ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanisms by which Mahuang Lianqiao Chixiaodoutang （MLC） improves obesity-type polycystic ovary syndrome （PCOS） through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathway. MethodsThirty-six female Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly divided into a blank control group （Con） and an obesity-type PCOS model preparation group. The model was induced by gavage with letrozole （1 mg·kg^-1） combined with a high-fat diet （HFD）. After model establishment， the obesity-type PCOS model preparation group was further divided into the model group （Mod， normal saline）， metformin group （Met， 0.3 g·kg^-1）， low-dose MLC group （MLC-L， 4.3 g·kg^-1）， medium-dose MLC group （MLC-M， 8.6 g·kg^-1）， and high-dose MLC group （MLC-H， 17.2 g·kg^-1）. Active components of MLC and targets of obesity-type PCOS were screened from databases， a protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was constructed， and gene ontology（GO）and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis was performed. The gut microbiota structure was analyzed based on 16S rRNA sequencing and correlated with network pharmacology pathways. Body weight and estrous cycle were dynamically monitored. Ovarian morphology was observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. Cell apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling （TUNEL）. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect levels of follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， luteinizing hormone （LH）， anti-Müllerian hormone （AMH）， testosterone （T）， and estradiol （E₂）. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of phosphorylated PI3K/PI3K （p-PI3K/PI3K）， phosphorylated Akt/Akt （p-Akt/Akt）， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， and Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax）. ResultsNetwork pharmacology screening identified 124 active components of MLC and 408 overlapping targets between the herbal formula and the disease. Core targets such as Akt1 and Bcl-2 were revealed. As indicated by 16S rRNA sequencing， the abundances of Lachnospiraceae， Lachnoclostridium， and Dorea were increased in the MLC groups （P<0.05）， while the abundance of Veillonella was decreased （P<0.05）. KEGG correlation analysis integrating network pharmacology and gut microbiota data showed significant enrichment of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Animal experiments showed that， compared with the Mod group， body weight decreased to normal levels in the Met， MLC-M， and MLC-H groups. The estrous cycle became regular. The number of corpora lutea increased and cystic follicles decreased. Serum levels of T， FSH， and LH/FSH were reduced （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the E₂ level was increased （P<0.01）. Ovarian cell apoptosis was reduced （P<0.01）， and the protein expression levels of p-PI3K/PI3K， p-Akt/Akt， and Bcl-2 in ovarian tissue were significantly increased， whereas Bax protein expression was significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionMLC can regulate gut microbiota structure， effectively improve ovarian pathology in rats with obesity-type PCOS， and inhibit ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis. The mechanism may be associated with upregulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanisms by which Mahuang Lianqiao Chixiaodoutang （MLC） improves obesity-type polycystic ovary syndrome （PCOS） through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathway. MethodsThirty-six female Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly divided into a blank control group （Con） and an obesity-type PCOS model preparation group. The model was induced by gavage with letrozole （1 mg·kg^-1） combined with a high-fat diet （HFD）. After model establishment， the obesity-type PCOS model preparation group was further divided into the model group （Mod， normal saline）， metformin group （Met， 0.3 g·kg^-1）， low-dose MLC group （MLC-L， 4.3 g·kg^-1）， medium-dose MLC group （MLC-M， 8.6 g·kg^-1）， and high-dose MLC group （MLC-H， 17.2 g·kg^-1）. Active components of MLC and targets of obesity-type PCOS were screened from databases， a protein-protein interaction （PPI） network was constructed， and gene ontology（GO）and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis was performed. The gut microbiota structure was analyzed based on 16S rRNA sequencing and correlated with network pharmacology pathways. Body weight and estrous cycle were dynamically monitored. Ovarian morphology was observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. Cell apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling （TUNEL）. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect levels of follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， luteinizing hormone （LH）， anti-Müllerian hormone （AMH）， testosterone （T）， and estradiol （E₂）. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels of phosphorylated PI3K/PI3K （p-PI3K/PI3K）， phosphorylated Akt/Akt （p-Akt/Akt）， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， and Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax）. ResultsNetwork pharmacology screening identified 124 active components of MLC and 408 overlapping targets between the herbal formula and the disease. Core targets such as Akt1 and Bcl-2 were revealed. As indicated by 16S rRNA sequencing， the abundances of Lachnospiraceae， Lachnoclostridium， and Dorea were increased in the MLC groups （P<0.05）， while the abundance of Veillonella was decreased （P<0.05）. KEGG correlation analysis integrating network pharmacology and gut microbiota data showed significant enrichment of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Animal experiments showed that， compared with the Mod group， body weight decreased to normal levels in the Met， MLC-M， and MLC-H groups. The estrous cycle became regular. The number of corpora lutea increased and cystic follicles decreased. Serum levels of T， FSH， and LH/FSH were reduced （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the E₂ level was increased （P<0.01）. Ovarian cell apoptosis was reduced （P<0.01）， and the protein expression levels of p-PI3K/PI3K， p-Akt/Akt， and Bcl-2 in ovarian tissue were significantly increased， whereas Bax protein expression was significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionMLC can regulate gut microbiota structure， effectively improve ovarian pathology in rats with obesity-type PCOS， and inhibit ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis. The mechanism may be associated with upregulation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Objective To compare the differences in clinical features and treatment choices between periph-eral spondyloarthritis(pSpA)and axial spondyloarthritis(axSpA),and better understand the clinical charac-teristics and medication needs of pSpA.Methods Our study is a retrospective cohort study.The patients who first visited the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital between January 2016 and December 2022 and were diagnosed with axSpA or pSpA according to the classification criteria established by the Assess-ment of SpondyloArthritis International Society were selected as the study subjects.Demographic data,clinical characteristics,laboratory tests,and treatment information of these patients were obtained through the electronic medical records management system and the intelligent management system for spondyloarthritis.The research compared the distribution of swollen and tender joints between pSpA and axSpA patients,as well as that between pSpA1(excluding patients with psoriatic arthritis)and axSpA patients.Additionally,we analyzed differences in clinical features and treatment options among these groups.Results A total of 1639 pa-tients were included in the study,of which 184 had pSpA(including 97 with psoriatic arthritis),and 1455 had axSpA.Compared to axSpA patients,pSpA patients had fewer male patients(62.5％vs.79.7％,P＜0.001),later onset age(33.8 years vs.22.0 years,P＜0.001),shorter diagnostic delays(6.0 months vs.14.2 months,P=0.004),more associated peripheral arthritis(71.7％vs.9.3％,P＜0.001)and dac-tylitis(6.5％vs.0.3％,P＜0.001),more cases of psoriasis(52.7％vs.1.1％,P＜0.001)and a more common family history of psoriasis(11.4％vs.3.4％,P＜0.001).pSpA patients had higher levels of in-flammatory markers but a lower positive rate of human leukocyte antigen(HLA)-B27(43.5％vs.87.4％,P＜0.001).A positive HLA-B27 was associated with an earlier onset age,fewer cases of psoriasis,and a fami-ly history of ankylosing spondylitis.pSpA patients had a higher proportion of using conventional synthetic dis-ease-modifying antirheumatic drugs(csDMARDs),biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs(bDMARDs),and oral glucocorticoids,and they also more frequently used a combination of bDMARDs and csDMARDs(19.0％vs.12.2％,P=0.009)or multiple csDMARDs(65.8％vs.12.5％,P＜0.001).Compared to axSpA patients,pSpA1 patients(excluding psoriatic arthritis)did not show significant differences in the prevalence of psoriasis,uveitis,family history of psoriasis,or the use of bDMARDs,but the subgroup analysis of other variables was consistent with the results of pSpA patients.Conclusions pSpA patients tend to have a later onset of disease,a lower proportion of male and HLA-B27 positivity,more associ-ated peripheral arthritis,dactylitis,psoriasis,and a more common family history of psoriasis.The disease bur-den in terms of treatment for pSpA is not lower than that for axSpA.Due to the presence of more peripheral symptoms,psoriasis,and higher levels of inflammation,they also require more medication.

