The auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA) gene family is an important regulator for plant growth hormone signaling, involved in plant growth, development, as well as response to environmental stresses. In the present study, we identified SmIAA7 which is potentially associated with Salvia miltiorrhiza leaf development through comparatively analyzed the transcriptome data from different pinnate leaves. SmIAA7 was successfully isolated from S. miltiorrhiza using the specific primers. Then subsequent bioinformatic analysis, prokaryotic expression and purification, subcellular localization, and induction expression analysis under auxin and abiotic stress were performed. The full-length of SmIAA7 contained an ORF of 684 bp encoding a protein of 227 amino acid with a molecular weight of 25.3 kD. Conserved domain analysis showed that SmIAA7 contains the conserved Aux_IAA domain (pfam02309). Sequence analysis and phylogenetic tree analysis results indicated SmIAA7 was phylogenetically close to IAA7 and IAA14 from other plants, suggesting SmIAA7 involved in plant growth and development as well as response to environmental stresses. The prokaryotic expression vector pET28a-SmIAA7 was constructed and SmIAA7 recombinant protein was successfully expressed in E. coli Rosetta (DE3) strain. Subcellular localization experiment demonstrated that SmIAA7 localized in the nucleus of plant cells. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR results showed that the expression level of SmIAA7 was upregulated in response to auxin. Drought, low temperature, and salt stress significantly increased the transcript level of SmIAA7 gene. This study lays a foundation for further elucidating the role of SmIAA7 in leaf development, signal transduction, and stress defense in S. miltiorrhiza.

ObjectiveTo investigate the accuracy of multiple discriminant analysis （MDA） versus fibrosis-4 （FIB-4） in assessing liver fibrosis degree in patients with HBV infection， as well as the possibility of MDA as an indicator for disease progression. MethodsA total of 263 patients with HBV infection who underwent liver biopsy in The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from April 2010 to April 2024 were included， and their clinical data were collected. According to the results of pathological examination， they were divided into non-significant fibrosis group （F<2） with 126 patients and significant fibrosis group （F≥2） with 137 patients. The correlation of MDA and FIB-4 with liver fibrosis degree was analyzed， and MDA and FIB-4 were compared in terms of their accuracy in assessing significant liver fibrosis. A total of 62 patients completed follow-up， and according to the presence or absence of progression to liver cirrhosis at the last follow-up visit， they were divided into progressive group with 21 patients and non-progressive group with 41 patients； the efficacy of MDA and FIB-4 in diagnosing disease progression was analyzed and compared. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups， and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups； the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups， and the Bonferroni method was used for further comparison between two groups. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data. The Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used for correlation analysis. The Wilcoxon signed rank sum test was used for the analysis of baseline data and data at the end of follow-up， and the binary Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the influencing factors for progression to liver cirrhosis. The receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was used to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of indicators， the Z-test was used for comparison of the area under the ROC curve （AUC）， and the paired chi-square test was used for comparison of the sensitivity， specificity， and accuracy of the two indicators. ResultsThe correlation coefficient between FIB-4 and liver fibrosis degree was 0.378， while the correlation coefficient between MDA and liver fibrosis degree was -0.325 （both P<0.001）. FIB-4 had an AUC of 0.688， a sensitivity of 64.96%， a specificity of 68.87%， a positive predictive value of 67.42%， a negative predictive value of 63.36%， an accuracy of 65.40%， and a cut-off value of 1.01， while MDA had an AUC of 0.653， a sensitivity of 52.55%， a specificity of 78.57%， a positive predictive value of 72.73%， a negative predictive value of 60.37%， an accuracy of 65.02%， and a cut-off value of 0.29， suggesting that compared with FIB-4， MDA had a lower sensitivity （P=0.004） and a higher specificity （P=0.001）. The progressive group had a significantly higher age than the non-progressive group at baseline （t=2.611， P=0.011）. For the progressive group， there was an increase in FIB-4 and a reduction in MDA from baseline to the end of follow-up （both P<0.001）， while the non-progressive group showed no significant changes （both P>0.05）. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that aspartate aminotransferase （odds ratio ［OR］=0.940， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 0.885‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.998， P<0.05） and MDA （OR=0.445， 95%CI： 0.279‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.710， P<0.001） were independent influencing factors for disease progression. MDA had an AUC of 0.893 and an optimal cut-off value of -0.01 in diagnosing the disease progression of liver cirrhosis. ConclusionMDA has a comparable accuracy to FIB-4 in the diagnosis of significant liver fibrosis， and MDA<-0.01 has a high accuracy in diagnosing the progression of liver fibrosis to liver cirrhosis， which can help to reduce the need for liver biopsy in clinical practice.

