OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of clinical pharmacists participating in the treatment of chronic heart failure （CHF） based on the clinical pharmacy pathway （CPP）. METHODS Totally 226 CHF patients recruited from August 24th， 2024 to March 14th， 2025， were divided into an observation group and a control group based on the random number table method， with 113 cases in each group. All patients were treated with conventional therapy. The observation group was additionally given CPP management （including pharmaceutical care during hospitalization， the formulation of individualized discharge medication regimens， and pharmaceutical follow-up after discharge）. The cardiac function parameters at admission， at discharge， at 3 and 6 months after discharge， drug use at 6 months after discharge， economic indicators， as well as the readmission rate and mortality rate at 6 months after discharge were compared between the two groups. Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 Items （MMAS-8）， Somatic Self-rating Scale （SSS） and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 （PHQ-9） scores were compared at admission， at discharge and at 3 and 6 months after discharge. RESULTS Six months after discharge， 24 patients dropped out. Eventually， 104 patients in the observation group and 98 patients in the control group completed the study. Compared with at admission， New York Heart Association （NYHA） cardiac functional classification， left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF） and N -terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide （NT-proBNP） of both groups of patients at discharge as well as at 3 and 6 months after discharge were significantly improved； moreover， the improvements at 3 and 6 months after discharge were significantly better than those at discharge. Meanwhile， the above indexes （except for NYHA cardiac functional classification at discharge， NT-proBNP and NYHA cardiac functional classification at 3 months after discharge） of the observation group at discharge， at 3 and 6 months after discharge were significantly better than the control group （ P ＜0.05）. The utilization rates of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor （ACEI）/angiotensin Ⅱ receptor blocker （ARB）/angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor （ARNI）， the proportion of β-blockers reaching the target dose， the utilization rate of sodium-glucose linked transporter 2 inhibitor （SGLT2i）， and the proportion of SGLT2i reaching the target dose in the observation group were significantly higher than the control group （ P ＜0.05）， and the proportion of drugs and readmission rate were significantly lower than the control group （ P ＜0.05）. Compared with at admission， MMAS-8 scores of the patients in the observation group at discharge， at 3 and 6 months after discharge were significantly increased， while SSS and PHQ-9 scores were significantly lowered （ P ＜0.05）. And all the above scores gradually decreas ed with the extension of discharge time （ P ＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Clinical pharmacists can utilize CPP to significantly improve patients’ cardiac function， medication adherence， somatic symptoms and depression. Additionally， they can significantly improve the utilization rates of ACEI/ARB/ARNI and SGLT2i， as well as the proportion of target doses of β-blockers and SGLT2i， while simultaneously reducing readmission rates.

ObjectiveTo investigate the value of liver stiffness measurement （LSM） and spleen stiffness measurement （SSM） measured by two-dimensional shear wave elastography （2D-SWE） in the diagnosis of severe portal hypertension （SPH） and high-risk varices （HRV）， and to provide a basis for noninvasive assessment of portal hypertension. MethodsA prospective study was conducted among 78 patients with cirrhotic portal hypertension who were treated in Liver Research Center of Beijing Friendship Hospital， Capital Medical University， from December 2019 to April 2023. According to hepatic venous pressure gradient （HVPG）， the patients were divided into 6 mmHg≤HVPG<12 mmHg group， 12 mmHg≤HVPG<20 mmHg group， and HVPG ≥20 mmHg group. All patients underwent gastroscopy and 2D-SWE within 1 week after HVPG measurement， and SWE-LSM and SWE-SSM measured by 2D-SWE were recorded. A one-way analysis of variance or the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups， and the chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. With HVPG and gastroscopy findings as the gold standard， the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was plotted and the area under the ROC curve （AUC） was calculated to evaluate diagnostic performance， while the DeLong test was used for comparison of AUC. The Pearson or Spearman correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between variables， and the linear regression analysis and the Logistic regression analysis were used to investigate the influencing factors for HVPG and HRV. ResultsThe mean HVPG was 18.1±6.4 mmHg for the patients enrolled in this study， and HRV was observed in 62 patients （79.5%）. Both SWE-LSM and SWE-SSM were significantly positively correlated with HVPG （r=0.413 and 0.633， both P<0.001）， with an AUC of 0.812 and 0.902， respectively， in the diagnosis of HVPG≥12 mmHg and an AUC of 0.804 and 0.789， respectively， in the diagnosis of HVPG≥20 mmHg （all P>0.05）. The multivariate linear regression analysis showed that SWE-SSM was an independent influencing factor for HVPG （β=0.17， P<0.001）. In the diagnosis of HRV， only SWE-SSM showed a significant positive correlation with HRV （r=0.432， P<0.001）， with a better diagnostic performance than SWE-LSM in terms of AUC （0.808 vs 0.642， Z=2.775， P=0.006）. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that platelet count was an independent influencing factor for HRV （odds ratio=0.97， P=0.014）. ConclusionSWE-SSM is closely correlated with both HVPG and HRV， showing a good performance in the diagnosis of SPH and HRV， and therefore， it is expected to become an effective noninvasive tool for assessing portal hypertension.

On August 31， 2025， the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver （APASL） updated and released management of acute variceal bleeding： updated APASL guidelines （2025 edition）， which systematically elaborates on the definition， diagnosis， assessment， and treatment of acute variceal bleeding. This article gives an excerpt of the recommendations in this guideline.

Objective:To develop fluorescent nanoprobes with aggregation-induced emission characteristics and to systematically evaluate their optical properties, biosafety, anti-tumor activity, and imaging capability, thereby assessing their potential for early precision diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer in mice.Methods:Control probes (PEG@TPD) were prepared by encapsulating ( E)-4-(2-(4′-(1-phenyl-2,2-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)vinyl)biphenyl-4-yl)vinyl)-4-(dicyanomethylene)-4 H-chromene (TPD) using 1,2-distearoyl- SN-glycerol-3-phosphoethanolamine- N-polyethylene glycol 2000-maleimide as the carrier. Fluorescent nanoprobes (GE11-PEG@TPD) were subsequently fabricated by surface modification with the targeting GE11 peptide. The morphology and particle size of the nanoprobes were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The optical properties of the nanoprobes were analyzed using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and fluorescence spectrophotometry. Mouse squamous carcinoma SCC-7 cells were randomly divided into six groups by the random number table method. The PBS, PEG@TPD, and GE11-PEG@TPD groups were not treated with light, while the PBS+L, PEG@TPD+L, and GE11-PEG@TPD+L groups were exposed to white light (25 W/cm 2, 10 min) at a nanoprobe concentration of 20 μg/ml (based on TPD concentration). Cell survival rate was assessed by the cell counting kit-8 assay. Cellular uptake, intracellular reactive oxygen species levels, and cytotoxicity were evaluated using laser scanning confocal microscopy. The apoptosis rate was evaluated by cell apoptosis assay. Twelve 6-week-old female C3H/HeN mice were randomly divided into two groups: PEG@TPD-1 group and GE11-PEG@TPD-1 group, with 6 mice in each group. Subcutaneous oral cancer models were established by injecting SCC-7 cell suspensions into the dorsal region of mice in two groups. Each mouse was intravenously administered 200 μl of PEG@TPD or GE11-PEG@TPD solution (1 mg/ml, based on TPD concentration). Tumor boundaries and scope were visualized using a small animal in vivo imaging system. At the optimal imaging time point, three mice from each group were euthanized, and major organs and tumor tissues were collected to measure probe accumulation. Statistical comparisons between two groups were performed using independent samples t-tests, while one-way or two-way analysis of variance was applied for multiple group comparisons. Results:Both PEG@TPD and GE11-PEG@TPD exhibited a relatively regular sphere, with average particle sizes of (92.76±8.80 and 117.50±6.40) nm, respectively. PEG@TPD showed two obvious absorption peaks at 352 and 444 nm. GE11 peptide showed a polypeptide characteristic absorption peak at 280 nm, GE11-PEG@TPD showed three characteristic absorption peaks at 280, 352 and 444 nm. Under dark conditions, cell survival rate remained above 80% even at a concentration of 160 μg/ml. After light irradiation, cell survival rate in the PEG@TPD+L group at 20 and 40 μg/ml [(68.2±5.2)% and (48.6±7.1)%] were higher than those in the GE11-PEG@TPD+L group [(55.0±2.8)% and (30.0±9.2)%], with statistically significant differences ( P<0.05, 0.01). At incubation time points of 2, 4, and 6 h, the relative fluorescence intensity of the GE11-PEG@TPD group (119.4±10.2, 192.9±14.2, and 234.1±4.8) were higher than those of the PEG@TPD group (98.6±7.5, 163.8±3.1, 204.6±11.2), with statistically significant differences (all P<0.05). The relative fluorescence intensity of the PEG@TPD+L and GE11-PEG@TPD+L group (68.5±4.7 and 86.8±10.0) were higher than those in the PBS, PEG@TPD, GE11-PEG@TPD, and PBS+L groups (6.1±8.0, 7.6±1.8, 4.7±4.2 and 21.1±7.6), with statistically significant differences (all P<0.01). And the difference between the GE11-PEG@TPD+L and PEG@TPD+L groups was also statistically significant ( P<0.05). Viable cell proportions in the PBS, PEG@TPD, GE11-PEG@TPD, and PBS+L groups all exceeded 95.0%, while those in the PEG@TPD+L and GE11-PEG@TPD+L groups decreased to (11.1±3.7)% and (4.3±1.1)%, respectively, with a statistically significant difference between them ( P<0.05). The apoptotic cell proportions in the PEG@TPD+L and GE11-PEG@TPD+L groups [(40.5±4.3)% and (55.3±7.4)%] were higher than those in the PBS, PEG@TPD, GE11-PEG@TPD, and PBS+L groups [(27.3±2.0)%, (28.2±1.9)%, (28.6±1.2)%, and (29.7±3.0)%], with statistically