ObjectiveTo explore the possible mechanism of Modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction （加味葛根芩连汤， MGQD） in the treatment of ulcerative colitis （UC） based on intestinal mucus barrier. MethodsThirty C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a control group， a model group and a MGQD group with 10 mice in each. Dextran Sulfate Sodium Salt （DSS） was used to construct the UC model in all groups except for the control group. Meanwhile， mice in the MGQD group were given 20 g/kg of MGQD decoction by gavage according to their body weight， while those in the control group and model group were given 0.2 ml/20 g of pure water by gavage， once a day for 7 consecutive days. On the day following the last gavage， the body weight， disease activity index （DAI） score， spleen weight， and colon length were compared. The pathological changes of the intestinal mucosal tissues were observed by HE staining； the protein expression levels of mucin 2 （MUC2） and leucine-rich repeat G protein-coupled receptor 5 （Lgr5） in the intestinal mucosal tissues were detected by immunofluorescence； the cuprocytes in the intestinal mucosal tissues were detected by AB/PAS staining； and the expression level of Ki67 in the intestinal mucosal tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry. ResultsHE staining showed that the colon mucosal tissue of the mice in the control group was intact. In the model group， the colon mucosal epithelial structure was severely damaged， with a large amount of inflammatory cell infiltration in the mucosal propria. In the MGQD group， the mucosal tissue structure was partially lost， with a small amount of inflammatory cell infiltration.The body weight and colon length of mice in the model group decreased significantly compared to those in the control group， while DAI scores and spleen weight increased， and the levels of MUC2， Ki67， Lgr5 proteins， and the number of goblet cells were significantly reduced （P＜0.01）. Compared to the model group， the MGQD group had increased body weight of mice， colon length， and decreased DAI scores and spleen weight； the levels of MUC2， Ki67， Lgr5 proteins， and the number of goblet cells were increased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. ConclusionMGQD has a favorable ameliorative effect on UC-related symptoms and pathological tissue damage， and its mechanism of action may be related to the restoration of the prolife-ration and differentiation of intestinal stem cells into goblet cells， thereby promoting the repair of the intestinal mucus barrier.

Numerous c-mesenchymal-epithelial transition (c-MET) inhibitors have been reported as potential anticancer agents. However, most fail to enter clinical trials owing to poor efficacy or drug resistance. To date, the scaffold-based chemical space of small-molecule c-MET inhibitors has not been analyzed. In this study, we constructed the largest c-MET dataset, which included 2,278 molecules with different structures, by inhibiting the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) of kinase activity. No significant differences in drug-like properties were observed between active molecules (1,228) and inactive molecules (1,050), including chemical space coverage, physicochemical properties, and absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) profiles. The higher chemical diversity of the active molecules was downscaled using t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) high-dimensional data. Further clustering and chemical space networks (CSNs) analyses revealed commonly used scaffolds for c-MET inhibitors, such as M5, M7, and M8. Activity cliffs and structural alerts were used to reveal "dead ends" and "safe bets" for c-MET, as well as dominant structural fragments consisting of pyridazinones, triazoles, and pyrazines. Finally, the decision tree model precisely indicated the key structural features required to constitute active c-MET inhibitor molecules, including at least three aromatic heterocycles, five aromatic nitrogen atoms, and eight nitrogen-oxygen atoms. Overall, our analyses revealed potential structure-activity relationship (SAR) patterns for c-MET inhibitors, which can inform the screening of new compounds and guide future optimization efforts.

