BACKGROUND: Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP), a rare and recurrent autoinflammatory disease, imposes a substantial burden on patients and society. Awareness of GPP in China remains limited. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey, conducted between September 2021 and May 2023 across 14 hospitals in China, included GPP patients of all ages and disease phases. Data collected encompassed demographics, clinical characteristics, economic impact, disease severity, quality of life, and treatment-related complications. Risk factors for GPP recurrence were analyzed. RESULTS: Among 127 patients (female/male ratio = 1.35:1), the mean age of disease onset was 25 years (1st quartile [Q1]-3rd quartile [Q3]: 11-44 years); 29.2% had experienced GPP for more than 10 years. Recurrence occurred in 75.6% of patients, and nearly half reported no identifiable triggers. Younger age at disease onset ( P  = 0.021) and transitioning to plaque psoriasis ( P  = 0.022) were associated with higher recurrence rates. The median diagnostic delay was 8 months (Q1-Q3: 2-41 months), and 32.3% of patients reported misdiagnoses. Comorbidities were present in 53.5% of patients, whereas 51.1% experienced systemic complications during treatment. Depression and anxiety affected 84.5% and 95.6% of patients, respectively. During GPP flares, the median Dermatology Life Quality Index score was 19.0 (Q1-Q3: 13.0-23.5). This score showed significant differences between patients with and without systemic symptoms; it demonstrated correlations with both depression and anxiety scores. Treatment costs caused financial hardship in 55.9% of patients, underscoring the burden associated with GPP. CONCLUSIONS The substantial disease and economic burdens among Chinese GPP patients warrant increased attention. Patients with early onset disease and those transitioning to plaque psoriasis require targeted interventions to mitigate the high recurrence risk.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Psoriasis/pathology* ; Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Adolescent ; Child ; Young Adult ; Quality of Life ; Middle Aged ; China/epidemiology* ; Recurrence ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; East Asian People

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of modified Zuojinwan granules in treating reflux esophagitis （RE） and functional dyspepsia （FD） with the same syndrome with disharmony between liver and stomach）. MethodA randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted to enroll 144 patients with disharmony between liver and stomach， including 72 patients with RE and 72 patients with FD. These patients were then randomly divided into observation and control groups， with 36 patients in each group. The observation group was given modified Zuojinwan granules orally， and the control group was given placebo granules orally. They both were treated with two packs each time， twice a day， for four weeks. The traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome scores， cerebrointestinal peptides ［calcitonin gene-associated titanium （CGRP）， vasoactive intestinal peptide （VIP）， 5-hydroxytryptamine （5-HT）， and substance P （SP）］， inflammatory factors ［tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and interleukin-6 （IL-6）］， common gastrointestinal related hormones ［gastrin （GAS） and motilin （MTL）］， and other indicators in the two groups were compared before and after treatment， and the curative effect of TCM syndromes and the occurrence of adverse reactions were determined. At the same time， the changes in the above indicators and the curative effect of TCM syndromes in the two groups of patients with the same disease were analyzed. ResultAfter treatment， CGRP， VIP， 5-HT， SP， TNF-α， IL-6， GAS， MTL， and TCM syndrome scores in the observation group and control group were significantly improved （P<0.05）. After treatment， the improvement of CGRP， VIP， 5-HT， SP， TNF-α， IL-6， GAS， MTL， and TCM syndrome scores in the observation group was better than that in the control group （P<0.05）. After treatment， CGRP， VIP， 5-HT， SP， TNF-α， IL-6， GAS， MTL， and TCM syndrome scores in both groups of RE patients and FD patients were significantly improved （P<0.05）. After treatment， the improvement of CGRP， VIP， 5-HT， SP， TNF-α， IL-6， GAS， MTL， and TCM syndrome scores in RE patients and FD patients in the observation group were better than that in the control group （P<0.05）. In the observation group and the control group， the incidence of nausea， vomiting， fatigue， dry mouth， and other adverse reactions was lower， and there was no statistical significance. ConclusionModified Zuojinwan granules can effectively improve the TCM syndromes of disharmony between liver and stomach of RE and FD， brain and intestinal peptide， gastrointestinal hormone， and inflammatory factors and provide evidence for the clinical application of TCM theory of "treating different diseases with the same method".

Objective:To investigate the drug-resistant gene characteristics and core genome characteristics of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter cloacae (CR-ECL) in rural residents of Weifang City, Shandong Province. Methods:Fecal samples were collected from rural community residents in Weifang City, Shandong Province in 2017. Drug-resistant strains were screened using a carbapenem-resistant enterobacter chromogenic medium. CR-ECL positive strains were acquired via Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry(MALDI-TOFMS) analysis. The antibiotic resistance phenotype of CR-ECL was determined using a microbroth dilution assay. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) and analysis were conducted, along with an examination of the immediate vicinity of the blaNDM gene and phylogenetic analysis of the strains. Results:A total of 628 fecal samples were collected and tested, of which 6 were CR-ECL positive (detection rate 0.96%), all exhibiting multiple drug resistance (MDR) phenotypes. Six CR-ECL strains had four MLST genotypes (ST), all of which carried multiple drug resistance genes ( blaNDM-1, blaNDM-5, etc.) and virulence genes ( acrA, acrB, entB, fepC, etc.). There were mobile genetic elements ISAba125, TN3-IS3000, TN3 and IS5 in the genetic environment surrounding the blaNDM gene. The phylogenetic tree showed that the multi-locus sequence typing of the core genome (cgMLST) was consistent with the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) results. The cgMLST results showed that the allele differences between strains 2BC0101B and 2BC0251B, 2BG0561B and 2BI0221B were 2 and 1, respectively. The SNPs results showed that the above two pairs of bacteria also clustered together. It was found that the strains of chicken fecal samples in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database were located in the center of the evolutionary tree, and the local sequences could be traced back to American human sequences. Conclusion:Multidrug-resistant CR-ECL is detected in rural community residents in Weifang City, Shandong Province.

Background and objective Bone is a common site for metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma,but the mechanism behind lung adenocarcinoma bone metastasis is still unclear.And currently,there is a lack of easily traceable and stable lung adenocarcinoma bone metastasis cell models,which limits the research on the mechanism of lung adenocarcinoma bone metastasis.The establishment of human lung adenocarcinoma cell line that are highly metastatic to bone,labeled with green fluorescent proteins(GFP)and fireflies luciferase(LUC),along with transcriptomic characterization,would be beneficial for research on lung adenocarcinoma bone metastasis and provide new experimental methods.Methods The human lung ad-enocarcinoma cell line A549-GFP-LUC was injected into nude mice via the left ventricle to construct a bone metastasis model,and was domesticated in vivo for three consecutive times to obtain the human high bone metastasis lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549-GFP-LUC-BM3;cell counting kit-8(CCK-8),colony formation assay,scratch wound assays,Transwell assay and Western blot were used to compare the proliferation and invasion abilities of A549-GFP-LUC-BM3 with the parental cells.A549-GFP-LUC-BM3 cells and parental cells were further analyzed by transcriptomic sequencing.Results Human high-bone metastatic lung adenocarcinoma cells A549-GFP-LUC-BM3 was successfully established.Compared to parental cells,this cells exhibited a significantly higher incidence of bone metastasis and enhanced in vitro proliferation,migration,and invasion abilities.Transcriptomic sequencing results revealed that the A549-GFP-LUC-BM3 cell line had 2954 differentially expressed genes compared to the parental cells,with 1021 genes up-regulated and 1933 genes down-regulated.Gene Ontology(GO)functional enrichment analysis indicated that the differentially expressed genes were primarily localized in cellular components such as the cell periphery.The molecular functions identified as significantly enriched included signaling receptor activity,cal-cium ion binding,and extracellular matrix structural constituent.Additionally,the biological processes found to be enriched were cell adhesion and biological adhesion.The enrichment analysis conducted using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)revealed that the differentially expressed genes were primarily involved in the metabolism of xenobiot-ics by cytochrome P450,retinol metabolism,drug metabolism-cytochrome P450,cell adhesion molecules,steroid hormone biosynthesis,and the nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB)signaling pathway.Conclusion The highly bone-metastatic human lung adenocarcinoma cell line with GFP and luciferase double labeling was successfully established.The biological behavior and transcriptome sequencing of the cell line suggest that it has a high bone-metastatic potential.

