Amber and subfossil resins are subjects of interdisciplinary research across multiple fields. However, due to their diverse origins and complex compositions, different disciplines vary in their definitions and functional interpretations. In traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), amber has been utilized as a medicinal material since ancient time, with extensive historical documentation. However, its classification, provenance, and nomenclature remain ambiguous, and authentic medicinal amber artifacts are exceedingly rare. This study employed Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) to characterize amber and subfossil resins from various geological sources and commercially "medicinal amber". Additionally, historical literature and market surveys were analyzed to explore their provenance, composition, and functional attributes. The results indicate that amber and subfossil resins from different sources and with different compositions exhibit distinct fingerprint characteristics in the FTIR spectral range of 1 800-700 cm~(-1). "Medicinal amber" available in the market primarily consists of subfossil or modern resins, significantly differing in composition and structure from geological amber. This study highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research on amber identification and resource management. It is essential to establish a systematic database of amber and subfossil resin characteristics and integrate modern analytical techniques to enhance research on their composition, pharmacological mechanisms, and potential therapeutic effects, thereby promoting the standardized utilization of amber resources and advancing the modernization of TCM.
Amber/history* ; Archaeology ; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Emodin is a hydroxyanthraquinone compound that is widely distributed and has multiple pharmacological activities, including anti-diarrheal, anti-inflammatory, and liver-protective effects. Research indicates that emodin may be one of the main components responsible for inducing hepatotoxicity. However, studies on the mechanisms of liver injury are relatively limited, particularly those related to bile acids(BAs) metabolism. This study aims to systematically investigate the effects of different dosages of emodin on BAs metabolism, providing a basis for the safe clinical use of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)containing emodin. First, this study evaluated the safety of repeated administration of different dosages of emodin over a 5-week period, with a particular focus on its impact on the liver. Next, the composition and content of BAs in serum and liver were analyzed. Subsequently, qRT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of nuclear receptors and transporters related to BAs metabolism. The results showed that 1 g·kg~(-1) emodin induced hepatic damage, with bile duct hyperplasia as the primary pathological manifestation. It significantly increased the levels of various BAs in the serum and primary BAs(including taurine-conjugated and free BAs) in the liver. Additionally, it downregulated the mRNA expression of farnesoid X receptor(FXR), retinoid X receptor(RXR), and sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide(NTCP), and upregulated the mRNA expression of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase(CYP7A1) in the liver. Although 0.01 g·kg~(-1) and 0.03 g·kg~(-1) emodin did not induce obvious liver injury, they significantly increased the level of taurine-conjugated BAs in the liver, suggesting a potential interference with BAs homeostasis. In conclusion, 1 g·kg~(-1) emodin may promote the production of primary BAs in the liver by affecting the FXR-RXR-CYP7A1 pathway, inhibit NTCP expression, and reduce BA reabsorption in the liver, resulting in BA accumulation in the peripheral blood. This disruption of BA homeostasis leads to liver injury. Even doses of emodin close to the clinical dose can also have a certain effect on the homeostasis of BAs. Therefore, when using traditional Chinese medicine or formulas containing emodin in clinical practice, it is necessary to regularly monitor liver function indicators and closely monitor the risk of drug-induced liver injury.
Emodin/administration & dosage* ; Bile Acids and Salts/metabolism* ; Animals ; Male ; Liver/injuries* ; Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Mice ; Rats

