OBJECTIVE To study the ameliorative effect and mechanism of Forsythia suspensa-Lonicera japonica herb pair on acute lung injury （ALI） based on serum exosomal microRNA （miRNA）. METHODS The rats were randomly divided into a blank group （normal saline）， model group （nomal saline）， and F. suspensa-L. japonica herb pair group （2.55 g/kg）， with 10 rats in each group. Except for the blank group， the other groups were used to establish an ALI model by intratracheal dripping of 5 mg/ mL lipopolysaccharides. After modeling， each group was given relevant medicine/normal saline intragastrically， once a day， for 3 consecutive days. After the last medication， the pathological status of lung tissue was observed； lung wet-to-dry weight ratio and leukocyte counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid （BALF） were determined. The levels of inflammatory factors [tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， IL-10] in BALF were determined. Exosomes were isolated from rat serum， and high- throughput sequencing technology was employed to screen differentially expressed miRNA within the exosomes， followed by Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） enrichment analysis. Based on the screened differentially expressed miRNA and the enriched KEGG pathways， in vitro cellular experiments were conducted for validation. RESULTS The animal experimental results demonstrated that after intervention with the F. suspensa-L. japonica herb pair， the wet-to-dry weight ratio， the number of leukocytes in BALF， as well as the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in BALF of ALI rats were all significantly reduced （P＜0.01）， while the level of IL-10 was significantly increased （P＜0.01）. The results of high-throughput sequencing experiments revealed that the F. suspensa-L. japonica herb pair could significantly up-regulate the expressions of miR-345-3p， miR-194-5p， miR-653-5p， and others in exosomes. Among them， the KEGG pathways involved in the target genes of differentially expressed miRNA included the hypoxia-inducible factor-1（HIF-1） signaling pathway， among others. The results of cellular E-mail：huang.haiying@126.com validation experiments showed that overexpressed miR-345-3p could significantly elevate the level of IL-10 in the cell supernatant （P＜0.01）， while significantly reducing the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in the cell supernatant， as well as the mRNA and protein expression levels of protein kinase B1， phosphatidylinositol 3- kinase， and HIF-1α （P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS F. suspensa-L. japonica herb pair can alleviate inflammatory responses and thereby exert a therapeutic effect in improving ALI by up-regulating the expression of miR-345-3p in serum exosomes and inhibiting the activity of the HIF-1 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: The contraction behaviors of cardiomyocytes (CMs), especially contraction synchrony, are crucial factors reflecting their maturity and response to drugs. A wider field of view helps to observe more pronounced synchrony differences, but the accompanied greater computational load, requiring more computing power or longer computational time. METHODS: We proposed a method that directly correlates variations in optical field brightness with cardiac tissue contraction status (CVB method), based on principles from physics and photometry, for rapid video analysis in wide field of view to obtain contraction parameters, such as period and contraction propagation direction and speed. RESULTS: Through video analysis of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived CMs labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) cultured on aligned and random nanofiber scaffolds, the CVB method was demonstrated to obtain contraction parameters and quantify the direction and speed of contraction within regions of interest (ROIs) in wide field of view. The CVB method required less computation time compared to one of the contour tracking methods, the LucasKanade (LK) optical flow method, and provided better stability and accuracy in the results. CONCLUSION This method has a smaller computational load, is less affected by motion blur and out-of-focus conditions, and provides a potential tool for accurate and rapid analysis of cardiac tissue contraction synchrony in wide field of view without the need for more powerful hardware.

BACKGROUND: The contraction behaviors of cardiomyocytes (CMs), especially contraction synchrony, are crucial factors reflecting their maturity and response to drugs. A wider field of view helps to observe more pronounced synchrony differences, but the accompanied greater computational load, requiring more computing power or longer computational time. METHODS: We proposed a method that directly correlates variations in optical field brightness with cardiac tissue contraction status (CVB method), based on principles from physics and photometry, for rapid video analysis in wide field of view to obtain contraction parameters, such as period and contraction propagation direction and speed. RESULTS: Through video analysis of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived CMs labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) cultured on aligned and random nanofiber scaffolds, the CVB method was demonstrated to obtain contraction parameters and quantify the direction and speed of contraction within regions of interest (ROIs) in wide field of view. The CVB method required less computation time compared to one of the contour tracking methods, the LucasKanade (LK) optical flow method, and provided better stability and accuracy in the results. CONCLUSION This method has a smaller computational load, is less affected by motion blur and out-of-focus conditions, and provides a potential tool for accurate and rapid analysis of cardiac tissue contraction synchrony in wide field of view without the need for more powerful hardware.

