ObjectiveTo investigate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of baicalin for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） in rats and decipher the molecular mechanisms via the nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB）/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2） signaling pathway. MethodsSixty SPF-grade male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into six groups： normal control， COPD model， low-dose baicalin， medium-dose baicalin， high-dose baicalin， and budesonide. The normal control group received no treatment， whereas COPD was modeled in other groups with a combined modeling approach involving intratracheal lipopolysaccharide instillation and passive cigarette smoke exposure. The model establishment was evaluated through behavioral observation combined with pathological examination. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to assess histopathological changes in the lung. Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines ［interleukin （IL）-6， IL-8， IL-17， IL-22， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， and transforming growth factor （TGF）-β）］， reactive oxygen species （ROS）， and vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Meanwhile， the levels of IL-6， IL-17， and IL-22 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） and IL-10， IL-22， and TNF-α in the lung tissue were measured via ELISA. Immunohistochemistry （IHC） was employed to detect the expression of histone deacetylase 2 （HDAC2） and Nrf2. Western blot was performed to evaluate the expression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase （PI3K）， protein kinase B （Akt）， glucocorticoid receptor （GR）， NF-κB， HDAC2， and Nrf2 in the lung tissue. Additionally， real-time PCR was conducted to assess the mRNA levels of PI3K， Akt， HDAC2， Nrf2， GR， and NF-κB in the lung tissue. ResultsHE staining revealed that the airway mucosal epithelium in the COPD model group appeared extensive shedding， structural disorganization， and diffuse infiltration of inflammatory cells within the lumen. And goblet cells showed compensatory proliferation with pathological hypertrophy of mucus glands. In contrast， inflammatory infiltration and alveolar overdistension were significantly alleviated in the medium- and high-dose baicalin groups. The COPD model group exhibited mucus plug formation within the terminal bronchioles， along with fibrotic narrowing of the bronchial wall. Moreover， the smooth muscle bundles of the bronchial wall were hypertrophic， with concomitant collagen deposition. Progressive dissolution and rupture of alveolar septa were observed， leading to the formation of abnormally enlarged air-filled cavities. However， the bronchial wall structure was largely restored with only mild thickening of the smooth muscle layer in the baicalin groups. Compared with the COPD model group， the medium- and high-dose baicalin groups showed declined ROS and VEGF levels （P<0.05）， and all the baicalin groups presented lowered levels of IL-6， IL-8， IL-17， IL-22， TGF-β， and TNF-α and elevated level of IL-10 （P<0.05）. Baicalin upregulated the protein levels of HDAC2， Nrf2， GR， PI3K， and Akt， while suppressing the protein level of NF-κB （P<0.05）. Furthermore， baicalin increased the mRNA levels of Nrf2 and GR while down-regulating the mRNA level of NF-κB （P<0.05）. ConclusionBaicalin exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects by inhibiting the pro-inflammatory factor NF-κB while enhancing the expression of the anti-inflammatory factor HDAC2 and activating the antioxidant factor Nrf2， thereby alleviating the lung tissue damage in COPD rats. The therapeutic effects of baicalin may be closely associated with its regulatory role in the NF-κB/Nrf2 signaling pathway.

