ObjectiveTo evaluate the effects and safety of the optimized new Shengmai Powder （优化新生脉散方） on exercise tolerance in patients with chronic heart failure （CHF） of qi deficiency， blood stasis， and fluid retention syndrome. MethodsA randomized， double-blind， placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 78 CHF patients with qi deficiency， blood stasis， and fluid retention syndrome were recruited and randomly assigned to a treatment group （39 cases） and a control group （39 cases）. On the basis of conventional western medical therapy， patients in the treatment group additionally received the optimized new Shengmai Powder granules， while the control group was given an oral placebo of optimized new Shengmai Powder granules. Patients in both groups took 30.6 g each time， twice a day， mixed with water for administration， with a total treatment course of 4 weeks. The primary outcomes were 6-minute walk distance （6MWD） and peak oxygen uptake （Peak VO₂） measured by cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Secondary outcomes included New York Heart Association （NYHA） functional classification， B-type natriuretic peptide （BNP） levels， cardiac function indexes including left ventricular ejection fraction （LVEF）， left ventri-cular end-systolic diameter （LVESD） and left ventricular end-diastolic diameter （LVEDD）， Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire （MLHFQ） scores， and scores of four diagnostic information of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. All indicators were assessed once before and after treatment respectively. Safety indicators were evaluated， and adverse events during the trial were recorded. ResultsAll patients in both groups were included in the full ana-lysis set （FAS） and safety set （SS）. Compared with baseline， the 6MWD and Peak VO₂ of cardiopulmonary exercise test in the treatment group significantly increased after treatment， while the MLHFQ scores， serum BNP levels and scores of TCM four diagnostic information significantly decreased， and the NYHA cardiac function grade significantly improved （P＜0.01）. After treatment， the 6MWD and Peak VO₂ of cardiopulmonary exercise test， as well as their changes from baseline in the treatment group were higher than those in the control group； the MLHFQ scores， serum BNP levels and scores of TCM four diagnostic information in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group； and the improvement of NYHA cardiac function grade in the treatment group was superior to that in the control group （P＜0.01）. There was no statistically significant differences in all indicators after treatment in the control group （P＞0.05）. The incidence of adverse events was 5.1% （2/39） in the treatment group and 2.6% （1/39） in the control group， with no statistically significant difference between groups （P＞0.05）. ConclusionOn the basis of conventional western medicine treatment， the addition of the optimized new Shengmai Powder can further improve exercise tolerance， cardiac function and quality of life in patients with CHF of qi deficiency， blood stasis and fluid retention syndrome， and show good safety.

ObjectiveIn the context of the digital transformation of education, this study aims to construct a triadic interactive teaching model for surgical animal surgery in clinical medicine using modern information technology. It explores the effectiveness of different teaching methods in improving students' practical skills, aseptic awareness, and teamwork abilities, providing a reference for the reform of clinical practice education. MethodsA quasi-experimental research design was adopted. A total of 80 students from the eight-year clinical medicine program at Nanjing University were selected, including the Class of 2020 (control group, n=40) and the Class of 2021 (experimental group, n=40). The control group received traditional teaching methods, while the experimental group implemented the "Teacher-Student-AI" triadic interactive teaching model. This model utilized a smart teaching platform for personalized pre-class preparation , as well as data-driven post-class review and feedback throughout the entire teaching process. The "assessment indicators and scoring criteria for the surgical animal surgery course" were used to evaluate teaching effectiveness, with independent samples t-tests used for statistical analysis. ResultsPre-course assessments revealed no statistically significant differences in baseline theoretical knowledge or practical skills between the two groups (P>0.05). Upon completion of the course, the experimental group achieved higher scores than the control group across three key dimensions: practical skills (47.98±1.34 vs 46.92±2.51, P=0.022), aseptic awareness (17.84±1.16 vs 16.94±2.29, P=0.029), and teamwork (16.82±1.44 vs 15.95±1.22, P=0.004). However, no statistically significant difference was observed in the scores for humane care awareness between the two groups (8.24±0.70 vs 8.16±0.53, P=0.589). ConclusionThe AI-based triadic interactive teaching model can, to some extent, address the limitations of traditional surgical animal surgery education. It plays a positive role in enhancing medical students' surgical skills, aseptic awareness, and collaborative abilities. This model facilitates the transition from traditional to personalized teaching and offers a practical framework for the digital reform of clinical practice education.

