In this study, RAW264.7 cells were employed to investigate the effects of honey-processed Astragalus on their energy metabolism and polarization, and explore the scientific connotation of the enhanced efficacy of honey-processed Astragalus on invigorating spleen-stomach and replenishing Qi. The medicated sera were prepared by intragastric administration of rats with water extracts of crude and honey-processed Astragalus, and the composition changes of medicated sera of crude and honey-processed Astragalus were analyzed by using LC-MS technology. The cell survival rates were detected and the concentrations of medicated sera were screened through CCK-8 assay. The differences of cell phagocytic rates, ATP energy metabolism, and NO secretion between crude and honey-processed Astragalus were evaluated by using neutral red phagocytosis assay, ATP detection kit, and NO detection kit. The effects of crude and honey-processed Astragalus on TNF-α secretion of RAW264.7 cells were detected by employing ELISA kit. The effects of crude and honey-processed Astragalus on polarization of RAW264.7 cells were evaluated by utilizing flow cytometry. The differential metabolites related to glycolysis in cell lysates and culture media were screened by using LC-MS technology. The experiment was approved by the experimental animal ethics committee from Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine (No. AWE202407352). The results showed that the contents of betaine, amino acids, and ononin in the prepared medicated sera of rats treated by intragastric administration with water extracts of honey-processed Astragalus increased compared to those in crude one. The results of CCK-8 experiment showed that there were no cytotoxic effects on RAW264.7 cells in the medicated sera of crude and honey-processd Astragalus at different concentration. The phagocytic index and ATP yield both increased to varying degrees after administration of the medicated sera to cells. The secretion of NO in normal and inflammatory cells increased and decreased respectively, and the effect of honey-processed Astragalus was better than that of crude one. The results of ELISA kit showed that the medicated sera of both crude and honey-processed Astragalus could promote the secretion of TNF-α in a concentration-dependent manner, and the promoting effect of honey-processed Astragalus was stronger than that of crude one. The results of flow cytometry showed that the medicated sera of both crude and honey-processed Astragalus could promote M1-type polarization and inhibit M2-type polarization of RAW264.7 cells, and the effect of honey-processed Astragalus was better than that of crude one. Compared to crude Astragalus, the metabolites related to glycolysis in the cell lysates and culture media of the medicated sera of honey-processed Astragalus were generally on the rise, indicating that the effect on promoting glycolysis of honey-processed Astragalus was better than that of crude one. In summary, honey-processed Astragalus can promote the polarization and energy metabolism of RAW264.7 cells, and participate in positive immune regulation, which is correlated with its enhanced effect of invigorating spleen-stomach and replenishing Qi.

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of abdominal adipose volume in predicting early tumor recurrence after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:The retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 132 HCC patients with tumor diameter ≤5 cm who were admitted to The First Affiliated Hospital of Army Medical University from December 2017 to October 2019 were collected. There were 110 males and 22 females, aged (51±4)years. All patients underwent resection of HCC. Preoperative computer tomography scanning was performed and the visceral and subcutaneous fats of patients were quantified using the Mimics Research 21.0 software. Based on time to postoperative tumor recurrence patients were divided to two categories: early recurrence and non-early recurrence. Observation indicators: (1) consistency analy-sis; (2) analysis of factors influencing early tumor recurrence after resection of HCC and construction of prediction model. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the t test. Measurement data with skewed distribu-tion were represented as M( Q1,Q3) or M(range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were expressed as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Consistency analysis was conducted using the intragroup correlation coefficient (ICC) test. Multivariate analysis was performed using the binary Logistic regression model forward method. Independent risk factors influencing early tumor recurrence after resection of HCC were screened. The area under curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to select the optimal cut-off value to classify high and low risks of recurrence. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curve and calculate survival time. The Log-Rank test was used for survival analysis. Results:(1) Consistency analysis. The consistency ICC of abdominal fat parameters of visceral fat volume (VFV), subcutaneous fat volume, visceral fat area, and subcutaneous fat area measured by 2 radiologists were 0.84, 1.00, 0.86, and 0.94, respectively. (2) Analysis of factors influencing early tumor recurr-ence after resection of HCC and construction of prediction model. All 132 patients were followed up after surgery for 662(range, 292-1 111)days. During the follow-up, there were 52 patients with non-early recurrence and 80 patients with early recurrence. Results of multivariate analysis showed that VFV was an independent factor influencing early tumor recurrence after resection of HCC ( odds ratio=4.07, 95% confidence interval as 2.27-7.27, P<0.05). The AUC of ROC curve based on VFV was 0.78 (95% confidence interval as 0.70-0.85), and the sensitivity and specificity were 72.2 % and 77.4 %, respectively. The optimal cut-off value of VFV was 1.255 dm 3, and all 132 patients were divided into the high-risk early postoperative recurrence group of 69 cases with VFV >1.255 dm 3, and the low-risk early postoperative recurrence group of 63 cases with VFV ≤1.255 dm 3. The disease-free survival time of the high-risk early postoperative recurrence group and the low-risk early post-operative recurrence group were 414(193,702)days and 1 047(620,1 219)days, showing a significant difference between them ( χ2=31.17, P<0.05). Conclusions:VFV is an independent factor influen-cing early tumor recurrence of HCC after resection. As a quantitative indicator of abdominal fat, it can predict the prognosis of HCC patients.

