OBJECTIVE To optimize the simmering technology of Rheum palmatum from Menghe Medical School and compare the difference of chemical components before and after processing. METHODS Using appearance score， the contents of gallic acid， 5-hydroxymethylfurfural （5-HMF）， sennoside A+sennoside B， combined anthraquinone and free anthraquinone as indexes， analytic hierarchy process （AHP）-entropy weight method was used to calculate the comprehensive score of evaluation indicators； the orthogonal experiment was designed to optimize the processing technology of simmering R. palmatum with fire temperature， simmering time， paper layer number and paper wrapping time as factors； validation test was conducted. The changes in the contents of five anthraquinones （aloe-emodin， rhein， emodin， chrysophanol， physcion）， five anthraquinone glycosides （barbaloin， rheinoside， rhubarb glycoside， emodin glycoside， and emodin methyl ether glycoside）， two sennosides （sennoside A， sennoside B）， gallic acid and 5-HMF were compared between simmered R. palmatum prepared by optimized technology and R. palmatum. RESULTS The optimal processing conditions of R. palmatum was as follows: each 80 g R. palmatum was wrapped with a layer of wet paper for 0.5 h， simmered on high heat for 20 min and then simmered at 140 ℃， the total simmering time was 2.5 h. The average comprehensive score of 3 validation tests was 94.10 （RSD＜1.0%）. After simmering， the contents of five anthraquinones and two sennosides were decreased significantly， while those of 5 free anthraquinones and gallic acid were increased to different extents； a new component 5-HMF was formed. CONCLUSIONS This study successfully optimizes the simmering technology of R. palmatum. There is a significant difference in the chemical components before and after processing， which can explain that simmering technology slows down the relase of R. palmatum and beneficiate it.

Objective: Accurate evaluation of inflammation severity in ulcerative colitis (UC) can guide treatment strategy selection. The potential value of the pericolic fat attenuation index (FAI) on CT as an indicator of disease severity remains unknown.This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of pericolic FAI in predicting UC severity. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 148 patients (mean age 48 years; 87 males). The fat attenuation on CT was measured in four different locations: the mesocolic vascular side (MS) and opposite side of MS (OMS) around the most severe bowel lesion, the retroperitoneal space (RS), and the subcutaneous area. The fat attenuation indices (FAI MS, FAI OMS, and FAI RS) were calculated as the fat attenuation measured in MS, OMS, and RS, respectively, minus that of the subcutaneous area, and were obtained in the non-enhanced, arterial, and delayed phases. Correlations between the FAI and UC Endoscopic Index of Severity (UCEIS) were assessed using Spearman’s correlation. Predictors of severe UC (UCEIS ≥7) were selected by univariable analysis. The performance of FAI in predicting severe UC was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: The FAIMS and FAI OMS scores were significantly higher than FAI RS in three phases (all P < 0.001). The FAIMS and FAI OMS scores moderately correlated with the UCEIS score (r = 0.474–0.649 among the three phases). Additionally, FAI MS and FAI OMS identified severe UC, with AUC varying from 0.77 to 0.85. Conclusion Increased CT attenuation of pericolic adipose tissue could serve as a noninvasive marker for evaluating UC severity. FAI MS and FAI OMS of three phases showed similar prediction accuracies for severe UC identification.

Objective: Accurate evaluation of inflammation severity in ulcerative colitis (UC) can guide treatment strategy selection. The potential value of the pericolic fat attenuation index (FAI) on CT as an indicator of disease severity remains unknown.This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of pericolic FAI in predicting UC severity. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 148 patients (mean age 48 years; 87 males). The fat attenuation on CT was measured in four different locations: the mesocolic vascular side (MS) and opposite side of MS (OMS) around the most severe bowel lesion, the retroperitoneal space (RS), and the subcutaneous area. The fat attenuation indices (FAI MS, FAI OMS, and FAI RS) were calculated as the fat attenuation measured in MS, OMS, and RS, respectively, minus that of the subcutaneous area, and were obtained in the non-enhanced, arterial, and delayed phases. Correlations between the FAI and UC Endoscopic Index of Severity (UCEIS) were assessed using Spearman’s correlation. Predictors of severe UC (UCEIS ≥7) were selected by univariable analysis. The performance of FAI in predicting severe UC was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: The FAIMS and FAI OMS scores were significantly higher than FAI RS in three phases (all P < 0.001). The FAIMS and FAI OMS scores moderately correlated with the UCEIS score (r = 0.474–0.649 among the three phases). Additionally, FAI MS and FAI OMS identified severe UC, with AUC varying from 0.77 to 0.85. Conclusion Increased CT attenuation of pericolic adipose tissue could serve as a noninvasive marker for evaluating UC severity. FAI MS and FAI OMS of three phases showed similar prediction accuracies for severe UC identification.

Objective: Accurate evaluation of inflammation severity in ulcerative colitis (UC) can guide treatment strategy selection. The potential value of the pericolic fat attenuation index (FAI) on CT as an indicator of disease severity remains unknown.This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of pericolic FAI in predicting UC severity. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 148 patients (mean age 48 years; 87 males). The fat attenuation on CT was measured in four different locations: the mesocolic vascular side (MS) and opposite side of MS (OMS) around the most severe bowel lesion, the retroperitoneal space (RS), and the subcutaneous area. The fat attenuation indices (FAI MS, FAI OMS, and FAI RS) were calculated as the fat attenuation measured in MS, OMS, and RS, respectively, minus that of the subcutaneous area, and were obtained in the non-enhanced, arterial, and delayed phases. Correlations between the FAI and UC Endoscopic Index of Severity (UCEIS) were assessed using Spearman’s correlation. Predictors of severe UC (UCEIS ≥7) were selected by univariable analysis. The performance of FAI in predicting severe UC was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: The FAIMS and FAI OMS scores were significantly higher than FAI RS in three phases (all P < 0.001). The FAIMS and FAI OMS scores moderately correlated with the UCEIS score (r = 0.474–0.649 among the three phases). Additionally, FAI MS and FAI OMS identified severe UC, with AUC varying from 0.77 to 0.85. Conclusion Increased CT attenuation of pericolic adipose tissue could serve as a noninvasive marker for evaluating UC severity. FAI MS and FAI OMS of three phases showed similar prediction accuracies for severe UC identification.

Objective: Accurate evaluation of inflammation severity in ulcerative colitis (UC) can guide treatment strategy selection. The potential value of the pericolic fat attenuation index (FAI) on CT as an indicator of disease severity remains unknown.This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of pericolic FAI in predicting UC severity. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 148 patients (mean age 48 years; 87 males). The fat attenuation on CT was measured in four different locations: the mesocolic vascular side (MS) and opposite side of MS (OMS) around the most severe bowel lesion, the retroperitoneal space (RS), and the subcutaneous area. The fat attenuation indices (FAI MS, FAI OMS, and FAI RS) were calculated as the fat attenuation measured in MS, OMS, and RS, respectively, minus that of the subcutaneous area, and were obtained in the non-enhanced, arterial, and delayed phases. Correlations between the FAI and UC Endoscopic Index of Severity (UCEIS) were assessed using Spearman’s correlation. Predictors of severe UC (UCEIS ≥7) were selected by univariable analysis. The performance of FAI in predicting severe UC was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: The FAIMS and FAI OMS scores were significantly higher than FAI RS in three phases (all P < 0.001). The FAIMS and FAI OMS scores moderately correlated with the UCEIS score (r = 0.474–0.649 among the three phases). Additionally, FAI MS and FAI OMS identified severe UC, with AUC varying from 0.77 to 0.85. Conclusion Increased CT attenuation of pericolic adipose tissue could serve as a noninvasive marker for evaluating UC severity. FAI MS and FAI OMS of three phases showed similar prediction accuracies for severe UC identification.

Objective: Accurate evaluation of inflammation severity in ulcerative colitis (UC) can guide treatment strategy selection. The potential value of the pericolic fat attenuation index (FAI) on CT as an indicator of disease severity remains unknown.This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of pericolic FAI in predicting UC severity. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 148 patients (mean age 48 years; 87 males). The fat attenuation on CT was measured in four different locations: the mesocolic vascular side (MS) and opposite side of MS (OMS) around the most severe bowel lesion, the retroperitoneal space (RS), and the subcutaneous area. The fat attenuation indices (FAI MS, FAI OMS, and FAI RS) were calculated as the fat attenuation measured in MS, OMS, and RS, respectively, minus that of the subcutaneous area, and were obtained in the non-enhanced, arterial, and delayed phases. Correlations between the FAI and UC Endoscopic Index of Severity (UCEIS) were assessed using Spearman’s correlation. Predictors of severe UC (UCEIS ≥7) were selected by univariable analysis. The performance of FAI in predicting severe UC was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results: The FAIMS and FAI OMS scores were significantly higher than FAI RS in three phases (all P < 0.001). The FAIMS and FAI OMS scores moderately correlated with the UCEIS score (r = 0.474–0.649 among the three phases). Additionally, FAI MS and FAI OMS identified severe UC, with AUC varying from 0.77 to 0.85. Conclusion Increased CT attenuation of pericolic adipose tissue could serve as a noninvasive marker for evaluating UC severity. FAI MS and FAI OMS of three phases showed similar prediction accuracies for severe UC identification.

OBJECTIVE: To construct and validate a prognostic prediction model for children with sepsis using the Phoenix sepsis score (PSS). METHODS: A retrospective case series study was conducted to collect clinical data of children with sepsis admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University from January 2022 to April 2024. The data included general information, the worst values of laboratory indicators within the first 24 hours of PICU admission, PSS score, pediatric critical illness score (PCIS), and the survival status of the children within 30 days of admission. The statistically significant indicators in univariate Logistic regression analysis were included in multivariate Logistic regression analysis to screen the risk factors affecting the prognosis of children with sepsis and construct a nomogram model. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was drawn to evaluate the predictive performance of the model. The Bootstrap method was used to perform 1 000 repeated sampling internal verification and draw the calibration curve of the model. RESULTS: A total of 199 children with sepsis were included, of which 32 died and 167 survived 30 days after admission. In the univariate Logistic regression analysis, shock, white blood cell count (WBC), international normalized ratio (INR), lactic acid (Lac), PSS score, and PCIS score were identified as statistically significant predictors. These variables were then included in the multivariate Logistic regression analysis, which demonstrated that shock [odds ratio (OR) = 4.258, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 1.049-17.288], WBC (OR = 1.124, 95%CI was 1.052-1.210), and PSS score (OR = 1.977, 95%CI was 1.298-3.012) were independent risk factors for mortality in pediatric patients with sepsis (all P < 0.05). A nomogram model was constructed based on these three risk factors, with the model equation as follows: -4.809+1.449×shock+0.682×PSS score+0.117×WBC. The calibration curve results showed that the model's predictions were highly consistent with the actual observations. The ROC curve showed that when the Youden index of the prediction model was 0.792, the sensitivity and specificity were 90.6% and 88.6%, respectively, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.957 (95%CI was 0.930-0.984), which was higher than the AUC of shock, WBC, and PSS score alone (0.808, 0.667, 0.908, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Shock, WBC, and PSS score have demonstrated certain predictive value for mortality in children with sepsis. The nomogram model based on the above indicators has important clinical significance for evaluating the prognosis and guiding treatment of children with sepsis.
Humans ; Sepsis/diagnosis* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Logistic Models ; Intensive Care Units, Pediatric ; Nomograms ; Child ; ROC Curve ; Risk Factors ; Male ; Female ; Child, Preschool ; Infant