The increasing prevalence of food allergies significantly affects both the physical and mental health of patients, while concurrently imposing a substantial economic burden on a global scale. Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergies typically manifest as acute reactions and may lead to severe allergic responses. Previous treatment strategies have been predominantly centered on allergen avoidance and oral immunotherapy (OIT), resulting in augmented economic and psychological burdens. In recent years, omalizumab, the anti-IgE monoclonal antibody, has emerged as a treatment option, either as monotherapy or in combination with OIT, for patients with IgE-mediated food allergies. Omalizumab holds promise in augmenting allergen tolerance, accelerating desensitization processes, and mitigating adverse effects associated with OIT. Nonetheless, a multitude of unresolved inquiries persist concerning the practical applications of omalizumab, necessitating additional real world studies for clarification.

Objective To observe the effect of canagliflozin combined with enalapril on diabetic nephropathy(DN).Methods DN patients were randomly divided into control group and treatment group.All patients in 2 groups received basic treatment of recombinant human insulin injection,and the control group was orally administered enalapril tablet 10 mg(qd).The treatment group was given orally canagliflozin tablet 100 mg(qd)on the basis of the control group.Both groups were treated for 8 weeks.Renal function,blood glucose index,serum vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF),transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β),homocysteine(HCY)levels,clinical efficacy and incidence of adverse drug reactions were compared between 2 groups.Results There were 71 cases were included in the control group and 73 cases in the treatment group.After treatment,β2 microglobulin(β2-MG)in treatment group and control group were(0.21±0.03)and(0.28±0.04)mg·L-1;blood urea nitrogen(BUN)were(4.23±0.42)and(5.58±0.65)mmol·L-1;serum creatinine(SCr)were(89.32±8.29)and(101.25±10.18)pmol·L-1;24 h microalbumin(mAlb)were(49.38±5.06)and(58.21±6.43)mg;glycosylated hemoglobin(HbA1c)were(6.10±0.11)％and(6.45±0.16)％;2 h postprandial blood glucose levels were(6.05±0.78)and(7.68±1.82)mmol·L-1;fasting blood glucose(FBG)were(5.02±0.32)and(5.67±0.65)mmol·L-1;VEGF levels were(350.18±20.04)and(389.04±24.16)pg·mL-1;TGF-β were(148.32±16.57)and(168.24±20.02)pg·mL-1;HCY were(13.12±2.38)and(19.35±3.21)pmol·L-1,the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).After treatment,the total effective rate of treatment group and control group were 83.56％(61 cases/73 cases)and 67.61％(48 cases/71 cases),the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The total incidence of adverse drug reactions in treatment group and control group were 6.85％and 4.23％,with no significant difference(P＞0.05).Conclusion Canagliflozin combined with enalapril is effective in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy,which can improve renal function,regulate blood glucose metabolism,and down-regulate serum VEGF,TGF-β and HCY levels,and is safe and reliable.

