OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism of baicalin in alleviating the intestinal mucosal barrier injury in rats with intraperitoneal infection-induced sepsis through the vitamin D receptor(VDR)/nuclear factor E2-relat-ed factor 2(Nrf2)/haemoglobin oxygenase-1(HO-1)signalling pathway.METHODS Twenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-surgery group,a model group,an ulinastatin group and a baicalin group,with six rats in each group.Sepsis models were established via cecal ligation and puncture(CLP)in rats in each groups ex-cept for the sham surgery group.Six hours after modeling,the sham-surgery and the model groups received intra-peritoneal saline,while the ulinastatin and baicalin groups were administered ulinastatin at 20,000 U/kg and ba-icalin at 100 mg/kg,respectively,via intraperitoneal injection once daily for 5 consecutive days.The histopatho-logical changes in the ileum tissue of rats in each group were observed,and the levels of oxidative stress,inflam-matory factors,and the expression of related mRNA and proteins in the VDR/Nrf2/HO-1 signalling pathway were compared.RESULTS Compared with the sham-surgery group,the model group showed disordered villus ar-rangement,severe intestinal mucosal atrophy and inflammatory cell infiltration,with necrotic epithelial cell shed-ding.Additionally,in the model group,the total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC),superoxide dismutase(SOD),and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-PX)levels reduced,while the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),inter-leukin(IL)-6,and IL-1βsignificantly increased,and the expression of VDR mRNA,Nrf2 mRNA,HO-1 mR-NA,and VDR,Nrf2,and HO-1 proteins were downregulated(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the ulinastatin group and the baicalin group showed that villus arrangement,intestinal mucosal atrophy and inflamma-tory cell infiltration got improved,the levels of T-AOC,SOD,and GSH-PX elevated,the levels of TNF-α,IL-6,and IL-1βdecreased,and expressions of VDR mRNA,Nrf2 mRNA,HO-1 mRNA,and VDR,Nrf2,and HO-1 proteins were upregulated.Moreover,all indicators in the baicalin group were superior to those in the ulinastatin group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Baicalin can inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors and regulate the bal-ance of oxidative stress in vivo by up-regulating the VDR/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway,thereby alleviate the in-testinal mucosal barrier dysfunction caused by intraperitoneal infection-induced sepsis.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of nebulized inhalation of recombinant human interferon (IFN) α1b injection in the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) associated lower respiratory tract infections (pneumonia and bronchiolitis) in children.Methods:A randomized, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled add-on design was used.Children with pneumonia or bronchiolitis aged 2 months to 5 years who tested positive for RSV antigen within 72 hours of onset from 30 clinical trial sites including Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University between February 2021 and December 2022 were included in this study and randomly divided into 2 groups at a ratio of 1∶1 based on a stratified-block method.Both groups received basic treatments such as cough control, asthma relieving, expectorant treatment, fever reduction, oxygen therapy, etc.The experimental group received additional nebulized inhalation of IFN α1b injection at a dose of 2.0 μg/(kg·time), twice a day.The control group received nebulized inhalation of placebo twice a day.Clinical efficacy was evaluated based on indicators such as the duration of clinical symptoms and signs, and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the median and 95% CI of the duration of clinical symptoms and signs.The Log-rank test was used to compared data between groups.Safety was assessed through the incidence of adverse reactions and laboratory tests, and the Chi-square test was used to analyze the difference between groups. Results:There were 123 children in the experimental group and 122 children in the control group.The median durations of all the 5 clinical symptoms and signs [including shortness of breath, wheezing, dyspnea (visible retractions), decreased transcutaneous oxygen saturation, and abnormal mental state] in the experimental group after treatment were slightly shortened than those in the control group [2.7 d(95% CI: 1.9-3.0 d)] vs.