ObjectiveTo explore the possible mechanism of Tongbian Decoction （通便汤， TD） in treating slow transit constipation （STC）. MethodsTwenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into normal group， model group， TD group， and mosapride group， with 6 rats per group. Except for the normal group， STC models were established by intragastric administration of loperamide hydrochloride combined with normal saline. On the day following successful model establishment， rats in the TD group received 18.63 g·kg⁻¹ of TD by gavage， while those in the mosapride group received 1.605 mg·d⁻¹ of mosapride， and those in the normal group and the model group received 10 ml·kg⁻¹ of normal saline by gavage. All treatments were administered once daily for 7 consecutive days. Twenty-four hours after the last administration， fecal pellet number and fecal water content were measured. After intragastric administration of a 10% activated charcoal suspension， the small intestinal transit rate was calculated 30 minutes later. Serum levels of gastrin （GAS） and motilin （MTL） were measured by ELISA. Colonic histopathology was observed by HE staining， and mucus secretion by Alcian blue-periodic acid-Schiff （AB-PAS） staining. Ultrastructure of colon tissue was examined using transmission electron microscopy. Protein expression levels of C-kit， stem cell factor （SCF）， autophagy-related protein 5 （ATG5）， Beclin1， vesicle-associated membrane protein B （VAPB）， and protein tyrosine phosphatase interacting protein 51 （VAPB-PTPIP51） were measured by Western Blot， and the mRNA levels were detected by real-time PCR. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect SCF， C-kit， Beclin1， and ATG5 expression. The calcium content in colon tissue was determined by ELISA. ResultsCompared to the normal group， rats in the model group showed significantly reduced fecal pellet number， fecal water content， small intestinal transit rate， and serum GAS and MTL levels （P＜0.01）； the number of goblet cells decreased， and the mucosal and muscular layers of the colon became thinner； mRNA and protein expression levels of ATG5 and Beclin1 in colon tissue significantly increased， while calcium content decreased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； and electron microscopy revealed vacuolar degeneration and increased autophagosomes in colonic cells. Compared to the model group， both TD group and mosapride group showed increased fecal pellet number， fecal water content， small intestinal transit rate， serum GAS and MTL levels， and colonic calcium content， along with decreased Beclin1 and ATG5 protein levels （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； the mucosal thickness and goblet cell number increased significantly， and autophagosomes decreased； in the TD group， ATG5 and Beclin1 mRNA levels decreased； in the mosapride group， SCF， VAPB， and PTPIP51 mRNA levels increased， while Beclin1 mRNA decreased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared to the mosapride group， the TD group showed higher fecal pellet number， fecal water content， serum GAS levels， colonic calcium content， and C-kit expression， along with lower ATG5 and Beclin1 levels （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. ConclusionTD may improve constipation symptoms by upregulating the VAPB-PTPIP51 complex during mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum interactions， reducing autophagy of interstitial cells of Cajal， and promoting intestinal motility.

ObjectiveTo explore the possible mechanism of Tongbian Decoction （通便汤， TD） in treating slow transit constipation （STC）. MethodsTwenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into normal group， model group， TD group， and mosapride group， with 6 rats per group. Except for the normal group， STC models were established by intragastric administration of loperamide hydrochloride combined with normal saline. On the day following successful model establishment， rats in the TD group received 18.63 g·kg⁻¹ of TD by gavage， while those in the mosapride group received 1.605 mg·d⁻¹ of mosapride， and those in the normal group and the model group received 10 ml·kg⁻¹ of normal saline by gavage. All treatments were administered once daily for 7 consecutive days. Twenty-four hours after the last administration， fecal pellet number and fecal water content were measured. After intragastric administration of a 10% activated charcoal suspension， the small intestinal transit rate was calculated 30 minutes later. Serum levels of gastrin （GAS） and motilin （MTL） were measured by ELISA. Colonic histopathology was observed by HE staining， and mucus secretion by Alcian blue-periodic acid-Schiff （AB-PAS） staining. Ultrastructure of colon tissue was examined using transmission electron microscopy. Protein expression levels of C-kit， stem cell factor （SCF）， autophagy-related protein 5 （ATG5）， Beclin1， vesicle-associated membrane protein B （VAPB）， and protein tyrosine phosphatase interacting protein 51 （VAPB-PTPIP51） were measured by Western Blot， and the mRNA levels were detected by real-time PCR. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect SCF， C-kit， Beclin1， and ATG5 expression. The calcium content in colon tissue was determined by ELISA. ResultsCompared to the normal group， rats in the model group showed significantly reduced fecal pellet number， fecal water content， small intestinal transit rate， and serum GAS and MTL levels （P＜0.01）； the number of goblet cells decreased， and the mucosal and muscular layers of the colon became thinner； mRNA and protein expression levels of ATG5 and Beclin1 in colon tissue significantly increased， while calcium content decreased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； and electron microscopy revealed vacuolar degeneration and increased autophagosomes in colonic cells. Compared to the model group， both TD group and mosapride group showed increased fecal pellet number， fecal water content， small intestinal transit rate， serum GAS and MTL levels， and colonic calcium content， along with decreased Beclin1 and ATG5 protein levels （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； the mucosal thickness and goblet cell number increased significantly， and autophagosomes decreased； in the TD group， ATG5 and Beclin1 mRNA levels decreased； in the mosapride group， SCF， VAPB， and PTPIP51 mRNA levels increased， while Beclin1 mRNA decreased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared to the mosapride group， the TD group showed higher fecal pellet number， fecal water content， serum GAS levels， colonic calcium content， and C-kit expression， along with lower ATG5 and Beclin1 levels （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. ConclusionTD may improve constipation symptoms by upregulating the VAPB-PTPIP51 complex during mitochondria-endoplasmic reticulum interactions， reducing autophagy of interstitial cells of Cajal， and promoting intestinal motility.

