Objective To explore the incidence and risk factors of sarcopenia in non-dialysis patients with stage 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods Non-dialysis stage 5 CKD patients in Jiading District Central Hospital Affiliated Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences from October 2023 to October 2024 were enrolled and divided into the non-sarcopenia group and the sarcopenia group according to lean tissue index (LTI) and handgrip strength (HGS). Demographic data of patients were collected and biochemical indicators were detected. Serum advanced glycation end products (AGEs) were detected by competitive ELISA. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the risk factors of sarcopenia in these patients. The diagnostic efficacy of the risk factors was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Results A total of 102 non-dialysis stage 5 CKD patients with (68.52±7.39) years, were enrolled, including 61 male (59.8%). Among them, 24 were diagnosed with sarcopenia (23.5%). Compared with patients in non-sarcopenia group, patients in sarcopenia group were older and had higher interleukin-6 (IL-6) and AGEs, lower body mass index (BMI) and lower serum albumin (sAlb; P＜0.05). Multivariate logistic regression showed that advanced age (OR＝1.153, 95%CI 1.045–1.273, P＝0.005), higher IL-6 (OR＝1.165, 95%CI 1.042–1.302, P＝0.007)、lower sAlb (OR＝0.675, 95%CI 0.542–0.840, P＝0.001), and higher serum AGEs (OR＝1.105, 95%CI 1.013–1.206, P＝0.024) were independent risk factors of sarcopenia in non-dialysis CKD 5 patients. The areas under the curve (AUC) for the age, IL-6, sAlb, and serum AGEs were 0.896, 0.643, 0.658, and 0.724, respectively. Conclusions Sarcopenia is common in non-dialysis stage 5 CKD patients, and the risk of sarcopenia is higher in non-dialysis stage 5 CKD patients with advanced age, higher IL-6, lower sAlb, and higher serum AGEs.

Objective:To investigate the application value of dual-energy computer tomo-graphy (CT) multi-parameter imaging in predicting the pathological grade of pancreatic ductal adeno-carcinoma (PDAC).Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopatholo-gical data of 147 patients with PDAC who were admitted to The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from January 2017 to August 2023 were collected. There were 102 males and 45 females, aged (59±10)years. All patients underwent preoperative dual-energy CT examination and postoperative histopathological examination. The 147 patients were divided into a training set of 103 cases and a test set of 44 cases by stratified random sampling at a ratio of 7∶3. The training set was used to construct the prediction model, and the test set was used to verify the effectiveness of prediction model. Observation indicators: (1) analysis of factors affecting the pathological grade of PDAC patients in the training set; (2) construction and evaluation of the fusion prediction model for pathological grade of PDAC. Comparison of measurement data with normal distribution between groups was conducted using the independent sample t test. Comparison of measurement data with skewed distribution between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Comparison of count data between groups was conducted using the chi-square test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using the Logistic regression model. The performance of the model was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the area under the curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were calculated. The Delong test was used to analyze the effec-tiveness of model. The calibration curve and decision curve of Hosmer-Lemeshow test were used to evaluate the consistency and clinical application value of the nomogram, respectively. Results:(1) Analysis of factors affecting the pathological grade of PDAC patients in the training set. Results of multivariate analysis showed that tumor cystic necrosis, vascular invasion, standardized iodine concentration (NIC) in venous phase, effective atomic number (Zeff) in venous phase, and energy spectrum curve slope (λ HU) in venous phase were all independent factors affecting the pathological grade of PDAC patients in the training set ( odds ratio=4.326, 3.887, 4.155, 5.389, 3.164, 95% confidence interval as 1.167-16.033, 1.111-13.592, 1.707-10.113, 1.284-22.613, 1.247-8.028, P<0.05). (2) Construction and evaluation of the fusion prediction model for pathological grade of PDAC. Accor-ding to the results of multivariate analysis, tumor cystic necrosis, vascular invasion, NIC in venous phase, Zeff in venous phase and λ HU in venous phase were all included to construct the clinical-imaging fusion prediction nomogram model. The AUC, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the fusion prediction model in the training set were 0.938 (95% confidence interval as 0.896-0.981), 87.38%, 89.74% and 85.94%, respectively. The above indicators of the fusion prediction model in the test set were 0.893 (95% confidence interval as 0.802-0.985), 84.09%, 82.35% and 85.19%, respectively. Results of Delong test showed that there was no significant difference in AUC between the training set and the test set ( Z=0.343, P>0.05). Results of Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed that the fusion prediction model had a good fit in the training set and the test set ( χ2=3.042, 7.545, P>0.05). Results of calibration curve showed that the predictive ability of the fusion prediction model was good. Conclusions:Multiple parameters in venous phase of the dual-energy CT can be used as imaging markers for preoperative evaluation of the pathological grade of patients with PDAC. Establishing a clinical-imaging fusion prediction model can effectively predict the pathological grade of PDAC.

