Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an ancient medical system distinctive and effective in treating cancer, depression, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and other diseases. However, the relatively abstract diagnostic methods of TCM lack objective measurement, and the complex mechanisms of action are difficult to comprehend, which hinders the application and internationalization of TCM. Recently, while breakthroughs have been made in utilizing methods such as network pharmacology and virtual screening for TCM research, the rise of machine learning (ML) has significantly enhanced their integration with TCM. This article introduces representative methodological cases in quality control, mechanism research, diagnosis, and treatment processes of TCM, revealing the potential applications of ML technology in TCM. Furthermore, the challenges faced by ML in TCM applications are summarized, and future directions are discussed.

Objective To analyze the application effect and economic benefit of total parathyroidectomy(TPTX)+subcutaneous implantation of forearm(AT)+thymectomy in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism(SHPT).Methods The clinical data of 110 patients with SHPT who were treated in our hospital from March 2018 to January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed.They were divided into medication group(50 cases,receiving cinacalcet combined with low-dose calcitriol)and operation group(60 cases,receiving TPTX+AT+thymectomy)according to different treatment regimens.The biochemical indexes,cardiac structure and function,clinical symptoms and quality of life of the two groups were compared before and after treatment for 24 months,and the complications,cost-effectiveness and recurrence rate of the two groups after operation were counted.Results After treatment,the levels of serum iPTH[(206.45±152.59)pg/ml],calcium[(2.05±0.26)mmol/L],phosphorus[(1.48±0.21)mmol/L],calcium-phosphorus product(3.02±0.69)and ALP[(102.03±30.25)U/L]in operation group were all lower Drug group[(721.32±325.36)pg/ml,(2.22±0.18)mmol/L,(1.91±0.22)mmol/L,(4.22±0.74),(140.62±27.15)U/L](P＜0.05);LVEF[(60.85±4.02)％]in operation group was higher than that in drug group[(55.58±3.84)％].LVED[(48.03±2.58)mm]and LVST[(9.85±0.76)mm]were lower than those in drug group[(51.02±3.65)mm,(11.12±0.86)mm](P＜0.05).The scores of bone pain,skin pruritus and restless legs syndrome in the operation group were lower than those of the medication group,and the KDTA score was higher than that of the medication group(P＜0.05).The total cost of treatment in the operation group[(4.06±1.42)million yuan]was not significantly different from that in the drug group[(3.46±1.85)million yuan](P＞0.05).The effective rate of iPTH reduction in operation group was 90.00％(54/60),which was higher than that in drug group(48.00％,24/50)(P＜0.05).The cost-effectiveness analysis showed that the CER of the drug group and the operation group were 7.21 and 4.51 respectively,and the operation treatment had more cost-effectiveness advantages.The incremental cost-effectiveness analysis shows that compared with the drug group,the operation group needs to increase the cost by 14,800 yuan for each additional patient effectively treated for SHPT(P＞0.05).There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications(13.33％VS 12.00％)and the recurrence rate(8.33％VS 4.00％)at 2 4 months after treatment between the operation group and the drug group(P＞0.0 5).Conclusion TPTX+AT+thymectomy can relieve the bone pain,reduce the iPTH level,correct the disorder of calcium and phosphorus metabolism,improve the heart function and structure,and improve the quality of life,and the cost-effectiveness is higher than SHPT of drug treatment,without increasing short-term recurrence rate.

