As the longest and most widely distributed pair of nerves in the brain,the vagus nerve is involved in the regulation of many systems and organs.Recent studies have found that the vagus nerve may be involved in the occurrence of a variety of neuropsychiatric diseases by regulating the release of neurotransmitters(such as norepinephrine,5-hydroxytryptamine,gamma-aminobutyric acid and acetylcholine)and regulating the immune system and gut-brain axis.This article focuses on the regulatory mechanisms of the vagus nerve on neurotransmitters,immune system function,and the gut-brain axis,as well the therapeutic advances in vagus nerve stimulation for neurological and psychi-atric diseases such as epilepsy,depression and anxiety disorders.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of ultrasound-guided high ankle block (HAB) on the quality of postoperative recovery of patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery.Methods:In this randomized controlled trial, 90 patients of either sex, aged 18-64 yr, with a body mass index of 18-28 kg/m 2, of American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification Ⅰ-Ⅲ, scheduled for elective foot and ankle surgery, were divided into 2 groups ( n=45 each) using a random number table method: HAB group and spinal anesthesia group (SA group). Patients underwent ultrasound-guided HAB on the affected side in HAB group, while patients received spinal anesthesia in SA group. The Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) scores were recorded at 24 and 48 h postoperatively. Additional data collected included anesthesia preparation and operation time, sensory and motor grading after anesthesia, anesthetic effect grading, surgery duration, intraoperative tourniquet time, block duration, time to first ambulation, and postoperative length of hospital stay. The time of first rescue analgesia and requirement for rescue algesia within 48 h postoperatively and the occurrence of adverse reactions such as hypotension, headache, nausea and vomiting, and urinary retention after anesthesia were also recorded. Results:Compared to SA group, QoR-15 scores and motor grading after anesthesia were significantly increased, the time to first ambulation and postoperative length of hospital stay were shortened, the duration of block and anesthesia preparation and operation time were prolonged at 24 h postoperatively, the rate of rescue analgesia wthin 48 h after operation and incidence of adverse reactions after anesthesia were decressed, and the time to first rescue analgesia was pronlonged in HAB group ( P<0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in sensory grading after anesthesia, anesthetic effect grading, intraoperative use of tourniquet time, and QoR-15 scores at 48 h postoperatively ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Ultrasound-guided HAB provides better quality of postoperative recovery than spinal anesthesia for the patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery.

Anxiety and fear,as common symptoms of psychiatric disorders,remain inadequately understood in terms of their pathogenesis.Changes in immune inflammation are considered to play a significant role in both the pathological and physiological processes associated with these mental illnesses.In recent years,it has been demonstrated that stress can regulate immune inflammation through multiple pathways,including the regulation of the autonomic nervous system,the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis,indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase and its metabolite kynurenine,and the gut-brain axis.These pathways are implicated in the onset and treatment of anxiety and fear-related mental illnesses.This article focuses on the relationships between anxiety and fear-related mental illnesses and immune inflammatory responses.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of ultrasound-guided high ankle block (HAB) on the quality of postoperative recovery of patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery.Methods:In this randomized controlled trial, 90 patients of either sex, aged 18-64 yr, with a body mass index of 18-28 kg/m 2, of American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification Ⅰ-Ⅲ, scheduled for elective foot and ankle surgery, were divided into 2 groups ( n=45 each) using a random number table method: HAB group and spinal anesthesia group (SA group). Patients underwent ultrasound-guided HAB on the affected side in HAB group, while patients received spinal anesthesia in SA group. The Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) scores were recorded at 24 and 48 h postoperatively. Additional data collected included anesthesia preparation and operation time, sensory and motor grading after anesthesia, anesthetic effect grading, surgery duration, intraoperative tourniquet time, block duration, time to first ambulation, and postoperative length of hospital stay. The time of first rescue analgesia and requirement for rescue algesia within 48 h postoperatively and the occurrence of adverse reactions such as hypotension, headache, nausea and vomiting, and urinary retention after anesthesia were also recorded. Results:Compared to SA group, QoR-15 scores and motor grading after anesthesia were significantly increased, the time to first ambulation and postoperative length of hospital stay were shortened, the duration of block and anesthesia preparation and operation time were prolonged at 24 h postoperatively, the rate of rescue analgesia wthin 48 h after operation and incidence of adverse reactions after anesthesia were decressed, and the time to first rescue analgesia was pronlonged in HAB group ( P<0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in sensory grading after anesthesia, anesthetic effect grading, intraoperative use of tourniquet time, and QoR-15 scores at 48 h postoperatively ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Ultrasound-guided HAB provides better quality of postoperative recovery than spinal anesthesia for the patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery.

