OBJECTIVE To screen the primary processing methods of Ligusticum sinense slice based on differential metabolites， and provide theoretical basis for the scientific processing of L. sinense. METHODS Using 13 groups of L. sinense slice processed by fresh-cutting or traditional methods as samples， UHPLC-QE-MS was employed for metabolite identification. Multivariate statistical analysis was applied to screen differential metabolites among the 13 sample groups， analyzing the effects of washing， soaking， drying methods， and drying cycles on both the relative expressions of differential metabolites and the contents of carboxylic acids and their derivatives in the samples （to reflect the total amino acid content）. RESULTS Principal component analysis and partial least squares-discriminant analysis both showed significant intergroup differences among the 13 sample groups. A total of 688 differential metabolites were screened from the 13 sample groups， with carboxylic acids and their derivatives showing the highest proportion. The relative expression levels of phosphatidylcholine significantly increased after washing treatment， while tryptophan expression significantly decreased after soaking treatment. Samples dried at 50-60 ℃ showed significantly increased expression of psoralen， whereas those dried at 40 ℃ showed significantly decreased expression of methyl -p- methoxycinnamate. Both washing and soaking treatments significantly reduced the total amino acid content in samples， while secondary drying significantly increased it. The three controlled-temperature drying methods maintained relatively stable total content of amino acids in samples. CONCLUSIONS The optimal processing protocol for L. sinense slice is as follows: fresh L. sinense slice should be freshly cut at the production site， undergo quick washing after soil removal， and be dried twice at 40 ℃ （before and after slicing）.

OBJECTIVES: To analyze bone mass distribution and the factors affecting bone mass in a general Chinese Han cohort undergoing physical examinations at our center. METHODS: We retrospectively collected the data of bone mineral density (BMD) measurements from 30 599 healthy Han Chinese adults (age≥20 years) who underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scans at our hospital from July, 2013 to July, 2023. Basic parameters including height, body weight, and gender were recorded, and descriptive statistics and correlation analyses were performed using R software. RESULTS: In this cohort, the male individuals had a mean peak BMD of 1.00±0.12 g/cm² in the lumbar vertebrae, 0.94±0.14 g/cm² in the femoral neck, and 0.99±0.13 g/cm² in the total hip, significantly higher than the values in the female individuals [0.99±0.12 g/cm² in the lumbar vertebrae (P=0.022), 0.79±0.11 g/cm² in the femoral neck (P<0.001), and 0.88±0.11 g/cm² in the total hip (P<0.001)]. In the overall cohort, the BMD values of the lumbar spine and femur decreased with age after reaching their peak levels. There was a positive correlation between BMD value and body mass index (BMI) in both male and female individuals. The 2013-2014 period recorded the lowest BMD values in the lumbar, hip, and femoral neck, which tended to increase steadily in the following years (2015-2023). CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that the BMD values vary among different populations, and future multi-center studies using more accurate BMD detection technology are warranted to capture the variation patterns of BMD with demographic characteristics of specific populations.
Humans ; Bone Density ; Absorptiometry, Photon ; Male ; Female ; Retrospective Studies ; Osteoporosis/diagnostic imaging* ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Lumbar Vertebrae/diagnostic imaging* ; China/epidemiology* ; Femur Neck/diagnostic imaging* ; Aged ; Beijing/epidemiology* ; Young Adult

Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) in patients with auditory neuropathy (AN). The factors affecting DPOAE elicitation rate of each frequency, elicitation rate of each ear and change rate of first and last diagnosis in the natural course were analyzed.Methods:The sample was obtained from the Multicenter Study on Clinical Diagnosis and Intervention of AN (registration number: ChiCTR2100050125), and the diagnostic criteria for AN were based on the Chinese Clinical Practice Guidelines of Auditory Neuropathy (version 2022). Patients with bilateral AN who underwent 2 or more DPOAE tests were screened and divided into infant groups (≤3 years old) and non-infant groups (>3 years old) according to the age of detection, and the trend of DPOAE elicitation rate of each frequency, elicitation rate of each ear and change rate in the natural course of disease were analyzed, in order to explore the relevant influencing factors.Results:A total of 165 patients (330 ears) with AN were included in the study. The overall DPOAE elicitation rate per ear was 77.0%±29.4% at the initial diagnosis and 65.1%±35.2% at the final diagnosis, with a reduction observed in the elicitation rate of 171 ears (51.82%). In the infant group, there were 49 cases (98 ears), including 28 males and 21 females, whose found age ranged from 0 to 3 years old, with a median age of 0.7 years. DPOAE elicitation rate per ear was 57.9%±35.5% in the initial diagnosis, and 32.4%±32.1% in the final diagnosis, with a reduction observed in the elicitation rate of 69 ears (70.41%). In the non-infant group, there were 116 cases (232 ears), including 59 males and 57 females, ranging in found age from 3.9 to 40 years old, with a median age of 14 years old. DPOAE elicitation rate per ear was 84.6%±23.4% in the initial diagnosis, and 78.3%±27.1% in the final diagnosis, with a reduction observed in the elicitation rate of 102 ears (43.97%). Age was found to be correlated with DPOAE changes by multicategorical unordered logistic regression analysis ( B=-0.224, OR=0.799, P<0.001). Conclusions:The elicitation rate of DPOAE in AN patients decreases or even disappears with increasing disease duration; The rate of DPOAE extraction is found to be lower in infant patients with auditory neuropathy (AN) compared to non-infant AN patients. Additionally, it is observed that the decrease in DPOAE extraction rate is more pronounced in infant AN patients as the disease progressed, as compared to non-infant AN patients. DPOAE and cochlear microphonic potentials should be fully combined for accurate diagnosis, and regular follow-up should be conducted to understand the natural course of the disease and give personalized guidance and assistance.

