The effect of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction on the intestinal flora of type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) was investigated using 16S rRNA sequencing technology. Sixty rats were randomly divided into a normal group(10 rats) and a modeling group(50 rats). After one week of adaptive feeding, a high-fat diet + streptozotocin was given for modeling, and fasting blood glucose >16.7 mmol·L~(-1) was considered a sign of successful modeling. The modeling group was randomly divided into the model group, high-, medium-, and low-dose groups of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction, and metformin group. After seven days of intragastric treatment, the feces, colon, and pancreatic tissue of each group of rats were collected, and the pathological changes of the colon and pancreatic tissue of each group were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. The changes in the intestinal flora structure of each group were observed by the 16S rRNA sequencing method. The results showed that compared with the model group, the high-, medium-, and low-dose of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction reduced fasting blood glucose levels to different degrees and showed no significant changes in body weight. The number of islet cells increased, and intestinal mucosal damage attenuated. Alpha diversity analysis revealed that Huanglian Jiedu Decoction reduced the abundance and diversity of intestinal flora in rats with T2DM; at the phylum level, low-and mediam-dose of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction reduced the abundance of Bacteroidota, Proteobacteria, and Desulfobacterota and increased the abundance of Firmicute and Bacteroidota/Firmicutes, while the high-dose of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction increased the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota/Firmicutes ratio, and decreaseal the relative; abundance of Firmicute; at the genus level, Huanglian Jiedu Decoction increased the relative abundance of Allobaculum, Blautia, and Lactobacillus; LEfse analysis revealed that the biomarker of low-and medium-dose groups of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction was Lactobacillus, and the structure of the intestinal flora of the low-dose group of Huanglian Jiedu Decoction was highly similar to that of the metformin group. PICRUSt2 function prediction revealed that Huanglian Jiedu Decoction mainly affected carbohydrate and amino acid metabolic pathways. It suggested that Huanglian Jiedu Decoction could reduce fasting blood glucose and increase the number of islet cells in rats with T2DM, and its mechanism of action may be related to increasing the abundance of short-chain fatty acid-producing strains and Lactobacillus and affecting carbohydrate and amino acid metabolic pathways.
Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/administration & dosage* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/metabolism* ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/drug effects* ; Rats ; Male ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Humans ; Bacteria/drug effects* ; Blood Glucose/metabolism*

This study aimed to characterize and identify the non-volatile components in aqueous and ethanolic extracts of the stems and leaves of Rhododendron tomentosum by using sensitive and efficient ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry(UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS) combined with a self-built information database. By comparing with reference compounds, analyzing fragment ion information, searching relevant literature, and using a self-built information database, 118 compounds were identified from the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of R. tomentosum, including 35 flavonoid glycosides, 15 phenolic glycosides, 12 flavonoids, 7 phenolic acids, 7 phenylethanol glycosides, 6 tannins, 6 phospholipids, 5 coumarins, 5 monoterpene glycosides, 6 triterpenes, 3 fatty acids, and 11 other types of compounds. Among them, 102 compounds were reported in R. tomentosum for the first time, and 36 compounds were identified by comparing them with reference compounds. The chemical components in the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of R. tomentosum leaves and stems showed slight differences, with 84 common chemical components accounting for 71.2% of the total 118 compounds. This study systematically characterized and identified the non-volatile chemical components in the ethanolic and aqueous extracts of R. tomentosum for the first time. The findings provide a reference for active ingredient research, quality control, and product development of R. tomentosum.
Rhododendron/chemistry* ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Mass Spectrometry/methods* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry*

