Objective To investigate the changes of serum homocysteine (Hcy) level before and after treatment in patients with colorectal cancer,and provide the reference for clinical therapeutic efficacy and prognosis.Methods Enzymatic circling assay was used to measure the serum Hcy levels in 50 controls and 58 patients with colorectal cancer before and after treatment with a.follow-up of 12 months.The changes of Hcy aud the relationship between Hcy and therapeutic efficacy or prognosis were analyzed.Results Scrum Hcy level in patients with colorectal cancer was significantly higher than that in controls [(16.90±5.35) μmol/L vs (10.23±3.06) μmol/L] (P ＜ 0.01),and it was closely associated with TNM stage.Serum Hcy level in patients of stage Ⅲ-Ⅳ was significantly higher than that of stage Ⅰ-Ⅱ [(18.49±5.13) μmol/L vs (15.20±4.86) μmol/L] (P ＜ 0.05).The Hcy level in patients at the end of treatment was significantly lower than that before treatment [(13.39±4.98) μmol/L vs (16.90±5.35) μmol/L] (P ＜ 0.01),and the Hcy level after the treatment for 3 month was significantly lower than that at the end of treatment [(10.23±3.17) μmol/L] (P ＜ 0.05).The Hcy level in patients with recurrence during 12 months after operation was significantly higher than that without recurrence [(17.18±4.82) μmol/L vs (12.36±3.19) μmol/L] (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusion Serum level of Hcy might be a useful marker for predicting therapeutic efficacy and prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.

Objective To discuss the clinical therapeutic effect of Kangmin xiaoyan lotion combined with levocetirizine hydrochloride in the treatment of facial recurrent dermatitis. Methods Eighty cases of facial recurrent dermatitis were randomly divided into treatment group and control group,40 cases in each group.The treatment group was given Kangmin xiaoyan lotion with wet compression for 20 min in the morning and evening,and levocetirizine hydrochloride 10 mL orally once daily;the control group was only given levocetirizine hydrochloride orally once daily.One month later,the symptoms and signs of skin lesions and adverse reactions in each group were observed. Results One month after the treatment,the scores of symptoms and signs were significantly decreased in the two groups (P<0.05).After the treatment,the scores were significantly different between the two groups (P<0.05).Clinical efficacy of the treatment group and control group was 92.5% and 65.0%,with significant difference(P<0.05). Conclusion Kangmin xiaoyan lotion can be effective in the treatment of facial recurrent dermatitis,and it is worthy of clinical application.