[2.9 d(95% CI: 2.6-3.6 d), P=0.027].The improvement in dyspnea (retractions) was especially pronounced in the experimental group, with a relief rate of 50.0% (0, 100%) on the first day of administration[compared with 0 (0, 50.0%) in the control group ( Z=2.002, P=0.025)].The median duration of dyspnea in the experimental group was nearly 1 day shorter than that in the control group [1.0 d(95% CI: 0.7-1.7 d) vs.1.8 d(95% CI: 1.0-2.5 d), P=0.046].There were no significant difference in hospital stay [6.0(5.0, 8.0) d vs.6.5(5.0, 8.0) d, Z=0.675, P=0.500], oxygen therapy duration [32.0(14.0, 96.3) h vs.39.0 (24.0, 83.2) h, Z=0.094, P=0.925], the recovery rate from clinical symptoms during treatment [(105/106, 99.1%) vs.(96/101, 95.0%)], and recurrence rate [(0/106, 0) vs.(2/101, 2.0%)] between the 2 groups (all P>0.05).However, the above-mentioned four indicators in the experimental group showed a trend of clinical benefits.The quantitative virus detection results showed that the RSV viral load in both groups decreased after treatment compared to before treatment.After 2 days of treatment, the decline rate of RSV viral load from the baseline was 0.90 lg copies/(mL·d) in the experimental group and 0.25 lg copies/(mL·d)in the control group, with a statistically significant difference ( P<0.05).Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the 2 groups ( P>0.05).Importantly, no drug-related serious adverse reactions occurred in both groups. Conclusions:The nebulized inhalation therapy of IFN α1b demonstrates efficacy and safety in treating pediatric RSV associated lower respiratory tract infections.It particularly offers outstanding clinical therapeutic value for severe children.

Objective:To compare the differences in postoperative healing rates, hearing improvement, and complication rates between endoscopic butterfly inlay cartilage tympanoplasty and underlay cartilage tympanoplasty in Small-to-Medium-Sized Tympanic Membrane Perforations, and to provide clinical basis for indication of the butterfly inlay cartilage tympanoplasty. Methods:This study enrolled patients with chronic suppurative otitis media or traumatic tympanic membrane perforations who were treated at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, between January 2022 and May 2023. Inclusion criteria comprised a dry ear period exceeding 3 months, absence of middle ear or mastoid pathology confirmed by temporal bone CT, and an air-bone gap of less than 40 dB. All surgeries were performed by the same surgeon using tympanoplasty techniques. Based on the surgical approach and perforation size, patients were categorized into four groups: Group A（butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty, perforation ≤3 mm）: 23 cases. Group B（butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty, perforation 3-5 mm）: 17 cases. Group C（full-thickness cartilage underlay tympanoplasty, perforation ≤3 mm）: 12 cases. Group D（full-thickness cartilage underlay tympanoplasty, perforation 3-5 mm）: 22 cases. Data collected included perforation duration, preoperative Eustachian Tube Score（ETS）, pure-tone audiometry, otoscopic findings, and postoperative follow-up data on pure-tone thresholds, otoscopic outcomes, and complications such as graft infection and otorrhea. Results: The mean postoperative follow-up period was 4 months （range: 3-12 months）. A total of 74 patients were enrolled, including 40 undergoing butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty and 34 receiving full-thickness cartilage inlay tympanoplasty. In the <3 mm perforation subgroup, the patients receiving butterfly technique （23 cases） exhibited a postoperative air-bone gap （ABG） improvement of （2.33±8.21） dB, and those receiving the inlay technique （12 cases） showed an ABG improvement of （2.49±7.9） dB, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups （P>0.05）. In the 3-5 mm perforation subgroup, the patients receiving butterfly technique （17 cases） demonstrated an ABG improvement of （8.16±5.69） dB, and those receiving the inlay technique （22 cases） achieved an ABG improvement of （8.08±10.42） dB, which were not significantly different （P>0.05）. Tympanic membrane healing rates across the four subgroups were 95.65%, 94.12%, 100%, and 95.45%, respectively, with no statistically significant differences （P>0.05）. Conclusion:In patients with tympanic membrane perforations ≤3 mm and 3-5 mm, butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty achieves comparable audiological outcomes to full-thickness cartilage underlay tympanoplasty. Compared with the underlay technique, the butterfly method is less invasive, preserves the normal anatomical structure of the tympanic membrane, requires a shorter dry ear period, and yields higher patient satisfaction. Therefore, it can be safely recommended for perforations ≤5 mm that do not require tympanotomy exploration.
