ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of Shexiang Baoxinwan in treating stable angina pectoris with Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome in patients with coronary artery disease （CAD） complicated with anxiety and depression and explore its underlying mechanisms. MethodsThis study employed a randomized， double-blind， and placebo-controlled clinical trial design. Patients admitted to the hospital were randomly assigned to the observation group and the control group， with 52 patients in each group. Patients in the observation and control groups received Shexiang Baoxinwan and placebo， respectively， both in combination with conventional Western medication. The dose was 45.0 mg， three times daily， for a total duration of eight weeks. The primary outcome was the Seattle Angina Questionnaire （SAQ） scores before and after treatment. Secondary outcomes included changes in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， the patient health questionnaire-9 （PHQ-9）， generalized anxiety disorder-7 （GAD-7）， inflammatory markers ［interleukin-18 （IL-18）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）， CD40， etc.］， monoamine neurotransmitters ［e.g.， dopamine （DA）］， vascular endothelial function markers ［e.g.， endothelin-1（ET-1）］， adipokines， and ischemia-modified albumin （IMA）. Adverse reactions were also recorded. ResultsA total of 92 patients completed the study， with 44 in the observation group and 48 in the control group. Compared with baseline， both groups showed significant decreases in PHQ-9， GAD-7， and TCM syndrome scores following treatment （P<0.05）， along with a significant increase in SAQ scores （P<0.05）. In the observation group， DA levels were significantly increased （P<0.05）， while levels of IL-18， TNF-α， CD40， ET-1， and IMA were decreased （P<0.05）. In contrast， the control group exhibited significantly increased CD40 levels （P<0.05）. Compared with the control group after treatment， the observation group showed significant improvements in the SAQ dimensions of physical limitation， angina stability， treatment satisfaction， and disease perception， as well as in TCM syndrome score， PHQ-9 score， IL-18， CD40， ET-1， and IMA （P<0.05）. No adverse reactions were observed in either group during treatment. ConclusionShexiang Baoxinwan can improve anxiety and depression， alleviate angina symptoms， and reduce TCM symptoms of Qi stagnation and blood stasis in CAD patients. The mechanism may involve anti-inflammation， improvement of vascular endothelial function， reduction of IMA， and increase of monoamine neurotransmitter levels.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of Shexiang Baoxinwan in treating stable angina pectoris with Qi stagnation and blood stasis syndrome in patients with coronary artery disease （CAD） complicated with anxiety and depression and explore its underlying mechanisms. MethodsThis study employed a randomized， double-blind， and placebo-controlled clinical trial design. Patients admitted to the hospital were randomly assigned to the observation group and the control group， with 52 patients in each group. Patients in the observation and control groups received Shexiang Baoxinwan and placebo， respectively， both in combination with conventional Western medication. The dose was 45.0 mg， three times daily， for a total duration of eight weeks. The primary outcome was the Seattle Angina Questionnaire （SAQ） scores before and after treatment. Secondary outcomes included changes in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， the patient health questionnaire-9 （PHQ-9）， generalized anxiety disorder-7 （GAD-7）， inflammatory markers ［interleukin-18 （IL-18）， interleukin-10 （IL-10）， tumor necrosis factor-alpha （TNF-α）， CD40， etc.］， monoamine neurotransmitters ［e.g.， dopamine （DA）］， vascular endothelial function markers ［e.g.， endothelin-1（ET-1）］， adipokines， and ischemia-modified albumin （IMA）. Adverse reactions were also recorded. ResultsA total of 92 patients completed the study， with 44 in the observation group and 48 in the control group. Compared with baseline， both groups showed significant decreases in PHQ-9， GAD-7， and TCM syndrome scores following treatment （P<0.05）， along with a significant increase in SAQ scores （P<0.05）. In the observation group， DA levels were significantly increased （P<0.05）， while levels of IL-18， TNF-α， CD40， ET-1， and IMA were decreased （P<0.05）. In contrast， the control group exhibited significantly increased CD40 levels （P<0.05）. Compared with the control group after treatment， the observation group showed significant improvements in the SAQ dimensions of physical limitation， angina stability， treatment satisfaction， and disease perception， as well as in TCM syndrome score， PHQ-9 score， IL-18， CD40， ET-1， and IMA （P<0.05）. No adverse reactions were observed in either group during treatment. ConclusionShexiang Baoxinwan can improve anxiety and depression， alleviate angina symptoms， and reduce TCM symptoms of Qi stagnation and blood stasis in CAD patients. The mechanism may involve anti-inflammation， improvement of vascular endothelial function， reduction of IMA， and increase of monoamine neurotransmitter levels.

ObjectiveThis paper aims to verify the therapeutic effect of Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder prepared by the new process on the rat's trigeminal neuralgia model caused by infraorbital injection of Talci Pulvis， evaluate its potential clinical application value， and compare the therapeutic effect with that of Cranial Painkiller granules， so as to provide data support for the application of the Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder and precise treatment. MethodsThe rat's trigeminal neuralgia model was constructed by infraorbital injection of Talci Pulvis， and the rats were randomly divided into the normal group， model group， carbamazepine group （60 mg·kg^-1）， Cranial Painkiller granules group （2.70 g·kg^-1）， and low， medium， and high dosage groups of Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder （1.35， 2.70， 5.40 g·kg^-1） according to the basal mechanical pain thresholds， and there were 10 rats in each group. The drug was administered by gavage to each group 2 h after modeling， and distilled water was given by gavage to the normal and model groups under the same conditions once a day for 10 d. Von Frey brushes were used to measure mechanical pain thresholds in rats. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to detect pathological changes in the trigeminal ganglion， and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect the inflammatory factors interleukin-1 （IL-1）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） levels in rat serum， as well as neuropeptide substance P （SP） and β-endorphin （β-EP） levels in rat brain tissue. Western blot technique was used to detect the levels of NLRP3， ASC， Caspase-1， and OTULIN proteins in rat brain tissue. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the pain threshold of rats in the model group showed a continuous significant decrease （P<0.01）. The pathological damage of brain tissue was significant （P<0.01）， and the inflammatory levels of IL-1， IL-6， IL-8， and TNF-α in serum were significantly elevated （P<0.01）. The level of the SP in the brain tissue was significantly elevated （P<0.01）， and the level of β-EP was significantly reduced （P<0.01）， while the level of OTULIN was significantly reduced， and NLRP3， ASC， and Caspase-1 protein levels were significantly elevated （P<0.01）. After administration of the drug， compared with the model group， the pain threshold of each dose group of the Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder and the Cranial Painkiller granules group significantly increased （P<0.01）. The inflammatory levels of IL-1， IL-6， IL-8， and TNF-α and SP levels significantly decreased （P<0.01）， and the β-EP levels were significantly elevated （P<0.01）， while the levels of OTULIN protein were significantly elevated （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the levels of NLRP3， ASC proteins were decreased （P<0.01）in high dose Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder. Meanwhile， compared with those in the model group， the trigeminal ganglion lesions of rats in the Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder and Cranial Painkiller granules groups showed different degrees of improvement （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionThe Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder has significant therapeutic effects on the rat model of trigeminal neuralgia induced by infraorbital injection of Talci Pulvis， and its mechanism is related to the improvement of OTULIN-regulated neuroinflammation.

