Objective:To investigate whether the rs612529 C/T and rs11669663 G/A in VSTM1 gene are associated with leukocyte signaling inhibitory receptor-1(SIRL-1)expression and an increased risk for systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)in a Han Chinese cohort.Methods:A total of 200 patients with SLE and 218 healthy controls(HC)were enrolled.Relevant laboratory characteris-tics of patients with SLE were also collected.Genotyping of rs612529 C/T and rs11669663 G/A were performed by Sanger sequencing technology.SIRL-1 expression was assessed in peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes was detected by flow cytometry.Levels of autoantibodies associated with SLE were detected by ELISA.Results:In both SLE group and HC,the C allele of rs612529 was asso-ciated with a decreased expression level of SIRL-1 on monocytes,with a gradual increased in SIRL-1 protein level from the CC over the CT to the TT genotype.C allele of rs612529 was associated with higher serum anti-dsDNA antibody titers in patients with SLE(P<0.05).In the case of rs11669663 G/A,no significant association of genotypes with SLE susceptibility was detected.Conclusion:VSTM1 rs612529 C/T may contribute to SLE disease activity and regulate SIRL-1 expression on monocytes in the Han Chinese cohort.

This study aimed to characterize and identify the non-volatile components in aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the stems and leaves of Rhododendron tomentosum by using sensitive and efficient ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) combined with a self-built information database. By comparing with reference compounds, analyzing fragment ion information, searching relevant literature, and using a self-built information database, 118 compounds were identified from the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of R. tomentosum, including 35 flavonoid glycosides, 15 phenolic glycosides, 12 flavonoids, 7 phenolic acids, 7 phenylethanol glycosides, 6 tannins, 6 phospholipids, 5 coumarins, 5 monoterpene glycosides, 6 triterpenes, 3 fatty acids, and 11 other types of compounds. Among them, 102 compounds were reported in R. tomentosum for the first time, and 36 compounds were identified by comparing them with reference compounds. The chemical components in the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of R. tomentosum leaves and stems showed slight differences, with 84 common chemical components accounting for 71.2% of the total 118 compounds. This study systematically characterized and identified the non-volatile chemical components in the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of R. tomentosum for the first time. The findings provide a reference for active ingredient research, quality control, and product development of R. tomentosum.
Rhododendron/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry*

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of plasma cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6 and interferon (IFN)-γ in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).Methods:A retrospective case-control study was conducted. A total of 48 NHL patients admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University between January 2020 and December 2022 were selected as NHL group, and another 34 healthy people who underwent physical examimation during the same period were selected as the healthy control group. The levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) - α and IFN-γ in the plasma of patients at first admission and healthy subjects during physical examination were detected by using flow cytometry. The differences in general data and all cytokines levels of both groups were compared. The collinearity stepwise screening was made in 7 cytokines levels, and the screened variables were included in multivariate binary logistic regression model. Plasma cytokines with independent effects on the pathogenesis of NHL were screened. Taking local biopsy, histopathological examination or immunohistochemical examination as the gold standard, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of individual and combined diagnosis of NHL based on the selected cytokines were drawn to judge the diagnostic effect of all indicators on NHL.Results:There were 32 males (66.7%) and 16 females (33.3%) in NHL group, with the median age [ M ( Q1, Q3)] of 56.50 (45.75, 67.50) years; there were 28 males (82.4%) and 6 females (17.6%) in the healthy control group, with the median age of 52.00 (47.50, 55.50) years. There were no statistically significant differences in age and gender composition between the 2 groups (all P > 0.05). The levels of IL-2 [1.44 (1.36, 1.85) pg/ml vs. 1.19 (0.86, 1.68) pg/ml] and TNF-α [3.46 (2.68, 4.06) pg/ml vs. 2.23 (1.52, 3.46) pg/ml] in NHL group were higher than those in the healthy control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IFN-γ levels (all P > 0.05). According to collinear stepwise screening of independent variables, IL-4 and TNF-α were excluded from 7 cytokines, and the other 5 cytokines were included in multivariate logistic regression model, and the result showed that the decreased level of IL-2 ( OR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.08-0.53, P = 0.001) and the increased levels of IL-6 ( OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.04-1.33, P = 0.009) and IFN-γ ( OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.08-1.46, P = 0.003) were independent risk factors for the onset of NHL. The results showed that the area under the curve of IL-2, IL-6, IFN-γ and the combination of 3 indexes for the diagnosis of NHL was 0.760 (95% CI: 0.651-0.870), 0.595 (95% CI: 0.468-0.722), 0.508 (95% CI: 0.373-0.642), 0.847 (95% CI: 0.763-0.930), and the optimal cut-off value of the combination of 3 indexes was 0.730 which was calculated by logistic regression model formula; the corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 70.2% and 94.1%, respectively. Conclusions:The decreased level of IL-2 and increased levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ at initial diagnosis are risk factors for the onset of NHL. The combined detection of the 3 indexes shows a good value in the diagnosis of NHL.

