Objective To establish the characteristic atlas of Shexiang Jiegu Capsule and determine the contents of seven active components （hydroxysafflor Yellow A, paeoniflorin, ferulic acid, naringin, ligustilide, catechin, epicatechin）. Methods Octadecyl silane bonded silica gel was used as the filling agent, the mobile phase was composed of methanol-0.05% phosphoric acid by gradient elution, the detection wavelength was 245 nm, flow rate was 1.0 ml/min, column temperature was 30℃. The similarity of the fifteen batches of sample was evaluated in line with the TCM Chromatographic Fingerprint （2012 edition）, and the contents of seven active components were determined. Results The HPLC fingerprint of Shexiang Jiegu Capsules was established. The similarity of fingerprint between fifteen batches of samples and control fingerprint was between 0.893 and 0.992. The results of methodological investigation for the determination of seven active components in fifteen batches of samples all met the requirements. Conclusion The established characteristic atlas of Shexiang Jiegu Capsules had high specificity and good repeatability, which could provide scientific basis for quality control of Shexiang Jiegu Capsules.

ObjectiveTo clarify the repair effect of Mume Fructus on the intestinal mucosal epithelial barrier in the mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease （IBD） and explore the repair mechanism. MethodsThirty-six male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned into six groups： normal， model， low-， medium-， and high-dose （200， 400， and 800 mg·kg^-1） Mume Fructus， and sulfasalazine （300 mg·kg^-1）. Except the normal group， the rest groups had free access to 2% dextran sulfate sodium （DSS） solution for seven days to establish the IBD model， followed by a seven-day drug intervention. The body weight change and disease activity index （DAI） were recorded. After the last administration， spleen and colon tissue samples were collected to analyze the differences in colon length and spleen index. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the morphology of the colon tissue. The level of diamine oxidase （DAO） in the serum was measured by the DAO assay kit. Immunohistochemistry was employed to determine the expression of tight junction proteins such as Claudin-1， Occludin， and zonula occludens-1 （ZO-1） in the colon tissue. Real-time PCR was performed to measure the mRNA levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-1β （IL-1β） in the colon tissue. Finally， Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase （MEK）， extracellular signal-regulated kinase （ERK）， phosphorylated （p）-MEK， and phosphorylated ERK in the colon tissue. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the model group exhibited decreases in body weight and colon length （P<0.01）， increases in DAI， spleen index， and serum DAO level （P<0.01）， damaged colonic epithelium and goblet cells， and obvious infiltration of inflammatory cells. In addition， the model group exhibited higher positive expression of Claudin-1， Occludin， and ZO-1 （P<0.01）， higher mRNA levels of TNF-α and IL-1β （P<0.01）， and higher protein levels of p-MEK and p-ERK （P<0.05， P<0.01） than the normal group. However， sulfasalazine and three doses of Mume Fructus markedly decreased the body weight and DAI （P<0.05）， recovered the colon length and spleen index， alleviated colon tissue damage， lowered the level of DAO in the serum （P<0.01）， and down-regulated the mRNA levels of TNF-α and IL-1β （P<0.01） and the protein levels of p-MEK and p-ERK （P<0.05）. Sulfasalazine and low- and medium-dose Mume Fructus increased the positive expression of Occludin， Claudin-1， and ZO-1 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Furthermore， high-dose Mume Fructus elevated the protein expression of Occludin （P<0.05）. ConclusionMume Fructus can restore the expression of intestinal epithelial tight junction proteins by inhibiting the phosphorylation of proteins in the MEK/ERK signaling pathway and down-regulating the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β， thus repairing the intestinal mucosal barrier in the mouse model of IBD.