Aim To investigate the effect of linarin on improving cognitive behavior of APP/PS1 mice,and to explore the therapeutic effect of linarin on A β deposi-tion and neuroinflammation and its correlation.Meth-ods APP/PS1 transgenic mice were randomly divid-ed into the model group,high-dose group,medium-dose group,low-dose group and positive control group.C57BL/6J mice were set as the normal group.Morris water maze was used to evaluate the learning and mem-ory abilities of mice.TUNEL staining was used to de-tect the apoptosis of neurons in the CA1 region of mice.IHC was used to detect the expression levels of Aβ42 and GFAP.Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of BACE1 and PS-1.Results Com-pared with the normal group,mice of the model group showed lower NCP,shorter target quadrant travel,less target quadrant residence time percentage(all P＜0.01),higher apoptosis rate of neurons in the CA1 re-gion(P＜0.01),significantly higher protein expres-sion levels of A β42 and GFAP(all P＜0.01),and significantly higher protein expression levels of BACE1 and PS-1(all P＜0.01).Compared with the model group,the medium-dose group,high-dose group and positive control group showed higher NCP,longer tar-get quadrant travel,more target quadrant residence time percentage(all P＜0.05),lower apoptosis rate of neurons in the CA1 region(P＜0.01),significantly lower protein expression levels of A β42 and GFAP(all P＜0.01),and significantly lower protein expression levels of BACE1 and PS-1(all P＜0.01).Conclu-sions Linarin can inhibit two key enzymes to reduce the decomposition of APP and the generation of A β42,thereby inhibiting the activation of astrocytes,allevia-ting neuroinflammation,improving the core pathologi-cal features of AD,and thus significantly improving learning and memory impairment in APP/PS1 mice.

Aim To investigate the neuroprotective effect of Takeda G protein-coupled receptor-5(TGR5)activated by INT-777 on hypoxic-ischemic encephalop-athy(HIE)in neonatal rats.Methods Seven-day-old SD rats were randomly divided into the sham opera-tion group(Sham,S),model group(HIE,G),INT-777 low-dose(L),medium-dose(M),and high-dose(H)groups.The modified Rice-Vanucci method was used to construct the HIE model and Intranasal admin-istration 1 h after modeling.Short-term neurobehavioral tests were performed 48 h after modeling to evaluate the neurological function of neonatal rats,TTC staining was used to determine the volume of cerebral infarction,dry and wet specific gravity was used to determine the brain water content,ferrous ion kit was used to deter-mine the brain ferrous ion content,HE staining was used to observe the pathological damage of brain tis-sue,Nissl staining was used to observe the loss of Nissl substance,Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)was used to observe the mitochondrial morphological changes of cortical neurons,and Western blot was em-ployed to detect the expression of ferroptosis-related proteins TFR1 and GPX4.Results Compared with group S,group G had increased short-term neurobehav-ioral test consumption time,higher scores,increased cerebral infarct volume,brain water content,and brain ferrous iron content,significant brain tissue damage on the affected side,severe loss of Nissl substance,smaller neuronal mitochondria,decreased mitochondrial cris-tae,and increased expression of TFR1 and reduced ex-pression of GPX4.Compared with group G,the INT-777 administration group had a shorter consumption time for short-term neurobehavioral tests,lower scores,the cerebral infarction volume,brain water content,and brain ferrous ion content decreased,the brain tissue damage on the affected side was reduced,and there was insignificant loss of Nissl substance,larger neuronal mi-tochondrial volume,increased mitochondrial cristae,re-duced expression of TFR1,and increased expression of GPX4.Conclusions INT-777 agonist TGR5 has a protective effect against hypoxic-ischemic encephalopa-thy in neonatal rats,and its mechanism of action may be related to the inhibition of neuronal ferroptosis.

