Structural transition and migration of incoherent twin boundary in diamond.

Grain boundaries (GBs), with their diversity in both structure and structural transitions, play an essential role in tailoring the properties of polycrystalline materials1-5. As a unique GB subset, {112} incoherent twin boundaries (ITBs) are ubiquitous in nanotwinned, face-centred cubic materials6-9. Although multiple ITB configurations and transitions have been reported7,10, their transition mechanisms and impacts on mechanical properties remain largely unexplored, especially in regard to covalent materials. Here we report atomic observations of six ITB configurations and structural transitions in diamond at room temperature, showing a dislocation-mediated mechanism different from metallic systems11,12. The dominant ITBs are asymmetric and less mobile, contributing strongly to continuous hardening in nanotwinned diamond13. The potential driving forces of ITB activities are discussed. Our findings shed new light on GB behaviour in diamond and covalent materials, pointing to a new strategy for development of high-performance, nanotwinned materials.

Twisted-layer boron nitride ceramic with high deformability and strength.

Moiré superlattices formed by twisted stacking in van der Waals materials have emerged as a new platform for exploring the physics of strongly correlated materials and other emergent phenomena1-5. However, there remains a lack of research on the mechanical properties of twisted-layer van der Waals materials, owing to a lack of suitable strategies for making three-dimensional bulk materials. Here we report the successful synthesis of a polycrystalline boron nitride bulk ceramic with high room-temperature deformability and strength. This ceramic, synthesized from an onion-like boron nitride nanoprecursor with conventional spark plasma sintering and hot-pressing sintering, consists of interlocked laminated nanoplates in which parallel laminae are stacked with varying twist angles. The compressive strain of this bulk ceramic can reach 14% before fracture, about one order of magnitude higher compared with traditional ceramics (less than 1% in general), whereas the compressive strength is about six times that of ordinary hexagonal boron nitride layered ceramics. The exceptional mechanical properties are due to a combination of the elevated intrinsic deformability of the twisted layering in the nanoplates and the three-dimensional interlocked architecture that restricts deformation from propagating across individual nanoplates. The advent of this twisted-layer boron nitride bulk ceramic opens a gate to the fabrication of highly deformable bulk ceramics.

Risk factors and survival outcomes in children with early cardiotoxicity after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Cardiotoxicity in children is a potentially fatal complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT); therefore, early identification of risk factors can improve patient prognosis. However, there are few data on the clinical characteristics of early-stage cardiotoxicity in children after allo-HSCT. We conducted a retrospective single-center study of pediatric patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) between January 2016 and December 2022 at the Children's Hospital Affiliated with Chongqing Medical University to evaluate the clinical characteristics of early cardiac events (ECEs) after allo-HSCT and their impact on survival outcomes. We enrolled 444 patients who underwent allo-HSCT-304 males (68%) and 140 females (32%)-with a median age of 3.3 years (1.8-6.5 years) at transplantation. We found that 73 patients (16.4%) had ECEs after allo-HSCT. The ECEs included valvular disease (n = 46), pericardial effusion (n = 38), arrhythmia (n = 9), heart failure (n = 16), and dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 1). Female sex, age ≥ 6 years, body mass index (BMI) < 16 kg/m2 and HLA-type mismatches were risk factors for ECEs. We designed a stratified cardiac risk score that included these risk factors, and the higher the score was, the greater the cumulative incidence of ECEs. The occurrence of an ECE was closely associated with a lower overall survival (OS) rate and greater nonrelapse mortality (NRM). In addition, stratified analysis based on the number of combined ECEs showed that the greater the number of combined ECEs was, the more significant the negative impact on OS rates.

Altered Intrinsic Brain Activity in Ischemic Stroke Patients Assessed Using the Percent Amplitude of a Fluctuation Method.

