BACKGROUND:Sodium alginate,a natural polysaccharide,has become one of the ideal materials for preparing injectable hydrogels because it is an abundant and cheap resource,and has good biocompatibility and biodegradability.It has been widely used in the production of injectable hydrogels. OBJECTIVE:To review the properties of sodium alginate,the preparation of injectable sodium alginate hydrogel,and its application progress in tissue engineering. METHODS:Web of Science,PubMed,and CNKI were searched by computer.Chinese search terms were"sodium alginate;hydrogel;injectable",and English search terms were"alginate;hydrogel;inject".The time range of searching literature was mainly from June 2017 to June 2022. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Alginic acid comes from a wide range of sources,and there are many modifiable groups in its molecular structure,so many injectable hydrogels with excellent properties can be produced by various chemical crosslinking or physical crosslinking methods.Introducing other bioactive molecules or drugs into sodium alginate gel can adjust its properties and broaden its application fields.In addition,injectable sodium alginate hydrogels have great application prospects in biomedicine because of their good biocompatibility,biodegradability and other physical and chemical properties.Sodium alginate hydrogels are evenly mixed with various drugs,cells,factors or other biological molecules in vitro,and can form gels in the human body,which plays a pivotal role in gene carrier,cell scaffold and wound repair.

Objective:To establish the pig model of cardiac arrest and resuscitation, and then investigate the protective role of sivelestat (SV) on the heart after resuscitation and its relation with β-catenin signaling pathway.Methods:Twenty-five healthy male white pigs were purchased. The animals were randomly divided into the Sham group ( n=6), cardiopulmonary resuscitation group (CPR, n=10), and CPR+SV group ( n=9). The experimental animal model was established by 9 min of cardiac arrest induced by the method of ventricular fibrillation and then 6 min of CPR in the CPR and CPR+SV groups. At 5 min after successful resuscitation, a dose of 10 mg/kg of SV was infused in a duration of 1h via the femoral vein with a micro-infusion pump in the CPR+SV group. Myocardial function evaluated by the values of stroke volume (SV) and global ejection fraction (GEF) was measured by PiCCO at baseline, and at 0.5, 1, 2, 4 h after resuscitation. The serum concentrations of cardiac injury biomarkers including cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and creatine kinase isoenzymes (CK-MB) were measured by ELISA using blood samples drawn from the femoral vein at baseline, and at 1, 2, 4, and 24 h after resuscitation. The animals were euthanized at 24 h after resuscitation, and then cardiac tissue samples were harvested to measure the protein expression levels of β-catenin, Cyclin D1, c-Myc, cleaved caspase-9, and cleaved caspase-3 by Western blot and the degree of cell apoptosis by TUNEL. Results:Prior to cardiac arrest, myocardial function and cardiac injury biomarkers were maintained at the same levels, and no differences were observed among the three groups (all P> 0.05). After resuscitation, myocardial dysfunction and cardiac injury were observed in the CPR and CPR+SV groups, in which the values of SV and GEF were significantly decreased and meanwhile the serum concentrations of cTnI and CKMB were significantly increased when compared with the Sham group (all P< 0.05). However, myocardial dysfunction and cardiac injury were significantly milder in the CPR+SV group, in which the value of SV at 4h post-resuscitation and the values of GEF starting 1h post-resuscitation were significantly increased, and the serum concentrations of cTnI and CKMB were significantly decreased at 4 and 24 h post-resuscitation when compared to the CPR group (all P< 0.05). Tissue measurements indicated that the change of β-catenin signaling pathway and the occurrence of cell apoptosis were observed in the heart at 24 h post-resuscitation in the CPR and CPR+SV groups, which were indicated by significant increases in the protein expression levels of β-catenin, Cyclin D1, c-Myc, cleaved caspase-9, and cleaved caspase-3, and marked elevation in the index of cell apoptosis when compared with the Sham groups (all P< 0.05). However, the expression levels of proteins mentioned above were significantly decreased in the heart at 24 h post-resuscitation and the index of cell apoptosis was significantly reduced in the CPR+SV group when compared to the CPR group (all P< 0.05). Conclusion:SV has the protective role in alleviating post-resuscitation myocardial dysfunction and cardiac injury, in which the protective mechanism is possibly related to the alleviation of cell apoptosis through the inhibition of β-catenin signaling pathway activation.