Aim To investigate the neuroprotective effect of Takeda G protein-coupled receptor-5(TGR5)activated by INT-777 on hypoxic-ischemic encephalop-athy(HIE)in neonatal rats.Methods Seven-day-old SD rats were randomly divided into the sham opera-tion group(Sham,S),model group(HIE,G),INT-777 low-dose(L),medium-dose(M),and high-dose(H)groups.The modified Rice-Vanucci method was used to construct the HIE model and Intranasal admin-istration 1 h after modeling.Short-term neurobehavioral tests were performed 48 h after modeling to evaluate the neurological function of neonatal rats,TTC staining was used to determine the volume of cerebral infarction,dry and wet specific gravity was used to determine the brain water content,ferrous ion kit was used to deter-mine the brain ferrous ion content,HE staining was used to observe the pathological damage of brain tis-sue,Nissl staining was used to observe the loss of Nissl substance,Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)was used to observe the mitochondrial morphological changes of cortical neurons,and Western blot was em-ployed to detect the expression of ferroptosis-related proteins TFR1 and GPX4.Results Compared with group S,group G had increased short-term neurobehav-ioral test consumption time,higher scores,increased cerebral infarct volume,brain water content,and brain ferrous iron content,significant brain tissue damage on the affected side,severe loss of Nissl substance,smaller neuronal mitochondria,decreased mitochondrial cris-tae,and increased expression of TFR1 and reduced ex-pression of GPX4.Compared with group G,the INT-777 administration group had a shorter consumption time for short-term neurobehavioral tests,lower scores,the cerebral infarction volume,brain water content,and brain ferrous ion content decreased,the brain tissue damage on the affected side was reduced,and there was insignificant loss of Nissl substance,larger neuronal mi-tochondrial volume,increased mitochondrial cristae,re-duced expression of TFR1,and increased expression of GPX4.Conclusions INT-777 agonist TGR5 has a protective effect against hypoxic-ischemic encephalopa-thy in neonatal rats,and its mechanism of action may be related to the inhibition of neuronal ferroptosis.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets in treating hypertension patients with liver yang hyperactivity or comorbid phlegm-stasis syndrome and explore its therapeutic mechanisms through plasma metabolomics.Methods:Thirty-six hypertension patients(4 dropouts)diagnosed with liver yang hyperactivity or phlegm-stasis syndrome were enrolled as the treatment group from June 2022 to September 2023 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine,while 30 healthy volunteers with balanced constitutions were recruited as the blank group.Plasma samples were collected from patients pre-and post-treatment and from healthy volunteers.Clinical outcomes,including syndrome scores,office blood pressure(BP),and 24-hour ambulatory BP,were recorded.Plasma metabolomic profiling was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS).Results:Compared with baseline,Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets significantly reduced traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores(P＜0.01),office systolic/diastolic BP(P＜0.01),and 24-hour ambulatory BP parameters(24-hour mean BP,daytime/nighttime mean BP;all P＜0.01).Metabolomic analysis identified 45 differential metabolites between the blank group and pretreatment patients,and 64 metabolites altered post-treatment(VIP＞1,P＜0.05).Enrichment analysis of 16 overlapping endogenous metabolites revealed that Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets primarily modulated arachidonic acid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism pathways.Conclusion:Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets demonstrates significant clinical efficacy in hypertension patients with liver yang hyperactivity or phlegm-stasis syndrome,potentially mediated through regulation of arachidonic acid and sphingolipid metabolism.

