Intervertebral disc degeneration （IVDD） is the core cause of chronic low back pain， which severely impairs patients’ quality of life and imposes a heavy social and medical burden. The hypoxia-pyroptosis-inflammation cascade mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1α （HIF-1α） is the core pathological mechanism driving the initiation and progression of IVDD. Natural active ingredients derived from traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） have become a research hotspot in the field of IVDD prevention and treatment due to their advantages of multi-target effects， favorable efficacy， and low toxicity. This paper systematically reviews the mechanism of HIF-1α-mediated hypoxia-pyroptosis-inflammation cascade in degenerative nucleus pulposus tissue and the intervention of related active ingredients. It is found that natural active ingredients such as baicalein， curcumin and resveratrol can intervene in the HIF-1α-mediated pathological cascade through four core links to delay IVDD progression： targeting the HIF-1α oxygen sensing pathway to block the initiation of pyroptosis cascade， inhibiting NOD-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome activation to cut off the cascade amplification of inflammatory signals， intervening in the Gasdermin D-mediated pyroptosis execution stage to protect cell membrane integrity， and regulating extracellular matrix metabolism to reconstruct intervertebral disc homeostasis.

By analyzing the connotation of "kenang （窠囊）" and its relationship with adenoid hypertrophy （AH） in children， this paper suggests that kenang plays a significant role in the development process of pediatric AH， from the initial accumulation of phlegm-dampness in the early stage， to the binding of phlegm and stasis in the middle stage， and finally the healthy qi deficiency with phlegm stagnation in the late stage， and may also serve as a key entry point for the diagnosis and treatment. From the perspective of "kenang"， and in combination with the core pathogenesis of pediatric AH characterized by lung heat and phlegm stasis， this paper proposes that the key therapeutic principles include clearing heat to resolve phlegm， activating blood to remove stasis， and reducing swelling to dissipate nodules. A staged treatment strategy based on the self-formulated Bizhi Formula （鼻窒方） with modifications is used. In the early stage of the disease， the treatment should be soothing the wind and relieving the exterior， resolving phlegm and dredging the orifices to prevent the initial knot of kenang， for which Bizhi Formula and Cangerzi Powder （苍耳子散） with modifications can be used. In the middle stage， the treatment should be dissolving phlegm and expelling stasis， dispersing knots and unblocking orifices to break down the establishment of kenang， and Bizhi Formula combined with Haizao Yuhu Decoction （海藻玉壶汤） with modifications is suggested. In the late stage， the treatment emphasizes reinforcing healthy qi and consolidating the root， resolving phlegm and dredging collaterals in order to prevent recurrence of kenang， and the suggested prescription is modified Bizhi Formula combined with Shenling Baizhu Powder （参苓白术散）.

By analyzing the connotation of "kenang （窠囊）" and its relationship with adenoid hypertrophy （AH） in children， this paper suggests that kenang plays a significant role in the development process of pediatric AH， from the initial accumulation of phlegm-dampness in the early stage， to the binding of phlegm and stasis in the middle stage， and finally the healthy qi deficiency with phlegm stagnation in the late stage， and may also serve as a key entry point for the diagnosis and treatment. From the perspective of "kenang"， and in combination with the core pathogenesis of pediatric AH characterized by lung heat and phlegm stasis， this paper proposes that the key therapeutic principles include clearing heat to resolve phlegm， activating blood to remove stasis， and reducing swelling to dissipate nodules. A staged treatment strategy based on the self-formulated Bizhi Formula （鼻窒方） with modifications is used. In the early stage of the disease， the treatment should be soothing the wind and relieving the exterior， resolving phlegm and dredging the orifices to prevent the initial knot of kenang， for which Bizhi Formula and Cangerzi Powder （苍耳子散） with modifications can be used. In the middle stage， the treatment should be dissolving phlegm and expelling stasis， dispersing knots and unblocking orifices to break down the establishment of kenang， and Bizhi Formula combined with Haizao Yuhu Decoction （海藻玉壶汤） with modifications is suggested. In the late stage， the treatment emphasizes reinforcing healthy qi and consolidating the root， resolving phlegm and dredging collaterals in order to prevent recurrence of kenang， and the suggested prescription is modified Bizhi Formula combined with Shenling Baizhu Powder （参苓白术散）.

