To explore the common irritant components in different base sources of Polygonati Rhizoma(PR). A rabbit eye irritation experiment was conducted to compare the irritant effects of raw products of Polygonatum kingianum, P. officinale, and P. multiflorum. The irritant effects of different solvent extraction parts and needle crystals of PR were compared, and the irritant components were screened. The morphology and structure of the purified needle crystal of PR were observed by microscope and scanning electron microscope and characterized by X-ray diffraction. Rabbit eye irritation and mouse abdominal inflammation model were used to evaluate rabbit eye irritation scores, inflammatory mediators, inflammatory factors levels in the peritoneal exudate of mice, with the peritoneal pathological section used as indicators. The inflammatory effect of needle crystals of PR was studied, and the content of calcium oxalate in three kinds of PR was determined by HPLC. The common protein in three kinds of PR was screened and compared by double enzymatic hydrolysis in solution combined with mass spectrometry. The results showed that three kinds of PR raw products had certain irritant effects on rabbit eyes, among which P. kingianum had the strongest irritant effect. There were no obvious irritant effects in the different solvent extraction parts of P. kingianum. Compared with the blank group, the needle crystal of PR had a significant irritant effect on rabbit eyes, and the inflammatory mediators and inflammatory factors in the peritoneal exudate were significantly increased(P<0.05) in a dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile, the peritoneal tissue of mice was damaged with significant inflammatory cell infiltration after intraperitoneal injection of needle crystal, indicating that needle crystal had an inflammatory effect. Microscope and scanning electron microscope observations showed that the needle crystals of PR were slender, with a length of about 100-200 μm and sharp ends. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the needle crystals of PR were calcium oxalate monohydrate crystals. The results of HPLC showed that the content of calcium oxalate in P. kingianum was the highest among the three kinds of PR. It was speculated that the content of needle crystal in P. kingianum was higher than that in P. officinale and P. multiflorum, which was consistent with the results of the rabbit eye irritation experiment. The results of mass spectrometry showed that ribosome inactivating protein and mannose/sialic acid binding lectin were related to inflammation and cell metabolism in all three kinds of PR. There was no obvious irritant effect in different solvent extracts of PR. The calcium oxalate needle crystal contained was the main irritant component of PR, and three kinds of PR contained common ribosome inactivating protein and mannose/sialic acid binding lectin, which may be related to the inflammatory irritant effect of PR.
Animals ; Rabbits ; Mice ; Polygonatum/chemistry* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/toxicity* ; Rhizome/chemistry* ; Male ; Eye/drug effects* ; Female ; Humans

With the increasing life expectancy and lifestyle changes of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), the significance of comorbidities of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in disease progression and health prognosis of CHB patients is gaining prominence. This study aims to explore the association between CHB and NCDs comorbidities, focusing on the impact of common metabolism-related diseases, such as metabolic syndrome and diabetes, on the health outcomes of CHB patients. We also summarize studies on integrating the management of comorbidities in CHB patients and provide relevant recommendations for effective management. The findings of this study serve as a foundation for understanding the clinical characteristics and prevalence trends, reducing the disease burden of comorbidities among CHB patients, and establishing a comprehensive and coordinated management system for comorbidities.

Objective To analyze the research status, hotspots of biofilms and periodontitis from 2013 to 2023 by bibliometric methods. Methods The literatures related to biofilms and periodontitis were searched in the Web of Science (Wos) database, and visualization software such as VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to analyze the countries or regions, authors, institutions, journals and keywords. Results A total of 1 821 papers were included, and the results showed that the number of published papers increased year by year. The top three countries with the highest number of publications were the United States, Brazil and China; the top three institutions were Universidade de São Paulo, Harvard University and Forsyth Institute; the authors with the highest number of publications were Feres and Magda; among the top ten journals in terms of the number of publications, Journal of Periodontology had the highest number of publications (87 papers), followed by Plos One (69 papers) and Clinical Oral Investigations (51 papers). Oxidative stress, markers, adjunctive therapy and drug delivery were the main research hotspots; the frontiers mainly focused on quorum sensing, photodynamic therapy, reactive oxygen species, copper nanoparticles, and optical coherence tomography. Conclusion Researches on biofilms and periodontitis are growing year by year, and future research directions can focus on oxidative stress, adjuvant therapies, quorum sensing and photodynamic therapy.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder with a high incidence and severe impact on the human body, which can induce systemic chronic inflammatory responses. Chronic inflammation is an important cause of exacerbation of OSA and its associated complications. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) is an inflammasome that is widely found in epithelial cells and immune cells and plays an important role in inflammatory diseases as an important component of innate immunity. Research evidence suggests that the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes can exacerbate the damage to neurons, endothelial cells, lung and kidney caused by OSA, and these effects can be eliminated by genetic or pharmacological deletion of NLRP3. Targeting inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome may serve as a co-therapeutic strategy for OSA-induced related complications. This article reviews NLRP3 inflammasome and its mechanism in OSA-related concurrent diseases, which can provide scientific basis for prevention and intervention of OSA and its related complications.
Humans ; Inflammasomes ; Endothelial Cells ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein ; Inflammation ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Nucleotides

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder with a high incidence and severe impact on the human body, which can induce systemic chronic inflammatory responses. Chronic inflammation is an important cause of exacerbation of OSA and its associated complications. Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) is an inflammasome that is widely found in epithelial cells and immune cells and plays an important role in inflammatory diseases as an important component of innate immunity. Research evidence suggests that the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes can exacerbate the damage to neurons, endothelial cells, lung and kidney caused by OSA, and these effects can be eliminated by genetic or pharmacological deletion of NLRP3. Targeting inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome may serve as a co-therapeutic strategy for OSA-induced related complications. This article reviews NLRP3 inflammasome and its mechanism in OSA-related concurrent diseases, which can provide scientific basis for prevention and intervention of OSA and its related complications.
Humans ; Inflammasomes ; Endothelial Cells ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein ; Inflammation ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Nucleotides

The aims of this study were to determine the prognostic value of primary tumor surgery and identify optimal candidates for such surgery among patients with seminoma and distant metastasis at diagnosis. We identified 521 patients with seminoma and distant metastasis at diagnosis between 2004 and 2014 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Among these patients, 434 had undergone surgery, whereas 87 had not. The prognostic value of primary tumor surgery was assessed by Kaplan-Meier methods, log-rank analyses, and multivariate Cox's proportional hazards model. Survival curves and forest plots were also plotted. Survival analysis indicated that patients who underwent surgery had a better 5-year overall survival and cancer-specific survival than those who did not. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that primary tumor surgery is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival and cancer-specific survival, along with age at diagnosis, M stage, and marital status. In addition, primary tumor surgery still had considerable prognostic value in the subgroup of patients with lymph node metastasis. Further, forest plots demonstrated that patients with M1a stage, N1 or N2-3 stage, and a younger age at diagnosis (<60 years) may benefit from primary tumor surgery. In conclusion, our findings indicate that primary tumor surgery is correlated with improved survival in patients with seminoma and distant metastasis. Furthermore, primary tumor surgery is an independent prognostic indicator for patients with seminoma and distant metastasis.

Background/Aims: The risk factors of colorectal stricture associated with ulcerative colitis (UC) carcinogenesis in the long-term disease duration remain unclear. Methods: This study included all UC patients registered from a prospectively maintained database between June 1986 to July 2018. The demographic data, clinical features, and outcomes in patients with dysplasia and stricture were assessed using univariable analysis and multivariate logistic regression models. Results: A total of 246 eligible patients were in-cluded in the analysis. The median follow-up time was 13.0 years (interquartile range [IQR], 9.0 to 16.0). There were 35 cases (14.2%) of colorectal stricture. Patients with stricture had worse clinical outcomes. Stricture formation (odds ratio [OR], 9.350; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.842 to 30.762), inflammatory polyps (OR, 5.464; 95% CI, 1.692 to 17.638), disease duration of more than 10 years (OR, 3.223; 95% CI, 1.040 to 9.985), and age >40 years at diagnosis (OR, 8.499; 95% CI, 1.903 to 37.956) were significantly associated with high-grade dysplasia or colorectal cancer. In addition, disease duration of more than 5 years (OR, 3.211; 95% CI, 1.168 to 8.881), moderated anemia (OR, 3.373; 95% CI, 1.472 to 7.731), and primary sclerosing cholangitis (OR, 5,842; 95% CI, 1.395 to 24.468) were contributing factors for the development of colorectal stricture. Conclusions Colorectal stricture had the highest risk for malignant transformation.Earlier initiation of colonoscopic surveillance in UC patients with risk factors for stricture should be considered to prevent stricture formation and further malignant transformation.

Objective To assess the applicability of sound touch elastography ( ST E) and sound touch quantify ( ST Q ) in measuring liver and spleen stiffness . Methods One hundred and eighteen healthy volunteers were included and underwent ST E and ST Q . T he success rate ,variability and reproducibility of ST E and ST Q were analyzed . T he accurate sampling size and number of tests for liver ST Q were also analyzed . Results T he success rates ,variability ,reproducibility of ST E and ST Q in liver were 97 .5% and 99 .2% ,8 .7% and 12 .0% ,0 .917 and 0 .916 , respectively . While those with spleen were 76 .3% and 66 .9% ,12 .4% and 16 .4% ,0 .847 and 0 .706 ,respectively . The sampling size of 1 .5 cm×1 .0 cm yield the lowest variability ( 8 .5% ) ( F ＝6 .562 , P ＝0 .002) ,and there was no significant difference between results of detecting 5 times and 10 times( P ＝0 .571) . T he liver and spleen stiffness of ST E were 5 .75 kPa ( 95%CI :5 .60－5 .91 kPa) and 15 .58 kPa ( 95% CI :14 .99 －16 .16 kPa) . Conclusions The measurement of liver stiffness using both ST E and ST Q have a high success rate and low variability . However ,ST E is better than STQ in measuring spleen stiffness .

Objective To explore the expression level of CD36 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs) from patients with crytococcal meningitis and its clinical significance.Methods The experimental group was the peripheral blood samples from 36 patients diagnosed as crytococcal meningitis in Changhai Hospital and Changzheng Hospital in Shanghai from September 2013 to February 2017,while the control group was the peripheral blood samples from 36 health individuals examined at the same time.PBMCs were separated by density gradient centrifugation method,the relative mRNA expression of CD36,TLR4 in PBMCs was tested by qRT-PCR,the expression level of cytokines such as TNF-α in plasma was tested by ELISA,the comparison of the examined values of experimental and control groups performed by two independent samples' t test,Pearson correlation analysis was performed on the relative mRNA expression of CD36 in PBMCs and cytokines such as TNF-α in experimental group.Results The relative mRNA expression of CD36 in PBMCs of experimental group was 2.01 ± 0.63,the control was 1.49 ± 0.47,and there was statistical difference (t =3.969,P =0.000 2).Pearson analysis results showed that in experimental group CD36 was positively related with the protein expression level of IFN-γ in plasma (r=0.384,P＜0.05) and negatively related with TGF-β(r=-0.487,P＜0.005).Conclusion CD36 might involve in the immunopathology process of crytococcal meningitic by influencing the expression of cytokines such as IFN-γ,TGF-β,and was the potential target for monitoring and treating this disease.

Objective To study the expression of CD69 in exosomes existed in serum from patients with autoimmune pancrea titis (AIP) and primarily discuss its affection on the pathology of disease progression.Methods Serum samples from 35 cases diagnosed as AIP and 35 healthy individuals examined at the same time were collected during October 2012 to December 2016 in Changhai Hospital,they were defined as experimental and control groups,separately.The cytokine levels in serum were measured by ELISA.The expression of surfaced molecules in exosomes existed in serum was tested by magnetic bead conjunct antibody method in flow cytometry.The comparison between the two groups' measurement data was measured by two independent samples' t test,correlation between two variables was showed by Pearson coefficient.Results The flow cy tometry analysis showed that the expression level of CD69 in serum exosomes in experiment and control groups were (85.76 ±19.45 vs 17.01±5.89)％,with statistical difference(t=20.01,P＜0.0001).CD69+ exosomes in experiment group were positively related with serum IL-4,IFN-γ and TGF-β (r 0.456,0.678,0.548,all P＜0.05),while CD69 exosomes were negatively related with serum IL-4,IFN-γ,IL-10 and TGF-β (r=0.589,-0.399,-0.784,-0.657,all P＜0.05).Conclusion The expression of CD69 in exosomes might participate in AIP progression through influencing the function of CD4 +T cell,and it was the potential examined biomarker and therapeutic target.