OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of quercetin （QUE） on intervertebral disc degeneration in rats with lumbar intervertebral disc herniation （LDH） and explore its mechanism based on the forkhead box protein O3/silent information regulator 1 （FOXO3/Sirt1） pathway. METHODS A rat model of LDH was established. The successfully modeled rats were randomly divided into LDH group （gavaged with and intraperitoneally injected with an equal volume of normal saline）， QUE-L group （gavaged with 50 mg/kg QUE+intraperitoneally injected with an equal volume of normal saline）， QUE-H group （gavaged with 100 mg/kg QUE+ intraperitoneally injected with an equal volume of normal saline）， and QUE-H+EX-527 （a Sirt1 inhibitor） group （gavaged with 100 mg/kg QUE+intraperitoneally injected with 1 mg/kg EX-527）， with 12 rats in each group. Additionally， 12 healthy normal rats were selected as the control group （gavaged with and intraperitoneally injected with an equal volume of normal saline）. All rats were administered the corresponding agents once daily for consecutive 8 weeks. After the final administration， the pain threshold and serum levels of inflammatory factors in rats were measured； pathological damage of lumbar intervertebral disc tissue was observed， the apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells in lumbar intervertebral disc tissue was assessed， and the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-3 （MMP-3）， phospholipase A2 （PLA2）， as well as apoptosis-related proteins and FOXO3/Sirt1 pathway- related proteins in intervertebral disc tissue were determined. RESULTS Compared with LDH group， pathological damage of intervertebral disc tissue were improved significantly in QUE-L group and QUE-H group； paw withdrawal mechanical threshold， paw withdrawal thermal latency， the serum levels of transforming growth factor-β1 and interleukin-10 （IL-10） as well as the expression levels of B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， FOXO3 and Sirt1 were significantly increased or prolonged （P＜0.05）. Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-1β， histopathological score of intervertebral disc tissue， apoptotic rate of nucleus pulposus cells， positive expressions of MMP-3 and PLA2 in intervertebral disc tissue and expression levels of Bcl-2 associated X protein were significantly decreased （P＜0.05）. Compared with the QUE-H group， the QUE-H+EX-527 group presented aggravated pathological damage of intervertebral disc tissue， and the trends of all the above indicators were significantly reversed（P＜0.05）. CONCLUSIONS QUE can ameliorate intervertebral disc degeneration in LDH rats， and its mechanism may be related to the activation of the FOXO3/Sirt1 pathway.

Objective To explore the predictive value of artificial intelligence (AI)-based lung nodule CT quantitative analysis for the invasion degree of lung adenocarcinoma spectrum lesions. Methods According to the invasion degree of lung adenocarcinoma spectrum lesions, patients with surgically and pathologically confirmed lung adenocarcinoma spectrum lesions from January to June 2023 in Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University were retrospectively collected and divided into a non-invasive group and an invasive group, including atypical adenomatous hyperplasia, adenocarcinoma in situ, and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma patients in the non-invasive group, and invasive adenocarcinoma patients in the invasive group. All enrolled patients underwent chest CT before surgery, and then the lung nodules were quantitatively analyzed using an AI-based computer-aided diagnosis system to compare the related quantitative parameters of lung nodules that have been surgically removed and pathologically confirmed as lung adenocarcinoma spectrum lesions between the two groups. The relationship between various CT quantitative features and the invasion degree of lung adenocarcinoma spectrum lesions was analyzed. Results A total of 149 patients (149 lesions) were included, including 42 males and 107 females, aged 29-81 (56.35±10.75) years. There were 72 patients in the non-invasive group and 77 patients in the invasive group. Statistical differences were observed between the two groups in long diameter, short diameter, volume, surface area, mass, maximum cross-sectional area, 3D long diameter, maximum CT value, minimum CT value, average CT value, entropy, kurtosis, skewness, malignancy probability and other indicators (P<0.05). Multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that long diameter [OR=1.687, 95%CI (1.364, 2.085), P<0.001], average CT value [OR=1.006, 95%CI (1.002, 1.009), P=0.002], and malignancy probability [OR=1.034, 95%CI (1.005, 1.063), P=0.020] were independent risk factors for the invasion degree of lung adenocarcinoma. The predictive model combining the above parameters demonstrated optimal performance, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.951, sensitivity of 0.818, and specificity of 0.972. Using a Nomogram to quantify the three independent risk factors, the cross-validation was performed to evaluate the stability of the model, and the average C-index of cross-validation was 0.950, with each fold C-index >0.75, indicating that the prediction performance of the model was stable, and the calibration curve and decision curve indicated good predictive performance. Conclusion The visualization prediction model constructed by AI-based quantitative analysis of lung nodules in CT demonstrates significant discriminative effectiveness in the assessment of invasiveness in lung adenocarcinoma spectrum lesions. This visualization prediction model can provide a quantitative decision-making basis for the preoperative identification of the degree of invasiveness in lung adenocarcinoma spectrum lesions.

