ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of treadmill exercise against type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on the regulator effects of exercise on ferroptosis. MethodsEight 8-week-old male m/m mice were used as control group (Con, n=8), and db/db mice of the matched age were randomly divided into T2DM model group (db/db, n=8), exercise group (db+Exe, n=8), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor group (db+SB203580, n=8) and exercise combined with p38 MAPK inhibitor group (db+Exe+SB203580, n=8). After one-week adaptive feeding, the mice in the db+Exe group and db+Exe+SB203580 group underwent moderate intensity treadmill exercise for 40 min/d, 5 d/week lasting 8 weeks. The db+SB203580 group and db+Exe+SB203580 group were treated with SB203580 (a specific inhibitor of p38 MAPK) with a dose of 5 mg/kg, 5 d/week for 8 weeks. And the exercise intervention was performed 2 h later after the intraperitoneal injection of SB203580. The body weight and fasting blood glucose of mice were measured regularly every week during the experiment. After 24 h of the last intervention, the mice were weighted, the liver tissues were taken, weighted and the liver index was calculated. The pathological changes of liver were determined by Oil Red O and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The levels of blood lipids, liver function, Fe²⁺ and oxidative stress markers of liver were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The related mRNA expression levels of lipogenesis and inflammation were evaluated by quantitative reverse transcriptase-mediated PCR (qRT-PCR). The related protein expression levels of lipogenesis and ferroptosis in liver were determined by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and Western blot. ResultsThe body weight, fasting blood glucose, liver index, blood lipid and transaminase levels in the db/db group were significantly increased compared with the Con group. HE and Oil Red O staining showed severe lipid accumulation and ballooning change in the liver of db/db mice. Biochemical tests showed that Fe²⁺ and MDA level of liver constitution homogenate increased, while GSH level decreased significantly. The results of qRT-PCR showed that the mRNA levels of MCP-1, IL-6, SREBF1 and ACC1 in liver tissue of db/db mice were all significantly increased. Western blot results showed that the expression levels of SREBF1, ACC1 increased, ferroptosis relative proteins were significantly decreased. The 8 weeks of exercise significantly reduced the rise in body weight, blood glucose, liver index and blood lipid levels in db/db mice. Exercise intervention also alleviated hepatic steatosis and reduced the expression levels of Fe²⁺, MDA, MCP-1, IL-6, ACC1 and SREBF1, upregulated the expression levels of GSH, NRF2, HO-1, SLC7A11 and GPX4 in liver tissue of db/db mice. The intervention of exercise combined with SB203580 significantly down-regulated the mRNA expression levels of ACC1, MCP-1, IL-6, reduced the levels of Fe²⁺ and MDA, and up-regulated the level of GSH in db/db mice. Compared with the db+Exe group, the expression of Fe²⁺, MDA, MCP-1, and SREBF1 in the liver of the db+Exe+SB203580 group mice significantly increased, while the expression level of GSH and expression levels of ferroptosis relative proteins also significantly decreased. In addition, compared with db+SB203580 group, the iron accumulation and lipid peroxidation in the liver of db+Exe+SB203580 group were significantly improved. ConclusionThe8-week treadmill exercise can effectively alleviate liver injury and steatosis, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of hepatocyte ferroptosis through p38 MAPK signal.

"Xuanfu",as the microscopic structure in TCM theory of visceral manifestations,spreads all over the human body.The microscopic pathological changes of acute ulcerative colitis are manifested as cryptic abscesses or even structural disorders of the colon.Its damp heat accumulates in the large intestine,and the pathogenic characteristics of the large intestine coincides with the concept of"Xuanfu"that likes opening and avoiding closing.The functions of the mechanical barrier and mucus barrier in the intestinal crypt are very similar to the characteristics of the"Xuanfu",which can provide morphological basis for the"Xuanfu"theory of the intestine.The method of clearing away and opening the"Xuanfu"can inhibit the"Xuanfu closed"state of the intestine caused by the accumulation of damp and heat,and promote the guiding role and theoretical support of the"Xuanfu-crypt"theory in the treatment of early crypt lesions of ulcerative colitis.