【Objective】 To explore the diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and long-term follow-up of urogenital solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) and to differentiate the characteristics between benign and malignant SFT. 【Methods】 Clinical data of 20 patients with urogenital SFT treated in our hospital during Jan.2004 and Aug.2021 were respectively analyzed, including the general characteristics, clinical symptoms, imaging results, treatment methods, pathological results, and long-term follow-up results. 【Results】 Of the 20 cases, 9 cases had tumor in kidney, 7 in pelvic cavity, 3 in bladder and 1 in prostate.Six patients showed non-specific clinical symptoms, including lower extremity weakness, urodynia, dysuria, frequent urination with changes in stool habits, low back pain, and abdominal wall mass with abdominal pain, and the other 14 cases were asymptomatic.The median diameter of SFT was 5.2 cm (range:1.7-15.0 cm).All patients received surgical treatment, including robotic-assisted surgery in 8 cases, open surgery in 5 cases, laparoscopic surgery in 5 cases, and transurethral resection of tumor in 2 cases.CT plain scan showed high, low and mixed density soft tissue masses, and enhanced CT showed enhanced results.Pathology results revealed frequent nuclear divisions, morphological variations and necrosis in malignant SFT, which had higher expression of Ki-67 than benign SFT.The results of the modified Demicco prognostic risk stratification model showed that all malignant SFT cases were at intermediate risk. The DFS of the SFT radical tumor resection group was slightly longer than that of the simple tumor resection group but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.203). 【Conclusion】 Markers such as CD34, Bcl2, STAT6 and CD99 are used to diagnose SFT, while Ki-67 and tumor necrosis are used to differentiate benign and malignant SFT.The modified Demicco prognostic risk stratification model plays an important role in predicting the prognosis of SFT.Surgical resection is the most common treatment with excellent prognosis.In addition, benign SFT has much better prognosis than malignant case.

Objective To analyze the expression of N-MYC and N-MYC downstream regulated gene-1(NDRG1)in gastric cancer tissues,and to assess their effects on biological characteristics of gastric cancer cells.Methods Paired of gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues resected from 82 cases of patholog-ically confirmed gastric cancer who underwent surgical treatment in the hospital from January 2021 to May 2023 were collected.Gastric cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues of 82 patients who were surgically re-sected and pathologically diagnosed with gastric cancer in the hospital from January 2021 to May 2023 were collected.Real-time quantitative PCR(qPCR)was used to detect the relative mRNA expression levels of N-MYC and NDRG1,and clinical data of the patients were collected.The correlation between the mRNA expres-sion of N-MYC and NDRG1 and clinicopathological features of the patients was discussed.NCI-N87 cells in logarithmic growth phase were selected and cultured in vitro.N-MYC interference plasmid(si-N-MYC)and its negative control(si-NC)was transfected into NCI-N87 cells,respectively,which were recorded as si-NC group and si-N-MYC group.Moreover,si-N-MYC was co-transfected into NCI-N87 cells with anti-NC and an-ti-NDRG1,respectively,and denoted as si-N-MYC+anti-NC group and si-N-MYC+anti-NDRG1 group.CCK-8 assay was used to detect cell proliferation activity,Transwell assay was used to detect cell invasion ability,and Western blotting assay was used to detect N-MYC and NDRG1 protein expression in cells.Results The relative expression of N-MYC mRNA in gastric cancer tissues was higher than that in paracancer tissues(P＜0.05),and the relative expression of NDRG1 mRNA was lower than that in paracancer tissues(P＜0.05).There were significant differences in the expression of N-MYC and NDRG1 mRNA in patients with different TNM stages,lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis(P＜0.05).Compared with the si-NC group,the cell proliferation and invasion ability of the si-N-MYC group were decreased(P＜0.05),and the expression of NDRG1 protein was down-regulated(P＜0.05).Compared with si-N-MYC+anti-NC group,cell proliferation and invasion ability of si-N-MYC+anti-NDRG1 group were increased(P＜0.05).N-MYC could target and regulate NDRG1,and knocking down NDRG1 could reverse the biological effects of N-MYC on gastric cells.Conclusion In gastric cancer tissue,N-MYC mRNA expression is upregulated and NDRG1 mRNA expression is downregulated,both of which play important roles in the regulation of malignant biological behaviors such as proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells.

To compare the differences in clinical features and treatment choices between peripheral spondyloarthritis(pSpA) and axial spondyloarthritis(axSpA), and better understand the clinical characteristics and medication needs of pSpA.