Objective:To understand and compare the clinical characteristics of children and adults infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant BA.5 and BA.2 subtypes in Shanghai City.Methods:The clinical data of 524 children hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) at the Children′s Hospital of Fudan University during the period of BA.5 predominance from December 1, 2022 to January 20, 2023 were collected, which included age, gender, clinical symptoms and laboratory examination results. And the clinical data of household close contacts were also collected. The clinical data of children and their household contacts infected with Omicron BA.2 subtypes during the period of BA.2 predominance from April 4 to April 30, 2022 were collected and compared.The clinical characteristic of critical and non-critical cases, child and adult cases during the period of BA.5 predominance were compared.Statistical analyses were conducted using independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test or Fisher′s exact test. Results:The age of 524 hospitalized children was five days to 16 years old. Among them, 301(57.4%) were male and 223(42.6%) were female. Additionally, there were 29 critical cases (5.5%) and 495 non-critical cases (94.5%). Critical cases had significantly higher fever peak, more shortness of breath occurrence, more pneumonia and underlying diseases compared to non-critical cases, with statistically significant differences ( t=12.06, χ2=34.90, 10.04 and 31.10, respectively, all P<0.05). Regarding laboratory examinations, critical cases exhibited significantly higher frequencies of decreased lymphocyte count, elevated levels of C-reactive protein, procalcitonin and interleukin-6, abnormal liver function and kidney function, and abnormal creatine kinase isoenzyme compared to non-critical cases, with statistically significant differences ( χ2=8.18, Z=-4.61, Z=-4.28, Z=-5.13, χ2 =195.90, Fisher′s exact test and χ2=136.13, respectively, all P<0.05). Non-critical children cases infected with Omicron variant BA.5 subtype exhibited a higher proportion of symptomatic infections compared to adults. Among children, the occurrence rates of fever and gastrointestinal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) were higher, whereas among adults, the occurrence rate of cough was higher. The differences were statistically significant ( χ2=11.16, 11.83, 8.50 and 28.14, respectively, all P<0.05).From December 1, 2022 to January 20, 2023, a total of 588 children cases and 791 adult cases were collected, while from April 4 to April 30, 2022, a total of 355 children cases and 755 adult cases were collected.In the children group, the occurrence rates of cough, convulsions and critical cases were higher in BA.5 subtype-infected children compared to those infected with the BA.2 subtype, with statistically significant differences ( χ2=37.95, 40.78 and 15.54, respectively, all P<0.001).In the adult group, BA.5 subtype-infected individuals had higher fever peak, longer duration of fever, and higher occurrence of fever, cough and gastrointestinal symptoms, compared to those infected with the BA.2 subtype.The differences were statistically significant ( t=-4.40, Z=-9.64, χ2=47.29, 124.09 and 29.90, respectively, all P<0.001). Conclusions:During the peak periods of BA.5 subtype of the Omicron variant in Shanghai City, critical cases have severe systemic symptoms and a higher prevalence of underlying diseases compared to non-critical cases. Among non-critical cases infected with BA.5 subtype, the proportion of symptomatic infections in children is higher than adults, with fever and gastrointestinal symptoms more common than adults, while cough symptoms are more common seen in adults.The occurrence rate of convulsions and critical cases is higher in children infected with variant BA.5 subtype compared to those infected with BA.2 subtype.The systemic symptoms are more severe in adults infected with BA.5 subtype compared to those infected with BA.2 subtype.

