Rheumatoid arthritis （RA） is a common chronic systemic autoimmune disease with synovitis as the main manifestation， which often causes joint swelling and pain or even deformity. It is considered to be an incurable lifelong disease. Although the current Western medicine treatment can alleviate the progression of the disease， it has the clinical limitations of liver injury， cardiovascular complications， and other adverse reactions， along with easy recurrence. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has a long history and has the advantages of individualized treatment and fewer adverse reactions. It can effectively relieve the symptoms of joint swelling and pain in RA patients and slow down the progression of bone destruction， which has attracted wide concern in the medical community. Janus kinase （JAK）/signal transducer and activator of transcription （STAT） signaling pathway is an important intracellular pathway involved in cell proliferation， differentiation， apoptosis， immune regulation， and other biological behaviors， and plays an important role in the pathophysiological process of RA. In recent years， many studies have confirmed that TCM monomers and compounds can inhibit inflammation and angiogenesis by regulating the JAK/STAT signaling pathway， induce apoptosis and inhibit proliferation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes （FLS）， regulate immune response， and thus exert an effect in the treatment of RA. However， there is still a lack of comprehensive and systematic induction and overview. Therefore， by searching the relevant literature in China National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI） and PubMed databases from 2009 to 2024， this study described the mechanism of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway in the occurrence and development of RA and summarized the research progress of TCM monomers and compounds in regulating the JAK/STAT signaling pathway in RA intervention. The study aims to provide new ideas and strategies for the clinical treatment of RA with TCM and the research and development of new drugs.

AIM:To investigate the effects of high-altitude hypoxic exposure on retinal injury and the associated changes in oxidative stress-related indicators in rats. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy male Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly divided into a plain group and a high-altitude group, with 12 rats(24 eyes)in each group. Rats in the plain group were housed under normoxic conditions in an SPF-grade animal facility, whereas rats in the high-altitude group were placed in a special environmental chamber simulating an altitude of 6 000 m for 7 d. Optical coherence tomography(OCT)was used to assess retinal layer architecture and quantify retinal thickness. Hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining was performed to observe retinal histopathological changes. Immunofluorescence(IF)was used to detect the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α)in retinal tissue. Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)was applied to examine the ultrastructure of retinal ganglion cells(RGCs). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)was used to measure the levels of malondialdehyde(MDA), total superoxide dismutase(T-SOD), and reduced glutathione(GSH)in retinal tissue. In addition, intracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS)levels in retinal tissue were assessed using the 2',7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate(DCFH-DA)fluorescent probe. RESULTS: OCT examination revealed disorganized retinal architecture in the high-altitude group, with increased inner and middle ring thickness and decreased outer ring thickness compared with the plain group(all P<0.05). HE staining showed varying degrees of retinal layer damage, blurred layer boundaries, loosely arranged RGCs, and partial cellular necrosis in the high-altitude group. IF analysis demonstrated significantly increased HIF-1α expression in the inner nuclear layer of the high-altitude group(P<0.01). TEM revealed mitochondrial swelling, disrupted cristae, and reduced matrix electron density in RGCs of the high-altitude group. ELISA and fluorescence probe assays showed significantly elevated MDA levels and ROS fluorescence intensity, accompanied by decreased T-SOD and GSH levels in the retinal tissue of the high-altitude group(all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Exposure to a high-altitude hypoxic environment induces marked morphological and ultrastructural damage in the rat retina and significantly enhances oxidative stress, suggesting that oxidative stress may play a critical role in retinal injury induced by high-altitude hypoxia.

