A variety of chromatographic techniques, including silica gel, ODS, Sephadex LH-20, and HPLC, were employed to isolate and purify the fermentation products of rice with Monascus sanguineus. A total of 38 compounds were isolated, and their structures were identified by UV, IR, NMR, MS, calculated ECD, and comparison with literature data. Compounds 1-4 were identified as new natural products, and other compounds were isolated from this fungus for the first time. A RAW264.7 macrophage model of lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced inflammation was used to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activities of all the compounds. The results showed that compound 6 exhibited a certain inhibitory effect on the production of nitric oxide in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells, with an inhibition rate of 53.08%.
Monascus/chemistry* ; Mice ; Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/isolation & purification* ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Macrophages/immunology* ; Nitric Oxide/immunology* ; Oryza/metabolism* ; Fermentation

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a hospital-made resuscitation pack, a Chinese medicinal herbal compound formula designed to enhance recovery in post-bronchoscopy patients. METHODS: In this randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, eligible patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to either the treatment or control groups. The patients in the treatment group applied the resuscitation pack, which contained aromatic compounded Chinese herbs. The patients in the control group applied a hospital-made, single herb placebo pack. Packs were placed on the Tiantu (CV 22) acupuncture point for 4 h as soon as the bronchoscopy finished. Efficacy indicators, such as recovery time, patients' symptoms including nausea and dizziness, and adverse events (AEs) were observed and compared. The outcome indices were evaluated at baseline, 1 and 24 h after the bronchoscopy. Subgroup analysis was further performed by patients' age and depth of sedation. RESULTS: When applying generalized estimating equations (GEE) to evaluate the intensity of post-bronchoscopy nausea and vomiting, the intensity was lower in the treatment group (163 cases) compared with the control group (162 cases; 95% CI: 0.004, 0.099, P=0.03]. Also, significantly lower intensity of nausea was observed in the 60-70 years of age subgroup (95% CI: 0.029, 0.169, P=0.006) and deep sedation subgroup (95% CI: 0.002, 0.124; P=0.04). There was no significant difference in dizziness between two groups by GEE (95% CI: -0.134, 0.297; P=0.459). In addition, no serious AEs were observed in either group. CONCLUSIONS Our study found that the resuscitation pack markedly improved patients' symptoms by reducing nausea and vomiting after bronchoscopy without AEs, compared with placebo in the perioperative period. (Trial registration No. ChiCTR2000038299).
Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Bronchoscopy/adverse effects* ; Single-Blind Method ; Aged ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/adverse effects* ; Treatment Outcome ; Resuscitation ; Adult ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the most common microvascular complications occurring in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, which often results in patients suffering from severe hyperalgesia and allodynia. Up to now, the clinical therapeutic effect of DPN is still unsatisfactory. Metformin is an anti-diabetic drug that has been safely and widely used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes for decades. Studies have shown that metformin can improve pain caused by DPN, but its effects on the nerve conduction velocity and morphology of the sciatic nerve of DPN, and the mechanism for improving DPN are not clear. Therefore, the STZ-induced model of type 1 DPN in SD rats was used to study the effects of metformin on DPN, and to preliminarily explore its mechanism in this study. All animal experiments were carried out with approval of the Experimental Animal Welfare Ethics Committee of the Institute of Materia Medica (Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College). After the model was established successfully, STZ diabetic rats were randomly divided into a model group and a metformin treatment group, and 10 normal SD rats were selected as the normal control group, and the rats were intragastrically administered for 12 weeks. The results showed that metformin significantly reduced blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, food consumption and water consumption in STZ rats. Metformin markedly increased the motor nerve conduction velocity and mechanical stabbing pain threshold, prolonged the hot plate latency threshold, and improved the pathological morphological abnormalities of the sciatic nerve in STZ rats. In addition, metformin increased the content of glutathione (GSH), enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), and reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in serum and sciatic nerve of STZ diabetic rats, as well as regulating the expression of genes related to oxidative stress in the sciatic nerve. Metformin obviously reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 in the serum in STZ rats, and inhibited the gene expression of these inflammatory factors in the sciatic nerve. In summary, metformin significantly increased nerve conduction velocity, improved sciatic nerve morphological abnormalities and pain in DPN rats, which may be related to its effect in improving oxidative stress and reducing inflammation.

