Chronic heart failure （CHF） represents the terminal stage of numerous cardiovascular diseases. According to traditional Chinese medicine theory， the pathogenesis of CHF is characterized by deficiency of the root and excess of the branch. The deficiency of the root mainly stems from insufficiency of heart Qi， while the excess of the branch arises from pathological accumulation of phlegm， blood stasis， and fluid retention. During the occurrence and development of CHF， the disobedience of heart Qi consistently serves as the key to the onset of the disease. As elucidated in Da Lun Chapter of WU Yun Xing in The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic： Plain Questions， "harmony when conforming to qi and illness when going against Qi". This principle describes the relationship between human physiology and nature Qi dynamics. Harmony leads to health， while disobedience leads to illness. The same principle can be applied within the human body， that is， harmony between the zang-fu organs and their Qi leads to health， while disobedience leads to illness. The occurrence of CHF and the relationship between the heart and heart Qi also follow this principle. This study started from this theory， analyzed the relationship between "following or going against Qi" and the occurrence of diseases in the human body， further analyzing the "following" and "going against" between the heart and heart Qi， the pathogenesis of CHF， the corresponding relationship between the heart Qi and modern physiology in the state of "following Qi"， the corresponding situation between the heart Qi and modern pathology in the state of "going against Qi"， and the relationship between "going against Qi" and different stages of CHF. Moreover， it proposed to treat CHF from the perspective of "illness when going against Qi". One is to replenish the insufficiency of heart Qi （tonifying heart Qi and also invigorating the spleen）， and the other is to unblock the channels of heart Qi （resolving phlegm and removing turbidity to unblock the channels， removing blood stasis and dredging collaterals to promote blood circulation， and transforming fluid retention and expelling water to facilitate blood flow）. Meanwhile， the effects of single-herb Chinese medicines and Chinese-medicine compound prescriptions on the myocardium and micro-indexes of the human body under the "tonifying" and "unblocking" methods were analyzed. Through the above-mentioned treatment methods， the nature of heart Qi can finally be restored to "abundant" and "unobstructed"， so that the heart Qi can be harmonized and CHF can be improved. These findings may provide a new way of thinking for the future treatment of CHF.

Atherosclerosis （AS） is the main pathological basis of cardiovascular diseases and seriously threatens human quality of life. Its prevention and treatment urgently need breakthroughs. The inflammatory response， which runs through the physiological and pathological evolution process of AS， is one of the important mechanisms for AS occurrence. Currently， the treatment methods for AS in Western medicine are relatively mature. However， they have adverse reactions such as abnormal liver and kidney function， drug tolerance， target vessel restenosis， and stent thrombosis， which remain the key bottleneck restricting clinical efficacy. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， characterized by multiple components， multiple targets， and multi-pathway synergy， shows unique clinical application potential and efficacy advantages in the intervention of AS. This article reviewed the research progress of TCM in intervening in AS by regulating inflammatory-related signaling pathways， such as nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， Toll-like receptors （TLRs）， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription （JAK/STAT）， in the past five years. It summarized the combined mechanism of action of TCM monomers， TCM pairs， and compound preparations in inhibiting the inflammatory cascade reaction through multiple targets， regulating lipid metabolism disorders， and improving vascular endothelial dysfunction and the imbalance of the microenvironment. It deepened the research on the molecular mechanism of TCM in anti-AS， so as to provide a scientific basis for the clinical transformation application and related theoretical research of TCM in anti-AS.

