OBJECTIVES: To investigate pharmacologically active components of Yiqi Zishen Formula (YZF) and their mechanisms for alleviating airway inflammation in mice with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-orbitrap mass spectrometry was employed to characterize the chemical components in YZF and YZF-medicated rat serum. A compound-disease target network was constructed based on serum components of YZF to screen the key pathways and targets using enrichment analysis. A mouse model of cigarette smoke-induced COPD was used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of YZF and validate the expression of key proteins in network pharmacology-enriched pathways. Fifty male C57BL/6J mice were randomized equally into control group, COPD model group, high- and low-dose YZF treatment groups, and N-acetylcysteine treatment group. Pulmonary function of the mice was assessed using whole-body plethysmography, and lung histopathology, alveolar structure, and airway remodeling were analyzed using HE staining. The levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF‑α in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were determined with ELISA, and pulmonary expressions of PI3K, Akt, phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), p65, and phosphorylated p65 (p-p65) were detected using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: We identified a total of 156 chemical components (including 26 flavonoids or flavonoid glycosides, 27 alkaloids, and 11 saponins) in YZF and 43 prototype components in medicated rat serum. Network pharmacology revealed 704 YZF-related targets and 1199 COPD-associated targets. Integrated analysis suggested that the anti-COPD effects of YZF were associated with the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. In mouse models of COPD, YZF treatment significantly increased mean alveolar number and peak expiratory flow (P<0.05), reduced mean linear intercept, bronchial wall thickness, lung coefficient, and BALF cytokine levels, and suppressed the expressions of PI3K, Akt, p-Akt, p65, and p-p65 in the lung tissues. CONCLUSIONS YZF alleviates COPD symptoms and airway inflammation in mice possibly by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/NF‑κB pathway through its multiple components that interact with multiple targets.
Animals ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/metabolism* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Male ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/metabolism* ; NF-kappa B/metabolism* ; Inflammation/drug therapy* ; Rats

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of modified Qingjin Huatantang combined with Western medicine in the treatment of phlegm-heat and to provide reference for the clinical application of this therapy and development of new drugs. MethodChina Biology Medicine （CBM），Chinan National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI），Wanfang Data，VIP，and PubMed were searched for the randomized controlled trials （RCTs） of modified Qingjin Huatantang in the treatment of phlegm-heat that were published from inception to November 1，2023. Two researchers independently screened the RCTs and extracted data according to pre-set inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias was used for quality evaluation. Revman 5.4 was used for the Meta-analysis of outcome indicators. ResultA total of 91 RCTs were included，involving 7 868 patients （3 942 patients in the experimental group and 3 926 patients in the control group）. The results of Meta-analysis showed that compared with simple Western medicine treatment，modified Qingjin Huatantang combined with Western medicine improved the clinical response rate ［relative risk （RR）=1.16，95% confidence interval （CI）［1.14，1.19］，P<0.000 01］ and PaO₂ ［mean difference （MD）=4.65，95%CI ［1.88，7.43］，P=0.001］. The combined therapy had advantages in decreasing the scores of clinical symptoms including cough ［MD=-0.69，95%CI ［-1.33，-0.06］，P=0.03），expectoration ［MD=-1.04，95%CI ［-2.02，-0.07］，P=0.04），phlegm volume ［MD=-0.38，95%CI ［-0.69，-0.07］，P=0.02］，fever ［MD=-0.22，95%CI ［-0.36，-0.09］，P=0.000 8］，wheezing ［MD=-0.34，95%CI ［-0.40，-0.29］，P<0.000 01］，chest tightness ［MD=-0.32，95%CI ［-0.39，-0.26］，P<0.000 01］，and rales ［MD=-0.35，95%CI ［-0.42，-0.27］，P<0.000 01］）. Moreover，the combined therapy outperformed Western medicine treatment alone in reducing PaCO₂ （MD=-5.42，95%CI ［-7.12，-3.72］，P<0.000 01］， white blood cell count （WBC） ［MD=-1.27，95%CI ［-1.56，-0.97］，P<0.000 01］，C-reactive protein （CRP） ［standard mean difference （SMD）=-1.52，95%CI ［-1.96，-1.07］，P<0.000 01］， procalcitonin （PCT） ［SMD=-1.23，95%CI ［-1.87，-0.58］，P=0.000 2］，and tumor necrosis factor （TNF）-α ［SMD=-2.63，95%CI ［-3.19，-2.08］，P<0.000 01］）， shortening hospital stay ［MD=-2.45，95%CI ［-3.34，-1.57］，P<0.000 01］， and lowering the incidence of adverse reactions ［RR=0.66，95%CI （0.49，0.88），P=0.005］. ConclusionModified Qingjin Huatantang combined with Western medicine in the treatment of patients with phlegm-heat syndrome has advantages in improving clinical response rate and PaO₂， reducing symptom scores and inflammatory factors， and shortening hospital stay， with high safety.

