1.Effect of Bushen Huoxue Granules (补肾活血颗粒) on the Nrf2/NLRP3 Inflammasome Axis in the Brain Substantia Nigra of Parkinson's Disease Model Mice
Qi CHEN ; Peng WANG ; Yingfan CHEN ; Shaodan LI ; Minghui YANG
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;66(4):390-398
ObjectiveTo explore the possible mechanism of action of Bushen Huoxue Granules (补肾活血颗粒, BHG) in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) through the Nrf2/NLRP3 inflammasome axis. MethodsA total of 84 male C57/BL 6 mice were randomly divided into blank group, model group, Madopar group, dimethyl fumarate group, and low-, medium, and high-dose BHG group, with 12 mice in each group. Except for the blank group, all groups were induced into PD models by intraperitoneal injection of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) at a concentration of 30 mg/ml for 7 consecutive days. The blank group received an equal volume of saline. After model establishment, the low-, medium, and high-dose BHG groups were treated with 1.5, 3, and 6 g/(kg·d) of the BHG by gavage, respectively. The Madopar group was given 0.113 g/(kg·d) of Madopar tablets by gavage, and the dimethyl fumarate group was given 50 mg/(kg·d) of dimethyl fumarate solution. The blank group and the model group were given 10 ml/(kg·d) of distilled water by gavage. Gavage was administered once daily for 14 days. Behavioral changes were evaluated using the open field test (total distance, central area distance, and average speed), rotarod test (time on the rod), and climbing pole test (climbing time). Serum levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-18 (IL-18), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were measured by ELISA. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression in the brain substantia nigra. Immunofluorescence was used to detect α-synuclein (α-syn) expression. Western Blot was used to detect Nrf2, NLRP3, Caspase-1, and α-syn protein levels in the brain substantia nigra. RT-PCR was used to detect mRNA expression levels of Nrf2, NLRP3, and Caspase-1 in the brain substantia nigra. ResultsCompared with the blank group, the model group showed decreased total distance, central area distance, and average speed, reduced time on the rotarod, prolonged climbing time, reduced TH expression, increased α-syn expression, decreased Nrf2 protein and mRNA expression, increased NLRP3 and Caspase-1 protein and mRNA expression, and elevated serum IL-1β, IL-18, and MPO levels (P<0.05). Compared with the model group, all drug interventions significantly improved the above indicators (P<0.05). There was no significant differences in all indicators between the high-dose BHG group and the Madopar group (P>0.05). Compared with the dimethyl fumarate group, the medium and high-dose BHG groups showed increased Nrf2 mRNA expression in the brain substantia nigra (P<0.05). Compared with the high-dose BHG group, the low-dose group showed decreased total distance, central area distance, and average speed, reduced serum IL-18 levels, decreased α-syn, Nrf2, NLRP3, and Caspase-1 protein levels, and lower Nrf2 mRNA expression (P<0.05). ConclusionThe mechanism by which BHG treat PD may involve activating the Nrf2/NLRP3 inflammasome axis in the brain substantia nigra, thereby reducing neuroinflammation and α-syn aggregation. The high-dose group showed the best effects.
2.Two-dimensional black phosphorus materials for bone tissue engineering
Jiahan CHEN ; Chao FENG ; Xiaoxia HUANG ; Minghui NIU ; Xin WANG ; Yong TENG
Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research 2025;29(10):2124-2131
BACKGROUND:Black phosphorus has a high degree of homology with human bone,so it has been extensively studied in the field of bone tissue engineering in recent years.Since 2014,two-dimensional black phosphorus materials have garned significant attention in the field of biomedicine due to their excellent exceptional physical,chemical,and biological properties. OBJECTIVE:To summarize the advancements made in black phosphorus-based nanomaterials for bone tissue engineering,focus on the synthesis methods,osteogenic characteristics,and applications in biomaterials pertaining to two-dimensional black phosphorus nanomaterials. METHODS:Chinese and English key words were"black phosphorus,bone tissue engineering,bone defect,bone regeneration,osteogenesis."Relevant articles in PubMed and CNKI databases from January 2014 to December 2023 were searched.After exclusion and screening,96 articles were analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Black phosphorus nanomaterials play an important role in bone tissue engineering due to their good biocompatibility,biodegradability,photothermal action,antibacterial ability,drug loading performance,and special osteogenic effect,and are ideal candidate materials for promoting bone regeneration.The preparation of black phosphorus nanomaterials is mainly a top-down top-layer stripping method.The main principle is to weaken the van der Waals force between the black phosphorus layers by physical or chemical means to obtain a single or less layer of phosphanse,that is,black phosphorus nanosheets or quantum dots.Black phosphate-based nanocomposites are mainly divided into hydrogels,3D printing scaffolds,composite scaffolds,electrospinning,bionic periosteum,microspheres,and bionic coatings.The research of nano-black phosphorus in bone tissue engineering is in its infancy,and still faces many challenges:the behavior of black phosphorus in vivo and the interaction mechanism with various biomolecules need to be further studied.The long-term potential toxicity of black phosphorus is unknown.The manufacturing process for black phosphorus is difficult to control.Therefore,how to develop uniform size,safe,reliable,and efficient nano black phosphorus and transform it into clinical application requires interdisciplinary research on modern biomedical technology,physicochemical technology,and precision manufacturing technology.
