Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

Aim To explore the therapeutic effect of Shenwuyishen tablets(SWYST)in treating chronic kidney disease(CKD)and the underlying mechanism.Methods The pharmacological action of SWYST was evaluated in folic acid(FA)-induced mouse models by levels of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen,in-dexes of tubulointerstitial inflammation and tubular in-jury,and degrees of renal fibrosis.Differential genes from 22 types of cells in kidney tissue of CKD were i-dentified by single-cell and single-nuclei RNA sequen-cing datasets.Network pharmacology was used to pre-dict key ingredients,cells,and targets.The binding mode between the key ingredients and key targets was elucidated using molecular docking and molecular dy-namics simulation.Results Serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels,tubulointerstitial inflamma-tion and tubular injury indexes,and renal fibrosis de-grees were significantly reduced by SWYST administra-tion.Quercetin,kaempferol,luteolin,baicalein and wogonin were considered as key components that main-ly acted through FOS and JUN of endothelial cells,neu-trophils and thick ascending limb cells to ameliorate CKD.Molecular docking and molecular dynamics sim-ulation revealed that quercetin stably occupied the cross pocket of FOS-JUN heterodimers to inhibit the binding between FOS-JUN heterodimers and DNA.Conclusion SWYST inhibits the binding of FOS-JUN heterodimers and DNA of endothelial cells,neutrophils and thick ascending limb cells to ameliorate CKD.

Aging is comprehensively influenced by multiple fac-tors such as internal genes,cellular metabolism,external envi-ronment,and lifestyle habits.Among them,epigenetic regula-tion plays a core role.Epigenetic modifications,including DNA methylation,histone modification,heterochromatin remodeling,and non-coding RNA regulation,act in concert with the three-di-mensional genome architecture to precisely regulate gene expres-sion.This review elaborates on the factors influencing epigenetic regulation,as well as the mechanisms of how epigenetics affects the occurrence of organismal aging and the corresponding inter-vention strategies,providing relevant insights for uncovering the mechanisms of aging and preventing/treating aging-related disea-ses.

Aim To explore the therapeutic effect of Shenwuyishen tablets(SWYST)in treating chronic kidney disease(CKD)and the underlying mechanism.Methods The pharmacological action of SWYST was evaluated in folic acid(FA)-induced mouse models by levels of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen,in-dexes of tubulointerstitial inflammation and tubular in-jury,and degrees of renal fibrosis.Differential genes from 22 types of cells in kidney tissue of CKD were i-dentified by single-cell and single-nuclei RNA sequen-cing datasets.Network pharmacology was used to pre-dict key ingredients,cells,and targets.The binding mode between the key ingredients and key targets was elucidated using molecular docking and molecular dy-namics simulation.Results Serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels,tubulointerstitial inflamma-tion and tubular injury indexes,and renal fibrosis de-grees were significantly reduced by SWYST administra-tion.Quercetin,kaempferol,luteolin,baicalein and wogonin were considered as key components that main-ly acted through FOS and JUN of endothelial cells,neu-trophils and thick ascending limb cells to ameliorate CKD.Molecular docking and molecular dynamics sim-ulation revealed that quercetin stably occupied the cross pocket of FOS-JUN heterodimers to inhibit the binding between FOS-JUN heterodimers and DNA.Conclusion SWYST inhibits the binding of FOS-JUN heterodimers and DNA of endothelial cells,neutrophils and thick ascending limb cells to ameliorate CKD.

Objective To explore the effect and predictive value of ultrasound-guided needling assisted motor evoked potentials(MEP)and electromyography(EMG)monitoring on neurological recovery in spinal surgery.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 80 patients who underwent spinal surgery at Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine from January 2020 to December 2024.A total of 41 patients in the observation group received ultrasound-guided needling assisted MEP and EMG monitoring,and 39 patients in the control group received conventional method for MEP and EMG monitoring.The operative time,intraoperative blood loss,and the proportions of intraoperative MEP and EMG warnings were compared between the two groups,and the sensitivity and specificity of intraoperative MEP monitoring were compared between the two groups.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was plotted,and the area under the curve(AUC)was calculated to analyze the efficiency of MEP warning in predicting the dysfunction of postoperative spinal cord.Results There were no significant differences in the operative time,intraoperative blood loss,or the proportions of intraoperative MEP and EMG warnings(P>0.05).The sensitivity,specificity and AUC of intraoperative MEP monitoring in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).The sensitivity,specificity,and AUC of postoperative MEP warning in predicting the dysfunction of spinal cord in the observation group were higher than those in the control group,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).Conclusion Ultrasound-guided needling assisted MEP and EMG monitoring can effectively enhance the intraoperative neural monitoring accuracy,and postoperative MEP warning demonstrates superior predictive value for postoperative neurological dysfunction.