In this study, lipopolysaccharide(LPS), ovalbumin(OVA), and compound 48/80(C48/80) were administered to establish non-infectious pneumonia models under simulated clinical conditions, and the correlation between their pathological characteristics and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) syndromes was compared, providing the basis for the selection of appropriate animal models for TCM efficacy evaluation. An acute pneumonia model was established by nasal instillation of LPS combined with intraperitoneal injection for intensive stimulation. Three doses of OVA mixed with aluminum hydroxide adjuvant were injected intraperitoneally on days one, three, and five and OVA was administered via endotracheal drip for excitation on days 14-18 to establish an OVA-induced allergic pneumonia model. A single intravenous injection of three doses of C48/80 was adopted to establish a C48/80-induced pneumonia model. By detecting the changes in peripheral blood leukocyte classification, lung tissue and plasma cytokines, immunoglobulins(Ig), histamine levels, and arachidonic acid metabolites, the multi-dimensional analysis was carried out based on pathological evaluation. The results showed that the three models could cause pulmonary edema, increased wet weight in the lung, and obvious exudative inflammation in lung tissue pathology, especially for LPS. A number of pyrogenic cytokines, inclading interleukin(IL)-6, interferon(IFN)-γ, IL-1β, and IL-4 were significantly elevated in the LPS pneumonia model. Significantly increased levels of prostacyclin analogs such as prostaglandin E2(PGE2) and PGD2, which cause increased vascular permeability, and neutrophils in peripheral blood were significantly elevated. The model could partly reflect the clinical characteristics of phlegm heat accumulating in the lung or dampness toxin obstructing the lung. The OVA model showed that the sensitization mediators IgE and leukotriene E4(LTE4) were increased, and the anti-inflammatory prostacyclin 6-keto-PGF2α was decreased. Immune cells(lymphocytes and monocytes) were decreased, and inflammatory cells(neutrophils and basophils) were increased, reflecting the characteristics of "deficiency", "phlegm", or "dampness". Lymphocytes, monocytes, and basophils were significantly increased in the C48/80 model. The phenotype of the model was that the content of histamine, a large number of prostacyclins(6-keto-PGE1, PGF2α, 15-keto-PGF2α, 6-keto-PGF1α, 13,14-D-15-keto-PGE2, PGD2, PGE2, and PGH2), LTE4, and 5-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid(5S-HETE) was significantly increased, and these indicators were associated with vascular expansion and increased vascular permeability. The pyrogenic inflammatory cytokines were not increased. The C48/80 model reflected the characteristics of cold and damp accumulation. In the study, three non-infectious pneumonia models were constructed. The LPS model exhibited neutrophil infiltration and elevated inflammatory factors, which was suitable for the efficacy study of TCM for clearing heat, detoxifying, removing dampness, and eliminating phlegm. The OVA model, which took allergic inflammation as an index, was suitable for the efficacy study of Yiqi Gubiao formulas. The C48/80 model exhibited increased vasoactive substances(histamine, PGs, and LTE4), which was suitable for the efficacy study and evaluation of TCM for warming the lung, dispersing cold, drying dampness, and resolving phlegm. The study provides a theoretical basis for model selection for the efficacy evaluation of TCM in the treatment of pneumonia.
Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Mice ; Pneumonia/genetics* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Male ; Humans ; Cytokines/immunology* ; Female ; Lipopolysaccharides/adverse effects* ; Lung/drug effects* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Ovalbumin ; Mice, Inbred BALB C

During coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic, the treatment of severe trauma has been impacted. The Consensus on emergency surgery and infection prevention and control for severe trauma patients with 2019 novel corona virus pneumonia was published online on February 12, 2020, providing a strong guidance for the emergency treatment of severe trauma and the self-protection of medical staffs in the early stage of the epidemic. With the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council renaming "novel coronavirus pneumonia" to "novel coronavirus infection" and the infection being managed with measures against class B infectious diseases since January 8, 2023, the consensus published in 2020 is no longer applicable to the emergency treatment of severe trauma in the new stage of epidemic prevention and control. In this context, led by the Chinese Traumatology Association, Chinese Trauma Surgeon Association, Trauma Medicine Branch of Chinese International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care, and Editorial Board of Chinese Journal of Traumatology, the Chinese expert consensus on emergency surgery for severe trauma and infection prevention during coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic ( version 2023) is formulated to ensure the effectiveness and safety in the treatment of severe trauma in the new stage. Based on the policy of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council and by using evidence-based medical evidence as well as Delphi expert consultation and voting, 16 recommendations are put forward from the four aspects of the related definitions, infection prevention, preoperative assessment and preparation, emergency operation and postoperative management, hoping to provide a reference for severe trauma care in the new stage of the epidemic prevention and control.