Background Heavy metals may play an important role in environmental risk factors associated disorders of activities of daily living (ADL) in older adults. Objective To investigate the associations between plasma levels of six heavy metals (zinc, arsenic, cadmium, lead, manganese, and copper) and ADL disorders in older adults. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 2018 to 2019 among 1412 rural elderly people in Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The plasma metal concentrations were detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and subsequently classified into three groups (T1-T3) based on tertiles, with the T1 group as the reference. The samples were assessed for ADL disorders using the ADL scale. Logistic regression and restricted cubic spline model (RCS) were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) to assess the associations between heavy metals and the prevalence of reporting ADL disorders. Results The mean age of the study population was (68.52 ± 5.92) years, 825 (58.4%) female and 587 (41.6%) male. Of these, 372 (26.34%) subjects reported ADL disorders, and most of them were female (74.30%). The results of logistic regression showed that the participants in the cadmium T2 group (0.15-0.25 µg·L⁻¹) had a higher risk of ADL disorders compared to the T1 group (≤0.15 μg·L⁻¹) (OR=1.552, 95%CI: 1.086, 2.134). After stratification by sex, the relative risk of ADL disorders was lower in the plasma copper T3 group (>1019.58 µg·L⁻¹) compared to the T1 group (≤868.12 μg·L⁻¹) in men (OR=0.481, 95%CI: 0.232, 0.998). The relative risk of ADL disorders was higher in the plasma cadmium T2 group (0.15-0.25 µg·L⁻¹) compared to the T1 group (≤0.15 μg·L⁻¹) in women (OR=1.758, 95%CI: 1.182, 2.616). The RCS results showed that the risk of ADL disorders in men was nonlinearly associated with copper (P_nonlinear=0.011, P_overall<0.05). Conclusion High levels of cadmium are positively associated with the risk of reporting ADL disorders, while high levels of copper are negatively associated with the risk of reporting ADL disorders in men.

ObjectiveTo explore the method of optimizing the performance of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome diagnostic models using Stacking ensemble learning. MethodsTaking the construction of TCM syndrome diagnostic model for lung cancer as an example， 2598 cases of clinical symptoms and signs from lung cancer patients in 9 hospitals were used as independent variables （i.e.， feature variables）， TCM syndrome information as dependent variables， and the clinical data were divided into training set and testing set in 8：2 ratio according to random number table method using Python 3.7 software. The stable features of TCM syndrome of lung cancer were screened using chi-square test， Spearman's correlation test， and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator （LASSO） logistic regression analysis； nine machine learning algorithms are trained， including support vector machines （SVMs）， k-nearest neighbors （KNN） algorithm， Random Forest （RF）， Extremely Randomized Trees， Extreme Gradient Boosting （XGBoost）， Lightweight Gradient Boosting （LightGBM）， Adaptive Boosting （AdaBoost）， Gradient Boosting （GB） and the multi-layer perceptron （MLP）， to obtain 9 basic models. Four models with better performance were screened out from the above basic models and fused to form a fusion model by using the Stacking ensemble learning， and the fusion model was trained twice by the above nine machine learning algorithms and evaluated by accuracy rate， micro-average ROC curves， area under the curve （AUC）， and confusion matrix metrics， to screen the optimal diagnostic model. ResultsAfter data processing， 79 stable features and 13 TCM syndromes were obtained. In the basic model training， the comprehensive performance of RF， ExtraTrees， MLP and SVM basic models were better， so the predicted distributions of the syndromes of these four models were used as the secondary training data， and nine fusion models were obtained based on the Stacking ensemble learning （SVM， KNN， RF， ExtraTree， XGBoost， LightGBM， GB， AdaBoost， MLP）. Among them， the XGBoost fusion model performed the best， with an accuracy of 0.850 and 0.838 in the training set and test set， respectively， an overfitting difference of 0.012， and an area under the micro-average ROC curve of 0.996. All fusion models showed an improvement in accuracy and area under the micro-average ROC curve compared with the base model in the test set. ConclusionTaking the TCM syndrome information of lung cancer as an example， the XGBoost fusion model has significant advantages in improving the diagnostic performance of TCM syndrome information of lung cancer through Stacking ensemble learning. It can be seen that the advantages of Stacking ensemble learning to integrate multiple models and effectively improve the diagnostic efficiency of TCM diagnostic models， which provided a methodological reference for similar studies.

