ObjectiveTo investigate the therapeutic effect of Astragali Radix-mediated changes in gut microbiota on treating type 2 diabetes （T2DM）. MethodsA 12-week randomized， placebo-controlled clinical trial enrolled eighty patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and poor glycemic control in the Qi deficiency type. All patients received insulin therapy. The observation group （40 cases） was administered with Astragali Radix Granules， while the control group （40 cases） received a placebo. Both treamtents were taken orally twice daily. Changes in gut microbiota were assessed by 16s rDNA sequencing. Serum glucagon-like peptide-1 （GLP-1） levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Glucose metabolism indicators including fasting blood glucose （FPG）， 2-hour postprandial blood glucose （2 h PG），glycated albumin（GA）， and glycated hemoglobin （HbA1c） were evaluated. Pancreatic function was evaluated using fasting C-peptide （FCP）， 2-hour postprandial C-peptide （2 h CP）， and C-peptide area under the curve （AUC_cp）. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome scores， clinical efficacy， and safety indicators were also observed. ResultsIn terms of glucose metabolism indicators， compared with the baseline， both groups exhibited significantly lower FPG， 2 h PG， GA and HbA1C （P<0.01），while FCP， 2 h CP and AUC_cp were significantly higher （P<0.01）. Compared with the control group after the treatment， the observation group showed significantly lower FPG， 2 h PG， GA and HbA1C（P<0.05， P<0.01），and significantly higher FCP， 2 h CP and AUC_cp （P<0.05， P<0.01）， indicating that Astragali Radix can improve glucose metabolism. In terms of the diversity of gut microbiota， no significant differences were detected in the Chao1， Shannon and Simpson indexes of the two groups compared with their respective baselines. However， compared with the post-treatment control group， the observation group demonstrated significant increases in the Chao1， Shannon and Simpson indexes （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The β-diversity analysis showed significant separation in gut microbiota composition before and after treatment in both groups， indicating that Astragali Radix can significantly alter the structure and improve the diversity of gut microbiota. At the phylum level， compared with the baseline， both groups showed a significant increase in the relative abundance of Bacteroidota（P<0.01）. The relative abundance of the potentially harmful phylum Proteobacteria was significantly lower in the observation Group after treatment （P<0.01）. Compared with the post-treatment control group， the observation group had a significantly higher relative abundance of Bacteroidota（P<0.01）. No significant difference was found in Firmicutes/Bacteroidota （F/B） ratio between the two groups after treatment， and other phyla showed no significant differences. At the genus level， compared with the baseline， the observation group exhibited a significant increase in Bacteroides （P<0.01） and a significant decrease in Escherichia-Shigella （P<0.01）， whereas no significant difference was seen in the control group . Compared with the control group after treatment， the observation group after treatment had a significantly higher relative abundance of Bacteroides （P<0.01）. No significant differences were seen in other genera. Linear discriminant analysis （LDA） identified potential characteristics taxa： in the observation group， Bacteroidota at the phylum level and Bacteroides and Dubosiella at the genus level， in the control group， Proteobacteria at the phylum level as well as Barnesiella and Staphylococcus at the genus level. Correlation analysis based on a heatmap revealed that GLP-1 levels were positively correlated with Firmicutes， F/B ratio and Fusobacterium， and negatively correlated with Bacteroidota， Proteobacteria， Bacteroides and Escherichia-Shigella. In terms of clinical efficacy， compared with the control group， the total effective rate of the observation group was significantly higher （P<0.05）. Compared with the baseline， the scores for shortness of breath， fatigue， weakness， spontaneous sweating and reluctance to speak significantly decreased in both groups （P<0.01）. Compared with the control group after treatment， the score for weakness was significantly lower in the observation group （P<0.01），indicating that Astragali Radix could improve clinical symptoms and alleviate weakness symptoms. In terms of safety， compared with the baseline， alanine aminotransferase （ALT） levels significantly decreased in both groups （P<0.05，P<0.01），indicating that Astragali Radix did not induce any significant abnormalities in liver and kidney functions. ConclusionAstragali Radix demonstrates the potential to significantly improve the gut microbiota environment in patients of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes with Qi deficiency. The therapeutic effect may contribute to glycemic control， possibly mediated by an elevation in GLP-1 level. These findings may support its further clinical investigations and potential applications.

Uveitis, a complex ocular disorder with numerous etiologies, can result from infection, autoimmune, and various physicochemical and mechanical injury factors. The treatment of this disease is difficult, and failure to receive timely and effective treatment can often lead to blindness. With the deepening of people's understanding of uveitis and its related mechanisms, various new sustained-release drug delivery systems for uveitis have been studied. However, due to the existence of various anatomical and physiological barriers in the eye, there are multiple obstacles to the sustained release treatment of uveitis. In this paper, the main research results in this field in recent years are reviewed, and the innovations and limitations of various new sustained-release drug delivery systems are discussed in order to provide new ideas for the sustained-release drug delivery treatment of uveitis in the future. These new sustained-release drug delivery systems will help to completely change the traditional treatment mode of uveitis with side effects and poor compliance in the future, bringing longer targeted sustained release and less toxic reactions.

