Objective To explore the action mechanism of dehydrocostus lactone(DHL)on renal interstitial fibrosis(RIF)in rats with unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO).Methods Forty-four male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups:the sham surgery group(Sham group),the pure drug intervention group(Sham+DHL group),the experimental group(UUO+Vehicle group)and the DHL treatment group(UUO+DHL group),with 11 rats in each group.The rats underwent sham surgery,sham surgery+DHL[10 mg/(kg·d)],UUO modeling+the same volume of solvent and UUO modeling+DHL[10 mg/(kg·d)],respectively.After surgery,DHL or the same volume of solvent was administered by gavage for 14 days starting from day 2 post-surgery.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)and Masson staining were used to observe the pathological changes in renal tissue.Immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect the expression levels of collagen I,collagen III and α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA).Western blotting was used to detect the protein levels of the transforming growth factor(TGF)-β1/Smad2/3 pathway.Results Compared with the UUO+Vehicle group,DHL treatment alleviated renal interstitial pathological damage,reduced collagen fiber deposition,and decreased the expression of collagen I,collagen III and α-SMA.It also inhibited the expression of TGF-β1 and Smad2/3 proteins.Conclusions DHL mitigates RIF in rats by inhibiting the TGF-β1/Smad2/3 pathway,providing a new strategy for the treatment of chronic kidney disease.

Objective To explore the action mechanism of dehydrocostus lactone(DHL)on renal interstitial fibrosis(RIF)in rats with unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO).Methods Forty-four male SD rats were randomly divided into four groups:the sham surgery group(Sham group),the pure drug intervention group(Sham+DHL group),the experimental group(UUO+Vehicle group)and the DHL treatment group(UUO+DHL group),with 11 rats in each group.The rats underwent sham surgery,sham surgery+DHL[10 mg/(kg·d)],UUO modeling+the same volume of solvent and UUO modeling+DHL[10 mg/(kg·d)],respectively.After surgery,DHL or the same volume of solvent was administered by gavage for 14 days starting from day 2 post-surgery.Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)and Masson staining were used to observe the pathological changes in renal tissue.Immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect the expression levels of collagen I,collagen III and α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA).Western blotting was used to detect the protein levels of the transforming growth factor(TGF)-β1/Smad2/3 pathway.Results Compared with the UUO+Vehicle group,DHL treatment alleviated renal interstitial pathological damage,reduced collagen fiber deposition,and decreased the expression of collagen I,collagen III and α-SMA.It also inhibited the expression of TGF-β1 and Smad2/3 proteins.Conclusions DHL mitigates RIF in rats by inhibiting the TGF-β1/Smad2/3 pathway,providing a new strategy for the treatment of chronic kidney disease.

Objective     To explore the timing and safety of limited-period lung cancer surgery in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Methods     Clinical data of of patients infected with COVID-19 undergoing lung cancer surgery (an observation group) in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, the Department of Thoracic Surgery of General Hospital of Southern Theater Command of PLA, and the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Pharmaceutical University from December 2022 to January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed and compared with patients who underwent surgery during the same period but were not infected with COVID-19 (a control group), to explore the impact of COVID-19 infection on lung cancer surgery. Results     We finally included 110 patients with 73 patients in the observation group (28 males and 45 females at age of 52.62±12.80 years) and 37 patients in the control group (22 males and 15 females at age of 56.84±11.14 years). The average operation time of the observation group was longer than that of the control group, and the incidence of anhelation was higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). There were no statistcal differences in blood loss, length of hospital stay, moderate or above fever rate, degree of cough and chest pain, or blood routine between the two groups. Conclusion    It is safe and feasible to perform lung cancer surgery early after recovery for COVID-19 patients with lung cancer.

Background Heavy metal pollution in cultivated land will affect crop yield and quality, as well as groundwater quality, ecological security, and human health. Objective To analyze the pollution status of heavy metal elements such as chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) in cultivated soils of the Donghe River Basin in Chenzhou City, and to evaluate the environmental quality of local cultivated soil. Methods A total of 16 samples of cultivated soil from the Donghe River Basin in Chenzhou City were collected, and the contents of Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb in the samples were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The Nemerow comprehensive pollution index method (the evaluation indicators included both Nemerow comprehensive pollution index and single pollution index), the geological accumulation index method, and the potential ecological risk index method were used to evaluate the soil environmental quality. Results The average levels of Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb in the soil samples in the study area were 58.25, 49.50, 273.88, 137.76, 2.92, and 672.29 mg·kg⁻¹, respectively. The average values of Cu, Zn, As, Cd, and Pb were all exceeded the background values of soil elements in Hunan Province. The single pollution indices of As, Cd, Pb, and Zn in soil were 4.40, 9.74, 5.85, and 1.15 respectively. The contamination of As and Pb reached 93.75% and 81.25% respectively. The geological accumulation indices of soil As, Cd, Pb, and Zn were 2.11, 3.71, 2.97, and 0.58, respectively, which showed heavy Cd pollution, moderate As and Pb pollution, and slight Zn pollution. The potential ecological hazard indices of soil Cr, Cu, Zn, As, Pb, and Cd were 1.63, 9.07, 2.90, 87.75, 113.18, and 695.76. 81.Twenty five percent of Cd samples showed heavy pollution and above, and 62.50% of Pb samples had moderate pollution and above. The Nemerow comprehensive pollution index was 7.72, which belonged to heavy pollution; and the comprehensive potential ecological risk index was 910.29, which belonged to high ecological risk. Conclusion There are certain differences in the results of different evaluation methods. The cultivated soils of the Donghe River Basin in Chenzhou City, is seriously polluted by heavy metals, and Cd, As, and Pb are the main polluting elements.