Objective To determine the changes in serum and urine vitamin D binding protein ( VDBP) concentrations in type 2 diabetes, and to explore the clinical significance. Methods The serum and urine VDBP concentrations in 102 healthy individuals and 106 type 2 diabetic patients were determined by ELISA. For analysis and comparison, 106 type 2 diabetic patients were divided into imperfect glycemic control subgroup and perfect glycemic control subgroup, microalbuminuria subgroup and normal albuminuria subgroup. Results The cut-off point of serum VDBP concentrations was 60. 6 μg/ ml and the cut-off point of the urine ratio of VDBP and creatinine was 7. 76 mg/ g, and both were determined according to the upper limit of 97. 5 % credit intervals in 110 healthy individuals. Serum VDBP concentration and the urine ratio of VDBP to creatinine in type 2 diabetic patients were significantly higher than those in the healthy individuals ( P < 0. 01 ), the imperfect glycemic control subgroup had higher serum VDBP concentrations and the urine ratio of VDBP to creatinine than those in the perfect glycemic control subgroup ( P <0. 05). The microalbuminuria subgroup had higher urine ratio of VDBP to creatinine than that in the normal albuminuria subgroup ( P<0. 01). Urine ratio of VDBP to creatinine in diagnosing early diabetic nephropathy had sensitivity of 96. 4 % , specificity of 68 % , and concordance of 83% . Conclusion Detection of serum VDBP levels has some reference value in understanding the state of diabetes. Combined determinations of urine ratio of VDBP to creatinine and ratio of albumin to creatinine have significant clinical value in the early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy.

Aim To study the pharmacodynamics of antianxietic compound prescription capsule ( ACPC ) on acute stress in rats and the influence upon the ex-pression of ERK/CREB signal pathway and brain-de-rived neurotrophic factor ( BDNF) in the cerebral cor-tex and hippocampus of rats. Methods The elevated plus maze ( EPM ) test was applied to observe the effects of ACPC on acute stress rats administered 7 d low-, medium- and high-dose ( 0. 75 , 1. 5 , 3 g · kg-1 ) . The expression of ERK/CREB signal pathway and BDNF in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of rats were studied by using Western blot method. Re-sults In EPM, high-dose of ACPC increased signifi-cantly the rat open arm time ( OT%) ( P<0 . 05 ) and the percentage of open arm entries ( OE%) ( P <0. 05). In Western blot, the medium-dose of ACPC reduced significantly p-ERK1/2 expression in hippo-campus ( P <0. 05 ) , and high-dose group decreased significantly the expression of p-ERK1/2 and p-CREB in the cortex and hippocampus of rats ( P <0. 05 ) . High-dose group increased significantly the expression of BDNF in the cortex and hippocampus of rats ( P<0. 05 , P<0. 01 ) . Conclusion ACPC has anti-anxie-ty effect in the model of EPM, and its mechanism may be related to the ERK/CREB signal pathway and in-creased BDNF expression.

This study was aimed to establish an HPLC method for simultaneous content determination of valtrate, acevaltrate, and their degradation products, which were baldrinal and 11-ethoxyviburtinal, in Valeriana jatamansi Jones. The separation and quantification of 4 constituents mentioned above were performed on an Agilent ZORBAX SB-C18 (4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm). The mobile phase consisted of water (A) - acetonitrile (B) with an optimized gradient program. The flow rate was 1 mL·min-1. The column temperature was set at 25℃. The wavelength was set at 241 nm. And the injection volume was 10μL. The results showed that among 14 different places of V. jatamansi, the 4 contents determined were different. The contents of valtrate, acevaltrate, and baldrinal in the Yunnan Baoshan Mount were the highest. And the content of 11-ethoxyviburtinal was the highest in Yunnan Dali. It was concluded that the method was with good precision, reproducibility and stability. And it was suitable for the determination of 4 valepotriates ingredients in V. jatamansi. It also provided references for the quality control and exploitation of V. jatamansi.

Objective:To investigate the clinicopathological and molecular genetic characteristics of Crohn′s disease (CD).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 52 CD patients who underwent surgical resection at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between January 2014 and June 2023. Clinical presentations and histopathological features were assessed. Whole-genome sequencing was performed on 17 of the samples, followed by sequencing and pathway enrichment analyses. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess the expression of frequently mutated genes.Results:Among the 52 patients, 34 were males and 18 were females, male-to-female ratio was 1.9∶1.0, with a median age of 45 years at surgery and 35 years at diagnosis. According to the Montreal classification, A3 (51.9%,27/52), B2 (61.5%, 32/52), and L3 (50.0%,26/52) subtypes were the most predominant. Abdominal pain and diarrhea were the common symptoms. Histopathological features seen in all 52 patients included transmural inflammation, disruption of cryptal architecture, lymphoplasmacytic infiltration, varying degrees of submucosal fibrosis and thickening, increased enteric nerve fibers and neuronal proliferation. Mucosal defects, fissure ulcers, abscesses, pseudopolyps, and adenomatous proliferation were also observed in 51 (98.1%), 38 (73.1%), 28 (53.8%), 45 (86.5%), and 28 (53.8%) cases, respectively. Thirty-one (59.6%) cases had non-caseating granulomas, and 3 (5.8%) cases had intestinal mucosal glandular epithelial dysplasia. Molecular analysis showed that 12/17 CD patients exhibited mutations in at least one mucin family gene (MUC2, MUC3A, MUC4, MUC6, MUC12, MUC17), and MUC4 was the most frequently mutated in 7/17 of cases. Immunohistochemical stains showed reduced MUC4 expression in epithelial cells, with increased MUC4 expression in the epithelial surface, particularly around areas of inflammatory cell aggregation; and minimal expression in the lower half of the epithelium.Conclusions:CD exhibits diverse clinical and pathological features, necessitating a comprehensive multidimensional analysis for diagnosis. Mutations and expression alterations in mucin family genes, particularly MUC4, may play crucial roles in the pathogenesis of CD.