3.Correlation between blood pressure trajectory and hearing threshold among workers exposed to occupational noise in a city's rail transit enterprise
Hongting ZHAN ; Qia WANG ; Xinmei CHEN ; Zhiping LIANG ; Cong LI ; Danyan CAO ; Aichu YANG ; Minghui XIAO
Journal of Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2025;42(6):724-731
Background Hypertension is one of the chronic diseases with the highest prevalence in China, and a history of hypertension may potentially exacerbate hearing loss. Investigating the association between long-term blood pressure trends and hearing thresholds could contribute to hearing protection efforts for occupationally noise-exposed populations. Objective By investigating hearing thresholds and blood pressure levels among occupationally noise-exposed workers in an urban rail transit enterprise, and conducting a comprehensive analysis of the association between long-term blood pressure changes and hearing thresholds, to provide data references for health management strategies targeting occupationally noise-exposed workers. Methods Workers exposed to occupational noise at a rail transit enterprise were enrolled as study subjects and underwent pure-tone audiometry. Group-based trajectory modeling was employed to identify blood pressure trajectories. Categorical data were compared using chi-square tests, while normally distributed continuous variables were analyzed via t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) were subsequently applied toexamine associations between these trajectory groups and high-frequency hearing thresholds. Results Among 2 002 occupationally noise-exposed workers, the median (P25, P75) age was 32 (28, 35) years, with a median (P25, P75) working tenure of 7 (3, 10) years. In 2019, the positive hypertension rate was 9.04%, with a mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) of (122.97±11.60) mmHg and a mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of (76.37±9.02) mmHg. The hearing loss prevalence was 10.1%, showing bilateral high-frequency average hearing thresholds of (17.18±8.71) dB and speech-frequency average thresholds of (13.79±3.46) dB. Three distinct trajectory groups were identified for both SBP and DBP. Compared with other trajectory groups, the high-stable DBP group exhibited significantly higher hearing loss prevalence (χ2=6.34, P=0.042) and elevated high-frequency hearing thresholds (all Ps<0.05). Specifically, within the 30-39 age subgroup, the moderate-stable DBP group demonstrated 1.96 dB lower high-frequency thresholds than the high-stable group [β(95%CI): −1.96 (−3.61, −0.32), P=0.020]. Conclusion Among occupationally noise-exposed workers in a municipal rail transit enterprise, DBP trajectories demonstrated a positive association with high-frequency hearing thresholds. Notably, in young and middle-aged occupationally noise-exposed populations, DBP may exert a more critical influence than SBP on the progression of hearing loss.
4.Heterotopic ossification: Current developments and emerging potential therapies.