Numerous c-mesenchymal-epithelial transition(c-MET)inhibitors have been reported as potential anticancer agents.However,most fail to enter clinical trials owing to poor efficacy or drug resistance.To date,the scaffold-based chemical space of small-molecule c-MET inhibitors has not been analyzed.In this study,we constructed the largest c-MET dataset,which included 2,278 molecules with different struc-tures,by inhibiting the half maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)of kinase activity.No significant differences in drug-like properties were observed between active molecules(1,228)and inactive mol-ecules(1,050),including chemical space coverage,physicochemical properties,and absorption,distri-bution,metabolism,excretion,and toxicity(ADMET)profiles.The higher chemical diversity of the active molecules was downscaled using t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding(t-SNE)high-dimensional data.Further clustering and chemical space networks(CSNs)analyses revealed commonly used scaffolds for c-MET inhibitors,such as M5,M7,and M8.Activity cliffs and structural alerts were used to reveal"dead ends"and"safe bets"for c-MET,as well as dominant structural fragments consisting of pyr-idazinones,triazoles,and pyrazines.Finally,the decision tree model precisely indicated the key structural features required to constitute active c-MET inhibitor molecules,including at least three aromatic het-erocycles,five aromatic nitrogen atoms,and eight nitrogen-oxygen atoms.Overall,our analyses revealed potential structure-activity relationship(SAR)patterns for c-MET inhibitors,which can inform the screening of new compounds and guide future optimization efforts.

ObjectiveTo investigate the possible mechanism of modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction （葛根芩连汤） in treatment of ulcerative colitis （UC） from the view of intestinal mucosal epithelial barrier damage and epithelial mesenchymal transition. MethodsSixty male C57BL/6J mice were divided into blank group， model group， western medicine control group， and low-， medium-， and high-dose modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction groups， with 10 mice in each group. Except for the blank group， 3% dextran sodium sulfate （DSS） was used to induce colitis model by free drinking for 7 days， and on the first day of modelling， 6， 12， and 24 g/（kg·d） of modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction were given to the low-， medium-， and high-dose groups respectively， 5-aminosalicylic acid （5-ASA） 100 mg/（kg·d） given by gavage to western medicine control group， and 10 ml/kg distilled water were given to blank and model group by gavage， once a day for 7 days. Body mass of mice was recorded and disease activity index （DAI） scores were performed daily. The mice were anesthetized after 24h of the last administration and the colon was taken to observe the length of colon， HE staining was applied to observe the damage of colonic mucosa and score pathological states， Masson staining to detect the deposition of colonic collagen fibers， immunofluorescence to observe the distribution of F-actin in colonic mucosal epithelium， and immunohistochemistry to detect the expression of tight junction protein ZO-1， Occludin， E-cadherin and Vimentin. ResultsCompared with the blank group at the same time， the percentage of body mass of mice in the model group on day 7 of modelling significantly reduced and the DAI score was significantly increased （P＜0.01）； compared with the model group at the same time， the body mass of mice in the western medicine control group and all of modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction groups decreased， and the DAI scores of mice in the western medicine control group and the high-dose modified Gegen Qinlian Decoction group decreased （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）； compared with the same time of mice in the low-dos Gegen Qinlian Decoction group， the body mass of mice in the high-dose Gegen Qinlian Decoction group and the western medicine control group significantly elevated （P＜0.05）. Compared with the blank group， the length of the colon of mice in the model group was significantly shortened， the pathological score and the percentage of collagen area were significantly increased， the average fluorescence intensity of F-actin was reduced， the protein levels of ZO-1， Occludin and E-cadherin in the colon tissue decreased， and the protein level of Vimentin elevated （P＜0.01）. Compared with the model group， the length of colon significantly increased， patholo-gical score， collagen area percentage decreased， ZO-1， Occludin， E-cadherin protein levels increased and Vimentin levels decreased in all medicated groups； the average fluorescence intensity of F-actin increased in the western medicine control group and the middle- and high-dose Gegen Qinlian Decoction groups （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with the low-dose Gegen Qinlian Decoction group， the proportion of collagen fibre area in the middle-dose Gegen Qinlian Decoction group and the western medicine control group reduced； the mean fluorescence intensity of F-actin increased in the middle-dose Gegen Qinlian Decoction group； the protein levels of ZO-1 and E-cadherin increased in the western medicine control group， and the protein levels of ZO-1 increased in the high-dose Gegen Qinlian Decoction group （P＜0.05）. Compared with the medium-dose Gegen Qinlian Decoction group， the protein levels of ZO-1 elevated in the high-dose Gegen Qinlian Decoction group （P＜0.05）. Comapred with the high-dose Gegen Qinlian Decoction group， level of E-cadherin and Vimentin protein of the western medicine control group increased （P＜0.05）. ConclusionModified Gegen Qinlian Decoction was able to reduce colonic inflammation and mucosal barrier damage and inhibit the process of epithelial mesenchymal transition in mice models of ulcerative colitis， which may be one of its action mechanisms .

