ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical effects of Yishen Tongluo Prescription in treating patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia and teratozoospermia due to kidney deficiency and collateral obstruction， as well as the effects of this formula on biochemical indices and oxidative stress of seminal plasma. MethodsPatients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated by the random number table method into an observation group （61 patients， including 2 dropped out and 59 completed） and a control group （61 patients， including 2 dropped out， 1 excluded， and 58 completed）. The observation group took Yishen Tongluo Prescription orally， 1 dose/day， and the control group took levocarnitine oral solution， 10 mL/time， 3 times/day. Both groups received a treatment course of 12 weeks and were followed up for 6 weeks. The percentage of progressive motile sperms （PR）， percentage of sperms with normal morphology， seminal plasma oxidative stress indicators ［malondialdehyde （MDA） and superoxide dismutase （SOD）］， seminal plasma biochemical indicators ［acid phosphatase （ACP）， zinc （Zn）， fructose （Fru）， and alpha-glucosidase （α-Glu）］， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptom scores were recorded for both groups before and after treatment. ResultsThe total response rate in the observation group was 76.3% （45/59）， which was higher than that （44.8%， 26/58） in the control group （χ²=12.120， P<0.05）. After treatment， both groups of patients showed increases in PR， percentage of sperms with normal morphology， and seminal plasma SOD level （P<0.05）， which were higher in the observation group than in the control group （P<0.05）. The MDA level and TCM symptom scores decreased in both groups after treatment （P<0.05）， and the decreases were more obvious in the observation group than in the control group （P<0.05）. After treatment， the seminal plasma levels of ACP， Zn， Fru， and α-Glu in the observation group （P<0.05） and that of α-Glu in the control group （P<0.05） rose. Moreover， the observation group had higher seminal plasma levels of ACP， Zn， Fru， and α-Glu than the control group （P<0.05）. Neither group showed obvious adverse reactions. ConclusionIn summaryYishen Tongluo prescription is able to improve the sperm vitality and reduce the sperm abnormality rate in infertile patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia and teratozoospermia due to kidney deficiency and collateral obstruction. It may exert therapeutic effects by regulating the microenvironments of the epididymis， prostate， and seminal vesicles， thereby recovering the seminal plasma biochemical levels， enhancing the antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma， clearing excessive reactive oxygen species， and alleviating oxidative stress.

Objective To explore the effect and potential mechanisms of melatonin combined with gemcitabine on the chemosensitivity of human pancreatic cancer cell line PANC-1.Methods Human pancreatic cancer cell line PANC-1 was trea-ted with gemcitabine alone or in combination with melatonin.Cell viability was assessed using CCK-8.Effect of melatonin and gem-citabine alone or in combination on the clonogenic capacity of PANC-1 cells were observed through colony formation experiments.Scratch assays and transwell experiments were conducted to evaluate cell migration ability.Reactive oxygen species(ROS)and mitochondrial membrane point JC-1 assay kit were used to determine reactive oxygen species synthesis and membrane potential levels.Intracellular Fe2+level was measured using ferrous ion fluorescent probe.The protein expression levels of LC3,P62,GPX4 and SLC7A11 in different treatment groups were detected by immunofluorescence and Western blotting.Results CCK-8 results showed that the viability of PANC-1 cells was inhibited by gemcitabine alone after 48 h and 72 h of treatment in a time-and dose-dependent manner.The cell viability of gemcitabine combined with melatonin group was significantly lower than that of gemcitabine group,and the cell viability decreased with the increase of melatonin concentration.Scratch assays,transwell experiments,and plate colony formation assay results demonstrated that the proliferation and migration of cells in the gemcitabine combined with the me-latonin group were significantly inhibited compared with the gemcitabine group.The levels of reactive oxygen species and Fe2+in PANC-1 in gemcitabine combined with the melatonin group were higher than those in the gemcitabine group,and the mitochondri-al membrane potential was significantly decreased(P＜0.01).Western blotting and immunofluorescence results showed that the ra-tio of autophagy-related protein LC3-Ⅱ/LC3-Ⅰ in gemcitabine combined with the melatonin group was lower than that in the gem-citabine group,and the expression of P62 was up-regulated,and the expression of anti-iron death-related protein GPX4 and SLC7A11 was significantly inhibited(P＜0.05),suggesting that melatonin combined with gemcitabine can inhibit autophagy and promote ferroptosis in PANC-1 cells.Conclusion Melatonin enhances the chemosensitivity of pancreatic cancer cell PANC-1 to gemcitabine by inhibiting autophagy and promoting ferroptosis of tumor cells.