Background: and Purpose Live cell-based assays (LCBA) are increasingly used for serological antibody detection due to their ability to preserve antigen conformation, offering moderately higher sensitivity than fixed cell-based assays. However, the clinical necessity of prioritizing LCBA for the detection of aquaporin-4 immunoglobulin G (AQP4-IgG) in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) remains unclear, especially when compared to its established role in diagnosing myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease. Methods: We compared the performance of live cell-based assays using immunofluorescence (LCBA-IF) and fixed cell-based assays using immunofluorescence (FCBA-IF) in detecting AQP4-IgG in 90 cases of NMOSD meeting 2015 International Panel for Neuromyelitis Optica Diagnosis criteria, alongside 40 controls. Additionally, we further investigated the relationship between AQP4-IgG titers as measured by LCBA-IF and FCBA-IF and clinical parameters in NMOSD patients. Results: Results showed 96.9% agreement between LCBA-IF and FCBA-IF (Cohen’s κ=0.935), with a strong Spearman correlation (0.977, p<0.001). Both methods demonstrated 100% specificity, with LCBA-IF showing slightly higher sensitivity compared to FCBA-IF. Within LCBAIF-tested groups, statistically significant differences in annualized relapse rates were observed across all pairwise comparisons (low-titer vs. moderate-titer, low-titer vs. high-titer, and moderate-titer vs. high-titer; all p<0.050). However, this association reached statistical significance in some FCBA-IF-tested groups. Conclusions Overall, there is a strong concordance between LCBA-IF and FCBA-IF in detecting AQP4-IgG, where LCBA-IF shows slightly higher sensitivity. Furthermore, there is a potential link between elevated AQP4-IgG titers and an increased risk of relapse, and this correlation may appear more pronounced when using LCBA-IF.

ObjectiveTo construct a prediction model for high responsiveness to short-term aerobic training in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) based on dual-task gait assessment, and to provide evidence for identifying individuals who are most likely to benefit from such interventions. MethodsA total of 42 patients with PD who visited the outpatient clinic of Tianjin Huanhu Hospital between August 29, 2023 and December 19, 2024 were enrolled. All participants completed a 4-week home-based aerobic cycling training program and underwent dual-task gait assessments pre- and post-training. Patients were classified into high-response group (n = 12) and low-response group (n = 30) according to whether the improvement in gait speed reached the minimal clinically important difference of 0.1 m/s. The clinical validity of this grouping was verified by comparing differences in cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters and dual-task gait indicators between the two groups pre- and post-training. Based on baseline characteristics, Firth's penalized maximum likelihood logistic regression was applied to construct a predictive model for high responsiveness, and the discriminative performance of the model was assessed preliminarily. ResultsThe high-response group showed significantly greater improvement in gait speed, step length, cadence and the anaerobic threshold to maximal oxygen uptake ratio after training compared with the low-response group (P < 0.05), confirming the clinical validity of the grouping. The baseline anaerobic threshold to maximal oxygen uptake ratio (OR = 3.348), body mass index (OR = 2.229) and age (OR = 0.428) demonstrated certain discriminative ability in the present sample. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.831, with an overall prediction accuracy of 81.0%, specificity of 83.3% and sensitivity of 75.0%. Robustness of the model was confirmed via internal validation using the Bootstrap method, which suggested that the results were informative, but further validation was still required. ConclusionThe anaerobic threshold/maximal oxygen uptake ratio, body mass index and age may predict the response to short-term aerobic training in patients with PD.

ObjectiveTo understand the level of medical narrative competence among hospice care practitioners in Shanxi Province， explore its influencing factors， and provide references for carrying out targeted training and improving the medical narrative competence of the medical and nursing staff. MethodsUsing convenience sampling， a total of 102 medical and nursing staff from hospitals providing hospice care in Shanxi Province were recruited as the research subjects. Questionnaire surveys were conducted with the Self-Designed General Information Questionnaire and the Self-Rating Scale for Medical Narrative Competence as the research tools. Univariate analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were adopted to explore the level of medical narrative competence and its influencing factors among hospice care practitioners in Shanxi Province. ResultsThe total score of medical narrative competence among hospice care practitioners in Shanxi Province was （158.19±19.69）. The mean scores of all dimensions were ranked from the lowest to the highest as attention and listening， understanding and response， and reflection and representation. Univariate analysis demonstrated that working years in hospice care， daily communication frequency with patients， weekly communication duration， degree of colleague care， professional recognition， job satisfaction， and familiarity with narrative medicine constituted the influencing factors for the level of medical narrative competence among hospice care practitioners （all P<0.05）. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that working years in hospice care， degree of colleague care， and familiarity with narrative medicine had statistically significant effects on the medical narrative competence of hospice care practitioners （all P<0.05）. ConclusionAdministrators of hospice care should prioritize medical and nursing staff who lack familiarity with narrative medicine， have low degrees of colleague care， experience short working years， and possess low professional recognition and job satisfaction with hospice care work. Targeted training should be strengthened for these individuals to improve their medical narrative competence level， thereby enhancing the quality of hospice care services.

Objective To evaluate the predictive ability and clinical application value of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in the benign and malignant differentiation and pathological type of pulmonary nodules, and to summarize clinical application experience. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of patients with pulmonary nodules admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, from February 2016 to February 2025. Firstly, pulmonary nodules were divided into benign and non-benign groups, and the discriminative abilities of AI systems and clinicians were compared. Subsequently, lung nodules reported as precursor glandular lesions (PGL), microinvasive adenocarcinoma (MIA), and invasive adenocarcinoma (IAC) in postoperative pathological results were analyzed, comparing the efficacy of AI systems and clinicians in predicting the pathological type of pulmonary nodules. Results In the analysis of benign/non-benign pulmonary nodules, clinical data from a total of 638 patients with pulmonary nodules were included, of which there were 257 males (10 patients and 1 patient of double and triple primary lesions, respectively) and 381 females (18 patients and 1 patient of double and triple primary lesions, respectively), with a median age of 55.0 (47.0, 61.0) years. Different lesions in the same patient were analyzed as independent samples. Univariate analysis of the two groups of variables showed that, except for nodule location, the differences in the remaining variables were statistically significant (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age, nodule type (subsolid pulmonary nodule), average density, spicule sign, and vascular convergence sign were independent influencing factors for non-benign pulmonary nodules, among which age, nodule type (subsolid pulmonary nodule), spicule sign, and vascular convergence sign were positively correlated with non-benign pulmonary nodules, while average density was negatively correlated with the occurrence of non-benign pulmonary nodules. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the malignancy risk value given by the AI system in predicting non-benign pulmonary nodules was 0.811, slightly lower than the 0.898 predicted by clinicians. In the PGL/MIA/IAC analysis, clinical data from a total of 411 patients with pulmonary nodules were included, of which there were 149 males (8 patients of double primary lesions) and 262 females (17 patients of double primary lesions), with a median age of 56.0 (50.0, 61.0) years. Different lesions in the same patient were analyzed as independent samples. Univariate analysis results showed that, except for gender, nodule location, and vascular convergence sign, the differences in the remaining variables among the three groups of PGL, MIA, and IAC patients were statistically significant (P<0.05). Multinomial multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the differences between the parameters in the PGL group and the MIA group were not statistically significant (P>0.05), and the maximum diameter and average density of the nodules were statistically different between the PGL and IAC groups (P<0.05), and were positively correlated with the occurrence of IAC as independent risk factors. The average AUC value, accuracy, recall rate, and F1 score of the AI system in predicting lung nodule pathological type were 0.807, 74.3%, 73.2%, and 68.5%, respectively, all better than the clinical physicians’ prediction of lung nodule pathological type indicators (0.782, 70.9%, 66.2%, and 63.7% respectively). The AUC value of the AI system in predicting IAC was 0.853, and the sensitivity, specificity, and optimal cutoff value were 0.643, 0.943, and 50.0%, respectively. Conclusion This AI system has demonstrated high clinical value in predicting the benign and malignant nature and pathological type of lung nodules, especially in predicting lung nodule pathological type, its ability has surpassed that of clinical physicians. With the optimization of algorithms and the adequate integration of multimodal data, it can better assist clinical physicians in formulating individualized diagnostic and treatment plans for patients with lung nodules.

