OBJECTIVE To optimize the salt-processing technology for Anemarrhena asphodeloides. METHODS Taking soaking time， stir-frying temperature， and stir-frying time as factors， Box-Behnken response surface methodology was employed to optimize the salt-processing technology of A. asphodeloides using the contents of mangiferin， neomangiferin， isomangiferin， timosaponin BⅡ， timosaponin AⅢ， timosaponin BⅢ， total flavonoids， and total saponins as evaluation indicators. The entropy weight method was applied to determine the weight of each indicator and calculate the comprehensive score. Based on the 17 sets of Box-Behnken response surface methodology results， a genetic algorithm （GA）-back propagation （BP） neural network was used to further optimize the salt-processing technology， with soaking time， stir-frying temperature， and stir-frying time as input layers and the comprehensive score as the output layer. The salt-processing parameters obtained from the two methods were validated and compared to determine the optimal salt-processing technology for A. asphodeloides. RESULTS The optimal salt-processing conditions obtained via the Box-Behnken response surface methodology were as follows： soaking time of 23 min， stir-frying temperature of 160 ℃ ， and stir-frying time of 12 min， yielding a comprehensive score of 63.370 2. The GA-BP neural network optimization resulted in the following conditions： soaking time of 24 min， stir-frying temperature of 163 ℃， and stir-frying time of 12 min， with a comprehensive score of 65.163 8. The GA-BP neural network optimization outperformed the results obtained by Box-Behnken response surface methodology. CONCLUSIONS This study successfully optimized the salt-processing technology for A. asphodeloides. Specifically， the technology involves adding 15 mL of 0.1 g/mL saline solution to 50 g of the herbal slices， allowing them to moisten for 24 minutes， and then stir-frying at 163 ℃ for 12 minutes.

Objective:To improve the understanding of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) with pulmonary cryptococcosis.Methods:The clinical data of 1 DLBCL patient with pulmonary cryptococcosis in the Central Hospital of Fengxian District of Shanghai in May 2023 were retrospectively analyzed, and the relevant literatures were reviewed.Results:This 75-year-old female patient was asymptomatic after 2 cycles of R-CHOP chemotherapy. The high-resolution CT of lung showed that lung nodules were progressively enlarged. Antibacterial treatment was ineffective. Pulmonary cryptococcosis was confirmed by bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) targeted high-throughput sequencing (tNGS) and cryptococcus capsular antigen (CrAg) detection. The central nervous system was not involved. And the long-term adequate-dose fluconazole was prescribed for 6 months, and the treatment against lymphoma was given synchronously. The lung nodule lesions reduced after antifungal therapy for 1 month. The lung nodules disappeared after the follow-up of 6 months after completion of final chemotherapy. The evaluation of lymphoma indicated complete remission.Conclusions:Pulmonary cryptococcosis occurs insidiously and shows no specific symptoms; its imaging manifestations are variable and routine anti-infection is ineffective. Immunochemotherapy for lymphoma patients is a high-risk factor for cryptococcal infection. tNGS and CrAg testing for BALF are effective methods of the confirmed diagnosis. The early and long-term adequate-dose antifungal treatment is the key to preventing the recurrence or progression.

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of melatonin on the anoikis of melanoma cells.Methods The drug concentration of melatonin inhibiting melanoma cell line B16-F10 was optimized based on the effect on CCK-8 assay.An anti-anoikis of melanoma cell model was developed and divided it into four groups:The blank control group,the TrkB activator group,the melatonin group and the melatonin+TrkB activator group.Calce-in AM/EthD-1 fluorescence double staining was used to detect the anoikis of melanoma cells.Reactive oxygen spe-cies were detected using the fluorescent probe DCFH-DA.Western blot was used to detect the expression of Nrf2 protein and TrkB protein in each group.Results Melatonin significantly inhibited the proliferation of melanoma cells in a time-and dose-dependent manner with IC50 of 1×10-7 μmol/L.Its inhibitory effect was found to be related to in-duction of anoikis of melanoma cells.Melatonin could upregulate the generation of cellular reactive oxygen species(P<0.05),while addition of TrkB activator antagonized this effect.Melatonin could reduce the expression of Nrf2 protein and TrkB protein in melanoma cells(P<0.05),and the addition of TrkB activator could inhibite the effect of melatonin on the expression of Nrf2 protein and TrkB protein(P<0.05).Conclusions Melatonin can inhibit the pro-liferation of melanoma cell line B16-F10 through the mechanism of inducing anoikis.