Objective:To quantitatively evaluate the left ventricular circumferential and longitudinal strain after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI)in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI)using speckle-tracking imaging(STI)on echocardiography.Methods:A prospective case-control study was conducted on 47 elderly patients diagnosed with ST-elevation AMI and undergoing percutaneous coronary interference(PCI)in our hospital from August 2017 to June 2020 as PCI-study group.The 35 normal subjects matched for age and sex were as a normal-control group.The longitudinal peak systolic strain(LPSS)and circumferential peak systolic strain(CPSS)were measured using STI at one week and three months after PCI in the two groups.Results:The values of LPSS and CPSS were apical segment > middle segment > basal segment, which was the similar between LPSS and CPSS.Compared with normal-control group, AMI-PCI group showed that CPSS and LPSS in each segment were significantly reduced at 1 week and 3 months after operation.Compared with the control group, all the CPSS and LPSS values were significantly decreased in AMI group at one week after PCI(-12.3±2.7)% vs.(-22.5±1.7)%( t=19.62, P<0.01); (-12.9±3.2)% vs.(-23.1±2.6)%( t=15.43, P<0.01). Both LPSS and CPSS values were improved at a certain extent at three months after PCI compared with AMI group at one week after PCI.The complete CPSS and LPSS values were significantly increased in AMI group at three months after PCI compared with one week after PCI(-16.8±2.6)% vs.(-12.3±2.7)%, ( t=8.23, P<0.01); (-17.0±3.3)% vs.(-12.9±3.2)%( t=6.11, P<0.01). But, there were still significant differences compared with the NC group(-16.8±2.6)% vs.(-22.5±1.7)%( t=11.29, P<0.01); (-17.0±3.3)% vs.(-23.1±2.6)%( t=9.04, P<0.01). Conclusions:The longitudinal and circumferential strain of left ventricle were severely damaged in elderly patients with AMI.The speckle-tracking imaging technique can be used to quantitatively evaluate the left ventricular strain and its improved situation after PCI in elderly AMI patients.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common prostate disease and one of the most common chronic diseases caused by aging in men. On the other hand, there has been no research on BPH using Abeliophyllum distichum Nakai (A.distichum). Therefore, this study investigated the effects of A. distichum on BPH.MATERIALS/METHODS: A. distichum leaves were extracted with distilled water, 70% ethanol, and 95% hexane as solvents. Subsequently, the inhibitory effects of each A. distichum extract on androgen receptor (AR) signaling were evaluated in vitro. The testosterone-induced BPH model was then used to confirm the efficacy of A. distichum leaves in 70% ethanol extract (ADLE). RESULTS: ADLE had the strongest inhibitory effect on AR signaling. A comparison of the activity of ADLE by harvest time showed that the leaves of A. distichum harvested in autumn had a superior inhibitory effect on AR signaling to those harvested at other times. In the BPH rat model, the administration of ADLE reduced the prostate size and prostate epithelial cell thickness significantly and inhibited AR signaling. Subsequently, the administration of ADLE also reduced the expression of growth factors, thereby inactivating the PI3K/AKT pathway. CONCLUSIONS An analysis of the efficacy of ADLE to relieve BPH showed that the ethanol extract grown in autumn exhibited the highest inhibitory ability of the androgen-signaling related factors in vitro. ADLE also inhibited the expression of growth factors by inhibiting the expression of the androgen-signaling related factors in vivo. Overall, ADLE is proposed as a functional food that is effective in preventing BPH.

Objective: To investigate the current bedtime routine among Chinese children less than 3 years of age and explore its dose-dependent association with sleep duration and sleep quality. Method: Healthy full-term born children aged 0-35 months were selected by stratified cluster random sampling method from 8 provinces in China following the "Hospital of Province-City-County" sampling technical route during 2012-2013.Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire(BISQ) was used to assess sleep conditions of these children.Children′s personal and family information was obtained by Shanghai Children′s Medical Center Socio-demographic Questionnaire.Both of these questionnaires were filled in by parents. The effects of bedtime routine on children′s sleep duration and quality were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance. Result: The children′s average age was(12±10) months(n=1 304), of whom 689 were males (52.8%, 689/1 304). There were 48.5%(632/1 304)of the parents reported that their children had not established regular sleep routines. There was a consistent dose-dependent association between bedtime routine and sleep duration, as well as other indicators for sleep quality (all P<0.05). The more regular the sleep routines, the longer the sleep duration, the earlier the children went to sleep, the shorter the sleep onset latency, the fewer the nighttime wakeup and the shorter the nighttime waking.The nighttime sleep duration was significantly longer for those with a bedtime routine 'every night’ than those who 'never’ had a bedtime routine (9.5(95%CI: 9.4-9.6)vs. 8.9(95%CI: 8.6-9.3)h, t=3.345, P=0.001). Compared with children who never had bedtime routines, children with regular bedtime routines had fewer night wakeup (1.3(95%CI: 1.2-1.4) vs. 2.4( 95%CI: 2.0-2.9), t=3.182, P=0.001) and shorter night waking duration(16.6(95%CI: 14.6-18.8) vs. 59.2 (95%CI: 47.0-72.7)min, t=6.383, P<0.01). Conclusion The percentage of children who have established regular bedtime routine is low in China. There is significant dose-dependent association between regular bedtime routine and sleep outcomes, especially sleep quality. The more regular the sleep routines, the better the sleep quality.

