OBJECTIVE: Therapeutic angiogenesis has become a promising approach for treating ischemic heart disease (IHD). The present study aims to investigate the effects of Qishen Granule (QSG) on angiogenesis in myocardial ischemia (MI) and the potential mechanism. METHODS: In vivo study was conducted on rat model of myocardial infarction. QSG was performed daily at a dose of 2.352 g/kg for four weeks. Cardiac function was assessed by echocardiogram and pro-angiogenic effects were evaluated by Laser Doppler and CD31 expression. Oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) was applied in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Cell viability, wound healing and tube formation assay were used to test functions of HUVECs. ELISA and Western blots were used to assess protein expressions of bone morphogenetic protein 2-delta-like 4-notch homolog 1 (BMP2-Dll4-Notch1) signaling pathway. RESULTS: The results showed that QSG improved heart function, cardiac blood flow and microvessel density in myocardial ischemic rats. In vitro, QSG protected HUVECs by promoting the cell viability and tube formation. QSG upregulated bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) and downregulated delta-like 4 (Dll4) and notch homolog 1 (Notch1) expressions both in rats and HUVECs. CONCLUSION QSG protected against MI by promoting angiogenesis through BMP2-Dll4-Notch1 pathway. BMP2 might be a promising therapeutic target for IHD.

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with Toxoplasma gondii. Congenital toxoplasmosis is a common form of intrauterine infection and is associated with severe neurological sequelae such as cerebral palsy and cognitive impairment. This report presented the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of a fetal intracranial toxoplasmosis case, including bilateral ventriculomegaly, multiple intracranial cystic lesions, and parenchymal calcifications, without concurrent retinal abnormalities or hepatosplenomegaly. Post-termination analyses confirmed the presence of T.gondii DNA in amniotic fluid and umbilical venous blood, with histopathology revealing necrosis and eosinophilic infiltration. MRI demonstrates superior soft-tissue resolution in evaluating the extent of cerebral lesions and parenchymal damage, underscoring its diagnostic value in fetal toxoplasmic encephalopathy.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of adenosine load-resting gated myocardial perfusion imaging for three-vessel disease in coronary artery disease(CAD)patients using coronary angiography as the gold standard.Methods A retrospective study was conducted,including 318 patients diagnosed with CAD who underwent coronary angiography at Yanan Hospital Affiliated to Kunming Medical University from January 2021 to December 2022.Based on the results of coronary angiography,the 318 CAD patients were divided into a three-vessel disease group(n=166)and a non-three-vessel disease group(single and double vessel disease group,n=152).All the subjects underwent adenosine stress-resting GMPI within two weeks.Adenosine stress-resting GMPI myocardial perfusion parameters(SSS,SRS,SDS),cardiac function parameters(LVEF,LVEDV,LVSV)and left ventricular mechanical contraction synchronization parameters(PSD,PHB)were collected.The diagnostic value of adenosine stress-resting gated myocardial perfusion imaging for three-vessel disease in CAD was explored.Results Among the perfusion parameters,SSS had the highest AUC of 0.781,while sLVEF had the highest AUC of 0.748 among cardiac function parameters,and sPHB had the highest AUC of 0.724 among synchrony parameters.The AUCs of combined parameters were all higher than those of perfusion parameters,cardiac function parameters,and synchrony parameters(P＜0.05).The changes in Δ LVESV and Δ LVEF between the three-vessel disease group and the non-three vessel disease group showed statistical significance(P＜0.05).Conclusion The perfusion,cardiac function and synchronization parameters of adenosine stress-resting gated myocardial perfusion imaging have high diagnostic value for three-vessel coronary heart disease,and the combined detection of the three parameters provides even greater diagnostic value for three-vessel coronary heart disease.

