ObjectiveTo decipher the mechanism by which Zuoguiwan （ZGW） treat hyperthyroidism in rats with kidney-Yin deficiency based on the dopamine receptor D4 （DRD4）/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate （NADPH） oxidase 4 （NOX4） signaling pathway. MethodsThe rat model of kidney-Yin deficiency was induced by unilateral intramuscular injection of dexamethasone （0.35 mg·kg^-1）. After successful modeling， the rats were randomized into model， methimazole （positive control， 5 mg·kg^-1）， low-， medium-， and high-dose （1.85， 3.70， 7.40 g·kg^-1， respectively） ZGW， and normal control groups. After 21 days of continuous gavage， the behavioral indexes and body weight changes of rats were evaluated. The pathological changes of the renal tissue were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The serum levels of thyroid hormones ［triiodothyronine （T₃）， thyroxine （T₄）， thyroid-stimulating hormone （TSH）］， renal function indexes ［serum creatine （Scr） and blood urea nitrogen （BUN）］， energy metabolism markers ［cyclic adenosine monophosphate （cAMP） and cyclic guanosine monophosphate （cGMP）］， and oxidative stress-related factors ［superoxide dismutase （SOD）， malondialdehyde （MDA）， and NADPH）］ were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Western blot was employed to analyze the expression of DRD4， NOX4， mitochondrial respiratory chain complex proteins ［NADH：ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit S4 （NDUFS4） and cytochrome C oxidase subunit 4 （COX4）］， and inflammation-related protein ［tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）］ pathway in the renal tissue. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the model group showed mental malaise， body weight decreases （P<0.01）， inflammatory cell infiltration in the renal tissue， a few residual parotid glands in the thyroid， elevations in serum levels of T₃， T₄， Scr， BUN， cAMP， cAMP/cGMP， MDA， and NADPH （P<0.01）， down-regulation in protein levels of TSH， SOD， and DRD4 （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and up-regulation in expression of NOX4， p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK， and inflammatory factors （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， ZGW increased the body weight （P<0.05， P<0.01）， reduced the infiltration of renal interstitial inflammatory cells， restored the thyroid structure and follicle size， lowered the serum levels of T₃， T₄， Scr， BUN， cAMP， cAMP/cGMP， MDA and NADPH （P<0.05， P<0.01）， up-regulated the expression of TSH， SOD and DRD4 （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and down-regulated the expression of NOX4， p-p38 MAPK/p38 MAPK， and inflammatory factors （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Moreover， high-dose ZGW outperformed methimazole （P<0.05）. ConclusionBy activating DRD4， ZGW can inhibit the expression of NOX4 mediated by the p38 MAPK pathway， reduce oxidative stress and inflammatory response， thereby ameliorating the pathological state of hyperthyroidism due to kidney-Yin deficiency. This study provides new molecular mechanism support for the clinical application of ZGW.

Aortic saddle embolism (ASE) is a rare but catastrophic vascular emergency characterized by acute occlusion of the aortic bifurcation, leading to bilateral lower limb ischemia and multiorgan dysfunction. Despite advances in imaging and surgical techniques, ASE has high morbidity and mortality rates, particularly when diagnosis or intervention is delayed. Here, we report two patients admitted to our center to increase awareness among emergency physicians.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of subanesthetic dose of esketamine on postoperative anxiety and recovery in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS A total of 200 patients scheduled for laparoscopic cholecystectomy at Suzhou Ninth Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University from January 2023 to December 2024 were randomly assigned to control group （n＝100） and observation group （n＝100）. One minute before the initiation of anesthesia， patients in the control group received intravenous injections of Propofol emulsion injection， Sufentanil citrate injection， and Succinylcholine chloride injection. On this basis， patients in the observation group received an intravenous injection of Esketamine hydrochloride injection. The anxiety status of patients in both groups was compared， along with their general intraoperative conditions （including sufentanil dosage， duration of pneumoperitoneum， operative time， anesthesia time， and extubation time）， postoperative recovery， incidence of adverse reactions， and the need for dezocine rescue analgesia. Heart rate and mean arterial pressure， entropy index （state entropy and response entropy）， inflammatory marker levels [interleukin-6 （IL-6） and C-reactive protein （CRP）]， numerical rating scale （NRS） for pain intensity were compared between the two groups at different time points. RESULTS No significant differences were found between the two groups in pneumoperitoneum duration， operative time， anesthesia time，extubation time， incidence of postoperative dry mouth， entropy index or length of stay in the post-anesthesia care unit （P＞0.05）. Compared with the control group， the observation group showed significantly lower postoperative STAI-S scores， reduced intraoperative sufentanil