ObjectiveTo explore the effects of angle and original moisture content on the moisture distribution， migration and contents of effective components in the drying process of sliced Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma（SMRR）. MethodsSet the slicing angles of SMRR at 30°， 45°， and 90°. Cut the fresh samples， 1/3 dehydrated samples， and 2/3 dehydrated samples， dry them in an oven at 40 ℃ and take samples at the set time points. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance（LF-NMR） and magnetic resonance imaging（MRI） were used to analyze the changes in transverse relaxation time（T₂） of SMRR samples in 9 treatment groups at specific times， as well as the distribution and migration of water in the samples. The contents of tanshinone Ⅱ_A， tanshinone Ⅰ， cryptotanshinone， and salvianolic acid B in samples from 9 different treatment groups were determined by high performance liquid chromatography（HPLC）， and the best processing technology of SMRR was screened by combining with One-way ANOVA， Duncan multiple comparison and principal component analysis（PCA）. ResultsThe moisture content of dry basis of SMRR in each treatment group decreased with the extension of drying time. The drying rate of fresh cut group decreased slowly at first， while the drying rate of water loss group showed a trend of increasing at first and then decreasing. The internal water of SMRR could be divided into three states， including bound water， non flowing water and free water. During the drying process， the water migration law showed that the free water of fresh cut group disappeared after drying for 12 h， the content of bound water gradually decreased， and the overall fluidity deteriorated. In the water loss group， part of the free water was transformed into more cohesive and non flowing water after drying for 3 h， and the three kinds of water basically disappeared after drying for 12 h. The MRI results showed that the entire dehydration process slowly moved from the outer side to the center， and the internal water eventually dissipated. In terms of the contents of active ingredients， the order of the effect of slicing angle on the total content of active ingredients in SMRR was 30°>45°>90°. The content of tanshinones was ranked as 1/3 dehydrated group>2/3 dehydrated group>fresh cut group， and the content of salvianolic acid B was ranked as 1/3 dehydrated group>fresh cut group>2/3 dehydrated group. Combined with the results of PCA and comprehensive scoring results， the overall level of effective component content in SMRR was the highest when cut at 30° after 1/3 of water loss. ConclusionAfter comprehensive evaluation， SMRR can be sliced at 30° after 1/3 of water loss. It is not only easy to cut， but also the surface and cross-sectional colors remain basically unchanged after drying， which is similar to the color under traditional processing， and the effective ingredients are preserved the highest. This study can provide a basis for the optimization of processing technology of SMRR.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of rhizosphere organic acids secreted by the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza on continuous cropping obstacles. MethodsThe mixed solution of organic acids in the rhizosphere of S. miltiorrhiza in continuous cropping and rotation cropping was added to the hairy roots subcultured for 21 days， and samples were collected on days 0， 2， 4， 6， 8， and 10. The changes of biomass， effective components， primary metabolites， secondary metabolites， antioxidant enzymes， and hormones in hairy roots of S. miltiorrhiza were observed and determined. ResultsCompared with the rotation cropping group and the blank control group， the simulation of organic acid secretion from the roots of S. miltiorrhiza had a significant inhibitory effect on the growth of hairy roots and decreased the content of effective components as well as total sugar and total protein in primary metabolites. Compared with the blank control group， the rotation cropping group and the continuous cropping group showed total sugar and total protein content decreases of 33.9% and 5.1%， respectively. On the other hand， the secretion of organic acids from S. miltiorrhiza roots significantly promoted the accumulation of total phenolic acids and total tanshinone， which showed increases of 14.6% and 1.6%， respectively， in continuous cropping group and rotation cropping group compared with the blank control group. ConclusionThe organic acid environment under continuous cropping significantly inhibited the growth of hairy roots and the accumulation of primary metabolites， while promoting the synthesis and accumulation of secondary metabolites of S. miltiorrhiza.

Objective:To explore the lifestyle pattern of the physical examination population and analyze its association with metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. Based on the data of 196 515 physical examination individuals from the Health Management Center of the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 2016 to December 2020, the subjects were grouped and characterized by principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Among them, 137 277 cases with MAFLD diagnosis information were included in the association analysis between lifestyle pattern and MAFLD. The differences in lifestyle pattern choice among different age, sex, education level, marital status, occupational category and medical insurance type and their differences with the risk of MAFLD were analyzed. The generalized linear mixed model was used to control confounding factors and then association analysis was conducted.Results:There were 6 types of lifestyle patterns in the physical examination population, which were respectively: indulgent type-both physical and mental damage, remedial type-excessive diet, giving type-unique intensity, comfortable type-natural health, heavy smoking type-sedentary injury, heavy drinking type-attempting to make up, accounting for 7.29%, 9.62%, 7.43%, 52.16%, 9.77%, 13.73% in the population. Among them, the male lifestyle pattern was mainly the indulgent type, the remedial type, the heavy smoking type and the heavy drinking type, showing the characteristics of unhealthy lifestyle pattern; Women tended to have healthier lifestyle patterns. After association analysis with MAFLD, it was found that the prevalence of MAFLD was more than 50% in the people who belonged to the indulgent type, remedial type, the heavy smoking type and the heavy drinking type (53.62%, 57.06%, 51.25% and 50.50%, respectively), and the prevalence of MAFLD in the giving type group was 40.17%. The risk of MAFLD in comfortable group was relatively low (28.25%), and the difference in risk of MAFLD among all modes was statistically significant after controlling for confounding factors ( P<0.001). Conclusion:According to cluster mining, there are 6 types of lifestyle patterns in the physical examination population, and the healthier lifestyle pattern has a lower risk of MAFLD.

