The abnormal accumulation of neutrophil extracellular traps （NETs） can promote the initiation and progression of pancreatic cancer， which is considered a potential therapeutic target for this disease. The Miraculous Pivot·Inquiry About Statement （《灵枢·口问》） have recorded the concept of "defensive qi stagnation". Based on the recognition that the function of defensive qi is similar to the immune function of neutrophils， and combining traditional Chinese medicine theory with clinical practice， it is proposed that the abnormal accumulation of NETs may be a pathological product of "defensive qi stagnation"， with the spleen being the critical site of pathology. Further exploring the application strategy of cleaning spleen and restoring defensive qi method in pancreatic cancer treatment， it is proposed to employ three approaches such as dredging method to eliminate spleen stagnation and inhibit pancreatic cancer proliferation， cleaning method to remove spleen dampness and suppress the inflammatory micro-environment， and tonifying method to strengthen Weiqi and to improve the immune microenvironment， which aims to provide new insights for the clinical treatment of pancreatic cancer with traditional Chinese medicine.

AIM: To examine how three distinct central positioning techniques for anterior capsulotomy-pupil center, limbus center, and lens apex-affect intraocular lens(IOL)placement and visual quality following femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery(FLACS).METHODS: A total of 36 patients(72 eyes)with age-related cataracts who underwent FLACS and ZCB00 aspherical IOL implantation at Aier Eye Hospital Medical Center, Anhui Medical University between January and December 2023 were included in this prospective study. Patients were divided into three groups based on the central positioning mode for anterior capsulotomy: pupil center, limbus center, and lens apex center groups. IOL alignment and displacement were evaluated using the Casia2 device, and the postoperative visual quality was assessed.RESULTS: At 1 d postoperatively, the IOL tilt for the pupil, limbus, and apex groups were 3.96°±1.51°, 4.63°±1.87°, and 3.90°±2.24°, respectively(F=1.07, P=0.35); IOL decentration values were 0.21±0.10 mm, 0.23±0.16 mm, and 0.21±0.12 mm, respectively(F=0.14, P=0.87); total higher-order aberrations were 0.32±0.40 μm, 0.56±0.61 μm, and 0.53±0.60 μm, respectively(F=1.38, P=0.26); and coma aberrations values were 0.13±0.10 μm, 0.16±0.15 μm, and 0.14±0.15 μm, respectively(F=0.3, P=0.74). All results obtained postoperative day 1 did not differ significantly. At 3 mo postoperatively, IOL tilt values were 5.42°±2.00°, 3.96°±1.44°, and 3.20°±1.19°, respectively(F=12.40, P<0.001); IOL decentration values were 0.33±0.07 mm, 0.23±0.11 mm, and 0.21±0.11 mm, respectively(F=4.99, P=0.008); total higher-order aberrations were 0.67±0.29 μm, 0.44±0.37 μm, and 0.42±0.19 μm, respectively(F=5.50, P=0.006); and coma aberrations values were 0.21±0.12 μm, 0.19±0.12 μm, and 0.12±0.11 μm, respectively(F=3.87, P=0.03). All results obtained 3 mo postoperatively were statistically significant.CONCLUSION: Using the lens apex as the central positioning mode for anterior capsulotomy in FLACS improves postoperative IOL stability and reduces postoperative IOL tilt and decentration. If the lens apex cannot be determined intraoperatively, the limbus center-positioning mode is recommended.

ObjectiveTo compare the therapeutic effects of carvedilol alone and carvedilol combined with endoscopic variceal ligation （EVL） in the prevention of re-bleeding from gastroesophageal varices， and to provide strategies for clinical treatment. MethodsWe retrospectively included 178 patients who had received carvedilol alone or carvedilol plus EVL to prevent gastroesophageal variceal re-hemorrhage from October 2010 to June 2023. They were divided into carvedilol alone group （47 cases） and carvedilol+EVL group （131 cases）. Between-group comparisons were conducted using the paired t test for normally distributed continuous data， the Mann-Whitney U test for non-normally distributed continuous data， and the chi-square test for categorical data. A Cox proportional hazards model was employed for univariable and multi-variable analyses. The cumulative incidence rates of re-bleeding and mortality were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The baseline characteristics of the two groups were matched through propensity score matching （PSM） to reduce selection bias and enhance the credibility of causal inference. ResultsThe re-bleeding rate of the carvedilol+EVL group was significantly lower than that of the carvedilol alone group （10-year cumulative incidence： 29.8% vs 36.2%， hazard ratio ［HR］=0.505， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 0.292‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.847， P=0.015）. There was no significant difference in liver-related mortality （10-year cumulative incidence： 21.3% vs 21.4%， HR=0.799， 95%CI： 0.406‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.578， P=0.518）. The results were stable with PSM analysis. The Cox regression analysis revealed that creatinine was an independent risk factor affecting re-bleeding （HR=1.004， 95%CI： 1.001‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.008， P=0.011） and liver-related mortality （HR=1.004， 95%CI： 1.001‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.007， P=0.019）. ConclusionCarvedilol combined with EVL is better than carvedilol alone in the prevention of gastroesophageal variceal re-bleeding.

