1.Preliminary application of histological evaluation of donor pancreas biopsy tissue in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation
Jiao WAN ; Hui GUO ; Jiali FANG ; Guanghui LI ; Luhao LIU ; Yunyi XIONG ; Wei YIN ; Tong YANG ; Junjie MA ; Zheng CHEN
Organ Transplantation 2026;17(2):250-256
Objective To preliminarily investigate the safety and efficacy of donor pancreas needle biopsy in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation. Methods Clinical data of 7 cases undergoing donor pancreas biopsy were collected retrospectively. All cases underwent donor pancreas biopsy before or during simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation. Frozen section or paraffin sectioning techniques were used for tissue preparation, and hematoxylin-eosin and Masson staining were performed to histologically evaluate the donor pancreas. The quality of donor pancreas was comprehensively assessed by combining histological findings with the donor's clinical data. Postoperative follow-up data of 5 simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipients were collected to summarize the safety of donor pancreas biopsy and the prognosis of transplant recipients. Results The 7 pancreas donors were aged 28 to 62 years, with a body mass index ranging from 20.76 to 27.68 kg/m2. Liver ultrasound indicated fatty liver in 3 cases, while pancreatic ultrasound did not reveal any significant abnormalities. Among them, biopsy was performed on 2 donors after completion of pancreatic procurement and processing, and the frozen section histology showed moderate acute pancreatitis changes (edema of acinar cells, necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration). Combined with a serum amylase level elevated more than 3 times the upper limit of normal value, these two donor pancreases were finally discarded. The remaining 5 cases underwent biopsy immediately after pancreatic vascular anastomosis during simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation, and histological evaluation was performed on paraffin-embedded sections. No biopsy-related complications (such as bleeding, pancreatic fistula, etc.) occurred after transplantation. One recipient died of severe infection 2 months after transplantation, while the other 4 recipients were followed up for more than 5 years, with well-functioning transplant kidneys and pancreases. Conclusions Donor pancreas biopsy is relatively safe, and the risk of biopsy-related complications after transplantation is controllable. Comprehensive assessment of donor pancreas quality by combining histological evaluation with the donor's clinical indicators is conducive to improving the accuracy of donor pancreas selection and organ utilization.
2.New trends and new strategies of drug repurposing: 2020–2024
Fangsu CHEN ; Junjie YANG ; Jiayu DU ; Shimiao HUANG ; Yuxuan ZHANG ; Qidong YOU ; Lei WANG ; Qiuyue ZHANG
Journal of China Pharmaceutical University 2026;57(1):11-18
The research and development of innovative drug have progressed remarkably, but the long development circle and high failure rate have become the bottleneck. Drug repurposing, discovering new indications of approved drugs, is a strategy to overcome these obstacles. By exploring new indications for approved drugs, rapid progress has been made in basic research and clinical translation in recent years. Rich resources of drugs, proven security, efficient development workflow and reduced cost are core advantages of this strategy, making the strategy a crucial direction of optimizing the pipeline of drug research and development. This review systematically summarizes drug repurposing cases that have received clinical approval over the past five years, and proposes core strategies for drug repurposing, including approaches based on targets, pathways, drug similarity, post-treatment phenotypes, and clinical side effects, aiming to provide some strategic guidance for drug repurposing efforts.
3.HerbGL: a network propagation and graph regularization-based framework for herb pairs prediction in traditional Chinese medicine
Weixiang Liu ; Qian Yuan ; Junjie Zhang ; Xinliang Sun ; Kongfa Hu ; Tao Yang
Digital Chinese Medicine 2026;9(2):265-277
Objective:
To address the challenges of systematically identifying herb pairs in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), we proposed HerbGL, a framework for predicting potential herb pairs that integrates network propagation and graph regularization.
Methods:
Based on the assumption that herbal actions induce subtle perturbations in biological systems, a framework named HerbGL was proposed. Random walk with restart (RWR) was first applied to the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network to reconstruct herb-specific perturbation effects and generate weighted subnetworks. Then, to quantify affinity between herb pairs, two network-proximity metrics, Closeness and PageRank, were computed from the weighted subnetworks to construct herb-pair affinity matrices. Finally, these matrices, together with known herb pairs (derived from co-occurrence analysis of TCM formulas with a threshold determined from the inflection point of the frequency distribution), were incorporated into a graph regularization model to predict potential herb pairs. Model performance was assessed through baseline comparison, ablation and robustness experiment under different ratios of positive and negative samples, using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), the area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC), accuracy, and precision as evaluation metrics. Furthermore, the predicted herb pairs were validated through both literature evidence and Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses.
