Objective:To investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects and mechanisms of Dachaihu decoction(DCD)on dextran sodium sulfate(DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis(UC)and liver injury in mice,as well as the association between DCD benefits and gut microbiota modulation.Methods:Mice were treated with DCD(20.10 and 10.05 g/kg)for 2 weeks,with free access to drinking water containing 3%DSS in the second week to induce UC.Histopathological examination,RT-qPCR and 16S rRNA sequencing were used to investigate the effect of DCD on UC mice.Results:DCD pretreatment significantly alleviated weight loss,bloody diarrhea with mucus,histopathological abnormalities of the colon,and colon shortening in mice with DSS-induced UC.In addition,DCD pretreat-ment significantly upregulated the levels of Occludin,ZO-1,and MUC-2 in the colon and protected the intestinal barrier of mice.DCD pretreatment also alleviated inflammatory cell infiltration in the colon and the liver and significantly reduced the expression levels of the proinflammatory factors such as IL-1β,IL-6,TNF-α,iNOS,COX-2,and NLRP3,thereby exerting a protective effect against UC and liver injury.It should be noted that DCD corrected gut micro-biota imbalance in UC mice by enriching probiotic bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and reducing harmful bacteria such as Norank_f_Desulfovibrionaceae and Escherichia-Shigella.Conclusion:DCD can alleviate DSS-induced UC and exert a liver-protecting effect by protecting intestinal barrier,inhibiting inflam-mation,and regulating gut microbiota.

Objective:To assess the feasibility of shear wave elastography (SWE) in differentiating inflammatory and fibrotic strictures in Crohn's disease (CD) .Methods:A cross-sectional survey study was conducted. The patients with stricture-type CD who underwent SWE examination at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2020 to June 2023 were continuously collected. The general data, laboratory examination indicators, and ultrasound examination indicators were collected. Laboratory examination indicators included C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Ultrasound examination indicators included intestinal wall thickness, proximal bowel dilation, intestinal wall layer structure, Limberg grading, and the elasticity indicator SWE value. Patients were divided into inflammatory stricture group and fibrotic stricture group by using a modified fibrosis score of the narrowed intestine. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the differences in clinical data between the two groups, and Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between ultrasound indicators and fibrosis score. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted, and the diagnostic efficacy of SWE for inflammatory stricture and fibrotic stricture was calculated.Results:A total of 60 CD patients [44 men, 16 women; mean age, 34.3 ± 11.1 years; mean disease duration 60 (24, 117) months] were included. There were 43 patients in the inflammatory stricture group and 17 in the fibrotic stricture group. The differences in CRP ( P = 0.049), intestinal wall thickness ( P = 0.020), intestinal wall layer structure ( P = 0.001), and SWE value ( P < 0.001) between the two groups were statistically significant, but the differences in other indicators were not statistically significant (all P > 0.05). Intestinal wall thickness, intestinal wall layer structure, and SWE value were all positively correlated with fibrosis scores (all r s >0.3). In distinguishing inflammatory stricture from fibrotic stricture, a cut-off value of 15.9 kPa for SWE value yielded a sensitivity of 0.824, a specificity of 0.791, and the area under curve was 0.850 (95% CI: 0.740~0.952, P<0.001) . Conclusion:SWE examination can be used for the differential diagnosis of inflammatory and fibrotic strictures in CD, providing more diagnostic evidence for patients with stricture-type CD.

Objective:To assess the feasibility of shear wave elastography (SWE) in differentiating inflammatory and fibrotic strictures in Crohn's disease (CD) .Methods:A cross-sectional survey study was conducted. The patients with stricture-type CD who underwent SWE examination at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2020 to June 2023 were continuously collected. The general data, laboratory examination indicators, and ultrasound examination indicators were collected. Laboratory examination indicators included C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Ultrasound examination indicators included intestinal wall thickness, proximal bowel dilation, intestinal wall layer structure, Limberg grading, and the elasticity indicator SWE value. Patients were divided into inflammatory stricture group and fibrotic stricture group by using a modified fibrosis score of the narrowed intestine. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the differences in clinical data between the two groups, and Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between ultrasound indicators and fibrosis score. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted, and the diagnostic efficacy of SWE for inflammatory stricture and fibrotic stricture was calculated.Results:A total of 60 CD patients [44 men, 16 women; mean age, 34.3 ± 11.1 years; mean disease duration 60 (24, 117) months] were included. There were 43 patients in the inflammatory stricture group and 17 in the fibrotic stricture group. The differences in CRP ( P = 0.049), intestinal wall thickness ( P = 0.020), intestinal wall layer structure ( P = 0.001), and SWE value ( P < 0.001) between the two groups were statistically significant, but the differences in other indicators were not statistically significant (all P > 0.05). Intestinal wall thickness, intestinal wall layer structure, and SWE value were all positively correlated with fibrosis scores (all r s >0.3). In distinguishing inflammatory stricture from fibrotic stricture, a cut-off value of 15.9 kPa for SWE value yielded a sensitivity of 0.824, a specificity of 0.791, and the area under curve was 0.850 (95% CI: 0.740~0.952, P<0.001) . Conclusion:SWE examination can be used for the differential diagnosis of inflammatory and fibrotic strictures in CD, providing more diagnostic evidence for patients with stricture-type CD.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) on the polarization of M1/M2 microglia/macrophages in rats with acute cerebral ischemia.Ultrahigh-speed centrifugation was employed to isolate and identify exosomes; a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model was prepared in rats using the intraluminal filament technique; Longa scoring and corner tests were used to evaluate the neurological function of rats; 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazole chloride (TTC) staining was used to assess the infarct volume in rat brains; immunofluorescence double-labeling of CD16/32/Iba1 and CD206/Iba1 was performed to detect M1/M2 phenotypes of microglia/macrophages; RT-qPCR was employed to measure the mRNA expression of CD86, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), arginase-1 (Arg-1), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) in the ischemic penumbra of rat brains.The experimental results showed that BMSC-Exos reduced the number of CD16/32+/Iba1+ positive cells in the ischemic penumbra (P < 0.01) while increasing the number of CD206+/Iba1+positive cells (P < 0.01), and decreased the mRNA expression of iNOS, CD86, and TNF-α, while increasing the mRNA expression of Arg-1, TGF-β, and IL-10 (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).This research suggests that BMSC-Exos can regulate M1/M2 polarization of microglia/macrophages in rats with acute cerebral ischemia, alleviate neuroinflammation, and improve ischemic brain injury.

Objective: To analyze the association between tea drinking during pregnancy and the risk of preterm delivery and abortion,so as to provide basis for prevention of preterm delivery and abortion. Methods: The databases of CNKI,Wanfang,VIP,CBMdisc,PubMed and Web of Science were searched for cohort studies and case-control studies into the association between tea consumption during pregnancy and preterm delivery or abortion until June 30 th,2019. Relative risk（RR）or odds ratio（OR）were used as indicators for the meta-analysis. Results: A total of 1 099 articles were retrieved,14 of them were included in the quantitative study,including 9 cohort studies with 18 295 exposed and 71 890 unexposed individuals and 5 case-control studies with 1 351 cases and 3 059 controls. There was no statistically significant association between tea drinking during pregnancy and preterm birth or abortion（OR/RR=1.08,95%CI：0.99-1.18）. The linear regression model of random effect showed that with the increase of tea consumption during pregnancy,the risk of premature delivery and abortion did not change significantly（OR/RR=1.05，95%CI：0.99-1.11）. There was no publication bias found in Begg's test and Egger's test. Conclusion Drinking tea during pregnancy is not associated with preterm delivery and abortion.