Objective:To develop the UPLC-MS/MS method for the determination of hesperidin, oleanolic acid, ephedrine and glycyrrhizic acid in Erchen Decoction. Methods:The separation was performed on Phenomenex Gemini C18, isocratic elution was carried out with mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile - 2 mmol/L ammonium formate. The mass spectrometer was operated in the positive and negative ionization electrospray (ESI) mode using multiple monitoring (MRM) for analysis of four components. External standard methods fix quantity. The precursor to product ion transitions monitored for hesperidin, oleanolic acid, ephedrine and glycyrrhizic acid were m/z 611.2→303.1, 455.2→407.2, 166.2→148.2 and 821.4→350.9, respectively. Results:Hesperidin, oleanolic acid, ephedrine and glycyrrhizic acid were all analyzed exactly, the linear ranges were 0.010 0-0.400 0, 0.006 3-0.250 0, 0.012 5-0.500 0, 0.002 5-0.100 0 ng, respectively. The r were 0.998 2, 0.998 8, 0.999 4 and 0.999 1, respectively. The recovery rateof the four analytes ranged from 98.45% to 102.60% and the RSD were all below 1.67%. Conclusion:This UPLC-MS/MS method is sensitive, accurate and suitable hwhich could be applied for the determination of hesperidin, oleanolic acid, ephedrine and glycyrrhizic acid in Erchen Decoction.

Objective To compare the short-term safety and efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA) for treatment of large benign thyroid nodules.Methods A total of 34 patients with large benign thyroid nodules were studied retrospectively,including 13 patients treated with ultrasound-guided RFA and 21 patients treated with MWA between Jun.,2016 and Feb.,2017 in Zhongshan Hospital.The thyroid function parameters,serum antibodies,complications and thyroid nodules volume reduction rate(VRR) were compared between the two groups during the follow-up.Results There were no statistically significant differences(P＞0.05)among those patients before and after treatment in serum free triiodothyronine (fT3),free thyroxine (fT4),thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH),anti-thyroglobulin antibodies (TG-Ab) levels,and thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO-Ab).One patient in the MWA group had mild hoarseness after ablation and another patient in the RFA group had intraoperative hemorrhage for about 10 mL.There were no other complications such as neck scar,postoperative infection,skin burns,tracheal and esophageal injury.One day after the ablation,all nodules were showed hypoecho and contrast-enhanced ultrasound proved there was no blood supply.One month after treatment,no statistically significant difference was found in VRR between two groups (23.8％ vs.22.6％,P =0.127).Conclusions RFA and MWA are safe and effective treatments for large benign thyroid nodules,and no significant difference was observed in short-term follow-up.

Objective To evaluate the curative effects of sitagliptin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus complicated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD).Methods 200 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with NAFLD were selected and randomly divided into the observation group and the control group,100 cases in each group.The observation group received sitagliptin treatment,while the control group was treated with metformin.Before and 3,6 months after treatment,the body weight,body mass index(BMI),liver function(AST,ALT,GGT),OGCT synchronous exsanguinate assay(fasting and 2 h after breakfast glucose,insulin),blood lipid(TC,TG)and glycosylated hemoglobin(HbAlc),and other biochemical indicators were monitored and compared,as well as 1HMRS scan images. Results In the two groups after treatment,ALT,GGT,AST,FPG and 2h PG all improved significantly(t≥2.35,P <0.05),but ALT,GGT,AST,FPG and 2h PG in the observation group all improved better than those in the control group(t≥4.99,all P <0.05).In the two groups after treatment,TC,TG,HbAlc,BMI,HOMA -IR all improved significantly(t≥5.63,all P <0.05),but those of the observation group improved more significantly(t≥3.90,all P <0.05 ).In the observation group after treatment,liver lipid content (IHCL)was (10.3 ±2.9 )%,which was significantly lower than (27.8 ±4.5)% before treatment(t =32.69,P <0.05).In the control group after treatment, IHCL was (18.4 ±3.5)%,which was significantly lower than (26.9 ±4.6)% before treatment(t =14.70,P <0.05),but in the observation group after treatment IHCL was significantly lower than that in the control group after treatment(t =17.82,P <0.05).Conclusion Sitagliptin can significantly improve the blood glucose,blood lipid, liver function,insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with NAFLD,which has good clinical curative effects and is worthy of clinical promoting.

