ObjectiveTo analyze the processing mechanism underlying the enhanced effect of invigorating spleen and stopping diarrhea of soil-fried Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma（AMR） by analyzing the changes of microstructure， chemical composition and anti-ulcerative colitis（UC） activity before and after soil stir-frying. MethodsThe microstructure and elemental composition of AMR before and after soil stir-frying were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy（SEM-EDS）， to investigate the differences in microstructure and the underlying causes. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS） coupled with UNIFI 1.9.2 natural product analysis platform were used to analyze and identify the chemical constituents in raw and soil-fried products， and multivariate statistical methods including principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） were used to explore the differences and sources of chemical constituents between them. A dextran sulfate sodium（DSS）-induced UC mouse model was established. The method of disease activity index（DAI） was used to evaluate the severity of intestinal inflammation. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe the pathological changes of colon tissue， enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was used to detect the levels of inflammatory factors， Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） and Western blot were used to analyze the expressions of key genes and proteins involved in the intestinal mucosal barrier. The 16S rRNA sequencing was used to evaluate the diversity of intestinal flora， headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry（HS-GC-MS） was used to explore the levels of short-chain fatty acids（SCFAs） in feces. Base on the above findings， this paper investigated the effects of raw and soil-fried AMR on the biological， chemical， mechanical and immune barriers of model animals， and the differences in pharmacological effects and underlying mechanisms from the perspective of regulating the intestinal mucosal barrier in UC mice. ResultsSEM observation revealed numerous hearth soil particles on the surface of soil-fried AMR， accompanied by bubble-like bulges. At the same time， there were many cracks and folds on the surface of the hearth soil. EDS analysis revealed that the contents of Si， Al， Mg and Ca in soil-fried AMR were significantly higher than those of raw products， and these elements constituted the primary components of hearth soil. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS combined with database comparison was used to identify the chemical constituents of raw and soil-fried AMR. In positive ion mode， a total of 132 components were identified， primarily comprising three categories of terpenoids， polyphenols and amino acids. In negative ion mode， a total of 40 components were identified， primarily polyphenolic and glycoside compounds. Among them， the contents of sesquiterpenes and polyphenolic acids were changed significantly before and after processing. Soil-fried AMR could reduce the DAI score of UC mice， alleviate the shortening of colon length， reduce the levels of pro-inflammatory factors such as interleukin（IL）-17， IL-18， γ-interferon（IFN-γ） and tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α in serum， increase the levels of anti-inflammatory factors such as secretory immunoglobulin A（sIgA）， IL-10， IL-4 and transforming growth factor-β（TGF-β） in serum， increase the expressions of key genes and proteins of intestinal mucosal barrier such as tight junction protein-1（ZO-1）， Occludin， Claudin-1 and mucin 2（MUC2） in colonic mucosa， and improve the disorders of intestinal flora diversity and the levels of SCFAs（P<0.05， P<0.01）. The raw and stir-fried products of AMR also exhibited the aforementioned effects， but they were weaker than the soil-fried products. Additionally， the auxiliary material hearth soil also had a certain pharmacodynamic effect. ConclusionSoil-fried AMR can enhance the protective effect on intestinal mucosal barrier in UC mice. These changes or heating-induced alterations in the microscopic structure and chemical composition of AMR may be attributed to the dual effects of adsorption of hearth soil.

