OBJECTIVE To investigate the potential therapeutic effect of the sporoderm-removed Ganoderma lucidum spore tablet "Xianzhi No.3" from the perspective of immunomodulation and cardioprotection. METHODS Chemical components of the sporoderm-removed Ganoderma lucidum spore tablet "Xianzhi No.3" were analyzed by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS and colorimetric methods. Examined tablet’s effects on zebrafish models of macrophage reduction, heart failure, H2O2-induced oxidative stress in myocardial and endothelial cells, and a microglial inflammation model induced by lipopolysaccharide. Immune regulation and cardioprotective effects were evaluated through multiple indicators, including macrophage formation and phagocytosis abilities, anti-neuroinflammation ability, cardiac systolic and diastolic functions, and anti-oxidative stress injury ability in myocardial and endothelial cells. RESULTS The sporoderm-removed Ganoderma lucidum spore tablet "Xianzhi No.3" improved macrophage formation and phagocytosis, cardiac systolic and diastolic functions, reduced neuroinflammation, and alleviated oxidative stress in myocardial and endothelial cells, resulting in immunomodulatory and cardioprotective effects. CONCLUSION The sporoderm-removed Ganoderma lucidum spore tablet "Xianzhi No.3" maybe a potential therapeutic agent for regulating the immune system and protecting cardiac function.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial infusion with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel(GN)as first-line therapy in treating patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.Methods The clinical data of a total of 50 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer,who were treated with transcatheter arterial infusion chemotherapy with GN regimen at the Zhejiang Cancer Hospital of China between January 2016 and December2020,were collected The objective effective rate(ORR),progression-free survival(PFS),overall survival(OS)and treatment-related toxic reactions were analyzed.Results A total of 236 times of transcatheter arterial infusion chemotherapy were carried out in the 50 patients,with an average perfusion procedure of 4.72 times per patient.Complete remission(CR)was obtained in 0 patient,partial remission(PR)in 16 patients,and stable disease(SD)in 21 patients.The ORR was 32％,the median PFSwas5.1 months,and the OS was 9.8 months.The main adverse events included neutropenia,thrombocytopenia,vomiting,nausea,fatigue,etc.Conclusion For patients with advanced pancreatic cancer,transcatheter arterial infusion chemotherapy with GN regimen carries good short-term efficacy and safety,it can improve patient's PFS and OS to a certain extent.(J Intervent Radiol,2024,33:512-515)

Objective:To systematically evaluate the correlation between chronic periodontitis and postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP).Methods:Electronic searches were conducted on Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Embase, Ovid, CNKI, CBM, VIP, and WF databases to collect research literature on the correlation between chronic periodontitis and PMOP. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) criteria were used to evaluate the quality of the included literature, and RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis. The outcome measures were clinical attachment loss (CAL), probing depth (PD), plaque index (PI), calculus index (CI), bleeding on probing (BOP), and simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S).Results:A total of 16 articles were included, with a total of 1587 patients. Compared with the postmenopausal non osteoporosis group, the osteoporosis group showed significant abnormalities in CAL [standardized mean difference (SMD)=1.09, 95% CI: 0.62-1.57, P<0.001], PD(SMD=0.71, 95% CI: 0.28-1.14, P<0.001), PI(SMD=0.43, 95% CI: 0.29-0.56, P<0.001), and OHI-S(SMD=0.28, 95% CI: 0.22-0.35, P<0.001) indicators, as well as in BOP(SMD=0.01, 95% CI: -0.48-0.49, P=0.97) and GI(SMD=0.01, 95% CI: -0.48-0.49, P=0.97). At the level of 0.24 and 95% CI: -0.34 to 0.81, P=0.42, there was no statistically significant difference. Conclusions:Women with PMOP exhibit more significant changes in indicators such as CAL, PD, PI, and OHI-S, suggesting that postmenopausal women with osteoporosis are more likely to suffer from periodontitis.