Objective: To identify the clinically relevant factors of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) in children and establish a predictive model followed by verifying its feasibility. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed in a total of 111 children with nephrotic syndrome admitted to Children's Hospital of ShanXi from January 2016 to December 2021. The clinical data of general conditions, manifestations, laboratory tests, treatment, and prognosis were collected. According to the steroid response, patients were divided into SSNS and steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) group. Single factor Logistic regression analysis was used for comparison between the 2 groups, and variables with statistically significant differences were included in multivariate Logistic regression analysis. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the related variables of children with SRNS. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), the calibration curve and the clinical decision curve were used to evaluate its effectiveness of the variables. Results: Totally 111 children with nephrotic syndrome was composed of 66 boys and 45 girls, aged 3.2 (2.0, 6.6) years. There were 65 patients in the SSNS group and 46 in the SRNS group.Univariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the 6 variables, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, suppressor T cells, D-dimer, fibrin degradation products, β2-microglobulin, had statistically significant differences between SSNS and SRNS groups (85 (52, 104) vs. 105 (85, 120) mm/1 h, 18 (12, 39) vs. 16 (12, 25) nmol/L, 0.23 (0.19, 0.27) vs. 0.25 (0.20, 0.31), 0.7 (0.6, 1.1) vs. 1.1 (0.9, 1.7) g/L, 3.1 (2.3, 4.1) vs. 3.3 (2.7, 5.8) g/L, 2.3 (1.9,2.8) vs. 3.0 (2.5, 3.7) g/L, χ²=3.73, -2.42, 2.24, 3.38, 2.24,3.93,all P<0.05), were included in the multivariate Logistic regression analysis. Finally, we found that 4 variables including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, suppressor T cells, D-dimer and β2-microglobulin (OR=1.02, 1.12, 25.61, 3.38, 95%CI 1.00-1.04, 1.03-1.22, 1.92-341.04, 1.65-6.94, all P<0.05) had significant correlation with SRNS. The optimal prediction model was selected. The ROC curve cut-off=0.38, with the sensitivity of 0.83, the specificity of 0.77 and area under curve of 0.87. The calibration curve showed that the predicted probability of SRNS group occurrence was in good agreement with the actual occurrence probability, χ²=9.12, P=0.426. The clinical decision curve showed good clinical applicability. The net benefit is up to 0.2. Make the nomogram. Conclusions: The prediction model based on the 4 identified risk factors including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, suppressor T cells, D-dimer and β2-microglobulin was suitable for the early diagnosis and prediction of SRNS in children. The prediction effect was promising in clinical application.
Male ; Female ; Humans ; Child ; Nephrotic Syndrome/diagnosis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Models, Statistical ; Prognosis ; Steroids/therapeutic use*

Humans ; Olfaction Disorders/etiology* ; Smell

Humans ; Lymphoma, Primary Effusion ; Lymphoma ; Fatal Outcome

Ischemic stroke causes brain inflammation and multi-organ injury, which is closely associated with the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) signaling pathway. Recent studies have indicated that ginsenoside Rb1 (GRb1) can protect the integrity of the blood-brain barrier after stroke. In the current study, a mouse model of middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) was established to determine whether GRb1 can ameliorate brain/lung/intestinal barrier damage via the PPARγ signaling pathway. Staining (2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride, hematoxylin, and eosin) and Doppler ultrasonography were employed to detect pathological changes. Endothelial breakdown was investigated with the leakage of Evans Blue dye and the expression of TJs (tight junctions) and AJs (adherent junctions). Western blot and immunofluorescence were used to determine the levels of cell junction proteins, PPARγ and NF-κB. Results showed that GRb1 significantly mitigated multi-organ injury and increased the expression of cerebral microvascular, pulmonary vascular, and intestinal epithelial connexins. In brain, lung, and intestinal tissues, GRb1 activated PPARγ, decreased the levels of phospho-NF-κB p65, and inhibited the production of proinflammatory cytokines, thereby maintaining barrier permeability. However, co-treatment with GRb1 and the PPARγ antagonist GW9662 reversed the barrier-protective effect of GRb1. These findings indicated that GRb1 can improve stroke-induced brain/lung/intestinal barrier damagevia the PPARγ pathway.
Animals ; Brain ; Brain Ischemia ; Ginsenosides ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; Lung ; Mice ; NF-kappa B ; Neuroprotective Agents ; PPAR gamma ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury ; Signal Transduction

