Objective: To determine the clinical efficacy and mechanism of Piwei Peiyuan Pill (PPP) combined with moxibustion for treating patients with chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) with spleen and stomach weakness syndrome. Methods: Ninety-six CAG patients with spleen and stomach weakness syndrome who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled at the Department of Spleen and Stomach Diseases of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine from June 2022 to December 2023. The patients were randomly divided into a control, a Chinese medicine, and a combined group using a random number table method, with 32 cases in each group (two cases per group were excluded). The control group was treated with rabeprazole combined with folic acid tablets (both thrice daily), the Chinese medicine group was treated with PPP (8 g, thrice daily), and the combined group was treated with moxa stick moxibustion (once daily) on the basis of the Chinese medicine group for 12 consecutive weeks. Gastric mucosa atrophy in the three groups was observed before and after treatment. The gastric mucosal pathological score was evaluated. The Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) scale was used to evaluate the patients′ physical and mental health status and quality of life.An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-4, IL-10, IL-37, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β levels in each group. Real-time fluorescence PCR was used to detect the relative expression levels of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) mRNA in each group. Western blotting was used to detect the relative expression levels of proteins related to the STAT3/mTOR signaling pathway, and the adverse drug reactions and events were recorded and compared. Results: There was no statistical difference in age, gender, disease duration, family history of gastrointestinal tumors, alcohol consumption history, and body mass index among the three groups of patients.The total therapeutic efficacy rates of the control, Chinese medicine, and combined groups in treating gastric mucosal atrophy were 66.67% (20/30), 86.67% (26/30), and 90.00% (27/30), respectively (P<0.05). Compared to before treatment, the pathological and PRO scale scores of gastric mucosa in each group decreased after treatment, and TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-37, and TGF-β levels decreased. The relative STAT3 and mTOR mRNA expression levels, as well as the relative STAT3, p-STAT3, mTOR, and p-mTOR protein expression levels decreased (P<0.05), whereas the IL-4 and IL-10 levels increased (P<0.05). After treatment, compared to the control group, the pathological score of gastric mucosa, PRO scale score, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-37, TGF-β content, relative STAT3 and mTOR mRNA expression levels, and relative STAT3, p-STAT3, mTOR, and p-mTOR protein expression levels in the Chinese medicine and combined groups after treatment were reduced (P<0.05), whereas the IL-4 and IL-10 levels increased (P<0.05). After treatment, compared to the Chinese medicine group, the combined group showed a decrease in relative STAT3, mTOR mRNA expression levels, and STAT3, p-STAT3, mTOR, and p-mTOR protein expression levels (P<0.05). Conclusion The combination of PPP and moxibustion may regulate the inflammatory mechanism of the body by inhibiting the abnormal activation of the STAT3/mTOR signaling pathway, upregulating related anti-inflammatory factor levels, downregulating pro-inflammatory factor expression, and increasing related repair factor expression, thereby promoting the recovery of atrophic gastric mucosa, reducing discomfort symptoms, and improving the physical and mental state of CAG patients with spleen and stomach weakness syndrome.

Aim To investigate the regulatory effects of chlorogenic acid(CGA)on mitochondrial autophagy and inflammation in ox-LDL induced foam cells through PINK1/Parkin signaling pathway.Methods RAW264.7 macrophages were divided into the control group,model group,CGA-L group,CGA-M group,CGA-H group and CGA-H+Mdi group.Oil red O method was used to identify cell foam.The intervention concentration of CGA was determined by CCK-8 meth-od.The mitochondrial structure was observed by trans-mission electron microscope.The expression of IL-1 β,IL-18 and IFN-γ was detected by ELISA.The expres-sion of genes and proteins associated with PINK1/Par-kin mitochondrial autophagy pathway was detected by qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence labeling.Results Oil red O staining showed that the foam cell model was successfully prepared.Compared with the model group,mitochondrial damage was significantly reduced after CGA intervention at different concentrations,and the expressions of PINK1,Parkin,p-Parkin,PHB2 and LC3 Ⅱ were induced,while the expression of TOMM20 was inhibited.The expressions of IL-1 β,IL-18 and IFN-γ decreased(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Compared with the CGA-H group,the CGA-H+Mdi group significantly increased mitochondrial damage,in-hibited the expression of PINK1,Parkin,p-Parkin,PHB2,LC3 Ⅱ,induced the expression of TOMM20,and enhanced the expression of IL-1 β,IL-18,IFN-γ(P＜0.01).Conclusions CGA can induce mitochon-drial autophagy in foam cells by regulating PINK1/Par-kin pathway and inhibit the overexpression of pro-in-flammatory factors IL-1 β,IL-18 and IFN-y,which may be one of the anti-atherosclerosis mechanisms of CGA.

