ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation among the botanical characteristics， biological characteristics， chemical composition， and medicinal properties and efficacy of traditional Chinese medicines （TCM） from latex-containing plants， so as to strengthen the theory of "identifying symptoms for qualities" and provide a reference for the development and utilization of the latex-containing plant resources. MethodStatistics on the meridians for properties and tastes， efficacy， medicinal parts， family and genus， and chemical components of TCM from latex-containing plants were carried out. A total of 53 TCM from latex-containing plants included in the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia were screened by mining the Chinese Botanical Journal， Chinese Materia Medica， Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicines， and related literature. In addition， their meridians for properties and tastes， medicinal parts， chemical components， and TCM classifications were summarized and statistically analyzed by using Excel 2013 and ChiPlot 2023.3.31 software. ResultIt was found that latex-containing plants were mainly distributed in one kingdom， one phylum， two classes， and 20 families， and most of the TCM from latex-containing plants belonged to Dicotyledonaceae under Angiosperms. In terms of properties and tastes， plain>cold>warm>cool>hot and bitter>pungent>sweet>sour>salty. In terms of meridians， liver>lung>kidney>spleen=large intestine=stomach>heart>bladder=gallbladder=small intestines. In terms of medicinal parts， roots （root， rhizomes， tuberous root， and root bark）>resin>seed>whole herb （whole herb and above-ground part）>stem （stem and branch）>fruit>leaf>flower=skin. In terms of research on chemical components， they were mostly glycosides. In terms of TCM classification， they were mostly medicines for activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis. ConclusionThe TCM from latex-containing plants is mainly plain， with a uniform warm and cold distribution. The tastes are mainly bitter and pungent， and the major meridians are the liver and lung. The roots and resins are mainly used as medicines. The components mostly contain glycosides， alkaloids， and volatile oils， and most of them are medicines for activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis， as well as for removing heat and toxins. There is a certain degree of correlation among the growth habits， medicinal parts， chemical components， and the properties， tastes， and efficacy of the TCM from latex-containing plants. It may provide a reference for resource development and utilization of TCM from latex-containing plants.

ObjectiveThe relevant laws among the biological characteristics， medicinal parts， growth environment， and medicinal properties and efficacy of traditional Chinese medicines （TCM） from fungi were excavated， so as to strengthen the theory of distinguishing symptoms for quality and provide a reference for the development and utilization of TCM from fungi. MethodThe medicinal parts， meridians for properties and tastes， heterotrophic mode， and efficacy of commonly used TCM from fungi were summarized. By consulting the Compendium of Materia Medica， Shennong Materia Medica， Flora of China， and literature， the TCM from fungi indexed in the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and some local pharmacopeias were checked. ResultA total of 28 common TCM from fungi were selected. Different TCMs from fungi have different meridians for properties and tastes， medicinal parts， habits， and growth environments. The relevant information was counted. Among the four properties， plain>cold>warm. Among the five tastes， sweet>bitter>light>pungent=salty. In terms of medicinal parts， fruiting body>sclerotia>complex>spermia=outer skin=other. In terms of meridians， lung>liver=heart>spleen=kidney>stomach. In terms of habits， parasitism>saprophysis>symbiosis=facultative parasitism=facultative saprophysis. ConclusionTCM from fungi are mainly parasitic and saprophytic， and the plain property and sweet taste the most. The meridians are mostly lung， heart， and liver. Nourishment and diuresis are the main efficacy. There is a certain correlation between the color， habit， medicinal parts， and growth environment of TCM from fungi and their properties， tastes， and efficacy， providing comprehensive literature reference and theoretical basis for their in-depth research， clinical use， and resource development.