BACKGROUND:The objective of this retrospective hospital-based study was to describe the epidemiological features of traumatic spinal cord injury(TSCI)in the intensive care unit(ICU)and assess the incidence and possible risk factors for venous thromboembolism(VTE)following TSCI. METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 370 patients with TSCI who were admitted between January 2018 and March 2023.The following parameters were collected:age,sex,body mass index,occupation,underlying diseases,smoking history,education level,etiology of injury,injury segments,American Spinal Injury Association(ASIA)Impairment Scale score,severity of injury,injury severity score(ISS),VTE risk score(Caprini score),treatment,VTE prophylaxis,ICU length of stay,length of hospital stay,concomitant injuries,and complications.Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic and clinical characteristics of the study participants.Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors for VTE. RESULTS:The mean age of patients with TSCI was 55.5±13.4 years,with a male-to-female ratio of 6.5:1.The leading cause of TSCI was falls from height(46.5%),followed by traffic accidents(36.5%).The cervical spinal cord was the most affected segment,followed by the thoracolumbar region.Among all the patients,362(97.8%)had concomitant injuries.Complications were observed in 255 patients(68.9%)during hospitalization.The incidence rate of VTE was 25.1%.Logistic regression analysis revealed that age(OR=1.721,95%CI:1.207-2.454,P=0.003),mechanical ventilation(OR=3.427,95%CI:1.873-6.271,P<0.001),and non-use of chemical prophylaxis(OR=2.986,95%CI:1.749-5.099,P<0.001)were risk factors for VTE. CONCLUSION:Falls from height and traffic accidents were the main causes of TSCIs in the ICU,especially for male patients with cervical spinal cord injuries.VTE is a frequent complication in patients with TSCI in the ICU.Age,mechanical ventilation,and non-use of chemical prophylaxis were found to be independent risk factors for VTE following TSCI.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the mechanisms by which Pinggan Yishen Decoction(PGYSD)contributes to alleviating target organ damage in spontaneously hypertensive rats.METHODS The chemical components of PGYSD were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(UPLC-Q-TOF/MS)and were analyzed by target a-nalysis and functional enrichment combined with network pharmacology methods to predict the potential mechanism of PGYSD in trea-ting hypertension and its target organ damage.Spontaneously hypertensive rats were randomly divided into the model group,low-dose PGYSD group(2 g·kg-1),high-dose PGYSD group(5 g·kg-1),and valsartan group(7.2 mg·kg-1),with 6 rats in each group.Wistar-Kyoto rats were used as the control group,and the control group and the model group were gavaged with normal saline for 8 consecutive weeks.HE and Masson staining were used to observe the pathological damage and fibrosis degree of rat heart and tho-racic aorta.Immunohistochemical staining and Western blot were used to detect the expression level of EGFR in the heart,liver and kidney of rats.Immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the co-localization of EGFR and EEA1 in the heart,liver and kidney of rats.RESULTS Twenty-six components of PGYSD were detected by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS.Network pharmacology revealed that EG-FR,PIK3R1 and EP300 may be key therapeutic targets of action of PGYSD for the treatment of hypertension and its target organ dam-age,and that the treatment of hypertension and its target organ damage by PGYSD may be closely related to EGFR tyrosine kinase in-hibitor resistance,lipids and atherosclerosis and HIF-1 signaling pathway.The high-dose group of PGYSD significantly reduced sys-tolic blood pressure and mean blood pressure in rats(P<0.05,P<0.01),attenuated pathological damage and fibrosis in the heart and thoracic aorta(P<0.01,P<0.001),significantly reduced the expression level of EGFR in the liver and kidney of rats(P<0.01),and treated fibrosis in liver and kidney,reduced the co-localization of EGFR and EEA1 in the kidney of rats(P<0.001),attenuated fibro-sis in kidney.CONCLUSION The paper integrates UPLC-Q-TOF/MS,network pharmacology and spontaneously hypertensive rat model and preliminarily explores the effect mechanism of PGYSD in the treatment of hypertension and its target organ damage,provi-ding a scientific basis for further mechanism research and clinical application of PGYSD in the treatment of hypertension.

Background and objective Pembrolizumab(PEM)has been shown to be effective in clinical trials for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC),but clinical trials were based on cohorts of patients selected on specific criteria,and whether the findings are consistent with real-world patients is debatable.The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PEM in the treatment of advanced NSCLC based on real-world data.Methods A retro-spective collection of real-world data from patients with advanced NSCLC receiving PEM was conducted.Propensity score matching was used to eliminate inter-group differences and assess the efficacy and safety of PEM compared to chemotherapy.Results Among 450 matched patients,the incidence rates of any-grade adverse events were 79.87％in the PEM group and86.71％inthe chemotherapy group,while the incidence rates of grade＞3 adverse events were 4.03％and 7.31％,respectively.The objective response rates were 48.63％for PEM and 36.00％for chemotherapy(P=0.011).The median progression-free survival was 15.5 months for PEM and 8.8 months for chemotherapy(P＜0.001),and the median overall survival was not reached for PEM and 26.2 months for chemotherapy(P＜0.001).Conclusion PEM treatment for advanced NSCLC demonstrates favorable survival outcomes and acceptable safety in real-world clinical practice.