Humans ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation/surgery* ; Tympanoplasty/methods* ; Treatment Outcome ; Endoscopy ; Cartilage/transplantation* ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Myringoplasty/methods* ; Otitis Media, Suppurative/surgery* ; Aged

Lumbosacral radiculopathy refers to the pain syndrome caused by inflammation or mechanical compression of the lumbar nerve root, mainly manifested as low back pain, and radiating to the lower limbs in cutaneous mode, which can be accompanied by numbness, paresthesia, tingling, muscle weakness and loss of specific reflexes and other symptoms, which not only bring physical pain and life inconvenience to the patients, but also bring huge economic burden to the social medical care. Selective nerve root block(SNRB), as a safe, effective, low-cost, precise and minimally invasive clinical technique, can accurately intervene in specific nerve roots and quickly relieve pain symptoms by reducing inflammation and improving the surrounding environment of nerves. However, there are still many challenges and controversies in practice, such as precise targeting requirements, drug selection, potential risks and complications, and differences in efficacy among different patient populations. The purpose of this review is to systematically review and analyze the existing research results on SNRB, so as to provide useful reference and guidance for the further development of this field.

Objective To investigate the performance of ultrafast dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging(DCE-MRI)in distinguishing breast cancer molecular subtypes.Methods A total of 129 breast cancer patients undergoing ultra-rapid DCE-MRI were analyzed.According to the pathological results,the patients were divided into lumen type,human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)overexpression type and triple negative type.Ultrafast DCE-MRI parameters of the three groups were compared.Receiver op-erating characteristic(ROC)curve was used to evaluate the performance of ultra-fast DCE-MRI parameters in identifying different molecular subtypes of breast cancer.Results The maximum slope(MS),peak enhance-ment intensity(PEI)and area under initial ROC curve(iAUC)of the three molecular subtypes were signifi-cantly different in ultra-fast DCE-MRI parameters(P＜0.05).The MS,PEI and iAUC of triple-negative and HER2-overexpressed breast cancer were significantly higher than those of lumen breast cancer(P＜0.05).The AUC for MS,PEI and iAUC were 0.765,0.702 and 0.775,respectively.The AUC for MS,PEI and iAUC were 0.767,0.684 and 0.784,respectively.Conclusion Ultrafast DCE-MRI parameters can be the potential image markers to identify TNBC and luminal subtype.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of nebulized inhalation of recombinant human interferon (IFN) α1b injection in the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) associated lower respiratory tract infections (pneumonia and bronchiolitis) in children.Methods:A randomized, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled add-on design was used.Children with pneumonia or bronchiolitis aged 2 months to 5 years who tested positive for RSV antigen within 72 hours of onset from 30 clinical trial sites including Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University between February 2021 and December 2022 were included in this study and randomly divided into 2 groups at a ratio of 1∶1 based on a stratified-block method.Both groups received basic treatments such as cough control, asthma relieving, expectorant treatment, fever reduction, oxygen therapy, etc.The experimental group received additional nebulized inhalation of IFN α1b injection at a dose of 2.0 μg/(kg·time), twice a day.The control group received nebulized inhalation of placebo twice a day.Clinical efficacy was evaluated based on indicators such as the duration of clinical symptoms and signs, and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the median and 95% CI of the duration of clinical symptoms and signs.The Log-rank test was used to compared data between groups.Safety was assessed through the incidence of adverse reactions and laboratory tests, and the Chi-square test was used to analyze the difference between groups. Results:There were 123 children in the experimental group and 122 children in the control group.The median durations of all the 5 clinical symptoms and signs [including shortness of breath, wheezing, dyspnea (visible retractions), decreased transcutaneous oxygen saturation, and abnormal mental state] in the experimental group after treatment were slightly shortened than those in the control group [2.7 d(95% CI: 1.9-3.0 d)] vs.