Asia-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver published the guidelines on management of ascites in liver disease in May 2023， which introduces the diagnosis， differential diagnosis， and treatment of ascites， hyponatremia， hepatic hydrothorax， and hepatorenal syndrome in patients with liver cirrhosis and acute-on-chronic liver failure. This article summarizes the main recommendations in the guidelines， so as to provide a reference for the treatment of ascites in patients with liver diseases in China.

Objective To investigate the effects of glutathiones-transferase (GST) T1, GSTM1 and epoxide hydrolase (EPHX1) genes on skin injury in workers exposed to coal tar pitch. Methods Workers from a carbon manufacturing company involved in coal tar pitch production and use were selected as the study subjects using a judgment sampling method. Workers with skin injury after exposed to coal tar were selected as the case group (55 cases), and those with the same workshop and type of work but without skin abnormalities were selected as the control group (197 cases). Urine and blood samples were collected from the workers, and levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites, including 1-pyrenol (1-OH-P), 1-naphthol (1-OH-N) and 2-naphthol (2-OH-N), in urine were measured using ultra high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The GSTT1, GSTM1 and EPHX1 genes in blood were detected by polymerase chain reaction. Results In the case group, all 55 workers reported skin stinging, 25 workers reported itching and flaking, and 15 workers reported blackheads and pigmentation. Urinary levels of 1-OH-N and 2-OH-N were lower in the worker in the case group than that in the control group (all P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the level of 1-OH-P between the two groups (P>0.05). There were significant differences in the number of workers with GSTT1, GSTM1 and EPHX1(His139His) genes between the two groups (all P<0.01). The GSTT1 and GSTM1 genes were positively correlated with post-shift urinary levels of 1-OH-N, 1-OH-P, and 2-OH-N (all P<0.01). The EPHX1 (139Arg locus) gene was positively correlated with post-shift 2-OH-N levels (P=0.03). The GSTT1, GSTM1, and EPHX1 (139Arg locus) genes were associated with reduced skin damage among coal tar workers (all P<0.01), after controlling for age, length of service, gender, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Conclusion Exposure to coal tar pitch can cause skin injury in workers, and the GSTT1, GSTM1, and EPHX1 (139Arg locus) genes are protective factors against skin injury in those workers.

Diabetic nephropathy （DN） is a chronic microvascular complication in diabetic patients and the main cause of end-stage renal disease （ESRD）. Studies have shown that nuclear factor kappa-B （NF-κB） signaling pathway is involved in the pathological process of DN by activating pathological mechanisms such as inflammation， oxidative stress， fibrosis， apoptosis， autophagy， and pyroptosis. Therefore， blocking the transduction of NF-κB signaling pathway can help prevent and treat DN. Currently， western medical treatment involves strategies such as lowering blood sugar， blood pressure， and lipids， as well as using endothelin receptor antagonists， mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists， aldosterone synthase inhibitors， and other drugs， but they still cannot block the pathological process of DN. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） offers a simpler and more cost-effective approach that addresses both the symptoms and underlying causes of DN. Recent research has shown promising results in managing DN with TCM， and NF-κB， as a key factor， plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of DN. This article summarized the research results of TCM based on the NF-κB signaling pathway for the treatment of DN in the past five years. It described a variety of TCM extracts， such as polysaccharides， terpenes， phenols， flavonoids， saponins， and alkaloids， as well as TCM compound prescriptions such as Huaiqihuang granules， Astragalus mongholicus Bunge and Panax notoginseng formula， and Danzhi Jiangtang capsules， which regulated the NF-κB signaling pathway and its upstream and downstream factors to block the pathological process of DN. This inhibition aims to prevent renal pathological damage caused by DN and slow down the deterioration of renal function. The article aims to provide new ideas and references for the research and development of drugs for the prevention and treatment of DN.

