Studying the essence of syndromes (Zheng) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a fundamental challenge in basic theoretical research of TCM. The relationship between any given syndrome and biochemical indicators is one of the important aspects of the study. As the indexes selected in each study are specific to a particular Western medical disease diagnosis, and the disease factor is inevitably introduced into the study, the effect of disease factor on the index changes cannot be assessed effectively by traditional data processing methods. This is known as "the same syndrome with different reasons", which has resulted in confusion in TCM research. This study aimed at providing a mathematical tool to address this issue. Based on information theory and the residual-split method, the syndrome information, which was covered in the index variation, was quantitatively calculated in this paper as an independent part of the disease factor. A mathematical model capable of objectively assessing and statistically testing the effect of the syndrome factor on the index changes was established. Applying this model to literature data of studies on the relationship between cyclic nucleotides and yang-deficiency syndrome showed following results. First, the values of yang-deficiency syndrome information were negative for cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) while positive for cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in all included literature. This indicated that the group of yang-deficiency syndrome was correlated with an obvious trend of reduced cAMP levels and increased cGMP levels. Second, the statistical test results of yang-deficiency syndrome information of the two indexes were different among the literature included. The quality of original data was considered as a possible reason. Third, the significant differences between the yang-deficiency group of a specific disease and the normal group may, in some cases, be caused by a disease factor rather than a syndrome factor. The mathematical model provided a reasonable mathematical tool for the analysis of disease factor and syndrome factor in clinical research of TCM, suggesting that the mathematical model may give rise to innovative ideas and methods in the study of syndromes.

Evidence of the pharmacological activity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) provides the basis for clinical prescription. Study of the classification of Chinese medicines according to these activities is key to understanding the general active tendencies of medicinal prescriptions, exploring their material basis, investigating their properties and searching for their alternatives. Taking the herbal classic Shennong's Materia Medica Classic (Shennong Bencao Jing) for the data source, this paper studied the classification of Chinese medicines based on semi-supervised incremental clustering algorithm using "micro-cluster" concept in order to investigate the complex similarity among Chinese medicines. The results showed that 253 Chinese medicines were reasonably classified into 14 types, such as invigoration, clearing heat, diuresis, dredging blockages in the channels, treating gynecological conditions and treating strange diseases caused by ghosts. The results also showed that the other 112 Chinese medicines were classified into 112 individual types and the same high similarity to different known types was the main reason for this. The semi-supervised incremental clustering algorithm employed in the study had a high quality and a good development for clustering which is suitable for classification of Chinese medicines. This study illustrated the diversity of Chinese medicines and their complex similarities, thus aiming to provide innovative ideas and methods for related research.

The concepts of cold and hot herbal properties in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), reflecting the efficacy trends of medicinal herbs, have the Fuzzy characteristics. It is suited for the application of Fuzzy mathematics in research of herbal properties. For a comprehensive evaluation of herbal properties, this work constructed and made a practice of the Fuzzy discrimination model regarding the biological performance of Chinese materia medica.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like inflammation in mice and the therapeutic effects of mustard seed (Sinapis Alba Linn).

METHODSThirty BALB/c mice were randomized equally into blank control group (fed with normal forage and treated with vehicle), model group (fed with normal forage and treated with 5% imiquimod cream), and experimental group (fed with 5% mustard seed forage and treated with 5% imiquimod cream). RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, and caspase-11. Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine the expression and distribution of ASC and caspase-1. ELISA was used to test the serum levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18.

RESULTSCompared with the blank control group, the mice with imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like inflammation showed significantly increased NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1, and caspase-11 mRNA expressions, ASC and caspase-1 protein expressions , and serum levels of IL-1β and IL-18 (P<0.05). These changes were obviously attenuated by feeding the mice with mustard seed.

CONCLUSIONNLRP3 inflammasome is involved in imiquimod-induced psoriasis-like inflammation in mice, and mustard seed may suppress the inflammation induced by IL-1β and IL-18 through down-regulating the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome.

Aminoquinolines ; adverse effects ; Animals ; Carrier Proteins ; metabolism ; Caspase 1 ; metabolism ; Female ; Inflammasomes ; metabolism ; Inflammation ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Interleukin-18 ; metabolism ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mustard Plant ; chemistry ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein ; Phytotherapy ; Psoriasis ; chemically induced ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Seeds ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo investigate the therapeutic effect of mustard seed on allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) in mice and explore the mechanism.

