TGF-β1 is considered a key mediator in the formation of hepatic fibrosis and mainly acts by activating the downstream Smad signaling pathway.Smad2 and Smad3 are two major downstream regulators that promote TGF-β1-mediated tissue fibrosis,while Smad7 is a negative-feedback regulator of the TGF-β1/Smad pathway and inhibits TGF-β1-mediated hepatic fibrosis.A growing number of studies are showing that natural products can delay the progression of hepatic fibrosis by regulating the TGF-β1/Smad pathway,inhibiting HSC activation,and reducing ECM deposition.This article reviews the molecular mechanism of the TGF-β1/Smad signaling pathway in hepatic fibrosis,and summarizes the natural products that target the regulation of this pathway,providing a reference for research into the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.

Objective:To evaluate the survival outcomes of radiotherapy in patients with newly-diagnosed metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) based on data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database.Methods:A total of 1226 patients newly-diagnosed with metastatic HNSCC between 2010 and 2015 were selected from the SEER database. There were 762 patients (62.1%) in the radiotherapy group and 464 patients (37.9%) in the non-radiotherapy group. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS). The effect of radiotherapy on survival was assessed by Cox multivariate regression and Propensity score-matched analyses (PSM). According to the results of multivariate analysis, the patients were further divided into low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups, and the effect of radiotherapy on survival was analyzed in different risk groups.Results:The median CSS and OS time of the whole group was 11.0 months and 10.0 months, respectively. For patients in the radiotherapy group and non-radiotherapy group, the median CSS time was 13.0 months and 6.0 months, and the median OS time was 12.0 months and 6.0 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that age (CSS, P=0.045;OS, P=0.002), primary tumor site (CSS, P=0.021;OS, P<0.001), T stage (CSS, P=0.001;OS, P=0.002), N stage (CSS, P=0.002;OS, P<0.001), number of metastatic organs (CSS, P<0.001;OS, P<0.001), surgery (CSS, P<0.001;OS, P<0.001), radiotherapy (CSS, P<0.001;OS, P<0.001), and chemotherapy (CSS, P<0.001;OS, P<0.001)were the independent prognostic factors. After PSM, patients with and without radiotherapy in the low-,intermediate-,and high-risk groups, the 3-year CSS rates were 62.5% vs 23.5%( P=0.008), 22.4% vs 15.7%( P=0.001)and 10.5% vs 9.6%( P=0.203), respectively; the 3-year OS were 58.0% vs 20.8%( P=0.002), 19.8% vs 12.7%( P=0.001)and 7.0% vs 6.1%( P=0.166), respectively. Conclusion:Radiotherapy significantly improves CSS and OS in the low- and intermediate-risk groups, but patients in the high-risk group do not benefit from radiotherapy.

Objective:The investigation and research on the application status of Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient (HVPG) is very important to understand the real situation and future development of this technology in China.Methods:This study comprehensively investigated the basic situation of HVPG technology in China, including hospital distribution, hospital level, annual number of cases, catheters used, average cost, indications and existing problems.Results:According to the survey, there were 70 hospitals in China carrying out HVPG technology in 2021, distributed in 28 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central Government). A total of 4 398 cases of HVPG were performed in all the surveyed hospitals in 2021, of which 2 291 cases (52.1%) were tested by HVPG alone. The average cost of HVPG detection was (5 617.2±2 079.4) yuan. 96.3% of the teams completed HVPG detection with balloon method, and most of the teams used thrombectomy balloon catheter (80.3%).Conclusion:Through this investigation, the status of domestic clinical application of HVPG has been clarified, and it has been confirmed that many domestic medical institutions have mastered this technology, but it still needs to continue to promote and popularize HVPG technology in the future.

Objective:To assess the efficacy and toxicity of chemoradiotherapy in the treatment of early stage extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTCL).Methods:Retrospective review was conducted for 174 patients with pathological proved early stage ENKTCL who were treated in the Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was adopted to calculate the local-regional control (LRC), overall survival (OS), and progression free survival (PFS), and the Log-rank test COX regression model were applied to univariate and multivariate analyses.Results:The patients in this study included 102 and 72 patients diagnosed with Ann Arbor stage-Ⅰ and stage-Ⅱ, respectively. Among them, two patients received radiotherapy alone and 172 patients were treated with combined chemoradiotherapy. The overall response rate of all the patients was 94.2%, with a complete response (CR) rate of 87.9% (153). Furthermore, the rates of 5-year OS, PFS, and LRC were 87.3%, 83.1%, and 91.9%, respectively. The most common toxicities during the chemotherapy and radiotherapy included myelosuppression and oral mucositis, with grade ≥ 3 myelosuppression and grade ≥ 3 oral mucositis accounting for 62.1% and 10.9% of all patients, respectively. As shown by multivariate analysis, the adverse prognostic factors for OS included age > 60, B symptoms, and stage Ⅱ, while the adverse prognostic factors for PFS included age > 60 and stage Ⅱ. Meanwhile, the PFS rate was significantly improved by increasing the radiation dose (≥ 50 Gy vs.<50 Gy), and the 5-year PFS rates of the two groups were 83.5% and 76.5%, respectively [hazard ratio ( HR) 0.374; 95% CI, 0.169-0.826; P=0.015]. Conclusions:A good therapeutic effect can be achieved for early stage NK/T-cell lymphoma and the toxicities after combined chemoradiotherapy can be tolerated.