ObjectiveTo investigate the protective effect of genistein （Gen） on etoposide-induced chondrocyte senescence and its underlying mechanism. MethodsThe C28/I2 cell line was treated with different concentrations of Gen and etoposide， and the cell viability was detected by the CCK-8 assay. The senescence model of C28/I2 chondrocytes was induced by etoposide， with Gen intervention. Senescence-associated β-galactosidase （SA-β-gal） staining was performed to detect the senescence-positive rate and staining characteristics of chondrocytes. The expressions of peroxiredoxin 6 （Prdx6）， cyclin-dependent kinaseto clarify the functional necessity of Prdx6. ResultsCompared with the etoposide group， the C28/I2 chondrocyte viability significantly increased （P<0.01）， the expression ofsenescence-associated proteins p21 and p16 decreased （P<0.01， P<0.05）， the expression of senescence-associated genes p21 and p16 reduced （both P<0.01）， the fluorescence intensity of senescence-associated proteins p21 and p16 was diminished （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the proportion of SA-β-gal-positive cells decreased （P<0.01） in the Gen+etoposide group. Compared with the Control group， the expression of Prdx6 was downregulated in the etoposide group （P<0.05）. Compared with the etoposide group， the expression of Prdx6 was upregulated in the Gen+etoposide group （P<0.01）. Compared with the Control group， the GPx activity significantly decreased in the si-Prdx6 group （P<0.01）. Furthermore， compared with the si-Prdx6 group， the GPx activity increased in the si-Prdx6+Gen group （P<0.05）. Molecular docking results revealed that Gen formed hydrogen bond interactions with the active site of Prdx6. After Prdx6 knockdown， the expression of senescence-associated genes p21 and p16 and the fluorescence intensity of senescence-associated proteins p21 and p16 both increased in the Gen+etoposide+si-Prdx6 group （both P<0.01）. ConclusionGen can inhibit etoposide-induced senescence of C28/I2 chondrocytes by upregulating the expression of Prdx6. This study provides potential drug targets and experimental basis for the prevention and treatment of chondrocyte senescence-related diseases.

Purpose: Due to the preservation of the entire stomach after endoscopic resection, the occurrence of metachronous gastric cancer (MGC) remains a possibility. In this study, we investigated the incidence and risk factors for MGC in patients with early gastric cancer who underwent endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) and successfully eradicatedHelicobacter pylori. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 1,191 patients who underwent ESD and successfully eradicated H. pylori at the Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University. Endoscopic surveillance was performed at 3, 6, and 12 months post-resection, and annually thereafter. MGC was defined as the development of a new cancer at a site other than the primary gastric cancer site, at least 1 year after the initial endoscopic resection. Results: A total of 77 patients were diagnosed with MGC during a median follow-up of 41.5 months. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a 5-year cumulative incidence of MGC of 9.4% after successful H. pylori eradication. Multivariate analysis of the training set using Cox proportional hazards models identified male sex, severe atrophic gastritis, multiple gastric cancers before H. pylori eradication, and smoking history as independent risk factors for MGC.The nomogram exhibited favorable discrimination, with area under the curves of 0.767 and 0.822 in the training set and 0.724 and 0.745 in the testing set at 3 and 5 years, respectively. Conclusions Patients with gastric cancer who undergo endoscopic resection, even after successful H. pylori eradication, should undergo annual and continuous endoscopic surveillance for MGC.

