Aim To investigate the therapeutic effects of a newly developed Tadalafil tablets on pathological myocardial hypertrophy induced by abdominal aortic constriction(AAC)in rats,as well as its influence on the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in myo-cardial cells.Methods SD rats were randomly divid-ed into 4 groups:the sham operation group(Sham),the model group(AAC),the tadalafil new tablet treat-ment group(N-Tad,5 mg·kg-1),and the positive control drug treatment group(Cialis,10 mg·kg-1g).The AAC model group and treatment group rats under-went blunt dissection and constrictive ligation of the abdominal aorta at the left renal artery branch point during surgery,while the Sham group rats only had their arteries separated without any constrictive liga-tion.Rats in the treatment groups received either N-Tad or Cialis via gavage three days after modeling,while rats in the sham group and the model group re-ceived physiological saline daily for 8 weeks.Small an-imal ultra-high-resolution echocardiography and hemo-dynamic assessment were applied to evaluate left ven-tricular function in each group of rats,and the calcula-tion of the left ventricular mass index was conducted.By employing Western blot and RT-PCR.we assessed the impact of this treatment on the expression of the hy-pertrophy factor atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP),phosphorylated NF-κB p65 protein(p-NF-κB p65),and phosphorylated IκB-α in the left heart tissue of rats and in H9c2 cardiomyocytes.Results Compared to the Sham group,the AAC rats exhibited a significant decrease in left heart function,an increase in left ven-tricular mass index,and a notable increase in ANP and p-p65 expression in the left heart tissue(P＜0.05).Both N-Tad and Cialis treatments could significantly enhance left ventricular function,decrease left ventric-ular mass index,and inhibit the expression of ANP and phosphorylated NF-κB p65 in rats with myocardial hy-pertrophy(P＜0.05).Notably,the therapeutic effect of low-dose N-Tad was comparable to that of high-dose Cialis.At the cellular level,Tadalafil significantly in-hibited the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway and reduced the expression of associated proteins in H9c2 cardiomyocytes.Conclusions N-Tad can sig-nificantly inhibit p65 and IκB-α phosphorylation,and the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway,reduce ANP expression,and improve pathological myocardial hypertrophy,as well as mitigate left heart function damage caused by abdominal aortic constriction.

Aim To investigate the therapeutic effects of a newly developed Tadalafil tablets on pathological myocardial hypertrophy induced by abdominal aortic constriction(AAC)in rats,as well as its influence on the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway in myo-cardial cells.Methods SD rats were randomly divid-ed into 4 groups:the sham operation group(Sham),the model group(AAC),the tadalafil new tablet treat-ment group(N-Tad,5 mg·kg-1),and the positive control drug treatment group(Cialis,10 mg·kg-1g).The AAC model group and treatment group rats under-went blunt dissection and constrictive ligation of the abdominal aorta at the left renal artery branch point during surgery,while the Sham group rats only had their arteries separated without any constrictive liga-tion.Rats in the treatment groups received either N-Tad or Cialis via gavage three days after modeling,while rats in the sham group and the model group re-ceived physiological saline daily for 8 weeks.Small an-imal ultra-high-resolution echocardiography and hemo-dynamic assessment were applied to evaluate left ven-tricular function in each group of rats,and the calcula-tion of the left ventricular mass index was conducted.By employing Western blot and RT-PCR.we assessed the impact of this treatment on the expression of the hy-pertrophy factor atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP),phosphorylated NF-κB p65 protein(p-NF-κB p65),and phosphorylated IκB-α in the left heart tissue of rats and in H9c2 cardiomyocytes.Results Compared to the Sham group,the AAC rats exhibited a significant decrease in left heart function,an increase in left ven-tricular mass index,and a notable increase in ANP and p-p65 expression in the left heart tissue(P＜0.05).Both N-Tad and Cialis treatments could significantly enhance left ventricular function,decrease left ventric-ular mass index,and inhibit the expression of ANP and phosphorylated NF-κB p65 in rats with myocardial hy-pertrophy(P＜0.05).Notably,the therapeutic effect of low-dose N-Tad was comparable to that of high-dose Cialis.At the cellular level,Tadalafil significantly in-hibited the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway and reduced the expression of associated proteins in H9c2 cardiomyocytes.Conclusions N-Tad can sig-nificantly inhibit p65 and IκB-α phosphorylation,and the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway,reduce ANP expression,and improve pathological myocardial hypertrophy,as well as mitigate left heart function damage caused by abdominal aortic constriction.

OBJECTIVE To discuss the relationship between the main concentration of air-borne pollen and the number of visits for allergic diseases in Chengde City. METHODS The daily airborne pollen concentration and species in Chengde City,Hebei Province were monitored by gravity sedimentation method from March 1 to October 15,in 2020-2022. The number of visits of patients with allergic rhinitis,asthma and conjunctivitis in department of otorhinolaryngology,respiratory and ophthalmology were counted by HIS system in the hospital computer center,furthermore,the correlation between pollen concentration and the number of visits of the above diagnosed patients was analyzed. RESULTS The pollen concentration in Chengde showed two peaks each year,which were in May in spring and August in autumn. The main pollen sources in spring were Pinaceae,ash,birch,ulmaceae,Cupressaceae,Moraceae and Rosaceaceae,accounting for 82.6％ of the total annual pollen(78.2％,83.5％,and 86.1％ in 2020-2022,respectively). In autumn,artemisia and humulus were the main sources of pollen,accounting for 9.94％ of the total annual pollen(11.4％,6.3％,12.11％,in 2020-2022,respectively). The number of outpatient visits patients with allergic rhinitis,asthma and conjunctivitis were higher in May and August than in other months,and the number of patients with allergic rhinitis in August was significantly increased compared with other months(P<0.05). The total monthly visits of the three departments and the visits of the three allergic diseases were positively correlated with pollen concentration. CONCLUSION The pollen concentration in the spring and autumn seasons of Chengde City has a direct impact on allergic diseases. Monitoring and broadcasting pollen concentration can provide early warning for doctors and patients,and provide effective information for early intervention,protection,and reasonable treatment of diseases.

Objective To establish antemortem and postmortem injury models in nude mice,observe the morphological changes of the wounds and the changes of the microbial communities in the wounds at different time points after the injury,and analyze the differences between antemortem and postmor-tem wounds.Methods Abdominal injury models were established in 48 BALB/c nude mice,which were classified into antemortem injury,4 h and 72 h postmortem injury groups,and the gross manifesta-tions and histopathological changes were observed on days 1,3,5,8,11 and 15 after injury.The mi-crobial communities in the wounds were analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing technology.QIIME 2 soft-ware was used to calculate Shannon and Observed species indices.The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine statistical differences in α-diversity between groups.Jaccard similarity coefficients were calculated by using R v4.3.0 software and applied to the principal co-ordinates analysis to demonstrate inter-sample differences.Permutational multivariate analysis of variance(PERMANOVA)was used to analyze the differences between groups in the composition of bacterial colonies,and R2 values were calculated.Results On days 8,11 and 15 after injury,the antemortem and postmortem injuries could not be differentiated by morphological examination;the Shannon index and Observed species index were statistically different between the antemortem injury group and the 72 h postmortem injury group;the Jaccard similarity coefficient of the microbial community was statistically different between the an-temortem injury group and the 72 h postmortem injury group.The PERMANOVA R2 value gradually increased with the extension of time(0.22-0.61).Conclusion Through the analysis of the wound mi-crobial community,the microbial composition of wounds at different time points can be identified and compared,which provides a new perspective and method for the differentiation of antemortem injuries from postmortem injuries,with good application prospects.