ObjectiveTo explore the evolution of medication patterns and syndrome-herb associations of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in treating inflammatory bowel disease （IBD）， providing a theoretical foundation for precise syndrome differentiation and treatment in clinical practice. MethodsMedical case literature on TCM treatment of IBD from 1960 to 2024 was retrieved to establish a database. Frequency statistics， cluster analysis， change point detection， and association rule mining were employed to comprehensively analyze the syndrome distribution， therapeutic methods， medication patterns， and their temporal variations. ResultsA total of 685 medical cases were included. Common syndromes were dampness-heat （66.42%） and spleen deficiency （56.20%）. Primary therapeutic methods included heat clearing （63.65%）， spleen invigorating （47.45%）， and dampness draining （36.79%）. High-frequency herbs included Coptidis Rhizoma （354）， Paeoniae Radix Alba （303）， Aucklandiae Radix （292）， Codonopsis Radix （253）， and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma （244）. Initial prescription clustering revealed three core therapeutic method combinations： heat clearing and detoxifying （represented by Baitouweng Tang）， spleen invigorating and Qi reinforcing （represented by Shenling Baizhusan）， and cold-heat regulation （represented by Wumeiwan combined with Shaoyao tang）. Temporal analysis identified 2008 as a key transition point in TCM treatment of IBD， with significantly increased usage frequency of heat-clearing and dampness-drying herbs such as Fraxini Cortex， Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex， Sophorae Flavescentis Radix， and Scutellariae Radix as well as hemostatic herbs such as carbonized Sanguisorbae Radix， Bletillae Rhizoma， Agrimoniae Herba， and Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma. Follow-up efficacy analysis showed median improvement rates of 64.0% at the first follow-up， 76.0% at the second follow-up， and 78.7% at the third follow-up. Syndrome-drug association analysis revealed specific herb pairs with significant therapeutic advantages， including Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma + Coicis Semen， Sanguisorbae Radix + Coptidis Rhizoma， and Codonopsis Radix + Aconii Lateralis Radix Praeparaia. ConclusionTCM medication patterns for treating IBD demonstrate distinct temporal evolution characteristics， with significantly increased usage frequency of herbs such as Fraxini Cortex， Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma， and Agrimoniae Herba. Significant therapeutic method-herb associations and syndrome-herb association patterns exist， with the formation of specific herb pairs， providing evidence-based support for precise syndrome differentiation and treatment of IBD.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery has been a common practice for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, but the response rate varies among patients. This study aimed to develop a ResNet-Vision Transformer based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-endoscopy fusion model to precisely predict treatment response and provide personalized treatment. METHODS: In this multicenter study, 366 eligible patients who had undergone neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery at eight Chinese tertiary hospitals between January 2017 and June 2024 were recruited, with 2928 pretreatment colonic endoscopic images and 366 pelvic MRI images. An MRI-endoscopy fusion model was constructed based on the ResNet backbone and Transformer network using pretreatment MRI and endoscopic images. Treatment response was defined as good response or non-good response based on the tumor regression grade. The Delong test and the Hanley-McNeil test were utilized to compare prediction performance among different models and different subgroups, respectively. The predictive performance of the MRI-endoscopy fusion model was comprehensively validated in the test sets and was further compared to that of the single-modal MRI model and single-modal endoscopy model. RESULTS: The MRI-endoscopy fusion model demonstrated favorable prediction performance. In the internal validation set, the area under the curve (AUC) and accuracy were 0.852 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.744-0.940) and 0.737 (95% CI: 0.712-0.844), respectively. Moreover, the AUC and accuracy reached 0.769 (95% CI: 0.678-0.861) and 0.729 (95% CI: 0.628-0.821), respectively, in the external test set. In addition, the MRI-endoscopy fusion model outperformed the single-modal MRI model (AUC: 0.692 [95% CI: 0.609-0.783], accuracy: 0.659 [95% CI: 0.565-0.775]) and the single-modal endoscopy model (AUC: 0.720 [95% CI: 0.617-0.823], accuracy: 0.713 [95% CI: 0.612-0.809]) in the external test set. CONCLUSION The MRI-endoscopy fusion model based on ResNet-Vision Transformer achieved favorable performance in predicting treatment response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and holds tremendous potential for enabling personalized treatment regimens for locally advanced rectal cancer patients.
Humans ; Rectal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy/methods* ; Aged ; Adult ; Chemoradiotherapy/methods* ; Endoscopy/methods* ; Treatment Outcome