significant differences ( P<0.05, 0.01). Moreover, the difference between the GE11-PEG@TPD+L and the PEG@TPD+L groups was also statistically significant ( P<0.01). The mean fluorescence intensities of the GE11-PEG@TPD-1 group at 1, 3, 5, 8, and 24 h, as well as in ex vivo tumor tissues[(5.2±0.8, 5.9±0.7, 6.6±1.0, 7.9±0.6, 7.8±0.7 and 20.6±3.5)×10 6 p/s/cm 2/sr] were all higher than those in the PEG@TPD-1 group [(3.2±0.7, 4.2±0.7, 4.6±0.9, 5.1±0.9, 4.7±0.9 and 14.2±1.8)×10 6 p/s/cm 2/sr], with statistically significant differences ( P<0.05, 0.01). Conclusions:The fluorescent nanoprobes exhibit uniform particle size, high photostability, and good biocompatibility. They demonstrate significant tumor-killing effects at the cellular level and possess tumor-targeting capability in vivo, showing promising application potential for the early precision diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine on the viability of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of morphine-addicted mice.Methods:Experiment Ⅰ Thirty SPF healthy adult male C57BL/6 mice, aged 8 weeks, weighing 20-25 g, were divided into 3 groups ( n=10 each) using the random number table method: normal saline group (NS group), dexmedetomidine 50 μg/kg group (DEX50 group), and dexmedetomidine 100 μg/kg group (DEX100 group). A morphine addiction model was established by intraperitoneal injection of increasing doses of morphine (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 50 mg/kg) for 6 consecutive days in mice. After the successful establishment of the model, dexmedetomidine 50 and 100 μg/kg were intraperitoneally injected for 14 consecutive days in group DEX50 and group DEX100 respectively, while normal saline was given instead in group C. The conditioned place preference (CPP) experiment was conducted every other day. Experiment Ⅱ Thirty SPF healthy adult male C57BL/6 mice, aged 8 weeks, weighing 20-25 g, were divided into 3 groups ( n=10 each) by the random number table method: control group (C group), morphine group (Mor group) and dexmedetomidine 50 μg/kg group (DEX50 group). Normal saline was intraperitoneally injected for 10 consecutive days in group C. Morphine with increasing doses was intraperitoneally injected for 6 days, and then normal saline was intraperitoneally injected for 4 consecutive days in group Mor. Morphine with increasing doses was intraperitoneally injected for 6 days, and then dexmedetomidine 50 μg/kg was intraperitoneally injected for 4 consecutive days in group DEX50. The mice were anesthetized at 90 min after the last intraperitoneal injection, brain tissues were harvested, and the corresponding brain slices of the VTA were selected for c-Fos immunofluorescence staining. Experiment Ⅲ Ten dopamine transporter-Cre recombinase mice were divided into 2 groups ( n=5 each) by the random number table method: morphine group (Mor group) and morphine+ dexmedetomidine 50 μg/kg group (Mor+ DEX group). Stereotaxic viral injection was performed in the brain. rAAV-EF1α-DIO-GCaMP6s was injected into the VTA and an optical fiber was implanted. Three weeks later, a morphine addiction model was established based on Experiment Ⅰ for the CPP experiment, morphine was intraperitoneally injected in group Mor, and morphine and dexmedetomidine were intraperitoneally injected in group Mor+ DEX. The viral fluorescence signals were recorded at 5 min before and 20 min after the drug administration in the three groups. Results:Experiment Ⅰ There was no statistically significant difference in the CPP scores after developing the morphine addiction model among the three groups ( P>0.05). Compared with group NS, the CPP scores were significantly decreased at 4-14 days of the continuous administration in group DEX50 and group DEX100 ( P<0.05). Experiment Ⅱ Compared with group C, the number of c-Fos positive cells in the VTA was significantly increased in group Mor ( P<0.05). Compared with group Mor, the number of c-Fos positive cells in the VTA was significantly decreased in group DEX ( P<0.05). Experiment Ⅲ Compared with that before administration, the calcium signals of dopaminergic neurons in the VTA were significantly enhanced in group Mor ( P<0.05), and no statistically significant difference was found in the calcium signals of dopaminergic neurons in the VTA in group Mor+ DEX ( P>0.05). Compared with group Mor, no statistically significant difference was found in the calcium signals of dopaminergic neurons in the VTA before drug administration ( P>0.05), and the calcium signals of dopaminergic neurons in the VTA were significantly weakened after administration in group Mor+ DEX ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The mechanism by which dexmedetomidine promotes the extinction of morphine addiction is related to the inhibition of the viability of dopaminergic neurons in the VTA of mice.