Results:
The weighted subnetworks constructed by RWR provided a refined simulation of herb-specific perturbation effects, which formed the basis for subsequent affinity modeling and prediction. Analysis of herb pair co-occurrence frequencies revealed a marked change around 150, which was selected as the threshold to distinguish herb pairs from non-herb pairs. HerbGL exhibited superior predictive performance compared with baseline models (AUROC = 0.970 5, AUPRC = 0.955 5, accuracy = 0.726 6, precision = 0.970 6). Ablation results showed that removing the Closeness and PageRank metrics substantially degraded performance (AUROC = 0.819 1, AUPRC = 0.876 8), confirming their necessity. Robustness evaluation under an imbalanced positive-to-negative sample ratio of 1 : 5 yielded AUROC = 0.969 6 and AUPRC = 0.840 4, indicating stable predictive ability. Moreover, multiple case studies further validated the rationality of the predicted herb pairs, such as Fangfeng (Saposhnikoviae Radix) and Qingpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride) which are recorded in Liangpeng Huiji (《良朋汇集》, Collection of Excellent Recipes) Vol. 3: Fangfeng Shengma Tang (防风升麻汤). Additionally, pathway enrichment analysis of the Renshen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma) and Lianqiao (Forsythiae Fructus) pair further supported the biological plausibility of their compatibility.
Conclusion
HerbGL offers an effective and biologically informed framework for identifying herb pairs in TCM. Beyond improving herb pair prediction, the framework also provides data support for research on herb compounds and mechanisms, thereby supporting data-driven exploration of TCM compatibility.
4.Research progress on immune cells in cold ischemia-reperfusion injury of renal allografts
Kangyu LIU ; Zikai FANG ; Chengcheng YANG ; Jixian LIU ; Junjie ZHANG ; Zongyao FAN ; Bin NI ; Ming ZHENG ; Baixin SHEN
Journal of Modern Urology 2026;31(6):580-585
Cold ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) is a major contributor to delayed graft function and long-term graft failure after kidney transplantation.Its pathogenesis involves multiple mechanisms, including energy metabolism disorders, oxidative stress and sterile inflammatory responses.Increasing evidence indicates that immune cells play a central regulatory role in the initiation and progression of CIRI.Damage-associated molecular patterns released during cold ischemia and reperfusion activate innate immunity, leading to the rapid recruitment of neutrophils, macrophages, dendritic cells and amplification of inflammatory cascades.Subsequently, adaptive immune cells, including T cells and B cells, are activated and further contribute to sustained inflammation, disruption of immune tolerance and graft injury.Through cytokine signaling, chemokine-mediated recruitment and antigen presentation, different immune cell subsets form a complex interactive network that ultimately determines the severity and outcome of CIRI.This review summarizes the roles and mechanisms of innate and adaptive immune cells in renal allograft CIRI, highlights their interconnections, and discusses emerging immune cell-targeted therapeutic strategies, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for improving clinical outcomes in kidney transplantation.
5.Impact of childhood maltreatment and sleep quality on depressive symptoms among middle school students
Chinese Journal of School Health 2025;46(1):73-77
Objective:
To explore the impact of sleep quality, experience of childhood maltreatment, and their interaction on depressive symptoms among middle school students, so as to provide the reference for early intervention of depressive symptoms among middle school students.
Methods:
From September to December 2023, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 1 231 students from two secondary schools in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province by a convenient sampling method. The survey included general demographic information, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Short Version of Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The Chi square test was used to analyze the differences in depressive symptom, sleep quality and childhood maltreatment among students with different demographic characteristics. Correlation analysis was conducted using Logistic regression, and interaction analysis was performed by both additive and multiplicative interaction models.