Objective To evaluate the correlation and consistency between an artificial intelligence(AI)bone mineral density(BMD)measurement system based on 3D-Densenet neural network technology and quantitative computed tomography(QCT)in measuring BMD,as well as to assess its effectiveness in diagnosing osteoporosis(OP).Methods A total of 1 201 participants who underwent low dose computed tomography(LDCT)were retrospectively included.The AI BMD measurement system and QCT were utilized to measure the BMD of T12,L1,L2 vertebrae,and the average BMD.Consistency and correlation of BMD measurements between the two methods were assessed using Bland-Altman,Pearson,and Kappa analyses.With QCT results as the reference standard,the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve was drawn to evaluate the accuracy of AI BMD measurement system in diagnosing OP.Results The r and r2 for the average BMD measured by the two methods were 0.997 and 0.993,respectively.The Kappa value for the diagnosis of normal BMD,low bone mass,and OP using the AI BMD measurement system was 0.905.The area under the curve(AUC)for diagnosing OP using the AI BMD measurement system was 0.998,with a sensitivity of 0.888 and specificity of 0.997.Conclusion The AI BMD measurement system based on 3D-Densenet neural network technology has a high correlation and consistency with the QCT measurement result,which can accurately diagnose normal BMD,low bone mass,and OP.

Objective:To predict the Ki-67 expression grading in patients with mass breast cancer based on multimodal ultrasound features to aid clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods:Ninety-three female patients (93 masses in total) with breast cancers confirmed by pathological examination were retrospectively included in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University from September 2017 to September 2020. According to the immunohistochemical results, the patients were divided into Ki-67 high expression group (55 cases) and Ki-67 low expression group (38 cases). The qualitative and quantitative features from two-dimensional gray-scale ultrasound, color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI), shear wave elastography (SWE) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) images of all breast masses were retrospectively analyzed, differential features were analyzed based on logistic regression algorithm. ROC curves and Kappa test were used for the evaluation of diagnosis.Results:The univariate analysis revealed statistically significant differences between the two groups for conventional ultrasound features (size, shape, margins), SWE features (stiff rim sign, Eratio), and CEUS features (perfusion defect, IMAX) (all P<0.05). In the multiple logistic regression analysis, the margins, stiff rim sign, and perfusion defect were the independent factors for predicting the Ki-67 expression (all P<0.05). The performance of the predictive model was 0.882 (95%confidence interval of 0.798-0.940, P<0.05) with the sensitivity of 0.818 and specificity of 0.790. Conclusions:A preliminary analysis of the relationship between multi-modal ultrasound features and Ki-67 expression grading in mass breast cancers was performed based on logistic regression algorithm to provide more imaging information for clinical treatment and prognosis assessment.