Objective To explore the mechanism by which soybean isoflavone(SI)reduces calcium overload induced by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion(I/R).Methods Forty-eight SD rats were randomized into 4 groups to receive sham operation,cerebral middle artery occlusion for 2 h followed by 24 h of reperfusion(I/R model group),or injection of adeno-associated virus carrying Frizzled-2 siRNA or empty viral vector into the lateral cerebral ventricle after modeling.Western blotting was used to examine Frizzled-2 knockdown efficiency and changes in protein expressions in the Wnt/Ca2+signaling pathway.Calcium levels and pathological changes in the ischemic penumbra(IP)were measured using calcium chromogenic assay and HE staining,respectively.Another 72 SD randomly allocated for sham operation,I/R modeling,or soy isoflavones pretreatment before modeling were examined for regional cerebral blood flow using a Doppler flowmeter,and the cerebral infarct volume was assessed using TTC staining.Pathologies in the IP area were evaluated using HE and Nissl staining,and ROS level,Ca2+level,cell apoptosis,and intracellular calcium concentration were analyzed using immunofluorescence assay or flow cytometry;the protein expressions of Wnt5a,Frizzled-2,and P-CaMK II in the IP were detected with Western blotting and immunohistochemistry.Results In rats with cerebral I/R,Frizzled-2 knockdown significantly lowered calcium concentration(P<0.001)and the expression levels of Wnt5a,Frizzled-2,and P-CaMK II in the IP area.In soy isoflavones-pretreated rats,calcium concentration,ROS and MDA levels,cell apoptosis rate,cerebral infarct volume,and expression levels of Wnt/Ca2+signaling pathway-related proteins were all significantly lower while SOD level was higher than those in rats in I/R model group.Conclusion Soy isoflavones can mitigate calcium overload in rats with cerebral I/R by inhibiting the Wnt/Ca2+signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of exogenous leptin against focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion(I/R)injury in mice and explore the underlying mechanism.Methods A total of 100 C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into 5 groups,including a sham-operated group,cerebral I/R model group,and 3 leptin treatment groups with intraperitoneal injections of 0.5,1.0 or 2.0 leptin immediately after occlusion of the internal carotid artery.At 24 h after reperfusion,neurological function scores of the mice were assessed,and TTC staining was used to determine the area of cerebral infarction.The pathological changes in the cortical brain tissue of the mice were observed using HE staining,and degenerative damage of the cortical neurons were assessed with Fluoro-Jade C staining.The expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein in cortical brain tissues was detected using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting.In another 45 C57BL/6 mice with sham operation,I/R modeling,or leptin(1 mg/kg)treatment,glutamic acid in the cortical brain tissue was detected using glutamate assay,and cortical glutamate-aspartate transporter(GLAST)and glutamate transporter-1(GLT-1)protein expressions were detected using immunohistochemistry.Results Compared with the I/R model mice,the leptin-treated mice had significantly lower neurological deficit scores,smaller cerebral infarct area,milder pathologies in the cortical brain tissue,and lessened cortical neuronal damage with normal morphology and less excessive proliferation of the astrocytes.Leptin treatment significantly up-regulated the expressions of GLT-1 and GLAST and lowered the content of glutamic acid in the brain tissue of the I/R mice.Conclusion Exogenous leptin has obvious neuroprotective effect against cerebral I/R injury in mice,mediated probably by controlling excessive astrocyte proliferation and up-regulating cortical GLT-1 and GLAST expressions to reduce glutamate-mediated excitotoxic injury of the astrocytes.