Objective To investigate the relationship between enlarged perivascular spaces in the hippocampus(H-EPVS)and cognitive function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM),and to explore whether the H-EPVS can be used as an imaging marker of cognitive impairment in T2DM.Methods A total of 93 T2DM patients were selected(including 56 patients with cognitive impair-ment and 37 patients with normal cognition).All patients received head MRI scanning and neuropsychological tests.The differences of the H-EPVS counts and various parameters between the two groups were compared.Multiple linear regression was used to evalu-ate the association between H-EPVS and cognitive function.Results Compared with the T2DM patients with normal cognition,the cognitive impairment had significantly higher total H-EPVS counts(P=0.015),and worse performance of global cognitive function,processing speed,immediate memory and delayed recall(P＜0.05).After adjusting for confounding factors by multiple linear regres-sion,total H-EPVS were associated with global cognitive function and immediate memory.Conclusion The H-EPVS are correlated with global cognitive function and memory function in patients with T2DM.The H-EPVS may be used as an imaging marker of cog-nitive impairment in T2DM patients.

Objective:To investigate the changing trends in cardiac function following xenogeneic heterotopic heart transplantation of multi-gene edited pig hearts and assess the impact of recipient immune responses on donor heart, laying experimental groundwork for the clinical application of gene editing technology.Methods:On December 16, 2023, xenogeneic heterotopic heart transplantation was performed between pigs and rhesus monkeys. Functional status of the graft under post-transplantation load conditions and recipient immune indicators were observed.Results:The recipient monkeys survived for 40 days with satisfactory functionality of both donor and recipient hearts, and no hyperacute or acute immune rejection reactions were observed.Conclusion:Multi-gene editing technology provides potential for xenotransplantation, yet further exploration is needed for its clinical application.

Objective:To observe the clinical phenotype of patients with CACNA1F gene variant. Methods:A retrospective clinical study. From January 1, 2022 to October 1, 2023, 36 patients with CACNA1F gene mutation-related eye diseases diagnosed by clinical examination and genetic testing in Changsha Aier Eye Hospital and Jinan Purui Eye Hospital were included in the study. All patients underwent best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), medical optometry, fundus color photography, optical coherence tomography, full-field electroretinography (ERG), nystagmus examination, and genetic whole-exon sequencing. BCVA was performed using log visual acuity charts and converted to (logMAR). The nystagmus examination was performed using a helmet-mounted multifunctional video eye movement recording system. The clinical phenotypic characteristics were observed. Results:At total of 36 patients were male, aged was (6.69±5.26) years. There were 36 cases of myopia (38.89%, 14/36), and the spherical equivalent was (?3.01±4.84) D. There were 14 different genetic variants including 7 cases of pathogenic variants, 20 cases of suspected pathogenic variants and 9 cases of unknown pathogenic variants, respectively. logMAR BCVA was 0.67±0.27; 26 patients had optic nerve atrophy (72.22%, 26/36); 6 had optical nerve hypoplasia (16.67%, 6/36). Fundus pigment dysplasia with mild iris transillumination was found in 4 cases (11.11%, 4/36). There were 5 cases of foveal dysplasia (Thomas grade) 1 (13.89%, 5/36). In full-field ERG examination, the B-wave reduction of the maximum mixed reaction of dark adaptation showed a negative waveform, and the amplitude of the shock potential was seriously reduced. The main phenotypes were residual type (residual dark adaptation 0.01 reaction wave and bright adaptation 3.0 reaction wave, and the response decreased at 30 Hz to a double-peak wide wave), dominant type of bright adaptation decreased (all light adaptation extinguished, all dark adaptation extinguished), and total extinction type (all light adaptation extinguished). Among them, 10 cases presented with residual ERG (27.78%, 10/36), 8 cases with photopic reduced ERG (22.22%, 8/36) and 18 with extinguished ERG (50.00%, 18/36). Low amplitude and high frequency pendulum (PLAHF) nystagmus waverforms were found in 32 cases (88.89%, 32/36), head oscillation in 27 cases (75.00%, 27/36) and chin up abnormal head posture in 26 cases (72.22%, 26/36), respectively.Conclusions:CACNA1F Gene variant eye diseases had diverse clinical phenotype. Clinical phenotype of PLAHF nystagmus is closely related with CACNA1F gene variant eye disease.