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy of Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets in treating hypertension patients with liver yang hyperactivity or comorbid phlegm-stasis syndrome and explore its therapeutic mechanisms through plasma metabolomics.Methods:Thirty-six hypertension patients(4 dropouts)diagnosed with liver yang hyperactivity or phlegm-stasis syndrome were enrolled as the treatment group from June 2022 to September 2023 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine,while 30 healthy volunteers with balanced constitutions were recruited as the blank group.Plasma samples were collected from patients pre-and post-treatment and from healthy volunteers.Clinical outcomes,including syndrome scores,office blood pressure(BP),and 24-hour ambulatory BP,were recorded.Plasma metabolomic profiling was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS).Results:Compared with baseline,Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets significantly reduced traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores(P＜0.01),office systolic/diastolic BP(P＜0.01),and 24-hour ambulatory BP parameters(24-hour mean BP,daytime/nighttime mean BP;all P＜0.01).Metabolomic analysis identified 45 differential metabolites between the blank group and pretreatment patients,and 64 metabolites altered post-treatment(VIP＞1,P＜0.05).Enrichment analysis of 16 overlapping endogenous metabolites revealed that Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets primarily modulated arachidonic acid metabolism and sphingolipid metabolism pathways.Conclusion:Tianma Xionglin Zhixuan Tablets demonstrates significant clinical efficacy in hypertension patients with liver yang hyperactivity or phlegm-stasis syndrome,potentially mediated through regulation of arachidonic acid and sphingolipid metabolism.

Objective:To investigate the application value of dual-energy computer tomo-graphy (CT) multi-parameter imaging in predicting the pathological grade of pancreatic ductal adeno-carcinoma (PDAC).Methods:The retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinicopatholo-gical data of 147 patients with PDAC who were admitted to The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from January 2017 to August 2023 were collected. There were 102 males and 45 females, aged (59±10)years. All patients underwent preoperative dual-energy CT examination and postoperative histopathological examination. The 147 patients were divided into a training set of 103 cases and a test set of 44 cases by stratified random sampling at a ratio of 7∶3. The training set was used to construct the prediction model, and the test set was used to verify the effectiveness of prediction model. Observation indicators: (1) analysis of factors affecting the pathological grade of PDAC patients in the training set; (2) construction and evaluation of the fusion prediction model for pathological grade of PDAC. Comparison of measurement data with normal distribution between groups was conducted using the independent sample t test. Comparison of measurement data with skewed distribution between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Comparison of count data between groups was conducted using the chi-square test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using the Logistic regression model. The performance of the model was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the area under the curve (AUC), accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were calculated. The Delong test was used to analyze the effec-tiveness of model. The calibration curve and decision curve of Hosmer-Lemeshow test were used to evaluate the consistency and clinical application value of the nomogram, respectively. Results:(1) Analysis of factors affecting the pathological grade of PDAC patients in the training set. Results of multivariate analysis showed that tumor cystic necrosis, vascular invasion, standardized iodine concentration (NIC) in venous phase, effective atomic number (Zeff) in venous phase, and energy spectrum curve slope (λ HU) in venous phase were all independent factors affecting the pathological grade of PDAC patients in the training set ( odds ratio=4.326, 3.887, 4.155, 5.389, 3.164, 95% confidence interval as 1.167-16.033, 1.111-13.592, 1.707-10.113, 1.284-22.613, 1.247-8.028, P<0.05). (2) Construction and evaluation of the fusion prediction model for pathological grade of PDAC. Accor-ding to the results of multivariate analysis, tumor cystic necrosis, vascular invasion, NIC in venous phase, Zeff in venous phase and λ HU in venous phase were all included to construct the clinical-imaging fusion prediction nomogram model. The AUC, accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the fusion prediction model in the training set were 0.938 (95% confidence interval as 0.896-0.981), 87.38%, 89.74% and 85.94%, respectively. The above indicators of the fusion prediction model in the test set were 0.893 (95% confidence interval as 0.802-0.985), 84.09%, 82.35% and 85.19%, respectively. Results of Delong test showed that there was no significant difference in AUC between the training set and the test set ( Z=0.343, P>0.05). Results of Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed that the fusion prediction model had a good fit in the training set and the test set ( χ2=3.042, 7.545, P>0.05). Results of calibration curve showed that the predictive ability of the fusion prediction model was good. Conclusions:Multiple parameters in venous phase of the dual-energy CT can be used as imaging markers for preoperative evaluation of the pathological grade of patients with PDAC. Establishing a clinical-imaging fusion prediction model can effectively predict the pathological grade of PDAC.

