ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanisms by which Huanglian Jiedutang （HLJDT） modulates microglial （MG） phenotypes through the sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectin 2 （SIGLEC2/CD22）/Src-homology-2-domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase-1 （SHP-1）/phosphorylated protein kinase B （p-Akt） signaling pathway， thereby promoting myelin repair and alleviating agitation-like behaviors in vascular dementia （VAD）. MethodsSixty C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to a sham （normal） group， model group， HLJDT low-， medium-， and high-dose groups （2.5， 5， and 10 g·kg^-1·d^-1）， and a risperidone group （2 mg·kg^-1·d^-1）， with 10 mice per group. VAD was induced by bilateral common carotid artery stenosis （BCAS）. From day 42， mice received drug interventions for 2 weeks. Agitation-like behaviors were assessed using the resident-intruder test. After behavioral testing， ventrolateral part of the ventromedial hypothalamus （VMHvl） tissues were collected. Western blot was used to measure protein levels of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein （MOG）， myelin basic protein （MBP）， proteolipid protein （PLP）， inducible nitric oxide synthase （iNOS）， arginase-1 （Arg1）， CD86， CD206， and CD22， SHP-1， and p-Akt. Immunofluorescence was used to evaluate myelin-associated glycoprotein （MAG） intensity and the proportion of iNOS⁺/ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 （Iba1）⁺ cells. ELISA was used to detect tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin （IL）-6， and IL-1β. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the model group exhibited markedly increased biting and aggressive behaviors and shortened attack latency （P<0.01）. MOG， MBP， and PLP protein levels and MAG fluorescence intensity were significantly reduced （P<0.05， P<0.01）. INOS and CD86 expression and TNF-α， IL-6， and IL-1β levels were significantly elevated （P<0.01）. CD22 and SHP-1 expression increased significantly （P<0.01）， whereas p-Akt expression decreased （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the medium- and high-dose HLJDT groups and the risperidone group showed markedly reduced biting and aggression （P<0.05， P<0.01） and prolonged attack latency （P<0.01）. MOG， MBP， and PLP levels and MAG fluorescence intensity were significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. INOS， CD86， TNF-α， IL-6， and IL-1β levels decreased significantly （P<0.05， P<0.01）. CD22 and SHP-1 expression decreased， while p-Akt expression increased significantly （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionHLJDT may modulate CD22/SHP-1/p-Akt signaling in the VMHvl， promote the shift of MG toward an anti-inflammatory and phagocytic phenotype， enhance myelin repair， and improve agitation-like behaviors in VAD mice.

Objective To evaluate the clinical utility of the f-wave to QRS complex amplitude ratio(f/R ratio)in intracardiac electrogram(IC-ECG)-guided positioning of peripherally inserted central catheter(PICC)tips in patients with atrial fibrillation(AF),providing evidence to enhance clinical practice.Methods This study employed a conve-nience sampling method to enroll eligible AF patients admitted to a tertiary hospital in Suzhou from July 2023 to July 2024.During PICC placement,IC-ECG was utilized to monitor f-wave and QRS complex amplitude variations.Following successful catheterization,the f/R ratio was measured,and chest X-ray was performed to confirm the catheter tip position.The accuracy of PICC tip positioning across different f/R ratio ranges was analyzed,and the incidence of arrhythmias was recorded.A receiver operating characteristic curve was constructed to assess the diag-nostic performance of the f/R ratio in PICC tip localization.Results A total of 68 AF patients were included,with f/R ratios ranging from 20.63％to 91.24％.PICC tip positioning accuracy varied significantly across different f/R ratio ranges(P=0.006).The area under the ROC curve(AUC)for f/R ratio in PICC tip positioning was 0.784(P=0.009),with a maximum Youden index of 0.567,an optimal diagnostic threshold of 40.00％,a sensitivity of 81.7％,a speci-ficity of 75.0％,a positive predictive value of 96.1％,and a negative predictive value of 35.3％.No arrhythmias other than AF occurred during the procedure.Conclusion The f/R ratio provides reliable and safe guidance for PICC tip positioning in AF patients.An f/R ratio ≥40％is associated with higher accuracy in identifying the optimal catheter tip position.