Objective The aim of this study was to explore the effects of lumbar lordosis on spinal sagittal balance after Roussouly type Ⅱ spinal lumbar fusion.Methods In the experiment,96 patients undergoing Roussouly type Ⅱ spinal lumbar fusion in Laohekou First Hospital were enrolled as the research objects between January 2022 and December 2023.According to random number table method,they were divided into control group(intraoperative maintaining of the original lumbar lordosis,n=48)and study group(intraoperative increasing of lumbar lordosis by 5°,n=48).The clinical symptoms[numerical rating scale(NRS),Oswestry disability index(ODI)],spinal and pelvic sagittal parameters[pelvic incidence(PI),sacral slope(SS),pelvic tilt(PT),lumbar lordosis(LL),thoracic kyphosis(TK)],rehabilitation status[Japanese Orthopaedic Association(JOA),Berg balance scale(BBS)]and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups.Results The experiment results showed that at 6 months after surgery,scores of NRS and ODI were decreased in both groups,which were lower in study group than control group(P＜0.05).At 6 months after surgery,PI,SS,PT and LL in study group were(48.48±1.62)°,(35.42±5.39)°,(16.75±1.84)°and(39.36±3.72)°,higher than those in control group[(47.51±2.32)°,(28.83±4.46)°,(13.95±1.77)°,(30.78±3.64),P＜0.05],while TK was lower than that in control group[(11.72±1.08)°vs.(14.26±1.23)°,P＜0.05].At 6 months after surgery,scores of JOA and BBS were increased in both groups,which were higher in study group than control group(P＜0.05).There was no significant difference in incidence of postoperative complications between study group and control group(12.50％vs.14.58％,P＞0.05).Conclusion It can be concluded that appropriate increase of lumbar lordosis can significantly improve spinal sagittal balance,promote the remission of clinical symptoms and rehabilitation process in patients after Roussouly type Ⅱ spinal lumbar fusion.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of Saussurea involucrata injection (SII) in alleviating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to explore the mechanism of action of SII in alleviating RA through the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappaBp65 (NF-κBp65) pathway-mediated M1 macrophage polarization.Methods:In vivo experiments were conducted using a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rat model. After successful modeling, the CIA rats were randomly assigned into five groups ( n=10 per group): CIA control group, MTX group, low-dose SII (L-SII) group, medium-dose SII (M-SII) group, and high-dose SII (H-SII) group. The efficacy of SII in alleviating RA was evaluated using arthritis index scores, histopathology, and ELISA to measure serum levels of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Subsequently, Western blot analysis was used to detect the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and CD86 proteins in synovial tissue. In vitro experiments involved first isolating and inducing rat bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs). Then, BMDMs were polarized toward the M1 phenotype using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) combined with interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Concurrently, cells were treated with SII and the TLR4 inhibitor TAK242. Subsequently, ELISA was used to detect NO, IL-1β, TNF-α levels in the cell culture supernatant via ELISA. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of IL-1b, IL-6, and TNF-α genes in each group of cells. Western blot analysis was performed to detect the expression of iNOS, CD86, TLR4, myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88), and p-NF-κBp65/NF-κBp65 proteins in the cells. Data analysis between multiple groups was performed using one-way analysis of variance, and between pairs using LSD- t-tests. Results:In vivo experimental results showed that compared with the CIA group(7.90 ± 0.70), MTX and SII both improved the pathological symptoms of rats and reduced the ankle joint pathological score [MTX (4.40 ± 0.92), L-SII (7.00 ± 0.89), M-SII (5.10 ± 1.30), H-SII (4.90 ± 0.94), t=33.86, P<0.001; t=9.10, P<0.001; t=2.38, P=0.029; t=5.69, P<0.001; t=7.66, P<0.001], while downregulating serum levels of NO, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α levels in serum, as well as iNOS [ t=30.01, P<0.001; t=6.17, P=0.003; t=10.86, P<0.001; t=28.95, P<0.001; t=19.03, P<0.001] and CD86 [ t=65.61, P<0.001; t=8.76, P<0.001; t=13.18, P<0.001; t=13.22, P<0.001; t=18.91, P<0.001] expression. In vitro experimental results showed that compared with BMDMs treated with LPS and IFN-γ, SII and TAK242 treatment reduced the levels of NO, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the supernatant and decreased the expression of IL-1b, IL-6, and TNF-α genes. Additionally, SII and TAK242 treatment downregulated the expression of iNOS and CD86 proteins in cells, and simultaneously downregulated TLR4, MYD88, and p-NF-κBp65/NF-κBp65 expression ( t=35.84, P<0.001; t=15.69, P<0.001; t=21.99, P<0.001; t=23.64, P<0.001; t=22.50, P<0.001). Additionally, compared with the TAK242 group alone, TAK242 + H-SII showed no significant differences in the modulation of M1 macrophage polarization and TLR4/NF-κBp65 pathway-related indicators. Conclusion:SII exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-RA effects by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κBp65-mediated M1 macrophage polarization.