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by infection with Toxoplasma gondii. Congenital toxoplasmosis is a common form of intrauterine infection and is associated with severe neurological sequelae such as cerebral palsy and cognitive impairment. This report presented the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of a fetal intracranial toxoplasmosis case, including bilateral ventriculomegaly, multiple intracranial cystic lesions, and parenchymal calcifications, without concurrent retinal abnormalities or hepatosplenomegaly. Post-termination analyses confirmed the presence of T.gondii DNA in amniotic fluid and umbilical venous blood, with histopathology revealing necrosis and eosinophilic infiltration. MRI demonstrates superior soft-tissue resolution in evaluating the extent of cerebral lesions and parenchymal damage, underscoring its diagnostic value in fetal toxoplasmic encephalopathy.

Objective:To explore the utility of adenosine stress-rest gated myocardial perfusion imaging (G-MPI) in evaluation of left ventricular (LV) myocardial perfusion, heart function, and synchronization in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).Methods:Fifty-five patients (42 males, 13 females, age (59.3±9.0) years) with multivessel coronary artery disease who underwent CABG surgery in Yan′an Hospital Affiliated to Kunming Medical University between January 2021 and June 2023 were retrospectively collected. All of them underwent G-MPI (one-day method) one week before and six months after CABG. Paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare LV myocardial perfusion parameters including summed stress score (SSS), summed rest score (SRS), and summed different score (SDS) before and after CABG, as well as cardiac function parameters (LV ejection fraction (EF), LV end-diastolic volume (EDV), LV end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV), peak filling rate (PFR)), and LV mechanical contraction synchronization parameters such as phase histogram bandwidth (PHB) and phase standard deviation (PSD). Differences of the changes of parameters after CABG compared to baseline (Δ) between adenosine stress imaging and rest imaging were also compared by Wilcoxon signed rank test. The relationships between rest LVEF, rest PFR and myocardial perfusion parameters were analyzed by Spearman rank correlation analysis. Results:After CABG, the SSS, SRS, and SDS were significantly lower than those before surgery (6(3, 12) vs 16(9, 23), 1(0, 9) vs 4(1, 15), 3(1, 5) vs 8(6, 12); z values: 6.37, 4.84, 6.24, all P<0.001); postoperative rest/stress LVEF(60%(49%, 67%), 58%(48%, 68%)) and PFR (3.67(3.12, 4.28), 3.23(2.77, 4.43) EDV/s) significantly increased compared with preoperative values (51%(33%, 62%), 53%(27%, 61%); 2.76(2.08, 3.52), 2.83(1.86, 3.62) EDV/s; z values: 3.23-5.58, all P<0.01); postoperative rest/stress LVEDV and LVESV were significantly lower than those before surgery ( t values: 6.40, 5.27; z values: 5.33, 5.40; all P<0.001); rest/stress PHB (45°(35°, 70°), 53°(44°, 113°)) and PSD (14.7°(10.9°, 27.3°), 20.0°(14.6°, 33.8°)) were significantly lower than those before surgery (60°(45°, 131°), 83°(58°, 198°), 20.4°(16.0°, 49.1°), 27.2°(19.6°, 60.4°); z values: 4.19-4.81, all P<0.001). The ΔSSS was greater than the ΔSRS, and the ΔPFR was greater in rest imaging than that in stress imaging ( z values: 6.24, 2.77, both P<0.05). Rest LVEF, PFR were negatively correlated with SSS and SRS ( rs values: from -0.741 to -0.431, all P<0.05). Conclusion:The LV myocardial perfusion, function, and mechanical contraction synchronicity information obtained from adenosine stress-rest G-MPI can be used to evaluate the recovery after CABG, which may help to better identify patients who may have adverse cardiac events.