Objective To observe the value of clinical and CT radiomics features for predicting microsatellite instability-high(MSI-H)status of gastric cancer.Methods Totally 150 gastric cancer patients including 30 cases of MSI-H positive and 120 cases of MSI-H negative were enrolled and divided into training set(n=105)or validation set(n=45)at the ratio of 7∶3.Based on abdominal vein phase enhanced CT images,lesions radiomics features were extracted and screened,and radiomics scores(Radscore)was calculated.Clinical data and Radscores were compared between MSI-H positive and negative patients in training set and validation set.Based on clinical factors and Radscores being significant different between MSI-H positive and negative ones,clinical model,CT radiomics model and clinical-CT radiomics combination model were constructed,and their predictive value for MSI-H status of gastric cancer were observed.Results Significant differences of tumor location and Radscore were found between MSI-H positive and negative patients in both training and validation sets(all P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of clinical model,CT radiomics model and combination model for evaluating MSI-H status of gastric cancer in training set was 0.760,0.799 and 0.864,respectively,of that in validation set was 0.735,0.812 and 0.849,respectively.AUC of clinical-CT radiomics combination model was greater than that of the other 2 single models(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Clinical-CT radiomics combination model based on tumor location and Radscore could effectively predict MSI-H status of gastric cancer.

Objective To compare the efficacy of retroperitoneal robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy(RALPN)in the treatment of ventral and dorsal renal tumor.Methods The clinical data of 131 patients with renal tumor who underwent retroperitoneal RALPN at our hospital during Jan.2021 and Feb.2024 were retrospectively analyzed.The patients were divided into the ventral renal tumor group(n=35)and dorsal renal tumor group(n=96)according to preoperative images.Perioperative outcomes and prognosis were compared between the two groups.Results All 131 surgeries were successfully completed without conversion to open surgery or abdominal organ injury.There were no significant differences in warm ischemia time[median(interquartile range,IQR):20(16.75)min vs.22(IQR:15.25)min],operation time[57.0(IQR:29.5)min vs.58.5(IQR:39.75)min],estimated intraoperative blood loss[50(IQR:80)mL vs.50(IQR:80)mL],proportion of patients with intraoperative blood transfusion(0 vs.2.1％),proportion of patients using four arms during operation(42.9％vs.37.5％),postoperative reduction of hemoglobin(Hb)[(-12.9±9.0)g/L vs.(-11.5±9.4)g/L],reduction of estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR)[(-3.8±12.4)mL/min vs.(-7.0±13.6)mL/min],postoperative hospital stay[4(IQR:0)d vs.4(IQR:2)d],and proportion of meeting"Trifecta"criteria(94.3％vs.86.5％,P＞0.05).During the median follow-up of 9.8(5.5,24.0)months,no death occurred,and no recurrence or metastasis were observed except that bone metastasis occurred in 1 patient in the dorsal renal tumor group.Conclusion Both ventral and dorsal renal tumors can be treated with retroperitoneal RALPN,and the surgical outcomes of both are comparable.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） suppository combined with Yishen Tongluo Qingkang decoction in the treatment of immune infertility. MethodA total of 116 patients meeting the inclusion criteria of this study were randomly divided into an observation group （58 cases） and a control group （58 cases）. The observation group was treated with TCM suppository combined with Yishen Tongluo Qingkang decoction，and the control group was treated with prednisone acetate tablets. Both groups were treated for 12 weeks and followed up six months after treatment. Semen samples of the patients were collected before and after treatment，and the pregnancy status of their spouses，negative conversion rate of seminal plasma anti-sperm antibody （AsAb），sperm concentration，motility，percentage of forward motile sperm，sperm acrosin activity， and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. ResultA total of 104 patients completed the study，including 53 cases in the observation group and 51 cases in the control group. Before treatment，the baseline data of the two groups were balanced. After treatment，the total effective rate of the observation group was 92.45%，which was higher than that of the control group （76.47%）（P<0.05），and the negative conversion rate of AsAb in the observation group was higher than that in the control group，but the difference was not statistically significant. After treatment，the sperm motility， percentage of forward motile sperm， and sperm acrosin activity increased in the two groups（P<0.05），and the sperm concentration in the observation group increased （P<0.05）. There was no significant difference in sperm concentration in the control group. After treatment，the sperm concentration，motility，percentage of forward motile sperm， and acrosin activity in the observation group were better than those in the control group （P<0.05）. During the trial，the incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was lower than that in the control group （P<0.05）. ConclusionTCM suppository combined with Yishen Tongluo Qingkang decoction can significantly increase the negative conversion rate of AsAb and improve the quality of semen in patients with immune infertility.

Objective:To discuss the feasibility and safety of robot-assisted laparoscopic retroperitoneal tumor resection in prone position.Methods:From August 2023 to January 2024, a total of eight patients with retroperitoneal tumors from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed, including two males and six females. The average age was (47.4±12.5) years, average BMI was (24.4±3.5) kg/m 2 and median ASA grade was 2(2, 3). Retroperitoneal tumors were identified preoperatively through CT or MRI. The imaging revealed 4 cases of adrenal tumors located on the left side, 2 on the right side, and 2 non-adrenal tumors situated on the left side. The preoperative diagnoses included 2 cases of non-functional adrenal tumors, 2 cases of pheochromocytoma, 1 case of Cushing’s syndrome, 1 case of metastatic renal cell carcinoma, and 2 cases of non-adrenal tumors. Robot-assisted laparoscopic retroperitoneal tumor resection was performed with all patients in prone position. The inferior margin of the fourth lumbar vertebra (L4) was determined by the line connecting the highest points of the iliac crests bilaterally. Subsequently, the inferior margins of the L1-L3 vertebrae were sequentially identified. The surgical field was then divided into three equal segments, utilizing the posterior midline of the spine and the midaxillary line as boundaries. The medial division was situated approximately at the lateral border of the vertical spinal muscles, while the lateral division was placed near the tip of the 12th rib. A longitudinal incision of approximately 3 cm in length was created within the lateral division between L2 and L3 for the insertion of a camera trocar. The extraperitoneal space was subsequently dilated using a self-made balloon, and two 8 mm trocars were placed as operative ports along the medial division and the midaxillary line, respectively, under finger guidance. Assistance trocars, one or two 12 mm in diameter, were introduced above the level of the iliac crest. During the operation, the extraperitoneal adipose tissue was removed and the Gerota's fascia was opened. For non-adrenal retroperitoneal tumours, the major blood vessels around the tumour were suspended and fixed, by titanium clips or Hem-o-lok clips to dissect the small arteries and veins, and the tumour was carefully isolated and completely resected. For adrenal tumours, the fat capsule around the upper pole of the kidney were removed, the adrenal gland was exposed, and then the tumour was removed completely along its capsule. If total adrenalectomy is performed, the central adrenal vein was clamped and dissected. The periphery of the adrenal gland was gradually dissected until the adrenal gland was completely removed.The perioperative data, including patient positioning time, trocar placement time, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative complications, postoperative hospital stay, and postoperative drainage tube removal time, as well as recurrence and metastasis, were recorded.Two patients underwent partial nephrectomy due to renal tumor, and only the time for retroperitoneal tumor resection was included in calculating operation time. Results:All 8 surgeries were successfully completed without dramatic blood pressure fluctuations.There was no conversion to open surgery or abdominal organ injury. The patient positioning time was (5.1±0.4) minutes, trocar placement time was (16.6±1.3) minutes, operation time was (28.8±13.8) minutes, intraoperative blood loss was (65.0±28.7) ml, postoperative hospital stay was (3.6±0.9) days, and drainage tube removal time was (2.8±1.0) days. No intraoperative or postoperative blood transfusions were required. Postoperatively diagnosed pathologies included: 2 cases of adrenal pheochromocytoma, 2 cases of adrenal sebaceous adenoma, 2 cases of retroperitoneal schwannoma, 1 case of adrenal myelolipoma, and 1 case of adrenal metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The average tumor size for all patients was (4.3±1.5) cm. After a follow-up of 2.0-7.2 months, there were no recorded postoperative complications, including haemorrhage, infections, acute hypotension, or adrenocortical insufficiency. Additionally, no evidence of tumor recurrence or metastasis was observed up during foolow-up.Conclusions:Robot-assisted laparoscopic retroperitoneal tumor resection in prone position could be a safe and feasible surgical approach with short operative time, low bleeding, and fast postoperative recovery.

