Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy of Xixian Tongshuan Capsules/Pills in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke(AIS).Methods Literature about Xixian Tongshuan Preparation combined with conventional Western medicine for the treatment of AIS was retrieved from CNKI,SinoMed,VIP,Wanfang Data,PubMed,Medline,Embase,Cochrane Library and Web of Science from establishment of the databases to February 28,2023.Meta-analysis was conducted for the studies that could be quantitatively analyzed.The effective rate and response indicators were combined.Results A total of 7 articles were included for Meta-analysis.Results showed that there was statistical difference in the effective rate(RR=0.34,95%CI[0.23,0.51],P<0.01),NIHSS score(MD=-2.90,95%CI[-3.74,-2.06],P<0.01),BI score(MD=-10.08,95%CI[-13.47,-6.68],P<0.01),FIB(MD=-1.18,95%CI[-1.59,-0.77],P<0.01)of Xixian Tongshuan Preparation combined with conventional Western medicine for the treatment of AIS.There was no statistical difference in IL-6(MD=-15.4,95%CI[-33.3,2.49],P=0.09).There was no statistical difference in the effects of different dosage forms and treatment courses on the effective rate and NIHSS score.Conclusion The combination of Xixian Tongshuan Capsules/Pills could better improve the NIHSS and BI scores of patients with AIS,recovery the neurological function,and reduce the risk of blood hypercoagulability by reducing FIB content,with good safety.

Objective:To investigate the serum lactate level in patients with rheumatoid arthritis(RA)and its relationship with disease activity,and to analyze the effect of sodium lactate on the activation of CD4+T cells,the ability of secreting cytokines and CD4+T cell subsets in peripheral blood of the RA patients.Methods:The peripheral blood of healthy controls(HC)and RA patients was collected,and the content of lactate in the supernatant was detected by lactate detection kit,the correlation between the content of lactate and the disease score of the RA patients was analyzed;the activation level of CD4+T cells,the proportion of CD4+T cell subsets and the cytokines secreted by CD4+T cells in peripheral blood of all the RA patients were detected by flow cytometry after being stimulated with sodium lactate.Results:The serum lactate level in the RA patients(n=66)was significantly higher than that in the HC(n=60,P＜0.001),and there was a certain correlation with disease activity score in 28 joints(DAS28)-C-reactive protein(CRP)(r=0.273,P=0.029),The levels of rheumatoid factor[RF,197.50(26.03,783.00)IU/mL vs.29.30(0.00,102.60)IU/mL,P＜0.01],CRP[37.40(11.30,72.60)mg/L vs.5.83(2.36,12.45)mg/L,P＜0.001],were increased in patients with the lactate concentration greater than 5 mmol/L were significantly higher than those in patients with the lactate concentration less than or equal 5 mmol/L,however,there was no significant difference in the expres-sion of erythrocyte sedimentation rate[ESR,42.00(19.00,77.00)mm/h vs.25.00(12.50,45.50)mm/h,P＞0.05]and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptied(CCP)antibody[82.35(17.70,137.00)RU/mL vs.68.60(25.95,119.70)RU/mL,P＞0.05].Compared with the control group,the expression of PD-1(46.15％±8.54％vs.41.67％±9.98％,P＜0.001),inducible costimulatory molecule(ICOS,5.77％±8.60％vs.18.65％±7.94％,P＜0.01)and CD25(25.89％±5.80％vs.22.25％±4.59％,P＜0.01)on the surface of CD4+T cells in the RA patients treated with sodium lactate was significantly increased.Compared with the control group,the proportion of Th17(4.62％±1.74％vs.2.93％±1.92％,P＜0.05)and Tph(28.02％±6.28％vs.20.32％±5.82％,P＜0.01)cells in CD4+T cells of the RA patients in the sodium lactate treatment group increased.Compared with the con-trol group,the expression of IL-21(5.73％±1.59％vs.4.75％±1.71％,P＜0.05)inCD4+Tcells was up-regulated in the RA patients treated with sodium lactate.Conclusion:The level of serum lactate in RA patients is increased,which promotes the activation of CD4+T cells and the secretion of IL-21,and up-regulates the proportion of Th 17 and Tph cells in the RA patients.