This article introduces the development history of palliative medicine at home and abroad, investigates the existing problems of palliative medicine teaching in geriatrics, explores the improvement of geriatric palliative medicine education, and elaborates adopting theoretical teaching and clinical practice, including PBL teaching, case teaching and narrative medicine teaching, to carry out palliative medical education for geriatrics graduate students. The results showed that 67.9% of the students have increased the learning sense of palliative medicine, 92.5% of them think that palliative medicine is very important, and 75% of them think that they have enhanced their ability of language expression and communication with patients with advanced diseases, namely, the ability of end-of-life care.

Objective: To compare diagnostic performance of traditional vertical section technique, horizontal section technique and modified Ho-Vert technique for classical lichen planopilaris. Methods: Clinical data were collected from patients with classical lichen planopilaris in Department of Dermatology, The Affiliated Wuxi People′s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 1st 2015 to January 1st 2019. With the help of dermoscopy, 2 scalp specimens were obtained from each patient and sliced horizontally and vertically respectively by using modified Ho-Vert technique. The horizontal and vertical sections were read separately or simultaneously, and histopathological changes were observed. Results: Totally, 21 patients with classical lichen planopilaris were enrolled into this study, including 15 males and 6 females. Their age was 50.0 ± 13.6 years, and the average course of disease was 18 months. The patients mainly presented with multifocal or confluent patchy hair loss, and scalp atrophy, perifollicular hyperkeratosis, loss of follicular ostia, fibrous white dots and orbit sign were observed. On the horizontal sections, lichenoid lymphocytic infiltration around the infundibulum and isthmus of hair follicles and follicular micro-scars could be observed in all patients, and the dermo-epidermal interface could be seen in 7 patients. On the vertical sections, lichenoid lymphocytic infiltration around the infundibulum and isthmus of hair follicles only could be observed in 9 patients, follicular micro-scars could be seen in 4, and the dermo-epidermal interface could be observed in all patients. Moreover, the detection rates of interfollicular interface dermatitis, follicular keratotic plugs, lymphocytic infiltration around sebaceous glands, atrophy or disappearance of sebaceous glands and inflammatory infiltration around hair follicle bulbs were significantly different between the horizontal and vertical sections. In combination with clinical manifestations, 7 patients could be exactly diagnosed with lichen planopilaris according to findings from horizontal sections, and 9 could be diagnosed exactly according to findings from vertical sections, while 21 could be diagnosed exactly according to histopathological findings from both horizontal and vertical sections. Conclusion With the help of dermoscopy, modified Ho-Vert technique can improve the efficacy of pathological diagnosis of classical lichen planopilaris, by multidimensionally showing histopathological changes.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of integrated Chinese and Western medicine for the treatment of occupational noise-induced deafness( ONID). METHODS: A total of 80 ONID patients were selected and randomly divided into control group and treatment group by judgment sampling method,with 40 cases in each group. The control group received routine western medicine treatment using mecobalamin tablets,vitamin B complex,nerve growth factor and hyperbaric oxygen. The treatment group received routine western medicine as the control group,plus acupuncture,moxibustion and auricular point pressing. The patients in both groups were treated continuously for 30 days. The questionnaire of conscious,the selfconscious symptoms such as tinnitus,headache,dizziness and insomnia were recorded in these two groups before and after treatment. Pure tone audiometry was performed on the patients at the same time. RESULTS: After treatment,the binaural high frequency threshold average( BHFTA) and threshold of weighted value of the left and right ears in the treatment group were better than that in the same group before treatment( P < 0. 05). The difference of the BHFTA and threshold of weighted value of the right ear in the treatment group before and after treatment was higher than that in the control group( P < 0. 05). After treatment,the symptoms of tinnitus,headache,dizziness and insomnia in the two groups were better than those in the same group before treatment. The total improvement rate of tinnitus and dizziness symptoms in the treatment group was higher than that in the control group( P < 0. 05). CONCLUSION: The treatment with integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine for ONID can improve the hearing level of patients,effectively alleviate the accompanying self-conscious symptoms,and is suitable for promotion in clinical use.