consumption， decreased incidence of postoperative nausea， vomiting， and shivering， the need for dezocine rescue analgesia， as well as lower plasma IL-6 and CRP levels at 24 h after surgery， and NRS （P＜0.05）. The heart rate and mean arterial pressure of patients in the observation group at the start of surgery， end of surgery， and during extubation were all significantly higher than those in the control group （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Subanesthetic dose of esketamine can effectively alleviate postoperative anxiety， reduce intraoperative opioid consumption， suppress postoperative inflammatory response， relieve postoperative pain， and promote recovery in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Objective To propose a lung artery segmentation method that integrates shape and position prior knowledge, aiming to solve the issues of inaccurate segmentation caused by the high similarity and small size differences between the lung arteries and surrounding tissues in CT images. Methods Based on the three-dimensional U-Net network architecture and relying on the PARSE 2022 database image data, shape and position prior knowledge was introduced to design feature extraction and fusion strategies to enhance the ability of lung artery segmentation. The data of the patients were divided into three groups: a training set, a validation set, and a test set. The performance metrics for evaluating the model included Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), sensitivity, accuracy, and Hausdorff distance (HD95). Results The study included lung artery imaging data from 203 patients, including 100 patients in the training set, 30 patients in the validation set, and 73 patients in the test set. Through the backbone network, a rough segmentation of the lung arteries was performed to obtain a complete vascular structure; the branch network integrating shape and position information was used to extract features of small pulmonary arteries, reducing interference from the pulmonary artery trunk and left and right pulmonary arteries. Experimental results showed that the segmentation model based on shape and position prior knowledge had a higher DSC (82.81%±3.20% vs. 80.47%±3.17% vs. 80.36%±3.43%), sensitivity (85.30%±8.04% vs. 80.95%±6.89% vs. 82.82%±7.29%), and accuracy (81.63%±7.53% vs. 81.19%±8.35% vs. 79.36%±8.98%) compared to traditional three-dimensional U-Net and V-Net methods. HD95 could reach (9.52±4.29) mm, which was 6.05 mm shorter than traditional methods, showing excellent performance in segmentation boundaries. Conclusion The lung artery segmentation method based on shape and position prior knowledge can achieve precise segmentation of lung artery vessels and has potential application value in tasks such as bronchoscopy or percutaneous puncture surgery navigation.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical outcomes of combined complete preservation of chordal structure mitral valve replacement (C-MVR) with total anatomical arterial myocardial revascularization (TACR) in coronary patients with moderate-to-severe or severe ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR).Methods:This is a retrospective multi-center case series study. Data were retrospectively collected from 127 patients with coronary artery disease with moderate to severe or severe IMR who received TACR with C-MVR from July 2015 to April 2024 in 13 hospitals in China. There were 90 males and 37 females, aged (56.5±10.7) years (range: 33 to 74 years). Perioperative data and follow-up data including left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, and patency rate of arterial grafts of patients were collected. Comparisons were made using paired sample t-test or χ2 test. Results:In this cohort of 127 patients, 67 underwent concurrent tricuspid valve repair. During surgery, 113 grafts of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA), 127 grafts of the left radial artery, 80 grafts of the right radial artery, and 110 grafts of the right internal mammary artery (RIMA) were harvested. The number of the distal anastomosis was 4.2±0.4 (range: 3 to 5). The aortic cross-clamp time and cardiopulmonary bypass time were (97.5±23.4) minutes (range: 90 to 161 minutes) and (145.4±19.2) minutes (range: 101 to 210 minutes), respectively. There was one operative death. Intraoperative placement of an intra-aortic balloon pump was performed in 21 patients to improve the left ventricular ejection. No sternal ischemic occurred. All patients completed follow-up, with a mean follow-up period of (64.3±7.5) months (range: 4 to 110 months). No major cerebrovascular events occurred during the follow-up period, and all patients survived. Left ventricular ejection fraction improved postoperatively (55.0%±5.3% vs. 41.0%±15.3%, t=17.23, P<0.01). The proportion of patients with New York Heart Association functional class ≤2 increased postoperatively (23.6% (30/127) vs. 87.3% (110/126), χ2=103.77, P<0.01). The proportion of patients with Canadian Cardiovascular Society Angina Classification ≤3 decreased postoperatively (4.8% (6/126) vs. 78.7% (100/127), χ2=142.19, P<0.01). The left ventricular end-diastolic diameter decreased postoperatively ((5.70±4.50) cm vs. (6.10±0.23) cm, t=12.15, P<0.01). Coronary multi-detector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) follow-up was conducted for (60.5±11.7) months (range: 6 to 109 months) postoperatively. MDCTA confirmed the patency rates of the grafts: 96.4% (108/112) for the LIMA grafts, 88.9% (112/126) for the left radial artery grafts, 93.7% (74/79) for the right radial artery grafts, and 90.9% (100/110) for the free RIMA grafts. No significant differences in graft patency rates were observed between the arterial grafts ( χ2=5.24, P=0.155). Conclusion:The results of this multi-centre study demonstrate satisfactory mid-term results of C-MVR with TACR for the treatment of coronary artery disease with moderate to severe or severe IMR.