ObjectiveTo analyze the processing mechanism underlying the enhanced effect of invigorating spleen and stopping diarrhea of soil-fried Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma（AMR） by analyzing the changes of microstructure， chemical composition and anti-ulcerative colitis（UC） activity before and after soil stir-frying. MethodsThe microstructure and elemental composition of AMR before and after soil stir-frying were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy（SEM-EDS）， to investigate the differences in microstructure and the underlying causes. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS） coupled with UNIFI 1.9.2 natural product analysis platform were used to analyze and identify the chemical constituents in raw and soil-fried products， and multivariate statistical methods including principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） were used to explore the differences and sources of chemical constituents between them. A dextran sulfate sodium（DSS）-induced UC mouse model was established. The method of disease activity index（DAI） was used to evaluate the severity of intestinal inflammation. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe the pathological changes of colon tissue， enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA） was used to detect the levels of inflammatory factors， Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction（Real-time PCR） and Western blot were used to analyze the expressions of key genes and proteins involved in the intestinal mucosal barrier. The 16S rRNA sequencing was used to evaluate the diversity of intestinal flora， headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry（HS-GC-MS） was used to explore the levels of short-chain fatty acids（SCFAs） in feces. Base on the above findings， this paper investigated the effects of raw and soil-fried AMR on the biological， chemical， mechanical and immune barriers of model animals， and the differences in pharmacological effects and underlying mechanisms from the perspective of regulating the intestinal mucosal barrier in UC mice. ResultsSEM observation revealed numerous hearth soil particles on the surface of soil-fried AMR， accompanied by bubble-like bulges. At the same time， there were many cracks and folds on the surface of the hearth soil. EDS analysis revealed that the contents of Si， Al， Mg and Ca in soil-fried AMR were significantly higher than those of raw products， and these elements constituted the primary components of hearth soil. UPLC-Q-TOF-MS combined with database comparison was used to identify the chemical constituents of raw and soil-fried AMR. In positive ion mode， a total of 132 components were identified， primarily comprising three categories of terpenoids， polyphenols and amino acids. In negative ion mode， a total of 40 components were identified， primarily polyphenolic and glycoside compounds. Among them， the contents of sesquiterpenes and polyphenolic acids were changed significantly before and after processing. Soil-fried AMR could reduce the DAI score of UC mice， alleviate the shortening of colon length， reduce the levels of pro-inflammatory factors such as interleukin（IL）-17， IL-18， γ-interferon（IFN-γ） and tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α in serum， increase the levels of anti-inflammatory factors such as secretory immunoglobulin A（sIgA）， IL-10， IL-4 and transforming growth factor-β（TGF-β） in serum， increase the expressions of key genes and proteins of intestinal mucosal barrier such as tight junction protein-1（ZO-1）， Occludin， Claudin-1 and mucin 2（MUC2） in colonic mucosa， and improve the disorders of intestinal flora diversity and the levels of SCFAs（P<0.05， P<0.01）. The raw and stir-fried products of AMR also exhibited the aforementioned effects， but they were weaker than the soil-fried products. Additionally， the auxiliary material hearth soil also had a certain pharmacodynamic effect. ConclusionSoil-fried AMR can enhance the protective effect on intestinal mucosal barrier in UC mice. These changes or heating-induced alterations in the microscopic structure and chemical composition of AMR may be attributed to the dual effects of adsorption of hearth soil.

Objective　: To investigate the activity concentrations of natural radionuclides in drinking water (tap water andwell water) in urban and rural areas of Hohhot, assess the safety of drinking water, and to provide data support for localdrinking water radioactivity monitoring and management. Methods　: Representative samples of well water and tap waterwere collected from nine banners/counties/districts in Hohhot. Activity concentrations were measured using a low-back-ground gross α/β counter, an α spectrometer, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and a radium/radon analyzer. Results　: A total of nine tap water samples and nine well water samples were analyzed. For the tap water samples, gross αactivity concentrations ranged from 0.093 to 0.193 Bq/L, gross β from 0.091 to 0.225 Bq/L, uranium mass concentrationsfrom 2.32 to 10.36 μg/L, thorium mass concentrations from 0.09 to 0.20 μg/L,210Po activity concentrations from below theminimum detectable limit to 0.41 mBq/L, and 226Ra activity concentrations from 8.70 to 13.35 mBq/L. For the well watersamples, gross α activity concentrations ranged from 0.111 to 0.203 Bq/L, gross β from 0.111 to 0.270 Bq/L, uranium massconcentrations from 2.31 to 13.28 μg/L, thorium mass concentrations from 0.17 to 0.26 μg/L,210Po activity concentrationsfrom 1.03 to 2.12 mBq/L, and 226Ra activity concentrations from 15.38 to 23.63 mBq/L. Conclusion　 The activityconcen-trations of natural radionuclides in both well water and tap water in the Hohhot region were at environmental backgroundlevels and met national drinking water hygiene standards.

