Objective To understand the research status and development trend of TCM in the treatment of lower limb arteriosclerosis obliterans(LLASO);To provide reference for related research.Methods The literature on the treatment of LLASO by TCM was retrieved from CNKI,Wanfang Data and VIP from September 18,1992 to September 18,2022.NoteExpress 3.6.0 was used to manage and remove repetition.Excel 2019 was used to analyze the trend of the number of articles published.VOSviewer 1.6.18.0 and CiteSpace 6.1.R6 were used to analyze the co-occurrence,clustering,timeline and emergence of the included authors,institutions and keywords,and knowledge graph was drawn.Results A total of 1 095 articles were included,and the number of articles published showed an overall upward trend;1 915 authors were involved,and the author with the most articles was Chen Bainan,forming research teams with Xi Jiuyi,Cao Yemin and Ge Jianli as the cores respectively;the main research institutions were Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,Beijing University of Chinese Medicine,Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine and so on,but there was little cooperation among them.High-frequency keywords included arteriosclerosis,diabetes,clinical efficacy,gangrene,hemorheology,etc.,forming 13 clusters such as qi deficiency and blood stasis,Simiao Yong'an Decoction,angiogenesis and so on.The focus of research was external treatment of TCM,clinical efficacy,blood stasis syndrome,medication law,Buyang Huanwu Decoction.Conclusion The research heat of TCM in the treatment of LLASO has gradually increased,and the modern research in this field from 1992 to 2022,such as gene detection and molecular biology based on big data platform,is the research hotspot in this field.The development trend is the combination of internal treatment and external treatment of TCM,as well as the interdisciplinary research of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine combined with interventional therapy and other techniques.

Objective: To investigate the antidepressant effects of Yuanzhi (Polygalae Radix, PR) aqueous extract on chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depression rat models and the underlying mechanisms. Methods: A total of 40 male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into control, model, low dose of PR (PR-L, 0.5 g/kg), high dose of PR (PR-H, 1 g/kg), and fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) groups, with 8 rats in each group. Except for the rats in control group, those in the other four groups underwent CUMS-induced depression modeling. PR and fluoxetine were administered intragastrically once daily, 30 min prior to the CUMS procedure, for 14 consecutive days until the behavioral tests were performed. After CUMS modeling, the sucrose preference test (SPT), open field test (OFT), novelty-suppressed feeding test (NSFT), forced swim test (FST), and tail suspension test (TST) were employed to assess the pharmacological effects of PR on the mitigation of depressive-like behaviors in rat models. Additionally, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was utilized to quantify the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1β in the rats. Western blot analysis was also conducted to evaluate the protein expression levels of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing caspase recruitment domain (ASC), and caspase-1 in the hippocampal tissues of the rats. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to observe the morphological changes in ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1positive (Iba-1+) cells in the dentate gyrus (DG) of rats with CUMS-induced depression. Result: (i) Treatment with PR-H and fluoxetine resulted in significant enhancements in both the total distance and time the rats moved during tests (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively). Post-administration of PR-H and fluoxetine also led to statistically significant increase in sucrose preference among rats (P < 0.05). Besides, PR-L, PR-H, and fluoxetine treatment markedly decreased the latency of ingestion (P < 0.05, P < 0.05, and P < 0.01, respectively). As observed from the FST, PR-L, PR-H, and fluoxetine presented antidepressant effects on rats with CUMS-induced depression, leading to the reduction in time of their immobility (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, and P < 0.01, respectively). The results of TST indicated reduced immobility time in rats receiving PR-H and fluoxetine treatment as well (P < 0.01). (ii) Rats in model group showed an increase in the levels of Iba-1+ microglia in their left and right brains in comparison with control group (P < 0.01). However, such increase was negated post PR treatment (P < 0.01). Treatment with PR-L, PR-H, and fluoxetine considerably reduced the levels of inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, P < 0.01). In addition, treatment of PR-L and PR-H effectively counteracted the elevated levels of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1, and markedly down-regulated the expression levels of phosphorylated p65 (p-p65), COX-2, and iNOS in rats’ hippocampus (P < 0.01). Conclusion Collectively, these findings indicate that PR exerts an antidepressant effect on rats with CUMS-induced depression partially through the modulation of the NLRP3 and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Bitter taste receptors,also known as type 2 taste receptors(T2Rs),are found not only in the mouth's taste bud cells but also in various tissues and cells,including macrophages.Macrophages,known for their re-markable plasticity,play a crucial role in regulating innate immunity,managing inflammation,and orchestrating immune responses to antigens,pathogens,and environmental factors.Recently,the study of the expression and function of bitter taste receptors within macrophages has garnered significant interest.This review summarizes the expression levels and dis-tribution characteristics of bitter taste receptors in macrophages and examines their effects on macrophage polarization,phagocytosis,and chemotaxis,as well as their potential molecular mechanisms.The purpose of this review is to provide in-sight and perspectives for research on the regulatory role of T2Rs in macrophage functions.

