ObjectiveTo study the therapeutic mechanism of Xihuang Wan for hyperplasia of mammary glands based on network pharmacology， molecular docking， and cell experiments. MethodsThe active ingredients and targets of Xihuang Wan were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP） and A Bioinformatics Annotation daTabase for Molecular mechANism of Traditional Chinese Medicine （BATMAN-TCM） and supplemented by searching against PubChem and Swiss Target Prediction. The targets of differential metabolites in tissues and urine were obtained from previous metabolomics studies through PubChem and Swiss Target Prediction. GeneCards， Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM）， PharmGKB， Therapeutic Target Database （TTD）， Drunbank were searched for the targets of hyperplasia of mammary glands. After the common targets were obtained via Veeny2.1.0， the STRING database was used to analyze the protein-protein interactions， and Cytoscape was used for the core target analysis and visualization. Gene Ontology （GO） and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） were employed for enrichment analysis. Molecular docking was carried out in Autodock， and cell experiments were conducted to verify the prediction results. In the cell experiments， estradiol and progesterone （E₂+P） were used to intervene in human mammary epithelial/MCF-10A cells， and thus the MCF-10A cell proliferation model was established. The cells were then treated with Xihuang Wan-medicated serum. The cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） was used to measure the cell proliferation， and flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis. The mRNA and protein levels of key factors in MCF-10A cells were determined by real-time PCR and Western blot， respectively. ResultsThe results of network pharmacology showed that 90 active ingredients and 316 common targets were obtained， from which 20 core targets and 38 corresponding active ingredients were screened out. The results of GO and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that Xihuang Wan exerted effect against hyperplasia of mammary glands by regulating a variety of biological processes， which may be related to protein kinase B （Akt）-related molecular functions， estrogen signaling pathway， prolactin signaling pathway and other biological processes. The results of molecular docking showed that estrogen receptor 1 （ESR1）， serine/threonine kinase 1 （Akt1）， non-receptor tyrosine kinase （SRC）， and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 （STAT3） all had strong binding activity with the nine active ingredients， suggesting that Xihuang Wan exert the effect through the ESR1/SRC/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/Akt signaling pathway and the Janus kinase （JAK）/STAT3 signaling pathway. The results of cell experiments showed that E₂+P intervention in MCF-10A cells promoted the proliferation of MCF-10A cells （P<0.05）， while the Xihuang Wan-medicated serum inhibited the proliferation of MCF-10A cells exposed to E₂+P （P<0.05）. Flow cytometry showed that the Xihuang Wan-medicated serum promoted the apoptosis of MCF-10A cells exposed to E₂+P （P<0.01）. The results of Real-time PCR showed that the Xihuang Wan-medicated serum down-regulated the mRNA levels of PI3K， Akt， JAK2， and STAT3 in MCF-10A cells treated with E₂+P （P<0.01）. The results of Western blot showed that the Xihuang Wan-medicated serum inhibited the expression of p-PI3K/PI3K， p-Akt/Akt， p-JAK2/JAK2， and p-STAT3/STAT3 in MCF-10A cells treated with E₂+P （P<0.05）. ConclusionXihuang Wan may exert the effect against hyperplasia of mammary glands by inhibiting the proliferation and promoting the apoptosis of MCF-10A cells， which may related to the inhibition of the activation of PI3K/Akt and JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathways.