BACKGROUND:Heterotopic ossification of skeletal muscle is a clinically serious complication.For heterotopic ossification of skeletal muscles,the cells involved in the process of heterotopic ossification remain unclear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the involvement of myocytes,fascia cells,and endothelial cells in the process of heterotopic ossification in skeletal muscle and to observe the cell origin of heterotopic ossification in skeletal muscle induced by bone morphogenetic protein 4. METHODS:Both C2C12 cells and the myotubes formed by the C2C12 cells in the induction medium were cultured,and 500 ng/mL bone morphogenetic protein 4 was added to the medium respectively,and whether the C2C12 cells and myotubes continued to proliferate within 10 days under the treatment were observed under a microscope.Myogenic cells(L6,derived from rats)and fibroblast-derived cells(derived from human)were co-cultured.After treatment with 500 ng/mL bone morphogenetic protein 4 and 10 ng/mL transforming growth factor-β,osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potential within 21 days were observed using Safranine O staining and Alcian blue staining.Using transgenic animal FVB/N-TgN(TIE2-LacZ)182Sato mice,15 μL of adeno-associated virus-bone morphogenetic protein 4(5×1010 PFU/mL)were implanted in the thigh muscle space of genetic mice for 10 and 14 days.X-gal staining was used to observe the formation of new blood vessel endothelium in the differentiated bone. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Bone morphogenetic protein 4 caused myotube breakdown and increased C2C12 cell proliferation.Compared with other groups,the pure fibroblast-derived cell group had a higher area of positive alcian blue and safarin O staining(P<0.05)and a lower area of alkaline phosphatase staining(P<0.05),while the pure L6 group had a bigger area of alkaline phosphatase staining(P<0.05)but a smaller area of positive alcian blue and safarin O staining(P<0.05).(2)Transplantation of adeno-associated virus-bone morphogenetic protein 4-adsorbed gelatin sponge into FVB/N-TgN(TIE2-LacZ)182Sato mice resulted in heterotopic ossification.(3)X-gal staining results demonstrated that there was no obvious staining in chondrocytes and differentiated bones and Tie2+ endothelial cells did not participate in the formation of the alienated bone.(4)These findings verify that fibroblasts are the primary source of osteoblasts during the adeno-associated virus-bone morphogenetic protein 4-induced ectopic endochondral ossification in skeletal muscle,but myogenic cells are the main source of osteoblasts.Tie2+ endothelial cells might not be the cell source for cartilage and bone.

Objective:This paper is to propose a calibration model based on sine function which enables more choices to determine the functional relationship between the absorbance and the concentration of the tested substance.Methods:This paper uses Taylor series expansion and Levenberg-Marquardt to obtain the optimal parameters for the Sine model and then summarizes the characters of the Sine model. On the basis of these characters, this paper compares and evaluates the experimental data processed by the Sine model from four aspects: correctness, precision, linearity and correlation.Results:The generated sine function calibration model achieved deviations within ±3% of the national standard substance, precision ( CV%) less than 2%, and a linear correlation coefficient greater than 0.990 within the measurement range of 32-710 mg/L. The correlation coefficients between the sine model and other well-performing linear calibration models for 104 clinical samples were all greater than 0.990. Conclusions:The performance evaluation of the prealbumin assay kit using the sine function calibration model meets industry standards and shows good correlation with the results of clinical sample measurements. This indicates that the sine function calibration model can serve as a new calibration model for in vitro diagnostic research and clinical applications.

