This study aims to integrate data mining techniques of single cell transcriptomics and spatial transcriptomics, along with animal experiment validation, so as to systematically characterize the protective effects of Jianpi Tongluo Formula(JTF) on the cartilage in knee osteoarthritis(KOA) and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. Single cell transcriptomics and spatial transcriptomics datasets(GSE254844 and GSE255460) of the cartilage tissue obtained from KOA patients were analyzed to map the single cell-spatial heterogeneity and identify key pathogenic factors. After that, a KOA rat model was established via knee joint injection of papain. The intervention effects of JTF on the expression features of these key factors were assessed through real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(PCR), Western blot, and immunohistochemical staining. As a result, the integrated single cell and spatial transcriptomics data identified distinct cell subsets with different pathological changes in different regions of the inflamed cartilage tissue in KOA, and their differentiation trajectories were closely related to the inflammatory fibrosis-like pathological changes of chondrocytes. Accordingly, the expression levels of the two key effect targets, namely nuclear receptor coactivator 4(NCOA4) and high mobility group box 1(HMGB1) were significantly reduced in the articular surface and superficial zone of the inflamed joints when JTF effectively alleviated various pathological changes in KOA rats, thus reversing the abnormal chondrocyte autophagy level, relieving the inflammatory responses and fibrosis-like pathological changes, and promoting the repair of chondrocyte function. Collectively, this study revealed the heterogeneous characteristics and dynamic changes of inflamed cartilage tissue in different regions and different cell subsets in KOA patients. It is worth noting that NCOA4 and HMGB1 were crucial in regulating chondrocyte autophagy and inflammatory reaction, while JTF could reverse the regulation of NCOA4 and HMGB1 and correct the abnormal molecular signal axis in the target cells of the inflamed joints. The research can provide a new research idea and scientific basis for developing a personalized therapeutic schedule targeting the spatiotemporal heterogeneity characteristics of KOA.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Rats ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/pathology* ; Humans ; Male ; Cartilage, Articular/metabolism* ; Chondrocytes/metabolism* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Female ; Protective Agents/administration & dosage* ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Middle Aged ; HMGB1 Protein/metabolism*

Forsythia suspensa is a traditional Chinese medicine and a commonly used landscaping plant. Its dried fruit is used in medicine for its functions of clearing heat, removing toxins, reducing swelling, dissipating masses, and dispersing wind and heat. It possesses extremely high medicinal and economic value. However, the genetic differentiation and diversity of its wild populations remain unclear. In this study, chloroplast genome sequences were obtained from 15 wild individuals of F. suspensa using high-throughput sequencing technology. The sequence characteristics and intraspecific variations were analyzed. The results were as follows:(1) The full length of the F. suspensa chloroplast genome ranged from 156 184 to 156 479 bp, comprising a large single-copy region, a small single-copy region, and two inverted repeat regions. The chloroplast genome encoded a total of 132 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes.(2) A total of 166-174 SSR loci, 792 SNV loci, and 63 InDel loci were identified in the F. suspensa chloroplast genome, indicating considerable genetic variation among individuals.(3) Population structure analysis revealed that F. suspensa could be divided into five or six groups. Both the population structure analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction results indicated significant genetic variation within the wild populations of F. suspensa, with no obvious correlation between intraspecific genetic differentiation and geographical distribution. This study provides new insights into the genetic diversity and differentiation within F. suspensa species and offers additional references for the conservation of species diversity and the utilization of germplasm resources in wild F. suspensa.
Genome, Chloroplast ; Forsythia/classification* ; Phylogeny ; Genetic Variation ; Chloroplasts/genetics* ; Microsatellite Repeats

Dao-di herbs are the treasure of Chinese materia medica and one of the characteristic research objects of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM). Probing into the microevolution of Dao-di herbs can help to reveal their biological essence and quality formation mechanisms. The progress in molecular biology and omics provides the possibility to elucidate the phylogenetic and quality forming characteristics of Dao-di herbs at the molecular level. In particular, genomics serves as a powerful tool to decipher the genetic origins of Dao-di herbs, and molecular markers have been widely used in the research on the genetic diversity and population structure of Dao-di herbs. Focusing on the excellent traits and quality of Dao-di herbs, this paper reviews the studies about the microevolution process of quality formation mechanisms of Dao-di herbs with the application of molecular markers and omics, aiming to underpin the protection and utilization of TCM resources.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Phylogeny ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Phenotype