ObjectiveTo investigate the role of the Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）/myeloid differentiation factor 88 （MyD88）/nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB） signaling pathway in intestinal mucosal barrier damage in ulcerative colitis， as well as the intervention mechanism of Shaoyaotang. MethodsSixty SD rats were allocated into a blank group， a model group， a mesalazine （0.42 g·kg^-1） group， and low-， medium-， and high-dose （11.1， 22.2， 44.4 g·kg^-1， respectively） Shaoyaotang groups. A model of ulcerative colitis was induced by 2，4，6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid （TNBS）. After successful modeling， rats were administrated with corresponding agents via gavage for 7 days. Changes in colon length and colon weight were observed. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to examine the pathological changes of the colon， and immunohistochemistry was employed to detect the expression of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-8 （IL-8）， cyclooxygenase-2 （COX-2）， junction adhesion molecule-1 （JAM-1）， and claudin-1 in the colon. Western blot analysis was performed to determine the protein levels of TLR4， MyD88， and NF-κB in the colon. ResultsCompared with the blank group， the model group showed elevated DAI score （P<0.01）， reduced colon length and colon weight （P<0.01）， down-regulated protein levels of JAM-1 and claudin-1 （P<0.01）， and up-regulated protein levels of IL-8， COX-2， TLR4， MyD88， and NF-κB p65 （P<0.01） in the colon tissue. Compared with the model group， each treatment group showed decreased DAI score （P<0.05， P<0.01）， increased colon length and colon weight （P<0.05， P<0.01）， up-regulated protein levels of JAM-1 and claudin-1 （P<0.01）， and down-regulated protein levels of IL-8， COX-2， TLR4， MyD88， and NF-κB p65 （P<0.01） in the colon tissue. ConclusionShaoyaotang alleviates intestinal inflammation and intestinal mucosal damage to protect intestinal barrier integrity by regulating the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE To detect the phenotypes and genotypes of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae(CRE)strains and understand the drug resistance phenotypes and molecular characteristics of the CRE strains.METHODS Totally 85 strains of CRE were isolated and restored in microbiology lab of Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University from Jan.2019 to Aug.2023.The phenotypes of carbapenemases were detected by means of carbapenemase inhibitor enhancement test,the genotypes of carbapenemases were detected by polymerase chain reaction(PCR),and the sequence type(ST)was further analyzed by multilocus sequence typing(MLST).RESULTS Among the 85 strains of CRE that were detected for phenotypes,54 strains carried serinase(type A carbapenemase),23 strains carried metalloenzyme(type B carbapenemase),5 strains produced both type A and type B carbapenemase,and 3 strains produced neither the type A and/or type B carbapenemase.Totally 5 common genotypes of carbapenemases were amplified for 73 strains of CRE,the detection rate of blaKPC was highest,fol-lowed by blaNDM;the drug resistance genes blaIMP,blaVIM and blaOXA-48 were not detected.The 51 strains of car-bapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae(CRKP)were classified into 7 types of ST in total,which were as fol-lows:ST1,ST11,ST15,ST23,ST34,ST690,ST4862.CONCLUSIONS The isolation rate of CRKP is highest among the CRE strains,and ST11 is the most prevalent strain.Serinase is the most common drug resistance phe-notype,and KPC type carbapenemase is the predominant drug resistance genotype.

Objective:To analyze and confirm the ambiguous results of HLA-DRB1 genotyping in one case.Methods:HLA genotyping was performed on a sample of hematopoietic stem cell donor using Illumina MiSeq-based next-generation sequencing(NGS).The ambiguous results of HLA-DRB1 locus were further analyzed and confirmed through PacBio SMRT third-generation sequencing.Results:The Illumina MiSeq-based NGS typing results suggested the presence of a new HLA-DRB1*11 allele(DRB1*11:NEW,12:01)in the specimen,with a mismatch of G＞A located in the 40th residue of exon 1 compared with the nearest allele DRB1*11:01:01:03.However,due to the long sequence of intron 1,this observed mutation site was so far away from the near heterozygous sites that no reads could cover this gap.Therefore,it was impossible to determine which consensus the mutation site was located in,and the NGS-based genotyping results were obtained from the random allocation by the software,which was ambiguous and unreliable.In order to confirm the results,the long-read third generation sequencing technology based on PacBio was applied to genotype the DRB1 locus.The results showed that the DRB1 typing was HLA-DRB1*11:01,12:10.E1-40A was actually located in the allele HLA-DRB1*12:XX,which was exactly matched with HLA-DRB1*12:10.Conclusion:For some new alleles suggested by NGS,especially the ambiguous ones that are far away from other heterozygous sites,it is necessary to analyze and confirm them by other methods such as the third-generation long-read sequencing technology to obtain reliable results.

