Objective To investigate the nutritional status of tumor patients in yuncheng region and to identify the factors influencing nutritional literacy. Methods Among the 486 patients with malignant digestive system tumors who attended our hospital from February 2021 to January 2024 were selected. The general data were collected in all patients. All patients were assessed using nutritional risk screening 2002, Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) and Self-made Nutrition Literacy Scale. Then the prevalence of malnutrition was recorded, and factors affecting the nutritional literacy in patients with malignant digestive system tumors were screened using Logistic regression analysis. Results A total of 486 patients, The number of patients with nutritional risks reached 49.59% (241/486) and 185 (38.07%) developed malnutrition, of which the incidence of moderate malnutrition was 26.13 % (127/486) and the incidence of severe malnutrition was 11.93% (58/486). The mean nutritional literacy score of all patients was (49.22±7.67) and only 87 patients (17.90%) had a score of ≥60. Logistic regression analysis denoted that gender (OR=1.531, 95%CI: 1.146-1.876), age (OR=1.483, 95%CI: 1.061-1.724), educational background (OR=1.788, 95%CI: 1.247-2.334), marital status (OR=1.925, 95%CI: 1.436-2.846), place of residence (OR=2.102, 95%CI: 1.520-3.282), monthly income (OR=1.863, 95%CI: 1.386-2.622), and social support score (OR=1.972, 95%CI: 1.395-2.743) were all influencing factors of nutritional literacy level in patients with malignant digestive system tumors (P<0.05). Conclusion Patients with malignant digestive system tumors are at high risk of malnutrition, and their level of nutrient literacy needs to be improved. Targeted measures can be carried out based on these characteristics to improve the nutritional quality of patients.

BACKGROUND:Eucommia ulmoides has a certain osteogenic effect,which can promote the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts.However,it is unclear whether Eucommia ulmoides has effects on alveolar bone formation and Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the mechanism by which Eucommia ulmoides promotes alveolar bone formation in ovariectomized rats based on the Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway. METHODS:Sixty female Sprague-Dawley rats were selected and randomly divided into five groups:blank control group,sham-operation group,model group,low-dose group Eucommia ulmoides group,and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides group,with twelve rats in each group.Osteoporosis animal models were constructed by bilateral oophorectomy in the model group and the low-dose and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups.The sham-operation group underwent the same method to remove adipose tissue of equal mass around the bilateral ovaries.Three months after surgery,the low-and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups were given 2.1 g/kg/d and 4.2 g/kg/d Eucommia ulmoides by gavage,respectively.The sham-operation group and model group were given the same amount of physiological saline by gavage.After 12 weeks of drug intervention,the changes in alveolar bone mass of rats in each group were observed through Micro-CT;hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the pathological structural changes of alveolar bone in rats;enzyme linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the expression levels of alkaline phosphatase and osteocalcin in the serum of rats;western blot was used to detect the expression levels of β-Catenin and Frizzled9 receptor proteins in the alveolar bone of rats;and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to detect the expression of osteocalcin,Runt-related transcription factor 2(Runx2),alkaline phosphatase,β-catenin,and frizzled9 mRNAs in alveolar bone tissues of rats. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Compared with the blank control group,bone volume fraction,trabecular number,trabecular thickness,and bone mineral density were reduced in the model group(P＜0.05),and trabecular separation was elevated(P＜0.05).Pathological observation showed that the arrangement of trabeculae was disordered and irregular,the trabeculae were thinned or broken,and the marrow cavity was enlarged in the model group,with a significant reduction in bone volume;the level of alkaline phosphatase in the serum was increased(P＜0.05),and the level of osteocalcin was decreased(P＜0.05);mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase,osteocalcin,Runx2,β-catenin,and frizzled9 were decreased(P＜0.05);protein expression of β-Catenin and Frizzled9 was decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the low-and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups showed an increase in bone volume fraction,trabecular number,trabecular thickness,and bone mineral density(P＜0.05)and a decrease in trabecular separation(P＜0.05).In the low-and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups,bone trabeculae were slightly aligned and thickened,with a significant increase in bone mass.Compared with the model group,the serum level of alkaline phosphatase was reduced(P＜0.05)and the serum level of osteocalcin was elevated(P＜0.05)in the low-and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups.Compared with the model group,the mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase,osteocalcin,Runx2,β-catenin,and frizzled9 were increased in the low-and high-dose Eucommia ulmoides groups(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the protein expression of Frizzled9 was increased in the low-dose Eucommia ulmoides group(P＜0.05),while the protein expression of β-Catenin and Frizzled9 was increased in the high-dose Eucommia ulmoides group(P＜0.05).Compared with the low-dose Eucommia ulmoides group,the high-dose Eucommia ulmoides group had a more significant improvement in the above indexes.To conclude,Eucommia ulmoides can effectively promote the alveolar bone formation,and its mechanism of action might be related to the activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

This study aims to investigate the ameliorating effect of Corni Fructus(CF) on the myocardial ischemic injury and the pharmacokinetic properties of characteristic components of CF. The mouse model of isoproterenol-induced myocardial ischemia was established and administrated with the aqueous extract of CF. The general efficacy of CF in ameliorating the myocardial ischemic injury was evaluated based on the cardiac histopathology and the levels of myocardial injury markers: creatine kinase isoenzyme(CK-MB) and cardiac troponin I(cTn-I). The metabolomics analysis was carried out for the heart and serum samples of mice to screen the biomarkers of CF in ameliorating the myocardial ischemic injury and then the predicted biomarkers were submitted to metabolic pathway enrichment. The pharmacokinetic analysis was performed for morroniside, loganin, and cornuside Ⅰ in mouse heart and serum samples to obtain the pharmacokinetic parameters of these components. The pharmacokinetic parameters were then integrated on the basis of self-defined weighting coefficients to simulate an integrated pharmacokinetic profile of CF iridoid glycosides in the heart and serum of the mouse model of myocardial ischemia. The results indicated that CF reduced the pathological damage to cardiac cells and tissue(hematoxylin-eosin staining) and lowered the levels of CK-MB and cTn-I in the serum of the mouse model of myocardial ischemia(P<0.01). Metabolomics analysis screed out 31 endogenous metabolites in the heart and 35 in the serum as biomarkers of CF in ameliorating the myocardial ischemic injury. These biomarkers were altered by modeling and restored by CF. Six metabolic pathways in the heart and 5 in the serum were enriched based on these metabolic markers. The main integrated pharmacokinetic parameters of CF iridoid glycosides were T_(max)=1 h, t_(1/2)=(1.52±0.05) h in the heart and T_(max)=1 h, t_(1/2)=(1.56±0.50) h in the serum. Both concentration-time curves showed a double-peak phenomenon. In conclusion, CF demonstrated the cardioprotective effect by regulating metabolic pathways such as taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, and pantothenic acid and coenzyme A biosynthesis. The integrated pharmacokinetics reflect the general pharmacokinetic properties of characteristic components in CF.
Animals ; Cornus/chemistry* ; Mice ; Metabolomics ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia/metabolism* ; Humans ; Troponin I/metabolism* ; Myocardium/pathology* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Biomarkers/metabolism* ; Creatine Kinase, MB Form/metabolism*

This study compared the differences in intestinal absorption characteristics of eleven active components in Rubus multibracteatus(RM) extract(protocatechuic acid, tiliroside, scutellarin, luteoloside, astragalin, epicatechin, catechin, xanthotoxin, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, and apigenin-7-O-glucuronide) between normal rats and inflammatory pain model rats using the in-vitro everted intestinal sac model. The RM extract was administered at absorption concentrations of 25.0, 50.0, and 100.0 mg·mL~(-1). The contents of the eleven components in intestinal absorption solution samples were quantified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS), and their cumulative absorption(Q) and absorption rate constant(K_a) were calculated to evaluate the absorption characteristics of these components in normal rats and inflammatory pain model rats. The results show that except for catechin, epicatechin, and caffeic acid, the cumulative absorption-time curves of the other eight components(protocatechuic acid, tiliroside, scutellarin, luteoloside, astragalin, xanthotoxin, p-coumaric acid, and apigenin-7-O-glucuronide) exhibit an upward trend without saturation, with correlation coefficients(R~2) all > 0.9, indicating linear absorption. However, the overall absorption of all components is not dose-dependent with increasing concentration, suggesting that their absorption mechanisms are not solely passive diffusion. In both normal and model rats, the jejunum shows the highest absorption for all components except xanthotoxin. The overall absorption of seven components(excluding protocatechuic acid, caffeic acid, apigenin-7-O-glucuronide, and luteoloside) in normal rats is better than that in model rats across all intestinal segments. These findings indicate that the pathological state of inflammatory pain alters the intestinal absorption of RM extract, and its mechanism needs further investigation.
Animals ; Rats ; Intestinal Absorption/drug effects* ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/metabolism* ; Disease Models, Animal ; Pain/metabolism* ; Intestines/drug effects* ; Intestinal Mucosa/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: To explore the role of berberine (BBR) in ameliorating coronary endothelial cell injury in Kawasaki disease (KD) by regulating the complement and coagulation cascade. METHODS: Human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAEC) were divided into a healthy control group, a KD group, and a BBR treatment group (n=3 for each group). The healthy control group and KD group were supplemented with 15% serum from healthy children and KD patients, respectively, while the BBR treatment group received 15% serum from KD patients followed by the addition of 20 mmol/L BBR. Differential protein expression was analyzed and identified using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation technology and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, followed by GO functional enrichment analysis and KEGG signaling pathway enrichment analysis of the differential proteins. Western blot was used to detect differential protein expression. RESULTS: A total of 518 differential proteins were identified between the KD group and the healthy control group (300 upregulated proteins and 218 downregulated proteins). A total of 422 differential proteins were identified between the BBR treatment group and the KD group (221 upregulated proteins and 201 downregulated proteins). Bioinformatics analysis showed that compared to the healthy control group, the differential proteins in the KD group were enriched in the complement and coagulation cascade and ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes. Compared to the KD group, the differential proteins in the BBR treatment group were also enriched in the complement and coagulation cascade and ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes. Western blot results indicated that compared to the healthy control group, the expression of complement C1q subcomponent subunit C (C1QC), kininogen-1 (KNG1), complement C1s subcomponent (C1S), and C4b-binding protein alpha chain (C4BPA) was increased in the KD group (P<0.05). Compared to the KD group, the expression of KNG1, C1S, C1QC, and C4BPA was decreased in the BBR treatment group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The complement and coagulation cascade may be involved in the regulation of BBR treatment for coronary injury in KD, and C1QC, KNG1, C1S, and C4BPA may serve as biomarkers for this treatment.
Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome/blood* ; Humans ; Endothelial Cells/pathology* ; Complement System Proteins/physiology* ; Coronary Vessels/drug effects* ; Male ; Blood Coagulation/drug effects* ; Berberine/therapeutic use* ; Female ; Child, Preschool ; Infant

OBJECTIVE: To measure and analyze the occlusal force and contact in children with mixed dentition, and to preliminarily provide baseline data on the occlusion of individual normal occlusion children with mixed dentition. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted, including 20 children with mixed dentition and individual normal occlusion, consisting of 12 boys and 8 girls, aged 6.5-9.8 years. The Dental Prescale Ⅱ occlusal analysis system was used to measure the occlusal force and contact at the intercuspal position, including the maximum occlusal force (N) and the occlusal contact area (mm²) of the entire dentition, and the left and right sides, average occlusal pressure (MPa), maximum occlusal pressure (MPa), and to determine the position of the center of occlusal force. The gender differences in maximum occlusal force, average occlusal pressure, and occlusal contact area were analyzed, the bilateral symmetry of occlusion in children with mixed dentition and individual normal occlusion was compared, and the correlation between occlusal data and age, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) was analyzed. RESULTS: (1) The average maximum occlusal force of the entire dentition in the 20 children with mixed dentition at the intercuspal position was (869.18±106.64) N, the average occlusal contact area was (25.19±2.89) mm², the average occlusal pressure was (34.37±5.98) MPa, and the maximum occlusal pressure M(P₂₅, P₇₅) was 120 (120, 120) MPa; (2) There was no statistically significant difference in the maximum occlusal force, average occlusal pressure, maximum occlusal pressure, and occlusal contact area between the left and right sides (P>0.05); (3) At the intercuspal position, the average occlusal contact area for 12 boys and 8 girls was (26.71±3.91) mm² and (21.62±3.08) mm² respectively, and the average maximum occlusal force was (911.92±145.05) N and (769.47±116.45) N respectively, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05), while there was no statistically significant difference in the average occlusal pressure between boys and girls (P>0.05); (4) The maximum occlusal force at the intercuspal position was weakly correlated with age (r=0.219, P=0.046), and strongly positively correlated with the occlusal contact area (r=0.949, P < 0.001), while the average occlusal pressure, maximum occlusal pressure, and occlusal contact area were not correlated with age, height, weight, or BMI; (5) The center of occlusal force in the 20 children with mixed dentition and individual normal occlusion was located in the molar region, with 7 children having the maximum occlusal pressure point only in the first permanent molar region, 10 children having it in both the deciduous molar region and the first permanent molar region, and 3 children having it only in the deciduous molar region. CONCLUSION In children with mixed dentition and individual normal occlusion, the maximum occlusal force, occlusal contact area, average occlusal pressure, and maximum occlusal pressure at the intercuspal position show good bilateral symmetry; there are gender differences in the maximum occlusal force and occlusal contact area, with boys having greater values than girls; the maximum occlusal force is positively correlated with the occlusal contact area.
Humans ; Child ; Male ; Bite Force ; Female ; Dentition, Mixed ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dental Occlusion

Clinical chemotherapy for prostate cancer is still compromised by high treatment thresholds and severe off-target toxicity of drugs. Given the limited progress in improving therapeutic outcomes and reducing toxicity with the existing toolbox, efforts to broaden the chemotherapeutic window are highly desired. Here, we discover that gossypol (GSP, a natural compound) dramatically enhances the chemosensitivity of cabazitaxel (CTX), even at previously ineffective concentrations. Based on this interesting finding, we exploit a carrier-free chemotherapeutic nano-booster for prostate cancer treatment, which is molecularly co-assembled by GSP and cabazitaxel (CTX). GSP not only readily forms nanoassembly with CTX, but also functions as a chemotherapeutic enhancer that unlocks an ultra-low-dose chemotherapeutic window. Not only that, precise dual-drug nanoassembly confers CTX a significantly larger maximum tolerable dose. As expected, the nano-booster exerts striking therapeutic benefits in mouse prostate tumor xenograft models. This study advances chemotherapeutic window expansion and self-sensitized chemotherapy toward clinical applicability.

Ovarian tumor (OT) is the most lethal form of gynecologic malignancy, with minimal improvements in patient outcomes over the past several decades. Metastasis is the leading cause of ovarian cancer-related deaths, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Psychological stress is known to activate the glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1), a factor associated with poor prognosis in OT patients. However, the precise mechanisms linking NR3C1 signaling and metastasis have yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, we demonstrate that chronic restraint stress accelerates epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis in OT through an NR3C1-dependent mechanism involving nuclear protein 1 (NUPR1). Mechanistically, NR3C1 directly regulates the transcription of NUPR1, which in turn increases the expression of snail family transcriptional repressor 2 (SNAI2), a key driver of EMT. Clinically, elevated NR3C1 positively correlates with NUPR1 expression in OT patients, and both are positively associated with poorer prognosis. Overall, our study identified the NR3C1/NUPR1 axis as a critical regulatory pathway in psychological stress-induced OT metastasis, suggesting a potential therapeutic target for intervention in OT metastasis.

Acute lung injury (ALI) has been a kind of acute and severe disease that is mainly characterized by systemic uncontrolled inflammatory response to the production of huge amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the lung tissue. Given the critical role of ROS in ALI, a Fe₃O₄ loaded bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanocluster (BF) was developed to act as a nanomedicine for the treatment of ALI. Combining with NIR irradiation, it exhibited excellent ROS scavenging capacity. Significantly, it also displayed the excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions for lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced macrophages (RAW264.7), and Sprague Dawley rats via lowering intracellular ROS levels, reducing inflammatory factors expression levels, inducing macrophage M2 polarization, inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway, increasing CD4⁺/CD8⁺ T cell ratios, as well as upregulating HSP70 and CD31 expression levels to reprogram redox homeostasis, reduce systemic inflammation, activate immunoregulation, and accelerate lung tissue repair, finally achieving the synergistic enhancement of ALI immunotherapy. It finally provides an effective therapeutic strategy of BF + NIR for the management of inflammation related diseases.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the mechanism by which circ_EPHB4 regulates temozolomide (TMZ) sensitivity of glioma cells through the miR-424-5p/Wnt3 signal axis. METHODS: We detected the expression levels of circ_EPHB4, miR-424-5p and Wnt3 mRNA in glioma specimens from 25 patients with primary glioma and 25 patients experiencing relapse following temozolomide-based chemotherapy and in TMZ-sensitive and -resistant glioma A172 and SHG44 cells with circ_EPHB4 knockdown using qRT-PCR, and Wnt3 protein expression level was detected with Western blotting. Cell viability, colony-forming ability, and apoptosis of the cells with circ_EPHB4 knockdown were assessed, and the targeted regulation relationship between circ_EPHB4, miR-424-5p, and Wnt3 was verified by dual luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) experiments. The effect of circ_EPHB4 knockdown on tumorigenesis of glioma cells was evaluated in subcutaneous tumor-bearing nude mouse models. RESULTS: The expression of circ_EPHB4 was significantly increased in glioma tissues and cells as compared with normal neural tissues and astrocytes (P=0.014). In TMZ-resistant glioma cells, circ_EPHB4 knockdown resulted in an obvious reduction of IC50 value of TMZ, inhibited cell colony formation, and promoted cell apoptosis, and these effects were reversed by miR-424-5p knockdown. The expressions of miR-424-5p and circ_EPHB4 were negatively correlated in glioma tissues (P=0.011). MiR-424-5p knockdown also attenuated the effect of circ_EPHB4 knockdown on expressions of PCNA, P-gp, MRP1 and bax. CONCLUSIONS Circ_EPHB4 regulates Wnt3 expression through "sponge adsorption" of miR-424-5p, thereby modulating TMZ-resistant glioblastoma cell clonogenesis, apoptosis, and TMZ sensitivity, suggesting the potential of circ_EPHB4 as a therapeutic target for reversing drug resistance of gliomas.
MicroRNAs/genetics* ; Humans ; Temozolomide ; Glioma/genetics* ; Animals ; Mice, Nude ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Wnt3 Protein/metabolism* ; Mice ; Apoptosis ; RNA, Circular ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Brain Neoplasms/pathology* ; Signal Transduction