[2.9 d(95% CI: 2.6-3.6 d), P=0.027].The improvement in dyspnea (retractions) was especially pronounced in the experimental group, with a relief rate of 50.0% (0, 100%) on the first day of administration[compared with 0 (0, 50.0%) in the control group ( Z=2.002, P=0.025)].The median duration of dyspnea in the experimental group was nearly 1 day shorter than that in the control group [1.0 d(95% CI: 0.7-1.7 d) vs.1.8 d(95% CI: 1.0-2.5 d), P=0.046].There were no significant difference in hospital stay [6.0(5.0, 8.0) d vs.6.5(5.0, 8.0) d, Z=0.675, P=0.500], oxygen therapy duration [32.0(14.0, 96.3) h vs.39.0 (24.0, 83.2) h, Z=0.094, P=0.925], the recovery rate from clinical symptoms during treatment [(105/106, 99.1%) vs.(96/101, 95.0%)], and recurrence rate [(0/106, 0) vs.(2/101, 2.0%)] between the 2 groups (all P>0.05).However, the above-mentioned four indicators in the experimental group showed a trend of clinical benefits.The quantitative virus detection results showed that the RSV viral load in both groups decreased after treatment compared to before treatment.After 2 days of treatment, the decline rate of RSV viral load from the baseline was 0.90 lg copies/(mL·d) in the experimental group and 0.25 lg copies/(mL·d)in the control group, with a statistically significant difference ( P<0.05).Furthermore, there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between the 2 groups ( P>0.05).Importantly, no drug-related serious adverse reactions occurred in both groups. Conclusions:The nebulized inhalation therapy of IFN α1b demonstrates efficacy and safety in treating pediatric RSV associated lower respiratory tract infections.It particularly offers outstanding clinical therapeutic value for severe children.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanism of baicalin in alleviating the intestinal mucosal barrier injury in rats with intraperitoneal infection-induced sepsis through the vitamin D receptor(VDR)/nuclear factor E2-relat-ed factor 2(Nrf2)/haemoglobin oxygenase-1(HO-1)signalling pathway.METHODS Twenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into a sham-surgery group,a model group,an ulinastatin group and a baicalin group,with six rats in each group.Sepsis models were established via cecal ligation and puncture(CLP)in rats in each groups ex-cept for the sham surgery group.Six hours after modeling,the sham-surgery and the model groups received intra-peritoneal saline,while the ulinastatin and baicalin groups were administered ulinastatin at 20,000 U/kg and ba-icalin at 100 mg/kg,respectively,via intraperitoneal injection once daily for 5 consecutive days.The histopatho-logical changes in the ileum tissue of rats in each group were observed,and the levels of oxidative stress,inflam-matory factors,and the expression of related mRNA and proteins in the VDR/Nrf2/HO-1 signalling pathway were compared.RESULTS Compared with the sham-surgery group,the model group showed disordered villus ar-rangement,severe intestinal mucosal atrophy and inflammatory cell infiltration,with necrotic epithelial cell shed-ding.Additionally,in the model group,the total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC),superoxide dismutase(SOD),and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-PX)levels reduced,while the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),inter-leukin(IL)-6,and IL-1βsignificantly increased,and the expression of VDR mRNA,Nrf2 mRNA,HO-1 mR-NA,and VDR,Nrf2,and HO-1 proteins were downregulated(P<0.05).Compared with the model group,the ulinastatin group and the baicalin group showed that villus arrangement,intestinal mucosal atrophy and inflamma-tory cell infiltration got improved,the levels of T-AOC,SOD,and GSH-PX elevated,the levels of TNF-α,IL-6,and IL-1βdecreased,and expressions of VDR mRNA,Nrf2 mRNA,HO-1 mRNA,and VDR,Nrf2,and HO-1 proteins were upregulated.Moreover,all indicators in the baicalin group were superior to those in the ulinastatin group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION Baicalin can inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors and regulate the bal-ance of oxidative stress in vivo by up-regulating the VDR/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway,thereby alleviate the in-testinal mucosal barrier dysfunction caused by intraperitoneal infection-induced sepsis.

