Diabetic nephropathy （DN） is one of the most common and severe microvascular complications of diabetes， with a complex pathogenesis involving immune inflammatory responses， oxidative stress， apoptosis， glomerulosclerosis， renal interstitial fibrosis， and other pathological processes. In recent years， numerous animal or cell model experiments have revealed that the transforming growth factor-β （TGF-β）/mothers against decapentaplegic homolog （Smad）， phosphoinositide 3-kinase （PI3K）/ protein kinase B （Akt）/mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR）， mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK）， AMP-activated protein kinase （AMPK）， nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， Janus kinase （JAK）/signal transducer and activator of transcription （STAT）， neurogenic locus notch homolog protein （Notch）， nuclear factor E₂-related factor 2 （Nrf2）， secretory glycoprotein （Wnt）/β-catenin， and other classical signaling pathways play important roles in the occurrence and development of DN. Traditional Chinese medicines， as natural drugs， possess characteristics such as multiple components， multiple targets， and few adverse reactions， demonstrating unique advantages in regulating the aforementioned signaling pathways and improving renal pathological changes. This review summarized recent research progress on the intervention of DN through the regulation of the aforementioned signaling pathways by single compounds and formulas of traditional Chinese medicine， focusing on their mechanisms of action in regulating immune inflammatory responses， inhibiting renal fibrosis， oxidative stress， improving metabolic disorders， and other aspects. The aim is to provide theoretical references for a deeper understanding of the modern pharmacological basis and clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of DN.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib plus drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) and FOLFOX-based hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC) versus lenvatinib plus DEB-TACE (Len+DEB-TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) larger than 7 cm with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT).Methods:The data from patients diagnosed with HCC (>7 cm) and PVTT who received either Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC ( n=99) or Len+DEB-TACE ( n=102) between July 2019 and June 2021 at six institutions in China were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Tumor responses were evaluated based on modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), time to progression (TTP), overall survival (OS), and treatment-related adverse event (TRAE) were compared between the two groups by propensity score matching. Subgroup analyses were performed for TTP and OS. Results:After propensity score matching, 83 pairs of patients were included in the study cohorts. The ORR for the Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC group and the Len+DEB-TACE group was 66.3% and 38.6% ( χ2=12.78, P<0.001), respectively. The DCR for the Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC group and the Len+DEB-TACE group was 91.6% and 79.5% ( χ2=4.87, P=0.027), respectively. The median TTP and median OS for the Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC group were significantly longer than those for the Len+DEB-TACE group (TTP, 10.1 months vs. 6.1 months, χ2=35.28, P<0.001; OS, 17.3 months vs. 12.9 months, χ2=16.84, P<0.001). The incidence of ≥grade 3 TRAEs was 38.6% in the Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC group and 33.7% in the Len+DEB-TACE group ( χ2=0.42, P=0.518). Conclusion:Compared with Len+DEB-TACE, Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC led to improved tumor response, TTP and OS with an acceptable safety profile in patients with large HCC and PVTT.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of lenvatinib plus drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE) and FOLFOX-based hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC) versus lenvatinib plus DEB-TACE (Len+DEB-TACE) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) larger than 7 cm with portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT).Methods:The data from patients diagnosed with HCC (>7 cm) and PVTT who received either Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC ( n=99) or Len+DEB-TACE ( n=102) between July 2019 and June 2021 at six institutions in China were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Tumor responses were evaluated based on modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), time to progression (TTP), overall survival (OS), and treatment-related adverse event (TRAE) were compared between the two groups by propensity score matching. Subgroup analyses were performed for TTP and OS. Results:After propensity score matching, 83 pairs of patients were included in the study cohorts. The ORR for the Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC group and the Len+DEB-TACE group was 66.3% and 38.6% ( χ2=12.78, P<0.001), respectively. The DCR for the Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC group and the Len+DEB-TACE group was 91.6% and 79.5% ( χ2=4.87, P=0.027), respectively. The median TTP and median OS for the Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC group were significantly longer than those for the Len+DEB-TACE group (TTP, 10.1 months vs. 6.1 months, χ2=35.28, P<0.001; OS, 17.3 months vs. 12.9 months, χ2=16.84, P<0.001). The incidence of ≥grade 3 TRAEs was 38.6% in the Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC group and 33.7% in the Len+DEB-TACE group ( χ2=0.42, P=0.518). Conclusion:Compared with Len+DEB-TACE, Len+DEB-TACE+HAIC led to improved tumor response, TTP and OS with an acceptable safety profile in patients with large HCC and PVTT.

