Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge （Lamiaceae） is a medicinal plant widely used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Chloroplasts are double-membrane-bound, chlorophyll-containing organelles and responsible for photosynthesis in plant cells. The structural information of chloroplast genomes serves as the foundation for precise exogenous gene insertion, site selection, and chloroplast genome modification. In this study, a comprehensive analysis and comparison of 125 chloroplast genomes from S. miltiorrhiza and 76 congeneric species were conducted, focusing on sequence characteristics, codon usage bias, simple sequence repeats （SSRs）, contraction/expansion of chloroplast genome boundaries, and phylogenetic relationships, which could provide a theoretical foundation for advancing chloroplast genetic engineering, genetic diversity analysis, molecular breeding, and species identification within the Salvia genus.

Objective To explore the efficacy of progressive exercise training based on the modified Medical Research Council dyspnea scale (mMRC) grading in respiratory rehabilitation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at a primary healthcare setting. Methods A total of 106 patients with COPD admitted to Zhuanqiao Community Health Service Center in Shanghai from Aug.1, 2022 to Jul. 30, 2024 were selected as research subjects. They were randomly divided into a study group and a control group in a 1∶1 ratio, with 53 patients in each group. The control group received conventional treatment, while the study group received conventional treatment combined with progressive exercise training. After 4 weeks of continuous treatment, the changes in the 6-minute walk test (6MWT), COPD assessment test (CAT) score, mMRC grading, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) grading and pulmonary function were compared between the two groups. Results Patients in both groups showed improvements in 6MWT distance, CAT score, mMRC grading, GOLD grading, and pulmonary function compared to baseline (P＜0.05). Moreover, the study group had better improvements in 6MWT distance, CAT score, mMRC grading, GOLD grading, and pulmonary function than the control group (P＜0.05). Conclusions Conventional treatment combined with progressive exercise training based on mMRC grading can enhance the effect of respiratory rehabilitation in patients with COPD, particularly in improving pulmonary function and exercise tolerance.

Imprinted genes play a key role in regulating mammalian placental and embryonic development. Here, we generated glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase-knockout (Qpct^-/-) mice utilizing the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) platform and identified Qpct as a novel anti-angiogenic factor in regulating mouse placentation. Compared with Qpct^+/+ mice, placentae and embryos (Qpct^-/+ and Qpct^-/-) showed significant overgrowth at embryonic Day 12.5 (E12.5), E15.5, and E18.5. Using single-cell transcriptome analysis of 32 309 cells from Qpct^+/+ and Qpct^-/- mouse placentae, we identified 13 cell clusters via single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) (8880 Qpct^+/+ and 13 577 Qpct^-/- cells) and 20 cell clusters via single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) (6567 Qpct^+/+ and 3285 Qpct^-/- cells). Furthermore, we observed a global up-regulation of pro-angiogenic genes in the Qpct^-/- background. Immunohistochemistry assays revealed a notable increase in the number of blood vessels in the decidual and labyrinthine layers of E15.5 Qpct^-/+ and Qpct^-/- mice. Moreover, the elevation of multiple pairs of ligand-receptor interactions was observed in decidual cells, endothelial cells, and macrophages, promoting angiogenesis and inflammatory response. Our findings indicate that loss of maternal Qpct leads to altered phenotypic characteristics of placentae and embryos and promotes angiogenesis in murine placentae.
Animals ; Female ; Pregnancy ; Mice ; Placentation/genetics* ; Single-Cell Analysis ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Mice, Knockout ; Transcriptome ; Placenta/blood supply* ; Neovascularization, Pathologic/genetics* ; Genomic Imprinting ; Single-Cell Gene Expression Analysis ; Angiogenesis

