OBJECTIVE To explore the potential mechanisms of astragalin （AG） in allevating ulcerative colitis （UC） in mice through modulation of the intestinal flora. METHODS Male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal group （CON group）， model group [dextran sodium sulfate （DSS） group]， 5-aminosalicylic acid group （5-ASA group）， AG low-dose group and high-dose group （AGL and AGH groups）， with 8 mice in each group. The mice UC model was established by drinking 3% DSS solution continuously for 7 days in all groups except the CON group. After that， 3% DSS solution was replaced by water， and the mice of each drug group were gavaged with the corresponding drug solution. Mice in the CON and DSS groups were gavaged with an equal volume of normal saline， once a day， for 7 days. After the last gavage， the body weight change index， disease activity index （DAI） score， colon length and spleen index， and levels of inflammatory factors （tumor necrosis factor-α， interleukin-1β， interleukin-6） were compared among the mice in each group； pathological changes in colonic tissues of the mice were observed in each group， and the pathological score and the percentage of goblet cells were compared； mRNA expressions of barrier-related factors [occludin and ZO-1] and inflammation-related factors [silencing information regulatory factor 1 （SIRT1）， c-Jun N-terminal kinase （JNK） and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （p38 MAPK）] were detected in each group of mice； the changes in the intestinal flora of mice in each group were analyzed and the contents of intestinal metabolites short-chain fatty acids （SCFAs） was determined. Using DSS and AG-treated fecal bacterial liquid as an intervention， the mechanism of anti-UC effect of AG was further verified by a fecal microbiota transplant experiment. RESULTS Compared with the CON group， the intestinal mucosal structure of mice in the DSS group was severely damaged， with obvious infiltration of inflammatory cells collapsing the wall； their body weight change index， colon length， the percentage of goblet cells， mRNA expressions of occludin， ZO-1 and SIRT1， Chao1 and Shannon indexes， and contents of acetic acid and butyric acid were significantly reduced， shortened or down-regulated （P＜0.05）； however， DAI score， spleen index， levels of inflammatory factors， pathological score， as well as mRNA expressions of p38 MAPK and JNK， were all significantly increased or up-regulated （P＜0.05）. Compared with the DSS group， colon tissue lesions of AG mice in all dose groups showed different degrees of improvement， and the above quantitative indexes were generally regressed （P＜0.05）， and the intervention effect of AG-treated fecal bacterial fluid was basically the same as that of AG. CONCLUSIONS AG can improve relevant symptoms in UC mice and reduce their inflammatory response and colonic histopathological changes. The above effects may be related to regulating the diversity of intestinal flora in mice， increasing the contents of butyric acid and propionic acid， and promoting the repair of the colonic mucosal barrier， thus regulating the expressions of genes related to the SIRT1/p38 MAPK inflammatory pathway.

To develop biocontrol agents for the control of kiwifruit bacterial canker, we isolated a strain CXG2-5 with inhibitory activity against Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa), the pathogen of kiwifruit bacterial canker, from the rhizosphere soil of kiwifruit by the plate confrontation test. The strain was identified by morphological observation, physiological and biochemical tests, and molecular biological methods. The indoor control efficacy of the strain was determined by the inoculation of the strain into detached branches with wounds and into leaf discs by vacuum infiltration. The ability of the strain to expand and colonize leaf veins was determined by fluorescent labeling and scanning electron microscopy. Subsequently, the strain was prepared into microcapsules, the field control efficacy of which was evaluated. The strain CXG2-5 was identified as Pseudomonas benzenivorans. It demonstrated good antagonistic activity against Psa, with an inhibition zone diameter of 22 mm and an inhibition rate of 72.7%. The preventive effects of the strain on kiwifruit bacterial canker were better than the therapeutic effects on both detached branches and leaves, with the preventive effects reaching 65% and 92.4%, respectively. The control effect of microcapsules of this strain in the field reached 60.89%, which was slightly lower than that of 20% kasugamycin and higher than that of Bacillus subtilis wettable powder. In conclusion, strain CXG2-5 serves as a candidate for the control of kiwifruit bacterial canker, and the prepared microcapsules have good value for development and application.
Actinidia/microbiology* ; Plant Diseases/prevention & control* ; Pseudomonas syringae ; Pseudomonas/isolation & purification* ; Capsules ; Antibiosis ; Biological Control Agents ; Pest Control, Biological/methods*

