OBJECTIVES: To study the significance of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃ [25-(OH)D₃] level in the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of children with immunoglobulin A vasculitis nephritis (IgAVN). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of children with IgAVN who underwent renal biopsy at Suzhou Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University and Jinling Hospital of the Medical School of Nanjing University from June 2015 to June 2020. Based on serum 25-(OH)D₃ level, the patients were divided into a normal group and a lower group. The clinicopathological characteristics and follow-up data of the two groups were collected and compared. RESULTS: A total of 359 children with IgAVN were included. Compared to the normal group (62 cases), the lower group (297 cases) exhibited higher incidences of hematochezia and gross hematuria, higher levels of serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, urinary retinol protein, urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase, and quantitative urinary protein, and a longer duration from renal biopsy to urinary protein becoming negative, as well as lower estimated glomerular filtration rate and albumin level (P<0.05). Renal pathology in the lower group showed a higher occurrence of tubular interstitial injury, crescent formation, segmental sclerosis in glomeruli, and inflammatory cell infiltration in the renal interstitium compared to the normal group (P<0.05). Survival analysis indicated that the cumulative renal survival rate was lower in the lower group (P<0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that low serum 25-(OH)D₃ level is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in children with IgAVN. CONCLUSIONS Children with IgAVN and low serum 25-(OH)D₃ level have relatively severe clinicopathological manifestations. Low serum 25-(OH)D₃ level is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in children with IgAVN.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Child ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Calcifediol/blood* ; Child, Preschool ; Adolescent ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA/mortality* ; Vasculitis/pathology* ; IgA Vasculitis/mortality*

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common respiratory emergency, but current clinical treatment remains at the level of symptomatic support and there is a lack of effective targeted treatment measures. Our previous study confirmed that inhalation of hydrogen gas can reduce the acute lung injury of ARDS, but the application of hydrogen has flammable and explosive safety concerns. Drinking hydrogen-rich liquid or inhaling hydrogen gas has been shown to play an important role in scavenging reactive oxygen species and maintaining mitochondrial quality control balance, thus improving ARDS in patients and animal models. Coral calcium hydrogenation (CCH) is a new solid molecular hydrogen carrier prepared from coral calcium (CC). Whether and how CCH affects acute lung injury in ARDS remains unstudied. In this study, we observed the therapeutic effect of CCH on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced acute lung injury in ARDS mice. The survival rate of mice treated with CCH and hydrogen inhalation was found to be comparable, demonstrating a significant improvement compared to the untreated ARDS model group. CCH treatment significantly reduced pulmonary hemorrhage and edema, and improved pulmonary function and local microcirculation in ARDS mice. CCH promoted mitochondrial peripheral division in the early course of ARDS by activating mitochondrial thioredoxin 2 (Trx2), improved lung mitochondrial dysfunction induced by LPS, and reduced oxidative stress damage. The results indicate that CCH is a highly efficient hydrogen-rich agent that can attenuate acute lung injury of ARDS by improving the mitochondrial function through Trx2 activation.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of abnormal foot arch morphology and its associated factors among primary and secondary school students in Ganzhou City, so as to provide evidence for the prevention of such abnormalities. Methods: From November 2023 to May 2024, a questionnaire was conducted among 1 013 primary and secondary school students, who were selected from one primary school and one nine year continuous school with stratified cluster random sampling method. Professional equipment, including 2D foot scanning and plantar pressure plates, was utilized to screen pupils for abnormal foot arch morphology (including flatfoot and high arched foot). The Chi square was employed for intergroup comparisons, whilst multifactorial Logistic regression analysis was utilized to investigate the associated factors for the occurrence of foot morphological abnormality of arch among students. Results: The prevalence rate of flatfoot among primary and secondary school students at 61.1%, with bilateral cases accounting for 37.5% and unilateral cases for 23.6%; the prevalence of high arched foot was 8.0%, comprising 3.9% in both feet and 4.0% in one foot. The prevalence rates of flatfoot among boys and girls were 68.7% and 53.6% respectively. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that boys had a 1.45 times higher risk of developing flatfoot compared to girls ( OR =1.45, 95% CI = 1.05- 2.02), primary and secondary students aged 6-8 and 9-10 had 4.00, 3.81 times higher risk of flatfoot respectively compared to those aged 15-16 ( OR =4.00, 3.81, 95% CI =2.18-7.36, 2.08-6.99) (all P <0.05). Compared to girls, boys had a lower risk of developing high arched foot ( OR=0.52, 95%CI =0.28-0.95), primary and secondary students who frequently corrected their sitting and standing posture also had a lower risk of high arched foot ( OR = 0.30, 95% CI =0.10-0.88) (both P <0.05). Conclusions The prevalence of abnormal foot arch morphology among primary and secondary school students is relatively high, with exercise habits, and postural behaviour identified as associated factors. It is recommended to enhance early screening and behavioural interventions for key populations, thereby advancing the prevention and correction of foot morphological abnormality of arch.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a pathological syndrome characterized by the excessive deposition of lipids in hepatocytes but not caused by alcohol and other definite liver damage factors. The pathogenesis of NAFLD is complex. When the liver is damaged, a large amount of lipids deposited in hepatocytes will induce oxidative stress injury, endoplasmic reticulum stress and metabolic disorders in hepatocytes, and immune cells further secrete inflammatory cytokines and release them into the blood, causing systemic inflammation. In the process of NAFLD, the inflammatory response plays an important role. Macrophages are the most abundant non-parenchymal cells in the liver and play an important role in liver inflammatory injury. Hepatic macrophages include liver-native and monocyte-derived macrophages, and their activation and polarization processes are involved in the different development stages of NAFLD. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound and its active compounds have been found to regulate macrophages to participate in the process of inflammation, injury and recovery of NAFLD. Based on the existing research reports, this paper elaborates the relationship between the source, activation and polarization of macrophages and NAFLD as the breakthrough point, and systematically reviews the mechanism of TCM in the prevention and treatment of NAFLD by regulating the activation, recruitment and polarization of macrophages. This paper aims to provide new ideas for the discovery of novel NAFLD candidate drugs from TCM via targeting macrophages.