Animals ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Antibodies, Neutralizing ; Macaca mulatta ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Antibodies, Viral ; Vaccines

Objective:To investigate the application value of Overlap guiding tube (OGT) in Overlap esophagojejunostomy of laparoscopic total gastrectomy.Methods:The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 5 patients with gastric cancer who were admitted to Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University from June to July in 2021 were collected. There were 3 males and 2 females, aged from 48 to 61 years, with a median age of 54 years. Patients underwent laparoscopic total gastrectomy combined with OGT-assisted Overlap esophagojejunostomy. Observation indicators: (1) surgical situations; (2) postoperative situations; (3) follow-up. Follow-up was conducted by outpatient examination and telephone interview to detect postoperative anastomotic stenosis and esophageal reflux up to September 2021. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(IQR) or M(range). Count data were represented as absolute numbers. Results:(1) Surgical situations: 5 patients underwent laparoscopic total gastrectomy combined with OGT-assisted Overlap esophagojejunostomy and D 2 lymph node dissection success-fully, achieving R 0 resection. There was no combined organ resection, intraoperative conversion to laparotomy or combined thoracotomy. There was no intraoperative conversion to other esophagoje-junostomy method either. The tumor diameter, length of surgical incision, the number of lymph nodes dissected, time of esophagojejunal anastomosis, time of digestive reconstruction, operation time, volume of intraoperative blood loss of 5 patients were 3.0(2.8)cm, 5.0(2.0)cm, 47.0(21.0), 21.0(5.0)minutes, 62.0(23.0)minutes, 295.0(75.0)minutes, and 50.0(60.0)mL, respectively. The anvil fork of linear stapler was successfully inserted into esophageal lumen by once operation in 4 cases of 5 patients and by twice operation in 1 case to complete the esophagojejunostomy. (2) Post-operative situations: the time to first out-of-bed activities, time to postoperative first anal flatus, time to postoperative initial liquid diet intake, time to postoperative initial semi-liquid diet intake, time to abdominal drainage tube removal, duration of postoperative hospital stay of 5 patients were 2.0(1.0)days, 3.0(2.0)days, 4.0(3.0)days, 6.0(3.0)days, 7.0(4.0)days, and 9.0(6.0)days, respectively. Results of postoperative pathological examination of 5 patients showed gastric adenocar-cinoma in all the 5 patients, with the TNM staging as stage pT2-4aN0M0. The esophageal surgical margin was negative in all cases, and the length of proximal margin from esophagus was 5.0(4.0)cm. None of the 5 patients developed anastomotic leakage, anastomotic bleeding or anastomotic stenosis. Two cases with mild pneumonia (Clavien-Dindo grade Ⅱ) were cured by conservative treatment such as anti-infection and expectoration promotion. There was no unplanned secondary surgery or perioperative death occurred to the 5 patients. (3) Follow-up: 5 patients were followed up for 3 months. None of the 5 patients developed anastomotic stenosis or esophageal reflux during the follow-up. Conclusion:OGT-assisted Overlap esophagojejunostomy of laparoscopic total gas-trectomy is safe and feasible, with good short-term effects.

Objective:To understand the clinical characteristics of children with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection imported from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.Methods:This retrospective study was conducted to collect the data including clinical manifestations, outcomes and vaccination of 107 children with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection imported from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to be admitted to the designated referral hospital in Shanghai from February to March 2022. According to the occurrence of clinical symptoms, the cases were divided into asymptomatic group and symptomatic group. According to the age of diagnosis, the cases were divided into <3 years group, 3-<6 years group and 6-<18 years group, and the clinical manifestations in different age group were analyzed with t-test and Mann-Whitney rank-sum test. Besides, to analyze the effectiveness of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection in different age group, the cases aged 3-<18 years were also subdivided into unvaccinated group, 1-dose group and 2-dose group, and the relative risk ( RR) was used to demonstrate the effectiveness. Results:Among the 107 cases, 66 were male and 41 were female, with infection age of 10 (5, 14) years. There were 29 cases in the asymptomatic group, and 78 cases in the symptomatic group, and no significant difference in the age of infection was observed between the 2 groups (11 (6, 14) vs. 10 (5, 14) years, Z=0.49, P>0.05). And there were no severe cases in symptomatic group. The length of hospitalization was (18±6) days, and was longer in symptomatic group than that in asymptomatic group ((19±6) vs. (16±7) d, t=0.17, P=0.030). Eight-two cases (76.6%) had a history of epidemiological exposure and, among whom, 81 cases (75.7%) were associated with household transmission. Among symptomatic group, 57 cases (73.1%) had fever and 20 cases (25.6%) had cough. Of the 74 cases undergoing chest CT examination, 17 cases (23.0%) showed mild abnormalities. Of the 83 cases who received the lab tests, 23 cases (27.7%) had white blood cell counts<4×10 9/L, 3 cases (3.6%) had C-reaction protein >8.0 mg/L, and 6 cases (7.2%) had slightly elevated aspartate transaminase and alanine aminotransferase. Among the 92 children aged 3-<18 years, 31 cases were unvaccinated, 34 cases received 1 dose, and 27 cases received 2 doses. The interval between the last vaccination and infection was 2.2 (0.6, 6.0) months; the interval between the last vaccination and infection in the 2-dose group was longer than that in 1-dose group (6.0 (4.5, 7.3) vs. 0.7 (0.3,2.0) months, Z=3.59, P<0.001).The risk of symptomatic infection was reduced by 45% (RR=0.55, 95% CI 0.35-0.87) with two-dose vaccination compared to non-vaccination in cases aged 3-<18 years. All these cases recovered completely. Conclusions:Children infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron are usually mild or asymptomatic. Household transmission is the main pattern of infection with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron in children. Two-dose SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in children aged 3-<18 years can provide partial protection against disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron.