Chronic heart failure （CHF） represents the terminal stage of numerous cardiovascular diseases. According to traditional Chinese medicine theory， the pathogenesis of CHF is characterized by deficiency of the root and excess of the branch. The deficiency of the root mainly stems from insufficiency of heart Qi， while the excess of the branch arises from pathological accumulation of phlegm， blood stasis， and fluid retention. During the occurrence and development of CHF， the disobedience of heart Qi consistently serves as the key to the onset of the disease. As elucidated in Da Lun Chapter of WU Yun Xing in The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic： Plain Questions， "harmony when conforming to qi and illness when going against Qi". This principle describes the relationship between human physiology and nature Qi dynamics. Harmony leads to health， while disobedience leads to illness. The same principle can be applied within the human body， that is， harmony between the zang-fu organs and their Qi leads to health， while disobedience leads to illness. The occurrence of CHF and the relationship between the heart and heart Qi also follow this principle. This study started from this theory， analyzed the relationship between "following or going against Qi" and the occurrence of diseases in the human body， further analyzing the "following" and "going against" between the heart and heart Qi， the pathogenesis of CHF， the corresponding relationship between the heart Qi and modern physiology in the state of "following Qi"， the corresponding situation between the heart Qi and modern pathology in the state of "going against Qi"， and the relationship between "going against Qi" and different stages of CHF. Moreover， it proposed to treat CHF from the perspective of "illness when going against Qi". One is to replenish the insufficiency of heart Qi （tonifying heart Qi and also invigorating the spleen）， and the other is to unblock the channels of heart Qi （resolving phlegm and removing turbidity to unblock the channels， removing blood stasis and dredging collaterals to promote blood circulation， and transforming fluid retention and expelling water to facilitate blood flow）. Meanwhile， the effects of single-herb Chinese medicines and Chinese-medicine compound prescriptions on the myocardium and micro-indexes of the human body under the "tonifying" and "unblocking" methods were analyzed. Through the above-mentioned treatment methods， the nature of heart Qi can finally be restored to "abundant" and "unobstructed"， so that the heart Qi can be harmonized and CHF can be improved. These findings may provide a new way of thinking for the future treatment of CHF.

Atherosclerosis （AS） is the main pathological basis of cardiovascular diseases and seriously threatens human quality of life. Its prevention and treatment urgently need breakthroughs. The inflammatory response， which runs through the physiological and pathological evolution process of AS， is one of the important mechanisms for AS occurrence. Currently， the treatment methods for AS in Western medicine are relatively mature. However， they have adverse reactions such as abnormal liver and kidney function， drug tolerance， target vessel restenosis， and stent thrombosis， which remain the key bottleneck restricting clinical efficacy. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， characterized by multiple components， multiple targets， and multi-pathway synergy， shows unique clinical application potential and efficacy advantages in the intervention of AS. This article reviewed the research progress of TCM in intervening in AS by regulating inflammatory-related signaling pathways， such as nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， Toll-like receptors （TLRs）， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， and Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription （JAK/STAT）， in the past five years. It summarized the combined mechanism of action of TCM monomers， TCM pairs， and compound preparations in inhibiting the inflammatory cascade reaction through multiple targets， regulating lipid metabolism disorders， and improving vascular endothelial dysfunction and the imbalance of the microenvironment. It deepened the research on the molecular mechanism of TCM in anti-AS， so as to provide a scientific basis for the clinical transformation application and related theoretical research of TCM in anti-AS.