Objective To study the mechanism of Chaihu Guizhi Decoction(CGD)in the treatment of influenza and staphylococcus aureus co-infection.Methods The co-infection model of influenza and staphylococcus aureus was established and CGD was used to intervene.The chemical components of CGD were qualitatively analyzed by UPLC-Q-Exactive/MS technology.The potential action targets of chemical components in CGD and the related targets of influenza Staphylococcus aureus co-infection were mined by network pharmacology method.The"component target disease"network was constructed.Core targets were selected according to degree ranking.Core action pathways were enriched by KEGG analysis and GO annotation analysis.The core target was verified by RT-qPCR,and the interaction between the core component and the key target was verified by molecular docking.Results CGD could significantly improve the decrease of body weight and thymus index(P<0.05)caused by co-infection.The lung index(P<0.05),relative amount of MmRNA expression(P<0.05)and bacterial load(P<0.05)were decreased,and the survival rate was improved.51 chemical constituents were identified from CGD.Through network pharmacological analysis,107 related targets corresponding to CGD treatment of bacterial pneumonia secondary to influenza were excavated.TNF,AKT1,ALB,VEGFA,MAPK3,PTGS2,STAT3,EGFR and other targets with strong correlation,mainly involved Fc epsilon RI signal pathway,GnRH signal pathway,NF-κB signal path,etc.Molecular docking study showed that the main active component of CGD,including oroxyloside,baicalein and wogonin have strong affinity with TNF,PTGS2 and EGFR targets.Compared with co-infection model group,in CGD group TNF-α、EGFR and PTGS2 increased significantly(P<0.05).Conclusion The main active ingredient of CGD is oroxyloside,baicalein and wogonin.TNF-α,PTGS2,EGFR and other targets to played a role in the treatment of influenza staphylococcus aureus co-infection.

Objective:To explore the clinical value of coronary artery calcification (CAC) detected by chest CT in early screening of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CAHD) in civil pilots.Methods:The physical examination data of 2 899 civil pilots were retrospectively analyzed. Pilots were divided into CAHD group and control group based on the results of coronary angiography (CAG). The health data were compared between 2 groups and the clinical value of CAC in the diagnosis of CAHD was analyzed by using binary Logistic regression model and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:Thirty-eight CAHD cases were diagnosed, and the remaining 2 861 were in the control group. Comparing to that of control group, the average age of the pilots in CAHD group was greater ( t=12.09, P<0.001), and the average total flying hours were longer ( Z=-7.68, P<0.001). The proportions of smoking, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver, obesity, carotid plaques, positive or suspiciously positive in submaximal treadmill exercise test, CAC, as well as the proportions of taking further requested coronary CT angiography and CAG were significantly higher in the CAHD group ( χ2=5.42-1 430.25, P<0.01 or <0.05). Logistic regression model showed that smoking ( OR=2.800, 95% CI: 1.074-7.301, P=0.035), obesity ( OR=3.336,95% CI:1.243-8.956, P=0.017), positive or suspiciously positive in submaximal treadmill exercise test ( OR=17.669, 95% CI: 2.923-106.756, P=0.002) and CAC ( OR=96.039, 95% CI: 11.439-806.396, P<0.001) were the independent risk factors for diagnosing CAHD. The ROC curve results suggested that the sensitivity and specificity of CAC for predicting CAHD was 97.4% and 93.1%, respectively, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.952 ( P<0.001). Conclusions:CAC detected by chest CT in physical examination is helpful for early screening of asymptomatic or atypical CAHD in civil pilots.

