BACKGROUND: The effect of the interval between previous Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication and rescue treatment on therapeutic outcomes remains unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between eradication rates and treatment interval durations in H. pylori infections. METHODS: This prospective observational study was conducted from December 2021 to February 2023 at six tertiary hospitals in Shandong, China. We recruited patients who were positive for H. pylori infection and required rescue treatment. Demographic information, previous times of eradication therapy, last eradication therapy date, and history of antibiotic use data were collected. The patients were divided into four groups based on the rescue treatment interval length: Group A, ≥4 weeks and ≤3 months; Group B, >3 and ≤6 months; Group C, >6 and ≤12 months; and Group D, >12 months. The primary outcome was the eradication rate of H. pylori . Drug compliance and adverse events (AEs) were also assessed. Pearson's χ2 test or Fisher's exact test was used to compare eradication rates between groups. RESULTS: A total of 670 patients were enrolled in this study. The intention-to-treat (ITT) eradication rates were 88.3% (158/179) in Group A, 89.6% (120/134) in Group B, 89.1% (123/138) in Group C, and 87.7% (192/219) in Group D. The per-protocol (PP) eradication rates were 92.9% (156/168) in Group A, 94.5% (120/127) in Group B, 94.5% (121/128) in Group C, and 93.6% (190/203) in Group D. There was no statistically significant difference in the eradication rates between groups in either the ITT ( P = 0.949) or PP analysis ( P = 0.921). No significant differences were observed in the incidence of AEs ( P = 0.934) or drug compliance ( P = 0.849) between groups. CONCLUSION: The interval duration of rescue treatment had no significant effect on H. pylori eradication rates or the incidence of AEs. REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT05173493.
Humans ; Helicobacter Infections/drug therapy* ; Helicobacter pylori/pathogenicity* ; Male ; Female ; Prospective Studies ; Middle Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/adverse effects* ; Adult ; Aged ; Treatment Outcome ; Proton Pump Inhibitors/therapeutic use*

ObjectiveTo explore the effects of exosomal CXCL on the biological behavior of cervical cancer cells and its underlying mechanisms. MethodsChemokine CXCL was first screened through bioinformatics databases. The GEPIA database was analyze CXCL expression in cervical cancer tissues and adjacent normal cervical tissues. Western blot was performed to detect CXCL expression levels in cervical cancer cells （Caski） and normal cervical epithelial cells （H8）. The successful isolation of exosomes was confirmed by nanoparticle tracking analysis， transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and Western blot. ELISA was employed to detect the expression level of exosomes CXCL was determined by ELISA. After CXCL knockdown via siRNA transfection， cells were divided into three groups： blank control， negative control and experimental groups. Cell proliferation was evaluated using the CCK-8 assay， while cell migration and invasion were assessed by Transwell assays. ResultsExosomal CXCL expression was significantly upregulated in cervical cancer cells compared with normal cervical epithelial cells （P<0. 01）， and also markedly elevated in cervical cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. After low expression of CXCL knockdown significantly reduced CXCL expression in both cancer cells and their derived exosomes（P<0. 05）. Low expression markedly inhibited the proliferation， invasion and migration abilities ConclusionSilencing exosomal CXCL may inhibit the malignant biological behavior of cancer cells.

Objective: To examine the safety and effectiveness of a new stent graft system for endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm(AAA). Methods: This is a prospective,multi-center,single-arm clinical trial. The patients with AAA treated with a new stent graft system were enrolled at 21 centers from September 2018 to September 2019 in China. Follow-up was performed before discharge, and at 30, 180, 360 days after operation, respectively. The primary safety endpoint was the incidence of major adverse events(MAE) within 30 days. The primary efficacy endpoint was the success rate of AAA treatment at 360 days. Secondary safety endpoints were the incidence of perioperative access complications and acute lower limb ischemia,all-cause mortality, AAA related mortality and incidence of serious adverse events (SAE) at 180 and 360 days. Secondary efficacy endpoints were the incidence of type Ⅰ or Ⅲ endoleak,stent displacement,and conversion to open surgery or re-intervention at 180 and 360 days. Results: One hundred and fifty-six patients were enrolled,including 137 males and 19 females. The age was (68.9±6.9) years (range:48.2 to 84.6 years).Maximum aneurysm diameter was (50.8±11.2) mm (range:25.0 to 85.0 mm),diameter of proximal landing zone was (21.2±2.5) mm (range:17.0 to 29.5 mm),and length of proximal landing zone was (31.4±13.0) mm (range:11.0 to 75.0 mm).The incidence of MAE was 1.3% (2/156) at 30 days,both were all-cause death cases. The success rate of AAA treatment was 88.5% (138/156) at 360 days. No perioperative access complication and acute lower limb ischemia occurred. All-cause mortality was 2.0% (3/154) at 180 days and 2.6% (4/153) at 360 days,and there was no AAA related death. The incidence of SAE was 23.0%(35/152) at 180 days and 30.5%(46/151) at 360 days, and no device-related SAE occurred. The incidence of type Ⅰor Ⅲ endoleak was 3.4% (5/147) at 180 days and 3.5% (5/144) at 360 days. Conclusion: The new stent graft system is easy to operate,and early-term safety and effectiveness results are expected.
Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Prospective Studies ; China ; Ischemia ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal/surgery*