ObjectiveTo investigate the functions and characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） from plant skin and their Chinese patent medicines and explore the related laws of the medicinal tissue， property， taste， efficacy， and clinical application， so as to strengthen the theory of identifying symptoms for qualities and provide references for the development and utilization of TCM from plant skin and their Chinese patent medicines. MethodBy reviewing the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and some local pharmacopeias， TCM from plant skin and their Chinese patent medicines were screened out， and the characteristics， functions， and precautions of TCM from plant skin and their Chinese patent medicines were summarized. Statistical analysis was carried out with Excel. ResultA total of 62 TCM from plant skin were found， mainly distributed in one kingdom， three phyla， and 31 families. In terms of the family genus， Rutaceae>Leguminosae>Cucurbitaceae. In terms of the medicinal tissue， bark>root bark>fruit bark>seed bark. In terms of property and taste， warm>cold>plain>cool>hot， and bitter>sweet=pungent>acidic. In terms of meridians， lung>liver>spleen>heart>colorectal>kidney>stomach=bladder. In terms of TCM classification， most of them belong to the category of heat-clearing medicines. There were 485 types of Chinese patent medicines from plant skin， with the most Chinese patent medicines containing Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium. Among the forms of administration， pills were the most predominant. In terms of the tastes of the medicines， bitter and sweet flavors predominated. In terms of functions， medicines for strengthening the body resistance were the most. For the precautions， contraindications during pregnancy were the most common. ConclusionThere is a correlation among medicinal tissue， property， taste， efficacy， and clinical application of TCM from plant skin. It is also necessary to pay attention to the contraindications of the medicines and rationally choose TCM from plant skin and their Chinese patent medicines under the guidance of TCM theory based on syndrome differentiation and treatment.

ObjectiveTo explore the correlations between botanical characteristics， biological characteristics， growth environment， and medicinal properties of common pteridophyte-derived Chinese medicinal materials， thus providing evidence for the theory of quality evaluation through morphological identification and giving insights into the extensive and reasonable application of pteridophytes in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. MethodThe medicine parts， habitats， natures， tastes， and effects of the commonly used pteridophyte-derived Chinese medicinal materials were summarized. The commonly used pteridophyte-derived Chinese medicinal materials were retrieved from the Pharmacopoeia of China， Dictionary of Chinese Materia Medica， and related literature. Excel 2016， ChiPlot， Cytoscape 3.7.1， SPSS 21.0， and weiciyun software were used for statistical analysis. ResultThe frequency of the habitats followed the trend of streamside wetland>tree trunk and rock crevices>sunslope>water surface. The frequency of medicinal parts presented the trend of whole plant>rhizome>leaf>dried aboveground part>spore. The frequency of natures was in the order of cool>cold>plain>warm>hot， and that of tastes was in an order of bitter>pungent>sweet>bland>salty. The frequency of meridian tropism followed the trend of liver meridian>stomach meridian>lung meridian>kidney meridian>bladder meridian>heart meridian>large intestine meridian>spleen meridian>small intestine meridian. The effects of the pteridophyte-derived Chinese medicinal materials followed a frequency trend of clearing heat and detoxifying>promoting urination and relieving stranguria>cooling blood and stopping bleeding>activating blood and resolving stasis>dispelling wind and eliminating dampness. ConclusionThe pteridophyte-derived Chinese medicinal materials mainly have a cool nature， a bitter taste， and tropism to the liver meridian. Whole plants and roots are mainly used for medicinal purposes， and most of these plants grow in the wetlands near rivers， under trees， and in tree trunk and rock crevices. The main effects of these medicinal materials are clearing heat and detoxifying， dispelling wind and removing dampness， cooling blood and stopping bleeding， activating blood and resolving stasis， and soothing meridians and dredging collaterals. There are certain correlations between the structures， habitats， medicinal parts， and effects of pteridophyte-derived Chinese medicinal materials， which provide reference for the development and utilization of pteridophyte-derived Chinese medicinal material resources.

