OBJECTIVE: Several epidemiological observational studies have related particulate matter (PM) exposure to Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but many confounding factors make it difficult to draw causal links from observational studies. The objective of this study was to explore the causal association between PM _2.5 exposure, its absorbance, and IBD. METHODS: We assessed the association of PM _2.5 and PM _2.5 absorbance with the two primary forms of IBD (Crohn's disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC]) using Mendelian randomization (MR) to explore the causal relationship. We conducted two-sample MR analyses with aggregated data from the UK Biobank genome-wide association study. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms linked with PM _2.5 concentrations or their absorbance were used as instrumental variables (IVs). We used inverse variance weighting (IVW) as the primary analytical approach and four other standard methods as supplementary analyses for quality control. RESULTS: The results of MR demonstrated that PM _2.5 had an adverse influence on UC risk (odds ratio [ OR] = 1.010; 95% confidence interval [ CI] = 1.001-1.019, P = 0.020). Meanwhile, the results of IVW showed that PM _2.5 absorbance was also causally associated with UC ( OR = 1.012; 95% CI = 1.004-1.019, P = 0.002). We observed no causal relationship between PM _2.5, PM _2.5 absorbance, and CD. The results of sensitivity analysis indicated the absence of heterogeneity or pleiotropy, ensuring the reliability of MR results. CONCLUSION Based on two-sample MR analyses, there are potential positive causal relationships between PM _2.5, PM _2.5 absorbance, and UC.
Humans ; Mendelian Randomization Analysis ; Particulate Matter/analysis* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/genetics* ; Air Pollutants/analysis* ; Crohn Disease/genetics* ; Colitis, Ulcerative/genetics* ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Risk Factors ; Environmental Exposure

Objective: This study systematically explore the efficacy and safety of fourth-generation chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR-T), which express interleukin 7 (IL7) and chemokine C-C motif ligand 19 (CCL19) and target CD19, in relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma. Methods: Our center applied autologous 7×19 CAR-T combined with tirelizumab to treat 11 patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma. The efficacy and adverse effects were explored. Results: All 11 enrolled patients completed autologous 7×19 CAR-T preparation and infusion. Nine patients completed the scheduled six sessions of tirolizumab treatment, one completed four sessions, and one completed one session. Furthermore, five cases (45.5%) achieved complete remission, and three cases (27.3%) achieved partial remission with an objective remission rate of 72.7%. Two cases were evaluated for disease progression, and one died two months after reinfusion because of uncontrollable disease. The median follow-up time was 31 (2-34) months, with a median overall survival not achieved and a median progression-free survival of 28 (1-34) months. Two patients with partial remission achieved complete remission at the 9th and 12th months of follow-up. Therefore, the best complete remission rate was 63.6%. Cytokine-release syndrome and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome were controllable, and no immune-related adverse reactions occurred. Conclusion: Autologous 7×19 CAR-T combined with tirelizumab for treating relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma achieved good efficacy with controllable adverse reactions.
Humans ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use* ; Antigens, CD19 ; Chemokine CCL19 ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive ; Interleukin-7 ; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse/therapy* ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor ; Receptors, Chimeric Antigen