ObjectiveTo investigate the differences in clinicopathological features and prognosis between patients with drug-induced vanishing bile duct syndrome （VBDS） and those with VBDS induced by autoimmune liver disease， and to summarize the key points for clinical differentiation. MethodsA total of 67 patients who were diagnosed with VBDS by liver biopsy in The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University and Wuxi Fifth People’s Hospital from January 2018 to June 2024 were enrolled as subjects， among whom 18 had drug-induced VBDS （D-VBDS group） and 49 had VBDS induced by autoimmune liver disease （A-VBDS group）. Related data were collected， including general information， clinical symptoms and signs， laboratory markers， liver pathomorphological features， and prognosis. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups； the chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. ResultsAmong the 67 VBDS patients， female patients accounted for a higher proportion （80.60%）， and the patients aged 40 — 59 years accounted for 55.22%； there were 18 patients （26.87%） with D-VBDS and 49 patients （73.13%） with A-VBDS. Yellow urine （83.58%） was the most common clinical symptom in VBDS patients， followed by fatigue （64.18%）， poor appetite （64.18%）， jaundice of the sclera （62.69%）， abdominal distension （23.88%）， pruritus （23.88%）， nausea and vomiting （20.90%）， and fever （13.43%）. Compared with the D-VBDS group， the A-VBDS group had a significantly higher degree of plasma cell infiltration and a significantly lower degree of canalicular bile plugs （χ²=14.186， 6.568， both P<0.05）. Compared with the A-VBDS group， the D-VBDS group had significantly higher peak levels of alanine aminotransferase， total bilirubin， direct bilirubin， and indirect bilirubin （Z=-2.546， -2.957， -2.628， -2.772， all P<0.05）. Compared with the D-VBDS group， the patients in the A-VBDS group were more likely to develop liver cirrhosis （χ²=4.682， P=0.030）. ConclusionThe levels of alanine aminotransferase and bilirubin and liver pathomorphological features are objective indicators for differentiating D-VBDS from A-VBDS， and they are of great importance for clarifying diagnosis and determining the degree of liver injury. Patients with A-VBDS are more likely to develop liver cirrhosis.

Intelligent prescription recommendation has become an important research direction in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), offering new opportunities to support clinical decision-making and promote the modernization of TCM practice. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), a variety of computational approaches have been proposed to learn prescription patterns from clinical data and generate personalized treatment recommendations. However, despite increasing research activity, systematic and comprehensive reviews of AI-driven methods for TCM prescription recommendation remain limited. In this study, we present a comprehensive review of computational approaches for herbal prescription recommendation (HPR) in TCM. Existing methods are systematically categorized into several major paradigms, including traditional machine learning methods, topic model methods, sequential generative methods, deep learning and graph-based methods, and large language model–based frameworks. In addition to summarizing methodological developments, we also review commonly used public datasets and evaluation metrics in this field. Furthermore, representative models with publicly available implementations are experimentally evaluated on multiple benchmark datasets to provide a comparative analysis of their performance on the HPR task. Finally, we discuss the key challenges that hinder the practical deployment of intelligent prescription recommendation systems, including data heterogeneity, limited interpretability, and insufficient integration of TCM domain knowledge. Future research directions are outlined to facilitate the development of more reliable, interpretable, and clinically applicable AI-assisted HPR systems for TCM.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects and mechanisms of pulchinenoside A （PSA） on tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） -induced abnormal proliferation， migration， and invasion of synovial fibroblasts. MethodsA synovitis model was established by stimulating SW982 synovial cells with TNF-α. The low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 （LRP1） was knocked down using LRP1-specific siRNA or inhibited by the receptor-associated protein （RAP）. Cells were treated with various concentrations of PSA， and cell viability was assessed by CCK-8 assay. Protein levels of LRP1， matrix metalloproteinase-3 （MMP3）， and N-cadherin were measured by Western blotting. Proliferation was evaluated using an EdU incorporation assay. Migration and invasion capacities were examined by Transwell and wound-healing assays. mRNA expression of LRP1， MMP3， N-cadherin， IL-1β， IL-6， and TNF-α was detected by reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR （RT-qPCR）. Immunofluorescence staining was used to visualize the expression of MMP3 and N-cadherin. The involvement of LRP1 was further verified with the inhibitor RAP. ResultsCompared with the TNF-α-treated model group， PSA treatment significantly reduced SW982 cell viability （P<0.05）， downregulated MMP3 and N-cadherin expression （both P<0.01）， and decreased the proportion of EdU-positive cells （P<0.05）. Moreover， TNF-α stimulation upregulated LRP1 expression compared with normal controls （P<0.01）， whereas PSA treatment reversed this increase （P<0.05）. LRP1 knockdown or inhibition markedly decreased MMP3 and N-cadherin levels compared with the model group （both P<0.01）. Similarly， the combination of PSA and RAP led to significant reductions in MMP3 and N-cadherin expression compared with the model group （both P<0.01）. ConclusionPSA inhibits TNF-α-induced abnormal proliferation， migration， and invasion of synovial， at least in part， by downregulating LRP1 expression.

