Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that nucleic acid-based therapies are promising for atherosclerosis. However, nearly all nucleic acid delivery systems developed for atherosclerosis necessitate injection, which results in rapid elimination and poor patient compliance. Consequently, oral delivery strategies capable of targeting atherosclerotic plaques are imperative for nucleic acid therapeutics. Herein we report the development of yeast-derived capsules (YCs) packaging an antisense oligonucleotide (AM33) targeting microRNA-33 (miR-33) for the oral treatment of atherosclerosis. YCs provide stability for AM33, preventing its premature release in the gastrointestinal tract. AM33-containing YCs, defined as YAM33, showed high transfection in macrophages, thus promoting cholesterol efflux and inhibiting foam cell formation by regulating the target genes/proteins of miR-33. Orally delivered YAM33 effectively accumulated within atherosclerotic plaques in ApoE ^-/- mice, primarily by transepithelial absorption via M cells in Peyer's patches and subsequent translocation via macrophages through the lymphatic system. Inhibition of miR-33 by oral YAM33 significantly delayed the progression of atherosclerosis. Moreover, oral treatment with YCs co-delivering AM33 and atorvastatin afforded significantly enhanced anti-atherosclerotic effects. Our findings suggest that yeast-based microcapsules represent an effective carrier for oral delivery of nucleic acids, either alone or in combination with existing drugs, offering a promising approach for precision therapy of atherosclerotic diseases.

Objective To explore the strategy of intrathoracic anastomosis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma when the proximal esophagus is dilated to different degrees and explore its mechanism. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of patients who underwent esophagectomy between 2014 and 2017 in West China Hospital. The patients were divided into two groups including a significant dilatation group with inner mucosal phase diameter (IMPD)≥17.9 mm and a non-significant dilatation group with IMPD<17.9 mm. And the patients were divided into two groups (a layered manual anastomosis group and a stapled anastomosis group) according to anastomosis method and propensity score matching was applied to adjust for potential confounders. Results We finally included 654 patients. There were 206 patients with 158 males and 48 females at average age of 62.21±7.72 years in the layerd manual analstomosis group and 448 patietns with 377 males and 71 females at average age of 62.57±8.42 years in the stapled anastomosis group. We also used Masson trichrome staining to assess the collagen fiber content in the esophagus. Compared with layered manual anastomosis, the incidence of anastomotic leakage was higher in the significant dilatation group than that in the stapled anastomosis group (original cohort: 3.8% vs. 10.7%, P=0.093; propensity score-matched cohort: 1.4% vs. 15.3%, P=0.004). And there was no significant difference in anastomotic leakage b etween layered manual anastomosis and stapled anastomosis in the non-significant dilatation group (original cohort: 4.7% vs. 4.2%, P=0.830; propensity score-matched cohort: 4.8% vs. 4.0%, P=0.206). Moreover, the average collagen fiber area ratio was significantly lower in the significant dilation group than that in the non-significant dilatation group (P=0.045). Conclusion There is a significant reduction in collagen fibers in the proximal esophageal wall tissue of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients with a IMPD≥17.9 mm. Intrathoracic layered manual anastomosis effectively reduces postoperative anastomotic leakage in these patients.

Objective To compare the effectiveness of Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) and High Aspheric Lenslet (HAL) defocus lenses in controlling myopia. Methods A total of 214 children and adolescents who were fitted with defocus lenses (DIMS or HAL) in our hospital from January to June 2023 were selected, including 100 cases in DIMS group and 114 cases in the HAL group. Changes in parameters such as spherical lens power, cylindrical lens power, spherical equivalent (SE), corneal curvature (K), axial length (AL), binocular accommodative response (BCC), positive/negative relative accommodation (PRA/NRA), distance/near latent phoria (DLP/NLP), and accommodative convergence to accommodation ratio (AC/A) were compared between the two groups before wearing and after wearing the lenses for 6 months, and the effectiveness of myopia control between DIMS and HAL was further compared. Results After wearing the lenses (DIMS or HAL) for 6 months, the average increase in axial length was (0.09±0.14) mm, the average increase in spherical lens power was (-0.11±0.23) D, the average increase in astigmatism was (-0.07±0.16) DC, and the average increase in spherical equivalent was (-0.15±0.24) D, with statistically significant differences observed for all these changes (t=9.24, -7.27, -6.60, -9.03, respectively, P < 0.001). Compared with parameters before wearing the lenses, statistically significant differences were noted after wearing for 6 months in spherical lens power, cylindrical lens power, SE, BCC, PRA, DLP, average K, and AL (P≤0.001), except for NRA (t=-0.12, P>0.05), NLP (t=-0.28, P>0.05), and AC/A (t=0.33, P>0.05). The differences in parameters between the two groups after wearing the lenses for 6 months showed a statistically significant difference only in the AL difference (t=4.38, P≤0.001), with no statistically significant differences observed for other parameter differences (P>0.05). Conclusion Wearing defocus lenses has a positive effect on controlling myopia, delaying axial length elongation, and maintaining binocular visual function balance.

Based on the virtual simulation of "digital embryo" in the digital teaching platform for medical morphology, this study constructs the course resources of human embryology by integrating the contents of the course, recording micro-videos, formulating course guides, and analyzing clinical cases, then implements the blended teaching model of pre-class preview, in-class discussion, and after-class expansion, and establishes a course evaluation system combining formative assessment and end-of-course assessment. Comparison of assessment scores and satisfaction questionnaire between traditional off-line teaching and blended teaching showed a significant improvement in total score, and more than 5% of the students reported a significant reduction in the difficulty of the course, while the degree of satisfaction with the course was increased by 11%. This suggests that the establishment of the blended teaching model of human embryology meets the requirements for personalized and diversified learning among students, realizes the diversity of teaching methods and teaching evaluation, and improves the quality of teaching.

Objective:To assess the left ventricular myocardial function in non-ST-segment-elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients with normal wall motion and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI) by noninvasive myocardial work technology, and to explore the evolution of left ventricular myocardial function recovery.Methods:A total of 92 NSTE-ACS patients from July to December 2019 in Beijing Chao Yang Hospital with normal wall motion and LVEF (>55%) after PCI were recruited. Echocardiography was performed 1 day before PCI, 1 day, 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months after PCI. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) was analyzed, and Brachial cuff systolic pressure was used as left ventricular pressure to construct a non-invasive left ventricular pressure-strain loop. Global myocardial work index (GWI), global constructive work (GCW), global waste work (GWW), global myocardial work efficiency (GWE) among groups were compared and their correlations with strain parameters were explored.Results:GWI, GCW, GWE were improved ( P<0.05) at 1 day after PCI, GLS improved ( P<0.05) and GWW decreased ( P<0.05) at 2 weeks, LVEF improved ( P<0.05) at 1 month. Baseline GWI and GCW had a moderately negative correlation with GLS ( r=-0.67, -0.66; both P<0.05); GWW had a moderately positive correlation with mechanical dispersion(MD) and postsystolic shortening index(PSI) ( rs=0.45, 0.50; both P<0.05); GWE had a moderately negative correlation with GLS, MD and PSI ( rs=-0.47, -0.55, -0.56; all P<0.05). Conclusions:Left ventricular myocardial function gradually improves in NSTE-ACS patients with normal wall motion and LVEF after PCI. Myocardial work parameters changes are more sensitive than GLS and LVEF, and can assess early left ventricular myocardial function changes after PCI.

Objective    To compare the surgical efficacy of Da Vinci robot-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE) and video-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (VAMIE) on esophageal cancer. Methods    Online databases including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Medline, EMbase and CNKI from inception to 31, December 2019 were searched by two researchers independently to collect the literature comparing the clinical efficacy of RAMIE and VAMIE on esophageal cancer. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess quality of the literature. The meta-analysis was performed by RevMan 5.3. Results    A total of 14 studies with 1 160 patients were enrolled in the final study, and 12 studies were of high quality. RAMIE did not significantly prolong total operative time (P=0.20). No statistical difference was observed in the thoracic surgical time through the McKeown surgical approach (MD=3.35, 95%CI –3.93 to 10.62, P=0.37) or in surgical blood loss between RAMIE and VAMIE (MD=–9.48, 95%CI –27.91 to 8.95, P=0.31). While the RAMIE could dissect more lymph nodes in total and more lymph nodes along the left recurrent laryngeal recurrent nerve (MD=2.24, 95%CI 1.09 to 3.39, P=0.000 1; MD=0.89, 95%CI 0.13 to 1.65, P=0.02) and had a lower incidence of vocal cord paralysis (RR=0.70, 95%CI 0.53 to 0.92, P=0.009). Conclusion    There is no statistical difference observed between RAMIE and VAMIE in surgical time and blood loss. RAMIE can harvest more lymph nodes than VAMIE, especially left laryngeal nerve lymph nodes. RAMIE shows a better performance in reducing the left laryngeal nerve injury and a lower rate of vocal cord paralysis compared with VAMIE.

Objective:To explore the trans-membrane signaling mechanism of interleukin-6 (IL-6)-induced osteogenic differentiation and calcification of human umbilical artery smooth muscle cells (HUASMCs).Methods:HUASMCs were primarily cultured in vitro and were stimulated with IL-6, IL-6+solutable IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R), IL-6+sIL-6R+solutable gp130 (sgp130), or vehicle (blank control). Alizarin red and Von Kossa staining were used for detecting cell calcification, Western blot was used to test the protein expression of tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP), osteopontin (OPN), bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) and Runt related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), and immunofluorescence was used to examine the mIL-6R expression of HUASMCs. The comparison of measurement date between the two groups was conducted by t-test. The comparison of measurement date between multiple groups was conducted by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results:The intensity severity of calcification stain was IL-6+sIL-6R group >IL-6+sIL-6R+sgp130 group>IL-6 group=blank control. After stimulated for 12 hours, the TNAP expression in blank control, IL-6 group, IL-6+sIL-6R group, IL-6+sIL-6R+sgp130 group were (0.44±0.08), (0.52±0.14), (0.84±0.16) and (0.55±0.10) respectively ( F=290.96, P<0.001). After stimulated for 3 days, the OPN expression in blank control, IL-6 group, IL-6+sIL-6R group, IL-6+sIL-6R+sgp130 group were (0.61±0.84), (0.95±0.16), (1.65±0.24) and (0.99±0.10) respectively ( F=507.72, P<0.001). After stimulated for 12 hours, the BMP-2 expression in blank control, IL-6 group, IL-6+sIL-6R group, IL-6+sIL-6R+sgp130 group were (0.77±0.05), (1.69±0.16), (2.81±0.26) and (0.57±0.12) respectively ( F=959.09, P<0.001). After stimulated for 3 days, the Runx2 expression in blank control, IL-6 group, IL-6+sIL-6R group,IL-6+sIL-6R+sgp130 group were (0.57±0.03) , (0.92±0.10), (1.31±0.13) and (0.66±0.06) respectively ( F=1141.27, P<0.001). Comparing with Jurkat cells (positive control) and CEM cells (negative control), HUASMCs limited expressed mIL-6R. Conclusion:IL-6 may induce HUASMCs osteogenic differentiation and calcification mainly via the sIL-6R-mediated trans-signaling pathway.

Objective     To analyze the perioperative outcomes of uniportal thoracoscopic lobectomy compared with three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy. Methods     Data were extracted from the Western China Lung Cancer Database, a prospectively maintained database at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University. Perioperative outcomes of the patients who underwent uniportal or three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung cancer during January 2014 through April 2021 were analyzed by using propensity score matching. Altogether 5 817 lung cancer patients were enrolled who underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy (uniportal: 530 patients; three-port: 5 287 patients). After matching, 529 patients of uniportal and 1 583 patients of three-port were included. There were 529 patients with 320 males and 209 females at median age of 58 (51, 65) years in the uniportal group and 1 583 patients with 915 males and 668 females at median age of 58 (51, 65) years in the three-port group. Results     Uniportal thoracoscopic lobectomy was associated with less intraoperative blood loss (20 mL vs. 30 mL, P<0.001), longer operative time (115 min vs. 105 min, P<0.001) than three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy. No significant difference was found between the two groups regarding the number of lymph node dissected, rate of conversion to thoracotomy, incidence of postoperative complication, postoperative pain score within 3 postoperative days, length of hospital stay, or hospitalization expenses. Conclusion     Uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy is safe and effective, and the overall perioperative outcomes are comparable between uniportal and three-port strategies, although the two groups show differences in intraoperative blood loss.

Objective:To analyse the factors associated with the selection of breast- conserving surgery in early female patients with breast cancer.Methods:The targeted patients were females diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer and received surgical treatment at Fujian Provincial Hospital from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2019. The targeted patients' clinical, demographic, and social-economic characteristics were extracted from the hospital health information system. Relevant information of their attending surgeons was collected through a smart-phone based self-respond online survey. We performed multivariate logistic regression to explore the associated factors with breast-conserving surgery (BCS) decision-making.Results:The age of the patient and attending surgeon and the economic development level of the patient's residence area were the associated factors with BCS decision-making of female early-stage breast cancer. By controlling the other factors unchanged, patients from middle-income areas were more likely to accept BCS ( OR=1.91, 95% CI: 1.01-3.62, P=0.05) than those from low-income areas. When the attending surgeon was at the average age of 45 years old, increasing of 1 year age of patient led to 4% decrease of the probability of BCS (95% CI: -0.07 - -0.01, P=0.01). When the patient was at the average age of 52 years old, increasing of 1 year age of the attending surgeon reduced 10% of the probability of BCS (95% CI: -0.19 - -0.01, P=0.03). The interaction effects related to the age of attending surgeon and patient for some observations to choose BCS were statistically significant, and the average interaction effect was 0.06% ( Z=2.11, s x =0.000 3, P<0.05). Conclusion:To promote breast-conserving surgery in the indicated early female patients with breast cancer, it is necessary to consider factors from both the surgeons and the patients.