Objective:To compare the efficacy of pedicle screw placement between computer navigation guidance and freehand assistance in the surgical treatment of isthmic spondylolysis at the lumbar vertebrae.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the 47 patients with bilateral isthmic spondylolysis at the L 5 vertebra who had been treated at Department of Spinal Surgery, The General Hospital of Xinjiang Military Command from January 2020 to April 2023. All were male patients with an age of (24.0±4.3) years. They were divided into a study group (13 cases subjected to pedicle screw placement assisted by computer navigation guidance) and a control group (34 cases subjected to pedicle screw placement assisted freehandedly). The 2 groups were compared in terms of surgical incision length, intraoperative bleeding, screw placement time, postoperative hospital stay, total hospitalization cost, postoperative complications, rate of screw reposition, angle between pedicle screw and upper endplate, angle between bilateral pedicle screws, and placement accuracy; the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score for lumbar spine function, and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were also compared between preoperation, 1-week postoperation, and the last follow-up. Patient satisfaction was assessed according to the modified MacNab criteria, and internal fixation failure and isthmic healing were also evaluated at the last follow-up. Results:There were no statistically significant differences in the preoperative general data between the 2 groups, showing comparability ( P>0.05). The differences were not statistically significant in surgical incision length, intraoperative bleeding, screw placement time, postoperative hospital stay, or postoperative complications ( P>0.05). However, in the study group, the total hospitalization cost was significantly higher than that in the control group, the rate of screw reposition [7.7% (2/26)] significantly lower than that in the study group [26.5% (18/68)], the angle between pedicle screw and upper endplate and the angle between bilateral pedicle screws were both significantly smaller than those in the control group, and the placement accuracy [92.3% (24/26)] was significantly greater than that [70.6% (48/68)] in the control group (all P<0.05). All patients were followed up for 7.0 (5.0, 14.0) months. Patients in both groups showed significant improvements in VAS, JOA score, and ODI at postoperative 1 week and the last follow-up compared with the preoperative values, and the improvements at the last follow-up were significantly larger than those at postoperative 1 week ( P<0.05). According to the modified MacNab criteria at the last follow-up, patient satisfaction was rated as excellent in 10 cases, as good in 2 cases and as moderate in 1 case in the study group while as excellent in 27 cases, as good in 3 cases, as moderate in 3 cases and as poor in 1 case in the control group. In the study group, there were 1 case of internal fixation failure, 1 case of spine cutting-out by titanium cable, and 12 cases of bony healing of the isthmus; in the control group, there were 2 cases of internal fixation failure, 2 cases of spine cutting-out by titanium cable, and 29 cases of bony healing of the isthmus. Conclusions:In the surgical treatment of bilateral isthmic spondylolysis at the L 5 vertebra, computer navigation-guided pedicle screw placement is safe and reliable, showing an advantage of higher accuracy over freehand placement. It deserves clinical promotion due to its satisfactory therapeutic effects.

Zuoguiyin， which first recorded in Jingyue Quanshu written by ZHANG Jiebin in the Ming dynasty， was included in the Catalogue of Ancient Famous Classical Formulas（The Second Batch）. This study followed the Principles of Textual Research on Key Information of Ancient Famous Classical Formulas to determine the key information of Zuoguiyin in ancient and modern literature， such as the formula origin， the composition of the formula and the origin of the drugs. It was found that the composition， dosage， preparation and processing methods of Zuoguiyin were basically the same as the original formula. The original dosage of this formula is 41.03 g of Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata（the fresh or dried tuberous roots of Rehmannia glutinosa， processed by wine stewing or wine steaming）， 7.46 g of Dioscoreae Rhizoma（the dried rhizomes of Dioscorea opposita）， 7.46 g of Lycii Fructus（the dried mature fruit of Lycium barbarum）， 3.73 g of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata cum Melle（the dried roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza uralensis， processed by honey-roasted method）， 5.595 g of Poria（the sclerotium of Poria cocos）， 5.595 g of Corni Fructus（the dried mature fruit pulp of Cornus officinalis）. The method of administration is to add 600 mL of water to all the herbs， decoct to 140 mL and take before meals. The function of Zuoguiyin is to nourish Yin and tonify the kidney， and it is often used in the treatment of lumbar soreness and ejaculation， night sweating， dry mouth and throat， thirst and desire to drink， glossy red tongue， thin and rapid pulse， etc. Since ancient times， Zuoguiyin has been used to treat a variety of internal and gynaecological diseases as well as diseases of the nervous， circulatory and reproductive systems that are predominantly caused by kidney Yin deficiency. However， there is not much research on the modern application and therapeutic mechanism of this formula， and there is no standardized preparation in the market， so the degree of development and utilization is not high， and there is still a lot of room for research.