OBJECTIVE To explore the influence of Zingiber officinale and processed Z. officinale on pharmacodynamic indexes and intestinal flora on gastric ulcer rats with spleen -stomach deficiency and cold type before and after processing with sand . METHODS The SD rats were randomly divided into normal group ，model group ，positive control group （Compound tianqi weitong capsule 0.45 g/kg），Z. officinale high-dose（15.0 g/kg）and low -dose（7.5 g/kg）groups，processed Z. officinale high- dose（15.0 g/kg）and low -dose（7.5 g/kg）groups，with 10 rats in each group . The rat model of gastric ulcer with spleen -stomach deficiency and cold type was established by intragastric administration of vinegar （day 1-10）and absolute ethanol （day 11）. Administration groups were given relevant liquid intragastrically ，and normal group and model group were given water intragastrically（day 5-10）. One hour after intragastric administration of absolute ethanol ，blood was taken from the femoral artery of rats ，the serum contents of motilin （MTL），gastrin（GAS），epidermal growth factor （EGF）as well as 4 items of blood coagulation [activated partial thromboplastin time （APTT），prothrombin time （PT），thrombin time （TT），fibrinogen（FIB）] were detect. The ulcer index and inhibition rate of ulcer in gastric tissue were calculated . The pathological changes of gastric tissue were observed，and the number and area of erosions were recorded . The diversity of gut microbiota in fecal samples of rats was detected . RESULTS Compared with model group ，the contents of MTL （except for processed Z. officinale low-dose group ），GAS（except for processed Z. officinale low-dose group ），EGF（except forofficinale groups） and FIB （except for Z. officinale groups），inhibitory rate of ulcer （only positive control group ）were all increased significantly （P＜0.05）. APTT（except for Z. officinale groups），PT（only processed Z. officinale high- dose group ），TT（except for Z. officinale groups），ulcer index （except for Z. officinale groups），the number （except for Z. officinale groups）and area of erosions （except for Z. officinale groups）were shortened and decreased significantly （P＜0.05）； improvement effects of processed Z. officinale were better than those of the same dose of Z. officinale on EGF ，4 items of blood coagulation（except for PT ，TT，FIB of processed Z. officinale low-dose group ），ulcer index （except for processed Z. officinale low-dose group ）and inhibitory rate of ulcer （P＜0.05）. Compared with model group ，α diversity indexes as ACE ，Shannon and Simpson of intestinal microorganisms in rats were increased significantly in processed Z. officinale group；the relative abundance of Proteobacteria was decreased significantly in processed Z. officinale group，while that of Bacteroidetes was increased significantly （P＜0.05）； the relative abundance of Limosilactobacillus was decreased significantly in Z. officinale group （P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Z. officinale and processed Z. officinale can improve the symptoms of spleen -stomach deficiency and cold ，and enhance gastrointestinal function by increasing the content of GAS and MTL . Processed Z. officinale can significantly inhibit gastric ulcer of spleen -stomach deficiency and cold type ，which is related to the promotion of mucosal protection and repair ，improvement of coagulation functionand adjustment of gut microbiotadisorder .

This study aims to determine the prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and level of awareness among male outpatients in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). A questionnaire consisting of demographic data, questions related to knowledge, attitude and practice on BPH and the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) was used for this study. Uroflowmetry and bladder scan were used to evaluate the function of the urinary tract and severity of BPH. Urine dipstick was done for glycosuria, proteinuria and haematuria. A total of 220 respondents were surveyed. The prevalence of moderately and severely symptomatic LUTS was 42.7%. The most commonly reported LUTS were nocturia (78.2%), frequency (58.2%) and incomplete emptying (44.6%). The prevalence of glycosuria, proteinuria and haematuria were 23.6%, 11.4% and 1.8% respectively. There was a significant association between increasing age with the severity of LUTS (p=0.005). Out of 102 respondents with voided urine volume greater than 150 mL, there was a significant decrease in maximum (Qmax) (p=0.039) and average (Qave) urine flow rates with every 10 years increase of age (p=0.001). The majority of respondents (59.5%) have heard of BPH before. Over 78.2% of the respondents would seek medical attention if they have LUTS with 15.9% saying they would seek traditional treatment. In conclusion, the prevalence of LUTS was high and the level of awareness was satisfactory.

Objective: To compare the measurement accuracy of two⁃dimensional (2D) photography and three⁃di⁃mensional (3D) photography in the analysis of the asymmetric appearance of children with cleft lip and palate and the influence of the severity of asymmetric deformity on the accuracy of facial measurement to guide clinical measurement work Methods: Children with unilateral cleft lip were enrolled in this prospective study. Seven parameters⁃⁃the devia⁃tion of the pronasale, subnasale, and labrale superius, as well as the cleft/noncleft ratio of the width of nostrils, length and height of lateral lips and height of columella⁃were measured with Vernier calipers as the gold standard. Traditional 2D photography and 3D stereophotogrammetry photos were taken and measured. The extent of cleft malformation is indi⁃cated by the ratio of the cleft side to the noncleft side. The error size is represented by the ratio difference between two⁃dimensional photography or stereophotogrammetry with the ratio of the gold standard Results: Thirteen patients were eventually recruited. The measurement results of the ratio of lateral lip height by 2D photography tended to be larger (P＝0.019), and the measurement results of the ratio of columella height tended to be smaller (P＝0.008). The measure⁃ment results of the deviation of the subnasale by stereophotogrammetry tended to be smaller (P＝0.003). The pronasale deviation (P＝0.022) with two⁃dimensional photography, the deviation of the labrale superius (P＝0.025) and the ratio of lateral lip length (P＝0.036) with stereophotogrammetry had a significant negative correlation with the extent of cleft malformation Conclusion Both two⁃dimensional photography and stereophotogrammetry have errors and biases that underexaggerate or overexaggerate the extent of cleft malformation, and some errors may increase with the decrease in the extent of cleft malformation. When applying two⁃dimensional and three⁃dimensional photography to analyze cleft lip and palate deformities, these biases should be considered to evaluate the face more objectively

The purpose of this review is to provide medical researchers, especially those without a bioinformatics background, with an easy-to-understand summary of the concepts and technologies used in microbiome research. First, we define primary concepts such as microbiota, microbiome, and metagenome. Then, we discuss study design schemes, the methods of sample size calculation, and the methods for improving the reliability of research. We emphasize the importance of negative and positive controls in this section. Next, we discuss statistical analysis methods used in microbiome research, focusing on problems with multiple comparisons and ways to compare β-diversity between groups. Finally, we provide step-by-step pipelines for bioinformatics analysis. In summary, the meticulous study design is a key step to obtaining meaningful results, and appropriate statistical methods are important for accurate interpretation of microbiome data. The step-by-step pipelines provide researchers with insights into newly developed bioinformatics analysis methods.