It was a retrospective study. The propensity score matching was applied to divide the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients who have underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) into two groups: short-term (<4 weeks) sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) group (213 patients) and control group (213 patients). The occurrence of contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CIAKI) after PCI was compared between the two groups. The results showed that the incidence of CIAKI in the SGLT2i group was not significantly different from the control group [10.8% (23/213) vs. 7.5% (16/213), χ2=1.383, P=0.313]. The incidence of CIAKI in patients with SGLT2i application time <1 week was higher than that in control patients, but the difference was not statistically significant [13.00% (16/123) vs. 7.5% (16/213), χ2=2.734, P=0.122]. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that short-term (<4 weeks) use of SGLT2i would not increase the risk of CIAKI after PCI in T2DM patients ( OR=0.507, 95% CI 0.238-1.077, P=0.077). Short-term application of SGLT2i before PCI may not increase the risk of CIAKI, but it is advisable to avoid initiating the application of SGLT2i before PCI as much as possible.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the current status of cleaning and disinfection of digestive endoscopes in vari-ous grades of hospitals of Hubei Province so as to improve the quality of cleaning and disinfection of the digestive endoscopes.METHODS A survey was conducted by the hospital infection management department of Tongji Hos-pital Affiliated to Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology from Mar.25,2024 to Mar.29,2024.A questionnaire was formulated by brainstorming and literature review.The electronic question-naire was distributed through the"Wenjuanxing"platform.The questionnaire survey aimed to investigate the per-sonnel,training,equipment and facilities,cleaning and disinfection operations,monitoring and recording of the digestive endoscopy centers of the medical institutions in the province.RESULTS Totally 185 medical institutions were finally included,113 of which were tertiary hospitals,and 72 were secondary and lower-grade hospitals.The tertiary hospitals were superior to the secondary and lower-grade hospitals in the quantity of endoscopes,daily di-agnosis and treatment volume of patients,participation in external training(including continuous training,further education,hospital-level training),provision of some facilities and equipment(ultrasonic cleaners,full pipeline perfusion devices,cleaning brushes,high-pressure water guns,transport containers),some cleaning and disinfec-tion operations(changing the cleaning enzyme solution one time for one endoscope,disinfecting the cleaning brush one time after one-time use),implementation of surveillance of cleaning quality and preservation of surveil-lance records(P＜0.05).However,the tertiary hospital were inferior to the secondary and lower-grade hospitals in standardized use of transferring containers(65.49％)and drying time of air guns(57.52％)(P＜0.05).CONCLUSIONS The quality of cleaning and disinfection of the digestive endoscopes remains large room to be im-proved in the medical institutions of Hubei Province.It is necessary for the medical institutions to strengthen the supervision and training of personnel based on the their actual condition,complete the provision of facilities and e-quipment,standardize the cleaning and disinfection operations,and complete the surveillance and recordings.

Objective:To develop and externally validate a nomogram prediction model for assessing the risk of treatment dropout in allergic rhinitis (AR) patients undergoing sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT).Methods:Between February 2016 and December 2019, data from 358 and 259 AR patients undergoing SLIT were collected from Guizhou Provincial People′s Hospital and Huangshi Central Hospital, respectively. The data included general patient information, dust mite sIgE levels, allergen types, and 22 other clinical variables. Data from Guizhou Provincial People′s Hospital were used as the training set, while data from Huangshi Central Hospital were served as the external validation set. A multivariable Cox regression model was used to identify independent factors associated with SLIT dropout and to develop a nomogram prediction model.Results:Multivariate Cox regression analysis identified several significant factors influencing SLIT dropout, including dust mite sIgE levels (Grade Ⅱ-Ⅳ; HR=1.48, 95% CI: 1.16-1.88), presence of other allergic diseases ( HR=0.47, 95% CI: 0.37-0.61), Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ) score ( HR=0.98, 95% CI: 0.97-1.00), WeChat management ( HR=0.77, 95% CI: 0.60-0.98), treatment efficacy ( HR=0.72, 95% CI: 0.56-0.92), age (5-17 years, HR=0.50, 95% CI: 0.36-0.71;≥60 years, HR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.08-1.87), household income (<5 000 CNY, HR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.09-1.90;>20 000 CNY, HR=0.66, 95% CI: 0.44-0.99), allergen types (single dust mite, HR=0.70, 95% CI: 0.49-0.93; and combined pollen or mold, HR=1.45, 95% CI: 1.02-2.04), and time to efficacy <3 months ( HR=0.73, 95% CI: 0.56-0.94), all P<0.05. At the third-year follow-up, the area under curve (AUC) for the nomogram model was 0.913 (95% CI: 0.881-0.943) in the training group and 0.886 (95% CI: 0.838-0.933) in the validation group. Calibration and decision curve analyses demonstrated the model′s consistency with actual dropout rates and clinical benefit in both groups. Additionally, a Brier score of 0.29 further confirmed the model′s predictive accuracy. Conclusion:We successfully develop a nomogram-based prediction model for SLIT dropout in AR patients, which could assist healthcare professionals in effectively identifying high-risk patients and facilitate the development of more personalized and timely treatment plans aimed at enhancing patient compliance.