Approximately 60% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients exhibit TP53 mutations, which are strongly associated with tumor progression, chemotherapy resistance, and an unfavorable prognosis. However, targeting p53 has historically been challenging, and currently, there are no approved p53-based therapeutics for clinical use worldwide. In this study, we discovered that ubiquitin carboxyl terminal hydrolase L3 (UCHL3) plays a crucial role in high-level glycolysis, enhanced stem-like properties, and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) chemoresistance in TP53-mutant CRC by exerting its deubiquitinating enzyme activity to stabilize α-enolase (ENO1) protein. Notably, we identified a newly Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug, pacritinib, that potently suppresses UCHL3 expression by blocking the janus kinase 2 (JAK2)-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway in TP53-mutant CRC. Furthermore, Pacritinib was demonstrated to effectively inhibit glycolysis and improve the sensitivity to 5-FU chemotherapy in TP53-mutant CRC. Our findings suggest that targeting the JAK2-STAT3-UCHL3-ENO1 axis is a promising strategy to suppress glycolysis and enhance the efficacy of 5-FU chemotherapy in TP53-mutant CRC. Pacritinib shows potential for clinical application in the treatment of TP53-mutant CRC.

Objective To compare H_p(3) calibration with a homemade (A) thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) and an imported (B) TLD in a standard X-ray RQR radiation field, to explore the different responses of A and B, and to provide foundation for the calibration of H_p(3). Methods A column mode was selected. H_p(3) calibration was performed using A and B in a standard X-ray RQR radiation field in the Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory, National Institute for Radiological Protection, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Angle response, energy response, and linear response were calibrated with RQR4 (60 kV), RQR7 (90 kV), and RQR9 (120 kV), respectively. Results In terms of angle response, the calibration results of A were relatively high, while the calibration results of B were relatively low. In terms of energy response, the calibration results showed a similar pattern to angle response. In terms of linear response, the calibration results of both A and B were satisfactory. Conclusion Both A and B can be used for normal calibration of H_p(3) in a standard X-ray RQR radiation field. However, in actual monitoring, attention should be paid to the energy and angle response values of TLDs.

Objective     To evaluate the robustness of cardiovascular meta-analysis with use of fragility index. Methods     By searching PubMed, EMbase, and Web of Science databases from 2018 to 2022, relevant literature on cardiovascular meta-analysis was systematically collected and the fragility indexes were calculated; Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between fragility index and sample size, total number of events, effect size and its confidence interval width. Results     A total of 212 meta-analyses from 29 articles were included, with a median fragility index of 11 (5, 25), a median sample size of 10 301 (3 384, 48 330), and a median total number of events of 360 (129, 1 309). Most meta-analyses chose relative risk as the effect measure (179/212), and chose Mantel-Haenszel method (102/212) and random effects model (153/212). The fragility index was positively correlated with the sample size (rs=0.56, P<0.05) and the total number of events (rs=0.61, P<0.05), and negatively correlated with confidence interval width of the effect size (rs=−0.52, P<0.05). No statistically significant results were obtained in the correlation between the fragility index and effect size. Conclusion     The fragility indexes of cardiovascular meta-analyses published in comprehensive journals of high impact factors and professional cardiovascular journals are generally low, and therefore lack robustness. Fragility index is suggested to be reported in medical researches, assisting in explaining the P-value.

