ObjectiveTo observe the clinical effectiveness of horticultural therapy involving the planting of Chinese medicinal herbs （mint and lily potted plants） combined with intradermal needling therapy for generalized anxiety disorder （GAD） of liver depression transforming into fire syndrome under transcranial magnetic stimulation and basic psychological therapy， and to explore the possible mechanisms of action. MethodsA total of 180 patients with GAD of liver depression transforming into fire syndrome were randomly divided into three groups， horticultural therapy group， intradermal needling group， and horticultural therapy+intradermal needling group， with 60 patients in each. All groups received basic treatment including basic psychological therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation. The horticultural therapy group received horticultural therapy in addition to the basic treatment； the intradermal needling group received intradermal needling therapy once a week for 8 weeks in addition to the basic treatment； the horticultural therapy+intradermal needling group received both horticultural therapy and intradermal needling therapy， following the same procedures and duration. Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale （HAMA）， Self-Rating Anxiety Scale （SAS）， and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI） scores were assessed at baseline and after 2， 4， 6， and 8 weeks of treatment. Serum levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone （ACTH） and corticosterone （CORT） were measured before treatment and after 8 weeks of treatment. Motor-evoked potential （MEP） baseline levels were recorded before treatment， and MEP amplitude ratios were compared after 1 week and 8 weeks of treatment. Clinical effectiveness and safety were evaluated after 8 weeks of treatment. Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between serum ACTH and CORT levels， MEP amplitude， and anxiety. ResultsIn the horticultural therapy group and intradermal needling group， HAMA， SAS and PSQI scores after 4， 6， and 8 weeks treatment were lower than baseline scores （P＜0.05）. In the horticultural therapy+intradermal needling group， these scores showed a significant decline starting after 2 weeks treatment and continuing through 8 weeks after treatment （P＜0.05）. The HAMA， SAS， and PSQI scores in the horticultural therapy+intradermal needling group were significantly lower than those in the other two groups after 2， 4， 6， and 8 weeks treatment （P＜0.05）. After 8 weeks of treatment， serum CORT and ACTH levels in the horticultural therapy+intradermal needling group were significantly lower than baseline levels （P＜0.05） and were also lower than those in the horticultural therapy group and intradermal needling group at the same time point （P＜0.01）. When comparing the level after 8 weeks treatment to that after 1 week treatment， under PAS10 stimulation， the MEP amplitude ratio in the intradermal needling group decreased at 30 minutes， while in the horticultural therapy+intradermal needling group， the MEP amplitude ratio decreased at all time points （P＜0.05 or P＜0.001）； under PAS25 stimulation， the MEP amplitude ratio in the horticultural therapy group increased at 20 minutes， and in the intradermal needle group at 10 minutes （P＜0.05）. In the horticultural therapy+intradermal needling group， the MEP amplitude ratio increased significantly at all time points after treatment （P＜0.001）. The cure rate in the horticultural therapy+intradermal needling group （74.14%， 43/58） was significantly higher than that in the horticultural therapy group （30.00%， 18/60） and the intradermal needling group （48.28%， 28/58， P＜0.05）. Correlation analysis revealed that serum ACTH and CORT levels were positively correlated with HAMA scores （r = 0.488， P＜0.01； r = 0.428， P＜0.01）. Following PAS10 intervention， the MEP amplitude ratio was positively correlated with HAMA scores （r = 0.458， P＜0.01）， whereas after PAS25 intervention， the MEP amplitude ratio was negatively correlated with HAMA scores （r = -0.562， P＜0.01）. ConclusionHorticultural therapy combined with intradermal needling treatment， under transcranial magnetic stimulation and basic psychological therapy， demonstrates significant clinical effectiveness in patients with GAD of liver depression transforming into fire syndrome. Its mechanism of action may be related to the regulation of hyperactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal （HPA） axis and the reduction of cortical excitability.