Recently, malaria incidence has sharply resurgence in the border area of northern Myanmar, with the parasite incidence rate in 2023 being 21.47 times (95% CI: 18.84-24.48) that of 2019 in Kachin State's Razan and nearby areas. This resurgence caused the number of imported malaria cases to increase from 188 in 2019 to 398 in 2023 in Yunnan Province. In addition to the impact of military conflict, the border malaria joint prevention and control cooperation mechanism and malaria control measures established between China and Myanmar have failed to be implemented effectively due to the impact of the international COVID-19 epidemic. Hence, it is recommended that relevant departments evaluate the quality and effectiveness of the current cross-border transmission measures for malaria in the China-Myanmar border area from a technical perspective, and provide a large demand for primaquine, which can block the spread of malaria and cure vivax malaria, in response to the current prevalent characteristics of vivax malaria predominating in northern Myanmar. Moreover, to effectively reduce the mortality of imported malaria patients and prevent re-importation and transmission, it is necessary to enhance clinical physicians' knowledge, awareness, and vigilance regarding malaria diagnosis and treatment in the Yunnan border region, as well as China's ability and quality of appropriate response to imported malaria.

AIM: To investigate the role of histidine-rich glycoprotein(HRG)in the neovascularization of diabetic retinopathy in rats.METHODS: Streptozocin(STZ)-induced diabetic Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were utilized as an experimental model, the protein expression of HRG and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in the retinas of normal(Wild type, WT)and diabetic(diabetic mellitus, DM)groups was detected using Western blot(WB). The protein expression of HRG in high-glucose-induced human retinal microvascular endothelial cells(hRMECs)was verified by WB after transfection with HRG small interfering RNA(siRNA)low-expression sequences. The optimal si-HRG#298 sequence was selected for further experiments. In the animal experiment, HRG gene silencing was achieved using an adeno-associated virus(AAV)vector, with AAV2-sh-NC and AAV2-sh-HRG#298 serving as the HRG gene silencing group and the HRG empty vector control group, respectively. The protein expression of HRG and VEGF in each group was then detected by WB following the verification of HRG protein expression. Retinal structural changes were observed by HE staining, and neovascularization changes were observed by PAS staining.RESULTS: HE staining found that the retinal structure in the DM group was disordered, the number of cells in the ganglion cell layer decreased, the number of cells in the inner and outer nuclear layers decreased, and the total retinal thickness also decreased(P<0.05); cellular capillaries were significantly increased in DM rats observed by PAS staining(P<0.05); the protein expression of HRG and angiogenesis factor VEGF was up-regulated in the retina of DM group(P<0.05); the protein expression of HRG was significantly downregulated in high glucose-induced hRMECs(P<0.05); the inhibition of neovascularization in diabetic retinas and the downregulation of VEGF protein expression were achieved through HRG gene silencing(P<0.05).CONCLUSION: HRG promotes neovascularization in the retinas of diabetic rats, and HRG gene silencing can inhibit neovascularization.

OBJECTIVE To prepare spider fibroin membrane loaded with Periplaneta americana extract， and investigate its characterization， in vitro drug release property and cytotoxicity. METHODS Using natural spider silk collected from Chilobrachys guangxiensis as raw material， P. americana extract as model drug， the drug-loaded spider fibroin membrane （hereinafter referred to as drug-loaded membrane） was prepared by solvent casting method. The material matrix spider fibroin membrane without P. americana extract （hereinafter referred to as blank membrane） was prepared with same method. The membrane structure was characterized by static water contact angle， Fourier infrared chromatography， X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy from different angles； drug release characteristics in artificial saliva were simulated in vitro to evaluate the drug sustained-release performance. MTT assay was adopted to validate the cytotoxicity of drug-loaded membrane. RESULTS The drug-loaded membrane was prepared， and the static water contact angle was less than 90°， which was less than that of blank membrane. The drug-loaded membrane showed the characteristic absorption peak to polypeptide of P. americana extract at 1 500-1 700 cm－1. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy also proved that the drug was successfully loaded into the pellicle. The release time of the pellicle in artificial saliva was more than 200 min. The MTT test results showed that the cell proliferation rates of blank membrane and drug-loaded membrane were 84.6% and 79.4% （both greater than 70%）， respectively， without significant potential cytotoxicity. CONCLUSIONS Drug-loaded membrane prepared with natural spider silk has a certain sustained-release effect in artificial saliva， which can be further developed as a drug sustained-release carrier with excellent biological characteristics and biocompatibility.