Objective:To investigate the causes and prognosis of salvage cholecystectomy for relapsing cholecystolithiasis after gallbladder-preserving gall stones removal surgery.Methods:From Jul 2015 to Dec 2019, 24 referral patients with gallstone recurrence after gallbladder-preserving cholelithotomy surgery received salvage cholecystectomy. The clinical data was analyzed to explore the causes for re-operation and the prognosis.Results:Twenty-two cases had definite gallstone recurrence, among them 19 cases were symptomatic, 2 cases were operated on suspected gallbladder tumor and common bile duct stones induced acute cholangitis. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was successfully performed in 23 cases and 1 case was converted to open surgery. No severe complication were observed in all the patients.Conclusions:Symptomatic gallstone recurrence is the most common causes of salvage cholecystectomy after gallbladder-preserving cholelithotomy. Laparoscopic surgery procedure is still highly successful.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of peritoneal protein clearance (Pcl) for cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.Methods:Eligible PD patients were prospectively enrolled from January 2014 to April 2015 in the PD Center of Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. All patients were followed up until death, withdrawing from PD, transferring to other centers, or the end of study period (October 1, 2018). The patients were divided into high Pcl group and low Pcl group by the median Pcl, and the differences of related indicators between the two groups were compared. A multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the influencing factors of Pcl. The Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were used to compare the cumulative survival rates of patients between the two groups. A multivariate Cox regression model was used to estimate the risk of cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality in relation to Pcl in PD patients.Results:A total of 271 patients were enrolled, with 135 males (49.8%), age of (56.92±0.84) years old and a median PD duration of 38.77(19.00, 63.10) months. There were 70 patients (25.8%) comorbiding with diabetes and 81 patients (29.9%) with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The median Pcl of this cohort was 67.93(52.31, 88.36) ml/d. Compared with the low Pcl group (Pcl<67.93 ml/d), the high Pcl group (Pcl≥67.93 ml/d) had older age, and greater proportion of CVD, body mass index (BMI), pulse pressure, brain natriuretic peptide, mass transfer area coefficient of creatinine (MTACcr), and lower serum albumin (all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in gender, dialysis duration, proportion of diabetes, proportion of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker, proportion of continuous ambulatory PD, high sensitivity C reactive protein, fluid removal including 24 h urine volume and 24 h ultrafiltration, and residual renal function between the two groups (all P>0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that serum albumin ( β=-0.388, P<0.001), BMI ( β=0.189, P<0.001), and MTACcr ( β=0.247, P<0.001) were independently related to lg(Pcl). During the study period, 55 patients experienced one or more cardiovascular events and 39 patients had cardiovascular mortality. According to Kaplan-Meier analysis, cardiovascular mortality in the high Pcl group was higher than that of low Pcl group (Log-rank χ2=6.902, P=0.009). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that, high lg(Pcl) was an independent influencing factor of cardiovascular events in PD patients ( HR=7.654, 95% CI 1.676-34.945, P=0.009). Conclusions:Serum albumin, BMI and MTACcr are independently associated with Pcl, and Pcl is an independent predictor of cardiovascular events in PD patients.

Objective:To evaluate the influencing factors of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (CF-PWV) and its value to predict outcomes in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.Methods:Eligible patients undergoing PD in Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University between August 2016 and July 2018 were recruited and prospectively followed up until death, PD cessation, or to the end of the study. CF-PWV was measured by an arterial pulse wave velocity meter to assess arterial stiffness (July 31, 2020). Overhydration was measured by bioimpedance spectroscopy. The patients were divided into CF-PWV≤10 m/s group and CF-PWV>10 m/s group according to the measured value of CF-PWV. The influencing factors of elevated CF-PWV were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. Survival curves were generated using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the difference for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality between the two groups.Results:A total of 224 PD patients were enrolled, including 133 males (59.4%). The age was (55.2±13.4) years old, and median PD vintage was 22.3(6.5, 59.3) months. Among them, 47(21.0%) patients were comorbid with diabetes, and 37(16.5%) patients had CVD history. The median CF-PWV was 9.6(8.4, 11.4) m/s for the cohort, and 105(46.9%) participants had CF-PWV over 10 m/s. Compared with CF-PWV≤10 m/s group, CF-PWV>10 m/s group patients had older age, increased percentage of diabetes and CVD (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that increased age ( OR=1.070, 95% CI 1.043-1.099, P<0.001), diabetes ( OR=3.693, 95% CI 1.646-8.287, P=0.002) and higher overhydration ( OR=1.238, 95% CI 1.034-1.483, P=0.020) were independent influencing factors for elevated CF-PWV in PD patients. After followed up for 37.4(25.6, 41.7) months, 24 patients died, including 19 cases of CVD-related deaths. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that all-cause mortality and CVD mortality were significantly higher in the CF-PWV>10 m/s group than those in CF-PWV≤10 m/s group (Log-rank χ2=6.423, P=0.011; Log-rank χ2=6.243, P=0.012, respectively). Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models showed that increased age was an independent influencing factor for both all-cause mortality and CVD mortality ( HR=1.057, 95% CI 1.010-1.107, P=0.018; HR=1.062, 95% CI 1.009-1.118, P=0.022). Conclusions:Increased arterial stiffness is relatively common in PD patients. Higher CF-PWV in PD patients is associated with increased age, diabetes and higher overhydration, and it is probably a valuable predictor of outcome in PD patients.