BACKGROUND: The contraction behaviors of cardiomyocytes (CMs), especially contraction synchrony, are crucial factors reflecting their maturity and response to drugs. A wider field of view helps to observe more pronounced synchrony differences, but the accompanied greater computational load, requiring more computing power or longer computational time. METHODS: We proposed a method that directly correlates variations in optical field brightness with cardiac tissue contraction status (CVB method), based on principles from physics and photometry, for rapid video analysis in wide field of view to obtain contraction parameters, such as period and contraction propagation direction and speed. RESULTS: Through video analysis of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived CMs labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) cultured on aligned and random nanofiber scaffolds, the CVB method was demonstrated to obtain contraction parameters and quantify the direction and speed of contraction within regions of interest (ROIs) in wide field of view. The CVB method required less computation time compared to one of the contour tracking methods, the LucasKanade (LK) optical flow method, and provided better stability and accuracy in the results. CONCLUSION This method has a smaller computational load, is less affected by motion blur and out-of-focus conditions, and provides a potential tool for accurate and rapid analysis of cardiac tissue contraction synchrony in wide field of view without the need for more powerful hardware.

BACKGROUND: The contraction behaviors of cardiomyocytes (CMs), especially contraction synchrony, are crucial factors reflecting their maturity and response to drugs. A wider field of view helps to observe more pronounced synchrony differences, but the accompanied greater computational load, requiring more computing power or longer computational time. METHODS: We proposed a method that directly correlates variations in optical field brightness with cardiac tissue contraction status (CVB method), based on principles from physics and photometry, for rapid video analysis in wide field of view to obtain contraction parameters, such as period and contraction propagation direction and speed. RESULTS: Through video analysis of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived CMs labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) cultured on aligned and random nanofiber scaffolds, the CVB method was demonstrated to obtain contraction parameters and quantify the direction and speed of contraction within regions of interest (ROIs) in wide field of view. The CVB method required less computation time compared to one of the contour tracking methods, the LucasKanade (LK) optical flow method, and provided better stability and accuracy in the results. CONCLUSION This method has a smaller computational load, is less affected by motion blur and out-of-focus conditions, and provides a potential tool for accurate and rapid analysis of cardiac tissue contraction synchrony in wide field of view without the need for more powerful hardware.

BACKGROUND:Dysfunction of macrophage efferocytosis can induce local and systemic inflammatory damage and is associated with a variety of obesity-related metabolic diseases.Moreover,compounds targeting efferocytosis have shown good therapeutic effects. OBJECTIVE:By reviewing the effects of obesity on macrophage efferocytosis,to analyze the key mechanism by which obesity inhibits efferocytosis,to summarize the research progress in compounds targeting efferocytosis to treat obesity-related metabolic diseases,so as to provide new ideas for fully understanding efferocytosis and its relationship with metabolic diseases,aiming to provide new strategies for disease prevention and treatment. METHODS:The English search terms were"efferocytosis,metabolism,obesity,obese,atherosclerosis,non-alcoholic steatohepatitis,neurodegeneration,tumor,osteoarthritis,diabetes,compound,medicine,treatment,"which were used for literature retrieval in PubMed and Web of Science.The Chinese search term was"efferocytosis,"which was used for literature retrieval in CNKI,VIP and WanFang datebases.Ninety-nine papers were finally included in the review analysis after a rigorous screening process. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In the process of efferocytosis,the"Find me"and"Eat me"processes involving a large number of apoptotic cell derived factors are mainly regulated by apoptotic cells.The efferocytosis factor involved in cytoskeletal remodeling and digestion are mainly derived from macrophages,which are crucial for efferocytosis activity.These results suggest that the"Find me"and"Eat me"factors mainly reflect the condition of apoptosis,and it is more scientific to select the expression of factors involved in cytoskeletal remodeling and digestion when evaluating the efferocytosis activity of macrophages.Obesity inhibits efferocytosis,and shows an inhibitory effect on most digestive factors,but has a stress-induced activation effect on most"Find me,""Eat me"and cytoskeletal recombination factors,which further indicates the decisive effect of digestive stage on efferocytosis and suggests that it is not reliable for some studies to evaluate the efferocytosis based on the increased expression of"Find me"and"Eat me"factors.Targeting cytokines in the digestive phase may be more effective when discussing future intervention strategies targeting macrophages efferocytosis.The efferocytosis activators of macrophages are effective in the treatment of various metabolic diseases,but the efferocytosis inhibitors in tumor tissue show good anticancer effects,suggesting that the role of efferocytosis should be rationally evaluated according to the characteristics of tissue inflammation.Efferocytosis is a relatively new concept proposed in 2003,with a short research history and complex efferocytosis factors.Current studies on obesity and efferocytosis only involve a tip of the iceberg and most of them are at a superficial level and a large number of scientific experiments are needed to further validate the mechanisms.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the components migrating to blood and metabolites of Polygonum cuspidatum in rats with acute gouty arthritis （AGA）. METHODS SD rats were randomly divided into blank group， model group and P. cuspidatum group （10 g/kg， by raw material）， with 6 rats in each group. Except for blank group， AGA model was induced in the remaining groups by injecting potassium oxonate and sodium urate； meanwhile， they were administered corresponding drug solutions or water intragastrically， once a day， for 10 consecutive days. The histopathological morphology of the knee joint tissues in rats was observed；rat serum samples were collected， and the components migrating to blood and metabolites of P. cuspidatum were analyzed by using UPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS. RESULTS Following the intervention with P. cuspidatum， the histopathological morphology of the knee joint synovial tissue in AGA rats showed significant improvement， with reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and hyperplasia， and the preservation of the honeycomb-like structure integrity. In both positive and negative ion modes， a total of 67 chemical components were detected in the serum of rats from P. cuspidatum group， including 25 prototype components and 42 metabolites. The involved compound types encompassed stilbenes， anthraquinones， naphthols， and flavonoids， among others. The metabolic reactions identified included methylation， acetylation， sulfation， and glucuronidation. Notably， compounds such as polydatin， resveratrol and emodin were capable of entering the bloodstream in their prototype forms and undergoing in vivo metabolism. CONCLUSIONS Compounds such as polydatin， resveratrol and emodin are likely to be the active components responsible for the anti-AGA effects of P. cuspidatum.

BACKGROUND: The contraction behaviors of cardiomyocytes (CMs), especially contraction synchrony, are crucial factors reflecting their maturity and response to drugs. A wider field of view helps to observe more pronounced synchrony differences, but the accompanied greater computational load, requiring more computing power or longer computational time. METHODS: We proposed a method that directly correlates variations in optical field brightness with cardiac tissue contraction status (CVB method), based on principles from physics and photometry, for rapid video analysis in wide field of view to obtain contraction parameters, such as period and contraction propagation direction and speed. RESULTS: Through video analysis of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived CMs labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) cultured on aligned and random nanofiber scaffolds, the CVB method was demonstrated to obtain contraction parameters and quantify the direction and speed of contraction within regions of interest (ROIs) in wide field of view. The CVB method required less computation time compared to one of the contour tracking methods, the LucasKanade (LK) optical flow method, and provided better stability and accuracy in the results. CONCLUSION This method has a smaller computational load, is less affected by motion blur and out-of-focus conditions, and provides a potential tool for accurate and rapid analysis of cardiac tissue contraction synchrony in wide field of view without the need for more powerful hardware.

