Chronic heart failure （CHF） is a complex clinical syndrome that the cardiac output is not enough to meet the metabolic needs of the body， or depends on the increase of filling pressure to compensate. Its high morbidity and mortality pose a serious threat to human health， necessitating attention and active intervention. At present， western medicine treatment of CHF is mainly based on diuretics， intravenous vasodilators， intravenous positive inotropic drugs， etc.， which， however， have problems such as long medication cycles， serious side effects， and limited applicable population. Recent studies have shown that traditional Chinese medicine can act in a multi-pathway， multi-component， and multi-target manner， showing unique advantages in the prevention and treatment of CHF. Buyang Huanwutang has the effects of tonifying Qi， activating blood， and dredging collaterals. Clinical and mechanism studies have confirmed that this prescription is effective in treating CHF and its syndromes. The clinical studies can be classified into two categories. Studies of the first category use simple modern medical diagnostic criteria as the inclusion criteria for CHF patients， which can improve the scientificity and objectivity. Studies of the second category uses modern medicine combined with traditional Chinese medicine disease diagnostic criteria for the screening of CHF patients， which helps to improve the accuracy of efficacy evaluation. However， there are problems such as the lack of unified research standards and the insufficiency of mechanism research. In addition， the available studies remain to be classified or summarized. This study systematically sorted out the clinical and mechanism studies of Buyang Huanwutang in the treatment of CHF in recent years to review the research status. In clinical treatment， Buyang Huanwutang can be used alone， or modified， or combined with other prescriptions or Western medicine. The mechanism studies predict that Buyang Huanwutang can ameliorate CHF by regulating the calcium balance， protecting the mitochondrial structure and function， and regulating intestinal flora. This review aims to provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for the clinical application and optimization and subsequent in-depth study of Buyang Huanwutang in the treatment of CHF.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of p38 on stem cell maintenance of pancreatic cancer. Methods Human pancreatic cancer cells PANC-1 were treated with different concentrations of 5-fluorouracil(5-FU)(0.5×IC₅₀, IC₅₀, and 2×IC₅₀) for 24 hours, and VX-702 (p38 phosphorylation inhibitor) was added, and the cells were inoculated in 6-well culture dishes with ultra-low adhesion to observe the changes of sphere tumors. The expression levels of cyclin-dependent kinase 2(CDK2), cyclin B1 and D1, Octamer-binding transcription factor 4(OCT4), SRY-box transcription factor 2(SOX2), Nanog and p38 were measured by Western blot. The mRNA expression levels of p38, OCT4, Nanog and SOX2 were tested by RT-PCR. Cell cycle, apoptosis, and the proportion of CD44⁺CD133⁺PANC-1 cells were evaluated by flow cytometry. Results The results showed that 5-FU inhibited the formation of tumor spheres in PANC-1 cells, increased CD44⁺CD133⁺cell fragments, down-regulated the expression of OCT4, Nanog and SOX2, and inhibited the stemness maintenance of PANC-1 tumor stem cells. Phosphorylation of PANC-1 cells was inhibited by a highly selective p38 MAPK inhibitor, VX-702(p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor), which had the same effect as 5-FU treatment. When VX-702 combined with 5-FU was used to treat PANC-1 cells, the therapeutic effect was enhanced. Conclusion p38 inhibitors decreased PANC-1 cell activity and increased cell apoptosis. p38 inhibitors inhibit the stemness maintenance of pancreatic cancer stem cells.
Humans ; Phosphorylation/drug effects* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Neoplastic Stem Cells/metabolism* ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/drug effects* ; Fluorouracil/pharmacology* ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/pathology* ; Apoptosis/drug effects* ; SOXB1 Transcription Factors/genetics* ; Octamer Transcription Factor-3/genetics*

Humans ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Constipation/therapy* ; Probiotics/therapeutic use* ; Patients

BACKGROUND:Previous brain studies have mostly focused on adults and fetuses,and the developmental characteristics of young children's brainstems have rarely been studied. OBJECTIVE:To observe the brainstem development characteristics of healthy young children and to explore the age-related differences and their correlation with sex. METHODS:From January 2019 to April 2022,a retrospective study of 3.0T MRI images of 174 children aged 2 to 6 years in the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University was conducted,and the median sagittal diameter,area and angle of the brainstem(including midbrain,pons and medulla oblongata)were measured. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:There is an age-related increase in the anterior and posterior diameters of the midbrain,pons and medulla oblongata in the 2-5 years old group as well as in the longitudinal diameter and area of the midbrain,pons and medulla oblongata in the 2-6 years old group.Except for the longitudinal diameter of the medulla oblongata,all others show a positive correlation with age(r>0,P<0.05).In the 2-3 years old group and 4-5 years old group,the children are in the rapid growth and development stage,and these two age groups can be used as the key observation indicators for the development of young children.The anterior-posterior diameter,longitudinal diameter,area of the pons and total brainstem area are strongly correlated with age,which can be used as the key observation indicators for the brainstem development in young children.