ObjectiveTo investigate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of baicalin for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease （COPD） in rats and decipher the molecular mechanisms via the nuclear factor-kappa B （NF-κB）/nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2） signaling pathway. MethodsSixty SPF-grade male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into six groups： normal control， COPD model， low-dose baicalin， medium-dose baicalin， high-dose baicalin， and budesonide. The normal control group received no treatment， whereas COPD was modeled in other groups with a combined modeling approach involving intratracheal lipopolysaccharide instillation and passive cigarette smoke exposure. The model establishment was evaluated through behavioral observation combined with pathological examination. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was performed to assess histopathological changes in the lung. Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines ［interleukin （IL）-6， IL-8， IL-17， IL-22， tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α， and transforming growth factor （TGF）-β）］， reactive oxygen species （ROS）， and vascular endothelial growth factor （VEGF） were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Meanwhile， the levels of IL-6， IL-17， and IL-22 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） and IL-10， IL-22， and TNF-α in the lung tissue were measured via ELISA. Immunohistochemistry （IHC） was employed to detect the expression of histone deacetylase 2 （HDAC2） and Nrf2. Western blot was performed to evaluate the expression of phosphoinositide 3-kinase （PI3K）， protein kinase B （Akt）， glucocorticoid receptor （GR）， NF-κB， HDAC2， and Nrf2 in the lung tissue. Additionally， real-time PCR was conducted to assess the mRNA levels of PI3K， Akt， HDAC2， Nrf2， GR， and NF-κB in the lung tissue. ResultsHE staining revealed that the airway mucosal epithelium in the COPD model group appeared extensive shedding， structural disorganization， and diffuse infiltration of inflammatory cells within the lumen. And goblet cells showed compensatory proliferation with pathological hypertrophy of mucus glands. In contrast， inflammatory infiltration and alveolar overdistension were significantly alleviated in the medium- and high-dose baicalin groups. The COPD model group exhibited mucus plug formation within the terminal bronchioles， along with fibrotic narrowing of the bronchial wall. Moreover， the smooth muscle bundles of the bronchial wall were hypertrophic， with concomitant collagen deposition. Progressive dissolution and rupture of alveolar septa were observed， leading to the formation of abnormally enlarged air-filled cavities. However， the bronchial wall structure was largely restored with only mild thickening of the smooth muscle layer in the baicalin groups. Compared with the COPD model group， the medium- and high-dose baicalin groups showed declined ROS and VEGF levels （P<0.05）， and all the baicalin groups presented lowered levels of IL-6， IL-8， IL-17， IL-22， TGF-β， and TNF-α and elevated level of IL-10 （P<0.05）. Baicalin upregulated the protein levels of HDAC2， Nrf2， GR， PI3K， and Akt， while suppressing the protein level of NF-κB （P<0.05）. Furthermore， baicalin increased the mRNA levels of Nrf2 and GR while down-regulating the mRNA level of NF-κB （P<0.05）. ConclusionBaicalin exerts anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects by inhibiting the pro-inflammatory factor NF-κB while enhancing the expression of the anti-inflammatory factor HDAC2 and activating the antioxidant factor Nrf2， thereby alleviating the lung tissue damage in COPD rats. The therapeutic effects of baicalin may be closely associated with its regulatory role in the NF-κB/Nrf2 signaling pathway.

A domestically produced self-expanding transcatheter aortic valve controllable bending delivery system(VitaFlow? Ⅲcontrollable bending retrievable delivery system)was first used to perform transcatheter aortic valve replacement(TAVR)in a symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis patient with severe heart failure and high risk of surgery in China on September 22,2023.The patient successfully completed TAVR under general anesthesia,with good valve position and function after the operation.Before discharge and at one month of follow-up,the patient's symptoms and degree of heart failure were significantly improved.The follow-up results of this case showed that the VitaFlow? Ⅲ controllable bending retrievable delivery system for TAVR is safe and feasible,and future prospective,multicenter clinical trials are expected to evaluate its efficacy.

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.

Objective:To investigate the prognostic factors for all-cause mortality in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer(MIBC)with intermediate-to-high-risk primary prostate cancer.Methods:From January 2012 to October 2023,the clinical data of the patients with MIBC with intermediate-to-high-risk primary prostate cancer in Peking University Third Hospital were retrospectively analyzed.All the patients were monitored and the occurrence of all-cause death was documented as the outcome event in the prognostic study.Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional risk regression analysis models were implemented to search for independent influences on the prognosis of patients.For significant influencing factors(pathological T stage,M stage and perineural invasion of bladder cancer),survival curves were plotted before and after multifactorial Cox regression adjusting for confounding factors.Results:A total of 32 patients were included in this study.The mean age was(72.5±6.6)years;the median preoperative total prostate specific antigen(tPSA)was 6.68(2.47,6.84)μg/L;the mean preoperative creatinine was(95±36)μmol/L,and the median survival time was 65 months.The majority of the patients(87.5％)had high-grade bladder cancer,53.1％had lymphatic invasion,and 31.3％had perineural invasion.Prostate involvement was observed in 25.0％of the cases,and the positive rate of soft-tissue surgical margin was 37.5％.Multivariate Cox analysis revealed that preoperative creatinine level(HR=1.02,95％CI:1.01-1.04),pathological stage of bladder cancer T3(HR=11.58,95％CI:1.38-97.36)and T4(HR=19.53,95％CI:4.26-89.52)metastasis of bladder cancer(HR=9.44,95％CI:1.26-70.49)and perineural invasion of bladder cancer(HR=6.26,95％CI:1.39-28.27)were independent prognostic factors(P＜0.05).Survival curves with Log-rank test after adjusting for confounding factors demonstrated that bladder cancer pathology T3,T4,M1,and perineural invasion were unfavorable factors affecting the patients'survival prognosis(P＜0.05).Conclusion:Patients with MIBC with intermediate-to-high risk primary prostate cancer generally portends a poor prognosis.High preoperative serum creatinine,T3 or T4 pathological stage of bladder cancer,metastasis of bladder cancer and bladder cancer perineural invasion are poor prognostic factors for patients with MIBC with intermediate-to-high risk primary prostate cancer.

