Objective: To observe the clinical effect of Shufeng Jiedu Capsule combined with Arbidol Hydrochloride Capsule in the treatment of COVID-19. Methods: From January 31, 2020 to February 11, 2020, 70 patients with COVID-19 diagnosed and treated in Bozhou people's hospital were selected. According to the different treatments, they were divided into two groups: 40 patients in combination group and 30 patients in Arbidol Hydrochloride Capsule group. Patients in both groups were given routine Arbidol Hydrochloride Capsule orally. On this basis, the combination group was given oral Shufeng Jiedu Capsule for 10 d. The antipyretic time and the disappearance time of dry cough, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, fatigue, diarrhea and other symptoms of patients in two groups were compared. The negative conversion ratio and negative conversion time of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) were also compared between two groups of patients. Results: There were significant differences in antipyretic time, the disappearance time of dry cough, nasal congestion, runny nose, pharyngeal pain, fatigue, diarrhea, and novel coronavirus negative conversion time in the combination treatment group compared with the control group (P < 0.05). The negative conversion time of combination treatment group was significantly shorter than Arbidol Hydrochloride Capsule group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The combination of Shufeng Jiedu Capsule and Arbidol Hydrochloride Capsule was better than Arbidol Hydrochloride Capsule alone in the treatment of COVID-19, which could significantly shorten the symptoms improvement time and negative conversion time of the clinical patients.

We used metabolomics to investigate the ability of a traditional Mongolian medicine called modified Tabusen-2 (MT-2) to improve kidney yang deficiency (KYD) in rats. All animal experiments were conducted under the guidance and standards of the Medical Ethics Committee of Inner Mongolia Medical University. SD rats were divided into 6 groups of six rats: a normal group, a model group, Jinkuishenqi pill administration group (1.26 g·kg^-1), and MT-2 administration in high-, medium- and low-dose groups (1.512, 0.756, and 0.378 g·kg^-1). KYD was established by intramuscular injection of hydrocortisone (HC) and biochemical indicators and clinical characterization was used to confirm that KYD was established. All groups received intragastrically administered drug (Jinkuishenqi pill or MT-2) or saline. Serum from each group was collected after 8 weeks and analyzed by UPLC-Q-exactive-MS to measure various biochemical indicators. The biomarkers affected by MT-2 were identified and the metabolic pathways of KYD regulated by MT-2 were analyzed by metabolomic analysis. The results show that MT-2 can decrease serum creatinine (Cr) in KYD rats and significantly increase (P<0.05) the content of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). In serum samples, 38 biomarkers such as corticosterone, L-phenylalanine, and DL-tryptophan were measured as possible indicators for disease development in KYD rats. MT-2 lowered 18 biomarkers of KYD, including corticosterone, deoxycorticosterone, and L-phenylalanine, and altered 13 related metabolic pathways including phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism and steroid hormone biosynthesis, resulting in an overall improvement in KYD. MT-2 appears to be important in improving KYD in rats mainly by regulating metabolites such as amino acids, steroids and lipids.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of losartan on prostatic hyperplasia in spontaneous hypertension rats (SHRs) and its pathophysiological mechanism.

