Chronic heart failure （CHF） is a group of complex clinical syndromes caused by abnormal changes in the structure and/or function of the heart due to various reasons， resulting in disorders of ventricular contraction and/or diastole. CHF is a condition where primary diseases such as coronary heart disease， hypertension and pulmonary heart disease recur frequently and persist for a long time， presenting blood stasis in meridians and collaterals， stagnation of water and dampness， and accumulation of Qi in collaterals. Its pathogenesis is complex and may involve myocardial energy metabolism disorders， oxidative stress responses， myocardial cell apoptosis， autophagy， inflammatory responses， etc. According to the theory of restraining hyperactivity to acquire harmony， we believe that under normal circumstances， the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase （AMPK） signaling pathway functions normally， maintaining human physiological activities and energy metabolism. Under pathological conditions， the AMPK signaling pathway is abnormal， causing energy metabolism disorders， inflammatory responses， and myocardial fibrosis. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） can regulate the AMPK signaling pathway through multiple mechanisms， targets， and effects， effectively curbing the occurrence and development of CHF. It has gradually become a research hotspot in the prevention and treatment of this disease. Guided by the theory of TCM， our research group， through literature review， summarized the relationship between the AMPK pathway and CHF and reviewed the research progress in the prevention and control of CHF with TCM active ingredients， TCM compound prescriptions， and Chinese patent medicines via regulating the AMPK pathway. The review aims to clarify the mechanism and targets of TCM in the treatment of CHF by regulating the AMPK pathway and guide the clinical treatment and drug development for CHF.

BACKGROUND: Ischemic acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common syndrome associated with considerable mortality and healthcare costs. Up to now, the underlying pathogenesis of ischemic AKI remains incompletely understood, and specific strategies for early diagnosis and treatment of ischemic AKI are still lacking. Here, this study aimed to define the transcriptomic landscape of AKI patients through single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analysis in kidneys. METHODS: In this study, scRNA-seq technology was applied to kidneys from two ischemic AKI patients, and three human public scRNA-seq datasets were collected as controls. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and cell clusters of kidneys were determined. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, as well as the ligand-receptor interaction between cells, were performed. We also validated several DEGs expression in kidneys from human ischemic AKI and ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury induced AKI mice through immunohistochemistry staining. RESULTS: 15 distinct cell clusters were determined in kidney from subjects of ischemic AKI and control. The injured proximal tubules (PT) displayed a proapoptotic and proinflammatory phenotype. PT cells of ischemic AKI had up-regulation of novel pro-apoptotic genes including USP47 , RASSF4 , EBAG9 , IER3 , SASH1 , SEPTIN7 , and NUB1 , which have not been reported in ischemic AKI previously. Several hub genes were validated in kidneys from human AKI and renal I/R injury mice, respectively. Furthermore, PT highly expressed DEGs enriched in endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy, and retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I) signaling. DEGs overexpressed in other tubular cells were primarily enriched in nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor signaling, estrogen signaling, interleukin (IL)-12 signaling, and IL-17 signaling. Overexpressed genes in kidney-resident immune cells including macrophages, natural killer T (NKT) cells, monocytes, and dendritic cells were associated with leukocyte activation, chemotaxis, cell adhesion, and complement activation. In addition, the ligand-receptor interactions analysis revealed prominent communications between macrophages and monocytes with other cells in the process of ischemic AKI. CONCLUSION Together, this study reveals distinct cell-specific transcriptomic atlas of kidney in ischemic AKI patients, altered signaling pathways, and potential cell-cell crosstalk in the development of AKI. These data reveal new insights into the pathogenesis and potential therapeutic strategies in ischemic AKI.
Humans ; Mice ; Animals ; Transcriptome/genetics* ; Ligands ; Kidney/metabolism* ; Acute Kidney Injury/metabolism* ; Ischemia/metabolism* ; Reperfusion Injury/metabolism* ; Sequence Analysis, RNA ; Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing/metabolism* ; Tumor Suppressor Proteins/metabolism*

Objective:To study the key factors that affect patients′ perception among the five dimensional factors of patients′ perceived service quality, and explore how to effectively rebuild patients′ confidence in the process of handling services with quality defects.Methods:A total of 388 12345 work orders from a Beijing stomatological hospital in 2021 were collected. The problems and solutions of patients′feedback were classified and standardized into tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship between relevant factors and problem solving rate, patient satisfaction.Results:There were 513 feedback questions in 388 return visit work orders, with 1.32 items for each. There were 83, 112, 126, 111 and 81 questions in the five dimensions of tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy; 273 work orders had single-dimension problems, accounting for 70.4%, 105 work orders had two dimensional problems, and 10 work orders had three dimensional problems. Among them, the assurance dimension problem accounts for 47% and 100% of the work orders of two-dimension and three-dimension problems respectively; The proportion of unsolved responsiveness dimension problems was the highest, accounting for 31.7%, and there was a negative correlation between responsiveness dimension problems and patient satisfaction rate( r=-0.709). Conclusions:In the process of medical service, the basic quality and skills of medical staff are the basis of building patient trust. In the process of handling medical services with quality defects, it is most important that quickly respond to patients′ queries, which could help to rebuild patients′ confidence in the quality of services.