Objective To study the changes of serum metabolites in the patients with chronic kidney disease osteoporosis(CKD-OP)to provide the new biomarkers for the early diagnosis of CKD-OP.Methods A total of 22 patients with definitely diagnosed CKD visiting in this hospital from April to Novem-ber 2023 were selected as the study subjects,and 22 subjects with physical examination in this hospital at the same period were included for conducting the control study.With the lumbar vertebral T value ≤-2.5 as the standard,the subjects were divided into the CKD-OP group(n=11),CKD non-OP group(CKD-NOP group,n=11),simple osteoporosis group(OP group,n=11)and healthy control group(NC group,n=11).The liq-uid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS)coupling technique was used to analyze the differences in se-rum metabolites among the four groups,the potential biomarkers of CKD-OP was screened,and the correla-tion between the potential biomarkers with lumbar vertebra bone mineral density(BMD),serum bone-derived alkaline phosphatase(BALP)and serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-5b(TRACP-5b)was studied.Re-sults With the receiver's operating characteristic(ROC)curve's area under curve(AUC)＞0.9 as the con-dition,and four potential biomarkers of CKD-OP were screened,which were phosphorylcholine,lysophosphati-dylcholine(18∶2/0∶0),capric acid,and allantoin respectively.Serum phosphorylcholine was positively corre-lated with lumbar vertebra BMD(r=0.601,P＜0.05)and negatively correlated with serum BALP and TRACP-5b(r=-0.729,-0.623,P＜0.05).Serum allantoin was positively correlated with lumbar vertebra BMD(r=0.483,P＜0.05)and negatively correlated with serum BALB(r=-0.494,P＜0.05).Serum lyso-phosphatidylcholine(18∶2/0∶0)was positively correlated with lumbar vertebra BMD(r=0.640,P＜0.05),and negatively correlated with serum BALP and TRACP-5b(r=-0.628,-0.548,P＜0.05).Serum capric acid was negatively correlated with lumbar vertebra BMD(r=-0.444,P＜0.05)and positively corre-lated with serum BALB(r=0.587,P＜0.05).Conclusion The screened four endogenous potential biomarkers provide the new research ideas for the early diagnosis and treatment efficacy monitoring of CKD-OP.

Objective:To analyze functional changes in macrophages in mouse models of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) by modulating indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) .Methods:Forty specific-pathogen-free female ICR mice were randomly divided into 4 groups using a complete randomization method: a blank group, a VVC model group, a VVC model + 1-methyltryptophan (1-MT) group (referred to as the 1-MT group), a VVC model + interferon-γ (IFN-γ) group (referred to as the IFN-γ group), with 10 mice in each group. Except for the blank group, all the mice were injected subcutaneously with estradiol benzoate oil solution in the abdomen every other day for 6 days prior to modeling to induce pseudoestrus; after successful induction of pseudoestrus, the mice were inoculated vaginally with Candida albicans suspensions at a concentration of 2 × 10 9 CFU/ml once a day for 5 days to establish VVC mouse models, and subcutaneous injections of estradiol benzoate oil solution were continued simultaneously to maintain the pseudoestrus state; 1 day before inoculation with fungal suspensions, mice in the 1-MT group and IFN-γ group were pretreated with 1-MT and IFN-γ respectively, followed by once-daily same intervention for 6 consecutive days; mice in the blank group and VVC model group were intraperitoneally injected with physiological saline solution once a day for 6 consecutive days. On the 5th day of modeling, vaginal conditions in mice were observed and vaginal symptoms were scored; the vaginal lavage fluid was collected for smear microscopy and fungal colony counting; then, the mice were sacrificed, the vaginal tissues were collected and subjected to hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining, and the