Background::Heterogeneity of tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) is significantly associated with clinical outcomes and treatment responses in patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC). Comprehensive profiling of the cellular diversity and interactions between malignant cells and TME may clarify the mechanisms underlying UC progression and guide the development of novel therapies. This study aimed to extend our understanding of intra-tumoral heterogeneity and the immunosuppressive TME in UC and provide basic support for the development of novel UC therapies.Methods::Seven patients with UC were included who underwent curative surgery at our hospital between July 2020 and October 2020. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis in seven tumors with six matched adjacent normal tissues and integrated the results with two public scRNA-seq datasets. The functional properties and intercellular interactions between single cells were characterized, and the results were validated using multiplex immunofluorescence staining, flow cytometry, and bulk transcriptomic datasets. All statistical analyses were performed using the R package with two-sided tests. Wilcoxon-rank test, log-rank test, one-way analysis of variance test, and Pearson correlation analysis were used properly.Results::Unsupervised t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding clustering analysis identified ten main cellular subclusters in urothelial tissues. Of them, seven urothelial subtypes were noted, and malignant urothelial cells were characterized with enhanced cellular proliferation and reduced immunogenicity. CD8 + T cell subclusters exhibited enhanced cellular cytotoxicity activities along with increased exhaustion signature in UC tissues, and the recruitment of CD4 + T regulatory cells was also increased in tumor tissues. Regarding myeloid cells, coordinated reprogramming of infiltrated neutrophils, M2-type polarized macrophages, and LAMP3 + dendritic cells contribute to immunosuppressive TME in UC tissues. Tumor tissues demonstrated enhanced angiogenesis mediated by KDR + endothelial cells and RGS5 +/ACTA2 + pericytes. Through deconvolution analysis, we identified multiple cellular subtypes may influence the programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) immunotherapy response in patients with UC. Conclusion::Our scRNA-seq analysis clarified intra-tumoral heterogeneity and delineated the pro-tumoral and immunosuppressive microenvironment in UC tissues, which may provide novel therapeutic targets.

Objective:To established the diagnostic criteria for venomous snakebite of Trimeresurus stejnegeri in Guangxi by ourselves, and explore the clinical effect and mechanism of covered vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) in the treatment for venomous snakebite of Trimeresurus stejnegeri in Guangxi.Methods:According to the Chinese emergency medicine for snakebite and the Chinese snake, the diagnostic criteria for venomous snakebite of Trimeresurus stejnegeri in Guangxi were formulated: ① the responsible venomous snake was identified as Trimeresurus stejnegeri in Guangxi; ② the appearance and morphology of the venomous snake described by the patient basically conformed to the characteristics of Trimeresurus stejnegeri in Guangxi;③ clinical manifestations of hematotoxin included local swelling, severe wound pain, and subcutaneous ecchymosis in some patients; having① or both ② and ③ could be diagnosed. The patients with venomous snakebite of Trimeresurus stejnegeri in Guangxi admitted to Snake Injury Treatment Base in Central and Northern Guangxi/Liuzhou Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine Snake Injury Treatment Center from January 2016 to January 2020 were enrolled. The patients were divided into the general treatment group and the covered VSD technology group, with 60 patients in each group. The general treatment group was treated with antivenom, anti-tetanus, closed injection around the wound, anti-inflammatory, magnesium sulfate gauze applied on the affected limb, symptomatic support treatment. The covered VSD technique was used in the covered VSD technology group based on the treatment options of the general treatment group. Treatment cycle of both groups were calculated from the next day of admission and lasted for 7 days. In the treatment cycle, blood was collected at 08:00 every day. The red blood cell count (RBC) and hemoglobin (Hb) were detected by automatic blood cell analyzer. The prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and fibrinogen (Fib) were detected by automatic blood coagulation analyzer, and the affected limb swelling degree and the appearance of subcutaneous ecchymosis were recorded. Results:At different time points in the treatment cycle, the dynamic change trends of PT, APTT and Fib in the covered VSD technology group and the general treatment group were significantly different. Fib in both groups decreased on the 1-4 days, and gradually rose on the 5th day, and the lowest Fib value in the covered VSD technology group on the 4th day was higher than that in the general treatment group (g/L: 0.70±0.03 vs. 0.41±0.01, P < 0.05). In the treatment cycle, PT of both groups increased in the early and middle stage, but decreased in the later stage. The peak value of PT of the covered VSD technology group on the 5th day was significantly lower than that of the general treatment group (s: 25.2±0.1 vs. 35.4±0.2, P < 0.05), and the PT of the covered VSD technology group returned to the normal range on the 7th day, while the PT of the general treatment group was still abnormal. APTT in both groups increased at the beginning of the treatment cycle and gradually decreased. The peak value of APTT of the covered VSD technology group on the 3th day was lower than that in the general treatment group (s: 47.3±0.1 vs. 55.7±0.2, P < 0.05), and the rate of increase and decline was also more gradual than that in the general treatment group. There was no significant difference in RBC or Hb between the two groups. With the passage of time, the degree of affected limb swelling was relieved to different degrees in both groups, and the remission degree in the covered VSD technology group was more obvious than that in the general treatment group, and there was significant difference between the two groups (χ 2 = 86.060, P = 0.000). The occurrence rate of subcutaneous ecchymosis in the covered VSD technology group was significantly lower than that in the general treatment group (13.3% vs. 40.0%, χ 2 = 10.909, P = 0.002). Conclusions:The application of covered VSD technology to the venomous snakebite of Trimeresurus stejnegeri in Guangxi does not aggravate the bleeding. It is beneficial to the reduction of the swelling of the affected limb, and also promotes the recovery of coagulation function, which can better control the occurrence of adverse events caused by coagulation dysfunction.