Objective: To investigate the epidemic status and influencing factors of colorectal polyps among urban residents in Lanxi. Methods: A representative urban community was selected from Lanxi. A total of 935 local residents aged 18-80 years received questionnaire survey,physical examination,laboratory tests and colonoscopy. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis was applied to exam the potential influencing factors for colorectal polyps. Results : Eventually 880 residents were involved into the statistical analysis. Colorectal polyps were detected in 167 participants with a crude prevalence of 18.98% and adjusted prevalence for age and gender of 13.28%. The prevalence of colorectal polyps in men（28.70%）was significantly higher than that in women（12.92%,P<0.05）. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that age（OR=1.038,95%CI：1.018-1.057）,males（OR=1.919,95%CI：1.303-2.826）,the middle school level of education（OR=2.443,95%CI：1.507-3.961）and constitution of Yin-Asthenia（OR=0.203,95%CI：0.057-0.720）were influencing factors for colorectal polyps;among male participants,hypertension（OR=1.721,95%CI：1.018-2.908）was a risk factor for colorectal polyps;among female participants,age（OR=1.076,95%CI：1.042-1.111）,BMI（OR=1.099,95%CI：1.001-1.207）,the middle school level of education（OR= 3.507,95%CI：1.794-6.856）and constitution of Yin-Asthenia（OR=0.160,95%CI：0.033-0.770）were influencing factors for colorectal polyps. Conclusion Age,sex,education level and constitution of Yin-Asthenia were associated with the risk of colorectal polyps among residents in Lanxi;hypertension was associated with the risk of colorectal polyps in males,while age,BMI,education level and constitution of Yin-Asthenia were associated with the risk of colorectal polyps in females.

Objective:To investigate the value of peripheral blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels for predicting the occurrence of radiation pneumonia (RP) in small cell lung cancer.Methods:A total of 84 patients with small cell lung cancer who received image-guided radiotherapy in Xuzhou Cancer Hospital between September 2019 and September 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into an RP group ( n = 25) and a non-RP group ( n = 59) according to whether RP occurred. Peripheral blood NLR and PLR and serum LDH levels were compared between the two groups before and after radiotherapy. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to analyze the value of peripheral blood NLR, PLR, and serum LDH levels for the diagnosis of RP in small cell lung cancer. Results:Before radiotherapy, there were no significant differences in peripheral blood NLR and PLR between the two groups (both P > 0.05). After radiotherapy, peripheral blood NLR and PLR in the RP group were (3.39 ± 0.81) and (129.06 ± 24.90), respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the non-RP group [(2.54 ± 0.71), (104.76 ± 26.26), t = 3.61, 3.83, both P < 0.05]. The NLR (2.86 ± 0.30) and PLR (110.07 ± 10.05) were the lowest in patients with grade 2 RP and they were highest in patients with grade 4 RP [(4.49 ± 0.63), (168.88 ± 14.11)]. The grade of RP was positively correlated with peripheral blood NLR and PLR. The sensitivity of peripheral blood NLR in the diagnosis of RP was 88.0%, the specificity was 66.1%, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.791. The sensitivity of PLR in the diagnosis of RP was 48.0%, the specificity was 94.9%, and the AUC was 0.735. The sensitivity of NLR combined with PLR in the diagnosis of RP was 92.0%, the specificity was 59.3%, and the AUC was 0.801. There was no significant difference in serum LDH levels between the two groups before and after radiotherapy (both P > 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that NLR and PLR were risk factors for RP in patients with small cell lung cancer ( OR = 2.309, 1.037; 95% CI: 1.061-5.024, 1.004-1.071). Conclusion:In patients with small cell lung cancer who develop RP, peripheral blood NLR, and PLR are markedly elevated compared with those in patients who do not develop RP, and combined detection of peripheral blood NLR and PLR has a high value for early diagnosis of RP in patients with small cell lung cancer.

