OBJECTIVE: To assess the changes in the effects of cantharides after alkaline processing on proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of human lung cancer A549 cells. METHODS: Human non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells were treated with cantharis extract (CTE) from raw cantharides and alkali processed cantharis extract (ACE). The proliferation of the cells was detected with CCK-8 assay, and the cell migration and invasion were assessed using wound healing assay and Transwell assay, respectively. The expressions of MMP1 and MMP2 in the cells were detected using Western blotting, the contents of IFN-γ, IL-1β and TNF-α were measured with ELISA, and cell apoptosis was analyzed with annexinV/PI fluorescent staining. RESULTS: Both CTE and ACE significantly reduced the viability and inhibited the migration of A549 cells, and high-dose ACE produced a significantly stronger inhibitory effect on cell migration than high- dose CTE ( < 0.01). ACE showed more potent inhibitory effect than CTE on the invasion of A549 cells ( < 0.01). Both CTE and ACE inhibited the expressions of MMP1 and MMP2 and up-regulated the level of IFN-γ without significantly affecting the levels of IL-1β and TNF-α. Annexin V/PI staining showed that both CTE and ACE caused apoptosis of A549 cells, but ACE had a stronger proapoptotic effect. CONCLUSIONS Processing with sodium hydroxide can significantly improve the antitumor activity of cantharides, which inhibits the proliferation, migration and invasion of A549 cells possibly by down-regulating the expressions of MMP1 and MMP2, promoting apoptosis and increasing the level of IFN-γ.

The concentration of end-tidal carbon dioxide is one of the important indicators for evaluating whether the human respiratory system is normal.Accurately detecting of end-tidal carbon dioxide is of great significance in clinical practice.With the continuous promotion of the localization of end-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring technology,its application in clinical practice in China has become increasingly widespread in recent years.The study is based on the non-dispersive infrared method and comprehensively elaborates on the detection principle,gas sampling methods,key technologies,and technological progress of end-tidal carbon dioxide detection technology.It comprehensively introduces the current development status of this technology and provides reference for application promotion and further improvement.

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of tonifying kidney and replenishing essence on asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency and the effects of this method on the adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase （AMPK）/mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 （mTORC1） signaling pathway. MethodsSeventy-two eligible asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency treated in the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from February 2023 to January 2024 were selected and randomly assigned into an observation group and a control group， with 36 patients in each group. The observation group received oral administration of Guilu Tianjing capsules， while the control group received oral administration of L-carnitine oral solution. The treatment course lasted for 4 weeks in both groups. The observed indicators included sperm progressive motility rate （PR）， total sperm motility （PR+NP）， percentage of normal mitochondrial membrane potential （MMP）， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptom scores before and after treatment in both groups. A three-month follow-up was instituted to record the conception status of the patients’ spouses. Additionally， eight patients were randomly selected from the eligible patients in the observation group， and four healthy males with normal semen routine examination results were included as the control group for the determination of protein expression. Western blotting was conducted to assess the expression of AMPK， phosphorylated （p）-AMPK， regulatory-associated protein of mTOR （RAPTOR） and p-RAPTOR， and PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 （PINK1） in sperms from the observation group before and after treatment， as well as in the sperms of the control group. ResultsThe pregnancy rate of spouses in the observation group was 9.09% （3/33）， which was higher than that （3.33%， 1/30） in the control group. The total response rate was 84.8% （28/33） in the observation group and 66.7% （20/30） in the control group， with no statistically significant difference. After treatment， both groups were improved considering PR， PR+NP， MMP， and TCM symptom scores （P<0.01）. Moreover， the observation group exhibited more pronounced decreases in TCM symptom scores than the control group （P<0.05）， while the changes in PR， PR+NP， and MMP showed no statistical significance between groups. Compared with the control group， the asthenozoospermia group exhibited upregulations in phosphorylation levels of AMPK and RAPTOR and protein level of PINK （P<0.01）. The administration of Guilu Tianjing Capsules led to downregulations in the phosphorylation levels of AMPK and RAPTOR and protein level of PINK1 （P<0.01）. However， the protein levels of AMPK and RAPTOR demonstrated no significant difference between before and after treatment. During the study period， neither group of patients exhibited any notable adverse reactions. ConclusionGuilu Tianjing capsules can enhance the sperm motility and percentage of normal mitochondrial membrane potential in asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency by downregulating the AMPK/mTORC1 signaling pathway， lowering the protein level of PINK1， and inhibiting excessive activation of mitophagy.

