ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Tougu Xiaotong capsules （TGXTC） on the regulation of chondrocyte PANoptosis， delay of chondrocyte degeneration， and improvement of the symptoms in knee osteoarthritis （KOA）. MethodsIn vivo experiments： 50 male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned into five groups （n=10 per group）： sham operation group， model group， low-dose TGXTC group （7.2 g·kg^-1）， high-dose TGXTC group （14.4 g·kg^-1）， and diclofenac sodium group （0.05 g·kg^-1）. Except for the sham group， KOA models were established in all other groups using the modified Hulth method. Following successful model induction， the TGXTC groups received daily oral gavage of 7.2 or 14.4 g·kg^-1 for 6 weeks， while the diclofenac sodium group received 0.05 g·kg^-1 solution daily over the same duration. Model evaluation was performed using Lequesne MG score； micro-computed tomography （micro-CT） was used to scan the knee， hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and safranin O-fast green staining were used to observe the morphology of cartilage， transmission electron microscopy （TEM） was used to determine ultrastructural changes of PANoptosis. Multiple immunofluorescence （IF） co-localization assays was performed to detect the co-localization of cleaved Caspase-3， receptor-interacting protein 3 （RlPK3）， and the N-terminal domain of gasdermin D （GSDMD-N） in cartilage tissue， while western blot was employed to detect the expression levels of cleaved Caspase-3， RIPK3， and GSDMD-N. In vitro experiments： The knee cartilages of 4-week-old SD rats were isolated， and a chondrocyte in vitro culture system was established through mechanical digestion with 0.2% type Ⅱ collagenase. Second-generation chondrocytes were divided into three groups： the control group， the model group （pretreated with 10 mg·L^-1 lipopolysaccharide （LPS） for 24 h followed by treatment with 1 μmol·L^-1 nigericin for 4 h）， and the TGXTC treatment group （pretreated with 10 mg·L^-1 LPS for 24 h， followed by exposure to 1 μmol·L^-1 nigericin for 4 h and subsequently treated with 100 mg·L^-1 TGXTC for an additional 24 h）. The levels of reactive oxygen species （ROS）， apoptosis， necroptosis， and pyroptosis of chondrocytes were evaluated via fluorescence microscopy following staining with ROS detection， AO/EB and YO-PRO-1/PI staining kits. Transmission electron microscopy was utilized to investigate the ultrastructural changes associated with PANoptosis in cartilage tissue of KOA mice. Inflammatory cytokine levels （IL-1β and IL-18） were measured using ELISA. Western blot was conducted to assess protein expressions related to PANoptosis， including cleaved Caspase-3， cleaved Caspase-8， RIPK3， ZBP1， GSDMD-N， and NLRP3. ResultsCompared with the sham group， the Lequesne MG scores were significantly up-regulated（P<0.01） in the model group， and the pathological changes of cartilage were significantly， with joint spaces narrower， osteophyte formation increased， secere abrasion of cartilage surface. Ultrastructural analysis revealed pronounced chondrocyte apoptosis， necroptosis， and pyroptosis， along with markedly elevated expression of cleaved Caspase-3， RlPK3， and GSDMD-N in cartilage tissue （P<0.01）. In addition， The mean fluorescence intensities of ROS， orange-red fluorescence in AO/EB staining， green fluorescence and red fluorescence in YO-PRO-1/PI staining were increased of chondrocyte in the model group （P<0.01） . The levels of inflammatory factors IL-1β and IL-18 in the supernatant were increased （P<0.01）. The expression of PANoptosis related proteins （cleaved Caspase-3， cleaved Caspase-8， RIPK3， ZBP1， GSDMD-N， and NLRP3） were also significantly upregulated（P<0.05）. Compared to the model group， the TGXTC group demonstrated a significant improvement in various parameters of mice. These included a reduction in the Lequesne MG score， an increase in joint space， a decrease in osteophyte formation， diminished cartilage damage， reduced release of ROS， and alleviation of apoptotic， necroptotic， and pyroptotic processes in chondrocytes. Additionally， mitochondrial swelling and endoplasmic reticulum dilation were also mitigated. The levels of ROS as well as IL-1β and IL-18 were significantly decreased （P<0.05）. Furthermore， the expression levels of proteins associated with PANoptosis in cartilage tissue showed marked reductions （P<0.05）. Similar results were observed in chondrocytes： cleaved Caspase-3， cleaved Caspase-8， RIPK3， ZBP1， GSDMD-N， and NLRP3 exhibited significant decreases as well （P<0.05）. ConclusionTGXTC may mitigate chondrocytes degeneration and alleviate KOA symptoms by reducing oxidative stress and suppressing the activation of PANoptosis pathways.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of Tougu Xiaotong capsules （TGXTC） on the regulation of chondrocyte PANoptosis， delay of chondrocyte degeneration， and improvement of the symptoms in knee osteoarthritis （KOA）. MethodsIn vivo experiments： 50 male C57BL/6 mice were randomly assigned into five groups （n=10 per group）： sham operation group， model group， low-dose TGXTC group （7.2 g·kg^-1）， high-dose TGXTC group （14.4 g·kg^-1）， and diclofenac sodium group （0.05 g·kg^-1）. Except for the sham group， KOA models were established in all other groups using the modified Hulth method. Following successful model induction， the TGXTC groups received daily oral gavage of 7.2 or 14.4 g·kg^-1 for 6 weeks， while the diclofenac sodium group received 0.05 g·kg^-1 solution daily over the same duration. Model evaluation was performed using Lequesne MG score； micro-computed tomography （micro-CT） was used to scan the knee， hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and safranin O-fast green staining were used to observe the morphology of cartilage， transmission electron microscopy （TEM） was used to determine ultrastructural changes of PANoptosis. Multiple immunofluorescence （IF） co-localization assays was performed to detect the co-localization of cleaved Caspase-3， receptor-interacting protein 3 （RlPK3）， and the N-terminal domain of gasdermin D （GSDMD-N） in cartilage tissue， while western blot was employed to detect the expression levels of cleaved Caspase-3， RIPK3， and GSDMD-N. In vitro experiments： The knee cartilages of 4-week-old SD rats were isolated， and a chondrocyte in vitro culture system was established through mechanical digestion with 0.2% type Ⅱ collagenase. Second-generation chondrocytes were divided into three groups： the control group， the model group （pretreated with 10 mg·L^-1 lipopolysaccharide （LPS） for 24 h followed by treatment with 1 μmol·L^-1 nigericin for 4 h）， and the TGXTC treatment group （pretreated with 10 mg·L^-1 LPS for 24 h， followed by exposure to 1 μmol·L^-1 nigericin for 4 h and subsequently treated with 100 mg·L^-1 TGXTC for an additional 24 h）. The levels of reactive oxygen species （ROS）， apoptosis， necroptosis， and pyroptosis of chondrocytes were evaluated via fluorescence microscopy following staining with ROS detection， AO/EB and YO-PRO-1/PI staining kits. Transmission electron microscopy was utilized to investigate the ultrastructural changes associated with PANoptosis in cartilage tissue of KOA mice. Inflammatory cytokine levels （IL-1β and IL-18） were measured using ELISA. Western blot was conducted to assess protein expressions related to PANoptosis， including cleaved Caspase-3， cleaved Caspase-8， RIPK3， ZBP1， GSDMD-N， and NLRP3. ResultsCompared with the sham group， the Lequesne MG scores were significantly up-regulated（P<0.01） in the model group， and the pathological changes of cartilage were significantly， with joint spaces narrower， osteophyte formation increased， secere abrasion of cartilage surface. Ultrastructural analysis revealed pronounced chondrocyte apoptosis， necroptosis， and pyroptosis， along with markedly elevated expression of cleaved Caspase-3， RlPK3， and GSDMD-N in cartilage tissue （P<0.01）. In addition， The mean fluorescence intensities of ROS， orange-red fluorescence in AO/EB staining， green fluorescence and red fluorescence in YO-PRO-1/PI staining were increased of chondrocyte in the model group （P<0.01） . The levels of inflammatory factors IL-1β and IL-18 in the supernatant were increased （P<0.01）. The expression of PANoptosis related proteins （cleaved Caspase-3， cleaved Caspase-8， RIPK3， ZBP1， GSDMD-N， and NLRP3） were also significantly upregulated（P<0.05）. Compared to the model group， the TGXTC group demonstrated a significant improvement in various parameters of mice. These included a reduction in the Lequesne MG score， an increase in joint space， a decrease in osteophyte formation， diminished cartilage damage， reduced release of ROS， and alleviation of apoptotic， necroptotic， and pyroptotic processes in chondrocytes. Additionally， mitochondrial swelling and endoplasmic reticulum dilation were also mitigated. The levels of ROS as well as IL-1β and IL-18 were significantly decreased （P<0.05）. Furthermore， the expression levels of proteins associated with PANoptosis in cartilage tissue showed marked reductions （P<0.05）. Similar results were observed in chondrocytes： cleaved Caspase-3， cleaved Caspase-8， RIPK3， ZBP1， GSDMD-N， and NLRP3 exhibited significant decreases as well （P<0.05）. ConclusionTGXTC may mitigate chondrocytes degeneration and alleviate KOA symptoms by reducing oxidative stress and suppressing the activation of PANoptosis pathways.

