ObjectiveTo evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of Jingmaiyan granules （composed of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos， Sedi Herba， Paeoniae Radix Rubra， Moutan Cortex， Rhei Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata， and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma） combined with external application of Jinhuang Ointment in treating acute-stage blood heat stasis type superficial thrombophlebitis （ST） of lower extremities， and to explore their effects on hemorheology and serum inflammatory factors. MethodsA randomized， double-blind， placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted. A total of 124 patients with lower extremity ST were randomized into two groups（62 cases in each group）. The control group received external application of Jinhuang ointment and oral placebo treatment， while the observation group received external application of Jinhuang ointment and oral Jingmaiyan granules. Both groups were treated for 2 weeks. The clinical symptom scores， therapeutic efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome， pain visual analog scale （VAS） scores， hemorheological indices ［including whole blood high-shear， medium-shear， and low-shear viscosity， as well as plasma viscosity （PV）］， and inflammatory factors ［C-reactive protein （CRP）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）］ were compared before and after treatment. ResultsAfter 2 weeks of treatment， the total effective rate in the observation group （98.3%， 60/62） was significantly higher than that in the control group （83.8%， 52/62）， with a statistically significant difference （Z=3.512 1， P<0.05）. Compared with pre-treatment scores， the scores for skin color， skin temperature， swelling， pain， and cord or nodules were significantly reduced in both groups （P<0.05）， with more pronounced improvement in the observation group （P<0.05）. Additionally， compared with pre-treatment levels， the whole blood viscosity （low-， medium-， and high-shear） significantly improved in both groups after treatment （P<0.05）， with more marked improvement in the observation group （P<0.05）. Furthermore， the plasma viscosity， CRP， IL-6， and TNF-α levels were significantly reduced in both groups after treatment （P<0.05）， with more pronounced improvement observed in the observation group （P<0.05）. ConclusionThe combination of external application of Jinhuang ointment and oral Jingmaiyan granules effectively improves clinical symptoms， hemorheological abnormalities， and inflammatory responses in patients with acute stage blood heat stasis type ST of lower extremities. The treatment is safe and holds clinical promotion value.

Building on the theory of "state-target differentiation and treatment" proposed by Academician TONG Xiaolin， diabetic foot ulcers （DFUs） are considered to belong to the "collateral injury" stage， characterized by the interplay of five states，i.e. dampness， heat， stasis， deficiency， and impairment. The dynamic biological process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT） is closely associated with the healing process of DFUs. The treatment of DFUs through staged differentiation under the "state-target differentiation and treatment" theory not only provides a basis for precise clinical treatment， but also offers insights into the regulatory roles of EMT in different states and potential intervention targets. The dampness state typically exits during the inflammatory phase， local inflammation and fluid metabolism disorders inducing EMT. Treatment focuses on draining dampness and alleviating edema， promoting local microcirculation， and improving tissue hypoxia. The heat state often reflects acute local inflammatory responses. Treatment emphasizes clearing heat and resolving toxins， regulating the EMT process to reduce inflammation， control infection， and alleviate redness， swollen， heat， and pain in the affected area. The stasis state mainly occurs during the proliferation phase. Treatment centers on invigorating blood and dissolving stasis， and unblocking the channels and quickening the collaterals. EMT plays a role in remodeling the extracellular matrix， promoting tissue repair and angiogenesis. The deficiency state is common in chronic phase， where treatment prioritizes tonifying qi and nourishing blood while reinforcing healthy qi and dispelling pathogens. EMT regulation focuses on restoring local tissue metabolism and improving the micro-environment to enhance tissue repair capacity. The impairment state represents the progression of disease deterioration. Treatment should focus on supplementing qi， blood， yin， and yang， and also promoting muscle growth and strengthening bones， supplementing by resolving toxins and stasis. EMT plays a role by regulating the activity of extracellular matrix-degrading enzymes to prevent excessive tissue repair and scarring， thereby facilitating the reconstruction of normal tissue structures.

Objective To explore the value of CT signs and quantitative parameters of artificial intelligence (AI) in predicting the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. Methods A total of 349 colorectal cancer patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy at Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in Hebei Province from January 2022 to January 2025 were selected and and divided into the effective group (n = 267) and the ineffective group (n = 82) according to the evaluation criteria for the efficacy of solid tumors. Conduct a CT examination and extract AI quantitative parameters from the CT images based on the lesion. The data were analyzed using SPSS21.0 software, Logistic regression was used to screen the influencing factors of ineffective neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer, and separate and combined models of CT signs and AI quantitative parameters were established. The predictive effect of the model was verified by using the ROC curve, calibration curve and decision curve. Results Compared with the effective group, the proportion of regular tumor morphology and the proportion of non-enlarged lymph nodesin the ineffective group were smaller. The tumor volume, peak value and entropy value were larger (P < 0.05). Multivariable analysis showed that irregular shape (OR= 4.216), presence of lymph node enlargement (OR = 8.998), larger tumor volume (OR = 1.109), higher average CT value (OR = 1.120), elevated peak value (OR = 2.528), and increased entropy value (OR = 1.390) were independent risk factors for ineffective neoadjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer (P < 0.05). The areas under the ROC curves of the individual and combined models of CT signs and AI quantitative parameters were 0.777, 0.818, and 0.877, respectively(P < 0.05). The calibration curve showed a Brier score of 0.091. The decision curve showed that the threshold was between 0.10 and 0.85, and the combined model achieved a relatively high net clinical benefit. Conclusion CT signs combined with AI quantitative parameters has a predictive value for the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer. To provide evidence-based basis for clinical screening of the population benefiting from chemotherapy and optimization of treatment strategies.

Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are one of the major populations susceptible to tuberculosis. However, little is known about the unique characteristics and diagnostic biomarkers of tuberculosis in this population. In this study, 81 AYAs were recruited, and the high-quality serum proteome of the AYAs with tuberculosis was profiled by quantitative proteomics. The data of serum proteomics indicated that the relative abundance of hemoglobin and apolipoprotein was significantly reduced in the patients with active tuberculosis (ATB). The pathway enrichment analysis showed that the downregulated proteins in the ATB group were mainly involved in the antioxidant and cell detoxification pathways, indicating extensive oxidative stress damage. Random forest (RF) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) were employed to evaluate protein importance, which yielded a set of candidate proteins that can distinguish between ATB and non-ATB. The analysis with the support vector machine algorithm (recursive feature elimination) suggested that the combination of apolipoprotein A-I (APOA1), hemoglobin subunit beta (HBB), and hemoglobin subunit alpha-1 (HBA1) had the highest accuracy and sensitivity in diagnosing ATB. Meanwhile, the levels of hemoglobin (HGB) and albumin (ALB) can be used as blood biochemical indicators to evaluate changes in the protein levels of APOA1 and HBB. This study established the serum proteome landscape of AYAs with tuberculosis and identified new biomarkers for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in this population.
Humans ; Proteomics/methods* ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Apolipoprotein A-I/blood* ; Machine Learning ; Tuberculosis/blood* ; Proteome/analysis* ; Male ; Hemoglobins/analysis* ; Female ; Blood Proteins/analysis* ; Adult

AIM:To investigate the changes of retinal microcirculation after phacoemulsification and the influencing factors of visual acuity.METHODS: Retrospective analysis. A total of 264 cataract patients(264 eyes)who underwent phacoemulsification in our hospital from January 2022 to December 2022 were selected as the study objects. Patients were divided into < 0.3 group(66 eyes)and ≥0.3 group(198 eyes)according to the recovery of best corrected visual acuity(BCVA)at 3 mo after surgery. The changes of retinal microcirculation indexes were compared before and after treatment. Logistic regression and LASSO regression models were used to screen the influencing factors of postoperative BCVA. A nomogram prediction model of postoperative BCVA was constructed and verified. A restricted cubic spline Logistic regression model was established to analyze the dose-response relationship between end-diastolic velocity(EDV), peak systolic velocity(PSV)and the risk of BCVA recovery.RESULTS: At 3 mo postoperatively, EDV and PSV were significantly improved compared with those before treatment, and resistance index(RI)levels were significantly lower than those before treatment(all P<0.05). Preoperative EDV, PSV, aqueous humor cell grade, fundus lesion grade, advanced age and Emery grade were influencing factors for poor BCVA recovery after phacoemulsification in cataract patients(P<0.05). The AUC before and after validation of the nomogram model by Bootstrap method were 0.869(95%CI: 0.815-0.903)and 0.866(95%CI: 0.802-0.895), respectively. The sensitivity was 88.36% and 88.27%, and the specificity was 91.82% and 91.78%, respectively. Restricted cubic spline model analysis showed no nonlinear dose-response relationship between EDV and PSV levels and the risk of poor BCVA recovery in either male or female(P>0.05).CONCLUSION: After phacoemulsification, retinal microcirculation in cataract patients improved significantly. EDV, PSV, aqueous humor cell grade, fundus lesion grade, advanced age and Emery grade are all factors influencing poor BCVA recovery after cataract surgery.