Objective To investigate the effects of different fractions of inspired oxygen administered during general anesthesia on post-operative recovery in patients undergoing laparoscopic hernia repair and hysterectomy in a sub-plateau region.Methods Clinical data of 111 patients undergoing laparoscopic hernia repair and hysterectomy under general anesthesia were collected from the People's Hospital of Datong Hui and Tu Autonomous County between April 2022 and November 2023.Based on the concentration of inhaled oxygen during general anesthesia,patients were randomly divided into three groups:100%oxygen(n=36),80%oxygen(n=38),and 60%oxygen(n=37).Respiratory-related parameters,including arterial partial pressure of oxygen(PaO2),arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide(PaCO2),and oxygenation index(OI),were compared among the three groups before anesthesia induction,30 min after pneumoperito-neum,and 1 d after surgery.Postoperative pulmonary complications,incision infections,first gastrointestinal exhaust time,and length of hospitalization were recorded.Postoperative delirium and cognitive function were also assessed.Results At 30 min after pneumoperi-toneum induction,the OI in the 60%oxygen group was higher than that in the 100%oxygen group(P=0.009),whereas there was no sta-tistical difference in OI between the 80%oxygen and 100%oxygen groups(P>0.05).PaO2 and OI were lower(P<0.05)and PaCO2 was higher(P<0.05)in all groups on the 1st day after surgery than before the induction of anesthesia.PaO2 and OI were higher in the 80%oxygen group than in the 100%oxygen group(all P<0.05).PaO2 and OI were higher in the 60%oxygen group than in the 100%oxygen and 80%oxygen groups(all P<0.05).PaCO2 was lower in the 60%oxygen group than in the 100%oxygen group(P<0.001).The first gastrointestinal exhaust time was shorter in the 60%oxygen group than in the 100%oxygen group(P=0.019).No postoperative incision infections were observed in any of the three groups,and there were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications,length of hospitalization,incidence of postoperative delirium,and cognitive dysfunction among the three groups(all P>0.05).Conclusion During general anesthesia for patients undergoing laparoscopic hernia repair and hysterectomy in a sub-pla-teau region,appropriately reducing the concentration of inspired oxygen(60%)is beneficial for postoperative respiratory and gastrointes-tinal function recovery without increasing the incidence of incision infections,postoperative delirium,and cognitive dysfunction.

