Under the background of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with 15 national ministries and commissions, has formulated the Implementation Plan on Establishing a Carbon Footprint Management System, and it is urgent for traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) pharmaceutical enterprises to carry out research on carbon footprint accounting methods of related products. Based on the life cycle assessment(LCA) theory, taking mulberry leaf extract produced by a certain enterprise as an example, this study analyzed the carbon footprint of TCM extracts during the life cycle. The results show that for every 1 kg of product produced, the carbon emissions from the stages of raw material acquisition, transportation, and extract production are-20.569, 1.205, and 173.577 kgCO_2eq(CO_2 equivalent), respectively. The carbon footprint of the product is 154.213 kgCO_2eq·kg~(-1). In addition, the carbon emission is the highest in the production stage, in which the consumption of ethanol solvents makes the greatest contribution to the carbon footprint, accounting for 25.71%, more than one-fourth of the total carbon footprint. The second contribution was from the treatment process of TCM residues, accounting for 19.67%, closely followed by wastewater treatment(17.71%), the consumption of hot steam(17.43%), and drinking water(16.90%). The consumption of electric power and packaging materials has a smaller carbon emission of 2.58%. In particular, the carbon emission caused by the consumption of packaging materials is only 0.04%, which is negligible. The results of the study are expected to provide a reference for TCM enterprises to carry out research on the carbon footprint of products, offer ideas for collaborative innovation in reducing pollution and carbon emissions throughout the entire industry chain of TCM, and develop new quality productivity of modern TCM industry based on green and low-carbon manufacturing.
Morus/chemistry* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry* ; Carbon Footprint ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Plant Extracts/analysis* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

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*

Amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) is one of the most effective formulation approaches to enhance the water solubility and oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. However, maintenance of physical stability of amorphous drug is one of the main challenges in the development of ASD. Crystallization is a process of nucleation and crystal growth. The nucleation is the key factor that influences the physical stability of the ASD. However, a theoretical framework to describe the way to inhibit the nucleation of amorphous drug is not yet available. We reviewed the methods and theories of nucleation for amorphous drug. Meanwhile, we also summarized the research progress on the mechanism of additives influence on nucleation and environmental factors on nucleation. This review aims to enhance the better understanding mechanism of nucleation of amorphous drug and controlling over the crystal nucleation during the ASD formulation development.

Pogostemon cablin is a famous southern medicine.As the important raw material for modern medicine and industry,Pogostemon cablin becomes required with a large marketing demand.However,due to the serious continuous cropping obstacles in the growth process of Pogostemon cablin,the aggravation of diseases of Pogostemon cablin and the degradation of its quality arose.This paper outlined the ecological factors such as climate factors,soil factors and topographic factors suitable for the growth of Pogostemon cablin,analyzed the continuous cropping obstacles and diseases arising in the cultivation,reviewed the current ecological planting mode of Pogostemon cablin such as crop rotation,intercropping,relay-cropping and under-forest planting,and also made a comprehensive evaluation of the economic benefits,ecological benefits and social benefits of the ecological planting mode of Pogostemon cablin,aiming to provide a theoretical basis and a reference for the promotion of the ecological planting mode of Pogostemon cablin.

To analyze the factors affecting the cost of hospitalization for patients and provide insights using the intrauterine lesion surgery group (DRG code NE19) as an example.

