Compared with traditional therapies for chronic liver disease （CLD）， Bifidobacterium has the characteristics of multi-target intervention， high biosafety， and good host compatibility and provides new strategies for intervention of CLD progression in terms of microecological regulation. Various studies have shown that Bifidobacterium regulates liver homeostasis and exerts a therapeutic effect on CLD by regulating intestinal flora， maintaining antioxidation， promoting energy consumption， alleviating inflammation， improving glycolipid metabolism， and exerting an antitumor effect. This article systematically reviews the studies on Bifidobacterium in the treatment of CLD in China and globally， explores their different mechanisms， and elaborates on the interaction between related signaling pathways （such as the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling pathway and the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase signaling pathway） and the liver， in order to provide a basis for probiotic intervention in liver pathology， as well as new ideas for the comprehensive treatment of CLD.

AIM:This study aimed to confirm the glycolytic inhibitory activity of 3-bromopyruvic acid(3BP)and to assess whether this inhibition could ameliorate hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats.METHODS:PAH model rats were generated from normal SD rats via exposure to normal pressure and hypoxia.Intervention groups I and II(6 rats per group)were then intraperitoneally injected with 3BP(15 mg/kg),and the normal and hypoxia groups(6 rats per group)were given the same amount of normal saline for a total of 21 d.The average pulmonary artery pressure of the rats in each group was measured via right heart catheterisation,and hilar tissue measurements.The right ventricle(RV),left ventricle,and interventricular septum(LV+S)were weighed,and the ratio of RV/(LV+S)was calculated as an index of right ventricular hypertrophy.Right lower lung tissues were fixed in 4%paraformaldehyde-PBS buffer,sec-tioned in conventional paraffin(5 μm thick),stained with HE and Masson,photographed under a microscope.Then the thickness ratio of the tunica media and the area ratio of collagen fibres were calculated.The expression of pyruvate kinase isozyme type M2(PKM2),nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3),and pyruvate de-hydrogenase(PDH)proteins in the hilar tissues of each group were detected by western blot,whereas interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and IL-18 contents were detected using ELISA,and lactic acid content was detected using a lactic acid kit.RE-SULTS:The results showed that 3-brpa effectively inhibited glycolysis and significantly improved hypoxia-induced pulmo-nary hypertension in rats.Compared with the hypoxia group,in intervention group II,PKM2 expression was decreased(P<0.05),PDH expression increased significantly(P<0.01),and NLRP3 expression was decreased(P<0.05).The IL-18 and IL-1β contents decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01,respectively).Pulmonary hemodynamic indexes showed that the pro-portion of the right ventricle and the mean pressure of the pulmonary artery decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01,respectively).The HE and Masson staining results showed that the thickness ratio of the tunica media and the area ratio of collagen fibres decreased significantly(P<0.01).Lactic acid content was significantly decreased(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:This study showed that 3BP can inhibit glycolysis and alleviate hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats.

AIM:This study aimed to confirm the glycolytic inhibitory activity of 3-bromopyruvic acid(3BP)and to assess whether this inhibition could ameliorate hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats.METHODS:PAH model rats were generated from normal SD rats via exposure to normal pressure and hypoxia.Intervention groups I and II(6 rats per group)were then intraperitoneally injected with 3BP(15 mg/kg),and the normal and hypoxia groups(6 rats per group)were given the same amount of normal saline for a total of 21 d.The average pulmonary artery pressure of the rats in each group was measured via right heart catheterisation,and hilar tissue measurements.The right ventricle(RV),left ventricle,and interventricular septum(LV+S)were weighed,and the ratio of RV/(LV+S)was calculated as an index of right ventricular hypertrophy.Right lower lung tissues were fixed in 4%paraformaldehyde-PBS buffer,sec-tioned in conventional paraffin(5 μm thick),stained with HE and Masson,photographed under a microscope.Then the thickness ratio of the tunica media and the area ratio of collagen fibres were calculated.The expression of pyruvate kinase isozyme type M2(PKM2),nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3),and pyruvate de-hydrogenase(PDH)proteins in the hilar tissues of each group were detected by western blot,whereas interleukin-1β(IL-1β)and IL-18 contents were detected using ELISA,and lactic acid content was detected using a lactic acid kit.RE-SULTS:The results showed that 3-brpa effectively inhibited glycolysis and significantly improved hypoxia-induced pulmo-nary hypertension in rats.Compared with the hypoxia group,in intervention group II,PKM2 expression was decreased(P<0.05),PDH expression increased significantly(P<0.01),and NLRP3 expression was decreased(P<0.05).The IL-18 and IL-1β contents decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01,respectively).Pulmonary hemodynamic indexes showed that the pro-portion of the right ventricle and the mean pressure of the pulmonary artery decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01,respectively).The HE and Masson staining results showed that the thickness ratio of the tunica media and the area ratio of collagen fibres decreased significantly(P<0.01).Lactic acid content was significantly decreased(P<0.01).CONCLUSION:This study showed that 3BP can inhibit glycolysis and alleviate hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats.

Objective To explore the clinical characteristics of drug-induced liver injury(DILI),and provide reference for early clinical recognition,diagnosis and treatment of DILI.Methods Clinical datas of 65 patients with DILI hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine from January 2019 to December 2023 were retrospectively analyzed,and their general conditions,using drugs,distribution type of liver injury,traditional Chinese medicine treatment and outcome were statistically analyzed.Results A total of 65 patients were included,including 27 males and 38 females,with an average age of(46.40±19.19)years old.The majority of patients were 41 to 60 years old.Chinese herbal medicine and Chinese patent medicine accounted for the highest proportion of drugs inducing DILI(30.8％).Hepatocyte injury was the most common type of DILI,with 39 cases.The main clinical manifestations of DILI patients were fatigue,abdominal discomfort,aversion to oil,yellow eyes,yellow urine and so on.In the treatment of traditional Chinese medicine,liquorice root was the most frequently used,with a frequency of 60.7％.After active treatment,59 patients were cured and discharged from hospital.Conclusion Hepatocyte injury is the main type of DILI.Clinical monitoring of hepatotoxicity of traditional Chinese herbal medicine and Chinese patent medicine should be strengthened to reduce the damage to liver caused by adverse drug reactions.

【Objective】 To analyze the influence of plasma donation on human total protein level and the impact of different blood collection tubes on total protein level detection. 【Methods】 A total of 1 373 plasma donors from 11 apheresis plasma stations in 6 provinces/autonomous regions from March to April, 2021 were selected. Whole blood was collected by ordinary blood collection tube without anticoagulant, heparin anticoagulant tube and sodium citrate anticoagulant tube, and then respectively divided into serum group, heparin anticoagulant group, and sodium citrate anticoagulant group. After separating serum and plasma, the samples were subjected to total protein detection using the biuret method. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the total protein levels among different tubes. The plasma donors were divided into male group (n=597) and female group (n=776), and the total protein levels between different genders were compared by t test. The plasma donors were divided into Sichuan group, Hubei group and Gansu group according to the region, and the Games-Howell test was used for comparison. 【Results】 The median serum total protein level of 1 373 donors was 73.1g/L, which was consistent with the reference range of 65-85 g/L. The median total protein levels of the serum group, heparin anticoagulant group and sodium citrate anticoagulant group were 73.1g/L, 73.3g/L and 63.8g/L, respectively, with statistically significant difference (P<0.05). There was statistical significance in total protein level between sodium citrate anticoagulant group and serum group, sodium citrate anticoagulant group and heparin anticoagulant group(P<0.05), but no statistical significance was noticed between serum group and heparin anticoagulant group (P> 0.05). The serum total protein levels of male group and female group were (72.41±5.40)g/L and (73.67±4.95)g/L, reseectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The serum total protein level in Sichuan group, Hubei group and Gansu group was (73.91±4.29)g/L, (74.17±5.11)g/L and (67.09±3.65)g/L, respectively (P<0.05).The difference between Gansu group and Hubei group, Gansu group and Sichuan group was statistically significant (P<0.05), but no significant difference was noticed between Sichuan group and Hubei group (P>0.05). 【Conclusion】 Plasma donors who meet the donation criteria will not experience abnormal total protein levels due to regular plasma donation. There were differences in total protein levels among different blood collection tubes, different genders and different regions. The total protein level of females was higher than that of males. The total protein level was the highest in Hubei province, followed by Sichuan and Gansu.Heparin anticoagulant group was the highest, followed by serum group and sodium citrate anticoagulant group.