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of children with head and neck rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) and to summarize the mid-long term efficacy of Beijing Children′s Hospital Rhabdomyosarcoma 2006 (BCH-RMS-2006) regimen and China Children′s Cancer Group Rhabdomyosarcoma 2016 (CCCG-RMS-2016) regimen.Methods:A retrospective cohort study. Clinical data of 137 children with newly diagnosed head and neck RMS at Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University from March 2013 to December 2021 were collected. Clinical characteristic of patients at disease onset and the therapeutic effects of patients treated with the BCH-RMS-2006 and CCCG-RMS-2016 regimens were compared. The treatments and outcomes of patients with recurrence were also summarized. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method, and Log-Rank test was used for comparison of survival rates between groups.Results:Among 137 patients, there were 80 males (58.4%) and 57 females (41.6%), the age of disease onset was 59 (34, 97) months. The primary site in the orbital, non-orbital non-parameningeal, and parameningeal area were 10 (7.3%), 47 (34.3%), and 80 (58.4%), respectively. Of all patients, 32 cases (23.4%) were treated with the BCH-RMS-2006 regimen and 105 (76.6%) cases were treated with the CCCG-RMS-2016 regimen. The follow-up time for the whole patients was 46 (20, 72) months, and the 5-year progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates for the whole children were (60.4±4.4)% and (69.3±4.0)%, respectively. The 5-year OS rate was higher in the CCCG-RMS-2016 group than in BCH-RMS-2006 group ((73.0±4.5)% vs. (56.6±4.4)%, χ2=4.57, P=0.029). For the parameningeal group, the 5-year OS rate was higher in the CCCG-RMS-2016 group (61 cases) than in BCH-RMS-2006 group (19 cases) ((57.3±7.6)% vs. (32.7±11.8)%, χ2=4.64, P=0.031). For the group with meningeal invasion risk factors, the 5-year OS rate was higher in the CCCG-RMS-2016 group (54 cases) than in BCH-RMS-2006 group (15 cases) ((57.7±7.7)% vs. (30.0±12.3)%, χ2=4.76, P=0.029). Among the 10 cases of orbital RMS, there was no recurrence. In the non-orbital non-parameningeal RMS group (47 cases), there were 13 (27.6%) recurrences, after re-treatment, 7 cases survived. In the parameningeal RMS group (80 cases), there were 40 (50.0%) recurrences, with only 7 cases surviving after re-treatment. Conclusions:The overall prognosis for patients with orbital and non-orbital non-parameningeal RMS is good. However, children with parameningeal RMS have a high recurrence rate, and the effectiveness of re-treatment after recurrence is poor. Compared with the BCH-RMS-2006 regimen, the CCCG-RMS-2016 regimen can improve the treatment efficacy of RMS in the meningeal region.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical outcomes of combined complete preservation of chordal structure mitral valve replacement (C-MVR) with total anatomical arterial myocardial revascularization (TACR) in coronary patients with moderate-to-severe or severe ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR).Methods:This is a retrospective multi-center case series study. Data were retrospectively collected from 127 patients with coronary artery disease with moderate to severe or severe IMR who received TACR with C-MVR from July 2015 to April 2024 in 13 hospitals in China. There were 90 males and 37 females, aged (56.5±10.7) years (range: 33 to 74 years). Perioperative data and follow-up data including left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter, and patency rate of arterial grafts of patients were collected. Comparisons were made using paired sample t-test or χ2 test. Results:In this cohort of 127 patients, 67 underwent concurrent tricuspid valve repair. During surgery, 113 grafts of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA), 127 grafts of the left radial artery, 80 grafts of the right radial artery, and 110 grafts of the right internal mammary artery (RIMA) were harvested. The number of the distal anastomosis was 4.2±0.4 (range: 3 to 5). The aortic cross-clamp time and cardiopulmonary bypass time were (97.5±23.4) minutes (range: 90 to 161 minutes) and (145.4±19.2) minutes (range: 101 to 210 minutes), respectively. There was one operative death. Intraoperative placement of an intra-aortic balloon pump was performed in 21 patients to improve the left ventricular ejection. No sternal ischemic occurred. All patients completed follow-up, with a mean follow-up period of (64.3±7.5) months (range: 4 to 110 months). No major cerebrovascular events occurred during the follow-up period, and all patients survived. Left ventricular ejection fraction improved postoperatively (55.0%±5.3% vs. 41.0%±15.3%, t=17.23, P<0.01). The proportion of patients with New York Heart Association functional class ≤2 increased postoperatively (23.6% (30/127) vs. 87.3% (110/126), χ2=103.77, P<0.01). The proportion of patients with Canadian Cardiovascular Society Angina Classification ≤3 decreased postoperatively (4.8% (6/126) vs. 78.7% (100/127), χ2=142.19, P<0.01). The left ventricular end-diastolic diameter decreased postoperatively ((5.70±4.50) cm vs. (6.10±0.23) cm, t=12.15, P<0.01). Coronary multi-detector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) follow-up was conducted for (60.5±11.7) months (range: 6 to 109 months) postoperatively. MDCTA confirmed the patency rates of the grafts: 96.4% (108/112) for the LIMA grafts, 88.9% (112/126) for the left radial artery grafts, 93.7% (74/79) for the right radial artery grafts, and 90.9% (100/110) for the free RIMA grafts. No significant differences in graft patency rates were observed between the arterial grafts ( χ2=5.24, P=0.155). Conclusion:The results of this multi-centre study demonstrate satisfactory mid-term results of C-MVR with TACR for the treatment of coronary artery disease with moderate to severe or severe IMR.

BACKGROUND:There is a significant correlation between sperm DNA fragmentation index and fertilization,embryonic development potential,embryo implantation,miscarriage,and offspring safety.However,its clinical reference value is affected by many factors,resulting in extremely limited clinical significance.This study took live birth as the outcome,corrected other confounding factors through propensity score matching,constructed the best clinical cutoff value of sperm DNA fragmentation index and live birth,and conducted internal and external tests on it,which has good predictive value and clinical application efficiency. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the reference threshold and offspring short-term security of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer sperm DNA fragmentation index based on live birth. METHODS:A total of 1 921 patients who received in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer in Changzhou Maternal and Child Health Area Hospital from May 2019 to May 2021 were selected.On the basis of tendency matching tolerance of 0.02 and propensity score matching of 1:1,540 cases were successfully matched in each live birth group and non-live birth group,and the model group was established.135 patients who received in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer in Nanxishan Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were selected as the external validation group.The optimal clinical cutoff value of sperm DNA fragmentation index for live birth was investigated by the receiver operating characteristic curve.The accuracy and clinical application efficacy of the cutoff value were evaluated by restricted cubic spline curve,standard curve,clinical decision curve,clinical impact curve and internal and external validation tests. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The DNA fragmentation index of sperm in the non-live birth group was significantly higher than that in the live birth group and had a significant negative correlation with live birth(r=-0.444,P<0.001).(2)Receiver operating characteristic curve results showed that the optimal cut-off value of DNA fragmentation index for live birth was 24.33%;the area under the curve was 0.775(0.746,0.804);the specificity was 72.60%;the sensitivity was 78.90%,and the accuracy was 75.70%.(3)Restricted cubic spline curve fitting the results of Logistic regression showed that when the sperm DNA fragmentation index was greater than 24.57%,the risk of clinical non-live birth increased.(4)The probability of Logistic regression analysis results showed that sperm DNA fragmentation index was a risk factor for live birth[OR(95%CI)=0.916(0.904,0.928),P<0.001],and when sperm DNA fragmentation index was greater than 27.78%,the probability of clinical live birth would be less than 50%.With the increase of sperm DNA fragmentation index by 1 unit,the probability of a live birth fell by 8.4%.(5)Internal and external to the validation of the clinical cutoff value showed that the cutoff point had certain clinical predictive value and accuracy.(6)Clinical decision curve and clinical impact curve results exhibited that the prediction model based on the clinical cut-off value had the maximum clinical net benefit value when the threshold probability was 0.22-0.73,and the ratio of loss to gain within the threshold probability range was always less than 1,which confirmed that the prediction model had good clinical application effectiveness.(7)The results of sperm DNA fragmentation index and offspring short-term security analysis showed that sperm DNA fragmentation index had no significant differences with preterm birth,body weight,deformity and sex.(8)These findings suggest that the optimal clinical cut-off value of sperm DNA fragmentation index for in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer live birth was 24.33%.The established clinical prediction model has good differentiation,accuracy and clinical application effectiveness.Sperm DNA fragmentation index has no significant impact on offspring short-term security,but large samples and long-term follow-up evaluation are still needed.

