Objective To study the mini-character and microscopic features of Plantago asiatica from different populations and summarize the exclusive features to provide a reference for the effective identification of Plantago asiatica. Methods Stereomicroscope and optical microscope were used to identify 30 batches of Plantago asiatica from different populations.The similarities and differences in mini-character and microscopic features of Plantago asiatica among different populations were identified. Results The differences in mini character between the Plantago asiatica from different populations were mainly reflected in whether there was fluff on the surface of leaves, inflorescence peduncles, and persistent sepals, as well as whether the epidermis of fibrous roots was flaky. The differences in microscopic characteristics between the Plantago asiatica from different populations were mainly reflected in the number of non-glandular hairs on the leaf surface, the shape of the petiole endothelial layer cells, and the number of large vascular bundles, and the number of layers of mesophyll palisade tissue cells, etc. Conclusion Plantago asiatica from different populations can be identified through mini-character and microscopic; by comparing the relevant identification features, which can provide a basis for revising and improving the standards of Plantago asiatica.

Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, including whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), have greatly increased the diagnostic rates for genetic disorders. However, challenges still remain with the interpretation of variants of uncertain significance (VUS), variants in non-coding regions, and understanding of the effects of such variants on downstream genes. As a result, the diagnostic rates have typically ranged from 25% to 57%. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) can complement DNA sequencing by revealing the functional consequences of genetic variants through the detection of aberrant gene expression, abnormal splicing events, allele-specific expression, and fusion gene expression. This has further increased the diagnostic rate of genetic disorders and enriched their therapeutic strategies. By broadening the scope of conventional genomic diagnostic methods, RNA-seq is poised to become a novel tool for the diagnosis of genetic disorders. This review has explored the methodologies and technical characteristics of RNA-seq by focusing on its recent advancement in clinical diagnosis, applications in undiagnosed genetic disorders, and the main challenges encountered.
Humans ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn/genetics* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods* ; Sequence Analysis, RNA/methods* ; Exome Sequencing/methods*

Objective To explore the effects and mechanism of Jianpi Shuyi Decoction in improving pancreatic fibrosis in chronic pancreatitis(CP)based on network pharmacology and animal experiments.Methods TCMSP was used to screen the active components and targets of Jianpi Shuyi Decoction.GeneCards was used to obtain the disease targets of pancreatic fibrosis,and the intersection of drug and disease targets was used to construct the protein interaction network and the drug-component-target network,and the core target genes were screened out.GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis was performed on the intersecting targets.Caerulein was used to induce CP mouse model,and Jianpi Shuyi Decoction was given for gavage.HE and Sirius red staining were used to observe pancreatic tissue inflammation and collagen deposition,respectively.RT-qPCR was used to observe the mRNA expression levels of Acta2,COL1A1,PI3K and Akt1 in pancreatic tissue.Immunohistochemistry staining was used to observe the protein expression levels of α-SMA,COL-1,p-PI3K and p-Akt in pancreatic tissues.Results A total of 181 active components were screened from Jianpi Shuyi Decoction,corresponding to 284 targets,with 240 targets overlapping between drugs and disease and the core targets were PTGS2,HSP90AA1,etc.193 signaling pathways were obtained from KEGG pathway enrichment analysis,primarily involving lipids and atherosclerosis,chemical carcinogenic-receptor activation,PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and others.The results of animal experiments showed that,compared with the normal group,the model group showed a large number of inflammatory cell infiltration and collagen deposition in pancreatic tissue,the mRNA expression of Acta2,COL1A1,PI3K and Akt1 in pancreatic tissue significantly increased(P<0.01),and the protein expression of α-SMA,COL-1,p-PI3K,p-Akt significantly increased(P<0.01);Jianpi Shuyi Decoction significantly reduced the inflammation and collagen deposition in pancreas of mice,reduced the mRNA expression of Acta2,COL1A1,PI3K and Akt1(P<0.05),and attenuated the protein expression of α-SMA,COL-1,p-PI3K and p-Akt in pancreatic tissue(P<0.05).Conclusion Jianpi Shuyi Decoction may exert a therapeutic effect on CP pancreatic fibrosis by regulating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway,attenuating inflammation and collagen deposition in the pancreas,and reducing the levels of α-SMA and COL-1.

Objective To explore the medication rules and mechanism of Xin'an physicians in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.Methods The prescriptions for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Xin'an medical writings were collected.The core drug prescriptions were obtained by using IBM SPSS Modeler 18.0 for dispensing association rules as well as complex network analysis,and the cluster analysis of high-frequency traditional Chinese medicines was carried out by using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0.The active ingredients and targets of the core drugs were extracted from the BATMAN-TCM database.The GeneCards database was used to search for diabetes gene targets,and after obtaining the intersecting targets,the STRING online platform was imported to construct the protein interactions network,and screened the core genes by using the Cytoscape 3.9.1 software,and imported into the DAVID database for GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis.Results A total of 135 valid prescriptions were included,involving 184 flavors of traditional Chinese medicines,with cold and mild properties.Sweet,bitter and pungent flavors,and the main attributes of lung,spleen,kidney,stomach and heart meridians.The association rules mined 14 pairs of commonly used medicine pairs.Cluster analysis clustered the top 20 traditional Chinese medicines into five cluster groups.Complex network visualization analysis formed a core prescription consisting of honey-fried licorice root,ginseng,rhizoma anemarrhenae,ophiopogon japonicus,poria cocos.The core prescription drugs were screened for 164 effective active ingredients,1,498 action targets,1,995 diabetes gene targets,404 intersecting targets,10 core targets were extracted,and a total of 1,363 items covering BP were obtained from GO functional enrichment analysis,129 items involving CC,264 items containing MF,and 206 items of KEGG signaling pathway.Conclusion The prescriptions and medicines used by Xin'an doctors in the treatment of diabetes mellitus reflect the academic idea of"treating both the symptoms and the root cause"as well as the therapeutic thought of"using cold and warmth,supplementing with sweetness and warmth,opening up and lowering with bitterness,cultivating the earth and generating gold,and consolidating the root and cultivating the elements",which provide references for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in today's clinics.

Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies, including whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), have greatly increased the diagnostic rates for genetic disorders. However, challenges still remain with the interpretation of variants of uncertain significance (VUS), variants in non-coding regions, and understanding of the effects of such variants on downstream genes. As a result, the diagnostic rates have typically ranged from 25% to 57%. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) can complement DNA sequencing by revealing the functional consequences of genetic variants through the detection of aberrant gene expression, abnormal splicing events, allele-specific expression, and fusion gene expression. This has further increased the diagnostic rate of genetic disorders and enriched their therapeutic strategies. By broadening the scope of conventional genomic diagnostic methods, RNA-seq is poised to become a novel tool for the diagnosis of genetic disorders. This review has explored the methodologies and technical characteristics of RNA-seq by focusing on its recent advancement in clinical diagnosis, applications in undiagnosed genetic disorders, and the main challenges encountered.

Epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor (EGFRI) -related paronychia is a condition clearly related to EGFRI therapy, characterized by periungual erythema, edema, purulent exudates, periungual or subungual granulomatous lesions, and sometimes accompanied by thinning, fragility or even splitting and seperation of nail plates. Inhibition of epidermal function, inflammation and secondary infections, as well as angiogenesis are the core processes in the occurrence and development of EGFRI-related paronychia. This review summarizes epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, prevention and treatment of EGFRI-related paronychia.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide. As the key pathological basis of CVD, arteriosclerosis holds great significance for early screening. However, existing clinical and homecare detection devices have many shortcomings; for instance, the commonly used non-invasive indicator PWV (pulse wave velocity) is easily interfered by blood pressure.This study developed a homecare arteriosclerosis monitoring system, which integrates the measurement functions of cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and ankle-brachial index (ABI). The hardware design of the system includes an integrated structure of flexible silver ion electrodes and clip-type cuffs, a contact heart sound sensor, and a stepped deflation blood pressure measurement module. Meanwhile, a high-precision analog-to-digital conversion module and the STM32F405 main control chip are used to realize the synchronous acquisition of multiple signals.In terms of software, the underlying driver program was designed through MDK (Keil5), and a user interface was built on the Visual Studio platform to achieve functions such as data acquisition, display, and storage. At the algorithm level, the system adopted algorithms like the Pan-Tompkins algorithm to identify key feature points of physiological signals, and then calculate CAVI and ABI.System test results show that the ECG input noise of the system is less than 20 μV, the common-mode rejection ratio is 95 dB, and the blood pressure measurement error does not exceed 2 mmHg, which meets the design goals. Clinical data analysis indicates that CAVI is highly positively correlated with pulse wave velocity (PWV) ( r=0.85, P<0.001), but CAVI is less affected by blood pressure fluctuations. In addition, with the increase of risk factors (such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease, etc.) and age, arteriosclerosis indicators (CAVI, PWV, ABI) all show an upward trend.In conclusion, the homecare arteriosclerosis monitoring system proposed in this study not only overcomes the problems of traditional devices that rely on professional operation and are susceptible to blood pressure interference, but also provides a reliable tool for arteriosclerosis screening in home scenarios, and has important reference value for clinical diagnosis.
Humans ; Cardio Ankle Vascular Index ; Home Care Services ; Atherosclerosis/diagnosis* ; Ankle Brachial Index ; Algorithms ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Arteriosclerosis/diagnosis* ; Monitoring, Physiologic/instrumentation*

Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent and intractable ocular disease induced by a variety of causes. Elevated sphingomyelin (SM) levels and pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected on the ocular surface of DED patients, particularly in the meibomian glands. Sphingomyelin synthase 2 (SMS2), one of the proteins involved in SM synthesis, would light a novel way of developing a DED therapy strategy. Herein, we report the design and optimization of a series of novel thiophene carboxamide derivatives to afford 14l with an improved highly potent inhibitory activity on SM synthesis (IC_{50, SMS2} = 28 nmol/L). Moreover, 14l exhibited a notable protective effect of anti-inflammation and anti-apoptosis on human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) under TNF-α-hyperosmotic stress conditions in vitro, with an acceptable ocular specific distribution (corneas and meibomian glands) and pharmacokinetics (PK) profiles (t _{1/2, cornea} = 1.11 h; t _{1/2, meibomian glands} = 4.32 h) in rats. Furthermore, 14l alleviated the dry eye symptoms including corneal fluorescein staining scores and tear secretion in a dose-dependent manner in mice. Mechanically, 14l reduced the mRNA expression of Tnf-α, Il-1β and Mmp-9 in corneas, as well as the proportion of very long chain SM in meibomian glands. Our findings provide a new strategy for DED therapy based on selective SMS2 inhibitors.

Lirispirolides A-L (1-12), twelve novel sesquiterpene-monoterpene heterodimers featuring distinctive carbon skeletons, were isolated from the branches and leaves of Chinese tulip tree [Liriodendron chinense (L. chinense)], a rare medicinal and ornamental plant endemic to China. The structural elucidation was accomplished through comprehensive spectroscopic analyses, quantum-chemical calculations, and X-ray crystallography. These heterodimers exhibit a characteristic 2-oxaspiro[4.5]decan-1-one structural motif, biosynthetically formed through intermolecular [4 + 2]-cycloaddition between a germacrane-type sesquiterpene and an ocimene-type monoterpene. The majority of the isolated compounds demonstrated significant anti-neuroinflammatory effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BV-2 microglial cells by reducing the production of pro-inflammatory mediators, specifically tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and nitric oxide (NO). Further investigation revealed that the lirispirolides' inhibition of NO release correlated with decreased messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS).
Sesquiterpenes/isolation & purification* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents/isolation & purification* ; Animals ; Mice ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics* ; Nitric Oxide/immunology* ; Microglia/immunology* ; Molecular Structure ; Liriodendron/chemistry* ; Monoterpenes/isolation & purification* ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Cell Line ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/immunology* ; Plant Extracts/pharmacology* ; China

OBJECTIVES: This study explores the differences in fluid flow within alveolar cancellous bone at various sites under orthodontic forces and elucidates the relationship between fluid shear stress and bone remodeling. These fin-dings lay the groundwork for understanding the biomechanical mechanisms of orthodontic tooth movement. METHODS: Stress relaxation tests were performed on human alveolar bone samples to determine material parameters by using the Prony series. An inverse model of alveolar bone was then developed for numerical simulations of fluid-structure interactions to calculate fluid flow within cancellous bone. Meanwhile, a rat model of tooth movement was established to investigate variations in bone remodeling speeds across different regions. RESULTS: The microstructural distribution of cancellous alveolar bone was similar in humans and rats. The bone volume fraction and trabecular thickness gradually decreased from root cervical region to root apical region, while the trabecular space gradually increased. Under the influence of orthodontic forces, fluid shear stress within cancellous bone showed spatial variability across different levels, with the highest shear stress occurring at the root apical region, ranging from 0 to 0.936 6 Pa. Additionally, the rat model of tooth movement indicated that bone remodeling occurred more rapidly at the root apical region. CONCLUSIONS Fluid stimulation has a remarkable effect on al-veolar bone remodeling, causing changes in the structure of alveolar bone and ultimately regulating the speed of structu-ral remodeling.
Bone Remodeling ; Animals ; Tooth Movement Techniques ; Rats ; Alveolar Process/physiology* ; Stress, Mechanical ; Humans ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Cancellous Bone/physiology* ; Shear Strength