Objective:To explore the evaluation effect of ultrasonography and Pirani score on tarsal deformity, treatment effect and pseudo-correction of congenital clubfoot in infants and young children, and the correlation between the two methods.Methods:This is a retrospective case series study. The clinical data of 26 children (40 feet) with congenital clubfoot who were evaluated by ultrasonography in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2020 to January 2023 were retrospectively collected. There were 16 males and 10 females. The age at the first ultrasound examination was ( M(IQR)) 9.0 (18.0) days (range: 1 to 46 days). All patients were treated with Ponseti method by the same physician. The Pirani scores before and after treatment and at the last examination, and the talonavicular angle, calcaneocuboid angle and tibiocalcaneal angle measured by ultrasound were collected, and the treatment and follow-up were recorded. Paired sample t test, repeated measures analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis test were used for data comparison, and Spearman correlation analysis was used for correlation analysis. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to calculate the efficacy of ultrasound in evaluating different Pirani scores. Results:The number of plaster fixation in 26 children was 4.0 (1.0) times (range: 2 to 8 times). The medial talonavicular angle and posterior tibiocalcaneal angle were significantly improved after treatment and at the last follow-up compared with those before treatment, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.01). There was no difference in lateral calcaneocuboid angle before and after treatment and at the last follow-up ( F=1.971, P>0.05). Pseudo-correction occurred in 2 cases (2 feet) during the treatment, with an incidence of 5%. Correlation analysis showed that there was a moderate positive correlation between talonavicular angle and Pirani midfoot score ( r=0.480, P<0.01). There was no correlation between calcaneocuboid angle and Pirani midfoot score ( r=0.114, P=0.105). There was a moderate negative correlation between tibial heel angle and Pirani hindfoot score ( r=-0.566, P<0.01). The cut-off point of Pirani midfoot score of 1.5 was 38.78°, the sensitivity was 0.90, the specificity was 0.56, and the area under the curve was 0.75. The cut-off value of angle was 27.51 °, the sensitivity was 0.16, the specificity was 0.92, and the area under the curve was 0.44.The cut-off points of Pirani midfoot score of 3.0 were 45.08°and 9.96°, the sensitivity was 0.94 and 0.91, the specificity was 0.37 and 0.42, and the area under the curve was 0.59 and 0.62, respectively. The cut-off values of Pirani hindfoot score of 2.0 and 3.0 were 167.46° and 160.15°, respectively. The sensitivity was 0.75 and 0.67, the specificity was 0.81 and 0.83, and the area under the curve was 0.78 and 0.71, respectively. Conclusion:Ultrasound can complement with Pirani score, visually and dynamically observe the morphology and position changes of talonavicular joint, calcaneocuboid joint and tibiotalocalcaneal joint, monitor the recovery and pseudo-correction of tarsal bones, and better evaluate the therapeutic effect.

Background::Whether functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) are associated with the long-term risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the prospective association of FGIDs with CKD and examine whether mental health mediated the association.Methods::About 416,258 participants without a prior CKD diagnosis enrolled in the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010 were included. Participants with FGIDs (including irritable bowel syndrome [IBS], dyspepsia, and other functional intestinal disorders [FIDs; mainly composed of constipation]) were the exposure group, and non-FGID participants were the non-exposure group. The primary outcome was incident CKD, ascertained from hospital admission and death registry records. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to investigate the association between FGIDs and CKD, and the mediation analysis was performed to investigate the mediation proportions of mental health.Results::At baseline, 33,156 (8.0%) participants were diagnosed with FGIDs, including 21,060 (5.1%), 8262 (2.0%), and 6437 (1.6%) cases of IBS, dyspepsia, and other FIDs, respectively. During a mean follow-up period of 12.1 years, 11,001 (2.6%) participants developed CKD. FGIDs were significantly associated with a higher risk of incident CKD compared to the absence of FGIDs (hazard ratio [HR], 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28–1.44). Similar results were observed for IBS (HR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.17–1.38), dyspepsia (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.17–1.44), and other FIDs (HR, 1.60; 95% CI, 1.43–1.79). Mediation analyses suggested that the mental health score significantly mediated 9.05% of the association of FGIDs with incident CKD and 5.63–13.97% of the associations of FGID subtypes with CKD. Specifically, the positive associations of FGIDs and FGID subtypes with CKD were more pronounced in participants with a high genetic risk of CKD.Conclusion::Participants with FGIDs had a higher risk of incident CKD, which was partly explained by mental health scores and was more pronounced in those with high genetic susceptibility to CKD.