Objective To investigate the effect of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) on the treatment of knee synovial lesions in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Methods The results of routine ultrasonography (US) and CEUS were observed in 37 patients with RA.Among them 26 knees were underwent review after treatment.The results before and after treatment were compared.Results Routine US showed that the synovial thickness of patella,medial and lateral condylar and the depth of suprapatellar bursa effusion in 37 knee joints were (0.47 ± 0.26)cm,(0.31 ± 0.15)cm,(0.36 ± 0.21)cm and (0.72 ± 0.42)cm before treatment,and (0.36± 0.16)cm,(0.28 ± 0.17)cm,(0.30 ± 0.19)cm and (0.41 ± 0.19)cm in 26 knee joints after treatment,respectively,the differences were statistically significant(P ＜0.05).The synovial blood flow classification of patella,medial and the lateral condyle in the 26 knee joints had difference between before and after treatment (P ＜0.05).CEUS showed that the peak intensity decreased,the area under the curve reduced,the time from peak to one half decreased,the wash in slope decreased and the time to peak prolonged in synovial after treatment,the differences of the parameters between before and after treatment were statistically significant(P ＜0.05).The area of synovial had some influence on the CEUS parameters and could improve the reliability of the evaluation to CEUS for treatment.Conclusions CEUS is an objective method to evaluate the efficacy of RA,which provides a reliable basis for clinical treatment of RA.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of CEUS in Crohn discasc (CD) activity.Methods Thirty-nine patients with CD were analyzed.The clinical disease activity index of 18 cases were less than 150 (inactivity),and 21 cases were between 150 and 450 (activity).The thickness of intestinal walls were measured and Limberg classification were determined by power-Doppler results.The CEUS was performed,and the parameters including rise time,peak intensity,mean transit time,time from peak to one half,wash in slope and time to peak were statistical analyzed.Results The thickness of the lesions,peak intensity and wash in slope of activity CD were greater than those of inactivity CD,which had significant difference (all P＜0.05).The Limberg classification of type Ⅰ was 1 case,type Ⅱ was 4 cases,type Ⅲ was 10 cases and type Ⅳ was 6 cases in activity CD.The Limberg classification of type Ⅰ was 10 cases,type Ⅱ was 7 cases and type Ⅲ was 1 case.The Limberg classification were mainly type Ⅲ and type Ⅳ in activity CD,and type Ⅰ and type Ⅱ in inactivity CD,which had significant difference (P＜0.001).Conclusion CEUS can provide quantitative parameters in CD activity and has great clinical value.

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of primary closure versus T-tube drainage after laparoscopic common bile duct exploration in acute cholangitis cases.Methods The clinical data of 100 patients with acute cholangitis undergoing laparoscopic common bile duct exploration from January 2012 to December 2014 were reviewed.54patients received primary closure of the common bile duct and 46 patients were subjected to T-tube drainage after choledochotomy.Results One hundred patients underwent the surgery successfully.Compared with the T-tube group,the operation time(96.72 min vs 123.00 min,P =0.001),intraoperative blood loss(27.13 ml vs 38.48 ml,P =0.009),postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery time(1.57 d vs 2.33 d,P=0.003) and postoperative hospital stay(6.19 d vs 9.20 d,P=0.000) were significantly less in the primary closure group.There were no statistical differences in the incidence of postoperative drainage (309.22 ml vs 212.46 ml,P =0.070),drainage time (3.96 d vs 4.02 d,P =0.875),incidence of bile leakage(9.3％ vs 0,P =0.060) and postoperative bleeding rate(5.1％ vs 2.2％,P =0.622) between these two groups.Conclusion Laparoscopic common bile duct exploration with primary closure of the common bile duct is an effective and safe procedure in acute cholangitis cases compared with T-tube drainage.

To explore the ablation effect of porcine thyroid in vivo ablated with 3 W/1800 J ND:YAG laser,ultrasound examination and contrast-ultrasound were done to observe scope of ablation lesion. The experimental results showed that the ablation effect of porcine thyroid in vivo ablated with 3 W/1800 J ND:YAG laser is definite, and ideal ablation lesion can be formed.

To explore the optimum laser power and energy in porcine thyroid ablation in vitro with 1 064 nm Nd:YAG laser of different power and energy guided by ultrasound after comparison of size and pathology of ablation lesions. The experimental results showed that Laser ablation effect of porcine thyroid in vitro is definite, the size of ablation lesions increases as the laser power and energy increases, when the laser power and energy are 3 W and 1 800 J, the ablation lesion effect reaches ideal level.
Animals ; Laser Therapy ; instrumentation ; methods ; Lasers, Solid-State ; Swine ; Thyroid Gland ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Ultrasonography