Results:
The detection rate of depressive symptoms among middle school students was 22.7%, and the rate for high school students (35.2%) was significantly higher than that for middle school students (17.0%) ( χ 2=50.35, P <0.01). The detection rates of depressive symptoms among middle school students with a history of childhood maltreatment and poor sleep quality were 45.8% and 44.0%, respectively. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that compared to students without a history of childhood maltreatment, students with a history of childhood maltreatment had a higher risk of depressive symptoms ( OR =4.49,95% CI =3.31~ 6.09 , P <0.01);students with poor sleep quality had a higher risk of depressive symptoms than students with good sleep quality ( OR = 5.99,95% CI =4.37~8.22, P <0.01).The interaction results showed that the presence of childhood maltreatment and poor sleep quality had an additive interaction on the occurrence of depression in middle school students. Compared with students without childhood maltreatment and having good sleep quality, students with childhood maltreatment and poor sleep quality had a 22.49 times higher risk of developing depression ( OR =22.49,95% CI =14.22~35.59, P <0.01).
Conclusion
Depressive symptoms among middle school students are associated with childhood maltreatment and poor sleep quality, and there is an additive interaction between childhood maltreatment and poor sleep quality on the impact of depressive symptoms.
6.Visualization analysis of research hotspots of artificial intelligence in field of spinal cord nerve injury and repair
Bin YANG ; Guangyi TAO ; Shun YANG ; Junjie XU ; Junqing HUANG
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2025;29(4):761-770
BACKGROUND:In recent years,artificial intelligence has gradually emerged and has been applied in various fields such as spinal cord nerve injury and repair,which has a positive impact on clinical treatment. OBJECTIVE:To study the application progress of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis,treatment,and rehabilitation of spinal cord nerve injury and repair,clarify the research hotspots and shortcomings in this field,and provide suggestions for future research work. METHODS:Relevant literature on artificial intelligence in the field of spinal cord nerve injury and repair was retrieved on the Web of Science core collection database until 2023.CiteSpace 6.1.R6 and VOSviewer 1.6.19 software was used to perform general literature analysis,co-citation of literature,co-citation of journals,double image overlay of journals,keyword clustering,and other visual analysis on the literature data. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)A total of 1 713 articles were selected,and the annual publication volume in this field showed a fluctuating upward trend,with the United States taking the lead,and Kadone and Hideki being the authors with the highest publication volume.ARCH PHYS MED REHAB was the journal with the highest number of citations.(2)Keyword co-occurrence and cluster analysis showed that after removing keywords similar to the search terms,the main keywords were divided into three main clusters:Exoskeleton and exercise rehabilitation(the largest core hotspot);machine learning and neural plasticity;robotics and rehabilitation training.(3)Keyword burst analysis showed that deep learning and artificial intelligence had become burst terms in the past five years.(4)The results of in-depth analysis of co cited and highly cited literature showed that the hotspots of artificial intelligence in the field of spinal cord nerve injury and repair were mainly focused on powered exoskeletons,gaits,electrical nerve stimulation,intracortical brain-computer interface(IBCI),robots,and polymer biomaterials,and neural stem cell.(5)The research on artificial intelligence in the field of spinal cord nerve injury and repair has shown an upward trend in recent years.The focus of this field had gradually shifted from single treatment methods such as exoskeletons and electrical stimulation to intelligent,precise,and personalized directions.(6)There were some limitations in this field,such as the consequences of missing or imbalanced data,low data accuracy and reproducibility,and ethical issues(such as privacy,research transparency,and clinical reliability).Future research should address the issue of data collection,requiring large sample,high-quality clinical datasets to establish effective artificial intelligence models.At the same time,the research on genomics and other mechanisms in this field is very weak.In the future,various machine learning technologies such as brain chips can be used,and gene editing therapy,single-cell spatial transcriptome and other methods can be used to study the basic mechanisms of regeneration-related gene upregulation and axon growth structural protein production.
7.Research progress on esophageal stricture after endoscopic mucosal dissection for early esophageal cancer
Yang YANG ; Yingzheng REN ; Junjie AN ; Shuai JIN ; Yonghong DONG
International Journal of Surgery 2025;52(5):342-348
As a common malignant tumor of the digestive tract, esophageal cancer exhibits a high incidence rate globally. Due to its high mortality rate in advanced stages, early prevention of esophageal cancer is particularly important and urgent. Currently, the treatment for early esophageal cancer primarily involves surgical intervention, with Endoscopic mucosal Dissection (ESD) gaining attention for its minimally invasive nature and favorable prognostic outcomes. However, post-ESD esophageal stricture, as a common complication, severely impacts the quality of life of patients after surgery. The current methods for preventing and treating post-ESD stricture are diverse, including but not limited to pharmacological treatments and Endoscopic Balloon Dilation (EBD). Although these methods alleviate symptoms to some extent, they have not achieved ideal efficacy, and thus, there are no unified or clear standards for the prevention of post-ESD esophageal stricture. This review provides a brief overview of the mechanisms of occurrence, risk factors, and prevention and treatment research related to post-ESD esophageal stricture, with the aim of offering guidance and reference for clinical treatment.