Objective: To explore the heterogeneity and correlation of clinical phenotypes and genotypes in children with disorders of sex development (DSD). Methods: A retrospective study of 1 235 patients with clinically proposed DSD in 36 pediatric medical institutions across the country from January 2017 to May 2021. After capturing 277 DSD-related candidate genes, second-generation sequencing was performed to analyzed the heterogeneity and correlation combined with clinical phenotypes. Results: Among 1 235 children with clinically proposed DSD, 980 were males and 255 were females of social gender at the time of initial diagnosis with the age ranged from 1 day of age to 17.92 years. A total of 443 children with pathogenic variants were detected through molecular genetic studies, with a positive detection rate of 35.9%. The most common clinical phenotypes were micropenis (455 cases), hypospadias (321 cases), and cryptorchidism (172 cases) and common mutations detected were in SRD5A2 gene (80 cases), AR gene (53 cases) and CYP21A2 gene (44 cases). Among them, the SRD5A2 mutation is the most common in children with simple micropenis and simple hypospadias, while the AMH mutation is the most common in children with simple cryptorchidism. Conclusions: The SRD5A2 mutation is the most common genetic variant in Chinese children with DSD, and micropenis, cryptorchidism, and hypospadias are the most common clinical phenotypes. Molecular diagnosis can provide clues about the biological basis of DSD, and can also guide clinicians to perform specific clinical examinations. Target sequence capture probes and next-generation sequencing technology can provide effective and economical genetic diagnosis for children with DSD.
3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase/genetics* ; Child ; China/epidemiology* ; Cryptorchidism/genetics* ; Disorders of Sex Development/genetics* ; Female ; Genital Diseases, Male ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hypospadias/genetics* ; Male ; Membrane Proteins/genetics* ; Penis/abnormalities* ; Phenotype ; Retrospective Studies ; Steroid 21-Hydroxylase/genetics*

BACKGROUND: Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complexes are a key regulator of pancreatic beta cells mass and function. DEP-domain containing mTOR-interacting protein (DEPTOR) is a common part of mTOR complexes and whether DEPTOR loss in islet β cells affects insulin-secreting function has never been identified. OBJECTIVE: To assess the alternation of insulin secretion by silencing DEPTOR gene in pancreatic β cells NIT-1 and to explore the underlying mechanism. METHODS: Three siRNA sequences for silencing DEPTOR gene were designed and constructed, which were transfected with lipofectamine into NIT-1 cells. There were six groups: blank transfection group (NIT-1 cells plus Lipofectamin), negative control group (NC-FAM), positive control group (GAPDH), siRNA deptor 1 group (siRNA deptor385), siRNA deptor 2 group (siRNA deptor766), and siRNA deptor 3 group (siRNA deptor1275). The transfection efficiency was determined by fluorescence microscope. The relative expression level of DEPTOR mRNA was detected by quantitative-PCR. Insulin secretion in the cell conditioned medium was determined by insulin ELISA kit. The expression level of DEPTOR downstream key protein was detected by western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Specific green fluorescence accumulated in a punctated pattern under fluorescence microscope, indicating that the effectiveness of transfection was eligible. Quantitative-PCR results showed two (siDEPTOR385 and siDEPTOR766) of the three siRNA sequences could significantly disrupt the expression of DEPTOR mRNA, which had significant difference with negative control group (P＜ 0.05). The ELISA results showed that the total amount of insulin secretion in the effective transfected groups was significantly increased (P＜ 0.05). Western blot assay results showed the grey levels of p-s6 and p-4EBP-1 proteins were significantly elevated, while p-AKT of those former was slightly decreased. These findings suggest that siRNA technology can effectively silence the DEPTOR gene in NIT-1 cells, which improves β-cell insulin secretion in a manner of mTORC1 activation.

