Osteoporosis is a prevalent skeletal condition characterized by reduced bone mass and strength, leading to increased fragility. Buqi-Tongluo (BQTL) decoction, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription, has yet to be fully evaluated for its potential in treating bone diseases such as osteoporosis. To investigate the mechanism by which BQTL decoction inhibits osteoclast differentiation in vitro and validate these findings through in vivo experiments. We employed MTS assays to assess the potential proliferative or toxic effects of BQTL on bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) at various concentrations. TRAcP experiments were conducted to examine BQTL's impact on osteoclast differentiation. RT-PCR and Western blot analyses were utilized to evaluate the relative expression levels of osteoclast-specific genes and proteins under BQTL stimulation. Finally, in vivo experiments were performed using an osteoporosis model to further validate the in vitro findings. This study revealed that BQTL suppressed receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis and osteoclast resorption activity in vitro in a dose-dependent manner without observable cytotoxicity. The inhibitory effects of BQTL on osteoclast formation and function were attributed to the downregulation of NFATc1 and c-fos activity, primarily through attenuation of the MAPK, NF-κB, and Calcineurin signaling pathways. BQTL's inhibitory capacity was further examined in vivo using an ovariectomized (OVX) rat model, demonstrating a strong protective effect against bone loss. BQTL may serve as an effective therapeutic TCM for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis and the alleviation of bone loss induced by estrogen deficiency and related conditions.
Animals ; NFATC Transcription Factors/genetics* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Ovariectomy ; Osteoclasts/metabolism* ; Female ; Osteogenesis/drug effects* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; NF-kappa B/genetics* ; Osteoporosis/genetics* ; Signal Transduction/drug effects* ; Bone Resorption/genetics* ; Cell Differentiation/drug effects* ; Humans ; RANK Ligand/metabolism* ; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/genetics* ; Transcription Factors

Objective:To investigate the factors contributing to in-hospital mortality among elderly patients aged 80 and above with gastrointestinal bleeding(GIB).Additionally, it seeks to assess the predictive ability of the electronic frailty index(eFI)in determining the risk of in-hospital mortality in GIB patients.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed among 624 patients aged 80 and above with GIB who were admitted to Beijing Hospital between July 2013 and September 2019.The patients were categorized into two groups based on their discharge outcomes: those who survived and those who did not.The eFI was developed using a cumulative deficit model utilizing data from the hospital's electronic medical records.The study examined the clinical features and risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality among these elderly patients.The effectiveness of eFI in predicting in-hospital mortality in elderly patients with gastrointestinal bleeding was evaluated by calculating the area under the curve(AUC)of the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results:Among a total of 624 patients aged between 80 and 102 years, the average age was(83.0±6.4)years, with 339 being male.A majority of the patients, 581 cases(93.1%), had an eFI ≥ 0.15.A comparison between the survival group(380 cases)and the death group(244 cases)revealed that the latter had higher eFI values(0.39±0.09 vs.0.29±0.11, t=-11.452, P<0.001), along with higher rates of heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and malignant tumors, as well as lower body mass index, hemoglobin, albumin, and total cholesterol levels, and higher alanine aminotransferase and D-dimer levels(all P<0.05).Logistic regression analysis indicated that eFI( OR=2.322, 95% CI: 1.840-2.929, P<0.001), malignant tumor( OR=1.833, 95% CI: 1.141-2.860, P<0.001), and albumin<35 g/L( OR=1.826, 95% CI: 1.200-2.777, P<0.001)were independent risk factors for in-hospital death in elderly patients aged 80 and over with gastrointestinal bleeding.With every 0.1 increase in eFI, the risk of in-hospital death rose by 1.322 times.The AUC of eFI for predicting in-hospital mortality was 0.751(95% CI: 0.713-0.789, P<0.001).An eFI of ≥0.33 demonstrated a sensitivity of 77.9% and a specificity of 60.3% in predicting in-hospital mortality in elderly patients aged 80 and over with GIB. Conclusions:The eFI serves as an important independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality among patients aged 80 and above who experience GIB.It can effectively assess the prognosis of elderly individuals facing GIB.