Mingjian BEI ; Qiyong CAO ; Chunpeng ZHAO ; Yaping XIAO ; Yimin CHEN ; Honghu XIAO ; Xu SUN ; Faming TIAN ; Minghui YANG ; Xinbao WU
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(4):389-404
This review aimed to provide a comprehensive analysis of the etiology, epidemiology, pathology, and conventional treatment of heterotopic ossification (HO), especially emerging potential therapies. HO is the process of ectopic bone formation at non-skeletal sites. HO can be subdivided into two major forms, acquired and hereditary, with acquired HO predominating. Hereditary HO is a rare and life-threatening genetic disorder, but both acquired and hereditary form can cause severe complications, such as peripheral nerve entrapment, pressure ulcers, and disability if joint ankylosis develops, which heavily contributes to a reduced quality of life. Modalities have been proposed to treat HO, but none have emerged as the gold standard. Surgical excision remains the only effective modality; however, the optimal timing is controversial and may cause HO recurrence. Recently, potential therapeutic strategies have emerged that focus on the signaling pathways involved in HO, and small molecule inhibitors have been shown to be promising. Moreover, additional specific targets, such as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and non-coding RNAs, could be used to effectively block HO or develop combinatorial therapies for HO.
Humans
;
Ossification, Heterotopic/genetics*
5.Research on attention-enhanced networks for subtype classification of age-related macular degeneration in optical coherence tomography.
Minghui CHEN ; Wenyi YANG ; Shiyi XU ; Yanqi LU ; Zhengqi YANG ; Fugang LI ; Zhensheng GU
Journal of Biomedical Engineering 2025;42(5):901-909
Subtype classification of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) images serves as an effective auxiliary tool for clinicians in diagnosing disease progression and formulating treatment plans. To improve the classification accuracy of AMD subtypes, this study proposes a keypoint-based, attention-enhanced residual network (KPA-ResNet). The proposed architecture adopts a 50-layer residual network (ResNet-50) as the backbone, preceded by a keypoint localization module based on heatmap regression to outline critical lesion regions. A two-dimensional relative self-attention mechanism is incorporated into convolutional layers to enhance the representation of key lesion areas. Furthermore, the network depth is appropriately increased and an improved residual module, ConvNeXt, is introduced to enable comprehensive extraction of high-dimensional features and enrich the detail of lesion boundary contours, ultimately achieving higher classification accuracy of AMD subtypes. Experimental results demonstrate that KPA-ResNet achieves significant improvements in overall classification accuracy compared with conventional convolutional neural networks. Specifically, for the wet AMD subtypes, the classification accuracies for inactive choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and active CNV reach 92.8% and 95.2%, respectively, representing substantial improvement over ResNet-50. These findings validate the superior performance of KPA-ResNet in AMD subtype classification tasks. This work provides a high-accuracy, generalizable network architecture for OCT-based AMD subtype classification and offers new insights into integrating attention mechanisms with convolutional neural networks in ophthalmic image analysis.
Tomography, Optical Coherence/methods*
;
Humans
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Macular Degeneration/diagnostic imaging*
;
Neural Networks, Computer
6.Impact of future-oriented coping on depression among medical staff: A chain mediation model involving psychological resilience and perceived stress.
Minghui LIU ; Xinyu CHEN ; Qing LU ; Daifeng DONG ; Yi ZHANG ; Muli HU ; Na YAO
Journal of Central South University(Medical Sciences) 2025;50(2):281-289
OBJECTIVES:
Depression is a common negative emotion that can significantly impact physical and mental health. Due to their occupational characteristics, medical staff are more susceptible to depression compared to the general population. This study aims to explore the influence of future-oriented coping on depression among medical staff and the mediating roles of psychological resilience and perceived stress, providing theoretical guidance for depression intervention strategies in this group.
METHODS:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among medical staff at a tertiary hospital using convenience sampling. Data were collected via the "Wenjuanxing" platform. A total of 754 questionnaires were distributed; after excluding invalid responses (e.g., duplicate IPs or insufficient completion time), 655 valid questionnaires were retained (valid response rate: 86.87%). Instruments included a demographic questionnaire, the Future-Oriented Coping Scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Self-Rating Depression Scale. All scales demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's α>0.88) and validity. SPSS 27.0 was used for descriptive analysis, and PROCESS macro (Model 6) was used to test the chain mediation model. Harman's one-factor test was applied to control for common method bias.
RESULTS:
Descriptive analyses showed that future-oriented coping was positively correlated with psychological resilience and negatively correlated with perceived stress and depression. Mediation analysis revealed that future-oriented coping significantly predicted lower depression levels among medical staff (β=-0.283, P<0.001). Psychological resilience partially mediated the relationship (effect size=-0.329, accounting for 34.13% of the total effect), as did perceived stress (effect size=-0.099, 10.27%). A significant chain mediation path was identified: "future-oriented coping → psychological resilience → perceived stress → depression" (effect size=-0.253, 26.24%). The total indirect effect accounted for 70.64% of the overall effect, highlighting the substantial role of the mediating pathways.