Objective To investigate the value of pepsinogen(PG)in diagnosing children peptic ulcer.Methods A total of 855 children patients completing gastroscopic examination in this hospital due to nausea,vomiting,abdominal pain,gastrointestinal bleeding and other gastrointestinal symptoms from July 2019 to January 2024 were selected as the study subjects.According to the gastroscopic examination results,they were divided into the healthy physical examination group(n=223),chronic gastritis group(n=418),chronic gas-tritis combined with duodenal bulbar inflammation(n=168)and gastric ulcer and duodenal bulbous ulcer group(peptic ulcer group,n=46).A total of 503 study subjects perfected the 13C breath test and divided into Helicobacter pylori(Hp)positive and Hp negative according to the test results.Serum PGⅠ,PGⅡ and PGⅠ/PGⅡ levels in all study subjects were measured by latex immunoturbidimetry.The differences of this indi-cator among different ages and different gastric diseases and its diagnostic value in peptic ulcer were analyzed.Results The proportion of female children patients in the peptic ulcer group was significantly lower than that in the other 3 group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The PGⅠ level of children pa-tients＜7 years old in the chronic gastritis group was lower than that of the children patients＞12 years old group,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The PG level of the children patients＜7 years old in chronic gastritis combined with duodenal bulbar inflammation group was lower than that in the children patients＞12 years old group,the PGⅡ level in the children patients＜7 years old,7-12 years was lower than that in the children patients＞12 year old,and the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).Compared with the healthy physical examination group,the PGⅠ level in the chronic gastritis group was increased,the PGⅠ and PGⅡ levels in the chronic gastritis combined with duodenal bulbar inflammation group were increased,the PGⅠ/PGⅡ ratio was decreased,the PGⅠ and PGⅡ levels in the peptic ulcer group were increased and the PGⅠ/PGⅡ ratio was decreased,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Compared with the chronic gastritis group,the PGⅠ/PGⅡ ratio in the chronic gastritis combined with duodenal bulbar inflammation group was decreased,the PGⅠ and PGⅡ levels in the peptic ulcer group were increased,the PGⅠ/PGⅡ ratio was decreased,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Compared with chronic gastritis combined with duodenal bulbar inflammation group,the PGⅠ and PGⅡ lev-els in the peptic ulcer group were increased,the PGⅠ/PGⅡ ratio was decreased,and the differences were sta-tistically significant(P＜0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of PGⅠ and PGⅡ for predicting peptic ul-cer was 0.689 and 0.785 respectively,the maximal Youden index served as the optimal diagnostic cutoff val-ue,when PGⅠ was 69.25 μg/L,its Youden index reached the maximal value,the sensitivity for diagnosing peptic ulcer was 67.4％,the specificity was 72.3％;when PGⅡ was 12.25 μg/L,its Youden index reached the maximal value,the sensitivity for diagnosing peptic ulcer was 71.7％,the specificity was 76.1％.Compared with the Hp negative,Hp positive PGⅠ and PGⅡ in the chronic gastritis combined with duodenal bulbar in-flammation group were increased,the PGⅠ/PGⅡ ratio was decreased,the Hp positive PGⅠ/PGⅡ ratio in the peptic ulcer group was decreased,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion PG could be used to diagnose children peptic ulcer.

Objective:To develop a nutritional assessment scale for patients with inflammatory bowel disease and examine its reliability and validity for assessing nutritional literacy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.Methods:Based on the Nutbeam health literacy stratification model and knowledge-attitude-practice model, a preliminary scale was developed through literature review, semi-structured interviews, expert consultation and pre-surveys. A convenient sampling method was used to select 376 inflammatory bowel disease patients admitted to Tenth People′s Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University from September, 2022 to April, 2023 for questionnaire surveys, and reliability and validity tests were conducted to form the final scale.Results:The nutritional assessment scale for inflammatory bowel disease included 39 items. Exploratory factor analysis identified five common factors: nutritional knowledge, nutritional attitudes, nutritional practices, information interaction ability, and information evaluation ability. These factors explained 65.431% of the total variance. The content validity index of the scale was 0.857, and the item-level content validity index ranged from 0.800 to 1.000. The Cronbach α coefficient of the scale was 0.869, and the Cronbach α coefficients of each dimension ranged from 0.847 to 0.922. Conclusions:The developed nutritional assessment scale for inflammatory bowel disease demonstrates good reliability and validity, allowing for effective evaluation of patients′nutritional status.