OBJECTIVE Evidience appears that parthenolide (PN) induces anti-tumor effects by NF-κB signal pathway. MCL3 the derivative of PN,is sesquiterpene lactone synthesized by the group of Professor Pan Xiandao.The study was to explore the anti-tumor activity and mechanism of MCL3 in glioma. METHODS The effect of MCL3 on the proliferation of glioma cell lines was examined by MTT assay. Apoptotic activity was investigated by flow cytometry. The Transwell cell invasion assay was used to determine the effect of MCL3 on the G422 cell invasive ability.The effect of MCL3 on the angio-genesis was analyzed by a capillary-like tube formation assay. The subcutaneously transplanted and orthotopic G422 cell xenograft models were used to detect the effect of MCL3 on tumor growth in vivo. The pathological changes were analyzed by H&E staining. Protein level related to the NF-κB signal pathway was dertimined by Western blotting. The effect of MCL3 on the NF-κB transcriptional activity was examined by a dual-luciferase reporter assay.RESULTS The anti-proliferative activity was observed following treatment with MCL3 for 96 h in G422, U-87 MG, U251 and Hs683 cell lines, and the IC50 was 8.94 μmol·L-1,6.44 μmol·L-1,14.8 μmol·L-1,18.9 μmol·L-1,respectively.The percentage of apop-totic cells increased in MCL3-treated G422 cells,and the apoptosis rate was 26.4%(the apoptosis rate was 5.68% in control group).MCL3 could inhibit the invasion in G422 cells,and the invasive inhibition rate was 43.63%(P<0.01)at 10.0 μmol·L-1.MCL3 inhibited tube formation of EA.hy926 cells,and the inhibitory rate was 81.67%(P<0.01)at 10.0 μmol·kg-1.At 40.00 mg·kg-1,MCL3 supressed tumor growth by 79.03% (P<0.01) in tumor weight in subcutaneously transplanted G422 xenograft models, and by 69.97% (P<0.01) in volume in orthopotic G422 xenograft models. H&E staining demonstrated that MCL3 could decrease tumor angiogenesis and invasion, increased necrosis of tumor cells. The dual-luciferase reporter assay showed that MCL3 inhibited NF-κB transcriptional actvity, and the inhibition rate was 50.07%(P<0.05)at 10.0 μmol·L-1compared with control.Moreover,MCL3 inhibited the phos-phorylation of NF-κB in nuclear mediated by supression of phosphorylated IKKα/β and IκB,and decreased the expression of IL-6 regulated by NF-κB.Eventually,the phosphorylation of State3 decreased following the administration of MCL3, resulting in the downregulation of State3 taget genes, including HIF, VEGF,FAK,MMP-2,MMP-9,Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL.CONCLUSION The anti-tumor effect of MCL3 was partly due to the inhibition of NF-κB/IL-6/State3 pathway in glioma.

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

BACKGROUNDFew characteristic changes of linear electroencephalograph (EEG) have been reported in schizophrenia. The aim of the present study was to investigate the changes in temporal-spatial dimensional properties of EEG under different cognitive tasks in patients with schizophrenia.

METHODSEEG was recorded by using EEG-1518K system and mapping system (Nihon Kohden Tomioka Corporation, Japan) in 45 schizophrenic patients and 47 healthy adults (normal control, NC) under five states: eyes closed, eyes open, mental arithmetic test with eyes closed, memory test with eyes open, and number cancellation test. Correlation dimension (D2) and point-wise correlation dimension (PD2) were calculated for all EEG analyses.

RESULTS(1) There were no significant differences of D2 and PD2 between NC and schizophrenic patients under states of eyes open and closed. (2) Compared with NC, schizophrenic patients showed decreased performance of D2 in mental arithmetic test with eyes closed and number cancellation test (mental arithmetic test with eyes closed: Nc 5.9 ± 0.6, Sch 3.0 ± 0.8; number cancellation test: Nc 6.0 ± 0.6, Sch 4.4 ± 0.7; P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). (3) Schizophrenic patients also showed decrease performance of PD2 in mental arithmetic test with eyes closed, memory test with eyes open, and number cancellation test (mental arithmetic test with eyes closed: Nc 6.9 ± 0.7, Sch 4.0 ± 0.8; memory test with eyes open: Nc 6.6 ± 0.8, Sch 5.0 ± 0.9; number cancellation test: Nc 7.1 ± 0.7, Sch 4.8 ± 0.9; P < 0.05 or P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSNonlinear dynamic analysis provided a new approach in clinical investigation of EEG signals. It was helpful to further understand the cerebral mechanism in schizophrenic cognitive process.

Adult ; Cognition ; physiology ; Electroencephalography ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nonlinear Dynamics ; Schizophrenia ; physiopathology