AIM: To investigate the role of pyroptosis in the development of diabetic retinopathy(DR)and to explore the regulatory mechanism by which circular RNA(circRNA)and its targeted microRNA(miRNA)mediate pyroptosis in DR, providing new therapeutic targets and strategies for the prevention and treatment of DR.METHODS: A streptozotocin(STZ)-induced model of type 1 diabetes in SD rats was established. The expression of circRNA_0076631, miR-214, and pyroptosis-related factors were measured in retinal tissues. CCK-8 and tube formation assays were used to detect the effect of different concentration of glucose on cell proliferation and angiogenic abilities of human retinal microvascular endothelial cells(HRMECs). The expression levels of circRNA_0076631, miR-214, and pyroptosis-related markers were evaluated through qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis, with additional experiments conducted following circRNA_0076631 knockdown to assess its effect on pyroptosis markers. Previous bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assays identified a shared binding site among circRNA_0076631, miR-214, and caspase-1. To clarify the interaction between these molecules, co-transfection experiments using circRNA_0076631 inhibitors(ASO-circRNA_0076631), miR-214 overexpression transfection reagent, and miR-214 inhibitors(AMO-miR-214)were conducted to elucidate the regulatory pathway involved in DR.RESULTS: Both the diabetic rat model and D-glucose-treated HRMECs showed significantly elevated expression of circRNA_0076631 and pyroptosis-related factors(NLRP3, caspase-1, and IL-1β), while miR-214 expression was reduced(all P<0.05). The mRNA expression of pyroptosis-related factors caspase-1 was reduced after the overexpression of miR-214, and it was upregulated after the inhibition of miR-214(all P<0.05). Knockdown of circRNA_0076631 reduced the mRNA expression of pyroptosis markers caspase-1(P<0.05). Co-transfection experiments revealed that the inhibition circRNA_0076631 suppressed pyroptosis(all P<0.05), but this suppression was reversed upon co-transfection with miR-214 inhibitors, leading to increased mRNA expression of the pyroptosis marker caspase-1(all P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The circRNA_0076631 and pyroptosis play critical roles in the pathogenesis of DR, and circRNA_0076631 may regulate pyroptosis by modulating miR-214, which in turn influences the expression of caspase-1 in the pyroptosis signaling pathway, thereby contributing to DR progression. The circRNA_0076631 may serve as a novel therapeutic target, providing new insights for the prevention and treatment of DR.

AIM: To investigate the role of pyroptosis in the development of diabetic retinopathy(DR)and to explore the regulatory mechanism by which circular RNA(circRNA)and its targeted microRNA(miRNA)mediate pyroptosis in DR, providing new therapeutic targets and strategies for the prevention and treatment of DR.METHODS: A streptozotocin(STZ)-induced model of type 1 diabetes in SD rats was established. The expression of circRNA_0076631, miR-214, and pyroptosis-related factors were measured in retinal tissues. CCK-8 and tube formation assays were used to detect the effect of different concentration of glucose on cell proliferation and angiogenic abilities of human retinal microvascular endothelial cells(HRMECs). The expression levels of circRNA_0076631, miR-214, and pyroptosis-related markers were evaluated through qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis, with additional experiments conducted following circRNA_0076631 knockdown to assess its effect on pyroptosis markers. Previous bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporter assays identified a shared binding site among circRNA_0076631, miR-214, and caspase-1. To clarify the interaction between these molecules, co-transfection experiments using circRNA_0076631 inhibitors(ASO-circRNA_0076631), miR-214 overexpression transfection reagent, and miR-214 inhibitors(AMO-miR-214)were conducted to elucidate the regulatory pathway involved in DR.RESULTS: Both the diabetic rat model and D-glucose-treated HRMECs showed significantly elevated expression of circRNA_0076631 and pyroptosis-related factors(NLRP3, caspase-1, and IL-1β), while miR-214 expression was reduced(all P<0.05). The mRNA expression of pyroptosis-related factors caspase-1 was reduced after the overexpression of miR-214, and it was upregulated after the inhibition of miR-214(all P<0.05). Knockdown of circRNA_0076631 reduced the mRNA expression of pyroptosis markers caspase-1(P<0.05). Co-transfection experiments revealed that the inhibition circRNA_0076631 suppressed pyroptosis(all P<0.05), but this suppression was reversed upon co-transfection with miR-214 inhibitors, leading to increased mRNA expression of the pyroptosis marker caspase-1(all P<0.05).CONCLUSION: The circRNA_0076631 and pyroptosis play critical roles in the pathogenesis of DR, and circRNA_0076631 may regulate pyroptosis by modulating miR-214, which in turn influences the expression of caspase-1 in the pyroptosis signaling pathway, thereby contributing to DR progression. The circRNA_0076631 may serve as a novel therapeutic target, providing new insights for the prevention and treatment of DR.

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL), a rare subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is classified as an independent subtype of extranodal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in the 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification (Turner et al., 2010). The 5th edition of the World Health Organization (WHO 2022) classification of hematolymphoid tumors retains this subtype (Alaggio et al., 2022). IVLBCL, which is characterized by neoplastic lymphocyte proliferation within the lumen of small blood vessels, tends to invade organs, such as the nervous system, skin, bone marrow (BM), and lung (D'Angelo et al., 2019; Satoh et al., 2019; Vásquez et al., 2019; Fukami et al., 2020).