Heart failure (HF) is the end-stage of all cardiac diseases, characterized by high prevalence, high mortality, and heavy social and economic burden. Early warning of HF exacerbation is of great value for outpatient management and reducing readmission rates. Currently, remote dynamic monitoring technology, which captures changes in hemodynamic and physiological parameters of HF patients, has become the primary method for early warning and is a hot research topic in clinical studies. This paper systematically reviews the progress in this field, which was categorized into invasive monitoring based on implanted devices, non-invasive monitoring based on wearable devices, and other monitoring technologies based on audio and video. Invasive monitoring primarily involves direct hemodynamic parameters such as left atrial pressure and pulmonary artery pressure, while non-invasive monitoring covers parameters such as thoracic impedance, electrocardiogram, respiration, and activity levels. These parameters exhibit characteristic changes in the early stages of HF exacerbation. Given the clinical heterogeneity of HF patients, multi-source information fusion analysis can significantly improve the prediction accuracy of early warning models. The results of this study suggest that, compared with invasive monitoring, non-invasive monitoring technology, with its advantages of good patient compliance, ease of operation, and cost-effectiveness, combined with AI-driven multimodal data analysis methods, shows significant clinical application potential in establishing an outpatient management system for HF.
Humans ; Heart Failure/physiopathology* ; Monitoring, Physiologic/methods* ; Wearable Electronic Devices ; Remote Sensing Technology ; Early Diagnosis ; Electrocardiography ; Hemodynamics

Sugar-sugar glycosyltransferases play important roles in constructing complex and bioactive saponins. Here, we characterized a series of UDP-glycosyltransferases responsible for biosynthesizing the branched sugar chain of bioactive steroidal saponins from a widely known medicinal plant Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis. Among them, a 2'-O-rhamnosyltransferase and three 6'-O-glucosyltrasferases catalyzed a cascade of glycosylation to produce steroidal diglycosides and triglycosides, respectively. These UDP-glycosyltransferases showed astonishing substrate promiscuity, resulting in the generation of a panel of 24 terpenoid glycosides including 15 previously undescribed compounds. A mutant library containing 44 variants was constructed based on the identification of critical residues by molecular docking simulations and protein model alignments, and a mutant UGT91AH1^Y187A with increased catalytic efficiency was obtained. The steroidal saponins exhibited remarkable antifungal activity against four widespread strains of human pathogenic fungi attributed to ergosterol-dependent damage of fungal cell membranes, and 2'-O-rhamnosylation appeared to correlate with strong antifungal effects. The findings elucidated the biosynthetic machinery for their production of steroidal saponins and revealed their potential as new antifungal agents.

OBJECTIVE To explore the antitumor effect and mechanism of total alkaloids of Gelsemium elegans （TA） and sempervirine （SPV） in vitro. METHODS The effects of low， medium and high concentrations of TA （50， 100， 200 μg/mL） and SPV （10， 30， 50 μmol/L） on the morphology of human hepatoma cells （HepG2， Bel-7402）， human lung cancer cells （A549） and human colon cancer cells （HCT-8） were observed， and the toxicity of TA and SPV to four tumor cells was monitored. The effects of TA and SPV on the contents of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in the supernatant of HCT-8 cells， the protein expressions of phosphorylated protein kinase B （p-Akt） （Thr308， Ser473）， B-cell lymphoma 2 （Bcl-2）， Bcl-2-related X protein （Bax）， survivin， C/EBP-homologous protein （CHOP）， immunoglobulin binding protein （Bip） and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3Ⅱ （LC3Ⅱ） in HCT-8 cells were detected. RESULTS After the intervention of TA and SPV， the volume reduction and nuclear shrinkage were founded in four tumor cells； the cell activity decreased to varying degrees， among which TA and SPV had the best inhibitory effect on HCT-8 cells. After the intervention of TA and SPV， the contents of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in the supernatant of HCT-8 cells， the protein expressions of Bax， CHOP， Bip and LC3Ⅱ all increased to different degrees， while the protein expressions of p-Akt （Thr308， Ser473）， Bcl-2 and survivin in HCT-8 cells all decreased to different degrees. CONCLUSIONS TA and SPV have inhibitory effects on the above four tumor cells， and the inhibitory effect on HCT-8 cells is the best. The mechanism of their action on HCT-8 cells may be related to promoting apoptosis， activating endoplasmic reticulum stress and autophagy.

Wearable monitoring, which has the advantages of continuous monitoring for a long time with low physiological and psychological load, represents a future development direction of monitoring technology. Based on wearable physiological monitoring technology, combined with Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence technology, this paper has developed an intelligent monitoring system, including wearable hardware, ward Internet of Things platform, continuous physiological data analysis algorithm and software. We explored the clinical value of continuous physiological data using this system through a lot of clinical practices. And four value points were given, namely, real-time monitoring, disease assessment, prediction and early warning, and rehabilitation training. Depending on the real clinical environment, we explored the mode of applying wearable technology in general ward monitoring, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, and integrated monitoring inside and outside the hospital. The research results show that this monitoring system can be effectively used for monitoring of patients in hospital, evaluation and training of patients' cardiopulmonary function, and management of patients outside hospital.
Humans ; Artificial Intelligence ; Internet of Things ; Wearable Electronic Devices ; Monitoring, Physiologic/methods* ; Electrocardiography ; Internet

Objective:To investigate the ethics and existing problems of experimental animals in medical experiments and experimental teaching, and to formulate countermeasures so that animal ethics and animal welfare can be truly reflected in medical experiments.Methods:In this study, a "Basic Function Experiment Center Animal Experiment Questionnaire" with 25 questions was formulated from three aspects: the ethical cognition of experimental animals, whether animal experiments are ethical or not, how to view the problems of animal ethics and experimental teaching and the cognition of virtual simulation experiment teaching. Questionnaire was sent to Hubei University of Medicine to investigate the international students of Batch 2017 (5-year program), undergraduates of Batch 2017 (5-year program) and nursing students of Batch 2018 (4-year program) as well as teachers, researchers and employees of laboratory animal center (all with bachelor degree or above). The survey results were expressed as percentage.Results:The recovery rate of the questionnaire in this study was 98.04%(2 451/2 500), among which the practitioners, teachers and researchers in the laboratory animal center clearly understood the ethics of experimental animals, but there was a widespread phenomenon of lagging ethics among the students. For example, 16.24% (398/2 451) students had not received animal experiment ethics education and training, 29.46% (722/2 451) were not clear about animal protection laws and regulations, 7.14% (175/2 451) thought animal experiments were immoral; 29.54% (724/2 451) had vague cognition of animal welfare and ethical knowledge; 25.91% (635/2 451) were not familiar with the operation steps; 9.38% (230/2 451) were indifferent to the extra treatment of animals due to operation errors, 7.83% (192/2 451) chose to give up the experiment in the treatment of animals after massive bleeding, only 5.43% (133/2 451) chose to continue the experiment after timely hemostasis and infusion, and 9.26% (227/2 451) chose to do operations unrelated to the experiment. After the experiment, 2.28% (56/2 451) chose to kill the animals by bloodletting, only 5.51% (135/2 451) chose excessive anesthesia euthanasia, and 1.96% (48/2 451) chose to kill the animals by cervical dislocation and violence. Only 15.79% (387/2 451) chose to remember the dead animal for 2 minutes. Only 32.56%(798/2 451) of the respondents understood virtual simulation experiment, 34.92% (856/2 451) of the respondents thought that virtual simulation experiment or experimental teaching video could be used to replace the existing live animal experiment, 77.56% (1 901/2 451) believed that the construction of virtual simulation laboratory should be strengthened.Conclusion:It is imperative to strengthen the education of students' ethics of experimental animals, which is conducive to the establishment of correct ethics of experimental animals for medical students, so that the "3R" principle and animal welfare can be truly implemented in experimental teaching and scientific research experiments.

Breathing pattern parameters refer to the characteristic pattern parameters of respiratory movements, including the breathing amplitude and cycle, chest and abdomen contribution, coordination, etc. It is of great importance to analyze the breathing pattern parameters quantificationally when exploring the pathophysiological variations of breathing and providing instructions on pulmonary rehabilitation training. Our study provided detailed method to quantify breathing pattern parameters including respiratory rate, inspiratory time, expiratory time, inspiratory time proportion, tidal volume, chest respiratory contribution ratio, thoracoabdominal phase difference and peak inspiratory flow. We also brought in "respiratory signal quality index" to deal with the quality evaluation and quantification analysis of long-term thoracic-abdominal respiratory movement signal recorded, and proposed the way of analyzing the variance of breathing pattern parameters. On this basis, we collected chest and abdomen respiratory movement signals in 23 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and 22 normal pulmonary function subjects under spontaneous state in a 15 minute-interval using portable cardio-pulmonary monitoring system. We then quantified subjects' breathing pattern parameters and variability. The results showed great difference between the COPD patients and the controls in terms of respiratory rate, inspiratory time, expiratory time, thoracoabdominal phase difference and peak inspiratory flow. COPD patients also showed greater variance of breathing pattern parameters than the controls, and unsynchronized thoracic-abdominal movements were even observed among several patients. Therefore, the quantification and analyzing method of breathing pattern parameters based on the portable cardiopulmonary parameters monitoring system might assist the diagnosis and assessment of respiratory system diseases and hopefully provide new parameters and indexes for monitoring the physical status of patients with cardiopulmonary disease.
Humans ; Lung ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Respiration ; Tidal Volume ; Wearable Electronic Devices

OBJECTIVE：To investigate the inhibitory effects of total alkaloids of Gelsemium elegans （TAG） on the proliferation and angiogenesis of human colon cancer cells. METHODS ：Human colon cancer cell line HT- 29 and HUVEC were cultured in vitro . After the intervention of low- ，medium-，high-dose TAG （40，80，120 μg/mL），the morphology of the two cells was observed by fluorescence inversion microscope. The survival rate of HT- 29 cells and HUVEC was detected by CCK- 8 assay. Flow cytometry was used to detect HT- 29 cell cycle. The migration rate ，invasion rate and tube number of HUVEC were observed by scratching test ，Transwell invasion experiment and tube formation experiment. RESULTS ：Compared with blank group ，HT-29 cells and HUVEC were decreased to different extents in TAG groups ；dead cells were observed ，and the survival rate of both decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The proportion of HT- 29 cells at G 2/M phase in TAG groups as well as those at G 0/G1 phase in medium-dose group were increased significantly ；the proportion of HT- 29 cells at S phase in TAG groups as well as those at G 0/G1 phase in high-dose group were decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Survival rate ，migration rate and invasion rate of HUVEC were decreased significantly in TAG groups ，and tube number was also decreased significantly at each time point during 4-24 h（P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS ：TAG have inhibitory effect on the proliferation of human colon cancer HT- 29 cells and HUVEC，can change HT- 29 cell cycle ，inhibit the migration ，invasion and tube formation of HUVEC.

Surgical resection is the best method for patients with colorectal cancer liver metastases. However, tumor recurrence rate is still high after surgery. Preoperative chemotherapy can help shrink the tumor, test biological behavior, and reduce recurrence rate; but it may also cause liver injury and delay surgery. There is still controversy whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy should be performed and how to select patients from chemotherapy before surgery. Thus, in this article, combined the research progress and the clinical experience of author's center, we discuss this issue in 4 aspects: the development of neoadjuvant chemotherapy; the indications and guideline recommendation for neoadjuvant chemotherapy; the selection of neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens; common problems in neoadjuvant chemotherapy.