Objective:To evaluate changes in operational effectiveness after the implementation of ambulatory surgical management in pars plana vitrectomy (PPV).Methods:A retrospective clinical study. 17 528 surgeries in 10 895 eyes of 10 895 patients who underwent minimally invasive PPV on an ambulatory and/or inpatient basis at Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital from August 2015 to June 2023 were included in this study. Among them, 5 346 eyes in 5 346 cases were male; 5 549 eyes in 5 549 cases were female. The age ranged from 0 to 95 years, with the mean age of (57.74±13.15) years. 6 381 surgeries in 3 615 eyes from August 2015 to December 2018 (the initial period of day surgery) were used as the control group; 11 147 surgeries in 7 280 eyes from January 2019 to June 2023 (the expanded period of day surgery) were used as the observation group. According to the management mode of ambulatory surgery, the observation group was subdivided into the decentralized management group (January 2019 to December 2020) and the centralized management group (January 2021 to June 2023), with 2 905 and 4 375 eyes and 4 646 and 6 501 surgeries, respectively. Changes in the percentage of day surgery, average hospitalization days, and average unplanned reoperation rate were compared. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare numerical variables between groups; the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used to compare categorical variables. Results:The number of cases of daytime PPV performed in the observation group and control group was 7 852 (70.44%, 7 852/11 147) and 24 (0.38%, 24/6 381) cases, respectively, and the average hospitalization days were 1 (1) and 5 (3) d. Compared with the control group, the observation group had a significantly higher percentage of day surgery ( χ2=8 051.01) and a considerably lower mean hospitalization day ( Z=4 536 844.50), and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.000 1). The mean hospitalization days in the decentralized and centralized management groups were 2 (3) and 1 (0) d, respectively, and unplanned reoperations were 34 (0.73%, 34/4 646) and 171 (2.63%, 171/6 501) eyes, respectively. Compared with the decentralized management group, average hospitalization days was significantly lower ( Z=1 436.94) and unplanned reoperation rate was significantly higher ( χ2=54.10) were significantly lower in the centralized management group, both of which were statistically significant ( P<0.000 1). Conclusion:PPV ambulatory management model can significantly reduce the average hospitalization day, but also results in higher rates of unplanned reoperations.

Objective:To study the life characteristics and related risk factors of patients with depression in Shandong Province.Methods:Based on the 2015 mental epidemiological survey database in Shandong Province,a total of 832 patients with depression,807 high-risk individuals with depression,and 819 low-risk individuals were diagnosed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,Fourth Edition(DSM-Ⅳ)and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-Ⅳ-TR Axis I Disorders,Research Version(SCID-I/P).In 2020,SCID-I/P was used for re diagnosis,and the General Health Questionnaire(GHQ-12),Simple Quality of Life question-naire,Pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI),Childhood Trauma Questionnaire(CTQ),Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS),Global Pain Scale(GPS),Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA),Simplified Coping Style Question-naire(SCSQ)were used for evaluation.Compare changes in the quality of life of depression patients and construct a risk factor model.Results:Patients with depression had lower scores on the simple quality of life questionnaire at baseline and at retest after 5 years than those in the high-and low-risk groups,those in remission of depression had higher scores on the simple quality of life questionnaire at baseline and at retest after 5 years than those in non-re-mission,and those with new-onset disorder in the high-and low-risk groups had lower scores on the simple quality of life questionnaire at baseline and at retest after 5 years than those with no-onset disorder(Ps＜0.001).Depres-sion diagnosis and PSQI scale scores at baseline negatively predicted at retest after 5 years(β=-0.06,-0.15),while coping style tendencies at baseline positively predicted(β=0.06).The simple quality of life questionnaire at baseline negatively predicted depression diagnosis at retest after 5 years,GHQ-12 scores at retest after 5 years,and PSQI scale scores at retest after 5 years(β=-0.11,-0.17,-0.09),while the simple quality of life question-naire at baseline positively predicted coping style tendencies at retest after 5 years(β=0.13).Depression diagnosis at retest after 5 years,GHQ-12 scores at retest after 5 years,PSQI scale scores at retest after 5 years,coping style tendencies at retest after 5 years,SSRS scale scores,CTQ scale scores,GPS scale scores,and the simple quality of life questionnaire at baseline all influenced the simple quality of life questionnaire at retest after 5 years through ei-ther direct or indirect pathways.Conclusion:It suggest that the quality of life is lower in patients with depression than in the general population.Depression diagnosis,sleep,mental health,pain,social support,childhood trauma and coping are direct and indirect risk factors affecting life.

Abnormal brain-gut interaction is considered the core pathological mechanism behind the disorders of gut-brain interaction (DGBI), in which the intestinal microbiota plays an important role. Microglia are the "sentinels" of the central nervous system (CNS), which participate in tissue damage caused by traumatic brain injury, resist central infection and participate in neurogenesis, and are involved in the occurrence of various neurological diseases. With in-depth research on DGBI, we could find an interaction between the intestinal microbiota and microglia and that they are jointly involved in the occurrence of DGBI, especially in individuals with comorbidities of mental disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This bidirectional regulation of microbiota and microglia provides a new direction for the treatment of DGBI. In this review, we focus on the role and underlying mechanism of the interaction between gut microbiota and microglia in DGBI, especially IBS, and the corresponding clinical application prospects and highlight its potential to treat DGBI in individuals with psychiatric comorbidities.
Humans ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Irritable Bowel Syndrome/therapy* ; Microglia ; Brain Diseases ; Brain

