ObjectiveTo investigate the potential mechanisms of Zingiberis Rhizoma in treating inflammatory bowel disease （IBD） by integrating network pharmacology with in vitro and in vivo experiments. MethodsTraditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database And Analysis Platform （TCMSP）， Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database （TCMID） Database were used to obtain the active component targets of Zingiberis Rhizoma. GeneCards was used to obtain the IBD targets. DAVID was used to perform Gene Ontology （GO） and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analyses on core targets. Cytoscape 3.10.2 was used to establish the "active component-disease target-signaling pathway" interaction network. Mice were randomly assigned to control， model， and Zingiberis Rhizoma （400 mg·kg^-1） groups. An IBD model was induced via dextran sulfate sodium （DSS）. The colonic tissue was collected post-treatment to assess histology， expression of Ly6C⁺ monocytes/macrophages， and mRNA levels of Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）， and inflammatory cytokines. The effect of Zingiberis Rhizoma aqueous extract on RAW264.7 cell viability was evaluated. Furthermore， the effects of the extract at 100， 10， and 1 mg·L^-1 on LPS-induced differentiation of RAW264.7 cells into Ly6C^hi monocytes/macrophages， mRNA levels of TLR4 and inflammatory cytokines， and protein levels of factors in the TLR4/mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） signaling pathway. ResultsA total of 241 targets were identified for Zingiberis Rhizoma and 6 787 for IBD， with 122 shared targets among Zingiberis Rhizoma， ulcerative colitis （UC）， and Crohn's disease （CD）. The enrichment analyses yielded 297 GO terms and 88 KEGG pathways. Associations were noted between Zingiberis Rhizoma's active component targets and IBD targets. In vivo experiments： Compared with the control group， the model group showed decreased body weight and disease activity index （DAI）（P<0.01）， shortened colon length， damaged mucosal epithelium with inflammatory cell infiltration， raised pathological scores （P<0.05）， increased Ly6C^hi and Ly6C^lo monocytes/macrophages （P<0.05）， and up-regulated mRNA levels of TLR4， TNF-α， IL-1β， and IL-6 （P<0.05） and protein levels of TLR4， phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 （p-ERK1/2）， and phosphorylated p38 MAPK （p-p38 MAPK） （P<0.05）. Zingiberis Rhizoma intervention reversed these changes and reduced Ly6C^hi monocytes/macrophages （P<0.01）. In vitro experiments： compared with the control， LPS increased the proportion and number of Ly6C^hi monocytes/macrophages and mRNA levels of TLR4， TNF-α， IL-1β， and IL-6 （P<0.01） and enhanced the expression of TLR4， p-ERK1/2， and p-p38 MAPK （P<0.05）. Zingiberis Rhizoma reduced Ly6C^hi monocytes/macrophages （P<0.05）， down-regulated the mRNA levels of inflammatory cytokines （P<0.05）， and suppressed the TLR4/MAPK pathway （P<0.05）. ConclusionZingiberis Rhizoma alleviates IBD by suppressing the TLR4/ERK/p38 MAPK signaling pathway and reducing inflammatory cytokine levels in Ly6C^hi monocytes/macrophages.

ObjectiveTo clarify the repair effect of Mume Fructus on the intestinal mucosal epithelial barrier in the mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease （IBD） and explore the repair mechanism. MethodsThirty-six male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned into six groups： normal， model， low-， medium-， and high-dose （200， 400， and 800 mg·kg^-1） Mume Fructus， and sulfasalazine （300 mg·kg^-1）. Except the normal group， the rest groups had free access to 2% dextran sulfate sodium （DSS） solution for seven days to establish the IBD model， followed by a seven-day drug intervention. The body weight change and disease activity index （DAI） were recorded. After the last administration， spleen and colon tissue samples were collected to analyze the differences in colon length and spleen index. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the morphology of the colon tissue. The level of diamine oxidase （DAO） in the serum was measured by the DAO assay kit. Immunohistochemistry was employed to determine the expression of tight junction proteins such as Claudin-1， Occludin， and zonula occludens-1 （ZO-1） in the colon tissue. Real-time PCR was performed to measure the mRNA levels of tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-1β （IL-1β） in the colon tissue. Finally， Western blot was employed to determine the protein levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase （MEK）， extracellular signal-regulated kinase （ERK）， phosphorylated （p）-MEK， and phosphorylated ERK in the colon tissue. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the model group exhibited decreases in body weight and colon length （P<0.01）， increases in DAI， spleen index， and serum DAO level （P<0.01）， damaged colonic epithelium and goblet cells， and obvious infiltration of inflammatory cells. In addition， the model group exhibited higher positive expression of Claudin-1， Occludin， and ZO-1 （P<0.01）， higher mRNA levels of TNF-α and IL-1β （P<0.01）， and higher protein levels of p-MEK and p-ERK （P<0.05， P<0.01） than the normal group. However， sulfasalazine and three doses of Mume Fructus markedly decreased the body weight and DAI （P<0.05）， recovered the colon length and spleen index， alleviated colon tissue damage， lowered the level of DAO in the serum （P<0.01）， and down-regulated the mRNA levels of TNF-α and IL-1β （P<0.01） and the protein levels of p-MEK and p-ERK （P<0.05）. Sulfasalazine and low- and medium-dose Mume Fructus increased the positive expression of Occludin， Claudin-1， and ZO-1 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Furthermore， high-dose Mume Fructus elevated the protein expression of Occludin （P<0.05）. ConclusionMume Fructus can restore the expression of intestinal epithelial tight junction proteins by inhibiting the phosphorylation of proteins in the MEK/ERK signaling pathway and down-regulating the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β， thus repairing the intestinal mucosal barrier in the mouse model of IBD.