Objective: To investigate the distribution characteristics and functional genes of cariogenic bacteria in oral microorganisms of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and to improve the understanding of the relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus and dental caries. Methods: The experimental group included 10 patients with type 2 diabetes treated in the Department of Endocrinology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University. The normal control group included healthy oral subjects without type 2 diabetes in the community population (10 cases). Samples of supragingival plaque from patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and normal controls were collected and sequenced. Bioinformatics and statistical analysis of cariogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus, Actinomyces viscosus and Candida albicans were carried out. Results: There were slightly fewer cariogenic bacteria such as Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus, Actinomyces viscosus and Candida albicans in supragingival plaque samples of type 2 diabetic patients than in normal controls, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). The results of KEGG pathway functional metabolic differences showed that the metabolic pathways of D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism, biofilm formation-Escherichia coli, carolactam degradation and arginine biosynthesis were more abundant in the T2DM group than in the normal control group, while metabolic pathways such as tyrosine metabolism, selenocompound metabolism and pyruvate metabolism showed the opposite trend. Conclusion There was no significant difference in the content of cariogenic microorganisms between type 2 diabetic patients and normal control group. The differential metabolic pathways of the functional genes indicated that an increase in the arginine metabolic pathway was beneficial to the maintenance of acid-base balance in the oral microecological environment.

OBJECTIVE： To isolate and identify the coumarins from the seeds of Clausena lansium， and to study their inhibitory activity of α-glucosidase and nematicidal activity against Panagrellus redivivus. METHODS： Column chromatography， reversed phase silica gel column chromatography and HPLC method were used to separate and purify the coumarins from the seeds of C. lansium. The structures of compounds were identified according to physicochemical properties， 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectral data. Using acarbose and avermectin as positive control， PNPG and Berman funnel methods were used to investigate the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and nematicidal activity against P. redivivus， respectively. RESULTS： Seven coumarins compounds were isolated from the seeds of C. lansium， and were identified as 7-hydroxy-1-benzopiran-2-one （Ⅰ）， Wampetin （Ⅱ）， Lansiumarin-C （Ⅲ）， Claucoumarin A （Ⅳ）， Clausenalansimin A （Ⅴ）， （E，E）-8-（7-hydroxy-3，7-dimethylocta-2，5-dienyloxy） psoralen （Ⅵ）， Dihydroindicolactone （Ⅶ）. Under 0.25 mg/mL， the α-glucosidase inhibitory rates of compounds Ⅰ， Ⅲ， Ⅴ were （32.4±1.9）％，（37.1±6.0）％， （39.5±1.1）％， respectively. Under 2.5 mg/mL， corrected mortality of compounds Ⅰ， Ⅳwere 50.5％ and 47.9％. CONCLUSIONS： Compounds Ⅰ， Ⅲ， Ⅴ show α-glucosidase inhibitory activity， and compounds Ⅰ，Ⅳ display nematicidal activity against P. redivivus.  α-Glucosidase inhibitory activity of compounds Ⅲ， Ⅴ， and nematicidal activity of compound Ⅳ are found for the first time.

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in patients with severe/critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this retrospective study, data were collected from 662 patients with severe/critical COVID-19 who were admitted to a designated hospital to treat patients with severe COVID-19 in Wuhan before March 20, 2020. All patients were divided into an exposed group (CHM users) and a control group (non-users). After propensity score matching in a 1:1 ratio, 156 CHM users were matched by propensity score to 156 non-users. No significant differences in seven baseline clinical variables were found between the two groups of patients. All-cause mortality was reported in 13 CHM users who died and 36 non-users who died. After multivariate adjustment, the mortality risk of CHM users was reduced by 82.2% (odds ratio 0.178, 95% CI 0.076-0.418; P < 0.001) compared with the non-users. Secondly, age (odds ratio 1.053, 95% CI 1.023-1.084; P < 0.001) and the proportion of severe/critical patients (odds ratio 0.063, 95% CI 0.028-0.143; P < 0.001) were the risk factors of mortality. These results show that the use of CHM may reduce the mortality of patients with severe/critical COVID-19.
Age Factors ; Aged ; COVID-19/therapy* ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Propensity Score ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate