AIM:To investigate the effect of fibroblast growth factor 21(FGF21)on high glucose-induced oxidative stress in retinal pigment epithelial(RPE)cells and to clarify the underlying molecular mechanisms.METHODS:Single-cell sequencing data from the GEO database were analyzed to determine the expression profile of the FGF21 receptor FGFR1 in RPE cells. Human ARPE-19 cells were cultured and randomly assigned to control, high glucose(30 mmol/L), and high glucose+FGF21 analog treatment groups, with additional siFGFR1 and PI3K inhibitor groups. Cell viability in different treatment groups was assessed using CCK-8 assay, intracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS)levels were quantified using DCFH-DA fluorescent probing combined with immunofluorescence staining and flow cytometry. Transcriptome sequencing was performed on cells from the high glucose group and high glucose+FGF21 group to analyze the enrichment level of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Western blotting was performed to detect phosphorylation levels of PI3K/Akt pathway components.RESULTS:Single-cell sequencing revealed specific expression of FGFR1 in RPE cells of retinal tissues from diabetic model mice. Under In vitro experiments, high glucose(30 mmol/L)exposure reduced ARPE-19 cell viability by 49.7% and increased ROS levels by approximately 2-fold. Whereas treatment with the FGF21 analog(60 ng/mL)restored cell viability and attenuated high glucose-induced ROS accumulation. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that FGFR1 knockdown inhibited the antioxidative stress of FGF21. Further validation of the molecular mechanism revealed that high glucose significantly suppressed the PI3K/Akt pathway activation(the levels of p-Akt and p-PI3K were decreased by 33.9% and 36.6%, respectively), while FGF21 effectively reversed this inhibitory effect and restored the expression of p-Akt and p-PI3K. Treatment with the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 inhibited the cytoprotective effect of FGF21 and significantly increased the ROS-positive cells, these findings confirm that PI3K/Akt signaling is indispensable downstream mechanism for FGF21 to exert its effects.CONCLUSION:FGF21 alleviates high glucose-induced oxidative stress and cellular injury in RPE cells by activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway through its receptor FGFR1.

Objective:To develop and validate clinical predictive models for identifying poor short-term response to recombinant human growth hormone(rhGH) treatment in children with short stature.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 118 children diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency or idiopathic short stature who were treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and two other hospitals between January 1, 2020, and January 1, 2024. A poor response to rhGH was defined as a height increase of less than 0.2 standard deviation score(SDS) after 6 months of rhGH treatment. LASSO regression was used to identify predictive variables from baseline and follow-up data. Two logistic regression models were conducted: Model A(incorporating baseline variables only) and model B(incorporating both baseline and follow-up variables), and nomograms were created for visualization. External data and internal resampling were used for dual validation of the models, and their performance was compared.Results:A total of 118 children with short stature were included. Six baseline predictive variables(diagnosis, initial height SDS, bone age, bone age-chronological age difference, rhGH dose, and gender) and one follow-up variable(height SDS after 3 months of rhGH treatment) were identified. Area under the curve values for Model A and Model B were 0.753(95% CI 0.696-0.811) and 0.930(95% CI 0.891-0.975), respectively. Calibration curves, decision curve analysis, and other evaluation metrics demonstrated good discrimination and clinical utility for both models. Model B, incorporating the 3-month follow-up variable, showed superior predictive performance compared to Model A. Conclusions:The clinical prediction models developed in this study(Model A and Model B) are practical and reliable tools for quantitatively, conveniently, and intuitively identifying children with short stature at risk of poor response to rhGH treatment.

Objective:To develop and validate clinical predictive models for identifying poor short-term response to recombinant human growth hormone(rhGH) treatment in children with short stature.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on 118 children diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency or idiopathic short stature who were treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University and two other hospitals between January 1, 2020, and January 1, 2024. A poor response to rhGH was defined as a height increase of less than 0.2 standard deviation score(SDS) after 6 months of rhGH treatment. LASSO regression was used to identify predictive variables from baseline and follow-up data. Two logistic regression models were conducted: Model A(incorporating baseline variables only) and model B(incorporating both baseline and follow-up variables), and nomograms were created for visualization. External data and internal resampling were used for dual validation of the models, and their performance was compared.Results:A total of 118 children with short stature were included. Six baseline predictive variables(diagnosis, initial height SDS, bone age, bone age-chronological age difference, rhGH dose, and gender) and one follow-up variable(height SDS after 3 months of rhGH treatment) were identified. Area under the curve values for Model A and Model B were 0.753(95% CI 0.696-0.811) and 0.930(95% CI 0.891-0.975), respectively. Calibration curves, decision curve analysis, and other evaluation metrics demonstrated good discrimination and clinical utility for both models. Model B, incorporating the 3-month follow-up variable, showed superior predictive performance compared to Model A. Conclusions:The clinical prediction models developed in this study(Model A and Model B) are practical and reliable tools for quantitatively, conveniently, and intuitively identifying children with short stature at risk of poor response to rhGH treatment.

