With Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Gypsum Fibrosum drug pair as the research object, supramolecular chemistry of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) was used to study differences between the compatibility of herbal medicine Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma with mineral medicine Gypsum Fibrosum and its main component CaSO_4·2H_2O, so as to preliminarily discuss the scientific connotation of compatibility of Gypsum Fibrosum in clinical application. A Malvern particle sizer, a scanning electron microscope(SEM), and a conductivity meter were used to observe and determine the physical properties such as microscopic morphology, particle size, and conductivity of Gypsum Fibrosum, CaSO_4·2H_2O, and water decoctions of them with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. An inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer(ICP-OES) was employed to detect the inorganic metal elements in Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Gypsum Fibrosum and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-CaSO_4·2H_2O. Isothermal titration calorimetry(ITC) was conducted to quantify the interactions of Gypsum Fibrosum and CaSO_4·2H_2O with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. A Fourier transform infrared spectrometer(FTIR) was used to analyze the characteristic absorption peak change of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Gypsum Fibrosum and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-CaSO_4·2H_2O. X-ray diffraction(XRD) was performed to determine the crystal structure and phase composition of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Gypsum Fibrosum and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-CaSO_4·2H_2O. Further, glycyrrhizic acid(GA) was substituted for Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma to co-decoct with Gypsum Fibrosum, CaSO_4·2H_2O, and freeze-dried powder of their respective water decoctions. The results of XRD were used for verification analysis. The results showed that although CaSO_4·2H_2O is the main component of Gypsum Fibrosum, there were significant differences between their decoctions and between the decoctions of them with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. Specifically,(1) Both CaSO_4·2H_2O and Gypsum Fibrosum were amorphous fibrous. However, the particle size and conductivity were significantly different between the decoctions of CaSO_4·2H_2O and Gypsum Fibrosum alone.(2) Under SEM, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-CaSO_4·2H_2O was a hybrid system with various morphologies, while Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Gypsum Fibrosum presented uniform nanoparticles.(3) The particle sizes and conductivities of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-CaSO_4·2H_2O and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Gypsum Fibrosum were significantly different and did not follow the same tendency as those of the decoctions of CaSO_4·2H_2O and Gypsum Fibrosum alone.(4) Compared with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-CaSO_4·2H_2O, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Gypsum Fibrosum had stronger molecular binding ability and functional group structure change.(5) The crystal form was largely different between the freeze-dried powder of CaSO_4·2H_2O decoction and Gypsum Fibrosum decoction, and their crystal forms were also significantly different from those of the freeze-dried powder of Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-CaSO_4·2H_2O and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma-Gypsum Fibrosum decoctions. The reason for the series of differences is that Gypsum Fibrosum is richer in trace elements than CaSO_4·2H_2O. The XRD results of GA-Gypsum Fibrosum and GA-CaSO_4·2H_2O decoctions further prove the importance of trace elements in Gypsum Fibrosum for supramolecule formation. This research preliminarily reveals the influence of compatibility of Gypsum Fibrosum or CaSO_4·2H_2O on decoction phase state, material form, and crystal form, providing a basis for the rational clinical application of Gypsum Fibrosum.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Calcium Sulfate/chemistry* ; Glycyrrhiza/chemistry* ; Crystallization ; Particle Size ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Rhizome/chemistry*

Metal ion-promoted chemodynamic therapy(CDT) combined with photodynamic therapy(PDT) offers broad application prospects for enhancing anti-tumor effects. In this study, glycyrrhizic acid(GA), copper ions(Cu~(2+)), and norcantharidin(NCTD) were co-assembled to successfully prepare a natural small-molecule, carrier-free hydrogel(NCTD Gel) with excellent material properties. Under 808 nm laser irradiation, NCTD Gel responded to the tumor microenvironment(TME) and acted as an efficient Fenton reagent and photosensitizer, catalyzing the conversion of endogenous hydrogen peroxide(H_2O_2) within the tumor into oxygen(O_2), and hydroxyl radicals(·OH, type Ⅰ reactive oxygen species) and singlet oxygen(~1O_2, type Ⅱ reactive oxygen species), while depleting glutathione(GSH) to stabilize reactive oxygen species and alleviate tumor hypoxia. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that NCTD Gel exhibited significant CDT/PDT synergistic therapeutic effects. Further safety evaluation and metabolic testing confirmed its good biocompatibility and safety. This novel hydrogel is not only simple to prepare, safe, and cost-effective but also holds great potential for clinical transformation, providing insights and references for the research and development of metal ion-mediated hydrogel-based anti-tumor therapies.
Hydrogels/chemistry* ; Animals ; Photochemotherapy ; Humans ; Mice ; Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage* ; Photosensitizing Agents/chemistry* ; Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Female ; Copper/chemistry* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism* ; Tumor Microenvironment/drug effects* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Male