BACKGROUND:Early exercise treatment is the main prevention way for traumatic joint contracture and is also a research focus.Swimming may be a potential intervention for joint contracture due to the special physical properties of water. OBJECTIVE:To explore the effects of swimming on the development of joint contracture in a rat model and study its mechanisms. METHODS:Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a blank control group(n=8)and a joint contracture group(n=16).After the surgical operation of knee joint contracture rat models,the joint contracture group was randomly subdivided into a surgical control group(n=8)and a swimming treatment group(n=8).Swimming started in the swimming treatment group in the second week after surgery and lasted for a total of 5 weeks.At the 6th week after surgery,the body mass,knee joint range of motion,and quadriceps diameter were tested,and the diameter/body mass index was calculated.Hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to detect the pathological changes in the knee joint capsule and quadriceps muscle,and Masson staining was used to observe fibrotic changes in the knee joint capsule.Furthermore,the protein expression of transforming growth factor β1 and type I collagen in the knee joint capsule was quantified by immunohistochemical assay and western blot was performed to detect the protein expression of MuRF1 in the quadriceps femoris. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the blank control group,the knee range of motion decreased in the surgical control and swimming treatment groups(P<0.01),and knee extension deficit and arthrogenic extension deficit were significantly increased(P<0.01),the diameter of the quadriceps muscle was decreased(P<0.01),the joint capsule showed significant fibrosis,the quadriceps muscle was atrophied,and the diameter/body mass index was decreased(P<0.01).Compared with the surgical control group,the swimming treatment group showed a significant increase in knee joint range of motion and quadriceps diameter(P<0.01),and significant improvement in joint capsule fibrosis and quadriceps atrophy.Compared with the blank control group,collagen fiber content and expression of transforming growth factor β1 and type I collagen were increased in the joint capsule of rats in both the surgical control group and the swimming treatment group(P<0.01).Compared with the surgical control group,collagen fiber content and expression of transforming growth factor β1 and type I collagen protein in the joint capsule were decreased in the swimming treatment group.Compared with the blank control group,the expression of MuRF1 protein in the quadriceps muscle of rats in the surgical control group and the swimming treatment group was increased(P<0.05).Compared with the surgical control group,the expression of MuRF1 protein in the quadriceps muscle of rats in the swimming treatment group was decreased(P<0.05).To conclude,early swimming intervention reduces transforming growth factor β1 and type I collagen expression in the joint capsule of traumatic joint contracture rats,decreases MuRF1 expression in the quadriceps muscle,and increases joint range of motion and quadriceps diameter,thereby inhibiting the development of joint contracture.

BACKGROUND:Recent research indicates that disc degeneration is closely related to abnormal stress load,and mechanotransduction proteins play a key role in it. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the role and mechanism of mechanotransduction proteins in the mechanotransduction process induced by abnormal mechanical stimulation in disc degeneration,and to summarize the current treatment strategies targeting mechanotransduction to delay intervertebral disc degeneration. METHODS:Using"intervertebral disc,nucleus pulposus,annulus fibrosus,cartilaginous endplate,cell,mechanics,signal transduction,protein,biomechanics"as Chinese search terms,and"intervertebral disc,nucleus pulposus,annulus fibrosus,cartilaginous endplate,cell,mechanical stimulation,signal transduction,protein,biomechanics"as English search terms,relevant literature in the PubMed and CNKI databases was searched.A total of 88 articles were ultimately included for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Disc cells can sense external mechanical stimulation through various mechanotransduction proteins and convert it into biological responses within the cells.These transduction proteins mainly include collagen proteins in the extracellular matrix,cell membrane surface receptors(such as integrins and ion channels),and cytoskeleton structural proteins.Their regulation of mechanotransduction processes primarily involves the activation of multiple pathways,such as the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway,nuclear factor-kB signaling pathway,and Ca2+/Calpain2/Caspase3 pathway.Mechanotransduction proteins play a key role in the mechanotransduction of disc cells.Abnormal expression of these proteins or resulting changes in the extracellular matrix environment can disrupt the mechanical balance of disc cells,leading to disc degeneration.In-depth study of the expression and regulatory mechanisms of mechanotransduction proteins in disc cells,and identification of key pathological links and therapeutic targets,is of significant importance for developing treatment strategies for disc degeneration.Current strategies to delay intervertebral disc degeneration by targeting mechanotransduction mainly include regulation of transduction proteins and improvement of the extracellular matrix.However,research in this area is still in its early stages.As research continues,new breakthroughs are expected in the regulation of disc degeneration by mechanotransduction proteins.