Objective:To establish HPLC characteristics of Benincasae Exocarpium from different regions; To simultaneously determine the contents of uridine, guanosine and other nucleosides; To conduct overall evaluation on Benincasae Exocarpium from different regions.Methods:The chromatography was performed on Waters Atlantis ?T3(250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) column with methanol (A) and aqueous solution (B) as mobile phase gradient elution. The detection wavelength was 254 nm, the flow rate was 1.0 ml/min, and the column temperature was 25 ℃. The similarity of common peak of content and characteristic map was used as the main evaluation index to analyze the difference of the Benincasae Exocarpium in different producing areas. Results:15 batches of Benincasae Exocarpium showed 6 common characteristic peaks, and the similarity with the control characteristic maps was greater than 0.90. 5 components of guanine, xanthine, uridine, adenine and guanosine were identified, and uridine and guanosine were quantitatively determined by HPLC. The results showed that, the contents of uridine and guanyl in 15 batches of Benincasae Exocarpium ranged from 0.017% to 0.036% and 0.018% to 0.031%. The highest content of uridine was 0.036% in Jiaozuo City of Henan Province, and 0.031% in Changde City of Hunan Province.Conclusions:This HPLC method has good precision, repeatability and stability, and the two components of uridine and guanosine have good linear relationship in the determination range, which can objectively and comprehensively evaluate the overall appearance of Benincasae Exocarpium from different regions. The difference of nucleoside efficacy components of Benincasae Exocarpium from different regions is small.

Objective To explore the clinical application of ultrasound-guided transabdominal villus and amniocentesis in the prenatal diagnosis of thalassemia,and to find a suitable method for the prenatal diagnosis of thalassemia in Qinzhou.Methods A total of 531 high-risk pregnant women with severe or intermediate thalassemia during single pregnancy who were treated in the Department of Medical Genetics and Prenatal Diagnosis,Qinzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital from March 2021 to April 2022 were selected for the study.According to different sampling methods,they were divided into control group(amniocentesis,n=415)and study group(transabdominal villus puncture,n=116).The success rate,complication rate of the two groups were compared.Results The success rate of puncture in the control group was 100％,2 cases were aborted within 2 weeks after surgery,17 cases were diagnosed with severe alpha-thalassemia,10 cases with severe β-thalassemia and 64 cases with intermediate thalassemia,48 cases with moderate and severe thalassemia induced labor.The success rate of puncture in the research group was 100％,10 cases were diagnosed with severe alpha-thalassemia,4 cases with severe β-thalassemia and 17 cases with intermediate thalassemia,and 26 cases with moderate severe thalassemia were induced labor.There was no significant difference in puncture success rate and abortion rate between the two methods(P>0.05).Conclusion Both methods are safe and effective.Transabdominal villus sampling can detect fetal thalassemia in early pregnancy,and it is worth promoting and applying in clinical practice.

Methods: Patients with dry eye who were treated in the Ophthalmology Ward and Outpatient Department of the First Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine from October 1, 2020, to October 30, 2021 were enrolled as the research participants in the study. They were assigned to two groups based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome types: heat stagnation in liver meridian pattern group and Qi-Yin deficiency pattern group. Healthy volunteers who underwent health check-ups in the Health Management Department were included as healthy group following the random number table method. The tears of the patients and the healthy volunteer participants were tested by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The differential metabolites were screened out by multivariate statistical analysis, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment was performed on the differential metabolites. Finally, the association analysis of differential proteins and metabolites was conducted to verify and supplement the metabolites. Results: A total of 32 dry eye patients were enrolled, including 16 cases with heat stagnation in liver meridian pattern and 16 cases with Qi-Yin deficiency pattern. Fourteen healthy volunteers were included as healthy group. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics among the three groups (P > 0.05). A total of 412 biomarkers were determined in Qi-Yin deficiency pattern group, mainly including lipids, lipid-like molecules, organic acids and their derivatives, organic heterocyclic compounds, and nucleosides and their analogues. For heat stagnation in liver meridian pattern group, 112 metabolites were determined, mainly including organic acids and their derivatives, lipids, and lipid-like molecules. The KEGG enrichment results of pathways and the relative content analysis of differential markers demonstrate that purine metabolism and caffeine metabolism pathways are common metabolic characteristics of all dry eyes. Among them, deoxyinosine monophosphate (dIMP) and 2-(formamido)-N1-(5-phospha-D-ribosyl) acetamidine can serve as their biomarkers. The main characteristics of Qi-Yin deficiency syndrome pattern were the significant enhancement of metabolic pathways such as lysine degradation, ovarian steroidogenesis, cholesterol metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, and bile secretion (P < 0.05). Dry eye associated with the heat stagnation in liver meridian pattern is mainly characterized by inhibition of the valine, leucine, and isoleucine biosynthesis pathways (P < 0.05). Conclusion Metabolomics can be used as an effective basis for TCM syndrome classification. Different patterns of dry eye syndrome exhibit typical characteristics in the types and concentrations of metabolites, which correspond to the syndrome classification in TCM. This study initially confirms the rationality of TCM syndrome classification and provides significant reference for the mechanism of dry eye and drug development.