Objective:To investigate the drug resistance status and genomic characterization of Proteus mirabilis (PM) isolated from outpatient cases with diarrhea in Tai′an City and Laizhou City, Shandong Province. Methods:A total of 510 fecal samples were collected from 510 patients with acute diarrhea admitted to 43 sentinel hospitals in Tai′an City and Laizhou City, Shandong Province, between January 2021 and December 2022. The samples were cultured and isolated to identify Proteus spp. by direct inoculation, the drug susceptibility testing was performed by microbroth dilution method, and resistance genes and virulence genes were obtained by whole genome sequencing and bioinformatic analysis, thereby revealing the genetic environment surrounding the blaOXA-1 and blaCTX-M-65 genes. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis and core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) were conducted on the current strains and 100 PM isolates downloaded from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database via customizable methods utilizing RidomSeqSphere+ software, with the objective of exploring the phylogenetic relationships among the strains. Results:A total of 35 strains of Proteus were isolated from 510 fecal samples, including 31 strains of PM with a detection rate of 6.08% (31/510) and four strains of Proteus vulgaris.The multidrug resistance rate of PM was 100.00% (31/31).The 35 isolates carried a total of 43 resistance genotypes.Thirteen strains of PM carried blaOXA-1, six strains carried both blaOXA-1 and blaCTX-M-65, and 15 PM strains carried at least 15 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The virulence genes included ureA, mrpA, ZapA, hpmA and so on. blaOXA-1 and blaCTX-M-65 genes were surrounded by mobile elements such as Tn3, ISL3 and IS6. cgMLST showed consistency with the SNP clustering results. Isolate 2022LZ41 from Laizhou City clustered with isolates 2022TA018, 2022TA017 and 2022TA019 from Tai′an City, with the number of allelic differences ranging from zero to two, and the Laizhou City isolate 2022LZ40 was highly genetically related to strain CRK0056 (human, USA, 2015). Conclusions:PM isolated from patients with diarrhea is multidrug-resistant, carrying many resistance and virulence genes.The presence of mobile genetic elements can lead to horizontal transfer of resistance genes.

Objective:To investigate molecular mechanisms underlying the inflammatory response induced by Cutibacterium acnes ( C. acnes) biofilms in human primary keratinocytes. Methods:A C. acnes biofilm model was established in vitro, and confocal fluorescence microscopy was performed to examine its three-dimensional structure. The cultured human primary keratinocytes were divided into 3 groups: a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) control group (treated with 0.01% DMSO alone), a C. acnes suspension group (co-incubated with C. acnes suspensions), and a C. acnes biofilm group (co-incubated with C. acnes biofilms). Real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was performed to determine the relative mRNA expression of interleukin (IL) -6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) -α in the groups after 6-hour culture, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect the free protein levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α in the groups after 24-hour culture, and Western blot analysis to determine the protein expression of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) in keratinocytes. In addition, some human primary keratinocytes were pretreated with key molecular blockers targeting the TLR2/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) /nuclear factor (NF) -κB signaling pathway (C29, ST2825, BAY11-7082, SB203580, U0126-EtOH), and then co-incubated with C. acnes biofilms; the DMSO control group and the C. acnes biofilm group receiving no pretreatment were simultaneously set as negative and positive controls, respectively. The mRNA and free protein expression levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were then detected in the above groups. One-way analysis of variance was used for comparisons among multiple groups, and the Bonferroni method was used for multiple comparisons. Results:Confocal fluorescence microscopy demonstrated a three-dimensional C. acnes biofilm structure resembling a lawn, and the biofilm grew well. RT-qPCR and ELISA showed significant differences in the mRNA and free protein expression levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α among the C. acnes biofilm group, C. acnes suspension group and DMSO control group (mRNA: F = 89.70, 312.17, 46.09, respectively, all P < 0.001; free protein: F = 886.12, 634.25, 307.01, respectively, all P < 0.001) ; in detail, the mRNA and free protein expression levels of IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α were significantly higher in the C. acnes biofilm group than in the C. acnes suspension group and DMSO control group (all P < 0.001) ; the C. acnes suspension group showed significantly increased expression levels of IL-6 mRNA and TNF-α free protein compared with the DMSO control group ( P < 0.001, = 0.003, respectively), while there were no significant differences in the expression of IL-6 free protein, TNF-α mRNA, or IL-8 mRNA and free protein between the 2 groups (all P > 0.05). Western blot analysis showed that the TLR2 protein expression was significantly higher in the C. acnes suspension group and C. acnes biofilm group than in the DMSO control group. After the pretreatment with molecular blockers targeting the MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway and co-incubation with C. acnes biofilms, the mRNA and free protein expression levels of IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α were all significantly lower in the C29 group, ST2825 group, BAY11-7082 group, SB203580 group, U0126-EtOH group, as well as in the DMSO control group compared with the C. acnes biofilm group (all P < 0.05) . Conclusion:The C. acnes biofilms exhibited a strong ability to induce inflammatory responses in human keratinocytes, possibly through the activation of the TLR2/MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Objective To observe the effect of Danshen injection (DSI) on pulmonary fibrosis