[Objective] To analyze the prognostic value of prostate cancer (PCa) pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) using gene expression databases and to explore the regulatory mechanism of nucleotidebinding oligomerization domain-like receptor containing pyrin domain 1 (NLRP1) in the pyroptosis of PCa cells. [Methods] Fragments per kilobase of exon model per million reads mapped (FPKM) data and clinical information from PCa and adjacent tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were obtained. Differentially expressed PRGs between PCa and adjacent tissues, classified subtypes and plotted survival curves were analyzed. Univariate Cox regression analysis, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis were conducted to screen prognosis-related PRGs, risk scores were calculated, and a prognostic risk model was constructed and validated. Patients were divided into high and low risk groups based on the median risk scores from the training and validation sets, and gene ontology (GO) enrichment and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis were conducted on differentially expressed PRGs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression level of NLRP1 in PCa cell lines, and pyroptosis was induced in DU145 and LNCaP cells while morphological changes were observed. Western blot (WB) was performed to detect the expression of pyroptosis-related molecules. [Results] A total of 6 prognostic-related PRGs were obtained, including CHMP4C, CYCS, GPX4, GSDMB, NLRP1, and PLCG1. The risk score was positively correlated with the risk of recurrence but negatively correlated with the progression-free survival (P<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) for the training set at 1, 3, and 5 years were 0.769 (95%CI: 0.652-0.878), 0.804 (95%CI: 0.736-0.882), and 0.772 (95%CI: 0.631-0.905), respectively, while those for the validation set were 0.731 (95%CI: 0.647-0.826), 0.753 (95%CI: 0.674-0.818), and 0.763 (95%CI: 0.626-0.849), respectively. Differences in expression levels of the 6 PRGs were observed between the high and low risk groups in both the training and validation sets (P<0.05). Cox regression analysis showed that T stage, prostate specific antigen (PSA), Gleason grade, and risk score were independent predictors of PCa prognosis (P<0.05). Differences in risk scores were observed among patients of different ages, T stages, and Gleason grades (P<0.05). NLRP1 was found to be lowly expressed in PCa cell lines and was involved in the regulation of pyroptosis in DU145 and LNCaP cells. [Conclusion] The prognostic risk model constructed based on PRGs has a certain predictability for the prognosis of PCa patients, and NLRP1 may be involved in the regulation of pyroptosis in PCa cells.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of omphalocele, and to assess the risk factors associated with adverse outcomes.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted. Clinical data of 224 patients diagnosed with omphalocele, who were hospitalized at Children′s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine from January 2013 to December 2022, were collected. Based on their discharge outcomes, the patients were classified into 2 groups: favorable outcomes and unfavorable outcomes. Chi-square test or continuity correction χ2 test or Fisher exact probability method, and Mann-Whitney U test were used for intergroup comparisons. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with adverse outcomes in omphalocele. Results:Among the 224 patients with omphalocele, 126 were male. A total of 208 patients (92.9%) had favorable outcomes, while 16 patients (7.1%) had unfavorable outcomes. In the unfavorable outcomes group, 14 patients had giant omphaloceles, while 100 patients had giant omphaloceles in the favorable outcomes group. The rates of herniation of more than two intra-abdominal organs in the hernial sac, congenital heart defects, patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonary hypertension, sepsis and infection of the hernial sac, were all higher in the unfavorable outcomes group compared to the favorable outcomes group (all P<0.05). Patients with unfavorable outcomes had longer mechanical ventilation time, duration of oxygen use, duration of parenteral nutrition, hospital stays, and higher rates of parenteral nutrition-associated cholestasis compared to those with favorable outcomes (all P<0.01). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that pulmonary hypertension ( OR=9.39, 95% CI 1.20-73.32), sepsis ( OR=8.59, 95% CI 1.32-55.86), and congenital heart defects ( OR=6.55, 95% CI 1.11-38.73) were all independent risk factors for adverse outcomes in omphalocele (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Infants with omphalocele are prone to complications such as cardiovascular malformations, infections, and pulmonary hypertension. Adverse outcomes in omphalocele are associated with pulmonary hypertension, sepsis, and congenital heart defects.