Objective:To assess the effect of short-term exposures to atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and its components on cognitive function in middle-aged and older people aged 40-89 and identify key components that affect cognitive function. Methods:From October 2018 to March 2019, a cross-sectional survey of middle-aged and older people aged 40-89 was conducted across 10 cities in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and neighboring regions of China. Data on PM 2.5 and its components were collected from the nearest air supermonitoring stations to the residential addresses. The cognitive function was assessed using the Min-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the effect of short-term exposures to PM 2.5 and its components on cognitive function in middle-aged and older people. The restricted cubic spline function was used to fit the exposure-response relationship between different components and changes in MMSE scores. Results:The age of the 1 978 respondents was (65.1±13.4) years, and 976 (49.34%) were males. During the study period, the daily mean concentration of PM 2.5 was (71.2±43.2) μg/m 3, and the MMSE score was (28.2±3.7). The results of the multiple linear regression model showed that short-term exposures to PM 2.5 and its components were associated with cognitive decline in middle-aged and older people after adjusting for confounding factors, and the effect was higher at lag 0-28 days. For an interquartile range (64.3 μg/m 3) increase in PM 2.5 at lag 0-28 d, the MMSE score decreased by 5.91 (95% CI: 0.04, 11.77). For an interquartile range increase in organic carbon (OC), antimony (Sb), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), tin (Sn), and cadmium (Cd), the MMSE scores of middle-aged and older people decreased by 5.71 (95% CI: 1.69, 9.73), 4.67 (95% CI: 2.50, 6.84), 4.49 (95% CI: 1.05, 7.92), 3.65 (95% CI: 0.89, 6.42), 2.76 (95% CI: 1.22, 4.30), and 1.72 (95% CI: 0.53, 2.92). Conclusions:Short-term exposures to atmospheric PM 2.5 and its components (OC, Sb, Cr, Zn, Sn, and Cd) are associated with cognitive decline in middle-aged and older people.

Objective:To investigate the acute effects of persistent high exposure to atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) on residents' outpatient visits for respiratory diseases. Methods:We collected daily outpatient records from 92 hospitals in 13 cities across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, along with daily PM 2.5, nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), and meteorological data from 2013 to 2018. Five persistent high PM 2.5 exposure scenarios were defined in terms of daily mean PM 2.5 concentrations (>75 μg/m 3 and >150 μg/m 3), duration (≥2 days and ≥3 days), and whether or not there was concurrent exposure to high levels of NO 2 (daily mean NO 2 concentration >50 μg/m 3). A two-stage statistical analysis strategy based on a generalized linear model was applied to conduct a time-series analysis to assess the exposure-response relationship between persistent high PM 2.5 exposure scenarios and residents' outpatient visits for a variety of respiratory diseases, and to estimate excess outpatient visits. Results:During the period, M ( Q1, Q3) PM 2.5 and NO 2 concentrations were 61.2 (42.3, 95.1) μg/m 3 and 40.2 (31.4, 54.4) μg/m 3, respectively, and the daily respiratory disease outpatient visits were 57 (52, 66) cases. When compared with non-permanent high PM 2.5 exposure periods, exposure scenarios with PM 2.5 >75 μg/m 3 and lasting for ≥2 days caused an increased risk of outpatient visits for respiratory diseases by 2.10% (95% CI: 1.44%-2.77%), and resulted in 43 787 (95% CI: 30 025-57 757) excess visits; in this scenario, the concurrent exposure to high levels of NO 2 had a greater acute effect on respiratory disease visits than the absence of exposure to high levels of NO 2 ( P<0.001). The risk of respiratory disease visits increased substantially by 4.41% (95% CI: 3.15%-5.68%) when the daily mean PM 2.5 concentration exceeded 150 μg/m 3 for ≥2 days. Subgroup disease analyses showed that scenarios with daily mean PM 2.5 concentrations exceeding 75 μg/m 3 for ≥3 days caused a significant increase in the risk of lower respiratory tract infections, chronic lower respiratory disease, and asthma visits. Conclusions:Sustained persistent high PM 2.5 exposure increases the risk of outpatient visits for various respiratory diseases; concurrent exposure to high concentrations of NO 2 leads to a greater risk of visiting the clinic, suggesting that the prevention and control of PM 2.5 pollution should be synchronized with the control of mobile source emissions, to synergistically manage the compound pollution of PM 2.5 and NO 2 in the atmosphere.

This consensus will introduce the characteristics of fillers used in the surgical cavities of domestic nasal surgery patients based on relevant literature and expert opinions. It will also provide recommendations for the selection of cavity fillers for different nasal diseases, with chronic sinusitis as a representative example.
Humans ; Nasal Cavity/surgery* ; Nasal Surgical Procedures ; China ; Consensus ; Sinusitis/surgery* ; Dermal Fillers

Urinary system tumors are very common nowadays，including prostate cancer，renal cancer，bladder cancer，and urothelial carcinoma.In recent years，the incidence of these tumors has been on the rise.This paper briefly summarizes the emerging technologies explored by West China Hospital in recent years for urinary system tumors，such as gene sequencing analysis，radiomics and big data，liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry，multi-modal intelligent fusion diagnostic technology，surgical decision-making tools built with artificial intelligence and big data，mRNA vaccines，combination of targeted and immune therapies，and irreversible electroporation technology.These technologies provide strong support and point out the ways for the prevention，early diagnosis，and individualized treatment of urinary system tumors.