ObjectiveBy comparing the differences in composition and content of volatile components between Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma（AMR）and bleaching AMR， bran-fried AMR and bran-fried bleaching AMR， the effect of processing with rice-washed water on the volatile components in AMR and bran-fried AMR were investigated. MethodHeadspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry（HS-GC-MS）was used to determine the volatile components in raw products， bran-fried products and their processed products with rice-washed water. GC conditions were programmed temperature（starting temperature of 50 ℃， rising to 140 ℃ at 10 ℃·min^-1， maintained for 5 min， then rising to 210 ℃ at 4 ℃·min^-1）， splitting ratio of 10∶1， high purity helium as the carrier gas and a solvent delay time of 3 min. MS conditions were an electron bombardment ion source（EI） with an electron collision energy of 70 eV， ion source temperature of 230 ℃， and the detection range of m/z 20-650. The relative contents of the components were determined by the peak area normalization method， the obtained sample data were subjected to principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） by SIMCA 14.1 software， and the differential components of AMR and bleaching AMR， and bran-fried AMR and bran-fried bleaching AMR were screened according to variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1 and P<0.05. ResultA total of 71 volatile components were identified， including 53 in AMR， 50 in bleaching AMR， 51 in bran-fried AMR， and 44 in bran-fried bleaching AMR. OPLS-DA results showed that there were significant differences between AMR and bleaching AMR， bran-fried AMR and bran-fried bleaching AMR， but not between AMR samples from different origins. The compound composition of AMR and bleaching AMR， bran-fried AMR and bran-fried bleaching AMR did not change， but the contents of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes changed significantly. ConclusionSignificant changes in the contents of volatile components were observed in AMR and bleaching AMR， bran-fried AMR and bran-fried bleaching AMR， among them， 1，2-dimethyl-4-methylidenecyclopentene， 9，10-dehydro-isolongifolene， γ-elemene， zingiberene， atractylone， silphinene， modhephene and （1S，4S，4aS）-1-isopropyl-4，7-dimethyl-1，2，3，4，4a，5-hexahydronaphthalene can be used as candidate differential markers of volatile components of AMR before and after processing with rice-washed water.

In order to increase the ability of oil-emulsion adjuvant to stimulate cellular immunity, chitosan hydrochloride with positive charge was selected to stabilize oil-in-water emulsion (CHE). In this paper, model antigen ovalbumin was selected to prepare vaccines with emulsion adjuvant, commercial adjuvant or no adjuvant. The emulsion was characterized by measuring the particle size, electric potential and antigen adsorption rate. BALB/c mice were immunized by intramuscular injection. Serum antibody levels, the numbers of IL-4-secreting cells in splenocytes, cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response, and the expression of central memory T cells were measured to evaluate the immunostimulatory effect. The results showed that chitosan hydrochloride can effectively stabilize the emulsion. The emulsion size is about 600 nm, and the antigen adsorption rate is more than 90%. After immunization, CHE could increase serum antibodies levels and increase IL-4 secretion. Expression of CTL surface activation molecules was also increased to stimulate CTL response further and to increase the CD44⁺CD62L⁺ in T cells proportion. CHE as adjuvant can stimulate humoral and cellular immunity more efficiently, and is expected to extend the duration of protection.
Animals ; Mice ; Chitosan ; Interleukin-4 ; Emulsions ; Immunization ; Adjuvants, Immunologic/pharmacology* ; Antigens ; Mice, Inbred BALB C