Objective To analyze and assess the postoperative motor function in children with spastic cerebral palsy (SCP) by surface electromyography (sEMG) and joint angle. Methods Sixteen children with SCP were involved in this study. The sEMG of rectus femoris, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, tibialis anterior, lateral gastrocnemius and medial gastrocnemius muscles and joint angles of the hip, knee and ankle during straight walking were collected preoperatively and postoperatively. In every gait phase, the mean values of joint angles, root mean square and integrated electromyography of sEMG were calculated, to evaluate muscle strength and muscular tension quantitatively. Results The muscle tension of lower limbs was significantly decreased (P<0.05). The muscle strength of rectus femoris and biceps femoris was decreased in the swing phase. At the midswing and terminal swing phase, the strength of tibialis anterior increased significantly (P<0.05). The flexion angle of hip and knee decreased significantly (P<0.05). The dorsiflexion angle of ankle increased significantly (P<0.05), and the varus angle decreased significantly (P<0.05). Conclusions After operation, the crouching gait and clubfoot were improved positively. Therefore, the motor function of children was improved. Combining sEMG and joint angle can evaluate the muscle function of patients quantitatively, and it also can provide references for clinical diagnosis.

Objective:To investigate the protective mechanism of TAK242, a specific inhibitor of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), on the liver of septic rats.Methods:Eighteen male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into three groups ( n = 6 in each group). The septic model was established by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) 15 mg/kg. The rats in the TAK242 intervention group received intraperitoneal injection of TAK242 (5 mg/kg) before modeling, while the rats in the septic model group and the control group were injected with the same amount of solvent [10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) + 90% corn oil]. Six hours later, the blood of abdominal aorta was collected and the levels of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The rats were sacrificed to obtain liver, the expression levels of TLR4, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-3 (caspase-3), nuclear factor-κB p65 (NF-κB p65) and phosphorylated NF-κB p65 (p-NF-κB p65) were detected by Western blotting. Immunohistochemical staining was used to observe NF-κB p65 protein expression in liver, and hepatocyte injury was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. Results:Serum ALT and AST levels in the septic model group were significantly higher than those in the control group [ALT (μg/L): 26.639±7.814 vs. 2.847±2.150, AST (μg/L): 28.442±8.417 vs. 5.779±3.019, both P < 0.01]. The ALT and AST levels in the TAK242 intervention group were significantly lower than those in septic model group [ALT (μg/L): 7.269±3.398 vs. 26.639±7.814, AST (μg/L): 3.580±3.115 vs. 28.442±8.417, both P < 0.01]. Light microscopy showed that the hepatocytes in the septic model group were disordered, with obvious cell edema and increased inflammatory cells infiltration; the hepatocytes in the TAK242 intervention group were more neatly arranged, with significantly reduced hepatocyte edema and reduced inflammatory cells infiltration. Western blotting results showed that caspase-3 protein expression in hepatic tissue of septic model group was significantly higher than that in the control group (caspase-3/GAPDH: 0.794±0.164 vs. 0.482±0.055, P < 0.05), and caspase-3 protein expression in the TAK242 intervention group significantly decreased than that in the septic model group (caspase-3/GAPDH: 0.482±0.056 vs. 0.794±0.164, P < 0.05), which indicated that TAK242 could attenuate hepatocytes apoptosis of septic rats. The expression of IL-6, TNF-α and TLR4 protein and the ratio of p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 in hepatic tissue of septic model group were significantly higher than those in control group (IL-6/GAPDH: 1.442±0.204 vs. 1.019±0.024, TNF-α/GAPDH: 1.089±0.098 vs. 0.806±0.005, TLR4/GAPDH: 1.292±0.085 vs. 0.941±0.087, p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 ratio: 1.936±0.081 vs. 1.579±0.183, all P < 0.05), IL-6, TNF-α and TLR4 protein expression and p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 ratio in the TAK242 intervention group were significantly lower than those in septic model group (IL-6/GAPDH: 1.035±0.042 vs. 1.442±0.204, TNF-α/GAPDH: 0.572±0.096 vs. 1.089±0.098, TLR4/GAPDH: 0.984±0.078 vs. 1.292±0.085, p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 ratio: 1.484±0.255 vs. 1.936±0.081, all P < 0.05), it is suggested that LPS-induced sepsis could activate the inflammatory response mediated by TLR4/NF-κB pathway in liver, and the activation of TLR4/NF-κB pathway was inhibited by TAK242 through the TLR4 pathway, therefore, the inflammation of liver in septic rats was reduced. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the positive expression of NF-κB p65 in liver was significantly increased in the septic model group compared with the control group; the positive expression of NF-κB p65 was significantly reduced in the TAK242 intervention group compared with the septic model group, and there was almost no positive expression in the nucleus. Conclusion:TAK242 could reduce liver function injury and protect the liver by inhibition TLR4/NF-κB pathway in septic rats.