Objective:We aimed to develop a novel visualized model based on nomogram to predict postoperative overall survival.Methods:This was a multicenter, retrospective, observational cohort study, including participants with histologically confirmed gastric and colorectal cancer who underwent radical surgery from 11 medical centers in China from August 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018. Baseline characteristics, histopathological data and nutritional status, as assessed using Nutrition Risk Screening 2002 (NRS 2002) score and the scored Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment, were collected. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression and Cox regression were used to identify variables to be included in the predictive model. Internal and external validations were performed.Results:There were 681 and 127 patients in the training and validation cohorts, respectively. A total of 188 deaths were observed over a median follow-up period of 59 (range: 58 to 60) months. Two independent predictors of NRS 2002 and Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stage were identified and incorporated into the prediction nomogram model together with the factor of age. The model's concordance index for 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival was 0.696, 0.724, and 0.738 in the training cohort and 0.801, 0.812, and 0.793 in the validation cohort, respectively.Conclusions:In this study, a new nomogram prediction model based on NRS 2002 score was developed and validated for predicting the overall postoperative survival of patients with gastric colorectal cancer. This model has good differentiation, calibration and clinical practicability in predicting the long-term survival rate of patients with gastrointestinal cancer after radical surgery.

The ApoE gene is a genetic risk determinant for sporadic Alzheimer′s disease (AD). The ApoEε4 allele increases the risk of developing AD relative to the common ApoEε3 allele, whereas the ApoEε2 allele decreases the risk of developing the disease. The 3 alleles encode ApoE2, ApoE3, and ApoE4 protein isoforms, respectively. ApoE4 contributes to the pathogenesis of AD by regulating β-amyloid protein, tau protein, transactive response DNA-binding protein-43, neuroinflammation, and cerebral vascular function. The pathways associated with ApoE also offer new opportunities for the treatment of AD. In addition, studies have shown that ApoE4 also plays a toxic role in other neurological disorders. This article described the biological characteristics of ApoE, as well as the impact of ApoE4 on AD and related dementias, aiming to enhance clinical doctors′ understanding of the involvement of ApoE4 in the pathogenesis of AD and related dementia.

Multimorbidity is significantly associated with life quality decline, disability, and increased mortality risk. Additionally, it leads to greater consumption of healthcare resources, presenting substantial challenges to healthcare systems globally. To better assess the burden of multimorbidity, its impact on patient health outcomes and healthcare services, and to explore the underlying mechanisms in its development, this paper summarizes the existing methods used for measuring and analyzing multimorbidity in research and practice, including disease count, disease-weighted indices, multimorbidity pattern recognition (such as disease association analysis, clustering analysis, and network analysis) and longitudinal methods to provide references for the accurate assessment of the prevalence of multimorbidity and its changes and improve the validity and universality of research findings.

Background::In the clinic, practitioners encounter many patients with an abnormal pattern of dense punctate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal in the basal ganglia, a phenomenon known as "cheese sign". This sign is reported as common in cerebrovascular diseases, dementia, and old age. Recently, cheese sign has been speculated to consist of dense perivascular space (PVS). This study aimed to assess the lesion types of cheese sign and analyze the correlation between this sign and vascular disease risk factors.Methods::A total of 812 patients from Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) dementia cohort were enrolled. We analyzed the relationship between cheese sign and vascular risk. For assessing cheese sign and defining its degree, the abnormal punctate signals were classified into basal ganglia hyperintensity (BGH), PVS, lacunae/infarctions and microbleeds, and counted separately. Each type of lesion was rated on a four-level scale, and then the sum was calculated; this total was defined as the cheese sign score. Fazekas and Age-Related White Matter Changes (ARWMC) scores were used to evaluate the paraventricular, deep, and subcortical gray/white matter hyperintensities.Results::A total of 118 patients (14.5%) in this dementia cohort were found to have cheese sign. Age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.090, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.064-1.120, P <0.001), hypertension (OR: 1.828, 95% CI: 1.123-2.983, P = 0.014), and stroke (OR: 1.901, 95% CI: 1.092-3.259, P = 0.025) were risk factors for cheese sign. There was no significant relationship between diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cheese sign. The main components of cheese sign were BGH, PVS, and lacunae/infarction. The proportion of PVS increased with cheese sign severity. Conclusions::The risk factors for cheese sign were hypertension, age, and stroke. Cheese sign consists of BGH, PVS, and lacunae/infarction.

