Objective: To identify Persicae Semen and its sibling species, and to secure the quality and clinical safety of this medicinal material. Methods: The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA of Persicae Semen and its sibling species were amplified and bidirectionally sequenced by DNA barcoding. Sequence assembly and consensus sequence generation were performed by the CodonCode Aligner 4.1. The genetic distances were computed by MEGA 5.0 in accordance with the Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) model, and the phylogenetic tree constructed by the neighbor-joining (NJ) method. Results: The length of ITS2 sequences of the two origin plants of Persicae Semen was between 212 bp to 213 bp. Their intraspecific genetic distance was much lower than the interspecific genetic distance with their sibling species. The ITS2 sequence possessed the character of good stability and low intra-specific sequence variation. In the NJ tree, both Prunus persica and P. davidiana were clustered into one large branch, and clearly separated with their sibling species. Conclusion: ITS2 can be used to effectively distinguish Persicae Semen from its sibling species, which can provide a reference for the iden-tification of other Chinese medicine and its sibling species.

Objective: This study aimed to discriminate between Eupatorii Herba and its adulterants in order to guarantee the quality and clinical curative effect of this medicinal material. Methods: Genomic DNA extracted from Eupatorii Herba was used as templates. The internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of nuclear ribosomal DNA was amplified. Sequence assembly and consensus sequence generation were performed by CodonCode Aligner. The intraspecific and interspecific genetic distances of Eupatorii Herba and its adulterants were computed by MEGA5 and the phylogenetic tree was constructed using the neighbor-joining (NJ) method. Results: The length of ITS2 sequence of Eupatorii Herba was 218 bp. The maximum intraspecific genetic distance (K2P distance) of Eupatorii Herba was 0.0092. The minimum interspecific genetic distance of Eupatorii Herba and its adulterants was 0.024. The NJ trees showed that the ITS2 sequence would be used to identify Eupatorii Herba and its adulterants. Con-clusion: ITS2 sequence was able to identify Eupatorii Herba and its adulterants correctly and it provided a new technique to ensure clinical safety in utilization of traditional Chinese medicines.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of relining materials on the flexural strength of relined thermoplastic denture base resins (TDBRs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: For shear bond strength testing, 120 specimens were fabricated using four TDBRs (EstheShot-Bright, Acrytone, Valplast, Weldenz) that were bonded with three autopolymerizing denture relining resins (ADRRs: Vertex Self-Curing, Tokuyama Rebase, Ufi Gel Hard) with a bond area of 6.0 mm in diameter and were assigned to each group (n=10). For flexural strength testing, 120 specimens measuring 64.0×10.0×3.3 mm (ISO-1567:1999) were fabricated using four TDBRs and three ADRRs and were assigned to each group (n=10). The thickness of the specimens measured 2.0 mm of TDBR and 1.3 mm of ADRR. Forty specimens using four TDBRs and 30 specimens using ADRRs served as the control. All specimens were tested on a universal testing machine. For statistical analysis, Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's test as post hoc and Spearman's correlation coefficient analysis (P=.05) were performed. RESULTS: Acry-Tone showed the highest shear bond strength, while Weldenz demonstrated the lowest bond strength between TDBR and ADRRs compared to other groups. EstheShot-Bright exhibited the highest flexural strength, while Weldenz showed the lowest flexural strength. Relined EstheShot-Bright demonstrated the highest flexural strength and relined Weldenz exhibited the lowest flexural strength (P < .05). Flexural strength of TDBRs (P=.001) and shear bond strength (P=.013) exhibited a positive correlation with the flexural strength of relined TDBRs. CONCLUSION: The flexural strength of relined TDBRs was affected by the flexural strength of the original denture base resins and bond strength between denture base resins and relining materials.
Denture Bases ; Denture Liners ; Denture Rebasing ; Dentures

