Objective To investigate the effect of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (empagliflozin, EMPA) on myocardial remodeling in a mouse uremic cardiomyopathy (UCM) model induced by 5/6 nephrectomy, through the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (PKB/AKT)/p65 signaling pathway. Methods The animals were divided into three groups: Sham group (n=6), UCM group (n=8), and UCM＋EMPA group (n=8). A UCM model was established in C57BL/6N mice using the 5/6 nephrectomy. Starting from 5 weeks post-surgery, EMPA or a placebo was administered. After 16 weeks, blood pressure, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, 24-hour urine glucose and urine sodium were measured. Cardiac structure and function were assessed by echocardiography. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Masson trichrome staining were used to observe pathological changes in the heart and kidneys. Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) staining was used to evaluate myocardial hypertrophy. The real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression levels of myocardial hypertrophy- and fibrosis-related mRNAs. Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of PI3K, AKT and p65 in myocardial tissues. Results After 16 weeks, UCM group exhibited significantly higher blood pressure, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen than sham group (P＜0.01); UCM＋EMPA group exhibited lower blood pressure, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and higher 24 h urine sodium and glucose than UCM group (P＜0.05). Echocardiographic results showed ventricular remodeling in the UCM group, evidenced by left ventricular wall thickening, left ventricular enlargement, increased left ventricular mass, and decreased systolic function (P＜0.05); ventricular remodeling was alleviated (P＜0.05), though there was no significant improvement in systolic function in UCM＋EMPA group. HE and Masson stainings revealed myocardial degeneration, necrosis, and interstitial fibrosis in UCM group (P＜0.01); the myocardial pathology improved with reduced collagen deposition in UCM＋EMPA group (P＜0.01). WGA staining confirmed myocardial hypertrophy in UCM group (P＜0.01), while myocardial hypertrophy was alleviated in UCM＋EMPA group (P＜0.01). RT-qPCR results showed myocardial hypertrophy- and fibrosis-related genes (NPPA, NPPB, MYH7, COL1A1, COL3A1, TGF-β1) were upregulated in UCM group (P＜0.05), but downregulated in UCM＋EMPA group. Western blotting showed PI3K, p-AKT/AKT ratio, and p-p65/p65 ratio were increased in UCM group, but decreased in UCM＋EMPA group (P＜0.05). Conclusion EMPA can improve myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis in the UCM mouse model, and it may play the role through inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/p65 signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the effective components and therapeutic mechanism of Chaihu-Guizhi-Ganjiang decoction in treating chronic non-atrophic gastritis. Methods The primary and secondary ion fragments of chemical components of Chaihu-Guizhi-Ganjiang decoction were obtained by UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS. Comparing with reference standards and literature information, a comprehensive characterization of the chemical constituents of Chaihu-Guizhi-Ganjiang decoction was conducted. Then, the network pharmacology approach was applied to explore the therapeutic mechanism of Chaihu-Guizhi-Ganjiang decoction in treatment of chronic non-atrophic gastritis based on the components in plasma and verified by immunohistochemical results. Results A total of 24 absorbed components of Chaihu-Guizhi-Ganjiang decoction were characterized, including 11 flavonoid glycosides, 3 fatty acids, 3organic acids, 2 gingerols, 2 flavonoids and, 1 each of fatty aldehydes, triterpenoids and amino acids, which mainly acted on TNF-α, IL-6, STAT3, and PTGS2. It exerted therapeutic effects by modulating signaling pathways, including the IL-17 signaling pathway and the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, etc. Conclusion This study provided the first exploration of the effective components and therapeutic mechanism of Chaihu-Guizhi-Ganjiang decoction in treatment of chronic non-atrophic gastritis by UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS, which could offer scientific references for its further research.