Ligustrum lucidum is a woody perennial plant of genus Ligustrum in family Oleaceae. Its dried fruit has high medicinal value. In this study, the authors evaluated the variability and species identification efficiency of three specific DAN barcodes(rbcL-accD, ycf1a, ycf1b) and four general DAN barcodes(matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA, ITS2) for a rapid and accurate molecular identification of Ligustrum species. The results revealed that matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA, ITS2 and ycf1a were inefficient for identifying the Ligustrum species, and a large number of insertions and deletions were observed in rbcL-accD sequence, which was thus unsuitable for development as specific barcode. The ycf1b-2 barcode had DNA barcoding gap and high success rate of PCR amplification and DNA sequencing, which was the most suitable DNA barcode for L. lucidum identification and achieved an accurate result. In addition, to optimize the DNA extraction experiment, the authors extracted and analyzed the DNA of the exocarp, mesocarp, endocarp and seed of L. lucidum fruit. It was found that seed was the most effective part for DNA extraction, where DNAs of high concentration and quality were obtained, meeting the needs of species identification. In this study, the experimental method for DNA extraction of L. lucidum was optimized, and the seed was determined as the optimal part for DNA extraction and ycf1b-2 was the specific DNA barcode for L. lucidum identification. This study laid a foundation for the market regulation of L. lucidum.
Ligustrum/genetics* ; Seeds ; Fruit ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Research Design

In this paper， the name， classification， origin and other aspects of Schizonepetae Herba in the famous classical formulas were researched by referring to the related herbal literature， medical books and prescription books in the past dynasties. The results showed that Schizonepetae Herba first appeared in Shennong Bencaojing （《神农本草经》） as Jiasu， while Jingjie first appeared in Wupu Bencao （《吴普本草》）， and the name of Jingjie was mainly used as the rectification of name in later generations. The name of Jiasu is mostly derived from its smell， and the name of Jingjie is mostly derived from its pronunciation. Schizonepeta tenuifolia has been highly praised in the past as a original material， and its genuine producing area is Jiangsu， Hebei and other places， medicinal part is whole herb with spike. In modern times， the quality of Schizonepetae Herba is best described as having thin stems， green spike， and aroma. In clinical application， the raw products of Schizonepetae Herba is mainly used， and the carbonisata is mainly used for hemostasis. Famous classical formulas of Huaihuasan and Danggui Yinzi are all made of Schizonepetae Spica， so it is recommended to use the dried panicle of S. tenuifolia. In Liangxue Dihuangtang， Schizonepetae Herba Carbonisata is used， therefore， it is suggested to adopt the processing method of Schizonepetae Herba Carbonisata in the 2020 edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia.

Ephedrae Herba is a commonly used medicine for dispersing wind and cold， which has a long medicinal history. By referring to the herbal literature， medical books and prescription books， this paper intends to carry out herbal textual research on the name， origin， medicinal part， producing area， harvesting and processing methods of Ephedrae Herba in famous classical formulas， in order to provide the basis for the development of relevant famous classical formulas. According to textual research， the main base of ancient Ephedrae Herba was Ephedra sinica. The medicinal part is the herbaceous stems of Ephedrae Herba. Before the Northern and Southern dynasties， the origin of the records was Jindi and Hedong， which is now Shanxi province. In the Northern and Southern dynasties and later generations， the producing area expanded， and now it is mainly distributed in Hebei， Shanxi， Shaanxi， Inner Mongolia， Gansu， Liaoning and other places， among which Inner Mongolia is the main producing area. The harvesting and processing methods in the past dynasties are to harvest the stems in autumn， dry them in the shade or air to 70%-80% dry， and then dry them in the sun. The processing methods in the past dynasties mainly include removing the knots， wine-fried， honey-fried， processing with vinegar and so on， at present， only honey-fried is still in use. Based on the research results， it is suggested that Ephedrae Herba in famous classical formulas should be selected the dry herbaceous stems of E. sinica. If the processing requirements are not indicated， it is suggested to use raw products of Ephedrae Herba.

Objective To evaluate the actual effect of the schistosomiasis control program in Jiangsu Province from 2010 to 2015. Methods A total of 67 schistosomiasis-endemic counties in 10 cities were selected, and a combination of retrospective investigation and on-site investigation was adopted to collect and record the epidemic data of the counties from 2010 to 2015, and a retrospective survey database of epidemic situation was established. The effects of integrated control strategies with both Oncomelania hupensis snail control and infection source control were evaluated. Results From 2010 to 2015, 2 465 911 persons who lived in endemic areas were detected for schistosomiasis, with 16 974 positive cases of blood examinations, and 8 positive cases of fecal examinations. Totally 5 145 people with advanced schistosomiasis were treated and 40 460 people with the history of schistosome cercarial-infested water contact received the expanded chemotherapy. A total of 127 636 cattle raised in the endemic areas were detected, and 51 619 cattle (head-times) with the history of cercarial-infested water contact also received the expanded chemotherapy. The area with snails control by molluscicides was 18 604.84 hm². By the end of 2015, schistosomeinfected snails had not been found and there was no zoological schistosome infection for 5 consecutive years, and in addition, there had been no acute schistosome-infected persons for 6 consecutive years in the whole province. The area with snails dropped to 1 977.18 hm², with a decreasing rate of 55.24% compared with that in 2010. Conclusion After the implementation of the plan for the prevention and control of schistosomiasis in Jiangsu Province (2010–2015), the prevention and control of schistosomiasis has achieved remarkable effects and realized the goal of the plan.