in silicosis mice, and to analyze the differential metabolic pathway on pulmonary fibrosis in silicosis using DSI by urine metabolomics. Methods The specific pathogen free C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into control group, silicosis model group, DSI prevention group and DSI treatment group. The mice in the last three groups were given 1 mL silica suspension with a mass concentration of 50 g/L by the one-time non-exposed tracheal method, and the mice in the control group were not given any treatment. Subsequently, mice in the DSI prevention group and the DSI treatment group were given intraperitoneal injection of DSI with a dose of 5 mL/kg body weight from 24 hours after exposure to dust and from the 29th day after exposure to dust, respectively, once per day until the 56th day after exposure. Mice in the other two groups were not treated. After DSI intervention, the lung histopathological changes of mice in all groups were evaluated. The components of mouse urine metabolites were analyzed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-fight mass spectrometry method. Human Metabolome Database was used to screen the potential differential metabolites (DMs). The related metabolic pathways were analyzed using MetaboAnanlyst 5.0 Web analytics platform. Results The result of hematoxylin-eosin staining and Van Gieson staining of mouse lung tissues showed that the pulmonary alveolar structure destroyed, typical fibrotic nodules appeared, collagen fiber deposition increased, and clumpy accumulation in the silicosis model group, compared with the control group. Compared with the silicosis model group, the degree of pulmonary alveolar inflammation and fibrosis in the lung tissues of mice in the DSI prevention group was obviously reduced to close to the control group, while pulmonary alveolar inflammation and fibrosis in the lung tissues of mice in the DSI treatment group were also reduced, although the outcome was not as good as that in the DSI prevention group. The result of urine metabolomics analysis identified four DMs in the model group and control group, seven DMs were identified in the DSI prevention group and silicosis model group, seven DMs were identified in the DSI treatment group and silicosis model group. A total of three DMs pathways related to pulmonary fibrosis in silicosis model group and the protective effect of DSI prevention group were identified, including D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism, folic acid biosynthesis and metabolism, pantothenate and succinyl coenzyme A biosynthesis pathways (all P<0.01). Conclusion DSI treatment in any time point can interfere the process of pulmonary fibrosis in the silicosis mice, while the interference is more effective in the DSI group treated right after dust-exposure. DSI interferes with the urinary metabolism pathway of silicosis mice, and the D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism, folic acid biosynthesis and metabolism, pantothenate and succinyl coenzyme A biosynthesis pathways may participate in the inhibiting process of early pulmonary fibrosis in silicosis mice by DSI.

Objective To investigate the value of a risk assessment model in predicting venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with liver failure after artificial liver support therapy. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 124 patients with liver failure who received artificial liver support therapy in Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School from March 2019 to December 2021, among whom there were 41 patients with VTE (observation group) and 143 patients without VTE (control group). Related clinical data were compared between the two groups, and the Caprini risk assessment model was used for scoring and risk classification of the patients in both groups. The t -test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups; the Mann-Whitney U rank sum test was used for comparison of ranked data between two groups. The logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the independent risk factors for VTE in patients with liver failure after artificial liver support therapy. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to investigate the value of Caprini score and the multivariate predictive model used alone or in combination in predicting VTE. Results The observation group had a significantly higher Caprini score than the control group (4.39±1.10 vs 3.12±1.04, t =6.805, P < 0.001). There was a significant difference between the two groups in risk classification based on Caprini scale ( P < 0.05), and the patients with high risk or extremely high risk accounted for a higher proportion among the patients with VTE. The univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences between the two groups in age ( t =6.400, P < 0.001), catheterization method ( χ 2 =14.413, P < 0.001), number of times of artificial liver support therapy ( Z =-4.720, P < 0.001), activity ( Z =-6.282, P < 0.001), infection ( χ 2 =33.071, P < 0.001), D-dimer ( t =8.746, P < 0.001), 28-day mortality rate ( χ 2 =5.524, P =0.022). The multivariate analysis showed that number of times of artificial liver support therapy (X 1 ) (odds ratio [ OR ]=0.251, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 0.111-0.566, P =0.001), activity (X 2 ) ( OR =0.122, 95% CI : 0.056-0.264, P < 0.001), D-dimer (X 3 ) ( OR =2.921, 95% CI : 1.114-7.662, P =0.029) were independent risk factors for VTE in patients with liver failure after artificial liver support therapy. The equation for individual predicted probability was P =1/[1+e -(7.425-1.384X 1 -2.103X 2 +1.072X 3 ) ]. The ROC curve analysis showed that Caprini score had an area under the ROC curve of 0.802 (95% CI : 0.721-0.882, P < 0.001), and the multivariate model had an area under the ROC curve of 0.768 (95% CI : 0.685-0.851, P < 0.001), while the combination of Caprini score and the multivariate model had an area under the ROC curve of 0.957 (95% CI : 0.930-0.984, P < 0.001). Conclusion The Caprini risk assessment model has a high predictive efficiency for the risk of VTE in patients with liver failure after artificial liver support therapy, and its combination with the multivariate predictive model can significantly improve the prediction of VTE.

With the modernization and internationalization of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM),the requirement for quality control has increased.The quality marker(Q-marker)is an important standard in this field and has been implemented with remarkable success in recent years.However,the establishment of Q-markers remains fragmented and the process lacks systematicity,resulting in inconsistent quality control and insufficient correlation with clinical efficacy and safety of TCM.This review introduces four multi-modal integrated approaches that contribute to the discovery of more comprehensive and accurate Q-markers,thus aiding in the establishment of new quality control patterns based on the characteristics and principles of TCM.These include the whole-process quality control strategy,chemical-activity-based screening method,efficacy,safety,and consistent combination strategy,and TCM theory-guided approach.Furthermore,methodologies and representative examples of these strategies are described,and important future directions and questions in this field are also proposed.

ObjectiveTo identify Dendrobium flexicaule and its related species， and analyze the differences in polysaccharide composition and D-mannose content， so as to provide theoretical basis for the accurate identification and quality control of Dendrobium medicinal materials. MethodNine samples of Dendrobium （S1-S9） were identified by DNA barcoding and infrared spectroscopy， and the contents of polysaccharides and D-mannose were determined by ultraviolet spectrophotometry （UV） and high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）， respectively. UV detection condition was 488 nm， HPLC detection conditions were the mobile phase of 20 mmol·L^-1 ammonium acetate solution-acetonitrile （81.5∶18.5） and the detection wavelength at 250 nm. ResultDNA barcoding results showed that samples S1-S3 were D. nobile， samples S4-S5 were D. officinale， sample S6 was D. huoshanense， and S7-S9 were D. flexicaule. One-dimensional infrared spectroscopy showed that only D. nobile had stable characteristics at the wavenumber of 1 570-1 467 cm^-1， showing a "W" shape， while no absorption peak was found at the wavenumber of 842-740 cm^-1， but the other Dendrobium samples had stable absorption peaks at the wavenumber of 842-740 cm^-1. In the first derivative spectrum， at the wavenumber of 785 cm^-1， D. huoshanense presented a "V" shape， while the rest of Dendrobium presented a "W" shape. At the wavenumber of 1 110 cm^-1， D. flexicaule had a stable characteristic peak. In the second derivative spectrum， at the wavenumber of 1 125 cm^-1， D. officinale presented an "M" shape， and the rest of Dendrobium was approximately "W" shape. The results of determination showed that the contents of polysaccharides in samples S1-S9 were 9.35%， 9.12%， 32.78%， 49.38%， 48.97%， 32.48%， 32.95%， 39.41% and 25.32%， and their contents of D-mannose were 1.39%， 0.47%， 13.57%， 3.04%， 33.85%， 23.57%， 16.64%， 17.47% and 19.49%， respectively. Among them， D. flexicaule had high polysaccharide and D-mannose contents. ConclusionBoth DNA barcoding and infrared spectroscopy can be used to identify D. flexicaule and its related species， and infrared spectroscopy is cost-effective and easy to operate. At the same time， D. flexicaule has high contents of polysaccharides and D-mannose， which can provide a scientific basis for rapid identification of D. flexicaule and its relatives， and provides a reference for its quality control， and resource development and utilization.