Objective To investigate the effect of body position angle on gastric insufflation during the induction of general anesthesia in pediatric patients undergoing day surgery.Methods A total of 111 children scheduled for elective tracheal intubation under general anesthesia at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from December 2022 to March 2023 were selected as study subjects.Six children were ex-cluded due to unclear sonographic visualization of the gastric antrum,resulting in 105 children ultimately in-cluded in the study.The children were divided into three groups using a random number table method:Group D0(supine position),Group D5(5° head-up position),and Group D10(10° head-up position),with 35 children in each group.The presence of a"comet-tail artifact"on ultrasound was used as the criterion for determining gastric insufflation during anesthesia induction.The gastric antrum cross-sectional area(CSA)of the gastric antrum was measured before mask ventilation after loss of consciousness(T1)and immediately after tracheal intubation following mask ventilation(T2).The incidence of gastric insufflation,changes in CSA and their differences,and vital sign changes at T1 and T2,were compared among the three groups.Results Compared with Group D0,the incidence of gastric insufflation was significantly lower in Groups D5 and D10[25.7％(9/35)vs.20.0％(7/35)vs.54.0％(19/35)],and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).Howev-er,there was no significant difference between Group D5 and Group D10(P＞0.05).No significant difference was observed in CSA at T1 among the three groups(P＞0.05).At T2,a statistically significant difference in CSA was found among the three groups(P＜0.05),with Group D10 showing a smaller CSA than Group D0(P＜0.05).The difference in CSA changes was statistically significant among the three groups(P＜0.05),with Groups D5 and D10 exhibiting smaller changes than Group D0,and Group D10 showing a smaller change than Group D5(P＜0.05).No significant differences were observed in mean artery pressure(MAP),heart rate,pulse oxygen saturation(SpO2)and pressure of end-tidal carbon dioxide(PETCO2)at T1 and T2 among the three groups(P＞0.05).A total of 6 children(5.7％)required brief adjustments in jaw support due to irregular PETCO2 waveforms or abnormal peak airway pressure.Conclusion In pediatric patients undergoing day sur-gery under general anesthesia,a 5° head-up position during induction significantly reduces the incidence of gas-tric insufflation and minimizes changes in gastric antral CSA,while a 10° head-up position does not provide ad-ditional benefits.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of Yiqi Huoxue Prescription(derived from Shengyu Decoction)in the treatment of mild cervical spondylotic myelopathy(CSM)with qi deficiency and blood stasis type.Methods A total of 128 patients with mild CSM of qi deficiency and blood stasis type who admitted to Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine from January 2022 to January 2024 were randomly divided into the control group and the trial group according to the random number table method,with 64 cases in each group.The control group was treated with oral administration of Mecobalamin Tablets,and the trial group was treated with Yiqi Huoxue Prescription orally on the basis of treatment for the control group.The two groups were all treated for four weeks,and then were followed up for three months after the completion of treatment.The CSM scores of the Japanese Orthopedic Association(JOA)and the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome scores in the two groups were observed before treatment,after two weeks of treatment,after four weeks of treatment,and three months after the completion of treatment.And then the clinical efficacy,progression of CSM and the incidence of adverse reactions of the two groups were evaluated.Results(1)During the trial,two cases in the control group and three cases in the trial group fell off,and eventually a total of 123 cases were included,62 cases in the control group and 61 cases in the trial group.(2)Three months after the completion of treatment,the total effective rate of the trial group was 93.44%(57/61)and that of the control group was 82.26%(51/62),and the intergroup comparison(tested by chi-square test)showed that the efficacy of the trial group was significantly superior to that of the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).(3)After two and four weeks of treatment as well as three months after the completion of treatment,JOA scores in the two groups were increased compared with those before treatment(P<0.05),and JOA scores of the trial group at various time points mentioned above were higher than those of the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).(4)After two and four weeks of treatment as well as three months after the completion of treatment,TCM syndrome scores in the two groups were decreased compared with those before treatment(P<0.05),and TCM syndrome scores of the trial group at various time points mentioned above were lower than those of the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).(5)During the follow-up period,there was none case of significant aggravation or progression to moderate-severe illness in the two groups,and there were no adverse events such as allergies and gastrointestinal reactions.Conclusion Yiqi Huoxue Prescription exerts certain efficacy in treating patients with mild CSM of the qi deficiency and blood stasis type,and the treatment method is effective on improving the spinal cord function and symptoms of qi deficiency and blood stasis type,and slowing down the progression of disease in the patients,with high safety.

目的：探讨苍术素（ATR）通过调节受体相互作用蛋白激酶（RIPK）1/RIPK3/混合谱系激酶结构域样（MLKL）信号通路对非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）A549细胞程序性死亡及裸鼠移植瘤生长的影响。方法：使用0~160 μmol/L的ATR处理A549细胞，MTT法检测细胞存活率以确定后续实验给药浓度。使用ATR和/或RIPK1抑制剂Nec-1（necrostatin-1）、caspase抑制剂Z-VAD-FMK处理A549细胞，验证ATR是否诱导A549细胞发生程序性坏死。将A549细胞分为对照组、ATR-L组、ATR-M组、ATR-H组（分别用0、10、20、40 μmol/L ATR处理）、ATR+Nec-1组（40 μmol/L ATR+50 μmol/L Nec-1处理），处理24 h后，采用PI单染及Hoechst33342/PI双染法检测细胞死亡情况、透射电镜观察细胞死亡形态、DCFH-DA荧光探针法检测细胞内ROS水平、JC-1染色法检测线粒体膜电位、WB法检测细胞中RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL信号通路相关蛋白质的表达水平。构建A549细胞裸鼠移植瘤模型，用10 mg/kg ATR（溶于玉米油中）对裸鼠灌胃给药5周，观察ATR对移植瘤生长的影响，WB法检测移植瘤组织中RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL信号通路相关蛋白质的表达水平。结果：10~160 μmol/L的ATR可显著抑制A549细胞增殖，选择10、20、40 μmol/L的ATR进行后续实验。ATR组A549细胞存活率显著低于对照组（P<0.01）和ATR+Nec-1组（P<0.01），而ATR+z-VAD组细胞存活率显著低于z-VAD组（P<0.01），说明ATR可诱导A549细胞发生程序性坏死而非凋亡。与对照组比较，ATR处理组A549细胞发生肿胀，线粒体内脊消失呈空泡化，细胞内容物向外泄漏，细胞核聚集，表现为坏死特征，ATR-L组、ATR-M组、ATR-H组A549细胞死亡率、ROS水平及p-RIPK1、p-RIPK3、p-MLKL表达水平均显著升高，线粒体膜电位显著降低（均P<0.01），且呈药物浓度依赖性；与ATR-H组比较，ATR+Nec-1组细胞死亡率、ROS及p-RIPK1、p-RIPK3、p-MLKL表达水平降低，线粒体膜电位显著升高（均P<0.01）。裸鼠移植瘤实验结果显示，与对照组比较，ATR组裸鼠移植瘤体积、移植瘤质量均降低（P<0.05，或P<0.01），而与瘤组织中p-RIPK1、p-RIPK3、p-MLKL蛋白表达水平均显著升高（均P<0.01）。结论：ATR可能通过激活RIPK1/RIPK3/MLKL信号通路诱导A549细胞发生程序性坏死，抑制A549细胞及其裸鼠移植瘤的生长。

Middle-aged and elderly patients with femoral neck fracture often suffer from basic diseases. Conservative treatment will significantly increase the incidence of complications. At present, surgical treatment is mostly advocated. Internal fixation is one of the effective treatment methods for middle-aged and elderly patients with femoral neck fracture. It has the advantages of improving hip joint function, accelerating patient recovery, and improving patient quality of life. At present, there are many choices of internal fixation in the world, each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and there is no unified standard. Different surgical methods can be selected according to various factors such as fracture type, patient′s physical condition and surgical auxiliary technology. This article reviews the clinical progress of internal fixation for femoral neck fractures in middle-aged and elderly patients from four aspects: the characteristics of femoral neck fractures in middle-aged and elderly patients, common internal fixation methods, 3D printing guide plate auxiliary technology and artificial intelligence auxiliary technology.