Objective To explore early postoperative gait characteristics and clinical outcomes after total knee arthroplasty(TKA).Methods From February 2023 to July 2023,26 patients with unilateral knee osteoarthritis(KOA)were treated with TKA,including 4 males and 22 females,aged from 57 to 85 years old with an average of(67.58±6.49)years old;body mass in-dex(BMI)ranged from 18.83 to 38.28 kg·m-2 with an average of(26.43±4.15)kg·m-2;14 patients on the left side,12 pa-tients on the right side;according to Kellgren-Lawrence(K-L)classification,6 patients with grade Ⅲ and 20 patients with grade Ⅳ;the courses of disease ranged from 1 to 14 years with an average of(5.54±3.29)years.Images and videos of standing up and walking,walking side shot,squatting and supine kneeling were taken with smart phones before operation and 6 weeks after operation.The human posture estimation framework OpenPose were used to analyze stride frequency,step length,step length,step speed,active knee knee bending angle,stride length,double support phase time,as well as maximum hip flexion angle and maximum knee bending angle on squatting position.Western Ontario and McMaster Universities(WOMAC)arthritis index and Knee Society Score(KSS)were used to evaluate clinical efficacy of knee joint.Results All patients were followed up for 5 to 7 weeks with an average of(6.00±0.57)weeks.The total score of WOMAC decreased from(64.85±11.54)before op-eration to(45.81±7.91)at 6 weeks after operation(P＜0.001).The total KSS was increased from(101.19±9.58)before opera-tion to(125.50±10.32)at 6 weeks after operation(P＜0.001).The gait speed,stride frequency and stride length of the affected side before operation were(0.32±0.10)m·s-1,(96.35±24.18)steps·min-1,(0.72±0.14)m,respectively;and increased to(0.48±0.11)m·s 1,(104.20±22.53)steps·min-1,(0.79±0.10)m at 6 weeks after operation(P＜0.05).The lower limb support time and active knee bending angle decreased from(0.31±0.38)sand(125.21±11.64)° before operation to(0.11±0.04)s and(120.01±13.35)° at 6 weeks after operation(P＜0.05).Eleven patients could able to complete squat before operation,13 patients could able to complete at 6 weeks after operation,and 9 patients could able to complete both before operation and 6 weeks after operation.In 9 patients,the maximum bending angle of crouching position was increased from 76.29° to 124.11° before operation to 91.35° to 134.12° at 6 weeks after operation,and the maximum bending angle of hip was increased from 103.70° to 147.25° before operation to 118.61° to 149.48° at 6 weeks after operation.Conclusion Gait analysis technology based on artificial intelligence image recognition is a safe and effective method to quantitatively identify the changes of pa-tients'gait.Knee pain of KOA was relieved and the function was improved,the supporting ability of the affected limb was im-proved after TKA,and the patient's stride frequency,stride length and stride speed were improved,and the overall movement rhythm of both lower limbs are more coordinated.

Aim To investigate the effect of total glu-cosides of paeony on inflammatory injury and TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway in autoimmune thyroiditis(AIT)rats.Methods The experiment was divided into control group,model group,total glucosides of pae-ony(TGP),TLR4 inhibitor group and TGP+TLR4 ag-onist group,with 10 animals in each group.Except for the control group,the rats in other groups were subcu-taneously injected with thyroglobulin and Freund's ad-juvant to induce the AIT rat model.After six weeks of administration,thyroid histopathological changes were observed using hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining;ser-um levels of TPOAb,TgAb,TSH,T3,T4,TNF-α,INF-γ,IL-1 β and IL-1 β were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA);TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway mRNAs and proteins expression in thyroid tis-sues were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot.Re-sults Compared with the control group,the thyroid follicular epithelium of rats was significantly damaged,and the serum levels of TPOAb,TgAb,TSH,T3,T4,TNF-α,INF-γ,IL-1 β and IL-1 β increased(P＜0.01).The expression of TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 path-way mRNAs and proteins increased in the model group(P＜0.01).Compared with the model group,the damage of thyroid follicular epithelium was alleviated,and the serum levels of TPOAb,TgAb,TSH,T3,T4,TNF-α,INF-γ,IL-1 β and IL-1 β were reduced(P＜0.01),the expression of TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 path-way mRNAs and proteins were down-regulated in the TGP group and TLR4 inhibitor group(P＜0.01).Compared with TGP group,the damage of thyroid follic-ular epithelium was aggravated,and the levels of serum TPOAb,TgAb,TSH,T3,T4,TNF-α,INF-γ,IL-1 β and IL-1 β were elevated(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),the pro-tein expressions of TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway mR-NAs and proteins were up-regulated in TGP+TLR4 ag-onist group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).Conclusions TGP may play a protective role in thyroid by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway and improving the inflammatory injury of thyroid tissues.