OBJECTIVE To prepare a new antibacterial agent triggered by near infrared light to combat bacterial infection and promote wound healing. METHODS The synthesis of antibacterial agengt was supported by the results from transmission electron microscopy, Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The antibacterial agent was irradiated under near infrared(NIR) laser with different concentrations to study the photothermal properties. Release of ciprofloxacin from the antibacterial agent was determined under different conditions. Observed antibacterial activity of the agent by spread plate method and bacterial growth curve. The infected wound was made on the back skin of mice, and the mice were treated with different methods to observe the healing process of the wound and study its influence on the wound healing. RESULTS The synthesized antimicrobial agent could be heated repeatedly without attenuation under near-infrared light, and could still reach a high temperature of 45 ℃ at a low concentration of 125 µg·mL-1. At the same time, it could promote the release of loaded antibiotics, and the release rate reached 86%. Compared with 200 µg·mL-1 solution obtained by physical mixing of polydopamine and ciprofloxacin, the synthesized antimicrobial agent combined with near-infrared light showed more excellent antibacterial ability, and the bacteriostatic rate against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was 99.9%. Antimicrobial agents with concentrations of only 0.312 5 µg·mL-1 and 1.25 µg·mL-1 combined with near infrared light significantly inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Through the mouse skin defect model infected by Staphylococcus aureus, it was proved that the synthetic antibacterial agent still had excellent antibacterial effect in practical application, and could accelerate the healing of infected wound. CONCLUSION The synthesized antimicrobial agents have excellent antibacterial effect in vitro, and still have good antibacterial effect and promote wound healing under the conservative power irradiation without causing skin damage in vivo.

Objective:To explore the prevalence and influencing factors of allergic conjunctivitis in Baotou area at different times.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in January 2021, 111 patients with allergic conjunctivitis who were admitted to the Department of Ophthalmology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology in 2020 were selected as the research subjects. The basic information, allergic conditions, living habits and other information of the patients were obtained by self-made questionnaire. The pollen concentration and allergy related indicators(allergic duration and frequency, eye itching score, eye burn score, eye foreign body sensation score, tears score and the total scores) of 2019 and 2020 were analyzed by paired sample t-test. The pollen concentration of 2019 and 2020 were analyzed by Wilcoxon signed rank test. The allergy related indicators of different genders were analyzed by independent sample t-test. The allergy related indicators of different ages were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. The relationship between the length of wearing masks and the allergy related indicators were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis. Results:Among the 111 patients with allergic conjunctivitis, 54 were males and 57 were females, ranging in age from 8 to 69 years old, with a median age of 35 years old and an average age of (36.77±13.18) years old. The average pollen concentration in Baotou in 2019 was (125.35±222.64) grains/1 000 square millimeter, and the average pollen concentration in Baotou in 2020 was (107.38±137.29) grains/1 000 square millimeter. There was no significant difference in pollen concentration between the two years( Z=-0.178, P=0.859). The severity of allergic indicators in all patients in 2020 is significantly lower than in 2019( t values were 4.701,3.587,2.582,3.661,4.444,2.784,2.555,3.886,respectively, with P<0.05). The severity of allergic indicators in male patients is lower than that of female patients ( t values were -1.558, -1.257, -3.41, -3.085, -2.335, -2.897, -2.652, -4.124, respectively). The prevalence of allergic conjunctivitis dose not vary significant with age ( P values were 0.504, 0.095, 0.499, 0.265, 0.284, 0.655, 0.421, 0.976, respectively). In 2020, the average time that patients wear masks is (6.55±3.28) h/d, and there is a correlation with the difference in allergy duration ( r=0.191, P=0.045). Conclusion:The severity of allergic conjunctivitis in Baotou in 2020 was significantly improved compared with that in 2019, which may be related to masks wearing.