Objective:To investigate the effect of ear acupoint bean pressing on gastrointestinal motility and related hormones after laparoscopic surgery in patients with hysteromyoma,and to explore the therapeutic mechanism of ear acupoint bean pressing.Methods:Patients undergoing laparoscopic myomectomy in the Department of Gynecology of The People's Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Univer-sity of Traditional Chinese Medicine from May 2022 to December 2023 were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group,with 57 patients in each group.The experimental group was treated with postoperative routine nursing and ear acupoint bean pressing(targeting the spleen,stomach,and sympathetic),and the control group was treated with postoperative routine nursing and sham ear acupoint bean pressing(containing no Vaccaria seed,targeting the spleen,stomach,and sympathetic).After the intervention,the time to first postoperative passing of flatus and defecation,clinical efficacy,and changes in gastrointestinal hormone levels were compared between the two groups.Results:The time to first postoperative passing of flatus[20.31(17.52,22.38)h vs.21.51(18.53,28.15)h]and defecation[35.32(31.47,39.17)h vs.38.12(33.44,42.78)h]in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group(P<0.05),and the clinical efficacy was better than that in the control group(P<0.05).There were no significant differ-ences in motilin(MTL),gastrin(GAS),somatostatin(SS),and substance P(SP)levels between the two groups before operation(P>0.05).The MTL and GAS levels were increased and the SS and SP levels were decreased after operation.The MTL[(451.52±54.33)pg/mL vs.(476.24±56.35)pg/mL]and GAS[150.50(133.93,164.52)pg/mL vs.173.44(154.45,184.63)pg/mL]levels at 24 h after operation in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group(P<0.05),and the SS[38.34(33.24,40.23)pg/mL vs.33.36(29.13,38.76)pg/mL]level at 24 h after operation was higher than that in the control group(P<0.05),with no significant change in the SP level(P>0.05).The results of repeated measures analysis of variance and generalized estimation equation showed that there were significant differences in the time effect and interaction effect of MTL(P<0.05),a significant difference in the time effect of SP(P<0.05),and significant differences in the time effect,intergroup effect,and interaction effect of GAS and SS(P<0.05).Conclusion:Ear acupoint bean pressing has significant effect on abdominal distension after laparoscopic surgery in patients with hysteromyoma,ef-fectively regulates the level of gastrointestinal motility related hormones,and promotes the recovery of gastrointestinal function.

Objective:To investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects and mechanisms of Dachaihu decoction(DCD)on dextran sodium sulfate(DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis(UC)and liver injury in mice,as well as the association between DCD benefits and gut microbiota modulation.Methods:Mice were treated with DCD(20.10 and 10.05 g/kg)for 2 weeks,with free access to drinking water containing 3%DSS in the second week to induce UC.Histopathological examination,RT-qPCR and 16S rRNA sequencing were used to investigate the effect of DCD on UC mice.Results:DCD pretreatment significantly alleviated weight loss,bloody diarrhea with mucus,histopathological abnormalities of the colon,and colon shortening in mice with DSS-induced UC.In addition,DCD pretreat-ment significantly upregulated the levels of Occludin,ZO-1,and MUC-2 in the colon and protected the intestinal barrier of mice.DCD pretreatment also alleviated inflammatory cell infiltration in the colon and the liver and significantly reduced the expression levels of the proinflammatory factors such as IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,iNOS,COX-2,and NLRP3,thereby exerting a protective effect against UC and liver injury.It should be noted that DCD corrected gut micro-biota imbalance in UC mice by enriching probiotic bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and reducing harmful bacteria such as Norank_f_Desulfovibrionaceae and Escherichia-Shigella.Conclusion:DCD can alleviate DSS-induced UC and exert a liver-protecting effect by protecting intestinal barrier,inhibiting inflam-mation,and regulating gut microbiota.