Objective:To assess the reliability,and validity of the Chinese version of a short-form of Health Literacy Dental scale(HeLD-14)in 3-6 years old preschool children's parents.Methods:The study population consisted of those eligible 3-6 years old preschool children's parents in Yanqing Dis-trict,Beijing,China in 2021.A total of 1 479 preschool children's parents were surveyed by question-naire to understand the general situation of parents and oral health literacy related content.SPSS 21.0 and Mplus 7.4 were used for statistical analysis.Through Cronbach's α coefficient,confirmatory factor a-nalysis,Pearson correlation calculation,Student's t test and other methods,the internal consistency reli-ability,structure validity,calibration validity and discrimination validity of the scale were evaluated.Re-sults:The Cronbach's α coefficient of Chinese version HeLD-14 scale was 0.958,and Cronbach's α co-efficient of different constructs ranged from 0.778 to 0.963.The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the factor loadings of each item of the Chinese version HeLD-14 scale were between 0.719 and 0.977(P＜0.001),root-mean-square error of approximation(RMSEA)=0.04,comparative fix index(CFI)=0.992,Tucker-Lewis index(TLI)=0.988,and the model had good goodness of fit.The total score of the Chinese version HeLD-14 scale and the scores of the dimension of concerning,understanding,sup-porting,financial burden,medical treatment,communication,and application were all positively correla-ted with general self-efficacy,and the correlation coefficients were 0.439,0.406,0.370,0.344,0.346,0.367,0.373,0.390,respectively(P all＜0.05).For parents in the high group with the top 27％HeLD-14 score,the average HeLD-14 score was 69.27±1.06,which was higher than the low group with the bottom 27％HeLD-14 score,41.29±11.09(t=48.13,P＜0.01).Conclusion:The Chinese version HeLD-14 scale has good reliability and validity in the 3-6 years old preschool children's parents,and can be used as a tool to assess the oral health literacy of parents of preschool children.

Objective We aimed to establish the benchmark characteristic map of Fuzi decoction and the determination method of multi-index components,and to clarify the key quality attributes of Fuzi decoction.Methods Fifteen batches of Fuzi decoction substance benchmarks samples were prepared;the high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)characteristic spectrum of Fuzi decoction was established;and characteristic peak attribution and similarity analysis were performed.Ginsenosides Rg1,Re,Rf,and Rb1 were used as the index components to establish a method to determine ginseng content in Fuzi decoction.The value range of each quality control index was set at a limit of 70%-130%of the average value,and the quantity transfer analysis was performed on the material basis of 15 Fuzi decoction batches.Results The characteristic spectra of the 15 Fuzi decoction batches had 12 common peaks,and seven characteristic peaks of gallic acid,catechin,paeoniflorin,ginsenosides Rg1,Re,and Rb1,and atractylenolide Ⅲ were identified,with a similarity of more than 0.98.Ginsenosides Rg1,Re,Rf,and Rb1 content ranges were 0.51-0.94,0.34-0.62,0.14-0.27,and 0.41-0.76 mg/g,respectively.The transfer rates of ginsenosides Rg1 and Re,Rf,and Rb1 were 12.05%-26.91%,11.15%-43.71%,and 10.53%-33.23%,respectively.Conclusion The characteristic HPLC of Fuzi decoction and the determination method of Fuzi decoction ginseng content established in this study are accurate,reproducible,and stable,laying the foundation for the quality evaluation of the key chemical properties of Fuzi decoction and its preparation.

Objective To observe the value of ultrasound radiomics for distinguishing early and middle-late stage endometrial cancer(EC).Methods A total of 294 women with EC were retrospectively enrolled,including 196 in early stage and 98 in middle-late stage.The patients were randomly divided into training set(n=206)and validation set(n=88)at the ratio of 7∶3.Clinical data were compared between different stages,and a clinical model was constructed.Radiomics features were extracted and screened based on ultrasound data,and radiomics models were constructed with logistic regression(LR),random forest(RF),support vector machine(SVM),Gaussian naive Bayes(GNB)and extreme gradient boosting(XGBoost),respectively.Finally,a clinical-radiomics model was constructed.The value of each model for distinguishing early and middle-late stages EC was observed.Results Significant differences of age of consultation,menstrual disorders,abdominal pain and proportion of menopause were found between patients with early and middle-late stage EC(all P＜0.05).Among these 5 radiomics models,RF model had the highest area under the curve(AUC)for distinguishing early and middle-late stage EC.Pairwise comparison of clinical model,RF radiomics model and clinical-RF radiomics model showed that significant differences of AUC were found between each 2 models(all P＜0.05),and clinical-RF radiomics model had the highest AUC.Conclusion Ultrasound radiomics based on RF were helpful for distinguishing early and middle-late stage EC,and better diagnostic efficacy could be obtained through combining with clinical data.

Objective:To identify and characterize one Yokenella regensburgei strain(designated as CXLZQ123) isolated from a case of perionychial abscess. Methods:Strain CXLZQ123 was isolated from a patient with periungual abscess at the Dermatology Department of San County Central Hospital in June 2, 2023. The strain was initially identified through morphological and biochemical tests, followed by mass spectrometry identification, 16S rRNA sequencing and whole-genome sequencing. MEGA 11.0 was used to compare and analyze the strain′s genetic relationship with relevant species in GenBank, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed based on genetic distance to analyze its genetic evolution. Meanwhile, the average nucleotide identity between its genome and similar strains were compared.Results:The strain was identified as a Gram-negative rod. MicroScan WalkAway biochemical tests indicated that the strain was either Yokenella regensburgei (91.47%) or Hafnia alvei (8.53%). MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry confirmed it as Yokenella regensburgei. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, the strain showed the highest similarity(99.37%) to CIP 105435 (sequence number NR_104934.1). The 16S rRNA gene sequence of the isolated strain Yokenella regensburgei was submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) with the GenBank sequence number of OR230248.1. The whole-genome of CXLZQ123 were sequenced and uploaded (NCBI, SRA sequence number: SRR26510420). The average nucleotide identity between CXLZQ123 and Yokenella regensburgei strains W13 and UU2206353 were 98.82% and 99.04%, respectively. Conclusions:Through morphological observation, biochemical identification, mass spectrometry identification, 16S rRNA and whole-genome sequencing, this pathogenic strain is identified as Yokenella regensburgei. This rare bacterium is sensitive to most detected antibiotics. This study provides diagnostic and treatment experience for Yokenella regensburgei-related infections.

BACKGROUND: The presence of fibrosis is a criterion for subtype classification in the newly updated hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) guidelines. The present study aimed to summarize differences in clinical characteristics and prognosis of non-fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (NFHP) and fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (FHP) and explore factors associated with the presence of fibrosis. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, patients diagnosed with HP through a multidisciplinary discussion were enrolled. Collected data included demographic and clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, and radiologic and histopathological features. Logistic regression analyses were performed to explore factors related to the presence of fibrosis. RESULTS: A total of 202 patients with HP were enrolled, including 87 (43.1%) NFHP patients and 115 (56.9%) FHP patients. Patients with FHP were older and more frequently presented with dyspnea, crackles, and digital clubbing than patients with NFHP. Serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen, carbohydrate antigen 125, carbohydrate antigen 153, gastrin-releasing peptide precursor, squamous cell carcinoma antigen, and antigen cytokeratin 21-1, and count of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) eosinophils were higher in the FHP group than in the NFHP group. BAL lymphocytosis was present in both groups, but less pronounced in the FHP group. Multivariable regression analyses revealed that older age, <20% of lymphocyte in BAL, and ≥1.75% of eosinophil in BAL were risk factors for the development of FHP. Twelve patients developed adverse outcomes, with a median survival time of 12.5 months, all of whom had FHP. CONCLUSIONS Older age, <20% of lymphocyte in BAL, and ≥1.75% of eosinophil in BAL were risk factors associated with the development of FHP. Prognosis of patients with NFHP was better than that of patients with FHP. These results may provide insights into the mechanisms of fibrosis in HP.
Humans ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Prospective Studies ; Alveolitis, Extrinsic Allergic/diagnosis* ; Fibrosis ; Carbohydrates