ObjectiveTo investigate the modulating effect of modified Wumeiwan （MWMW） on the ulcerative colitis （UC）-associated intestinal helper T cell 17 （Th17）/regulatory T cell （Treg） balance and intestinal flora by using a human flora-associated model of UC patients with dampness-heat obstruction syndrome， thus providing a new idea for the UC-related research and therapeutic strategies. MethodsThe 24 male C57BL/6J mice were randomized into normal control， model， and MWMW groups （n=8）. Model and MWMW groups were first treated with an antibiotic cocktail （vancomycin， 0.1 g·kg^-1； neomycin sulfate， 0.2 g·kg^-1； ampicillin， 0.2 g·kg^-1； metronidazole， 0.2 g·kg^-1） for 21 days. At the end of antibiotic treatment， the gavage of fecal microbiota suspension from UC patients with dampness-heat obstruction syndrome was started at a dose of 0.2 mL·d^-1 for 19 consecutive days， by which a human flora-associated model of UC was obtained. The MWMW group was administrated daily with MWMW liquid （12.5 g·kg^-1）， while the normal control and model groups were administrated by gavage with an equal amount of sterile water for 7 consecutive days. The symptoms of dampness-heat obstruction were observed. The colon length and spleen index were measured and calculated， and the proportions of Th17 and Treg cells were detected by flow assay. The intestinal flora was analyzed by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. ResultsCompared with the normal control group， the model group showed shortened colon （P<0.05） and increased spleen index （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the MWMW group showed prolonged colon （P<0.01） and decreased spleen index （P<0.05）. After the intervention of MWMW， the Th17 proportion and Th17/Treg ratio in the colon decreased （P<0.01）， and the proportion of Treg cells increased （P<0.05）. The number of species and alpha and beta diversity of intestinal flora in mice were regulated by MWMW （P<0.05）. In terms of intestinal flora composition， MWMW increased the relative abundance of several phyla （Firmicutes， Proteobacteria， Fusobacteriota， Actinobacteriota， and Gemmatimonadota）， the genus Bacteroides， and two species （Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron and B. fragilis） in model mice. Moreover， Spearman's correlation analysis showed that the relative abundance of B. thetaiotaomicron and B. fragilis were negatively correlated with the Th17 level （P<0.05）. In addition， the above changes in intestinal flora caused the changes in microbial genes involved in 14 pathways， such as glycolysis， amino acid degradation， inorganic nutrient metabolism， biosynthesis of pyrimidine deoxyribonucleotides， antibiotic resistance， and degradation of polysaccharides. ConclusionsThe human flora-associated model successfully simulated the changes （marked by a decrease in the abundance of Bacteroides） of intestinal flora in UC patients with dampness-heat obstruction syndrome. MWMW can enrich the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as B. thetaiotaomicron and B. fragilis and promote the synergistic intestinal immune modulation with the metabolic functions centered on glycolysis， amino acid metabolism， and nucleotide synthesis through bacterial polysaccharide utilization sites to reduce the Th17/Treg ratio， thereby exerting a protective effect on UC.