Objective To analyze the perioperative outcomes of cardiac valve surgery in patients with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods The perioperative clinical data of patients receiving heart valve replacement in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China from November 2022 to February 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether the patients were infected with SARS-CoV-2, they were divided into a non-infected group and an asymptomatic group. The perioperative data of the patients were compared between the two groups, and the effect of asymptomatic infection on the result of heart valve replacement surgery was analyzed. Results A total of 66 patients were enrolled including 36 males and 30 females with a mean age of 58.0±11.1 years. There were 51 patients in the non-infected group and 15 patients in the asymtomatic group. There were 2 patients of mitral valve replacement, 20 patients of aortic valve replacement, 1 patient of double valve replacement, 3 patients of aortic valve replacement with tricuspid valvoplasty, 22 patients of mitral valve replacement and tricuspid valvoplasty, 18 patients of double valve replacement and tricuspid valvoplasty. Asymptomatic infected patients received more emergency surgery than uninfected patients (26.7% vs. 0.0%, P<0.01). There was no statistical difference in the duration of extracorporeal circulation, aortic occlusion, mechanical ventilation time after the surgery, ICU stay, postoperative drainage volume, or postoperative complications between the two groups. Conclusion Perioperative results of cardiac valve surgery in patients with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and non-infection are almost the same.

Cannabinoid is a kind of special compound in Cannabis sativa L., with a variety of biological activities, which have been widely used in medicine, food, cosmetics, textile, and other industries. However, Cannabis sativa contains the addictive ingredient Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, which also makes the application of Cannabis sativa subject to legal constraints. To prevent the abuse of Cannabis sativa related products and ensure the safety and effectiveness of products, it is very important to establish convenient, efficient, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive analytical methods that can be applied to the cannabinoid components in various matrices. Because of the high structural similarity, the poor stability of cannabinoid structure and the matrix effect in different matrices, the analysis becomes more complicated. At present, there is no unified standard for the quality control of cannabinoids, and there are various analytical methods. Based on the above questions, this paper introduces the classification of cannabinoids, expounds on the analysis methods of cannabinoids in Cannabis sativa plants, biological samples, food, cosmetics, and textiles, and looks forward to the future development direction of cannabinoid analysis methods, to provide useful help for the further development and rational application of Cannabis sativa .

ObjectiveTo retrospectively analyze the clinical efficacy of Xibining Ⅱ prescription in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis with cold-dampness blockage syndrome by oral medication and to explore the influencing factors of endpoint events. MethodA real-world retrospective cohort design was adopted， and medical records of knee osteoarthritis patients with cold-dampness blockage syndrome treated with oral medication from the orthopedics outpatient department of Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine were collected. All patients received conventional Western medicine treatment and were divided into non-exposure group （573 cases） and exposure group （427 cases） according to whether or not they received treatment with Xibining Ⅱ prescription. Descriptive analysis of the baseline data of the 1 000 screened cases was performed using IBM SPSS 27.0. According to the baseline data， 334 pairs were matched using the propensity score matching method， resulting in a total of 668 cases in both groups. The changes in visual analogous scale （VAS）， Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index （WOMAC） total score， Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure （JKOM） score， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score before treatment and at 2， 6， 12 weeks after treatment， as well as the incidence of adverse reactions， were compared between the two groups. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the influencing factors of endpoint events， with clinical cure judged based on the improvement rate of WOMAC total score before and after treatment. ResultAfter 12 weeks of treatment， compared to the results before treatment， the VAS， WOMAC total score， JKOM score， and TCM syndrome score of patients in both groups significantly decreased （P<0.01）. Compared to the non-exposure group， the exposure group showed a more significant reduction in VAS， WOMAC total score， JKOM score， and TCM syndrome score （P<0.01）. After 12 weeks of treatment， the clinical cure rate and significant efficiency were higher in the exposure group than in the non-exposure group （P<0.05）. Compared to the results before treatment within each group， VAS， WOMAC pain， stiffness， function scores， JKOM score， and TCM syndrome score significantly decreased at 2， 6， 12 weeks after treatment in both groups （P<0.01）. Compared to the non-exposure group at the same time points， the exposure group showed a reduction in VAS at 2， 12 weeks， WOMAC pain at 6， 12 weeks， and function scores at 12 weeks （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The JKOM score decreased at 6， 12 weeks， and the TCM syndrome score significantly decreased at 2， 6， 12 weeks in the exposure group （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Multivariate logistic regression analysis at 12 weeks showed that factors affecting clinical cure included the course of disease， history of alcohol consumption， hypertension， coronary heart disease， and the use of Xibining Ⅱ prescription （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared to the non-exposure group at the same time points， the incidence of epigastric discomfort in the exposure group was lower at 2， 12 weeks （P<0.01）， the incidence of diarrhea and vomiting was slightly higher than that in the non-exposure group， but the difference was not statistically significant. ConclusionThe clinical application of Xibining Ⅱ prescription combined with conventional Western medicine treatment in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis with cold-dampness blockage syndrome is more effective than conventional Western medicine treatment alone. It can significantly reduce VAS， WOMAC total score， JKOM score， and TCM syndrome score， with more pronounced long-term effects and a low incidence of adverse reactions.