8.Research progress of transanal opening of intersphincteric space in the treatment of complex anal fistula
Junjie AN ; Yingzheng REN ; Yang YANG ; Yonghong DONG
International Journal of Surgery 2025;52(5):348-354
Fistula-in-ano is a common anorectal disease that significantly affects patients' physical health due to pain and itching, and may lead to psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression. Complex fistula-in-ano, a more severe and challenging type of this disease, has attracted widespread attention in the medical field. Transanal opening of intersphincteric space(TROPIS), as an innovative surgical treatment, involves the excision of the fistula tract through the intersphincteric approach and the repair of the internal anal sphincter defect, showing a high success rate. Moreover, TROPIS has demonstrated good curative effects and a low incidence of postoperative complications in both short-term and long-term outcomes. Despite this, TROPIS has certain limitations and controversies, including the uncertain wound healing time after surgery. This article reviews the development, technical points, indications, contraindications, and efficacy and safety of TROPIS for the treatment of fistula-in-ano, and compares it with other surgical techniques, hoping to provide a reference for clinical physicians in the treatment of complex fistula-in-ano.
9.Observation on the Clinical Efficacy of Therapy of Resolving Blood Stasis and Tranquilizing Mind for Insomnia with Internal Blockage of Blood Stasis Type
Junjie CHAI ; Junfan WEI ; Yang ZHANG ; Hualu FU ; Sichen LIU ; Zichen OUYANG ; Jingbao HU
Journal of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;42(2):336-342
Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of therapy of resolving blood stasis and tranquilizing mind in the treatment of insomnia with internal blockage of blood stasis type.Methods A parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted on 88 cases of insomnia patients with internal blockage of blood stasis type who admitted to Bao'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from January 2024 to June 2024.The patients were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group,with 44 cases in each group.The observation group was treated with the self-made Huayu Anshen Prescription(modified Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction)orally following the therapy of resolving blood stasis and tranquilizing mind,while the control group was treated with Dexzopiclone Tablets orally.The course of treatment for the two groups covered four weeks.The changes in the scores of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome,Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI),Self-Rating Depression Scale(SDS),and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale(SAS)in the two groups before and after treatment were observed,and then the clinical efficacy and medication safety of the patients in the two groups were evaluated.Results(1)After four weeks of treatment,the total effective rate of the observation group was 86.36%(38/44)and that of the control group was 70.45%(31/44),and the intergroup comparison showed that the clinical efficacy of the observation group was significantly superior to that of the control group,the difference being statistically significant(χ2=8.080,P<0.05).(2)After treatment,the scores of TCM syndrome,PSQI,SDS,and SAS of patients in the two groups were all significantly decreased compared with those before treatment(P<0.01),and the decrease in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group,the differences all being statistically significant(P<0.05).(3)During the treatment,there were no obvious adverse reactions occurred in the two groups,with higher safety.Conclusion Therapy of resolving blood stasis and tranquilizing mind for treating insomnia with internal blockage of blood stasis type can effectively alleviate patients'clinical symptoms,improve their sleep quality and relieve depression and anxiety,with stronger clinical efficacy and higher safety.
10.Clinical efficacy of robot-assisted single-position OLIF with lateral plate combined with posterior unilateral fixation for single-segment lumbar spinal stenosis.