Objective·To investigate the expression of serpin family E member 1(SERPINE1)in gastric cancer and its potential mechanisms in promoting gastric cancer.Methods·Pan-cancer analysis of SERPINE1 was performed by using the TIMER2.0 online website,and the differences in the expression of SERPINE1 in samples with different tumor stages of gastric cancer were analysed by the clinical data of gastric cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)database.Survival curves were plotted.Quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR)was used to detect mRNA expression in paired samples of clinical gastric cancer tissues.The small interfering RNA(siRNA)transfection technique was used to knock down the expression of SERPINE1 in MGC-803 and SGC-7901 gastric cancer cell lines,and the migration and invasive abilities of gastric cancer cells were investigated by Transwell and invasion chamber experiments.The effects of SERPINE1 knockdown on the angiogenesis of gastric cancer cells were further explored by the migration assay of human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC)and tubule formation assay of HUVECs.The Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)dataset was used for differential gene analysis in high and low expression groups based on the median value of SERPINE1 expression.The differentially expressed genes were further analyzed by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)analysis and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis(GSEA).qRT-PCR was performed to verify the expression levels of key genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)and angiogenesis.Results·Bioinformatics analysis showed that SERPINE1 was highly overexpressed in a variety of primary tumour tissues,including gastric cancer.SERPINE1 gene expression increased with increasing tumour stage(P<0.001),and increased expression of SERPINE1 was associated with poor prognosis of gastric cancer(P<0.001).qRT-PCR results showed that SERPINE1 was significantly highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues(P=0.038).After knocking down SERPINE1,gastric cancer cell lines MGC-803 and SGC-7901 cells had decreased migration and invasion(P<0.05).Gastric cancer culture supernatants from the SERPINE1-knockdown gastric cancer cell line reduced angiogenesis in HUVECs(P<0.05).Differential genes in gastric cancer patients in the SERPINE1 high-expression group in the GEO database were enriched in cancer-related pathways such as focal adhesion,extracellular matrix receptor interaction,and angiogenesis-related pathways like angiogenesis and the vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)signalling pathway.The expression of SERPINE1 was negatively correlated with cadherin 1(CDH1),and positively correlated with other key genes related to EMT and angiogenesis.Moreover,the expression levels of key genes related to EMT and angiogenesis detected by qRT-PCR in SERPINE1 knockdown gastric cancer cell lines(P<0.05),were consistent with the correlation analysis results mentioned above.Conclusion·SERPINE1 expression is elevated in gastric cancer tissues,which could regulate the expression levels of key genes related to EMT and angiogenesis to promote the migration,invasion and angiogenesis of gastric cancer cells.

Objective·To investigate the expression of serpin family E member 1(SERPINE1)in gastric cancer and its potential mechanisms in promoting gastric cancer.Methods·Pan-cancer analysis of SERPINE1 was performed by using the TIMER2.0 online website,and the differences in the expression of SERPINE1 in samples with different tumor stages of gastric cancer were analysed by the clinical data of gastric cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)database.Survival curves were plotted.Quantitative real-time PCR(qRT-PCR)was used to detect mRNA expression in paired samples of clinical gastric cancer tissues.The small interfering RNA(siRNA)transfection technique was used to knock down the expression of SERPINE1 in MGC-803 and SGC-7901 gastric cancer cell lines,and the migration and invasive abilities of gastric cancer cells were investigated by Transwell and invasion chamber experiments.The effects of SERPINE1 knockdown on the angiogenesis of gastric cancer cells were further explored by the migration assay of human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC)and tubule formation assay of HUVECs.The Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)dataset was used for differential gene analysis in high and low expression groups based on the median value of SERPINE1 expression.The differentially expressed genes were further analyzed by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)analysis and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis(GSEA).qRT-PCR was performed to verify the expression levels of key genes related to epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT)and angiogenesis.Results·Bioinformatics analysis showed that SERPINE1 was highly overexpressed in a variety of primary tumour tissues,including gastric cancer.SERPINE1 gene expression increased with increasing tumour stage(P<0.001),and increased expression of SERPINE1 was associated with poor prognosis of gastric cancer(P<0.001).qRT-PCR results showed that SERPINE1 was significantly highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues(P=0.038).After knocking down SERPINE1,gastric cancer cell lines MGC-803 and SGC-7901 cells had decreased migration and invasion(P<0.05).Gastric cancer culture supernatants from the SERPINE1-knockdown gastric cancer cell line reduced angiogenesis in HUVECs(P<0.05).Differential genes in gastric cancer patients in the SERPINE1 high-expression group in the GEO database were enriched in cancer-related pathways such as focal adhesion,extracellular matrix receptor interaction,and angiogenesis-related pathways like angiogenesis and the vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)signalling pathway.The expression of SERPINE1 was negatively correlated with cadherin 1(CDH1),and positively correlated with other key genes related to EMT and angiogenesis.Moreover,the expression levels of key genes related to EMT and angiogenesis detected by qRT-PCR in SERPINE1 knockdown gastric cancer cell lines(P<0.05),were consistent with the correlation analysis results mentioned above.Conclusion·SERPINE1 expression is elevated in gastric cancer tissues,which could regulate the expression levels of key genes related to EMT and angiogenesis to promote the migration,invasion and angiogenesis of gastric cancer cells.