Ischemic stroke is a vascular disease that may cause cognitive and behavioral abnormalities. This study aims to assess abnormal brain function in ischemic stroke patients using the percent amplitude of fluctuation (PerAF) method and further explore the feasibility of PerAF as an imaging biomarker for investigating ischemic stroke pathophysiology mechanisms. Sixteen ischemic stroke patients and 22 healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scanning, and the resulting data were analyzed using PerAF. Then a correlation analysis was conducted between PerAF values and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores. Finally, the abnormal PerAF values were extracted and defined as features for support vector machine (SVM) analysis. Compared with HCs, ischemic stroke patients showed decreased PerAF in the bilateral cuneus, left middle frontal gyrus, precuneus and right inferior temporal gyrus, and increased PerAF in the bilateral orbital part of middle frontal gyrus and right orbital part of superior frontal gyrus. Correlation analyses revealed that PerAF values in the left orbital part of middle frontal gyrus was negatively correlated with the MoCA scores. The SVM classification of the PerAF values achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.98 and an accuracy of 94.74%. Abnormal brain function has been found among ischemic stroke patients, which may be correlated with visual impairment, attention deficits, and dysregulation of negative emotions following a stroke. Our findings may support the potential of PerAF as a sensitive biomarker for investigating the underlying mechanisms of ischemic stroke.

Extreme mechanical anisotropy in diamond with preferentially oriented nanotwin bundles.

Mechanical properties of covalent materials can be greatly enhanced with strategy of nanostructuring. For example, the nanotwinned diamond with an isotropic microstructure of interweaved nanotwins and interlocked nanograins shows unprecedented isotropic mechanical properties. How the anisotropic microstructure would impact on the mechanical properties of diamond has not been fully investigated. Here, we report the synthesis of diamond from superaligned multiwalled carbon nanotube films under high pressure and high temperature. Structural characterization reveals preferentially oriented diamond nanotwin bundles with an average twin thickness of ca. 2.9 nm, inherited from the directional nanotubes. This diamond exhibits extreme mechanical anisotropy correlated with its microstructure (e.g., the average Knoop hardness values measured with the major axis of the indenter perpendicular and parallel to nanotwin bundles are 233 ± 8 and 129 ± 9 GPa, respectively). Molecular dynamics simulation reveals that, in the direction perpendicular to the nanotwin bundles, the dense twin boundaries significantly hinder the motion of dislocations under indentation, while such a resistance is much weaker in the direction along the nanotwin bundles. Current work verifies the hardening effect in diamond via nanostructuring. In addition, the mechanical properties can be further tuned (anisotropy) with microstructure design and modification.

[Research progress on colorectal cancer identification based on convolutional neural network].

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor that seriously threatens human health. CRC presents a formidable challenge in terms of accurate identification due to its indistinct boundaries. With the widespread adoption of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in image processing, leveraging CNNs for automatic classification and segmentation holds immense potential for enhancing the efficiency of colorectal cancer recognition and reducing treatment costs. This paper explores the imperative necessity for applying CNNs in clinical diagnosis of CRC. It provides an elaborate overview on research advancements pertaining to CNNs and their improved models in CRC classification and segmentation. Furthermore, this work summarizes the ideas and common methods for optimizing network performance and discusses the challenges faced by CNNs as well as future development trends in their application towards CRC classification and segmentation, thereby promoting their utilization within clinical diagnosis.

(Fe, Cr)(OH)3 Coprecipitation in Solution and on Soil: Roles of Surface Functional Groups and Solution pH.

The simultaneous precipitation of (Fe, Cr)(OH)3 nanoparticles in solution (homogeneous) and on soil surfaces (heterogeneous), which controls Cr transport in soil and aquatic systems, was quantified for the first time in the presence of model surfaces, i.e., bare and natural organic matter (NOM)-coated SiO2 and Al2O3. Various characterization techniques were combined to explore the surface-ion-precipitate interactions and the controlling mechanisms. (Fe, Cr)(OH)3 accumulation on negatively charged SiO2 was mainly governed by electrostatic interactions between hydrolyzed ion species or homogeneous (Fe, Cr)(OH)3 and surfaces. The elevated pH through protonation of Al2O3 surface hydroxyls resulted in higher Cr/Fe ratios in both homogeneous and heterogeneous coprecipitates. Due to ignorable NOM adsorption onto SiO2, the amounts of (Fe, Cr)(OH)3 precipitates on bare/NOM-SiO2 were similar; contrarily, attributed to favored NOM adsorption onto Al2O3 and consequently carboxyl association with metal ions or (Fe, Cr)(OH)3 nanoparticles, remarkably more heterogeneous precipitates harvested on NOM-Al2O3 than bare-Al2O3. With the same solution supersaturation, the total amounts of homogeneous and heterogeneous precipitates were similar irrespective of the substrate type. With lower pH, decreased electrostatic forces between substrates and precipitates shifted (Fe, Cr)(OH)3 distribution from heterogeneous to homogeneous phases. The quantitative knowledge of (Fe, Cr)(OH)3 distribution and the controlling mechanisms can assist in better Cr sequestration in natural and engineered settings.