Objective:To determine the clinical application value of transcranial sonography (TCS) in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.Methods:A total of 50 children aged 6-12 years diagnosed with ADHD (ADHD group) and 45 age-matched healthy children (control group) who presented to Suzhou Municipal Hospital and Children′s Hospital of Soochow University from August 2021 to August 2022 were prospectively enrolled for TCS examination. ADHD was diagnosed in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-Ⅴ) criteria established by the American Psychiatric Association.Based on clinical symptom characteristics, ADHD was further classified into 3 subtypes, including 14 cases of predominantly inattentive, 3 cases of predominantly hyperactive/impulsive, and 33 cases of combined presentation. The substantia nigra(SN) hyperechoic area and the ratio of SN hyperechoic area to midbrain area (S/M) were measured and compared between the two groups. The examination of the correlation was performed between SN hyperechoic area, S/M ratio, and DSM-Ⅴ scores within the ADHD group.Results:Semi-quantitative analysis: the proportion of the SN grade Ⅲ or more in ADHD group was significantly higher than that in control group [96.00%(48/50) vs 13.3%(6/45), P<0.05]. Quantitative analysis: the area of SN hyperechogenicity and the ratio of S/M were significantly larger in ADHD group than in control group [0.32(0.22, 0.38)cm 2 vs 0.00(0.00, 0.00)cm 2, 7.08(5.11, 8.75)% vs 0.00(0.00, 0.00)%, all P<0.05]. Correlation analysis: The SN hyperechoic area and S/M ratio showed no significant correlations with DSM-Ⅴ scores in the ADHD group ( r=0.144, 0.142, all P>0.05). Conclusions:TCS can detect the SN echo enhancement of ADHD children, and the proportion of SN echo enhancement, SN hyperechoic area and S/M ratio are significantly higher than those of normal children, but the SN hyperecho area and S/M ratio are not significantly correlated with DSM-Ⅴ scores.

Objective:To study the patterns of tocilizumab (TCZ) use, its efficacy and safety in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in routine clinical practice.Methods:A total of 407 patients with RA were enrolled from 23 centers and treated with TCZ within 8 weeks prior to the enrollment visit, and were followed for 6-month. The patterns of TCZ treatment at 6 months, the effectiveness and safety outcomes were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS version 9.4.Results:A total of 396 patients were included for analysis, in which 330 (83.3%) patients received TCZ combined with conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), and 16.7%(66/396) received TCZ monotherapy. At baseline, TCZ was initiated in 56.6%(224/396) and 9.6%(38/396) of patients after failure of DMARDs and other biological agents (bDMARDs) respectively. During the 6-month follow-up period, the mean frequency of TCZ administration was (3.7±1.6), the mean TCZ dosage was (7.4±1.2) mg/kg, and the mean interval between doses was (40±13) days. 120(25.8%) patients were on TCZ treatment at the end of the study. Improvements in disease activity, systemic symptoms and patient report outcomes were observed at the end of the study. 22.7%(90/396) patients experienced at least one treatment related adverse event, and 8 patients experienced at least one serious adverse event.Conclusion:This study demonstrates that TCZ treatment is effective in patients with RA when being treated for 6 months with an acceptable safety profile. The duration of TCZ treatment needs to be extended.