Humans ; Taste/physiology* ; Dysgeusia ; Nose Diseases ; Nose

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy and prognostic influencing factors of radical surgery for duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST).Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 741 duodenal GIST patients who under-went radical surgery in 17 medical centers, including 121 cases in Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 121 cases in Chinese PLA General Hospital, 116 cases in Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 77 cases in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, 77 cases in West China Hospital, Sichuan University, 31 cases in Guangdong Provincial People′s Hospital, 24 cases in Fujian Cancer Hospital, 22 cases in Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 25 cases in Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, 19 cases in Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 23 cases in Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, 17 cases in Liaoning Cancer Hospital＆Institute, 17 cases in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, 15 cases in Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, 14 cases in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, 14 cases in Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University and 8 cases in General Hospital of Chinese People′s Liberation Army Air Force, from January 2010 to April 2020 were collected. There were 346 males and 395 females, aged 55(range, 17?86)years. Observation indicators: (1) neoadjuvant treatment; (2) surgical and postoperative situations; (3) follow-up; (4) stratified analysis. Follow-up was conducted using outpatient examination or telephone interview. Patients were followed up once every 3?6 months during neoadjuvant therapy and once every 6?12 months after radical surgery to detect tumor recurrence and survival of patient up to April 2022. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were described as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison between groups was conducted using chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves and calculate survival rates. Log-rank test was used for survival analysis. The COX regression model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. Propensity score matching was done by the 1∶1 nearest neighbor matching method, and the matching tolerance was 0.02. Results:(1) Neoadjuvant therapy. Of the 741 patients, 34 cases received neoadjuvant therapy for 8(range, 3?44)months. Cases assessed as partial response, stable disease and progressive disease before the radical surgery of the 34 cases were 21, 9, 4, respectively. The tumor diameter of the 34 patients before the neoadjuvant therapy and before the radical surgery were 8.0(range, 3.0?26.0)cm and 5.3(range, 3.0?18.0)cm, with the regression rate as 31.9%(range, ?166.7% to 58.3%). (2) Surgical and postoperative situations. Of the 741 patients, 34 cases underwent radical surgery after receiving neoadjuvant therapy, and 707 cases underwent radical surgery directly. All the 741 patients underwent radical surgery successfully, in which 633, 102 and 6 cases received open surgery, laparoscopic surgery and endoscopic treatment, respectively. Of the 633 cases receiving open surgery and the 102 cases receiving laparoscopic surgery, cases with surgical resection range as pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) was 238, and cases with surgical resection range as duodenal limited resection, including duodenal wedge resection, distal gastrectomy, segmental duodenal resection, local resection of duodenal tumor or segmental duodenum combined with subtotal gastrectomy, was 497, 226, 55, 204, 12. Of the 741 patients, 131 cases had post-operative complications including 113 cases with grade Ⅰ?Ⅱ complications and 18 cases with ≥ grade Ⅲ complications of the Clavien-Dindo classification. The duration of postoperative hospital stay of the 741 patients was 13(range, 4?120)days. Of the 707 patients receiving direct radical surgery, 371 cases were evaluated as extremely low risk, low risk, medium risk of the modified National Institutes of Health (NIH) risk classification after surgery, and 336 cases were evaluated as high risk in which 205 cases receive postoperative adjuvant imatinib therapy with the treatment time as 24(range, 6?110)months. (3) Follow-up. All the 741 patients were followed up for 58(range, 7?150)months. During the follow-up, 110 patients had tumor recurrence and metastasis. The 1-, 3-, 5-year overall survival rates and 1-, 3-, 5-year disease-free survival rates of the 741 patients were 100.0%, 98.6%, 94.5% and 98.4%, 90.9%, 84.9%, respectively. The 1-, 3-, 5-year overall survival rates and 1-, 3-, 5-year disease-free survival rates of the 707 patients receiving direct radical surgery were 100.0%, 98.5%, 94.3% and 98.4%, 91.1%, 85.4%, respectively. (4) Stratified analysis. ① Analysis of prognostic factors in patients undergoing radical surgery directly. Results of univariate analysis showed that primary tumor location, tumor diameter, mitotic count, modified NIH risk classification and tumor gene information were related factors affecting the overall survival of 707 patients with primary duodenal GIST who underwent direct radical surgery ( hazard ratio=0.43, 0.18, 0.22, 0.06, 0.29, 95% confidence intervals as 0.20?0.93, 0.09?0.35, 0.10?0.50, 0.03?0.12, 0.09?0.95, P<0.05). The primary tumor location, tumor diameter, mitotic count, modified NIH risk classification were related factors affecting the disease-free survival of 707 patients with primary duodenal GIST who underwent direct radical surgery ( hazard ratio=0.65, 0.25, 0.25, 0.10, 95% confidence intervals as 0.41?1.03, 0.17?0.37, 0.15?0.42, 0.07?0.15, P<0.05). Results of multivariate analysis showed that primary tumor located at the horizontal segment of duodenum, mitotic count >5/50 high power field, tumor gene KIT exon 9 mutation were independent risk factors affecting the overall survival of 365 patients with primary duodenal GIST after removing 342 patients without tumor gene information who underwent direct radical surgery ( hazard ratio=2.85, 