CONCLUSIONS
Future-oriented coping can reduce depressive symptoms in medical staff, with psychological resilience and perceived stress serving as key mediators in a chain structure. These findings suggest that enhancing future-oriented coping strategies and psychological resilience may improve stress adaptation and reduce depression levels in this population.
Humans
;
Adaptation, Psychological
;
Resilience, Psychological
;
Cross-Sectional Studies
;
Depression/psychology*
;
Surveys and Questionnaires
;
Stress, Psychological/psychology*
;
Male
;
Female
;
Adult
;
Middle Aged
;
Medical Staff/psychology*
;
Occupational Stress/psychology*
7.Molecular architecture of mammalian pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.
Maofei CHEN ; Yutong SONG ; Sensen ZHANG ; Yitang ZHANG ; Xudong CHEN ; Minghui ZHANG ; Meng HAN ; Xin GAO ; Sai LI ; Maojun YANG
Protein & Cell 2025;16(1):72-78
8.Effect of Bushen Huoxue Granule (补肾活血颗粒) on Dopamine Homeostasis and ERK/CREB/VMAT2 Signaling Pathways in the Striatum in Parkinson's Disease Model Mice
Hehao SUN ; Yingfan CHEN ; Peng WANG ; Xiaohan GENG ; Yuzhi ZHANG ; Qian ZHANG ; Min LI ; Shaodan LI ; Minghui YANG
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;66(23):2484-2493
ObjectiveTo investigate the possible mechanism of Bushen Huoxue Granule (补肾活血颗粒, BHG) in treating Parkinson's disease (PD) from the perspecitve of dopamine (DA) homeostasis. MethodsSeventy-two mice were randomly divided into blank group, model group, madopar group and BHG low-, medium- and high-dose groups, with 12 mice in each group. Except for the blank group, all mice were administered intraperitoneal injections of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) for 7 consecutive days to induce a PD model. On the day following the injection, BHG low-, medium- and high-dose groups were administered BHG at doses of 1.25, 2.5, and 5.0 mg/(g·d) by oral gavage, respectively, while the madopar group received madopar tablets at dose of 0.093 8 mg/(g·d) by oral gavage. The blank group and the model group were given 0.2 ml/10 g of distilled water by gavage. All treatments were given once daily for 14 days. Open field test, pole climbing test and grip test were used to evaluate the behavior of mice in each group. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in striatum. Nissl staining was used to detect the activity of striatal neurons. The contents of DA and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) in striatum were detected by ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The number and volume of synaptic vesicles were observed by transmission electron microscope. The expression of vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) in striatum was detected by immunofluorescence. Western Blot was used to detect the expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), phosphorylated ERK (p-ERK), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), phosphorylated CREB (p-CREB) and VMAT2 in striatum. ResultsCompared to the blank group, mice in the model group showed a significant decline in total distance and average speed in the open field test, along with an increase in total resting time; in the pole test, both the time required for the mice to turn completely downward (T-turn) and the total time taken to reach the bottom of the pole (T-total) were prolonged; forelimb grip strength was reduced; in the striatum, the mean optical density of TH, the average fluorescence intensity of VMAT2 protein, and DA content all decreased, while the number of striatal neurons was reduced, and the DOPAC/DA ratio was elevated; the levels of p-ERK/ERK, p-CREB/CREB, and VMAT2 in the striatum significantly decreased (P<0.01); transmission electron microscopy revealed that both the number and volume of synaptic vesicles in striatal neurons were markedly reduced. Compared to the model group, mice in the madopar group and BHG low-, medium- and high-dose groups showed significant improvements in all the above indicators (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Compared to madopar group, the BHG high-dose group exhibited increased DA content and elevated p-CREB/CREB ratio in the striatum (P<0.05). Compared to the BHG low-dose group, the BHG high-dose group showed increased total distance and mean velocity, decreased total resting time, T-turn, and T-total, as well as enhanced forelimb grip strength; moreover, the average fluorescence intensity of VMAT2 protein, DA content, p-ERK/ERK, p-CREB/CREB, and VMAT2 levels in the striatum were all significantly elevated (P<0.05 or P<0.01). ConclusionBHG may restore DA homeostasis and alleviate the damage of dopaminergic neurons by regulating ERK/CREB/VMAT2 signaling pathway.