Objective: To design and evaluate a new method for measuring the center of rotation of the hip joint, and to compare it with the traditional methods. Methods: Data of healthy hips of 120 total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients (120 hips) and bilateral hips of 20 healthy volumteers (40 hips) were collected. A series of X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were taken from each patient with the hip joint abductted at differenct angles (0°, 7.5°, 15°, and 22.5°). The motion track of rotation center was obtained by comparing these X-ray and MRI images. The preoperative and postoperative data of 67 surgical patients who underwent two different measurement methods before surgery were compared. Results: Compared with traditional measurement methods, the accuracy of our new method was significantly improved; the results of hip MRI verified the objectivity and accuracy of our new method; preoperative measurements and postoperative follow-up results showed that our new method had a better clinical effect than traditional measurements. Conclusions The team′s innovative new measurement method based on pelvic orthotopic X-ray photographs with different abduction angles of the hip shows more accurate data than traditional measurement methods and shows better clinical results.

Objective: To explore the factors affecting the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) combined with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT), and to analyze the clinical value of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with iodine-125 seed implantation in such patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 53 patients with HCC combined with PVTT was performed. In the study group, 32 cases were treated with TACE combined with iodine-125 seed implantation, and 21 cases in the control group were treated with TACE combined with sorafenib. Survival analysis was carried out on eight factors such as gender, age, Child-Pugh classification, alpha fetoprotein level, portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT) type, forms of liver tumor, extra-hepatic metastasis and treatment modalities. The efficacy of TACE combined with iodine-125 seed implantation and TACE combined with sorafenib was further compared. The χ ² test was used to evaluate the efficacy of the two groups. A single factor survival analysis was calculated by Kaplan-Meier estimator and multifactor survival analysis by Cox proportional hazards model. Results: All 53 patients were successfully treated. The median tumor progression time (mTTP) and median overall survival (mOS) were 8 months and 11 months, respectively. The disease control rate (DCR) of the study group for PVTT was 93.8%, which was significantly higher than that of the control group (61.9%, χ ² = 6.448, P = 0.011). The difference was statistically significant; the objective remission rate of the study group for PVTT was 75.0%. Significantly higher than 9.5% in the control group, P < 0.05, the difference was statistically significant; the DCR of the primary tumor in the study group was 50.0%, which was lower than the 70.0% of the PVTT in the control group, P = 0.231, the difference was not statistically significant. The progression of primary HCC lesions in patients with multivariate survival analysis: Child-Pugh grade A patients were compared to grade B [Hazard ratio (HR) = 0.236, P = 0.003]; no extra-hepatic metastasis (HR = 0.258, P = 0.002); and TACE combined with iodine-125 seed implantation group compared with TACE combined sorafenib group (HR = 0.372, P = 0.002), the differences were statistically significant. Multivariate survival analysis of patients with overall survival: AFP < 400 ng/mL vs. AFP≥400 ng/mL (HR = 0.389, P = 0.030); Child-Pugh grade A vs. B (HR = 0.263, P = 0.006); and no extra-hepatic metastasis (HR = 0.306, P = 0.006), the differences were statistically significant. Conclusion TACE combined with iodine-125 seed implantation for the treatment of HCC with PVTT can effectively control the progression of PVTT and intrahepatic lesions and improve the prognosis of patients.

