Gouty arthritis （GA） is an inflammatory disorder caused by monosodium urate （MSU） crystal deposition， accompanied by elevated oxidative stress and aberrant release of inflammatory cytokines， resulting in joint tissue damage and intense pain. Nuclear factor E₂-related factor 2 （Nrf2）， a key transcription factor regulating the antioxidant defence system， exerts cytoprotective effects through dissociation from Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 （Keap1） and activates downstream antioxidant response element （ARE）-mediated pathways. It can upregulate the expression of heme oxygenase-1 （HO-1）， NADH quinone oxidoreductase 1 （NQO1）， superoxide dismutase （SOD）， and glutathione transferase （GST） to preserve redox homeostasis. Moreover， Nrf2 can suppress activation of NOD-like receptor protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammasomes， reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine production and release， modulate nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） transcriptional activity， regulate gut microbiota balance， enhance mitophagy， and inhibit apoptosis， so as to reduce joint inflammation and pain and promote body recovery. This review systematically examined recent advancements in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） for GA prevention and treatment via regulating the Nrf2 signaling pathway. It delineated Nrf2's molecular mechanisms and its role in GA pathogenesis and elucidated how TCM intervenes in multiple pathways including Keap1/Nrf2/ARE， Nrf2/HO-1（NQO1）， and Nrf2/NF-κB/NLRP3 to exert therapeutic effects. The study demonstrated that TCM monomers and compounds effectively counteract oxidative damage， attenuate inflammatory responses， promote autophagy， and inhibit apoptosis via regulating the Nrf2 signaling pathway. These findings not only clarify the scientific basis of TCM in GA treatment but also offer strategic insights for developing novel Nrf2-targeted anti-gout drugs.

