Tooth loss is a common oral problem, and cognitive decline is a primary manifestation of neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly. Both conditions affect their daily living abilities and quality of life. Studies have shown that tooth loss may negatively impact cognitive function through physiological mechanisms such as neural pathways and inflammatory factors, and social, psychological and behavioral factors are identified as important modifiable elements for preventing cognitive decline. This review examined literature about tooth loss and cognitive decline in the elderly, and explored the potential pathways of social, psychological and behavioral factors between these two conditions. The findings indicated that tooth loss may increase the risk of cognitive decline through reduced social participation, social isolation and limited social capital, increased chronic stress, depression and negative aging attitudes, as well as altered physical activity patterns, sleep duration and diets. For the elderly with tooth loss, targeted preventive and intervention measures addressing social, psychological and behavioral aspects can be implemented to prevent and delay cognitive decline, thereby improving their quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on the intestinal flora in rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and explore its possible mechanism based on the gut-lung axis theory. METHODS: A total of 30 male SD rats of SPF grade were randomly divided into a normal control (NC) group, a model group and an EA group, 10 rats in each one. In the model group and the EA group, COPD model was established by intratracheal instillation of lipopolysaccharide combined with cigarette fumigation. In the EA group, EA was applied at bilateral "Feishu" (BL13) and "Zusanli" (ST36), with disperse-dense waves, in frequency of 4 Hz/20 Hz, current of 1-3 mA, 20 min a time, once a day for 14 days continuously. Before and after modeling, as well as after intervention, body weight was observed; after intervention, the lung function indexes (forced expiratory volume in 0.1 second [FEV_0.1], FEV_0.1/forced vital capacity [FVC]%, forced expiratory volume in 0.3 second [FEV_0.3] and FEV_0.3/FVC%) were measured, serum levels of inflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-α[TNF-α], interleukin-6[IL-6], interleukin-1β[IL-1β] and interleukin-10[IL-10]) were detected by ELISA, histopathology of lung and colon tissues was observed by HE staining, the intestinal flora were analyzed by 16S rRNA, and the correlations between lung function and intestinal flora were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with the NC group, in the COPD group, the body weight and lung function indexes were reduced (P<0.01); the lung and colon tissues were damaged, the mean linear intercept (MLI) of alveolus and inflammatory cell numbers of 100 μm² in lung tissue were increased (P<0.01); the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were increased (P<0.01, P<0.05), and the serum level of IL-10 was decreased (P<0.01); α-diversity indexes of intestinal flora were increased (P<0.01); the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Oscillospira, Bacteroides, Coprococcus was increased (P<0.01), the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, TM7 and Lactobacillus, Allobaculum, Bifidobacterium, YRC22 was decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05); 31 different expressed metabolic pathways were identified between the two groups. Compared with the COPD group, in the EA group, the body weight and lung function indexes were increased (P<0.01); the damage of lung and colon tissues was improved, the MLI of alveolus was decreased (P<0.05); the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β were decreased (P<0.05), and the serum level of IL-10 was increased (P<0.05); α-diversity indexes of intestinal flora were decreased (P<0.01); the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Oscillospira, Bacteroides, Coprococcus was decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05), the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, TM7 and Lactobacillus, Allobaculum, Bifidobacterium, YRC22 was increased (P<0.01); 35 different expressed metabolic pathways were identified between the two groups. The lung function was positive related with Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, TM7 and YRC22, and was negative related with Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Oscillospira, Bacteroides, Coprococcus. CONCLUSION EA may ameliorate lung function and tissue injury of COPD by regulating intestinal flora dysbiosis and inflammatory response, suggesting an anti-inflammatory effect mediated via "gut-lung" axis.
Animals ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/genetics* ; Male ; Electroacupuncture ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Lung/metabolism* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Humans ; Interleukin-6/immunology* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/immunology* ; Intestines/microbiology* ; Interleukin-10/immunology*

End-stage dilated cardiomyopathy belongs to the irreversible cardiac decompensation stage,and neither drugs nor cardiac resynchronization therapy can improve the symptoms of heart failure in patients.Orthotopic heart transplantation is a surgical procedure that involves removing the diseased heart of the recipient and implanting the donor heart in its original position.With the advancements in surgical transplantation techniques and immunosuppressive therapy,it has become an effective treatment for end-stage heart disease.Coronary artery disease after heart transplantation is one of the issues that need attention after heart transplantation.This article reports a 68-year-old male who suffered from recurrent heart failure and ventricular tachycardia due to"dilated cardiomyopathy"and underwent allogeneic orthotopic heart transplantation 5 years ago.The patient underwent coronary angiography and intravascular ultrasound examination under local anesthesia.This case has certain guiding significance for studying the progression of coronary artery disease in heart transplant patients.

