This study explored the potential therapeutic targets and mechanisms of Danggui Shaoyao San(DSS) in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's disease(AD) through transcriptomics and metabolomics, combined with animal experiments. Fifty male C57BL/6J mice, aged seven weeks, were randomly divided into the following five groups: control, model, positive drug, low-dose DSS, and high-dose DSS groups. After the intervention, the Morris water maze was used to assess learning and memory abilities of mice, and Nissl staining and hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining were performed to observe pathological changes in the hippocampal tissue. Transcriptomics and metabolomics were employed to sequence brain tissue and identify differential metabolites, analyzing key genes and metabolites related to disease progression. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR) was employed to validate the expression of key genes. The Morris water maze results indicated that DSS significantly improved learning and cognitive function in scopolamine(SCOP)-induced model mice, with the high-dose DSS group showing the best results. Pathological staining showed that DSS effectively reduced hippocampal neuronal damage, increased Nissl body numbers, and reduced nuclear pyknosis and neuronal loss. Transcriptomics identified seven key genes, including neurexin 1(Nrxn1) and sodium voltage-gated channel α subunit 1(Scn1a), and metabolomics revealed 113 differential metabolites, all of which were closely associated with synaptic function, oxidative stress, and metabolic regulation. RT-qPCR experiments confirmed that the expression of these seven key genes was consistent with the transcriptomics results. This study suggests that DSS significantly improves learning and memory in SCOP model mice and alleviates hippocampal neuronal pathological damage. The mechanisms likely involve the modulation of synaptic function, reduction of oxidative stress, and metabolic balance, with these seven key genes serving as important targets for DSS in the treatment of AD.
Animals ; Alzheimer Disease/genetics* ; Male ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Metabolomics ; Transcriptome/drug effects* ; Maze Learning/drug effects* ; Hippocampus/metabolism* ; Humans ; Disease Models, Animal ; Memory/drug effects*

OBJECTIVE: To explore and quantify the association of hot night exposure during the sperm development period (0-90 lag days) with semen quality. METHODS: A total of 6,640 male sperm donors from 6 human sperm banks in China during 2014-2020 were recruited in this multicenter study. Two indices (i.e., hot night excess [HNE] and hot night duration [HND]) were used to estimate the heat intensity and duration during nighttime. Linear mixed models were used to examine the association between hot nights and semen quality parameters. RESULTS: The exposure-response relationship revealed that HNE and HND during 0-90 days before semen collection had a significantly inverse association with sperm motility. Specifically, a 1 °C increase in HNE was associated with decreased sperm progressive motility of 0.0090 (95% confidence interval [ CI]: -0.0147, -0.0033) and decreased total motility of 0.0094 (95% CI: -0.0160, -0.0029). HND was significantly associated with reduced sperm progressive motility and total motility of 0.0021 (95% CI: -0.0040, -0.0003) and 0.0023 (95% CI: -0.0043, -0.0002), respectively. Consistent results were observed at different temperature thresholds on hot nights. CONCLUSION Our findings highlight the need to mitigate nocturnal heat exposure during spermatogenesis to maintain optimal semen quality.
Humans ; Male ; Semen Analysis ; Adult ; Sperm Motility ; Hot Temperature/adverse effects* ; China ; Middle Aged ; Spermatozoa/physiology* ; Young Adult

In the past 20 years,near infrared spectrum technology has been widely used in human body monitoring due to its non-invasive and real-time characteristics.Oxygen,as the main metabolic substance of the human body,is consumed the most in brain tissue.In order to prevent complications caused by a decrease in brain tissue oxygen during treatment,the patient's brain tissue blood oxygen saturation needs to be monitored in real time.Currently,most of the clinically used non-invasive cerebral blood oxygen detection equipments use dual wavelengths.Other substances on the detection path will cause errors in the measurement results.Therefore,this article proposes a three-wavelength method based on the basic principle of non-invasive monitoring of cerebral blood oxygen using near-infrared spectrum.The brain tissue oxygen saturation monitoring method of detecting light sources was initially verified through the built system,laying the foundation for subsequent system engineering.

Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.

Motion sickness refers to a multi-system physiological syndrome caused by abnormal acceleration and motion vision scene immersion.It occurs commonly in transportation,military operations,space exploration and other fields.This article reviews recent advances in mechanism,prediction and assessment as well as control measures for motion sickness,and discusses possible research direction of motion sickness in the future.The biological basis for motion sickness sensory conflict theory has been expanded;genomic sequencing and artificial intelligence techniques have been used as novel tools for motion sickness prediction and evaluation.Acclimatization training,anti-motion sickness medication and non-drug symptom control measures used in combination is the key for motion sickness prevention and treatment.