Objective:To construct the quality evaluation scale of specification of management for humanistic caring in outpatients and test its reliability and validity.Methods:Referring to the group standards in Specification of Management for Humanistic Caring in Outpatients released by the China Association for Life Care,as well as relevant guidelines and literature,a pool of items for the quality evaluation scale of specification of management for humanistic caring in outpatients was formed.After expert consultation and expert argumentation,a quality evaluation scale of specification of management for humanistic caring in outpatients was constructed.From January to February 2024,243 hospital managers from 5 hospitals in Zhengzhou were selected as survey subjects to conduct item analysis,and reliability and validity testing on the scale.Results:Two rounds of expert inquiry and two rounds of expert argumentation were conducted,with questionnaire response rates of 92.00%and 100.00%,respectively,and expert authority coefficients of 0.952.In the second round of the expert inquiry scale,the mean importance score of the first-level indicators was 4.80 to 5.00,the full score ratio was 88.00%to 100.00%,the coefficient of variation was 0.04 to 0.17,and Kendall's coefficient of concordance was 0.857(P＜0.001);the mean importance score of the second-level indicators was 4.60 to 5.00,the full score ratio was 80.00%to 100.00%,the coefficient of variation was 0.00 to 0.21,and Kendall's coefficient of concordance was 0.775(P＜0.001);the mean importance score of the third-level indicators was 4.60 to 5.00,the full score ratio was 76.00%to 100.00%,the coefficient of variation was 0.00 to 0.21,and Kendall's coefficient of concordance was 0.830(P＜0.001).Finally,a quality evaluation scale of specification of management for humanistic caring in outpatients was formed,including 5 first-level indicators,25 second-level indicators,and 58 third-level indicators.Exploratory factor analysis produced 5 common factors with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 74.628%.The Pearson correlation coefficients between the five-factor scores ranged from 0.648 to 0.798,and the correlation coefficients between the factor scores and the total score of the scale ranged from 0.784 to 0.938.The scale-level content validity index(S-CVI)of the scale was 0.945,the item-content validity index(I-CVI)was 0.725 to 1.000,the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the total scale was 0.973,and the retest reliability coefficient was 0.934.Conclusion:The constructed quality evaluation scale of specification of management for humanistic caring in outpatients has good scientific validity and reliability,and can be used as an evaluation tool for specification of management for humanistic caring in outpatients.

Anti-tumor traditional Chinese medicine has a long history of clinic application, in which the star molecules have always been the hotspot of modern drug research, but they are limited by the solubility, stability, targeting, bioactivity or toxicity of the monomer components of traditional Chinese medicine anti-tumor star molecules and other pharmacokinetic problems, which hinders the traditional Chinese medicine anti-tumor star molecules for further clinical translation and application. Currently, the nanosystems prepared by supramolecular technologies such as molecular self-assembly and nanomaterial encapsulation have broader application prospects in improving the anti-tumor effect of active components of traditional Chinese medicine, which has attracted extensive attention from scholars at home and abroad. In this paper, we systematically review the research progress in preparation of supramolecular nano-systems from anti-tumor star molecule of traditional Chinese medicine, and summarize the two major categories and ten small classes of carrier-free and carrier-based supramolecular nanosystems and their research cases, and the future development direction is put forward. The purpose of this paper is to provide reference for the research and clinical transformation of using supramolecular technology to improve the clinical application of anti-tumor star molecule of traditional Chinese medicine.

To perform a comprehensive analysis of the pathogenic causes of a food poisoning case in a district of Wuhan Cit-y,we investigated the molecular epidemiological relationships among pathogenic bacteria,to aid in traceability analysis of food-borne disease outbreaks,as well as clinical diagnosis and treatment.The pathogenic bacteria in this food poisoning case were i-solated and identified according to GB789.4-2016.The isolated strains were subjected to genotyping with pulsed field gel elec-trophoresis(PFGE).Drug resistance gene analysis,multi-locus sequence typing(MLST),and genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis(wgSNP)were conducted via whole genome sequencing(WGS).The evolutionary tree for cluster analy-sis was constructed in fasttree software.Drug susceptibility testing was conducted with the broth microdilution method.A total of 12 strains of Salmonella were detected in seven anal swab samples and two fecal samples from the case,as well as three anal swab samples from unaffected individuals.The serotype of the strains was Salmonella typhimurium.The strain exhibited severe multiple drug resistance,including resistance to amikacin,ampi-cillin,cefazolin,gentamicin,piperacillin,and tetracycline,but susceptibility to other antibiotics.The coincidence rate between drug resistance genes and drug resistance phenotypes was high.PFGE revealed that nine strains from this food poisoning case were highly homologous.WGS revealed that the MLST type was ST19,and varying numbers of SNPs(1-6)were present a-mong strains.The phylogenetic tree revealed nine isolated strains forming a distinct cluster,differing from other Salmonella strains in the database and belonging to a novel clonal branch.The single nucleotide site in the strains was highly homologous to that of GCF in Jiangxi_020221795.1.The food poisoning case was caused by Salmonella typhimurium ST19,and all nine iso-lated strains originated from the same source.The chef is closely connected to this food poisoning case.This strain of Salmo-nella typhimurium belongs to a new clonal branch and exhibits multiple drug resistance.