Objective:To investigate the completion rate of tumor evaluation at initial assessment and after neoadjuvant therapy for mid and low rectal cancer patients in the national multicenter real-world database.Methods:The prospective real-world study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 1 074 patients who underwent surgical treatment for mid and low rectal cancer in 47 national medical institutions, including Peking Union Medical College Hospital et al, from May 12,2023 to May 11,2024 were collected. Observation indicators: (1) clinical characteristics of patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (2) initial colonoscopy and pathologic evaluation of tumors in patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (3) initial imaging evaluation of patients with mid and low rectal cancer; (4) imaging evaluation after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M( Q1, Q3). Count data were described as absoluter numbers and/or percentages. Results:(1) Clinical characteristics of patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 713 males and 361 females, aged 63(56,70)years. The body mass index of 1 074 patients was 24(21,26)kg/m 2.For American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, there were 147 cases of stage Ⅰ, 641 cases of stage Ⅱ, 157 cases of stage Ⅲ, 2 cases of stage Ⅳ, and there were 127 cases missing data. (2) Initial colonoscopy and pathologic evaluation of tumors in patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 787 cases (73.28%) undergoing complete colonoscopy, and there were only 197 cases (18.34%) undergoing immunohistochemical evaluation of all four mismatch repair proteins. (3) Initial imaging evaluation of patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 1 074 patients, there were 842(78.40%) patients completing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound evaluation, and there were 914(85.10%) patients completing chest, abdomen, and pelvis enhanced computed tomography (CT) evaluation. In the 149 patients completing rectal ultrasound evaluation, there were 122 cases (81.88%) comple-ting T staging evaluation, and there were 81 cases (54.36%) completing N staging evaluation. In the 808 patients completing rectal MRI evaluation, there were 708 cases (87.62%) completing T staging evaluation, and there were 590 cases (73.02%) completing N staging evaluation. (4) Imaging evalua-tion after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with mid and low rectal cancer. Of the 388 patients with neoadjuvant therapy, there were 332 patients (85.57%) completing MRI or ultrasound evaluation, and there were 327 patients (84.28%) completing chest, abdomen, and pelvis enhanced CT evalua-tion. In the 70 patients completing rectal ultrasound evaluation, there were 65 cases (92.86%) com-pleting T staging evaluation, and there were 49 cases (70.00%) completing N staging evaluation. In the 327 patients completing rectal MRI evaluation, there were 246 cases (75.23%) completing T staging, and there were 228 cases (69.72%) completing N staging evaluation. Conclusion:The com-pletion rate of tumor imaging evaluation at initial assessment and after neoadjuvant therapy for mid and low rectal cancer patients on a national scale is relatively good.

OBJECTIVE To detect the phenotypes and genotypes of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae(CRE)strains and understand the drug resistance phenotypes and molecular characteristics of the CRE strains.METHODS Totally 85 strains of CRE were isolated and restored in microbiology lab of Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University from Jan.2019 to Aug.2023.The phenotypes of carbapenemases were detected by means of carbapenemase inhibitor enhancement test,the genotypes of carbapenemases were detected by polymerase chain reaction(PCR),and the sequence type(ST)was further analyzed by multilocus sequence typing(MLST).RESULTS Among the 85 strains of CRE that were detected for phenotypes,54 strains carried serinase(type A carbapenemase),23 strains carried metalloenzyme(type B carbapenemase),5 strains produced both type A and type B carbapenemase,and 3 strains produced neither the type A and/or type B carbapenemase.Totally 5 common genotypes of carbapenemases were amplified for 73 strains of CRE,the detection rate of blaKPC was highest,fol-lowed by blaNDM;the drug resistance genes blaIMP,blaVIM and blaOXA-48 were not detected.The 51 strains of car-bapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae(CRKP)were classified into 7 types of ST in total,which were as fol-lows:ST1,ST11,ST15,ST23,ST34,ST690,ST4862.CONCLUSIONS The isolation rate of CRKP is highest among the CRE strains,and ST11 is the most prevalent strain.Serinase is the most common drug resistance phe-notype,and KPC type carbapenemase is the predominant drug resistance genotype.