The present study explored the anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic mechanism of Jingfang Granules on tail thrombosis induced by carrageenan in mice. Thirty-two male ICR mice were randomly divided into a control group, a model group, a Jingfang Granules group, and a positive drug(aspirin) group, with eight mice in each group. The thrombosis model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of carrageenan(45 mg·kg~(-1)) combined with low-temperature stimulation, and the mice were treated with drugs for 7 days before modeling. Twenty-four hours after modeling, blood was detected for four blood coagulation indices in each group. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to detect the activity of plasma interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-1β(IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), and other inflammatory factors. The tails of mice in each group were cut off to observe tail lesions and measure the length of the thrombus. The protein expression and phosphorylation level of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2(ERK1/2) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase(p38 MAPK) in spleen tissues were detected by Western blot. The results showed that dark red thrombus appeared in the tails of mice in each group. The length of the black part accounted for about 40% of the total tail in the model group. Additionally, the model group showed prolonged prothrombin time(PT), increased fibrinogen(FIB) content, and shortened activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT). Compared with the model group, the groups with drug intervention displayed shortened black parts in the tail and improved four blood coagulation indices(P<0.05). As revealed by ELISA, the expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in the mouse plasma were significantly up-regulated in the model group, and those in the groups with drug intervention were reduced as compared with the model group(P<0.05). As demonstrated by Western blot, the protein expression and phosphorylation levels of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK in the spleen tissues were significantly elevated in the model group, while those in the Jingfang Granules group were down-regulated as compared with the model group with a significant difference. Jingfang Granules can inhibit tail thrombosis of mice caused by carrageenan presumedly by inhibiting the activation of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK signaling pathways.
Animals ; Carrageenan/adverse effects* ; Interleukin-6/metabolism* ; MAP Kinase Signaling System ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Signal Transduction ; Thrombosis/drug therapy* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism* ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism*

The "student-centered" flipped classroom teaching model can improve students' academic achievement, improve cognition, and cultivate innovation ability. However, it has obvious deficiencies in the integrity and systematization of knowledge as well as education. The traditional teaching concept based on " teacher-centered" has the unique advantages of systematization of knowledge learning and education. Therefore, we integrated the merits of these two different teaching models and introduced the semi-flipped classroom teaching model into the Biochemistry teaching of 2020 stomatology, pharmacy and preventive medicine majors in Cheeloo Medical College, Shandong University, compared with the traditional teaching of 2019 same majors. The data on the improvement of students ' academic achievement and self-cognition were analyzed. The results showed that the students' achievements of the semi-flipped classroom teaching model were better than those of the traditional teaching (P<0. 01). The students' self-cognitions were significantly improved after the implementation of semi-flipped classroom teaching (P<0. 01 or P<0. 05). This study provides a reference for the related teaching and research work in medical colleges.

A method was established for the determination of chlorpyrifos metabolites employing QuEChERS method and ultra performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTRAP). The urine samples were extracted by acetonitrile and then cleaned up with PSA and GCB. The samples were separated with the gradient elution of acetonitrile-0.2% ammonia water on ZORBAX Eclipse Plus C18column. The analytes were detected by tandem mass spectrometry under negative ion mode with electrospray ionization (ESI) source and MRM-IDA-EPI mode. Under the optimized conditions, the calibration curve was linear in range of 1.0-100.0 μg/L,and the limits of detection were 0.10-0.73 μg/L. The average recoveries were 80.3%-90.1%, and RSDs were all within 10%. The developed method was simple,sensitive,accurate,and repeatable,and could avoid false positive result of samples effectively. The established method was successfully applied to determine the exposure level of chlorpyrifos metabolites in real samples of human health risk analysis. The results showed that the maximum concentration of chlorpyrifos metabolites was 54.6 μg/L. This method provided technic support for simultaneous identification and quantification of chemicals in complex matrix.

Potential xanthine oxidase (XOD) inhibitors in Lagotis brevituba were captured by using affinity and ultrafiltration. The structures of the captured components were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with Q-TOF mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS). The binding intensity and binding mechanism between the captured components and XOD were analyzed by using molecular docking software Autodock 4.2. A total of 17 compounds were identified, including 9 flavonoids, 5 phenolic acids and 3 triterpenes. Molecular docking results showed that all the captured components could be spontaneously bound with XOD mainly via hydrogen bond, Van der Waals' force and hydrophobic interaction. From the perspective of binding energy and scoring function, the collected fractions all had potential prospects for XOD inhibitors, and the flavonoid luteolin-3',7 glucuronide had the best effect. The results also showed that affinity and ultrafiltration, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and molecular docking technology can provide a powerful tool for the analysis of XOD inhibitor components in natural products.

OBJECTIVEMany metals, some of which have been classified as environmental endocrine disruptors, are used extensively in everyday consumer products and are ubiquitous in our living environment. In the present study, we aimed to explore the associations between the prevalence risk of type 2 diabetes and plasma levels of 20 trace elements as well as those of heavy metals in a Han Chinese population.