Objective:To evaluate the effect of intraoperative individualized systolic blood pressure (SBP) management on myocardial injury after hip replacement in elderly patients at high risks of hypertension.Methods:One hundred and eighty-two patients of either sex, aged 60-89 yr, with body mass index of 18-26 kg/m 2, with a history of hypertension requiring drug treatment and stratified high risk factors of cardiovascular risk factors, scheduled for elective hip replacement under general anesthesia, were divided into 2 groups ( n=91 each) using a random number table method: routine management group and individualized SBP management group. Individualized SBP management group maintained the intraoperative SBP at 90%-110% of the baseline value, and routine management group implemented blood pressure management according to the current routine clinical pathway.The intermedian cubital venous blood samples were collected before surgery and at 24, 48, and 72 h after surgery for determination of the serum concentrations of high sensitivity cardiac troponin T. Postoperative myocardial injury and myocardial infarction were also recorded. The 30-day all-cause mortality was recorded on day 30 after surgery. Results:The incidence of postoperative myocardial injury and serum concentrations of high sensitivity cardiac troponin T at 24, 48 and 72 h after surgery were significantly decreased, and the length of hospital stay was shortened in individualized SBP management group as compared with routine management group ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Intraoperative individualized SBP management can reduce the postoperative myocardial injury in elderly patients at high risk of hypertension undergoing hip replacement.

Objective:To investigate the effect of ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) on oxidative stress in medial prefrontal cortex and excitatory/inhibitory balance of pyramidal neurons in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)-induced depressive model mice.Methods:Totally 48 SPF grade 7-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were divided into 4 groups according to random number table method: control+ saline group (CTRL+ Veh), control+ GBE group (CTRL+ GBE), model+ saline group (CUMS+ Veh), model+ GBE group (CUMS+ GBE), with 12 mice in each group.Mice in CUMS+ Veh group and CUMS+ GBE group were established by CUMS method, and mice in CTRL+ GBE group and CUMS+ GBE group were intraperitoneally injected with GBE (70 mg/kg) once a day, and mice in CTRL+ Veh group and CUMS+ Veh group were injected intraperitoneally with 0.9% sodium chloride solution.Then, the sucrose preference test, forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) were performed to evaluate the depressive-like behavior of mice, and open field test (OFT) was performed to evaluate the autonomous locomotion and exploration ability and anxiety-like behavior.The content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in mPFC were determined by ELISA.Spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSC) and spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSC) were detected by whole-cell recording.SPSS 23.0 was used for data analysis and two-factor analysis of variance(whether to get GBE, whether to mold, show as GBE×CUMS) was used for statistical analysis.Results:(1) Behavioral results: the the time spent in center and total distance of OFT and sugar preference rate of the four groups of mice were compared, and the interaction of GBE×CUMS was significant( F=24.90, 4.82, 3.91, all P<0.05). The results of simple effect analysis showed that the time spent in center ((47.15±3.58) s), the total distance((19.33±0.86) m) and the sugar preference rate((59.11±8.79)%) of the mice in CUMS+ Veh group were lower than those in the CTRL+ Veh group((61.55±2.49) s, (23.24±1.21) m, (84.02±7.45) %) (all P<0.01), and the above indexes in CUMS+ GBE group ((56.51±3.53) s, (20.75±1.31) m, (70.80±11.79)%) were higher than those in CUMS+ Veh group (all P<0.05). In the immobility time of FST and TST of mice in the 4 groups, the interaction of GBE×CUMS were significant( F=85.53, 83.39, both P<0.01). The immobility time of FST and TST in CUMS+ Veh group were higher than those in CTRL+ Veh group (both P<0.01 ), and the above indexes in CUMS+ GBE group were lower than CUMS+ Veh group(both P<0.05). (2)The results of ELISA showed that the interaction of GBE×CUMS of SOD level of mice in the 4 groups was not significant ( F=3.52, P=0.07), but the main effects of GBE factor and CUMS factor were both significant ( F=4.69, 46.93, both P<0.05). The interaction of GBE×CUMS of MDA level was significant( F=16.61, P<0.01). The level of SOD in the CUMS+ Veh group was lower than that in the CTRL+ Veh group ( P<0.01), and the level of SOD in the CUMS+ GBE group was higher than that in the CUMS+ Veh group ( P<0.05). The level of MDA in the CUMS+ Veh group was higher than that of the CTRL+ Veh group ( P<0.01), and the level of MDA in CUMS+ GBE group was lower than that of the CUMS+ Veh group ( P<0.01). (3) The results of whole-cell recording showed that the interaction of GBE×CUMS of frequency and quantification of sEPSC in the four groups were significant ( F=5.45, 6.94, both P<0.05). The sEPSC frequency and quantification in the CUMS+ Veh group were lower than those in the CTRL+ Veh group (both P<0.01), and the sEPSC frequency and quantification in CUMS+ GBE group were higher than those of CUMS+ Veh group (both P<0.05). The interaction of GBE×CUMS of frequency and quantification of sIPSC in the four groups were significant ( F=7.78, 8.96, both P<0.01). The sIPSC frequency and quantification of the CUMS+ Veh group were higher than those of CTRL+ Veh group (both P<0.01), and the above indexes of CUMS+ GBE group were lower than those of CUMS+ Veh group (both P<0.01). As for the sEPSC/sIPSC ratio, GBE×CUMS interaction was significant ( F=5.45, P=0.02). The sEPSC/sIPSC ratio of CUMS+ Veh group (0.09±0.01) was lower than that of CTRL+ Veh group (0.28±0.04) ( P<0.01), and the sEPSC/sIPSC ratio of CUMS+ GBE group (0.14±0.03) was higher than that of CUMS+ Veh group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Ginkgo biloba extract can improve the depression-like behavior of mice induced by CUMS, reduce the oxidative stress of mPFC and improve the excitation/inhibition balance of pyramidal neurons in depressive model mice.