METHODSEighteen BALB/c mice were randomly divided into normal control group, model group and mustard seed group. The mice in the normal control group and model group were fed with normal chow, and those in mustard seed group were given 5% mustard seed mixed in the chow. Three weeks later, ACD was induced on the ear using 2, 4-dinitrofluorobenzene. After 24 h, the swelling of the ear was examined, and the rats were sacrificed to collect the ear tissue ears and blood for histopathological and immunohistochemical examinations, RT-PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTSIn mice with ACD, feeding with mustard seeds significantly lessened the ear swelling, improved the tissue histopathology, lowered the number of infiltrating Langerhans cells, and reduced the expressions of IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA in the ear, but did not cause significant changes in serum levels of IL-4, IFN-γ and IL-17.

CONCLUSIONMustard seed inhibits ACD in mice possibly by suppressing the expressions of IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 mRNA and inhibiting Langerhans cell migration in the epidermis.

Animals ; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Dinitrofluorobenzene ; adverse effects ; Female ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; metabolism ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mustard Plant ; Seeds ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; metabolism

Objective To measure the number of lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, CD5+B lymphocytes and level of IL-10 in peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and analyze their effects in the disease. Methods In this study, 84 cases of patients with SLE were randomly selected and evaluated according to the activity index (SLEDAI). These cases were divided into low activity group (SLEDAI<9) and high activity group (SLEDAI≥9). Ten healthy individuals were selected as the control group at the same time. The number of peripheral blood lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, CD5 + B lymphocytes, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C3, C4 and interleukin (IL)-10 levels in serum were measured respectively and the correlation between the above indexes and SLEDAI and complement levels were analyzed. Pair-wise comparison of means of groups was conducted with one-way ANOVA. Comparison between the two groups was conducted by LSD-t test. Correlations between variables were carried out using Spearman's rank correlation test. Results The total number of lymphocytes in SLE group was lower than that in normal control group ( F=7.216, P<0.001); The number of CD19+ B lymphocytes in SLE group was higher than that in normal control group (F=3.589, P=0.036). The number of CD5+B lymphocytes of peripheral blood [(2.5±0.6)%] in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus was significantly lower than that in the normal control group [(3.2 ±0.8)%], but the difference was not statistically significant (t=3.412, P=0.698). The number of CD5+B lymphocytes in the high activity group was significantly lower than that in the low activity group (t=7.365, P=0.027)and the normal control group (t=5.649, P=0.002). The number of CD5+ B lymphocytes was negatively correlated with SLEDAI score (r=-0.692, P=0.001) and positively associated with the level of complement 3 (r=0.305, P=0.038), but not with complement 4 and ESR (P>0.05). In addition, the level of serum IL-10 in whether the low activity group (t=1.935, P=0.031) or the high activity group (t=3.048, P=0.012) was all higher than the normal control group. The level of serum IL-10 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus was positively associated with SLEDAI score (r=0.425, P=0.024) and ESR (r=0.479, P=0.008), but was negatively correlated with complement 4 (r=-0.359, P=0.031). Conclusion The total number of lymphocytes in patients with SLE decreases significantly, while B lymphocytes increases significantly. The number of CD5+ B lymphocytes and the serum IL-10 level are also changed. It maybe related to the patient's inflammatory environment, and the number of CD5+B lymphocytes and the serum IL-10 level may be associated with disease activity.

Objective: To explore and clarify the correlation between short-term aggressive intrasegmental recurrence (AIR) and functional magnetic resonance imaging after radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: A retrospective analysis of 1 262 patients with HCC who underwent radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in our hospital from January 2012 to June 2018, all patients were confirmed by pathology as HCC, of which 30 patients were found to have AIR during radiographic follow-up within 3 months after surgery, another 35 patients with disease progression who were controlled in a short period of time were randomly selected as the control group. All the enrolled patients underwent dynamic enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) scanning before surgery, and the differences in clinical data, lesion location, and functional magnetic resonance parameters between the two groups were compared, and their correlation with AIR after RFA was analyzed. Chi-square test, t test and Pearson test were used. Results: The lesions in the AIR group were significantly more in the Ⅰand Ⅳsegments than that in the control group (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in other liver segments (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the lesion morphology between the two groups (P>0.05), and there was a significant difference in the early enhancement pattern of the lesions (P<0.05), and the early arterial enhancement rate and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of the AIR group were significantly lower than the control group (P<0.05). Further correlation analysis found that early enhancement of the arterial artery, early arterial enhancement rate, ADC value and lesion location were associated with AIR and were positively correlated, r values were 0.455, 0.633, 0.518, 0.375 and 0.287 (P<0.05). Conclusion The short-term AIR and functional imaging parameters (arterial early enhancement, early arterial enhancement rate, ADC value) and the liver segment (Ⅰ and Ⅳ) were highly correlated with radiofrequency ablation.

Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness of enhanced CT texture feature analysis in predicting pseudoprogression in patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC) undergoing programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor therapy.Methods:A cross-sectional study. Data from 32 patients with mccRCC were retrospectively collected who received monotherapy with PD-1 inhibitors after standard treatment failure at Henan Cancer Hospital, from June 2015 to January 2021. Clinical information and enhanced CT images were analyzed to assess target lesion response. The lesions were divided into pseudoprogression and non-pseudoprogression groups. Manual segmentation of target lesions was performed using ITK-Snap software on baseline enhanced CT, and texture analysis was conducted using A.K. software to extract feature parameters. Differences in texture features between the pseudoprogression and non-pseudoprogression groups were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression. A predictive model for pseudoprogression was constructed, and its performance was evaluated using ROC curve analysis.Results:A total of 32 patients with 89 lesions were included in the study. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in seven texture features between the pseudoprogression and non-pseudoprogression groups. These features included“original_ngtdm_Strength”(0.49 vs. -0.61, P=0.006), “wavelet-HLH_glszm_ZonePercentage”(0.67 vs. -0.22, P=0.024),“wavelet-LHL_ngtdm_Strength”(1.20 vs. -0.51, P=0.002), “wavelet-HLL_gldm_LargeDependenceEmphasis”(-0.84 vs. 0.19, P=0.002), “wavelet-HLH_glcm_Id” (-0.30 vs. 0.43, P=0.037),“wavelet- HLH_glrlm_RunPercentage”(0.45 vs. -0.01, P=0.032),“wavelet-LHH_firstorder_Skewness”(0.25 vs. -0.27, P=0.011). Based on these features, a pseudoprogression prediction model was developed with a P-value of 0.000 2 and an odds ratio of 0.045 (95% CI 0.009-0.227). The model exhibited a high predictive performance with an AUC of 0.907 (95% CI 0.817-0.997) according to ROC curve analysis. Conclusions:Enhanced CT texture feature analysis shows promise in predicting lesion pseudoprogression in patients with metastatic ccRCC undergoing PD-1 inhibitor therapy. The developed predictive model based on texture features demonstrates good performance and may assist in evaluating treatment response in these patients.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) of Zeste homolog enhancer 2 (EZH2) gene and the risk of breast cancer.Methods:Recruiting 1 039 breast cancer patients and 1 040 controls at 22 referral hospitals nationwide in China, the genotype distribution of 3 SNPs loci of EZH2 genes was observed to detect the correlation between different genotypes and the risk of breast cancer genotypes EZH2 expression in breast cancer tissues and its correlation with patient prognosis were analyzed using breast cancer data from the database.Results:EZH2 rs6464926 CC genotype was compared with TT genotype (TT vs. CC: OR=1.362, 95% CI: 1.063-1.746, P=0.015) and dominant model (TC+TT vs .CC: OR=1.22, 95% CI: 1.004-1.483, P=0.045) .In women with BMI ≥24 kg/m 2, the TC genotype ( P=0.050), TT genotype ( P=0.025) and dominant model (TC+TT, P=0.021) of rs6464926 locus were significantly different from CC genotype in cancer risk. rs6464926 was correlated with EZH2 gene expression ( P=6.89E-47). EZH2 gene is highly expressed in breast cancer tissues, and patients with high expression were associated with shorter OS ( HR=1.27, P=0.013), DMFS ( HR=1.37, P<0.01), and RFS ( HR=1.44, P<0.01). Conclusions:The polymorphism rs6464926 of EZH2 gene is associated with breast cancer susceptibility in Chinese women. rs6464926 might regulate breast cancer risk and prognosis by changing EZH2 expression.