METHODSWe conducted a case-control study to investigate the associations between plasma concentrations of 20 metals and diabetes in Jiangsu province. A total of 122 newly diagnosed cases of type 2 diabetes and 429 matched controls were recruited from community physical examinations in Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province. Plasma metal levels were measured by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

RESULTSAfter adjusting for confounders, plasma vanadium, chromium, manganese, copper, zinc, arsenic, selenium, strontium, palladium, cadmium, cesium, and barium were associated with diabetes risk (P < 0.05). The adjusted OR increased with increasing concentration of vanadium, manganese, copper, zinc, and cesium.

CONCLUSIONMany metals, including manganese, copper, zinc, arsenic, selenium, and cadmium in plasma, are associated with the morbidity of diabetes. Monitoring of environmental metal levels and further studies are urgently needed.

Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus ; blood ; etiology ; Environmental Pollutants ; blood ; toxicity ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Metals ; blood ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVETo study the efficacy and safety of Shuanghuang Shengbai Granule (, SSG), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on myelosuppression of cancer patients caused by chemotherapy.

METHODSA total of 330 patients were randomly assigned to the treatment group (220 cases, analysed 209 cases) and the control group (110 cases, analysed 102 cases) with a 2:1 ratio by envelope method. The patients in the treatment group at the first day of chemotherapy started to take SSG for 14 days, while the patients in the control group took Leucogon Tablets. The changes of the blood routine, clinical symptoms and immune function in both groups were observed for safety and efficacy evaluation.

RESULTSAt the 7th day of chemotherapy, the white blood cells (WBCs) level in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). After treatment, the WBCs rate in the normal range accounted for 50.2% in the treatment group, the myelosuppression of WBCs and neutrophil were mainly grade I, while 8.1% and 5.7% of patients emerged grade III and grade IV myelosuppression, respectively. The incidence of myelosuppression of the treatment group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate of Chinese medicine syndrome in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group (84.2% vs. 72.5%, P<0.05). The immune cell levels in both groups were maintained in the normal range. Compared with that before treatment, the levels of CD3and CD4cells were significantly increased in the treatment group after treatment (P<0.05). The discrepancy of CD3and CD4cell activity before and after treatment in both groups were significantly different (P<0.05). No obvious adverse event occurred in both groups.

CONCLUSIONSSG had a protection effect on bone marrow suppression, and alleviated the clinical symptoms together with clinical safety.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic ; therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Granulocyte Precursor Cells ; drug effects ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; drug effects ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Pancytopenia ; chemically induced ; prevention & control ; Treatment Outcome

The effect of Qizhi Jiangtang vapsule (QJC) on degree of dermal ulcer cicatrization in 2 type diabetic rats was studied. Except the rats for blank group, other male Wistar rats were used to establish type 2 diabetic model by feeding with high sugar and high fat diet for four weeks and intraperitonally injecting with 30 mg•kg⁻¹ streptozotocin (STZ). After that, the rats were divided into balanced groups according to blood sugar, and received corresponding drugs for treatment for 8 weeks. At the end of week 8, 2 cm diameter circular incision was done on the back of rats. After that, the rats were administered continuously for10 days. Area of ulcer surface was detected every two days. After the last administration, wound granulation tissues were cut down to conduct pathological examination and detect the expression of VEGF, PI3K, p-ERK protein in wound tissues. The results showed that compared with the model group, after application of Qizhi Jiangtang capsule (2.24 g•kg⁻¹), the wound was significantly reduced on day 6 and day 10 of wound formation; inflammation reaction on ulcer surface was significantly reduce; Qizhi Jiangtang capsule can increase VEGF expression in the wound tissues of diabetic rats, and inhibit ERK phosphorylation. It can be concluded that Qizhi Jiangtang capsule can promote skin ulcer healing for diabetes rats, and its mechanism may be related to regulating the expression of VEGA and p-ERK proteins.