OBJECTIVE To provide reference for rational clinical use of immune checkpoint inhibitor （ICI）. METHODS Electronic medical record information of patients who received ICI treatment from January 1st 2020 to December 31st 2023 at a certain hospital was collected. Patients were divided into thyroid immune-related adverse event （irAE） group （subdivided into clinical hypothyroidism， clinical hyperthyroidism， subclinical hypothyroidism， and subclinical hyperthyroidism subgroups） and non- thyroid irAE group based on whether they experienced immune-induced thyroid irAE. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were employed to analyze the influencing factors of ICI-related thyroid adverse events. RESULTS A total of 382 patients who received ICI treatment were included， with 137 cases in the thyroid irAE group （accounting for 35.9%） and 245 cases in the non-thyroid irAE group （accounting for 64.1%）. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis， following univariate screening， revealed that ICI combined with radiotherapy was positively associated with the occurrence of thyroid irAE [odds ratio （OR）＝2.157， 95% confidence interval （CI） （1.144， 4.066）， P＜0.05]， while lung squamous cell carcinoma was negatively associated with the occurrence of thyroid irAE [OR＝0.600， 95%CI （0.369， 0.975）， P＜0.05]. Among various thyroid irAE， nasopharyngeal malignancy was positively associated with the occurrence of immune-related clinical hyperthyroidism [OR＝4.678， 95%CI （1.149， 19.042）， P＜0.05]； ICI combined with radiotherapy [OR＝2.622， 95%CI （1.227， 5.603）， P＜0.05] and lung adenocarcinoma [OR＝2.013， 95%CI （1.078， 3.759）， P＜0.05] were positively associated with the occurrence of immune-related subclinical hyperthyroidism. Age was negatively associated with the occurrence of immune-related clinical hypothyroidism [OR＝0.944， 95%CI （0.896， 0.995）， P＜0.05]； age [OR＝0.963， 95%CI （0.932， 0.994）， P＜0.05] and ICI combined with chemotherapy [OR＝0.332， 95%CI （0.137， 0.802）， P＜0.05] were negatively associated with the occurrence of immune-related subclinical hypothyroidism. CONCLUSIONS Among patients receiving ICI treatment， younger patients are more prone to thyroid irAE. Patients receiving ICI combined with chemotherapy are less likely to experience subclinical hypothyroidism， while ICI combined with radiotherapy significantly increases the risk of thyroid adverse events.

Objective To compare the mid- and long-term clinical results of mitral valve plasty (MVP) and mitral valve replacement (MVR) in the treatment of functional mitral regurgitation (FMR). Methods Patients with FMR who underwent surgical treatment in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the General Hospital of Northern Theater Command from 2012 to 2021 were collected. The patients who underwent MVP were divided into a MVP group, and those who underwent MVR into a MVR group. The clinical data and mid-term follow-up efficacy of two groups were compared. Results Finally 236 patients were included. There were 100 patients in the MVP group, including 53 males and 47 females, with an average age of (61.80±8.03) years. There were 136 patients in the MVR group, including 72 males and 64 females, with an average age of (61.29±8.97) years. There was no statistical difference in baseline data between the two groups (P＞0.05). There was no statistical difference between the two groups in the extracorporeal circulation time, aortic occlusion time, postoperative hospital and ICU stay, intraoperative blood loss, or hospitalization death (P＞0.05), but the time of mechanical ventilation in the MVP group was significantly shorter than that in the MVR group (P=0.022). The total follow-up rate was 100.0%, the longest follow-up was 10 years, and the average follow-up time was (3.60±2.55) years. There were statistical differences in the left atrial diameter, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, left ventricular end-systolic diameter and cardiac function between the two groups compared with those before surgery (P<0.05). The postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction in the MVP group was statistically higher than that before surgery (P=0.002), but there was no statistical difference in the MVR group before and after surgery (P=0.658). The left atrial diameter in the MVP group was reduced compared with the MVR group (P=0.026). The recurrence rate of mitral regurgitation in the MVP group was higher than that in the MVR group, and the difference was statistically significant (10.0% vs. 1.5%, P=0.003). There were 14 deaths in the MVP group and 19 in the MVR group. The cumulative survival rate (P=0.605) and cardiovascular events-free survival rate (P=0.875) were not statistically significant between the two groups by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Conclusion The safety, and mid- and long-term clinical efficacy of MVP in the treatment of FMR patients are better than MVR, and the left atrial and left ventricular diameters are statistically reduced, and cardiac function is statistically improved. However, the surgeon needs to be well aware of the indications for the MVP procedure to reduce the rate of mitral regurgitation recurrence.