Objective:To explore the evaluation effect of ultrasonography and Pirani score on tarsal deformity, treatment effect and pseudo-correction of congenital clubfoot in infants and young children, and the correlation between the two methods.Methods:This is a retrospective case series study. The clinical data of 26 children (40 feet) with congenital clubfoot who were evaluated by ultrasonography in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2020 to January 2023 were retrospectively collected. There were 16 males and 10 females. The age at the first ultrasound examination was ( M(IQR)) 9.0 (18.0) days (range: 1 to 46 days). All patients were treated with Ponseti method by the same physician. The Pirani scores before and after treatment and at the last examination, and the talonavicular angle, calcaneocuboid angle and tibiocalcaneal angle measured by ultrasound were collected, and the treatment and follow-up were recorded. Paired sample t test, repeated measures analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis test were used for data comparison, and Spearman correlation analysis was used for correlation analysis. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to calculate the efficacy of ultrasound in evaluating different Pirani scores. Results:The number of plaster fixation in 26 children was 4.0 (1.0) times (range: 2 to 8 times). The medial talonavicular angle and posterior tibiocalcaneal angle were significantly improved after treatment and at the last follow-up compared with those before treatment, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.01). There was no difference in lateral calcaneocuboid angle before and after treatment and at the last follow-up ( F=1.971, P>0.05). Pseudo-correction occurred in 2 cases (2 feet) during the treatment, with an incidence of 5%. Correlation analysis showed that there was a moderate positive correlation between talonavicular angle and Pirani midfoot score ( r=0.480, P<0.01). There was no correlation between calcaneocuboid angle and Pirani midfoot score ( r=0.114, P=0.105). There was a moderate negative correlation between tibial heel angle and Pirani hindfoot score ( r=-0.566, P<0.01). The cut-off point of Pirani midfoot score of 1.5 was 38.78°, the sensitivity was 0.90, the specificity was 0.56, and the area under the curve was 0.75. The cut-off value of angle was 27.51 °, the sensitivity was 0.16, the specificity was 0.92, and the area under the curve was 0.44.The cut-off points of Pirani midfoot score of 3.0 were 45.08°and 9.96°, the sensitivity was 0.94 and 0.91, the specificity was 0.37 and 0.42, and the area under the curve was 0.59 and 0.62, respectively. The cut-off values of Pirani hindfoot score of 2.0 and 3.0 were 167.46° and 160.15°, respectively. The sensitivity was 0.75 and 0.67, the specificity was 0.81 and 0.83, and the area under the curve was 0.78 and 0.71, respectively. Conclusion:Ultrasound can complement with Pirani score, visually and dynamically observe the morphology and position changes of talonavicular joint, calcaneocuboid joint and tibiotalocalcaneal joint, monitor the recovery and pseudo-correction of tarsal bones, and better evaluate the therapeutic effect.