expression of IDO1 and the macrophage surface marker F4/80 was determined in the vaginal tissues by an immunofluorescence method; real-time fluorescence-based quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed to determine mRNA expression levels of IDO1, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and arginase 1 (Arg-1) in the vaginal tissues, and Western blot analysis to determine the IDO1 protein expression in the vaginal tissues. One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the differences in indices among groups, and Tukey test was used for multiple comparisons. Results:Smear microscopic examination of the vaginal lavage fluid on the 5th day of modeling showed elongated hyphae with a few spores in the VVC model group, a large number of elongated hyphae aggregating in clusters with surrounding spores in the 1-MT group, and a few thin and short hyphae with a large number of spores in the IFN-γ group. Compared with the VVC model group (360.0 ± 15.9), the fungal colony counts in the vaginal lavage fluid significantly increased in the 1-MT group (523.7 ± 67.7, P = 0.002), but significantly decreased in the IFN-γ group (258.3 ± 27.57, P = 0.026). HE staining and PAS staining showed small abscess formation in the epidermis and predominant infiltration of neutrophils throughout the epidermal and dermal layers with a large number of spores and a few hyphae in the VVC model group; thickened epidermis and diffuse inflammatory infiltration predominated by neutrophils in the dermis were seen in the 1-MT group, with a large number of hyphae and spores aggregating into clusters, which were predominated by hyphae; in the IFN-γ group, spores aggregated in the epidermis without obvious hyphae, and a small amount of inflammatory cells predominated by neutrophils infiltrated the dermis. Immunofluorescence assay revealed that the relative fluorescence intensities of IDO1 and F4/80 were highest in the IFN-γ group and the 1-MT group, respectively. Western blot analysis revealed that the IDO1 protein expression in the VVC model group was significantly higher than that in the blank group ( P < 0.001) and the 1-MT group ( P < 0.05), but significantly lower than that in the IFN-γ group ( P < 0.05). qPCR showed that iNOS mRNA expression significantly increased in the VVC model group compared with the blank group ( P < 0.01), and increased in the IFN-γ group compared with the blank group, VVC model group and 1-MT group (all P < 0.001); Arg-1 mRNA expression significantly increased in the VVC model group compared with the blank group ( P < 0.001) and IFN-γ group ( P < 0.01), and increased in the 1-MT group compared with the blank group, VVC model group, and IFN-γ group (all P < 0.001) . Conclusion:In the VVC mouse models, upregulation of IDO1 may cause macrophage polarization toward the M1 phenotype, and inhibition of IDO1 may cause increased macrophage recruitment and exacerbate the inflammatory response.

Objective:To investigate the effect of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) and gasdermin E(GSDME) on the proliferation, metastasis and pyroptosis of laryngeal cancer cells as well as its related mechanisms.Methods:Human laryngeal squamous cell cancer Hep-2 cells were taken and divided into 4 groups: the blank group (untreated Hep-2 cells), DHA group (Hep-2 cells treated with 50 μmol/L DHA), GSDME-siRNA group (Hep-2 cells transfected with GSDME-siRNA), and DHA+GSDME-siRNA group (Hep-2 cells treated with 50 μmol/L DHA and transfected with GSDME-siRNA). Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) method was used to detect the effect of DHA on the proliferation ability of Hep-2 cells, and the cell proliferation inhibition rate and half inhibitory concentration ( IC50) were calculated. Flow cytometry was used to detect the pyroptosis rate, Transwell assay was used to detect cell invasion ability and Western blot was used to detect the relative expression levels of GSDME, caspase-3, hexokinase Ⅱ (HK-Ⅱ), cyclophilin D, and voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) proteins. Results:The cell proliferation inhibition rates of Hep-2 cells treated with 10, 20, 40, 80, 160 μmol/L DHA for 48 h were higher than those treated with the corresponding concentration for 24 h (all P < 0.05). The IC50 values of Hep-2 cells treated by DHA for 24 h and 48 h were 57.20 μmol/L and 43.50 μmol/L, respectively, and thus 50 μmol/L DHA was selected for subsequent experiments. The pyroptosis rate was (6.5±0.8)%, (22.7±2.5)%, (3.1±0.6)% and (7.0±1.0)%, respectively in the blank group, DHA group, GSDME-siRNA group, and DHA+GSDME-siRNA group, and the difference was statistically significant ( F = 221.20, P < 0.05). The number of invasive cells was (153±14), (95±10), (205±16), and (148±16), respectively in the blank group, DHA group, GSDME-siRNA group, and DHA+GSDME-siRNA group, and the difference was statistically significant ( F = 56.89, P < 0.05). The results of Western blot showed that the relative expression levels of GSDME and caspase-3 in DHA group were higher than those in the blank group (both P < 0.05); the relative expression levels of GSDME and caspase-3 in GSDME-siRNA group were lower than those in DHA group (both P < 0.05); the relative expression levels of GSDME and caspase-3 in DHA+GSDME-siRNA group were higher than those in GSDME-siRNA group (both P < 0.05); the relative expression levels of HK-Ⅱ, cyclophilin D, and VDAC in DHA group were lower than those in the blank group (all P < 0.05); the relative expression levels of HK-Ⅱ, cyclophilin D, and VDAC in GSDME-siRNA group were higher than those in DHA group (all P < 0.05); the relative expression levels of HK-Ⅱ, cyclophilin D, and VDAC in DHA+GSDME-siRNA group were lower than those in GSDME-siRNA group (all P < 0.05). Conclusions:Dihydroartemisinin can increase the pyroptosis of laryngeal cancer cells and reduce cell proliferation and metastasis ability. The mechanism may be related to the inhibition of mitochondrial HK-Ⅱ expression.

OBJECTIVE To prepare spider fibroin membrane loaded with Periplaneta americana extract， and investigate its characterization， in vitro drug release property and cytotoxicity. METHODS Using natural spider silk collected from Chilobrachys guangxiensis as raw material， P. americana extract as model drug， the drug-loaded spider fibroin membrane （hereinafter referred to as drug-loaded membrane） was prepared by solvent casting method. The material matrix spider fibroin membrane without P. americana extract （hereinafter referred to as blank membrane） was prepared with same method. The membrane structure was characterized by static water contact angle， Fourier infrared chromatography， X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy from different angles； drug release characteristics in artificial saliva were simulated in vitro to evaluate the drug sustained-release performance. MTT assay was adopted to validate the cytotoxicity of drug-loaded membrane. RESULTS The drug-loaded membrane was prepared， and the static water contact angle was less than 90°， which was less than that of blank membrane. The drug-loaded membrane showed the characteristic absorption peak to polypeptide of P. americana extract at 1 500-1 700 cm－1. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy also proved that the drug was successfully loaded into the pellicle. The release time of the pellicle in artificial saliva was more than 200 min. The MTT test results showed that the cell proliferation rates of blank membrane and drug-loaded membrane were 84.6% and 79.4% （both greater than 70%）， respectively， without significant potential cytotoxicity. CONCLUSIONS Drug-loaded membrane prepared with natural spider silk has a certain sustained-release effect in artificial saliva， which can be further developed as a drug sustained-release carrier with excellent biological characteristics and biocompatibility.