Objective:To investigate the construction effects of the graduate biochemistry technology courses based on the outcome-based education (OBE) concept, analyze the technical needs of graduate students, and further integrate and optimize the teaching methods.Methods:A self-compiled questionnaire with good reliability and validity was used to conduct an overall sampling survey on the graduate students who took the elective courses in Batch 2021 in a medical college in Shanghai. Excel and GraphPad Prism software were used for data analysis.Results:According to this survey, the courses gain good effects in terms of teaching framework, course facilities, teaching forms, teaching contents and comprehensive evaluation of teaching. A total of 112 students (95.2%) thought that the course was very helpful to the expansion of experimental technology and experimental operation ability. However, there were still some teaching needs, such as expanding the types of experiments and increasing experimental operations.Conclusions:Under the guidance of OBE concept, the construction of the graduate biochemistry technology courses has gradually achieved good results. Later, the online-offline hybrid teaching form will be further improved and the curriculum teaching arrangement will be optimized further.

Objective:To analyze the relationship between hematological and genotype characteristics of fetuses and patients with hemoglobin (Hb) H disease and their natural disease progression.Methods:From 2010 to 2022, a total of 1 252 blood samples from fetuses and patients with Hb H disease who visited the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Regional Maternal and Child Health Hospital were collected (including 174 umbilical cord blood samples, 1 062 peripheral blood samples from patients over 2 years old, and 16 peripheral blood samples from patients with rare cases of genotype Hb H). Additionally, 278 peripheral blood samples were collected from patients aged 0 - 2 years old with Hb H 3.7, Hb H 4.2, Hb H CS, and Hb H WS disease for the study of trends in red blood cell development. Multiple probe hybridization and microarray comparative genomic hybridization technology combined with first-generation Sanger sequencing were used for rare mutation detection.Results:Among the 1 062 Hb H disease patients over 2 years old, 62.34% (662/1 062) had gene deletion (--/-α), of which Hb H 3.7 (-- SEA/-α 3.7) and Hb H 4.2 (-- SEA/-α 4.2) were the most common, accounting for 42.28% (449/1 062) and 19.11% (203/1 062) of the total, respectively. Among the non-deletion genotypes (--/αα T or α Tα/αα T), Hb H CS (-- SEA/α CS), Hb H WS (-- SEA/α WS) and α CSα/α CSα accounted for 16.85% (179/1 062), 16.48% (175/1 062) and 1.98% (21/1 062), respectively. The 81.12% (537/662) of patients with deletional Hb H disease showed mild to moderate anemia, with Hb H detection rates ranging from 75% to 80%. Among non-deletional Hb H disease, Hb H WS disease showed the mild (blood Hb concentration > 95 g/L in 90% of patients) phenotype while Hb H CS and Hb H QS (-- SEA/αα QS) patients had moderate to severe anemia, with Hb H detected in peripheral blood at higher levels than in other types of Hb H disease patients. Except for Hb H CS and Hb H QS, which did not show a significant increase in Hb A2 levels when complicated with β-thalassemia, Hb A2 levels were increased (> 3.5%) in all other types of Hb H disease patients. When Hb H disease was complicated with β-thalassemia, Hb H peaks were not detected in either type of Hb H disease. The results of red blood cell development trend detection showed that erythrocyte counts were elevated in patients with Hb H disease compared to their normal counterparts; whereas, blood Hb, mean erythrocyte volume (MCV) and mean erythrocyte hemoglobin content (MCH) were lower than in their normal counterparts ( P < 0.05) and decreased to the minimum at 6 months to 1 year of age. Patients with Hb H CS disease, as the most severe form of anemia, had the highest MCV values ( P < 0.001). The results of fetal cord blood with Hb H disease showed that α CSα/α CSα caused severe intrauterine anemia, followed by Hb H QS and Hb H CS. The content of Hb Bart's in umbilical cord blood was negatively correlated with the severity of anemia ( rs = - 0.58, P < 0.001). When Hb H disease was complicated with β-thalassemia, there was no significant improvement in fetal anemia, and the Hb Bart's content did not change significantly ( P > 0.05). In addition, Hb H 21.9 (-α 21.9kb/-- SEA) and Hb H 2.4 (-α 2.4/-- SEA) were common in patients with deletion rare Hb H. In patients with non-deletion rare Hb H, αα Amsterdam-A1/-- SEA and αα Hb G-Georgia/-- SEA were both first reported. Conclusions:There is heterogeneity in clinical manifestations of patients with different types of Hb H disease or same type of Hb H disease at different developmental stages. When patients with Hb H are complicated with β-thalassemia, the phenotype of patients with the deletion type is improved, while that of patients with the non-deletion type is not. Compared to normal individuals, patients with Hb H disease have lower blood Hb concentration, MCV and MCH, and more rapid physiological changes in red blood cells.