The liver has diverse functions such as metabolism， detoxification， and immune defense， and the maintenance of hepatic microenvironment homeostasis is crucial for overall bodily health. The hepatic microenvironment consists of the components such as parenchymal cells， non-parenchymal cells， and non-cellular components. Chronic inflammatory responses induced by various etiological factors may promote the formation and progression of liver fibrosis. During the dynamic progression of liver fibrosis， from the early to advanced stages， various components within the hepatic microenvironment undergo a series of changes， which can promote the malignant progression of liver fibrosis. An in-depth exploration of the mechanisms underlying such changes in each component of the liver fibrosis microenvironment is of great significance for understanding the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis and discovering potential treatment strategies.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of action of Huangqi Chifengtang （HQCFT） on rats with atherosclerosis （AS） by regulating the gut microbiota and their metabolites. MethodsA rat model of AS was induced through high-fat diet feeding and vitamin D₃ injection， and the modeling lasted for 12 weeks. Fifty eight-week-old male SD rats were randomly divided into five groups： A blank group， a model group， a group receiving a low dose of HQCFT at 1.53 g·kg^-1 （HQCFT-L group）， a group receiving a high dose of HQCFT at 3.06 g·kg^-1 （HQCFT-H group）， and a group receiving atorvastatin calcium tablets at 1.8 mg·kg^-1 （Ato group）， with 10 rats in each group. Oral gavage administration started on the day after model establishment， once daily for four weeks. The efficacy of HQCFT was verified using aortic hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and determination of lipid levels and hemorrheology. The real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used for detecting inflammatory factor levels in the aorta， high-throughput sequencing for analyzing the gut microbiota composition in intestinal contents， targeted metabolomics for detecting short-chain fatty acid （SCFA） levels， and non-targeted metabolomics for identifying metabolomic profiles of intestinal contents. ResultsCompared with that in the blank group， the aortic tissue of rats in the model group showed significant AS lesions， including endothelial damage， inflammatory infiltration， and formation of fibrous plaques and calcified foci. Moreover， serum triacylglycerol （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） levels were significantly elevated （P<0.05）， while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） levels were significantly reduced （P<0.05）. Significant increases were observed in whole blood viscosity， plasma viscosity， and the mRNA expression levels of NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 （NLRP3）， Caspase-1， interleukin （IL）-β， IL-6， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in aortic tissue （P<0.05）. Additionally， gut microbiota composition， SCFA levels， and metabolomic profiles were significantly altered. Compared with those in the model group， serum TC， TG， and LDL-C levels， as well as the whole blood viscosity and plasma viscosity， were significantly reduced in all groups treated with HQCFT （P<0.05）. Significant decreases were observed in NLRP3 mRNA expression levels in all groups treated with HQCFT， Caspase-1， IL-β， and IL-6 mRNA expression levels in the HQCFT-H group， and TNF-α mRNA expression levels in the HQCFT-L group （P<0.05）. HQCFT reversed the increase in the F/B ratio and dialled back the decrease in the relative abundance of Blautia and the increase in that of Desulfovibrio. HQCFT promoted the production of acetic acid， valeric acid， and propionic acid. Non-targeted metabolomics identified 39 differential metabolites， which were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways such as arachidonic acid metabolism and primary bile acid biosynthesis. ConclusionThe mechanism by which HQCFT ameliorates AS injury may be related to the improvement of dyslipidemia and body inflammatory responses by altering gut microbiota composition， promoting SCFA production， and regulating the levels of metabolites in intestinal contents.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of action of Huangqi Chifengtang （HQCFT） on rats with atherosclerosis （AS） by regulating the gut microbiota and their metabolites. MethodsA rat model of AS was induced through high-fat diet feeding and vitamin D₃ injection， and the modeling lasted for 12 weeks. Fifty eight-week-old male SD rats were randomly divided into five groups： A blank group， a model group， a group receiving a low dose of HQCFT at 1.53 g·kg^-1 （HQCFT-L group）， a group receiving a high dose of HQCFT at 3.06 g·kg^-1 （HQCFT-H group）， and a group receiving atorvastatin calcium tablets at 1.8 mg·kg^-1 （Ato group）， with 10 rats in each group. Oral gavage administration started on the day after model establishment， once daily for four weeks. The efficacy of HQCFT was verified using aortic hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and determination of lipid levels and hemorrheology. The real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） was used for detecting inflammatory factor levels in the aorta， high-throughput sequencing for analyzing the gut microbiota composition in intestinal contents， targeted metabolomics for detecting short-chain fatty acid （SCFA） levels， and non-targeted metabolomics for identifying metabolomic profiles of intestinal contents. ResultsCompared with that in the blank group， the aortic tissue of rats in the model group showed significant AS lesions， including endothelial damage， inflammatory infiltration， and formation of fibrous plaques and calcified foci. Moreover， serum triacylglycerol （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） levels were significantly elevated （P<0.05）， while high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） levels were significantly reduced （P<0.05）. Significant increases were observed in whole blood viscosity， plasma viscosity， and the mRNA expression levels of NOD-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 （NLRP3）， Caspase-1， interleukin （IL）-β， IL-6， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） in aortic tissue （P<0.05）. Additionally， gut microbiota composition， SCFA levels， and metabolomic profiles were significantly altered. Compared with those in the model group， serum TC， TG， and LDL-C levels， as well as the whole blood viscosity and plasma viscosity， were significantly reduced in all groups treated with HQCFT （P<0.05）. Significant decreases were observed in NLRP3 mRNA expression levels in all groups treated with HQCFT， Caspase-1， IL-β， and IL-6 mRNA expression levels in the HQCFT-H group， and TNF-α mRNA expression levels in the HQCFT-L group （P<0.05）. HQCFT reversed the increase in the F/B ratio and dialled back the decrease in the relative abundance of Blautia and the increase in that of Desulfovibrio. HQCFT promoted the production of acetic acid， valeric acid， and propionic acid. Non-targeted metabolomics identified 39 differential metabolites， which were mainly enriched in metabolic pathways such as arachidonic acid metabolism and primary bile acid biosynthesis. ConclusionThe mechanism by which HQCFT ameliorates AS injury may be related to the improvement of dyslipidemia and body inflammatory responses by altering gut microbiota composition， promoting SCFA production， and regulating the levels of metabolites in intestinal contents.

Objective:To investigate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on delayed extubation of patients with acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (ATAAD).Methods:A total of 400 ATAAD patients who were admitted to our hospital from October 2021 to October 2023 and underwent surgical treatment were selected as the research objects. According to BMI, they were divided into obese group (BMI≥28 kg/m 2, 119 cases) and non-obese group (BMI<28 kg/m 2, 281 cases). The differences of preoperative clinical characteristics, intraoperative and postoperative data between the two groups were compared. Starting from transferring to the ICU and ending with the first successful extubation, The risk factors of postoperative invasive mechanical ventilation time ≥ 48 h in ATAAD patients were analyzed, and the predictive efficacy of related factors for postoperative invasive mechanical ventilation time ≥ 48 h in ATAAD patients was evaluated. Results:Compared with the non-obese group, the proportion of hypertension, diabetes, admission heart rate, admission systolic blood pressure, admission diastolic blood pressure and preoperative white blood cell count in the obese group were significantly increased, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). The cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time, operation time, red blood cell transfusion volume, invasive mechanical ventilation time, secondary operation rate and total hospitalization cost in the obese group were significantly higher than those in the non-obese group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that BMI, cardiopulmonary bypass time, ascending aortic cross-clamp time, operation time, age, hypertension, and red blood cell transfusion were related factors for postoperative invasive mechanical ventilation time ≥48 h in ATAAD patients ( P<0.05). Logistic multivariate regression analysis showed that increased BMI ( OR=1.213, P<0.05) and increased age ( OR=1.020, P<0.05) were independent risk predictors of postoperative invasive mechanical ventilation time≥48 h in ATAAD patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve ( ROC) analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve ( AUC) of BMI for predicting the duration of postoperative invasive mechanical ventilation in ATAAD patients≥48 h was 0.682 ( P<0.05), and the best predictive cut-off value was 25.64 kg/m 2. Conclusion:BMI≥28kg/m 2 increases the difficulty of surgery and the duration of invasive mechanical ventilation in ATAAD patients. BMI has a high predictive value for the duration of invasive mechanical ventilation in ATAAD patients after surgery ≥48 h, and effective intervention measures can be formulated to improve the treatment effect of patients.