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of fourteen bone-setting manipulations and small splint fixation combined with No.8 Orthopedics Prescription(mainly composed of Rehmanniae Radix,Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma,Persicae Semen,Caulis Akebiae,Carthami Flos,Corydalis Rhizoma,and Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma)on distal radius fracture.Methods A retrospective study was carried out in the analysis of the clinical data of 124 patients with distal radius fractures treated by fourteen bone-setting manipulations and small splint fixation in the Department of Orthopedics,Foshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from September 2021 to September 2023.The patients were divided into an observation group(63 cases)and a control group(61 cases)depending on the medication of No.8 Orthopedics Prescription or not.The control group was treated with fourteen bone-setting manipulations and small splint fixation,while the observation group was treated with fourteen bone-setting manipulations and small splint fixation combined with No.8 Orthopedics Prescription.The two groups were treated for s one month and then were followed up for more than six months.The changes in the range of motion(ROM)of wrist pronation and supination and palmar flexion in the two groups were observed before treatment and three months after treatment.The time for starting wrist function exercise,time for subsiding swelling of the affected limb and fracture healing time were compared between the two groups.After six months of treatment,the wrist function improvement effect of the two groups was evaluated.Results(1)After treatment,the time for starting wrist joint functional exercise,time for subsiding swelling of the affected limb and the time for fracture healing in the observation group were significantly shortened compared with those in the control group,and the differences were statistically significant between the two groups(P＜0.01).(2)After three months of treatment,the ROM of wrist pronation and supination and palmar flexion in the two groups were significantly improved compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05),and the improvement of ROM of wrist pronation and supination and palmar flexion in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group,the differences being statistically significant(P＜0.01).(3)After six months of treatment,the evaluation of the wrist joint function of the two groups showed that the excellent and good rate of the observation group was 55.56％(35/63),and that of the control group was 45.90％(28/61).There was no significant difference in the improvement of wrist function between the two groups(Z=1.075,P=0.282).Conclusion Both methods can achieve satisfactory efficacy in the treatment of distal radius fracture,and the wrist function of the patients has been effectively restored.The treatment of fourteen bone-setting manipulations and small splint fixation combined with No.8 Orthopedics Prescription can significantly shorten the time for subsiding swelling of the affected limb,promote fracture healing and bone regeneration,improve wrist function,and relieve the pain of patients.

Objective To investigate the effect of dexmedetomidine(Dex)on the rat model of perioperative stroke and its mechanism.Methods One hundred male rats were randomly divided into sham group,middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)group,low dose Dex[Dex-L,0.5 μg/(kg·h)]group,medium dose Dex[Dex-M,2 μg/(kg·h)]group,high dose Dex[Dex-H,10 μg/(kg·h)]group,20 rats in each group.A rat model of perioperative stroke was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion.Dex was injected intravenously at different doses during ischemia.After 24 h,the neurological function of the rats was evaluated.Then,the rats were sacrificed and the peripheral blood and whole brain tissue were collected,ischemic core area tissue was separated from some brain tissues and the cerebral infarction area was observed by TTC staining.The inflammatory cytokine contents in serum and ischemic core area were measured by ELISA.In addition,the expressions of formyl peptide receptor 1(FPR1),transmembrane protein 119(TMEM119),CD31 and VE-cadherin proteins were assayed by immunofluorescence,and the expressions of FPR1,nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB)and NLRP3 proteins by Western blotting in the ischemic core area.Results Compared with sham group,the proportion of cerebral infarction area and neurological scores in the MCAO group were significantly increased,and the contents of interleukin(IL)-1β,IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α in the serum and the ischemic core area were significantly increased,the expressions of FPR1,TMEM119,p-NF-κB,NLRP3,CD31 and VE-cadherin in the ischemic core were significantly increased(P<0.001),and there was obvious co-expression of FPR1 and TMEM119.Compared with MCAO group,the proportion of cerebral infarction area and neurological scores in the Dex-M and Dex-H groups were significantly decreased,and the contents of IL-1β,IL-6 and TNF-α in serum and brain ischemic core area were significantly decreased,the expressions of FPR1,TMEM119,p-NF-κB,NLRP3,CD31 and VE-cadherin in the ischemic core were significantly decreased(P<0.001).Conclusions Dex can significantly alleviate perioperative stroke injury.The mechanism may be due to inhibiting the expression of FPR1 protein,activation of microglia cells and cerebral collateral circulation angiogenesis.