ObjectiveThis paper aims to verify the therapeutic effect of Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder prepared by the new process on the rat's trigeminal neuralgia model caused by infraorbital injection of Talci Pulvis， evaluate its potential clinical application value， and compare the therapeutic effect with that of Cranial Painkiller granules， so as to provide data support for the application of the Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder and precise treatment. MethodsThe rat's trigeminal neuralgia model was constructed by infraorbital injection of Talci Pulvis， and the rats were randomly divided into the normal group， model group， carbamazepine group （60 mg·kg^-1）， Cranial Painkiller granules group （2.70 g·kg^-1）， and low， medium， and high dosage groups of Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder （1.35， 2.70， 5.40 g·kg^-1） according to the basal mechanical pain thresholds， and there were 10 rats in each group. The drug was administered by gavage to each group 2 h after modeling， and distilled water was given by gavage to the normal and model groups under the same conditions once a day for 10 d. Von Frey brushes were used to measure mechanical pain thresholds in rats. Hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining was used to detect pathological changes in the trigeminal ganglion， and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） was used to detect the inflammatory factors interleukin-1 （IL-1）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） levels in rat serum， as well as neuropeptide substance P （SP） and β-endorphin （β-EP） levels in rat brain tissue. Western blot technique was used to detect the levels of NLRP3， ASC， Caspase-1， and OTULIN proteins in rat brain tissue. ResultsCompared with the normal group， the pain threshold of rats in the model group showed a continuous significant decrease （P<0.01）. The pathological damage of brain tissue was significant （P<0.01）， and the inflammatory levels of IL-1， IL-6， IL-8， and TNF-α in serum were significantly elevated （P<0.01）. The level of the SP in the brain tissue was significantly elevated （P<0.01）， and the level of β-EP was significantly reduced （P<0.01）， while the level of OTULIN was significantly reduced， and NLRP3， ASC， and Caspase-1 protein levels were significantly elevated （P<0.01）. After administration of the drug， compared with the model group， the pain threshold of each dose group of the Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder and the Cranial Painkiller granules group significantly increased （P<0.01）. The inflammatory levels of IL-1， IL-6， IL-8， and TNF-α and SP levels significantly decreased （P<0.01）， and the β-EP levels were significantly elevated （P<0.01）， while the levels of OTULIN protein were significantly elevated （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the levels of NLRP3， ASC proteins were decreased （P<0.01）in high dose Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder. Meanwhile， compared with those in the model group， the trigeminal ganglion lesions of rats in the Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder and Cranial Painkiller granules groups showed different degrees of improvement （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionThe Cranial Painkiller pills' extract powder has significant therapeutic effects on the rat model of trigeminal neuralgia induced by infraorbital injection of Talci Pulvis， and its mechanism is related to the improvement of OTULIN-regulated neuroinflammation.

As a representative chemotherapeutic drug, docetaxel (DTX) has been used for breast cancer treatment for decades. However, the poor solubility of DTX limits its efficacy, and the DTX based therapy increases the metastasis risk due to the upregulation of C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) expression during the treatment. Herein, we conjugated CXCR4 antagonist peptide (CTCE) with DTX (termed CTCE-DTX) as an anti-metastasis agent to treat breast cancer. CTCE-DTX could self-assemble to nanoparticles, targeting CXCR4-upregulated metastatic tumor cells and enhancing the DTX efficacy. Thus, the CTCE-DTX NPs achieved promising efficacy on inhibiting both bone-specific metastasis and lung metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer. Our work provided a rational strategy on designing peptide-drug conjugates with synergistic anti-tumor efficacy.

Background: Serum C-peptide results from various routine methods used in China are highly variable, warranting well-performing methods to serve as an accuracy base to improve the harmonization of C-peptide measurements in China. We developed an accurate isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (ID-LC–MS/MS) method for serum C-peptide measurement and explored its use in harmonization. Methods: After protein precipitation with ZnSO4 solution, C-peptide was extracted from serum samples by anion-exchange solid-phase extraction and quantified by ID-LC–MS/MS in positive ion mode. The precision and analytical recovery of the ID-LC–MS/MS method were assessed. Seventy-six serum samples were analyzed using the ID-LC–MS/MS method and six routine immunoassays. Ordinary linear regression (OLR) and Bland-Altman (BA) analyses were conducted to evaluate the relationship between the ID-LC–MS/MS method and routine immunoassays. Five serum pool samples assigned using the ID-LC–MS/MS method were used to recalibrate the routine assays. OLR and BA analyses were re-conducted after recalibration. Results: The within-run, between-run, and total precision for the ID-LC–MS/MS method at four concentrations were 1.0%–2.1%, 0.6%–1.2%, and 1.3%–2.2%, respectively. The analytical recoveries for the ID-LC–MS/MS method at three concentrations were 100.3%–100.7%, 100.4%–101.0%, and 99.6%–100.7%. The developed method and the immunoassays were strongly correlated, with all R2 >0.98. The comparability among the immunoassays was substantially improved after recalibration. Conclusions The performance of the ID-LC–MS/MS method was carefully validated, and this method can be used to improve the harmonization of serum C-peptide measurements in China.