Hip fracture in the elderly is characterized by high incidence, high disability rate, and high mortality and has been recognized as a public health issue threatening their health. Surgery is the preferred choice for the treatment of elderly patients with hip fracture. However, lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (DVT) has an extremely high incidence rate during the perioperative period, and may significantly increase the risk of patients′ death once it progresses to pulmonary embolism. In response to this issue, the clinical guidelines and expert consensuses all emphasize active application of comprehensive preventive measures, including basic prevention, physical prevention, and pharmacological prevention. In this prevention system, basic prevention is the basis of physical and pharmacological prevention. However,there is a lack of unified and definite recommendations for basic preventive measures in clinical practice. To this end, the Orthopedic Nursing Professional Committee of the Chinese Nursing Association and Nursing Department of the Orthopedic Branch of the China International Exchange and Promotive Association for Medical and Health Care organized relevant nursing experts to formulate Expert consensus on perioperative basic prevention for lower extremity deep venous thrombosis in elderly patients with hip fracture ( version 2024) . A total of 10 recommendations were proposed, aiming to standardize the basic preventive measures for lower extremity DVT in elderly patients with hip fractures during the perioperative period and promote their subsequent rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: To establish an intestinal organoid model that mimic acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) caused intestinal injuries by using aGVHD murine model serum and organoid culture system, and explore the changes of aGVHD intestine in vitro by advantage of organoid technology. METHODS: 20-22 g female C57BL/6 mice and 20-22 g female BALB/c mice were used as donors and recipients for bone marrow transplantation, respectively. Within 4-6 h after receiving a lethal dose (8.0 Gy) of γ ray total body irradiation, a total of 0.25 ml of murine derived bone marrow cells (1×10⁷/mice, n=20) and spleen nucleated cells (5×10⁶/mice, n=20) was infused to establish a mouse model of aGVHD (n=20). The aGVHD mice were anesthetized at the 7th day after transplantation, and the veinal blood was harvested by removing the eyeballs, and the serum was collected by centrifugation. The small intestinal crypts of healthy C57BL/6 mice were harvested and cultivated in 3D culture system that maintaining the growth and proliferation of intestinal stem cells in vitro. In our experiment, 5%, 10%, 20% proportions of aGVHD serum were respectively added into the organoid culture system for 3 days. The formation of small intestinal organoids were observed under an inverted microscope and the morphological characteristics of intestinal organoids in each groups were analyzed. For further evaluation, the aGVHD intestinal organoids were harvested and their pathological changes were observed. Combined with HE staining, intestinal organ morphology evaluation was performed. Combined with Alcian Blue staining, the secretion function of aGVHD intestinal organoids was observed. The distribution and changes of Lgr5⁺ and Clu⁺ intestinal stem cells in intestinal organoids were analyzed under the conditions of 5%, 10% and 20% serum concentrations by immunohistochemical stainings. RESULTS: The results of HE staining showed that the integrity of intestinal organoids in the 5% concentration serum group was better than that in the 10% and 20% groups. The 5% concentration serum group showed the highest number of organoids, the highest germination rate and the lowest pathological score among experimental groups, while the 20% group exhibited severe morphological destruction and almost no germination was observed, and the pathological score was the highest among all groups(t=3.668, 4.334,5.309,P<0.05). The results of Alican blue staining showed that the secretion function of intestinal organoids in serum culture of aGVHD in the 20% group was weaker than that of the 5% group and 10% of the organoids, and there was almost no goblet cells, and mucus was stainned in the 20% aGVHD serum group. The immunohistochemical results showed that the number of Lgr5⁺ cells of intestinal organoids in the 5% group was more than that of the intestinal organoids in the 10% aGVHD serum group and 20% aGVHD serum group. Almost no Clu⁺ cells were observed in the 5% group. The Lgr5⁺ cells in the 20% group were seriously injuried and can not be observed. The proportion of Clu⁺ cells in the 20% group significantly increased. CONCLUSION The concentration of aGVHD serum in the culture system can affect the number and secretion function of intestinal organoids as well as the number of intestinal stem cells in organoids. The higher the serum concentration, the greater the risk of organoid injury, which reveal the characteristics of the formation and functional change of aGVHD intestinal organoids, and provide a novel tool for the study of intestinal injury in aGVHD.
Mice ; Female ; Animals ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Stem Cells ; Organoids

Solid dispersion, a dispersion system in which drug molecules are highly dispersed in carrier materials, has been commonly used to improve the solubility and dissolution rate of poorly soluble drugs. The miscibility between drug and carrier is crucial to improve the dissolution performance and stability of solid dispersion. Therefore, the selection of carrier types and the optimization of drug loading are very important. In the current study, the solubility parameter method and Flory-Huggins theory were used to predict the miscibility between olaparib (OLP) and different carriers (VA64, Soluplus, Plasdone S630 and Kollidon K29/32). Besides, the carrier material with good miscibility was experimentally screened by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The optimum of drug-carrier ratio was further performed based on the miscibility phase diagram of drug and carrier. Theoretical calculation and experimental evaluation showed that the miscibility of OLP and VA64 was the best, and the drug loading of 30% could meet the requirements of large drug loading and physical stability. Polarizing light microscope, X-ray powder diffraction, DSC and laser confocal Raman spectroscopy exhibited that OLP was amorphous form in the solid dispersion system. Powder dissolution test demonstrated that the solid dispersion showed significantly enhanced dissolution rate in comparison to crystalline OLP. In this study, theoretical calculation and experimental evaluation were used to screen the types of carriers and optimize the drug loading, which provides an efficient strategy for the selection of carrier and the amount used in solid dispersion.