Objective: To detect the expression level of YES-associated protein 1 (YAP) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines and investigate its effects on the proliferation activity and the sensitivity to sorafenib in HCC cells. Methods: Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of YAP in SMMC-7721, SK-Hep-1, HepG-2, Huh7 and the normal liver cell line L-O2. YAP specific small interfering RNA (si-YAP) or YAP expression plasmid were transfected in SK-Hep-1 or Huh7 cells, respectively. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) test was used to detect the cell proliferation activity and the cell cycle test was conducted by flow cytometry. SK-Hep-1 and SK-Hep-1 si-YAP cells were subcutaneously injected into the nude mice which were sequentially treated by intragastric administration of sorafenib, and the tumor growth in vivo were observed and compared. Results: The expression of YAP was upregulated in HCC cell lines. Deletion of YAP expression significantly decreased the survival rate of SK-Hep-1 cells [(78.5±0.3)% vs (92.3±0.2)%, P=0.025]. Knockdown of YAP significantly increased the percentage of G₀/G₁-phase cells [ (65.4±3.3) % vs (55.7±3.4) %, P=0.039]. On the contrary, upregulation of the YAP expression in Huh7 cells significantly increased the cell survival rate [(81.2±1.3)% vs (62.5±1.1)%, P=0.013] and reduced the percentage of G₀/G₁-phase cells [(38.2±3.8)% vs (48.8±2.9)%, P=0.019]. The survival rate of SK-Hep-1 cells treated by si-YAP combined with sorafenib was (31.13±1.79)%, significantly lower than (48.87±0.58) % of SK-Hep-1 cells treated by sorafenib alone (P=0.001), while overexpression of YAP attenuated the inhibitory effect of sorafenib on the survival of Huh7 cells [(69.98±2.94) % vs (53.53±1.93)%, P=0.001]. The tumor weights of SK-Hep-1 group, sorafenib alone group, SK-Hep-1 si-YAP group and SK-Hep-1 si-YAP combined with sorafenib group were (0.96±0.08) g, (0.62±0.08) g, (0.70±0.06) g and (0.27±0.02) g, respectively. The tumor weights of sorafenib alone group and SK-Hep-1 si-YAP group were significantly lower than that of SK-Hep-1 group (P=0.012 and P=0.031, respectively). The tumor weight of SK-Hep-1 si-YAP combined with sorafenib group was significantly lower than that of SK-Hep-1 si-YAP group (P=0.001). Conclusions The expression of YAP is upregulated in HCC cell lines, which regulates the proliferation, cell cycle, and sensitivity to sorafenib of HCC cells. YAP is a potential molecular target for HCC treatment.

Objective To look into the effect of ubiquitin (Ub) in muscles of gastric cancer patients on their nutritional status and prognosis.Methods Abdominal rectus muscles of 102 patients with gastric cancer and 53 patients with benign abdominal diseases were studied.The expressions of Ub mRNA and protein were assessed through real time-PCR and Western blot.Results The relative expression of Ub mRNA in rectus abdominis muscles of gastric cancer patients (4.10± 1.04) was significantly upregulated compared with the control group (3.17±0.32) (t =7.386,P=0.000).The expression of Ub protein in rectus abdominis muscles of patients with gastric cancer was upregulated compared with the controls (0.151 ±0.058 vs.0.084±0.046,t =7.275,P =0.000).The high expression of Ub mRNA in rectus abdominis muscles of gastric cancer patients was significantly associated with decreases in weight,body mass index,prognostic nutritional index,serum albumin and hemoglobin (x2 =11.780,6.557,11.849,15.742,8.360;P=0.001,0.010,0.001,0.000,0.004).The high expression of Ub mRNA in rectus abdominis muscles of gastric cancer patients was not correlated with the patients'sex,age,tumor size or Borrmann type (x2 =0.038,1.978,0.486,1.483;P=0.774,0.160,0.486,0.223),but it was related to the pathologic type,lymph node metastasis and TNM staging of gastric carcinoma (x2 =11.260,9.362,20.517;P=0.004,0.002,0.000).The survival rate of gastric cancer patients with high expression of Ub mRNA was lower than those with low expression (x2 =5.775,P =0.016).Conclusions Ub mRNA and protein were upregulated in rectus abdominis muscles of gastric cancer patients.The high expression of Ub mRNA in these patients was related to their nutritional status and prognosis,which might play an important role in the development of cachexia.

Objective To investigate the expression levels and significance of hypoxia inducible factor-1 α (HIF-1 α),vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) in pathological scar.Methods 73 patients with pathological scar from March 2015 to February 2017 in our hospital were selected,including 42 cases in hypertrophic scar group and 31 cases in keloid group.20 cases of non pathological scar patients and 20 cases of normal plastic surgery were selected as control group.mRNA and protein expression levels of HIF-1,VEGF and MMP-2 in skin tissue of each group were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative and Western blot,and the clinical significance was analyzed.Results Compared with non pathological scar tissue and normal skin tissue,the mRNA and protein expression levels of HIF-1α,VEGF and MMP-2 in pathological scar tissue were significantly increased,and the differences were statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05).The mRNA and protein expression levels of HIF-1α in keloid group were significantly higher than those in hypertrophic scar group (P ＜ 0.05);there was no significant difference in the expressions of mRNA and protein of VEGF between keloid group and hypertrophic scar group (P ＞ 0.05);the mRNA and protein expression levels of MMP-2 in keloid group were significantly lower than those in hypertrophic scar group (P ＜ 0.05).Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between HIF-1α and VEGF,MMP-2 in pathological scar tissues (r =0.623,0.507,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The expressions of HIF-1α,VEGF and MMP-2 in pathological scar tissue is obviously increased,which is closely related to the formation of pathological scar.