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics of patients with colchicine poisoning, and analyze the risk factors affecting the prognosis of colchicine poisoning and its value in the prognostic assessment.Methods:Patients with colchicine poisoning admitted to the Emergency Intensive Care Unit of the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from December 2017 to October 2022 were retrospectively included and divided into the survival group and death group according to the 14-d outcome. The general conditions of the two groups of patients were compared, and the clinical characteristics of patients with colchicine poisoning were analyzed. The differences of laboratory indexes, electrocardiogram, cardiac ultrasound and other clinical indexes during the first admission of patients between the two groups were compared, and their value in the prognosis evaluation of patients with colchicine poisoning was explored.Results:There were 41 patients with colchicine poisoning, aged 15-85 years, including 35 males and 6 females. There were 27 patients (65.9%) in the survival group and 14 patients (34.1%) in the death group, including accumulative poisoning (58.7%) and suicide poisoning (41.3%). The main clinical manifestations of patients with colchicine poisoning were gastrointestinal symptoms (82.93%), multiple organ dysfunction (78.05%), infectious fever (73.17%), myocardial damage (48.78%), coagulation dysfunction (46.34%), and bone marrow suppression (41.46%). Intestinal obstruction (19.51%) and rhabdomyolysis (2.44%) occurred in some patients. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the increase in absolute value of QTc interval ( OR=1.028, 95% CI: 1.000~1.056, P<0.05), lactic acid ( OR=1.599, 95% CI: 1.088~2.350, P<0.05), prothrombin time ( OR=1.205, 95% CI: 1.002~1.450, P<0.05), D-dimer ( OR=1.242, 95% CI: 1.089~1.417, P<0.05), and alkaline phosphatase ( OR=1.013, 95% CI: 1.002~1.024, P<0.05) were the risk factors for the prognosis of patients with colchicine poisoning. The decrease in the absolute value of ADL score ( OR=0.947, 95% CI: 0.909~0.988, P<0.05) and indirect bilirubin ( OR=0.756, 95% CI: 0.572~0.999, P<0.05) were the protective factors for the prognosis of patients with colchicine poisoning. D-dimer (AUC=0.913), lactic acid (AUC= 0.875) and alkaline phosphatase (AUC=0.770) had predictive value for the prognosis of patients with colchicine poisoning, and their cut-off values were 8.965 mg/L, 4.05 mmol/L and 230.5 U/L, respectively. Conclusions:The patients with colchicine poisoning have multiple organ dysfunction on admission, and are in a critical condition. The early levels of D-dimer, lactic acid and alkaline phosphatase could effectively predict the prognosis of patients with colchicine poisoning.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effects of Jiakang Pingxiao prescription combined with methiimidazole on hyperthyroidism. Methods:A total of 100 patients with hyperthyroidism admitted to Shanxian Central Hospital from February 2018 to January 2021 were included in this study. They were randomly divided into a study group and a control group, with 50 patients in each group. The control group was treated with methiimidazole, and the study group was treated with Jiakang Pingxiao prescription combined with methiimidazole. Thyroid function, serum levels of osteocalcin (OCN), β-CTx, hypersensitive C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were compared between the two groups. Results:After treatment, serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), free thyroxine (FT4) in the study group were (3.10 ± 1.36) mU/L, (5.76 ± 1.25) pmol/L, (15.22 ± 1.95) pmol/L, respectively, which were significantly lower than (4.88 ± 1.47) mU/L, (7.13 ± 1.32) pmol/L, (19.07 ± 2.02) pmol/L in the control group ( t = 5.27, 4.71, 6.29, all P < 0.05). Serum OCN, β-CTx, hS-CRP, and IL-6 in the study group were (17.36 ± 2.62) μg/L, (0.32 ± 0.04) μg/L, (4.07 ± 0.86) mg/L, and (1.38 ± 0.21) pg/L, respectively, which were significantly lower than (26.05 ± 2.88) μg/L, (0.51 ± 0.09) μg/L, (6.23 ± 0.91) mg/L, (1.89 ± 0.28) pg/L in the control group ( t = 12.37, 10.40, 7.39, 8.57, all P < 0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group [6.00% (3/50) vs. 12.00% (3/50), χ2 = 14.78, P < 0.05). Conclusion:Jikang Pingxiao prescription combined with methiimidazole can effectively reduce the inflammatory responses in patients with hyperthyroidism, inhibit the expression of OCN and β-CTX in the serum, and improve thyroid function. The combined method is scientific and reasonable, and is suitable for clinical application. It has good therapeutic effects on hyperthyroidism and is worthy of clinical promotion.

OBJECTIV E To study composition an d content changes of volatile components during the bleaching process of Atractylodis macrocephala with the water of washing rice. METHODS The raw products of A. macrocephala and bleached products of 5 different bleaching stages were prepared （in the first and second stages ，raw products were bleached with 9-fold volumn of the water of washing rice for 12 h and 24 h，respectively；in the third ，fourth and fifth stages ，the raw products were firstly bleached with 9-fold volumn of the water of washing rice for 24 h，and then bleached with 9-fold volumn of clean water for 12，24 and 48 h，respectively）；the bleaching temperature was set at 26 ℃. The volatile components of raw products of A. macrocephala and its bleached products of 5 different bleaching stages were qualitatively analyzed by using headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The relative percentage of each component was calculated by peak area normalization method. RESULTS A total of 49 volatile components were identified from raw products of A. macrocephala and its bleached products of 5 different bleaching stages，including 20 common volatile components such as terpinolene ，cyperene and atractylon ，etc. Among them ，33，31，28， 30，28 and 29 volatile components were identified from the raw products of A. macrocephala and the bleached products of the first to fifth stages ，the relative percentages of which were 66.218％ ，64.711％ ，79.410％ ，65.419％ ，67.101％ ，66.818％ ， respectively；among them ，the relative percentage of atractylon in bleached products was the highest in the fourth stage （41.206％），but was the lowest in the third stage （35.926％）. Compared with the raw product ，16 volatile components such as pethylbrene and β-vetivenen were added in the bleaching process ，while 8 volatile components such as ethyl palmitate and β-maaliene were not detected. However ，5 volatile components including 11-rotundene and （－）-valeranone in the bleaching process showed a trend of disappearance-emergence and disappearance-emergence-disappearance. CONCLUSIONS In the third stage，the total relative percentage of each volatile component and the relative percentage of representative dry component as ， atractylone are the lowest in bleached products of A. ； macrocephala，i.e. the bleaching technology of relieving the dry property of A. macrocephala e with the water of washing rice is bleaching with 9-fold volumn of the water of washing rice for 24 h，and then bleaching with 9-fold volumn of clean water for 12 h.