OBJECTIVE To investigate the correlation of component content with colorimetric values during the roasting process of Ziziphus jujuba ， and to provide criteria for discriminating the roasting degree of Z. jujuba . METHODS Samples were prepared by dry stir-frying for different roasting times. The eight main components in raw Z. jujuba and the samples stir-fried for different roasting times-namely adenosine， magnoflorine， jujuboside A， spinosin， 6-feruloylspinosin， betulinic acid， oleic acid， and linoleic acid-were quantitativel y analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography. The chromaticity values were determined using a UV spectrophotometer. The correlation and differences between the chromaticity values of Z. jujuba at different roasting times and their components content were analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis， linear regression analysis， principal component analysis （PCA） ， cluster heatmap analysis （CHA）， and partial least squares discriminant analysis （PLS-DA） to clarify the processing endpoint. RESULTS As the roasting time increased， the contents of linoleic acid and oleic acid decreased， while the contents of other components exhibited an increasing trend. Concurrently， the colorimetric value L* and E*ab were observed to decline， whereas the a* value demonstrated a gradual increase. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that L* and E*ab exhibited a significant negative correlation with the contents of adenosine， spinosin， 6-feruloylspinosin， jujuboside A， betulinic acid and magnoflorine （ P ＜0.05）. The results of linear regression analysis indicate that the content of six components, including adenosine， in the medicinal material can be preliminarily predicted by analyzing the colorimetric values of Z. jujuba powder. PCA and CHA successfully classified raw and stir-fried samples. The PLS-DA results indicated that L*， E*ab， a*， linoleic acid content， and oleic acid content were the main parameters that differentiated the color and quality of Z. jujuba at different roasting times. After frying for 9 to 10 minutes， the colorimetric values L* and E*ab decreased to their minimum values and stabilized， while a* remained consistently high with little variation；simultaneously， the concentrations of the six major components， excluding linoleic acid and oleic acid， reached their peak levels. CONCLUSIONS A significant correlation between the colorimetric values of Z. jujuba and the contents of six components， including adenosine， is confirmed. The optimal roasting time range is determined to be 9-10 minutes. Furthermore， the colorimetric value-component content correlation analysis method established in this study proved to be practical and applicable for discriminating the roasting degree of Z. jujuba .

Objective:The aim of this study was to assess the frailty status of patients with heart failure undergoing CRT-D and then explore the predictive value of frailty for all-cause mortality and heart failure-related readmissions in these patients.Methods:We retrospectively included 374 patients with chronic heart failure who underwent CRT-D treatment at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University between June 2020 and June 2024. Based on the Tilburg Debilitation Assessment Scale, 175 patients (46.8%) were classified as frail while 199 (53.2%) were classified as non-frail. The baseline data between the two groups was compared using Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier curves were used for survival analysis. P-values of <0.05 indicated statistically significant differences. Results:A total of 374 patients aged 25-93 (68±11) years were enrolled in this study, 101 (27.0%) of which were female. Among these, 175 (46.8%) were categorized as frail, and 199 (53.2%) were classified as non-frail. Over a median follow-up time of 23 (5, 45) months, 35 (9.4%) patients experienced all-cause mortality, with 30 (17.1%) deaths occurring in the frail group and 5 (2.5%) in the non-frail group; meanwhile, readmission events due to heart failure occurred in a total of 174 (46.5%) patients, including 122 (70.1%) in the frail group, and 52 (29.9%) in the non-frail group. Cox analysis showed that frailty was a significant determinant of all-cause mortality ( HR=21.25, 95% CI 3.99-113.30, P<0.001) and readmission among heart failure patients receiving CRT-D ( HR=2.52, 95% CI 1.73-3.68, P<0.001). Log-rank tests showed that the survival rate of patients in the frail group was significantly lower than that of patients in the non-frail group ( HR=7.22, 95% CI 2.80-18.60, P<0.001) and the risk of readmission events due to heart failure was significantly higher among patients in the frail group than among those in the non-frail group ( HR=2.75, 95% CI 1.98-3.81, P<0.001). Conclusions:Frailty is an independent predictor of postoperative all-cause mortality and the occurrence of heart failure-related readmissions in patients with heart failure treated receiving CRT-D.