Objective:To explore the differences of leukocyte subtypes and thyroid function of the patients with different thyrotoxicosis diseases,and to clarify the practical significance of leukocyte subtypes and thyroid function tests in the differential diagnosis of Graves disease thyrotoxicosis and destructive thyrotoxicosis.Methods:A total of 33 patients with Graves disease thyrotoxicosis and 30 patients with destructive thyrotoxicosis confirmed by clinical and laboratory examination were selected; the levels of neutrophils (Ne),lymphocyte (Ly),basophils (Ba), eosinophil (Eo)and mononuclear cells (Mo),serum free thyroxine (FT4),three free iodine thyroid former glycine (FT3),and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)of the patients in two groups were analyzed and the receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC)was used to evaluate the values of the indicators with statastical significance in the differential diagnosis of Graves disease thyrotoxicosis and destructive thyrotoxicosis.Results:The levels of serum Eo,FT4 and FT3,and the modified data Eo/Mo,Eo × FT3 / Mo of the patients in Graves disease thyrotoxicosis group were significantly higher than those in destructive thyrotoxicosis group (P <0.05);the levels of TSH and Mo of the patients were lower than those in destructive thyrotoxicosis group (P < 0.05).The ROC curve analysis results showed that the sensitivities and specificities of Eo,Eo/Mo,Eo×FT3/Mo in the differential diagnosis of two diseases were good, and the best diagnostic boundaries were 1.54, 0.34, and 3.94. Conclusion:Eo,Mo,TSH,FT3,FT4,Eo/Mo,and EoxFT3/Mo could be regarded as the basis in the differential diagnosis of Graves disease thyrotoxicosis and destructive thyrotoxicosis ,and the practical significances of Eo,Eo/Mo,and Eo×FT3 /Mo in the differential diagnosis of Graves disease thyrotoxicosis and destructive thyotoxicosis are bigger.

Objective To investigate the relationship of antithrombin‐Ⅲ activity and thrombosis risk in liver cirrhosis with Child‐Pugh classification .Methods In our hospital from June to December 2014 ,60 liver cirrhosis patients were selected randomly included into this experiment group ,The 60 cases of control group were from medical examination of health in our hospital .The plasma AT‐Ⅲ activity and D‐D concentration in all these cases were detected and analyzed .Results The AT‐Ⅲ in cirrhosis patients were significantly lower than which in healthy persons(P<0 .05) .The lower level of AT‐Ⅲ is in these patients which were in seri‐ous condition(P<0 .05) ,the abnormal rate of D‐D concentration is also higher at the same time(P<0 .05) .Conclusion The detec‐tion of AT‐Ⅲ level in patients with liver cirrhosis is directly related to the severity of clinical and thrombosis risk .The AT‐Ⅲ de‐tection level can be used to judge the patient′s condition and develop appropriate treatment strategies .

Objective To investigate the problem of adverse effects in common AIDS patients and AIDS patients with tuberculosis after highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Methods The case group was composed of 106 patients with both AIDS and tuberculosis. The control group was composed of 134 common AIDS patients. The rates of adverse effects and the increase of CD4 + T cell count in those groups after first year HAART were observed and compared. Results The rates of adverse effects in the case group was 36. 8% ,which was more than that in the control group (26. 9%), but the difference was not significantly different(x2 =2.715, P =0. 099). The count of CD4+ T cell in most of the patients was increased after HAART (P ＜ 0. 01). The increase of CD4 + T cell count in the case group [(147.2 ±137.6)/μl] was higher that in the control group[(142. 1 ± 127. 0)/μl after six months HAART vs. (166. 5±133. 1)/μl in case group], and it was lower than that in control group after nine months HAART [(172.7±107.5)/μl], however the difference was not significant(P ＞0.05). Conclusions HAARTcould reconstruct the immunition of AIDS patients. The increase of CD4 + T cell count did not show significant difference between common AIDS patients and AIDS patients with tuberculosis after HAART. AIDS patients with tuberculosis might not increase the risk of development of adverse effects during HAART.

Objective To investigate correlation between HLA classⅡ molecules and the different outcome of viral hepatitis B. Methods Thirty patients with chronic hepatitis B and 56 subjects who had spontaneously recovered from HBV infection in Zhejiang district were enrolled in this investigation. HLA classⅡ molecule types and their alleles were determined by PCR ssp. Results HLA DR12 was found in 21 of 56 subjects recovered from hepatitis B (38%), compared to 3 of 30 patients with chronic hepatitis B (10%, rr 0.19; P corr

Objective To investigate the role of heat shock poteins(HSPs)in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.Methods Expression of HSP27,HSP70and HSP60was detected by immunohistochemical and image analysis in epidermal keratinocytes of pre-and post-treatment psoriatic lesional,and non-lesional skin in25psoriatic patients and6healthy controls.Results There was constitutive expression of HSP27and HSP70in epidermal keratinocytes of psoriatic non-lesional skin and normal controls,and the weak expression in psoriatic lesions.There was expression of HSP60in keratinocytes of psoriatic skin,but no expression of HSP60in non-lesional and normal skin.Expression of HSP27and HSP70recovered gradually in post-treatment psoriatic lesions,and no expression of HSP60was observed in lesional skin after treatment.Conclusion HSPs may play a certain role in psoriatic stress protective mechanism.