Objective To explore the effect of the Internet technology′s application on the hand hygiene compliance of medical staff. Methods Establishing Internet+hand hygiene management model to implement Internet based hand hygiene supervisory and reminding, Internet based hand hygiene publicity and education, and Internet based hand hygiene feedback and communication. This model was applied in Guangdong Provincial Dermatology Hospital to intervene the hand hygiene related activities. Before and after the intervention, the hand hygiene compliance of medical staff in the trial hospital was observed with WHO hand hygiene monitoring table by directly manual observation. Thereafter, the changes of hand hygiene compliance before and after the intervention were compared based on the statistical analysis of test results. Results With the application of Internet+hand hygiene management model, the hand hygiene compliance of medical staff increased from 41.75% (324/776) before the intervention to 72.14% (554/768) after the intervention, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=145.264, P<0.01). The hand hygiene compliance of both doctors and nurses was significantly increased (doctors: χ2=94.784, P<0.01;nurses:χ2=58.798, P<0.01). In all the five indications, i.e., before patient care, before an aseptic task, after exposure to blood/body fluids, after patient care, and after environmental contact, the hand hygiene compliance was 35.42%(68/192), 63.33%(38/60), 84.38%(54/64), 44.83%(130/290), and 20.00%(34/170) respectively before the intervention;it was 65.38%(102/156), 83.33%(120/144), 95.45%(105/110), 68.52%(148/216), and 55.63%(79/142) after the intervention; and the difference before and after the intervention was statistically significant (χ2=6.305-42.529;P<0.01 or 0.05). Most of the medical staff of the trial department supported this model. Conclusions Internet+ hand hygiene management model could significantly improve the hand hygiene compliance of medical staff and were very popular. And, the model is worth of application in more hospitals.

BACKGROUNDBone damage around the joints is one of the major pathophysiological mechanisms that leads to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) chronic disability. Serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP-5b) is secreted by osteoclasts, its activity can be used as a clinically relevant bone resorption marker. The aim of this study was to test whether the measurement of serum levels of TRACP-5b in patients with RA would correlate with measures of disease activity and with responses to therapy.

METHODSFifty-six patients were randomly assigned to receive recombinant human cytotoxic tlymphocyte-associated antigen-4 immunoglobulin (RhCTLA4-Ig), infliximab or methotrexate (MTX). The clinical and serologic indicators of RA activity were evaluated at baseline and at 24 weeks. Serum TRACP-5b was measured by Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) at 0, 12 and 24 weeks. Hand X-rays were obtained at baseline.

RESULTSAt baseline, the levels of TRACP-5b correlated with the severity of X-ray damage, disease duration (r = 0.332, P = 0.012), and tender joint count (r = 0.408, P = 0.002). The 24 weeks values of TRACP-5b for RhCTLA4-Ig group and infliximab group differed significantly from the baseline values in each group (P < 0.05; P < 0.05), whereas only the value for RhCTLA4-Ig group differed significantly from the 24 weeks value for the MTX group (P < 0.01). Considering the two biologics-treated groups together, the TRACP-5b levels at 24 weeks differed significantly from the baseline values only in those patients who reached an ACR70 level (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSMeasurement of serum TRACP-5b in RA patients reflects clinical and radiological measures of disease activity, treatment with certain biologics, and degree of response to therapy. TRACP-5b should be investigated further as a potential biomarker to predict response to therapy, including slowing of radiographic progression.

Acid Phosphatase ; blood ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; therapeutic use ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; blood ; drug therapy ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Infliximab ; Isoenzymes ; blood ; Male ; Methotrexate ; therapeutic use ; Middle Aged ; Osteoclasts ; metabolism ; Pilot Projects ; Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase ; Young Adult