Objective To investigate the relationship between cerebrovascular reactivity(CVR)and emotional disorders in the patients undergoing continuous hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease(ESRD).Methods The clinical data of the ESRD patients undergoing continuous hemodialysis were collected.Anxiety and depression of the patients were assessed by the Hamilton anxiety scale(HAMA)and Beck depression inven-tory,respectively.The cerebral hemodynamic changes during the breath holding test were monitored by transcrani-al Doppler sonography,and the breath-holding index(BHI)was calculated.The BHI≥0.69 and BHI＜0.69 indi-cate normal CVR and abnormal CVR,respectively.Binary Logistic regression was employed to analyze the factors affecting the depressive state of ESRD patients.Results The group with abnormal CVR exhibited higher total cholesterol level(P=0.010),low density lipoprotein level(P=0.006),and incidence of depression(P=0.012)than the group with normal CVR.Compared with the non-depression group,the depression group dis-played prolonged disease course(P=0.039),reduced body mass index(P=0.048),elevated HAMA score(P=0.001),increased incidence of anxiety(P＜0.001),decreased BHI(P=0.015),and increased incidence of abnormal CVR(P=0.012).Binary Logistic regression analysis indicated anxiety as a contributing factor(OR=22.915,95％CI=2.653-197.956,P=0.004)and abnormal CVR as a risk factor(OR=0.074,95％CI=0.008-0.730,P=0.026)for depression.Conclusion Impaired CVR could pose a risk for depression in the patients with ESRD.

BACKGROUND:The objective of this retrospective hospital-based study was to describe the epidemiological features of traumatic spinal cord injury(TSCI)in the intensive care unit(ICU)and assess the incidence and possible risk factors for venous thromboembolism(VTE)following TSCI. METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 370 patients with TSCI who were admitted between January 2018 and March 2023.The following parameters were collected:age,sex,body mass index,occupation,underlying diseases,smoking history,education level,etiology of injury,injury segments,American Spinal Injury Association(ASIA)Impairment Scale score,severity of injury,injury severity score(ISS),VTE risk score(Caprini score),treatment,VTE prophylaxis,ICU length of stay,length of hospital stay,concomitant injuries,and complications.Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic and clinical characteristics of the study participants.Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors for VTE. RESULTS:The mean age of patients with TSCI was 55.5±13.4 years,with a male-to-female ratio of 6.5:1.The leading cause of TSCI was falls from height(46.5%),followed by traffic accidents(36.5%).The cervical spinal cord was the most affected segment,followed by the thoracolumbar region.Among all the patients,362(97.8%)had concomitant injuries.Complications were observed in 255 patients(68.9%)during hospitalization.The incidence rate of VTE was 25.1%.Logistic regression analysis revealed that age(OR=1.721,95%CI:1.207-2.454,P=0.003),mechanical ventilation(OR=3.427,95%CI:1.873-6.271,P<0.001),and non-use of chemical prophylaxis(OR=2.986,95%CI:1.749-5.099,P<0.001)were risk factors for VTE. CONCLUSION:Falls from height and traffic accidents were the main causes of TSCIs in the ICU,especially for male patients with cervical spinal cord injuries.VTE is a frequent complication in patients with TSCI in the ICU.Age,mechanical ventilation,and non-use of chemical prophylaxis were found to be independent risk factors for VTE following TSCI.

BACKGROUND:The objective of this retrospective hospital-based study was to describe the epidemiological features of traumatic spinal cord injury(TSCI)in the intensive care unit(ICU)and assess the incidence and possible risk factors for venous thromboembolism(VTE)following TSCI. METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 370 patients with TSCI who were admitted between January 2018 and March 2023.The following parameters were collected:age,sex,body mass index,occupation,underlying diseases,smoking history,education level,etiology of injury,injury segments,American Spinal Injury Association(ASIA)Impairment Scale score,severity of injury,injury severity score(ISS),VTE risk score(Caprini score),treatment,VTE prophylaxis,ICU length of stay,length of hospital stay,concomitant injuries,and complications.Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic and clinical characteristics of the study participants.Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the risk factors for VTE. RESULTS:The mean age of patients with TSCI was 55.5±13.4 years,with a male-to-female ratio of 6.5:1.The leading cause of TSCI was falls from height(46.5%),followed by traffic accidents(36.5%).The cervical spinal cord was the most affected segment,followed by the thoracolumbar region.Among all the patients,362(97.8%)had concomitant injuries.Complications were observed in 255 patients(68.9%)during hospitalization.The incidence rate of VTE was 25.1%.Logistic regression analysis revealed that age(OR=1.721,95%CI:1.207-2.454,P=0.003),mechanical ventilation(OR=3.427,95%CI:1.873-6.271,P<0.001),and non-use of chemical prophylaxis(OR=2.986,95%CI:1.749-5.099,P<0.001)were risk factors for VTE. CONCLUSION:Falls from height and traffic accidents were the main causes of TSCIs in the ICU,especially for male patients with cervical spinal cord injuries.VTE is a frequent complication in patients with TSCI in the ICU.Age,mechanical ventilation,and non-use of chemical prophylaxis were found to be independent risk factors for VTE following TSCI.