BACKGROUND: Disease-modifying therapies have been approved for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). The present study aims to examine the safety of teriflunomide in Chinese patients with RMS. METHODS: This non-randomized, multi-center, 24-week, prospective study enrolled RMS patients with variant (c.421C>A) or wild type ABCG2 who received once-daily oral teriflunomide 14 mg. The primary endpoint was the relationship between ABCG2 polymorphisms and teriflunomide exposure over 24 weeks. Safety was assessed over the 24-week treatment with teriflunomide. RESULTS: Eighty-two patients were assigned to variant ( n  = 42) and wild type groups ( n  = 40), respectively. Geometric mean and geometric standard deviation (SD) of pre-dose concentration (variant, 54.9 [38.0] μg/mL; wild type, 49.1 [32.0] μg/mL) and area under plasma concentration-time curve over a dosing interval (AUC tau ) (variant, 1731.3 [769.0] μg∙h/mL; wild type, 1564.5 [1053.0] μg∙h/mL) values at steady state were approximately similar between the two groups. Safety profile was similar and well tolerated across variant and wild type groups in terms of rates of treatment emergent adverse events (TEAE), treatment-related TEAE, grade ≥3 TEAE, and serious adverse events (AEs). No new specific safety concerns or deaths were reported in the study. CONCLUSION: ABCG2 polymorphisms did not affect the steady-state exposure of teriflunomide, suggesting a similar efficacy and safety profile between variant and wild type RMS patients. REGISTRATION NCT04410965, https://clinicaltrials.gov .
Humans ; Crotonates/adverse effects* ; Toluidines/adverse effects* ; Nitriles ; Hydroxybutyrates ; Female ; Male ; Adult ; ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily G, Member 2/genetics* ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Sclerosis, Relapsing-Remitting/genetics* ; Prospective Studies ; Young Adult ; Neoplasm Proteins/genetics* ; East Asian People

Objective:To investigate the acute effects of persistent high exposure to atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) on residents' outpatient visits for respiratory diseases. Methods:We collected daily outpatient records from 92 hospitals in 13 cities across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, along with daily PM 2.5, nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), and meteorological data from 2013 to 2018. Five persistent high PM 2.5 exposure scenarios were defined in terms of daily mean PM 2.5 concentrations (>75 μg/m 3 and >150 μg/m 3), duration (≥2 days and ≥3 days), and whether or not there was concurrent exposure to high levels of NO 2 (daily mean NO 2 concentration >50 μg/m 3). A two-stage statistical analysis strategy based on a generalized linear model was applied to conduct a time-series analysis to assess the exposure-response relationship between persistent high PM 2.5 exposure scenarios and residents' outpatient visits for a variety of respiratory diseases, and to estimate excess outpatient visits. Results:During the period, M ( Q1, Q3) PM 2.5 and NO 2 concentrations were 61.2 (42.3, 95.1) μg/m 3 and 40.2 (31.4, 54.4) μg/m 3, respectively, and the daily respiratory disease outpatient visits were 57 (52, 66) cases. When compared with non-permanent high PM 2.5 exposure periods, exposure scenarios with PM 2.5 >75 μg/m 3 and lasting for ≥2 days caused an increased risk of outpatient visits for respiratory diseases by 2.10% (95% CI: 1.44%-2.77%), and resulted in 43 787 (95% CI: 30 025-57 757) excess visits; in this scenario, the concurrent exposure to high levels of NO 2 had a greater acute effect on respiratory disease visits than the absence of exposure to high levels of NO 2 ( P<0.001). The risk of respiratory disease visits increased substantially by 4.41% (95% CI: 3.15%-5.68%) when the daily mean PM 2.5 concentration exceeded 150 μg/m 3 for ≥2 days. Subgroup disease analyses showed that scenarios with daily mean PM 2.5 concentrations exceeding 75 μg/m 3 for ≥3 days caused a significant increase in the risk of lower respiratory tract infections, chronic lower respiratory disease, and asthma visits. Conclusions:Sustained persistent high PM 2.5 exposure increases the risk of outpatient visits for various respiratory diseases; concurrent exposure to high concentrations of NO 2 leads to a greater risk of visiting the clinic, suggesting that the prevention and control of PM 2.5 pollution should be synchronized with the control of mobile source emissions, to synergistically manage the compound pollution of PM 2.5 and NO 2 in the atmosphere.