Investigator initiated trial （IIT） represents a primary format for clinical research in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. As key implementation sites for TCM-based IIT targeting malignant tumors， western medicine institutions often face unique challenges in conducting such studies， which limit their feasibility and standardization. This paper reviews the registration status of TCM-based IIT for malignancies conducted in western medical institutions and analyzes key difficulties， including complex project initiation and management processes， limited TCM knowledge and skills among western medicine physicians， and relatively low patient acceptance of TCM. From a practical perspective， the study proposes several optimization strategies. These include improving the review and management mechanisms of TCM-related IIT within western medical institutions， establishing multidisciplinary clinical research teams that integrate TCM and western medicine， and enhancing investigators' training in TCM theory and clinical skills. Additionally， the study suggests standardizing IIT operational procedures， objectifying the collection of TCM diagnostic information， refining subject recruitment methods， and increasing TCM involvement in patient follow-up and management. These investigator-oriented， TCM-featured， and operable strategies aim to promote the high-quality development of TCM-based IIT in western medicine institutions and enhance the clinical application of TCM.

Objective:To analyze the current status of clinical research registration on TCM prevention and treatment of malignant tumors in the Chinese Clinical Trail Registry (ChiCTR); To summarize its characteristics and shortcomings.Methods:Clinical studies on the TCM prevention and treatment for malignant tumors registered from the establishment of ChiCTR database to July 15, 2024 were retrieved. Excel 2019 software was used to sort out the data, including basic research information (registration time, registration number status, registration title, test organizer, research implementation location, etc.), design scheme (disease type, research type, intervention measures, sample size, blind method, etc.), research funding or material sources, as well as other information such as human specimen collection and recruitment of research objects. SPSS 27.0 software was used for frequency statistics.Results:A total of 891 registered studies were included, including 783 interventional studies and 108 observational studies; the areas with a large number of registrations were mainly Shanghai, Beijing, Guangdong Province, etc. ; the research funds mainly came from local finance; a total of 46 tumor diseases were involved in the study, with the largest number of lung cancer (209 items), followed by tumor-related syndromes (155 items), colorectal cancer (148 items), and breast cancer (136 items); the type of research design was mainly random parallel control; the main intervention measures were TCM decoction or herbal decoction pieces (373 items), and the dosage form was mostly decoction (216 items), followed by granules (94 items); single-blind or double-blind design was used in 217 registered trials; 663 registration trials involved the collection of human samples.Conclusions:The number of clinical research registrations on the TCM prevention and treatment for malignant tumors is increasing day by day. The shortcomings such as insufficient standardization of research design and lack of research transparency still exists. In the future, TCM researchers need to strengthen cooperation with international traditional medicine clinical trial registry, giving full play to the leading role of standardization of TCM trials, and using registration as a starting point to improve the quality of clinical research.