Objective:The minimal ablative margin (MAM) after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) was evaluated based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image registration to analyze its effect on the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:Clinical data of 120 patients with HCC undergoing RFA in the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from January 2017 to April 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including 88 males and 32 females, aged (58.4±8.5) years. The enhanced MRI images of patients before and after treatment were imported into a 3D Slicer software to show the ablative margin, and patients were divided into two groups according to whether MAM exceeded the peritumor safety boundary of 5 mm: MAM<5 mm group ( n=75) and MAM≥5 mm group ( n=45). Clinical data were recorded such as gender, age, tumor length and location. Patients were followed up by outpatient review to record whether local tumour progression occurred. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis, and log-rank test was used for survival comparison. Cox regression analysis was performed to analyze the risk factors of local tumour progression after RFA in patients with HCC. Results:There were significant differen-ces in tumor volume, whether the tumor is located around the vessels, and the mode of RFA guidance between the two groups (all P<0.05). The cumulative local tumour progression-free survival rates at 6, 12 and 24 months after RFA were 100%, 100% and 98% in MAM ≥5 mm group, superior to those in MAM<5 mm group (92%, 84% and 69%, respectively, χ2=47.22, P<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that MAM<5 mm ( OR=9.992, 95% CI: 4.358-22.913), tumor diameter ≥2 cm ( OR=1.758, 95% CI: 1.025-3.015) and perivascular tumor ( OR=2.344, 95% CI: 1.379-3.985) were risk factors for local tumour progression after RFA in patients with HCC (all P<0.05). Conclusion:The MAM evaluated based on MRI image registration is an influential factor on prognosis of patients with HCC. Patients with MAM<5 mm suffer an increased risk of postoperative local tumour progression.

Objective:To construct a prediction model for local tumor progression (LTP) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after radiofrequency ablation (RFA) based on the radiomics features of enhanced MRI.Methods:Clinical data of 120 patients with HCC undergoing RFA in the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from June 2017 to June 2022 were retrospectively analyzed, including 90 males and 30 females, aged (58.2±8.2) years. The patients were divided into training set ( n=84) and validation set ( n=36) in a ratio of 7∶3. According to whether LTP occurred within 2 years after RFA, the patients in training set were divided into LTP positive group ( n=32) and LTP negative group ( n=52). Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the risk factors for LTP after RFA in patients with HCC in training set. In the advanced arterial phase of preoperative enhanced MRI, the region of interest of tumor and peritumoral 5 mm area were mapped, and the radiomics features were extracted. The maximum correlation-minimum redundancy algorithm, the minimum absolute value shrinkage and selection operator algorithm were used to screen the radiomics features closely related to LTP, and the radiomics score was established. A nomogram model was constructed by combining the radiomics score with clinical tumor characteristics. The predictive performance and clinical practical value of different models were compared by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, calibration curve, clinical decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curve (CIC). Results:Tumor located around the blood vessels ( OR=4.574, 95% CI: 1.454-14.393, P=0.009) and ablation margin <5 mm ( OR=5.724, 95% CI: 1.996-16.420, P=0.001) were independent risk factors for LTP in patients with HCC after RFA. Five higher-order radiomics features were extracted and screened, including three tumoral features (glrlm_ShortRunHighGrayLevelEmphasis, ngtdm_Complexity and glcm_Imc1) and two peritumoral features (firstorder_Mean and glszm_SmallAreaHighGrayLevelEmphasis). Delong test showed that the area under curve of the combined model was higher than that of the radiomics model ( Z=2.90, P=0.004) and the clinical tumor characteristic model ( Z=2.56, P=0.010). Calibration curves, DCA and CIC curves all show that the combined model had a better clinical net benefit. Conclusion:Combining the radiomics features extracted from enhanced MRI images with clinical tumor characteristics can effectively predict the risk of LTP in patients with HCC after RFA.

Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of vancomycin in obese patients guided by trough concentration and AUC24h/MIC,and to provide data for individualized administration of vancomycin in obese patients.Methods We retrospectively collected the data of obese adult patients(BMI 30 kg/m2)who had severe infection caused by gram-positive cocci and treated with vancomycin intravenously in two Grade A tertiary hospitals in Shanghai from 2012 to 2024.The patients were assigned to trough concentration monitoring group or AUC24h/MIC monitoring group according to the therapeutic drug monitoring(TDM)method at the time of admission.Nephrotoxicity and efficacy were compared between the two groups of patients.Results A total of 22 obese patients were included in this study,including 12 in the trough concentration monitoring group and 10 in the AUC24h/MIC monitoring group.No significant difference was found between the two groups in gender,age,BMI,creatinine clearance before treatment,underlying disease,site of infection,pathogen type,or concomitant medications.The proportion of ICU admission was higher in AUC24h/MIC monitoring group.The length of ICU stay,vancomycin treatment duration,bacterial clearance rate and comprehensive efficacy rate did not show significant difference between the two groups.The average daily dose of vancomycin in trough concentration monitoring group was significantly lower than that in A UC24h/MIC monitoring group[(1.63±0.59)g vs(2.29±0.72)g,P=0.026].The average treatment duration was not significantly different between the two groups[(15.33±10.28)d vs(14.90±6.92)d,P=0.911].Compared with the trough concentration monitoring group,the initial peak concentration[(30.99±16.22)mg/L vs(19.41±5.42)mg/L,P=0.025]and overall peak concentration[(33.67±16.53)mg/L vs(22.08±3.96)mg/L,P=0.045]of vancomycin were lower in theAUC24h/MIC monitoring group,but the initial trough concentration[(11.03±8.66)mg/L vs(6.33±4.45)mg/L,P=0.139]and overall trough concentration[(13.75±9.74)mg/L vs(9.74±4.24)mg/L,P=0.218]were similar in the two groups.Vancomycin-associated nephrotoxicity did not occur in any group,but 41.7％of the patients in the trough concentration monitoring group reached the threshold of renal toxicity,i.e.trough concentration ≥15 mg/L.Conclusions Vancomycin treatment with conventional dosing regimen still have good clinical efficacy in obese adult patients.Vancomycin therapy guided by A UC24h/MIC can achieve the target value at lower concentration or exposure,which is promising for reducing vancomycin-associated nephrotoxicity.

Glioblastoma multiforme(GBM)is a grade 4 glioma with the highest malignancy and invasiveness in the central nervous system,accounting for approximately 30％of all tumors in the central nervous system.Due to the unclear pathogenesis of GBM,there is currently no specific target for the treatment of GBM.Temozolomide(TMZ)is the only first-line chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of GBM,but suffers from a low drug response rate and high susceptibility to drug resistance.Therefore,the development of new targets and novel GBM therapeutic agents is an urgent clinical problem.Pentraxin 3(PTX3),a member of the pentameric protein superfamily,has been shown to have a promotive effect on a variety of tumors.Increasing evidences showed that PTX3 played a crucial role in the progression of GBM.PTX3 can promote the proliferation,migration and invasion ability of GBM cells,increase the angiogenesis ability in the GBM microenvironment and malignant progression of GBM.In the article,the structure,physiological function,expression regulation,role and mechanism of PTX3 in GBM were mainly reviewed,with a view to provide guidance for PTX3 as a potential drug target for the treatment of GBM.