Objective: To learn about the characteristics of physical activity(PA) and physical fitness, and to provide basis for the health and development of the Tibetan students. Methods: The cluster stratified random sampling was used, and 8 945 Tibetan students in Tibet were selected in May to June, 2019, and were administrated with questionnaire. Independent samples t test, one way ANOVA and Pearson correlation analysis were used. Results: There were significant differences of PA, and physical fitness by gender, grade and living area among Tibetan adolescents ( P <0.05). The PA score of boys(2.79±0.58) was higher than that of girls( 2.51 ±0.56), while the physical fitness level of girls(62.40±25.55) was higher than that of boys(59.26±26.55). The PA score( 2.59 ±0.55) of rural Tibetan children and youth was lower than those of urban areas, while the physical fitness level(61.53±26.53) was only lower than that of county area; the PA score(2.60±0.58) of Tibetan children and youth was the lowest for grade 7 and 9, while physical fitness level(57.62±24.33) was the lowest for grade 5 and 6. PA was not significantly correlated with physical fitness of Tibetan adolescents( r =-0.01， P >0.05). Conclusion Lack of physical activity and poor physical fitness are observed in Tibetan adolescents. It is suggested that schools, families and society should cooperate in various aspects and actively take measures to improve the physical health level of Tibetan children and adolescents.

In the design of randomized controlled trials （RCT）， difficulties in patient recruitment and enrollment of control group would limit the overall implementation of the trials. In recent years， as a data source， real-world data （RWD） plays an increasingly important role in the medical field. In RCT of Chinese medicine， RWD could be designed as control group. This design can effectively solve the problem of inclusion difficulty for the patients in the western medicine control group of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） RCT， it also can provide high quality evidence to evaluate the efficacy of TCM. In recent years， propensity score method has been widely used to deal with confounding factors in real world study. In this paper， four common research designs based on propensity score method were introduced with examples， including propensity score matching and data augmentation， two-stage design of propensity score stratification method， propensity score-integrated composite likelihood approach， and combination of different propensity score methods. However， there are some methodological challenges in this type of design， including the RWD data sources must be of high quality and the key information needs to be collected in a standardized method， the baseline characteristics of RCT and RWD patients should be comparable， and all known covariates related to the intervention and outcome need to be included for analysis. When adopting this design in the field of TCM， there are still some problems such as the lack of TCM syndrome information and TCM outcomes in RWD. When using RWD， it is necessary to decide how to analyze according to the data condition. This paper discussed the design types and methodological challenges of using RWD as control group in RCT， hoping to provide methodological ideas for researchers to use this type of design in the future.

ObjectiveTo investigate the characteristics of intrahepatic and extrahepatic organ failure at the onset of acute－on－chronic liver failure（ACLF）， to explore the features of a new clinical classification system of ACLF， and to provide a basis for the diagnosis， treatment， prognostic analysis of the disease. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of the patients who were hospitalized Beijing YouAn Hospital， Capital Medical University， from January 2015 to October 2022 and were diagnosed with ACLF for the first time. According to the conditions of intrahepatic and extrahepatic organ failure at disease onset， they were classified into type Ⅰ ACLF and type Ⅱ ACLF. Type Ⅰ ACLF referred to liver failure on the basis of chronic liver diseases， and type Ⅱ ACLF referred to acute decompensation of chronic liver diseases combined with multiple organ failure. The clinical features of patients with type Ⅰ or type Ⅱ ACLF were analyzed， and the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was used to assess the value of MELD， MELD－Na， and CLIF－C ACLF scoring system in predicting the 90－day prognosis of ACLF patients with type Ⅰ or type Ⅱ ACLF. The independent－samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the Wilcoxon rank－sum test was used for comparison of non－normally distributed continuous data