Child ; Humans ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Kidney Failure, Chronic

Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic/therapy* ; Thrombotic Microangiopathies/complications*

BACKGROUND: Early fluid resuscitation is one of the fundamental treatments for acute pancreatitis (AP), but there is no consensus on the optimal fluid rate. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of aggressive vs. controlled fluid resuscitation (CFR) in AP. METHODS: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched up to September 30, 2022, for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing aggressive with controlled rates of early fluid resuscitation in AP patients without organ failure on admission. The following keywords were used in the search strategy: "pancreatitis," "fluid therapy,""fluid resuscitation,"and "randomized controlled trial." There was no language restriction. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework was used to assess the certainty of evidence. Trial sequential analysis (TSA) was used to control the risk of random errors and assess the conclusions. RESULTS: A total of five RCTs, involving 481 participants, were included in this study. For primary outcomes, there was no significant difference in the development of severe AP (relative risk [RR]: 1.87, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.95-3.68; P = 0.07; n = 437; moderate quality of evidence) or hypovolemia (RR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.32-2.97; P = 0.97; n = 437; moderate quality of evidence) between the aggressive and CFR groups. A significantly higher risk of fluid overload (RR: 3.25, 95% CI: 1.53-6.93; P <0.01; n = 249; low quality of evidence) was observed in the aggressive fluid resuscitation (AFR) group than the controlled group. Additionally, the risk of intensive care unit admission ( P = 0.02) and the length of hospital stay ( P <0.01) as partial secondary outcomes were higher in the AFR group. TSA suggested that more studies were required to draw precise conclusions. CONCLUSION: For AP patients without organ failure on admission, CFR may be superior to AFR with respect to both efficacy and safety outcomes. REGISTRATION PROSPERO; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/ ; CRD 42022363945.
Humans ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Fluid Therapy ; Hypovolemia ; Pancreatitis/therapy*

Gastrointestinal symptom clusters are a commonly observed and distressing set of symptoms in pediatric patients undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Traditional Chinese Medicine therapies hold a unique advantage and prospective application in alleviating these symptom clusters caused by chemotherapy in pediatric cancer patients. This review seeks to offer insights into the understanding of gastrointestinal symptom clusters caused by chemotherapy from both Western and Chinese medical perspectives. Moreover, it summarizes the applications of Traditional Chinese Medicine therapies in managing these symptoms, discussing the shortcomings present in existing research and potential future directions.

Glycyrrizae Radix et Rhizoma has high medicinal value and is widely used in compatibility. It is used most frequently in the compatibility of Chinese medicine prescriptions，and is known as ''Guolao''（national medicine） and "master of all medicines". The characteristic active ingredients are mainly liquitin，glycyrrizic acid，glycyrrizin，and licochalcone. In different compatibilities，based on traditional and modern pharmacological theories，the corresponding effect of Glycyrrizae Radix et Rhizoma are brought into play through different mechanisms. Based on the traditional pharmacology of Glycyrrizae Radix et Rhizoma for tonifying spleen，replenishing Qi，clearing heat，removing toxin，dispelling phlegm，relieving cough and pain，and harmonizing various medicines，this paper used herbal authentication to analyze its compatibility application and mechanism. It was found that Glycyrrizae Radix et Rhizoma played corresponding effect in compatibilities through "tonification"，"harmonization"，and "regulation". For example，Glycyrrizae Radix et Rhizoma was combined with tonics including Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma and Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma to tonify the five Zang-organs through its strong tonifying effect，combined with Paeoniae Radix Alba and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata to relieve emergencies and pains through harmonizing medicine power and properties，and combined with Rhei Radix et Rhizoma and Natrii Sulfas to reduce medicine intensity through regulating medicine properties and body characteristics. The application law and mechanism of the modern pharmacological compatibility of Glycyrrizae Radix et Rhizoma were analyzed by data mining and network pharmacology. It was found that the modern clinical formula was often compatible with Glycyrrizae Radix et Rhizoma for anti-inflammation，cardiovascular and cerebrovascular protection，anti-virus，and anti-tumor，Ephedrae Herba and Scutellariae Radix for anti-inflammation，Bambusae Caulis in Taenias，Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma，and Aurantii Fructus Immaturus for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular protection，and Ophiopogonis Radix and Chuanxiong Rhizoma for nerves protection. Meanwhile，the important targets of the characteristic ingredients were protein kinase B1 （Akt1），interleukin-6 （IL-6），tumor necrosis factor （TNF），and epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR）. The important characteristic pathways such as tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance pathway and cyclic guanosine monophosphate （cGMP）/protein kinase G （PKG） signal pathway played the role of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular protection，and proteoglycan pathway in cancer played a neuroprotective role. This study is expected to provide references for the rational compatibility and application of Glycyrrizae Radix et Rhizoma，as well as the compatibility application of Chinese medicine prescriptions.

Conventional eye treatment formulation such as eye drops has shortcomings including low drug utilization and poor patient compliance. The contact lens(CL), well-known as visual correction lens, is considered to be a more promising ophthalmic drug delivery vehicle owing to its good biocompatibility, long-term wearing comfort, prolonged drug residence time and improved bioavailability. In order to improve the drug loading efficiency and prolong the release time, researchers have developed a variety of strategies to modify traditional CL, including the introduction of vitamin E molecular barrier, application of molecular imprinting technology of CL, increasing interactions between the drug and polymer matrix by introducing special genes, and incorporation of nanocarriers or drug-loaded polymer films. In this paper, the preparation methods and pros and cons of drug-loaded CL are reviewed. At last, the existing problems and future developments of CL as ophthalmic drug delivery carrier are briefly discussed.