As the longest and most widely distributed pair of nerves in the brain,the vagus nerve is involved in the regulation of many systems and organs.Recent studies have found that the vagus nerve may be involved in the occurrence of a variety of neuropsychiatric diseases by regulating the release of neurotransmitters(such as norepinephrine,5-hydroxytryptamine,gamma-aminobutyric acid and acetylcholine)and regulating the immune system and gut-brain axis.This article focuses on the regulatory mechanisms of the vagus nerve on neurotransmitters,immune system function,and the gut-brain axis,as well the therapeutic advances in vagus nerve stimulation for neurological and psychi-atric diseases such as epilepsy,depression and anxiety disorders.

Diabetes is an important risk factor for ischemic stroke, and stress hyperglycemia after ischemic stroke will aggravate ischemic brain damage. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, as newly developed hypoglycemic drugs in recent years, have become one of the important research directions of type 2 diabetes drugs. Although the existing clinical trial data have not clearly confirmed the effectiveness of DPP-4 inhibitors in preventing ischemic stroke in patients with diabetes, animal model studies have shown that DPP-4 inhibitors can exert protective effects during ischemic brain injury through mechanisms such as anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and promoting neurogenesis and angiogenesis. This article reviews the role and possible mechanisms of DPP-4 inhibitors in the prevention and treatment of ischemic stroke.

Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that seriously threatens women’s health at present. Although surgical treatment is the most direct and effective， it is limited by many factors and needs to be assisted by other treatments. In addition to conventional radiotherapy， these adjuvant therapies also include chemotherapy， gene therapy， phototherapy and so on. However， the therapeutic agents used in these treatment methods have some limitations， such as poor water-solubility， instability and targeting. With the development of nano-technology， more and more researchers construct and study nano delivery system for breast tumor treatment， such as response system designed based on tumor microenvironment， temperature sensitive response system， nano delivery system based on specific proteins of tumor cell membrane， etc. The author summarizes the nano delivery system， and finds that these nano delivery systems can not only improve the water-solubility and stability of the therapeutic agents， but also accurately deliver them to the breast tumor site by targeted means， improve the efficacy and reduce toxic side effects， which provides new ideas for the treatment of breast cancer in the future.

AIM:To investigate the impact of homocysteine(Hcy)on the inflammatory response mediated by BV2 mouse microglia,and to explore the mechanism of Ras-related protein 1a(Rap1a)in the Hcy-induced inflammatory response in BV2 cells.METHODS:Mouse microglial cell line BV2 was cultured in vitro,and Hcy intervention was used to establish a hyperhomocysteinemia cellular model.The cells were divided into 4 groups:blank control group,and 50 μmol/L,100 μmol/L and 150 μmol/L Hcy groups.The mRNA expression levels of M1 polarization markers,inflammatory factors IL-6,IL-1β and TNF-α,and Rap1a in BV2 cells were detected by RT-qPCR.Additionally,the levels of inflamma-tory factors IL-6,IL-1β and TNF-α in BV2 cells were measured using an ELISA kit.The protein expression level of Rap1a was detected by Western blot assay.To verify the function of Rap1a,viral transfection was employed for both over-expression and knockdown experiments.RESULTS:Under the intervention of Hcy concentration above 100 μmol/L,BV2 cells exhibited inflammatory polarization,as indicated by the increased mRNA expression of M1 polarization markers CD80 and CD86(P＜0.05).The mRNA and protein expression levels of inflammatory factors IL-6,IL-1β and TNF-α were significantly up-regulated(P＜0.05).Additionally,the mRNA and protein expression levels of Rap1a also showed a significant increase(P＜0.05).Moreover,Rap1a mRNA level was positively correlated with CD80 mRNA,IL-1β content and TNF-α content(P＜0.05).The multiplicities of infection of the viruses with Rap1a overexpression and Rap1a knock-down were both 80,and the effective transfection was observed through fluorescence microscopy.Overexpression of Rap1a exacerbated the inflammatory polarization of BV2 cells induced by Hcy(P＜0.05),while knockdown of Rap1a attenuated this polarization(P＜0.05).CONCLUSION:Hcy can promote M1 polarization of BV2 mouse microglia,leading to in-flammatory response,which indicates that Rap1a could potentially serves as a critical regulatory factor in the Hcy-induced inflammatory response of BV2 cells.