Background::Previous studies have revealed that diabetes mellitus (DM) promotes disease progress of gastric cancer (GC). This study aimed to further investigating whether DM advanced lymph nodes (LNs) metastasis in GC.Methods::The clinicopathologic data of GC patients with >15 examined LN (ELN) between October 2004 and December 2019 from a prospectively maintained database were included. The observational outcomes included the number (N3b status) and anatomical distribution (N3 stations) of metastatic LN (MLN).Results::A total of 2142 eligible patients were included in the study between October 2004 and December 2019. N3 stations metastasis (26.8% in DM vs. 19.3% in non-DM, P = 0.026) and N3b status (18.8% in DM vs. 12.8% in non-DM, P = 0.039) were more advanced in the DM group, and multivariate logistic regression analyses confirmed that DM was an independent factor of developing N3 stations metastasis (odds ratio [OR] = 1.771, P= 0.011) and N3b status (OR= 1.752, P= 0.028). Also, multivariate analyses determined DM was independently associated with more MLN (β = 1.424, P = 0.047). The preponderance of N3 stations metastasis (DM vs. non-DM, T1-2: 2.2% vs. 4.9%, T3: 29.0% vs. 20.3%, T4a: 38.9% vs. 25.8%, T4b: 50.0% vs. 36.6%; ELN16-29: 8.6% vs. 10.4%, ELN30-44: 27.9% vs. 20.5%, ELN ≥ 45: 37.7% vs. 25.3%), N3b status (DM vs. non-DM, T1-2: 0% vs. 1.7%, T3: 16.1% vs. 5.1%, T4a: 27.8% vs. 19.1%, T4b: 44.0% vs. 28.0%; ELN16-29: 8.6% vs. 7.9%, ELN30-44: 18.0% vs. 11.8%, ELN ≥ 45: 26.4% vs. 17.3%), and the number of MLN (DM vs. non-DM, T1-2: 0.4 vs. 1.1, T3: 8.6 vs. 5.2, T4a: 9.7 vs. 8.6, T4b: 17.0 vs. 12.8; ELN16-29: 3.6 vs. 4.6, ELN30-44: 5.8 vs. 5.5, ELN ≥ 45: 12.0 vs. 7.7) of DM group increased with the advancement of primary tumor depth stage and raising of ELN. Conclusions::DM was an independent risk factor for promoting LN metastasis. The preponderance of LN involvement in the DM group was aggravated with the advancement of tumor depth.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between KRAS, NRAS and BRAF V600E gene mutations and the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with colorectal cancer.Methods:Specimens from 217 patients with colorectal cancer who underwent surgical resection and were pathologically confirmed in Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital from January 2020 to December 2021 were selected, and the clinical data of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. The mutation status of KRAS, NRAS and BRAF V600E genes were detected in the paraffin specimens of surgically-resected tissues by direct sequencing. The mutation rates of KRAS, NRAS and BRAF V600E were compared among patients with different clinicopathological characteristics.Results:The mutation rates of KRAS, NRAS and BRAF V600E in 217 patients with colorectal cancer were 48.4% (105/217), 4.1% (9/217) and 3.7% (8/217), of which 1 patient (0.5%) had both KRAS and NRAS mutations. NRAS gene mutation was not correlated with gender, age, tumor size, tumor location, pathological type, degree of differentiation, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, TNM stage, hemangioma thrombus/nerve invasion (all P>0.05); KRAS mutation rate in patients ≥ 60 year old was higher than that in patients < 60 year old [55.3% (63/114) vs. 40.8% (42/103), χ2 = 4.55, P = 0.033),and there was no correlation between KRAS gene mutation and other clinicopathological features (all P > 0.05); the mutation rate of BRAF V600E gene in colorectal cancerpatients with distant metastasis was higher than that in patients without distant metastasis [16.7% (4/24) vs. 2.1% (4/193), P = 0.006], and there was no correlation between BRAF V600E gene mutation and other clinicopathological features (all P > 0.05). Conclusions:Older colorectal cancer patients may be prone to KRAS gene mutation, and the BRAF V600E gene mutation rate is higher in patients with distant metastasis, and there is no correlation between NRAS gene mutation and clinicopathological characteristics.