Objective: To investigate the associations of sleep quality and weight stigma with depressive mood among college students, so as to provide evidence for mental health promotion in higher education institutions. Methods: From September to November 2024, a stratified cluster random sampling method was used to survey 4 524 undergraduate students from the first to third year in comprehensive universities across various cities in Inner Mongolia. The χ 2 test was used to compare the detection rates of poor sleep quality, experiences of weight stigma, and depressive mood among students with different characteristics, and multivariate Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the independent and combined associations between sleep quality, the number of types of weight stigma experienced, and depressive mood. Results: Among students, the detection rate of poor sleep quality was 21.60%; those with experiences of weight stigma had a detection rate of 11.52%; those with depressive mood had a detection rate of 9.46%. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that, compared with those who had good sleep quality, individuals with poor sleep quality were more likely to experience depressive mood [ OR (95% CI )=2.99(2.41- 3.71 )]; compared with those who had no experience of weight stigma, individuals who experienced ≥2 types of weight stigma were more likely to experience depressive mood [ OR (95% CI )=4.51(2.82-7.22)] (both P <0.01). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis, with "good sleep quality and no weight stigma experience" as the reference group, showed that all other joint groups had a higher likelihood of developing depressive mood, with the highest likelihood observed among students who had poor sleep quality and had experienced ≥2 types of weight stigma [ OR (95% CI )=14.21(6.95-29.06), P <0.01]. Conclusions Poor sleep quality and a greater number of weight stigma types are both associated with depressive mood among college students. Mental health programs in higher education institutions should simultaneously address students sleep problems and weight related adverse experiences, and implement comprehensive interventions.