Objective:The aim of this study was to assess the frailty status of patients with heart failure undergoing CRT-D and then explore the predictive value of frailty for all-cause mortality and heart failure-related readmissions in these patients.Methods:We retrospectively included 374 patients with chronic heart failure who underwent CRT-D treatment at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University between June 2020 and June 2024. Based on the Tilburg Debilitation Assessment Scale, 175 patients (46.8%) were classified as frail while 199 (53.2%) were classified as non-frail. The baseline data between the two groups was compared using Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier curves were used for survival analysis. P-values of <0.05 indicated statistically significant differences. Results:A total of 374 patients aged 25-93 (68±11) years were enrolled in this study, 101 (27.0%) of which were female. Among these, 175 (46.8%) were categorized as frail, and 199 (53.2%) were classified as non-frail. Over a median follow-up time of 23 (5, 45) months, 35 (9.4%) patients experienced all-cause mortality, with 30 (17.1%) deaths occurring in the frail group and 5 (2.5%) in the non-frail group; meanwhile, readmission events due to heart failure occurred in a total of 174 (46.5%) patients, including 122 (70.1%) in the frail group, and 52 (29.9%) in the non-frail group. Cox analysis showed that frailty was a significant determinant of all-cause mortality ( HR=21.25, 95% CI 3.99-113.30, P<0.001) and readmission among heart failure patients receiving CRT-D ( HR=2.52, 95% CI 1.73-3.68, P<0.001). Log-rank tests showed that the survival rate of patients in the frail group was significantly lower than that of patients in the non-frail group ( HR=7.22, 95% CI 2.80-18.60, P<0.001) and the risk of readmission events due to heart failure was significantly higher among patients in the frail group than among those in the non-frail group ( HR=2.75, 95% CI 1.98-3.81, P<0.001). Conclusions:Frailty is an independent predictor of postoperative all-cause mortality and the occurrence of heart failure-related readmissions in patients with heart failure treated receiving CRT-D.

AIM: To evaluate the performance of three distinct large language models(LLM), including GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and PaLM2, in responding to queries within the field of ophthalmology, and to compare their performance with three different levels of medical professionals: medical undergraduates, master of medicine, and attending physicians.METHODS: A total of 100 ophthalmic multiple-choice tests, which covered ophthalmic basic knowledge, clinical knowledge, ophthalmic examination and diagnostic methods, and treatment for ocular disease, were conducted on three different kinds of LLM and three different levels of medical professionals(9 undergraduates, 6 postgraduates and 3 attending physicians), respectively. The performance of LLM was comprehensively evaluated from the aspects of mean scores, consistency and confidence of response, and it was compared with human.RESULTS: Notably, each LLM surpassed the average performance of undergraduate medical students(GPT-4:56, GPT-3.5:42, PaLM2:47, undergraduate students:40). Specifically, performance of GPT-3.5 and PaLM2 was slightly lower than those of master's students(51), while GPT-4 exhibited a performance comparable to attending physicians(62). Furthermore, GPT-4 showed significantly higher response consistency and self-confidence compared with GPT-3.5 and PaLM2.CONCLUSION: LLM represented by GPT-4 performs well in the field of ophthalmology, and the LLM model can provide clinical decision-making and teaching aids for clinicians and medical education.

Objective To analyze coating properties of porous artificial joints,including coating morphology and coating mechanical properties,and summarize the range of coating properties of current mainstream products,to provide references for the design and development of new products,as well as provide the basis for the long-term implant removal analysis.Methods Samples for the surface morphology,shear strength,and tensile strength of the coatings used in the experiment were prepared in accordance with ASTM F1854,ASTM F1044,and ASTM F1 147 standards,respectively.The coatings were processed using plasma spraying.The surface morphology(coating thickness,porosity,and pore intercept)of the coatings for all 17 products(Nos.1-17)was tested;for products Nos.1-7 and Nos.15-16,the shear strength test between the coating and substrate was conducted first in accordance with the test method of ASTM F1044.Then,according to the test method of ASTM F1 147,the tensile strength test between the coating and substrate was conducted.For product No.17,the shear and tensile strengths of the composite coating and simple titanium coating were tested,respectively,according to the test method of ASTM F1044 and ASTM F1 147.Results A total of 15 products(88.2％)had coating thicknesses between 300 μm and 500 μm.There were 16 metal-coated products(Nos.1-16),of which 11(68.75％of the total)had coating porosities between 30％and 50％,and 14(87.5％of the total)had coating pore intercepts between 50 μm and 150 μm.The mechanical properties of the coatings were independent of the substrate material used.The shear and tensile strengths of the composite coatings with hydroxyaptite(HA)were significantly lower than those of the pure metal coatings.Conclusions For the design and manufacture of artificial joints with porous coatings,the performance of the coating can be referred to the following indexes:the coating thickness is 300-500 μm,the coating porosity is 30％-50％,the coating pore intercept is 50-150 μm.The substrate materials can be selected based on the use of the product.The effects of a lower bonding force on product performance should be considered when designing prostheses with composite coatings containing HA.This range of performance metrics provides control for long-term clinical extraction analyses.