Objective To investigate the effects of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(HF-rTMS)applied to the supplementary motor area(SMA)or primary motor cortex(M1)on upper limb function in stroke patients in terms of motor sequence learning.Methods From April,2024 to February,2025,60 inpatients were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital with Nan-jing Medical University.They were randomly assigned into the control group,SMA group and M1 group,with 20 patients in each group.All the groups received medication and conventional rehabilitation.On this basis,SMA group underwent HF-rTMS on the affected side's SMA,while M1 group received HF-rTMS on the affected side's M1 for two weeks.All the groups were measured with motor evoked potentials(MEP),the serial reaction time(RT)task,Fugl-Meyer Assessment-Upper Extremities(FMA-UE)and modified Barthel Index(MBI)before and after intervention.Results The SMA and M1 groups dropped one case respectively.MEP elicitation rate of the affected side's increased in SMA and M1 groups(P<0.05),and it was better than that in the control group(χ2>4.792,P<0.05).The intra-group effects of RTsequential sequence,FMA-UE and MBI scores were significant(|F|>81.546,P<0.05).The inter-group effects of RTrandom sequence,RTsequential sequence,?RT,and MBI scores were significant(F>3.228,P<0.05).The in-teractive effects of RTrandom sequence,RTsequential sequence,?RT,FMA-UE and MBI scores were significant(|F|>3.520,P>0.05).After intervention,RTsequential sequence,?RT,FMA-UE and MBI scores improved(P<0.05).RTrandom sequence was lower in SMA group than in the control group(P<0.017),RTsequential sequence,?RT,FMA-UE and MBI scores im-proved more in SMA and M1 groups than in the control group(P<0.05),but no significant difference was found between the SMA group and the M1 group(P>0.05).Conclusion HF-rTMS applied to the affected SMA or M1 can activate motor sequence learning and promote the recov-ery of upper limb function in stroke patients.

Objective:To clarify the genetic associations between obesity, diabetes, smoking, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, acute and chronic pancreatitis, and pancreatic cancer risk.Methods:Summary data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of individuals of European descent were used. Obesity, alcohol consumption, diabetes, and acute and chronic pancreatitis data for the UK population were obtained from the GWAS catalog, while alcohol consumption, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, occasional smoking, and regular smoking data were obtained from the UK biobank. Pancreatic cancer-related data for the Finnish population were sourced from the latest R11 version of the Finnish database. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted on the associations between the aforementioned risk factors and pancreatic cancer using five MR methods, primarily inverse variance weighting. The robustness of the results was assessed through Q heterogeneity tests, pleiotropy tests, MR-PRESSO analysis, and reverse MR analysis.Results:Obesity showed a significant positive association with pancreatic cancer risk ( OR=1.407, 95% CI: 1.100-1.714, P=0.030), and the results were robust based on Q heterogeneity tests, pleiotropy tests, MR-PRESSO, and reverse MR analysis (all P>0.05). However, no significant associations were found between pancreatic cancer risk and alcohol consumption ( P=0.330), heavy drinking ( P=0.382), type 1 diabetes ( P=0.674), type 2 diabetes ( P=0.825), occasional smoking ( P=0.607), regular smoking ( P=0.758), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease ( P=0.287), acute pancreatitis ( P=0.336), or chronic pancreatitis ( P=0.545). Conclusion:This study further confirms the strong genetic association between obesity and increased pancreatic cancer risk.

