Atherosclerosis （AS） is a chronic and inflammatory vascular disease. Macrophages are common immune cells and play an important role in the development of AS. In recent years， research has found that the formation of AS plaques is closely related to pathological and physiological processes such as macrophage polarization， energy metabolism， and lipid phagocytosis. This review aims to summarize the mechanism of macrophages in the development of AS， and to explore potential therapeutic methods for delaying AS by regulating macrophages， providing new ideas for the treatment and research of AS.

With the aging of the global population， osteoporosis （OP） is becoming a major public health concern worldwide. Currently， the commonly used anti-osteoporosis drugs in clinical practice have limited application due to many side effects. Therefore， developing more effective and safer strategies for the prevention and treatment of OP has become a research focus in this field. In recent years， the clinical efficacy and advantages of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in treating OP have been gradually recognized. With the deepening pharmacological research on TCM for OP prevention and treatment， it is found that the active ingredients of Scutellaria baicalensis can promote bone formation or inhibit bone resorption by regulating signaling pathways， including Wnt/β-catenin， osteoprotegerin （OB）/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand （RANKL）/RANK （OPG/RANKL/RANK）， and bone morphogenetic protein 2 （BMP-2）/Smad， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， and mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR）. However， existing research on active ingredients of S. baicalensis for OP treatment is scattered， making it difficult for scholars to gain a systematic understanding of its research and application. This review summarized the literature on the active ingredients of S. baicalensis in OP treatment worldwide， clarified their mechanisms of action， and explored some issues， providing references for the integration of TCM in OP prevention and treatment.

With the aging of the global population， osteoporosis （OP） is becoming a major public health concern worldwide. Currently， the commonly used anti-osteoporosis drugs in clinical practice have limited application due to many side effects. Therefore， developing more effective and safer strategies for the prevention and treatment of OP has become a research focus in this field. In recent years， the clinical efficacy and advantages of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in treating OP have been gradually recognized. With the deepening pharmacological research on TCM for OP prevention and treatment， it is found that the active ingredients of Scutellaria baicalensis can promote bone formation or inhibit bone resorption by regulating signaling pathways， including Wnt/β-catenin， osteoprotegerin （OB）/receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand （RANKL）/RANK （OPG/RANKL/RANK）， and bone morphogenetic protein 2 （BMP-2）/Smad， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， and mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR）. However， existing research on active ingredients of S. baicalensis for OP treatment is scattered， making it difficult for scholars to gain a systematic understanding of its research and application. This review summarized the literature on the active ingredients of S. baicalensis in OP treatment worldwide， clarified their mechanisms of action， and explored some issues， providing references for the integration of TCM in OP prevention and treatment.

The pathogenesis and progression of myocardial fibrosis(MF)are modulated by diverse cytokines and signaling pathways.Studies in recent years have revealed an extremely close association between MF evolution and programmed cell death(PCD)modali-ties,including apoptosis,autophagy,pyroptosis,necrosis,ferroptosis,and cuproptosis.This article reviews the characteristics of MF and distinct PCD modalities,with particular emphasis on cutting-edge discoveries elucidating PCD in the field of MF,hoping to pro-vide a theoretical-level reference basis for the in-depth exploration and clinical intervention of MF.

Objective:To investigate the expression changes of neuronal nitric oxide synthetase(nNOS)and α7 nic-otinic acetylcholine receptor(α7nAChR)in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus and the effects on the behavioral func-tions of Aβ induced dementia rats.Methods:Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were intracerebroventricular-ly(i.c.v.)injected with condensed-amyloid beta peptides 1-42 to establish dementia model.Two drug treatment groups were respectively i.c.v.injected with the nitric oxide(NO)precursor L-arginine(L-Arg)and α7nAChR agonist choline chloride(CC),and another group were injected with them both.Spatial learning and memory functions of rats were evaluated by Y-maze experiment.The expressions of nNOS and α7nAChR in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus were measured by immunohistochemical staining and Western Blot.Results:The results showed that,in comparison with Aβ+NS group,rats in Aβ+L-Arg group or Aβ+CC group exhibited decreases in the numbers to reach the criteri-on(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),with significant increases of the protein expressions of nNOS and a7nAChR in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).However,compared with Aβ+L-Arg group or Aβ+CC group,the protein expressions of nNOS and α7nAChR in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of rats were significantly increased(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),and the numbers to reach the criterion were decreased in Aβ+L-Arg+CC group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Conclusion:The combined use of L-Arg and CC in the lateral ventricle can significantly enhance the effects of either on the up-regulation of nNOS and α7nAChR,and the improvement of the cognitive impairment in rats.There-fore,it is speculated that the synergistic effect of central nNOS and nicotine system is more beneficial to improving cog-nitive impairment function in dementia rats.

Objective To explore the medication law of Professor Wang Qingguo for the treatment of insomnia based on data mining technology.Methods Paper-based prescriptions for Professor Wang Qingguo's treatment of insomnia from December 2016 to August 2023 were collected and a database was constructed.The screened prescriptions were subjected to data mining such as frequency statistics,association rule analysis,and clustering analysis.Results Totally 399 effective outpatient prescriptions were screened-out,involving 276 kinds of Chinese materia medica,with a total frequency of 6738 times.There were 38 Chinese materia medica with a frequency of use≥50.The properties were mainly warm,cold and mild,the tastes were mainly sweet,bitter and pungent,and mainly belong to the lung,spleen and heart meridians.Association rule analysis showed that the most commonly used drug combinations were"Fructus Tritici Levis-Scutellariae Radix-Bupleuri Radix","Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae-Scutellariae Radix-Pinelliae Rhizoma",etc.Association rule network analysis obtained a core prescription containing 12 kinds of Chinese materia medica for insomnia.Four new drug combinations were obtained by clustering analysis.Conclusion Professor Wang's treatment of insomnia has the characteristics of following the original meaning of Huang Di Nei Jing and Nan Jing,making good use of the classical prescription,applying combined prescription,flexible use of prescription,combining ancient and modern prescriptions,using specific medicine.It deeply reflects the academic view of"Tongping Zhihe".

By using intrathecal administration of antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AS-ODN) against preprodynorphin mRNA in rats, we observed that this treatment could block both the formalin-induced behavioral nociceptive responses and the increased expression of dynorphin A (1-8) in the dorsal horn, with the increased expression of c-Fos protein being unchanged. For we have reported that intrathecal administration of AS-ODN against c-fos mRNA blocks the nociceptive responses and both the increased Fos protein and dynorphin A (1-8), the results of the present study suggest that: (1) Nociceptively induced spinal expression of dyorphin and Fos protein is involved in the transmission of nociceptive information at the spinal level and the expression of Fos protein is the up-stream event. (2) dynorphin may act as a pronociceptive, not an antinociceptive, factor in the modulation of the spinal hyperalgesic state.