9.Analysis of disease burden and trends of noise-induced hearing loss in China from 1990 to 2019
Lin CHEN ; Yang LIAO ; Zibo CEN ; Jinwei ZHANG ; Minghui XIAO ; Zhi WANG
Chinese Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Diseases 2024;42(10):730-734
Objective:To analyze the disease burden of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) in China from 1990 to 2019, forecast the disease burden of NIHL from 2020 to 2030, and provide data support for the prevention and control of NIHL.Methods:In July 2022, the disease burden data of NIHL in different age groups and genders in China during 1990-2019 were selected from the GBD database. The Jointpoint regression model was established to analyze the trend of the disease burden of NIHL in China. An age-period-cohort model was constructed to analyze the changing trend of NIHL in terms of age, period, and cohort, and a Bayesian age-period-cohort model was developed to predict the disease burden of NIHL in China from 2020 to 2030.Results:From 1990 to 2019, the disability adjusted life year (DALY) of China's NIHL increased from 1361600 to 2327700 years. The coarse rate of DALY increased from 115.03/100000 to 163.65/100000 (AAPC=1.23, P<0.001), and the normalization rate of DALY decreased from 127.67/100000 to 119.83/100000 (AAPC=-0.21, P<0.001). It is predicted that from 2020 to 2030, the DALYs of China's NIHL will increase from 2412900 in 2020 to 2655000 in 2030, and the DALY normalization rate will decrease from 241.29/100000 in 2020 to 125.71/100000 in 2030. Conclusion:The burden of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in China is significant and should not be overlooked. To reduce this burden, we need to focus on strengthening source management, process control, personal protection, and comprehensive prevention and treatment through various methods.
10.Analysis of the on-site quality assessment of occupational medical examination institutions in Guangdong Province in 2023
Xiaoyi LI ; Ruiyan HUANG ; Minghui XIAO ; Xiwen TAN ; Leyi XU ; Aichu YANG ; Jiabin CHEN
China Occupational Medicine 2024;51(3):308-314
Objective To analyze the problems found in the on-site quality assessment of occupational medical examination (OME) institutions in Guangdong Province. Methods A total of 150 OME institutions were selected as the research subjects from Guangdong Province in 2023 using a random number table method. The on-site quality assessment was conducted by listening to reports, meeting discussion, on-site inspection, data review and human-machine assessment. The relevant assessment results were analyzed. Results Occupational disease prevention and treatment institutes (institutes, centers) and disease control and prevention centers (hereinafter referred to as "occupational prevention institutions"), public hospitals, and private institutions accounted for 8.7%, 51.3%, and 40.0% respectively. The top three categories of registered inspections were physical factors, chemical factors and dust, accounted for 98.0%, 96.7% and 96.0%, respectively, among the 150 OME institutions. A total of 1 063 rectification items were identified, and the average number of rectification items identified per occupational prevention institutions, public hospitals and private institutions was four, six and nine, respectively. The rectification rates of the four modules of quality assessment from high to low were OME work quality control, quality management system, organizational structure, and OME information reporting, accounted for 53.2%, 23.3%, 13.7% and 9.7%, respectively. The coincidence rate from high to low of occupational reporting of noise-exposure, dust-exposure, and other hazard-exposure was 92.5%, 91.1%, and 93.4%, respectively. The on-site failure rate of quality control director, technical director, chief physician, pneumoconiosis film reader, audiometry reader and pulmonary function examination operator accounted for 15.3%, 12.7%, 8.0%, 6.7%, 6.0% and 2.7%, respectively. Institutions capable of conducting registered and partially registered OME accounted for 90.7% and 6.0%, respectively. The five institutions that were unable to conduct registered OME were private institutions. A total of five private institutions were found to be suspected of illegal and irregular activities. Conclusion The problems of OME in the on-site quality assessment of OME institutions in Guangdong Province were mainly quality control. Private institutions had more prominent problems in various aspects. It is necessary to strengthen the training of key personnel such as technical directors, quality control directors, and chief physicians.

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