Objective: To understand the population structure of food-borne Staphylococcus (S.) aureus in China. Methods: Whole genome sequencing was used to analyze 763 food-borne S. aureus strains from 16 provinces in China from 2006 to 2020. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST), staphylococcal protein A gene (spa) typing, and staphylococcal chromosome cassettemec (SCCmec) typing were conducted, and minimum spanning tree based on ST types (STs) was constructed by BioNumerics 7.5 software. Thirty-one S. aureus strains isolated from imported food products were also included in constructing the genome phylogenetic tree. Results: A total of 90 STs (20 novel types) and 160 spa types were detected in the 763 S. aureus isolates. The 72 STs (72/90, 80.0%) were related to 22 clone complexes. The predominant clone complexes were CC7, CC1, CC5, CC398, CC188, CC59, CC6, CC88, CC15, and CC25, accounting for 82.44% (629/763) of the total. The STs and spa types in the predominant clone complexes changed over the years. The methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) detection rate was 7.60%, and 7 SCCmec types were identified. The ST59-t437-Ⅳa (17.24%, 10/58), ST239-t030-Ⅲ (12.07%, 7/58), ST59-t437-Ⅴb (8.62%, 5/58), ST338-t437-Ⅴb (6.90%, 4/58) and ST338-t441-Ⅴb (6.90%, 4/58) were the main types in MRSA strains. The genome phylogenetic tree had two clades, and the strains with the same CC, ST, and spa types clustered together. All CC7 methicillin sensitive S. aureus strains were included in Clade1, while 21 clone complexes and all MRSA strains were in Clade2. The MRSA strains clustered according to the SCCmec and STs. The strains from imported food products in CC398, CC7, CC30, CC12, and CC188 had far distances from Chinese strains in the tree. Conclusions: In this study, the predominant clone complexes of food-borne strains were CC7, CC1, CC5, CC398, CC188, CC59, CC6, CC88, CC15, and CC25, which overlapped with the previously reported clone complexes of hospital and community-associated strains in China, suggesting that close attention needs to be paid to food, a vehicle of pathogen transmission in community and food poisoning.
Humans ; Staphylococcus aureus/genetics* ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/genetics* ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Phylogeny ; Staphylococcal Infections/epidemiology* ; China/epidemiology*

Talent is one of the basic and strategic supports for building a modern socialist country in all aspects. Since the 1980s, the establishment of forensic medicine major and the cultivation of innovative talents in forensic medicine have become hot topics in higher education in forensic medicine. Over the past 43 years, the forensic medicine team of Shanxi Medical University has adhered to the joint education of public security and colleges, and made collaborative innovation, forming a training mode of "One Combination, Two Highlights, Three Combinations, Four in One" for innovative talents in forensic medicine. It has carried out "5+3/X" integrated reform, and formed a relatively complete talent training innovation mode and management system in teaching, scientific research, identification, major, discipline, team, platform and cultural construction. It has made a historic contribution to China's higher forensic education, accumulated valuable experience for the construction of first-class major and first-class discipline of forensic medicine, and provided strong support for the construction of the national new forensic talent training system. The popularization of this training mode is conducive to the rapid and sustainable development of forensic science, and provides more excellent forensic talents for national building, regional social development and the discipline construction of forensic science.
Humans ; Forensic Medicine/education* ; Aptitude

Objective: To verify effects of rs1061622 at tumor necrosis factor-α receptor II (TNF-RII) gene (TNF-RII) on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its interactive effects with PTSD on serum lipids levels in adolescents. Methods: PTSD was measured by PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) in 699 adolescent survivors at 6 months after Wenchuan earthquake in China. A polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism assay were utilized for TNF-RII rs1061622 genotyping followed by verification using DNA sequencing. Serum triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were tested using routine methods. Results: G (deoxyguanine) allele carriers had higher PCL-C scores than TT (deoxythymidine) homozygotes in female subjects. Female adolescents had higher PCL-C scores than male subjects in TT homozygotes. Predictors of PTSD prevalence and severity were different between G allele carriers and TT homozygotes. Subjects with PTSD had lower TG, TG/HDL-C, TC/HDL-C, and higher HDL-C than adolescents without PTSD in male G allele carriers. G allele carriers had higher TG/HDL-C and TC/HDL-C than TT homozygotes in male adolescents without PTSD, and lower TG and TG/HDL-C in male PTSD patients. G allele carriers had higher TG than TT homozygotes only in female adolescents without PTSD. Conclusion These results suggest reciprocal actions of TNF-RII rs1061622 with other factors on PTSD severity, interplays of TNF-RII rs1061622 with PTSD on serum lipid levels, and novel treatment strategies for PTSD and comorbidities of PTSD with hyperlipidemia among adolescents with different genetic backgrounds of TNF-RII rs1061622 after experiencing traumatic events.

AIM To explore the clinical effects of San'ao Decoction combined with salbutamol on patients with cough variant asthma.METHODS Eighty patients were randomly assigned into control group(40 cases)for 3-month administration of salbutamol,and observation group(40 cases)for 3-month administration of both San'ao Decoction and mifepristone.The changes in clinical efficacy,TCM syndrome scores,serum MMP-9,VEGF and sex hormones(E2,FSH,PRL)and incidence of adverse reactions were detected.The changes in clinical efficacy,EOS,SIgG4,TIgE,Eotaxin,NKA,LTD4,IL-27,SP,R5-R20,Fres,R5,Zrs,PEF diurnal variation rate,FEF25,PEF,ACT score,PAQLQ score,recurrence rate and incidence of adverse reactions were detected.RESULTS The observation group demonstrated higher total effective rate than the control group(P<0.05),along with lower recurrence rate(P<0.05).After the treatment,the two groups displayed decreased EOS,TIgE,Eotaxin,NKA,LTD4,SP,R5-R20,Fres,R5,Zrs and PEF diurnal variation rate(P<0.05),and increased SIgG4,IL-27,FEF25,PEF,ACT score,PAQLQ score(P<0.05),especially for the observation group(P<0.05).No significant difference in incidence of adverse reactions was found between the two groups(P>0.05).CONCLUSION For the patients with cough variant asthma,San'ao Decoction combined with salbutamol can improve EOS,TIgE,Eotaxin,SIgG4 levels and airway resistance indices,lung function indices,regulate neurogenic mediators,alleviate airway inflammation injury,enhance life quality,and reduce recurrence rate.

Objective: To investigate the association between the urinary arsenic level and serum total testosterone in Chinese men aged 18 to 79 years. Methods: A total of 5 048 male participants aged 18 to 79 years were recruited from the China National Human Biomonitoring (CNHBM) from 2017 to 2018. Questionnaires and physical examinations were used to collect information on demographic characteristics, lifestyle, food intake frequency and health status. Venous blood and urine samples were collected to detect the level of serum total testosterone, urinary arsenic and urinary creatinine. Participants were divided into three groups (low, middle, and high) based on the tertiles of creatinine-adjusted urinary arsenic concentration. Weighted multiple linear regression was fitted to analyze the association of urinary arsenic with serum total testosterone. Results: The weighted average age of 5 048 Chinese men was (46.72±0.40) years. Geometric mean concentration (95%CI) of urinary arsenic, creatinine-adjusted urinary arsenic and serum testosterone was 22.46 (20.08, 25.12) μg/L, 19.36 (16.92, 22.15) μg/g·Cr and 18.13 (17.42, 18.85) nmol/L, respectively. After controlling for covariates, compared with the low-level urinary arsenic group, the testosterone level of the participants in the middle-level group and the high-level group decreased gradually. The percentile ratio (95%CI) was -5.17% (-13.14%, 3.54%) and -10.33% (-15.68%, -4.63). The subgroup analysis showed that the association between the urinary arsenic level and testosterone level was more obvious in the group with BMI<24 kg/m² group (P_interaction=0.023). Conclusion: There is a negative association between the urinary arsenic level and serum total testosterone in Chinese men aged 18 to 79 years.
Humans ; Male ; Arsenic/urine* ; Creatinine ; East Asian People ; Testosterone/blood* ; Urinalysis ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged

Intermittent hypoxia (IH) is an important pathophysiological feature of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but its molecular mechanism is still unclear. We aim to investigate the role of endogenous competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network in the development of IH in OSA rats. An intermittent hypoxic rat model of OSA was constructed by hypoxic and reoxygenation cycles. CircRNAs and mRNAs were detected in rat bronchial tissues, and 230 up-regulated and 181 down-regulated circRNAs and 1238 up-regulated and 608 down-regulated mRNAs were analyzed and screened. The results of Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of the differential circRNAs and mRNAs suggested that they were mainly associated with metabolic pathways and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways. The key circRNAs (the top six circRNAs with the largest differences) were further validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), chr9:52042693| 52047844 and chr4: 64889575|64899587 were expressed in bronchial tissues consistent with the sequencing results, which were used to further construct the ceRNA regulatory network. Four potential ceRNA regulatory networks were identified by TargetScan and miRanda database, combined with the results of differential circRNA and mRNA. The expression of molecules in the four potential ceRNA regulatory networks was detected by qRT-PCR in bronchial and lung tissues, and the results suggested that the expression of this regulatory network, chr9:52042693|52047844-miR-351-5p-Pten, was consistent with the sequencing results. The findings indicate that chr9:52042693 | 52047844-miR-351-5p-Pten may be involved in the development and progression of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome through a ceRNA mechanism.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the characteristics and rules of acupoint sensitization phenomena based on knee osteoarthritis (KOA), one of the clinical dominant diseases of acupuncture-moxibustion. METHODS: In combination with literature and expert experiences, the acupoints with the highest use frequency in treatment of KOA were screened, e.g. Heding (EX-LE 2), Liangqiu (ST 34), Mingmen (GV 4), Neixiyan (EX-LE 4), Ququan (LR 8) and Dubi (ST 35). In 814 patients with KOA and 217 healthy subjects, the acupoint temperature, mechanic pain threshold and pressure pain threshold were detected separately. Using machine learning method, the sensitization was judged at each acupoint. RESULTS: Compared with healthy subjects, the acupoint temperature was increased and the mechanic pain threshold and pressure pain threshold were reduced in KOA patients (P<0.05). Besides, the cut-off value was presented to distinguish whether the acupoint was sensitized or not. The results of machine learning showed that the highest prediction accuracy of acupoint sensitization was 86.7% (Shenshu [BL 23]) and the lowest one was 73.9% (Heding [EX LE 2]). The prediction accuracy at the third clinical stage trial was higher, the highest was 93.3% (Ququan [LR 8]) in KOA patients. CONCLUSION It is confirmed that the acupoint sensitization reflects the characteristics of disease and is correlative with the conditions of illness, which may provide the reference for the auxiliary diagnosis and condition assessment of KOA.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Humans ; Moxibustion ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/therapy* ; Treatment Outcome