Sleep is an instinctive behavior alternating awakening state, sleep entails many active processes occurring at the cellular, circuit and organismal levels. The function of sleep is to restore cellular energy, enhance immunity, promote growth and development, consolidate learning and memory to ensure normal life activities. However, with the increasing of social pressure involved in work and life, the incidence of sleep disorders (SD) is increasing year by year. In the short term, sleep disorders lead to impaired memory and attention; in the longer term, it produces neurological dysfunction or even death. There are many ways to directly or indirectly contribute to sleep disorder and keep the hormones, including pharmacological alternative treatments, light therapy and stimulus control therapy. Exercise is also an effective and healthy therapeutic strategy for improving sleep. The intensities, time periods, and different types of exercise have different health benefits for sleep, which can be found through indicators such as sleep quality, sleep efficiency and total sleep time. So it is more and more important to analyze the mechanism and find effective regulation targets during sleep disorder through exercise. Dopamine (DA) is an important neurotransmitter in the nervous system, which not only participates in action initiation, movement regulation and emotion regulation, but also plays a key role in the steady-state remodeling of sleep-awakening state transition. Appreciable evidence shows that sleep disorder on humans and rodents evokes anomalies in the dopaminergic signaling, which are also implicated in the development of psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia or substance abuse. Experiments have shown that DA in different neural pathways plays different regulatory roles in sleep behavior, we found that increasing evidence from rodent studies revealed a role for ventral tegmental area DA neurons in regulating sleep-wake patterns. DA signal transduction and neurotransmitter release patterns have complex interactions with behavioral regulation. In addition, experiments have shown that exercise causes changes in DA homeostasis in the brain, which may regulate sleep through different mechanisms, including cAMP response element binding protein signal transduction, changes in the circadian rhythm of biological clock genes, and interactions with endogenous substances such as adenosine, which affect neuronal structure and play a neuroprotective role. This review aims to introduce the regulatory effects of exercise on sleep disorder, especially the regulatory mechanism of DA in this process. The analysis of intracerebral DA signals also requires support from neurophysiological and chemical techniques. Our laboratory has established and developed an in vivo brain neurochemical analysis platform, which provides support for future research on the regulation of sleep-wake cycles by movement. We hope it can provide theoretical reference for the formulation of exercise prescription for clinical sleep disorder and give some advice to the combined intervention of drugs and exercise.

Objective:To establish ferroptosis-related risk characteristics, to evaluate the prognostic correlation of ferroptosis-related genes in hepatocellular carcinoma, and to explore the complex relationship between hepatocellular carcinoma, ferroptosis and immune microenvironment.Methods:The bioinformatics analysis involved obtaining ferroptosis-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the GeneCards database and the cancer genome atlas database. The biological functions of ferroptosis-related DEGs were analyzed using gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway enrichment. Ferroptosis-related DEGs clusters were identified using univariate Cox regression analysis and cluster analysis, etc. The correlation between ferroptosis-related DEGs clusters and tumor immune microenvironment and tumor occurrence score was evaluated using immunopanoramic analysis and tumor-related score analysis. Based on ferroptosis-related characteristics, a ferroptosis-related characteristic spectrum and nomogram were constructed using multivariate Cox regression and correlation analysis, etc. The correlation between the risk characteristics and tumor immune microenvironment, tumor occurrence score and gene mutation were evaluated using immune panoramic analysis, tumor-related score analysis and gene mutation analysis. In the experimental verification stage, the mRNA expression levels of aurora kinase A ( Aurka), acetyl-CoA carboxylase alpha ( Acaca) and arrestin domain containing 3 ( Arrdc3) in mouse primary hepatocytes and mouse hepatoma Hepa1-6 cells were verified by real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-qPCR). The mRNA expression levels of AURKA, ACACA and ARRDC3 in adjacent normal tissues and tumor tissues of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were verified by RT-qPCR. A heat map was used to show the correlation