With the continuous development of China's aging society and the prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles, the incidence of cardiovascular disease in China has been increasing in recent years. Among them, atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia disease. In recent years, pulsed field ablation (PFA) has been continuously applied to AF treatment as a novel treatment. This paper first introduces the principle of PFA applied to AF treatment, and introduces the research progress of PFA in different directions, such as the comparison of different ablation methods, the study of physical parameters, the study of ablation area, the study of tissue specificity and clinical research. Then, the clinical prior research of PFA is discussed, including the use of simulation software to obtain the simulation effect of different parameters, the evaluation of ablation effect during animal research, and finally the current AF treatment. Various prior studies and clinical studies are summarized, and suggestions are made for the shortcomings found in the study of AF treatment and the future research direction is prospected.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of action of Kaixinsan in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease （AD） based on network pharmacology， molecular docking， and animal experimental validation. MethodsThe Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform（TCMSP） and the Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine（ETCM） databases were used to obtain the active ingredients and targets of Kaixinsan. GeneCards， Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man（OMIM）， TTD， PharmGKB， and DrugBank databases were used to obtain the relevant targets of AD. The intersection （common targets） of the active ingredient targets of Kaixinsan and the relevant targets of AD was taken， and the network interaction analysis of the common targets was carried out in the STRING database to construct a protein-protein interaction（PPI） network. The CytoNCA plugin within Cytoscape was used to screen out the core targets， and the Metascape platform was used to perform gene ontology（GO） functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes（KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis. The “drug-active ingredient-target” interaction network was constructed with the help of Cytoscape 3.8.2， and AutoDock Vina was used for molecular docking. Scopolamine （SCOP） was utilized for modeling and injected intraperitoneally once daily. Thirty-two male C57/BL6 mice were randomly divided into blank control （CON） group （0.9% NaCl， n=8）， model （SCOP） group （3 mg·kg^-1·d^-1， n=8）， positive control group （3 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 of SCOP+3 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 of Donepezil， n=8）， and Kaixinsan group （3 mg·kg^-1·d^-1 of SCOP+6.5 g·kg^-1·d^-1 of Kaixinsan， n=8）. Mice in each group were administered with 0.9% NaCl， Kaixinsan， or Donepezil by gavage twice a day for 14 days. Morris water maze experiment was used to observe the learning memory ability of mice. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining method was used to observe the pathological changes in the CA1 area of the mouse hippocampus. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was used to determine the serum acetylcholine （ACh） and acetylcholinesterase （AChE） contents of mice. Western blot method was used to detect the protein expression levels of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3（STAT3） and nuclear transcription factor（NF）-κB p65 in the hippocampus of mice. ResultsA total of 73 active ingredients of Kaixinsan were obtained， and 578 potential targets （common targets） of Kaixinsan for the treatment of AD were screened out. Key active ingredients included kaempferol， gijugliflozin， etc.. Potential core targets were STAT3， NF-κB p65， et al. GO functional enrichment analysis obtained 3 124 biological functions， 254 cellular building blocks， and 461 molecular functions. KEGG pathway enrichment obtained 248 pathways， mainly involving cancer-related pathways， TRP pathway， cyclic adenosine monophosphate（cAMP） pathway， and NF-κB pathway. Molecular docking showed that the binding of the key active ingredients to the target targets was more stable. Morris water maze experiment indicated that Kaixinsan could improve the learning memory ability of SCOP-induced mice. HE staining and ELISA results showed that Kaixinsan had an ameliorating effect on central nerve injury in mice. Western blot test indicated that Kaixinsan had a down-regulating effect on the levels of NF-κB p65 phosphorylation and STAT3 phosphorylation in the hippocampal tissue of mice in the SCOP model. ConclusionKaixinsan can improve the cognitive impairment function in SCOP model mice and may reduce hippocampal neuronal damage and thus play a therapeutic role in the treatment of AD by regulating NF-κB p65， STAT3， and other targets involved in the NF-κB signaling pathway.