Nintedanib Induces the Autophagy-Dependent Death of Gastric Cancer Cells by Inhibiting the STAT3/Beclin1 Pathway.

BACKGROUND: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are currently the most widely studied targeted therapies for gastric cancer. As a triple tyrosine inhibitor, nintedanib can alleviate the progression of a variety of cancers, but it is poorly studied in gastric cancer. AIMS: To investigate the effect of nintedanib on gastric cancer. METHODS: This study investigated nintedanib's effect on gastric cancer autophagy in vivo and in vitro, and the activity and morphological changes of gastric cancer cells were detected by MTT and HE staining. Proliferation, migration, invasion, and EMT-related marker proteins of AGS and MKN-28 cells were detected. The effects of nintedanib on autophagy in gastric cancer cells were detected by acridine orange, immunofluorescence, and Western blotting assays. The regulation of nintedanib on STAT3 and Beclin1 was detected by qPCR and Western blotting assays. Subsequently, the effects of nintedanib on the tumor STAT3/Beclin1 pathway were verified by stably overexpressing STAT3 in gastric cancer cell lines and tumor-bearing experiments in nude mice. RESULTS: The results showed that nintedanib could inhibit gastric cancer cells' proliferation and EMT process. Meanwhile, autophagy was induced in AGS and MKN-28 cells, and the expression of autophagy-related protein Beclin1 was upregulated, and the phosphorylation level of STAT3 was downregulated. Nintedanib inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation and upregulated Beclin1 to inhibit tumor growth in gastric cancer cell lines with stable STAT3 overexpression and tumor-bearing experiments in nude mice. CONCLUSIONS: By inhibiting STAT3, nintedanib upregulated Beclin1 and caused autophagic death in gastric cancer cells.

[Effects of serum containing Shenrong Pill on oxidative stress damage in mouse Leydig cells].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the mechanism of Shenrong pills in improving oligoasthenospermia by inhibiting oxidative stress-induced Leydig cell apoptosis in mouse testis. METHODS: The oxidative stress model of mouse Leydig cells (TM3) was induced by 3% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) of 600 µmol/L, and then TM3 cells were treated with 7.5%, 10% and 12.5% serum containing Shenrong pills, respectively. TM3 cells were divided into normal control group, model group, and low, medium and high dose groups of Shenrong pills containing serum. The cell viability of TM3 after treatment was detected by CCK-8 method, reactive oxygen species (ROS) were detected by DCFH probe method, and SOD-1, CAT, GSH-px, MDA and LPO in cell lysates were detected by ELISA method. The changes of apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2, Bax in cell lysates were detected by Western Blot. RESULTS: After H2O2 treatment, compared with normal control group, cell viability was significantly decreased (P< 0.01), MDA and LPO contents were significantly increased (P<0.01), SOD-1, CAT and GSH-px contents were significantly decreased (P<0.01). Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were significantly increased, the relative expression ratio of Bcl-2 protein was significantly decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05), and the relative expression of Bax protein was increased. After the administration of Shenrong pills containing serum, the above indexes were reversed to varying degrees. CONCLUSION: Shenrong pills can resist oxidative stress, inhibit the apoptosis of TM3 cells in mice, maintain high levels of testosterone required for spermatogenic cells, and improve the sperm quality of mice with oligonasthenospermia.

I-line photolithographic metalenses enabled by distributed optical proximity correction with a deep-learning model.

High pattern fidelity is paramount to the performance of metalenses and metasurfaces, but is difficult to achieve using economic photolithography technologies due to low resolutions and limited process windows of diverse subwavelength structures. These hurdles can be overcome by photomask sizing or reshaping, also known as optical proximity correction (OPC). However, the lithographic simulators critical to model-based OPC require precise calibration and have not yet been specifically developed for metasurface patterning. Here, we demonstrate an accurate lithographic model based on Hopkin's image formulation and fully convolutional networks (FCN) to control the critical dimension (CD) patterning of a near-infrared (NIR) metalens through a distributed OPC flow using i-line photolithography. The lithographic model achieves an average ΔCD/CD = 1.69% due to process variations. The model-based OPC successfully produces the 260 nm CD in a metalens layout, which corresponds to a lithographic constant k1 of 0.46 and is primarily limited by the resolution of the photoresist. Consequently, our fabricated NIR metalens with a diameter of 1.5 mm and numerical aperture (NA) of 0.45 achieves a measured focusing efficiency of 64%, which is close to the calculated value of 69% and among the highest reported values using i-line photolithography.