Objective To identify early Klebsiella pneumoniae(KP)infection after liver transplantation and its impact on prognosis.Methods Clinical data of 171 liver transplant recipients were retrospectively analyzed,and they were divided into the non-infection(n=52)and infection groups(n=119)according to the bacterial culture results at postoperative 2 weeks.In the infection group,KP was not detected in 86 cases(non-KP infection group),and KP was cultured in 33 cases(KP infection group).Preoperative,intraoperative and postoperative data were statistically compared between the non-infection and infection groups,and between the non-KP infection and KP infection groups.The risk factors of early KP infection after liver transplantation and the influencing factors of long-term survival of the recipients were analyzed.Results Compared with the non-infection group,model for end-stage liver disease(MELD)score and total bilirubin level were higher,the operation time was longer,the length of postoperative intensive care unit(ICU)stay and the length of hospital stay were longer,the amount of intraoperative red blood cell transfusion was higher,the hospitalization expense was higher,the incidence of severe complications was higher,white blood cell count,absolute neutrophil cell count and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio at postoperative 14 and 30 d were higher,absolute lymphocyte count at postoperative 14 d was lower and hemoglobin level at postoperative 30 d was lower in the infection group.The differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Compared with the non-KP infection group,MELD score,total bilirubin level and aspartate aminotransferase(AST)level were higher,the operation time and the length of postoperative ICU stay were longer,the hospitalization expense was higher,the 90-d fatality was higher,the albumin level at postoperative 14 d was lower,and total bilirubin level at postoperative 30 d was higher in the KP infection group.The differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Among 33 recipients with KP infection,16 cases were resistant to carbapenem antibiotics,and 7 of them died within postoperative 90 d.Seventeen cases were intermediate or sensitive to carbapenem antibiotics,and 4 of them died within postoperative 90 d.Preoperative MELD score ≥17 and operation time≥415 min were the independent risk factors for KP infection after liver transplantation(both P＜0.05).The length of postoperative ICU stay ≥44 h and KP infection were the independent risk factors for long-term prognosis of liver transplantation(both P＜0.05).Conclusions KP infection is an independent risk factor for death after liver transplantation.High preoperative MELD score and long operation time are the independent risk factors for early KP infection after liver transplantation.

Objective To study the application value of pneumonia severity index high-risk score (PSI-HR) in high risk patients and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the condition evaluation of the pa-tients with respiratory tract infection in ICU.Methods The clinical data of the patients with lower respiratory tract infection hospitalized in the department of intensive care medicine of this hospital from January 2020 to July 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.According to the ICU outcomes,the patients were divided into the im-provement group (n=77) and the poor prognosis group (n=25),and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to analyze the evaluation value of PSI-HR score combined with NLR,NLR,PSI-HR score,PSI-HR grade and PSI grade in the prognosis of the patients with lower respiratory tract infection. Results The case fatality rates of the patients with different grades of PSI were 40.00％ (16/40) for the grade 5,18.75％ (6/32) for the grade 4,22.22％ (2/9) for the grade 3 and 4.76％ (1/21) for the grade 2,re-spectively.There was no significant correlation between different PSI grades and case fatality rate (r=0.911,P=0.089).The case fatality rates of different grades of PSI-HR were 75.00％ (3/4) for the grade 6,46.67％ (7/15) for the grade 5,28.57％ (6/21) for the grade 4,17.24％ (5/29) for the grade 3,and 12.12％ (4/33) for the grade 2,respectively,and the PSI-HR grade was positively correlated with the case fatality rate of the patients (r=0.955,P=0.011).The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of predicting the prognosis of the pa-tients with lower respiratory tract infection from great to small was 0.828(95％CI:0.717-0.938,P<0.05) for PSI-HR score combined with NLR,0.754 (95％CI:0.637-0.871,P<0.05) for NLR,0.744 (95％CI:0.636-0.852,P<0.05) for PSI-HR score,and 0.706 (95％CI:0.584-0.829,P<0.05) for PSI-HR grade and 0.695 (AUC=0.695,95％CI:0.582-0.807,P<0.05) for PSI grade.Conclusion The PSI-HR grade has good correlation with the case fatality rate of the patients with lower respiratory tract infection.The effi-ciency of PSI-HR grade combined with NLR for predicting the prognosis in the patients with lower respiratory tract infection in ICU is better than that of single index.