Objective:Based on the principle that the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) fluorescent probe 6PD-DPAN could bind and aggregate with bacteria, and the fluorescence intensity could reflect the quantity of bacteria, a new method for rapid, convenient, and accurate bacterial drug sensitivity testing was established, which provided a basis for rapid and accurate clinical drug use.Methods:This was a methodological evaluation study. A total of 107 clinical isolates were collected from Houjie Hospital of Dongguan City from January to December 2022, among which 46 isolates were used for the establishment of the new method, and 61 isolates were used for methodological validation. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determined by broth microdilution method was used as the gold standard, and three antibacterial drugs, gentamicin, levofloxacin, and cefotaxime, were used as experimental drugs. The AIE plate was incubated for 4 hours, and the fluorescence intensity was measured every half an hour to draw a fluorescence change curve. The MIC results were compared with the CLSI breakpoints to determine the bacteria as sensitive, intermediate, or resistant. To simplify the detection process, the ratio of fluorescence intensity at 4 hours(R) was calculated, and the ROC curve was used to analyze the efficacy of R in determining bacterial growth and establish its cutoff value. The new method was used to determine the MIC of 61 clinical isolates, with broth microdilution method as the gold standard. The basic consistency, categorical consistency, very major errors, and major errors of the new method were analyzed, and the consistency between the two methods was determined by the Kappa test.Results:ROC curve analysis of the R after 4 hours of culture: The cut-off value was 3.0, with both sensitivity and specificity for determining bacterial growth being 100%. The median (interquartile) R for bacterial growth inhibition was 11.1 (8.6, 14.4); the median R-value for bacterial growth was 1.1 (1.0, 1.2). Compared to the gold standard, the newly established method showed 100% (61/61) essential agreement in detecting MICs of 61 clinical isolates, with a categorical agreement of 96.7% (59/61). There were no very major or major errors, and the Kappa value was 0.94, indicating good consistency between the newly established method and the microbroth dilution method.Conclusions:This study successfully established a new method for bacterial drug sensitivity testing based on AIE technology, which could obtain satisfactory results within 5 hours, providing a basis for early precision drug treatment in clinical practice.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of ultrapulse fractional carbon dioxide laser combined with stromal vascular fraction gel (SVF-Gel) transplantation in the treatment of scars.Methods:Retrospective analysis of the clinical data of patients with scars treated at the General Hospital of Jilin Chemical Industry Group from January 2018 to January 2022. Application of ultrapulse fractional carbon dioxide laser for treatment: Scaar FX mode treatment for hypertrophic scars, micro FX energy: 80-150 mJ, frequency: 250 Hz, density: 3%. Deep FX mode treatment for superficial scars and atrophic scars, micro FX energy: 30-50 mJ, frequency: 300 Hz, density: 5%. Manual fractional technology(MFT) mode treatment for hyperplastic scars, atrophic scars with scar contracture site, energy: 150-175 mJ, frequency: 40 Hz, distance between holes: 4-5 mm, treatment time 2-3 s. Superficial scar and atrophic scar were treated 2 times, hypertrophic scar was treated 3 times, and the time interval was 2 months. Transplantation of SVF-Gel for scar treatment around 30 days after the first laser treatment. Thigh fatty tissue was extracted to prepare SVF-Gel. The SVF-Gel was injected into the basal layer and deep layer of inside the scar by multi-point and multi-tunnel injection. All patients were followed up for 6 months to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Assess the Vancouver scar scale (VSS) score and the difference of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) between scar skin and adjacent normal skin was measured after treatment, compared with before treatment. The data were analyzed by SPSS 20.0, data in Mean±SD represents. Paired t-test was used to compare the difference between the VSS score and TEWL before and after treatment. P<0.05 indicates a statistically significant difference. Results:A total of 30 patients were enrolled, including 17 males and 13 females, aged (32.7 ± 11.2) years old. Among the 30 patients, 10 patients were superficial scars, 10 patients were hypertrophic scars, 10 patients were atrophic scars. The scars’ formation time was (17.5 ± 4.5) months. (1) The VSS score of superficial scars after treatment was 1.8±0.7, which was lower than 4.7±0.8 before treatment( t=9.26, P=0.001). The difference in TEWL after treatment was (2.48±0.61) g·m -2·h -1, which was lower than (6.85±1.17) g·m -2·h -1 before treatment( t=13.28, P<0.001). (2) The VSS score of hyperplastic scars after treatment was 3.9±1.1, which was lower than 10.6±1.7 before treatment( t=9.37, P=0.001). The difference in TEWL after treatment was (4.91±0.87) g·m -2·h -1, which was lower than (9.92±0.75) g·m -2·h -1 before treatment( t=18.22, P<0.001). (3) The VSS score of atrophic scars after treatment was 3.5±1.2, lower than 7.7±2.3 before treatment ( t=5.81, P=0.005). The difference in TEWL after treatment was (3.73±1.22) g·m -2·h -1, lower than (6.52±1.51) g·m -2·h -1 before treatment ( t=9.52, P=0.001). Conclusion:Ultrapulse fractional carbon dioxide laser combined with SVF-Gel transplantation is effective in the treatment of scars. It can improve the color, thickness, vascular distribution, softness, and skin barrier function of scars.