Objective To observe the reproducibility of radiomics feature(RF)extracted from virtual monoenergetic image(VMI)of rabbit VX2 hepatoma models obtained with 3 different dual-energy CT(DECT)systems,and to explore relationship of reproducibility and diagnostic performance of RF.Methods Fifteen rabbits with VX2 hepatoma were randomly divided into 3 groups(each n=5).Contrast-enhanced abdominal CT scanning under volume CT dose index(CTDIvol)levels of 6,9 and 12 mGy were performed with dual-source DECT(dsDECT),rapid kV switching DECT(rsDECT)and dual-layer detector DECT(dlDECT),respectively.VMI were reconstructed at 10 keV increments from 40 to 140 keV.RF were extracted from VMI,the reproducibility was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficient(ICC),and those with ICC≥0.8 were considered as reproducible RF.The percentage of reproducible features(denoted by R)were compared among different scanner pairings and different CTDIvol levels.Within each CTDIvol group,the reconstruction energy levels yielding the maximum number(denoted by N)of common RF across different scanner pairings were identified.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was drawn,the area under the curve(AUC)was calculated,and the diagnostic efficacies of reproducible RF and other RF were compared under optimal reproducible conditions.Spearman correlation coefficient between ICC and the corresponding AUC of RF were calculated.Results RrsDECT-dsDECT(6.45％,95％CI[2.36％,8.87％])was higher than RdlDECT-dsDECT(0.72％,95％CI[0.15％,1.79％])and RrsDECT-dlDECT(1.43％,95％CI[0.60％,4.06％])(all adjusted P＜0.05),R9mGy(3.70％,95％CI[1.31％,5.73％])and R12mGy(2.63％,95％CI[0.60％,6.69％])were higher than R6mGy(1.31％,95％CI[0.12％,1.55％])(all adjusted P＜0.05).The optimal reproducible reconstruction energy levels of RF under CTDIvol of 6,9 and 12 mGy concentrated at 50-70 keV.AUC of reproducible RFs were higher than of other RF(all adjusted P＜0.05)and had certain correlation with the reproducibility(rs=0.102-0.516,P＜0.05).Conclusion The reproducibility of RF extracted from contrast-enhanced VMI CT images of rabbit VX2 hepatoma models associated with DECT scanner,CTDIvol level and reconstruction energy level.RF with higher reproducibility might have better diagnostic performance.

Objective To observe the value of clinical data combined with CT radiomics features for evaluating programmed cell death-ligand 1(PD-L1)status in gastric cancer.Methods Totally 277 gastric cancer patients were retrospectively enrolled and randomly divided into training set(n=195)and validation set(n=82)at the ratio of 7:3.There were 88 cases in PD-L1 positive subgroup and 107 cases in negative subgroup of training set,while 37 and 45 cases of validation set,respectively.The clinical and conventional CT features were compared between subgroups in both sets,the independent influencing factors of PD-L1 status in gastric cancer were analyzed,and radiomic features were screened based on CT data.Then clinical model,radiomics model and clinical-radiomics model were established,and the efficacy of each model for evaluating PD-L1 status in gastric cancer was observed.Results In training set,Borrmann type,cN stage,cM stage,clinical stage,maximum diameter and thickness were significant difference between subgroups(all P＜0.05).Borrmann type,clinical stage and the thickness were all independent influencing factors of PD-L1 positivity(all P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of clinical model,radiomic model and clinical-radiomics model for evaluating PD-L1 status in gastric cancer in training set was 0.748,0.832 and 0.841,respectively,and was 0.657,0.801 and 0.789 in validation set,respectively.AUC of clinical model was lower than the other models(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Clinical data combined with CT radiomics features was helpful for evaluating PD-L1 status in gastric cancer.