This article summarized the clinical experience of Professor WANG Meng-yong in treating lupus nephritis from the symptoms and essence. Professor WANG Meng-yong believes that treatment for lupus nephritis should attach importance to clinical features of setting deficiency of liver, spleen and kidney as the essence and toxin and blood stasisas symptoms, in which the essence is deficient and the symptoms are excess and combination of external and internal pathogenesis. He flexibly uses methods of nourishing liver and kidney, tonifying spleen, and stomach, clearing heat and cooling blood, activating blood and promoting diuresis to alleviate water retention, which have obvious efficacy, effectively avoid adverse reactions and reduce the risk of recurrence, and improve patient prognosis.

Objective To understand the schistosomiasis control knowledge,attitude,and practice(KAP),and influenc-ing factors of behaviors among residents in Jiangsu Province,so as to provide the evidence for making effective health education and health promotion models. Methods The probability proportionate to size sampling(PPS)and multi-stage sampling meth-ods were adopted to sample the research objects. A questionnaire survey of schistosomiasis control KAP was conducted in the res-idents of 16 to 69 years old in schistosomiasis endemic areas of Jiangsu Province,and the results were statistically analyzed. Re-sults The total awareness rate of the participants was 95.98%for schistosomiasis control knowledge. The correct rates of atti-tude and practice were 89.06%and 77.43%,respectively. The awareness/correct rates of knowledge,attitude and practice re-duced in turns significantly(χ2=1282.96,P<0.01). The knowledge awareness rate of fishermen and boatmen was 90.98%, but their attitude correct rate was only 53.81%(χ2=120.52,P<0.01). The unconditional logistic regression analysis showed that with the education level increasing,their practice correct rate rose,and the participants with the college degree or above had a higher correct rate compared to illeterate ones(OR=6.411,95%CI:4.896-8.395). The practice correct rate of the fisher-men and boatmen was only 5.1%of the rate of the farmers(OR=0.051,95%CI:0.029-0.091). Conclusions The total aware-ness rate of basic knowledge of schistosomiasis prevention and control in the residents of Jiangsu Province has reached the re-quirements in the"National Schistosomiasis Control Long-term Planning Outline(2004-2015)",but the correct rate of behav-iors is low. The education level,occupation and residential areas affect the health behaviors of schistosomiasis prevention and control. Therefore,it is necessary to carry out targeted health promotion activities to promote the formation of healthy lifestyle and behaviors.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in subjects with different glucose metabolism status.

METHODSBetween January, 2015 and October, 2015, a total of 934 subjects without a previous diagnosis of diabetes visiting the Department of Endocrinology or Health Examination Center underwent oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), which identified 266 subjects with normal glucose tolerance (NGT group), 243 pre-diabetic subjects, and 425 patients with diabetes mellitus group. The baseline characteristics and laboratory test data of the subjects were collected. The diagnosis of CKD was established for an eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) or a ACR≥30 mg/g, and the prevalence of CKD were compared among the 3 groups. Logistic regression model was used to analyze the OR value of the risk factors of CKD.

RESULTSThe prevalences of CKD in NGT, pre-diabetic and diabetic groups were 10.2%, 26.3% and 32.5%, respectively. Pairwise comparisons showed that the prevalence of CKD was significantly higher in pre-diabetic group (P<0.001, OR=3.17, 95% CI 1.94-5.17) and diabetic group (P<0.001, OR=4.27, 95% CI 2.72-6.65) than in NGT group, and was comparable between the pre-diabetic and diabetic groups (P=0.115, OR=1.35, 95% CI 0.95-1.91). Logistic regression analysis, after adjustment for age, gender, blood pressure, hypertension, blood lipids and uric acid, showed that pre-diabetes (OR=2.03, P=0.044) and diabetes mellitus (OR=2.22, P=0.016) were independently associated with CKD.

CONCLUSIONGlucose metabolism status has a significant independent impact on the incidence of CKD, suggesting the importance of early detection of pre-diabetes and timely interventions in pre-diabetic subjects in prevention CKD.

Diabetes Mellitus ; epidemiology ; Glucose ; metabolism ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Humans ; Incidence ; Prediabetic State ; epidemiology ; Prevalence ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; epidemiology ; Risk Factors