Objective:To analyze the factors associated with long-term survival after radical resection of hepatitis B virus(HBV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),and to construct random forest and Cox regression models,to evaluate the two models.Methods:A total of 368 patients with HBV-infected HCC who underwent radical resection were selected retrospectively.These patients were categorized as having a good prognosis(n=266)or a poor prognosis(n=102)based on their survival and mortality status.Univariate and Cox regression analysis were used to identify fac-tors that predict poor prognosis in HCC patients after surgery,and Cox regression and random forest prediction models were constructed and evaluated.Results:There were significant differences in smoking history,Child-Pugh classifica-tion,cirrhosis,microvascular invasion,TNM staging,tumor capsule integrity,platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio(PLR),regular antiviral therapy,HBV-DNA load,alpha-fetoprotein(AFP),neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR),systemic immune in-flammatory index(SII),and albumin-to-globulin ratio(AGR)between the two groups(P<0.05);Cox regression showed that cirrhosis,microvascular invasion,regular antiviral treatment,HBV-DNA load,NLR,PLR,SII,and AGR were related factors that negatively affected the prognosis of patients with HBV-infected HCC after surgery(P<0.05),with an AUC of 0.870 for predicting prognosis;the importance ranking obtained by the random forest model was HBV-DNA load,cirrho-sis,regular antiviral therapy,microvascular invasion,NLR,PLR,AGR,and SII,with an AUC of 0.926 for predicting prog-nosis;the AUC predicted by the random forest model was greater than that predicted by the Cox regression model(Z=2.411,P=0.016).Conclusion:HBV-DNA load,cirrhosis,regular antiviral therapy,microvascular invasion,NLR,PLR,AGR,and SII are factors that affect the poor prognosis of patients with HBV-related HCC after surgery.The random for-est prediction model constructed based on these factors has high predictive value and is superior to the Cox regression prediction model.

Aim To explore the mechanism of Jiawei Shaofu Zhuyu decoction in antagonizing endometriosis fibrosis by regulating mitophagy.Methods After the animal model was constructed,the syndrome was evalu-ated by general condition,organ water content and ther-mal imaging.The curative effect was evaluated by the weight of ectopic focus and the degree of adhesion.The pathological changes were compared using HE stai-ning,transmission electron microscopy,Masson and Sir-ius red staining.The expression of PINK1 and Parkin was detected by immunohistochemistry.The expression of mRNA and protein was determined by qPCR and Western blot,and the level of serum ROS was detected by ELISA.Results The autonomic activity of model mice was weakened,the water content of organs rose,and the temperature of limbs and lower abdomen was reduced by thermal imaging.HE staining showed obvi-ous hyperplasia of ectopic epithelium and glands.Transmission electron microscopy showed mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum structure damage,and nor-mal autophagy structure disappeared.Masson and Siri-us red staining showed increased collagen deposition;immunohistochemistry showed decreased expression of PINK1 and Parkin in ectopic foci.qPCR and Western blot showed that the expression of PINK1,Parkin,Bec-lin1,LC3 mRNA and protein in ectopic foci of model mice decreased,the expression of p62 mRNA and pro-tein increased,and serum ROS increased.The syn-drome performance of model mice was improved after the intervention of Jiawei Shaofu Zhuyu decoction;the inflammatory infiltration of ectopic foci was relieved,the morphology of mitochondria and endoplasmic retic-ulum was restored,and normal autophagy structure ap-peared.The degree of collagen deposition and fibrosis was reduced;the mRNA and protein expression of PINK1,Parkin,Beclin1 and LC3 increased.The ex-pression of p62 mRNA and protein decreased,and the level of ROS decreased.Conclusions Jiawei Shaofu Zhuyu decoction can improve the fibrosis of ectopic le-sions in mice with endometriosis of cold-dampness sta-sis syndrome,which may be related to the regulation of mitophagy.

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy and Effects on gastrointestinal dynamics and inflammatory factors levels of combined treatment with electromagnetic stimulation and Shugan Qingwei Tang for reflux esophagitis(RE).Methods:142 cases of liver and stomach depression heat type RE patients who were treated in our hospital from April 2021 to May 2023 were selected.The patients were divided into control group(conventional drug therapy combined with electromagnetic stimulation)and study group(Shugan Qingwei decoction was added to the control group)by random number table method,with 71 cases each.The curative effect,gastrointestinal dynamics indexes,inflammatory factors and adverse reactions were observed between the two groups.Results:Compared with control group after treatment,the clinical total effective rate,serum gastrin(GAS),and motilin(MTL)were higher,while serum tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),c-reactive protein(CRP),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and interleukin-6(IL-6)were lower in the study group(P＜0.05).There were no obvious adverse reactions between both groups.Conclusion:The combination therapy of Shugan Qingwei Tang and electromagnetic stimulation can improve the clinical treatment effect,improve gastrointestinal function,reduce the level of inflammatory factors,and has good safety for RE patients.