Objective:To investigate the effect of curcumin on Th17/Treg cell immune balance in acne mice by regulating the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.Methods:An acne mouse model was established by injecting propionibacterium suspension.The suc-cessfully established mice were randomly separated into the acne group,low(curcumin-L,50 mg/kg curcumin),medium(curcumin-M,100 mg/kg curcumin),high dose(curcumin-H,150 mg/kg curcumin)curcumin groups,and curcumin-H+JAK2/STAT3 pathway activator-olivelin group(150 mg/kg curcumin+1.0 mg/kg colivelin),with healthy mice as the control group,after intervention,the mice were scored for skin lesions;blood was taken from the orbit,ELISA and flow cytometry were applied to detect serum levels of IL-6 and IL-10,and the ratios of Th17 and Treg cells;HE was applied to detect pathological changes in auricle tissue;Western blot was applied to detect the expressions of p-JAK2,p-STAT3,JAK2,STAT3,Treg transcription factor forked transcription factor 3(FOXP3)and Th17 transcription factor retinoic acid related solitary receptor(RORγt)proteins in auricle tissue.Results:Compared with the control group,the pathological damage in the acne group was severe,the skin lesion and pathological scores,IL-6 level,Th17 cells ratio,p-JAK2/JAK2,p-STAT3/STAT3,and RORγt expression were obviously increased,the IL-10 level,Treg cells ra-tio,and FOXP3 expression were obviously reduced(P<0.05);compared with the acne group,the skin lesion and pathological scores,IL-6 level,Th17 cells ratio,p-JAK2/JAK2,p-STAT3/STAT3 and RORγt expression in curcumin-L,curcumin-M,and curcumin-H groups were obviously reduced,the IL-10 level,Treg cells ratio,and FOXP3 expression were obviously increased(P<0.05);com-pared with the curcumin-H group,the skin lesion and pathological scores,IL-6 level,Th17 cells ratio,p-JAK2/JAK2,p-STAT3/STAT3,and RORγt expression in curcumin-H+colivelin group were obviously increased,the IL-10 level,Treg cells ratio,and FOXP3 expression were obviously reduced(P<0.05).Conclusion:Curcumin can improve the immune balance of Th17/Treg cells in acne mice,which may be related to the inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the effect of curcumin on Th17/Treg cell immune balance in acne mice by regulating the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.Methods:An acne mouse model was established by injecting propionibacterium suspension.The suc-cessfully established mice were randomly separated into the acne group,low(curcumin-L,50 mg/kg curcumin),medium(curcumin-M,100 mg/kg curcumin),high dose(curcumin-H,150 mg/kg curcumin)curcumin groups,and curcumin-H+JAK2/STAT3 pathway activator-olivelin group(150 mg/kg curcumin+1.0 mg/kg colivelin),with healthy mice as the control group,after intervention,the mice were scored for skin lesions;blood was taken from the orbit,ELISA and flow cytometry were applied to detect serum levels of IL-6 and IL-10,and the ratios of Th17 and Treg cells;HE was applied to detect pathological changes in auricle tissue;Western blot was applied to detect the expressions of p-JAK2,p-STAT3,JAK2,STAT3,Treg transcription factor forked transcription factor 3(FOXP3)and Th17 transcription factor retinoic acid related solitary receptor(RORγt)proteins in auricle tissue.Results:Compared with the control group,the pathological damage in the acne group was severe,the skin lesion and pathological scores,IL-6 level,Th17 cells ratio,p-JAK2/JAK2,p-STAT3/STAT3,and RORγt expression were obviously increased,the IL-10 level,Treg cells ra-tio,and FOXP3 expression were obviously reduced(P<0.05);compared with the acne group,the skin lesion and pathological scores,IL-6 level,Th17 cells ratio,p-JAK2/JAK2,p-STAT3/STAT3 and RORγt expression in curcumin-L,curcumin-M,and curcumin-H groups were obviously reduced,the IL-10 level,Treg cells ratio,and FOXP3 expression were obviously increased(P<0.05);com-pared with the curcumin-H group,the skin lesion and pathological scores,IL-6 level,Th17 cells ratio,p-JAK2/JAK2,p-STAT3/STAT3,and RORγt expression in curcumin-H+colivelin group were obviously increased,the IL-10 level,Treg cells ratio,and FOXP3 expression were obviously reduced(P<0.05).Conclusion:Curcumin can improve the immune balance of Th17/Treg cells in acne mice,which may be related to the inhibition of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the effect of manual therapy based on surface electromyography on knee osteoarthritis(KOA)in the older people. Methods A total of 106 outpatient with unilateral KOA were selected from Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine,from August,2023 to June,2024,and were randomly divided into control group(n=53)and experimental group(n=53).The control group accepted routine manual therapy,and the experimental group accepted manual therapy based on the analysis of average electromyography(AEMG).They were assessed with Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index(WOMAC),Visual An-alogue Scale(VAS)for pain,Tinetti Balance and Gait Score,and 6-minute walk test(6-MWT)distances before and after treatment. Results One case dropped down in each group.Before treatment,AEMG decreased in the rectus femoris,medial femoris and medial head of gastrocnemius on the affected side in the experimental group(|Z|>8.647,P<0.001),and it increased in the lateral femoris,semitendinosus and biceps femoris(|Z|>4.808,P<0.001).The scores of WOMAC,VAS,Tinetti Balance and Gait Score,and distances of 6-MWT improved in both groups after treat-ment(|t|>3.987,P<0.001),and improved more in the experimental group than in the control group,except the VAS score(|t|>2.213,P<0.05). Conclusion Manual therapy focusing on activation of rectus femoris,medial femoris and medial head of gastrocnemius,inhibition of the lateral femoris,semitendinosus and biceps femoris,and releasing the tension of the medial and lateral collateral ligaments,according to the results of surface electromyography,can alleviate the pain of the KOA in the older people and improve the mobility of the knee.