BACKGROUND:Total knee arthroplasty is one of the effective methods to treat end-stage knee osteoarthritis.However,some patients still experience chronic post-surgical pain.It is significant to find out the influencing factors of chronic post-surgical pain.Demographic factors,social psychological factors and perioperative pain were the focus of previous studies,but muscle factors closely related to the occurrence and development of knee osteoarthritis were rarely reported. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the value of preoperative quantitative ultrasound analysis of quadriceps femoris in predicting chronic post-surgical pain after total knee arthroplasty. METHODS:A total of 250 patients with knee osteoarthritis who underwent the first unilateral total knee arthroplasty under elective general anesthesia from January to August 2022 in the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University were selected.All patients were treated with the same anesthesia and operative methods.Before the surgery,clinical data were recorded,and the thickness and echo intensity of quadriceps femoris on the operated side were measured by ultrasound imaging,which could quantify the degree of quadriceps femoris atrophy.Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the independent factors affecting the occurrence of chronic post-surgical pain,and receiver operating characteristic curves were used to evaluate its predictive value. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)250 subjects were involved in the result analysis,and 91 of them had chronic post-surgical pain,with an incidence of 36.4%.(2)There were significant differences between the chronic pain and non-chronic pain groups in preoperative pain score during movement,preoperative Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index,preoperative anxiety and depression scale score,preoperative muscle thickness and echo intensity of quadriceps femoris,and postoperative acute pain score(P<0.05).(3)Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that preoperative thickness of quadriceps femoris was an independent protective factor for chronic post-surgical pain and preoperative pain score during movement was an independent risk factor for chronic post-surgical pain.(4)Receiver operating characteristic curves showed that the area under the curve of the preoperative thickness of quadriceps femoris was 0.625(95%CI:0.555-0.695),and the critical value was 2.78 cm,sensitivity was 0.802,specificity was 0.415.(5)It is concluded that the preoperative thickness of quadriceps femoris is an independent protective factor for chronic post-surgical pain,but its predictive efficacy is low,and its clinical application needs to be further verified or modified.

Objective:To analyze the differentially expressed genes in PBMCs of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by bioinformatics methods screening and analyzing the key genes related to ferroptosis, and explore the possible mechanism of ferroptosis involved in the pathogenesis of SLE at the transcription level.Methods:The data sets and samples of healthy people (HC) and SLE patients who met the screening criteria were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), a sub-database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The differentially expressed genes, GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were analyzed by GEO2R, R language and related software packages. The protein interaction network (PPI) of differential genes was analyzed by STRING, Cytoscape and other tools to explore the key genes and pathways. In addition, real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to verify the expression of key genes. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the expression of key genes in PBMCs between the two groups. Spearman rank correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between SLE disease activity and the level of key genes. Results:Six data sets were included in this study. A total of 166 genes related to ferroptosis were differentially expressed between SLE and HC groups. The differential genes were specifically expressed in alveolar macrophages, neutrophils, CD49 + cells and CD31 + cells. GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the differentially expressed genes were mainly involved in multiple signaling pathways closely related to SLE, such as oxidative stress response, infection and TNF signaling pathway. Hub genes screened by different algorithms all suggested RELA as a key gene, and RT-qPCR confirmed that compared with the RELA gene expression level in the HC group [0.75(0.37,1.13)], the expression level in SLE group [2.02 (1.19,4.06)] was increased, the difference was statistically significant ( Z=-3.08, P=0.002), and was positively correlated with the corresponding SLEDAI score of SLE samples ( r=0.52, P=0.019). Conclusion:The ferroptosis of many immune cells, including alveolar macrophages and CD49 + NK cells, is involved in the pathogenesis of SLE. RELA may be involved in the ferroptosis of PBMCs in SLE through the NF-κB pathway.