[Objective] To explore the relationship between neutrophil activation under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and the incidence of cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CS-AKI). [Methods] This prospective cohort study enrolled adult patients who scheduled for cardiac surgery under CPB at West China Hospital between May 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023. The primary outcome was acute kidney injury (AKI). Blood samples (5 mL) were obtained from the central vein before surgery, at rewarming, at the end of CPB, and 24 hours after surgery. Neutrophils were labeled with CD11b, CD54 and other markers. To assess the effect of neutrophils activation on AKI, propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to equilibrate covariates between the groups. [Results] A total of 120 patients included into the study, and 17 (14.2%) developed AKI. Both CD11b⁺ and CD54⁺ neutrophils significantly increased during the rewarming phase and the increases were kept until 24 hours after surgery. During rewarming, the numbers of CD11b⁺ neutrophils were significantly higher in AKI compared to non-AKI (4.71×10⁹/L vs 3.31×10⁹/L, Z=-2.14, P<0.05). Similarly, the CD54⁺ neutrophils counts were also significantly higher in AKI than in non-AKI before surgery (2.75×10⁹/L vs 1.79×10⁹/L, Z=-2.99, P<0.05), during rewarming (3.12×10⁹/L vs 1.62×10⁹/L, Z=-4.34, P<0.05), and at the end of CPB (4.28×10⁹/L vs 2.14×10⁹/L, Z=-3.91, P<0.05). An analysis of 32 matched patients (16 in each group) revealed that CD11b⁺ and CD54⁺ neutrophil levels of AKI were 1.74 folds (4.83×10⁹/L vs 2.77×10⁹/L, Z=-2.72, P<0.05) and 2.34 folds (3.32×10⁹/L vs 1.42×10⁹/L, Z=-4.12, P<0.05), respectively, of non-AKI at rewarming phase. [Conclusion] Neutrophils are activated during CPB, and they can be identified by CD11b/CD54 markers. The activated neutrophils of AKI patients are approximately 2 folds of non-AKI during the rewarming phase, with disparity reached peak between groups during rewarming. These findings suggest the removal of 50% of activated neutrophils during the rewarming phase may be effective to reduce the risk of AKI.

ObjectiveTo investigate the risk factors for pyogenic liver abscess （PLA） comorbid with sepsis by analyzing clinical features， and to construct a predictive model. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for 489 patients who were hospitalized and diagnosed with PLA in The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from January 2019 to December 2023， and according to the presence or absence of sepsis， they were divided into sepsis group with 306 patients and non-sepsis group with 183 patients. Related data were collected， including general information， laboratory markers， and outcome measures. The patients were further divided into a training set of 342 patients and a validation set of 147 patients at a ratio of 7∶3， and the training set was used for screening of variables and construction of a predictive model， while the validation set was used to test the performance of the model. An LASSO regression analysis was used for the screening of variables， and a multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to construct the predictive model and plot a nomogram. The calibration curve， the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve， and the decision curve analysis were used for the validation of the model， and internal validation was performed for assessment. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups， and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups； the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical variables between groups. ResultsThere were significant differences between the sepsis group and the non-sepsis group in pulse rate， mean arterial pressure， duration pf symptoms， comorbidity of liver cirrhosis or malignant tumor， leukocyte count， neutrophil count， lymphocyte count， platelet count （PLT）， activated partial thromboplastin time， fibrinogen， C-reactive protein， aspartate aminotransferase， alanine aminotransferase， albumin， total bilirubin （TBil）， creatinine， potassium， and prognostic nutritional index （PNI） （all P<0.05）. In the training set， the LASSO regression analysis identified four predictive factors of pulse rate， PLT， TBil and PNI， and the multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that pulse rate （odds ratio ［OR］=1.033， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 1.006‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.061， P=0.018）， PLT （OR=0.981， 95%CI： 0.975‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.987， P<0.001）， TBil （OR=1.086， 95%CI： 1.053‍ ‍—‍ ‍1.125， P<0.001）， and PNI （OR=0.935， 95%CI： 0.882‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.988， P=0.019） were independent influencing factors for the risk of sepsis in patients with PLA. The model constructed based on these factors showed a good predictive ability， with an area under the ROC curve of 0.948 （95%CI： 0.923‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.973） in the training set and 0.912 （95%CI： 0.848‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.976） in the validation set. The decision curve analysis showed that the model has a good net benefit within the range of 0.3‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.9 for threshold probability. ConclusionThe nomogram prediction model constructed based on pulse rate， PLT， TBil， and PNI has a certain clinical value and can well predict the risk of sepsis in patients with PLA.