[摘 要] 目的：评估放疗作为原位疫苗的联合治疗模式在晚期软组织肉瘤（STS）患者中的有效性和安全性。方法：回顾性分析2020年12月至2024年9月期间在南京大学医学院附属鼓楼医院肿瘤中心接受联合治疗模式的12例晚期STS患者的临床资料。12例患者均接受了联合治疗。放疗主要以大分割为主。靶向治疗：安罗替尼10例、阿帕替尼2例。免疫治疗以PD-1抗体为主。主要研究终点为疾病控制率（DCR），次要研究终点为客观有效率（ORR）及安全性。结果：接受联合治疗的12例STS患者中有0例CR，4例PR，7例SD，1例PD。ORR为33%，DCR为91.7%，其中靶病灶的DCR为100%。12例患者中，9例出现Ⅰ~Ⅱ级不良反应。最常发生的血液学不良反应是贫血（6例）、肝功能检查结果异常（3例）。最常发生的非血液学不良反应是尿蛋白（5例）、高血压（4例）、甲状腺功能异常（3例）、厌食（3例）、恶心呕吐（2例）；仅2例发生Ⅲ级血液毒性，有1例发生Ⅲ级气胸。结论：放疗作为原位疫苗的联合治疗模式在晚期STS患者中展现出较高的DCR，且未出现严重不良反应。该联合治疗模式具有良好的有效性与安全性。

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of Naoxintong capsules on ischemia-reperfusion （I/R） injury in rats based on the changes of pericytes mediated by Ras homolog family member A （RHOA）/Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 （ROCK1） pathway. MethodsNinety rats （15 rats for each group） were randomly divided into a sham operation group， a model group， a positive control group receiving Ginkgo biloba extract （21.6 mg·kg^-1）， and groups receiving Naoxintong capsules at low， medium， and high doses of 55， 110， and 220 mg·kg^-1 （NXT-L， NXT-M， and NXT-H groups）， respectively. Except for those in the sham operation group， all rats were subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion （tMCAO） to establish the experiment model. Nerve function was assessed using a neurological function score. Cerebral blood flow was detected using a laser speckle contrast imager， and the cerebral infarction rate was calculated using 2，3，5-Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride （TTC） staining. Pathological changes were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and Nissl staining， while pericyte morphology was observed via transmission electron microscopy. Blood-brain barrier destruction was observed by Evans blue staining. Albumin and ischemia-modified albumin levels were measured using assay kits. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of RHOA， ROCK1， platelet-derived growth factor receptor β （PDGFRB）， α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA）， tight junction protein （ZO-1）， matrix metalloproteinase-2 （MMP-2）， and matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP-9）. ResultsCompared with the sham operation group， the model group exhibited decreased neurological function scores， higher percentage reduction in blood flow， and increased cerebral infarction rates （P<0.01）. Additionally， cortical neuronal nucleus shrinkage， edema， a decreased number of Nissl bodies， reduced pericyte area， elevated albumin content in the cortex （P<0.05）， and increased ischemic modified albumin levels （P<0.01） were observed. The mRNA and protein expression levels of RHOA， ROCK1， PDGFRB， α-SMA， MMP-2， and MMP-9 were increased （P<0.01）， while those of ZO-1 were decreased. Compared with the model group， all treatment groups showed improved neurological function scores， lower percentage reduction in blood flow， reduced cerebral infarction rates （P<0.01）， alleviated cortical histological changes， increased number of Nissl bodies， expanded pericyte area， decreased albumin content in the cortex， and reduced ischemia-modified albumin levels （P<0.01）. The mRNA and protein expression levels of RHOA， ROCK1， PDGFRB， α-SMA， MMP-2， and MMP-9 were decreased （P<0.01）， while those of ZO-1 were increased. Among the treatment groups， the NXT-M group showed the most pronounced improvement in cerebral I/R injury. ConclusionNaoxintong capsules can restore cerebral blood supply， reduce microcirculation disturbance， and protect blood-brain barrier in rats with I/R injury. Its mechanism of action may be related to the inhibition of the RHOA/ROCK1 signaling pathway and reduced pericyte contraction.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of Naoxintong capsules on ischemia-reperfusion （I/R） injury in rats based on the changes of pericytes mediated by Ras homolog family member A （RHOA）/Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 （ROCK1） pathway. MethodsNinety rats （15 rats for each group） were randomly divided into a sham operation group， a model group， a positive control group receiving Ginkgo biloba extract （21.6 mg·kg^-1）， and groups receiving Naoxintong capsules at low， medium， and high doses of 55， 110， and 220 mg·kg^-1 （NXT-L， NXT-M， and NXT-H groups）， respectively. Except for those in the sham operation group， all rats were subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion （tMCAO） to establish the experiment model. Nerve function was assessed using a neurological function score. Cerebral blood flow was detected using a laser speckle contrast imager， and the cerebral infarction rate was calculated using 2，3，5-Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride （TTC） staining. Pathological changes were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and Nissl staining， while pericyte morphology was observed via transmission electron microscopy. Blood-brain barrier destruction was observed by Evans blue staining. Albumin and ischemia-modified albumin levels were measured using assay kits. Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of RHOA， ROCK1， platelet-derived growth factor receptor β （PDGFRB）， α-smooth muscle actin （α-SMA）， tight junction protein （ZO-1）， matrix metalloproteinase-2 （MMP-2）， and matrix metalloproteinase-9 （MMP-9）. ResultsCompared with the sham operation group， the model group exhibited decreased neurological function scores， higher percentage reduction in blood flow， and increased cerebral infarction rates （P<0.01）. Additionally， cortical neuronal nucleus shrinkage， edema， a decreased number of Nissl bodies， reduced pericyte area， elevated albumin content in the cortex （P<0.05）， and increased ischemic modified albumin levels （P<0.01） were observed. The mRNA and protein expression levels of RHOA， ROCK1， PDGFRB， α-SMA， MMP-2， and MMP-9 were increased （P<0.01）， while those of ZO-1 were decreased. Compared with the model group， all treatment groups showed improved neurological function scores， lower percentage reduction in blood flow， reduced cerebral infarction rates （P<0.01）， alleviated cortical histological changes， increased number of Nissl bodies， expanded pericyte area， decreased albumin content in the cortex， and reduced ischemia-modified albumin levels （P<0.01）. The mRNA and protein expression levels of RHOA， ROCK1， PDGFRB， α-SMA， MMP-2， and MMP-9 were decreased （P<0.01）， while those of ZO-1 were increased. Among the treatment groups， the NXT-M group showed the most pronounced improvement in cerebral I/R injury. ConclusionNaoxintong capsules can restore cerebral blood supply， reduce microcirculation disturbance， and protect blood-brain barrier in rats with I/R injury. Its mechanism of action may be related to the inhibition of the RHOA/ROCK1 signaling pathway and reduced pericyte contraction.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of apatinib combined with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in the treatment of malignant solid tumors. METHODS Randomized controlled trials （RCTs） on apatinib combined with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors （combination group） versus monotherapy （apatinib or PD-1/PD-L1）combined with （or） chemotherapy/other treatments （control group） in the treatment of malignant solid tumors were collected from PubMed， Web of Science， Embase， Cochrane Library， CNKI， VIP， Wanfang Data and China Biomedical Literature Database. The search time limit was from the establishment of the databases to May 2025. After literature screening， data extraction and literature quality evaluation， meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 14.0. RESULTS A total of 28 RCTs involving 2 974 patients were included. The objective response rate [RR＝1.639， 95%CI（1.452，1.851）， P＜0.000 01]， disease control rate [RR＝1.284， 95%CI（1.178，1.399）， P＜0.000 01] and CD3+， CD4+， CD4+/CD8+ as well as the incidence of ADR such as hypertension， fatigue， proteinuria， thrombocytopenia were significantly higher in the combination group than control group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.000 01）. The progressive disease rate [RR＝ 0.497， 95%CI（0.437， 0.566）， P＜0.000 01] and serum tumor + marker levels and CD8 were significantly lower in the combination group than control group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.000 01）. Subgroup analysis results of different types of tumors showed that the objective response rate and disease control rate were significantly higher in the combination group than control group （P＜0.05）. The results of sensitivity analysis showed that the stability of this study was good. The results of publication bias analysis showed that there was a high possibility of publication bias in this study. CONCLUSIONS Apatinib combined with PD-1/ PD-L1 inhibitors has a significant efficacy in the treatment of different types of tumors， but attention should be paid to the occurrence of hypertension， fatigue， proteinuria and thrombocytopenia.