ObjectiveTo study the chemical constituents of Bidens pilosa and the in vitro antiproliferative activity of some compounds against gastric cancer cells. MethodsThe chemical constituents were isolated and purified by methods such as silica gel column chromatography， preparative thin layer chromatography， medium pressure preparation chromatography， semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） and recrystallization， their structures were identified on the basis of physicochemical properties， spectral data and circular dichroism spectra. Thiazole blue（MTT） assay was used to determine the in vitro inhibitory activityies of some isolated compounds against human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells， and molecular docking was used to predict their potential targets. ResultsTwenty-five compounds were isolated from the petroleum ether fraction of B. pilosa and identified as bidpillignan A（1）， 5α， 8α-epidioxy-（22E， 24R）-ergosta-6， 22-diene-3β-ol（2）， 3β-hydroxysitost-5-en-7-one（3）， （20R）-6β-hydroxystigmasta-4， 22-dien-3-one（4）， 3β-hydroxylstigmasta-5， 22-dien-7-one（5）， （22E， 24S）-24-methyl-5α-choleata-7， 22-diene-3β， 5α， 6β-triol（6）， stigamast-5-ene-3β， 7α-diol（7）， stigmast-5， 22-diene-3β， 7α-diol（8）， 7β-hydroxysitosterol（9）， stigmasterol（10）， artabotrol（11）， cosmosoic acid（12）， ent-4（15）-eudesmene-1β， 6α-diol（13）， clovandiol（14）， 1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde（15）， 6， 7-dimethoxycoumarin（16）， 3'， 4'-dimethoxyquercetin（17）， 8， 8'-bis-（dihydroconiferyl）-diferuloylate（18）， hydroxydihydrobovolide（19）， 2-deacetyl-11β， 13-dihydroxyxanthinin（20）， loliolide（21）， pubescone（22）， （+）-dehydrovomifoliol（23）， 2， 3-dihydroxypropyl palmitate（24） and n-hexadecane acid（25）. Among them， compound 1 was a new compound， compounds 3-9， 11-12， 18-20， 22-23 were first isolated from Bidens genus plants， and compounds 13 and 14 were isolated from this plant for the first time. Compounds 17 and 18 showed good in vitro proliferation inhibitory activities against SGC-7901 cells with the half inhibitory concentrations（IC₅₀） of 3.11， 7.22 μmol·L^-1， respectively. Molecular docking results showed that the potential targets of the two exerting anti-gastric cancer activity might be vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2（VEGFR2） and poly（adenosine diphosphate-ribose） polymerase 7（PARP7）. ConclusionOne new compound， 14 genus first compounds， and 2 species first compounds were isolated from B. pilosa， among which compounds 17 and 18 processed anti-gastric cancer cell proliferation activity in vitro， and the targets may be VEGFR2 and PARP7.

Chronic heart failure （CHF） is the final stage of cardiovascular diseases. It is a complex syndrome， with dyspnea and edema as the main clinical manifestations， and it is characterized by complex disease conditions， difficult cure， and high mortality. Ferroptosis， a new type of programmed cell death， is different from other types of programmed cell death. Ferroptosis is iron-dependent， accompanied by lipid peroxide accumulation and mitochondrial shrinkage， becoming a hot research topic. Studies have confirmed that ferroptosis plays a key role in the occurrence and development of CHF. The regulation of ferroptosis may become a potential target for the treatment of CHF in the future. The theory of Qi deficiency and stagnation refers to the pathological state of original Qi deficiency and abnormal transportation and distribution of Qi， blood， and body fluid， which has guiding significance for revealing the pathogenesis evolution of some chronic diseases. We believe that Qi deficiency and stagnation is a summary of the pathogenesis of ferroptosis in CHF. Deficiency of Qi （heart Qi） is the root cause of CHF， and stagnation （phlegm turbidity and blood stasis） is the branch of this disease. The two influence each other in a vicious circle to promote the development of this disease. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） plays an important role in the treatment of CHF， improving the prognosis and quality of life of CHF patients. This paper explores the correlation between the theory of Qi deficiency and stagnation and the mechanism of ferroptosis in CHF. Furthermore， this paper reviews the mechanism of Chinese medicines and compound prescriptions in preventing and treating CHF by regulating ferroptosis according to the principles of replenishing Qi and dredging to remove stagnation， aiming to provide new ideas and methods for the treatment of CHF with TCM.