【Objective】 To predict the expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) in urothelial bladder carcinoma based on normalized apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). 【Methods】 The preoperative pelvic 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of 127 patients with urothelial bladder carcinoma were retrospectively studied, the ADC was measured, and the HER2 expression in postoperative tissue specimens was determined with immunohistochemistry (IHC). The differences in normalized ADC were analyzed among different HER2 expressions and among different expression divisions. Correlation between normalized ADC and HER2 expression was analyzed. The optimal diagnostic threshold for distinguishing different expression divisions were determined with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. 【Results】 Normalized ADC was negatively correlated with HER2 expression (tau-b=-0.180, P=0.008). Normalized ADC of HER2 overexpression group (IHC 2+, 3+) was lower than that of HER2 negative group (IHC 0, 1+) (P=0.081). Normalized ADC of HER2 expression group (IHC 1+, 2+, 3+) was significantly lower than that of HER2 zero-expression group (IHC 0) (P=0.020). Normalized ADC of HER2 strong positive group (IHC 3+) was significantly lower than that of HER2 non-strong positive group (IHC 0, 1+, 2+) (P=0.024). The optimal diagnostic threshold of HER2 strong positive group was 0.849; the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 0.621, 0.909 and 0.765, respectively. The optimal diagnostic threshold of HER2 overexpression group was 0.909; the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 0.547, 0.667 and 0.607, respectively. 【Conclusion】 Normalized ADC is negatively correlated with HER2 expression. ADC may be a potential marker for predicting HER2 expression.

Objective:To discuss the efficacy of pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) on the patients undergoing radical cystectomy (RC).Methods:The clinicopathological data of bladder cancer patients who did not receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy and underwent RC in our center from November 2013 to December 2019 were collected. The average age of the patients was (67.4±10.9) years, including 284 males and 55 females. Postoperative pathology showed that 171 cases of MIBC and 168 cases of NMIBC. In the MIBC group, 124 patients received PLND. In the NMIBC group, 118 patients received PLND. There was no statistical difference of the PLND ratio between the two groups(72.5% vs. 65.5%, P=0.643). The average number of lymph nodes(LNs)in patients receiving PLND was(13.7±7.1). Explore the prognostic factors in NMIBC and MIBC respectively. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the effect of PLND on the prognosis of patients in MIBC and NMIBC group. Results:In MIBC group, 26 patients showed positive LNs, while 98 had negative LNs. 144 cases were high-grade urothelial carcinoma, and 47 cases received adjuvant treatment. In NMIBC group, 4 patients exhibited positive LNs, while 114 had negative LNs. 99 cases were high-grade urothelial carcinoma, and 15 cases received adjuvant treatment. After a median follow-up of 24(13, 43)months, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the 5-year overall survival(OS)of 395 patients was 63.6%. MIBC had a 5-year OS rate of 47.5%, while NMIBC had a rate of 79.1%. Univariate Cox regression showed that age≥65 years( HR=2.07, 95% CI 1.21-3.54, P=0.009), high tumor grade( HR=9.76, 95% CI 2.39-39.90, P<0.01), and positive lymph nodes( HR=2.47, 95% CI 1.27-4.78, P=0.008)were risk factors for the prognosis of MIBC.PLND ( HR=0.37, 95% CI 0.23-0.60, P<0.01) and adjuvant therapy ( HR=0.21, 95% CI 0.10-0.46, P<0.01) were protective factors of MIBC. However, the only risk factor of NMIBC was high tumor grade ( HR=6.66, 95% CI1.51-29.50, P=0.012). PLND had no effect on the prognosis of NMIBC patients following RC( HR=1.32, 95% CI 0.37-4.75, P=0.667). Multivariate COX regression analysis revealed that high tumor grade( HR=6.38, 95% CI 1.54-26.50, P=0.011) was independent risk factor of MIBC, PLND( HR=0.59, 95% CI 0.35-0.99, P=0.047), as well as adjuvant therapy ( HR=0.30, 95% CI 0.13-0.68, P=0.004) were independent protective factors of MIBC. Further analysis discovered that MIBC patients with negative LNs had a better prognosis than those with no PLND (62.4% vs. 16.1%, P<0.01)and positive LNs(62.4% vs.32.3%, P=0.005). However, there was no difference in prognosis between the negative LNs and no PLND group in NMIBC patients (81.3% vs. 66.6%, P=0.764). Conclusions:This study found that PLND was an independent predictive factor for MIBC patients receiving radical cystectomy.