Objective: To identify Xanthii Fructus and secure its quality and safety in medication. Methods: Total ge-nomic DNA was extracted from Xanthii Fructus and its adulterants. ITS2 sequences were amplified, and purified PCR products were sequenced. Sequence assembly and consensus sequence generation were performed using the CodonCode Aligner V 4.2. The Kimura 2-Parameter (K2P) distances were calculated using MEGA 5.0. The neigh-bor-joining (NJ) phylogenetic trees were constructed. Results: The intraspecific genetic distances of Xanthii Fructus were 0. The interspecific genetic distances between Xanthii Fructus and its adulterants were ranged from 0.009 to 0.542. The NJ tree showed that Xanthii Fructus could differ from its adulterants obviously. Conclusion: ITS2 can be used to identify Xanthii Fructus from its adulterants effectively, and our study further confirmed the effectiveness of ITS2 to identify traditional Chinese medicinal materials.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the associations of obesity phenotypes with hypertension stages, phenotypes, and transitions among middle-aged and older Chinese. METHODS: Using the 2011-2015 waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, we conducted a cross-sectional analysis included 9,015 subjects and a longitudinal analysis included 4,961 subjects, with 4,872 having full data on the hypertension stage and 4,784 having full data on the hypertension phenotype. Based on body mass index and waist circumstance, subjects were categorized into 4 mutually exclusive obesity phenotypes: normal weight with no central obesity (NWNCO), abnormal weight with no central obesity (AWNCO), normal weight with central obesity (NWCO), and abnormal weight with central obesity (AWCO). Hypertension stages were classified into normotension, pre-hypertension, stage 1 hypertension, and stage 2 hypertension. Hypertension phenotypes were categorized as normotension, pre-hypertension, isolated systolic hypertension (ISH), isolated diastolic hypertension (IDH), and systolic-diastolic hypertension (SDH). The association between obesity phenotypes and hypertension was estimated by logistic regression. A comparison between different sexes was conducted by testing the interaction effect of sex. RESULTS: NWCO was associated with normal→stage 2 (odds ratio [OR], 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 to 3.42), maintained stage 1 (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.14 to 2.29), and normal→ISH (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.85). AWCO was associated with normal→stage 1 (OR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.40 to 2.19), maintained stage 1 (OR, 2.77; 95% CI, 2.06 to 3.72), maintained stage 2 (OR, 2.80; 95% CI, 1.50 to 5.25), normal→ISH (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.20 to 2.02), and normal→SDH (OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.72 to 3.75). An interaction effect of sex existed in the association between obesity phenotypes and hypertension stages. CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the importance of various obesity phenotypes and sex differences in hypertension progression. Tailored interventions for different obesity phenotypes may be warranted in hypertension management, taking into account sex-specific differences to improve outcomes.

Objective:To investigate the prognostic value of metabolic parameters of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18F-FDG) positron emission computed tomography/computed tomography(PET/CT) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) treated with first-line immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) combined with chemotherapy. Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to evaluate patients with advanced NSCLC who underwent baseline PET/CT before treatment at the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University from 2019 to 2021. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the cut-offs for metabolic parameters of PET/CT, including total metabolic tumor volume (TMTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and maximum standard uptake value (SUV max). Kaplan-Meier method, Log-rank test, and Cox regression model were used to calculate the overall survival (OS) and the progression-free survival(PFS). Results:A total of 44 patients were enrolled. Univariate analysis showed that the factors influencing PFS were TMTV and the number of metastatic sites ( χ2=4.19, 11.28, P<0.05) and the factors influencing OS were TMTV and TLG ( χ2=14.96, 6.05, P<0.05). Multivariate analysis suggested that number of metastatic sites was an independent prognostic marker for PFS ( P=0.011) and TMTV was an independent prognostic marker for OS ( P=0.038). Conclusions:TMTV is a prognostic indicator of OS while the number of metastatic sites is a prognostic indicator of PFS in advanced NSCLC patients who received first-line ICI combined with chemotherapy, but further prospective studies are needed.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between lung immune prognostic index (LIPI) and the prognosis of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) treated with radiochemotherapy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted for the clinical data of LA-NSCLC patients who received radiochemotherapy in the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University from 2013 to 2019. According to the hematologic test result of the derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (dNLR) and the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), the patients were divided into three groups according to their LIPI scores, namely the good-LIPI group with dNLR ≤ 3 and LDH ≤ upper limit of normal (ULN), moderate-LIPI group with dNLR >3 or LDH > ULN, and poor-LIPI group with dNLR >3 and LDH > ULN. Moreover, the overall survival (OS) and the progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, the Log-rank test, and the Cox regression model.Results:A total of 238 patients were enrolled, and their median follow-up time was 37.1 months, median PFS 16.1 months, and median OS 30.6 months. The OS and PFS of the poor-LIPI group were significantly worse than those of the good- and moderate-LIPI groups ( χ2= 9.04, 2.88, P<0.05). The univariate analysis showed that the factors influencing OS included gender, pathological type, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, and LIPI ( χ2=6.10, 13.66, 10.58, 9.04, P<0.05), and the PFS was only affected by the LIPI ( χ2=2.88, P = 0.03). Multivariate analysis suggested that EGFR mutations and LIPI were independent prognostic markers for OS ( HR = 1.31, 1.36; 95% CI: 1.03-1.67, 1.05-1.76; P<0.05). Conclusions:The LIPI is a potential prognostic indicator of radiochemotherapy in LA-NSCLC, and this result should be further confirmed by prospective studies.