Objective:To compare results of four glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) detection methods and to evaluate the uncertainty of HbA1C results in clinical laboratory, and to provide method for clinical laboratory on the evaluation of uncertainty.Methods:According to the four uncertainty evaluation methods, which were recommended by "CNAS-TRL-001, the evaluation and expression of measurement uncertainty in medical laboratory", the relative and absolute uncertainty of low, medium and high HbA1c in 33 clinical laboratories measured in 2019 and 35 clinical laboratories measured in 2020 was evaluated by more than 6 months of internal quality control (IQC) data, trueness verification and external quality assessment (EQA) data. The four uncertainty evaluation methods were: IQC data and trueness verification data (method 1), only trueness verification data (method 2), IQC and EQA data (method 3) and only EQA data (method 4). The related statistical methods used in this analysis were Friedman and Wilcoxon signed rank test.Results:For method 1, the median range of relative and absolute uncertainty of low, medium and high HbA1c detection in 2019 and 2020 ranged from 4.21% to 9.24% and from 0.27% to 0.64%, respectively. Compared to method 1, the relative and absolute uncertainties obtained by method 2 were smaller, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.016 7, P<0.05). Compared to method 1, the relative uncertainties obtained by method 3 and method 4 were smaller, except for the high concentration of HbA1c level in 2020. Among the 6 pairs of comparisons (low, medium and high HbA1c in 2019 and 2020), there were 3 pairs (high HbA1c in 2019, low and medium HbA1c in 2020) and 2 pairs (low and high HbA1c in 2020) of differences with statistical significance (all P<0.016 7). Conclusion:The uncertainty evaluation of HbA1c detection in clinical laboratory should be evaluated based on IQC and trueness verification data.

Objective:To observe the morphological and hemodynamics changes of aortic segments in mice with angiotensinogen Ⅱ(Ang II) combined with β-aminopropionitrile(BAPN) induced-aortic dissection by color Doppler ultrasound(CDUS).Methods:Twenty male mice of 6-8 weeks old C57BL/6 were randomly divided into two groups: the model group( n=10) was induced by intraperitoneal injection of Ang Ⅱ combined with BAPN to establish mice model with aortic dissection; the control group( n=10) was intraperitoneally injected with normal saline.The body weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure of the mice were routinely recorded. On the 42th day, CDUS was used to measure the indexes of ascending aorta(AoA), descending thoracic aorta(DAo) and suprarenal aorta(SAo) in both groups, including the inner diameter of the cross section, peak systolic velocity(PSV), the end diastolic velocity(EDV), the resistance index(RI), the pulsatility index(PI), time average mean velocity(TAMV), the heart rate(HR) and the maximal shear rate(SR). Then, the aortas were harvested from the root to the bifurcation of the renal artery. The pathological changes of the aortic wall were observed using hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. Results:①There were statistically significant differences in body weight, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate between the model group and the control group(all P<0.05). Compared with the control group(0/10), the incidence of the AoA dissection(8/10) in the model group was obviously higher, the difference was statistically significant( P<0.05); while the incidence of the DAo dissection(4/10) and the SAo dissection(3/10) in the model group was slightly higher, the differences were not statistically significant (all P>0.05). ②Compared with the ascending aorta of the control group, the inner diameter, PSV, EDV, TAMV, PI and SR in the model group were significantly higher(all P<0.05), while RI showed no significant difference between the two groups ( P>0.05). For the descending thoracic aorta, PSV, EDV, TAMV, PI and SR in model group were higher than those of the control group(all P<0.05), however the inner diameter and RI were not significantly different between the two groups (all P>0.05). And for the superior renal aorta, PSV, TAMV, RI, PI and SR in the model group were obviously higher than the control group(all P<0.05), whereas the inner diameter and EDV were not significantly different between the two groups (all P>0.05). ③The HE of the tissue section in the model group showed, the aortas were obviously dilated, irregular, with inhomogeneously thickening wall; the endothelial cell nuclei were slightly stained, and some intima and middle layer ruptured and protruded outward to form dissecting aneurysms. The adventitias were markedly infiltrated with inflammatory cells. Conclusions:Ultrasonography could primarily evaluate the hemodynamic changes of aorta in hypertension with aortic dissection, and the PSV, TAMV, PI and SR of aorta may be important indicators for early predicting the occurrence of aortic dissection in hypertension.