Objective To investigate the correlation between the inflammatory burden index(IBI)and major adverse cardiovascular events(MACEs)in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI)after percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI),and to assess the efficacy of IBI in predicting in-hospital and long-term MACEs.Methods This retrospective study included 465 STEMI patients who received PCI treatment in No.904 Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force of PLA from Dec.2017 to Dec.2021.The IBI was calculated for each patient.The predictive value for in-hospital and long-term MACEs was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves,and the area under curve(AUC)was calculated.The population was grouped based on the optimal IBI cut-off value for clinical characteristic analysis.Multivariate logistic regression and Cox regression analyses were used to identify factors independently associated with MACEs.The Kaplan-Meier estimator and log-rank test were used to assess the MACE risk of different IBI groups.Results The AUC value for predicting MACEs during hospitalization in STEMI patients using IBI was 0.687,and the AUC value for predicting long-term MACEs was 0.634.Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that a high IBI 102.33 mg/L)independently increased the risk of MACEs during hospitalization in STEMI patients(odds ratio=10.900,95％confidence interval[95％CI]4.273-29.180,P＜0.001).Multivariate Cox regression analysis further indicated that during long-term follow-up of STEMI patients,a high IBI(≥55.88 mg/L)independently predicted MACEs(hazard ratio=1.989,95％CI 1.128-3.506,P=0.018).Conclusion IBI is a valuable predictor for the occurrence of MACEs during hospitalization and long-term follow-up after PCI in STEMI patients.

Objective:To explore the correlation between the lesion imaging characteristics and the parent artery plaques detected by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) in patients with recent small subcortical infarction (RSSI) in the lenticulostriate artery territory with mild stenosis of the parent artery.Methods:Consecutive patients with RSSI in the lenticulostriate artery territory admitted to Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2020 to December 2022 were prospectively enrolled. Patients with stenosis of <50% in the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery (MCA) who had completed HR-MRI were included. The RSSI lesion characteristics, such as the lowest slice involved (LS), total number of slices involved (TNS) were evaluated based on serialized axial levels of diffusion weighted imaging. HR-MRI was utilized to assess the presence of dorsal superior plaques in the M1 segment of the responsible MCA. Patients were divided into plaque group and non-plaque group based on the presence or absence of plaque. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify the lesion characteristics associated with the presence of dorsal superior plaques in the MCA. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to estimate the predictive efficacy of these parameters for MCA plaques using the area under the curve (AUC) and the optimal cut-off point.Results:A total of 112 patients were incorporated into the final analysis. The age of these patients was (57.08±11.90) years, and 78 patients (69.64%) were male. Plaques were detected on the dorsal superior wall of the MCA in 57 cases (50.89%) as the plaque group, and the other 55 cases (49.11%) were regarded as the non-plaque group. Multivariate Logistic regression revealed that LS was significantly associated with MCA plaques ( OR=0.674, 95% CI 0.485-0.937, P=0.019). The optimal cut-off point (LS≤1) was determined by ROC curve analysis (AUC=0.640, P=0.007). Conclusion:The findings suggest that in RSSI patients with mild stenosis of the parent artery, an LS≤1 is notably associated with the presence of dorsal superior plaques on MCA as detected by HR-MRI.