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) decoction pieces are a core carrier for the inheritance and innovation of TCM, and their quality and safety are critical to public health and the sustainable development of the industry. Conventional quality control models, while having established a well-developed system through long-term practice, still face challenges such as relatively long inspection cycles, insufficient objectivity in characterizing complex traits, and urgent needs for improving the efficiency of integrating multidimensional quality information when confronted with the dual demands of large-scale production and precision quality control. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, machine learning can deeply analyze multidimensional data of the morphology, spectroscopy, and chemical fingerprints of decoction pieces by constructing high-dimensional feature space analysis models, significantly improving the standardization level and decision-making efficiency of quality evaluation. This article reviews the research progress in the application of machine learning in the processing, production, and rapid quality evaluation of TCM decoction pieces. It further analyzes current challenges in technological implementation and proposes potential solutions, offering theoretical and technical references to advance the digital and intelligent transformation of the industry.
Machine Learning ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/standards* ; Quality Control ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards* ; Humans

Pyroptosis is an identified programmed cell death that has been highly linked to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dynamics. However, the crucial proteins for modulating dynamic ER membrane curvature change that trigger pyroptosis are currently not well understood. In this study, a biotin-labeled chemical probe of potent pyroptosis inducer α-mangostin (α-MG) was synthesized. Through protein microarray analysis, reticulon-4 (RTN4/Nogo), a crucial regulator of ER membrane curvature, was identified as a target of α-MG. We observed that chemically induced proteasome degradation of RTN4 by α-MG through recruiting E3 ligase UBR5 significantly enhances the pyroptosis phenotype in cancer cells. Interestingly, the downregulation of RTN4 expression significantly facilitated a dynamic remodeling of ER membrane curvature through a transition from tubules to sheets, consequently leading to rapid fusion of the ER with the cell plasma membrane. In particular, the ER-to-plasma membrane fusion process is supported by the observed translocation of several crucial ER markers to the "bubble" structures of pyroptotic cells. Furthermore, α-MG-induced RTN4 knockdown leads to pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2)-dependent conventional caspase-3/gasdermin E (GSDME) cleavages for pyroptosis progression. In vivo, we observed that chemical or genetic RTN4 knockdown significantly inhibited cancer cells growth, which further exhibited an antitumor immune response with anti-programmed death-1 (anti-PD-1). In translational research, RTN4 high expression was closely correlated with the tumor metastasis and death of patients. Taken together, RTN4 plays a fundamental role in inducing pyroptosis through the modulation of ER membrane curvature remodeling, thus representing a prospective druggable target for anticancer immunotherapy.
Pyroptosis/immunology* ; Humans ; Endoplasmic Reticulum/immunology* ; Animals ; Nogo Proteins/antagonists & inhibitors* ; Mice ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Xanthones/pharmacology* ; Neoplasms/pathology* ; Mice, Nude

Objective To analyze the effect of different retained dosage of lauromacrogol within the thyroid cyst in the sclerotherapy of thyroid cysts.Methods A total of 200 patients with thyroid cysts,who were admitted to the Longyan Municipal First Hospital of China between August 2020 and August 2021,were enrolled in this study.The patients were randomly and equally divided into group zero(suctioning out all the amount of the injected lauromacrogol),and,according to the percentage of the retained lauromacrogol dosage to the total cystic fluid,group 10%,group 20%,group 30%and group 50%,with 40 patients in each group.Thyroid color ultrasound was reviewed at 1,3,6,and 12 months after treatment.The changes of capsule volume,curative efficacy,influencing factors,and adverse reactions after the cyst became sclerosis were analyzed.Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the factors affecting the postoperative efficacy.Results In all the 5 groups,the suctioned fluid was dark red in colour,and the patients had cystic nodules.The preoperative mean cyst volume was(20.43±5.86)cm3.In all the 5 groups,the postoperative changes in cyst volume indicated that the postoperative one-month cyst volume significantly shrank when compared with the preoperative volume,the postoperative 3-month cyst volume remarkably shrank when compared with the postoperative one-month volume,and the postoperative 6-month cyst volume strikingly shrank when compared with the postoperative 3-month volume(all P＜0.05),while no statistically significant difference in the cyst volume existed between the postoperative 12-month value and the postoperative 6-month value(P＞0.05).The postoperative 6-month total effective rate of all the five groups was 87%(174/200),and no statistically significant differences in the postoperative 6-month curative effect existed between each other among the 5 groups(P＞0.05).Taking the postoperative 6-month curative effect as the dependent variable,and the age,sex,thick cystic wall,cystic septum,and preoperative cyst volume as independent variables,the binary logistic regression analysis was conducted,which revealed that the thick cystic wall(OR=0.24,95%CI=0.08-0.72,P=0.01)and the cystic septum(OR=0.21,95%CI=0.07-0.67,P=0.01)were the factors affecting the postoperative 6-month curative effect.The main side reaction was pain,which was tolerable by patients.There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse reactions between each other among the five groups(all P＞0.05).Conclusion In treating thyroid cysts by using ultrasound-guided lauromacrogol sclerotherapy,there is no relationship between the curative effect and the percentage of the retained lauromacrogol dosage to the total cystic fluid.The best curative effect can be achieved at 6 months after injection of lauromacrogol,which can be used as the optimal time for follow-up check.The thick cystic wall and the cystic septum are the main factors that affect the curative effect of lauromacrogol sclerotherapy.For the treatment of thyroid cyst,lauromacrogol sclerotherapy carries reliable curative effect with few adverse reactions,therefore,this therapy is worthy of clinical application.(J Intervent Radiol,2024,32:69-73)