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy and safety of one-stage posterior lesion removal and internal spinal fixation in patients with lumbar Brucellosis spondylitis.Methods The clinical data of 24 patients admitted from October 2017 to October 2022 were retrospectively analyzed,2 patients were lost to follow-up at 10 months after surgery,at the final 22 cases were included in the study,including 13 males and 9 females with an average age of(52.00±6.89)years old,were treated with one-stage posterior lesion removal and internal spinal fixation.The operation time,intraoperative bleeding,follow-up time,ery-throcyte sedimentation rate(ESR)and C-reactive protein(CRP)before and after operation were recorded.The pain visual ana-logue scale(VAS),Oswestry disability index(ODI),the Japanese Orthopaedic Association(JOA)score for neurofunction,American Spinal Injury Association(ASIA)spinal cord injury grade and modified MacNab criteria were ussed to evaluate the efficacy.Results All patients were followed up from 12 to 30 months with an average of(17.41±4.45)months.The operation time was 70 to 155 min with an average of(1 16.59±24.32)min;the intraoperative bleeding volume was 120 to 520 ml with an average of(275.00±97.53)ml.CRP and ESR levels decreased more significantly at 1 week and at the final follow-up than pre-operative levels(P＜0.05).VAS,JOA score and ODI at 1 week and at the latest follow-up were more significantly improved than preoperative results(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference between ASIA preoperative and 1 week after operation(P＞0.05),and a significant difference between preoperative and last follow-up(P＜0.05).In the final follow-up,21 patients had ex-cellent efficacy,1 patient had fair,and there was no recurrence during the follow-up.Conclusion One-stage transpedicular le-sion removal and internal spinal fixation,with few incisions and short operation time,helps the recovery of neurological func-tion,and the prognosis meets the clinical requirements,which can effectively control Brucella spondylitis.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants among patients with depression at different age stages.Methods One hundred thirty five patients with depression(including 63 elderly patients aged 60 years and older,and 72 young and middle-aged patients under 60 years old)and 98 healthy controls(including 46 elderly controls aged 60 years and older,and 52 young and middle-aged controls aged under 60 years old)were enrolled.Serum levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants(uric acid,total bilirubin,albumin)were assessed.Results Multiple analysis of variance showed the main effects of depression factors on uric acid and total bilirubin were significant(P<0.05).Uric acid[(314.30±85.18)μmol/L vs.(339.68±85.27)μmol/L],total bilirubin[(12.81±6.16)μmol/L vs.(15.09±5.97)μmol/L]levels were lower in patients with depression than in controls(P<0.05).There was an interactive effect between age and depression factors on the levels of albumin(P<0.001),and the levels of albumin[(41.05±3.97)g/L vs.(46.01±4.49)g/L]were lower in group of the elderly patients with depression than those in group of the young and middle-aged patients with depression(P<0.01).Conclusion Patients with depression have abnormalities in levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants which are more severe in elderly patients.

TGF-β1 is considered a key mediator in the formation of hepatic fibrosis and mainly acts by activating the downstream Smad signaling pathway.Smad2 and Smad3 are two major downstream regulators that promote TGF-β1-mediated tissue fibrosis,while Smad7 is a negative-feedback regulator of the TGF-β1/Smad pathway and inhibits TGF-β1-mediated hepatic fibrosis.A growing number of studies are showing that natural products can delay the progression of hepatic fibrosis by regulating the TGF-β1/Smad pathway,inhibiting HSC activation,and reducing ECM deposition.This article reviews the molecular mechanism of the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway in hepatic fibrosis,and summarizes the natural products that target the regulation of this pathway,providing a reference for research into the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.

Objective:To explore the clinical features and prognosis of patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma(PCNSL).Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed on the relationship between clinical features,treatment regimen and prognosis in 46 newly diagnosed patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma who were diagnosed and treated in The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University from January 2015 to September 2022.Fisher's exact probability method was used to analyze the differences in clinical data of different subgroups.Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to analyze the overall survival rate and progression-free survival rate of patients with different treatments,and the factors influencing survival were analyzed.Results:Among 46 patients with PCNSL,which pathological type were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL).There were 26(56.5％)cases of male and 20(43.5％)of female,with a median age of 54(17-71)years.In Hans subtypes,14 cases(30.4％)of GCB subtype,32 cases(69.6％)of non-GCB subtype.32 cases(69.6％)of Ki-67 ≥80％.Among 36 patients who completed at least 2 cycles of treatment with follow-up data,the efficacy evaluation was as follows:overall response rate(ORR)was 63.9％,complete response(CR)rate was 47.2％,17 cases of CR,6 cases of PR.The 1-year progression-free survival rate and 1-year overall survival rate was 73.6％and 84.9％,respectively.The 2-year progression-free survival rate and 2-year overall survival rate was 52.2％and 68.9％,respectively.The ORR and CR rate of 17 patients treated with RMT regimen was 76.5％and 52.9％(9 cases CR and 4 cases PR),respectively.Univariate analysis of 3 groups of patients treated with RMT regimen,RM-BTKi regimen,and RM-TT regimen as first-line treament showed that deep brain infiltration was associated with adverse PFS(P=0.032),and treatment regimen was associated with adverse OS in PCNSL patients(P=0.025).Conclusion:Different treatment modalities were independent prognosis predictors for OS,the deep brain infiltration of PCNSL is a poor predictive factor for PFS.Patients with relapse/refractory(R/R)PCNSL have a longer overall survival time because to the novel medication BTKi.They have strong toleration and therapeutic potential as a first-line therapy for high-risk patients.

Objective:To investigate gene mutation characteristics of primary central nervous system lymphoma(PCNSL)through whole exome sequencing(WES)to 18 patients with PCNSL.Methods:Tumor tissues from 18 patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who were diagnosed with PCNSL in Department of Hematology,Lanzhou University Second Hospital from September 2018 to December 2020 and had normal immune function,no history of HIV or immunosuppressant therapy were collected.High-throughput-based WES was performed on the tumor tissues,with an average sequencing depth of＞100 x.After data processing and bioinformatics analysis of sequencing results,the mutation maps and mutation characteristics of 18 PCNSL patients were obtained.Results:Obvious somatic mutations were detected in all 18 patients.The median number of somatic mutations was 321.Missense mutations were most prominent(accounting for about 90％),and the mutation type was dominated by C＞T(50.2％),reflecting the age-related mutation pattern.Among the top 15 frequently mutated genes,PSD3,DUSP5,MAGEB16,TELO2,FMO2,TRMT13,AOC1,PIGZ,SVEP1,IP6K3,and TIAM1 were the driver genes.The enrichment results of driver gene pathways showed that RTK-RAS,Wnt,NOTCH,Hippo and Cell-Cycle pathways were significantly enriched.The tumor mutation burden was between 3.558 48/Mb and 8.780 89/Mb,and the average was 4.953 32/Mb,which was significantly higher than other cancer research cohorts in the TCGA database.Conclusions:PCNSL occurs somatic missense mutations frequently,mainly point mutations,and the mutation type is mainly C＞T.The driver genes are mainly involved in RTK-RAS,Wnt,NOTCH and Hippo pathways,indicating that the above pathways may be related to the pathogenesis of PCNSL.PCNSL has a significantly high tumor mutation burden,which may explain the efficacy of PD-1 inhibitors in PCNSL.

Objective To explore the effects of the reactive oxygen species(ROS)inhibitor Dendrimer and N-acetyl cysteine(NAC)polymer(D-NAC)on retinal revascularization and its mechanism by inhibiting the expression of ROS in mice with oxygen-induced retinopathy(OIR).Methods The C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into three groups:normal control group(NC group),OIR+Dendrimer group(OIR models+intravitreal injection of Dendrimer),and OIR+D-NAC group(OIR models+intravitreal injection of D-NAC).The mice were exposed to 75％oxygen from postnatal day 7(P7)to P1 2 and then to 21％oxygen from P1 2 to P1 7 to establish OIR models.The concentration of glutathione(GSH)was detected by GSH assay.The areas of retinal vessel occlusion(VO)and pathological neovascularization(NV)were quantitatively compared between the two OIR groups after fluorescence staining of the retina.The mRNA levels of retinal NV-related factors in mice between the two OIR groups were detected by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR).The protein expression of retinal vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in mice between the two OIR groups was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).The mRNA levels of Delta-like ligand 4(DLL4)/Notch pathway-associated factors in mice between the two OIR groups were detected by qRT-PCR.Results GSH assay results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the retinal GSH level of mice between the NC group and the OIR+Dendrimer group on P12,P13,P14,P16,and P17(all P＞0.05).Compared with the OIR+Den-drimer group,the retinal GSH level of mice in the OIR+D-NAC group increased on P16 and P17(both P＜0.05).The reti-nal flat-mount staining results showed that compared with the OIR+Dendrimer group,the areas of VO and pathological NV in the OIR+D-NAC group decreased on P17(both P＜0.05).qRT-PCR results showed that on P16,compared with the OIR+Dendrimer group,the mRNA levels of fibroblast growth factor,angiogenin,VEGF,VEGF receptor 2 and erythropoie-tin decreased in the OIR+D-NAC group(all P＜0.05);ELISA results showed that compared with the OIR+Dendrimer group,the protein expression of VEGF decreased in the OIR+D-NAC group(P＜0.01).qRT-PCR results showed that compared with the OIR+Dendrimer group,the mRNA levels of DLL4/Notch pathway-associated factors such as Hey1,NRARP,DLL4,Notch1,Hes1 and Hey2 decreased on P16 in the OIR+D-NAC group(all P＜0.01).Conclusion ROS inhibitor D-NAC promotes physiological NV formation in OIR by inhibiting the DLL4/Notch signaling pathway,and restrains the pathological NV formation.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for bronchopulmonary dysplasia(BPD)in twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks,and to provide a basis for early identification of BPD in twin preterm infants in clinical practice.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the twin preterm infants with a gestational age of<34 weeks who were admitted to 22 hospitals nationwide from January 2018 to December 2020.According to their conditions,they were divided into group A(both twins had BPD),group B(only one twin had BPD),and group C(neither twin had BPD).The risk factors for BPD in twin preterm infants were analyzed.Further analysis was conducted on group B to investigate the postnatal risk factors for BPD within twins.Results A total of 904 pairs of twins with a gestational age of<34 weeks were included in this study.The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that compared with group C,birth weight discordance of>25%between the twins was an independent risk factor for BPD in one of the twins(OR=3.370,95%CI:1.500-7.568,P<0.05),and high gestational age at birth was a protective factor against BPD(P<0.05).The conditional logistic regression analysis of group B showed that small-for-gestational-age(SGA)birth was an independent risk factor for BPD in individual twins(OR=5.017,95%CI:1.040-24.190,P<0.05).Conclusions The development of BPD in twin preterm infants is associated with gestational age,birth weight discordance between the twins,and SGA birth.

Pathological mechanism of ulcerative colitis(UC)is not fully clear,which may be the result of Th17/Treg immune imbalance and the interaction of multiple complex factors.Numerous studies have found that classical TCM prescriptions,experienced formulas and TCM active components could regulate Th17/Treg balance by intervening in cytokines,transcription factors,and signaling pathways,restore intestinal mucosal immune function,suppress intestinal mucosal inflammatory response,and repair intestinal mucosal barrier damage.Based on the research status of UC,Th17/Treg balance and TCM treatment,this article reviewed the relationship between Th17/Treg balance and UC,and explained the key role of Th17/Treg balance in the occurrence and development of UC.At the same time,the Chinese materia medica targeting to regulate the balance of Th17/Treg in the treatment of UC in recent years was summarized,in order to provide reference for the treatment of UC.