Ischemic stroke (IS) is a globally life-threatening disease. Presently, few therapeutic medicines are available for treating IS, and rt-PA is the only drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US. In fact, many agents showing excellent neuroprotection but no blood flow-improving activity in animals have not achieved ideal clinical efficacy, while thrombolytic drugs only improving blood flow without neuroprotection have limited their wider application. To address these challenges and meet the huge unmet clinical need, we have designed and identified a novel compound AAPB with dual effects of neuroprotection and cerebral blood flow improvement. AAPB significantly reduced cerebral infarction and neural function deficit in tMCAO rats, pMCAO rats, and IS rhesus monkeys, as well as displayed exceptional safety profiles and excellent pharmacokinetic properties in rats and dogs. AAPB has now entered phase I of clinical trials fighting IS in China.

Interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) is a critical transcription factor that governs the differentiation of cluster of differentiation 4⁺ (CD4⁺) T cells. The pathogenesis and progression of psoriasis are primarily attributed to an immune imbalance stemming from the overproduction of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) by T lymphocytes. However, the role of IRF4 in psoriasis remains unexplored. In this study, we found that IRF4 activity is increased in the cutaneous lesions of patients with psoriasis in response to stimulation by IL-23A and IL-1β. This IRF4 elevation heightens its binding to the E1A binding protein p300 (EP300) promoter, triggering the transcription of downstream retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor-γt (RORγt) and increasing the secretion of IL-17A, thereby establishing the IL-1β/IL-23A-IRF4-EP300-RORC-IL-17A inflammatory cascade in psoriasis. The alleviation of imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriatic-like symptoms was achieved through the creation of a Irf4 ^-/- gene deletion mouse model and pharmacological inhibition using antisense oligonucleotides targeted for Irf4. This amelioration was accompanied by a decreased number of IL-17A-producing CD4⁺ T cells in the skin. The findings of this study suggest that IRF4 plays a crucial role in the promotion of inflammation and exacerbation of IMQ-induced psoriasiform dermatitis. Consequently, IRF4 targeting could be a promising therapeutic strategy.

Myelin is an essential structure that facilitates rapid saltatory conduction in the nervous system. Discrepancies in myelin microstructure are a hallmark of numerous neurological disorders, rendering the assessment of myelin integrity and content an indispensable tool in clinical diagnostics and neuroscience research. Extensive research has been dedicated to scrutinizing its biochemical makeup and morphology under normal, pathological, and experimental conditions over the years. In this review, we present an updated summary of the myelin sheath's structure, composition, and developmental trajectory. We systematically enumerate and contrast eight prevalent myelin staining techniques across dimensions of sensitivity, specificity, and resolution, delving into their underlying staining principles. With an initial application of myelin histology on the mouse demyelination model, our review accentuates the accurate delineation of myelination and the microstructural analysis of the myelin sheath. Such insights are anticipated to significantly contribute to the evaluation and understanding of white matter pathologies.
Myelin Sheath/metabolism* ; Animals ; Humans ; Demyelinating Diseases/pathology* ; Staining and Labeling/methods*