Objective:To analyze the molecular epidemiological characteristics of the Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in Shijiazhuang, which can reveal the origin of the outbreak and provide a scientific basis for COVID-19 prevention and control.Methods:From January 2 to January 8, 2021, a total of 404 samples from 170 COVID-19 cases were collected from the Shijiazhuang Fifth Hospital. The consensus sequence of 2019 novel Coronavirus(2019-nCoV) was obtained through multiplex polymerase chain reaction-based sequencing. The sequences of 170 COVID-19 cases were analyzed by the PANGOLIN, and the data were statistically analyzed by T-test.Results:Among the 404 COVID-19 samples, a total of 356 samples obtained high quality genome sequences (>95%,100×sequencing depth). The whole genome sequences of 170 COVID-19 cases were obtained by eliminating repeated samples. All 170 sequences were recognized as lineage B1.1 using PANGOLIN. The number of single nucleotide polymorphism arrange from 18-22 and most of the single nucleotide polymorphism were synonymous variants. All of 170 genomes could be classified into 48 sub-groups and most of the genomes were classified into 2 sub-groups (66 and 31, respectively).Conclusions:All cases in this study are likely originated from one imported case. The viruses have spread in the community for a long time and have mutated during the community transmission.

Objective:To investigate the current status of prevention and treatment of esophagogastric variceal bleeding (EVB) in cirrhotic portal hypertension patients in Ningxia region.Methods:The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. The clinical data of 820 cirrhotic portal hypertension patients who were admitted to 21 medical centers in Niangxia region from January 2018 to December 2020 were collected, including 85 cases in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region People′s Hospital, 73 cases in the Fifth People′s Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, 59 cases in the Wuzhong People′s Hospital, 52 cases in the Qingtongxia People′s Hospital, 50 cases in the Guyuan People′s Hospital, 47 cases in the Yuanzhou District People′s Hospital of Guyuan City, 47 cases in the Yinchuan Second People′s Hospital, 40 cases in the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, 40 cases in the Tongxin People′s Hospital, 35 cases in the Yinchuan First People′s Hospital, 34 cases in the Third People′s Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, 32 cases in the Zhongwei People′s Hospital, 30 cases in the Lingwu People′s Hospital, 30 cases in the Wuzhong New District Hospital, 30 cases in the Yanchi People′s Hospital, 29 cases in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 28 cases in the Shizuishan Second People′s Hospital, 25 cases in the Shizuishan First People′s Hospital, 21 cases in the Haiyuan People′s Hospital, 20 cases in the Pengyang People′s Hospital, 13 cases in the Longde People′s Hospital. There were 538 males and 282 females, aged (56±13)years. Observation indicators: (1) clinical charac-teristics of cirrhotic portal hypertension patients; (2) overall prevention and treatment of EVB in cirrhotic portal hypertension patients; (3) prevention and treatment of EVB in cirrhotic portal hypertension patients from different grade hospitals. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD. Count data were described as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was analyzed using the chi-square test. Results:(1) Clinical characteristics of cirrhotic portal hypertension patients: of 820 cirrhotic portal hypertension patients, 271 cases were in compensated stage and 549 cases were in decompensated stage. Of the 271 cases in compensated stage, there were 183 maels and 88 females, aged (53±12)years. There were 185 Han people, 85 Hui people and 1 case of other ethic group. The etiological data of liver cirrhosis showed 211 cases of viral hepatitis B, 4 cases of alcoholic liver disease, 8 cases of viral hepatitis C, and 48 cases of other etiology. There were 235 cases of Child-Pugh grade A and 36 cases lack of data. Of the 549 cases in decompensated stage, there were 355 males and 194 females, aged (57±14) years. There were 373 Han people, 174 Hui people and 2 cases of other ethic group. The etiological data of liver cirrhosis showed 392 cases of viral hepatitis B, 33 cases of alcoholic liver disease, 10 cases of viral hepatitis C, and 114 cases of other etiology. There were 80 cases of Child-Pugh grade A, 289 cases of grade B, 170 cases of grade C and 10 cases lack of data. (2) Overall prevention and treatment of EVB in cirrhotic portal hypertension patients: of 271 patients in compensated stage, 38 cases received non-selective β-blocker (NSBB) therapy, 16 cases received endoscopic treatment, 6 cases received interventional therapy. Of 