The syndrome/pattern of defensive qi deficiency is a common basic syndrome of traditional Chinese medicine in clinical practice. However,there is a lack of standardized and operable diagnostic specifications in practical applications. Based on the previous literature,this study proposed the idea of starting from the elements of the syndrome,qualitative diagnostic criteria for the syndrome/pattern of defensive qi deficiency oriented to the entire region of the disease were constructed based on the two dimensions of " deficient defensive qi failing to consolidate the exterior" and " qi deficiency" and constructing a set of quantitative evaluation criteria as the supporting content for the diagnostic items. The core members of the research group attempted to formulate the draft standard,then reached a consensus through the Delphi method expert questionnaire consultation and the Nominal group technique,and finally evaluated the reliability and validity of the standard through clinical verification to provide ideas for the standardization and normalization of research on syndromes.

Objective:To investigate the molecular expression and pathological features of endothelial cell (EC) in a murine model of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) based on single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).Methods:Six C57BL/6 mice aged 6-8 weeks were randomly divided into two groups, with 3 mice in each group.Bilateral eyeballs were enucleated.The choroidal tissues from the two groups were isolated by shearing the complex and scraping the choroid, respectively.Single-cell suspension was prepared by continuous digestion with trypsin/type Ⅰ collagenase at 37 ℃, and the cell viability and EC ratio were detected by flow cytometry to determine the preparation method of single-cell suspension.Another 6 mice were randomly assigned into the control group and the CNV group, with 3 mice in each group.The CNV model was induced by laser photocoagulation and single-cell suspensions were prepared 7 days after modeling.Gene expression library construction was performed using the Chromi-um (10x Genomics) instrument.High throughput sequencing was performed using the Illumina Novaseq6000 to obtain the expression matrix.The EC subpopulations were classified according to previous researches and the Cellmarker database.Pseudo-time analysis was performed in EC, revealing the gene expression matrix of different states.CNV-EC were further selected with preliminary analysis of the expression characteristics.Another 6 mice were selected to establish the CNV model and eyeball frozen sections were prepared 7 days after modeling.Expression and distribution as well as the area percentage of EC marker Pecam1, mitochondrial outer membrane proteins Tomm20 and mt-Co1, and capillary markers Kdr and Plvap were observed by immunofluorescence staining, and the vascular diameter was calculated.The use and care of animals followed the ARVO statement.This study protocol was approved by the Experimental Animal Welfare and Ethics Committee of Air Force Military Medical University (No.20200181).Results:The cell viability of the single-cell suspension prepared from choroidal-scleral fragments and choroidal scrapings was 99.4% and 99.1%, respectively, both of which met the sequencing requirements.The percentage of EC detected by flow cytometry was approximately 1.58%.The scRNA-seq result revealed that both the normal control and CNV groups contained 13 choroidal cell clusters.Compared with the normal control group, the proportions of rod/cone photoreceptor cells, EC and hematopoietic cells all increased, while the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and Schwan cells reduced in the CNV group.Among all clusters, EC constituted 18.4%.The pseudo-time analysis demonstrated that EC could be further divided into 4 states.The percentage of state 2 EC was 29.1% in the CNV group, which was significantly higher than 9.5% in the normal control group.Differentially expressed gene analysis showed that the expression of mitochondrion-related genes, including mt-Nd4 and mt-Atp6, were upregulated in state 2 EC, while capillary-related genes, including Kdr and Esm1, were downregulated.Immunofluorescent staining revealed that the area of Tomm20 and mt-Co1 in Pecam1-positive EC in the CNV area was (19.50±4.68)% and (4.64±2.82)%, respectively, which were both higher than (3.00±2.09)% and (0.18±0.34)% in normal area ( t=7.88, 3.84; both at P<0.01). The area of Kdr and Plvap in Pecam1-positive EC in the CNV area was (1.50±0.29)% and (0.79±0.97)%, respectively, which were both lower than (31.30±5.44)% and (10.43±2.28)% in the normal area ( t=13.40, 9.48; both at P<0.01). The vascular diameter in the CNV area was (5.52±1.85)μm, which was larger than (4.21±1.84)μm in the normal area ( t=9.57, P<0.001). Conclusions:When CNV occurs, the proportion of EC in choroid increases, and CNV-EC shows pathologic features of mitochondrial metabolic activation and loss of capillary properties, suggesting the mitochondrial activation of EC may play a role in the formation of CNV.