Synovium is the target organ of rheumatoid arthritis.The excessive proliferation of synovial cells and insufficient apoptosis lead to synovial hyperplasia,which in turn causes damage to the surrounding tissues of the joint and bone destruction."Yang transforming qi and yin forming elements"is derived from Su Wen and is a highly summarized description of the functions of yin and yang,which runs through the entire course of the disease.This article elucidated the theoretical connotation of"yang transforming qi and yin forming elements"and its connection with synovial hyperplasia,proposing that the insufficiency of"yang transforming qi"is the root of synovial hyperplasia,while the excess of"yin forming elements"is the manifestation of synovial hyperplasia.Based on this,it put forward that"assisting yang qi as the priority,and according to the bias of pathogenic factors of yin,supplementing the method of reducing yin forming elements"is an important principle for treating this disease,which could provide new ideas for the treatment of the disease.

Objective To explore the mechanism of Quhan Zhufeng Mixture on proliferation and apoptosis of rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocyte(RA-FLS)based on NDRG2/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.Methods RA-FLS cells were cultured in vitro,and were divided into ① blank serum group,methotrexate group,Quhan Zhufeng Mixture low-,medium-and high-dosage groups;② blank serum group,AG490 group,Quhan Zhufeng Mixture low-,medium-and high-dosage groups.Different concentrations of drug-containing serum were used to intervene cells.Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 method,apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry,and mRNA expressions of Bax,Bcl-2,Caspace-3,Caspace-9,N-myc downstream regulatory gene 2(NDRG2),Janus kinase 2(JAK2)and signal transduction and transcription activator 3(STAT3)were detected by RT-qPCR,Western blot was used to detect the protein expressions of Bax,Bcl-2,Caspace-3,Caspace-9,NDRG2,JAK2,STAT3,p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 in cells.Results Compared with the blank serum group,cell survival rate in methotrexate group,Quhan Zhufeng Mixture all dosage groups significantly decreased(P<0.01),the apoptosis rate significantly increased(P<0.01),the mRNA and protein expressions of Bax and Caspase-9 significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01),while the mRNA and protein expression of Bcl-2 significantly decreased(P<0.01),and Caspase-3 mRNA and protein expression in methotrexate group and Quhan Zhufeng Mixture medium-and high-dosage groups significantly increased(P<0.01).Compared with the blank serum group,the mRNA and protein expression of NDRG2 significantly increased in Quhan Zhufeng Mixture all dosage groups(P<0.05,P<0.01),the mRNA and protein expressions of JAK2 and STAT3 were significantly reduced in AG490 group and Quhan Zhufeng Mixture medium-and high-dosage groups(P<0.05,P<0.01),and the expressions of p-JAK2 and p-STAT3 proteins were significantly reduced(P<0.01).Conclusion Quhan Zhufeng Mixture can regulate the proliferation and apoptosis of RA-FLS by regulating the activity of NDRG2/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway,playing a role in treating rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective:To analyze the effect of joint management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) between specialty and community under the model of National Diabetes Prevention and Control Center (DPCC).Methods:A total of 2 527 T2DM patients managed by DPCC Pingshan Center of Shenzhen from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024 were retrospectively included. After management, the rate of downturn, reexamination rate, blood pressure compliance rate, metabolic indicators (waist circumference, body mass index, fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood lipids) and screening rate of chronic complications of diabetes (atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, microvascular disease, diabetic peripheral neuropathy) were analyzed. Those included 2022 ( n=564), 2023 ( n=1 477), and 2024 ( n=2 527). Results:The downturn rate in 2022, 2023 and 2024 increased year by year (22.8% vs 67.2% vs 89.9%, P<0.01), and the review rate (41.1% vs 62.2% vs 52.7%, P<0.01), complication screening rate (51.6% vs 85.3% vs 62.2%, P<0.01), blood pressure compliance rate (53.1% vs 78.0% vs 67.2%, P<0.01), body mass index compliance rate (13.2% vs 17.3% vs 28.6%, P<0.01), fasting blood glucose meeting rate (46.4% vs 60.2% vs 68.5%, P<0.01), glycated hemoglobin meeting rate (58.4% vs 63.2% vs 45.6%, P<0.01) were relatively improved. Waist circumference compliance rate (30.6% vs 27.7% vs 21.6%) and blood lipid compliance rate (33.6% vs 35.5% vs 31.9%) were not significantly improved, and the review rate, blood pressure compliance rate and complication screening rate in 2024 were lower than those in 2023 and higher than those in 2022. Conclusions:The combined management of type 2 diabetes under the DPCC model has significant effects on improving the down-conversion rate, rediagnosis rate, blood pressure compliance rate, metabolic index compliance rate and the screening rate of diabetes-related chronic complications in patients with diabetes. At the same time, it was also found that with the progress of hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, the review rate, complication screening rate, blood pressure, waist circumference, blood lipid and glycosylated hemoglobin reached the standard of patients decreased compared with the previous situation, which needs to be further analyzed and improved.

Objective:To prospectively analyze and evaluate the clinical efficacy of fire needle acupuncture selection based on CT localization in the treatment of lung cancer-related cough.Methods:A total of 36 patients with lung cancer-related cough who were admitted to the Rehabilitation Hospital Affiliated to Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2020 to December 2023 were prospectively included as research samples.According to the random number table method,they were divided into control group(18 cases)and observation group(18 cases).The control group was treated with routine etiological treatment and symptomatic treatment,while the observation group was treated with fire needle acupuncture selection based on CT localization on the basis of the control group.The course of treatment was 28 days.The efficacy improvement rate after 28 days of treatment,visual analogue scale(VAS),le icester cough questionnaire in mandarin-Chinese(LCQ-MC)and levels of peripheral serum cytokines interleukin-6(IL-6)and interleukin-8(IL-8)before and after 28 days of treatment were compared between the two groups.Results:After 28 days of treatment,the efficacy improvement rate of curative effect,VAS score and LCQ-MC score in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group(P＜0.05).The levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in the two groups were significantly lower than those before treatment(P＜0.05),but there was no significant difference between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion:The treatment of fire needle acupuncture selection guided by CT localization can significantly improve the therapeutic effect of patients with lung cancer-related cough,effectively reduce the cough symptoms of patients,improve the quality of life of patients,and alleviate the inflammatory response in the body.

Objective To determine the chemical composition of TangNiaoLing Tablets by UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS/MS.Methods A Waters ACQUITY HSS T3 column(100 mm×2.1 mm,1.8 μm)was used for separation at a total flow rate of 0.2 mL/min.The mobile phase included an aqueous solution of 0.1%formic acid and acetonitrile mixed with 0.1%formic acid was supplied.The injection volume was set at 2 μL and the column oven temperature was 40℃.High-resolution mass spectrometric data were obtained by concurrently scanning the positive and negative ion modes.The identification was accomplished by inferring the empirical fragmentation patterns and comparing it with databases and references.Results 100 different chemical elements,including triterpenes,flavonoids,phenylpropanoids,phenylethanoid glycosides,iridoid glycosides,and phenols,among others were identified from the 50%methanol extract of TangNiaoLing pills.Conclusion The chemical contents of TangNiaoLing tablets were identified and analyzed using the UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS/MS method for the first time.This served as a foundation for future research into the tablets' effective components and quality control.

Objective To observe the early changes of vault after implantation of posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantable collamer lens(ICL),and investigate the effect of different implantation axes on the early vault changes.Methods A prospective,parallel cohort study was performed,enrolling a total of 124 eyes of who underwent ICL(V4c)implantation in the refractive clinic.The changes of vault were observed by scheimpflug tomography(Pentacam)and anterior segment optical coherence tomography(CASIA2)at 1 day,1 week and 1 month after surgery.Results The ICL vault declined significantly by approximately(108.2±82.4)μm 1 week after surgery with the proportion of 16.6%±12.1%compared with the values 1 day after surgery(P<0.001),and then remained stable.Within 1 month after surgery,excluding the difference in vault baseline at 1 day after surgery,the proportion of vault decline in the middle vault group(250-749 μm)and the high vault group(≥750 μm)was similar,and there was no statistically significant difference.We analyzed the relationship between ICL axial directions and vault and found that the vault decline of the horizontal ICL group stabilized quickly at 1 week after surgery,and the vault decline of the vertical ICL group was more significant within 1 month after surgery(P<0.05).Conclusion The vault of the ICL shows a downward trend in the early stage after implantation.The middle vault group and ICL in the horizontal position stabilizes faster,and the downward trend of the high vault group or ICL in the vertical position is more obvious.

Objective To design a performance testing platform to evaluate the working status and performance characteristics of the ventilator proportional solenoid valve.Methods The performance testing platform had its hardware including a high-pressure gas source,a pressure regulating valve,sensors and etc,and its software designed based on PyQt5 and composed of several modules for data acquisition,parameter setting,image display,indicator computation,result output and etc.Two kinds of proportional solenoid valves(Valve 1、Valve2)were selected for static and dynamic tests to verify the performance of the platform.Results The platform developed facilitated the proportional solenoid valve to carry out accurate computation of static and dynamic indicators at real time and time domain and waveform feature extraction of sensor data by precision control and data acquisition for the proportional solenoid valve.Static tests showed that Valve 1 gained advantages over Valve 2 in static flow characteristics involving in lowered repeatability,return error and offset while enhanced stability;dynamic tests indicated Valve 2 had rapid flow variations and significant flow fluctuation impacts,Valve 1 showed smooth dynamic response changes,and Valve 2 behaved better than Valve 1 in dynamic performance.Conclusion The testing platform developed comprehensively demonstrates the performance characteristics and working performance of the ventilator proportional solenoid valve,which is of great significance to enhance the reliability and safety of the ventilator.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(1):13-19]