METHODSWe randomly divided 36 male SHRs into three groups of equal number to be treated intragastrically with high-dose losartan (30 mg per kg per d), low-dose losartan (15 mg per kg per d) and distilled water (control group). After 6 weeks of intervention, we measured the body weight and tail artery blood pressure of the rats and compared them with the baseline data. We collected blood from the heart for determination of the levels of serum angiotensin II (Ang II), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and harvested their prostates for measurement of their weight, observation of the tissue ultrastructures under the electron microscope and detection of the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) in the prostate tissue by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the low- and high-dose losartan groups showed significant decreases in systolic blood pressure ([203.75 +/- 10.28] vs [184.54 +/- 16.90] mmHg, P = 0.013; [203.75 +/- 10.28] vs [166.88 +/- 14.74] mmHg, P = 0.001) and diastolic blood pressure ([151.58 +/- 9.96] vs [136.71 +/- 14.28] mmHg, P = 0.022; [151.58 +/- 9.96] vs [122.71 +/- 11.56] mmHg, P < 0.001) of the lower tail artery after treatment, as well as in the prostate weight ([0.73 +/- 0.08] vs [0.64 +/- 0.10] mg, P = 0.011; [0.73 +/- 0.08 ] vs [0.50 +/- 0.17] mg, P < 0.001). Electron microscopy revealed edema of the basal and columnar epithelial cells, concentrated and marginated heterochromatin and widened nuclear gap of interstitial fibroblast nuclei, and reduced mitochondria and endoplasmic reticula in the low-dose losartan group, and even more obvious in the high-dose group. The level of serum Ang II was remarkably higher in the low- and high-dose losartan groups than in the control ([61.32 +/- 2.49] vs [54.85 +/- 7.20] pg/ml, P = 0.021; [65.49 +/- 6.78] vs [54.85 +/- 7.20] pg/ml, P < 0.001]) , that of serum IGF-1 was lower in high-dose losartan than in the control group ([1.50 +/- 0.11] vs [1.60 +/- 0.10] ng/ml, P = 0.03), but the serum IL-6 levels exhibited no significant differences among the three groups. The expression of eNOS in the prostate tissue was significantly higher in the losartan groups than in the controls (P = 0.022), even higher in the high-dose than in the low-dose group.

CONCLUSIONLosartan can suppress the progression of prostate hyperplasia in spontaneous hypertension rats by inhibiting RAS, IGF-1 and angiogenesis.

Angiotensin II ; blood ; Animals ; Antihypertensive Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Hypertension ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; metabolism ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Losartan ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III ; metabolism ; Prostate ; drug effects ; metabolism ; pathology ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred SHR

Objective To study the mechanism of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand(TRAIL)-induced apoptosis of glioma U87 cells.Methods Human glioma U87 cells were treated with human recombinant soluble TRAIL(rsTRAIL),and the cell apoptosis was detecmd with flow cytometry with AnnexinV-FITC/PI double staining.Flow cytometry with DiOC6 staining was used to assess the changes in mitochondrial transmembrane potential(△ψm).The relative activity of caspase-3,-8 and-9 Was measmed by colorimetric assay,and the concentration of cytoplasmic cytochrome C(cyt C) determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbem assay.The effects ofcaspase-8 inhibitor(Z-IETD-fmk)on rsTRAIL-induced apoptosis,△ψm,caspase-3,-8 and-9 activities and cyt C concentration were observed. Results RsTRAIL tinle-dependently induced apoptosis and progressive collapse of △ψm in glioma U87 cells,resulting also in caspase-3,-8 and-9activation and elevated cytC concentration.Caspase-8 inhibitor partially antagonized these biological effects induced by rsTRAIL in U87 cells.Conclusion TRAIL initiates a cascade of mitochondrial events by activating caspase-8 and induces apoptosis of glioma U87 cells.

To study the gene polymorphism of HLA-A, B, DRB1 alleles in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia and to explore the correlation of HLA with chronic myelogenous leukemia, the polymerase chain reaction-reverse sequence specific oligonucleotide (PCR-RSSO) was used to analyze the polymorphism of HLA-A, B, DRB1 alleles of 293 CML Patients and 406 randomized and synchronous blood donors (healthy and unrelated with patients) from Guangdong Han population. The results indicate that the gene frequency of HLA-A*24 in CML group was 15.53% lower than that of control group (22.09%, RR = 0.63, p = 0.005); the gene frequency of HLA-B*13 in CML group was 10.41% higher than that of control group (6.74%, RR = 1.68, p = 0.016). The gene frequency of HLA- DRB1*14 in CML group was 7.51% lower than that of control group (11.89%, RR = 0.58, p = 0.008). The differences were all statistically significant. It is concluded that the gene frequency of HLA-A*24, HLA- DRB1*14 in CML patients is significantly lower than normal people in Guangdong. The gene frequency of HLA-B*13 in CML patients is significantly higher than normal people in Guangdong. Further study is needed to make sure whether HLA-A*24 and HLA- DRB1*14 are protective gene markers for CML acquisition on Guangdong Chinese Han population and whether HLA-B*13 is a gene marker for CML susceptibility on this population.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Blood Donors ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Female ; HLA-A Antigens ; genetics ; metabolism ; HLA-A24 Antigen ; HLA-B Antigens ; genetics ; metabolism ; HLA-B13 Antigen ; HLA-DR Antigens ; genetics ; metabolism ; HLA-DRB1 Chains ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; genetics ; immunology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

Human physiological indicators have become an important standard for assessing health in modern society.Traditional detection methods often require a separate laboratory,complex operation process and long detection time,so it is urgent to develop portable,fast and accurate on-site detection technologies for bioanalysis.Point-of-care testing(POCT),which differs from traditional laboratory testing,can realize the rapid in situ detection of biomarkers without the complicated analytical process of the laboratory.Smartphones,which are an essential tool in our daily life,not only have independent operating systems and built-in storage functions,but also have high-definition cameras,which have great application potential in POCT visualization.The combination of various biosensing technologies and smartphones has developed into a new direction in the field of POCT.This review mainly introduced the research progress of smartphone-based visual biosensors in POCT in recent years,including colorimetric sensors,fluorescence sensors,chemiluminescence sensors and electrochemiluminescence sensors.Finally,the problems faced by smart-phone-based visual biosensors in the application of POCT were summarized,and their future development was prospected.

OBJECTIVE: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common endocrine-metabolic dysfunction in reproductive-aged women, may be involved in compromised pregnancy and offspring outcomes. This study aimed to investigate whether maternal PCOS affects fetal growth, fetal development, and placental features. METHODS: This retrospective case-control study included 60 pregnant women with PCOS (PCOS group) and 120 healthy pregnant women without PCOS (control group). Fetal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed followed by an ultrasound examination and indications for imaging, including known or suspected fetal pathology, history of fetal abnormality in previous pregnancy or in a family member, and concern for placenta accreta. Fetal MRI images were analyzed for head circumference (HC), abdomen circumference (AC), lung-to-liver signal intensity ratio (LLSIR, a prenatal marker of fetal lung maturity), lengths of liver and kidney diameters in fetuses, and placental relative signal intensity on T2-weighted single-shot fast spin echo (SSFSE) imaging (rSI RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the PCOS group showed the following characteristics: (1) smaller biparietal diameter and femur length in fetuses (P=0.026 and P=0.005, respectively), (2) smaller HC in fetuses (evident after 32 weeks; P=0.044), (3) lower LLSIR and smaller dorsoventral length of liver in fetuses (evident before 32 weeks; P=0.005 and P=0.019, respectively), and (4) smaller placental thickness (evident before 32 weeks; P=0.017). No significant differences in placental rSI CONCLUSIONS There exist alterations of fetal growth, fetal development, and placental features from women with PCOS.

The postmortem interval (PMI) estimation is a key and difficult point in the practice of forensic medicine, and forensic scientists at home and abroad have been searching for objective, quantifiable and accurate methods of PMI estimation. With the development and combination of high-throughput sequencing technology and artificial intelligence technology, the establishment of PMI model based on the succession of the microbial community on corpses has become a research focus in the field of forensic medicine. This paper reviews the technical methods, research applications and influencing factors of microbial community in PMI estimation explored by using high-throughput sequencing technology, to provide a reference for the related research on the use of microbial community to estimate PMI.
Humans ; Postmortem Changes ; Artificial Intelligence ; Autopsy ; Cadaver ; Microbiota