In situ tumor vaccine has become an important strategy in cancer immunotherapy owing to its ability to induce immune responses locally and overcome tumor heterogeneity. However, the abnormal structure and mechanical properties of the tumor’s physical microenvironment significantly limit the efficiency of vaccine delivery and immune efficacy. In this review, the key factors in the tumor’s physical microenvironment, including solid pressure, interstitial fluid pressure, matrix stiffness, and tissue microstructure, are systematically discussed. Their obstructive roles in immune cell infiltration, antigen presentation, and immune activation are analyzed. The potential of approaches, such as radiotherapy, anti-angiogenic therapy, extracellular matrix degradation agents, nanomaterials, and hydrogel delivery platforms, in reshaping the tumor’s physical microenvironment is explored. This review aims to offer theoretical and practical guidance for optimizing in situ vaccine strategies through the regulation of the tumor’s physical microenvironment, ultimately advancing the precision and effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that there are significant differences in the geometric morphology of the distal femur of different races and genders,and there are more short female patients in southern China,so the phenomenon of overhanging or insufficient coverage of imported knee prostheses often occurs during surgery. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the characteristics of distal femur bones in southern Chinese women and compare them with imported joint prostheses by simulating the three-dimensional reconstruction of the distal femur bone and matching the femoral side after osteotomy with common imported joint prostheses. METHODS:From January to December 2021,120 female volunteers underwent a CT scan of knee joints.The images were imported into Mimics 20.0 software in Dicom format for three-dimensional reconstruction and then imported into Magic 22.0 software to simulate osteotomy by posterior cruciate ligament preserved total knee arthroplasty and to conduct a matching study with a normal imported joint prosthesis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The functional anteroposterior dimension(fAP)of the distal femur and Persona matched prosthesis had a total overhang rate of 25%(30/120).The fAP≤47 mm group had an overhang than the other groups(P<0.05).The poor coverage rate of Triathlon prosthesis was 12.5%(15/120),and poor coverage was more likely in fAP>53 mm group than in fAP≤53 mm group(P<0.05).(2)The total poor coverage rate of femoral intercondylar width matching with Triathlon prosthesis was 27.5%(33/120).Therefore,the poor coverage rate of bone surface in the central region of the distal femur was more likely in the fAP≤47 mm group than in other groups(P<0.05).The overhang rate of Journey II was 21.6%(26/120),and the overhang rate was higher in the fAP>53 mm group than in the fAP≤53 mm group(P<0.05).(3)Journey II CR prosthesis had the largest difference with the length of the anterior mediolateral diameter of the femur,which was easy to hang out on the anterolateral side of the femoral prosthesis.The Persona CR prosthesis has the largest difference with the length of the posterior mediolateral diameter of the femur,which is easy to be poorly covered in the posterior medial part of the prosthesis.It is recommended to increase the femoral prosthesis with reduced mediolateral diameter in the fAP≤47 mm group and add wider and narrower sizes than the conventional size of intercondylar width,and optimize the anterolateral angular arc design of the femoral prosthesis to improve the matching of posterior cruciate ligament reserved knee prosthesis.

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics and treatment of clostridium difficile infection(CDI)in children.Methods The clinical data of 159 children with CDI admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology,Shanghai Children's Hospital,School of Medicine,Shanghai Jiao Tong University from September 2014 to October 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.All ini-tial CDI patients were divided into vancomycin treatment group and metronidazole treatment group according to different treatment meth-ods,Children with recurrent CDI(RCDI)were divided into two groups according to vancomycin or FMT treatment.Results A total of 159 children with initial CDI were included,including 93 males and 66 females,the age of these children was 4.3(1.7,8.0)years.109 children(68.55％)were treated with metronidazole,and 50 children(31.45％)were treated with vancomycin.Recurrence occurred in 51 children after antibiotic treatment,37 children(33.94％)of them treated with metronidazole,and 14 children(28.00％)of them treated with vancomycin,there was no significant difference(P＞0.05).Among RCDI children,21 cases were treated with vancomycin and 30 were treated with FMT.The cure rate of FMT was 90.00％,and the cure rate of vancomycin was 57.14％.The cure rate of FMT was significantly higher than that of vancomycin.There were no serious adverse events reported after two months of FMT treatment.Conclusion Metronidazole can be used as the drug of choice for initial CDI in children.The cure rate of FMT for RCDI is superior to vancomycin treatment.

Objective To establish a genetic monitoring method for laboratory quails.Methods Quail microsatellite loci were searched in the literature,and microsatellite DNA loci suitable for quails were screened by an interspecific transfer method in closely related species,namely chickens and ducks.Quail liver DNA was extracted as a template,and the corresponding loci were screened by PCR amplification and agarose gel electrophoresis.On the basis of amplification of the selected microsatellite loci,the number of alleles,polymorphisms,and microsatellite loci combinations for quail genetic quality detection were selected and detection method were developed.Results We preliminary determined 23 microsatellite loci for genetic monitoring of closed-colony laboratory quails.Conclusions A genetic monitoring method for laboratory quails was preliminary developed.