Objective:To discuss the molecular association pattern of Shenling Baizhu Powder for type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and ulcerative colitis through network pharmacology method based on the theory of "treating different diseases with same method" in TCM.Methods:The TCMSP and ETCM Chinese medicine chemical composition databases were used to obtain the chemical composition and predict the targets of Shenling Baizhu Powder. The OMIM, GeneCards, DrugBank and TTD disease databases were used to obtain the disease targets of T2DM and ulcerative colitis. The intersection targets of chemical composition of Shenling Baizhu Powder, T2DM and ulcerative colitis were obtained by Bioinformatics platform. Cytoscape 3.8.2 software was used to map the "Chinese materia medica-component-target" network and "effective component- intersection target" network. The GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway analysis of the intersection targets were performed with the STRING platform. The intersection target protein-protein interaction network was constructed by STRING database, and core targets were obtained using the CytoNCA plugin of Cytoscape 3.8.2 software. AutodockTools software was applied to validate the molecular docking between the core chemical components and the core targets of Shenling Baizhu Powder.Results:Totally 176 chemical components of Shenling Baizhu Powder, 226 corresponding targets, 11 478 T2DM targets, 4 857 Ulcerative targets of ulcerative colitis, and 162 intersection targets of medicinal chemistry components and diseases were obtained. 1 789 related biological processes, 163 molecular functions, 92 cell constituents, and 192 signaling pathways were obtained by GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway analysis. The signaling pathways were mainly about AGE-RAGE, TNF, IL-17,MAPK, PI3K-Akt signaling pathways, etc. The core components of Shenling Baizhu Powder were mainly sitosterol, luteolin, kaempferol, naringenin, beta-carotene, etc. The core targets were EGFR, ALB, IL1B, CASP3, ESR1, VEGFA, PTGS2, TNF, IL6, MYC, AKT 1, JUN, TP53, etc. The core chemical components had tight correlation with the core targets by the molecular docking.Conclusions:By acting on core targets such as TNF, IL1B, IL6, AKT1, VRGFA, PTGS2, MYC, JUN, TP53, and regulating IL-17 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, etc., Shenling Baizhu Powder improves tissue inflammation damage, mucosal barrier damage, immune regulation imbalance, intestinal flora dysbiosis, insulin resistance, apoptosis, oxidative stress and other biological processes. Therefore Shenling Baizhu Powder can treat T2DM and ulcerative colitis with the same method.

ObjectiveTo explore the relationship between five-state personality and Cattell's 16 personality factors. MethodsA total of 913 students recruited from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine from November 2020 to January 2021 were assessed by using the Five-state Personality Test Form and the 16 Personality Factors Questionnaire （16PF）. The five-state personality scores were compared with national norms and gender differences were examined. Additionally， a structural equation model was established and the model fit was assessed using comparative fit index （CFI）， Tucker-Lewis index （TLI）， and root mean square error of approximation （RMSEA）. The five-state personality （Taiyang， Shaoyang， Yin-yang balance， Shaoyin and Taiyin） was used as individual outcome variables while the 16PF factors was employed as predictor variables. Based on standardized parameter estimation results， we explored the relationships between the five-state personality and 16PF. ResultsA total of 913 students were recruited， and 756 valid samples were obtained after excluding unqualified questionnaires. Among these， the scores of Taiyang， Shaoyang and Taiyin in the 756 school students were significantly lower than the national norms， while the scores of Yin-yang balance was significantly higher （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The scores of Taiyang， Shaoyang， Yin-yang balance and Shaoyin were significantly higher than in males compared to females （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Regarding the relationship between the dimensions of five-state personality and 16PF， the model demonstrated a good fit with CFI and TLI values of 0.993 and 0.980， respectively， and an RMSEA value of 0.027. The 16PF factors， including dominance， social boldness， vigilance， rule-consciousness， tension， and emotional stability， positively predicted the Taiyang personality traits， while privateness and apprehension negatively predicted the Taiyang personality traits （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. For Shaoyang personality traits， factors such as liveliness， social boldness， dominance， and tension positively predicted them， while rule-consciousness， apprehension， and privateness negatively predicted Shaoyang perso-nality traits （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. In the case of Yin-yang balance personality traits， perfectionism， rule-consciousness， emotional stability， and self-reliance positively predicted them， while apprehension negatively predicted Yin-yang balance personality traits （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Regarding Shaoyin personality traits， perfectionism， emotional stability， self-reliance， rule-consciousness， and vigilance positively predicted them， while dominance， social boldness， and liveliness negatively predicted Shaoyin personality traits （P＜0.01）. Apprehension， tension， vigilance， and self-reliance positively predicted Taiyin personality traits， while social boldness， rule-consciousness， and intelligence negatively predicted Taiyin personality traits （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. ConclusionThere is a significant correlation between five-state personality test and 16PF with 16PF factors capable of predicting five-state personality factors. The five-state personality demonstrates scientific validity and effectiveness.