OBJECTIVE To distinguish Anoectochilus roxburghii and relative species by near infrared(NIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics, and to establish a prediction model for rapid determine polysaccharides contents in Anoectochilus roxburghii. METHODS The NIR spectroscopy of Anoectochilus roxburghii, Anoectochilus formosanus Hayata and Ludisia discolor were collected. The prepossessing of original spectrum was optimization through accuracy of classification in the NIR model, and six supervised pattern recognition algorithms such as decision tree, K-nearest neighbor algorithm, random forest, partial least squares regression discriminant analysis, linear discriminant analysis and support vector machine(SVM) were applied to identify effect of the classification effect, optimum algorithm and then establish qualitative model. The content of polysaccharides in 76 batches of Anoectochilus roxburghii samples were examined by ultraviolet visible spectrophotometry combined with phenol sulfuric acid method. In order to select optimization algorithm, six quantitative stoichiometry algorithms consisted of SVM, extreme learning machines, decision trees, random forests, principal component regression and partial least squares regression(PLS) were used to connect polysaccharide content and the NIR spectroscopy in Anoectochilus roxburghii respectively. The best method for determining the content of Anoectochilus roxburghii polysaccharides was further optimized by spectra pretreatment, band selection and number of band variables based on successive projection algorithm(SPA). RESULTS The NIR discriminant analysis model was established by SVM with SNV+SG+2ndD, and the classification accuracy was best. The prediction performance was evaluated based on the radial basis kernel function algorithm combined with confusion matrix and ROC curve, and the model performance was good. In addition, the quantitative analysis model was constructed by continuous projection-partial least squares by the prepossessing of SNV+SG+2ndD and the optimal band of 7 000-4 000 cm-1 with 97 of variables number. The accuracy was 0.992, which was the highest. The root mean square error calibration set, correlation coefficient of calibration set, and the root mean square error in validation set, correlation coefficient of validation set were 0.625, 0.993, 0.767, 0.992, separately. The prediction deviation was 8.467, and relative deviation of prediction set was less than 10%. CONCLUSION The established NIR-SVM qualitative model and SPA-PLS quantitative model are accurate and reliable, which are enable to identify Anoectochilus roxburghii and determine polysaccharide content nondestructively. It is a new and promising method for rapid evaluation of Anoectochilus roxburghii quality.

Objective:To explore the clinical value of coronary artery calcification (CAC) detected by chest CT in early screening of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CAHD) in civil pilots.Methods:The physical examination data of 2 899 civil pilots were retrospectively analyzed. Pilots were divided into CAHD group and control group based on the results of coronary angiography (CAG). The health data were compared between 2 groups and the clinical value of CAC in the diagnosis of CAHD was analyzed by using binary Logistic regression model and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results:Thirty-eight CAHD cases were diagnosed, and the remaining 2 861 were in the control group. Comparing to that of control group, the average age of the pilots in CAHD group was greater ( t=12.09, P<0.001), and the average total flying hours were longer ( Z=-7.68, P<0.001). The proportions of smoking, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver, obesity, carotid plaques, positive or suspiciously positive in submaximal treadmill exercise test, CAC, as well as the proportions of taking further requested coronary CT angiography and CAG were significantly higher in the CAHD group ( χ2=5.42-1 430.25, P<0.01 or <0.05). Logistic regression model showed that smoking ( OR=2.800, 95% CI: 1.074-7.301, P=0.035), obesity ( OR=3.336,95% CI:1.243-8.956, P=0.017), positive or suspiciously positive in submaximal treadmill exercise test ( OR=17.669, 95% CI: 2.923-106.756, P=0.002) and CAC ( OR=96.039, 95% CI: 11.439-806.396, P<0.001) were the independent risk factors for diagnosing CAHD. The ROC curve results suggested that the sensitivity and specificity of CAC for predicting CAHD was 97.4% and 93.1%, respectively, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.952 ( P<0.001). Conclusions:CAC detected by chest CT in physical examination is helpful for early screening of asymptomatic or atypical CAHD in civil pilots.