2.73, 3.13, 95% confidence intervals as 1.12?7.20, 1.07?6.94, 1.23?7.93, P<0.05). Tumor diameter >5 cm and mitotic count >5/50 high power field were independent risk factors affecting the disease-free survival of 707 patients with primary duodenal GIST who underwent direct radical surgery ( hazard ratio=3.19, 2.98, 95% confidence intervals as 2.05?4.97, 1.99?4.45, P<0.05). ② Effect of postoperative adjuvant therapy on prognosis of high-risk patients of modified NIH risk classification. Of the 336 patients evaluated as high risk of the modified NIH risk classification, the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate were 94.6% and 77.3% in the 205 cases with postoperative adjuvant therapy, versus 83.2% and 64.4% in the 131 cases without postoperative adjuvant therapy, showing significant differences between them ( χ2=8.39, 4.44, P<0.05). Of the 205 patients evaluated as high risk of the modified NIH risk classification who received postoperative adjuvant therapy, there were 106 cases receiving postoperative adjuvant therapy <36 months, with the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate were 87.1% and 58.7%, and there were 99 cases receiving post-operative adjuvant therapy ≥36 months, with the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate were 100.0% and 91.5%. There were significant differences in the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate between the 106 patients and the 99 patients ( χ2=13.92, 29.61, P<0.05). ③ Comparison of clinical efficacy of patients with different surgical methods. Before propensity score matching, cases with primary tumor located at bulb, descending, horizontal, ascending segment of duodenum, cases with tumor diameter ≤5 cm and >5 cm were 95, 307, 147, 34, 331, 252, in the 583 patients receiving open surgery with complete clinical data, versus 15, 46, 17, 5, 67, 16 in the 83 patients receiving laparoscopic surgery with complete clinical data, showing no significant difference in the primary tumor location ( χ2=0.94, P>0.05), and a significant difference in the tumor diameter ( χ2=17.33, P<0.05) between them. After propensity score matching, the above indicator were 16, 39, 20, 8, 67, 16 in the 83 patients receiving open surgery, versus 15, 46, 17, 5, 67, 16 in the 83 patients receiving laparoscopic surgery, showing no significant difference between them ( χ2=1.54, 0.00, P>0.05). Cases with postoperative complications, cases with grade Ⅰ?Ⅱ complica-tions and ≥grade Ⅲ complications of the Clavien-Dindo classification, duration of postoperative hospital stay, the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate were 17, 12, 5, 11(range, 5?120)days, 92.0%, 100.0% in the 83 patients receiving open surgery, versus 9, 7, 2, 11(range, 5?41)days, 91.6%, 97.3% in the 83 patients receiving laparoscopic surgery, showing no signi-ficant difference in postoperative complications, duration of postoperative hospital stay, the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate ( χ2=2.91, Z=3 365.50, χ2=3.02, 1.49, P>0.05) between them. There was no significant difference in complications of the Clavien-Dindo classification between them ( P>0.05). ④ Comparison of clinical efficacy of patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent surgery with different surgical resection scopes. Before propensity score matching, cases with tumor diameter ≤5 cm and >5 cm, cases with tumor located at opposite side of mesangium and mesangium were 71, 85, 28, 128 in the 156 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent PD with complete clinical data, versus 92, 41, 120, 13 in the 133 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent duodenal limited resection with complete clinical data, showing significant differences between them ( χ2=16.34, 150.10, P<0.05). After propensity score matching, the above indicator were 28, 13, 16, 25 in the 41 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent PD with complete clinical data, versus 28, 13, 16, 25 in the 41 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent duodenal limited resection with complete clinical data, showing no significant difference between them ( χ2=0.00, 0.00, P>0.05). Cases with postopera-tive complications, cases with grade Ⅰ?Ⅱ complications and ≥grade Ⅲ compli-cations of the Clavien-Dindo classification, duration of postoperative hospital stay, the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate were 13, 11, 2, 15(range, 9?62)days, 94.2%, 64.3% in the 41 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent PD with complete clinical data, versus 9, 8, 0, 15(range, 7?40)days, 100.0%, 78.8% in the 41 patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum who underwent duodenal limited resection with complete clinical data, showing no significant difference in post-operative complica-tions, the 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate ( χ2=0.99, 0.34, 1.86, P>0.05) between them. There was no significant difference in complications of the Clavien-Dindo classification ( P>0.05) and there was a significant difference in duration of postopera-tive hospital stay ( Z=614.50, P<0.05) between them. Conclusions:The clinical efficacy of radical surgery for duodenal GIST are ideal. Primary tumor located at the horizontal segment of duodenum, mitotic count >5/50 high power field, tumor gene KIT exon 9 mutation are independent risk factors affec-ting the overall survival of patients undergoing direct radical surgery and tumor diameter >5 cm and mitotic count >5/50 high power field are independent risk factors affecting the disease-free survival of patients. There is no significant difference in the short-term efficacy and long-term prognosis between patients undergoing open surgery and laparoscopic surgery. For patients with primary tumor located at the descending segment of duodenum, the duration of postoperative hospital stay is longer in patients undergoing PD compared with patients undergoing duodenal limited resection. For patients evaluated as high risk of the modified NIH risk classification, posto-perative adjuvant therapy and treatment time ≥36 months are conducive to improving the prognosis of patients.

