammation, mucus hypersecretion, and airway hyperresponsiveness. The small airways may be an important target in asthma treatment, and further research in the role of small-airway variables in the pathogenesis of asthma is warranted.Keywords: small airway, spirometry, airway inflammation, asthma, airway hyperresponsiveness

Wuping Bao,1,* Xue Zhang,1,* Junfeng Yin,2,* Lei Han,1,* Zhixuan Huang,2 Luhong Bao,1 Chengjian Lv,1 Huijuan Hao,1 Yishu Xue,1 Xin Zhou,1 Min Zhang1 1Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Mathematical Sciences, Tongji University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Min ZhangDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 100 Haining Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai, 200080, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 21 63071428Email maggie_zhangmin@163.comPurpose: Patients with variable symptoms suggestive of asthma but with normal forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) often fail to be diagnosed without a bronchial provocation test, but the test is expensive, time-consuming, risky, and not readily available in all clinical settings.Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 692 patients with FEV1≥ 80% predicted; normal neutrophils and chest high-resolution computed tomography; and recurrent dyspnea, cough, wheeze, and chest tightness.Results: Compared with subjects negative for AHR (n=522), subjects positive for AHR (n=170) showed increased FENO values, peripheral eosinophils (EOS), and R5-R20; decreased FEV1, FEV1/Forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory flow (FEFs) (P≤ .001 for all). Small-airway dysfunction was identified in 104 AHR+ patients (61.17%), and 132 AHR− patients (25.29%) (P< 0.001). The areas under the curve (AUCs) of variables used singly for an AHR diagnosis were lower than 0.77. Using joint models of FEF50%, FEF75%, or FEF25%-75% with FENO increased the AUCs to 0.845, 0.824, and 0.844, respectively, significantly higher than univariate AUCs (P < 0.001 for all). Patients who reported chest tightness (n=75) had lower FEFs than patients who did not (P< 0.001 for all). In subjects with chest tightness, the combination of FEF50% or FEF25%-75% with EOS also increased the AUCs substantially, to 0.815 and 0.816, respectively (P < 0.001 for all versus the univariate AUCs).Conclusion: FENO combined with FEF50% and FEF25%-75% predict AHR in patients with normal FEV1. FEF25%-75%, FEF50%, or FEF25%-75% together with EOS also can potentially suggest asthma in patients with chest tightness.Keywords: asthma diagnosis, small-airway function, fractional exhaled nitric oxide, bronchial provocation, impulse oscillometry

Wuping Bao,1,* Xue Zhang,1,* Yubiao Jin,2,* Huijuan Hao,1 Fu Yang,3 Dongning Yin,1 Xi Chen,3 Yishu Xue,1 Lei Han,1 Min Zhang1 1Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pathology, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Min ZhangDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 100, Haining Road, Shanghai, 200080, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail maggie_zhangmin@163.comBackground: Whether COVID-19 comorbidities and risk factors such as old age, male gender, smoking, obesity, eosinophils and blood types have direct contact with expression of ACE2 and pro-inflammation cytokines in human lung tissues were still unclear.Patients and Methods: Sixty-four patients with normal FEV1 and FEV1/FVC underwent thoracotomy for pulmonary nodules were included. Blinded histological assessments were performed by two pathologists. Clinical features and results of the immunohistochemical staining of ACE2 were collected and analyzed.Results: ACE2 expressed in alveolar macrophages (most obvious), alveolar epithelia and vascular endothelia, but not in small-airway epithelia. ACE2 expressions are positively related to age (r =0.26, P =0.040), weight (r =0.43, P< 0.001), as well as BMI (r = 0.38, P =0.002), and male patients show higher expressions of ACE2 in lungs (P < 0.05). ACE2 expressions are negatively related to peripheral eosinophils (r = − 0.30, P =0.017). There was no correlation between ABO blood types and ACE2 expression in normal lung tissues (P > 0.05). IL-13 and IL-6R expression in lung tissue increased with age (r =0.26, P < 0.05, for both).Conclusion: Our pathological evidences showed that the alveolar epithelia, vascular endothelia, and alveolar macrophages are susceptible in human lungs for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The risk factors such as high body weight/BMI, old age, male gender, and eosinopenia may be related to ACE2 expression in human lungs, and associated with more chance to develop the severe cases. IL-6R expression in lung tissue also increased with age. Therefore, weight control and smoking cessation are essential to reduce the susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially in obesity, old or male patients. Peripheral eosinophils monitor is also quite necessary to detect severe tendency in COVID-19 patients.Keywords: ACE2, risk factor, BMI, age, sex, eosinophils