Humans ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use* ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/drug therapy* ; Vascular Neoplasms/therapy*

Objective Based on the “excellent” performance achieved by our institution in the 2024 national intercomparison of monitoring individual dose from external exposure, this paper systematically summarizes key technical elements and optimization experiences in instrument calibration, operational protocols, and data analysis, aiming to provide methodological references and practical support for continuously enhancing the accuracy and reliability of individual dose monitoring. Methods As a participant in the intercomparison activity, our laboratory strictly followed the technical protocol formulated by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Results In the 2024 national intercomparison of monitoring individual dose from external exposure, the measurement results met the criteria of single-group performance \begin{document}$ \left|{P}_{i}\right| $\end{document} ≤ 0.10 and comprehensive performance B² + S² ≤ 0.10², and were rated as excellent. Conclusion The accuracy and reliability of monitoring individual dose from external exposure depend on the precision of instrument calibration, standardization of operations, and strictness of quality control. The effectiveness of the above quality control methods has been confirmed by the practice of our laboratory. These methods can be used to ensure the accuracy of measurement results.

Objective:To compare minimally invasive surgery with traditional open surgery, analyze the current application status of health economic evaluations in the treatment of digestive tract cancers, such as esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer by minimally invasive surgery and provide evidence for the rational selection of clinical treatment, alleviation of disease-related economic burdens, and rational allocation of healthcare resources.Methods:By using five databases, i.e. China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang data, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, and Embase, a database was established to retrieve all the papers about health economic studies of minimally invasive surgery for esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer published until December 31, 2023. Literature was analyzed by using software NoteExpress 3.8, and data were processed using Excel 2021. The quality of included papers was evaluated using the CHEERS 2022 checklist, and Meta-analysis was conducted by using software Stata 17.0.Results:A total of 10 919 relevant papers were retrieved, and 59 studies were included. Only 14 studies (23.7%) used standard health economic evaluation methods. Meta-analysis results revealed no significant differences in direct medical expenditure and total expenditure between minimally invasive surgery and open surgery. However, the expenditure for minimally invasive surgery exhibited a significant increase [mean difference ( MD)=5 973.12 yuan, P<0.001], while hospital stay and indirect expenditure significantly decreased ( MD: -4.85 days and -733.79 yuan, P<0.001). In China, for gastric cancer, the direct medical expenditure of endoscopic surgery was lower than that of open surgery ( MD=-33 000.00 yuan) with no significant difference ( P<0.001). In colorectal cancer cases, the direct medical and surgical expenditures for laparoscopic surgery were higher than those for open surgery ( MD: 4 277.94 yuan and 4 267.80 yuan, P<0.001), while the indirect and total medical expenditures decreased ( MD: -768.34 yuan and -159.10 yuan). Hospital stays in patients who had minimally invasive surgery for all three types of cancer were shorter than those who had open surgery ( P<0.001). Conclusions:In the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer, compared with open surgery, minimally invasive surgery shows higher expenditure, but has advantages, such as shorter hospital stay and lower indirect expenditure, and there were no significant differences in direct medical and total expenditures between the two approaches. When conducting health economic evaluation, factors such as postoperative complications, hospital stay, and patient's economic status should be considered for their impact on total medical expenditure. It is necessary to pay attention to the application of health economic evaluations in healthcare decision-making.

Objective:To explore the association between spicy food intake and the risk for cardio/cerebrovascular diseases.Methods:Data were collected from the China Kadoorie Biobank project conducted in Pengzhou, Sichuan Province. Using the Cox proportional hazards regression model, we analyzed the associations of the frequency of spicy food intake, spicy level, types of spicy food, and the age when regular intake of spicy food began (intake in 1 day/week), with the risk for cardio/cerebrovascular disease. Furthermore, the associations with the risks for ischemic heart disease (IHD) and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as the risk of ischemic stroke (IS) and hemorrhagic stroke (HS) were analyzed.Results:A total of 54 859 study participants were included in the study, in whom 49 320 had spicy food intake (89.90%). In these participants, 37 680 (68.69%) had spicy food intake in 6-7 days/week, 5 036 (9.18%) had spicy food intake in 1-5 days/week, and 6 604 (12.03%) had spicy food intake once a week; 5 539 (10.10%) had never/almost never had spicy food intake. After adjusting for multiple confounding factors, compared with those who never/almost never had spicy food intake, intake of spicy food was associated with reduced risks for IHD (intake in 6-7 days/week: HR=0.86, 95% CI: 0.78-0.95), cerebrovascular diseases (intake in 6-7 days/week: HR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.81-0.96), and IS (intak in 6-7 days/week: HR=0.85, 95% CI: 0.76-0.95). With the increase of spicy food intake frequency, the risk for cardio/cerebrovascular disease decreased (intake in 1-5 days/week: HR=0.91, 95% CI: 0.85-0.98; intake in 6-7 days/week: HR=0.89, 95% CI: 0.84-0.94) (trend test P<0.001). However, no statistical association was found between spicy food intake and the risk for HS. In terms of spicy level, after adjusting for multiple confounding factors, compared with those who never/almost never had spicy food intake, intake of spicy food was associated with reduced risk for cardio/cerebrovascular disease (moderate: HR=0.86, 95% CI: 0.82-0.90) and cerebrovascular disease (moderate: HR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.84-0.97). With the increase of spicy level, the risk for IHD decreased (moderate: HR=0.86, 95% CI: 0.79-0.93; strong: HR=0.84, 95% CI: 0.74-0.95) (trend test P<0.001). After adjusting for multiple confounding factors, compared with those who never/almost never had spicy food intake, intake of any type of spicy food was associated with reduced risk for cardio/cerebrovascular disease, IHD, and cerebrovascular disease. Regulat intake of spicy food from age 0-10 years was associated with reduced risk for cardio/cerebrovascular disease, IHD, and cerebrovascular disease. Regular intake of spicy food from age 11-20 years reduced the risk for cardio/cerebrovascular disease and IHD. There was no significant association between the regular intake of spicy food from age 21-79 years and the risks for cardio/cerebrovascular disease, IHD and cerebrovascular disease. Conclusion:The intake of spicy food could reduced the risk for cardio/cerebrovascular diseases, IHD, cerebrovascular diseases and IS in residents aged 30-79 years in Sichuan.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology, primarily involving the colon and rectum. Characterized by recurrent episodes and prolonged disease course, UC requires dynamic monitoring and evaluation. Current commonly used methods for disease monitoring and assessment include C-reactive protein (CRP), fecal calprotectin (FC), and colonoscopy. However, CRP lacks specificity, FC fails to effectively differentiate UC from Crohn's disease, while colonoscopy involves complex bowel preparation, is invasive, and suffers from poor patient compliance. Therefore, there is an urgent clinical need to identify non-invasive biological markers with high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis and evaluation of UC. Recent studies have demonstrated that anti-integrin αvβ6 autoantibodies hold significant value in the diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and disease assessment of UC, potentially emerging as an important clinical biomarker. This article reviews the research progress of anti-integrin αvβ6 autoantibodies in UC for reference.

Objective:To analyze the incidence and perinatal factors of death or severe intraventricular hemorrhage (sIVH) within the first week of life in preterm infants with gestational age <32 weeks.Methods:Based on the online data platform of Sina-northern Neonatal Network, a case-control study was conducted using clinical data from 8 903 preterm infants with gestational age <32 weeks admitted to 35 neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) between 2019 and 2023. Infants were classified by gestational age at birth into very preterm infants and extremely preterm infants. Infants who died or developed sIVH within the first week of life were defined as the case group, while those who survived and did not develop sIVH were defined as the control group. The general information of the infants, maternal perinatal factors, the 5 th minute Apgar score, incidence of hypothermia or early-onset sepsis, and the first arterial blood pH value were compared between the case and control groups of very preterm infants and extremely preterm infants. The χ2 test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test were used for intergroup comparisons. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors for death or sIVH within the first week of life in very preterm and extremely preterm infants. Results:Among the 8 903 preterm infants with gestational age <32 weeks, 4 993 (56.1%) were male, with a gestational age at birth of 30.0 (28.4, 31.0) weeks. A total of 865 cases (9.7%) were death or sIVH within the first week of life. The case group took up 5.8% (426/7 316) and 27.7% (439/1 587) of very preterm infants and extremely preterm infants, respectively. Compared to the control group, the case group of very preterm and extremely preterm infants both had higher incidences of low gestational age, low birth weight, small for gestational age, the 5 th minute Apgar score ≤7, early-onset sepsis, hypothermia at admission, and first arterial blood pH <7.20 (all P<0.001). The proportion of mother′s full course antenatal corticosteroids use were both lower in both case group (both P<0.001). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed several risk factors for death or sIVH within the first week of life in very preterm and extremely preterm infants, including: low gestational age ( OR=0.70 and 0.74, 95% CI 0.60-0.82 and 0.66-0.83, both P<0.001), low birth weight ( OR=0.99 and 0.99, 95% CI 0.99-1.00 and 0.99-1.00, both P<0.05), early-onset sepsis ( OR=1.82 and 2.20, 95% CI 1.42-2.34 and 1.74-2.79, both P<0.001), the 5 th minute Apgar score ≤7 ( OR=1.41 and 2.69, 95% CI 1.10-1.81 and 2.17-3.34, both P<0.01), hypothermia at admission ( OR=1.55 and 1.38,95% CI 1.17-2.07 and 1.08-1.76,both P<0.05) and the first arterial blood pH <7.20 ( OR=2.20 and 2.57, 95% CI 1.70-2.84 and 2.05-3.21, both P<0.001). Multiple births were an independent risk factor only for extremely preterm infants ( OR=1.32, 95% CI 1.02-1.71, P<0.05). Prenatal administration of a full course of antenatal corticosteroids was identified as a protective factor in very preterm and extremely preterm infants ( OR=0.74 and 0.62, 95% CI 0.58-0.95 and 0.51-0.76, both P<0.05). Conclusions:The incidence of death or sIVH within the first week of life remains high in preterm infants with gestational age <32 weeks. The smaller gestational age and lower birth weight, early-onset sepsis, birth asphyxia, hypothermia at admission, and a first arterial blood pH <7.20 were independent risk factors for death or sIVH within the first week of life in preterm infants with gestational age <32 weeks. A full course of antenatal corticosteroids significantly reduced the risk of these adverse outcomes.

Objective:To investigate the clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of neurocutaneous melanosis in children caused by NRAS gene variants.Methods:Three cases of neurocutaneous melanosis from Children's Hospital of Fudan University (case 1 and case 2) and Shanghai Children′s Hospital, School of Medicine Shanghai Jiaotong University (case 3) from July 2022 to February 2023 were collected. The clinical, histopathological, immunohistochemical and genetic results of three patients were retrospectively analyzed. The literatures were reviewed.Results:The patients were all female, aged 5, 4 and 3 years, respectively. The patients presented with severe headache with other symptoms of increased intracranial pressure. Physical examination showed multiple congenital melanocytic nevi throughout the body. Imaging examination showed intracranial masses, which were located in the right cerebellum, pineal gland and left temporal lobe, respectively. The maximum diameters were 39.1 mm, 72.8 mm and 52.2 mm, respectively. Histologically, the tumor showed diffuse sheets of round or oval-shaped cells arranged in nests, with marked nuclear atypia, eosinophilic cytoplasm, dark nuclei, and prominent nucleoli. Giant tumor cells were seen and mitotic figures were easily observed. There were hemorrhage and necrosis. Pigment granules were found in the cytoplasm and stroma in case 1 and case 2. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells showed diffuse and strong staining of SOX10, S-100, HMB45 and Melan A, but did not express GFAP and CKpan. The Ki-67 proliferation index ranged from 30% to 80%. Genetic testing showed that case 1 and case 2 had NRAS Q61K matation, and case 3 had NRAS Q61R mutation. Case 1 and case 3 underwent complete resection of the tumor combined with chemotherapy. Case 2 was diagnosed by biopsy and underwent resection after chemotherapy and radiotherapy. All patients were followed up for 18, 21 and 25 months, respectively. All patients died due to complications such as increased intracranial pressure and hydrocephalus.Conclusions:Neurocutaneous melanosis is a congenital neurocutaneous syndrome caused by abnormal development of embryonic neuroectodermal melanoblasts. Most cases are associated with somatic mutations of NRAS gene. Clinicians should pay attention to the skin manifestations and neuroimaging examination in patients with unexplained intracranial hypertension or epilepsy. The diagnosis of neurocutaneous melanosis depends on histopathology and genetic testing.