BACKGROUND:Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease with chronic rheumatic immunity.Soft tissue ossification and fusion and spinal stiffness can cause biomechanical changes. OBJECTIVE:To reconstruct the lumbar-sacral intervertebral disc in ankylosing spondylitis patients with lumbar kyphosis by finite element analysis,and to study the range of motion of each segment of T11-S1 and the biomechanical characteristics of annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus. METHODS:The imaging data were obtained from an ankylosing spondylitis patient with lumbar kyphosis.The original CT image data of continuously scanned spine were imported into Mimics 21.0 in DICOM format,and T11-S1 was reconstructed respectively.The established model was imported into 3-Matic software in the format of"Stl"to reconstruct the intervertebral disc,and the fibrous intervertebral disc model was obtained.The improved model was further imported into Hypermesh software,and the vertebra,nucleus pulposus,annulus fibrosus and ligament were mesh-divided.After the material properties were given,the model was imported into ABAQUS software to observe the range of motion of each vertebral body in seven different working conditions of T11-S1,and analyze the biomechanical characteristics of each segment of annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The range of motion of L1 vertebrae was higher than that of other vertebrae under six different working conditions:extension,forward flexion,rotation(left and right),and lateral flexion(left and right).The maximum range of motion was 2.18° during L1 vertebral flexion,and the minimum range of motion was 0.12° during L5 vertebral extension.(2)The annular fiber flexion at L2-L3 segments was greater than the extension(P<0.05),and the annular fiber flexion at L3-L4 and L4-L5 segments was less than the extension(P<0.05).The left rotation of L1-L2 annular fibers was greater than the right rotation(P<0.05).The left flexion of the annulus was greater than the right flexion in L1-L2,L2-L3,L3-L4,L4-L5 and L5-S1 segments(P<0.05).(3)The nucleus pulposus stresses of T11-L12,L1-L2,L2-L3,L3-L4 and L4-L5 segments in forward flexion were greater than in extension(P<0.05).The left rotation of T12-L1 and L3-L4 segments was smaller than the right rotation(P<0.05),and that of T11-T12,L1-L2,and L2-L3 segments was larger than the right rotation(P<0.05).The left flexion was larger than the right flexion in the T11-S1 segment.(4)It is concluded that in ankylosing spondylitis patients with lumbar kyphosis,the minimum range of motion of the vertebral body is located at the L5 vertebral body in extension.To prevent fractures,it is recommended to avoid exercise in the extension position.During the onset of lumbar kyphosis in patients with ankylosing spondylitis,the maximum stress of the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus is located in the L1-L2 segment,which is fixed and will not alter with the change of body position.The late surgical treatment and correction of deformity should focus on releasing the pressure of the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus in this segment to avoid the rupture of the annulus fibrosus and the injury of the nucleus pulposus.

OBJECTIVE To observe the short-term efficacy and safety of venetoclax combined with homoharringtonine and cytarabine in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia （AML）. METHODS The data of 40 newly diagnosed AML patients admitted to our hospital from October 2022 to November 2023 were retrospectively collected and divided into observation group and control group according to treatment plan， with 20 cases in each group. The patients in the control group were given Daunorubicin hydrochloride for injection+Cytarabine for injection， and the patients in the observation group were given Venetoclax tablets+ Homoharringtonine injection+Cytarabine for injection. The patients in both groups were given relevant medicine， with 28 days as one cycle. The short-term efficacy， negative rate of minimal residual disease （MRD）， duration of granulocyte deficiency， duration of platelet （PLT） ＜20×109 L－1， transfusion volume of suspended red blood cells and platelet， and the occurrence of adverse drug reactions were evaluated in both groups after 1 cycle of induction chemotherapy. RESULTS The complete remission or complete remission with incomplete hematologic recovery （CR/CRi） rate in the observation group was significantly higher than control group （P＜0.05）， and the negative rate of MRD in the observation group was also significantly higher than control group （P＜0.05）. However， in low-， medium- and high-risk patients， there was no statistical significance in CR/CRi rates between the two groups （P＞0.05）. There were no significant differences in the duration of agranulocytosis， the duration of PLT ＜20×109 L－1， the amount of suspended red blood cell transfusion， the amount of platelet transfusion， the incidence of hematologic toxicity and the incidence of non-hematologic toxicity between 2 groups （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS Venetoclax combined with homoharringtonine and cytarabine show good short-term efficacy and safety in the treatment of AML.