ObjectiveTo investigate the mechanism of Forsythiae Fructus-Lonicerae Japonicae Flos（FF） in the treatment of acute lung injury（ALI） by investigating the effects of FF on serum metabolomics of rats with ALI. MethodsThirty male SD rats were acclimated for 1 week， and 6 rats were randomly selected as the blank group. The other 24 rats were injected with lipopolysaccharide（LPS） solution by tracheal drip to establish an ALI model. After successful model establishment， the rats were randomly divided into the model group， the FF low-dose group（3.0 g·kg^-1）， the FF high-dose group（6.0 g·kg^-1）， and the dexamethasone group（5 mg·kg^-1）， with six rats in each group. The FF low- and high-dose groups and the dexamethasone group were received daily oral administration of the corresponding drug solution， and the blank group and the model group were gavaged with an equal amount of saline， treatment was administered continuously for 3 d. The pathological conditions of rat lung tissues were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining， wet/dry mass ratio（W/D） of the lung tissues， and protein concentration in rat bronchoalveolar lavage fluid（BALF）. Metabolomic analysis of rat serum was performed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS）， combined with multivariate statistical analysis， the potential biomarkers of FF in treating ALI were screened by variable importance in the projection（VIP） value>1， P<0.05 from t-test， and log₂fold change（FC）>1 or log₂FC<-1. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes（KEGG） database combined with MetaboAnalyst were used for pathway analysis of the screened differential metabolites. The protein expression levels of sphingosine-1-phosphate（S1P）， phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase（PI3K）， protein kinase B1（Akt1）， and phosphorylated Akt1（p-Akt1） were examined by Western bolt. The expression levels of interleukin（IL）-6， IL-1β， and tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α in BALF were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. ResultsCompared with the blank group， rats in the model group showed ALI pathological features such as alveolar lumen dilatation， interstitial hemorrhage and massive inflammatory cell infiltration， and the protein concentration in BALF and W/D of the lung tissues were significantly elevated（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the low- and high-dose groups of FF as well as the dexamethasone group exhibited reduced pulmonary bronchial hemorrhage in rats， and the protein concentration in BALF and W/D were significantly decreased（P<0.05）， and the lung injury was significantly alleviated. Analysis of rat serum metabolomics revealed that FF downregulated 38 biomarkers. Pathway enrichment analysis showed that FF primarily exerted therapeutic effects through 7 key metabolic pathways， including arginine biosynthesis， sphingomyelin metabolism， alanine， aspartate and glutamate metabolism， taurine and hypotaurine metabolism， α-linolenic acid metabolism， niacin and nicotinamide metabolism， and retinol metabolism. The results of Western bolt and ELISA showed that， compared with the blank group， the model group exhibited significantly elevated expression levels of S1P， PI3K， Akt1 and p-Akt1 proteins in the lung tissues， as well as increased expression levels of IL-6， IL-1β and TNF-α in BALF（P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the expression levels of the aforementioned indicators were significantly downregulated in the low- and high-dose FF groups as well as the dexamethasone group（P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionFF may play a role in ALI by regulating amino acid metabolism and lipid metabolism， and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of S1P/PI3K/Akt1 signaling pathway to attenuate the inflammatory response caused by ALI.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of acupuncture at back-shu points on patients with post-stroke tracheotomy on the basis of extracorporeal diaphragmatic pacing (EDP) combined with conventional acupuncture. METHODS: A total of 64 patients with post-stroke tracheotomy were randomly divided into an experiment group (32 cases, 2 cases dropped out) and a control group (32 cases, 2 cases dropped out). The control group received EDP combined with conventional acupuncture, acupuncture was applied at Baihui (GV20), Zhongwan (CV12) and bilateral Fengchi (GB20), Quchi (LI11), Hegu (LI4), Neiguan (PC6), Xuehai (SP10) , Yinlingquan (SP9), Sanyinjiao (SP6), Zusanli (ST36), 30 min each time. The experiment group was treated with acupuncture at bilateral Feishu (BL13), Pishu (BL20), Shenshu (BL23) on the basis of the treatment in the control group, 30 min each time. Acupuncture in both groups was given once a day, 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Before and after treatment, the pulmonary function (forced vital capacity [FVC], first second forced expiratory volume [FEV₁], peak expiratory flow [PEF], maximal inspiratory pressure [MIP], maximal expiratory pressure [MEP]), diaphragmatic thickening fraction (DTF), diaphragm excursion (DE), postural assessment scale for stroke patients (PASS) score and Berg balance scale (BBS) score were observed in the two groups. The extubation success rate was recorded in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, the FVC, FEV₁, PEF, MIP and MEP in the two groups were increased compared with those before treatment (P<0.001), and above indexes in the experiment group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.001, P<0.01). After treatment, the DTF and DE in the two groups were increased compared with those before treatment (P<0.001), the DE in the experiment group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.001). After treatment, the PASS and BBS scores in the two groups were increased compared with those before treatment (P<0.001), and the BBS score in the experiment group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.001). The extubation success rate of the experiment group was 73.3% (22/30), which was higher than 46.7% (14/30) in the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION On the basis of EDP combined with conventional acupuncture, acupuncture at back-shu points can improve the pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength, trunk control and balance abilities in patients with post-stroke tracheotomy, and increase the extubation success rate.
Humans ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Stroke/complications* ; Acupuncture Points ; Tracheotomy ; Adult ; Airway Extubation ; Treatment Outcome