Objective To investigate the application of PKH26 fluorescent labeling on nucleus pulposus cells isolat-ed from bovine coccyx disc, and to provide nucleus pulposus tissue engineering with traceable nucleus pulposus cells by PKH26 fluorescence labelling. Methods Nucleus pulposus primary cells were isolated from the nucleus pulposus tissue de-tached from bovine coccyx disc by enzymatic digestion, and observed under the inverted microscope. Safranin O, toluidine blue and type Ⅱ collagen immunocytochemistry methods used to stain for passage one generation cells. Nucleus pulposus cells were labeled with PKH26 fluorescence in accordance with the instructions. The cell activity, fluorescence intensity at d0, d14 and d28 of culture, characteristics of proliferation and the expression of gene in labeled cells were assessed. Re-sults Isolated nucleus pulposus cells amounted to (1.56 ± 0.35) × 106/g. Under the inverted microscope, primary cells ad-hered at the 4 th day of culture, grew in groups, and covered the bottom of culture flask at the 13 th day. Both primary cells and the P1 generation cells were chondrocyte-like morphology. The staining of safranin O, toluidine blue and typeⅡcolla-gen immunocytochemistry for P1 generation of nucleus pulposus cells showed positive results. The cell activity before and af-ter PKH26 labeling showed more than 95%, and the fluorescence intensity at d0, d14 and d28 performed a decreasing trend, but still showed detect strong fluorescence at d28. There were no significant differences in proliferation and the expression of gene (collagen typeⅠandⅡ, aggrecan) before and after cell labeling (P>0.05). Conclusion As the seed cells of tissue en-gineering, nucleus pulposus cells isolated from bovine coccyx can reach a satisfactory number and maintain cartilage-like phenotype, and no changes shown in the biological characteristics after labeling. PKH26 labeled nucleus pulposus cells are suitable for the traceable cells in vivo study.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association of complement C3 with clinical and serological features of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.MethodsData was collected by the same methods in the past ten years in fifteen hospitals in Jiangsu Province and then data weres summarized for retrospective analysis.Clinical and laboratory data were selected and then analyzed by Chi-square test,Wilcoxon rank sum test and Logistic regression.ResultsOne thousand four hundred and five patients were investigated.One thousand and forty two had low serum complement C3 level.In this case control study,hospitalization age,disease course,admission times,pleurisy,gastrointestinal involvement,general lymphadenopathy/hepatosplenomegaly,white blood cell count, haemoglobin level,platelet count, serum C-reactive protein level,serum albumin level,serum creatinine level,Urine protein quantification,anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA),anti-dsDNAantibodies, anti-SmantibodiesandSLEDAIscore were possible factors associatedwith complement C3 reduction(P＜0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that CRP (OR=0.396,0.254-0.617,P=0.000),ANA (OR=2.907,1.267-6.670,P=0.012),urine protein level(OR=1.702,1.043-2.779,P=0.033) and SLEDAI score (OR-0.930, 0.886-0.975,P-0.003) were correlated with complement C3 reduction.Conclusion Complement C3 level is valuable for lupus flare assessment.The complement C3 reduction is a risk factor for renal impairment.

Objective To investigate the initial manifestation and disease onset feature of systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) in the past ten years in fifteen hospitals in Jiangsu Province.Methods Data was collected by the same Methodsin all the participated hospitals and then it was summarized for retrospective analysis.Two groups were compared by chi-square test.Results ① One thousand nine hundred and fifty eight patients were investigated and the male-to-female ratio was 1∶15.0.② One thousand seven hundred and ninty eight patients had clear initial manifestations.The most common initial manifestations were skin and mucosal lesions(769 cases,42.8％ ) and arthritis (697 cases,38.8％ ).The main skin lesion was malar rash (706 cases).Arthritis was found to be more common in female than male.③ All hospitalized patients at their first admission showed multiple organ/system involvement:the most common involvement was skin and mucous membrane (82.3％),hematologic damage (74.0％),in which at least one series of blood cells were involved,arthritis (1156 cases,56.5％ ) much more than myositis (51 cases),proteinuria 1046 cases and hematuria in 385 cases.Renal biopsy pathology showed type Ⅳ glomerulonephritis.Conclusion ① SLE patients are mainly female and the male to female ratio is 1∶15.0.② The most common initial manifestations are skin and mucosal lesions.③ The most commonly involved organ/system are skin and mucous membrane,blood,joint and kidney.The most common pathological changes shown in renal biopsy is type Ⅳ glomerulonephritis.