Objective:To detect the status of PIK3CA in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) , and to analyze the relationships between PIK3CA mutation and clinical features and its impact on prognosis.Methods:From January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2018, 50 patients with primary TNBC admitted to Xinxiang Central Hospital of Henan Province were collected. The PIK3CA mutation status was detected, and the relationships between PIK3CA mutation and clinical characteristics of patients with TNBC and its impact on prognosis were analyzed.Results:PIK3CA gene mutation was detected in 9 of 50 TNBC patients, with a mutation frequency of 18.0%. H1047R mutation was found in 4 cases, E545K mutation in 3 cases and E542K mutation in 2 cases. PIK3CA gene mutation was not associated with age ( χ2=3.55, P=0.060) , tumor location ( χ2=1.01, P=0.315) , tumor size ( χ2<0.01, P>0.999) , lymph node status ( χ2=0.76, P=0.385) , clinical stage ( χ2=0.65, P=0.420) , Ki-67 value ( χ2<0.01, P>0.999) , P53 status ( χ2=0.02, P=0.894) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) status ( χ2=1.65, P=0.200) . Prognostic analysis showed that 3-year disease-free survival rates of wild-type PIK3CA patients was significantly higher than that of mutant PIK3CA patients (80.5% vs. 11.1%, χ2=28.23, P<0.001) . Conclusion:The frequency of PIK3CA gene mutation is higher in TNBC patients. There is no correlation between PIK3CA mutation and clinicopathologic features in TNBC patients. PIK3CA gene mutation may be significantly associated with poor prognosis of TNBC patients.

Objective: The study aims to explore the epidemiological characteristics of tuberculosis among students in Qinghai Province, to provide scientific basis for the prevention and control of students tuberculosis. Methods: Data on tuberculosis among students from 2016 to 2019 in Qinghai province were collected and epidemiological characteristics were analyzed, the spatial distribution map were drawn by using ArcMap 10.8. Results: During 2016-2019, there were 2 691 reported cases of tuberculosis among students in Qinghai Province the reporting rate were 46.10/10 5, 68.50/10 5, 73.49/10 5, 85.96/10 5, increased year by year( χ 2=116.45, P <0.01). With a high incidence from March to September each year. The tuberculosis patients were mainly aged 18 years and above, with more reported female cases than male cases and more Tibetan cases. Most of students tuberculosis cases were reported in southern Qinghai, especially in Yushu and Guoluo areas, and sharp increase was observed in Xining during 2018 to 2019. Conclusion Students tuberculosis in Qinghai is still serious. Schools should strengthen education on tuberculosis prevention, especially those in southern Qinghai and Xining.

Objective To investigate the effects of matrine on proliferation and apoptosis of human Tenon capsule fibroblasts (HTFs) in.vitro.Methods After treated with 0,0.3,0.6 and 0.9 g/L matrine in vitro,cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) method was used to assay the proliferation of HTFs at 24,48 and 72 hours,Western blot and PCR were performed to evaluate the expression of apoptosis-associated factor caspase-3 on both protein and RNA levels.Results The activity of human Tenon capsule fibroblast at 48 hours and 72 hours after treated with 0.3,0.6,0.9 g/L matrine was significantly inhibited when compared with the 0 g/L matrine group,and the inhibitory effect was dose-dependent and time-dependent (F ion =1 019.51,P =0.00;Ftime =5 848.66,P =0.00;Fi ion =147.45,P=0.00).After treated with 0,0.3,0.6 and 0.9 g/L matrine,the early apoptosis rate of HTFs was (2.68±0.30)％,(5.08±0.47)％,(6.97±0.69)％ and (10.30±1.20)％,the grey value ofcaspase-3 protein was 1.00±0.13,1.90±0.19,2.50±0.30 and 2.67±0.30,the relative expression of caspase-3 mRNA was 0.98 ±0.12,2.01 ±0.34,6.15 ± 0.60 and 11.40 ± 1.12,respectively,with significant differences among them (F =55.74,66.01,154.50;all at P＜0.01),the early apoptosis rate of HTFs,the grey value of caspase-3 protein and the relative expression of caspase-3 mRNA were all increased significantly as the concentration of matrine increased,with significant differences between any two groups (all at P＜0.05).Conclusions Matrine can inhibit the proliferation of HTFs and induce the apoptosis of HTFs in a time-and dose-depended manner.

Objective To investigate characteristics of eating behavior change in patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods The grounded theory methodology was used.Nineteen patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus were interviewed.Then the records were transcribed and analyzed with open coding,axial coding and selective coding according to the grounded theory put forward by Strass and Corbin,to identify the categories and core category.Results The characteristics of eating behavior change in patients with type 2 diabetes included:searching information for diabetes diet,four types of diabetes diet,finding pleasure in a diabetes diet.Conclusion Patients with diabetes should pay attention to the source of dietary information and should not blindly try;patients who obtained the diet information had a choice between diet control and abandonment;the ability to enjoy a free diet in a diabetic diet will help improve patients' compliance with the diet.Medical staff should understand the characteristics of eating behavior change to promote early identification of behavior and the correct guidance for patients with diabetes.

Objective To investigate the feasibility and safety of Bean Bag in lateral position placing during pulmonary operations,evaluate its effects by comparing with the routine placing of lateral position by sandbags and side shields, and to provide scientific evidences to solve the existing clinical problems in lateral position placing. Methods One hundred patients with pulmonary surgeries who needed lateral position placing were divided into Bean Bag group and routine method group randomly according to random digit table,50 patients in each group.Bean bag was used in lateral position placing in Bean Bag group,while sandbags and side shields were used in routine lateral position placing in routine method group. The required time for positioning and skin pressing condition, the activity of both upper limbs during postoperative follow-up were recorded.The satisfaction of operating surgeons on this position was acquired by self-designed questionnaire when operation was finished. Results The required time for positioning in Bean Bag group was(178.36±24.27)seconds,and that for positioning in routine method group was (282.06 ± 29.34) seconds, there was statistically significant difference between two groups (t=19.254,P<0.01).There were 14 patients who appeared skin injury and press red in Bean Bag group and 27 patients who appeared skin injury and press red in routine method group, and there was statistically significant difference between two groups(χ2=6.986,P=0.008).In Bean Bag group,the total score of seven items in satisfaction questionnaire of operating surgeons on patient's position was 38.34±1.36,while that in routine method group was 29.34±1.29,there was statistically significant difference between two groups(Z=33.924,all P<0.01). Conclusions Our study indicated that it was feasible and safe to use Bean Bag to place lateral position.The exposure of operating field was good and the stability of position was strong. Compared with routine position placing method, lateral position placing by using Bean Bag could save time, the operating procedures were more simple and convenient, and it could protect the physiological function of all aspects in patient's body more effectively, the satisfaction of surgeons for this method in lateral position placing was higher. It might deserve to popularize this method in the clinical practice in the future.

Objective To explore the clinic utility of Hb A level in neonatal cord blood screening for β‐thalassemia .Methods A total of 1 599 neonatal cord specimens whose parents were carriers of β‐thalassemia prenatal diagnosised by routine molecular genet‐ic were collected by cordocentesis .These samples were analyzed by the capillary electrophoresis system (Sebia) .Results Among 1 599 fetuses ,186 were diagnosed as β‐thalassemia carriers ,68 were β‐thalasseima intermedia/major .ROC analysis demonstrated that the optimal cutoff value for identifying β‐thalassemia carrier from the Hb A level was 5 .15% (sensitivity = 83 .9% , specificity = 82 .3% ) ,and that was 3 .2% for β‐thalasseima intermedia/major (sensitivity = 100 .0% ,specificity = 99 .4% ) .Conclu‐sion The Hb A level of cord blood was an effective marker to screen the β‐thalassemia for fetuses and is therefore well‐suited for clinical diagnostic use .