One of the technical bottlenecks limiting the high yield of 1,4-butanediamine is the insufficient tolerance of strains to 1,4-butanediamine. Enhancing the tolerance of strains to 1,4-butanediamine is therefore a primary challenge that needs to be addressed for the construction of strains with high yields of 1,4-butanediamine. Staphylococcus pasteuri 326180 exhibits exceptional tolerance to high-concentration 1,4-butanediamine, serving as both an ideal model for studying the mechanism underlying the 1,4-butanediamine tolerance and a novel host for constructing strains capable of efficiently producing 1,4-butanediamine. However, for both the research on the tolerance mechanism and the modification of chassis strains, gene editing of S. pasteuri needs to be carried out at the molecular level. The research objective of this paper is to establish a genetic manipulation system for S. pasteuri, laying foundation for subsequent studies on tolerance mechanism and the modification of chassis strains. This study systematically optimized the electroporation conditions, including key parameters such as the growth phase of cells, electric field strength, electroporation buffer, and recovery medium, successfully establishing an electroporation method for S. pasteuri. Additionally, we constructed the gene editing plasmid pCpfOA by replacing the resistance expression cassette, optimized the selection markers for gene editing, and finally established a CRISPR/Cpf1-based gene editing technology for S. pasteuri, achieving an editing efficiency of 90%. The genetic manipulation system of S. pasteuri established in this study provides technical support for research into the tolerance mechanism of this bacterium and the genetic modification of chassis strains.
Staphylococcus/drug effects* ; Gene Editing/methods* ; Electroporation/methods* ; Plasmids/genetics* ; CRISPR-Cas Systems ; Genetic Engineering/methods*

Polysaccharides, predominantly extracted from traditional Chinese medicinal herbs such as Lycium barbarum, Angelica sinensis, Astragalus membranaceus, Dendrobium officinale, Ganoderma lucidum, and Poria cocos, represent principal bioactive constituents extensively utilized in Chinese medicine. These compounds have demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory capabilities, especially anti-liver injury activities, while exhibiting minimal adverse effects. This review summarized recent studies to elucidate the hepatoprotective efficacy and underlying molecular mechanisms of these herbal polysaccharides. It underscored the role of these polysaccharides in regulating hepatic function, enhancing immunological responses, and improving antioxidant capacities, thus contributing to the attenuation of hepatocyte apoptosis and liver protection. Analyses of molecular pathways in these studies revealed the intricate and indispensable functions of traditional Chinese herbal polysaccharides in liver injury management. Therefore, this review provides a thorough examination of the hepatoprotective attributes and molecular mechanisms of these medicinal polysaccharides, thereby offering valuable insights for the advancement of polysaccharide-based therapeutic research and their potential clinical applications in liver disease treatment.
Humans ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Liver Diseases/drug therapy* ; Antioxidants ; Polysaccharides/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Objective: To explore the prevalence of elevated blood pressure and overweight/obesity and their comorbidities among Tibetan middle school students in Lhasa, and to analyze their association with lifestyle and other factors, so as to provide a basis for the intervention measures targeting elevated blood pressure, overweight and obesity among middle school students in high altitude area. Methods: Using a stratified cluster random sampling method in September 2021, a total of 1 488 Tibetan junior and high students from Lhasa City were investigated with blood pressure measurement, physical examination and questionnaire survey. The influencing factors of elevated blood pressure, overweight and obesity and their comorbidities association were analyzed by multivariate Logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of elevated blood pressure, overweight/obesity and their comorbidities were 17.8%, 17.4% , 5.0% respectively. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that age( OR =0.81), residence, body mass inex(BMI) and gender were the influencing factors of elevated blood pressure; and the risks of elevated blood pressure in female students were higher than male students ( OR =1.89), suburban students were higher than urban students ( OR =8.06), overweight and obesity groups were higher than normal groups ( OR =2.55, 2.87) ( P <0.05). Adjusting for confounding factors such as gender, residence and school, and BMI (only for elevated blood pressure), daily screen time ≥2 h was positively correlated with elevated blood pressure, overweight/obesity and its comorbidities ( OR =1.56, 1.59 , 2.51) ( P <0.05). Conclusions The prevalence of elevated blood pressure, overweight/obesity are relatively high in Lhasa. Longer screen time is a common factor affecting with elevated blood pressure, overweight/obesity and comorbidities among Tibetan students. Measures should be taken intervene in the lifestyle of Tibetan students, in order to reduce elevated blood pressure and overweight/obesity.