Acute recurrent rhabdomyolysis in a Chinese boy associated with a novel compound heterozygous LPIN1 variant: a case report.

BACKGROUND: LPIN1-related acute recurrent rhabdomyolysis (RM), first reported in 2008, is an autosomal recessive inherited metabolic disease. In recent years, LPIN1 gene variants have been identified as one of the main causes of severe RM in children in Western countries. The disease is extremely rare in China, and we report a case of acute recurrent RM caused by a novel compound heterozygous LPIN1 variant. CASE PRESENTATION: A 15-year-old Chinese boy presented with myalgia after strenuous exercise, accompanied by transient increases in serum creatine kinase and myoglobin and persistent hyperuricaemia and hyperbilirubinaemia. Genetic analysis using high-throughput genomic sequencing and Sanger sequencing revealed that there was a compound heterozygous variant in the LPIN1 gene of the proband: the paternal c.2047A > G(p.I683V) was an unreported missense variant, and the maternal c.2107_2108 insAGG(p.Q703delin sQE) was an unreported in-frame variant. CONCLUSIONS: In children with RM, LPIN1 variants should always be considered in the differential diagnosis. The clinical features of our case are atypical, which highlights the importance of an accurate diagnosis by genetic testing. If detected early, the condition may be controlled, and the prognosis may be improved.

Detecting protagonists and antagonists in the voice quality of American cartoon characters: a quantitative LTAS-based analysis.

The voices of heroes and villains in cartoons contribute to their uniqueness and helps shape how we perceive them. However, not much research has looked at the acoustic properties of character voices and the possible contributions these have to cartoon character archetypes. We present a quantitative examination of how voice quality distinguishes between characters based on their alignment as either protagonists or antagonists, performing Principal Component Analysis (PCA) on the Long-term Average Spectra (LTAS) of concatenated passages of the speech of various characters obtained from four different animated cartoons. We then assessed if the categories of "protagonists" and "antagonists" (determined via an a priori classification) could be distinguished using a classification algorithm, and if so, what acoustic characteristics could help distinguish the two categories. The overall results support the idea that protagonists and antagonists can be distinguished by their voice qualities. Support Vector Machine (SVM) analysis yielded an average classification accuracy of 96% across the cartoons. Visualisation of the spectral traits constituting the difference did not yield consistent results but reveals a low-versus-high frequency energy dominance pattern segregating antagonists and protagonists. Future studies can look into how other variables might be confounded with voice quality in distinguishing between these categories.

Ensemble coding of memory strength in recognition tests.

Recent work by Benjamin and colleagues (Psychological Review, 116 (1), 84-115, 2009; Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 39(5), 1601-1608, 2013) suggests that recognition memory decisions are corrupted by random variability in decision criteria. This conclusion, which explains several anomalies in the recognition literature, was based on fits of the Noisy Decision Theory of Signal Detection (NDT) to a novel task: ensemble recognition. In the ensemble task, participants make Old/New decisions to ensembles of items rather than single items. The NDT assumption that criteria are fixed across ensembles was criticized by Kellen, Klauer, and Singmann (Psychological Review, 119 (3), 457-479, 2012), and defended by Benjamin (Psychological Review, 120, 720-726, 2013). Little attention, however, has been paid to the assumption of the best-fitting NDT model that participants solve the ensemble task by calculating the average memory strength of items in the probe display. We review evidence of summary statistical representation in visual perception and short-term memory that suggests the aggregation hypothesis is plausible, and hold it up to test in three experiments using the direct ratings procedure. Although we conclude that participants can produce estimates of average probe memory strength at test, in line with the assumptions of NDT, the mechanisms and strategies used to produce such estimates remain unclear.

Unstable mean context causes sensitivity loss and biased estimation of variability.