【Objective】 To explore the feasibility of en-bloc resection of bladder tumors by flexible cystoscope combined with laparoscopic instruments through urethra and to provide reference for the clinical application of this technique. 【Methods】 Self-designed and processed transurethral single-hole PORT and Olympus electronic cystoscope were used as observation mirror; Φ1.8 mm soft grasper, tissue scissors, electric hook, and ultrasonic scalpel were used as instruments; the porcine bladder was used as a model.The PORT was placed through the urethra, and the cystoscope was inserted to observe the inner wall of the bladder and the condition of the mucosa.After the lesion site was identified in the bladder cavity, the soft grasper was inserted to pull the mucosa to be removed, which was then fixed with tension at the target position to maintain a satisfactory feild of view.The surgeon held the cystoscope in the left hand, and operated the laparoscopic instruments into the bladder cavity through the PORT with the right hand.Observing with the cystoscope and lifting and pulling the mucosa with the grasper, the surgeon simulated the cutting and pushing actions to realize the en-bloc resection of the lesioned mucosa. 【Results】 The mucosa at 4 different locations were successfully resected on 2 in vitro porcine bladder models. 【Conclusion】 The in vitro experiments show that the combination of flexible electronic cystoscope and laparoscopic instruments achieves synergistic effects in en-bloc resection of bladder tumor by transurethral single-hole laparoscope without additional iatrogenic bladder injury caused by percutaneous bladder incision.This method is feasible in the treatment of bladder tumors, and has the potential of clinical application after further optimization.

Objective:To explore the safety and efficacy of ureteroscopy-assisted laparoscopic ureteroplasty in the healthy side-lying running position for the treatment of ureteral stenosis after pelvic surgery.Methods:The data of 92 patients with ureteral stenosis after surgery admitted to Ganzhou People’s Hospital from June 2017 to February 2023 were retrospectively analysed. There were 31 male patients and 61 female patients, with an average age of (46.4±23.3) years. Of the 92 patients, 53 patients had previously undergone stone fragmentation or stone retrieval surgery for urinary system stones, 35 patients had undergone gynecologic laparoscopic surgery for gynecologic diseases, 2 patients had previous intestinal surgery, and 2 patients had undergone laparoscopic ureteral reconstruction surgery. The mean preoperative serum creatinine was (120.33±16.52) μmol/L, the mean blood urea nitrogen was (14.28 ± 2.47) mmol/L, and the mean renal pelvis dilation was (3.23±2.47) cm. All patients were placed in healthy side-lying running position with general anesthesia. The patient's lower limbs were in the oblique supine position, and the angle of the lower limbs was 60-80°. By using a transabdominal approach, the narrow section of the ureter was mobilized and excised under the guidance of ureteroscopy. The posterior wall of the ureter was sutured and a zebra guidewire was placed into the renal pelvis. An F7 double-J stent was then retrogradely advanced over the guidewire. Then the anterior wall of the ureter was anastomosed to complete the surgery. The operation time, average length of hospital stay, perioperative complications, preoperative and postoperative pyelectasis and renal function changes were recorded, and the clinical efficacy were evaluated by comparative analysis.Results:Of the 92 patients, 90 patients were successfully treated with ureterovesical anastomosis. Two patients underwent ureterovesical reimplantation because of the low position and heavy adhesion of the stenosis segment. There were no cases of conversion to open surgery or intraoperative death. The mean surgery duration was (121.52±22.35) min, the mean drainage tube indwelling time was (3.16±1.23) d, and the mean hospital stay was (6.46±2.37) d. A patient with moderate hydronephrosis exhibited postoperative urinary leakage. Two patients developed symptoms of hematuria after ambulation. Following treatment with bed rest, adequate drainage, and appropriate hemostatic medication, all patients recovered smoothly and were discharged. The double J tube was removed 3 months after operation, and the CT reexamination after extubation showed that the degree of pyelectasis was (2.52±1.54) cm, the average serum creatinine was (89.64±15.21) μmol/L, and urea nitrogen was (9.42±1.36) mmol/L, which was all significantly different from that before operation ( P<0.05). The patients were followed up for 6 to 12 months, and there was no ureteral restenosis. Conclusions:Ureteroscopic-assisted laparoscopic ureteroplasty in the healthy side-lying running position is a safe and effective surgical method for the treatment of short segment (narrow segment <3 cm) ureteral cicatrix stenosis after surgery. And this surgical method has the advantages of accurate positioning of the narrow segment, safe and convenient ureteral free, exact ureteral anastomosis, and easy placement of double J tube.