Objective To establish and evaluate a gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(GC-MS/MS)method for the detection of six common drugs(methamphetamine,meperidine,caffeine,codeine,cocaine and ketamine)in blood,and to improve the determination basis of results.Methods The above six drugs were added into the blank blood,and GC-MS/MS was used for detection after ether extraction.The collection,quantification and confirmation were carried out under the mode of multi-reaction monitoring(MRM).The qualitative results of the above six drugs were evaluated based on the maximum allowable deviation of the retention time and relative ion abundance ratio in the qualitative results of GC-MS/MS.Results There was a good linear relationship between the six common drugs,among which ketamine and caffeine had the lowest detection limit(0.01 μg/mL),methamphetamine had the highest detection limit(0.5 μg/mL).The retention time(RT)and relative retention time(RRT)of the target substance were stable under the six supplemental levels,and the absolute deviation(ΔRTabsolute)of RT was within±0.025 min.The absolute deviation of RRT(ΔRRTabsolute)was within±0.004.The relative ion abundance ratio absolute deviation(ΔIabsolute)is±20%,and the relative ion abundance ratio relative deviation(ΔIrelative)is±50%.Conclusion This study clarified the reference range for qualitative determination of six common drugs in blood matrix detected by GC-MS/MS,and effectively supplemented the qualitative determination indicators of existing instrumental analysis methods.

Objective To establish a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS)method for blood samples of death cases with nitrite poisoning and examine the stability of nitrite in blood,so as to provid a reference for inferring the concentration of nitrite in blood at the time of death and determining whether the death was caused by nitrite poisoning.Methods The 1,8-diaminonaphthalene(1,8-DAN)derivatized GC-MS method was used to detect the blood samples of people who died of nitrite poisoning;Blank blood was taken with nitrite standards,and the content was measured regularly.The stability of nitrite in blood was observed,and its concentration change trend was obtained.Results The concentration in blood of 11 cases of nitrite poisoning deaths ranged from 1.165 μg/mL to 351.551 μg/mL;With the increase of time,the concentration of nitrite in the labeled blood samples gradually decreased.Conclusion The detection method established in this research is easy to operate,has high accuracy and good precision.Nitrite is unstable in blood,it is recommended to detect it as soon as possible to prevent missed detection.

Objective:To investigate the application value of transanal intersphincteric resec-tion under direct vision in the Jackknife position in the anal preserving surgery for ultra-low rectal cancer.Methods:The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 15 patients with ultra-low rectal cancer who underwent transanal intersphincteric resection under direct vision in the Jackknife position, combined with laparoscopic total mesorectal excision in Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital from September 2021 to November 2022 were collected. There were 9 males and 6 females, aged (63±9)years. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range). Count data were described as absolute numbers. Results:(1) Surgical and postoperative outcomes. All the 15 patients underwent operations successfully, without conversion to open abdo-minal operation. There were 5 cases of partial ISR and 10 cases of subtotal ISR. The operation time and volume of intraoperative blood loss of 15 patients were (260±30)minutes and 20(range, 10-30)mL, respectively. The distance from anastomosis to anal margin was (1.6±0.8)cm. The duration of post-operative hospital stay was 10(range, 8-13)days, and all 15 patients underwent colonic and anasto-mosis with staplers and protective ileostomy at the terminal ileum. Three patients had postoperative complications within 30 days after surgery, of whom 1 case with grade A anastomotic leakage was cured after conservative treatment and 2 cases with anastomotic membranous stenosis were cured by anal enlargement. (2) Postoperative pathological examination. The number of lymph nodes dissected of 15 patients was 18 ±6, and the distance between the tumor and distal resection margin was 1.3(range, 1.0-2.0)cm. The surgical specimens of all 15 patients showed complete mesorectum and negative for proximal, distal and circumferential margins. Results of postoperative pathological examination showed that there was 1 case in stage pT1N0M0, 9 cases in stage pT2N0M0, 1 case in stage pT2N1M0, 1 case in stage ypT0N0M0, 2 cases in stage ypT2N0M0, 1 case in ypT3N1M0 stage. The histological subtype showed 11 cases of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma and 4 cases of well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. (3) Follow-up. All 15 patients were followed up for 15(range, 12-24)months. No local recurrence and distant metastasis of the tumor was found, and no tumor-related death occurred. All 15 patients underwent stoma closure. The postoperative anal function assessment of 15 patients showed no disorder in 5 cases, mild disorder in 8 cases and severe disorder in 2 cases.Conclusion:Transanal intersphincteric resection under direct vision in the Jackknife position in the anal preserving surgery for ultra-low rectal cancer is safe and feasible.