Chemotherapy is one of the major approaches for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer, although it is limited by the low tumor delivery efficacy of anticancer drugs. Bacterial therapy is emerging for cancer treatment due to its high immune stimulation effect; however, excessively generated immunogenicity will cause serious inflammatory response syndrome. Here, we prepared cancer cell membrane-coated liposomal paclitaxel-loaded bacterial ghosts (LP@BG@CCM) by layer-by-layer encapsulation for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer. The preparation processes were simple, only involving film formation, electroporation, and pore extrusion. LP@BG@CCM owned much higher 4T1 cancer cell toxicity than LP@BG due to its faster fusion with cancer cells. In the 4T1 breast cancer metastatic lung cancer mouse models, the remarkably higher lung targeting of intravenously injected LP@BG@CCM was observed with the almost normalized lung appearance, the reduced lung weight, the clear lung tissue structure, and the enhanced cancer cell apoptosis compared to its precursors. Moreover, several major immune factors were improved after administration of LP@BG@CCM, including the CD4⁺/CD8a⁺ T cells in the spleen and the TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-4 in the lung. LP@BG@CCM exhibits the optimal synergistic chemo-immunotherapy, which is a promising medication for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer.

Objective: To estimate the epidemic threshold and graded intensity thresholds of influenza in Zhejiang Province from 2012 to 2023 using the moving epidemic method (MEM), and evaluate the intensity of influenza epidemics, so as to provide the reference for influenza prevention and control in Zhejiang Province. Methods: The positive rates of influenza virus per week during the influenza epidemic seasons (from 40th week to 20th week of the following year) in Zhejiang Province from 2012 to 2022 were collected through the Chinese Influenza Surveillance Information System. A MEM model was established and optimized using cross-validation. The maximum accumulated rates percentage was used to divide the epidemic into pre-epidemic, epidemic, and post-epidemic periods, and to estimate the epidemic thresholds and graded intensity thresholds. The intensity of influenza epidemics in Zhejiang Province during the 2022-2023 epidemic season were assessed. Results: The positive rates of influenza virus in five epidemic seasons from 2012 to 2022 were included in the model. The MEM model performed best when the parameter δ was set to 1.5, with a sensitivity of 0.971, a specificity of 0.745, and a Youden's index of 0.716. According to the model analysis, the epidemic beginning and ending thresholds of influenza in Zhejiang Province during the 2022-2023 epidemic season were 19.32% and 10.92%, respectively, and the medium, high, and extremely high intensity thresholds were 48.65%, 63.49%, and 68.47%, respectively. During 2022-2023, the influenza epidemic was in the pre-epidemic period from the 40th week in 2022 to the 7th week in 2023; the epidemic period was from the 8th to the 18th week, the epidemic intensity was low in the 8th week and increased to a high level in the 9th week, and reached to a extremely high level from the 10th to the 13th week, then fell to the high and the medium level in the 14th week and 15th week, respectively, and fell to a low level from the 16th to the 18th week; the influenza epidemic entered the post-epidemic period since the 19th week. Conclusion MEM could be applied for evaluation of influenza epidemic intensity, providing the reference for early identification and taking graded preventive and control measures.

This study aimed to investigate the role and mechanism of sappanone A (SA) in regulating renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in rats. The animal experiment has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Suzhou Wujiang District Children's Hospital (approval number: 2022010). First, hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining was used to evaluate the effects of SA on IRI, and renal damage was scored. Serum creatinine (SCr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and cystatin C (Cystatin C) were analyzed. The effect of sappanone A on the apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cells induced by IRI was analyzed by TUNEL staining. Protein expression levels of p-JNK/JNK, p-ERK/ERK, Bcl2, Bax and cleaved-caspase 3 in renal tissues were detected by Western blot. Finally, H&E staining, serological analysis, TUNEL staining and Western blot were used to determine whether JNK activator anisomycin could reverse the effect of SA on IRI in rats. The results showed SA significantly reduced the renal tubule injury caused by ischemia-reperfusion, and decreased the level of SCr, BUN and Cys C in serum. TUNEL staining showed that SA significantly reduced the apoptosis of renal tubular epithelial cells induced by IRI. Western blot analysis of kidney tissue showed that SA significantly promoted the expression of apoptosis inhibiting protein Bcl2 and inhibited the expression of apoptosis-promoting proteins Bax and cleaved-caspase 3. Further analysis elucidated that SA did not affect the phosphorylation of ERK but decreased the phosphorylation of JNK. Finally, H&E staining, serological analysis, TUNEL staining and Western blot confirmed that JNK activator anisomycin could reverse the alleviating effect of SA on IRI in rats. The above findings suggest that SA could alleviate IRI in rats by inhibiting JNK phosphorylation.