Objective To investigate the effects of long-term exposure to three new types of light emitting diode (LED) sources on the behavior, learning, and memory of rats. Methods A total of 160 specific pathogen-free SD rats were divided into eight groups as followed, trichromatic fluorescent lamps color temperature control group, violet-chip full-spectrum white LED group, blue-chip white LED group, and blue-chip full-spectrum white LED group based on the light sources types, with color temperature of 4 000 K and 6 500 K groups in each group using the 4×2 factorial design. There were 20 rats in each group, with half of the rats were males and half females. Rats were exposed to artificial lighting, and the illumination was set at 750 lx. The rats in each group were exposed to different lighting environments for 12 hours per day for 24 weeks. The open-field and step-down tests were conducted in rats after 24 weeks exposure, followed by sacrifice of rats and measurement of organ coefficients. Differences in body weight, organ coefficients, and neurobehavioral indexes of rats in different groups were compared. Results The spleen coefficient of female rats decreased in blue-chip white LED of 6 500 K color temperature group, and the liver coefficient of male rats decreased in the violet-chip full-spectrum white LED of 4 000 K color temperature, blue-chip full-spectrum white LED of 4 000 K color temperature, and blue-chip full-spectrum white LED of 6 500 K color temperature groups, compared with the same-sex rats in trichromatic fluorescent lamps with same-color temperature control group (all P<0.05). The result of different types of light sources compared in the open-field test showed that the index of total distance and movement speed of female rats in the blue-chip full-spectrum white LED group were lower than those in the other three groups, and the time cost to the central area was longer than that in the blue-chip white LED group and the violet-chip full-spectrum white LED group (all P<0.05). The total distance and movement speed of male rats in the blue-chip full-spectrum white LED group were longer or higher than those in the violet-chip full-spectrum white LED group (all P<0.05). Based on the comparison of color temperature, the time and total distance of male rats in 6 500 K color temperature group were lower than that in the 4 000 K color temperature group (both P<0.05). In the step-down test, both male and female rats in the blue-chip full-spectrum white LED group made more errors compared with other three groups with the same gender (all P<0.05). Conclusion Based on the experimental conditions of this study, the blue-chip full-spectrum white light LED affects behavior, learning and memory of the rats, and trichromatic fluorescent lamp has the lowest effect on neurobehavior. The color temperature also affects behavior of the rats, and high color temperature has higher risk.

Objective:To explore the clinical value of 18F-fluoromisonidazole (FMISO) PET/CT hypoxia imaging in early response to heavy ion radiotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). Methods:From April 2018 to January 2021, the 18F-FMISO PET/CT images of 23 NSCLC patients (19 males, 4 females; age (64.9±10.3) years) who received heavy ion radiotherapy in Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Center were retrospectively analyzed. The evaluation parameters included tumor volume (TV), tumor to background ratio (TBR) before and after radiotherapy. Patients were divided into hypoxia group and non-hypoxia group with the baseline TBR value≥1.4 as hypoxia threshold. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the differences of TV and TBR before and after radiotherapy in 2 groups. Results:Of 23 NSCLC patients, 17 were hypoxia and 6 were non-hypoxia. Compared with the baseline, TV after the radiotherapy (59.44(22.86, 99.43) and 33.78(8.68, 54.44) cm 3; z=-3.05, P=0.002) and TBR after the radiotherapy (2.25(2.09, 2.82) and 1.42(1.24, 1.67); z=-3.39, P=0.001) of the hypoxia group were significantly lower, while TV (16.19(6.74, 36.52) and 8.59(4.38, 25.47) cm 3; z=-1.57, P=0.120) and TBR (1.19(1.05, 1.27) and 1.10 (0.97, 1.14); z=-1.89, P=0.060) of the non-hypoxia group decreased with no significant differences. Conclusions:Hypoxic NSCLC tumors are sensitive to heavy ion radiation. Compared with non-hypoxic tumors, hypoxic tumors respond more quickly, and a significant reduction in TV can be observed early after radiotherapy. Heavy ion radiation can significantly improve tumor hypoxia.