Objective:To compare proximal humerus internal locking system (PHILOS) and Multiloc intramedullary nail in the treatment of proximal humerus fracture-anterior dislocation.Methods:A retrospective study was performed to analyze the data of 33 patients with proximal humerus fracture-anterior dislocation who had been treated by open reduction and internal fixation from June 2015 to April 2021 at Department of Upper Limbs, Zhengzhou Orthopaedic Hospital. According to methods of internal fixation, the patients were divided into an extramedullary group and an intramedullary group. In the extramedullary group of 18 cases subjected to internal fixation with PHILOS, there were 8 males and 10 females with an age of (53.3 ± 10.6) years, and 1 2-part fracture, 15 3-part fractures and 2 4-part fractures by the Neer classification. In the intramedullary group of 15 cases subjected to internal fixation with Multiloc intramedullary nail, there were 8 males and 7 females with an age of (51.5 ± 11.2) years, and 14 3-part fractures and 1 4-part fracture by the Neer classification. The 2 groups were compared in terms of incision length, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative complications, and visual analog scale (VAS), range of shoulder motion, and Constant-Murley score at postoperative 12 months.Results:The 2 groups were comparable due to insignificant differences in their preoperative general data ( P>0.05). All patients were followed up for (20.8 ± 4.7) months. The incision length in the intramedullary group [(11.6 ± 1.7) cm] was significantly shorter than that in the extramedullary group [(17.6 ± 2.0) cm], and the intraoperative blood loss in the former [(106.7 ± 34.4) mL] was significantly lower than that in the latter [(151.7 ± 45.7) mL] ( P<0.05). The VAS scores at 1 week and 1 month after surgery [2.0 (2.0, 3.0) and 0.0 (0.0, 1.0) respectively] in the intramedullary group were significantly lower than those in the extramedullary group [3.0 (3.0, 3.3) and 1.0 (0.0, 1.3) respectively] ( P<0.05). The external rotation of the shoulder at the last follow-up in the intramedullary group (65.3° ± 15.5°) was significantly larger than that in the extramedullary group (50.6° ± 13.9°) ( P<0.05). There were no significant differences in operation time, incidence of postoperative complications, VAS score at 12 months after operation, Constant-Murley score or range of shoulder motion at the last follow-up between the 2 groups ( P>0.05). Conclusions:In the treatment of proximal humerus fracture-anterior dislocation, open reduction and internal fixation with both PHILOS and Multiloc intramedullary nail can result in a favorable prognosis when the fracture-dislocation is well reduced and fixated. However, the Multiloc intramedullary nail may lead to better early pain relief, less surgical invasion, and better functional recovery of the external rotation of the shoulder.