Calcitonin gene-related peptides(CGRP)are peptides that are ubiquitous in the central and peripheral nervous systems,which has been shown to be associated with pain,setting off a boom in the development of chemical small molecule antagonists targeting CGRP receptors,but most of them have failed due to greater hepatotoxicity.Anti-CGRP/CGRPR antibodies have attracted widespread attention due to their high specificity and safety,especially lower hepatotoxicity.This article reviews the structure and function of CGRP and its receptors,as well as the research progress of anti-CGRP-related neutralizing antibodies in order to provide a reference for the exploration of disease mechanisms and drug development related to CGRP.

Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, shows great promise in treating methamphetamine (METH) addiction. Nonetheless, the molecular target and the mechanism through which CBD treats METH addiction remain unexplored. Herein, CBD was shown to counteract METH-induced locomotor sensitization and conditioned place preference. Additionally, CBD mitigated the adverse effects of METH, such as cristae loss, a decline in ATP content, and a reduction in membrane potential. Employing an activity-based protein profiling approach, a target fishing strategy was used to uncover CBD's direct target. ATP5A1, a subunit of ATP synthase, was identified and validated as a CBD target. Moreover, CBD demonstrated the ability to ameliorate METH-induced ubiquitination of ATP5A1 via the D376 residue, thereby reversing the METH-induced reduction of ATP5A1 and promoting the assembly of ATP synthase. Pharmacological inhibition of the ATP efflux channel pannexin 1, blockade of ATP hydrolysis by a CD39 inhibitor, and blocking the adenosine A1 receptor (A1R) all attenuated the therapeutic benefits of CBD in mitigating METH-induced behavioral sensitization and CPP. Moreover, the RNA interference of ATP5A1 in the ventral tegmental area resulted in the reversal of CBD's therapeutic efficacy against METH addiction. Collectively, these data show that ATP5A1 is a target for CBD to inhibit METH-induced addiction behaviors through the ADO-A1R signaling pathway.

This study employs ultra-performance liquid chromatography(UPLC) to analyze the differences in alkaloid content of Commelina communis from various geographical origins, exploring its feasibility as a quality evaluation indicator. A total of 57 batches of C. communis samples from 23 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China were selected. The MicroPulite HSS T3(2.1 mm×50 mm, 1.8 μm)column was used with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-0.2% phosphoric acid aqueous solution(20∶80), detection wavelength at 254 nm, and a flow rate of 0.3 mL·min~(-1) to measure the content of 1-deoxynojirimycin(DNJ) and deoxymannojirimycin(DMJ). The MicroPulite XP tC_(18)(2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm)column was employed with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-0.2% phosphoric acid aqueous solution(4∶96), detection wavelength at 254 nm, and a flow rate of 0.4 mL·min~(-1) to measure the content of norharmine(NHM) and harmanme(HM). Chemometric methods were applied to study the relationships and differences among the 57 batches of C. communis. Significant differences in alkaloid content were observed among C. communis from different regions, with the average total content decreasing in the order of North China, Northeast China, Northwest China, East China, Southwest China, Central China, and South China. Cluster analysis(CA) and principal component analysis(PCA) further revealed the quality differences of C. communis from various origins, and partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) identified DNJ as a marker compound to distinguish the quality differences between different geographical sources of C. communis. It is recommended that the content limit of DNJ be set at no less than 0.055 9%, providing a reference for the quality evaluation and clinical application of C. communis medicinal materials.
Alkaloids/analysis* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; China ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Chemometrics/methods* ; Quality Control