Background/Aims: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is accepted as a disorder of gut-brain interactions. Berberine and rifaximin are non-absorbed antibiotics and have been confirmed effective for IBS treatment, but there is still lack of direct comparison of their effects. This study aims to compare the effect of the 2 drugs on the alteration of gut-brain axis caused by gut microbiota from IBS patients. Methods: Germ-free rats received fecal microbiota transplantation from screened IBS patients and healthy controls. After 14 days’ colonization, rats were administrated orally with berberine, rifaximin or vehicle respectively for the next 14 days. The visceral sensitivity was evaluated, fecal microbiota profiled and microbial short chain fatty acids were determined. Immunofluorescence staining and morphological analysis were performed to evaluate microglial activation. Results: Visceral hypersensitivity induced by IBS–fecal microbiota transplantation was relieved by berberine and rifaximin, and berberine increased sucrose preference rate. Microbial α-diversity were reduced by both drugs. Compared with rifaximin, berberine significantly changed microbial structure and enriched Lachnoclostridium. Furthermore, berberine but not rifaximin significantly increased fecal concentrations of acetate and propionate acids. Berberine restored the morphological alterations of microglia induced by dysbiosis, which may be associated with its effect on the expression of microbial gene pathways involved in peptidoglycan biosynthesis.Rifaximin affected neither the numbers of activated microglial cells nor the microglial morphological alterations. Conclusions Berberine enriched Lachnoclostridium, reduced the expression of peptidoglycan biosynthesis genes and increased acetate and propionate. The absence of these actions of rifaximin may explain the different effects of the drugs on microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Objective:To express prokaryotically GII.4 human norovirus (HuNoV) VP2 protein and to prepare polyclonal antibody against VP2.Methods:Design specific primers to amplify the VP2 gene of GII.4 HuNoV, digest and connect to the prokaryotic expression vector pGEX-6P-1, transform the correctly identified recombinant plasmid into BL21 ( DE3) competent cells.Pick out and shake the monoclonal bacteria, and add IPTG to induce recombinant GST-VP2. The fusion protein was expressed, purified by GST affinity chromatography and digested to obtain GII.4 HuNoV VP2 protein. The relative molecular mass (Mr.×10 3) of the purified HuNoV VP2 protein was analyzed by SDS-PAGE. BALB/c mice were immunized with purified GII.4 HuNoV VP2 protein (0.5 mg/ml) to prepare polyclonal antibodies. Results:The VP2 protein of GII.4 HuNoV was successfully expressed and purified, with a relative molecular mass (Mr.×10 3) of about 29; the VP2 polyclonal antibody of GII.4 HuNoV was successfully prepared and its titer was as high as 1∶1 280 000. Western blot and indirect ELISA analysis showed that the polyclonal antibody could specifically bind to the VP2 antigen of GII.4 HuNoV. Conclusions:The purified GII.4 HuNoV VP2 after prokaryotic fusion expression can be used to prepare high titer polyclonal antibody.