Objective:To explore the lifestyle pattern of the physical examination population and analyze its association with metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).Methods:This was a cross-sectional study. Based on the data of 196 515 physical examination individuals from the Health Management Center of the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from January 2016 to December 2020, the subjects were grouped and characterized by principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Among them, 137 277 cases with MAFLD diagnosis information were included in the association analysis between lifestyle pattern and MAFLD. The differences in lifestyle pattern choice among different age, sex, education level, marital status, occupational category and medical insurance type and their differences with the risk of MAFLD were analyzed. The generalized linear mixed model was used to control confounding factors and then association analysis was conducted.Results:There were 6 types of lifestyle patterns in the physical examination population, which were respectively: indulgent type-both physical and mental damage, remedial type-excessive diet, giving type-unique intensity, comfortable type-natural health, heavy smoking type-sedentary injury, heavy drinking type-attempting to make up, accounting for 7.29%, 9.62%, 7.43%, 52.16%, 9.77%, 13.73% in the population. Among them, the male lifestyle pattern was mainly the indulgent type, the remedial type, the heavy smoking type and the heavy drinking type, showing the characteristics of unhealthy lifestyle pattern; Women tended to have healthier lifestyle patterns. After association analysis with MAFLD, it was found that the prevalence of MAFLD was more than 50% in the people who belonged to the indulgent type, remedial type, the heavy smoking type and the heavy drinking type (53.62%, 57.06%, 51.25% and 50.50%, respectively), and the prevalence of MAFLD in the giving type group was 40.17%. The risk of MAFLD in comfortable group was relatively low (28.25%), and the difference in risk of MAFLD among all modes was statistically significant after controlling for confounding factors ( P<0.001). Conclusion:According to cluster mining, there are 6 types of lifestyle patterns in the physical examination population, and the healthier lifestyle pattern has a lower risk of MAFLD.

Objective To observe the changes in functional connectivity(FC)of raphe nucleus in patients with first-episode depression complicated with suicidal ideation(SI).Methods Ninety-eight first-episode depression patients were prospectively enrolled and assigned into SI group(n=56)or non SI group(n=42)based on complicated with SI or not,while 47 healthy volunteers were recruited as control group.Resting-state functional MRI was performed.FC between dorsal raphe nucleus(DRN),median raphe nucleus(MRN)and the whole brain were analyzed and compared among 3 groups and between each 2 groups,and the correlations of FC of different brain regions with clinical data of SI group were explored.Results Compared with control group,FC between DRN and left cerebellum and left putamen in SI group and non SI group decreased(all P＜0.05),between MRN and right inferior temporal gyrus increased but between MRN and left inferior frontal gyrus,right superior occipital gyrus,left inferior parietal lobule,left putamen decreased(all P＜0.05).FC between DRN and left putamen in SI group was higher than that in non SI group(P＜0.05).FC between MRN and right central posterior gyrus of SI group increased compared with that in the rest 2 groups(both P＜0.05).FC between MRN and left putamen in SI group was positively correlated with body mass score of Hamilton depression scale-24(HAMD-24)(rs=0.297,P=0.026).Conclusion Abnormal changes of FC between raphe nucleus and cortex,also between raphe nucleus and subcortical area occurred,and FC between MRN and left putamen positively correlated with body mass score of HAMD-24 in patients with first-episode depression complicated with SI.