Objective:To analyze the clinic effects of arthroscopic partial trapeziectomy and suture button suspensionplasty in the treatment of first carpometacarpal joint (CMCJ) Eaton stage II/III arthrosis.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on a total of 15 cases (16 hands) of patients including 5 males (1 bilateral) and 10 females with CMCJ stage II/III arthrosis who underwent surgical treatment at the first affiliated hospital of Shenzhen university from January 2020 to June 2022, with mean age of 56.7±6.4 years (range, 46-75 years). The duration from pain to treatment was 7.8±3.2 months (range, 4-14 months). X-ray showed narrowing of CMCJ with osteophytes and distal radial subluxation. All the patients were treated with arthroscopic partial trapeziectomy and suture button suspensionplasty. The preoperative and last postoperative follow-up radiographs, visual analogue scale (VAS), thumb's Kapandji scores, disabilies of the arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH) scores, grip and pinch strength and time to return to work were compared.Results:All cases were followed up for 19.6±6.3 months (range, 11-36 months). The postoperative X-ray showed all the CMCJs were reduced with a normal height of first metacarpal. The mean time for patients to return to their daily activities was 18.69±3.70 d and the mean time to return to work was 24.63±4.91 d. The average VAS score decreased from 6.56±1.15 preoperatively to 1.00 (0.75, 1.25). The preoperative Kapandji's score was 8.00±0.82 and the postoperative Kapandji's score was 8.00 (7.25, 9.00). The average DASH values improved from 24.06±3.19 to 4.00 (3.00, 5.00). The were significant differences except for Kapandji score ( Z=-4.905, P<0.001; Z=-0.121, P=0.905; Z=-4.846, P<0.001). The mean grip and pinch strength showed improvement from an average of 16.4 (14.13, 18.68) kg and 1.70±0.35 kg to 26.14±3.27 kg and 3.58±0.91 kg with significant difference ( Z=-4.617, P<0.001; t=-7.669, P<0.001). Conclusion:Arthroscopic partial trapeziectomy and suture button suspensionplasty is a minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of first CMCJ Eaton stage II/III arthrosis. By this technique, the patients' existing instability and pain problems can be solved.

Background::Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a severe and acute cardiovascular syndrome with high mortality among patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIIRDs). Accurate prediction and timely intervention play a pivotal role in enhancing survival rates. However, there is a notable scarcity of practical early prediction and risk assessment systems of PE in patients with AIIRD.Methods::In the training cohort, 60 AIIRD with PE cases and 180 age-, gender-, and disease-matched AIIRD non-PE cases were identified from 7254 AIIRD cases in Tongji Hospital from 2014 to 2022. Univariable logistic regression (LR) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) were used to select the clinical features for further training with machine learning (ML) methods, including random forest (RF), support vector machines (SVM), neural network (NN), logistic regression (LR), gradient boosted decision tree (GBDT), classification and regression trees (CART), and C5.0 models. The performances of these models were subsequently validated using a multicenter validation cohort.Results::In the training cohort, 24 and 13 clinical features were selected by univariable LR and LASSO strategies, respectively. The five ML models (RF, SVM, NN, LR, and GBDT) showed promising performances, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.962-1.000 in the training cohort and 0.969-0.999 in the validation cohort. CART and C5.0 models achieved AUCs of 0.850 and 0.932, respectively, in the training cohort. Using D-dimer as a pre-screening index, the refined C5.0 model achieved an AUC exceeding 0.948 in the training cohort and an AUC above 0.925 in the validation cohort. These results markedly outperformed the use of D-dimer levels alone.Conclusion::ML-based models are proven to be precise for predicting the onset of PE in patients with AIIRD exhibiting clinical suspicion of PE.Trial Registration::Chictr.org.cn: ChiCTR2200059599.