between two groups； the chi－square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups. ResultsA total of 582 patients with ACLF were enrolled， among whom there were 535 patients with type Ⅰ ACLF and 47 patients with type Ⅱ ACLF. Hepatitis B and alcoholic liver disease were the main causes in both groups， with no significant difference between the two groups （P>0.05）. Chronic non－cirrhotic liver disease （28.2%） and compensated liver cirrhosis （56.8%） were the main underlying liver diseases in type Ⅰ ACLF， while compensated liver cirrhosis （34.0%） and decompensated liver cirrhosis （61.7%） were the main underlying liver diseases in type Ⅱ ACLF， and there was no significant difference in underlying liver diseases between the patients with type Ⅰ ACLF and those with type Ⅱ ACLF （P<0.001）. The patients with type Ⅱ ACLF had significantly higher median MELD score， MELD－Na score， and CLIF－C ACLF score than those with type Ⅰ ACLF （all P<0.001）. The patients with type Ⅱ ACLF had significantly higher 28－ and 90－day mortality rates than those with type Ⅰ ACLF （38.3%/53.2% vs 15.5%/27.5%， P<0.001）. For the patients with type Ⅰ ACLF who did not progress to multiple organ failure， the patients with an increase in MELD score accounted for 63.7% in the death group and 10.1% in the survival group （P<0.001）， while for the patients with type Ⅰ ACLF who progressed to multiple organ failure， there was no significant difference in the change in MELD score between the survival group and the death group （P>0.05）. In the patients with type Ⅰ ACLF， MELD score， MELD－Na score， and CLIF－C ACLF score had an area under the ROC curve （AUC） of 0.735， 0.737， and 0.740， respectively， with no significant difference between any two scores （all P>0.05）. In the patients with type Ⅱ ACLF， CLIF－C ACLF score had a significantly higher AUC than MELD score （0.880 vs 0.560， P<0.01） and MELD－Na score （0.880 vs 0.513， P<0.01）. ConclusionThere are differences in underlying liver diseases， clinical features， and prognosis between type Ⅰ and type Ⅱ ACLF， and different prognosis scoring systems have different emphases， which provide a basis for the new clinical classification system of ACLF from the perspective of evidence－based medicine.

Objective:To analyze the prognosis and influencing factors of different radiotherapy modes in patients with brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to explore the best benefit population with radiotherapy boost under different prognostic scores.Methods:634 patients with brain metastasis from NSCLC admitted to the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from 2013 to 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. According to different radiotherapy modes, they were divided into three groups: no radiotherapy group ( n=330), whole-brain radiotherapy group (WBRT)( n=127) and whole-brain radiotherapy combined with boost group (WBRT+ boost)( n=177). The intracranial progression-free survival (iPFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. The multivariate prognostic factors were analyzed by the Cox models. Results:The median iPFS and OS of all patients were 6.9 months and 9.0 months, respectively. In the no radiotherapy, WBRT and WBRT+ boost groups, the 1-year iPFS was 15.1%, 16.3% and 40.2%( P=0.002), and the 1-year OS was 33.7%, 38.2% and 48.1%( P<0.001), respectively. Multivariate survival analysis demonstrated that different radiotherapy modes were the independent factors affecting iPFS and OS. Subgroup analysis revealed that for patients with 1-3 brain metastases, the 1-year OS and iPFS in the WBRT+ boost group were better than those of WBRT alone ( P=0.026, P=0.044) when GPA score was 2.5-4.0; the 1-year OS and iPFSin the WBRT+ boost group were better than those of WBRT alone ( P=0.036, P=0.049) when there was no targeted therapy; for patients with ≥4 brain metastases, the 1-year iPFS in the WBRT+ boost group was better than that of WBRT alone ( P=0.019, P=0.012) when GPA score was 2.5-4.0 and there was no targeted therapy. When the GPA score was 0-2 or there was targeted therapy, the 1-year OS and iPFS in the WBRT+ boost group were better than those of WBRT alone, but the difference was not statistically significant (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Radiotherapy can significantly improve the iPFS and OS of NSCLC patients with brain metastases. When the number of brain metastases is 1-3, GPA score is 2.5-4.0 or no targeted therapy, boost may improve the iPFS and OS; when the number of brain metastases is more than 4, GPA score is 2.5-4.0 or no targeted therapy, boost may only bring iPFS benefit; when GPA score is 0-2 or targeted therapy, boost may not benefit significantly.