The incidence of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral fracture (OTLVF) in the elderly is gradually increasing. The kyphotic deformity caused by various factors has become an important characteristic of OTLVF and has received increasing attention. Its clinical manifestations include pain, delayed nerve damage, sagittal imbalance, etc. Currently, the definition and diagnosis of OTLVF with kyphotic deformity in the elderly are still unclear. Although there are many treatment options, they are controversial. Existing guidelines or consensuses pay little attention to this type of fracture with kyphotic deformity. To this end, the Lumbar Education Working Group of the Spine Branch of the Chinese Medicine Education Association and Editorial Committee of Chinese Journal of Trauma organized the experts in the relevant fields to jointly develop Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporotic thoracolumbar vertebral fractures with kyphotic deformity in the elderly ( version 2024), based on evidence-based medical advancements and the principles of scientificity, practicality, and advanced nature, which provided 18 recommendations to standardize the clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Inflammation， the basic pathological process of many diseases， can occur in various tissues and organs of the body and cause many diseases including cancer. So far， there are thousands of anti-inflammatory drugs on the market， but most of these drugs have adverse reactions of gastrointestinal injury， and can even cause greater damage to the body. In recent years， the research on the repurpose of Chinese medicine is in the ascendant， and the innovative research on the specific antimalarial drug artemisinin has attracted extensive attention from scholars in China and abroad. Artesunate is a water-soluble derivative of artemisinin， which has the characteristics of quick effect and low toxicity. In addition to its significant therapeutic effect on malaria， artesunate also has a potential anti-inflammatory effect. In this review， the anti-inflammatory effect and mechanism of artesunate were elaborated in detail by consulting the relevant literature. It was found that artesunate had good anti-inflammatory effects in the respiratory system， liver injury， osteoarthritis， dermatitis， kidney inflammation， colitis， neuroinflammation， and even in novel coronavirus disease 2019 （COVID-19）. It was concluded that artesunate mainly participated in apoptotic signal transduction， mediated immune regulation， and improved oxidative stress to play an anti-inflammatory role by acting on nuclear factor-κB （NF-κB）， nuclear factor E₂-related factor 2 （Nrf2）， phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase （PI3K）/protein kinase B （Akt）/mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR）， Toll-like receptor 4 （TLR4）/myeloid differentiation factor 88 （MyD88）/tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 （TRAF6）， high mobility group box 1 （HMGB1）/receptor for advanced glycation endproduct （RAGE）， and other pathways. Through the review of the anti-inflammatory effect and mechanism of artesunate， it is expected to provide a reference for the application of artesunate in inflammation resistance and further development and utilization of artesunate in the future.

Itch is an unpleasant sensation that urges people and animals to scratch. Neuroimaging studies on itch have yielded extensive correlations with diverse cortical and subcortical regions, including the insular lobe. However, the role and functional specificity of the insular cortex (IC) and its subdivisions in itch mediation remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and fiber photometry tests, that neurons in both the anterior insular cortex (AIC) and the posterior insular cortex (PIC) are activated during acute itch processes. Pharmacogenetic experiments revealed that nonselective inhibition of global AIC neurons, or selective inhibition of the activity of glutaminergic neurons in the AIC, reduced the scratching behaviors induced by intradermal injection of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), but not those induced by compound 48/80. However, both nonselective inhibition of global PIC neurons and selective inhibition of glutaminergic neurons in the PIC failed to affect the itching-scratching behaviors induced by either 5-HT or compound 48/80. In addition, pharmacogenetic inhibition of AIC glutaminergic neurons effectively blocked itch-associated conditioned place aversion behavior, and inhibition of AIC glutaminergic neurons projecting to the prelimbic cortex significantly suppressed 5-HT-evoked scratching. These findings provide preliminary evidence that the AIC is involved, at least partially via aversive emotion mediation, in the regulation of 5-HT-, but not compound 48/80-induced itch.
Humans ; Animals ; Serotonin ; Insular Cortex ; Pruritus/chemically induced* ; Cerebral Cortex/physiology* ; Neurons

【Objective:】 To explore the network characteristics of sleep quality and anxiety in first-line medical staff fighting against COVID-19, further understand the relationship between sleep quality and anxiety, and provide basis for intervention. 【Methods:】 Using the convenient sampling method, this paper used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Self Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) to conduct a questionnaire survey on the front-line medical staff who fought against the epidemic during the COVID-19. Network analysis was used to construct sleep quality and anxiety network, and R language was used for statistical analysis and visualization. 【Results:】 In the network of sleep quality and anxiety of first-line medical staff fighting against COVID-19, "sleep disorder" and "sleep quality", "unfortunate premonition" and "inability to sit still", "syncope" and "hand and foot tingling" were highly related. "Fatigue", "dizziness" and "panic" had the highest expected influence. "Sleep quality", "sleep disorder" and "fatigue" had the highest bridge expected influence. The average predictability value of all nodes was 0.778. 【Conclusion:】 This paper used network analysis to explore the sleep quality and anxiety of first-line medical staff fighting against COVID-19 and found that there was a unique correlation path between them. Intervention against core symptoms can ameliorate anxiety and sleep problems to the great extent, and provide guidance for improving the physical and mental health.