Tocilizumab has been reported to attenuate the "cytokine storm" in COVID-19 patients. We attempted to verify the effectiveness and safety of tocilizumab therapy in COVID-19 and identify patients most likely to benefit from this treatment. We conducted a randomized, controlled, open-label multicenter trial among COVID-19 patients. The patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either tocilizumab in addition to standard care or standard care alone. The cure rate, changes of oxygen saturation and interference, and inflammation biomarkers were observed. Thirty-three patients were randomized to the tocilizumab group, and 32 patients to the control group. The cure rate in the tocilizumab group was higher than that in the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant (94.12% vs. 87.10%, rate difference 95% CI-7.19%-21.23%, P = 0.4133). The improvement in hypoxia for the tocilizumab group was higher from day 4 onward and statistically significant from day 12 (P = 0.0359). In moderate disease patients with bilateral pulmonary lesions, the hypoxia ameliorated earlier after tocilizumab treatment, and less patients (1/12, 8.33%) needed an increase of inhaled oxygen concentration compared with the controls (4/6, 66.67%; rate difference 95% CI-99.17% to-17.50%, P = 0.0217). No severe adverse events occurred. More mild temporary adverse events were recorded in tocilizumab recipients (20/34, 58.82%) than the controls (4/31, 12.90%). Tocilizumab can improve hypoxia without unacceptable side effect profile and significant influences on the time virus load becomes negative. For patients with bilateral pulmonary lesions and elevated IL-6 levels, tocilizumab could be recommended to improve outcome.
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; COVID-19/drug therapy* ; Humans ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To study the effects of combined occupational exposure of benzene, toluene, and xylene on human metabolism at an overall level, and to screen biomarkers related to the combined occupational exposure of benzene, toluene, and xylene, and to explore the mechanism of early health effects preliminarily caused by combined occupational exposure of benzene, toluene, and xylene by identification of biomarkers and retrieval of metabolic pathways.Methods:A shoe-making company was selected as the research site. Twenty subjects for the exposed group and the control group were selected separately, and urine of the subjects was collected. The metabolic profiles of the samples were collected by liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and professional metabolomics and multivariate statistical analysis software were used to establish PCA and OPLS-DA analysis models to screen potential biomarkers and identify biomarkers. Finally, based on the dynamic changes and trends of potential biomarkers between groups, the mechanism of body damage caused by benzene, toluene, and xylene was initially explored.Results:Urine metabolomics analysis showed that the metabolic profile of urine samples of the benzene, toluene, and xylene combined exposure group was different from that of the control group. 27 potential biomarkers that were closely related to the combined exposure of benzene, toluene, and xylene were screened and identified. These potential biomarkers were enriched in 16 metabolic pathways, of which 3 pathways were significantly enriched ( P<0.05) , respectively, lysine metabolism, amino sugar metabolism, and nucleotide sugar metabolism. Conclusion:The metabonomics method can well reflect the changes in the metabolome of urine samples in the occupational population after the combined exposure of benzene, toluene, and xylene, which will help us better evaluate the risk of combined exposure of benzene, toluene, and xylene and prevent and control their health risks.

Objective:To investigate the effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) on urine metabolites in occupationally exposure people based on metabolomics technology, and to explore the mechanism of early health effects of TiO 2 NPs on occupational exposure. Methods:In October 2019, the TiO 2 NPs occupational exposure population was selected as the research object, of which 64 people were in the exposure group who had been engaged in TiO 2 NPs exposure positions for more than 1 year; the control group was 62 people, who were logistics administrative staff of the same company. The urine of the research subjects before class was collected, using the ultra-high performance liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometer to collect the metabolism data of the urine, Progenesis QI software for data preprocessing and metabolite identification, SIMCA-P software for the principal component analysis of the data and potential biomarkers screening, MetaboAnalyst 4.0 software for metabolic pathway enrichment analysis. Results:The urine metabolism profile of workers in the exposure group was different from the control group, and 44 potential biomarkers were screened and identified. These potential biomarkers were significantly enriched in three pathways ( P<0.05) , namely D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism pathway, nitrogen metabolism pathway and D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism pathways. Conclusion:The occupational exposure of TiO 2 NPs can affect the concentration of metabolites in people urine and metabolic pathways, which provides a direction for the study of occupational hazard mechanisms of TiO 2 NPs and the monitoring of health risks.