Objective:To explore the effect of group cognitive behavior therapy (GCBT) on anxiety, depression and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in community.Methods:From August to November 2019, patients with moderate COPD in 18 communities in Xuzhou City were randomly divided into the intervention group ( n=240) and the control group ( n=223). The control group received routine management and the intervention group received group cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for 8 weeks on the basis of routine management.Before and after the intervention, FEV 1% predicted value and FEV 1/FVC were measured by pulmonary function tester.Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to evaluate the anxiety and depression of patients.St.George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ), COPD assessment test (CAT) and modified medical research council dyspnea (mMRC) were used to evaluate the quality of life of patients.SPSS 20.0 software was used for analysis.The χ 2 test, independent sample t-test, paired sample t-test were used for statistical analysis. Results:After 8 weeks of intervention, the anxiety and depression scores of the intervention group were lower than those of the control group (anxiety: (8.23±4.02) vs (10.71±3.60); depression: (7.87±3.73) vs (10.20±3.72)( t=6.415, 6.185, both P<0.01). After the intervention, there was no significant difference in FEV 1%((51.7±12.3)% vs (52.0±12.6)%) predicted value and FEV 1/FVC((57.3±10.8)% vs (56.9±10.7)%) between the two groups( t=-0.259, 0.400, both P>0.05). The scores of CAT, mMRC and SGRQ in the intervention group were lower than those in the control group((17.35±5.78) vs (20.90±8.00), (1.55±0.82) vs (2.30±1.21), (41.78±21.56) vs (57.08±24.46))( t=-5.061, -7.227, -6.580, all P<0.01). Conclusion:Group cognitive behavioral therapy can relieve the anxiety and depression and improve the quality of life of patients with COPD.

Objective:To observe any effect of combining motor imagery therapy (MIT) with repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for improving upper limb motor functioning after a stroke.Methods:Ninety stroke survivors were randomly divided into a control group, an MIT group and a combination group, each of 30. All received conventional rehabilitation therapy, while the MIT group additionally received MIT and the combination group received the MIT along with 1Hz rTMS applied over the M1 region of the contralateral cortex. Before and after 4 weeks of treatment, everyone′s upper limb functioning was quantified using the Fugl-Meyer assessment scale (FMA) and the Hong Kong version of the hemiplegia upper limb function test (FTHUE-HK). Motor evoked potentials (MEPs), cortical latency (CL) and central motor conduction time (CMCT) were also recorded.Results:After the treatment the average FMA and FTHUE-HK scores of all three groups had improved significantly. The average CL and CMCT were significantly shortened. Compared with the control group, the average upper limb FMA score and FTHUE-HK scores of the treatment group were significantly higher. The combination group showed a significant improvement in its average MEP cortical latency and CMCT values.Conclusions:MIT therapy alone can improve the upper limb motor functioning of stroke survivors, but it is more effective in combination with rTMS.