Objective To investigate the clinical value of prophylactic high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy (HFNC) in reducing postoperative pulmonary complication (PPC) in elderly patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods The clinical data of elderly patients (over 60 years) with NSCLC who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy or segmental resection at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fujian Provincial Hospital from January 2021 to March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether receiving HFNC after surgery, they were divided into a conventional oxygen therapy (CO) group and a HFNC group. The CO group were matched with the HFNC group by the propensity score matching method at a ratio of 1 : 1. We compared PPC incidence, white blood cell (WBC) count, procalcitonin and C-reactive protein on postoperative day (POD) 1, 3 and 5 and postoperative hospital stay between the two groups. Results A total of 343 patients (165 males, 178 females, average age of 67.25±4.79 years) were enrolled, with 53 (15.45%) receiving HFNC. Before matching, there were statistical differences in gender, rate of combined chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pathology type and TNM stage between the two groups (all P<0.05). There were 42 patients successfully matched in each of the two groups, with no statistical difference in baseline characteristics (P>0.05). After propensity score matching, the results showed that the PPC incidence in the HFNC group was lower than that in the CO group (23.81% vs. 45.23%, P=0.039). WBC count on POD 3 and 5 and procalcitonin level on POD 3 were less or lower in the HFNC group than those in the CO group [ (8.92±2.91)×109/L vs. (10.62±2.67)×109/L; (7.68±1.58)×109/L vs. (8.86±1.76)×109/L; 0.26 (0.25, 0.44) μg/L vs. 0.31 (0.25, 0.86) μg/L; all P<0.05]. There was no statistical difference in the other inflammatory indexes or the postoperative hospital stay between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion Prophylactic HFNC can reduce the PPC incidence and postoperative inflammatory indexes in elderly patients with NSCLC, but does not shorten the postoperative hospital stay.

Background::Highly expressed in various human cancers, circular RNA Protein Kinase C Iota (circPRKCI) has been reported to play an important role in cancer development and progression. Herein, we sought to reveal the prognostic and clinical value of circPRKCI expression in diverse human cancers.Methods::We searched the Pubmed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases from inception until May 16, 2021. The relationship between circPRKCI expression and cancer patients’ survival, including overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS), was assessed by pooled hazard ratios (HR) with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). The correlation between circPRKCI expression and clinical outcomes was evaluated using odds ratios (OR) with corresponding 95% CI. The data were analyzed by STATA software (version 12.0) or Review Manager (RevMan 5.3).Results::A total of 15 studies with 1109 patients were incorporated into our meta-analysis. The results demonstrated that high circPRKCI expression was significantly related to poor OS (HR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.61, 2.39, P <0.001) when compared with low circPRKCI expression in diverse human cancers. However, elevated circPRKCI expression was not associated with DFS (HR = 1.34, 95% CI: 0.93, 1.95, P = 0.121). Furthermore, the patient with a higher circPRKCI expression was prone to have a larger tumor size, advanced clinical stage, and lymph node metastasis, but it was not significantly correlated with age, gender, and distant metastasis. Conclusion::Elevated circPRKCI expression was correlated with worse OS and unfavorable clinical features, suggesting a novel prognostic and predictive role of circPRKCI in diverse human cancers.

Objective To investigate the incidence rate,clinical characteristics,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen,China.Methods Led by Shenzhen Children's Hospital,the Shenzhen Neonatal Data Collaboration Network organized 21 institutions to collect 36 cases of neonatal stroke from January 2020 to December 2022.The incidence,clinical characteristics,treatment,and prognosis of neonatal stroke in Shenzhen were analyzed.Results The incidence rate of neonatal stroke in 21 hospitals from 2020 to 2022 was 1/15 137,1/6 060,and 1/7 704,respectively.Ischemic stroke accounted for 75％(27/36);boys accounted for 64％(23/36).Among the 36 neonates,31(86％)had disease onset within 3 days after birth,and 19(53％)had convulsion as the initial presentation.Cerebral MRI showed that 22 neonates(61％)had left cerebral infarction and 13(36％)had basal ganglia infarction.Magnetic resonance angiography was performed for 12 neonates,among whom 9(75％)had involvement of the middle cerebral artery.Electroencephalography was performed for 29 neonates,with sharp waves in 21 neonates(72％)and seizures in 10 neonates(34％).Symptomatic/supportive treatment varied across different hospitals.Neonatal Behavioral Neurological Assessment was performed for 12 neonates(33％,12/36),with a mean score of(32±4)points.The prognosis of 27 neonates was followed up to around 12 months of age,with 44％(12/27)of the neonates having a good prognosis.Conclusions Ischemic stroke is the main type of neonatal stroke,often with convulsions as the initial presentation,involvement of the middle cerebral artery,sharp waves on electroencephalography,and a relatively low neurodevelopment score.Symptomatic/supportive treatment is the main treatment method,and some neonates tend to have a poor prognosis.

Aim To construct CX3CR1GFP transgenic mice based on the Cre/Loxp system,and to analyze the expression efficiency of CX3CR1GFP.Methods Targeted vectors were designed using restriction enzyme-based cloning technology to create a linearized targeted vector for transfecting embryonic stem cells(ES).The ES cells with a deletion of the neomycin resistance gene(neo)were then cloned into blastocysts to generate chimeric CX3CR1+/GFPmice.These mice were subsequently bred with wild-type mice(WT),and repeated backcrossing was performed to obtain CX3CR1GFP/GFP mice.DNA and mRNA from WT and CX3CR1GFP mice were extracted and genotyped using agarose gel electrophoresis.The expression level of CX3CR1 in various tis-sues of the mice was detected by RT-qPCR.Western blot analy-sis was used to analyze the expression of GFP protein in periph-eral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC)and various tissues.The labeling efficiency of immune cells in bone marrow was detected by flow cytometry.The expression of GFP in different mouse tis-sues was observed by immunofluorescence.Results The results of agarose gel electrophoresis showed that the transgenic mouse genotype was CX3CR1GFP/GFP homozygote.RT-qPCR and West-ern blot showed that EGFP were targeted to replace CX3CR1 gene,so CX3CR1 expression was very low in CX3CR1GFP mice,while GFP expression was significantly upregulated.Flow cytom-etry and immunofluorescence showed that GFP effectively marked CX3CR1GFP mice,expressed in various tissues and cells with different expression levels.Conclusion This study con-structs and identifies the CX3CR1GFP genetic reporter mice,and GFP is stably expressed in mice,which provides a foundation for further research into the potential mechanisms of CX3CR1 in im-mune regulation.