This study aimed to explore the effect of miR-23b-3p on the differentiation of goat intramuscular preadipocytes, and to confirm whether miR-23b-3p plays its roles via targeting the PDE4B gene. Based on the pre-transcriptome sequencing data obtained previously, the miR-23b-3p, which was differentially expressed in goat intramuscular adipocytes before and after differentiation, was used as an entry point. real-time quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to detect the expression pattern of miR-23b-3p during the differentiation of goat intramuscular preadipocytes. The effects of miR-23b-3p on adipose differentiation and adipose differentiation marker genes were determined at the morphological and molecular levels. The downstream target genes of miR-23b-3p were determined using bioinformatics prediction as well as dual luciferase reporter assay to clarify the targeting relationship between miR-23b-3p and the predicted target genes. The results indicated that overexpression of miR-23b-3p reduced lipid droplet accumulation in goat intramuscular adipocytes, significantly down-regulated the expression levels of adipogenic marker genes AP2, C/EBPα, FASN, and LPL (P < 0.01). In addition, the expressions of C/EBPβ, DGAT2, GLUT4 and PPARγ were significantly downregulated (P < 0.05). After interfering with the expression of miR-23b-3p, lipid droplet accumulation was increased in goat intramuscular adipocytes. The expression levels of ACC, ATGL, AP2, DGAT2, GLUT4, FASN and SREBP1 were extremely significantly up-regulated (P < 0.01), and the expression levels of C/EBPβ, LPL and PPARγ were significantly up-regulated (P < 0.05). It was predicted that PDE4B might be a target gene of miR-23b-3p. The mRNA expression level of PDE4B was significantly decreased after overexpression of miR-23b-3p (P < 0.01), and the interference with miR-23b-3p significantly increased the mRNA level of PDE4B (P < 0.05). The dual luciferase reporter assay indicated that miR-23b-3p had a targeting relationship with PDE4B gene. MiR-23b-3p regulates the differentiation of goat intramuscular preadipocytes by targeting the PDE4B gene.
Animals ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Goats/genetics* ; PPAR gamma/metabolism* ; Adipogenesis/genetics* ; Cell Differentiation/genetics* ; Luciferases ; RNA, Messenger

Objective:To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of neuro-endoscopic evacuation and microsurgery via keyhole approach in early spontaneous supertentorial intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods:A prospective multi-center randomized controlled trial was performed; 114 patients with spontaneous supertentorial ICH (time from onset to surgery<6 h) admitted to Departments of Neurosurgery, Shunde Hospital of Southern Medical University, Jiangmen Central Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine of Yanbian University from January 2019 to December 2021 and met the surgical indications were selected. They were divided into endoscopic group (evacuation of intracerebral hematoma under neuroendoscope, n=71) and microscopic group (microsurgery of intracerebral hematoma via keyhole approach, n=43) according to different surgical methods. After 1:1 propensity score matching of the general data, surgical time, hematoma clearance rate, early postoperative re-bleeding rate, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) scores 7 d after surgery, activity of daily living (ADL) scores 6 months after surgery, mortality, and surgery-related complications of 66 patients (33 from each group after matching) were compared. Results:The difference of surgical time between endoscopic group and microscopic group was statistically significant (125[102, 157] mins vs. 175[125, 260] mins, P<0.05). However, hematoma clearance rate (93.00%[80.88%, 96.52%] vs. 93.31%[88.15%, 96.03%]), early postoperative re-bleeding rate (15.2% vs. 9.1%), GCS scores 7 d after surgery (13[10, 15] vs. 12[8, 14]), ADL scores 6 months after surgery (65[45, 85] vs. 55[0, 85]), mortality rate (18.2% vs. 21.2%) and incidences of postoperative intracranial infection and acquired pulmonary infection were not statistically significant between the two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Comparing with microsurgery via keyhole approach, neuro-endoscopy could shorten the surgical time, but not improve the prognosis or safety in early spontaneous supertentorial ICH patients.