Objective To establish an ideal model of the mitral valve,including the left heart and blood,and study the motion characteristics of the mitral valve in blood flow using the fluid-structure interaction(FSI)simulation.Methods Based on anatomical parameters,models of the mitral valve,left heart,and blood were established.The finite-elements combined immersed boundary method was used for FSI to simulate the motion of the mitral valve using the LS-DYNA software.Morphological,mechanical,and hemodynamic parameters were compared with those obtained from structural simulations.Results The morphological results of the mitral valve from the two simulations differed significantly,and the FSI results matched the ultrasound images.The stress distributions of the leaflets in the FSI and structural simulations were consistent.The maximum first principal stresses calculated by FSI and structural simulations were 1.48 MPa and 1.53 MPa,respectively,with a relative error of 3.27％.The fluid field in the left heart was complex with vortex structures,and the maximum mitral flow velocity was 1.02 m/s during diastole,consistent with the physiological data of healthy humans(0.89±0.15 m/s).Conclusions The morphological results of the mitral valve obtained from the FSI simulation were closer to those in the physiological state.FSI simulations can provide flow patterns that are indispensable for clinical diagnosis.Structural simulations are more efficient for studying leaflet stress distribution.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Yunkang oral liquid on postpartum kidney deficiency in mice. MethodPostpartum mice were randomized into model and low-dose （6 mL·kg^-1）， medium-dose （9 mL·kg^-1）， and high-dose （12 mL·kg^-1） Yunkang oral liquid groups. The mouse model of postpartum kidney deficiency was established by sleep deprivation combined with forced swimming. Another 9 female ICR mice were selected as the normal control group. The mice were administrated with Yunkang oral liquid during the period of modeling. The levels of estradiol （E₂）， progesterone （P）， follicle-stimulating hormone （FSH）， and luteinizing hormone （LH） in the serum were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The morphological changes of ovaries and uterus were observed by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining， and the expression of transforming growth factor （TGF）-β and Smad2/3 was determined by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. ResultThe mice in the model group showed prolonged estrous cycle， reduced voluntary activity， dorsal temperature， grip strength， and bone strength， and whitening tongue coating. Compared with the model group， Yunkang oral liquid shortened the estrous cycle， increased the voluntary activity， dorsal temperature， grip strength， and bone strength， and alleviated the whitening of tongue coating. Moreover， it elevated the E₂ and P levels and lowered the FSH and LH levels in the serum， decreased ovarian follicular atresia rate， promoted uterine repair， and down-regulated the expression of TGF-β and Smad2/3 in the ovarian and uterine tissues. ConclusionYunkang oral liquid can ameliorate postpartum kidney deficiency in mice by regulating the TGF-β/Smads signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE To study material basis of Xianglian Pill(XLP)in vivo and in vitro using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technique,and to qualitatively analyze the main components of Xianglian Pill as well as the prototypical components and metabolites that were absorbed into the blood.METHODS A Thermo Accucore C18 column(2.1 mm×100 mm,2.6 μm)was used with 0.1%formic acid in water(A)-acetonitrile(B)as the mobile phase in a gradient elution mode,the column temperature was 40℃,and the flow rate was 0.4 mL·min-1 with the injection volume of 4 μL.The mass spectrometry information was collected by using the electros-pray ionization(ESI)ion source in the positive-negative ion scan mode.RESULTS By analyzing the precise relative molecular mass,retention times,secondary fragments and other mass spectrometry information of the components,and comparing them with the mass spectrometry information of the corresponding control products and relevant literature information,a total of 75 chemical compo-nents were finally identified in the extract of Xianglian Pill,including alkaloids,sesquiterpenoids,flavonoids,limonins and organic acids.In addition,16 prototypical components and 15 metabolites were identified in the plasma of the mice after the administration of the drug.Most of the prototypical components found in the plasma were alkaloids,and the metabolic pathways of these components in vivo were mainly hydroxylation,demethylation,reduction,hydrolysis,hydrogenation and glucuronidation.CONCLUSION The method can be used for the rapid identification of the external and internal components of Xianglian Pill,and its analytical results lay the foundation for further basic research on the pharmacological substances.

Objective To investigate the protective effect of the compound drug Weng-Li-Tong(WLT)against cisplatin(CDDP)-induced hepatocyte injury.Methods A cellular injury model was established by treating murine hepatocyte line BNL CL.2 with CDDP(80 μmol/L).Experimental groups were divided as follows:CDDP group(modeling only),WLT group(intervention with 1 g/L WLT),WLT+CDDP group(co-administration of CDDP and 1 g/L WLT),and a control group(normal culture).The protective effect of the compound drug WLT on CDDP-mediated hepatocyte injury was evaluated using CCK-8 assay,PI staining,crystal violet staining,Western blotting,reactive oxygen species(ROS)detection,and apoptosis analysis.Results Compared with the control group,the number of dead cells increased significantly(P＜0.001)in the CDDP group,but no cytotoxicity was observed in the WLT group.The hepatocyte morphology in the WLT+CDDP group showed improvement with no obvious shrinkage compared to the CDDP group,as evidenced by the reduced proportion of PI-positive cells.Crystal violet staining results also indicated a higher cell count in the WLT+CDDP group than in the CDDP group,suggesting the protective effect of WLT against CDDP-mediated liver injury.Under CDDP intervention,the expression of the apoptosis-related protein Cleaved Caspase-3 increased.However,in the WLT+CDDP group,the expression of Cleaved Caspase-3 decreased,while the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 increased.Additionally,compared to the CDDP group,the WLT+CDDP group showed a reduction in ROS production[DCFH-DA staining positive rate(％):56.20±1.65 vs.44.57±0.31]and a decrease in the proportion of apoptotic cells[proportion of early and late apoptotic cells(％):43.60±0.44 vs.19.57±0.78;33.30±1.02 vs.14.83±0.57].Conclusion The compound drug WLT exhibits a protective effect against CDDP-mediated hepatocyte injury,suggesting potential therapeutic value in acute liver injury models.