With the rapid development of information technology, intelligent transportation technology is widely applied in the transportation. To enhance the environmental information perception ability of the vehicle road collaborative system, the perception fusion of the vehicle road collaborative system is the research core. A perception fusion algorithm for vehicle road collaborative systems is designed based on spatial position compensation and hash partitioning technology. The experimental results showed that the designed perceptual fusion algorithm performed well in accuracy and recall. The accuracy value was 90%, and the recall rate was 75.47%. The average absolute value error and root mean square error indicators converged to 0.547 and 0.452 respectively, with a faster convergence speed. The accuracy of multi target tracking ultimately converged to 90.28% as the number of iterations increased. The real-time tracking performance fluctuated less with the increase of sample size, ranging from 80.00%-90.00%. In the perception effect simulation experiment, the designed perception algorithm was subjected to secondary hash partitioning, and the fusion rate was significantly improved. Compared to the Detect2Rank method, the fusion time significantly decreased. The perception results obtained through spatial position compensation were more accurate. The value of the intersection ratio significantly increased, and the increase had more than doubled. This study contributes to improving the efficiency, safety, and sustainable development of transportation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhi-Xin Huang, 1– 3 Shumin Yuan, 4 Dongshi Li, 1, 3 Hong Hao, 2 Zhenguo Liu, 2 Jianguo Lin 1, 3 1Department of Neurology, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; 2Center for Precision Medicine and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USA; 3Department of Neurology, The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; 4Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Guilin Medical University, Guilin, Guangxi, ChinaCorrespondence: Zhi-Xin HuangDepartment of Neurology, Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital, 466 Middle Xingang Road, Guangzhou, 510317, Guangdong, ChinaTel/Fax +86 20 89168080Email hzxd6@163.com Zhenguo LiuCenter for Precision Medicine and Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, USAEmail liuzheng@health.missouri.eduBackground: Stroke is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in China. Recurrent stroke (RS) could occur in a significant portion of patients with ischemic stroke with devastating consequence.Methods: To investigate the association between lifestyle and the risk of RS in Chinese patients with acute large-vessel ischemic stroke (ALVIS). A total of 258 patients with ALVIS were recruited in the study (median age 63 years, 30.6% female), and followed for a median of 366 days. The primary outcomes were first RS. Cox Regression and Akaike information criterion were used to establish the best-fit nomograms.Results: During follow-up, 38 of 258 (14.7%) participants had the primary endpoint event. After adjusting for confounding factors in multivariate Cox regression analysis, healthy lifestyles, including bland diet (hazard ratio [HR], 0.365; 95% CI, 0.138– 0.965), daily fruit consumption (HR, 0.474; 95% CI, 0.238– 0.945), good sleep (HR, 0.364; 95% CI, 0.180– 0.739), housework: HR (0.461; 95% CI, 0.200– 1.065), and HDL (HR, 0.329; 95% CI, 0.130– 0.831) were associated with significantly decreased risk for RS after ALVIS, while smoking was associated with a substantial increase in RS risk (HR, 2.590; 95% CI, 1.340– 5.005) and included into the nomogram. A weighted point (from 0 to 100) was given to each risk factor, and the total points could be used to predict the probability of RS for the patient.Conclusion: The nomogram shows that healthy lifestyles (bland diet, daily fruit consumption, good sleep, cigarette cessation, and housework) were important for reducing RS in patients with ALVIS.Keywords: recurrent event, lifestyle, ischemic stroke, stroke, nomogram