Objective? To evaluate the Chinese version of Glaucoma Quality of Life 17 (Glau-QoL17) by item analysis on each item using item response theory(IRT), so as to provide tools in life quality evaluation in patients with glaucoma in China. Methods? By convenience sampling, 198 glaucoma patients admitted in the outpatient department of Opthalmic Center affiliated to Sun Yat-Sen University from May 2017 to July 2018 were selected and their life quality were evaluated by using the Chinese version of Glau-QoL17. MULTILOG 7.0 was used to analyze the collected data in IRT and calculate the discrimination and difficulty parameters of each item. Results? The Chinese version of Glau-QoL17 had good discrimination. The discrimination parameter (α) ranged from 1.50 to 5.23, and the difficulty increased monotonously. Except for the entry "Are you afraid of surgeries?", the other items ranged from-3 to 3; the coverage area under the item information curve was relatively large except for item "Currently, I am very well-informed about my visual problems." Conclusions? The Chinese version of Glau-QoL17 can be used in the evaluation of the glaucoma patients' quality of life in our country, however, it still needs further modification on its content so as to improve the accuracy of the evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of delayed pre-job occupational health examination on occupational health surveillance by analyzing the results of pre-job occupational health examinations in radiation exposed workers. METHODS: A convenience sampling method was used to select 1 385 radiation workers as the research subjects in Guangdong Province in 2016 at a pre-job occupational health examination. Workers who did not engage in radiation work were selected as control group. Workers who engaged in radiation work but did not take pre-job occupational health examinations were selected as observation group. The difference of the results of occupational health examination between the two groups was analyzed. RESULTS: The proportion of the observation group was 55. 8%(773/1 385). The abnormal rates of the white blood cell( WBC) count,“double + ring”rate and lens in the observation group were higher than those in the control group(9. 3% vs 5. 7%,6. 0% vs 3. 6%,6. 2% vs 3. 6%,P < 0. 05),respectively. The WBC count in the observation group was lower than that in the control group [(6. 1 ± 1. 5) × 10~9/L vs(6. 7 ± 1. 5) × 10~9/L,P < 0. 01]. The contents of the thyroid stimulating hormone and triiodothyronine in the observation group were higher than those in the control group[(1. 3 ± 0. 4) m U/L vs(1. 2 ± 0. 3) m U/L,(1. 8 ± 0. 4) nmol/L vs(1. 7 ± 0. 5) nmol/L,P < 0. 01]. The tetraiodothyronine level in the observation group was lower than that in the control group [( 110. 8 ± 22. 4) nmol/L vs(113. 8 ± 23. 2) nmol/L,P < 0. 05]. CONCLUSION: The delay of pre-job occupational health examination of radiation exposed workers affects the examination results and the accuracy of basic health records.

Objective To investigate the predictive value of central venous-to-arterial carbon dioxide difference (Pcv-aCO2) on the prognosis of elderly patients with sepsis.Methods 208 elderly patients who met the diagnostic criteria of the Sepsis-3 and with the age of more than 60 years old, and admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) of Guangdong General Hospital from January to December in 2017 were enrolled. According to the prognosis, the patients were divided into death group (n = 46) and survival group (n = 162). The Pcv-aCO2, central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2), serum procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) and acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ (APACHEⅡ) were collected for all patients. The differences of each index between the two groups were compared. The correlations between Pcv-aCO2 and ScvO2, PCT, CRP, SOFA, APACHEⅡscores were analyzed respectively with Pearson correlation. The prognostic value of Pcv-aCO2 in elderly patients with sepsis was assessed by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).Results Compared with survival group, the Pcv-aCO2, PCT, CRP, SOFA and APACHEⅡscores in death group were significantly increased [Pcv-aCO2 (mmHg, 1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa): 6.13±3.33 vs. 4.40±2.65, PCT (μg/L): 31.41±12.83 vs. 3.01±2.69, CRP (mg/L): 130.51± 42.23 vs. 104.46±50.12, SOFA: 12.01±2.25 vs. 9.05±2.06, APACHEⅡ: 29.52±5.03 vs. 20.01±3.21, allP < 0.05], and ScvO2 in death group was significantly decreased (0.571±0.136 vs. 0.685±0.106,P < 0.01). Correlation analysis showed that the Pcv-aCO2 was negatively correlated with ScvO2 (r = -0.762,P = 0.001) and was positively correlated with PCT, CRP, SOFA and APACHEⅡscores (r value was 0.737, 0.625, 0.738, 0.713, respectively, allP < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve (AUC) of Pcv-aCO2 prediction of death in patients with sepsis was 0.826, the cut-off was 6.62 mmHg, the sensitivity was 84.7％, the specificity was 77.5％, the positive likelihood ratio was 3.76, and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.19.Conclusion Pcv-aCO2 has a great value in evaluating the prognosis of elderly patients with sepsis and can accurately determine the prognosis of sepsis.