ObjectiveTo explore the evolution of medication patterns and syndrome-herb associations of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） in treating inflammatory bowel disease （IBD）， providing a theoretical foundation for precise syndrome differentiation and treatment in clinical practice. MethodsMedical case literature on TCM treatment of IBD from 1960 to 2024 was retrieved to establish a database. Frequency statistics， cluster analysis， change point detection， and association rule mining were employed to comprehensively analyze the syndrome distribution， therapeutic methods， medication patterns， and their temporal variations. ResultsA total of 685 medical cases were included. Common syndromes were dampness-heat （66.42%） and spleen deficiency （56.20%）. Primary therapeutic methods included heat clearing （63.65%）， spleen invigorating （47.45%）， and dampness draining （36.79%）. High-frequency herbs included Coptidis Rhizoma （354）， Paeoniae Radix Alba （303）， Aucklandiae Radix （292）， Codonopsis Radix （253）， and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma （244）. Initial prescription clustering revealed three core therapeutic method combinations： heat clearing and detoxifying （represented by Baitouweng Tang）， spleen invigorating and Qi reinforcing （represented by Shenling Baizhusan）， and cold-heat regulation （represented by Wumeiwan combined with Shaoyao tang）. Temporal analysis identified 2008 as a key transition point in TCM treatment of IBD， with significantly increased usage frequency of heat-clearing and dampness-drying herbs such as Fraxini Cortex， Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex， Sophorae Flavescentis Radix， and Scutellariae Radix as well as hemostatic herbs such as carbonized Sanguisorbae Radix， Bletillae Rhizoma， Agrimoniae Herba， and Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma. Follow-up efficacy analysis showed median improvement rates of 64.0% at the first follow-up， 76.0% at the second follow-up， and 78.7% at the third follow-up. Syndrome-drug association analysis revealed specific herb pairs with significant therapeutic advantages， including Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma + Coicis Semen， Sanguisorbae Radix + Coptidis Rhizoma， and Codonopsis Radix + Aconii Lateralis Radix Praeparaia. ConclusionTCM medication patterns for treating IBD demonstrate distinct temporal evolution characteristics， with significantly increased usage frequency of herbs such as Fraxini Cortex， Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma， and Agrimoniae Herba. Significant therapeutic method-herb associations and syndrome-herb association patterns exist， with the formation of specific herb pairs， providing evidence-based support for precise syndrome differentiation and treatment of IBD.

Objective To analyze the abnormal individual dose monitoring results in 206 medical institutions in a selected region in 2024, and to propose improvement measures. Methods Individuals with monitoring results exceeding the investigation level were subjected to high-dose investigation, and the results were statistically analyzed. Results In 2024, the individual dose monitoring of 206 medical institutions in a selected region showed 1.04% abnormal results. The proportions of abnormal results from primary, secondary, and tertiary medical institutions were 12.22%, 3.33%, and 84.45%, respectively. In analysis of the causes of abnormal results, 52.53% of the cases were due to personal dosimeters left in the radiation workplace, and 20.20% were due to the confusion in wearing personal dosimeters inside and outside the lead apron. In analysis of the occupational distribution of the radiation workers with abnormal monitoring results, interventional radiology and diagnostic radiology accounted for 73.34% and 24.44%, respectively. Statistical analysis of the dose range showed that doses in the ranges of 1.25-2.0 mSv and 2.0-5.0 mSv accounted for 42.22% and 33.33%, respectively. In the report of abnormal monitoring results, the proportions of reporting notional dose and reporting measured results accounted for 88.89% and 11.11%, respectively. Among institutions with consecutive abnormal results, primary, secondary, and tertiary medical institutions accounted for 15.39%, 7.69%, and 76.92%, respectively. Conclusion The level of the hospital, occupational type, the perceived importance of the hospital to the management of radiation protection, and the perceived importance and compliance of the radiation workers with the individual dose monitoring are potential causes of abnormal results. It is recommended that employers should enhance radiation protection training for their radiation workers to ensure proper wearing and storage of dosimeters, and progressively improve the standardization and effectiveness of individual dose monitoring practice.