Objective:To investigate the association of blood lipids and body mass index (BMI) with hyperuricemia (HUA) in the elderly.Methods:It was a cross-sectional study. A total of 114 391 elderly individuals received health examinations at primary healthcare institutions in Wujin District from January to December in 2022. The health examination included questionnaire survey, physical examination and laboratory examination. The multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) plots were used to analyze the association and dose-response relationship of blood lipid and BMI with HUA. The mediating effect model was used to explore the mediation effect of BMI on the association between blood lipid and HUA.Results:Among the 112 415 subjects, 18 506 (16.46%) were checked with HUA. After adjusting for relevant confounders, total cholesterol (TC) ( OR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.16-1.23), triglyceride (TG) ( OR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.44-1.49), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ( OR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.73-0.76), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ( OR=1.14, 95% CI: 1.12-1.15) and BMI ( OR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.39-1.44) were all associated with HUA (all P0.05). The RCS analysis revealed that TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C each exhibited a nonlinear dose-response relationship with HUA, the inflection points was 3.00 mmol/L, 1.57 mmol/L and 2.50 mmol/L, respectively (all P-nonlinear0.001). The results of interaction showed that there were additive interaction between high TC( S=1.27 , 95% CI: 1.17-1.37), high TG( S=1.32 , 95% CI: 1.25-1.40), high LDL-C( S=1.23 , 95% CI: 1.14-1.34) and overweight/obesity with HUA (all P0.05). The results of mediation effect analysis showed that the mediation effect of BMI on the association between blood lipids (HDL-C, LDL-C, TG and TC) and HUA, from high to low, were as follows: 22.5% (95% CI: 20.8%-24.2%), 13.9% (95% CI: 12.0%-16.2%), 13.5% (95% CI: 12.7%-14.4%) and-3.9% (95% CI:-6.6%--1.8%). Conclusion:The blood lipid levels and BMI are positively correlated with HUA in the elderly.

Objective:To investigate whether the rs612529 C/T and rs11669663 G/A in VSTM1 gene are associated with leukocyte signaling inhibitory receptor-1(SIRL-1)expression and an increased risk for systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE)in a Han Chinese cohort.Methods:A total of 200 patients with SLE and 218 healthy controls(HC)were enrolled.Relevant laboratory characteris-tics of patients with SLE were also collected.Genotyping of rs612529 C/T and rs11669663 G/A were performed by Sanger sequencing technology.SIRL-1 expression was assessed in peripheral blood neutrophils and monocytes was detected by flow cytometry.Levels of autoantibodies associated with SLE were detected by ELISA.Results:In both SLE group and HC,the C allele of rs612529 was asso-ciated with a decreased expression level of SIRL-1 on monocytes,with a gradual increased in SIRL-1 protein level from the CC over the CT to the TT genotype.C allele of rs612529 was associated with higher serum anti-dsDNA antibody titers in patients with SLE(P<0.05).In the case of rs11669663 G/A,no significant association of genotypes with SLE susceptibility was detected.Conclusion:VSTM1 rs612529 C/T may contribute to SLE disease activity and regulate SIRL-1 expression on monocytes in the Han Chinese cohort.

Objective:To investigate the association of blood lipids and body mass index (BMI) with hyperuricemia (HUA) in the elderly.Methods:It was a cross-sectional study. A total of 114 391 elderly individuals received health examinations at primary healthcare institutions in Wujin District from January to December in 2022. The health examination included questionnaire survey, physical examination and laboratory examination. The multivariate logistic regression and restricted cubic spline (RCS) plots were used to analyze the association and dose-response relationship of blood lipid and BMI with HUA. The mediating effect model was used to explore the mediation effect of BMI on the association between blood lipid and HUA.Results:Among the 112 415 subjects, 18 506 (16.46%) were checked with HUA. After adjusting for relevant confounders, total cholesterol (TC) ( OR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.16-1.23), triglyceride (TG) ( OR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.44-1.49), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ( OR=0.74, 95% CI: 0.73-0.76), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) ( OR=1.14, 95% CI: 1.12-1.15) and BMI ( OR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.39-1.44) were all associated with HUA (all P0.05). The RCS analysis revealed that TG, HDL-C, and LDL-C each exhibited a nonlinear dose-response relationship with HUA, the inflection points was 3.00 mmol/L, 1.57 mmol/L and 2.50 mmol/L, respectively (all P-nonlinear0.001). The results of interaction showed that there were additive interaction between high TC( S=1.27 , 95% CI: 1.17-1.37), high TG( S=1.32 , 95% CI: 1.25-1.40), high LDL-C( S=1.23 , 95% CI: 1.14-1.34) and overweight/obesity with HUA (all P0.05). The results of mediation effect analysis showed that the mediation effect of BMI on the association between blood lipids (HDL-C, LDL-C, TG and TC) and HUA, from high to low, were as follows: 22.5% (95% CI: 20.8%-24.2%), 13.9% (95% CI: 12.0%-16.2%), 13.5% (95% CI: 12.7%-14.4%) and-3.9% (95% CI:-6.6%--1.8%). Conclusion:The blood lipid levels and BMI are positively correlated with HUA in the elderly.

Objective:To explore the correlation between the lesion imaging characteristics and the parent artery plaques detected by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) in patients with recent small subcortical infarction (RSSI) in the lenticulostriate artery territory with mild stenosis of the parent artery.Methods:Consecutive patients with RSSI in the lenticulostriate artery territory admitted to Department of Neurology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2020 to December 2022 were prospectively enrolled. Patients with stenosis of <50% in the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery (MCA) who had completed HR-MRI were included. The RSSI lesion characteristics, such as the lowest slice involved (LS), total number of slices involved (TNS) were evaluated based on serialized axial levels of diffusion weighted imaging. HR-MRI was utilized to assess the presence of dorsal superior plaques in the M1 segment of the responsible MCA. Patients were divided into plaque group and non-plaque group based on the presence or absence of plaque. Logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify the lesion characteristics associated with the presence of dorsal superior plaques in the MCA. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to estimate the predictive efficacy of these parameters for MCA plaques using the area under the curve (AUC) and the optimal cut-off point.Results:A total of 112 patients were incorporated into the final analysis. The age of these patients was (57.08±11.90) years, and 78 patients (69.64%) were male. Plaques were detected on the dorsal superior wall of the MCA in 57 cases (50.89%) as the plaque group, and the other 55 cases (49.11%) were regarded as the non-plaque group. Multivariate Logistic regression revealed that LS was significantly associated with MCA plaques ( OR=0.674, 95% CI 0.485-0.937, P=0.019). The optimal cut-off point (LS≤1) was determined by ROC curve analysis (AUC=0.640, P=0.007). Conclusion:The findings suggest that in RSSI patients with mild stenosis of the parent artery, an LS≤1 is notably associated with the presence of dorsal superior plaques on MCA as detected by HR-MRI.

Objective To investigate the correlations of serum cell division cycle 42 (CDC-42), β₂-microglobulin (β₂-MG) and fibulin 1 (FBLN1) levels with abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) in patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Methods General information and biochemical indicators of 74 MHD patients were collected, and they were divided into no to mild AAC group (n=36) and moderate to severe AAC group (n=38) based on the Abdominal Aortic Calcification Score (AACs). Serum levels of CDC-42, β₂-MG and FBLN1 were compared between the two groups, and multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors for AAC in MHD patients. Results The dialysis vintage, serum phosphorus, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), CDC-42, β₂-MG and FBLN1 levels in the moderate to severe AAC group were significantly higher than those in the no to mild AAC group (P < 0.05). AAC in MHD patients was positively correlated with serum phosphorus, iPTH, CDC-42, β₂-MG, FBLN1, and dialysis vintage (P < 0.05). High levels of CDC-42, β₂-MG and FBLN1 as well as long dialysis vintage were independent risk factors for AAC in MHD patients (P < 0.05). Conclusion Serum CDC-42, β₂-MG and FBLN1 levels are positively correlated with AAC in MHD patients. High levels of CDC-42, β₂-MG and FBLN1 as well as long dialysis vintage are independent risk factors for AAC in MHD patients.