Objective To explore the improving effects of motion sickness acclimatization training methods,namely sinusoidal vertical oscillation stimulation and sinusoidal vertical oscillation stimulation combined with visual virtual reality(VR)swell stimulation,on cognitive performance of individuals with extremely severe motion sickness.Methods A total of 90 individuals with extremely severe motion sickness screened by the Graybiel score during 6 h navigation were randomly divided into vertical group,vertical+VR group,and control group(n=30).The abilities of vigilance,memory,rapid calculation,information processing and visual manipulation were evaluated before and after the acclimatization training using a self-developed cognitive performance evaluation software.Results On the 1st day of training,the numbers of missed targets of the vertical group and vertical+VR group were increased in the vigilance test;the reaction time was prolonged in the short-term memory,rapid calculation,information processing and visual manipulation tasks;and the efficiency of rapid calculation was reduced.After acclimatization training,the numbers of missed targets were reduced to the baseline level in the vertical and vertical+VR groups,and the reaction time in the short-term memory,rapid calculation,information processing and visual manipulation tasks and the efficiency of rapid calculation were improved.Conclusion Motion sickness caused by vertical oscillation stimulation or vertical oscillation combined with visual VR swell stimulation can decrease vigilance,short-term memory,rapid calculation,information processing and visual manipulation abilities.Motion sickness acclimatization training can significantly improve the above cognitive abilities.

Objective To study the acclimatization time and effects for preventing motion sickness under sinusoidal vertical oscillation stimulation,visual virtual reality(VR)swell stimulation,and their combined stimulation.Methods Totally 120 individuals with extremely severe motion sickness during 6 h navigation were randomly divided into 4 groups(n=30):vertical group,VR group,vertical+VR group,and control group.The severity of symptoms during the training period was assessed daily by Graybiel scale,and the number of drops from flexible treadmill in the VR group was recorded.The Graybiel score of 0 for 3 d and/or the number of drops for 0 were considered as complete acclimatization.The training effect was validated by navigation under more severe sea conditions.Results The Graybiel scores of the vertical group and vertical+VR group,as well as the number of drops of the VR group were decreased with the increase of training days,and reached the acclimatization level on the 3rd,5th,and 2nd training day,respectively.The longest acclimatization time in the vertical,vertical+VR,and VR groups was 8,8,and 5 d,with an average acclimatization time of 3.6,3.9,and 2.7 d,respectively;the acclimatization rates within 5 d were 93.33％(28/30),76.67％(23/30),and 100.00％(30/30),respectively;the proportions of individuals with effective acclimatization training in the verification voyage were 86.67％(26/30),96.67％(29/30),and 66.67％(20/30),respectively;and the training efficiency was 85.19％,96.30％,and 62.97％,respectively.Conclusion Three training methods all have effects on motion sickness acclimatization,and the acclimatization period is 5-8 d.The acclimatization effects of the vertical oscillation and vertical oscillation+VR training are better than the VR training.

Objective To observe the effect of the supine-posture ripple wood training in preventing motion sickness caused by linear acceleration.Methods Totally 61 motion sickness sensitive males were screened by a vertical oscillation simulator and divided into mildly sensitive group(Graybiel score 1-15,n=28)and severely sensitive group(Graybiel score 16,n=33).The participants in the 2 groups received 5-d ripple wood training,30 min/d.The movement frequency of the ripper wood was maintained at 0.25-0.35 Hz,with an acceleration of 0.15-0.25 g.Graybiel score during the training period was recorded.The static balance function test was conducted before and after training on the 1st and 5th day.Results During the training period,the Graybiel scores and motion sickness incidence in the severely sensitive group were decreased with the increase of training days,and all participants achieved complete acclimatization on the 4th day.The Graybiel scores of the mildly sensitive group were low during the whole period,and the complete acclimatization period was 2 d.There was no significant difference in the sway area of the severely sensitive group in static balance function test before and after training(P＞0.05).The mean velocity of the severely sensitive group in static balance function test was significantly increased after training versus before training on the 1st day(P＜0.01),and there was no significant difference before and after training on the 5th day(P＞0.05).There were no significant differences in the sway area or mean velocity of the mildly sensitive group during the whole training period(all P＞0.05).The validation experiment showed that the motion sickness incidence and the symptom severity were significantly decreased in both groups;the motion sickness incidence of the mildly sensitive group decreased from 100.00％(28/28)to 35.71％(10/28);the incidence of severe symptoms in the severely sensitive group decreased from 100.00％(33/33)to 6.06％(2/33)and the vomiting incidence decreased from 96.97％(32/33)to 6.06％(2/33).Conclusion The supine-posture ripple wood training has great effect in preventing motion sickness,with widespread use and simple operation.