Objective To analyze the expression levels of miR-27a-3p mRNA and Yes-associated protein 1(YAP1)mRNA in breast cancer,and to explore their relationships with clinicopathological features and the survival prognosis of patients.Methods A total of 130 breast cancer patients who underwent mastectomy in our hospital between January 2019 and January 2021 were enrolled.The expression levels of miR-27a-3p and YAP1 mRNA in breast tumor tissues and adjacent normal breast tissues were assessed by qRT-PCR.Furthermore,the relationships between their expression and clinicopathological features,as well as the survival prognosis of patients,were investigated.Results Compared with adjacent normal breast tissues,the expression of miR-27a-3p mRNA in breast tumor tissues was lower(P＜0.05),while that of YAP1 mRNA was higher(P＜0.05).A negative correlation was observed between the expression of miR-27a-3p mRNA and YAP1 mRNA in breast tumor tissues(r=-0.456,P＜0.05).The expression of miR-27a-3p mRNA was correlated with tumor diameter,histological grade,tumor staging by the TNM system,lymph node metastasis,and vascular invasion in patients with breast cancer(P＜0.05).The YAP1 mRNA expression was correlated with histological grade,tumor staging by the TNM system,lymph node metastasis,and vascular invasion(P＜0.05).Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed that the 3-year overall survival rate of the miR-27a-3p low-expression group was 71.60％(48/67),which was lower than the 91.50％(54/59)of the miR-27a-3p high-expression group(log-rank x2=8.211,P=0.004).The 3-year overall survival rate of the YAP1 high-expression group was 73.80％(45/61),lower than that of the YAP1 low-expression group(87.70％,57/65)(log-rank x2=4.429,P=0.035).Multivariate regression analysis indicated that lymph node metastasis(hazard ratio[HR]=1.409;95％CI,1.057-1.644;P=0.046),vascular invasion(HR=1.541;95％CI,1.076-1.869;P=0.045),low miR-27a-3p mRNA expression(HR=0.593;95％CI,0.388-0.925;P=0.018),and high YAP1 mRNA expression(HR=0.628;95％CI,0.405-0.912;P=0.022)were relevant factors affecting the 3-year overall survival of patients with breast cancer.Conclusion A significant downregulation of miR-27a-3p mRNA and upregulation of YAP1 mRNA are observed in breast tumor tissues.The low expression of miR-27a-3p mRNA and the high expression of YAP1 mRNA are associated with adverse clinicopathological features and poor survival prognosis,and are risk factors affecting the 3-year overall survival of patients with breast cancer.They show promise as new potential therapeutic targets for breast cancer.

Objective:To investigate the expression of SLIT2/ROBO1 in prostate cancer and its clinical significance.Methods:A total of 100 cases of radical prostatectomy paraffin specimens at Department of Clinical Pathology, the average age of the patients was (71.8±7.8) years, the People?s Hospital of Baoan Shenzhen from January 2015 to December 2019 were collected and immunohistochemical staining was used to analyze the correlation between SLIT2/ROBO1 expression and clinicopathological features in prostate cancer.COX regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of biochemical recurrence in patients with prostate cancer after radical treatment.Prostate cancer cells PC3 and LNCaP were used as research objects, ROBO1 was silenced by small interfering RNA specific to human ROBO1, and its effect on the growth rate of prostate cancer was observed by CCK8 assay.Transwell cell migration and invasion assay was used to detect the effect of ROBO1 knock-down on the migration and invasion ability of prostate cancer cells.Protein immunoimprinting assay was used to detect the expression of TGF-β/SMAD pathway-related proteins after ROBO1 knockdown.Results:The expressions of SLIT2 and ROBO1 in prostate cancer were increased with the increase of prostate cancer Gleason score system (Gleason score) and International Society of Urology Pathology score (ISUP)( P<0.05). The expression was significantly up-regulated in prostate cancer tissues with lymph node metastasis ( P<0.01) and T3 stage.In addition, COX regression univariate analysis showed that age, preoperative PSA level, Gleason and ISUP scores, T stage, lymph node metastasis and ROBO1 protein expression status were correlated with postoperative biochemical recurrence.COX regression multivariate analysis showed that ROBO1 high expression, age, preoperative PSA value and T stagewere risk factors for the prognosis of prostate cancer ( P<0.05).The results of cell experiments showed that ROBO1 promoted the proliferation, migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells.The expression of TGF-β/SMAD was decreased after ROBO1 knockdown and SLIT2/ROBO1 inhibitor (P144)treatment, respectively. Conclusions:The high expression of SLIT2 and ROBO1 is associated with the progression and differentiation of prostate cancer.The high expression of ROBO1 is a risk factor for biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer.At the same time, ROBO1 can inhibit the migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells by regulating the TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway.

Background and Aims:As a core data source in the development of medical informatization,the front page of inpatient medical records plays a crucial role in determining the usability of research data and the scientific quality of clinical decision-making.Given the relatively standardized diagnostic and treatment protocols for thyroid malignancies,this disease serves as a representative model for evaluating the data quality of medical record front sheets.This study aimed to systematically assess the accuracy of diagnostic and surgical procedure coding for thyroid malignancies on the medical record front page,identify existing problems,and explore strategies for improvement and the potential for future application in clinical research.Methods:A total of 3 361 patients who underwent initial surgical treatment and were pathologically confirmed with thyroid cancer at the Department of Thyroid Surgery,the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from January 2018 to December 2020 were retrospectively included.Postoperative pathology reports and surgical records were used as reference standards to evaluate the accuracy of primary and secondary diagnosis codes,as well as primary and secondary surgical procedure codes on the medical record front page.Results:The accuracy rate of primary diagnosis coding reached 98.8%.However,among 1 368 patients with cervical lymph node metastasis,only 31.2%had correctly recorded secondary diagnosis codes and metastatic sites,with an omission rate as high as 67.8%.The overall accuracy rate for primary surgical procedure coding was 90.4%,with thyroid lobectomy(TL)and total thyroidectomy(TT)coding accuracies of 85.5%and 96.0%,respectively.Among the coding errors,70.0%involved TL procedures being incorrectly coded as TT.Secondary surgical procedure codes—mainly for lymph node dissection—were highly inconsistent,with up to 14 different coding types,reflecting a lack of standardization and unified input criteria.Notably,the error rate for primary surgical coding in 2020 increased significantly compared with the previous two years,suggesting subjectivity and variability in manual data entry.Conclusion:This study highlights major accuracy deficiencies in surgical procedure coding for thyroid malignancies on the medical record front page,which may compromise the scientific validity of real-world data.Going forward,leveraging artificial intelligence technologies to support structured documentation and automated coding,alongside establishing a proactive quality control system through multidisciplinary collaboration,may significantly improve data accuracy.These efforts are essential for strengthening data foundations for precision treatment,performance evaluation,insurance payment,and clinical research on thyroid cancer.

Esophageal carcinoma is a malignant disease with a high incidence rate and poor prognosis. The mitochondrial apoptosis pathway plays a pivotal role in the regulation of cell death and has become a focal point in current cancer therapeutics research. Various active components from traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） can target the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway to inhibit esophageal carcinoma， presenting as potential therapeutic agents for this disease. This paper summarizes relevant research on the inhibition of esophageal carcinoma by active components in TCM via targeting the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway. It has been found that flavonoids （casticin， icariin， luteolin， kaempferol， hesperetin， deguelin， etc.）， terpenoids （oridonin， Jaridonin， artesunate， ethyl acetate fraction of pleurotus ferulatus triterpenoid， etc.）， alkaloids （matrine， swainsonine， etc.）， polyphenols （curcumin， epigallocatechin-3-gallate， corilagin， etc.）， steroids （α-hederin， polyphyllin Ⅵ， etc.）， phenols （optimized scorpion venom peptide CT-K3K7， gecko active polypeptide， etc.）， volatile oils （cinnamaldehyde， α -asarone， etc.） and other active components from TCM can target the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis pathway， induce apoptosis in esophageal carcinoma cells， and inhibit their proliferation， invasion and migration by regulating oxidative stress， blocking the cell cycle， regulating signaling pathways such as PI3K/Akt and MAPK.