Aging is comprehensively influenced by multiple fac-tors such as internal genes,cellular metabolism,external envi-ronment,and lifestyle habits.Among them,epigenetic regula-tion plays a core role.Epigenetic modifications,including DNA methylation,histone modification,heterochromatin remodeling,and non-coding RNA regulation,act in concert with the three-di-mensional genome architecture to precisely regulate gene expres-sion.This review elaborates on the factors influencing epigenetic regulation,as well as the mechanisms of how epigenetics affects the occurrence of organismal aging and the corresponding inter-vention strategies,providing relevant insights for uncovering the mechanisms of aging and preventing/treating aging-related disea-ses.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) in differentiating tumor deposits (TDs) from metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) in rectal cancer. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 70 patients with rectal cancer, including 168 lesions (70 TDs and 98 MLNs confirmed by histopathology), who underwent pretreatment MRI and subsequent surgery between March 2019 and December 2022. The morphological characteristics of TDs and MLNs, along with quantitative parameters derived from DCE-MRI (K trans , kep, and v e) and DWI (ADCmin, ADCmax, and ADCmean), were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Multivariable binary logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of significant individual quantitative parameters and combined parameters in distinguishing TDs from MLNs. Results: All morphological features, including size, shape, border, and signal intensity, as well as all DCE-MRI parameters showed significant differences between TDs and MLNs (all P < 0.05). However, ADC values did not demonstrate significant differences (all P > 0.05). Among the single quantitative parameters, v e had the highest diagnostic accuracy, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.772 for distinguishing TDs from MLNs. A multivariable logistic regression model incorporating short axis, border, v e, and ADC mean improved diagnostic performance, achieving an AUC of 0.833 (P = 0.027). Conclusion The combination of morphological features, DCE-MRI parameters, and ADC values can effectively aid in the preoperative differentiation of TDs from MLNs in rectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of astragaloside IV (AS-IV) on podocyte injury of diabetic nephropathy (DN) and reveal its potential mechanism. METHODS: In in vitro experiment, podocytes were divided into 4 groups, normal, high glucose (HG), inositol-requiring enzyme 1 (IRE-1) α activator (HG+thapsigargin 1 µmol/L), and IRE-1α inhibitor (HG+STF-083010, 20 µmol/L) groups. Additionally, podocytes were divided into 4 groups, including normal, HG, AS-IV (HG+AS-IV 20 µmol/L), and IRE-1α inhibitor (HG+STF-083010, 20 µmol/L) groups, respectively. After 24 h treatment, the morphology of podocytes and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was observed by electron microscopy. The expressions of glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and IRE-1α were detected by cellular immunofluorescence. In in vivo experiment, DN rat model was established via a consecutive 3-day intraperitoneal streptozotocin (STZ) injections. A total of 40 rats were assigned into the normal, DN, AS-IV [AS-IV 40 mg/(kg·d)], and IRE-1α inhibitor [STF-083010, 10 mg/(kg·d)] groups (n=10), respectively. The general condition, 24-h urine volume, random blood glucose, urinary protein excretion rate (UAER), urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine (SCr) levels of rats were measured after 8 weeks of intervention. Pathological changes in the renal tissue were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot were used to detect the expressions of GRP78, IRE-1α, nuclear factor kappa Bp65 (NF-κBp65), interleukin (IL)-1β, NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), caspase-1, gasdermin D-N (GSDMD-N), and nephrin at the mRNA and protein levels in vivo and in vitro, respectively. RESULTS: Cytoplasmic vacuolation and ER swelling were observed in the HG and IRE-1α activator groups. Podocyte morphology and ER expansion were improved in AS-IV and IRE-1α inhibitor groups compared with HG group. Cellular immunofluorescence showed that compared with the normal group, the fluorescence intensity of GRP78 and IRE-1α in the HG and IRE-1α activator groups were significantly increased whereas decreased in AS-IV and IRE-1α inhibitor groups (P<0.05). Compared with the normal group, the mRNA and protein expressions of GRP78, IRE-1α, NF-κ Bp65, IL-1β, NLRP3, caspase-1 and GSDMD-N in the HG group was increased (P<0.05). Compared with HG group, the expression of above indices was decreased in the AS-IV and IRE-1α inhibitor groups, and the expression in the IRE-1α activator group was increased (P<0.05). The expression of nephrin was decreased in the HG group, and increased in AS-IV and IRE-1α inhibitor groups (P<0.05). The in vivo experiment results revealed that compared to the normal group, the levels of blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, BUN, blood creatinine and urinary protein in the DN group were higher (P<0.05). Compared with DN group, the above indices in AS-IV and IRE-1α inhibitor groups were decreased (P<0.05). HE staining revealed glomerular hypertrophy, mesangial widening and mesangial cell proliferation in the renal tissue of the DN group. Compared with the DN group, the above pathological changes in renal tissue of AS-IV and IRE-1α inhibitor groups were alleviated. Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot results of GRP78, IRE-1α, NF-κ Bp65, IL-1β, NLRP3, caspase-1 and GSDMD-N were consistent with immunofluorescence analysis. CONCLUSION AS-IV could reduce ERS and inflammation, improve podocyte pyroptosis, thus exerting a podocyte-protective effect in DN, through regulating IRE-1α/NF-κ B/NLRP3 signaling pathway.
Podocytes/metabolism* ; Animals ; Diabetic Nephropathies/metabolism* ; Saponins/therapeutic use* ; Triterpenes/therapeutic use* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism* ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/metabolism* ; Endoribonucleases/metabolism* ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP ; Rats ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/complications* ; Endoplasmic Reticulum/metabolism* ; Multienzyme Complexes