Internationalization of the public signs contributes significantly to the popularization and the image-building of the city. Investigation of several scenic spots shows that there is much room for improvement for the translation of the public signs. The problems are revealed in the research, translation principles for public sign is discussed, and tentative suggestion is provided with consideration of the characteristics of the TCM text, which may provide a reference for standardization of translation of public signs.

Objective To investigate whether vascular endothelial cells in choroidal neovascularization whether hypoxia condition can up-regulate SNAI1 and activate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)2 and MMP9 therefore to participate in choroidal neovascularization(CNV).Methods Sixteen SPF male C57 mice aged 6-8 weeks were divided into control group and model group.CNV models were induced by retinal laser photocoagulation,and flatmount and frozen sections of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-choroid-sclera compound were prepared at 7 days after modeling.The CNV in flat-mount was examined by Isolectin B4 staining,and the location of SNAI1,MMP2 and MMP9 in frozen sections was determined by immunofluorescence technology.The expression of SNAI1,MMP2 and MMP9 at mRNA level in CNV was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (real-time PCR).The use and care of experimental animals complied with Statement for the Use of Animals in Ophthalmic and Visual Research.The RF/6A cells were divided into normoxia group and hypoxia group and cultured for 24 hours in 5％ CO2condition and mix condition of 94％ N2,5％ CO2 and 1％ O2,respectively.The expression of SNAI1,MMP2 and MMP9 in the cells at mRNA and protein levels was detected by real-time PCR and Western blot assay,respectively.Small interfering RNA of SNAI1 (siSNAI1) was transfected into the cells,and then the expression of MMP2 in the cells at mRNA and protein levels was detected by real-time PCR and Western blot assay,respectively,and the migrating number of the cells was assayed by Transwell chamber assay.Results CD31 and SNAI1 positive-response cells were seen in RPE-choroid-sclera flat-mounts under the laser scanning confocal microscope.The relative expression levels of SNAI1mRNA and MMP2 mRNA in RPE-choroid-sclera tissues were higher in the model group than those in the control group (SNAI1 mRNA:1.291 ±0.060 vs.0.759±0.074,P =0.001;MMP2 mRNA:1.610±0.424 vs.0.772 ±0.080,P =0.044).The expression of MMP9 mRNA was not significantly elevated between model group and control group (P＞0.05).The relative expression level of MMP2 mRNA was higher in comparison with MMP9 mRNA in the model group (P＜0.01).The relative expressions of hypoxic induced factor 1α (HIF-1α),SNAI1 and MMP2 at mRNA level and protein level in RF/6A cells were significantly higher in the hypoxia group than those in the normoxia group (all at P＜0.05) and no considerable difference was seen in MMP9 mRNA expression between the two groups (P＞0.05).The relative expressions of MMP2 mRNA in the cells were 0.217±0.036 and 0.818±0.105,and those of MMP2 protein in the cells were 0.236±0.009 and 1.043±0.120 in the hypoxia+siSNAI1 group and only hypoxia group,respectively,with significant differences between them (P =0.002,0.003).The migrating number of the cells was (254.60 ±71.31)/field in the hypoxia+siSNAI1 group,which was significantly less than (534.10±96.21) /field in the control group (P =0.029).Conclusions The hypoxic environment at CNV can activate MMP2 by up-regulating the expression of SNAI1,which promotes the migration of vascular endothelial cells and therefore participates in CNV formation,and the intervention of SNAI1 activation under the hypoxic condition can inhibit this process.

Objective The aim of this study was to establish a PM2.5air pollution-induced mouse model of pulmo-nary inflammation and investigate its pathogenetic mechanism. Methods 150 specific pathogen-free BALB/c mice were subjected to intratracheal instillation of 2.5,5,or 10 mg/kg PM2.5suspension to construct airborne inflammation models. The blank group and saline group were taken as a control group. Mice were euthanized after 3rd,7th,21st,35th and 49th days to assess the pathological changes in lung tissues using HE staining and ELISA. Results The success rate of tracheal instillation was 96%. With the time prolongation and increasing doses of intratracheal PM2.5instillation,the histopathologi-cal scores of lung tissue increased gradually,showing alveolar macrophages with engulfed particles and lymphocyte accumu-lation in bronchiole and widened inter-alveolar space. The levels of BALF IL-6 and TNF-α of lung tissue homogenate were significantly increased in the high dose PM2.5(10 mg/kg)group, compared with the control groups. Conclusions A mouse model of PM2.5air pollution-induced lung inflammation is successfully established by intratracheal instillation of PM2.5suspension.This method is proved to be simple,safe and reliable,and is useful for further study of air pollution-in-duced and other inflammatory mechanisms.