OBJECTIVES: To analyze the differentially expressed exosomal miRNAs in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) complicated by hyperuricemia (HUA) and explore their potential as novel diagnostic molecular markers and their target genes. METHODS: This study was conducted among 30 CHF patients with HUA (observation group) and 30 healthy volunteers (control group) enrolled between September, 2020 and September, 2023. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 6 CHF patients with HUA for analyzing exosomal miRNAs by high-throughput sequencing, and the results were validated in the remaining 24 patients using qRT-PCR. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed to predict the the target genes of the identified differential miRNAs. We also validated the differentially expressed miRNAs by animal experiment. RESULTS: A total of 42 differentially expressed exosomal miRNAs were detected in observation group by high-throughput sequencing; among them, miR-27a-5p was significantly upregulated (P=0.000179), and miR-139-3p was significantly downregulated (P=0.000058). In the 24 patients with both CHF and PUA, qRT-PCR validated significant upregulation of miR-27a-5p (P=0.004) and downregulation of miR-139-3p (P=0.005) in serum exosomes. When combined, miR-27a-5p and miR-139-3p had a maximum area under the curve (AUC) of 0.899 (95% CI: 0812-0.987) for predicting CHF complicated by HUA. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses suggested that the differential expressions of miR-27a-5p and miR-139-3p was associated with the activation of the AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway to activate the autophagic response. We obtained the same conclusion from animal experiment. CONCLUSIONS Upregulated exosomal miR-27a-5p combined with downregulated exosomal miR-139-3p expression can serve as a novel molecular marker for diagnosis of CHF complicated by HUA, and their differential expression may promote autophagy in cardiomyocytes by activating the AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway.
Humans ; Hyperuricemia/diagnosis* ; Heart Failure/genetics* ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Exosomes/metabolism* ; Chronic Disease ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Animals

OBJECTIVES: To construct a GA-BP neural network model based on the spectrum-effect relationship of Cassia seeds extract and test its performance for quality control of Cassia seeds using spectrum-effect score. METHODS: The HPLC fingerprints of Cassia seeds extract (0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 g/mL) were established. In a mouse model of 5-Fu-induced liver injury treated with 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 g/kg of Cassia seeds extract, the pharmacodynamics parameters were measured to calculate the comprehensive efficacy using AHP-EWM. A GA-BP neural network model between the fingerprints and comprehensive efficacy was constructed, and the corresponding predicted comprehensive efficacy was obtained. The spectrum-effect relationship between the fingerprints and the measured and predicted comprehensive efficacy was established using grey correlation method followed by Gaussian fitting analysis. The spectral efficiency score was calculated using the relative peak area of the fingerprints and the correlation degree of the spectral efficiency. The reliability of the data was tested using the Z-ratio score method. The limit range of the spectral efficiency score was determined and the quality of the verification samples was evaluated. RESULTS: The error between the predicted value using the GA-BP neural network model and the measured value of the comprehensive efficacy was less than 0.2. Gaussian fitting analysis showed good fitting between the spectrum-effect relationship data of the measured and predicted comprehensive efficacy. The limit of the spectral efficiency score was 6.16-7.30. The prediction results for each verification group were consistent with the experimental results and within the limit of spectral efficiency score, and the results of Z-ratio score analysis demonstrated good data reliability. CONCLUSIONS The GA-BP neural network model can effectively predict the comprehensive efficacy of Cassia seeds extract, and the established spectrum-effect scoring method can be used for quality evaluation of samples.
Neural Networks, Computer ; Animals ; Seeds/chemistry* ; Mice ; Cassia/chemistry* ; Quality Control ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Plant Extracts/pharmacology* ; Male

OBJECTIVE To summarize the clinical characteristics and diagnosis and treatment experiences in dealing with non-severe Chlamydia psittaci pneumonia.METHODS The clinical data were collected from 34 patients who were diagnosed with non-severe C.psittaci pneumonia through quantitative polymerase chain reactiong(qPCR)for sputum in fever clinic of the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from Mar.2023 to Mar.2024 and were retrospectively analyzed.The clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes were evaluated.RESULTS The average age of the patients was(44.82±13.74)years old,the ratio of male to female was 1∶1.83;all of the patients had fever;major symptoms were cough(70.59％),pharyngodynia(44.12％),and flu-like symptoms(41.18％);82.35％of the patients had the history of contact with poultry.The C-reactive pro-tein(CRP)level,interleukin-6(IL-6),systemic inflammatory response index(SIRI)and aggregate index of sys-temic inflammation(AISI)were higher among the patients aged no less than 44 years old than among the patients less than 44 years old(P＜0.05);the percentage of lymphocytes of the patients aged no less than 44 years old was lower than that of the patients aged less than 44 years old(P＜0.05).As for the imaging findings,73.53％of the patients had consolidation shadows,26.47％had ground-glass opacities,and 32.35％involved both lungs.All of the patients received quinolones or tetracyclines for treatment of 7-14 days and all symptoms relieved.CT reexami-nated 1 month after the treatment showed that 55.88％of the cases had complete absorption of pulmonary infec-tious lesions,and 35.29％had partial absorption.CONCLUSIONS The patients with non-severe Chlamydia psitta-ci pneumonia are characterized by the history of contact with poultry,fever complicated with respiratory tract symptoms,rise of inflammatory markers(more significant among patients of advanced age)and lower lobe con-solidation shadow/ground-glass opacities.Early identification and standardized treatment may facilitate the favora-ble treatment outcomes.