Objective: To explore the action mechanism of hsa_circ_0000231 in the occurrence and development of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC). Methods: Tissue samples of 60 TSCC patients were examined. The patients, including 32 males and 28 females, aged from 36 to 84 years old, underwent surgery in the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University and Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Nantong University from December 2014 to December 2017. Saliva samples were obtained from healthy volunteers (5 males and 5 females, aged from 40 to 75 years old) and 10 TSCC patients. The TSCC cell lines (CAL-27, Tca-8113 and HN-4) were used. The expression levels of hsa_circ_0000231 in 60 pairs of freshly matched TSCC and para-carcinoma tissue samples, 10 pairs of saliva samples and 3 TSCC cell lines were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). hsa_circ_0000231 gene interference and lentiviral transfection were constructed, hsa_circ_0000231 in TSCC cell lines CAL-27 and Tca-8113 was knocked down, and the expressions of hsa_circ_0000231 in hsa_circ_0000231 interference group (sh-circ) and no-load lentivirus group (negative control) were tested with qRT-PCR. Cells with the highest knock-down efficiency were selected for CCK-8 test, colony formation assay, transwell invasion assay and scratch assay. The expressions of EMT-related proteins including E-cadherin, snail protein, N-cadherin and vimentin and proteins related to Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway including β-catenin, C-myc, Bcl-2, MMP-9 and Cyclin D1 were measured by western blot. After TSCC cells in the interference group were co-cultured with Wnt/β-catenin pathway activator LiCl, the expressions of above proteins were re-measured by western blot. TSCC cells in interference group and control group were subcutaneously injected into nude mice to compare the effect of hsa_circ_0000231 knockdown on the growths of the tumors grafted subcutaneously in the nude mice. Statistical analysis software 25.0 was used for data analysis, and t-test or chi-square test was used for comparison between groups. Results: hsa_circ_0000231 was highly expressed in the tissue and saliva samples of TSCC patients and cell lines CAL-27, Tca-8113 and HN-4, but lowly expressed in paired para-carcinoma tissues, saliva samples of healthy people and normal human oral keratinocytes (all P<0.05). Log-rank univariate analysis showed that hsa_circ_0000231 expression level, tumor differentiation degree and T stage were related to the survival of TSCC patients (all P<0.05). Multivariate Cox risk regression model analysis suggested that hsa_circ_0000231 expression level (χ²=5.77,P=0.016) and T stage (χ²=5.27,P=0.029) were independent factors for the poor prognosis of TSCC patients. Western blot showed the expressions of snail protein, N-cadherin and vimentin were down-regulated, but E-cadherin was up-regulated in interference group compared with control group. In interference group, the expressions of β-catenin, C-myc, Bcl-2, MMP-9 and CyclinD1 were down-regulated, which were reversed after TSCC cells were co-cultured with LiCl. The knockdown of hsa_circ_0000231 reduced the proliferation, invasion and metastasis abilities of CAL-27 and Tca-8113 cells, which were reversed after TSCC cells were co-cultured with LiCl. The growth rate and volume of the tumors grafted subcutaneously in interference group using LiCl were greater than those in negative control group. Conclusion: hsa_circ_0000231 is an independent prognostic factor of TSCC. Highly expressed hsa_circ_0000231 can promote the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of TSCC cells.
Male ; Animals ; Mice ; Female ; Humans ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Tongue Neoplasms ; Wnt Signaling Pathway/genetics* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/genetics* ; beta Catenin/metabolism* ; Mice, Nude ; Vimentin ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9/metabolism* ; RNA, Circular ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Cell Proliferation/genetics* ; Cadherins/genetics* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2/metabolism* ; Tongue