Objective:To investigate the prognosis and risk factors of IgA vasculitis nephritis (IgAVN) in children.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted. Clinical data were collected from 264 children who were pathologically diagnosed with IgAVN at Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Tongji Hospital, affiliated with Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, between January 2011 and December 2017. All patients had a follow-up period of more than 3 years. Clinical characteristics, renal pathology, 3-year and 5-year prognosis were analyzed. The patients were grouped based on gender, age of onset (≤6 years, >6-9 years, and >9 years), pathological classification (≤Ⅲ and>Ⅲ),whether the prognosis was complete remission at 3 and 5 years. Independent sample t-tests, ANOVA or chi-squared test were used for intergroup comparisons. Spearman correlation analysis was applied for ordinal data, and multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze factors affecting the prognosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was utilized to evaluate the predictive value of these factors. Results:Of the 264 children with IgAVN, 153 were male and 111 were female, the age of onset was 8.3 (6.7, 10.3) years, 118 patients (45%) with onset age >6-9 years accounted for the highest proportion. All patients presented with skin purpura and renal involvement, primarily manifesting as hematuria and/or proteinuria. Microscopic hematuria was observed in 253 patients (95.8%), while 246 patients (93.2%) showed proteinuria. In 256 patients (97.0%), hematuria or proteinuria urinalysis was detected within 6 months of skin purpura onset, and 243 patients (92.0%) underwent renal biopsy within 6 months of renal involvement. The most common clinical subtype in 264 IgAVN children was hematuria and proteinuria (204 cases, 77.3%), with grade Ⅲ being the predominant pathological classification (181 cases, 68.6%). Among children ≤6 years old, the 3-year complete remission rate was higher in males than in females (83.9% (26/31) vs. 7/16, χ2=8.12, P=0.012). Factors independently associated with poor 5-year prognosis included time from hematuria or proteinuria urinalysis to renal biopsy >6 months, elevated serum cholesterol levels, and incomplete remission 3 years post-biopsy ( OR=5.41, 1.39, 6.02, 95% CI 1.40-20.86, 1.04-1.84, 2.61-13.88, all P<0.05). The serum cholesterol has a predictive value for 5-year prognosis ( P=0.020, AUC=0.62, 95% CI 0.52-0.71, Youden index=0.27, cutoff=4.37). Conclusions:For children with IgAVN aged≤6 years, the 3-year prognosis is better in males than in females. Time from hematuria or proteinuria urinalysis to renal biopsy >6 months, elevated serum cholesterol levels, and incomplete remission at 3 years post-biopsy may be independent risk factors for poor 5-year prognosis in children with IgAVN.

Objective:To evaluate and analyze the ultrasonic findings of idiopathic clubfoot and positional clubfoot deformities.Methods:Forty-nine newborn babies with congenital clubfoot were examined in the Department of Ultrasound of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from December 2020 to January 2022, Including 21 newborn babies(32 feet) with idiopathic clubfoot, and 28 babies(53 feet) with positional clubfoot. Twenty-two normal infants in the same period and the normal feet of the single clubfoot were selected as control group. The distance between medial malleolus and scaphoids of all feet were measured by ultrasound. The distance from the tangent line of the lateral edge of calcaneus to the midpoint of the lateral edge of the chondroid bone, medial soft tissue thickness and tibial calcaneal angle were measured by ultrasound. The data of idiopathic clubfoot group, positional clubfoot group and control group were statistically analyzed.Results:A total of 71 newborn babies with 142 feet were evaluated.The idiopathic clubfoot group had born and joint changes in the medial, lateral and posterior side, and the differences were statistically significant compared with the control group (all P<0.05). Compared with the control group, there were statistically significant differences in the medial and lateral side of the positional group(all P<0.05). But no significant changes in the posterior side( P>0.05). There were significant differences between medial and posterior side of idiopathic and positional clubfoot group (all P<0.05), but no significant differences in lateral side ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Ultrasonography can clearly display the tarsus bones in clubfoot, and observe the deformity changes of the idiopathic clubfoot and positional clubfoot.

We aimed to investigate the relationship of dietary zinc intake with new-onset hypertension among Chinese adults. A total of 12,177 participants who were free of hypertension at baseline from the China Health and Nutrition Survey were included. Dietary intake was assessed by three consecutive 24-h dietary recalls combined with a household food inventory. Participants with systolic blood pressure ≽ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≽ 90 mmHg or diagnosed by a physician or under antihypertensive treatment during the follow-up were defined as having new-onset hypertension. During a median follow-up duration of 6.1 years, 4269 participants developed new-onset hypertension. Overall, the association between dietary zinc intake and new-onset hypertension followed a J-shape (P for non-linearity < 0.001). The risk of new-onset hypertension significantly decreased with the increment of dietary zinc intake (per mg/day: hazard ratio (HR) 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.88-0.98) in participants with zinc intake < 10.9 mg/day, and increased with the increment of zinc intake (per mg/day: HR 1.14; 95% CI 1.11-1.16) in participants with zinc intake ≽ 10.9 mg/day. In conclusion, there was a J-shaped association between dietary zinc intake and new-onset hypertension in general Chinese adults, with an inflection point at about 10.9 mg/day.
Adult ; Humans ; Cohort Studies ; Zinc ; Diet ; Hypertension/epidemiology* ; Eating ; China/epidemiology*