Objective:To explore the application of C-reactive protein(CRP) to prealbumin (PA) ratio(CRP/PA) for diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of sepsis.Methods:By a retrospective study, a total of 95 sepsis patients (sepsis group) and 100 local infection patients(non-sepsis group) treated in Dongying People′s Hospital from September 2021 to September 2022 were enrolled. Sepsis patients were divided into survival group(57 cases) and death group (38 cases) according to the 28-day outcome. The clinical data were collected and CRP/PA was calculated. Multivariate Logistic regression and Cox regression were used to analyze the relationship between various indicators and the occurrence and prognosis of sepsis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of CRP/PA for sepsis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to evaluate the prognostic value of different CRP/PA ratios for patients with sepsis.Results:The systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, prealbumin were lower and heart rate, respiratory rate, CRP, CRP/PA, procalcitonin were higher in the sepsis group compared to the non-sepsis group: (117.27 ± 11.65) mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa) vs. (123.26 ± 10.71) mmHg, (69.42 ± 8.58) mmHg vs. (75.44 ± 6.53) mmHg, (174.09 ± 24.77) g/L vs. (207.13 ± 34.31) g/L, (97.87 ± 12.73) bpm vs. (86.90 ± 10.19) bpm, 22.0(20.00, 25.00) times/min vs. 21.00(19.00, 23.00) times/min, (93.96 ± 19.64) mg/L vs. (77.56 ± 22.54) mg/L, 0.54(0.44, 0.65) vs. 0.37(0.28, 0.46), 3.35(2.16, 4.17) μg/L vs. 1.52(0.81, 2.16) μg/L, there were statistical differences ( P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that CRP/PA and procalcitonin were risk factors for sepsis ( P<0.05). The results of ROC curve showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of CRP/PA in diagnosis of sepsis was 0.821, the specificity and sensitivity was 76.0% and 93.7%, respectively. The diastolic blood pressure, prealbumin, neutrophil were higher and the heart rate, respiratory rate, CRP, CRP/PA, lymphocytes, procalcitonin were lower in the survival group compared to the death group: (71.76 ± 8.86) mmHg vs. (67.86 ± 8.10) mmHg, (181.46 ± 24.35) g/L vs. (163.05 ± 21.28) g/L, (63.46 ± 9.88) × 10 9/L vs.(57.13 ± 8.64) × 10 9/L, (95.68 ± 13.48) times/min vs. (101.16 ± 10.88) times/min, 22.00(19.50, 24.00) times/min vs. 24.00(20.00, 28.00) times/min, (88.09 ± 19.35) mg/L vs. (102.76 ± 16.75) mg/L, 0.46(0.41, 0.58) vs. 0.63(0.55, 0.72), 21.00(16.00, 30.00) ×10 9/L vs. 29.50(18.00, 37.30) ×10 9/L, 2.94(2.10, 3.97) μg/L vs. 3.82(2.21, 4.77) μg/L, there were statistical differences ( P<0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that CRP/PA and procalcitonin were independent risk factors for the prognosis of sepsis ( P<0.05). The AUC of CRP/PA in predicting the prognosis of sepsis was 0.827, the specificity and sensitivity was 92.1% and 63.8%, respectively. Grouped by the cut-off of CRP/PA (0.48), the 28-day mortality rate of patients in the CRP/PA>0.48 was significantly higher than that of patients in the CRP/PA≤0.48, there was statistical difference ( P<0.01). Conclusions:CRP/PA ratio can be used as an index for diagnosis and prognosis evaluation of sepsis.