Pseudomyogenic hemangioendothelioma (PHE) is a rare angiogenic tumor. Histologically, the morphological characteristics of neoplastic vessels and endothelial differentiation are not obvious, and it is easy to be confused with epithelioid sarcoma, epithelioid hemangioendothelioma and myogenic tumor. PHE usually occurs in arms and legs in young people and has a significant male predominance. The tumor has a predilection for the distal extremities and its typical manifestation is multiple center invasion of a single limb, which can involve all layers of skin and subcutaneous tissues,and is often accompanied by abvious pain. Histologically, PHE is characterized by infiltrative growth of tumor. Most tumor lesions are composed of sheets and loose fascicles of plump spindle or epithelioid cells within a background of variably prominent inflammatory infiltration, which was commonly composed of neutrophils. Some cells may resemble rhabdomyoblasts, and nuclear atypia and mitosis were rare. The tumor cells generally expressed positive cytokeratin (CK), ETS-related gene (ERG), Friend leukemia virus integration 1 (FLI1) and integrase interactor 1(INI1). In some cases, the tumor cells expressed CD31. A case of a young woman was reported in this paper, who presented with a subcutaneous mass with severe pain and was chronologically misdiagnosed with herpes zoster, low-grade malignant fibrous histiocytoma and epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. In this study, the clinical and pathological features, differential diagnosis and the latest progress in therapy of PHE were analyzed based on relevant literature.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; Child ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Diagnostic Errors ; Female ; Hemangioendothelioma, Epithelioid/pathology* ; Hemangioma ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous/diagnosis* ; Humans ; Male ; Pain ; Precancerous Conditions/diagnosis*

Objective:To study the correction factor of the chamber wall of the reference air kerma rate reference ionization chamber (NIM-Ir-SG-100 type) for 192Ir radioactive source. Methods:The photon spectrum and ionization chamber wall correction factor of the radioactive source housing and irradiator model are calculated by Monte Carlo code. And then the photon energy, wall thickness and ionization chamber diameter, which affect the result of the chamber wall correction factor, are simulated.Results:After calculation, the simulation result of the correction factor of spherical graphite cavity ionization chamber wall was 1.037 7. Controlling a single variable, photon energy (0.3-1.3 MeV), wall thickness (0.2-0.5 cm), inner diameter (0.5 -15 cm), the maximum deviations of wall correction result were 1.62%, 3.30% and 2.86%, respectively.Conclusions:The self-made spherical graphite cavity ionization chamber has good performance, and the corrected kwall value of the chamber wall is within a reasonable range. The completion of the chamber wall correction factor is an important step to measure the reference air kerma rate of the 192Ir radioactive source and establish the measurement benchmark.

Objective To explore the clinical value of laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal herniorrhaphy (LTEP) and open to tally extraperitoneal (OTEP) for bilateral inguinal hernias.Methods From January 2015 to December 2017,61 male patients with bilateral inguinal hernias,who were in accordance with the inclusion criteria,were prospectively randomized into laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal herniorrhaphy group (LTEP group,n =31)or totally extraperitoneal herniorrhaphy via hypogastric midline incision group(OTEP group,n =30).Operative outcomes,postoperative complications,recurrence,the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were analyzed.The data were analyzed by statistical software.Results The operative baselines of patients in two groups were equivalent.In patients who received laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal herniorrhaphy,decreased levels of CRP on the 1th day after operation,postoperative ambulation and hospital stay [(88.7 ± 18.5) mg/L vs (102.0 ±25.1) mg/L,P=0.022];[(5.6±2.2) h vs (20.0±5.5) h,P＜0.001;(3.0±0.6) dvs (4.5±1.0) d,P ＜ 0.001],were found compared with the OTEP group significantly,LTEP group had more hospitalization expense than OTEP group [(14 779.3 ± 1450.1) yuan vs (13 650.0 ± 1 787.3) yuan,P ＜ 0.001].There were no mesh infection,chronic pain,scrotal edema and recurrence of inguinal hernia in two groups.No difference was found between the two groups in the other operative outcomes and postoperative complications.Conclusion Both laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal herniorrhaphy and totally extraperitoneal herniorrhaphy via hypogastric midline incision are effective and safe in the treatment of bilateral inguinal hernias,each has both advantages and disadvantages,and complement each other.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationship between and gene methylation with aging in the general population. METHODS: We collected peripheral blood samples from 284 male and 246 female healthy subjects for detection of methylation levels of and genes using quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP). The relationship between the methylation levels of and genes and aging was analyzed using Spearman or Pearson correlation test. RESULTS: We found a significant positive correlation between the methylation levels of the two genes in these subjects ( < 0.05). In the overall population as well in the female subjects, methylation was found to be inversely correlated with age ( < 0.05). The methylation levels of and genes were inversely correlated with TG, ApoE, Lp(a) and AST in the overall population ( < 0.05). In both the female and male subjects, the methylation levels of the two genes were inversely correlated with Lp(a) ( < 0.05). In the male subjects, methylation was inversely correlated with AST ( < 0.05), while methylation was inversely correlated with HDL and ApoE ( < 0.05). In the female subjects, methylation was positively correlated with LDL and inversely correlated with ApoE and AST ( < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The methylation levels of and are closely related to age and the levels of multiple proteins in healthy subjects.
Aging ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p15 ; metabolism ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 ; metabolism ; DNA Methylation ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction