BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that ischemia-induced cellular autophagy dysfunction is a key factor in brain injury.Autophagy related genes 6(ATG6),microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain(LC3),p62,and other autophagy key proteins are involved in the processes such as neuronal axonal degeneration,death,and intracellular homeostasis maintenance,playing an important role in the recovery of neural function. OBJECTIVE:To review the research progress in the role of cellular autophagy in cerebral ischemic injury and the regulatory mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine. METHODS:The first author used"ischemic stroke,brain tissue injury,cellular autophagy,signaling pathways,traditional Chinese medicine compounds,terpenoids,alkaloids,flavonoids,saponins,lignans,phthalates"as Chinese and English keywords respectively to search for literature on autophagy,cerebral ischemic injury,and the regulatory mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine from China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI)and PubMed databases from January 2016 to February 2024.Literature that is not highly relevant,repetitive,or outdated was excluded.A total of 1 746 relevant literature were retrieved,and 92 articles were ultimately included. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Numerous studies have confirmed that autophagy plays an important role in cerebral ischemic injury.Moderate autophagy can promote cell survival,while excessive autophagy exacerbates brain injury.Traditional Chinese medicine can regulate the expression of autophagy related proteins,inhibit neuronal necrosis and apoptosis,and exert neuroprotective effects at different stages of cerebral ischemia by regulating signaling pathways such as PI3K/Akt/mTOR,AMPK-mTOR,and mitogen activated protein kinase.

Background: s/Aims: Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy (DPS) is a common surgical procedure for pancreatic body cancer.However, spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (SPDP) utilizing the Warshaw technique (WT) in malignancies is generally not favored due to concerns about inadequate resection. This study aims to assess the feasibility and oncologic outcomes of employing SPDP with WT in pancreatic body cancer. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis comparing 21 SPDP patients with 63 DPS patients matched by propensity score from January 2018 to November 2022. Clinical outcomes and follow-up data were analyzed using R. Results: Both groups exhibited similar demographic, intraoperative, and pathological characteristics, with the exception of a reduced number of total lymph nodes (p = 0.006) in the SPDP group. There were no significant differences in the rates of postoperative complications, recurrence, or metastasis. Local recurrence predominantly occurred in the central region as opposed to the spleen region.There were no cases of isolated recurrences in the splenic region. Median overall survival and recurrence-free survival times were 51.5 months for SPDP vs 30.5 months for DPS and 18.7 months vs 16.8 months, respectively (p > 0.05). The incidence of partial splenic infarction and left-side portal hypertension in the SPDP group was 28.6% (6/21) and 9.5% (2/21), respectively, without necessitating splenic abscess puncture, splenectomy, or causing bleeding from perigastric varices. Conclusions SPDP did not negatively impact local recurrence or survival rates in selected pancreatic body cancer patients. Further studies are necessary for validation.

Background: s/Aims: Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy (DPS) is a common surgical procedure for pancreatic body cancer.However, spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (SPDP) utilizing the Warshaw technique (WT) in malignancies is generally not favored due to concerns about inadequate resection. This study aims to assess the feasibility and oncologic outcomes of employing SPDP with WT in pancreatic body cancer. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis comparing 21 SPDP patients with 63 DPS patients matched by propensity score from January 2018 to November 2022. Clinical outcomes and follow-up data were analyzed using R. Results: Both groups exhibited similar demographic, intraoperative, and pathological characteristics, with the exception of a reduced number of total lymph nodes (p = 0.006) in the SPDP group. There were no significant differences in the rates of postoperative complications, recurrence, or metastasis. Local recurrence predominantly occurred in the central region as opposed to the spleen region.There were no cases of isolated recurrences in the splenic region. Median overall survival and recurrence-free survival times were 51.5 months for SPDP vs 30.5 months for DPS and 18.7 months vs 16.8 months, respectively (p > 0.05). The incidence of partial splenic infarction and left-side portal hypertension in the SPDP group was 28.6% (6/21) and 9.5% (2/21), respectively, without necessitating splenic abscess puncture, splenectomy, or causing bleeding from perigastric varices. Conclusions SPDP did not negatively impact local recurrence or survival rates in selected pancreatic body cancer patients. Further studies are necessary for validation.

Background: s/Aims: Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy (DPS) is a common surgical procedure for pancreatic body cancer.However, spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (SPDP) utilizing the Warshaw technique (WT) in malignancies is generally not favored due to concerns about inadequate resection. This study aims to assess the feasibility and oncologic outcomes of employing SPDP with WT in pancreatic body cancer. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis comparing 21 SPDP patients with 63 DPS patients matched by propensity score from January 2018 to November 2022. Clinical outcomes and follow-up data were analyzed using R. Results: Both groups exhibited similar demographic, intraoperative, and pathological characteristics, with the exception of a reduced number of total lymph nodes (p = 0.006) in the SPDP group. There were no significant differences in the rates of postoperative complications, recurrence, or metastasis. Local recurrence predominantly occurred in the central region as opposed to the spleen region.There were no cases of isolated recurrences in the splenic region. Median overall survival and recurrence-free survival times were 51.5 months for SPDP vs 30.5 months for DPS and 18.7 months vs 16.8 months, respectively (p > 0.05). The incidence of partial splenic infarction and left-side portal hypertension in the SPDP group was 28.6% (6/21) and 9.5% (2/21), respectively, without necessitating splenic abscess puncture, splenectomy, or causing bleeding from perigastric varices. Conclusions SPDP did not negatively impact local recurrence or survival rates in selected pancreatic body cancer patients. Further studies are necessary for validation.

Piper nigrum L. is an evergreen climbing vine, which belongs to the genus Piperia in the Piperaceae family. Piper nigrum L., which known as the “king of spices”, is used as both food and medicine. The main active substances in Piper nigrum L. are alkaloids mainly composed of amides, and essential oil, as well as phenolic compounds. In this paper, the chemical compositions, especially amide alkaloids, and their biological activities of Piper nigrum L. were summarized. These studies showed that Piper nigrum L., as a medicinal and food plant, had a wide range of biological activities and was deserved further research and in-depth utilization.

Glutathione peroxidase （GSH-Px） is a key selenoenzyme that protects the body from oxidative damage. A series of small molecular organic selenium compounds have been designed and synthesized as functional mimics of GPx, among which isoselenazolones are the most widely studied. Taking ebselen as a representative, the catalytic mechanism of isoselenazolones in mimicing GSH-Px activity in vivo, the therapeutic effects of isoselenazolones in stroke, sensorineurium deafness and tinnitus, treatmentresistant depression （TRD） and coronavirus disease 2019 （COVID-19）, and research on their chemical synthesis methods were summarized and discussed in this paper.

Laboratory animals are the "living" tools of medical research. Through animal experiments, people can gain continuous insights into the laws of life, reveal the essence of diseases, develop vaccines and drugs for prevention and treatment, and play an important role in the technological development of fields related to human health. The environmental conditions of laboratory animals have a direct impact on their health, quality, and the results of animal experiments. The higher the degree of environmental control, the more reliable the experimental results are in terms of quality. Therefore, environmental control of laboratory animal facilities is important for ensuring that laboratory animals live under required conditions, which is a key factor for conducting effective animal experiments. This article analyzes the current status of environmental testing of laboratory animal facilities in Sichuan Province, briefly summarizing their number, area, and other basic information, and provides detailed statistics on the ability of institutions to conduct environmental testing for laboratory animal facilities in Sichuan Province. It also summarizes the testing requirements for laboratory animal facility environments based on national standards, regulatory requirements, and the quality control needs of facility users. In the analysis of testing indicators for laboratory animal facilities, based on testing data from 40 laboratory animal facilities in Sichuan Province, it was found that static pressure difference is the indicator most prone to non-compliance, followed by illumination and air exchange rate. Using barrier environments as examples, common problems in the process of environmental testing for laboratory animal facilities are summarized in six aspects: testing personnel, instruments, methods, technical materials, testing environment, and reports, and targeted suggestions are proposed. These suggestions help improve environmental control in laboratory animal facilities, and provide practical reference and guidance for relevant testing institutions, as well as laboratory animal producers and users in the industry.

The Department of Thoracic Surgery of Shanghai Chest Hospital has performed esophageal function testing for over 30 years, being the only department of its kind in China with this capability. The pressure testing and 24-hour pH/impedance monitoring of the esophagus is of great help to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of benign and malignant esophageal diseases related to it. Thanks to the esophageal function test, in addition to the routine various endoscopic anti-reflux procedures, our hospital has taken the lead in China in recent years to carry out a series of clinical and research work for benign esophageal diseases, such as the development of magnetic ring, double nedoscopic combination and new anti-reflux endoscopic techniques. In recent years, we have carried out high-resolution esophageal manometry and 24-hour pH/impedance monitoring for patients with interstitial pneumonia and pulmonary fibrosis suspected to be caused by gastroesophageal acid reflux. We can better assess the correlation between gastroesophageal reflux and pulmonary fibrosis, and to provide the different clinical treatments and even surgical interventions. The Bravo capsule is used more often in the United States, and it has obvious advantages over traditional approach for acid measurement. We strongly call for the collaboration between industry and academic institutions in this field, and the development of our own related products with independent intellectual property rights.

Objective To predict the lymph node metastasis status of patients with invasive pulmonary adenocarcinoma by constructing machine learning models based on primary tumor radiomics, peritumoral radiomics, and habitat radiomics, and to evaluate the predictive performance and generalization ability of different imaging features. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 1 263 patients with invasive pulmonary adenocarcinoma who underwent surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Jiangsu Province Hospital, from 2016 to 2019. Habitat regions were delineated by applying K-means clustering (average cluster number of 2) to the grayscale values of CT images. The peritumoral region was defined as a uniformly expanded area of 3 mm around the primary tumor. The primary tumor region was automatically segmented using V-net combined with manual correction and annotation. Subsequently, radiomics features were extracted based on these regions, and stacked machine learning models were constructed. Model performance was evaluated on the training, testing, and internal validation sets using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), F1 score, recall, and precision. Results After excluding patients who did not meet the screening criteria, a total of 651 patients were included. The training set consisted of 468 patients (181 males, 287 females) with an average age of (58.39±11.23) years, ranging from 29 to 78 years, the testing set included 140 patients (56 males, 84 females) with an average age of (58.81±10.70) years, ranging from 34 to 82 years, and the internal validation set comprised 43 patients (14 males, 29 females) with an average age of (60.16±10.68) years, ranging from 29 to 78 years. Although the habitat radiomics model did not show the optimal performance in the training set, it exhibited superior performance in the internal validation set, with an AUC of 0.952 [95%CI (0.87, 1.00)], an F1 score of 84.62%, and a precision-recall AUC of 0.892, outperforming the models based on the primary tumor and peritumoral regions. Conclusion The model constructed based on habitat radiomics demonstrated superior performance in the internal validation set, suggesting its potential for better generalization ability and clinical application in predicting lymph node metastasis status in pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism by which aloin （ALO） ameliorates atherosclerosis （AS）. METHODS Eight C57BL/6J mice were assigned to the control group （CON group） and fed a standard diet； thirty-two apolipoprotein E-knockout （APOE－/－） mice were randomly divided into model group （MOD group）， ALO low-dose and high-dose groups [ALO-L group， ALO-H group， 20， 40 mg/（kg·d）]， and atorvastatin positive control group [ATO group， 4 mg/（kg·d）]， with 8 mice in each group， establishing the AS model through feeding with a high-fat diet. The mice were administered the drug via gavage or given an equal volume of deionized water for 8 consecutive weeks. The lipid levels in the serum of mice were measured， and the pathological structural changes in their aortas were observed. The expressions of macrophage polarization markers （CD86+ ， CD206+） in the aorta were determined， along with the mRNA expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， arginase-1 （Arg-1）， and interleukin-10 （IL-10）， as well as the protein expressions of iNOS and Arg- 1， and the phosphorylation levels of nuclear factor κB p65 （NF-κB p65） and signal transduction and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3） proteins. Additionally， a macrophage polarization model was established using lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced RAW264.7 cells， and the effect of ALO （400 μmol/L） on the cellular polarization phenotype was investigated. RESULTS Compared with the MOD group， administration groups all showed significant improvement in dyslipidemia （except for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the serum of ALO-L group） （P＜0.05）； aortic intimal structure improved significantly， plaque area was reduced significantly （P＜0.01）； the CD86+ relative fluorescence intensity in the aorta decreased significantly， the CD206+relative fluorescence intensity increased significantly （P＜0.01）， while the expressions of iNOS and TNF-α mRNA were down-regulated significantly （P＜0.05）； mRNA expressions of Arg-1 and IL-10， and protein expression of Arg-1 were increased significantly in ALO-H group and ATO group （P＜0.05）； the protein expressions of iNOS， and the phosphorylation levels of NF-κB p65 and STAT3 protein were decreased significantly （P＜0.05）. In vitro experiments further confirmed that ALO significantly reduced the proportion of LPS-induced M1-type macrophages but increased the proportion of M2-type macrophages （P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS ALO inhibits M1-type macrophage polarization and promotes M2-type polarization， ameliorates dyslipidemia and reduces arterial plaque formation in AS model mice， improve the structure of the aortic intima potentially through suppression of the NF-κB/STAT3 signaling pathway.