Objective To establish a nomogram prediction model for the risk of sarcopenia among elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM)by LASSO-Logistic regression.Methods From January 2021 to December 2023,2986 elderly T2DM patients who were admitted to The Fifth People's Hospital of Chongqing were enrolled.Based on the 2019 criteria of the Asian Sarcopenia Working Group,they were divided into a T2DM combined with sarcopenia(Sar,n=867)group and simple T2DM group(n=2119).All patients were randomly divided into a model group(n=1990)and a validation group(n=996)in a 2∶1 ratio.Another 528 patients with T2DM admitted to our hospital from January to October 2024 were selected as the external validation group.LASSO regression was used to screen variables.Logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of sarcopenia.R language was used to establish a nomogram model.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve and Hosmer-Lemeshow curve were used to validate the prediction model.Results The age,proportions of drinking,hypertension,hyperlipidemia,DM complications,DM duration,fasting plasma glucose(FPG),2-hour postprandial plasma glucose,hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c),triglycerides,total cholesterol,and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the Sar group were higher than those in the T2DM group(P<0.05).The proportion of male individuals,body mass index,and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the Sar group were lower than those in the T2DM group(P<0.05).LASSO regression identified 8 factors,including gender,age,drinking,hypertension,DM complications,DM duration,FPG,and HbA1c,as predictive variables for T2DM with sarcopenia.Logistic regression analysis showed that gender,age,DM duration,HbA1c,and DM complications were influencing factors for sarcopenia in elderly T2DM patients.The nomogram prediction model showed that the highest scores corresponding to DM complications,DM duration,HbA1c,age,and gender were approximately 100,70,52,43,and 30 points,respectively,with a maximum total score of approximately 295.The area under the ROC curve of the model group,validation group,and external validation group were 0.914,0.822,and 0.777,respectively.The Hosmer-Lemeshow calibration curve showed that the maximum offsets for the model group,validation group,and external validation group were 0.031,0.049,and 0.056,respectively(P=0.929,0.802,and 0.782,respectively).Conclusions Elderly T2DM patients are prone to developing sarcopenia.A nomogram model based on LASSO-Logistic analysis,which includes DM complications,DM duration,HbA1c,age,and gender,can effectively predict the risk of sarcopenia among elderly T2DM patients.

Objective:To evaluate the value of ultrasound radiomics combined with machine learning for early diagnosis of seronegative Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (SN-HT) .Methods:This retrospective study included 164 patients from Liaoning Provincial People’s Hospital , Lixin County People’s Hospital, Linghai Dalinghe Hospital, Fengcheng Phoenix Hospital, who underwent thyroidectomy for solitary nodules with normal thyroid function between Nov. 2016 and Jan. 2024. Postoperative pathology confirmed Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) in some cases, who were further categorized into antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups based on serum antibody status. Patients without Hashimoto’s thyroiditis served as the control group. A total of 298 ultrasound images were analyzed. Radiomics features were extracted from hypoechoic non-nodular areas within 0.5 cm surrounding the tumor. Two senior pathologists and two senior ultrasound physicians independently assessed lymphocytic infiltration, eosinophilic changes of follicular epithelium, and the proportion of hypoechoic areas in pathology and ultrasound images, respectively. A machine learning model, CCH-NET, was developed using linear regression and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) techniques. The dataset was divided into a training set (80%) and a validation set (20%) to compare the diagnostic accuracy of CCH-NET with that of senior ultrasound physicians. Results:In internal validation, CCH-NET achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 88.89% for both antibody-positive and antibody-negative groups, significantly higher than the 66.67% accuracy of senior ultrasound physicians ( P<0.01). In external validation, CCH-NET achieved 75.00% and 66.67% accuracy for the two groups, compared to 50.00% by senior ultrasound physicians. For the control group, both methods achieved 93.33% accuracy. The AUC of CCH-NET was 0.848, outperforming senior ultrasound physicians (0.681) ,demonstrating superior diagnostic performance. Conclusion:The radiomics-based CCH-NET model, using non-nodular hypoechoic areas as a specific indicator, can accurately identify early SN-HT in euthyroid patients. It significantly outperforms senior ultrasound physicians, improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing missed diagnoses.