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery has been a common practice for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, but the response rate varies among patients. This study aimed to develop a ResNet-Vision Transformer based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-endoscopy fusion model to precisely predict treatment response and provide personalized treatment. METHODS: In this multicenter study, 366 eligible patients who had undergone neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by radical surgery at eight Chinese tertiary hospitals between January 2017 and June 2024 were recruited, with 2928 pretreatment colonic endoscopic images and 366 pelvic MRI images. An MRI-endoscopy fusion model was constructed based on the ResNet backbone and Transformer network using pretreatment MRI and endoscopic images. Treatment response was defined as good response or non-good response based on the tumor regression grade. The Delong test and the Hanley-McNeil test were utilized to compare prediction performance among different models and different subgroups, respectively. The predictive performance of the MRI-endoscopy fusion model was comprehensively validated in the test sets and was further compared to that of the single-modal MRI model and single-modal endoscopy model. RESULTS: The MRI-endoscopy fusion model demonstrated favorable prediction performance. In the internal validation set, the area under the curve (AUC) and accuracy were 0.852 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.744-0.940) and 0.737 (95% CI: 0.712-0.844), respectively. Moreover, the AUC and accuracy reached 0.769 (95% CI: 0.678-0.861) and 0.729 (95% CI: 0.628-0.821), respectively, in the external test set. In addition, the MRI-endoscopy fusion model outperformed the single-modal MRI model (AUC: 0.692 [95% CI: 0.609-0.783], accuracy: 0.659 [95% CI: 0.565-0.775]) and the single-modal endoscopy model (AUC: 0.720 [95% CI: 0.617-0.823], accuracy: 0.713 [95% CI: 0.612-0.809]) in the external test set. CONCLUSION The MRI-endoscopy fusion model based on ResNet-Vision Transformer achieved favorable performance in predicting treatment response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and holds tremendous potential for enabling personalized treatment regimens for locally advanced rectal cancer patients.
Humans ; Rectal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Neoadjuvant Therapy/methods* ; Aged ; Adult ; Chemoradiotherapy/methods* ; Endoscopy/methods* ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To explore the short-term and long-term effects of pregnancy with aortic dissection (AD) on newborns.Methods:In this retrospective cohort study, 31 live births of pregnant women with AD admitted to Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University from June 2010 to June 2022 were selected as the AD group.Among them, 19 preterm births were in the preterm AD group.Additionally, 100 neonates delivered by pregnant women without pregnancy complications were selected as the normal control group, and 50 preterm infants delivered by pregnant women without pregnancy complications were selected as the preterm control group during the same period.The differences between the AD group and the normal control group, and between the preterm AD group and the preterm control group were compared using the independent samples t-test, Chi-square test, and Fisher′s exact test.Patients in the AD group were followed up for 5 years. Results:(1) The incidence rates of small for gestational age (SGA) (12.90% vs. 1.00%), neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) (16.13% vs. 2.00%), digestive tract hemorrhage (16.13% vs. 1.00%), nervous system disease (16.13% vs. 1.00%), multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) (12.90% vs. 0), premature infant (61.29% vs. 5.00%), asphyxia (35.48% vs. 1.00%), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (64.52% vs. 1.00%), respiratory support (38.71% vs. 2.00%), transfer to the department of pediatrics within 24 hours of birth (90.32% vs. 13.00%), caesarean section (100% vs. 25.00%), and low birth weight infant (38.71% vs. 2.00%) in the AD group were significantly higher than those in the normal control group, while the gestational age[(34.90±2.80) weeks vs. (38.87±1.50) weeks], length [(45.65±3.56) cm vs. (50.17±0.81) cm], and weight [(2 456.77±634.02) g vs. (3 383.90±413.05) g] were significantly less than those in the normal control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05).(2) The gestational age [(33.26±2.31) weeks vs. (34.80±1.29) weeks], length [(43.89±3.36) cm vs. (46.64±2.89) cm], and weight [(2 158.95±558.92) g vs. (2 418.20±431.20) g] in the preterm AD group were less than those in the preterm control group, while the incidence rates of NRDS (26.32% vs. 4.00%), digestive tract hemorrhage (21.05% vs. 4.00%), nervous system disease (26.32% vs. 6.00%), MODS (21.05% vs. 2.00%), caesarean section (100% vs. 52.00%), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (73.68% vs. 8.00%), respiratory support (63.16% vs. 10.00%), and asphyxia (47.37% vs. 2.00%) were significantly higher than those in the preterm control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05).(3) Twenty-seven cases in the AD group survived, and 4 cases were lost to follow-up.Among them, 9 cases had abnormal physical development, 3 cases had eye disease, and 1 case was mentally retarded.None of them underwent genetic detection. Conclusions:Neonates born to mothers with AD in pregnancy have poor physical development, high incidence of complications, and reduced quality of life, and need long-term monitoring and follow-up in their growth and development.

Objective:To develop a prognostic prediction model for patients with colorectal cancer based on a peripheral blood cell composite score (PBCS) system.Methods:This retrospective observational study included patients who had primary colorectal cancer without distant metastasis, who did not undergo radiotherapy or chemotherapy before surgery, who did not receive leukocyte or platelet-raising therapy within 1 month before surgery, and whose postoperative pathology confirmed colorectal adenocarcinoma with complete tumor resection. Patients with severe anemia, infection, or hematologic diseases before surgery, as well as those with severe heart, lung, or other important organ diseases or concurrent malignant tumors, were excluded. In total, 1021 patients with colorectal cancer who underwent surgical treatment in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from April 2018 to April 2020 were retrospectively included as the training set (766 patients) and the internal validation set (255 patients). Additionally, using the same criteria, 215 patients with colorectal cancer who underwent surgical treatment in another treatment group from March 2015 to December 2020 were selected as the external validation set. The "surv_cutpoint" function in R software was used to analyze the optimal cut-off values of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets, and a PBCS system was established based on the optimal cut-off values. The scoring rules of the PBCS system were as follows: Neutrophils and platelets below the optimal cut-off value = 1 point, otherwise 0 points; Lymphocytes above the optimal cut-off value = 1 point, otherwise 0 points. The scores of the three cell types were added together to obtain the PBCS. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to explore the correlation between patients' clinicopathological features and prognosis, and a nomogram was constructed based on the Cox regression analysis to predict patients' prognosis. The accuracy of the nomogram prediction model was validated using the C-index, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis.Results:The optimal cut-off values for neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets were 4.40×10 9/L, 1.41×10 9/L, and 355×10 9/L, respectively. The patients were divided into high and low groups according to the optimal cut-off values of these cells. Survival curve analysis showed that a high lymphocyte count (training set: P=0.042, internal validation: P=0.010, external validation: P=0.029), low neutrophil count (training set: P=0.035, internal validation: P=0.001, external validation: P=0.024), and low platelet count (training set: P=0.041, internal validation: P=0.030, external validation: P=0.024) were associated with prolonged overall survival (OS), with statistically significant differences in all cases. Survival analysis of different PBCS groups showed that patients with a high PBCS had longer OS than those with a low PBCS ( P<0.05). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis results showed that aspirin use history, vascular thrombus, neural invasion, CA19-9, N stage, operation time, M stage, and PBCS were independent factors affecting OS (all P<0.05). The PBCS was also an independent factor affecting disease-specific survival ( P<0.05), but not progression-free survival ( P>0.05). The above independent risk or protective factors were included in R software to construct a nomogram for predicting OS. The C-index (0.873), calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (threshold probability: 0.0%–75.2%) all indicated that the nomogram prediction model had good predictive performance for OS. Conclusion:This study demonstrates that the PBCS constructed based on preoperative peripheral blood levels of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and platelets is an independent factor associated with the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer. The nomogram model constructed based on this score system exhibits good predictive efficacy for the prognosis of these patients.

Objective To explore the relationship between the serum level of placental growth factor(PLGF)and ultrasonic blood flow parameters and pregnancy outcome in patients with late-onset preeclampsia(LOPE).Methods A total of 152 patients with LOPE were selected and divided into the P1(＜12.00 ng/L)group,the P2(12.00-56.73 ng/L)group,the P3(＞56.73-89.41 ng/L)group and the P4(＞89.41 ng/L)group according to serum level of PLGF.There were 38 cases in each group.The clinical data,uterine artery pulsatility index(PI),resistance index(RI),peak systolic velocity(S)/end-diastolic velocity(D)and adverse pregnancy outcome were compared between the four groups.The relationship between PLGF level and clinical characteristics was analyzed by linear regression analysis.The influence of LOPE severity on the relationship between PLGF and ultrasonic blood flow parameters was analyzed by stratified interactive analysis.Multivariate generalized linear mixed effect model was used to analyze the relationship between PLGF level and adverse pregnancy outcome in patients with LOPE.Results The diastolic blood pressure,24 h urinary protein,PI,RI and S/D decreased significantly with the increase of PLGF level(P＜0.05).The proportion of severe LOPE and systolic blood pressure were significantly higher in the P1 group than those of the other groups(P＜0.05),and the above indexes were influencing factors of the level of PLGF(P＜0.05).The results of stratified interactive test showed that the LOPE severity did not affect the relationship between PLGF and ultrasonic blood flow parameters.There were significant differences in the incidence of HELLP syndrome,fetal growth restriction,fetal distress,premature delivery and neonatal asphyxia between patients with different PLGF levels(P＜0.05).The incidence of preterm delivery was higher in the P1 group than that in the other groups,and the other adverse pregnancy outcomes were higher in the P3 group and P4 group.Conclusion Serum PLGF levels affect uterine artery blood flow parameters and adverse pregnancy outcome in patients with LOPE.