ObjectiveTo investigate the differential expression of LEFTY1 in peritoneal dialysis （PD）-associated peritoneal fibrosis （PF） and its clinical value. MethodsLevels of LEFTY1， transforming growth factor-β （TGF-β）， and fibronectin （FN） in peritoneal dialysis effluent were measured in 72 PD patients， and clinical data were collected. Differences in these indicators were compared among groups with different dialysis durations， and the correlation between LEFTY1 and clinical parameters was analyzed to evaluate its predictive value for ultrafiltration insufficiency. ResultsLEFTY1 levels decreased progressively with longer dialysis duration： short-term group ［（2 262.49±270.47） ng/mL］ > mid-term group ［（1 853.52±226.06） ng/mL］ > long-term group ［（1 767.24±264.57） ng/mL］， with significant differences among groups （P<0.001）. TGF-β and FN levels increased with prolonged dialysis duration （P<0.05）. Correlation analysis revealed that LEFTY1 was significantly negatively correlated with FN （r=-0.327， P=0.004）， dialysis duration （r=-0.496，P<0.001）， peritoneal Kt/V （r=-0.333， P=0.004）， peritoneal creatinine clearance （r=-0.239， P=0.043）， and serum calcium （r=-0.410， P<0.001）， while positively correlated with total creatinine clearance （r=0.283， P=0.016）. The area under the ROC curve for LEFTY1 combined with peritoneal Kt/V and peritoneal Ccr in predicting ultrafiltration insufficiency was 0.739. Multivariate regression analysis identified dialysis duration as an independent influencing factor for LEFTY1 expression （P=0.001）. ConclusionThe expression of LEFTY1 in the peritoneal dialysis effluent of PD patients decreases with prolonged dialysis duration and is negatively correlated with pro-fibrotic indicators， suggesting that it may play a potential anti-fibrotic role in the progression of PF. The combined detection of LEFTY1 and solute removal indicators holds value for the early identification of ultrafiltration dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: Prunella vulgaris L. has long been used for liver protection according to traditional Chinese medicine theory and has been proven by modern pharmacological research to have multiple potential liver-protective effects. However, its effects on non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) are currently uncertain. Our study explores the effects of P. vulgaris polysaccharides on NASH and intestinal homeostasis. METHODS: An aqueous extract of the dried fruit spikes of P. vulgaris was precipitated in an 85% ethanol solution (PVE85) to extract crude polysaccharides from the herb. A choline-deficient, L-amino acid-defined, high-fat diet (CDAHFD) was administrated to male C57BL/6 mice to establish a NASH animal model. After 4 weeks, the PVE85 group was orally administered PVE85 (200 mg/[kg·d]), while the control group and CDAHFD group were orally administered vehicle for 6 weeks. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis, Western blotting, immunohistochemistry and other methods were used to assess the impact of PVE85 on the liver in mice with NASH. 16S rRNA gene amplicon analysis was employed to evaluate the gut microbiota abundance and diversity in each group to examine alterations at various taxonomic levels. RESULTS: PVE85 significantly reversed the course of NASH in mice. mRNA levels of inflammatory mediators associated with NASH and protein expression of hepatic nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) were significantly reduced after PVE85 treatment. Moreover, PVE85 attenuated the thickening and cross-linking of collagen fibres and inhibited the expression of fibrosis-related mRNAs in the livers of NASH mice. Intriguingly, PVE85 restored changes in the gut microbiota and improved intestinal barrier dysfunction induced by NASH by increasing the abundance of Actinobacteria and reducing the abundance of Proteobacteria at the phylum level. PVE85 had significant activity in reducing the relative abundance of Clostridiaceae at the family levels. PVE85 markedly enhanced the abundance of some beneficial micro-organisms at various taxonomic levels as well. Additionally, the physicochemical environment of the intestine was effectively improved, involving an increase in the density of intestinal villi, normalization of the intestinal pH, and improvement of intestinal permeability. CONCLUSION PVE85 can reduce hepatic lipid overaccumulation, inflammation, and fibrosis in an animal model of CDAHFD-induced NASH and improve the intestinal microbial composition and intestinal structure. Please cite this article as: Zhu MJ, Song YJ, Rao PL, Gu WY, Xu Y, Xu HX. Therapeutic role of Prunella vulgaris L. polysaccharides in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and gut dysbiosis. J Integr Med. 2025; 2025; 23(3): 297-308.
Animals ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/drug therapy* ; Male ; Dysbiosis/drug therapy* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Polysaccharides/therapeutic use* ; Prunella/chemistry* ; Mice ; Liver/metabolism* ; Plant Extracts/therapeutic use* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Diet, High-Fat

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of abdominal adipose volume in predicting early tumor recurrence after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:The retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 132 HCC patients with tumor diameter ≤5 cm who were admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from December 2017 to October 2019 were collected. There were 110 males and 22 females, aged (51±4)years. All patients underwent resection of HCC. Preoperative computer tomography scanning was performed and the visceral and subcutaneous fats of patients were quantified using the Mimics Research 21.0 software. Based on time to postoperative tumor recurrence patients were divided to two categories: early recurrence and non-early recurrence. Observation indicators: (1) consistency analy-sis; (2) analysis of factors influencing early tumor recurrence after resection of HCC and construction of prediction model. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the t test. Measurement data with skewed distribu-tion were represented as M( Q1,Q3) or M(range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were expressed as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Consistency analysis was conducted using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC) test. Multivariate analysis was performed using the binary Logistic regression model forward method. Independent risk factors influencing early tumor recurrence after resection of HCC were screened. The area under curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to select the optimal cut-off value to classify high and low risks of recurrence. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curve and calculate survival time. The Log-Rank test was used for survival analysis. Results:(1) Consistency analysis. The consistency ICC of abdominal fat parameters of visceral fat volume (VFV), subcutaneous fat volume, visceral fat area, and subcutaneous fat area measured by 2 radiologists were 0.84, 1.00, 0.86, and 0.94, respectively. (2) Analysis of factors influencing early tumor recurr-ence after resection of HCC and construction of prediction model. All 132 patients were followed up after surgery for 662(range, 292-1 111)days. During the follow-up, there were 52 patients with non-early recurrence and 80 patients with early recurrence. Results of multivariate analysis showed that VFV was an independent factor influencing early tumor recurrence after resection of HCC ( odds ratio=4.07, 95% confidence interval as 2.27-7.27, P<0.05). The AUC of ROC curve based on VFV was 0.78 (95% confidence interval as 0.70-0.85), and the sensitivity and specificity were 72.2 % and 77.4 %, respectively. The optimal cut-off value of VFV was 1.255 dm 3, and all 132 patients were divided into the high-risk early postoperative recurrence group of 69 cases with VFV >1.255 dm 3, and the low-risk early postoperative recurrence group of 63 cases with VFV ≤1.255 dm 3. The disease-free survival time of the high-risk early postoperative recurrence group and the low-risk early post-operative recurrence group were 414(193,702)days and 1 047(620,1 219)days, showing a significant difference between them ( χ2=31.17, P<0.05). Conclusions:VFV is an independent factor influen-cing early tumor recurrence of HCC after resection. As a quantitative indicator of abdominal fat, it can predict the prognosis of HCC patients.

Total hip arthroplasty(THA)is an effective treatment for elderly femoral neck fractures,mid-to late-stage femoral head necrosis,and end-stage hip osteoarthritis.However,serious complications such as aseptic loosening of the prosthesis,peripheral fractures,and dislocation of the prosthesis still exist following THA,which makes the selection of the appropriate hip prosthesis type and placement position before THA an important challenge for surgeons.Currently,the commonly used preoperative planning methods for THA mainly rely on static images from two-dimensional(2D)X-ray or three-dimensional(3D)computed tomography(CT),which fail to adequately consider the hip joint in weight-bearing as well as motion,lumbar-hip joint changes,and prosthetic impingement during motion.Recently,the dual fluoroscopic imaging system,as a new in-vivo,dynamic radiological imaging technology,provides comprehensive and accurate dynamic 3D data for THA preoperative planning.However,the technical process and expert consensus on preoperative 3D planning of THA using a dual fluoroscopic imaging system have not yet been established,which affects the promotion and application of this technology.In light of the above,national orthopaedic experts and related professional representatives discussed and proposed seven consensus issues,and the'expert recommendation rate'and'strong recommendation rate'were obtained through a questionnaire survey on the recommendations of the participating experts.This consensus aims to provide guidance and reference for the standardised application of preoperative 3D planning of THA using the dual fluoroscopic imaging system.

Total hip arthroplasty(THA)is an effective treatment for elderly femoral neck fractures,mid-to late-stage femoral head necrosis,and end-stage hip osteoarthritis.However,serious complications such as aseptic loosening of the prosthesis,peripheral fractures,and dislocation of the prosthesis still exist following THA,which makes the selection of the appropriate hip prosthesis type and placement position before THA an important challenge for surgeons.Currently,the commonly used preoperative planning methods for THA mainly rely on static images from two-dimensional(2D)X-ray or three-dimensional(3D)computed tomography(CT),which fail to adequately consider the hip joint in weight-bearing as well as motion,lumbar-hip joint changes,and prosthetic impingement during motion.Recently,the dual fluoroscopic imaging system,as a new in-vivo,dynamic radiological imaging technology,provides comprehensive and accurate dynamic 3D data for THA preoperative planning.However,the technical process and expert consensus on preoperative 3D planning of THA using a dual fluoroscopic imaging system have not yet been established,which affects the promotion and application of this technology.In light of the above,national orthopaedic experts and related professional representatives discussed and proposed seven consensus issues,and the'expert recommendation rate'and'strong recommendation rate'were obtained through a questionnaire survey on the recommendations of the participating experts.This consensus aims to provide guidance and reference for the standardised application of preoperative 3D planning of THA using the dual fluoroscopic imaging system.

Recombinant human interferon α2b(rhIFNα2b)is widely used as an antiviral therapy agent for the treatment of hepatitis B and hepatitis C.The current identification test for rhIFNα2b is complex.In this study,an anti-rhIFNα2b nanobody was discovered and used for the development of a rapid lateral flow strip for the identification of rhIFNα2b.RhIFNα2b was used to immunize an alpaca,which established a phage nanobody library.After five steps of enrichment,the nanobody I22,which specifically bound rhIFNα2b,was isolated and inserted into the prokaryotic expression vector pET28a.After subsequent purification,the physicochemical properties of the nanobody were determined.A semiquantitative detection and rapid identification assay of rhIFNα2b was developed using this novel nanobody.To develop a rapid test,the nanobody I22 was coupled with a colloidal gold to produce lateral-flow test strips.The developed rhIFNα2b detection assay had a limit of detection of 1 μg/mL.The isolation of I22 and successful construction of a lateral-flow immunochromatographic test strip demonstrated the feasibility of performing ligand-binding assays on a lateral-flow test strip using recombinant protein products.The principle of this novel assay is generally applicable for the rapid testing of other com-mercial products,with a great potential for routine use in detecting counterfeit recombinant protein products.

Objective: To evaluate the recognition of acute respiratory infection (ARI) by a pretrained model based on electronic medical records (EMRs). Methods: 38 581 EMRs were obtained from Chongqing University Three Gorges Hospital in December 2021. Bidirectional encoder representation from transformers (BERT) pretrained model was used to identify ARI in EMRs. The results of medical professionals were considered as the gold standard to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, Kappa value, and area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic (AUC). Results: There were 3 817 EMRs in the test set, with 1 200 ARIs. A total of 1 205 cases were determined as ARI by the model, with a sensitivity of 92.67% (1 112/1 200) and a specificity of 96.45% (2 524/2 617). The model identified ARI with similar accuracy in males and females (AUCs 0.95 and 0.94, respectively), and was more accurate in identifying ARI cases in those aged less than 18 than in adults 18-59 and adults 60 and older (AUCs 0.94, 0.89 and 0.94, respectively). The current model had a better identification of ARIs in outpatient patients than that in hospitalized patients, with AUCs of 0.74 and 0.95, respectively. Conclusion: The use of the BERT pretrained model based on EMRs has a good performance in the recognition of ARI cases, especially for the outpatients and juveniles. It shows a great potential to be applied to the monitoring of ARI cases in medical institutions.
Adult ; Male ; Female ; Humans ; Electronic Health Records ; Respiratory Tract Infections/diagnosis* ; Outpatients

Objective:To evaluate the reliability and validity of the information needs assessment scales for breast cancer patients, so as to recommend an appropriate information needs assessment scale for breast cancer patients.Methods:Researches on the information needs assessment tools for breast cancer patients were retrieved by computer in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, EBSCOhost, WOS Core Collection, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) , WanFang Data, and China Biomedical Literature Database. The inclusion criteria included that the research content was the breast cancer patient information needs scale/tumor patient information needs scale and the original research sample included breast cancer patients, and outcome indicators included reliability and validity. Exclusion criteria included assessment of information needs of family members/caregivers of breast cancer patients, assessment of unmet information needs, languages other than Chinese and English, comments, reviews, qualitative studies, systematic reviews, and Meta-analyses. The measurement characteristics of the scale were evaluated using the measurement characteristics evaluation criteria in the Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) evaluation manual.Results:A total of 1 293 articles were retrieved, and 13 articles were finally included. The 13 scales had no hypothesis test of construct validity, cross-cultural validity, criterion validity and reactivity index. 11 of the scales were recommended as Grade B, and 2 were recommended as Grade C. Combined with the methodological quality evaluation results and measurement characteristics evaluation results, and the consistency between the research and development population and the user population, the Psychological Needs of Cancer Patient Scale and the Comprehensive Needs Assessment Tool in cancer (CNAT) are the optimal scales.Conclusions:There are currently no recommended scales according to the COSMIN guidelines. Considering the methodological quality, the evaluation results of measurement characteristics, and the consistency between the research and development population and the user population, the Psychological Needs of Cancer Patient Scale and the CNAT are the optimal scales.

Aim To explore type 1 diabetes mice and the advance glycation end products (AGE) involved in electrical remodeling of atrial myocytes. Methods The diabetic mouse model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of STZ; action potential duration, and the current density of I

Objective: Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a major long-term complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) . It is important to study the changes of serum biomarkers expression in patients for early diagnosis and treatment. Methods: The expression levels of five serum protein markers (IL-1b, IL-16, CXCL9, CCL19, CCL17) in patients with or without cGVHD after allo-HSCT were detected by liquid suspension microarray. Results: Compared with the control group without cGVHD, the expression levels of CXCL9 and CCL17 in serum of patients with cGVHD were significantly increased (P<0.05) . CCL17 was correlated with the severity of cGVHD (P<0.001) . CXCL9 was significantly increased in the serum of patients with skin lesion (P<0.01) , and CCL17 was significantly expressed in cGVHD patients with liver as the target organ (P<0.01) . Conclusion: The combination of CXCL9 and CCL17 can be used as serum biomarkers of cGVHD, which has certain reference value in assisting the diagnosis and evaluation of cGVHD severity.
Biomarkers ; Chronic Disease ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Transplantation, Homologous