Objective:To explore the clinical value of N terminal pro B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in diagnosing or predicting heart failure in peridialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) population.Methods:It was a single-center retrospective study. Patients with peridialysis CKD who visited the Department of Nephrology, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2021 to June 2021 were collected and divided into 4 groups according to the presence or absence of heart failure and the level of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), namely the non-heart failure group, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) group (LVEF<40%), heart failure with mid-range ejection fraction (HFmrEF) group (40％≤LVEF<50％), and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) group (LVEF≥50％). The NT-proBNP, echocardiography and other indicators of the 4 groups were compared. The value of plasma NT-proBNP in diagnosing heart failure, HFpEF, HFmrEF and HFrEF was analyzed by drawing receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve). Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the related factors of heart failure in peridialysis CKD patients.Results:A total of 508 patients were included, including 11 cases in the HFrEF group, 29 cases in the HFmrEF group, 152 cases in the HFpEF group, and 316 cases without heart failure. The differences in age, 24-h urine volume, hemodialysis proportion, non-dialysis proportion, serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate, hemoglobin, serum albumin, C-reactive protein, NT-proBNP, cardiac troponin I, left ventricular internal diameter, LVEF, pulmonary artery systolic pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic volume, E/A value, septal thickness, and left ventricular posterior wall thickness among the four groups were statistically significant ( P < 0.05, respectively). A two-pair comparison (all P values corrected by Bonferroni method) revealed that the 24-h urine volume was higher in the non-heart failure group than in the other three groups (corrected P<0.05, respectively), while the proportion of hemodialysis patients and the levels of NT-proBNP and C-reactive protein were lower in the non-heart failure group than in the other three groups (corrected P<0.001, respectively); the levels of hemoglobin and serum albumin were lower in the HFpEF group than in the non-heart failure group (corrected P<0.001, respectively); troponin I was lower in the non-heart failure group than in the HFpEF group (corrected P<0.001), HFmrEF group (corrected P=0.001) and HFrEF group (corrected P<0.001), and troponin I was lower in the HFpEF group than in the HFrEF group (corrected P=0.008); LVEF was higher in the non-heart failure group than in the other three groups (corrected P<0.001, respectively), and LVEF in the HFpEF group was higher than in the HFmrEF and HFrEF groups (corrected P<0.001, respectively). For patients with peridialysis CKD, the cut-off values of plasma NT-proBNP for diagnosing or predicting heart failure, HFpEF, HFmrEF and HFrEF were 4 943.33 ng/L, 4 976.83 ng/L, 14 964.5 ng/L and 17 847.55 ng/L, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that NT-proBNP (every 500 ng/L increase, OR=1.390, 95% CI 1.287-1.501, P<0.001), LVEF ( OR=0.747, 95% CI 0.656-0.851, P<0.001) and 24-h urine volume (every 100 ml increase, OR=0.842, 95% CI 0.763-0.929, P=0.001) were independently correlated with heart failure. Conclusions:The cut-off value of plasma NT-proBNP for diagnosing or predicting heart failure in peridialysis CKD patients is much higher than that in patients with normal renal function. NT-proBNP, LVEF and 24-h urine volume are independently associated with heart failure in peridialysis CKD patients.

Objective:To compare the diagnostic efficiency of colloidal gold dipstick method (PTH dipstick method) with that of doctors’ experience method based on nano-carbon method for rapid identification of parathyroid gland in thyroidectomy of thyroid cancer.Methods:From March to July 2020, 90 patients underwent thyroid surgery in the Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University participated in the experimental study, and 155 samples underwent empirical judgment, parathyroid dipstick and pathological examination. All operations were performed by senior specialists. SPSS statistics 17.0 software was used for statistical analysis.Results:Seventy-four cases of parathyroid gland confirmed by both pathology and empirical judgment, and 81 cases of non-parathyroid gland confirmed by pathology; 130 cases of parathyroid glands confirmed by both PTH dipstick method and pathology, and 22 cases of non-parathyroid glands confirmed by pathology. The accuracy rate of PTH dipstick method was 85.53% which was much higher than that of empirical judgment method (47.74%). The data were statistically significant ( χ2=49.14, P<0.05). The sensitivity of PTH method was 95.89%, the specificity of PTH method was 75.94%, and the Youden index was 0.7183. The sensitivity of empirical judgment method was 81.3%, the specificity of empirical judgment method was 47.74%, and the Youden index was 0.2904. Conclusions:The diagnostic efficiency of the PTH method is higher than that of empirical judgment method to identify parathyroid gland in thyroid surgery. The two methods can be used together to increase the protection of parathyroid gland during operation.