Aim To investigate the effect of linarin on improving cognitive behavior of APP/PS1 mice,and to explore the therapeutic effect of linarin on A β deposi-tion and neuroinflammation and its correlation.Meth-ods APP/PS1 transgenic mice were randomly divid-ed into the model group,high-dose group,medium-dose group,low-dose group and positive control group.C57BL/6J mice were set as the normal group.Morris water maze was used to evaluate the learning and mem-ory abilities of mice.TUNEL staining was used to de-tect the apoptosis of neurons in the CA1 region of mice.IHC was used to detect the expression levels of Aβ42 and GFAP.Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of BACE1 and PS-1.Results Com-pared with the normal group,mice of the model group showed lower NCP,shorter target quadrant travel,less target quadrant residence time percentage(all P＜0.01),higher apoptosis rate of neurons in the CA1 re-gion(P＜0.01),significantly higher protein expres-sion levels of A β42 and GFAP(all P＜0.01),and significantly higher protein expression levels of BACE1 and PS-1(all P＜0.01).Compared with the model group,the medium-dose group,high-dose group and positive control group showed higher NCP,longer tar-get quadrant travel,more target quadrant residence time percentage(all P＜0.05),lower apoptosis rate of neurons in the CA1 region(P＜0.01),significantly lower protein expression levels of A β42 and GFAP(all P＜0.01),and significantly lower protein expression levels of BACE1 and PS-1(all P＜0.01).Conclu-sions Linarin can inhibit two key enzymes to reduce the decomposition of APP and the generation of A β42,thereby inhibiting the activation of astrocytes,allevia-ting neuroinflammation,improving the core pathologi-cal features of AD,and thus significantly improving learning and memory impairment in APP/PS1 mice.

Objective:To explore the effect of modified reed tube moxibustion based on spleen-kidney mutual assistance theory in patients with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) combined with spleen-kidney yang deficiency type of insomnia.Methods:From September 2020 to December 2022, 64 patients with CAPD combined with insomnia of spleen-kidney yang deficiency type were selected from the Department of Nephrology, Ningbo Municipal Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University by the convenience sampling method. A randomized numerical table method was used to divide study subjects into a control group and a study group, with 32 cases in each group. The control group received conventional treatment and auricular needle-embedding therapy; while the study group received traditional treatment and auricular needle-embedding therapy combined with modified reed tube moxibustion. The intervention period lasted three months. Differences in Insomnia Severity Index, Chinese medicine syndrome score, and peritoneal dialysis adequacy were compared between the two groups.Results:After intervention, the Insomnia Severity Index score of the study group was lower than those of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). The urea clearance index and creatinine clearance rate of the study group were higher than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05) . Conclusions:Modified reed tube moxibustion based on spleen-kidney mutual assistance theory has a positive effect on improving insomnia symptoms and dialysis adequacy in patients with CAPD combined with insomnia of spleen-kidney yang deficiency type.