Objective To observe the improvement of motor dysfunction and serum levels of C-reactive protein(CRP),blood glucose and blood lipid in post-stroke patients treated with scalp acupuncture at different needle retention time.Methods A total of 120 patients with motor dysfunction after stroke were randomly divided into control group,observation group 1 and observation group 2,with 40 cases in each group.The patients in the 3 groups were treated with scalp acupuncture,body acupuncture and routine rehabilitation exercise,once a day and 6 times a week,lasting for 2 weeks.The control group was given scalp acupuncture with retaining of needles for 30 minutes,the observation group 1 was given scalp acupuncture with retaining of needles for one hour,and the observation group 2 was given scalp acupuncture with retaining of needles for 2 hours.Before and after treatment,the 3 groups were observed in the changes of the scale scores of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS),Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FM A),Berg Balance Scale(BBS)and modified Barthel Index(MBI),and the levels of laboratory indicators of peripheral blood CRP,fasting plasma glucose(FPG),total cholesterol(TC),triglyceride(TG),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C).After treatment,the clinical safety of the three groups was evaluated.Results(1)After treatment,the scale scores of NIHSS in the three groups were lower(P＜0.01)and the scale scores FMA,BBS and MBI were higher than those before treatment(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).The comparison of post-treatment scale scores showed that the differences among the three groups were statistically significant(P＜0.01).The intergroup comparison showed that the decrease of NIHSS score and the increase of FMA,BBS and MBI scores in the observation group 2 were significantly superior to those in the control group and the observation group 1(P＜0.01);the improvement of FMA score in the observation group 1 was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.01),while the improvement of NIHSS,BBS and MBI scores tended to be superior to that in the control group without statistically significant differences(P＞0.05).The results indicated that the curative effect of scalp acupuncture plus exercise regimen was positively correlated with the duration of needle retention for scalp acupuncture.(2)After treatment,the laboratory indicator levels of CRP and FPG in the peripheral blood of the three groups,the levels of TG and LDL-C in the two observation groups and the level of HDL-C in the observation group 2 were improved compared with those before treatment(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Statistically significant differences were presented in the post-treatment levels of CRP and TG in peripheral blood among the three groups(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).The intergroup comparison showed that the improvement of CRP and TG levels in the observation group 2 was significantly superior to that in the control group,and the improvement of CRP level in the observation group 2 was significantly superior to that in the observation group 1,the differences being statistically significant(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).The TC level in the three groups after treatment did not differ from that before treatment,and there was no significant difference in TC level after treatment among the three groups either(P＞0.05).(3)During the treatment,no adverse reactions such as fainting,needle breaking and hematoma occurred in the three groups,the vital signs of the patients were stable,and there were no obvious abnormal changes in pulse,blood pressure and respiratory rate.Conclusion Scalp acupuncture can effectively improve the motor function of post-stroke patients in a pasitive time-effect relationship with the needle retention,and better the curative effect can be achieved by retaining of the needle for 2 h.

OBJECTIVE To compare the anti-oxidative effects of "three decoctions for COVID-19" (Qingfei Paidu decoction, Huashi Baidu decoction, Xuanfei Baidu decoction) in parallel experimental models. METHODS In the cell-free system, the total antioxidant capacity was investigated by FRAP method. The scavenging effects of DPPH radicals and superoxide anions were evaluated by DPPH and NBT reduction method, respectively. The scavenging effect of hydroxyl radicals was determined by a fluorescence method based on the end-product MDA. The anti-lipid peroxidation activity was investigated using the FeSO4-induced rat liver homogenate MDA method. Based on these five antioxidant indicators, the antioxidant capabilities of the extracts of three decoctions were parallelly compared in the cell-free system. Furthermore, in lipopolysaccharide-activated RAW264.7 cells, the productions of intracellular and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species(ROS) were detected using the L-012 probe and the MitoSOX mitochondrial superoxide red fluorescence probe, respectively; and intracellular NADPH oxidase activity was measured using the lucigenin probe. These three indicators were used to parallelly compare the antioxidant capabilities of the extracts of three decoctions. RESULTS In the cell-free system, three decoctions for COVID-19 could concentration-dependently scavenge DPPH radicals, superoxide anions and hydroxyl radicals, and potently inhibit the lipid peroxidation. At the equal extract concentration, their scavenging effects on DPPH radicals and superoxide anions and the total antioxidant capacity were comparable; while Huashi Baidu decoction exhibited the strongest ability to scavenge hydroxyl radicals and inhibit lipid peroxidation. In the cell system, three decoctions could reduce lipopolysaccharide-elevated intracellular ROS level by weakening NADPH oxidase activity; meanwhile, they could decrease mitochondrial ROS productions, among which Qingfei Paidu decoction possessed the most comprehensive effection. CONCLUSION Collectively, three decoctions for COVID-19 exert diverse antioxidant effects in both cell-free and cell systems, and each of them possesses the distinct advantages. Given that oxidative stress is pivotal during the pathological process of COVID-19, the results may suggest that the antioxidant ability of three decoctions is one of the pharmacodynamic basis for their clinical use.