Objective To systematically review the safety and efficacy of irreversible electroporation(IRE)combined with immunotherapy in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer.Methods This study was conducted according to the PRISMA guideline,with a PROSPERO registration unmber of CRD42024531984.Datebases including PubMed,Embase the Cochrane Library,Web of Science,CNKI,Wanfang Data,and VIP were searched for related articles on IRE combined with immunotherapy for unresectable pancreatic cancer published up to February 2024.The articles were screened and related data were extracted according to the established inclusion and exclusion criteria,and the quality of the articles was assessed.Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 17.0 software were used to perform the meta-analysis.Results Six studies were finally included,with three prospective studies,two retrospective studies,and one randomized controlled trial.There were 376 patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer in total,among whom there were 222 patients in the IRE group and 154 patients in the IRE+immunotherapy group.The meta-analysis showed that compared with IRE alone,IRE combined with immunotherapy significantly prolonged progression-free survival(hazard ratio[HR]=0.82,95%confidence interval[CI]:0.72-0.92,P=0.001)and overall survival(HR=0.86,95%CI:0.80-0.93,P=0.000 1),increased T lymphocyte count in the patients(mean difference=217.93,95%CI:192.87-242.99,P<0.000 01),and improved the immune function of patients.However,there were no significant differences between the two groups in reducing the incidence rate of adverse events(odds ratio[OR]=1.43,95%CI:0.76-2.72,P=0.27)and improving the objective remission rate of patients(OR=1.49,95%CI:0.87-2.56,P=0.15).Conclusion IRE combined with immunotherapy is safe and effective in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer and can significantly improve overall survival and progression-free survival and enhance immune function,with little effect on objective remission rate and the incidence rate of adverse events.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of repairing unilateral incomplete cleft lip functionally and sub-regionally with modified micro-triangular skin flap and orbicularis oris muscle flaps.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted in the patients with unilateral incomplete cleft lip, who underwent repair at Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Maxillofacial Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University from April 2020 to February 2023. Surgical landmarks were fixed according to the anatomical structure of non-cleft side. Short straight skin incisions were designed along the philtral column. A micro-triangular flap was designed above the vermilion margin of the affected lip, which was inserted into the contralateral lip peak to lower the lip peak and lengthen the philtral column. The orbicularis oris muscle was reconstructed with five muscle flaps in three areas to create a good sub-structure of the upper lip and the nasal floor. The vermilion tubercle and philtral column were reconstructed. Deviation of nasal columella was corrected and the nasal floor was elevated. The outcomes were assessed through subjective evaluation and objective anthropometric measurements.(1) Subjective outcomes were assessed by two plastic surgeons together who were not included in this study. The following parameters were assessed: scar appearance, Cupid’s bow continuity, lip pick height, alar base width, nostril symmetry, philtral ridge contour. Each parameter was graded from 1 point (poor), 2 points (average), or 3 points (good). (2) Objective measurements were taken by one plastic surgeon who was not included in this study using the Image-Pro Plus 6.0. Measurements were included bilateral vermilion thickness, bilateral length of lip pick to cheilion, bilateral philtral column length, bilateral length of Cupid’s pick to ala nasi, bilateral alar base width. Asymmetry ratio = |non-cleft counts-cleft counts|/non-cleft counts×100%, and a value closer to 0 would mean the less different, the more symmetrical. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive methods. Non-normal distributed measurement datas were expressed by M( Q1, Q3). Results:A total of 32 patients of unilateral incomplete cleft lip were enrolled, including 19 males and 13 females, aged 3-18 months. All patients were primary healing, and no serious complications (i.e., infection, hematoma, wound dehiscence) occurred. The postoperative follow-up time was 6-24 months. The patients were satisfied with the results, including favorable red lip contour, good continuity, obvious vermilion, cubical philtrum column, good symmetry of bilateral structure and sub-structure and light scar. The overall score of the subjective evaluation was 2.66 points. Cupid’s bow continuity got the highest score(2.84 points), and nostril symmetry got the lowest score(2.38 points). Objective measurements indicated excellent parameters were bilateral alar base width [2.60%(1.02%, 7.08%)] and bilateral philtral length[3.95%(2.03%, 5.98%)].Conclusion:Repairing unilateral incomplete cleft lip functionally and sub-regionally with modified micro-triangular skin flap and orbicularis oris muscle flaps can create a good sub-structure of the upper lip contour, and bring a significant improvement in the upper lip and the nasal floor symmetry, which is an effective method for incomplete unilateral cleft lip repair.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of repairing unilateral incomplete cleft lip functionally and sub-regionally with modified micro-triangular skin flap and orbicularis oris muscle flaps.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted in the patients with unilateral incomplete cleft lip, who underwent repair at Department of Plastic, Aesthetic and Maxillofacial Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University from April 2020 to February 2023. Surgical landmarks were fixed according to the anatomical structure of non-cleft side. Short straight skin incisions were designed along the philtral column. A micro-triangular flap was designed above the vermilion margin of the affected lip, which was inserted into the contralateral lip peak to lower the lip peak and lengthen the philtral column. The orbicularis oris muscle was reconstructed with five muscle flaps in three areas to create a good sub-structure of the upper lip and the nasal floor. The vermilion tubercle and philtral column were reconstructed. Deviation of nasal columella was corrected and the nasal floor was elevated. The outcomes were assessed through subjective evaluation and objective anthropometric measurements.(1) Subjective outcomes were assessed by two plastic surgeons together who were not included in this study. The following parameters were assessed: scar appearance, Cupid’s bow continuity, lip pick height, alar base width, nostril symmetry, philtral ridge contour. Each parameter was graded from 1 point (poor), 2 points (average), or 3 points (good). (2) Objective measurements were taken by one plastic surgeon who was not included in this study using the Image-Pro Plus 6.0. Measurements were included bilateral vermilion thickness, bilateral length of lip pick to cheilion, bilateral philtral column length, bilateral length of Cupid’s pick to ala nasi, bilateral alar base width. Asymmetry ratio = |non-cleft counts-cleft counts|/non-cleft counts×100%, and a value closer to 0 would mean the less different, the more symmetrical. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive methods. Non-normal distributed measurement datas were expressed by M( Q1, Q3). Results:A total of 32 patients of unilateral incomplete cleft lip were enrolled, including 19 males and 13 females, aged 3-18 months. All patients were primary healing, and no serious complications (i.e., infection, hematoma, wound dehiscence) occurred. The postoperative follow-up time was 6-24 months. The patients were satisfied with the results, including favorable red lip contour, good continuity, obvious vermilion, cubical philtrum column, good symmetry of bilateral structure and sub-structure and light scar. The overall score of the subjective evaluation was 2.66 points. Cupid’s bow continuity got the highest score(2.84 points), and nostril symmetry got the lowest score(2.38 points). Objective measurements indicated excellent parameters were bilateral alar base width [2.60%(1.02%, 7.08%)] and bilateral philtral length[3.95%(2.03%, 5.98%)].Conclusion:Repairing unilateral incomplete cleft lip functionally and sub-regionally with modified micro-triangular skin flap and orbicularis oris muscle flaps can create a good sub-structure of the upper lip contour, and bring a significant improvement in the upper lip and the nasal floor symmetry, which is an effective method for incomplete unilateral cleft lip repair.

The structure and common faults of Philips iU22 and iE33 ultrasound diagnostic equipment were introduced,the fault phenomena,causes and maintenance ideas in the daily work of this series of ultrasonic equipment were analyzed.The equipment was repaired after the failure occurred by analyzing the fault causes,replacing the corresponding components or reinstalling the system software etc.,so as to etc.,so as to provide a reference for the daily maintenance work of medical engineers.