The production of healthy agricultural products has increased the demand for innovative and sustainable plant protection technologies, and the rapid advancement of nanotechnology has brought revolutionary breakthroughs to traditional agriculture. Nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems can not only significantly improve the utilization efficiency of pesticides, achieving enhanced efficacy and reduced application, but also decrease the pesticide residues and environmental pollution. Additionally, they have made breakthrough progress in the stability and persistence of RNA pesticides. This review summarized the research progress on nanopesticides and RNA pesticides, focusing on the mechanisms of nanocarriers in improving pesticide bioactivity and RNA interference (RNAi) efficiency. It also systematically summarized the types of nanomaterials and their applications in pest and disease management and provided an in-depth outlook for the future development of nanopesticides and RNA pesticides, which provided technical support for the high-quality development of agriculture in the future.
Pesticides/chemistry* ; Nanotechnology ; Nanostructures ; RNA ; Agriculture/methods* ; RNA Interference ; Drug Delivery Systems

Objective : Based on glycolysis of hypoxia inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α)/Bcl2/adenovirus E1B interacting protein 3(BNIP3) pathway, to study the mechanism of oxygen-induced retinal angiogenesis in neonatal mice. Methods : Human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVECs) were divided into normoxic group, hypoxia+si-NC group, hypoxia +si-HIF-1α group and hypoxia+si-HIF-1α+BNIP group. In normoxic group, HUVECs were exposed to normoxic(21% O2) and cultured. Hypoxia +si-NC group, hypoxia +si-HIF-1α group and hypoxia +si-HIF-1α+BNIP3 group were treated with si-NC, si-HIF-1α or si-HIF-1α combined with BNIP3 plasmid for 36 h, and then exposed to hypoxia(1% O2) for culture. The autophagy, glycolysis, proliferation, migration and tube formation of mitochondria were investigated by immunofluorescence, metabolic measurement, cell viability, scratch experiment and tube formation experiment. On the 7th day after birth, C57BL/6J mice were randomly assigned to different treatment groups: control group, oxygen-induced retinopathy(OIR) group, OIR+si-HIF-1α group and OIR+si-BNIP group. The neovascularization and vascular occlusion were measured. Results: Compared with normoxic group, the rate of LC3+MitoTracker+ spots, glucose uptake and lactic acid release in HUVECs in hypoxia +si-NC group increased significantly(P<0.001). Compared with hypoxia +si-NC group, the rate of LC3+MitoTracker+ spots, glucose uptake and lactic acid release in HUVECs in hypoxia +si-HIF-1α group decreased significantly(P<0.01). Compared with normoxic group, the proliferation activity of HUVECs in hypoxia +si-NC group decreased significantly(P<0.05), and the wound healing area and the number of tubes formed increased significantly(P<0.01). Compared with hypoxia+si-NC group, the proliferation activity of HUVECs in hypoxia +si-HIF-1α group decreased significantly at the 24th, 48th and 72th hours of culture(P<0.05), and the wound healing area and the number of tubes formed decreased significantly(P<0.001). Overexpression of BNIP3 reversed the effects of HIF-1α knock-down on mitochondrial autophagy, glycolysis and biological function. Compared with OIR group, the neovascularization and vascular occlusion areas in retina of mice in OIR+si-HIF-1α group and OIR+si-BNIP3 group reduced significantly(P<0.05). Conclusion HIF-1α/BNIP3 signaling pathway promotes mitochondrial autophagy activation in HUVECs under hypoxia, which plays an important role in controlling endothelial function and angiogenesis.

Medical device related infections caused by bacteria are common complications in clinical practice,and preventing bacterial colonization on the surface of medical materials is one of the important challenges in the medical field.Therefore,there is an urgent need to construct medical coatings that combine antibacterial properties and biocompatibility.In this study,a γ-polyglutamic acid(γ-PGA)complex with long-chain alkyl quaternary ammonium salts formed by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions was prepared,which was insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents(e.g.,ethanol),and was capable of constructing antimicrobial coatings on the surfaces of medical materials in a simple and efficient manner.The bactericidal effect of the coating was verified using viable bacteria counting experiments,and the results showed that the bactericidal rate of the coated thermoplastic polyurethane(TPU)membrane against Staphylococcus aureus was greater than 99.9%compared with that of the uncoated TPU membrane.In addition,a cytotoxicity assay was performed using the L929 fibroblast and cell proliferation detection kit(CCK-8),which showed that the survival rate of L929 fibroblasts on coated TPU was greater than 90%.Meanwhile,the hemolysis rate of coated erythrocytes was tested using fresh rabbit red blood cells(RBCs),and the hemolysis rate on the coated TPU surface was 1.5%.The above results indicated that the coating had good biocompatibility.The preparation method of medical antibacterial coating reported in this study provided a new idea for preventing bacterial infections related to implantable/interventional medical devices.

Aerosol-assisted plasma amplification laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS)was employed for phosphorus detection in water.To address the multivariate coupling effects in LIBS and nebulization sampling system,an orthogonal experiment was employed to systematically optimize the key experimental parameters.Using the orthogonal experimental design,the parametric effects of laser energy(output voltage),signal acquisition delay,liquid velocity,and gas velocity on the signal to background ratio(SBR)of P I 213.618 nm were evaluated,and the optimal conditions were achieved,including laser energy of 86 mJ,delay time of 3 μs,gas velocity of 1.05 mL/min,and liquid velocity of 60 μL/min,which were in agreement with the control-variable optimization results.Moreover,the SBR response trends at P I 213.618 nm with all experimental parameters was strong in consistency with control-variable optimization results,which demonstrated the validity of the orthogonal array experimental design.This study established an efficient and accurate parameter optimization methodology for complex LIBS systems,significantly advancing the application of LIBS in environmental monitoring.