549 patients in decompensated stage, 68 cases received NSBB therapy, 46 cases received endoscopic treatment, 28 cases received interventional therapy. (3) Prevention and treatment of EVB in cirrhotic portal hypertension patients from different grade hospitals: of 271 patients in compensated stage, 181 cases came from tertiary hospitals, of which 28 cases received NSBB therapy, 15 cases received endoscopic treatment, 6 cases received interventional therapy. Ninety cases came from secondary hospitals, of which 10 cases received NSBB therapy, 1 cases received endoscopic treatment. There was no significant difference in NSBB for prevention of EVB between tertiary and secondary hospitals ( χ2=0.947, P>0.05), while there was a significant difference in endoscopic treatment for prevention of EVB between tertiary and secondary hospitals ( χ2=5.572, P<0.05). Of 549 patients in decompensated stage, 309 cases came from tertiary hospitals, of which 22 cases received NSBB therapy, 29 cases received endoscopic treatment, 22 cases received interventional therapy. Two hundreds and fourty cases came from secondary hospitals, of which 46 cases received NSBB therapy, 17 cases received endoscopic treatment, 6 cases received interven-tional therapy. There were significant differences in NSBB and interventional therapy for prevention of EVB between tertiary and secondary hospitals ( χ2=18.065, 5.956, P<0.05). Conclusions:The proportion of receiving EUB prevention in cirrhotic portal hypertension in Ningxia is relatively low. For patients with compensated liver cirrhosis, the proportion of NSBB therapy and endoscopic treatment in the secondary hospitals was lower than that in tertiary hospitals. For patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis, the proportion of interventional treatment in secondary hospitals is lower than that of tertiary hospitals, but the proportion of NSBB in secondary hospitals taking is higher than that of tertiary hospitals.

Objective To indentify the cognitive status of Chinese patients to acne and the influencing factors to theirs' cognitive status,so as to provide solid evidences for the prevention and treatment of acne.Methods A self-designed questionnaire was made to conduct this survey of 16,156 acne patients,who seeked to the treatment in the dermatological departments from 112 hospitals in China.The survey consisted of several parts,including the general status of patients,the patients' cognition of occurrence,development and risk factors of acne,whether the first choice was seeking treatment at the hospital when the patients had acne and the condition of selection of skin care products.The factors were analyzed,which could impact the cognition of the patients' behavior of treatment,how did the patients' cognition to influence their medical behavior and skin care as well as the consistency of assessment of the severity of acne by doctors and patients themselves.Results The acne patients studied had the best knowledge of "acne is a skin disease","it not only occurs in the period of adolescence" and "the disease can be prevented and cured",which accordingly accounted for 80.65％,69.16％ and 65.49％ of the total patients respectively.However,the awareness of acne patients to heredity,high sugar and dairy products as risk factors for acne was insufficient,which accounted for 48.72％,42.40％ and 18.25％ of the total patients,respectively.Gender,age,educational level,occupation and health knowledge were the main factors affecting the cognitive level of patients;the survey also found that men,patient with educational level of junior high or even lower educational condition,occupation of labor workers or farmers and patients were lack of health education with poor knowledge of the genetics and dietary were risk factors for acne;patients with age over 36 years or with mild illness had poor knowledge of dietary risk factors for acne;the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).The analysis of the influence of cognitive status on medical treatment behavior and skin care showed that the better the cognition,the higher the probability of patients would choose medical treatment as the first choice as well as choosing functional skin care products;the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).The consistency of assessment of the severity of acne by doctors and patients was poor (Kappa value ＜0.4),and the assessment of severity of acne by patients was more serious than doctors' assessment.Conclusions Patient's cognitive status will affect their medical behavior and skin care,and there is also a phenomenon that patients have a more serious assessment of their acne condition.It is suggested that health education for acne patients should be strengthened in clinical medicine so as to improve their knowledge of acne as well as preventing from acne effectively.