OBJECTIVE To obtain stronger cytotoxic activity of panaxadiol derivatives. METHODS The 3-amino panaxadiol was prepared by the bioelectronic isosteric principle, and then 18 derivatives of cinnamic acid, NO donor and other types of panaxadiol derivatives were synthesized, among them, 12 compounds had not been reported in the literature, and their structures had been confirmed by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and mass spectrometry. These compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity by MTS assay against human leukemia cell line HL-60, liver cancer cell line SMMC-7721, lung cancer cell line A-549, breast cancer cell line MCF-7, and colon cancer cell line SW480. RESULTS These results showed that compounds 6c, 7 as well as 7j exhibited potent inhibitory activities against all five tumor cells, especially the IC50 values of compound 7 against HL-60 and SMMC-7721cells were 3.41 and 4.51 μmol·L−1, respectively. It was significantly superior to panaxadiol in cytotoxicity. CONCLUSION These results show that 7 and 7j can be used as promising lead compounds for further research.

Objective:To analyze the status of neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) management in 10 hospitals in Northwest China over the past five years and to investigate the strategies for improving the prevention and treatment of RDS.Methods:This retrospective study involved premature infants with RDS who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) of 10 hospitals (six in Shaanxi Province, three in Gansu Province, and one in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region) of the Northwest China Neonatal Collaborative Group within 3 d after birth from January 1 to December 31, 2016, and from January 1 to December 31, 2021. Basic information, perinatal condition, treatment approaches, complications, and prognosis of the patients were compared. T-test, rank sum, and Chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis. Result:(1) This study enrolled 322 premature infants with RDS in 2016 and 349 in 2021. Premature infants at the gestational age of 30 to 33 weeks were mainly affected, and the majority were male [64.3% (207/322) and 57.3% (200/349)]. The average maternal age in 2021 was older than that in 2016 [(30.6±4.8) years vs (28.6±5.4) years, t=24.02, P<0.001], and the proportion of women at advanced maternal age was also higher in 2021 [19.2% (67/349) vs 12.4% (40/322), χ2=4.18, P<0.05]. (2) The proportions of pregnancies conceived with assisted reproductive technologies [11.7% (41/349) vs 1.9% (6/322), χ2=25.12], underwent routine prenatal examinations [58.5% (204/349) vs 30.4% (98/322), χ2=53.33], exposed to steroids [62.2% (217/349) vs 28.6% (92/322), χ2=82.58] and delivered by cesarean section or elective cesarean section [73.6% (257/349) vs 51.6% (166/322), χ2=35.06; 24.1% (84/349) vs 6.5% (21/322), χ2=39.07], as well as the ratio of cesarean scar pregnancy [7.4% (26/349) vs 3.4% (11/322), χ2=5.23] were all higher in 2021 than those in 2016 (all P<0.05). Moreover, the incidence of fetal distress [30.1% (105/349) vs 20.2% (65/322), χ2=8.68], gestational hypertension [24.6% (86/349) vs 13.0% (42/322), χ2=14.59], premature rupture of membranes [16.0% (56/349) vs 10.2% (33/322), χ2=4.89], meconium-stained amniotic fluid [12.6% (44/349) vs 5.6% (18/322), χ2=9.83], placental abruption [10.3% (36/349) vs 5.3% (17/322), χ2=5.84], gestational diabetes mellitus [10.3% (36/349) vs 1.6%(5/322), χ2=22.41], chorioamnionitis [4.6%(16/349) vs 0.9% (3/322), χ2=8.12], thyroid dysfunction [4.3% (15/349) vs 0.6% (2/322), χ2=7.88] and heart disease [4.3% (15/349) vs 0.3% (1/322), χ2=9.17] were higher in 2021 than in 2016 (all P<0.05). (3) In 2021, the rate of pulmonary surfactant (PS) usage, the dosage of porcine PS, and the proportion of bovine PS usage were all significantly higher than those in 2016 [73.6% (257/349) vs 67.1% (216/322), χ2=11.62; (178.5±38.0) mg/kg vs (165.2±42.8) mg/kg, t=7.85; 47.9% (123/257) vs 19.4% (42/216), χ2=41.72; all P<0.01]. No significant difference in the incidence of intubation-surfactant-extubation (INSURE), early PS administration (≤2 h after birth), or the arterial blood gas values before and after PS treatment was found between the cases enrolled in 2021 and 2016. The duration of antibiotic treatment [7.0 d (5.0-14.0 d) vs 5.0 d (1.0-8.0 d), Z=7.55] and assisted ventilation [144 h (81-264 h) vs 73 h (47-134 h), Z=8.20] and the median hospital stay [24 d(14-42 d) vs 16 d (10-25 d), Z=6.74] were significantly longer in 2021 than in 2016 (all P<0.01). More patients required nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation [29.6% (100/338) vs 1.0% (3/306), χ2=97.81] and conventional ventilation [42.6% (144/338) vs 30.1% (92/306), χ2=10.87] in 2021 as compared with those five years ago (both P<0.01). (4) In 2021, the incidence of patent ductus arteriosus [15.5% (54/349) vs 6.2% (20/322), χ2=63.40], bronchopulmonary dysplasia [9.2% (32/349) vs 2.8% (9/322), χ2=12.88], persistent pulmonary hypertension [5.4% (19/349) vs 0.6% (2/322), χ2=12.85], periventricular leukomalacia [4.3% (15/349) vs 1.2% (4/322), χ2=7.52] and pneumothorax [3.4% (12/349) vs 0.3% (1/322), χ2=9.68] increased as compared with those in 2016 (all P<0.05), while the incidence of nosocomial infection decreased significantly [7.4% (26/349) vs 19.6% (63/322), χ2=21.37, P<0.001]. (5) The cure rate of premature infants with RDS was 70.8% (247/349) in 2021, which was significantly higher than that in 2016 [56.2% (181/322), χ2=15.37, P<0.001]. Moreover, the rate of withdrawing treatment and the total mortality rate was lower in 2021 than in 2016 [7.7% (27/349) vs 14.3% (46/322), χ2=7.41; in-hospital: 1.4% (5/349) vs 5.6% (18/322), χ2=8.74; out of hospital: 8.3% (29/349) vs 13.7% (44/322), χ2=4.96; all P<0.05]. Conclusions:The clinical management of RDS in premature infants in the involved hospitals has been improved. However, there is room for improvement in prenatal examinations.

The gut microbiome shows changes under a plateau environment, while the disbalance of intestinal microbiota plays an important role in the pathogenesis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS); however, the relationship between the two remains unexplored. In this work, we followed up a healthy cohort for up to a year before and after living in a plateau environment and performed 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing analysis of their fecal samples. Through evaluating the participants' clinical symptoms, combined with an IBS questionnaire, we screened the IBS sub-population in our cohort. The sequencing results showed that a high-altitude environment could lead to changes in the diversity and composition of gut flora. In addition, we found that the longer the time volunteers spent in the plateau environment, the more similar their gut microbiota composition and abundance became compared to those before entering the plateau, and IBS symptoms were significantly alleviated. Therefore, we speculated that the plateau may be a special environment that induces IBS. The taxonomic units g_Alistipes, g_Oscillospira, and s_Ruminococcus_torques, which had been proved to play important roles in IBS pathogenesis, were also abundant in the IBS cohort at high altitudes. Overall, the disbalance of gut microbiota induced by the plateau environment contributed to the high frequency of IBS and the psychosocial abnormalities associated with IBS. Our results prompt further research to elucidate the relevant mechanism.