A recent study has suggested that statistical representations of ensemble objects may provide contextual stability to facilitate perception. The present study investigated whether facilitating such perception occurs in the extraction of variability information and how the stability of context mean values influences variability perception. We designed two tasks in which participants directly judged the variability of stimuli. In Experiment 1, we manipulated both the stability of the mean values and the exposure time to observe the time course of stability facilitation. In Experiment 2, we decomposed the stability of the context mean values into between-trials and within-trial levels to further investigate the mechanism of such facilitation. The results revealed that stable mean contexts do facilitate variability perception. In particular, unstable long-term mean context causes loss of sensitivity to variability whereas response bias is determined by the interaction between long-term and transient mean stability.

[Protective effect of tadalafil against ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (tadalafil) on the testis following testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. METHODS: Eighty-four healthy adult male SD rats were randomly and equally divided into groups A (sham operation), B (testicular torsion + low-dose tadalafil), C (testicular torsion + high-dose tadalafil), and D (testicular torsion + placebo). Models were established in the latter three groups by 7200 torsion of the right testis for 2 hours. The animals in groups A and B were treated by gavage with tadalafil at the dose of 0. 5 mg per kg per day, those in group C at 2 mg per kg per day, and those in group D with saline at the same dose. After 3, 7, and 14 days of treatment, the torsioned testes were harvested for evaluation of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the testis tissue. The pathological changes in the testis were observed under the light microscope. RESULTS: At 3, 7, and 14 days, the SOD activity was (254.46 +/- 7.43), (278.49 +/- 8.33), and (317.99 +/- 3.31) nU/mg prot in group B, and (277.12 +/- 8.80), (309.40 +/- 2.14), and (320.39 +/- 4.72) nU/mg prot in group C, all obviously higher than in D ([223.21 +/- 4.65], [231.45 +/- 4.16] and [248.28 +/- 5.74] nU/mg prot), while the MDA content was lower in the former two groups than in the latter. At 3 and 7 days, the SOD activity was significantly higher and the MDA level significantly lower in group C than in B (both P < 0.01) , while at 14 days, neither showed any remarkable differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). No obvious histopathological change was observed in the testis tissue of group A. At 3 and 7 days, pathological examination of the testis tissue revealed significant differences in the number of seminiferous epithelial layers, testicular histological score, and seminiferous tubule diameter in group B (P < 0.01), but the three indexes at 14 days in group B and at 7 days in group C exhibited no remarkable differences from those at 14 days in group A. CONCLUSION: Tadalafil can alleviate testicular ischemia-reperfusion injury following testis torsion/detorsion in a time- and dose-dependent manner.

Photoluminescent Transparent Wood with Excellent UV-Shielding Function.

At present, light transmission, energy saving, environmental protection, and UV-shielding materials are very important for optimizing indoor living environment. Here, a fluorescent transparent wood (FTW) with UV-shielding function was prepared by encapsulating a carbon quantum dot and epoxy resin into a delignification wood template. FTW exhibits excellent optical transmittance (about 91%), water absorption stability (weight gain rate less than 9%), longitudinal tensile strength (139 MPa), and UV-shielding properties. Due to the photoluminescence characteristics of the carbon quantum dot and the natural cellulose skeleton of wood, FTW can show uniform luminescence under ultraviolet lamps. At the same time, it has remarkable UV-shielding performance. This kind of photoluminescent transparent wood with a UV-shielding function also has the potential to be applied to fields such as electromagnetic shielding and harmful gas detection.