Objective: To investigate the effect of lncRNA SBF2-AS1 on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cervical cancer HeLa cell via regulating miR-140-5p/VEGFA (vascular endothelial growth factor A) axis. Methods: After cell culture and transfection, the cells were divided into 5 groups: NC group, miR-140-5p mimic group, miR-140-5p mimic+pcDNA-VEGFA group, si-lncRNA SBF2-AS1+pcDNA-VEGFA group and si-lncRNA SBF2-AS1+miR-140-5p mimic group. The expression level of lncRNA SBF2-AS1 in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines was detected by qPCR. The targeted relationship between lncRNA SBF2-AS1, miR-140-5p and VEGFA was confirmed by Dual luciferase reporter gene assay. The expression levels of VEGFA and EMT-related proteins N-cadherin, Vimentin and E-cadherin in HeLa cells were detected by WB. The invasion and migration of HeLa cells were detected by Transwell. Results: lncRNA SBF2-AS1 was highly expressed in cervical cancer tissues and cell lines (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Dual luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that lncRNASBF2-AS1 targetedly combined with miR-140-5p and VEGFAwas a target gene of miR-140-5p (P< 0.05). Knockdown of lncRNA SBF2-AS1 inhibited invasion and migration as well as EMT of HeLa cells. Further experiment confirmed that lncRNA SBF2-AS1 up-regulated the expression level of VEGFA via miR-140-5p, thereby promoting invasion, migration and EMT of HeLa cells. Conclusion: lncRNASBF2-AS1 promotes EMT of HeLa cells via miR-140-5p/VEGFAaxis.

Objective? To investigate the bacterial contamination of open suction tubing in intensive care units at different dwelling time and to explore the proper replacement frequency of suction tubing. Methods? The patients receiving tracheal intubation or tracheotomy in the Intensive Care Unit, Jinhua Municipal Central Hospital from November 2016 to February 2018 were selected by convenient sampling. Based on preliminary pilot experiment, totally 39 patients were selected. Samples from the internal opening of suction tubing connector at days 1, 3 and 7 were obtained for bacterial culture, and the patients' sputum was cultured as required. The type of contaminant bacteria at the internal opening of suction tubing connector was identified. The number of bacterial colony, number of bacterial genus and the consistency with patients' sputum culture at different time points were compared. Results? The bacteria at the internal opening of suction tubing connector were mainly pseudomonas aeruginosa, viridans streptococcus, baumanii and corynebacterium, which was slightly different from the findings of sputum culture. There was no statistically significant difference in the positive rate, number of bacterial colony, number of bacterial genus and the consistency with patients' sputum culture at the internal opening suction tubing connector at days 1, 3 and 7 (P＞ 0.05). Conclusions? The internal opening of open suction tubing is highly contaminated, but the bacterial contamination does not worsen over time. The suction tubing may be replaced as long as every 7 days.

Objective To explore the clinical value of laparoscopy combined with choledochoscopy in repeat surgery for hepatolithiasis. Methods The clinical data on 86 patients who had undergone repeat surgery for hepatolithiasis during January 2010 to December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. 36 patients received laparoscopy combined with choledochoscopy(laparoscopy group),while 50 patients received laparotomy(laparotomy group). Surgical duration,intraoperative blood loss,intraoperative transfusion,stone clearance rates,length of postopera-tive hospital stay,and rate of complications were observed and analyzed. Results There were no significant differ-ences in surgical duration,intraoperative blood loss,intraoperative transfusion,stone clearance rates,and rate of complications between the two groups(P>0.05). Length of postoperative hospital stay was significantly shorter in the laparoscopy group than in the laparotomy group(P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in recurrence rates of stone and cholangitis within the follow-up period(P>0.05). Conclusions Use of laparoscopy combined with choledochoscopy in repeat surgery for hepatolithiasis is safe and feasible and has a satisfactory efficacy.