Cadmium (Cd) is a common heavy metal in the environment. Cd²⁺ may penetrate the blood-brain barrier and produce neurotoxicity, thus inducing various neurodegenerative diseases. Celastrol is an effective component of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F., which has many pharmacological effects such as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory. Here we explored the effect of celastrol on the corresponding neurotoxicity induced by Cd²⁺. Cell proliferation test, cell membrane integrity test, and cell morphology were observed to analyze the effect of Cd²⁺ on the viability of HMC3. The neurotoxicity of Cd²⁺ and the effect of celastrol on the corresponding neurotoxicity induced by Cd²⁺ were analyzed by nitric oxide (NO) test, lipid peroxidation (MDA) test, and Western blotting. When the concentration of Cd²⁺ reached 40 μmol/L, the inhibition rate of HMC3 cell proliferation was (57.17±8.23)% (P < 0.01, n=5), compared with the control group. The cell activity continued to reduce when the Cd²⁺ concentration further increased. When the concentration of Cd²⁺ was higher than 40 μmol/L, the cell membrane of HMC3 was significantly damaged, and the damage was dose-dependent. Upon increasing the Cd²⁺ concentration, the cell morphology began to change and the adhesion also became worse. Cd²⁺ significantly increased the amount of NO released by HMC3 cells, while celastrol effectively inhibited the NO release of HMC3 cells induced by Cd²⁺. Cd²⁺ greatly increased the release of MDA in HMC3 cells, and the level of MDA decreased rapidly upon the addition of 10^-7 mol/L celastrol. Cd²⁺ increased the expression of p-PI3K protein, and the levels of p-PI3K protein and p-AKT protein were inhibited by the addition of celastrol (10^‒7 mol/L, 10^‒6 mol/L), thus preventing cell apoptosis. In conclusion, celastrol inhibits Cd²⁺ induced microglial cytotoxicity and plays a neuroprotective role.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacology* ; Apoptosis ; Cadmium/toxicity* ; Nitric Oxide/pharmacology* ; Pentacyclic Triterpenes ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Triterpenes/pharmacology*

Objective:Patients are breathing freely during adjuvant proton pencil beam radiotherapy after breast conserving surgery. Fluctuation of the thorax may affect the position of the end of the proton beam flow, which needs to be precisely evaluated on a millimeter scale.Methods:For 20 patients with breast cancer treated with proton radiotherapy after breast conserving surgery, PET-CT scan was performed approximately 10 min after the end of proton radiotherapy. The images of PET-CT were processed for ROI determination and sampling line (profile) extraction on a Raystation RV workstation to calculate the actual difference between the predicted and real radioactivity from the same spatial location as obtained by PET acquisition R50. Then, the differences in the spatial location between the actual process of proton irradiation and the planned process were obtained. Depth difference values for each pair of sampling lines were presented. Results:For 20 patients with breast cancer with a median follow-up of 22 months (range 12 - 46 months), all patients survived at the last follow-up, and no radiation pneumonitis was observed during the follow-up period. Among the verification results of 21 cases, the depth difference of evenly distributed was (-0.75±1.89) mm in the primary field and (-0.82±2.06) mm in the secondary field; The depth difference of sequential treatment was (1.81±1.87) mm in the primary field and (1.32±1.74) mm in the secondary field; The depth difference of synchronous addition in the primary field was (-1.47±1.44) mm, and the depth difference in the secondary field was (-1.48±2.11) mm.Conclusion:The results of off-line PET-CT in vivo biological verification show that the accuracy of the dose boundary cut-off was within 3 mm in breast cancer patients, which meets the clinical and physician requirement for the precision in breast cancer treatment.

This project starts with the teaching of clinical anatomy for eight-year medical students, selects specialists to enter the courses according to the content of clinical anatomy, and explores the deep integration of basic and clinical education. This study used the self-made questionnaire to evaluate the effect of the integrated teaching model, and Likert scale was used to score. Meanwhile, the correlation between the scores of each question and total points was analyzed with the item analysis. Moreover, we assessed the principal components through the exploratory factor analysis. The results showed that more than 95% questioned students thought the preclinical education integrated with clinical medicine teaching model is necessary and practical, which can assist medical students in the anatomical structure learning combined with clinical disease, and meanwhile cultivate students' clinical thinking. Only fewer than 10% thought it can connect the basic knowledge and clinical cases effectively, and over 35% thought there are difficulties. Additionally, more than half students (54%) hold the negative attitude which clinicians can't completely replace basic teachers in teaching. Our finding suggests that the integrated teaching model is attractive and feasible. Nonetheless, clinicians can’t replace preclinical teachers completely in the clinical anatomy education yet.