Yuekun FANG ; Zhilin YANG ; Haotian LI ; Weizhou WANG ; Hangchuang BI ; Bing WANG ; Junjie DONG ; Jin YANG ; Zhiqiang GONG ; Lingqiang CHEN
Journal of Central South University(Medical Sciences) 2025;50(1):119-129
OBJECTIVES:
Oblique lateral interbody fusion (OLIF) has become a well-established treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) due to its advantages of being minimally invasive, effective, and associated with fewer complications. However, relying solely on lateral fixation provides limited strength and uneven load distribution. Conventional posterior bilateral fixation after OLIF typically requires intraoperative repositioning, increases fluoroscopy frequency, and involves extensive dissection of posterior muscles and soft tissues, resulting in greater trauma, blood loss, and risks of dural tear, nerve root injury, and persistent postoperative low back pain. This study aims to compare the clinical efficacy of robot-assisted single-position OLIF with lateral plating and posterior unilateral fixation, OLIF with lateral fixation alone, and OLIF combined with posterior bilateral fixation for treating single-segment LSS, and to explore how to enhance fixation stability, reduce trauma, and achieve precise minimally invasive outcomes without changing patient positioning.
METHODS:
A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data from patients treated for single-segment LSS between January 2020 and June 2023 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University. Patients were divided into 3 groups: Robot group (robot-assisted single-position OLIF with lateral plate and posterior unilateral fixation, 33 cases), lateral group (OLIF with lateral fixation alone, 52 cases), and combined group (OLIF with posterior bilateral fixation, 45 cases). Surgical time, intraoperative blood loss, fluoroscopy frequency, hospital stay, pedicle screw placement accuracy, and complication rates were recorded. Pain visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and Oswestry disability index (ODI) scores were assessed preoperatively, postoperatively, and at the final follow-up. Radiological evaluations (X-ray, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging) measured interbody disc height (IDH), intervertebral foraminal height (IFH), and cross-sectional area (CSA) of the dural sac. Differences between pre- and postoperative imaging indices were statistically analyzed, and complication rates, fusion rates, and cage subsidence rates were recorded.
RESULTS:
All patients exhibited good positioning of internal fixation devices and cages, with significant symptom relief and no cases of spinal cord injury or symptom worsening. The follow-up time was (15.2±3.6) months. The operation time of the robot group was (70.62±8.99) min, which was longer than that of the lateral group (45.90±6.09) min and shorter than that of the combined group (110.12±8.44) min. The intraoperative blood loss of the robot group was (44.27±6.87) mL, which was more than that of the lateral group (33.58±9.73) mL and less than that of the combined group (79.19±10.35) mL. The number of intraoperative fluoroscopy times of the robot group was (9.49±2.25), which was comparable to that of the lateral group (7.45±2.02) but less than that of the combined group (12.24±4.25). The hospital stay of the robot group was (9.28±2.10) days, which was longer than that of the lateral group (7.95±1.91) days and shorter than that of the combined group (12.49±5.07) days. The screw placement accuracy of the robot group was 98.48%, which was higher than that of the combined group (90.55%). Postoperative and final follow-up VAS and ODI scores were significantly lower than preoperative scores in all 3 groups (all P<0.05), and there were no significant differences in preoperative VAS and ODI scores among the groups (all P>0.05). Radiologically, IDH, IFH, and CSA at the surgical segment were significantly increased postoperatively and at final follow-up compared to preoperatively and at final follow-up compared to preoperative values (all P<0.05), with no significant differences among the groups postoperatively (all P>0.05). Internal fixation remained stable during the follow-up period, and all cages achieved fusion at final follow-up. The intervertebral fusion rate of the robot-assisted group was 93.40%, which was similar to that of the combined group (95.56%) and higher than that of the lateral approach group (90.34%). The complication rate of the robot-assisted group was 6.1%, which was comparable to that of the combined group (8.9%) and lower than that of the lateral approach group (15.4%) (P<0.05). No cases of fixation loosening or breakage were observed throughout the follow-up period.
CONCLUSIONS
Robot-assisted single-position OLIF with lateral plate combined with posterior unilateral fixation effectively achieves indirect decompression and excellent spinal stability without the need for intraoperative repositioning. It provides high pedicle screw accuracy, reduces intraoperative blood loss, fluoroscopy times, and complication rates, offering a fully minimally invasive new treatment option for single-segment LSS.
Humans
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Spinal Stenosis/surgery*
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Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods*
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Lumbar Vertebrae/surgery*
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Spinal Fusion/instrumentation*
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Male
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Female
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Retrospective Studies
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Middle Aged
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Aged
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Treatment Outcome
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Bone Plates
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Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures/methods*
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Adult


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