ObjectiveTo explore the influence of Xiaoai Jiedu prescription （XJP）-containing serum on natural killer （NK） cells′ lethal effect on colon cancer cells and the molecular mechanism. MethodXJP-containing serum （0.1%， 0.5%， 1%， 5%， 10%） was used to treat HCT-116 cells and NK-92MI cells respectively for 24 h， and methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium （MTT） assay was employed to detect cell proliferation. Then， low-concentration （0.1%， 0.5%， 1%） XJP-containing serum was selected to treat co-cultured HCT-116 cells and NK-92MI cells for 24 h and calcein acetoxymethyl ester/propidium iodide （Calcein-AM/PI） was applied to detect the killing effect of NK cells on colon cancer cells. Flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis of colon cancer cells， Western blot the expression of apoptosis-related proteins and signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 （STAT4） pathway-related proteins， and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） the secretion of interferon （IFN）-γ. ResultHigh-concentration （5%， 10%） XJP-containing serum inhibited the proliferation of HCT-116 and NK-92MI cells （P<0.01）， while low-concentration （0.1%， 0.5%， 1%） XJP-containing serum had no obvious influence on cell proliferation compared with the blank group. As compared with the blank group， low-concentration XJP-containing serum enhanced the killing activity of NK cells against colon cancer cells in a concentration-dependent manner （P<0.01）， and induced apoptosis of colon cancer cells （P<0.01）. Moreover， XJP-containing serum （0.1%， 0.5%， 1%） down-regulated the expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 （Bcl-2） and B-cell lymphoma-extra large （Bcl-xl）， and up-regulated the expression of Bcl-2-associated X （Bax） compared with the blank group （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the co-culture group， XJP-containing serum （0.1%， 0.5%， 1%） increased the expression of p-STAT4 and IFN-γ （P<0.05）. ELISA result showed that XJP-containing serum （0.1%， 0.5%， 1%） raised IFN-γ secretion （P<0.01）. ConclusionXJP-containing serum can enhance the activity of NK cells to kill colon cancer cells. The mechanism is the likelihood that it activates STAT4 pathway， increases IFN-γ secretion by NK cells， down-regulates the expression of Bcl-xl and Bcl-2， and up-regulates the expression of Bax， thereby promoting the apoptosis of colon cancer cells.

Objective To investigate of effect and mechanism of honokiol against acute lung injury (ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).Methods Forty SPF BALB/c mice were randomly divided into 5 groups (N =8),normal control group,LPS group,low-and high-dose magnolol groups,and dexamethasone group.The mouse model of ALI was induced by LPS.After intraperitoneal injection of honokiol,we detected neutrophil count,concentration of albumin,and pulmonary myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF)as well as alveolar permeability.We also detected the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA),protein carbonyl content(PCC),reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione(CAT),and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD),catalase,glutathione peroxidase (GPx),and glutathione-S-transferase(GST) in lung tissue of mice.Results In the LPS group,the neutrophil count,albumin concentration,MPO activity and Evans blue (EB)content were increased (P ＜ 0.05),and anti-oxidase activity was decreased significantly (P ＜ 0.05).After treatment with honokiol,the neutrophil count,albumin concentration,MPO activity,EB content,and lipid peroxidation level were decreased significantly,and the activities of antioxidant enzymes were increased significantly (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Honokiol has protective effects against LPS-induced acute lung injury through inhibiting oxidative stress.

Objective To investigate the expression and aberrant methylation of Ptchl gene in hedgehog signal pathway in carcinogenesis of human gastric cancer.Methods The total RNA and genomic DNA were extracted from 10 human gastric carcinoma tissues,adjacent tissues(＞3 cm from cancerous tissue)and gastric cancer eell line AGS.Ptchl mRNA expression was detected by real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR.The pattern of CpG island in Ptchl gene 5'regulation sequence was analyzed by software and its methylation extent was tested by bisulfite sequencing PCR.Results The analysis of CpG island(starting-3950 bases upstream of the Ptchl mRNAla transcription start site and ending 2050 bases downstream)revealed that there were two CpG islands in Ptchl gene 5' regulation sequence(first CpG:-1139 bp～+860 bp;second CpG:+875 bp～+1692 bp).Bisulfite sequencing PCR analysis of 19 CpG sites included in the first CpG island(-870 bp～+229 bp)showed that there was methylation present in all cell lines and the average extent of the methylation of these CpG sites was significantly higher in cancerous tissues(64%±32%,ranged 16%～100%)than that in adjacent tissues(13%±14%,ranged 0%～42%,P＜0.05).There was a negative correlation of the Ptchl methylation with its expression.Conclusion The high methylation of Ptchl gene that involves in the carcinogenesis of human gastric carcer will be a new biomarker for gastric carcer.