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) capable of clearing heat and removing toxin is most commonly used in clinical practice and has the effect of removing fire-heat and toxin. Studies have shown that most of the Ilex plants have the effect of clearing heat and removing toxin, among which the varieties of I. cornuta, I. pubescens, I. rotunda, I. latifolia, and I. chinensis are most widely used. These plants generally contain triterpenoids and their glycosides, alkaloids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, and other chemical components, especially pentacyclic triterpenoids. According to their skeletons, pentacyclic triterpenoids can be divided into the oleanane type, the ursane type, the lupinane type, etc. Among them, ursane-type components are the most abundant, and 136 species have been found so far. These components have been proved to have pharmacological effects such as anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, hypolipidemic, anti-thrombosis, cardiomyocyte-protective, antibacterial, and hepatoprotective effects. Therefore, this paper systematically reviews the domestic and foreign literature on Ilex plants with a focus on the research progress on pentacyclic triterpenoids and their pharmacological activities, aiming to provide reference for the development of TCM resources with the effect of clearing heat and removing toxin.
Ilex/chemistry* ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Pentacyclic Triterpenes/pharmacology* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Animals

This study aims to explore the mechanism through which Yishen Jiangtang Decoction(YSJTD) regulates endoplasmic reticulum stress(ERS)-mediated NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3(NLRP3) inflammasome to improve diabetic nephropathy(DN) in db/db mice. Thirty db/db mice were randomly divided into the model group, YSJTD group, ERS inhibitor 4-phenylbutyric acid(4-PBA) group, with 10 mice in each group. Additionally, 10 db/m mice were selected as the control group. The YSJTD group was orally administered YSJTD at a dose of 0.01 mL·g~(-1), the 4-PBA group was orally administered 4-PBA at a dose of 0.5 mg·g~(-1), and the control and model groups were given an equal volume of carboxylmethyl cellulose sodium. The treatments were administered once daily for 8 weeks. Food intake, water consumption, and body weight were recorded every 2 weeks. After the intervention, fasting blood glucose(FBG), glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1c), urine microalbumin(U-mALB), 24-hour urine volume, serum creatinine(Scr), and blood urea nitrogen(BUN) were measured. Inflammatory markers interleukin-1β(IL-1β) and interleukin-18(IL-18) were detected using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Renal pathology was assessed through hematoxylin-eosin(HE), periodic acid-Schiff(PAS), and Masson staining, and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of glucose-regulated protein 78(GRP78), C/EBP homologous protein(CHOP), NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing CARD(ASC), cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase(caspase-1), and gasdermin D(GSDMD) in kidney tissues. The results showed that compared to the control group, the model group exhibited poor general condition, increased weight and food and water intake, and significantly higher levels of FBG, HbA1c, U-mALB, kidney index, 24-hour urine volume, IL-1β, and IL-18. Compared to the model group, the YSJTD and 4-PBA groups showed improved general condition, increased body weight, decreased food intake, and lower levels of FBG, U-mALB, kidney index, 24-hour urine volume, and IL-1β. Specifically, the YSJTD group showed a significant reduction in IL-18 levels compared to the model group, while the 4-PBA group exhibited decreased water intake and HbA1c levels compared to the model group. Although there was a decreasing trend in water intake and HbA1c in the YSJTD group, the differences were not statistically significant. No significant differences were observed in BUN, Scr, and kidney weight among the groups. Renal pathology revealed that the model group exhibited more severe renal damage compared to the control group. Kidney sections from the model group showed diffuse mesangial proliferation in the glomeruli, tubular edema, tubular dilation, significant inflammatory cell infiltration in the interstitium, and increased glycogen staining and blue collagen deposition in the basement membrane. In contrast, the YSJTD and 4-PBA groups showed varying degrees of improvement in renal damage, glycogen staining, and collagen deposition, with the YSJTD group showing more significant improvements. TEM analysis indicated that the model group had extensive cytoplasmic edema, homogeneous thickening of the basement membrane, fewer foot processes, and widening of fused foot processes. In the YSJTD and 4-PBA groups, cytoplasmic swelling of renal tissues was reduced, the basement membrane remained intact and uniform, and foot process fusion improved.Western blot results indicated that compared to the control group, the model group showed upregulation of GRP78, CHOP, GSDMD, NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 expression. In contrast, both the YSJTD and 4-PBA groups showed downregulation of these markers compared to the model group. These findings suggest that YSJTD exerts a protective effect against DN by alleviating NLRP3 inflammasome activation through the inhibition of ERS, thereby improving the inflammatory response in db/db DN mice.
Animals ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress/drug effects* ; Diabetic Nephropathies/metabolism* ; NLR Family, Pyrin Domain-Containing 3 Protein/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Mice ; Inflammasomes/drug effects* ; Male ; Kidney/pathology* ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP ; Humans ; Interleukin-18/genetics* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL