Objective To design and synthesize derivatives of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid, and investigate their anti-hepatitis C virus （HCV） activity along with that of common triterpenoid acids. To explore the structure-activity relationship and provide a reference for the research of anti-HCV drugs derived from natural products through obtaining compounds with higher activity. Methods Oleanolic acid and ursolic acid were directly reacted with corresponding amines using PyBOP as a condensing agent in the presence of DIEA. Alternatively, the target compounds were prepared through PCC oxidation followed by the Baeyer-Villiger reaction catalyzed by m-CPBA. In vitro anti-HCV activity was tested using the HCVcc infection model. Molecular docking was performed by Autodock software to investigate the interaction between the active compounds and HCV NS5B. Results Oleanolic acid, glycyrrhetinic acid, ursolic acid, and asiatic acid all exhibited certain anti-HCV effects. Specifically, oleanolic acid derivatives OA2-OA4, OA6, and OA7, as well as ursolic acid derivatives UA1 and UA2, demonstrated superior anti-HCV activity compared to their parent compounds. Preliminary structure-activity relationship analysis revealed that introducing a bulky group to 28-COOH of oleanolic acid and ursolic acid enhanced their activity. Molecular docking results demonstrated that the active compounds could stably bind to HCV NS5B, thereby exhibiting antiviral activity. Conclusion Pentacyclic triterpenoids possessed anti-HCV effects, and their derivatives coud be synthesized to obtain more active compounds. The anti-HCV mechanism of these compounds may be associated with their inhibition of NS5B.

OBJECTIVE: To construct a predictive model for the reduction in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and evaluate the effects of different interventions and other clinical factors on methadone reduction using Shapley additive explanations (SHAP). METHODS: Two clinical trials of acupuncture for methadone reduction in MMT patients were analyzed, and the baseline data, MMT related information, intervention measures, the data related to dose-reduction outcomes were collected. The predictive model was constructed by means of 6 machine learning algorithms including support vector machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbors (KNN), logistic regression (LR), Naive Bayes (NB), random forest (RF) and categorical-boosting (CatBoost), and 2 integration methods, blending-ensemble method (Blending) and Stacking-ensemble method (Stacking). SHAP was employed for the interpretability analysis of the optimal model. RESULTS: A total of 251 MMT patients were included, 128 cases in the acupuncture group and 123 cases in the non-acupuncture group. CatBoost and Stacking performed optimally in the test set. CatBoost obtained an accuracy of 0.780 0±0.060 8, a precision of 0.500 0±0.120 0, a recall of 0.818 2±0.140 2, F1 score of 0.620 7±0.114 0, and receiver operating characteristic-area under curve (ROC-AUC) of 0.857 8±0.140 2 for the subjects. In MMT patients with acupuncture as an adjunctive therapy, the top 5 important features for methadone reduction, included intervention measures, body mass index (BMI), the duration of MMT, the history of opioid use and occupation; and SHAP values were 1.25, 0.36, 0.21, 0.19 and 0.12, respectively. The SHAP feature dependence plot showed that BMI, MMT duration and the history of opioid use presented a nonlinear negative correlation with the reduction effect. CONCLUSION In acupuncture as adjunctive therapy for methadone reduction, the clinical factors should be considered comprehensively; and the interpretable predictive model provides a scientific basis for it, which is conducive to the improvement of clinical strategy of acupuncture for methadone reduction and the development of personalized reduction scheme.
Humans ; Methadone/therapeutic use* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Adult ; Female ; Male ; Machine Learning ; Middle Aged ; Opiate Substitution Treatment ; Young Adult

Objective:To analyze the correlation between serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and osteopontin (OPN) levels and bone metabolism markers in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus.Methods:A total of 89 pregnant women with GDM who were admitted to Shanxi Children’s Hospital from Aug. 2020 to May. 2022 were selected as the observation group, and 85 normal pregnant women who underwent regular health examination were selected as the control group. Clinical data of the two groups were compared and GDM related factors were analyzed. Serum IL-6, OPN, bone metabolic markers β collagen special sequence (β-CTX), type I procollagen N-terminal propeptide (PINP), n-terminal mid-section osteocalcin (N-MID), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and fasting insulin (FINS) levels of the two groups were detected. Insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) was calculated, and the relationship between serum IL-6, OPN and β-CTX, PINP and N-MID was analyzed.Results:The age, gestational times and pre-pregnancy BMI of the observation group were higher than those of the control group, and the family history of diabetes was more than that of the control group, with statistical significance between the two groups ( t=14.31, 31.46, 9.47, 10.33, P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the older the age and the more pregnancies, the higher the pre-pregnancy BMI. Independent risk factors for developing GDM were associated with a large family history of diabetes mellitus [ ( OR (95% CI) =1.569 (1.370-1798), 8.533 (5.067-14.367), 1.460 (1.301-1.639), 3.677 (1.611-8.396). P<0.05) ]; Serum levels of IL-6, OPN, FBG, FINS and HOMA-IR in observation group were higher than those in control group ( t=16.64, 24.76, 10.97, 11.01, 55.70, all P<0.05). The β-CTX of observation group was higher than that of control group, and the PINP and N-MID of observation group were lower than that of control group ( t=3.64, 12.19, 12.52, P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum IL-6 and OPN were positively correlated with β-CTX ( r=0.781, 0.746, P<0.05). Serum IL-6 and OPN were negatively correlated with PINP and N-MID ( r=-0.264, -0.305; -0.208, -305, P<0.05) . Conclusions:In pregnant women with GDM, serum IL-6 and OPN are positively correlated with β-CTX, and serum IL-6 and OPN are negatively correlated with PINP and N-MID, respectively. These indicators can be used as indicators of disease monitoring, and play an important role in protecting the health of pregnant women with GDM.

Most of the current research on depression focuses on neuronal regulation,while the astrocytic mechanism of depression is far from explored.Astrocytes are the most numerous and widely distributed glial cells in the central nervous system.With a complex structural morphology,astrocytes play an important role in a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders by interacting with neuronal synapses,vasculature and other glial cells.Recent studies have shown that astrocytes may be involved in depression by regulating monoamine transmitters,glutamate cycle,synaptic plasticity,energy metabo-lism,and neuroinflammation.This review is intended to inspire new ideas for the treatment of depres-sion and the development of novel drugs based on astrocyte regulation.

Intracellular overexpression of cytoglobin (Cygb) has been shown to reduce extracellular matrix deposition and promote liver fibrosis recovery, but its mechanism is not yet clear. This study constructed and expressed a fusion protein (TAT-Cygb) of cell penetrating peptide TAT and Cygb, to investigate the effect of fusion protein TAT-Cygb on regulating hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) ferroptosis. Cultured human hepatic stellate cells line (LX2) were treated with TAT-Cygb and erastin in vitro, respectively. The effects of ferroptosis phenotype in LX2 cells induced by TAT-Cygb, including cell viability, cell morphology, iron ion (Fe²⁺) content, lipid peroxidation product levels, and antioxidant system indicators, were investigated using trypan blue staining, transmission electron microscopy, Prussian blue staining, and reagent kits detection. After co-treatment with TAT-Cygb and ferrostain-1, the levels of Fe²⁺, reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and glutathione (GSH) were measured by reagent kits. The protein expression levels of alpha smooth actin (α-SMA), collagen I and fibronectin were detected by Western blot, and the protein expression level of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and desmin relevant to fibrosis were observed by immunofluorescence. The results showed that TAT-Cygb could significantly reduce the viability of LX2 cells and trigger events relevant to ferroptosis, including promoting intracellular Fe²⁺ accumulation, and inducing mitochondrial morphological changes, and intensifying lipid peroxidation products accumulation, and decreasing the level of antioxidant indexes, which played a similar role as erastin; Fer-1 significantly weakened the increase in Fe²⁺, ROS, MDA, 4-HNE levels induced by TAT-Cygb, as well as the decrease in NADPH and GSH levels, while also weakening the TAT-Cygb-induced over-expression levels of α-SMA, collagen I and fibronectin, and TAT-Cygb-induced under-expression levels of EGFR and desmin. This cellular level study indicated that TAT-Cygb can induce ferroptosis of activated HSCs. This study revealed the potential mechanism of TAT-Cygb anti-liver fibrosis, and provided the experimental basis for further research on the molecular mechanism of TAT-Cygb realizing biological function by regulating the ferroptosis pathway.

Objective:To analyze the correlation between serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and osteopontin (OPN) levels and bone metabolism markers in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus.Methods:A total of 89 pregnant women with GDM who were admitted to Shanxi Children’s Hospital from Aug. 2020 to May. 2022 were selected as the observation group, and 85 normal pregnant women who underwent regular health examination were selected as the control group. Clinical data of the two groups were compared and GDM related factors were analyzed. Serum IL-6, OPN, bone metabolic markers β collagen special sequence (β-CTX), type I procollagen N-terminal propeptide (PINP), n-terminal mid-section osteocalcin (N-MID), fasting blood glucose (FBG) and fasting insulin (FINS) levels of the two groups were detected. Insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) was calculated, and the relationship between serum IL-6, OPN and β-CTX, PINP and N-MID was analyzed.Results:The age, gestational times and pre-pregnancy BMI of the observation group were higher than those of the control group, and the family history of diabetes was more than that of the control group, with statistical significance between the two groups ( t=14.31, 31.46, 9.47, 10.33, P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the older the age and the more pregnancies, the higher the pre-pregnancy BMI. Independent risk factors for developing GDM were associated with a large family history of diabetes mellitus [ ( OR (95% CI) =1.569 (1.370-1798), 8.533 (5.067-14.367), 1.460 (1.301-1.639), 3.677 (1.611-8.396). P<0.05) ]; Serum levels of IL-6, OPN, FBG, FINS and HOMA-IR in observation group were higher than those in control group ( t=16.64, 24.76, 10.97, 11.01, 55.70, all P<0.05). The β-CTX of observation group was higher than that of control group, and the PINP and N-MID of observation group were lower than that of control group ( t=3.64, 12.19, 12.52, P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that serum IL-6 and OPN were positively correlated with β-CTX ( r=0.781, 0.746, P<0.05). Serum IL-6 and OPN were negatively correlated with PINP and N-MID ( r=-0.264, -0.305; -0.208, -305, P<0.05) . Conclusions:In pregnant women with GDM, serum IL-6 and OPN are positively correlated with β-CTX, and serum IL-6 and OPN are negatively correlated with PINP and N-MID, respectively. These indicators can be used as indicators of disease monitoring, and play an important role in protecting the health of pregnant women with GDM.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors of diabetes mellitus complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis.Methods:The clinical data of 83 patients with diabetes mellitus complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis who received treatment in Taiyuan Fourth People's Hospital from March 2020 to March 2022 were collected. These patients were divided into sensitive group ( n = 45) and resistant group ( n = 38 ) according to the results of drug sensitivity test. Univariate and multivariate non-conditional logistic regression was performed to analyze the influential factors of drug resistance. Results:Univariate logistic regression results revealed that there were significant differences in blood CD4 +T lymphocyte count ( χ2 = 11.73, P = 0.001) and diabetic complications ( χ2 = 4.94, P = 0.026). Multivariate non-conditional logistic regression analysis was performed taking whether blood CD4 +T lymphocyte count was lower than the average level and whether patients with diabetes mellitus had complications as independent variables, and taking whether drug resistance was a dependent variable. The results showed that the OR (95% CI) value of the decreased blood CD4 +T lymphocyte count was 4.909 (1.926-12.514). It is a risk factor for drug resistance of diabetes mellitus complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis. Conclusion:The decrease of blood CD4 +T lymphocyte count is a risk factor of drug resistance in diabetes mellitus complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis, and it should be intervened early in the clinic.

Objective:To investigate the clinical features and prognosis of extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma of the extra-upper aerodigestive tract (extra-UADT NKTCL).Methods:The clinical data of 159 patients with extra-UADT NKTCL from the China Lymphoma Collaborative Group (CLCG) database between November 2001 and December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Log-rank test were used to evaluate the prognosis. The Cox regression model is used for multi-factor analysis.Results:Extra-UADT NKTCL commonly occurs in skin and soft tissues (106/159, 66.7%) and gastrointestinal tract (31/159, 19.5%). The incidences of elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and Ann Arbor Ⅲ~Ⅳ stage were 47.8% (76/159) and 64.2% (102/159), respectively. The 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 43.6% and 27.9%, respectively. The corresponding OS rates of primary skin/soft tissue site and gastrointestinal tract site were 41.0% and 59.4% ( P=0.281), while the PFS rates were 24.8% and 48.3%, respectively ( P=0.109). Combined modality treatment improved the 3-year OS of all the patients (58.4% vs 33.9%, P=0.001) and 3-year PFS (40.7% vs 20.7%, P=0.008) when compared with chemotherapy alone. LDH elevation, Ann Arbor synthesising and ≥2 junction external bits were intrusive as independent risk factors for total survival ( P<0.05), LDH elevation and ≥2 junction outer bits were intrusive as independent risk factors for progressionless survival( P<0.05). The distant extranodal dissemination was the primary failure patterns. Conclusions:Extra-UADT NKTCL appears to have distinct clinical characteristics and poor outcome. Compared with chemotherapy alone, combined modality treatment may improve the prognosis of patients with extra-UADT NKTCL.

Objective:To investigate the clinical features and prognosis of extranodal nasal-type NK/T-cell lymphoma of the extra-upper aerodigestive tract (extra-UADT NKTCL).Methods:The clinical data of 159 patients with extra-UADT NKTCL from the China Lymphoma Collaborative Group (CLCG) database between November 2001 and December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Log-rank test were used to evaluate the prognosis. The Cox regression model is used for multi-factor analysis.Results:Extra-UADT NKTCL commonly occurs in skin and soft tissues (106/159, 66.7%) and gastrointestinal tract (31/159, 19.5%). The incidences of elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and Ann Arbor Ⅲ~Ⅳ stage were 47.8% (76/159) and 64.2% (102/159), respectively. The 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 43.6% and 27.9%, respectively. The corresponding OS rates of primary skin/soft tissue site and gastrointestinal tract site were 41.0% and 59.4% ( P=0.281), while the PFS rates were 24.8% and 48.3%, respectively ( P=0.109). Combined modality treatment improved the 3-year OS of all the patients (58.4% vs 33.9%, P=0.001) and 3-year PFS (40.7% vs 20.7%, P=0.008) when compared with chemotherapy alone. LDH elevation, Ann Arbor synthesising and ≥2 junction external bits were intrusive as independent risk factors for total survival ( P<0.05), LDH elevation and ≥2 junction outer bits were intrusive as independent risk factors for progressionless survival( P<0.05). The distant extranodal dissemination was the primary failure patterns. Conclusions:Extra-UADT NKTCL appears to have distinct clinical characteristics and poor outcome. Compared with chemotherapy alone, combined modality treatment may improve the prognosis of patients with extra-UADT NKTCL.

Objective:To investigate the 2 years’ efficacy of intravesical instillation of domestic BCG versus epirubicin in the prevention of recurrence of intermediate-risk or high-risk non-muscular invasive bladder cancer and predictive factors of BCG instillation.Methods:From July 2015 to June 2020, 18-75 years old patients with moderate to high-risk non muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) confirmed by pathological examination were involved. The ECOG score was 0-2. Exclusion criteria included ①immune deficiency or impairment (such as AIDS), using immunosuppressive drugs or radiotherapy, suspected allergic to BCG or epirubicin or excipients of the two drugs, fever or acute infectious diseases including active tuberculosis or receiving anti tuberculosis treatment, with severe chronic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases or chronic kidney disease; ②combined with other urogenital system tumors or other organ tumors; ③combined with muscle invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma (≥T 2); ④undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy within 4 weeks (immediate instillation after surgery not included); ⑤ pregnant or lactating women; ⑥ comfirmed or suspected bladder perforation; ⑦gross hematuria; ⑧cystitis with severe bladder irritation that may affect the evaluation; ⑨participat in other clinical trials within 3 months; ⑩alcohol or drug addiction; ?any risk factors that may increasing the risk of patients. Epirubicin 50 mg was irrigated immediately after the operation(TURBT or laser resection). The patients were randomly divided into BCG15 group, BCG19 group and epirubicin group by the ratio of 2∶2∶1, and the patients were maintained intravescical instillation for 1 year. The recurrence and adverse events of the three groups were compared. Univariate and multivariate analysis was performed to predict the risk factors of BCG irrigated therapy failure. Result:By June 15, 2020, the median follow-up duration was 22.1 months(12.1, 32.3), and there was no statistical difference between the groups ( P=0.9024). There were 274 patients enrolled in BCG19 group, 277 patients enrolled in BCG15 group and 130 patients enrolled in the epirubicin group. The drop-off rate was 16.6%(113 cases)and made no difference between groups( P=0.6222). There were no significant difference in age, gender, BMI, or ECOG score( P>0.05). During the follow-up, 116 cases was detected recurrence or progression. The recurrence rate of the three groups was 14.2% and 14.8% in BCG19 group and BCG15 group, and 27.7% in the epirubicin group. There was no difference in recurrence rate between BCG19 and BCG15 group( P=0.9464). The recurrence rate of BCG19 group was lower than that of the epirubicin group ( P=0.0017). The recurrence rate of BCG15 group was lower than that of the epirubicin group ( P=0.0020). There was no difference in the cumulative recurrence free survival rate between BCG19 and BCG15 group (95% CI0.57-1.46, P=0.7173). The cumulative recurrence free survival rate of BCG 19 group was better than that of the epirubicin group( HR=0.439, 95% CI0.26-0.74, P=0.0006), and the cumulative recurrence free survival rate of BCG15 group was better than that of the epirubicin group ( HR=0.448, 95% CI0.29-0.80, P=0.0021). The total incidence of adverse events in 19 BCG19, BCG15 and epirubicin group were 74.5%, 72.6% and 69.8% respectively. There was no difference in the incidence of adverse events between BCG19 and BCG15 group( P=0.6153). The incidence of adverse events in epirubicin group was lower than that of BCG19( P=0.0051) and BCG15( P=0.0167) groups.There was no significant difference in the incidence of serious adverse events (SAE) among the three groups ( P=0.5064). Log rank test univariate analysis and Cox risk regression model multivariate analysis showed that the history of bladder cancer recurrence( HR=6.397, 95% CI1.95-20.94, P=0.0001)was independent risk factor for BCG irrigation failure. Conclusions:The 2 years’ efficacy of intravesical instillation of domestic BCG is better than than of epirubicin with good tolerance and safety. There is no difference between BCG19 and BCG15 group. BCG doesn’t increase SAE compared with epirubicin. Recurrence status was an independent prognostic factor regarding recurrence-free survival.