Objective:To investigate the effect of deviation from the isocenter point on the quality of CT images at the same radiation dose.Methods:A 160-layer CT scanner was used to scan the phantom at isocenter and deviations of 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 cm. CT was performed with the following parameters: 120 kVp; 400 mAs; slice thickness, 1 mm; and slice increment, 1 mm. Images were reconstructed using the filtered back projection algorithm. Noise power spectrum (NPS), task transfer function (TTF) and detectability index (d′) were measured. NPS peak was used to quantify the noise magnitude and TTF 50% was used to quantify the spatial resolution. NPS, TTF and d′ were compared using one-way ANOVA. Results:The NPS average spatial frequency, spatial resolution and d′ values gradually decreased as the offset distance increased and the amount of noise increased. NPS peak at isocenter and deviations of 3 cm, 6 cm, 9 cm, 12 cm and 15 cm were (94.31±1.48), (104.25±1.46), (131.44±1.96), (171.86±1.91), (224.05±1.37), (286.51±2.09)HU 2·mm 2, respectively ( F=37 241.91, P<0.001). And d′ values of 2 mm low-contrast lesions were 3.51±0.06, 3.31±0.04, 3.01±0.04, 2.59±0.06, 2.21±0.03, 1.88±0.03, respectively. The reduction in spatial resolution was more pronounced for high contrast, and the d′ values decreased to a similar extent for various types of lesions. The noise was increased by about 82%, the high contrast spatial resolution was decreased by about 12%, and the d′ value was decreased by about 26% at 9 cm from the isocenter point (all P<0.05). The noise was increased by about 204%, the high contrast spatial resolution was decreased by about 27%, and the d′ value was decreased by about 45% at 15 cm from the isocenter (all P<0.05). Conclusion:The CT image quality was decreased with the increase of the offset distance from the CT isocenter point. The image quality was severely compromised at offset distances greater than 9 cm.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to observe the clinical characteristics of two types of geotropic direction-changing positional nystagmus, the transient(nystagmus time <1 min) and the persistent(nystagmus time > 1 min), and to evaluate the efficacy of the barbecue roll maneuver. Methods: A total of 105 cases diagnosed by supine roll test were studied, which including 35 males and 70 females and the average age was (56.9±14.6)years. There were 70 transient geotropic DCPN and 35 persistent geotropic DCPN. The clinical characteristics and the immediate and one-week efficacy of the barbecue roll maneuver were discussed. Results: The nystagmus disappeared at the null-point position and the nystagmus in supine position were opposite to the bowing (90° nose-down) position in persistent geotropic DCPN cases. While to the transient geotropic DCPN cases, there were no NP and no nystagmus in prone position. The ratio of the first onset of the two groups was 28.6% (persistent) and 72.9% (transient) respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The immediate and one-week efficacy after barbecue roll maneuver were 91.4% and 80.0% in transient geotropic DCPN cases, and 0% and 42.9% in persistent geotropic DCPN cases, which were statistically significant different(P<0.05). Conclusions The light cupula hypothesis can mainly explain the clinical features of persistent geotropic DCPN cases; the barbecue roll maneuver is invalid to persistent geotropic DCPN cases which can be self-healing.

Objective To study the effectiveness of intravenous Lidocaine on subjective tinnitus in the elderly, and analyze its correlation with the effectiveness of subsequently oral Carbamazepine.Methods A prospective case-control study was conducted in 120 elderly patients with subjective tinnitus, who were divided into two groups.The control group (n=60) was treated with oral Carbamazepine 0.1 g Bid for one month, and the treatment group (n=60) was treated with 2％ lidocaine by intravenous injection.Patients in the treatment group were observed on responses in tinnitus during the period with Lidocaine injections.The treatment group was further divided into the improvement subgroup and the no-improvement subgroup, according to responses to intravenous lidocaine.All the patients in the treatment group received oral carbamazepine 0.1 g Bid for one month following the intravenous lidocaine injection phase.Results In the control group, 5 patients showed marked improvement, 20 patients showed partial improvement, 33 patients showed no improvement, and 2 patients showed symptom deterioration, with an effectiveness rate of 41.7％ (25/60).In the treatment group, 6 patients showed marked improvement, 26 patients showed partial improvement, 24 patients showed no improvement, and 4 patients showed symptom deterioration, with an effectiveness rate of 53.3％ (32/60).Of the 32 patients in the improvement subgroup, 6 cases showed marked improvement, 16 cases showed partial improvement, 8 cases showed no improvement, and 2 cases showed symptom deterioration after subsequent oral Carbamazepine treatment, and the effectiveness rate was 68.8％ (22/32).Of the 28 patients in the no-improvement subgroup, 1 case showed marked improvement, 9 cases showed partial improvement, 16 cases showed no improvement, and 2 cases showed symptom deterioration, and the effectiveness rate was 35.7％ (10/28).The effectiveness rate in the improvement subgroup was higher than in the no-improvement subgroup (68.8％ vs.35.7％, x2 =6.55, P＜0.05).The effectiveness of lidocaine followed by carbamazepine was better than that of carbamazepine alone (68.8％ vs.53.3％, x2 =6.13, P＜0.05).Conclusions Oral Carbamazepine treatment following intravenous Lidocaine injection in elderly patients with subjective tinnitus has better therapeutic outcomes than treatment with oral Carbamazepine alone, but is not as effective in patients with negative responses to Lidocaine as in patients with positive responses.