Effect of viral hepatitis on type 2 diabetes: A Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: The effects of viral hepatitis (VH) on type 2 diabetes (T2D) remain controversial. AIM: To analyze the causal correlation between different types of VH and T2D using Mendelian randomization (MR). METHODS: Single nucleotide polymorphisms of VH, chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and T2D were obtained from the BioBank Japan Project, European Bioinformatics Institute, and FinnGen. Inverse variance weighted, MR-Egger, and weighted median were used to test exposure-outcome associations. The MR-Egger intercept analysis and Cochran's Q test were used to assess horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity, respectively. Leave-one-out sensitivity analysis was used to evaluate the robustness of the MR analysis results. RESULTS: The MR analysis showed no significant causal relationship between VH and T2D in Europeans [odds ratio (OR) = 1.028; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.995-1.062, P = 0.101]. There was a negative causal association between CHB and T2D among East Asians (OR = 0.949; 95%CI: 0.931-0.968, P < 0.001), while there was no significant causal association between CHC and T2D among East Asians (OR = 1.018; 95%CI: 0.959-1.081, P = 0.551). Intercept analysis and Cochran's Q test showed no horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity (P > 0.05). Sensitivity analysis showed that the results were robust. CONCLUSION: Among East Asians, CHB is associated with a reduced T2D risk, but this association is limited by HBV load and cirrhosis. Although VH among Europeans and CHC among East Asians are not associated with the risk of T2D, focusing on blood glucose in patients with CHC is still relevant for the early detection of T2D induced by CHC-mediated pathways of hepatic steatosis, liver fibrosis, and cirrhosis.

Rigid covalent organic frameworks with thiazole linkage to boost oxygen activation for photocatalytic water purification.

Owing to their capability to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) under solar irradiation, covalent organic frameworks (COFs) with pre-designable structure and unique architectures show great potentials for water purification. However, the sluggish charge separation, inefficient oxygen activation and poor structure stability in COFs restrict their practical applications to decontaminate water. Herein, via a facile one-pot synthetic strategy, we show the direct conversion of reversible imine linkage into rigid thiazole linkage can adjust the π-conjugation and local charge polarization of skeleton to boost the exciton dissociation on COFs. The rigid linkage can also improve the robustness of skeleton and the stability of COFs during the consecutive utilization process. More importantly, the thiazole linkage in COFs with optimal C 2p states (COF-S) effectively increases the activities of neighboring benzene unit to directly modulate the O2-adsorption energy barrier and improve the ROS production efficiency, resulting in the excellent photocatalytic degradation efficiency of seven toxic emerging contaminants (e.g. degrading ~99% of 5 mg L-1 paracetamol in only 7 min) and effective bacterial/algal inactivation performance. Besides, COF-S can be immobilized in continuous-flow reactor and in enlarged reactor to efficiently eliminate pollutants under natural sunlight irradiation, demonstrating the feasibility for practical application.

Efficacy and safety of Xileisan combined with mesalazine for ulcerative colitis: A meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis.

BACKGROUND: The benefits and risks of Xileisan (XLS) in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC) remain unclear. AIM: The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of XLS and mesalazine when treating UC. METHODS: We searched eight databases for clinical trials evaluating the combination of XLS and mesalazine in the treatment of UC, up to January 2024. Meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis (TSA) were performed using Revman 5.3 and TSA 0.9.5.10 beta, respectively. RESULTS: The present study included 13 clinical studies involving 990 patients, of which 501 patients received XLS combined with mesalazine while 489 patients received mesalazine alone. The meta-analysis showed that, in terms of efficacy, the combination of XLS and mesalazine significantly improved the clinical efficacy rate by 22% [risk ratio (RR) = 1.22; 95%CI: 1.15-1.28; P < 0.00001] and mucosal improvement rate by 25% (RR = 1.25; 95%CI: 1.12-1.39; P = 0.0001), while significantly reducing the duration of abdominal pain by 2.25 days [mean difference (MD) = -2.25; 95%CI: -3.35 to -1.14; P < 0.0001], diarrhea by 2.06 days (MD = -2.06; 95%CI: -3.92 to -0.20; P = 0.03), hematochezia by 2.32 days (MD = -2.32; 95%CI: -4.02 to -0.62; P = 0.008), tumor necrosis factor alpha by 16.25 ng/mL (MD = -16.25; 95%CI: -20.48 to -12.01; P < 0.00001), and interleukin-6 by 14.14 ng/mL (MD = -14.14; 95%CI: -24.89 to -3.39; P = 0.01). The TSA indicated conclusiveness in the meta-analysis of the efficacy endpoints. In terms of safety, the meta-analysis revealed that the combination of XLS and mesalazine did not increase the occurrence of total and gastrointestinal adverse events, abdominal distension, and erythema (P > 0.05). The TSA showed non conclusive findings in the meta-analysis of the safety endpoints. Harbord's test showed no publication bias (P = 0.734). CONCLUSION: Treatment with XLS alleviated the clinical symptoms, intestinal mucosal injury, and inflammatory response in patients with UC, while demonstrating good safety.