Objective: To analyze the correlation between loss of smell/taste and the number of real confirmed cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide based on Google Trends data, and to explore the guiding role of smell/taste loss for the COVID-19 prevention and control. Methods: "Loss of smell" and "loss of taste" related keywords were searched in the Google Trends platform, the data were obtained from Jan. 1 2019 to Jul. 11 2021. The daily and newly confirmed COVID-19 case number were collected from World Health Organization (WHO) since Dec. 30 2019. All data were statistically analyzed by SPSS 23.0 software. The correlation was finally tested by Spearman correlation analysis. Results: A total of data from 80 weeks were collected. The retrospective analysis was performed on the new trend of COVID-19 confirmed cases in a total of 186 292 441 cases worldwide. Since the epidemic of COVID-19 was recorded on the WHO website, the relative searches related to loss of smell/taste in the Google Trends platform had been increasing globally. The global relative search volumes of "loss of smell" and "loss of taste" on Google Trends was 10.23±2.58 and 16.33±2.47 before the record of epidemic while 80.25±39.81 and 80.45±40.04 after (t value was 8.67, 14.43, respectively, both P<0.001). In the United States and India, the relative searches for "loss of smell" and "loss of taste" after the record of epidemic were also much higher than before (all P<0.001). The correlation coefficients between the trend of weekly new COVID-19 cases and the Google Trends of "loss of smell" in the global, United States, and India was 0.53, 0.76, and 0.82 respectively (all P<0.001), the correlation coefficients with Google Trends of "loss of taste" was 0.54, 0.78, and 0.82 respectively (all P<0.001). The lowest and highest point of loss of smell/taste search curves of Google Trends in different periods appeared 7 to 14 days earlier than that of the weekly newly COVID-19 confirmed cases curves, respectively. Conclusions: There is a significant positive correlation between the number of newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and the amount of keywords, such as "loss of smell" and "loss of taste", retrieved in Google Trends. The trend of big data based on Google Trends might predict the outbreak trend of COVID-19 in advance.
Ageusia ; Big Data ; COVID-19 ; Disease Outbreaks ; Humans ; Internet ; Retrospective Studies ; Smell ; United States

Objective     To analyze the perioperative outcomes of uniportal thoracoscopic lobectomy compared with three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy. Methods     Data were extracted from the Western China Lung Cancer Database, a prospectively maintained database at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University. Perioperative outcomes of the patients who underwent uniportal or three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy for lung cancer during January 2014 through April 2021 were analyzed by using propensity score matching. Altogether 5 817 lung cancer patients were enrolled who underwent thoracoscopic lobectomy (uniportal: 530 patients; three-port: 5 287 patients). After matching, 529 patients of uniportal and 1 583 patients of three-port were included. There were 529 patients with 320 males and 209 females at median age of 58 (51, 65) years in the uniportal group and 1 583 patients with 915 males and 668 females at median age of 58 (51, 65) years in the three-port group. Results     Uniportal thoracoscopic lobectomy was associated with less intraoperative blood loss (20 mL vs. 30 mL, P<0.001), longer operative time (115 min vs. 105 min, P<0.001) than three-port thoracoscopic lobectomy. No significant difference was found between the two groups regarding the number of lymph node dissected, rate of conversion to thoracotomy, incidence of postoperative complication, postoperative pain score within 3 postoperative days, length of hospital stay, or hospitalization expenses. Conclusion     Uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy is safe and effective, and the overall perioperative outcomes are comparable between uniportal and three-port strategies, although the two groups show differences in intraoperative blood loss.