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of tonifying kidney and replenishing essence on asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency and the effects of this method on the adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase （AMPK）/mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 （mTORC1） signaling pathway. MethodsSeventy-two eligible asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency treated in the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from February 2023 to January 2024 were selected and randomly assigned into an observation group and a control group， with 36 patients in each group. The observation group received oral administration of Guilu Tianjing capsules， while the control group received oral administration of L-carnitine oral solution. The treatment course lasted for 4 weeks in both groups. The observed indicators included sperm progressive motility rate （PR）， total sperm motility （PR+NP）， percentage of normal mitochondrial membrane potential （MMP）， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptom scores before and after treatment in both groups. A three-month follow-up was instituted to record the conception status of the patients’ spouses. Additionally， eight patients were randomly selected from the eligible patients in the observation group， and four healthy males with normal semen routine examination results were included as the control group for the determination of protein expression. Western blotting was conducted to assess the expression of AMPK， phosphorylated （p）-AMPK， regulatory-associated protein of mTOR （RAPTOR） and p-RAPTOR， and PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 （PINK1） in sperms from the observation group before and after treatment， as well as in the sperms of the control group. ResultsThe pregnancy rate of spouses in the observation group was 9.09% （3/33）， which was higher than that （3.33%， 1/30） in the control group. The total response rate was 84.8% （28/33） in the observation group and 66.7% （20/30） in the control group， with no statistically significant difference. After treatment， both groups were improved considering PR， PR+NP， MMP， and TCM symptom scores （P<0.01）. Moreover， the observation group exhibited more pronounced decreases in TCM symptom scores than the control group （P<0.05）， while the changes in PR， PR+NP， and MMP showed no statistical significance between groups. Compared with the control group， the asthenozoospermia group exhibited upregulations in phosphorylation levels of AMPK and RAPTOR and protein level of PINK （P<0.01）. The administration of Guilu Tianjing Capsules led to downregulations in the phosphorylation levels of AMPK and RAPTOR and protein level of PINK1 （P<0.01）. However， the protein levels of AMPK and RAPTOR demonstrated no significant difference between before and after treatment. During the study period， neither group of patients exhibited any notable adverse reactions. ConclusionGuilu Tianjing capsules can enhance the sperm motility and percentage of normal mitochondrial membrane potential in asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency by downregulating the AMPK/mTORC1 signaling pathway， lowering the protein level of PINK1， and inhibiting excessive activation of mitophagy.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） is a heterogeneous disease with insulin deficiency and insulin resistance （IR） as the main etiology and is often accompanied by complications. Volatile oil is a volatile oily liquid extracted from natural plants， which has many pharmacological effects such as regulating Qi， relieving pain， inhibiting bacteria， and reducing inflammation. In recent years， there have been numerous reports on the treatment of T2DM by natural plant volatile oil and its effective components， which has become one of the new directions in the treatment of T2DM. With natural plant essential oil and its active components as the starting point， this paper comprehensively analyzed and summarized the material basis， mechanism， and signaling pathways of essential oil in the treatment of T2DM and its complications in China and abroad in recent years， and focused on the inhibitory effect of essential oil and its active components， such as carvacrol， paeonol， and β-caryophylene， on IR to improve T2DM by protecting pancreatic β-cells， inhibiting α-glucosidase activity， regulating the abundance and diversity of intestinal microbiota， and regulating glucose transporter protein type4 （GLUT4）， adenylate 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase （AMPK）， phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt） signaling pathways to provide some references for the volatile oil intervention in T2DM and the development of new green antidiabetic drugs.