between clustering and clinical parameters, and this was analyzed using a chi-square test. Significance analysis was performed using a two-sided unpaired t test. Results:A total of 35 up-regulated genes and 19 down-regulated genes were identified. These genes were mainly involved in biological processes and signaling pathways related to ferroptosis, oxidative stress and fatty acid metabolism. A total of 14 ferroptosis-related DEGs were identified to be associated with prognosis. The clusterring effect was best when hepatocellular carcinoma patients were divided into two subgroups. The survival rate of cluster 2 was lower than that of cluster 1 ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score between cluster 2 and cluster 1 ( P=0.43). Cluster 1 exhibited higher levels of immune cell infiltration, particularly CD4 + T cells ( P<0.01). The expression levels of 10 major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule-related genes were higher in cluster 1. The angiogenesis activity score ( P=0.048) and stemness score ( P=0.038) of cluster 2 were increased, and the expression levels of programmed death-1 ( PDCD1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 ( CTLA-4) in cluster 2 (5.924±0.013 and 5.475±0.042) were higher than those in cluster 1 (4.539±0.143 and 4.372±0.176) (both P<0.05). The expression levels of AURKA, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenease ( G6PD), ACACA, GABA type A receptor associated protein like 1 ( GABARAPL1) and ARRDC3 were correlated with the T stage, clinical stage and survival status of hepatocellular carcinoma. The survival rate of the high-risk group was lower than that of the low-risk group with time ( P<0.01). The area under the curve of the risk characteristics at 1, 3 and 5 years was 0.797, 0.717 and 0.639, respectively. The actual survival time 1, 3, and 5 years was highly consistent with the corresponding predicted survival time. The levels of memory B cell infiltration, angiogenesis activity score and cell stemness score, programmed death-ligand 1, CTLA-4, hepatitis A virus cell receptor 2, lymphocyte activation gene 3 and PDCD1 gene expression (0.013 8±0.036 0, 0.884±0.212, 0.387±0.135, 6.273±0.228, 5.847±0.331, 8.179±0.259, 6.859±0.263 and 5.142±0.326) in the high-risk group were higher than those in the low-risk group (0.001 5±0.021 0, 0.874±0.132, 0.298±0.125, 5.866±0.132, 3.742±0.237, 7.236±0.321, 6.324±0.242 and 4.513±0.211) ( P<0.05, 0.01). The expression levels of MHC molecule-related genes in the high-risk group were also higher than those in the low-risk group ( P<0.05, 0.01), while the infiltration levels of resting mast cells, activated natural killer cells, and resting natural killer cells (0.043 2±0.135 0, 0.032 1±0.143 0 and 0.016 3±0.001 9) and the TIDE score (0.072 0±0.018 0) in the high-risk group were lower than those in the low-risk group (0.054 9±0.023 0, 0.042 7±0.017 0, 0.024 6±0.021 2 and 0.094 0±0.013 5) ( P<0.05, 0.01). The top five genes with the highest mutation frequency in the high-risk group were tumor protein P53 ( TP53, 43%), titin ( TTN, 21%), catenin beta 1 ( CTNNB1, 20%), mucin 16 ( MUC16, 18%) and piccolo presynaptic cytomatrix protein ( PCLO, 11%). The top five genes with the highest mutation frequency in the low-risk group were CTNNB1 (30%), TTN (24%), albumin ( ALB, 16%), MUC16 (15%) and PCLO (11%). The cube protein and PCLO showed the co-occurrence of gene mutations in the high-risk group, while MUC16 and axis 1 protein showed the co-occurrence of gene mutations in the low-risk group. There was no significant difference in tumor mutation burden (TMB) between the high-risk group (1.374±0.026) and the low-risk group (1.303±0.081) ( P=0.073). There was no significant difference in survival time between the high-TMB group (2.3 years) and the low-TMB group (3.8 years) ( P=0.293). The mutation rates of AURKA, G6PD, ACACA, GABARAPL1 and ARRDC3 genes (2.0%, 2.0%, 4.0%, 0.3% and 0.6%) were relatively low. The relative expression levels of Aurka, Acaca and Arrdc3 mRNA in Hepa1-6 cells (13.331±0.000, 6.619±0.000 and 1.209±0.002) were higher than those in mouse primary hepatocytes (1.000±0.000, 1.000±0.000 and 1.000±0.000) (all P<0.01). The relative expression levels of AURKA, ACACA and ARRDC3 mRNA in tumor tissues of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (2.102±0.365, 2.476±0.351 and 11.460±9.189) were higher than those in adjacent normal tissues of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (1.122±0.648, 0.831±0.935 and 0.852±0.171) ( P<0.05, 0.01). Conclusions:This study constructed a prognostic signature comprising five ferroptosis-related genes ( AURKA, G6PD, ACACA, GABARAPL1, and ARRDC3) that is highly correlated with clinical hepatocellular carcinoma data. This study highlights the significance of ferroptosis-related genes as prognostic markers for hepatocellular carcinoma and provides insights into the complex relationship between hepatocellular carcinoma, ferroptosis, and the immune microenvironment.