Objective:To study the risk factors of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) after surgery for intestinal atresia.Method:From August 2013 to June 2020, children with intestinal atresia receiving surgery in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were assigned into NEC group and non-NEC group according to the occurrence of postoperative NEC. Demographic data and clinical characteristics were summarized and the risk factors for postoperative NEC were analyzed using Logistic regression analysis method.Result:A total of 96 infants were enrolled and NEC occurred in 13 patients (13.5%) after surgery for intestinal atresia. Compared with the non-NEC group, the NEC group were diagnosed of intestinal atresia [4.0(1.5,6.0)d vs. 1.4(0,2.0)d, P<0.001] and received surgery [4.8(2.0,7.0)d vs. 3.1(1.0,4.0)d, P=0.034] at later ages. The incidences of complex intestinal atresia [76.9%(10/13) vs. 44.6%(37/83), P=0.030] and blood transfusion [46.2%(6/13) vs. 13.3%(11/83), P=0.007] in the NEC group were higher than the non-NEC group. Logistic regression analysis showed that the age of initial diagnosis of intestinal atresia ( OR=3.346, 95% CI 1.493~7.500, P=0.003), complex intestinal atresia ( OR=9.052, 95% CI 1.119~73.209, P=0.039) and blood transfusion ( OR=6.835, 95% CI 1.399~33.380, P=0.018) were independent risk factors for postoperative NEC. Conclusion:Patients with delayed diagnosis of intestinal atresia, complex intestinal atresia and blood transfusion within 48 hours after surgery should be monitored for the occurrence of postoperative NEC.

Objective:To explore the poor early liver graft function(PEGF)-related biomarkers and establish a genomic model for PEGF prediction specific to liver transplantation(LT)with allografts of donation after brain death(DBD).Methods:By data-mining a public GSE23649 dataset from the database of Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO), key PEGF-related genes in DBD liver biopsies after 2h reperfusion were identified by differential expression analysis.And LASSO-penalized Logistic regression model was utilized for selecting an optimal gene set.Receiver operating characteristic curves with its area under the curve(AUC)and a nomogram were generated for evaluating and visualizing its predictive capability for PEGF.Gene set enrichment analysis(GSEA) was performed for exploring the biological pathways underlying PEGF.Results:Six key PEGF-related genes in DBD-LT were initially identified, including 4 up-regulated genes(HBB, PFDN5, RPS3A & RPS5)and 2 down-regulated genes(RPL22 & FAM62B). A six-mRNA-based risk-scoring model was further established with an excellent predictive capability(AUC=1.000, P=0.0008). Four PEGF-related biological pathways in DBD livers, such as "VEGF" and "natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity" , were identified by GSEA(all P<0.05). Conclusions:The genomic model may effectively predict the likelihood of PEGF immediately after DBD-LT or even prior to transplantation in the context of normothermic machine perfusion.