Objective:To understand the prevalence and genotype characteristics of enterovirus and Coxsackie virus in hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) patients in Qinghai province from 2015 to 2018.Methods:The throat swabs of HFMD patients were collected for virus isolation and RT-PCR in Qinghai province. The nucleotide sequence of the amplified products was determined and analyzed, and the gene evolution tree was constructed with reference to the sequence of some strains of NCBI.Results:From 2015 to 2018, 1 738 samples of clinical diagnosis positive cases were collected, including 326 EV-A71 cases, accounting for 18.76%, 237 CV-A16 cases, accounting for 13.64%, 628 CV-A6 cases, accounting for 36.13%. There were statistically significant differences among different genotypes in 4 years (EV-A71, χ2=245.315, P<0.001; CV-A16, χ2=27.680, P<0.001; CV-A6, χ2=702.713, P<0.001). A total of 317 cell culture isolates were obtained after isolation with RD cells. After sequence, DNA sequences of typical genotypes were selected for sequence analysis, from 2017 to 2018. The homology of all genotypes of VP1 was between 59% and 100%, the homology was 93% to 100% in 19 strains of EV-A71, the homology was 92% to 100% in 20 strains of CV-A16, the homology was 97% to 99% in 6 strains of CV-A6. According to the evolutionary tree, the sequences of EV-A71 strains are all on the C4a branch of the evolutionary tree in Qinghai province; 18 strains of CV-A16 were B1b and 2 stains were 1D; 5 strains of CV-A6 were D3 and 1 was B1. Conclusions:From 2015 to 2018, the prevalent genotypes of HFMD shifted from EV-A71 to CV-A16 and CV-A6 in Qinghai province, The EV-A71 genotype in Qinghai province has always been C4a genotype. There are different genotypes of CV-A16 and CV-A6. The nucleotide sequence differences between different genotypes are large, and the sequence variation among the same gene is small.

Background: Using commutable external quality assessment (EQA) materials is important for monitoring successful harmonization efforts. We assessed the commutability of four human serum pool (HSP) preparations to identify candidate EQA materials for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity measurement. Methods: One set each of 85 clinical samples (CSs) was collected for ALT and AST activity measurement. The 15 candidate EQA materials included four types of HSP preparations (A to D): materials A, C, and D contained human original recombinant (HOR) aminotransferases; materials B was mixed leftover samples. The CSs and 15 candidate EQA materials were analyzed using seven routine assays, and the ln-transformed results were analyzed in 21 assay pairs. Commutability was assessed using Deming regression, with a 95% prediction interval (CLSI approach) and the difference in bias with an error component model (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine [IFCC] approach). Results: For ALT, all materials were commutable for 14–21 assay pairs according to the CLSI and IFCC approaches. For AST, B01-03 showed commutability for 14-21 assay pairs, and C01-03 and D01-03 showed commutability for no less than 10 assay pairs according to the two approaches. A01-06 were commutable for 9-16 assay pairs according to the CLSI approach, but for 6-9 assay pairs according to the IFCC approach. Conclusions Mixed leftover samples showed desirable commutability characteristics as candidate EQA materials for routine aminotransferase activity measurements. Human serum bases supplemented with HOR were commutable for most routine ALT activity measurements.