Objective:To analyze the effect of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) in the treatment of autogenous arteriovenous fistula (AVF) stenosis and influcing factors of restenosis/loss of function after PTA.Methods:The medical records of 104 patients with AVF stenosis treated by PTA in People′s Hospital of Huadu District from March 2019 to July 2020 and the 1-year follow-up were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan-meier curves were used to analyze the primary patency rates at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. COX regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of restenosis/loss of function after PTA.Results:The primary patency rates of AVF at 3, 6 and 12 months after PTA were 86.2%, 83.2% and 64.7%, respectively. Guide wire entry into the distal end of radial artery, the use of two balloons in stepwise mode, postoperative dilatation diameter, and dialysis blood flow after PTA were independent risk factors for restenosis/loss of fuction after PTA for AVF stenosis (all P<0.05). Conclusions:The guide wire into the distal end of the artery and passive use of more than two balloons are important factors affecting AVF restenosis/loss of function after PTA .

Objective:To investigate the alterations of brain resting-state functional connectivity in patients with leukoaraiosis(LA), and to explore its neuropathological mechanism of cognitive dysfunction.Methods:From August 2022 to February 2023, 28 patients with LA(LA group) and 30 gender, age and education level matched normal controls(NC group) in Jiangsu Shengze Hospital affiliated to Nanjing Medical University were prospectively recruited.Mini mental state examination, trail-making test, and Stroop color-word test were used to evaluate the cognitive function of participants, rs-fMRI images were processed by DPABI V6.1 based on MATLAB R2022a.Voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity(VMHC) values were calculated and two-sample t test were performed to compare the differences in local brain activity between the two groups.The brain regions with significant differences were selected as the seeds to calculate the functional connectivity(FC) values of the whole brain, and Pearson correlation analyses were performed to evaluate the correlation between the FC values and neuropsychological scores. Results:The VMHC values of the calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex(CAL) (x=±18, y=-63, z=15), postcentral gyrus(PoCG) (x=±39, y=-27, z=48), lingual gyrus(LING) (x=±12, y=-51, z=-6), middle occipital gyrus(x=±27, y=-75, z=24) and insula(x=±36, y=6, z=3) in the LA group were lower than those in the NC group( P<0.05). The seed points FC results showed, FC values between right CAL(CAL.R) and bilateral precuneus(PCUN), right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex(DLPFC.R) and right temporal_mid were reduced in the LA group( P<0.05); FC values between PoCG.R and left CAL, left temporal_mid and right LING were reduced too( P<0.05). Additionally, the FC value in the LA group between CAL.R and DLPFC.R was negatively correlated with the Stroop C score( r=-0.39, P<0.05). The FC value in LA group and NC group between CAL.R and DLPFC.R was negatively correlated with the Stroop C score( r=-0.48, P<0.001)and also negatively correlated with the trail making test B(TMT-B) score( r=-0.40, P<0.01), and the FC value between CAL.R and PCUN.L was negatively correlated with the TMT-B score( r=-0.45, P<0.001). Conclusion:Desynchronized interhemispheric functional connectivity and abnormal cortical circuit functional connectivity were probably associated with the underlying neural mechanisms of cognitive impairment in LA.

Rheumatoid arthritis （RA） is a systemic autoimmune disease with local joint pain as the main clinical manifestation. It is one of the diseases specifically responding to traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. The occurrence of RA is not only related to innate factors like genetic disorder but also associated with environmental factors， such as diets and microbial infection. The intestine， a vital human organ with digestive and immune functions， is a place where microorganisms colonize and exert intestinal metabolism-improving， barrier-protecting， and immunomodulatory effects. As the research on the onset and treatment of RA is deepening， the potential relationship of intestinal structural and functional abnormalities with the pathogenesis and progression of RA has been revealed. As clinical and experimental studies indicated， joint inflammation coexists with the impaired barrier function， imbalanced immune cells， and disordered gut microbiota. The theory of the gut-joint axis in the pathogenesis， progression， and treatment of RA is highly consistent with the holistic view in TCM. The recent pharmacological studies have shown that Chinese medicine prescriptions and active components can inhibit inflammation， protect joints， and maintain the intestinal function. This article summarizes the basic connotation of the gut-joint axis in RA and the mechanism by which TCM protect the intestinal barrier and modulate the immunity by regulating the gut microbiota structure and improving microbial metabolism in the treatment of RA. This review gives insights into the future research on the gut-joint axis in RA.