The preferred treatment for adrenal functional tumors is laparoscopic surgical resection. However, in recent years, various ablation techniques have gradually been applied in the treatment of adrenal tumors. This report presents the successful diagnosis and treatment experience of 4 aldosterone-producing adenomas and 1 cortisol-secreting adenoma treated with a combined cold and hot ablation system at Xi’an Daxing Hospital from Dec. 2023 to Dec. 2024, providing a new treatment approach for clinical exploration.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of radiotherapy in patients with advanced esophageal cancer receiving first-line chemoimmunotherapy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 137 patients with Stage Ⅳ esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated at our hospital from January 2018 to May 2023. These patients were divided into two groups: a group treated with first-line chemoimmunotherapy combined with radiotherapy (chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group, n = 43) and a group treated with only chemoimmunotherapy ( n = 94). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to balance baseline characteristics between the groups. With overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as study endpoints, the survival data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test, and the Cox regression method. Results:Before calibration, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group significantly outperformed the sole chemoimmunotherapy group in median PFS (13.6 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.501, 95% CI: 0.309-0.811, P = 0.005). After calibration using the COX proportional-hazards model for age, gender, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, smoking history, T/N/M stage, and tumor location, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group still had significant advantages in PFS (14.7 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.441, 95% CI: 0.261-0.745, P = 0.002). IPTW analysis further confirmed this trend (13.9 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.492, 95% CI: 0.304-0.795, P < 0.001). Specifically, the median OS of the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group demonstrated significant improvement in all analyses: pre-calibration (29.5 months vs. 18.0 months; HR: 0.507, 95% CI: 0.297-0.867, P = 0.013), after calibration using the Cox model (27.5 months vs. 16.7 months; HR: 0.470, 95% CI: 0.266-0.830, P = 0.009), and after calibration using IPTW (29.5 months vs. 16.9 months; HR: 0.448, 95% CI: 0.262-0.764, P < 0.001). Conclusions:The combination of radiotherapy and first-line chemoimmunotherapy can significantly improve survival outcomes of patients with advanced ESCC, suggesting its potential as a standard treatment strategy.

AIM: To evaluate the application effectiveness of the 3D surgical video system and intraoperative optical coherence tomography(OCT)in idiopathic epiretinal membrane vitrectomy.METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 61 patients(61 eyes)with idiopathic epiretinal membrane at our hospital from January 2023 to October 2023. The patients were divided into two groups based on the surgical methods: with 31 patients(31 eyes)who underwent surgery using the 3D surgical video system and intraoperative OCT technology in 3D group, and 30 patients(30 eyes)underwent surgery using the Resight non-contact wide-angle lens system in traditional surgery group. Surgical time, membrane peeling time were recorded, followed-up for 6 mo, post-operative best-corrected visual acuity(BCVA), intraocular pressure(IOP), central macular thickness(CMT), and complications were analyzed for the two groups.RESULTS:All patients successfully underwent surgery without experiencing serious intraoperative complications such as major retinal hemorrhage, retinal tears, or retinal detachment. Additionally, no postoperative complications such as endophthalmitis or secondary glaucoma occurred. The surgical duration and membrane peeling time in the 3D group were significantly shorter than those in the traditional surgery group(20.13±1.59 vs 25.97±2.09 min; 3.74±0.89 vs 8.13±1.72 min, respectively; both P<0.001). There were no significant differences in BCVA and CMT between preoperative and 1-month postoperative values for both groups of patients(both P>0.008). However, both BCVA and CMT improved significantly at 3 and 6 mo postoperatively compared to preoperative levels(both P<0.008). At 6 mo postoperatively, the BCVA in the 3D group was significantly better than that in the traditional surgery group(P=0.007). There were no significant differences in CMT or IOP between the two groups at any postoperative time point(all P>0.05).CONCLUSION: Both the 3D surgical video system and the traditional surgical group can treat idiopathic epiretinal membrane, but the 3D surgical video system has advantages in shortening the surgical time, improving surgical efficiency, and enhancing the precision of surgical steps during surgery with the assistance of intraoperative OCT.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of radiotherapy in patients with advanced esophageal cancer receiving first-line chemoimmunotherapy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 137 patients with Stage Ⅳ esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated at our hospital from January 2018 to May 2023. These patients were divided into two groups: a group treated with first-line chemoimmunotherapy combined with radiotherapy (chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group, n = 43) and a group treated with only chemoimmunotherapy ( n = 94). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to balance baseline characteristics between the groups. With overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as study endpoints, the survival data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test, and the Cox regression method. Results:Before calibration, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group significantly outperformed the sole chemoimmunotherapy group in median PFS (13.6 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.501, 95% CI: 0.309-0.811, P = 0.005). After calibration using the COX proportional-hazards model for age, gender, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, smoking history, T/N/M stage, and tumor location, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group still had significant advantages in PFS (14.7 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.441, 95% CI: 0.261-0.745, P = 0.002). IPTW analysis further confirmed this trend (13.9 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.492, 95% CI: 0.304-0.795, P < 0.001). Specifically, the median OS of the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group demonstrated significant improvement in all analyses: pre-calibration (29.5 months vs. 18.0 months; HR: 0.507, 95% CI: 0.297-0.867, P = 0.013), after calibration using the Cox model (27.5 months vs. 16.7 months; HR: 0.470, 95% CI: 0.266-0.830, P = 0.009), and after calibration using IPTW (29.5 months vs. 16.9 months; HR: 0.448, 95% CI: 0.262-0.764, P < 0.001). Conclusions:The combination of radiotherapy and first-line chemoimmunotherapy can significantly improve survival outcomes of patients with advanced ESCC, suggesting its potential as a standard treatment strategy.

The preferred treatment for adrenal functional tumors is laparoscopic surgical resection. However, in recent years, various ablation techniques have gradually been applied in the treatment of adrenal tumors. This report presents the successful diagnosis and treatment experience of 4 aldosterone-producing adenomas and 1 cortisol-secreting adenoma treated with a combined cold and hot ablation system at Xi’an Daxing Hospital from Dec. 2023 to Dec. 2024, providing a new treatment approach for clinical exploration.

Objective:To investigate the prevalence of cataracts, the surgical coverage, and postoperative visual acuity of adults in Ningxia.Methods:A cross-sectional study using multistage cluster random sampling was conducted.Ten survey sites in Ningxia were selected and the population aged 18 years and over was surveyed with questionnaire, height and weight measurements, visual acuity, intraocular pressure, fundus photography and slit-lamp examinations.Cataract prevalence and its influencing factors were analyzed.Cataract prevalence, surgical coverage and presenting visual acuity (PVA) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) after surgery were investigated in different age groups of the examined population.The study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of the People's Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (No.[2023]-LL-010).Participants signed informed consent prior to the examination.Results:A total of 6 145 people should be examined, and 5 721 people were actually examined, with an examination rate of 93.10%.The study population consisted of 2 558 males, accounting for 44.71%, and 3 163 females, accounting for 55.28%, with ages ranging from 18 to 93 years old and an average age of (64.27±13.48) years.Among them, 1 180 patients diagnosed with cataract, with a cataract prevalence of 20.62%.The prevalence of cataract increased with age and decreased with education level, showing statistically significant differences ( χ2=1 091.32, 581.92; both at P<0.01).The prevalence of cataract was significantly higher among people with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and coronary heart disease than those without these diseases ( χ2=274.65, 118.15, 78.05, 182.71; all at P<0.01).Cataract surgery was performed in 245 cases in the cataract patient population, with a surgical coverage rate of 20.76%.Of the 245 cases, 229 cases were implanted with IOLs, with an implantation rate of 93.40%.The social burden rate of cataract blindness was 2.29%, and increased with age.Of the 339 eyes that underwent cataract surgery, 241 had a PVA≥0.3, accounting for 71.09%, and 272 had a BCVA≥0.3, accounting for 80.24%. Conclusions:In Ningxia, cataracts are still the main cause of vision impairment and blindness in the elderly, and the social burden rate of cataract blindness is high.Moreover, the coverage rate of cataract surgery is low, so both the coverage and quality of surgery need improvement.

Macrophages have strong plasticity and heterogeneity,and can undergo functional transformation in response to different signal stimuli,such as classical activation of M1 type(M1 type polarization)and selective activation of M2 type(M2 type polarization).The pathways of macrophage M1/M2 polarization are quite extensive,involving nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB)/mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)signaling pathway,interleukin-4(IL-4)/signal transduction and activator of transcription 6(STAT6)signaling pathway,Notch signaling pathway,Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway,etc.At the same time,M1/M2 polarization of macrophages is also regulated by exosomes,metabolites,non-coding RNA,electrical stimulation,probiotics,etc.,and its imbalance is closely related to the occurrence and development of different types of liver disease.In this paper,the mechanism of its polarization was reviewed,and it was found that M1 polarization of macrophages played a promoting role in the process of liver tissue injury,inflammation and fibrosis,while M2 polarization of macrophages played the opposite role.Among them,hepatocellular carcinoma,as the advanced stage of chronic liver disease,was characterized by increased M2 polarization and impaired M1 polarization of macrophages.Therefore,this paper pays attention to the role of M1/M2 polarization of macrophages in different types of liver diseases,in order to better establish the targeted therapy of macrophage subsets.

Objective To study the effects of Danggui-Chuanxiong herb pair medicine on vasoactive substances,adhesion factors,inflammatory factors,and VEGF-PI3K-AKT/NF-κB signaling pathways,in order to elucidate the mechanism of Danggui-Chuanxiong herb pair on the treatment of ischemic stroke(IS).Methods The oxygen glucose deprivation/reoxygenation(OGD/R)model of human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC)was constructed,and the cell viability was detected by cell proliferation kit(CCK-8 method)to explore the optimal modeling time of seven components;The release of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)was detected by cytotoxicity kit;The expression of related cytokines was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA);The mRNA expression of key proteins in the signaling pathway was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).Results Reoxygenation after 6 h of oxygen-glucose deprivation of HUVEC is the best modeling time.High-dose chlorogenic acid group,ferulic acid group,senkyunolide H,low-dose and medium-dose butylidenephthalide group,medium-dose and high-dose senkyunolide A and ligustilide groups significantly decreased LDH leakage rate(P<0.05,P<0.01);The expression of IL-6 in the cells of the partial dose group of chlorogenic acid,caffeic acid,butenylphthalide,senkyunolide H and senkyunolide A was significantly increased,the expression of IL-1 in the cells of the partial dose group of chlorogenic acid,ferulic acid and senkyunolide A was significantly decreased,the expression of VEGF,ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in the cells of the partial dose group of chlorogenic acid,ferulic acid and senkyunolide H was significantly decreased,the expression of NF-κB in the cells of the partial dose group of chlorogenic acid,ferulic acid,senkyunolide H and ligustilide was significantly decreased,the expression of PAI-1 in the cells of ferulic acid and senkyunolide H partial dose group decreased significantly(P<0.05,P<0.01);The mRNA relative expression levels of ERK,VEGF,NF-κB,VEGFR2 and MMP9 were significantly down-regulated in the cells of chlorogenic acid,ferulic acid,caffeic acid,butylidenephthalide and senkyunolide A partial dose group,while the mRNA relative expression levels of AKT were significantly up-regulated in the cells of senkyunolide H and senkyunolide A partial dose groups(P<0.05,P<0.01).Conclusion The medicinal components of Danggui-Chuanxiong herb pair may play a role in IS by inhibiting the mRNA expression of adhesion factor,inflammatory factor and key protein of VEGF-PI3K-AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway in HUVEC.

Objective:To explore the characteristics of brain dynamic activity in patients with schizophrenia by using functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI).Methods:Forty-three patients with schizophrenia and 31 normal controls were recruited and under fMRI scanning.The Positive and Negative Symptom Scale(PANS)was used to assess the severity of clinical symptoms.The DPABI software were used to compute dReHo and dFC.Granger causality analysis was used to calculate the effective connectivity between the significant brain regions of dReHo and the whole brain.Two sample t-test was performed to compare the difference of dReHo and dFC be-tween patients with schizophrenia and normal controls.Results:The dReHo of left postcentral gyrus(LPG)(P＜0.01,cluster-level FWE corrected)in patients with schizophrenia was decreased.The Dfc was increased between left postcentral and left middle frontal gyrus,left superior medial frontal gyrus,right calcarine,left medial cingulum gyrus,right supplementary motor area(P＜0.01,uncorrected).Compared with normal controls,patients with schiz-ophrenia showed decreased effective connectivity from LPG to right putamen.Conclusion:It suggests that the ab-normal functional activity of the postcentral gyrus mightcontribute to the neural physiopathology in patients with schizophrenia.

Objective To address the problem of late strut thrombosis generated after the implantation of biodegradable vascular stents,a stochastic finite element model was established to perform biomechanical analysis on the degradation process of polymer vascular stent from the perspectives of molecular weight and stress.Methods A mathematical model of the degradation process of biodegradable vascular scaffolds using poly lactic acid(PLA)was established and the mathematical model was imported,and a finite element model was constructed using COMSOL software.The model was stochastically used to analyze the effects on molecular weight and stress distribution in the degradation process under different stochastic parameters and standard deviations.Results During the degradation process of degradable polymer vascular scaffolds in human body,the random variables Mn0 and 8%standard deviation had the most significant effects on the distribution of molecular weights;randomization of the parameters led to a wider distribution range of the fracture strength during the degradation process of polymer vascular scaffolds,and the minimum value of fracture strength was lower.Conclusions The inhomogeneity of molecular weight distribution in polymer vascular stent materials leads to differences in mechanical properties at different locations of the stent,which in turn causes stress concentration within the material,ultimately leading to non-uniform fragmentation of the stent during degradation,which becomes a determining factor for stent thrombosis in later stages.This study provides theoretical guidance for designing next-generation biodegradable vascular stents.