Sj?gren′s syndrome is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by exocrine gland and extraglandular involvement. Cases of Sj?gren′s syndrome-associated aseptic meningitis (SS-AM) are relatively rare, and a case of recurrent aseptic meningitis with leukopenia and mild anemia associated with primary Sj?gren′s syndrome is reported, whose symptoms basically disappeared after treatment with prednison and hydroxychloroquine. The purpose of reporting this case is to raise awareness of SS-AM among fellow clinicians.

Objective To evaluate the effects of Baihe Gujin Decoction on long-term survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)receiving radiotherapy(RT)in the real world.Methods Retrospective data from patients with NSCLC receiving RT in the Longhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)and data from patients in the Surveillance,Epidemiology and End Results(SEER)database were collected and grouped as the TCM+conventional Western medicine(CWM)cohort and CWM cohort,respectively.Propensity score matching(PSM)was used to balance confounders between groups.Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox regression model were used to estimate the effects of Baihe Gujin Decoction on survival outcomes of patients receiving RT.Results Totally 190 samples with a balance between groups were obtained using PSM.Overall survival(OS)analysis showed that the TCM+CWM cohort had significantly longer OS than the CWM cohort(P=0.004).Subgroup analysis showed that the Baihe Gujin Decoction was more advantageous in the characteristic population of age≥65 years(P=0.027),male(P=0.010),T3-T4 stage(P<0.001),N2-N3 stage(P=0.026),M1 stage(P<0.001),not receiving chemotherapy(P<0.001),and not undergoing surgery(P<0.001).Multivariate Cox regression confirmed that treatment group(P=0.003),T(P=0.003)and M stages(P=0.002)may be the independent prognostic factors for OS of NSCLC patients treated with RT.Conclusion Baihe Gujin Decoction probably can improve the long-term prognosis in NSCLC patients treatment with RT.

OBJECTIVE To clarify the core content of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） policy in the provinces of China， so as to provide reference for optimizing the structure of the policy system of traditional Chinese medicine in China and assisting the inheritance and innovation of TCM industry in various regions. METHODS The websites of directly affiliated organs in 31 provinces， excluding Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan， were retrieved to collect the TCM policies released from 2000 to 2021. The importance of keywords in the TCM policies of each province was measured based on term frequency-inverse documentation frequency （TF-IDF） keyword extraction method， and the similarities and differences were analyzed among TCM policies. RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS A total of 99 documents related to TCM policies of various provinces were obtained in this study， most of which were released after 2016. The theme of national TCM policy covered four aspects： building TCM talent team， perfecting TCM service system， strengthening TCM resource management and promoting TCM industry innovation. The TF-IDF values of “medical institutions”“traditional Chinese medicine”“medical treatment” were higher than other keywords in each province， indicating that the provinces paid more attention to the construction of TCM service system and the management of TCM resources than other aspects. Anhui and Jiangsu， Beijing and Henan， Hubei and Jilin， Hubei and Tianjin， and Hubei and Yunnan had the more degree of similarity in TCM policies， which all contained 16 of the same keywords. Therefore， the above regions should be encouraged to strengthen exchanges and cooperation and realize mutual promotion and joint development. Among all the keywords whose importance ratio was greater than 0.2，“ Tibetan medicine” was unique to Qinghai and Tibet，“ disease type” was unique to Guangdong， and the TF-IDF value of “supervision and management” in Beijing was higher， indicating that the emphasis of TCM policy formulation in different provinces was various. Meanwhile， the top 10 keywords of TF- IDF value in all provinces did not have words related to financial input， and the TF-IDF values of “informatization” in most provinces did not rank at the top. It is suggested to increase financial input or encourage social financing， and add “Internet+new business” in the field of TCM.