Objective:To explore the feature of FOS expression in oxytocin-and vasopressin-positive neurons in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus(PVN)under different status of diabetes mellitus(DM).Methods:Intraperito-neal injection of vehicle or STZ in mice was conducted to establish control or diabetes model.Mechanical sensitivity was evaluated by von Frey filament tests to distinguish diabetic neuropathic pain(DNP)from without-pain group(DWP).The expression of FOS,oxytocin(OXT)-and vasopressin(VP)-positive neurons,as well as their double labeling was detected by immunohistochemical and immunofluorescent staining.Cell counting and comparison were made in groups.Results:FOS expression was easily detected in the PVN in the three groups(Control group,DNP group and DWP group)at 7 days,while that in DWP and DNP groups at 28 days was hardly detectable,with the number being signifi-cantly different from the 7 days group(P＜0.05 or 0.001).Likewise,compared with the control group,immunofluo-rescent signals for VP and OXT staining in the DNP and DWP groups also showed a trend of weakening as the modeling time increased(P＜0.05).The cell counting after double staining for VP or OXT with FOS showed that,in the DWP group at 7 days,the number of VP and FOS double-labeled neurons was 74.33±22.10,accounting for(56.64± 7.52)％of VP-positive cells,whereas the double labeling rate for OXT and FOS was only(10.44±3.14)％.In the DNP group at 7 days,the number of OXT and FOS double-labeled neurons was 51.00±31.80,accounting for(18.50 ±9.51)％of OXT-positive neurons,whereas the double labeling rate for VP and FOS was only(9.34±3.27)％.In contrast to these changes in 7 days group,the expression of FOS decreased sharply in the group of 28 days,thereby al-most no double-labeled neurons.Conclusion:The plasticity changes of oxytocin-and vasopressin-positive neurons in the PVN are different depending on the status of pain and non-pain,and the stage of disease progression.Understanding the changes is of great significance for unravelling the neural mechanism of diabetes and its complications.

Gouty arthritis （GA） is a metabolic disease caused by disorders of purine metabolism and/or abnormal excretion of uric acid in the body. Its pathogenesis is mostly related to dietary structure as well as excessive intake of protein， sugar and fat， and the clinical manifestations are joint redness， swelling， heat and pain， which seriously affect the daily life of patients. Therefore， it is urgent to carry out research on anti-GA drugs. Western drugs for the treatment of GA， such as colchicine， can relieve pain in the short term， but with obvious side effects in long-term treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine has definite efficacy and high safety in the treatment of GA and is more acceptable to patients than western medicine. Modern medical research has concluded that inflammatory factors， oxidative stress， apoptosis and intestinal dysbacteriosis are closely related to the pathogenesis of GA. In-depth research has found that single traditional Chinese medicine and its compounds can regulate Toll-like receptors/myeloid differentiation factor 88 （TLRs/MyD88） signaling pathway， NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 （NLRP3） inflammasome， nuclear transcription factor-κB （NF-κB） and other inflammatory signaling pathways， and further intervene in the downstream cytokines such as interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-2 （IL-2）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ （PPARγ）， nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor-α（IκB-α） and aspartate-specific cysteine protease 1 （Caspase-1） to reduce inflammatory factors and increase anti-inflammatory factors， thereby exerting the anti-GA role. Therefore， this paper summarized and elaborated the experiments of inflammatory response mediated by traditional Chinese medicines and their compounds via regulating inflammatory signaling pathways in recent years， which provides new ideas and theoretical basis for finding more related anti-inflammatory traditional Chinese medicines for the treatment of GA.

Objective: To develop the Daily Stressor Evaluation Questionnaire for Primary School Students and to evaluate the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. Methods: In November 2020, a convenience sampling method was used to conduct semi structured interviews with 10 primary school students in Jiading District, Shanghai. Through literature review, semi structured interviews, and expert consultation, 59 question items were developed, and 138 elementary school students in 2 districts in Shanghai were selected for a pre survey in March 2021, and the formal questionnaire was formed after item screening and parallel analysis. Stratified cluster sampling was used to survey a total of 1 618 fourth and fifth grade students enrolled in five elementary schools in Jiading District, Shanghai from April to May, 2021, to further test the reliability of the questionnaire. Results: The Daily Stressor Evaluation Questionnaire for Primary School Students contained 4 dimensions and 22 items in total. The internal consistency test showed that cronbach α coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.904 and Cronbach α coefficient of each dimension was between 0.689 to 0.803. The Guttman split half reliability was 0.885 and ranged from 0.582 to 0.732 for each dimension. The results of the validation factor analysis showed that the χ 2/df of the questionnaire was less than 4, the root mean square error of approximation was less than 0.08, and the Tueker Lewis index and comparative fit index were above 0.80. The critical value of using the ROC curve to evaluate the questionnaire was 31 points. At this point, the area under the curve was determined to be 0.783, while the sensitivity and specificity were found to be 71.43% and 73.39%, respectively. Additionally, the positive predictive value and negative predictive value were calculated to be 23.26% and 95.79%, respectively. Conclusion The Daily Stressor Evaluation Questionnaire for Primary School Students developed in this study has good reliability and validity and can be used as an assessment tool for evaluating stressors in primary school students.

Objective: To formulate an evaluation scale on daily stressors with good reliability and validity for urban secondary school students, and to provide a tool for psychological stress assessment. Methods: Based on steps of instrument development, a pool of items regarding the daily stressors of junior/senior high school students was constructed by combining existing scales of adolescent life events or stressors, and a preliminary survey was conducted for items analysis and dimension evaluation among 393 middle and high school students in 2 districts of Shanghai. Then confirmatory factor analysis of the scale was conducted among 2 949 students collected by stratified cluster sampling from 11 districts in Shanghai. Results: The final 28 item daily stressors evaluation scale for urban secondary school students, with an overall Cronbach s alpha coefficient of 0.94, consists of 8, 7, 7, and 6 items for the four dimensions of academic stress, physical and psychological stress, interpersonal stress and family stress, respectively. The Guttman s split half reliability was 0.88, and the test retest reliability was 0.68. Total scores of the 28 items reflect general psychological stress level of participants, with higher scores representing higher stress intensity. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the root mean squared error of approximation ( RMSEA ) and the standardized root mean square residual ( SRMR ) were both less than 0.08, while all fit indexes were above 0.8. Conclusion The Daily Stressors Evaluation Scale for Urban Secondary School Students, with good reliability, validity and model goodness of fit, can be applicable for urban secondary school students.

Objective: To study the effect of Musashi-2 ( MSI2 ) overexpression on the imbalance of proliferation and apoptosis of human ovarian granulosa cell line (KGN) induced by dihydrotestosterone (DHT) ． Methods: The gene expression profiles of human ovarian granulosa cells ( GCs) in primary culture were statistically analyzed to screen the differentially expressed genes．pcDNA3. 1-MSI2 eukaryotic expression plasmid was constructed and transiently transfected into the KGN cells，and the overexpression effect of MSI2 was detected by Quantitative Real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) and Western blot．After overexpressing MSI2 in DHT induced KGN cells，MTT colorimetry and Edu staining were used to detect the proliferation of cells in each group，and flow cytometry ( FCM) was further used to detect the apoptosis of cells in each group. Results: The mRNA expression level of MSI2 gradually decreased during the primary culture of human ovarian GCs．And pcDNA3. 1-MSI2 was successfully constructed and transfected into KGN cells to improve the mRNA and protein expression levels of MSI2．Then MTT，EdU and FCM results showed that compared with the blank group，DHT induction could significantly reduce the proliferation rate and increase the apoptosis rate of KGN cells (P ＜0. 05) ．However，after MSI2 overexpression，the proliferation rate of KGN cells increased and the apoptosis rate decreased (P ＜0. 05) ，which were close to the blank group. Conclusion Overexpression of MSI2 can effectively alleviate the imbalance of proliferation and apoptosis of KGN cells induced by DHT，indicating that MSI2 plays an important role in GCs growth and follicle development.