Although indigenous malaria has been eliminated in Wuhan since 2013,imported malaria remains a potential threat as an infectious source of local malaria transmission.The epidemiological and clinical characteristics of imported malaria are particularly important in areas where local malaria has been eliminated.This study was aimed at analyzing the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of imported malaria in Wuhan from 2012 to 2019,to provide a basis for further improving the preven-tion and control of imported malaria.Patients in Wuhan diagnosed with imported malaria from January 1,2012,to December 31,2019,were included in this study.A case-control study was con-ducted to analyze the features of patients with severe malaria.Uni-variate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for prolonged hospital length of stay(LOS).Among 229 imported malaria cases,212(92.6％)were in Chinese citizens,and most cases were in men(96.5％).The gender ratio is 28:1,and the age of cases is mainly concertrated between 18 and 50 years old(89.1％).More than 80％of patients were mi-grant workers,and most cases were infections from African countries(92.6％).Plasmodium falciparum(80.8％)was the dominant species.Fifty-three severe malaria cases were identified during the study period.Compared with uncomplicated cases,severe cases tended to occur in patients with no history of malaria(P=0.008),patients infected with Plasmodium falciparum(P=0.009),and patients who were initially misdiagnosed(P＜0.001).The median LOS was 6 days,and the species of infec-tion(Plasmodium falciparum),the use of antimalarial drugs(group B),antipyretic time(longer than 3 days),and the turn-around time of blood smear microscopy(longer than 3 days)were significantly associated with longer LOS(all P＜0.05).Al-though malaria has been eradicated in Wuhan for many years,imported cases continue to pose a threat.Efforts should be made to strengthen malaria knowledge education for outbound personnel.Additionally,medical institutions must enhance diagnosis and treatment capabilities for malaria,and adhere to standardized treatment processes,and the development of drug resistance and occurrence of severe malaria must be prevented.

The processing of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is a core theory within TCM, embodying deep philosophical, cultural, and natural scientific wisdom. Among the various techniques, the "synergistic processing of medicinal materials and excipients" has garnered significant attention due to its uniqueness. This study explored the impact of the adjuvant Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma on the dynamic process of component transformation during the processing of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata using techniques such as acidic dye colorimetry, UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, density functional theory(DFT), and molecular dynamics simulations(MDS). The research revealed that during processing, various alkaloid components in Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata exhibited different weak interactions with glycyrrhizic acid in Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, affecting the transformation and content changes of alkaloid components such as aconitine, hypaconitine, and other diester-type alkaloids. This study, based on the dynamic process of "interactions between excipients and herbal medicine and component transformation", elucidated the intrinsic mechanism of processing of Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata with Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma and provided a reference for understanding the scientific principles underlying the excipient processing of TCM.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Aconitum/chemistry* ; Excipients/chemistry* ; Glycyrrhiza/chemistry* ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Molecular Dynamics Simulation ; Alkaloids/chemistry* ; Glycyrrhizic Acid/chemistry*

Animals ; Autophagy ; Microwaves/adverse effects* ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVE: To screen the active components from Fuzheng Huayu Recipe (FZHY) and redesign a new recipe composed of the active components, and validate the effect of active components formulation from FZHY against liver fibrosis. METHODS: Thirty-two components from FZHY were evaluated for their activities against liver fibrosis respectively, with 6 kinds of cell models in vitro, including oxidative stressed hepatocyte in L-02, hypoxia injured/proliferative hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells in SK-HEP-1 and human hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (HHSEC), and activated hepatic stellate cell in LX-2. The comprehensive activity of each component against liver fibrosis was scored according to the role of original herbs in FZHY and cell functions in fibrogenesis. Totally 7 active components were selected and combined with equal proportion to form a novel active components formulation (ACF). The efficacy of ACF on liver fibrosis were evaluated on activation of LX-2 and proliferation of HHSEC in vitro and in liver fibrosis model mice induced by dimethylnitrosamine (DMN). Totally 72 mice were divided into 6 groups using a random number table, including normal, high-dose ACF control (20 µ mol/L × 7 components/kg body weight), model, low-, medium-, high-dose ACF groups (5, 10, 20 µ mol/L × 7 components/kg body weight, respectively). Hematoxylin eosin and Sirius red stainings were used to observe inflammation and fibrosis change of liver tissue; scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were utilized to observe the effect of ACF on ultrastructure of hepatic sinusoids. RESULTS: Fifteen components from FZHY showed higher scores for their activity on against liver fibrosis. Among them, 7 components including tanshinone II A, salvianolic acid B, cordycepin, amygdalin, quercetin, protopanaxatriol, and schizandrin B were recombined with equal proportions to form ACF. ACF at 1,2, 4 µ mol/L showed strong inhibitory effects on activation of LX-2 and proliferation of HHSEC in vitro (all P<0.01). Compared with the model group, ACF attenuated liver collagen deposition, improved sinusoidal capillarization in a dose-dependent manner (all P<0.05). CONCLUSION ACF exerts a satisfactory effect against experimental liver fibrosis and attenuates sinusoidal capillarization, which warrant a further research and development for herbal components formulation on liver fibrosis.
Animals ; Body Weight ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Endothelial Cells ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis/drug therapy* ; Mice