The transmission and interaction of neural information between the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex play an important role in learning and memory. However, the specific effects of learning memory-related tasks on the connectivity characteristics between these two brain regions remain inadequately understood. This study employed in vivo microelectrode recording to obtain local field potentials (LFPs) from the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in eight rats during the performance of a T-maze task, assessed both before and after task learning. Additionally, dynamic causal modeling (DCM) was utilized to analyze alterations in causal connectivity between the vHPC and the mPFC during memory task execution pre- and post-learning. Results indicated the presence of forward connections from vHPC to mPFC and backward connections from mPFC to vHPC during the T-maze task. Moreover, the forward connection between these brain regions was slightly enhanced after task learning, whereas the backward connection was diminished. These changes in connectivity corresponded with the observed trends when the rats correctly performed the T-maze task. In conclusion, this study may facilitate future investigations into the underlying mechanisms of learning and memory from the perspective of connectivity characteristics between distinct brain regions.
Animals ; Hippocampus/physiology* ; Rats ; Prefrontal Cortex/physiology* ; Memory/physiology* ; Maze Learning/physiology* ; Learning/physiology* ; Male

The construction of experimental animal models plays an important supporting role in research into the mechanisms of action of Chinese medicines.There have been increasing reports of the construction and evaluation of animal models of spleen deficiency;however,the construction method have involved different standards and there has been insufficient objectification of the evaluation indexes.In this review,we summarize the construction and evaluation method of animal models of spleen deficiency from the aspects of animal selection,model establishment,macroscopic characterization,behavioral experiments,and objective indexes of spleen deficiency,with a view to providing theoretical guidance for the construction of experimental animal models of spleen deficiency and references for the selection of animal model platforms for spleen deficiency.

Abstract OBJECTIVE To explore the material basis and mechanism of Crataegi Fructus in improving metabolic hypertension(MH) by using network pharmacology and molecular docking technique.METHODS The components of Crataegi Fructus were collected by HERB, ETCM database and literature survey; screening all ingredients of Crataegi Fructus to improve MH targets through databases such as SwissTargetPrediction and GeneCards; build "active ingredient-target-disease" network of Crataegi Fructus with Cytoscape software; DAVID was used to analyze GO enrichment and KEGG pathway. The core components and core targets were verified by molecular docking with Autodock software. RESULTS The total of 89 active components were screened from Crataegi Fructus and acted on 84 targets. Among them, the core active components of Crataegi Fructus to improve MH were maslinic acid, fomefficinic acid B, linolenic acid, linoleic acid, methyl-n-nonylketone, apigenin, ursolic acid, etc. The core targets were CYP19A1, PPARA, ESR1, PTGS2, PPARG, NR3C1, MMP9, TNF, etc. The mechanism of action mainly involved multiple signaling pathways such as inflammation, glycolipid metabolism, and vascular endothelial function. Molecular docking showed that the core active ingredients of Crataegi Fructus had high affinity with core targets. CONCLUSION Crataegi Fructus may regulate multiple signaling pathways such as TNF, IL-17, AGE-RAGE, HIF-1, cGMP-PKG through multi-component regulation, thereby inhibiting inflammatory response, improving glucose and lipid metabolism abnormalities, and improving vascular endothelial function, so as to comprehensively exert the role of improving MH in various aspects.

Child ; Humans ; Case-Control Studies ; East Asian People ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics* ; Methyltransferases/genetics* ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Wilms Tumor/pathology*

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical phenotype and genetic etiology of a child with early-onset severe obesity. METHODS: A child who presented at the Department of Endocrinology, Hangzhou Children's Hospital on August 5, 2020 was selected as the study subject. Clinical data of the child were reviewed. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of the child and her parents. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was carried out on the child. Candidate variants were verified by Sanger sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. RESULTS: This child was a 2-year-and-9-month girl featuring severe obesity with hyperpigmentation on the neck and armpit skin. WES revealed that she has harbored compound heterozygous variants of the MC4R gene, namely c.831T>A (p.Cys277*) and c.184A>G (p.Asn62Asp). Sanger sequencing confirmed that they were respectively inherited from her father and mother. The c.831T>A (p.Cys277*) has been recorded by the ClinVar database. Its carrier frequency among normal East Asians was 0.000 4 according to the 1000 Genomes, ExAC, and gnomAD databases. Based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), it was rated as pathogenic. The c.184A>G (p.Asn62Asp) has not been recorded in the ClinVar, 1000 Genomes, ExAC and gnomAD databases. Prediction using IFT and PolyPhen-2 online software suggested it to be deleterious. Based on the guidelines from the ACMG, it was determined as likely pathogenic. CONCLUSION The c.831T>A (p.Cys277*) and c.184A>G (p.Asn62Asp) compound heterozygous variants of the MC4R gene probably underlay the early-onset severe obesity in this child. Above finding has further expanded the spectrum of MC4R gene variants and provided a reference for the diagnosis and genetic counseling for this family.
Female ; Humans ; Computational Biology ; East Asian People ; Genetic Counseling ; Genomics ; Mutation ; Obesity, Morbid/genetics* ; Child, Preschool ; Pediatric Obesity/genetics*

Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) ventilation and heated humidified high flow nasal cannula (HHHFNC) ventilation as initial respiratory support for premature infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).Methods:From January 2019 to June 2021, premature infants [gestational age (GA) 28~35 weeks)] with grade Ⅰ to Ⅲ RDS admitted to Suining County People's Hospital were prospectively enrolled. The infants were randomly assigned into BiPAP group and HHHFNC group. The clinical characteristics, ventilation efficacy and complications were analyzed.Results:A total of 33 infants were in BiPAP group and 32 in HHHFNC group. No significant differences existed between the two groups in the following items: the frequency of apnea within 24 h of ventilation, FiO 2 and PaCO 2 at 24 h, the use of pulmonary surfactant (PS), the incidence of non-invasive ventilation failure within 72 h, non-invasive ventilation duration and the age achieving total enteral nutrition. HHHFNC group had lower score in premature infants pain profile (PIPP) than BiPAP group at 24 h of non-invasive ventilation [4 (3, 6) vs. 8 (6, 11), P<0.001]. No significant differences existed in nasal injury, pneumothorax, intraventricular hemorrhage, necrotizing enterocolitis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and mortality rate between the two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusions:As the initial treatment for premature infants with grade Ⅰ to Ⅲ RDS, BiPAP and HHHFNC has similar rates of non-invasive ventilation failure within 72 h,non-invasive ventilation duration and adverse events. HHHFNC may ease the pain of the infants.

Background The health and safety climate of workplace has an important impact on the physical and mental health of workers. There is no available scale for the evaluation of workplace health and safety climate in China at present. Objective This study aims to sinicize and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Health and Safety Climate Survey. Methods The English version of Health and Safety Climate Survey was translated to Chinese and back-translated to English, and followed by expert evaluation to develop a Chinese version. Quota sampling method was used to select 2600 employees from 16 enterprises and public institutions in Pudong New Area of Shanghai and to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the scale. Structural validity, convergent validity, and discriminant validity were included in validity evaluation. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to test structural validity. In EFA, an acceptable factor loading of items on their respective dimensions was > 0.60. In CFA, an acceptable root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), a standard absolute fitness index, was < 0.05. Comparative fit index (CFI) and parsimony-adjusted non-normed fit index (PNFI), measures of incremental improvement and fit, > 0.90 indicated a good fit. Convergent validity was evaluated by average variance extracted (AVE), and an AVE > 0.50 indicated good convergent validity. Discriminant validity was determined as good by the square root of AVE greater than the correlation coefficient between latent variables. Cronbach’s α coefficient was used to evaluate the internal consistency of the scale; the internal consistency considered was very good with an α > 0.90. Cronbach’s α coefficient may cause underestimation of reliability in the case of error correlation. Therefore, composite reliability (CR) calculated based on structural equation model >0.70 indicated that the CR was good. Results The response rate was 95.69%. The Chinese version of Health and Safety Climate Survey included 22 items belonging to six dimensions which was extracted by the EFA, and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 74.79%. The corrected RMSEA was 0.045, the PNFI was 0.970, and the CFI was 0.975 in the CFA, indicating good fit. The dimensional AVE values were all greater than 0.50, indicating good CV. The square root of AVE was greater than the correlation coefficient between latent variables, indicating good DV. The Cronbach’s α was 0.90 for the total scale and were above 0.70 for all dimensions. The CR was 0.93 for the total scale and were above 0.70 for all dimensions, indicating that the overall reliability of the scale was good. Conclusion The Chinese version of Health and Safety Climate Survey has good reliability and validity, and can be further improved in field application.